S89 1/2

The staging area is richly decorated in a haunted mansion look for the Shadowfall holiday, including some impressive holograms and wall displays by the Worldworks techs. The team is enjoying it, and they’re as relaxed pre-mission as I’ve ever seen.

Oreilli is usually thick in the crowd, enjoying his time with the others. But I see him wander alone along the walls, back and forth, and stare at the wall displays and holograms. He has a permanent lopsided smirk on his face.

He keeps watch, shifting his gaze from one spooky display or zombie hologram to the next. Now and then he swirls notes on an airpad.

I decide just to watch, see what he’s up to. He’s smart, devious. It’s interesting watching him, as he’s clearly latched on to something.

There are plastine decorations pasted to the wall, like shields and family crests. Oreilli stops paying attention to the displays and starts messing with the shields. This one, then crossing over to that one, in a random pattern.

He’s at the last shield. He looks around with a sly smirk. Then he touches at it.

The large chamber explodes in a flurry of spooky motion, then darkness, then more frights before a shower of hologram fireworks light off. Everyone is pleasantly panicked.