diff --git a/js/scenes/SurfaceScene.js b/js/scenes/SurfaceScene.js
index 7ee5bc7..3c1ac69 100644
--- a/js/scenes/SurfaceScene.js
+++ b/js/scenes/SurfaceScene.js
@@ -1185,6 +1185,12 @@ export class SurfaceScene extends Phaser.Scene {
     // ledger's capitalLanded, 'Special Delivery' step 1) sits on the
     // shop's Buy/Sell tab (ShopView reads it from the GameScene's ledger,
     // not this scene, so a save/load can't bypass it).
+    // The EXPLORE slot stays in deck-locked standby until the 'Special
+    // Delivery' story quest has begun (granted — the bar's scene is the
+    // quest's step 1, so the drawer that reaches it waits for the quest;
+    // the same shared-ledger seam as isTradeUnlocked, so a loaded save
+    // reads the same truth).
+    this._syncExploreLock();
 
     // The MENU button keeps the GameScene's save system. The run's state
     // is in the paused GameScene beneath us — SavePanel captures from it
@@ -1362,6 +1368,15 @@ export class SurfaceScene extends Phaser.Scene {
       return;
     }
     if (id === 'explore') {
+      // The story gate (data/quests.json → special_delivery): the slot is
+      // deck-locked until the quest is granted, and this check is the
+      // second door — a press that sneaks past the standby paint still
+      // lands here and is refused in the console's voice.
+      if (!this._exploreUnlocked()) {
+        this.consoleNote('EXPLORATION OFFLINE — THE STORY COMES FIRST');
+        this.playSfx('ui_close');
+        return;
+      }
       this.toggleExplore();
       return;
     }
@@ -1393,6 +1408,27 @@ export class SurfaceScene extends Phaser.Scene {
     this.menuSubBar.open();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Is the EXPLORE slot's story gate open? The 'Special Delivery' quest
+   * (data/quests.json → special_delivery) granted — QuestState.isGranted
+   * on the shared registry ledger (the isTradeUnlocked seam), so a
+   * loaded save reads the same truth as a live run.
+   */
+  _exploreUnlocked() {
+    return this.gameScene?.questState?.isGranted?.('special_delivery') === true;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Apply the EXPLORE slot's story gate to the deck — standby until the
+   * 'Special Delivery' quest has begun, live from its grant. Idempotent
+   * (setSlotEnabled's contract), safe to re-run on a surface claim (the
+   * grant chain lands on claimQuest, and the surface's QUESTS slot can
+   * be the one that pays out 'Leaving the Nest').
+   */
+  _syncExploreLock() {
+    this.actionBar?.setSlotEnabled?.('explore', this._exploreUnlocked());
+  }
+
   /**
    * The EXPLORE button: fold the full-width service drawer up / fold it
    * back down (the shop tab bar's span, the same MenuSubBar drawer in
@@ -1518,6 +1554,7 @@ export class SurfaceScene extends Phaser.Scene {
       isSide ? gid.sideQuestState?.isClaimed?.(id) ?? false : gid.questState?.isClaimed?.(id) ?? false;
     const before = claimedOf(g);
     g.claimQuest(id); // the scene's seam (the side dispatch for sq- ids)
+    this._syncExploreLock(); // the claim chain can GRANT 'Special Delivery' — lift the EXPLORE gate
     const now = claimedOf(g);
     if (!before && now) {
       const t = isSide ? config.get('sidequests.ui.claimToast', {}) : config.get('quests.claimToast', {});