The evidence package glows inside an isolated buffer while Vesper sits beneath the diagnostic rig. Her memory layer is separated from the corporate chain, ready for disconnection.
Revenant remains beside the secondary display, watching the administrator key pulse in steady intervals. A green diagnostic line confirms the disconnect point is uncontaminated.
Vesper
My memories are stable. The commands are still buried in the gaps, but they are not moving anymore.
Revenant
The key is active, but it has no route into her core layer. One wrong command could reopen that path.
The suite dims its overhead panels, isolating Vesper’s rig and the evidence buffer. A confirmation prompt appears: preserve the package, sever the administrator, or hold.
Vesper
Aurora, you mapped the separation point. Tell me what happens if we cut the line now.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sever the administrator while preserving the evidence
“I sever the administrator, preserving the evidence”
SUCCESS (Good Hacking, rolled +1)
Aurora connects the implant diagnostic tools to the isolated buffer, then isolates the administrator key from Vesper’s core layer. The evidence package remains sealed and readable.
She confirms the severance command. The active key collapses into a dead authorization record, while the corporate chain, research seal, and access trail persist inside the preserved package.
Vesper
It stopped. The pressure in the gaps is gone.
The diagnostic rig clears Vesper’s memory layer and marks the remote administrator as permanently disconnected. No stored fragment is deleted, and the evidence buffer verifies its own integrity.
Revenant
Clean cut. The channel is dead, and the proof is still intact.
Revenant copies the preserved package to a separate encrypted partition. The suite’s displays settle into neutral white, leaving Vesper’s records stable and the corporate trail secured.
Vesper
Now we know they cannot reach through the relay. We can follow the evidence without leaving me connected to them.
Quest Complete
Sever the administrator while preserving the evidence