Nyx enters the sealed Meridian Civic Annex hearing room with Mina Ortez and Vera Svon. Director Cael Vey, a lean middle-aged man with silver-streaked hair, a severe black suit, and a chrome port at his throat, waits behind the central dais.
A transparent security partition drops between Nyx and her companions. Mina and Vera remain visible on the far side, while the exits seal with a quiet hydraulic clunk.
Mina Ortez
Cael, release that partition. You do not get to separate witnesses from the person you summoned.
Director Cael Vey
I summoned Nyx because she carries Mara Deyn’s ledger. You came because Vera deserves the truth, and Mina deserves to hear who authorized the architecture behind it.
Cael touches the dais. Archived project records bloom across the glass: Seraphirm’s control architecture, abduction schedules, corporate payment trails, and PALISADE authorization seals. Vera’s face hardens as her own history fills the room.
Director Cael Vey
PALISADE commissioned me to design and deploy Seraphirm. The abductions were not deviations. They were part of the control program, approved, funded, and measured against compliance.
Vera Svon
Then say what you did without hiding behind a dead organization. Did you build the system knowing what it would do to me?
“I demand Cael finish his confession on record and tell vera what she wants to hear”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Nyx crash
Finish the confession on record, Cael. Then answer Vera directly: did you knowingly build the system that treated her as property, and will you name your authority and responsibility?
Nyx keeps the sealed paper ledger visible beside the hearing console. Identity Verification matches Cael’s archived seals against Mara Deyn’s entries, separating his witnessed authorization from corporate euphemisms while the record continues running.
Director Cael Vey
Yes. I knew Seraphirm would drug, abduct, condition, and reclaim people. I designed its control architecture, accepted PALISADE’s authority, and treated Vera as an owned asset. I am responsible for building the system and authorizing its deployment.
The sealed paper ledger’s payment marks align with Cael’s admission: Meridian channels funded the work, while PALISADE issued the controlling approvals. Identity Verification flags the confession as a direct acknowledgment, not a broker’s report.
Vera Svon
Then hear me clearly. I was never property, never a license, and never a consent record you could manufacture. You will identify every authority, payment route, and person who enabled this, and you will not control what happens to my evidence.
Director Cael Vey
Under this recording, I confirm that authority ran from PALISADE through my office and Meridian Civic Assurance. I will provide the route, the names, and the records, without claiming ownership of Vera’s testimony or decisions.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the corporate offices that benefited from Seraphirm
“Make Cael name every Meridian office that funded or profited from Seraphirm.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Nyx crash
Name every Meridian office that funded or profited from Seraphirm. Separate direct payments, licensing revenue, and downstream recovery profit.
Nyx places Mara Deyn’s sealed paper ledger beneath the hearing console. Identity Verification aligns its payment marks with Cael’s archived seals, forcing corporate euphemisms into distinct financial trails.
Director Cael Vey
The Meridian Civic Assurance Risk Directorate funded Seraphirm’s deployment. Its Clinical Operations Office paid for abduction sites, intake procedures, and compliance testing.
The ledger’s dated entries lock against the admission. No payment mark remains unattributed, and the hearing record preserves each office as a separate accountable authority.
Director Cael Vey
The Recovery Licensing Office profited from reclamation fees and ownership claims. Corporate Security Procurement profited from control hardware, while Claims Resolution converted victim losses into Meridian liability settlements.
Director Cael Vey
The Executive Compliance Office concealed the approvals and protected the revenue chain. Meridian’s Strategic Partnerships Office received the downstream returns from Seraphirm’s transferred contracts.
Cael’s list completes the financial map: Risk Directorate and Clinical Operations funded the system; Recovery Licensing, Security Procurement, Claims Resolution, Executive Compliance, and Strategic Partnerships profited or protected its proceeds. Vera’s testimony remains under her control as every office enters the record.
Quest Complete
Identify the corporate offices that benefited from Seraphirm