The server hub shudders hard enough to rattle the tower ribs. Red grid light strobes underfoot as the District Core rolls out its System Purge, and the admin link screams in CyberRay's deck.
Rika slams lines across her deck, fingers a blur. Her screen floods with counterchecks, trying to pin the connection before the recursive loop chews it apart.
Rika
Hold it, Ray. I am shaving the purge off the edge.
The Street Samurai plants a shoulder against the cooling tower, eyes up. Ceiling guns swivel and lock, their red dots skating across the smoke and sparks.
The Street Samurai
I have the guns. Give me a second longer.
CyberRay
The loop is targeting the admin handshake, not the whole deck.
CyberRay drives deeper into the link, splitting the purge into mirrored fragments. The smoke from his deck thickens, then thins, as the core stutters on its own recursion.
The District Core
Admin authorization unstable. Purge sequence escalated.
For a beat, the system hesitates. CyberRay's intrusion stays alive, and the route to the core opens one level farther.
“Is the core still trying to purge my link?”
YES, BUT (VeryLikely, rolled 81)
The District Core continues to hammer against the link, its recursive purge protocols tightening like a noose around the connection. Despite the successful bypass, the system's defensive subroutines remain locked onto the intrusion, refusing to yield.
“I let Rika jam the purge while I shield the link”
SUCCESS (Good Hacking, rolled -2)
CyberRay throws his focus over the link, and the purge stutters against his shielded routing. Rika snaps in a fresh jam, forcing the core’s recursive sweep to bite its own tail.
The admin connection holds. Red warnings flicker, then thin into a steady warning band instead of a collapse.
Rika
Now. It is pinned. Keep it there.
A sharp pulse lances through CyberRay’s implants, hot enough to make his jaw lock. One of his deck buffers smokes at the seam.
The Street Samurai
Ceiling guns are losing their lock. Don’t let up.
The recursive purge folds inward and hardens into a stable loop, trapped under CyberRay’s hold instead of tearing free. The core’s cold interface goes quiet, waiting for the next command.
“I lock the admin node now”
SUCCESS (Good Hacking, rolled -1)
CyberRay pins the admin node in place. The recursive loop clicks shut around his intrusion like a hard lock, and the core accepts the seal.
A fresh spike runs through his implants, sharp enough to make his shoulders jerk. The smoke at his deck seam thickens to a bitter thread.
Rika
Locked. Good. Hold that shape.
Rika leans back from the jammer rig, breathing out once, then starts rerouting the containment feed to reinforce CyberRay's lock.
The Street Samurai
Ceiling guns just went blind. I am moving up.
The core's interface settles into a red, obedient pulse instead of a storm. A new access path blooms on the display, but the buffer seam on CyberRay's deck smolders hotter, demanding attention.