CAM 09-A — CENTRAL OPERATIONS FLOOR — 21:22:13 STATION TIME
The wide-angle lens captures rows of consoles, each with multiple operators monitoring propulsion, comms, and environment. Hollow light hums across the floor.
A side door hisses open. DAUSS enters, flanked by four Trident security officers in black-gray armor.
Operators glance up. Several pause mid-input.
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:22:30
Commander YUNA MIREI, Operational Lead, rises from the elevated console at the center.
Her lips move calmly. She gestures to the board behind her — a holographic lattice of the station's live systems. Everything is online. Stable.
Dauss steps forward. His voice is slow, measured. He removes a cold, black data shard from his jacket and slides it into the central access pillar.
The system verifies it.
LEVEL 9 ACCESS: AUTHORIZED — CORE DIRECTIVE EXECUTION UNLOCKED
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:23:02
Yuna steps back slightly. Folds her arms. Her face sharpens.
She shakes her head. Leans in. Her mouth forms a clear sentence:
"A full-system reset is reckless. Sectors 4 through 12 run on oxygen redistribution. It could crash. You know this."
Dauss remains still. His eyes do not blink.
"Local corruption is spreading via subnet architecture," he replies.
"You've seen the security feeds. Echoform artefacts may be present throughout the systems. They are the cause of all kinds of cycling anomalies. Do this now!"
CAM 09-D — UPPER OBSERVATION DECK — 21:23:51
The Trident officers shift position, casually blocking access to exits and uplinks. No weapons are drawn - but the message is clear.
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:24:04
Yuna lowers her voice. She speaks directly into Dauss's face.
"Even if you're right, we need a staggered protocol. Subsystem by subsystem. Not a blind purge. You'll destabilize command routing for-"
Dauss interrupts. No change in tone.
"Do this as fast as possible. We are not debating. OPHID_LOCK has escalated to level 3. EMI has authorized absolute reset authority."
He leans forward slightly.
"Do it now, or I will."
CAM 09-F — OPERATOR ROW 3 — 21:24:51
One of the technicians types a series of fail-safe overrides. Another operator removes her headset, hesitating.
Commander Mirei slowly nods. She looks down - and gives the signal.
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SYSTEM RESET: INITIATED
PHASE 1/9 — CORE DE-SYNC ENGAGED
The lights flicker.
Half the boards go dark.
The camera feed drops for 1.2 seconds.
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:25:04
When the image returns, Dauss is still standing in place.
But Yuna's hands are clenched.
She doesn't speak again
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:26:04
With the system reset protocol underway, most of the operational floor is running on emergency reroute mode. Minimal light. Only primary systems remain live.
Dauss turns to Commander Yuna Mirei, his posture rigid, voice unreadable.
She looks at him warily - expecting the next order.
Dauss gestures to the nearest terminal.
"Begin asset extraction: Singh_Jamaal and Singh_Tyrone. I want a complete mnemonic thread bank compiled:
– Visual logs
– Audio transmissions
– EVA footage
– Personal file imagery
– Dormitory psych scans
– Intercepted comms, licensed or otherwise
I want a full scrape, crawl every net we have online."
Yuna frowns.
"This is illegal," she says, quietly.
"Not anymore". Dauss doesn't flinch.
"The Echonodes are attracted to Jamaal Singh for a reason. The anomaly exists in a fragmented state; it seeks cohesion. It will seek identity. When it does -
I want it to seek here."
CAM 09-D — OPERATOR ROW 1 — 21:26:52
A technician pauses, glancing toward the dais. Yuna nods - permission to proceed.
Screens fill with extracted media. Still frames of Ty and Jamaal laughing in the MechBay. Audio logs of EVA comms. Snippets of a karaoke night in the dorms. A childhood holocard with Dr. Ohema's voice.
It all begins uploading to an isolated cluster: "MNEMO-LOCK_ARCHIVE_01"
CAM 09-C — COMMAND DAIS — 21:27:31
Yuna steps closer, voice low:
"If this works...and the fragments come here...what's the containment strategy?"
Dauss replies without pause:
"Hardwall. Cut power. Thermal contamination. Capture and/or Delete the echo before it achieves symbolic unification."
She stiffens.
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then the anomaly will find them directly. And when it does, it won't just overwrite screens. It'll reroute oxygen control, gravity sync, artificial weather-
You'll wake up with a vacuum in your lungs. Or whatever it fucking chooses to do! I hope you understand the urgency now."
