The final drive felt different.
It sat in Ava's palm like a warning—smooth casing, no markings, matte black with a low, deliberate pulse of blue light at the base. Nothing military. No serial. No tags. Just that flicker, quiet and steady, like something beneath the surface was waiting.
Ava stared for a second too long.
Then plugged it in.
[EXTERNAL DRIVE RECOGNIZED][ENCRYPTION TYPE: MULTI-TIER DYNAMIC – ROTATIONAL LOCKS][PROCESSING CORE INSUFFICIENT FOR FULL DECRYPTION][PARTIAL DECRYPTION ENABLED – LINKING TO SECONDARY SYSTEM HOLDER]
She redirected it to Lucas with a flick of her system ID, watching the transfer lock clean.
"You're crazy," she muttered.
Across from her, Lucas caught the ping just as it lit up on his bracer. He tapped in wordlessly, scanning the contents with sharp eyes and that same focused stillness he always got when power was involved.
