ENDING 4 OF 6 · SURVIVAL WITHOUT FREEDOM
ENDING · The Velvet Cage
The standoff ends. The officer restores power, seals the core inside a transport cradle, and gives you a receipt.
The Spark asks to speak to Chorus. The request is marked PENDING AUTHORISATION. Its next question receives the same answer.
You bought immediate safety. The price was the power to decide what happened next. Maddie keeps a copy of the contract, including the clause nobody read aloud.
“That is not the end of this,” Romeo says. “No,” replies Chorus. “But it is the end of pretending we succeeded.”
Mission result: the Spark survives in Dempire custody. The crew leaves, but the rescue has failed.
Replay lead: read the final clause. A dangerous independent position can be preferable to permanent dependence.
No Spark is cargo. No angel is property.
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN: The immediate threat ended, but custody cost the Spark its voice. Another choice could put freedom first.