Ash stepped into the fleck's arc and offered it a different future. He brought up a square of evidence tape—already peeled, adhesive clean—and let the gray micro-tag kiss the sticky side instead of the crate. The filament stuck, too. He folded the corner over once to lock the fleck in place without touching the rope's blue or the co-seal's violet.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Probe intercept: overhead micro-tag captured on evidence tape. Difficulty: mid. +50 Mechanic XP / +100 Basic Mechanical Repair XP.
"Drone to roofline or landed," the judge said. The drone rose until the lintel hid it. Ash slid the taped fleck into a fresh pouch, sealed and labeled it—DRONE TAG—ROPE/CRATE ATTEMPT—and handed the flap to Nono to steady while he signed.
The City-Admin clerk photographed fleck, tape, pouch. The inspector watched as if a clicker could count intent and decided it could not.
"Nightshade," the judge said, "that was your second in-session attempt to place hardware into my venue. The next attempt removes your cart and drone to the street until afternoon. Do you understand."
"Understood," the liaison said.
Through the pouch, the fleck showed a polymer disc with etched coil and a contact where the filament had planned to become an antenna on wood. Passive bait for any reader someone could claim was a "seal monitor."
The Nightshade clerk tapped a small gray box on his cart. "To preserve the co-seal, we propose a seal monitor—purely visual, mounted on the rope."
"Open it," the judge said. Inside lay a camera module, a battery, a "time stamp" board—and, in the frame, a hairline antenna printed in the paint. Ash pointed with his pen. The judge lifted the foam; a paper-thin PCB came up with a clear coil.
"Logged," the City-Admin clerk said. "Seal monitor—covert reader—rejected."
"City-Admin will post a plain timecard," the judge said. The clerk clipped a card behind the blue and violet and filled in NOON with a hand that had dressed uglier numbers.
Admin ran a short RF sweep from outside the rope; the wand returned nothing but hallway noise. The clerk wrote RF SWEEP (EXTERIOR)—NEGATIVE and boxed it.
"Field validation," the liaison said, pivoting. "Immediately."
"Already scheduled," the judge said. "Twelve-thirty. City-Admin ammo only. Nightshade co-witness. The cart does not travel. The rope remains sealed. The bench remains snapshot-sealed."
A junior tech jogged up and set a box by the rope, taped and labeled CITY—. Admin studied the font; Ash felt the seal's edge and the shift of loose rounds inside. "Exhibit," the judge said. Admin bagged it as EXHIBIT F—MISLABELED AMMO—SEIZED UNOPENED.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Evidence action: mislabeled ammo box seized (rope). Difficulty: simple (higher-tier item). +10 Mechanic XP / +15 Basic Mechanical Repair XP.
They walked to East Range with the cart anchored at the rope and the drone reduced to rumor. The range smelled of powder and concrete. Ash set A-07 on the bench, PV+Z visible. Admin taped a fresh 25-meter target, date and session marked.
"City ammo," the judge said for the recorder. Admin showed LC headstamps and cut the sleeve where the camera could see.
Protocol stayed simple: three for iron confirm, adjust, three to confirm, optic verify. A-07 printed center with iron and again with glass. The clerk wrote A-07 CONFIRM—CENTER. The inspector's clicker performed its one verb without flourish.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Calibration confirm: A-07 iron/optic center. Difficulty: simple. +10 Mechanic XP / +15 Basic Mechanical Repair XP.
A-19 and A-31 echoed the story. Nightshade presented a unit "for fairness." The riser moved under Ash's fingers until the wrench taught it a number. Witness paint bridged screw to mount. Iron group came home after a clean adjustment; optic carried over and printed where it should. The clicker clicked as softly as a conscience.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Field QA: riser torque + witness paint (Nightshade unit). Difficulty: mid. +50 Mechanic XP / +100 Basic Mechanical Repair XP.[SYSTEM PROMPT] Calibration: iron → optic carryover (NS unit). Difficulty: mid. +50 Mechanic XP / +100 Basic Mechanical Repair XP.
"NS unit zeroed—City ammo," the clerk said while his pen made a tidy entry.
They turned back toward the gallery. A Nightshade sergeant rolled up a hard case on a dolly, stamped SAFETY GEAR in letters that tried too hard. The hinge showed brass; the lid had a shallow wedge nose that didn't belong on first-aid. Hale set a palm against the case without force and stopped it at the threshold.
"That case does not enter the venue," the judge said.
"Safety gear," the liaison replied.
"Open it."
Two latches flicked. The lid lifted a finger's width and showed a ram head under padding. Hale didn't add pressure; he didn't need to. The clerk wrote ATTEMPTED HARDWARE ENTRY—DISGUISED AS SAFETY—LOGGED.
"Per emergency safety protocol—" the liaison began.
"—do not," the judge said. "Remove it from the corridor."
The sergeant backed the dolly a foot, wheels talking to concrete in a smaller voice.
They moved into the gallery. Rope numbers matched; blue and violet lay where they had been; crate wafers untouched. "Venue resumes," the clerk said, gathering the stack that would have to survive the afternoon.
At the threshold the sergeant waited with the hard case, asking the air if his camouflage counted as a seat. The judge's eyes lifted a fraction. The question hung: does that enter this room.
Ash watched the room weigh its answer.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Venue status: in session. Co-seal: intact. External pressure: hardware at threshold. Recommendation: deny entry; document.