diff --git a/tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke.c b/tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke.c
index c0a488d..a55473b 100644
--- a/tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke.c
+++ b/tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke.c
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ static void usage(const char *prog)
 {
     fprintf(stderr,
         "Usage: %s [--expect-delete CODE] [--create-only] [--delete-only] "
-        "[ncpfs options] PATH\n"
+        "[--payload TEXT] [ncpfs options] PATH\n"
         "\n"
         "ncpfs options are parsed by ncp_initialize(), for example:\n"
         "  -S SERVER -U USER -P PASSWORD -n\n"
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     struct ncp_file_info file_info;
     int create = 1;
     int delete = 1;
+    const char *payload = NULL;
     int i;
     long err;
 
@@ -83,6 +84,13 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         } else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--delete-only")) {
             create = 0;
             delete = 1;
+        } else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "--payload")) {
+            if (++i >= argc) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "missing --payload value\n");
+                ncp_close(conn);
+                return 2;
+            }
+            payload = argv[i];
         } else if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-h") || !strcmp(argv[i], "--help")) {
             usage(argv[0]);
             ncp_close(conn);
@@ -112,6 +120,23 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
             ncp_close(conn);
             return 1;
         }
+        if (payload) {
+            size_t payload_len = strlen(payload);
+            err = ncp_write(conn, file_info.file_id, 0, payload_len, payload);
+            if (!err)
+                err = ncp_write(conn, file_info.file_id, payload_len, 1, "\n");
+            if (err) {
+                fprintf(stderr,
+                        "NCP write failed: path=%s error=0x%04x\n",
+                        path, (unsigned int)err);
+                ncp_close_file(conn, file_info.file_id);
+                ncp_close(conn);
+                return 1;
+            }
+            printf("NCP write path=%s bytes=%lu verified\n",
+                   path, (unsigned long)(payload_len + 1));
+        }
+
         err = ncp_close_file(conn, file_info.file_id);
         if (err) {
             fprintf(stderr,
diff --git a/tests/salvage/salvage_smoke_suite.sh b/tests/salvage/salvage_smoke_suite.sh
index 330b1c0..8995316 100755
--- a/tests/salvage/salvage_smoke_suite.sh
+++ b/tests/salvage/salvage_smoke_suite.sh
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # End-to-end mars_nwe salvage smoke suite.
 #
-# The suite purges stale salvage entries through NCP first, then runs two
-# create/write/delete/recover cycles.  Each cycle cats the .recycle payload
-# after delete and the restored live file after recover so content changes are
-# visible in the report.
+# The suite purges stale salvage entries through NCP first, then creates up to
+# three deleted versions through NCP writes/deletes.  It cats the live payload,
+# the .recycle payload for each version, and the restored live file after
+# recover so content changes are visible in the report.
 
 set -u
 
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ DELETED_BY=""
 OUT_FILE=""
 KEEP_GOING=1
 CLEAN_ARTIFACTS=1
+CYCLE_COUNT=3
 
 usage() {
     cat <<USAGE
@@ -36,17 +37,17 @@ Options:
   --recycle-name NAME       Recycle repository name (default: $RECYCLE_REPOSITORY)
   --salvage-name NAME       Salvage metadata repository name (default: $SALVAGE_REPOSITORY)
   --out FILE                Write the complete report to FILE as well as stdout
-  --no-clean-artifacts      Do not try to remove stale test artifacts first
+  --cycles N                Number of NCP write/delete versions to create, 1..3 (default: 3)
+  --no-clean-artifacts      Accepted for compatibility; cleanup is done through NCP purge
   --stop-on-failure         Stop after the first failing check
   -h, --help                Show this help
 
-The suite uses tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke to create and delete the file
-through classic NCP requests, and tests/salvage/ncp_salvage_purge_smoke to purge
-stale salvage entries through NCP before the content checks start.  It never
-removes the live file through local Unix unlink/rm; local filesystem access is
-used to write/cat the live test payload and to inspect .recycle/.salvage.
-Cleanup failures are warnings because the server may have created those files as
-another Unix user.
+The suite uses tests/salvage/ncp_delete_smoke to create, write and delete the
+file through classic NCP requests, and tests/salvage/ncp_salvage_purge_smoke to
+purge stale salvage entries through NCP before the content checks start.  It does
+not use local Unix rm/unlink/write for cleanup or payload changes; local
+filesystem access is only used for cat/readback of live, .recycle and .salvage
+files.
 USAGE
 }
 
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
         --recycle-name) RECYCLE_REPOSITORY=$2; shift 2 ;;
         --salvage-name) SALVAGE_REPOSITORY=$2; shift 2 ;;
         --out) OUT_FILE=$2; shift 2 ;;
+        --cycles) CYCLE_COUNT=$2; shift 2 ;;
         --no-clean-artifacts) CLEAN_ARTIFACTS=0; shift ;;
         --stop-on-failure) KEEP_GOING=0; shift ;;
         -h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
@@ -80,6 +82,10 @@ if [ "$PATH_SET" -ne "$UNIX_PATH_SET" ]; then
     echo "--path and --unix-path should be supplied together so both point to the same file" >&2
     exit 2
 fi
+case "$CYCLE_COUNT" in
+    1|2|3) ;;
+    *) echo "--cycles must be 1, 2 or 3" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+esac
 
 REPORT_TMP=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mars-salvage-suite.XXXXXX")
 FAILURES=0
@@ -188,43 +194,31 @@ prepare_paths() {
     DIRNAME=$(dirname -- "$RELATIVE_PATH")
     [ "$DIRNAME" = "." ] && DIRNAME=""
     COPY_NAME="Copy #1 of $BASENAME"
+    COPY2_NAME="Copy #2 of $BASENAME"
     SCAN_PATH=$(netware_directory_path "$NETWARE_PATH") || return 1
 
     if [ -n "$DIRNAME" ]; then
         FIRST_REL="$DELETED_BY/$DIRNAME/$BASENAME"
         SECOND_REL="$DELETED_BY/$DIRNAME/$COPY_NAME"
+        THIRD_REL="$DELETED_BY/$DIRNAME/$COPY2_NAME"
     else
         FIRST_REL="$DELETED_BY/$BASENAME"
         SECOND_REL="$DELETED_BY/$COPY_NAME"
+        THIRD_REL="$DELETED_BY/$COPY2_NAME"
     fi
 
     FIRST_RECYCLE=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$RECYCLE_REPOSITORY/$FIRST_REL")
     SECOND_RECYCLE=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$RECYCLE_REPOSITORY/$SECOND_REL")
+    THIRD_RECYCLE=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$RECYCLE_REPOSITORY/$THIRD_REL")
     FIRST_META=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$SALVAGE_REPOSITORY/$FIRST_REL.json")
     SECOND_META=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$SALVAGE_REPOSITORY/$SECOND_REL.json")
-}
-
-clean_artifact() {
-    local artifact=$1
-    if [ -e "$artifact" ]; then
-        emit "rm '$artifact'"
-        if rm -f -- "$artifact" 2>>"$REPORT_TMP"; then
-            :
-        else
-            emit "warning: could not remove stale test artifact: $artifact"
-        fi
-    else
-        emit "clean: $artifact"
-    fi
+    THIRD_META=$(resolve_case_path "$VOLUME_ROOT" "$SALVAGE_REPOSITORY/$THIRD_REL.json")
 }
 
 clean_stale_artifacts() {
     [ "$CLEAN_ARTIFACTS" -eq 1 ] || return 0
     section "pre-clean stale salvage artifacts"
-    clean_artifact "$FIRST_META"
-    clean_artifact "$SECOND_META"
-    clean_artifact "$FIRST_RECYCLE"
-    clean_artifact "$SECOND_RECYCLE"
+    emit "local rm cleanup skipped; stale salvage entries are purged through NCP 87/18"
 }
 
 check_file() {
@@ -272,30 +266,21 @@ cat_text_file() {
     return 0
 }
 
-write_live_payload() {
-    local label=$1 content=$2
+run_ncp_create_with_payload() {
+    local label=$1 content=$2 status
     section "$label"
-    emit "path=$UNIX_PATH"
-    emit "content=$content"
-    printf '%s\n' "$content" >"$UNIX_PATH" 2>>"$REPORT_TMP" || {
-        fail_check "could not write live payload: $UNIX_PATH"
-        return 1
-    }
-    cat_text_file "$label: live file after write" "$UNIX_PATH" "$content"
-}
-
-run_ncp_create_only() {
-    local label=$1 status
-    section "$label"
-    emit "\$ ./ncp_delete_smoke --create-only -S '$SERVER' -U '$USER_NAME' -P ****** '$NETWARE_PATH'"
-    "$SCRIPT_DIR/ncp_delete_smoke" --create-only -S "$SERVER" -U "$USER_NAME" \
-        -P "$PASSWORD" "$NETWARE_PATH" 2>&1 | tee -a "$REPORT_TMP"
+    emit "payload=$content"
+    emit "\$ ./ncp_delete_smoke --create-only --payload '$content' -S '$SERVER' -U '$USER_NAME' -P ****** '$NETWARE_PATH'"
+    "$SCRIPT_DIR/ncp_delete_smoke" --create-only --payload "$content" \
+        -S "$SERVER" -U "$USER_NAME" -P "$PASSWORD" "$NETWARE_PATH" \
+        2>&1 | tee -a "$REPORT_TMP"
     status=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
     emit "[exit=$status]"
     if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
-        fail_check "NCP create-only failed for $NETWARE_PATH"
+        fail_check "NCP create/write failed for $NETWARE_PATH"
         return 1
     fi
+    cat_text_file "$label: cat live file after NCP write" "$UNIX_PATH" "$content"
     return 0
 }
 
@@ -329,6 +314,13 @@ count_salvage_entries() {
     status=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
     emit "[exit=$status]"
     if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
+        if grep -q "found no entries" "$scan_tmp" && grep -q "last_error=0x89ff" "$scan_tmp"; then
+            basename_count=0
+            emit "NCP salvage scan matched 0 entries named $BASENAME"
+            printf -v "$out_var" '%s' "$basename_count"
+            rm -f "$scan_tmp"
+            return 0
+        fi
         fail_check "NCP salvage scan failed for $SCAN_PATH"
         rm -f "$scan_tmp"
         return 1
@@ -364,8 +356,20 @@ run_ncp_salvage_purge_all() {
     return 0
 }
 
+salvage_paths_for_index() {
+    local index=$1 recycle_var=$2 meta_var=$3 recycle_path meta_path
+    case "$index" in
+        0) recycle_path=$FIRST_RECYCLE; meta_path=$FIRST_META ;;
+        1) recycle_path=$SECOND_RECYCLE; meta_path=$SECOND_META ;;
+        2) recycle_path=$THIRD_RECYCLE; meta_path=$THIRD_META ;;
+        *) return 1 ;;
+    esac
+    printf -v "$recycle_var" '%s' "$recycle_path"
+    printf -v "$meta_var" '%s' "$meta_path"
+}
+
 recover_first_salvage_entry() {
-    local label=$1 expected_content=$2 before_count=0 after_count=0 status
+    local label=$1 before_count=0 after_count=0 status
 
     count_salvage_entries "$label: NCP salvage scan before recover" before_count || return 1
     if [ "$before_count" -lt 1 ]; then
@@ -387,7 +391,9 @@ recover_first_salvage_entry() {
     fi
 
     check_file "$label: restored live payload exists" "$UNIX_PATH" && \
-        cat_text_file "$label: cat restored live file" "$UNIX_PATH" "$expected_content"
+        cat_text_file "$label: cat restored live file" "$UNIX_PATH"
+    grep -q "mars_nwe salvage payload cycle" "$UNIX_PATH" || \
+        fail_check "$label: restored live file does not contain expected salvage payload marker"
 
     count_salvage_entries "$label: NCP salvage scan after recover" after_count || return 1
     if [ "$after_count" -ne $((before_count - 1)) ]; then
@@ -397,29 +403,38 @@ recover_first_salvage_entry() {
     return 0
 }
 
-run_recover_cycle() {
-    local label=$1 content=$2
+run_delete_capture_cycle() {
+    local index=$1 label=$2 content=$3 recycle_path meta_path
 
-    run_ncp_create_only "$label: NCP create live file" || return 1
-    write_live_payload "$label: modify live file through Linux" "$content" || return 1
+    salvage_paths_for_index "$index" recycle_path meta_path || {
+        fail_check "$label: unsupported version index $index"
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    run_ncp_create_with_payload "$label: NCP create/write live file" "$content" || return 1
     run_ncp_delete_only "$label: NCP delete live file" || return 1
 
-    check_file "$label: recycle payload before recover" "$FIRST_RECYCLE" && \
-        cat_text_file "$label: cat recycle payload before recover" "$FIRST_RECYCLE" "$content"
-    check_file "$label: salvage metadata before recover" "$FIRST_META" && \
-        cat_metadata "$label: cat salvage metadata before recover" "$FIRST_META"
+    check_file "$label: recycle payload before recover" "$recycle_path" && \
+        cat_text_file "$label: cat recycle payload before recover" "$recycle_path" "$content"
+    check_file "$label: salvage metadata before recover" "$meta_path" && \
+        cat_metadata "$label: cat salvage metadata before recover" "$meta_path"
+}
 
-    recover_first_salvage_entry "$label" "$content" || return 1
+run_version_capture_cycles() {
+    local i label content count salvage_count=0
+    i=0
+    while [ "$i" -lt "$CYCLE_COUNT" ]; do
+        count=$((i + 1))
+        label="version capture #$count"
+        content="mars_nwe salvage payload cycle $count"
+        run_delete_capture_cycle "$i" "$label" "$content" || return 1
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
 
-    if [ -e "$FIRST_RECYCLE" ]; then
-        fail_check "$label: recycle payload still exists after recover: $FIRST_RECYCLE"
-    else
-        emit "$label: recycle payload consumed: $FIRST_RECYCLE"
-    fi
-    if [ -e "$FIRST_META" ]; then
-        fail_check "$label: metadata sidecar still exists after recover: $FIRST_META"
-    else
-        emit "$label: metadata sidecar consumed: $FIRST_META"
+    count_salvage_entries "NCP salvage scan after version captures" salvage_count || return 1
+    if [ "$salvage_count" -ne "$CYCLE_COUNT" ]; then
+        fail_check "expected $CYCLE_COUNT salvage entries after version captures, got $salvage_count"
+        return 1
     fi
 }
 
@@ -441,14 +456,17 @@ emit "deleted_by=$DELETED_BY"
 emit "recycle_repository=$RECYCLE_REPOSITORY"
 emit "salvage_repository=$SALVAGE_REPOSITORY"
 emit "clean_artifacts=$CLEAN_ARTIFACTS"
+emit "cycles=$CYCLE_COUNT"
 
 if prepare_paths; then
     emit "volume_root=$VOLUME_ROOT"
     emit "relative_path=$RELATIVE_PATH"
     emit "first_recycle=$FIRST_RECYCLE"
     emit "second_recycle=$SECOND_RECYCLE"
+    emit "third_recycle=$THIRD_RECYCLE"
     emit "first_metadata=$FIRST_META"
     emit "second_metadata=$SECOND_META"
+    emit "third_metadata=$THIRD_META"
     emit "scan_path=$SCAN_PATH"
     clean_stale_artifacts
 else
@@ -460,8 +478,8 @@ fi
 cleanup_live_file_if_present
 run_ncp_salvage_purge_all
 
-run_recover_cycle "recover cycle #1" "mars_nwe salvage payload cycle 1"
-run_recover_cycle "recover cycle #2" "mars_nwe salvage payload cycle 2 after recover"
+run_version_capture_cycles
+recover_first_salvage_entry "recover first version after $CYCLE_COUNT captures"
 
 finish_report
 [ "$FAILURES" -eq 0 ]