A storage unit having interface, memory, in-memory table, and processing module, receives a first encoded data slice (EDS) having the first slice name and stores the first EDS in a first location in the memory and also receives a second EDS having the first slice name and stores the second EDS in a second location in the memory. The storage unit then updates the in-memory table to include a first pointer that specifies the first location in the memory and updates the in-memory table to include a second pointer that specifies the second location in the memory. The storage unit then receives a write finalize command that specifies the first EDS or the second EDS that is to be preserved and updates the in-memory table to preserve the pointer to be preserved based on the write finalize command and delete the other pointer.