The wireless message failed after the first three words.
Sera tried again from the service-door junction. “Possible lower route. One maintenance worker unaccounted for. Do not—”
Static swallowed the rest. The reader in her other hand flickered, showing the same intermittent movement she had recorded at the previous positions. She checked its battery and wrote the new time on her route sheet. The display still could not identify the source of the signal.
Orla stood beside her with the group radio. “The station acknowledged the worker’s name earlier. They need the route.”
“I can send the first part. It cuts out before the turn.”
A maintenance panel hung open near the wall. Inside were a fixed cable, a small hand-operated field telephone and a printed diagram showing connections between service junctions. A responder had opened the panel while checking the corridor. She said the line had not been tested since the disturbance.
“Can we use it?” Orla asked.
“If it works and the other end is staffed. I won’t send you into the maintenance area to find out.”
