Juno met them outside the holding room with a blank agreement and a pencil tucked behind her ear.
“I don’t open anything until this is settled.”
Eli looked through the glass. The recovered device occupied a padded tray beneath the inspection lights. A temporary rail held the broken casing together. They had been given a morning slot, after which the room belonged to another examination team.
“What changed?” he asked.
“Nothing. That’s why I’m asking before I do work you can later call something else.”
She put the agreement on the ledge. It identified the recovery workers and craftspeople who would contribute to the examination, offered named credit only with consent and kept their private contact details out of the public diagram. It also stated that the inquiry’s custody of the device did not give any guild ownership of the workshop’s methods.
“I can’t promise what a guild will claim,” Eli said.
“You can promise not to sign it away for us.”
