The pointer had not reached the test mark when the component bent.
At first the change was small enough that a builder leaned toward the fixture, uncertain whether the light had shifted. The inspector called for release. The load came off under the agreed sequence, and the pointer returned almost to zero. The component did not return to its original shape.
Kellan kept the observers behind the marked line until the inspector confirmed the fixture was safe to approach.
Juno wrote the reading before anyone spoke. She checked it against the second indicator, then asked the recorder to read his entry aloud. The two records agreed. The deformation had occurred below the component’s specified test load.
The workshop owner stared at the held tray.
“Every one?” she asked.
“We tested one,” Juno said. “We hold the matching components until we know more.”
This was the first batch produced through a neighboring workshop’s newly organized supply route. It was separate from the two-town order awaiting its paid seat inspection. The distinction mattered immediately: a runner had already reached the door with a list of units planners hoped might become available before the hospital team departed.
