The mobile preservation unit had already been promised when the delegate withdrew it.
Sera had a departure time, a receiving contact, and a description of the crate’s handling requirements. Kellan had checked the proposed route width against the dimensions. The council had assigned a watched place where it could be opened without moving archival originals through an uncontrolled gate. Juno had planned the instrument exchange around that arrival: one calibrated set could remain underground while another traveled with protected records to an independent laboratory.
Then the message changed.
The unit was being reassigned to a capital command post. The summit would reconsider allocation after determining whether the coalition’s record merited priority. No replacement date was attached.
The delegate gave Rook’s statement as a reason.
According to that statement, he had prevented an immediate catastrophe when other groups were still debating. His constructs had contained a breach at the settlement boundary. The interrupted operation had been controlled, necessary, and directed toward preserving the seal. The surface audience was being asked to recognize visible success before entertaining accusations from people who had obstructed it.
Juno listened to the full statement before answering.
“The containment happened,” she said.
