The technician came to the anchor room carrying a small blue ledger wrapped in a clean rag. She did not ask to see the reversed component first. She asked who had said her name over the open line.
“No one yet,” Sera said.
The woman looked at the installation sheet on the table. The last credential number belonged to her. So did the neat copied name beneath it. The signature at the right did not.
“I tested the supply,” she said. “I didn’t fit that part.”
The shift leader moved a stool toward her. She remained standing.
“I need to know whether you’re taking my credentials.”
Sera had no authority to promise what the maintenance office would decide. She said that plainly. The technician’s mouth tightened, and Sera thought for a moment that she would leave with the ledger still wrapped.
“I can bring a witness from outside this crew,” Sera said. “I can keep your statement separate from the public report until we’ve agreed what identifying details it needs. Tell me what else would let you give it.”
