The first version of the changed-risk notice was too long to carry clearly through the narrow contact route. Juno read it once, heard herself explaining the entire surface repair sequence and put it down.
A captive did not need the history of the awning, the argument over keys or the exact time lost to a jammed door. The person did need to know that the inner gate had weakened and that the available release window was shorter than during the earlier survey. Reducing the notice without cutting away that choice was harder than Juno had expected.
The contact operator waited beside the dark junction. She had practiced the earlier signals until they felt like motions she could perform in her sleep. Now she proposed keeping the original affirmative responses for the people who had answered clearly. The first wave had so little spare time left that explaining every change could use the opportunity to act.
Tessa listened to her without interrupting. When the operator finished, she asked what they would do if a surface crew had accepted yesterday’s exposure and received today’s gate readings.
“We’d ask again,” the woman said.
“Why?”
“Because they’re the ones standing there.”
Tessa looked toward the closed captive channel. The operator followed her gaze and rubbed her forehead.
