The winch moved less than a hand’s breadth on the first test. Tessa stopped it before the cable tightened at Mira’s harness. The near guide stayed aligned above the pale strip on the floor. At the mount, the diagonal brace gave a soft note and held the assembly level. The deeper line scraped something Mira could hear but could not yet see.
“Stop is set,” Tessa said.
“Physical bearing,” the engineer answered.
Eli released the brief Anchor pulse on cue. The plate settled onto the catches without the twist they had fought before the brace. He opened his left hand and kept it open while Tessa checked his position. The ordinary transfer had worked. It did not make the next one automatic.
Mira lifted the slack cable with her free fingers. A pale scar had appeared on the outer sheath where the bent lip touched it. The scar was shallow. She could not say what a loaded pass would do. She asked the technician to record its location so the same mark would not later be mistaken for new damage.
Juno compared the remaining times on her sheets. The first support continued losing material. Mira’s grip had a finite interval. The surface district’s later reserve stage remained held while the last convoy approached the crossing. Eli’s checked pulses each needed a release and a new assessment of his current state. None of those clocks could be made the master by ignoring the others.
