Tessa stopped the winch at Mira’s signal and kept her hand against the control until the cable ceased trembling.
The mechanism did not resist. A short unloaded turn came freely, then stopped at the point where the line met the damaged pulley. Tessa eased it back through the same small distance and felt the obstruction return. The winch was working. More force would spend the line against something the winch could not move.
“Jam at the guide,” she called.
Juno asked for the load. Tessa read it from the local instrument, then gave the technician room to compare the reading with the cable’s physical strain. He crouched at the brace, one arm held close, and watched the fastening while the receiving worker held the loose line clear.
“Don’t increase,” he said. “Base stays. Cable takes it.”
Tessa sent the warning to the lower relay by runner. Three short codes: hold accepted contribution, no increase, retrieval obstruction under examination. The surface teams could receive those brief signals without the vanished live route. They could not hear the grinding beneath the winch or see how little room remained around Mira’s hand.
Eli rose from the supported mount.
Tessa saw the motion before he took a step. “Wait.”
