Han shut the furnace down for one hour after Yan’s measured cycle. The station master argued that the barrier lamps might dim. Sella stayed by the gauge, Qinghe checked Yan’s pulse, and the crew watched the red line settle.
Yan remained alert and stronger than before the cycle. The warmth from his body faded slowly, but the furnace reading held. When the hour ended, Sella tapped the gauge.
“The pressure stayed inside the safe mark,” she said. “We don’t need constant input.”
The station master folded his arms. “We could run more often. Yan has the vitality.”
Sella looked at the outer conduit. “Every cycle adds heat here. The regulator holds, but the conduit still has to cool. We check the return line before another run.”
Yan listened, then asked, “If we wait, can the crew take fewer shifts?”
“If command accepts lower output until the cells recover.”
Han signed a temporary reduced schedule. She also sent guards to carry water to the outlying lamps. No one would use a worker’s body to make up for a reading the system could hold on its own.
