The lead Registry ship turned its formation cannon toward the north pylon. Pema saw the barrel align and ordered everyone off the test platform.
“Clear the platform. The relay is not ready to take a strike.”
Han called the harbor crew behind the stone wall. Ruo pulled the nearest fishing boats toward the sheltered side. The cannon’s target was the defense itself; the new ring and its incomplete collar could not absorb a direct hit.
Pema left the test platform last. She closed the secondary valves as she moved, then took the service stair down to the lower wall. The pressure gauges stayed steady on the primary line. The relay had no chance to help against a cannon, and she would not let the open test ring become another point of failure.
“The ward is on its old circuit,” she called. “I’m clear.”
Han sent Ruo to move two boats behind the inner wall. A crew member hesitated at the line, looking back at the cannon. Ruo took the bow rope and pulled the boat around himself. The harbor was clearing in pieces, one vessel at a time.
Yan watched the gun crew set the brace. The cannon’s barrel followed the pylon’s upper stone, where the ward line entered the outer wall. If the shot broke that section, the damage could reach the active circuit. He had seconds, not enough to reach the ship or warn the pylon crew twice.
