Wei spread the north wall roster across a crate and divided the crew into three shifts. One group would repair the lower gate, another check the independent node, and a third rest at the shelter. The same soldiers had watched the storm all night; Wei would not ask them to stay on the wall until they collapsed.
A former Registry soldier stepped forward. “I’ll take the next shift.”
His partner shook his head. “I want to go home. My children are at the east shelter.”
Wei wrote both choices down. “Then go home after the runner takes you to the shelter. We have enough hands for the next watch.”
The man who volunteered took the first position. No one treated the second soldier’s service as automatic consent. Wei assigned each task by skill and rest time, not rank alone.
Qiao Wen showed the local captain how to test the new barrier connection. The frame had to be steady before the release could open. The captain read the meter while Qiao watched the support brace. When the needle settled, the captain opened the release for a short test. The barrier brightened, then dimmed when Qiao asked them to isolate it again for inspection.
