Three days after Dalen issued the seven-day order, on the five hundred and forty-fifth day, the company riders reached the outpost at noon, carrying their reply in a black leather case.
Iven was in the yard with Annet and Kel, testing the revised ceramic collar. The groove held the gasket in place through a half-hour run. The insert remained whole, but the flow was still too low for the Caldrin loop. Kel had just suggested widening the channels when the riders passed through the gate.
One dismounted outside the office. The other stayed with the horses, watching the workers around the treatment cart. Neither wore a weapon openly. Their coats bore the same brass badge Iven had seen on Rovan’s security men at the forge.
Dalen read the order in her office. Perin stood opposite her, summoned before she broke the seal. Iven and Annet waited outside with Kel. Through the open window Iven could hear Dalen’s voice, low and controlled, and Perin’s reply, considerably less so.
After several minutes, Dalen came out holding the paper.
“The company will pay the frame crew for the seven-day pause,” she said. “It will not extend the pause beyond that without a medical order.”
