The storage bank looked quiet enough to be mistaken for dead equipment.
Tena stopped Iven before he put his tools on its outer case.
“Not there.”
He looked at the marked boundary, moved the tool roll to the isolated bench and waited for her check.
The bank stood in the public works depot above the receiving ground. Its drive had been disconnected after fighting damaged the central coupling, but several cell groups still held a measured reserve. A stopped source and an empty source were not the same thing.
Tena’s instrument confirmed the remaining condition before anyone opened the next cover.
Only then did she bring Iven inside the working line.
The thousand and sixty-sixth morning had begun with ordinary work elsewhere. Brin was on his third local dispatch turn, comparing the Gate’s receiving marks with the stations he knew. Jora had accepted a two-week consultation from the ward representatives, ending on the seventy-ninth day unless renewed. She would examine public protection procedures and make recommendations with local crews. She had not been appointed over their courts or military posts.
