On day 1143, the Compact representative put a valve on the meeting table and told Jessa it was hers to refuse.
That was a better opening than Iven had expected. The iron cylinder had been unloaded from a wagon at the edge of Three Wells, carried to the hall by four workers, and wrapped in clean canvas. Del Rusk pulled the canvas aside to show the two flanges and the dark wheel at its center. No one applauded.
Jessa stepped forward with a folding gauge. She had come from the southern warming station with soot on her sleeve and a strip of paper bearing the measurements of the damaged pipe. She measured the bolt circle, then the thickness of one flange.
“The circle is right,” she said. “The flange isn’t.”
Del leaned over the table. “Can it be adapted?”
“Probably. A coupling plate would do it if the local forge has stock.” She checked the measurement again. “Why bring it here instead of sending it directly to my station?”
“Because the foundry could spare one valve of this size, and I wanted the other station keepers to see how a shared reserve might work.”
Mara, standing beside Iven, folded her arms. “So the supply offer is also a demonstration.”
