Halvek called the yard on the Directorate’s band on the morning of day five, and he opened with formal courtesy.
“Miss Venn. The office has reviewed your request for a test window for the interim brace.”
Mara had made the request the evening before, through the guild lawyer, as the terms required. To test the brace, even the bench model’s design scaled to the real forge, she needed the real heart’s load to drop: enough that a first segment could be fitted to the old heart and take a share of its load without the heart being at its peak. One hour, at reduced demand, so the segment could settle.
“The office will grant it,” Halvek said. “Let us be precise. One hour. Industrial demand reduced across the freight yards and the Low Brace, beginning at the second bell. The reduction will be sufficient for a segment test.” Paper turned on the line. “The office has prepared the list.”
The crew was at the bench. Mara had the link clipped to her collar, turned up, so that everyone could hear. Tavin. Eshel. Sera, who had come up from the Tern. And on the dormitory’s public line, which Pell had patched through the yard’s console, Pell.
