The holding lamp went dark before we arrived.
I stopped near the upper junction and watched the ready signal appear in its place. The technician checked his time against the reset record, then called the station at the other end of the inspected passage.
This time, the schedule and the equipment agreed.
Nyx stood beside me with the corrected sheet. She watched the first acknowledgment return and put a small mark next to the time.
"Better," she said.
"You're willing to say that out loud?"
"About this part."
I had used the same answer often enough that I couldn't object.
The final test had brought more people than the earlier demonstration. Veylan stood at the response table with Draven and the outer team's duty list. Malcris was comparing the technical readings with the permitted ranges. A records clerk had the original traces, not a summary prepared afterward.
Our seven names were on the candidate sheet. Nobody had signed the final acceptance line yet.
