The tube kept shaking after the capsule vanished.
Frost fell from the labels in thin sheets and broke across the brass racks. The sound traveled through every pipe in the room, first overhead, then under the rail, then somewhere far ahead where the floor ended over open dark.
Ty kept his good hand on the case frame.
The rail beyond the mail room ended at a black gap. No planks, no bridge, no side ledge. Only two thin receiver rails crossed the empty space above a drop too deep for the cold air to show the bottom.
"You said the next section has no floor under the rail," JJ said. "That was rude information to save for after the capsule launched."
Rusuf touched the nearest tube with two fingers. The metal knocked under his hand, then quieted. He listened with his head tilted slightly, sword low and ready.
"The first capsule carries a line hook across the gap," he said. "If it reaches the far receiver, the rail can pull a service cable across."
