(Underground Maintenance Tunnel, 6:08 AM)
Barry stood a few feet back with wide, hopeful eyes as Veyr leaned against the rusted pipe, his cheek pressed flat to the cold metal while both palms caressed it in slow, reverent circles.
*Tang*
*Tang*
He tapped gently, paused, then tapped again, as if the pipe might whisper a secret back into his ear if only he listened hard enough.
After a full minute of theatrical diagnostics, Veyr finally stepped back with a grim expression and rubbed his chin like a man on the edge of a difficult decision.
"I might need to cause a controlled explosion inside the pipe if manual efforts fail," he declared solemnly. "Fetch me some gunpowder."
Barry's jaw dropped. "G-gunpowder?"
Veyr nodded seriously. "Not a lot. Just enough to rattle the sediment loose without shattering the flow valve."
