The residual-fatigue numbers had sat in the residual-system health indicators for three consecutive cycles.
Not a spike. Not a crisis flag. Just a steady stretch in the recovery curves of the operators who had taken the residual-heavy monitoring that Soren no longer covered.
Mira and Toren walked into the residual-shielded room without filing anything. They put the numbers on the table the way people put tools down when they are done pretending the tools are optional.
Mira spoke first. "Recovery curves are stretching. Not enough to flip us residual-limited. Enough that the next residual-heavy block is going to cost us measurable lag we didn't have last month. You're logging it now. That means you know."
The crew chief looked at the display. He did not reach for a dismissal. "The indicators exist so the cost is visible. They don't automatically reassign load."
