The first independent convoy reached the First Citadel at dawn with its cargo seals still open to Diana's cameras. Grain cars rolled behind refrigerated medicine trucks, fuel tenders, and two maintenance vans whose crews had signed paid shift contracts instead of faction oaths.
Vasa stood at the gate with the new route ledger projected above the road. Each load showed its source, current driver, junction fee, destination, and the workers responsible for the next handoff.
"Ironvale's grain arrives under a refusal record, diverted from Holt's cancelled releases and delivered under the posted manifests," Vasa said into the live feed.
The statement did not solve the national board's certification notice, but it gave every district a document that could be compared with the road itself. The convoy had reached the Citadel without hiding the crews who drove it or the prices that paid their shifts.
