By the time Hajin reached the prepared heart-network court, the returning supply carts had already filled its maintenance road with mud.
Ferra had traveled ahead with the captured engine plates, finding a place for her trial fittings inside the old surveyed boundary.
The three hearts still answered through their existing connections, a low vibration passing into his boots as he stopped beside the workbench.
Aria appeared above his shoulder, laying a blue diagram over the plates without disturbing the grease beneath them.
"Nine seconds between the first input and the last, any longer and their alarm circuit closes."
Hajin followed the three marked routes, one climbing a gallery while another dipped beneath a covered drain.
"Someone could run between these two."
"Someone could abandon a wheel that needs to stay held," Ferra said, setting a weight on the first handle to show him what happened when she let go.
