During the recess, he received a message from Ruth Patel, chair of Freeman Systems' board. Ruth had invested early enough to remember when the company could not afford a second full-time salesperson, and she respected Darius without assuming he was always right. She wanted a board call as soon as the meeting ended. She reminded him that the competing proposal from Ameris Sky, which had been dormant since spring, might still be available under different conditions. Darius wrote back that he would not use an unexamined alternative as a threat unless the board was prepared to evaluate it seriously.
The Caliber executives returned after twenty minutes. Janet spoke first. She said the airline would commit to reviewing the incident, preserving records, and considering a stronger reporting process. Regina explained that the legal team could not approve new contractual obligations of that scope without consulting senior management and the board. Stuart added that postponing the agreement would create significant costs and might affect the projected deployment schedule. He asked Darius to reconsider his position in light of all the teams who had already invested time in the project.
"I've been thinking about those teams since yesterday," Darius said. "That's why I'm sitting here instead of canceling by email." He kept his hands flat on the table. "But you're asking me to sign a long-term partnership while your company still cannot tell me what somebody on that aircraft actually reported or why the crew accepted it without checking the facts. If this were a failed data exchange in your cargo network, you wouldn't call it a misunderstanding and tell us to move forward. You would require an incident report before you exposed more of the business to the same failure."
Stuart's expression hardened. "So the deal is hostage to one travel incident?" Darius felt the old temptation to answer sharply, then let it pass. "The deal is dependent on our ability to trust each other's controls," he said.
"Yesterday gave us reason to test that trust. Your response today is part of the test." He glanced toward Shelley, who had already prepared the formal language if they chose to pause.
Janet leaned forward. "Darius, please. You know we've worked in good faith for two years. You know what this could do for the business and for emissions across the network."
He did know. He also knew that the ambition of the project made it more important, not less, to insist on a partner capable of accountability. "I want the technology built," he said. "I want the engineers' work to matter. But I don't want our logo used to certify a level of organizational trust I don't have."
Regina asked what would happen if Caliber could not agree to the revised terms. Darius looked at the airline's logo on the screen. It had been beside his own for so long during negotiations that he had begun to think of the two together as a future already chosen. "Then we won't execute the agreement," he said. "We will follow the framework's provisions for ending discussions, protect confidential information, and make other plans."