Cameron’s eyes hardened.
“You know what was documented.”
“I know what was written.”
“That’s not the same question.”
For the first time, Cameron looked uncomfortable.
Isaac leaned back.
“You had six years to explain.”
“You never asked.”
“You fired me and had security walk me out.”
“Was I supposed to call later?”
Cameron shifted.
“Isaac, OBSIDIAN is being handled.”
“By who?”
“Nexora and NASA.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Our engineering teams are developing a command-sequence adjustment.”
Isaac’s expression changed.
“You’re reducing regulator activation frequency.”
Cameron said nothing.
“That’s your fix.”
“It’s one option.”
“It burns propellant.”
“We’ve modeled reserves.”
“With what pressure authority assumptions?”
Cameron’s mouth tightened.
Isaac knew.
“You haven’t corrected the resonance.”
“You’re just using the valve less.”
“It buys time.”
Cameron replied.
“How much?”
“Enough to execute a controlled mission adjustment.”
Isaac stared.
“How much?”
Cameron did not answer.
Isaac picked up the pencil again.
“Tell Eleanor.”
“This conversation is between us.”
“No.”
Cameron stepped closer.
“You need to understand your position.”
Isaac looked up.
“My position is next to an F-150.”
“You are not credentialed.”
“NASA invited me.”
“Temporarily.”
“Then temporary me is busy.”
Cameron’s restraint cracked slightly.
“You think being right about one model erases everything?”
Isaac’s eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“But it means the machine doesn’t care which one of us has the title.”
Cameron stood very still.
Then turned.
He walked out.
From the doorway, Isaac watched him reach the rental car and make a phone call.
Less than two minutes.
Houston.
Giselle Hartmann answered on the second ring.
Cameron said:
“We have a problem.”
Eleanor arrived an hour later.
“Nexora filed a legal memorandum.”
Isaac looked up from his calculations.
“Fast.”
“They argue your nondisclosure agreement restricts use of your 2017 analysis.”
“Do they argue the satellite should stop failing until counsel finishes?”
Eleanor almost smiled.
“No.”
“Shame.”
“They also asked the oversight board to suspend your consultancy pending review.”
“How much time?”
“Twelve hours already.”
Isaac looked toward the telemetry screens.
“Current estimate?”
“Twenty-eight days.”
He said nothing.
Eleanor studied the paper spread across the workbench.
“What is all this?”
“Resonance model.”
“You did this by hand?”
“I don’t own the old software.”
She picked up a page carefully.
Equations covered both sides.
Margins filled with notes.
She looked from the pages to Isaac.
“When did you start?”
“Two.”
“This morning?”
“Yes.”
“You slept?”
“Some.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“That isn’t an amount.”
Isaac ignored her.
Eleanor took out her satellite phone.
“Bring the equipment in.”
Within forty-eight hours, Merritt Motor & Machine became one of the strangest technical sites in the country.