A crackle. Then the voice of the night shift foreman, clear as a bell: “Loud and clear, Tech One. Where the hell have you been?”

> VERIDIA PORT EMERGENCY OVERRIDE > LINK: //mototrbo-cps-2.0.download/legacy_firmware/final.exe > PASSWORD: THE_TIDES_NEVER_SLEEP

He called Kevin back. Then Kevin’s supervisor, a man named “Devon” who spoke in corporate haikus: “Your profile is legacy. Migrate to new portal. Wait three to five days.”

With a held breath, he ran it.

As dawn bled over the container cranes, Elias keyed up the test channel.