The Honest Quench

Job: protective escort for Bera True-Temper, League quench-line inspector, from Khesret to Temper-Ledger Quay in Quench-Hammer. Route is Khesret → Hardfell Core → Deep Rise → Quench-Hammer. Keep the named specialist safe, present, and able to complete the posted work. The fee is ₡12,000 gross; 10% board cut leaves ₡10,800 before expenses.

Briefing: Torra says the line has a paperwork backlog and one foreman with a temper. Bera needs visible security while she clears the logs, stamps the honest lots, and boards again. The quay safety office refuses Bera's portable instruments as uncertified off-world equipment. The crew can demand a witnessed calibration, borrow an independent Deep Rise standard, or keep the suspect convoy physically berthed while Bera proves the local standard was altered. This is escort work, not passenger delivery. The person under contract must remain able to inspect, consent, testify, stamp, claim, or count. A warm body dragged across the finish line after somebody else made the decision does not satisfy terms.

Completion: Bera must reach the live furnace, witness a full quench cycle, and stamp or condemn the outbound plate before the convoy clears. Holding the quay without turning an audit into a clan brawl is the actual escort job. Opposition is expected to use delay, substitution, bad paper, infrastructure, or local law before it uses weapons. Preserve the protectee's tools and judgment. Payment releases on authenticated completion from the destination site, with reductions for broken custody, coerced substitution, containment failure, or a clock missed because the crew decided every closed door was a shooting problem.