Mason walked in without a suit. Dressed in his clean workclo carrying a revised schematic in his hand. He laid out his proposed solution clearly. Reconfigure the thermal valve assembly, recalibrate the secondary feedback shaft, and remove a false torque compensation command that Logan had quietly added years earlier to mask the flaw during simulated testing. David confirmed the plan was technically sound but extremely difficult to execute on such short notice.
Mason replied simply that difficult did not mean impossible. Not if the engineering team stopped protecting their pride and started listening to what the machine itself was telling them. The remark silenced several engineers in the room, not because it stung, but because every one of them recognized somewhere underneath their discomfort that he was right. The repair work began under enormous pressure. Mason directed the technical effort without ever talking down to anyone, assigning tasks according to each person's strengths, correcting mistakes with clear and specific guidance rather than frustration or blame.
Amelia watched closely, finally understanding why her father had trusted this man so completely all those years ago. Mason was not only gifted with machines, he had a way of making even the most experienced engineers in the room believe in the truth again. Behind the scenes, Logan tried one last act of sabotage, quietly instructing a technician to delay delivery of a crucial component, but Evelyn intercepted the email and brought it straight to Amelia. Amelia secured the evidence immediately and ordered internal security to monitor Logan's movements for the remainder of the day. The L9 engine was finally restarted in front of the assembled board.
At first, the sound came out rough and uneven, drawing visible tension across the room, and Carter allowed himself a flicker of satisfaction. Mason stayed calm, listening carefully, and asked for the load to be reduced by 3% before slowly building it back up in a steady, controlled rhythm. The engine settled gradually, the temperature dropping, the torque curve smoothing into something close to perfect. The test floor went silent for several seconds before David finally confirmed it aloud. The L9 had passed its first full heavy load test.