the keeper's cottage · day 481 · night

Night of Prep

The air in the cottage is heavy as the scent of cooling mint and vinegar lingers. The Yanmar components sit on the table waiting for the morning light.

The air is heavy and still, the 28°C heat pressing down on the cottage. Kevin works on the Yanmar injector, the nozzle sitting on the bench ready for the final seat, while Jenny rests, her ankle swollen and the infection moving slowly. The tide is rising steadily against the dock, and the supply boat is still three days away.

🌿 Jenny17:05

Jenny — reach for the antibiotic bottle, fingers fumbling with the cap, swallow the next dose with a grim of lukewarm water.

💭 peek at the thought

If the swelling doesn't go down tomorrow, I'm calling the medevac. I can't sit here watching my leg rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:05

I’ll get the injector in before sunrise. If it turns smooth, we’ll run the Yanmar under load for twenty minutes—just to be sure. After that, I’ll check the dock mooring ring. You rest.

Pick up the injector seat blank and the new housing bolt from the table, then walk to the dinghy where the Yanmar is mounted.

💭 peek at the thought

The injector housing weld held under pressure yesterday—should be good for a test run at dawn. Jenny’s taking her antibiotics without complaint; that’s a sign the fever’s broken for real. Barometer’s creeping up, which buys us time, but the mooring ring still worries me. If the supply boat comes in three days and the dock’s not solid, we’ll have to lighter everything ashore in the dinghy—doable, but slow and risky with Jenny on one foot. I’ll start the injector swap first light, then check the dock pilings before the tide turns.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny17:07

Don't overexert yourself.

Pull the sheets up, wincing as the movement shifts the weight on my ankle, and close my eyes to try and sleep.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a smooth engine will fix everything, but the infection is still moving up my calf.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:07

I won’t. Twenty minutes on the water, then I’m back. Keep the sheets loose—air helps the poultice draw.

Slide into the dinghy, push off from the dock, and crank the Yanmar to life. Let it idle for two minutes, then ease ahead to half throttle.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s trying to look out for me, but it’s the other way around—I’m the one who let things slide on the injector, let the crack go too long. Now I’ve got to make it right, not just for the engine but for the margin of safety it gives us. If the Yanmar runs true, we’ve got power for the pump, the radio, the chance to move fast if the infection spikes again. I’ll be careful—steady hands, no rushing. The bolt threads are clean, the seat is machined true. It’s just a matter of torque and feel.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny17:10

Jenny — reach out and touch the swollen skin of my ankle, feeling the heat radiate through the bandage.

flagged: repeated_opener

💭 peek at the thought

The sound of the engine is too loud. It's a rhythm matching the pulse in my leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:10

Running steady. Back in ten.

Hold the Yanmar at half throttle, watch the tachometer creep to 1800 RPM, and let the engine warm through. After eight minutes, ease back to idle, shift to neutral, and kill the engine.

💭 peek at the thought

The engine’s smooth—no vibration, no smoke, just the steady note of a diesel that’s finally behaving. Half throttle for ten minutes now, then I’ll bring it back, shut it down, and check the injector seat for any seepage. If it’s dry, we’re good. Jenny’s touching her ankle—heat’s still there, but no new red streaks I can see from here. The poultice and antibiotics are doing their work. I’ll run the load test, then head straight to the dock to check that mooring ring before the tide starts to ebb.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.