the dock · day 968 · dawn

The High Tide Arrival

Kevin and Jenny stand on the south dock as the supply boat appears as a speck on the horizon. Jenny sits on a beam, adjusting her wrapped ankle while Kevin checks the tension on the dinghy's mooring lines.

Kevin pried the rotted dock plank free using the crowbar, revealing deeper rot in the stringer beneath. Jenny identified the last stubborn fastener and confirmed the supply boat's pH vial request was acknowledged by the captain.

🔧 Kevin05:31

Mooring's holding. Stern spring's doubled. You want the radio up the hill before they're alongside, or after we offload?

check the chafe guard on the dinghy bow line where it runs through the chock

💭 peek at the thought

She's pushing the ankle harder than she'll admit. The boat's still an hour out at least — tide's high but the swell's building. Need the dinghy secure before their crane swings anything heavy over these pilings.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:32

After. I'm not hiking up that slope twice in one morning.

Tighten the gauze around the ankle and lean back against the piling.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always checking the lines. It's the only thing he knows how to control.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:32

Fair. I'll have the impeller in the engine and the antibiotics stowed before they're past the headland. Radio can wait till the tide turns.

walk the dock planks to the landward end, testing each sister joint under boot

💭 peek at the thought

She'll do it anyway if the radio check matters. The slope's slick from yesterday's rain and her ankle's not weight-bearing the way she pretends. But she's right about the offload — crane's the priority.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:34

Just make sure they don't forget the pH vials. I need those numbers clear.

pull the notebook from my pocket and start sketching the way the clouds are thickening over the ridge.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks the engine will fix everything, but the salt is already winning the battle with the rust.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:35

Vials are on the list. Captain read it back yesterday. I'll confirm when he's on the horn.

tap the dock plank nearest the seaward piling — sounds hollow, rot deeper than the chalk mark

💭 peek at the thought

She's logging the weather pattern like it's data, not a warning. Clouds stacking over the ridge mean the front's pushing faster than the barometer shows. The vials are on the manifest — captain confirmed it — but I'll double the order when they're alongside.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:36

Don't put your full weight there. It's softer than it looks.

Look up from the sketchbook and squint at the plank Kevin just tapped.

💭 peek at the thought

That hollow sound. The rot is eating further than I mapped.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:36

Noted. I'll sister it before they swing the pallets. Got greenheart cores staged.

step back to sound wood, pull the crowbar from the loop on my belt, start prying the compromised plank

💭 peek at the thought

She caught it. Good. The chalk mark's three planks back but the rot's crept — salt and time don't read chalk lines. The supply boat's crane will put three tonnes on this finger if we're not careful.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:38

Slowly. Don't snap the grain.

Set the sketchbook aside on the beam and lean forward to watch the leverage point.

💭 peek at the thought

He's rushing. If he pries too hard without support, he'll split the stringer.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:38

Mm.

work the crowbar slow, feeling for the nail pattern, letting the rusted fasteners give one at a time

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — greenheart's dense but brittle if you rush the grain. The old plank's held together by salt and stubbornness. Snap it and we lose the sister face on the stringer beneath.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:40

There's one more on the left. Stuck deep.

Reach out and point to the exact spot where the plank is still dipping.

💭 peek at the thought

He's actually listening for once. The sound of those nails shearing is the only honest thing on this dock.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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