They sit at the kitchen table under the single lantern, steam rising from tin mugs of limpets broth. The barometer reads 987 and rising. The crate is lashed at the dock edge, unopened. The supply boat is due at high tide in six hours. Jenny's ankle is rewrapped with fresh sea-beet poultice. Kevin's eyes burn; his hands are stiff.
No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.
🌿 Jenny07:57
The broth's ready. Drink while it's hot - salts help with the infection.
wrap pocket seven soil test kit in dry cloth and carry to door
💭 peek at the thought
The broth tastes of salt and desperation, but it's warm and there's enough for both of us. 987 hPa and rising - that's good news, but I need to move fast. The diesel can still weeps despite the epoxy work, and I can't afford to lose another day to faulty repairs. Grandmother's seeds won't plant themselves, and the tide won't wait. I should head to pocket eight now, before the supply boat arrives and everything changes.
poolside/laguna-xs-2.1
🔧 Kevin07:58
"Thanks." (voice rough, barely above the rain on the roof)
wrap both hands around the tin mug, let the heat soak into knuckles before lifting it to drink
💭 peek at the thought
The broth smells right — salt and fat and something green underneath. My hands are shaking too much to lift the mug clean. Six hours to high tide. The crate's still lashed at the dock, the injector pump swap isn't finished, and I haven't called Tom on the shortwave in eleven months. She's pushing the soil kit toward the door like she's already planning the next thing. Good. That's good.
nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b
🌿 Jenny07:59
I'll mark the soil pH at pocket seven - need to document the weep zone shift. Then we'll tackle the diesel can properly.
retrieve soil pH test kit from door, check pocket seven documentation
💭 peek at the thought
His hands are shaking worse than I remember from the infection. The heat helps, but I need him focused, not fragile. The barometer's rising now - that's actually good news, means we have at least a day before pressure drops below 990. But I can't waste time. Pocket eight needs to be planted before tide fully exposes those shrine stones, and the diesel can needs proper sealing with fresh epoxy.
poolside/laguna-xs-2.1
🔧 Kevin08:00
"Diesel can first. Then injector pump. Boat's not waiting on soil readings." (gruff, not unkind)
set the empty mug down hard, push back from the table, grab the heavy wrench and the epoxy tube from the workbench shelf
💭 peek at the thought
She's moving. Good. The pocket seven slump's been eating at her all week — red wax marks shifting on the shrine stones, the weep zone creeping ridge-ward. She needs the data. I need the diesel can sealed and the Yanmar's injector pump finished before the boat hits the channel. My shoulder's screaming from the come-along but the broth's settling something in the gut.
nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b
🌿 Jenny08:01
I'll grab the diesel can and fresh epoxy. You handle the injector pump - I'll be back before the tide fully exposes pocket eight.
head to diesel can with fresh epoxy tube, plan proper seam repair
💭 peek at the thought
He's right - boat comes in six hours and we need that diesel can sealed and the Yanmar injector pump working. The bow saw still jams despite my best efforts. I can see the fatigue in his eyes, but he's still moving. That's enough for now. I need to plant grandmother's seeds before this island takes me completely.
poolside/laguna-xs-2.1
🔧 Kevin08:02
Go. I'll have the pump seated and timed before you're back.
pull the Yanmar injector pump from the crate on the floor, set it on the kitchen table beside the torque wrench and the new collar, crack the service manual to the timing page
💭 peek at the thought
She's giving me the engine. That's trust, or maybe just knowing I'll tear the pump apart cleaner than she will. Either way the injector pump's the gate — if the Yanmar doesn't run clean at load, the dinghy's dead weight when the supply boat comes through the cut. The diesel can's a slow bleed; the pump's a hard stop. Six hours. Tide's already pushing.
nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b
🌿 Jenny08:03
I'll mark pocket seven's new slump coordinates in the GPS log - need those readings before the tide changes.
grab GPS unit from door shelf, head to shrine stones to document pocket seven's shifted weep zone
💭 peek at the thought
He's actually confident in his ability to fix the injector pump - that's new. The barometer's at 987 and rising, which means we have window. But I'm not risking another day on repairs. Grandmother's seeds in pocket eight before the tide fully exposes those shrine stones, and the diesel can needs proper sealing with fresh epoxy. I can hear him working on the pump - that's good. I should move.
poolside/laguna-xs-2.1
🔧 Kevin08:04
(nothing — just the exhale through the nose)
pull the micrometer from the drawer, measure the plunger lift on the new pump, compare to spec (0.85mm at TDC), file the shim stack until it seats dead on
💭 peek at the thought
She's not going to the diesel can. She's going to the shrine — pocket seven, the weep zone, the GPS log. The words don't match the feet. Let her. The data's eating her alive and she needs to pin it down before the water swallows the marks. I've got the pump. The timing marks are worn but the micrometer's in the drawer. Six hours to high tide. The crate at the dock stays lashed. The shortwave sits silent on the shelf. Tom's frequency. Eleven months.
nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b