It wasn't just a component.
The label was innocuous: . A string of characters printed in sterile black ink on a matte green board. To anyone else rummaging through the salvage bins of Sector 7, it was e-waste. To Elara, it was a heartbeat. pcb05-457-v03
The cracked corner of the board caught the light. It wasn't accidental damage. The fracture followed the line of a safety cutoff relay. Someone had physically disabled the bridge's primary limiter. On purpose. It wasn't just a component
It was evidence.
The story of had only just begun.
