Martin's left hand failed Katherine's third grip test. His fingers closed around the padded handle, held for less than a second, and opened when pain ran from his wrist into his shoulder. Katherine caught the handle before it fell. The scan above his forearm showed no fracture, but two strained tendons crossed a dark patch where the cart's remaining force had overloaded the joint before Breakwater Aegis's fastening gave way.
"No shield straps, no two-handed weapons, and no pretending that holding something once means you can keep holding it," Katherine said. She removed the test handle from his reach before he could demonstrate again.
"That last restriction sounds unusually specific."
"It became necessary during the test."
