Tovin gave me the distance from the service drawing.
Twelve meters from the last sound part of the approach to the lever platform.
I checked the marked span against the room. The platform lay straight across the broken curve, with no post or loose slab filling the space between. Its floor remained clear. I could see the lever, the waist-high frame, and the folded ladder beneath it.
Twelve meters was close enough to make the failure to reach it feel personal.
"Could the receiving team throw a line?" Aiden asked.
Tovin traced the bridge mechanism. "To the platform, yes. If someone is there to secure it. Pulling the handle from the far wall won't hold the lower catch open. There are two movements."
He showed us on the small drawing. Raise the release, then hold the main lever through its travel. If the damaged catch failed to lock, the holder had to keep the load down until the far team fitted the temporary pin.
