20 January 1937.
Hotchkiss Armament Factory.
Two months had passed.
Inside the Hotchkiss facility on the northern edge of Paris, there was no more room for theory.
The time for decisions had ended.
Now came the consequences.
On the suspended catwalk above Bay Line 2, Major Moreau surveyed the organized chaos
The Model 36-R rifle had evolved beyond sketches, schematics, and field tests.
Delorme approached.
"Status?" Moreau asked, not turning.
Delorme handed over a clipboard layered with paper and ink. "Twelve hundred rifles, sir. Fully assembled, inspected, and ready for distribution. We're ramping up to 200 per day. The rest of the batch will be done in ten days barring any supply chain hiccups."
"Shells?"
"Behind by a day or two. Verdun's reloading center is backlogged. But Lyon picked up overflow. We're at 8,000 rounds in stock. Still climbing."
"Failures?"
