diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.cs
index f836945b..bad3e88f 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.cs
@@ -114,9 +114,13 @@ public sealed class GrpcPullAuditEventsClient : IPullAuditEventsClient
                 siteId, endpoint);
             return Empty;
         }
-        catch (OperationCanceledException) when (ct.IsCancellationRequested)
+        catch (OperationCanceledException)
         {
-            // Reconciliation tick was cancelled (host shutdown / scope dispose).
+            // Reconciliation tick was cancelled — either the caller's token
+            // (host shutdown / scope dispose) or an internal gRPC deadline /
+            // linked-CTS cancellation. Both are tolerable for a best-effort
+            // pull; collapse to empty rather than letting an internal
+            // cancellation land noisily in the catch-all below.
             return Empty;
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
@@ -165,10 +169,13 @@ public sealed class GrpcPullAuditEventsClient : IPullAuditEventsClient
         StatusCode.DeadlineExceeded or
         StatusCode.Cancelled;
 
+    // All ScadaBridge timestamps are UTC by invariant. A non-UTC cursor (the
+    // reconciliation cursor starts at DateTime.MinValue, Kind=Unspecified) is
+    // therefore treated AS UTC — never ToUniversalTime()-converted: on a host
+    // with a positive UTC offset MinValue.ToUniversalTime() underflows and
+    // Timestamp.FromDateTime throws, crashing the first pull for every site.
     private static DateTime EnsureUtc(DateTime value) =>
-        value.Kind == DateTimeKind.Utc
-            ? value
-            : DateTime.SpecifyKind(value.ToUniversalTime(), DateTimeKind.Utc);
+        value.Kind == DateTimeKind.Utc ? value : DateTime.SpecifyKind(value, DateTimeKind.Utc);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Seam over the <c>PullAuditEvents</c> unary gRPC call against a resolved
@@ -195,10 +202,15 @@ public sealed class GrpcPullAuditEventsClient : IPullAuditEventsClient
 /// Production <see cref="GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.IPullAuditEventsInvoker"/>:
 /// caches one <see cref="GrpcChannel"/> per endpoint (keepalive from
 /// <see cref="CommunicationOptions"/>, mirroring <c>SiteStreamGrpcClient</c>)
-/// and issues the unary <c>PullAuditEventsAsync</c> call. The cache flushes a
-/// stale channel when an endpoint is re-keyed (NodeA→NodeB failover / address
-/// edit), the same liveness guarantee <c>SiteStreamGrpcClientFactory</c> gives
-/// the streaming client.
+/// and issues the unary <c>PullAuditEventsAsync</c> call. The cache is keyed by
+/// endpoint string, so a changed site address (NodeA→NodeB failover flip / an
+/// edited gRPC address) is reached as soon as the resolver hands the new
+/// endpoint to <see cref="InvokeAsync"/> — it creates a fresh channel for the
+/// new address. Unlike <c>SiteStreamGrpcClientFactory</c> (keyed by siteId,
+/// which actively evicts a re-keyed client), the channel for the previous
+/// address is NOT actively evicted here; it lingers idle until
+/// <see cref="Dispose"/>. Idle channels hold no streams, so this is a minor
+/// cache footprint cost, not a correctness or liveness gap.
 /// </summary>
 public sealed class GrpcPullAuditEventsInvoker
     : GrpcPullAuditEventsClient.IPullAuditEventsInvoker, IDisposable
@@ -228,12 +240,32 @@ public sealed class GrpcPullAuditEventsInvoker
     public async Task<ProtoPullResponse> InvokeAsync(
         string endpoint, ProtoPullRequest request, CancellationToken ct)
     {
-        var channel = _channels.GetOrAdd(endpoint, CreateChannel);
+        var channel = GetOrCreateChannel(endpoint);
         var client = new SiteStreamService.SiteStreamServiceClient(channel);
         using var call = client.PullAuditEventsAsync(request, cancellationToken: ct);
         return await call.ResponseAsync.ConfigureAwait(false);
     }
 
+    // Race-safe channel cache. ConcurrentDictionary.GetOrAdd(key, valueFactory)
+    // does NOT serialize the factory, so two concurrent first dials of the same
+    // endpoint can both build a GrpcChannel (each holds an HTTP/2 connection
+    // pool) and the loser would leak. Create-then-GetOrAdd-then-dispose-if-lost
+    // mirrors SiteStreamGrpcClientFactory: only the channel actually installed
+    // survives; a channel that lost the race is disposed immediately.
+    private GrpcChannel GetOrCreateChannel(string endpoint)
+    {
+        if (!_channels.TryGetValue(endpoint, out var channel))
+        {
+            var created = CreateChannel(endpoint);
+            channel = _channels.GetOrAdd(endpoint, created);
+            if (!ReferenceEquals(channel, created))
+            {
+                created.Dispose();
+            }
+        }
+        return channel;
+    }
+
     private GrpcChannel CreateChannel(string endpoint) =>
         GrpcChannel.ForAddress(endpoint, new GrpcChannelOptions
         {
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog.Tests/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClientTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog.Tests/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClientTests.cs
index c6a42b7d..7664b36c 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog.Tests/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClientTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.AuditLog.Tests/Central/GrpcPullAuditEventsClientTests.cs
@@ -163,4 +163,53 @@ public class GrpcPullAuditEventsClientTests
         Assert.Empty(result.Events);
         Assert.False(result.MoreAvailable);
     }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task PullAsync_swallows_unexpected_faults_to_empty_response()
+    {
+        // I3(a): the catch-all path. A non-transport fault (e.g. a mapping/
+        // protocol error surfacing as InvalidOperationException) must still be
+        // swallowed to empty — audit reconciliation is best-effort and a throw
+        // would only get re-caught by the actor's per-site guard.
+        var invoker = FakeInvoker.Throwing(new InvalidOperationException("boom"));
+        var sut = new GrpcPullAuditEventsClient(
+            new StaticEnumerator(new SiteEntry("site-a", "http://site-a:8083")),
+            invoker,
+            NullLogger<GrpcPullAuditEventsClient>.Instance);
+
+        var result = await sut.PullAsync("site-a", BaseTime, batchSize: 256, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        Assert.Empty(result.Events);
+        Assert.False(result.MoreAvailable);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task PullAsync_with_minvalue_unspecified_cursor_does_not_throw_and_dials()
+    {
+        // I3(b) / guards I2: the reconciliation cursor starts at DateTime.MinValue
+        // with Kind=Unspecified. EnsureUtc must treat it AS UTC (per the system-wide
+        // "all timestamps are UTC" invariant) and NOT call ToUniversalTime() — on a
+        // host with a positive UTC offset that underflows and Timestamp.FromDateTime
+        // throws ArgumentOutOfRangeException, crashing the FIRST pull for every site.
+        var minUnspecified = default(DateTime); // DateTime.MinValue, Kind=Unspecified
+        Assert.Equal(DateTimeKind.Unspecified, minUnspecified.Kind);
+
+        var invoker = FakeInvoker.Returning(new ProtoPullResponse());
+        var sut = new GrpcPullAuditEventsClient(
+            new StaticEnumerator(new SiteEntry("site-a", "http://site-a:8083")),
+            invoker,
+            NullLogger<GrpcPullAuditEventsClient>.Instance);
+
+        // MUST NOT throw — must dial successfully.
+        var result = await sut.PullAsync("site-a", minUnspecified, batchSize: 256, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        Assert.Equal(1, invoker.CallCount);
+        Assert.Equal("http://site-a:8083", invoker.Endpoint);
+        Assert.NotNull(invoker.Request);
+        // The unspecified-MinValue cursor is carried through verbatim as UTC
+        // MinValue (no local-TZ conversion).
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MinValue, invoker.Request!.SinceUtc.ToDateTime());
+        Assert.Empty(result.Events);
+        Assert.False(result.MoreAvailable);
+    }
 }