The Hangar

The access clearance for Hangar K-4 came through during Alpha shift. I collected it from the transit office on Level 4.

The tram to Station Alpha runs every twelve Bloks. I have taken it four times during training rotations, always as part of a cohort, always with a supervisor present. I sat in the same seat I usually sit in. The tram was otherwise empty.

The security checkpoint at Station Alpha processed the clearance in under a Puls. I had checked the document twice before presenting it. I knew it was valid. I checked it again.

The corridor beyond the checkpoint was different from Bravo — panelled walls, no exposed conduits, even lighting. The same station, different maintenance standard.

Hangar K-4 is in Alpha's lower docking section. I stopped at the entrance.

The ceiling is approximately 22 metres at the apex. Twelve bays to each side, a central clearance lane wide enough for two vehicles to pass simultaneously. Overhead crane system, similar to Collection Bay C but significantly larger in scale. The ambient temperature was 14.3°C. I had not anticipated the cold.

K-4 Bay 7. That is the assignment.

I saw the ship from the clearance lane before I reached the bay.

Hull markings: K-A24-07. I confirmed the designation against my assignment document. They matched. I confirmed them again.

It is smaller than the simulation units I trained on. I found the explanation in the training footnotes last Deca: simulation environments use Scale B representations, which run fifteen percent larger than production specification to reduce operator error during training. The note describes this as standard practice. I read the note twice when I found it and understood it immediately. Standing here, I am less certain I understood it.

The vessel resource allocation is listed in the assignment package. I have read it. I do not think I had understood what the numbers referred to before today.

A pre-deployment crew was working on the exterior sensor array when I arrived. One of them told me the ship would not be accessible for boarding until the maintenance cycle was complete — four to five Triades, pending parts. He gave me the bay contact number.

I asked where the staging area was.

He pointed me to a cargo prep zone at the rear of the bay. A designated floor section — two shelving units, a marked area approximately 3.8 metres by 2.4 metres. A staging allocation form had already been filed under my assignment designation. I had not filed it.

I asked Echo.

The staging allocation is part of the standard pre-deployment package. The form had been submitted automatically on assignment confirmation.

I stood in the cargo prep zone for a Blok. The first delivery from Nexus section supply is scheduled for the end of the current Deca — the fourteen items from the procurement submission. I measured the floor area against the full equipment list. The space is sufficient. The three deferred items, if they arrive, will require the upper shelving unit.

On the way back through the hangar I passed the ship again. The maintenance crew had moved to the underside. One of them was lying flat on a trolley beneath the hull, working on something I could not identify from the clearance lane.

The ship was still there when I left. I do not know what I expected.