A well lighted place...

Ros circled the hub once; pointing out the fuel and repair depot… and the logistics centre where freight was transferred from small ships onto larger ones.  He pointed out the commercial mall next to the passenger terminal, where Covalex leased hotels, bars, restaurants, and duty-free shops. Tak was aware of much of this; having been here once with his dad, but Ros was obviously proud of his world, so Tak kept quiet and enjoyed the tour.

Covalex wasn’t the largest transportation hauler, thought Tak, but they were possibly the smartest.  They built and managed a series of orbital transport platforms like this one on major space-lanes throughout the galaxy.  Known as a ‘CovaPlex’, these hubs had evolved into strategically important places for anyone or anything moving through space. 

“That’s the company compound,” Ros said, “Dispatch and corporate are on the top floor and each of the next 3 levels are hangar bays.  The bottom two floors house personnel.  The subterranean level is a climate controlled causeway that connects the different zones of the platform.” 

Just then the com barked to life.

“Covalex dispatch to Astraea.”

“Astraea here.”

“Proceed to main hangar, level 1”

“Roger, main hangar, level 1,” Ros affirmed, “Establishing navlink.”

“Navlink confirmed.”

At once a big door began rolling up directly in front of the ship and Ros got up from the pilot seat.  “They’ve got it now, son.  By the time we get our stuff they’ll be knockin at the door.”

The two men gathered up their gear and made their way to the hatch.  Minutes later it slid open.  Two techs in white coveralls waited for the two to disembark.   The lead man nodded to Ros as he took charge of servicing the Aegis. 

Ros put his gear into the back of a company Greycat and got behind the wheel.  Tak stowed his too, taking care not to crush the container of donuts on top, and got into the passenger seat.   Mittens had explained the reporting and claim procedure to Tak earlier, but he went over some of it again on their way to the office elevators.   

“I radioed ahead; a UEE Accident Investigator has already spoken to dispatch and checked the logs.  Don’t say more than you have to,” advised Ros. 

“Okay Ros,” said Tak.

Sure enough, the Investigator was waiting in the CovaPlex General Manager’s office.  Ros introduced Tak to the two men.  The Investigator asked if he could use the office to interview Tak.  The GM said sure.  “Come on Ros let’s see if there’s anything to drink in the dispatch galley.”   

The investigator listened as Tak recounted picking up the shipment on Mars and the trouble he began having with his engine.  Up until that time, the ship had operated flawlessly, he explained. Efforts to repair the ship had failed and he had been adrift for 36 hours before the Astraea had picked him up.  When fire started in his ship he wanted to try and fight it, but Captain Mittens thought it too dangerous.  His voice caught as he described watching the Liberty explode.

“She was all I had left,” he said.

The investigator took some notes and then asked to be excused.  He came back less than an hour later and handed Tak an unsealed envelope.  Tak pulled out the letter and read it to himself:

‘Overwhelming evidence supports the testimony of Pilot Isaac D. Takwira that an unknown failure disabled the MISC Fiera class freighter, ‘Liberty’ on its return from Mars district.  Captain Roswell Mittens, Senior Test Pilot for COVALEX Corporation, gave testimony that he came across the drifting vessel during a routine cruise.  Captain Mittens extracted the pilot and secured the broken vessel for tow and repair.  The Liberty caught fire during transport and was abandoned, later exploding.
Conclusion:  We can find no fault with the actions of Pilot Takwira and deem Total Loss of the Liberty and Cargo to be ‘Casus Fortuitus.’ The incident is considered closed.

He had thought the inquiry might drag on for days, if not weeks.  He thanked the UEE agent for the fast-track report and held out his hand. 

“There is nothing to thank me for.  A lengthy inquiry was unnecessary given the facts.  In the end it would only have compounded your misfortune.” the investigator said, kindly.  He wished him luck and left.  Ros came into the room and Tak went to hand him the letter, but the old pilot deferred. 

“I know what it says,” Ros said, “I helped to dictate it.” He saw the surprise on Tak’s face. 

“Ours is a very small community, a family, in fact,” explained Ros.  “So when jobs open up around here, especially government openings, family are often successful applicants.”   

“You knew the inspector?”

“Not terribly well, but the GM and me have been friends since we started at Covalex together.  The inspector is his nephew.”

“I suggested the least we could do was expedite matters so a returned veteran could catch a break.  My friend suggested we use one of the office terminals and file the report immediately.”

“You knew how this would turn out,” stated Tak.

“Well, I had a fair idea how it might go,” Ros smiled.

“What now?”

“Why don’t we drop that letter off to the Insurance Adjudicator’s office over at the Terminal and then grab a bite to eat afterwards?  I know a terrific place.”

“I suppose the Adjudicator is related to someone too,” quipped Tak.

“Yup,” said Ros with a big grin, “She’s my neice.”