Everyone on the launch bay of the repair facility watched in horror as the young novice pilot lost control of his fighter as he was bringing it into the bay. He missed the entrance slot on the left and clipped the doorway with his wing. The ship cartwheeled into the open area of the bay and finally came to a rest against another ship that was being refueled. Wilma heard the crash from the small office behind the control room where she had been reviewing maintenance reports. By the time she reached the floor of the launch bay the pilot had been extracted and was being helped off the floor to an area where they could administer first aid. Col Deering surveyed the scene and realized the danger was not over.
"Evacuate! Evacuate!" she screamed. Less than thirty seconds later the ship that was being refueled exploded.
Buck was tired. He had been away from New Chicago for almost 2 weeks, and he was looking forward to getting back. One more star gate and he would be almost there. He took the time to review his mission. He had been sent by the security directorate ostensibly to escort the new judicial ambassador to the governing body for the fourth quadrant that was based on the satellite Vane. But he was instructed to covertly assess the state of the defenses for both the satellite and the quadrant in general. What he had seen revealed a mixed result. There were a number of excellent ships and pilots but there was also what appeared to be a lack of maintenance. Oh well he was just the messenger really; the directorate could evaluate his information.
Huer was waiting for Buck in his office when he arrived. He had been through medical scan and been officially debriefed but Huer liked to talk to the operatives himself. He especially enjoyed his conversations with Buck.
"I read your report Buck, great work. But I am not sure what you mean when you described the maintenance area as haphazard."
"I am not sure myself. It almost looked like the area was staged, it was messy and disorganized but something about the place didn't look right."
"That is very interesting" replied Huer.
"Well, if you guys have any other questions, let me know. I'm sure Wilma will have a few" said Buck as he started to get up from his seat.
"Yes, well about Col Deering" said Huer slowly as he looked down at his desk briefly before looked up at Buck.
Buck sat back down. "What about Col. Deering?"
"There was an accident at the repair facility in the lower southwest quadrant of New Chicago. One of the cadets mismanaged a landing and there was an explosion. No one was killed but Col. Deering was among of the injured."
Buck realized he had been holding his breath and let it out. "How badly is she hurt?"
"I am afraid she has lost her eyesight" Huer replied.
"She's permanently blind?"
"No not permanently, the doctors feel that with sufficient treatment she could recover her sight eventually. The problem is that it may take as much as a year for that. But since she is unable to perform her duties currently, she is no longer part of the Security Directorate." Here Dr Huer paused. He knew this would be difficult for Buck to understand. "Since she is unable to perform her duties, she is no longer considered a contributing member of terrain society, and she has lost her food disk allotment."
"What?"
"In our society, the computer council controls all food disk distribution, and it is allotted to all contributing members of the society. We can "
Huer didn't get to finish his sentence Buck had stormed out of his office.