Chapter Eight-A: At the Courthouse

[BackworldTraveller]

Maggie
Thursday 300-005: A day that will be forever remembered...if the headache of the well-wisher's send-off would quiet a bit. The divorce is finally through. The court papers say so. And you have actually come out of the deal with an asset (one share in a ship, currently lodged with Cloud-Bank) - and Iwate, that slime-ball, hasn't touched your navy cash.

"The asset was gathered prior to the marriage and, despite the best efforts of Mr Iwate's gambling, preserved throughout it. Ms Holtz has already sacrificed years her income to support of your addiction, etc..."

So what now. Get the hold on the share lifted (Bank Manager). Talk to the Captain...Tansu said that her Tibbs was a crew member, that might help. No first - Pharmacy for a No-Hangover pill, and then Breakfast. How come awaiting a foregone court decision is more nerve-wracking than flying into a squall of anti-ship missiles!

Oh Damn...Iwate is waiting outside with his Laywer.

Iwate calls over: Well that throw of the dice went to you...No hard feelings?

[SpinwardMarch]

Maggie

She glares at him. You are no longer my problem, nor my expense. I feel lucky to get out with my integrity and finances intact. Otherwise, goodbye, and... good luck. You will need it. She nods and says to the lawyer, Good day.

She walks off, congratulating herself for being restrained, and then heads to the nearest pharmacy for that No-Hangover pill. Get the head to stop pounding, get some food, and then deal with the bank people. They will likely be less offensive than Iwate.

[BackworldTraveller]

The walk to the bank allows Maggie to see the port in a new light - free of the oppression of the impending final validation of the split. Suddenly, the world seems to have infinite possibilities again, bounded by no actual employment but even that isn't an issue at present.

The bank itself isn't the personable experience she'd hoped for - no hot drink or breakfast - just a brusque teller who wants to see papers and proof of identity.

There is a note here that we have an interest in purchasing this share...are you interested in selling it? Given the vaguely formed plan of using the share as leverage to gain a place on the vessel, you decline. No need to start the unseemly haggling that would no doubt follow.

And now late morning, Magdalena sits out in the palazzo - watching as heavy trucks start removing the piles of refuse that have been mouldering since New Year's Holiday. It's a good job the place is inside - in a real atmosphere the space would have been stinking terribly by now as rain seeped into the piles and the rot set in. Here things just mummified.

Serious thoughts impinge. Her flat needs emptying, and her possessions need compressing back into the small containers of the spaceman's migrant lifestyle. She needs to overhaul her gear. She won't be relying on Naval Issue for stuff any more. And she better get a bed aboard or she'll be spending money like water on Hotels like the one across the way. Hotel Paradiso...a name that promises so much more than it could ever deliver.

[SpinwardMarch]

Maggie

Having dealt with headache, food and the bank, she goes to find out what this ship share involves. She thinks, Before I do any clean up of my gear, I had better check this out. No idea about the ship, other than what Tansu mentioned.

[BackworldTraveller]

Maggie
Trying to contact the ship just results in a port-message saying that The Queen of the Belt is currently unavailable, please try again later..

A quick check on the computer reveals that the ship is located at Bay 13-13 on the spaceport.


Bottom left of the line of bays marked 13 in the image above. The hyper (train system) will take you to terminal "B" and walk from there for 15 mins. n.b. each square in 1km.

There is also some information on the Queen here and here

[SpinwardMarch]

Maggie

She takes transit as close as she can get. It's not close enough. Verdammt! Muß selbst da laufen. She mutters in her native language.
She walks from the station to Bay 13-13.

[BackworldTraveller]

The walk takes you by the main Admin block for the port and (briefly) up to the surface and past a number of vehicle locks to outside. You can see the control tower, shiny and new after the Battle of Sparks demolished the old one. You recall the concern at the Embassy as the Pirates landed, intent on "Striking at the Heart of Government". And the horrible rumble when the nuclear charge destroyed the defenders of Terminal "C" and made the whole rock shake.

The corridor from the station arrives at the main service corridor opposite bay 9. 10-13 to your right; 1-8 to your left.

Each bay is 150m apart (edge to edge) and nearly 100m across. They are, you realise, not really set for heavy cargo handling at this end...just for Crew Access (or Passengers) and baggage. And they seem to be mostly empty. Only 13-12 (Devotion) and 13-13 (Queen of the Belt) show themselves occupied.

Walking past bay 13-10, the corridor's curvature allows sight to outside bay 13-12 where there is a life-support resupply van unloading, and as you pass that group you finally get to see bay 13-13. One small opening in the side of the corridor which then terminates in a turning space for vehicles. One bench in an alcove opposite for workers awaiting transport and a car pulled over with a man donning a vacc-suit sat half-out of the rear door, with a huge toolbox at his feet.

Hi - If you're heading down to the ship, you'll have to bang on their outer airlock as they have disconnected comms from the station he helpfully offers.

It seems a reasonable guess by the guy as the ship is, really, the only place to go here!

[BackworldTraveller]

Joins with Chapter Eight