Aft Work Pod Storage (Deck 10)

This compartment sits just off Bay 2's floor, separated from the main hangar by a wide roll-up door currently raised to let a Work Bee pass through. Inside, a row of docking cradles lines one wall, each shaped to cradle a Work Bee's boxy hull and hold it steady while power and diagnostic leads connect automatically on docking. Overhead, a compact gantry crane runs on a short rail, able to lift a Work Bee clear of its cradle for closer inspection or to swap out one of its manipulator arm attachments, several of which hang from a nearby rack in various configurations - cutting tools, welding heads, cargo grapples. A parts shelf along the back wall holds smaller components specific to Work Bee maintenance, organized in labeled bins. A single technician's workstation faces the cradle row, its display able to run full diagnostics on any docked pod, and a status light above each cradle glows green, amber, or red depending on that pod's current readiness. The walls are plain grey composite, scuffed near the cradles from the pods' hulls, and overhead lighting is bright and even, favoring clear visual inspection over ambiance. The room carries a faint machine oil smell, and the ambient sound is mostly quiet apart from the occasional whir of the gantry crane or the soft click of a manipulator arm being swapped into place, a marked contrast to the livelier bustle of the shuttlebay just beyond the roll-up door.