The morning after commissioning looked much like the morning before it.
Austin ate eggs in the Rim-01 canteen. Tie complained about weak coffee. Dara rejected a shipment of valve seals because the batch numbers did not match the inspection papers.
No crowd followed them to work.
The first duty report listed a slow pump, two late freight ships, and a request for more heat at an ice habitat. The public council moved a small reserve block to the habitat and posted the decision. Austin did not have to sign it.
At midday, the civilian freight board called Wu Ji before a mixed panel.
He had repaired ninety-two miles of rail, worked debris crews, completed safety classes, and paid the first audited share of damages from his seized assets. The payments would continue from his future wages. Crew statements confirmed that he had followed orders during restitution and had not tried to command the work.
Little Chen’s mother spoke against granting him any route near Frost-Belt. The board listened. It limited his first license to unarmed outer freight, with no passenger work and no command over other captains. Every trip required a filed manifest and an independent cargo inspection.
Wu Ji accepted the terms without asking for his old rank.
