Med-Evac Beacon

What a crew reaches for when treatment has become transport. Pull the guard, seat the antenna clear of hull metal, and it sends identity, position, injury class, and a paid-channel distress burst while flashing a hard white locator lamp. Case smells of ozone after self-test; store dry, charged, away from casual cargo. Activation may bring a clinic tender, a port cutter, or debt collectors with medical training. False alarms cost money. A beacon buried under shielding costs something worse. One-shot C cell under a sealed hatch—distress band, not crew chat, not berth handshake chatter.