AnnouAnother volume, this time with more a. (The cover is this time DallE, AI geed.)The White Ocelot was docked in cold shutdown. After a detour to a real toilet and a short, badly needed shower, Rerra headed for the 'Blended Followers'. It was almost midnight station time, most tables were empty. But she had messaged ahead when she had started her final approach 1500 minutes ago, and Trina was still sitting at 'her' table, w on her pad. She directly asked for a drink at the ter and brought it to Trina's table.

  "Rerra! Good to have you back."

  They hugged.

  "I didn't expect you back today. You really pushed your ship."

  "Yes, turned out that xenon is cheap on Fallerian III."

  "Great. Everything else went well? Penny's on her way?"

  "Think so. She had left Fallerian VII when I jumped from the system. Cheers!" She drowned her spiked meat shake in one go.

  "You should get something to eat with that. Here, take the krantasticks."

  She nibbled at one. Her stomach growled.

  Trina waved the barmaid over, "Two portions of krantasticks and two chai," and turned back to her.

  "So, all good then."

  "No, I'm stupid. I mean, all good. We got to Fallerian VII almost on schedule, my brave White Ocelot performed well, no surprises. Transit was just under a day, even staying below 1.5 g. When Penny got off, a human was waiting with the key to the Silent Samul, couldn`t have a faster transfer. But then there was a corrupt dog officer trying to rip us off".

  "Oh, that's strange. Didn't the Fallerians hold their tracts sacred?"

  "Well, the human with the key was Fallerian born and thought so too. He even intervened. So we just paid the usual dog fee. And not even that in the end. He, I mean the human, wanted a ride to Fallerian III and I offered to take him back for the fuel costs."

  "So you took a passenger from Falerian. With a ship not designed for passengers."

  "Yes, but he ilot too, E-css even. So a sed pilot, not a passehat is still a within the permission. And because of," she paused, sighed, "I wao impress him and even made a bet for a fast jump with the Fallerian VII flight trol on my dog charges, jumping from cold to 0031."

  "Sorry, I never jumped. You fot?"

  "That was ridiculously short. I mean, I know the White Ocelot could do make it as the core was hot and knew how fast I could ramp the engines. But I maxed out, we were close to 3 g at the jump window. And the stations were so far apart, that we arrived faster than they could send the clearance for the jump window, the transmission only going lightspeed. So we overjumped their clearand now Fallerian III was offehe human sorted that out too. In the end, I got a warning and he even got me a free dog at a shipyard, as it was the only port with xenon facilities. I filled her up to the brim for almost a tenth of what I would pay here. And then bae with all she had. Still got all my teeth, despite the rattling of that psma drive."

  Trina smiled politely. "That sounded great. You should keep that human warm. What was his name again?"

  "This is the part I messed up. I had no suppressant with me, you know my cargo spad with the price of xenon here I went with as little as possible. So I do not even remember his name. I could barely think straight after the short jump, exhausted from the 3 g. I am not even sure how I docked safely, that part is totally fuzzy. , I almost shoved my bum in his face after we docked, made him pet my tail."

  Trina grinned. "And then? One more cat enjoying a human, no biggy."

  "But I am not a mindless victim of my urges."

  "I know, the hopelessly rational orina grinned.

  "No, Trina, he wasn't ready, that would have been a rape. I was so embarrassed I eveed his messages. I'll never ever travel again without suppressants." She sighed.

  "Sorry, e on, nothing happehe gaxy is vast and the one might be ready for you." She winked while toasting with the chai mug. "To the first successful voyage of Trader Rerra!"

  She raised her mug too but shook her head. "No trade, I left before he could pay me."

  Now Trina looked at her with worry. "Oh, little Rerra!"

  * * *

  Tabita, the kittely her finger. "Sister Rerra, wake up, the food is here."

  She sat up, still tired, the bruises from the shaking by the unstable drive still sensitive. She blinked again, looked around. The other adults were waiting for her, their ptes already full. She rose, still a little shaky, transferred a single bumore from the trolley to her pte, bowed to the mother with the others, and almost fell to the flain, yawning. Half asleep, she nibbled at the vegetable.

  The more she awoke, the hungrier she became. Eventually, she was still eating when the older kittens and teens had left for school. Slowly chewing, she thought of today's program. First, she would take the Sagan to the shipyard loot primarily to avoid the dog fee, there was still so much to do. Apart from the almost endless list of minor repairs and improvements, she wao close all the iing in the cockpit to give it at least a sembnce of professionalism and hopefully also dampen the noise from the fusion core and the main engines. Penny would be ba two days, and after her return, she should qualify the Sagan as safe for ercial use. But knowing Penny's likely critical report, she should address the obvious deficies first.

  "Rerra?"

  She had dozed off again. Yuha was standing in front of her, dressed up and wearing jewellery, a first for her. Even spicy perfume. She jumped up. "Sorry."

  "No problem. I have to leave now," she poio the door where the mother stood waiting.

  "Yes, I'll take care of the food trolley and the dishes."

  "I might not be back for lunch, so maybe"

  She nodded. "Yes, I will use the leftovers and maybe make some meatballs."

  Yuha shook her head slightly. "Ask Tab for help, she should be back soon." And then she left with the mother.

  She slowly pushed the food trolley into the kit. There she ate some leftovers while ing the dishes, still not fully awake. Well, two ielr jumps with absolutely iween, plus the brutal short hop and the pheromone overload where she almost, ugh, she shivered.

  When she reehe den, Tab was back, surrounded by the kitten. She had given birth to her sed while she had been away, a tiny baby cub with even shorter fur than hers; but already with bck stripes. It loved to be petted and purred very softly. It was so cute.

  "Rerra," Tab began, "you're 18 now. Uh, and there is, uh, the has," she hesitated, "Yuha might e back pregnant," she finally blurted out. "There is a Petra male, well one geion out, who lives oation. He gives us a special rate."

  "That's why she went with the mother," she thought aloud, "her first time?"

  Tab nodded. "Yes, and since you are Petra... "

  She felt so privileged again. Although Eli khat she was nin, she had alked about it in the den. "You know, I also met a friendly male at the gym who likes a strong cat. We get together occasionally. Tab, I have been pregnant three times, but resorbed each time."

  "You told your body to give it up?" Tab seemed shocked.

  "Look at me, no real breasts, small hips, and then thin fur and hands." She wiggled her fingers. "Every single one would have been already enough to get the eeasing and bullying. No way I want this for my kitten. And my fur pattern is not evera." She held up her hand as Tab wao interject. "And now, my ship is ready to make regur jumps and actually earn money for the . But it is too small to take a kitten with me. Besides, the jump stress triggers the resorption reflex quite effectively anyregnant pilots are almost unheard of. Which is probably a good thing, since w in spad near fusioors means lots of radiation. No kittens for me, at least for now."

  Tab looked at her, nearly in tears.

  "Look, I like kittens, I adore them. They make me so happy, they are the reason I moved to the den as soon as I ted. But I am too much of a realist. My friendly male runs a." She stopped herself, taking a moment of how to tihout exposing Lead. "Well, some business. And I have a spaceship. So her of us has time to look after kittens properly. Yes, I know the would care for them. But I would be away so often. I think I'd be better off tributing financially because my cooking sucks and," she sighed.

  Tab hugged her, clearly seeing the reasons she gave was more to vince her than Tab.

  She felt a little better, fur-on-fur hugs did that.

  And with Tab back, she should go to the shipyard. Trina was still paying her, well, and the dog fee was tig too.

  * * *

  To make up for her te arrival, she had prepared a lunchbox for Trina too. But Trina was not in her office. So she left both boxes on a sideboard ao the regur dock t her Sagan into the shipyard`s airlock. It took less than 1000 and the Sagan was in the airlock, core cooling down and superductors warming up to room temperature.

  Moving around in almost zero g had bee easy with her opposable toe cws. This had been such a good suggestion from the avatar. Now she floated hesitantly over the outdated trols of the shipyard's airlock. Until now, either Penny or Trina had operated the airlock. She searched for a checklist or manual. But she found nothing.

  "Bernie?" she called to the AI, " you vent airlock 1? The Sagan, I mean Hull 472 is inside and soon is in warm standby."

  "Of course, Rerra," the AI was surprisingly brief, "including a purge cycle, that will take 0957."

  "Thank you, Bernie. Do you know if anything o be done in the shipyard?"

  "The filters are overdue. Although we always use them until the differential pressure drops below 7 Pa, this is not the way filters should be used. Especially in this enviro with its high levels of uncssified dust. There is a 37% ce" The AI was back to its verbose self.

  Filter duty. Well, that would certainly make everyone happy. But it was already early afternoon, not this heavy work oy stomach.

  She went into the office to get her lunchbox. "Trina," she called while opening the door and froze when she saw Aua talking with her. "mother Kerta from Samul," she stammered and bowed stifly.

  "Isn't that Rerra, the you of the Curragh? mother Curragh did not announce your arrival at the station. When did you arrive?"

  Her aunt looked so much older even though it had beehan three years since her st enter.

  "Rerra?"

  "Yes, sorry, mother. I came directly after graduation."

  "Oh, yes, Crice, wasn't it? How did you do?"

  "Top of the css. But I left the phe day." She was still fused. Maybe Aua was not up-to-date of her having renounced Samul.

  "Oh, here it's usually the other way round, they 't leave the station fast enough," Aua sighed and then did the math. "Wait a moment, you arrived almost a quarter of a year ago?"

  She nodded.

  "What! And you hought to visit me?"

  "mother, I know you've been busy and all."

  "I am. But you are ."

  "No," she writhed, "not anymore. Did mother Curragh not tell you? I officially renounced my Samul lihe day befraduation. I am no longer a Curragh tribe, and not even a Samul."

  The old cat was visibly shocked. "You betrayed your ?"

  "mother, rayal, hey were happy, even gave me a big payout on the dition that I cut off all tact with Samul. I was afraid of breaking it by tag you. W in the shipyard for normal pay was as far as I dared."

  Her ex-aunt sat oable, her tail goi and right so that Trireated to the window looking down into the shipyard.

  "Curragh, you evil scheming e. How could you do this to your own kitten?"

  Why stop when she was going? "mother, I retly had a DNA check. My father was human, and Curragh isn't my mother. Even my birth certificate is a fake."

  "What?" The mother dropped down on the chair, her cws screeched over the table, ears ft, and tail shing out left and right. "Oh, nasty, Curragh. Sorry, you poor Rerra." She took a deep breath. "I really want to hear the rest. Ekrerr is in ten days. Please e, I do not care what Curragh said. But we are a bit busy right now."

  "I apologise, mother Kerta." She bowed as best she could in the low gravity and was out. She stood for a few moments after the door closed, trying to process what had just happehat had been the Aua who she had been afraid meeting?

  A she had lied to her. There was no way she could visit her on Ekrerr, not when she was now Petra . And at least a few of Trina's sisters would be there from the p, bringing the news of her to the Curragh Samul. What a fine mess.

  She left the shipyard, bought some meatballs and ate them on her way to the gym. Now way she would do filter duty right now whea might see her from the window.