That was all the iive Trina needed. "Bernie, do I still have full rights?"

  "Yes Trina, there has been no official transfer of power."

  "Trina e on, shut down the id release the schematics!"

  "Ok," Tried, "Bernie, Rerra had full authorisation. TXNX44."

  "Thank you Trina. Bernie, isote the ic, close the se bulkheads on deck 2, emergency depression arms fments 2 to 4 and lock the stairs on segment 3 to deck 2. Cut power to segment 3 on deck 2. Give me the location of the manual cooling valves for the ic. I ge the master access code?"

  "Yes, to all."

  "Bernie, master access is IHWTOLEOd give me the location of the valves."

  The AI sent the schematics to her pad. "I will leave for a short while. Better wait for my return befoing outside."

  "It's te," the mother said, "kittens say goodbye to Rerra and prepare for the night. The evening has beeing enough."

  She he mother had uood. She went to the ste room, got into the gym uniform and a multitool, and was out.

  In the corridor, she could hear the faint arm and angry metal screeg of the closing bulkhead shutters. She hoped they worked, those on this deck looked as ed as most of the station's tech. Her destination was the nearby stairwell. The arm was louder inside. She went down to deck 2 and was satisfied with the heavy metal bolts that sealed the door. Nine of the twelve rusty bolts had moved.

  Half between the decks, she tried to open a side panel with her multitool. But two of the screws were rusted solid and the multitool had no grip. Time to try the paw cws the Koni had made her, nanotube-reinforced biological diamond. She wedged oo ay screw hole and pulled with the gym-trairength of her legs. The thin steel pte had no d bent. She dug her cws into the tre and pulled it through the thin rusted tin, tearing it in half. Water dripped out, no wohe screws had not moved.

  Using her pad as a light, she saw the rusty manual valve. It was hot to the touch, but it moved. Not easily, though, and it leaked even more hot water. But it got easier with each turn until it was closed and the leaking stopped as a bonus.

  She went up to the third floor and ran around a quarter of the station to the stairwell. The stairs here saw more use, a few cats ran up in panic, as the fake depression arm was still going. Deck 2 was sealed here too, although only seven of the twelve bolts had moved. This time the screws on the panel all turned and the inside was dry but certainly not . The valve was not leakiher and closed easily. "Berhe power distributor 3/2/45/A is for the Ketcher ic?"

  "Yes, one of two."

  "Ber is without power now?"

  "Yes, status is powerless."

  She khis type. 0005 ter, the outgoing cables were sed. When it would be turned ba, they would fry the grid in this area. With a grin, she returhe panel. No one would guess that she had been maniputed the power distributor.

  Her pad chimed. This time it was a video call, Fanny standing in a stairwell, panting, her ocelot fur stuck to her body. "Rerra, thank Hopkins. I could not get to the shuttle, Th patrols everywhere, each with some with killer monsters. Luckily, they haven't sniffed me yet. Get off the station if you , I'll try another se."

  "Hello Fanny, they had killed Kerta from Samul. Looks like they went for the outer decks first. e to the shipyard on the innermost deck. I will go there too, my ship’s there too. Entry is on segment 1. Ask for Bernie, me, and the white ocelot."

  Fanated a moment, looked up and down. "Someoered below. I will try." And the e was cut, with a lingering streaky image.

  She ran back to Petra den. The door opened with her code. Trina sat iran, o Yuha, while the door to the inner den was locked. "Ok, dorina, have you heard from Yakka?"

  "Yes, she is on a shuttle. But they ot release the dog cmps. Flight trol is pying dead."

  "At least she is safe for now. Now e, we have to get you to safety as well. Thank you, Yuha."

  "I 't leave the station," Trina said. "Not after they killed Kerta!"

  "Yes, very honourable. But right now they are out for you as the highest-ranking Samul here after Yakka. And no one knows you are here. So let's go to the shipyard, there is only a single door and we have suits, we even hide outside."

  "And the station's fusion cores and main power distributors are o the hub. Best shields we get." Trina nodded slowly, more speaking to herself. "There's even an emergency trol tre. Ok, let's go."

  She turo Yuha and hugged her. "Yuha, take care! I'll let you know as soon as I know more. And please keep a low profile."

  "Take care, sister." Then Yuha bowed to Trina. "Sorry for you, my dolerina from Samul. Take care!"

  Trina just stood there, though.

  "Yuha, greet the rest. I try to e back, sister." They muzzled shortly but then she was out and to the staircase with Trina in tow before the tter got cold paws.

  * * *

  Climbing 30 decks up the stairs hubwards was exhausting. Fortunately, the gravity decreased with each deck. But Trina's strength left her at the same rate. When she fainted before the st deck, she carried Trina over her arms the short distao the office door. She sat down Trina and swiped her token. As the lights came on, Fanny was flying towards her with a steel pipe and just held ba the st moment, crashing awkwardly in the low gravity into the door.

  "Ouch! Rerra!"

  "Fanny, this is Trina of Kerta from Samul. Kerta was her mother, who was killed while they talked. She is probably in shock. Please help her?"

  Thank Hopkins, like all Ketcher members, Fanny too was trained ih care.

  "I'll check her, put her oable."

  "Thank you, I will go to the shipyard, get the ship ready and see what I do else."

  She went to the dder to the shipyard while Fanny started some medical looking procedures to che Trina. Satisfied, she slid down the dder and in no time was in the trol room for the airlocks. "Bernie, am I still authorised?"

  "Yes, full authorisation. In fact, the key was not used."

  "Bernie, Kerta has been killed, destroy her key."

  "Her access code is now blocked. But she has a hardware key that ot be overridden."

  "Do we have auxiliary trols on the dog ring?"

  "No, the shipyards do not. Your authorisation has only vethts. The full access rights are with the Serash tribe. Rerra, I am worried, Lenny has not answered at all sihe sed power cut. I am running the station sht now."

  "Bernie, I will see to it as soon as I . Now, I somehow release the dog cmps on the shuttle and any other ship that wants to leave? Within my current authorisation?"

  "Not unless yer a full station evacuatio when all systems fall back to local operation mode."

  She shook her head. The ensured panic would kill hundreds. "Bernie, we cut the power to flight trol to get backup trols?"

  "No, flight trol has a hot core as a backup, additional to the one for starting ship cores. Only if both failed, the trols go to the hub room and after that to the shipyard and then be grabbed by whoever cims them first."

  Well, she had to ask. Ary. "Bernie, what would happen if you cut the power to a dog port?"

  "Nothing, the cmps default to their current state, which means locked. Unless a ship pushes in, then the cmps release. This was designed as an emergency measure to undo case of a total loss of power."

  "Bernie, you give me the address of Yakka of Samul?"

  Her pad chimed with the address. 'Yakka, this is Rerra. ort is your shuttle? We cut the power and you have to push in to release the cmps,' she typed.

  Yakka called her back immediately, "Rerra, have you seen Trina?"

  "Yes, she is with me in the shipyard. But she is in shock, Fanny of Fiyul from Ketscher is g for her."

  "What?"

  "She is a friend and they are out for her too. Quickly, I may lose trol at any moment, but I think I let you undock. Which port?"

  "A15"

  "Your core is hot?"

  The view switched to the pilot. "Yes, our core is hot. But flight trol is not answering."

  "Yes, you are on your own. No traffic, I guess. Ok, I will cut power, then push in with +0.1 g until the cmps release. Get the o the p!"

  "Ber the power from A12 to A18." Maybe that would distract the station ma for a moment. If it was manned right now, about which she had serious doubts.

  "Ok, it worked. Thanks you. Take care of Trina, plea-" And then she was out of the cmps and without flight trol, there was no f of the .

  "Bernie, restore power. Any more ships with hot cores?"

  "Seven ships are in the process of starting their cores or have already started. The power cut may have deyed two starts."

  Sorry, she thought but nothing she could have done differently. "Bernie, evacuate the small ship airlock again and prepare for startup power oernal UDA."

  She went into the room and through the said universal dog adapter into the Sagan. She booted her up, prepared the xenon transfer and started cooling the superductors. Then out again.

  "Bernie, what is the status of the ships which are starting cores on the dog ring?"

  "Two are still draining, the others are probably up as their ption has dropped to"

  "Thank you, Bernie."