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Jo-Jo groaned and turned back to the ‘caster. The HealthWatch update informed him that it would take several hours to process his application and that should he experience diminished health he should proceed to an infirmary or medi-centre until the update was approved.

He swore and kicked the booth in frustration. The screen flickered and died.

‘Crap.’

A moment later the overhead lights dimmed. Then the whole area went dark.

‘Josef?’ Bethany’s whisper was filled with terror.

Jo-Jo reached out and found her hand. ‘Steady now.’

‘Not good feeling,’ Petalu muttered.

‘Mau, you know any way off the station?’

‘Petalu come in on Savvy.’

‘One of the waste contractors?’ Jo-Jo’s stomach did a flip. Without his HealthWatch in order going near one of those things could be a risk. ‘Where do they berth?’

‘Topside port,’ said Mau.

‘But that’s the farthest one,’ said Bethany.

‘Safety regs, in case there’s a leak. Don’t want to nuke the planet as well,’ said Jo-Jo.

‘Maybe ship’s still there. Maybe not. Savvy don’t like trouble much.’

A siren set up a belated whine and emergency floor lights flared. In the red lighting Mau’s face looked puffy. Jo-Jo could barely see his eyes for folds of skin. He had no idea if he could trust the man. ‘You know the way there, Mau?’

‘Think yes.’

‘But we don’t even know what is happening. Maybe there’s an organised evacuation and we are being left behind,’ said Bethany.

‘Smell smoke,’ said Petalu.

‘Yeah,’ said Jo-Jo. But what concerned him more was another odour. Something sickeningly sweet and pungent. ‘Which way to the top port? Central Truss Lift?’

Petalu nodded. ‘Think there other ways. But that easiest one.’

Jo-Jo searched his memory for the station design. Most res-shift stations had the same basic layout. The jail/confinement modules were usually separated from the main station by a sequence of unity nodes. If there was a breakout, the stationmaster could slam the door on a node and pop it adrift. A quick blast of radiation and everything in the module would be fried. The main station was designed around the Central Truss Lift. Everything else spiralled off it. There were secondary lifts but each one only travelled through a couple of floors.

‘Let’s try the CTL first.’ Jo-Jo ran a few steps and picked up the leg from a broken stool. ‘Grab something,’ he told the others.

Bethany retrieved a smaller part of the stool while Petalu wrenched a strut longer than himself from the wall.

Jo-Jo stared at him, astonished. ‘I know where I’ll be standing when the shit hits, mate—right behind you.’

‘Strong,’ Petalu informed him. ‘Not quick.’

Jo-Jo headed towards the access-way exit. The unity node led into another and another. Each was as deserted as the last and had minor damage to the cablework. Some cables dangled loose from the ceiling while others had been gouged from their conduits along the sides of the passage. The air was tainted with gas, and puddles of oil and lubricants made the floor slippery.

‘It’s like something has attacked the walls,’ whispered Bethany.

Jo-Jo had been thinking the same thing. ‘Yeah. Well, maybe we’ll find out soon. We should be nearly through to the bottom level of the trade court and the CTL. Through this last join.’

But the mating adapter that connected the final node to the main station began creaking ominously.

‘Quick!’ Jo-Jo flung himself over the lip of the join. If the passage integrity had somehow been breached, the station would lock each one.

He reached back and grabbed Bethany, hauling her through after him. She was lighter than he expected, or maybe gut fear was making him stronger, but she flew from his grasp, slamming into the bulkhead with a light thunk.

Petalu lumbered over next. He stumbled on the lip and fell; part of his body on one side, part on the other.

‘Come on, man. This thing sounds like it’s gonna snap.’ Sweat ran from every pore on Jo-Jo’s body.

Petalu’s face was drenched as well. The big man tried to get up but his shirt snagged on the