She worked through lunch, only taking a torresh to finish her task-of-the-day as quickly as possible. At 5120, the wiring of the subconsole was connected and working. She let Lenny, their first AI, perform the full check while she climbed out of the narrow access shaft under the console, smoothed her fur again and then went out looking for the twins.
She found Tryxa watching her twin, who was also inside a panel.
"Tryxa, can you come over with me for a moment?"
Tryxa perked up her ears in doubt but listened while they walked to the old wreck with a matching fusion core to her Sagan. Tryxa just glanced at the pumps and shook her head. "Too old. Rotten bearings. Better check the bearings of your pumps first."
So they went over to her Sagan, or rather hull 472, as Trina insisted. With the replaced power pack fully charged, she could boot her up and even start the pumps. Tryxa touched the casing of each pump while she started them. "Better change the bearings on all of them. I'll show you tomorrow."
"Thank Tryxa," and hugged her.
Tryxa smiled but then quickly returned to her twin sister.
She lingered a little longer in the cockpit, not looking at the content of the screens, half lost in thought, half relaxing for a moment. It would be great if she could avoid cutting and welding altogether. The next item on her repair list for the Sagan was the life support system.
She sat in front of the life support console and copied the error messages onto her pad before she shut the Sagan down again. The dark amplified the smell of the stale air and the even mouldy note. She sighed, powered on the lights again. Removing the old filters did not take long, she just had to find a rectangular tool for the outdated screws. The filters were filthy and mouldy, but dry enough not to give off spores. She almost gagged at the stench even penetrating through the mask, as she took them apart and placed them in the self-sealing biohazard container.
It took a long shower to get the stink out of her fur. When she was finally not smelling like ripe kutas and exited from the drier, she saw a message for Eli on her pad. 'Are you coming tonight?
'Thanks for the invite,' she sent back. Only then she noticed the time. Uh, she was late already. Her stomach rumbled as she thought about eating, another reason to make haste.
* * *
At 6623 she emerged from the shipyard, showered but still in her smelly clothes. She was the last, even Trina had left already. She messaged Trina that she would not be coming to the 'Blended Followers'. Without waiting for Trina's reply, she went to the lift on the counterside. After all, it was only a short walk to the counterside this close to the spoke on the innermost deck of the station. Soon the lift arrived and a little later she was on the fourth deck with Petra den.
The door had barely swung open when Eli came out of the kitchen, still in her apron. "Great Rerra, come in. Kit hach jucht left for an evening job."
"Thank you," she smiled and went to the changing room where she threw her dirty clothes into her drawer. Stripping felt natural by now, she felt even better without the smelly clothes.
"Eli, I am ready," she called as she entered the kitchen.
"Come to che den," Eli lisped, leaving the pots and pans and opening the door to the den for her.
Upon entering, the kittens stopped playing and raced towards her as usual. And of course, she bowed to the clanmother first: "Greetings, Clanmother."
The clanmother stood up. "Come, Rerra, sit next to me."
This was new. The kittens followed her across the room and waited at her feet as she sat down on a cushion beside the clanmother.
Only then did the clanmother sit down. Now Eli took a seat on her other side.
"How are you?" the clanmother asked.
"Tired, lots of work. But I love it, and I can repair my own jump ship."
"And outside work?"
"My ex-cousin Trina is a great cat. We hang out a lot outside of work when I am not here. Life is better than ever. And I am also very happy that Eli invited me to your den. I am most honoured."
But that was not what the clanmother wanted to know. "Honestly, are you happy without a clan?"
"I am happy to be free of Samul," she replied diplomatically, not sure where this conversation was going, "I am certainly not missing the clan obligations."
"Oh, I see. What do you think about joining a clan again?"
"I will never return to Samul," she snapped, more forcefully than it was polite. "Sorry."
"I am sorry that your clan did not support you as they should have."
"Clanmother, if they had been just a little bit more like Petra, I would not have thought for a moment to renounce Samul."
The clanmother chuckled. "So you may be pleased to hear that if you want, Clan Petra will adopt you." The kittens who had gathered around her cheered and jumped up and down. The clanmother went on, "You know we are not a big clan, this tribe and one on the planet are all we have left."
She only half listened, still processing what the clanmother had just offered. Leaving a clan was rare. Including her, it had only happened three times in the many tribes of the Samul clan. At least that was what she had been told to discourage her. Changing clans had happened often enough that it had even been covered in the history lessons at her school. Usually with a political background and mostly way back during the civil war shortly after Hopkins II's death. Adoption had been very common in the beginning, when the leading tribes had filled their ranks with able cats from tribes outside the founding clans, before they had more offspring inside than suitable jobs, like now. It was still a common story in the dramas, a lonely but able cat being adopted by a high clan. But as far as she knew, it had never happened in recent times, at least in the upper tribes of the Samul clan. The dramas were more fictional legends if not outright propaganda.
Thus, she had prepared herself for a life as a lone cat when she had renounced Samul. The possibility of being adopted had never crossed her mind; at best she expected to found a new tribe. And now adoption was being offered by a caring clan, even a founding clan. She was overwhelmed, unable to control either her tail or her ears, showing her obvious response to everyone. She still hesitated to speak, worried about the troubles Samul might cause the Petra clan. Most likely, they might lose some catering contracts. Even though she had been deleted from all Samul databases, Curragh Samul was listed as her mother's name only on her birth certificate. She took a deep breath. "Clanmother, I am honoured and happy. But I worry that Samul might cause trouble."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Nonsense. We don't care. What does your heart tell you?"
Her heart? That was obvious. "My heart says yes."
The kittens cheered again, "Yes, Sister Rerra," and danced around her legs. Eli smiled and nodded. A warmth filled her.
"Then let us make this official. Please get your pad."
Before she was fully standing, Eli was already hugging her. "I'm cho happy," she cried.
Her head was spinning. She was happy, tired, and a little scared, but mostly euphoric. Hugging the soft, fluffy Eli gave her stability, she took in her new clansister's warmth, and with another deep breath imprinted the scent of her eldest clansister. Yes, she had missed a loving clan, she had missed it all her life. But now only she knew it. Tears flowed freely.
"Eli," Kit ran into the den, "Eli, hurry. I've already set the buffet."
"Chorry, I have to go." Eli broke the hug, patted her on the head, gave her a toothy smile and walked quickly out.
She stood for a moment before remembering: Her pad. Kit was still standing in the doorway. "Sister?" she asked.
She nodded.
"Great, tell me later!" Kit smiled and ran out after Eli.
On her way to her drawer, Yuha came back in carrying an old wooden box. She hurried to her drawer and was soon back with her pad.
The clanmother had opened the old box. Inside was an old dagger in a black and white striped enamel sheath and under a felt was an antique pad. The clanmother carefully straightened the felt on the inside of the cover and took the dagger out of the sheath. The blade was not shiny as expected, rather badly stained in all shades of brown. She stood now in front of clanmother, the clover in between them.
The clanmother looked into her eyes. "Rerra, will you put the clan above all else, defend the clan and be one with it?"
She swallowed, this was the oath like in the old dramas. Her fur stood on her back and on her tail. "Yes, clanmother, I will defend Clan Petra and be one with it." The old oath!
The clanmother nodded, then tore Rerra's head back and sank her canines into her exposed throat. She screamed. But the clanmother still held her head back and now even put the dagger to her throat. But it was only a light touch. Then she slowly let go of her head.
She would have collapsed, but Yuha supported her.
"Can you stand?" a worried Yuha asked.
"Yes," she mumbled and sat up, reaching for her throat. Her fingers came back red and some of the fur at her throat was sticky. That had not been in the dramas!
Tab came with a cloth. "This may sting," was all the warning she gave before pressing it to the wound.
And it stung like hell. Luckily, she had no claws, or she might have accidentally injured someone. But whatever was in the cloth, it also numbed the pain. Her breathing returned to a more normal pace.
"I am sorry," the clanmother apologised, "but this had to be done properly. Here, look at your part of Petra." She placed the hilt in her palm which she gripped blindly, not wanting to move her head. So she just mumbled "Thank you" in the flattest voice she could manage and raised the dagger. It now had a fresh red stain near the centre of the blade which was drying quickly.
"Relax a bit. We can register you officially as soon as the blood has dried." She put her hand around the one holding the dagger. "This was Petra's dagger, a personal present from Hopkins II on her successful transformation, as he had been the first."
It sent another shiver down her fur. This was a very important artefact from the beginning of her civilisation, quite likely the oldest of all. And even though she had been a high-ranking Samul, she had only seen the necklace of Samul from a distance once in a showcase, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Samul's birth, questionable as that date was. But now she was holding the real dagger, the first item ever given to a cat. She shivered again, then handed it to the clanmother. "Thank you," she whispered.
That finally brought the kittens out of their hiding place under the table.
The clanmother nodded and carefully sheathed the dagger, taking care not to accidentally smear any of the dried blood. Then she picked up the ancient block. "Whenever you are ready, we will register you to make it official."
"I am ready."
She didn't have to do much. Just scan all her paws (well, hands and feet) and her eyes, register her voice, the full biometric suit on the old pad. "Stand still, please." Yuha shooed the kittens aside, then took the pad and walked around her, taking close-ups of her face and finally scanning her ID code.
Next, the clanmother identified herself to the tablet, then Tab and Yuha. The screen changed colour and a waiting animation appeared.
"Make way!" Fieta shouted, pushing the food trolley into the room. She wanted to help, but the clanmother held her back. So she just watched as the kittens eagerly danced around the trolley, their eyes now only on the food.
Her tab pinged. She accepted the pop-up, confirming her new clan, which required full biometrics. After the ceremony with the oath and the blade, it was a letdown, more administrative hassle than life-changing. Like twenty days ago, when Samul had finally accepted her renunciation, she scanned her face and eyes again and added her code. The pad rebooted and greeted her with 'Welcome, Rerra from Petra'. Despite this rather mundane procedure, she cried again.
"Rerra, it is our turn now," Yuta spoke softly. She, Fieta and Tab waited with their plates ready; the kittens were already eating noisily.
She rose and quickly filled a plate with something, smiling and sniffing. Swallowing still hurt a little.
* * *
The morning brought the familiar scents of the den. By now, she could identify all the cubs, the kittens, the teens, Eli, Kit, Tab, Yuha, Fieta and, of course, her new clanmother. Even total darkness meant nothing. She rose from the kitten pile. The kittens stirred but slept on. Silently she tiptoed out to the entrance. She shut the door and switched on the nightlight. But the toilet was not her destination, so she quickly changed into her dirty clothes and headed for her cabin.
In the cabin, she filled her two bags with all her belongings and returned to the den. When she touched the door, it read, 'Welcome home, Rerra' and opened. She had wet eyes again, yes, she was coming home.
Kit was already awake in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She smiled when she saw her, which brought tears to her eyes again. Kit came over and gave her a locker to put her things in. There were ten lockers for the seven adults, so there would be some time before they needed to expand. She gave Kit a little help in the kitchen, then left to meet Trina outside her cabin.
Trina sniffed. "Good morning, favourite ex-cousin. Do I smell kittens? And even some blood? Looking forward to another breakfast story."
"Morning," she replied lamely, overwhelmed by Trina's opening. Still tired, she followed Trina to the 'Blended Followers' table.
"I told you I stayed at the Petra den?"
"So?"
She was sure Trina would be thrilled with whatever she said. Still, she hesitated. "Trina, I am now, er..." She turned on her pad and showed Trian the 'Welcome Rerra from Petra'.
Trina looked at it, then jumped up and hugged her over the table. Tears flowed on both sides.
"Oh, Rerra, great, you got over your hatred of clans."
"Call me a hopelessly romantic cave cat. But this Petra clan is what every clan should be, family and supportive, and all for the clan, but not in a fighting way. They are so positive," she sniffed again.
"I'm really happy for you. Petra must be very special," Trina sniffed.
"They are. I chickened out with Samul. I admire you and your sense of duty."
"No, I do not have the courage to give up everything."
"I really had nothing to give up, so it was easy for me. And one day you can change things. Hell, you already changed the shipyard. I don't imagine it was such a happy place before."
Trina smiled, "You have a way with words." She sniffed again.
"I guess, now you can visit me at Petra for dinner."
Trina shook her head violently. "Nonsense, just imagine my mother when she hears about me visiting the Petra den. No, much too early. Come, eat up. Any other changes I should know about?"
"I cancelled my cabin. I will be staying with Petra from now on. But," she sniffed, "you're still my best friend."
* * *
Trina gave her an easy task today and she completed it within a 1000. Tryxa was busy, but the twins had of course talked about her request with the pumps. Traxy would show her how to open the coolant pump casing and change the bearings.
Opening the casings was straight forward but it took the longest time to get the old screws to move at all. The bearings were simple ceramic ball bearings, effective compact and light. But they were beyond repair, their balls corroded and broken. Even she could see it. Because the bearings had been shrunk on the axles, they had to cool the axle and heat the bearings to hammer them off. It took all morning. Now she was worried about how to align the new bearing on the axle in exactly the same position in relation to the blades.
But it was easier than she thought. The liquid nitrogen-cooled axle was steaming with condensed air and the bearings were almost glowing. Traxy showed how she could slide them into position without using any force and using another axle as a guide to the correct positions. And when the axle had thermalized, she put it back into the pump. The first pump had taken all morning but the next pump would be quicker.
She wanted to take Tryxa and Traxy out for lunch. But they had their lunch boxes as usual. She quickly went out to buy some sweets for them and two torresh for herself, so they could at least eat together.
The next three pumps went indeed faster and now she had four well-functioning pumps. Well, they still had to be tested under power of course.