Panic! at the Starstone

Chapter 8 - Meetings and Introductions

Karadite stopped at a cafe on her way home, ordering a flaky pastry filled with some type of fruit jelly. Although Androids had no need to breathe, they did require small amounts of food and regular sleep to maintain their organic components, and the last thing she'd consumed had been a mug of Thulian tea at Nevis's bar several hours ago.

As she got closer to her apartment, the damage from the attack became more and more apparent. Here and there she saw floating holograms warning that this or that particular building was no longer safe to enter. So the building inspectors have finally come around, she noted. She hoped her own building hadn't been condemned, but she suspected it had taken a lot of damage. If she had to go to one of the shelters, she would, but it would make it much more difficult to do her work.

When she eventually arrived on her own street, her fears were confirmed. "Condemned" read the sign floating in the air in front of the entrance. She saw Alyssa, the neighbor who had cared for her cat while she'd been away, out front talking with some of the other residents newly displaced from their building. Alyssa had a couple of bags in front of her with her own possessions, and a pet carrier Karadite recognized.

"Karadite!" she greeted, when the Android came into view. "I wasn't sure when you'd be back, and whether you'd be able to get in, so I went ahead and got this little furball from your apartment."

Karadite smiled on seeing Fuzzy in the carrier, looking about her surroundings and meowing curiously. "Hey there, little quadruped," she said sweetly. Fuzzy stuck a paw through one of the grates on the carrier and meowed up at her in greeting.

"So what's the word on the apartment building?" Karadite asked her neighbor as she idly allowed Fuzzy to play with her fingers through the grate.

"They've told us to gather up what we can carry, then head to one of the shelters," Alyssa said mournfully. "The building's foundations are too badly damaged for it to maintain structural integrity. They don't think it's in imminent danger of collapse, thank the gods, but it's no longer habitable."

Karadite's building was one of hundreds built on their level. It was squat, functional, and precisely 20 meters high, same as every other residence building. The building itself wasn't part of the station, though an unknowing observer would be excused for thinking it was. It was built between the floor and ceiling of their level, anchored at top and bottom to the station itself. The building would either stand or collapse independently of the station, and the inspectors clearly feared the latter was now more probable than could be permitted for a habitation.

"Are they going to try to repair it?" Karadite asked.

Alyssa shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure they've decided. They're saying some of the buildings will have to be torn down and replaced, while others might be able to be reinforced and repaired in place. Depends on what they find, I guess."

Karadite sighed. "I guess I'd better go gather what I can. Funny how I was just thinking about how much I'd need to replace. But with nowhere to put anything, now I guess I won't need to."

She walked past the hologram, warning her that the building had been condemned, and walked up to her apartment on the third floor. After a month of traveling, working on Arden's investigation, she'd finally gotten just one single night's sleep back in her own bed. And now she was homeless.

She'd never thought about risks associated with living near the Starstone. It was just a power source, nothing more, as far as she had considered it. The neighborhood was a little rough, but the gangs kept things under control to a degree. If anyone got to be too disruptive, they dealt with it, without ever involving station security. And Karadite had learned at a young age how to look out for herself. She rented her apartment directly from the station itself, specifically the buildings commission that maintained the residences, and prices down in The Spike were reasonable, allowing her to save most of her income. One day soon she'd have enough to buy her own ship and travel anywhere she wanted.