“Hey.” Maren gripped Gin’s shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “We’re getting through this. All three of us. We’re going to be safe here. We’ve got food and water to last us for months. Sooner or later, someone will rescue us, then we’ll get to one of the safe planets. It’s going to be fine.”

Gin was crying again. Damn it, Maren thought. She’s gone into shock.

She went back to the water pitcher and refilled Gin’s glass. There was a quiet beep above her, and the red light in the corner turned green, signalling the end of the lockdown. She heard quiet rumbling noises from through the station as the external-facing doors’ reinforcements were reset. “I’m going to get some blankets, okay?” she said as she pressed the glass into Gin’s hand. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Maren,” Saul said, his voice low.

She shot him a grin. “You want a blanket, too?”

“No. We need to go.”

Maren followed his gaze to the screen, and her heart sank. Holly and Mark had moved; she saw a flutter of Holly’s light-brown hair as she disappeared below the camera’s line of sight. Towards the door.

“What are they…?”

A loud thud from down the hallway answered her question. They were trying to break through the door, to get into the station. Of course—the airlock doors are double-sealed during lockdown. Holly and Mark hadn’t gone into hibernation; they’d been waiting.

Maren squeezed her eyes closed, trying to think of somewhere they could hide. The weapons room was her first choice; it was double reinforced and had enough ammunition to supply a full station, but it lacked food and water. They would be forced to leave it in less than a day. The kitchen had more than enough supplies, only its doors were made of thin metal. But…

“We need to get to the rec room,” she said, striding towards Saul as the beating coming from the hallway became louder. “It backs on to the pantry, plus Saul’s monitors will be invaluable.”

“Good,” Saul said, easing himself off the bench. Maren placed herself on his right and wrapped his arm around her shoulder so that she would be taking most of his weight, and Gin quickly took his left side. Together, they moved out of the communications room, pausing briefly to check the door to the airlock, which had developed a bulge. Then they turned right, towards the rec room.

Saul was moving quickly, but Maren could tell the leg was hurting him. His face, which had regained its colour after the rest in the communications room, had turned white again, and the hand on her shoulder gripped her so firmly that it was almost painful. She placed her hand over his, squeezing back, trying to convey that it would be okay. Saul glanced at her, and she thought she saw his mouth twitch into a gentle smile before his gaze returned to the hallway ahead.

Not for the first time that day, the size of the station frustrated Maren. She knew a lot of stations—especially the rural ones—were much smaller and only intended to house a staff of three. The crews there often complained of feeling trapped, claiming the restrictive space was enough to send them crazy, but Maren thought there were definite benefits to being able to cross a station in under a minute.