At four pm the halls filled with life once again and it wasn’t long before there was a tap on her door.?Can I come in?? said a rather squeaky voice ...rom behind the metal?Sure? Amanda replied.?Hiya! I’m Katie, this is Ruby and Alice? she said introducing two more girls as they came in and made themselves at home on her bed.?George said you were new here and that you could do with some advice? She continued as she began to stroke Amanda’s long blond hair. ?You’re lucky George marked you, Poor. We didn’t need the bank. We had the knarr and weren’t at a loss to find our way home. The only person pissed was Gloria. She’d been waiting a long time and wanted her reward.While we were preparing for the approach of an unknown craft, I took Gloria aside and made sure she knew the rules.“You know if you get pregnant you’re stuck on Chaos?” I asked.“They said ... but would they be that cruel?” She asked.“I’ve been here more than three years,” I said.“Three years? What did you do?”“I was. Mary gives Kathryn a hug and we had off to the bank to settle their debt. Once we reach the branch, I hand Bobby the cashiers check for the amount we agreed on plus the twenty-five thousand for the prepaid meals. He smiles and deposited it, and we walk into the branch managers office ready to call the junior vice president back and complete their payoff. Thirty minutes later we are walking out. Bobby and Mary have the receipt for their loans paid in full. Within ten business days they will. She’d seen a new side of him, and she didn’t like it. His breathing told her he was asleep, but her brain was in turmoil every time she shut her eyes. Then she realised: she’d seen a new side of herself too, one that had been dormant for years. The one that, for an evening, had just craved sex with someone new. She’d been able to be like that because of his unconditional love: it released something in her. She was glad he’d restrained himself with Karen. Peace finally overtook her. *****.