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Feldew here for those three days about his people. If I was him, I would be looking for a few answers to my own questions."
    I replied, "There will be time for that. Anyway, let's get back to the Colossuns and getting to the surface. Is there any other way up there?"
    Feldew thought for a moment. "There are several smaller maintenance and personnel elevators alongside the ore lift. But Grell are never allowed on or near them. We have always speculated that there are other species who do the maintenance of whatever is above, but we have never seen them."
    I continued with a new question. "When your shift is over, how do you get back to Embry Central?"
    Feldew replied, "That would be on a rail-rider. It is a small vehicle that clings to a single rail. It has a cargo area that is approximately ten cubic meters in size. It has seating for four, although I have never seen anyone else on board."
    Duane spoke. "Maybe we can hop a ride on this rail-rider to Embry Central. If there aren't any other passengers, we might be able to hop off before it comes to a stop."
    Feldew responded, "That would not be possible. The rider leaves the main rail at full speed and enters a tight tunnel until it reaches its destination. Center Station will have guards waiting to verify that only I was aboard."
    I spoke. "Do you ever carry any cargo? Does any actual maintenance get done out here for which the rail-rider would bring something out or take something back?"
    Feldew thought and then spoke. "I have summoned the rail-rider several times during my career. Why do you ask?"
    I replied, "If you can bring a box of something out or take a box of something back, maybe we could stow away. Where would a box go after a ride, and would the guards have any interest in its contents?"
    Again Feldew paused to think before he replied, "The guards have not shown interest in the cargo before. And the container is off-loaded and taken to the maintenance bay before a decision is made as to its final destination. It may sit on the maintenance dock for weeks before it reaches its final destination."
    I replied, "Is there anything you would need to call a rail-rider for? Not necessarily a need, but is there anything that could be changed out that would not arouse suspicion?"
    Feldew replied, "Only Jova would demand to know why it was required. But Jova will send whatever I request. I would otherwise again threaten to turn him in to the Colossuns."
    I chuckled. "You play for keeps, Feldew; I like that. What do we have around here that 'requires' maintenance?"
    Feldew turned to his console and began typing. "There are three panels on the air lock that had minor pressure leaks during the lock closure. Ordinarily the levels shown would not be candidates for maintenance, but that closure has offered us a valid reason to order at least one of those panels. QAD-3M had the highest bleed through. I can place an order for a new panel if needed."
    I spoke. "How long would it take to arrive, and how long again after that before the rider returns to Embry Central?"
    Again Feldew typed away at his console. "The rail-rider with a new QAD-3M could be delivered within half a day. Changing out the panel requires approximately twenty minutes. The rider would return immediately after the exchange was complete."
    I turned to Duane. "Looks like we will be paying a visit to the city."
    I continued to quiz Feldew about what we might do once we arrived at Embry Central. The maintenance bay was on the edge of a newly decommissioned district. A flimsy two-meter wall would be all that stood between us and the newly abandoned part of the city. So long as we stayed out of sight of the occupied areas, we would have free run of more than twenty square kilometers of empty buildings.
    Later that day, a new panel was ordered. The rail-rider delivered the parts as scheduled, and Feldew soon had the replacement fitted and bolted down. The container for shipping the panel was three cubic meters in size. It