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The problem wasn’t so much that the Molecular Assembly Unit was heavy, although it was definitely heavy. But Specialist Jan Branston had been working as the loadmaster on the Droste for nearly a decade now. She was stronger than she looked, and she looked like a powerlifter, albeit a short one. Heavy, she could handle. Neither was the problem that where she was holding the MAU was sticky in a way she really didn’t want to think too much about. Some strange compound of kitchen grease and dust was coating her hands, grinding deeper into her palms every time she