"If that hatch blows, the extraction rig goes with it," Elias muttered. He grabbed his mag-tether and stepped toward the airlock. "What are you doing?" Sarah’s voice spiked with alarm.
As the Star 3 engines roared to life, lifting them away from the violet clouds and into the safety of the black, Elias looked back at the receding planet. Michelle-020 was a lonely place, but for a moment, they had survived its cold embrace.
Beneath him, the planet groaned. A massive tectonic shift in the ice below sent a shockwave through the ship. Elias lost his grip, spinning into the violet haze, saved only by the thin umbilical cord of his tether. "Elias!" Sarah’s voice was a ghost in his ear.
He swung back, hands catching the jagged edge of the hatch. With a roar of effort, he slammed the 7z locking mechanism home. The seal hissed, the red light on his wrist turning a steady, calm green.
"The 7z seal is a manual override," he said, his breath hitching as his suit pressurized. "I have to lock it from the outside."
"If that hatch blows, the extraction rig goes with it," Elias muttered. He grabbed his mag-tether and stepped toward the airlock. "What are you doing?" Sarah’s voice spiked with alarm.
As the Star 3 engines roared to life, lifting them away from the violet clouds and into the safety of the black, Elias looked back at the receding planet. Michelle-020 was a lonely place, but for a moment, they had survived its cold embrace.
Beneath him, the planet groaned. A massive tectonic shift in the ice below sent a shockwave through the ship. Elias lost his grip, spinning into the violet haze, saved only by the thin umbilical cord of his tether. "Elias!" Sarah’s voice was a ghost in his ear.
He swung back, hands catching the jagged edge of the hatch. With a roar of effort, he slammed the 7z locking mechanism home. The seal hissed, the red light on his wrist turning a steady, calm green.
"The 7z seal is a manual override," he said, his breath hitching as his suit pressurized. "I have to lock it from the outside."
