The Boys' Club

Chapter 9

       The spacecraft was in the shadow of the Earth as the airlock door slid open and the two spacesuit clad humans floated out into the airless void. They were both attached to the ship by safety lines, but if a line broke they could use their suit jets to move back to the ship. Adam had done EVAs (extra vehicular activity) on many previous occasions and had no trouble using the magnetic soles on his boots to allow him to slowly walk up the side of the craft to the top where they needed to make the repair. Carmen awkwardly followed him holding a halogen torch which was strapped to her arm so it couldn't float away. Adam reached the top of the craft where the mounting for the main scanner dish remained as a few torn pieces of metal and a short length of cable sticking forlornly out into space.

"Just as we thought," Adam said over the radio, "The dish was completely torn off. Now to the secondary dish. Try and keep up Taylor. Not getting space sick are you?"
He just doesn't stop with the barbs, Carmen thought. Aloud she replied. "I'm right behind you and I'm fine."

Adam made his way several metres along the top and towards the rear of the spacecraft. He stopped at a rectangular marking in the fuselage and placed the small tool box down onto the hull. Magnetic strips on its base kept it firmly attached. Carmen shone the torch onto the housing cover and opened the tool box. 

"Hand me a large screwdriver," Adam said, "I'll try and pry it open, it has a slight depression in it. A piece of debris must have hit it."

His effort failed. The cover remained stubbornly closed. "Okay then, we try more extreme measures. Hand me the portable laser unit." Carmen handed Adam a small metal tube. He pointed the device at the cover release mechanism and activated the laser. The was a puff of smoke and the cover lifted up slightly. He turned the laser off and carefully prised the cover completely open with the screwdriver. "I've got it Mike," he said, "Activate the secondary scanner."
"Roger, activating now," Mike's voice came back to them.

A moment later the radar dish which was about half a metre in diameter rose from the housing.
"Well done," Mike said, "It's functioning normally. Oh Fuck."
"What?" Adam snapped.
"The radar shows multiple inbounds. We need a course change asap."
"We're coming back in. Let's go Taylor."

They made their way as fast as they could back towards the safety of the airlock, but before they could get there Mike's voice came urgently over the intercom again. "Adam, there are three objects coming towards us, we have only three minutes before they get here. I have to fire for the course change right now or they will hit us. Secure yourselves to the airlock locking clamps. The burn will last eleven seconds and I'll start it in twenty seconds from now."

"Hurry up," Adam gasped at Carmen. They reached the top of the airlock where four locking clamps for docking with other spacecraft were located.
"Ten seconds," Mike advised.
"Quickly wrap your safety line around one of the clamps as tightly as you can," Adam told Carmen, "With a bit of luck we won't go flying off into space during the burn."
"Three seconds, two, one, commencing burn."

The craft started vibrating and Carmen could feel a force trying to pull her away from the ship. She held on grimly to the clamp. She had wrapped her line around it just in time. It held.
The vibration stopped. "Burn finished," Mike announced, "We should be clear of those inbounds. Watch for them, they'll be going past in a few seconds.
A moment later three tumbling pieces of metal hurtled silently past the ship. They were gone a couple of seconds later. "Thank god those things missed us," Carmen said turning to Adam. He wasn't there. "Adam, where are you?"