Space travel is wonderful – until something goes wrong. Terribly wrong.

A Chance Ordeal

by Jason Schmetzer ©



The hiss of escaping air wasn't the only sound to be heard in the cargo bay, but it was the only one that I was listening to.

Dell had spent several minutes trying to locate the leak, running his hands all around the bulkhead. Several times he had leaned in close, placing his face up near the wall, feeling with the more sensitive skin of his cheek. He had given up, shaking his head and mumbling something about it being behind the bulkhead.

"You did your best," I had said. He went over and sat down next to the wall, underneath the air vent. The gentle brush of air from the vent wafted over his head, letting the hair not plastered down by sweat float softly in the air. His head hung tiredly between his shoulders.

The impact had disabled at least some of the automatic safeties. There was still air coming in to replace what was escaping out through the breach in the hull. Good for us, bad for the rest of the ship. There was only so much air on board.

A low moan brought my attention to the hatchway. One of the civilian passengers had been trapped in the hold with us. She had been curious about getting some device or another from Dell. The impact had nearly killed her. The emergency hatch had snapped shut and caught her sleeve. It had torn the sleeve off of her jumpsuit when she was thrown across the hold by the meteor impacts. She was lucky. Another inch and she would've lost her hand.

"Mrs. Sloan." She looked up from her bare arm at me. Her eyes were glassy, both from tears and from shock.

"It will be all right," I told her. I ignored the muffled humph coming from near the air vent. "We'll be out of here soon."

She nodded numbly and looked back down at her arm. I glanced over at Marc Halley. A subtle flick of my head sent the young man over to her side, speaking softly. She nodded and turned away from her dangling sleeve.

Satisfied that Mrs. Sloan would survive the next several minutes, I stood and stretched. For the hundredth time I thanked Allah that a meteor hadn't taken out the drive, and with it gravity. In the absence of a planetary mass, the acceleration from the fusion drive was the only thing holding us to the deck. The thought of a half dozen people floating in zero-G was enough to make me shudder.

I walked over and hunched down next to the two junior engineers working at the bulkhead near the hatch. In two hours, they had just managed to pry a section of the wall out. I interrupted a conversation on the mechanics of vacuum-rated hatches. It wasn't an optimistic conversation.

I tapped the smaller of the two on the shoulder. "Any luck, Mr. Jones?"

He glanced over at his partner before he responded. "Not much, sir. As far as we can tell, when the normal parameters varied, the automatic safeties activated the peripheral . . ." His voice trailed off as I dropped my chin and shook my head. "Sir?"

I looked up and forced a grin. This poor boy couldn't be more than twenty-five. His hair, cut short like most spacers, was glistening with sweat. Ice blue eyes looked at me from a sea of white.

"What's your specialty, son?" He glanced again to his partner before he answered. "Electrical systems, sir." He looked down as if he were ashamed of his chosen profession. I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"That explains the language. Now, run that by me again, using little words that old fossils like me can understand." I chuckled to myself. I was the old man at thirty-two.

"Yessir. Like I was saying, when the hold's sensors registered the drop in pressure, they triggered the emergency hatch. I don't know why the air duct didn't shut off, though."

I forced another smile for the boy. "Don't question it, son. It's not a good idea to complain about good fortune." I nodded at both of them and stood. Suddenly I was wishing I had paid more attention during the shipwide maintenance drills. At least then I'd be of more use.

I glanced over at the bulkhead. It was still hissing. It reminded me of the last transmission from Earth, yesterday. The end of the signal from the orbital relay always degenerated into static. It sounded a lot like that.

I walked down the wall to where Dell was sitting. I watched as my shadow caught up with and then passed me. It seemed like it was hiding from the room's sole light, overhead in the center of the ceiling.

I sat down next to Dell, feeling the cool breeze of air from the vent. It reminded me that it would soon be getting colder in here. The escaping air was talking some of our heat with it.

"Why don't you go help with the hatch, Dell?" I suggested. He glanced at me, then leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"They don't need me. It's more of an electrical problem than a mechanical one. Jones there knows more about it than I do."

"You should still have some ideas though," I told him. "It should have some moving parts that we can bypass or disconnect."

Dell didn't even open his eyes. "Sure it does, Lieutenant. It's got four pistons holding it against the seals. And before you ask, no, we can't override them. It'd take forty men with a really big crowbar just to budge one of those pistons."

I sat back and rubbed my eyes. I tossed ideas around in my head like beach balls on zero-G. "What about equalizing the pressure? Is there anything in here we can use to plug the breach in the hull?" I looked over at the storage containers stacked against one wall.

Dell opened his eyes and looked at the same containers. "Nothing. This is a parts bay. Even if we could get to the breach, there's nothing in here except computer boards and air scrubbers."

I looked over at him. "Don't air scrubber have liquid cores?"

"Yeah, so?"

I stood. "So grab a couple of those scrubbers and pop them. Use the liquid to find the breach." Dell remained sitting, looking up at me with a skeptical look.

"What good will that do? We still don't have anything to plug the breach with. The pressure will push the scrubber fluid out just as easily as air."

I felt a sense of frustration growing inside me. I fought it down and spoke in a cool voice. "Do it anyway. It'll give you something to do, and you just might think of something useful." I turned and walked away. My wraith followed me along the wall, still hiding from the light.

I leaned into a corner and massaged my eyes. Mentally, I kicked myself for almost losing my temper with Dell. The older man had done nothing wrong. It was just my own frustration getting the better of me.

I took several deep breaths before I moved, trying to damp the anger that was building inside me. Forcing it down, I headed for the hatch.

Both Mrs. Sloan and Marc Halley looked up as I approached. I glanced over to where Dell was ripping air scrubbers apart. "Marc, go help Dell," I said. He nodded and got up, wiping his hands on the pants of his coveralls.

Mrs. Sloan looked better. Evidently something Marc had said had gotten through and calmed her down. She met my eyes as I sat down.

"Hello, Lieutenant. What's that smell?"

Unconsciously, I lifted an arm and sniffed at my armpit. Then I smelled it as well. An acrid scent that made my nose tingle. I glanced around and found the obvious source.

"That's the fluid they're using to locate the breach in the hull, Mrs. Sloan. It's part of the air recirculation system."

She looked over at Dell and Marc. They were using a V-shaped piece of the scrubber casing to feed the small river of fluid running down the corner where the bulkhead met the rest of the wall. As we watched, the trail made it's way down the joint to puddle on the floor.

Still watching the two men at the other side of the bay, she asked about the air scrubbers. I went and got one before I answered. It was about the size of a brick, with a fine mesh on either side.

"You see," I said, " these go into junctions in the air circulation system, like that one." I pointed over at the vent Dell had been sitting under. "What they do is take in the air, after we breathe it, and 'scrub' all of the carbon dioxide out. If we let it get too strong, the carbon dioxide would kill us." I blinked my eyes rapidly a few times, glancing over at Dell and Marc. The fumes from the air scrubber cores were getting stronger and burning my eyes.

"Hey Lieutenant," Dell called. "I think we found it!" Both Mrs. Sloan and I got up and walked over. I looked at Dell, eyebrows raised in question.

He pointed. "Right there, Lieutenant. Watch." He leaned over and poured a small amount of fluid into the makeshift funnel that Marc Halley was holding. It ran out against the crack of the wall. I managed to glance up at Marc's face, noticing that it was slick with tears. His eyes were bloodshot, although he still managed a smile.

Everyone watched, save Mr. Jones and his partner, who were still working at the hatch. The fluid rolled down the wall until it reached a point about hip level.

Then it disappeared.

The hissing rose to a higher pitch for a moment. No matter how much fluid they poured, it never made it past that spot.

"That's amazing!" Mrs. Sloan exclaimed.

Dell turned to her. "No, ma'am, it's not. There's one atmosphere of air pressure, fourteen pounds per square inch, pushing the fluid out."

She looked puzzled. "But if our air is leaking out, how can there still be one atmosphere in here?"

Dell pointed at the air vent. "That's the only thing keeping us alive. It's managing to keep up with the breach in the hull. Or at least slow down the rate of venting."

Engineer Jones cleared his throat, catching my attention. He was motioning for me to join him. I stepped away from the conversation about vacuum and made my way over the two engineers.

"What've you got, Mr. Jones?" I asked him. He exchanged glances with his companion, a dark-haired boy with rampant acne. He couldn't have been more than twenty-two. Practically still a kid.

Jones pointed down into the hole they had managed to pry in the wall. Somewhere they had scrounged an LED screen and a makeshift keyboard. I had to stifle a laugh at the keyboard. It only had about five keys.

I looked deeper into the hole itself. I could just make out the shape of what could only be one of the piston's holding the hatch closed. It was a small, silvery cylinder. There was a small box built onto the side it, where it joined the hatch. It had a small blinking red light on it. I pulled my head out of the wall and looked at the two youngsters.

"What am I looking at, Jones?"

"We have an idea, sir." He glanced at his partner again, then back at me.

I waited. Neither of them said anything.

"I'm waiting, Mr. Jones."

"Yessir! Sorry, sir!" He rubbed his hands on his coverall pants, glancing back at the other engineer. I felt the frustration coming back.

"Jones!" His eyes locked on mine. "Talk to me, son. What's your idea?"

He nodded, glanced at his partner, and took a deep breath.

"We blow the hatch!"

I rocked back on my heels. "What?"

"We use explosives and blow the hatch!"

My eyes narrowed as I stared him down. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch. "Where do we get these explosives, son. This is a spare parts bay. Explosives aren't exactly spare parts on an in-system freighter."

Jones' partner spoke up for the first time. "We don't need to find any, sir. We have all we need right here." I looked at him, staring in question. He pointed into the hole. "That blinking red light? It's an explosive bolt. It's part of the biohazard system."

Suddenly I understood. Every hatch on the ship was rigged with explosive bolts. If by some chance the ship or crew encountered some unknown contamination in space, the main airlock would open and the explosive bolts would detonate. Every airtight door on the ship would be forced open, exposing the entire interior of the ship to hard vacuum. The computer would then broadcast a quarantine warning and place the ship into a polar orbit over whatever planetary body was closest. Except for Earth. Contaminated ships would then go into a lunar orbit. To my knowledge, the system had never been used.

I looked at each of the engineers in turn. "You could do that? Set off the explosive bolts?" I started to see a real chance to get out of the cargo bay. Jones took a chunk of that hope away.

"There are a few things you should know, Lieutenant." I gave him an evil look.

"Go on, Jones. Tell me."

"First, the concussion from the explosion could open the rupture in the hull. Not only would that kill us, but it would open the outside corridor to vacuum as well." I looked over to where Dell and the others were staring at the disappearing scrubber fluid. "Second, anybody that happens to be outside the hatch when it goes will have a really bad day. The bolts blow out into the corridor." He looked over at his dark-haired companion before he finished. "Finally, sir, we may just be prolonging the inevitable. The safety systems may just trap us in the corridor."

"Is that it? I thought you were worried." Jones gave me a stricken look.

"No, sir. There may be any number of unexpected results. We just can't anticipate every eventuality."

I forced a smile and nodded, looking up at the hatch. I had to wipe my eyes because of the air scrubber fumes. I could almost taste the damn stuff.

Clapping my hands, I stood. "Well, Mr. Jones, we can't stay in here. If the leak doesn't kill us, the fumes will." I looked closely at the hatch, mind working furiously. Something was missing. I couldn't figure out what it was. I rubbed my chin, thinking. Then it hit me.

"Where are the hinges?" The two young engineers looked up, and each ran their eyes around the hatch. Jones shrugged.

"On the other side, I guess."

"So the door opens out, right?" They glanced at each other and nodded.

I snapped my fingers. "Then I may have it! Can you two detonate only half of the bolts? Say the two opposite the hinges?"

Jones peered into the hole, thinking. The other engineer just closed his eyes and thought, lips moving silently. Jones answered first. He tapped a few keys on what passed for his keyboard, examining his LED screen and looking up at me.

"I think we can do it. We'll have to disable this side of the hatch, as well as isolate this set from the rest of the biohazard system." He glanced over at the hatch. "We'll also have to pry up the other side of the wall to get to the right bolts."

I smiled at him. Finally we were getting somewhere. "Good work, gentlemen." I turned and glanced at the row of storage containers. "You two disable this side. I'll get Dell and the others working on the other side." I looked around again, noting the small size of the cargo bay. "I'll get to work on some cover, too."

I went over to where Dell and the others were standing, still contemplating the vanishing air scrubber fluid. Each of them had tear-streaked faces, as well as scratchy voices and bloodshot eyes. Whatever they were talking about when I cam over wasn't important, since they got quiet as I approached. Dell looked up at me.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Lieutenant," he said.

I nodded to him. "You're probably right." I looked each of them in the eye, returning lastly to Dell. "Anyway, it's not important now. We're getting out of here." I pointed over towards the hatch. "Dell, you and Marc go over and pry open the wall opposite of Mr. Jones." Marc immediately went over and conversed with the two engineers. Dell lingered for a moment, examining my face.

"What's going on, Lieutenant?"

I looked him in the eye as I replied. "We're blowing the hatch. You and Marc need to pry open the wall so Jones and company can get to the explosive bolts." He just stared at me. I stared back. We went on like that for what seemed like forever. Then it was over.

He shrugged and walked off, saying over his shoulder, " Hope these kids know what they're doing."

I watched him go for a second then turned to Mrs. Sloan. "Ma'am, I need you to help me for a little while." I took her arm and led her over to the storage containers. "We need to lay these out in front of the wall, two perpendicular to the wall and one parallel lying across the ends of the others." She looked confused for a second, eyes already teary from the scrubber fumes. I could see that distant look coming back.

I squeezed her, getting her attention. "It's only a precaution," I told her. "The door will blow out the other way. This is just to make sure." She shook her head and nodded quickly. I could see her will reasserting itself.

I smiled at her and turned to the containers. Luckily, the lowest rack was mounted on rollers and held in place by lock-bars. I unlocked three of them and pulled them out. Each was about three meters long and a little over one high. I pushed one around so that it was end-against the wall. Mrs. Sloan started pushing on another, but she didn't get very far before I had to help her. It didn't surprise me that she needed help. I had just managed to move mine.

As we slid the container against the bulkhead, Dell and Marc were pushing the last one across the two others. I glanced over at the hatchway.

The wall had a gaping section missing. Evidently they'd vented some frustration on the wall. Dell noticed me staring at the hole and grinned.

"Okay everybody," I said, "get behind the containers." As they clambered over the makeshift barricade, I went over to the two engineers.

"Mr. Jones?" He looked up from his LED.

"Ready in a minute, sir. We're just making sure we've got this hatch isolated from the rest of the system." He turned back to his meager keyboard.

"Take your time, Mr. Jones. Whenever you're ready. It wouldn't be a good idea to vent the entire ship." I left him to his task and went to join the others. Hopping over the barricade, I noticed that everyone else seemed to be smoking. Then I realized that I could see my own breath. The breach was leaking more and more heat. We needed to get out of here soon.

I looked around at the others. Dell was on one knee, watching the two boys working at the hatch. Marc Halley was sitting next to Mrs. Sloan, speaking softly. Mrs. Sloan was sitting facing away from the hatch, arms wrapped around herself. I could see the goosebumps on her bare arm. Her breath came in short, fast bursts. She nodded every so often at whatever Marc was saying.

I flinched as Jones came over the barricade. "All set, sir." He sat down and covered his ears. I looked around for his partner. He was standing near the hatch, working at the keyboard.

I grabbed Jones' arm, hard. He looked up at me. "What's he doing out there?" I asked him.

Jones squinted at me. "What?" he shouted.

I pulled his arm away from his ear. "What is he doing out there?" Jones peeked over the barricade at the dark-haired boy.

"Somebody has to push the button, sir. He volunteered."

I glanced back at the hatch. "There's no remote?" Jones shook his head.

I stood and leapt over the barricade. Walking over, I tapped the young man in the shoulder. He looked up at me, a question on his lips. I didn't give him time to ask it.

"Get over with the others, son. I'll do it." He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He rose to go, but I grabbed his shoulder. "Hold on. What do I push?"

He pointed down at the keyboard. "Just push that bottom key, sir." He looked down at the keyboard a last time then joined to others.

I looked down at the keyboard and stifled a laugh at the demi-keys. I set the board where I could reach it with my foot from around the edge of the hatchway. I set myself, getting a grip on the edge of the hole in the wall. I looked over to see five sets of eyes peering at me from behind the barricade. I nodded at them.

Four of the sets of eyes disappeared behind the container. Dell remained kneeling for a moment, then nodded and ducked.

I tightened my grip on the wall and stared down at the key. I glanced over at the bulkhead, offering a silent prayer to Allah that it held. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I dropped by boot toe onto the keyboard.

The hatch flew open with an incredible bang. I ignored the ringing in my ears and looked around the hatchway. It was open.

Then I noticed the wind. Or rather, it made itself known. A piece of metal flew past me, striking me in the shin. Pain shot up my leg into my brain. Before I knew it I was on the deck, half out into the corridor.

Several pairs of feet passed me. I assumed the screaming pair belonged to Mrs. Sloan. One of the people I had risked my life for kicked me in the ribs on their way past. So much for gratitude.

I managed to roll onto my stomach and had started pulling myself out into the corridor when I felt hands grip my armpits and start dragging. I looked up in time to see Dell and Mr. Jones dump me unceremoniously to the deck and join Marc Halley at the hatch. As I watched from the deck in agony, they moved and strained against the hatch. I couldn't understand what they were worried about. Hadn't we just spent hours getting the damn thing open? Why would they want it closed?

Then something else flew past and struck me, this time in the shoulder. Then I understood. When the hatch flew open, it must've lodged itself in the wall. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I managed to stagger to my feet and hobble towards the hatch. Just as I reached it, it broke free and swung around. Dell, Jones, and Marc Halley all fell away from it as it swung shut. I wasn't so lucky. As it came around, it nailed me in the shoulder and tossed me to the deck yet again.

I rolled onto my back and managed to get up onto my elbows. Looking around, I wondered if I looked as bad as the rest of them. A glance at my shin told me that I probably looked worse, if the blood staining my coveralls was any indicator.

Marc and Mrs. Sloan were slumped against the wall a little ways down the corridor. Jones and his partner were examining the hatch. Dell came toward me.

"Let me help you up, Lieutenant," he said, reaching for my arm. I waved him off.

"Leave me here, Dell. It seems I belong here anyway." Dell smiled and sank down next to me. Sighing, he looked over at the two engineers.

"Leave it be, boys," he said. They both looked over at him. "It looks like it's holding. Besides, the air pressure should hold it shut as long as the seals are intact."

Jones exchanged glances with his partner, then with me. I smiled and nodded at him. The two boys sunk back against the wall, one on either side of the hatch.

I listened in vain for the hissing. The only sounds came from the breathing of the six people in the corridor. I took another glance around and then laid back onto the deck, content to enjoy the quiet.

x x x



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