Snippet #1384713

Theo resisted the temptation to check the seals on his helmet, as he approached the airlock. He always did that, for some reason he was always nervous about his suit before getting out into the void of space, even when he knew for a fact, it was on correctly. It wasn’t like his checking had ever helped him, hell, once he broke the seals from checking them with every step as a younger man. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t all that important, just a tick the captain had.

Of course, he really didn’t want to be wearing the suit but given the holes in the derelict, she might not have a lot of atmosphere left inside. Plus they didn’t know why the crew either abandoned ship or was unable to hail them. Some kind of chemical leak or gas could be filling the remaining atmosphere with toxic elements. It was better to go in, carrying your own air, at least at first.

Theo was a bit late getting to the airlock. Most of the crew should be already there but he had gone back to his cabin after suiting up to fetch his shotgun and added a pouch of ammo to his belt. He had heard stories of pirates playing dead, to get ships to investigate and then pouring aboard once the airlocks were connected. Just like with the suit, it would be better to play this safe, then sorry.

Reaching the airlock, the captain gently worked his way through the small crowd of similarly dressed spacers, into the airlock itself. He glanced at the small screen by the control terminal. They were almost lined up with the airlock on the mystery ship. In a few more seconds, he would be able to send the matting tube (a series of collapsing rods, metallic cloth and a folding walkway) across. Then they would gather inside, seal the airlock and open the door on the hull. If they had been boarding a station or another working vessel, someone would be there to open the airlock on the other side but that didn’t seem likely now. However, he had acquired an illegal airlock override, so that would be much of a problem.

“A few more meters” said Theo, opening a comm. channel with the bridge of the Dancer, “And we’re golden.”