Fated Mate Conquered - Luna Voss Page 0,31
a tether, is the stuff nightmares are made of. I have no intention of letting go of the ship.
“Nearing the left vent,” I announce as I start to get close.
I reach the vent, which is basically a big slit in the side of the ship protected by a metal plate. By the light of my headlamp, I can already see that the vent is oozing with gooey fuel residue.
“Yeah, this vent is fully clogged,” I say. “I’m surprised we made it as far as we did.”
“Are you going to be able to unclog it?” Turan asks.
“I think so,” I tell him. “Let me see.”
Using one hand to hold on tightly to the rung next to the vent, I reach under the metal plate and scoop out a glob of fuel residue with my other hand. It comes out easily, and I fling it off into the darkness of space.
“Yeah, I’m going to be able to clear it out,” I say to Turan. “Might take a sec, but we’ll be fine.”
“Just be careful,” he reminds me, and I roll my eyes.
I set about scooping the rest of the fuel residue out of the vent. It’s actually kind of fun, and I enjoy the squishy feeling of it in between my fingers. Thankfully, Imperial spacesuit gloves are coated with a nonstick material, which keeps my hands clean. Otherwise, I don’t think I would be able to hold onto the ship on the way back.
“Left vent is empty,” I report, throwing the last of the goop away from the ship. “Heading over to the right one now.”
I make my way around to the other side of the ship, not letting go of one handhold until I’m already holding the next. A couple of minutes later, I arrive, and find that this vent is even fuller than the left one.
“This vent is seriously clogged up,” I say, running my hand over the opening and wiping off a large amount of the gelatinous residue. “Might take me a little longer than the last one.”
It isn’t until I’ve finished clearing the right vent that I notice my tether doesn’t feel right. It’s not dangling in the direction I expected it to be. I give it a little tug, expecting the rest of the slack cord to come with it, but to my horror, I see by my headlamp that the line is severed after only about five feet.
I’m not connected to the ship anymore. If I lose my handhold and float off, Turan and the others might never find me.
“Um, I don’t want to stress anyone out, but we might have a little problem,” I say, trying to keep my voice measured. Honestly, I’m not even that worried, but I get the strong impression Turan is going to freak out.
“What is it?” he replies quickly.
“My, uh, tether seems to have been cut. Or snapped. Or something. In any case, I’m not attached anymore.”
“What?” Turan yells, his voice distorting as it maxes out the volume on my in-helmet speakers.
“I just noticed it,” I tell him, carefully starting to climb my way back in the direction of the airlock. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back inside the ship in just a moment.”
“Just stay where you are,” he orders me. “I’m going to suit up and come get you. I’ll bring the backup tether cable.”
“No, don’t bother,” I say. “It’s not a big deal. I’m already halfway back.”
“This isn’t a conversation,” he growls. “Don’t move. I’m putting on my spacesuit now.”
I sigh in frustration. I get that he’s just being cautious, but right now, he’s being overprotective. I’m perfectly capable of climbing the handholds on the way back to the airlock myself, thank you very much. Obviously having my tether broken isn’t ideal, but it’s totally unnecessary for Turan to come out and get me.
Hand over hand, rung after rung, I make my way back to the airlock, guided through the starry darkness by my helmet light. Soon I can see the hatch. And sure enough, there’s the tether cable, dangling out of the ship until it disappears in the distance. I wonder how long it took me to notice after it snapped. For all I know, I might have been untethered most of the time I was out here.
“Okay, I’m suited up,” comes Turan’s voice. “All we need to do is repressurize the airlock, and then I’ll be with you.”
“Not necessary,” I tell him. “I’m almost there. I’m going to reach the airlock in like 10 seconds.”
Turan goes quiet.