Emerald Flight: “Star Wing” (continued)

“We’re ready, Commander,” Xi said.

Elizabeth checked the status of her suit again and then nodded. “Open it.”

Xi manually unlocked the hatch and, with Carson’s help, opened it. Through the insulating layer of the suit, Elizabeth could not hear the faint hiss as the last of the remaining atmosphere fled from the compartment, but it was present in her mind.

“Careful, Commander,” Xi’s voice said in her helmet.

A faint smile crept along Elizabeth’s lips, despite her best efforts. “I’ve got it, Ensign,” she said, amused and allowing it to show in her tone. “I have done this a few times before.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Xi responded, sounding downright contrite.

Elizabeth chuckled, wishing she could reach over and squeeze the Ensign’s shoulder. “It hasn’t been that long, Xi.” She moved forward, checking her footing on the ruptured deck plates. “You do remember that repair outside the B deck?”

A noise somewhere between a gasp and a snicker sounded over the helmet speaker. Elizabeth could not tell whether they had come from Xi, Carson, or both.

“Oh yeah,” Xi replied, clearly laughing now. “I mean, yes, um, Commander.”

Within the confines of her helmet, Elizabeth shook her head slightly.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this . . .

“Just don’t lock the door behind us,” Elizabeth told Xi. “I don’t have my keys.”

There was definite laughter this time. It helped. Elizabeth felt some of her earlier melancholy fade. She moved carefully forward, focusing now on the job ahead.

With amount of damage to the ship, and her frustration at having little else to do but sift through the updated reports, Elizabeth had convinced the Captain to allow her to assist with some of the repairs.

It hadn’t taken all that much convincing, Elizabeth noted without a smile. Her last image as she had left the bridge had been of Devereux stripping off her duty tunic and helping to clear out fallen debris.

This section, one of the first compromised by the enemy assault, was also one of the least critical. Their goal was simply assess the damage and add it to the growing list of needed repairs.

Engineering’s are going to be putting in a lot of long shifts. She remembered several extended shifts with the Chief and the Engineering team, fueled by coffee and mutual exhaustion.

Xi let out a low whistle. Elizabeth turned her head to look in the direction of Xi’s gaze. Her breath caught for a moment. The sight was both breath-taking and horrifying. Open space was visible through a gash several meters wide and tall. The scene beyond it was astonishing. So was the realization of how badly the hull had been damaged and what it would take to repair it.

“Over here,” Carson’s voice whispered.

Elizabeth turned away from the view and made her way carefully to where the Engineering technician stood. Less than a meter away from him were two uniformed figures, each of whom had managed to cling tightly to emergency handholds even as the immense section of hull had been sucked away.

It had not saved them, Elizabeth knew, for the effects of exposure to open vacuum had killed them within moments.

At least there’s two more that won’t have to be reported as “Missing and Presumed Dead”, she considered, finding it only a small comfort.

Seven crew members remained unaccounted for, according to the status reports. She could not remember their names, and then remembered that she had been distracted by another incoming report before she could read them. In the rush of activity that followed, she had not yet gotten back to it.

She moved toward the closer of the two. Dressed in Security colors, its face was turned away from her. Stiff from the effects of vacuum, it resisted at first when she tried to turn it toward her. The fingers slipped free and the figure spun freely, turning abruptly until its face only centimeters from Elizabeth’s faceplate.

Elizabeth gasped. At first, it was in astonished surprise, and then, a moment later, with horrified recognition.

Oh gods.

The face of Manuel de Marco floated before her. Eyes closed, his features were oddly composed in that moment of death. Elizabeth wondered if he had been spent his last moment in prayer.

Her throat tightened. She found herself unable to breath, feeling as if she had been struck hard low in the abdomen. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes and then began to cling to her cheeks as she found herself unable to stop them. It took every ounce of her will to not sob openly.

“Commander?”

She realized that Xi was speaking to her.

“Yeah, Xi,” she choked out. “I’ve got this one.” She swallowed hard, managing to regain a sliver of her composure. “You and Carson bring the other one in.”

There was pause before Xi responded in a hushed tone. “Yes, sir.”

Trying hard not to allow her shuddering breaths to be heard over the suit radio, she wrapped her arm around de Marco’s frozen form and, hugging him close against her, slowly and carefully guided them both back toward the waiting hatchway.