your checklist."
Lawn sighed loudly. "I wish this buoy had a window."
"Windows would weaken the structure. You can't reinforce a window like you can an outer hull."
"I know that. Just wishing."
The orange light went from blinking to being steady. Lawn stared at it in surprise.
"The light stopped blinking. Was that you?"
"No."
In that one word Lawn heard the edge of panic. "Deep?"
"Get back to the ship. Now."
He was controlling his panic so as not to scare her. The fact that there was something to panic the ship was enough to make her hurry and hang the checklist back onto its carabiner clip.
At the edge of the hull, she stared over at the Vogt. The initial tether hooking the ship to the buoy was intact. If she didn't know any better, all appeared normal. She hit the switch to close the buoy's hull door.
119
"Hurry, Lawn," he urged.
Making sure she remained attached to the buoy, Lawn gave herself a little push with her knees to float back over to the Vogt. At the same time, Deep opened the outer hull door to let her in. She was almost halfway across the divide when she hit something and bounced back. The impact didn't hurt her, but it was enough to send her floating back toward the buoy.
"Uh! What the...Deep?"
"The buoy must have erected a secondary shield between us. Give me a moment to drop it."
Lawn looked down at the single tether keeping her stabilized. Without it, she would have started to drift off into space like she almost had a few days ago. The thought chilled her.
"Lawn, if I drop the secondary shield, it's going to affect all of them. Which means we're going to be vulnerable to whatever triggered the buoy's defense system."
"You mean the orange light really wasn't you?"
"No, Lawn. Go back to the buoy. When I tell you to, push hard to get back here. I don't know how long I can keep the shields down, so do what you have to do and make it snappy."
"Okay." She reeled herself back to the buoy and placed her feet firmly on the hull plating, double-checking that her magnetic boots were turned off so she wouldn't remain attached to the metal. "I'm ready."
"Now."
120
This time she shoved harder, propelling her with greater force toward the open entryway in the Vogt. When she reached where she'd bounced off earlier, she felt herself tense in expectation, but the shield was down. It wasn't that she didn't trust Deep, but she was afraid the shields could slip past him.
Seconds before she reached the Vogt, Lawn switched her boots back on. They would grip the ship's flooring and enable her to get a firm hold once she entered the airlock. She felt her suit adhere itself to the metal.
"Docking!"
Reaching around for the tether that still attached her to the buoy, she was barely aware of a stinging sensation in her upper right arm. Stunned, Lawn stared at her suit and the minuscule, almost invisible dot of red on the suit's white surface.
"Lawn!"
In the next instant, a mechanical hand grabbed her by the oxygen pack and yanked her into the airlock. The outer door swung closed, catching the tether in the framework. There was a grinding noise, and the door literally sliced through the nylon rope before it set the seal.
"Lawn!"
The dot of red had gotten bigger. Now it was the size of a tiny bead, and it was emerging from an almost invisible hole in her suit.
She could hear the loud hiss as the chamber filled with air.
Her arm stung where she'd been hit, although she had no idea what might have struck her.
121
Reaching for the panel to let herself into the main area of the Vogt, Lawn waited for the all-clear to let her know the pressure had been equalized. Instead, she felt the ship buck under her feet. Her boots kept her attached to the floor, or else she would have been thrown about the chamber. Still, she felt rattled.
"Deep! What's wrong?"
"We're under attack!"
"Wha—"
Before she could finish, she heard a pop , and a teensy hole appeared in the outer bulkhead. A split-second
Lawn sighed loudly. "I wish this buoy had a window."
"Windows would weaken the structure. You can't reinforce a window like you can an outer hull."
"I know that. Just wishing."
The orange light went from blinking to being steady. Lawn stared at it in surprise.
"The light stopped blinking. Was that you?"
"No."
In that one word Lawn heard the edge of panic. "Deep?"
"Get back to the ship. Now."
He was controlling his panic so as not to scare her. The fact that there was something to panic the ship was enough to make her hurry and hang the checklist back onto its carabiner clip.
At the edge of the hull, she stared over at the Vogt. The initial tether hooking the ship to the buoy was intact. If she didn't know any better, all appeared normal. She hit the switch to close the buoy's hull door.
119
"Hurry, Lawn," he urged.
Making sure she remained attached to the buoy, Lawn gave herself a little push with her knees to float back over to the Vogt. At the same time, Deep opened the outer hull door to let her in. She was almost halfway across the divide when she hit something and bounced back. The impact didn't hurt her, but it was enough to send her floating back toward the buoy.
"Uh! What the...Deep?"
"The buoy must have erected a secondary shield between us. Give me a moment to drop it."
Lawn looked down at the single tether keeping her stabilized. Without it, she would have started to drift off into space like she almost had a few days ago. The thought chilled her.
"Lawn, if I drop the secondary shield, it's going to affect all of them. Which means we're going to be vulnerable to whatever triggered the buoy's defense system."
"You mean the orange light really wasn't you?"
"No, Lawn. Go back to the buoy. When I tell you to, push hard to get back here. I don't know how long I can keep the shields down, so do what you have to do and make it snappy."
"Okay." She reeled herself back to the buoy and placed her feet firmly on the hull plating, double-checking that her magnetic boots were turned off so she wouldn't remain attached to the metal. "I'm ready."
"Now."
120
This time she shoved harder, propelling her with greater force toward the open entryway in the Vogt. When she reached where she'd bounced off earlier, she felt herself tense in expectation, but the shield was down. It wasn't that she didn't trust Deep, but she was afraid the shields could slip past him.
Seconds before she reached the Vogt, Lawn switched her boots back on. They would grip the ship's flooring and enable her to get a firm hold once she entered the airlock. She felt her suit adhere itself to the metal.
"Docking!"
Reaching around for the tether that still attached her to the buoy, she was barely aware of a stinging sensation in her upper right arm. Stunned, Lawn stared at her suit and the minuscule, almost invisible dot of red on the suit's white surface.
"Lawn!"
In the next instant, a mechanical hand grabbed her by the oxygen pack and yanked her into the airlock. The outer door swung closed, catching the tether in the framework. There was a grinding noise, and the door literally sliced through the nylon rope before it set the seal.
"Lawn!"
The dot of red had gotten bigger. Now it was the size of a tiny bead, and it was emerging from an almost invisible hole in her suit.
She could hear the loud hiss as the chamber filled with air.
Her arm stung where she'd been hit, although she had no idea what might have struck her.
121
Reaching for the panel to let herself into the main area of the Vogt, Lawn waited for the all-clear to let her know the pressure had been equalized. Instead, she felt the ship buck under her feet. Her boots kept her attached to the floor, or else she would have been thrown about the chamber. Still, she felt rattled.
"Deep! What's wrong?"
"We're under attack!"
"Wha—"
Before she could finish, she heard a pop , and a teensy hole appeared in the outer bulkhead. A split-second
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