A thundering clap echoed throughout the ship as it made contact with the abandoned space station. Charlie secured the connection with a magnetic tether which clamped onto the outer hull of the derelict. Maeve, Jim, and The Captain waited outside the airlock where they prepared to board the transmission station.
"Are you sure we need to bring all this junk?" The Captain asked while he fumbled with the tools that Jim had given him.
"Better safe than sorry." said Jim.
Maeve pulled her helmet from the shelf above her head. Her bright yellow environmental suit was bulky, as if it were designed for someone twice her size. With the numerous attachments hanging from her utility belt, and the heavy oxygen tank strapped to her back, she had a hard enough time moving around the Celeris. She had no idea how to bring the salvage back to the ship.
Charlie's voice crackled over the comm.
"We're ready to feed power to the airlock on the station. Are you guys ready?"
"Ready." Said Maeve.
"Ready here." Said Jim.
"Open it up Charlie." Said the Captain.
One by one, the three of them entered the tube connecting the two vessels. The captain pressed a switch on the wall as he entered the airlock. The red metal door slid closed behind them and made a loud click as it locked in place. Jim locked his helmet in place of his suit. Maeve and the Captain did the same. As her suit pressurized, Maeve heard nothing but silence at first. The she heard only the sound of her own breath and Charlie's voice from somewhere inside her helmet.
"The station isn't responding." Charlie said.
"That's because there's no one there, you moron." The Captain replied.
Jim reached out to a control panel against the wall and pressed a button. Nothing happened. He tried another but still the door did not open.
"Hold on a minute." Charlie said over the comm. "I'm sending you power."
They waited. Nothing happened. Jim tried the button panel again.
"I don't have all day Charlie." The Captain said irritated.
"Hold on I said!" Charlie repeated.
"Patience guys." Maeve said. She was starting to feel a little claustrophobic herself. The three of them stood in the tiny compartment. It was no bigger than a closet, and just a little wider than the doors themselves.
"Damnit Charlie I'm cutting through!" The Captain said pulling the angle grinder from his belt.
"Woah careful with that thing!" Jim yelled as Captain Paris began to cut through the seal around the door. Jim pushed Maeve back towards the opposite side of the airlock as sparks began to fly off the wall. Maeve wasn't sure how to respond, so she just watched as the Captain sliced his way into the derelict.
"If they cared about this door they would have come and got it a long time ago!" The Captain said over the comm. Maeve could only imagine what Charlie must have been thinking back on the bridge.
About half an hour later, Maeve moved through the cold, dark corridors of the abandoned station. Without artificial gravity on board the station, Maeve was able to float through the station's long, empty hallways, using her hands to push off the walls as she passed them. The station itself was dark and empty. It seemed as though the people who once lived on board had taken everything with them when they left. She could feel vibrations through her hands as she touched the doors between each room she entered.
YOU ARE READING
Rebel Star - The Scarlet Insurgent
Fiksi Ilmiah"They say the war ended twelve years ago with the destruction of the Earth. But we, the chosen, will rise from the ashes and we will not stop. We will never stop, not until the Corporation and its children are brought to dust. Those who have fallen...
