SIREN

Chapter Twelve

The airlock door whooshed open and created a portal to the unforgiving void. I tentatively put a foot down and felt the weight of my spacesuit follow. I was wearing an ensemble that weighed almost as much as my whole body and every movement reminded me of that fact.

Through the Perspex dome on my cumbersome helmet, I saw Neptune sparkle beyond the asteroids. 'What a view,' I said, gripping the handles on either side of the doorway. My thick white gauntlets made my hands look monstrous.

'She's definitely something,' Sam said behind me. He pressed his finger against the thin device on his forearm and said, 'we've got enough air for a two hour walk. More than enough time, right?'

'Right,' I said, flicking a switch on my breastplate. Two tubes on my back spurted compressed air and I zipped out the Eagle with a smile. I held up my hands and a collection of tiny nozzles attached to my wrists slowed me down. I hovered outside the airlock, watching Sam wrestle with his armour. 'You okay there?'

'I told them, I said: "make sure you account for my fat legs,' but did they listen? Did they, Teabags?'

'I'm guessing they didn't.'

'Of course they didn't!' he gasped, shaking his right shin. 'Okay, that should do it.' He followed my route and moved into the unknown. 'You ever thought we'd get here?' He asked as he left the Eagle.

'What?' I said, turning my body to the Martini.

'You know, like, did you ever think we'd make it this far?'

'Honestly? I never thought about it.'

'Really? I thought about it all the time. I wondered if we'd even make it out the pods, man.'

'Well, here we are, so let's get on with it, yeah?' I rotated a dial on my forearm and navigated my way towards the Martini's transparent column. 'There,' I pointed, 'we'll land there. Ready?'

'I guess,' Sam said.

Together, we latched onto the side and used our rubberized palms to stick to the alien ship. My feet slipped again and again and I started to pant as my toes evaded any foothold.

'Easy, easy,' Sam soothed, 'Let me make a door.' He took off his rucksack and clipped it to his waist. The straps and buckles drifted like tentacles reaching for the stars. He plunged his hand into his bag and pulled out a piece of metal shaped like a horseshoe. He shook it once and smiled as it started to hum. 'That's my girl,' he said.

'Are you going to whisper pick-up lines at that thing all day, or are you going to actually do something?'

'I don't know, what do you think, baby?' Sam beamed at his tool. 'You're right, we should help Teabags, shouldn't we?' He pressed the two flat parts against the Martini and his wrist wobbled with the vibrations.

Sam's saw, from what he told me back on Earth, had a collection of serrated teeth hidden inside. They could grow or shrink depending on the operator's wishes and they could cut through almost anything. Sam had opted to use long fang-like blades, which were making short work of the Martini's outer shell.

Sam brought back a fist and punched where the saw had cut, creating a hole for us to slip through. He went first, folding his legs and then his arms. He tucked the saw back into his rucksack and gestured for me to follow.

I looked out at our Eagle and pouted. 'I hope she'll be okay out here.'

'She'll be fine, come in already.'

'Are you sure you should be bringing all those explosives?'

'What? These? We might need them!'