Most of the people around them simply went back to what theyâd been doing, shrugging or laughing. But Tycho saw a few curious glances lingeringâand one of the bearded spacers with the wolf patch on his jumpsuit was speaking urgently into his headset.
His sister and brother saw it too.
âAre we running?â Yana asked, trying to extract her gloves from the bowl of her helmet.
âWeâre walking,â Carlo said. âBut weâre walking fast .â
They turned the corner and saw the inner door of the airlock open. Lights were flashing inside, illuminating a crowd of men and women in spacesuits. Sirens sounded, signaling that the lock was about to close.
âNever mindâweâre running!â Carlo said.
They broke into an awkward trot, helmets clutched to their chests. Tycho heard someone yell. He pushed past a brawny refinery worker, who barked indignantly at him. They were ten meters from the lock when the sirens stopped.
âGo faster!â Carlo urged.
The gap between the airlockâs heavy doors began to narrow. Carlo dashed inside, with Tycho right behind him. He turned and saw Yana still a couple of meters away.
âYana!â yelled Tycho, looking for a way to stop the doors.
âIdiot kids,â grumbled someone behind them. âIf I get docked for being late, itâs coming out of your hides.â
Yana turned sideways and slipped through the closing doors, yanking her helmet in after her. The doors banged shut, and she shook her head, gasping.
âHelmets,â Carlo said, fitting his over his head and locking the collar. The airlockâs venting mechanism began to hiss.
Tycho locked on his helmet and pulled on his left glove, fumbling with the seal. Wind tore at his right hand as the lockâs pumps began sucking out the air. Yana struggled with her helmet, still panting. She had only one glove on.
The workers around them were yelling.
âSeal it up, you stupid dirtsiders! Seal it up!â
Tycho cinched his right glove shut. Yana looked frantically around the lock. Tycho saw her other glove lying on the deck. He dropped to his knees and handed the glove to her. The wind whipping past them began to subside as the pumps did their work.
âTyke, we need to check seals,â Carlo said urgently, over the angry commotion around them. âIf anythingâs open, weâll all burn.â
Tychoâs instincts screamed to help his sister, but he knew Carlo was right. He forced himself to look at the readouts on Carloâs chest.
âYouâre green,â he said.
âSo are you,â Carlo said.
They turned and found Yana fumbling with her wrist seal. Sweat was pouring down her face, and they could hear her breath thundering over their suit radios. The workers around them had backed away, but there wasnât enough room in the lock to protect them in case of an open seal, and their frightened gazes showed that they knew it.
The sirens began to blare again. Yana yanked at her wrist seal so hard Tycho feared she might tear it open. He forced himself to focus and examine the readout on the front of her suit.
âYana,â he said, âstop. Youâre green. Itâs all right.â
Wind ruffled around them as hidden machinery pumped the nitrogen-rich atmosphere of Titan into the lock. The workers turned away, muttering in mingled anger and relief. A moment later, the outer doors split in the center, revealing the landing pad beneath a featureless orange sky.
âThat was fun,â Yana gasped. âWhat was that crazy old woman so mad about?â
âQuiet,â Carlo said as the lock began to clear. âWeâre not safe yetâwe need to get on the ship right now.â
âWhatâs wrong?â Yana asked. âNobody followed usâI was the last one in.â
âIâm not worried about whoâs back there,â Carlo said. âIâm worried about whoâs out
Justine Dare Justine Davis