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nothing, absolutely nothing had prepared him for the sheer awesome size of a colonial
unit. It filled the entire sky, as if it would somehow encompass the universe. Nothing in
his experience could possibly compare with the massive double-curve sweep of the twin
torus that slowly wheeled on either side of them as they closed in toward the docking ring
on the main shaft.
The sheer mass of the object was enough to create a minor gravitational disturbance that
required Stasz to provide a slightly increased deceleration as they closed in.
As the four of them floated toward the docking bay, Shelley passed out hard copies of the
ship's design and schematics of the blueprints now that the particular designation of the
ship had been confirmed by exterior markings. They had already detected half a dozen
unrepaired holes in the vessel, one of them a twenty-meter puncture through the main
shaft. So there was little if any hope of finding any life.
Ian was dreading the encounter for fear of what he would find. In the three hours of
closing there had been no signal of any kind. There was no sign of interior lighting and no
heat dissipation from the coolant radiators.
Sealing himself into his bulky pressure suit, Ian settled into the docking bay and waited,
listening intently as Stasz called out the ever-closing range.
There was a faint jar as the adjustable docking unit connected with the hull of the other
ship. The green light over the docking-bay hatch turned yellow, and he could feel the
pressure suit crinkling as the docking chamber depressurized.
The light overhead changed to red. Ian looked at the other three and nodded. There they
were, four heroes, ready to go forward in the name of Democratic Bureaucracy. Four
heroes, and he couldn't help but laugh, his high-pitched giggle sounding somewhat foolish
and slightly hysterical.
He punched the button in front of him and the hatch slid open. They were locked up
against the side of the colony, pressed against a nonrotating collar in the middle of the
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central shaft. A manual docking door was in front of him, instructions in Japanese,
English, and Russian written across it.
Within seconds he had deciphered their meaning, and, grabbing the two handles
alongside the door, Ian attempted to rotate them.
He spun in the opposite direction.
After several minutes of cursing and sweating, the other three helped brace him into
position and he tried again.
As if on rusted hinges, the handles gave way slowly then suddenly they broke free and
started to spin of their own volition. The doorway slid open. A slight puff of air came out of
the ship. Ian looked up and his mind blanked out in horror as the ship's radio overloaded
with his hysterical screams.
Ellen was back in the corner, still clawing at the escape latch back into their own ship, which
would not open with the outside door unlatched. Yes, he could see that now. Panicked, Ian
looked around, the only sound his own convulsive breathing and Ellen's soft whimpers
coming over the radio set.
"Ian, it's all right, it's all right." It was a soft, soothing voice. Richard, yes, it was Richard.
He could feel the hands on his shoulder. His friend's face was barely visible behind the
helmet, and his own vision was obscured by the moisture from his hyperven-tilation.
He looked back and started to turn his head.
"No, not yet, Ian. Don't look back until you're ready."
"What " He started to sob again. "What Richard, what is it?"
"It's a body, Ian," Richard said softly, "it's nothing but a body mummified by the low
pressure and dry air. It can't hurt you now, Ian. He just gave you a start when the change
in pressure made him drift out of the airlock toward you."
"Yeah, just a start." Ian could feel his self-possession on the edge of falling apart again.
"Take a few more deep breaths and when you feel ready you can turn around."
"Where is he?"
"Shelley moved him back into the colony's airlock. She's waiting for us in there. I'm going
over to Ellen now." He let go of Ian, and, pushing off from the wall, he floated over to where
Ellen hung like a cat clinging to a sheer wall. Her sobbing still filled the headset.
Ian took a couple of more deep breaths and slowly turned.
As she poked around the interior of the colony's airlock, Shelley was barely visible except
for her headlamp. While she searched around, she absently hung on to the mummified
body with one hand.
Bracing himself, Ian pushed forward into the ship.
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