The following excerpt is from chapter 4 of Tendrils to the Moon. It's told from the perspective of Shaun, who is the leading supporting character, behind the two leads, Ames and Sheridan. Shaun was a fun character to create because he's a young, jovial Australian with a very cool niche in the story. He also provides a good contrast to Ames.
In this scene, Shaun prepares another man, Ashwin, for an extravehicular activity (EVA), a fancy term for spacewalk. Ashwin is middle-aged, but less experienced in spacewalks than Shaun.
Shaun flipped and turned the lock lever below his neck, making the helmet airtight. The ambient atmosphere in the rebreather rig and pressure suit provided about 4 minutes’ worth of oxygen under optimal conditions, although he had pushed it to 6 minutes a few times as a trainee by being completely still.
“Clear to depressurize?” he asked.
Ashwin’s hands fumbled around his collar, searching for the lock lever that wasn’t quite visible through the bottom of his helmet. Shaun gently nudged Ashwin’s hands away and sealed it for him.
“Clear to depressurize,” Ashwin said.
“Four minutes of suit oxygen starts now.”
Shaun hit the vacuum switch. The compressor whirred, and air buffeted his body as it sucked into the overhead vents. As the ambient pressure dropped, Shaun felt the elastic suit loosen around his chest, back, and thighs—the atmosphere within trying to push out into the developing vacuum. He monitored the pressure gauge on his right forearm. If there was a loose fitting anywhere in the suit, the gauge would indicate it.
“A couple more things before we go outside, mate,” Shaun said, as the sound of rushing air around them died, and the only sounds they could hear—aside from their own voices via radio—were sub-audible vibrations. “The key to success in any zero-gee activity is to never lose your bearings. Be deliberate in your movements. Nothing justifies being in a hurry.”
He touched Ashwin’s oxygen feed, which extended downward from the top of the breathing bag. “Don’t monkey with this line until you’re ready to attach. You could trick the nozzle into thinking it’s attached to an air supply and it’ll pop open, evacuating your suit.”
“Lovely,” Ashwin said.
“I’ll go into the cargo bay first. Follow me. Use your hands. Don’t use your feet unless you’re comfortable. They’ll just get in the way.”
“Okay.”
He slapped the side of Ashwin’s helmet and turned to face the outer door. The vacuum light above the outer door lit up. Shaun braced his feet against the outer door, turned the crank counterclockwise, and pushed it open. The door pivoted slowly on its hinge, revealing the airless cargo bay. The airlock’s harsh light cast yellow on a stack of rectangular foam cases held down by a cord net.
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