Chapter Four
The apparition said nothing; just scanned the room quickly, then stepped back into the corridor and let in a small, more lightly armoured figure, its face, too, hidden by a mirrored golden visor. It took a white bundle from the pack on its back and flung it at Art, who caught it by reflex and then shook it out in response to an impatient gesture. It proved to be a spacesuit, though far lighter than anything Art had ever seen before, and so thin he found it hard to believe it would protect him from vacuum. Nevertheless, he had little choice but to put it on. It bagged on him as though designed for the massive warrior in the hallway.
From the stranger’s pack next came a clear helmet, which snapped firmly over his head, and a white briefcase-like box with hoses and wires protru
