Chapter 7
Barb stripped to her underwear in the chill of the engineering section, beside the dark, unpowered panels. Taya held the space suit ready for her and helped her into it. Between the two of them, they checked every seal and fastening.
“You can manage the helmet yourself?” Taya asked.
“Yes.”
“And don’t forget the tether.”
“I won’t.”
“Go get prepped. I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Signal readiness, then I’ll bring the power systems back online. Emergency startup so we can take off fast. They’ll be scanning for energy signatures if they are still out there, so we have to be out of this hole fast before they come and trap us in.”
Barb knew all that, but suspected Taya was putting off going to do it. The moment they separated and maybe…
Taya stood on tiptoe suddenly, grabbed Ba
