out here was not the same as viewing them from earth. There was no familiar arrangement of constellations and no atmosphere to filter their light. The array of lights seemed endless - there were more stars spread out before her than she could ever see from Earth. They dotted the endless expanse of space in a riot of blues, yellows, and even some reds. It was like a pointillist painting with even bolder colors.
It was an awe-inspiring sight, and if they weren't in such a dire circumstance, Tracy would appreciate the view more.
By now Tracy was getting tired, and she was only concerned with getting to the spacecraft. She wasn't sure how they'd get inside once they arrived at their destination, but the boys seemed to have things well in hand. In fact, she was impressed by the way they worked together. They had known each other their entire lives. It was like they were partners and always would be. They had established a regular rhythm latching, unlatching, and moving. The three were making a slow, steady pace across the face of the merchant ship.
Tracy had lost track of who was in the front position, and with the space suits, she couldn't tell who was Rev or Tev.
One of them fumbled latching the tether to a handhold, and the other prematurely unhitched the other end. They had been working like robots, trying to move faster and faster.
Naked terror washed over Tracy as they free floated above the ship, and she imagined that they'd float away into empty space. A handhold flashed in front of her eyes and she grabbed it with one, then two gloved hands. Her feet now pointed to the stars while her nose pointed to the hull of the ship. She held on tightly, bracing herself. Her shoulders shook as the mass of the two men pulled against her body. She hung on tightly and the brothers bounced back, heading towards the spaceship again.
Tracy watched as the brother passed behind her, now to the side of her, and grabbed another handhold with his gloved hand. He latched the tether again, securing them to the ship. Tracy relaxed with a sigh and let go of her hold. Her arms burned with exertion.
From that point, they moved slowly and more carefully.
According to Tracy's helmet display, an hour passed before they encountered the shape of another ship sticking up from the hull. A few more leapfrog moves and they were in the crevice between the hull of the bigger ship and the smaller one. The size of the ships were relative; from this position, the smaller ship loomed over their heads.
One of the brothers pushed himself off the merchant ship and floated to the smaller transport, sailing very slowly through the vacuum of space. He found a handhold and clipped into to it. He hauled on the line, and she and the other brother joined him on the face of the transport.
Tracy was normally a good judge of size and distance. For her earthbound job, she had to be, but she was having trouble thinking of a comparison to the size of the smaller ship. She guessed it was about the size of the NASA space shuttle. That made it about half the size of a commercial passenger plane at home.
One of the brothers, and here she guessed it was Tev, moved them toward a small hatch at the nose of the ship. He pushed aside a panel and revealed a keypad. Tracy couldn't see the symbols, but she watched him punch in a code. The small hatch opened. The brother disappeared into the hatch, and Tracy watched as she was pulled toward the hatch.
Up to this point, Tracy had done surprisingly well for an earth girl. She didn't allow the unfamiliarity of the spacewalk to unsettle her, but when she floated inside the ship, she became disoriented and queasy.
Tev was standing upside down; his feet were firmly planted on the decking, hauling in the tether hand over hand. He looked up at her and smiled, a smile so similar to Rev's and yet a bit different. When she entered the ship, Tev grabbed her suit and flipped her so she was pointing upside down too. If Tracy had anything in her
It was an awe-inspiring sight, and if they weren't in such a dire circumstance, Tracy would appreciate the view more.
By now Tracy was getting tired, and she was only concerned with getting to the spacecraft. She wasn't sure how they'd get inside once they arrived at their destination, but the boys seemed to have things well in hand. In fact, she was impressed by the way they worked together. They had known each other their entire lives. It was like they were partners and always would be. They had established a regular rhythm latching, unlatching, and moving. The three were making a slow, steady pace across the face of the merchant ship.
Tracy had lost track of who was in the front position, and with the space suits, she couldn't tell who was Rev or Tev.
One of them fumbled latching the tether to a handhold, and the other prematurely unhitched the other end. They had been working like robots, trying to move faster and faster.
Naked terror washed over Tracy as they free floated above the ship, and she imagined that they'd float away into empty space. A handhold flashed in front of her eyes and she grabbed it with one, then two gloved hands. Her feet now pointed to the stars while her nose pointed to the hull of the ship. She held on tightly, bracing herself. Her shoulders shook as the mass of the two men pulled against her body. She hung on tightly and the brothers bounced back, heading towards the spaceship again.
Tracy watched as the brother passed behind her, now to the side of her, and grabbed another handhold with his gloved hand. He latched the tether again, securing them to the ship. Tracy relaxed with a sigh and let go of her hold. Her arms burned with exertion.
From that point, they moved slowly and more carefully.
According to Tracy's helmet display, an hour passed before they encountered the shape of another ship sticking up from the hull. A few more leapfrog moves and they were in the crevice between the hull of the bigger ship and the smaller one. The size of the ships were relative; from this position, the smaller ship loomed over their heads.
One of the brothers pushed himself off the merchant ship and floated to the smaller transport, sailing very slowly through the vacuum of space. He found a handhold and clipped into to it. He hauled on the line, and she and the other brother joined him on the face of the transport.
Tracy was normally a good judge of size and distance. For her earthbound job, she had to be, but she was having trouble thinking of a comparison to the size of the smaller ship. She guessed it was about the size of the NASA space shuttle. That made it about half the size of a commercial passenger plane at home.
One of the brothers, and here she guessed it was Tev, moved them toward a small hatch at the nose of the ship. He pushed aside a panel and revealed a keypad. Tracy couldn't see the symbols, but she watched him punch in a code. The small hatch opened. The brother disappeared into the hatch, and Tracy watched as she was pulled toward the hatch.
Up to this point, Tracy had done surprisingly well for an earth girl. She didn't allow the unfamiliarity of the spacewalk to unsettle her, but when she floated inside the ship, she became disoriented and queasy.
Tev was standing upside down; his feet were firmly planted on the decking, hauling in the tether hand over hand. He looked up at her and smiled, a smile so similar to Rev's and yet a bit different. When she entered the ship, Tev grabbed her suit and flipped her so she was pointing upside down too. If Tracy had anything in her
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