Without waiting for a reply, the beautiful woman reached into another locker and pulled out a smooth cord, so light and thin that even though it didn't take up much space looped in tight coils, it was probably hundreds of yards long. She led the way to the far end of the changing room, where a thick round door with a glass window in the center dominated the center of the wall.
Beyond it was a small room, probably no bigger than six people could squeeze into at the same time, with an equally sturdy door on the far side. And outside that door, she saw the black emptiness of space.
“This is an airlock,” Ali explained as she worked to open the door. It required far more than just turning a doorknob or palming a hand plate, and took almost ten seconds. “When exposed to vacuum, air undergoes what's known as explosive decompression, rushing to fill the vacuum until it's all been dispersed into space. This can be a violent process, and wasteful of precious air, so the airlock removes all air from the room before we open the far lock and exit the ship.”
Lana nodded, thinking of the galley where she'd seen the hole punched into the bulkhead, then objects and air rushing through it into space with gale force.
The companion led the way into the small room, then closed the heavy door behind them and began sealing it. “For safety reasons, both of these doors can't be open at the same time. It takes special override measures to do so, but that's only applicable in astronomically rare circumstances.”
She felt an odd tugging sensation on her entire suit at once as the air in the small room was sucked out through a couple of small vents. Ali unspooled the cord and clipped the end of it to a loop on the wall near the outer door, then hooked a carabiner on her belt to it. She came over to Lana and helped her get clipped to the tether as well, then her voice came over the radio speaking in a different tone, as if to a group. “We're ready to go.”
Dax's voice immediately replied in Lana's earpiece, calm and competent. It helped calm her down, hearing him. “Acknowledged. I've flown around and snagged the useful debris from the pirate ship. It's all drifting together, and I'm holding the first piece with the junker arm ready for you to inspect. Ship maneuvers have now ceased . . . you're clear to exit.”
The companion went to the outer door and opened it like she had the inner one, revealing the black emptiness of space beyond, brilliantly strewn with stars. As Lana stared at it in a mixture of wonder and sick trepidation, the beautiful woman took her by the shoulders and guided her towards the yawning opening. “It would be best for you to exit first, so I can monitor your progress.”
Nodding hesitantly, Lana squared her shoulders and stepped out the airlock.
Just that suddenly she felt like she was falling. Except there wasn't any gravity pulling her in any direction, and if she was falling it was in the direction of the last step she'd taken. Which, coincidentally, had started her spinning forward as if she was doing the universe's slowest, most ungainly somersault.
She flailed her arms and tried to twist, the sharp motions making her move in odd ways she'd never experienced before. After a bit more flailing she managed to turn back the way she'd come, only to find she was already a few feet away from the door and drifting farther away by the second.
She was also upside down, apparently.
Although not for long, because she kept right on spinning, disorientation joining the sensation of falling; in a panic she began to twist violently the other way, trying to stop her rotation. But that only made her spin in even more wild and confusing ways, until the ship and space beyond it in every direction were blurs of motion.
Then Lana felt a gentle tug on her waist from the tether. Ali spoke in her ear, calm but firm. “Lana, hold still. I can stop your rotation using the suit's attitude thrusters, but only if you aren't constantly flailing around. Also, if you stop moving then I can feel safe approaching to hold onto you for a moment, steadying you until your disorientation passes.”
She forced herself to freeze mid-flail, limbs uncomfortably akimbo. To her vast relief, it wasn't long before Ali was there, arms wrapped around her holding her steady. And oddly, rather than feeling restrictive the tight hold made Lana feel much safer and in control. Little puffs emitted from the companion's suit jets, keeping them both stable as she gently guided Lana's arms and legs back to more comfortable positions.
“Learning to use the suit's thrusters may take more practice than you have time for at the moment,” the companion said gently, still holding her close. Almost as if hugging her comfortingly, which was in fact greatly appreciated. “But I'll at least show you how to use them to move in any direction, and how to slow your rotation.”
Still talking, she held out one gloved hand and began making gentle waving motions. “Until then, remember what I told you. Small motions, minimal force. If you begin rotating in a way you don't want to, it only takes very slight hand and feet movements to halt your rotation and allow you to face the desired direction.”
Ali carefully disengaged from her, although she kept a reassuring grip on Lana's arm. “Why don't you try practicing that now, while we wait
