Page 41 of Slavic

“Onceyou are there,Ineed you to check a few things before you try to push the hatch up.”

“Ofcourse, you forgot a few things on the grocery list.NothingIneed to be doing anyway, just hanging out with the stars looking at star fleet command headed straight for us.”

“Ruby,Ineed you to slow down.Ican’t hear you plainly.”

“Listento the words coming out of my mouth.Thereis ahuge-ass-shipheaded straight this way that makes ours look like a toy!”

“Calmdown,Isee it.Rightnow, we are cloaked, so you are fine.Youneed to focus so that we can get you andSlavicback on the ship as quickly as possible.Areyou at the fuel hatch yet.”

“Yes, it took me a second, butIcan see up into the ship now.”

“Doyou see any fluid or leaks around the seal?”

“Thereseems to be some steam coming out around the edge.”

“Seeif you can tighten it any.”

“Onit; lefty loosie, righty tightie, got it!”

Puttingthe canister between my knees,Ireach up with both hands, grabbing the handle sticking out and twist with everythingIhave, consideringI’mweightless.Itturns just a little bit, but the stuff stops coming out. “Yay,IthinkIdid it.”

“Wonderful, nowImight be able to help you.Doyou see a blue lever on your right?”

“Yes.”

“Beforeyou pull that, you need to make sure you can step back out of the way.Ifthe hatch can close at all, it will start moving upward.Onceit stops, you will have to push it the rest of the way.”

“Yourealize it’s the size of a 1979FordLTDhood, right?Nevermind,Igot this.”Grabbingthe blue lever,Ijump back quickly, losing my footing as the hatch comes up a lot quicker thanIthought it would.Ahard tug on my side shockingly steadies me andIswearIhearSlaviccussing in the background.

Themoment the hatch stops moving,Itry shoving it with both hands, but it doesn’t budge. “OkHouston, we have a problem.Lookslike the puny human girl can’t get this eight-hundred-pound hood back in its slot.”

“Slavicis making his way to you.Hecannot get under the ship, but he might be able to reach over and shove it in place.”Afew seconds later, a huge arm appears out of the corner of my eye, moving back and forth until the tips of his fingers hit the lip of the hatch.Flatteninghis hand against it,Isee the part move slowly, then just like a piece of a puzzle it pops in.

“It’sinBikar, now let’s watch me put all ofFalon’straining to work.”Rememberingto hold it a certain way,Iaim the end of the nozzle toward the crack.It’sa little messy at first, but it doesn’t take me long to get the hang of it.BeforeIknow it,I’mlowering the canister down, admiring my first space maintenance job.

“Bikar,I’mout of gooey stuff.”

“GoodjobRuby, all sensors have reset, and we should be good to go.Youtwo get back on the ship.”

Iwould dance a jig ifIdidn’t have to worry about floating off into space.Iturn whenIfeel a tug on the ropeSlavichas on my side.ThemomentI’min front of him he grabs hold of me, an odd, scary smirk on his face.Iwatch as he tugs on the rope that has us secured to the ship and without any warning at all, he takes a big jump, and we fly up into the sky.Iscream as he twirls us around playfully.

“Slavic, quit showing off and get your asses back on the ship”,Bikaryells over the speaker inside my helmet.

Anotherjerk and we’re back at the door.Slavicsort of pushes me inside while he gathers up the things we had with us.Oncehe’s in, he detaches the rope and hits a button on the wall.Aredlight starts flashing as the main door begins closing behind him.Hepulls me further away from the entrance, both of us kinda floating there until it closes fully.

Holdingme against him,Idon’t notice the gravity returning inside the room until the light turns green.Hesits me down in front of him andIwatch as he unsnaps his helmet then his gloves, before starting on mine.Thesecond my helmet is off,Ican’t contain my excitement asIgrab his face, kissing him quickly.

“Wedid it, and didn’t float off into the great unknown,Wooohooo!Wemake a kick ass team you know.”

“Yesmy littleStarshine,Ibelieve we do.Nowlet me get you out of these garments.Wewill have to go through a decontamination sequence before the ship will allow us back into the main areas.”

“Ithink you are just trying to find a way to get me naked.”

“Youhave no clue.Iwill use any excuseIcan find now thatIhave seen what those garments are hiding underneath them.”

WhenIstart unfastening the top, he stops me. “Letme do this. …Bikar, light up those thrusters and get us out of here.”

“Anyparticular direction?”

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