— 58 Hours Remain —

Five stood in the open airlock, the environment suit draped over her like a loose bundle of shining fabric. Her hands didn’t even fit correctly inside of the gloves, and the helmet would limit her field of vision, but she had proved already that the suit kept its own environment. It was safe, for now. Two and Three stood back in the safety of the inside of the station, watching her suit up.

“Are you sure about this?” Three asked.

Five raised a finger to the control box on the suit, clicking a button that made her voice come through the radio receiver in Two’s hand “No. No I’m not.” Five said, an uneasy look on her face “I’ve never been in zero-g before, and this suit obviously wasn’t made for me. I won’t be able to manipulate fine tools, and I don’t even know what exactly is wrong out there. This cable is all that’s gonna keep me from floating off and probably burning up in the atmosphere myself. You are absolutely right that this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever thought of. This sucks, Three, but it’s gotta get done.” she released the button and went back to attaching the cable tightly to the rung on the inside of the airlock

Two nodded and pressed the button on her end “We read you loud and clear Five. I… you better come back to us.”

Five nodded as she pushed a button to close the inner airlock door. And with that, she disappeared behind the hefty metal bulwark. Two nodded to Three and they both rushed to the helm as fast as they could.

“She said she has air to last her six hours, if she needs it.” Three panted “I hope she won’t need all of that.”

“She won’t. She’ll have this done in an hour, tops, guarantee it.” Two said confidently, her voice not betraying her own misgivings about the situation.

Two ran immediately to the communications terminal and put the receiver back on its console “Still reading me Five?” she asked.

After just a moment, there came a reply “I’m not dead yet.” she said grimly “The airlock’s almost done depressurizing. It should turn gravity off… soon. Whoa.”

“Whoa what? What’s going on?” Two demanded.

“… Zero gravity.” Five let out a small laugh over the radio. “This feels so weird. If this wasn’t so dangerous I’d say you should give it a try.”

“Focus, Five.” Three scolded, concern on her face. “We need you to get this done quick and get back in here.”

“Yeah, I know. Opening door now.” the radio clicked off again, since she was obviously using her hands on something again.

“And now we wait.” Two said quietly, sitting in one of the chairs at the terminal and letting out a loud groan “Still can’t believe this…”

“She needs to come back.” Three folded her arms and walked up to the window as if she might be able to see the airlock from there, despite it being halfway across the station.

“She will.” Two reassured her. After waiting for a moment, Two impatiently clicked the radio button again and called “Five?”

There was an immediate response “Yeah… Yeah, I’m here, it’s just…” there was a long pause “I just can’t believe how this looks. It’s… not the same as seeing it through a window. Wow. It’s a lot to take in.” she went silent for another few moments “If we survive this drop, I’m probably going to be the only human alive to have done this for a long, long time, huh?”

“Focus on that word, alive.” Three replied.

“Yeah. I’ll handle it. Stepping out… outside now.” the radio clicked off again.

Two turned to look at the window herself and was startled when she turned to see Seven standing directly behind her “Whoa! Seven! Hi! I didn’t… hear you come in.”

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Seven nodded at her and looked over to the radio “She’ll be okay.”

“I know she will.” Two nodded, not sure if she could trust that hope just yet, but wanting to reassure the smaller one.

“She’s brave. We’re all brave. We have to be.” Seven still stared past Two, as if she weren’t there at all “We have to rebuild.”

Two looked down at Seven with pity in her eyes. She wasn’t becoming any more lucid with time. She was really afraid that the girl’s brain had been irreversibly damaged in the procedure she’d undergone. She truly hoped that the curious, helpful, accident-prone girl she’d come to know and love wasn’t gone entirely. “We do.” Two nodded.

“These boots are such a pain.” came the radio once more “They’re keeping me attached directly to the ship, but they’re so hard to pick up. Almost to the coupling.”

Two turned back around in her seat and pressed the button “You’ve got this Five, I believe.”

“Yeah…” she replied simply and the radio clicked off again.

Two slammed her first down on the blank area of the terminal, making the other two jump slightly “… sorry, just… wish I could do something.” she muttered in an aggravated tone. “Three, can you watch this, I… I need water.”

“Right now?” Three asked incredulously.

“Three, please.” Two held her head with one hand as she turned away and stood up.

“Alright…” she walked over to the comms terminal again and Two stepped down, still holding her head tight.

It was just stress. She had to calm down. She walked away from the helm and stepped into the cafeteria, dragging the box they’d been using as a stepstool up to the sink and turning it on. She ran her hand under it and then cupped her hands to drink from it. Then she splashed the water up into her face and let out a sigh.

This was all too much. Was this what the others were going through when she risked herself? Maybe in a way it was easier to be the one doing the dangerous stuff if this is what sitting on the sidelines meant. She splashed more water into her face and then shut off the tap. She had to keep her composure. The others were looking to her like a leader now, she at least had to seem like she was keeping her cool.

She stepped down and let out a loud groan to herself to try to release some tension before shaking her head and making her way back, wiping the remnant droplets of water from her face on her shirt. When she returned, she saw Three sitting at the comms terminal as before, who turned her head to her “She says it’s a simple fix, she just needs to get some of the tools she prepared in the airlock.” Three made a cautious smile at her.

That was a relief, at least, that it was something she COULD fix after all. Still, there wasn’t much comfort to the fact that she was still out there and she had to make several more trips. She reached over the terminal and clicked the button in “How much air?” she asked.

There were a few moments of silence before the radio clicked on again “It hasn’t even been an hour and the tank’s fine. I’ve got plenty of time.”

“Okay, good. Just checking.” Two sighed and turned to Three “Thanks… I just needed a minute.”

“Being the leader doesn’t have to mean you’re invincible.” Seven said from across the room “It’s better to admit you’re weak and need help than to make mistakes.”

Two turned and looked at the smaller girl, a lost expression on her face “That from One’s file?” she asked, receiving a confident nod in response. She sighed “I can’t… I wish I could do something. It’s so hard to focus when you’re just sitting here waiting. I just keep thinking about everything that could go wrong, and… it’s frustrating.”

“Now you know how I feel.” Three murmured, stepping down from the seat “Just waiting for the fallout like this. I hope it makes you think about your decisions a little more going forward.”

“Never miss a chance to teach a lesson, do you?” Two muttered to Three as she got back in the chair and pressed the radio button “Sorry Five, I had to take a breather. How’s it look?”

“Glad YOU got a chance.” Five said sarcastically “The terminal’s fried. Looks like something hit it. Probably a piece of debris or something. I’m amazed there isn’t more damage like that out here. I can rewire it through a slate though, it’s the same tech. The station’s computer should correct it automatically once it starts outputting the right readings again.”

“Good to hear, so it’s a simple fix?” Two asked hopefully.

“Without these big clumsy gloves, yeah.” Five started “But I’ll work with what I got.” then the radio turned off again.

“Okay, yeah, starting to see why the snark could get on your nerves from this side of things.” Two muttered.

“See?” Three stepped away and went back to staring out the window, her arms crossed.

Minutes passed in silence before the radio clicked on again “I’m at the repair site. I can definitely fix this with what I have on hand now, it might just take me a little bit though.”

“How long is a little bit?” Two asked seriously.

“… An hour?” she sounded unsure of herself.

Two pressed the button and let out a long sigh “That’s what you said about suiting up.”

“I’ve got time.” Five called back, sounding impatient.

“Just… do what you have to do, Five. Then get back in here. Please.” Two pleaded, her voice starting to crack slightly

There was a short pause before she said “I don’t care if I have to fight death itself. I’m gonna come back, no matter what, okay?”

“You better.” Two sniffled and let go of the button, holding her hand to her eyes to try and stop herself from crying. This was still too much.