“Hi there big fella, want to go for walkies?”
Sno took off her sneakers and stripped off her jumpsuit. She looked down at herself standing in just her underwear and a t-shirt. She thought, “It’s starting to get cold in here. And I should have put on clean underwear. Not that it matters, since I don’t know how long I have to be suited up.” She stripped completely and stuffed the underwear into a side bin built into the suit’s thigh area.
Swimming up, she climbed into the suit. She wiggled slightly making sure there weren’t any wrinkles in the interior lining. EVA suits were designed to be worn for four to five hours if the person was working hard at chewing rocks. A sedentary individual could almost double that time. Sitting on a wrinkle would be very irritating after a few hours.
Sno reached down between her legs and attached the suit’s plumbing features. She hated it, but she did not know how long she would have to stay in the suit. Having to pee down your leg and stand in it would be more irritating than a few wrinkles after a couple of hours. She snapped the water line into place where she could reach it with her lips once the helmet was sealed.
She wrinkled her nose. “ So much for clean underwear; I should have taken a shower first. I am practically rancid.” She sealed the suit, leaving the helmet open. She sniffed the air, but could not tell or even guess about the oxygen content levels remaining in the ship. It still did not smell stale or even feel thin. But she had no way to tell. The human body is a terrible atmospheric sensor system, just as it is a terrible thermometer.
Her EVA suit did not have internal sensors that could read atmosphere like a military suit or the newer models now on the market. It was a rock hound’s suit. It was simple and basic with all of the muscle enhancements that money could buy. It had deep pockets for explosives and external storage. It had rings, clips and hooks for tools and the day-to-day mining needs. It did not have any frills, bells or whistles. It was designed to give the wearer as much time outside of the ship as possible and to do as it safely as possible.
She slammed the helm et’s face plate closed and felt rather than heard the suit’s life support come on. Sno knew she had left the suit with all of its power filled to the maximum and the air and water tanks topped off. She knew it was time for a scheduled flush and review of all the systems, but she knew nothing was wrong. The best time to do preventative maintenance on a system was when it was in perfect working condition. That kept it in perfect working condition. Everything about the suit was ready for extended wear.
There wasn’t any standard in space where less than perfect was acceptable i f a miner’s life depended on a piece of equipment. Any miner who did not keep his suit in top operating condition was asking to die among the rocks. Maybe they would die fast, maybe they would die slow, but they would die. Humans were not designed to operate in vacuum.
Sno stepped away from the suit’s wall brackets. Grabbing three asteroid beacons from their storage bin, she stepped into the airlock. She carefully closed the interior airlock door behind her. She wanted to lock it tight, but without power to the locks, getting back in would be difficult, so she left the door to the equipment room unlocked. She braced herself and manually opened the outer hatch. A quick puff of air exploded into space trying to drag her with it, but the suit’s powerful muscles held her in place.
She stepped out onto the ship’s hull and pushed the hatch shut. She did not lock this hatch either, but left it unlocked and available for easy access. She hoped the easy access would be for her, but if not, there was no reason to hold a grudge against whomever or whatever salvage company came to retrieve her remains and her ship.
She placed the three mining beacons in a wide triangle in a clear space by the door and
Sno took off her sneakers and stripped off her jumpsuit. She looked down at herself standing in just her underwear and a t-shirt. She thought, “It’s starting to get cold in here. And I should have put on clean underwear. Not that it matters, since I don’t know how long I have to be suited up.” She stripped completely and stuffed the underwear into a side bin built into the suit’s thigh area.
Swimming up, she climbed into the suit. She wiggled slightly making sure there weren’t any wrinkles in the interior lining. EVA suits were designed to be worn for four to five hours if the person was working hard at chewing rocks. A sedentary individual could almost double that time. Sitting on a wrinkle would be very irritating after a few hours.
Sno reached down between her legs and attached the suit’s plumbing features. She hated it, but she did not know how long she would have to stay in the suit. Having to pee down your leg and stand in it would be more irritating than a few wrinkles after a couple of hours. She snapped the water line into place where she could reach it with her lips once the helmet was sealed.
She wrinkled her nose. “ So much for clean underwear; I should have taken a shower first. I am practically rancid.” She sealed the suit, leaving the helmet open. She sniffed the air, but could not tell or even guess about the oxygen content levels remaining in the ship. It still did not smell stale or even feel thin. But she had no way to tell. The human body is a terrible atmospheric sensor system, just as it is a terrible thermometer.
Her EVA suit did not have internal sensors that could read atmosphere like a military suit or the newer models now on the market. It was a rock hound’s suit. It was simple and basic with all of the muscle enhancements that money could buy. It had deep pockets for explosives and external storage. It had rings, clips and hooks for tools and the day-to-day mining needs. It did not have any frills, bells or whistles. It was designed to give the wearer as much time outside of the ship as possible and to do as it safely as possible.
She slammed the helm et’s face plate closed and felt rather than heard the suit’s life support come on. Sno knew she had left the suit with all of its power filled to the maximum and the air and water tanks topped off. She knew it was time for a scheduled flush and review of all the systems, but she knew nothing was wrong. The best time to do preventative maintenance on a system was when it was in perfect working condition. That kept it in perfect working condition. Everything about the suit was ready for extended wear.
There wasn’t any standard in space where less than perfect was acceptable i f a miner’s life depended on a piece of equipment. Any miner who did not keep his suit in top operating condition was asking to die among the rocks. Maybe they would die fast, maybe they would die slow, but they would die. Humans were not designed to operate in vacuum.
Sno stepped away from the suit’s wall brackets. Grabbing three asteroid beacons from their storage bin, she stepped into the airlock. She carefully closed the interior airlock door behind her. She wanted to lock it tight, but without power to the locks, getting back in would be difficult, so she left the door to the equipment room unlocked. She braced herself and manually opened the outer hatch. A quick puff of air exploded into space trying to drag her with it, but the suit’s powerful muscles held her in place.
She stepped out onto the ship’s hull and pushed the hatch shut. She did not lock this hatch either, but left it unlocked and available for easy access. She hoped the easy access would be for her, but if not, there was no reason to hold a grudge against whomever or whatever salvage company came to retrieve her remains and her ship.
She placed the three mining beacons in a wide triangle in a clear space by the door and
Similar Books
