Children of the Fleet (Fleet School #1)(107)

“It’s not enough to hold on to the first bar, because even though your suit has a strong lock-on grip, it’s not strong enough, especially with one hand.”

“Why only—” Dabeet began, and then realized, and shut up.

“You’re pushing the button with your other hand,” Ragnar said helpfully.

“You have to lock one leg through the second bar. An adult can do it, but they always break the leg. You’re smaller, you twist your boot and get it through, and then you try to get the other boot through but don’t try for long because maybe you can’t, the bars are different lengths. Main thing here is to get your knee under the bar and your leg exactly straight, not twisted. Then you bend your knee so that your lower leg is a big hook holding you on.”

It was starting to sound very hard and complicated to Dabeet.

“If it isn’t straight before you bend it, you’ll break that leg,” said Monkey.

“Probably break it anyway,” said Ragnar helpfully.

“But it’ll keep you in the ship,” said Monkey, glaring at Ragnar. “But the second, and I mean the very second, after the atmo is completely blown, pull that leg free no matter how much it hurts, and I mean even if you’ve got six knees and three elbows in that leg, forget the pain and pull it out. Now you’ll be in freefall because the gravitics cut out when atmo goes. You still hang on to the first handrail with one hand, swing around and grab the handrail just inside the outer door.” Then she paused, thinking.

“Losing count of the handrails,” said Zhang He.

“Dabeet isn’t,” said Monkey. “He’s been working with airlocks for weeks now, and besides, he never loses count.” She turned back to Dabeet. “The airlock is too big for you to reach that outer handrail without a little jump, so you have to disobey Rule One.”

Dabeet nodded.

“But don’t let that little jump carry you out the door, because you have no idea which way the ship will be facing by then. The launch won’t be stable, the ship will probably be in three kinds of spin, so you have to wait in the door until just the right moment to jump toward the station.”

“Toward this airlock,” said Dabeet.

“Don’t waste time looking for this airlock,” said Monkey. “Jump toward the station. Period. And as soon as you do, look on the heads-up display for the SIG command, call up the menu, and light yourself up like a Christmas tree. Then it’s my job to come out and get you.”

“Got it,” said Dabeet.

“No you don’t,” said Monkey. “Don’t wait to jump. The first time you can see the station, you jump. That’s it. Even if you don’t have your legs under you, even if you can’t get much power into the jump, even if you only push off with your hands, you go the first time. Because every second on that ship, you’re getting farther from us here and I only have a two-kilometer line.”

“Jump immediately, wait for nothing,” said Dabeet.

“Last thing. Listen closely. What did I teach you about grasping?”

“Hug, don’t hold.”

“I’m going to get way more specific than that, Dirt Boy,” said Monkey. “Do not reach for me. Do not touch me. Even if I come this close to you, no physical contact between you and me because the friction of any contact will send us both spinning out of control.”

Dabeet was confused. She saw it in his face.

“Yes, I’m coming out to get you. I’ll use my directionals to get as close to you as I can. But I will not grab you, and you will not grab me. You will hug the line. You’ll wrap your arms around it and hold on. I’ll send a signal that it’s time to start reeling in, but not until you’re holding that line. Then as it draws me in, you and I will collide, and when we do, you have to be holding so tightly I won’t knock you loose. Then as the line draws me in, it draws you in. Got it?”

“Line will be invisible,” said Ragnar.

“That’s possible,” said Monkey. “You may have to simply trust that the line is straight as an arrow between me and the station. But if you have all your lights on, then there’ll be a very tight beam straight forward from your helmet. Look toward where you know the line is supposed to be, and you’ll catch a sparkle. You won’t see a line, just sparkles, and you won’t be able to tell if they’re in a row or not, but nothing out there will be sparkling except the line, so you’ll know that’s it, it’s reflecting your light. Spread your arms wide and when you’re near it, grab. Hug. Nothing breaks that hug. Né?”

“é,” said Dabeet.

“That was a three-month course in line rescues,” said Monkey. “Now go earn us both an A on the test.”

Dabeet saluted, and even though it began as a playful gesture, he wasn’t playing. He knew that some part of this ridiculously elaborate plan was going to fail, and even if he got the ship away, he would probably die. But Monkey was willing to risk her life to come get him, and so he meant that salute with all his heart.

She saluted him back. Dabeet turned and jogged up to the outer airlock of the ship, pressed the OPEN button, went inside, and closed the outer door behind him.





18

—We bent all our efforts to finding another Mazer Rackham, someone whose genius—