Apollo's Outcasts by Steele Allen

Author:Steele, Allen [Steele, Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2012-11-13T07:00:00+00:00

"Very good. We're ready to go."

Mr. Garcia stepped forward from the rack, which had held his suit upright while he put it on, and gestured to the technician standing near the airlock's inner hatch. The tech pulled open the heavy door and the five of us trooped into a windowless compartment with a low ceiling and a tiger-striped hatch on the other side. The suit was easier to walk around in than I expected, but it still felt like I was wearing five layers of winter clothes.

The inner hatch slammed shut behind us, and then we stood in a circle and watched as an LED lamp in the ceiling went from green to orange to red, signaling that the air was being pumped out of the compartment. Our helmets hadn't polarized, so I could see everyone's faces. Logan was taking this very seriously--I'd seen that determined look before, when we were getting set for a 50-meter relay race with another swim team--but Nicole was all grins. When she glanced in my direction, I forced myself to smile back at her. Apparently I didn't convince her that I was confident enough to do this, because she shook her head within her helmet.

"Don't worry, Jamey," she said. "This will be easy. Just like paragliding."

I restrained a groan. My paragliding experience was something I would have preferred to forget. "Sure, okay..."

"Just don't run into me this time," Logan added, glaring at me in a meaningful way. Nicole laughed, but he wasn't kidding and I knew it. He still hadn't forgiven me for our near-collision a couple of weeks earlier. I'd tried apologizing, but he had accepted it with only a cold and distant nod.

What was wrong with him? I didn't know. And he wasn't letting me find out.

"I'm detecting a slight increase in heartbeat and respiration," Arthur said. "You need to calm down, Jamey."

I hoped the others hadn't heard this. When no one reacted, I realized that my suit's voice was for my ears alone. "Thanks, Arthur," I said, and took a few slow, deep breaths. "Better now?"

"You're doing fine. No reason to be nervous. I'll always be here to help you."

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