Obsidian: The Kalman Line Book 2 by R.S. Shepard

Author:R.S. Shepard [Shepard, R.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Even with the thin atmosphere, Alex heard the shots. The sound puzzled her because they hadn’t encountered anyone on this lower level. The sound had come from behind her, close behind her, so she turned and ran toward the sound. She hadn’t gone very far before she spotted someone lying on the floor, their rebreather destroyed, the last of their oxygen supply quickly draining into the thin environment. Alex realized it was Col. Larson and quickly ran to her side after clearing the hallway.

“Larson is down,” Alex said over comms.

“How bad?” replied Berg.

“Assessing, stand by.”

Alex checked the woman’s vital signs on her cuff. They weren’t looking good. Alex checked Abi’s rebreather stats, and they were worse. The unit was completely inoperable, and the punctured oxygen tank was almost entirely empty. Alex turned the woman onto her side to better see her face. Her eyes were closed, and her body was limp, but her readings said she was still breathing.

“She’s still breathing, but her pack is toast, and her oxygen is almost out,” explained Alex.

“We’re on our way!” replied Berg,

“Negative!” yelled Bogie, “I’m closer. You stay on task.”

“Copy that.”

“Bogie, you better hurry,” Alex said.

“Copy, five mikes out,” replied the big man. Alex could hear in his voice that he was already running to her.

“Crap. I doubt you have five minutes,” Alex said to the unconscious woman. That’s when she got another crazy idea. Knowing that Ganymede had a very thin oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere, Alex wondered just how little oxygen her augmented lungs really needed. She was able to operate on the Saber at 10%. She decided to give it a try. At worst, they could buddy breath by alternately connecting her air hose between her suit and Abi’s.

Alex removed her pack to make it easier to alternate the connection. The suit’s air connections were a complicated series of valves that would allow the suit to stay pressurized in the event of a disconnect. A handy little feature in this case. It meant neither woman would suffer the effects of the near vacuum around them. She took several deep breaths before holding one and disconnecting the air hose from her suit and connecting it to Abi’s. Slowly, the stricken woman’s stats started to rise. Her heart rate increased, as did her respiratory rate and pulseOx. Alex wondered if she could just hold her breath until Bogie arrived with a spare pack. As she continued to hold her breath, she realized that she didn’t feel the compulsion to breathe that you normally feel when you hold your breath too long.

“I’ve got contact,” said Bogie, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Well, that’s not ideal, thought Alex, still holding her breath. It had been over five minutes, and she still felt fine, but she was starting to get a tickle in the back of her throat. She would probably start to feel the urge to breathe soon. She decided to exhale and see if she could survive in the thin Ganymede environment.

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