Ad Astra Read Online Free PDF Page A

vent, wrestling with warped metal in the dark and the cold, wearing a suit I knew was too old and too worn. “Dingo.”
    “Waddaya want?” Dingo sounded out of breath. Tired.
    “Maybe I should swap out with you.”
    “Hell, no. It’s almost done.”
    I checked with engineering. “We’ve got thirty minutes until shut off will be required. That’s plenty of time for you to get in here and rest and me to take care of what’s left to do.”
    “Not your bloody damned job, Kilcannon! Shut up and let me work. It’s almost done.”
    Halley gave me a questioning look and I shrugged. I couldn’t go out and drag him back. We waited.
    “Almost.” Dingo’s voice sounded ragged now.
    “Kilcannon, this is Chen in engineering. We’re getting a heat spike.”
    Whichever saint had been watching us had just looked away. “Dingo, drop it and get inside. Now. We’ve got a heat spike.”
    “I drop it now and we’ll lose it.”
    “That’s an order, Third Officer Dingo.”
    “Didn’t hear it.”
    “Kilcannon, this is Chen. We have to vent that spike. We’re holding down the overrides, but the safeties won’t let us do that much longer. If the heat spike vents through the secondary it may blow.”
    “Dingo, damn you -.”
    “Got it!”
    “The safeties overrode our commands! They’re dumping the spike!”
    “Dingo!” Lady shuddered again. I waited a long moment. “Dingo. Third Officer Dingo. Respond.” Halley Keracides had her eyes hidden behind one hand. “Third Officer Dingo. Respond.” I grabbed the other suit and started getting into it. “Dingo. By all the saints, Dingo…”
    I’d never realized how slowly the airlock cycled. I couldn’t feel anything, including fear, but out of force of habit I made my way cautiously over the battered cargo containers and along the hull as I moved toward the vent. I found Dingo still tethered there. The emergency vent through the secondary had blown away part of its shield, and some of those parts had gone through Dingo’s suit and Dingo on their way to forever.
    I checked the work on the vent. Dingo had done a good job. Better than I could’ve done. Then I untethered all that remained of my Third Officer and towed him back to the airlock.
    There was a group waiting at the airlock. Dingo had never been a particularly good-looking man. Explosive decompression hadn’t improved things any. “Let’s get him into the burial capsule.” I’d kept one. I could’ve hocked it, like I had the others, but was afraid if I got rid of the last one I’d suddenly need it. Now I needed it anyway.
    The other sailors wrestled Dingo’s body into the capsule. “Drop it into the cold storage bin. We’ll hold a service later and send it toward Carnavon.” I watched them carry the capsule away, wondering what I’d say at the service.
    Halley stood watching me. “Did he have any friends?”
    “Who? Dingo? No.”
    “You’re sure? Nobody he went ashore with?”
    I managed a short, sharp bark of laughter. “I’m the only one who ever went ashore with Dingo.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah.” I rubbed my forehead, trying to push away the pain there. “Dingo was a drunk, and he’d usually get mean.”
    “Why’d you go with him, then?”
    “Somebody had to. Somebody had to make sure he was okay and get him back to the ship.”
    “You could’ve told someone else to do it.”
    I frowned and shook my head. “No. I couldn’t trust anyone else not to ditch Dingo when he started getting mean drunk. And it was just easier for me to keep an eye on him.” I looked up and saw Halley still watching me. “What?”
    “I was just thinking that Dingo did have one friend. And I think he knew it, too.”
    I shrugged. “And I was just thinking that I wish I’d checked Dingo’s suit before we sealed that capsule to see if it could be repaired.”
    I don’t know what kind of reaction I was expecting from her, but Halley Keracides just shook her head. “You’re a damned liar, Kilcannon.”