Airlock Read Online Free PDF Page B

fault in the air supply line that the Commander and Ash had fixed. Outside the space station, the supply line had burst into a shower of gas and sparks. The fault was an overload, caused by the various power level problems the station had experienced since the explosion.
    Thick jets of air were blasted out into space. The entire station rocked and shuddered.
    Within seconds, a rapid series of electrical discharges spread across the outer hull of the station. In the escaped oxygen, bright blue arcs of energy flickered silently against the blackness and the stars.
    The lights behind the station’s many portholes and windows began to go out. The effect rippled out from the point at which the air supply had short-circuited. Soon it reached the front of the station.
    If anyone had been watching the Control Centre from space, they would have seen every screen and machine suddenly rupture and burst into flames. The entire Control Centre became a sizzling, white-hot inferno in seconds.
    The station was battered by another shuddering movement from inside. The Control Centre’s windows all shattered at the same moment, and the huge room was half-torn from the body of the station. It hung at an angle, like the broken head of a child’s doll.
    Slowly, so slowly at first that the change was hardly visible, the crippled hulk of the
Berners-Lee
space station began to shift its orbit. The sudden burst of air that had jetted from its side was knocking it off-course. The jet had given it a sharp push, like a swimmer pushing back against the side of a pool.
    In the wide corridor where Commander Ferguson, Jane Parker and the Year 6s were getting unsteadily to their feet, it didn’t take long to work out what hadhappened. Even Dwayne and the Commander were looking scared out of their wits.
    Mr Snodbury and two technicians appeared, staggering along in the faint glow of the emergency lights set into the floor. All three were streaked with grime. One of the technicians clutched his arm, which was badly scorched.
    â€œW-we were just leaving the Control Centre,” gasped Mr Snodbury, his eyes staring. “We got out a second before the whole place went up!”
    â€œThe Control Centre doors have sealed, sir,” said one of the technicians to Commander Ferguson. “Everything’s gone.”
    George suddenly realised he was breathing much too fast. He screwed up his face for a moment, and tried to steady his nerves. His heart felt like a hammer beating inside his chest. Gritting his teeth, he fought back the emotion that threatened to leak from his eyes and crumple his mouth.
    â€œThis is it?” roared the Commander. “Nine of us left? Four crew, four kids and that wet drip of a teacher? We’re finished!”
    George suddenly felt a rush of anger and determination. “We are not going to give up!” he cried.
    â€œHe’s right, Commander,” said Parker. “The rescue shuttle is on its way. There’s still a chance.”
    â€œAmira,” said George. “Log onto any of the station’s sensors that are still working. Find out how far off-course we are.”
    Amira’s fingers tapped at her mini-screen. “We’re falling towards Earth at an increasing speed,” she said. “The planet’s gravity is pulling us in.”
    â€œ
Berners-Lee
was built in space,” said Parker. “It was never designed to land, or even travel out of Earth’s orbit.”
    â€œAs we enter the atmosphere,” said Amira, “the station will burn up, and break up.”
    George tried to keep his voice steady. He didn’t make a very good job of it. “How long before that happens?”
    â€œIt’s hard to say,” said Amira. “But from what I can tell, less than an hour.”
    â€œThat is, if we don’t suffocate first,” cried the Commander. “The air’s already getting thin in here. We must have lost most of it to space. I