Search for the Phoenix: Phoenix Series Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

make the transfer from whatever ship carried him to orbit to the Independence. Satisfied that the suit was properly packed, he placed a protective panel on top of it before retrieving his boots and gloves from his locker. Once they were inside, he closed and latched the case.
    Grabbing a helmet case from the shelf, he pulled his helmet from the locker and slid it in before closing and latching it. As he looked around the lab, he wondered if there was anything else he should take. He remembered Carl initiating the atmosphere reclamation cycle just before they left the ship to condense and compress much of the ship’s air back into the holding tanks. He had also shut down the environmental system. It would take the better part of a day to pressurize the ship and heat everything to a livable temperature. He was going to have to stay in his pressure suit a long time. That meant…
    Walking to a shelf, he grabbed two pressure suit diapers. He’d never used one before, but he remembered the salvage team members complaining about them on occasions when they had been necessary. Grimacing, he opened the pressure suit case, slipped them in, and closed it again.
    The cut on his head was beginning to itch, so he went across the hall to the restroom and waited for the door to close fully before turning on the light. He didn’t want any light shining out through a window to alert anyone he was here. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he moved to the sink and looked in the mirror. There was a five-centimeter gash above his right eye that was caked with dried blood and grime. I should have grabbed a first aid kit, he thought as he considered what to do about the cut. Crossing to the door, he turned off the light and stepped out into the hallway. In the pressure suit lab, he felt his way along the wall, his eyes still recovering from the light of the restroom. Reaching the first aid kit, he unlatched it from its bracket and then returned to the restroom.
    Nolan rummaged through the kit, retrieving butterfly bandages, antiseptic cream, and several alcohol wipes. He washed the dried blood and dirt away with soap and water. That hurt, but not nearly as much as the alcohol wipes that he used next. Gripping the edge of the sink tightly with both hands, afraid that he might collapse, he rode out the pain as the alcohol evaporated. Then he carefully closed the gash as, one by one, he placed butterfly bandages across the wound. Squeezing a blob of antiseptic cream onto his finger, he finished by covering the area with the cream. He crossed the room and sat on a toilet as he allowed himself a few moments to recover from the ordeal. The cream included a topical painkiller, and he relaxed as it took effect. He just needed to deal with the headache now.
    A few minutes later, he was back rummaging through the first aid kit, looking for something to ease his headache. Most of the common painkillers intended for headaches were also blood thinners. He definitely could not take any of those with a head wound, especially if he was going to space. With his suit pressurized to half an atmosphere, he could experience serious bleeding, and he would have no way to stop it with his helmet on. For this very reason, the kit was stocked with a mild pain reliever that was not a blood thinner. He tossed two capsules into his mouth. Turning on the faucet, he collected some water in his cupped hands and drank down the medicine.
    Resting on the toilet again, he ran through a mental checklist of items he might want. He had gone through this procedure many times over the years, but this time was different. He was setting out alone. Whatever needed to be done, he would have to do it. He couldn’t rely on anyone else to handle a situation. He needed to be prepared. As he thought of things that might be useful, he remembered that they had been returning from a salvage job. Just like his tools and pressure suit were still aboard the Independence, so were the rest of the