Metafire

"Half now, half later, how about that?"

"I'll take it." Scooter checked his incoming mail. A moment later an email message arrived from the Cyberbank that confirmed a $2,500 transfer. "Got it. OK. I'll treat you like goddamn babies!"

George cut off his microphone. "You know, I wonder what it would cost now to keep his mouth shut?"

The Discovery crew members in their EVA suits communicated with the Discovery officers. These were the people who Scooter worked for. Over the public radio came an order from Colonel Brown. "Scooter, these guys have a hard enough time, I want you to be very careful. Go slowly. Our guys are out in EVA. If anybody gets hurt, you don't come back. Understand?"

"Yep. Captain, you know I'll be careful. Nobody's gotten hurt yet."

"Damn, damn." George spoke to himself quietly. George now realized he wasted the $2,500. This was going to be a bad day. Once the Metafire One capsule was positioned in the Discovery bay, the doors closed and the bay was pressurized. The guys in the EVA suits had long ago learned how to use the bay as an airlock. A person came out of the main shuttle cabin to check out and give final approval to the positioning of the two craft. He then attended to getting the other crew out of their suits. After George and Platon had independently checked pressure differentials, they opened their hatches. The hatches that would have been impossible to open in space, opened easily in the pressurized shuttle bay.