Metafire

"Roger." Steven pushed himself over to his case. He pulled on a black Kevlar fighting suit designed to fend off knife attacks more than bullets. He took out an electrical stun gun and a handful of nylon ties. He also went to the AMROC supplies and pulled out gas masks for everybody. They fit over the entire head. They were lighter and smaller than the full head Motorcycle helmets that they appeared to be. They incorporated two way radios and night vision goggles and could also protect from blinding laser lights -- another weapon possible in space. Steven and Jack would board in the dark and shut off any lights they found on. Jack was to follow Steven's lead as much as possible. Of course, he didn't have the fighting suit, the stun gun, or the nylon ties. Steven gave Jack a few nylon ties. "Just act quick. I'll be covering you."

"Sure." Jack was pretty nervous about this. But he thought about Erisa. In the microgravity of space, he, like most everybody else, had bouts of nausea. Now, for the first time in his life, he was being told to physically attack people. Not good for the old nausea. His solution to the problem was to close his eyes and think about Erisa. This worked. He forgot the nausea. The more he thought about her, the more he was drawn toward her. That brief week with Erisa was something he could not forget. Her soft quick looks and pretty figure had left their mark.

"There." Scooter woke his reverie. "We've started gassing them. Bet you didn't hear a thing! It'll take about five minutes to deliver enough to fill the volume." Scooter had moved his tug into a position that rotated along with the colony, and he pierced the volume of the cavern with a needle. The needle had rings, shaped like barbs. This would make it impossible to extract the needle. It would be left in place in order to seal the cavern from air leaking into space. Any leak is detected by sensitive sensors that could awaken somebody. The hope, of course, was that everyone would be asleep, willingly or not.