The moment the helmet clamps sealed with a hiss, Isaac felt as if he’d been cut off into his own private universe. The glass faceplate gave a slightly copper color to everything outside, while the indicators in the corner of his vision lit up softly with his vitals. He took a deep breath of the canned oxygen, and the hiss of the airflow filled his ears.
“Need a little help?” he asked, toggling the external speakers by clicking his right thumb and ring finger twice.
“I’ve got it,” said Aaron, his voice coming through a bit tinny. The pickup on the microphones wasn’t all that great, probably because the designers hadn’t considered them an important feature. After all, there was no sound in space.
“Great. I’ll be waiting for you in the airlock.”
Isaac barely lifted his feet as he shuffled through the heavy durasteel door into the starship’s only airlock. Even so, he could hear the clang of the metal grating against his boots through the fibers of his suit. The greenish-yellow LEDs shone down through thick plastiglass, protection from the harsh vacuum. Unlike the rest of the ship, the walls and ceiling were made of the same durasteel plating as the rest of the hull, designed for exposure to the void.
He stopped and stared at the opposite door. The rhythmic hiss of the airflow mingled with the silent pounding of his heart as he wondered what lay on the other side. The sweat pooling against the back of his neck felt strangely cold. He wished his brother would hurry up.
“All right,” came Aaron’s voice, followed by a short burst of static. The suit’s radio sounded a lot clearer than the external microphone.
“Are you ready?”
“I’m right behind you.”
“Great,” said Isaac. “Let’s get started.”
==========
Brothers in Exile (Sons of the Starfarers, Book I) is coming out later this week–I’m very excited! I think you guys are really going to like this one, and the new series that it’s going to launch. It’s set in the same universe as Star Wanderers with some of the same characters, but takes that story in a much different direction.
To be notified by email when Brothers in Exile is out, be sure to sign up for my mailing list if you haven’t already.
Thanks for reading!
