He looked back for the first time since he had run away. Made sure that the airlock behind him was shut, an impenetrable barrier between him and the ship he was now fleeing. He felt surprisingly calm, his heart making the only sound in the cylinder the size of a small closet. His mind was calm now, it had to be, he was going to do something he'd never done before, but it was his only chance.
He checked the small object in his hands, a tiny thing the size of a pocket watch. He had to make sure that the internal cooling mechanism wasn't damaged, so he removed his glove and felt it in his bare hands. Boy! the cold sent a shiver up his spine, but he felt good about it. His thoughts turned to the present as he realized he had 5 maybe 10 minutes before security found him and chased him down. The next step was to wear the spacesuit, there always was a spacesuit in airlocks, regulation R138-5 if he remembered correctly.
Wearing a spacesuit isn't like wearing any other suit, there is only one large thing to get into but 20 little things to adjust and make sure are fitted and working. Unlike evening dresses however the downside is not a fashion faux pas but certain death, he thought about it and smiled, given what he was about to do next, risking death was hardly a worry. He tucked the thing in a pocket in the exoskeleton of the spacesuit and said a small prayer; he didn't pray much, at all really but now was not the time to spite the Gods. He steeled his mind as he wore his helmet and snapped it shut. Whoosh began the sound as he hit the switch to open the airlock doors.
