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I don’t knohat to do next, and that’s killingme, his expression unreadable "I’m so sorry, Flynn I never meant to take you away froer underneath one of the straps of his harness "It was my call," he says quietly "I could have tried to run I chose to come"

He’s as tense as I am, maybe even more so, but it’s so hard to reconcile that with the serenity of weightlessness His faux-blond hair is floating out away froe shirt his friend in townlike the Ro like the Cormac who threw hione, and I killed hi so fucked up?"

"Because we htly, his voice a strained tease I notice his hands are gripping his armrests, and as he shifts I can see the faint outlines of daainst the plastic

It’s with a jolt I remember he’s never been in space before--he’s never even been off the ground before And he’s trying to relaxout as far asafter me in slow motion "Do you want to see the stars?"

He blinks, his false bravado falling away as he stares wide-eyed back at esture to the covered viewport in front of us I could tell hiht be his last chance to see theht out there Normally we keep the heat shields on, but there’s no actual need for theh atmo Want to take a peek?"

He ss, fingers tightening around his ar to be afraid of--for noe’re safer up here than we ever were on Avon’s surface But I know telling hiood, because it’s not a rational fear Even I feel a surge of priet up here, every ti all soldiers get during basic The moment the water closes over your head and you take your first breath through the respirator--your body tells you it can’t breathe, that it’s falling, that you’re going to die And no a, you just have to let it course through you and sweep on past You have to e Flynn

Slowly, he nods

I lean forward inthe release button with a light thunk There’s the hum of the shield mechanism, and then the thick sheet of metal dilates outward--and the sky is full of stars

The air leaves Flynn’s lungs in an audible rush, and he presses hi this way and that, and I reach out to grab his hand His fingers wrap around ht here" I shift h his

Just let the water close over your head and trust your respirator Don’t fight it

Gradually his breathing slows and his painful grip eases I watch his face as the fear fades and his eyes focus There’s nothing but stars as far as the eye can see, except for the sliver of Avon at the far left, little low of its constant cloud cover It’s enough to illuainst his harness

He can’t take his eyes off the stars, but I can’t take mine off his face I can see the stars reflected in his eyes, can see the wonder of it in the way his mouth opens but no sound comes out His eyes, his face--they’re beautiful

My eyes start to burn, and abruptly I let go of his hand Clearinge hoarsely, "You hungry? We et a chance to eat later, and there should be an eency pack or two somewhere"

Flynn has to hunt for his voice too, but when he n that he noticedthe first tiht to tell myself, anyway

I shove the straps ofthe handles to gradually walk er ships and space stations, they use rotating rings to generate gravity, but on the shuttles, we’re stuck dealing eightlessness

I turn back to find Flynn watchingI reach the lockers and hook my toes under the handles on the wall there Fro on the wall, but from mine, the lockers are now sunk into the floor and ency pack in the first locker I try Two of them, I discover as I pull the first out "It’ll be freeze-dried rations," I warn hio a long way Don’t overco in an unexpected direction, just let your hand or foot graze sohtly to correct it"

Flynn unbuckles his harness and pulls hierated care, his face a study in concentration "Just like poling a boat through the swarip slips a little, and I reach out with rab a handful of his jacket to steady him "Well, mostly"