Page 121 of Stars

Freedom’sairlock slammed shut. From inside, Sarah hauled the manual locks closed. Metallic clanking filled the silent station.

Sasha whirled, tumbling in zero g. He saw Mark’s flashlight spin inUnity, and then Mark reappeared, launching straight atFreedom’sclosed hatch. “Sarah!” he shouted, banging on the airlock. “Sarah, what the fuck are you doing?”

The space-to-space radio crackled on, full of static, struggling against the power of Zeytsev’s signal. “Mark, I need your help. With the power offline, we have to manually decompress the docking collar.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? I’m not decompressing the airlock! Open the fucking hatch!” Mark bellowed. He grabbed the hatch collar and swung his feet against the door as if he could kick through it.

“This has to happen,” Sarah said. Her voice wavered, weak. “I can’t stop this warhead, and we can’t let Zeytsev get his hands on whatever is killing us. He wants this virus. The nuke, the warhead… He’s just trying to force us to act. It’s never been about the warhead or the satellite or the rail gun. He’s wantsus. He wants what’s in our blood.”

Mark roared, pressing his forehead to the airlock’s cold metal. He closed his eyes, gasping for breath.

“Zeytsev will see me launch. I’ll pull away from the station and then spin out toward deep space. I’ll floor it, head for the North Pole and keep going past the geosynch birds.”

“What about the US? They’re going to launch against you,” Sasha said.

“It takes twelve minutes for an ICBM to reach apogee. I’ll have nine minutes, give or take, once I pull back from the airlock. That’s enough to get far enough away that the blast will spare the station. And Earth.”

“Sarah…” Mark groaned. “Don’t do this.Please.”

“I’m dying, Mark. I can feel it. And I can feel things inside me changing. I don’t want to turn into what Michaela and Rafael turned into. Let me decide how I go. Let me save you and Sasha.”

Sasha floated behind Mark. He heard Mark’s soft cries, saw his shoulders shake. “What do you need, Sarah?” Sasha asked.

Her voice was weak, and even though it trembled, she never wavered. “Help me decompress the docking collar. I’ve gotFreedom’ssystems booted up. Houston can see I’m about to launch. We’re on the clock now. Can you guide me through the pushback?”

Sasha tried to reach around Mark, but Mark shook him off. “I’ll do it,” he growled. “I’ll fucking do it.” He grabbed the handle to decompress the airlock and unlocked it. “Sarah, give the call.”

“Mark…” A sob broke over the radio. “Go for airlock decompress.”

Mark pumped the lever, manually pumping the oxygen out of the airlock and creating a vacuum betweenFreedomand the ISS. The station groaned, the force of decompression torquing her already-broken back. Mark rested his hand on the safety switch that would blow the docking clamps. “You’re a fucking hero, Sarah. I’ll make sure the whole world knows.”

“Tell Donny I love him,” Sarah whispered. “Tell him he’s the last thing I’ll be thinking about.”

Mark slammed the emergency docking clamp release. Three heavypopsmade the station shudder. Slowly, the docking collar pushedFreedom, backing the capsule in a straight line away from ISS.

“Sarah, the station is in a tumble, so the R-bar will be useless. Switch to LVLH,” Sasha said.

“LVLH engaged.”

“ISS, I see you have launched!” Zeytsev crowed over the radio. Sarah’s signal blurred into static as he spoke, overpowered by his transmission. “I will see you in Russia very soon.”

“You’re in free drift,” Sasha called, peering out the airlock window. “Hold it straight and steady until you’re fifty feet… hold… hold…”

Over the radio, Sarah’s breath hitched. “Guys, there’s been a launch from Minot Air Force Base. Looks like a Minuteman III.”

“You’re go for RCS burn, Sarah,” Sasha said. “Gently roll starboard and pitch up twenty degrees. That will put you on an eyeline out toward Jupiter.” He could see the gas giant, a ball of orange 365 million miles away winking like a candle flame. “Confirm on guidance that you’re not in the path of any Milstar or GPS satellites before you open it up.”

“Checking…” She cursed under her breath before she whimpered. “Fuck, my head,” she whispered. “Hurts so fucking bad.” A sob broke through over the radio. “Okay, okay,” she said, still crying. “Guidance looks clear.”

“On the display before you, you’ll see the engine controls. Hold course manually with the control stick and swipe your fingers all the way around the engine display.” The touch screen would follow her input, opening up the engines to full burn.

“I see it.”

“Once you open up, you’ll move out of radio range in seconds.” Mark’s voice was thick, choked with everything that had happened to them. He was a man on the edge of an event horizon, tipping into free fall. “Sarah—”

“I’ve only got a minute or so left,” Sarah said, fighting through her sobs. “I’ve got to do this now.”

Tears bubbled on Mark’s eyelashes, popping off and floating away like shooting stars. “It’s been an honor,” he whispered. “Go. Go.”