The CHANGI BULLET

Chapter 42 - Space Walk

Ezra was called up to the cockpit by Ari again, but this time there was hardly any light streaming in; in fact, the small cockpit light needed to be on. Inggrid was also there. She smiled at him.

'Hello, you two? Why is it dark?'

Ari pointed at the windshield. Ezra looked where directed, and then looked closer, seeing a sludge of something unmentionable across the glass, and it seemed to be moving, ever so slightly.

'What the fuck is that? Is that thing alive?'

'We were hoping you'd go out and establish that fact. We need visibility, Ezra, not least for any future landing attempts.'

Ezra pouted at Ari. 'You want me to go outside? Outside the space ship?'

'Well, if we still had Petrik, I would go, myself. But I can't leave Inggrid alone in charge of the Izzati.'

'Jeez, I feel expendable again.'

'We saw these things,' explained Inggrid. 'We were harmlessly passing through them. We weren't going to mention them to anyone, but one landed right there, and it doesn't seem willing to get off.'

'Have you tried the windscreen wipers?' he joked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. This was the last thing he wanted. For a moment he considered sending out Roach or Medina. But that wasn't his style.

'Okay. I'll go see Farrah and Toto. Get suited up.'

'Thank you, Ezra,' said Ari.

Ezra returned to the Mess. There was clearly no possibility of him going outside without telling everybody, so he made an announcement. There were a few gasps, and Ridhima walked over, wanting to offer support. He smiled his thanks to her. Ezra invited the two engineers to accompany him downstairs.

In air lock one, he was put into the space suit, with a clear-visor on his helmet, and tethered securely.

'Hold on tight, at all times,' advised Farrah.

'No shit?'

'You'll be fine, even if you fall away. We'll draw you in. Just be careful. Take your time.'

'Thank you, Farrah.'

'Look, there's the mini-axe, strapped to your right leg.'

'Is that to cut the tether?'

'Don't say that.'

The engineers retired from the air lock and sealed him in. Ezra stood there, hearing his heart beating within his helmet. He couldn't stop himself reliving the funerals of Vincent and Petrik in that room. Farrah was asking for a thumbs up, through the porthole window. What the hell - he gave a thumbs up.

Farrah gradually opened the outer door, and Ezra felt the pressure change. He had an urge to fall out, like when some people have a need to jump when on a tall building. But he controlled his emotions. Out he went, trailing the tether behind him. There was a metal ladder up to the roof, which he negotiated without any trouble. Then he set off crawling along the top of the Izzati. Subconsciously, he had seen the millions of stars above him, and the overall void of space welcoming him, but he was too focused to think of that. Forward he went, until he could look down over the top of the cockpit.

A couple of the creatures that Inggrid had talked of floated passed him. Space jellyfish was the term that came to his mind. They were alive but not exactly living, he decided. He looked down the windshield at the black blob that was stuck there. He wondered how easy it would be to dislodge. He started to ease himself head-first down there.

In the cockpit, Ari and Inggrid watched on, grimly fascinated, as Ezra came into view. They could see his face, tense with concentration. He slipped slightly at the last second and his helmet visor squashed against the creature. They found it a darkly comical moment. Ezra backed his face away, then began his assessment of the situation.

'Ezra once said to me...' said Ari. 'That he'd seen it all now, in his life.'

'Well, he should have this view.'

'He's prodding at the edges.'

They watched in silence as Ezra attempted to lift the blob from the windshield. He was straining, and pulling. He briefly considered turning himself about, to go at it with his feet. But he kept attempting to peal it away. It was like tar. He took out the small axe. Inggrid gasped, seeing that Ezra had decided to mutilate the thing to get it off.

But then Ezra simply stopped. His face showed great surprise. He allowed the axe to float away into space.

'What is he doing?' asked Inggrid.

They watched, as Ezra's lips began moving.

'What on earth?' asked Inggrid.

Ari leant forward in his seat. He was astonished. 'He's...talking with it.'

'He can't be.'

'He is. He's speaking, then listening, then speaking again. He's talking with it. I don't believe what I'm seeing.'

Next thing, the creature pealed itself off the windscreen, and before they knew it, it had moved off. They sat there, now bathed in light, not saying anything more to each other. They watched Ezra go back the way he had come.

Fifteen minutes later, a sweaty Ezra reappeared at the cockpit door. He was enjoying being nonchalant about what he had just done. 'All right, now?' he enquired. He saw the absolute disbelief in their faces. 'Never, ever ask.'