"Can't," said Anti. "Tried to but the handle won't turn. There's a red light too. Does it mean anything?"
He'd expected something like this but nevertheless his heart sank now that he was actually confronted with it. "It does. Don't try again. With your strength you might be unlucky enough to open the door."
"There's a man for you," said Anti. "First you tell me to open it and then you don't want me to."
"There's no air in the rear compartment, Anti. The combustion chamber's been retracted—that's why the rockets stopped firing. The air rushed out into space as soon as it happened. That's what the red light means."
"We'd all die if I opened it now?"
"We would."
"Then let's get busy and fix it."
"We will. But we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again. You see, it wasn't accidental. Someone, or something, was responsible."
"Are you sure?"
"Very sure. Did you see anyone while we were loading your tank in the ship?"