You should whisper, he thought. It would be more fitting.
He shuffled in the indicated direction. His legs were rubbery beneath him and there was a growing tingling sensation in his left arm. It was just barely possible that he was bleeding to death. And encased as he was in the spacesuit, it would be impossible for him to treat the wound.
If they reached the colony on Venus he would receive medical attention, of course. But they must first overpower the ship's crew, and it would take approximately two hours to reach the colony. Could he hold out that long?
He didn't know.
George knelt and carefully examined the rectangular outline in the metal beneath their feet. "It's only a sort of button," he said. "It could be a device that opens the lock by means of a code sequence—or it could be a signal to notify those inside to open the lock."
"What should we do?" Gloria asked nervously.
Instead of replying, George pushed the button firmly. The section of hull beneath them instantly dropped several feet. Emmett looked up in time to see an outer air-lock panel swiftly blot out the stars.
Brief seconds later, the compartment was filled with a brilliant light and tiny nozzles in the ceiling sprayed a bluish gas about them.
Gloria leapt quickly to one side. "What's that?" she asked, in alarm.
"It's the Agronian atmosphere," George said. "Although their locks are mechanically different, the principle behind them is the same as ours."