Airlock Read Online Free

than a dozen of us left. All the rest are… floating out there. There isn’t even anything we can do to retrieve them.”
    â€œKeep a grip, Ash,” growled the Commander. “We’ve got to play this by the book. Follow proper procedures.” He ran a trembling hand across his forehead, then straightened up and pulled his uniform straight. “What’s the outlook?”
    â€œBad, sir,” said Ash. “Atmosphere, power, all life support systems are damaged.”
    â€œPrepare both the escape pods, just in case.”
    â€œThey went up too, sir, they were next to the docking bays. I’ve followed the rule book, Commander, so I’ve called to Earth for a rescue ship. But …”
    â€œBut what?” cried the Commander.
    â€œWell, sir, it’s MaxiBoost who run the shuttles, and they’re insisting that all the correct forms have to be filled in back on Earth before they’ll even send for the refuelling truck.”
    Commander Ferguson slammed his fist into the nearest wall. “Those blasted MaxiBoost fools!” he spat. “They’ve gone too far this time! Get it sorted! I want that rescue ship on its way!”
    He stormed off, Ash following in his wake.
    George, Josh and Amira emerged from the shadows. George’s heart was thumping.
    â€œThis is terrible,” wailed Josh. “This trip was supposed to be a reward for coming top of the class. Now it looks like we might never get home again!”
    â€œTry to keep calm,” said Amira.
    â€œNot easy,” muttered George. “Especially when you realise what caused that explosion.”
    The other two were puzzled. “They don’t know what caused it yet,” said Amira.
    â€œI think I do,” said George. “Look at these control panels, the ones which operate what’s left of the reactor. Ash said they’re working fine.”
    â€œSo?” said Josh.
    Amira suddenly remembered something she’d read on her mini-screen, technical information about the station. “Oh no,” she whispered.
    George nodded his head. “An accidental overload would have fused all these controls. They’d be useless. But here they are, undamaged. The overload could only have been caused by the controls being set that way. That explosion wasn’t an accident at all. It was sabotage. Someone did it deliberately.”

Chapter Four

Sabotage
    â€œWho?” cried Josh.
    â€œWhy?” cried Amira.
    â€œWe’ll just have to work that out as we go along,” said George. “Right now, we need to tell the Commander what we’ve discovered.”
    â€œHe’s not going to like this,” gulped Josh. “He is really not going to like this.”
    Josh was right.
    A few minutes later, when the three of them arrived back at the Control Centre, they told Commander Ferguson the bad news.
    His face flushed with anger. “Sabotage?” he snapped. “On my station? I’ve never heard such nonsense!”
    At that moment Ash arrived, reading figures from a mini-screen.
    â€œSir,” he said, “I’ve worked out why the explosion happened.”
    â€œOh, I suppose you think it was deliberate too, do you?” scoffed the Commander.
    Ash blinked in surprise. “Yes. The reactor’s controls would have fused if there had been any accidental… Hang on, did you kids already know that?”
    â€œProper little smartypants, aren’t they?” said the Commander.
    â€œSorry, sir, I should have worked it out straight away,” said Ash. “I guess the whole emergency situation stopped me thinking clearly.”
    â€œThe situation is that there’s a saboteur on board,” said George.
    â€œKeep quiet, boy,” hissed the Commander, glancing around at the technicians working frantically at their screens. “I don’t want talk of sabotage getting out and distracting my staff from their