Zero-G

Suddenly, the tether cable�s spring-catch snapped. Lightning raced up her spine as she belted out a terrified shriek. Disaster in slow-motion, Will free-floated past the decompression chamber door, past the module, tumbling toward the outer ring and space beyond it. She broke into a sweat despite the coldness of the station.

Before solid reason could kick in, she punched the boost on the G-field, causing a power surge and instantly magnetizing the ring, catching Will by the metal in his spacesuit, slamming him into the ring structure, and preventing his loss to the stars.

�Good job, Maggie!� George shouted, and the voices of others in Mission Control could be heard cheering.

She caught her breath, her teary eyes posted on the video monitor. Will�s arms and legs were wrapped around the big ring, clutched for dear life, and the chance of losing him was still very high.

�Cut the magnetic field�s strength so he can move. Get him in the module, Gates! And don�t let him break orders again. Conduct a citizen�s arrest, if you have to.�
Immediately she did as George instructed, weakening the ring�s magnetic hold on Will.

�What�s your gravity reading?� George inquired, his tone laced with relief.

�Thirty.� Too low, she knew. She expected vertigo any moment.

�Okay, Maggie. You did good, but it cost you your gravity sooner than you�d planned. Micro-gravity may set in suddenly instead of a slow bleed. You�ll probably be floating in an hour. I suggest you make the most of that last hour.�

Her mind raced. �What about Life Support, George? What did saving Will cost us in Life Support power?�

But George�s line went dead.

She was pretty sure the magnetism engaged to catch Will had probably cost them a day�s worth of energy, which meant they didn�t have the power to make it to the protection of the Moon. Now there was a great probability they wouldn�t make it to their rescue.

Unable to raise any communication at all, Maggie went back to the ready room and watched through the portal to see Will slowly scale the ring until he reached the decompression chamber. That wait cost them a half hour. Fighting a threatening tear, she tapped her foot the entire fifteen minutes it took to decompress until her ankle ached.

Only minutes of gravity remained, perhaps only days of life stood before them.
Math never lied. Only people lied.

All Maggie thought of was the one thing she really wanted before she died, something within her reach this moment. She had less than a half hour to live a final fantasy, to show Will the truth of her feelings before gravity gave out. Timing had never been her gift. She recalled never recognizing the moments in high school when she should have told him how she felt, catching her fiancé at bedding her roommate, missing Will when she�d returned to town to find him gone.

But, in the last moments of her life, she knew what she had never done bothered her more than what she had been late for.

No one could be hurt because their transgression would never be discovered.

Maggie dared herself beyond her boundaries, grateful the guilt would only be short-lived.