And there's no tie down I can get to! I'm going
to unhook and put the line back in the reel."
10 "NO!" ordered Thundering Star, "That's too dangerous!"
11 "Have to!" insisted North. "Can't take the time to mess around." He
secured his lifeline in its reel and headed in to the wreckage. The
beam was no
real problem. He had it secure in moments and backed off to take a good
look. It was then the pod decided to slam HARD against the framework,
resulting in several things happening almost at once.
12 A high pressure line carrying hydraulic fluid was sheared through by
the edge of the framework. As the pod rose up a little, the fluid
escaping under tremendous pressure hit North full force, driving him
backwards. It covered his face plate, leaving him blind.
13 As he was propelled out of the wreckage, his primary air line was
severed by the jagged edge of the wreckage. The primary system
instantly shut down to save his air, and the ten minute emergency
system switched on.
14 As North reached for his propulsion unit he hit hard on the
wreckage, and the unit was knocked from his hands. He tumbled
helplessly from the wreckage, heading for open space!
15 Thundering Star, seeing all this occur from his position, knew that
if he didn't do something quickly, North didn't have a chance. In
desperation he yanked the fast release on his safety line and jumped,
aiming himself for North.
16 He reached the General and wrapped his arms just as the safety line
reached its limit and managed to keep his grip on the General even though the safety line had nearly
snapped his back.
17 Regaining his wits, he hung to the General