Under Pressure

Enzo made it to the airlock leading from the aft end of the ring section's pressurized volumes to the crew gantry near the larger passage the crew called the Causeway, one of four major artieries that connected the ring and sphere section. Looking out the window into the docking bays that made up the aft third or so of the ring, Enzo was shocked to see that, aside from being shifted in their cradles a little by the impact, none of the numerous maintenance drones hanging on the far wall had stirred to assist in damage control efforts. "What are they waiting for?" he asked no one in particular. Then, suddenly filled with outrage, he pounded on the airlock door. "And why is this thing taking so long?"
The frightened feminine voice of one of the HLAI involved with traffic control spoke to him over the intercom set in the wall next the airlock door. "Is someone there? Oh, thank the Ancestors, we have to hurry! Listen, who - "
"Knight-Airman Salt, ma'am," Enzo said, taking a deep breath to help restore his calm. "I'm here to help, but you have to get me in there."
"The passage beyond is in vacuum due to maintenance earlier today," the voice replied. "I-I'm trying to balance the pressure in the airlock as quickly as I can. Sir, I can't reach anyone in the sphere over the datalinks. There's some kind of interference over microwave channels, and the telemetry I'm getting over hardlines doesn't make any sense. The dockmaster is out for the night and his replacement is radio silent so far. The readings are... yes... there's a hull breach somewhere above us, both inner and outer hulls."
"Shi-it," Enzo repeated, drawing it out in a low growl. By 'above,' he assumed she meant closer to the axis of the ship. If whatever caused the breach was debris, and it had punched all the way through the back of the sphere, too, then the fusion drive could have been compromised. "Alright. I need to make it across the span as soon as possible. And - " He grit his teeth and let fly with some more colorful language. "I was on leave. Damn it! I'm only in a Nautilus level one right now."
"That's-"
"A skintight suit for daily wear, yes. But this is an emergency - no time to prebreathe. If no one from the sphere or in the docking bay is gonna fly those drones, I have to get to the drone booth on the other side myself and see what I can do to plug that hole."
The voice was silent for a moment, then Enzo heard the heavy bolts of the airlock slide free with a heavy thud. "I don't like this, Knight-Airman."
"Believe me, me neither, miss...?"
"Lanae," the woman replied. "I'm sorry."

by Hero Forge

Enzo stepped into the cramped, sepia-lit airlock and steeled himself, pulling the transparent polymer hood from along the back of his collar over his head and turning the knob on the bottle at his belt to get the air flowing. The hood inflated and its lower surface mated with the turtleneck-like collar of his undershirt, forming a gasket surface with the aid of synthetic musculature and nanorobotic 'adhesive' integrated into the material. Piping along the seams in the otherwise comfortable undergrament inflated, pulling the fabric taught in a way that chafed uncomfortably near his armpits and genitals. He only had about fifteen minutes of air if no one had though to keep the damage control lockers in the booth tidy, but it would have to do.
The heavy pressure door clunked closed behind Enzo. He bounced nervously on his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists in the gloves he had donned to keep his fingers from inflating like sausages in the low pressure. This was going to hurt.
"Are you ready?" Lanae asked. "I can do a quick - "
"Don't!" Enzo barked, then restrained himself. "Sorry, there's no time."
"Ready when you are, Knight-Air-"
"Go," Enzo said in whisper, eager to get it over with. Then, all at once, the blood his veins tried to squeeze out in all directions.