The Lucky Penny

[Zapp]

That's just great. She was leaking fuel, apparently in her haste she had scraped the fuel line across some piece of debris. Dammit! The Junker knew that if she sent out a distress call, likely as not the gunboat would pick it up before any fellow Junkers did.

She hadn't even bothered taking off her EV suit in her haste, so she opened and entered the airlock, grabbed a repair-kit, depressurized the airlock, then opened the door, stepping outside. Activating the mag-clamps in the soles of her shoes, she was immediately attached to the ship. Walking along the outside of the ship, she took in the sights. Manhattan was a distant jewel, and Pittsburgh was a nearer mudball. Maine was always fun to look at - it sparked like a diamond in the New York sun.

The fuel line was at the bottom of the ship, towards the rear. Sure enough, there was a gaping hole. Setting the repair-kit (which also magnetized at the press of a button) on the hull of the ship, she pulled out some patches and set them over the hole, then wrapped them around in tape until it was sure to stick, though it might not hold through a jump. She was lucky she wasn't supposed to jump.

Closing the repair kit, she started heading back for the airlock. Then she looked back, and just about jumped. Closing fast was the gunboat, obviously not hampered by a broken fuel line. Her helmet-comm was tied into the ship's comm unit (read: call forwarding), so she got the message to stand down and prepare to be boarded.

She ran for the airlock, magnetized boots and all.