She has been through simulations like this, with the pressure dropping rapidly and no way to stabilize it.

They have ended only when the leak is found.

Or the crew dies.

This is NASA. We have a plan for this.

Vanessa has closed the hatch, and the airlock is pressurizing.

But as Vanessa watches Griff, she can see that he is losing consciousness. She slips her hand under his, presses it against the hole in his suit, and applies pressure to his lower stomach.

“Griff, Griff,” she says. No response. “John Griffin, do you hear me?”

When he blinks, she cannot tell if it is purposeful. “I’ve got it,” she says to him. “I’ve got you.”

She cannot pinpoint the exact moment he passes out. Only that soon, his hand falls away and now her hand is the only thing keeping him alive until the cabin pressure in the airlock returns. She checks for any indication of blood under his suit. She sees none.

She can hear the commotion and the voices of her crewmates as they try to coordinate. Steve’s voice calms her, but Lydia’s is starting to rise in pitch.

She realizes she has not heard Hank speak in at least thirty seconds.

That moment grows longer and longer. And Vanessa gets a sinking feeling.

When she was six years old, her mother told her that her father died. Vanessa does not remember what her mother said. She only remembers that before her mother said anything, her mother looked at her but could not speak. It was a brief moment, no more than a second. But Vanessa knew something bad had happened. And it was not by what her mother had said, but the silence that had preceded it.

Vanessa thinks of that silence now.

Ray stands up. “Flight, this is Surgeon. John Griffin’s heart rate is dropping.”

Joan has been working to slow down her breathing.

“Hank has lost consciousness,” Lydia says through the loop. And then: “I think Steve has, too.”

Jack goes pale. He looks to Joan. “Stay on Danes.”

“Copy that, Navigator,” Joan says on the loop, each word feeling heavy in her mouth. “We read you.”

Jack: “Keep Danes on the leak. But she also has to make sure the N2 is all the way up. Keep Ford on Griff in the airlock.”

“Roger,” Joan says, and then she gets back on the loop. “Navigator, Houston. Danes, we need you to find that leak as soon as possible. We are reading that the N2 is funneling in, but we are not seeing an increase in cabin pressure.”

“I think I—” Lydia’s voice cuts out.

“Navigator? Navigator, this is Houston, do you read?” Joan says.

Nothing.

“Lydia Danes, do you read me?”