Tenn had the fabric saw out and ready. Based on the same concept as the saws used to cut casts off limbs, the composite blade of a fabric saw would decompose the material but wouldn’t affect flesh. He brought the saw near Ivan’s arm, then gave orders to the crew. “Seth, you brace Ivan in the passenger seat so we can pull off the suit arm without dislodging him. Kady and Raul, be ready to grab the fabric as I cut it and peel it back. Make sure the gunk doesn’t touch you or anyone else, or we’ll be doing this all over again. Will, be ready with the sealant.” Tenn looked around at the other crew members to make sure they were reacting to his orders.

“Screw that,” Kady’s voice rose in pitch. “I’m not taking a chance on that shit touching me!”

Will cut in before Kady could build up to a full-on conniption. “We have lots of sealant. How about if I cover the gunk with it first? Then it can’t get loose or touch anyone.”

“Good thinking, Will. Do it. Step back, everyone. Ivan, stick out your arm.” Tenn gave a small push and drifted away from the group. A small spurt with his jets and he was motionless. The others followed suit, leaving the field clear for Will.

It took only moments to cover the suit arm up to the elbow. Once the substance was covered, they moved back into position.

Tenn looked at Ivan. “Okay, sprout, this is not going to be comfortable. But the doc doesn’t think you’ll lose the arm. And anyway, with the money from your share, you’ll be able to get a new one grown.”

Ivan nodded, clearly sweating profusely. The suit environmentals were starting to have trouble keeping up, and his visor was fogging.

“And, 3...2...1...” Tenn ran the saw around Ivan’s lower biceps as quickly as he could. The fabric edges pulled back on either side. Kady and Raul braced their feet on the scooter frame and grabbed the forearm side of the cut. As they pulled, Will sprayed sealant from Ivan’s shoulder on down. Ivan whimpered a little as different parts of his arm suffered decompression, but he held still for the entire operation.

As soon as the suit arm was off, Kady thrust it to the ground and pushed gravel over it with his foot.

The rest of the crew cleared the scooter, and Tenn ordered Aspasia, “Go! Airlock, immediately!”

Needing no further prompting, Aspasia gave the scooter jets a spurt to get clear of the clump of crew members, then jetted toward the open airlock, where several people were waiting.

11.Recovery

11.Recovery