c20 vaccuum

The detonation, when it came, was surreal in its seeming languor. First came a rumble that seemed almost gentle, from her time‐slowed perspective. The right edge of the metal ceiling above buckled inward, just barely slow enough for her to perceive—

And then it shattered, briefly expelling shards of metal before reversing, turning concave instead of convex. A sudden rush of air through the new two‐meter‐wide hole testified to the fact that their compartment was now open to vacuum.

She clung to the seat straps that kept the torrent from drawing her upward, and the ship lurched. Screams sounded around her, until muted by the loss of air, or just as likely, Emergency Safety Packages.

Lung and sinus pressures safely equalized, Clarisse thought. Damage minimal. Drawing on emergency oxygen reserves. Vacuum survival mechanisms activated.

(To The Stars, Chapter 20)