I stood in the airlock, waiting for the lights to cycle to green. When the great doors opened, I let the pressure push me out into the vacuum.
My baby was waiting for me. The fighter didn’t look so bad, she just needed a little love to get back in the fight. I pulled a velcro-covered wrench from my belt and got to work.
When I was done, I slapped the hull and pushed away. The pilot lit the engines and headed back into the storm of laser fire. I hoped he wouldn’t do anything else stupid to my baby.

“Reconfiguring the Station” by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0