The lights flickered and the air was getting thin.
"Okay, visors down."
The three men flipped down the visors on their space suits and continued working on the small converter that theoretically could save Alpha.
"Paul, have you checked in with Sandra?"
"The Eagles have established orbit, sir. Medical evacuated out on the Rescue Eagle."
"Carter and Fraser?"
"Matthias says they're doing well, Commander. No ill-effects."
Koenig grimaced as he tried to pull off the casing of the converter, then he looked at Morrow. "And Victor?"
"I'm sorry, Commander, there's been no change."
"I wish he was down here now.... I don't remember his class on early life support theory all that well. It was a long time, and a lot of technology ago."
Paul handed him a strip of material coated with Ethyliodide, and another with Hexane. "You studied with Professor Bergman?"
A small smile tugged at Koenig's lips as he stretched the material across an inside panel of the old car converter. "Yes. I was still in High School when I first met him, it was a summer class at Oxford. Victor was a visiting guest lecturer. I had read about him in the science journals and my parents let me go to England to take the class." Koenig mounted the pieces to the converter and snapped down the casing as he continued, his voice taking on a faraway quality. "They were killed in a plane crash while I was there. Victor was very kind to me...."
Kano piped up, "I thought you studied with Professor Bergman at MIT."
Koenig mounted the converter to the main life support apparatus. "I did. He was head of the astrophysics department." He looked at Kano. "I wouldn't have made it without him."
Seeing the tears forming in Koenig's eyes, David turned the man's attention back to the work. "Do you need a tighter seal?"
Koenig looked down at the converter. "I don't think so. This should do it." John turned to Paul. "Okay, restart it."
The lights flickered for a moment, and then the sound of the life support system kicking in vibrated the metal of their space suits. Koenig tentatively lifted his visor and took a breath.
"We've got air. Get everybody back down here Paul, and get the technical department busy on building a new converter." A slight smile twitched his lips, "I don't know how much longer Victor's chevy can keep us going...."
Kano and David smiled as they watched John Koenig leave the room, heading for Main Mission.