"We got nothing," said Chepe. "The only way to reach the survivors is through the blocked corridor where Vico and Segundo are cutting."
"Then we're in trouble," said Pitoso. "Because even if they get air in there, there's no way to get those people out."
*
"Back up," said Victor. "We're cutting the last pieces free."
Nando and Toron backed away from the opening, while Victor and Father cut the last of the girder framework away, clearing the entrance of debris. Their work wasn't done, however. The entrance was still too narrow for anyone to pass through and reach the hatch; the walls had been pinched close together when it tore away from the ship.
"Get those spreaders in there," said Bahzim. "Make that entrance as wide as possible."
Victor and Father stepped aside for those with the hydraulic spreaders. The men placed the two ends of the spreader on opposite walls of the entrance and then started the hydraulics. The spreader bars expanded, pushing the walls father apart, making an opening. Finally, after several minutes that felt like an eternity, the walls were wide again. Victor didn't even wait for the miners to remove the spreaders. He ducked under the machine and flew down to the hatch.
Through the window he could see people inside. Those that were moving looked on the verge of falling asleep.
"Do you see other people?" asked Father, coming up behind Victor.
"Do you see Alejandra?" asked Toron.
"No," said Victor. "But I can't see everyone. Some of them are alive. Barely." He turned to Father. "We need to get air in there immediately."
"How?"
Behind Father, running parallel along the corridor wall, were a series of pipes. Victor moved to them, identifying them by their shape and type. Fresh water. Sewer water. Electrical. Air. The air pipe disappeared through the wall near the hatch. Victor knew there would be a valve on the wall on the other side. As soon as the corridor decompressed, the emergency system would have sealed the valve automatically so that no air from the room escaped through the severed pipe in the corridor.
"If we can get someone inside to open the air valve," said Victor, "we can attach one of our lifelines to the pipe and feed them fresh air."
"Disconnect someone's line?" said Father.
"Either that or they die," said Victor. "I've been watching Chepe's vid as we were cutting. There's no reaching them any other way."
"He's right," said Bahzim. "If you don't get air to them here, they die. I'm not too keen on cutting someone's line, though."
"If you got a better idea, let's hear it," said Victor.
"I don't," said Bahzim.
Victor looked at Father. "Decision time."
Father hesitated. "All right. But we use my line."
Toron was at the hatch window, looking through.
"Move over, Toron," Victor pushed him aside and looked through the window. "There. Across the room. On the right side. There's another valve. That means there's another air pipe over there. We need to flood this room. Two lines pumping in a hundred times what the lines are feeding us now. Take Nando and see if you can find the pipe that feeds to that valve. Leave the light board. Toron and I will do this pipe."
Father looked through the window of the hatch, spotting the valve, judging where the corresponding pipe would be on the other side of the wreckage. He turned back to Victor. "I don't like this."
"Me neither. But we don't have time to discuss it, do we?"
Father sighed. "Be careful."
Father went. Nando followed. Victor looked at Toron and handed him a wrench from his tool belt. "Bang on the hatch. Get someone's attention. They need to open that valve."
Toron began banging on the hatch. Victor took the saw, fired it up, and cut easily through the pipe. Then he killed the saw, set it aside, and used another tool to pry the pipe that led to the room away from the wall.
"He's coming back," said Toron. "The guy from before. He's back. But he looks half asleep."
"Anoxia. Lack of oxygen. Mental confusion. Impaired thinking. Write on the board. Tell him he needs to open the valve. Keep knocking so he stays with us."