Between Mars and Jupiter, February, 2078, Tuesday…

Ricky had two hours and twenty minutes to live, approximately. That was when he would run out of air.

Born Ricardo Maldonado, he had been called Ricky most of his life. He considered that he had been more fortunate than many. His life had been one of adventure. He didn't regret one moment of it.

He had grown up in Los Angeles fascinated by anything and everything dealing with space exploration. It was not surprising that he gravitated into an occupation that had something to do with man's last frontier.

The big rigs plied their way between LEO and the outer planets like the truckers of the century before plied the roads of commerce. Out to the fledgling colonies and UNSA experimental stations with huge loads of supplies, then back with the rare ores and earths that a depleted Earth desperately needed to maintain a modern civilization ever more dependent on computers, robotics, and other technical marvels. It was a lonely haul most of the time with minimal crews and little to do. Except when there was an emergency.

Nemo Hartley had shut down the fusion torch that powered the immense ship when it was discovered that two warning sensors had gone off line. They were like landing gear lights on a plane - you wanted your warning sensors to be fully operational since they would tell you if there was instability in the plasma containment. And Nemo took no chances.

So Ricky had suited up and moved along the criss-crossed network of girders that formed the ship's ugly fuselage, jinking between the huge shipping crates, slowly covering the almost two hundred meters to the titanium globes on aft port and starboard. He headed towards the port engine to check things out, although he knew the problem was in the starboard engine. He was also careful. Since he was out, he might as well check both engines. Satisfied that the aft engine was in as good a condition that twenty years of service allowed, he moved across to the other.

He had done space walks many times. He knew the old adage "don't get complacent," but he was careful.

Shit happens. There was no way to know that the wrench would break. He had correctly anchored his tether on one of the girders before he even began the repair. Then he began the job of undoing the sensor housing, which involved loosening four large bolts. When the wrench broke, the torque sent him spinning off the ship violently. Then Murphy's Law really came into action when the twisted tether cable snapped taut and broke, sending him off into space.