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Quong shoved the last cart out of the plane. He reached over to the control panel to close the hatch.
Xris waved, caught the Doc's attention. The hatch took twenty seconds to cycle through before it opened. Those twenty seconds might mean the difference between life and death if they had to make a fast exit.
Quong left the hatch open, the ramp in place, and joined the others on the loading dock.
"We're all set to go, boss," Jamil said loudly.
The Marine glanced back at the spaceplane. "You're not going to shut the hatch, sir?"
Xris grinned. "Why, kid? You afraid someone's gonna steal my plane?"
The Marine stared, momentarily taken aback. Then he laughed, somewhat shamefacedly. "No, sir. I guess not. If you'll follow me. Oh, and, uh, sir. I'm sorry, but smoking's not permitted anywhere in the space station."
Xris had the twist in his mouth. He started to offer his customary explanation that he wasn't going to smoke the damn thing, then decided it would be easier to put the twist away. He didn't want trouble of any sort.
He and Harry helped push the heavily loaded carts. Xris paired himself up with Jamil, the only ex-military man among them. They exited the loading dock, entered the space station interior.
Wide double doors led into a faintly lit access corridor. Pipes and cables were visible overhead, providing heat, power, oxygen, and other services
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