In the cramped engine room, the announcement blared from the loudspeakers. “Red alert. All hands to battle stations.” Officers ran frantically to their posts, as the spaceship was shaken by repeated ion blasts. There was an explosion. One of the plasma thrusters had suffered a direct hit, and the explosion had traveled all the way along the plasma conduit back to the engine. They were siting ducks without their engines. Tricia and John both raced to fix it. They opened the hatch and crawled inside. It would take two people to seal off the damaged plasma conduit. The pulled out their tools and worked frantically. John felt Tricia’s soft hand brush against his and he stopped. The brief touch sent tingles up and down his spine. But she hadn’t even noticed and he kept on working. When the conduit was sealed, they tried to pull open the hatch again, but it wouldn’t budge. The explosion must have melted the hinges, and now they had cooled shut. “What do we do now John?” She looked at him with those beautiful eyes.