Jez wouldn't shut up. He kept babbling on, in full panic, dashing back and forth around the cabin. He'd got the entry key wrong for the third time, and the system had shut down for 30 seconds. I just waited. There's no point to that kind of panic. It's useless. Accomplishes nothing.

I took another bite of bagel. No jam today. It had all gone by the time I got to the cafeteria. Opted for honey instead; it may be synthetic (no bees in space) and have that slightly plasticene taste, but it beats settling for margerine. A big dollop of honey dripped of the bagel, onto the control panel. I wiped it off with the cuff of my sleeve, and looked around to check nobody noticed. They hadn't. Jez is still running around like the proverbial headless chicken. Everyone else was screaming down their microphones, trying to attract the attention of the response team.

Forgot their training, whole lot of them. If the entry key is failed three times then we get sealed off from the ship, no aural (or is that "oral"? Both, I suppose) communication. No sense in this behaviour. I watched the red flashing light turn orange. Another ten seconds left. Then yellow. Five seconds. Green.

I stood up, crossed to Jez's terminal, and tapped in the entry key. The lights came back on, and everyone finally shut up.