Communications from John Griffin, Hank Redmond, Steve Hagen, and finally Lydia Danes fall silent until Joan Goodwin’s voice reaches Vanessa Ford, now the only responsive crewmember. Joan informs Vanessa that cabin pressure is safe and instructs her to bring Griffin out of the airlock. Vanessa steadies herself, opens the hatch, and removes both her helmet and Griffin’s.

Struggling out of her suit alone triggers claustrophobia, but Vanessa forces herself through the pain and awkward movements to free herself and then Griffin. She encounters Hank floating toward her with severe swelling and mottled skin; she recognizes he is dead. Vanessa then finds Steve on the flight deck, surrounded by floating droplets of blood, and confirms his death.

Vanessa reports to Mission Control that Steve and Hank are dead and that Griffin breathes but appears to have internal injuries. Joan acknowledges and says Griffin’s vitals are being monitored; she believes Lydia is alive and asks for confirmation. Vanessa locates Lydia on the ceiling, checks a pulse, and confirms she is alive.

Vanessa identifies the patched breach: Lydia had sealed the leak with a clipboard and duct tape before losing consciousness, stabilizing cabin pressure. Joan confirms pressure is rising toward 10.2 psi and can likely be held long enough to get home. Vanessa estimates Lydia has decompression sickness (“the bends”), and Joan says Lydia needs treatment within ten hours, Griffin sooner, and that a deorbit in as little as three orbits is possible.

Vanessa admits they left the airlock hatch open, which Joan says they suspected given Griffin’s injury. With deorbit planning underway, Joan instructs Vanessa to prepare the deorbit checklist and attach biomedical sensors to Griffin and Lydia. Vanessa, realizing she must effectively pilot the shuttle without prior landing experience, begins securing the cabin and strapping down the crew.

She decides to stow the deceased, Steve and Hank, in the airlock to keep the flight deck clear, gently moving each and privately addressing them before closing the hatch. She applies sensors to Lydia, buckles her into the seat behind the commander’s chair, and then seats Griffin beside Lydia, briefly kissing him on the temple.

Joan returns with a contingency plan: deorbit and land at Edwards Air Force Base in three orbits due to its trauma center capabilities. Vanessa focuses on immediate, concrete tasks—stowing torn-off lockers and equipment, shutting payload doors, and readying the pilot’s station—choosing second-by-second actions over long-term visualization as she prepares for reentry.