Every one of the hinges on the mammoth doors had been oiled within the last two weeks. Octavia had come over to the hangar one morning to ask advice from one of the pilots about flying her hot air balloon near a canyon. Then she hung around and helped sweep dust until everyone went away for lunch and she had the room and an oil can to herself.
Last Thursday Octavia hid in an air balloon basket in another hangar until dark. She snuck to the Orion's hangar much like they had done tonight. She set up a ladder and climbed each rung painfully slowly to reach the upper hinges and clear the track above the door along which the accordion doors folded.
The cables stop the doors were well maintained so when one door moved it's partner mirrored the movement. It was a simple and effective design father had borrowed from mother's drapes. But even with the pulleys, it required more force to open two doors than one.
Tonight Octavia walked along the doors pushing one corner out a few inches, pulling the next corner in, pushing the next one out. Not much. Just enough to give her peace of mind that nothing was going to jamb and stand in their way.
Mr Fischer's voice seemed to signal the adrenaline to start coursing through her. Octavia wedged her shoulder against the edge of the door and pushed against it with all her might. Slowly at first the door began to roll along it's track, the partner opening as well. She gained momentum and the doors buckled and folded to the sides just as they were designed to do. They thudded into place against the walls fully open.
Though the process was effective, it could not be considered silent. Octavia turned and ran for the Orion. "They're open!" she called.
She side stepped one of the cables and realized to her horror she hadn't released any of the mooring lines yet. She hadn't released the Orion! Was that her heart thundering in her ears? Was that footsteps? It didn't matter at this moment, what mattered was loosing the Orion.
She crouched down and started the untying of the line from the mooring. When it was free she left it dangling from the Orion and moved forward the next one. They could pull them all up later.
Almost immediately she growled and threw up her hands. Octavia pivoted on her toes and hurried back to the first line and gathered it up. She tossed it up over the orion's railing so it wouldn't be in the way when Max tried to get the ship out. Then she went to untying the second line.
These little delays were beginning to drive her crazy. She had this theft so carefully planned out. Why couldn't she stay focused and calm and just get it done? She was wasting too much time!
"For Hubert. For Hubert." She whispered to herself pulling apart another knot. The plan was still working, she just had to keep moving and stop spinning her gears.
The shadow of the security guard appeared in the vast open space of the doors. Octavia cringed, they were so close! The guard hadn't made a move yet, probably adjusting his eyes to the light Octavia guessed. She unwound cord frantically.
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