Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2 by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers

area.
    “Everyone has a personal sleep station, a small compartment where you can get some privacy. Sleep stations are rather compact, but each one has a desk and lamp, nets to stow your clothes in, and a sleeping bag.”
    “So we get to go camping in space?” King said. He was an Eagle Scout, after all.
    “I’ll make s’mores,” Dyl offered.
    “The bags are sleep restraints more than anything else,” Ansari said. “Just cloth with a stiff pad on the back. They keep you from floating around and hitting the walls while you sleep. When it’s time for bed, you just shut your door and zip yourselves in for a good night’s rest. Actually, it’s not as easy to get used to sleeping in microgravity as you might think. We supply eye masks and earplugs, but it’s still a strange sensation.”
    “As long as no one tries to spin me around in a chair, I’ll deal with it,” Song-Ye muttered.
    “Living in space doesn’t take much physical effort,” Dr. Romero said the following day. “So we have to exercise to stay healthy. It’s my job to keep track of the mass, bone density, and muscle tone of everyone on this space station. I require every member of the crew to put in at least two hours a day in the fitness module while they’re stationed here in orbit. Otherwise their muscles and bones would deteriorate in microgravity.”
    Dyl wiggled his legs, enjoying the freedom of movement. “How hard can it be to run or ride a bike up here?”
    She pointed out a magnetic treadmill. “That’s called a ‘colbert,’ after the one on the original International Space Station. You wear straps and restraints to keep yourself secure against the equipment while you exercise. Between resistance exercises, the colbert, and the stationary bicycle, the crew stays pretty fit.” She looked at the two of them. “Have you noticed any physiological differences in yourselves since you arrived?”
    “My head feels all stuffed up,” Dyl said. “And I have a runny nose.” He had also noticed within the first few hours of their being aboard the ISSC that all of his friends’ eyes looked swollen, their faces rounder. “Song-Ye is looking pretty plump in the face. Maybe she ate too much yesterday,” he teased.
    She shot back, “Listen to Mr. Puffy Cheeks, pfft!”
    Romero nodded. “Perfectly normal. Gravity isn’t keeping your body’s fluids where they would normally be. In microgravity, your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to circulate blood, so your body doesn’t need as much fluid. In the next few days, you’ll pee away what you don’t need, and then you’ll feel normal.”
    After Dr. Romero had adjusted the colbert, Song-Ye tried out the treadmill.
    “Being in space for a long time can cause physiological problems for humans,” Dr. Romero continued. “Space programs have been studying the effects since the first orbital flights, and then extended stays aboard the Soviet Mir space station, SkyLab, and the original International Space Station. One of the ISSC’s most important areas of research is to learn how humans can live for long periods of time in space.”
    Dyl shook his head. “I have a feeling the Kylarn don’t want us to feel welcome out here for an extended stay.”
    ***

Twelve
    “Well, I know why I volunteered for this task,” King said, raising an eyebrow at Mira before staring down at the electronic star charts. They were working together in the observatory module. “I’m an amateur astronomer, and I worked with Dr. Wu before on his charts. It’s already interesting to me. The question is: What are you doing here?” It was a friendly query, not a challenge.
    Mira moistened her lips and thought for a moment. King was sure the girl would give him the brush-off, but she surprised him. “I could claim that I like astronomy, too, but you’d see through that right away, so there’s no point. For now, let’s just say I have an interest in … heavenly bodies.” Her lips curled into a teasing