Rei's Spacewalk - Part 7 of 10

Five years before the events that were described in Rome's Evolution, Rei and Rome had left the Tabit system and were just starting out on their one-year trip to Deucado. At the time, they didn't know it would only take a year, they were planning on more like two-plus years. However, Rei had a burst of inspiration that allowed them to ultimately double their speed. This is a little vignette about Rei's spacewalk which facilitated a vastly shortened journey. This is part 7 of 10:

     In theory, the two sections were now separated. Unfortunately, Rei realized he had no way to test this without going back into the ship and ordering MINIMCOM to fire the thrusters. Vuduri pressure suits didn’t have radios, otherwise, he’d call it in. He took a deep breath to calm himself. If the two sections were not completely severed, they were no worse off but still, to have come this far and not know was disappointing.
     Rei had an idea but it would require Rome’s indulgence. He tugged once on the tether. Rome tugged back. He tugged twice. At this point, he was hoping she realized he wanted her attention. He gathered up a little bit of slack and stepped over onto the lattice-work, turning in place to face forward. The lattice-work was made primarily of composites so his magnetic boots did not grip very well. He had to fire the hand-thruster briefly to force his torso down. He grabbed a hold of the lattice and wedged the toes of his boots into two of the open spaces in the diamond-shaped pattern. With his free hand, he gripped the tether so he would know if Rome was testing him. With the other hand, he stuck the handle of the hand-thruster into an open space and pulled the trigger. He fired it continuously for about 15 seconds. He didn’t know how much reactant the thruster carried but he didn’t want to use up all the charge, just in case.
     He lifted his head and was gladdened to see that there was the slightest separation between the lattice and the cargo compartment. Rei fired his hand thruster again and the distance increased infinitesimally. A broad smile formed across his face. Over and over, Rei fired the thruster until there was a three-meter gap between him and the Ark.
     That was enough. Rei pulled his boots free and stood up. He tried to push off so that he could go back toward the cargo compartment but the only effect he had was to begin rising up, floating away from the lattice and the entire propulsion module.
     He had a moment of panic but was able to suppress it by realizing that the tether protected him from drifting off into interstellar space. He raised his arm over his head and fired the hand-thruster. The reactive force drove him downward and where the tether caught on the edge of the Ark, he pivoted downwards toward the vertical face. By twisting his body again, he came at the Ark feet first. His magnetic boots clamped solidly on the newly exposed vertical end.
     Rei could feel Rome pulling in the slack and there was the inevitable tug. Proudly, he tugged back twice. Geometrically, he was in an odd position. He was actually standing at right angles to the length of the Ark and he knew Rome could no longer see him, but their communication system would assure her he was all right. Rei looked down at his feet and saw that he was now “standing” on the giant cargo door enclosing that module.

Hmm. Standing on the cargo compartment door. And inside is his music slab. He's already practically there. Should he go for it? Tomorrow, we will find out.