Rei's Space Walk - Part 9 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 9 of 10:

     Rei felt a tug on the tether. Instinctively, he tugged back twice. Rei couldn’t help but think back to that last night he had spent with Sally. Out on her deck, under the night sky, he claimed to her that she had left a hole in his heart that could never be filled. But she had insisted he was wrong. Sally had told him he’d find his dream girl among the stars. At the time, he thought it was beyond ridiculous but now he realized she was right. The true love of his life was alive and well and anxiously awaiting his return. His heart was whole again. In fact, it was brimming over. There was no more past. His future was with Rome. Rei slid the music slab and the ear-buds into a side pocket and turned to go back.
     He looked down the long length of the cargo compartment and thought about what Estar had said to him, that they were carrying Erklirte weapons. Anything could be turned into a weapon. The hammer clipped to his side could be used as a weapon. The hunting rifles were the closest things to actual weapons but they hardly constituted something an entire race of people would fear. To think that this was the purpose of all of these supplies made no sense. Rei shook it off.
     He gathered up the tether and started walking back to the rear of the cargo compartment. Rei tugged gently on the cord and let it slide between his gloved fingers so that Rome would take up the slack. He did this every fifteen meters or so until he reached the rear of the cargo compartment. He turned around and looked at it one more time. The rows and rows of equipment casting harsh shadows from his helmet lights.
     Weapons? Rei laughed to himself. The Vuduri, they were all crazy. He closed up the cargo compartment and made his way back to the top of the Ark so that Rome could see him. The gigantic propulsion module was now twenty meters or so behind them. He waved to Rome to indicate to her that his mission was a success. He ran as fast as his magnetic boots would allow him, stopping only to jump over the latticework attaching the cargo compartment to the crew compartment. In just a few minutes, he was at the base of their tug, looking up at Rome peering out. With a single leap, he was inside.
     As soon as he reentered the airlock, Rome jumped at him and hugged him, almost knocking him back out the door. He smiled and pressed his helmet to hers.
     “It’s OK, Romey,” he said. “I’m back. It worked. No more worries.”
     “Yes,” she replied in her muffled helmet voice. “No more worries.”
     Rei turned and pressed the stud to close the outer door and watched until the indicator turned green. As soon as it did, he removed his helmet and waited until Rome removed hers. He held up his music slab and smiled at her.

Uh, maybe he shouldn't have shown it to her just yet. Will Rome be mad that he risked his life for some music? Tomorrow, we will find out.