Trapped in Space

(Trapped in Space)

The space freighter Venture is on a routine mission. While life goes on among her crew - two women, four men and a dog - an asteroid detected by onboard instruments is on the point to enter in collision course with the ship. At that moment, Captain Michael Howard is the only member in the command room of the ship. Unfortunately he is too busy negotiating deals and other arrangements to immediately perceive the warnings of then navigation instruments. When he finally aknowledges the incurable and imminent arrival of the asteroid, it is too late to act.

Without not other remorses, Howard deepens to the rescue shuttle and escapes alone. The other members of the crew first surprised quickly understand what happens. Under their horrified eyes, the asteroid strikes the space freighter and although it does not destroy her, it crosses her from part to part. The situation is nevertheless critical. Reserves of oxygenate are annihilated and worst of all the Venture is unable to send any distress call.

A quick calculation demonstrates that only three persons can survive in the Venus back trip. The officer Gillings, who is now commanding after Howard's desertion, proposes a random drawing to determine who has to sacrifice. Although any other surviving solution is illusory, Issacs attempts to demonstrate her theory that oxygen would still be present in the pipings of the spaceship's hull. During an outer space walk necessary to check her hypothesis, a terrible accident occurs. The evaporation of oxygen in space provokes serious damages to her spatio-pack. Despite the intervention of MacNeil, the poor cadet will die by depressurization of her spacesuit.

Gillings can no longer maintain discipline and authority. For Palmer, the solution has to come from the elimination of the weakest. The former escape in the coursives of the ship and tends several traps to the other astronauts launched to his research. MacNeil and Grant are near to find the death in one of the runaway's traps. When Palmer kills Gillings's dog, the mascot of the crew, the officer commits suicide.

MacNeil and Grant, still looking for the presumed killer, finally discover him in the bottoms of the spaceship, the throat cutted. Which one of the two astronauts killed Palmer? The confidence between the two men blanches. Each believes the other to be capable to perpetrate the horrible massacre in order to remain alive. Because now, this are not three but only one person that will be able to claim a chance of surviving in the return trip. After a missed attempt by Grant to poison MacNeil, the final choice of the survivor is confided to a fate drawing…

The gamble is favorable to MacNeil who finally discovers that Palmer's killer was only Gillings herself. Some days later, while the Venture approaches her destination, a rescue mission boards her. MacNeil indicts immediately the Captain Howard and makes him under arrest, then indicates the rescuers the presence of Grant in a cryogenic crate. As he did not knew it, the victorous astronaut who won the tip had given a sedative to Grant and had dived him into hibernation, hoping he would have a chance to remain alive.