Rick had to confer with Buzzard by belt phone to find the dust-covered oxygen tank. Then its mask had to be sterilized—purely a matter of routine, Peter assured him, they always sterilized any equipment that might carry strep, flu, or TB.... Finally the chrome-yellow tank was strapped neatly behind the pilot’s seat, its accordion tube draped over Alex’s right shoulder, and the mask’s elastic firmly snagged at the nape of his neck.