The only reason this wasn’t automated from the ship’s pressure systems below was because there was a risk of sucking out the gas into the air canister and then releasing the gas into the exterior air supply when all was said and done. So the painful route it was. It wasn’t that the gas was chemically reactive. In fact, Handy had learned, it was a kind of noble gas that didn’t react with anything, so interacting with air was not a concern or danger. What was dangerous was how remarkably toxic and poisonous the gas was to breathe in. It was odourless, colourless, and deadly in sufficient quantities. Hence why Handy wasn’t concerned about coming up here with no more protection than the air helm.