It was inches from her helmet when she pushed off the floor, sliding to the left and away from the first edge of the ash. The move took her deeper into the room.
The ash settled into its new pattern, completely shrouding the doorway.
Kira huffed at the sight. She was well and truly trapped.
She flicked her eyes to the right, bringing up her stats. One hour and sixteen minutes of air left. Under normal circumstances, it should have been plenty to get her to theWanderer.
Waiting the ash out would be her preference. Maybe it adopted a new pattern every hour.
Kira sighed. Her luck had never been the best. If she were wrong, she would have wasted valuable time when she could have been escaping. If she died from asphyxiation, Jin would probably follow her into the next world just to laugh at her.
Time for a new plan.
She pressed a button on her suit and swiveled to face one of the far walls. From what she'd seen on the way in, this wall was unlikely to be a bulkhead. It'd be thinner than the outer walls and would make a perfect spot for a new door.
She unhooked one of the tools, flicking a button. The laser torch ignited, a blue-white light flared out, blinding against the darkness as she set it against the metal.
The razor ash rippled, sensing the disturbance in the small space. A tentacle reached out from the mass as it snaked toward Kira.
Kira kept one eye on the approaching mass as she burned through the metal, counting down the seconds as death advanced on her.
She finished cutting a small door out of the metal, sinking a savage kick against the wall. The sheet popped out, the edges glowing red-hot from the torch.
Kira didn’t waste any time, pushing off as she flicked her thrusters on.
This was going to be close.
The ash missed her by millimeters as she rocketed down the hallway, searching for the quickest way to space. She needed out of this ship five minutes ago.
Up ahead, a dark cloud swarmed out of a hallway, eating through one of the dead crew as it raced toward Kira.
She arrowed down a corridor to her left, cursing her luck. It had found its way out of the room a lot easier than it should have.
That meant it was programmed to search and destroy once triggered.
Lucky her.
Kira spotted a hole in the hull and shot toward it, the ash only feet away as it chased her through the ship.
She turned her thrusters on maximum, pushing for more speed. She needed every bit if she didn’t want to die an ugly death in the next few seconds.
Kira darted through the hole, barely clearing it on either side. She was already broadcasting before she was clear. The message was set on a loop in case the Tsavitee ship was still playing havoc with her comms.
“Jin, get the ship ready. I’m coming in hot.”
*
"What do you mean it’sbroken?" Kira stared into the innards of the ship's engine.
"Someone decided to haul tail for the ship dragging two eels and a crap-ton of razor ash. You're lucky the damage was this minor," Jin snapped. "If I wasn't the amazing pilot I am, the ship and you would have been toast."
"If you were so amazing, the ship would never have been touched," Kira muttered to herself, prodding the offending part.
"What was that?" Jin's voice was sharp.
"Nothing."
"That's what I thought you said. Nothing." Jin's voice trailed off as he turned away from her.
