Satisfied she was safe for now, Kira stripped the metal housing from the console, exposing its innards. The information stored in the chips inside was protected by several layers of metal sheeting. It would take time to reach the bits she wanted.
She was halfway through when the ash rippled, sliding through the room as it drifted into a new pattern.
Kira worked faster as the ash floated closer.
Almost there. Almost there.
Kira pried the metal loose, using a pair of force grips to wrench it free, much like a can opener would, the unique alien metal folding under the force and exposing the circuitry inside.
A sheet of razor ash moved in front of the door, cutting off her escape. She grunted as she reached in and started pulling pieces free, storing each one in her bag as the leading edge of the ash slid closer and closer.
Looked like it planned to settle right where she was.
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 the Wanderer.
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’s broken?" 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.
"Can't you fix it with one of the 3D printers we have on board?" Kira complained.
That's why she had paid an arm and a leg for one after all—to make the necessary repairs when they were in the deep of space.
"No. Someone decided not to pay the tax on the last batch of material, so I don't have enough to fabricate what I need."
Kira looked away. She was that someone. In her defense, the tax had been increased nearly fifty percent this last time. It was robbery, pure and simple. They got away with it because most ships waited until the last minute to order the raw materials they needed for the printer. The station was one of the few in several million miles that looked the other way on some of the salvagers’ less-than-legal business endeavors.
Kira rubbed her forehead, trying to soothe away the headache beginning to sink its claws into her.
"Even if we did have the material, it wouldn't matter. That part is highly technical. It's impossible to replicate. I can fabricate a workaround but it has a limited shelf life. Once it goes, we'll barely have sublight speed."
Which for a ship out on the edge of nowhere could be a death sentence.
Kira's headache got worse.
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, let's route to Omega Station. We can get the part we need there."
"Can't," Jin said, his voice slightly tinny and flat.
"Why not?"
"Because the part we need is at O'Riley Station."
Kira stiffened, turning to look at her friend. Jin hovered several feet above the deck, his spherical body no bigger than her head. His shell was an out-of-date military grade drone coupled with all the advances she could get her hands on. Although his parts might be metal and hardware, his mind was pure organic sapience, with all the pitfalls that might bring.
"You can't tell me Omega doesn't have what we need."
Jin was the cool voice of logic and reason in almost any situation. But every now and then, he developed vexing opinions. When he did, things tended to go very badly for Kira.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what he was up to. She refrained. If she were wrong, the question would offend him, and she'd have to live with a grumpy drone for the next few days—one with control of the ship's internal sensors including temperature and hot water.
"I've already checked the catalogs we downloaded during our last stop. They were out then and weren’t due to be replenished for several months. We'd be stuck in port while we wait for the next shipment of spare parts," he told her, a soft whir sounding as Jin turned to face Kira, a small lens observing her.
Kira knew he'd done it for her benefit, turning his “eye” on her so she'd know he was serious. She'd upgraded pretty much every part of him herself. There were over a hundred small cameras installed on his exterior to help him “see” and analyze the world. The lens was a joke between the two of them taken from an old Earth show he'd since adopted into his personal habits.
"We'd be okay short-term, but eventually it would fuck up the entire engine. You don't want to be out a few hundred million miles from the nearest station trying to replace it, would you?"