It was a rhythmic, biological thrumming, deep and heavy, as if the ship itself had suddenly grown a pulse.

She froze, her hand still resting on the cold

* *Containment Unit 09: Status - Power Restored.* A sudden, shuddering vibration rattled the deck plates beneath her feet. It wasn't the machinery

She reached inside the cavity, her hand brushing past cold, dust-slicked wiring until her palm met the heavy, T-shaped breaker handle. She gripped the steel, braced her boots against the

the auxiliary console.

Her fingertips caught on the recessed latch of the manual override. She pulled. With a metallic screech that sounded deafening in the dead quiet, the panel popped open.

her eardrums with a crushing physical weight, making her chest tighten in instinctual panic.

She fumbled in the dark, her gloved fingers tracing the cold, metallic seams of