...frantic pulsing of the reactor core slipping back into a steady, rhythmic hum.

She collapsed back against the blistered bulkhead, her chest heaving as the suit’s internal climate controls

Superheated coolant vented into the conduit with a deafening roar, blowing back the dark and painting the narrow passage in a violent, crimson mist. The shudder beneath her boots smoothed out, the

A groaning, mechanical screech echoed through the bulkhead as fused alloy finally gave way. Sparks erupted from the housing, showering her visored helmet in a blinding cascade of orange light

hot it nearly fused the synthetic weave of her suit directly to her skin. Ignoring the agonizing sting, she threw her full weight against the iron wheel, wrenching it counterclockwise.

She counted the structural ribs along the corridor by touch alone—four, five, six—until her right hand slammed into the heavy steel housing of the primary bypass valve. The metal was so