Buster's Journey

The chamber lurches again, and the floor splits into two trembling platforms over a chasm of gears. Red and blue emergency light strobes across the Hunter Captain as she braces against a railing that should not still be standing.

Buster steps onto the nearest platform, catching its edge when it skids sideways. Ahead, a massive bulkhead sits fused shut, half buried under bent support struts and grinding cables.

A tremor snaps through the deck. The Captain flicks at her wrist device, but the chamber only answers with a shriek of metal and another failed lock cycle. Buster plants both hands on the bulkhead seam and heaves.

The steel groans, then tears open by inches, just enough for the Captain to slip through first. Beyond the gap, a corridor flashes into view, sealed doors racing open and shut like a warning pulse. Their truce has a path now, and Buster is the one forcing it open.

Buster drives his shoulders into the seam and the fused plates split wider with a shriek. Hot air and strobing light spill through the opening, and the corridor beyond starts to stutter into view.

The gap widens enough for a man to pass. Bent struts twist aside, cables snap free, and the chamber groans around them like it resents the route he is making.

She commits first, sliding through the opening with her wrist device held tight, her posture sharp with caution.

Buster forces the steel another few inches, enough to clear the jam completely. The passage stands open, bare and usable, while the chamber tremors keep rattling the floor behind him.

Ahead, the red-lit corridor flashes with doors cycling open and shut. The way is open, but whatever is deeper inside is already moving.

Her wrist device crackles, and the red-lit corridor beyond flickers as if answering her command. The machine chamber keeps shuddering behind them, but the pursuit pressure eases.

As she speaks, the climbing strain in the chamber forces a jagged jolt through the floor, and Buster's boots scrape hard against the torn threshold.