The blackout from the Botanist's sabotage still blankets the corridor as Nahuli reaches the heavy airlock, the same reinforced barrier that has marked the route to freedom since the greenhouse deck. Zoya holds the rear in silhouette, weapon raised, while Serafina watches the dead comms for any flicker of Kaelen's pursuit.
Serafina
No fresh ping yet. If he is coming, he is moving slow... or careful.
The airlock console stays dark and useless. Nahuli kneels at the emergency access plate, pulling his multi-tool free and slotting in the portable scanner to trace the manual release path by hand.
Nahuli
Hurry. I hear metal down the spine.
Nahuli
The manual latch is still live, the console is just dead.
His tool catches a buried relay, and the lock answers with a hard click. The airlock seal loosens by a finger's width, venting a hiss of cold air and stale station dust into the dark.
The Botanist
That should hold long enough. Go, before the power comes back.
Nahuli gets the emergency release moving. Behind him, the corridor stays dark, but the pressure on the far hatch shudders once, as if something on the other side has found them at last.