The transit car slams to a stop at the junction. Magnetic brakes howl, and the spine beyond the glass hangs in a blur of steel and void.

Ahead, the docking clamps stay retracted. The final line is still locked out, and the chase is already catching up.

Nahuli pushes the exterior hatch open. Wind tears across the narrow catwalk, and the transit spine roars below like a metal canyon.

A distant clang echoes from the tunnel behind them. Serafina and Zoya raise their weapons as Nahuli steps onto the catwalk, reaching for the manual override that will free the spine and send the car onto the last escape line.

Nahuli jams the scanner against the clamp housing and feeds the release logic a clean loop. The junction lights flicker once, then the track selector clicks over with a sharp, obedient snap.

The transit car shudders as the guide rollers catch the right rail. Outside, the switch arms grind, then reverse under his sabotage, resetting themselves behind the car with a metallic slam.

A small maintenance lamp on the housing turns green. The override has latched, and the route behind them is already sealing into a dead end for anyone who follows.

Wind tears through the open hatch, but the car is now pulling free of the junction. The spine ahead steadies into a narrow steel line, while the rear tunnel falls into darkness.

Nahuli slips back through the hatch and drops into the car with the scanner still in hand. The floor rings under his landing, and the compartment seals tighter around him.

He snaps the hatch controls open and feeds the lock a brief, ugly scramble. The latch hesitates, then grinds into a delayed cycle.

Outside, the junction keeps falling away. Inside, the rear hatch starts to drag instead of slam, buying only seconds for anyone chasing them.

The car jolts onto the line, green lights strobing past the windows as the sealed tunnel shrinks behind them. Nahuli’s work holds, but the hatch is still resisting its full lock.