Time seemed to freeze for Syn inside the escape pod, the air thick with the hum of his own breath, the dead console staring back at him like a mocking tombstone.
The evacuation bay stretched beyond the viewport, its steel walls glinting faintly under the dim lights, a cavernous trap he'd walked into willingly. Then the hatch groaned, a metallic screech cutting through the silence as Vera and Aster pried it open from outside, their silhouettes looming like avenging shadows against the bay's glow.
Pako hovered behind them, her small frame swathed in the blanket she'd snatched from her bed, her fingers tucking it tighter around her curves with a practiced flick, her dark eyes glinting with anticipation—she knew a storm was brewing, and she braced herself for the chaos.
