-eng- Space Explorer Naysa - Escape From Restra... -

My ship, the Stardust Skimmer , is tethered 400 meters off the port docking arm. The math says I can make it if I override my suit's fuel limit.

But Naysa doesn't panic. Panic wastes oxygen. -ENG- Space Explorer Naysa - Escape from Restra...

"Unauthorized biological presence detected," it keens in that flat, pleasant voice. "Please proceed to Decontamination Sector 7 for… compliance." My ship, the Stardust Skimmer , is tethered

The AI just announced: "Decontamination commencing in 60 seconds." Panic wastes oxygen

The escape pods are on the opposite side of the ring. Between me and them: three security drones (reprogrammed to "pacify"), a magnetic field scrambler that turns my boots into anchors, and whatever lives in the hydroponics bay that now moves against gravity.

I've rerouted power from the station's core to blow the emergency bolts on Airlock 12. The AI thinks I'm trapped. It doesn't know that I've already piggybacked my nav computer onto its subroutines. When I blow that lock, the decompression will tear through C-Deck, rip the blast doors off their rails, and give me exactly eleven seconds to jump into the black.