Chapter 119 - Red Alert in the Hull
The hydraulic seal hissed, and five hundred gallons of warm stabilization fluid poured across the grated floor.
The heavy glass cylinder slid upward, releasing a cloud of freezing condensation into the air.
Liam fell forward, choking and gasping violently as his lungs fought to pull in raw, unfiltered air.
Claire caught him beneath his shoulders, dragging his trembling frame out of the metal cradle.
"Liam, stay with me!" Claire shouted, ripping the medical tubes from his chest and throat.
Liam coughed up fluid, his bloodshot eyes widening as he focused on her combat gear and silver dog tags.
"Claire..." he gasped, his voice cracked and raw from eight years of artificial silence. "You... you came."
"I told you I'd never leave you behind," she whispered fiercely, pressing his weapon into his trembling hands.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the exterior corridor, accompanied by the racking of automatic weapons.
Vance’s security team was breaching the outer bulkhead door.
"Get on your feet, soldier," Claire ordered, hauling Liam up against her shoulder. "We're fighting our way to the roof."
The blast door blew inward with a deafening bang of breaching charges and flying shrapnel.
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Four heavily armed contractors pushed through the smoke, their weapon lights cutting through the red haze.
Claire dropped to one knee, leveling her assault rifle, and opened fire in controlled, lethal bursts.
