From there it’s easy. We hurry up the corridor, take the second left, and we’ve arrived at our destination—an outlet room near the hydration production and storage facility. HY.P.A.S.F., the sign says.
“Isn’t that an animal?” I ask, studying the acronym. “Native to Terra?”
Scarlett shoots me a confused look. “A hypasf?”
“An asp is a type of snake,” Zila ventures, uncertain.
“No, no, it’s a giant monster,” I say, squinting as I try to conjure up more details from my memory. “Huge teeth. Lives in the water.”
“… A shark?” Scar tries.
“Ah,” says Zila. “A hippo.”
I was pretty sure I had it wrong, but it’s worth playing dumb for Scarlett’s laugh, a warm, throaty sound that sends a zing up my spine. “Right. A hippaf. Learn your animals, Scar. That one’s clearly dangerous.”
“The most dangerous land mammal in existence,” Zila agrees solemnly. “They are capable of crushing a person to death in their jaws.”
Lieutenant Nari Kim speaks from the doorway. “Wait, what’s crushing people to death in their jaws?”
“Hippos, apparently,” Scarlett replies, looking concerned about it.
“Wouldn’t worry too much, Red,” Nari tells her. “They don’t live in space. And there’s only five of them left anyway.”
“Not anymore,” Zila replies. “Our rehabilitation programs were very successful. They thrive in the aquatic environs found on Troi III.”
“Wait a minute,” I say. “You people brought a terrifying teeth-monster back from the brink of extinction why, exactly?”
Zila shrugs. “Science.”
Nari looks almost entertained for a moment, then remembers she’s a badass who’s technically at war with my people. Her frown returns, dark as ever. Still, I swear we’re growing on her a little.
When those security guards found us in the airlock on our first boarding attempt, I thought she’d given us up for sure. But our next nine tries have convinced me that for now at least, Dirtgirl is on our side.
A part of us knows how insane this is. Time travel. Temporal loops. Dying over and over, only to reset. But it’s hard to disbelieve the evidence smacking us right in the face every time we get perished. And, as Zila says, even though I’m the enemy to this girl, our interests are aligned. We all want to get out of this loop.
“All right.” Nari glances around the smoke-filled hallway. “Looks like we’ve figured out a way to get you in without getting your heads blown off.”
“Or asphyxiated,” Zila says.
“Or incinerated,” Scarlett shudders.
“Yeah.” I nod. “That one hurt.”
“Security is on full alert,” Nari continues. “From what I can tell, the damage to the core is bad.” The whole station shudders around us, as if it agrees. “Could be what’s left of Command makes the call to evacuate any minute now. So what are we looking for next?”
“Alert, medical personnel report to Beta Sector, Deck 14.”
“Information,” I say. “We’re going to need a terminal with top-level clearance if we want to go trawling through your records, though. The tech here is two hundred years old, and I’m into vintage, but I can’t hack that. I mean, I can’t even plug my gear into the outlets.”
“The tech labs will be crawling with people,” Nari says, frowning. “Thirty-six members of Sci-Div died during the test, and if Command suspects sabotage, security will be all over those levels like a rash.”
“Medical personnel required immediately, Deck 12,” calls the PA. “Repeat, medical personnel, Deck 12.”
“Think,” Scar says, encouraging. “Who won’t be at their station?”
The whole place rocks around us, metal walls creaking as the lieutenant slowly looks upward. “Dr. Pinkerton. The project lead. He got killed in the explosion. There’ll definitely be a personal terminal in his office.”
“Brilliant.” Scarlett treats her to one of the smiles that always make me feel like I’m standing in sunshine. “It’s looking pretty chaotic in here, but we’ll probably need uniforms if we’re going to be running around in the open safely. And some way to disguise Fin.”
“No, we can get to the admin deck via the emergency stairwells,” Flygirl assures her. “I like our odds of staying out of sight there.”