Mason, E, LT 2nd: where u hiding? r u safe? you got power? gravity keeps dropping in and out

ByteMe: u r just not going to talk romance with me, r u? dodging :(

ByteMe: could kind of use a boost here, lover

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i’m sorry kades

Mason, E, LT 2nd: but i feel it’s my duty to point out that ur alone in a derelict spaceship, surrounded by pipe-wielding maniacs and now might not be the time for pillow talk

Mason, E, LT 2nd: where u at?

ByteMe: hiding in the shuttles in hangar 4. safe. whoever was here is gone now. i’m powered up. psyching myself to get out there

ByteMe: to which end reliving a happy memory might help, but mooooving on

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i’m sorry

Mason, E, LT 2nd: just

Mason, E, LT 2nd: yeah … :(

Mason, E, LT 2nd: they all came out of bay 4. the crazies, i mean

Mason, E, LT 2nd: please PLEASE be careful

ByteMe: believe me, i’m on it. this is terrifying. and sad. don’t need telling twice

Mason, E, LT 2nd: yeah :(

Mason, E, LT 2nd: like, i see these lunatics wandering around all bloodied and messed up. killing anything that moves. and screaming. jesus, the things they scream

Mason, E, LT 2nd: and then i remember they used ot be real ppl.

ByteMe: our friends

Mason, E, LT 2nd: yeah.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: and i can’t help thinking

Mason, E, LT 2nd: BeiTech have a lot to fucking answer for

ByteMe: they’ll answer for it

ByteMe: i’ll get right on it, soon as i’ve got u.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: :)

Mason, E, LT 2nd: my hero <3

Mason, E, LT 2nd: heroine?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: w/e … >_>

ByteMe: you’re right

ByteMe: deep breaths.

ByteMe: give up and they win

ByteMe: and u know i never admit my ideas are stupid, which means i’d better get on with proving this idea was a good one.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: :D

ByteMe: love you.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: love u 2 :)

ByteMe: so let’s get this done and get out and kick BeiTech’s asses so hard they’ll be singing soprano for the duration

ByteMe: q 4 u: do i need to come find u, or can u get here?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: um, i’m kinda stuck :P

Mason, E, LT 2nd: holed up. think i’m safe for now but i dont’ wanna move.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i can hear them. outside.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: screaming

ByteMe: ok. if i can get up close, maybe i can program the doors in person, shut some off, make a safe way out.

ByteMe: the whole system’s crumbling piece by piece, sections keep going out. can’t do it from here, but maybe if i can plug in directly

ByteMe: where r u?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i made it to one fo the servers rooms, like u said

Mason, E, LT 2nd: there’s computer shit everywhere. big server banks. cables all over. i can see serial numbers. hang on.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: CR-0778. CR-0779. they all liek that

ByteMe: ok those are core servers

ByteMe: thats good, some of those u can get to straight from the outside. and u should have power

Mason, E, LT 2nd: yeah, power is up. everything is still lit. gravity is iffy tho

ByteMe: stay locked down

ByteMe: tell me if u move

ByteMe: let’s get this done, so we can get moving and kick some BeiTech ass from here to Central and back again

Mason, E, LT 2nd: there are a lot of them, Kady.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: like, more than there could have ever been on those shuttles

Mason, E, LT 2nd: so please be careful

ByteMe: i’ll be careful

ByteMe: and sad

ByteMe: and fucking furious

ByteMe: and i’ll be there soon

Surveillance footage summary,
prepared by Illuminae Group Analyst ID 7213-0089-DN

Cams were still out in Hangar Bay 4, so the first we see of Grant after her initial incursion is when she emerges from the bay into its main airlocks. The whole ship is lit by emergency lighting at this stage, so my visuals aren’t great, but I’ll do what I can. Audio is a mix of bass from the engines and a few distant screams. Even though life support’s down, this place sure as shit ain’t lacking for atmosphere.

Grant is dressed in a bright green hazmat suit, portable console in a pack on her back. She strides through Airlock 1, out into Airlock 2. She looks pissed—jaw clenched, hands in fists. She gets about ten feet past the threshold before he stops her.

Dead in her tracks.

He sits facing the abandoned hangar bay she’s just entered from, rifle in his lap. Jaw hanging loose. Eyes wide open. In her After Action Report, First Lieutenant Winifred McCall talked about how blue they were. “Pretty as oceans,” she said. But when his bullet blew out the back of his skull, the concussive force burst Sergeant James McNulty’s retinas, filling his corneas with blood. So now his eyes are black.

And they’re staring right at her.

She’s read McCall’s AAR. Knows who he is right away. It’s funny, but you can almost see the rage evaporate as she kneels beside him, reaching out with shaking hands to press those black eyes closed. Her gaze flickers over the scene, like she’s trying to burn it into her mind. And finally, she notices the small military-issue datapad lying on the ground beside him.

It’s spattered in red. Tiny letters on the faintly glowing screen.

Recording complete. memory full. Playback?

Grant pauses a minute to gather herself. You can see it on her face as she plucks the datapad from the blood. She knows this is gonna cost her—some small part of herself she’ll never get back. Just like the airlock to Hangar Bay 4, this door can’t ever be closed again.