Page 24 of Alien Devil's Prey
TALON
The maintenance corridors of The Maw were a maze of tight passages that reeked of recycled desperation and industrial lubricants. The air itself felt contaminated, as if the misery processed here had soaked into the metal bones of the station.
But what struck me most was how Tamsin moved through this nightmare.
She navigated the labyrinth, her steps sure and silent as she cross-referenced the station's schematics on her data pad with the patrol schedules she’d spent years acquiring. Watching her operate in her element was a revelation.
"Security sweep just passed checkpoint seven," she whispered, her voice tight in my ear. "Window opens in twenty seconds."
I crouched beside her in the shadows, hyperaware of how her body pressed against mine in the cramped space. The maintenance uniform did nothing to disguise her curves, and being this close to her after a few days of careful distance was testing my control.
"Ventilation access, two meters up," she murmured, indicating the panel. "Takes us past the main guard station without triggering proximity sensors."
The shaft was tight, barely wide enough for one person. I went first, pulling myself into the oppressive darkness while she followed behind. Her breathing was steady, but I caught the slight hitch when my body blocked the light from below.
"Claustrophobic?" I asked quietly.
"No." Her voice was steady, but I heard the lie. "Just... memories."
Of course. A seven-year-old hiding in ventilation shafts while guards hunted escaped property. The courage it took for her to return to this place, to willingly crawl through these passages again, hit me like a physical blow.
"We can find another route," I offered.
"No. This is the only way to bypass their sensor grid." She pressed closer behind me, her hand briefly touching my ankle. "Keep moving."
The guard station passed beneath us—two burly Krelaxian guards hunched over displays, their attention fixed on the false readings she'd fed their systems. They were watching ghost signals while the real threat moved directly overhead.
"Beautiful work," I said as we dropped into the next corridor.
"Save the compliments." Her tone was all business, but I caught the pleased flush in her cheeks. "We're not rich yet."
The vault level spread before us, a spoke-and-wheel design that put six heavily secured chambers around a central hub. The doors were reinforced titanium, bristling with biometric locks and pressure sensors.
"Vault twelve," Tamsin confirmed, checking her scanner. "Recent access logs show they moved the Regalia after our reconnaissance."
I studied the approaches. "Guards?"
"Two at the central station, rotating patrols every fifteen minutes. Shift change in..." She consulted her chronometer. "Four minutes. They'll be distracted by handoff protocols."
"Time enough?"
"If you're as good as you claim."
I turned to look at her, catching a tension in her voice that went beyond pre-mission nerves.
"Second thoughts?"
She met my gaze, hazel eyes shifting from green to gold in the corridor's dim lighting. "About the vault? No. About what comes after..." She shrugged. "Ask me when we're clear of this place."
What comes after. The words carried a weight I couldn't ignore. After she faced Kelloch? After we returned toThe Penumbraand I had to explain to my crew why I'd risked everything for one human woman? After I admitted to myself that she'd become more important than the mission itself?
"Ready?" I asked, checking my gear one final time.
"Always."
We crept through the final approach. When she indicated the vault's approach, I felt that familiar calm settle over me—the focused clarity that came when violence was imminent.
The vault door was a masterpiece of paranoid engineering. Five separate lock systems. The final barrier was a new quantum encryption system, more complex than I'd anticipated. It cost us fifteen seconds.
