The manual maintenance hatch was a heavy iron disc bolted directly into the floor plating beneath the captain’s dais. Under normal gravitational conditions, lifting it would have required the synchronized effort of two healthy engineers. In zero-G, weight was an illusion, but mass and friction were absolute. Elara wedged her plasma cutter into the seam, using the heavy metallic housing as a pry bar.She screamed, a raw, guttural sound of pure physical exertion, throwing her entire body backward against the tether anchoring her to Dante. The frozen locking mechanism shrieked, a shower of ancient, oxidized rust puffing out into the vacuum. With a violent, bone-jarring crack, the hatch gave way, slowly pivoting upward on its stiff hinges to reveal a perfectly vertical, pitch-black shaft."Got it," Elara gasped, her lungs burning as the last dregs of her suit's oxygen recyclers struggled to keep up with her hyperventilation. "Dante, I got it open. We're going down."She unclipped her magn
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