"Uhhhh~ What's the noise!" A young voice sounded. he could hear the sound of alarm beeping.

He opened his eyes.

"Did someone turn off the light?" It was pitch black around him.

"Wait, how come I can't touch anything!?"

He reached out instinctively, trying to find and shut off what he assumed was an alarm clock. His fingers met only empty air, no solid surface, no furniture, nothing.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Am I floating!? Wooaaah!"

He got panicked as and began flailing his arms and legs, like swimming on water.

His tried moving his body slightly making his head feel light and dizzy. After a few moments of frantic movement, he forced himself to take deep breaths and calm down.

The dizziness faded, and he realized that while it felt strange, there was no sense of falling, just complete weightlessness.

"It feels like swimming but on air."

He stretched his hands out again, moving them slowly this time.

After a few tries, his fingers finally brushed against a hard, smooth edge. He gripped it tightly, it was the corner of a metal table.

He steadied himself upright.

"Seriously! What is happening!?"

No one answered. Only the sound of beeping alarm echoing from somewhere outside.

Suddenly, a soft blue light flashed from his right wrist.

To be exact, it came from the glowing metallic watch fastened there.

"Hello, Commander Luis. You are finally awake!"

The voice was crisp, clear, and feminine, yet it was an unfamiliar voice Luis only heard now.

Luis raised his left hand unconsciously to get a better look, and what he saw made his eyes go wide with shock.

"Who!?"

Hovering above the watch face was a small, translucent hologram of a young woman. She wore a neat, futuristic suit, outlining her nice curves, her face was beautiful. He didn't recognize her he haven't seen her once.

"Greetings Commander," the hologram spoke again, her tone steady and formal,.

"I am your System. To better cater and assist you, I have merged myself into the established personal AI assistant belonging to the original body you now occupy."

"System? Merged? AI assistant? Original body!?"

"Is this some kind of prank? Did someone drug me or put me in a simulation?"

"No, Commander. I have no reason to joke about such matters," the System replied.

"To be exact I am your system, I am the Greatest Commander System. I have integrated into the AI assistant of the person whose place you have taken over."

The more Luis listened to the System on who she was, how did he an Earthling took over this person and also the reason why he was transported here.

Pieces began to click into place.

He remembered clearly, back on Earth, he had stayed up late writing chapters for his sci-fi novel, his eyes burning from staring at the screen. Exhausted, he then had fallen asleep at his desk. 

The next thing he knew, he woke up here.

Did I die?

My soul must have crossed over and replaced this Luis person. And right now, I'm inside a spaceship!

To be precise, an interstellar colony ship, one of those massive vessels built to carry thousands of people across the space.

"Woah! So this is the popular trope! Isekai!?" Luis blurted out, half excited and half disbelieving.

But his excitement quickly faded when he recalled what the System had just said. If he was here, it meant the original owner of this body was gone.

"System, why did the original Luis die?"

"Commander, according to my preliminary analysis, the original Luis suffered severe blunt force trauma to the head. There is currently a large, still tender wound on your forehead. As for the exact cause of the injury, I cannot confirm. The local AI was deactivated shortly after the incident occurred, so no data was recorded."

" I see."

Luis raised a trembling hand and touched his forehead. Sure enough, there was a crusty layer of dried blood caked against his skin, and a dull throbbing pain pulsed beneath it.

Glancing down, he noticed more dark brown stains splattered across the front of his tight-fitting, one-piece utility suit.

"Am I in some kind of crime mystery world? Is there a killer or impostor running loose on this ship!?"

The more he thought about it, the more wrong everything felt. The lack of gravity making it hard to even stand properly, the constant blare of the alarm, the wound on his head, all of it pointed to something terrible having happened.

"Oh right! System, you said you are the Greatest Commander System. What exactly does that mean?" Luis asked.

"Yes, Commander!" The System's tone brightened instantly, full of enthusiasm.

"I am designed to help you rise to become the most powerful and respected commander in the entire universe! Under my guidance, you will lead fleets, explore new star systems, conquer challenges, and build your own legacy!"

Luis's eyes lit up. "Oh! That sounds great! So what can you do for me right now?"

He almost let go of the table in his excitement, but caught himself at the last second.

"However," the System added, her tone shifting back to business-like, "full activation of my functions requires you to first take command of a valid starship. Currently, only basic diagnostic and access features are available."

"What? There are requirements already!?" Luis felt his mood drop instantly.

"So I have to become the commander of this ship first? Seize control? And on top of that, there's a chance someone tried to kill the original owner of this body? This is way more complicated than I thought!"

For several minutes, he drifted in place, weighing his options. There was no going back to Earth, that much was certain.

He could not return to the life he once knew. If he wanted to survive, he had to adapt.

"Might as well go with the flow then," he muttered.

"Sitting here and doing nothing will get me nowhere. First priority, gather information."

He looked toward the door of the room, barely visible in the dimness.

"I can't stay cooped up here forever. I have to go out and see what's really going on."

Then came the struggle.

Without gravity, every movement required effort. He grabbed onto the edges of furniture, handholds along the wall, and even pushed off the floor to propel himself forward. His movements were clumsy at first, often sending him spinning or crashing into walls.

"What kind of lousy colony ship is this? No gravity at all!?" he complained, irritation rising.

"These ships are supposed to have stable artificial gravity at all times!"

"Commander, their is a high chance of a system failure, power outage, or even a ecurity protocol has deactivated the gravity generators. This is not normal operation," the System analyzed calmly.

"I know, Sherlock! I could have guessed that much myself!" Luis grunted.

"The problem is what it means, if gravity is off, that means something serious has gone wrong. And serious usually equals dangerous."

"I am not Sherlock. I am your System~"

"Got it! Got it! Just help me move faster!"

----- 

After a full minute of awkward floating and maneuvering, Luis finally reached the door.

"Now what?"

He ran his hands over the surface. It was smooth and seamless, no doorknob, no handle, no keyhole. If not for the faint outline of a frame, it would look no different from the surrounding bulkhead.

"System, can you open this door?"

"Affirmative, Commander. One moment please."

The hologram on his wrist gave a crisp salute before fading away. Seconds later, a small rectangular panel beside the door flickered to life, glowing with a faint amber light.

There was a soft hiss of pressure equalizing, and the heavy door slid open inward.

"Ugh! What is that smell!?"

Luis immediately clamped his hand over his nose and mouth. A thick, rotten, metallic stench rushed into the room, making his eyes water and his stomach churn.

Stepping out into the hallway, he found it even worse. The corridor was dark, only illuminated by flashing red emergency lights.

The shrill alarm sound was louder here, echoing endlessly down the length of the passage.

"This is like stepping into a horror movie!" Luis whispered, his heart pounding a little faster.

"Not that I'm scared or anything but I really don't like horror. I don't even play those kinds of games!"

"Commander, please remain focused," the System reappeared on his wrist.

"To fully activate my functions and ensure your survival, you must proceed to the Command Center and take full control of the vessel. That is the only way to gain access to life support, navigation, and defense systems."

"Easy for you to say!" Luis grumbled.

"I don't have a weapon, I can barely move around properly, and how am I supposed to just walk up and say 'Hey Captain, I'm taking over now'?"

Still, he had no other choice. Holding one hand over his nose and using the other to grip the metal rails mounted along the walls, he pulled himself forward, kicking off the floor whenever he needed to move faster.

As he drifted further down the corridor, his blood ran cold.

Spattered across the walls, ceiling, and floor were dark streaks and pools of dried blood. It looked as if a violent struggle had taken place everywhere. But what made him freeze in place was what lay further ahead.

Bodies.

Several human figures was floating motionless in the passage, their suits torn and stained. And right beside them, Luis saw something that made his breath catch in horror.

Also floating among the corpses were grotesque, alien creatures.

They resembled giant beetles, but each was as large as a medium-sized dog. Their hard shells were covered in sharp, jagged spikes, and from their mouths have knife like fangs and mandibles.

"What in the world have I stumbled into!?" Luis whispered, his voice trembling.

This was nothing like the simple crime mystery he had imagined.

Forget using wits and politics to take over a ship. This vessel had clearly been invaded by monsters!

"Ah! What terrible luck!" he groaned inwardly.

"How come every other protagonist in these stories gets to arrive in a peaceful place, or at least starts with easy tasks? I feel like I won the lottery, except it's the hard mode lottery!"

He looked down at his watch with a pleading expression.

"System, please transport me somewhere else? A different world, maybe one without danger? Like somewhere with cute magical girls, with some beastmen full of women, and maybe some cool mechs? That sounds way more fun!"

The System's tilted its head, looking confused.

"Commander, I do not understand your request. My functions are limited to assisting you in this reality. I have no ability to transport you to another world. That is beyond my scope."

"Huuh~" Luis sighed heavily, looking back toward the way he came.

"Maybe I should just go back to the room and wait. Surely rescue ships will notice this vessel drifting and come looking, right?"

But the System's next words shattered Luis' hope instantly.

"Commander, while I was accessing the door control, I retrieved data from the ship's central network. The main oxygen reserves are dropping rapidly. Current air purity and pressure levels stand at less than 40% of the safe threshold. You have approximately two hours remaining before oxygen deprivation causes cognitive impairment, loss of consciousness, and eventually death."

Luis stared at the hologram, his face draining of all color.

"Darn it all! Whoever threw me into this mess, if I ever find you, I will definitely give you a piece of my mind! Why couldn't you at least drop me somewhere safe first!?"

"2 hours remaining! With danger up ahead, I don't even know if I can make it!" Luis muttered, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Every second wasted brought him closer to suffocation.

"System, can you search for the complete map of this ship?"

"Affirmative, Commander. I can display a full 3D layout of the entire vessel instantly!" The System replied promptly.

"Quick, show it to me right now!"

The holographic figure of the System vanished from his wrist, replaced immediately by a rotating, translucent blue model of the colonial ship. It hovered in the air before him, every corridor, compartment, and deck clearly marked.

"Commander, the blinking red dot indicates your exact current position," the System explained.

Luis stared at the model, his eyes widening in shock.

"You really wouldn't understand just how massive this thing is until you see it laid out like this!"

Compared to the entire structure, his red dot was nothing more than a tiny speck, barely visible at a glance.

"The ship itself, it's so huge it looks like a floating small continent!"

From this angle, it did resemble a gigantic, elongated sweet potato, with four massive, cylindrical fusion boosters protruding from its rear lower section, looking powerful enough to propel the vessel across light-years of space.

He checked his position again, right in the middle section of the ship, surrounded by vast stretches of corridors and compartments.

"Why is such a large portion of the ship colored red? Even the area I woke up in is marked the same way," he asked, noticing that more than half of the model glowed a deep, ominous red.

Only the uppermost and lowermost sections remained white, marked as safe zones.

"The red zones are areas where the hull has been breached, life support has failed, or the central network has classified them as hazardous due to unknown threats," the System clarified.

"Well, am I just lucky or what?" He shook his head.

"Though thinking about it, if this place was still safe and stable, I probably wouldn't have woken up here, and the original Luis wouldn't have died either."

After a moment of silence, he asked again, "System, exactly where is the Command Center located?"

"Here, Commander."

A small section at the very top rear of the ship lit up in bright yellow, marking the destination.

"That's way too far!" Luis exclaimed, comparing the distance.

"Judging by the scale, if I just walk normally, it would take me days to reach that spot! And I only have less than two hours before I run out of air completely?"

"Commander, there is an optimized route available," the System said calmly.

"If you follow the path I provide, you can reach the destination in roughly twenty minutes. First, you must make your way to the Central Lift Station. Using it will bring you directly to the upper mid-decks, covering sixty percent of the distance instantly. From there, you switch to the restricted personnel lift, which will take you to the corridor leading directly to the Command Center."

As she spoke, a glowing yellow line appeared on the 3D map, winding through the red zones but showing the shortest possible path.

"Great! Nice work, System! With this map, I can definitely get there in time, haha!" Luis's spirits lifted slightly, a glimmer of hope returning.

"Please be reminded Commander, the route I have marked still passes through areas classified as high-risk. There is a high probability of encountering those hostile creatures or other dangers along the way."

"Ugh, don't go dampening my mood already." Luis sighed, though he knew the warning was necessary.

"Ugh~! The stench is unbearable! How many days have passed since these people died?"

Clamping one hand firmly over his nose and mouth, Luis forced himself to move closer to the bodies scattered in the hallway.

The metallic and rotten smell made his stomach churn violently, and he had to swallow hard to keep from throwing up. But survival came first, he needed anything that could help him fight back.

He rummaged carefully through the torn utility suits and belt pouches, his hands trembling slightly. Just as he was about to give up, his fingers brushed against something hard and smooth.

"Is this a gun?"

He pulled the object free and held it up. It was roughly half a meter long, sleek and silver, with a matte finish. On the side was a small glowing blue panel, showing a battery-like indicator that was already down to just one quarter of its maximum capacity.

It had a handle and a secondary grip, exactly like a weapon should. The only odd part was the front end, instead of a round barrel, it had a narrow vertical slit about three inches tall.

Curious and desperate to test it, Luis raised it, adopting the firing stance he had seen in countless movies and games. He aimed at an empty section of the bulkhead and squeezed the trigger.

Pshhh!

There was no loud bang, no heavy recoil, and no flying bullet. Instead, a thin, glowing blade of blue-white plasma shot out from the slit. It was silent and bright, and when it touched the metal wall, it pierced through instantly, leaving a clean, narrow hole exactly matching the shape of the muzzle.

"Not bad at all! With this, maybe I can actually deal with those giant insect monsters?" Luis said, turning the weapon over in his hand with newfound confidence. But then he looked at the bodies again and frowned.

"Though it's probably not that simple. If this gun was powerful enough to wipe them out easily, these people wouldn't have ended up dead here."

He clipped the weapon onto his belt and gripped it firmly, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

 -----

"This really feels exactly like those horror survival games I've watched people play online," Luis muttered as he drifted slowly through the darkened corridor.

Only the faint, flashing red emergency lights provided any illumination, casting long, shifting shadows that made every pipe, cable, and door frame look like a lurking monster.

His back was soaked in cold sweat, and his fingers tightened around the weapon until his knuckles turned white.

"Just my luck, the only thing missing now is a sudden jumpscare to send my heart into overdrive," he joked weakly, trying to calm his own nerves. But his only companion remained silent, giving no response.

After a few seconds, the System spoke up again, her tone bright and helpful.

"Commander, now that I have gained partial access to the local control panels, I can temporarily activate the standard lighting system along the path you are taking. This will allow you to see clearly and avoid obstacles."

"Oh, wonderful idea, System. I'm so lucky to have you thinking ahead." Luis paused, then replied in a flat, unimpressed tone.

"Thank you for the compliment, Commander! Then I shall switch the lights on righ-"

"Wait! No! Don't do it!" Luis hissed sharply.

"If you turn on all the lights, I'll be lighting myself up like a Christmas tree! Those things will spot me from ten corridors away and surround me before I even know what's happening! What's the point of moving slowly and quietly if I just announce my presence like that?"

"Then I might as well just yell out 'Hey, I'm over here!' and save them the trouble of searching!" He rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"There is no need to be angry, Commander," the System said softly, sounding genuinely confused and slightly wronged.

"Haah~ I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," Luis sighed, calming down.

He was starting to notice something, the System was becoming more expressive and responsive, almost like a real person. It felt less like talking to a machine and more like guiding an innocent, well-meaning young girl who didn't understand danger.

 -----

"Commander, you are approaching a four-way intersection. Once you reach it, you must turn right to stay on the fastest route," the System warned after a few minutes of careful movement.

"Got it, got it, turning right," Luis whispered back, drifting closer to the junction.

"Anyway, aside from the bodies I found near the room where I woke up, I haven't seen any other signs of life or even more corpses," he murmured, trying to keep his mind occupied.

The moment the words left his mouth, he cursed inwardly. "I just jinxed myself, didn't I?"

He immediately slowed down, moving silently toward the corner and pressing his back flat against the wall. Peering carefully around the edge, his blood ran cold.

"Why does my mouth have to be so accurate!?"

Even in the dim red light, he could clearly make out a human figure floating motionless in the middle of the corridor, only about five meters ahead. But what made his hair stand on end was what was happening to it.

The torso of the body was torn open, and something large and dark was wriggling and moving inside the gaping wound. Faint, wet crunching sounds and soft tearing noises drifted through the air, so quiet they were almost lost under the constant blare of the alarm.

Luis clamped his hand tighter over his mouth, his eyes wide with shock and fear. He held his breath, not daring to make the slightest sound, while the creature continued its feeding right in the path he needed to take.

Luis pressed himself harder against the cold metal wall, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs. He bit down hard on his lower lip, forcing himself to stay completely still, not daring to make even the tiniest sound.

His eyes were fixed on the scene five meters ahead, and what he saw made his blood run colder than the void of space outside.

The thing wriggling inside the torn-open torso was no ordinary insect.

It was a pale, milky-white beetle-like creature, roughly half a meter in length. Its shell looked softer and thinner than the ones he had seen earlier, almost translucent, allowing faint glimpses of its twitching internal organs beneath.

Six spindly, sharp legs protruded from its sides, each tipped with a claw that gleamed like polished steel. At its front, two long, whip-like antennae swayed back and forth, sensing the air, while its mouthparts worked rapidly, producing those wet, sickening crunching sounds.

A juvenile? Or a different type entirely? Luis thought, his grip tightening until his knuckles whitened around the plasma weapon.

"Commander, analysis complete," the System whispered directly into his mind, keeping her voice low so it would not carry.

"This variant is classified as a White Burrower. They are smaller but more aggressive than the standard soldier beetles. Their shells are weaker, but they are faster, more agile, and their claws can cut through standard alloy plating. They also have a highly sensitive sense of vibration and air movement."

"Great~ just what I needed."

"So it can hear and feel even if I hold my breath."

He slowly raised the weapon, his movements slow and controlled, compensating carefully for the lack of gravity. If he fired now, the sound and the flash would definitely alert it, but if he waited, it might finish its meal and wander directly into his hiding spot.

No time to hesitate. Two hours of oxygen left, and every minute counts.

Luis steadied his aim, lining up the narrow slit of the muzzle with the creature's exposed underbelly, its weakest point, according to the System's quick scan.

Pshhh!

The shot was silent, just a soft hiss of energy.

The blue-white plasma blade shot forward, piercing straight through the floating corpse and slamming directly into the White Burrower.

Screeeech!

A high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek echoed through the corridor, sharp enough to make Luis's teeth ache. The creature was thrown backward by the impact, its body convulsing violently as it tumbled away from the body.

A smoking, clean hole had been burned through its midsection, and pale, viscous fluid oozed out into the air, forming floating globs in the zero-gravity environment.

But to Luis's horror, it did not die instantly.

The wounded creature spun in the air, its legs thrashing wildly, and those long antennae whipped around until they locked onto Luis's position. Its small, black eyes glinted with pure, feral rage.

"Damn it! It's still moving!"

Before he could fire a second shot, the White Burrower pushed off against the wall with all six legs and launched itself straight at him like a living projectile.

It moved much faster than he expected, its body twisting and turning in the air with unnatural ease.

Luis ducked instinctively, kicking off the floor to drift backward. The monster's claws slashed through the spot where his head had been a split second earlier, scraping sparks from the metal bulkhead.

The force of its swipe sent Luis spinning uncontrollably backward.

"System! Any weak points besides the belly!?"

"The joints of its legs and the base of its antennae are unarmored! Its head shell is thin as well!"

"Got it!"

Luis aimed again, but this time the creature did not give him a clear shot. It darted left and right, using the floating debris and pipes along the corridor as cover, closing the distance rapidly. Every time it moved, it released that same high-pitched clicking sound, a warning that it was preparing to strike again.

Pshhh!

He fired twice in quick succession, but the agile monster twisted away, the plasma blades missing by mere centimeters, burning holes into the wall behind it.

Energy indicator dropped to 20%! Luis glanced at the panel on the weapon and felt a jolt of panic. If I miss too many times, I'll be left defenseless!

The White Burrower saw its chance. It launched itself upward, then pushed off the ceiling, dropping down toward Luis from above, its claws spread wide and its mouthparts opening to reveal a sharp, needle-like proboscis.

Luis had no time to aim properly. He raised the weapon and fired almost blindly, but at the same time, he grabbed onto a pipe beside him and swung his body sideways like a pendulum.

Pshhh!

This time, luck was on his side. The plasma blade caught the creature's right front leg at the joint, slicing it clean off.

Screeeech!

Another scream of pain echoed. The creature veered off course, spinning in the air as it lost its balance. Dark fluid sprayed out from the severed limb, floating in the air like dark bubbles.

"Now!"

Luis kicked off the wall, propelling himself forward. He closed the distance in an instant, his mind clear now that the fight had begun, there was no more room for fear, only survival.

He raised the weapon and pressed the muzzle directly against the side of the creature's head before it could turn around.

Pshhh!

A short, concentrated burst of energy pierced through the thin skull. The White Burrower convulsed once, twice, then went completely rigid. Its legs curled inward, and its body went limp, floating motionless in the air.

Luis exhaled a long breath he felt like he had been holding for minutes, his chest heaving. He drifted backward, keeping his eyes on the corpse until he was sure it was truly dead. Only then did he check the weapon's status 10% energy remaining.

"Just enough to finish it off, that was way too close," he whispered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. His heart was still pounding, and his arms felt slightly weak from the tension.

"Commander, excellent reaction and execution," the System commented, her tone showing a hint of approval.

"Your movements were unrefined, but you adapted well to the zero-gravity conditions. This is the first step toward becoming a true commander."

"Save the praise for later," Luis replied, glancing at the two floating corpses and the floating globs of blood and fluids.

"We still have a long way to go, and this thing was just the smallest fry. If the bigger ones are twice as tough, I don't want to imagine it."

He pushed himself past the remains, trying not to breathe in the stench any longer than necessary. He wiped the weapon against his suit to clean off the slime, then gripped it firmly once more.

"System, confirm the route again. Did that noise attract any more of them?"

"Scanning now~ three sectors ahead show increased movement, but nothing is approaching our immediate location yet. The path to the Central Lift remains clear for the next three minutes."

"Three minutes? Then we move faster!"

Luis stopped drifting and began to pull himself along the handholds mounted on the walls, moving much quicker than before. The fight had awakened his adrenaline, sharpening his senses.

He could hear every small sound, see every shadow more clearly, and his body was slowly learning how to maneuver in this strange weightless environment.

As he turned the corner of the intersection, he saw the corridor stretch out ahead, dimly lit by those same flashing red lights. Further down, large double doors marked with glowing symbols came into view, Central Lift Station.

"We're getting close."

"If we can get into that lift, we skip most of the dangerous sections."

But as he drifted closer, the System's voice suddenly turned sharp with warning.

"Commander! Alert! Two more lifeforms detected ahead! Same signature, White Burrowers! They are moving fast, coming from the direction of the lift!"

Luis froze, raising his weapon immediately. Sure enough, from the shadows near the lift doors, two beetles emerged, their antennae twitching wildly as they caught the scent of blood and movement.

They were tla meter big, bigger than the one he had just killed, moving in a pair, their movements synchronized.

"One was hard enough, now two, and only 10% power left!" Luis gritted his teeth.

"System, any advice?"

"Target their antennae first, disrupt their sensing ability. Use the walls and ceiling to change direction unexpectedly. In zero gravity, momentum is your greatest advantage and your greatest weakness."

"Understood!"

The two creatures spotted him instantly. They let out a series of clicking sounds and separated, one moving low along the floor, the other drifting high near the ceiling, trying to box him in.

Luis didn't wait for them to strike. He fired once at the lower one, but missed on purpose, the shot made it flinch, giving him time to kick off the wall and shoot upward, aiming at the antennae of the upper monster.

Pshhh!

One antenna was severed, spinning away into the darkness. The creature screeched, its movements becoming erratic and disoriented.

The lower one charged immediately. Luis pushed off the ceiling to dodge, the claws scraping just centimeters from his chest. He twisted in mid-air, lined up the shot, and fired, direct hit to the leg joint.

Pshhh!

Only 5% energy left now.

The second monster, still half-blind, lunged blindly. Luis ducked, grabbed one of its legs, and used its own momentum to spin it around, slamming it hard against the metal wall. Before it could recover, he pressed the muzzle against its head and fired the last of the charge.

Pshhh!

The light from the weapon flickered and died. The indicator went completely dark, out of energy.

The second creature slumped against the wall, lifeless.

Luis floated there, breathing heavily, his hands empty now that the weapon was useless. He looked toward the lift doors, now just twenty meters away, and smiled bitterly.

"Just in time~ and now I'm unarmed again. Perfect."

"Commander, the lift control panel is accessible. I can unlock it immediately," the System said.

"Then do it! Quickly!"

As the doors slid open with a soft hiss, Luis glanced back down the corridor, listening intently.

The sounds of fighting had definitely traveled far. He could already hear faint clicking noises echoing from deeper sections of the ship, more were coming.

He dove into the lift just as the doors began to slide shut, sealing him inside.

"Set destination for the upper mid-decks, full speed!"

"Confirmed. Moving now."

As the lift hummed to life and began its ascent, Luis slid down the wall, his legs finally feeling weak now that the danger was temporarily gone. He looked at the empty weapon in his hand, then up at the ceiling, knowing that the worst was yet to come.