"Entrée vers l'inconnu" (An Enclave Story)

[Cat]

Derelict Trading Hub
Low orbit and approaching

Leila watched as the station was getting larger by the minute. Without air resistance, in the vacuum of space, it seemed as if the station was approaching her, and not the other way around. To get some semblance of direction, she bolted upright: her arms by her sides, and her body straight like an arrow. For a brief moment, she even turned the arm vents on: jets of air came out of her suit's wrists, propelling Leila further towards the station. All of this occurred in total silence of space. The only sound Leila heard was her own breathing, coupled with the vibration of the suit as the jets of pressured air left the vents.

There was no radio contact with the Alsace — this could've revealed their presence to the approaching ship — but Emeline Coste had found a way to mitigate that. Instead of passing voice over radio, she passed short encrypted texts, disguising them as residual space radiation. An outside observer attempting to make anything of it would only get gibberish. But if you knew where to look, what to look for, and how to decypher it, you'd get a message. The systems of Leila's Manticore suit could do just that, but only to a point. That's why communications were textual, and only one-way.

Right, 2°...
Up, 7°...

As the first comands appeared on the screen, Leila stopped caring about anything else. The station could approach as fast as it wanted; all that mattered were the strings of text from Emeline that appeared on the HUD. Leila extended her arms, and the bursts of air directed her towards the hull breach that had been selected as her target. But what she saw instead was a giant piece of the station's outer hull, floating in space and approaching rapidly. Leila focused on the HUD again.

Maintain course...
Maintain course...

Damn in, Emeline! Can't you see that s%!& from the bridge?! Leila was now breathing faster, and could even hear her own heart pounding at an increased pace. The debris was approaching rapidly, to the point that Leila could almost distinguish what was written on the hull. She extended her arms and legs and prepared to perform an evasive maneuver of her own. In a couple of seconds, the mission would be over if she didn't do something. That's when the HUD's command line finally flickered to life again.

Right, 45°, debris...
Left, 30°...

Her forehead sweating, Leila turned away from the debris as per instructions, leaving a white jet behind and narrowly escaping the collision. Another curved jet followed Leila as she returned on course. The station was close enough to see the insertion point: a hull breach at the lower decks, near the offline gravity generator. The lieutenant cursed quietly, but it was a curse of relief.

Maintain course...
Maintain course...
Slow down, rocket-girl...

All air vents gave another burst, and Leila darted forward yet again. She was so close! With no obstacles in the way to her destination, she could finally focus on the joy and adrenaline of this unlikely ride. Even Emeline cracked a joke over comms, so the rest of the ride was safe. It had to be. Besides, Emeline needed to be put in her place for leaving Leila hanging for so long in the face of almost certain death by collision.

Decelerate...
Decelerate!!!

Getting nervous yet, Emeline? Bien! A mischievous smirk crossed Leila's lips as she balled her legs. An air burst from the wrists to start spinning, then a well-timed burst from the legs to stop the rotation, and Leila was now flying with her legs forward. The bursts from the vents turned into an endless stream, as the Manticore decelerated on the final approach to the breach. A couple of seconds away, she engaged her gravity boots and touched down, landing in a position of a sprinter ready for a start.

She looked around the place that appeared to be a depressurized corridor circling around the lower decks of the station. Now, to find a hatch and the gravity system. As if in reply to her thoughts, the HUD flickered to life again:

Airlock to the right...
Ladder, go 4 decks lower.

Well merci beaucoup, Emeline! Leila stood up and moved on to business. With a handler like that, what could go wrong?