EPISODE 6: THE BREACH ## CHAPTER 1: IMMINENT DANGER The service tunnels are a cathedral built of rusting metal and stagnant water, smelling faintly of brine and ozone. Every breath you take here tastes metallic, like licking battery acid. You keep your shoulder pressed against the damp bulkhead, trying to minimize your profile in this oppressive darkness. The air is thick and cool, resisting movement, clinging to your clothes. You follow Rashida and Derek away from the shimmering junction point, deeper into the maintenance arteries that spiderweb beneath Neptune Three’s structure. Flashlights cut shaky cones through the grime-slicked air, revealing patches of strangely colored growth—fungi with iridescent sheens, or maybe mineral deposits weeping some unnatural ichor. You step over a puddle of indeterminate liquid; it flashes under your beam, reflecting too much light, suggesting an oil content that defies natural physics. Rashida walks ahead, her attention fixed on the floor. She periodically brushes at something near the tracks, lifting small scraps of debris and examining them with grim fascination. Derek follows close behind, his earlier jovial skepticism replaced by a careful, almost nervous pacing. He keeps glancing over your shoulder, checking for movement in the shadow-draped corners. You feel the familiar knot of dread tightening just beneath your sternum, the ghost weight you carry from Neptune Seven always present...