this wasn't how any of this was supposed to happen; there wasn't supposed to be an abandoned ship floating in space while they made their way to the gateway, she wasn't supposed to get seperated from her exploration party, the door to the engine room wasn't supposed to snap close unexpectantly, and there certainly wasn't supposed to be undead passengers on the shell of a ship.

and yet here they were.

nova hadn't known miles previous to boarding the ship, but she expected that even if they never saw one another again for months or years, they'd come right back to this moment and feel a sort of kinship. or at least she would. it didn't matter to her at the moment. the only thing that mattered was getting this makeshift explosive built so the could blast the control panel for the door.

somehow, miles had managed to get the power back on for the ship but for whatever reason it hadn't opened the door like they had hoped. it had allowed them to take a better look at the room they were in, though shortly thereafter nova found herself wishing the lights were still out.

in the corners of the room they had yet to explained, tools and various other tidbits were strewn across the floor like there had been some sort of struggle before the room was abandoned. it was looking through all the things on the floor that nova first noticed the body of what appeared to be a dead Finu crewmember. When she kneeled down to roll him over, however, it became quickly apparent that he was, in fact, not deceased.

the best way nova could think to describe him was "zombie" but she knew that couldn't be it. the dead couldn't come back to life... could they?

she didn't have time to figure out what was going on here. Without hesitation, miles jumped at the monster and dispatched him before nova could even move.

"what the hell was that?!" she shrieked, her voice climbing an octave without her realizing it. she didn't expect an answer that made any sense, which was good because she didn't get one. instead, miles urged her to find a way to open the door while he fended off any other attacks.

ripping the control panel face for the door off the wall, nova began digging in at the wires, trying to make sense of the alien technology. it was a lost cause, however, without knowing exactly what all the wires went to. she didn't have time to play guessing games.

without explaining what she was doing, nova moved from the panel on the wall and began ripping various pieces from the panel she had originall been working in. she had all but shut out miles as she searched for the things she needed. content with having found all the pieces she needed, she quickly made her way back to the door and set everything down. pulling out her alliance issued gun, she ejected the magazine and removed one of the bullets.

it only took nova five minutes to create the makeshift explosive, but to her it felt like hours. her heartrate was going so fast it was all she could hear and her fingers fumbled around with the wires. "got it!" she yelled over her shoulder at her companion. setting the bullet against the crase between the door and the wall, she used the wires to hold it there while linking it back to the open control panel. carefully, she touched the end of one wire to an open circuit and waited patiently as the bullet heated up and exploded with a sharp bang.

it wasn't a big explosion but it was enough to push the door open a crack. moving to the gap, she started wiggling herself into it and slid to the otherside. "miles let's go!" she yelled back at the man who had volunteered to defend them while she worked. she could have easily left him there, but the tought never once crossed nova's mind. miles didn't need to be told twice and was on the other side of the door with her in a matter of seconds. "help me shove this closed," she told him, throwing all of her weight at the door to close it behind them.

the door slid closed surprisingly easy and the pair was left leaning on it, trying to catch their breaths. after a moment of silence, nova began laughing and shook her head as she stood up. "what do you say we get the hell out of here?" she asked him, motioning in the direction she had come.