He slammed the manual override, the airlock groaning as he sprinted across the Bridge. With every step, the metal under his boots chimed with a brittle, crystalline ring. He leapt into the escape pod just as the first wisp of violet light touched the station’s solar panels.
He had exactly four minutes before the Ghost-Light reached the hull. GHpVhSsi BaenBx ZJtX
He looked out the reinforced viewport. The "Ghost-Light" was a phenomenon the miners on the nearby moon of Caelus feared most. It was a shimmering, violet aurora that didn't just dance in the atmosphere—it ate through electromagnetic shielding. It was appearing now, threading through the stars like a silk ribbon. The Broken Bridge He slammed the manual override, the airlock groaning
The transmission arrived at 03:00 hours: He had exactly four minutes before the Ghost-Light
Behind him, the Aethelgard Outpost didn't explode. It simply faded, the matter unraveling into the same nonsense code that had started the night.