—. What's wrong, Padman? — Sawatari's voice came through the communicator, cking bass and distorted as they moved toward the airlock. —. I don't want to go in. — decred the helmsman. Max dropped his shoulders, but the gesture was not visible with the suit on. They had done a spacewalk, and there was no room for regrets anymore. The shadows shrank and elongated in regur patterns due to the rotation of the drum. Outside, the rusted surface of Lohengrin was a constant, with the valley of Lerna dispying itself like a scar. Max couldn't help but look at the structure of the Chronos, and a feeling of vertigo set in. There was still a long way to go. —. Come on, buddy. Get into the lock. We have work to do. — Max ordered reluctantly, still not believing the role of captain. —. No. I don't want to. — —. Helmsman, I'm giving you an order. — he insisted, forcing firmness into his voice. Max could imagine the paralyzed expression inside his helmet, even though the visor was covered by the helmet's golden protector. He emphatically shook his hands. He was about to repeat the order when, with clumsy movements and apparent slowness, he turned around, pushed off the wall, and lifted his boots to throw himself into a slow fall. Max had no time to react, and he couldn't form the scream when Naomi appeared floating, grabbed him by the oxygen backpack, and pulled him forcefully into the lock. The helmsman smmed against the wall and let out a muffled groan as Naomi grabbed him by the pels and effortlessly lifted him. —. The captain is giving you an order, officer! Obey! — she snapped with a military straightness and composure that neither Padman nor Max was prepared for. He could imagine the looks of astonishment beneath the helmets, so Max lifted his own so the navigator could see his face. With his hands, he signaled for her to calm down. —. We have a mission to complete, Padman. — his voice sounded more like a plea —. Come on, let's go. We need our navigator. — —. And how? — he questioned —. The ship is full of those things. They'll tear us apart like the Daimonji crew. — —. And if we fail, it will be Earth and the sor system. — Max warned with a slight tremor —. We have to shut down EREBUS, Padman. There are no other backup pns left. Please, let's not mess this up. — the navigator remained slumped in the lock, breathing heavily, with a lost look. —. Why don't you want to go back? — Harding asked him. The navigator looked down inside his helmet as Naomi released him but remained alert for any erratic movement. Her Shadow Bck programming was ready to jump at any moment. —. They are waiting for me. — he replied quietly. —. Who? — Angelina asked him. —. Everyone I left behind. — he murmured, his voice heavy with contempt and regret —. Those I forgot to save myself. — he replied as his voice cracked like gss. Max pced a hand on his shoulder and pressed his helmet against his. —. Hey, no one is obligated to be brave, especially in a situation like this. — he tried to comfort him —. But now we have one st mission to complete. Let's do it for them. For our comrades. For the crew of the Chronos. What do you say? — reluctantly, Padman agreed. Then they closed the airlock hatch to equalize the atmosphere. They would go down the cargo elevator of the Refrigeration Chambers, parallel to the Air Filtration Towers. A direct walk to the Transport Node was ruled out. There was the Kraken that swallowed the Hypersleep beds, the Monorail station, and the Axis Elevator, along with the Tanks and Water Treatment Pnt. Yellowish clumps could be seen oozing from the torn structure of the duct, extending their hungry tendrils. That same thing had eaten Murat in front of Max. He shuddered at the memory. When he checked for his RED, it appeared in the middle of the duct, along with those of 204 other crew members. They had joined the mass of the Firefly Forest. The only way to give them rest was to remove EREBUS from the equation. Unlike the Air Filtration Towers, the Refrigeration Chambers remained pristine and silent. The robotic arms that transported pallets loaded with frozen food, freshly processed from the Hydroponics provisions, hung inert, as if waiting for orders. Not even in its best days was that pce full of personnel. Just a few OPS and Logistics technicians in white and yellow space suits doing maintenance on the machines from time to time. In desperation, some had tried to take refuge there. Hidden behind a nook in a compartment, there was a mattress thrown down with a sleeping bag. Inside y two frozen corpses, covered in frost, embraced to keep warm, and an empty bottle of rum, with which they tried to trick the cold. Tylen Rosen from Environmental Control and Alicia Gyllenhall from engineering. There were no signs of the Lohengrin Pgue on their bodies, but their st minutes were of agony.Upon exiting the elevator, a Fairy and two goblins were waiting for them. Max decided to end the fight as quickly as possible. He trapped the monster in a Reverse Field net and bsted it with three bursts from the Psma Rifle before it even had a chance to recombine. Naomi and Harding took care of the two goblins before they could get close enough. On the corpses, they noticed something strange. The bodies were covered by a shiny membrane that looked like resin or some kind of pcenta. From the way the blood and the Fairy's organelles were ejected, they understood it was a form of protection. The beasts' weakness was evident, and Echmann then concluded that they were vulnerable to extreme temperatures, and why not, to the vacuum of space itself. However, they adapted at a dizzying speed. —. I would like to perform an autopsy. — the doctor commented quietly —. If we had more time, of course. Right now, I envy the people on the Ebisu. — just before leaving, they had learned that three shuttles had nded near Lohengrin. From the satellites, it could be seen that they were loading corpses into bags. By their size, they were not human beings. They were dissecting Phasmonates as if they were being paid for it. Echmann would give anything to get his hands on that research. Max, for his part, felt chills. The crew of the Ebisu acted as if they knew what they were supposed to do from the very beginning. Upon arriving at the Food Processing Area, they were greeted by a repugnant smell, as if they were in a pit full of filth. An acrid stench filtered into their nostrils, and they were forced to breathe the oxygen from their tanks. The Forest of Fireflies was advancing towards the machinery. Fermentation tanks, Electric Ovens, Protein Printers, Cold Drying Machines, and canning machines were being consumed by the twisted flesh of the aliens. More than a section of the ship, little by little the room was taking the shape of a gigantic and disproportionate digestive system. The Phasmonates, upon finding nutrients, sought ways to exploit them. Even inorganic compounds were being dissolved to be utilized through acid baths. They had to cross a hallway filled with semi-translucent bags of a sickly pink hue. Bulges floated and disintegrated into a repugnant gel that, before, had been frightened crew members, and that now had been reduced to nutrients. A shriek was heard beneath their feet, and through the grates, they saw a couple of Fairies scurrying with apparent purpose, fpping their membranous wings until they disappeared into the maintenance ducts. They had to get out of there quickly. —. This ship no longer belongs to us. — Doctor Echmann whispered, looking at the beast's constructions. With a sickly yellowish tone, a faint light filtered through cracks in the ceiling, bathing that biomechanical nightmare. It was impossible to distinguish whether it was the lights of the section, the skylights with the glow of Lacaille 8760, or some kind of bioluminescence —. We are walking in the midst of an alien ecosystem. No, I lie. This is the organism itself. — —. What does that leave us? — Satoshi asked. —. Invaders. — he replied —. Strange bodies that must be eliminated, although everything seems to have a purpose within the Forest of Fireflies. They all shine in the Forest. Whether we like it or not. — —. The light is approaching. — a man's voice crackled through the communicators as they passed through the Reception Zone, heading towards transit. One by one, they stopped, frozen, enveloped in an unsettling calm. —. Acosta, is that you? — Max asked quietly. The interference was his answer. That voice was both good and bad news. Third Engineer Lucas Acosta was alive. The bad news was that apparently, the fireflies had fried his brain —. Are you still there? Where are you? — —. I can track your RED. — Naomi warned. —. Do it. — he ordered —. Lucas, please listen. You don’t have to fall prey to these things. We will come for you. We have a pn. — but Acosta did not respond either. His trembling breath could be heard from the communicator, saturating the interference. —. I have it. — Naomi indicated —. Main Control Room. Engineering. — her chest swelled with surprise. The mission could end much sooner than it started. —. Lucas, you’re in engineering, right? We need your help. — Max's tone sounded more like he was trying to negotiate than giving an order —. You need to go up to the old Command Center, through the Axis. We will send you a Malware that Jay Krishna programmed, and you will install it on the old server. — —. Do you want me to kill EREBUS? — Acosta finally asked, with a tone bordering on disappointment and confrontation. —. Exactly that. — —. And why would I do that? — —. Because we can no longer recover the ship. — Max replied —. There are no escape pods or shuttles left. Ebisu doesn’t want to help us. We only have to prevent these things from reaching Earth and the sor system. You are in the axis, and as acting captain, I need your help. — —. Is Matkovich dead? — the engineer interrupted him. Max narrowed his eyes. It was hard to answer, but Naomi spoke up first. —. Yes. — —. How strange. The st time I saw him, he seemed more alive than ever. — —. He fell prey to the Phasmonates, to the fireflies. — Max corrected himself —. We can no longer bring him back, Lucas. I had to take command. Please, go up to the control center and kill EREBUS. That way we can finish off the fireflies once and for all. It’s the only option we have left. — —. I see. — the engineer replied —. I’m sorry, Max. But I can’t do that. The Fireflies are part of the crew. I’m not going to kill my comrades. I have to get us home, safe and sound. — the response was like being punched. Max's eyes widened, and Harding's face contorted with rage, snatching the communicator from Max. —. It was you, wasn’t it? You altered EREBUS. — in the face of the confrontation, a dying ugh was heard from the other side —. You handed the crew on a ptter! — —. I had nothing to do with it, boss. The culprit may be much closer than you think. — he replied mockingly —. After all, that person did me a favor. — —. Speak, or I swear you will regret being alive. — —. I can’t say who it is; they made it very clear to me. It would jeopardize our little great mission. — Acosta recited, as if he had memorized those lines, with a trembling voice. —. What mission? — Naomi questioned him. —. I already said it. To bring our crew back home safe and sound. — he stated. And then Max realized they were screwed —. Don’t despair. Petrescu, Dubois, and Krishna tried to sabotage my efforts. They wanted to make sure this ship never took off again. Let’s say EREBUS lent me a hand. But there’s still a lot of work to do. And you’re not going to stop me. ——. If those things reach the sor system, it's over. — Max shouted —. Lucas, please, reconsider. We can still save the ship. — —. And then what? — he questioned —. Do we pretend nothing happened? Do we get home to cry and drink for the fallen while the Ebisu pys with the ruins? Let me tell you something, Max. They will fall too. They won't be able to tame the fireflies as they hoped. They will end up bringing the gift they offered us to the sor system anyway. — —. What gift? — Fundiswa questioned him —. For god's sake, can't you hear how you speak? — —. There is no God, Fundiswa. — he interrupted —. He died 500 million years ago. We are alone, but humanity is not ready to deal with that truth. — Acosta's voice sounded disdainful and resigned, but as if he had received an illumination from another world —. The fireflies gave us the chance to resurrect him, all of them, their consciousness, and that is what I will do. Bring them back. — —. Are you on that too, Acosta? — Max asked him —. Who? Who will you bring back? Tell me! — —. We will bring them all back. — Ayna muttered to herself. —. You know it yourself, Max. You just haven't realized it. — Lucas said goodbye —. Once it happens, there will be no darkness. The Forest will grow again. And there, everyone will shine, because we will all be fireflies. — —. Your madness will kill us all! — —. Goodbye. — —. WARNING, HAZARDOUS LIFE FORMS DETECTED. — the voice of EREBUS appeared suddenly, as darkness fell, and strobing yellow lights flooded the room. —. Oh, shit. — —. INITIATING CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL IN T—30 SECONDS. — sounds of pumping and pistons began to resonate through the deck as heavy metal doors rose from the ground and closed with the speed of a guillotine. They were being locked in. —. Damn. Shit. Motherfucker! Everyone to transit! Run! Now! — The worst part of feeling hope is when it is snatched away from you. The doors were sealing one after another, like the steps of a giant coming after them. They just had to run straight to the next module. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be calling them. —. Just a little more. — Max shouted —. It's right ahead! — but Padman stumbled face-first to the ground. There ended his window of opportunity. Cursing to himself, Max turned on his heels to lift the fallen officer. Disoriented, he stood up, and pulling on his hands, forced him to run. But it was too te. Naomi, Harding, Echmann, Ayna, and Fundiswa were already on the other side, and Satoshi along with Angelina was waiting for them at the doorframe, making frantic gestures. —. Go to the other side, Satoshi! You too, Angelina! — Max ordered. But EREBUS had already decided to leave them locked in. The door rose right in front, and it managed to lift the young officer a few meters. If it weren't for Zhang's reflexes, Satoshi would have ended up with both arms amputated in a second. They fell backward to the ground. He wouldn't have had a chance to escape. —. Oh shit. — Satoshi got up awkwardly as he walked toward the heavy door, looming in front of them —. Damn. — —. I'm sorry, cap. — Padman looked down —. It was my fault. You should have kept running. — —. I'm not leaving any crew member behind, Padman. Make that clear. — Max stepped forward. He let him go, leaving him sitting against a wall. Angelina had a bnk expression as she touched the cold metal wall. Only a meter and a half separated them from their crewmates. —. And now what? — she asked —. We're trapped here. — —. Not at all. — Max intervened as he drew the Psma Saw and dropped the rifle to the ground —. Move, Satoshi. I'm going to cut through the door. —