"This is not just a leak," a voice said, closer now. "Look at the pressure gauge. It is fluctuating in a pattern. Someone has messed with the override."
Richter pressed his body further into the freezing, toxic sludge of the maintenance channel, his lungs burning from the sulfurous fumes that filled the confined space. Above him, the heavy iron grating vibrated as the boots of the patrol scurried past, their lanterns casting frantic, sweeping beams of light that danced across the grime-streaked walls. He kept his eyes fixed upward, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird, counting the seconds until they would move on.
"Check the periphery!" another voice ordered, rough and impatient. "Someone or something triggered that burst. I want a full sweep of the maintenance de
