Kael took a breath, tasted the metallic tang of thinning air, and broke into a heavy, lung-burning run.
the automated voice crackled, devoid of emotion.
Kael looked at his oxygen gauge: 12%. The "file" he carried—a physical encrypted drive tethered to his wrist—felt heavier than the lead casing suggested. It contained the terraforming bypass codes, the only thing that could stop the colony’s atmospheric processors from venting the remaining oxygen into the void.
He forced his boots to move, the magnetic locks clunking against the metallic catwalk of the exterior ridge. Below him, the lights of the Valles Marineris colony were dimming as the power grid failed. "I'm moving," he rasped, his voice catching on the dry air.
As he rounded the bend of the canyon wall, the silhouette of the relay station appeared—Checkpoint 1. It sat perched on the edge of the abyss like a waiting gargoyle. If he could reach the terminal there, he could upload the drive and reset the system.
the voice repeated. "Awaiting data transfer."