Chapter 11 · Breached Steel

"Get down!" Cassian drove Lyra into the bulkhead as gunfire ripped through the corridor.

Rounds punched sparks from the steel where her head had been. One struck the pipe beside Cassian's ear and screamed past him. He felt the heat, then the wet spray of coolant across his cheek.

Lyra slammed an elbow into his ribs. "Take your hands off me."

"Happy to. Stop standing in the firing lane."

"I can't see the firing lane."

"Then trust me for three seconds."

"I'd rather drown."

Another burst hammered the corridor. Cassian pulled her lower, one arm locked across her waist while his pistol came up over his shoulder. The passage ahead flashed white with muzzle fire. Their attackers had the junction pinned, and the outer hull shook every time the leviathan struck it.

The deck lurched under their boots.

Somewhere beyond the armored plates, something huge dragged claws across the submarine. The sound traveled through the metal and into Cassian's teeth.

Brant's voice cracked over the intercom. "Captain, the port gun deck is gone. I need you at the manual seal, now."

"Busy."

"You're always busy when the ship is falling apart."

"Seal the gun deck.