Chapter 96 - The Mutiny Protocol
A catastrophic blast rocked the *Nadir*, throwing everyone off balance. The shockwave knocked Vane against the holographic console as the submarine listed sharply forty-five degrees to starboard. Emergency klaxons shrieked at deafening volume: *HULL BREACH DETECTED - SECTION FOURTEEN - SEALING BULKHEADS.*
"Clara! Grab the boy!" Arthur bellowed, firing two suppressed rounds into the armed guards before they could level their rifles. The men crumpled to the floor plates.
I didn't hesitate. Adrenaline surged through my limbs, overriding days of physical agony. I lunged at Noah's stasis pod, smashing the emergency release latch on the console. The nutrient fluid drained in a violent vortex of air and amber fluid, the curved acrylic canopy lifting with an explosive pneumatic release.
I reached in, gathering Noah into my arms. He was wet and shivering, letting out a sharp, terrified wail as the warm blankets Arthur tossed to me enveloped his tiny body.
"I've got him! I've got him!" I screamed over the roar of rushing water somewhere down the corridor.
Director Vane struggled to her feet, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead, her hand reaching into her coat for a concealed firearm. "You will never leave this sector alive! The destroyer above has already locked terminal depth charges on this grid! If they lose the child, they will vaporize us all!"
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Arthur didn't even argue. He fired a single round into the central control terminal, shattering the glass and severing the main navigation cortex in an eruption of sparks and smoke. "That buys us five minutes before their autonomous systems can target the escape pod bay. Move, Clara! Now!"
We sprinted through the tilting, smoke-filled corridors. The submarine groaned like a dying beast, the metallic ribs buckling under immense ocean pressure. Sirens flashed blood-red against the damp walls as water began pooling around our ankles.
