Amira reached the bridge just as the screaming started.
She could hear it through the bulkheads—Webb's voice, and Chen's, and something else that wasn't human at all. She wanted to run to them, to help, but she knew that would just mean three deaths instead of one.
She had to send the message.
Her hands shook as she activated the comm array, as she punched in the emergency frequencies, as she began to speak.
"This is Amira Okonkwo of the towing vessel Magellan's Hope. We have been attacked by a non-human entity. Repeat, non-human entity. Multiple crew fatalities. The entity is aboard our vessel and is extremely dangerous. If you receive this transmission, do not approach. I repeat, DO NOT APPROACH. Warn the Prometheus. Warn everyone. There's something out here. Something that hunts. Something that—"
The bridge door slid open behind her.
She didn't turn around. She kept speaking, her voice steady despite the tears streaming down her face.
"—that kills. It killed Captain Saito. It killed Varga and Dmitri and Kofi. It's killing Webb and Chen right now. And soon it will kill me. But if you're listening, if anyone is listening, remember: we found it on a derelict ship. A ship that was sending a signal. A warning, maybe. Or an invitation. I don't know which. Just—"
Something touched her shoulder.
She turned, and the creature was there, so close she could see the individual droplets of blood on its jaws, could smell the charred flesh from where Webb had burned it.
"—just run," she whispered. "Run as fast and as far as you can."
The creature's tail came up.
The transmission continued for another thirty-seven seconds, recording the sounds of Amira's death in perfect, horrifying detail.
Then there was only static, and the stars, and the dark.