Stowing the datapad away, Marie turned to her right, towards the narrow passage leading to the armory.
Might as well take a quick look.
The hallway was as dark and dismal as the rest of the deck, with more of the strange tendrils crawling up the walls and converging in fantastical, disturbing patters on the ceiling above her. Between the thick tendrils on the walls, she could see stained and tattered motivational posters, and operational procedures detailing armory check out processes.
She caught a quick glimpse of one of the signs:
"IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY SECURITY SITUATION..."
Unfortunately, the rest of the helpful advice was obscured by a particularly thick tentacle, dotted with subtly pulsing yellow pustules.
Marie moved further into the corridor, the thick door of the armory itself coming into focus in the gloom ahead. With each step, she began to see more and more signs of armed resistance - bulkheads scored by pulse round impacts, a few plasma burns, makeshift barricades of storage crates, pools of the familiar yellowish gunk.
But no bodies, human or...otherwise.
The armory door was nominally shut, its massive magnetic lock still glowing a reassuring green. But a large section just to the left of center had been wrenched open, the thick parasteel twisted and torn by some unfathomable process. The shredded edges of the door were bent outward toward the hallway - whatever did this had come out of the armory.
Moving carefully, Marie moved to the side of the opening, weapon at the ready, then glanced within.
No movement.
She picked up a chunk of debris from the deck, and tossed it inside. It ding'ed against a battered locker, then clattered to the floor of the armory.
No response.
Marie steadied herself, then ducked inside.
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