"We have a problem," said Renshaw. When Na'dia went to remove her helmet, he ordered, "Leave it on. The corridor has lost pressure between frames eighty and one hundred. The door to cryo module two failed to close after the charges blew, so there is nothing in there but hard vacuum."

Tania commented, "You'll lose atmosphere clear back to the docking station if we go down there."

Renshaw replied, "If we don't take the crew hab module, then the mission fails. We need air to achieve the objective."

Na'dia glanced at the frame number of the docking station – frame one-twenty - and said, "Self will see to door. If attempt fails, use explosives to break back of starship. Humans cannot retain control of starship. Tania must set external charges. Call two legs back to this location, ready to evacuate."

"Already done," said Renshaw. "They are clearing Propulsion and the cargo modules as we speak."

She nodded in understanding and pulled herself through the pressure door, dogging it tight. Quickly, Na'dia propelled herself down the corridor, until she arrived at the pressure door at frame one hundred. It was with a sense of minor annoyance that she realised the door opened inwards. The pressure differential would make it impossible to just open the door. To the right of the door there were the controls for an equalising pressure valve. She braced herself against the door and cracked open the valve.

The slight hiss of air flowing through the valve was audible even through her helmet. Na'dia opened the valve as far as it would go, the hissing growing to a roar, which slowly faded until there was no noise at all.

The door opened easily after a single tug at the handle.

In this section of the corridor, many of the lights were broken by the sudden depressurisation, but there was no other sign of damage. The pressure doors to the hab modules were at the other end of the corridor section. Na'dia swam up the corridor. It was clear why this section had lost pressure. The door to cryo module two was propped open by a human body, obviously caught trying to escape from the cryo module when it lost pressure.

Na'dia pushed the door open and grabbed the corpse, inadvertently turning it over to see its face. It was a young woman, her face frozen in an expression of horror, frozen blood foaming out of her ears, nose and mouth, and staining her wispy blond hair. It was not a pretty sight – especially her ruptured eyeballs.

It was a long way to come to experience such an ugly death.

"Oeru txoa livu, ma oeyä tsmuke," she murmured, momentarily moved to pity. "Hu nawma sa'nok tivul ngeyä tirea." She wondered what would happen to the bodies that were ejected from the starship during the depressurisation. Perhaps their orbits would gradually decay, and they would burn up on re-entry to Pandora's atmosphere, finally becoming part of the embrace of Eywa. So their spirits would truly come to be cherished, instead of wandering the trackless emptiness of space for eternity.

She pushed the body back into the cryo module and hauled the door shut, sealing it tightly. Now to repressurise the corridor.

Na'dia caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her moment of sentiment had caused her to lose attention – the pressure door at frame eighty was opening, to reveal a spacesuited figure carrying a pistol. She hadn't even felt the approaching lifespark. So slowly, so very slowly the human lifted the weapon to point it at her, as she pushed off the side of the corridor, driving for the figure.

The pistol flashed noiselessly. Her ears were suddenly filled with the hissing of gas escaping from her pressure suit, and the roar of the fans in her backpack trying to make good the air loss. She didn't even feel the bullet strike her body, because she was too focused on killing the human that had shot her. The human had not braced itself before it shot the pistol, the reaction from the shot spinning its body away from her.

Na'dia lunged for its right arm as the human spun in a slow tumble, her long fingers wrapping around its wrist. The human struggled to bring the pistol to bear, but Na'dia managed to keep the pistol pointed away as she anchored herself to the human, clasping its torso between her thighs. That gave her the leverage to twist its arm to an unnatural position – she even heard the crack of the arm breaking transmitted by their close contact. Its fingers opened to release the gun, which she managed to snag with her other hand. Na'dia shoved the pistol against the glass faceplate, and before she pulled the trigger, heard it scream, "No!"

The faceplate was suddenly splashed with gore.

Red lights flashed in her heads up display – the oxygen numbers were spinning down to zero. She wouldn't have time to get back to frame one twenty, not before all her air was gone. Na'dia gasped out, "Ren'zhore. Pressurise corridor."

Her vision was narrowing rapidly to a tunnel in front of her, and then faded to gray. All she could hear was the hissing of air escaping.

Na'dia blinked, and took a deep breath. There was air, and light. She grabbed her helmet and twisted it, removing it from the neck ring. The corridor swam into view behind a concerned looking face – Renshaw.

"We thought we lost you for a moment there," he said, handing her an exo-pack.

"Is starship secure?" asked Na'dia, as she slipped on the hated device.

"Yes," he answered. "Thanks to you, and Tania."

"Sìltsan," she said. "Will starship fly again? It would be unfortunate if not. The plan requires it."

"Propulsion is intact, and despite your efforts it seems there is no major structural damage," he advised with a wry smile. "The life support systems, on the other hand, have been substantially damaged. It won't support a crew on an interstellar journey again."

Na'dia started to struggle out of the spacesuit. Her plan did not require it to carry a crew. As she emerged from the suit Renshaw gave an admiring whistle, causing her to look sharply at him. He pointed to a long burn mark, spiralling clockwise once around her right arm from her wrist to her shoulder. "You were damned lucky."

She picked up her suit, and saw two bullet holes – one entering at the wrist, and a large exit hole in the shoulder.

Even palulukan girls could grin.