He should have been worried about the fact that Zilah had a knife. For once he didnâ€™t care and hardly even seemed to take notice. She needed him to get out of this mess. It might only affect her now because heâ€™d progressively made it worse, but that didnâ€™t make it any less serious.<br/><br/>â€œWeâ€™re not going to shut it down.â€ A note of panic crept in despite Quenâ€™s best efforts to hide it. â€œShe doesnâ€™t know what sheâ€™s talking about, chimp. Weâ€™re not shutting you down,â€ he said fiercely, more to Zilah than the AI. He needed her to understand that she couldnâ€™t just say that.<br/><br/>It wasnâ€™t answering him though; that had never been the case. â€œYou know I canâ€™t fly the ship without you, chimp. It would be irrational to shut you off.â€ When he tapped his ear to indicate the chimp could still hear her, he made a startling discovery. His earpiece was still in â€“ not that heâ€™d ever taken it out onboard that he could recall. It was a big reason why the chimp could always hear him and whatever he could hear, but he knew it could read lips too.<br/><br/>After a momentâ€™s hesitation, he admitted what had her stricken. â€œâ€¦Yes. Thatâ€™s why I need you not to panic. I sealedâ€¦â€ Now proved not to be the best time to be trying to explain the situation.<br/><br/>With a wanted criminal onboard and no recognized Corps member in charge, the chimp was authorized to make its own decisions. Its decision had proved to be something Quen hadnâ€™t anticipated. The fire system began to hiss, and what came out certainly wasnâ€™t water. It was accompanied by the sharp, pungent scent of poison gas.<br/><br/>His shallow breath of the air was caustic, and he had to fight the urge to cough. As soon as he realized what was happening, he grabbed hold of Zilahâ€™s wrist and dragged her along with him to the airlock, holding his breath.<br/><br/>Once the doors had been shut and locked behind them, he slid down with his back against them, barking harsh coughs and trying not to throw up. â€œLiÃ¬t zeblÃ³a,â€ he coughed out, the fury masked by lack of air. â€œGonna needâ€¦â€ he had to pause when his stomach threatened to turn traitor again, and touched the space under his nose. Was he bleeding? It felt like he was bleedingâ€¦ No, just his nose running; that was good. â€œWhy would you say that?â€ Quen asked her, incredulous, not expecting nor giving time for her to answer. â€œYouâ€™re going to need the suit. Coreâ€™s where the leak is.â€<br/><br/>Disgusted with himself for forgetting its existence again, he pulled out the earpiece and flicked it against the other pair of doors. â€œThe chimp wonâ€™t go for subtle next time, not since you said you wanted to kill it. Canâ€™t let it see you. I can show you how to get there, but youâ€™ll still need a suit.â€ He nodded at one of the two that were stored neatly next to him. â€œI donâ€™t know if the helmet will fit throughâ€¦ where you need to go.â€