Despite the rapidly unfolding chaos, the hellish lighting, and the brief freefall, Rebekah managed to input the code correctly on her first try.  The keypad flashed green in response, as thick red text scrolled across the screen: “<strong>BIOMETRIC INPUT REQUIRED</strong>”.<br/><br/>The plane once more settled, the lights flickering back on.  Behind you, the swarm’s advance was briefly stymied by the guard’s hail of gunfire.  She was holding the trigger down with ferocious brutality, her bullets skipping off the swarm like flat rocks on water.  It emitted that tinkling sound again and shrunk into a corner, but for how long?  She would need to reload very soon.<br/><br/>In front of you, the keypad’s screen was suddenly a haze of snowy static and scintillating colors, like the screen of a PDA when you pressed on the touch screen too hard.  More text scrolled across: "<strong>OVERRIDE -- COMMAND ACCESS GRANTED, HAVE A NICE DAY IAMTHESEEKERINTHEDARKIAMWITNESSTOEONSIAMTHECO</strong>”<br/><br/>With a click lost beneath the gunfire, the hatch unlocked and eased open by half a centimeters.  It opened inward; a sterile white corridor with smooth walls and grates in the ceiling could be seen through the gap.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Rebekah Graham and Sean Gallegar</span></strong><br/><br/>Rebekah was the first one through the door, shoved rather unceremoniously by the burly Irishman.  Sean followed quickly thereafter, shouldering the heavy hatch open the rest of the way as he went.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Zoey Calhoun and Alec Llewellyn</span></strong><br/><br/>It took significant effort to scoop up the rifle and lunge forward on the tilting floor in what was almost-but-not-quite freefall, but Zoey somehow managed to do without breaking anything important.<br/><br/>“The hell—“ the hatch guard began.  She released the trigger as Zoey leapt into her line of fire.  “<em>Get the fuck away!</em>” she screamed.  The guard lifted her boot and kicked, half-shoving-half-tripping Zoey mid lunge, slamming her against the wall.  She tumbled to the deck and immediately started to slide back down towards the hatchway, sore and bruised but otherwise unharmed.  Jie’s rifle was knocked from her hands.<br/><br/>In front of them, the swarm took advantage of the lull in the fire to shift its position. It swung its turbine forward, and a wave of hot air washed over you as if you had just opened the door to a blisteringly hot oven.  Before the swarm could coil forward, sporadic gunfire from the far end of the corridor pinged off it.  The two remaining soldiers held their positions, taking careful shots to avoid friendly fire.  This distracted the swarm long enough for the hatch guard to reload and open fire.<br/><br/>During this brief exchange, Alec had managed to get a handful of Zoey’s clothing and haul her up and through the hatchway.<br/><br/><em>”You, too.  There anything like an armoury on this plane?”</em><br/><br/>“I can’t, my squaddies are still in there!” she shouted back, although she did take a step toward the hatchway before stopping.  Two more and she'd be inside.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The other side of the hatch looks to be an airlock of some kind.  It is a room about two meters in length, with smooth white walls and a grated ceiling.  A small computer screen set into one of the walls read: “<strong>WARNING: EXTERIOR HATCH OPEN</strong>”.  Next to it are two levers.  The first is labeled “<strong>Initiate Decon</strong>”, the second “<strong>Manual Override: Disengage Payload</strong>”.  Beneath this second lever is a pictogram showing several boxes tumbling from the belly of a plane in flight.<br/><br/>Two railings run along the walls at waist height, and the end of the room is sealed by a sliding door with a small porthole set in it.  You see a helmet bobbing on the other side: another soldier.<br/><br/>There’s a<em>bzzt</em>as he activates an intercom.<em>”Close the hatch, close the hatch!  Disengage the payload!”</em>he shouts, rapping a gloved hand on the porthole.