A guttural curse escaped Zara's lips.

The clang of metal was unmistakable –

Eurozone soldiers. They must have regained consciousness and were searching for
survivors. Her hand hovered over the freighter's hatch, her mind racing.

"Kai, how close are they?" she hissed into the comms, her voice tense.

"Just around the bend," Kai's voice crackled back. "Maybe two, three of them."

Two or three could be handled, Zara thought grimly. But any more, and their escape
plan would be toast. She glanced around, taking in the dimly lit hangar bay. A
crate, half its size missing, sat near a stack of spare fuel canisters. An idea,
desperate but potentially workable, sparked in her mind.

"Kai," she said quickly, "Can you remotely activate the fuel line release valve
near the rear of the freighter?"

"On it," came the reply, a hint of concern in Kai's voice.

As Zara grabbed a metal pipe from the floor, its weight reassuring in her hand, the
hiss of escaping gas filled the air. She shoved the crate towards the fuel leak,
creating a makeshift barrier. The acrid smell of fuel stung her nostrils, but she
ignored it, focusing on the approaching footsteps.

Two Eurozone soldiers, clad in heavy combat armor, rounded the corner, their faces
grim under glowing visors. They spotted Zara instantly, their weapons snapping to
attention.

"Drop the weapon, rebel!" one of them barked, his voice distorted by the helmet.

Zara didn't waste time with words. With a battle cry that echoed through the
hangar, she swung the pipe, catching the closer soldier across the helmet. He
crumpled to the floor with a groan.

The second soldier, quicker than his fallen comrade, opened fire. Zara dived
behind the makeshift fuel barrier, the bullets pinging off the crate and the
freighter's hull. Smoke from the leaking fuel mingled with the acrid smell of
blaster fire, creating a choking haze.

"Come on, Kai, what's taking so long?" Zara yelled into the comms, adrenaline
pulsing through her veins.

"Almost there!" came the reply, laced with a nervous edge.

Zara knew she couldn't hold off the soldier forever. He was circling the fuel
barrier, searching for an opening. She glanced at the spilled fuel, then at the
sparking wires of the severed fuel line, a desperate plan forming in her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a handful of fuel-soaked rags from the damaged
crate. With a flick of her wrist, she ignited them using a small thermal detonator
she always kept strapped to her thigh. The rags erupted in flames, sending a wave
of heat towards the soldier.

He roared in surprise, momentarily thrown off guard. That was all Zara needed.
She lunged from behind the barrier, the metal pipe a deadly extension of her arm.
The soldier, disoriented by the flames, stumbled back. Zara's pipe connected with
his chest with a sickening thud.

He crumpled to the ground, unmoving. Zara stood there for a moment, panting
heavily, the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. The hangar bay was silent except
for the hiss of escaping fuel and the pounding of her own heart.

"Zara, the fuel line is disabled!" Kai's voice came through the comms. "But you
need to get out of there, now!"

Zara didn't need telling twice. Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted towards the
freighter, the stench of burning fuel heavy in the air. She slammed the hatch shut
and wrestled with the manual controls, a sense of urgency pushing her on.

The engines coughed and sputtered, then roared to life. Smoke billowed from the
damaged fuel line, but the freighter held. Zara threw the craft into reverse,
narrowly avoiding a collision with a docked fighter. With a final burst of speed,
she slammed through the hangar bay doors and into the vast emptiness of space.

The damaged Leviathan loomed behind her, a twisted metal monument to their daring
escape. Zara, battered but unbroken, allowed herself a single moment of triumph
before focusing on the task at hand. They had a long journey ahead, and the fate
of the future rested on their shoulders.