“And then she told me that I could take her credits and go fuck myself!” 

The guard erupted into laughter, and, across the hallway his squad mate exploded into a similar cacophony of deep cackles.

“Stupid bitch!” He shouted over the cubicle structures blocking their line of sight to one another.

“Not the brightest fuckin’ mongrel the world has ever seen. I took my Are-three and took off one of her fingers. She screamed for hours!” 

“Ah, that’s pretty grim, Arin. What happened to her?”

“No idea, I left her there, took her finger with me tho-“ 

There was a small shudder that reverberated through the floor, as if something has struck the outside of the facility very softly. It was barely noticeable, but it was an unusual enough occurrence that the guard’s conversation ceased at once. 

“Did you hear that?” the one closest to the northern door asked, as the second began to loop around the room to meet him.

“Sort of,” the second shrugged as he came around the corner. 

“Should we report it to Kolac?” 

“Nah, probably just one of the rocks hitting the facility. No need to bother him. The paranoia is stressing him enough as it is.”

“Alright, want to check it out?” 

“Might be worth it, just to see if there are any structural compromises- I mean we’re not dead, but-“ 

The northern door connecting 28 and 14 slid open with a distinctive hiss. Alsia, disguised as one of their own, had come through the doorway. The disguise was impeccable, and, suspecting nothing, the guards had bought the deception, albeit confusing them slightly. 

“Greetings, Guardsman. We.. uh. Heard some commotion out there? Did you check it out?”