Spacecraft Exterior Airlock

The airlock opens directly into the void, its inner hatch sealing against the ship’s hull while the outer door retracts with a groan into the surrounding dark. Cold metal framing the threshold radiates residual heat from the ship’s failing systems, mixing with the absolute zero outside. The casket containing Morelli’s body drifts away under minimal thrust, its delicate foil wrapping catching stray reflections from the distant antimatter leak. No gravity exists here—only the artificial pull of the airlock’s emergency handholds, barely enough to anchor Sarin as she watches through the reinforced glass before the Doctor pulls her back inside. The silence is absolute, broken only by the hum of failing systems screaming through the thin walls.