Reversion Vents

A labyrinth of narrow metallic channels branching through the Ark’s underlevels, designed to regulate atmospheric pressure between compartments. The vents are lined with the same institutional grey linoleum and wiring conduits as the corridors they adjoin, their grilles recessed into the floor at regular intervals. When the Wirrn swarm breaches the outer hull, the vents transmit the shriek of tearing metal as reinforced grilles buckle under alien weight. The creatures slither through the damp darkness, their segmented bodies flashing in the intermittent glow of failing emergency lights. The air in the vent system carries the metallic tang of forced entry and the acrid scent of scorched insulation, the walls still sticky with residue from previous Wirrn attempts to infiltrate. Each inhalation carries the vibration of distant scuttling, the rhythmic pulse of the creatures’ approach impossible to ignore.