"The bugs must have chewed through enough of their hatch seal to weaken it too far to hold the air inside their pod."

Before Sirol could carry out the request, he and Calhoun were startled by the sound of the hatch seals deactivating.

Only deep-sea divers, he said, can verify whether the hatch seal was broken.

It would be the only tank not accessible from the interior of the ship, which meant one less hatch seal to potentially go bad.

The hatch seal popped and it swung back.

The hatch seal disengaged, allowing the actuators to hinge it back.

Secor reveals that the hatch seals were dropped from the Dregocian side, meaning that it was test.

Feeling frantically along the edges, she bumped the ridged heads of permanent bolts instead of the inner hatch seal she'd expected to find.

Now they were checking the air pressure and the integrity of the hatch seal.

Brim stifled a delighted grin, nodded assent, and confirmed the hatch seal on an instrument panel before him.