The woman staggers, but doesn't fall immediately. Blood blooms across the centre of her chest, above her heart, and that may not be where he aimed, but this is a dream, and physics don't exactly apply.

She smiles. There's no mockery in it now, and when she speaks, her voice is solely her own.

"Thank you."

Her knees unhinge then, and she drops.

In the distance, there's the sound of running footsteps. The static sounds again - one more bulkhead to go. When he reaches it, he'll find a narrow hatch recessed in the floor, an entrance to some sort of maintenance tunnel.