“Sir, we can’t even find them,”Rodgers apologised.
John thumped the console withboth fists in alarm. “Can you put me down there?”
“Only to the surface.”
“That’ll do.” He rushed onto thetransporter pad and was on the planet surface within seconds.
*
It was dusk; the planet’s timebeing different from the permanent timekeeping of the ship. The nearest townwas a good five kilometres away. A makeshift camp stocked with essentialequipment and supplies had been set up at this entrance to the undergroundnetwork. With a storage shed, a bunkhouse and a tent that acted as aheadquarters, the camp was equipped to handle nothing more than a minor brokenlimb.
A tripod and rope sat over thevertical shaft, cabling necessaries to and from the first level of the mine. Alayer of fine dust was rising from the shaft and swirling around in the gentlebreeze before settling over everything and everyone.
John saw five men.
Case and one of the miners wereripping on the rope, hauling something up from below. Almost unrecognisablebeneath a layer of muck, Bricks was limping clear of the shaft. Kowalski’suniform had a light coat of dust. He was struggling to drag a body towards thetent.
“Everyone all right here?” Johnasked as he grabbed a limp arm and helped Kowalski.
“Thanks,” Kowalski muttered.
Nods and mumblings confirmed nomajor injuries.
“Lorraine?” John singled outBricks.
“Fine, sir,” she answered.
They dragged the limp body to thetent, and rolled it onto its back. Kowalski bit his bottom lip. “Is hebreathing?”
John found a pulse and hit theman’s communicator. “Rodgers, transport Crocker to sick bay now.”
“Yes, sir,” Rodgers acknowledged,the body disappearing as he spoke.
John turned his attention to theothers. Case and the miner had their man to the surface, pulling him clear. His feet touched the ground, his knees buckling, and he collapsed. Case helpedhim sit up while the miner unfastened him and dropped the rope back down theshaft.
“You okay, Red?” Case asked.
The man nodded.
“All right, fill me in,” Johnwalked back to the shaft, Kowalski in tow.
Red looked up at John, wipingmuck from one eye with his hand. “I dunno what happened, sir. We were goingfine then… boom. The whole thing caved in on us. Some sort of explosion.”
“Who’s trapped?”
“The cap’n, chief engineer andsix others, best I count. Us near the top managed to get to the shaft, but theothers…” He didn’t look hopeful.
“Sir, they’re five kilometresdown,” Kowalski added.
“We can’t get to the elevatorshaft,” Case added, hauling on the rope again. “Even if we could, we don’tknow if it’s working or even if it’s clear. If any of those cables are gone…” He didn’t finish, just shook his head slowly.
“If it’s blocked, there’s no waydown,” the miner added.
“We could blast a path with theship’s weapons,” Kowalski figured, “but that could send a lot more rock down onthem. Not even the transporter can get through that much solid rock.”
“Modify it. Get me down there.”
John’s determination reflected inKowalski’s grin. “I’m an expert on them.”
“Go, we haven’t got much time.” He spoke to the ship. “Kowalski’s coming back up. Giacomo, are you thereyet?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need phaser power to break upthis rock without collapsing it.”
“How stable is it?”
“I don’t know. The whole thing’scome down. We need to clear a path to the tunnels for Kowalski to get methrough.”
John ran to the tent and rifledthrough the pile of gear in front of it. He buckled on a belt, and slotted apick and foldable spade into loops at either side. He ducked through the tentflap and looked around. An open first aid kit had a couple of bandages, a boxof sticking plasters and a pair of scissors. He stuffed the bandages in ajacket pocket and left the rest. He ripped open a cupboard and found a supplyof small oxygen canisters. He attached as many as the belt could hold, thenstuffed a couple more down his jacket.
A quick look around and theredidn’t seem to be anything else there he needed, and he stepped back outside.
“You’ll need these, sir.” Brickstossed him a pair of clear safety glasses with an elastic backstrap.
“Thanks,” he slipped them overhis head and fitted them comfortably. His view distorted slightly through thedusty lenses.
“Harness, sir.” Red had thesafety harness ready to strap on.
John shook his head. He put theminer’s helmet on, buckling it under his chin, and dragged on a pair of gloves.
As he strode back to the shaft,another man had been pulled clear and a third was climbing out under his ownsteam. Lack of uniform told John they were miners. Case and the first minerslumped down for a rest as the man swung away from the hole to solid ground.
John recognised the last manout. Rankin was the foreman at the site. He caught his breath, surveying thearea and head counting before his attention settled on John heading towardshim. He ran the few steps and grabbed John’s arm. “Don’t go down there.”
John shrugged him off, strode tothe shaft and sat down on the edge with his feet dangling below. He switchedon the light on his helmet and peered down into the dark. Swirling dust caughtthe light and he couldn’t see past it to the bottom.
Rankin followed him and stood onthe opposite side of the shaft with his hands on his hips. “There is no waydown,” he insisted.
“Keep a fix on me, Giacomo,” Johnignored the miner. “I don’t want to get lost.”
“Yes, sir,” Giacomo answered.
John grabbed the rope and loweredhimself into the hole. Daylight from the surface faded and soon disappeareduntil it was completely black. The light from his helmet shone strongly and helooked all around. The walls of the shaft that had been ground reasonablysmooth were sharp and jagged.
His feet touched the ground. Helooked down to check how solid the surface was before letting go the rope. Rocks dotted the tunnel floor; supports that should have held up the walls atregular intervals had collapsed. All power had gone out or been turned off. He didn’t know and it really didn’t matter either way.
He looked up. The world abovehad been condensed into a single beam of light and he stood in its warmth. Heknew why he hated mines. The claustrophobic effect was overwhelming. “Whichway do I go?”
The
