“What’s that even mean?” Lysa worked at a tall console nearby, tapping away at a strange panel. “Are you sure you hit?”
“I’m positive! Come on, you know me! I’m a damn good shot! What the hell’s going on? These guys must be aliens! And they’ve got the beam weapons to prove it! Once they realize we can’t hurt them, they’re going to charge the hell in here! What are you even doing? What’s going on?”
“These are generators,” Lysa replied. She backed away, gesturing for him to follow her. “And they are rigged to blow. Come on!”
“How do you know that?” Kyle shouted. Exasperation won out over fear. “What did you even do?”
“Found the coolant line,” Lysa said, “yanked it then tapped a thing until it started humming really loud. My tablet said the temperature went up by thirty degrees. That sounds like it’s aching to explode to me. The passage up ahead should lead out… and probably keep us safe. I hope.”
“What?”
“Well, I mean, it could collapse too and kill us.” Lysa looked over her shoulder. “Seems like we’re looking at that happening one way or another though so I chose to risk crushing versus being shot by… whatever that stuff was.”
I guess I can’t argue that. Kyle swallowed past a dry throat. His legs ached, his muscles cramped. Most of it came down to stress, total panic threatening to rob him of his ability to think. Get it under control! You wanted to see the unknown, you jack ass! You got your wish! Now deal with it.
***
Niesh grabbed one of his soldiers, dragging him behind cover. When the attack hit his man, he saw the sparks on the armor. When the attack didn’t take him down, that was a curious development. One that put their quarry in a very different light. Their explosive may have been deadly, but if their hand weapons couldn’t penetrate their armor…
He ran a scan over the impact point. The readings showed no appreciable damage. Even sustained fire might not get through. Multiple sources may not even have the firepower to take down Kahl defenses. All those facts made things very different. His people didn’t need to take cover anymore.
They needed to charge.
Time to finish this.
“Get in there,” Niesh yelled. “They can’t even hurt you! Rush them!”
Niesh watched the soldiers charge, eight armored men. When he witnessed two individuals fleeing, he figured they only had to save one. He allowed his forces to open fire. Now, they didn’t have to bother. Their opponents didn’t represent any threat whatsoever. Much like their pathetic starship, these creatures had been hampered by their employers.
As his people hustled through to the next room, Niesh reached out to Kivda for a quick report.
“Sir, do you hear me? We have settled the situation. The enemy forces are—”
The floor shook, rocks tumbling from the ceiling. An explosion shattered pillars around him, sending stalactites crashing into the lava pools. Niesh hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The impact went right through his armor, sapping his strength until his arms and legs felt like dead weights attached to his aching trunk.
“Niesh!” Kivda shouted through the speaker. Something topside must’ve given away what happened though he couldn’t imagine what it might’ve been. They were deep underground, near the generators storing power from the geothermal collection sites. He crawled as pebbles and stones rained down upon him, clattering off his armor.
“Come in!” Kivda continued shouting. “Respond! What’s going on down there? What’s that smoke?”
They must’ve detonated the generators. Niesh figured that had to be the only thing that made sense. The HUD on his helmet’s visor flickered a couple times before solidifying again. The life signs of all eight soldiers were gone. Every one of them died, likely obliterated in the explosion.
I lost the entire company. Crawling to his feet, Niesh stumbled toward the exit, the direction they’d come from. Chunks of the ceiling crashed down around him, boulders easily large enough to crush him dead. He reached the tunnel, hesitant to enter, but he had no choice. If he stayed, he’d be buried alive. Which might happen anyway.
His lungs burned as he picked up the pace, half running, half controlling a continuous fall. The incline became especially hard and the constant tremors didn’t do him any favors. He found his voice some thousand paces away from the carnage behind him though he did not feel safe yet.
“They’re all dead,” Niesh said. “The men. Generator explosion… our quarry… probably died in the explosion. I… I can’t say for sure.” He coughed, hacking hard as spikes of pain flooded his torso. Something’s broken. The familiar taste of blood filled his mouth. He had to swallow it.
“Get topside!” Kivda shouted. “Move, soldier! Move!”
“I’m… on my… on my way…” Niesh tripped, pounding his knee into the rock. Fortunately, the armor had managed to absorb the impact, but it still jarred him enough to exacerbate his chest problems. He tried to stand… his legs wouldn’t respond. Crawling seemed like a good idea. Three pulls made him collapse.
Just… have to rest… for a moment. Self-preservation screamed at him to get up. His body ignored the cry. No. I’ll be fine. Just… have to catch my breath. He took a wheezing gasp. The walls cracked around him, high-pitched sounds of destruction. Part of the ceiling caved in, dust and debris covering his legs.
Numbness followed sharp agony. Niesh struggled to get away as another part of the corridor collapsed, pinning him to the ground. No amount of squirming, no effort nor desperation would free him. He settled in for what came next, quiet oblivion… difficulty breathing… heart racing.
It stopped. Sound faded. And all the lights in his helmet flickered out.
***
