Show Me How It Ends

Posted on Sat May 20th, 2023 @ 9:03pm by Lieutenant Sky Jansen-Carey

Mission: Starship Side Quest
Location: Abandoned Asteroid Mine
Timeline: Continuing from "Break On Through"

Last Time…

Soran took a cylinder out of the tool and slapped it against his hand. It lit up and he dropped it into the shaft and it gave enough light for them to see the ladder. He could hear distant voices from the other end of the corridor. “You’ll have to start the climb, I’ll be right behind you. I promise."

Hearing the distant voices Sky nodded and started the climb down. It was that, or sit and wait to be recaptured, or killed. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the ladder until she eventually reached the bottom, cautiously stepping off to wait for Soran.

The Angosian stood at the opening to the shaft the mercs had found a way around the trap he’d set; he only had a few shots left in the disruptor. Soran saw Sky was at the bottom waiting for him, he pulled the spare power pack he found and realized it was the wrong tech. Damn, these mercs and their unstandardized equipment. The Angosian rigged the power pack to the circuit box above the opening to the shaft. Then ripped the sleeve off his jacket and used it to slide down the dumb waiter cable, he landed near Sky. “Run!”


And now…



Sky nodded and headed off in the nearest direction, it wasn’t like they had a brilliant amount of light either. Going from one dark room to a dark mine wasn’t helping Sky’s frame of mind in the least, she was running on pure adrenaline and fear.

Soran scooped Sky up and put her in a large mine cart, before shielding her with his body as there was an explosion that rocked the whole station. He could hear the heat and hail of debris. There was a dull pain in his shoulder as he moved off the cart, pain shot through his ankle as he got his footing. Must have landed wrong, he thought. He’d have to deal with it.

“They’ll have a hard time following us now,” Soran said. “We’ll have to find a safe place to wait for help.”

Sky had felt Soran’s pain, she was still feeling it. Thoughts of her own well-being suddenly switched to his to distract herself. “You’re hurt, I’ll sort it out once we find somewhere to stop.” She couldn’t help but wonder. “Will sensors be able to find us down here? You hear all the time about sensors not penetrating deep rock.”

Soran smiled as the emergency lights activated. ”This base was built on top of a Vlugtan mine. The Vlugtan tech is resilient, I doubt the Orions know how to hack the computer core. So they wouldn’t be able to stop the automated safety and rescue systems, we have lights and life-support.”

Sky breathed an audible sigh of relief as the lights came on, she couldn’t hide how much her hands were shaking now though. “Let’s find somewhere in the light to sit down.”

“We are far from safe, they will find a way down here,” Soran said. “If this mine has the same layout as others there should be a shelter space.”

Soran made his way through the tunnel in front of them, he found a door and tried the handle. It opened and there was a small room with a bench and a broken console. “You’ll be relatively safe here.”

“Me? On my own!?” Sky looked at Soran in disbelief. “You’re not leaving me, are you!? You’re hurt! You need to rest a little.”

Soran stepped into the room and took a Communicator he’d taken and wired it into the broken console. “This might be able to send a strong enough signal to get help, I need you to stay here with this… I have to set up defenses, I’ll come back.”

Sky nodded. “You Promise? I can’t do this alone, Ren.” She offered a brief smile before it faded behind her scared expression.

"I will do everything in my power to return," Soran stated sincerely.

Soran saw a little chance in his own survival, he wanted to buy as much time for Sky as possible. "Help is coming, remember that."

Sky nodded. “Ren...you remember that too okay? I don’t want you to die for me.”

"It's going to be alright," Soran said with quiet resolve. He picked up a toolkit from the corner. "Once I go, don't open the door till I come back, you might hear things. Please stay here."

Sky nodded. “I will, I promise” she clung to the Communicator Soran had given her. Now all she could do was wait and trust Soran to get them both out of Hell.

Soran stepped out and closed the door, he was exhausted. It was taking every bit of concentration to keep his mind at the moment. He retrieved a hypospray and injected himself with a second shot of adrenaline, he gave it a moment to work and it hit him all at once. For a second the lights seemed blinding and his heart began to pound, then his eyes focused… he blinked… He could see two familiar figures in green uniforms, a voice whispered from behind him.

"Let's make sure our 'guests' get a proper welcome, let no one say the Sentinels aren't good hosts." The man handed Soran a flask. "We toast those who walk in the inferno…"

Soran took the flask and sipped it… there was no flavor… 'It is not real… by Gods, I don't know this is happening.' The Angosian thought. "If this is it. It's good to see old comrades. Even if they are just phantoms.

He handed the flask to the curvy figure in front of him, she turned and took it. "Thanks, Ren"

Thatha smiled and took a swig and handed it to the comrade next to her, who drank from the flask. This was the rite their commander had always insisted on whenever possible before a fight. This was the Morrbarra mine on the second moon of Roth IV…

He took a moment to center himself then the phantoms disappeared and he began to work on his defense, quickly found and barricaded two entrances with heavy minecarts breaking their axles. leaving only the lift and any maintenance tunnels was unaware of. He found a maintenance box for the emergency lights in the wall and cut their power. Then took out the blasting caps he found in the shelter toolbox, they were old but they would do the trick he wired them into the lights so the lift would activate the motion sensors to trigger his trap.

He could hear voices… He wasn't sure if they were there or not… He looked up… There was Thatha?… "Careful with those blasting caps, that great way to lose a hand"

Soran closed his eyes, she wasn't there, leaned against a wall, "eyes in front Wagnor! You can't nap on an ambush."

It was Damter who was moving ahead of him laying tripwire in front of the lift. Why was this happening? What was in the hypo? It was labeled Adrenaline…"

He moved to help comrade and found the wire spooled up where he'd left it. He pulled it tight and tied it off. The first one of the lifts would fall and trigger the motion trap. He found containers of corrosive chemicals and placed them over support frames. He attached trip wires to the Containers. He smiled at his primitive traps, most tricorders wouldn't pick them up.

"I have to protect Sky,' he said to himself.

"What do you mean?' Damter said from behind him. "We're standing our ground, we have air support.

Soran shook his head and climbed into a mine and pulled a tarp over the top to camouflage himself. He readied his disrupter and prepared for a fight.