A drizzle had formed outside of the refinery, its soft drops sprinkling the few windows the structure had. Inside, sheltered from the rain, Team Alpha moved through the darkness, anticipating an ambush any second.
But none came. After another eventless while, they entered a hall with high roof, housing a cylindrical structure in the middle with tubes leading away from it.
"That's a one of the main fuel-lines here." Peter explained, pointing at the giant tube. "There the fuel is pumped through in a liquid state, searing hot, before it's being prepped for processing."
Dvorak swallowed hard. The sheer size of the tube implied how much fuel was handled here, and how much of it was not on its way to the front.
They made their way to the tube, spotting an entrance that led through to another side of the hall.
"Why the hell would someone put a door in a tube?" Gash asked.
"The workers probably use it to gain access to the pipeline itself, should it be clogged. They just seal one end, climb in, fix the problem, get out and restore the flow." Kajira mused.
When they reached the entrance to the tube, they also reached an impasse. Their way to the end of the hall led across countless tubes leading away from the great tube, over a small catwalk, too small for the whole Team.
"If we try to cross over there with everyone, we could just paint targets onto ourselves." Kajira pointed out, her mandibles twitching. "Maybe two can cross. The only other way leads through the tube …"
"No way am I going in that thing." Gash protested. "Dibs on the catwalk!"
Before he could say something, Peter had already blurted out "Shotgun!" stood beside Gash. He cursed under his breath.
"Alright, keep your eyes open while you cross, and don't make any unnecessary noises!" Kajira advised them as they turned toward the ladder to the catwalk. "You know us, boss. Graceful as an asari!" Peter joked while Gash already ascended the ladder. When they were out of eyeshot, Kajira turned to Dvorak.
"Come on, Helfer."
They entered the tube. Inside, the walls shimmered from leftover fuel, giving the whole scene an eerie look. Dvorak felt as if he walked inside a giant animal, its bowels moving when he wasn't looking. They couldn't reach the exit fast enough.
His eyes wandered, scanning the inside of the tube, but finally resting on the turian before him. He felt bad for not telling her the whole story. He opened his mouth to say something.
Then the world exploded into action around the team. With a flash, all the lights in the hall illuminated, blinding Peter and Gash on the catwalk. Inside the tube, warning lights flashed in red, followed by a metallic crack and a screeching noise. The door behind them crashed shut.
"What the just happened?" Kajira asked, speaking to Dvorak, Gash, Peter and the Poltergeist at the same time.
"Team Bravo restored the power. They –"Commander du Pont tried to explain, but the transmission was cut short and faded into static. Peter's voice appeared through the radio: "Boss, we just lost contact with the Poltergeist and the power is back on. Seems like Bravo Team did their job."
The mechanical voice of a woman spoke up through the refineries intercom: "Power: Restored. Heat-Level: Restored. Fuel-Flow: Restored. Warning: Please vacate maintenance-access immediately. Have a nice day." A flowing sound appeared as the tube around them lit up in warning lights.
"And it couldn't be a better time!" Kajira screamed through the radio as Dvorak channeled biotic energy around his hands, forming a big, blue orb. "We're still inside the tube and about to be cooked alive in fuel!"
"Oh shit." Peter cursed. "Gash, we have to move, the boss and Dvorak are in trouble. Double-time it!"
Dvorak released the biotic orb, smashing it into the door, achieving nothing. He tried it again, again resulting in nothing but a slightly dented door. He cursed and tried it again.
"I see a console! Maybe I can stop the release from opening!" Peter's voice sounded.
"Do it fast or there won't be anything left to save! Helfer!" Kajira replied, then turning her attention to Dvorak. "Anything?"
"It doesn't budge. We'd need a tank to blast through this!"
"We don't have a tank! And we don't have any time left! Freeway!"
"I'm working on it!"
The flowing, rushing sound closed in on them. The chamber began to rumble and vibrate.
"Freeway!" Kajira screamed for a last time. Then, the world around them was plunged into darkness.