Chapter 20: The Mines(Pt. 1)

After a relatively thorough raid of the pirates' area, we were about as well equipped as we were going to get. Fay's instruction was detailed; going over atmospheric pressure limits and composition, how to check charging levels on the life support devices, and expected runtimes in different situations. The devices were incredibly advanced by human standards; they supplied filtered, pressurized air on demand in situations such as the one we were about to face and could work as rebreathers for a limited time in full vacuum. None of the life support equipment we found would fit me, but I wasn't expecting it to. I paid attention, however; Krys' earlier brush with death made me pay every iota of attention to what Fay had to teach us.

Fay stood a few steps away as I finished getting ready; sliding into my now slightly shredded jacket before reaching into my backpack. The spaniel blinked as I removed the Glock from my belt; offering the holstered handgun to her along with its magazines. "You're arming me?" she asked.

"We've already determined that the pirates' blasters are locked out," I recapped as she took the weapon and ammunition out of my hands and started to add them to her flightsuit. "We wouldn't ask you to come with us to the belly of the beast whilst unarmed."

"It's been a while," Fay admitted as she adjusted the holster to fit on her belt, "and this is literally an alien weapons system. My DR-383 carbine may have survived, but a sidearm would give us options. Could you give me a rundown of what I'm using?"

I nodded at her. "Sure," I replied, "though I'm going to try to be as technical with this as you were with the LISAs. This is a Glock 34; a target variant of a series of semiautomatic pistols in common use with military and law enforcement on my world. They have a reputation for durability and reliability." I walked her through basic use of the handgun and a warning regarding recoil; she seemed to be a very quick study. The lesson grew to encompass our other firearms; frankly, she seemed confident and competent. I did, however, warn her away from using the Model 29 for obvious reasons; for someone used to the negligible recoil of particle beam weapons touching off a 300gr .44 Magnum bullet cooking along at over 1300fps would not be pleasant.

In lieu of the Glock I added my 1911 to my belt; Fay would be better suited for the Glock verus the heavier, more snappy .45. "Shall we continue to the mines?" Krystal asked, keeping close by my side as we glanced to the open airlock.

Fay nodded. "We should get going," she agreed. "We can't stay here much longer anyway; the pressure is already beyond safe. The pirates here were on borrowed time; another day or two and we would have, well…" the spaniel trailed off; a grim expression on her face as she placed a hand on Krys' shoulder. "Thank you again for coming along and risking your lives for mine."

I followed them into the airlock; zipping up my coat and putting my gloves on as Fay walked Krys through final checks on their gear. The vixen pulled the full-face respirator from its pouch on her belt; motioning me over with a nervous smile on her lips.

"Everything okay, hon?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

Krystal gave me a shaky nod. "Yes, che," she replied, "I just wanted to do this before we set out." I felt her lips against mine for a brief moment; the contact stilling a sense of nervous energy I hadn't realized I had felt.

A giggle from across the airlock broke our kiss; I hadn't quite forgotten we had an audience. "Cute," Fay grinned, a note of warmth creeping into her voice. "Let's gear up and get out of here." She extracted her own respirator; sliding it over her muzzle and adjusting a set of straps behind her head to hold it in place. She nodded at Krystal, who did the same.

"Is your seal good?" Fay's voice was significantly muffled by her mask and the mechanical hiss as she breathed, but still intelligible.

"It looks like it is," Krystal replied, her voice similarly muffled. "I think I'm ready."

Fay turned to me next; her expression hidden by her breathing gear but her eyes looking intently into mine. "If you start feeling funny," she cautioned, "you need to let us know immediately. Tough guy acts often prove fatal."

"Copy that," I replied. "I'm ready; the sooner we get out of here the better." I felt uneasy about staying inside the stricken pirate vessel; while I didn't feel much remorse for the ones I had killed it felt like the place was now a tomb and we were invaders.

Fay turned to the airlock controls, her voice calling out in a practiced tone; likely a standard procedure. "Airlock check," she announced, "entering hostile atmosphere of zero point five six atmo. Exterior temperature is negative six centigrade. All occupants have donned life support…" she trailed off as she glanced at me; an amused, almost joking tone creeping into her voice. "…or they're toughing it out. Commencing decompression in three, two, one…"

The door behind us slid shut; a metallic clang lending an air of finality to the action. Krystal's hand went to mine; squeezing it gently as I turned back to gaze into her emerald eyes just as the airlock cycled. It was rapid but not explosive; I had to pop my ears a couple of times as I felt the air temperature drop considerably.

Fay's muffled voice picked up a moment later. "Decompression complete; we are now at zero point five six atmo. Environment is hostile. Let's get off this damn ship." The exterior door ground open, the cold air rushing in and stinging at my face a bit. The snowfall had let up but the cloud cover mostly remained; the visibility was still better than it had been. The ramp had been clear when we entered the ship; an ankle-deep layer now covered it, making for a slightly slippery way down. Fay and Krystal didn't seem affected with whatever miracle material their flightsuits' boots were made of, but I made a little show of skidding down as if I was skiing.

I glanced over to the lumps of snow that covered the pirates I had shot. Fay's gaze followed; remaining there a moment before returning to me with a knowing glance. "Could we make a stop by the wreck of my Arwing?" she asked, her voice fighting to be heard over her respirator and the wind.

"I don't see why not?" Krystal responded; her voice similarly strained. "It should be in this direction!" She pointed in the same direction I had remembered us traversing; if I looked closely I could see our earlier footprints. I started forward, keeping my hands on my rifle as we started to traverse the snow-covered, slightly slick terrain.

I wasn't expecting Krystal's arm to wind around my shoulders as we walked forward, but the warmth of her flightsuit was welcoming. Fay kept alongside us, something I was a little surprised about until I realized it made it easier for us to communicate. "So," she began, "just to clarify, there's a mine out here that the Sharpclaw have hidden something called a Spellstone; it's an artifact that is keeping Sauria from breaking apart, so we need to retrieve and return it?"

"That's correct," Krystal replied, her voice raised so as to be heard over her breathing gear. "According to the Cloudrunner Tribe there are four of these Spellstones; we will need to retrieve them in order to set this right."

"What sort of resistance can we expect?" Fay called back as we walked forward; close enough that I could probably bring her into our little huddle if we needed to.

"Sharpclaw are large reptilians," I replied, "about half again my height and weight; really nasty with melee weapons. Center mass hits are reliable; most of them don't wear much armor. Some of them carry crossbows, so be careful. There are also ones I call brutes; they're about ten to twelve feet… err, three to four meters tall, maybe three-hundred kilos. They take a lot of firepower to take down."

"That's what the longarm is for?" Fay motioned to the AR15.

I shook my head. "They aren't reliably stopped by a 5.56; this fires a lightweight projectile at very high velocity. They're effective on something our size, like normal Sharpclaw; the velocity tends to fragment the bullet for greater wounding effect. The brutes also usually carry heavy wooden shields and have metal armor; they really need a much heavier bullet. A 7.62mm Soviet or a .308 would be ideal, but my .44 worked out well last time." I reached over and patted the hand cannon that was cross-draw holstered on my left hip.

"What is that monster normally used for?" Fay questioned. "That's a massive sidearm; I've seen smaller close-quarter autoblasters!"

"A few different things," I answered, looking up to see a few of the trees that her Arwing's descent had clipped. We were getting closer. "Protection from dangerous wildlife, hunting that dangerous wildlife, and long-range target shooting involving knocking down heavy metal plates; this one was mostly used for the latter. It was also made famous in a film series as the lead character's signature weapon; that really helped the collectors' value of these big irons."

"You know your weapons," Fay's voice was a little surprised. "You don't see many double-I specialists who have weapons training."

"What's this double-I thing?" I asked. "I've been target shooting since I was a kid, and have owned firearms since I was legally able to do so. It's one of my hobbies."

"Makes sense," Fay remarked as she peered through the trees ahead. A flash of bright teal stuck out about fifty yards ahead; we had reached our destination. "The term double-I stands for Information Infrastructure; it's how we refer to those skillsets. Looks like we've made it; would you two help me try to find anything useful in the wreckage?"

"We would be glad to," Krystal answered, giving me a bit of a hug as we approached the trashed starfighter. "Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

Fay approached the broken fuselage; hanging her head as she reached out to touch the remains of her craft. I could hear her mutter something, but it was incoherent due to the mask she wore. She remained there a moment before looking up; I couldn't quite make it out because of the respirator's slightly tinted lens, but it looked like there were tears in her eyes. "Y… yeah," she hesitated, her muffled voice slightly choppy. "Supplies and comms gear, if it survived."

Before I could approach the craft, Krystal tugged on my shoulder; her voice flowing into my mind. 'This craft meant a lot to Fay; I won't delve too deeply into her thoughts but there are both good and bad memories associated with it. We should be gentle with our search.'

I nodded at her. 'I get the impression she's been through a lot, especially with her comment that she used to be in Star Fox. I'll be as gentle as possible.'

We gingerly pored over the wreck, letting Fay take the lead. Krys and I were able to move the broken canopy aside so we could find anything of use. The Cornerian let off a sigh loud enough I could hear it despite her mask. "Damn it," she hissed, "the comms system is scrap. The pirates didn't get into my emergency supplies, so we have those. Give me a hand with this?" I helped her remove a relatively large padded case from behind the pilot's seat and set it on the wing; it was fairly heavy and a little awkward.

Fay set to work opening the case; I blinked as I glanced at the contents; it looked like the pack received a heavy hit during the crash. Most of the bulk was taken up by what looked like a survival tent, but there were what looked like rations and water as well as what looked like a sleek, futuristic, compact blaster rifle. Fay scooped the rations into her pack before picking up the weapon, looking it over with a practiced eye. Another frustrated sigh carried from her mask. "Scratch that, too," she growled. "The focusing chamber and primary coupling are cracked. Utterly useless, just like everything else." She tossed the broken weapon into the snow and walked away, her frustration almost palpable.

Krystal left my side and strode over to where Fay was surveying her broken craft. The vixen's hands fell on her shoulders. I could hear muffled voices as they spoke to each other, but I was too far away to hear them clearly. I could tell Fay was frustrated and crestfallen; frankly, if my GT-Four and most of what I needed for survival got trashed I would be as well. I didn't know much of her story, but it seemed like she was about as stranded here as Krys and I were.

The vixen's arms wound around her in a tight hug, which Fay reluctantly returned. I didn't want to interrupt; I was sure Fay had her own demons to slay, just like Krys and I did. I stood there, keeping my eyes and ears out for any trouble; thankfully it didn't come. The two ended their embrace; a few more muffled words spoken before they made their way back to where I was standing. "I'm sorry," Fay's voice carried out, "it's been a very difficult past few days. I'm feeling overwhelmed."

"It's okay," I responded, "I totally understand. Are you still willing to help us out with retrieving the Spellstone?" If not, the safest option would be to get Fay back to the shuttle. It would be some backtracking, but I'm pretty sure Krys would agree to do it.

The Cornerian looked over to me; her eyes full of determination despite the tears that she blinked away. "Yes," she affirmed. "You saved my life. The least I can do is help you retrieve this thing."

"We'll need to move quickly," Krystal remarked, pointing to the thick fog that seemed to be rolling in. "The weather isn't working in our favor." With those words we left Fay's wrecked Arwing behind, heading deeper into the frozen forest.


The forest thinned out; a cliff face looming ahead of us barely visible in the chilled fog. We had found the entrance to the mine, judging by the gaping entrance carved out of the rock which led into the bowels of the earth underneath. It would have been incredibly foreboding even if the prospect of bitter combat wasn't in our immediate future. Torches burned within the entrance, casting an ethereal orange glow over the area.

I advanced ahead of Krystal and Fay, keeping my rifle at the ready. I still wasn't a great judge of distance, but we had about eighty yards to cover before the entrance. Several Sharpclaw milled around the cave mouth; thankfully none of them were the brutes Krys and I faced earlier.

I ducked behind a tree trunk, turning to the others. Krystal brought her staff into play while Fay slid her borrowed Glock from its holster. I motioned them over, keeping my eyes on the Saurians who apparently seen us yet.

"I'm seeing… five so far," I mentioned, peering into the fog. "Krys, can you sense any more of them?"

The vixen shook her head. "I'm only getting faint thought patterns off them. I believe this might be the issue," she tapped the body of the mask she wore; I imagined she was scowling underneath all the plastic and rubber covering her muzzle. "The LISA seems to interfere with how far I can sense anyone."

"Good to know, hon," I replied, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think you can sense them at a closer distance, like we're within the mines?"

The vixen nodded, her attention not leaving the reptilian belligerents. "I believe so, che. How do we want to approach this?"

"We don't have much in the way of cover or concealment, so we're limited in our options," Fay pointed out, gesturing to the cave entrance ahead. "We may be better off initiating an attack from this position. I haven't been out on the field all that often, but I think the best plan is for you two to engage the Sharpclaw while I keep an eye on our flanks."

Krystal turned to us and nodded. "I agree with Fay," she mentioned, turning her attention back to the entrance of the cave. "Adam, you have the longest reach. Would you draw them in?"

"Let's see what I can do," I responded as I braced the rifle against the tree trunk, flipping the magnifier into place. I concentrated on the basics: sight picture, stance, and breathing. I let the red dot fall on one of the Sharpclaw that guarded the entrance; standing there with his crossbow balanced on his shoulders, a bored expression on his features. My finger tightened on the trigger.

The AR15's report snapped out; the Sharpclaw stumbling backwards for a moment before falling to the snow. I switched targets; the others alerted by the gunshot. I was going to take out the crossbow wielders first as they presented a greater threat. I found another and pulled the trigger; another crack sending an armed Sharpclaw cartwheeling into the snow. I clenched my teeth as I repeated the process; blue-scaled, armed Saurians emerging from the mouth of the cavern to meet the challenge we presented.

I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye; Krystal stood up and brought her staff into play. The snap-whoosh of her staff became a duet with my rifle; the onslaught of Sharpclaw clearly more numerous than we had anticipated. I concentrated on the ones who carried crossbows; the 5.56mm rounds working as intended. I brought a few magazines' worth of loose rounds to top up from, but if this kept up I wasn't sure we would have enough to take on the Galdon.

The Sharpclaw pushed forward; it was hard to gauge how many due to the magnified optic I was looking through but there were far more than just five. I switched targets and fired as the reptilian belligerents charged through the snow-filled landscape towards us. They were getting closer; Fay now joining the fray with the sharp booms from her borrowed Glock. I switched to double-tapping them; a couple of crossbow wielders managing to return fire before I cut them down.

At the end of it the bolt on the AR15 locked back; I pulled the 1911 out of its holster just in case there were any stragglers. Multiple Sharpclaw lay in the snowy ground ahead of us. "Krys, Fay," I asked, "Are you two alright?"

"I'm uninjured," Fay's voice called back as she stood up, swapping out magazines in her pistol. "Close call with one of the crossbow projectiles, but I'm otherwise okay."

"I'm okay," Krystal replied, lowering her staff. "I apologize for the lack of warning; I couldn't sense the other Sharpclaw that were within the mines. I can't reach out as far as I am normally able."

After seeing no movement from those we had shot, I slid my pistol back into its holster and exchanged magazines on the rifle. A quick estimate was that we had managed to take on a little over twenty Sharpclaw; a very large number considering the circumstances. "It's unusual for them to attack en masse like this," I mused. "Something's not right."

"I agree, my che," Krystal replied, taking a few steps forward. "Let's be aware of any potential tricks or traps they may have left us."

"I'll continue to watch our flanks," Fay chimed in as we started forward. "I suggest that we space ourselves out a little bit and watch our fields of fire." It was a sound suggestion; I moved to bring up the rear as Krystal took point, Fay moving to take a position between us.

The mouth of the cave loomed ahead, dimly lit with still burning torches. It was about thirty yards wide and close to fifty deep; I switched on the AR15's mounted flashlight in order to peer into some of the darker areas. Wooden crates lined the walls, each marked with the triangular insignia the Sharpclaw used; instead of ore a lot of them were filled with supplies such as food and water. Checking the back of the cave, it had been hastily barricaded with sheets of wood and many of the ore crates. Bedrolls and small tents littered the area; they had been camped out here.

"They were trying to keep something contained," Fay surmised as she approached the line of crates. "Considering the pirates who held me had a few skirmishes with these creatures, they were backed into a corner."

"There were Snowhorn in captivity here," Krystal explained, prompting Fay to glance at us; a confused expression in her eyes. "They are a native Saurian tribe who are being forced to work in these mines. It is possible they were able to overpower the Sharpclaw and drive them out."

I moved over to one of the sections that had been boarded up, frowning as I tugged on it. "We're going to need to get past this barrier," I reasoned, finding that heavy spikes had been driven into the rocky walls in order to secure it. "The Spellstone is further inside, and we're going to need to grab it in order to help fix this mess."

Dismantling part of the barrier took the better part of thirty minutes of hard work; somehow we managed to move a few of the absurdly heavy ore crates aside and found enough tools to pry several of the boards apart. By the end of it we were all breathing heavily and almost worn out.

"I think a… break is a good idea." I rasped, sitting back against a crate. A mild headache was starting to form, but nothing that a couple of Excedrin wouldn't solve. I fished out a few pouches of water from my backpack; supplies the pirates wouldn't need. I tossed one each to Krys and Fay, opening the last one for myself.

"It would be a good time for us… to exchange our LISAs' power packs," Fay added, motioning Krystal over to walk her through the procedure and how to connect the water pouches to their respirators' drinking tubes. As I swallowed the pills and sipped on the water, they changed out their life support batteries. As they finished the former Star Fox member made her way over to me, looking me over with curious intensity. "How are you feeling? Any lightheadedness or dizziness?"

I shook my head. "I have a mild headache," I admitted, "but other than that I'm fine. I'm used to driving a desk, so it's going to take me a little while before I'm used to this kind of physical exertion." I moved to stand up but was mildly surprised as Fay held out a hand to help me up. I reached up and was pulled to my feet.

"Just be aware of those symptoms, okay?" The spaniel reached out to place a hand on my shoulder as Krystal joined us; her hands falling on both of ours. "Let's get moving; it sounds like we have a lot of ground to cover."