Rescue Run - Part I

Posted on Fri Nov 21st, 2025 @ 5:11am by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Commander Rhupert Tyree & Lieutenant Amy Gordon

1,676 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: On the Trail
Location: Avan's Colony, Quatal Prime. Power plant area
Timeline: After Maintenance Matters and D is for Diagnosis

Katya had done what she could to clean the filters and improve some of the air quality. Anything else would require new filters. Right now, Richard was going over plans to redesign the system, which didn't involve her at all.

But what did involve her--or hopefully would--was the rescue of the miners and those who went to help them. Kat didn't know if they were dead or alive, but if no one did anything, they would have no chance of survival.

Casteel said he'd show her what he wanted to repair to go after them, and if he could, she should be able to help. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing. She went over to him and quietly asked if he could show her. She also planned to ask Amy if she wanted to go along.

Bryan was reading tech specs on filters, frequently glancing over toward where the Adelaide's engineer was busy designing a replacement system?

Or something. Bryan knew he wasn't a smart guy. He was good with his hands and had a way with some things technical, but the need to redesign their system seemed unnecessary. The maintenance chief had like the idea of using a porous substance like pumice, which there were veins of in the surrounding area. Right now, he was looking at a three dimensional render of a sheath that was about a centimeter thick.

On the drawing board, the sheath would fit in most of the filter housings (the ones they'd just went to all the trouble cleaning). As he spun the image randomly, he could use a prospector's core cutter/sampler to get the rough plug cut out, and then sculpt the stone from there.

Right now, he was debating trying to come up with a medium that could be added to the porous rock that would grab particulates. The tricky part would be engineering that substance to release the oxygen while keeping anything bad back."

Sighing, he looked up as one of the pretty Adelaide's neared him. Straightening, he eased his back at her...Kat was her name. "Heya Kat. Any breakthroughs?"

"No." And Kat wasn't an engineer, so she was leaving any redesign to Richard--although she really thought they should simply order new filters. "But you mentioned a way to go after the miners? Or the people who went to rescue them, anyway. Some kind of lug or pump car?"

"Right," Bryan said as he paused his station and looked around. The low, familiar hum of the power core was comforting to him and his brain shifted gears. "We had a broken rail lug and I mostly have it fixed. Its secondary power is via crew power, I'm afraid. I gears linking the primary drive and motor sheared and sent shrapnel into the batteries. The way it was built, you have to have batteries...and there hasn't been a moment to build all that. The back up pedal system is a shorter, stouter link so should still work."

Gesturing, he led Kat out of the primary power and work area and up two flights of stairs. As they reached the new landing, Bryan said, "This is the processing level for...well everything. And the rail head." He led the way down a corridor, past rooms that had restricted access doors, but personnel could be seen moving around in clean room suits within. "Hydrogen from the atmosphere is brought in, and processed through these chambers," he said as they walked. "The next ones down deal with getting the Deuterium into a stable form, which is where we have the Restalt smelter and storage toward the end and then.."

He led her out into a forty meter long by fifty meter long chamber. "The rail head is where it's all brought in. We run gondolas back and forth with a larger, pusher motor that has to push and pull the whole five cars we have. The pusher and gondolas are with the mining crew."

Bryan felt guilty at that. That more hadn't been done to get to where his friends were (hopefully) still alive, but he could only console himself with that they were all doing as much as they could. The arched chamber resembled a Quonset hut and he led Kat to one end where a sling held an open framed vehicle with a pair of seats, a power unit mounted behind and below the seats was open displaying a small engine bay and battery storage. There was a six foot open bed as well that tilted back and away.

The vehicle appeared older than either of them. And maybe older than both combined.

Kat whistled softly. "I haven't seen one of these outside a computer." She looked it over carefully. "Pedal power, huh? Okay. So, it's a straight shot there and back? How many will this hold comfortably?"

By this time, Amy came wandering from who knows where, she had drifted away from Aria to go find Katya. Amy could be like that, besides she had a team to work with and she wanted to keep track of them.

Amy broke in a smile when she saw Katya. "Hi there, how goes things?" being rather nonchalant about her query.

"About what you'd expect," Kat replied. "Glad you're here, though. This gentleman here is going to help me rescue some missing miners, and I could use a hand."

"Calling me a gentleman doesn't really fit ladies," Bryan said slightly awkwardly. "Now this cart's linkage will get you a workout, but it'll get you where you're going. And you might have to back it out so. Yeah, a workout. Rescue kits are in the cabinets on the wall and you won't have to worry about a map. Kinda hard to get lost."

Amy gave a nod. "And well, from where I stand you are more of a gentleman than what I've seen from so called gentlemen. And thank you." walking over to the cupboard, to retrieve the kits. "I'm all for doing some working out." giving a grim smile.

Doing a check over the craft, Bryan began shifting four half-shell wire stretcher baskets to the back, where there was a four-place rack. "There's a basic tool kit on the front of this rig along with a good old fashioned winch," he said. "You can lock this buggy to the tracks and run brace lines out the back. "Should be most everything you'll need."

Then he said, "And...well. There's body bags in the kits as well."

Body bags, well Amy could understand that one, and she understood. "Winch, body bags, gotcha."

Turning to Katya, "You're in charge on this one." Amy giving her a smile.

"Okay. We'll send a message to the boss that we're caught up and doing a rescue run. Then we should be good to go." At least, she hoped so. Kat needed to do this. She had no idea if anyone was still alive of the rescuers or the miners, but she had to check.

She turned to Amy. "If you can message the boss, I'll do a quick check here and be ready to go when you're done."

Once Kat had done a quick check, she turned to Bryan. "We're going on the surface, right? Won't we need special suits? Do you have any spares?"

Bryan walked over to a drawing on one wall and tapped a spot. "We're here in the processing area. The rail system runs through tunnels, though they were able to echo-locate two natural caravans between here and the mine head. None of that has atmosphere, though we were thinking of putting a shelter in Point Troy, which is about midway." Bryan moved down the diagram to what looked like the about just over halfway to the mark that was the rail head. It showed some promise of being built out by somebody, probably the Maquis but they weren't able to finish it, I guess."

Touching a spot just before the blue orb that marked Point Troy Bryan continued, "The rescue team wrecked about here. And yeah, we have some ground suits you can use. The tool box on the cart has patch kits and we'll stock on extra air canisters. Some survival rations and the med kit of course. Those tunnels get really hot too, as there are lava tubes that run near, so watch your dehydration as well."

Kat looked carefully at the map, then took out her non-military tricorder and scanned the map. "So, we don't get lost," she replied. "Thank you for the equipment. We'll definitely need it. I just hope we get there in time to help them."

"Me too," Bryan said, his tone far away. "My friend Gloria is one of the geological testers in the mine. I'd have gone after but the Proctor said I was needed here more..."

"No guarantees, but we'll go out there and see what's what," Kat said. "Any special tricks we need to know for this?"

"Don't crash?," Bryan joked, deciding it came off sort of weak. "It should be straight forward. There's no steering. Just peddling and then the hand breaks to get things slowed down. There's only one curve and that's where the crash was reported, so I'm guessing they might have derailed and flipped their cart. But..." The maintenance chief threw his hands up in an I have no idea gesture.

"Got it. Now, if you could help us get the gear we need, we'll be off." At this point, Kat was eager to be on the way. Chances that anyone would still be alive were slim, but they were zero if no one went to help.

Amy nodded, "I am hoping we can find survivors." getting the suit put on. Time was of the essence.

Kat did, too. As soon as she was ready, she nodded to Amy. "Let's go."

---

END

Agatha Smith Aka Amy Gordon
SS Adelaide

Bryan Casteel
Chief of Maintenance
Avan's Colony
Written by R. Tyree

Katarina Diaz (Katya Davi)
Mechanic
SS Adelaide

 

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