Rescue Run - Part III

Posted on Fri Jan 9th, 2026 @ 5:56am by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Lieutenant Amy Gordon

1,636 words; about a 8 minute read

[PREVIOUSLY]

"I'm picking up a lot of things," Kat replied. "None of them living. I'm not sensing any minds except for ours, either. Let's go a little farther in and see if we pick up anything. There could be something blocking our tricorders."

[CONTINUED]

On the outside, the mountain was bare rock and looked like it had been thrust upwards during an earthquake, leaving scars where it escaped the ground below. But once they entered the mouth of the cave, it became more familiar. Several tunnels broke off on either side, with tracks running into the darkness. But the side tunnels had rocks and debris scattered over them, indicating they hadn't been used in some time.

A type of glowing lichen grew along the cave walls, bathing everything in a pallid green. "This is interesting," Kat said, scanning. "I wonder if they'll have better lighting in the areas they actually work in." But she still wasn't picking up any life forms.

Then they ran into a large pile of rocks blocking the track. Kat scanned the area with her tricorder while she used her headlamp to get a visual. "I think we can go over it. From the map, the miners should be about thirty feet ahead of us. Maybe fifty if they moved further in." The humidity in the caves made the rocks a little slick, but with the ropes Kat brought, they should be able to get over them and see what the other side looked like.

Amy reached out to tentatively touch the surface of the rocks, giving a slight smile commenting, "Slick, but better than climbing the last rockface I had encountered." making a grimace. "The last one was rather gross, bugs, bird droppings and it was raining." Looking towards Katya. "Glad you brought climbing gear." she was ready to get the miners, and get back to the rest of the team. And maybe get something for the headache she was starting to feel.

"Give me a few minutes to find a good place to attach the ropes, then we can harness up," Kat said. "I don't want to climb those rocks without full support." Fortunately, there were support struts for the entrance and the junctions she could use.

Or thought she could. After a couple of tries, Kat went looking for something to help her as there was too much corrosion on the mental beam to allow the rope to easily pass over.

She found a rusty hook in a pile of scrap metal which would do well enough. Finally, she was able to hook the beam. When she was able to climb part way up the rock, she dropped back to the ground and went over to Amy. "Okay. Let's harness up and see what's on the other side."

"Hopefully we will find some survivors." Amy remarked as she set to get herself ready. Once things were prepped, Amy followed up after Katya. She was quite thankful that the rope was there. Normally she'd be more surefooted but she wasn't this time. Her foot slipped, Amy was able to prevent herself from slipping downward due to the rope she held onto. She let out a slight hiss feeling a pinch on her hand. She shook it off, and stood by Katya looking to where they needed go. "Which direction now?"

Kat used a harness to help secure the rope around her as she climbed. The rock was slippery because of the moisture in the cave--probably from seepage and condensation. But she was grateful for the suits because she wasn't sure if the mine had breathable air. She doubted it, though. This place didn't seem to have any sort of technology.

She was doubly grateful for the harness when she slipped going over an outcropping of rock so she didn't stumble. She wondered how the miners managed to get past the blockage, or if they missed a tunnel around them. But when she and Amy got to the top, Kat realized they hadn't. This was a relatively new rockfall by the way it looked from their new perspective. When she shone her light along the roof above them, she could see that a large section had collapsed, leaving an opening to a tunnel above them.

Kat looked down the other side and saw half a dozen bodies scattered on the ground. They were all wearing suits and she wasn't sure if they were unconscious or dead. "That doesn't look good. Should we both go down, or do you want to stay here and see if you can figure out what caused the roof to collapse. "

Amy shook her head. "I think that we both should head down there. Easier to check things out with the two of us. Besides, I am not feeling comfortable enough for us to be separated. There's just that itch in the back of my mind, that is causing me to get a little bit antsy. I know that our patient is doing okay..." she looked back up towards the ceiling. "Yeah, would rather not be up here by myself."

"Okay. Just be careful climbing down." And with that, Kat jumped backwards off the rock and rappelled down to the ground. Leaving the harness on, she detached the rope from the carabiners and pulled out her tricorder to walk carefully around the area. Every one of them was dead. It was as if they were cooked inside their protective suits. "Don't get too close to the bodies," she warned Amy. "I don't know how, but it got so hot in here they literally cooked to death. I think we should record as much as we can, grab any records, then go back and report what we found. Just...be careful. I have no idea what happened."

Amy was a bit worried as to how Katya had landed with sort of a dramatic flair. Amy was more careful in climbing down, she wasn't as experienced as Katya when it came to rappelling. She watched while Kat was looking around, Amy deciding to avoid looking at the bodies though--she did catch sight of one of them, she paled and quickly changed her point of view. "I don't know either, but the readings may prove to be of interest. And you be careful as well."

She scanned the surrounding walls, utilizing the built in light of the suit. Something caught her attention. It resembled the symbol she had seen back in the computer room. "Interesting." moving towards the wall where the symbol was located. "I saw this symbol back at the base. it was of the Maquis--" something under Amy's foot clicked when she stepped closer to the wall. She froze. "Uh--Katya, I found something." as what sounded like a distant explosion, then a rumble. Amy backed away and turned to Katya, concern in her eyes.

"The temperature's rising," Kat said. She was about to run back to the pile of rocks when the ground shook hard enough to knock them both to the ground. Another rumble, followed by a loud crack from above them. "Rockfall!" she yelled to Amy. "Get back." She stumbled far enough away that she hoped she'd be safe from the rock slide.

Several minutes later, when the temperature began to get uncomfortable, the ground and dust had settled. "Let's try again." Kat got to her feet and headed for the rock slide. It took her a minute to find the rope.

Most of it missed the fall and only took her a couple of minutes to untangle from the debris. "Come on. I have another harness in my pack, but I don't have ascenders, so we'll have to do this the hard way. But if you hold the rope right, it could keep you from falling." then she proceeded to pull out the other harness and helped put it on Amy. Then she connected the rope to the carabiners on the harness. "Pull the rope like this and it'll help hold you in place. I'll be a few feet behind you on the same rope."

That was a close call, Amy thought to herself as Katya finished adjusting the harness. She nodded her head, to Kat's instructions. Grasping the rope, Amy moved upwards. her muscles screaming from the exertion that they both had experienced getting to this area. Up and up, Amy climbed, her movements spurred by the sound and the heat that was rising. The moisture on the rocks was starting to steam.

When she reached the top Amy quickly looked around, her eyes landing upon a ladder she caught sight of. She hadn't noticed earlier as it was a side passage. She glanced down at Katya. "There's a ladder down a side passage-" Amy stopped short, as something caught her eye. What looked to be like a stream of Lava heading in the direction of where the bodies were, moved and it didn't move like normal lava flow. Almost like a tendril or long arm of something, almost like it should belong to a rather large Squid.

"Katya, I don't think we're alone anymore..." Amy stepping out of the way to divest herself of the harness.

Kat could climb without the rope, allowing Amy to use it--at least for the ascent. She was almost halfway up the rock pile as she was going a little slower so she didn't risk dislodging too many rocks and causing another slide as the new debris had destabilized the entire mound. She paused, adjusting her grip on a large rock to turn around and see what Amy indicated. "That...is not good." Which was a gross understatement, to say the least. It was really, really, not good.

(To be continued...)

Agatha Smith
(Amy Gordon)
SS Adelaide

Katarina Diaz
SS Adelaide
AKA Katya Davi - USS Valiant

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