Chapter 6.2: Daring Rescue

Trade Era 1235, Day 163

Solaris, Zyronis atmosphere
As the Solaris breached the planet's atmosphere near the equator, close to the Forbidden Regions, a sense of foreboding settled over the crew. The towering skyscrapers of Zyronis rose like monolithic tombstones, casting long shadows over the landscape below. The once-bustling metropolis in this area now lay silent and still, empty and with its buildings crumbling with age.

Nevertheless, Jil expertly maneuvered the shuttle through the narrow passages between the towering structures, her eyes scanning the darkened skyscrapers for any signs of danger. The crew remained vigilant, their senses alert for any hint of movement amidst the shadows.

Soon, her sharp eyes caught sight of the ventilation and ascension tunnels - a gaping maw ahead, a dark abyss yawning open like the maw of some ancient beast. She eased the Solaris towards the edge, the shuttle hovering at the precipice as the crew peered into the depths below.



Hank's jaw tightened as he surveyed the chasm, a sense of foreboding settling over him. This was the point of no return, the threshold between the familiar world above and the perilous depths of the lower levels. Either way, the Solaris edged forward, inching closer to the yawning abyss as the darkness enveloped them. As they descended further into the darkness, the walls of the chasm seemed to close in around them, the weight of the earth pressing down upon the shuttle like a suffocating blanket. Everything was abandoned long ago. The air grew colder, the silence broken only by the steady hum of the Solaris's engines. Each minute felt like an eternity as they descended into the unknown depths.

Finally, the shuttle landed with a soft thud, and a collective sigh of relief escaped the crew as they realized they had reached their destination. The air was breathable and Jil gave the thumbs up for the crew to exit the shuttle.



Trade Era 1235, Day 163. 10:08 UTC

Underworld, Near the Forbidden Regions, Zyronis
Outside, the darkness stretched out before them, broken only by their own flashlights and the shuttle's headlights. Erin's eyes narrowed as she surveyed their surroundings, her gaze falling upon another shuttle parked nearby, powered down and seemingly abandoned. Its hull was scuffed and battered.

"There," Erin cautioned, pointing towards the shuttle. "It's probably from the salvage team. Stay alert".

As the crew approached the abandoned shuttle, a sudden loud bang reverberated through the cavernous expanse, causing them to freeze in their tracks. Hank's grip tightened on his weapon as he spun around, his senses on high alert for any sign of danger.

The source of the noise became apparent as the battered doors of the abandoned shuttle rattled and shook, as if something massive were attempting to break free from within. Peter, Erin, Mercer, Corbin, and Douklan instinctively raised their weapons, their eyes trained on the trembling doors. James just observed, making no sounds.

Has Hanks's Terminal Reflection triggered?

Normally I would say I think we should set up a small camp, some sore of perimeter. But in this case I think we should have medkits ready in the Solaris, and on hand.
And be ready for a quick getaway.
Mercer makes sure his Lowlight goggles would be ready in a single motion and Atmofilter is set.
Hank, I've got pretty good eyes and am better with a blade than a gun. Where do you want me?

"I am not a tactician. Peter, I need your expertise. That thing in the shuttle is big, extremely fast and powerful, and hostile. I don't know if it is intelligent. It is likely melee-only. How do we maximize our firepower to bring it down before it can get to us?"

Corbin brings up his laser rifle and sweeps the area before offering his opinion.

"We back up to our shuttle, climb on top, fire up the landing lights and take aim at the door. James can trigger the door to open and then stand very still. Whatever pokes its head out, gets shot, alot. The landing lights should obscure its vision of us, but our shots will guide it to us. We use the open ground and our position on top of our shuttle to land as many shots as we can. Hopefully we'll have it down before it makes it to us.

Hank doesn't have the access codes for the shuttle but he is pretty sure he can open it using his dataslab and a remote/wireless hack.

As you think about the mission briefing, you recognize the shuttle as belonging to the salvage team. The serial number, colors, and ship name on the sides match.

Corbin that's a solid plan and great tactics.

Peter and Douklan, you notice that there is not much near the landed starship, just a lot of dust, plascret, some broken pipes, etc. This area was probably a spacecraft transit area, not meant for landing or walking but with resistant flooring nonetheless. So there is not much cover. This works both ways. The best tactic is probably to stay back and shoot whatever leaves the shuttle.

Peter, you don't know how Hank can be so sure of what's inside, to make him talk like that. There was nothing about this in the briefing or in the clues you had discovered so far that gave you this knowledge. It seems a little too specific for someone who is just making an assumption. But maybe he always talks like that, very sure of what is actually just a hunch. Anyway, you can leave it as it is for now.

Mercer, there are ways to enter the cockpit with a well-placed demo charge near the top pannels and it would avoid tampering with the doors. You've never done it, but you've heard some criminals claim they have. You don't see marks from fire or acid. Seems like blunt damage. Either it bumped into something before landing or something crashed into it (before or after landing). There is no proof someone from the crew is inside.

"Let's do Corbin's plan.

"James, place this data shunt on the door controls, then get back inside our shuttle.

"Everyone else, get on top of the shuttle with a good firing position.

"Jil, once we are in position, turn on all of the shuttles flood lights that bear on the other shuttle."

Hank the takes the opportunity to swap out for his laser rifle. Once the remote is in place, he opens the other shuttle's doors. Roll included in case it is needed.

While setting things up, Hank will further explain himself.

"In the stories of what brought the great world low were terrifying monstrosities that took things down. I am pretty sure it is one of those monstrosities that is trying to get out of their shuttle. I don't know what woke it up when we got here, but it seems likely it will free itself from the shuttle eventually regardless of what we do. As such, we should face it on our terms.

"As for the salvage team, I am expecting to find what little of them that remains on the shuttle. I hope I'm wrong about that."

No... No we're rushing. That thing already killed a whole crew. And damaged a ship in the meantime. We don't even know if they hurt it. And we haven't even seen it, we know nothing. If it's even an it..
Mercer paces in the little shuttle bay.
we need an edge. And a backup plan.

"The other crew was likely surprised by the creature; we are not. The other crew likely didn't have a kill zone to deal with it before it could reach them. The other crew was smaller. Is it a risk; of course. But it's getting out sooner than later and we dictate the terms if we are the ones to open the door.

"And I don't know if anyone brought any explosives. I didn't."

Breaching charges would be pretty tough to time right. If this thing is as fast as I expect, it would likely be past the explosion by the time it was triggered. Those'd be tough to use correctly.