INTERSTELLAR NIGHTMARES - THE DESCENT

Chapter 6

   It took us a bit longer to go up than to go down. I guessed that'd come as expected. After all, we were 37,000 meters off the ground in the Rig, and we had to go over 38,000 all the way back. Still, it didn't take long for us to dock back into the Rig, and for the doors to open. We all unbuckled, got up, and walked out of the pod.

   "Congratulations, miners," Mission Control blared through the Rig speakers, "you've just completed your first mission. You are now what the others would call "Greenbeards". You all have gotten a new mission type for the success on you last mission. Well done."

   The speakers went silent again, and Kurt groaned. "Fuck that, we're staying here to rest," Kurt complained. He's right, we'll need a rest first, I thought.

   We all immediately rushed to our bays to take off the heavy gear and take a shower. It was pretty warm down in the Salt Pits actually. I was especially sweaty, as my weapon was a main source of heat.

   I got into the shower and enjoyed the warm water running down my body, finally feeling at ease again. It was nice to not feel dry and sweaty like I did in those pits.

   I couldn't help but think of a couple of questions though. What was the larger creature we saw? Is it a part of the same species? Is there a larger one? Are there other races of bugs out to kill us?

   I decided my answer would likely be in the digital Miners' Manual. We had a terminal in our bays on the wall next to our wardrobes. I'd imagine that they would have the answers because they are linked to our accounts, which hold our records, statistics, and most importantly, our money. I washed up quickly, got dressed, and walked out to my terminal.

   I immediately went for the Bestiary, and I began reading. Having formerly been a biologist before taking I was not suited for it, I soon realized I was right: their glowing abdomens are their weak points.

   The larger creature that was there was named a Glyphid Praetorion, and its entry explained it was two tons, and it releases a cloud of poisonous vapor on death. That explains its putrid stench and the sore throat, I recalled.

   There were also different types of grunts as well. The slasher had fur on its exoskeleton somehow and had way more teeth and much longer claws on its forelegs. The guard was the opposite, having more exoskeleton than the grunt, especially on its arms. I even learned that grunts will get behind these guards for protection, as they use their heavily armored front legs as mobile cover.

   Lastly, I wanted to know what the large grub was that we saw in the landing zone. It turned out it was called a lootbug, albeit unofficially. As it is written, the lootbug tends to eat minerals such as gold and nitra. This, in turn, makes them borderline inedible for the creatures of Hoxxes IV. That means if we killed one, we'd get minerals. Would that be worth a creature's life? I thought to myself. Perhaps in life-or-death situations.

   I read up on our next mission too. It was titled Egg Hunt, and I was a bit dumbfounded by it. We're collecting eggs now? I thought. It pictured a big, fleshy growth with what looked like pulsing orange glowing bits. Apparently, these are where the eggs are found, deep within this big, tumor-looking sack. After that, it'd be pretty much the same as the Mining Expedition: deposit, call the pod, get to the pod, and get out.

   After reading up on everything, I walked out and went to the Abyss Bar again. Fredrick was playing the Barrel Hoop game, and Morris was waiting at a table. I wonder where Kurt was, as he wasn't there doing anything yet. "Where's Kurt?" I asked Morris. "Medical bay," Morris answered, "checking out that bite on his leg." I gave him a nod, fixed my hat, and walked into the medical bay. As expected, Kurt was lying down, being looked at by the Medical APD.

   "How is it?" I asked, "The bite?" Kurt looked over at me. "Eh, it's alright," Kurt said, "Just thought I'd get it checked out. Doesn't hurt to see if you're okay." I nodded, looking at the bite. There were only four very small holes there, but nothing else.

   "Well, I hope you get out alright," I responded, "after all, it doesn't look like much... but the salt could be a death sentence down there." "Thanks, Moleboy," he responded, a big, warm smile streaking across his face. I smirked back, tipped my cap, turned, and walked back to the Abyss Bar.

   "Is he alright?" Morris asked, looking up. "Yeah, he's fine," I replied, going to Lloyd. "It'll only take a few minutes at most." I ended, looking at Lloyd.

   "One mug of Oily Oaf please, ice cold and foamy," I said, and Lloyd shot to life. The mug came up, and he poured the orange, foamy liquid in as I tipped him. "Thanks, Lloyd!" I told him and took the cup.

   I sat down at the same table as Morris. "So, how was your opinion on the mission so far?" I asked Morris. He looked over to me, and the ends of his lips curled down in thought. He stroked his small, pointy beard for a moment, looking at Hoxxes IV through the Rig windows.

   "It was scary, but it also felt awesome seeing us work like an absolute boss of a unit," he answered. I cocked my head to the side, agreeing with him. I remembered seeing Kurt blow down wave after wave of bugs, Fredrick demolishing a bug with his pickaxe, and Morris killing all of those bugs with a 40 Mike-Mike.

   "Hell yeah, cheers to that," I replied. Morris chuckled, nodding a bit. I took a sip of my Oily Oaf. "Nooooo!" Fredrick yelled, which made me almost choke on my drink. "Damnit! I almost had the high score!" Fredrick exclaimed. "Damn," Morris said, "better luck next time." I continued drinking my beer to try to get rid of the burning sensation in my throat after almost choking.

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