War for the Iron Planet

Chapter 5: Enter the Pit

The cave by the mountains was a roughly circular hole about ten feet in diameter. Cool air poured out of it as Vanbrook, Reclan, and D'Jarric stood before the opening, with Vanbrook waiting impatiently for Reclan to stop playing around with her drones. He was eager to explore the cave in person.

"Hmm," pondered the Dromean.

"Atmo is breathable... and it looks like the tunnel slopes gently down into the roots of the mountain. Doesn't look exactly natural."

"Cool," said Vanbrook. "Some kind of animal den?"

"No. The floor is amazingly smooth. Sapients of some kind."

"That could be a problem," noted D'Jarric. "Claiming a settled world violates the Code." "Well, we'll certainly need to chec- aw, man! My drone lost contact. We'll have to go get it." Reclan stowed her tablet.

"Say no more!" exclaimed Vanbrook, grabbing his flashlight and walking exuberantly into the cave. One of the things he loved about being on a special squad was being the first to set foot somewhere new and exciting. The others followed and a few dozen yards in, they picked up the drone. Reclan stowed it with her tablet as they continued on.

"Check it out," said Vanbrook, pointing his flashlight at the wall. There was a ring of metal running up from one side of the pathway, along the ceiling and down to the other side.

"Looks like a doorway," said Reclan.

Vanbrook pointed his light down the hall and saw that it ended in a flat wall about 30 yards away, with a small door in the middle.

"You were right about the sapients, Rec," said Vanbrook with a sigh. The whole voyage would feel like a waste if they couldn't claim the planet for the Republic. Making new allies was a desirable outcome too, but there were never any guarantees on how a newly discovered civilization would respond to outsiders.

"Shall we go knock?"

The group nodded their assent and walked to the door. No sooner had Vanbrook knocked than a grinding sound began reverberating through the cave, but it didn't come from behind the door. I came from the direction of the exit. The three turned in unison and watched in horror as the door frame they had noticed was closing them in. It was too late to run. The massive blast door closed, shuddering as it settled into its frame.

***

Back aboard the Wingspan, Jasken was walking back onto the bridge when a call came in.

"It's an Astralbian signal, sir," said Captain Hunt.

Jasken settled into his chair to answer the call. The Astralbians were a constant thorn in the Republic's side. The first known race to crack interstellar travel, they were haughty and self-righteous. It would do them well to remember that it didn't take other species long to replicate their technology and break the back of the Astralbian Interstellar Empire.

The call came through.

"Admiral Jasken! So good to see you," a saccharine voice cooed.

"Lord Raelik. Likewise," Jasken returned the lie seamlessly. The aethereal blue face needed a bullet hole between the eyes.

Like D'Jarric, the Astralbians were energy-based rather than material. However, sufficient kinetic force could still disrupt their form. Unlike D'Jarric, whose physical presence was a psychic projection originating on a distant star, an Astralbian's physical form was their actual being; a bundle of energy held together by a psychic force. This made them that much easier to pin down and kill. Sadly, Raelik was safe from Jasken for the time being.