Brilliant Man/Vir Clarissimus (Latin)

Chapter 7 Deeper Than The Night

Part the Second:

"I come from a land down under! Where women glow and men plunder!" - Down Under, Men At Work

Good Harvest; Extraterrestrial Celestial Era

Everybody was safely on the ground. This was exceptional news, especially on Pluto, where someone had to frequently survey their area for any lurking creatures jumping at the sight of 'food.'

Smoke made it near impossible for Ozwald to check their environment. Regardless, using Hirashita's photogenic recollection and the climate, he formed a rough image of this 'Junction Zone' in his mind. The sound of pickaxes and drills echoed through one smoky, cylinder epicenter unseen to them. "An acre-wide cavity. It digs through Pluto's gaseous layer of clathrate hydrate; its elliptical size can accommodate nearly 3,000 miners," Hirashita droned. Shortly after, he informed them the smoke hadn't veiled the thick ledge encircling the deep mine.

Ozwald broke from focus; had he sensed something coming? Instinctively, he pulled his distracted friends from the road, telling them to hide. From it a skeleton passed, its nonchalant bones chittering like maracas. This continued for another twenty seconds before it exited through a flight of stairs.

"Don't fret," Hirashita whispered, speaking more to Alicia than Ozwald following that encounter. "Pluto is home to those same undead, especially once we enter the Junction Zone. Stand your guard, that's all."

The android scanned their surroundings. By then, the smoke had completely cleared, the sound of cracking, crinkling, quarters, dimes, and nickels having stopped. "What use does a tank of gas have for some zombie?" Alicia grunted, fluoridated rage spitting out through her teeth and hardening her scowl. The screen bound to Hirashita's stomach blinked red. "What's going on there, man?" she inquired, suddenly changing the subject.

With a giggle, Hirashita said, "Alright! We can be hopeful after all! After installing a recent software and checking the terms-and-conditions, a pop-up alerted me that when I'd last looked over the holographic text of your tank, a marker on its location - spanning a ten mile distance - was set.

"By bookmarking this window, I can navigate and also refer to my helpful, split-screen view. Now. The direction our tank follows is..." Hirashita moved around, then shot his pointer finger right ahead. "Here! Follow me, you all!"

The group diverged from behind the barrels, following Hirashita in their quest for the oil. Sprinting for what felt like a mile, everyone successfully met at the site of two identical looking tunnels. Their contents spanned for long.

"Which should we go through, Hirashita?" asked Ozwald.

The android shrugged. "My connection was cut short a few minutes ago from the Pluto gas. From this point onwards, luck shall be our greatest adversary."

Alicia reported she felt a particular drawing to the left tunnel.

"Alright, left we go!" Ozwald said. His confidence had, of course, not come without the dull ache of almost losing Alicia.

It wasn't for miles that the trio saw light again. Emerging from the dark, straight-faced tunnel, they met a new challenge: workers. There were humanoids, aliens, genetic crosses, and the typical undead lineup of zombies and skeletons but also a race of anthropomorphic boulders. This dense group posed a major threat to the plan, as there were so many of them standing around their open minecart ride. They must cross over by railroad to continue search for their tank; thankfully, Hirashita's navigation reconnected.