Galactic Gambit

Chapter 14

Everyone exchanged glances before Reiyna piped up, "I will. I can brace us if anyone slips." Then she hopped into the opening. Jagged rocks lined the steep path, making good steps, but some were not as stable as others. Rocks tumbled down as a few had been knocked loose, echoing as they clattered far below at the bottom. The fading sun from the opening above them dimmed. One by one, lights flicked on from comm bands that illuminated their surroundings.

Along the walls and rocky ceiling above, were bulbous black opaline crystals clustered together refracting the light and creating a shimmering pattern of subtle blues and shadowed greens on the ground below and the cave-like walls surrounding them. Neo watched the patterns change at the slightest movements, then as they reached the bottom of the cavity, the refracted light burst out into the hollowed opening before them. The whole cave ceiling above was covered in those opal clusters, and in the light, there were three tunnels ahead of them all leading off in different directions.

Neo stood in the middle with her crew gathering around her, all of them looking up at the beautiful scene above. For a moment she wondered why they hadn't been mined out, but then thought maybe they left them for this purpose—to light the way.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful," Neo said still gazing up.

Most hummed their agreement, but Asa said, "Neither have I." When she looked his way, she saw he had been staring at her when he said it.

Neo sloughed it off as best as she could and turned to her crew. "Okay, given the amount of time we have, splitting up would be the quickest way to find the eggs. There are three tunnels, Pax and Fynn, you two take one together, Reiyna and Asa another, and I will take the last. Sound like a plan?"

"You can't go by yourself, you don't even know what's in there," Pax said, his hurried words echoing off the stone.

"Shall I remind you that I am trained in combat?" Neo countered, posting her hand on her hip just above her phaser to emphasize its presence. Pax sighed but backed down.

"I'll take a tunnel by myself. This guy will just slow me down," Reiyna chimed with her thumb pointed in Asa's direction and a smirk on her face that was just for Neo.

She's sticking me with him on purpose.

Neo clenched her teeth as she smiled back, swallowing the string of obscenities she wished to spit at her. "Alright fine. I guess you're with me Asa."

Reiyna marched off, not needing to duck into the central tunnel's entrance as she disappeared into the darkness of it. Only a bit of light framing her silhouette remained but even that began to shrink away. Pax and the more reluctant Fynn took off down the right tunnel, leaving Neo and Asa with the tunnel on the left.

Neo led the way shining her light ahead of them. There were no opals in sight to help brighten this passage, so she watched her steps carefully, hoping there weren't any sudden drops like in every suspense movie about caves she could think of. But so far, it was just an empty narrow tunnel with stale air that hung heavy with the scent of decay.

Asa kept pace behind her, having to walk through in a half-crouched position that she imagined was not pleasant for his back. Not for long, though. The tunnel pitched downward forcing Neo to angle each step to keep herself from sliding as the walls drifted further away, widening the tunnel until it reached another opening. There was a broad ledge that looked out over a deep cavern holding nothing but pitch-black darkness inside. Neo stopped a few feet away, shining her light around. Without needing to put much thought into it, she decided she didn't like this place.

Not only for the smell and the darkness, but for the feeling that being there gave her. The burrowed tunnels from the other side of Pydania were much wider, enough for the sizable reptilians to walk down with ease. These were cramped and narrow and made her feel like there wasn't quite enough oxygen. The open space they were in now helped, but only slightly.