Galactic Gambit

Chapter 25

They left the landing base, taking off over the walls of the city and flying low enough to see through the thick layer of smog as they searched for the mountain the Cenusian referred to when he cornered Reiyna and Neo. However, the search didn't take long as the mountain became visible in the distance. It was a small rage, if you could even call it a range. It was just one fairly tall mountain with smaller jagged peaks surrounding it like a thorny crown.

Neo made a pass around, spotting a small platform just behind a boulder midway up the side of the mountain in the middle. There was no landing base here, which meant they were going to have to climb. At least they didn't have to climb to the very top though. Neo and Reiyna landed the ship at the base of the mountain, scattering blue silica sand into the air. It covered the undeveloped ground in almost every direction. A sea of blue with no water, the mountain standing out starkly against it like an island.

They gathered in the docking bay before heading out, "Listen up," Neo called out to the four of them. "When we go out there, I need everyone on guard. There's no telling what the local life is like out here, and I'd prefer it if no one got hurt today. That being said, Reiyna would you mind climbing on up ahead to scout a path for us?"

Reiyna nodded, and flexed her fingers, "I could probably manage that," she said as if the task wasn't well within her range of skills.

"Alright, sounds like a plan then. Everyone else, stay close and keep your eyes sharp." She tightened the strap of her pack and checked the charge on her phasers before opening the door.

It was windy, the air created spirals of blue dust just above the ground. It whipped at her hair as she looked up toward the peak. It was a lot steeper of a climb than it had looked from the sky. Reiyna walked out from the ship, scanning the mountain for a suitable enough path for them. "Start here," she said pointing up to a divot in the slope, and then bounded up it. Pax took the lead behind her and started climbing.

The ground below her feet was soft and gravelly, slipping between each step forward. The blue sand had receded, leaving the crumbling grey rock that rained down on her as she climbed. She assumed that Asa and Fynn were both having the same issue below her. They were just getting up the very base working their way up to one of the lower foothills. Pax was making progress a bit faster than she was, but there were no handholds for her to grasp and pull herself along. Just gravel slipping under her feet, and through her fingers.

Before long, the incline leveled out. Reiyna was perched just above, one foot dangling from the edge of a protruding rock. "This way," she pointed to a cluster of fallen rock that piled into a path up toward the ledge where she sat. This she could handle. The rock was easy enough to grasp, and so far, it had all been stable enough to safely climb. Neo glanced behind her; Asa was working his way up beside her at a steady pace, his muscles flexing gloriously with each reach. Fynn was just below, having no trouble with the climb. As she turned back, the smile on her face was stolen as the rock she had reached for slipped out as she put her weight into the pull.

Her arm went back causing her to lean out away from the wall of rocks, the loose one falling just past Fynn who luckily dodged it in time. Asa braced his hand against her back and pushed her toward the rocks. "You alright?" he gasped, gripping onto a stone with one hand and keeping the other firmly against her.

"I'm fine," she said as she looked down to check on Fynn. "Let's keeping going."

Pax had already reached the top and was brushing himself off just past the edge of the rocks as Neo pulled herself over. When she got to her feet, she looked at her surroundings. Reiyna had already taken off again to scout the rest of the way. Pax walked over toward the side of the slope and crouched. When he stood and turned back around, she saw he was holding something that was wriggling in his fingers. "What the hell is that?" she asked as she stepped closer to inspect it.