Cascading Echoes

CHAPTER FOUR

GALORNDON CORE

"Leave me, Commander," Vothi'Cha pleaded, leaning heavily on Michael and Sylvia as they trudged across the hostile terrain of Galorndon Core.

"Still giving orders, Cadet?" Michael said, straining under the Phaeacian's considerable weight. "We just need to reach rally point one and meet up with team two. They'll help us get you back to the shuttle."

The shard of obsidian that had pierced Vothi'Cha's suit had also poisoned him. His med-monitors, embedded within the environmental suit, worked overtime, pulling power from the bio-filters and mobile support systems. These systems, vital to survival on the toxic, corrosive world, were designed to protect against the poisonous atmosphere. But the damage was critical, and the advanced technology could only do so much for the cadet's alien physiology.

"I'm only slowing you down," Vothi'Cha protested, his voice weak.

"You were told to be quiet," Tilly snapped, struggling to support his weight. "We only agreed to help if you carried our gear, remember?"

Despite his condition, Vothi carried the Cepheid transmitter and their equipment in one of his six hands. His towering frame, once capable of leaping over obstacles with ease, now struggled with each step, the shard's poison coursing through his veins. His med-monitors were engaged in a desperate battle—nanobots worked to neutralize the toxins, while micro-dispensers delivered pain suppressants to keep him moving. But the strain showed, and Michael and Tilly refused to leave him behind, despite the growing danger.

They moved through a landscape dominated by towering, dark rock formations, hoping the craggy terrain would provide cover from both the deadly storms brewing above and any hostile forces below. Michael's helmet HUD flickered as it struggled to process the unstable terrain, marking safe paths and warning of the shifting, brittle glass formations.

Michael scanned the area ahead, her mind racing. The fissures in the ground were growing wider and more dangerous. Her helmet highlighted a long obsidian pillar crossing one of the larger cracks—a possible bridge, but it looked treacherous.

"We have to cross," Michael said, her voice sharp with urgency. "I'll go first, Tilly, you follow. Vothi, bring up the rear."

"He can't make it unless I recalibrate his suit's systems," Tilly replied, her voice tight with concern.

"Do it," Michael ordered, taking the transmitter off Vothi to lessen his load. "We need to move fast."

Tilly quickly rerouted power to Vothi's motor systems, giving him enough mobility to follow. Michael cautiously stepped onto the glass-like bridge, hearing it groan under her weight. She moved slowly, her suit's boots gripping the slick surface. The brittle structure creaked but held firm. Behind her, Tilly followed, mimicking her movements as they edged across the unstable pillar.

"Don't look back, Tilly," Michael said, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her. "We need to stay focused. Vothi will be fine."

They were halfway across when a sudden alert flashed on Michael's HUD. Her heads-up display highlighted movement ahead—a trio of Romulan scouts, dressed in black environmental suits, blending into the jagged landscape.

Michael dropped to her knees, signaling Tilly to do the same. "Vothi, draw your phasers," she commanded through hand signals.

Despite his condition, Vothi'Cha drew three phasers with the precision he was known for. His aim had been unmatched during training, and now, even poisoned and weakened, he moved with calculated efficiency. The Romulan scouts advanced in a loose sweep formation, unaware of the Starfleet team until the first phaser blast struck the ground near their feet.

"Down! Get down, Sylvia!" Michael yelled, pulling Tilly to the surface of the glass bridge just as a Romulan fired back. Plasma bolts sizzled through the air, narrowly missing Michael as she ducked.

"Vothi, cover us!" Michael shouted.

Vothi's phasers lit up, striking back with perfect precision. Each burst of energy sent the Romulans scrambling for cover, their plasma rifles firing wildly, striking the glass pillar and sending cracks rippling across its surface. The bridge beneath them groaned under the pressure, the cracks spider-webbing outward with every impact.

"We need to move!" Michael urged, pulling Tilly to her feet. "Get to the other side—go!"

"I'll hold them off," Vothi clicked, his voice strained but resolute.

Tilly scrambled forward, her feet slipping on the slick surface as Michael pushed her ahead. Behind them, Vothi fired relentlessly, his shots forcing the Romulans back. But the cracks in the glass were spreading. Michael could hear the low groan of the pillar beneath them, threatening to collapse.

"Move, Tilly!" Michael screamed, her voice barely audible over the chaos.

Vothi, weakened and staggering, still managed to toss the heavy Cepheid transmitter toward Michael. "Take it, Commander!" he yelled, the weight of the device nearly knocking Michael off balance as she caught it.

Reaching the other side, Michael secured the transmitter to her back, then turned, shouting to Tilly, "Get behind cover! I'll give Vothi some fire support."

"Come on, Vothi!" Tilly screamed from her position, panic rising in her voice.

Vothi struggled forward, each step slower than the last. He fired with all six arms, creating a barrage of phaser fire that kept the Romulans pinned down. But one of the scouts broke from cover, darting into the shadows, trying to flank them.

Michael's HUD switched to infrared, tracking the Romulan as he disappeared from sight. She fired her phaser, hitting the ground near him, forcing him back. "Stay with me, Vothi!" she shouted, firing again.

The glass bridge groaned and cracked, the splintering sound like bones breaking under pressure. Vothi, exhausted and injured, stumbled. The pillar beneath him began to give way.

Suddenly, the bridge collapsed. The entire glass structure shattered, sending Vothi plummeting into the deep fissure below. The sound of the glass breaking reverberated across the landscape, a deafening echo that left the battlefield eerily silent for the briefest of moments.

"No!" Tilly screamed, rushing forward, but Michael held her back, pinning her against a crumbling obsidian wall.

"Tilly, no," Michael said firmly, her eyes filled with both grief and determination. "We finish this."

The Romulan scouts, scattered and shocked by the sudden collapse, regrouped and pressed their attack; Michael and Tilly held their ground. Phaser bolts lit the darkened battlefield, shattering crystalline structures and sending shards of glass raining down. Michael's precision strikes hit one of the scouts, disintegrating him instantly. The alien soldier instantly becoming glowing energy particles before blowing away like dust in the wind. The last Romulan hesitated, caught between retreat and an attempt to flank them.

Michael's shot caught him before he could decide. The final Romulan crumpled as the glass terrain beneath him shifted and fell away, burying him under a cascade of debris.

As the battlefield fell silent once more, Michael scanned the horizon for any remaining threats. Her helmet HUD showed no further signs of the enemy, but she knew they couldn't stay.

"We need to reach rally point one," Michael said, her voice hard but tinged with sorrow. "We can't stay here."

Tilly, her face pale and tear-streaked, nodded. "What about Vothi?"

Michael's jaw clenched. "We don't have time to mourn right now. He did his duty. Now we do ours."

With the Cepheid transmitter secured, Michael led Tilly away from the shattered bridge and into the maze of crystalline spires. Every step forward was a reminder of Vothi's sacrifice. They would make it. They had to. For Vothi, for the mission, and for the Federation.