Opalina Outpost

Chapter 19 /Part 2/

When Lio turned the locator wand on, it started beeping immediately. He nudged it toward the rocks, but it was a useless effort. Whatever the wand had found was beyond those rocks. And he had an awful feeling Ravi was about to put his foot down on further exploration.

"Wait," Jossen's gruff voice broke the disappointed quiet. "Aziri, hand me that lantern." He stumped down the steps with the light in hand, and peered at the rocks, selecting one of the smaller ones from the rubble. "These are phyllite."

"I, uh, think we finished that rock collecting commendation task, Subal," Duhar said.

Jossen snorted. "Yes, I know that, Duhar. I meant that Opalina is all sandstone, this tunnel is sandstone, and these rocks are phyllite." He looked at Ravi with a furrowed brow. "Can't have been a cave-in if it's completely different rock from the rest of the tunnel, right?"

"But then how did the rocks end up blocking—" Teres began uncertainly.

Lio whirled around and stared at the pile. "They were placed there! And we need to move them!" He dropped the wand and lunged forward, grabbing at the pile.

"Hold on a fucking second, Lio," Ravi said. "Jossen, are you sure none of those rocks are sandstone?"

"Yes, Com. Color doesn't match the tunnel rock, either."

"Okay. Then we need a system for removal. But..." Ravi sighed. "Look, these are your free hours. No one is required to participate. This could take a while."

"We should make a line to pass the rocks out," Orvaska said.

"Yes! Everybody, give Lio the lanterns so he can put them along the tunnel wall," Yorune said. "And get close enough that you can pass easily. Whoever is in the main tunnel, just set the rocks in a row against the wall." There was a flurry of shuffling and a multitude of lanterns held out to him. Lio wedged them along the stairs. He caught Ravi's eye as he did, and the com gave him an exasperated smile. Of course no one was wandering off for free time as if they were a normal crew. Everything about Opalina was far better than boring old normal. His heart might burst for love of all these people.

It did indeed take a while. They made progress, but the rock pile seemed never-ending. Each layer of stacked rubble revealed a new one. The only hopeful bit was when Jossen pointed out that none of the rocks were very big. Another sign that someone had put them all into the tunnel, the same way the crew removed them now. Lio doubled his speed at the thought, sweat soaking down the back of his uniform. A glimpse of his holowatch told him Ravi was about to pack them all off to their quarters to sleep. He reached for the next rock and knocked another loose accidentally.

The rock teetered, fell inward, and disappeared. Lio stared at the tiny, dark gap it had left. If there were more rocks beyond, there should've been nowhere for it to go. "We're almost there," he shouted, startling the line.

He worked with renewed vigor, Jossen at his shoulder. They tore from the roof down, feverishly passing rocks off to waiting crew behind them. Bit by bit, the dark gap at the top widened, and then they were batting rocks out of the way like cobwebs. The remainder of the pile clattered down into a small mound, easy enough to walk over. Lio watched a single shard of phyllite bounce down more steps, into the dark.

"We can go through!" he cried. His shout, magnified by unseen stone, rebounded back to him, the sound pulsing away down the unknown stairs. He could still hear the traces of his shout. Major echo space. The old storeroom must have been large. He scrubbed his hands on his uniform and groped for a lantern, as the rest of the crew gathered at the lip of the tunnel.