Fall of the Phoenix: Ashes to Ashes, Dust 'til Dawn

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Living Arrangement

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U-5755

- This spacious room serves as a living arrangement of sorts. One section holds couches and a holoviewer in what is visibly a makeshift living room. There is a simple bed nearby. On the other side there is a kitchen with a door that leads into a deposit full of preserved food. Aside from the iron door leading into the elevator, there is a single doorway on one wall, one sealed and locked with three metal bars across its surface.

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Leyna is perched on the edge of a couch, facing the door, fingers pressing against her knees. Her eyes are currently closed, chest rising and falling heavily, as if facing some inner demon that now currently wins out over her.

Novikov is strewn across a couch rather haphazardly, on the other hand. He seems to just be waking up, and he reaches up to scratch lightly at the nearly two weeks of facial hair on his face uncomfortably.

An actual sound escapes Leyna's lips, something between a whimper and a curse. Dark grey eyes snap open with a start, flickering around wildly, searching her surroundings before slowly relaxing once she comes upon Novikov. A hand comes up, rubbing at her temples lightly as she leans back, muttering curses to herself.

Sitting up, the young soldier watches Leyna with a sudden mix of caution and concern. He slowly rises from the couch, stiff joints not giving him much comfort with the effort. "Are you all right?" he asks quietly.

Leyna gives a slow nod of her head, "Da, am fine," she replies softly, wearily. "Zhis rock just botzers me is all..." She lifts herself up a little to glance at Novikov, smiling weakly. "I am almost afraid of vhat ve vill find in zat room. I keep seeing zee faces... zee faces trapped and in pain."

Novikov drops his feet off the side of couch, and they heavily reach the ground with a thud. He scoops up his weapon and slings it from his shoulder while slowly standing. "Nozhink here seems real," he murmurs quietly, giving a little shake of his head.

"But it is," a voice answers. It is the old man, walking out of the storage area. "Quite real. All of it. It is made real by the anguish of those trapped within the machine." His monocle zooms in on Leyna. "Pain is the ultimate source of power."

"I do not understand vhat zat machine is... do not vant to go back into zat room..." Leyna shakes her head, rubbing at her temples once more, pausing as she straightens at the old man's appearance. "It iz not a power zat I vould vant," is her short retort.

Novikov visibly tenses at the appearance of the nameless old man. His lips curl into a gentle frown, and he shakes his head, "I do not care about zhe sources of power, I just vant to finish my mission and go home in peace, da?"

"Ah, but it is exceptional power if it can be harnessed. Sadly, we of mortal trades are incapable of doing such a thing, as the Phoenix has clearly demonstrated. I suppose I owe you an explanation," the old man admits. "I have already told you about Olaf and how he volunteered to feed himself to the machine, yes?"

Leyna nods her head. "Da, you owe is good explanation to zhis," she says shortly, brushing back a stray strand of hair. "Vhat hafe you dragged us into, old man?" she inquires curtly, eyes flickering over to Novikov briefly then back to the old man.

Novikov takes the steps that close the distance between himself and Leyna, giving her a brief nod before his attention returns to the strange old man. He is quiet, expectant.

The elderly scientist nods. "We discovered this asteroid far too many years ago for me to properly remember. We also found a very strange creature: it looked like what you may have seen or heard of as birds. There was no oxygen, so we were baffled by the fact that at regular intervals, it would set itself ablaze." He smiles sadly. "You see, in order for flames to exist, there has to be air. Yet this was not the most notable feature of our newly discovered pet. It was the fact that it could somehow link us telepathically to our lost ones. Or so we believed. You see, sorrow will make us believe anything."

"Flaming bird?" Leyna inquires, drawing her brows together slightly. "Zat seems very unlikely. It is impossible." She shakes her head, but falls silent, just listening, once more glancing to Novikov.

Novikov's brows furrow at this bit of the man's story. He remains mostly still otherwise, commenting, "Flamink anyzhink vould not survive. Fire is a deadly zhink for livink creatures. Vhat you are sayink is makink little sense."

"How long must you stay in this place," the old man asks, gesturing all around him, "before your perception of what is possible changes? Regardless," he adds quickly, "you need to understand the shape we saw was merely the one it chose to present itself with. Perhaps, had we given it a chance, it would've changed into something else. You must understand that as a group of men of science, we were driven by its enigmatic existence. So we started studying it. Soon we learned that some of our machines could interact with the creature. This is how the idea of the Phoenix Prime was born."

"All of zhis should be impossible," Leyna replies. "Ve should not be 'dead', trying to destroy sometzing to bring back zee dead." She shakes her head. "Vhat is fact and vhat is fiction?"

"Zhis, I zhink, is vere your story vill take a turn for zhe vorse, da?" Novikov grumbles quietly. Now, he gestures around with one hand slowly, "Judgink by our current predicament."

There is a grim pause while the old man gathers his thoughts. "I have already told you how in order for the machine... the creature... to know where to lead us, it required a glimpse of the place. So Olaf volunteered against our wishes and fed himself to Phoenix Prime. This was only the start. The machine lacked power." He sighs again. "One by one, all my friends *chose* to submit. I believe now that perhaps the creature was messing with our minds."

"Vhy did you continue vorking vith zee horrible machine if you vatched otzers kill zhemselfes?" Leyna asks darkly, narrowing her eyes slightly in the old man's direction.

Novikov falls silent as his suspicions for the direction of the tale ring true. He reaches out and puts his hand on Leyna's shoulder, giving the short woman a gently squeeze while his eyes remain glued to the old man responsible for the imprisonment.

"We were fueled by an obsession," the human answers. "Also, we figured once the machine worked, we would all be together again. But the machine always lacked the power... always wanted a little more." He walks over to an empty chair and sits down, his hands going to his temples. "One day... they were all gone... only my wife and precious Elena remained. I... I..." He pauses to steady his voice. "I fed them to the machine as well. After that, I resumed work on Phoenix Prime by myself, making sure all the details were perfect. A long time now I have been here alone. Ah, Elena. How I wish you were here."

Leyna presses her cheek against Novikov's hand, eyes focusing in on Leyna. "Now ve vill destroy zee machine, da?" she asks, frowning. "Ve vill put an end to zhis and return to Ungstir. And you vill help our officer. Sometzing you did hurt him so he remains unconscious."

"You killed zhem," Novikov replies plainly, almost harshly. "If you are capable of such an act of betrayal, how can ve be assured you vill not betray us? If ve are to help you, how do ve know you vill not try to feed us to zhe machine as vell?"

The hermit leans back, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his ragged lab coat. "Yes. Now it is time to end it. Phoenix Prime has become unstable and who knows what it can or will do. We must destroy it. Your officer is unconscious because the machine is using him as a vessel. The medicine keeps him alive to ensure his mind does not go pop with the strain. I have no idea what the Prime wishes to accomplish by keeping your soldier friend like that, but it would be left not to give it enough time to carry it out." He glances at Novikov. "Assurances? None. I am not a businessman and this is not a deal we are negotiating. I intend to destroy the machine, with or without your help. The former does promise a better chance of success, however."

"Ve hafe no otzer choice," Leyna says, lifting her gaze to Novikov. "If he dies trying, ve lose his knowledge on zee machine and I cannot take zee time to study it closely... zhings like zat are not my speciality. My brotzer might hafe been able to do it, but not me." She looks at the old man coldly. "You try to backstab eitzer of us, I vill feed you to zee creature myself."

"Vhat do ve hafe to do to destroy zhis machine, zhen?" Novikov asks plainly, his gaze briefly flickering toward Leyna upon her threat. With his question asked, the young man slips the weapon from his shoulder, holding it pointing groundward with one hand.

"We did not build this monstrosity without the means to tame it," the old man asserts. "I will run down to the room where the main engines are stored, and powering Phoenix Prime. I will activate a mechanism that will increase the flow of energy exponentially. With such an exposure to power, the machine -- the creature -- will be forced to concentrate specifically on the task of, well, digestion. This means those tentacles we saw the last time will not be able to bother you while you place the explosive charges in the four main platforms."

"How large of an explosion?" Leyna inquires, frowning. "If zhey are too powerful, it vill take out zee rock, along vith us vhen zhey go boom." She rubs at her forehead, glancing at Novikov and then back to the old man.

Novikov rubs his forehead gently with his free hand. "Gospadi," he replies, "if zhis is not perfect, ve may as vell hafe launched a coreseeker into zhe asteroid." He shakes his head, obviously displeased with the risks involved in the plan.

The scientist shakes his head. "The charges will only be strong enough to weaken Phoenix Prime. This means the machine will then reopen the gateway back to our universe. It is then that you, aboard your ship, will need to leave. The window of opportunity is far too small, so you must act quickly."

"You vill meet us on our ship zhen, da?" Leyna inquires, frowning somewhat as her eyes slide from Novikov to the other members that came with them. "Vhat is zee time on zee explosives? If ve are still in zee room, ve could very easily die in zee detonation."

"Zhis gatevay," Novikov begins slowly, "is vhat ve saw before, da? Is not like a vindow for us to actually pass zhrough, da?" His own eyes travel toward the doorway leading to the tunnel, a grim determination setting into his features.

"The gateway is simply the connection between two worlds," the old man replies. "The asteroid will return to normal space for a few minutes, which is all the time you have to get out. Your comrade soldiers can stay there, keeping the ship active, with your officer safe. You two set the charges. They go off, you board your ship and you leave. It is a simple plan."

"And you?" Leyna prompts once again. "Ve cannot just leafe you here like zhis." She shakes her head, frowning darkly. "You do vhat you do, zhen join our men on zee ship."

"Sacrificink yourself vill not brink back your family, old man," Novikov agrees, taking a few idle steps toward the door with a shake of his head. "If you come vith us, zhey vill at least be remembered."

The elderly human's eyes are red, bright against the light due to the tears now threatening to escape. "When I fed my daughter, my precious Elena, to the machine... she cried. I calmed her. I promised her we would soon be together again. I was unable to bring her back." He smiles sadly. "I will not join you on your ship. To complete the destruction of Phoenix Prime, I must attack from within. And I have a promise to keep."

"Insanity," Leyna mutters, but does not press the matter, rising to her feet to join the others watching over the unconscious officer, pressing her lips together in a grim line. "Our officer vill be okay once ve are gone from here, da?"

Lifting his rifle, Novikov grasps it in both of his hands. He gives another shake of his head but remains relatively quiet as far as the others are concerned. His barely audible mumbles do not travel far, and would not be coherent to even the closest person.

The old man stands up and moves towards a wooden crate against the wall, opening it. He points inside. "Four charges. One for each platform. You will recognize the main platforms because they are marked with a red line on the floor and are bigger than the rest. Two on the uppermost part of the cavern and two below, just above the abyss. Green button activates, red button stops the countdown. One placed, each charge has a timer with ten minutes. Blow the platforms up and get to your ship."

"All at once?" Leyna asks quietly, gathering up what little things that were left hanging about during their captivity. "Do zhey hafe to be detonated all at once, or does it matter little?"

"I sincerely zhink zhe monstrosity in zhere vill care vhezher zhere is von large explosion or several little vons, Leyna," Novikov replies, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He glances back toward the other two expectantly.

"Order is unimportant. By the time you finish placing the charges, I should be back in the room to finish the job. That will be your cue to exit," the old man explains, then points to the metal doorway. "You will know when it's time to go in. You will hear it. Good luck and be careful." That said, the old man disappears into the storage room.

Leyna gives a small frown but nods her head, "Ve should get our suits on before ve go zhere," she says, looking around. "Ve vill most likely be in a rush vhen ve are leafing..."

The other two soldiers who arrived with Leyna and Novikov move to pick their officer up. "We vill vee vaitink in zeh ship, da? Hurry." They move on out.

"Da, zhat is vise," Novikov agrees, starting toward where he discarded the remainder of his gear even for the sentence fully escapes his lips. He sets down his weapon and begins the process of overdressing.

Leyna joins Novikov in gathering up her suit, starting the slow process of putting it back on, muttering under her breath as she does so. "Ve vill hafe to vork fast, da?"

"Zhat is zhe understatement of zhe day," Novikov replies with a dark chuckle. "How long do you zhink zhe lift took us to get down here? Ve vill hafe to factor zhat time into our escape as vell."

"A couple minutes tops, da?" Leyna replies. "Vasn't really paying attention... vould zhink it vouldn't take more zhan a minute or two going back up, unless zee power added to Phoenix Prime slows us down..."

"If zhe power is enough to slow us down, zhen it may shut off zhe lift all togezher," Novikov grumbles as he finishes donning his gear. He lifts his rifle once more, checking over the weapon briefly. "Vould not vant zhat to happen."

"Da," Leyna agrees, adjusting her suit around her a little bit, still grumbling to herself. "Is a little big... like everytzing else."

A soft chuckle comes from Novikov as he regards Leyna for a moment. "I don't zhink zhe Phoenix Prime vill care if your clozhink is a little big, da?" he jests. "Shall ve go vait for zhe old man?"

Leyna nods her head, stepping up next to Novikov, a hand resting lightly against his arm. "Ve can go home soon, da?" she inquires, looking up at him hopefully. "And, um... you do remember zee vay out of here, da?"

"Zhere is nozhink in zhe universe zhat vould -ever- let me forget zhe vay out of zhis evil place, dearest," Novikov replies with a firm nod. He turns, eyes wandering toward the doorway. "Ve should go."

"Da, ve need to be in position," Leyna replies, turning to gather two of the explosives. "Ve vill each set up two of zhem to get it done as qvickly as possible, da?"

Novikov slings his weapon and grasps the other two devices with a frown. "I'll take zhe two furzher from zhe vay out," he says firmly, leaving little room for an argument.

"I vill take zee two closest to zee abyss," Leyna replies. "Zee otzer two are more of out of zee vay, furtzer up in zee cavern," she explains, adjusting her load as she heads for the doorway.

"Be careful, Leyna," Novikov adds as he, too, makes his way toward the doorway. There is no other sound from the young man, only a job to be done. His strides are heavy but swift, and he easily catches up to Leyna as the two pass through the doorway.

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Rocky Tunnel

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U-5755

- A long rocky tunnel leading in two main directions, with various cables and wires running along the walls. There are several other holes, smaller in nature, which also appear to be exits, yet they lack the same illumination as this main hallway.

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There is only silence from the other side of the door leading into the cavern where Phoenix Prime resides.

"I vill be fine," Leyna replies, offering a quick, tight smile. "It vill be too busy to try and eat me. Am too small to make a decent meal anyvay," she jokes.

"Vell, I hope zhat it is very busy," Novikov mumbles in return. "I zhink I vill make a much better meal zhan you if not, da?" His eyes do not wander the tunnel during this trip, as they had in the past.

"But you vill be fartzer avay," Leyna replies, relief evident in her voice. "Ve vill get in and out as qvickly as possible. I vant to go home tonight and sleep in real bed."

There is a faint buzzing sound as a surge of energy begins to travel towards the Phoenix Prime cavern. It comes from the cables buried within the walls which serve as bridges for the power. The lights in the tunnel begin to flicker as they lose strength. The process is slow, but increasing in magnitude.

"I vill also hafe a cleaner shot," Novikov replies, seeming on the verge of saying more until the lights flicker. "Zhink zhat is zhe signal, da?" he states instead, tensing.

Leyna nods her head, brushing her fingers against Novikov's arm again. "Be careful, Timofei," she implores gently, taking a tighter grip of her load as she steps closer to the door leading to Phoenix Prime.

"I vas about to say zhe same zhink to you," Novikov replies quietly. "And zhey are vords you should definately heed, dearest." With that, he also strides toward the door, cradling the explosives tightly.

-

Phoenix Prime

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U-5755

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This room is nothing short of huge: a grand circular cavern full of platforms along the walls. There is light everywhere, its main source the large metal pillar rising from the hole in the middle of the room and connected to the ceiling via metal claws. Not only is it nearly as wide as a medium-sized ship, it is longer than most vessels and it is covered by surging electricity of a strange orange hue.

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Phoenix Prime is aglitter with orange bolts of electricity. There is indeed no sign of the tentacles but the choir of howling voices is present and vivid.

Leyna moves off immeadiately towards her assigned platforms closer to the abyss, keeping a close eye on the Phoenix, scowling lightly. Her pace is quick but careful, steps cautiously placing one foot in front of the other.

His pace quicker, Novikov jogs his way past Leyna, making his way toward the upper platforms. His rifle clacks gently against his suit, slung from his shoulder as it is, but the charges are held firmly in place by his hands.

Hundreds of voices sing their sorrow -- wails of despair that rise in synch with the increase of power the Phoenix is receiving. The choir is not the only thing rising, however: from the darkness comes a shape climbing up the pillar of metal. It is not a tentacle. It is instead a four-legged creature roughly the size of a large dog, with a long and thick tail and a snake-like head. It is moving upwards speedily.

Leyna picks up the pace a little bit, finding her first platform, kneeling down to begin setting it up in order to start the timer. She frowns as she fumbles over it, suit making her normally nimble fingers somewhat clumsy. Finally, it is set and she gathers the other remaining one, heading for her next point. "First one set," she calls out to Novikov.

Novikov is still on his way to the first of the upper platforms when Leyna's voice travels through the wails of the disembodied spirits. He slows his pace as he nears the first area, completely unaware of the strange creature ascending from the pit. Dropping to one knee, he begins setting his first charge.

The creature continues to ascend. It is hairless, covered only in a slimy brownish skin that seems to give him the ability to attach himself to the pillar. Once it reaches the same height as the lowest platforms, one of which is the intended target for Leyna, he leaps in the air and flies across the gap of space, landing a few steps behind the female Ungstiri. His greeting is a loud hiss.

Leyna whirls around, explosive still in hand at the hiss, trying to back away a few steps, a cry in surprise escaping her lips. Her free hand moves down to her weapon, but unable to draw because it is beneath the suit, still snuggly tucked against her hip. "Timofei!" she shouts in Novikov's direction.

Novikov turns, eyes immediately searching out Leyna, and they widen upon spotting the creature. Forgetting what he is doing for the instant, Novikov dives to the edge of the platform and slips his rifle around to point the killing end at the hissing creature. "Run!" he yells, just as he pulls the trigger.

The creature crouches, ready to leap on Leyna, but his plans are foiled by Novikov's blast which lands squarely on the snake-like head. No wound is visible, but wisps of smoke rise from the attacked area and the creature does not seem overly happy. Rather than resuming his quest for the female, he jumps towards the pillar and rapidly begins to climb.

Leyna backs herself up enough to be out of the creature's way, gripping the explosive tightly in her arms until it desides to move away from her in favor of something else. With that done, she turns back to Novikov. "Hurry, time is running out, da?" she shouts, heading back for her last platform.

Novikov scrambles back to his knees, only remaining so long enough to make sure he had indeed finished setting the first charge. He keeps his rifle in hand, not wasting the time to sling it, and scoops up the other explosive. When he begins to move again, he no longer simply jobs but takes off at a full run toward his next objective.

The creature stops, its head angling in various directions to seek out its new target. With another hiss, it jumps off to land on a platform and begins to give chase to Novikov. The timer on both of the charges which have already been placed continue to march onwards towards their inevitable and rather explosive epilogue.

Movement. Fast movement. Movement that is not flying movement landing near Novikov. That's enough to set Leyna off again, even if she doesn't know exactly where it is. "Timofei!" she shouts out again. "Sometzing. Somevhere!" Not the most helpful warning, but a warning nevertheless. She forces herself down onto her knees while still scanning the area for the missing blur, fingers fiddling with the explosive's controls to activate it.

Novikov skids to a halt and turns back toward Leyna again, having heard her shouting. The explosive in his hand is quickly dropped as he brings his rifle up, but he doesn't spot anything near her, but his eyes go very wide as he catches something in the corner of his vision. Rifle ready, he turns and squeezes off another shot at the persistant creature.

Another successful hit has the creature staggering back, hissing. The shot landed near its eyes and it appears to be blinded for the moment, unmoving.

Leyna's eyes watch Novikov hit the creature again, giving her enough reassurance to turn her gaze away from him in order to work on setting the explosive up. "Timofei. Hurry!" she shouts. "Time is going to run out on zee first explosive," is her warning as she lets her fingers hover over the activation of the second one.

The second his second bolt hits the creature, Novikov silently scoops up his remaining charge and takes off once again, not waiting for even a second. He charges toward his final destination and slides across the platform like a baseball player. Slapping the device into place, he quickly goes about its activation.

The creature remains blinded and stationed where it was shot. Meanwhile, the first charges continue to move towards their final curtain. Tic, toc; tic, toc.

Leyna continues to wait on Novikov to finish his second activation before starting her own second, biting on her lip as she keeps one eye on the creature warily, bouncing up and down on her knees in a nervous habit.

Finishing his second charge, Novikov stands and darts for the edge of the platform, eyes locking onto Leyna immediately. "Get out, NOW!" he yells down to her before letting his eyes focus back on the path he will have to take - and the creature blocking it.

The creature shakes its head and seems to recover its sight, hissing in Novikov's direction.

"Run!" Leyna shouts at Novikov, still waiting to initiate, turning to gauge her distance back to the exit and then her companion's distance, a frown on her lips.

Staring down the creature, Novikov almost seems to growl back as a string of Mierznykovy curses slip from his lips. He lifts his rifle with a loud curse and once more squeezes the trigger on the irritating creature.

Another good, but not as good as the others. It lands on the creature's shoulder, eliciting another angry hiss in response. Taking another step towards Novikov, the thing meets an unfortunate problem as the small bridging platform leading it to its prey unhinges and turns, toppling the snake-head over. He manages to hold on by its tail.

Letting out a loud curse, Leyna jumps up from her position, activating the timer on the second one while running back to her other platform, looking all around her to make sure nothing is coming at her before skidding to a halt in order to put a pause on the time that is slowly ticking away, glancing down to see how much time remains on that particular explosive.

Novikov's eyes widen, and he looks on where the creature once was with hesitation. Barking out a loud curse, he sprints toward the gap, not sparing even the thought of looking down as he leaps from the platform over the gap to land on the other side. The momentum is nearly enough to throw him forward, but he keeps his footing and darts along the way he came.

Leyna stops her first charge seconds away from the explosion, which should mean its no surprise when Novikov's goes off, blasting the platform and console where it was placed off the wall and towards the abyss. Phoenix Prime, in reaction to this, begins to crackle madly with more electrical bolts that begin to lash out randomly. One of those hits the snake-headed creature hanging from the overturned bridge and desintegrates it.

Leyna's fingers start working with the explosive to reset the timing, turning halfway as the explosive goes off, cheeks whitening as she immeadiately starts searching for Novikov, only relaxing once she's found him.

Novikov sprints from the upper platforms toward the exit, as he has been since setting his second charge. When he inevitably grows nearer to Leyna, he shouts, "Hoopink run!"

The old man comes in moments after the first explosion. He looks around, spotting both soldiers. "Move! Quickly! The asteroid will be shifting back soon and you need to leave when it does! I will take it from here." He is wearing a coat that looks a lot like the bombs the militia members just used, except bigger. "Quickly!"

Leyna finishes resetting the exlosive, rising to join Novikov in the running, but hesitates as she notices the old man, two and two coming together, especially after noticing the coat. She bites on her lip, looking around for her companion.

Novikov mutters a string of curses as Leyna stops moving, and he very nearly crashes right into her. Averting the collision, he snatches her by the arm without stopping. He says nothing to the old man. He gives the old man no acknowledgement at all. He just runs.

The old man watches them go and turns to face his monstrous creation -- the Phoenix Prime. The wailing voices still scream in agony, even over the three explosions that follow as the final charges go off. Yet one voice stands out -- at least for the scientist fallen from grace: "Father..." This call in answered with a smile that spreads the wrinkles in the elderly human's face. A smile... and a leap of faith into the abyss.

Soon afterwards…

-

Landing Cavern

- A spacious cavern opening into the asteroid, with jagged surfaces clawing inwards and very little room to land. There is one section near the end, however, that seems perfect to accomodate a single vessel. The makeshift landing pad has an iron door beside it, crafted against one of the walls.

-

By the time the landing cavern is reached, the asteroid is shaking violently. Up ahead, in the distance, the space beyond the exit seems to be alternating between orange hues and the pitch black of normal space.

Leyna allows herself to be dragged all the way through the rock back to the landing cavern, occasionally glancing over her shoulder, back from the way they came. As they come closer, she slows her pace, letting out a slight breath. "Ve hafe to hurry," she says, pushing Novikov towards the ramp.

Novikov is heaving his breath by the time they arrive in the landing cavern. He only slows when Leyna finally slows, though he is quickly pushed along. "Da, ve need to get zhe hoop out of here -now-," he agrees as he makes his way up the landing ramp and into the Banshee.

Leyna is on Novikov's heels up the ramp, nodding her head. "Zhis could be a ratzer bumpy ride getting out of here," she mutters, pushing him along even faster, taking a final look back at the iron door.

The Banshee's airlock is open and two of the soldiers who were part of the original group are waiting there to greet their comrades. "Quick. We're ready to go!"

-

Airlock 

-

Crimson worklights wash the gray bulkheads and grid textured wall panels tints and jagged patterns of red. Stern pragmatics govern the airlock space, from its sturdy steel equipment racks to recessed lockers which take advantage of every square inch of the cramped space. Five EVA suits are racked against the wall, two portside, two starboard.

A circular hatch set the ceiling provides access to the docking collar, while heavy pressure doors in the floor allow the lowering of the ship's boarding ramp. A second reinforced hatch leads into the ship.

-

The two soldiers follow into the ship and disappear forward. One soldier remains here, looking over the captain who has been strapped down. "You should use zose emergency belts," he says, gesturing. "Vill be hectic ride."

Novikov wastes no time in strapping himself in, mumbling curses all the wall. His eyes lock onto the captain for a brief instant before seeking out Leyna, which is where they stay once he has strapped himself in.

"Vill you need assistance on zee bridge vith engineering?" Leyna inquires, looking around the airlock a little bit. "Don't know vhat ve may be finding vhen ve leafe here."

Leyna's answer is an abrupt takeoff as the ship thrusts itself towards the asteroid opening. The ride is indeed bumpy, with the vessel shaking intensely. A voice over the intercomm warns: "Hold up."

Novikov grabs Leyna's arm and roughly draws her next to him as the ship buckles. "Strap yourself in," he says firmly, holding onto her arm rather tightly.

Leyna is pulled up against Novikov, muttering out a few curses as she struggles to stay on her feet until she manages to sit and strap herself in, gripping his arm tightly.

It is now that the captain twitches a few times. "Father..." he speaks, his voice that of a child. The next time he talks, his voice sounds like that of the old man: "Elena..." The officer's lips spread in a smile. Another twitch and he is once more calmly asleep. As if on cue to that small event, the intercom comes to life again:

"Vee are through. Zeh asteroid is gone. Just disappeared in flash. Comrades, vee are goink home."