Private Moving Metal Meleenium

[Ghrom the Molten]

Source
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PLANET Af'El - Before the end...
Location: Que'Tahc

The landing gear groans as a medium freighter touches down upon the heavy gravity world of Af'el, the occupants all too aware of the end about to befall this planet. Like so many before it, the surface is about to bare the mark of the Bryn'adul and be bent to their will. Before that happened an unlikely duo was going to try and save as much and as many as they could. As the lumbering stone giant trudged down the cargo ramp he oversaw a craft not of this world and not seen in this galaxy for hundreds if not thousands of years. There it would be able to recharge its' unique thermal generator and soon be ready to begin their expedition. They were here to seek a unique metal from the people of this world, having bartered for rights to a mine long believed by the Defel's to be dried up. A clan and owners of the mine were desperate to get it reopened and willing to deal with outsiders if that meant they help them reach a new vein of meleenium.

Ghrom the "muscle" of the group was overseeing the task at hand, while his friend Skajin var Imret was surely making all the technical requirements would be in order. As he waited he looked out at the absolutely dark planet they were on. With no visable light could pass through the clouds he placed a recently acquired mask over his face. With it he looked upon the world and marveled at the bright colors seen in the ultra violet spectrum.

 

[Skajin var Imret]

Ghrom the Molten required a mask to see under the ultraviolet sun of Af'El. For once, Skajin didn't. The system primary was close enough spectrally to Kubindi's sun that he could go without the filter goggles he wore on most human-settled worlds. To a human, Af'El was pitch black; to Skajin, it was a comfortable twilight.

The high gravity, of course, was significantly less comfortable. Skajin flinched as his armor injected a long-lasting, expensive energy stim to keep him on his feet.

Or, rather, in the command chair of the ancient and deeply alien excavator they'd unearthed on Shola. Its disruptor bores were all set to vaporize their way into a stone wall and start tunneling. Industrial-grade Defel mining filters were already in place, not just to capture the dangerous disintegration vapor but to test it for meeleenium.

Skajin toggled the comms. "All szysztemsz rready, Ghrrom. Would you like to rride along?"

 

[Ghrom the Molten]

The vehicle was primed and ready as Ghrom boarded through the cargo door. Pressing ever so lightly on a control button with his smallest stone like finger he closed the doors and stood near the center of the craft. He had learned from his time "test" driving the vehicle on Shola that he could unbalance the vehicle and complicate stearing if he was to far forward or behind.

From the side hatch two furry Derel entered and took up station next to Skajin var Imret . Now Ghrom trusted Skajin could handle himself but with a massive, angry and intimidating stone monolith behind them they would not dare oppose or try anything against the two of them.

"Ready Skaj," he said

 

[Skajin var Imret]

The Sholan tunnelborer lurched ahead. Energy discharges tinted the windows as the disruptor panels disintegrated broad swathes of rock. Superheated rock vapor, torn apart down to its base elements, rushed back around the tunnelborer's chassis.

Confident in the ancient vehicle's capabilities after tests, maintenance, and more tests, Skajin accelerated. The tunnelborer drove ahead like the bedrock wasn't even there. Behind, he knew, was a fresh and ruddy-red tunnel.

"Even in rrock thissz harrd, the Sholan diszruptorsz worrk too fasszt to overrdrrive. The engine isz maxzed out. Incrredible."

Ghrom the Molten

 

[Ghrom the Molten]

Skajin var Imret

Ghrom watched with twisted pride as the Derel looked on with shock as the craft made quick work of hardened rock. Forged in gravity twice that of a normal habitual world most drilling tech would have taken many hours if not days to go the distance Skaj had piloted the craft through in seconds. At this rate they would be to the worlds core in a matter of hours.

"Hey furry's, best tell Skaj where you want him to go. Otherwise we will be out the other side of the planet pretty soon."