We moved quickly and quietly up the main shaft until we had come to the guard who was preparing to take quotas. Jallis ran forward and did the deed with his pickaxe. We proceeded to the end of the shaft and stopped just short of the corner. I checked that Jallis was ready. He nodded.
We rushed around the corner only to find a single guard standing by the elevator door. I looked back to see the second guard sitting on his voiding bucket with a stunned look on his face. With two hard steps I met his rising skull with my pick. Jallis had surprised his guard as well.
As I turned back, Jallis laughed. "What a way to go. Hahaha!"
I wiped my pickaxe on the dead guard’s uniform and then joined Jallis, Garmon, and Layda on the elevator.
Jallis spoke. "You two, lie down in the center like you're injured. When the doors open, move around like you're in distress."
As the elevator approached the top I shook my head. "I hope we are able to exit this elevator before word is sent up over a wire comm. I would imagine that there is nothing but chaos going on down there now. I don’t think our friend will quit until every Talisan below is dead."
Jallis nodded. "Let’s hope they take their time. The elevator takes eight minutes in either direction. As soon as we see it going back down, we will have sixteen minutes before someone else comes up. That may be guards or it may be slaves. If we want any success against those towers, we need silence."
The remaining minutes of the ride up were quiet. Jallis hugged the left wall as I took the right. When the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened to two guards with their shock sticks in hand. The writhing Feldons on the floor did not seem to raise much concern. The guards entered the elevator with their attention fully on our decoys. I struck first, with Jallis following a second later. The guards were quickly pulled from the elevators and dragged into a side room, where the pickaxes were removed.
Jallis spoke. "What do we do with them now?"
I looked back into the hall. "We prop them up in their chairs. Unless their supervisor comes by, I don’t think anyone else will notice. From there, we work our way around to that exit door."
After arranging the guards, I was startled as the elevator doors closed and it proceeded to head down. We had sixteen minutes until it would reach our level again. Under my direction, we moved two hallways over and turned onto another hall going toward the exit door. I walked around a corner, only to be confronted by a Talisan guard.
The guard spoke. "You! What are you doing here?"
I looked up at him sheepishly and shrugged.
The Talisan scowled. "Another lead head. Your days of mining are over. Let’s go see the cook so we can get you into tomorrow’s stew."
For a moment I was frozen in my tracks at the thought of having eaten the remains of other sentient beings. Cannibalism was something that had been looked upon with abhorrence by every species in the AMP as well as in the New Alliance. It seemed that the Talisan might have refused to heed that message.
Jallis rounded the corner and jammed a shock stick up under the arm of the unwitting guard. As the guard slumped to his knees, Layda followed up with a pickaxe to his skull. A side room was found to dispose of the body, and our venture continued.
When we reached the end of a third hall, I stopped the others. "This is the last guard before we go outside. The door out has a window, and one of the guards beyond has a blaster. I will rush this guard; the rest of you stay here until I signal. When that door opens, we will only have a moment of surprise. If the guard manages to fire his weapon, any thoughts of slipping out quietly will be gone."
I peered around the corner to see a guard sitting in a chair with his back to the wall. His shock stick was sitting on his chair on one end, with the other propping up his protruding chin. It was evident from my angle that the guard was asleep. I moved up quietly, reached slowly over, and squeezed the trigger for the shock stick. The guard convulsed violently and slid to the floor.
I glanced out the window to see two guards again sitting in chairs, and again, one of them was asleep while the other fidgeted with an item in his hand. I looked back at the others and waved them forward. Jallis lined up behind me with his pick in hand as Garmon and Layda held up shock sticks.
I reached for the doorknob and twisted. It would not turn. It was locked from the outside! I tried again with the same result.
Jallis whispered, "What is wrong?"
I replied, "The door is locked from the outside."
Jallis’s head rocked back in dismay. Everything had gone perfectly up until this point, and now we were trapped in the mine with no way out. I turned back to look down the main hall as a buzz sounded, signaling the elevator was moving again.
I said, "We have eight minutes before this place erupts in chaos. I’ll consider any ideas anyone has."
Layda stepped up. "We need them to open the door for us. How do we make that happen?"
I looked at the Talisan guard that had slumped out of his chair onto the floor. He wasn’t dead, but his eyes remained glazed over from the shock stick to his chin. I grabbed the Talisan by the uniform on the back of his neck and picked him up.
I turned back to the others. "Get ready. When that door opens, I will get the near guard, and I will need you to take out the far one."
The others nodded. I held the guard’s face up to the window and knocked on the door. I pulled him slightly to the side so that his face was not fully visible and knocked again.
A voice could be heard from outside. "Hold on. What do you want, Donnat? We aren’t supposed to open this door."
I knocked again and then held the end of the shock stick to the doorknob. When the knob twisted and the door opened slightly, I triggered the shock stick on the knob. I then jerked the door open, pulling the stunned guard toward me and through the doorway as the others rushed past. A second shock from the stick sent the Talisan folded over to the floor.
When I looked back to the outer hall, I could see Jallis tugging at his pickaxe, attempting to unstick it from the skull of his latest victim. Layda then returned with another pickaxe and a scowl and put an end to the two stunned guards at my feet. I propped the door open with the guards body and proceeded out into the hallway beyond.
I said, "Jallis, you and Garmon grab the uniforms off these two and get dressed. Each of you will take a shock stick and walk out there as if nothing unusual is happening. When you get to the base of those towers, climb the steps and zap those last two guards. Pace yourselves so that you both arrive at the same time. I will be here with the blaster should either of you need backup."
Jallis spoke. "Why do you get the blaster?"
I replied, "When was the last time you fired one? Or better, have you ever fired one?"
Jallis slowly shook his head. "Well, no."
I smiled. "I have been through the marksman course with a similar rifle. If you get in trouble, get back out of that tower, and I will take care of it."
Jallis nodded as he helped Layda disrobe one of the dead guards. With the uniforms on, Jallis and Garmon proceeded to walk towards the ends of the plateau. The fact that blaster fire was not heard during their walks was a good sign. As they reached the towers and began to climb the stairs, I peeked around the corner. Using the sighting scope on the top of the rifle, I zoomed in on each of the towers. The guards appeared to be at ease as the others climbed.
Through the scope I could see Garmon as he smiled and zapped the guard. When I turned back toward Jallis, I could see that the two were fighting, and Jallis was taking the worst of it. I sprinted toward the tower and twice stopped to take aim with the blaster. I could not get off a clean shot.
I continued my sprint and raced up the steps into the tower. A bloodied Jallis was standing over the dead guard. The leg of a broken chair had been thrust through the guard’s neck.
Jallis spoke as he breathed heavily. "I thought I was dead. He was swinging me around like a sack of Genaline peaches. I managed to grab that chair, but I missed him and hit that counter instead; that’s when the leg broke off. He picked me up and body slammed me twice before I got my hand on that leg. I got in a lucky strike on the last swing. I might have a busted fore rib."
I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I’m glad you were able to overcome. Let’s get your brother and Layda, and get off this mountain."
As we came down the steps of the tower, Garmon and Layda were came from the other. Garmon smiled as he held up a blaster while Layda brandished a bloody pickaxe.
Jallis spoke. "When we first arrived, the guards pointed in this direction for where they dumped bodies. Let’s see if there is a way to lower ourselves down."
I held out my hand. "I just thought of something. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. Where do they take the ore once it’s mined? It has to be loaded on ships. If they are bringing ore ships all the way down to the surface, we may be able to find our ride out of here that way."
When we reached the edge of the plateau, there was no indication of a method to be lowered to the jungle floor. I took the blaster and zoomed in on the bottom of the ravine. There were no carcasses, no bones, no sign of bodies being pushed over the edge.
I said, "I think the ravine and probably the jungle story were made up to keep us in line. There is no indication down there that anything at all has happened here. Had anyone been thrown over, there would be bones."
Layda tapped my shoulder and pointed back toward the door. "I think we have a bigger problem."
Feldon slaves were pouring out of the doorway to the mine. The one crazed Feldon had managed to free the remaining slaves by overpowering the Talisan guards. After a short discussion with the proclaimed leaders of the revolt, it was learned that they had taken out the active guards and then raided the quarters of those who were sleeping. An armory was then found and a dozen more blasters liberated.
I spoke to the leaders. "The Talisans lied about the jungle. There are probably no such things as Garantian bears. There is also no way down from this plateau."
One of the leaders pointed back into the mines. "We will have to find or make ropes."
I replied, "I have another idea. They have to be taking this ore somewhere. Wherever that is, they have ships to transport it out of here. If we want off this planet, we need a ship or many ships."
The Feldon leader again pointed back into the mine. "There is a shaft down in the mine where the ore is carried away. If we follow that, we will find our ships."
I nodded. "How good are you at climbing? I think we should send a group around this mountain as well. They have to be taking the ore out somewhere on the other side."
The Feldon replied, "Our people are not the best at scaling mountainsides. Our ancestors lived on a mostly flat world."
I turned to Jallis. "How about you? Do you think you could handle the terrain of the mountainside?"
Layda spoke. "I don’t think we will have to. It looks like there is a path leading away from behind that tower."
I replied, "OK. Here is what we are going to do. I need twenty volunteers and four more blasters. We will take that path around. The rest of you, find that ore shaft and follow it to wherever it leads. We will try to meet up on the other side. If you run into trouble, send a runner to let us know the situation. We will do the same. And before you go. If you haven’t ever fired a blaster and you are holding one, stop back in the bunk room and take a few shots at the far wall. It will at least give you a feel for what happens from your end of the rifle."
We took to the path that led around the side of the mountain. I led the way. As a Grunta, I had excellent balance and didn’t suffer from vertigo by looking down. In fact, Gruntas didn’t suffer from motion sickness of any kind. It was one of the reasons we made respectable pilots.
The pathway around was carved into the rock, and several sections had gone into disrepair after its initial construction. From a short distance, I used a blaster to make room for my shoulders where parts of the path had fallen away. The journey around the mountain took four hours. As a plateau began to come into view, I held out my hand for everyone to stop.
"Let me get a look at the situation. If there are guard towers, we may have a hard time reaching that plateau.", I said.
I moved slowly around a corner until I had a full view of what lay before us. I zoomed in with the blaster scope on the single tower that sat on the outcropping. Two guards could be seen sitting in chairs, leaning over a counter.
Two additional guards stood by a cavernous doorway into the mountain, and another two stood on the edge of a landing field that was nearly a kilometer long.
I returned to the others. "We are going to need all five blasters up here. I will lie out front on the pathway at a point where I have some protection from the mountain, but a clear shot forward. The four others with their blasters will be lying behind me. I will show you how to use the zoom on the scope. We will line up the shots I will need from you. After you take that shot, just wait for me to finish up. Don’t fire any more, as I don’t want to take an ion bolt in the back. When I finish, we can move forward."
Jallis, Garmon, Layda, and Riga followed me farther up the pathway. I picked out spots for each of them to lie and then gave instruction on setting up for the single shots that I wanted them to take.
When the shooting placements and instructions were complete, I moved forward, setting up for a firefight in the position I had chosen. I was largely exposed, but distant enough that a hit would have to be precise to take me out. I looked back, and each of the others signaled that they were ready. With a wave of my hand, the action began.
Five ion bolts impacted the plateau areas the Talisan guards held. The two guards beside the doorway both exploded from direct hits from the guns of Jallis and Layda, while Garmon’s shot impacted the ground just in front of the landing field guards, spraying them with debris. Riga's bolt fell short while my first shot took out a tower guard. The second guard reacted before my next ion bolt left the blaster tip of my rifle.
With no further shot at the tower, I turned towards the landing field guards. They were in the process of recovering their composure. The first guard exploded as the second dropped to the ground and fired an ion round back in our direction. I exchanged several more rounds with the Talisan before the guard that had been in the tower began to take shots at our position.
Our advantage of surprise had passed, and we were now confronted with two blasters that were firing from superior positions. Each strike by our opponents moved their aim closer to our location. After two shots that went low, a third shot found its mark in the rock just above us. The shattered rock shrapnel pelted each of us. The injuries were minor.
Garmon began firing at the tower. His aim was less than accurate. One of the bolts he had fired struck a piling that held up the guard tower. For a moment the metal turned a bright red and then sagged. I took careful aim at the same spot and was rewarded as the tower leg blew apart. With a similar shot to the other near leg, the hut at the top of the tower dropped, throwing the remaining Talisan out the front and onto the ground below. As the guard pushed himself up to his knees, I placed a precision bolt into his chest. The remaining guard stood and sprinted towards the doorway into the mountain. I missed on all four attempts at the running target.
I stood and spoke. "Let’s go! We have to get off this pathway now! There could be more of them coming out that door at any minute!"
The last hundred meters on the pathway seemed to take forever to transition. I couldn’t understand why the Talisan guard had not returned. Had the other miners reached the ore loading area? Was there a firefight going on just inside the doors? We would find out soon enough.
As we reached the edge of the plateau, I had the others spread out into a skirmish line. The five of us with blasters led the charge forward. When we reached the doorway, I slowly peered around the corner. Blaster fire could be heard from within.
I spoke. "Stick close together. I want coverage of all angles before we move forward. Don’t shoot first unless you have a clean shot. Some of you without blasters, go out and clean up those bodies out there. If a ship happens to be on its way in, we don’t want to scare them off before they land."
We slowly moved inside the doorway and down a short hall. A group of Talisans were crouched near a short wall, looking over and down at the fighting below. I had Jallis and Layda lie on the floor and take careful aim. On my signal, three ion bolts left our weapons and impacted two of the three Talisans. The third was disabled by the spatter from the others. I took careful aim and finished him off.
When we arrived at the railing, I could see blaster fire coming from and entering a shaft where the conveyor belt normally carried mined ore. The Talisans had the Feldons pinned down.
I pointed to a position farther down along the short wall. "Jallis, you, Garmon, and Layda take up a position there. Lay down fire in and around that group of Talisans to the left. What is your name?"
A Feldon who had picked up another blaster replied, "Todak."
I continued, "Todak, Riga and I will take up a position over here and fire upon that group to the right. That should allow the others to break out of that shaft."
Positions were taken, and on my signal, bolts from our six blasters began to impact the areas in and around the Talisan guards. As quickly as their firing down the conveyor shaft ended, the other Feldons charged forward. The Talisans realized the mistake of diverting all their fire too late. Their positions were overrun, and the fighting came to a quick end.
Another arsenal of blasters was found, with another two dozen being distributed among the freed Feldon miners.
I gathered the leaders together. "We have complete possession of this mine, but we have no ship. Follow me to this forward room. There is a chart on the wall that shows the other mines in this vicinity. I think it best that we leave a team here to assault a freighter if one comes in. The rest may want to march on these other mines if possible. You have the manpower necessary to take over any one of these other mines. We haven’t seen any comm gear here or in the guard towers or on any of the guards for that matter. There is a good chance that our overthrow here is not known. The Talisans were weak in their security. I can only guess they never thought an uprising would happen."
One of the Feldon leaders spoke. "Give me ten blasters and a hundred men, and I can liberate any of these mines. It will take us a half day to trek through the jungles, but with a little surprise, we can take out the guards and liberate more weapons."
I replied, "This chart shows that there are five mines in this area. If each has a thousand miners, we will need to transport five thousand people off this planet. The holds on those ore ships can be pressurized and environmentally controlled. If we can take control of one, we could fly all five thousand out at once."
Jallis spoke. "Let’s say we do make it out. Where would we go?"
I smiled. "Effica. The Talisans raided it over a year ago and took everyone. The infrastructure has been stripped of some of its machinery by salvagers, but the planet is still livable. If we take five mines, we should end up with a hundred blasters. That would be a deterrent for the slavers to come after us. At least for a while."
The Feldon leader spoke. "It is settled, then. We will split into five groups. Divide the weapons evenly. If anyone takes a mine with a freighter, they will travel to each site to gather the others."
The Feldons split into four large groups. Our group of twenty remained, keeping two blasters. The others departed, going down a trail that led off the mountainside and into the jungle. We made camp in the mine where the conveyor belt ended.
Jallis said, "Those are smelters down there. The high-grade lead ore is loaded on those freighters after the slag is cleaned out of it. They pump it up through that shaft over there as a hot liquid. I saw cooling vats where blocks can then be loaded on autopallets to then load on the freighter. It looked like the warehouse up there was nearly full. A freighter has to be due to pick this stuff up."
After six hours of searching the mine for anything useful, a runner came in from the landing field. "A ship is coming down!"
I picked up my blaster and headed to the loading bay doorway. As the massive freighter began to settle, I grew nervous that there were no guards visible on the plateau.
I turned back to Jallis. "Get a couple of people in those Talisan uniforms and stand them out by the door. If the pilot of that ship gets spooked, we have lost everything we fought for today."
Two Feldons were quickly dressed in the uniform parts that we could find that had not been shredded by ion bolts. We hurried them out to the doorway of the loading bay. The side of the freighter opened up, revealing the eight cargo holds within. Five Talisan guards then emerged. Each held a blaster.
When the guards reached the halfway point of the two-hundred-meter walk to the loading bay, they stopped. One of the guards pointed towards the half fallen tower, another towards our phony guards at the doorway.
I yelled, "They’ve made us! Cut them down!"
We began firing, taking out two of the guards as two others turned back towards the freighter. The third lay on the ground. Our decoy guards scurried inside as blaster fire pounded the rock walls in and around our location.
I again yelled, "Target those two who are running!"
The third guard rose and sprinted for the open ship. Jallis fired a round into his back as I managed to wing one of the other two.
I jumped to my feet. "Come on! Everyone! We have to take control of that ship!"
I sprinted out in front of the others and dove onto the ground as I took careful aim at the injured guard. His exploding torso told of a perfectly aimed shot and kill. The remaining Talisan guard then disappeared into the freighter.
I rose and again sprinted toward the open doors. One by one they began to close. As I reached the forward doors, the last two began closing. A blaster bolt kept me from boarding. The remaining guard had taken a strategic position. As the door lifted and the guard and I traded ion bolts, Jallis ran past me at full speed, diving into the cargo hold and ending his run behind a storage container. After I exchanged rounds with the Talisan, the guard gave up its position and moved back down a hallway towards the bridge. I slung the blaster over my shoulder and jumped up to take a grab at the closing door. It had lifted just out of my reach.