Faldom Haze

1

Tyra double checked the settings on the bulky cube in front of her and looked ahead at the dense wall of mostly sedimentary rock. Behind her, was a tunnel that gave way to a labyrinth of paths that sprawled about and reached into a dark horizon, one that she helped carve through and shape.
It had been a long operation on Elysia and the journey back to earth would be even longer. Home was on Tyra’s mind a lot these days as their rotation for mining the riches of Elysia was ending. Everyone "kept home" in their own way while in the black and Tyra’s orange work outfit was marked with three drawn lines spaced vertically running along her chest. Her daughter, Akahari, would be three years older from when she left and besides knowing every detail of her day, Zev also made sure to keep her updated on how tall she was after each growth spurt. Sometimes when she had a second alone she would look down at the top line and imagine her daughter giving her a big hug, some moments her arms even floated up to hug the air in return.

 Tyra checked the four feet of the square machine and gave a thumbs up. “All good,” she called out, looking back at Alfonso. He stood a few paces behind her, one hand rubbing his salt and pepper beard, the other held his data pad while his eyes darted from the pad to the machine. 

“I’m picking up a large pocket after ten feet in,” He said. 

“Must be why Faldom nixed it,” Tyra replied. 

“I’m still getting the go ahead,” Alfonso said while touching a small bead in his ear and nodding. 

Ok, throw it on my mark…,” Alfonso said while Tyra took hold of a large handle protruding from the object. “...Mark!” 

Tyra leaned forward and pushed on the handle as a cone of sonic patterns began bombarding the wall of rock in front of her. Her hair danced around her face as she welcomed the familiar cool breeze made from the sonic impact. Within seconds the rock before her began to break apart like the tide breaking against a sand castle. The breaking soon gave way to large air pockets where the breaking turned into blending and the rock melted into literal sand. A deluge of sand rained into the premade trenches that the Sonic Bore had carved with it. 

“Whew, cutting edge stuff,” Alfonso said with a smirk. 

Tyra rolled her eyes. “I’m never going to laugh at that,” She replied while holding back a smile.

“I can’t believe this is one of the last times we're going to be doing this,” She said while gazing up at the newly carved rock with freshly born sand still trickling and forming small hills that the sonic promptly blew into the trenches. 

“...you know…?” Tyra asked. 

“....Alfonso?” Tyra looked back and saw his eyes as they bore behind her at the newly formed tunnel walls. She traced his gaze as the raining sand cleared ahead to reveal the large artificial cavern they had broken into. They both stood in silence as their modest tunnel opened into a cavern of ancient air. 

“A big pocket, I guess. Is it stable enough to walk into yet? Tyra asked. 

“15 more seconds,” Alfonso said without taking his eyes off of the enormous carved crystals embedded into the walkway of the alien tunnel. A few seconds later Alfonso began moving forward past Tyra and into the freshly dug rock. He sensed Tyra’s curiosity and held a hand back while still looking forward. Alfonso stood at the threshold of the ancient rock and the alien tunnel and was close enough to touch one of the crystals. His fingers reached to touch it instinctively as the world around him grew silent. The bead in his ear was vibrating with the harsh tones of Jethra, increasing in volume and it was like a silent whisper to him now. 

Tyra watched Alfonso reach his arm past the threshold before looking at her data pad began ringing. She looked down and opened the data pad to see Jethra’s face split between worry and fury. 

“What the hell is happening? Did you break through? Give me a status report.” Jethra barked. 

“Alfonso was just check-,” Tyra lost her thought as she looked up to signal Alfonso but all she saw was his last few steps as he crossed the threshold and was lost to the darkness. 

Tyra looked at the screen mortified.

“Tyra what is happening,” Jethra said with sculpted calmness. 

“One second boss,” Tyra said before dropping her data pad and rushing to the threshold of their hastily carved tunnel contrasted against the elegant alien cavern and walkway in front of her. Her boots rode the line of granite and sedimentary rocks which switched to smooth patterned stone masonry. It was a unique stone that looked to be placed with purpose for both design and comfort she thought. Tyra let her mind be washed over with how amazing it was to discover such a treasure and was soon in a state of pure contentment as the blue glow of the nearby crystals touched her face; her body though, was filled with purpose. Tyra breathed as the outside world and concerns fell away. The sounds of Jethra and even her own thoughts were but a whisper now. She smiled as a vision of little Akahari bloomed and tackled her with a hug, her head resting on the top hand drawn line, before taking her hand with a smile. Tyra laughed and swung her arm back and forth as she strolled deep into the alien darkness, without a care in the world.