Station 27 (A Starweaver's Tapestry Novella) - ONC '24

Chapter 4: Iced Over

The gusts of air outside the Durrigan's wreckage were sharp and biting, the cold like a harsh sting that permeated the VACAS despite their ability to withstand the harshest environments. The snowstorms of Golah were worse than Javina could have ever imagined. Still, the group had no choice but to trudge through the seemingly endless amount of knee-high snow. Qerod led the way, as always, while Jat, Irys, and Driscoll followed behind. Roxli and Givety closed out the back of the first team, but trailed behind the rest by a good yard.

Javina, meanwhile, led the second team even further back. Zec and Cragin pulled a makeshift sled with Takeo's still-unconscious body behind them, followed up at the rear by Pirzy and Vhaz. Both teams were an eclectic mixture, but Qerod and Driscoll agreed it would help ease some of the tension within the group. If they were going to survive, they had to be one unit. The choice to break in half, however, was Javina's suggestion. They could mingle all they wanted, but the harsh reality was that Takeo's situation slowed them down. The only people that made sense to drag him along were the two biggest men on the team, and Pirzy was the one monitoring his condition. Vhaz went wherever Zec did.

"We should be approaching the station after we crest this hill," Pirzy notified them. The angle became steep under their feet as the slope heavily increased. Javina tapped at the wristpad of her VACAS and made a circular motion with her finger to activate the climbing mode on her boots. She felt the spikes shoot out of the bottom of her sole and latch into the ground. With the way her feet were angled to the ground, she guessed it had to be a fifty-to-sixty degree incline. That meant a lot more exertion of their already limited pool of energy.

"Zec, Cragin, ditch the sled," She told them as she turned around. "We don't want to risk losing that halfway up the slope."

"How are we going to get Takeo uphill then?" Pirzy inquired with a look of concern. The teal of the lights inside the VACAS helmets illuminated their faces well amongst the blinding white of the snow. Zec looked at her.

"I got 'im," He answered. "I can carry up to four times his weight like nothing."

Zec reached down and picked Takeo up, then slung him over his shoulder face down. He shook off the excess snow that accumulated on his back. "Let's get going."

Javina acknowledged and started to make her way toward the top. Each step was harder than the last. She forced one foot through the thickened snow until it crunched down amongst the ground, then latched in with her boot. Her other foot pulled against the snow that had filled in around the hole she created, then repeated the process. It was like walking through the sands of a densely-compacted beach, but there was no sunshine to light her way and definitely no hard drinks waiting for her at the end of the journey.

A rope dropped down in front of her face and slipped through the gap her legs had created between steps. She glanced up and saw Qerod give a small wave. "I figured you might like some extra help," He shouted over the howls of the wind.

Javina wrapped her gloved hands around the rope and used the added force to pull her feet out of the snow. It sped the climb up dramatically. As she reached the top and rolled over the crest, she let out a slight sigh of exhaustion. The others made their way up shortly after, each with an expression of relief at completing their journey. Javina looked out into the distance to gauge how far away the Durrigan was, but the storm was too thick to see through. The two teams gathered together and Qerod stepped into the middle.

"Alright, everyone. If you look down, you'll notice that the snow has started to taper off here. According to the map provided to us by the Forces, we should be on the outskirts of 27-A right now. That means that there's about 3 miles of solid titanium under our feet that burrows down into the caverns and is heated by a self-sustaining plasma mechanism. That should make it a bit easier to walk around out here. My team," Qerod said as he pointed towards each member of his unit. "We're going to survey the area and check each building for anything that the previous tenants may have left behind. If you find something, bring it to the central structure. Also check for power, tools, etcetera."