Thread: An Eclipse of Corruption (Vuxayl x Cricket)

Their footsteps echoed in the metal tunnel as Xayun, Karilel and the rest of the crew progressed downwards. The floor was rugged enough for everyone to keep walking steady, but its grimy metallic surface and the condensed moisture posed a slipping risk, resulting in sliding unhampered towards the bowels of the tunnel. Deep into the tunnel, the howling winds of the surface gave way to an eerie silence, offset by the occasional sound of dripping water ans a subtle low-frequency noise as if the structure around them was somehow... sleeping? Xayun kept his rifle pointing at the black void where the tunnel seemed to lead, fitted with a small tactical flashlight that shone a faint orange halo on its walls. While the light was decent for inspecting what was ahead of them, Karilel's body lighting made it easier for everyone to keep tabs on each other as they progressed, and surprisingly, it even had a somewhat calming effect on him. Probably because it reminded him of the lichens he used to see on his home planet. But the tunnel seemed to go on and on. The depth of the tunnel was having an effect on their communications, and he could feel it on his chest. In fact, he was starting to really feel it on his chest, and he drew one hand towards it, where his twin hearts beat. A terrible anxiety almost overcame him, for beneath the suit, he could feel the chip he had placed just before embarking on this mission, attached to his skin. He had learned the hard way that it's good to always have a plan B, and he wasn't going to appear on a military venture and pretend he was part of the crew all along, just like that. Just in case they simply decided to shoot him on the spot, he had devised a more persuasive reason for them to let him join the mission - he had wired their ship's engines with explosives, set to trigger if his vital signs ceased. But now that they were losing signal inside the tunnel, his switch was having trouble connecting to the explosive's receptors, which without any signal would detonate. As an added safety feature, the switch couldn't be disarmed from his location, either. And he had somehow forgot about it, having so easily infiltrated Karilel's team. He kept walking down the tunnel as if nothing was happening, practically dissolving in a puddle of sweat inside his suit. This was a mistake that was going to cost him something for sure, and he had to make a decision fast - either to continue in the tunnel and cause the ships to explode, or blow the lid on the whole deal one way or the other. He knew what he had to do, and sighed. It was either him or everyone else. Maybe he really should have volunteered to remain with Syra, and now it was too late. ... Commander? Commander. Xayun placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to bring her attention to him. The rest of the crew stopped and turned around and to face them both, wondering what was going on once she was listening, he rested one his hands against her hull and looked into her glowing eyes, his expression one of utmost seriousness. Commander, there are explosives on both ship's engines. You have to tell the remaining crew to deactivate them, you understand? He barely gave Karilel any time to reply to him before continuing. Send them this the combination is- ... The sound of rocks grinding against each other and a metallic creak whooshed past them from one side to the other, interrupting Xayun and making him scan for the origin of the noise. He saw the edges of the metal plate they were all standing on arching up as it seemed to sag and deform a couple of bolts got torn out of their supports and the whole plate collapsed under their weight. Where once was the humid tunnel, now there was only a spinning blackness as he and the rest fell down a hole hewn in the rock. Fortunately they didn't fall from a very tall height, as the patchwork metal floor that eventually caught them them was as hard as the tunnel's. He didn't stop to look at the room they had fallen in, whose walls and ceiling were all made from metal beam and plates just like the tunnel, shining from their flashlight nor did he notice the skinned torsos that were hanging above them, dripping down a few droplets of blood. He immediately felt around his chest, his equivalent of adrenaline numbing his pain, and he could feel the sensor broken in two. For what the explosives were concerned, he was already dead. A very soft thump that traveled through the ground of the planet confirmed his suspicions.