Orions Away

“Stay right there,” the minion ordered. “Harrad-Sar will want to see you. Don’t move.” The man jogged briefly away from the pair. When he was out of sight and earshot, Archer spun and took off towards the back entrance to the lava tube, dragging Riaan behind him.

            “They don’t know it’s a tube, at least I hope they don’t!” They came to the end of the tunnel; the land was lit up with morning starlight. They climbed above the tunnel but the rocks were loose and many of them sharp. They hurried gingerly, looking for a quiet hiding place.

            “Look,” Archer whispered. He pointed in the sky near a cliff where one of Endeavour’s shuttles appeared to be on descent. He snatched the communicator from his pocket. “Shuttlepod, it’s Archer!” We’re neg 15 degrees port from you, about 5 kilometers.”

            “Acknowledged.”

            “Orions are everywhere, just below us in the gorge,” he told them. He watched the shuttle land a few hundred meters ahead of their location. Archer looked over the cliff and saw three Orions headed for the mouth of the tunnel. In the distance he saw three of Endeavour’s security crew and Captain Mitchell himself jogging up behind the Orions, dashing between rocks and obstacles as they navigated the ruins.

            “Just where do you think you two are going?” shouted one of the Orions from behind them, on the hill. They were surrounded by the cliff and phase rifles. “You can’t escape,” the big man laughed. “You are hardly worth the trouble we’ve gone through, but Harrad-Sar is a proud man.”

            “And I’m an impatient man. We’ll come down, don’t shoot us.”

            Jonathan and Riaan scrambled down the hill towards the original entrance to the tunnel. The cliff above the entrance shaded the ingress; Archer noticed the large boulder there appeared loose. Behind the Orions running up the hill he saw Mitchell and the team coming up behind.

            “Okay, Archer, back in the cave, up here where I can see you.”

            “So you had to come in Harrad-Sar’s place, not Harrad- Sar himself? Is he nursing a headache?”

            “Oh, shut up. Do they ever stop talking on your planet?”

            “No, I’m afraid talking is a human characteristic. We’re not telepathic, so, yes, we have to talk to communicate-“

            Ghzinng! The Orion shot a phasor blast above their heads, intentionally hitting the wall of the tunnel for show. Archer stopped talking briefly, knowing Mitchell would be there momentarily.

            “Wow, you’ve got a great aim, there, unless you were trying to hit us.”

            “If I were trying to hit you, I would have. Whoooaaa…” the Orion lurched forward and fell to the ground.

            “You’re not leaving, Archer,” came Harrad-Sar’s voice behind him. There’s no place to go, just come along and save your strength. It might be a while before we eat again, or, at least you do,” he chuckled.

            “Come on,” he whispered, follow me.

            “You’re not taking us anywhere, Harrad-Sar.” Jonathan backed up, away from Harrad-Sar, towards the original entrance to the tunnel, luring the pirate closer but away from the fallen man. Phasor fire blazed outside, and at that moment, Jonathan grabbed the phasor from his pants and took Riaan out of the tunnel at a run. A few meters out, they skidded to a stop. Archer turned back towards the tunnel and shot at the edge of the cliff beneath the boulder.  Dust and stones began to fly and fall to the ground. He kept firing. In another second the boulder crushed the top of the tube and fell squarely in front of it with a quaking slam and a shroud of dirt.

            “Admiral! Doctor!”

            “Captain!”

            “Let’s go!”

            Captain Mitchell led Archer, Riaan, and his team quickly down the rest of the hill, over blocks of stone and rugged brush. The shuttle was ahead. They passed two Orions on the ground as they headed in that direction. One crew member on the pod threw open the hatch and helped each member in, Dr. Riaan first, the Admiral Archer. Mitchell followed up last. The hatch slammed, locked, and before everyone was seated the shuttle lifted off the ground and up into the sky.