Packing Heat

    “What’s your status, M one seven?”

    “Uh, hot.”

    “Repeat, one seven?”

    “I said it’s hot.”

    “Oh. Well that’s sort of the nature of volcanoes, one seven. Have you found the leak yet?”

    Marcus swung on the tether, lowering himself further into the heart of the volcano. A serrated rock ledge jutted out of the cliff side below, streams of magma flowing past and off the edge, pooling together in the cracks. He fed more line through his harness and set his heavy metal boots onto the jagged ledge, careful to step on solid stone.

    “Well, it’s not visible from the rim. I’m on the way down now.”

    “Try not to melt. Bridge Control out.”

    “Sure thing, Bridge, I’ll let you know if I melt.” His readout on his visor read nearly four thousand degrees. “When I melt, more likely. This is just insane... there’s lava everywhere. It’s… hello? Control?” The radio channels were all silent. “Well I guess I’ll just talk to myself then. That’s fun.”

    Marcus carefully made it to the cliff edge and peered over. The blinding orange glow lit up the entire cavern. Magma bubbles grew and burst, spraying waves of liquid death in all directions. A large pipe ran through the chamber and down into the tunnels below, suspended above the ocean of fire. A pressurized steam pipe. A steam pipe with a leak.

    He looked up. His tether was attached to the bridge above the volcano mouth. And coming down it was another plated metal suit. The suit jumped down and landed beside him.

    “This is not how I usually spend my summer days, big M.”

    “Hey, Dani. You here to bother me, or just sightseeing?”

    “That’s not fair! I can help, you know!”

    Marcus crouched next to the edge and pulled a stake and hammer from his pack. He poked the ground with his metal glove, searching for a suitable soft spot to hammer it in. Of course, there were none, as it was all rocks.

    “I’m not sure the middle of a volcano is a safe place for little girls,” said Marcus, as he readied the stake for pounding.

    “I’m 15! And it’s not my first time in here, my brother takes me here all the time!”

    “Ok, well if you want to help, can you pound in this stake for me?”

    “Ooh yeah, lemme!” Dani bounced over. Well, as much bounce as a fourteen year old girl can make while wearing a heat reflecting metal suit the size of an adult male. She grabbed the hammer and aimed at the stake with a couple test hits. She lifted the hammer above her head and slammed it down on the stake, mostly hitting.

    Stake in, Marcus attached a second tether and threw it off the cliff edge. If he had aimed correctly, it should lead down right to the pipe.

    “Ladies first.”

    “Thanks, M!” Dani hopped onto the rope and started to shimmy down. Her suit-dampened agility was well practiced. Marcus followed slowly.

    The pipe was bright red, and not just from the lava glow. It sloped slightly down towards the cavern’s lower tunnels, splitting into two. Dani led the way, her heavy boots clanking on the metal grate pathway. The bubbles splashed, and magma droplets filled the air.

    They made it to the split, and Marcus pulled out a small device. This measured the pipe’s pressure, to show them which split to continue down. He placed it on the main pipe to get a control reading.

    The screen remained blank for a second, then flashed yellow. Marcus took it off and tried again.

    “It’s not responding. I think the heat’s messing with it too much.”

    Dani crouched down and peered at the screen. It was starting to flicker.

    “Yeah, it’s too hot for this thing!” she yelled. “We should just feel for it!” Without waiting for a response, she placed her gauntlet on one side of the splitting pipes. After a second, she switched to the other. Marcus watched in wonder.

    “Yeah, M, this way!” she said gleefully. Marcus shrugged in acceptance and followed.

    The pipe went down the tunnel, attaching to the wall and around a bend. The walls were smoother as they contracted, indicating a previous lava riverbed.

    “There it is.” Marcus pointed down the tunnel. Dani followed his hand and made a sound of surprise. A large rock had landed on the pipe, oddly balanced, with steam surrounding it. The rocky stalactite had fallen and pierced the pipe like a knife.

    A tremor shook the cavern, and they hugged the wall to stabilize. They were running out of time. Marcus’s helmet readout started beeping.

    “We have to hurry, M! The tunnel’s heating up!” As soon as the shaking slowed, Dani jumped up to her feet again and rushed over to the large rock. The metal grate was bent and indented, and Marcus was careful to keep his footing. He did not want to fall. He felt plenty hot enough without a lava jacuzzi bath.

    He pulled out a crowbar from his pack. As he crouched beside the rock, some feeling tickled his mind. After a second of contemplation, he placed it. Crowbars were not supposed to bend like this.

    “What’s the wait?” Dani asked, a mix of concern and impatience. Marcus held up the crowbar to show her. “Uhoh. Did you do that?”

    Marcus gave her a look of annoyance, although probably going unseen through his large reflective helmet. He did his best to re-bend the soft crowbar back into its previous shape with his hands, and put it back into his pack. The volcano’s air alone was hot enough to melt their tools, they needed something else to remove this rock. Something more powerful perhaps.

    “Hey, Dani. Do you uh... remember when I got suspended last month?”

    “Yeah, you had all that illegal stuff in your lab room on the station.”

    “Well, can you keep a secret?”

    “Wait, why?” she asked, with an obvious indignant tone.

    “Well, don’t tell anyone, but… I didn’t give it all back.” Marcus bit his lip. He just told that to a chatty teenager.

    “What? Marcus! You know that’s bad!” Dani folded her arms as much as she could in her suit and looked down at him, probably scowling. Marcus chuckled silently at her feigned authority.

    “I like explosions, ok? It’s just… a guy thing.” Marcus rose to his feet. “We should probably take a step back.”

    Dani huffed and walked back up the tunnel a small ways and turned back. Marcus gestured further. Once their distance felt sufficient, Marcus removed a big handgun from his pack. It had an orange glowing battery on top, and a serrated opening on the front of the barrel. A custom design, clearly ignoring safety protocols.

    “You’re packing heat! You know you shouldn’t!” The huffing continued.

    “We don’t have much time, ok? It’s for the station’s good, after all.” Marcus aimed towards the rock. He exhaled and pulled the trigger.

    A blast rocked the volcano, sending shockwaves into the lava sea. Marcus nearly fell backwards with the kickback, but kept steady, likely due to the slightly magnetic suit boots.

    The rock was smithereens.

    “See? Very effective,” said Marcus simply.

    “You could have blown up the pipe, M!”

    “Yeah, I know. Come help me patch it.” They walked over and Marcus jumped through the steam leak onto the far side of the pipe. He pulled out a long coil. He stretched it out and handed one end through to Dani. With coordination they stretched it along the side of the pipe, and pulled it tight. Unfurling across like aluminum, the metal sheet covered the leak, cutting off the steam flow.

    “Well, that should do it!” Dani said, still with an annoyed tone. Marcus noticed.

    They started up the pipe again, reaching the central chamber. The verticality was refreshing compared to the cramped tunnel.

    More beeping on his readout ended the refreshing feeling. His suit sparked, and the cooling system was beginning to shut down. Marcus looked around the chamber. There was too much smoke, and too much shaking. It was erupting too soon.

    “Dani! We gotta go!”

    “Why is it… oh no! We gotta go!” She started running, the sound of metal boots on metal increasing pace. Marcus ran behind.

    They reached the first tether, and climbed up onto the rock ledge above. The ground felt a lot more solid, although still riddled with lava pools. Marcus looked down at his feet. They were charred and letting off smoke and heat waves.

    “Oh no, the tether!” With Dani’s distress, Marcus looked up. The lava flow running over the ledge had increased. The second tether was right above a large pool of it, and the end of the line was on fire, getting slowly eaten away. It was just out of reach, and getting farther.

    “Hold on, Dani. I can throw you!” Marcus pointed up. She was light, he could do it.

    “But what about you? Who’s gonna throw you?” Marcus ignored her concerned voice, and picked her up underneath the arms. His suit was heating up on the inside, and sweat covered his brow. If they didn’t get out, he would be cooked inside the suit.

    “I’ll be fine. You first! Ready?” Marcus swung her suit up once, and then with great effort swung again and let go. Through frantic yells, Dani flew up flailing, but managed to catch onto the rope. She swung perilously, her loose arm grasping at air. Miraculously, she found the rope with her other hand and held on.

    “What about you?” Dani yelled again, looking down at him.

    He gestured up. “Go! I need some room to grab!”

    She shimmied up, and looked down at him again.

    “Hey Dani. Remember when I said I didn’t give it all back?” Marcus pulled out a canister from his pack. Sweat started streaming into his eyes, and he blinked it off.

    “What? What is that, M?”

    With some flexibility difficulty, Marcus reached back and removed his backpack. It was flat and metal, and mostly rigid. He put the canister on the ground, and put the pack next to it.

    The volcano boomed. The chamber rocked again, stronger than any other time. The magma ocean burst all at once, rising up the chamber.  They had to get out now.

    “Hurry, Marcus!” Dani’s voice went unheard, as he concentrated entirely on his work.

    Marcus reached down and ripped a wire from the canister, his hands chaffing and burning inside the suit gloves. He quickly put the pack on top, covering the canister, and stepped on it. He crouched and bent his knees in a ready stance.

    A thundering crack launched him into the air. The pack shattered, shielding him from the direct blast under his feet. The sound was quickly lost in the volcano’s echoes, but the shockwave shook through his suit. Weightless, Marcus thrashed around. The rope was there. He reached. He screamed. It was too far.

    Time stopped. He was still in the air, no longer falling. Marcus looked up, stunned. He had one finger gripping the rope, and his other hand was engulfed in Dani’s glove.

    “I got you, M! Hold on!”

    The volcano roared beneath them, like a beast out of range from it’s prey. Marcus carefully adjusted his grip on the rope with one hand, and as Dani let go of the other, he grabbed with both hands. They were both on.

    “Up!” he shouted. Dani started to climb. His readout read critical. The ocean filled the cavern beneath.

    As the volcano lurched and spat, they ascended until they reached the bottom of the bridge. Dani flipped over the rail. Marcus flopped over. Out of danger at last, he dropped onto his back, breathing relief. Dani looked over, watching as the volcano bubbled over the rim under the bridge, spilling lava over the edge and down the mountain.

    Marcus looked up at the star in space above, a red giant shining bright. This planet was as close as its orbit got, the solar summer heat causing volcanic activity to spike. But they had restored power, and the station’s electricity could keep it at acceptable temperatures.

    A beep on Marcus’s readout indicated a connection with base. He opened a channel. “Bridge control?”

    “Here, one seven.” A crackly voice came through. “Power’s back. The volcano erupted, are you two alright?”

    “It’s a little hot. But we’re fine.” Marcus closed his eyes. “Mission complete.”