Their softly lit tunnels had once held a thriving metropolis under the killing sun. They had dwindled down to a tiny population and eventually left to find another world. Now, two aliens were stalking through the leftovers of a dead society with the purpose of saving what they could. It made Yllin feel exceptionally odd. Carving a hole in the cargo hold wouldn’t keep the ship from lifting off, but the hole in the forward engine bay would. “If we cut along the walls, we should be able to get them all in one drop. We will start here. I will go left, you go right and we will meet up again on the other side. The drop will happen the moment that gravity takes over. We want to be well back from that.” He nodded, and they passed under the payload. She aimed at the ceiling and started to cut. She moved quickly and Nearing matched her step for step. They backed up and cut along the hallway lines, the intermediate layer of sand and silt sifted through the new holes.
