RP: The Wayward Trouble in the Mine (Pre-Story Aside)

The pilot of the red frame quickly came to his senses and put some distance between himself and Vallynn, aware of how much damage his own weapon could do. however what came back was much less than he expected, the frames the miners used were not combat made, but by the red frame's posture, Valyyn could tell the pilot was underwhelmed by the slow-moving counter attack.

A laugh from the pilot was transmitted over the radio as he moved to grab the ball. "Looks like your luck has run out, trash." He moved forward to grab the ball, but just a moment after he did there was a loud explosion from the ship as the cargo detonated, causing quite a big debris cloud, it was unclear how much damage was down but the pilot was frozen in distraction.

As the metal ball worked its way towards its owner, Vallynn pushed back on the controls and flew backward to lesson blow incoming. "Sir Trash to you, Red. By the way, nice catch. AI, disable safety protocols and detonate immediately." The last was for the AI, but he wanted his enemy to know his doom the instant before it happened.

The Red pilot shouted in confusion, he had some expletives to say but they were cut off by the explosion right in front of him from his own weapon. The charge was for mining so it was rather powerful, and it created a large cloud of debris just like the explosion from the ship.

All was silent for a moment, whether they were alive or dead, there was no way they weren't rattled, Vallynn had a brief opportunity to take advantage of.

Using the time afforded him Vallynn rushed in and brought his pick to bear once again. He was going to end this. Using the thrust from his frame, he told the AI, "Brace for a heavy swing. Mid torso, pilot center mass." As he flew he glanced at his monitors, checking for other targets that he might have to run from. Speaking to the other miners, "If any of you are still out there, now would be the time to help Elena." Once he was in range, he reared back and brought the pick down as hard as he could.

The pick struck true, the sensation of metal being torn apart reverberated through the frame.The cockpit of the red frame was crushed and pierced, there was almost no chance of survival.

With the fight settled, the rest of the mining crew came back, and two flew down to carefully lift up Elena's ruined frame, doing their best not to jostle it, they understood the delicate nature of the situation all too well. However the ship and captain had not returned, there was no way to get Elena back to safety like this.

Just as things felt hopeless however there was a radio transmission; "Emergency care and field patrol are here. Unknown craft, disengage all weapons and stand down. The mining frames over there do the same."

With a quick explanation over the radio, Elena was taken by emergency care and the situation was reported. It seems like the unauthorized detonation of explosives is what got their attention. Whatever the case, things were finally safe, the patrol would apprehend the criminals and Elena would get the medical attention she needed.

With a sigh, Vallynn relaxed a bit inside his frame. "Well, guess I'm going to need to find a new job. How's everyone holding up?" He piped the last to the miner comm channel. Devoid of any other weapons he raised the hands of the frame just enough to display his acquiescence to the authorities that arrived on scene. "Where the hell is that coward of a Captain?"

He checked his scanners for the hauler ship and for any ores that might be salvageable from the mess. Especially the rich ore he casually exploded.

It seemed like everyone was okay, and the authorities took over the situation. There wasn't really anything to salvage from the debris, but also it didn't seem like they would be allowed to salvage, there was a lot of questioning ahead after all.

1 Week Later

It took some time, but everything involving the case had been settled. Though the results were far from good. Vallynn had been fired from his job as a miner, in fact, most of the crew that shift had been fired. But even Elena had the worst fortune out of everyone. Her legs were seriously injured during the incident, and she has little hope to walk again, and the rehabilitation was going to be pretty tough, and the captain was giving her the bare minimum he could legally give as worker's compensation.

Elena's problems were not Vallynn's though. He had been without a job for a week and trying to get a new one was not easy, not with stories of him detonating the payload to stop pirates. Things looked bleak, like he might have to change professions altogether. However just this morning he received a call, from eh government itself, they wanted to speak with him about possible job offerings. This was, of course, unusual, but either way, he had a meeting with a representative for today at the local office.