"All we have to do is break these pillars and we can send the Jora into a sun!" Caleb yelled over the approaching din.

"We don't have time! We gotta go!" June argued back.

"You don't have anything in your pack? I thought you always came prepared!"

"I do but I don't want to use them on your insane plan!"

"Are you saving it all for the last boss! Just use them and get more later!"

"And if your plan doesn't work I'm out two weapons!"

"Just let him try!" Alex shouted. She knew Caleb would get stuck on trying to do it until the last minute.

"Fine!"

June reached into her pack and grabbed two of her special atomizer bombs. She handed them over to Caleb.

"Don't you have sticky tack or something?" Caleb complained as he saw the smooth surface of the bomb. It would roll away from the pillar if he set it on the ground.

"You're the genius, figure it out!" June shouted back at him. She was helping the other squad members collapse tunnels to slow down the incoming Jora and didn't have time for Caleb's complaints.

"Do they have timers!?" He yelled.

"The dial!" Caleb looked at the dial next to the detonator. The numbers zero, fifteen, thirty, forty-five, and sixty ringed the switch. Next, he had to figure out how he was going to set these next to the pillars. He caught the edge of his kilt out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he could tie a strip of the cloth around the bomb and pillar.

"I need your sword!" Caleb said to Nathan. He motioned cutting his cloth and tying a knot around the bomb. Getting the picture, Nathan unsheathed his weapon and handed it over to Caleb, exchanging it with Bat.

June tossed one of her grenades into a tunnel filled with Jora. The bomb exploded, collapsing the tunnel and blocking off the Jora's path. "Hurry it up!" She yelled back.

Caleb quickly sliced off two pieces of his loincloth, large enough to wrap around the pillars and bombs. Working quickly, he tied the first around the base of the pillar while instructing Alex to climb up and do the same on the top. Once done, both twisted the timers to sixty and pressed the detonation button.

The bombs began to tick down. "We're good!" Alex yelled.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" June shouted.

The party ran back the way they had come, following Alex as she knew the route back. They weaved through tunnels and collapsed them as they went. June made sure to stall any incoming Jora long enough to Pass by them. Anything she didn't catch immediately was caught by Nathan, who worked with Alex's cats to send Jora sailing past them.

It looked like the strategy was working, up until the top of the tunnel collapsed and Jora came down in the middle of the group. A few of the squad were caught in the avalanche and crushed as the Jora stomped down. June had been unable to react in time and now the group was split from the cave-in. Alex and Nathan were ahead while Caleb and June were caught behind.

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"Shit," June cursed. "Go ahead, we'll try to find another way out!"

"You don't have anyone who can navigate!" Alex argued.

"And we don't have time to wait, or do you want to take our chances fighting an entire horde! So go!"

"Fine, but take Jim-Jam with you!"

Alex grabbed the Palug she had stored in her satchel and commanded him to follow and protect the others. Then she and Nathan turned to run. June used her power to make sure they got out safely before turning to Caleb.

"Any more bright ideas?"

Caleb pointed. "We go up. Jim-Jam will climb it with some rope and we'll get pulled up after."

"I don't have a rope, we used it already to scale down here."

"I still have Nathan's sword. I can cut off more loincloth and tie it together. Can you hold them long enough?"

June nodded.

Caleb went to work. It was slightly eerie seeing all the Jora lazing around while he cut their loincloths into strips. Once he felt he had enough he tied them all together with a double fisherman's knot, something he had learned one day when his dad took him fishing. He'd hated the fishing, too much standing still, but now he was grateful for it.

"Ready!" He exclaimed as he handed a rope end to Jim-Jam. The large cat jumped up and scaled the wall, claws digging into the rock with every step. Once the cat reached a level area, he meowed down. Luckily there was enough rope.

"Grab on," Caleb said to June. He grabbed one side of the rope as she did the same. "Pull Jim-Jam!"

Jim-Jam tugged on the makeshift rope, puling June and Caleb up through the recently made tunnel. The two helped by walking up the sides, back to back.

Soon the tunnel smoothed out and the two were able to walk again. Ahead of them was another large opening, devoid of Jora for the moment.

"We should keep finding ways to move up," June said. "That'll be the quickest way to get off the asteroid."

Caleb agreed as the two moved into the opening with Jim-Jam. His eye caught a tunnel up above. "There," He pointed.

"Jim-Jam can't reach that can he?" June asked.

The large cat meowed.

"I can't tell if that means yes or no," Caleb said.

"Doesn't matter, look." June pointed over to a pile in the corner. Sitting inside was a Varnoss tank. The same one that almost destroyed Three Cities' dome. Some of it had been taken apart, the wheels weren't attached and the chassis had been severely dented.

"You think it works? What if it runs on the faith of the emperor or something?" Caleb said.

"What? No we're not going to start it, that things tall enough to reach the tunnel!" June replied.

"Oh, duh. I was wondering for a second."

"You're the one with the stupid plans," June shot back. "Now help me clear some debris so Jim-Jam can move it."

The two worked at removing the scrap while Jim-Jam pushed against the side of the tank. The vehicle scraped against the stone floor as it moved.

"Well now they'll definitely know where we are," Caleb said.

"Best to hurry it up then," June commented.

The three pushed the tank to sit under the ceiling tunnel. "Now we just need to turn it vertical," June said. The two helped Jim-Jam squeeze under the thing. The Palug pushed against the heavy tank, slowly turning it upwards. The rumble of Jora sounded in the distance.

"Shit, hurry!" June cried, pushing harder against the tank.

Caleb pushed against the metal harder, trying to use his weak muscles to their maximum. Finally, the tank hit a tipping point and finished the rest of its journey on its own. Jim-Jam quickly scaled up to the top and jumped into the tunnel, rope in its mouth. Caleb and June grabbed on and were pulled upwards just as a group of Jora burst into the room.

"Haha!" Caleb laughed even as Jora scrambled up after them. June flexed her power and each one found it a better idea to stop climbing for now. Climbing sounded like work and they wanted to be a bit lazy at the moment.

The tunnel led to another open area, this one filled with Jora. But they could hear the sounds of battle outside.

"We're close!" June said as she used her power to stop the Jora around her.

"Sounds like the edge is right there!" Caleb said as he pointed to the opposite wall.

The two made a mad dash over, Jim-Jam following behind. June was starting to pant heavily. Her power taxing her more and more each time. They reached the edge and heard the distinct sounds of explosions.

"This one!" Caleb said, pointing to a nearby tunnel. Nodding, June followed him in, emerging outside the asteroid on a small outcropping on the side. Down below Varnoss tanks blasted into the Jora, knocking some down while ripping through others. In turn, Jora were assaulting the front lines of the Varnoss.

"Three Cities is there!" June cried.

In the sky sat their city, a beacon of light and hope for June.

"How do we get there?" Caleb asked.

June pulled out her pack and grabbed a flare. "Pull the top off and wave it around. I'm going to focus on keeping these Jora away."

She handed off the flare to Caleb, who promptly lit it and waved it around.