The molten glow of magma lit the cave around them as Zubin and Marchus cautiously walked forward through the Inferno. A pair of floating drones followed them into the dark and heat. Zubin had taken point, keeping a careful eye on the nooks and crannies ahead of them as Marchus watched for any sneak attacks from behind. The sheer heat made the air writhe, helping to hide any sneaky Tark'ee in the shadows.

"Ugh, why did we take this job again?" Marchus complained, panting slightly, "This heat might kill me before the volcanics do."

"Well, Corbin's paying us a lot for this. And there's no way their colonists would survive this." Zubin said, "Just try to look on the bright side, Marchus. Maybe we'll find something rare down here!"

Marchus just grumbled instead of replying, continuing to watch and listen closely to the echoing sounds in the caves. One of the floating drones swept its beam over a large boulder, causing light to flash off of dark scales. Something shuffled in the darkness, causing a pebble to fall towards the pair of explorers.

Zubin quickly swept his flashlight towards the boulder as Marchus pulled out his plasma pistol.

"Who's there! Show yourself!" Zubin shouted, moving his free hand to his own pistol.

"Trespassers," a voice hissed from the shadows, "You have one chance to leave. Leave or die." As they spoke, the voice moved, their scales and claws hissing as they scraped the ground.

"Sorry, stranger, but we're being paid to drive you and your friends off. You should just surrender now, cause it's two against one here, and we have guns." Zubin said, raising and pointing his pistol at the voice's rough location. The pair of drones hummed slightly as they charged their own weapons.

"Very well then. Some of your outsider friends may have already injured me, but I will not go down without a fight." The volcanic hissed as it lumbered into view, revealing itself as Zavros. "If I am to be defeated today, I will face my defeat with honor."

Suddenly, the massive volcanic Tark'ee charged at Zubin and Marchus, aiming his curled horns at Zubin's chest. Zubin yelped as he jumped to the side, firing a glancing shot at Zavros' side. Marchus growled as he narrowly dodged to charging Tark'ee, landing a hit to his front left leg as he passed. The two drones barely missed, firing just a second too late.

Zavros skidded to a stop a few feet from Marchus, swiftly turning to face the explorers again. He grunted slightly as the pain from his wounds, old and fresh, flared. He pushed through it, and closed in on Marchus to swipe at him with sharp claws.

Marchus reared back to dodge Zavros' claws, receiving only a set of shallow scratches. While Zavros was focused on Marchus, Zubin snuck around them, and clawed at his achilles tendons, barely dodging the retaliatory tail swipe as the Tark'ee roared in pain.

Zubin had gotten a successful hit at the vulnerable tendon, causing the volcanic to stumble and collapse. Zavros growled and huffed as he stared at Zubin and Marchus, before he sighed and bowed his head.

"Enough. I yield." Zavros grumbled, "Do not attempt to aid me. I will either recover, or die here. Do whatever it is you came here for, and leave me to my fate."

"Are you sure you don't want hel-" Zubin was cut off by Zavros' loud growl, and a thump from his clubbed tail. "Okay, we're leaving!" Zubin yelped.

After logging what just happened, the pair moved further into the caves, continuing their expedition.