Narrator: Three hundred meters under the surface...
Tagon: Some of Petey's taps still work, but based on the ones that don't, I think all shafts to the surface are blocked.
Pranger: I don't know what's going on with the Integrity. I can't reach them.
Tagon: We don't want to wait for them to try to dig us out. After that explosion, the surface will be crawling with planetary militia.
Pranger: What do you suggest, Captain?
Tagon: My teraport cage may work. There's a small garrison of Phican soldiers between here and there, though.
Tagon: They're not equipped half so well as we are, but they outnumber us about three to one.
Pranger: Do you suppose they've been softened up a bit by that nuke upstairs?
Tagon: Like butter in the microwave, Colonel.
Pranger: Well... if they're going to play the part of softened butter, that leaves us playing the part of "hot knife."
Schlock: Knife, butter... all that's missing is the toast.
Tagon: Let's go make some, Sergeant.
Narrator: Note: The knife-through-butter metaphor inaccurate in this case.
Narrator: Typically when one cuts butter with a knife, the butter does not end up spattered on the walls.
Narrator: A more accurate visual metaphor has been supplied below.