I’ve been laying out this plot for twenty minutes now. If nothing else it should demonstrate how easy it is to lay the foundation for a workable plot. Yes, it feels more like syfy channel than sci-fi canon, but the writing is really what turns trope into terrific. Yes, I accept that I am being sorta corny right now too. Anyway, where were we?
Joe and Ranger Jane meet. Jane is on site because she was the closest to the action when old faithful got angry and she knows the park better than anyone. She’s the guide in a sense and the park officials demand one of their own be in place. Joe arrives as the DARPA teams are already in place using subterranean tech to map out a new hole that opened up after old faithful started hurting people. They are seeking information and not really concerned with the larger problem that Joe was brought in for. They don’t fully believe the problem is real still, though evidence suggests they need to consider it real. They begrudgingly let Joe poke around the surface and react in surprise at the new cave system and the lava puddles. According to Jane, the caves are old but the lava is new. She’s been playing in these caves forever.
The back and forth continues and over the course of several scenes develops into a power struggle between the agitator and the Joe/Jane pairing. Finally the agitator decides that he has this under control and wants Joe off the project. He is banned from the cave entrance. However, Joe is certain that something far worse is happening below the surface. Jane believes him and shows him her secret way into the cave. They go deeper than the other teams have gone and they see that the lava puddles aren’t coming from the main vent of the volcano. They see that vent and realize that things are about to get really bad for humanity. Just then the Volcano burps. The result is a huge explosion that shakes everything and sends them running. They get trapped in a side tunnel and… that is all we have time for today.