"So, who do you want to speak to, first?" Swindle asked Ratchet as they placed the occupied sticker on their container and looked around at everyone. The crowd were still doing what they did before. Some were just sitting by themselves, some were talking with each, and others were engaged in minor trading.
"Got a personal opinion on what to do?" Ratchet asked him.
"Well, as a merchant, I would like to start bartering with the traders," he replied. "We could get some medical equipment for you and some survival equipment. Maybe some gear for our weapons."
"That would make for a good first choice, but we don't really have much to trade with. The value of shanix has lessen significantly, so any we have won't matter much," the doctor reminded him.
"Yeah, that's true. I have 4000 shanix on me, but we have no idea how much that's worth now," Swindle agreed, thinking it through.
"Hold on? You have 4000 on you right now, at this moment?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, of course. You got to have walk around money," the merchant told him.
"400 shanix is walk around money, not 4000," Ratchet told him. "Why would you need that much money?"
"It's walk-around money," Swindle repeated, getting annoyed. "I'm a merchant, don't you remember? Sometimes, you need a large amount of shanix to seal a sudden deal. I walk around for them all the time."
"Even in a fallout shelter?"
"Of course. Duh," Swindle told him. "Why not, anyway? It's completely digital, so their easy to walk around with."
"It also makes you a more attractive target," Ratchet reminded him.
"You think I don't know that? I can defend myself against any potential thieves and robbers, you know? I went to the gun range all the time," Swindle told him. "Met a lot of customers there that helped me out with them in exchange for a slight discount."
"Well… guess I shouldn't question it. Gives us money to spend," Ratchet relented.
"Don't you have some money?" Swindle questioned him.
"No, I don't. Sorry. You're going to have to be the spender for us."
"Guah," the merchant grunted while crossing his arms. "Of course, my money is the one we got to spend. Can't be anyone else's."
"Swindle, don't argue about it. I know you value your money, but we're trekking through a wasteland devoid of life and filled with danger. We need these items to protect us," Ratchet attempted to ease him.
"I know. Calm down," Swindle told him, sounding annoyed. "I recognize the situation we're in and what we have to do. It's just that… it's my money, you know. I'm a greedy fragger. However, I can recognize the situation we're in. Just… let me handle all the discussions of deals so that we can deal the least amount of damage to my money, okay?"
"Of course. You're the professional, here," Ratchet insisted. "I trust you can make the right deals."
"Damn right, I can," he agreed with a smirk. "Now, let's go talk to these people. Figure out what these people are like before we start wheeling and dealing."
"Alright."
"Also, we should go talk to Swerve as well. He might tell us something about the traders that might help us," Swindle recommended to him.
"Alright… so what do you want to do first: talk to Swerve or talk to the traders?" Ratchet questioned and Swindle thought about it for a few seconds before saying his conclusion.
"Let's go talk to Swerve. He probably has info on the traders. Plus, we could learn some things about what happened after the bombs dropped from him," Swindle answered.
"Yes, we could. I'm extremely interested in figuring out what happened after the bombs dropped," Ratchet agreed.
"Death and destruction for starters. Maybe Swerve can fill us in on all the rest. Let's go," Swindle ordered and Ratchet nodded in agreement. The two made their way through the traders and talkers on to the stairs and climbed up. They climbed the steps to the top and opened the door to reach a hallway. A makeshift metal sign with 'BAR' and an arrow pointing to the left painted on it in yellow and 'MeD with a red arrow pointing to the left. The two followed along to a door at the end of the hallway and opened it to see what looked to be a manager's office, but it had been significantly reworked to become a bar. Several tables were set up at the back to set up the countertop as well as several shelves to hold various bottles of liquids in different colors. Stools were in front of the counter top as wells chairs around two tables. In the room was two femmes conversing with each other on the left table, and a mech on the right table by himself sipping a purple liquid from a glass, with Swerve behind the countertop.
As they entered, Swerve noticed them and waved them on over. "Hey, you guys came to see me?" he asked.
"Yeah," Swindle said as the two walked over to him and took a seat on the stools.
"So, what will you have? An Iacon Delight or-"
"Nor for drinks," Ratchet corrected. "We came to talk you about a couple of things."
"Oh, really?" he asked as he leaned in. Looking behind the countertop, Ratchet noticed that there was a makeshift platform made from boxes going behind across the entire countertop to give Swerve additional height, making him about a head taller than Swindle. "Well, what do you wanna know?"
"Let's start with the bombs," Ratchet said first. "What happened after they dropped and how many places were hit by them."
"From what I heard, pretty much every damn place was hit by nukes," Swerve told them. "Some were blanketed with nukes while the lucky ones were only at the edge of an explosion and hit by radiation. Lucky you guys for getting a damn vault," he said bitterly.
"Hey, we had no idea what was going to happen," Swindle immediately defended.
"Most people didn't," Swerve agreed as he relaxed his tone again. "Someone did in order to prepare all those vaults, but the people that knew about the nukes had to have been in drastically low numbers."
"Why in the hells did the nuke go off in the first place?" Swindle asked. "I thought there was a ceasefire."
"I don't know. All we know is that mall of the warring places launch their nukes at the same time. We don't know who pulled the trigger first, but the ones who saw the nukes coming launch theirs in retaliation and that's how the world went to hell," Swerve told them.
"So, it was basically a global Cold War. All the nations had their nukes pointed at each other and each of them responded," Ratchet said.
Yeah. The only mystery about it is who fire the first shot and caused the others to launch their nukes," Swerve told them. "No one really knows who fired the first shot. There's been plenty of guesses, most of them being pointed at Zelgier over in the west and at us, because of course the other nations would blame us, but like I said, no one knows for sure. Probably never will," Swerve told them.
"Right, the warring nations. If I'm correct, there's six of them, including us, right?" Swindle asked. "There's us, that being Cybercron, Zelgier over to the west, Tolophox to the north, Mecca to the south, Founte to the east, and Vertex to the opposite end of the world."
"Yeah, but it's not like they matter anymore. Most government officials and leaders are dead. Pretty much no one cares about them nowadays. We're all equal now," Swerve said sadly as he hopped off the crate and himself a bottle labeled 'Iacon Delight' and made his way back to the bar to pour himself a glass of it ad down some. "Yep… I need that," he muttered before leaning in again.
"How exactly has society survived?" Ratchet asked.
"It didn't. The first 50 or so years was pure chaos. People attacking each other indiscriminately, looting, radiation, and the death of the nation's leaders ensure that. Me and Skids were rooming together in an apartment at Polyhex when the bombs went off. Polyhex didn't get it that bad, but we were still hit by shockwaves and radiation. Me and Skids had to do some sketchy things to survive, but I doubt anyone came out of this mess with a clean conscious," Swerve told them gravely.
"I understand," Swindle muttered and Ratchet shifted his glare at that. Swindle's antics were still fresh in his mind, despite him being his friend.
"Well, right now, there's some sense of a society forming. It's not perfect, but it's something," Swerve said as finished off his glass. "Need to stop drinking my stuff, you know? It costs me money."
"Heh, I can also understand that. I was a merchant before the bombs dropped. I may've tried out some of my own stuff," Swindle said with a wry smile.
"Then you'll in among here. Lots of merchants and traders. Now, as I was saying, some people have been able to build up parts of society, including here in Iacon. There's a bunch of people that's set up Eastside at what used to be Whitesteed Office and Warehouse. It's run by a group of people called the Safe Measure Society. They've been doing a lot of good work in getting society off its feet again through their egalitarian efforts. They've set up a medical center their as well as making a deal with the Feiros Caravan Company. Feiros is set up in Iacon as well, albeit at the opposite side in Westhaven at the Feiros Center," Swerve explained to them and at that, both Ratchet and Swindle's Pipbot rumbled from the information gained from him. "What's that?" Swerve asked.
"This?" Ratchet asked and Swerve shook his head. "It's a Pipbot. One is given out to every member of the vault. It has a lot of functions such as diagnostics, inventory, map, and archiving messages and videos," he explained to him.
"Yeah. It rumbled because of the locations you gave us," Swindle continued to explain to him. "Don't know how it works, but it's a impressive device."
"It does," Swerve agreed with a smile. "Wish I had one. I'm probably not the only one who thinks that. Better be on the lookout. Someone might want to take that by force," he warned.
"Fair point," Swindle muttered, looking behind him at the mech and femmes, who appeared to be ignoring them, before turning back around.
Well, that's about all I can tell you about the fallout. Anything else?" Swerve asked.
"Three things," Ratchet said.
"My, you got a lot to say. I don't mind. I like talking to people," the bartender said as he poured himself another glass in preparation.
"Well, first, what can you tell us about the traders?" Swindle asked him. "We're trying to go after the ones with the best deals and cause the least amount of damage to my finances."
"Well, it depends. You generally have to check their prices against one another to see who's has the best, but if you're a smooth talker, you could get them to lower their prices," Swerve told them. "Also, if you want some medical supplies of high quality, you're best talking to our doctor in the medical room. You saw the sign for it, right?"
"Of course," Ratchet responded.
"Figures. You look like you belong in the medical profession," Swerve guessed.
"Good call. Doctor and surgeon," he said.
"Possibly the only one we got left. One is dead and the other was abducted because of the attack at out vault," Swindle told him.
"Wow, tough luck," Swerve muttered. "I'll, uh… tell the two doctors in there to give you a discount. Sounds like you need all that you can get."
"Would prefer if it was free, but we'll take all that we can," Swindle thanked him.
"Sorry, I need money survive," he apologized. "Now, what else do you wanna know?"
"We need to contact the Autobots to help us," Ratchet told him, which caused Swerve to gaze at him dumbly.
"You want to look for those band of criminals? Why?" Swerve asked.
"Because our vault is currently being assaulted by the Decepticons. The only way we're countering them is through getting some help," Swindle told him. "Please, we need all the help we can get."
"Dammit…," Swerve moaned. "I was afraid of the Decepticons. The Autobots may be a bunch of criminals, but at least they're willing to work with us. The Decepticons… dammit. If they invaded your vault, they're probably not too far from here as well," the bartender muttered in, worried.
"You be correct. You see why we need them," the merchant said as he leaned in. "Come on, you got anything."
"Yeah, I can tell you one of them is here. A mech by the name of Blaze is hanging around. Painted in blue with a red face and yellow optics. Seems pleasant enough," Swerve informed them.
"What was his crime?" Swindle asked.
"He's a hitmech. Killed a few people for money. He wasn't the best. He'll tell you all this himself, but he blames everyone else for his mistakes," Swerve told him.
"A hitmech? Great…," Swindle muttered as he turned to Ratchet. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"More like what have you gotten us into," he accused and Swindle sighed at that.
"Point taken. So, we'll find him in the main area, right?" Swindle asked the bartender for more information.
"Maybe. He likes to go outside to explore and hang out in his container. The only time he's really social is at night when he comes over here. He likes to drink up," he told them.
"We'll keep that in mind. Say, has he explained why he's here?" Ratchet asked him.
"Said he's just hanging out, offering an extra set of hands as a way for the Autobots to connect with the community. I personally doubt it, but I have no choice but to take his word for now," Swerve told them.
"Yeah, I be suspicious of him too," Swindle agreed
"Right, what's the last thing you wanna know?"
"More like information for you," Ratchet began. "A group of raiders a bit away from here behind the mountain have been abducting people and murdering them for fun."
"Wait, really?" Swerve asked in shock. "I've noticed people disappearing, but I didn't think they were being abducted."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. We killed them," Swindle told him to ease his mood.
"Oh, thank Primus," Swerve said in relief. "I try to keep this place safe. Can't believe someone was abducting and murdering people."
"It's no problem," Ratchet said.
"You know… if you have to time, I would like to know how they were able to abduct them. I keep this place safe and need to know how they did it so. Please, if you do so, I'll pay you in return," Swerve asked them.
"That doesn't sound too hard," Swindle muttered before turning to Raph. "What do you say? We probably won't be able to talk with Blaze until he comes for a drink. Could be something to do while we're here."
"True. Plus, I hate for anyone else to be abducted," Ratchet agreed before turning to Swerve. "Fine, we'll figure out how they were abducting your people."
"Good," he sighed in relief at that before reaching down under the bar to pull out a bag. "Here, a 100 caps for taking those raiders. I'll give you another hundred if you find the way they were abducting people." The two vaultdwellers look at each other before Swindle grabbed it.
"Thanks," Swindle said as he put it in storage. "We'll try to find an answer for you."
"Good to hear. Anything else?" Swerve asked them.
"I think that's it. Thank you for helping us," Ratchet thanked him.
"Right. Good luck," Swerve said as the two left the countertop and entered the hallway.
"Scrap, we got quite a bit more work to do now," Swindle muttered.
"True, but these abductions worry me as they should you," Ratchet told him.
"They do. Just that, well, we're on a tight schedule," Swindle reminded him.
"Well, let's hope we find an answer and make these deals before Blaze gets over-energized tonight. Now, let's get started."