Well...did you hear? I live in the Northern Virginia/D.C. metro area and the deity said-"LET THERE BE SNOW" And snow there was. Its still snowing and its a bit past noon. Two feet...Awesome. And OMG you have to see what I see! An accident concerning a school bus, McDonalds, Gamestop, a porta-potty, and snow. The school bus skidded on the snow, hit a McDonalds, pinwheeled into a Gamestop, and hit a porta-potty, all because of snow.

Runescape should have snow like this...

***

The Ashla Pest Organizers where the one of the most effective exterminators in the history. With successful pest roundups in seven of the thirteen continents, they had previously dominated the pest removal stock market, until it became government funded because it was so successful.

In the southern region, mines where common and the APO Southern HQ had just bought new mining equipment in the emergency of an underground pest alert. This included drills, shaped charges, and the star of the show, two CNC58 3000 ton bulldozers.

At forty two feet tall, eighty seven feet long, and fifty feet wide, this bulldozer has all the things bulldozers offer. A roomy cabin, suspension, even a place to sleep.

Every soldier, called exterminators, had customized equipment. The motto was "Work hard but work efficiently."All exterminators had to do was work for a minimum for seven years to pay off the equipment and they could keep the armor but not the weapon, for their own personal use. But most chose to stay in the group.

In the portable communications truck, Major Baxton was talking to one of the senior captains on scout in the mines. Call it whatever you like, to him it was just a hole a in the side of a canyon.

"Stand by captain."

Baxton was in a good mood.

Unfortunately for the communications officer who was just talking to them, when she got cut off by the major, her blood pressure went up as her face got redder and redder. Then she popped a few sleeping pills and she finally lost the red tinge. But she was still pissed off.

He checked a map of where each team was sent to scout.

Team ST1147R was in the deepest part of the tunnels.

He smiled.

He reached for the radio.

"All right I need all scout teams to report back to HQ."

Outside the technicians where setting up a frame around the entrance of the mine. His fool proof, brilliant, utterly flawless plan?

To set up charges at the end of the mine and blow the pests out into the portal over the entrance once it was activated. Also a few other portals where placed inside the mine just in case some pests survive. They would be dealt with using smaller explosives. The initial plan called for ten massive warheads. And some light duty mining charges. The major did some quick calculations in his head.

"Thirty to somewhere around forty...is about...what...five warheads?....No no no...More like six."

Using the I-bombs it was like a sixty percent off sale. One no one could resist. Good price.

He felt a shudder under his feet, and the looked outside, he saw smoke. The next moment the siren came on. A high-pitched blare that dug its way into everybody's head. He called out to lieutenant Ashton, who was in charge of the demolition teams.

"Lieutenant are all of the demo teams there?"

"Yes sir all of their warheads are still here too."

That meant a few unseen events have happened.

One-Someone or something caused a spark and hit explosive gases.

Two...Two...He didn't want to think about it.

Two-The I-bombs went off.

"Sergeant! Take over!"

Dodging rocks and boulders, he quickly made his way towards the mine.

Some teams where walking, some carried, some dragged, out of the mine. A quick medical tent was being erected for the injured. Baxton motioned the overseer in a "what the hell just happened here" gesture.

"Seer...What the hell just happened here?"

"Uh...Uh...We-well...um..sir...Uh there was...ah...sir...an..explosion sir..."

"Yes...I can see that."

"Well..um sir, we don't know what happened."

"Are all the teams accounted for?"

He almost dreaded the answer, but he had to know.

"No sir...um..A few of the teams are still inside."

"Damn..."

"Is that ceiling secure?"

"Our geo-experts say so."

Baxton went over to the heavy equipment operators.

"Get a few of the bulldozers and use them to clear the smoke"

In a mine, dust was a very annoying issue, and sometimes deadly. All of their bulldozers had modifications done. Any air that was sucked in through the radiator was then connected to the exhaust pipe, in other words a vacuum cleaner, with no filter. But they where strong. The dozer blades where detached and the bulldozers rumbled in the mine. When they reached the point where the ceiling was low enough for the bulldozer's massive intakes to cover the area, flexible hoses where attached to their exhaust pipes. Then power was added to the engine and the cooling turbines roared.

The air, smoke, dust, and just about anything that wasn't heavy or bolted down flew towards the bulldozer. During regular operations, the radiator isn't usually running this fast. In a few seconds the smoke was sucked into the bulldozers and out of the mine. Scouts quickly followed the map to where team ST1147W was sent to scout. Smaller bulldozers where sent to clear cave-ins and boulders and had the secondary effect of clearing the air with their smaller turbines.

Then bulldozer 8852 ran over something that made a crunching sound.

It was Captain Sasha's tactical shield, mangled, melted, and pockmarked with holes from the red-hot debris, but it was her shield all right. She was definitely near.

In what condition, no one knew.

***

This chapter seems to me like a "filler" chapter. Sorry if it didn't catch your interest, but there might be some story after this.

In Montana where I used to live, school didn't close just because of snow. Only blizzards. With 5+ feet. Yo Ho Ho and a pile of snow.