Reviews:
LexiconHuka: I know that feeling bro. Would rather face a Deathclaw. They can't poison you.
ShiningShadow1965:
Mark: Who said anything about it being easy? I knew it was gonna be hard.
Lone The Dark Hearted Wolf:
Mark: Damn skippy!
iOptimumReaper: Got it down.
Author's Note: This chapter will be far different from what ya'll are used to, so be warned! And this is a chapter almost completely made by RenaTamer, so give 'em some props!
Co-Author's Note: Well, I meant for Jak3 to use my descriptions for the Vault -IN- his story... just thought he would pad them a bit more... not that I'm complaining though, he did have the whole chapter written up when I surprised him with my end and i know not how much he deleted.
And now for something completely different!
"Die Human, Die, DieDieDieDie... _!" (insert hideous cackling laughter here)
The Door:
Regardless of how musty the cave was, even after several days of fresh air being pumped into its dark recesses, one quickly forgot the smell when once confronted by the huge gear like aperture that stood at the end of the cavern. Little lines of rust could easily be seen clinging to the imposing metal wall while large numbers 19 were clearly imbued in the middle of the door.
However it was the sight of the odd green glowing mushrooms that begged for their attention. They were scattered along the walls at first, they were grouped in 5 foot long clusters, their light acting like a guided path. But as he drew closer to the imposing human made monolith, they became more clustered and bunched… almost as if…
Opening:
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then the ground began to rumble and loose rocks n dust fell from the walls and ceiling. With an echoing shrill and shower of sparks, the huge cog like door slowly pulled back and retreated from view. As it did, there was a great rush of air that exploded out and filled the cave with the funk of a long dead compressed atmosphere.
Entrance Hall:
The entrance hall was dominated by a huge mechanical arm who's only function was to open and close the three foot thick, nine foot tall blast door. The room beyond was a standard 30-by-30 with steps that led up to the main platform, from here there was a security alcove to the right and what looked like a pressure hatch off a battleship just ahead. The one thing that really set the room off was the rusty metal-grating floors that allowed one to see the mass of piping and wiring cables that snaked beneath it. A slight shock came as the lights above made an odd buzzing noise… then flickered on. The place still had power.
Even more surprising, the door leading into the bunker was locked… from this side.
Antae Chamber:
With much protest the pressure hatch finally gave way, decades of rust and dirt falling from its unused hinges. The chamber beyond was roughly the same size as the entrance hall but had three more ship doors dominating its walls. Each of the hatches was clearly marked in bold English. To the right was Storage Room 1, left was Auxiliary Battery &Ventilation, and straight ahead was The Arboretum.
Storage Room 1:
This elongated room had open rib-jointed walls of gray and solid plated flooring, adjacent to the hatch was an old steel desk and rolling computer chair with its last owner still resting in it… at least what was left of his bones anyway. Large metal and plastic crates, some 6 feet long 4 feet wide and deep, were haphazardly stacked along the walls and floor. Several of the crates had been ransacked, forced open while bits of their contents were spilled across the deck… someone or something had been looking for something.
Auxiliary Battery & Ventilation:
After having to shoulder the door open, one had to stop and stare. The huge ventilating fans and air scrubbers had been destroyed, as if someone had strategically placed C-4 in here and secured the hatch, keeping the resulting chaos locked in this room. It left the ceiling and walls burnt and blackened. The racks of batteries to the far right fared no better. One had taken a direct hit from a 6 foot fan blade slicing through the top row. From there leaking acid had melted everything beneath.
The Arboretum:
After descending a long flight of stairs, they came out into what had to be the Arboretum. It was a large two story room some 350 feet long, 60 feet wide and 30 feet high… one could easily hold a full-sized contact sport in this room. From here, several hatches could be seen that led out to the Personnel Block, Family Residence Block A/B, a Theater, And Military Office Block. A catwalk ran around the upper section and allowed for toughs above to watch over anyone below. By the looks of some of the broken chairs, ripped up sofas, and overturned soda machines, this room served as both a common room and rec-room.
Here the walls and floors showed evidence of a bloody fire-fight, several different sized ordinance had been used, including evidence of Molotov-cocktails and frag-grenades, while bursts and splatters of long dried blood stained the walls and floor.
The only oddity here were the two pool/billiards-tables that sat in the middle of the room… they were in pristine condition and would need to be saved somehow.
Arboretum Theater: (lower floor)
The theater had several rows of ripped up plush chairs and a huge stage and screen at one end. At one time it had been used to help personnel relax by watching a movie or play. However the stage was now covered in decaying trash and what disturbingly looked like a 7 foot tall burnt cross wrapped in razor wire…
Personnel Block:
This was probably meant to be a prison once, before being hastily retrofitted for military use. The passage led through several security checkpoints and up to 2 huge cell blocks that descended some 6 stories deep. Each floor was separated by the same metal grating that made up the floors throughout the complex… only here it allowed one to see several of the levels below their feet and gave one a sense of vertigo.
Each of the levels was labeled A through F, and each of the cells were painted different colors in an effort to grant individualism. Each level held 15 cells, and each cell held bunk-beds for 4 troopers, while the last 2 cells on each lev only held two beds… probably for junior officers… so 52 troopers and 2 jr. officers per…
(each Lev is dedicated to 2 squads, equaling 1 Platoon, so 6 platoons, that's roughly 342 men per block…)
Military Office Block:
The Military Office Block was just that, offices, more than two dozen of them. While most of the space had been given to government officials, 6 to 8 of the offices had at one time been dedicated to each branch of the military, however, the various symbols had been removed and one joint symbol put up instead. What really stopped them dead in their tracks, was the ornate hatch marked "Field Marshal General Durnkinscoff," the USMC eagle adorned the entirety of the red door.
Field Marshal's Outer Office:
Stepping inside, the first room they entered was a trashed two part office, to their right was a partitioned room filled with all kinds of destroyed communication equipment. To the other side was what was left of the secretary's desk and waiting benches. Moving over to the next door they was once again surprised when a green beam of light shot out from an unseen place above the door and ran across the lead man's body. "Greetings General," a happy metallic voice chimed and the door whooshed open. The man looked at his companions before entering alone.
General Durnkinscoff's Inner Office:
The office itself was dominated by a large half circle metal desk with an oak wood top and a bank of computer hubs behind. To his left was a large window that looked out onto a foe garden, giving one the illusion of being above ground. And to his right, a wall length bookshelf and an empty wet-bar. There were few knickknacks anywhere in the room, save for part of an IED that had been turned into a pencil holder.
Once seated behind the desk, a set of 5 flat-screen monitors descended from the ceiling, while a keyboard and hand-print identifier razed up from within the oak top. While 4 of the monitors showed various sections of the complex, the one in the middle held only two words in the upper left hand corner, "Message Recorded."
Tentatively he pulled the glove off his left hand and placed it atop the scanning pad. "Hello Mark, nice to see me again. Before we start, I left you something in the drawer next to your left knee. It's an unopened bottle of scotch… I hope it's still good after a billion years. Would probably have a strong as all hell kick to it, getting even myself drunk after an actual shot."
A shiver crawled up his spine for looking down at him was an older version of himself. His hair was peppered with grey, and he had a cybernetic left eye… but it was him. Right on down to his glorious drinking abilities.
"I know you have a lot of questions, I sure as hell would, but I can't go into them… instead I'm going to tell you that if you're seeing this, then for god sakes destroy this goddamn base!" To emphasize his words, he slammed his fists into the desk. It took the man a moment to recompose himself. "The short reason is one name, and once you hear it you will know why… Cybermen."
And Mark felt the pit in his stomach grow cold as his older self continued. "The eggheads in the science division were trying to make a Robo-Cop type soldier, and really screwed the fucking pooch. It got out somehow and gassed the entire civilian block of the base before anyone knew what was going on, and assimilated them all… even the children."
"We are trying to hold our own, but it's only a matter of time before we run out of resources. If all else fails, we will blow the reactor… but if you're seeing this… well you can guess what happened." Older Mark took a deep, ragged breath and let out a tired sigh. "Doctor, is there anything you wish to add?"
The view on the monitor suddenly shifted to show Time Turner in his human form, the TARDIS resting behind him.
"Hey Mark, now I must be brief so listen close. The Cybermen, at least this reincarnation of them, are not heavily armored. Aim for the head or base of the spine and you will disable them for a short time before they reboot." He paused and jerked around as something thudded into the locked door next to his blue box. "By the time you arrive, they will most likely be hibernating in the science wing, just passed the main reactor. Now opening the vault door won't wake them, but as you move through the complex and more of its systems reactivate, they will wake up… Do not, I repeat, DO NOT let them get out into Equestria…"
…and suddenly the feed went dead, leaving behind a map of the complex and a dotted line leading him to Maintenance. Current Mark took a moment to plan in his head, before opening the drawer containing the scotch and putting it into his pocket.
"We got some work to do!" He said as he strolled back into the room with the others.
Family Residence Block A and B:
The Family Residences were a little easier to navigate, mostly because each hall had a map plastered to the walls and labeled walkways to aid in one finding their way. For the most part they were built in a wagon wheel formation, a central hub with 6 spokes leading out to a larger main companionway or main street.
The hub of both residences were 1950's style dinners with their chrome sided fixtures, checkered tile floors, and greasy-spoon kitchen. Each of the corresponding spokes were given over to a specialization, ranging from a nursery, schools, to a doctor's office and a playground. Meanwhile the outer wheel was where the families lived. The rooms ranging from a two person apartment to a 4 bedroom family units.
One could easily deduce that 300 people could live comfortably in each of the two complexes.
Maintenance:
Connecting each of the "BLOCKS" by hidden and out of the way passages that snaked along through walls and under floors was the domain of the maintenance crew. While looked down at and treated like second class citizens, it was these versus crews of mechanics that kept the bunker running correctly. While the jobs were dirty and hardly ever received any acclaim, without the maintenance teams, no one could survive.
It was here, deep within the warrens and honeycombs of heating ducts and power conduits that he found what they were looking for. While there was no labeled street sign that said "Power Plant This Way ", one could easily see the radioactive symbols panted along the walls. It was just outside the main hatchway to the reactor that he came across the worst of the devastation. Hundreds of the 6x3x3 metal storage containers were strategically stacked and placed throughout the long hall, and many showed the signs of gun-fire… Someone had made a valiant stand. Once again, those strange clusters of glowing mushrooms were scattered all over the hall and behind the crates.
Once passed the chaos that was the last stand of humanity, he came to the most secured door this side of the entrance hatch. Yet as he examined the foreboding entrance way, his eyes were drawn to the flashing red display… "!WARNING REACTOR LEAK!"
[Mark's POV]
"Goddammit it just has to be difficult..." I sighed, pressing a hand against the door. It felt slightly warm to the touch, but I sensed that I wasn't getting any gamma radiation from it.
'What do we do?' Apple asked, flittering out of my super pocket and onto my shoulder.
"I don't know." I sighed, putting my helmet to my side to run my fingers through my hair. "This is like the ending of Project Purity in Fallout 3. If we had a ghoul or super mutant to plant my C-4, it would be a lot easier."
"And we have neither." Bill stated, looking around. I had still decided to split the others up, except we went in two groups. Schmidt was with Huka, Blake, and Duffy, while I ended up with Bill, Gallan, and Duran.
"I'll do it." Gallan said, causing the four of us to look at him like he was insane.
"You do know what gamma radiation does to a person, if it doesn't kill them right away. Right?" Duran asked, raising his eyebrow.
"I'm thinking of it like this; all of you have jobs more important than I do." Gallan started. "Bill is Mark's assistant, Duran's a school teacher, and Mark is a fucking general. I'm a simple baker who can barely make cupcakes."
"That's a shitty way to look at it and we all know this." I said, getting in his face.
"I also don't know what horrors a man goes through when he's exposed to radiation." He countered. "I'll just know that I need to get in and out as quickly as I can; I won't have images of destruction on my mind, just the job."
"You're a fool, but I won't stop you." I sighed, causing all of them to look at me. "I don't want to send you in there, but we have no other goddamn option. Looking for a safe way into there will take too long and Apple is as resistant to radiation as I am."
"Brick me up then." Gallan said, cracking his neck. I spent a few moments priming the bricks with remote detonators before placing them in a duffle bag and handing them to him. I checked the console again and nodded a little bit.
"You have five minutes before the radiation becomes irreversable and Pinkie Pie becomes a widow." I told him, getting everyone to stand back before typing OPEN into the keyboard, pressing enter. "Good luck and Godspeed, because you're going to need every ounce of it."
[Gallan's POV]
I couldn't help but gulp as the steel door inched outwards while everyone else got at a minimum safe distance. When the door finished opening, I readjusted the strap to the bag and stepped inside, not really sure what to expect. As soon as I crossed the doorway, I felt a warmth wash over me, quite like a warm bath. Knowing that this was radiation and not mere water, I set out, looking for key areas to plant the explosives.
"Look for the generators!" Mark helpfully called out. I nodded and went to what I thought was the generators; machines that had electricity zipping from two tesla coils on the top.
Grunting a little, I put the bag down and laid three blocks of C-4 around it, before doing the same at four more generators.
When I was finished, I could barely walk anymore, and had a little trouble breathing.
"You can make it goddammit!" Mark yelled from the doorway, being dangerously close to the edge of the radiation.
"I...C-can't.." I wheezed, sinking to my knees before falling backwards. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Mark grabbing at my shirt. Then my eyes closed, letting unconsciousness envelop me.
[Schmidt]
We've run into a few 'Cybermen' and grabbed what we could before returning to the entrance like Mark told us to. Apparently, these Cybermen missed a few people and they made it to a hanger on the other side, stuffing themselves into 'cyro tubes'. We let them out (with a few casualties), and they promised to meet up with us at the edge of the Badlands, near Appleloosa, after we gave them directions.
"Get moving goddammit!" Mark yelled as he ran around a corner, Gallan's unconscious body slung over his shoulder. The others with him were quick to follow. "I'm gonna fucking regret this some day, I can tell." I heard him mutter as we covered the others, before running ourselves. As we ran past the large, gear-like door, Mark slammed his hand down on a button and continued running.
[Mark]
Goddamn I was going to feel the rads for the rest of my life, I can see it already. As we ran into the sunlight, I saw Chrysalis standing there with an expression that basically told me to tell her what the fuck I just did.
"No time, gotta detonate a nuclear reactor!" I yelled, running past her. Her eyes widened in alarm as she ran after me. I unceremoniously threw Gallan into the back of Sparky before ripping open the driver's door and turning the truck on. Chrysalis managed to get into the front with me scant seconds before I stomped on the gas and drove our asses out of there.
"Now..." Chrysalis started after half a minute of silence. "Why are you destroying what could be the most important ruins that anybody has ever found?"
"I wouldn't have if these asshat robots called 'Cybermen' didn't occupy the Vault." I answered. I proceeded to tell her what the tin bastards were, and she agreed with me that they had to be exterminated. Or, as they put it, 'deleted'.
[Undisclosed location in the Badlands]
"Well..." I said, stopping Sparky. "This is your stop."
"How do you know where the main hive is?" Chrysalis asked, looking dead at me.
"I have a changeling for a daughter and death for a commanding officer/friend." I deadpanned. She took a moment to think before grinning a little.
"As long as you don't reveal the Hive's location to anybody, I suppose it's alright to let you keep the secret." She told me. "Maybe you should come for a visit sometime? It's completely boring for me down there."
"I'll think about it." I answered, being completely honest. I bid her farewell and she exited with a teleport, allowing me to continue driving to Ponyville.
God, I know I should wait until I get home before popping open the scotch, but it's so tempting right now.
"What the fuck is this shit?!" Unknown location, Mark.