"W-what!? We just fought an army of those things! Surely there isn't any more?" he asks, dumbfounded.
Veronica scoffs, "You think this is bad? You shoulda seen the Sierra Madre, now that was an army." she chuckles.
"Yeah, super-zombies tend to be like that." Afton shrugs and focuses back on Juan, "Look, if you're going to work under Bulwark, you're gonna have to expect this kind of thing. We don't train you and provide the best gear ever produced just so you can shoot a couple people and say 'job done'. If this is too much for you, then maybe you should work as a barman and forget being a hero." Afton states, causing Juan to go silent.
"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" Tamia asks, "He's just started, you can't expect him to easily do stuff like this already."
...
"I guess your right." Afton admits, "I think I just expected a bit more considering his abilities... Whatever, get rested up and we'll start moving again, I suspect we'll run into more Tunnelers soon enough."
Half an hour quickly passes and the group are on the move again, as it turns out, the railway tunnel was absolutely massive. They'd walked for another hour and yet Afton felt like they were nowhere near close to the end. There were a few doors on the side that had a few 'service' rooms that were presumably to help with repairs or something.
Luckily or not, they didn't lead anywhere, instead only being stuffed with tools and other machinery. This was probably because this wasn't a public railway and more military-style due to its destination leading to Big Mt. It was helpful though since they wouldn't be forced to look elsewhere for any Tunnelers entrances.
Finally, though, Afton spotted something that Christine obviously hadn't seen last time she was here... The Tunnel just... Drops. The railway track cuts off and bends downwards as a massive hole opens up and cuts off the path.
Afton walks up to it and takes a look, which he instantly regrets due to the thousands of beady little eyes looking back at him. The hole is incredibly deep, yet he could easily identify the bulbous Tunneler eyes glaring back at him... "Enemies! Ultimo-Bots! Fire missiles down there!" he commands, quickly backing up and allowing his robots to surround the hole.
The first line climbs down the rim of the hole so they can easily target the enemy, while others climb on the walls and ceiling so they could assist with their own weapons. They had already started firing before the Ultimo-Bots could position themselves on the other side of the hole, and the screeching coming from the pit had everyone on edge.
Afton looks past the robots and can see the Tunnelers trying to climb up it to get to them, but the Ultimo-Bots just continue firing missiles. Each one obliterates a small group of them, sending limbs and other organs flying.
Once the first line runs out of ammunition, the next replaces them. This continues for a minute or so until no more Tunnelers could be seen in the pit... All that was left was just a pile of bloody, scorched flesh, and a few other tunnels which most likely led into a sprawling hive system.
Afton wasn't sure how Tunneler hives really operated, but he was sure there'd be many more of them the deeper they went... Their numbers weren't what worried him though, it was the threat of their more combat-oriented variants...
From what he could tell, they'd fought workers, scouts, and some sort of warrior or fighter variant... But how tough would the elite ones be?
He shakes his head and decides that they'd deal with it once it happened, "Everyone gather up and prepare to descend!" he shouts.
They'd have to leave the Deathclaws up here, but the Cyberdogs could be lowered down quite easily. Not to mention the fact the Ultimo-Bots could simply walk down there via the walls. As for him and his companions? Afton could jump down there fine because he was immune to fall damage, but aside from Juan, they'd need to abseil down there.
"I'll go first to make sure the area is clear, you guys make sure the Cyberdogs get down fine." Afton states and walks towards the pit.
"Ah, do you need one of us to help?" Tamia asks, wondering if he wanted them to assist.
Afton just shakes his head, "Nah, I'll be fine." he says before igniting his Ultra Chainsword and jumping.
"Waait!"
"What the fuck he just jumped!"
"IS HE CRAZY!"
They all exclaimed, rushing to the side of the hole and watching as Afton plummets to the ground below... It takes a couple of seconds, but once he hits the bottom they feel the ground literally shudder as the stone below him explodes from the impact.
Once the dust clears they see Afton cautiously walking around and acting as if he'd jumped off of the last steps of a stairway...
...
"Did that just happen?" Tamia mutters, unsure of how to process this.
...
"So, let's get started on lowering the dogs... Let's get a robot to help lower them, it'll make it faster." Veronica states, completely ignoring Afton's actions.
All the while, Juan just watches all of this happen with a conflicted expression... He hadn't really thought about it until now, but, is After like him? A Psyker with superpowers?... It's a certainty, right? If he can survive a drop like that and looks completely fine?
Back in the pit, Afton was scanning the place and checking for enemies, there were around three separate tunnel entrances from what he could see, and each of them could potentially lead to the rest of the hive. It'd need to be eliminated to prevent Big Mt from getting swarmed and constantly harassed. After that, they'd need to create some tech to check for Tunnelers... Perhaps some tremor sensors or something? Stuff that detects earthquakes but way more sensitive?
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.patreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Michael Jarrett
Nazlican Erdem
Tarlock
Justin David
It doesn't take long to transport all of their troops down to the bottom of the pit, with the exception of the Deathclaws of course, which were left at the top with a couple Cyberdogs to prevent any more Tunnelers attacking their backs with an ambush.
The air at the bottom of the pit felt stale, and there was a prominent smell of decay, this didn't come from the numerous Tunneler corpses strewn around the place though, it smelt more akin to something rotting, instead.
Clearly, the Cyberdogs had noticed it, and Afton also found himself sniffing towards one direction... One of the three entrances seem to be producing it, though, Afton wasn't sure what would be at the end of it. Regardless, they'd check this one first just to see what was up.
The Ultimo-Bots led the group with flame throwers at the ready, Afton and his companions walking slightly behind them with the Cyberdogs trailing behind afterwards.
It doesn't take long before they start encountering small groups of worker Tunnelers in the tunnel, yet, they hadn't yet found anything of interest... That is, until they stumbled across yet another pit... This one was absolutely huge, maybe four of five times larger than the pit they'd originally entered through.
This clearly wasn't just for transport though, Afton was fortunate his helmet provided ventilation when he wished, as at the bottom of the pit were huge piles of flesh, which were almost fully submerged in either blood or bloody water.
Bones and flesh of a litany of creatures floated atop it, Afton didn't even recognise some of them, which was farfetched considering his maxed out Survival Skill. Mole Rats, Humans, Dogs, Snakes, Lakelurks, Supermutants, Deathclaws, Ghouls... There were bits and pieces of them everywhere.
Afton could even spot some mechanical components as well, the Tunnelers having brought them here accidentally or for some purpose other than eating... To be honest, this all looked like a Supermutant flesh pit, a place where they'd collect all their victims and let them 'stew' in lukewarm water... The subsequent 'soup' was apparently a delicacy to them, for some reason.
Were the Tunnelers perhaps trying to concentrate as many nutrients and calories from their victims as possible? If so, why? Is simply hunting and devouring their prey not enough for their needs?
"Sir, temperature readings from the liquid below seem to be around 50 degrees celsius..." she states and Afton idly nods his head in thought.
"Is it the decomposing biomass that's causing it, or some geothermic activity?" he quietly inquires.
"The latter. This appears to be a sort of naturally occurring hot springs, sir."
Afton grimaces at the thought that the pile of flesh at the bottom of the flesh could be considered a sort of casserole or stew... He didn't know what was potentially scarier, the fact that the Tunnelers were smart enough to cook food, or that they'd been down here long enough to accidentally stumble across it.
...
"We're not going down there... Are we?" Veronica incredulous voice forces him from his thoughts. Juan nods in agreement, but Christine and Tamia seem to disagree completely.
"If we don't kill all of these things, they'll just keep coming... What's getting your legs a bit wet with completing the mission?" Tamia grouses, while she didn't want to go in, she knew it was vital for them to destroy all of the Tunnelers.
Afton shakes his head, "I don't know what you're anxious about either, Juan, can't you just climb on the walls and ignore the soup at the bottom?" he asks.
"Y-yeah, but what if I fall? I'm not in an air-tight suit like the rest of you... That stuff'll get in my hair, mouth. ears..." he shivers.
"Look, we're going in whether you guys like it or not," he points at the other entrances on the walls of the pit, "We need to find where they go, and afterwards destroy them... We'll need to get some C4 delivered to bring this entire place down." Afton states.
And with that, the group begins moving again. Lowering the Cyberdogs into the pit as the Ultimo-Bots navigate around the walls. It wouldn't be good if the soup start clogging up their joints, so they'd not enter it unless forced to.
The same couldn't be said for Afton, his companions, or the Cyberdogs... Though, the latter of which seemed very excited to get down there. The pit of flesh probably smelt pretty appetising to the dogs, it was literally just a pile of cooked, soupy flesh after all.
*Splash!*
Afton drops into the pit and finds himself knee-deep in the soup... Fortunately, he didn't have to experience feeling it, as his armour was as stated earlier, airtight.
The others follow him as he slogs through the slop, strangely enough, the group didn't encounter any Tunnelers as they made their way to the other side. Afton just gives a mental shrug and uses an Ultimo-Bot to climb up to the other entrance.
This tunnel however just seems to go on for miles, and miles, and miles... The group had walked for around one and a half hours before they finally decide to just turn around and head back. No one had any idea where this led, but if Afton had to make a guess, it probably linked up with other Tunneler nests, or perhaps hunting grounds? This would explain how Tunnelers were so widespread yet unseen by the common populace...
The group backtrack all the way back to the original pit that was below the railway, afterwards entering another of the three entrances... Truth be told, everyone was getting fairly tired by now, the amount of walking they were forced to do, add the fact they were almost constantly aware that another ambush could be coming had them not only physically strained, but mentally as well.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Michael Jarrett
Nazlican Erdem
Tarlock
Justin David
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