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Horrors of Subterra; Fallout: Equestria - Chapter 1
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Topic Started: Mar 25 2013, 08:52 AM (720 Views)
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Siren
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Mar 25 2013, 08:52 AM
Post #1
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- January 28, 2013
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All is silent in the halls of the dead. All is forgotten in the stone halls of the dead. Behold the stairways which stand in darkness; behold the rooms of ruin. These are the halls of the dead where spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet. One by one.
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The gunslinger stepped through the darkness of the tunnels, and the child followed.
It had been a half hour since the two of them began their journey from deeper in the cavernous subway tunnels and service passages. The silence in the darkness was only interrupted by the steady beat of their hooves beating against the concrete as they walked beside the dilapidated rails, the gunslinger’s steps a little heavier and farther apart while the child’s were lighter and rapid.
They were heading in the direction where the child had heard the sounds of other ponies many days ago, the goal of their excursion being to find more civilized life in these tunnels other than the irradiated ghouls that wandered about. It had been a month since the separation of this section of the tunnels from the rest of SubTerra to keep the ghoulish threat at bay, but in doing so, it also trapped a good number of the citizens with them.
The weak died fast to the shambling horrors, sickness, radiation, or malnutrition. The strong banded together and made their stands, many falling to the insurmountable flood of flesh, but few also able to dig deep enough in to set up the last refuges of hope and safety.
That was what the gunslinger hoped they would find, and that the camp did not consist of citizens and guards turned bandits and raiders. If that were the case, then the gunslinger would urge the child back into hiding and follow behind her before looking in a different location tomorrow… or whatever counted for tomorrow down here. Unless one had some sort of timepiece on them that still worked, there was no way to tell what time of day it was this deep underground.
Their ultimate goal was to find a way out of this place, but it was not going to be an easy task. Wandering the tunnels of the former SubTerra was a hazard due to the ghouls that lurked in the dark. Their slightly glowing eyes pierced the dark and relentlessly pursued any that crossed their path to rip them apart limb from limb, and there were droves of them in these tunnels. It would take a posse to carve their way through the thickest of them, a posse of the most coordinated ponies still alive, just to find a way out.
From the dark they could see arc lights set up further down the tunnel up ahead, a sign of civilization plain and sure, but the question of whether they were friendly and the light at the end of the tunnel was not their demise was still up in the air. The gunslinger watched the ground around them, noting ghouls piled against the tunnel walls, the ground coated in spatters of dried blood. There were no everyday ponies or citizens among them, perhaps the settlement up ahead was just as friendly as she hoped.
As they approached the makeshift barricade and the gate that was planted in the midst of it, the two guards on either side of it stood at attention, alert and leveling their guns at the both of them shouting for them to halt. The gunslinger stopped dead in her tracks and held her left hoof in front of the child to stop her as well. From under the brim of her hat, the gunslinger eyed the two guards, the leg with the revolver attached to it tense and ready to move at the slightest hint of trouble.
The one on the left had a battle saddle equipped with what looked like a submachine gun, and the other carried the distinctly green glowing of a plasma weapon, slowly glowing brighter as the weapon powered up. The one with the battle saddle barked at the two of them, “State your business or we will gun you down.” The gunslinger slowly pushed the child back behind her and replied in a chilled and haunting voice, “I am but a gunslinger and she my travelling companion that were trapped here underground, and we come here for some shelter; not long will we be around.”
For a few awkward seconds they stood and looked at each other, before the one with the energy pistol lowered his weapon with a sigh and said, “Well, they stopped and talked. They definitely aren’t walkers.” He glanced at his cohort and added, “You can lower your gun, man.” Well, they definitely weren’t professional guards, that much was easy to see.
Standing aside to allow the two of them through, the gunslinger and the child moved to proceed through the front gates, but were stopped again by the guard as he said, “All newcomers are required to check in with a doc before mingling with the rest of the survivors. Their tents are just to the left of the gate. You might wanna get in line fast, the line can really get long sometimes. Welcome to Hope’s Cradle.”
With only a curt nod, the gunslinger and the child walked into the makeshift refugee camp, and immediately turned left to see several white tents, ponies in white coats milling about and tending to the ponies that were among them. Following the standing sign with the arrow that read ‘New Arrivals / Triage’, the gunslinger and the child waited their turn to be seen by a doctor.
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Doctor Method
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Apr 3 2013, 12:41 AM
Post #16
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True Method looked around the medical tent for a bit searching for a clothe to wash off the blood that had gotten on him. It didn't long for him to find something clean in the tent, they tended to keep their medicinal supplies as sterile as possible in Hope's Cradle. He started to wipe off the blood, a calm look on his face as the pain pills started to finally kick in, numbing his entire body. He looked around the room and nodded to the nurse as if to say 'Good job,' before walking outside the tent.
The scene outside was somewhat similar to how he left it when he entered the tent, but now there were a few new faces. It seemed that Swift and Honey Dew had managed to make their way over as well as a new face with a laser rifle strapped onto him. They all looked like they had been conversing about something while he was finishing up the procedure inside, and he would prefer to not be left out of the fun. He walked up to the group, the bloody towel still draped over his neck, and said, "The patient will be fine, as will her Zebra friend, though she's going to need a bit of rest before she's back on her hooves again. Though it should be okay to wake her up in a few minutes to ask her a few questions. I for one am kind of curious about where she would find an exposed rebar to cut herself on."
The Doctor looked back at the tent, she must have left the camp from somewhere. There weren't any exposed polls or anything like that around the camp, and it certainly wouldn't take anyone ten to fifteen minutes to carry this poor pony here if it happened inside these walls. There was something going on, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the group behind him might have a few details about the situation. He turned back around, his face still eerily calm, "So," he said in an almost monotone voice, "Does anyone want to explain who this gentleman with the rather large rifle is? And while we're at it, why don't we all just go ahead and tell the Doctor what the sudden interest in these mares is."
He then motioned around the now dispersed crowd, "You're the only ponies still here that aren't staff, you must be curious about something that poor mare has to say."
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Siren
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Apr 3 2013, 02:12 PM
Post #17
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Siren watched as the doctor emerged from the tent that housed the zebra and the injured mare, wiping a bit of blood off of himself. He looked awfully calm, especially after being faced with the life-or-death situation of another pony; she could only imagine what kind of constant stress he was under on a daily basis, knowing that the lives of many ponies were depending on him making the right choices at the right times. Perhaps that was the temperament that came with the kind of studies required to be a medical doctor, but it was something that Siren couldn't do herself. Sure she could make a split second decision in a firefight, but those decisions were mostly influenced by instinct, not nearly the same as what the doctor had to go through.
He approached the three of them, Siren, Honey Dew, and Gear Box, and told them that the two mares in the tent would be alright, to which Siren breathed out a slow sigh of relief. At least she would be able to ask them the questions that she needed to ask of them. If there was any way back to the surface and away from this ghoul infested nightmare so deep underground, she would chase after it until it killed her. This wasn't for her own sake either, as she was reminded as Honey Dew moved to a more out of the way position from the three older ponies, sticking close to Siren as she merely observed the conversation. Siren knew that as long as the child chose to accompany her, she would swear herself to protect her, if only to see to it that she lived as long as possible, especially a mare with such talents as hers.
Glancing back at the grey stallion with the laser rifle, Siren started to answer the doctor's questions herself, "Well, this gentlecolt is... uhh... Gear Box. He came here to meet the turquoise mare and zebra in the tent, assuming that the earth pony wakes up and talks. They both know something about a way out of this place, out from the dirt and rocks." She swallowed heavily and looked back at the tent, starting to grow a little impatient with how long it was taking the mare inside to wake up, but Siren had to remind herself that she just had a near-death experience, and that she had to take her time in recovery.
Siren looked down at the child that stood quietly beside her before looking back up to the doctor, adding, "Honey here had been doing a bit of snooping and listening around apparently, and she told me that the two mares in there had a robot that was mapping the tunnels of this place, and they were--I would guess--have been using it to try to find some way out of this space. I'm not sure if they tried to retrieve it themselves after they lost connection to it and tried to trace, or if that is why the blue one is in the condition that she's in because they gave chase."
A sudden noise from the tent and some muffled conversation could be heard from outside, and shortly after, the nurse that had greeted Doctor Method and Siren emerged from it with a clipboard and said to the four of them, but more particularly the doctor, "The patient is awake and they are both in stable condition after the transfusion. She is conscious and aware enough to answer some questions, but you may want to take it a little slow with her; she isn't quite all there yet."
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Gear Box
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Apr 3 2013, 08:03 PM
Post #18
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Gear Box seemed to rear his head and give Siren a raised eyebrow at her statement of joining him, regardless of any protest he would voice. "Well umm... okay? I'd love some help?" he stated, slightly confused. He pondered for a moment if that technically made him a prisoner or a guide, though he cast the thought aside with a glance at her revolver. 'I suppose formalities truly did die when the megaspells hit.' he thought. He quickly made the best of the situation in his mind, noticing that she was rather pleasant to listen to as her words came almost as lyrics to a song. He found her charming in a way that he could not describe properly but would still maintain his distance from her as he did everything he could not program. While looking over her he noticed the filly that had spoken earlier hiding behind her.
He had assumed that he had appeared threatening to her and so she sought shelter behind her undaunted companion. He noticed her laser pistol and before he could open his mouth to ask about it the doctor treating the ponies he was waiting on entered the conversation. He listened quietly to his explanation and made the occasional upward glance into his goggles. He could see that Mueller had made a scan of the common networks and was now searching for anomalies within the maintenance system. The system reported many inactive or unreachable nodes and cross-referenced them with a maintenance map of the tunnels. It seemed there was almost no way out of the tunnels themselves, though. Once the doctor asked about Gear Box, his attention was quickly returned to the conversation before him. Siren seemed to catch his fault and answer the doctor's question for him, however, describing him to the best of her ability.
He gave another odd look to the doctor who questioned where pointy rebar rubble might be found. He knew the doctor as he had been taking care of the many sick and wounded around Hope's Cradle. He was probably even the one to perform Gear Box's medical screening to allow him into the place. "Over twenty-three collapsed or shattered tunnels nearby and rubble with metal rods within is hard to find?" he muttered in a hushed tone. He had spoken during Siren's answer and thus was probably not heard.
He used this time to glance up at his goggles once more and concluded that any way out of the tunnels would probably involve the side maintenance tunnels. A mess of steel and lack of power created the perfect place to lose contact with a robot and it may have been where the robot was located, if it was still intact. With that in mind he stopped glancing at his goggles, concluding that the current conversation was actually more important. "Well with my name and business out of the way I guess I should go and get more answers from those other ponies. But I'd like to say that I'm as trapped down here as everypony else until I can map these tunnels correctly. It ain't hard but ghouls-a-plenty may impede progress. That said..." he stated, turning to Siren. "If anypony is to come with me I expect weapons pointed at ghouls and not at me. Take that statement as is. Also names would be lovely at some point." he explained before looking back to the doctor. "Please excuse me from being the center of attention here, I've business to tend to."
Gear Box trotted off to the medical tent where he found the two ponies from before, resting. He sat down next to them to check to see that they were still awake. From the looks of it, sleep was nothing less than a need for them both. He would decide against waiting, but chose the most polite approach to bothering the two with a question. "Hey I'm sorry to bother you both, I see you've both been through quite a bit since the moments ago when we met... But ya see I failed to introduce myself properly. I'm Gear Box, engineer, mechanic and technician. However I never picked up on your names. I also didn't seem to get all the details of your robot that went missing. I can find it, fix it up if needed, I'm good at that stuff. But I need to know where it is if you can tell me." he stated in a calm and gentle fashion to the two weaker ponies, trying to keep his words simple to understand.
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Snowflake Frostfall
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Apr 5 2013, 12:14 AM
Post #19
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The first thing that Snow remembered as she woke up was the nausea. She felt like she had to vomit simply from the feeling in her gut that the room was spinning around her chaotically. So she shut her eyes tight and tried to lift her hooves up to press them to the sides of her head, but one of her legs stopped short, held back by something that felt as though it was stuck in her leg. Risking a quick peek with one eye, she could see the IV stuck in her leg, and the dark red fluid that was flowing inside of it. She shut her eyes for a little longer, another wave of nausea hitting her, moaning as she tried to hold it back. When it passed, she spoke up weakly, "Ma'lynn... where're ya a', sissa?"
From somewhere nearby in the medical tent, some humming abruptly stopped as Snow spoke up, murmuring 'Lynn's name and asking where she was. Smirking lightly, 'Lynn responded just as weakly to Snow's question. "Ju owe me, saggyflank." 'Lynn giggled at that before taking a deep breath, trying to quell her sudden lightheadedness. "Ju wouldn't be he'a right now wit'out me." Flicking her ears over to the sound of the faint voice, Snow let out a little laugh that didn't take too long to go away. "Yeah... Oi'unno wot happen'd back the'a. One sec Oi'm roigh' as rain, nex' momen' an' Oi'm black'in' ou'." Snow leaned her head back against the pillow that she was laying on and opened her eyes a little more, waiting for her stomach to settle to see where she was. After taking in the familiar sight of medical equipment and tent, she asked, "Did you carry me awll th'way 'ere, 'Lynn? Di' som'thin' 'appen whoile Oi was awll sixes an' sevens?"
"Naw, ju flew all da way ova' he'a, girly. Ju shoulda seen it, it was quite da sight to behold." The smirk on 'Lynn's face spread slightly and she closed her eyes momentarily before mentally cursing herself and snapping them back open. "Not much happened afta' ju passed out, really. Well... Ot'a dan dat I be inside o' ju." Snow shook her head at the zebra's sarcasm, giving a little huff that was supposed to be a laugh, but just did not have the energy to become one. "Tha's funny. Me floi'in' an' ya bein' insoide me. Is'it jus' gonna be loike one'a those noigh's when ya ge' bored an' ya star' mak'in' rawndom innuenda's a' me, an' Oi think ya bluff'in' bu' then..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the blood bag hanging beside her, recognizing it for what it was as a shocked look of realization crossed her face and she slowly turned to look at the zebra. "'S'this yours...?" A noise, somewhat similar to Snow's, came from the zebra as the smirk turned into a grin when Snow realized what she meant. "I be surprised, girly. A' ju mo'a perceptive when ju be outta it? Like I said, wit'out me, ju wouldn't be he'a now... so ju be welcome.
Glancing back to the blood bag, Snow leaned back into her pillow, letting out another sigh as that thought registered in her mind; a bit of her friend was literally inside of her. The thought alone sent a little shiver running down her spine. It was definitely an odd thought to be having. "So ya seriously gave ya blood fo'a foo' loike me? Tha's... th-thank ya, love. Tha's prolly th'noices' thing ya evah done f'me, an Oi 'pprecia'e i' so much."
"Well, what else was I gonna do, Snow? Hope dat de'a be somepony else who'd be able to give blood? Let ju die?" 'Lynn slowly shook her head after speaking, once more resisting the urge to close her eyes no matter how heavy they were or how tired she felt. "Neit'a option was good, so I jus' did what I had to. 'Cou'as, I still meant it when I said ju be owin' me..."
Snow shut her eyes and sighed as 'Lynn explained herself, no doubt feeling bad for having to make her friend go through this on her own behalf. She was reminded just how her own recklessness could get them in trouble, this time though, it was serious and she knew it wouldn't be so simple a favour to repay,"Oi'unno love, Oi dun think Oi cawn really pay ya back wi' ya blood when Oi'm koin'a usin' i' roigh' now. 'Ow d'you propose Oi repay this fav'a?" The zebra hummed in thought for a moment before shrugging slightly. "Iunno jus' yet. Ain't really had--" Her words were cut short as somepony else interrupted her, introducing theirselves as the pony the two had run into moments before. As best she could, 'Lynn turned her head to look at the stranger, her light smirk now visible to him. "Somehow I knew ju wouldn't be able to pass an oppa'tunity like dis up. Ponies like ju tend to be a lil' predictable..."
Snow looked over at Gear Box as he entered the tent, keeping quiet as she tried to focus on his introduction and question, before absentmindedly waving a hoof at the zebra's response, "Nah, nah 'Lynn, be noice. Th'bloke did agree t'elp us foind poor li'l Mara af'a awll." She then turned to the grey stallion and said in a weak tone, ""S'cuse Ma'Lynn, she's really a noice girl. Oi'm Snow boi th'boi. 'S'noice'a ya t' take us up on our off'a, bu'... the'as only one'a ya. Oi'unno'f ya can ge' as far as Mara go'..." She paused and raised her voice a bit and looked past him, "... unless tha' mo'ley crew ov'a the'a's ya backup?"
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Gear Box
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Apr 7 2013, 12:03 AM
Post #20
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Gear Box only smirked at Ma'Lynn's comment. 'As predictable as a program, I'd bet.' he thought. He was glad that at least these ponies were willing to disclose their names. "My name is Gear Box. It's good to meet you Snow and Ma'Lynn. Maybe next time will be under better conditions." said Gear Box. He glanced back to view the group Snow was referring to. He eyed the gang of strangers that he had met only a moment ago. 'A motley crew indeed.' he thought before returning his glance to Snow.
"Quick thinking and fast hooves get me through most problems. Beyond that ten megawatts worth of focused military-grade laser handles the rest. I'm not one to always bring friends but you're not the first one to make that suggestion." he stated before clearing his throat. 'At least she was nice about it...' he thought. "I'll find your Mara, Snow. But before I go searching is there anything you can tell of where to start looking? The last place you heard from Mara perhaps?" he asked her in a gentle tone, not wanting to place any more stress on the already weakened pony.
A blinking alert came from his goggles and a quick glance upwards reminded him that Mueller was busy with the maintenance nodes. The robot had reported back that it had finished its ping sweeps and was now focusing on making neighbor nodes perform the same functions. Gear Box already had a basic idea of how the tunnels probably looked but a simple faulty cable could lead him to believe that a tunnel was collapsed, or vice versa. Seeing no harm in continuing the virtual search he paid Mueller's efforts no mind for now.
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Honey Dew
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Apr 11 2013, 04:43 PM
Post #21
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Doctor Method's ears peaked when he heard of an expedition out to the tunnels, this was his chance to actually get to his storage unit and get the rest of his medical supplies back. Whether this robot was real or not, or if it could even find an actual way out of the tunnel was something to worry about on another day. For now his main concern was making sure these ponies were going to be well enough to make it to the surface one day. He approached Swift and said into her ear, "If you're going to be following this fool into the tunnels, perhaps you would allow me to come along. I've got some medical supplies in the tunnels that should be enough to last this place for months on end, and if we do end up finding a way out of the tunnels, we're going to need those supplies to keep us alive. I'll be able to take you there once we leave, shouldn't be that far out of the way if we're lucky."
Siren's ear twitched as Doctor Method walked up beside her and whispered into her ear. Giving a little hum in acknowledgement, she answered back, "S'long as ya know what is down there and that you have to be able to defend yourself, then it won't be a bother to this mare." She then held a hoof up to her mouth as she walked up to the tent to stand in the front entrance to the tent, making it obvious that she was listening as well as the turquoise earth pony lifted a leg and tapped a few buttons on her pipbuck, saying in a weak tone, "Tunn'l 4-F, Oi b'lieve Love. Tha's where we laws' 'eard from'er. D'ya guys know ya way 'round these tunn'ls 'nuff t'foind i'? Place's real easy t'ge' los' in..." Snow glanced over at the front of the tent and saw the filly that was standing beside the gunslinger, and she raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "Do Oi know ya from somewhe'a choild? Oi swea'a Oi've seen a pony loike ya b'fore..."
Bitter frowned very slightly as the pony on the cot addressed her, causing her to lean closer to Siren as she spoke up in a flat, unamused voice. "I do not know you. You have me confused for somepony else." She paused again when the striped pony spoke up as well, causing her to shrink closer still to Siren.
"Naw, she be right, girly. Ju look really familia'." The striped pony then did her best to look over to the turqoise pony as she continued to talk. "Did ju bring any ma'a's ova' who looked like her, Snow?" Snow slowly looked over at 'Lynn and shook her head, the most unamused look on her face as she did so and answered flatly, "Yeah 'Lynn. Oi to'ally did. No' fo' wot you're thinkin' abou' though. She was a friend bu' no' loike th'koind'a friend you are." Snow then looked back at Honey and asked, "Wots ya mum's name, sissa? Peaches'a somethin'? Ah, gawds i's on th'tip'a moi tongue i's been so long, no' t'mention wi' th'condition Oi'm in..."
Bitter kept silent for a few moments, her blank gaze boring into the pony on the cot as she tried to figure this pony out. Finally, she spoke up, curt voice now carrying a tone of suspicion. "Her name is Patches. Daddy called her Peaches. Who are you? Why do you know her? Have you heard anything from her?" She heard the striped pony giggle after that, causing Bitter's gaze to move over to her yet again.
"Oi, I t'ink ju pissed her off, girly! Ju might wanna apologize." The striped pony then grinned at that as she looked back over to Snow again. Snow gave Honey an easy smile as she remembered who she was talking about, "Aww yeaaaaaaah... Pawtches! I's been such a long toime, an' ya mus' be li'l Honey Dew! Last Oi saw ya, ya were such a cu'e l'il foal, no wond'a ya dun' r'memb'a us! Oi'm Snow, an' tha's Ma'Lynn, we knew ya mum back from Stable-205." The smile faded from her face as she looked a little more worried, "Oi was gonna actually awsk ya th'same question, sissa... Oi 'aven' 'eard from ya mum in so long. Sorry, Love." She then looked to the pony with the revolver on her leg, who was looking between the both of them quietly, and asked Honey, "Who's she then? 'Noth'a friend'a ya mum's?"
Bitter shook her head slowly at Snow's question, a little put-off that she hadn't heard anything from her mother either. "I have not met her before today. She is Siren." Bitter paused for a moment. "I kind of know my way through the tunnels. But last I remember of 4-F, it was dangerous..."
"Yeah, an' we found out th'ard way." Snow sighed and glanced back at Gear Box and said, "Well, ya know where Mara is, Love. Oi wish Oi could come with'ya bu' we ain' goin' anywhe'a anytoime soon. So awll th' bes' to ya, Mistah Gear Box, Soiren, Doctah, an'... Honey Oi guess if ya really wanna. This's fo' awll'a Hope's Cradle, pones. Good luck t'yas."
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Gear Box
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Apr 13 2013, 02:01 PM
Post #22
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After Snow had told Gear Box where Mara had been last he checked with Mueller to see if anything looked close to that name. The cyber-technician of an Earth pony had spent his fair share of time underground in tunnels and he could probably navigate his way there with few issues. He only devoted minimal attention to listening to the conversation after that was mentioned, paying a good amount of his focus on the goggles that sat high on his head. Glancing up into them he saw that Mueller had made a few new node connections and had begun to save a virtual copy of these nodes in its local data store. One of the nodes had a name that was similar to “4F” and it appeared to be beside some of the maintenance tunnels that ran along assumably collapsed subway tunnels.
He frowned upon seeing that the place where the robot was last heard from was probably a long walk through mostly uncharted maintenance tunnels and running alongside collapsed tunnels that Gear Box knew had ghouls around them. He soon realized that the task of finding this robot would be a bit riskier of a task than what he ever considered worthwhile. Looking around he noticed that he was not the only pony willing to participate in the endeavor and knew that he was needed to lead them there. ‘Or more accurately put, they might not find this robot in time if I don’t help. This is dangerous but this Mara robot might have a way out. At least, it seems to have gone the right direction to find a way out...’ he thought as he looked at the ponies around him.
His ears caught the words of “4-F” as Honey stated that it was dangerous, confirming his fear. He paid attention to Snow, who was speaking to him once more. He gave her a nod and looked between Snow and Ma’Lynn. “I’ll do my best to find your robot and a way out of here. No promises, though. I’m always listening on the radio, all AM frequencies. Get your rest you two and we’ll be back by the time you’re feeling better.” Gear Box explained to Snow and Ma’Lynn, looking between the two of them as he spoke. With that he gave a nod and turned to face the crowd of ponies behind him. He could make a good on their names now that Snow had said each one in individual conversation.
“Any moment we waste here is a moment wasted getting to Mara. That said, we must tread lightly and with caution. I haven’t survived this far because I have a rifle strapped to my side and our weapons should be the last thing we rely upon. The course I plan to take is through a series of maintenance tunnels which will avoid the main tunnels. It is largely unmapped, running on emergency power of generators with decades of age and is full of steel walls and machines that have stood the test of time. If you’re adamant on following me there that’s fine, but do not slow me down and don’t rush me. I’m not keen on sitting in one of our good doctor’s medical tents at the end of this.” Gear Box explained to Siren, Honey Dew and Doctor Method.
With that he trotted outside of the medical tent a short distance and sat down, retrieving his keyboard. With a few careful taps he told Mueller to stop its current actions and to move to the location of the beginning of the maintenance tunnels, closest to Hope’s Cradle. Mueller, upon seeing Gear Box again, would begin to follow him once he arrived. Placing the keyboard in its stowed position at his side once more he looked back at the others. “If you have your gear ready I’ll be moving. If not then I’ll be at the maintenance tunnel entrance, off this way.” he stated before lowering his goggles. He then began trotting off casually to the entrance of the maintenance tunnels.
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Siren
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Apr 20 2013, 12:36 PM
Post #23
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- January 28, 2013
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Siren waited for the earth pony and the zebra to finish their explanation of the situation that was being presented to them, ready to get moving so that they could actually get out from underground, and dare she say, back to the safer and more welcoming expanses of the wasteland. She had had enough of this gloom and dark underground, from the time spent wandering alone in the maddeningly dim light to just looking at all the other despondent and hopeless ponies that lived in hopes cradle. She wanted to get out, and she was ready to take any chance to do so, both for herself, and the child now in her care.
The gunslinger's ears had perked up and listened carefully when the filly started to ask the two ponies questions about how they knew her mother. They didn't seem to know anything about her either, and the gunslinger could only imagine the disappointment and frustration that the little filly must have been feeling at that moment. She sighed and walked back over to Bitter and stood beside her, offering her all that she could right now, that being a smile as Gear Box spoke up.
It was apparent that he wasn't going to tolerate any sort of lolly-gagging around, as he was ready to move and he wanted to move right now whether the other three were going to follow or not. He didn't give them much time to respond either, as he quickly trotted away to the entrance to the maintenance tunnels. As he walked away, the gunslinger sighed and looked down at Bitter, commenting off-handedly, "If he were any more set on what to do, I'd wonder if he was a robot himself and if he knew."
She shook her head and started walking after him, still talking to the filly beside her, "So... you don't know where your mother is? I'm sorry if this is a bit of a touchy subject, but I know what it is like to lose a parent or both, and the hardest part is just finding another pony to... I don't know... rely on, I guess to fill that gap they left." She sighed and looked back down at Bitter and asked, "If you want to talk about it, I'll lend a shoulder and an ear for you. I'm sure she's around somewhere looking for her daughter, all we gotta do is find her too. Why don't you tell me what she's like?"
The gunslinger turned around and looked at the doctor as well, wondering if he was following them after all and asked, "So... why did you store these supplies in storage lockers this far away from Subterra? Was there just not enough convenient places to put them in your clinic or something?" She lowered her voice as she looked ahead as well to Gear Box, "... and what do you think of that stallion up there? Does he seem kinda... iunno, awkward or more shifty than normal fare?"
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Honey Dew
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Apr 23 2013, 06:27 AM
Post #24
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The expression on Bitter's face hardened slightly as she listened to Gear Box speak, though only the most observant of ponies could even see that such a look had crossed her face. There was just something about the way he spoke, the way he seemed to be so arrogant about the situation, like he was the only one that could possibly be of any use out of the four ponies. She knew one of the ways to tunnel 4-F, but Gear Box made it seem like there was no other way, or at least none that were better than his. Even when he ordered them to not slow him down or rush him irritated her, once more making it sound like he was the only important one. She did allow her expression to take on a slightly more annoyed quality, made so by her marginally narrower eyes and tightly-pressed lips, but otherwise she kept silent about it all as she watched him walk away without bothering to be friendly at all.
She glanced up to Siren after that and slowly shook her head at what was said before offering a quiet "a robot would be more agreeable" in a short tone as she walked beside Siren, a little reluctant to start this journey through the tunnels with that condescending pony. She then listened to Siren question her about her mother, to which she offered a quiet sigh out of her nose. Her lips pressed tightly against each other once more as Siren continued to talk about losing parents, and that it was hard finding another pony to rely on. Even harder, to Bitter, was even talking about it. She didn't want to think about losing her mother, yet here Siren was, trying to get her to do just that even if it was in the guise of trying to give her a helping hoof.
Almost as if in an afterthought, she looked over to Method almost immediately after asking about Bitter's mother, making her wonder if Siren had just been asking for the sake of asking. She stared over at the nearest wall out of the corner of her eye as she continued on next to Siren and the doctor, even when she asked about what Method thought about Gear Box. It was Bitter who spoke up next, however, her voice as curt as it usually was. "He is bossy," she began, gaze returning forward to stare at the pony in question. "And sounds like he does not think we are worthwhile. I do not like him. He is irritating," she said simply before looking over to him as well, offering one last question before he gave his opinion on the matter as well. "You seemed eager to go along with this. Why? Are you not needed here? It still seems busy, though I do not understand why since the invasion was a while ago..."
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Doctor Method
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Apr 24 2013, 05:32 PM
Post #25
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True Method had remained relatively quiet during this whole affair about the tunnels and Honey Dew's parents. He wasn't sure what he would do if he didn't know where his father was, but he also wasn't sure what he thought of his father since he did know his location. He was still at his old Stable, still doing research and trying his best to keep the field of magic from becoming stagnant and boring. It had to evolve, had to adapt, and his father was doing the best he could to ensure that was happening.
When Gear Box went off on his own towards the maintenance entrance, Method stayed behind a bit to consult with Siren and Honey Dew who seemed to both have their questions about his current situation. He looked around to see if there was anyone in urgent need of his attention before sitting down in front of the pair to begin explaining himself. "Well," he said as he rubbed his head at the base of his horn, "The reason the storage locker is so out of the way is because ponies these days are quite the greedy bunch. I've got a lot of drugs in those cabinets, and there are a lot of ponies addicted to the drugs I have in there and I'm not about to give a prescription to some junkies just because they need a quick fix. Though that didn't stop them from trying to bust into my office and grab whatever they could even if I was on duty. I suppose that's the main reason I've had to discharge my weapon, to ensure that ponies stay healthy, stay alive."
"As for why I'm eager to go," True said as he turned to Honey, "Well, let's just say that we're running low on supplies and I can't really keep these ponies alive much longer if we don't. The nurses can handle the ponies coming into town until I get back, and there's one more doctor on duty who can take care of any serious issues. He's not really as good as I am, but he's got the knowledge to deal with almost anything these ponies can throw at him."
He then turned his head towards the direction that Gear Box wandered off to, "Then there's that stallion," he said as he turned back to the others, "I don't like him, and I don't really trust him all that much if I'm going to be completely honest, but he's also the one with the robot that can find the other robot. If we don't go with him then we'll have to go through the main tunnel, and that's practically a death wish on it's own. I don't like it, but that pony is our best bet for getting everyone out of this place."
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Gear Box
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Apr 25 2013, 03:43 AM
Post #26
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A locked door. That was all he had to pass through to even begin the journey they were about to embark upon. A common, metal maintenance door that could be found in almost every Equestrian building, especially vaults. Gear Box sat before it and stared with an annoyed expression through his goggles. This was the door that would lead to tunnel 4-F and it had refused to budge when he had tried to open it. He knew the estimated maps and layouts that were on the other side of it, and probably how to get to the surface based off the functional, networked nodes. He could probably even trace the power lines for the door based off of maintenance maps of the area. But it refused to so much as release its locks.
Gear Box placed his two hooves upon the door and gave it a hard twist to the emergency release gear, which also stood as still as the door. Annoyed, Gear Box backed off and gave a harsh buck to the handle. The door rang with a solid metal pitch while Gear Box stared at angrily. Arming his rifle to a reasonable charge he took aim at what looked like a rusted release lock and fired. The rusted piece of door exploded in a dust of iron oxide and red hot metal pieces. Gear Box once again tried to move the door again. With more success than last time he managed to turn the release gear about a quarter of a turn before it locked up once more and wouldn't turn back. Gear Box now sat back and looked at the door bewildered at its stubborn behavior.
He didn't have the explosives to move through it nor any terminal nearby to command the door to open because it lacked power. He was convinced that it was now a metal slag preventing him from moving into the maintenance tunnels. He knew there were probably other ways around, but they were either too dangerous to risk or through some caved-in section of the subway. This was the route they had to take and he was stuck. 'Some confidence-inspiring pony I am. Can't even get past the first door.' he thought to himself. Once the other ponies had arrived nearby he looked his head to view them. "I'm having some trouble with this stupid door. It lacks power and won't open for me, not even for my rifle. On the other side are the maintenance tunnels that I know my way around but..." he stated, now lost for words on what to do. His robot, Mueller quietly rolled over to be within a short distance of Gear Box, to which he paid no mind.
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Siren
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Apr 27 2013, 02:06 PM
Post #27
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The sounds of metal being struck rang through the tunnels that the gunslinger, the child, and the doctor walked through. The gunslinger's ears were on a swivel the entire time, trying to figure out what the sound could be and where it was coming from. It was incredibly eerie to hear a sound that sharp and pronounced echo through the tunnels, especially to the gunslinger, being a pony that wandered the open wastes and not the vast underground.
It was going to be dangerous, and the gunslinger was starting to wonder if they would even make it back from this expedition alive. They were doing this for the good of the ponies of Hope's Cradle, they would be coming back either with the map of the underground that this Mara robot had, or not at all. It may very well be a pointless sacrifice, and as she thought that, the gunslinger glanced down at the child with the violin that walked beside her. Even a cursory glance at the little filly, with her stuffed doll that rode on her back, could see that this little one was very much helpless in a fight. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she was a child and shouldn't be exposed to this kind of thing...
If this Gear Box knew the way to get to the proper tunnel that they needed, there was no need to bring the child with them. The guards of Hope's Cradle were able to defend a whole town, and the filly obviously had friends that knew her there as well, maybe it would be a better choice for the both of them just to leave the filly in their care while the other three left to risk their lives. It would be for her own good in the long run, but how was she going to let the filly know that this is what was going to happen?
They rounded the corner just in time to see Gear Box shoot at a stubborn door, and the gunslinger stuck out her foreleg and pushed the other two back around the corner as he did that in case the unpredictable laser bolts decided to ricochet. Her experience with energy weapons wasn't at all reliable, and it was better safe than sorry. When he seemed to be finished trying to open the door with brute strength, the three of them rounded the corner and approached the gray stallion.
He explained his predicament, and the gunslinger blinked and peered around him to the door before a laugh escaped her, "Come on now, you honestly expected something this old and this poorly kept to work? Ya gotta come to expect these kinda things really, everything nowadays has some sort of quirk." She couldn't really blame him, the door looked like it would work fine, but she had come to stop relying on any sort of mechanism that she herself did not maintain, which only included her revolver.
It looks like they were stuck already, and their journey only began. Like it or not now, the little filly was the only one that knew her way around the subsystems and tunnels, they would have to bring her along. With a thoughtful sigh, she walked over to Honey again and asked, "Ya said ya knew the way through these here tunnels like the back of your hoof? Well, now's the time to provide us with your proof..." she glanced over to Gear Box, the memory of him shooting at the door still fresh in her mind as she whispered, "... before trying anything else crosses the mind of this goof."
Patting Bitter Sweet on the head, she added, "I'm not gonna lie, I'm cautious of bringing ya with us to begin with 'cause ya shouldn't be put in harms way, but since you are gonna be followin', I need you to promise me that, no matter what, you will do exactly as I say." A hopeful smile crossed her face as she added, "And that you'll stick close to me, okay?"
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Honey Dew
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Apr 28 2013, 03:24 PM
Post #28
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Bitter glanced over to the doctor once more when he responded to her question, telling her that they were running low on supplies. She couldn't understand that, she supposed, but what was the reason for his joining them, then? To get more supplies into Hope's Cradle..? To find a way to get them all out? He didn't really say, unless he'd planned on stopping by one of the spots he'd stashed with supplies...
The attention was returned to Gear Box after that, and Bitter sighed through her nostrils again as she heard the same ringing Siren did. It was a little odd and though she tried to figure out why it was being made, she found it useless and instead just listened to Method talk about the one they'd be travelling with and found herself agreeing with most of what was said, save for him being the best bet for everypony getting out of this place. Why was it everypony just glossed over the child?
Shortly after, they rounded a corner and Bitter practically ran into the hoof Siren helf out to shield and push back both her and Method when Gear shot the door with his rifle. She tried to peer forward past Siren's hoof, but by the time she had gotten a good view, she had already begun to move again. Bitter just quietly followed behind, the hint of a smug look evident on her face when Siren began to address him and his thinking the door was going to work.
She glanced to Siren after that when she spoke to Bitter next, mentioning she knew her way through these tunnels well... before saying now was the time to show her. She gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to Siren before listening to her hesitation over bringing Bitter along. Of course, she wanted Bitter to do exactly as she said. They still thought of her as a child after all, right? Sighing again, she only nodded to Siren's request and offered a quiet, "I do not really have much choice, do I?" She stepped forward then, and gave Gear Box a sidelong glance as she passed him. "Do not slow me down, and do not rush me," she quoted plainly before continuing on into what was the main tunnel. Adamantly, she moved down what was known as a dangerous path for about a hundred yards, before turning into a service tunnel, similar to the one Siren had found her in.
The tunnel came to a three-way intersection, and Bitter turned left before stopping at a door to her right. She began turning it with all of her might, and despite having difficulty doing so, was actually succeeding. With Siren's help in turning the crank that normally held the door closed, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room beyond, a room filled with various computers whose purposes were long-since forgotten. She ignored all of these computers, however, and moved to one of the far corners of the room... where a large portion of the wall there had either collapsed, or had been blown away by somepony.
She stepped over the rubble and turned left again into the tunnel that slowly curved to their right. She looked to the doctor after that, watching him for a moment before speaking up. "The radiation pocket is nearby, is it not?" she asked plainly, referring to what he'd mentioned when they first met him. "Which also means your supplies are nearby, too. How close are we?"
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Doctor Method
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May 5 2013, 02:38 AM
Post #29
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As they rounded the corner, True Method stopped short of what must have been some sort of imminent danger when Siren extended her hoof to stop them. It seems their fearless leader had been stopped short by a rusty door, a move that did not inspire confidence, but was definitely a welcome change that would hopefully be humbling to the other pony. He then walked forward and watched the scene unfold before him, choosing to keep his mouth shut as his mind and body began to become more and more numb due to the pain pills he had taken before. His eyelids closed slightly, covering about half his eyes and barely leaving enough of his pupil available to still see unhindered.
He smiled when Honey Dew gave Gearbox a bit of a talking to, quoting his words from before at the medical tents. If being unable to bypass a simple door wasn't enough to shrink this one's ego, being told off by a child would certainly take him down a few notches. He continued walking in the middle of the group, through the computer room, and into the tunnels through the rubble on the ground.
That's when Honey Dew addressed him directly, "We'll be at the edge of the radiation pocket within about a 150 yards give or take. My supplies are in a storage locker in the middle of the pocket, where the radiation is strongest. The pocket isn't strong enough to cause much harm for the amount of time we're going to stay in it, but it might be enough to make some of us uncomfortable if you haven't gotten some sort of resistance to it. Luckily, I stocked up on Rad-X before we left, so we should be fine travelling through it with relative ease.
"The main problem we're going to have is carrying the supplies back, but we've got four ponies with saddlebags here and I'd appreciate it if you could fit as much as you can comfortably carry in there if you can," he said as he looked around the group, addressing them all as equals, "Everyone in Hope's Cradle is going to need those supplies whether this robot finds us a way out or not, so I'll be carrying as much back as I possibly can, and I hope you all do the same."
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Gear Box
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May 6 2013, 01:34 AM
Post #30
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Gear Box felt a pang of shame for his failure to open the door and Honey Dew's words had only driven the feeling in like a nail through a board. It was after a moment that Gear Box gave a half smile and almost gave a sad chuckle, amused at his own misfortune. He trotted after the group, his head held a bit low with the self-pity he was feeling. It wasn't every day that ponies took the advice of a small child over his and it was the first time that the child was right. Mueller closely followed him and quietly trudged along its rubber treads. Gear Box pulled out his keyboard quickly and tapped a few keys before stowing it once again at his side.
On his multi-optic goggles several video feeds opened up, showing what the various cameras on Mueller were seeing. There was a slight delay but the function might help him spot any threat from the rear. It had helped save his hide before while other times it would just be distracting and slow him down. For now, though, he had some ponies ahead to watch his front. In his goggles he also took a look at the supposed map of the various networking nodes and concluded that it would be useful for any computer operations he may have to do but it was flawed as a map because it did not necessarily show locked doors or blockages. That thought in mind he closed the map and focused more on his surroundings. The area they passed through seemed to have some older computers, lost in time and left to crumble. Gear Box stared at them only for a moment, contemplating their use, before trotting off with the others.
As he kept up with the group he heard mention of a radiation pocket and took a nervous gulp. He was not from this time and nowhere near as adapted as some ponies were to the harsh wastes. He had dealt with radiation and often sickness, but both were treated with caution by his over-medicating self. He tried to remember if he had any medical supplies on hand, but was quickly reminded that one of the reasons they would be dealing with the radiation is because the good doctor's supplies were in the midst of it. 'Odd place to put your meds, to soak up that radiation but at least nopony would touch it then.' he thought.
Once the Doctor asked if the ponies could carry some of the medical supplies he saw an opportunity. Perhaps he could offer Mueller's rather large cargo space for the benefit of the group and possibly regain some favor with them. He felt conflicted, curious of why he would care of anypony else's opinions but concluded it would be worthwhile to at least work well with these ponies in particular. With that in mind, he wondered what else he might do to help and noticed Honey Dew's laser pistol. He recognized the model type and had some experience optimizing their performance. He thought it would be a good idea to possibly inspect it for Honey Dew, but concluded a time when she wasn't bitter towards him would be best. "Doctor if you've cargo to carry, my 'bot Mueller can haul just about all you can toss at him. We should be able to get your supplies in one trip." he told Doctor Method.
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