by Skyler Grant
"I would install a compliance chip in your brain, but they do not come in a size that tiny. The construction is started. Get ready,"
Anna grinned at me. In addition to her toolbelt she took a gun and knife. I provided her a camera clipped to her armor so that I could go with her.
7
It took me a few hours to clear Anna a path down the stairs and then she was on her way.
For light, she had what seemed to be some sort of slug held within a small transparent container.
"I didn't know you traveled with a relative," I said, after it had come out.
"Electronics don't work properly. Never have after the Cataclysm," Anna said.
"Just because you can't figure out how to make them work doesn't mean they don't. I'm working just fine," I said.
"Thanks to me, and a Power core I jammed inside of you. Whatever happened changed a lot of physical constants and electronics no longer work like they did," Anna said.
That was intriguing. I hadn't had any problems operating the base, but it helped to explain why it had been so very long since my last activation.
Anna crawled through the narrow crevice I'd cleared in the rubble. The passage beyond was even worse than the rest of the base, the walls had either mostly collapsed or showed so many cracks it seemed they might at any moment.
"Do you know where this pump of yours is?" Anna asked.
I should—but I didn't, and I wasn't going to admit it. Not knowing where my water pump was seemed akin to a human misplacing their spleen. I was sure any human of moderate intelligence knew exactly where to find their spleen.
"Do you know where your spleen is?" I asked.
"No..." Anna said.
Unsurprising.
"Just keep heading down. Gravity should have you naturally roll in that direction," I said.
"You do a few too many fat jokes," Anna said.
"You inspire me. Keep moving."
The pumps didn't seem to be on this level. A set of stairs leading below was accessible.
Anna paused at the bottom to cock her head to the side.
"Do you hear that?" Anna asked.
I wasn't picking anything up through the microphone. I magnified the signal, but all I was getting was distortion and white noise in the background.
"I don't. Primitive life forms often compensate for inferior intellects with superior senses. What do you hear?" I asked.
"A river, I think. There's movement as well," Anna said.
I didn't like that. On the plus side, a river did mean that water would be readily obtainable. It also meant a more unstable foundation to this facility and a potential entrance besides the front door.
Anna resumed her progress.
Faded paint on the wall pointed the way to 'Pumping Station A' and Anna moved to follow.
When she got close, she paused to consider the room. It was occupied.
Several massive forms that appeared to be some sort of mutated mole shuffled around. Each probably weighed as much as Anna did.
"Capture me one alive," I said.
"Yeah. I'm going to capture you a giant mutant mole and drag it up two flights of stairs."
"I could dissect you instead," I said.
"I'm too useful."
Unfortunately, she might just be right, although this wasn't helping her case.
Anna readied a rifle and leaned around the corner.
The human could shoot. The first bullet took a mole right between the eyes. It let out a screech as it collapsed to the ground.
It didn't seem quite dead giving all the racket it was making, but I could only assume that much noise meant that it was dying.
Anna ducked back around the corner and worked on reloading. A mole was charging through the door towards her.
With impressive speed for such a large creature it swiveled to face Anna. Perhaps it heard her, or smelled her, but either way she didn't get the element of surprise.
Anna snapped off a second shot even as the mole dug teeth into her thigh and blood gushed from torn flesh.
Anna bashed the mole's skull with the butt of her rifle until it keeled over and went still.
Anna shakily leaned against the wall, breaths heaving as she loaded another round into the rifle.
"Alive," I said.
"Not happening. You're going to be lucky if I don't pass out from this. In fact, get your drone down here in case I do," Anna said.
"It's busy doing something important."
"You aren't going to want to lose these corpses anyways," Anna said.
I hated it when she made sense.
I set the upgrades on pause and got my drone moving below.
Anna limped around the corner into the chamber. The last mole was huddled in the corner, this one didn't seem to be a fighter. Anna wasn't taking any chances no matter how much I wanted a live subject. The rifle rang out once more and a third mole slumped to the ground.
"Monster," I said.
"Yeah, I'm a real killer," Anna said weakly. From her pack, she pulled several strips of cloth and used them to bind her leg wound.
At least she came prepared, it was something.
Then she was moving to the water pumps and looking them over.
"Do you see the problem?" I asked.
"They're electric, but they aren't connected to your system. I think they must draw power from the river itself. That means they aren't benefiting from your Power core," Anna said.
"I'm not picking up anything on that level. It seems as dead as your social life," I said.
"They probably had the whole thing wired into the different grid. Do you have anything on the floor above?" Anna asked.
Of course, I still didn't have any functioning cameras, but taking a different approach to checking my network I did seem to have several active power conduits.
"I do. There is a major junction along the east wall," I said.
"I'm going to strip wiring and rig you a way into this grid," Anna said.
Despite her wound, she did seem to be staying on her feet this time.
8
It took Anna a few hours, but she managed to do exactly what she said. As soon as the power cable was connected to the other grid and I turned that juncture back on, the pumps hummed to life at once.
It was a struggle for the drone, but I ferried the three corpses of the moles back upstairs.
Research Menu
Mutated Moles
Requirement: 3 Mutated Mole bodies
Time: 18 hours
Mutated Moles have been warped by an unknown force that has given them greater strength, ferocity, and endurance than their standard counterparts.
Do you wish to Research? Y/N
Once more the answer to that was an emphatic yes. I really had no reason to say no. While I was limited in research slots, right now I wasn't hitting those limits.
That done, I investigated another build.
Basic Infirmary
A room with two bunks and an autodoc. Halves healing time of all wounds and can stabilize critically injured.
Requires 50 resources to construct and 5 power
You have no building resources but have 116 rubble which can be converted at a 1:08 ratio.
Do you wish to begin this project?
The human kept getting injured. Her burns seemed to be getting worse and while she was covering it well, there seemed to be a weakness in her limbs after the recent bite from the mole. I hated to expend the resources, but so far she was proving herself to be of some minimal value.
I added this to the queue.
It would have to wait though. Building the traps took priority. Fortunately, we hadn't come immediately under attack and I had time to create several more.
I rigged most of Hydroponics with pit traps that would drop an individual into a tank of water below. I made certain those were sealed chambers and reinforced them to take considerable pressure. I hoped that even if the water turned to steam, the pressure created and the lack of breathable air woul
d have a devastating effect.
I wasn't leaving it to that alone this time. I arranged several sections of the roof in the Security wing in a way so I could trigger a small-scale collapse.
The passages were the narrowest there and I reasoned that even my upcoming guests burned hot enough to melt stone, bathing in it would still be another matter.
I didn't have the resources to place any more traps. These had used what supply of rubble I had. While I could gather some more by clearing further floors, I was becoming increasingly aware this was a limited resource to be preserved.
Several of the research projects were completed.
Research Menu
Embers
Embers are the lowest order of those who were empowered by a Power core to possess flame abilities. While they appear human, their physiology has been altered considerably by a crystalline virus. They are far more resistant to heat than the average human, although can generate only minor heat themselves.
You have unlocked the Fire Matrix.
By emulating the crystalline virus found within the bodies of Embers you can add this modification to creations if you possess the requisite modification talents.
That was both good and further enraging, because it didn't take me much testing to find out that I lacked those talents. Another research project had gone nowhere.
Research Menu
Mutated Moles
Mutated Moles have traces of an unusual crystalline substance bonded to their muscle fibers. This substance is particularly present in their mouths and bladders suggesting it came from their water supply.
You have unlocked the Giant Mole.
With your study of the physiology and genetic structure of the Mutated Moles you are now able to grow your own variant in a genetics lab.
Yet another building I didn't have. It was interesting what they said about the water, however. I wondered if Anna would become massive from drinking.
I should probably keep an eye on her, those barbs regarding her mass would gain particular bite, if she began to transform into a giant.
With the traps under construction I turned my attention back to the other structures. I focused on the Infirmary first. I finished it just as Anna was turning a rather unhealthy shade of green. Soon she was stretched out on a medical table while the autodoc tended to her.
Although I wasn't a doctor I could access its system.
Recent burns over thirty percent of her body.
Multiple gunshot wounds, one to the arm and another to a shoulder and her calve.
An infected bite from a mutated mole.
Severe malnutrition and moderate radiation poisoning.
It was surprising that Anna was still functional given all the damage she had endured. It she needed some better armor—or to learn how to dodge properly, I'd have to consider proper solutions eventually.
I ordered the autodoc to keep her sedated and restored to full health. If I knew her, she would want to be a part of the fight coming up. I sealed the Infirmary and placed rubble outside the door, just to be certain she couldn't get out. Things would be complicated enough without her interfering.
Just in time. Only a few hours later several new figures arrived at the entrance to the base.
The leader must be Hot Stuff herself. Unlike the others, who at least wore some pretense of clothing, she didn't. It didn't take me long to figure out why. At the temperatures she was running any standard cloth would quickly burst into flame.
Fire crawled along her flesh in a constant flickering stream. It was like living snakes writhing against her, the air around her a constant haze.
Accompanying her were three others running hot, although far colder than she. I recognized one of the Flames, William, as the one that had come the first time.
They couldn't be very smart. If what Anna said was true, they'd have tried to sleep with their boss in order to become Flames. Unless she had some ability to cool off to a far lower temperature, such an effort would be both agonizing and thoroughly fatal.
That was good, I preferred them to be dumb.
9
"Looks abandoned," Hot Stuff said, as she made her way through the main entrance and looked about. "You sure you got the right hole in the ground?"
"I'm sure," said William, gesturing. "We need to go down a few levels to where the ambush happened. There is someone watching us."
Good, I very much hoped that they did make it back down to the Hydroponics level again.
As they advanced I let them pass, then quietly sealed doors and activated traps behind them. I didn't want anyone getting away this time.
"That true? We're being watched?" Hot Stuff asked, as she gave a leisurely stretch. I think that she expected me to be impressed by the sight.
I said over the speakers, "Welcome to the Laboratory. I see you've brought your toys for me to play with. I've got some for you too."
Hot Stuff didn't look particularly intimidated, she looked pleased.
"Oh, it has been too long since I really got to burn. I don't know who you are or what you did with my people, but baby, we're gonna sizzle together."
"I sense a contradiction. You can't burn properly when all you do is put out. Come find me," I said.
Taunts were all well and good. I wanted her reckless, I wanted them all reckless.
William raised a hand when they got near the entrance to Hydroponics. "It was in here we got taken."
"Then stay here. I'll check it out," Hot Stuff said, and she made her way in alone.
I had to decide how I wanted to play this. I could spring the trap on her now—without a doubt she was the biggest prize of the bunch and I really wanted to put her in a testing maze. But if she was neutralized, those with her would probably flee. They were lesser prizes, but I wanted them too.
Hot Stuff prowled the room looking into corners, her thermal readings increasing more. The floor began to smolder and smoke beneath her feet.
"Hot flashes? From the looks of you I'd have figured you got those out of the way years back," I said.
"Age jokes are the best you've got? Oh sugar, the mind is the first thing to go. Boys? Get in here and go hot," Hot Stuff called.
William and the others stepped inside. They'd heated up enormously and flames flickered around their forms, although none was running nearly as hot as Hot Stuff herself.
I didn't close the doors. Not yet. I needed to time this carefully.
"See? There were like these water guns that fired on us? I burned my way out, but the others didn't make it," William said.
"And you just ran off and left them," Hot Stuff said.
I told them, "There is a popular conception that you can tell the size of a man's courage by the size of his dick. There is little scientific truth to it. Still, in the case of Willy, when the two are both so minuscule I wonder if further tests are warranted."
"Fuck you," William said, his flames growing even hotter. "Seriously. Fuck you!"
"She's trying to rattle you," Hot Stuff said.
"It's working," William said.
Yes, it was. Time to rattle them some more. I killed the lights and slammed the doors shut.
Since they were living torches the effect wasn't quite so dramatic as it might have been, but it would still disorient them a little. Then I hit them with the water cannons. I wasn't trying to drown them out, not this time. Based on past performance I didn't think I'd be able to do that. I was herding them.
Jets of water pounded each backwards until I could drop the floor out from beneath them, plunging everyone into separate tanks of water. Instantly, I sealed the tops trapping them inside.
No oxygen, just water surrounding them and snuffing out those flames.
I had rigged monitors in every tank and in three they were showing exactly what I wanted—an initial huge spike of temperature that quickly began to drop. In the fourth tank the water just kept growing hotter.
There was nothing else I could do now. Nothing else but hope I'd plan
ned my trap well enough, and that Hot Stuff too would suffer the fates of the others and be overcome before the tank gave way.
It wasn't to be. I registered a sudden change in tank pressure and powerful gusts of steam escape from the one of the rooms, before the door blew itself apart in a spray of shrapnel.
Hot Stuff came walking out. Despite her bare flesh she had no fear of jagged metal. Where pieces of the door came into contact with her, it turned molten and dripped away.
Crossing the hall she pressed a hand to one of the other doors, which ripped itself asunder as the pressure within was released. Hot Stuff went to one door after another and quickly freed all of her Flames. They were shaken, coughing up gouts of steam as the water inside them boiled out and away. They were alive.
"Oh, good try sweetie. Good try, but I'm just getting started. You wanted me to come find you. I'm on my way. Boys, man the fuck up and come along," Hot Stuff said.
They were on the wrong side of my defenses. I'd planned for that trap to work, and if it didn't I'd expected for them to withdraw into the other traps I'd placed on the upper levels.
There wasn't much between them and me. I needed to think fast.
10
The pit traps had been a good idea and against just the Flames would have worked, but Hot Stuff had put paid to that.
I did have limited supplies of liquid nitrogen and other super coolants for use in my own systems. They could deliver a small but intense burst of cooling. If I could get Hot Stuff to inhale this, it might do enough damage to her lungs to put her out of the fight.
I could also try asphyxiation. Normally, denying a fire of oxygen would be a great way to put it out, but I worried it might not work on Hot Stuff. In the water tank air had been in short supply and she kept burning hotter—there was something internal helping to fuel her fire.
I said, "Do you really want to keep coming and see what else I have planned? If you thought those traps were good, just wait until what comes next. You may think you're hot, but you're just a firefly pretending to be a dragon."