NewEarth Apocalyptic Aftermath!

[Maharg67]

IronsidePlatoon: More trouble With Mutihulks and New Allies

[1]4.1[10]

 

Fighting was sporadic in the enclosed spaces of the building despite that the reanimants had vanished away. The attacking mutihulks, who had come from seemingly nowhere, did not know the layout well but that was no real surprise considering short a time they had been there.

 

The data kept being studied, in the hidden cubby hole that had been linked to other such spots through out the complex along with bigger chambers. It indicated that there were a few local ways that the hulking mutagenic mutants could have gotten into the complex.

 

Ironsidetroopers fought with a more mobile style while the Robotroopers focused more on using their portable battlecannons. The building might have looked standard but it soon proved to be heavily fortified as projectiles did far less damage than they would have done otherwise.

 

Mutihulks fell but two Ironsidetroopers were lightly wounded with damaged power armour. Thankfully there was far from an endless supply of the enemies and it soon came to IronsidePlatoon SquadAlpha that reanimants were also fighting the mutihulks; the ShelterplexDC003 entities were soon being squeezed out. When reanimants began to fight alongside Ironsidetroopers it began with out any seeming fuss. Ironsidetroopers also had the advantage that only a quite limited number of enemies could attack them at any time so their greater numbers did not tell against the defenders.

 

Suddenly the assault ceased with mutihulks dragging away almost all of their dead and dropped items. That did not mean the threat was gone, far from it. The reanimants also vanished away and in the same manner.

 

A decision needed to be made but in then arrived more IronsidePlatoon Ironsidetroopers, from the officially named ArmatechCitadelDC. Along with them came the amazing news that there were large amounts of useful resources stored in the fortress and since much of it was of the kind used by the ArmatechOrder Chapters, that is of Prewarday UNNE Army standard stuff. There were also many useful facilities and areas that future possible use that had basic service-support networksystems in place.

 

It was no coincidence that the armatech was largely like, and based on, Predoomsday GI gear including the power armour, weapons, robots and transports. Those that had founded the ArmatechOrder had been mainly UNNE Army soldiers along with a few others such as trustworthy scientists, families and those few outsiders allowed to join the CHAO (ClusterHills ArmatechOrder) ranks; the latter had always done so in a secretive way so that the CHAO continued to publicly state that outsiders were not welcome.

 

The eight Ironsidetroopers brought four more robotroopers along with them as well as four Robotroopers Packtroopers that were armoured, but not armed, having large backpack like containers and smaller frontpack ones as well.

 

One of the newcomers was a science officer who studied the one dead reanimant left behind with her special field equipment. Armatechknight Sidelieutenant Wulee was a brilliant field forensics expert. As IronsidePlatoon had increasingly dealt with more exotic challenges, it had taken on board specialists who did not have pronounced psyonicer abilities but had highly valuable skills and experience. She was one of them, in practise, though officially she was not.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

[1]4.2[11]

 

Even as it was decided that most of Ironsidetroopers would remain there as a temporary outpost, 15 would continue deeper into the complex while taking Wulee with them. They were to stay together because of the uncertainty of what they could encounter. None of the robotroopers went with the moving group for they were better at defensive action than with moving combat and would help to secure the temporary outpost. Two robopackers went with the squad simply because of the amount of useful extra gear they could carry.

 

With the guidebot guiding them, Samtha's group moved further into the complex but now the guidebot began to lead them in a seemingly illogical pattern. Sometimes they were to one side along a hallway, or even back towards the edge of the complex, but always they would end up going inwards to the center. As the guidebot explained, it was leading them through an actual maze designed to look outwardly like a typical business layout; again came the question of what was being hidden but the guidebot did not have the answer. No reanimants showed up though they were now not considered a threat.

 

There were four large storerooms full of items as officially produced by the big complex though not all were full. Forklifts attested to there having been busy activity, a few holding goods, when everybody had departed in a great hurry. There was enough, even there, to feed hundreds of people for over a year at least. But why just get up and leave it all?

 

After another hallway trip they found two more such storerooms but this time with Shelterplex type rations, most being repackaged standard items but there also being some special items. So there was one reason for the secrecy; FutureFoodsDC had been a provider of consumables to the Shelterplexes, a highly profitable business but why keep it secret? Perhaps because the Shelterplex locations were themselves kept concealed from the great majority of people. People, trying to find their coordinates, could have tried to get them by tracing the movements of goods from the food complex.

 

While providing some clients openly, the FutureFoods Corporation could have been easily providing the same to others in a more covert manner. They soon found scanty evidence that this was the case for food goods were going, from other storerooms, to non PlexCorp corporation locations along with others such as hidden military bases.

 

After going through a secret powerdoor, the group moved carefully into a very large chamber. There stood processing machines but pushed against walls and with them sealed containers of goods. Forklifts, and warehouse robots, were there also but inactive.

 

At the center, of the chamber, was a prototype cable teleportation station with one very big, three big and nine moderately big teleport cubicles. They moved around, quietly, picking up evidence that a large amount of people, robots and goods had departed through the teleporter quickly but not in a panic. Question was, why had they left so much behind?

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

[1]4.3[12]

Harroc hacked into the teleporter's computer and found that there was some data to be found there despite efforts to wipe it all out.

He spoke to the starmajor. “Got a list of destinations for the goods being names but not location coordinates; they are ShelterplexDC003, ShelterplexDC092, ShelterplexDC099, ShelterplexDC101, ShelterplexDC106, ShelterplexDC108, ShelterplexDC112, ShelterplexDC155, ShelterplexDC169 and ShelterplexDC201. Down below that is a list with ShelterplexZA003, ShelterplexZA092, ShelterplexZA099, ShelterplexZA101, ShelterplexZA106, ShelterplexZA108, ShelterplexZA112, ShelterplexZA155, ShelterplexZA169 and ShelterplexZA201. I wonder why the so similar names and what links are between the two lists.”

Samtha frowned. “I suspect that the 'DC' Shelterplexes are secret experimental based vaults on chosen victims in those vaults while the 'ZA' one are observation vaults close to those unethical, often brutal, experiments. While not all Shelterplexes were experimental based ones, a large number of them were so. The ArmatechOrder has encountered vaults, of this kind, elsewhere.”

Harroc indicated another list. “ShelterplexDC001, ShelterplexDC007, ShelterplexDC085, ShelterplexDC072, ShelterplexDC091, ShelterplexDC100, ShelterplexDC105, ShelterplexDC107, ShelterplexDC111, ShelterplexDC128, ShelterplexDC133 and ShelterplexDC222.” He shrugged. “There is no second list like that one with small variations of code.”

Samtha responded. "Could well be genuine Shelterplexes intended as 'control groups' to compare to experiment based Shelterplexes."

Harroc shook his head in wonder. “Another list! WarplexDC111, WarplexDC222, WarplexDC333, WarplexDC444, WarplexDC555, WarplexDC666, WarplexDC777, WarplexDC888 and WarplexDC999.”

Samtha frowned hard. “As far as I know, no ArmatechOrder Chapters have ever picked up any information connected to any 'Warplex' either in DC or anywhere else in the former UNNE mainland or beyond. It is of concern that we did not manage to do so. Anything else?”

The hacker shrugged. “A fragmented reference to something called an AquaticArk and a part surviving list being Ravenplex, InstituteDC, Rocknedy Archival Complex and what appears to be something partly named Primary Reclamation.”

Armatechtroopers, general power armoured soldiers, were arriving at the complex. The mutihulks had fled from the whole area, perhaps taken by surprise by the arrival of the Ironsiders. The reanimants had vanished away.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

IronsidePlatoon Zaekra: A Moment of Peace and an Odd Encounter

[1]5.1[13]

 

The reanimants had somehow managed to vanish away. Even the subtle, background, presence had somehow become less 'present'.

 

Ironsiders paced through the rest of the complex, that had proven to be the distribution area where goods were generally stored before being sent off from FutureFoodsDC. The big loading yard was linked directly to that complex with two more, big, storerooms being directly next to it.

 

Ironsiders moved amongst the vehicles, checking them out along with their cargoes. The DCSB was already making plans to continue using the complex to produce food which of course they would need and could use in connection with other DC Factions.

 

IronsidePlatoon was now focused on going through the actual food processing complex with its autorobotic processing lines, cannery area, preservation chambers, temporary storage areas and much else. It was as if it had been halted, made semiactive, cleared up of anything that could go rotten and then abandoned. That is except for three sites where heavy security guards, and protectbots, had gone down fighting hard against enemies.

 

Harroc did his hacking genius again and they got 3Dvideo recordings, with 3Dsound, from security networksystems that led to a surprise. The attackers had not been reanimants but shapes that emerged out of the floor, ghost fashion, being translucent fleshy things of tentacles, arms, heads all attached to globular bodies. They were powerful psychic-metaphysical manifestations expressing rage, fear and pain that the IronsidePlatoon could pick up and not just with psyonicersenses but with the more 'primitive' general deepsenses of humanity.

 

IronsidePlatoon SquadAlpha continued the searching. They found a series of chambers where reanimants seemed to have spent most of their time in a hibernation type state or so the psychic impressions indicated. Otherwise there were basic facilities that they had used. They seemed to have eaten of a basic diet, drank water and used the toilet facilities, showered now and then as well as having their gear tended to. Even their clothes were laundered but not there. There had been non soldier reanimants, sometimes actively supporting the soldiers, who were a mixture of men, and women, in jumpsuits only and not in bodyarmour. They had holstered pistols and scabbarded combat knives but no bigger weapons that that.

 

Samtha looked around at the sparse conditions in the room but noted almost neat piles of NewSoviet language pocket comicbooks, magazine like newspapers, 3DAVtapes that went with a still functioning unit against one wall and other items of NewSoviets orthodox types.

 

She spoke to Valiant, with her helmet removed and held in her arms. “It is as if they were clinging to their humanity in some way, collecting items even if not using them.”

 

On a wall were stuck a mixture of 2D and 3D photographs of individuals being mostly yellow brown orientals but not all so. The NewSoviets had had a wide mixture of racial types amongst their populations including white, redbrown, brown and black people.

 

By itself was a shrine of some kind. It was of a large concrete baby like entity with an oversized head, six arms and two legs. The figure was sitting cross legged. There were small gifts heaped around it, on the floor. The figure was frowning softly.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

[1]5.2[14]

 

On an impulse, Samtha spoke to the figure. “We are sorry to intrude and that we shot the reanimants but they did attack us with out provocation.”

 

The figure's frown softened before it spoke with its mouth moving in a way that was not normal for concrete to do. “Those reanimants be fixed up to live again, or just to be healed, except the one you captured. Please bring it back. I am an avatar of a powerful transdimensional entity but not of any evil kind. She fixes the reanimants and slowly makes them better.”

 

Making a strong field decision, as backed up by her special rank of 'starmajor', Samtha ordered the captive reanimant body to be brought to her. It was done but when it arrived so did a flustered scientist in a set of survival armour.

 

The man stood there, with the arrogance too often found in such men, and spoke. “I demand, in the name of the Armatechsages, that the body be sent to the ArmatechCitadelDC.”

 

Then he was stepping back in shock as Samtha looked into his eyes. “I am ranked as a starmajor and you have attempted to overstep your authority, have broken protocols of rank and have shown disrespect for your superior. You are Sage Captain Frank Courtney, your ancestor being one of those scientists, in FortMartialla, that were allowed to not only live but to go to the ClusterMountains. He was a man who knew how to respect others.”

 

Frank nodded. “I am sorry about my conduct but the ATsages are under heavy pressure to start researching DC and its secrets. Armatechsage Colonel Masterton demanded I get the captive reanimant body and return him to you. Truth is I did you even know that the IronsidePlatoon was here because your movements are kept top secret. Also I am used to having to fight hard to get fighting Ironsiders to heed my words because to many of them I am just an egghead even though I served two years as a Armatechguard and saw hard action more than once.”

 

Samtha smiled hard at him. “Just be more aware, be careful how you act and I may even choose to believe your little story. IronsidePlatoon's field scientist has already sent samples, from the reanimant's body, to ArmatechCitadelDC. What did Masterton really want? He has a relative in IronsidePlatoon who has not much good to say about the man.”

 

Frank scowled. “It was like he already knows that there would be strange discoveries to be made here in FutureFoodsDC but obviously he did not want to risk himself so he sent me in his stead. His instructions were to steal what ever copies of scientific data I could get hold of including samples. He told me that there is something very important hidden here that is too much so for you Ironsider brutes, philistines and incompetents. I suppose he is working with outsiders but I do not know who they are.”

 

Samtha made telempathic linkage with her triplet sister, Stella, and passed on what she had learned from the scientist. Yet she could not shake the impression that something was not quite right about the man and this was also passed onto the other sentinel. Soon, in response, came the information that the 'real' ATsage Captain Frank Courtney was still at CitadelDC.

 

With a soft flickering effect the false scientist was gone!

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

[1]5.3[15]

 

Armatechknight Sergeant Kodiak spoke out. “I have encountered illusions before but nothing as subtle as that one was.” He was psyonicer skilled at seeing through such psychic tricks. “I suppose you had a niggling doubt as I did.”

 

Samtha nodded. “Yes! What about the rest of you troopers?”

 

One of the Robotroopers spoke in an artificial voice. “I sensed nothing.”

 

Samtha smiled. “SteelXAZ13, robots do not have psyonicer senses.”

 

The robotrooper responded. “Starmajor, four of us Armatechtroopers have our own version of psyonicer senses arising from the experimental type of positronic brains that we have linked with our compact supercomputers. There is an advanced experimental supercomputer networksystem hidden in this complex. It was MrWalker who changed us from being standard robotroopers when he gave you the guidebot. It was done so that the four of us could assist you IronsideTriplets in uncovering dark secrets linked with Tridoomsday.”

 

The statue spoke. “Yes, yes, it is in the big big big down below chambers with the experimental prototype cableless teleportation hub, a very big robot and much else. That hub was where the wraithpires came from and other things not nice but also nice things, like she is whom I am an avatar of so making me nice also.”

 

Samtha nodded. “Makes perfect sense to me and I can only agree with your logical conclusion of niceness! Did that include the powerful wraithpire that created the reanimants and that 'she' killed?”

 

The statue nodded. “Yes!”

 

The starmajor was start to wonder just how much more there was to discover in that place.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

IronsidePlatoon Zaekra: Strange Supplies for Strange Clientele

[1]6.1[16]

Samtha sounded fascinated as she spoke. “Odd types of consumables for what could easily be mutihulks, for the mutighoulified and other test subjects. Space rations of tubefood and cubefood along with waterjelly. That black tar like substance that has no explanation for what it is intended for, some of it being quite solid and otherwise like thick liquid.”

The walking, talking, statue figure spoke. “Its her poop-piddle stolen by the nasty humans and processed but she does not know why. When she became free, Moopsmala made all of the humans flee from the complex except for security guards that were left behind. In concern she allowed her solidified fears to escape and they killed the guards. After that she killed the wraithpire that had been resting for years after feeding on many NewSoviets and getting over full. She took over the reanimants, treating them much better than the wraithpire would have done, if it had taken control over them, and set them to work. There is the reanimant captain that commands them in everyday matters along with some lieutenants, sergeants and corporals but mostly privates. Oh yes, two plain clothes agents and some workers.”

Samtha nodded. “Moopsmala's poop-piddle!”

The figure spoke with a tone of surprise. “How did you learn her name?”

Samtha smiled ironically. “You said it!”

The concrete figure responded with a noticeable note of surprise. “Yes I did which means she wanted you to know her name. I am MoopsmalaConco.”

The starmajor was obviously thoughtful as she looked around the big storage chamber with its big containers of curious items. “You both have wonderful names! Did Moopsmala come through the experimental cableless teleporter as the wraithpire did?”

MoopsmalaConco responded. “We do have wonderful names! Yes and she has no real desire to go back to her home dimension for there she was a misfit of some kind. That is one of the Etherealia Realms of the ZaekricKing and ZaekricQueen not to be confused with others such as the lesser ZaekricNobility, the special status ZaekricSheriffs, the ZaekricFollowers and the mass of the ZaekricCommons. I suppose you know nothing about such things.”

Armatechknight Private Dawndusk, with out helmet but holding her adapted sharpshooter battlerifle, spoke from where she had finished cleaning the weapon. “I was in a tavern in a small settlement, in Calibraska, when I picked up a story whisper about a cult of some kind that worshipped the ZaekricPrince Jakarla Dassagus; they were called the NewHopeRising. I did not take it seriously at the time and that was before I became part of IronsidePlatoon.”

Saraa spoke. “I know something of the Zaekra! I need to learn more of what Ironsidetroopers have picked up before they became such. Magic does not work well on this world though it works to some extent. Does Moopsmala use magic?”

MoopsmalaConco responded. “Not what mortal fleshies would call magic. It works quite well here, as it does back in our home realm, but a little differently; she had to adjust the use of it here.”

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

[1]6.2[17]

She changed subjects. “reanimants have taken items, belonging to them and to myself, from that chamber down to be closer to her. It is good that you did not obstruct them and even gave them gifts such as small backpacks to put things into, food rations, pristine water and those yucky cigarettes some of them are addicted to.”

Samtha smiled. “We gave them what we found stored away by them while they were human. Or so their own records stated. FutureFoodsDC products fed, and still feed, Moopsmala!”

MoopsmalaConco responded. “Yes and she loves drinking NutroCola Atomic, lots of it. It does something odd to her poop and piddle. Her supplies are slowly running out of NutroCola Atomic but she will drink other types of NutroCola if she has to; she kind of likes NutroCola Quantum but NutroCola Nuclear makes her do big dangerous burps and farts.”

Samtha smiled gravely. “Surely an unsafe set of reactions to take place!”

Valiant spoke. “NutroCola Atomic was banned, by the UNNEFG, shortly after it was announced to come out so deadly was its effects on any humans that drank it. Yet there were big stockpiles of it that the NutroColaCorp had produced, before that, in anticipation of making massive profits. As for NutroCola Nuclear, there were very few official records made of it. NutroCola Original, and Cherry, were innocent compared to those two. I know this because I was part of a SOATO expedition that went into a hidden NutroColaCorp, close to the ClusterMountains, research development facility when you were a young child. All I will say about it, at this time, is that a few of the NutroColaCorp people must have been criminally insane to do what was done in that place.”

Samtha snorted. “To think that the original NutroCola had only a negative reputation because of its over use of sugar and other mildly addictive substances.”

Valiant nodded. “NutroCola Cherry was much the same as were other flavours like Mint, Banana and Berry that never really got going because the commercial process got rudely interrupted by Tridoomsday. None of the more innocent NutroCola variations were part of the experiments in that damned place.”

Samtha changed subjects. “Does Moopsmala know about the phantom, of the scientist, came to appear?”

MoopsmalaConco responded. “This place is 'unstable' thanks to what happened when that cableless teleporter thingy was activated, so all sorts of phantom thingies can show up that are related to what is happening in mortal minds; hopefully it will not get worse. The cableless teleporter hub is semiactive now and needs to be made active but in a safe way or so MrWalker told us. He is very nice with lots of gifts and fixitups. He said that that the phantom thingyness is happening because of the transdimensional instability and it gets worse closer to the teleporter one gets. If you get close enough to Moopsmala than it becomes more stable because of her.”

Samtha smiled. “How do we get down there?”

MoopsmalaConco spoke with a tone of one going to say something smart. “In a clever up-down device called an elevator!”

Samtha just kept on smiling the same. “What a very clever solution to such a difficult problem.”

MoopsmalaConco beamed with pleasure at the compliment.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67

[Robert55]

A little to much detail , otherwise OK :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Maharg67]

IronsidePlatoon WayWanderer Zaekra: Some few Answers, Perhaps

[1]7.1[18]

Samtha, now with her helmet back in place, strode along a wide corridor one level down as the highest basement storey. Food processing autorobotic machinery stood waiting to work once more, they being semiactive at best. They were big machines with numerous robots, and more basic remotebots, in storage recharge bays. Big ingredients bins were full and industrial class 3Dprinters were ready to create packaging.

She spoke to Valiant and others closest to her including the science officer. “The appearance, of the false scientist phantom, could have been a manifestation of my own desire to dig up the truth of what is happening now in CitadelDC but which was happening before. Question is did the phantom tell the truth or was it a kind of wish fulfilment on my behalf.”

Valiant managed to shrug his power armoured shoulders. “When it comes to such spooky stuff I am the last person to ask. Transdimensionalism was a subject that I avoided in the SteelAcademy. Though it could be some kind of transdimensionalistic esoteric influence on the psychic-metaphysical underbelly of what is most often considered to be a concrete solid existence. I read a little!”

Samtha responded dryly. “Yes, I can tell!”

If Valiant gave his normal type grin it was visibly hidden by his helmet.

They came to a very large chamber of hitech nature that was a central direction coordination supervision chamber. It was there that open operations had been run from and, it soon turned out, not so open ones. FutureFoodsDC had been the very important supplier of necessary resources, of different kinds, to both public and hidden destinations. At least one conspiracy had likely been supported by that seemingly normal hitech food processing complex.

The ArmatechOrder Branches had always had secret instructions to learn about Predoomsday conspiracies and other mysteries. It had begun with that first discovery, in FortMartialla, of the hidden mutihulk project subjecting prisoners to horrific experimentation. IronsidePlatoon, and other elite units, had always been at the vanguard of dealing with such duties.

They were soon seeking more valuable data but most was formatted away or or were fragments. The experimental cable teleport hub had successfully been used to send secret consignments, indirectly, to secret locations such as Shelterplexes.

The previously found fragmented list was found in a more complete version. It was the AquaticArk, Ravenplex, InstituteDC, Rocknedy Archival Complex, Primary Reclamation Central, NewPentagon Below Complex, the GrandMallDC Supercomplex, TechNetwork1230321 and the AlphaOmega Point Network. There were no details behind any of the items on the list just there were none with the Shelterplexes and Warplexes. Yet the impression, of the importance of such data, was only getting stronger.

It turned out that the complex had last been abandoned, by the humans working there except for the security guards left behind, just five days before Tridoomsday. Yet there was no indication that those departing were aware of what was coming. It was then that they found the lost, in cyberspace, data item that was the recording of an electronic conversation.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Maharg67