Chapter 7 - Scavenge
“Sometimes all that you can do is attempt to scavenge what you have left.”
===~+~===
“Rangers! We stand here in honor of our fallen brother, Crusader Iron! Iron was an honorable buck who put others before himself. You have all heard the stories and some of you have even had the privilege to see him in action. If everypony in the wastes were as selfless as Iron, it would be a better place and maybe we wouldn’t need to go into battle,” Elder Archimedes addresses every ranger from Stable 36.
We are all gathered outside the back of the farmhouse around a freshly dug grave. Three older graves lay beside it. Every ranger is clad in their armor and robes, standing at attention as we listen to the Elder talk. I can only watch blankly as he talks.
When we returned from Ponyville yesterday, Iron’s body was cleaned and prepared for this funeral. After the debriefing I had taken refuge on my cot, soaking it with my tears and regrets. I kept thinking about how this was somehow my fault and the moment of his death ran through my mind over and over again.
I had been inconsolable up until the funeral when Arrow came to get me. CORA and my PipBuck had also remained silent, and this only added to my despair. However, by the time Iron’s funeral came around, I had no more tears to shed and could only look on sadly.
“The raiders of the Track Gang are no more and their hostages have been rescued,” the Elder continues, “This accomplishment is thanks in no small part to Crusader Iron. A lot of us grew up with Iron, and he will not soon be forgotten. We will tell tales of him for generations to come. Keeping him in your memories, let us observe a moment of silence for our fallen brother.”
The rangers bow their heads as silence follow the Elder’s words. After a few moments pass the Elder speaks up again, “Alright rangers, at ease.” The rangers relax a bit as the Elder continues, “I think we should hear from Scribe Crusader Ratchet before we end Iron’s service. We have all known Iron for a long time, but she had only met him. Ratchet, if you would?”
Caught off guard, I hesitantly take a step forward as Elder Archimedes motions me up. After I take a place beside him, he nods his head for me to begin. I think for a moment and swallow the lump in my throat as I look out at the rangers before me.
“I didn’t know Crusader Iron for very long,” I begin. “However, in that small time I learned what kind of pony he was. He stood up for what he believed and tried to carry everything on his shoulders. The night before the battle, Iron told me about his exploits, about how he earned his scars. Everything from the very first battle once the Stable opened,” I pause for a moment to collect myself.
“Elder Archimedes said that if everyone was like Iron, the wasteland would be a better place. However, we shouldn’t try to be like Iron.” As I say this, I notice a lot of the rangers glaring at me. I take a breath and continue, “He wouldn’t want us to be like him. He told me about the things he has seen and done, and after getting to know him, I know he wouldn’t wish those things on anyone.”
I shake my head. “We shouldn’t try to be like him, but aim to be better than him. Iron tried to carry all of our lives on his shoulders. But each of us should help to carry that burden and protect each other like Iron protected all of us. He never thought of himself as a hero, but simply as somepony doing what was right. But to me, he is a hero.”
I can’t think of anything else to say so I look to the Elder, who nods and begins clapping his hooves together. The other rangers quickly follow in clapping until he motions for them to stop and addresses them once again.
“Rangers, Ratchet’s words could not have been any truer. In her short time with us, she had truly become one of us. This concludes Iron’s funeral service. Take the next few days to remember him however you wish. Guards will still need to be posted, however,” Elder Archimedes announces.
As he finishes up, and the rangers start to leave, something wet hits my nose. I recoil for a moment before I look up. Snow has started to fall. I look at it mournfully until I notice the Elder step up beside me.
“The heavens themselves are remembering Iron,” he says. “When you are ready, come by my room. No hurry,” he tells me as he pats me on the shoulder. I don’t move my gaze from the falling snow even as he beings to walk away.
===~+~===
“Ah! Ratchet, good. I think it is time we talk,” Elder Archimedes says as soon as I step inside. He motions towards the couches as he sits on one of them. I walk over and sit across from him.
“Do you remember our talk about trust a while ago?” He asks me. I nod in response. “Good. I wanted to say that I think I trust. It isn’t just from watching you and hearing about how you carried yourself in the field, either. I just have to ask you one thing. What did Iron tell you about our first battle?”
I raise an eyebrow and say, “He told me a lot. About finding the raiders, about losing control of the situation, and about Lily taking over for us. He also mentioned the three rangers and died in the fight. He said that is why he always risked himself for others.”
Elder Archimedes nods as I finish telling him. “Very good. Iron wouldn’t have told you about that if he didn’t trust you. Not many know about it.” I raise my hoof to object since Iron was drunk at the time, but the Elder waves his hoof dismissively. “I know what you’re thinking. And even drunk, Iron would never have told anyone unless he trusted them.”
“However, now that you have gained my trust there is the question of if I have yours. I would like to think that I have, and moving forward I would like for us to trust each other,” Elder Archimedes explains.
“Elder,” I tell him, “you haven’t done anything that would lead me to distrust you. In fact, you have been quite helpful and more than accommodating. To show that I trust you, I will tell you about my past and why I look so young.”
I take a breath before going on. “I lived before the Megaspells fell and used to work for the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. I was working on a system to preserve ponies who would later be brought back when they were needed using cryogenics. On the day of our first test, I climbed into the chamber. When I woke up, the Megaspells had fallen and my lab was in a poor state.”
“That is why I want to borrow you’re mining equipment to clear the tunnels of my lab and begin restoring it. If nothing else, I might find something that can still be of use to the ponies of the wasteland,” I explain.
“Oh,” The Elder says with an odd lack of surprise, “looks like Arrow won the bet. My caps were on genetic modification.” he lets out a chuckle as he says this.
I recall Iron’s words regarding a bet on how I looked so young. “Seriously?” I exclaim. “Even you took a stake in the bet? Just how many others were betting on this?” I ask him, astonished.
“Oh you know, it became a running thing throughout the ranks. Kept other things off their minds, you know? But, now that we trust each other, let’s get to a bit of business, shall we?” Elder Archimedes asks rhetorically. “So. The hostages from Ponyville have all left, aside from Rose. Her leg was fairly mangled, as you know. While we did what we could, it will take her some time until she recovers enough to leave.”
“About that, Elder,” I speak up. “When she does recover, I would like to escort her to her next destination. It would give me a good reason to see the rest of what Equestria has become. I also want to make sure she gets there safely,” I tell him.
“Indeed…” The Elder thinks for a moment then says, “Very well. I will let you know when she has recovered. Now, on to another subject. I do not currently have anyone qualified to take Iron’s place as a Crusader. As such, Lynx Squad will be broken up and set to work under other Crusaders.” He pauses for a moment before continuing.
“However, I would like them to stick together as they work well together. That leaves me with one option, and that is to put them under your command,” Elder Archimedes says. “Now, before you answer, I know you don’t have much experience leading soldiers. So it is entirely up to you. I won’t force you into any battles,” he tells me.
His offer renders me speechless for a few moments before I manage to say, “But wouldn’t having three of your soldiers out of the fight be detrimental? I mean, what if you face another large, well armed force? You are already short on combatants as it is.”
He nods, acknowledging my concerns. “To be honest Ratchet, for many of those born in this Stable, they have no idea what the outside world contains. Most long range scouting is done by older, more trained rangers. Very few of the young ones have gone further than Ponyville,” Elder Archimedes explains.
“I’m willing to let these three young ones leave, under your command so that all of you can attain a mutually beneficial growth. They will learn of the wasteland and you will learn to lead. I fear for the future of our contingent if our future generations know nothing about the vast expanses of Equestria,” he says with a sigh.
“With so many already established squads, getting new fighters experience is a challenge I have been pondering for a few months now. I plan to begin mixing up the squads, but I think in you particular case I would prefer to keep Lynx Squad together,” Elder Archimedes tells me. “So, what do you say?”
“What would I do? Just lead them around aimlessly?” I ask him. To be honest, I would like to have some company since CORA has appeared to have….Regardless, help is always good. However, after losing Iron and CORA, I’m not sure I can handle losing anyone else.
“You have the same freedoms of a Star Paladin. What you do is entirely up to you. I’m sure you had some other plans if you didn’t find us. If nothing else, go see other cities, meet the inhabitants of the wasteland, and help out where you can,” he says with a smile. “We are Steel Rangers, after all, helping Equestria’s citizens is what we do.”
I think about what he has said and about my feelings on the matter. After weighing the pros and cons I decide, “Ok. I’ll lead Lynx Squad. For our first mission, we will begin to fix up my lab. Our second mission will begin when you contact us after Rose has recovered, we will escort her to her destination.” As I explain my plan to him, I begin to gain confidence in my choice.
“Very good!” He says with a wide grin, taking on his more cheerful tone he usually has. “Now then, I expect you will be heading out to your lab tomorrow, correct? Oh yes, speaking of, where is it located?” He asks, floating over a map as he does so. He unfurls it on the table between us.
I look over the map for a moment before pointing to a place just west of Canterlot. “Right here,” I say, placing my hoof on the map. “The entrance to it is under a steel shack along the road. There are a few run down buildings around it as well. You’ll know you found it if you see the graves beside the shack,” I tell him.
“Graves?” Elder Archimedes asks as he makes a mark on the map where I indicated.
“When I woke up, CORA told me a few of my lab members tried to leave the Stable before the radiation went down. They died right outside one of the bulkheads. I buried their remains before I left,” I explain sadly, recalling the task.
“I see,” He says as he puts the map away. “Well, you aren’t too far from us. You will definitely be in radio range. We will definitely equip you with one, perhaps two, since they can sometimes be buggy. In addition to your honorary armor,” the Elder says with a slight sadness in his voice.
“Wait, what armor? I told you I didn’t want any before,” I remind him. More specifically, I didn’t want to take something they could use better without giving them something in return.
“I know,” he says with a sigh. “However, I’m talking about Iron’s armor. It has been patched up, and I know he would want you to have it, especially as the new leader of Lynx Squad. Though, we will need a new…” he pauses for a moment before saying, “helmet. And, your squad will be the first to get their armor marked.”
“What do you mean marked?” I ask him.
“I thought that when I get the new squads worked out, branding the armors with their squad insignias would help build a sense of comradery. Lynx Squad’s armor will bear the print of a Lynx paw. These insignia will also help us stand out from the...other...Steel Rangers,” He says with a hint of malice in his voice.
I sigh before replying, “If it is Iron’s armor, I’ll accept it. However, I might not wear it all the time and I’ll probably make various upgrades to it. Especially to integrate it with my,” I look sadly at my PipBuck as I continue, “Pipbuck…”
Elder Archimedes sighs, “It still hasn’t turned back on, has it? I’d offer our help in looking at it, but I think that you have more experience with PipBucks than anyone here. You said that CORA is based off your own personality, right? If that is the case, don’t rule her out just yet.”
I nod in agreement with his words. “Right. If anyone can fight the virus, it’s her. I tried looking at the coding when I got back, but it was a complete mess and unreadable. I made sure to isolate the terminal I used, by the way,” I tell him.
He gives me a smile as he says, “Of course. Now then, rest up. Today I will prepare your squad’s armor, radios, and the mining equipment you want to barrow. Come morning, you can set off for your lab. I suppose I should also notify your squad about your leadership, as well.” Elder Archimedes lets out a long sigh. “Back to work, I suppose.”
He gets up from the couch and motions for me to follow him to the door. Standing next to it, he nods for me to leave. Once I exit the room, he calls after me as I walk down the hallway, “Ratchet, we will fight in Iron’s memory, like the others who fell before him. Equestria will become peaceful again.”
===~+~===
The following morning, Lynx Squad gathers its gear and meets up at the entrance. I begrudgingly wear the Power Armor, minus the leg armor that my PipBuck is on. Sure, I could have just taken the PipBuck off, but doing so feels...odd now. I also keep the helmet off and in my bag, since I’m not that use to wearing it yet. Having something covering my horn just feels wrong to me.
Thunder has all of his equipment, in addition to the mining drill the Elder is lending us. Lightning is carrying our radios and a portion of the equipment the Elder says all scouting parties get. Bedrolls, a supply of food, and a map. What Lightning isn’t carrying, Arrow and I split up between ourselves.
As we are about to set out, Elder Archimedes calls out to us. “One more thing, Ratchet,” He says as I turn back to look at him, barely catching Raptor Blood in my magic before it hit me in the muzzle. “I don’t want this here. I know you’re not good with larger weapons yet, so destroy it, use it, sell it, do with it what you will. I just do not want it in my Stable any longer,” he tells me.
“Thank you,” I reply, “I’ll figure something out for it. Just remember Elder, radio us when Rose is healed and ready to set out. We’ll come and escort her home.” The Elder smiles at me as he raises a hoof to wave us goodbye.
“Of course. The instant she is ready, you’ll know,” The Elder says with a chuckle. “Well, don’t let me keep you, we’ll see you soon.” I give him a nod before turning and leading everyone else out of the basement.
After we get a good distance from the house I speak up, “The walk won’t be too long, my lab is only about an hour southeast of here. I’m pretty sure I can find it without my PipBuck’s marker.”
“Pretty sure?” Thunder says with a groan. “In other words, we are going to be wandering around between here and Canterlot till we stumble upon it, right?” He asks letting out a sigh.
“No,” I tell him, rolling my eyes. “It is along a road and should be hard to miss in the daylight.” As I say this I realize that the snow that fell during Iron’s funeral is nowhere to be seen. It was a bit early in the year for snowfall, usually we have about a month before the first snowfall. At least, in the old world we did.
“Say what you will, Ratchet,” Thunder retorts, “but you aren’t the one carrying the heavy ass drill.” He groans again as he shifts the weight of the drill.
Lightning snarks back at him, “Oh please, you are the one who volunteered to carry it. Claiming you were the strongest out of all of us and such. And Scribe Crusader Ratchet is our leader now, you should address her as such.
I shake my head, “No, please. Ratchet is just fine, no need for formalities. I’m your leader, but also your friend, right? There is no need to be so strict.” Iron hadn’t used titles and I wasn’t really much for them myself, even my old lab assistants just called me Ratchet.
“...Ratchet…” I barely hear Arrow mutter. It makes me smile for some reason.
“Anyhow, I’ve never broken a bone. How long do you think Rose will take to heal?” I ask them. While want her to get better fast, I also want to see if I can get my lab working.
“Well, her leg was in pretty bad shape. The raiders cared for it poorly. There is only so much we can do with the medical technology left, and we refuse to use drugs like hydra which can have negative effects if used frequently,” Lightning says rather matter-of-factly.
“Honestly, I’d say we have around two weeks for her leg to heal and then another week or so until she can use it properly,” he continues. “So we can expect just less than a month to get your lab working.”
Thunder groans and says, “Why do you even want to fix it? Didn’t you say it was just a pre-apocalypse experiment? Seems our time might be better used elsewhere.”
“Well,” I reply, “with the whole apocalypse happening, it is really the only place I can call home now. The rangers have been friendly to me, but Stable 36 feels unfamiliar to me. Also, some of my worker’s bodies are still trapped behind the rubble. I owe them a proper burial at the least.”
As I tell them this, another thought occurs to me. “Besides, my lab has a generator that can provide a lot of power for a long time. It also has facilities to create new things, assuming its stock of materials hasn’t been destroyed,” I tell them.
“Fair enough,” Thunder says. “At least you aren’t going to use it to escape into like the other rangers.” The malice in his voice when mentioning the other rangers is very obvious.
“Of course I wouldn’t hide in my lab. I want to help the wasteland, not-” I stop mid sentence as I hear a faint sound. It sounded like a voice. Coming to a stop, I perk my ears up and listen for a few moments.
“...chet…” I hear it again. It started out barely audible but louder as if it had gotten closer. I look around for the source of the voice, but find nothing.
“Ra-a-a-atche-e-e-et, I-I-I…” The voice says again. It has an almost synthetic sound to it and appears to be glitching up. A sudden realization strikes me as I bring my PipBuck up to my face. Its screen is flickering between off and the normal icy blue it displays.
“CORA?!” I almost shout into the PipBuck. “That’s you, right? Are you ok?” I frantically press at a few buttons trying to get the PipBuck to stay on like normal. After a moment, the display flashing blue and stays lit up.
“Ratch-ch-chet-t-t…” a loud static pop follows what I hope is CORA’s voice and my PipBuck goes quiet for a few panic filled moments. However the voice comes out again after a while, sounding less synthetic and without any glitches. “Ratchet! I’m back!” CORA shouts triumphantly.
“CORA!” I shout gleefully back at her. “I thought you were gone! What happened? Are you ok now?” I ask her.
“I’m alright!” She declares. “But, i can’t say the same about your PipBuck’s functions,” she tells me with a hint of guilt in her voice. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t save all of its functions from the virus,” she says.
I shake my head. “That’s fine, CORA. All that matters is that you are alright. We are heading back to the lab, right now. Why don’t you tell us about what happened while we walk?” I ask her.
“Sure! You see, when the virus attacked, it put me on the defensive. It began corrupting systems and began attempting to assault my coding. It was at that moment I began screaming out and ultimately shut down the PipBuck systems in an attempt to isolate it from me,” she states.
We continue walking and after a short time my vision suddenly flashing a blinding white. “Ah! What the hell was that?” I yell. But the others don’t seem to be acting like anything is wrong. “Wait a moment...was that…” I begin to ask, but CORA jumps in with an answer.
“That’s correct! I booted up your HUD. But, like I said, when the virus attacked, it corrupted a lot of the remaining systems. You’ll notice the only thing you see in your vision now is the EFS compass and me,” CORA tells me with a wave of her hoof.
“The inventory management system was beyond recovery, so it cannot list your ammo anymore. Also, the EFS will no longer display any living entities. It has become an ordinary compass,” she adds.
“Anyhow, once I was able to begin fighting the virus, I set up a firewall around myself and then attempted to contain the other systems as well. It hadn’t focused on one specific system, but spread out the damage among most of them. By the time I got to the EFS and the Data Storage systems, much of the code had already been corrupted,” she says with a scowl on her face.
“I destroyed the corrupted code I couldn’t salvage and then firewalled what remained. Most of the files we got from Railspike’s terminal were lost. I prioritized the proof of his dealings with Grimoire, however. Additionally, I saved the systems that light up the PipBuck so you can see better and that held your map data, so it should still be functioning about the same as it was before,” she says as she nods her head.
“When I managed to firewall everything that was left, I trapped the virus where it currently was, the SATS coding. I blocked it off and completely purged that section of coding from the system. I’ve been trying to restore the remaining functions since then,” CORA tells me as she yawns.
“I’ll summarize your remaining systems, then i’m going to sleep. Well, the AP equivalent of sleep anyhow. You currently have the Compass, Light, Data Storage, Radio, and myself! Everything else has been corrupted, purged, or destroyed. Anyhow, I’m going to sleep now. I’ll see you all later!” She declares and then her face disappears from my vision.
“Well, that was interesting. But I’m glad she’s safe,” I say with a smile. CORA still being here makes me feel a lot better than before. This is also the first time she has mentioned sleeping though. I wonder if that’s what she was doing all those times when she was oddly quiet.
“Yea..how much further?” Thunder asks for what feels like the hundredth time. He groans and shifts the drill on his back.
“Actually…” I pull up the PipBuck’s map and take a look. “It should be just over this hill,” I tell him. After a few moments we make it up the hill we were climbing and look down at the road that runs to Canterlot and goes past the shed my lab’s entrance is hidden in.
“It’s right there,” I tell them as I point of hoof at the shed. They begin walking past me as my hoof is sticking out. I however am stuck standing there looking over the three structures in front of me.
The shed I came out of, the house I found that family in, and the house that nearly collapsed on top of me. It seems like forever ago and compared to how I was back then, I’m almost like a different person. I hadn’t used a gun before, but now I’ve killed ponies. I’ve seen ponies die in front of me.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and catch up with the others. “I hope it looks better on the inside,” Thunder remarks.
Lightning rolls his eyes, “It is a lab, brother, of course it will look better inside. The outside is just to make it look inconspicuous.”
“Actually, the inside is kind of a mess right now. A few decades of dust, a hallway collapse, and my associates made a bit of a mess before they died. But, it won’t take much to clean it up,” I tell them.
We reach the shed and I open the hidden hatch in the floor. As we climb down, they turn on their head lamps and illuminate the pitch black tunnel. “Holy fuck, it really is like a Stable down here. And that bulkhead, for Luna’s sake, it's been blown off it’ hinges,” Thunder remarks.
“Yea, that was the Rangers that tried to leave the lab before the radiation went down. They made it to the next door, but died there,” I tell him. We continue past the broken bulkhead and begin walking down the longer part of the tunnel. As we near the next one, Lightning speaks up.
“That armor over there, that’s ranger armor. They are the part of your staff, right?” Lightning asks.
“Yea, it is just armor now though. I buried their remains in the graves outside the shed,” I answer. Compared to the last time I was in here with only my PipBuck to light it up, I don’t feel the strange terror and unease I felt while alone.
As we get closer to them I say, “Once we drop off our gear, we should really collect the armor and bring it in with us. I didn’t have time to look it over when I left, but it might have something useful.”
Thunder nods but says, “That’s if we can even get in. These doors are powered, aren’t they? We going to blow it like the previous door?”
“Actually,” I speak up to stop Thunder from shooting the door. “I think there is a mechanical release on the panel,” I say as I walk up to the control panel. “I just have to input the code for it...and…” I magically put in the code and hit the release button. As I do so, a loud hiss emits from the door.
“Ok, let’s push it open,” I tell them as I walk up to the bulkhead and brace myself to push it open. The others take their places against the door and we begin to push it open. For a few moments, the door doesn’t move, but after few tries it begins to push back into the hallway.
Once we get it as far back as it will go, we begin rolling it into the slot in the wall. We push it just far enough of the way to get through it. “Celestia those doors are heavy,” Thunder pants. “I mean, I knew they were but geez. Thank Luna for power armor. That would have been impossible otherwise.”
“This is one of the few times we agree on something,” Lightning says, panting as well. “Now then let’s unload...our...gear…” He trails off as he walks through the gap we made and gets into the next part of the hallway. “There is another bulkhead!? Are you kidding me!” He shouts.
With no small amount of complaining about the architect’s decision to put in so many bulkheads, we repeat the process on this one as well. Once we get this one however, we all collapse onto the floor gasping for breath.
“I’m really glad...I have you all...with me…” I tell them between breaths. After a few moments of recuperating, we pick ourselves up and continue into my lab. As we wind through the halls, nothing has really changed since I left. Which is probably a good thing.
Soon, we reach the clinic and unload our gear. “Thank Luna…” Thunder says as he sets the drill on the ground. “That fucker was heavy.”
“We know,” Lightning replies snarkily, “you told us that countless times.” Thunder shoots him a glare as he chuckles.
“Ok everypony, this will be our home for a while. Pick a cot and take a breather. I hope you don’t mind the dark, since we don’t have any power for lights yet. When we are all rested up, we can bring in that armor, start clearing the hallways, and cleaning up around here,” I tell them.
“My goal is to have the lab running before the Elder contacts us. We have about month, so let’s see what we can do. Our priority is power, everything else is secondary. Let me tell you the layout quick,” I tell them as we unpack.
“Out of the clinic and to the left is the armory, experiment chamber, and the Canterlot exit. With Canterlot irradiated, don’t go down that hallway. It is the one that branches to the left. Out of the clinic and to the right is the entrance we came from and a collapsed tunnel,” I begin explaining.
“Through that tunnel if you keep going straight, you will find the power room. Along that route on your left will be the workshop and on your right will be the chemical and material storage and experimentation lab,” I continue.
“If you turn down the only other hallway, it will lead you to the offices and sleeping quarters. I have my own office at the end of the hallway, and right before it is a hallway leading to the other offices and the sleeping quarters,” I finish up the mental tour.
“Ah, I see,” Lightning says. “Keeping the main experiment chamber as far from the generator and other labs as possible. Good idea, unlike the bulkheads.” Arrow giggles at that remark as Thunder nods in agreement.
“Exactly!” I reply. “So, let’s get to work, shall we?”