The Mech Touch novel Chapter 112

The fourth underground floor was the best defended one. The observation bots painted a gruesome picture of a desperate last stand. The reinforced walls and plentiful fixed emplacements suggested that this was a very important part of the base.

Once Ves and Dietrich’s Harrier stepped past the ruined vault doors, they came across the remnants of a massacre. While, the invading force spent some efforts in cleaning up their tracks, they didn’t put too much effort in wiping out the bloodstains.

"Whoever attacked this base has been very thorough so far. They’re experienced and covering up their tracks. You’d think they do a better job on this floor."

Ves nodded in agreement. "Maybe they ran out of time."

If the attackers were in a hurry, they might have missed a couple of gems. The possibility fueled their anticipation. The abundant fortifications suggested that this floor certainly held a lot of value to the former owners of the base.

This also meant that the odds of encountering a lingering threat had risen by quite a bit. The observation bots found nothing active, but who knew what kind of booby traps remained.

"Lucky, can you scout ahead?"

The mechanical cat hissed at Ves.

"Oh, come on, I’ve gifted you that unknown chunk of ore. Can’t you at least return the favor?"

After a brief back-and-forth, Ves convinced Lucky to act as their scout. In return, Ves promised Lucky a million credits worth of minerals when they returned home. The expenditure took out a big chunk of his savings, but considering his current gains, he could spare the money.

Motivates by piles of delicious food, the cat went about his role with gusto. The cat moved swiftly if a bit recklessly. Ves had to warn the cat to slow down several times.

They combed over the administrative department first. Not a single record remained. A scavenging party meticulously cleaned out all the terminals, processors and backups. Ves wasn’t stupid enough to think they missed a spare.

Instead, he banked on the suspicion that the scavengers were in a bit of a hurry. He meticulously scanned the walls, floor and ceiling. Lucky helped out by employing his sensitive nose.

The mechanical cat’s nose handedly outclassed the multiscanner. Ves borrowed the device from the Barracuda’s lab, so that spoke volumes of Lucky’s ability to distinguish smells.

The excited cat led him to a maintenance closet of all things. Lucky pawed a specific section of the wall.

When Ves came close, he held out his scanner. Nothing. Almost nothing. The only thing he registered was a faint rise in temperature. The difference was minimal. If Ves wasn’t so close, he’d miss the signs.

After interpreting the data, Ves threw out a guess. "An active system is generating heat behind behind this wall. There’s a box-sized area in front of us that’s blocking out the rest of my scans."

"Sounds like we’re dealing with a safe. In a place like this, it’s bound to trigger an alarm or a self-destruct mechanism."

"That’s quite possible. Even I’m not confident in disarming this trap." He obtained a good impression of the build quality of this facility. This was the work of experts, not a bunch of pirates with too much free time on their hands. "If it wasn’t for Lucky, we’d be clueless. For now, let’s leave this safe for last."

They didn’t want to trip any alarms. For now, Ves prioritized the recovery of the parts for the Dortmund. In his eyes, the utility of a functioning high-quality 3D printer trumped any other possible gains.

After sweeping the administration department, they crossed the corridors and reached an even larger fortification. The size and thickness of the broken vault doors showed that it wasn’t easy cracking this last part open.

"The attackers came prepared." Dietrich noted as he tried to puzzle out the sequence of battle from the remaining traces. "They brought enough mechs to overrun this base. It took a while for them to crack open this barrier, but they came prepared."

With Lucky taking the lead, they entered what used to be a highly secure research complex. Different from the rest of the base, only the main corridor and a couple of chambers were large enough to accomodate mechs.

They sweeped these giant chambers first. Everything had been swept clean. Only empty furniture and useless markings remained. Despite Lucky’s best efforts, the cat failed to sniff out anything the scavengers had missed. Clearly the research labs was one of their main targets.

The Harrier bumped its feet against a wall. The lack of atmosphere dampened any noise, but the impact spread vibrations through the mech-sized chamber.

"I wonder what kind of research was done that requires this kind of elaborate setup." Dietrich idly wondered.

"Someone spent around five billion credits to set this place up." Ves estimated from what he saw. "The extravagant production lines alone points to a major commitment."

If a corporation wanted to mass produce a line of mechs, they were better off doing it open and above board.

After exploring the mech-sized chambers, Ves and Lucky proceeded to clear the smaller rooms alone. Dietrich remained in his cockpit in order to guard against major threats.

The remaining rooms differed little from their larger counterparts. Large amounts of servers, lab equipment and more had been completely swept away. The scavengers even dug out a couple of hidden stashes. Instead of feeling despondent at the sight, Ves found cause for hope.

"Another stash might be left." Ves informed his cat. "Go and take a sniff of these hollows. Perhaps you might encounter a similar smell."

Lucky hopped inside the hollowed-out stashes and memorized the smells. After an affirmative meow, the cat hopped back to the floor and slowly sauntered across the empty rooms.

The cat found one more possible stash. The cat indicated that a large, broken piece of machinery blocked the way to the potential treasure. This must have been the reason why the scavengers missed this find.

"How’s it look like, Ves?"