“Your timing is unfortunate.” the Teslaforce employee informed him as he and Blake walked into the company's main lab. “We are, of course, working on several vehicle designs, including an airborne vehicle. None of them are near completion yet. Teslaforce has a bit of a reputation for fielding experimental designs, but we would never endanger our customers by putting unproven technology in their hands.”

“What's the hold up?” Blake asked. “System tech can make anything fast. Breakneck has produced all kinds of bikes and then there's the Tempests.”

“The Tempests are modifications to existing vehicles. It's one thing to replace an engine and add some armor, it is another to build a vehicle from the ground up. It is frankly, not a field of engineering you master in a few days. Teslaforce was never a company that dealt with vehicles anyway. In fact, West Hills itself lacks any kind of automobile factory, so we have had no access to people with relevant experience. Even Breakneck's enthusiastic amateurs have given them a head start.”

“Thousands of lives are at stake, not to mention the fate of the world.” Derrick said. “What have you got?”

The Support User let out a hard done by sigh.

“Functioning vehicles? One prototype for a command and logistics vehicle. We anticipated the need for one as missions took Users further and further from the city. Something that could provide not just the ability to carry supplies but that could easily create replacement parts and ammunition.”

“That does make sense,” Derrick agreed. “Very functional and mundane. What dangerous experimental technology did you put in it?”

Their guide looked offended at the suggestion something Teslaforce made could be dangerous.

“Why would you think we put something dangerous in it?”

“You just said you didn't want to sell us anything dangerous. Are you afraid it will break an axle and we will sprain our necks from whiplash?” Blake pointed out with a grin.

“Fine. It's also incorporates prototype manna surveillance and counter surveillance technology.”

“And that makes it explode how?” Derrick asked.

“We understand very little about how manna works, but we do know its use can be detected. The command vehicle uses a modified manna gate to detect nearby Fold manipulation and charge the vehicle from nearby manna cores. To prevent its own detection by the same method, the vehicle can run off of internal capacitors for hours. We even incorporated a generator that can burn traditional fuels.”

“And the capacitors are experimental and explosive,” Derrick noted, then a thought occurred to him. “Did Gregory come up with the capacitors himself?”

Derrick knew that Gregory was cheating when it came to inventing things. Thanks to the System, something was whispering in his ear. As far as he could tell, it was more like bursts of inspiration or subtle guidance than anything too blatant. But if the owner of Teslaforce had been involved, it made things even more unpredictable.

“Only a little, and yes he did,” the guide said proudly. “Small explosions at worst, and a chain reaction is impossible. Probably. It would take a direct and unlucky hit to the capacitors to trigger an explosive release of stored energy, even in theory. Any method of storing energy at extreme densities involves risk.”

Blake did not seem impressed and Derrick doubted he himself looked sold.

“You're the ones who wanted to see the prototype,” their guide pointed out reasonably to their frowning faces. “You still want to see it, right?”

Derrick sighed and nodded. If it delivered on half of what it was supposed to, it would be much better than riding a Tempest. About all they knew about the area up north was that something was messing with System hardware. Bringing some of their own was a no brainer. The manna detection was just a nice bonus.

“Excellent,” the guide said. “Let me tell you a little more about what we’re working on currently. It's always great to hear about the needs and experiences of field experts.”

What followed was a rambling series of questions and comments about gear and problems Users faced while fighting Scourges. Derrick answered as truthfully as he could, if not particularly enthusiastically. He did run a competing business after all. As the Teslaforce employee talked, he led them to the back of the building and into a large garage. Eventually Blake steered the conversation back to the vehicle they were here to see.

“As for armaments, it would have a Tempest Mortar Battery and a mount for a Buckler Cannon on the roof, accessible through a hatch.”

“That seems light,” commented Derrick. That amount of firepower could be carried by two guys on foot.

“It's a command and logistics vehicle, not an assault vehicle. It's not supposed to be on the front lines or taking fire. We're nowhere near ready to start designing heavy vehicles. This is what we thought would be useful and doable immediately. Have no fear, more ambitious projects are coming.”

“Gah,” exclaimed Blake as the garage's lights flickered on and revealed the subject of their conversation. “It looks like a garbage truck. An ugly garbage truck.”

It was ugly, Derrick had to admit. Although the garbage truck comment was a little unkind. The large six wheeled truck didn't have the space between the body and cabin most civilian vehicles had. Instead, the entire vehicle was a solid mass of thick armor. Also, even mostly hidden behind dense skirts, he could tell it had larger wheels than any vehicle designed for city driving.

“The frame we chose is similar to that, and a garbage truck frame was one of the options we considered. A heavy duty mining vehicle was the design we settled on due to the increased off road capability it offered.”

“Why is it so... messy looking?” Derrick had to ask.

The armor of the vehicle was all different shapes and colors. It looked like it had been made of scavenged materials. He was pretty sure he saw large patches of Grey Legion carapace on it, plus other materials he didn't recognize.

“I did say it was a prototype,” the amused Teslaforce employee said. “We are still testing different armor configurations and materials for maximum defence. Due to that, it does have a somewhat patchwork look to it.”

“It's an abomination,” Blake said with a scowl. The blond User took his rides seriously. Derrick knew he had a couple choice vehicles he'd looted from the city stored away safely.

“Yes, that's what the technicians call it as well. The Abomination,” the guide confirmed and beamed.

Derrick smiled. “Oh, is it ugly? Well, let's just leave and go look for a Battle Lamborghini. I'm sure we will find one in the next few hours.”

Blake didn't bother to respond; he just scowled. It seemed like Derrick had actually hurt his feelings. Or at least dashed his hopes. How the blond User still even had optimism was a mystery to Derrick.

Derrick looked 'The Abomination' over. It was spacious inside and looked functional. The guide explained the limits of the capacitors and manna monitoring systems. The later could detect even small manna uses within a kilometre and displayed them on a screen. A User going all out with their manna should be detectable from at least three kilometres. Although the location might be a bit inaccurate. It was still a prototype.

The upsized scavenger forge was foolproof as well. You dumped material in a bin and they were refined and stored until you needed something made from them. It could make replacements for any part of the vehicle other than the manna core and even eject materials as easily transportable bars.

It all seemed very useful and it was an oddly impressive vehicle. You wouldn’t pick a fight with someone who drove up in it.

“Tell me your not seriously thinking about this,” Blake said with obvious disgust. “Uggh, that’s it. Starting now, I’m saving up for my own ride.”

“How much?” he asked his guide, ignoring Blake.

“Oh, for our best customer, you can have it for free. Weapons and trailer sold separately.” The guide said happily. “With a few conditions.”

“Like signing a safety waiver?” Derrick asked.

“Or first dibs on any valuable stuff we find?” Blake added suspiciously.

“Ha, no. Nothing like that. I've been told to tell you that you should take our miss Stacy with you. We would like someone to keep an eye on the Abomination and give us a comprehensive report when you return.”

Derrick had to keep his eyes from rolling. Sure, it was the vehicle they wanted to keep an eye on, not him at all.

“I'm going myself and taking Mathew with me because he lived up there recently. If I take Stacy with me, that's all three of my Hunters leaving. I'm not sure that's the best idea.”

“While Breakneck and your own company went east and west, Teslaforce sent a few exploratory teams up north. Just to keep an eye on things.” The man was still smiling but the look in his eyes was serious now. “I've been told to tell you that she will come in handy and that her inclusion is an ironclad prerequisite of the sale.”

So this condition was from Gregory, the master of Teslaforce himself. Well, he could live with that he supposed. Stacy wasn't that hard to deal with and was far from unskilled. At least her spying wasn't too invasive. He got the impression she was more of a character witness than some kind of cutthroat corporate espionage agent. Harmless.

Although, that's what a good spy would make you think.

“Fine,” Derrick said. “You've got a deal. Bill me for both optional weapons and the trailer, give it a look over and deliver it to my farm outside the city. That's where we will head out for Stifford tomorrow morning.”

It was already getting dark and he didn't like the idea of travelling through the night. Even this close to the Enclave, that seemed like an invitation to be ambushed by whatever was out there.

-Break-

The addition of the Abomination to their tiny caravan did little to change things up. The farm owned by Red Works that they were meeting at was just two kilometres outside West Hills and had been the staging ground of a dozen raids and scouting missions. The original farmhouse had been torn down and a series of greenhouses and giant sheds had been built over where been. Derrick had chosen this site for the System Station and the fact it was right next to a major highway.

The original fields had been burned preemptively by Support Users that used the Station as a base for their cleansing of the area. Crops like the corn that had been growing here were a favorite food of the Spore Tyrants. That Primal Scourge could spread insanely fast through any kind of monoculture.

Teslaforce had the new vehicle delivered by Stacy herself in the morning. She and a Support User that worked for Red Works would be responsible for driving and maintaining it. Derrick had her take the vehicle for a quick test drive with him. Meanwhile, he was kicking people awake and throwing them into the three Tempests he was taking on their noble quest.

In total, this excursion involved twelve people. Three Hunters, a Support User and seven Fighters. Oh, and a Crusader. Of his ‘officers’, only Blake wasn’t riding in the Abomination. He usually rode with the other Fighters anyway.

Derrick claimed a comfy seat in the lab portion of the vehicle, leaving the front cabin to the drivers.

Ten minutes after they left, he had a panic attack, thinking he’d forgotten to bring Third Striker. It turned out though, the small Crusader had been in the Abomination’s large covered trailer the entire night. Apparently he’d hitched a ride with Stacy and just never left the trailer.

Crisis aborted, they continued on their journey. Considering the alien hybrid could probably kill them all without breaking a sweat, no one complained to him. Everyone just let him meditate or sleep or whatever.

The small town of Stifford was most of an hour away, if you put pedal to the metal. That was just the first of their destinations though, where he would meet up with Meg, the leader of Breakneck. After that, it would a slow slog through Scourges and desolate countryside. Mathew was quite clear in how bad the roads had gotten after just a few days. Tree roots, mutated by the Inoculation, had torn the landscape apart. They had to cut their way through them with System weapons because normal tools couldn’t dent them. After two weeks? They could be forced to go on foot for most of the trip.

The Inoculation was one of the Scourges that he knew next to nothing about. So he, Third Striker and Mathew were having a little chat.

“Yes, I know of the Inoculation. All Crusaders know of what it does, just as none know where it came from. It is not a true Scourge. It is a sin that has haunted the System since before what can be remembered,” the Crusader said. “Spread by faithless cowards who shelter under the System yet would deny others the chance to earn their place there.”

“It’s an intelligent disease,” Mathew said, more practically. “Not sentient but there’s a purpose to it and a… instinct. It learns and adapts. It’s nothing natural, that’s for sure. The System had the Users looking for the source, but we never found any.”

“Inoculation cores are Injected onto challenged worlds, these cores bury themselves in the earth and spread their sickness, adapting it to whatever lifeforms they find. Without these cores, the danger is limited. It is a slow process because while the cowards who spread the disease seek to use it as a weapon, the true purpose of the Inoculation is stranger,” Third Striker explained.

“It changes things. Makes them tougher.” Derrick said. He’d learned that much.

“Only simple life has any chance to survive its touch, but yes.” Third Striker said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “It was clearly never meant to be deployed on life rich worlds. It is commonly believed that the ancient marvel was supposed to be the opposite of a weapon. A tool to encourage the growth of life on primordial worlds. Life robust enough to resist the Spore Tyrants and other biological Scourges. There are ancient garden worlds protected by the System where the Inoculation has created flourishing paradises.”

“But if you throw it at a challenged world, it makes the Spore Tyrants less likely to win and use that planet to spread even further.” Derrick stated with a hard smile. “The whole infecting and killing millions of people is just an unfortunate side effect. No to mention turning their own planet against them.”

“Yes, it is a tool of the callous and small that would see nothing survive on this world more complicated than worms and trees. I am ashamed on behalf of the System races for the unleashing of this blight on your world by members of our number.”

“If I was going to ask for apologies, it wouldn’t be from you or any other Crusader. I doubt anyone who had the courage to travel here would be that kind of coward,” Derrick stated. He was playing up the flattery a little but he valued his relationship with Third Striker. Like all Crusaders Derrick had met, the short hybrid was refreshingly simple and helpful. He was here to gain levels by hunting Feral Artisans. As there was currently a shortage of those nightmares around, he didn’t mind helping out with other things.

The Inoculation has no soldiers though?” Derrick asked. He wanted to be clear on this. “It won’t create anything to defend itself?”

“The trees were a lot tougher than normal but they didn’t hit back,” Mathew said with a grin.

Derrick found the idea less funny, because it was too easy to picture. It wasn’t like murderous plant life was rare these days. Or murderous fungus anyway.

“As I said, it is not a weapon or true Scourge. It is labeled as such due to the extreme damage it does.” Third Striker answered. “Being a User should offer protection from it touch, though it is not guaranteed. The System itself can supply remedy in the unlikely event it lashes out at humanity.”

That was good to hear, he had a single point of evidence that contradicted it though.

“So there’s not going to be dangerous mutant animals up north? Like say… giant bees?”

“Gigantism is a common effect of the Inoculation’s touch, but nothing as complex as an arthropod could survive that touch. This is very well established. Any physical threat we find will be from other Scourges.”

Where the hell were the giant bees from then? Derrick was no entomologist, but he knew bees the size of his fist had not existed anywhere on Earth a few weeks ago. Never mind right next to West Hills, Canada. He remembered seeing people freak out over garden variety yellow jackets getting stuck in offices.

A month ago, one of the bees he’d seen in that Grey Legion lab could kill people from sheer shock and fear.

“Was there anything else that might be dangerous up north that you remember seeing?” he asked Mathew.

There was a long and silent moment as they waited on the older man to think the question over.

“Just one thing,” I remember seeing lights on the horizon. At first I thought they were from a city but there was never any city up that way. Nothing bigger than a few houses along the lake. Power was out everywhere by then anyway. This was when things were at their worst. It had to be Scourge related, but I have no idea what it was other than bright and in the middle of nowhere.”

Derrick looked to Third Striker for answers. The Crusader just shrugged.

“It is not impossible that it was some working of the System, though it seems unlike any I have encountered. The universe contains infinite mysteries, fear not, we will face this unknown brightness together.”

“So, not a Feral Artisan?” Derrick asked and received another shrug.

“Unlikely. The System would let me know if one that blatant was in the area. I would have dealt with it by now. Banished it back to its lair in the Fold.”

“The Crusader you want to rescue wasn’t sent here to deal an Artisan?” Mathew asked.

“No, his arrival and predicament was caused by simple misfortune. Injection is a powerful but imperfect means of travel,” Third Striker elaborated.

Their conversation was cut short as Stacy exited the cabin at the front of the vehicle and moved to join them.

Gripping a rail on the wall, she informed them of a development.

“We’re getting one, maybe two manna signals from just off the highway.” she said. “Nothing very powerful but it’s definitely someone doing something. It would take us just a few minutes to check it out.”

Derrick considered the idea. Technically, they were in a rush but it would be a good test to see how reliable the detection system was. Not to mention, by ignoring it, they could be leaving a threat behind them. Although, the most likely scenario was they were dealing with a group of Users. It could also be a cell of Grey Legion Agents in hiding.

“Find somewhere to stash this thing and us Hunters will take a tempest and do some scouting,” he ordered. It had been a short trip so far but he did feel like stretching his legs.