Chapter 269: Vexical Prime: In the Muck
The police officer that was asking questions was a former sergeant in the military. Adrian Pazel became a civilian during this last year since there had been so much controversy around soldiers. Many of them, including Adrian, had left the service. But before he left he was a marksman and a programmer. Apparently he used to work with Inquisitors which was the reason he left the military in the first place. He got a peak behind the curtain and knew it was going to get worse.
Then the other police officer, Barry Mosdol, was an older man. He left the military when he was a private, which was years ago. Citing that there was too much political turmoil during the time and serving as a police officer on his home planet was more appealing. But he was able to rise through the ranks. He had a wife who was off planet on a restive retreat and both his kids were currently in the military. He had made sure his family stayed far away as soon as he saw the first prince causing political turmoil.
Then the Siren hybrid was less conversational about his past. But he did say that he was a mercenary turned Union member. Atlas had mainly worked in the area of the New Hexarian Republic but there was something about that that spoke of a partial lie. The lie was likely something that he felt would bring him shame.
Jace was not going to pry for the time being so he just left it alone. As they moved along the tunnel they could hear the shaking and explosions grow more intense as they moved. While he was tracking the movements of the Union as well. They had multiple trains going to the same location which was off the map. He assumed it was the place where the evacuation vessels the Union brought were located.
After half an hour they arrived at their first sign of natural light. They actually passed the location of the drop pod which was above ground a few minutes ago. But there were no exits to the tunnel before then. So when they arrived at the turn and found a large hole in the roof they were surprised.
"Something made it through the ground." Shepard grunted as they made their way over to the hole in the roof. There was barely any light breaking through. But Jace could make out roughly what happened. A massive building on its side was sitting through there. It seemed one of many skyscrapers had collapsed. They were built with wars in mind so the only reason it could have collapsed was it being specifically targeted.
"A skyscraper." Jace told him as he looked for a way up to the roof. "Now how to get up there." The rubble from the roof opening up was not completely blocking the tunnel. But it would be a good and discrete way to climb up.
"Or we can use this side tunnel." Shepard pointed at a metal door behind him. "Service tunnels like this are connected to the sewage system and then we can go up above ground from there." Shepard informed them.
Jace nodded at the door. "Then let’s get moving." He probably missed several of these service tunnels as they moved but he blamed it more on his helmet malfunctioning. His helmet did not have a flashlight installed and instead only had a night vision function that he could not currently use.
Atlas led the group since he was the only one armed among them. Shepard and the police officers took his offer to steal weapons to heart so they were mostly unarmed. But the police officers did have some sidearms they brought with them. They were Pyre handguns but they were the Pyre-3 which were a lot less lethal in nature when compared to the current model.
Atlas was using a pair of laser based weapons that Jace was not familiar with. Jace preferred heavier armaments that had a kick to it. If it could not cause damage to a Power Armor then it was not for him.
They moved through a very old tunnel and the door loudly creaked as it was pushed open. The rusty and rundown tunnel was creaking and groaning as dust fell from the roof. It went at an upward angle until they arrived at another door.
They then climbed some stairs to another rusty door but as Atlas pushed this door open. He had to put a lot more effort into it. When it did start to open, sludge began moving through the cracks and pouring down the stairs. It contained fecal matter of an array of creatures along with a few other things he did not bother to identify, essentially it was sewage.
"Son of a-" Barry began as he looked down at his boot. But was silenced by Atlas who held up a fist. A pre arranged upon indicator that meant they would stop speaking. They had a few other hand motions they talked about as well.
Jace heard what Atlas was worried about a moment later as he could hear faint chatter in the distance. He connected all of their communication devices to the same channel as he listened in and repeated what they were saying.
"Why does the Priestess want us searching the sewers? There is no glory to be found down here. We should be above ground capturing slaves and killing those republic dogs. Not down here in the muck!" One of the soldiers complained aloud, he sounded younger, maybe in his teens.
"Quiet acolyte! We go where the Priestess tells us to go. It is God’s will that these barbarians will be brought under heel. It is God’s will that their women will be toys for us, and it is God’s will that their men will be tools of entertainment for us. We are only cogs in God’s machinations and only those above us understand what we need to do and where we need to be. This time we are going to find a way past the republic’s line. Now get moving and stay silent." Their leader, or at least what sounded like their leader settled the soldier down. They then began moving away, getting more distant.
Then Atlas pushed the door all the way open and a bunch more sludge came down the stairs. Covering their boots in the literal shit. Shepard stepped out after Atlas, then they all followed out. Atlas and the police officers both had their weapons drawn.
Jace made sure to close the door and then crouch down with them as Shepard seemed to be about to tell them something. "We stay down and try to avoid conflict in the sewers. We do not want to draw attention to the underground." They all nodded in unison and agreement.