Tunnel Rat-Chapter 393: Locked, Loaded, and Ready to Fire a Broadside.

Preparations began in earnest for hunting the Chimera. While he had a wealth of information about the city, little more could be gained from talking to Carver, who had purposefully avoided the creature the few times it moved around the city or sent swarms of other creatures out hunting. Carver had spent the early years of his long seclusion making stone coffins for each person slain and entombing their bones and belongings in the crypts. After that, he disposed of rubble, repaired buildings, and carved statues. Doing everything he could to prepare the city for a new lord. Anything lying around was neatly placed somewhere.

Milo and Brutus told everyone of their battles with the strange, corrupted creatures, with Rosie and Buttercup adding comments and acting out the fights, blow by blow. The description of the Snake and its eyes changed everyone's attitude about the coming fight, especially after Milo demonstrated the power of the red eye and showed how the two green eyes could be used. Caution warred with the lust for old technology as the Engineers discussed their plans for defeating the creature. To Milo's relief, no one took the fight lightly. Sledgemonkey took half the Engineers on a fast run back to the outpost for bigger guns and more ammunition. Two-Screws and a dozen Engineers stayed to help Milo and Clawhammer with other projects.

Two-Screws had stared in disbelief at seeing the extent of the Deep Iron vein. "We don't even know where either end of this motherlode is! But just the part we know about is more than we've ever mined at the outpost. To think that it's just been sitting here is enough to drive a dwarf sober! No matter how we sort this out, we've got enough to rebuild Leviathan, the Outpost, and a dozen more submersibles!"

Brutus smiled and winked at Milo, "That's great to hear. The Hollow will be happy to trade loads of Deep Iron ore for cheese."

Two-Screws wasn't as good as Milo was at reading the big guard and knowing when he was serious. "Cheese?"

"Yep, cheese. Maybe a few other commodities. We're a simple folk and don't need a lot of things. But it's always nice to have a good stockpile of cheese. I'd think with how common herds of milk-critters are on the surface, that you'll be able to get a trainload of cheese pretty easily. We'll trade ten tons of Deep Steel ingots for a ton of cheddar and work out exchange rates for more valuable varieties."

The old dwarf looked at Milo, "And what do you think about that sort of deal?"

Senior Engineer Milo shrugged. "I like cheddar. Seems like a good deal. And I'm not a shrewd and wily Caravan Master. I've never understood money. But it's handy for buying tacos."

Brutus rubbed his belly. "Man, I could go for some batacos! And those eel tacos up in Shadowport were tasty. Hey, that's an idea. Maybe the Engineers could start a taco stand in the Hollow. We'd pay in Deep Copper and Deep Iron. You guys would make a killing."

Two-Screws looked at the two of them and narrowed his eyes. "I think I'm being double-teamed and outflanked here."

Brutus nodded and smiled, "Luckily, we're allies. We promise not to take advantage of you, much."

Milo held up both hands. "I'm neutral in all this. I just like cheese and tacos."

The girls came running up, pulling two loaded ore carts each, with the moles pulling two more. "Daddy, is this enough? We mined a lot! The new picks work great on this soft stuff!"

Brutus gave both of them hugs. "Great job. Let's get this back to the blast furnace and turn it into some things we need for the fight."

Thoughts of trade were put aside for now as they got to work. The demonstration of the power of the ruby eye had convinced everyone of the need for defenses. The blast furnace was in full continuous operation with loads of ore, fuel, and limestone coming into the foundry, soon to be converted to molten steel. Dozens of four-foot square sheets, each six inches thick, were poured out, let cool, and then hauled to the city. They were placed in an overlapping pattern and riveted together to make double-thick defensive bunkers around the area in front of the great double doors leading to the throne room.

Milo, Gendifur, and Brutus had a long discussion about Rosie and Buttercup. They knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to keep the girls out of the fight if they were anywhere close. If Brutus was fighting, they wanted to be next to their Daddy, and Gendifur's skills could save lives. They decided that the best they could do was convince the girls that 'Guards fight together.' Milo began work on large shields for them. Weight wasn't an issue. They'd been strong before, but the last few weeks had added ten points of strength to each of them. Multiplied by their Fiendish Strength ability, they could lift far more than Brutus. Milo hammered out two huge, rectangular tower shields made of two-inch-thick Dark Steel. To this, he welded a thin sheet of the shiny composite alloy from the melted scarabs. Each shield weighed over eight hundred pounds, which the girls could easily lift with one arm. But Brutus was happy with how their heavy armor and shields slowed them down. One of the most terrifying things about the little cheese fiends was their speed. Even 'playing tag' with them was a fearsome game, as Milo could attest. In a normal fight, it would be an asset, but no one thought this fight was going to be easy.

The next project involved Master Clawhammer, Milo, and Boomboom. The demolition expert wanted to upgrade his artillery. "From how tough you say the scorpion thing was, I need better armor penetration for my little rocket launcher. Dark Steel worked great for Spiders and players, but if the little critters had tough armor, I suspect the bigger ones will too." By day's end, they had constructed molds for a new type of explosive shell using the new alloy, which the Engineers were calling Shiny Steel. Boomboom took the opportunity to make his new ammunition a little longer, the better to pack in a heftier charge of cataclysmite. While polishing his weapon, he remarked to Milo, "I'm going to be in trouble, getting into a big fight without my wife, but I'm sort of glad she's safe and sound back home."

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Four days later, the Engineers returned, accompanied by mechanical carts filled to the brim with weapons. Boomboom saw a distinctive brass cannon among the loads and groaned. "What the hell was I thinking? That girl can smell a fight from half the ocean away." He put a big grin on his face and greeted the Scavengers as they unpacked their load and wrestled with Narwal's antique brass cannon, salvaged from the Queen.

Captains Whale and Annie had come, along with parts of their crews and their own heavy artillery. Whale looked out over the ancient city and then sauntered up to Sledgemonkey and slapped him hard on the shoulder, a blow he felt through his armor. "Damn, I was sure I was being bullshitted by your crew. When they said you'd found an old city full of loot, I figured it was some sort of Engineer joke. But I'll travel half the world for a chance at seeing something new or a bit of loot. And I hear we have a big fight? Even better."

The Chief winked at her, "We've got some big plans between our crews. Needed something to keep the boys busy. A few hundred tons of Deep Iron Ore is a good start, and access to all that shiny ore in Limburger Hollow. And from what I've seen of their crew in operation, they'll be smelting metal as fast as we build. They were pouring steel before we even got here. They're an industrious race, a lot better than humans. Not someone to underestimate."

"Especially when playing cards or fighting cage matches! Tell me about this fight we're setting up for. What the hell is a Chimera?"

"Well, according to Engineer Milo, it's most likely a big mess of metal claws, parts of things it's killed, eyes that shoot energy beams, rust, and corruption. We'll lure it out and blast the shit out of it. But be ready for anything."

"My kind of fight. We brought four ship's cannons and that brass monster of my daughter's. If it can still move after a broadside, you spanner boyz can clean up what's left."

She put an elbow in his ribs and, while he was trying to breathe again, walked back to the Scavengers loading black powder and cannon balls into their guns.

Boomboom walked over to Sledgemonkey, grinning. "Why, you sly old devil. Who knew you were skilled at flirting?"

"Flirting! She damned near broke a rib, and that's through my armor!"

"Oooh, she's just getting started then. If she were serious, she'd have broken a bone and then nursed you back to health. They like to go for the legs. Makes it harder to run away. But if you want to skip some pain, talk to Pillbug and get his French toast recipe."

"Damn. I'm too old for this!"

"Not a problem. play your cards right, and maybe this Chimera-Beastie will kill you."

"Yeah, just have to look on the bright side, I guess. Go handle the Scavengers, I need to keep my ribs intact. Milo is all set up. When everyone is locked and loaded, we'll have a quick meeting and then start this fight. Carver says there's a way to draw it outside."

Two hours later, everyone was ready. The ratkin miners and smiths were well hidden behind the heavy Dark Steel pavises. They were all armed with Dark Steel picks and prepared to deal with any smaller creatures that might enter the fight. The brave guards anchored the far line on the left and the Scavenger cannon crews on the right. The Engineers were formed across the middle, also behind protective cover, which some scoffed at, secure that their mechanical armor would give them all the protection they needed. Others had seen the damage done by Milo's ruby eye and were happy with the extra shielding.

Carver stood near Shiftstick in the back.

"You are ready to slay the beast? And promise to complete my work if I fall?"

"Well, yes to the first, and I certainly hope I'm around to do the second. But maybe you should think about not falling."

"Either way, my work is done, and I may return and rest. Thank you for returning."

With that, the stone statue sank into the floor, re-emerging in front of the metal doors. Without preamble, it grabbed the doors and flung them open. Immediately, Carver was struck by multiple beams of different hues, shattering into a pile of dust and pebbles. From the shadowy interior, a creature of nightmare emerged, stomping along on mismatched reptilian legs, copper tentacles waving in the air, and a long, shiny scorpion tail arcing over its back. It roared from a dozen throats. Mechanical claws came from the front of its chest, one shiny and moving. The other was a decayed and rusty appendage that swung aimlessly. Milo had seen smaller battle tanks.

He was shocked, not by the mass of decaying organic parts, but by the glimpses of a shiny metal hull with the letters C-H-I-M-E-R-A-7 written in block letters across the front.