Chương 373: Book 6 - Chapter 34 - Stopgap

"Why didn't Wild unleash this pestilence upon the Antithesis earlier?" Dusty asked as we watched a Twenty-Three stumble and fall as soon as it rounded the corner at the far side of the tunnel. Most of the creature's flesh had bubbled and melted, dripping down its frame like wax running down the side of a candle. Despite being little more than bones and sinew, the monster struggled to shove its corpse along the tunnel floor, seemingly unaware or uncaring about its condition, until its body finally gave out.

Even though very few Antithesis managed to get as far as the Twenty-Three had, I could still hear them further down the tunnels, thrashing about as they encountered Wild's enhanced pollen.

"From what she told me it sounds like she had to choose between potency and longevity, and since she didn't want to give the plants the ability to reproduce. She chose longevity so she could build up our defences, instead of rushing around replacing the out-of-date ones," I explained.

"And you convinced her that a more virulent strain down here was better?" Dusty asked.

"Potent," I said, correcting him.

"And… I don't know how much I did to convince her. I felt like I just gave her a couple ideas, and she took them and ran with them. I knew she was planning on creating something dangerous, but I didn't expect it to cripple the Antithesis to this extent."

"So… does this mean we can start pulling back, concentrating on the surface again?" the tan bear asked, hopefully.

"I already sent Deadbeat back to help coordinate our forces on the wall, but I'm not quite ready to back off myself," I replied. Dusty turned and gave me a quizzical look.

"Do you honestly think we're needed down here, after seeing that?" he asked, pointing to the remains of the Twenty-Three, which was little more than a pool of liquified flesh and drooping bones.

"Wild said she'd need to replace the vines every hour or so, depending on how much of the pollen the fungus manages to take back to the hive, allowing the Antithesis to adapt," I explained.

"What if she introduces a strain that's not as effective, or the Antithesis manage to adapt quicker than expected? Our defenses down here could get swarmed before we have a chance to react."

"You know, you should trust your allies more," Dusty said, shouldering his rifle.

"I do trust my allies… I just think that we need to have contingencies in place before we start pulling troops back," I replied indignantly, before turning back towards the tunnel.

"I wish these tunnels were wide enough that we could bring the heavy lifters down here and drop off a couple bear-acades. At least that would allow us to have a buffer to delay the Antithesis long enough for us to reposition troops."

"In theory," Dusty replied, "but If the Antithesis really wanted to avoid the pollen, they'd just dig more tunnels that weren't contaminated by the pollen."

"That's true…" I muttered.

"We really need to keep the Antithesis from digging new tunnels or start collapsing the tunnels they've already created. Make this angle of attack less viable for them. Nyx!"

"Yes, Evelyn?" one of the combat bears asked in Nyx's voice as it turned away from the front line.

"We need ways to deal with these tunnels, or more precisely the other tunnels the Antithesis are going to start digging, before they become an issue," I said.

"I assume with all the combat both above and below the ground I've been able to pay off all those upgrades we discussed before."

"You'd be correct. It honestly didn't take long with all the Antithesis throwing themselves at you. Your coffers are overflowing with points and tokens right now," Nyx confirmed.

"Great. Then let's talk options. There must be ways to collapse the Antithesis tunnels before they become issues, right?" I asked.

"Millions, but most of them would require you to open multiple new catalogs to access even the most basic options. However, based upon your current build, I think there are two standout choices. Phasic munitions, and Shrews," Nyx said. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Wait… Phasic munitions… that sounds familiar," I said, stroking the chin of my helmet.

"Do one of my friends have them or something?"

"You have heard of them, but it wasn't because one of your friends had them. There was a samurai cruiser in the Seattle harbor that targeted Bear Force One with phasic weaponry," Nyx replied.

"Oh right! The asshole with the guns that could bypass armor as long as it wasn't disrupted," I said, snapping my fingers.

"I thought those things could only penetrate a couple feet of material."

"That specific model could only penetrate a couple feet of material. There are several other versions that can penetrate further or just warp to the target location," Nyx explained.

"Until you reach class IV, most of these methods have a distinct set of strengths and weaknesses."

"And they'll what? Just let my cannons fire through solid matter?" I asked.

"Pretty much. Although the technologies that are able to reach the depth of Antithesis tunnels are… not perfect. They tend to pick up and leave particulate matter as they travel, meaning I wouldn't recommend firing them anywhere near a populated area."

"When you say they 'pick up and leave particulate matter'..." I prompted.

"They rip their way through things, rather than passing cleanly. It can cause instability in any objects they pass through; they really mess up anything organic they pass through, chewing up their insides in painful, often lethal ways," Nyx said.

"They also have the same weakness as the phasic cannons you faced in Seattle. If the round is disrupted before impact, the envelope around the round will collapse, and it'll detonate prematurely. That probably won't be an issue here… hopefully."

"Hopefully?!?" I exclaimed.

"There are Antithesis that can actually do that?"

"Of course. The Antithesis have developed adaptations for pretty much every single technology in the protector catalogs. How do you think they've managed to fight the protectors to a standstill?" Nyx explained.

"As you know, many of the earlier models have ECM capability, and once you start to encounter models in the mid to late forties, you'll find that many models will start fielding much more advanced and dangerous types of disruption. The most common version produces dimensional instability that not only interrupts communication but also prevents portals and phasing in the area."

"Fuck me…" I muttered.

"I don't suppose my upgraded comms are capable of dealing with that shit?"

"Not even remotely," Nyx replied.

"Although the local commanders will mitigate a lot of the risk if you encounter something like that. You'll need a significant upgrade before you're ready to face one of those monsters."

"Noted. Considering the circumstances I really should have been focusing on upgrading the network first, and the bots second, but it hasn't been a problem until this point…" I muttered, considering the situation for a moment before shaking my head.

"Still, that's something to discuss later. We need to deal with the tunnels first. Anything else I need to know about the phasic munitions?"

"You'll probably need brand new weapons to launch them," Nyx replied.

"The envelope requires a lot of power and effort to stabilize. At Class II you probably won't be able to fit them on anything smaller than Bear Force One."

"I know we talked about making the turrets on Bear Force One modular or installing a system that allows them to swap out, but since our surface defences are only holding thanks to Bear Force One's cannons, I don't want to touch them right now," I said.

"What's the other option, the Shrews?" Nyx nodded.

"The Subterranean Hybrid Rocket Explosive Weapon System."

"Of course there's an acronym," I sighed.

"What does it do?"

"It's a heavily modified missile system that can quickly bore through the ground and be remotely directed towards a target before finally detonating," Nyx explained.

"How heavily modified?" I asked suspiciously.

"They're about fifty percent larger and heavier than a conventional missile with the same payload. The regular bears probably won't be able to carry them, but the moose should be able to," Nyx explained.

"That's it? That's the downside?" I prompted.

"Well, it also requires constant direction after being fired, will detonate if they hit anything they can't burrow through, and will suffer from the same disruption that the phasic weapons will," Nyx said.

"Oh, and they leave holes when they bore through the earth, so the battlefield will look like swiss cheese if you use them a lot."

"I think that's acceptable, if it means I don't need to swap out the main weapons of the Carrier," I replied.

"Are they expensive?"

"Not at all. In fact, you have most of the technology required," Nyx replied.

"It only requires a few subterranean scanning techs to help guide the weapon."

"That sounds doable… Why didn't you suggest the Shrews first?" I asked.

"Because even though the Phasic weapons do have some downsides, if you keep upgrading them they'll continue to be useful, bypassing not only the walls between you and your target but also the armor and flesh that protects the vulnerable organs of stronger Antithesis. You just need technology more advanced than the disruption. The Shrews are pretty much a dead-end technology," Nyx said.

"Huh… I guess that should be a consideration," I muttered.

"Still, I'd rather go with the Shrews right now. I don't want to use all my points, only to find out I may need to buy an upgrade later and not have enough. I've already run into several emergencies today, and I'd like to avoid another one. If my reserves grow enough, we can discuss the phasic thing again later."

"Fair enough," Nyx said.

"The standard Shrew should be strong enough to collapse most tunnels, but if not, you can always invest in a couple ICBM versions. They do scale."

"We can fire digging ICBMs?" I asked excitedly.

"Now this, I have to see."