Wasteland Conqueror

We talked about my other robots and what they were designed for and once I explained everything regarding the other designs in detail, he seemed to be more assured than he was initially.

"Alright, now that you've seen the designs, gramps let me show you the AI in action."

...

"That's some impressive tactics and programming you've got for those bots. Looks like they'll have no difficulty handling most scenarios they'll come across in the wasteland. I think I'm feeling a bit better about all this, but I'm sure you have more to share with me, right?" My grandpa John said after watching my simulated robots decimate a heavily armed bandit stronghold.

"That I do, and it has something to do with one of those three places we visited yesterday."

"I'm listening."

"Well, that third location has molemen behind the rubble in the mine." I said, dropping an absolute bomb on the old man.

"WHAT? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THOSE THINGS ARE!"

Ahh, here he goes yelling. I probably should have expected this kind of reaction out of him.

"Alright, alright, calm down, gramps, and sit back down." I told my gramps, who was currently standing up, displaying a mixture of anger and worry.

"What do you mean, calm down? We need to go tell the government security forces right this moment and have those damn molemen exterminated immediately." He responded, ready to rush out of the house and go get the undercity government involved right this very second.

"It's not that dire yet. Sit down so I can explain."

"But w-."

"DAMMIT GRAMPS, JUST SHUTUP AND SIT DOWN ALREADY."

After raising my voice at him, he begrudgingly sat, so I began to fill him in. "There were only two molemen behind the rubble, so I don't believe they have any intention of taking down the rubble and invading the undercity anytime soon. That said, they will need to be exterminated because they are hostile to everything unlike themselves."

"Thus, they will become a problem down the road at some point if they are left unchecked and allowed to grow in number. I have no desire to see them grow to the level of a horde and become a threat to the undercity."

"That said, they also present a massive opportunity for me to grow in strength because of my system and the exp I'll gain from killing them off. Therefore, I would like to acquire the place for myself and exterminate the vermin on my own. I'm sure you don't exactly like that idea, gramps, but think about what it could do for me in the long run. I also have a plan in mind that I think you won't find too many faults in, so why don't you hear me out before you head to inform the security forces?"

"I don't like it but I'll hear you out grandson, it better be fucking good." He replied grumpily, making it clear as day that he wasn't all too enthused with this whole shit show I presented to him.

"Sorry for yelling at you, gramps, and thanks for hearing me out. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince you and get you on board."

"The first thing I'll do upon acquiring the property is I'll check up on the cave-in to see what the molemen are up to. Depending on what I find, I'll either tell you that the government needs to get involved if things appear to be going south or I'll inform you that there has been no real change from when I first discovered them."

"In the case of the latter occurring, I'll proceed to the next step and convert at least a couple dozen microfusion cells I have in my possession into mines that I'll then spread around the tunnel as a security measure in case something were to happen."

"How strong will the mines you plan to use be?"

"The mines should be more than powerful enough to wipe out whatever initial molemen come through and collapse a significant portion of the mine tunnel, which should give us more time than needed to inform the government security."

"They can dig well with their claws in dirt and softer material, but down here where everything is made up of hard rock and various ores, they'll only be able to make progress with external tools. Your mines should be sufficient to stop them in their tracks, okay continue."

Given the signal, I began again. "After setting up the mines, I'll be checking up on the collapsed section multiple times a day while I'm acquiring the machinery I need to start building robots, turrets, and weapons. Going by the extensive knowledge I've collected over the years, I estimate the first robot will come off the production line in no more than a week."

"The weapons I should be able to produce even sooner, along with the turrets that will be used to beef up the defenses even further. All this will ensure that if any do breakthrough, they'll have to pass through the further collapsed section of the mine, courtesy of the many mines planted about the tunnel before arriving at a choke point filled with overlapping laser fire."

"So within a week, I'll have both turrets and a robot to watch over the collapsed section 24/7 until I can get a blast door up to seal off the mine's entrance. At that point, they won't have any real way of getting through unless they are extremely well equipped to the point they can breach an armored door weighing many tons. If their two guards' equipment is anything to go by, they'll have zero chance of accomplishing that."

"What kind of arms were the two molemen using?"

"It was only two sawed-off double-barreled shotguns."

"If that's all they're equipped with, their group must not be that well off. They probably aren't that large of a group yet, either." He thought aloud, analyzing the situation.

I waited a couple of seconds and when I saw my gramps not asking anything else; I continued on. "The longer things go by without change from the molemen's side, the more I'll be able to amass. And when I believe I have a sufficient enough force to handle them, I'll clear the rubble blocking the mine and head into the tunnel beyond to exterminate whatever mutants I come across alongside my robots."

"That's about all I got for now, but I believe my plan is good enough for the moment, and if need be, it can be changed on the fly at any time, depending on what the molemen are up to. However, I don't believe there will need to be too many changes made to it since the two-molemen I saw through my perception field were only equipped with very rudimentary arms."

*Sigh*

"I'll put my trust in you Dom, but if you think there is even a minute chance that the molemen are up to something you are to inform me immediately of the situation, don't leave a single detail out no matter how minute, you got that!"

"I hear ya Gramps, I'm not looking to experience an early death, so if anything appears off, you'll be the first to know." I responded before we began covering a few other things.

"Another thing I'll be coming along when you go to exterminate those rats. I need to make sure you don't go and get yourself killed."

"Can I come?" Alice asked timidly, pretty much already foreseeing the answer she was going to receive.

"No!" Gramps and I told her simultaneously, shutting her down immediately.

"Sigh, I expected that answer, well it was worth a try at least. But if I can't come, can you at least stream it so I can watch, please Dom." She pleaded.

"That I can do. I would've let you come if I had the means of guaranteeing your safety within the mines, but currently I don't know what we'll be up against just yet and I can't risk losing you, Alice."

As Alice and I were sharing a sappy moment, my grandad had enough of it. "Alright, you two, that's enough. Let's head back downstairs to the gym. You two little rascals need to undergo a hell of a lot more training before I'm comfortable letting the both of you loose to venture wasteland."

"Hold up, we have one last subject to cover before you throw us into your training gauntlet."

"Mmm, and that thing would be?"

"The man that owns the property, William Andrew Broward."

"What about him?"

"The guy knew about the molemen and is trying to offload the property onto some unsuspecting buyer and get away scot-free. On top of that, when I used my perception field to look beyond the collapsed portion of the mine I discovered several bodies belonging to the miners who were working for the man, and from what I could tell with my limited range it appeared they were left for dead."

"So when I woke up early this morning, I scoured the net for his details and did a bit of digging. After doing said digging, I discovered that the guy didn't pay out the compensation the miners' families were entitled to."

"What a surprise. The guy who's trying to unload his problematic property onto someone else's shoulders would do something scummy."

"Right, and since I want the facility, I'm planning to arrange a meeting with this piece of garbage and put the screws to him to shake a heavy discount out of him. While I'm at it, I can do a good deed and get the miners' families compensated for their loss."

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"So I was thinking of asking my dear ole grandpa to come along and back his grandson up. What do you say?" I asked, half joking, half not so much.

"I don't see why not. It's been a moment since the last time I got to pummel a piece of shit." My gramps said while looking ready to put someone in the dirt six feet under.

"Well, we're not going there with the intent of beating him up, but if he gets rowdy, have at it, I won't stop you. I might even join in too."

"If he does, I'll join in too." Alice joined in, eager and ready to dish out some punishment as well.

Following that, we ironed out the details and settled on getting the meeting set later today after my and Alice's training. Whilst we were beginning to leave the living room and head back downstairs, my grandad had one last thing to say.

"Ohh, one last thing I'll be accompanying you at all times when you go to the facility. This will remain in place until you have that blast door installed. This is non-negotiable, so if you can't accept this, then all previous requests are off the table and go poof."

"That's fine. I don't have any issue with that, do you, Alice?"

"Not a one. I'm always happy to spend more time with Grandpa John." She said brightly.

"There you have it, gramps, glad to have you with us." I said lastly, presenting my right hand to him, which he grabbed hold of with considerable pressure, causing us two buff dudes to resemble certain movie scene from my previous life.

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