QUEENS GUARD?!
Having spent quite a bit of time running around for materials and then running from the stalkers behind them, some people had their Quietus reserves already at the halfway point. Looking at the familiar mining site, they quickly turned towards Gareth, who got off the RivTech-certified mount and went further down the mining site.
As Uria finally arrived, she was about to turn around and start hitting the incoming critters with a relaxed look on her face. Her plan was interrupted, however, as the RivTech grunt slid next to her and suddenly said, "I LOVE MY JOB!"
TRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Raising the laser gatling, he pulled the trigger and unleashed a hell of light upon the nuisances chasing them. After 5 seconds, he released the trigger, having spent the entirety of the battery that functioned as the magazine for the gatling. Yet there was no need to fire more for now; the entire tunnel was red hot, with countless holes covering the walls, raging fires where the presumably invisible corpses were, and molten stone dripping from above. Seeing that she wouldn't have anything else to beat up, she nodded to the RivTech guy as the tunnel behind them slowly closed somewhat due to the now-flowing lava. Checking her progress on getting a new ability slot and seeing it was at 23/100, she was satisfied.
The two of them quickly went to regroup with the rest and found them guarding Gareth, who was fiddling with a hidden access panel on the wall. After a minute, having put in more than a dozen codes, the 10-meter tall "stone wall" split. It wasn't a stone wall at all, but a massive disguised gate. With alloy the thickness of half a meter, they could wait inside there hopefully, as no company would ever give up on a precious vein of stellarite.
As for why they didn't just mine the stellarite if it was that precious? It was too heavy! Even a fistful of unrefined stellarite was as heavy as a ton. Being one of the toughest materials discovered after the great upheaval, it wasn't easy to mine due to its aforementioned toughness. Yet the metal was nearly priceless as it could create indestructible melee weapons or armor. The mining mech quickly headed in first as it wasn't meant for combat at all.
Yet as the gate was opening, a horrible shriek came from the tunnel they had come from. While Uria was thinking about what it could be, the RivTech grunt and Gareth shouted nearly simultaneously, "QUEEN'S GUARD?!"
While a female hunter could evolve into a broodmother, a male hunter didn't have that option. Instead, they lost their tail and chelicerae from advancing their evolution. Even their invisibility and acidic blood was lost. In exchange, their exoskeleton grew much thicker and tougher, and the claws that were a menace previously became strong enough to wound kaijuu-class beings! And the chitinous carapace that covered it made it almost impenetrable to anything but kaijuu! Being part of a hive-like species, it could also lead grunts to an extent, making it a pseudo-kaijuu class being, one of the weaker ones, but still a pseudo kaijuu!
Feeling the rapidly approaching vibrations, everyone knew they were in trouble. The countless rocks that had formed stalagmites and stalactites inside the tunnel were being crushed one by one by the furiously approaching monstrosity. Like a mad train, the rocky protrusions kept hitting its body, yet it didn't slow down one bit.
Closer and closer, the sounds of rocks being crushed resounded. Quickly taking positions, everyone got ready to face the incoming beast. After all, while the alloy door could block out most normal critters, it could definitely not block a pseudo-kaijuu. As Gareth quickly hid behind a box, he kept occasionally peeking out from there, knowing whether he lived or died depended on the people here.
The RivTech grunt said nervously, "I got two more batteries. I think the gatling can wound it or force it back at the very least. It shouldn't be unafraid of pain, right?"
"Probably, we can only find out." said Gareth, unoptimistic.
As the rumbling got closer and closer, everyone's nerves grew taut. Uria, standing at the forefront, was excited. She felt danger! Something she hadn't felt in centuries! Finally, the wait ended, and the guest introduced itself.
With an earth-shattering BANG, the tunnel entrance exploded, as countless rock fragments and dust flew out. Out of the smoke, the 8-meter tall guest showed his silhouette. A thick brown chitin covered its entire body, the pincers whose edges seemed to be sharpened like diamonds, and the six massive legs that made it seem like an unassailable mountain. Furthermore, patches of the chitin were covered in half molten stone or crushed bits, giving it a infernal look.
Having arrived in the cave, the guest stared at the 22 people with a pair of brown eyes that swirled with endless hatred. As everyone gulped upon seeing the abomination, a tense silence hung in the air. Seconds passed, and the standoff continued. Suddenly realizing what it was doing, the RivTech guy ran to the forefront and started shooting at it. While the damage it did to the Queen's Guard was negligible, the smaller vermin that was sneaking in wasn't so lucky.
"One tenth of my battery gone, it's letting the—" Yet he didn't get to finish the sentence.
"HIEEEEEEEEEK" Seeing its brethren being killed enraged it thoroughly. It started charging towards them like a crazy and out-of-control train, the ground of stone cracking and flying everywhere as it stomped towards them! Seeing the charge, all of them dodged to the side. Yet the first casualty still happened. With one swift swing of its pincers, a horrified cry resounded.
"NOOOOOOOO, BERTHAAAAAAAA!" Looking down at the "corpse" of the bisected autopistol, the owner let out a heart-wrenching cry of despair. Yet he suddenly felt chilly, and upon looking at his behind, he saw his own two mounds greeting him, strawberry underwear and all. Breaking into a cold sweat about what he had dodged, he continued dodging the furious swings.
As the creature kept turning around to keep attacking the ants...
"DIEEEEEE!"
TRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Accompanying that sound, it felt an abominable heat on its stomach. The RivTech guard had slid under it and opened fire on its underside. Yet as the sound of sizzling flesh echoed, the creature grew more enraged at the pain. Like a berserker, it kept stomping, trying to kill the guard under it. But its plan was cut short, as two of its legs were suddenly caught. Uria on one leg, and Paul with another soldier on the other leg.
"HAAAAAAA" with the sound a battle cry, they put in their all to lift the damn thing. As it was slowly lifted off the ground it realized they were trying to overturn it!
The countless cracks spreading from underneath the 3 armors kept expanding from their unified struggle, and finally its whole body left the ground.
"UP YOU GOOOO!"
Finally mid air, the monster released a horrifying scream of anger, yet that didn't stop them.
The RivTech grunt saw the still-hot underside suddenly exposed, and it being incapable of moving anywhere midair, he realized what a massive opportunity this was. Taking aim, he unleashed all the charge inside the last battery upon the still red-hot chitin.
"EAAAT THIIIIS! "
TRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
With the sound of a massive crash, the Queen's Guard fell on its back. With the stomach still sizzling hot from the laser barrage, it kept struggling to get up, each time it striking its pincers into the ground, bouncing its body a few meters in the air, trying to get back on its feet. Yet the soldiers weren't idling. Grouping up and holding down its pincers and legs, it was incapable of jumping anymore, only shrieking and trying to break free.
The entire cave was shaking under the efforts of the soldiers to suppress it, and of the guard to break free. As Uria was contemplating how to kill it and getting ready to help hold it down, she felt something approach her midair. Stretching out her hand and grabbing the jet-black RivTech sword, made from unknown alloy, she found the RivTech grunt giving her a thumbs up as he went to hold it down as well.
Jumping onto the struggling critter's red-hot stomach, she started hacking away in glee. Why her, you may ask? The heaviest armor out of all of them all, in addition to showing that she had the most physical power. And as the screech of the creature, unknown whether one of terror or anger, kept resounding...
She kept hacking.
And hacking.
And hacking...
After what felt like an eternity of hacking away at its heavily damaged chitin, and then its medium rare organs, she felt the last vestiges of struggle fade from it after she destroyed its heart.
Feeling the feedback from her system, and that she had recovered 50% of her energy from killing this thing, she felt elated. Looking at the +50 on the progress bar, that now stood at 73/100, her mood improved further.
Jumping out of there while covered in bits of flesh, and now being in a neon green armor due to the blood, she landed with a thud on the ground. Looking around and seeing that everyone was lying on the floor, exhausted, but happy, she also sat down. They had killed a pseudo-kaijuu after all!
As for the stalkers that were hiding in the tunnel? They refused to come out and attack them. A queen's guard died after all, with the stench of its blood assaulting them and warning them of approaching there.
At least, that was supposed to happen. As the RivTech grunt suddenly jumped up, he screamed at everyone, "QUICK, GET IN THE BUNKER, THEY'RE SWARMING AGAIN!"
Hearing this, everyone jumped up and made a run for the gate. Alas, some people didn't have enough in their tank left to keep moving. Hearing the approaching skittering, they were resigning themselves to their fate.
Picking up one such idiot after another, the RivTech guard, Uria, and Paul, who still had plenty in them, threw them through the gate.
"Leave me, save your Quietus for helping the ot—"
"Shut it!" Grabbing him by the armors neck and throwing him through the gate, the RivTech grunt was the last one to be left outside. Quickly pressing the emergency close button, he ran into the bunker while showing his middle finger to the stalkers.
Seeing everyone in one piece, Gareth let out a smile. Collapsing on the ground, he finally relaxed his taut nerves. He wasn't the only one as everyone collapsed on the ground, panting. Sitting down, Uria looked around the "bunker."
It wasn't as much a bunker as it was a hollowed-out meteorite, made of unknown rocks, with only simple metal bars covering the stony walls.
Deeper in the tunnel, on the rocky walls, lay a golden vein. Like a stream of water, it kept flowing across the rock, giving off a calming light. Finally, banging sounds started resounding from the door, as the stalkers had finally arrived and kept trying to get in.
Everyone turning to look at Gareth, he was about to open his mouth to say that there's no way for them to get in.
Yet he found a steel hand covering his mouth, and a resounding "SHUT UP, YOU'LL JINX IT AGAIN!" came from the RivTech guy. With a look of resignation, Gareth nodded and gave up, looking at the floor.
Minutes passed, and the company outside had given up on getting in, either waiting for help like them, but to get inside the bunker instead, or just waiting patiently.
RivTech guy, finally relaxed somewhat, was about to introduce himself, ye he was interrupted.
"I-"
"Alright!, said Gareth with a smile," I have a quota of 5 people i can recruit as grunts for us. I dont need to say the benefits of being part of RivTech, the monthly pay alone is 1000 creds after all. You only need to do 3 missions for us per month, and if its really dangerous you can reject them, once per year." Getting to here, he raised his hand and started pointing at people.
"You." pointing at Uria,
"You." pointing at Paul,
"You." pointing at the third guy who lifted the leg, he continued.
"What do you s-"
"I accept." came 3 simultaneous replies.
"Congratulations on joining my RivTech then!"
With that said everyone started clapping, both those in armors and those that had taken them off.
They knew who did the most during the expedition after all, they were happy to just get paid and save their hides.
Yet Gareth suddenly said more.
" HOWEVER," as the clapping stopped and everyone looked at him confusedly, he continued with a smile.
"I also can apply for people to be tested by us, there is a personel shortage after all. Those that pass can be accepted as grunts, and it just so happens that i still have more than 40 slots for that. And theres 20 people here."
Getting to this point everyones expression changed, and one asked timidly, not daring to hope.
"Does that mean, we can get tested as well? "
"CORRECT! ALL OF YOU! SO MAKE SURE YOU LIVE, YOU DAMN IDIOTS!!!"
After a moment of silence, a cheer resounded from the door that even shook the stalkers hiding outside into being fully alert.