Fallen Earth: Rebuilding

Chapter 3: WHAT?

Wesley was intently watching the sights through the portal when the radio next to him crackled to life. "Sir, we got a problem." Picking up the transmitter, Wesley said "What is it?"
"Well, for starters we need a ramp to get the Buggys back through the portal."
"And?"
"McKin got eaten by a hydra." Face palming, Wesley ordered "Say that again...."
"He was eaten by a hydra. I barely believe it myself. Private Shrimp is really....messed up about it, sir." Making a mental note to ask Sergeant Harrier what drugs he was on, Wesley impatiently ordered Harrier to continue on the with the mission.
"But sir, the bo-"
"Burn it."
There was a slight pause, then Harrier replied "Yes Sir". The sound of crackling flames came through the receiver, but were interrupted by the voice of a young man screaming "YOU SON OF A BITCH, WHAT ARE YOU DOI-" Wesley shut off the receiver, not wanting to hear anymore God damn, i need to check the Physche profiles on these guys..., he thought.

Harrier sniffed the fresh Midnight air while sitting next to the fire. An entire world untouched by war..., he thought. The scenery truly was breathtaking. Copper hued mountains stretched far into the South, and the woods they were in teemed with life. Stretching, he got up and saw Shrimp setting up the Geo-Surveyor. A tall pole, topped with sensor buoys, it was powered by small solar panels next to it and an inbuilt Lithium-rechargeable battery. Besides being able to take Geologic scans, it could also act as a guide beacon, take slightly more advanced Atmosphere samples then a drone, and in a pinch, as a decent, but inaccurate, motion tracker. Hauling on the rope, Shrimp gave a final grunt and the pole went to its full height. Hefting up some solar panels, Harlem gave him some assistance in moving them. Unfurling to their full length, sensors inside of the panels automatically turned them towards the sun. Securing wires into the charging port of the surveyor and the output holes of the panels, Shrimp stepped back. He seemed depressed throughout the entire construction of the Surveyor, and Harrier could feel the anger seething under his skin towards him. Shrimp unfurled a small piece of metal which sparkled in the firelight. Throwing it onto of the pole, Harrier realized it was Mc.Kin's dog tag. Climbing into the turret, he observed Harlem slap the side of the surveyor to start it up, and then walked into the passenger seat. Shrimp respectfully hung his goggles by one of the safety handles, and started the engine. Driving home, Shrimp took extra care to go around the location where the hydra attacked.

Wesley was carefully supervising the lowering of a ramp onto the New-World side when a scientist called for him. "Mr.Wesley, the Survey samples are done." Nodding, Wesley grabbed a paper printout from a printer near the computer. "Well, with all these trees, we can use as much paper as we want", he thought. Looking at it, he felt himself salivating. In just this small 20 mile area where the survey took place, the amount of minerals found were THREE times the amount of minerals America had before humans came! Grinning in victory, he looked at the portal and thought "We can definitely fit a surface sifter-digger through that hole....". Whistling, he told the QM of the facility to order 3 Low-Surface Diggers, 5 pre-fab housing modules, 4 gasoline generators, a 1000 gallon tank of gasoline, and 600 feet of electrical wiring. Saluting, the QM ran off to fulfill his order.

They held the ceremony for MC.Kin later that night. The somber occasion was lightened up by the discovery that there was large deposits of oil in the area, and the fact that no one really knew Kin. Most of the men left early, but only a short, young man stood vigil all night, sitting next to the hastily erected tombstone. No body was buried that day.

3 Days later

Operations in the new mining site were going good. There was only an official number designation for the portal and the site, but before long, nearly everyone was calling the portal The Radiation Hole, and the outpost Good Gold. With the arrival of the generators and diggers, the place started taking shape. Men ran around, hauling wiring and tools. Small, pre-built housing units were set up to support the 45 men on site. 3 generators provided power for the small settlement. Sure, the noise and smell scared off all the animals, but look at the results! When the diggers where wired up, the large rotating sifters attached to a crane on the front only had to dig a few feet down before they hit stone. Within a few seconds of hitting the stone, the operators reported they were picking up clumps of minerals. Minerals came pouring out of the back of the large machines into small pits behind them, and scientists picked up samples of them, dodging falling rocks. Looking at them under the microscope, the minerals were revealed to be nearly 99 percent pure Iron ore, 78 percent pure Tin ore, and 84 percent pure Copper ore. The operation was in business. Shutting down the miners, a group of technicians attached small conveyor belts behind the output vents of the miners and lead them to a automatic separator that sorted the minerals into slightly underground silos. Overseeing the project was Wesley himself. Watching with a curious and excited expression, potential uses for all this mineral wealth were running through his head. Unbeknownst to him, Shrimp watched from behind a crate, glaring at him.

Large trails of exhaust came from the miners, curling into the air. For the first time, Equestria was hit with the sounds of human industrial technology.... From miles away, 3 sets of curious eyes stared from the distance....

(Ok readers, i want your honest opinion. Would you like this story to take place in the My Room Mate is A Vampire Equestria, or normal Equestria?)