Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter nineteen: Turning point

It might have been a cot in the bottom of a repair shop, but boy was it comfortable. I’d been up later than expected getting the rest of the gunk off the plating, and that left me well tuckered out for the night. I hadn’t slept that well since I was on ice. Though, I don’t know if you could call that sleeping. Never the less, not having to wear the suit at night just to be safe was a good plus. One thing was clear, judging by the lack of snoring in my ear, and the quiet of the room. I was alone.

The other cots were vacant, and even where Riff curled up for the night was clear. My friends weren’t here, so where could they have gotten to? With my hooves reaching the floor, and a stretch I got right back in to my suit. Even in the safety of the town, I hate to admit, but it felt weird without it. As I cleared the stairs, the bay above was clear as well. Although the clacking in the kitchen bay did tell me somepony was still home.

“Well good morning,” Tumble said as she scarfed down the remains of some wheats, and I rolled in the room, “Expecting a fight?”

“No… hopefully, just comfortable in it,” don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not.

From Winter at the counter shaking her head, she just expected no less of me. “Typical… but I do know you well,” more than anypony had in over a century, and from her hoof a cup was presented to me. “It’s staler than century old pasta, but it’ll do.”

Could… could it be?!

My visor popped up, and without the filters I knew that smell from anywhere. My tongue was burned, my throat torched, but I’d been lit on fire a few times now so this was still a cakewalk. If there was an afterlife, I found it, “Sweet Celestias’ tit…” my eyes nearly rolled in the back of my head from the sip, “I knew I’d find some in time.”

“And I knew you’d probably want a cup,” Winter grinned while getting back to her own pick me up, “Coffees hard to come by, but then again not many ponies drink the stuff anymore… usually go for something a bit harder.”

Tumble held up her own mug, “like this.”

I didn’t need sensors to tell me that was more whiskey than coffee in hers, “Where’d you get a bottle already?”

“Well, while somepony was taking a nap…” hmm wonder who she could be talking about, “me and the gang went out on the town and looked around a bit, found a trader, and made a trade…” not the smartest of trades, but Tumbles’ head started shaking at my judging eyes, “don’t worry, I did buy some supplies as well.”

“And… started to find ya’lls next move,” Winter followed up with, and broke open a box of Sugar Apple Bombs well past their expiration date. “Deacon, was his name? Went to check on local jobs, see what can be done to help out.”

Two of the three accounted for, now what had Riff-

“And given her talent of digging, Riff Raffs’ tearing up some drainage for the crops,” she answered my unasked question.

Here for just more than two days, and already they were trying to earn their stay. If there was any doubt about them sticking it out for the long haul, that vanished. I would have taken a seat to join them, but the suit would have shattered any chair I tried. So, I just leaned against the makeshift counter and sipped on my well-deserved cup of Joe. It’d taken a hundred and seventy-five years to get, but that wait was so damn worth it.

First things first, “I didn’t get the chance to yesterday, but thank you, Winter,” she looked above her box to me, “For letting us all stay here, I know you might have expected me in another few decades or so…” that earned me a little chuckle from the mare, “but to extend it to my friends as well, truly, thank you.”

Winter just brushed it off her shoulder much the same as Alimite did, “Tiss nothing, you’re family remember, and a friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

Well with that out of the way, second things second, “Now… what can you tell me about the defenses here?”

Already she could see the bells and whistles in my head starting to run at full throttle. I remember seeing the assault turrets along some of the walls as we came in, and if that was their deterrent alone, I wasn’t sure how this place still stayed on the map. The area itself was remote of course, but that’d only get you so far. Once you were on someponies radar, with enough force, they were coming in.

Winter hadn’t helped with any of that worry after she explained how many they had going around the settlement. Those turrets were the main line of defense, like she said before we went in the stable. They were maintained well, and stocked with ammunition for sustained fire. Eventually though you’d need a bigger punch. Fortunately, that was my field of expertise.

Improving things that made bad ponies go away really quickly.

“So, they can be upgraded,” the pair looked at me like I was about to pull a better turret out my ass, not that easy, “doesn’t take much, just need a bigger gun…” now where to find that, “Who takes care of the turrets here?”

“Oh, I believe you met her already,” Winter started to snicker at me.

Well could you make it more obvious?

It didn’t take long after that for me to find my way out the door and tracking down a certain bandana wearing mare. I might have not gotten the entire lay of the town down just yet, but checking the perimeter for her seemed like a good place to start. On the plus side, for the first time ever, I even got a wave from some of the settlers.

That was a familiar face, or barrel at least. There in one of the guard posts was the same mare that likely took a shot at me when we first got here. She might have been trying to hide behind the barricade at the top, but a blue bar was a blue bar.

“Excuse me, Miss?” no response, “I just have to ask you something.”

Nothing.

“I’m not mad about that shot you took,” okay, that earned me a peek from her head, “I’d have done the same thing.” Yeah… if I could aim anything better than a minigun.

The chocolate mare scratched the back of her head as she stood up, still trying to avoid my visor with her eyes. “Sorry about that… Rangers aren’t exactly-”

“Civil now a days, I know,” my visor popped up to meet her face to face, like I hadn’t heard that one a million times already.

“Right, but you’re not one of them rangers,” finally she perked up, and even looked at me, “heard about what you went through to get that talisman, and who ya were,” she wrapped her hooves around the ladder and slid herself down. I guess news of that talisman traveled fast, small town, “Butter Crisp, at your service… Sir.”

Hmm… I feel like I’d been in the same position about a month ago, “Well, Miss Crisp… maybe you could help me,” after a short description of my specialty, we went for a walk on her rove to the next post.

Butter gave me more details about their protection. Alimite might have covered the turrets, but there still needed to be a pony on a gun at some point. “Mostly we work in shifts, twelve on twelve off,” a schedule I was familiar with during crunch time at work, “during that shift we rove between each of these posts set around some of the settlement.”

“How many posts and ponies?”

“Four posts… and two ponies at a time going between em,” yeah, those numbers were more than lacking, “then you got Walker with his guards, they answer if anything does spook us, or patrol the streets.”

“Weapons?”

“A rifle here and there, plus my beam,” she brought the weapon out with a whisk of her horns’ aura.

With half this place covered at any one time, it’d be easy to miss something creeping up in the distance. They seemed to have enough ponies here to double those numbers alone, yet the terrain was the biggest defense they had.

The towers didn’t look much better… some strapped together two by fours, old pallet wood, and some sheet metal to keep the rain off was about it. Nails couldn’t have been hard to come by in this place, but a good kick would have likely knocked any one of them down. Never the less, the mare scurried up the ladder and took her post with more trust in the structure than I would have had.

“How often do ya’ll have to actually have to defend this place?”

Her cringe was enough to answer that one, “last time we had a gang of raiders come through was about two years ago… things were, messy,” I’d imagine it would have been. Farmers with shovels and rifles, against hardened, chemed up pony’s hell bent on deep frying and poaching- alrighty quit with that imagery, “It’s been scrubbed from most of the maps of old Equestria we all reckoned, after being abandoned and all,” so the terrain and keeping their head down was their protection.

A vote of confidence I did not cast, who knows how many they lost during that time. I had my work cut out for me this time around, but if I could help build a better gun for a country. Then how could I not for a town? Be nice if there was a meter to show how much defense this place had… ahh just another pipe dream.

After a parting wave, I kept along the edges of the settlement. It wasn’t long after leaving Butter that I finally found the mare, just as I left her the previous day in fact. Grease stains, check. Bandana in need of washing, check. Sweat and tears, also check.

“Now who’s been busy?” I asked… and promptly got a wrench mere inches from my helmet as she shot up and yelped.

“Don’t scare me like that!” she snapped between a smirk, before passing off a look over the suit, “though you have too it looks like.”

Ah yes, the once and proud suit was returned to its original sheen… for now, “Oh I had some time last night.”

“And you’re still wearing it.”

“Well I didn’t sleep in it if that’s what you’re thinking,” my eyes were roll- no wait, visors still up, “more comfortable in it, and most only know me by the suit…” actually the more I think on it, if I did have to hide. How many know what the pony inside looks like?

Another turn of her wrench brought the plate on the turret firmly in place, and a flip of the switch later the motor inside purred to life. Sweeping to the surrounding area, the gun looked out for any threat, and the mare kept an eye on it to ensure the job had been done right. She was good at her craft, for sure.

That grease gun was well earned.

“So… what brings you to my office then?” she tossed the wrench in her bag.

Eyes off the cutie mark!

“A… drive to help,” smooth there Wild, smooth. I went on to tell her what Riff and even Deacon were busy doing, and Tumble had already stocked up for our next venture. Although Alimite didn’t correct any of what I’d learned from Butter during our chat.

“Butter Crisp wasn’t lying,” not what I wanted to hear, “most here have some sort of gun, but they aren’t always the best of shots…”

How could a pony not be a decent shot in this-…?! No wait, I had no room to talk. I could barely hit the broad side of a pony’s skull with a 10mm.

“Hence the turrets,” she slapped a hoof against the one beside her, “they take care of the smaller threats that do make it out here.”

“What I’m worried about is the bigger threats…” ya know, power armored ponies steam rolling up to this place to hunt my sorry ass down, “If we could get the guns for them, could you upgrade the ones here? Maybe add more.”

Alimite picked up her bag and draped it over her side as we set off. Apparently, this was a routine to her. Get up, check the defenses, repair what needed it, and repeat. Though along the way her hoof found the end of her chin and she pondered what I’d asked. If she couldn’t build them outright, I knew I could, but two ponies going at it would be a whole lot quicker.

“Imma need some metal for the frame, a motor, targeting talismans, spark batteries, and of course a big gun,” already that shopping list was being written down in my head as she rattled it off. “Some of which I have here, it’s the talismans that are the hurtle.”

Ahh yes, the pinnacle of Equestrian engineering. Crystal with a spell rune in place, able to identify friend and foe alike. Pretty much any Robco product would have them, shame we didn’t gather all those from the emporium before… alas, hindsight’s twenty-twenty.

The next turret looked to be moving fine, but just as she’d probably done for years, the mare checked it out. “Any idea where to start?”

“A bunker would be a good place… there’s one a good day’s hike away, had bots in it last I heard,” she popped the panel off the side and took a peek, before passing me a sly look, “raider base now, but I think you’ll be ju-u-u-s-st fine.”

I’ve been tangling with Rangers, Gunners, Ghouls, and Hellhounds lately… Raiders? Please and thank you! I’ll probably be eating those words later, but for now I could enjoy the simplicity of it. Crazed ponies that just wanted to shoot, stab, or hack me to pieces and fuck my corp- stop it!

“Did Winter teach you about turrets?” a fair question to ask, especially given what the mare was currently doing, but also a way to get some of those images out of my head.

All Alimite gave me was a shoulder shrug as she went about her task. “Somewhat… she taught me the basics of talismans and wiring them in to things, the rest I either learned myself, or picked up along the way,” her hoof tapped the end of the horn atop her head, “like the spell I used on your suit, it can patch these as well.”

Hell, I’d imagine it came in handy for all sorts of things around this place. ‘Speaking of this place,’ I thought as I started to turn towards the rest of the town, or settlement… whatever you wanted to call it. The once abandoned town that was left to rot, now had a fresh lease on life. Ironically, it came after the world blew up.

My friends had already gone out of their way to look around the place, and if I’m going to be here for a while. Why not do the same? I think I could manage that between all the running around and jobs to get done.

And having the Rangers on my tail…

And having Lock and Stock wanting my head on a pike…

“There ya are,” flapping from above brought my attention back to another, as Deacon landed with us. From his bag a few pieces of parchment were pulled and waved in front of me, “found some work to do while we’re here.”

“Great, I have some as well for us,” just needed to find some talismans, and bigger guns to automate.

“Well I’ll show my cards first then, we got copper pipping that needs rounded up,” he read off one of the papers, “says for irrigation and the like.”

Probably Winters’ doing putting that job on the board.

“And second there’s an outpost the Gunners had erected that some here would like to scavenge from,” already I didn’t like where this was going, even before the gryphon started to snicker, “Old friends of yours, right?”

At a certain point all a pony could do was just accept the mess they’d wound up, I’m already in hot water with that group. What was a few more of their own slain? At least one of the jobs he’d pulled didn’t involve gutting somepony… hopefully. Though the only way to find out was to get out there and start marking things off the list.

“Plus, there’s a raider base set out in a bunker we have to check out,” that perked his curiosity, “supplies for turrets, I’ll fill ya’ll in more as we move, let’s grab the girls and come up with a plan.”

Half a salute later with his wing, and Deacon was already airborne once more flying back to town. My visor dropped and with the map up and running, a few new places formed as points of interest yet to be discovered. M.W.T. Bunker 632, S. Vanhoover Sky-port, and finally the Tall Tale Boarding School. The joys of Equestrian engineering, now all I needed was a way to fly around this part of the country like Deacon and we’d be all set.

“Whelp, I’ll grab my gun,” come again? Alimite brought her tool bag back over her shoulders and started heading towards town, and even with my visor down she knew the look I was giving her, “What? You think you’re just gonna go out there without me?... not a chance.”

Judging by her grin, I didn’t have a say in the matter.

***

Can you really say no to a mare with a pump-action?

The turret goal was the first one decided to be done amongst us, and although I might have had the bunker up on my map. It was nice to have somepony along who knew the area more than all four of us combined. Still, as capable as the mare might have been with that thing, she did say not many at the town were fighters. Alimite walked with our little posse down yet another long dirt road, fitted with little more than the shotgun and some leather barding.

This was going to bite me in the ass… “Ahh… is that armor going to do you any good?” her head only half turned to meet mine, already giving me a brow.

“Humph… it’s not all about strength ya know,” it wasn’t long after that the mares’ tail flicked up and smacked the side of my helmet, “sometimes it’s about how quick you are.”

Riffs’ paw found the back of my helmet, just as Alimite trotted ahead.

“Wild pick poor words,” the hound tutted at me, and flanking us I could hear the snickering of the other two.

Dumbass… “That’s not what I’m saying!” alrighty then, how to save this one? “I just mean that leather really isn’t the best when it comes to bullets, maybe we could have grabbed something-” what felt like Tumbles’ hoof followed the same suit as Riffs’, yep still poor words! “To be safe and all! Last thing I want is Winter to ring my neck for bringing her daughter back full of holes.”

Nothing was hitting me so far from the girls, good sign there. All Alimite did was shake her head at me, and what I hoped was a shadow of a smile started to stretch. “You sound like mom…” ahh good or bad thing? “Don’t worry about me, last I checked I can handle myself out here.” She started to grin, “who do you think was the one usually doing these jobs before you rolled in to town?”

That put me at a little ease, and kept the other two females in check.

“Besides, heavily armored or not, it’s good that I came along on this one,” and that grin only started to grow, “extra set of hooves for the goods and to keep you in one piece,”

“What makes you think I won’t keep it together?”

“I’ve seen the state your armors been in before, and as you know I have the skill to help patch it up,” two mechanics in a group was better than one in my book, “Plus, like Tumble inferred, splash damage is the middle name of this group apparently.” My eyes were forward with her, but I could already hear Tumble saying I told you so, “and that kind of thing isn’t going to cut it in this case, those talismans are sensitive, so please… try to take your shots carefully?”

Something a little easier said than done. I still had the mini to work off of, and Deacon had his IF-64. Riff would have to make due with her claws for the time being against any bots, a fact that even across her face I could tell she was a bit disappointed at.

“Riff can still use her new toy on soft targets,” Deacon reminded her.

And there was that toothy smirk of hers.

***

A grin she shared while lobbing shells, with a disturbing level of enthusiasm!

Even over the barrier as we approached, each of those detonations inside were followed by a few hearty screams and yelps of pain. I almost felt sorry for em… almost. We hadn’t even gotten to the bunker but five minutes before being spotted outside, and with our cover already blown that left a lot of run and gun.

At least, jog and gun…

We still had to get close to the entrance, with Riffs’ support chunking shells over the walls of theirs. I booked it towards their encampment. The extra pounds I was getting from the upgrades weren’t helping in terms of agility one bit, but the shots that dinged up the suit I could take in stride! … for now. With a thud, my back planted against the barrier. The rounds above started to tag across the suit from those on the wall, and my guns couldn’t get high enough to target em. Those that were outside of the wall were fair game for me.

With a whoosh Deacon swooped down and raked one raider with several bursts before finally punching through, sending his over the edge. Even my mini was taking its sweet time to do any real damage to the pony underneath, though as another raider got in too close, hooves went to work crunching in some of his chest plating and breaking something important.

The few Conex boxes scattered outside the bunker those raiders turned in to what amounted as a barricade, and my hooves planted firmly in the ground as I pushed open one, they’d used as a gate. Overhead I could still feel the shots pinging off the helmet, reinforced or not, that shit still rang like a bell! Although the AMR off in the distance from one mare kept their numbers above to a minimum.

Alimite slid up beside me, and brought her shotgun with the barrel skyward. One shell later, and what remained of a head fell to meet us as she racked back another shell. Alright step two, let’s make a hole. Another push garnished the squealing of the bearings inside as the door slid open.

And to greet us was yet another half dozen pissed off ponies, and even a few… very odd looking, Mister Handys.

Holding myself between said targets, and those less armored. The suit soaked up the rounds that impacted, as my mini purred to life once more. Some of them took the hint, and grabbed cover while they could, others not so much. Two of the more ballsey raiders charged, one with something a bit too familiar for my liking. Power armor wasn’t the fastest thing in the west, at least not as fast as a rocket sledge, and my jaw was going to be feeling that in the morning! I wasn’t at little Celestias in my vision just yet. Before he could get another one in, a lone shell from the mare beside me tore the colts’ head off.

His bot partner didn’t take the hint, and while the buzzsaw tried to cleave my plating apart, the mini sprayed across his thrusters to the metal housing above till something fizzled and popped. Above us, more of the 40mm from Riff rained down, scattering some that hid from their cover and left me with open targets. Another Handy hovered in closer as I went for the fleshier targets, and swiped across the plating on my neck with its saw.

Alimite thankfully had words for it in the form of buckshot, and added another talisman for the taking. The 5mm wasn’t enough to stop those that ran outright, but it more than put some pain in their legs as they ran. The ones that stumbled met their end, before only one bar remained hidden.

Ya know, you’d think this would be the time and place to throw your hooves-

One bottle smacked over head of me, blanketing the plates with fuel as it ignited. “Son of a bitch!” I shouted, as my hooves beat against the ground trying to get some wind to quell the flames. Stop, drop, and roll wasn’t really all that possible in armor this bulky. So, all my lead ass could really do was try my best to fan it out.

Hi-ya Mister Molotov!

Or Miss I suppose, the mare didn’t know what hit her as I ran around the corner doing a full charge and trampled overtop. All four hooves pressed down in some way, snapping bone and snuffing out that bar on my E.F.S. As for me, I was still on fire…

Small patches of dead grass showed my path, and with every stomp I took the flames died just a little bit more. Out here I had enough space to keep the pace up, inside the bunker if that happened again, I’d only hope for another extinguisher.

“Is he like this often?” I heard one mare ask.

“Sorta, happens often to him actually,” a gryphon answered.

“Pony know fire out, right?” Riff finally popped in.

My hooves skidded against the ground, and to the best of my ability I checked myself over. Just as she said, the flames had petered out. Whatever their fuel was, it clearly wasn’t top shelf. “and ya’ll just watched!” I snapped my head back to them.

Armor integrity: 82%

Okay, not as bad as I was expecting.

“Either watch, or dog bury you to snuff out,” Riff shrugged her shoulders at me.

Sure, the plates were hot even through the suit, but I wasn’t hitting skin melting temperatures just yet. In fact, not even close. Guess that Titanium plating from Alimite really did the trick, or helped at the very least. Said mare already went to work on those bots we downed, and plucked the talismans from their housings with ease before stowing them away.

“Two down… and how ever many more to go,” she trotted past us towards the bunkers entrance.

How many defenses do you reckon the place would need before any sane pony went nope, I’m good, and left it alone?

I looked back at the bot she’d worked on, and sure enough this didn’t look like any factory model I’d seen. Spikes littered around the base of it, as some chains that couldn’t have been for more than decoration draped over the thrusters. Hell, even the paint work looked more like something a foal would have cooked up. Alas, the bots fought with them and not against them.

Almost like the raiders here knew what they were doing…

As we approached the bunkers exterior, one thing became clear, this didn’t seem like your run of the mill raider group. The traditional Steel Ranger symbol had always been the iconic phoenix wing crossed sword, with three gears as the backdrop over an apple. This one was different, the hilt of the sword had a demon tail coming off it, and those once glorious wings were scratched out and painted over with horns.

Deacon took point at the door, carefully opening as he looked around the edges. He wasn’t the only one surprised that none came bursting through to support those we’d fought… just like that, the gryphons’ talons were clipping away at the upper edge at something behind the frame.

“Nasty thing, frag grenades,” he pulled the bundle free after disarming it, and added them to his stock.

Shoving the door open, nothing shot at us immediately… which seemed kinda unnerving. I went first this time around, and kept an eye on my E.F.S. for anything lurking in the shadows. If word had gotten further down in their hidey hole, then they might know we were coming, and if this place was built in any way like a Stable. Then there would only be one path really to follow.

There at one of the entrance area draped across the wall, something caught my eye. It was a banner similar to the one we’d seen painted over outside, ‘Tarnished Terrors?’ I read at the bottom, ‘Wonder what their specialty is…’

And there it was, red bars.

I counted three, at least that’s what the E.F.S. told me. It wasn’t long after I saw them that the shots started pining off the concrete walls around us. A desk can only hide so much, and with Deacon and Alimite using it, Tumble found herself behind me as a shield again. Riff lobbed one round down range, and my mini started spraying with it. Two of the bars disappeared, but if I had to guess from the bullets tagging me. There was a few more left down there.

Shotgun it was! They weren’t bots after all. Shell after shell gave these raiders something to think twice about, and my hooves pressed forward drawing their fire. Soon enough, another joined me, as Riff Raff let off another round. She seemed to be a bit more careful indoors with that thing, something I’m sure the rest of our group was thankful for.

Never the less, between both our explosives going off the halls echoed something fierce. If the ones further down didn’t know we were here, they sure did now. Their smaller arms couldn’t even be heard over our blasts, and at some point, I lost track of where the shots were even coming from.

The fifth shell from her barrel let loose, and after that all but our guns fell silent. I wasn’t getting anything on my sensors, and with a flip the head lamp went on to shine our way through. From the bits of meat out on the ground, that was the welcoming committee.

What's this? One of the plates left over of its user still hugged around half the torso, although this didn’t look like normal metal plating they’d worn before. I mean, it was crudely welded together, but this looked thicker. Yet light enough for them to move around in. It reminded me of the stuff you normally saw on Robco products… so either these raiders learned metallurgy, or…

“They’re using parts of the bots to armor themselves,” I said as the other three caught up, and gave the remains the once over.

“Clever, psychotic sure, but still clever,” Tumble said.

Alimite got down and started looking over, something, on the body, “Though this doesn’t look like it came from more than one or two bots,” it still was enough to keep em standing longer, “so hopefully they hadn’t cannibalized all the machinery in this place.”

Then this whole trip would be for nothing, besides wiping this place clean. Maybe some other group could set up shop here? It’d be a great place to consider, or loot at the very least. With no more thoughts going to the raiders’ choice of protection, we carried on our merry way.

Past the entrance hall we’d found what looked to be the bunkers mess area. All around us tables laid scattered with everything from old cans, to parts of a pony I couldn’t quite place. They might not have totally cannibalized the bots of this place, but they sure did put pony on the menu. Some resorted to eating bugs, and some resorted to eating others. How hungry do you have to be to think gee, I wonder what he tastes like?

I did ask for the crazed ponies, didn’t I?

Tumble started drifting off towards the kitchen, and soon behind her Deacon joined. If there wasn’t anything shooting at us right now, then it was prime scavenging time. A few of those cans found their way in my hopper to make up for the loss. Along with every fork, spoon, and cup I could find laying around. Riff started digging through one of the trash bins, and… ugh ew!

The hound managed to find some sort of what I guess was meat in there. Just like a foal on Nightmare Night, she chomped down on it with greed, “What? Dog stomach strong.”

Perks of a hellhound…

Alimite trotted just past my scavenging, letting her pump-action lead around every corner, door, and support pillar this place had to offer. Those years spent in the waste did teach ya something after all, you never knew what was just around the- all I heard was one shell going off as she poked around a door, and my hooves were already beating against the trash on the ground to her.

Slumped inside a cleaning gear closet, was one mare holding a combat knife with half her torso blown out. Alimite cocked in a shell while loading in a new one to the tube, and looked back at me, “Told you I could handle myself.”

… yeah, I’ll eat my words later.

From the frowns on the pair that checked out the kitchen, there wasn’t much to be found. Riff looked to be the only one to find anything of use in this part of the bunker, and some of it still clung to her teeth. The Calvary wasn’t rolling in just yet, so if they weren’t going to come out to find us. We’d have to make the trip to them.

The bunker didn’t seem to go down as much as it did expand out, which meant I didn’t have to deal with stairs at least. A few long halls likely linked most of the place together like an ant colony, and after the mess hall we found ourselves heading towards the barracks. A bit wider open than a narrow channel, and with half the wide arched tunnel wrapping around the corner ahead. You had to wonder just how big this place was. A map of this place would have come in handy right about now… Oh! Speaking of Handy.

Those little thrust talismans were unmistakable to the ear, and there patrolling was one of the Robco products. Before I could even look at my E.F.S. for others, a quick burst dropped the robot with a clank to the ground. All our eyes looked back to the one holding the carbine, as Deacon just stood there and shrugged at us.

“I mean we we’re gonna have to eventually,” as true as that might be.

It wasn’t the stealthiest approach, especially without knowing what’s around the bend. A few more bars popped up, and with a similar metal stomp to my own I already had an idea what they could have been. Three Protectiponies trudged out from one of the compartments to the side, their beams starting to trace along the concrete towards us.

With most of the center corridor made up of old couches and book shelves for those that stayed here, our choices of cover weren’t the most ideal. As much as I wanted to believe in the strength of my suit now, I wasn’t messing with beams like that! A feeling we’d all shared, somehow even Riff managed to hunker down behind a bookshelf while those shots singed the wood frame. S.A.T.S. engaged and I poked my head over top the couch as a burst from the mini queued up. A clean shot through its own neck earned a nice jerk of its servos, but didn’t drop it.

A follow up with the 12 gauge did the trick, and Alimite racked back another. I was not about to be out done with this, S.A.T.S. be damned for its recharge time. The mini went to work as she pumped out her own shells, and quickly together we dropped another to the ground. The last one from that room took a heavy interest in myself and turned its guns towards me. Several beams punched the torso plate, and I could already see those beams ticking away at my suit’s strength. Then my chest started to burn, and with the rate of fire on that thing, I’d be ash before the mini caught up.

Armor integrity: 74%

Armor integrity: 68%

Armor integrity: 62%

Okay! One shell wasn’t going to matter. Just like that the combat shotty peppered the Protectipony with buck, some of its plating outright fell off from the impact, but just outside the butter zone it still stood. A pair of 5.56 finished the job, as both Tumble and Deacon broke their cover to check out the piles of scrap.

And I got another hoof to the back of my helmet.

“I said no explosives…” Alimite reminded me.

Survival dictated that decision, “Hey, it was either that quick shot, or you sweep me up with a broom,” not a sight I wanted to picture, but that image was below the heart exploding one from before.

With a smirk, the mare went about what she came along for and started working on the trio. That gave me a better look at the garrison of this place, and I found myself walking in to the compartment the bots had come from. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a run of the mill crew quarters. A few cots to rest on, a desk or two to take care of personal paperwork, and what looked like an extremely faded PlayColt Magazine.

Yep, definitely a barracks.

Though tucked underneath one of the cots something caught my eye. The orange to it a hard contrast to the concrete it sat on… could this be what I think it is? The uniform might have been a bit more faded than the magazine, but I knew it none the less. It was the same sort of coverall like uniform the Rangers would wear before getting in their armor. Prevent chaffing and just more comfort, hard to come by now in this world. Under some of the other cots and in amongst the containers I found even more paraphernalia. A few rank devices, SR: Code of Conduct booklet, and even an officer cap. Although as I finally saw the back of the door, the most telling sign of the obvious was the poster.

There proudly standing on a hill top with his hooves to the sky, was what the Rangers were supposed to be. His armor gleamed in the sunlight, cared for like Rogue had done his own. The ponies behind him remained sheltered and protected, the zebras in front cowered back to their trenches with fear. Bold letters stated Equestria needs you! Join the Steel Rangers today, a phrase that set the minds of many young colts back in the day alight. They were almost superheroes back then, and now they were nothing of the sort… oh, how the mighty had fallen.

Minus a few good ones, like Tungsten, I wonder where-?

“Have at thee stripe!” the mechanical voice shouted from out in the hall, and after dropping the uniform I jumped out ready for a fight.

Riff palmed the bot around its head, as one of the arms tried to swing wildly at her with that saw blade, to no such luck. The teeth came only a few inches from the hounds own, but she hadn’t worried and just started to squeeze the housing in on itself. Any other time, it’d be comical, although with another four bars coming out of the wood work on my E.F.S. The hound and myself were a bit too preoccupied to laugh.

A neat dousing of flame grabbed my attention as one hovered out from a different compartment, and the 5mm was already starting to pour on that target. The first dropped with a cackle, the second I panned over to with my steady stream as he appeared and started chewing in to the main housing. Until, someone decided to practice their pitch. With an arm like that, the one Riff hurtled crashed in to the other bot and knocked each of em out of commission in one go.

Hearing the soft bursts of 5.56 around the halls, amongst them the occasional shotgun blast. One of those bars disappeared, just as the last hovered out from a separate quarter. My barrels spun up and- got my kill stolen by an over eager mare with a happy trigger bit. The first shell from her was enough to disable the thrust talisman, the second she placed the edge of the barrel right below one of its eyes supports.

A small amount of grease spattered across Alimites’ face after that last shell, and with a hoof the mare wiped it away, “Find anything interesting?”

Ah, who were you-? Oh wait, me! “just some Steel Ranger garb,” my head shook to get back in order, “Was this one of their bunkers after the bombs?” I mean it was labeled as an M.W.T. bunker, so not that far off.

“Couldn’t tell ya, they did leave their bunkers less than a decade ago… and who knows how many they had scattered around Equestria,” hard to believe they’d want to leave the safety of a bunker like this, unless they truly wanted to help out there. Which of course, I doubted very much, “This one in particular we didn’t find till about a year ago, and by then it already had other visitors.”

As Alimite pulled another targeting talisman from the one she fell, the other two from our group joined in. Both Tumble and Deacon pranced out, and the gryphon was left rubbing his beak with a talon. What? Tumble hit ya again?

“Hmm, maybe create a suppressor for it,” that’s what it was, he was trying to improve his carbine. How had he not already made that change after being on his own for a while? “And I’d reckon I could find the parts in the town too.”

Alimite just nodded from beside the other bots, confirming his guess. It’d be nice to have some part of this little group be stealthy. Would save a lot of ammunition on my part not always having to go loud when walking in a room. In reality, the pair would best be suited for that role. Riff Raff and myself would never work well playing the quiet game, and I doubted they made suppressors for a grenade launcher. Speaking of ammo however, my eyes dwindled down to the counter on the bottom of the visor.

‘Five hundred-ish…’ four eighty-seven to be exact… but I was being generous and rounding up. Just how much had I been using this thing? Oh right, trying not to blow the targets up this time around. These little patches of enemies were wearing down that supply for sure, why hadn’t I gotten more 5mm while in Winters’ place?

‘Because you make bad decisions at times,’ thanks me for reminding me of that fact.

Alrighty, so conservation was once again a prior- “Hey wait up!” before I knew it the bunch of them were walking down the corridor of the place without me, and with all the grace of a broken wagon I trotted back up to em.

“You looked like you were in your own little world there,” Tumble answered.

Kinda, sorta… yeah, I was, “Going through the numbers is all, my mini’s almost dry,” and I’d like to not have Alimite pissed at me for blowing every bot we came across half way to the Crystal Empire.

Apparently, my ammo running out hadn’t concerned any of them, none batted an eye at the prospect, and the most I got was a head shake from Alimite. Granted, it was my fault for having a very ammunition hungry weapon. The mini wasn’t much better than the incinerator, although I still missed that one too. Oh well, that was an issue I’d have to solve later on. Hopefully short bursts would save my hide.

Barracks were cleared out, now that left us another hole to check out. Rec-Room I saw plastered above the door. Do you think any of that recreation could have something to do with 5mm? Well a colt could dream at least. The tip of my hoof pushed the heavy iron door open, and there across the wide-open atrium were all manners of things to keep a group of ponies occupied.

Workout benches, barbells, dumbbells, stacks upon stacks of board games, open ping pong tables, and a whole plethora of couches and chairs to read upon. Sure, most of the games were probably water logged, and the ping pong balls themselves had probably been recycled for more destructive uses. Though in its hay day, this bunker would have kept is occupants pretty damned happy it looked like.

The first shot I almost ignored, lost in why any pony would leave this place. The second, third and fourth however grabbed my attention all too well as they struck across the shoulder plates. Mini spun up and… ‘Breath,’ I reminded myself, and gently chomped at the bit in short strides. A dozen rounds at a time burped from the tri-barrel, sparking across the barricade of furniture and free weights these Tarnished Terrors had thrown together.

Somehow, I’d been the only one to wind up in the room, my friends were still pinned at the door as I tried to hunker down behind a couch. Cushions however, were not the best cover, and chunks of fabric tore clean from their shots. What they didn’t miss still had enough umph in it to put dents in the suit, and my percentage was starting to tick down once more.

Another quick burst of the gun earned enough of their heads down to get Deacon and Alimite in here behind their own cover. The raiders’ eyes were still on me, and I needed to keep it that- wait… soft targets.

Full-auto it was! Shell after shell of mine slid in to the reinforced barrel, and just as fast left to scatter those mini grenades down range. I was far outside the butter zone, but it got their attention. Now to just close the gap, a couple shells would hold them down and get me a few paces closer as they opened back up. Having a slow-moving hunk of metal lumbering toward you was still enough to get their trigger bits going, and boy did they have ammunition to spare!

One in particular was doing its fair share of damage. Every other shot dropped another percentage down on my meter. .308… undoubtedly that was .308 that was taking chunks out of my suit now. I could see the stream of shots as they came toward me, and already pictured the smirk of the raider behind the sights.

Thump.

And… half their cover was gone. Thanks, Riff, for that one. Two more joined shells of hers joined my own, and mister .308 went silent. That didn’t stop his friends from taking over though. Deacon slid up behind the same pillar I’d been using, and pulled out a metal apple ripe for the picking. From his expert toss it must have landed somewhere close, judging by the scattering ponies behind that barricade.

One side of the fort they’d erected finally gave way and came crashing to the ground, giving us a way in besides climbing over top. Between the 5.56 of both Deacon to my left, and Tumble to the far right of the room, I stomped on towards that opening waiting at the bit. Smaller rounds struck the sides of the suit, so who ever had been at the .308 either was dead or they were out. No matter the case, good for my health.

I hadn’t even gotten past the opening of their wall before biting down on the bit and letting the shotty loose. Some stayed on the wall to hold back my cohorts, others faced off at me. Raking it across the room, the mass of enchanted lead sent not only ponies scattering, but also every paper, can, and piece of scrap imaginable as it intertwined with the limps of those that were torn apart. A month ago, I would have been appalled by committing such acts, against ponies none the less. What’s it say that my eye wasn’t so much as flinching from having seared chunks of pony leather paint the walls?

More .308 started to dig in to me, and there I saw the one doing it. Turned out Mister .308 was actually Miss, as a unicorn mare had rigged a battle saddle with twin light machine guns, and just as eagerly as I had done her teeth dug in to the bit. Both of us started tearing chunks out of the other, though why the hell was I the only one flinching!

That’ll do it… the mares’ horn was glowing, and just in front of her the shield held firm and caught my rounds as they dropped to the floor. ‘Bitch…’ I whined, watching that smirk I’d pictured actually start to grow across her face. This war of attrition was not in my fav-! Something broke through the knee plate, and just like that my front half collapsed. That didn’t stop the mare from keeping her onslaught of rounds coming.

Armor integrity: 48%

Warning: Front left servo damaged!

Fine I get it! Shotty started spraying at the ground around her, much like I’d done with Barrel. The blast might not have been much, but her shield didn’t cover on all sides. That was enough to jar her a bit, and leave her eyes piercing towards me with hatred.

Yeah, be pissy all you wa- in a snap she disappeared from my glare… Workout bars were heavy enough, about forty-five pounds or so. Having one swung by a hellhound, a slimmer one none the less, still was enough to knock your socks off… or toss you around the room like a soft ball. Miss .308 rocketed in to one of the concrete pillars, and from a medical stand point your neck was not designed to bend that way!

As she slumped to the ground, her LMGs fell silent… and some of them were getting the idea.

From the wall, one raider started dashing off out of sight down the next passage. I hadn’t noticed but those that were keeping my friends busy had already been dealt with as I went on my shotty rampage, and then tried to handle the mare.

Reluctantly, my suit got back up to all fours. The first step nearly put me back on my face, but I got the hang of limping as the talisman went in to over time. Past Riff and her makeshift club, the others slipped in and joined us, and I felt my jaw cringe involuntarily.

Tumble had a few new wounds that were healing up, and Deacon was in the process of slugging back a potion of his own. The only one that looked like she’d got off Scot free was Alimite, save the few cuts and wounds that dotted over her frame. Yet, even with that minor damage, the mare just looked plain tired.

“Everyone in one piece?” It needed to be asked really, there’d already been a few small shoot outs since we’d been down here.

Deacon almost immediately started rummaging through his own bags, “I could use some more healing potions, especially if we got more to go.”

Riff tossed aside her club and hoisted that launcher back over her shoulder, “Dog like to get out of here already.”

A sentiment I think we all shared, how much more to go anyway?

Looking to where the raider had charged, I saw the placard above. Armory/Storage… if there was anywhere to hold up, it’d be there. “Last leg of this place…” whether we liked it or not, I didn’t want to go any deeper after this.

Limping turned to hobbling, and as my servo got back in to the swing of things. We found ourselves once again in a narrow passage, and right now it was quiet. We’d been expecting to have any number of threats come out along the way, but as we passed by smaller offices and rooms where they could have been hiding. We got nothing, not so much a roach found its way on my E.F.S. I didn’t like this, it had ambush written all over it. If those strategy games taught me a damned thing, it was if you found your path abruptly calm…

You were right where they wanted you.

The hall opened up to a room much like the Recreation area, though instead of things to keep ponies occupied, stretching across the expanse were shelves a few ponies tall with boxes upon boxes of items. Weapons? Maybe, though if that were the case, I doubted they’d had stayed boxed for this long.

Slam!

Servos were working! And I’d found myself launched four feet in the air after that shock. Behind us the metal door had slid closed, and blocked us in here. Riff threw her claws around the edges and gave it her all to get it open, but even with my help shoving. The door didn’t budge, and worst still. I could hear the sound of treads.

And… hoof stomps?

“Well now, what have we here?” I knew a power armor hoof when I heard it.

Just as suspected, there in the center aisle of shelves was a colt… actually you looked like the one that we followed down here! He’d upgraded it seemed. That armor of his looked like it’d seen better days, but protection was protection, and a pair of minis would do a number on ya. Although, what's with the inhaler? Got asthma there?

“Seems to be you’d found yourself in the wrong bunker there, Ranger,” Flanking either side of him stepped out two Protectiponies as he monologued, and if he was going to talk, I started looking around at the odds.

Alrighty… Odds not looking good.

The source of those treads finally came forth, and in the side aisles two sentries rolled in. They were rusted beyond belief, but all that steel plating welded on had to have gave them substantial protection! ‘Rusted… maybe that’s where they got the name Tarnished Terrors from?’ not the best thing to be thinking about now.

A tap to my side brought the corner of my eye to Deacon, and as he met mine, his eye drifted to the launcher across his back. If I’d gotten away with a shell to save my skin, I don’t think Alimite would have opposed us saving all our hides with this one. We were backed against a wall, with nothing but shelves and boxes as cover. Against by the looks of it a missile launcher, AER-15 gatling, and a shit ton of 5mm between the two of em.

I nodded to Deacon as subtly as I could… we’d only have one shot at-

His round let loose and took out one of the shelves, causing it to collapse and put itself between us and the raider. Not what I had in mind, but effective! After that the first few seconds went by like a blur, almost as if I was caught in S.A.T.S. Riff jumped head long over the shelf and through the dust at one of the sentries, with Alimite close on her paws, between the cracks I saw the carbine wielding dynamic duo snake away and draw the attention of the other bot. All the while the colt looked just about as shocked as I was.

Shock gone!

His minis started purring towards me, and before I knew it the 5mm was sparking over the plating. Following Riffs idea, I charged head long at him, chomping at the shotgun bit and sending quick burst of my own 5mm to match his. This time there wasn’t a shield to hold back my shells, and from the flakes of corroded metal being ripped off. I knew I’d last in this one.

A Protectipony however to the face, would take anyone by surprise… how the colt managed to move that fast I couldn’t understand! My eyes didn’t lie, and even in a half back suit he was moving faster than Rainbow- … shit. The buck followed quickly after that realization, and even without wings I was flying across the room. My back slammed against the wall as I slumped to the ground upside down, and looked back just in time to see a second set of hooves punch me in the chest.

Armor integrity: 39%

Warning: Sternum fractured!

That explained the blood in my mouth, and as I coughed some of it got on the visor painting the inside red. Between every punch a burst of his guns dented the damaged plating even more. A single shell put him off his rhythm, and caused enough damage for the colt to step back. Even if my armor was cursing me for it, that was needed. Though I didn’t let up on the bit, and still upside down the barrel rocked with buckshot spraying from its end.

A few hundred rounds be damned… this guy deserved it! My barrels started to spin, and the 5mm ran in a stream through the air. Taking chunks out of his suit, the other Protectipony that had just gotten back to him found itself unceremoniously used as a shield. Extra cover or not, I wasn’t letting him try that same shit twice. Every shell I had broke more off the bot, and it started to dwindle down to but a torso.

Click.

‘Damn it!’ mini dry, not the sound I wanted to hear, at least I still-

Click.

“Double damn it!” I yelled out. How did switching this thing to full-auto chew through so many damned… you know what, don’t answer that.

If he was going to be chemed up to no end, time to fight fire with fire. The needle I didn’t even feel pump at first in my blood stream, but I sure felt the effects! That colt might have been holding the bits of the robot up still, but it didn’t stop me from powering through like the M.W.T. intended. 5mm peppering across me or not, I couldn’t have cared less! I had a bone to pick with this guy for hitting me with a Protectipony.

One punch knocked that Dash inhaler from his muzzle, without it all he had was the strength of the suit aiding him, and the drugs lingering effects. Our hooves locked in with one another, and before he could get the chems back in place my head cocked back to meet his. Those pinpricks for eyes turned normal for half a second as his nose broke.

Hoof to hoof combat wasn’t either of our specialties, and a few times we’d ended up making contact with the others swing. Although where mine would contact and keep going. His would meet in the middle and stop dead in their tracks while the chems worked themselves out. From every impact I could see it growing on him, something was breaking in his legs.

Armor or not, a pony had its limits.

His hooves scrapped away at the metal flooring trying to find purchase, “Oh no you don’t!” I wrapped my hooves around his waist and pulled him back in. Bringing my bulk back up to the hind legs, I held the colt aloft and started to squeeze. He might have fidgeted, he might have begun to yelp, but all I knew was the sound of metal grinding away and bones breaking were filling my ears.

Snap!

And with that radiating between us he stopped moving, I let go and the suit in my grasp dropped to the ground, as did my own. For a moment, all was quiet around me, and I got the chance to look in to the eyes of the pony I just snuffed the life out of. Hardened criminal in the wasteland of Equestria or not… that was terror in his eyes.

A sentry broke through the shelving next to me, but my heart was already thundering just waiting for a fight! The bot groaned as its arms swung up, nearly toughing the ceiling while it wound up to pile drive.

‘Come on, hit me!’ I shouted at it on my flank, there was still enough drug in my system for one more go.

Then it hit the ground next to the leader, half of its back was torn out and sparking from the discharge still left in its systems. From the hole it made, stepped Riff and Alimite. The hound still clenched the spark pack in her claws.

A mare trotted up alongside me and took a look over the suit, almost immediately with my own talisman she started patching up the damage that had been done. “I’m glad I came along,” Alimite smiled, and whether she could tell or not I returned it. That thundering in my chest didn’t stop, and as much as I wanted to pop this visor up to take a clean breath. I didn’t want to put my pupils out there on display.

‘Breathe, Wild…’ I held the breath unknowingly for a moment, until the steady exhale fogged my visor a tad. ‘Just… breathe.”

Tumble and Deacon joined in soon after, the gryphon holding the spark pack across his back next to the launcher. Those wings of his were singed, their blackened tips clear even in this poor lighting. Get a little too close with that back blast did ya?

“See anything on your screen?” Alimite asked as she worked.

My eyes drifted down, and from what I could tell it was clear. All I gave was a nod and got back up to my hooves, something my body didn’t quite agree with as my footing struggled to stay put. The thumping told me I was still kicking, but it shouldn’t be that far off the charts… what was I putting myself through? ‘A whole lot…’ stupid thing to ask.

Now that my suit was in working order enough, the mare went to her own duties on the bots. These talismans were a bit better protected than the run of the mill Robco products, so while she was covered by Riff. Myself, Tumble, and Deacon made our way around the other shelves and stashes of supplies. Most of which already looked broken in to and ransacked sure, but here and there we could find something useful.

Tumble did was she did best, and committed another B&E on a locked security gate while herself and our resident gryphon snooped around through the locked containers inside. As for myself, I wandered. How much good I’d be as a guard against something big without any rounds I doubted, but if anything was still lurking these aisles. It’d find me first for sure.

Another clearing opened up, and this looked more like an armory in my book. The weapon racks were empty of course, and those ammo containers on the shelves had been thrown around. Though the work benches looked plenty used in the past, and one thing caught my eye. A row of power armor stations pushed me even further on that idea this had been a Steel Ranger bunker at one point.

Why would anypony need one of these stations if they weren’t going to use it? I would have imagined the Terrors would have broken them down by now. We had a few in the shop back when I worked for the M.W.T. but nothing like this. They were expensive to create, and you needed the right materials that were strong enough to even hold up one of these suits. Unless you knew how to put it in a lock state so it stood on its own, something that really only technicians and the Rangers were versed in.

Bleak Burrow, I saw engraved above the station, “Why do you sound…” Oh that guy! How could I forget somepony trying to steal my shit?

Down the line I read off even more names on the various stations. Crimson Lance, Crop Duster, and Fire Fly I hadn’t recognized. Though a few I did, Pixie and Dustfire I remember patching up just after getting this suit. No doubt about it, up to a few years ago, this was a Steel Ranger bunker.

Steadily I paced down the rows, wondering just what happened to some of these soldiers. Had they all turned sour like many of the rangers, such as Burrow, or had some kept to what the rangers were all about during the war and protected ponies?

My hooves stopped before I’d even finished reading the name plate. Tungsten Shield, there was a name I certainly remembered… “So, this is where it all started?” I looked over the station, admittedly a little fondly.

This one was a bit heavier built than the others, well warranted given what I’d seen the Paladin packing. Next to it on the bench, rested an audio tape. Last words of a Steel Ranger before charging in to the wastes? Or the ramblings of raiders? Only one way to find out. Sweeping it in to my inventory, I’d have to listen to it a bit later whenever I had a moment of peace.

“Got something for ya,” I heard across my shoulder, and this time I didn’t shoot off the ground. Alimite carted in her aura a few green boxes of 5mm, and right next to them shells ripe for the picking.

“I could kiss you right now,” I thought.

“Ah… what?”

Not a thought! “Thank ya!” keep the visor down you dunce, “Celestia knows I needed it after that last go around.”

She didn’t pry too much after that, and just loaded them up in to the suit, “Oh I figured, I saw you were empty while patching it up.” Still wearing that smile… she was enjoying this bit of the trip.

As the new shells were put in, the gun started lining them up along the belt. A true marvel of tech, minimal love and care needed, and it just kept on ticking. No wonder the Rangers were dead set on preserving the likes of it. My counter read off a few dozen shells in the bank, and with that I switched it back to semi-auto. Self-control and all, my trigger bit was getting mighty antsy.

The trio joined in with us at the back of this armory, and laden across the hounds back were guns freshly ripped from those sentries and that power armor. That should give Alimite here enough to get started with at the very least. Considering the gryphon now had a smile on his beak, him and Tumble must have found some of their own ammunition down here along with mine, or something just as sweet.

Now to make good on what I told Riff.

“Let’s get out of this place…” no objections from any of them.

As we passed through the aisles of spent goods, and broken bots. One thing kept in the corner of my eye. Those stations were where the rangers took care of and tended to their suits, just as if they were an extension of their own hooves. Hell, Knight Rogue probably had one back there as well, if not in this bunker then in another much like it. In any case they put time, effort, and sweat in to their uniform to keep it at peak performance and carry forth an idea. An idea themselves, and many others, carried in to the bunkers across Equestria when the bombs fell.

So, what changed?

One thing became apparent, this wasn’t where it all started for the Steel Rangers. No, this is where the heroes of the war died, just as the country did, and the Rangers of the wasteland were born in their wake…

Footnote: Level up.

Perk: “Heavy Gunner- Lv. 4”- You’ve gone through enough munitions and ammo to know your way around the big guns. Heavy weapon damage is increase by 25%!

Note: This stacks with ‘Heavy Gunner Lv. 1, 2, and 3.