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7 - Big MT

[A/N: As I was researching for this chapter, I once again found Spore Creatures that I missed, to be specific, the Dionaea Muscipula, the only unique Spore Plant, and so, I went back to the second chapter and added a 500 Energy capacity to the status]

Big MT...The Big MT Research and Development Center was originally built inside a cave system running underneath a large mountain peak that gave it its name. The goal of the facility was to build the future of mankind and create the technology of tomorrow without restraints, either moral or technical.

It welcomed some of the most gifted pre-War scientists, who plumbed the depths of many experimental technological fields. The research conducted within was as groundbreaking as it was unethical, conducted in part on living humans (both American volunteers and Chinese-American detainees).

Big MT even included a concentration camp of its very own, safeguarded by lucrative contracts with the US Army. However, due to budget cuts in the later years of its operation, Big MT had to improvise alternate means of funding and research. The executives began to strike deals with third parties, exchanging experimental technology for money and other privileges.

The technologies they managed to create, ranged from Next-Gen Hazmat Suits, Saturnite Alloys, Holograms, Advanced Stealth Suits, Matter Conversion Machines, and so much more.

They were responsible for the creation of the Beauveria Mordicana, so if you couldn't tell, I was quite hesitant to even step out of the Botanical Garden in Big MT if I meant that I'd end up running into any of their experiments or even the Think Tank Scientists themselves.

If they discovered me, I had no doubt I'd be doomed, whether they decided to destroy me or experiment on me, I didn't want to know, hence why I've stayed still this long.

But the Scientists were not the only dangers lurking in Big MT.

There were Lobotomites, former Humans, and Ghouls that had been turned into mindlessly aggressive husks of their former selves that attack everything in sight and typically are armed with a wide variety of weapons that range from common firearms to advanced weaponry that could slice a man's arm off like it was a lightsaber.

Then there were the Cazadores, a race of large insects that have a frankly lethal amount of venom that can take down a full-grown man in minutes with only a single sting, these menaces eventually escaped Big MT and spread across both the Mojave Wasteland and were seen as far as Zion Valley.

These things formed hives, and frankly, could even take down Deathclaws, making them Apex Predators.

What makes it worse, is their pincers are capable of killing a man by themselves by piercing vital organs, and with their venom, anyone without a cure was destined to die.

Anyone that messed with the things, would be swarmed, and stabbed to death, and even if they survived, their injuries and the venom would take them out.

Then there were the Nightstalkers, genetic hybrids of rattlesnakes and coyotes, gaining characteristics of both.

Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their heads and tails, however, are more like that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. Night stalkers' right eyes are blue with a round pupil, while their left eyes are yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay eggs, like a snake, but raise their pups similar to a coyote, nursing their young in cave nests

What makes it worse, is that some Nightstalkers even have the ability to go invisible, making them far more dangerous, especially since they were nocturnal hunters.

Luckily, most Nightsalkers didn't have the ability but proved to still be dangerous due to their venom, pack instincts, and nocturnal hunting habits.

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Much like the Cazadors, they too escaped and spread out across the wasteland.

Then there were the wandering Military-Grade Cyberdogs, various robots of different kinds, and lastly, the Y-17 Trauma Override Harnesses, suits that were made with the intent to save wounded soldiers from the battlefield and transport them to medical facilities where they could get the care they needed, however, due to an error, those the suit 'saved' remained stuck in the suits, until eventually only their skeletal remains were left inside the suits.

However, due to the purpose of the suits, they were also designed to effectively "learn" new behaviors by recording neuro-auto-muscular movements, up to and including shooting and fighting reflexes, meaning, they knew how to fight, and when encountering a 'Hostile' fight back.

If no home base was designated for the suit, suits would enter an unpredictable wander state. Completely lacking any IFF software and with no way to identify friendly targets or respond to shut-down commands, this would be equivalent to a berserk mode should a harness unit be able to replicate combat behavior.

With no defined home base and no ability to detect the death of the users, the suits acted as mobile coffins: soldiers and researchers trapped inside had no ability to shut them down and were forced to suffer a slow, agonizing death. Even after two centuries, the suits, still carrying the bones of their original users. They continue to function, attacking intruders while some have been known to continue manning labs like the Y-17.

Basically, the Big MT research facility was a death trap for my Spore Carriers and Plants.

But, I had a trick up my sleeve, one that involved one of my skills, [Create].

/-------+-------\

[Grass - 100 Energy Per 50 Seeds]

[Spore Plant - 5,000 Energy Per Seed]

\-------+-------/

That's right, not only could I start spreading grass and Spore Plants.

The few Spore Carriers in the Botanical Gardens could even use the grass to ambush anything that approaches to great effect, while the Spore Plants could act as both long-range defenders and sentries to make sure nothing approaches the Gardens.

And due to the Botanical Gardens being in a canyon, my Spore Plants could be planted on top of the cliffs, allowing them to attack from above.

Of course that also meant I would have to place some Plants near the pipes and terrain that would allow something to reach the top of the Canyon, but either way, I had a plan to expand and eventually take over the research facilities nearby.

To the northeast, was the Y-0 Research Center where the Sierra Madre Matter Conversion Machines were supposedly manufactured, and to the southwest was the X-17 Meteorological Station where they manufactured Weather Manipulation technology, and to the south, was the Signal Hills Transmitter, a small radio station.

First, I wanted to expand towards the Y-0 Research Station due to it also being in the same Canyon.

I might expand toward the Transmission Station or the X-17 Meteorological Station, but frankly, I think I might just continue expanding east further along the canyon instead of out into the open since the Canyon end not far south from the Gardens.

However, if I continued expanding east, I'd encounter the Forbidden Dome, otherwise known as the X-42 robo-warfare facility, and home to Dr. Mobius during the events of Fallout New Vegas.

If any of the Scientists would be reasonable, it would be him, not only because his fellow scientists are insane and apathetic, but also because he would be alone, though maybe guarded by an army of Robot Scorpians.

If I was somehow able to get his help, then taking over Big MT would only be a matter of time, especially since his Robots would be able to keep the Think Tank Scientists contained until I'd have to deal with them.

However, if Dr. Mobius was hostile, it shouldn't take too much effort to kill him if he were alone, however, if he had an army of Robo-Scorpians, I wouldn't be able to come even close to him.

So, I'd have to grow and prepare, perhaps even try to capture and infect any wandering Lobotomies.

Though while I am at it, I could also see how strong Patient Zero would be compared to the base Spore Carriers.

Though I was worried that sending him out would end up disabling it or getting Patient Zero destroyed, so I'd need to be careful at the very least.

Perhaps I could set up some kind of trap using the grass, and my spore creatures?

Hmmm...

Focusing on the task at hand, I used [Create] to create a Spore Plant seed, which seemed to appear in the center of the Botanical Gardens probably due to it being the Colony I was focused on.

Green wisps of energy seemed to flow out of the grass and spore creatures in the area and flow into the shining green seed floating in the air before the seed suddenly fell and the light show stopped.

Controlling Patient Zero, I had him grab the seed and plant it into the canyon below.

I created grass seeds as well, which resulted in the same, but far less green wisps of energy coalescing into a handful of small seeds which I had planted in the collapsed Botanical Gardens building itself.

With that, I had only 3,750 Energy, and surprisingly, I felt a bit of fatigue, which was a surprise since I haven't had any needs since I arrived in this world.

Would I fall asleep if I used all of my energy?

Guess I have more tests to run.