Eleven people in 7 and 1/2 foot Power Armor take up a lot of room, and that was before adding in a Sentry or two and a few Probes, never mind Mr. Wick and Myself. To solve that volumetric problem, I had the Probes scan one of the Aldecaldo's MRAPS. My dismay at not having time to design my own version of the Javelina was strong, but we needed to limit the number of complications in this mission. My own need for speed could wait.

The MRAPS I chose was an already heavily modified MTV or Medium Tactical Vehicle. The rear had been modded into a cargo bay that could hold up to five large ATVs with some sitting room left over. The top of the Bay had several antennas and dishes, of which, I was in the dark as to their purpose. A scary 25mm chain gun sitting on the roof of the Cabin, rounded out the package. It was some variant of a Bushmaster, that could be remote controlled from both the drivers and shotgun position and had a full suite of targeting sensors and the software to run it. I think it was an advancement of the CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station) system. While it would have been advanced in my world, here it seemed very outdated. Well, we couldn't have that, could we.

I went to work on the vehicle's design. This started with scaling it up a bit, then replaced the engine and electrical system to work on the Psicrystal format, that freed up quite a bit of room in the engine bay, so I added even more crystal for an increase in available power. That power was just what we needed to activate a cloaking field and shield emitters. Troop transport in relative safety.

To maximize the offensive potential I redesigned the chain gun. First converting it to a gauss format. That took a lot of hair pulling testing to get right, but perseverance paid off finally, with us getting it running smoothly. I wasn't sure how much oomph the crysbronze alloy added to the already potent 25mm rounds, but I also wasn't worried about possible failure to penetrate any armor we came across. The CROWS system massively benefitted from conversion to Psicrystal processing, becoming much easier to handle. I even added in an automated control system, though there were still some bugs to work out.

We modified the cargo bay, it was set up with a series of 2 by 6 floor and ceiling clamps for the troops' power armor. This left us with just enough room for four Sentries to fit. The roof of the Bay had armored positions for the Probes to clamp themselves into and one focused Narrow Spectrum Psibeam Repeating Emitter borrowed from the Observer's schematics. This would allow us to communicate with the base from outside the Psifield. We weren't sure how far yet, but it would at least be a viable commlink for now.

Lastly, I spent some time trying to improve the tires and suspension. We used a variant of Psicrystals' superconductor levitation effect to smooth out the handling. While crysbronze now impregnated the aggressively treaded rubber tires.

Once the Probes had finished the assembly of our new vehicle, we ran it through a series of tests. Nothing major seemed out of whack, only a few small hiccups. A few adjustments soon fixed those small issues.

I would have Raynor load his boys into the bay. Then the Sentries and Probes would settle into their positions. Mr. Wick would take shotgun, while I sat in the driver's seat. Though I had invited them along, Megan and Sally decided to sit this one out. They were planning something interesting with Jaina, and it was occupying all their attention. When I stopped to ponder that, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. Not sure why. All I could come up with was that maybe they were tired of me holding us back from the next stage of our relationship. Probably not, but I tend to consider worse case scenarios first, before rolling back around to the normal ideas. Well, nothing to do about it for now.

We had our eyes on a few different spots in the Badlands for Outposts, from some satellite data that Amanda had pulled up. The first point of interest was north of the ghost town, Rocky Ridge. The problem was that the Raffen Shiv had taken over both the Ghost town and the area I wanted to set up in. Some new leader had started gathering a following amongst the outcasts, and had embarked on an expansion campaign. That just wouldn't do, Wraiths made bad neighbors at the best of times, and our town couldn't afford their shenanigans being close by.

We were going to assault Rocky Ridge first, sweep it clear and if the assholes to the north didn't get wind of the situation and high tail it out by then we'd roll up to them after. Conservation of ammo was unnecessary, thanks to the Forges, and my standing orders were to triple tap anyone who even remotely looked like a threat. I'd rather we make a mistake in the hard to live with direction, than the not alive anymore direction.

We headed out and I decided to take the trip across the wastes themselves, while avoiding roads, to really be able to evaluate the performance of the new beast. One great thing about converting a vehicle to the Khalai tech was how quiet they were. You could hear the tires on the ground sure and the air resistance made its own noise but no rumble of the engine, no burr of belts or whirling of fans either. It gave me a creepy feeling since I was used to the noise an ordinary car makes.

The troops were sticking to general conversation, who liked who and what the city might be like, and I have to say I was pleased that they didn't seem nervous in the slightest. Hell, Raynor was more worried than them, and you might think he had ice in his veins, for all he showed it. The only way I could tell was in the way he repeatedly checked his rifle. Mr. Wick was as silent as the grave, worse, he barely moved. Not a fidget, a stray cough, or a sniffle, nothing. It was almost like he wasn't there, but I could feel his nascent mana. Otherwise, I might think he was a hologram or a ghost.

After a small window of being bored I said, "Fuck it!" and turned on some tunes. Flipping through a couple of stations I found something that sounded like Death Metal with some Industrial undertones thrown in. Good enough, and great timing too, as that was when four vehicles approached us from the south. They were obviously on an intercept course, and it didn't take long for us to be able to make out the Wraiths graffiti covering the cars. Was that a multi tube rocket launcher?

"Mr. Wick, it is too crowded out here, please see to our guests." I have to admit, I wanted to see him in action. All those hours of training had made me eager to unleash him upon our foes.

"Yeah." He began to work the chain gun's controls. The modified system made it incredibly easy. He only had to use a simple joystick to line up the target, his small screen had a reticule that would flash red when the targeting system had calculated a hit. Then just pull the trigger on the joystick. Easy peasy.

His first shot wasn't a crack, it was a boom. We learned a little too late that sound insulation in the vehicle was a must.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The vehicle with the rocket launcher was cored by the 25mm round traveling at many time the speed of sound. A huge hole traveling all the way through now existed in the middle of the car. The passage of the round had torn off much of the rest of the material from the frame, and thrown the vehicle backwards. I couldn't tell what happened to the occupants, but I think it would be fair to assume they were no longer among the living.

The other Wraith vehicles scattered but Mr. Wick was determined to leave no witnesses. Three more booms, three more tumbling piles of shredded metal. Though the last two were more felt than heard. Our eardrums were boxed into submission. The ringing took a while to stop. Thankfully, the troops in their power armor were unaffected.

I'd never forget the most unexpected sight, of when John Wick turned to me and smiled, "I like it."

That was maybe the most surreal thing I'd ever seen. The smile of the Baba Yaga. It's brief duration, blink and you missed it fast, placed it among the most rare of events, perhaps ever. Unlike a double rainbow it's wasn't beautiful, but it was amazing. I cast Regrowth on both of us to clear any lingering damage to our hearing. The growling sounds of Death Metal from the radio slowly came back into focus.

When we were near Rocky Ridge, I let the boys in back know to be ready for action. The first bullets start pinging off the truck's shielding almost as soon as the town was fully in view. Nothing with any real power came into play. I canted the truck and skidded to a halt with the rear of the vehicle facing the main road of the small town. I hit the ramp's quick drop which also pops the clamps on the armor free at the same moment. Out leaps Raynor followed by the rest of our troops in quick order. They didn't even pause, by the time the Probes and Sentries exited, even as rounds bounced off their shields, the humans are already taking cover and exchanging fire with the Raffen scum. Their SORs were already doing some nasty work, splattering a few of the lightly armored raiders into paste.

I was more than pleased that Raynor had trained them to get behind concealment or cover. Their shields would shrug off most rounds, and the thick plates of the power armor would deflect most of the rest, but it's a bad habit to stand around taking fire even if it's ineffective. The Sentries projected their more stable shields forward as the Probes started assembling a War Pylon. There was no reason to hold back in this fight, since we were going to mercilessly crush these raider bitches. Anything that gave my people more of an edge was a good thing in my books.

With the troops now dropped off, I flipped the switch to close the ramp and Mr. Wick and I went hunting in the truck. We swept wide around the east side of town. Mr. Wick had already started sending rounds into any vehicles he thought might be a threat, and especially any that were trying to flee the scene. He was offended that the scumbags were trying to escape.

To say we were overprepared, was an tremendous understatement. I noticed that some of our troops were using the enormous strength of their power armor to demolish the town's buildings, bringing the rubble down on the Raffen fools. There was nothing here we needed to keep intact so it was a ruthlessly smart play. I also noticed their ammo was devastating, often penetrating the cover of our foes and pulping raider flesh while rendering any cyberware into its base components.

Once I had reached the North exit from the town I slowed the MRAP to a stop. Letting Mr. Wick pick his shots with greater ease. On one hand part of me wanted to leap out and join in the fun. But that wasn't the plan, and fucking with a plan that's already working well is usually a recipe for disaster. I once again found myself watching others carry the fight. It really sucked. Something inside me burned in frustration as I watched the Wraiths die. My only solace was knowing that without me, this would be as much of a one sided affair.

A few minutes later and the War Pylon was finished. However, its cannons wouldn't get to fire a single shot. The fight that had already been in our favor became a rout, the few remaining Raffen shiv, no longer able to see or sense our troops, were hunted down and slaughtered like bugs. Their frightened shrieks were a fitting but pathetic end to scumsuckers.

The Probes were already building another War Pylon on the northern edge of town, while the troops swept each of the buildings they had left standing. To be fair that wasn't many. The devastation of the town was catastrophic. I actually felt about it, despite no one living out here anymore. Later, I'd come back here and we'd scrap everything before building a new town for folks wanting a quiet life away from the corrupt city. For right now, it was time to push north to the area I actually planned to claim for an outpost.

There was a small plot of land with a trailer home and a corrugated metal shed. A larger propane tank off to the side. Someone wanted their own isolated place away from others, maybe to try to forget something or maybe they just didn't like other folks underfoot all the time. Only a few Shivs had been stationed there. Mostly to keep an eye out for trouble and to scout out the northern trade routes for vulnerable convoys. They panicked when they saw us coming, and started to bolt, but Mr. Wick cut off their evacuation plans by trashing their rides.

It took almost no time for the troops to put them all down. The Shivs were unprepared and underequipped, mostly handguns and blades. The boys didn't even waste any ammo and just beat them to death. So far the power armor was far outperforming any cyberware we had come across. While I wasn't surprised by those results, I hadn't quite expected just how well the armor held up.

As we set up camp waiting for the Pylons and Forges to be assembled, we searched the house and shed finding nothing of any interest to us. Then I broke out some of the rations for everyone. It might not have been much of a workout in the end but good work always deserves a reward. After the meal, Raynor and Mr. Wick were taking the opportunity to train the boys in some bushcraft techniques. I kept half an ear out while I went over everyone's armor and weapons looking for any damage, finding nothing out of place. Most of what they taught was simple stuff, basic shelters, starting fires, and finding edible plants. Thought that last one wasn't much help out here. Given the simple lives most of the troops had led on Azeroth this was more like a refresher course, than an initial education. Hell, a few of the boys had good tips to share themselves.

It was quiet out here, despite our earlier ruckus. Maybe too quiet. I spend a while poking around the area, looking for anything that stood out or might indicate Corpo bullshit. But I found nothing suspicious. After we'd established the other outposts I'd bring Wisps out to set up Moon Wells and start some trees growing.

Project Underbridge had finished before we set out, meaning we now had a tunnel from New Lordaeron to Japantown. The first reservoirs were now being filled up. I thought about how we'd link these new Outposts to the tunnel system down the road. Eventually folks would never have to travel the surface of the Badlands again if they didn't want to. Of course, at some point our plan would turn the land green again and maybe, just maybe, folks would like what they saw. Though with some of the critters popping up in the Valley I'm not sure it would be any safer to travel, just better looking.

Raynor had found himself a portable radio, and found a station that played an interesting combination of synth country western and electric honkytonk and some electro swing. Not bad at all. As night fell the boys and him were swapping stories and telling tales around a crackling campfire. Even the Robo-Buddies were dancing about in good cheer. We were just missing a pot of chili and some cowboy style coffee, to invoke the old days of the wild west.

Even Mr. Wick seemed as much at peace as he ever did, and he and Raynor were starting to get along.

Everything seemed to be going too well. I didn't trust it, my gut was telling me something was going on, but I could place what it was.

I decided to keep watch throughout the night. No one would sneak up on us on my watch.