“Looks like that's where we'll begin our hunt.” Angela declared. “We'll need to get past that door and unload our equipment.” The Engineer was aghast at the thought.

“You're all mad! You'll be killed by the poison seeping in from up top!”

Rex tapped his mask. “Our filters will compensate for the atmosphere. But I agree, we'll set up the camp in the central tunnel. Just as soon as we unload our supplies. Engineer?”

“What? Oh yes, you are quite correct! My apologies Ratcatcher.” The Engineer edged past where she stood, careful not to brush her person. His crew unloaded a half dozen large crates with admirable efficiency. “Good hunting Ratcatcher. We have lost many good men to whatever vermin has taken residence in these tunnels. I hope to have the honor of picking you up when your work is complete.” The Engineer bowed clumsily and then scrambled back into the cabin and got the carriage rolling away.

“That happen to you often?” Rex asked as they re-joined Gemini at their camp location in the central tunnel. “Being treated like a field full of razor nettles I mean. I know it happens to me a lot. But I'm a real bad man, so I expect it.”

“We're responsible for three and a half square kilometers of territory. That's quite a bit of space when you consider that each of these tunnels is only ten meters wide.” Angela said as the last glimmer of light from the carriage blinked out of sight. Her crew was now several weeks walk from home and safety. She checked her watch and found that proper night would be falling soon on the soil over their heads. “For now, let's set up camp and get some nutrition. Hunting over the next few days is going to be rough. I want a hot meal and some sleep.”

The tube network stretched out in four different directions from the city. The network was the lifeline of trade that kept the people alive, as no single state could satisfy all of the people's needs. Each line consisted of a trio of parallel tunnels. Out, In, with Maintenance running between. The Inbound tunnel had been breached, while Outbound was still in vacuo and thus inhospitable to life.

That made Maintenance both the safest and least safe of the trio. The atmosphere was safe, and there would be no further pods coming along. But the rats would know this as well. There would be no rest of the wicked this day. “Let's secure base and then take a look around.” Angela said as she drew her side arm.

The Ratcatcher was weary by the time they finished their rounds. Her body ached and complained about the lack of food. She ignored the pains. Security always came before comfort. The good news was that the tunnel had been empty of all save themselves. It was devoid of the spore and signs a hunter expected to find when wading through an infestation.

The four hunters were alone. So they dug in and set up camp.

“We're on the far end of the search.” Angela explained as they sat down to rest and eat. “The very flank. That means that anything ahead of us is open game, while anything, including friendlies, may appear at our rear.”

“Is it true that all the feral rats wear leathers cut from human skin?” Leto asked.

“First time out of the dome then?” Rex said with heavy dose of scorn. “No, they don't wear leather from human. None that I've ever seen.”

“Oh, and have you seen them all dog?” Leeta said, filling her tone with as much derision as her girlish voice could hold. Rex laughed.

“Is there something funny dog?” Leto rose to a crouch and reached for his shotgun. Angela held up her hand.

Rex ignored everything. “A number of things greenhorn. At least they would be funny if I were still back under the dome and listening to Athena tell this story, instead of my living it directly. I've heard all of the stories that we tell ourselves about life under the skies. Many aren't true. Others are. And you'll never believe which is which unless you experience life out there yourselves. In some ways the half-tamed skags we have back in the dome are far more dangerous than anything you'll meet out here. In some ways.” He turned to Angela and said, “You should have brought a team with experience outside boss. The middle of a cull is a difficult place to unlearn wrong lessons.”

Leto growled and Leeta hissed. Rex was right. But he was wrong. Rex stood and walked to the perimeter.

“What does he mean by all of that?” Leeta asked. “That the skags inside are more dangerous? They've been tamed and broken.”

“You can't break a human. Not for long. There's always something in them that is watching and waiting for the master to lower their guard.

//////

“IR going hot.” Angela announced as she switched on her shoulder lamp, flooding the tunnel with invisible light. “Keep the waves open and don't spread out too thin. Gemini take point. Look for any breaks and burrows.”

The Ferrets raced out ahead about twenty meters, separating to cover both sides of the tunnel. Rex brought up the rear. Angela watched every direction at once. They covered their assigned section of the center tunnel in a matter of hours. “Well, that was a disappointment.” Rex whispered as they stood under the final marker that designated their furthest boundary. “I was hoping to find something that would get the blood pumping. But I did not see a single sign of a tunnel or burrow.”

“Soon. Just be patient and stay steady. We still have two more tunnels to search, and it was never likely that we would discover any evidence here. If the rovers had gotten in, I expect that all traces of any incursion this far has already been removed by the engineers. Mostly I wished to make certain that we didn't have any unwanted guests surprising us in our camp. Set up motion sensors here and back every five hundred meters until we reach camp. And then every hundred meters on the far side of camp.”

They backtracked, jogging briskly and stopping only to set up the hot spots in their perimeter.

“Home or Away? Which do you think we should investigate?” Angela asked her crew. She was going to push for Home, but she liked to have input from her team. It did no good to hire professionals and not take full advantage of their skills and knowledge.

“Well, the Engineer said that the In Tunnel was the one the had compromised. All bets are that the skags don't have any vacuum gear to protect them, so I doubt that they'll be able to get to the Out tunnel. I wonder why they attacked the Inbound tunnel? Usually they come looking for food and Indy never imports food.” Rex said slowly as he pondered the puzzle and formed a strategy. “I would like to get into the blood, but we should continue securing our flanks first before moving on. That way it will be harder to surprise us.”

Gemini agreed in a round about way, all while trying to avoid mention of Rex's assessment. Good. Life was easier when they all agreed.

With their net woven they stopped for a quick meal before finding the nearest hatch. Leeta drew out a small pad from the pouch on her hip and plugged a cable into the jack. There was a flicker of green and red lights before she gave the all clear. Leto opened the hatch and they crammed themselves into the airlock. Angela adjusted the mask and switched on the filter before the door opened.

“Let's make this quick.” Angela said. Leeta decompressed the compartment. Leto opened the door and jumped down into the tube and scuttled across without a glance in either direction. Had a capsule been inbound, the door hatch would have remained locked. In a space of heartbeats they were into the Inbound tunnel and beginning their sweep.

The ferrets loped ahead an couple dozen meters and took point. Rex and Angela strolled along side by side, bringing up the rear. The tunnel was as straight as a laser for a hundred or more kilometers in either direction. Straight and homogeneous, with every single panel of concrete looking exactly like the last. There was no warren of tunnels to twist the mind, not like the sewers beneath Indy. Just an overwhelming sense sameness that would fog distance and direction.

Angela switched on her pedometer in her mask as she pressed forward away from the dome. She watched the counter click higher with every step. It was almost hypnotic.

The count was well over 5000 when Angela noticed a patch of deep shadows along the tunnel wall. A hole had been carved into the concrete and a tunnel branched off the main tube. “Eureka.” She called over the radio.

“Good find.” Rex said, slightly agitated. Was he upset that he hadn't gotten the first scent? Or was he just ramping up for the fight? She thought the second. Angela held up two finger and waved them. The Ferrets raced further up the tunnel.

“Ah hell. They've dug in and made themselves right at home. I hate working in tunnels.” Rex found a loose stone and tossed it into the mouth of the nearest cave. The scraping stone echoed and seemed to reverberated into infinity through the tunnel as it pattered along the floor. Rex sighed and drew one of his knives and tested the edge. The entrance to the warrens barely came up to his chest, and was only a few inches wider than his shoulders.

He would be a tight fit if they were forced to explore further.

Leto and Leeta checked in, they had discovered a second exit about 500 meters further on. And nothing beyond that for a further two kilometers. They had found their warren. The ground about was littered with debris. Stone and discarded trash. She carefully picked through a pile, noting bones and broken tools.

“Do you see any other further signs of inhabitation?” Angela asked over the broadwave.

“Yes.” Rex answered in an ominous voice. “And I don't like what it implies.” He returned with a G5-7 in hand. “You see?” He asked, hefting the bulky sidearm.

“Where did that come from?” Leeta asked, a touch breathless.

“Just inside the first entrance. I looked it over, there's a cracked firing pin.”

“But where did it come from?” Leto continued. “Only the rangers are allowed to carry those. Was there a firefight here? Were rangers involved?”

“No point in searching for shells.” Angela declared. “Ranger ammunition is caseless. But look for any holes in the wall left by the slugs. Ranger weapons can punch holes in armor, this concrete will mean nothing to the.”

They fanned out again. Not a single trace of a gun battle was uncovered, leaving the pistol's fate a mystery. Angela began to feel worried as she stared into the entrance of the warren.

“It's your call boss, but it looks like now's the time for us to earn our pay, starting with our weasels.” Rex whispered into her private channel.

“Yes it is.” She recalled Gemini. “Ok. Our Objective has been located and it looks like we have some work to do. We are going to return to camp for the tools that we'll need before we proceed. You all know your part in what is to come and what to gather. Let's get this done.”

Time was a fuzzy concept in the eternal dark, but Angela reckoned that it was approaching late afternoon before the team was in place. The feral people who scratched their livings outside the dome were often more active in the cool evening and night hours. She wondered if the same would hold for the colony that made its way into the tunnels.

“Leto, Leeta, start your sweep. Rex, you're with me.

Leto lit his incinerator and took point as he crawled into the far tunnel. His sister held a light pistol in one hand, and a grenade in the second as she followed his lead. There was chatter over the radio as Rex and Angela crouched outside the second entrance and waited for the ferrets to flush their prey.

“Looks like the tunnel forks in three directions. We're taking the left and tracking back to you.”

Rex nodded along as he fixed his teeth. A wicked looking bayonet sprang up at the end of his shotgun and then chambered a round with a satisfying click.

Angela shifted her grip on her pistol and then drew the sword that she had found at camp. The knives would come first, no matter how little she liked getting close and personal in a fight, even against poorly armed savages. The silent blades would be less likely to give the ambush away in the confusion of the attack. She prayed that the pistol that they had found earlier didn't have any family in the area.

The Rats were known to use any gear that they laid their hands on. Their usual knives gave them sharp enough teeth. Deadly stingers that could slip inside the joints in a soldier's armor. A single round out of a G5-7 could punch holes through both sides of their Operator armor. Center always kept the best of the best for itself.

A flash of light warmed the walls of the tunnel for a couple seconds before disappearing.

“Looks like they've started.” Rex said. “Wonder if they've made contact yet. Or if they're just trying to flush the slinks out of their holes.” He laughed. “Even the dumbest animals fear fire.

“The skags aren't dumb. They're as smart as we are.” Angela muttered with a distracted air as she tried to listen close for any sign that the ferrets' were effective in their chase. Long seconds passed into nothing.

“Probably smarter.” Rex whispered.

More splashes of flame sputtered in the darkness. They were growing brighter and warmer as the twins approached.

Leto checked in with, “First tank is empty. Switching to second. No kills. Little sign of life.”

“Movement spotted. Three fleeing.” Leeta added. “They are headed towards the exit and you should make contact in seconds.” A foot scraping against the stone Angela sent deeper into the shadows as she waited. She switched off her lamp and let her mask switch to passive mode.

Rex stood his ground as he slouched against the wall, crossing his legs. Angela thought that she could almost hear him whistle. His hand was clenched around the base of his shotgun. “There!” Rex said as a shape emerged, followed by a second, then a third, forth and fifth.

The dog leaped into the confused mass in the blink, cracking a skull with the butt of his shotgun. His bayonet tore the throat of a second. The rest of the rats noticed his presence and began screaming as they panicked and tried to flee his snapping teeth.

Anglea watched Rex work with one eye, keeping the second on the portal. She wouldn't bloody her blade unless needed. That was his job. Hers was to make sure that none of the rats escaped into the walls. A vicious swipe of her short sword took a man's head just beneath the chin.

A single crack of his shotgun cut through the screams. There was the flash of light, so bright in the darkness. The slug hit the man in the midsection, tearing through his flesh and felling him like a sapling in a storm.

The whirlwind melted away as quickly as it had arisen. Chaos returned to order. Rex began to check the bodies.

“What caused you to use your firearm?” Angela asked, curious. Rex held up a second firearm. She nodded. A G5-3. Another Ranger cast-off. She had one, and it was a formidable weapon.

As the dog knelt over a body a quick moving shadow launched itself out of the shadows, and onto Rex's back. It beat at him with hands and feet. The warrior grunted as he flailed about and tried to take a hold of the hundred handed beast.

Rex finally caught the girl by the throat and pinned her to the wall. She clawed at his arm like a wild animal that had been caught in a trap, spitting and hissing as she flailed away. Angela shined a light on the girl. Her wild brown hair was tied back in a tail, revealing a surprisingly clean face. Late teen years and fully mature. The girl was pretty as she was feral.

“What do you think Ratcatcher? She'd make a fine pet for one of the Mugwumps in Center. We could make some money on the side. Not a bad deal.”

Angela studied the girl. She was very pretty, but too old and savage. Breaking her would be a mean feat. Besides which, she had a feeling that her actions were being watched closely by the authority. “No dice. We have other concerns here tonight. She would only be a burden on us out here, and next to impossible to smuggle in without the authority of a Patron. Finish her quick.”

Rex shrugged and then drove his knife into the girl's heart. She squeaked in surprise, her eyes widening briefly as the life drained away. She whimpered and then fell limp. Rex held her for a few moments longer before he cleaned his blade and dropped the corpse into an unceremonious heap. “Seems a waste of prime flesh to me. But you're probably right. Well, what's that look like Athena? A dozen?”

“Seems so to me.” Angela responded as she stepped over one of the quickly cooling forms on the floor.

“Fine work. Do we get paid by the corpse. Some sort of bonus.”

“No. Just the single fee. That should be good enough for any of us.”

“Well, a man could hope.”

The twins appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. “First passage is clear! ” Leeta reported in a grim voice as she studied the carnage. The worst of the mess would only be revealed if studied in true light with the naked eye. What they could see was bad enough.

“So young.” Leto said as he poked one of the bodies with his toe. The body of a child. None of the skags were to be spared. “You never see too many offspring while hunting in the city.”

“No.” Leeta said, agreeing with her brother. “But mostly we've only had to hunt dangerous runaways. Why do they even bring these diseased wretches in? Aren't they dangerous.”

“Nah,” Said Leto. “The rescued skags are always thoroughly decontaminated before they're allowed in.”

“Good. Time for the second phase. Gemini, you re-enter here. Rex and I will meet you at the far passage.” The dog groaned, but leaped to obey. A sinner's work was never done.