Claptrap Chapter 34: Between Quests.

I reappeared from the Fast Travel pad in the Depot, and felt the need to pull out a weapon despite the fact the door was locked. No one could just walk in here now since the thumb on the key ring gave us Claptraps administrative control, but I still felt wary about the place.

Clappy appeared a few seconds after me and rolled into the facility.

“Helloooo! Maverick? Where are you?” Clappy called over the Echo.

“Back in the barracks. Now that I’ve actually got freedom to move about, I’m getting this place in shape.”

I felt approval rise in myself as Clappy and I rolled towards the barracks, and while there were still splatters of blood and some viscera here and there from my actions, it was a lot cleaner than when I left it.

As we reached Maverick, I saw he had a broom and was sweeping about. How effective sweeping a room where the ceiling had collapsed, I had to doubt there was any to be had. There were small piles of rock and dust though, so that’s something.

“Well call me a dog on the range, as I live and breathe, Gates! You’re in one piece friend!” the western spoken bot said as he rolled over and patted my shoulders.

“Yeah, well, it’s going to take more than a giant mutant with a wicked backhand to get rid of this idiot-bot.”

“Facing that fella was pretty dumb. If it twern’t for some unbelievable things told and said, I’d have believed you were a little more dim than ya let on.” Maverick agreed slightly mocking.

“Yeah yeah.” I grunted before looking at the piles.

“How come you’re sweeping things up?” I asked intentionally.

He gave me a glance before answering. “Or maybe I believed wrong.” He said to himself.

“I heard that, and I asked because this way is pretty inefficient.”

Maverick waved around irritated. “Of course there are, but does this place look like it got a cleaner-mech abouts?”

I glanced at him before rolling up to the pile, and pulled the entire thing into my inventory, and while I was able to separate the various items from each other, that ‘memory’ showed me I could do it a different way on top of the sorting. After a bit of thought, and focus, I pushed the stuff I absorbed out, but they came out arranged and compacted into a several cobblestone looking cubes.

I mean…if you can take ink off a paper and put it on another piece of paper, then you can do add more to something until it was near solid. It was still separate objects, but with it compacted, it was acting like a single object. The weight was the real limitation.

I turned to look at Maverick who was staring at the cubes, his arms hanging limply to his sides, and Clappy cackling.

“How long have you been at it Maverick?” I asked innocently.

“…For a day.”

I absorbed the cubes, and then rolled over to a slab of concrete that was laying on the floor, and absorbed it. I was at my weight limit with it, but I knew I made my point. I turned to the gawking blue robot who’s arms were held out in a “WTF” emote.

“…We have digistructors. They’re not limited to just items, but any loose object including large objects of debris. The only limit is how many things you can carry, and of course the weight and size of the object since the heavier and larger it is, the more data space it takes up.”

“…I thought it was limited to single objects.” Maverick whispered incredulously.

“That’s the standard Digistructor. We’re Steward Bots. We don’t have that limit.” I reply a bit proudly.

“Yeah! We’re awesome! High Five!”

Maverick turned in place as I slapped Clappy’s hand, gazing about the room and I could see him scanning everything before his body shifted from a slump to a rise suddenly. I registered “determined” in his emotion broadcast.

“Alright then. Let’s just see about this mess then!” Maverick shouted before giving a shrill war cry and attacked the mess. Clappy and I watched in fascination as the blue robot rushed about the room absorbing things, and then going to a wall where…oh. It’s a garbage chute? Cool. Wait. Will that even work? I quickly scan it.

[quote]

Scan Complete

Searching archives…object found. Retrieving data. Data received.

Device: Grind’r modified Trash Disposal Chute

Manufacturer: Dahl

Model: Mk.VII

While most facilities have advanced recycling systems that combine Digistructor technology, and cheap construction nanites that take things apart at the molecular level, Dahl was the corporation that came up with it first. After that everyone, even Atlas, pretty much facepalmed at the obvious, and started making their own versions. The system takes apart whatever is placed into it, thus the Grinder, and then stored in the system as base molecular components, and then reused for whatever. How do you think Space Ships and Space Stations and so on stay out there for so long? Imports? Only losers do that. Towns and Cities that aren’t made by isolationist wierdos, or on the frontier, or on some rock no one gives a crap about, usually have recycling systems to keep them clean. Otherwise, you got to do it the old-fashioned way.

[/quote]

I blinked at the data and then thought back to more or less every single corporate made place I’ve been to in the games, or “modern” location…and they’re right. How the hell did some of those places stay so clean unless there wasn’t a system in place, or no one giving a damn about having a clean sidewalk.

I shake myself out of the thought and looked at the cleaning cowboy-bot as he dumped yet another load of stuff down the chute. After he left to get more trash, I rolled over and dumped my load into it. I watched as it hit the bottom of the chute and disappeared as it did into a cavalcade of light. Neat.

Stopping the blue cleaner, I got to what I came here for.

“I gave you a bunch of firearms and equipment. You still have them?”

He froze for a moment before slowly wheeling back.

I would have frowned in confusion if I could, but only for a moment before shock hit me, and then anger.

“What did you do?” I practically growled despite my tinny voice.

“I may have completely, accidently…shoved them into the Garbage Chute just now…” he squeaked.

I stared hard and heard Clappy squawk loudly in shock before beginning a tirade about making sure to not do Claptrap things, like messing up, before shutting down my eye and “taking a deep breath” and “releasing” it for them to hear.

“Alright. Is there a way to retrieve them?” I asked.

Maverick looked contrite as he answered. “I’m sorry partner. Once a thing is in the chute, it’s gone fer good.”

“You sure? I just read that the system breaks things down to their base components and stores it as data. Can’t we just put them back together via a recorded file in the recycling system or something?”

Maverick blinked and thought about it. “Well…to be frank, I don’t really control the system. I just use it…so I don’t rightly know. Maybe? Sounds like something that would be done just in case something got completely, accidentlydeleted…like now.”

He then shook his head. “But the system usually gets used up by other things like maintenance and repairs to vehicles in their garage and such. So, it might be too late.”

“That assumes the maintenance cycle has been used since the last time it was on. Same for the vehicle bay. Has it been done?” Clappy chimed in cheerfully.

Maverick thought, scanning his connection to the system before brightening up. “No! It hasn’t. There may be a chance after all!” he shouted, tinged with relief.

“Well, lead the way then.” I motioned with a clamp hand.

We followed Maverick through the small depot, and we ended up traveling through areas that were not in the game originally, which meant new territory. It was a path that connected to the upper and lower depot through some “Claptrap” friendly hallways, and it possessed mostly administration and records. They had been emptied of anything important and were used for either sleeping, or as a pantry with canned goods and MREs.

I checked the rooms in case the bandits had an armory, but was disappointed to see there wasn’t any such thing in the place. We reached the main “control center” which we entered through what I could only guess was a blast door of some kind. The place appeared to be a bridge like area over the garage. A handy map on a wall showed that it opened to a road that headed out to the main highway. That road was connected to Fyrestone, as well as to Tartarus Station, Sanctuary, and most of the smaller settlements along that road. Useful as hell to have given my plans.

Aside from that though, the place was stripped of most of the computers, save a few that were integral to the facility itself. These particular machines were hardened to protect against most forms of attack on the physical and digital battlefield. They could actually take getting shot by a barrage of rifles, and still work. A rocket launcher was needed to do the job of breaking it. Whoever designed the facility took that into mind and made it so they couldn’t do that without killing themselves in the process, leaving remote detonation or artillery bombardment, the first made harder with what seemed to be a slight faraday shield, and the mountains blocking the second.

Maverick led me to the “Primary Control and Command Console” and turned it on. I glanced at the center, and noticed something finally after rubbernecking at all the toys and data.

“This place is…very clean. The Bandits didn’t come in here?”

“Well, they rightly couldn’t since they didn’t have access to the place proper. I doubt they even knew the…key…that you had was even the one to open this place completely. Even if they did, they had no knowledge of the passwords to get in. Plus, the door is one that needs a big bomb to break down, and it would have brought the place down on them if they tried.”

Maverick waved it off. “As a result, I got the place back up and running, but even I don’t have full access to everything just yet. My rank in Dahl wasn’t high enough.”

“What about the guy who’s in charge? The one that you used to unlock everything?” Clappy asked.

“I dunno his data or passwords. Might was well guess the lotto numbers for the “Atlas Jam-Bullion Run”. I’d have a better chance of getting that right before getting locked out forever.” Maverick groused as he crossed his arms.

I nodded. That was something for me to try and figure out in the future…in fact…I could probably try and brute force it with my Hyper-Analysis capability or something, but I didn’t know how I would even approach that. It’s in that moment I remembered Aiden Pierce from Watchdogs and his OP-PLZ-NRF Hacking abilities. I loved playing the modern-day version of “The Shadow” with that character, especially when I got the Luciano.

I shook my head from that tangent and made a personal note to learn some Hack/Cracking abilities if possible. Most guns in this world were computer controlled, so the idea of making them explode in the hands of their users appealed to me.

Looking at Maverick, I motioned him to see about getting the weapons back.

After some manipulating of the system, Maverick managed it with a cheer.

“Ha Ha~! Got them out! They were in the system. Guess they rang the alert since they weren’t just trash.”

“So where do we need to go?”

“The Garage! Follow me fellas.”

When we got there, we stopped before a large digistructor that was mostly for vehicle digitizing, and with a pull of a handle, a pile of weapons appeared on the platform.

“Wow~. That’s a lot of bang bang!” Clappy scanned in awe as he picked up various weapons. After picking the weapons I wanted, Clappy, Maverick, and I stored the rest.

“There wouldn’t happen to be a bounty board around here Maverick?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, near the Mess Hall. Well…what’s left of it. Dahl wanted to keep an eye on the local goings on.”

“Would it happen to be on?” I asked hopefully.

“It should be. If not, we can turn it on. I’m not a Bounty Board bot though, so I ain’t got the particulars to work it right.”

“Well, it just so happens, I, the great ClapTrap, am such a bot!” Clappy said proudly.

Maverick and I stared for a moment, a shared look between us told we were of the same mind.

“Great! Follow me then.” Maverick cheered awkwardly before rolling on.

In time, we reached the board, and both Maverick and Clappy worked their magic on it, finally allowing me to dump the weapons. Funnily enough, my weapon requirement was finally fulfilled for the job, and I just added bonuses to it. Now I just needed the crystals, and some cash, plus more guns if I can manage it.

“Hey Mav. Can the Fast Travel system in this place connect to Fyrestone?” I asked, the idea just coming to me.

“Nope. The people in charge wanted to keep the system separate from the civilian system to prevent security breaches. Ya gotta go back through the arena…though if what I’m a hearin’ is right, you should be able to connect the mine now too.”

I nodded and then froze. “Oh…Clappy!”

“Yes!?” Clappy jumped at his name.

“Did the Vault Hunters blow up the Mine just yet? To prevent Bandits from using it?” I asked quickly.

“Uhh…I don’t know.”

“Maverick, can you connect this place to the Mine? I need to get there before someone blows the place up.”

“Oh. That would be a pain. Follow me!” he replied as he rolled quickly.

Once we were up front, he clacked at the hologram and entered a code, and a blip filled the air.

“Welp. You’re good now.”

I pulled out my shotgun, and rolled towards the Fast Travel when Clappy stopped me.

“Woah! Hold on there! I know you’re about to go, but I’m going with this time!”

I glanced at him silently, a jumble of thought and emotion filling me before I simple nodded my eye and rolled forward, and disappeared.