Epilogue - Faust

The latest model of Scavenger was working great. Faust had managed to collect plenty of large industrial fridges and freezers with it. They'd need them in the Untertag. But now, he was on a simple harvesting mission. He piloted the Scavenger through the shallow waters of the canal.

Faust couldn't believe that people just threw this stuff away. It was a gold mine. Sure, a lot of the stuff was broken or damaged, but nothing was beyond repair. A little bit of solder, a new servo, maybe a bit of insulated molding paste, and it was good as new. Better, if you knew what you were doing.

Faust knew what he was doing. He had the scavenger pick up anything that looked promising and put it in its bin. He'd have a busy night sorting through it, but was sure that he wouldn't be disappointed at his haul.

He kept his eyes out for something that would interest Edel. She liked pretty things, and a bundle of yarn fit that bill, even if it was a bit tangled. It was wrapped around some paper and thumbtacks, but he was sure he could find a use for these, even if it was just for Edel's arts and crafts.

He navigated the Scavenger down the canal, a bit sad that there was more here than he could reasonably carry home in one evening. The Ubertagen just kept throwing things in, like tossing nameros into a fountain and making a wish.

If he had his wish, he'd have more people helping him make these hauls. But the Scavengers weren't ready. They still had a few bugs to work out.

Something thudded against the exterior of the Scavenger. It rang through the hollow interior. "What was that?" he said.

"Unknown projectile," reported the Scavenger.

Faust looked out the window. He saw two bodies lying in the muck. One of them had a shiny thing on its chest. He stopped the Scavenger, climbing out. He waded over to them. It was a man and a woman, and they were both most likely dead. He scanned them with his pocket scanner. They had weak signs of life, but more importantly, they were both loaded with tech. 

He snapped his finger at the Scavenger. "Help me get these into the bin," he said. "Gentle, though, as they might still be alive." He'd let Knochensäger or one of his medical assistants make that determination. Still, he was careful. 

Both of the man's legs were broken, and he had some strange fluid all over his chest. It was blue, but he was definitely human. The woman, also human, had several broken bones, and a sharp piece of metal sticking through her leg. It looked like it missed the femoral artery, but Faust didn't know much more than basic field medicine. He brought the jagged bit of metal with the woman, not wanting to risk hitting something while pulling it out.

He was disappointed to find that the jagged piece of metal was nothing more than a boring, jagged piece of metal. Oh well.

After loading the bodies into the bin, he stopped before climbing back into the Scavenger. Something shiny caught his eye. It was the thing that was sitting on the man's chest. The water had washed off most of the blue stuff. He picked it up and examined it in the neon moonlight.

It was a five-namero coin. He chuckled before pocketing it. He'd give it to Edel. She loved collecting coins.

He climbed back into the Scavenger and made his way back to the Untertag. The giant metal husk opened the door in the ground before disappearing through it. When the door had closed, it was no longer visible to the casual observer, unless you knew what you were looking for.