The DW soared through the dunes with a graceful gallop. Its feet were flat and designed to spread its weight evenly over the surface without letting it sink; allowing it to maintain its momentum without issue.
Free watched the Crawler disappear behind them as they jumped over another dune. Crawlers were Mega-skiffs designed to travel throughout The Mother, acting as mobile cities. Unlike villages or the Gardens, Crawlers had no community outside of their own independent faction. This is because of their primary goal being Tombstone scavengers; competition was fierce and oftentimes deadly among rival Crawlers.
"We're ten minutes out. Before we get there, can you check on the joints? They feel a little rough to me." Maria asked Free as she maneuvered around the dunes.
"Copy," Free replied, swinging out his control panel that was attached to his chair.
He went and flipped a switch and began to sink down and out of the cockpit; he was now in between the legs of the DW.
The desert floor was mere feet between him and his chair, if he fell out now he'd likely break every bone in his body due to the speed they were traveling at.
"You good down there?" Maria shouted.
"Don't worry about me, I'm A-OK." Free relayed as he began to inspect the servo-joints of the DW's legs.
DW's joints were omnidirectional, allowing 360-degree movement pivoting when working properly. However, due to this feature, they were prone to constant deterioration when used constantly on the field. And with how fast Maria was going, this exasperated the decay of the rotational motors.
"Looks like they need lubricant, can you adjust your speed?" Free shouted.
The DW slowed down from its gallop and maintained a controlled, stable speed.
"Thanks," Free said as he picked out a lubricant with an applicator from his toolbelt.
He put the applicator in between two seams in the upper left leg panel, and squeezed the tube; doing the same for the other leg. He watched as the omni-joints were greased in the lubricant in real-time, the DW's balance felt smoother.
"Good to go, coming up!" Free shouted as he flipped the switch to go back up.
Escaping the internals of the machine, Free re-entered the auxiliary cockpit without issue.
"She feels good, thanks, hotshot." Maria thanked him.
"No problem." Free smiled.
Free had spent a long time learning how to fix DWs on the Crawler due to his relationship as the adopted grandson of Head Engineer Gristle. And with his pedigree of being the son of Dunewalker Ace, Victor, his future had always been destined for the DW division.
But, unlike his father, he didn't become a Pilot. Instead, he preferred to become an EOD.
"We're nearly here, your textbooks haven't prepared you for what you're about to see." Maria looked back at Free and grinned as she made the DW leap over a final dune.
"Mother." Free gasped in awe.
A spire, made entirely of glass sprung out and pierced the sky from the depths of the desert floor. It was made of multiple panels of glass and supported by what looked like an obsidian black steel frame. The way that it refracted the sunlight made a rainbow prism effect that streaked over Free's vision from the distance. From its structure, sand was spilling from its multiple entry points from the upper levels due to damage, but otherwise, it looked like it could never truly topple.
"That's the biggest Tombstone I've ever seen, we've hit the jackpot!" Maria delightedly howled in glee as she pushed the DW to speed up; its momentum picked up as it ran down the dune.
Even in the sheer speed of the DW nearly blowing Free out of his seat, he couldn't take his eyes off of the obsidian Tombstone. Maria was right, the textbooks could've never prepared him for this.
"I see the others, we're pivoting!" Maria shouted over the wind.
With a dramatic skid over the sands, the DW pivoted its right leg and turned 90 degrees towards the northeast heading to the Tombstone. Its whiplash made Free feel like his stomach got turned inside out.
"Hey, don't puke!" Maria cackled.
With the effectiveness of the omni-joints, the momentum that the DW had from the downhill had transferred over without issue; their speed had remained constant. Within minutes, they got to the base of the Tombstone, finding the rest of the Corp and their base camp setup.
Maria yanked the joystick back, forcing the DW to a hard stop as it kicked sand high up in the air with its legs digging deep into the sand a few meters before the camp.
"Alright, we're here." Maria removed her helmet, wiping sweat off her brow.
Free said nothing as he looked up at the Tombstone, nearly all of his vision was dominated by the scale of the spire; his eyes couldn't look away even if he could.
"Hey, quit gawking— you're on the clock, let's get on with it." Maria chided Free, snapping him out of his trance.
"Right, sorry." Free blushed.
"I don't blame you, even I'm a little starstruck with this one." Maria waved him off.
A group of Maintenance Engineer's walked by, and Maria called out to them.
"Hey, where's the rest of the Pilot squad?" Maria asked them.
"Dominick is inside with his EOD, they are assisting our Divers in the upper levels." One of them said.
"And Gideon?"
"Gideon is with Captain Bayonsik and Head Engineer Gristle— it appears as though they've delved deeper down into the Tombstone."
"What!?" Maria was shocked.
"I have a report that Head Engineer Gristle wants you to see him inside, please hurry as he's considered this an urgent matter."
"Why? They already have Gideon there." Maria asked confused over the urgent request.
"He didn't say, now if you do not have any more questions we must go— excuse us." They said as they left Free and Maria alone.
"This is weird, I've never heard of top brass being a part of the delving team." Maria scratched her head.
"Is it that uncommon?" Free asked.
"I don't know, it just doesn't happen."
Maria slowly pushed the DW forward, slowly weaving through the groups of Maintenance and Divers who've brought payload out from the Tombstone. Things like chairs, tables, and pre-Big Flash machines in all sizes were put on pallets and dragged out by teams of Divers.
"Good haul so far," Maria said.
Tombstones were pre-Big Flash buildings that were buried deep within the sands. In the surviving textbooks of the world from before The Mother had manifested, humanity built these to live and work in.
Due to the nature of The Mother's shifting dunes, Tombstones below would sometimes resurface into the air. They acted as treasure troves for Crawler crews, untouched reservoirs of ancient technology and raw resources ready for the taking of whoever got to them first.
The entrance into the Tombstone was scaffolded for support and made large enough for DWs to squeeze in through.
"Ready to dive in?" Maria asked.
"I think so," Free replied.
"Let's dive."
Free and Maria entered the Tombstone, disappearing into its darkness.