D
Draconias Galactica
Guest
Fallout: After the Enclave
By Draconias Galactica
Part 2: The New World
It had been three days since Trent, the Chosen One and his companions, Skynet and Sulik evacuated from the Enclave in Vertibirds. They had no idea where they were going, only that it would be better to get there sooner than the "E" came up again on one of the indicators. Their back up tanks were almost dried out, even after all nonessential equipment had been dumped to lighten the load. Skynet had told both Tribals that unless they were heading directly north or south, they should arrive at land in a day or two. But Skynet's map of the world was before parts of the world had sank, and it certainly didn't indicate the exact location of the Enclave Oil Rig.
"You think Cassidy bought it?" asked Trent, shuffling the playing cards. Goris and Marcus had died and when the two tribals left, Cassidy was bleeding badly. Frank Horrigan's weaponry cut through Hardened Power Armor like nothing any of them had ever seen before. And Advanced Power Armor Mk. II only provided a bit more protection. It had hurt like hell getting shot (and loosing an arm), probably would have hurt like hell on overtime in Cassidy's armor. At least Marcus and Goris got killed before they could even feel it.
"Grampy bone not sayin' a word," Sulik replied. "I think he be dead." Something occurred to Trent in that brief moment.
"Skynet!" he yelled up to the cockpit. They were in a "room" behind it. "Dose Vic know how to pilot that rig?"
"Analyzing probability...87% probability that he doesn't. If Cassidy was alive, 32% probability." Cassidy had watched intently as Trent piloted the ship by telling the Navigation console to "go". It was so amazingly simple that Vic would undoubtedly have overlooked it. The fate of the villagers-and possibly Vault dwellers if they went with the Arroyo survivors-almost surely depended on that geezer not buying the farm. It was a disturbing thought to Trent and Sulik, Trent even more. He had done all he could and even that might not have been enough.
"They'll be fine," declared Sulik. "Old man not about to kick his bucket."
"You just said he would."
"Hey, we and I just tryin' to cheer you up. Sheesh." Trent sighed and re-dealed the cards.
*****
"What in the hell is that?" asked Trent. There was some animal outside the window, but it was in the air somehow. Only small, lightweight flies could get into the air, and that thing had to weight at least two pounds.
"...It's a bird," replied Skynet after careful examination. That was as close as he could get with limited study on mutated specimens.
"Bird? What's a bird?"
"Simplest designation: small animal with wings. They never fly far past land, so we must be near land." Sulik opened the door that led to the wing and walked out. The bird dived down at Sulik, thinking he could be food. Sulik took out a spear and pulled it out in front of the bird. Thanks to some fog and Sulik's quick reflexes, it had dived directly into the spear. Sulik walked back into the Vertibird and began eating the bird.
"It any good?" Trent asked.
"We and I think it taste like chicken."
"What's chicken?" Since neither tribal really knew what chicken was, they dropped the conversation. Trent went up to the cockpit. Skynet was trying to get the radar to work so he could find land. Trent made sure his M72 was fully loaded-if they did find land, their greeting might not be the friendliest one. And with luck, the Enclave wouldn't be maintaining a base nearby.
"Land, one mile ahead. Foggy conditions'll make locating a landing spot difficult."
"Just make sure it isn't surrounded by Enclave soldiers and we'll be fine." The Vertibird continued to fly towards land. Sulik helped Trent get the M72 attached to the weaponry clips-the auto-doc said the arm was gone for good-and made sure his own Super Sledgehammer was shiny, with only a hint of the action it had seen for persuasive purposes. Skynet had a gauss riffle and a Pancor Jackhammer, and both were loaded and ready for combat. They prepared to set out.
They couldn't find a proper landing space, but the Vertibird had a rope ladder attached. Sulik and Trent climbed down as Skynet stayed with the Vertibird. "We'll meet back here in three hours. We need fuel or else we're stuck wherever we are," said Skynet. The tribals nodded and walked out into the new world.
*****
"There's somebody some fifteen hundred feet ahead," said Trent, consulting his Power Armor sensors. "Infrared's showing four or five bodies, all living. Put away your weapon and follow me. Try not to scare them too much." Sulik took off his helmet and placed it on top of his sledgehammer, slung over his back. Trent removed his vulture head and attached it to a hook on the back of the armor. The two advanced.
"Hey, who's there?" yelled out Sulik. The four or five bodies all turned to the two power armored tribals. One of them pulled a shotgun of some sort and fired right at Sulik's head. Luckily, the shooter was shaking too much to get a straight shot and missed by a few inches. Sulik and Trent quickly placed their helmets back on and pointed their weapons at the four or five bodies.
"Put down your weapons!" Trent yelled. The natives began talking in some unknown tongue. After several minutes of the gibberish, Trent heard a beeping inside his helmet.
"Matching language found. Activating speak translators, internal and external...Don't shoot! I have a wife and children, and they mutated, and I got fired..." An old man was talking in his language, but the Advanced Power Armor translated it to english.
"We're not going to shoot you," Trent said into his transmitter. The armor translated his words and the external speakers repeated what he just said in their language. "Where are we?"
"Five miles from Belarus! Don't hurt me! Please!"
"Shut up old man! Take us to Belarus!" The old man nodded and signaled for his companions to do as the tribals said. Sulik and Trent followed them, presumably to Belarus.
"What the hell were they sayin'?" asked Sulik.
"Switch your helmet com to 18.768 MHz, I'll transmit the translation." Sulik twisted a knob where his ear would be if it weren't for the helmet. Along the walk, Sulik grabbed several specimens of flora that were probably once normal plants. He had traveled father than most men would in their entire life in the few years he had been with The Chosen One and he had never seen any plants like these. Trent noticed this too, but he had already guessed correctly Sulik could worry about that. He was more interested in watching out for hostiles. He had seen weaponry cut through power armor like it was nothing-and anybody with enough dollars and accesses to Red 888 could easily take down him or Sulik, maybe even both if they were caught unaware.
But Trent had a feeling nobody here could ever buy at Red 888, no matter how much money they had. He had a feeling, also, nobody here would ever see Red 888 in their lifetime. Hopefully somebody around here had a PIP Boy, so he could get a map of the area. Or at least find out where this area was.
*****
"This is Belarus. Now will you let us go?" asked the Old Man.
"One thing-what's your name and occupation?" asked Trent.
"You...you don't know? But you said you'd be back for me!" Skynet spoke up on the private com.
"I've sorted out the radar and managed to accesses the database," he reported. "Our Vertibird is about fifteen miles from an installation called Caprica. The Enclave was probably working the locals here as well." Trent didn't see the old man and his companions run into the fence-walls of Belarus. Sulik walked in after them.
"Right. Keep the Vertibird out of sight and watch out for patrols. Enclave command just loves to make their troops patrol all around their bases. We're going to stay here as long as it takes to get some information. Out." Trent walked into Belarus. Sulik had already entered and had apparently been attacked. A body was lying down on the ground, with a smashed spine. The Belarus citizens didn't seem to care-they were either used to this or the corpse had it coming.
"He says he not goin' to be helpin me," stated Sulik. "Then he pull out a gun and try to shoot we and I. Probably drunk."
"Can't be helped. Where's the fanciest building with the most people in it?" Sulik and Trent used their infrared scanners. Belarus was a relatively large town, with several buildings that looked like bars, several more that looked like stores and inns. There was little farmland, but several tunnels that led underground, probably to mines or residential areas of some sort. And there was a building, the likes of which neither tribal had ever seen in their life. In the before times, it would have been called a skyscraper. Now it was just a fifteen story building, roughly five times larger than any building the two had seen before. It was surrounded by a pit of green glowing liquid, undoubtedly radiated.
"Right there," said Sulik, pointing to the skyscraper.
"That's probably the government building. Let's go see who's in there." The two walked off towards the building.
*****
"Let us in," Trent ordered. A group of guards stood in front of a bridge, leading across the moat of radioactive goo. Each of then were well armed, with enough combat shotguns between them to take out several normal humans. Unfortunately, shells would just bounce off powered armor until a few dozen hit and dents began to form. The guard armor was combat armor mk. II, a bit better than the brotherhood armor.
"Do you seek an audience with his majesty?" asked the center guard.
"Yes, we do." The guards stepped aside, clearing the bridge. Sulik and Trent walked across the moat, into the skyscraper. Inside was a lobby, now decorated with guards, security cameras, minigun turrets, and other assorted unpleasant items. If anybody had been around from when the building was first constructed, only the gaurds' armor would seem out of place. For a very long time, Trent and Sulik had had almost no fear of enemies thanks to their armor, weaponry, and skills. But the guards here were, combined, more than enough to kill the two tribals. They stepped carefully up to a large desk.
"Do you have an appointment with our majesty?" asked the receptionist.
"No, we want to see him."
"The king is a very busy man, so if you'll please schedual an apointment.."
"Lady," began Sulik. "We and I both want to get up to the king. So you take we and I up there right now." Sulik raised his super sledge to make a point. Several guards gripped their weaponry tighter, but none acted. Trent put his gun-carying arm down on the desk.
"We don't want to make trouble ma'am, but we need to see the king. Now."
"Um...very well then. Just...just take the elevator up to floor fifteen!" Trent thanked her and the two tribals got onto the elevator. It made it's way slowly up to the top of the building. The door opened, and Sulik & Trent were greated by four plasma riffles pointed to their heads. Several other guards were walking to the elevator, each with a heavy-duty weapon. A large man pushed the gaurds aside and walked up to Trent & Sulik.
"I welcome you to Belarus Towers. I am the good king Smith. Guards, seize them." Before Trent or Sulik could react, several gaurds had pushed them against the wall and were beating them with cattle prods. Any time either one of them tried to struggle or go for their weapons, they found several rods pumping energy into them. The two tribals each fell quickly, completly overwhelmed by surprise and shear numbers.
*****
Vault Dwellers begaun to exit from their respective vaults. Humanity left behind their great caves of iron and steel and began to live life anew. In America, vaults malfunctioned. Things had already gone arwy before the war even started. Survival was almost imposible for Americans, but somehow they managed. With the meager resources their vaults had given them, and the firepower they had to defend themselves, they took back their burnt out country. But those who had dwelt there for so many years already-the neo animals and plants-fought back.
Elsewhere, exitting the vault was a painless operation. After ten years, the populations left the vaults. Armed with GECK's and the skills they learned, vault dwellers elsewhere found survival easy. Their wasteland was tamed with the few commands it took to activate a GECK. For several years, life was hard but good. Then they fought amung themselves for the resources left in the world. The war had refused to die, and tempted the survivors with what little goods remained. From food to animals to ores to humans and everything in between, there were plenty of reasons to continue fighting.
But the civilized ones slowly gave up on the small wars they started. They were more concerned about rebuilding civilization. They fought only to defend themselves, to defend what was theirs. And with what was their's, they built cities. They built governments. They built new civilizations, each a little different from the next one. Slowly, fighting across the other parts of the world besides america died down. But through that period of time, humanity learned several things.
One-they could rebuild civilization. Two-anything in the world was worth fighting for. Three-you should only fight with those who you know to be your enemies. But they still didn't know, on the conscience level at least, who their enemies were. But deep down, they knew. Their enemies were their parent's enemies. The ones who their parents fought against, and nearly destroyed the world to destroy them. Where their parents failed, they would suceed. The new civilizations decided, without consciencely knowing it, to find a way to end the war. By killing the desendants of their ansestor's enemies. All they had to do was find them.
Soon, the course of time would give them the means with which to do it.
*****
Well? Do any of you care to comment? Please? Look, I'm going insane here, my ego is demanding feedback, and I'm all out of soda! So please reply before I pass out onto the keyboard. thank you, and good night.
By Draconias Galactica
Part 2: The New World
It had been three days since Trent, the Chosen One and his companions, Skynet and Sulik evacuated from the Enclave in Vertibirds. They had no idea where they were going, only that it would be better to get there sooner than the "E" came up again on one of the indicators. Their back up tanks were almost dried out, even after all nonessential equipment had been dumped to lighten the load. Skynet had told both Tribals that unless they were heading directly north or south, they should arrive at land in a day or two. But Skynet's map of the world was before parts of the world had sank, and it certainly didn't indicate the exact location of the Enclave Oil Rig.
"You think Cassidy bought it?" asked Trent, shuffling the playing cards. Goris and Marcus had died and when the two tribals left, Cassidy was bleeding badly. Frank Horrigan's weaponry cut through Hardened Power Armor like nothing any of them had ever seen before. And Advanced Power Armor Mk. II only provided a bit more protection. It had hurt like hell getting shot (and loosing an arm), probably would have hurt like hell on overtime in Cassidy's armor. At least Marcus and Goris got killed before they could even feel it.
"Grampy bone not sayin' a word," Sulik replied. "I think he be dead." Something occurred to Trent in that brief moment.
"Skynet!" he yelled up to the cockpit. They were in a "room" behind it. "Dose Vic know how to pilot that rig?"
"Analyzing probability...87% probability that he doesn't. If Cassidy was alive, 32% probability." Cassidy had watched intently as Trent piloted the ship by telling the Navigation console to "go". It was so amazingly simple that Vic would undoubtedly have overlooked it. The fate of the villagers-and possibly Vault dwellers if they went with the Arroyo survivors-almost surely depended on that geezer not buying the farm. It was a disturbing thought to Trent and Sulik, Trent even more. He had done all he could and even that might not have been enough.
"They'll be fine," declared Sulik. "Old man not about to kick his bucket."
"You just said he would."
"Hey, we and I just tryin' to cheer you up. Sheesh." Trent sighed and re-dealed the cards.
*****
"What in the hell is that?" asked Trent. There was some animal outside the window, but it was in the air somehow. Only small, lightweight flies could get into the air, and that thing had to weight at least two pounds.
"...It's a bird," replied Skynet after careful examination. That was as close as he could get with limited study on mutated specimens.
"Bird? What's a bird?"
"Simplest designation: small animal with wings. They never fly far past land, so we must be near land." Sulik opened the door that led to the wing and walked out. The bird dived down at Sulik, thinking he could be food. Sulik took out a spear and pulled it out in front of the bird. Thanks to some fog and Sulik's quick reflexes, it had dived directly into the spear. Sulik walked back into the Vertibird and began eating the bird.
"It any good?" Trent asked.
"We and I think it taste like chicken."
"What's chicken?" Since neither tribal really knew what chicken was, they dropped the conversation. Trent went up to the cockpit. Skynet was trying to get the radar to work so he could find land. Trent made sure his M72 was fully loaded-if they did find land, their greeting might not be the friendliest one. And with luck, the Enclave wouldn't be maintaining a base nearby.
"Land, one mile ahead. Foggy conditions'll make locating a landing spot difficult."
"Just make sure it isn't surrounded by Enclave soldiers and we'll be fine." The Vertibird continued to fly towards land. Sulik helped Trent get the M72 attached to the weaponry clips-the auto-doc said the arm was gone for good-and made sure his own Super Sledgehammer was shiny, with only a hint of the action it had seen for persuasive purposes. Skynet had a gauss riffle and a Pancor Jackhammer, and both were loaded and ready for combat. They prepared to set out.
They couldn't find a proper landing space, but the Vertibird had a rope ladder attached. Sulik and Trent climbed down as Skynet stayed with the Vertibird. "We'll meet back here in three hours. We need fuel or else we're stuck wherever we are," said Skynet. The tribals nodded and walked out into the new world.
*****
"There's somebody some fifteen hundred feet ahead," said Trent, consulting his Power Armor sensors. "Infrared's showing four or five bodies, all living. Put away your weapon and follow me. Try not to scare them too much." Sulik took off his helmet and placed it on top of his sledgehammer, slung over his back. Trent removed his vulture head and attached it to a hook on the back of the armor. The two advanced.
"Hey, who's there?" yelled out Sulik. The four or five bodies all turned to the two power armored tribals. One of them pulled a shotgun of some sort and fired right at Sulik's head. Luckily, the shooter was shaking too much to get a straight shot and missed by a few inches. Sulik and Trent quickly placed their helmets back on and pointed their weapons at the four or five bodies.
"Put down your weapons!" Trent yelled. The natives began talking in some unknown tongue. After several minutes of the gibberish, Trent heard a beeping inside his helmet.
"Matching language found. Activating speak translators, internal and external...Don't shoot! I have a wife and children, and they mutated, and I got fired..." An old man was talking in his language, but the Advanced Power Armor translated it to english.
"We're not going to shoot you," Trent said into his transmitter. The armor translated his words and the external speakers repeated what he just said in their language. "Where are we?"
"Five miles from Belarus! Don't hurt me! Please!"
"Shut up old man! Take us to Belarus!" The old man nodded and signaled for his companions to do as the tribals said. Sulik and Trent followed them, presumably to Belarus.
"What the hell were they sayin'?" asked Sulik.
"Switch your helmet com to 18.768 MHz, I'll transmit the translation." Sulik twisted a knob where his ear would be if it weren't for the helmet. Along the walk, Sulik grabbed several specimens of flora that were probably once normal plants. He had traveled father than most men would in their entire life in the few years he had been with The Chosen One and he had never seen any plants like these. Trent noticed this too, but he had already guessed correctly Sulik could worry about that. He was more interested in watching out for hostiles. He had seen weaponry cut through power armor like it was nothing-and anybody with enough dollars and accesses to Red 888 could easily take down him or Sulik, maybe even both if they were caught unaware.
But Trent had a feeling nobody here could ever buy at Red 888, no matter how much money they had. He had a feeling, also, nobody here would ever see Red 888 in their lifetime. Hopefully somebody around here had a PIP Boy, so he could get a map of the area. Or at least find out where this area was.
*****
"This is Belarus. Now will you let us go?" asked the Old Man.
"One thing-what's your name and occupation?" asked Trent.
"You...you don't know? But you said you'd be back for me!" Skynet spoke up on the private com.
"I've sorted out the radar and managed to accesses the database," he reported. "Our Vertibird is about fifteen miles from an installation called Caprica. The Enclave was probably working the locals here as well." Trent didn't see the old man and his companions run into the fence-walls of Belarus. Sulik walked in after them.
"Right. Keep the Vertibird out of sight and watch out for patrols. Enclave command just loves to make their troops patrol all around their bases. We're going to stay here as long as it takes to get some information. Out." Trent walked into Belarus. Sulik had already entered and had apparently been attacked. A body was lying down on the ground, with a smashed spine. The Belarus citizens didn't seem to care-they were either used to this or the corpse had it coming.
"He says he not goin' to be helpin me," stated Sulik. "Then he pull out a gun and try to shoot we and I. Probably drunk."
"Can't be helped. Where's the fanciest building with the most people in it?" Sulik and Trent used their infrared scanners. Belarus was a relatively large town, with several buildings that looked like bars, several more that looked like stores and inns. There was little farmland, but several tunnels that led underground, probably to mines or residential areas of some sort. And there was a building, the likes of which neither tribal had ever seen in their life. In the before times, it would have been called a skyscraper. Now it was just a fifteen story building, roughly five times larger than any building the two had seen before. It was surrounded by a pit of green glowing liquid, undoubtedly radiated.
"Right there," said Sulik, pointing to the skyscraper.
"That's probably the government building. Let's go see who's in there." The two walked off towards the building.
*****
"Let us in," Trent ordered. A group of guards stood in front of a bridge, leading across the moat of radioactive goo. Each of then were well armed, with enough combat shotguns between them to take out several normal humans. Unfortunately, shells would just bounce off powered armor until a few dozen hit and dents began to form. The guard armor was combat armor mk. II, a bit better than the brotherhood armor.
"Do you seek an audience with his majesty?" asked the center guard.
"Yes, we do." The guards stepped aside, clearing the bridge. Sulik and Trent walked across the moat, into the skyscraper. Inside was a lobby, now decorated with guards, security cameras, minigun turrets, and other assorted unpleasant items. If anybody had been around from when the building was first constructed, only the gaurds' armor would seem out of place. For a very long time, Trent and Sulik had had almost no fear of enemies thanks to their armor, weaponry, and skills. But the guards here were, combined, more than enough to kill the two tribals. They stepped carefully up to a large desk.
"Do you have an appointment with our majesty?" asked the receptionist.
"No, we want to see him."
"The king is a very busy man, so if you'll please schedual an apointment.."
"Lady," began Sulik. "We and I both want to get up to the king. So you take we and I up there right now." Sulik raised his super sledge to make a point. Several guards gripped their weaponry tighter, but none acted. Trent put his gun-carying arm down on the desk.
"We don't want to make trouble ma'am, but we need to see the king. Now."
"Um...very well then. Just...just take the elevator up to floor fifteen!" Trent thanked her and the two tribals got onto the elevator. It made it's way slowly up to the top of the building. The door opened, and Sulik & Trent were greated by four plasma riffles pointed to their heads. Several other guards were walking to the elevator, each with a heavy-duty weapon. A large man pushed the gaurds aside and walked up to Trent & Sulik.
"I welcome you to Belarus Towers. I am the good king Smith. Guards, seize them." Before Trent or Sulik could react, several gaurds had pushed them against the wall and were beating them with cattle prods. Any time either one of them tried to struggle or go for their weapons, they found several rods pumping energy into them. The two tribals each fell quickly, completly overwhelmed by surprise and shear numbers.
*****
Vault Dwellers begaun to exit from their respective vaults. Humanity left behind their great caves of iron and steel and began to live life anew. In America, vaults malfunctioned. Things had already gone arwy before the war even started. Survival was almost imposible for Americans, but somehow they managed. With the meager resources their vaults had given them, and the firepower they had to defend themselves, they took back their burnt out country. But those who had dwelt there for so many years already-the neo animals and plants-fought back.
Elsewhere, exitting the vault was a painless operation. After ten years, the populations left the vaults. Armed with GECK's and the skills they learned, vault dwellers elsewhere found survival easy. Their wasteland was tamed with the few commands it took to activate a GECK. For several years, life was hard but good. Then they fought amung themselves for the resources left in the world. The war had refused to die, and tempted the survivors with what little goods remained. From food to animals to ores to humans and everything in between, there were plenty of reasons to continue fighting.
But the civilized ones slowly gave up on the small wars they started. They were more concerned about rebuilding civilization. They fought only to defend themselves, to defend what was theirs. And with what was their's, they built cities. They built governments. They built new civilizations, each a little different from the next one. Slowly, fighting across the other parts of the world besides america died down. But through that period of time, humanity learned several things.
One-they could rebuild civilization. Two-anything in the world was worth fighting for. Three-you should only fight with those who you know to be your enemies. But they still didn't know, on the conscience level at least, who their enemies were. But deep down, they knew. Their enemies were their parent's enemies. The ones who their parents fought against, and nearly destroyed the world to destroy them. Where their parents failed, they would suceed. The new civilizations decided, without consciencely knowing it, to find a way to end the war. By killing the desendants of their ansestor's enemies. All they had to do was find them.
Soon, the course of time would give them the means with which to do it.
*****
Well? Do any of you care to comment? Please? Look, I'm going insane here, my ego is demanding feedback, and I'm all out of soda! So please reply before I pass out onto the keyboard. thank you, and good night.