Author Note: BN listed me as "Russo", in the finalists list. That is my last name, and consequently is the name shown on the email I submitted the entry with. Crystal City is a real place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_City,_Virginia
In the years prior to the War, the United States Government had been searching fervently for a means to combat the growing threat from China. The development of Power Armor put them worlds ahead of China in terms of combat ability. Units utilizing this equipment would later be deployed on the front lines of Alaska to repel the attempted invasion. While this was going on, a black project would begin in the depths of the Pentagon, that when finished, would show the world the full potential of the coveted Power Armor.
Crystal City would become the focal point in the project. On the surface, the city would remain the same. People could still live in the high rise buildings, travel to and from the city, and continue to shop in the local stores. But beneath the surface, Crystal City would be converted into a full blown vault. Vault-Tec would renovate the entire place, converting shops to living quarters, laboratories, infirmaries, storage rooms and other locales necessary to facilitate the fifty personnel assigned to the project. The lower levels of the Pentagon would also be overhauled for the project and most of them would be totally sealed off until it was complete. Crystal City was selected for its proximity to the Pentagon. It was nestled just west of the Reagan National Airport, and south of the Pentagon. The underground portion was already delved out, and would provide a much faster renovation than constructing a new vault from scratch. The renovation would be less noticeable to those watching too. The US populace was told that the purpose of the Crystal City renovation was to have another facility focusing on a cure for the New Plague. This caused much of the population in the area to leave; that was part of the plan too.
The real purpose was this: to create and utilize an army of machines, merge them with Power Armor, and infuse them with artificial intelligence. A handful of AI computers had already been created at this point, but nothing had been utilized to the degree that the Government wanted. An experimental version of Zax computer was installed in both the Pentagon and Crystal City to run and operate the project. When finished, the machines would be operated with these Zax computers and the US military supremacy would be irrefutable.
With the vault sealed and the project underway, everything was going according to plan. Nuclear war tends to put a damper on things, and in 2077 much of the world was destroyed. The communication link between the Zax computers was damaged severely, rendering the project impossible to continue. It was eventually abandoned.
Two hundred years have passed. With an insatiable lust for technological advancement, the Brotherhood of Steel, having yet to explore the East Coast, decided to launch an expedition to the Pentagon area. Their primary objective was to find the Pentagon and determine if any remnant of technology was left from before the war. Their secondary objective was to find a location suitable as a base of operations if it was determined to be beneficial to the discovery of said technology.
The mission was led by James Mclear. He was a fairly young but reputable Senior Paladin who had earned his status running high risk missions through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. He guided a team of ten Paladins to the D.C. area where, after some initial exploration, they would uncover a vault that would later be determined to be Crystal City. Nothing could have prepared them for what they would find inside.
The door mechanism was inoperable and it had to be forced open. Most of the computer and video terminals were damaged heavily. The lights and the purification systems were all inactive. The occupants suffered a marginally worse fate than the vault: they were all dead. Many had been dismembered with surgical precision, while others were charred as if by energy weapons. The nature of these deaths led McLear to believe it had been an assassination.
Whatever attacked these people had come and gone, but it was obvious that this was a very hostile area. Two scouts were posted at the entrance to keep watch. McLear and the rest of his team explored the vault thoroughly and found more of the same. When they found the Zax terminal, it was in pretty bad shape, but it was still functioning. McLear was successful in downloading much of Zax’s information to a holodisk before it finally gave out. He learned about the history of Crystal City, and its true purpose, about life in the vault before and after the holocaust of 2077, and about life, or the lack thereof, immediately outside Crystal City. The Pentagon had taken two direct hits from nuclear warheads. The roads over the Potomac River into the capitol area were gone. The Potomac itself was now a radiated cesspool. Reagan National Airport had been reduced to rubble. The upper levels of the Pentagon were destroyed, but it was believed that the lower levels had been fortified enough and remained intact. McLear learned nothing of the attack on the vault.
With his objectives completed and detailed in holodisks, McLear made preparations to depart for headquarters and set up camp in the wastes away from Crystal City. They opted not to stay in the vault should the unknown assailants decide to return. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter. James McLear was kidnapped, without warning, in the middle of the night. He was taken so swiftly that the Paladins had no time to react or pursue. After an exchange of conversation, it was decided that three of the ten would return to the Brotherhood with their findings. The other seven would remain and search for McLear.
Despite all of McLear’s findings, and his abduction, the Elders would drag their feet. It took a full year for them to authorize the plan that sent a convoy of five hundred Brotherhood Scribes, Knights and Paladins to Crystal City. At this point, McLear was believed to be long dead, but the potential technology was still irresistible. Crystal City was quickly revamped and fortified into a full military installation.
The Brotherhood began a series of missions into the area surrounding the Pentagon. Initially this just confirmed all that had been discovered from the holodisks. Reports of strange occurrences started to filter in. Lights and sounds associated with large manufacturing processes were seen and heard around the clock. Whatever was down there appeared to be gearing up in response to the Brotherhood’s presence. Radiation levels were through the roof as well. The most shocking report, though, was of human figures clad in Power Armor roaming through the wastes. No one had ever gotten close enough to get hard evidence of the sighting, or to determine who it was, but the report spread quickly through the Brotherhood stationed in Crystal City.
Tensions are high when you come onto the scene. Rumors circulate rapidly and are difficult to suppress. Morale is terrible, communication with headquarters is slow with decisions taking even longer, and casualties have begun to trickle in. Many questions remain unanswered, but one is very pressing: What impact will you have on the situation?
Further thoughts:
After having read the winning entries, I realize an area I didn't cover as well as I'd like was just how long the trip to and from the East Coast would take. A team of 3 paladins making it back alive in any semblance of a reasonable time frame is suspect. I'd have flushed that out more. Hindsight is 20-20 though, and I'm glad I finished where I did. Plus I don't think I'd ever be satisfied with my work. There's always room for improvement.
~Nobuo aka Russo
In the years prior to the War, the United States Government had been searching fervently for a means to combat the growing threat from China. The development of Power Armor put them worlds ahead of China in terms of combat ability. Units utilizing this equipment would later be deployed on the front lines of Alaska to repel the attempted invasion. While this was going on, a black project would begin in the depths of the Pentagon, that when finished, would show the world the full potential of the coveted Power Armor.
Crystal City would become the focal point in the project. On the surface, the city would remain the same. People could still live in the high rise buildings, travel to and from the city, and continue to shop in the local stores. But beneath the surface, Crystal City would be converted into a full blown vault. Vault-Tec would renovate the entire place, converting shops to living quarters, laboratories, infirmaries, storage rooms and other locales necessary to facilitate the fifty personnel assigned to the project. The lower levels of the Pentagon would also be overhauled for the project and most of them would be totally sealed off until it was complete. Crystal City was selected for its proximity to the Pentagon. It was nestled just west of the Reagan National Airport, and south of the Pentagon. The underground portion was already delved out, and would provide a much faster renovation than constructing a new vault from scratch. The renovation would be less noticeable to those watching too. The US populace was told that the purpose of the Crystal City renovation was to have another facility focusing on a cure for the New Plague. This caused much of the population in the area to leave; that was part of the plan too.
The real purpose was this: to create and utilize an army of machines, merge them with Power Armor, and infuse them with artificial intelligence. A handful of AI computers had already been created at this point, but nothing had been utilized to the degree that the Government wanted. An experimental version of Zax computer was installed in both the Pentagon and Crystal City to run and operate the project. When finished, the machines would be operated with these Zax computers and the US military supremacy would be irrefutable.
With the vault sealed and the project underway, everything was going according to plan. Nuclear war tends to put a damper on things, and in 2077 much of the world was destroyed. The communication link between the Zax computers was damaged severely, rendering the project impossible to continue. It was eventually abandoned.
Two hundred years have passed. With an insatiable lust for technological advancement, the Brotherhood of Steel, having yet to explore the East Coast, decided to launch an expedition to the Pentagon area. Their primary objective was to find the Pentagon and determine if any remnant of technology was left from before the war. Their secondary objective was to find a location suitable as a base of operations if it was determined to be beneficial to the discovery of said technology.
The mission was led by James Mclear. He was a fairly young but reputable Senior Paladin who had earned his status running high risk missions through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. He guided a team of ten Paladins to the D.C. area where, after some initial exploration, they would uncover a vault that would later be determined to be Crystal City. Nothing could have prepared them for what they would find inside.
The door mechanism was inoperable and it had to be forced open. Most of the computer and video terminals were damaged heavily. The lights and the purification systems were all inactive. The occupants suffered a marginally worse fate than the vault: they were all dead. Many had been dismembered with surgical precision, while others were charred as if by energy weapons. The nature of these deaths led McLear to believe it had been an assassination.
Whatever attacked these people had come and gone, but it was obvious that this was a very hostile area. Two scouts were posted at the entrance to keep watch. McLear and the rest of his team explored the vault thoroughly and found more of the same. When they found the Zax terminal, it was in pretty bad shape, but it was still functioning. McLear was successful in downloading much of Zax’s information to a holodisk before it finally gave out. He learned about the history of Crystal City, and its true purpose, about life in the vault before and after the holocaust of 2077, and about life, or the lack thereof, immediately outside Crystal City. The Pentagon had taken two direct hits from nuclear warheads. The roads over the Potomac River into the capitol area were gone. The Potomac itself was now a radiated cesspool. Reagan National Airport had been reduced to rubble. The upper levels of the Pentagon were destroyed, but it was believed that the lower levels had been fortified enough and remained intact. McLear learned nothing of the attack on the vault.
With his objectives completed and detailed in holodisks, McLear made preparations to depart for headquarters and set up camp in the wastes away from Crystal City. They opted not to stay in the vault should the unknown assailants decide to return. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter. James McLear was kidnapped, without warning, in the middle of the night. He was taken so swiftly that the Paladins had no time to react or pursue. After an exchange of conversation, it was decided that three of the ten would return to the Brotherhood with their findings. The other seven would remain and search for McLear.
Despite all of McLear’s findings, and his abduction, the Elders would drag their feet. It took a full year for them to authorize the plan that sent a convoy of five hundred Brotherhood Scribes, Knights and Paladins to Crystal City. At this point, McLear was believed to be long dead, but the potential technology was still irresistible. Crystal City was quickly revamped and fortified into a full military installation.
The Brotherhood began a series of missions into the area surrounding the Pentagon. Initially this just confirmed all that had been discovered from the holodisks. Reports of strange occurrences started to filter in. Lights and sounds associated with large manufacturing processes were seen and heard around the clock. Whatever was down there appeared to be gearing up in response to the Brotherhood’s presence. Radiation levels were through the roof as well. The most shocking report, though, was of human figures clad in Power Armor roaming through the wastes. No one had ever gotten close enough to get hard evidence of the sighting, or to determine who it was, but the report spread quickly through the Brotherhood stationed in Crystal City.
Tensions are high when you come onto the scene. Rumors circulate rapidly and are difficult to suppress. Morale is terrible, communication with headquarters is slow with decisions taking even longer, and casualties have begun to trickle in. Many questions remain unanswered, but one is very pressing: What impact will you have on the situation?
Further thoughts:
After having read the winning entries, I realize an area I didn't cover as well as I'd like was just how long the trip to and from the East Coast would take. A team of 3 paladins making it back alive in any semblance of a reasonable time frame is suspect. I'd have flushed that out more. Hindsight is 20-20 though, and I'm glad I finished where I did. Plus I don't think I'd ever be satisfied with my work. There's always room for improvement.
~Nobuo aka Russo
