Fallout RP- Systematic Annihilation

Smitty's shack

The Den : Smitty's Junkyard

Stephan, and Waters had found their way to smitty's shack. The old man remembered the first enclave incursions clearly. Though he hadn't encountered the Enclave; He knew them well enough.

Waters, in his restraints, was forced to sit in the far right corner, facing the door. Across the room, sitting in a wooden chair; having a 10mm Autoloader trained on the man's head.

Smitty sat in a folding aluminum, and nylon chair, next to the door.


The old grease monkey looked to Stephan"So, tis' is one of them enclave boys?"

"Yeah.. He's Enclave. Sarge, and the Mutant wanna keep 'em alive for some-reason."

"Why?" asked Smitty

"No idea. "

There was a pause. the room became quiet, what broke the silence was the sound of the en-route vertibirds, and the ambiant sounds that flooded the shack from the outside world.

The door cracked, and a lanky figure entered. he carried a plate. The figure was clad in a tattered yellow t-shirt, and dirty, ragged long jeans.

"Well hey there, Pete" said Smitty, standing up

"Hi Smitty! Auntie wanted me bring you some break-fast"

"Shucks, Pete, You two are too kind"

"Here you go!" said Simple Pete, handing the plate to Smitty.

"Thanks, Pete. Tell you aunty that I give her my thanks, as well"

"Okey-Doke, Smitty!"

"Alrighty Pete" he said

Pete's eyes had panned across the room; to the Brotherhood soldier, with a 10mm autoloader; trained on a man in a grey jumpsuit.

"Whats goin' on in here, Smitty?"

"Well... Uhh... This.... uhh"

"This, right here, is a very bad man" said Stephan

"Auntie said, that there aint no such thing as bad people" said pete

"This is a very... bad person" said Stephan

"Oh... "

The door swung open again. The paladin entered the shack, which was becoming more crowded by the minute.

"Initiate. Anything happen?"

"Nah - Nothing to report. Our friend aint much of a talker"

"Who's you're friend?" asked pete

"Oh.... Uhh - The bad man. He's not our friend though..." said Stephan

Pete turned around, and Jumped back- seeing the Power-armor clad paladin

"Uhh...Hello" said Kagel

"Hi..." said Pete. "Are... Are... you one of them- Mechano-thingies?"

"Mechano-Thingey?" asked Kagel

"Think he means a Robot" said Smitty

"...No... I'm not a Robot."

"Oh... Well Hi! My name's Pete!" Pete said, with his slack-jawwed grin

"Hello, Pete... "

Pete strained his eyes, trying to read the black stinseled name, on the breast plate that read F. Kagel

"Eff...Eff... Kag..el?" said Pete.

"Yeah F. Kagel"

"Well! Howdy, Eff Kagel!"

"Hi-there, Pete.. Stephan, Birds are en-route; Within ear-shot anyway. We ran into some trouble."

"Trouble" asked stephan

"Yeah - gun-men. The idea of the Brotherhood of Steel stationing forces here. Think we're here to scrap the town."

Meanwhile, outside of the shack.

"Didn't know shit was so Choppy here" said Gabe, looking to Ramsies.

"Shit's always been Choppy in the Den." said Ramsies, looking at Fraust's Hummer.

"But like this?" said gabe.

"How do you know that.. Fraust guy?"

"Fraust? Met the bastard up in Spokehan. Few years ago. This guy's a real piece-of work. "

"pretty far north, Gabe"

"After the Vault Zero conflict, we were disbanded, so - I decided to head back west. I spend nearly 15 years, wondering aimlessly. A couple years back, settled in Brokenhills. I still wonder up, and down the West Coast. "

"Pretty dangerous there, Gabe"

"Nothing that I can't handle. Little radiation never hurt no-body"

"Realy, now?"

"Well - maby some Smooth-skins"



Over the wastes

The officer responded over the Squawk "Roger that, Dispatch. I realize the consequinces that come with Going Rouge. I realize that Jackson will probably have my head. There isn't much of an excuce for my actions; Except - that our brothers, and sisters are in need of assistance. There is time for The Den; but the minutes are ticking away, for our Brothers and Sisters; In VC. Over"

The officer awaited a responce.

"Hey, Theo - Think she's right?" asked the farm boy

"About?"

"Jackson not wantin' to exicute the old man"

"I wouldnt know"
 
Up In Smoke

"Roger that, Wing Echo Two Niner," replied Julie. "Lord Paladin Jackson may be tough, but he's fair. He trained me back when he was just a regular Paladin and I was a lowly Initiate. He has a deep respect for me. If anyone can convince him to go easier on you guys, it's me. Just come back in one piece when this is all over. Uh, over."

"Thanks, Jules," said the old pilot. "You're a real sweet kid. You take care of yourself too. From what I hear you'll have your own hands full with Enclave scum. Over."

"I can handle myself." At least, I hope I can, Julie thought. She brushed her doubts aside. "Good luck again. Dispatch out."

<center>* * *</center>
The Vault's inner airlock door opened, and the super mutants and Steel Knights charged out with a battle cry on their lips. Jex and Grimmy led the way. Two Mark II plasma turrets that had been hastily assembled opened up on them, but Jex shrugged off most of the damage and quickly closed the distance. He and Grimmy each smashed one of the turrets to bits. Then they engaged the Enclave troopers stationed in the entry tunnel.

"Hurry up!" roared Rex. "Get that gas down here!" He stood outside the entrance and fired his deadly Hammer down the tunnel.

The defenders of Vault City fought their way to the exit. A few mutants and two of the Steel Knights fell, but they managed to push the Enclave back and take some of them down in the process. Grimmy spotted a squad of Enclave soldiers and a few technicians unloading two gas canisters from the back of the truck parked nearby. He seized a rocket launcher from the death grip of a downed Enclave soldier and was glad to notice that it was already loaded with an explosive round. He took aim and fired at the canisters.

The rocket streaked across the ruins and struck one of the canisters head on, blasting both of them apart with a huge explosion. The techs from the United States Chemical Corps had no protection against the nerve gas. They did not have armor, and contact with the skin was all that was required for the gas to kill. They died in the most gruesome manner imaginable, as did a wounded Enclave soldier whose Advanced Power Armor had been breached by the explosion. Two more had been killed outright by the blast. The others survived, the airtight seals on their armor keeping the gas out.
 
'Passive' interagation technique

Over the Wastes
"Eta - 15 minutes" Said the older pilot, over the Squawk "I say again - 15 minutes to VC"

"Hey sir!" yelled travis over the shortwave "I Found a Box of Frags. Don't remember loading these things"

"Frags? Hmm." said the officer

"And a 203' n some Bloopers"

"Buckshot?"

"Yeah - Bloopers"

"Valuable ordinance. Alright boys, If you get a Chance, check you're crafts. We' may need every piece of ordinance we can scrounge up" said the officer

"Roger" said the hispanic

"Heh - Those sorry SOB's won't know what hit 'em." said Travis

* * *

The Den : Junkyard

"Stephan... Let me have a word with our Friend" said kagel, walking twards the Ex-Enclave soldier, she reached down, and pulled the man to his feet with a single hand; by his collar. Without complaint, or queston; she pulled the enclave scum out of the shack, and halfway across the junkyard.

"You wanna start talkin'?" she asked.

"About what?" he responded

"You're affiliations with The Enclave"

"I'm just a Grunt. I don't know anything I'm not supposed to"

"Horse shit!" said the paladin, throwing the soldier to the ground

"I don't know anything!" he said, scrambeling.

"Where was you're unit bassed out of?!" said the paladin

"Redding" he said.

"Horse shit!" said the paladin

"I'm serious!" he said

The paladin grasped the pistol-grip of the Mp9 SMG; and flicked the Fire selector from Safe, to AUTO. "Start talkin' "

"About what?!"

"You're affiliations!"

"I have no affiliations! I'm just a ground-pounder!"

"The trigger pull of this weapon is 3 pounds of pressure. I'm applying one. Do you feel like dieing today; Mister Waters?"

"No! I don't have any answers!" he said, kicking his feet, in attempt to put distance beween hisself and the paladin

"Three options. You can tell me what I want to know... or I could shoot you... Or - I can tell those friendly villagers; that you're enclave.. and walk away."

"We were bassed out of redding; Our unit was 15 strong! We were consiterably lightly armed; Brass was pulling us out! We lived in the mines!"

"The mines?"

"Yeah!"

"Interesting... Stey put." the paladin said; turning away- and walking back to the shack.
 
James walked toward the man that was being interrogated, holding one of the black IMI AK-47s. This one had a GP-25 grenade launcher mounted in front of the magazine, and had a scope mounted on the top of the chamber of the weapon. James as usual was unclad above his waist, save his glasses. James stopped, slinging the AK on a strap over his back. James then spoke, "'Ay!" the solider turned toward the voice. James cocked his eyebrow, "You? Weren't you there when it happened?" James shrugged. "That's for later." James walked toward the shack as the solider The soldier squinted at James as James walked toward the shed. The solider was able to make out two verticle straight, but almost invisible discolorations, about from James' shoulderblades to his waist. James walked into the shed, seeing the group. James entered the shack and looked around. He nodded to the simpleton, then spoke to Gabe, "How many men do we have for defense?" James then cracked his neck, "...And I wanna have a discussion with that enclave."
 
Desperate Battle

The Enclave forces engaged the defenders of Vault City. Rex knew that with the nerve gas wasted, he had no choice but to hit them with everything he had. "Press forward!" he ordered. His soldiers pushed the mutants and the Steel Knights back into the tunnel. Once again Garret and his troops covered the mutants' retreat into the Vault. Then they too fell back and Garret sealed the inner airlock door.

"Don't stop now!" shouted Rex. "We can't give them time to regroup and set up more defenses."

Inside the Vault entry hall, one of the Knights looked at her pulse pistol and frowned. "I'm out of ammo!" she said. Garret reached for his pouch to get her some energy cells when the door crumpled under the impact from Rex's Hammer. A second blast knocked what was left of it over completely. The Enclave troopers sent a hail of gunfire streaming through the airlock, and the unlucky Knight was mowed down. The mutants rushed to meet them as they charged into the Vault and attacked the unprepared and outnumbered defenders. Garret moved his squad in front of the entrance to the elevator. They had to hold it at all costs, or their retreat would be cut off.

The mutants, led by Jex and Grimmy, fought hand-to-hand against the Enclave for what seemed like forever but was really just a few minutes. Casualties piled up on both sides. Though they were inflicting a lot of damage, they knew they couldn't hold them back for long at this rate. The Brotherhood supported them with all the fire they could muster, but they were fast running out of ammo. Time was running out as well.
 
Over the Wastes

"ETA - 7 minutes" Said the officer, over the Squawk "I say again, 7 minutes, until VC"

"7 minutes, Eh?" Said the farm boy

"Yeah - 7 minutes" Said Theo.

"Think we stand a chance?" asked the farmboy

"Does that matter?"

"Well - Yeah. If we hope to make it to The Den."

"Unless we find fule, we won't."

"Shit."

"Yeah"


The Den

The enclave soldier was knocked cold; 10 minutes had passed since the incident. He awoke with a massive head-ache, in a small dark room, the only illumination was an LED Cluster light, propped on a wooden table. His arms had been bound to a steel chair. He could feel the cooagulated blood on his fore-head. He looked up, from the table, to the albino, who was silent, The IMI AK was propped against the wall. The stock of the weapon was what had inflicted the head-trauma.
 
Incoming

Lieutenant Colonel Halle Richter sat in the pilot's seat of her vertibird over the rubble that used to be Vault City. Since the fight had moved inside the Vault, the only thing happening outside was the epic combat between her master and Alex Stowes, one that showed no signs of ending any time soon. She checked her radar as she had many times before, but this time there were three red blips approaching from the south at incredible speed.

"My radar's showing three hostiles incoming fast!" Richter reported over the radio. She still didn't trust her radar fully, but she couldn't ignore them. She banked her vertibird around and set an intercept course. Before long she was able to establish visual contact and verify what the aircraft were. They were smaller than the Enclave's vertibirds, and looked exactly like the smaller craft she had engaged the day before. "They're Brotherhood! Don't know if they're here for recon or if they think they can reinforce Vault City. Either way, time for some target practice!"

Richter acquired locks on the vertichicks when they were just a couple of minutes away. The pilots would likely punch out if they were hit, but then they'd be sitting ducks on the ground. "See you in Valhalla!" she shouted, jabbing the red buttons with her thumbs, and a pair of missiles detached from underneath her vertibird's wings and flew towards the approaching Brotherhood aircraft.
 
James was wearing his suit in full, wearing his gloves, his arms folded.
He slowly unfolded his arms and reached into his suit and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
He lit one of the cigarettes and took a long drag. He then looked directly at the soldier, which was shaking slightly.
James sighed and leaned backward, grabbing the AK-47. He slowly stood then raised the AK-47 at the solider.

The last smoking casing fell to the ground. The enclave was still sitting on the chair, which was now splintered, only big enough to support the enclave.

"You shot me in the leg!"

"Talk or it'll be your head."


10 minutes later....


James walked into Smitty's shack, looking at all the occupants.

"Well, here's basically what I got." He paused, pulling out a rolled up piece of paper.

"Not long before the war, doctors began noticing small growths on the shoulderblades of some humans. 30 years after the growth, a specimen by the name of Nicolas Smith was born with an odd defect. He had very small wings, grown in clear vicinity of the shoulderblades, the growth on the shoulderblades is actually the socket for a ball and socket joint. So basically, the Enclave has worked on a FEV that only progresses the subject approximately 150-250 years. I found a picture not too long ago showing what this FEV does."

James set down a black and white photo on a table. The picture was of what looked like an angel, with feathered wings from his shoulderblades down to his knees, and a myriad of gunshots in his chest area.

"So, basically, they have about 150 subjects that have been injected with this FEV. Oh, one more thing. The wings seem to have a makeup not unlike that of kevlar. So basically, the wings can absorb the shock to the point, depending on the point of impact. What I'm pretty much saying is, the Enclave is developing an army of aerial soldiers that are for the most part bulletproof."
 
Over the Wastes

"Heh - Hey old-timer. Look at these little shits!" Said Theo, looking over his shoulder, out of the cockpit.

"I see' em, Theo. Weapons free." said the commanding officer. He then keyed the Squawk

"Dispatch, this is Echo Two - Niner; Engaging Enclave airial assets" he said.

In sequince, the three verti-chicks broke formation, to engage the enclave aircrafts.

* * *

The Den

"You shot me in the Fucking leg!" Yelled the enclave soldier.

"Start talking." said the albino

"I told everything to the Paladin!"

"You're lieing."

"What?!"

"I can see it in you're eyes" said the albino

"You're fucking kidding!"

The albino then took aim at the soldiers other knee-cap, and squeezed the trigger. The soldier let a loud Yelp

"Start talking."

"You fucking Loon! I told everything I know to-"

"Ya' know, If those arent treated in a timely fassion, you may die of blood loss."

"Goddamnit! My detatchment was stationed under redding, we were under-staffed, and under-supplied. I'm a grunt; For fucks sake!"

OOC - you can continue the interogation.
 
Broken Wings

The three vertichicks took evasive action as Richter's missiles came right at them. One of them jettisoned some chaff, and the radar-guided missile that was heading towards it was diverted and detonated harmlessly. Another took a glancing hit from the second missile - smoke billowed from one of its engines as it soared off to the north, losing altitude.

"They're good," said Richter, "but I'm better." The Brotherhood's smaller vertichicks were no match for an Enclave vertibird in a one-on-one dogfight. Three on one presented more of a challenge, but she knew she could even the odds by using her missiles early to take out some of the opposition. She locked onto the two undamaged vertichicks and fired her second pair of missiles. Then, without waiting to see if they would hit, she began to execute an Immelmann in an effort to get behind them and bring her cannons to bear. As she did, she turned on the holodisk player. Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries blasted from the vertibird's loudspeakers.

<center>* * *</center>
"Roger that, Echo Two Niner," Julie Staley told the old pilot. "Good luck. Over." She turned back to the radar. The first of the three vertibirds from San Francisco was ready to land at Navarro, so she gave it clearance. The damaged vertibird coming in from the Den would be here in a few minutes, but there was enough time to get the first vertibird down and off the tarmac before it got there. That wasn't the case for the other two, so she put them in a holding pattern. The vertibird from the Den had to have priority: it was damaged, low on fuel, and had a wounded man aboard. The other pilots would just have to wait.
 
Over the Wastes

"Jesus - Fucking Christ! Look at this Yahoo!" Yelled the farmboy, watching helplessly, as the pilot of the craft rapidly dropped altitude, the craft was about 20 Meters lower than the vertibird. The sudden drop in altitude gave the craft was aided by the quick descent, alloted greater speed.

The officer found himself looking over his soulder, trying to get a visual fix on the bird; to no avail. "Where is this cock-sucker?!" he yelled over the short wave

"Its's on you're 6!" responded the hispanic; Breaking off. He had seen the craft's Immelmen; Identifying the action.

Theo looked up; out of the corner of his cockpit, he could see the bogie. "Bogie's a vertibird! Just a lone one!"

"Fuck! It figures; all this empty space; and we run into a patroll?!" said The farm boy

"Isnt a patroll; They know we're comin'!" shouted theo; puling the craft up

The vertibird fired a short burst, overshooting the officer; He watched as the tracers burned overhead. Quickly, he preformed a Split-S; finding his self heading the opposit direction, about 70 feet below the Bogie.

This gave theo the chance to get a shot in. "Sidewinder Up!!" he shouted over the short-wave; as he launched the AtA missile; at the vertibird.
 
Hard Landing

Halle Richter's instincts kicked in immediately. She pressed the button to release the chaff and executed a barrel roll a split second after detecting the missile. It exploded upon reaching the chaff, the blast wave rocking her vertibird slightly. Both vertichicks had also avoided the missiles she had fired at them. The third, damaged one was heading towards the ruins of Vault City low and fast.

Richter wasted no time in correcting her flight path, finding herself higher and to the east of Theo's vertichick, each of them facing the other. Upon realizing this, she bared her teeth in a feral grin. She maneuvered so that the sun was directly behind her and in the other pilot's eyes, then cut loose with her cannons as soon as she got into range - which at their speeds didn't take long. At the last second, she pulled the stick back hard and began to climb.

<center>* * *</center>
Julie Staley looked out the window at the ground crew, which was quickly guiding the vertibird from San Francisco into a hangar for refuelling so it could depart for the Den. The tarmac was now clear, and not a moment too soon. The damaged vertibird was almost at Navarro. "Schrike, this is Navarro dispatch," she told the pilot. "You are cleared to land. Medical and engineering teams are standing by. Over."
 
"Beautifull!" shouted theo; he grabbed the goggles wrapped arround his head; pulling them over his eyes; the goggles protecting his eyes from the rays of the sun; ajusting themselves to the light level.

"Echo Three - You alright?" the officer asked the hispanic

"I think so - Theres some strange vibrations in the controlls. I'm hightaling it. See you boys on the inside!" Said echo three.

Theo turned his head to the farm-boy. "Enclave pilots like their symphonic music... Think it demoralizes their enemy." He said; turning his head back; finding a clear shot at the enemy. He then engaged the 15.2 auto-cannon. The tracers flew through the air; their yellow glow visable in the daylight.

"Echo Two - Status report!" shouted the officer

"This isnt the time!" the pilot barked

"This prick is good. AmRam's arming!" he shouted over the short wave; as the missile began to lock onto the vertibird's heat signiture



* * *

"Rodger that; Dispatch. Settin' her down" Said schrike; leveling out the craft over the Tarmac. As the craft hovered in place; Schrike looked over his shoulder, at Xi. He was still oblivious to the pain, having been stuffed with Stims, and Buffout. The bandages wrapped arround his leg had bled through. The thin bandaging revieled the outline of the exposed bone. His attention was then drawn to the headless corpse of Leo; the upper portion of his body was covered with a Space Blanket, though his legs, and feet were exposed. He then saw the Shooter; Former paladen Lathow.

"Lathow- You're lucky I havent killed you yet." Schrike said, turning his attention back to the tarmac, as he reduced the power alloted to the turbines

"You wouldn't" he responded

"Jackson will. He'll even pull the trigger; you tretcherous Sonuva-bitch"

"Empty threats"

"Horse Shit"

"Jackson wouldn't have me exicuted."

"He's had men killed for less."

"Jackson won't hear a word of this"

"I could always kill you myself" he said, freeing one hand, and grabing the grip of his Desert Eagle; that was holstered, on his lower left ab.

"You won't. I'm a paliden for christes sake! Thats treason!"

"You're right. I'll do this the legal way."

"What?"

Schrike keyed the squawk. "Dispatch; have an MP Escort ready on the Tarmac."

"They will do nothing to me."

"We have one Ex-Paladin Lathow. He knowingly killed Initiate Leo S. with a high powered rifle; Paladin K. was able to take him down non-leathaly, and we're bringing him in." said schrike

"There is nothing they will do to me!"

"Do you see that headless corpse? You did that. You killed one of our brothers. Jackson will have you're head."
 
Dance of Death; The Prisoner

The warning light on Halle Richter's dashboard lit up, and she instinctively pushed the button to jettison a flare while rolling in the opposite direction. The explosion was too close for comfort, the shock wave buffeting her vertibird but doing no real damage. "Heat seeker this time," she said as she righted her craft. She wouldn't be psyched out. Though until yesterday there had been no true air-to-air battles since the Great War, she had read many historical accounts of air warfare. Too many pilots had lost their birds by pushing the wrong button and dropping a flare when a radar-seeking missile was heading their way or chaff when faced with a heat seeker. She had practiced in the simulator so much she could practically fly in her sleep.

Richter swooped around and made another pass, tracers streaking towards one of the vertichicks. They had fired two missiles, and if they were like the others she had faced they only had two more between them in their loadouts. Once those were expended, both sides would be reduced to guns. These pilots were good, but nowhere near the caliber of the ace who had downed her vertibird the other day. Also, her larger aircraft could take more damage than theirs. All she had to do was dodge the next two missiles, and she couldn't lose.

<center>* * *</center>
Junior Knight Julie Staley sent a squad of MPs out to the tarmac and notified Lord Paladin Jackson about the arriving captive. Once that was done, she stood up and stretched. "I'm going out to meet them too," she said. "Then I'll take an early lunch, seeing as I never had a chance to eat breakfast. Can anyone cover my station?"

"I've got it, ma'am," said Initiate Lisa Parks, taking her seat. The assistant dispatcher was only 17 and had just transferred to Navarro two weeks ago, but she was picking things up quickly.

"Thanks, Lisa." Julie strode outside and walked over to the tarmac, where the vertibird was just setting down. She whistled when she saw the damage. Melvin and the rest of his crew knew their stuff, but even so it would take hours to complete the repairs, not to mention refuelling and reloading. The MPs she had called for jogged up just as the vertibird's door opened. The medics rushed in first and carried Xi out on his stretcher, heading for sickbay. Then Schrike led his prisoner out at gunpoint, where Lathow was taken into custody and frogmarched to the brig.

Before the mechanics hauled the aircraft off to the hangar, one more passenger disembarked: the child Julie had been told about. His mouth gaped as he looked around in wonder at the airbase. He had probably never even seen a vertibird before today. "Welcome to Navarro," said Julie as she approached. She crouched low so that her eyes were level with the boy's, rested her hands on her thighs, and smiled at him. "Hey there, little man. My name's Julie. What's yours?"

The child just stared at her for a few seconds before saying "Charley."

"It's nice to meet you, Charley. Did you enjoy the flight?"

Charley just nodded, then spoke again. "You're pretty."

Julie blushed and grinned wider. "Aw, you're such a sweetie. Are you hungry?" Charley nodded again. "Me too. Let's go get something to eat." She stood up and led him and the pilot south, to the mess hall.

<center>* * *</center>
Lord Paladin Jackson entered the council chamber in the Brotherhood's NCR bunker, where High Elder Yogi Maxson sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Even so, he was very aware of his surroundings and noticed at once that his executive officer was there. "Any news, old friend?" he asked.

"You might say that," said Jackson. He told the High Elder of the latest developments in Navarro.

"Hmm. Another renegade."

"It seems there are more ex-Knights than current ones sometimes. And now Lathow has gone and murdered another of our ever dwindling number. He's too dangerous to live!"

"Our prisoner Lathow is. We do not kill prisoners. It is not our way."

"I know - but there's no need to remind Lathow of that fact. Let him stew for a while. He's being taken to the brig in Navarro, but we certainly can't leave him there."

Yogi nodded. "If the Enclave attacks Navarro and gets their hands on him, no limit there is to the damage he could cause."

"Agreed. Shall we have him shipped to San Francisco? We can't spare the aircraft or the fuel to send him by air, but Navarro's forming a caravan to evacuate the civilian support personnel and the child. Still, I don't like the idea of sticking him on a civilian caravan. Any guards we assigned wouldn't be available for Navarro's defense as well. What about by sea? What naval assets do we have in Navarro?"

"A small fusion-powered patrol boat there is."

"It would take about 36 hours to reach San Fran, and the same amount of time to get back. That's three days in all. It's cutting it close, but the guards we send should be able to return in time with the boat. We'll need it too, in case the Enclave attacks by sea. The sooner it leaves, the sooner it gets back. I'll order it sent at once."
 
Tarmac - Navarro

Schrike looked at the many empty hangers. He had never seen Navarro so empty. He watched Xi being carried away on streatcher back. He fallowed his wounded commerade. This was the first man that had been injured on a flight. But he stopped- and turned arround, looking at his vertibird. Leo still lay headless in the carapace of the craft. This was the first man he had lost on a combat flight. This was his first. He was going to have to yard the corpse out himself. This wasnt the techie's job. He walked twards a long load-out table; that was covered with a black table cloth, atop the cloth were various flasks, filled with cool drinking water. he grabbed one of the flasks, and then fallowed the vertibird.

Vault-City Airspace

"Echo Two- Take evasive action."

"Rodger that, Echo one! Diverting power to engines"

"Echo three here. Somethings wrong with my controlls. The vibrations are getting worse. Advise?"

"Echo Three- I need you to ride it out. There isnt much we can do about it at the moment"

"Rodger that, Echo one."

Theo then exicuted a half-assed Thatch Weave, manuvering infront of, and scissoring Echo one; finding the enemy in his LOS. He frantically tried to manuver the craft, attempting to lead with the cannons, He squeezed off a three second burst- The autocannon blazed; but theo was no marksman
 
Crimson Skies; Lunch Break

A few rounds struck Richter's vertibird, but the damage was only superficial. She banked around and came for Theo's vertichick, firing her cannons on full auto as he made a poor attempt to evade. Round after round ripped through its fuselage, and it broke off and headed north after the other damaged aircraft.

Richter's victory was short-lived, though. In concentrating on one enemy, she had allowed the other one to operate freely. Another Sidewinder came at her from one direction while the third vertichick approached from another angle with its cannons blazing. She barely dumped the chaff in time, but even so the explosion caused her vertibird some structural damage. The cannon fire stitched a line across her port side. The port engine was hit too, and it stalled and died. The vertibird began to spin out of control.

Richter wrestled with the controls, and found herself flying upside-down when she finally got the craft going in a straight line. She worked the throttle and managed to fire up the port engine on the third try, though it was at less than half power. The warning light chose that moment to flash. A heat seeker was incoming, so she ejected a flare and rolled 180 degrees to starboard, righting the vertibird in the process. The last missile detonated harmlessly in the air.

Richter noticed that she was flying over the Enclave's staging area. She would have to set down for more repairs, though the damage wasn't as bad as last time. The portable plasma turrets that surrounded the staging area's perimeter opened up on the pursuing vertichick, forcing it to break off long enough for her to cut her airspeed, hover, and then land.

<center>* * *</center>
Julie saw that the pilot had gone off to see to his fallen comrade, but Charley was still tagging along. For now she'd have to look after him. She led him into the mess hall. Since it was still early for lunch, there wasn't much of a line.

"Do you like brahmin burgers?" Julie asked. Charley nodded, grinning and licking his lips. "Great! Two brahmin burgers, please," she told the cook.

"What are you gonna have?" Charley asked.

Julie laughed. The boy may be small, but he had a big appetite and he had probably missed breakfast as well. "Better make that four brahmin burgers." She was starving too.
 
Navaro

Charly began to george himself on the brahmin burgers. The noise of his chewing was quite obnoxious, but etiquite was no factor in charly's book. He didn't speak, as he scarfed the food before him down.

Meanwhile

The techies went about their business, working as one single minded, well organized cohesive unit, each tasked with one operation at a time, being supervised by one Gunnery Knight. Schrike stepped into the craft, and retrieved the corpse of his downed man. The techies ignored this, going about their business. Schrike carried the headless corpse across the tarmac, and too the morgue.



Over Vault City

"Echo Three, to Echo one" Echo three shouted "I've entered VC Airspace. Shit looks real choppy on my end, Advise"

"Echo Two, to Echo Three" said echo three "Echo one's a little tied up. Keep frosty, and stey evasive, ETA 30 seconds"

Echo one pulled up sharply, sacrificing airspeed for altitude, evading the plasma bolts

"Echo one to team. Threat neutralized. En-route to VC"
 
Last Stand; Food for Thought

Halle Richter called Rex on the vertibird's radio while the techs got to work repairing it yet again. At least this time the damage wasn't as bad. "Rex, this is Valkyrie," she said. "You've got three Brotherhood vertichicks incoming! Two are badly damaged, but one is intact. They got a lucky hit on me and I had to land at the staging area. Over."

Rex heard the message, but he had no time to respond as he was in the middle of the battle raging inside the Vault's entrance. "Let's finish this!" he shouted, rallying his troops. He picked six of the Shinobi out. "You lot, hold our rear! We may have company soon." He only had another couple dozen Shinobi still with him, plus about twenty regular soldiers. The defenders weren't doing any better, and were losing ground besides. The Enclave was getting very close to the elevator.

"Execute the retreat plan!" ordered Garret. The five biggest mutants charged forward and the Knights lay down covering fire while Jex, Grimmy, and the other fifteen remaining mutants got in the elevator. Garret and the last four Knights under his command followed them in, firing as they fell back. There was no room for anyone else. The five mutants were fighting a holding action. There was no retreat for them, and they knew it. The elevator's doors closed behind them, and it descended into the depths of the Vault.

<center>* * *</center>
Julie Staley also devoured her brahmin burgers, though with more table manners. Considering the boy's circumstances, she wasn't going to try to teach them to him. He wasn't talking with his mouth full, at least, though he didn't seem to say much even when he wasn't eating.

After Julie finished her first burger, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and asked Charley: "Have you ever been to San Francisco?"

Charley was well onto his second burger by now, some of the sauce on his face and clothes. He didn't say a word, but just shook his head.

"Well, you're going to be going there next. I think you'll like it. I know you must be tired of all this traveling, but it isn't safe for you to stay here in Navarro. Some very bad folks are on their way."
 
Vault City

"Echo three, to echo wing. I see hard targets in the area." as echo three looked down on the enclave vehicles that littered the streets of vault city

"Echo two, to echo three, roger that, Hard Targets acknowledged. "

"Echo three, to Echo two; Whats you're current position?"

"I've got you're six; Closing on you.."

Echo one began to gain his altitude, watching the plasma bolts fly freely above him, from his sides, and front. The initial volley of fire seemed to dwindle, into a sperattic light hail.

"Echo three, to Echo one; Request weapons free acknowledgment"

"Echo one, to echo wing" Said the officer "Weapons free. I say again - Weapons free, Over"

"Echo two, Acknowledged"

"Echo three, Acknowledged"

At that, Echo three began to drop airspeed, and altitude by reversing thrust, whilst pointing the nose downward. He then was able to begin the first strafing run. The instrumentation, and digital readouts gave echo three the proper information to ajust the shooting path. With accuracy, and swiftness, he squeezed the trigger. The craft's 15.2 miniguns began to blaze, each spitting out over 20 rounds a second; destroying the duce-and-a-half nearly instantly

"Echo three, Echo wing - Taking out hard targets!"

"Acknowledged!"

* * *

The Den

Two initiates stood; stacking old rubber tires; building a temporary barricade, whilst another four initiates, aided by two civilians, toppled an dilapidated automobileal a 45 degree angle, from the barricade.

On the other side of town, a bunker was being constructed with sheets of 2 inch steel, scavenged from the junk yard. Gun ports were being punched out, with a fusion cutter, as the sheets were being welded together, using a setline-oxygen torch, with 3/8ths inch steel rods, to join the sheets.

In the junkyard, cars were pulled from the retaining walls, with chains, and cables. These were the building blocks for a structural defence.

Undisclosed Location - Somewhere in the Den

Kagel entered the small, dark, cold interrogation room. Gripped in her left hand, was a .357 Revolver.

"Start Talking." she said

Waters sighed. His face was bloody, and bruised, his left eye was swollen shut.
"We were stationed under Redding; Deep in the mines" He said, Speaking with a slight lisp, having his front two teeth separated, by the stock of an IMI AK-47.

"The mines? why weren't you found?"

"The mines under redding are extensive. Miners didn't go too awefull far, bechause of a high methane concentration. We stayed down there, for months at a time."

"What about supplies?"

"We used an under-ground water channel as transportation. This particular stream happened to be one of the springs that was a tributary to the Sac. River. We just used the Sacramento River as transit. I never went on a supply run, but Sarge, and Mendoza went. The randevouze with a fusion boat would always be at night..."

"How did you make it back up stream?"

"Zodiac"

"How did you reach the tributary?"

"We didn't. we just entered the mines from an abandoned entrance, about 12 miles south-west of the main entrance."

"What of you're detatchment?"

"KIA"

"What?"

"I killed them."
 
Fire in the Hole

The squad of six Shinobi were deploying another pair of plasma turrets in the tunnel leading to the Vault, these turrets facing the exit. Just as they finished, they heard the truck explode when its fuel tank cooked off.

"Hold your ground!" ordered the squad leader. "If we go out there we'll come under fire from the air. Wait for them to land."

Inside the Vault entrance, the Enclave forces finished off the five mutants who had stayed behind to hold them off while the others descended to the bottom. The young soldier who had tried to charge in earlier pushed the button to summon the elevator, but nothing happened.

"I expected as much," Rex told her. He picked out four Shinobi. "Force the doors open and float down the shaft, then open the hatch to the elevator car from above and drop some grenades in. That will take care of anyone stupid enough to remain inside."

The elite soldiers obeyed with ruthless efficiency. The doors easily gave under their enhanced strength, and they wedged them open and stepped into the elevator shaft, hovering in midair thanks to their Fusion Power Armor's rocket packs. They silently descended the shaft until they reached the roof of the elevator car, which was stopped at the Vault's lowest level. One of them ripped the hatch open, and the other three chucked plasma grenades through it. Then they all took cover.

It did them no good. The detonations triggered high explosives that Valerie had planted earlier in the car and up and down the shaft. A massive fireball shot up the shaft and spilled out into the entryway on the top level, incinerating several hapless soldiers who stood in front of the elevator expectantly. Tons and tons of rubble plunged down the shaft, crushing the remains of the four Shinobi and burying them and the elevator car completely. Rex survived unscathed, as did the rookie soldier.

In one instant, the balance had shifted. Rex now had just one squad of 15 Shinobi left, plus the six holding the rear, and another fifteen regular soldiers. The others had been killed or badly wounded. Rex had the only working Hammer and could dig through the rubble clogging the elevator shaft, but it would take a day or longer. He no longer had enough forces to guarantee victory even if he did it, and that wasn't even considering the initial Brotherhood reinforcements that had just arrived. By the time he got through the debris, more reinforcements could show up as well. Vault City was supposed to be a cakewalk. How could it have turned into such a meat grinder for his troops?
 
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