Fallout RP- Systematic Annihilation

X-Ray Down!

Team Dagger's Vertibird. Call-sign X-ray


The pilot sits in the cockpit of the standard vertibird transport craft. His eyes constantly scanning the instruments, and gages. all as quiet in the craft; only the faint sound of the steel blades beating the air.

The crew, team Dagger, remained silent. two of six were asleep.

Suddenly, a loud crash, and rough shaking. the left side of the craft began to sink.

one of the Crew members fell form his seat, and onto the floor. The team's leader tried to pull the troop back to his seat, but fell, as did the member of the team.

the co-pilot keyed the bird's squawk, and began to shout franticly, as the bird began to lose altitude, plummeting into the horde, that charge below.

"X-ray to dispatch! losing Altitude!" there was a quick pause

"Left engine losing power! I say again! Left engine is losing power!"

The pilot looked over his shoulder.

"Brace for impact!" he shouted.

the fallen steel knight, and team leader pull themselves from the floor, and to seats. quickly, they restrained themselves, with the nylon straps.

In a desperate attempt to offset the imbalance, the pilot killed both engines, and tried to level the craft. The vertibirds glide ratio- being nearly 10:1 (10 feet glide, to 1 foot altitude loss) "We're going to hit! We're gonna hit hard!"

The co-pilot shouted to the pilot "Drop the fuel! Drop the damn fule!"

at that, the pilot complied, releasing the external fuel tanks.

24 miles NORTH of the Den

King Six's autocannons cut a path through the quickly advancing redemption, as did the door-mounted miniguns. the bodies had piled, creating several small corpse barricades that slowed the advancing redemption.

the miniguns thinned the herd, but not nearly enough, as the redemption charged forth, replacing each of the fast movers that were cut down, by ten more. The numbers were uncountable.

The Den

"Wheel left! Wheel left! God-Damnit!" shouted one of the ranking steel knights, as three initiates attempted to critique their current defence, to meet the incoming threat from the north. A wooden waggon was wheeled to the north entrance, the den's first way-point. the waggon, filled with weapons, ammo, grenades, blades, bayonets, and blunt objects. The waggon, pulled by four initiates. There was one like it, being wheeled to the church, which had been stocked with enough ammo, and weapons to hold their own.

Kagel, and stephan had fallowed the wagon from the brotherhood bunker, to the first defend point.

"Fall in!" she shouted.

Stephan layed his weapon and ammo in the wagon, and replaced his 4.5mm SMG for a COLT M16a2 long rifle, and squirreled away asmuch ammo for the weapon as he could carry.

as the knights, and deputon fell in, silence fell over the first point of defence.

"Listen up!" she shouted

"There's been some talk about the attackers hitting this... Fine Town... from the North. This is true. This isn't the bad news. The bad news is, That we have about 75 Minutes to curtail this attack! The Shit news is... We still have the attackers from the south to worry about! Review you're fallback points and strategy with you're Team Leaders. Grab a weapon, and some ammo and get ready to dig in."

"This Is OUR Alamo! We need to make them Bleed for every God-Damn inch!"
 
Departure

The chief technician at the Enclave staging area south of Vault City approached Lt. Colonel Halle Richter. "Ma'am," he said, "she's fully fueled, rearmed, and ready to fly."

"Then so are we," said Richter. "All aboard!" She got into the pilot's seat, and Valice Reins and Rex boarded next. Once they were strapped in, she lifted off. When the vertibird reached a comfortable altitude, she locked the wings into the horizontal position and jetted off to the south, towards the Glow and the Enclave's headquarters.

Valice Reins looked out over the wasteland as it rolled by beneath them. Soon, he thought, all this will be mine. This was just a minor setback. Nothing can stand in the way of Redemption. Our victory is inevitable!

<center>* * *</center>
"Sir, I see light ahead!" said Angus Starkiller as he led the small group through the tunnel.

Benjamin Kent nodded. "I see it too. We're almost out."

"Finally," said Amy, her Hammer at the ready. "I was starting to get claustrophobic in here."

They soon emerged from the mouth of a cave and into a stretch of wastes lit by the midday sun. A quick scan of the area revealed no signs of life. Jack checked their position on his PIPBoy. "We're about six hours north-northeast of Vault City," he said. "We should get back there by evening, though we'll want to steer clear of the city itself. There may be Enclave patrols there."

"Are we still going to be able to pick up Rachel's trail?" asked Stark, worry creasing his brow.

"Don't worry," Amy assured him. "I'm the best there is. The trail may be a day old, and we won't be able to follow it from the start, but we've got a pretty good idea of where they're headed. We'll find them."

"How far did you get on your research for a cure?" Eldon asked Myron.

"Not far enough," he answered. "If I had my lab back, I might be able to come up with something in a few months. Then again, I might not. The half of the cure you guys brought back from Reno didn't help as much as you'd think. It's actually quite similar to the serum I've already developed. I've got no idea what the missing half is or how it's supposed to interact. We're going to need to find it. The FEV angle could be worthwhile too. I've never heard of a super mutant getting infected with Redemption."

"A good thing, too. They can be tough enough under normal circumstances. I can't even begin to imagine what they'd be capable of under Redemption's influence."

"The Brotherhood has advanced research facilities," said Ben. "I'm sure we could get you set up once we reach NCR. Then you'll be able to start producing the serum again, too."

"Let's get a move on," said Amy, pointing to the southwest. "That way." She led the way, the Steel Knights on either side of her.
 
X-Ray down!

Gabe leans against the east wall of the old church, pressed between the muties lips is a hand rolled cigar. the green mutant was prodding the bullet hole, on his left pectoral muscle.

A runner bolted arround the corner, stopping in his tracks. "Redemption are going to hit from the north, in less than an houer!"

"Figures... Enclave folk aren't stupid. We could have anticipated a pencer attack." said the mutant, still proding his bullet wound.

"Wanna get that patched up?"

"Nah- Every time I get something like this patched, another one pops up."

"Al...Alright, Mutie; thats you're choice."

"Besides. Ive grown fond of this 10mm Slug."

The runner continued on his route.

Gabe spoke to his-self

"Wonder where Fraust ran off to."

* * *

24 Miles to the NORTH

King six's cannons were blaizing, the vertibirds orbit had caused countless casualties, but each dead replaced its self multiplicitvly, as more of the redemption stormed on. only a handfull of the redemption had made it past the vertibird, on its route to the Den

"King Six to Dispatch! Requesting additional support! I say again! requesting reliefe! Gun's are about dry! I say again! running out of brass!"

Over the Horde, Vertibird X-Ray

X-ray began to lose altitude faster, and faster. The pilot's last attempt to level the craft had only spaired the craft, gliding only 34 feet above the heads of the redemption.

"Brace for impact!" shouted the pilot, as he killed the electronics, and released the crafts controlls. the nose fell slightly, and the craft fell to the earth.

the landing was incredably rough. the initial impact shatered the cockpit's windshield, and the nose dug into the ground, as the craft glides across the desert terain, losing inertia, and filling the craft with dust, and dirt... and Gore. the craft dug in, like a garden trowl, crushing and smashing the corpse of the redemption that were unfortunate enough to be in the craft's path.

the craft came to a halt, digging in to the ground. a deffelade had streatched nearly 250 feet, smashing countless redemption, buring them under the dirt and debrees.

There was a lull, all that could be herd, was the breathing of the survivers, and the rumbeling outside. Also, the creaking of the still spinning roters. And then, the tapping of footsteps on the carapace of the craft. The co-pilot withdrew his 10mm Automatic, and waited.
he waited for nearly two minutes, to no avail. he lowered his weapon. he sighed, and looked to the pilot. At that, a pair of hands grasped the co-pilot by the flight'suits harness, and yarded him from the craft.

"No!" shouted the pilot, as he unbuckled himself, and crawled through the window, his pistol drawn. This was the last the chrew saw of the pilots. the only sign of what had happened, was two gunshots, and human screaming. The rookie squad was mortified.
 
Stretched Thin

After they finished lunch, Junior Knight Julie Staley led Charley to the caravan that was forming at the gates of Navarro. "When are you set to depart for San Francisco?" she asked.

"About an hour or so, ma'am," said the caravan master.

Julie nodded, then knelt and looked Charley in the eyes. "I'm going to have to leave you here," she said. "I'm due back at my post. These people will take you to San Francisco. You go with them and do what they say." Charley shook his head, his eyes welling up. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to leave you," he said.

"I know, but you have to go. It won't be safe here for you."

"But you're staying."

"I'm a soldier. It's my job to stay here and help defend the base."

"I'll be a soldier too, like you!"

Julie smiled. "You certainly are brave enough. Maybe when you grow up you can be a soldier, but it takes a long time to learn. For now you'll have to go where it's safe."

"But...I'll worry about you..." Charley began to sob.

Julie gave him a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. "Aw, that's really sweet of you. I'll be fine. After this is all over, I'll come to San Francisco and visit you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Julie patted him on the head and stood up. "Goodbye, Charley."

"Bye," said the boy, waving as she walked away. Julie hoped she'd survive to keep her promise.

In the communications center, Initiate Lisa Parks replied to the latest incoming message. "King Six, this is dispatch," she said. "Five more vertibirds launched from here recently bound for the Den. ETA approximately two hours. Over."

"Two hours?!" came the reply. "There might not be anything left by then! The horde will reach the Den less than one hour! Over."

"If they engage their afterburners they might be able to arrive in an hour - but then they won't have enough fuel to get back and they'd be grounded, unable to fly additional sorties later."

"If the Den falls, there won't be a later! We need support now!"

"I'd like to help you, but I'm just an Initiate. I don't have the authority to do anything." She looked around and saw with relief that Julie had just returned from lunch. "Oh, thank God! Ma'am, we've got an urgent situation in the Den!" Lisa filled her in.

"Thanks, Lisa," said Julie. "I'll take it from here." She relieved her, resumed her post, and spoke to King Six. "King Six, this is Junior Knight Julie Staley. I'm going to see if I can authorize the use of afterburners. Hold on, please." She contacted the Brotherhood bunker in NCR again and asked to speak to Lord Paladin Jackson. If she had been any other dispatcher, she probably would not have gotten through, but her mentor was happy to speak to her and she didn't have to wait long.

"What's the situation, Junior Knight?" asked Jackson, wasting no time.

Julie told him. "Sir, if they don't get backup fast the Den is lost. I know we'll lose those birds if they fly at maximum speed. That means they won't be able to do anything to soften up the enemy in the south or defend the Den in four days time when they get hit - and they won't be able to defend Navarro either. But the Den could be ready to repulse them in four days. They're sure not ready now, and if they don't get support right away the Den won't be there in four days, let alone four hours."

"I see. The vertibirds originally based in Navarro are on their way back to refuel and rearm. If we do this, most of them will need to remain as part of the garrison. I'm not certain if your defenses will be adequate even with them, since we don't know what exactly you'll be up against. There's no way to evacuate the Den in time. Even if the vertibirds from San Francisco reach the Den in an hour, it may already be too little or too late. But we've got to try. If the Den falls, its entire population will be infected with Redemption, even the ones that are killed. We've discovered that the virus is capable of animating the bodies of the dead. That's why there are so many of them and why they're so hard to kill." Jackson sighed. "We have no choice. I'll authorize this. Jackson out."

Julie called the vertibirds en route to the Den. "This is Dispatch," she said. "You are to proceed to the Den at maximum possible speed. Lord Paladin Jackson's orders. Over."

"But..." started the lead pilot. "We won't have enough fuel left to return if we do that!"

"We know that. Don't waste time! Increase your airspeed now, and give me a revised ETA. Over."

"Roger that, Dispatch. ETA in fifty-nine minutes. Over and out."

Julie called back King Six. "King Six, this is Dispatch again," she said. "Support is on the way. ETA fifty-nine minutes. Over."

"The Den will be hit before they arrive!"

"I'm sorry, King Six. They're flying at the maximum possible speed and cannot get there any sooner. The Den is going to have to hold out until they do. Dispatch out."
 
153 seconds of slaughter

Vertibird X-ray.

The sporadic screeches of the passing redemption, and the stomping of the booted, and bare feet of the critters on the wings, and carapace of the vertibird had rendered the six member squad to remain still, and silent. One of the initiates reached up, retrieving his rifle from the weapons rack. He slid a magazine into the weapon as quietly as possible. the click of the magazine catching onto the clamping mechanism seemed especially loud, to the squad mates. He slid the bold back, and loaded a 5.56 FMJ round into the chamber. his G36K was locked and loaded. He switched the selector to the top left position. the weapon was then pointed to the cockpit. with one hand, the initiate unclipped his safety restraint, and pulled the harness away, as silently as he could. His efforts were in vain, as the metal clamps hit eachother, clanking. "Lock and load" whispered the squad's leader, retrieving his own weapon- an M4 SOCOM. He fell in suite, loading his rifle, though his rifle made much subtiler noise, the the bolt well lubricated, and clamping mechanism cleaned througherally. he began to back peddle, away from the cock pit, where he was seated back to back with the pilot. one of the initiate's lost his rifle in the crash. This initiate withdrew his combat knife, and 10mm Automatic. The support soldier retrieved his weapon, an M60E4 Squad level automatic rifle. he grinned, as he loaded his weapon. His grim subsided, into his usually blank face. The gunner could easily be considered a brute. his head small, his body large. by no means, was he a thinker. over his shoulder, harnessed to his back was a bolo machete', in a nylon sheath, and on his left pectoral muscle, was a K-Bar fighting knife. a bandoleer of 7.62 NATO belted ammo crossed his chest. he wore but a flack jacket, white T-shirt, and beige fatigues. His skin was darkened, by the sun.

At that, one of the redemption tried to climb into the cockpit, but was met by a barrage of lead. The crackling of automatic fire had nearly cut the offender in half. another tried to crawl through, but was met with a single bullet, de-braining the critter. The other initiates had armed themselves by this time.

"Can we call for evac?" asked one of the initiates, toting a SPAS-12.

"The pilot had our squawk."

"Guess we've gotta find the pilot" said the squad's gunner.

"Pilot's gone, Bo." said one of the initiates

"Guess we've gotta find 'em." stated Bo

"Thats a wonderful god-damn idea, bo! just step outside, and find our radio!" restated the initiate

"Alright." said Bo, standing, walking towards the cockpit

"Bo! Get back here!" shouted the squad leader

"No sir. I'm off to find our pilot."

"Bo, thats an order!"

"Well, I'm disobeying it." said Bo, planting his foot on the control console, while crouching, pushing himself up, and out of the vertibird.

"Fool!" shouted the squad leader.

"Yeah, Screw you too, Sir." said Bo with a smirk. immediately, this was fallowed with gunfire. Bo began to cut everything infront of him down, with his blazing automatic rifle. the weapon had but a hundred round belt, though every round seemed to find a mark. Bo let the weapon swing, reaching to a leather holster, withdrawling a clock-17. He began to peck away at his targets.

Back in the Vertibird

"well.. Bo's a Murder machine." said one of the initiates.

"We've got to back him up." said another initiate, branching a G3A3.

"Damnit! I will not lose my squad to those things!" shouted the squad leader

Outside of the vertibird

Bo dropped his spent 17 round 9x19 magazine, and replaced it with a fresh one. miraculously, he had stopped anything coming at him from getting within 10 feet of him. he squeezed the trigger, the weapon aimed at the head of one of the offenders, reducing it to a bloody nub. "Gotta love hallowpoints!" he yelled to himself. Two redemption quickly rushed him, with the glock in one hand, he quickly dispatched one of the attackers, with his free hand, he reached over his shoulder- and grabbed the bolo machete. with one foul sweep, he had removed the other attacker's left arm. he then took another swipe, effectively removing its other arm. he then pressed the muzzle of his weapon against the critters skull, and put the meat-puppet out of commission. Though behind this attacker was another, who met an untimely end at the blade of a bolo machete. He sheathed the machete, and holstered his pistol, gripping the automatic rifle. He charged up the wing of the vertibird, that acted as a ramp, being buried in the ground. atop of the vertibird, he looked for the corpse of the pilot, whilst using the M60 to hold any of the crazies at bay.

Meanwhile, inside of the vertibird

"listen to that. He's insane" shouted one of the initiates, over the automatic fire.

one of the initiates, inspired by his courage stood, and vaulted towards the cockpit, assaultrifle in hand. he hastily climbed from the cockpit, to the outer carapace of the craft. one of the infected made a quick swipe, through was caught by the fire of bo's automatic rifle. he stood, and with his rifle shouldered, began to take potshots at the redemption, who's attention had been drawn to the vertibird.

the initiates AN-94 spat hot brass to the side, the barrel reciprocating, putting rounds down range. The corpses began to pile, though were quickly being replaced.

"Thanks Bo!" shouted the initiate

"Don't thank me just yet!" shouted Bo, his weapon spitting hot lead, and blue tracers. "This party's gonna get real crowded, real fast!"

"Can you see the pilot?!"

Bo quickly surveyed, spotting a lifeless olive flightsuit. "Think so! Check you're 9!"

The initiate turned counterclockwise, to see an aggressor closing fast. Quickly, he put three holes, and dropped the aggressor.

.... 45 Seconds later

A bloody Bo, and initiate crawl back into the vertibird, bo carrying the pilot's flight harness, and his emergancey radio. he tossed the squawk to the squad leader.

"Thank me later, old man. Get us out of here."

the squad leader powered the squawk up, grabbing the receiver.

"Dispatch, this is Team Dagger Lead. Vertibird X-Ray has suffered a technical failure." The team leader filled dispatch in on their current situation.
 
A Woman's Work is Never Done

This was the worst part of being a dispatcher for Julie, though the fact that she was exhausted wasn't helping either. Her comrades in arms were in harm's way, and she was powerless to do anything to help them directly. If they died, she could do nothing but hear their desperate screams on the radio. Had she been in the field with them...

But she wasn't. Instead she was here, and she had a job to do. "X-Ray, this is Dispatch," she replied. "The vertibirds en route from Navarro are still over fifty minutes out, but I'll forward your coordinates to the ones currently operating in your area. They're likely low on ammo and have problems of their own, but I'm sure they'll do what they can. Over."

Next she contacted King Six and the other vertibirds flying in the airspace near the Den: "This is Navarro Dispatch. Vertibird X-Ray is down, repeat, down. Please lend whatever assistance you are able to." She gave them the downed aircraft's location. "Over."

Julie took a handkerchief from her pocket and mopped her brow. The cloth was drenched in sweat, even though the air conditioner was running at full power. She checked the clock again and saw that she still had a couple of hours left in her second shift. No more double shifts, she thought to herself wearily. As drained as she was, she forced herself to stay focused.
 
Over the Comm -

"Victor Wing to Junior-Knight Juily Staily. En route to X-ray's position. Prepped C-A-S, Over."

"Sabre to Victor. We've got enough umph to get to X-Ray's position in about 12 minutes. We can provide ground support."

"Victor to Dispatch, Victor Wing, and Team Sabre are prepared to provide assistance to team X-Ray, Requesting permission to put knights on the ground, Over."

Another Crackle over the Comm.

"Kagle to Wing Victor, Units King Six, and Sabre. We have in-coming, roughly 20 miles north of the Den. We need all the support we can get. Pull X-Ray out, and blow their vertibird; and return to The Den for assignment, Over."

"King-Six to Kagle. Good to hear you on the line. Requesting re-supply, and re-arm. Our... Recon team has been over-run. All presumed K.I.A"

Kagle Sighed, and keyed the mic "Kagle to King-six... That news saddens me. Return for resupply and rearm. This time we'll send you out with a full payload."

"Roger that, King-Six returning for Rearm."


X-ray vertibird.

The squad leader set the radio on one of the bench seats, and unsaftied his weapon. "Listen up. We've got re-enforcements en-route. We've got to hold the bird."

The radio crackled

"Kagle to Team Dagger, Do you copy?"

The team leader grabbed the radio, and keyed it

"Dagger lead to Kagle, I copy."

"Sabre team and Victor wing are requesting clearance to pull you and you're team out."

"E.T.A?"

"10 to 15 minutes, depending on the Brass."

"Roger."

"You're the best. You're going to be supported by the best of the best. Hang in there, Team Dagger lead"

"Copy that, Dagger out."

At that, one of the redemption tried to climb through the window. this one met the same fate the other three had; two holes in the cranium.

Another tried, and caught one in the throat.
 
Hurry Up and Wait

After getting permission from her superiors, Junior Knight Julie Staley replied to Victor Wing. "Roger that, Victor Wing," she said. "You are cleared to put knights on the ground. Be advised: command believes that those infected with Redemption are capable of activity even after death. The disease animates their corpses, and the corpses of any they infect or kill. Be careful down there. Staley out." She wished she could be there with them, helping rescue their comrades in arms. Instead, all she could do was remain at her post and do her duty. She knew she'd see action, but not for some time yet. In the meantime she busied herself and notified the other crews of what Lord Paladin Jackson had discovered.

<center>* * *</center>
In the command center beneath NCR, Jackson and High Elder Yogi Maxson stood over the computerized map, both frowning as they observed the updates. "It's going to take a miracle to hold the Den," admitted the Lord Paladin.

"Then a miracle we must have," said Yogi. "If the Den falls, swell the enemy's numbers will."

"I know. Navarro's situation just got hairier too. Those vertibirds we've lost...we can't spare them. We're especially going to miss the three aircraft that went rogue now. They're not doing us a lick of good at Vault City, but at the Den they could make a difference. Those soldiers better hope they get killed in battle, because if they don't they'll have to face me. Now we don't have enough air support to go around. If we keep too much at Navarro, the Den will be lost. If we send too much to the Den, Navarro is done for. The fact that we don't know the enemy's full disposition only makes matters worse." Jackson sighed. "I wish I could be out on the battlefield again, but I know this mission of peace is of paramount importance. We can't survive war on yet another front." He knew exactly how his former student felt. "I just feel so helpless. All I can do is wait and see what happens..."
 
OOC: My invisionment of the Redemption was that of the Rage critters from 28 days later. Do you think that 28 days later was traq's inspiration?

I.C.

X-Ray Vertibird.

The team leader reached for the dead pilot's Colt Automatic rifle; and withdrew his Combat knife. The blade was an old marine corps issue; the hilt housed a barrel loop, and a fassening ridge on the shank of the weapon. He slid the knife over the barrel, and fixed the blade to the end of his weapon. He let his SMG swing by its strap, across his chest.

"Bad news, Kids. Intel says these redemption things can re-animate after death. If it don't look dead, It probably isn't. I think our best chance of putting one of the bastards down, is for a clean head-shot. If you're using Armor Piercing rounds, I want you to swap out, as soon as possible. JHP, or Ball."

At that, the CqC instructor removed the magazine of his newly aquired assault rifle. The magazine contained 30 5.56 FMJ, each containing 45 grains of propellant; and 25 of which were brotherhood produced. The instructor pulled back the bolt of the weapon. the chambered round was ejected, and rolled under a seat. The man re-inserted the clip, and pulled back the bolt, and released it. he then removed the mag, and re-procured the lost round. He loaded the round, and replaced the magazine.

"Conserve you're Ammo. Switch'em to single, and aim for the heads. This is easy. Ive' taught you boys everything I know. Time to make me proud. "

"Hey, Sir!" proclaimed Bo.

"Yeah, Initiate?"

"Those thing's numbers are pretty thin, out there. What gives?"

"Well, upon approach, I saw some fairly impassable bluffs, and creiges. I think these things are like water in a stream. Traveling faster through the path of least resistance."

"Souldnt we get to the bluffs?"

"We're perfectly safe here!" shouted an initiate, sitting against the rear wall of the craft's compartment, burnishing an MP9.

"For Now!" shouted Bo.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked the cowering initiate.

"Seems like their probing. What happens when they realize that theirs food in here?" asked bo.

"We won't have to worry about that. we've got brotherhood inbound-"

The initiate was interrupted by loud banging on the side doors, and cockpit doors.

"Shit!" Shouted The cowering initiate, flicking the safety of his weapon to the off position.

"Stey Calm! These bastards won't make it through the doors." the squad leader reassured his team.

"Their going to open this bird like a can of beans!" shouted one of the initiates.

At that, the pilot's door was ripped clean from its hinges. The banging on the side troop doors ceased, as the redemption poured towards the now open pilots door. Two (and a half) redemption made it through the pilots door, a log-jam quickly insued; four redemption clogging the entrance. Though four more quickly poured into the cockpit through the cockpit. one made it through the cockpit, and into the troop compartment, before being gunned down, one fell only inches behind the first; but the other four were caught by Bo's M60E4, and torn to shreds.

"Any one got a Willy-Peat?!" Asked Bo.

"What?!" shouted the increasingly jumpy, and cowardice initiate.

"We can knock these Sons-of-bitches out of commission, without indangering ourselves!"
 
Aftermath

OOC: I hadn't thought of 28 Days Later. It does sound similar in a few ways, but there are also differences. These creatures are under intelligent control, and the ones in 28 Days Later were not (as far as anyone knows, at least). I'm not sure if that movie was Trag's inspiration or not. We could ask him, but he hasn't been on the board in months.

Once the initial attack on the Den is resolved, we can move time forward, but not all at once. We could move things forward to the current evening rather quickly - at that time the group with Jack and Eldon should get back to the area near Vault City and pick up the trail. There are some things I have planned for that (maybe there could be a second wave that attacks the Den from the north at around the same time), but afterwards I don't have anything big in mind until four days afterwards at around sunset, when the main Redemption force is due to hit the Den from the south. Those four days can pass rather quickly, just a few posts per day or less, unless you have something else in mind for that time.

IC:
Lenny led the survivors out of the Vault's medical lab. They had armed themselves with the weapons stripped from the dead and wounded Enclave soldiers. The entry hall was clear, but Lenny frowned when he surveyed the damage. "It'll take a long time to clean this mess up," he said. He examined the entrance to the elevator shaft. The intercom had been destroyed in the blast, and there was no way to use it to communicate with the people trapped at the bottom level of the Vault. "We won't be able to clear this rubble out without help." Lenny turned away from the shaft. "Let's take a look outside."

The ghoul led the way into the airlock, stopping when he caught sight of the two plasma turrets still standing at the entrance. "Hand me a couple more of those pulse grenades," Lenny whispered. Someone handed them to him, and he tossed them at the turrets, destroying both of them. "Okay, follow me."

Lenny and the others cautiously progressed through the tunnel and outside. Vault City lay in ruins. Not one building remained intact after the fierce battle, and the streets were littered with the dead and wounded. "We'd better be careful here," said Lenny. "Stay far away from that destroyed truck. There's still nerve gas in the air, and the wind could blow it around. There may be some of our people still alive out here. Let's get to work."
 
X-Ray Crash site

Orbiting above the crash site, was a Verti-Hawk; Team Sabre's craft. Within the orbiting craft, Team sabre's Ranking officer stood; gripping his remington 870. "Stand!" Shouted the leader. The team obeyed. "Lock 'em Up!" shouted the Team Leader. The Discipline was astonishing, with one singular noise, Each of steal slapping steal, and Brass. "Count Off!" Shouted the Leader.

"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Four!"
"Five!"
"Six!"
"Seven!"

Each of the soldiers sounded off in sequence.

"Guns!" Shouted the Team's Leader

"Sir! Yes Sir!" shouted Number three

"Front and Center!" shouted the Leader. The teams gunner maneuvered his way to the front of the line.

"Open the Door!"

"Sir! Yes Sir!" Said the gunner. He did so; turning, and walking forth, almost mechanically; robotic. he grabbed the red door handle, and turned it. He then kicked the door; breaking the pressure seal. The door flopped, and fell.

"Guns! Extend Boom!"

"Sir! Yes Sir!" shouted Guns, as he opened the boom console located directly left of the door's steel, and rubber frame. Three steel levers, about one inch in length extend. the Gunner pulled the far left of the three. There was a loud series of clicks, and then a Snap.

"Sir! Boom is Non-Responsive! Orders-?!" At that, the craft jolted; jerking to the left. The gunner was jerked from the craft. He was able to catch the door. Hanging from the verti-hawk above the redemption.

"Shit!" shouted the gunner; his weapon dangeling from the red handle; that he had pulled earlier. Another mechanical Jerk, The gunner lost his grip. He fell freely; a 35 foot drop. He hit the ground with a Thud. His comm buzzed

"Guns! You alright down their?!" barked the voice of the Teams Leader

"Sir! I lost my Fire-Arm!"

"Hang tight, There Guns!"

"No Choice!"

At that, The gunner withdrew his handgun. A 10mm Automatic. The gunner began to take potshots, at an approaching attacker. The redemption was dropped; Though he was hit from behind; with enough force to knock him on the ground. Quickly he rolled; only to be bodyslammed by one of the attackers. The attacker was throwing closed fists at the gunners visor; but the BOS Power-Armor took the abuse.

"Hang Tight, Guns!" barked the Radio

Back in the Craft, the team's sniper stood before the threshold of the craft.

"Hold It Steady, Valloton!" shouted the leader, as the sniper took careful aim with his M-24. He held his breath, and his weapon steady. Squeezing the trigger, the redemption's head was de-brained.


* * * Vault City * * *

The Pilot still sit, pinned behind a heavy-duty airconditioning unit, Pinned by two Enclave soldiers. The pilot Switched his FN-FAL to Automatic, and held it above his head, and held the trigger. The weapon blazed, emptying the 20 round clip over he heads of the Enclave Troops. he then dropped the rifle, and opened the steel case, containing the grenade launcher. he opened the breach, and slid a H.E. Grenade into the breach, and closed it. Peaking from the side, he took aim quickly, and squeezed the trigger. The round was a Direct hit. The two Enclave were both severely maimed by the explosion, piercing their protection.
 
Mopping Up

"Over there!" called one of the doctors, pointing to the two badly wounded Enclave soldiers lying on the ground. Since they only had Advanced Power Armor, they were incapable of flight and had been abandoned by their comrades during the retreat. They were also incapable of walking, since one had lost his legs in the explosion and the other had a broken ankle.

They were still capable of fighting, however. The legless one took a plasma grenade from his belt, yanked out the pin, and pulled his arm back in preparation for throwing it. "I see 'em," said Lenny. "Oh, no you don't!" He shot the Enclave soldier in the wrist with his pistol, and the grenade dropped from his crippled hand and rolled to a halt where his legs would have been if he had still had them. He reached desperately for it with his one good arm, but could not get to it.

The grenade detonated, reducing both Enclave soldiers to ash in an instant. Lenny cautiously led the survivors from the medical lab across the battlefield towards the air conditioning unit where the pilot had taken cover. There were no more Enclave soldiers in the immediate area. "You're clear!" called Lenny. "If you're wounded, we can help with that. Our medical lab is still intact and we can get you there."
 
THE NUKA-COLA MAN


"Nuts," was the word that came out of the west Indian descent man's mouth. "Fuckin' nuts. Damn hordes of undead eatin' people, the Enclaves return... what next? A plague of mantis?" He held his hands to the heavens, his right hand securing an old, but very functional Radio. A wattz 2043B to be exact. Made to take hard knocks and appearantly the test of time.

"Yes... Yes, I know their are a bunch of brain eaten sons of a mutie out here," he winced remembering his companion, Hijack. Placing his palm against the speaking end, "No offence, 'Jack."

The mutant chuckled, "None taken, boss." The mutant opened the unloader and began to load the nuka-cola that would be distributed through the wastelands.

"You tell that son of bitch, Cutter that I will be late, 'kay? The wastelands were bad enough before, but now that you factor in thousands of undeaders and Enclave on the prowl --- yes, it is a alot worst." Rama shouted in the hand set. There was a pause and he began again, "Yes, I know... Rain, irradiated hurricanes and all that jazz. Just tell the fat son of a bitch to find his purse. I expect to be paid. If he fuckin' cuts us again...."

Rama balled his fist, "I will end up going back to the merc work. Yes... yes. I know. Okay, let 'em know that Redding is gone. Yes, I will be sure to remember to renew the Shark Club's subscription. Damn it, man. I been doin' this a while, I think... Right, got it." He clicked it off and stowed it away. Pinching his nose, he stood there in thought.

Rama was a man of light brown skin, plaited dread locks and hazel brown eyes, standing at 6'1" and weighing probably 175 lbs. He was muscle and sinew, no fat. He wore faded denim jacket with a white a black t-shirt with a nuka-cola on the front and wore denim jeans and tanker boots. He wore a Desert Eagle on a hip holster and carried a Pancor Jackhammer inside the trick. Expensive piece of hardware, but worth it.

His mutant partner/body guard carried a Wattz 2000 laser rifle. Nothing fancy but it did the work needed, and of course, his chick/lover Hazel carried an AK-112 she fitted with a scope. Expanded magazines and all and she carried an interesting gauntlet that could spring two sets of claws.

"Ready when you are sug'ah," she said from the passanger side.

"Let's ride... damn... why does the world have to fall apart today," he turned the key and got the truck moving, "Today. Why today not next week."

They headed off to the next destination... Vault City.
 
Vault City

Travis dropped the spent mag out of his weapon, and replaced it with a new 20 round mag.

"Coming Out!" shouted Travis, Standing slowly. He set his Grenade launcher on the AC unit, and Keyed his mic.

"Squib, Theo; Alls Clear. Old Man; Think you're clear to land."

The officer buzzed over-head, and barked over the radio- "Roger That. "

Travis looked to his Rescuer's. "Uhh- Hey, Fellas! I'm you're... Rescue Squad!"

- 1.2 KM to the NORTH WEST

"Roger that, Travis. Droppin' Down. Local?"

The radio sounded - "Supply Allotment B, and Maintanance center allie-way"

"Where's Squib?"

"Servent Allotment."

"Roger that. Squib; You alright?"

The radio sounded again. " Think-So..." His transmission was cut short by near by ratteling. " Wait..." Said squib, ending his transmission.

- .5 km to the SOUTH

Squib limped twards the source of the noise, coming from the old Servent allotment building, turned jail house. He entered the building, his .40 Cal. S&W Automatic drawn, the hammer back. the building had been filled with creats reciently; leaving alot of consealed areas. Squib's combat inexperiance had left him vulnrable. He found himself face to face with a knife wielding Unarmoured Enclave Tech. The surprise attack had caused squib to drop one of two pistols; his hands, and arms both holding the tech's knife from plunging into his chest. The tech was surprisingly strong, slowly overpowering the pilot.

The knife was slowly closing on Squib's Soft, Unprotected throat. Squib was pushed against the jail's concrete retaining wall, next to one of three yellow energy-cell forcefields.

Both of the tech's hands on the hilt of the K-Bar Millitary issue combat knife, and both of squib's hands on the Tech's wrists. Squib's eye began to scan the Tech for any weakness; Any immediat vulnrability. His eyes were drawn to a Thermite Grenade; probably intended to disarm any armed implacements that the enclave may have had to overcome. Little did the tech know; that the loosly hanging incidneary device would be his downfall.

Squib had a plan, But no method. The knife coming closer and closer to his throat. Squib summoned every Milli-Lieter of strength he could muster, and pushed the knife to the right. The knife struck the concrete with such force; that it was yarded from the tech's grip. Quickly, Squib reached for the pin of the dangeling thermite grenade, and nearly yarded it. He began his haisty retreat towards the jailhouse door.

The enclave tech looked to the thermite grenade, that began to hiss violently. "No..." He said to his self, Dropping his knife. He franticly tried to remove the grenade; to no avail. The thermite grenade's steel cylendrical casing melted in the man's palm, fuzing the metals, and ignited chemicals to the palm of his hand. The Tech began to yell in pain as his Standard issue uniform began to melt. Within seconds, his entire body was ingulphed in flame.

Squib looked over his shoulder. The Tech was all but still; his eyes open. The man had stopped breathing, his lungs colapsed, due to the heat. He slowly slumped to the ground; Twitching. The wounded pilot reached for his second .40 Cal. Pistol, And aimed for the quickly dieing Tech's cranium, and squeezed the trigger. The All movement Ceased.

Squib keyed his mic, and said with a Grimis "Jail house is Clear. Awaiting assistance."

His radio sounded, with the voice of Travis. " Gotcha. Hang tight, Kid."

OOC. I havent posted for ramsies since the Redding Evac. Sooo... You can Reprocure him; Lets say... He's assleep in the Brotherhood Bunker (The Den... Which is about to be attacked from the north, by Redemption, and then from the south; in 32 houers)
 
18 miles north of The Den.


The truck stalled, then slowed to a stop. The solider in the passenger seat looked around. "What happened?" James flipped a switch then opened the drivers door and stepped out. "Main tank ran empty. I'm transferring fuel from the reserve tank."

"How long will that take?"

"About 20 or so minutes."

"They'll be here by then!"

"Don't worry about it."



5 years ago, classified Enclave research facility.


The scientists looked over their subject, in a liquid filled tube. The tube was labeled "Omega, Beta 8." The last prototype of the FEV, which they codenamed Tabris. The subject was seemingly human, except for the black wings, which was visible over his shoulders, and went down to the man's knees. The man seemed to loose pigment in his hair, which now had a silver-like colour.
"Nuerological activity normal. Ending hibernation."

The tube slowly was cleared of the liquid, then opened. The subject stepped out, looking around. His eyes were completely red except for his black pupils.
"How do you feel, Omega?"

Omega looked around, then behind him.

"...Better than before."

He looked at his fist, then closed and opened it. The scientists around the room smirked at the incredible speed at which he did this, the action taking no more than a sixteenth of a second.

"Much more promising than you're predecessors."

The man looked behind him at the other tubes in the room. All seemed normal, except they were riddled with gunshots, kept in pristine condition by the liquid in the tubes. His eyes rested on one of the tubes.

"...You killed him."

"Either him or us."

Omega stayed silent for a minute, then looked behind him. Soldiers with M-4s were standing at the door. Omega turned around.

"Should have been you." Omega ran toward the scientist then stopped, his wings wrapping around him as the gaurds opened fire. The bullets contacted Omega's wings then dropped to the ground. Omega then dashed across the room at the gaurds, the action taking barely half a second, then on soldier was thrown across the room, his head contacting the wall, shattering 4 vertabrae in his neck and severing his spinal cord. The second gaurd fell to the ground, his head 270 degrees from it's original position. The third gaurd fell to the ground, missing his arms.

Omega turned around, dropping the severed arms which he had just, and quite easily, ripped from the gaurds body.

There were screams from inside the room, then silence. The door slid open and Omega stepped out into the hallway. He turned toward a gargantuan group of enclave soldiers, all of soldiers in the installation. Omega wrapped his wings around him then rushed at the soldiers.

45 seconds later, all 78 soldiers were dead. Omega walked toward the exit, turning and looking into the security room on his way. A scientist making a distress call. The scientist was dead before he even noticed Omega coming for him. Omega then exited the installation, then saw a convoy of enclave vehicles moving toward the installation. Omega crouched then jumped, flapping his wings once, launching him 30 feet into the air. He kept his wings flapping slowly to keep hovering. Then he flew upwards, and away.


19 miles north of The Den.

James sighed, taking off his jacket and shirts. "This part hurts."

The redemption crossed over a dune, seeing a lone person, with black wings hanging down to his knees. The horde then began running as they saw this new victim, and the person ran towards them. The following encounter was nothing short of a bloodbath. After about 5 minutes, Omega stood, covered in blood, dead and dying redemption all around him. He looked to his north. There was a buggy about a mile north. He spoke to himself and smirked, "Enclave..." He began running toward the buggy, the two entities nearing eachother.

Enclave buggy, 19.5 miles north of the Den.

"No sign of them anywhere...What happened to them?"

"Don't know, maybe they move faster then we thought...What's that?"

The soldiers in the buggy looked forward, just in time to see and object shoot into the sky. They looked around for a moment, then were shot from the vehicle suddenly stopping and flipping forward.
The soldiers looked toward their vehicle which was now in the air. Then it stopped, and the side of the vehicle hit the ground, the other side still suspended in air. The vehicle was being held on it's side by a person, with long black wings. One soldier spoke the word, "Omega." Omega smirked then grabbed the other top bar of the buggy, "Smart one." He then threw the buggy at the three soldiers, all three crushed by the weight of the vehicle. Omega walked to the three and looked at them, "I'll say 5 minutes, and by the time that's done, you'll be glad you're dead. And if you ask me, you made a poor career choice."
Omega began to walk away, then a solider said a word, "Why?"

Omega walked back to the buggy and soliders, then looked down at the man who inquired him.
The ground under the man's head gave a bit, then the man's head collapsed, splattering blood all around. Omega looked at the other two soldiers, then laughed, then he was gone.

The Den

The radio was receiving various reports from Vault City, and vertibirds, there was silence for a minute, then a transmission, "The threat from the north has been eliminated."
 
The lad, and the Methuselah

The Den

The munitions cart lay placid, empty. Its weapons, and ammunition were taken by deputon, and steel knight alike. A Methuselah exited Tubby's Tavern. Though Tubby had died years earlier, his sleazy name still live on, in the form of a sleazy tavern.

The Methuselah stood at just over 4 foot tall; his skin strewn by liver-spots; skin drooping. In the Methuselah's right hand was a .357 Revolver. In his left, an old staff; tied to the crown of the staff were various animalian skulls, and bones. This staff labeled the Methuselah as a Shaman, or witch doctor.

An armed deputon, a younger sinewy lad, ageing around 17 or 18, with a darker skin tone. The lad's hair mid length, and dreaded. The lad approached the Methuselah; the boy carrying a COLT .223 Hunting rifle, with an extended magazine.

"Hey, Old timer. Thought you were heading to Arroyo."

"Arroyo... harbors many Demons, young one"

"Demons now?"

"Terrible Demons... Demons that ride the wind... upon mechanical dragonflies... They bring but destruction, Tainting our hovel with sticks of fire."

"God-Damn, Harkunan. You should lay of the Junk."

"Ive seen Arroyo fall, and raise from its own ashes; as the Phoenix. Those of Arroyo aren't that of which they once were. Tainted by the vices and sins of the outside world."

"Whudda'ya talking about?"

"Comprehend, you may not. Fear not though, the closed eyes of you're spiritual infancy will open, Revealing the dullness of the world around you; and illuminated that which is bright- unveiling that which is worth striving for."

"How much Xander root have you been chewin' today?"

"All will reveal its self, young one."

"So... Are you heading out?"

"That I shall not. I will remain here, and fight alongside of yourself."

"You're in no shape to fight, Old man."

"I was not able to fend the demons that took Arroyo... But the spirits of the lost aide me."

"Well.. In that case... Here, Take my rifle."

"That I will not. The weapon is of you're own possession. Mine belonged to many others. Passed down from elder, to elder. It fell into my possession after the demons invaded; on the backs of their beasts of steel. The Elder, taken by the demons with those of our village left me to die."

"What?" asked the Lad. "You were their when the Enclave hit Arroyo?!"

"That I was. I myself tried to slow them; Sacrificing myself to cut the moorings of the bridge. I was bitten by one of the Demons from the sky."

The lad hang on every word that Harkunan say, fallowing intently. "And?"

"The world around me faded to black. I was raised only by the presence of the Chosen One. The Chosen's inquiries Brought little solace upon the young one. Chosen wondered back into the wastes- to find his lost kinship. The world fell to black once again. My life had ended."

"... Harkunan?" Asked the Boy. "How are you here?"

"Awaken, I did- Days later. I called upon the spirits of the gods for aide. I soon found the strength to crawl... and then walk. Eventually I fell upon a Slaver party... of the Den. I was abducted, and taken to the slavers guild... where I nursed myself back to health, using the medicines of nature."

The two were interrupted by another presence. That of Stephan.

"Listen up, guys - You need to find you're designated squad leaders. He'll give further instructions."

The lad nodded, and turned; beginning his search.

"Young Man" said Harkunan.

"Yeah?" asked the Lad.

"May the water you find in the wastes not glow back."

" 'Heh', Same to you- old guy."
 
Contact

OOC: Welcome back, Carib! I always wondered how those Nuka-Cola machines stayed stocked. :) Yes, Ramses is still in the Den, which is about to be attacked from the north. The attack from the south is actually due to occur in about 100 hours, not 32. It is currently early afternoon on the day after the battle at Vault City started.

IC:
"Well met, sonny," said Lenny. "Let's get you patched up." Another doctor and two nurses moved to help bind his ankle and inject him with a couple of stimpaks. "Say, it's a good thing you've got that radio. Some of your buddies are down in the Vault, led by Paladin Garret. We were cut off after we had to blow up the elevator shaft to keep the Enclave out. It'll take us a few days to dig our guys out, but with your help we can get it done faster than we could otherwise."

Travis nodded, then tuned his radio to Garret's frequency and called him. "Good to hear from you!" came Garret's reply. "What's the situation on the surface?"

"This is Lenny here," said the ghoul. "The medical lab and staff are okay, and the Enclave is in retreat. Just a handful of them left here. These flyboys just arrived, and they've got a vertichick coming in for a landing now." He gave the radio back to Travis.

"Excellent," said Garret. "It'll take a long time for us to dig ourselves out, so we should get started now that the threat has passed. With the mutants helping us dig from below, and you guys digging from above, it won't be as bad as it could have been."

"Mutants?" asked Travis. "How did mutants get here?"

"We made 'em," said Lenny, grinning when Travis's eyes bulged. "It was a crazy idea, sure, but boy did it work! The Enclave never saw it coming."

"I didn't think the Brotherhood had the resources to spare to send rescue so soon," said Garret over the radio. "How did they swing that, and how many of you are there?"
 
"...Monica..."

OOC - The distance from Redding to Klameth falls is about 150 (give or take a few) miles, on Highway 97 North. With some simple estimation, you figure that The Den is about 30 miles to the East of Klameth. You're looking at about 170 miles? Redemption are running, if not sprinting. Their bookin' it at about 10-17(+) mph. 100 houers may be a little generous. (Best case scenerio, if they hit flat ground is actually only 23.53 houers, not taking into account terrain) However; If you take into account the wonderfully dry mountanious ridgid region that is Northern California, aided by long periods of drought, and natural errosion, Theirs some pretty impassable terrain, that slaps a good 15+ houers of negotiation time. 100 houers is still quite genorous. The absolutly shitty thing is; you can actually loose time getting from the Redding to The den; bechause of the vally. You wouldnt have to negotiate arround said vally to get to the den, where as you would need to stick to high ground, if you were going to Klameth

Anyhow, Worst case scenario, the redemption would be knocking on The Den's front door in approximately 36 hours. (If the bastards are slow) But, I'm willing to go with the 100 hour estimate. That's just my figures behind the 36 hour thing.

I.C.

Vault City

"Jesus, Kid. Figures you would get the shaft" Said Travis with a Smirk. "You got the worst of it out of the three of us"

"Whuddya' mean?" asked Squib.

"Theo's and my chutes opened; and The old man's lookin' for a place to land. Theo landed on a roof top- Well shit, Speak of the devil."

Theo ran towards the group, his face red, and his grease gun lowered. "Where'd all the pricks in black go?" Asked theo smirking, and panting.

"They hauled ass outta here. Musta seen you commin, Killer." Said Travis, making fun of Theo.

"Would have killed something if they didn't have a fuckin' Ace off the ground."

"Well. Think you're lucky, though- Theo. That M3A1 wouldn't have done shit to an enclave infantrymen."

Travis took Theo's radio off of his pilot suite's cargo webbing.

"the hell, Travis?" asked Theo.

"Need it."

"Why?"

"Troops in the vault."

"Oh."

Travis keys the communicator.

"Paladin Garret? This is Junior Scribe Travis Miller, with Echo Wing. Glad to hear you're in one piece. Two of three vertichicks are scrapped, but We've lost no personnel."

"Good to hear from you, Son. How many assets remain?" asked Garret over the radio

" One Vertichick, Three troops on Ground. One still in the air. Sorry to say, We're all that our garrison could spare."

"I copy that. Junior Scribe, Did the higher-ups sanction the deployment of echo wing?"

"No sir. We're A.W.O.L"

THE DEN

Harkunan took his place, at the northern chainlink finch. The old shamen sat on the gravel, crossing his lets. He lay his staff across his knees, and set his pistol on the outlay of his robe. He then begins to Meditate.

East Exit

Gabe stand against the wall, ashing his Cigar. The messenger speaks

"Is this like the war?" asked the laymen

"War?" asked Gabe

"The... Master's War?"

"I led a squad of 6 other muties. We were a raiding party; mostly going after caravans that wandered too far west. Not a part of my past that I'm too proud of; but- Ive made amends."

"Oh..."

"Had a few runins with Brotherhood 'Scouting' parties. Bastards in Power Armor, with Miniguns. seemed to come out of nowhere."

"You fought Brotherhood?"

"Not a wonderful part of my life."


"So - Was it like this?"

"No. These foe's have no emotion, No fear, no sense of pain, no Fatigue. They never stop." Said gabe, taking another drag off of the Cigar.

"Can't say i've ever seen a cigar smoking Mutie." said the messenger.

"Ive been smoking since the age of 12. Started the day I was old enough to keep watch over Brahmin."

"Oh.."

"My Mom drilled that old 'lung-cancer' wives tail into my head when I started, but my father kept on giving me tobacco money. Guess I don't have to worry about leather-lungs since the mutation thing. "

"Wonder how Charlie's doing" thought Gabe

Navarro Airbase

Charley had sat in the Mess hall for nearly 10 minutes. His stomach full, he found his self restless. He stood, and began to run. his arms flailing. He exited the messhall, and followed the wall, to a patch of weeds and dirt. He followed the patch of dirt to the southeastern wall. He followed the wall to the South eastern AD tower. He stood, cocking his head, stairing at the massive air defense tower.
"Woah." said charley, looking at the massive manned plasma turret. He walked to the steel door, grabbing the door's steel handle, and turned it. He then pulled the heavy door open, summoning all of his strength. "Hullo?" He asked, as he entered the building. A ladder stand in the center of the AD tower. The ladder surrounded by monitors, and an enormous power cell, on the East wall. (15 feet tall, 4.5 feet thick, 7 feet wide) The tower was 35 feet tall, and a a square (15 feet per wall) The ladder stretched 20 feet tall.

Charley approached the ladder, gripped the horizontal steps, and began to climb. The ladder was surprisingly easy for the child to climb. He found his self face to face with a brotherhood squire.

"Hullo" said the young boy.

"what The?" said the AD gunner

"Hi!" said the procotious kid

"You souldnt be in here." Said the sweaty AD gunner, stairing at a blank Radar screen.

"Whuddya doing?" asked the child

"Oh.. Well - I'm manning this antiaircraft weapon."

"What's you're name?" asked charley

"David Epson. You?"

"I'm Charley!"

"Whuddas this button do?" he asked, pointing to a small dipswitch

"Thats not a button. Thats a switch. It sounds an Airraid klaxon."

"Whuts a Klacks-son"

"Its an alarm."

"Oh. Whats this building for?"

"Its a defensive structure for taking down enemy aircraft."

"Oh... Have you ever seen a baby gecko?"

"Nope."

"Where's the dispatch place?"

"Uhh - Building to the south of hanger ... why?"

"Bye" said charly with a smile, as he began his descent down the ladder

Outskirts of New Reno


Outskirts of New Reno

"Hey, Jim" said Skeet.

"Yeah, skeet?" Responded Jim

"Why'd ya think the old fart ran off to?"

"Think the old bastard was just passen through. Can't fuckin' believe you gave him my rotgut" said jim

"You don't need that shit, Jim. Its bad for ya'"

"Whuttya, my mother?"

"Well, god knows she wouldnt want you drinking that motor oil."

"It ain't motor oil."

"Ok, Rubbin' alcahol."

"I aint dead yet."

"Man, Jim - Yer an alchey If I ever did see one."

"The fuck you talkin about, skeet?"

"You sweat liquer, man - Cerosis of the liver's some scairy shit."

"Sorry, man - I havent realy had time to re-evaluate my life for the last... oh say, year-and-a-half." Jim said with condisention

"What do you mean?"

"'The fuck do you think I mean?" shouted Jim, Gripping his Bozaar tightly

"Don't take it out on me, Jim."

"I Didn't ask you to tag along, Skeet."

"Hell, Someones gotta look after you."

"You sould have steyed with Kex, and Stinkey. Kex is too busy hunting wasteland tail to take care of stinkey, and stinkey's half retarded. Always looking for an easy way out."

Skeeter laugs. "Remember that time... That we all were stuck in San Fran, with no money? - And Stinkey tried to hold up one of Lo-Pan's boys with a pair, Claiming it was a grenade?"

Jim begins to laugh. "My god- I remember that vividly. That Pan boy kicked the living shit out of poor ole' stinkey, n' ate his fucking fruit."

"Remember what kex was doing?"

"Tryn' to score." Said Jim, with a smirk

"Got his ass kicked by that young broad."

"She-It. Remember the pickup line? 'Hey baby-' " Jim was cut off

" 'Ive got a weesle in my pocket... wanna see it? ' "

"Poor sonuva bitch didn't make it past 'pocket' before he was on the ground with two broken ribs, and one helluva concussion."

"Think it scaired him off'a asains for life, man." Said skeet.

Jim starts to laugh near-hysterically. "Remember when we pretended to join that fucking cult; The space shuttle freaks, just for a place to sleep... and then we took 1000 bucks worth of electronics?"

Skeet starts to laugh, holding his gut. "Boy; never seen you run faster. Crazy cultists came after you with automatics."

"Man, We traded those electronics to Red, for a couple of 10 mil's, and dropped a couple of those crazy-assholes. "

"Good times, man. good times."

"That was before Bishop killed Monica." Said Jim, Sobering the formerly lighthearted discussion between the two.

"Jim, She's not a good person." Said Skeet

"Yeah. I know." Said Jim

"Killing the Bishops won't bring Monica back." said Skeet

"I know. Its Retrabution."

"wait- Bishop's?"

"Her and that fucking slack-jawwed son of hers. I'm going to take my sweet time with that sunuva-bitch"

"Aint' their other Bishops?"

"I am personally going to wipe the bishop geniology from the face of this planet. That Casino, The Queen-Bitch, The Boy, Her Bodyguards, Even the patrons."

"But their Innocent, Jim. You cant just go arround shootin' innocent people."

"They ain't innocent, Skeet. They patronize a murderious bitch. They Fund her. They sould know the risks of patronizing a murder."

"But... They didn't pull the trigger"

"They funded the pulling of that trigger. Their's an example to be made... and its to be made of them"

"But... they didn't know. They didn't kill Monica."

"They only funded it."

"Ok, Jim. I'll stand by you on this one..."

"No, Skeet. I don't want you involved in this. I want you to head back home, after we get to Reno."

"Why?"

"This is my war. Not you'rs."

"Uhh... oh.. alright, Jim. This is you're war... not mine. "

"Thanks for understanding, Skeet."

"Well, Good luck with this thing, Jim. If you change you're mind, I'll back you to the wall, man."

"Thanks, Skeet... "

The structurs of Reno, coated by the smog incasing the derilicked structures. "10 miles to go, man. Not far now." said Skeet.

"Good. I need to get some damn Rottgut."
 
Strays

OOC- I was going by the time it took to travel between Redding and the Den in Fallout 2, not the real-life distance. I was considering the mountainous terrain, and also the fact that the aerial missions are slowing down the Redemption horde (particularly through leg wounds), which would compensate somewhat for the fact that they don't need rest. The main reason I had wanted this to take 100 hours was so that the New Reno plotline would happen around the same time as the attacks on the Den and Navarro. If you want the Den to be attacked in 36 hours instead (3 days before things start picking up in New Reno), that's fine - that plot will just be on hold until after these are resolved.

IC-
"What?!" roared Garret when Travis admitted that his wing had gone off mission. "Son, I appreciate that you wanted to help us out, but you can't just defy orders and do what you think is best! Do you have any idea how Lord Paladin Jackson is going to react when he gets his hands on you? Where are you supposed to be?"

"Yeah," said Travis. "We've got a pretty good idea. We were ordered to proceed to the Den to help defend against an incoming Redemption attack."

"Damn it all, Miller, you're endangering the Den and our people there by being here! You've already lost two of your three aircraft. The Enclave is in retreat here, but the Den needs your help. We can dig ourselves out without your help, it'll just take a little longer. We have plenty of supplies to tide us over - this is a Vault, after all. Get your asses in your last vertichick and get to the Den ASAP! If you do that and the Den holds, maybe Jackson will go easier on you. Otherwise, you'll be outcasts wandering the wastes. You better not still be here when we get out, is that understood?"

<center>* * *</center>
As Junior Knight Julie Staley sat at her dispatch post directing air traffic around Navarro, she felt something tug at her leg. Looking down, she saw Charley there. "Hi!" he said.

"What are you still doing here, Charley?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be with that caravan?"

"I want to stay with you."

Julie sighed. "I already explained, you can't. There are some bad guys coming here and I don't want you to get hurt."

Charlie started to cry. "I don't want you to get hurt either, Julie."

"Aww." Julie mussed his hair. "Look, I'm a soldier. It's my job to fight. You're a civilian, and it's your job to stay safe."

"I'm not afraid!" The boy pounded his chest. "I want to fight the bad guys too! Bang, bang, zap!"

"When you're bigger, you can be a soldier, but that's going to take some time." She stood up. "Lisa, cover for me again. We're going out to the gates. I just hope that caravan hasn't already left. Come along, Charley." She moved towards the door and beckoned for him to follow.
 
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