Fallout RP- Systematic Annihilation

And hell followed with him...

(Been pretty busy, but I will post whenever I am able. I like the way that the NCR stuff is turning out, and how there are teams heading into Redding.)

The dust had settled around the crumbled remains of the stone building that Valice had barreled into with such a staggering amount of force. Buried underneath lay the genetic abomination, his skull helm had been broken off of his face from the ton and a half of stone that had fallen onto him. But he was very much alive.

Valice let go of his emotional grip, a mental grip that took him two decades to nurture, two decades to gain complete control over the 'Redemption' pull towards madness. After 20 years, that grip was released. With a thunderous growl of rage, Valice stood up amidst the stone and concrete causing what looked like a volcano erupting! Stone and concrete flew in the air and to all that fought in Vault city, it seemed as though a sleeping giant had just been stirred, a sleeping giant indeed.

Valice's horrifying features were now visible, with his helmet removed, his bulging orange eyes and teeth chiseled to fine points were hared to miss. Large throbbing veins seemed to cover his face and bald head and his nose was nonexistent, as if he was born without. His bone armor that encased his body was cracked from the weight of the rubble, his veins pulsed in his arms and he picked up the rocket launcher that was always strapped to his back.

Valice brought his stare to the Vault, he was close enough to see the men and women trying desperately to fight off his 'Shinobi' units, and it seemed as though they were slowly thinning them out.
Valice with one arm fired his rocket launcher into the air, the explosion was a curious blue color.

Stark happened to see Valice fire into the air and caught sight of the explosion's color. He immediately went wide eyed and looked to Jack who was unloading two pistols on a 'Shinobi's helmet hoping to get a shot into the visor.

"They are coming!!" Stark yelled.

Jack stopped firing and looked at Stark, and then to Valice who was marching toward's the vault.

Just as sudden as Stark's alarmed vocals cut through the sound of battle, what was left of the outer walls leading into the city from the courtyard was destroyed in several massive explosions. Militia still fighting infected were thrown like rag dolls into the air.

There was a silence amidst the carnage as the armored transports carrying the bulk of their Advance Power Armor soldiers came rolling in over the flaming concrete and steel. Rex sat in the leading truck readying his 'Hammer' negative energy rifle and Mini-gun.

Valice charged, his anger had overtaken him and he had become something even more less than human then he already was. Jack watched the inhuman creature leading the charge of the Enclave, soldiers hopped out of the armored transports and readied plasma rifles and other high powered weapons. The Enclave was putting all of the cards on the table, and they had the better hand...
 
Fighting Retreat

When Valice rushed towards the Vault, Alex intercepted him. The two giants collided with a bone-jarring impact and grappled with each other. The Steel Knights and the Vault City militia put up a valiant fight against the Enclave army, but they were being pushed ever backwards. Amy was able to take out a few enemy soldiers, her AP needles punching through their Advanced Power Armor, but it wasn't enough to seriously dent their numbers. The few remaining laser turrets assisted somewhat, but not enough to stem the advance.

"Fall back!" ordered Valerie. "We must hold the entrance at all costs!"

"We'll cover your retreat if you have to head into the Vault," called Garret. "We'll hold them back as long as we can!"

"Yes, sir!" said Angus, firing his laser rifle at the enemy from long range.

"Not you, Initiate. Kent won't be too happy with me if I get you killed. When the others enter the Vault, you're going with them."

"But, sir-"

"That's an order, Initiate!"

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Eldon leaned intently over his terminal, his fingers racing over the keyboard. "I've hacked into the computers in their vehicles," he said at last. "I can steer them and make their weapons fire on the troopers from behind, but that'll tip our hand. They'll know they've been hacked at that point."

"We may have little choice," said Harold. "If we don't do it, we're dead anyway. At least they won't know for sure how we did it. Maybe they'll suspect sabotage first, or maybe they'll overreact and think we might've cracked their whole encryption system, forcing them to abandon it. Hold off for now, but if things get much hairier out there we'll have to risk it. Let's wait until they're all far away from the vehicles and clustered around the tunnel entrance. Best to hit as many as we can when we do it."

"It looks pretty bad up there."

"I know. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Stand by to seal the Vault door, but wait for my orders. If the Enclave collapses the tunnel entrance, we may be able to slip some people out through the air vents later. The rest of us could survive in the Vault for as long as it takes for help to come dig us out. The Enclave probably wants to breach the Vault just to make sure we're all dead, though."

"Can they do that? That door was designed to withstand a nuclear explosion!"

"Yes, but not a direct hit from one. Still, I don't think they have a nuke. The door will buy us some time at the very least. It would be easier to break through the wall next to the door than the door itself. I just hope they don't think of it."
 
The last stand.

Alex pushed Valice against a building that still stood near the vault. In actuality the building was not supporting itself at all, in fact it was leaning against another building of a much larger size and obviously a stronger foundation.

Valice squeezed Alex's arm with such strength Alex felt pain shoot through his muscles, but he wouldn't let up. Alex pushed him harder knocking the building off of it's balance gained from the other's stability and sending it crumbling down. Valice was now on his back in the rubble, Alex pinning him down and hammering into his chest with his fist. The punching shook the ground around them, causing rubble to bounce and crumble around them.

Jack threw with all the strength in his body a plasma grenade, the weapon landed within a mass of charging Enclave soldiers and detonated almost on impact. The bodies flew in the air and cluttered on top of each other. Killing several but only wounding most, the men that died were nearer the explosion than the others around them. They quickly gained their footing and continued their charge.

The bone armor on Valice's chest had cracked and was broken off, he began picking up pieces of stone from the building and was smashing it into Alex's cranium. The battle was no longer as climactic as it was in the streets, now it was a close quarters brawl. Alex continued his onslaught and Valice; consumed with rage seemed to not care. He persisted in smashing stone into his target which happened to be Alex's skull.

Amy moved over and stood next to Jack, he could see her move close to him through his peripheral vision, thats where he wanted her. Close to him. Feeling her presence gave Jack a boost of morale and he hit closer to his intended targets. He was tired as were they all, but with her next to him he could hit anything. Jack sprayed lead across the battlefield with such determination that those around him felt it. Within seconds the men on the front lines had a boost of morale and all of them were screaming their defiant battle crys loud enough that any gods that still existed in this desolate world would be roused from their sleep. This was their last stand and they stood together with one voice and one goal.... Survival.
 
Rise of the Machines

Eldon rigged up the terminals that had been used to fly the VertiChicks so that they could also be used to control the Enclave's vehicles. The video game controllers were versatile enough, and it was a simple matter to map the controls. There remained one problem, though.

"We don't have enough people to manually control everything," said Eldon, looking around the control center. "Only a few of us have any driving experience as well, and that was a long time ago. Hmm..." He spotted SkyNet at one of the computers, an interface cable connecting the little robot directly to the computer network. "I think I've got it! SkyNet, can you assume simultaneous control of all of the Enclave vehicles and direct them in combat against the Enclave troops?"

"That is well within SkyNet's capabilities," replied the robot.

"Excellent. How are your driving and gunnery skills?"

"My software is strictly top-of-the-line. If it's a machine, I can control it flawlessly, with near-instantaneous reaction time."

"And your tactical programming?"

"I could make Alexander the Great himself cry and beg for his mommy. No mere human is a match for SkyNet on the battlefield."

Eldon looked at Harold. "I think we've got our mechanized unit commander. We should have hooked SkyNet up to the VertiChicks too."

"This plan may just pull our collective butt out of the fire," said Harold. He viewed the battle on the monitors. "It's getting bad.outside. We'll have to try it soon."

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Rex charged into battle, sweeping the field with his minigun and then blasting specific targets with his Hammer. The troops followed him, pushing the beleaguered defenders further back. Many Enclave soldiers fell, but there were plenty more where they came from. Overhead, the Shinobi and Major Richter pounded Vault City's shrinking lines. In the middle of it all, Valice and Alex slugged it out in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

"We've got them on the run!" shouted Rex. "They'll crack any minute now! Pour it on 'em, boys!"

A sudden rumbling filled the air behind the Enclave troops as they closed in on the tunnel entrance. Then waves of bullets raked the Enclave ground troops from the rear, mowing men down like wheat before a thresher.

From her perspective above the battlefield, Richter could see the empty APCs the soldiers had arrived in rolling in an evasive pattern while firing their machine guns on the concentrated masses of troops. "Not again!" she cried, opening a channel to Rex. She knew full well that Valice Reins was beyond reason at this point. "Your transports are under enemy control and attacking you from behind, sir! Our Vertibirds also went a bit haywire right before they went down. They fired on each other when their radar indicated friendlies as hostiles and crashed into the ground because their altitude readings were wrong."

"How?!" roared the mutant. "Never mind, we'll sort it out later. Attention all personnel! Our vehicles have turned hostile! Engage at will!"

The Enclave forces, which just seconds ago had been on the brink of victory, suddenly found themselves under fire from both sides, and their advance stalled. "Yeah!" shouted Stark. "It's asskickin' time!" He raised his plasma rifle and rushed forward, leading his people in a counterattack.
 
"Who Wants to Die young?!"

"Lock an Load!"
Kagel shouted- as she said - the troops retrieved their weapons.
"Thirty Seconds!" Shouted schrike - as they approached the primary LZ. "Jesus! These streets are desolate!"
"Any Contacts?!" Stephan shouted- as he slid a 50 round 4.5 Mag into the G11 "Nothing!" Schrike shouted, over the outside engines.
"All the better..." Xi said- as he fascined the minigun onto his back. "Fifteen Seconds!" Schrike shouted; as kagel opened the sliding side door. As she did so - she moved the Door Gun brackets, into their upper positioning. The black virtibird glided- over the city of redding. Schrike reduced power of propultion, as he did so - inertia began to die. Kagel kicked a thick coil of secured climbing rope out of the Bird - as it did- the nylon rope fell, and unravveled. the 50 foot coil of rope hit the ground, as it did, slack gathered on the ground, resembeling a loose coil.
"Sarg! Why the hell are we doing this?!"
Stephan yelled.

"Who Wants to die young?!"
Kagel Yelled- as she bound from the Bird - freefalling, 23 feet. As she hit the ground with a thud- her knees bent - and arms braised. The Servo moters in the knees took 79.8% of the shock of falling. She quickly looked up - to see Leo sliding down the nylon rope. The Bozaar secured to his left shoulder. He slid to the ground- and quickly took cover behind a derilicked bed, pressed against a galvinized steel wall, his weapon supported by its bipod. He laied flat on his stomach - watching the street before him.
Stephan was the second to ropell. He slid fast, and landed hard- though he did the same, as leo - taking cover behind a 50 gallon drum, facing the opposit direction of leo - his weapon pointed down range. Xi was the last to ropell. as he slid slowly, the rope jerked. The I-loop that secured the rope to the bird had began to twist, under the stress- He stopped- and the line jerked again, he began to slide -though the I loop finally snapped; Xi fell 16 feet, landing at an angle - his left leg snapped, as a twig under the foot of a super-mutant.

Kagel was the first to respond - without words- draging Xi out of the streets, and into the Malimute.
Stephan turned to Leo "XI'S DOWN!"
Leo turned quickly "What?!"
"Xi's Down!"
Leo stood- holding the Bozaar at hip level - as he began to back-pettle, to the malimute. Stephan stood- and walked to the doorway of the casino. As they did- they formed up, arround Xi - as Kagel relayed the events to Schrike.


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Fighting Back; Politics Unusual

The Enclave ground troops took cover in the ruins of Vault City's buildings. Many of them attacked the rogue vehicles, while the rest kept shooting at the charging defenders. One soldier fired a rocket launcher at an APC, striking its treads and immobilizing it just before its machine gun cut him down. But other soldiers lobbed grenades at the crippled transport, permanently taking it out of action.

"Target the ones with heavy weapons first!" ordered Valerie. "We need those vehicles to stay functional as long as possible!"

"Gotcha," said Amy, pointing her rifle another Enclave trooper with a rocket launcher and squinting through the scope. She fired a round into his head, dropping him to his knees. As he fell, his rocket launcher went off and the stray rocket struck a group of Enclave soldiers, tossing them in all directions. By this time Amy had already chambered the next round and found a new target.

One of the members of Easy Company fired his Hammer at an APC as he zoomed past it. The negative energy struck its front machine gun and pulverized the weapon. The vehicle rolled at maximum speed into a small Enclave squad, crushing the men beneath its treads. Before he could line up another shot, Angus hit him in the visor with his laser rifle. Though Fusion Power Armor was normally almost impervious to laser fire, he had struck a weak spot. The blast went right through the visor and into the man's eyes, blinding him. Disoriented, he flew headfirst into the mountain containing the Vault and slid down its slope.

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Congresswoman Pamela Darkwater frowned as she sat in her office in the back room of Darkwater's General Store in Junktown, reading the letter. With each line she read, her frown deepened. "This is the height of foolishness!" she protested. "What do they think they're doing in NCR?"

Captain Tycho, the Congresswoman's head bodyguard and descendant of the Vault Dweller's faithful companion of the same name, cracked a smile. "What political misadventure have your colleagues embarked on this time?" he asked.

"This is serious! They're planning on raising an army! Don't they knew what'll happen?"

"I've heard a rumor about that, but I don't know the details."

"Well I do. They're all in here." Pamela waved the letter. "Just look at the text of the proposed Army Creation Act! It's like they're trying to provoke a civil war!"

Tycho skimmed the letter. "It does seem rather ill-advised."

"To say the least! If this passes, there will be secession and war for certain. What I don't understand is why Vice President Considine is backing this bill. He's always shown great acumen and has done good things for us in the past. He was the one who stepped up and whipped Congress into action to do something about the Water Merchants when they took over Junktown briefly ten years ago, back when I was mayor."

"Well, the man is nothing if not bold."

"Bold is not the word to describe this proposal. Radical is more accurate. Foolhardy too. I must lead the opposition and write my colleagues to convince them to join me when it comes to a vote."

"The vote would require traveling to the capital. Here in Junktown we can protect you well, but out there...there are many people who want you dead."

"We have no choice. We'll take whatever precautions are necessary. There's a caravan heading out to NCR next week. We'll leave then."
 
The big ouch, and Mercs of the wastes...

Rex fired several shots of his 'Hammer' rifle into one of the APC's causing severe damage to the outer armor, but not enough to stop it in it's tracks. Rex looked over to an Enclave trooper holding a rocket launcher.

"Hey, you!" Rex got the trooper's attention. "Fire on the APC, it's getting too close to our position!" The trooper nodded in acknowledgement and aimed the launcher. Before getting off the shot a laser blast seared through his visor and dropped him, but not before he pulled the firing trigger. Although the rocket fired, it went off in completely the wrong direction and hit Alex and Valice who were on the ground beating each other to a pulp. The two titans were thrown off in two random directions, Valice slamming into the rockface causing large broken rocks to crash down upon him. Alex flew off and skidded across the ground away from the Vault, the sheer force of his landing cracked the ground around him and he rolled off a little farther before coming to a stop, straining to stay conscious.

Rex shook his head and began firing his mini gun in the direction of the sniper who was behind sandbags in front of the Vault. The sniper wasn't hit but several people were dropped from the sudden spray of ammunition.

Outside Vault city, atop a familiar cliff lay three people, two male and one female, they lay on the cliff observing the battle staying low as to not call attention to themselves.

"Holy shit, its a fuckin' massacre down there!" One man said, he had a patch over one eye and seemed to be missing an ear. His short black mohawk waved in the wasteland wind.

"We wait until the ranks thin out a bit more, then we go in and look for her. Bishop's paying big for Rachel ALIVE!" The other man said. He had short black hair and wore battered combat armor that looked as though it had been scavenged from some battlefield and it's previous owner had had an unfortunate accident with a grenade.

"Alive? I thought Bishop didn't care?" The man with the mohawk asked. The woman just sat and listened quietly, her long red hair whipping in the wind.

"NO! Alive, no shooting, no stabbing," The short haired man looked to the woman, "And NO DESENTIGRATIONS!" The woman shook her head with a hint of sadness on her face.

The three watched the battle through binoculars waiting for the appropriate time, and looking for their mark- Rachel Wright.
 
Ramses the Ranger watched over the boy who stared nervously from him and the direction the mutant Gabe was. "Do not fear my child. I will protect you till Gabe returns."

The sling balanced the M-8 Carbine so he could fire at a sustained rate of fire with little or no muzzle climb.

In the distance he could hear the barrels of the Vindicator whirl as it unleashed a hail of caseless round death. The inbfection that was tearing through the wastes was spreading. Half way to an abandoned building, Ramses was greeted by two infected which he laid low with controlled low burst. They needed high ground to hold off the infected men and women that romaed the streets.
 
Insubordination!

Gabe Rumbled - The hard clumps of cracked dust crumbled from their simi-solid form, into dust with each footstep. His eyes were red - a blue vain was visable below his green skin, on his temple -as were the vains on his neck. He had no goal in-particular; just the destruction of the abominations that were the infected. His trance of distruction was shattered by voices. The crackled voices of those in power-armor - That which sounded snuffed, and crackled- compaired to ones natural voice, though clearer- and sharper than that of a hand radio. He listened- the voices came from a small hoovervillesque structure -constructed out of galvinized stamped steel, and old wooden railroad ties, and old construction beams. He crouched- with his back against the wall, he crept along the rusted outer wall - he came to a window; as smoothly as he could- he peeked thru the dust-frosted window. He saw four figures; clad in black Advanced Power-armor. "Enclave" he thought- as he crawled on his stomach under the window- approaching the wooden door. The door was open. He then sat quietly- and listened to the conversation

"All those people? This... This isnt right"
the youngest sounding of the squad said- a higher strung male said
"Jesus Christ! You sympathise with these mutants?!"
said another, stern voiced male
"No- I... I just dont think this is right."
said the young one
"These people are abominations!"
was said by another harsh voiced male
"Jesus... Thats Treason!"
said the stern male
"No! no- its not!"
exclaimed the young soldier
"Yes- Treasonous Swine!"
said the stern voiced man
"Wait!"
said the young soldier
"Remove your helmat!"
said the harsh voiced man
"What?!"
said the young one
"Remove your helmat!"
ordered the harsh voiced male
"But sir!"
said the young one
"Do It Now!"
ordered the harsh voiced male
"Listen! All Im saying is that -"
as the young soldier was cut off
"Remove your helmat! Thats an order!"
ordered the harsh voiced male
"But-"
responded the young one
"This is insubordination and Treason! Remove your helmat!"
yelled the harsh voiced male
(Weapons cocked - racked- safties off - ratteling of ammunation - ect)

"Sir... I will not remove my helmat..."
the young one responded - in an insubordanate tone -
"Do It now! "
yelled the harsh voiced male
"What... your going to shoot me?"
said the young one in an irate tone
"Remove the helmat!"
squaked the harsh voiced male
"or?"
questioned the young soldier
" Son - You think I'm affraid to shoot you where you stand?"
questioned the enclave soldier
"Isnt that the point of me removing my helm?!"
asked the young soldier
"Do it now!"
shouted the enclave soldier

"Insubordination? Insubord-a-fuckin-nation?! You Expect me to have a fucking smile on my face?! When the creation of my organization kills innocents?!"

"THESE THINGS ARE ABOMINATIONS!"

"THEIR MEN! WOMAN! AND CHILDREN! Cant you see that?"

"Listen up - Junior Son-of-a-bitch - This is your first patroll... Im willing to let this slide- if you take- your damn helmat off...."

Gabe peers arround the corner - the young man reaches slowly for his plasma pistol- quickly drawing it- and pressing it firmly against the armor's weak spot- the polymer/ rubber neck brace

"Fuck you sarg-"

As this happened- every gun - except for the sarges- was aimed at the armor clad young man.

"Think' Im affraid to die; sarg? After the shit I saw today? I'm ready - the question is- Are you ready to die?"

"Drop the weapon now!"
sarg barked

"Oh? so I can get lit-up? - Might as well take a murder with me!"

"Come-on - you know you dont want to pull the trigger, son"

"Oh?! Dont I?!"

"We can work this out!"

"oh! You want to negotiate now? Now that your live is hanging in the balance? You want to reason with me now?"

"You dont want to kill me... you know that"

"Where was your reasioning forty-five seconds ago?!"

"this makes you one of them - son - you know that- right?"

"Fully - fuckin- awair"

"So say it- You side with those mutated sacks of flesh"

"I Side with the people..."

At this point- gabe had readied his weapon- The situation was hot- he could easly gat the drop on the enclave with the insubordanate soldier; at this point- he was prepared to side with the young human.

"So...do we dust him?"
asked one of the other squad-mates

Before the officer could answer- the young one had pulled the trigger- sending a super-heated bolt of plasma thru the polymer/ruber brace- the brace could take a plasma bolt from a distance- though at point-blank - it didnt stand a chance- the plasma burned thru the mans asophagus- and then severed his spinal cord, before fizzling out, Quickly- Gabe turned the corner with the vindicator minigun - unleashing hell on the other two squad mates, that were standing side-by side. the 4.5 bullets could bairly penitrate the armor- though - after about 20 rounds- they got far enough. The first soldier slumped to the ground, not dead, but his toreso suffered great trauma -the second had time to rais his weapon - a turbo plasma rifle- a bolt of super-heated plasma passed thru the door- nearly hitting gabe- though at this time- the young soldier had turned the weapon on the remaining squad mate- pulling the trigger- the plasma singed the armor- as he squeezed the trigger again - it singed deeper. He pulled the trigger again - penitrating the armor. gabe had then succeeded in cranking off a "Short" burst of 34 rounds into the hostile soldier's torso. the second man slumped to the floor- the crackeled noise of his breathing still was audiable, though was cut short- when the young soldier pressed the muzzle of the plasma pistol to the back of the soldier's neck - and pulled the trigger- ending his life. Quickly- the gun was turned on the super-mutant- as was the super-mutant's minigun - on the soldier.

Gabe's voice crackled
"Insubordination?"

"Insubordination"
the young man replied

"so... you waisted your officer?"

"Get to the chase- are you gonna smoke me- or not?!"

"well - Holster your weapon.."

"I...I dont think so..."

"I'm not going to shoot an unarmed man... Holster your weapon"

reluctantly- the young ex-enclave soldier complied. as he did- gabe lowered his minigun

"so... your... not going to kill me?"

"No."

"But- Im enclave"

"No your not..."

As he said that- he bent over, to the first soldier's corpse- he was armed with a G11. Gabe greedally snatched up his 300 rnds of ammunition - including the 50 still in the weapon.

"Why did you help me?"

"Those three- needed to be greesed..."
 
The Abduction of Rachel Wright

The battle raged on, and the counteroffensive stalled due to lack of manpower more than anything else. There simply weren't enough defenders left to hold any more ground they would have taken. The Enclave ground troops were still taking heavy casualties, and though they had taken out a few APCs, the fight was far from over.

On the cliff overlooking what was left of Vault City, the three mercenaries scanned the battlefield intently. "I just can't see Rachel anywhere," said the redhead. "I've searched the whole area three times."

"Maybe she's already been killed," said the man with the mohawk.

"You better hope not," said the short-haired man, "or we've wasted a trip."

"I don't think she's dead," said the woman. "Rachel Wright's a survivor. If she's not out here, she must be inside the Vault. Still, from what I know of her, she'd be out here fighting if she could."

"Well, we'd better make our move pretty soon or the Vault entrance will be sealed and we won't be able to get in...or back out."

"Won't they be suspicious if we just walk in?" asked the mohawk man.

"Yeah, but I've got a plan. I've noticed that when someone gets wounded, they carry them inside the Vault. We'll assemble a makeshift stretcher and we'll bring you in on it. I doubt anyone will interfere with us. Rachel may have been injured too, which would explain why she's inside instead of out here."

"What happens if they take a close look at him and see that he isn't really injured?" asked the woman.

"Relax. I've got it covered." He pressed the barrel of his grease gun to the other man's thigh and fired a single shot.

"Auggghhh!!!" he screamed, falling on his butt. The woman smirked. "You shot me! What the hell is wrong with you, man?! Sonuva..."

"Now you can pass inspection. Problem solved."

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Rachel Wright sat up in her bed in the medical lab and swung her legs over the side. After taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up.

"Hey," said Lenny, coming over, "you shouldn't be walking around yet!"

"I'm fine," said Rachel, swinging her arms. "I need to get back into the action." She took a few steps towards the footlocker beside the bed where her weapons and combat armor were stored, but her legs weakened and she had to sit down on the edge of the bed again.

"I think you'd better give it a little while longer."

"Maybe you're right, ghoulie." Rachel slid back into bed again.

The mercs entered the medical lab, which was packed with people, carrying the wounded man on a stretcher. A nurse hurried over to them. "That looks nasty," she said. "Set him down over there. I'll be with him in a minute." She pointed to the only remaining empty "bed," which was nothing more than a large ammo crate with a sheet draped over it.

The man and the woman placed the stretcher beside the improvised bed and placed their injured comrade on it. All of them saw Rachel across the room and smiled at each other. The man in combat armor looked around, then tapped the woman on the shoulder and gestured at a canister of nitrous oxide used as anesthesia and a tray containing two hypos full of sedatives. She nodded and surreptitiously swiped them and concealed them in her pack.

The nurse arrived as promised. "What are you two still standing around here for?" she said. "We need you out there! I'll take care of your friend."

"Right," said the man.

"Wait!" cried the new patient. "You're just gonna leave me here?"

"You'll be fine. Trust me." The merc leader and the woman exited the lab, and the door slid shut after them. The two Vault City guards they had passed on the way in stood in front of them, their backs to them.

The man curled his fingers and pressed his thumb down on an imaginary plunger. The woman took out the syringes and handed one to him. They each stepped up behind a guard, grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth, and injected the sedatives into his neck. The guards struggled for a few seconds, but then they went limp.

"Quick," he whispered, "we don't have much time. Put on your mask and give me the tank." The two of them put gas masks on, and the woman handed him the stolen nitrous oxide canister. He went to the air vent near the door to the medical lab. He knew from the Vault schematics he had reviewed that it fed right into the lab. "Sweet dreams, Rachel."

Inside the medical lab, the nurse had cut away the wounded merc's pants and was examining the wound. "That looks like a .45 slug," she said. Her brow crinkled in puzzlement. "This was made at point-blank range!"

"Yeah," he said, "uh...my buddy shot me." The nurse tried to stifle a giggle, but failed. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." She involuntarily laughed again. "What's wrong with me?"

"When I get outta here, I'm gonna wring his neck!" The merc with the mohawk laughed too, then scratched his head. The laughter seemed to be contagious, spreading throughout the lab.

"Whoa, I feel dizzy." The nurse guffawed hard, then fainted on the floor.

Rachel sat up, holding her sides as she chuckled. She knew something was very wrong, but there was little she could do. All over the lab, people were collapsing in fits of laughter. She tried to get out of bed, but her muscles wouldn't respond. Then she fell back onto the bed. Her eyelids slid shut and she too passed out.

The door slid open a minute later and the two mercs in gas masks came back into the lab full of sleeping people, dragging the unconscious guards. Even Benjamin Kent had succumbed to the laughing gas, as he hadn't been wearing his Power Armor helmet with the air filters. After the door shut, they dropped the guards on the floor and made right for Rachel's bed. The man ran his eyes over Rachel's body as she slept in her revealing hospital gown. "Man, is she sexy!" He stroked her long blonde hair.

"Keep it in your pants, partner," said the woman. "Bishop's instructions were quite specific. Rachel is not to be molested in any way."

"Yeah, I know. Not sure why she cares, though."

"The rumor is her boy Johnny's got the hots for Rachel."

"Ah, that explains a lot of things. Can't say I blame him. If it were up to me, I'd do her in a heartbeat." He took out a roll of duct tape. "We don't want any nasty surprises when she comes to. Rachel may be short, but I hear she's quite a scrapper." He tore off a piece and taped her mouth shut. Next he rolled her onto her stomach, placed her arms behind her back, and tightly bound her wrists together, looping the duct tape around them several times. He did the same to her ankles. Finally, he wrapped Rachel in tape, winding one long piece around her legs, then her hips, her torso, and at last her shoulders.

"Well, we've got her now. How do we got her out of here?"

The man looked around the lab again. "I've got an idea!" He went over to his sleeping partner and rolled him onto the floor. Then he whipped the sheet off, tossed it aside, and opened the empty ammo crate. He went back to Rachel, and he and his partner carried her to the crate and placed her inside on her back.

"What about him?" asked the woman, pointing at their snoozing partner.

"Leave him here. It's his own damn fault for not putting on his mask. We don't have time to wake him up. We can't carry both him and Rachel, and she's worth a lot more than he is. Ten thousand divides much better two ways than three as well. Besides, with his leg wound he'd only slow us down."

"What if he talks, though? Can I kill him?" Her eyes lit up.

"No, it's not worth the bother. Let him talk if he wants. You saw that army outside. Vault City is dead, and if he doesn't get out he'll die with it."

The woman frowned. "This is the biggest battle since the Great War, and I don't get to kill anything."

They shut the lid, lifted the crate, and walked back into the corridor, which was still deserted. Once they were safely there and the door was closed again, they put the crate down for a second, removed and stowed their gas masks, and took the crate up again.

The mercs carried Rachel out through the Vault door inside the ammo crate right past another pair of guards, who took no particular notice of them. As they walked down the tunnel, the woman whispered, "That was too easy."

When they emerged from the cave she regretted having opened her mouth. Sergeant Stark walked right up to them. "Oh, good," he said. "We need more ammo. Put it down over there."
 
Ramses hated waiting like some bird in the cage as the city around them was tearing itself apart with the madness of the infected. The screams, the inhuman growling, it was tearing at his nerves. Not because of fear but because he wanted to take them down, he wanted to lay a few of them low. Now if he was on his own time he could go about and do so, and in the process loot the town, but because of the young charge, well Ramses had to be careful. After all the Ranger had given his word and word was bond to him.

He checked his gear and found he had a few pineapple fragmentation grenades along with some home made pipebombs.

"Where is Gabe?" The boy asked, "Do you know mis'ta?"

"I don't know. But he should be back very soon." Ramses kept an eye on the door that led to thelower floors and awaited any incoming infected. Inbetween his sentry duties, he threw the child an MRE bar. Food would keep the boy from getting too curious and it would also restore whatever nutrients he may have lost during the episode.

There was growling and some more screaming and Ramses held his breath and steadied himself, switching the assault rifle to controlled triple burst.
 
Jack gets medival.

Several Enclave soldiers were coming in close to the sandbag surounded entrance to the vault. Jack was quickly running out of ammunition and Amy was quickly approaching the same problem. As the soldiers approached Jack knew that he would not be able to take them out with his current ammo reserves. He then quickly drew his makeshift sword and began slicing at the neck area of the armored soldiers.

In a quick transition from ranged combat to melee, the Enclave soldiers had retrieved what looked like cattle prods and began fighting back against Jack who had jumped over the safety of the sandbags to meet the intruders.

Jack ducked under one wide slash and parried another from his right side, Jack was trying to find any other weak points in which his blade could cleave, but the joints were too small of targets for him to strike dead on while he was dodging and parrying the five attackers.

Amy was helping her new love, she fired at the arms of the attackers as they swung their cattle prods causing the target to lose his balance and give an opening for Jack.

Jack jump kicked one such target and knocked him off balance, diving over a low attack from one of the other soldiers he landed on top of the down trooper and began stabbing downward at the man's neck. He stabbed just hard enough to penetrate the safety shell around his target's neck to cut his throat. With no time to rejoice the kill Jack dived off the armored body and rolled away from yet another attack by the still standing Enclave troopers.

Jack stood up facing the four soldiers, their backs to Amy but she wasn't firing. Jack looked over to Amy who's rifle had jammed, she was yelling obscenities and trying to pull out the broken jacket of a bullet inside the chamber.

"Looks like its just you and me boys." Jack said with a hint of a smile, even though he was quite worried about his chances of survival he gave the impression that he was in total control of the situation. A situation he had absolutely no control over...
 
Dire Straits

"Sure thing, sarge," said the merc in combat armor, keeping his cool. He and the woman placed the box containing Rachel down where Stark had indicated. The sergeant walked past them, knelt down, and lifted the lid. He gasped when he saw Rachel inside, asleep and bound with duct tape - right as the redhead struck him in the back of the skull with her Power Fist. Stark dropped the lid and fell forward over the crate, unconscious.

The woman shoved Stark off the crate and looked around. With the chaotic battle raging around them drawing everyone's attention, nobody had noticed. "Let's move!" she said. "This position's going to be surrounded in a few minutes!" The mercenaries picked the ammo crate up again and hurried away.

Amy looked around the battlefield in fright while trying desperately to unjam her needler rifle. Some of the APCs were now flaming wrecks, and even though there were several left, so were plenty of Enclave troops, and they were closing in on all sides. Sergeant Stark lay face down in the dirt, and she didn't know if he was dead or alive. Jack faced off against four Enclave soldiers, hopelessly outclassed. They quickly had him surrounded, and he couldn't block all of their blows. A cattle prod hit him in the back, and he went down on his knees.

"NO!" cried Amy, her heart twisting in agony. She stepped back in shock as the soldiers prepared to finish him off, unable to cope with the prospect of losing her new love just as she had lost her first. She nearly tripped over the fallen Enclave trooper in Fusion Power Armor and noticed the bizarre-looking rifle at his side. She dropped the needler and grabbed it up, figuring it had to have a better chance of working.

Amy fired into the back of one of the four Enclave soldiers. The negative energy made the midsection of his Advanced Power Armor crumple inwards with the man still inside it. He fell over, killed instantly. The other three whirled around to face this new threat. Amy blasted another in the helmet and watched in awe as his head imploded. The remaining two discarded their cattle prods and drew their guns, firing over Amy's head as she dived behind the sandbags. Then Jack rose up and drove his sword in the back of a soldier's neck, slaying him. Amy popped up and killed the last one with a single shot. "Ohh, baby," she said, staring at her new weapon.

Amy came back to her senses and rushed to Jack's side. She held him in her arms while she injected him with a stimpak. "Thanks again," he said. "That's another one I owe you. How many does that make?"

"Any time, darling. Who's keeping score?" She kissed him, clutching him tightly.

"Sarge is down!" came a voice, reminding her of Stark. She and Jack ran over to him. Amy checked his pulse and was relieved to find that he lived. She took out another stimpak and pumped him full of the healing chem. As he slowly came to, she surveyed the battlefield and was alarmed to see that the Enclave forces had once again completely encircled the area near the Vault entrance.

"Ohh, my head..." he moaned groggily. Then his eyes flew open and he looked around in distress. "Rachel...they've got Rachel..."
 
Natives?

Gabe looked to the Ex - Enclave soldier - the advanced power-armor would lable him an enemy of all, in the waistes; If this man was serious of siding against the enclave something must be done

"Do the infected attack you enclave boys the same' as they do the regulars?"

"No; The redemption do-not attack the enclave soldiers."

"They can distinguish?"

"Yeah... They can..."

"Good... Your coming with me.."

"Why?"

"if they wont attack you - then chances are -they wont attack anyone in your party..."

"True... We've used this one"

"What?"

"Well... Some enclave patrolls returned to base, with natives.. "

" And that means?"

" I got the great honer of filing their reports- Appearently, they encountered redemption - and- accourding to their reports, their was no confrentation."

"Why is the enclave abducting natives?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Well - Come with me... We're leaving"

"oh - uhh - ok"

Gabe exited the building, the ex-enclave soldier fallowed. The sun sat behind the surrounding mountains. The soldier headed to the east. Gabe then began the search for the ranger, and the child. He knew that the ranger would have taken care of charley- but he still feared.
 
Carried Away

Amy felt like she'd just been hit by a sledgehammer. "Who?! Who's got Rachel?"

"There were two of them," said Stark, rising to his hands and knees, "a man and a woman. They smuggled her out in an ammo crate. When I opened it, they hit me from behind." He described the mercs.

"But why would the Enclave want to capture Rachel? How do they even know who she is?"

Stark stood up with Jack and Amy's help. He recalled his earlier conversation with Rachel. "I don't think they're working for the Enclave. I think the Bishop Family sent them." He filled them in on what Rachel had told him.

Amy put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, God! Poor Rachel! We have to do something!"

"What can we do?" asked Jack. "The Enclave's got us totally cut off!"

Stark hefted his plasma rifle. "Then we'll punch through their lines, go after them, and get her back!" He took a step and almost fell over, still dizzy from the blow to his head. "Just give me a minute to steady myself."

Amy covered the others, creaming Enclave soldiers with her Hammer, while Valerie backed towards them, blazing away with her P-90. "I heard you guys talking," said the captain. "Maybe that blow to the head has rattled your brains a little, Sergeant. We don't have the resources to make that kind of push."

"But-"

"Look, I really appreciate everything Rachel's done for us and feel terrible for her, but there's nothing we can do right now. We're running low on people and ammo." She reloaded her submachinegun. "I'm down to my last two clips myself. And you need to get checked out. You could have a concussion. You need to get to the medical lab!"

"The lab! That's where Rachel was, ma'am!"

"Then get down there and check it out. I'll inform the First Citizen."

Stark saluted and ran into the tunnel while Valerie got on the radio.

Amy pulled the trigger, but her negative-energy rifle failed to fire. "I'm dry," she said. She crawled over to the dead Enclave soldier she'd gotten it from, retrieved his ammo, and reloaded. She also recovered her needler rifle while she was there. Then she resumed firing at the enemy that was relentlessly closing in.

Stark ran into the Vault, and noticed at once that the guards that Harold had posted outside the lab were missing. He leaned on the wall next to the door, readied his plasma rifle, and spun around, pointing his weapon through the door as it slid upwards. His eyes went wide as he saw the bodies everywhere. At first he thought they were all dead, but then he saw that they were still breathing.

"Gas!" he cried, realizing what had caused this. He retreated, and the door slid shut again. He raced back outside and reported to Valerie, who then relayed that information to the command center. The situation outside was getting worse, and Stark felt sick to his stomach over Rachel's plight. He tried to hold back his tears, but couldn't.

"She's going to be all right," said Amy during a lull in the fighting. "After this is all over, we'll find Rachel and rescue her. I can track them down no matter what route they take. Rachel's a real good friend of mine, and I won't let her down. And don't count her out either. Rachel might just get out of this tight spot even without our help."

Stark shook his head. "You don't know what they did to her. She was knocked out and wrapped head to toe in duct tape! She's completely helpless!" He swallowed. "I never even told her I love her..."

<center>* * *</center>
"I've sent a security team to the medical lab," said Harold. "They've got gas masks and a few of them have medical training too so they can revive the medical staff first, and then the patients. We're pumping the nitrous oxide out and fresh air in right now. What did you see on the security video, Eldon?"

Eldon watched the replay of the mercenaries snatching Rachel on the monitor for the second time. "These guys are real pros," he said. "Hand signals, good equipment, and flawless coordination. They came prepared, but they know how to improvise too. And they're utterly ruthless. They shot one of their own men to gain access to the lab, then abandoned him there."

"It'll be interesting to hear what he's got to say when he wakes up. I don't think he'll be too pleased with his comrades."

<center>* * *</center>
The mercenaries stopped for a minute about a mile south of the battlefield. They put the ammo crate down and looked back through their binoculars. "Nobody's pursued us," said the redhead. "They're not going to, either. That army's got them completely hemmed in. We got out of there just in time. I'm just relieved they didn't try to stop us. I guess they don't care about what looks like a couple of cowards fleeing the battle."

"Excellent," said the man. "We pulled this job off great! That was too close back there with that sergeant. Thanks for taking him out, Caitlin. After this, getting her back to New Reno should be a piece of cake." He raised the crate's lid and checked on Rachel, licking his lips as he watched her chest rise and fall. "Gouge some holes in the lid so air can get in when it's closed. I'm gonna report in to Bishop." The woman set to work on the lid with her combat knife while the man pulled out a radio, raised the antenna, and spun the dials. "Ms. B? This is Stone. Yeah, we just picked up that merchandise you requested. Got it all wrapped up in a pretty package. You can expect delivery in about five days."

<center>* * *</center>
Angela Bishop smiled as she sat in the penthouse of the Shark Club and put her radio away. "Call Johnny up here," she said to one of her bodyguards, who went downstairs. Her plans were working perfectly. The election was in a few months, and the polls had her up twenty points over Wilbur Wright. She probably wouldn't even have to cheat. Most of the ex-Mordinos had fallen into her camp, if for no other reason than the fact that the Wrights had destroyed their Family. Likewise, the surviving Salvatores had reluctantly sided with the Wrights, though there were very few of them left - she had made real sure of that. And now her son's and Rachel Wright's impending nuptials would help her consolidate her control over New Reno.

Johnny Bishop came up the stairs. He was in his late twenties and very handsome. He wore a pinstripe suit with diamond cufflinks, and a felt fedora topped his slicked-back black hair. "You wanted to see me, Ma?" he asked.

"Come here, Johnny," she said. "I have wonderful news. Rachel Wright is coming home! I'll arrange the wedding. Get your tuxedo ready."

Johnny beamed and hugged his mother. "Thanks, Ma! You're the greatest!"

"Nothing's too good for my Johnny."

"I'm on top of the world, ma! Top of the world!" Johnny had desired Rachel Wright ever since he first laid eyes on her. And now she was going to be his - forever!
 
Xi's Extraction

Stephan was kneeled beside his fallen commerade

"Listen man - Were gonna' get you out of here"

Xi was loosing conciousness quickly

Kagle shouted to stephan "Give him a Stim!" at her command, Xi was injected with a Stim pack, the hypodermic needle was jammed into his famoral artery, in his leg- and he was quickly injected with the stimulants - by this time, Kagel had been trying to arrange extraction through strike- whilst coordenating a replacement for their transportation / Ariel Support

"Negitive on secondary vertibird - I say again - Negitive on second vertibird"
the brotherhood dispatcher said- from Navero

"What do you mean - negitive?! "
Kagel yelled into the microphone

"Negitive, Theirs nothing we can do"

"The hell you cant! All you have to do is give the word!"

"Its not that easy; Fule, a pilot, a crew - armorments - clearance - Paperwork; Too much red tape"

" Listen - I've got wounded - I need to evac said wounded- and GOD DAMNIT! EITHER YOU SEND ME EVAC! OR REPLACE MY GUN SHIP!"

Stephan turned to leo - who had his bozaar pointed out the door- He was ready for any of the infected that might try to break through -

Xi - who's stims had kicked in - began to laugh- at Kagels rant

And then- a crackle on the radio

"Alright.. I talked to Paladin Rhombus (the second).. Vertibird #473 is being preped for launch"

"Good... Kagel Out. "

"Dont worry -Xi - Evac is on the way."

Xi - was still laughing at kagel's rant.
~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Rude Awakenings

"This was all my fault," said Stark. "I should have been able to protect her."

"There was nothing you could have done, Sergeant," said Valerie. "Nobody could have anticipated this. I just got word that the medical lab is now free of gas. Get down there and have your head looked at."

"You're right, ma'am. And while I'm there, I want a piece of that scumbag when they wake him up! Vault City prevails!" As Stark said this last, he wondered how it possibly could. He headed back into the Vault.

The fight was going badly for what was left of Vault City. The Enclave's strategy was obvious: to concentrate on pushing the survivors back into the Vault, after which they would be free to turn all of their attention to the APCs. And it was working. They were taking heavy casualties, but they had enough troops that they could afford it. Vault City didn't.

The sun finally set, leaving darkness to shroud the battlefield. The fighting had only begun six hours ago, though the day had seemed far longer than that. Vault City was running low on manpower and ammunition, and the end was inevitable. Amy was able to kill an Enclave soldier with almost every shot, but there were too many for her to take out all by herself. She only had one Hammer; the Enclave had dozens. Their backs were literally to the wall, and they had fallen back to their final defensive position before the hole leading to the Vault.

"We're not going to win this one, are we?" asked Amy, realizing it for the first time.

"It doesn't look good," admitted Jack.

Valerie's P-90c stopped spitting bullets. "I'm out!" she called. Jack tossed her a magazine of 10mm armor-piercing, which she snatched out of the air and rammed into her weapon. It was all he could spare.

"I think it's time to get your people into the Vault!" Garret shouted to her. "Angus will go with you. My guys and I will cover your retreat."

<center>* * *</center>
The mercenary with the mohawk slowly came to his senses and found himself strapped to a chair. Myron stepped back from him, holding an empty hypo, and Sergeant Stark took his place, leaning in close enough to dominate his vision. "Listen up, you little turd!" he roared. "Don't even bother trying to deny that you helped grab Rachel Wright. You're going to tell me everything you know, or I'm going to hurt you. A lot."

"Chill out, man!" he said. "After those two left me here to rot, I've got no loyalty to them. I'll cooperate!"

"Chill out? Chill out?! Your buddies just made off with my girl, and now I'm trapped here with your sorry ass and unable to help her, and you're telling me to chill out? If anything happens to Rachel, I'm gonna land on you with both feet!"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

"No, it's not okay! They're going to force her to marry Johnny Bishop!"

"Hey, I didn't know that's why Bishop wanted her! I assumed it was a ransom or prisoner exchange sort of thing. Rachel seems like a real nice girl, and I'll do whatever I can to help you save her."

"You're just telling me what I want to hear. I don't believe you're helping me out of the goodness of your heart."

"No, but you can be sure I want revenge on those two."

Stark sighed. "Fine. Talk."

"Their names are Craig Stone and Caitlin O'Hara, and they're both cold as ice. There's nothing they won't do for money. Stone's a tactical genius. He used to be an NCR patrol guard, till he murdered someone and fled into the wastes. O'Hara's a pure psychopath. She lives for the kill, gets off on it. I'm Spike. I used to be a raider, but then I became a gun for hire. I hooked up with them a couple of months ago in the Den. They've been together a real long time, and they never really accepted me. That might be why they abandoned me. That, and sheer greed."

Stark's gut clenched with the mere thought of Rachel in the hands of these vicious killers. His only consolation was that they wouldn't kill her because they needed to bring her in alive - but she might wish they had.

<center>* * *</center>
Rachel Wright awoke in darkness. She seemed to be in a container made of wood. Her first thought was that she was inside a coffin, and it terrified her. She tried to scream, but her voice was so muffled she could barely hear it. She squirmed, but was unable to move her arms or legs. She slowly figured out that she hadn't been buried alive after all; the box she was in was moving.

"I think Sleeping Beauty just woke up," said Craig Stone. He and Caitlin O'Hara stopped marching and set down the crate. He swung the lid open, and Rachel glared fiercely at her kidnappers. If looks could kill, they both would have been vaporized. "Settle down, Rachel." He roughly yanked the tape off her mouth.

Rachel howled from the pain. Then she shrieked "HELP!!!" as loud as she could.

Stone just laughed. "Feel free to scream your pretty little head off all you like. We're in the middle of nowhere. Nobody can hear you. Nobody's coming to your rescue."

"My friends will hunt you down and kill you both. You'd better let me go right now!"

"Your friends are dead by now. We got out of Vault City just before that huge army closed in for the kill. Nobody's getting out of there, ever."

"No, you're lying! It isn't true!" But in Rachel's heart, she knew it had to be. As people had come into the medical lab, the reports of the battle outside had been getting increasingly worse, and there had been so many wounded at the end that the lab was overflowing and the medical staff stretched too thin.

"Hey, you should be grateful to us. We saved your life by pulling you out of there before it was too late. If we hadn't, you'd be dead just like the others."

Rachel wept, tears and sweat stinging her eyes. "I should be! I should have died with them!"

"Oh, please. Spare me the melodrama. I can tell you want to live."

"I can tell you don't! Even if my friends can't get you, Family Wright will."

"They aren't as powerful as they once were. The Bishops are in charge these days, and they pay quite well. The Wrights won't dare move against them."

"Bishop!" Rachel swallowed in fear, knowing what lay in store for her. "Look, if it's money you want, ransom me back to my family. Whatever Bishop is paying you, they'll double it!"

"Nice try, but we wouldn't live long enough to spend it. The Bishops don't take kindly to people who break contracts."

Rachel turned her head towards Caitlin, who had been silent until now. "Please, you're a woman too. You know what Johnny Bishop's got planned for me! How can you do this to me?"

"Not my problem," said Caitlin. "You must have mistaken me for someone with a heart."

"So now you know the score, Rachel," said Stone. "This isn't a holovid where some hero is going to ride in and save you at the last minute. Nobody knows where you are. Nobody's going to rescue you. The sooner you accept that, the easier things will go for you. What's gonna happen is gonna happen, so you may as well just lie back and enjoy the ride." He covered her mouth with duct tape again and slammed the lid.

Rachel felt the ammo crate being lifted and carried once more. Despair and grief overwhelmed her, and she cried uncontrollably, moisture streaming out of her eyes and over her cheeks as she contemplated the dreadful fate that awaited her in New Reno.
 
Contacts!

Leo peered through the streets. He was ever vidgelant. He leaned further out of the threshold of the building- suddenly he clutched. he felt a sharp pain in his torso. he looked down to see a gaping wound in his chest. The puncture wound gushed, down the front of his green, and orange combat armor. He immediatly slumped to the ground. the moment he hit the floor of the dirty, abandoned building, the shot rang out. Stephen watched in horror - Kagel turned to see Leo on the ground- gasping for air. kagel ran to the doorway - crouched- and grabbed Leo's arms- pulling him deeper into the building. He left a trail of blood, and dust- that created a red paste, on the floor
"Shit!" Stephen said "He was on the ground before I herd a shot!" he yelled to kagel - Xi was attempting to sit up "I can stand... Let... Let me help" he said- though his speech was quicker than usuall - due to the stims. Kagel barked to schrike / Dispatch "Leo's down! I say again! Leo is Down!" Dispatch quickly responded "Jesus! [short pause] Aknowlaged" and then schrike spoke "What?! How?!" Kagel then responded "Sniper! " schrike than responded "Roger... Any orders? " Kagel responded "We have two wounded- both critical - Damnit Stephen! Give him a stim!.... We need to evac. " Schrike quickly responded "We cant evac like this! Your just begging for fatalities... I gotta feeling that we got a camper" Kagel than responded "Get street level - and take out anything that looks suspicious - I say again - Weapons free" As she said that- stephan injected leo with a stim - and took a rag, from his med kid- and pressed it against the gaping wound- trying to stop the bleeding. two seconds after she gave the order- Schrike was street level - The minigun's shreaded through a building at the end of the street - rockets flaired - the building was no more- the galvinized steel lay concave on the ground - schrike turned the massive vehicle- to yet another building- the miniguns-shredd the building, as did rockets -the building was also - no more. "Dispatch! Hold that Bird! i say again! Hold the bird!" Kagel yelled- her DSK Carbine shouldered- she then entered the eastward room - the wall was rusted through - she layed on the ground - sticking the muzzle out. She scanned the surroundings for the sniper(S).
 
Trapped

"Fall back!" ordered Valerie again, and this time there was nowhere left to fall back to but the Vault. Garret and the Steel Knights under his command laid down heavy covering fire. They were burning most of the ammo they had left, but they had to buy enough time for as many people as possible to get safely into the Vault and for the door to be sealed before the Enclave could reach it.

Angus stood at the tunnel entrance with his laser rifle, also firing at the enemy. "I'll go in last!" he said, as the surviving defenders hurried into the tunnel. Amy turned and fired one last shot, downing a Shinobi, before taking Jack's arm and running inside.

<center>* * *</center>
Pandemonium reigned in the command center at the bottom of the Vault. A wave of panic passed over the people watching the battle on the monitors as they saw that all was lost. Sirens sounded and the security lights flashed red. Eldon watched the people rushing into the Vault and remembered when he had done the same thing a very long time ago. He hadn't known how long he would be trapped in the Vault, or what he would find outside when he emerged, or even if he would emerge. The same was true this time as well.

<center>* * *</center>
Spike trembled as the sirens went off. "We're all gonna die!" he yelled.

Stark slapped him hard. "Shut up! You're not helping! You think these folks aren't scared enough? Focus on the business at hand! You know Stone and O'Hara. What are their weaknesses?"

"O'Hara's tough as nails. I'm not sure she's got any. I guess her bloodthirstiness, maybe. If she got enraged enough, she might lose control and make a mistake."

"What about Stone's weaknesses?"

"Easy: women. Stone's a real sucker for a gorgeous gal. Like your Rachel, for instance. Of course, she could never talk him into letting her go or anything."

"Are Stone and O'Hara an item?"

"They boink each other sometimes, sure, but it's not what you'd call an exclusive relationship. O'Hara doesn't mind when Stone bangs a whore in town or a girl they've taken..." Spike trailed off, but he'd already said too much.

"Prisoner?" Stark finished, his throat turning dry and his eyes welling up. "Oh, no! He could be raping Rachel right now..." Stark buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, if it means anything I don't think he will this time. Johnny Bishop no doubt thinks of Rachel as his, and he won't be happy if she arrives in less than pristine condition. Stone may be a hopeless lech, but he's not a dummy. He'd know to keep his hands to himself."

This comforted Stark a little, but not much. Johnny Bishop would still take Rachel even if Stone didn't. And he couldn't be certain that Stone would contain his urges, either.

<center>* * *</center>
As Craig Stone and Caitlin O'Hara carried the ammo crate, Rachel's muffled sobs grew less frequent and then stopped.

"Finally!" said Caitlin. "I thought she'd never stop bawling. It was really getting on my nerves."

"Yeah," said Stone, "me too. But it's best that I broke her spirit early. She'll be more docile from now on." He spotted an abandoned farm on the side of the trail. "That looks like a good place to stop for the night. I think we've put enough distance between us and the ruins of Vault City."

The mercs went up to the farmhouse and searched it, finding it empty. They brought the crate inside, set it down in the living room, and opened the lid. "Well, I'm bushed," said Caitlin. "You'd better take first watch."

"Okay. That's the one bad thing about having to ditch Spike: longer watches and less sleep. Well, we can recruit us another expendable patsy in New Reno. Good night." Stone sat down on the couch and eyed Rachel while his partner walked into the bedroom and fell into bed. She was asleep almost instantly.

Rachel felt very uncomfortable with Stone leering at her, but she had to try to talk to him. "Mmph! Mmph!" she said through the tape.

Stone sighed. "What?" He leaned over and yanked the tape from her mouth.

It was painful, but Rachel was prepared for it this time. "I have to go to the bathroom," she said softly.

"So go. Nobody's stopping you."

Rachel groaned. "Come on, be a sport. I haven't gone in so long!"

"No. You're going to try to escape."

"Come on, I'd have to be an idiot to try to escape. As you said, we're in the middle of nowhere. I'm injured, and I don't have any water, food, weapons, or armor. I haven't even got any shoes!"

"I don't know..."

Rachel could see he was wavering. She had to press the advantage home. "Please? I'll make it worth your while."

He looked skeptical. "Worth my while? What could you possibly give me?"

She forced herself to smile. "How 'bout a kiss?"

"Rachel, my dear, have you forgotten that you're my captive?" Stone leaned over her and rested the back of his hand on her still damp cheek. "I can kiss you any time I want and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me."

"Maybe." Rachel fluttered her eyelashes. "But I wouldn't kiss you back."

That had done it. Stone's resistance melted away. "Okay, you've got a deal." He sat her up, took out his combat knife, and cut open the duct tape she was wrapped in. He gently peeled it off of her skin and gown. "You better behave yourself, though. Step out of line once and you go right back in the box."

"Gee, you sure know how to romance a girl."

"Shut up and kiss me." He tilted her head up and pressed his lips to hers. Rachel swallowed her pride and returned his attentions, trying not to gag when he slid his tongue into her mouth. He couldn't finish soon enough for her tastes. "Wow. Where did you learn to kiss like that? I thought you were supposed to be all pure and innocent."

"Just because I'm a virgin doesn't mean I ain't been kissed. Help me up?"

Stone pulled Rachel to her feet and cut the duct tape off of her ankles. She gingerly stepped out of the crate and stretched. Then he took her by the arm and walked her out the door and over to the outhouse. He opened its door. "All yours."

"I'm going to need my hands free in there." Rachel glanced back at him over her shoulder and pouted, swishing her hair. Stone hesitated, then cut her arms free. "Thanks." She went inside the outhouse, shut the door and sat down.

Rachel spat and wiped her mouth, and then relieved herself. She really did have to go, but she had lied about her injury. She was fully recovered by this time and quite capable of walking - and running - on her own. She examined the outhouse walls and noticed one of the narrow wooden boards in the rear wall was slightly loose. She worked her fingers between them and started to pry it off. She knew trying to escape was foolish, but not trying would be even more so.

A few minutes later, Stone rapped on the door. "Hurry up in there, will ya?" he called.

"I'm almost done!" Rachel answered. The board was almost out, but it was stubborn.

"Women," Stone muttered. "Always taking forever in the bathroom. You've got one minute before I come in after you!" Rachel worked faster, pulling and twisting at the wood. She was sure the minute was up when she finally pulled the narrow plank out. "That's it!" Rachel stood up and spun around and held her arms behind her back, gripping the makeshift weapon tightly. A second later Stone threw the door wide, holding a roll of duct tape in his left hand.

"You didn't have to do that! I was just finishing!"

"TUrn around. I need to tape you up again."

"Is that really necessary?" Rachel let her gown's strap slide off her left shoulder and down her arm.

Stone whistled and put his free hand on her bare shoulder. "You sure are a knockout."

"You don't know the half of it." While he was distracted, she swung the board with all her strength into his head. It shattered and sent him flying onto his back.

Rachel bolted from the outhouse and into the darkened wilderness, darting between stunted trees. She ran as hard as she could, armed with nothing but her wits.

"Dammit!" Stone shouted. He regained his feet just as Caitlin rushed out the farmhouse door. "She's getting away!"

The mercs ran after Rachel as she fled. "How'd she get free, anyway?" asked Caitlin. "Last I checked, she was a duct tape mummy. Let me guess - she sweet-talked you into taking it off of her and then got the drop on you." When he didn't respond, she went on. "Thought so. Next time think with your head, not your jimmy."

"She won't get far. We'll get her back."

"We'd better." Caitlin drew her needler pistol. "Don't worry, I'm using tranks. I know we need her alive."
 
The Alamo, Alex and the Enclave army...

(Sorry I haven't been able to post recently a friend passed away a few days ago and I have been unable to post. But I haven't abandoned the RP, not by a long shot!)

The remaining brotherhood soldiers on the outside of the vault could no longer hold their positions, with everyone inside the vault they retreated inside and radioed to the command center to close and seal the main blast door. Within minutes the vault was sealed shut and the Enclave forces were able to focus on the out of control APC's.

Underneath a large amount of rubble, Alex pushed off the large blocks of concrete that covered him and stood up rubbing his neck.
I looked around at his surroundings and realized that the Vault had been sealed.

"The Alamo," He said to himself, "History does repeat itself." He mused. Alex walked out of the building's remains and ran into an Enclave trooper who raised his plasma pistol at the mutant. Alex growled fiercely and uppercutted the soldier high into the air. The force of the superhuman's attack crushed the Advanced Power Armor's protective helm and smashed the trooper's skull inside.

"Eggshells! That's all they are! Men in fucking eggshells!!" Alex bellowed, he quickly charged into the massing Enclave soldiers armed with only his fists, his mutated arm swung wildly tossing armored troops into the air and into other troopers hard. The sound of broken bones and Advanced Power Armor slamming into Advanced Power Armor sounded like an unrelenting explosion throughout the Enclave ranks.

Two shinobi's carrying 'Hammer' rifles took flight over Alex's position, they began unloading their deadly weapons but were unable to hit the steadily dodging efforts of the superhuman. They instead began hitting Enclave targets in their attempts to take out the raging mutant.

Alex knew that these new weapons could possibly kill even him in one shot, and he treated them as so. His enhanced senses were alive and working sharper than ever, he could sense the projectile leaving the barrels of the weapons, and could even anticipate their trajectory. Alex was in this for the long haul, he was in it to the death.

The mutant dodged the attacks skillfully and during his manuevors would grasp the idle Enclave soldier by the ankle and hurl them towards his skyward attackers. Able to knock one out of the sky, the other was able to push Alex into a standing building where he took cover to begin planning his next move, and how he could take out a large number of Enclave troops without taking a blast from one of those new rifles.
 
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