Chapter 2: Onwards and Outwards, Part 1 - ‘…And I'll be in Scotland afore ye.’
Lydia’s smile beamed down as Tim slowly opened his eyes. Pain and ache had settled all over Tim’s body as he had slept. The sight of Lydia’s beaming face dulled the pain some what.
“Wakey wakey.” She said.
“Urrrrgghhhh… What time is it?” Tim mumbled.
“0900 or so.” Lydia replied. She was bent over forward resting her hands on her knees.
“Why so early?” Tim groaned rubbing his eyes and stretching as he lay on his back.
“Early? You’ve been asleep since four O’clock yesterday afternoon, common get up we have stuff to do.” Lydia turned slightly and fumbled with something on the bed next to the one Tim was lying in.
As soon as her eyes were not pointing at Tim he had to stare at her breasts. They were hanging down where she was leaning forward and her Vault suit was undone slightly at the top showing a bit of cleavage. She had a very ample figure. As she turned back Tim’s eyes darted back towards her face. She held out a Vault suit with bits of leather and all sorts sewn into it. As the sleepy haze slowly lifted from Tim’s eyes he could see it was in fact his Vault suit.
“What do you think?” Lydia said smiling and holding up the jump suit.
It was defiantly Tim’s suit but it had been merged with the leather jacket and a few other bits of material. The leggings had leather knee pad patches on both sides, on one side red stitching could be seen snaking out from under the patch where the suit underneath had been damaged. The groin was mostly normal apart from the belt which had not only been attached to the suit it self but was now a combination of two standard issue belts, making a sort of large utility belt.
From just above the belt line up was what was left of the original leather jacket. It was only wrapped over the jumpsuit, not stitched in. Both arms had been removed and the shoulders had been given slightly extra padding from the excess leather. The front was covered in dense red stitching where the rips and holes had been repaired. The arms of the suit had patches on the elbows and strips of leather on the end of the fore arms which made up sort of bracers.
“What happened to the arms?” Tim Asked.
“We used them to patch up the jump suit and add a little extra padding in. Most of the left arm is left over; we could stick it back on if you like?” Lydia looked very proud of the new and ‘improved’ jump suit.
Tim considered the look of wearing a leather jacket with only one arm for a moment but quickly brushed it off as a silly idea, even if it would make him look like a hard case. Examining his Jump Suit Tim decided it was a big improvement on the original plain blue with yellow strip design. It also added a sort of bad ass look and gave more protection.
“Well, I’ll let you get dressed. Lieutenant Balk wants to see you as soon as you are up and ready.” Lydia flashed Tim one last smile and then set his jump suit down on the side of the bed and disappeared through the curtain that surrounded Tim’s hospital bed.
Tim pulled himself up into a sitting position and examined himself. His right arm had several fresh puncture marks, an empty ‘Slow-Stim’ lay next to him on the small bed side table. ‘Slow-stim’s’ as they had been nick named were effectively two normal stimpacks connected together through a new delivery system. Instead of an instant effect like a normal stimpack they were designed as a European equivalent to the American Super Stimpack.
Europe not having the resources of the USA could not afford the expensive chemicals used to make super stims so instead their scientists came up with the slow-stim. The slow stim took about an hour and slowly injected the stimpack chemicals into the blood stream rather than pumping them all in at once. The end effect was that the stimpacks, coupled with the natural healing rate of the body, healed much more injury than using two standard ones at once would. The hour trade off was more than acceptable seeing as stimpacks were a rare commodity in Europe, even before the war.
Tim pulled down the blood stained bandages that coated his torso, slightly, and examined the various cuts and lashes. Most of them were healing nicely although one or two of them would need another good nights sleep at the very least. Tim pulled himself to his feet and stretched, stopping mid way as the pain of his wounds spiked for a moment.
Tim was coated in patches of dry blood and black stains covered his hands where he had climbed out of the base the day before. It looked like the doctor had tried to keep things as sterile as possible around the more serious wounds but things like Tim’s hair took a back bench it appeared. Tim picked up his jump suit and headed for the showers Lieutenant Balk had told him about the night before.
…
Lydia stepped through the tent entrance into the medical tent and looked up over towards Tim’s bed. The curtains around the bed were fluttering as Tim was getting dressed after having his shower. She leant sideways slightly and got a glimpse of bare flesh through the thin gap where the curtains didn’t quite meet.
“You nearly done in there?” She asked.
“Give me a minuet.” Tim replied fumbling with the new belt.
“Balk wants us to meet him by the armoury tent as soon as you are done.” Lydia was still leaning sideways slightly trying to catch another glimpse.
“Us?” Tim asked.
“Yeah, looks like I am going on this next mission with you.” She said.
“Oh yeah… any idea what it is?” Tim said still getting dressed.
“No. Nearly everyone else is busy digging out that base you cleared out. Quite a mess down there from what I hear.” Lydia was still trying to sneak a peak through the curtains.
“… So how’s your leg by the way? Not in a cast any more I notice.” Tim said letting out a slight grunt as he tightened the straps on his boots.
“Yeah, it’s all healed now, nearly as good as new.” Lydia sharply pulled herself back into an upright standing position as the curtains were pulled back; hiding the fact she had been peeking. Tim stepped forward in his new attire.
Lydia looked Tim up and down. He had the thick leather “M4gnum” combat boots he had found in the base on. His knees were padded leather and his Vault suit slightly worn, the leather armless jacket sat comfortably on his chest and the padded shoulders looked intimidating. The new kind of utility belt meant that Tim could carry much more various odds, ends and ammo clips than before. The leather bracers on Tim’s fore arms looked good as well as providing extra protection and making his vault suit look a little more beefy. The left hand one also did a good job of covering up the SEID a little bit, though it was pretty well disguised as a plain bronze bracer anyway.
Lydia went a shade rosier in the cheeks and couldn’t help but smile slightly. Tim checked himself over quickly to make sure everything was secure and done up correctly, not registering Lydia’s reaction on a conscious level. He liked the improvements to his suit a lot, it was more comfortable than usual and the leather jacket and padding gave excellent protection for what they were. I wasn’t exactly ‘leather armour’ but it was a step up from just a leather jacket. Tim struck a pose in an over the top joking way.
“What do you think?” He said in a half silly voice.
“I love it!” Lydia replied.
“Common, Balk said to meet at the armoury on the double.” Lydia said as she began walking out of the tent entrance, Tim followed.
…
Tim looked up at the wall of trees in front of him. The foliage had taken the effect of the bombs pretty well. While the trees didn’t look as healthy as perhaps they should they still had leaves and a tint of green about them. Lydia was following closely behind Tim as they walked away from the camp and into the woods, following the river at the bottom of the valley. Tim ran over the plan of action one last time in his mind.
“Scout the area, find as many fusion shells as possible, bring them back to camp.” He said.
“Yeah, sounds really easy.” Lydia said in a sarcastic way.
“Oh I dunno. According to the maps we have there is, or at least was a pre war base about three or four days walk from here.” He said trying to keep the spirits up.
“When Balk said he was pairing me up with you for a mission an eight day trek in an overgrown forest wasn’t my idea.” She said hopping her rucksack on her back and pulling it up slightly as they walked.
“Well it has to be done. We need those fusion cells…” Tim loosened the grip on his assault rifle and let it hang over his stomach from the strap.
“Yeah, we need them alright. Pity the Lou couldn’t send any more of us out.” Vasquez said, running for a moment to keep up with Tim and Lydia.
Vasquez was a short dark haired Italian with a thing for fat women and the mind of a mechanical genius. He could dismantle an old car and turn it into a personal computer with the right tools and enough time. He was the third in their small party which had been sent out to the base they only knew as “grid AX4-99”. The base was obviously top secret at some point so instead of a name or mark on the map there was just a road system which just ended in a big blank white spot on the map.
Tim didn’t really like the idea of an eight day trek either but Balk had ordered it. They needed at least five fusion cells to jump start the generator in the underground base next to their camp and they wanted reconnaissance on the surrounding area. Following the river was the only real practical way to approach their encampment by foot or with a vehicle. The body in the base was relatively fresh, which meant as some point someone had come here. This meant, in theory, at some point they could come back.
The trio of wondering dwellers walked along the river side for about an hour, most of the conversation was complaints and moaning to being with from Vasquez and Lydia, but it soon broke out into joking and the ‘what are you going to do first when you get back to camp?’. It was at this point that Tim stopped, just as it had come around to his turn to say what he would do.
“What is it man?” Vasquez asked.
Tim was silent for a moment. Ahead of him was a sort of Y junction, naturally formed by a larger tree and a collection of rocks. The main route lay straight ahead, following the river through the woods, but the path to the right lead up the valley side. Tim considered for a moment.
The valley path had fewer trees but it would be harder to walk and there was no guarantee it would bypass the forest or even lead anywhere other than up the hill. On the up side it would make for a better view of the surroundings being higher up and might also be a bit quicker with no trees to slow them down.
The forest path beside the river was a guaranteed option. They would defiantly hit the base eventually but progress might be slower if the forest got any thicker deeper in. That and you couldn’t see more than about 50 meters at any one time for all the trees. On the other hand the forest path next to the river meant fresh drinking water was always at hand and possibly warmer nights when they had to set up camp.
Choice time:
A: Take the high road, up into the rocky hills. (+ 1 Agility + Scout perk)
B: Take the low road; follow the river through the forest. (+ 1 Strength + Explorer perk)
Stats update:
::: Statistics:
Strength: 06
Perception: 08
Endurance: 07
Charisma: 05
Intelligence: 07
Agility: 09
Luck: -10 (Not going to be used, but -10 sounds about right)
Hit Points: 027/040
Melee Damage: 03
Carry Weight: 175 lbs
(Perks are Gifted and High metabolism.)
::: Skills: (As more skills come into use I will add them in).
Small guns: 100%
Big guns: 10%
Energy Weapons: 10%
Unarmed: 60%
Ah, another part done, phew. How do you guys like it?
Also, what are your opinions on the “…” parts where I just skip straight to the next interesting thing happening. I figured people wouldn’t really want to read about how Tim had a shower, took a dump, cleaned him self up and how Tim reported to Lieutenant Balk and got his orders or how he met up with Vasquez and was assigned as “expedition leader” as it were. Do you like the “…” bits or no? If not I wont use them any more, it is partly laziness by me but I figured it would get a bit boring if I wrote down every little thing Tim did while he was recuperating for his next ‘quest’.
Lydia’s smile beamed down as Tim slowly opened his eyes. Pain and ache had settled all over Tim’s body as he had slept. The sight of Lydia’s beaming face dulled the pain some what.
“Wakey wakey.” She said.
“Urrrrgghhhh… What time is it?” Tim mumbled.
“0900 or so.” Lydia replied. She was bent over forward resting her hands on her knees.
“Why so early?” Tim groaned rubbing his eyes and stretching as he lay on his back.
“Early? You’ve been asleep since four O’clock yesterday afternoon, common get up we have stuff to do.” Lydia turned slightly and fumbled with something on the bed next to the one Tim was lying in.
As soon as her eyes were not pointing at Tim he had to stare at her breasts. They were hanging down where she was leaning forward and her Vault suit was undone slightly at the top showing a bit of cleavage. She had a very ample figure. As she turned back Tim’s eyes darted back towards her face. She held out a Vault suit with bits of leather and all sorts sewn into it. As the sleepy haze slowly lifted from Tim’s eyes he could see it was in fact his Vault suit.
“What do you think?” Lydia said smiling and holding up the jump suit.
It was defiantly Tim’s suit but it had been merged with the leather jacket and a few other bits of material. The leggings had leather knee pad patches on both sides, on one side red stitching could be seen snaking out from under the patch where the suit underneath had been damaged. The groin was mostly normal apart from the belt which had not only been attached to the suit it self but was now a combination of two standard issue belts, making a sort of large utility belt.
From just above the belt line up was what was left of the original leather jacket. It was only wrapped over the jumpsuit, not stitched in. Both arms had been removed and the shoulders had been given slightly extra padding from the excess leather. The front was covered in dense red stitching where the rips and holes had been repaired. The arms of the suit had patches on the elbows and strips of leather on the end of the fore arms which made up sort of bracers.
“What happened to the arms?” Tim Asked.
“We used them to patch up the jump suit and add a little extra padding in. Most of the left arm is left over; we could stick it back on if you like?” Lydia looked very proud of the new and ‘improved’ jump suit.
Tim considered the look of wearing a leather jacket with only one arm for a moment but quickly brushed it off as a silly idea, even if it would make him look like a hard case. Examining his Jump Suit Tim decided it was a big improvement on the original plain blue with yellow strip design. It also added a sort of bad ass look and gave more protection.
“Well, I’ll let you get dressed. Lieutenant Balk wants to see you as soon as you are up and ready.” Lydia flashed Tim one last smile and then set his jump suit down on the side of the bed and disappeared through the curtain that surrounded Tim’s hospital bed.
Tim pulled himself up into a sitting position and examined himself. His right arm had several fresh puncture marks, an empty ‘Slow-Stim’ lay next to him on the small bed side table. ‘Slow-stim’s’ as they had been nick named were effectively two normal stimpacks connected together through a new delivery system. Instead of an instant effect like a normal stimpack they were designed as a European equivalent to the American Super Stimpack.
Europe not having the resources of the USA could not afford the expensive chemicals used to make super stims so instead their scientists came up with the slow-stim. The slow stim took about an hour and slowly injected the stimpack chemicals into the blood stream rather than pumping them all in at once. The end effect was that the stimpacks, coupled with the natural healing rate of the body, healed much more injury than using two standard ones at once would. The hour trade off was more than acceptable seeing as stimpacks were a rare commodity in Europe, even before the war.
Tim pulled down the blood stained bandages that coated his torso, slightly, and examined the various cuts and lashes. Most of them were healing nicely although one or two of them would need another good nights sleep at the very least. Tim pulled himself to his feet and stretched, stopping mid way as the pain of his wounds spiked for a moment.
Tim was coated in patches of dry blood and black stains covered his hands where he had climbed out of the base the day before. It looked like the doctor had tried to keep things as sterile as possible around the more serious wounds but things like Tim’s hair took a back bench it appeared. Tim picked up his jump suit and headed for the showers Lieutenant Balk had told him about the night before.
…
Lydia stepped through the tent entrance into the medical tent and looked up over towards Tim’s bed. The curtains around the bed were fluttering as Tim was getting dressed after having his shower. She leant sideways slightly and got a glimpse of bare flesh through the thin gap where the curtains didn’t quite meet.
“You nearly done in there?” She asked.
“Give me a minuet.” Tim replied fumbling with the new belt.
“Balk wants us to meet him by the armoury tent as soon as you are done.” Lydia was still leaning sideways slightly trying to catch another glimpse.
“Us?” Tim asked.
“Yeah, looks like I am going on this next mission with you.” She said.
“Oh yeah… any idea what it is?” Tim said still getting dressed.
“No. Nearly everyone else is busy digging out that base you cleared out. Quite a mess down there from what I hear.” Lydia was still trying to sneak a peak through the curtains.
“… So how’s your leg by the way? Not in a cast any more I notice.” Tim said letting out a slight grunt as he tightened the straps on his boots.
“Yeah, it’s all healed now, nearly as good as new.” Lydia sharply pulled herself back into an upright standing position as the curtains were pulled back; hiding the fact she had been peeking. Tim stepped forward in his new attire.
Lydia looked Tim up and down. He had the thick leather “M4gnum” combat boots he had found in the base on. His knees were padded leather and his Vault suit slightly worn, the leather armless jacket sat comfortably on his chest and the padded shoulders looked intimidating. The new kind of utility belt meant that Tim could carry much more various odds, ends and ammo clips than before. The leather bracers on Tim’s fore arms looked good as well as providing extra protection and making his vault suit look a little more beefy. The left hand one also did a good job of covering up the SEID a little bit, though it was pretty well disguised as a plain bronze bracer anyway.
Lydia went a shade rosier in the cheeks and couldn’t help but smile slightly. Tim checked himself over quickly to make sure everything was secure and done up correctly, not registering Lydia’s reaction on a conscious level. He liked the improvements to his suit a lot, it was more comfortable than usual and the leather jacket and padding gave excellent protection for what they were. I wasn’t exactly ‘leather armour’ but it was a step up from just a leather jacket. Tim struck a pose in an over the top joking way.
“What do you think?” He said in a half silly voice.
“I love it!” Lydia replied.
“Common, Balk said to meet at the armoury on the double.” Lydia said as she began walking out of the tent entrance, Tim followed.
…
Tim looked up at the wall of trees in front of him. The foliage had taken the effect of the bombs pretty well. While the trees didn’t look as healthy as perhaps they should they still had leaves and a tint of green about them. Lydia was following closely behind Tim as they walked away from the camp and into the woods, following the river at the bottom of the valley. Tim ran over the plan of action one last time in his mind.
“Scout the area, find as many fusion shells as possible, bring them back to camp.” He said.
“Yeah, sounds really easy.” Lydia said in a sarcastic way.
“Oh I dunno. According to the maps we have there is, or at least was a pre war base about three or four days walk from here.” He said trying to keep the spirits up.
“When Balk said he was pairing me up with you for a mission an eight day trek in an overgrown forest wasn’t my idea.” She said hopping her rucksack on her back and pulling it up slightly as they walked.
“Well it has to be done. We need those fusion cells…” Tim loosened the grip on his assault rifle and let it hang over his stomach from the strap.
“Yeah, we need them alright. Pity the Lou couldn’t send any more of us out.” Vasquez said, running for a moment to keep up with Tim and Lydia.
Vasquez was a short dark haired Italian with a thing for fat women and the mind of a mechanical genius. He could dismantle an old car and turn it into a personal computer with the right tools and enough time. He was the third in their small party which had been sent out to the base they only knew as “grid AX4-99”. The base was obviously top secret at some point so instead of a name or mark on the map there was just a road system which just ended in a big blank white spot on the map.
Tim didn’t really like the idea of an eight day trek either but Balk had ordered it. They needed at least five fusion cells to jump start the generator in the underground base next to their camp and they wanted reconnaissance on the surrounding area. Following the river was the only real practical way to approach their encampment by foot or with a vehicle. The body in the base was relatively fresh, which meant as some point someone had come here. This meant, in theory, at some point they could come back.
The trio of wondering dwellers walked along the river side for about an hour, most of the conversation was complaints and moaning to being with from Vasquez and Lydia, but it soon broke out into joking and the ‘what are you going to do first when you get back to camp?’. It was at this point that Tim stopped, just as it had come around to his turn to say what he would do.
“What is it man?” Vasquez asked.
Tim was silent for a moment. Ahead of him was a sort of Y junction, naturally formed by a larger tree and a collection of rocks. The main route lay straight ahead, following the river through the woods, but the path to the right lead up the valley side. Tim considered for a moment.
The valley path had fewer trees but it would be harder to walk and there was no guarantee it would bypass the forest or even lead anywhere other than up the hill. On the up side it would make for a better view of the surroundings being higher up and might also be a bit quicker with no trees to slow them down.
The forest path beside the river was a guaranteed option. They would defiantly hit the base eventually but progress might be slower if the forest got any thicker deeper in. That and you couldn’t see more than about 50 meters at any one time for all the trees. On the other hand the forest path next to the river meant fresh drinking water was always at hand and possibly warmer nights when they had to set up camp.
Choice time:
A: Take the high road, up into the rocky hills. (+ 1 Agility + Scout perk)
B: Take the low road; follow the river through the forest. (+ 1 Strength + Explorer perk)
Stats update:
::: Statistics:
Strength: 06
Perception: 08
Endurance: 07
Charisma: 05
Intelligence: 07
Agility: 09
Luck: -10 (Not going to be used, but -10 sounds about right)
Hit Points: 027/040
Melee Damage: 03
Carry Weight: 175 lbs
(Perks are Gifted and High metabolism.)
::: Skills: (As more skills come into use I will add them in).
Small guns: 100%
Big guns: 10%
Energy Weapons: 10%
Unarmed: 60%
Ah, another part done, phew. How do you guys like it?
Also, what are your opinions on the “…” parts where I just skip straight to the next interesting thing happening. I figured people wouldn’t really want to read about how Tim had a shower, took a dump, cleaned him self up and how Tim reported to Lieutenant Balk and got his orders or how he met up with Vasquez and was assigned as “expedition leader” as it were. Do you like the “…” bits or no? If not I wont use them any more, it is partly laziness by me but I figured it would get a bit boring if I wrote down every little thing Tim did while he was recuperating for his next ‘quest’.
) away from writing the Fan fic. I WILL post the next chapter as soon as I am done, its about 50% so far, fear not.
