The REALLY Wild Wasteland. (The Fallout RP!)

[Blast Off To Titan]

If one thought that being carried over a man's power armor clad shoulder while he leaped across a span of any distance would be a comfortable affair, then clearly you are in to the kinky stuff that involves whips and leather. Constance was not one of those people who thought that the ride across the Rivet City gap was particularly comfortable, especially given the recent head injury that she had suffered while her deep cover contact, Frank, was dealing with a Plus Sized Super Mutant Behemoth.

While the landing on the Rivet City side of the gap might have felt gentle to the gentleman wearing the Power Armor, it sent Constance plunging back into the inky blackness of unconsciousness.

[hr]

The American Enclave Scouts of America Transport was not left abandoned for too long, it seemed, once it was discovered by a pair of scavengers that appeared to have seen better days. Had they known that the Short Bus was property of the D.C. Enclave, they might have had reservations about messing with said vehicle yet to them it seemed like any standard mostly mint condition vehicle used for the transport of "handi-capable" students, minus the broken windshield and dented hood.

"Oi Joe! I see wha' the problem is 'ere." Said Paxton as he looked under the hood of the Black Transport, "Seems tha' this 'ere 'lectrical relay got jostled loose."

"Plug it in, man and we can split this shit hole get going to New Vegas." Responded the one Scavvy known as Joe as climbed into the transport and sat down in the driver's seat.

"Right! When I plug it in you give 'er a start." said Paxton as he put the relay back into position, "Alright start 'er up!"

If plans within the confines of the Wasteland always went the direction planners' desires, clearly the Wasteland might have been a better place and yet, as with plans disintegrating during first contact with a foe, the designs that Paxton and Joe had for the Enclave Transport quickly died when the Enclave Transport detected an unauthorized user in the driver's seat and engaged its protection protocol.

In other words, the Scavenger known as Joe was sent flying through the air by means of an piston driven ejection seat.

"Joe?!" Paxton exclaimed as he heard his partner's distressed cried before they were ceased by the sudden impact of Joe against a brick wall.

It took a moment for Paxton to realize what had occurred and another moment for Paxton to decide that there were easier ways to get to New Vegas, ones that hopefully did not involve getting thrown into brick walls.

[hr]

"Quite amazing, really. The nerves governing transport visual information to her brain have been tied into the sensors mounted on her head. Whoever performed the procedure did some pretty fine work." Said a strange echoing voice somewhere near the semi-conscious teenager.

"Do you think that the Brotherhood could have done this Doctor Preston?" Asked another voice, a female voice.

"No, Susie. I don't think this is Brotherhood work but it seems like she's coming around." Answered the voice of Doctor Preston as Constance began to stir, "Whoa. Take it easy there. You had quite a nasty cut on your head when Frank brought you in."

"Uh-ow. Where am I?" The Disguised American Enclave Scout of America managed as ask as she slowly sat up, regretting the action before it was complete.

"You're in Rivet City. I take it from you expression that this is your first time here." The Doctor commented when he noticed the slight expression of distress on Constance's face when she realized that she was in enemy territory.

"Y...yes, it is. Do you know where Frank went?" The young girl asked as she felt her head clearing up after a few moments.

"I'm not too sure where he ran off to but I wouldn't recommend going out to look for him in your condition." Doc Preston commented.

"Really. I'm feeling a lot better now, thank you." The Scout responded as she hopped off the medical bed, "I'd really like to take a look around."

"Well I can't force you to stay but the Rivet City branch of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel are holding a meeting on the deck. You might want to check in with them. You are transferring here aren't you?"

"I... well... maybe. Thanks, Doc." Constance said hastily as she grabbed her gear and started heading out into the hallway in search of Frank.

[hr]

In the end, her search for Frank bore no fruit. Rather what she did find was trouble in the form of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel.

"Hey girl. Didn't you know it's against the Scout regulations for you to be wearing that tail and those ears while you're in uniform?" Asked a gruff voice from behind Constance as she wandered through the Rivet City Halls.

"Excuse me?" Scout Sorrowfeld asked as she turned around and "saw" a pack of Scouts behind her.

"I said, what are you doing wearing those ridiculous things." Said the largest of the scouts as he tugged on her tail.

"OW!" The Disguised Enclave agent cried out as the boy continued to tug on her tail thinking that it was some sort of accessory that Constance wore.

"Hey Matt. I think it's attached to her. Same with those ears! Hah! She's a freak!" Observed a second scout, a mocking smile on his face as he looked at the "cat ears" on top of the girl's head.

"How'd you get on the ship, freak?" Asked the first scout as he moved closer to her, Constance's scan of the boy's body revealing that his muscles were tensing up right before he shoved her.

"Leave me alone!" The Young Constance yelled as she tried to slip back, away from the pack of Brotherhood Scouts of Steel only to bump into a second pack that had come in behind her.

"You think you can wear our uniform and get away with it freak? Think again." Continued the first scout, Matt, as he started cracking his knuckles, preparing to beat the uniform right off the cat like girl.

"Stay away from me!" Constance yelled as she started slipping her hand into the Deathclaw Gauntlet that was strapped to her pack strap. It seemed that both the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel and the American Enclave Scouts of America had something in common with each other. They enjoyed taunting, teasing and abusing people like her.

 

[Souplex]

Frank went up to the Rivet City Clinic.
"I'm afraid you just missed her. She left to look for you."
Frank hated situations like this. He'd go looking for someone who was also looking for him, and they'd keep on missing each other.
She was up and about though, so that was a plus.
Frank bought up several doses of rad-away, cracked open his helmet, and began frenziedly stabbing them into his neck.
"It's fine, don't worry.
Frank helmeted back up.
Frank headed down to the marketplace, and made his way to Flak and Shrapnel's.
"Hello Flak."
"Frank."
"I'm going to need a huge favor."
"I suppose you've earned it after today."
"I'm going to need every explosive you can spare delivered to the flight deck. Preferably C-4 and Time Bombs."
"How important is this?"
"The most important."
"All right, I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you."
Frank headed to the entrance of Rivet City, as being inside a reinforced steel hull of that size was bad for radio communications, switched on his suits radio, and made a transmission.
"This is Frank Rose sending a priority 1 request for Project Purity's Vertibird to perform a pick-up on Rivet City's flight-deck."
Frank went back into the marketplace.
"Stay away from me!"
The girl from earlier was being harassed by Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel.
Frank hated the scouts. They had no official connection to the Brotherhood. (You can tell from the lack of chivalry themes in their titles) and were more like a fan-club. A fan-club that just happened to be full of thugs and bullies who convinced people they were hot shit by claiming to be associated with the Brotherhood.
Frank got the attention of a guard.
"Hey Jesse, there's a situation developing over there. I'm going to deal with it for now, but try and keep it contained.
Frank trudged over.
[Unarmed]One of the scouts was surprised by the sensation of a steel-clad boot going up his ass.
"I'd recommend laying off, the real Brotherhood will be here any time now, and security is watching you."
The scouts dispersed.
"You all right?"
Frank realized he didn't know this girl's name, and she possibly didn't know his.
"I'm Frank, I'm a... I guess the closest term would be a Ronin with the Brotherhood of Steel.

 

[nuba km]

"Is that some kind of shock glove? What kind of power source does it use? How high a voltage could you run through it?"

Larry was a bit refreshed by someone not just asking a veriation of, how well does it kill someone? Without saying anything larry slowly took of the glove and placed it on the workstation behind himself.He picked up one of the tesla cuts he had made. He then walked over to the dirt were he had drawn out a rough blueprint of glove desgin as well as the other things he had build and while pointing at the appropriate points on the diagram with the tesla cut said

'Well, it uses a microfusion cell, though with tweaks to the desgin could use other power sources. It runs at a high enough voltage to dispale most people, at the very least make them crap and wet themselves. It could also damage any cybernetic implants and would most likely kill anyone with a heart condition. Currently I have it atatched to a recharger rifle for testing propouses. I often do that, has left the recharger rifle a bit unreliable. Has a nasty habbit of not shooting at the most inconviniant times. Note also that there is a switch on it allowing the desgin to be implimanted into a suit of armour without effecting normal hand usage.'

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

DC Area: And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always love yoooooouuuuu!​

Lucy's mouth twisted as she tried her best to bury her laughter. The way Sylph had ran off with her backpack couldn't possibly be taken seriously while she was still in a teasing mood. Making a mental note to demonstrate the difference between tone later on, Lucy closed her eye while she propped herself against her rifle.

Things were different for Lucy. She could see clearly now the rain has gone. Being outside of the Vault's oppressive influence had given her time to reflect on her actions, specifically regarding her recent behaviour.

Her reckless nature and temper probably wouldn't change anytime soon, but she could at least take more responsibility for her actions and trust a little bit more. Lucy had learned the hard way that the Wasteland did not revolve around her issues, so it was time to subdue them and refocus on what was important.

That being said...

"There. I have apologized to Alice. Are you pleased now?"

She knew that voice, or rather, she recognized the lower register and the lack of enthusiasm. Sylph.

Opening her eye, it was clear (or rather it wasn't) that Sylph had approached from her obvious blindspot. What Sylph would see next was a small smile forming at the sound of her voice, followed by the visible relaxation of her shoulders.

"Just the person I've been waiting for." Lucy announced calmly, almost affectionately. "About the backpack, I was teasing you. That's all. But there's something more important right now."

Lucy still hadn't turned to look at Sylph, but she straightened her back and rested her hands on the rifle stock. Right now, Sylph was going to decide her immediate fate.

"I would like to stay with you." Lucy opened bluntly. "You are the reason that I am here, let alone alive at this point. I realized - "

Lucy turned to face the unshackled Sylph, the small smile still present as she strangely found it easier to communicate with this side for once. " - this isn't about a debt anymore. I'm here for you because you held me together when I was at my worst. You gave me something to fight for when I was burning out. You gave me - ...[small]hope[/small]... when I was marching to my death."

The smile had all but disappeared now as Lucy noticed the scrapes. Pushing two of her four stimpacks into Sylph's hand, Lucy merely nodded before continuing. For future sake, it was probably best that Sylph have half the medical supplies.

"So, I wasn't going to rest until I could talk to you, specifically." Lucy chose not to dodge the question anymore. "Do you, honestly, want me to stay by your side?"

She had finally said it. The question that she was agonizing over in the Vertibird on the way here.

Timing being what it was...

"What the hell is this?"

Alice had made a return from the same direction that Sylph had approached. Whether this was good or bad was yet to be seen.

It took Lucy a few moments to figure out what the hell she was on about. Lucy had walked up the hill, Sylph was back and covered in a few nasty-looking scrapes, her choker was removed -

The choker.

"Oh right, you mean that?" Lucy pointed at the choker and scratched her head. Situations like these generally called for straight honesty. "Sylph and Sylphee are two very different people in one body. A fragmented personality."

To illustrate her next point, Lucy suddenly took a step forward and planted her rifle in front of Sylph like a shield. Part of Lucy's newfound 'sisterly' instinct was kicking in.

"Think of it as a restraint mechanism. Kinda like the difference between the default mode and Beast Mode on my rifle..." Lucy merely shrugged. She couldn't anticipate how Alice would react to all that and everything she had probably overheard.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

D.C. Wastelands:

"Just the person I've been waiting for." Sister Lucy Black announced calmly, almost affectionately. "About the backpack, I was teasing you. That's all. But there's something more important right now."

Sylph was quite aware that Sister Lucy Black had been teased Sylph's more annoyingly happy half and had not taken any offense to it. Nothing would have please Sylph more than for someone to deprive the little ingrate of her pack filled with what was essentially garbage mixed in with a few somewhat useful items and now a live Rad Scorpion that was most likely eating through Sylph's other half's stash of Dried Rad Scorpion Meat.

"I would like to stay with you." Sister Lucy Black opened bluntly. "You are the reason that I am here, let alone alive at this point. I realized this isn't about a debt anymore. I'm here for you because you held me together when I was at my worst. You gave me something to fight for when I was burning out. You gave me - ...hope... when I was marching to my death."

The smile had all but disappeared now as Sister Lucy Black noticed the scrapes. Pushing two of her four stimpacks into Sylph's hand, Sister Lucy Black merely nodded before continuing.

"So, I wasn't going to rest until I could talk to you, specifically." Lucy chose not to dodge the question anymore. "Do you, honestly, want me to stay by your side?"

Sister Lucy Black's question was - unexpected. Being who Sylph was and what she was, Father had never expressed an interest in the Red Menace's opinions nor did he treat her more than a tool of his trade. The sensation of forming her own opinion was as foreign to her as the a Ghoul was in Tenpenny Tower but still, it wasn't an uncomfortable sensation. Did Sylph want Sister Lucy Black with her and if so was there a motivation?

Reflecting on the Blue Haired Serial Killer's motives to arriving in the D.C. Wastelands, it occurred to her that there was still a debt that needed to be settled. Father was not dead as Sylph's other half had thought, as was evidenced by his all too familiar voice while in the Enclave Vault and if what Sister Lucy Black said was true about her Friend the Undertaker, he had risked everything to ensure that both Sylph and Sister Lucy Black were safe.

But there was still something beyond the debt that the Stormy Eyed Girl had racked up while in the Wastelands a sensation to her that was even more foreign that the concept of forming her own opinion. Perhaps Sylph had found -

"What the hell is this?" Asked Alice as she approached both Sister Lucy Black and Sylph, the previous topic falling to the wayside as Alice made her presence known.

"Oh right, you mean that?" Sister Lucy Black pointed at the choker and scratched her head."Sylph and Sylphee are two very different people in one body. A fragmented personality. Think of it as a restraint mechanism. Kinda like the difference between the default mode and Beast Mode on my rifle..."

To illustrate Sister Lucy Black's point, Sylph twisted her wrist and extended the blade that ran along her forearm, the blood stained blade casting a red reflection on some nearby debris.

"It's a long story but I'm not an immediate threat to you." The Blue Haired Girl offered, though there was no exact definition of how long immediate was nor was there any definition of the conditions it would take for Sylph to become a threat. Turning her head slightly to Sister Lucy Black, Sylph made an uncharacteristic quip, "I don't believe myself to be fragmented."

"Now, who are you Alice?"

 

[Blast Off To Titan]

By the time Frank had arrived, Constance had managed to pin one of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel against a wall with the edge of her short sword pressed against the bully's neck. The noise of a scuffle behind her caused the young girl to turn her head and see that her backup had arrived, giving her ample opportunity to give the pinned bully a momento.

"Just something to remember me by in case you get it in your head to try that again." The Feline-esque scout said as she raked the claws of her death claw gauntlet down the boy's face, drawing blood from the superficial wounds, and released him to go run for his mommy. Turning around to face her benefactor, the young scout smiled amiably.

"I'm Frank, I'm a... I guess the closest term would be a Ronin with the Brotherhood of Steel. Said Frank, introducing himself formally, after he had chased off the remainder of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel.

"A Ronin with the Brotherhood of Steel?" Constance thought to herself as she realized the genius of her deep cover contact's disguise. She was excited to know that she would be learning from someone with a large skill set, though not as skilled as Natsuki Manriki or Cornelius Jack, but skilled never the less. As a floating "member" of the Brotherhood of Swine, Frank was free to infiltrate various sections of the Brotherhood and other enemies of the Enclave and sow as much discord as he pleased.

"I'm Constance, Constance Sorrowfeld." The young scout introduced herself to Frank, "I'm sorry that you have such a low opinion of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel since that's the reason that brings me here."

If she was going to be undercover with Frank, she figured she should practice as much as possible.

"More to the point, you're the reason that brought me here. As a potential recruit into the Brotherhood of Sw-Steel, my Troop Leader told me that I should seek you out and see if you can assess my skills and recommend me as a recruit into the Brotherhood." Constance continued, though most of what she had said was the truth as she understood it.

"I'm really glad that I found you, I'm looking forward to working with you, Sir." The Young Girl concluded as she stowed her weapons and looked at Frank expectantly.

 

[Drummodino]

Breathing a sigh of relief, Charlie listened closely as instead of another scolding, the man (who Charlie was going to refer to as 'Muscles' from now on) instead started describing the weapon, pointing to a diagram drawn in the dirt nearby.

"Well, it uses a microfusion cell, though with tweaks to the desgin could use other power sources."

"Microfusion cells huh? Cool, haven't seen one of those up close before. I wonder if you can re-purpose them into grenades?"

"It runs at a high enough voltage to dispale most people, at the very least make them crap and wet themselves. It could also damage any cybernetic implants and would most likely kill anyone with a heart condition."

Yikes that sounds nasty... I wonder what it would do to a radscorpion? Probably make a delicious mess.

"Currently I have it atatched to a recharger rifle for testing propouses. I often do that, has left the recharger rifle a bit unreliable. Has a nasty habbit of not shooting at the most inconviniant times."

"A recharger rifle? As in a energy rifle that recharges? How does that even work? Oh I wish I could try that out..."

"Note also that there is a switch on it allowing the desgin to be implimanted into a suit of armour without effecting normal hand usage."

As Muscles finished his description Charlie looked up from the dirt drawing wide-eyed and started babbling, his nervousness overpowered by his enthusiasm.

"This... this is so cool! Man, I've never seen anything like this before. If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn to make this stuff? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you can teach yourself... although if you did, that's even more impressive. Also, do you know where could I find a relatively cheap energy weapons dealer? I've always wanted to play around with something like that rifle, but no one ever had any to trade to us back home."

 

[Souplex]

"I'm Constance, Constance Sorrowfeld. I'm sorry that you have such a low opinion of the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel since that's the reason that brings me here."
"The Junior scouts aren't sanctioned by the Brotherhood, no matter what they tell you."
"More to the point, you're the reason that brought me here. As a potential recruit into the Brotherhood of Sw-Steel, my Troop Leader told me that I should seek you out and see if you can assess my skills and recommend me as a recruit into the Brotherhood."
"Sounds like your Troop Leader's screwing with you. The Brotherhood will take most anyone who's competent if they're at least 15 for training."
"I'm really glad that I found you, I'm looking forward to working with you, Sir."
"Did your scoutmaster mention me by name? If not, they may have been trying to get rid of you. I would prefer if you didn't stick around me. I have no desire to endanger a child. In the past week alone, I've had to deal with..."
Frank thought for a moment. There was the Behemoth whose ass he shoved the Van Graff-mobile up, there was the trio of behemoths who attacked the Citadel, there was the giant enemy crab, there was the building robot, and there were the half-dozen Behemoths outside of Rivet City. (He wasn't sure if he could count the one he was stuck inside as being fought)
"...Eleven-ish giant foes."
[Perception]Bloom appeared to be finishing up his negotiation with Holmes. Neither of them looked happy, which meant a compromise was reached.
The girl was getting stuff out of her bag to show Frank, but he was already heading over to Bloom.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to see a ghoul about a flying doom-fortress."

 

[Legion]

"Oh right, you mean that?" Lucy pointed at the choker and scratched her head. Situations like these generally called for straight honesty. "Sylph and Sylphee are two very different people in one body. A fragmented personality."

To illustrate her next point, Lucy suddenly took a step forward and planted her rifle in front of Sylph like a shield. Part of Lucy's newfound 'sisterly' instinct was kicking in.

"Think of it as a restraint mechanism. Kinda like the difference between the default mode and Beast Mode on my rifle..." Lucy merely shrugged. She couldn't anticipate how Alice would react to all that and everything she had probably overheard.

At the same time, Sylph twisted her wrist and extended the blade that ran along her forearm, the blood stained blade casting a red reflection on some nearby debris.

"It's a long story but I'm not an immediate threat to you." The Blue Haired Girl offered, though there was no exact definition of how long immediate was nor was there any definition of the conditions it would take for Sylph to become a threat. Turning her head slightly to Sister Lucy Black, Sylph made an uncharacteristic quip, "I don't believe myself to be fragmented."

"Now, who are you Alice?"

"I am not an immediate threat to you," she says, while showing off a blood stained blade. I would have been better off just walking away. Or kept my pistol out. If things turn ugly I'd have had the advantage with that already drawn.

Alice gazed at Lucy, noticing a change in her behaviour as well. Considering she'd been quite friendly earlier, there was some veiled hostility in her face at that moment. Although Alice assumed this was out of defensive towards Slyph. Without moving, Alice considered the best way to answer Slyph's question.

Honesty isn't going to cut it. I cannot allow the Brotherhood to know who I am, and she's not exactly going to do nothing if I say why I'm looking for them. I doubt she'd care that I am ex-NCR, but there are many others who would be, especially considering this area is also apparently inhabited by The Enclave. Oh hell, why didn't I just walk away?

"There are some things you are just better off not knowing," she replied. "Unless you want to add the NCR and the Legion to the list of people who want you dead," she said, pointing over at the wreckage of the Vertibird, and the Enclave pilot's corpse; "Then forgetting that I ever existed would be the smartest thing you could do."

She turned to walk away again, a risk she thought worth taking. She considered it unlikely they were going to try and stop her leaving. Despite the implied threats they'd made, she hadn't threatened them in retaliation after all.

But then again, I have always been a terrible judge of character. Haven't I Alice?

 

[nuba km]

"This... this is so cool! Man, I've never seen anything like this before. If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn to make this stuff? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you can teach yourself... although if you did, that's even more impressive. Also, do you know where could I find a relatively cheap energy weapons dealer? I've always wanted to play around with something like that rifle, but no one ever had any to trade to us back home."

While talking Larry got back to his workstation and started preparing parts and tools for his next desgin 'I don't work that much with energy weapons I mainly work with projectile based weapons and explosives. Most people are born and learn to survive, then do so to varying degress of sucess. I was born and trained to make and destroy, didn't have to worry about surviving till I learned the biggest rule about making things.' Larry turned to face the man 'No matter what you make, no matter how carefull you are, you never know who it will be used on; foes, monsters, mutants, friends, family, yourself.' Larry then gestured at the sacres and burns on his face and arms.

Larry sighed, 'Sorry been kinda rude, names Larry Hatchet. I understand you enthusiasm, but you know what they say, once bitten twice shy.'

 

[Souplex]

Frank found bloom talking with a pair of Fat Cat mercenaries.
"-handle those cultist fuckers if we have to..."
"Ah, Frank. I understand you wanted to see me?"
Bloom gestured for his mercenaries to get out of their hair. There were however, other mercs watching Bloom's back from a distance where they wouldn't overhear what he was saying.
"Mr. Bloom, I need to know; is the Lead Zeppelin ready?"
Frank learned of the Lead Zeppelin when he was working for Rothman repairs who had been subcontracted to assist on the design. Bloom saw the zeppelin as the ultimate symbol of a wealthy man lording his wealth over the peasantry. He wanted to make a flying city/fortress/artillery/carrier out of one.
Frank's most notable contribution to the design was a system linked to the on-board fusion reactor that would use the acquired helium to add ballast, and expel it for landing.
"Ugh, if she were ready, would I have been penned in here by Stupor Mutant? The work's coming along, but there are hindrances, little upsets that add up. Secrecy is one thing. Gotta keep the whole thing under wraps or the Enclave'll just bomb it to hell. Had the usual issue with logistics, but we're overcoming that now. The REAL problem is the staff. My business is open to ghouls and humans alike, of course, but lately every third ghoul is going out of his mind, babbling nonsense. I found out recently what the cause is. It's cultism. Buncha' lunatics running around in robes and stuff. I'll run 'em down if I have to. We can't have this nonsense screwing with our business."
"I'm afraid that's going to be problematic. I'm going off to blow up a large robot, and artillery shelling is always a plus."
"Yes, I heard a great deal about that thing. Had some spotters watching Bethesda, you see. The trouble is the artillery IT'S packing. You were closer. Are those really nukes on its back?"
"Looks to be. I imagine hitting something flying over the perpetual cloud-cover of the wastes would be a rather hard target though. I'm pretty sure one of them exploded, which is how I ended up here, but that's a rather insane story for another time."
"Take it from me, if a nuclear missile went off, I'd know for sure. Nevertheless, setting those noisemakers off on its back would certainly vaporize it and anything around it for sure. A little silent running overhead might do it. Still, that's not the point, is it? The Zeppelin has to be completed soon. This wasteland is getting worse by the minute and I've a feeling it's just getting warmed up. Maybe not as bad as the last war, but certainly no good for the survivors."
"Last I checked, it was incapacitated. I'm gonna cut a hole in it, fill it with bombs, and watch the pinata blow. Problem is I'm working with spare explosives, if you could buy up the rest of Flak and Shrapnel's stock, that would make things a lot easier."
"Bringing new meaning to the term 'surgical strike'. Where will you insert the bombs? Because I would find it highly-lucrative if you could salvage..."
Bloom pulled out a piece of paper and a monocle to read it.
"...the energy guns in the arms, the missile launchers in its shoulders, the secondary vulcan cannon arms, and perhaps the nuclear missiles themselves."
[Repair]"Something that big has to have something nuclear for power. Blowing up its insides would likely blow up its outsides as well, but if your men see a massive explosion from the Bethesda ruins, I'm not going to stop them from scavenging."
"Hmmm...good point. It may be destroyed utterly. Still, I could only benefit from that, so I will secure you some explosives, and a remote trigger. For god's sake, Frank, stop doing things at ground zero or you'll end up like me!"
"I know. I'm dealing with it."
Bloom would be footing the bill for a butt-ton of explosives. Bloom had a few rules for all his employees to follow. Frank had learned them in BloomBurg. This was a clear case of rule 4.
4: Some things are more important than money.
4.5: Most things are not more important than money.
[Medicine]Rad-away was a liquid that absorbed radiation as it passed through your body, and you would pass it out of your body the way you pass other liquids. (Sweating, peeing, etc.)
"How much rad-away is it safe to use at once?"
"Never touched the stuff, personally, but my men like to space it out a bit, no more than three in a day, unless you like the side effects. Had a guy on staff 'round here who went into a hot zone, came back, used FIVE at once and spent the next 27 hours locked in the bathroom with food, and water.
Frank had used... 6? That wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Thankfully he wore his bathroom.
"Well that's not reassuring."
"What arrangement did you reach with Holmes anyways? You're not going to half-ass the bridge because he didn't want to be gouged are you?."
This looked like a rule 2 scenario.
2: We must always honor the letter of our agreements.
2.5: We are under no obligation to honor the spirit of our agreements.
" No, nothing like that. Finally convinced him to go ahead with the OTHER project I wanted to get into."
"And what project is that, if you don't mind my asking?"
"It's a rather nice ship, you know. Still sea-worthy, they tell me. It's just run aground and in need of repair. Quite a lot, in fact, but doable.
"There used to be a guy here who thought the same way. Name of Pinkerton. Problem was the other scientests wanted to do other things. I'd say having clean water is worth it though."
"Water? Never touch the stuff. There's fish shit in it you know."
"Unless you think there's anything else to discuss, I don't want to miss my ride."
"I don't believe so."
Frank headed off to the flight-deck.

 

[Blast Off To Titan]

It appeared that her mission was not going as planned since Frank did not seem to want a someone as young as her accompanying him on his own missions. It was likely that Frank did not want someone with as little experience as she had putting his missions in jeopardy, as vital as they were to the Enclave Cause. Perhaps all she needed to do was prove that she was capable of handling herself in a dangerous situation before he would accept her. The encounter with the Junior Brotherhood Scouts of Steel bullies certainly had not provided her argument with any ammunition.

"How am I going to prove myself to him?" The Teenage Scout asked herself as she shouldered her Teddybear Pack, intending to meditate on the matter. As Constance turned around, the world suddenly went dark. It was strange since Constance's vision did not sense the difference between light and shadow which meant that she had just walked face first into something large and dense, a conclusion reinforced by the sensation of something large and dense against her face and the smell of ... something rancid that assailed her nostrils.

Backing up slowly, the object that she had run into came into focus.

"SUPER MUTANT!!!" Constance called out as she threw herself backwards away from the seven foot tall hulk, attempting to get out of melee range before the brute made up its mind whether to stomp her into the metal floor or to paint the walls with her insides.

As Constance flew backwards her body had instinctively reacted by unshouldering her shotgun, loaded with its owner's usual choice of slugs while the Super Mutant stood in place looking confused, its mouth opening to speak... not that the girl heard it over the roar of her firearm.

The snap shot unfortunately missed its mark and impacted against a wall behind the massive humanoid, which the girl estimated to be roughly Three Hundred and Seventy-five to Four Hundred pounds.

It was surprising to the scout that the Super Mutant had not attacked her yet when she landed on her feet. Perhaps it was not expecting someone of her stature to defend herself. Regardless of the cause, Constance found herself thankful that he still wore an expression of confusion on his face, until he noticed that the Disguised American Enclave Scout of America had properly shouldered her shotgun and was aiming directly at him. Moving with more speed than Constance thought was possible, the massively well muscled Super Mutant threw a nearby chair at its attacker just as she pulled the trigger.

The second slug splintered the fragile furniture and showered Constance with wooden fragments, her vision partially obscured by the exploding mass of debris and while the young Sorrowfeld could not see the Mutant closing the distance between her and it, she could feel his movement through the thunderous vibrations that ran up her legs from the floor.

Before the girl had a change to eject the spent cartridge and fire off another shot, Constance felt the Mutant's hand encircle her waist and throw her through the air. His mistake.

[Super-Balanced] If the large brute was expecting anything, it was not to see the young girl that he had thrown towards a wall expertly twist in the air, her legs outstretched and ready to absorb the impact against the wall while her torso was now facing the Super Mutant with her shotgun ready.

[Sonar Vision][Amateur Shotgun Surgeon] Keeping her ears turned towards both the angered Super Mutant and her landing zone, Constance pumped the fore grip of her shotgun just as he toes touched the metal wall and just as the Super Mutant pulled out his own weapon, Constance pulled the trigger.

"AAAARRRRGH!!!" The Super Mutant cried in pain as he looked at the mangled and bloody hand, "MY HAND! YOU STUPID ***** WHORE! MY HAND!!"

"W...wait... what?" The Young Woman blurted out in confusion as the irate Super Mutants unleashed a string of profanities that made the scout blush, a string of expletives that were so concise that he could not have been anything other than an overly large and bald human.

"You're not a Super Mutant?!" Constance asked as she approached the wounded man.

"ARE YOU BLIND AS WELL AS AN IDIOT?!" The man who would later be identified as Morgan Bloom's bodyguard.

"Well... yes." The scout admitted before a set of hands grabbed her from behind and placed shackles around her wrists.

"You're also under arrest." Said the Rivet City Security Officer behind her.

 

[The Harkinator]

As Alice turned to walk away, William stepped up. Having been an observer in all preceding events, it seemed clear neither Lucy nor Sylph (who was not in her usual candy floss mood) would be best suited to speaking to Alice. "Hold on a minute, what makes you think any of us do the smartest thing at the moment?" William turned to Lucy and Sylph, "Could you two put your weapons away for a bit, I think you're scaring her off."

William's ambassador life was kicking in right now, trying to bring both parties to the table so that people could sensibly decide what was best, rather than waving guns around and driving each other away. William continued on his sales pitch, "For that matter Alice, I don't think walking away is the smartest thing you could do right now. The DC ruins are dangerous, even to people who know them. If you go off alone all it takes is one thing to go wrong and suddenly you're trapped in a warzone with no help. Stay with us for the time being, at least until you're in a safer place." William walked towards Alice, arms outstretched in a friendly gesture, "Besides, we have plenty of enemies already, anybody else will have to get in a long line."

So, what was Alice going to do?

 

[Drummodino]

Sorry been kinda rude, names Larry Hatchet. I understand you enthusiasm, but you know what they say, once bitten twice shy.

"No need to apologize Sir, oops, I mean Mr Hatchet. What I was doing was very stupid and I'm glad you stepped in and stopped me. Even if I did fall on my face."

With a rueful grin Charlie rubbed his face, where a large, rather painful bruise had started to emerge.

"It sounds like you've had some unpleasant experiences in the past... I'm sorry to hear that. The wasteland can be a pretty rough place I guess. Luckily for me I haven't had too many bad experiences, the worst I've seen are random bandit raids back home. They soon learnt to leave us alone though, my Pa is a crack shot with his old rifle and I have a knack for making things go boom. The only person I've unintentionally injured with my creations is myself."

Charlie raised his hands, highlighting the burns and missing fingers.

"Still feels like they're there you know? Really annoying when they're itching but you can't scratch them. Anyway, that's enough negative talk! Any of those other gadgets as cool as that glove? Why are you making this stuff anyway?"

 

[Souplex]

Frank stood on the flight deck as crates of explosives were brought up by Fat Cats.
[Perception]Frank saw a Vertibird coming from the direction of Project Purity.
It would most likely be piloted by Knight Sylvia Carlson.
Sylvia Carlson and Frank never got along. She was smug, condescending, always insistent about her rightness, even when she clearly wasn't, and refused to hear any contrary opinions. which annoyed Frank, as he was always right. She also called him Franklin, which Frank really disliked.
She was also the reason Frank didn't drink, besides his dislike for the taste, smell, and aftertaste of liquor.
During Danielle's 17th birthday party, both Sylvia and Frank had quite a bit too much to drink. (Anyone sober during Danielle's rendition of "Dancing Queen" soon found themselves in dire need of a drink to dull the pain)
While what happened is fuzzy, when Frank came to, he was naked in bed with Sylvia with a pounding headache. He refused to drink from that point forward, arguing that it dulled the mind, and his mind was his greatest asset.
Frank remembered something. The dead paladin whose armor Frank used for repairs after the fight with... "FalloutBoob" was it? He couldn't remember that detail. Anyways, his holotag identified him as Chris Carlson. (See Wild Wasteland post #442 true believers!) Odds were that he was related to Sylvia. Frank would have to be the bearer of bad news.
Well, he'd have to deal with that, as the Vertibird was landing.
"Hello Franklin."

 

[Legion]

Alice considered this new development. She wasn't entirely sure why they seemed so eager for her to stick around. Normally whenever she acted this way people got the hint and left her alone. Although something about this group was different from the caravans and raiders that she was used to coming across.

Perhaps they see a kindred spirit? We all seem to be running from something, so maybe it's just safety in numbers they are after. They appear to know this area much better than I do, so he may have a point. That girl Sylph mentioned Super Mutants, and I'm not equipped to deal with them from anything more than half a mile away.

"Rivet City. What is it and why are you looking for it?" Alice enquired, slightly irritated at being drawn back into conversation, although less so than she normally would be. There was an earnestness in William and Lucy that put Alice slightly off her guard. It'd been some time since she'd come across people who didn't want to hurt her, and she found herself willing to at least give their offer a chance.

"If our goals don't match, then staying together for safety doesn't mean much. I have somewhere to be too," she finished, uncertain of how exactly she'd respond if asked where that place actually was.

[hr]

Wayne was in a good mood, oh yes he was. He'd been strolling along with some pals minding their own business when he saw something veeeery interesting. One of them whirlybirds went down not too far off and my gods did it bring a nice pile of jewels down with it. He was currently staring down the lens of his binoculars shaking with concealed delight (along with the withdrawal symptoms of his preferred high) at a feast for the eyes.

A fancy looking gauss rifle, that'd sell for a pretty penny, and what's this? Oho, that sniper rifle looks in good nick and all. The armour from the pilot may be a little wrecked around the middle, but surely with a little bit of polish most of the bumps'd come out.

With a signal to some of his "friends" he lay down on his stomach and brought his rifle up to bear. Today was going to be a good day.

[hr]

The first indicator anybody had of danger was Alice's hat being blown off of her head. Fluttering to the ground with a fourth hole being added to the brim. The second was the loud crack of a rifle quickly followed by sub-machine gun fire. It was too much, it seems, to hope that the crash had gone unnoticed.

 

[The Harkinator]

BANG! DAKKA!DAKKA!DAKKA! (and other assorted gunshot noises, use your imagination)

The quiet day was broken by gunfire, a shot hit Alice's hat and sent it fluttering to the ground. Submachine gun fire plinked near them.

"Find some cover! Get out of the street!" William charged behind some piled up rubble next to a building, there were multiple attackers, at least three by William's guess, probably more. One had a rifle and would pick off targets while the others had submachine guns and would keep the targets pinned. It was a well known and effective trap, you'd be so busy with the submachine gun fire the rifleman would have all the time in the world to line up his shot. Their attackers couldn't be too far away or pinning with SMGs wouldn't work.

"You've all got long range weapons, I don't. Keep them busy, I'm going to get behind these buildings and come up on them from the side. If you're popping out of cover for a shot, don't stay out for longer than a second. I've seen this trap before, that rifle is going to be picking you off of you're not careful. I'll be back in a minute."

William moved to the edge of his cover, then darted behind the building, a corner brick shattered behind him, pierced by the rifle. The back alley behind the buildings would get him very close to their attackers and at the range he was intending to fight at, sword beats gun. William started advancing on the enemy.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

D.C. Wastelands

Before Lucy could offer William her plasma pistol, he had rushed off in one direction. Lucy decided to cover the opposite way. It wouldn't help the group if they had all huddled in one position.

Lucy broke into a dash and slid into the nearest interconnected network of ruined and crumbling buildings.

The SMG fire that had suppressed her position was harsh indeed, she had counted at least two hostiles in her immediate area. Who knew how many had them surrounded in total? The closest one had made it his own mission to suppress her position exclusively.

Keeping low and reloading, Lucy weighed up her immediate options.

First: She had to determine her enemies positions.

Drawing her plasma pistol, Lucy blindly fired 4 bolts in a square formation outwards from behind cover. Immediately ducking, the return gunfire served as a response. Rounds had pelted her cover from two directions, one directly ahead of her position and another was alarmingly clipping the side of her position.

Second: Wait for an opening.

These men weren't trained, not in any disciplined manner at least. The reason they had emptied their magazines instead of burst-firing on her position was evidence enough. Once Lucy had noticed her nearest assailant cease firing, she clenched her pistol between her teeth and brought her Gauss Rifle to firing position.

Third: Strike.

Dextrously dashing and sliding to a nearby wall, her assailant was alerted to her movement and got behind cover of his own while reloading. Unfortunately for him, these ruins wouldn't be able to withstand the force of her rifle.

With her aim instinctively snapping to his position, Lucy blasted through her assailant's light cover. The result was an echo of endless screaming and whimpering.

One remaining.

Her reception was met with more wild bursts from a higher position. Her cover was weaker this time, since the endless bursts seemed to be cutting into her position. She couldn't expose herself without risking being shot, but she did have an idea after rapidly reloading:
"Invert Controls: THE BEAST!"

(00:59)

"What did you say, *****!? You're done, ya hear me!? Two machineguns, ya hear!?" bellowed her assailant from higher ground.

"Here's the thing about cover!" Lucy shouted as she laid on her back and steadied her rifle. Using the bullets pelting her cover to coincide with her assailant's firing position. "It doesn't apply to me!"

Pulling the trigger, Beast Mode unleashed an extremely destructive blast that bore through her own cover and had devastated anything else on the receiving end. The gunfire had stopped when she heard a tremendous crash. Presumably, Lucy had hit a structural support or wrecked the floor underneath her assailant.

Lucy didn't waste anytime getting back up and advancing on her assailants ruined position. With her plasma pistol extended in her off hand, she found her assailant crawling out from under some rubble and viciously turned him into a pile of goo with a volley of plasma fire.

She had eliminated the threats in her immediate area. But she was alerted to a threat that she was currently not equipped for.

A loud sniper rifle round had nicked and subsequently blown off a chunk of her only raised steel shoulder pad. Thankfully, the round had not injured her, but the sheer force was enough to knock her completely off balance and send her hurtling to the ground.

Hastily, Lucy scrambled behind the nearest cover she could find. Meanwhile, the Gauss Rifle was steaming and the sheer heat was taking a greater toll on her hand this time.

Stubbornly refusing to give up, she clumsily attempted to reload her plasma pistol on her lap with one hand.

(00:47)

Lucy wouldn't be able to move from her position without the sniper being eliminated. Not to mention the unconfirmed number of forces outside.

"Good luck guys..."

 

[The Harkinator]

William drew his sword as he ran down the back alleys, getting closer and closer to the snipers position. He could hear his friends fighting back, he heard Lucy and her Gauss rifle break off a few shots before the sharp crack of the sniper rifle rang out once more and he did not hear Lucy fire again.

No, no, NO!

William ran faster, almost there now, the sniper rifle sounded louder and he saw ahead one of the attackers coming into the alley. They must have had the same idea and be trying to flank the group, William let his momentum carry him into a tackle with the unsuspecting man and forced him against the wall, one quick step back and a thrust of the sword and the man was dead. Looking round the corner William could see the snipers position, he was lying down on top of a gnarled car, one that had already lost it's engine, so shooting it was not going to work. In addition, the sniper was flanked by two submachine gunners, providing cover fire for their friend.

Three opponents, all facing away from me, one prone. Simple enough.

William burst out of the alley and into the street, just behind his enemies, they didn't see him as he approached and the first man went down clutching what was left of his neck, a sharp kick from William made him fall onto the sniper. The second submachine gunner was turning, he almost seemed to be moving in slow motion for William as a slash across his chest sent him tumbling to the ground, a quick stab finished him off. The sniper was trying to get out from under the body of his friend, though a boot pressing against his back pinned him to the ground.

"You fucked with the wrong people." William said coldly, viciously thrusting his sword into the back of the sniper's neck. The sniper shook, twitched, then did not move. William looked at his friends, they were still pinned down by submachine gun fire. William took the sniper rifle and looking down the sight he could see some of the attackers, though not all of them. Crouching down and lining up a shot on the nearest attacker, William fired, the shot hit the attackers cover. Not having that raw power of a gauss rifle, the wall stayed intact. William fired again, this time hitting an arm, from down the sight William could see the man drop his weapon and howl in pain. The third shot hit him in the chest and dropped him. The next sho- no wait the gun was empty. Dammit!

Hang on, if I stopped someone flanking us down one alley, what's to say there isn't someone else coming down the other side of the street? The thought sent a chill through him as he dropped the sniper rifle, picked up his sword again and set off down the other alley. He only hoped the rest of the group was fighting off their attackers and that Lucy was ok.

 

[wilcoblackflame]

Nothing like the feeling of being well equipped and ready to go take care of business. Marlon hadn't felt quite so well prepared since before Frank had ruined his car and inventory.

As it was, after plying the quartermaster with the power of the password provided by Danielle, he was well topped off on ammo for his pistols, both plasma and laser, in addition the supply of custom ammo he'd constructed for the swordfish earlier.

He'd also sharpened up his combat knife and grabbed a spare one just in case and a couple of grenades to top it all off. The Plasma variety of course. What else would you expect a Van Graff to choose?

Time to go. It wouldn't do to leave Danielle waiting and he wasn't about to risk her leaving him behind. There were too many potential perks for this expedition. Getting to know the area, getting a first hand look at the potential clients at hand. Maybe getting another shot at that fucking weasel of an enclave infiltrator if he was lucky...

And also, he added privately to himself, if he was really lucky maybe he'd work out a way to take Danielle up on that standing offer without Frank murdering him afterwards. Maybe.

"Sorry to keep you waitin'." he said as he jogged into the courtyard to reunite with her. "Good to go when you are. Let's go find us an army."