Fallout: Florida , The Sunshine State's Post-Apocalyptic Wastes Options

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Well, I never thought I'd be posting in this particular subforum before now. But with all these ideas bouncing in my head of what post-Great War Florida would look like in the Fallout universe, I have taken to jotting them down and (hopefully) making a cohesive guide to it. I don't really write fiction, so I don't think I'll be writing actual stories like you all do, but I suppose we'll see. For the time being, it's really going to be a guide of sorts, somewhat like a wiki or what textbooks would say.

This will obviously attempt to adhere to Fallout canon as much as possible. I chose Florida as the setting not only because it is my home state (though that is definitely the biggest reason) but because, from what I can tell, so little about the Southeastern United States is talked about in Fallout lore, giving me a lot more room to operate in. And, of course, it's the state I know best and would love to see the most as a setting for a Fallout game.

So here's the plan for all this:
[*] I'm going to break up each section of the guide into its own post to separate it sufficiently. This one will be the introduction to the setting.
[*] I may include some incomplete information on here for several reasons. For one, it'll be an easy repository to refer to just in case the Word doc I am using has something go screwy or that my computer messes up or whatever. Two, it can be a little taste of what's to come. Three, I just want to get down as much content as comes to me.
[*] The tentative list of sections to have here include, but are not limited to (and not necessarily in this order):

[*] General overview of the setting and how I am breaking up the parts of Florida
[*] The Bestiary
[*] The Timeline
[*] The Factions
[*] Profiles of each of the regions I am making

Some of the stuff you see will definitely be subject to change if needed to make it cohesive. I'll try to document what I change to make it clear.

And most of all, I hope you all like it and I'd like to hear whatever feedback you have. Presenting and communicating information is one of the things I enjoy most, although I'm more used to doing so for real-life content (particularly political science).

First section of the guide coming up!

The Setting - Basic Overview

While not experiencing the same level of nuclear barrage as places such as Southern California, New York, and D.C., Florida was plunged into nuclear fire just like virtually everywhere else in the world. This was especially true of the Tampa Bay Area, Orlando and its surrounding areas, and South Florida, centers of great economic and political importance in Pre-War America. Being the 3rd-most populous state in the country, the Great War extinguished far more lives than average here and left plenty more to pick up the pieces in the post-apocalyptic, anarchic wastes. The exceptional biological, geographical, and human diversity of Florida led to a far more varied impact on the former Sunshine State when the bombs fell.

Nevertheless, many settlements started to crop up in the decades just after the Great War, even in those once-densely populated cities and metropolitan areas. In time, former towns and cities were beginning to be resurrected and reclaiming their old names, and brand-new ones started to form. But post-War Florida--and the rest of what used to be the country's Gulf Commonwealth, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi--was still highly fractured. In the 22nd century, the first of many ambitious attempts was made to reunite this once-thriving landscape. While extraordinarily difficult at first, a string of successes in reunification gave birth to the Gulf Coast Union, a nation similar in concept to the future New California Republic (NCR). The so-called Great Reunification--a somewhat hyperbolic title, at least currently--started extending through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and even some of southwestern Georgia, though it has yet to reclaim the whole of any of these former states.

The process is far from completed, however, and many other factions both big and small struggle with the Gulf Coast Union for dominance in the former Southeastern United States. Many of the conflicts take place in what used to be the Sunshine State. The Gulf Coast Union was successful in claiming virtually all of Northern Florida and has made inroads into the Central Florida wastes. Major and minor powers violently feuding with each other and with the Gulf Coast Union have made the GCU's grip on these lands somewhat tenuous, preventing any attempts at expanding into South Florida.

As of this guide, it is currently the year 2130, over a half-century since the world was irrevocably changed. To most easily understand the lands that were once called Florida, it is best to divide the area into ten distinct regions--even if the divisions are a bit crude, arbitrary, or too convenient. Each have their own set of conflicts being waged, major and minor players vying for power, and civilizations trying to carve out a life in these harsh wastes. Welcome to the Sunshine State's post-apocalyptic wastes.

The Ten Regions and Their Counties

County Map
Here's how some coasts in Florida got their nicknames, though not all are explicitly mentioned here

Though these broken-up zones are somewhat crude and arbitrary, it'll be easiest to understand post-apocalyptic Florida this way. However, major conflicts in one region can definitely spill over into another.

1) Panhandle (13): Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Gadsden
2) Big Bend (8): Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, Dixie, Levy
3) North Central Florida (8): Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Alachua, Gilchrist
4) The First Coast (6): Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler
5) The Space and Treasure Coasts (7): Volusia, Seminole, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee
6) Central Florida (8): Marion, Sumter, Lake, Orange, Polk, Osceola, Hardee, Highlands
7) The Tampa Bay Area (6): Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee
8) The Gold Coast (3): Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade
9) Southwest Florida (7.5): Sarasota, De Soto, Charlotte, Glades, Lee, Hendry, Collier, Monroe (mainland only)
10) The Keys (0.5): Monroe (Keys only)


Just a quick side-note: The Panhandle West/East dichotomy is one I totally made up for my own purposes. They are, as far as I know, not referred to as such in real life. It is just the Panhandle, and the real-world Panhandle doesn't necessarily include all of the counties in Big Bend.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Jun 9 2020, 01:30 AM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Chapter 5: Lone Wandering

Hours later, Mariah began to stir. It took her a bit to regain her consciousness and get her bearings, but the first thing she was able to make out was a radio playing music. The song choice was “Red Rubber Ball” by the band Cyrkle, an enormously popular Pre-War tune. Mariah looked around the room to find it lit well enough to be able to see, though not to the point that everything was easy to make out. She also found herself sitting in a metal chair, but surprisingly not tied up by her captors.

As the song was approaching its end, Mariah heard a pair of boots walking behind her. She was still stiff and groggy from sitting unconscious it the metal chair for hours, preventing her from turning around fully to see who it was. “The one thing the GCU is good for: They play some damn good music,” a gruff voice said, belonging to the person who was walking in those boots thumping on the cold, hard floor. Right after the song’s final notes played, the man clicked the radio off. “Welcome back to the world, sunshine.” The man pulled up another chair and sat about five feet away in front of Mariah, turning it around to face her. It was then Mariah noticed the Alabama Dissidents patch on his clothing, though he was dressed somewhat differently than the rest of them. He looked much more authoritative, with a gray beard and hair, and some extra military-like patches that suggested he was a high-ranking officer. Maybe the highest-ranking officer.

“Where am I?” Mariah muttered.

The man took out a cigar and lit it up. The light from the lighter gave a better look at his facial features. A small scar was on his left cheek and the wrinkles on his skin were more pronounced in the light. Despite being an older man, he still appeared to be move around fairly well and his body was still somewhat of a solid frame. “That fight with the GCU got frantic. Of course a bunch of damn Sirens and Radtoads and Radfrogs would jump in. If we had a bunch of raiders hopped up on Jet and Buffout, that would’ve been a real party.” The man scoffed. “Lucky for the GCU, we didn’t get to deal the lethal blow we wanted to. They had to retreat and so did we, in case even more monsters came. But we nicked the Unies real good.” Apparently, Unies were another nickname Dissidents gave to the GCU. “Don’t worry, though. You’re in good hands now.”

“Good hands? You’re full of [censored]. You’re savages.”

“We are not barbarians or savages.”

“Really? Your men ambushed my caravan on the way to Pensacola and killed most of the people. People who had nothing to do with your conflict. You’re—"

“I did not authorize that attack,” the man cut her off. “My men did not follow instructions and they paid the price for it. It was supposed to be a recon mission. I’m not GCU, who likes to murder people that have nothing to do with the conflict.”

“You’re such a [censored] liar!” Mariah yelled at him, shooting up out of her chair. Apparently the stiffness had subsided. “You made a big mistake and I’m going to make you all suffer.”

The old man was not phased in the slightest by her outburst. “And what exactly are you going to do here? You’d be put down in an instant. There’s no need to tie you up. More of my soldiers are outside the room and tending to their own business, but they would be more than happy to give you pieces of their minds. And they would if it weren’t for me.”

Mariah knew he was right, despite her anger. After a moment of silence, she sat back down in her chair, but still incensed. “What do you mean?”

After another puff of his cigar, the old man spoke again. “Despite the consternation of some of the men and women of my outfit here, I told them to not kill you. I wanted to capture you.”

Mariah became less visibly angry, though she was still seething. “Why? Why not just kill me? What else did you to do to me?”

“It was just a simple knockout agent. Nothing more. And you’re much more useful alive. I wanted to meet you face-to-face. Have a little chat and tell you what we are really about. After all, you ain’t GCU. You would have gotten yourself killed out there if not for me.” The man took another long puff of smoke and finally introduced himself. “The name’s Russell. Captain Russell. I’m leading the Dissidents’ charge here in the Panhandle. And no need to introduce yourself. I know who you are, Mariah.”

Mariah’s fair skin grew paler. “How do you know my name?”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere. Places you wouldn’t suspect. It’s also how I knew the GCU was coming for us and that you were coming on your own. The GCU likes to keep things to themselves. They aren’t about the truth. But I’ll be forthright with you. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“You expect me to believe anything you have to say?”

Russell took another puff from his cigar, not quite directly answering her question. “I just want to have the chance to tell you our side of things. The real side of things. Then you can determine for yourself. I think you’ll understand where we come from.”

Mariah was never going to believe what Russell had to say and the fact that he would try diplomacy after everything that had happened was crazy to her. But if Russell was going to talk and figured he could convince her of his mission, what else was she going to do besides listen? He might also let slip some information that would help bring down the Dissidents if she were able to break free from them. “Well, guess I have no choice,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air and letting them fall, slapping back down to her sides.

“That’s the spirit.” Russell took a longer puff from his cigar. “To understand what we’re about, I need to teach you a history lesson.”

Mariah rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “If you’re talking about Birmingham, I already heard what that creep Gerald had to say about it.”

Russell seemed unamused to hear that name. “Ah, yes, Gerald. Complete dunce. But damn, if he is not committed to our cause. And he’s still useful being holed up in that GCU, believe it or not. More on that later,” Russell held his hand up to stop Mariah from asking what he meant by that last comment. “But I’m talking way before then. Pre-War. Would you believe that I was actually born before the bombs dropped? I was, in 2072. Most people born before the War are ghouls now, but there are still a few of us old fogeys left that are still human. I may have been young, but I still can remember some of those days. What my parents taught me. I got to see what kind of monstrosity distant and selfish governments and powers can be.

“The Pre-War United States was made up of 13 Commonwealths, which 50 states were split amongst with their own governments. And then there was the overarching federal government for the country. Little by little, the federal government tried to strip away local autonomy from many of the states and their commonwealths and engaged in foreign affairs that were highly detrimental to the country at large. It warred with the other major world superpower, China, at the expense of its own people. It persecuted anybody who even remotely disagreed with them and those who sought their own well-being instead of what the government wanted. And it drove the Gulf Commonwealth—Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—to start fending for itself. There were rumblings of the commonwealth thinking about seceding and making their own country, separate from the increasingly corrupt and selfish federal government of the U.S. But out of nowhere, Florida decided it didn’t need anybody else, and they start pushing to be their own entity. They threw the rest of the Gulf Commonwealth away. And then, Mississippi and Louisiana’s governments started bailing on it. It became everyone for themselves.

“And you know what that taught me? It taught me that far-away powers can’t be trusted. That was the case with the U.S. and that was the case with Florida. You can only put your faith in the communities around you. Those who share local histories with you. Those who deeply value our communities and their sovereignty and don’t swear allegiance to outsiders. But don’t mistake ideological uniformity for a lack of diversity. For us, nothing else about your background matters. Not your race, your gender, your religion, whatever. And we’ve got plenty of people from all sorts of walks of life. All that matters is that you believe in Alabama’s right to be independent and to determine its own course.

“But then our fellow Alabamians betrayed us. The Alabama Compact threw in their lot with those other governments that came to make up the GCU. Even when we left—peacefully, might I add—the GCU got their feelings hurt. They wanted more and more and stepped on our turf. They grew too big and too fast and now look at the trouble they are in. It’s what always happens when outsiders try to trample on others. That’s how countless Old World governments were: The U.S. and China were prime examples, but Florida also showed its true colors. And now the GCU wants to force us back into a new commonwealth of sorts. One where they run the show. And they have the nerve to be surprised when we bite back?”

It was a lot for Mariah to take in, and she did not know what was truthful and what wasn’t. “So, what really happened in Birmingham?”

“Whatever Gerald told you was the truth, I imagine. The GCU claimed a Pre-War military facility that was on our land was within their territory. Our civilians were slaughtered, and not just by GCU. The Brotherhood is arguably even worse. They don’t even have their own [censored] nation and yet they want to intrude on everyone else’s. They think everything Pre-War, especially technology, is theirs by divine mandate. They represent all the ills of the Old World.”

So far, the Brotherhood was basically just legend for Mariah, given that she had never seen them in-person, but she obviously knew they were real. “There was a specific technology that Gerald mentioned. What is it? What did everyone want so badly?”

Russell leaned in closer, finishing off his cigar. “It’s a prototype that never got to be truly tested. But it’s potential is greatly powerful. It’s called the ‘F.A.C.T.,’ the ‘Fabrication Accelerator for Combat Technology.’ It’s a 3-D printer of sorts. You know what those are? A fabricator capable of mass-producing weapons and ammunition—possibly armor—very quickly, and it can make them with far less materials than usual because of an algorithm that makes the most efficient use out of all the materials. It uses some sort of patented matter recombination process. But it needs a sufficient power source, some sort of particularly advanced technology, and a facility with the materials necessary to use it. We were hoping this Fusion! factory would provide the resources, but it does not appear to be the case. If we knew where this technology was originally supposed to arrive at, we’d know exactly to where to go. Some other military facility, I imagine. One that would have the power and technological input that we need.”

“But you don’t even have the technology. How would you even know?” Mariah interjected.

“That’s what our more tech-oriented people are here for. Some of the brightest men and women I have ever encountered. We trust their judgment.”

“You still need to figure out who has it!” Mariah flailed her arms in disbelief. “If you don’t have it and the GCU doesn’t, who does? The Brotherhood?”

“Both of them claim that they don’t have it, but one of them has to. Someone’s putting up a ruse and I intend on finding out who. My money’s on the GCU. They are just playing coy. Keeping it close to the vest and misleading everyone to save their own skins.”

The anger started rising up in Mariah again. “So that’s why you keep attacking caravans? You think this technology is going to be on some regular caravan? Do you have any idea how stupid that is? Why would the GCU keep something so important with ordinary civilians?”

Russell furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t understand how GCU operates, young lady. It’s the perfect cover for something like that. And they are going to have it well-guarded. That’s why we scout these caravans.”

“And yet you still raid all of them! Even if everything else you said is true, you lied about not authorizing attacks on these caravans. I know mine wasn’t the first incident, and there is no way that many ambushes are ‘recon missions.’ [Censored] you!”

Russell demonstrated his own anger for the first time, rising out of the chair. “You listen here, Mariah. You don’t take that kind of tone with me. I don’t expect an outsider to understand, even if you aren’t with the GCU or the Brotherhood. And if you still think we’re the bad guys, know that the GCU or Brotherhood are far worse. We only want sovereignty for our land. If the GCU would just leave us alone . . .”

“Did you really think that you could convince me your cause was just?” Mariah asked incredulously. Apparently, Russell thought he could avoid her questions about all of the caravan attacks and other issues. “You people are delusional! You think all of your ends justify the means! You’re hypocrites! Monsters! I don’t know how much I care for the GCU, but I sure as hell will take them over you any day.”

“I gave you the truth, you little [censored]. That’s far more than what those [censored] would give you.” Russell growled and jabbed his finger in her direction, his teeth gritting. “You want to support the wrong side, that’s on you. But you aren’t leaving us. I’ll find a better use for you. Maybe you’ll fetch a nice amount of ransom money or something.”

“Why don’t you go to hell, Russell? Maybe you can find some land to call your own there!” Mariah shot back.

Suddenly, the factory’s PA system blared. One of the Dissidents was shouting on it in a panic. “We got company! Brotherhood inbound! And lots of them! Repeat: Brotherhood inbound!”

[Fallout 4 Soundtrack: Enough is Enough]

Russell kicked the chair he was sitting on previously. “Son of a [censored]! Brendan, watch over Mariah. Make sure she doesn’t try anything slick. Mariah, I’ll deal with you later.” Russell rushed out the door of the room.

“Yes, sir.” Brendan said, closing the door behind him. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over you real good,” he laughed, turning to Mariah. He grabbed some rope and ran over to her, attempting to tie her to the chair. She had to think quickly about her next move. She noticed her belongings, including her firearm, on a table off to the side. It still seemed nonsensical to her that they would not tie her up even if she was trapped, and then they just left her belongings on a table near her? Mariah supposed it was a ploy by Russell to get her to trust them. But Russell seriously miscalculated Mariah’s threat and the possibility of convincing her that his side was in the right.

But Mariah could not think about that right now. She grabbed her chair and then slammed it on Brendan’s head right as he reached for her, disorienting him. Then she quickly grabbed her possessions and rushed for the door, but Brendan blocked her way. He started to pull out a gun from his holster, but she quickly shot him in the arm and chest to down him. Brendan, dropping his gun, screamed and writhed in pain on the ground as Mariah bolted out the door.

As she stepped out the door, Mariah started audibly hearing the sounds of battle, including the unmistakable sound of laser rifles. She was high above the ground, the metal walkway going in three different directions. She took the way that led her down to the ground floor, trying to stay as far away from the combat as possible. But she had no idea where she was going. She simply had to hope for exit signs or some other clue of where to get out of the factory.

As Mariah started going down one hallway, she had to quickly slide to a stop as a Brotherhood Paladin walked around the corner in front of her. Mariah ducked into another connecting hallway as the Paladin, decked out in damaged T-51 Power Armor, fired his laser rifle in her direction. Down several hallways she went, turning down them basically at random, when she finally noticed signs denoting an exit. Following the signs, she came out into the factory’s largest room. Dead bodies, both of Dissidents and Brotherhood, were strewn about the floor. Mariah quickly swiped up one of the laser rifles on the floor and some microfusion cells, figuring they could serve her well later. She was surprised that not all Brotherhood members wore Power Armor as some of the bodies just had combat armor or even lower-grade protection on. The rumors she heard about them made sound walking, mechanical juggernauts.

But the Paladin Mariah encountered before was still behind her and giving chase. She took cover behind a factory machine as he fired in her direction. Several grenades with the pins still in them were conveniently next to several dead bodies of Dissidents and Brotherhood, include a plasma and pulse grenade. She pulled all their pins at the same time and, after waiting a moment, lobbed them around the corner at the Paladin. He didn’t have enough to get out of the way. The collective damage from the grenades annihilated him, blowing apart most of his Power Armor.

Mariah had to stop to catch her breath, trying to hide in case any Dissidents or Brotherhood came her way. On the other side of the large room, warfare was still being waged. One of the other Paladins yelled toward the Dissidents. “Where is the F.A.C.T., Russell?! Tell me where it is now, and we can make your deaths much less painful!” Perhaps he was the leader of the Brotherhood in these lands.

“Maybe it’s in hell, Obadiah!” Russell shouted back, crouched behind cover. “I got a one-way ticket straight to hell with your name on it, so you can go find it there!”

Mariah wasn’t about to stick around to see the end of the fight. The room had the main exit from the facility, but as she stealthily looked out the windows, she saw a few Paladins waiting outside. No going out that exit. Mariah went back down the hall she came from, carefully stepping around the remains of the Paladin she killed. She looked for something, anything, that could tell her where another exit was. It was then that Mariah noticed that there was a map on the wall, indicating where several exits were. Memorizing them as best as she could, Mariah ran down several more hallways, finally finding a single-door exit. She gently opened the door and peaked out. It was very dark outside, but she didn’t notice any Brotherhood soldiers out there or make out any other figures in the darkness.

Mariah crouched down and moved slowly until she was sure it was all clear. When she made that decision, she started running as fast as she could away from the factory. Running blindly into the darkness certainly wasn’t ideal, but she couldn’t stay in the factory. Mariah had no other choice but to brave the gloom. She ran as fast as she could as far as she could as the sound of gunfire grew ever more distant.

//////////

[Dark Ambient Soundtrack: Sphäre Sechs – Achernar]

Mariah finally stopped to catch her breath after a minute or so of running. She felt she was far enough away that she did not have to worry about the battle between the Dissidents and Brotherhood anymore. Now she finally focused on where to go next after resting for a couple more minutes. But the darkness was so suffocating that it almost felt like it was weighing down on her chest. She was not able to see any landmarks of any sort to indicate what direction she was going. Not even the ruins of Holt could be made out in the darkness. She could not even find Route 90. These were completely foreign lands to her. Mariah just had to hope she was heading in the right direction, back toward Pensacola. Clutching her laser rifle tightly, she picked a way and walked it.

The more Mariah walked in the metaphorical and literal darkness, the more fear crept into her. It was a fear she seldomly felt since her settlement was raided and her family was killed when she was a young kid. She had to go live with one of her aunts and uncles for a time, but she still felt alone for a long time. She’d sometimes wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares in a cold sweat. Even now, she still had those haunting dreams occasionally. But this time the nightmare was real.

Mariah walked for what felt like hours—maybe it was actual hours—when she finally came across the ruins of a residential neighborhood. Was it a fortunate occurrence or was it a death trap? Sometimes you didn’t know with these kinds of places. It could have been just a home for ordinary wastelanders to live in or it could be a haven for raiders. Maybe it was completely deserted. But Mariah’s legs were ready to give out after running and walking for so long. Her heart was still racing from the events of the day. She had no choice but to take a chance.

The houses were still relatively intact. Luckily for Mariah, there were no signs that anyone lived there. One of the doors was unlocked. She treaded lightly through the pitch-black interior. No telling if someone set up traps for some unsuspecting wastelander. There were two bedrooms, and one of the bedrooms had two skeletons on it, suggesting that it was a couple that lived here at some point. The other bedroom had a bunk bed that fortunately had no bodily remains on it. She propped the room’s dresser in front of the door to prevent any intruders from rushing in. The windows were already boarded up. As tired as she was, the dread and anxiety Mariah felt was hard to shake. Yet after laying down on the lower bed for a while, she found a way to shut her eyes and fall asleep.

/////////

Mariah opened her eyes next morning to find light peeking through the windows where the wooden boards did not cover it. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief at making it through the night. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she got up out of the bed. What had before been beautiful, clean hair was now dirty and matted, seemingly a metaphor for her time so far in Florida. As she moved the dresser to exit the door and then leave the house, she still had her trigger finger ready.

Before she left, Mariah looked around for any supplies she could find. The cabinet still had some Cram and Dandy Boy Apples in it that were still sealed. It was far from ideal, but she needed to eat something. Then she found a couple bottles of dirty water. No purified water in sight. Hopefully these don’t have too many rads in them, Mariah thought to herself. It was then that she realized the RadAway that she bought yesterday wasn’t on her. Did she miss picking them up when she escaped the Dissidents’ clutches? Maybe they weren’t on that table with her possessions to begin with. In any case, dirty water was her only option. Steeling herself, Mariah closed her eyes and gulped down one of the waters. The impurities made it taste awful, almost like she could feel the rads enter her system, but her thirst subsided.

[Fallout Soundtrack: Industrial Junk]

Out into the wastes Mariah walked once more, walking in the direction she was travelling last night. As dark as it had been, she could remember the orientation of the house relative to what way she was going and continued that route. For several hours she kept walking through destroyed landscapes and residential streets. She passed through a few other small, deserted residential neighborhoods, her surroundings eerily quiet. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for some raiders or irradiated animals to attack.

The time had just reached noon. The sun was at its peak, scorching the already sunburned wastes. Mariah had to drink the other dirty water she had on hand in the oppressive heat. If she didn’t find civilization soon, she might have passed out and died from dehydration. But after about another 30 minutes, she caught the outline of another city, though there was no telling whether it was friendly and alive like Pensacola or some desolate death-trap like Holt. Mariah was going to have to take a chance either way.

As she came closer to the city, Mariah finally found an old Pre-War road heading toward it. A battered sign was still legible and indicated it was State Route 85. She remembered seeing the number on a map she was reading back in Pensacola, but not exactly where it led to. At last, Mariah got to exchange the dirt and grass trails she had been walking for an actual road, albeit one severely damaged by the Great War. She finally got close enough to the city to see a sign bearing its name: Niceville. Mariah recognized the name as one of those places that caravans at the Pensacola depot were heading to. She started thinking about Bertrand, Jacob, and Valentina, wondering if the two men made it out of Holt alive and how Valentina was holding up back in Pensacola. She undoubtedly knew that Mariah had gone to the battle on her own with the Dissidents at this point.

But it was almost as soon as Mariah read the sign that she heard gunshots ring out behind her. They were not aimed at her, however. A few merchants and their two brahmin were holed up in a broken-down building missing its roof just off the road. A gang of raiders was trying to murder them and take their belongings. Mariah was tired from her trip, but the sight of raiders was enough to give her a second wind. With a renewed energy and anger building inside her again, she checked to see a full clip of microfusion cells loaded in her laser rifle, cocked it, and rushed to save the merchants.