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]

@SubRosa - While I am trying not to get too bogged down with having every single minute detail compatible with the existing lore, having the Church of Atom here would be quite unfriendly to Fallout canon. They don't appear until the 23rd century in Megaton. I'm trying to build something entirely new that I think will fit well with the setting. I also don't want to be too reliant on organizations that already exist in lore. (Although, perhaps you may have noticed a reference to the Abbey of the Road. More on that later in the story...)

I, too, enjoy when raiders are not so generic. Even if there isn't that much backstory to them, at least give them some distinction. I think Bethesda improved a bit on this with the Nuka-World DLC for Fallout 4.

@Khajiit - Fallout 76 actually has their own version of a Radtoad, though it is far different than my conception of the Radfrog/Radtoad. But yeah, I hope future Fallouts get even more creative and expand more with mutated wildlife. As much as I like seeing updated versions of old enemies, it gets kind of stale and goofy to have the same creatures repeatedly pop up all over the place (looking at you, Deathclaws).

@Renee - Well, if Mariah listened, there wouldn't be much of a story, now would there? But this is a personality trait that is going to be a key theme for her throughout the whole work. How does she develop in this regard? Where do you draw the line between being observing and obeying orders or advice, and going with your instinct or what you believe is right? And so on. Stay tuned.



Fresh off the presses is the next installment of Fallout: Florida! (Maybe I shouldn't post this yet since I'm rather tired, but I think this is good enough.)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Foreshadowing

Mariah’s mind started playing tricks on her, blurring the line between reality and delusion. Was it just because of the poison? She wasn’t sure if she was even still alive and crazy visions were simply what happened upon death. Several strange scenes that felt so real played out in front of her. Mariah wasn’t simply an observer either—it seemed that she was a direct participant in whatever was going on.

The first vision that played out looked to be the ruins of some sort of Pre-War office. There were several silhouettes of people standing next to her and an angry ghoul in a tattered suit and tie in front of them. The ghoul seemed to have a serious grudge against Mariah and whoever the shadows were supposed to be. He forcefully pointed a finger towards them and simply yelled, “He sent you, didn’t he?!” Whatever this was about, Mariah wasn’t able to find out as a flash appeared in front of her and a new vision played out.

The next scene that played out was just as perplexing and had even less context. Mariah found herself in the ruins of what appeared to be a Pre-War university. Suddenly, a giant, mutant alligator approached her—walking on two legs just like a human! To make it even more bewildering, the gator bared his teeth and spoke in English. “Humanity’s penance is at hand. Nature shall repay it by wiping its stain from the Earth.” Just as suddenly as the last event she witnessed, the vision concluded in a bright light.

The third and fourth episodes played out even more quickly. Mariah found herself standing in an old parking lot, with a centuries-old fort to her left and the surrounding ruins of a major town around her. Amazingly, the fort looked to still be intact. In front of her, a man stood facing a river that separated a couple different parts of the city. He was clad in some sort of long-outdated outfit that Mariah did not recognize. The man simply uttered, “So you came.” After another flash, Mariah looked up at a large, Pre-War scientific complex with a ruined space shuttle off to the side. She recognized that it was a space shuttle from reading some Pre-War books about the Space Age. But what was this place she was looking at? What were any of these places she had seen?

And finally, one last experience played out. Buildings in a swampy area were all around Mariah. A couple of enormous, unrecognizable creatures stood towering above her. It was almost as if they were some amalgamation of several animals—they stood on two hind legs, their bodies covered in scales, long and sharp claws and teeth, and fins around their faces. It was perhaps the most unsettling, freakiest site that Mariah had ever laid eyes upon. But just as soon as she got a good look at the monstrosities, everything went black.

////////////

Mariah woke up in a cold sweat with a loud gasp. Her heart was racing from all the absurdities she had just witnessed in her mind. When she finally regained her bearings, she looked around to find herself inside a tent, sitting on a cot. Mariah then looked at her arm where the raider shot her. It was bandaged and the pain she was feeling had dissipated, save for some soreness. Much of the grime that had been accumulating on her body the past few days looked like it had been cleaned off. She smelled a lot better too. And she wasn’t feeling any more ill effects from poison. Those footsteps she heard when she was slipping into unconsciousness must have been real and were from an ally—or at least somebody that wasn’t an enemy. But who?

Gingerly, Mariah swung her legs over so that she was sitting upright on her cot, her body still feeling stiff from laying in the same spot for so long. How much time had elapsed since she passed out wasn’t clear, but it was dark outside. A moment later, a man came through the tent’s door flaps. Judging by his complexion and attire, he appeared to be a Native American. A large, white feather adorned his headband that he wore. “You return to wakefulness.” The man stated.

Mariah looked back to her bandaged arm again in disbelief. She couldn’t believe the recovery she made. “You saved me,” she responded.

“No, child,” the man simply shook his head. Mariah wanted to gently admonish him for calling her ‘child,’ but she did not have the strength. Not to mention the fact that he played a huge role in her still being alive. She let the comment go. “Your spirit is what saved you. I simply assisted it in realizing its own strength.”

“Uh, sure,” Mariah said with a slight dismissiveness. It was not meant to be a rude retort—just that it sounded a bit nonsensical to her. “What did you do to me? How long have I been out?”

“A natural concoction that my people developed. It flushed the toxins out from your system and helped speed up the healing process and overall strength. But we do not completely reject medicine from the outside world. We also received some Stimpaks through trading and administered one of those as well. You’ve been dreaming since before last night, and we cleaned you up a bit and kept your body nourished.”

“Thank you.” Mariah replied, surprised at the lengths a stranger would go to save her life, particularly one who seemed to be mostly isolated from the outside world. “But . . . why did you help me?”

“We found you in a warehouse just outside of one of the GCU’s towns. Those raiders you brought justice to—they attacked us. Stole something we had been keeping safe. You clearly were not in league with them given that they were obviously killed by you and you didn’t have their look. They also took the lives of several of my people.” The man was mostly stoic, but his recounting of several of his dead friends brought some sadness to his face.

“Your people? One of the raiders said something about stealing from ‘tribals,’ so I guess they were referring to you. Wait . . . are you one of the Apalachee?” The man simply nodded his head. “I was also hoping to find your people, actually. Somebody in Niceville told me a little about them, but there wasn’t much he could say. I wondered if you could help me with an . . . investigation, or sorts.”

The man kept his arms folded. “Are you with the GCU?”

“Well, sort of,” Mariah scratched the back of her head. “It’s kind of complicated. I’m not really working for them. More so against a couple of other organizations. And for myself, as a matter of fact. Turned out that you had some technology I was looking for.”

The Apalachee man stayed silent for a moment. He must have been deciding if there was anything further that he wanted to inform her of. Judging by his reaction, he was not trusting of the GCU or outsiders in general. He finally responded with, “You must know about this F.A.C.T. then.”

“Yeah,” Mariah said. “I heard that you came from out west, so even though it was a longshot I thought maybe you would know something about it. I know the Brotherhood came from roughly the same direction. And as it turns out, you did have the F.A.C.T. this whole time. But why? And how?”

“First, I must know why you are aware about the F.A.C.T., if you aren’t in league with anyone in particular,” the Apalachee man said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Mariah thought it was a fair response, and so she gave him the basic rundown of her adventures thus far in the Florida Panhandle. The man’s stoic expression didn’t change. “So you escaped from the Dissidents’ clutches and avoided the Brotherhood. Impressive. Maybe it was you that I saw in my dream after all.” Mariah gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he meant by that last sentence. Before she could ask, the Apalachee man spoke again. “I am the chief of the Apalachee people here. In your native tongue, I am known as White-Feather.” He pointed to the large, white feather in his headband.

“I’m Mariah.”

“Is it good to meet you, Mariah. You must forgive my reluctance to open up too much to an outsider. It is necessary to protect my people. We cannot stay completely insulated, but there are others who are not keen on our presence in these lands. While you strike me as someone trustworthy, I must still be careful about what I say for my people’s sake.”

Mariah nodded. “I understand. I’m not quick to talk about certain things about myself to new people either.”

“Then perhaps you have some understanding about our situation. Good. I shall try to keep to only the important details of my people, the Apalachee.” Chief White-Feather cleared his throat. “Long ago—hundreds of years ago—our ancestors lived close to here, a bit further east. Outside interests forced us to relocate to what was Oklahoma. For . . . various reasons, after the Day of Conflagration, or what you would call the Great War, we sought to return to our ancestral homeland. With the collapse of societies and governments around the world, we believed this was the opportunity to come back. So began the Great Trek eastward. It has been a grueling, arduous journey, but we are close to the end of the road. But along the way, we encountered the peoples known as the Brotherhood of Steel and the Alabama Dissidents. Each even tried to earn our favor by proposing an alliance against the Gulf Coast Union, in which they would help us reclaim our ancestral lands in exchange for helping fight against the GCU.

“But it was clear to us the darkness of their spirits. Their hidden natures. We refused. We wanted to simply live on our own, free from any outside influence—something that has eluded us even after the Day of Conflagration. And as you can imagine, this did not sit well with either group. We learned that their mutual enmity, along with their rivalries with the GCU, were going to come to a head in the city known as Birmingham. So, we claimed this technology, this F.A.C.T., before any of them could, and attempted to make greater haste for our ancestral lands. We had no intention of using this device, but if it fell into the hands of the Dissidents, Brotherhood, or GCU, it would not bode well for us. Thus, we kept it hidden this whole time. That is all I can tell you in this regard.”

“But why not the GCU?” Mariah asked. “I have firsthand experience as to why the Dissidents and the Brotherhood shouldn’t have it. I’m not sure how much I care for the GCU itself, but I have friends in it, and it’s definitely the best option of the three.”

White-Feather’s expression did not change. “You must understand the experiences of my people. Outside governments have rarely had our welfare at heart. And the GCU made it clear that we were not welcome here—not just some of the citizens, but GCU officials as well. If they weren’t so caught up in fighting the Brotherhood or the Dissidents, or embroiled in conflicts farther away, they would not hesitate to stop us through force. We are a foreign entity, and as such we have aroused suspicion. We are fortunate that not everyone feels this way, but even then we must be wary toward those who are friendly toward us. Even if they do not wish us harm, they may unintentionally give away information about us that enemies would use against us. Even in your case, we must be cautious. Vigilance is what has protected my people, and I will protect my people until the very end of my days.”

“Well,” Mariah said, “I see your point. Is there some way I can earn more of your trust? Maybe we can work something out with the GCU. If you help them against the Dissidents and the Brotherhood, we can use that as leverage for some sort of treaty so that you can have your old homeland back.” A glimmer of hope was noticeable in her voice.

White-Feather pondered her proposal for a few moments. “I am still very doubtful about the GCU, but I have high hopes for you. Perhaps you could help us wipe out this raider problem we have been having. And with the threat they have been to the GCU in this area, that would give us greater clout for a treaty with the GCU. I don’t know how some of these raiders were privy to where some of our camps were, but we must end them before they imperil the rest of the Apalachee. I’m sure we are not the only ones that these raiders are giving trouble to. If you help us in this endeavor, I promise you we will consider helping the GCU.”

“Fantastic!” Mariah shot up with joy, wincing in discomfort. She was still a bit sore and stiff. “Oof. Shouldn’t have done that. Well, let’s come up with a plan. These raiders, they’re called the Bullsharks. I overheard the ones who stole the F.A.C.T. from you that someone hired them to get it, but not who. The Dissidents and the Brotherhood may have been willing to make a deal with you, but I can’t see them working with raiders. But who knows?” Mariah shrugged. “Maybe somebody else knows about the F.A.C.T., but I can’t imagine who. That’s all I know.”

“Then we must be alert for whoever else may be involved,” White-Feather said. “But for now, we know about these Bullsharks, where they are based, and who leads them. A man who goes by the name of Skull-Splitter. We must cut off the head of this snake, but it won’t end them for good. We must wholly eliminate them. Let’s introduce you to the rest of my warriors that are in this camp right now. It is not our full force, for I have ordered some to stay with our other camps to protect them and remain hidden.”

Mariah and Chief White-Feather exited the tent and met with the rest of the Apalachee contingent to discuss the further details of the plan. Several of the warriors also helped improve her skills in stealth, lockpicking, and hand-to-hand combat—three of the skills that many members of the tribe were particularly adept at. But for practicality’s sake, the warriors were not relegated to what would be considered primitive weaponry. They also knew how to use various firearms in addition to their preferred method of combat, melee. It was necessary for the survival of the tribe. But the beginning of their siege on the Bullsharks’ base would be heavy on sneaking and close-quarters combat.

With the plan in place, Mariah joined Chief White-Feather and the rest of the Apalachee Tribe to rain fury down on the Bullsharks—to end them once and for all.

///////////

[Fallout Soundtrack – Khans of New California]

Apart from a light breeze blowing that night and faint, intermittent sounds of wildlife, it was a quiet night. The Bullsharks’ base was far enough from GCU civilization where it was difficult to find them, but close enough to where they could still catch travelers off-guard to rob and kill them. Debris from nearby abandoned houses, a few existing shacks, and some other scrap from elsewhere were used to build this place that these raiders called home. Judging from the size of the compound and the number of raiders that could readily be seen, it appeared that their whole gang was here.

Several male and female raiders stood watch on the perimeter, but there weren’t many guards that could be seen by Mariah and the Apalachee at their vantage point in the dark. Perhaps the Bullsharks didn’t expect to be found out here but kept a few sentries on lookout just in case. It was a perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. Further inside the compound, most raiders were either asleep or hanging out and chatting with each other.

There was one particular raider that White-Feather pointed at for Mariah’s attention. “That is the head of the snake. Skull-Splitter.” It was obvious from looking at him how he earned that moniker: Adorning his metal armor were bits of human skulls to give off a frightening aesthetic. Perhaps it was Skull-Splitter’s way of tallying his kill count. He sat slouched on his makeshift throne, also gilded with bones, talking with several other raiders while he repeatedly flipped a bottlecap in the air and caught it in his hand. They were too far away to be heard.

When the raider guards were separated enough, White-Feather gave a signal for his warriors to move in. Silently, several Apalachee grabbed the raiders, covering their mouths and slitting their throats. Several of their guns were also looted for extra firepower. To hopefully make it less obvious that they were gone, the dead raiders’ corpses were dragged away into the dark.

White-Feather was seeking another prime opportunity to waste some raiders before they were alarmed by the Apalachees’ presence. Minutes went by before a few other raiders were to change shifts with their now-deceased compatriots. They noticed something was amiss but were not ready to sound a full-blown alarm. “Hey, boss,” one of them called out to Skull-Splitter. “Looks like our boys and girls are off their posts again.”

Skull-Splitter scoffed and spoke in a gravelly voice. “Probably think they’re tough going to handle some Radroaches or some s--- in the shadows. Or maybe just drunk and fell on their a---- to the ground. Go find them.”

The small group of raiders went over to the guard posts to survey where their fellow Bullsharks were. It wasn’t until they got close that they started noticing the blood stains and streaks from their bodies being hauled away. “What the . . . ,” one of them started to say, before they were assaulted by Apalachee throwing knives and spears.

This time, Skull-Splitter was there to see the action, though not where the Apalachee and Mariah were hiding. Things were about to get hectic. “Hey, lazy f----!” Skull-Splitter barked to his fellow raiders. “Get up! We got company! My mantle could use some more bones, so make whoever is out there regret coming here.” And with that, he pressed an alarm to quickly wake up his underlings. The whole base was swiftly on alert.

Now was the time for a full-scale assault on the compound. Mariah stayed hidden, using one of the dead raider’s hunting rifles and firing at whatever enemy she had a clean shot at. After she felled the first raider, the rest started moving and looking for cover.

“Presents for ya!” Skull-Splitter announced, pressing another set of buttons. Parts of the outside perimeter were rigged with hidden traps. Mines exploded, grenade bouquets dropped, and tesla coils went off around the area. Some of the Apalachee warriors were not able to evade in time and were quickly cut down. Fires illuminated the immediate vicinity, revealing other Apalachee fighters that were in cover. Chaotic gunfire then erupted between the two sides.

Meanwhile, White-Feather silently nudged Mariah. The two stayed crouched down and maneuvered to the backside of the raiders. A few more Apalachee were killed, but the Bullsharks were suffering greater casualties.

“Scared, huh? You should be,” Skull-Splitter yelled. “But don’t worry. I’ll make good use of your remains.” At his side was a combat shotgun, but for fights at farther range he wielded a .44 magnum revolver modded with a laser sight. With careful aim, he popped a few Apalachee on his own square in the head. Even with the laser sight, they were far shots, showcasing Skull-Splitter’s prowess as a marksman. He evidently had some tactical capabilities as well, for he suspected that his enemies were trying to flank him. White-Feather and Mariah found stout cover and looked for an opening on Skull-Splitter’s position when he whipped around and fired in their direction. “Think you’re smart, huh? Ain’t my first rodeo. I know exactly what you’re doin’.”

For some time, it seemed like it might be a slow battle of attrition as both the Bullsharks and Apalachee were slowly being killed. Mariah and White-Feather had no opportunity to fire back as Skull-Splitter kept them pinned down. It wasn’t until one of the other Apalachee warriors grabbed a dead raider’s Molotov cocktail and lobbed it at Skull-Splitter’s wooden shack that the tides of battle started shifting. Skull-Splitter adeptly ran out of the shack and kept his eyes on where Mariah and White-Feather were held up. He moved in closer, switching to his combat shotgun. “Get a load of this!” They could almost feel the force of the shotgun shells on their metal defenses as Skull-Splitter laughed maniacally. He, however, had less defense than he had previously.

White-Feather called out to one of his warriors and gave him instructions in their native tongue. The Apalachee in turn lobbed several spears to where Mariah and White-Feather were, luckily landing in spots where Skull-Splitter could not shoot them. “Mariah,” White-Feather said, “I’m going to use these spears as a distraction. When I throw them at Skull-Splitter and he evades them, that will be your time to shoot.” Mariah nodded. When Skull-Splitter stopped to reload his shotgun, White-Feather chucked one of the spears in his direction. Despite his metal armor, Skull-Splitter deftly side-stepped the throw, but in doing so had to stop reloading his weapon. At that moment, Mariah stood up and fired off an entire clip of her 10MM. Some of the shots merely dented his armor, but bullets caught his unprotected right hand and a part of his right leg that was uncovered. Skull-Splitter dropped and cried out in pain but was able to crawl behind a barrier, trying to clutch both of his serious wounds. “Ain’t . . . urgh . . . getting me that easily,” he said through clenched teeth. He still had his revolver on hand and reloaded it.

The Bullsharks saw that their leader was wounded and started panicking. Desperation led to mistakes, which tipped the scales in the Apalachees’ favor. One-by-one, the rest of the raiders were meeting their ends through a barrage of bullets. The Apalachee lost more than they anticipated, but there was no denying it was a rout of the Bullsharks. Skull-Splitter frantically fired off his remaining weapon, but it was no use. Every single one of his buddies was dead. The pain from the bullet-holes he received was too great and he had to let go of his revolver.

Mariah, White-Feather, and the Apalachee closed in on Skull-Splitter and surrounded him, making sure he didn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve. Several spears were aimed at his chest and throat. “It’s over, Skull-Splitter.” White-Feather stated matter-of-factly.

“Beaten by . . . urgh . . . a bunch of f------ tribals . . . gah,” Skull-Splitter was still running his mouth, even through gritted teeth.

“Shut the hell up,” Mariah snapped. “You got what was coming to you. I killed several of your buddies who stole some technology from the tribe and I heard them say they were hired on by somebody. Who put you up to it?”

“So, you’re the one that got them, huh? Well, even if I knew who exactly our employers were, I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of knowing.”

“You mean you don’t know?” Mariah was incredulous. “You take employment from somebody and you don’t even know who they are?”

“If it means caps, doll.” Skull-Splitter chuckled despite his pain. “Yes, even the Bullsharks would answer to someone else if it means getting paid and upping the body count. At least, I would take the offer. They didn’t say who they were so the deal couldn’t be traced back to them if it went south. All we were told to do was get something called the F.A.C.T. and that it was with the Apalachee. And then when we got it, we were to contact our employers.”

“Was it the Brotherhood of Steel? The Alabama Dissidents?” Mariah asked, even though she didn’t believe it was either one of those groups.

“No. None of those weirdos. If it was Brotherhood, they could’ve just done it themselves. And the Dissidents wouldn’t work with anybody that wasn’t them. I don’t have any love for the GCU, but I wouldn’t want to work with those idiots from Alabama either.”

White-Feather spoke up this time. “How did you know where we were then? I have taken great pains to keep my people safe and hidden as much as possible. Did your employers know?”

“Yeah. Don’t know how they knew, but it made our job a whole lot easier. Until you all showed up, obviously.” Skull-Splitter grunted. He sat there for a moment or two before he spoke again. “Well, what are you waiting for? I’ve told you enough whether you want to know more or not. Just get this over with.”

There was nothing else useful that was going to come out of Skull-Splitter’s mouth. White-Feather took it upon himself to put the final nail in the raider’s coffin. He grabbed a spear and jammed it straight into Skull-Splitter’s head, a somewhat ironic twist of fate given his name. And with that, the Bullsharks raider gang was no more.

Mariah shook her head in disgust. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful. But we killed an entire raider gang, at least.”

“Indeed.” White-Feather agreed. “It is time for us to head back to the camp.”

“Will you consider allying with the GCU then? The Brotherhood and the Dissidents won’t be able to stop our combined forces and we can finally convince the GCU to set aside your homeland.”

“I promised that we would consider an alliance. There is still mutual suspicion between the GCU and us. But given the current circumstances and your help, it seems that forming a pact would be the best option. It’s likely the only way we’ll be able to reach what we have sought for so long. But I have not decided yet.” White-Feather held up his hand to keep Mariah from getting too hopeful. “Regardless, know that your assistance is appreciated by myself and my people. You have proven yourself a friend to the Apalachee.”

It was getting deep into the night. With their work at the Bullsharks’ base done, they took some spoils of war and headed back to their own camp.

///////////

It was mostly a quiet trek back, save for some crickets chirping and the crunching of dirt and grass. But there was something that White-Feather had said in their first meeting that she remembered wanting to ask about. “Chief White-Feather?”

“Yes, Mariah?”

“Before, you said something about seeing me in a dream. What were you talking about?”

“Well . . . it is hard to explain to an outsider, even one who is a friend to us. But sometimes I receive visions. Sometimes it is simply through regular sleep. Other times, it is done through a rite that we perform. Unfortunately, however, not everything can be revealed to us, and receiving these visions too often and too quickly can be painful for the mind. That which is revealed to us may only show possible future occurrences, or even hint at somebody significant to our destiny coming to us soon. They are also often vague. Even I do not understand all that I see in my mind, nor do the leaders of our tribe.”

“Huh. Does this happen to people from outside of the tribe that are in close proximity? Because I think I had some similar . . . visions, I guess.” Mariah recounted what she had seen in her dreams before she had woken up. “What do you make of that?”

“Perhaps you have been blessed with some level of foresight as a residual effect of our rite. You have been asleep for some time in our camp. But I cannot say for sure. The nature of the Great Spirit’s revelations is not entirely understandable.”

“The Great Spirit?” Mariah asked. “Is that your own god? Or is that your name for a god that people outside the tribe worship?” She asked because White-Feather had already shown that the tribe sometimes had different names for terms that people from civilized areas used, such as the ‘Day of Conflagration’ instead of the Great War.”

[Fallout Soundtrack – City of the Dead]

“The Great Spirit—,” White-Feather suddenly stopped in his tracks as did the rest of the tribe. Mariah had no idea why everyone halted. “I smell fire and smoke. It’s coming from . . . no!”

“What is it?” Mariah still did not know what was going on.

“The fire and smoke is coming from our camp! We must hurry!” Mariah and the tribe rushed ahead, still about a half-mile away from their destination. Everyone had their weapons ready.

When they came into the clearing for their camp, fires were set to many of the tents. The Apalachee that had stayed there while Mariah and the others were on their excursion were either dead or on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Suddenly, their group was also surrounded, with loads of energy weapons aimed right at them. Several of the soldiers, clad in Power Armor, ordered Mariah and the tribe to lay down their weapons, and they complied. “So, Chief White-Feather. We meet again. Long time, no see,” one of them said, walking towards them.

It was Obadiah. The Brotherhood of Steel had arrived.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Oct 16 2020, 04:16 AM