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]

@Renee - Nope, Jonah is not part of the GCU. That's all I'll say about him for now.

As for the F.A.C.T. it isn't quite from nothing. As Obadiah indicates, it needs a weapon to deconstruct the matter of for a blueprint, but making subsequent weapons requires significantly less materials and significantly less time to make it. Almost instantaneous. It's only a taste of its potential.

And if you want a little spoiler that isn't really much of a spoiler but does hint at the future...


And you will see about the Apalachee right about now.

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

With the end of the years merely hours away, it's a perfect time to finally finish part 1 of the Fallout: Florida saga! It's frustrating that it is taking so long to write the whole thing. I really want to show all the story beats that I have planned ASAP. I have the basics of the story in notes and in my head, but the finer details are what need to be developed.

To be honest, there's something about my writing at a few pieces of this chapter that I don't like, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Sentence structure? The flow of it? Dialogue? I don't know. Maybe it's just the whole "you are your own worst critic" kind of thing. I do that a ton. But I do think this is good enough to publish. And I want to have it out as a send-off to the first part of the entire saga on New Year's Eve. A turning-over-a-new-leaf in multiple ways, as you will see.

So, without further ado, here's the last chapter dealing with the Panhandle. The adventure has only just begun.

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

Chapter 12: Every Ending is a New Beginning

Mariah went out a different door than she used to enter the building. She had been in there for so long that she had to reorient herself to where everything outside was. As she got around to the front where the battlefield was, she saw that all the combatants had retreated to their sides as a hulking beast came from her opposite direction. It was the Dreadnaught.

Mariah was stunned at the sight. She hadn’t seen any creature like it before. Coming from the Gulf of Mexico, which Tyndall was right on the coast of, it had been alerted by all the noise from the warfare. The only descriptions that Carmichael gave back in Panama City were not vivid, but they were accurate—it was a giant turtle-like creature. The shell of the monster was dotted by barnacles, algae, and moss. The face was still sort of turtle-shaped, but it had rows of sharp teeth similar to that of a shark. The tail was scaled and long. It had tough skin and an even tougher shell. A reddish hue ran along most of its skin and shell. And lastly, that loud roar it belted out was unnatural. How such an unholy amalgamation came to exist was confounding.

What was readily apparent was every living person at Tyndall was terrified of the behemoth. It was fortunate that the creature was still slow-moving because it was extremely resilient to attacks. While it would react in anguish at some of the gunfire, it still kept moving. It already destroyed much of what remained of a few buildings, and it was going to make it to the main part of the complex soon. Sometimes it would swing its tail to attack prey. Other times, it swung its head or chomped. And still other times, it could store water in its body to spew out and knock down opponents with extreme force. It already used those abilities on Brotherhood, Dissidents, GCU, and Apalachee alike.

Mariah had no clue what she was supposed to do against a beast like this as all of the factions were hunkered down on their respective sides. Mariah got a glimpse of the GCU side and took off her helmet briefly to show it was her. “Mariah! You’re alive!” Commander Masako called out to her. “Quickly, help us bring our wounded out of here! This monster has taken a serious beating, but it is still going, and we need to get our soldiers out of here.” The Dreadnaught had suffered many wounds, but it didn’t seem like it was that close to dying. The fiend was baring down on the wounded combatants, shaking the ground as it kept moving. It didn’t feel like anyone here was going to make it out alive.

Mariah tended to her orders. Thanks to her newfound strength in the Power Armor, she was able to carry away seriously injured GCU and Apalachee fighters. The creature thrashed around as the last few operational turrets popped out of their hiding spots, undoubtedly the work of Valentina. But they would do little but distract the creature. As they were in the process of reloading, the Dreadnaught took out the ones it could reach with its head or tail. For the last couple that were too far away, it spouted a deluge of water that was so forceful it separated the turrets from their bases. They were the last of the base’s functioning defenses.

Mariah ran to get the last couple of wounded soldiers when the Dreadnaught turned its attention to her. She froze in fear when they locked eyes. As it charged after her, she fired her combat rifle as fast as she could, though it was in vain. It viciously headbutted her, sending her flying 20 feet back and knocking the wind out of her. If Mariah didn’t have the Power Armor, she would most certainly have been killed by the sheer force. She lifted her head up to see the monster draw closer. It was getting ready to charge.

“Face me, you beast!” A voice called out to the Dreadnaught. It was Chief White-Feather, and he was carrying a Fat Man. When the Dreadnaught crashed into one of the buildings, it broke open the walls into an armory that otherwise would have been near impossible to break into. When the monster turned toward the voice, Chief-Feather shouted a war cry and launched a mini-nuke square at its head. The creature roared in anguish one last time, gurgling as a large chunk of its head was blown off. It slumped toward one side. For a moment, everyone was afraid it was still going to move after the hammering it had taken, but it stopped moving and breathing. The Dreadnaught was finally finished.

The Battle of Tyndall, at long last, was over. The GCU and the Apalachee were officially victorious.

Mariah recovered enough to pick herself up gingerly, the Power Armor critically damaged. The remaining Brotherhood and Dissidents, their numbers depleted, had surrendered. She was breathing heavily, some of it in relief. She looked around at the devastation caused at the base. So many lives lost over one piece of technology, albeit a powerful one. Tyndall still held plenty of secrets to uncover. Luckily, however, the GCU and Apalachee wouldn’t have to fight someone for them.

As she gently walked back towards her comrades, Mariah couldn’t help but feel she was being watched from afar. As she stopped and turned around, there was man standing on a hill, far enough from the action but still close enough to survey the events with the naked eye. He had his arms folded, wearing a large black coat. The bottom part flared out slightly from the top and was open in the front. He was a rather stereotypical mysterious-looking person, but she could see enough of his face to know it wasn’t someone she had ever seen before. Why in the world would somebody be wearing something like that in the Florida heat? It wasn’t as hot as many other days were since Mariah arrived, but it was still Florida in the summer.

As Mariah and the man in the black coat locked eyes for a few seconds, the man simply unfolded his arms and strolled away like nothing happened. She wanted to go after him to see what was up, but she was exhausted, and she had to report back to her allies.

“You sure saved us in the nick of time, Chief,” Mariah said as she returned, grimacing in pain. “Thanks for saving my hide.”

“The Dreadnaught unwittingly provided us with the means to defeat him, breaking open that armory. Truly, the Great Spirit was with us.”

“Well, whatever the case may be, we won,” Masako said. “But I can’t help but feel like the cost may have been too great. We lost a lot of fine men and women today.”

“It had to be done, Masako,” Lieutenant Carmichael said, stepping forward. He put a hand on her shoulder. “The F.A.C.T. was too important to let it continue to be in the wrong hands. I’ll see to it that our soldiers' sacrifices are remembered.”

Mariah wanted to rest, but she remembered that there was one other issue she had to resolve. “Wait, I almost forgot. Do you guys personally know a man named Jonathan Samuels?”

Carmichael scratched his chin as he racked his brain. “Oh yes, he’s one of Bertrand’s higher-ranking officers. Hard to keep track of all the officers below the seconds-in-command in each division sometimes. You’ll find him with Bertrand, I’m sure.”

“No,” Mariah said, her voice coming close to breaking at the mention of Bertrand’s name. “Commander Bertrand is . . . he’s gone. I was with him in the end . . . along with Valentina and Jacob . . . well, Commander Jacob now, I guess.” A dark pall fell over the group. No one was sure what to say next. Even Carmichael’s rough exterior let down. “But wait, if Samuels is not here, then where?”

“Why do you need to know this, Mariah? What is so important about him?”

“He’s the traitor!” Mariah suddenly blurted, startling the group. She explained her encounter with Gerald and what he told her.

“I’m not sure we can trust what a Dissident has to say, though,” Carmichael said. “He could have been totally screwing with us. But if that’s the case, then . . . oh, my God.”

[Fallout Soundtrack – Followers’ Credo]

They turned to find a soldier limping and bleeding heavily towards them. “Lieutenant!” The soldier gasped. “Lieutenant, we’ve been betrayed!”

“Slow down, soldier. Someone get a medic here right now!” Carmichael ordered. “What are you talking about, soldier? Stay calm.”

“One of our own, sir.” The GCU soldier was having to stop every several words to catch his breath. “We found him communicating with the Dissidents when he thought he was alone, and he shot all of us. I had to play dead, but all of my buddies are actually dead. It was . . .”

“Johnathan Samuels,” Mariah finished his sentence for him.

“Yeah, actually,” the soldier replied, stunned that she knew what name he was going to say. “Yeah, Corporal Samuels.”

“We have to warn Commander Jacob and Valentina! He’s probably going after the F.A.C.T. in a last-ditch effort!”

“S---, you were right, Mariah. We need to contact them right now.” Carmichael said, tuning the radio to the correct frequency again. “Jacob, do you read me? Jacob!”

Valentina answered on the other end. “Yeah, we’re here. But Jacob was wounded pretty badly. I’m patching him up right now, but the assailant stole the F.A.C.T. We don’t know where he went and we didn’t get a good look at him, but he wore . . . a GCU outfit.”

“That’s got to be Samuels, then, the b------. We almost lost a second commander today after just losing his own commander. Stay put, Val. We’re sending people to your location. Mariah, do you have enough left in the tank to help us pursue Samuels?”

“I think so,” Mariah answered. She was exhausted, but the rush of adrenaline gave her what she hoped was enough of a second wind. And she wasn’t going to let Samuels get away with his crimes.

“Alright, troops!” Carmichael called out to everyone. “Make sure we have the Brotherhood and Dissidents all rounded up and cuffed. I need some of you to secure the area. One of our own is working with the Dissidents still and he’s about to make out of here with our main objective. Now!” He started picking out a few soldiers to go with Mariah. “Chief, can you go with them?”

White-Feather nodded. “Let’s go and finish this, Mariah.” Mariah gave a thumbs up and retrieved her combat rifle.

//////////

Mariah, White-Feather, and a group of GCU and Apalachee fighters in tow heard a door burst open right before they reached the back of Tyndall’s main building. The man that must have been Samuels was trying to run as fast as he could with the bulky F.A.C.T., which had by now reverted to its boxed state. He heard everyone chasing him, and with his free hand shot at them with a submachine gun, slowing down his chasers but missing them with his bullets. He was still out in the open, and with Mariah’s crew still in hot pursuit he had no choice but to duck into a hangar with several dilapidated fighter jets. They had him cornered.

“It’s over, Samuels! You’re not getting out of this one. We know all about you.” White-Feather shouted at him.

“As long as I’m alive, it ain’t over,” Samuels called back. “You may have won today, but you’ll never stamp us out. Our day will come.”

“Why’d you do it?” Mariah asked incredulously. “You were supposed to be one of the GCU, and you betrayed everyone here. A ton of people died here today because of you. They might have made it out of here alive if not for you.”

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Samuels wryly replied. “Hurts to have so many of your people die. Now you get to experience it. You know nothing about me, little Ms. Hero.”

“Care to enlighten me, then?” Mariah mostly just wanted to shoot him when she had the chance. Yet she also desired—no, needed—to know why he did it.

Samuels thought about whether to entertain the question. He finally relented after deciding that it was necessary to justify himself. “I come from the Birmingham area. About five or so years ago, I joined the GCU. Back then, I was fully conned into buying into what the GCU was selling. I thought the Dissidents were just a bunch of arrogant blowhards that didn’t want to play nice with everyone else. At the time, I thought the GCU was looking to unite everyone across the wastes under one banner, trying to rebuild civilization and make things better.

“And then the Birmingham incident happened. Countless friends and family of mine massacred who had nothing to do with any issues the GCU was involved in. That’s when the Union showed its true colors. The façade was broken. It wasn’t about unity for them. It was about control, power, forcibly instilling its own vision like they had some sort of divine right to everyone’s territory. I finally understood what the Dissidents were about: Freedom. Sovereignty. Self-determination. Any hope for widespread unification died when the world did. I eventually met with Captain Russell and other leadership, and we figured that me staying as an officer in the GCU would be more conducive to our goals. So, I waited. I moved up the ranks to Corporal. I became more ingrained in the strategy and tactics of the higher-ups in the GCU. And we finally started turning the tide in our favor. Even when you came along, Ms. Hero, we were still coming so close to our goals.

“But now, obviously, we’ve hit some serious setbacks. Yet like they say: It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. And I’ll be damned if I let you take this from me. I’ve worked too hard to get to where I am now.”

“You’ve already lost, Samuels.” White-Feather said. “This can only end one way, and we all know what that is. I’m sure you’re too far gone, but you can still do the right thing before the end. Give up the technology. Now.”

Samuels laughed derisively. “You’re right about one thing, Chief. You aren’t going to convince me of anything. If I have to die, I’ll at least do it knowing I was on the right side of history.”

“Right side of history? You know how many people died because of you?” Mariah snapped. “You’re a coward. You’re arguably even worse than the rest of the Dissidents, except for Russell. At least we knew what they’d be from the get-go. We’ll take particular pleasure in offing you.”

“Then let be in a barrage of lead. I’ll take you all with me!” Samuels popped out of his hiding spot and starting shooting at everyone. He was able to do that a couple of times, but he didn’t kill anyone. When he came out a third time, multiple GCU and Apalachee personnel perforated his body. Samuels was dead before he hit the ground. Victory for the GCU and the Apalachee had finally arrived, albeit at a high cost.

The power core in Mariah’s armor had finally depleted, but she was ready to get out of the suit anyway. With no more danger around, she finally stepped out of her stuffy, confining suit. She collapsed to the ground, completely fatigued from the day’s events.

“Are you okay, Mariah?” White-Feather asked, kneeling down. He handed her some purified water.

“Yeah. Thanks, Chief,” Mariah said, gulping down half of the bottle in one go. “So . . . it’s finally over?” White-Feather nodded silently. “Honestly, doesn’t feel much like we won. Just that we . . . I don’t know. Didn’t lose the worst.”

“The wasteland has a way of doing that,” Masako said, walking up from behind. The base had finally been secured. “It beats down everybody. Until we restore civilization, it’s going to keep on mercilessly slamming us to the ground. The lawlessness feels like its own entity, doing everything it can to make humanity give up. But we can move forward. We have to. What we build now will achieve victory in the long run. It’s a worthy endeavor.” Masako had a matter-of-fact way of speaking, never condescending but emotionally balanced.

Mariah pondered Masako’s words. “I guess you’re right.” She took another long guzzle from the bottle of water. “I guess you’re right,” she said again, this time muttering to herself.

//////////

[The Ink Spots – Maybe]

Commander Darius’ crew had a great deal of success with their mission. While they had come across some Mirelurks, it wasn’t too hard for them to handle. They luckily did not have to go into the ruins of Laguna Beach or Panama City Beach, or else they would have gone up against a whole infestation of the aquatic abominations and who-knows-what. The bunker they were looking for turned out to be real, near the outskirts of Laguna Beach. His squads managed to track down some Brotherhood scouts, who had apparently found the bunker themselves and used it as their own base of operations. How they found the bunker already wasn’t immediately known, and it would be one of the subjects of interrogation of the surrendered faction.

Whatever the case was, the Brotherhood had hoped the bunker would have sufficient power for the F.A.C.T. to be operated by the time they got it. They did find some other Pre-War tech, but after taking possession of the device it became evident that the F.A.C.T. would not work on the computers there. They did not provide the necessary power and infrastructure for it and it was designed specifically to be used at a supercomputer like the one in Tyndall Air Force Base.

The GCU force that traveled there had outnumbered the Brotherhood by a sizable margin, and there weren’t any Dissidents that showed up. That indicated that Obadiah and Russell had put most, if not all, of their eggs in the Tyndall basket. The GCU suffered some casualties, but not anything near the scale of what happened for the factions that were at the Air Force base. A heavy but short battle resulted in victory for Darius and company. Now the GCU controlled both this bunker and Tyndall and could uncover many of their secrets for themselves. But there were still other investigations that needed to go on, like studies of the dead dreadnaught and how Jonathan Samuels had funneled information out of the GCU.

/////////

A memorial and celebration of the life of GCU Commander Emmanuel Bertrand was held back in his adopted home of Pensacola in the following weeks. Most of the speakers at his funeral were unsurprising—among them were Commander Darius, Commander Masako, Lieutenant Carmichael, and now-Commander Jacob. Many GCU personnel attended, though some were not able to come as they had to attend to their normal duties. They would be able to pay their respects later. Many of the Apalachee, including Chief White-Feather, were present as well in solidarity.

At the memorial, many aspects of Bertrand’s life were covered. He was born in Haiti in 2080, only three years after the Great War. As much as the War had ravaged the whole world, Haiti was one of the worst-off countries. Already struggling economically for an extended period of time, the devastation of the island nation was so severe that just about all signs of civilization were wiped out. There had been intense civil strife on the island leading up to that fateful day, and the fallout exacerbated it exponentially.

Bertrand’s parents tried hard to shield him and his older sister, Fabiola, from all the dangers in Haiti—the collapsed government desperately trying to maintain control, gangs similar to raiders, the irradiated animals and even plant life that were hostile to humans, and disease. But there was only so much they can do. When Bertrand turned 18 years old, their parents shipped him and his sister out on a boat heading for the United States in the hopes that they would find a better life there. The two young adults pleaded with their parents to come with them, but there was little room on the boat and limited resources. Their parents were also coming down with an illness and feared spreading it, feeling too weak to make the journey anyway. The parents and children bid each other farewell, heartbroken. They would never see each other again.

The boat captains feared they would be unable to make the full trip to the United States with their limited supplies. A few of the boat’s passengers fell ill and died on the way and the captains made some mistakes in navigation. Weather conditions, impacted greatly by the Great War, also made the journey dicey. All of these factors led to them making landfall in Varadero, Cuba, far off course, in the hopes of finding more food and water and to find places to give a proper burial to their fellow Haitians. It was here that Bertrand met a Cuban girl only a few days younger than him named Marisol, who was part of a group of Cuban refugees trying to escape the island themselves. The Cuban government was in league with China, the arch-nemesis of the United States, in the lead-up to the Great War. Some of its members survived the bombs and continued to oppress their citizens even more so than Pre-War. This group of refugees had finally found their break to leave for the United States and, finding a sort of kinship due to their similar circumstances, joined the Haitian refugees, agreeing to share whatever supplies they could. Two boats left, with Marisol joining Bertrand and his sister Fabiola on theirs.

The target destination had been to land in South Florida. Navigational mistakes as well as unfamiliarity with the territory, however, diverted their course much further north to Tampa Bay. Their stay would be short due to the high levels of pirate and raider activity in the region. The refugees sought refuge within the domain of a mysterious organization colloquially referred to as ‘the Society,’ based out of the ruins of the University of South Florida in Tampa, but they were refused entry. There was nothing else resembling a stable, larger-scale community in the area, and the desire to find somewhere that was stable led the refugees even further north, this time on land. Travelers coming from the north spoke of a relatively secure, fledgling nation called New Florida.

The Haitians and Cubans finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but more tragedy struck. Many of the refugees fell ill and died from disease, complications from radiation poisoning, exhaustion, or attacks from irradiated animals. Among these victims was Fabiola, Bertrand’s sister, at only 23 years old. It was at that point that Bertrand and Marisol became very close and fell in love, finding comfort in each other as basically everyone they knew was gone. They finally reached New Florida, the borders of which were far smaller than what the GCU’s part of New Florida was today and called it home. Bertrand would join New Florida’s military out of a sense of duty to protect people—the way he wished he could’ve done for others like his sister over the arduous journey from Haiti, and the way his parents protected others. About a year later, Bertrand and Marisol would get married. The Gulf Coast Union formed on July 4, 2110, and New Florida joined as one of the founding members. At that point, Bertrand had already been in the military for a decade. He was soon after transferred to Pensacola and became the Commander only a few years afterward.

But the cruelty of the wastes would strike again in 2120. After 20 years of a happy marriage, Marisol became sick from an accumulation of rads and an unspecified disease. They did not have any children, leaving Bertrand by himself. Grief-stricken, Bertrand would pour himself into his work to take his mind off of his loss. Sometimes he considered giving up completely. But he found a lot of promise in one of his younger officers, who had only been in the GCU force for five years: Jacob Parker. Bertrand took Jacob under his wing and they became close friends outside of work. Despite the fact that Bertrand was black and Jacob was white, Jacob became like the son that Bertrand never had, while Bertrand became like a father to Jacob. His real father he didn’t really get to know after he disappeared when Jacob was young. Jacob’s talent and tenacity led to him becoming second-in-command of the Pensacola division behind Bertrand. Having someone basically become family to Bertrand helped to keep him going, to soften the blows of all the losses Bertrand experienced up to that point. The mentoring that Bertrand gave to Jacob would lead to the latter assuming the position of Commander in the present day.

A bunch of other people that knew Bertrand personally had some words at the end of the funeral, when anyone could speak. Mariah and Valentina, however, did not. They could not bring themselves to talk in front of everyone, electing to sit with each other silently throughout the memorial.

/////////

September 25, 2130

Mariah had only been in the Panhandle for only about close to two months, but the cacophony of events since she arrived made it feel like several years. Yet the past couple of weeks or so were relatively uneventful, which was just fine by her. Mariah came back to Pensacola and helped around doing various jobs here and there, including scavenging from the ruins of the nearby University of West Florida. She stayed at Valentina’s home and the two of them hung out whenever they were both not working.

Jacob, meanwhile, had settled into his new position as the Commander of GCU’s Pensacola division. And while she was not even close to the second-in-command, Valentina became an unofficial aide of sorts to Jacob thanks to her actions at Tyndall Air Force Base and their friendship. She became one of the go-to people for tech-related issues, particularly when it came to terminals and computers. She also demonstrated some promise and talent with her combat skills, although they were still somewhat raw.

The thorough defeat of the Brotherhood and the Dissidents meant they were done troubling the region. The survivors of each were exiled out of GCU lands, sending the former back to the Midwest and the latter north into Georgia. In addition, the Brotherhood and the Dissidents had to give up any technology they had acquired to the GCU. They would be provided with some means to survive treks through uncivilized areas, but that was it.

The GCU also kept their word with the Apalachee, holding the F.A.C.T. but handing them the land in what was once the Apalachicola National Forest. The Apalachee and regular GCU citizens had made strong headway into eliminating the hostile wildlife there. The Apalachee retained autonomy over their internal affairs but concerns that dealt with the GCU and its citizens had varying levels of joint decision-making between the two groups.

Mariah, Valentina, and Commander Jacob were sitting at a table in the Blue Angel Inn back in Pensacola. It was the evening. Panhandle Radio played softly in the background. They laughed, traded stories, and had a few drinks, though not in excess. Some of the stories even involved people that passed, such as Bertrand and Valentina’s father, Gabriel. It helped to ease the pain. While they still faced dangers due to the lives they lived—not to mention the general perils of the Sunshine Wasteland—the past few weeks were a nice reprieve from the hectic times dealing with the Brotherhood and the Dissidents.

Still, the events were fresh on their minds, particularly the death of Bertrand. In some ways, it still felt a bit surreal even after several weeks had passed since the memorial and funeral held for him. As if on cue with the changing of their thoughts, the DJ was putting in the next tune: “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” by The Ink Spots. Perhaps there was no more song title more ironic than that following the Great War, and it was a popular tune in the Old World.

A moment of silence followed the beginning of the track as their thoughts reverted to their former Commander. Jacob spoke first. “If only Commander . . . if only Emmanuel could have lived to see the results of our work. Would have been a nice send-off into the proverbial sunset.”

“He was thinking of retiring soon?” Mariah asked.

“Yeah. At least from combat duties. He used to talk about it happening in a year or two, but after all that happened at Tyndall? Maybe he would’ve done it first chance he got. It would be one hell of an end to a career. I suppose it still was, though obviously . . . would have been nice to end it differently.”

Mariah took another sip from her drink. “I thought your speech at the memorial was really nice. So, he was like a father to you, huh?”

Jacob nodded silently. “When I was young, my father ran out on my mother. At least that’s what she thinks. Just left one day and didn’t come back, but why he did I can’t say. It’s been a long time. I’m not sure if he did abandon us or if he just got killed out in the wastes. Hard to know for sure a lot of times when you live, well, pretty much anywhere.” He took another swig of his drink, a local brew called the Pensacola Punch. “But we can all relate on that to some level: Losing a father. Including Bertrand, as you heard at the memorial. He had a really rough life. This might sound awful, but . . . maybe this was for the best, the way he went out. He died in one last act of valor. With all the people he’s lost, if he retired, he might not have been able to handle the solitude. Work with the GCU was the way he took his mind off things and if he didn’t have that anymore, the loneliness would have completely crushed him. At least now he can see his parents, sister, and Marisol again this way.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Valentina said. “It’s still hard to see someone who took such interest in my development personally and professionally be killed right in front of me like that. He was sometimes overprotective, but I knew he cared and believed in my capabilities. Sometimes, it was hard for me to feel like I belong in the GCU forces, but Bertrand liked me a lot. Even as a low rung on the ladder, he interacted with me a lot more than most people in the service. It . . . meant a lot when his final words were to me were about how proud he was of me. He was sometimes like a father to me, too. Especially with my actual dad being. . .” Valentina’s lips started to tremble again as tears started to silently stream down her face.

Mariah put a comforting arm around Valentina’s shoulders, although she, too, started to feel emotional again. She cleared her throat and gathered her thoughts, changing the subject to the relief of all of them. “So, what exactly did you want the two of us to meet you for, Jacob? Somebody that we are supposed to meet, right? How come you haven’t told us who it is yet?”

“It’s a . . . surprise of sorts, for lack of a better term. Somebody I think you and Val should meet, but that’s all I am saying until he gets here. I’ll let him tell you why I’ve kept it under wraps,” Jacob said.

“Is it somebody that we should know?”

“Not necessarily,” Jacob waved his hand. “I don’t see how you would have heard of him already. Val may have heard of him briefly before, but it’s not an individual she necessarily should have already known about. Until now, that is. And here’s the man of the hour himself.” Jacob stood up as a man in a GCU uniform walked through the Blue Angel Inn’s front door. “Sergeant Waller. Long time, no see.”

“Good to see you, too, Parker,” Sergeant Waller said, shaking his hand.

“Wait, a Sergeant?” Valentina quickly stood up to salute one of her superiors. “I, uh, it’s good to meet you, Sergeant. Sorry, I didn’t know who you were. . . .”

“At ease, soldier,” Waller assured her, extending his hand. “It’s quite alright. You had no need to know of who I am beforehand.” She shook it in return.

Mariah wasn’t sure how to address him. “Um, hello, Sergeant Waller. Nice to meet you. I’m Mariah.”

“Don’t worry, young lady. I know exactly who you are,” Waller said as they also shook hands. “I’ve heard about many of your exploits already. Jacob here has told me quite a bit about the two of you and what you did at the nearby Air Force base. Impressive work by both of you. Now, has the Commander informed you why I am here?”

Mariah and Valentina shook their heads.

“I thought it would be best to hear what you had to say directly from you, sir,” Jacob said.

“Kept it a surprise, huh?” Waller took a moment to clear his throat. “Well, ladies, let’s cut right to the chase. I have a proposition for you. Your ability to solve problems interfering with GCU operations has not gone unnoticed. And these problems go far beyond the Panhandle. The Dissidents and Brotherhood were real thorns in this area, but they were just the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. I have come from what is known as the Big Bend region of Florida, around where the former state’s coastline turns decidedly south. Specifically, I come from near the old capital, Tallahassee. We have called it Old Tallahassee since the Great War and New Tallahassee was established where Wakulla Springs once was. Old and New Tally, for short.

“Anyway, Old Tally was hit hard in the War, and we had kept it off-limits for citizens and GCU personnel alike in case the radiation was still too dangerous. But for some time now, it’s clearly been taken over by someone. Whoever it is seems to have re-established the city and has effectively kept us from ever controlling it. It appears to often keep to itself, but when it doesn’t, it causes a lot of trouble. Bands of ghouls, robots, even humans have come out of there and attacked settlements. We don’t know why they get aggressive, or why in the world someone would try to bring back the old city. But we do know it isn’t for anything good.

“Additionally, there have been some problems with at least a couple of other groups in the greater Big Bend region, and unfortunately we do not know much about them either. But we are trying to keep what little information we have under wraps. News about the attacks from Old Tally have already gotten around—not like you can stop any reports from that spreading anywhere and we aren’t looking to. But any potentially sensitive intelligence about either situation needs to be kept close to the vest.

“So, before I brief the two of you any further on the state of affairs, let me finally make my formal offer: How would you like to come to New Tallahassee and help us out? I assure you that you will be suitably compensated in terms of pay and accommodations. Particularly for you, Mariah, this is not a formal induction into the GCU. We have processes for that. But we have room for, for lack of a better term, special agents that assist us in certain military operations. If you do wish to eventually become an official part of the GCU military and enforcement, there may be something for you depending on how these troubles are solved. And specifically for you, Valentina, this is a promotion. Of course, there are still plenty of superior officers to answer to, but rest assured you will be much more involved in what we do.

“Now, what do you say, ladies? Take a moment to think it over if you need to. You shouldn’t rush the decision.”

Mariah and Valentina looked at each other, hoping the other would be the first to indicate their choice. When neither did, they looked to Jacob for advice. “What do you think, Commander?” Valentina asked. “Did you know all the details?”

Jacob nodded. “I have to know what’s going on in nearby regions whenever communication is possible in case issues there spill over to the Panhandle. I am aware of some of the finer details about what’s going on around the two Tallahassees. I informed Sergeant Waller of my thoughts on the matter. Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for the both of you. You can really make your mark on helping to truly re-establish civilization in the Sunshine Wasteland—and hopefully beyond. For you, Valentina—Mariah as well, but Valentina particularly so—I believe it is best if you find yourselves some new scenery. A new start of sorts. To move on from the pain and suffering you’ve experienced here in the Panhandle. I’ll truly miss the two of you, but I also truly consider this to be for the best. And given how close of friends you are getting, I imagine that you are a package deal,” Jacob said with a slight chuckle and smirk. The last part was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it was true that neither one of them wanted to leave alone for different pastures.

Mariah and Valentina laughed. “That’s true,” Mariah said. “You get one, you get the other. The two women looked at each other for affirmation of the decision, nodding. “Alright, Sergeant Waller. We’re in.”

“Excellent,” Waller said with little fanfare, though he was clearly pleased with the answer. “We will be heading out tomorrow. So, get yourselves some good rest tonight. Say your farewells to the people you know around here. Finish whatever business you need to by early tomorrow afternoon. We need to head out ASAP. I’ll explain more when we leave for New Tallahassee. Welcome aboard.”

END OF PART 1: THE PANHANDLE
UP NEXT – PART 2: THE BIG BEND REGION

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Dec 31 2020, 10:51 PM