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

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Lots of words from our Alabama friend, and not even one “Roll Tide!”.

I love this! Having lived within about 4 hours drive of these places you are writing about all my life, it’s fun to imagine them in this universe. Also, the dissidents sound like some of the Alabama, as well as Mississippi folks I’m around on a daily basis, so it feels very realistic! Good work!

Also, I wanted to say that this chapter had a sort of cinematic quality about it that I really liked, no doubt thanks in part to the inclusion of the links to the soundtrack.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Aug 24 2020, 04:12 AM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

I can relate Mariah's consternation over how some chems are legal and others not, like how oxycontin is legal in the US, but opium is not.

I love the cooler heads hat.

The Sunshine Wasteland is also a great name. It is like the apocalypse with added oranges.

So we got to meet Jonah Koresh. I suspect we will be seeing more of these Lifers in the future.

They have guar mounts!

I wonder what this macguffin is in Birmingham that everyone wants so badly?

Am I the only one who thinks Big Bend sounds pornographic?

Yep, governments do nonsensical, arbitrary things all the time.

I wish guar were real.

Lol, I guess it does sound a bit dirty. It's the informal name of that rough area of Florida since that is the big curve around the Gulf of Mexico.

Lots of words from our Alabama friend, and not even one “Roll Tide!”.

I love this! Having lived within about 4 hours drive of these places you are writing about all my life, it’s fun to imagine them in this universe. Also, the dissidents sound like some of the Alabama, as well as Mississippi folks I’m around on a daily basis, so it feels very realistic! Good work!

Also, I wanted to say that this chapter had a sort of cinematic quality about it that I really liked, no doubt thanks in part to the inclusion of the links to the soundtrack.

Thanks, Khajiit. Glad to know I succeeded on the realistic part. Didn't want to make just some generic Southerners. I often like playing a soundtrack in my own head for certain stories, so I thought it would be a good idea to include some here.

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

Chapter 4: Subterfuge

Now that Mariah knew where the Dissidents launched attacks from and what they were looking for, she set about back into downtown Pensacola to figure out what to do next. Bertrand was not going to let her join the excursion and it might not be feasible for her to tail them the whole way. But before that could be determined, Mariah figured it was best to find out what information she could about this town of Holt. It was apparently obliterated in the Great War according to Gerald, which could make it much harder to find—and there were plenty such ruins in the wasteland. Yet if there were a couple of Pre-War factories still standing, it could make the search much easier. Since she was still new to Florida, Mariah sought out locals that could tell her what she needed to know.

Eventually, she was directed toward a cartographer in town. The cartographer had scavenged plenty of Pre-War maps of the Panhandle, which would still give a good sense of where locations still stood even though the Post-War landscape had changed so much. Somewhat surprisingly, the maps were not terribly expensive despite their age and usefulness, and they were fairly well-preserved.

But an antique map was not going to tell her everything she needed to know about the area now. After selling the map, the cartographer told Mariah how to get to the old Pensacola News-Journal building, the Pre-War local newspaper, where she may be able to find out extra information about what was there or any news coming from that direction now. The people there had been able to preserve old news stories on holotapes and terminals as well as their paper forms, which could indicate some of what to expect there.

When Mariah got to the PNJ building, an old and tired-looking woman sat at the reception desk. “Oh, hello there,” she said in a monotone voice when Mariah came up to the desk. The old lady didn’t mean to seem rude or disinterested. She clearly was just fatigued.

“Hi. I’m looking for some information on a town not far from here. I was told to come here to find out any news and such about the area. Could you tell me anything about Holt?” Mariah asked.

The old lady perked up a slight bit at the mention of the town name, but not for a cheerful reason. A little apprehension crept into her voice. “Oh, no, no, no, darling, you do NOT want to go there. Nuh-uh.”

“Why not?”

“New to the area, are you? Well, sweetie, let me just tell you right now that if you are planning go there—or even just through the road that way, good heavens—don’t go. There is nothing good that can come of that.”

“Oh? How come?”

“That place is notoriously bad news around these parts! Even GCU parties are reluctant to go around there. Sometimes it’s roving bands of raiders. Other times, it’s monsters like Sirens, Radfrogs, and Radtoads.” Sirens were mutated cicadas, obnoxious and loud insects from the Pre-War days. Mutations made them bigger and louder. It was a random chance that any you came across would be friendly or hostile, though why this was the case was anyone’s guess. Frogs and toads also sometimes (though not always) grew larger from radiation and could be vicious as well. Both could use their tongues to attack enemies, but Radfrogs also could secrete a radioactive liquid from their moist skin while Radtoads used their rough and jagged skin to cause extra bleeding. “And some people even say the place is haunted!”

Mariah wasn’t sure how seriously to take the old lady, wondering if it was just tiredness on her part or if she may have been somewhat senile. Maybe both. But she refrained from openly questioning her on those counts. “So, people don’t go by there often?”

“Not if they know what’s good for them! Traders usually take the old I-10 instead of Route 90 because of the dangers. Tends to be busier and better guarded. Just stay from Holt, young woman! It’s bad business!”

“For heaven’s sake, you’re going to give yourself a stroke, Hazel!” A younger man, though not much more so than Hazel, came up to the desk from behind. “Stop working yourself up! Go get yourself some sleep.” The man gently ushered Hazel to a room in the back that had beds in it. It seemed to be an establishment that the proprietors also lived in. He came back to the desk to talk to Mariah. “Sorry about that, ma’am. Ms. Hazel has had a lot of, uh, personal things going on. Anyway, I heard you say you were looking for information on Holt, correct?”

“Yeah. Is there anything you can tell me? Any news? Anything even from the past that might help?”

“Well, it isn’t often that people want to go directly to Holt. While it’s in the GCU, it has never been re-established as a settlement since the War. And Ms. Hazel’s outburst aside, there have been reports of dangers around there. If you really want to go there . . . well, why do you want to go there?” He gave Mariah a quizzical look.

Mariah could not tell him the truth, so she had to improvise. It was easier to come up with a lie this time, unlike with the jail guard and Gerald. “I’m . . . going relic-hunting. I just want to know what I can before going there.”

“Another adventurer, eh? Well, I’m sure you can find some lucrative treasures there. Ms. Hazel might seem a bit off her rocker, but she does have a point about the potential dangers there. I’d greatly advise against going there, but if you insist, I’ll help you out. Stock up on ammo and defense and stimpaks before you go. Now, let me see what old news articles there are that can lead you to some treasures.” The man went towards the back of the building, spending about five minutes going through terminal entries, holotapes, and preserved newspaper articles. He returned with a stack of some old newspapers and a small booklet. “Ah, here we go. Got some stuff on an old Fusion! plant right in town, including an article about Nuka-Cola coming to the area. Was a big deal back then. Nuka-Cola relics can fetch a pretty cap, but you can find those all across the United States. The real prizes are found in the Fusion! plant because that was the state’s soft drink corporation. Especially anything related to their Key Lime flavor, ‘cause Key Lime Pie was the official pie of the state. Then you got the usual stuff like an old church there, police and fire departments, and so on. Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to hear me go on and on, so here it all is. And this booklet here contains some of the reports of dangers nearby.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff. Thank you.” Mariah tossed a few caps the man’s way for the service. She could not take any of the papers with her, so she was going to take a few minutes to comb through the information to memorize and take notes on before leaving.

“Sure thing, young lady. Oh, and one more thing: The GCU has an outpost nearby and there are a couple caravans heading out that way. They got some GCU troops helping to defend them along the way, at least until they are far from Holt. Not sure if they are taking U.S. Route 90 or I-10 though. You’d have to ask around at the caravan depot.”

Mariah’s eyes lit up. “You don’t say?”

“Yep. With the uptick in attacks on traveling traders, caravan guards have been in higher demand and GCU has had to provide protection as well.”

“Thanks a bunch for the help, sir. One more thing, though: Why is Holt so dangerous if there is a GCU outpost there?”

The man shrugged. “The way I understand it is that they have cleared the place out before. But it doesn’t stay empty for long. Raiders and monsters don’t exactly have respect for the law and civilization. And lately the GCU has been preoccupied with other issues. Just watch yourself out there, you hear?”

Mariah nodded. It certainly sounded like an intimidating place regardless of Dissident activity, but Mariah was not going to stop now. She wanted revenge against the Dissidents. Still, she thought it was odd that they would pick such a dangerous spot to launch operations from. It wasn’t like raiders or irradiated creatures would be very keen on having another occupant in town. Was it because nobody would suspect that would be where they are based? Was it the only place they could find that had the facilities they needed? Did the Dissidents even know what dangers lurked there? In any case, Mariah now knew that she could use the caravans to get to her destination.

The next item on Mariah’s list was to go to the caravan depot and ask around about who was heading in that direction and what kind of protection was being provided. She found that there were three different caravans going at 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, and 12:00 PM tomorrow. Each of these caravans was going to a different location: Niceville, some place called Mart-Town, and Defuniak Springs. But which of them was best for Mariah to go with? She did not know what time the GCU raid on the Dissidents was planned to be or how the GCU was moving troops. She primarily wanted to avoid Commander Bertrand and Jacob so they did not suspect her attempts to be involved, but would they help protect any of the caravans? They may not be with any of them at all. It looked like she was going to have to stake out the depots from a distance to see.

Afterward, she bought a few RadAways and Stimpaks along with some extra bullets for her 10MM pistol on her way back to Valentina’s house.

//////////

As Mariah was finalizing her plans on the living room couch that night, a dejected-looking Valentina walked through the front door. “Are you okay, Val?” Mariah asked, concerned.

“They aren’t letting me go either,” Val mumbled.

“What? Why not?”

“Commander Bertrand is concerned that my emotions will cloud my judgment as well.” Despite being GCU, the Dissidents were directly responsible for her father Gabriel’s death. “I’m going to be relegated to the office for the day. I suppose I understand but . . .” Valentina suddenly pounded the table. “Damn it, I should be going! They need to suffer for what they did to my dad! To all those people! I . . .” She burst into tears.

Mariah scooted over and put her arm around Valentina’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Val.” For a moment, she considered telling Valentina her plans for tomorrow. She quickly decided against it. Valentina may have felt similarly about the situation as Mariah did, but she was unlikely to go directly against Bertrand’s orders. It wasn’t her personality to be that defiant and it would jeopardize her employment with the GCU anyway. Mariah wasn’t beholden to such constraints. And Valentina might even try to warn Bertrand to protect Mariah from getting herself into danger.

“You’re a really good friend, Mariah,” Valentina said once some of the emotion subsided. “I know we’ve basically only just met, but I really appreciate you being here.”

“Same to you,” Mariah smiled. “So, what happens for you tomorrow?”

Valentina heavily sighed. “Desk work, I suppose. Hopefully they have something that’s actually engaging in town though.” Valentina reciprocated Mariah’s side hug. “It’s been a long day and I need to get some sleep. I’m going to the station early tomorrow, so ‘good morning’ if I don’t see you then,” she laughed as she got up off the couch.

If Valentina was gone early in the morning, that would make it easier for Mariah to execute her plan. It suddenly crossed her mind that she was, in a sense, going behind Valentina’s back. What would she think if she knew what Mariah was going to do? And Mariah didn’t want her to feel some sort of abandonment while going off to fight the Dissidents. For the first time that day, Mariah second-guessed whether she should really go forward with her plan. But she was a stubborn individual and she was determined to make the Dissidents pay. She soon went to sleep to make sure she was well-rested for the big day.

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

Mariah woke up at 8:15 AM the next morning, noticing that Valentina had already left. It was time to set her plan into motion.

Mariah arrived at the depot just before 9:00 AM, when the first caravan was leaving. Its destination was Mart-Town, a settlement that repurposed a huge building for an old corporation called UniMart for living and trading purposes. UniMart was not as big as some similar stores like Super Duper Mart elsewhere in the country, but it was a well-known corporation in the southeastern United States. Holt was basically right on the way to this Mart-Town, stopping at the GCU outpost nearby.

There were GCU officers standing ready to move out with the caravan. Mariah even saw a few of those Kolossi and Anoles that Bertrand had mentioned yesterday. Fortunately for her, Bertrand and Jacob were nowhere in sight. Looks like I get a head-start, she thought. She paid a fare to ride in the caravan, climbing on board a cart being pulled by Brahmin.

//////////

A few hours later the caravan arrived at the GCU outpost. The caravan was taking a quick break, so Mariah used the opportunity to hop off her cart and surreptitiously departed from the caravan. She was going to have to lay low for a while to avoid GCU detection. There were a few rundown buildings nearby that had nothing going on in them. Mariah checked them out and, having determined that they would be a good place to stay for the time being, started using them as her own makeshift base. The ruins of Holt could barely be made out in the distance.

Another hour or two later, another convoy arrived at the outpost with GCU soldiers in tow. As they filed into the main building, she overheard a conversation between two of the soldiers.

“Man, I’m telling you, I saw him! The guy with the yellow trenchcoat and dirty fedora!” The first one said.

“Dude, you’re crazy. Do you believe everything you hear?” The second one said.

“Nah, man, I told you I saw it with my own eyes. Nobody knows who he is, but he exists. Some Mysterious Stranger. Popped a couple raiders and then just left. He just vanished!”

“Why don’t you go get some water, my man. Heat’s playing tricks on you.”

“Fine, don’t believe me. I know what I saw.”

[Fallout Soundtrack: City of Lost Angels]

Mariah thought that was a rather curious conversation. It sounded like yet another legend out in these wastes. If there was a bottle of purified water for every legend, real or imagined, you could irrigate the whole wasteland and still have enough to sate everyone’s thirst. Mariah didn’t have time to ponder it, however, as she glimpsed Bertrand and Jacob. The time for Mariah’s revenge on the Dissidents was near.

The soldiers all entered the GCU outpost, undoubtedly to pour back over the raid’s plans to make sure this pre-emptive strike went smoothly. They soon came back out, armed to the teeth. As they marched toward Holt, Mariah tried to stay out of sight while tailing them, a tall task as there weren’t many places to hide and there were many soldiers on alert. Several snipers looked through their scopes to scout the ruins before signaling to move forward. The Fusion! plant could be seen not too far from the main section of Holt, surprisingly still in pretty decent shape considering the condition of the rest of the town. Most buildings were either completely leveled, had collapsed roofs, or otherwise showed significant damage.

Mariah, and some of the soldiers, could not help but feel some apprehension at entering Holt, regardless of the operation. No wonder the town’s ruins had its reputation. There was something about the atmosphere that just seemed eerie, more than your usual ruins. As the soldiers approached the road to the Fusion! plant, the snipers scouted with their scopes and signaled the all-clear once again.

It was then that a voice, not from anybody in GCU, suddenly bellowed “Open fire!”

[Fallout: New Vegas Battle Soundtrack]

Chaos erupted as various weaponry fired off at the GCU, who had to scramble for cover as Commander Bertrand barked orders. The Dissidents had ambushed them. GCU had to quickly return fire and find whatever cover they could.

Mariah was shocked as she found a wall to hide behind. How the hell did the Dissidents know the GCU was coming? Mariah wondered. The snipers had found no sign of activity. Holt was ostensibly abandoned. The scouts would have seen them coming out of the Fusion! plant but they practically came out of the damn walls. There should have been no way the Dissidents got the drop on the GCU, yet they did anyway.

As Bertrand kept yelling orders to his soldiers, Mariah noticed a Dissident with almost a clear shot at him. She reacted quickly, firing several bullets the Dissident’s way and killing him. Somehow, even with all the pandemonium, Bertrand was able to distinguish the sound of Mariah’s 10MM pistol from the rest of the noise. Nobody else was using that weapon. He saw where she was hiding, which was about 15 feet away from his position, and gave her an exasperated look. She could still hear his voice over the gunfire. “[Censored] damn it, Mariah! I told you not to come! What are you doing here?!”

“Sorry, Commander, but I was not going to miss this!” She yelled back with a determined look on her face.

“You’re going to get yourself killed! Stay down!” Bertrand returned to surveying the landscape and barking out orders. Dissidents and GCU soldiers seemed to be dropping dead left and right.

And then things got even more chaotic.

After a few minutes of warfare, nearby mutated creatures joined the battle, being drawn by the excessive amount of noise. Several people on both sides of the fight yelled out the arrival of the creatures. Sirens, Radfrogs, Radtoads came out of the woodwork, just like Mariah was warned about back in the Pensacola News-Journal office. There were many crazy monsters that she had seen traversing the wastes, but these three kinds were new to her. As if the guns weren’t loud enough, a couple of Sirens blasted an intensely loud shriek. It was so loud that literally everyone firing weapons had to temporarily let down their guns to cover their ears. Radfrogs started secreting a noxious liquid trying to cover any enemies nearby and Radtoads flicked out their tongues to try to strike prey. Of course, the monsters didn’t have any preferences for which side they wanted to win: They attacked GCU, Dissidents, and each other in an attempt at a meal.

Mariah was not able to find many clear shots, firing one every so often at any Dissidents or monsters she could see. But she needed to be careful about using up all her ammo. Suddenly, one of the Radtoads noticed her and started running toward her. In a panic, she gasped and unloaded an entire clip’s worth of bullets into it to down the creature as it was getting ready to lash its tongue out. She was so scared that she had to stop engaging in combat to catch her breath. The fear was especially unexpected given her singular focus on vengeance against the Dissidents, but these creatures were far more intimidating than what she expected. And these mutated animals were only for starters. Florida had a lot of diverse, mutated fauna to offer.

Mariah regained her composure and reloaded her gun. There was no end to this battle in sight—not for most of the combatants at least. Suddenly, a hand reached around her face, covering her mouth with a cloth drenched in some sort of sedative. She accidentally dropped her gun at the surprise and fought desperately against whoever was attempting to overpower her. But it was no use. She could not see the attacker. The sounds of battle slowly started slipping away as Mariah drifted off into unconsciousness.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 26 2020, 06:36 PM

[SubRosa]

Dissidents make me think of this song

Rad Toads, Sirens, Raiders... the Dissidents keep good company.

Niceville sounds like a nice place. I see it is even real! Well, if France can have Nice, then Florida can have Niceville.

That was a delightful nod to the Mysterious Stranger!

I wonder if the Dissidents might be laired up in the Fusion! plant? It is mostly intact, so it would make a good base.

Oh boy, that turned into a real furball, real fast. Even the monsters are getting into it! Hope there aren't any Swamp Demons or Gladewalkers around...

Oh noes! Mariah has been taken!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

This was a fun entry! Loved the MS reference and the fatal 3 way at the end! I wonder who could’ve grabbed Mariah? Seems to be a very premeditated kinda thing. Was she followed? Guess we’ll find out next time!

[Renee]

I'd vote for some Skynard or Allman Brothers as background music. Blackfoot. Some other southern rock band. Or, you also have country. Shania Twain, since our protagonist is female. Maybe even Taylor Swift. I'm just thinking out loud though. You're wanting to add actual Fallout games' music.

You really go into some detail here with the background! Poseidon Energy sounds like Enron.

Hostilities reached such a boiling point that some Florida politicians and citizens started openly advocating for secession from the United States.

I can see this; it's not too far away from real-life at many points in America's history. Overall Rader, you are just like a real-life friend of mine (the one who introduced me to table-games when I was in high school). He also played all those Avalon Hill games (he's a Civil War buff, for instance) and he's very much into historical stuff. Unfortunately I've never been able to persuade him to play Elder Scrolls or Fallout games, although oddly, his daughter LOVES Skyrim and Fallout 4.

I like how Mariah must discern clues from several people. Very RPG-like.

Yicch, radtoads. I also can't imagine cicadas which are even larger and louder!

The Mysterious Stranger sure gets around, doesn't he?

Uh oh, Bertrand has spotted her. And those monsters have joined the fight. I recently did some Wikipedia reading on cicadas (what you call sirens in the story) and learned that they actually disable their own hearing when they make their annoying song. They have to. They'd ruin their own aural organs, otherwise.

I wonder who has chloroformed her at the end? Jeez.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 1 2020, 01:31 PM

[SubRosa]

I'd vote for some Skynard or Allman Brothers as background music. Blackfoot. Some other southern rock band. Or, you also have country. Shania Twain, since our protagonist is female. Maybe even Taylor Swift. I'm just thinking out loud though. You're wanting to add actual Fallout games' music.

Florida means The Outlaws

[Renee]

Yeah, there you go. I know that song from somewhere.

Also, The Dixie Chicks. Oh wait. They're just THE Chicks now.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

I've almost got the next chapter ready. I'm just finishing the end of it and then making sure what I have makes sense.


SubRosa - I'm looking forward to when those two types of monsters are introduced, but unfortunately they are still a ways off. But don't worry, I got another extra special creature cooked up and coming in a few chapters from now.

Khajiit - Dun dun DUUUUN!

Renee - Fallout gameplay music is going to probably be most of it, but I'm going to do more than that. In fact, this next chapter is going to have some dark ambient piece that I really like and think fits well with Fallout. There is also going to be a link to a song from the 1950s/1960s in this chapter as well.

Funny you should mention that about the music, though. I have been imagining what I'd like the intro to be if this were an actual, main title Fallout game that was published. The song of a choice would be The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City. The intro would be like a mix of Fallout 1's intro and Fallout 3's intro in how it plays out.

It begins centered on and zoomed in on a jukebox in a dimly lit bar. Suddenly, the jukebox lights flicker on, the styles gently comes down on the record, and that Lovin' Spoonful song comes on. The camera starts panning around, showing various Florida-themed posters and art in that signature 1950s and 1960s style; advertisements for companies such as Fusion!, state-based utility companies, and Publix (or maybe I'll make it a different name in-universe); and flashes of several Pre-War events such as the Second Cuban Missile Crisis and anti-federal government protests. And then, when the song ends, the ruins of several cities (such as Miami, Tampa, and Tallahassee) come into full view. After that, we come back to street-level and a Swamp Demon lumbers into full view, turning slowly toward the camera and growling.

Of course, we then get narration by Ron Perlman...



Well, unfortunately, I must be going. I'll finish this thought later.

[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.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Mariah sure does know how to handle herself! I almost feel sorry for those Raiders; they don’t stand a chance!

[SubRosa]

Instead of writing [censored], I suggest inventing new, setting-specific swear words. Like the way Skyrim has 'milk-drinker'. Like Radsucker, or ghouman.

FACT sounds interesting. A lot like the Star Forge from Kotor 1.

Mariah really has a lot of passion.

The Brotherhood's arrival sounds like a golden opportunity for Mariah to make her getaway.

And it was! Now Mariah is back to Lone Wandering.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Instead of writing [censored], I suggest inventing new, setting-specific swear words. Like the way Skyrim as 'milk-drinker'. Like Radsucker, or ghouman.

While I am going to include some regional swear words and slurs (I've only incorporated a couple slang words so far), regular swear words are a normal part of Fallout as we have seen from the games. Granted, I don't want to just constantly write "[censored]" all the time and it gets a bit...I don't know...cringy, I guess? Maybe I will include the first letter followed by a bunch of dashes. But yes, I'll have some setting-specific slurs and such.

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

And now for something completely different.

I'm still writing Chapter 6. I have a synopsis planned for all of the Panhandle storyline, but this point I should've fleshed out more, so it is taking a bit longer. But to build up the world some more, here is the (preliminary) soundtrack for Fallout: Florida. A few songs are slightly out of that 1950s-and-earlier sound typical of Fallout, but that isn't unprecedented in this series and I think they fit well with the setting. I also simply just wanted some new songs for the series, although there are few familiar ones here. I had to go looking for some music more evocative of Florida and Florida-born musicians, so I learned a bit more about my state's history myself.

The Cyrkle – “Red Rubber Ball”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd-DJJfdyLg

Skeeter Davis – “The End of the World”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHa6a3FtPJg

Louis Armstrong – “What a Wonderful World”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63H0EgTcWFY

The Lovin’ Spoonful – “Summer in the City”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ofnHmxE-I

The Ink Spots – “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmIwm5RElRs

Ben E. King – “Stand By Me”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkUeWTBH1Kg

Bill Withers – “Ain’t No Sunshine”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuKfiH0Scao

Gene Kelly – “Singin’ in the Rain”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZer-HMhiFI (Perfect for radiation hurricanes.)

Patsy Cline – “Crazy”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWCaQPXE_0

Nina Simone – “Feeling Good”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNMKGYiJpvg

Mel Tillis – “The Violet and a Rose”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K-QXud1tt0

Fats Navarro – “Bouncing With Bud”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szpVBjPpX8o (A Jazz musician, Fats was born all the way back in 1923 in Key West, FL, with a merging of Cuban, African, and Chinese ancestry [or at least he may have been]. Sadly, he had a drug addiction he couldn't kick and his health issues were then compounded by a tuberculosis diagnosis. He died in 1950, a few months shy of 27 years old. Kind of even crazier to think about considering that I just turned 27.NPR story about him here. Another biography here.)

Fats Navarro – “Avalon”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8p_DBjohw0

Cannonball Adderley – “What’s New?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7isGsg6Fs (Real name Julian Edwin Adderley, he was born in Tampa, Florida in 1928. He was a high school band director in Florida before he moved to New York for a time. He was also in a quintet with his younger brother, Nat. He unfortunately died from a sudden stroke in 1975.)AllMusic biography here. Encyclopedia Britannica biography here.)

Cannonball Adderley – “Straight No Chaser”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOnQZ3J2H9c

Thelonious Monk – “Bye-Ya”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVkPWUsFIe0 (I was reading something about him and his connection to Florida, but now I can't find what it is.)

Slim Whitman – “Roll On Silvery Moon”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LzP67bI7BU (His real name was Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. Born in Oak Park, FL in 1923, the legendary country music singer was far more popular in the UK and throughout Europe than in his native U.S., at least toward the beginning of his career. He was a Florida guy through-and-through, living in Orange Park for a long time. He died there in 2013 at the ripe old age of 90. The Guardian article here. Wikipedia article here.)

Gabriel Brown – “I Am Just Hard Luck”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1GFwojYjxo (This blues singer may be the oldest musician on this list, being born in 1910 in possibly Gadsden County. It is not known for sure. Wikipedia article here.)

Frank Sinatra – “Come Fly With Me”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmQq6yLe2ww (Miami might have been one of the tropical locales that inspired Sinatra to write this song. Apparently, Sinatra was very fond of Miami Beach.)


To be honest, I'm personally not a fan of all of these songs, but I think they go well with the setting in some way.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Sep 17 2020, 04:50 PM

[SubRosa]

Skeeter Davis' End of the World is a lot different from the REM song.

Keep in mind that in prose, you do not have to write the exact words people are saying. You can be vague but still plain about things like slurs. I ran into this while writing the neo-Nazis in the Stormcrow fic. Wherever I could I used direct quotes from RL white supremacists, because I wanted it to be genuine. I did not want to put words in their mouth, but use their own. I quickly ran into a brick wall however, because I lot of those words are just not fit to print. So instead I wrote a mix of things like this:

CODE

"We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children!"

A Nazi with a shaven head and thoroughly ordinary features had a bullhorn out. Since he had no real crowd around him, he had no one to harangue but his own followers. Still, he plunged ahead with a litany of racial, homophobic, religious, and nationalist epithets. It was really quite a feat of hate for a single sentence.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

CODE

It was really quite a feat of hate for a single sentence.

Lol, that’s good. I like that!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

@SubRosa - I see what you mean. I'll go that route whenever it is appropriate and I can reasonably work it in.

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

And finally, we are on to Chapter 6.

Chapter 6: The Plot Thickens

It did not take long for Mariah to dispatch the raiders. They were caught off-guard by her energy weapon. Their attempts to flee at the sight of lasers was in vain as each of them fell. A couple of them even burned up into piles of ash. The merchants came out of hiding upon seeing that the raiders were slain. All of them and their Brahmin survived. When they came to meet Mariah, one of them practically prostrated at her feet out of a mix of exhaustion and praise.

“Whew, I thought we were goners. Thank you, ma’am,” one of the merchants hugged Mariah.

“I hate raiders. I kill them every chance I get.” Mariah said matter-of-factly.

“I’m glad you’re on our side,” the same merchant responded. “Anyway, we appreciate the help. What brings you to our town of Niceville?”

Mariah could not think of where to begin and she didn’t want to spill too much info. “A bunch of reasons, but mostly I’ve been looking for some sort of real civilization for the past day or so. I need to find GCU personnel in town. Do you know where I can find some? It’s very important.”

“For you, sure! You saved our lives after all. Follow us into town and we can give you a basic lay of the land.”

//////////

While Niceville was an important part of the trade routes in the Panhandle, the town itself was somewhat small. Although Pensacola was not a huge Pre-War city, it was considerably bigger than Niceville. And despite the decades that had passed, you could still feel a little bit of the small-town vibe Niceville emanated from the Old World. It was still early in the afternoon, but the town seemed to be rather sleepy.

The merchants directed Mariah to the town’s GCU station. She walked to the front desk of the building in a hurry and spoke in an urgent tone to the officer sitting there. The officer could not even get a greeting in before Mariah started talking quickly. “Please, I need to see whoever is in charge here. Who runs the show here? I need to know now.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, miss.” The officer put his hands up as if to stop her. “You look tired and distraught, but I need you to stay calm. Commander Darius is in charge in these parts, but I cannot just get him out here because one citizen says they need to see him. What’s the problem?”

“You don’t understand! It’s about the Dissidents and the Brotherhood! It’s urgent and I need to make contact with the GCU back in Pensacola. I came from that direction and…”

“Ma’am, please slow down.” The officer tried to speak in a reassuring but firm tone. “Why don’t you get some water and sit down? Now, I need you to . . .”

“There is no time, officer!” Mariah slammed her hands down on the desk. “Please!”

The officer was unsure of what to do next. “Ma’am, you need to stay calm. I, look, we can’t have you making a scene here, but there is protocol to follow and . . .”

A more authoritative voice spoke up from behind. “It’s alright, son. I’ll take it from here.” The voice said son not in a familial way but more like a mentor. Out walked a well-built, six-and-a-half-foot or so man, bigger than even Jacob or Bertrand were. Mariah was taken aback initially at how imposing his figure was. The man patted the officer on the shoulder and turned his attention to Mariah. “Hello, young lady. I’m Commander Darius. I head this area’s GCU outfit. I heard you mention the Dissidents and the Brotherhood. What’s going on?”

Mariah was looking for the next words to say. “. . . I’m Mariah. Is there someplace private we can talk about this? I’ll explain later.”

Darius raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “I suppose so. Follow me.”

They walked into a room where it was just the two of them and another GCU officer. Darius introduced this other man to Mariah as Jordan, his second-in-command. The three of them sat down at a metal table in a room away from eavesdropping ears. Darius spoke first. “Now, Mariah, normally I would not just bring in any wastelander or civilian or anyone that is non-GCU. Anyone can claim they have something that we need to check into. But it’s not everyday that someone barges in and says they have information on our two biggest enemies in the Panhandle, and something about you tells me you’re serious. Well, let’s hear it.”

Mariah recounted everything relevant since she tailed the GCU to the ostensibly deserted town of Holt: All the things that Russell told her, about the F.A.C.T., the Brotherhood breaking into the Dissidents’ stronghold, and so on. Darius soaked in all she had to say. After a long moment of silence, he spoke again. “So, you were the civilian who tailed our forces. I heard about you.” Mariah nodded, her face slightly reddening from embarrassment. “And you know about the technology, then. Yes, it’s true that we sought out the F.A.C.T. But we honestly don’t have it, and you say the Dissidents think we have it and that the Brotherhood thinks that the Dissidents have it. Something doesn’t add up . . .”

“What’s that?” Mariah asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“If we don’t have it, the Dissidents don’t have it, and the Brotherhood doesn’t have it, then who the hell does? As far as I know, we are the only three organizations that are actively seeking it. If another group has it, you’d think they would have used it by now and we would know.”

“Couldn’t it have been destroyed in Birmingham?”

Darius shook his head. “We found no trace of it after we pushed out the Dissidents and Brotherhood. Someone must have snuck in and took it, but I have no damn clue who it could be. The F.A.C.T. needs a powerful supercomputer and power source to operate, which I seriously doubt anyone else is going to find a way to access. Maybe that’s why we haven’t found any trace of it—whoever has it has not had the opportunity to put it to use.”

“What about raiders?” Mariah asked.

“I don’t think so. They’re generally too stupid to know what this kind of technology is or how to get a hold of it, and none were in the Birmingham area at the time. Hmm . . .”

As Darius sat there pondering, Mariah steered the subject in a slightly different direction. “Can you tell me what exactly happened in Birmingham? I’ve heard several different answers and I honestly am not sure what to make of all of it.”

Darius had already been looking down at the table, but it seemed that a hint of perhaps guilt could be seen in his face. About ten seconds had passed before he answered. “I was there. It . . . wasn’t the GCU’s finest hour. A lot of innocents were caught in the crossfire. But we did NOT murder anyone,” Darius said and pointed his index finger out with emphasis. “I wouldn’t put it past the Dissidents to use their own people as human shields, and the Brotherhood doesn’t seem to care about ‘collateral damage’ as long as they get their hands on whatever technology they can hoard. We had it on good authority that the Dissidents would’ve used whatever they could to invade southern Alabama—where GCU territory is not in dispute. We had to stop them. We had to get the F.A.C.T.” Darius sat silently for a moment before forcefully pounding the table. “Those b------- can’t get over the fact that their own country wanted to join forces with other states for unity, trade, and protection. They’re still hung up on Pre-War bitterness when it’s long been over.”

“You mean the whole thing about Florida’s government wanting to go its own way and Mississippi’s and Louisiana’s following suit?” Mariah finally spoke up again.

“Yes, exactly. Many in the old Gulf Commonwealth thought that they were going to stick together and stand up against the federal government. Make their own nation. But much of Florida’s delegation surprised everyone by wanting to be completely independent of everyone else. The Dissidents think that the GCU is basically a redux of the old commonwealth, where we, Florida, will abandon everyone else when it suits us. They see Mississippi and Louisiana in much the same way. I’m sure Alabama’s government would’ve or did do the same, but the Dissidents wouldn’t ever admit anything was wrong with them. But that is long in the past. The GCU is not the Gulf Commonwealth.”

Learning more and more about Florida—at least the Panhandle—its major players, and conflicts helped to make Mariah feel like much less of a stranger in the Sunshine Wasteland. It was a big step she took to even come to these parts that were completely foreign to her, but it certainly wasn’t the first time in her life that she had gone somewhere totally new. Something about Florida, however, made her feel like she could actually stick around for a long time, unlike her previous stops. Perhaps it was that purpose that the New Lifer, Jonah, had talked about, or maybe it was her emotional investment in the Panhandle after the Dissidents attacked her caravan. Possibly both.

“So, what about the Brotherhood?” Mariah asked. “What do they want the F.A.C.T. for? I heard they came out from further west. How would they even know about this technology?”

“Well,” Darius said with a heavy sigh, “They’re a very secretive organization, but we do know a few things about them. They’ve been around for a while, though we don’t know how long. And from other people’s few interactions with them—along with my own—their main mission is to round up Pre-War technology to keep it out of the hands of ‘outsiders.’ To what end, I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s not good for the GCU.”

While the situation was dire, Mariah couldn’t help but be somewhat fascinated not only with what she was learning but with how on top of things Darius was. Even though it was part of his job to be in the know, he seemed to be particularly adept at accumulating intel. “Something tells me you know a lot of this from your own personal interactions instead of just from other sources.”

Darius nodded. “Besides the Birmingham incident, yes, I’ve had to deal with the Brotherhood and the Dissidents on multiple occasions. And regardless of how that battle at the Fusion! plant went, we’ll most certainly be hearing from both groups again. No way did either of them have their full forces there. Those two names you mentioned—Russell and Obadiah—I know them. Quite well, in fact.”

“Really? What else can you tell me about them?”

Darius scoffed just thinking about them. “Both of them were in Birmingham but we’ve known about both of them for even longer. Russell has been a troublemaker for a very long time. Like he told you, he was born before the War. He’s been one of the loudest opposition voices ever since the Alabama Compact joined to form the GCU. Any violence related to that he has probably had at least some involvement in, even if indirectly. Given his experience and dedication to the Dissidents’ cause, it makes sense that he is leading their charge in Florida. Make no mistake: He’s a crazy son of a b---- but he is an excellent combatant, even as an old fart.”

“And this Obadiah? I haven’t even interacted with him.”

“We don’t know what particularly drives him beyond his loyalty to the Brotherhood. I personally think Obadiah has more to his agenda than that. But what we do know is he is far from the first leader of the Brotherhood. Maybe this is how the Brotherhood has always been or maybe just under him. I can’t say. Like I said, the Brotherhood hasn’t made it easy to get info on them.”

Mariah’s mind went back to her friends in Pensacola. “So, if you’re GCU, are you able to make contact with personnel in Pensacola? I need to tell them what I learned. Let them know I’m alright. You must know Commander Bertrand, right? Do you also know Jacob and Valentina? Did Bertrand and Jacob make it out of Holt?”

Darius nodded. “I know Bertrand and Jacob quite well. They are the counterparts to Jordan and I. This Valentina doesn’t sound familiar though. And yes, Bertrand and Jacob are okay. But since you have been in captivity and have been trying to find civilization, you probably didn’t hear.”

“Hear what?”

“Bertrand has been suspended indefinitely from his duties for the botched attack on the Dissidents. Higher-ups made the decision. Bertrand and I lead our respective areas for the most part, but there are higher-ranking officials that oversee the whole Panhandle, the whole of Florida, and the whole of the GCU. The Panhandle overseers heard word about the incident quickly, so they are putting Bertrand on leave while they investigate.”

Mariah shot up out of her chair. “But it’s not the Commander’s fault! The Dissidents knew they were coming! Something tipped them off!”

Darius just shrugged. “Look, it’s not my decision. But I know Bertrand well. He would not have rushed soldiers into combat like that if he had any sense that something was glaringly wrong with the operation. But how did the Dissidents know? In any case, let’s contact our mutual friends in Pensacola.” Darius took a radio in the room and started tuning it into the necessary frequency. GCU had had to make repairs to communication lines that were destroyed in the wake of the Great War. He got Jacob and Valentina on the other end, the latter at Mariah’s request. Jacob apparently was placed in charge in the interim while Bertrand was suspended. “Jacob, it’s Commander Darius. I got some news from a friend of yours. She’ll explain.”

Without even letting a pause enter the conversation, Mariah spoke. “Jacob, Val, it’s Mariah. I know what the Dissidents and the Brotherhood are . . .”

“Mariah?” Jacob said, shocked. “Holy s---, you’re alive! We couldn’t find you after what happened in Holt. I’m happy to hear from you, but what the hell were you thinking coming there?”

“We thought you were dead, Mariah! You could’ve easily gotten yourself killed!” Valentina exclaimed. She was hurt that Mariah would leave without telling her what she had planned.

Mariah felt some guilt at leaving Valentina in the dark. “I’m sorry, Val. Jacob. But can we talk about this later? I know what our enemies are up to. The Dissidents captured me and I was told by their Captain what they were planning.” Mariah recounted all that had transpired for her to Jacob and Valentina, as well as what she and Darius discussed.

After a long pause, Jacob breathed a heavy sigh. There seemed to be a lot of sighs from everyone lately. “Damn it. Of course that’s what they are here for. We thought one of them might have the F.A.C.T. for some time, but it became clear after dealing with them for long after Birmingham that neither of them had it. Russell and Obadiah—damn the fact that they are still around—would’ve found a way to use it if either of them had it, I think. Or maybe they had been having trouble finding a sufficient power source like you said, Commander Darius. Did Russell tell you anything else, Mariah?”

Sifting through her memories, Mariah thought about one thing she had left out. “When I asked him how he knew the GCU was coming, he said something about how he had eyes and ears everywhere and in unexpected places. . .” She trailed off. That’s when it clicked for her. “Jacob, I think there is a mole in your department.”

After muttering several more expletives under his breath, Jacob said, “You’re right. That’s the only way they could’ve known. But how? We vet our officers thoroughly. Any sympathy for the Dissidents should’ve been rooted out. And Gerald has no means of contacting them in his cell—yes, we still have him cooped up in there. I don’t know how I am going to go about figuring out who is a traitor, but I’ll come up with something. Going to also petition the powers-that-be to reinstate Commander Bertrand now that we have all this new information. We need his leadership.” He stopped for a moment, then added, “Thank you for all the help, Mariah. But please, do not put yourself in that position again. We were really worried about you.”

“Yeah,” was all that Valentina could add.

“I . . . I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better. For both of you.” Mariah said, dejected.

Darius ended the communication. He threw his hands up in the air. “Well, now we’ve got to figure out where we go from here. But that’s not your job, Mariah. Go get some rest. See what Niceville has to offer. And thank you again, we’ll keep in touch.”

“Thank you,” Mariah said.

“Wait,” Darius said right when Mariah was about to exit the room. She turned around to hear what he had to say. “Make sure you think about what Jacob said at the end there. It’s clear just from that call that he and Val care a lot about you. From what I understand, you seem to be someone who rushes into danger, often recklessly. It’s all well and good to be brave and standing up for others, but you need to think more carefully. It doesn’t just affect you. It affects your loved ones and it can have unintended negative consequences for them if you unthinkingly rush into the face of peril. That doesn’t mean always playing it safe, but it does mean you make better calculations about danger. Do you understand?”

Mariah knew he was right. She just couldn’t find the words to say in response. Instead, she simply nodded and closed the door behind her.

[SubRosa]

Thanks to Covid, early afternoon is definitely sleeping time for me!

I must admit that I like the complex political situation you have developed in the Panhandle. It provides a lot of angles, and a lot of sources of conflict to drive the plot.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

^
Same. (Well, except for early afternoon being sleepy time, lol)

These are really fun reads!

I wonder who has the F.A.C.T!

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Sep 22 2020, 03:05 AM

[Renee]

[censored], I have fallen behind. Wow, Mariah is really fiery, bold, and maybe even insolent! She's getting right into her captor's face.

“I have eyes and ears everywhere. Places you wouldn’t suspect.

I think I know one of them. That odd guy she met in the outdoor market is an example. I forget his name. The guy who seemed sort of peculiar.

F.A.C.T. sounds like a bunch of bull. Maybe they're all fighting over something which doesn't really exist. You can't make somethings substantial out of nothing.

Russell furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t understand how GCU operates, young lady. It’s the perfect cover for something like that

So he WAS targeting that caravan Val's father was on. I agree with Mariah then. That was no recon mission, it was "shoot to kill, ask questions later" more likely. Still though. I understand her anger but damn, she's gonna get herself r4ped or killed if she doesn't tone it down.

Ha I like the Fallout 4 danger music, that's perfect! She is lucky at that moment as BoS shows up. And now she has a lazer rifle, good for her.

I finish the next chapter in due time. Must head back to work.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

F.A.C.T. sounds like a bunch of bull. Maybe they're all fighting over something which doesn't really exist. You can't make somethings substantial out of nothing.

I figure it’s probably the same technology that is utilized by the vending machines in the Sierra Madre casino from the New Vegas dlc “Dead Money”.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Sep 22 2020, 09:29 PM

[SubRosa]

F.A.C.T. sounds like a bunch of bull. Maybe they're all fighting over something which doesn't really exist. You can't make somethings substantial out of nothing.

I figure it’s probably the same technology that is utilized by the vending machines in the Sierra Madre casino from the New Vegas dlc “Dead Money”.

Basically the replicators from Star Trek. They rearrange existing atoms into new elements, and build what you want from there on up. All it requires is the total control of matter.