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

[Renee]

Ah that's right. Y'all have sinkholes down in Florida. We've heard about them up here. Like, an entire section of road or somebody's pool will just go underground one day. *sweoop!*

Yes it does not matter the era or the place, humans always hold grudges. Look at what's going on in the Middle East lately... all of that began two generations ago. Still, that's pretty shocking the Enclave would bomb what is basically their own territory.

My work shift begins. Let me finish this later...

Yes, there could be all sorts of new monsters down below as they head toward Vault 100. Who knows what new species could be around, right?

“I don’t know if you are just psyching yourself up, Mariah, but you’re reverting back to your not-taking-danger-seriously self. That has already gotten you into trouble many times.”

I agree with Val, Mariah should just stay home. But she won't! We all know she won't.

This post has been edited by Renee: May 25 2021, 05:03 PM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Ah that's right. Y'all have sinkholes down in Florida. We've heard about them up here. Like, an entire section of road or somebody's pool will just go underground one day. *sweoop!*

Yes it does not matter the era or the place, humans always hold grudges. Look at what's going on in the Middle East lately... all of that began two generations ago. Still, that's pretty shocking the Enclave would bomb what is basically their own territory.

...

Yes, there could be all sorts of new monsters down below as they head toward Vault 100. Who knows what new species could be around, right?

I have, fortunately, not had to witness a sinkhole as it was happening, but I have seen them after the fact. People have gotten sucked in and are never seen again. Pretty scary stuff.

Human nature is something I am trying to explore in-depth with this story, in what I hope are unique ways, so always be on the lookout for that.

They are not heading down to Vault 100 yet, though. They do not know where it is. But they may find something about it soon.

The real-life wildlife in Florida helps make for a creative, interesting bestiary. I am a big fan of when there is a varied, well-realized bestiary in games.

***********************************

Chapter 16.2

[Half-Life Soundtrack – Vague Voices]

The outer limits of the Pre-War capital city was visible in the distance. It was not only Mariah and Valentina’s first time seeing Old Tallahassee. Some of the 25 other soldiers in tow had not previously laid eyes on it either. They all marveled at what they saw. It was not particularly pretty—though it did not look ugly either—but even as far away as they were, some of the city’s impressiveness could be seen. For one, it no longer looked like it took a nuke straight to the face. Mariah was used to seeing bigger cities as either complete skeletons, devoid of any civilized societies, or reinhabited but mere shadows of their former selves. Old Tally was not pristine by any means, but its current aesthetic was commendable, all things considered.

How much had been rebuilt was quite remarkable. It was not quite back to Langston’s depiction of the city as one of the fertile grounds of Pre-War scientific progress—not from what their unit could see, at least—but the buildings looked to be in comparatively good shape to most other Post-War cities. One of them especially stood out, though, noticeably taller than the rest of its neighbors. Perhaps symbolically, it looked to be roughly in the center of the old city.

“Wow,” Mariah said as they kept walking, dragging out the end of the word. “This place got directly nuked? You can hardly tell.”

“That is mostly the handiwork of what is practically an army of automatons,” Langston said. “Some of them were somehow still running when we began to recolonize the city, though I would posit most were construction-oriented machines, programmed to make certain fixes in the event of destruction. They had just been going about their days as if nothing had happened to the city. Davidson and I led the project to reboot the rest of them. Many of our compatriots were experienced fighters who eliminated the oversized wildlife that sparsely populated the streets. And before you knew it, we had a legitimate, burgeoning society.”

“What about that tower in the middle?” Valentina asked. It was obvious which one she referred to. “Looks like that one got some special treatment.”

Langston gruffly scoffed. “Of course, it does. Davidson made sure to have his megalomaniacal, self-absorbed desires tended to, simply calling it ‘The Spire.’ It is what used to be the Florida Capitol Building, where the governor and the state legislature conducted business. The state supreme court was close by, and the preceding Capitol building was repurposed into a museum when the current iteration opened. There is a considerable amount of fascinating history to those places and a lot of others. Although . . .” he trailed off and sighed heavily. After a pause, he continued. “Not like any of that matters anymore. The world went to hell.” Something about these places clearly held some personal meaning to Langston, though nobody pressed him on it. Even Mariah’s inquisitive nature did not prompt her to ask him about any of it. It was best to leave the subject alone. For now, at least.

After about ten more minutes of mostly silently walking, Langston pointed directly ahead. “Over there.” While much of the foliage in close proximity to Old Tallahassee was still trying to grow back from the fallout, there were still many dense pockets of vegetation further away from it, as well as those sinkholes that Langston had talked about before. One such pocket conveniently covered up the facility that he was bringing them to. “In this vicinity. It will not look like much at first, merely pretending to be marginally more than a shed. Yet there is a substantial complex below.”

“So, what exactly are we going to find here?” Valentina asked. “What more do you have to show us?”

“I am not sure of all the contents,” Langston replied. “Ostensibly, Ezra does not even know that this place still exists. The passing of the decades wipes away many memories and traces of the past. Yet with Davidson resurrecting some Pre-War projects, we might be able to find more information on how they started, or what else goes on deep below the surface. Maybe even data on Vault 100. I will peruse any working terminals to see what I can find.”

“Val is really good with computers, too,” Mariah said. “I have seen it firsthand, and she can help—”

“That will not be necessary,” Langston cut her off. It was unusually abrupt from him.

“Why not?” Valentina said, struck by his reaction. “Do you think I cannot do it?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Langston stuttered. His facial expression showed that he was scrambling for a response. “Nothing like that, it is just . . .”

“What are you trying to hide, Langston?” Sergeant Waller said, stopping the unit and turning to face the scientist. He was always looking for something to be suspicious about, whether it was warranted or not. “I swear, if you are trying to pull something, I’ll—”

“There is nothing sinister, I assure you,” Langston said, regaining his composure. “I have already told you about my past, so why would I hide anything else?” He cleared his throat, addressing Valentina. “Pardon me, Miss Val. I did not mean to call into question your talents, which I am sure are quite considerable. It is just that these are not going to be your average terminals. They are likely to have formidable security measures, possible setting off traps or feeding you false information. And as this is a former Old Guard depot, I will be the only one with insight as to how this place works. All I need is for all of you to clear out the fiends that inhabit this location, as I am of little help in a fight.”

Waller turned back toward their destination only about 50 yards ahead of them, still sneering at Langston as he did so. “Fine. Just tell us what needs to be done.”

“Of course. I need to operate that terminal next to this entrance first. I used it to close off access.” As Langston stepped up to the screen to type in the requisite password and command, he furrowed his brows. “What? That is preposterous, I did not . . .” He simply trailed off.

“Did not what? What is it, Dr. Langston?” Mariah asked worriedly.

A grave look fell over Langston’s face. “The security has been bypassed. The command prompts were already present. That means only one thing.”

“Somebody else is already here,” Waller said, snarling. “Godd--- it, Langston, what was the password you put in? ‘Password?’ ‘12345?’ I’ve once heard of an idiot who made that one his luggage code.”

“Save your pathetic attempts at humor,” Langston shot back, his facial expression changing from concern to frustration with Waller and the unknown intruders in the facility. “Nobody else is cognizant about this facility’s location.”

“And yet there is someone here. I will have your head for this if you have led us into a trap.”

“Your inflated sense of self-importance will cause your own head to explode before you could attempt that.” Langston got into Waller’s face this time.

Mariah and Valentina were nervous about getting in the middle of what seemed to be the prelude to a fist fight. Fortunately, one of the other GCU officers with them stepped in. “Sergeant! Doctor! Please! We are on the same team here! These trespassers could be just below us.”

Was Waller’s behavior so problematic that officials under him had to often plead with him to stop? Mariah thought to herself. How could this be the temperament of a commanding officer, to the point that a subordinate would have to brave the divide in military rank to beg him to stop? It was astonishing to her and Valentina that when they first met Waller in the Panhandle, there was nothing about him that signaled he would be quick to anger. It would not be the first time Mariah had seen someone show their true colors after first meeting them, however. She started to wonder if taking on this job was worth it.

For all his rage, Waller seemed to be able to be reasoned with, at least by somebody who had enough of a way with Speech. “Normally, I would say you are out of line, Officer Damon,” he replied to the man who tried to be diplomatic. “But you are right. Focus on the task at hand. Alright, people. We have a developing situation on our hands. We have unknown trespassers in this place, and we don’t know how many of them there are, so be on your guard at all times.” He started to direct them into a clear formation, putting Mariah and Valentina closer to the back end but still with several soldiers behind them. “Have your weapons at the ready. We are going in. The primary goal is to find whatever stuff it is that Langston here wants to retrieve. Tread carefully.”

As the door loudly creaked open, what was supposed to be a secret staircase was in the corner of the room. A secret drive on the terminal next to it was what had opened it. Whoever these intruders were, they certainly seemed to be quite adept at hacking, or at least someone among them was.

“No talking unless it is necessary. And if you do speak, keep your voice down,” Waller said. “We might be able to get the jump on these guys.”

As the crew descended into the facility’s depths, there was a feeling of oppression in the atmosphere. Maybe it was just because of what Langston told them, or the knowledge that someone else was here, or the fact that this facility was supposedly abandoned for about a half-century. Yet it felt like there was something more tangible in the air, almost like they could grasp the inevitability of conflict with whoever was already in this place. The unit carefully descended into the dimly lit corridors below.

[SubRosa]

The plot certainly thickens as Langston spins his tale of new threats, and even a Vault! I wonder what secrets, or horrors, might lurk within Vault 100?

Plenty of conflict to go around here, along with plenty of factions, all with their own agendas. Mariah is going to have her hands full dealing with all these outsized personalities.

So it looks like Vault 100 is the going to be the nexus of this phase of the story. Everyone seems to want what is locked away there. Or at least what they think is in there.

[Renee]

The real-life wildlife in Florida helps make for a creative, interesting bestiary. I am a big fan of when there is a varied, well-realized bestiary in games.

That's one of the cool things about writing fiction in our own regional area, we know what 'works' and what doesn't. For Vicious's tale here in Maryland / Virginia / D.C., this includes radcicadas. In real-life we are getting the 17-year cycle of these little beasts, which means there's this constant white noise going on at all times, assuming it's daylight. So I imagine it's the same way in the gameworld too, especially since it's late summer.

Whoa, that's crazy! So Old Tally was rebuilt by machines, basically. I suppose that's a good way to do it. Anybody wanting to colonize the area (any bad folks) are going to need dealing with bots then, who'd probably been programmed to eradicate any baddies, somehow.

. “Godd--- it, Langston, what was the password you put in? ‘Password?’ ‘12345?

I am guessing it's probably a bot, or bots, which are down there? Guess we'll find out.

[SubRosa]

Back when I worked at EDS (when it was still a company), the default password they used to put on many of their servers was EDS123. Seriously. Sometimes for shits and giggles I would see how many servers I could log into with that. It turned out to be a lot of them.

*I write this now because the company is long gone, and that password is not going to work on any servers today.*

[Renee]

EDS = Electronic Data Systems?

[SubRosa]

EDS = Electronic Data Systems?

That is the one. We used to call it Ed's. It was eventually bought by HP, who folded all of it assets, and the people they did not fire, directly into their own company.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Sorry for the delay. Lots of life stuff happening. But I've got the next part of Chapter 16 done! One more part to go before Chapter 17.

@Renee - Have you seen the movie Spaceballs? The "12345" bit was also a reference to one of the many funny scenes in the movie. This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6iW-8xPw3k

@SubRosa - LOL, that is astounding. You'd think a tech or tech-related company would know better than to do that.

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

Chapter 16.3

[Wasteland 2 Soundtrack – God’s Militia]

While the corridors were not well-lit, it was not quiet in the facility. Audible machinery in the distance could be heard and several pipes were spewing steam. The first corridor was narrow for a group their size but walking down the steps led to three slightly larger hallways. Waller ushered about half the group—including Mariah, Valentina, and Langston—to come with him, putting Officer Damon in charge of the other group. Clearly, Damon was not some ordinary officer, but Waller had not mentioned what his title was at the end of his tirade with Langston. Several soldiers, including Damon, had two-way radios on hand in case of an emergency. Waller gestured a reminder to stay as quiet as possible, in case they could pre-emptively strike whoever was already here.

As Waller’s group walked down their hallway, a stairwell came up on their left. “I remember proceeding this way,” Langston whispered. “I specifically registered this orientation of the pipes as I ascended. Let us continue this direction. Be prepared for anything.”

“What can we expect here? You’ve been awfully cryptic about what is here,” Mariah muttered.

“Well, that depends in part on your knowledge of the state’s wildlife. The Old Guard were conducting experiments on various creatures before the war, and I recognized what some of them used to be. Their respective biological compositions have been altered, enhanced, in a controlled manner unlike most of what you see on the surface. That is mostly the work of radiation, though not always.”

“And you contributed to this?” Waller asked accusatorily. “This is the kind of thing you did for the Old Guard?”

“I will not profess to being guiltless, but I was not aware of what was occurring here when it happened,” Langston quickly defended himself. “I was not a high-ranking member or someone who participated in these experiments. My membership in the Guard long afterward, however, made me privy to some of it after the fact. There was an abundance of documentation.”

“So, what kind of creatures are we talking about?” Valentina asked. “Are they not native to these parts?”

“A few you may have seen in your travels, but yes, others do not come from around here. One of the monstrosities I recognized from reports: the Prowler.” Langston would silently gesture at the next direction to go, the group still walking cautiously in anticipation of the unknown entrants to the facility.

“Sounds overly menacing,” Mariah quipped. “What’s a Prowler?”

“They used to be what were known as Florida Panthers. They were an endangered species in the Pre-War, only found well into South Florida, but the status of the species overall is unknown. There are some Old Guard cells in that region, but we . . .” Langston cleared his throat again. “Pardon me, they, the division I was a member of, lost contact with those cells some time ago.”

“And a panther is. . .?” Mariah had never heard of any before.

“They’re basically big cats, Mariah,” Valentina said. “I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard about them from well-traveled immigrants to the GCU. There were also a couple Pre-War books around with pictures of them. There were apparently conservation efforts underway to save them, and they mostly steered clear of humans, but they could certainly be dangerous like other big cats such as tigers and lions. I’m guessing they are much more so now, so don’t take any of them lightly.”

“Indeed,” Langston agreed. “Here. This is the lab where it all happened. At least in the case of the main trials.” The group stepped out into an expansive room with a bunch of different kinds of electronic and other scientific equipment. Much of it looked like it had not been touched in decades, while other parts looked recently examined or used. A large balcony room overlooking the lab, protected by bulletproof glass, sat high above them. For some reason, the lab was well-lit even though it seemed the rest of the place was barely illuminated.

Langston gestured towards some large, broken test tubes that apparently used to house the creatures. “The gallery of experiments also included ophidian creates—snakes—like Constrictors, which used to be Boa Constrictors, and the Burmese Python, an invasive species. Porcupines are not native to Florida, but a small population lived in zoos around the state. They naturally had sharp quills on their backs, and records nicknamed them “Quillbacks” as a result. If you do not know, zoos were Pre-War locations where families could go see animals in close proximity and learn about them, though the animals were usually caged.”

“I’ve heard of zoos in my travels before,” Mariah said. “I came through a town once that repurposed an old zoo. With the wildlife we have now, it’s hard to believe that that kind of thing existed. What else was here? Better yet, what were they even here for?”

“I believe it is best if I just show you. There are bound to be terminals and papers around here, though I suppose they will not make clear the reason everything here was happening.” Langston took a pause and then sighed. He started to type on one of the terminals. “The short version is that members and affiliates of the federal government had been conducting their own secret experiments on wildlife. A disease called the New Plague ravaged the country, and some time down the road, the true puppet masters behind the scenes created FEV, the Forced Evolutionary Virus. They were trying to create living bioweapons, “super soldiers” from human and animal alike. If you have ever heard of Deathclaws in your travels, they were partially the result of FEV.”

“Yeah, I have heard of them,” Mariah replied. She had heard stories about them throughout her travels, though how much of them were true she could not be sure. “Never met one before, which I guess is fortunate.”

“Most certainly, and even more fortunately, you will not find any in Florida. The Jackson’s Chameleon, the species from which Deathclaws originate, was never brought to the state according to intel. Yet we have worse things than those brutes: mutated crocodiles and alligators. Now, before we get too off-track, the Old Guard and what would become the Enclave possessed robust reconnaissance operations. When the damage in the relationship between the federal government and the state government, they employed spies and assassins against each other.

“The Old Guard, or at least what would become the Old Guard, had coincidentally been conducting similar studies of their own—as well as researching a potential new generation of weaponry—to stake their claim to independence from the United States and to decisively slaughter the forces of communist Cuba. While the U.S. and China, the two superpowers of the world when the Bombs dropped, were engaged in a never-ending struggle, Cuba was propped up by China to wage war against America on multiple fronts. It mostly just became Cuba versus Florida at that point, and that history . . . would take an incredibly long time to explain. Time we do not currently possess.”

Most of the unit that came with Waller heard some stories about the struggle between the United States and China and had a surface understanding of the clash between them, but not much had been concretely explained to them beyond some struggles known as the Resource Wars. Waller interjected during a pause in the conversation. “You sure know a lot about what was going on. You sure you’re not hiding anything about your involvement?”

“I have put all my cards on the table, Waller,” Langston said, irritated by Waller’s constant jabs. “And as I said, I had a considerable amount of intel to study after the fact. I was not with the Old Guard when they conducted these experiments. I was also alive then, one of the Pre-War ghouls you have encountered already. I am extensively knowledgeable about what the geopolitical climate was then. In some ways, those conflicts are still transpiring today.”

Before anyone else could say anything, however, an intercom bellowed into life. “Indeed, it does, and ultimately we will be vindicated,” a voice boomed into a loudspeaker. The group quickly looked around, setting their sights on that balcony high above them. A man was standing at the microphone with a group of soldiers in tow. He had somehow heard their conversation, or at least the end of it. As they would soon find out, the intruders were members of the Old Guard.

[SubRosa]

Panthers, Constrictors, and Quillbacks, oh my!

Oh noes, the Old Guard!

[Renee]

Have you seen the movie Spaceballs? The "12345" bit was also a reference to one of the many funny scenes in the movie.

I saw Spaceballs when it was in theaters long ago, would have still been a kid. And now that you mention, I do kinda have a trace memory of the 12345 password. Makes me wonder how many other hidden references are in Fallout: Florida. I always put references in my stories, intentionally or unintentionally. An example is one of the latest chapters, Vicious is in Germantown HQ, with Shorty (Big Town NPC) being held captive in the basement. So I couldn't help but put Get Shorty somewhere in there. "... I'll see if I can go get Shorty..." something like that.

I like how they all explain to each other what zoos are, what a panther is (or was) and so on. All of these things long ago in the past.

Cool. Didn't know the lore behind deathclaws, but I suspected they were the result of lab experiments gone wrong, as well as super mutants. What happened to manatees in this story? In real-life, I just heard there are less than 700 of them in Florida.

Uh oh.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 1 2021, 03:13 PM

[SubRosa]

I just watched an old Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau episode on the Florida manatees. They are so adorable! Here it is!

[Renee]

awesome , thanks!

Edit: the Twilight Zone guy, Rod Serling, narrates. Knew I knew that voice.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 2 2021, 01:05 AM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

FINALLY back with another installment. A huge IRL project is coming close to completion, which might free up some time to write for this story. Or maybe not. It depends on a bunch of factors, so we'll have to see.

Also, I unintentionally lied--there is one more section to this chapter. However, it is definitely going to be the last one for Chapter 16 and I more-or-less know what I want to write.

@Renee - I'm not sure where manatees stand in my story yet, but I do plan on having them at some point. Probably dolphins, too. Right now, though, there isn't a reasonable place to insert them in the story. We are too far inland for that. North Central Florida, where Part 3 of this story will take place, has more inland lakes and such, and in my conception of the region in-universe the bombs from the Great War leveled a bunch of land so that the bodies of water became larger and more numerous. I might put manatees there. Water management districts are a key type of government body in Florida, too, so I'm trying to think of ways to incorporate them into the story as well.

@SubRosa - Yeah, they are pretty cute. Unfortunately, they get killed in boating incidents and such kind of regularly. This year is especially bad, breaking the yearly record within only a half-year, IIRC.

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

Chapter 16.4

“I believe you are on restricted property,” the man continued. He stood at 6 feet and 2 inches tall, though that was not obvious from the angle the GCU unit was viewing him at. He sported a brown crewcut with a thin but noticeable beard of a slightly lighter shade of brown than the hair on top of his head. A noticeable scar crossed his left cheek. “And we don’t care much for uninvited guests.”

“And I believe you can kiss my a--,” Waller replied. “This property belongs to no one but the Gulf Coast Union. This is, and has been, the Union’s territory for some time. Whoever you are, you are part of an illegal entity. Surrender now.”

The man simply scoffed. “No, I am here to put an end to this city’s regime. It is run by a fugitive from our order, and he will be summarily dealt with when we get to him. As far as I’m concerned, your Union is the illegitimate entity. These are the true government of Florida’s lands, unjustly ripped from us because of a War we wanted no part of. It does not belong to this sham “New State of Florida,” and it certainly doesn’t belong to your GCU. You can’t even keep the peace within your borders.”

“So, you are one of the Old Guard, then,” Mariah said. “How did you get in here? This place was sealed.”

“This is Old Guard property, you know. It took some scouring and retrieval of data that we are slowly piecing back together, but we have records on this place. Little by little, we are reclaiming that which belongs to us, including many labs and other facilities. You will know no more than that. We had our ways of circumventing your miserable excuse for a security measure here, not to mention the brilliant folks on my team when it comes to tech. Speaking of which, your doctor friend there seems to know quite a bit about our history. Who are you, doctor?” Langston was not wearing his lab coat anymore, and even if he did, Hawthorne would not have been able to read it from where he was. “You must be a former member of our order, given what you know. That, or you are with those arrogant, imperialistic bas---- from the Enclave.”

“No, who are you?” Waller immediately replied, cutting off any potential response from Langston. “I am doing the interrogating here. The Old Guard are an illegal organization, and as such will not dictate how this conversation goes. How did you hear our conversation?”

“This balcony room captures much of the audio from down on that floor. It took some repairs to the electronics here, but it was in surprisingly good shape, all things considered. Now, even though I asked the question first, I will entertain yours. You can refer to me as Reubin Askew, Standard-Bearer of the Old Guard. A high-ranking member, that is all you need to know.”

Langston laughed out loud mockingly. That was the first time the crew had seen him laugh like that. “Um, Dr. Langston? What are you doing?” Mariah asked, bewildered by his reaction to the mysterious man’s response. “You know, this really isn’t a good time to . . .”

“Is that what the Old Guard is doing these days?” Langston said to the man in the balcony. “Naming yourselves after old Florida government officials? That must be a new development. Are you building a cult that venerates long-dead politicians in this state, too? I suppose that is not surprising, considering the Old Guard’s fixation with all things Pre-War Florida.”

“What do you mean?” Valentina asked.

“The real Askew was a governor of Florida, roughly a century before the Great War. I assume this man has associates that identify themselves as ‘Bob Martinez,’ ‘Haydon Burns,’ and ‘LeRoy Collins,’ too,” Langston said sarcastically. “They were also governors from a long time ago.”

“You certainly know your history,” ‘Askew’ said, still calm and collected. “I suppose there is no point in denying that it was simply an alias. Now who—”

“Wait, I know exactly who you really are!” Langston exclaimed. “I recognize your voice and that scar. Silas Hawthorne. Of course, it would be you, of all people.” Everyone looked at Langston, somewhat alarmed by his words. What exactly did he mean, ‘of course’?

Hawthorne finally indulged his ire at Langston. He did not deny that was his name. “So, we have some personal history, as well. Then answer my question, damn you. Who are you?”

“Remember Operation First Coast?” Langston replied. “I told you directly that you would regret what you did then. That ‘quiet waters mask the dangers underneath.’” It struck Mariah that that was the passphrase he gave her when she and Valentina came to meet with him.

The man stood quiet for a moment, with a scowl on his face. “Vernon Langston. You son of a b----. Always trying to sound oh-so-philosophical and high-falutin. So, trying to break into Tallahassee now? I thought you were Ezra’s pet. Did you upset your master? For a lapdog, you sure are spineless and disloyal no matter who you affiliate with. What did these people offer you? Do they know about you?”

“I’m here to atone for my sins whilst in the service of both the Old Guard and Davidson, though none are anything like what you have done. I—"

“A coward and betrayer wants to lecture me on morality? I stand for something, at least. All you have ever stood for is saving your own skin. Figuratively, of course.” Hawthorne said, referring to Langston’s ghoulification. “I wasn’t going to let you out alive anyway, but now I’m going to take great pleasure in ending your life. Shame that you dragged your newfound friends to the same doom.”

“Wrong answer,” Waller growled. “Quit hiding and come down here with whatever little army you have. If you don’t surrender—which I’m sure you won’t—I am well within my authority to use deadly force against you.” Waller had surreptitiously turned on his two-way radio during the conversation, in the hopes that Officer Damon would hear the situation.

“You have zero authority over me,” Hawthorne snapped. “But I will be more than happy to initiate combat with you. Guardians, come—”

The dialogue was interrupted as the sounds of gunfire and explosions rippled through the facility. The ground shook, causing everyone to stumble slightly. A female soldier for the Old Guard came rushing to the balcony room to Hawthorne, out of breath. “Standard-Bearer, sir, I . . . there’s . . .”

“What is it?” Hawthorne urgently turned his attention to her, leaving the intercom on. “What is going on?”

[Wasteland 2 Soundtrack – War of Borders]

“There’s . . . a hostile . . . group we . . . just encountered.” Noticing the GCU group below, she pointed to them, hands on her knees as she panted. “Same uniforms . . . Union force. Trying to . . . flank us. And . . . more of the creatures . . .”

“At ease, soldier. Catch your breath. We will deal with them summarily.” Hawthorne turned back to the GCU soldiers. All of them took the break to grab cover behind desks, cabinets, overturned tables, and whatever else they could find on the lab floor. “End of the line, Union! Your cowering won’t save you! Guardians, to arms!” And with that, the battle was on. Several doors on the opposite side of the room from the GCU unit, below Hawthorne’s balcony, opened up as a group of these Guardians, of roughly equal number to Waller’s present crew of soldiers, poured out and fired on the GCU’s position.

Mariah was relegated to lifting her firearm just to the side of the table she was hiding behind to fire blindly on Old Guard positions. Popping out from cover was guaranteed death. Valentina, Waller, and the other GCU soldiers with them were mostly in the same position, though Waller managed to put down a couple of the Guardians. But within a matter of moments, the fighting intensified as creatures that were experimented on in the facility approached. Mariah caught a glimpse of one of the Prowlers. It still looked similar to its old form as a Florida Panther, but its eyes were noticeably yellow, patches of its fur had peeled away, and its muscles had been visibly augmented. More curiously, the fur that didn’t fall off had a reddish tint to it similar to the Dreadnaught at Tyndall. Was that a coincidence?

Several Constrictors and Pythons also crawled into the lab. They seemed to not have much interest in each other or even the Prowler. Other monstrosities could be heard echoing through the halls, ostensibly fighting the other Old Guard and GCU units in the facility. For Mariah, it started to feel like the Battle of Holt again, where Radfrogs, Radtoads, and Sirens has sowed chaos between the GCU and Alabama Dissidents.

“Valentina! I require assistance!” Langston called out from behind a table next to his ally, pointing to a nearby wall. “I cannot proceed to the terminal on that wall from where I am located! You are in the best position to do so. There is a secret door along the wall that you can access with the terminal.”

“I thought you said you needed to handle the terminals?” Valentina asked.

“Now is not the time to argue!” Langston shouted back. “Access the terminal now!”

When Valentina readied herself to make a break for it, bullets sprayed the ground next to her. She stayed put for the moment. “Easy for you to say, Doctor!”

Most of the creatures were killed by then by the warring human sides. Hawthorne was about to redirect Old Guard forces to try to close in on where the GCU unit was when Officer Damon’s group came to their rescue, accessing the lab through another door on one of the balconies. His company forced Old Guard soldiers back into their own cover. It provided just enough time for Valentina to dip behind the wall where the terminal was situated. She furiously typed away on the keyboard, but it didn’t take long for her to find the command to open the secret door. Given that this lab itself was supposed to be a secret, the function didn’t need to be well-hidden itself. “Sergeant Waller! We have an exit!”

Waller didn’t want to leave his other unit behind, but Officer Damon urged him to go. “We’ll cover your exit, Sergeant! Go!”

Waller laced a string of profanities under his breath. “Make it back to base if you can, Damon! Don’t you die on me! The GCU needs you!”

“I’ll do my best, Sarge! Just please, go!” Damon ducked as some more weapon fire came his way.

Waller rallied the rest of his troops that were still standing and made a break for the exit. Five of his GCU soldiers had perished in the fighting. Mariah was the last one to run for the door, with a Prowler coming for her, but she tripped. She lost her weapon, leaving her defenseless. As the thought of being panther food crossed her mind, Waller unloaded the last of his chambered magazine into the Prowler’s head, killing it instantly. He quickly grabbed Mariah’s left arm, forcefully pulled her up, and ordered the door slammed shut behind them.

[Renee]

Glad you are back. Been waiting for some FF, but we understand you are busy. By the way, I am pretty sure bastards doesn't have to be bleeped out. I bleep the word b1tch out of my own story, but it's just for effect. Up to you, of course.

I am enjoying all the bantering between Old Guard and New Florida proponents. Langston sure knows his Florida political history. It also is good that Waller has allowed Langston to side with them (sort of), he seems to be a great asset so far, in these depths under Tallahassee. Wow, I just spelled Tallahassee right!

Uh oh. The end is a cliff-hanger. So uh oh.

[SubRosa]

Well that was an interesting discussion as Langston catches up with old friends.

Another multi-directional battle between the two 'human' factions (I think Langston is a ghoul right?) and paranimals. And a timely escape before the panther's fangs closed in!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Damn, I keep writing more than I originally plan to for a section or chapter. If I realized what was going to happen, I would have broken Chapter 16 up into two chapters. This part is a bit longer than recently, but I really wanted to wrap up the chapter. And as you'll see, I finally got to reintroduce a certain something at the end.

@Renee - I figure erring on the side of caution when it comes to profanity is the best way to go.

It helps that I find Florida's political history very interesting. It really helps to flesh out Fallout: Florida and make it its own thing without relying on concepts from the work of Bethesda/Obsidian/Interplay (the latter being the company that originally developed Fallout), while still (hopefully) keeping it familiar enough and a good fit within the Fallout universe.

If it is easier for you, you can simply say 'Tally.' That is its nickname in real life and how it has been sometimes called in this story.

@SubRosa - Haha, "old friends" indeed. Langston has gotten a lot of people pissed off at him, that's for sure.

Yep, Langston is a ghoul. And I've probably already said it before (with the Alabama Dissidents and Brotherhood of Steel in part 1), but I think it is always more interesting to have 3 or possibly more factions (since technically the animals are their own in this case) in a conflict. But just you wait, because in the next few chapters or so it is going to get A LOT messier on the faction front. I'll just have to be careful not to make it confusing or overbearing.

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

Chapter 16.5

The door’s hermetic sealing and reinforcement—in part due to being designed to look like the wall it was hidden within—muffled much of the gunfire on the other side. The GCU crew stayed there for a minute to catch their collective breaths. A cool draft permeated the hallway they were in. Soon the fighting on the other side of the door died down, though it was hard to hear exactly what was happening. Waller checked on his whole team to see if there were any injuries. . . except for Langston. After he verified that everyone else was okay, Waller unleashed a furious tirade on him. “What in the flying f--- was that?! You said this f------ facility was secret! You led us into a f------ trap!”

“It should have clandestine. These were unforeseen circumstances. There was no way to predict that the Old Guard would have found this place.” Langston said, standing his ground.

“Your pal Hawthorne apparently begs to differ. This was an Old Guard lab, but you assured us that an issue like this wouldn’t arise. Yet they recovered data letting them find this place.” Waller took a couple steps toward Langston as his rage built up.

“I promised nothing of the sort!” Langston shot back. “And if you did not expect any resistance, why did you bring a force of over 25 individuals? Why did you, a sergeant, a high-ranking official in the GCU, feel compelled to come here? Why—”

“Don’t you f------ lecture me on tactics, you skinless prick.” Waller was only steps away from Langston now. The tension was palpable. “We’re right near this Goddamn city and it was reasonable to prepare for resistance. But that is not the same as close quarters combat in a building where we have no idea how it is laid out, and where supposedly only a couple of stray dangerous animals had made their home. And let me guess, we didn’t even get what we came here for, now did we? All these supposed documents and other intel in this lab that you supposedly needed, and we can’t even access them. Now we’re trapped in this hellhole because of you!”

“You still do not comprehend the gravity of this situation, sergeant,” Langston fumed. “If the Old Guard, and I assume the Enclave, are right on the doorstep of this city, and Ezra Davidson is continuing his operations, then we do not have the luxury of time to deliberately cogitate on this operation.”

“You’ve given us little to go on, Langston. We have to go in blind because of you. You have unnecessarily endangered my crew here. These men and women put themselves on the line enough as it is, and now five of them are dead. And if my regular soldiers don’t mean anything to you, what about these two?” Waller pointed to Mariah and Valentina. “They seem to think of you as a friend, or at least more than a simple acquaintance. They vouched for you. And yet they almost died because of you!” With that emphasis, Waller decked Langston across the face. Despite the tensions between those two, it shocked everyone else that it finally got physical. Even Mariah could not find words to say or try to stop it.

Langston spit out some blood, caressing his jaw while slowly standing up. For once, he relented somewhat in an argument with Waller. “I truly apologize for the loss of life. There has already been enough of it in these wastes. But you do not realize what we are confronting. Letting Ezra continue unabated will lead to graver danger to the people of these wastes, GCU or not.”

“We have only gotten very general information from you about what this wannabe governor is doing. He wants to get into a Vault? We don’t know why! Some secret experiments going on down in a sprawling complex of tunnels? You’ve barely hinted at what those are! You have no plan as to what we are going to do once we get into Old Tallahassee—and knowing how this is going, I assume that is our only destination now. Wait, the fighting died down on the other side. We can exit back out. Valentina, can you get this door open?” Waller asked her, pointing to the wall-mounted terminal. As soon as Langston began to object, Waller immediately cut him off. “Shut the f--- up, doctor.”

“Let me see what I can do, sir,” Valentina replied. But within seconds of her typing away on the computer, she grunted in frustration. “I’m locked out, sir. The Old Guard must have hacked into it somehow. One of them must have given themselves administrator privileges when we got onto this side. Hawthorne said his soldiers were really tech-savvy after all.”

Waller growled and banged the wall with his fist with infuriation. As much as he wanted to punch Langston again, he restrained himself. “Langston, you are lucky we still need you. Otherwise, I’d kill you myself. Now. . .” Waller stopped talking as he looked past his group at a small, spiny creature watching them nearby. “How long has that thing been there? Doesn’t matter. . .” Waller trailed off as he aimed his assault rifle at it. The creature squealed—if that’s what you could call it—readying its spines in defense.

“Wait! Don’t kill him!” Mariah pleaded, finally saying something. “He’s not doing anything to us.”

“Mariah, what do you think you are doing?” Waller was unamused, though he reserved his anger purely for Langston. “Just because you occupy an unusual space within the GCU does not mean you get to be insubordinate.”

“But this little guy hasn’t done anything to us,” Mariah said. She was a little exasperated, but not angry. “He’s sat there the whole time. That must be one of those Quillbacks, right, Dr. Langston?”

“Indeed,” Langston said matter-of-factly. “While their quills have become sharper through radiation and experimentation, they are not deadly. They can certainly induce great pain, however. But Quillbacks are defensive creatures. Their test results did not exactly please their captors, who hoped to use them in real combat.”

“Need I remind you what your trust in Langston has got you thus far, Mariah?” Waller interjected. “He has almost gotten you and your best friend killed, along with fellow GCU citizens and fighters.”

“But he’s so cute.” Mariah said, pointing at the Quillback again. “And he isn’t attacking us. He’s just scared.” She knelt, trying to coax him over to her. There was something so endearing about the Quillback to her. He walked over to her after some hesitation. After he sniffed her hand she held out, he put his spines down, though he wasn’t entirely sure about all these humans yet.

“Have you not had a pet before? You know what, to hell with it. Keep him. Maybe he’ll somehow be handy.” Waller did not feel like arguing the point, and he had bigger issues at hand. “But he is your responsibility. And if he gets in the way for any reason, I will not hesitate to put him down. Understood?”

“Yes. . . er, sir.”

“Good. Let’s be on our way. You better have a way out of here, Langston.”

“I do. Right this way,” Langston said, leading the rest of the surviving group. “I don’t want to be down here anymore than you do. And let me provide you some more words of caution. When we get inside this city, do not refer to it as ‘Old’ Tallahassee by any means. As far as everyone above is concerned, regardless of whether they support Davidson’s regime, this is the only Tallahassee because it was the original one. Calling it anything other than simply ‘Tallahassee’ will immediately raise suspicion. We must be surreptitious.”

The group walked for about five minutes down several hallways. The complex must have been absurdly large, especially considering how dicey it could be to build things underground in Florida. What was it with these Old World government and scientific organizations and their fetish with giant, subterranean facilities? Mariah wondered to herself. Construction had to be exceptionally careful and well-calculated in most places, lest they cause sinkholes or other issues. Then again, that seemed to create even more cover for Pre-War operations by the Old Guard. No one would suspect.

Langston was becoming gradually and visibly unnerved, looking around at any real or perceived noise that echoed through the halls. “What’s your problem this time?” Waller said to him bluntly. “You’re making this more tense than it needs to be.”

“Abominations reside down here. More Old Guard scientific trials. Animals were not the only subjects of tests. Humans were also used for nefarious purposes, as were the tests the Enclave performed with their FEV. That is all I can articulate on the matter.”

“You sure as hell know a lot about all this secret research for someone who supposedly did not participate in most of it,” Waller said.

“There are many things I am guilty of, but experimentation on human beings is not one of them!” Langston rebutted emphatically.

“Hmph. Whatever you say.”

The Quillback that had been walking along with them suddenly stopped in its tracks, raising its spines defensively. But it was not faced at the group. Mariah took notice. “Wait. The Quillback senses something.”

“Damn it, Mariah, we don’t have time—”

The Quillback squealed apprehensively and started skittering nervously. He looked back at Mariah as if to say something, even though he had no such ability. “What is it, buddy? You hear something?”

Waller decided that maybe the creature was on to something after all. “Langston, these experiments you talked about. . . are the subjects still alive?”

“I am not certain. I could not ascertain from—”

A loud banging noise and inhuman roar reverberated from the other side of one of the walls. Everyone was now on edge.

“Move. Now.” Waller ordered. “Langston, hurry us to the exit immediately.”

“Yes, right this way,” Langston said, picking up the pace. Several more clangs and unnatural noises echoed again. Something started pounding on one of the doors behind them. After just a few knocks, the door busted open and a humanoid creature popped out. It still looked mostly human but had clear aquatic features—webbed feet and some slightly scaled skin. It must have been one of those human experiments Langston mentioned. Whatever horrors it had undergone, the monster was certifiably driven insane. When it looked at the group, it let out a horrific shriek as it pointed at them.

“What the hell is that?!” Mariah gasped.

Waller wasted no time shooting at the creature. It was quick to dodge some of the gunfire, but it was eventually struck. Its skin seemed to have some imbued resistance, however, for the creature recoiled and it quickly recovered. What was worse was that the noise alerted more freakish atrocities like it. Some of them looked like the first abomination. Others possessed different animalistic features like patches of fur or oily skin.

“Fall back!” Waller yelled coarsely as he and several other soldiers fired away at the humanoids coming after them. But the corridors were too compact for everyone to start shooting. The Quillback shot some spines from its back in defense, helping the GCU.

The exit was fortunately right nearby, but the door was locked, presumably by Langston when he had escaped the city. Or at least, that was what he thought initially. After furiously typing away, he cursed under his breath. “It is not responding to my inputs! Someone else has accessed this computer!”

“Doctor, with all due respect, you are awful at locking terminals!” Mariah yelled over the gunfire. She was not in a position to shoot at enemies but had her weapon ready in case she needed it. It was the first time she made a verbal jab at Langston, for even she was getting frustrated with him.

“We are dealing with multiple factions of highly resourceful enemies, Mariah!” Langston protested. “This is not my doing. Valentina, I need your assistance!”

“Already on it,” Valentina said, already up at the terminal before Langston finished his sentence. With a laser focus, she looked for any exploit to breach that she could. After about 30 seconds, she got the door open. “Sergeant, door’s open!”

“Good work! Everyone, through the door, now!” The crew all filed in through the doorway one-by-one, with Waller coming in last. The hallway had filled up with enough of the horrors’ bodies that a few of the last living ones had to maneuver over and around their fallen compatriots. When the GCU unit was all on the other side, Valentina used the terminal on the opposite side to close and lock the door. The Quillback squeaked in with them. They were all finally able to catch their breath again.

“So, who the hell could it have been this time that breached your incredible defenses, Langston?” Waller said mockingly. The sergeant had been so angry for so long at the ghoul it felt like he could have had an aneurysm at any moment.

“As aforementioned, a highly resourceful nemesis,” Langston said in his own defense.

“Really? I don’t see how you could have helped your buddy Ezra rebuild this city with machines. You seem to have no clue how to use anything electronic. What he kept you around for is beyond me.”

“I will not have my abilities impugned, sergeant,” Langston said through gritted teeth. “You should be more concerned with your own deficient capabilities.”

“You want me to show you deficient, doctor?” Waller was ready to unload a punch on Langston again.

Mariah finally had it with the two of them. Valentina sensed it but she couldn’t stop Mariah from saying something. “Guys, enough! We’re stuck with each other! We’re a team whether we like it or not. And we need to get out of here.”

Waller and Langston gave her a side-eye, but mostly because they were still fuming at each other. Surprisingly, Waller refrained from giving Mariah a lecture on insubordination. Perhaps he was too concerned with completing this mission, the goal of which had rapidly changed over the span of a few hours. What was once a simple recovery and recon operation had turned into an inside job.

“Mariah is right,” Waller said. “Looks like now we have ourselves an entirely different mission. Going back the way we came is impossible at this point, and with the city above us, it seems that is our only way forward. If the Old Guard, and potentially the Enclave, are already here, I suppose Langston is right that we don’t have enough time to go back anyway. But maybe we can use their presence to our advantage if we need to go at Ezra Davidson’s regime directly. It could cause significant chaos and spread out their resources. We’ll figure it all out soon. Langston, you better have the real exit nearby.”

“It is auspiciously so,” Langston said as he pointed down a small corridor. At the end of it was some rubble and a set of stairs. “There is a dwelling above us that we can use as a safehouse. Though it is warranted that I tell you this.” Langston lingered for emphasis. “There are other occupants above. I assure you that they are harmless. They are . . . strange people. But harmless, nonetheless.”

“That’s really vague, doctor,” Mariah remarked. “There is a lot of ‘strange’ in this world. Especially in Florida, from what I have gathered. What kind of ‘strange’?”

“A Post-War cult. I have encountered them elsewhere in the wasteland. They even had an establishment in your version of Tallahassee. You may have missed it with how little time the two of you had spent in the city.” Langston pointed to Mariah and Valentina. “But they do not have a predisposition toward violence. And remember not to use the phrase ‘Old Tallahassee’ or ‘New Tallahassee’ amongst the citizens above.”

“I suppose that qualifies enough for strange,” Waller said. “In any case, it’s what we must deal with. Let’s go.”

When the crew got to the stairs, Langston proceeded first and knocked on the hatch door at the top. A man in robes opened the door and jovially greeted him. “Dr. Langston! You have returned safely! And you have brought new folks along?”

“Indeed. They are here to aid with . . . the situation in this city. Please give them any assistance you can provide.”

“But of course!” The man in the robes turned to the rest of the group. Mariah noticed an insignia on the front, suddenly recognizing it. “Good evening, folks! Please, come make yourselves comfortable. And welcome to the Temple of New Life.”

***End of Chapter***

[SubRosa]

I love that Waller checked everyone for injuries, except Langston!

Honestly, Waller really, really got on my nerves this episode. He seems to be incapable of dealing with any adversity that comes his way, let alone any surprises. Sure Langston probably knows more than he is saying. Duh! But trying to blame him for everything that does not go perfectly is ascribing to him a level of omnipotence that no mortal is capable of. He is a whole lot more patient than I am. I would have killed Waller about a quarter of the way into this episode. Even January - who is kind to a fault - would have decked him when he threw that punch.

I am trying to remember the Temple of New Life, but it is escaping me if they are an old Fallout faction. Are they something you created? I was expecting the Children of the Atom. Before Fallout 4 they were a pretty benign faction. Now I remember! The new religion from earlier in the tale. It has been a while since we saw them. Nice to continue their presence here. Carry on.

[Renee]

Oh yeah, Waller is quite the prick. It's a compelling read since he is so abrasive and adverse, but part of me hopes Waller falls into a sinkhole!

I like where it says they shouldn't refer to Tallahassee as "old" Tallahassee. Clever.

Ah see, the quillback is helping them, without even knowing so. Good call, Val, persuading Waller to keep it alive.

Wow, it's a guy wearing a robe. And he's not hostile! Is this the same New Lifer who appeared earlier in the story?

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

@SubRosa - Oh, good, you found them. Yeah, unfortunately, I haven't been able to include the Temple of New Life quite as much as I have wanted to. It's just how the story has turned out so far. But it might actually work out in my favor as I slowly build them up.

To play a bit of devil's advocate on behalf of Waller (though I would certainly agree with you if I was in your shoes), think about it from his point of view. The GCU already has a full plate with issues in the wastes. New Tally has been getting harrassed by small bands of New State of Florida crazies. Their search for this one ghoul scientist, Langston, is the reason those attacks have gotten more frequent, and he used to work with that enemy. Tensions in New Tally have risen. He is at odds with the mayor and the captain of the city guard in New Tally. And now Langston (unintentionally) led them into what was basically an ambush when the original mission was ostensibly just recon and data recovery. Now they are trapped within the city. And he's already a hardass. Whether right or wrong, his outbursts are somewhat understandable.

@Renee - Ha, well, you'll have to wait and see about Waller.

Nope, he is not the same New Lifer. The one you are thinking of was named Jonah, whose name is going to come up here again.



Well, the protagonists sure are in a conundrum, huh? Let's see what happens next!

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

Chapter 17: The Inside Job

“The Temple of New Life is here, too?” Mariah said to the robed man. He had an unassuming look about him, with a bald head out in the open since his robes did not have a hood with them.

“You’ve seen these people before?” Waller asked.

“Yeah. There was someone in Pensacola I met. Jonah, I think? And then a young guy named Bryson in Niceville,” Mariah responded to him. Then she turned back to the New Lifer. “I guess you guys are dotted all over the place, huh?”

The robed man’s face lit up at the mention of Jonah. “I am not familiar with this Bryson fellow. But you are truly blessed to have met the Emeritus himself! Jonah is a remarkable man, is he not?”

“Uh . . . sure, I guess.” Mariah shrugged. “He seemed nice enough, but I didn’t talk to him much. For a high-ranking man of a new religion, I kind of expected him to be creepier.” She then closed her eyes and exhaled as she realized she was saying that out loud, silently calling herself an idiot for doing so.

“Geez, Mariah! Haven’t you heard of tact?” Valentina chided her. It’s not that she necessarily disagreed, but she was not the type to normally verbalize such things.

“That’s quite alright, my dear,” the man laughed and assured Valentina. “Do not worry. I understand that an outsider—for lack of a better word that has no negative connotation—is unlikely to see things the way we do. I know she means no harm. You are allied with Dr. Langston after all, which is a sign of positive developments to come. The Temple is not inclined toward violence, but unfortunately we recognize that it is inevitable with the developments of this city.”

“What developments?” Waller said.

“There have been grumblings among the populace about our Governor Davidson’s regime,” the man continued. “But even if the dissatisfaction were widespread enough, no one would dare start a rebellion. The New State of Florida, as they call themselves, has a tight grip on municipal affairs. Yet even that has slipped to some extent, for you are not the only infiltrators in this city.”

“What?” Langston was alarmed. He had been shuffling through some papers on a table until he heard what the robed man just said. “Who is already here?”

“I’m not sure,” the robed man said, slightly frowning. “They would not give us much information to go on, I’m afraid. But they somehow found your passage that you came through. I know you said the caverns and hallways below were sprawling, Dr. Langston, but I still find myself surprised that they discovered your route.”

“Damn it. Do you have any other information to go on?” Waller asked. “What did they look like?”

“Well, their uniforms were a bit strange. They requested—rather pointedly—some different clothing with which to walk through the city in a more clandestine fashion. On one side of their chest was a symbol. An ‘E’ with stars around it.”

“What?!” Langston blurted. If he still had skin, it would have turned pale. “Are you sure that is what their symbol was?”

“Quite so, doctor. Come to think of it, are they those . . . hmm, the name escapes me,” the robed man said, scratching his chin while he pondered. “I know you warned me about their potential presence.”

“The Enclave.” Langston said gravely, his voice dropping. Everyone went quiet at the name.

“Oh no. The Enclave is already here?” Valentina said worriedly after a moment of silence. “And the Old Guard is right behind. Surely Davidson and his cohorts can’t take them and the GCU on, right?”

“If Ezra gets all that he is trying to dig up, you’d be amazed at what he can do,” Langston replied, shaking his head. He turned back to the robed man, whom he finally addressed by name. “But Roger, why did you grant the Enclave entrance here? I warned you about them.”

“I apologize, Dr. Langston,” Roger said calmly, though slightly embarrassed. “I thought that you were the only person who knew of the hatch door, so their presence surprised me. There weren’t many of them, as it seems some of their compatriots died in the depths below. Believe me: I would never have opened the door if I knew that it was not you.” While Langston considered what to say next, Roger added, “But there is something else you should know about, doctor—there are Blackcoats in the city.”

“Wait a minute, who?” Mariah interjected. “We haven’t heard of them before. Who are they? You mean there’s another group in this city?”

“I wish I could answer that for you, my dear,” Roger shook his head. “They are incredibly mysterious. I have no idea who they are. I do not even know what they label themselves. We only call them Blackcoats because of what they wear. But I’m quite sure that they are with neither the Enclave nor the Old Guard. And I’ve seen them from well outside Tallahassee’s limits, so I’m certain they are not with Governor Davidson’s administration either.”

“Quite the party, then. Sure are a lot of uninvited guests in Tallahassee.” Mariah almost added ‘Old’ before the city’s name but remembered Langston’s warning about making the differentiation amongst the populace, though that would not have been a problem around Roger. “Sounds like Davidson’s supposed strength is just for show. Perfect timing to bring him down! What’s next?”

“Do not put the proverbial cart before the horse, Mariah,” Langston said as he threw his hands up in a ‘stop’ motion. “This requires careful planning and foresight. We cannot strike at Ezra head-on, even if there are other enemy groups here to oppose him. We will need to weaken him and his hold on the city. Fortunately, the presence of the Old Guard, Enclave, and Blackcoats will also keep his underlings busy.”

“Langston is right,” Waller said, as much as he didn’t want to give the ghoul scientist credit. He had his arms folded as he rubbed his chin pensively. “Well, we definitely have our hands full now. But what we need right now is some rest. Time may not be on our side but running in reckless is not going to be conducive. So, Roger, is it? Do you have supplies and housing here that we can use?”

“Absolutely, sir! Any friend of Dr. Langston is a friend of mine,” Roger said cheerily. Waller refrained from making a snide comment about being Langston’s ‘friend.’ “Unfortunately, however, there may not be enough room to accommodate everyone in a comfortable manner.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor if I have to,” Waller said, waving his hand like it was no big deal. "I need you to make sure that everyone else here receives as much aid as possible.”

Roger nodded. “Certainly, sir. We have some food and drink here. We may be able to spare a Stimpak or two if anyone has injuries they need to attend to. Dr. Langston’s foresight has helped us to prepare for when help would come to liberate the city.”

“Thank you.” Waller then addressed his unit. “Alright, everyone. You’ve earned yourselves a break. After we rest a bit, we will discuss our next move.” He then pointed to a clock on the wall, the hands of which indicated it was 6:00 PM. “Regroup at 1900 hours. Dismissed.”

As everyone dispersed to do their own thing, Roger came up to Mariah. “Miss Mariah, since you have heard of our Temple before, would you like to learn more about what we believe? We have a few new acolytes in our fold, and we are trying to show them the basics of our tenets. I do not wish for you to feel obligated, however. And your friend is certainly welcome as well.” Roger motioned to Valentina with an open palm facing upward.

Mariah reasoned that if this Temple of New Life had enough presence to spread out across the wastes, it would be worth knowing more about them. “Um, sure, why not? What about you, Val?”

“Sure, I’ll join,” Valentina affirmed, her own curiosity piqued.

[SubRosa]

There is an old saying “Adversity reveals the genius of a general; good fortune conceals it.”. It does not just apply to war and leadership. Adversity really shows what people are made of. Who will stand by you, who will turn their back on you. Who folds under pressure, who keeps calm and carries on. Waller getting a dose of adversity, and he is not rising to the occasion.

So if you wanted Waller to be someone who is in over their head, and cannot handle the pressure they are under, you succeeded. If not, you might want to go back and revise his behavior to make him more cool and calm.

Uh oh, the Enclave is there as well. Tallahasee is a popular place right now!

And we will learn more about these New Lifers. They seem to be really well dispersed. If I were to say, want to run a spy organization, I could certainly do worse than use them for a front.