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> Fallout: Florida , The Sunshine State's Post-Apocalyptic Wastes
RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jun 21 2020, 02:57 PM
Post #21


Mouth
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Joined: 4-May 17
From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



QUOTE(Renee @ Jun 19 2020, 01:21 PM) *

RaderOfTheLostArk needs to get hired as a dev. I can just see his credit listed for Fallout V: The Panhandle.


Lol, I don't know about that but I appreciate the vote of confidence, Renee. And unfortunately, my vision of a Fallout: Florida is going to be impossible to implement fully into a video game. The technology couldn't do it. But it is still fun to think about.



Haven't been able to do much more with this project recently, but I finally finished up another regional profile.


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Regional Profile #2: Big Bend


Counties: Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, Dixie, Levy

Brief Description: Big Bend gets its name from being the section of land that “bends” between the Panhandle and the rest of Florida. The main theater of action at this time is Tallahassee by far, which is sometimes considered part of the Panhandle. As the capital of what was once Florida, the place has all sorts of secrets and Pre-War treasures waiting to be uncovered. And that is exactly what the major factions in this region are attempting to do.

Alternate History: TBD

Major Settlements: Monticello; Perry; Madison; Williston;

Minor Settlements: Wakulla; Otter Creek; Homestead Ridge; Fish Creek; Morriston

Other Points of Interest:
  • Environmental Areas: Lake Talquin State Park; St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge; Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park; Mallory Swamp Wildlife Management Area; Twin Rivers State Forest; Goethe State Forest; Devil’s Hammock Wildlife Management Area
  • Landmasses: Cedar Key; Bonita Beach
  • Larger Complexes: Florida State Capitol Building; Florida State University; Museum of Florida History; Florida A&M University; Governor’s Square Mall; Florida Supreme Court Building; Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare; Taylor Correctional Institution
  • Smaller Complexes/Particular Buildings: Fort Braden Community Center; Leon County Solid Waste Division (Fort Braden); Donald L. Tucker Civic Center; Florida Governors’ Mansion; The Grove Museum; St. Agape Orthodox Church
  • Other: “Old” Tallahassee, Williston Highlands; Oakland Cemetery; Lake Rousseau Boat Ramp
Totally Fictional Locations: Gulfwatch; Sundown; Vault 100; Green Anole Ranch; Big Bend Lookout

Partially Fictional Locations: New Tallahassee; Fort Braden Ruins; The 98; Chief’s Land (Chiefland in real-life)

Factions Involved: Gulf Coast Union; The Old Guard; The Enclave; New State of Florida

Main Conflict: Most of Pre-War Tallahassee lies in ruins due to a direct hit from a nuke, and it is now referred to as “Old Tallahassee.” Displaced residents would set up a settlement outside of new Tallahassee as the old city was taken over by all sorts of dangers, and it was uninhabitable for some time anyway due to lethal levels of radiation. In recent years, the radiation has mostly dissipated but the Gulf Coast Union has kept the area strictly off-limits to its citizens due to the monsters and robots that still infest it. As a result, Old Tallahassee was not part of GCU control despite being within its borders.

Recently, forces from the GCU, Old Guard, and the Enclave have been seeking to access the city and recover secrets and lost information regarding the rest of Florida—but another faction stands in the way of all four groups. The self-proclaimed “New State of Florida” (not to be confused with the “New Florida” that became part of the GCU), a conglomeration of robots, feral and sane ghouls, and monsters that rule the city, have been very successful in keeping outsiders away. The NSF is led by a brilliant yet emotionally unstable and megalomaniacal man turned ghoul named Ezra Davidson. Davidson was a Pre-War state senator for Leon County (the county which Tallahassee resided in) and a scientist who had gubernatorial ambitions. Of course, that last part was thwarted by the Post-War. But Davidson saw an opportunity to build a new nation of his own: He has proclaimed his government the “true, legitimate, and rightful continuation” of the Pre-War Florida state government, and he has the resources to back his power up.

GCU hope to find lost information in Old Tallahassee that will help them expand throughout Florida and rebuild Tallahassee to bolster their economic, political, and military power. But it seems that both the Old Guard and Enclave have more of an idea of what they are looking for, something (or multiple things) more specific…


EDIT: After thinking about it some more, I'm going to remove the Brotherhood from this place. They are already involved in the Panhandle and I don't want to overuse them. Plus, the Midwest Brotherhood is going to be involved in places outside the GCU, so having them too numerous spread out too much isn't going to make sense. The Southeast chapter will make an appearance in a later region, however.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Jul 11 2020, 01:57 AM


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jun 23 2020, 06:14 PM
Post #22


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From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



Regional Profile #3: North Central Florida


Counties: Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Alachua, Gilchrist

Brief Description: This subtropical part of the Deep South was filled with many smaller communities prior to the Great War. The major exception to this was the city of Gainesville that was home of the University of Florida Gators, one of the top academic schools in the entire country and one of the most recognizable team names in college sports. The small community aspect is virtually unchanged even after the Great War, with few major settlements rising back up from the ashes.

Alternate History: TBD

Major Settlements: Gainesville (parts of it); Lake City; Lake Butler

Minor Settlements: Micanopy; Tioga; Macclenny; Worthington Springs; Starke; Waldo; Jennings

Other Points of Interest:
  • Environmental Areas: Osceola National Forest; Woods Ferry Conservation Area; St. Mary’s Shoals; Raiford Wildlife Management Area; Graham Conservation Area; Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park; Watermelon Pond
  • Landmasses: Island Grove; McCormick Island; Bird Island; Hixon Island
  • Larger Complexes: University of Florida; The Oaks Mall; Santa Fe College; Lawtey Correctional Institution
  • Smaller Complexes/Particular Buildings: UF Health
  • Other: Santa Fe Ruins; Lake Sampson; Crosby Lake; Lake Powell; Hawthorne; Lake Santa Fe; Newberry; Melrose Ruins; Roline Boat Ramp

Totally Fictional Locations: Fusion! Bottling Plant; Chasalatchkee; Falcon Outpost Alpha; Falcon Outpost Beta; Red Rangers base; Super Duper Mart; Publix Shopping Center; Toxic Waste Disposal Site

Partially Fictional Locations: Junction 23 (where State Road 23 crosses into Georgia, real life St. George); Jai Alai facility; abandoned Walmart Supercenter (Starke); The Burning Pools (a nuke just missed Gainesville, hitting the lakes SE of it and E of Micanopy)

Factions Involved: Gulf Coast Union; The Scaled Legion; The Red Rangers; Falcons

Main Conflict: The Scaled Legion, a band of Rad Gators, Swamp Demons, Rad Crocs, and Longsnouts (all mutated alligators and crocodiles, a few even being intelligent and able to speak human languages) have recently made headway into North Central Florida from Central Florida. They now control most of Gainesville, particularly the ruins of the University of Florida (the mascot of which, perhaps somewhat ironically, was the gator), killing and displacing humanoid residents. Outsiders are not sure what they are looking for, but what is clear is that they are highly organized and that they are looking for something specific in the remains of the university. The Scaled Legion is led by Methuselah, the First Super Gator and revered by his kind as “The Progenitor.” (The name is a reference to the longest-living person from the Bible, due to Methuselah being a particularly old gator).

Meanwhile, another new player has entered the fold: A mercenary group known as the Falcons. They take their name from the NFL team for Atlanta and have come all the way from said Post-War city to North Central Florida. Ostensibly, the Falcons’ mission is to capture a dangerous fugitive that they have hired to hunt down, though many GCU citizens have a hard time believing their claims. They have not incited violence or otherwise caused a real disturbance, however, and the GCU’s resources are stretched so thin that it is hard for them to drive the Falcons out. But the Red Rangers have also come to town, another secretive group but one that ultimately has good intentions. They are also not very forthcoming about their objectives for security reasons, however, but are trying to stop the Falcons for unknown reasons.


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jun 26 2020, 04:41 PM
Post #23


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From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



I actually decided to start writing a real story that will go through at least several of these regions. I'm still going to do the other stuff like regional profiles, world-building documents, referential info, etc. of course. That's what I am mostly focused on when I get to work on this project. The idea I have in my head is that I am going to have 5 or 6 regions tie into the main storyline and then the remaining regions will be "DLC"/"expansion" kind of stories. They will have their own separate main stories, but still have some sort of tie-in to the main story.

When I get some more free time later, I will also be adding some more monsters to the bestiary.


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jul 11 2020, 12:16 AM
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From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



I am in the process of writing the synopses for each part of my story, which is project to be 5 or 6 parts. Each part will probably have 4-6 chapters if I don't rush it. I'm concerned I won't have the time to write out the entire story, so I may decide to release the synopses with a bit more added detail if anybody wants to read them. I finished the synopsis for the Panhandle (Part 1 of the storyline) and I'm going to think about what I want for the Big Bend region (Part 2 of the storyline).

I may also revamp some of the regional profiles in lieu of this development. A lot of the locations I put in them are not going to be in the main story. Rather, they are just to flesh out the world with some side stories, almost like if this were going to be an actual Fallout game.


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SubRosa
post Jul 11 2020, 12:56 AM
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TBH, I would cut out the Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel. They don't have to be in every single Fallout game or setting. Those horses have really been whipped to death by now. Your original factions are much more interesting than those tired old retreads.


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jul 11 2020, 01:38 AM
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From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jul 10 2020, 07:56 PM) *

TBH, I would cut out the Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel. They don't have to be in every single Fallout game or setting. Those horses have really been whipped to death by now. Your original factions are much more interesting than those tired old retreads.


I get why you say that. Thanks for the feedback. Truthfully, that was one of my concerns when I was first formulating ideas for this story. It's why, for example, I'm not including Super Mutants in the bestiary. Yeah, BGS has found a way to make it work lore-wise for them to be on the East Coast, but it feels really shoehorned in. (And yes, they are in Fallout 76 too.) Deathclaws are another example that I am not putting in here. Swamp Demons and Longsnouts are the Floridian analog for them.

But with the plans I have, however, the regions I DO have them involved in will make sense for the stories I want to tell. For example, I want to expand on the bloody rivalry between the Enclave and the Old Guard, which is sometimes derisively called "Enclave-lite" because they are similar but for the state government. In fact, I'm going to actually remove the BoS from one or two of the regions I was going to involve them in because I am starting to feel that it would be shoehorning them in. Probably in the Big Bend region because I have the Old Guard and the Enclave there (the only delineated region that I am planning to have the Enclave play a heavy involvement in.) Once I amend BoS involvement, there are only two regions that I am going to involve them in.

Trust me, I will make their inclusions make sense and not overdo them. smile.gif


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Jul 24 2020, 01:39 AM
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And here it is: The first chapter of the Fallout: Florida story. Kind of nervous about posting it, but might as well do it before I decide not to. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: A Rude Welcome



August 4, 2130

Traversing the Southeastern Wastes almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.

That is what Mariah thought to herself as the caravan she was riding through what used to the southeastern edge of Alabama, the sun blazing overhead. With her trusty 10MM, a large canteen of water, and a bag full of caps, she caught a ride from Mobile heading down to Pensacola, Florida. A thermometer in her caravan cart read a whopping 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mariah did not really give anyone a clear answer as to what the reasons for her travels were—in fact, she was not entirely sure herself. She had been a sojourner for a long time and the thought of her settling down in one place was a foreign concept at this point. Now in her late 20s, she had been all around the wastes of the former United States. But there were a few things that drew Mariah to Florida. She heard about some interesting opportunities to make caps like scouting out the wastes and mercenary work. She was a good shot with her 10MM. She also heard that her grandparents on both sides of her family had lived in Florida.

But that was before the War. The Great War. That fateful day that humanity, desperate to tear itself apart over the remaining resources on Earth, bathed itself in nuclear fire, plunging the world into a new, chaotic era. On October 23, 2077, the world’s major powers all launched nukes at each other in a two-hour span of mutual assured destruction. It may have been over 50 years ago at this point, but occasionally Mariah met a wastelander or two that lived before the War (or so they claimed, at least). It seemed more likely to be true whenever she met a ghoul, though even then you could not always be sure. It seemed so long ago, but the oldest living generations still seemed to bear fresh scars from the tragedy.

It apparently could be ridiculously hot in the summer months for much of the Pre-War southeastern United States, particularly Florida, as Mariah was told. Clearly, the bombs did nothing to improve the weather’s disposition, as indicated by the temperature and humidity. The distance was hazy. Looks like leather armor was a bad choice, Mariah thought to herself as she tried to cool herself off in the shade of the caravan tarp and sipped from her canteen. But the wastes could be a dangerous place, and the leather armor was the best protection she could get for now. If she had to profusely sweat in this heat, at least she had some defense in case of an ambush.

At least Mariah was not the only one having to suffer the heat. The convoy heading to Pensacola had multiple carts being pulled by Brahmin, with plenty of goods for trade in tow. The driver for Mariah’s particular cart, a Hispanic man in his 50s by the name of Gabriel, had been doing this for over two decades now. While she made conversation with him and did not want to be standoffish, Mariah also had a policy of being very careful about what she told people about her life story. Gabriel didn’t seem to mind though. Understanding, even.

“Ah, here comes the Alabama/Florida border.” Gabriel said triumphantly as they came up on a Pre-War sign indicating the approach of the state line. “Welcome to Florida!” the sign read, though the greeting and the state outline were heavily faded. The sign was beat up so badly at this point that the last Florida governor’s name was not readable at all.

“Do your travels take you here often?” Mariah struck up conversation with Gabriel again.

“Oh, plenty. The weather may be a mean old [censored], but there is a lot to like about Florida. Well, what used to be Florida anyway. Used to be one of the go-to tourist destinations before the world went to hell in a handbasket. You can even still see some remnants of that depending on where you go. But most importantly…” Gabriel paused as he turned his head to Mariah and smiled while patting his pouch of caps. “Lot of these bad boys to be made through these routes.”

“Have you gotten to visit much of Florida?”

“Sadly, no.” Gabriel shrugged. “I try to stick to GCU territory.” He was referring to the Gulf Coast Union, a conglomeration of states that arose from the ashes of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—parts of them, anyway. They used to be part of the Gulf Commonwealth in the Pre-War United States. Fledgling states managed to rise up some time after the War—an impressive feat in a relatively short span of time after the Great War—and they eventually made a compact that formed one nation, the Gulf Coast Union. Mariah did not know a whole lot about them, but she had spent enough time in their lands to have some familiarity with them. Gabriel continued. “You hear all sorts of crazy things going on outside the borders, and there’s already enough going on within them too.”

This topic Mariah heard more about. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard people talk about some of it, but I haven’t really gotten any clear information about them. You know anything about these guys making all this trouble lately?”

“Apparently you got a couple of troublemaking groups. Some hooligans from Alabama that got their pants in a bunch about the GCU. Think they’re being oppressed or something. I don’t know, the GCU has been pretty good to me. Making plenty of caps. I can’t imagine they’re having it that bad. Always got to have somebody complaining about something, I suppose.”

Mariah then suddenly remembered one of the names she heard about the groups. “The Alabama Dissidents, that’s their name. Or at least one of them. I remember that now. Heard about them in a bar in Mobile before the caravans left. Seemed like there were a few sympathizers in town, too. They call themselves freedom fighters or something along those lines.”

“Ah yeah, right. I heard basically the same thing too.” Gabriel chuckled. “Well, in any case, I ain’t too worried about them. Now those other guys…”

“What other guys?”

“Call themselves the Brotherhood of Steel or something. I ain’t ever seen one, but from what I have heard they don’t mess around. Few enough sightings that some people don’t even believe they are around here. They got those guns that fire laser beams and their armor makes them look like machines. What’s it called? Power Armor, that’s what they wear. Apparently rolled out by the U.S. military before humanity decided to blow itself up.” Gabriel paused again, then sighed.

Mariah wondered aloud, “What would they be out here for? I heard a lot about them further west. They are apparently pretty active in the midwest. But Florida is way far out from where they should be.”

“Guess they think something big is around these parts. They got a lot of pre-War technology on their side, but they seem to think it’s their divine right to hoard it all for themselves. Supposedly, anyway. It’s what I’ve heard from some people, though I don’t know how they would know about it. Guess they’ve come up to one of those Brotherhood guys in person. But again, there have been relatively few sightings of them. Most people think it’s just some myth that has been cooked up to scare people more than they already are.”

Mariah was impressed by how much Gabriel knew about the goings-on of the land. “You’re really on top of things here, Gabriel.”

“Ha!” Gabriel turned back to her again and smiled. “My dear, when you have been doing this gig as long as I have, you hear all kinds of stories. I’ve heard about all sorts of creatures further down in Florida like these giant, walking gators, for example. Sometimes hard to tell what’s true, but this kind of stuff I have heard a lot around here. That’s why the caravan companies pay so well to carry cargo across these parts. It’s all that danger. Honestly, though, I don’t worry too much about it.”

Mariah was puzzled at that last remark. The Brotherhood certainly sounded like a force to be reckoned with, and the presence of the Alabama Dissidents must have only made the situation worse. “I don’t know, Gabriel. I’m fairly confident in my ability to defend myself, but these guys sound like serious business. I mean, energy weapons? Power armor?”

Gabriel simply shrugged again. “Can’t tell you why. I guess doing this for so long and having relatively little trouble makes you feel like you’re invincible or something. Like those people who think that bad things can’t happen to them but then they do. I suppose you got a point.” Gabriel took a swig from his canteen and then bit into some Squirrel Bits. “At the same time, I try to keep calm. Not just for myself, but for my passengers, you know?”

Gabriel sat there for a moment and then turned to Mariah again. “But you make sure you take care of yourself, you hear? I don’t want to sound like a creepy old guy, but you are an exceptionally beautiful young lady out here in these desolate wastes.” He was right. Mariah was a strikingly attractive woman, with a slender build, fair skin, and blonde hair that was straight on one side and had several slight curls on the other side. Some people called it ‘the seductress’ haircut. “I can tell you can defend yourself well, but there are a lot of creeps that roam about. And they will not hesitate to do…awful things to you.” He started tearing up at the thought.

Mariah suddenly became concerned. “Are you okay, Gabriel? Did something happen to someone you know?”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Gabriel regained his composure. “It’s just…I have a daughter right about your age. Fortunately, nothing terrible has happened to her. In fact, she lives in the city we are heading to now, Pensacola. But it’s something that comes to mind a lot and I’ve heard many horror stories about raider groups. I can’t help but think about some of these worst-case scenarios. Especially since my wife died several years ago. Now my daughter is all I have left. She’s a tough cookie like yourself, but…”

Mariah almost teared up herself. The only thing she could think of was to pat her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear about your wife, Gabriel. You’re a good man and your daughter is lucky to have you.”

Gabriel turned to her again and flashed a smile, clasping her hand for a moment. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re a good kid. Whatever you’re looking for out here, I hope you find it.” He then pointed to a long box in the caravan to Mariah’s right. “There, open that box.”

Mariah did as he said and pulled out a sword from the box. It was a light blade, but she could tell that it could do some serious, quick damage when effectively used. “Wow, this is an impressive blade. How’d you come across it?”

Gabriel didn’t answer the question, but instead simply said, “It’s yours.”

“What? I’m sorry Gabriel, I can’t take…”

“Please, Mariah.” There was some urgency in his voice. “You can make much better use of it than I can. I don’t know if you have much training with melee weapons, but I think it will serve you well. You got yourself a firearm, sure, but if you run out of bullets or you are in close quarters, this sword will be your best friend.”

Mariah stuttered, not sure what to say. “I…I’m honored, Gabriel. Thank you for entrusting this to me. I’ll do you proud.”

“My pleasure. And hey, you can remember me by it, too.” Gabriel turned back and smiled at her. Mariah smiled back as well, but she wished she had something to give him in return. But he must have sensed it. “And don’t worry about giving me anything. It’s a gift. Besides…” He tapped his pouch of caps again and laughed. “I got plenty of these coming my way at the end of this. I can just buy another weapon.”

Mariah laughed too. But the touching moment was cut short when gunfire suddenly erupted. Chaos ensued as the Brahmin became frightened, carts were toppled over, and the protectors for the caravan were caught off-guard. Mariah was flown off her cart by the scared Brahmin pulling it and landed face down in the dirt as the cart pinned one of her legs down. She was disoriented for a moment and could not see what was going on, only hearing the exchanges of bullets between the caravan guards and what ostensibly was some roving band of raiders. Lots of words were being shouted back and forth too, but it was hard to make out what was being said in all the commotion.

When she regained her bearings, she pulled herself out from under the cart that was now her cover and whipped out her 10MM pistol. There was no gunfire coming her way, giving her the chance to survey the attackers and return fire. That’s when she noticed a particular patch on the armor they were wearing. She couldn’t make out all of it, but she did notice the shape of Pre-War Alabama with several stars around it.

These were no ordinary raiders. They were Alabama Dissidents.

Mariah then cocked her pistol and took careful aim, killing three Dissidents with as many bullets. But she hadn’t noticed the Dissident sneaking up behind her, who must have somehow lost his firearm since he was coming up to her with a blade.

Right as she noticed his presence, she gasped and turned toward him, fearing that she would not react in time. But as soon as the enemy was ready to plunge his blade into her, the caravan driver Gabriel yelled, coming out of nowhere and tackling the Dissident to the ground. They struggled, constantly changing position and preventing Mariah from taking a clear shot at the Dissident. But the Dissident had another dagger in his belt, taking it out and plunging it into Gabriel’s chest.

It was at that point that Mariah seemingly lost consciousness as rage took her over. She took Gabriel’s sword and charged at the Dissident, thrusting the sword multiple times in weak points in his armor. After several agonized screams, the Dissident met his end as she slashed his throat. He dropped to the ground, his face frozen in terror.

The Dissidents had decimated the caravan guard and were about to turn their attention to Mariah, when suddenly something else caught their attention. “[Censored]! Sentinels! Fall back!” one of the Dissidents yelled. They were referring to Gulf Coast Union Sentinels, an elite group of GCU soldiers, who were out on patrol near Pensacola. The Sentinels quickly made their way over to the caravan wreckage and made quick work of most of the living Dissidents, having far better equipment than the attackers. A few of the Dissidents made a run for it, and one of the Sentinels, clearly one of those in charge, sent some soldiers to chase them down.

One of them uttered in disgust, “Damn it, we were too late!”

Mariah was on her knees over Gabriel, who was drawing his last breaths. He turned to her. “Take care of yourself, Mariah. My daughter, Valentina…she works for the GCU in town. Introduce yourself…and tell her…I love her.” Gabriel bled out, the last casualty of the caravan. Over half of its members—travelers, guards, and drivers—had been murdered at the hands of the Dissidents. Mariah felt too much shock at all that had transpired to cry. It certainly wasn’t the first time she had seen tragedy in the post-apocalypse. But the same could go for almost everybody.

One the GCU Sentinels, an imposing Haitian man measuring 6-and-a-half-feet tall, approached Mariah. He only had a faint accent from his homeland, suggesting he had been born there but moved to post-War America a long time ago. “It’s okay. It’s over now. I’m Commander Bertrand,” the Sentinel said in his resonant voice. “Here, let me give you a hand.”

Mariah took his hand and pulled herself up. “Thanks,” she said in barely more than a mumble.

“Sounds from other survivors here that much of the thanks goes to you for driving them off,” Bertrand said, pointing to several of the living members of the caravan. “Hell of a job, from what I hear. I’m sure it doesn’t mean much, but…”

“Why did this happen?! Where was the GCU?!” Mariah blurted, cutting Bertrand off. She wasn’t in the mood for accepting some meaningless accolades.

Bertrand didn’t argue with her, simply explaining, “We were tipped off by one of our scouts that there was Dissident activity this way, though he was only by himself and couldn’t take them on. We tried getting over here as soon as we could. And we came late…again.” Bertrand turned to the corpse of the Dissident that Mariah had eviscerated and kicked it. “Son of a [censored]!”

Mariah was still fuming, but she at least appreciated Bertrand’s honesty and the fact that he didn’t make up some excuse. She toned her anger down. “I hear this has been going on a lot lately. How is the GCU not putting a stop to this?”

“It’s only recently that these guys have been getting this bold. But don’t worry, we’ll put an end to it.”

“It would’ve been helpful if you had already done it,” Mariah sniped back, apparently disregarding Bertrand’s huge size advantage. She was too angry to care about his imposing figure. But Bertrand still didn’t get upset at her attitude. Rather, he understood it.

“I know. I promise you we’re trying.”

One of the soldiers, a white man shorter than Bertrand but still muscular and tall, called out. He was one of the soldiers who chased down the fleeing Dissidents. “Commander Bertrand! We got a live one!”

Mariah and Bertrand turned to see one of the Dissidents wounded but not mortally. He was groaning, clutching his shoulder and having some trouble standing.

“Nice work, Jacob. Take his [censored] down to the station. We’ll get information out of him,” Bertrand said. He then turned to Mariah. “Look, maybe you can help us out. You helped defend this caravan. You might know something about these guys—the Dissidents—that we don’t. Anything you heard or saw. Anything helps. But first, let’s get you and the others to town. You can rest up a bit and then we’ll contact you.”

Mariah was still upset but had cooled off. She sighed. “Yeah. I can do that. This is my first time in this town, though. I don’t really know anything about it.”

“Very well. Jacob!”

Officer Jacob walked over to Bertrand. “Yes, sir?”

“Please see this young lady—”

“Mariah.” Mariah interjected. “The name’s Mariah.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mariah. Jacob, please see Mariah to town. Show her the ropes of Pensacola. We’ll need her at the station later but let her relax a bit. Everyone here has been through a lot.”

“Yes, sir.” Jacob said. “Please follow me, Mariah.”

//////////


The survivors were brought into Pensacola, though Jacob and Mariah departed from the group. They walked down one of the main streets, with him telling her a bit about the town and where some of the major establishments were. As per her personal policy, Mariah did not say much about her background, but Jacob understood. “Can’t be too careful, these days,” he shrugged. “Especially when you come to a new area.” Mariah appreciated his understanding. She did tell him a little bit about things such as where she had traveled, where she was coming from to Pensacola, and some of the things she had heard about pre-War Florida.

Jacob brought her to one of the bars in town called The Blue Angel. It was a reference to a pre-War U.S. Navy flight team based in Pensacola that did air shows around Florida. Posters for the Blue Angels could still be seen around the town, although they were mostly faded and worn away. Pretty impressive that they are still there at all, Mariah thought. The Great War was already over a half-century ago.

When they walked in, they both ordered drinks at the bar. As Mariah reached for her caps, Jacob waved his hand. “This one’s on me.”

“Oh. Well, thanks.”

“Yeah, well, you deserve it after helping push back those Dissidents from the caravan.”

Mariah relaxed some more, telling a few stories of her travels. Jacob, in turn, talked about some of the GCU missions he had been on. They had been talking for about half an hour, listening to each other’s stories so intently that they initially didn’t notice the beautiful Hispanic woman with a black-haired ponytail in GCU attire approach them. “Jacob, it’s time. We’re questioning the captive from the caravan attack at the station.”

“Great. Thanks, Valentina. I’ll do my best not to break the [censored]’s face.”

“Wait, Valentina?” Mariah said. “I’m Mariah. You must be Gabriel’s daughter. He was my caravan driver. I’m…I’m sorry for your loss. He wanted me to introduce myself and asked me to make sure you know that his last words were that he loves you.”

Valentina stood still for a moment. She was clearly trying to hold back her emotions. After clearing her throat, she said, “I appreciate that, Mariah. Thanks. And nice to meet you. Are you ready to come to the station?”

Mariah took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 2 2020, 05:38 AM


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TheCheshireKhajiit
post Jul 24 2020, 04:41 AM
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Fun read Rader! Keep it coming!


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SubRosa
post Jul 24 2020, 05:29 AM
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A nice (well, maybe not nice introduction to the Gulf Coast wasteland. Tbh, it would be a good tutorial for one of games. Starting on the caravan gives you some background about the area, some action, and finally throws you out into a wilder world. While at the same time the prisoner and attack might form the basis for a good starting quest.


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TheCheshireKhajiit
post Jul 24 2020, 02:50 PM
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QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jul 23 2020, 11:29 PM) *

A nice (well, maybe not nice introduction to the Gulf Coast wasteland. Tbh, it would be a good tutorial for one of games. Starting on the caravan gives you some background about the area, some action, and finally throws you out into a wilder world. While at the same time the prisoner and attack might form the basis for a good starting quest.

I was thinking the same while reading it.


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"Family is an odd thing, is it not? Defined by blood, separated by blood, joined by blood. In the end, it's all just blood."
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Renee
post Jul 24 2020, 04:48 PM
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This intro makes me sad but also fascinated at the same time. My characters are often also in the habit of trying to imagine what life was like "before the war." You also consider Mariah's thoughts on weather quite a lot too, as well as seasons. Mine also do this.

QUOTE
Looks like leather armor was a bad choice,


My main New Vegas character had this same, exact thought as I gamed with her a few months ago. cool.gif In fact she was wearing leather at the time. But now in her game, it's December. Below freezing at night for sure, so leather is now appropriate.

Nice. He gives her a blade. And she's got a seductress haircut.

Damn. Gabriel already got killed. What the. Well at least she met his daughter. I have a feeling she'll play some part in the future.

What is the significance of Mariah? Any real-life influences?

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 24 2020, 05:13 PM


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Aug 2 2020, 05:36 AM
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@Cheshire - Thank you. I will certainly try to update as much as I can.

@SubRosa - Thank you. I didn't really think about it, but yeah, this could be a nice introduction to an actual Fallout game. Have something different than someone coming from a Vault, although I suppose Fallout has already done that multiple times (2, NV, and I think Tactics, for example).

@Renee - Thank you. Yeah, I'm trying to include little things to flesh out the characters but not too much to drag it on. As for Mariah, maybe there is something subconscious but I just really like the name. There is the goofy reference to the minor character of the same name in The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (which I've posted before, but I'll put it here again because it is...certainly something), but that had no bearing on my choice of that name.


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



Chapter 2: Old Wounds


Mariah, Valentina, and Jacob made their way over to the GCU station, just a bit down the block from the bar. It was a pre-War police station for Pensacola, making it a convenient location to convert for the GCU’s purposes. The sun was starting to set, and the station was getting less busy, but there were still plenty of GCU officers inside.

As the three of them entered the station, Commander Bertrand was talking to another GCU officer, who handed him several papers. “Well done, officer,” Bertrand told him. “You may return to your post.” Then he noticed the three of them approaching. Valentina and Jacob saluted their superior. “Ah, there you all there. Some of the others found some intel on the Dissidents from their bodies. Only problem is it seems to be in code. Figures…” Bertrand scoffed. “We’ll get the codebreakers on it after the interrogation.”

“Have you found anything else out? Motives? What they were looking for? Where they are holed up?” Mariah asked eagerly.

“Not yet. But that’s why we have the prisoner in there. We’ll make him talk.” Bertrand gestured toward the Dissident, the one captured from the caravan raid, sitting in the interrogation room behind him. “They’ve been more active in these parts as of late. We’re far from their land, which is up in the north of pre-War Alabama. So why a bunch of them are out here is anyone’s guess, but they must think there is something important here that we have. They’ll also have to have some sort of base set up that they are launching their operations from.”

Bertrand continued. “We’ve been able to fend them off no problem before, but they have been getting the jump lately, so we’re increasing patrols in the area. We have to be careful about overextending though, because our numbers are strained. The GCU’s got problems in other places besides here.” Bertrand was referring to the fact that the Panhandle of Florida was not the only place that the GCU was fighting with local groups in. It was not even the only place in Florida that there was trouble. To the east of Pensacola was Tallahassee (the pre-War capital of Florida), Gainesville, and Jacksonville, each with their own set of issues. But there was also a lot of trouble brewing over in Baton Rouge and near New Orleans in Louisiana. Then Bertrand asked, “Before we interrogate the prisoner, though, I need to know what Mariah saw or heard. Mariah, is there anything you can tell us? Anything you know can help us out here.”

Mariah thought for a moment. Then she frowned and shook her head. “No. They just came out of nowhere. I was knocked out of my cart and disoriented for a bit, but I couldn’t really focus on anything until I regained my composure. But these aren’t just some raiders. They must have been looking for something that they thought the caravan had, right?”

Bertrand sighed. “I can only speculate. Let’s go get some information out of the prisoner. Jacob, you come with me inside. Valentina and Mariah, you stay behind the glass and watch. Look for any sorts of cues he may unknowingly give, anything. Mariah, you can see through the glass but he can’t see you. Some sort of pre-War tech that many police stations used. Called them one-way mirrors.”

The four of them went to take their positions. The Dissident prisoner had been sitting there silently, looking down on the floor. When Jacob and Bertrand walked in, the prisoner finally looked up and simply laughed in a low register when he saw them. “And so the GCU dogs have come to squeeze something out me. Bark! Bark! Ha! Loyally serving your corrupt masters.”

“Can it,” Bertrand shot back.

“Can it? You want info out of me and you tell me to shut up? Seems contradictory to me,” the Dissident smiled smugly. “But I suppose no one ever accused GCU personnel of being smart.”

Bertrand dismissed the remark. “You’re going to tell us what we want to know.”

“And why should I tell you anything, lap dog? Why don’t you just…”

“I’ll ask the questions here. Not you. If you are not cooperative, I promise you we have ways to make you talk.”

“Oh yeah? Gonna pull another stunt like the GCU did in Birmingham? Remember that? How the GCU slaughtered some of our people because we were defending our land? We remember quite well.”

“Slaughtered? Defending?” Jacob said incredulously, his face turning red. Steam was practically coming out of his ears with how quickly angered he became. “I’m going to rearrange that face of yours!”

Jacob took a couple of steps toward the Dissident before Bertrand held his arm out. “Officer Jacob, stand down! He’s just trying to get into our heads.”

“Yeah, Officer Jacob. Stand down,” the Dissident said in a deliberately mocking voice. “You know, speaking of names, you never even asked me mine. Is that how you treat all your guests? My name is Gerald. Let’s see you get anything else out of me.” It seemed that this Gerald was full of smart [censored] quips.

“Okay, Gerald,” Bertrand said. “We pulled some information off one of your dead buddies. A coded message. Our codebreakers are going to decipher it soon. But why don’t you spare us the trouble, tell us what we want to know, and we’ll think about going a bit easier on your compatriots.”

Gerald’s playful mood started to dissipate. “What are you going to do to me, huh? I’m a prisoner. I have certain rights. Or maybe it’s different for you dogs. You gonna murder me like the GCU did to our people around Birmingham?”

“Awfully bold of scum like you to accuse us of murder after what you guys did to that caravan.”

“Call it retribution. You guys had it coming,” Gerald brazenly defended his organization’s actions. “You’ll get nothing out of me and nothing out of that scrap of paper you picked up.”

Bertrand pounded the table with a loud thud. For a moment it startled Gerald, but he quickly regained his smug smile. “Enough! Why did you attack the caravan?! You guys clearly wanted something from that caravan and we want to know what it is. Where are you launching raids from?”

Gerald simply disregarded the questions. “The GCU’s time is coming, bootlickers. We know all about the trouble you guys are having throughout your territory. Got too big too quickly. Thought you can take what isn’t yours by force. Like the Brotherhood. We’re here to regain Alabama’s sovereignty. The Alabama Compact threw away our self-determination, as if outsiders should determine what’s best for us. Well, they don’t represent us. YOU don’t represent us.” The Alabama Compact was a post-War nation that sprung up relatively quickly after the bombs fell, an attempt at a rebirth of pre-War Alabama. They eventually joined similar governments from former Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana to form the Gulf Coast Union.

“You want to play this game, you waste of oxygen?” Bertrand growled. “Fine, we’ve got a special solitary place for people like you. You spend some time there, and you’ll talk. Believe me.”

Mariah had heard enough and furiously stormed to the interrogation room door. Valentina tried to grab one of her arms but Mariah quickly pulled it away. She burst into the room to confront Gerald herself. “You stupid son of a [censored]! Answer the [censored] questions!”

“Damn it, Mariah!” Bertrand’s temper rose. He and Jacob grabbed Mariah as she was getting ready to pull out her sword and threaten Gerald.

“Whoa-ho! Well, hello there, sweet thing,” Gerald said, struck by Mariah’s beauty. “You know, Commander, you’re really no good at this interrogation thing. Should have sexy women like this doing the questioning. More likely to get me to answer.” Gerald creepily winked at Mariah.

“I’ll cut you up just like I did your friend!” Mariah shot back, facing him while desperately trying to break free from Jacob and Bertrand’s hold on her. They were far too strong for her to even get her hand to grab the sword’s hilt.

It was at this remark that Gerald dropped his sarcastic demeanor completely, getting visibly angry for the first time there. “That was you? Listen, you little [censored]. I’m going to get out of here eventually, and when I find you, we’re going to have some fun. Well, maybe just me. Mark my words.”

“You won’t do a damn thing!” Bertrand bellowed, still trying to push Mariah out the door. “Jacob, see to it that our prisoner gets put in the ‘special box.’”

“What the hell is that?” Gerald asked with some trepidation in his voice. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. “Well, you still won’t get me to talk! The Dissidents are going to bring the death knell to the GCU! And the Brotherhood will get what’s coming to them too! You’ll all pay!” Gerald was still yelling as Bertrand slammed the door.

Mariah had spent some considerable energy trying to break free from Bertrand and Jacob’s grasp and she was already tired from the day’s events. As she was catching her breath, Bertrand addressed her. The patience he had exhibited with her earlier was gone. “What the hell are you thinking, Mariah?!”

“That [censored] wasn’t talking,” Mariah said exasperatedly.

“And you thought that what you did was going to help? I let you stand outside the window there. We rarely let civilians this far into the station, and it’s not normally something we should be doing. But I did it because I figured you could help us and that your actions at the caravan merited that.” Bertrand paused briefly to let go some of the anger. “Look, I know you’re angry. We all are. Every single one of us here wants to end that degenerate’s life. But we can’t let this opportunity go to waste and we certainly can’t have our emotions spill over like yours just did.”

“Yeah, because the GCU is really doing their job well,” Mariah shot back sarcastically.

Bertrand finally had enough after she said that. “This discussion is over. Time to leave the station. Valentina, please see Mariah out.” Valentina gently placed her shoulder on Mariah’s back and gave her a slight nudge toward the station’s entrance. While she was still furious at the unsuccessful interrogation and Bertrand, Mariah didn’t want to cause Valentina trouble, and she obliged.

///////////


Mariah went back to the Blue Angel, exhausted from the day’s events. It was surprisingly quiet inside. The human bartender that was at the bar earlier must have left for the evening, as he was now replaced by a Mr. Handy. Normally used to help clean Pre-War homes, Mariah had seen some Mr. Handy models repurposed for other means like shopkeeping in her travels. She sat down at the bar with a heavy sigh. The song “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, a Pre-War favorite for many Americans and even for some people outside of the U.S., started playing on the radio.

The Mr. Handy floated over to her and cheerfully spoke in the trademark English accent typical of its kind. “Good evening, madam! You look lovely tonight. Can I interest you in a drink?”

“Just a bourbon, please,” Mariah muttered tiredly, handing over a few caps.

“One bourbon for the young lady coming up!”

Mariah sat there ruminating on the day with bourbon in hand. After all that transpired, she was not sure what to do from here. She wanted to find more on the Dissidents, what they wanted, and where they were based nearby. But after what happened at the station, she figured her chances of being further involved were slim to none. It was probably unlikely to begin with, given that she was not working for the GCU. Perhaps she could have done some mercenary work, though.

After five or ten minutes, Mariah heard a familiar voice call out her name. “Hey, Mariah.” It was Valentina.

Mariah turned around, perking up a bit. “Oh. Hey, Valentina.”

“You can just call me Val if you want. Rolls off the tongue much easier.” Mariah could see Valentina’s eyes were significantly red, indicating that she had been crying a lot. She must have finally had time to mourn her murdered father, Gabriel, now that her work for the day was over. “May I join you?”

“Of course.”

Valentina sat down next to Mariah at the bar with a heavy sigh and ordered a bourbon from the Mr. Handy bartender. After she received the drink and sat for a moment in silence, Valentina spoke up again. “Hey, uh. . . thanks again for telling me about my dad. It may seem like a small gesture, but it meant a lot.”

“Absolutely.” Then she gestured toward Valentina’s drink and chuckled. “Your dad seemed to see a lot of you in me. Judging by your drink choice, I guess he was right.”

“Ha, yeah.” Valentina laughed too, looking down at her bourbon. Then she looked straight forward and spoke somewhat wistfully. “Yep, sounds like him alright. He was very protective of young women in the wasteland. Easy to see why with his life experiences.”

“What happened?” Mariah asked, quickly adding, “Um, if you want to say, that is.”

“Don’t worry. It’s good to let it out sometimes. My dad seemed to trust you. He had a good eye for people, so I trust his judgment.” Valentina paused again then had to clear her throat. “He raised me by himself for quite some time. Mom died while I was still a kid. Raiders attacked our settlement where we were living at the time. And it. . . it wasn’t enough for them to just loot everything, or even to just kill everyone. Typical raiders had to go even further and do even more horrifying things to some of the people there.” It was clear what kinds of things she referred to. They were raiders, after all.

After another pause, Valentina continued. “A few survivors were able to push the raiders out and kill most of them. But the damage was done. Men, women, children—experiencing the horrors of the wasteland firsthand. A few of the raiders escaped but my dad and a handful of survivors tracked them down. And when they found their hideout, they. . . they found women and children imprisoned in cages. The women had barely any clothing on and the children were in tattered rags. My dad and the rest of them butchered the raiders and rescued the prisoners.” She was on the verge of sobbing again.

Mariah stayed silent for a while, but it seemed that Valentina was hoping she would say something. Valentina was having trouble speaking again. “I’m sorry, Val. If it’s any consolation, a lot of that is similar to what I experienced when I was young too.”

Valentina had been looking down holding back her tears, but she turned toward Mariah. “Really?”

Mariah cleared her throat. “Yeah.” She took another swig of her bourbon. “Raiders hit our settlement when I was kid too. Except it was my whole family—mom, dad, brother, and some extended family—gone. Back then, I wasn’t a fighter. Despite all the [censored] that goes on in the wasteland, mom and dad tried their hardest to shield us from it. I was a happy-go-lucky kid. . . until the raiders came. They came to our settlement and. . . razed it all down.” Her voice started to take a defeated tone. “I wish I could have gone and quite literally ripped them all apart. But I didn’t know the first thing about combat. I just ran, like my parents told me to. Still, I feel like I let them down.” Tears started streaming down her face as well. “Guess that’s why I get angry so easily. I wish I had the spine to go after those raiders and make them suffer. But I didn’t. I still feel like I have to atone for it.”

Valentina placed her hand on Mariah’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Mariah. No one would’ve expected you to face down all those raiders by yourself.”

Mariah turned to Valentina and gave a faint smile. “Part of me wants to agree with you. But it’s still a feeling I can’t shake. It’s good in a way, though. Drove me to learn how to fight, how to shoot a gun, and all that. I wouldn’t have been able to help defend the caravan otherwise.”

“That’s sort of like my dad. Wanting to dispense justice in the wasteland. He did for a while, but he told me that after a near-death experience he stopped. Said he really started to think about how I would’ve been alone if he was gone. So, dad stopped living the mercenary life pretty quickly. When I grew up, though, I knew that I wanted to protect people after that. Help bring justice and safety to the wasteland. So, when I was old enough, I joined the GCU. My dad wasn’t a fan at first, but he understood eventually. As much as he wanted to keep looking out for me, he saw that I wasn’t a little girl anymore, and he returned to caravan driving. Thought he could at least look after people that way, and his body wouldn’t have held up to the mercenary life. But he always made sure to check up on me periodically. Of course, now…” Valentina paused again.

Although she still wasn’t ready to spill her whole life story, Mariah was relieved that she finally found someone in Valentina that could be some sort of confidant. Something about Valentina immediately gave Mariah the feeling that she was trustworthy. Both of them had a similar trajectory in life, although Valentina seemed to have more of a reverence for (or at least adherence to) a real structure and rules while Mariah was more of a questioner about how things operated. Mariah couldn’t envision herself working for an organization like the GCU, although their basic goals seemed to be the same.

Still, Mariah wanted to change the topic. Something else was on her mind. “Val, the Dissident—Gerald—he mentioned “Birmingham” repeatedly in that interrogation and held it against the GCU. What was that about?”

Valentina was also relieved to change the topic. She took another drink from her bottle of bourbon and emptied it. “Well, I wasn’t there, but I’ve heard some of the others at the station describe it. Commander Bertrand was there, in fact. The way I understand it, Dissidents were violently revolting against the GCU there and claimed it was their land. Bloody fighting broke out and scores of Dissidents and GCU were killed. And as if that wasn’t enough,” she chuckled wryly, “the Brotherhood of Steel joined too. Out of nowhere. They must have thought they could take advantage of both sides weakening each other. There was a huge battle at an old, abandoned military facility that had just been discovered. We drove off the rest of the Dissidents and the Brotherhood, though we took some serious casualties. But Commander Bertrand was honored for his actions there and was promoted to his current post.”

“When did it happen?”

“Sometime in the past couple years. Can’t remember for sure, to be honest.”

“Hmm,” Mariah pondered what she said, but something about the way that Gerald had talked about the incident at Birmingham still bothered her. “Gerald seemed to really believe that it was the GCU and Brotherhood’s fault.”

“Are you taking his side?” Valentina joked. “You know how these types are. They delude themselves into believing that they are on the right side of history and they’ll do anything to justify their actions.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Mariah certainly didn’t believe that the Dissidents were right about…well, anything, certainly not after that day’s events. And those events seemed to finally catch up to Mariah as another wave of tiredness overcame her. The clock on the wall only showed 9:30 PM, but she was exhausted. She yawned. “Thanks for talking, Val. But I got to hit the sack. Where’s a good place to stay in town?”

“Oh, no no no,” Val shook her head and waved her hand. “You don’t need to spend some caps to get a room. You can crash at my place. I don’t have to go into the station until tomorrow afternoon, so I can show you some more around town in the morning.”
“Wow. Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on…”

“Don’t be silly.” Valentina flashed a bright smile. “It’s been a long day and you’ve done a lot for me today. It’s nice to be able to just let things out sometimes, you know? Besides, you’re new to this area, right? I can show you some of the ropes, places to stock up on supplies, and all that. And I think—no, I KNOW—you can still help us. As long as you are still interested.”

“I sure am. But…I don’t think Bertrand will want my help now after today.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll vouch for you. I’ve known the Commander to be a reasonable man.”

Mariah was not so sure like Valentina. But she really wanted to help, even if only for Valentina’s sake. It was the least she could do for Gabriel. And Mariah wasn’t quick to let a chance at vengeance go. “You’re awesome, Val. Let’s get going then.”

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 2 2020, 05:37 AM


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Renee
post Aug 14 2020, 01:24 PM
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I like that... "some sort of pre-war tech. They called them one-way mirrors..." It's like the difference between the Great Pyramids and those of later dynasties, which are oddly cruder in design.

Well anyway, that prisoner's in for it now. When that police station was built there were all sorts of laws. "I want my lawyer!" for instance. That would instantly cease a police interview. nono.gif Not now, though. Now there are no laws.

QUOTE
“Whoa-ho! Well, hello there, sweet thing,” Gerald said, struck by Mariah’s beauty. “You know, Commander, you’re really no good at this interrogation thing. Should have sexy women like this doing the questioning. More likely to get me to answer.” Gerald creepily winked at Mariah.


I actually agree with the Dissident! Gerald gets frazzled too easily. He's not very good at the mind games some interrogators employ. Mariah did a better job of getting under the guy's skin!

Let's see if some time in solitary will change Gerald's mind.



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SubRosa
post Aug 14 2020, 09:10 PM
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Well, that interrogation went well.

They delude themselves into believing that they are on the right side of history and they’ll do anything to justify their actions
Yep, seen that before. Gerald reminded me a lot of various White Supremacists.

I see Mariah and Val are definitely teaming up. It will be nice to see where this goes.


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TheCheshireKhajiit
post Aug 15 2020, 03:07 PM
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Looks like things are heating up!


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"Family is an odd thing, is it not? Defined by blood, separated by blood, joined by blood. In the end, it's all just blood."
-Dhaunayne Aundae

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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Aug 19 2020, 04:16 PM
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@Renee - Indeed. The success that Dissidents have had lately is getting to Bertrand. Perhaps he'd do better otherwise.

@SubRosa - Yep, all sorts of people get caught up in what they believe and dismiss anything that even remotely challenges it.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - Yeah. It can be difficult to balance the need for action and the need for downtime. Too much action and things don't develop well. Too much downtime and it gets boring. I'm trying to balance it as best I can. Chapter 4 is going to really ramp up the action.


I noticed in SubRosa's writings that she made a Google map indicating locations in her story. I wasn't sure if you could do that before, but that is a really neat idea. Thus, I'm making a Google map of the world of Fallout: Florida. Of course, it'll be subject to many changes as it is a work in progress, but it will at least have the important story locations. I'm debating how much to include non-story locations as well, sort of like if it were a real Fallout game's map. I hope to also add notes to each location to give more background lore for each. I'll make the map available soon.



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


Chapter 3: Hatching the Plan


Mariah fell asleep almost as soon as she crashed on Valentina’s couch around 11:30 PM. When she woke up the next morning, a clock on the wall read 9:30 AM. Valentina needed the sleep too, as she woke up at about the same time. For the most part, she was holding her emotions in check over her father Gabriel’s death. Valentina and Mariah left not too long after, the former telling the latter more about the city of Pensacola and GCU territory in former Florida in general.

[Fallout Soundtrack: A Trader's Life]

That morning, one of the main streets have the city was hosting something similar to a farmers’ market, though many vendors were selling wares other than food. Merchants from out of town, as well as residents of Pensacola who didn’t have their own storefront, had booths set up on either side of the street. In a few stalls, chem dealers were toting their wares, though it seemed that the city government had many restrictions on what they could sell. One could see the usual Stimpaks, Rad-Away, and Rad-X, as well as Jet, Buffout, and Mentats, though the latter three had to be of diluted quality. Chem dealers were explicitly forbidden, however, from selling other chems like Psycho, Daddy-O, and Daytripper. Whatever the rhyme or reason was for these ordinances, Mariah was not sure. It seemed sort of arbitrary to her what chems were allowed to be sold.

There was plenty of variety elsewhere. Some weapons and armor salespeople were around as well, though there were several GCU personnel hanging around for extra security. A few vendors had tamed animals for pets on sale. The green anole lizard was a tiny creature in the Pre-War days that grew considerably in size due to radioactive fallout. Some were even the size of larger dog breeds. Despite the mutations, anole lizards remained mostly friendly towards humans and were a relatively popular pet. Some stalls featured Pre-War relics, from the relatively common to the harder to find. Mariah bought a hat that came with an advertisement denoting that it was a product from Florida-based Cooler Heads Technology, with the tagline of “Cooler Heads Prevail!” Apparently, the Pre-War company sold various accessories that were supposed to cool someone off in the hot sun by generating their own cool air, even more desirable in the Post-War heat. Surprisingly, the hat still worked.

Mariah and Valentina split up briefly to poke around the stalls that interested them. Mariah stocked up on some extra 10MM ammo for her pistol. She also looked at the anole lizard pets, though much as she would have liked to buy one, she figured it would be best for now to hold off on doing so.

Mariah finished perusing the stalls and went to find Valentina to regroup, but one last stall surrounded by a dozen people particularly caught her attention. Some of them were already departing when Mariah went to go check it out. The tarp had a symbol on it featuring what looked to be several buildings with sunlight shining down on them. Brochures and other paraphernalia were on the stall’s table featuring the same symbol.

[Fallout Soundtrack: Second Chance]

As Mariah approached the stall, she saw a man sitting on the other side of the table. His left arm appeared to be mostly bandaged. He sat with his hands clasped in front of him and sat upright, talking to some of the citizens that came to the stall. As Mariah started looking at a brochure, the man turned his attention to her, having finished with the other citizens as they walked away with brochures in hand. “Ah, well, hello there, young lady,” the man spoke in a resonant voice. “Can I interest you in a bit of a chat?”

“Oh, um, sure.” Mariah had not planned on staying very long, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“Wonderful. Please, have a seat, dear child,” he gestured politely to the seat on the other side of the table.

“Oh, please don’t call me child,” Mariah laughed nervously, sitting down. “My name’s Mariah.”

“Ah, my apologies, Mariah. I hope I did not offend. My name’s Jonah.” Mariah got a better look at Jonah, seeing some gray stubble on his chin and jawline. He appeared to be no older than his late 40s or early 50s. “Are you new to this city?”

“Yep, I come from . . . quite far from here. Far from Florida.”

“Indeed, something about you indicates that you are well-traveled. Traveling may be dangerous, but it opens your mind to the world around you.” The way Jonah spoke—his clear and resonant speech, the rate at which he talked, and his level of volume—his posture, everything about him indicated that he was talented at public speaking. Something about him made him very approachable. “Given that you are new to the area, I assume you have not heard of my organization, the Temple of New Life. May I talk with you about that?”

“Oh, uh . . .,” Mariah stuttered. She had seen her fair share of Post-War cults, both benign and malevolent. There always seemed to be something off about the people in them, even if they were not outright violent. Jonah did not seem to give off any of these sorts of vibes, but Mariah was still unsure.

“I understand the apprehension. Obviously, it is easy for me to say, but I assure you we of the Temple of New Life are not like any cult you may have encountered in your travels. We are not merely a religious organization. We are a way of life, a community, a shelter from the dangers that the Sunshine Wasteland and beyond have to offer.” It was one of the few times Mariah heard somebody refer to Florida as the Sunshine Wasteland. His words put her more at ease.

While Mariah was not exactly in the market for proselytization, Jonah’s words made her more curious about what this Temple of New Life was. “Well, that’s reassuring. So, are you a priest or something?”

Jonah chuckled. “I suppose you could say that, though I and my Templar Brothers and Sisters do not use that terminology. We prefer the term ‘Speaker.’ Speakers go out all across the wastes to spread our message of faith, community, and hope. Such values are in desperately short supply in these lands, don’t you agree?” Mariah nodded her head. “Well, while we aren’t so fanatical and abrasive, those values are ultimately what lead people to join these cults. To join any group. And those values lead to one overarching concept. Something endemic to the human spirit. What do you think that is?”

Mariah pondered for a moment, then simply shrugged and shook her head. “What is it?”

Jonah gestured with an open palm. “It’s purpose.” He paused as if to let the power of the answer fill the air. “Think about it, Mariah. What leads people to join these organizations you hear about? The ultimate reason, I mean. It’s a common thread whether you are a cult, the GCU, the Dissidents, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Temple of New Life, you name it. The goals and beliefs may all differ, but at the end of the day, human beings want to find meaning in their lives. They want to matter in some way. To feel as though they made some sort of impact. To be completely forgotten in the annals of history and by future generations is one of the most terrifying prospects for many people. And I believe that your journey for purpose is what brought you here to Florida.”

Mariah cocked her head, giving a slightly confused look. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You may not realize it, Mariah, but that is what brought you to these lands. Long-wandering sojourners and wayfarers that constantly move about do so because they are searching for their meaning in life. When the Great War happened, most of the survivors were left wondering what their purpose was. What the purpose of life in general was. When the bombs dropped, it led many people to abandon their faiths. Their values. They felt they had nothing to turn to, and so they had to seek out some sort of purpose. Many people from all sorts of religious backgrounds—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, tribal beliefs, you name it—abandoned their faiths when nuclear fire engulfed the world, though many of them certainly still survived. Many people turned to the numerous cults that sprouted in the Post-War world. Regardless of religion, many ostensibly, formerly, or would-be good, neighborly people turned to raiding. They felt that that was all they had. Attempts to recreate civilization have been made all around the world. And it all leads back to one thing: Purpose.”

“I . . . suppose so,” Mariah considered what Jonah had to say. She was not really sure what drew her to Florida, but maybe Jonah was right. Maybe she had been searching for purpose all this time.

“And that’s why the Temple of New Life does what it does. Sure, we have our religious beliefs. But more importantly it is to help people find purpose. Community. Hope. The meaning of life.”

As Mariah considered his words some more, Valentina came from behind. “There you are! It’s almost noon and I have to head down to the station. You’re still coming, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Val.” Mariah turned to Jonah. “I, uh, gotta go, Jonah. But this was, um, interesting.”

“Of course, Mariah. I do not wish to keep you from your business. But please, take a brochure to learn more about the Temple,” Jonah handed her one. As Mariah took it, Jonah added, “And remember my words. What brought you to this table.” Mariah paused and then simply nodded her head.

As Valentina and Mariah walked away, the former teased the latter. “Looking to join a cult?”

“Haha. No, I was just curious about it. Seemed pretty popular over there earlier. He didn’t seem crazy, though.”

“The ones who are good at concealing the crazy are the ones you need to watch out for most,” Valentina half-joked.

Mariah chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.” But she could not help but think about Jonah’s words as they walked down to the station.

///////////


As Mariah and Valentina came through the front door, Jacob and Commander Bertrand were talking to one of the codebreakers. Bertrand turned to them. “Ah, good, you’re here Val.” Bertrand then looked at Mariah. “And hello again, Mariah.”

“Hello, Commander,” Mariah nodded. It was still awkward between the two of them though tensions had significantly lessened since last night’s confrontation.

Bertrand held up a piece of paper. It was the coded message that was found on one of the dead Dissidents from the caravan attack. “Gerald may act like a tough guy, but one night in prison and he got talking. And now we know where they are holed up.”

Mariah’s face lit up. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get going!”

“Whoa, let’s slow down, Mariah. First of all, we are preparing to head out. This is not some spur-of-the-moment thing. This is a whole operation we are planning. We are figuring out how many troops we can and should spare. We need to get our Anole and Kolossi mounts together as well as . . .”

“Wait, what? Anole mounts? And what are Kolossi?”

“Oh, right, you’re from outside of Florida. You may have seen and heard of some amazing creatures across the old U.S., but I can guarantee that you haven’t seen anything like what Florida has to offer. It was arguably the most biologically impressive and diverse Pre-War state, and a lot of species made it through the War, though the radiation has caused some significant changes. Some of the Anole lizards are big enough that they can carry cargo or even hold a human or two as riders. The Kolossi—what used to be monitor lizards and sometimes mistaken for Komodo Dragons—are big units now and especially well-equipped for those duties, though there are many out in the wastes that are hostile. There is very little Pre-War technology like bicycles at our disposal that we can spare right now, so we often go a little more . . . organic.”

“That’s incredible,” Mariah said, her mouth slightly open in wonderment.

“It is indeed. Anyway, we are gathering up our resources and preparing to head out tomorrow. But secondly—and I know you do not want to hear this—we cannot bring you with us, Mariah.” Bertrand held up his hand before Mariah could object. “And before you say it, no, this is not because of last night. I think that would be petty.” He sighed. “Look, I know what you are capable of, Mariah. I appreciate what you did for the caravan and I know you can fight. But this is a full-fledged operation we are talking about. We cannot take civilians with us on something like this.”

Mariah was not the only one taken aback. Valentina apparently did not expect Bertrand to prevent Mariah from joining. “Commander, please, if I may.” Bertrand stayed silent for a moment, indicating that she could continue. “Sir, please reconsider your decision. We need all the fighters we can get, and I think Mariah deserves to have a shot at this after what she went through. Jacob, please tell me you feel the same way.” Valentina turned to Jacob with a look of hope on her face.

Jacob stood still for a moment and then simply sighed. “I’m sorry, Val, but that’s Commander’s orders. I know what Mariah is capable of, but the Commander is right. She is a civilian and not trained for anything like this.”

“Look, Mariah,” Bertrand added, “I know you want to help. I understand your desire for revenge. But this is not something you are ready for and your emotions may cloud your judgment.”

Mariah may have been defiant yesterday but now she could only feel disappointment. She knew that neither she nor Val could change the Commander’s mind. But she was determined to find out all the information she could about the operation. She was going to find some way to join even if she had to do so surreptitiously. “Well, can I at least know where you are going?”

“I’m sorry, but no. We must keep as many details under wraps as we can. I cannot just tell civilians all of the inner workings of what we do. Besides, something tells me that you would follow us. I’m not going to put you in harm’s way if I can help it.”

Dejected, Mariah responded, “Alright.”

“I’m sorry, Mariah. Please, go back to wherever you are staying in town. I need to brief Jacob and Val on this.”

“You can still stay at my place. Here’s a key,” Val said to Mariah, also with a disappointed look on her face.

With Val’s key, Mariah left outside the front door of the station and stood in place on the street, not sure what to do next. She pulled out the brochure that Jonah handed her earlier in the day and read the content inside. It talked about a city named Eden far to the south in Florida, though it did not give any specific location, perhaps for its protection. The brochure also mentioned someone simply called “The Redeemer,” which Mariah supposed was their god. But when she read further, the paper seemed to indicate that it was an actual person that was their spiritual guide. She was not really sure. Mariah was not exactly interested in joining, per se, but she figured she’d learn as much as she can about what goes on in Florida. After all, she wasn’t planning on leaving it any time soon.

As Mariah put the brochure away, she suddenly had an idea of how to find out where the GCU was going to attack the Dissidents. The GCU station’s jail stood right next door, having not only a connected hallway to the station but a separate door from the street as well. If Mariah was going to find out the information she needed, she needed to go straight to the source: Gerald.

As she stepped into the jail’s entrance, a guard stood watch over the cells. He looked up at Mariah as she walked through the door. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Hi. Can I speak to one of the prisoners?”

“I’m sorry, but the jail is not open for visitations right now.”

“Please, it’s urgent.”

Skeptical, the guard folded his arms. “Who do you want to see and why?”

Mariah thought the truth would not get the guard to let her go by, but she could not think of a convincing lie. The truth was all that she could go with. “It’s the Dissident prisoner. He attacked my caravan I rode in on the way here and I want to confront him about it.”

“Hmmm . . . I suppose Dissidents could always use a beating, even if it is only verbal.” The guard thought for a moment longer. “Fine, but only because I think you’re a good kid. Even though I shouldn’t be doing this right now. Just make it quick, okay? We don’t need either one of us getting in trouble."

“Thank you,” Mariah said with a sigh of relief and a hint of surprise. She wasn’t thrilled about going to see Gerald either, so she didn’t plan on spending much time there. But she needed to know what he told Bertrand and Jacob.

“He’s in the tenth cell to the right.”

As Mariah reached Gerald’s cell, she saw him sitting on a stool against the wall. But he looked far more ragged than before. His prisoner’s clothing was drenched in sweat and dirt and his skin was red from sunburns. He looked up when Mariah stood in front of the cell, wryly smiling. “I knew you couldn’t get enough of me, baby. Nice of you to visit. Why don’t you show me a little skin?” Gerald apparently amped up the sarcasm and creepiness from yesterday. His voice was as ragged as he looked due to thirst.

Mariah had to stop herself from vomiting. “You’re looking pretty awful right now.”

“Yeah, well, that ‘special box’ that your GCU overlords stuck me in can be thanked. Tied me up in place and gagged me and made sure to put me underneath a hole in the roof so I could be roasted like a brahmin by the sun. And some mirrors or something on the roof to make it even hotter. Anything goes in these parts including torture, it seems.”

“Not like you didn’t deserve it,” Mariah sniped back. The ‘special box’ seemed to have been quite effective at getting Gerald to talk.

“Oh, spare me your self-righteous drivel. What do you want, anyway?”

“I want to know what you told the Commander. Why you attacked the caravan and where your friends are hiding.”

Gerald leaned forward with an irritated look on his face. “You want me to tell you after what you did to Evan? Oh, that’s right, you don’t know Evan. He was the guy that you cut up at the caravan.”

“Oh, you mean the guy that murdered my caravan driver and friend right in front of me and thought he could kill me from behind? That one?”

Gerald was visibly angered. “Yeah, him, you [censored]. He was my friend. You can’t do anything to me here. You’ll get nothing out of me.”

Mariah then remembered she had a bottle of purified water on hand. With how parched Gerald looked, she knew he would want some. And she certainly was not going to give into any of his carnal desires. “You look thirsty, Gerald. But you know, I could use a drink, too. Maybe I’ll just drink this water right in front of you.”

Gerald’s thirst got the better of him and he switched to begging mode. “[Censored], please give me some, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know! You have my word," he said hoarsely.

Mariah understandably wasn’t confident that his word could be trusted, but she had no other choice if she wanted to get information out of him. “Very well.”

Gerald gulped down half of the bottle and let out a refreshed ‘ah.’ “As much as it pains me to say it, thanks. You may be a GCU dog, but I’m a man of my word. So I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“I’m not part of GCU.”

“You work with them. Might as well be one of them. But fine, what is it you want to know?”

“I want to know why you attacked the caravan and where you all are holed up.”

Gerald lowly chuckled. “Oh, the Commander and his lackey didn’t tell you? Of course the GCU is going to be secretive. They don’t want anybody knowing anything truthful about them.” Gerald pulled the stool closer to the cell door and gingerly sat back down. His sunburns were clearly painful. “Do you like storytime?”

Mariah furrowed her eyebrows. “What does that have to do with what I asked?”

“Because it’s relevant. And you should know what the GCU is all about. What they don’t tell you.”

Mariah was going to have to hear what Gerald had to say and she knew it. “If the story is good, sure,” she said somewhat tongue-in-cheek. “Is this about Birmingham?”

“Ah, perceptive, aren’t you? Perception one of your strong suits? Anyway, yeah, it’s about that.” Gerald took a deep breath. “When the Alabama Compact became part of the GCU, us Dissidents weren’t thrilled with it. Downright angry about it. We didn’t need some blowhards in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana making decisions for us. So, we decided we’d go up north, distance ourselves from our fellow Alabamians that betrayed us and their new out-stater friends. Out-staters are what we call people from those three Pre-War states, and now we use it for Alabamians in the GCU because we are the true Alabama.

“Anyway, we go up north and separate ourselves, right? We are just a humble, sovereign, and self-determining people. We don’t cause much of a fuss. We just leave. Well, years later, GCU decides they want some of our land now. They got their panties in a bunch because we didn’t want to be a part of them. They come to annex some of our land and we fight back. In particular, they want this Pre-War military facility that we have over near Birmingham--or rather what was inside that facility. So, naturally, they decide that something that is not theirs belongs to them. And as we start fighting, you know who else decides to join in on the fun? The Brotherhood of Steel. The guys in the power armor and with the energy weapons. At first, we thought the GCU brought them along, but we realized quickly that the Brotherhood was doing it on their own. The Brotherhood ain’t about working with anybody outside of their group. Hell, they might be even worse than the GCU, but they just don’t have their own country. We knew about them being further out to the west, but now they start coming way east. They’re just like GCU in thinking they have some divine mandate to take anything they want and keep it away from everyone else.

“And so there is this big three-way battle between the GCU, Brotherhood, and us. Lots of dead bodies on all sides. Absolute massacre. And people living in Birmingham that had nothing to do with it also died. In the end, this thing that was in that military facility was gone. GCU and Brotherhood claims that the other had it or we did, but we know at least one of them is full of [censored]. Now we’re coming to reclaim that thing that was ours and to push out the GCU. Pay back the Brotherhood too and give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“And what is this thing that is supposedly yours?” Mariah asked.

“Some sort of prototype technology from Pre-War. I don’t understand it, honestly. But it’s something very important, I assure you. GCU and the Brotherhood wouldn’t have showed up otherwise.”

“You thought our caravan had this technology?” Anger started creeping back into Mariah’s voice.

“GCU’s got it. We know it.”

“You don’t even know! You attacked our caravan on a hunch! There was nothing to indicate that we had it and people needlessly died because of you [censored]!” Mariah felt the urge to pull out her 10MM pistol but fought it back.

“Look, I don’t expect a GCU lackey to understand. And I’m not going to reveal all our secrets and intel. But I’ll tell you where we are. You can find out more about us up close and personal. I did give you my word.”

“Then where are they?”

“There used to be a Pre-War town called Holt, right on the old U.S. Route 90. Obliterated in the War. In the town is an abandoned Fusion! factory. You know Nuka-Cola? Well, Fusion! was a Florida-based soft drink company and Nuka-Cola came to infringe on its turf, so there is an abandoned factory for Nuka-Cola not too far from there as well. But you got to find the one that is for Fusion! We are holed up in that area.” Gerald became thirsty again from all the talking. He chugged the rest of the water bottle and tossed it back to Mariah through the cell bars. “There. You got what you wanted. Much as I like you as eye candy, it also drives me crazy when I’m sitting in this cell. Unless you want to join me?” Gerald slowly licked his lips.

“Ugh, gross.” Mariah almost vomited again. “You’re lucky I don’t just pop you with a bullet or two, Gerald. Still, thanks for the info.”

“Sure thing, darling.”

Mariah turned and started walking away, but one more question came to mind. She turned around. “You know, you seemed pretty defiant yesterday. And then one night goes by and you start talking. Why? Was it that bad of a tough-guy act?”

Gerald thought for a moment. “I just . . . decided to change my mind.” It sounded like he wanted to say something else initially. He walked up to the cell bars and wrapped his hands around two of them. “Because you don’t know what you all are in for.”

Mariah pondered his ominous words, thinking about what exactly he meant. She then continued walking back out of the jail. She headed back to Val’s home to start hatching a plan to join the GCU raid on the Dissidents’ compound.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 21 2020, 07:59 PM


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Renee
post Aug 21 2020, 02:53 PM
Post #37


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Joined: 19-March 13
From: Ellicott City, Maryland



Hey, what month is it supposed to be in this story? I know it's always hot in Florida for 9 months out of the year. That Cooler Heads hat would be nice to have, especially if it were solar-powered. That way, sunlight would actually keep it running.

Daddy-O and Daytripper. wacko.gif Never heard of those chems. laugh.gif

Jonah's sermon is convincing.

Mariah is being told she can't join their operation. Similar to Buffy (Acadian's character) being told she can't go into the meatier parts of battle. She was put off to the side. But at least Mariah hasn't proven herself yet (not in an official sort of way) whereas arguably Buffy has.

Gerald is yucky! Even sitting in jail and all stinky and beaten, he's still making a pass at her. tongue.gif

Well that's going to be interesting. She's going to go to the Fusion! plant on her own, by the sound of it. Or maybe her and Val will go. Yicch, Fusion! sounds yiccky.



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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Aug 21 2020, 08:10 PM
Post #38


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From: Lilmoth, Black Marsh



I keep meaning to add soundtracks to certain parts of the story to hopefully make it more immersive. I added a couple to the beginning of the chapter. It's mostly going to be from Fallout games, but if there are other tunes I find that I think fit the setting I will include them too.

QUOTE(Renee @ Aug 21 2020, 09:53 AM) *

Hey, what month is it supposed to be in this story? I know it's always hot in Florida for 9 months out of the year. That Cooler Heads hat would be nice to have, especially if it were solar-powered. That way, sunlight would actually keep it running.

Daddy-O and Daytripper. wacko.gif Never heard of those chems. laugh.gif

Jonah's sermon is convincing.

Mariah is being told she can't join their operation. Similar to Buffy (Acadian's character) being told she can't go into the meatier parts of battle. She was put off to the side. But at least Mariah hasn't proven herself yet (not in an official sort of way) whereas arguably Buffy has.

Gerald is yucky! Even sitting in jail and all stinky and beaten, he's still making a pass at her. tongue.gif

Well that's going to be interesting. She's going to go to the Fusion! plant on her own, by the sound of it. Or maybe her and Val will go. Yicch, Fusion! sounds yiccky.


Ha, try 11+ months out of the year, with 1 cold month's worth (and not necessarily consecutive days) at most. At the start of the story, it was August 4, 2130. Only one day has passed so far, so it is August 5.

Both Daddy-O and Daytripper first appear in Fallout 4 and they are also in Fallout 76. I think a couple other chems first appeared in Fallout 4 as well, and New Vegas brought some new ones as well, I believe.



EDIT: Here is the link to my Google Map. It's going to eventually include ALL of the regions of Florida and there are going to be A LOT of locations, though I am going to amend some later or take them out completely. Haven't decided yet how many locations outside of the story I am going to mark.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1yPQ...amp;usp=sharing

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 22 2020, 01:02 AM


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Aug 23 2020, 05:21 PM
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Background Lore: The Federal Versus Florida State Government, Pre-War and Post-War Iterations


Prior to the Great War, the federal government and Florida’s state government were constantly at each other’s throats and there was extraordinary hostility between the two. This had a significant impact on the lead-up to the Great War and will also play a big role when the Old Guard and the Enclave (remnants of the state and federal governments, respectively) are introduced in Part 2: Big Bend.

The start of the enmity is not known (because I have not thought it out yet, though I may just leave it ambiguous on purpose). But it manifested itself in many different industries and facets of day-to-day life. Here are some of the issues:
  • Nuka-Cola vs. Fusion!: Everyone knows about Nuka-Cola. They were THE soft drink in basically the whole country (with perhaps at least the exception of the Mojave, where Sunset Sarsaparilla was highly popular). In Florida, the soft drink king was Fusion! They had a large variety of flavors, one of their most popular being Key Lime, as Key Lime Pie was the state pie (and yes, that is the case in real life) and the Key Lime flavor is very Floridian. The state government also back Fusion! with tax breaks and other favors, having a very friendly relationships with the latter’s lobbyists which certainly led to some corruption. To spite Florida’s government, the federal government backed the expansion of Nuka-Cola into Florida with their own tax breaks and other favors. Fusion! was still the bigger of the two in Florida when the bombs dropped, but Nuka-Cola did make some major inroads into the market.
  • Poseidon Energy vs. Florida Utilities: In real life, Florida utility companies are a very powerful player in state politics. The same goes for the Fallout: Florida universe. As with Nuka-Cola, Poseidon Energy made attempts at expansion into Florida—but by buying out the competition instead. While Nuka-Cola only had Fusion! to deal with, Poseidon had a bunch of state and local utilities to play hardball against. They were more successful in buying out local companies, though they did buy out at least one state company. Some of Poseidon’s primary adversaries included East Coast Power and Gulf Electric and Gas Company. (NOTE: Neither of these are real companies. I debated whether to include actual companies in my story, but I decided to make them up instead. Gives me more freedom to decide what to do with them.)
  • Company Subterfuge: Companies backed by the federal government and those backed by the state government engaged in a lot more than market warfare. They routinely attempted to infiltrate and sabotage each other from the inside, and leak real and fake stories about each other’s shady, unethical, and downright illegal dealings to the public.
  • Secret Experiments: While the Enclave engaged in their own horrible experiments, mostly with the FEV, the Old Guard had been doing their own secret experiments. Despite the hostilities, both sides were able to mostly hide their actions from each other on this front. (NOTE: And look out, because later in the Fallout: Florida storyline these experiments are going to become highly relevant.)
  • Foreign Affairs: The U.S. federal government focused pretty much solely on China in the Sino-American War, annexing Canada for its resources in 2059 to fight China and then fighting to reclaim Alaska from the Chinese. But China would also ally itself with Cuba in an attempt to further pressure the U.S. and from a completely different direction than Alaska. Thus came the “Second Cuban Missile Crisis” (the First one being the one that happened in real life). It was mutually beneficial: Both countries had similar political ideologies, and China could use Cuba’s strategic location while Cuba’s struggling economy would be propped up by China. The U.S. left Florida mostly to its own devices, partially because it didn’t regard Cuba as a real threat and partially to spite Florida’s government. As you can imagine, this only deepened the hatred between the two governments. These events will play a big role in the Gold Coast storyline for Fallout: Florida, though it is a long ways away. (NOTE: The stuff about annexing Canada and reclaiming Alaska is all established as canon. All the lore about Cuba is from my own headcanon.)

Hostilities reached such a boiling point that some Florida politicians and citizens started openly advocating for secession from the United States. Some Floridian politicians even tried to coax the other members of the Gulf Coast Commonwealth to join them in seceding. It didn’t come very close to fruition when the Great War happened, but it would have been inevitable if the bombs had not dropped.

Many of the politicians and citizens who hated the federal government for its intrusions on state affairs did not push for secession, however. They were sympathetic to those who did support it, but they tried to find other ways to counteract federal actions. It wasn’t just about what they felt was the federal government eroding the state’s sovereignty, but not wanting to be associated with the federal government in the war. Aggressions with China were not in the state government’s interests for the most part, though the issues with Cuba did change that a lot.

And in the Post-War world, these long-standing resentments between the federal and state governments lived on and arguably became even worse. And that’s what you’ll start seeing when Fallout: Florida reaches Part 2: Big Bend.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 23 2020, 05:21 PM


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SubRosa
post Aug 23 2020, 11:48 PM
Post #40


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From: Between The Worlds



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?


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