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

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

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

Lol, yeah, you know, that’s all it requires. No sweat.

[SubRosa]

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

Lol, yeah, you know, that’s all it requires. No sweat.

It just needs some SCIENCE!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

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

Lol, yeah, you know, that’s all it requires. No sweat.

It just needs some SCIENCE!

Totally!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

@SubRosa - Thank you. I personally almost always find it more interesting when there are 3+ factions involved in a political struggle instead of just 2. Of course, throwing in factions for the sake of it is detrimental, so I thought hard about how to make it work with 3 groups here. BUT...there may be another minor group or two that plays an important role too...

@Khajiit - Much appreciated. I'm having fun writing them whenever I get the chance to.

@Renee - Hopefully you were able to finish the chapter, because things are ramping up even more now.

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This chapter turned out to be longer than I expected, but it worked out, I think. I try to find the right balance of enough exposition to explain things while still leaving things up to the reader to piece together and imagine. Don't want to be confusing but I also don't want to handhold when readers are capable of figuring some things out on their own.

I also wanted to be true to the Fallout-style in another way: While things can get bleak and dark, there are touches of self-awareness and silliness to the setting. Hopefully I am succeeding on that front as well.

And look out for some subtle references to game mechanics incorporated as a normal part of the story. I did a few times in previous chapters and I've got at least a couple more in here.

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Chapter 7: An Unexpected Turn

Well, what now?

Mariah couldn’t stand the idea of just waiting for Darius to contact her. Who knew how long it would be until there was a development in the search for the F.A.C.T.? Even though there wasn’t much she could do, it felt like a waste of time to not do something about it. Mariah decided the only thing she could do, however, was take Darius’s advice and check out the rest of the town.

[Jerry Keller – Here Comes Summer]

Niceville was a rather sleepy settlement, especially compared to Pensacola. People could be seen walking about the street, but for the most part it was rather quiet. Remnants of the Old World could still often be seen. In one case, Mariah saw a poster for what appeared to be a local utility company—Panhandle Gas, Electric, and Nuclear, or PGEN for short—being bought out by the giant Poseidon Energy corporation. Mariah had become familiar with Poseidon over the course of her travels with its various ruins dotting the landscape, so it was a name she knew well. Poseidon, like a bunch of other Pre-War nationwide companies, also tried to establish a foothold in Florida, attempting to buy out local and state utility companies—PGEN being one of them. Judging by what she had been learning about the Pre-War strife between Florida’s state government and the federal government in particular, Mariah figured that many Floridians weren’t happy about Poseidon also wanting a piece of their pie.

There were also advertisements for enlisting in both the U.S. military forces and the Florida National Guard, another juxtaposition of the state vs. federal schism. Another sign for that Cooler Heads technology was barely legible on a brick wall of the one of most rundown buildings in the area. Posters for Pre-War local and state-level political candidates were also heavily faded.

As Mariah kept going south, the Choctawhatchee Bay came into clearer focus. The bay was the body of water sitting between the land where settlements like Niceville and the strip of land with the ruins of the small towns of Destin and Miramar Beach. On the other side of that strip of land was the Gulf of Mexico, a key part of the economic engine of the Gulf Commonwealth. She would have kept heading toward the bay, but yet another sign caught her eye. This time it was for something that was made Post-War, a place called the All-Faiths Center on a street called Valparaiso Boulevard. Curious, Mariah followed the directions to it. Years of erosion had wiped out the original font on the street signs in Niceville, but newer white paint had been applied to them to keep these old road names alive. Mariah had been going down what used to be Palm Boulevard. It intersected with this Valparaiso, and Mariah turned to her left to follow it to this All-Faiths Center.

When she reached the Center, it was quite an impressive sight—not so much from an aesthetic standpoint, but at the fact that it really did have a lot of different religions represented. It wasn’t a singular building, but rather a bunch of buildings side-by-side with various houses of worship. There was a Christian church, an Islamic mosque, a Jewish synagogue, a Buddhist monastery, a Hindu temple, and even a Sikh gurdwara, among several other types of religious places. The fact that a relatively small town could even have enough people to sufficiently represent these faiths—and that there would even be so many different faiths with at least one adherent—side-by-side was remarkable. It was rare to see such tight coexistence in the Pre-War world amongst groups that often had tense relations with each other, and that probably was still the case in the Post-War world to some extent. But at least in the small town of Niceville, these factions were able to come together harmoniously through the shared hardship of living after the nukes. Mariah thought it was a shame that such coexistence was exceedingly rare amongst diverging groups throughout the wastes.

Mariah noticed some of the names of the buildings upon closer inspection. On the Christian church was an inscription for the Abbey of the Road—which sounded vaguely familiar to her, but she could not be sure. Even if it was a familiar name, there was no way to know for sure if it was the same Abbey. None of the other religious building names rang any bells—except for one that had a trademark emblem of a sun shining down on several buildings. Beyond that, it didn’t have any distinguishing features like the other houses of worship.

It was another establishment for the Temple of New Life.

A young man who seemed to barely be 20 years old stood at the door for this particular Temple, looking a bit forlorn as if nobody had come to the Temple all day. He looked up to notice Mariah looking toward the building and his eyes lit up. “Hey! Over here!” He called out jovially, waving his right arm to be noticed. Partially out of a sense of pity for the young man being alone and partially because she was curious to hear more about the place, Mariah walked toward him. She didn’t have that brochure that Jonah gave her back in Pensacola anymore. Mariah couldn’t quite place why exactly this Temple intrigued her. It’s not like she was looking to join. Maybe it was just her curiosity about the unknown and mysterious.

“Hi there,” Mariah greeted him.

The young man blushed at being noticed by Mariah. While she had picked up a lot of dirt and sweat over the past couple of days, her natural beauty could still be seen. “Hey, um . . . nice to meet you. Sorry, I get nervous talking to pretty women—er, people in general. Heh. My name is, uh . . . Bryson. Yeah, that’s it.”

Mariah found the young man’s awkwardness sort of charming. “I’m Mariah. Nice to meet you. You’re part of the Temple of New Life, I presume?”

“I sure am!” Bryson said with childlike enthusiasm. “You’ve heard of us before?”

“Oh, only once. When I was in Pensacola, I met a man named Jonah. He called himself a . . . Speaker, was it?”

An audible gasp escaped Bryson’s mouth. “No way! You met the Emeritus himself?”

Mariah cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. “Emeritus? I thought he called himself a Speaker or something?”

“Oh, well, he is, heh. But he’s also just being humble. He is a Speaker, someone who basically just goes about preaching our faith to others. But he’s also the Emeritus, which is sort of like the head honcho of Speakers, I guess. He has more duties than that, though. But that’s amazing you got to meet Jonah!”

“You have quite the high opinion of Jonah. He did seem pretty nice, if a bit mysterious. Have you met him?”

“I sure have. I hope I can be just like him one day.” Bryson struck a heroic pose with his fists on his hips. “Man of conviction. Helping people. Being such a good speaker, too. He has a way with words the likes of which I’ve never seen—er, heard, I guess. Jonah’s the one that introduced me to the Temple, in fact. Said he saw something in me and asked if I wanted to help grow the Temple here in Niceville.”

“So, you’ve lived here for a while then?”

“Yep. Lived here my whole life. But it’s been . . . pretty hard,” Bryson said, his youthful exuberance toning down. “My dad died years ago and my mom has been addicted to chems ever since. Particularly Jet. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. Almost fell in with the raiders near town, but I . . . I didn’t want to hurt people. And they do chems all the time. I’ve seen what it has done to my mom. And I don’t want to leave her because I want to help her. She hasn’t been the same since my dad died. Then Jonah found me. He talked to me about my purpose in life and how I just hadn’t tapped into it yet. Said he could also help my mom. And she has seemed to have gotten better, even if she isn’t back to her old self yet. I don’t know what Jonah did, but it seems to have worked.” Bryson’s bright personality beamed again. “That’s when I knew I found my place here at the Temple. I’m still young and inexperienced, but I’m trying!” He pumped his arm in a can-do fashion.

Mariah couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his cheerfulness. “You’ve got quite an enthusiastic personality. That’s got to help a lot in the wasteland. Have you gotten many people into the Temple today?”

“No,” Bryson shrugged. “But that’s okay. It’s a process. That’s another thing Jonah taught me. Life’s all about processes. And a lot of people appear to already belong to one of the other places of worship here. And that’s okay too! We’re supposed to live in harmony with others. Were you . . . uh . . . hoping to join?” Bryson started blushing again.

“Oh, no, I’m just curious about this Temple, that’s all,” Mariah clarified, shaking her hands in front of her with the palms facing outward. “Not that there’s anything wrong with the Temple!” She quickly added when she saw Bryson’s expression turned sad. “Just like to . . . know all of what’s going on around here.”

“I understand,” Bryson said, regaining his smile. “It’s a big step. I was afraid at first, too. I was involved in one of the other places of worship here before, but with everything with my mom and dad, it just felt . . . I don’t know . . . pointless. But hey, sadness has brought people to those other faiths too, so I’m not trying to say anything bad about them. The Temple seemed to be the perfect fit for me, though. It’s great that all these faiths sit side-by-side with each other. The Temple preaches coexistence.”

Mariah raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Well, that can’t be all that the Temple is about.”

“Oh, of course not! But the coexistence thing is pretty important. And not just with other human beings. We also must respect nature and technology. But there is a common thread among all of them. Go on, take a guess at what that is!” Bryson started to play the part of a Pre-War game show host.

Mariah simply shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“They need a guide!” Bryson shouted enthusiastically. “Nature makes the world run, but it can be pretty hostile to people, especially with all the radiation and mutations. Technology is capable of great things, but it can easily be abused. And people have practically unlimited ingenuity and innovation, but they can easily become selfish and deliberately hurt people. So we teach that we need to see all the good that people and nature and technology can do but recognize their limitations. There needs to be a guide for it all to work harmoniously.”

“And I suppose that’s where your god comes in?”

“Well . . .” Bryson trailed off. “He’s not exactly a god in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or Hindus or whoever talk about. He’s a spiritual guide that is one of us. He’s just become enlightened and strives to make peace wherever he can. How we can ‘renew’ ourselves, be part of something greater.”

“And who is he?” Mariah asked, masking her skepticism. Not that she was persuadable in favor of Temple beliefs in the first place, but it was starting to sound a bit . . . goofy? Vague? Generic? She couldn’t really think of the word or words she was looking for.

“We call him The Redeemer. He has several other titles, too, like The High Guide, but we mostly call him The Redeemer. I haven’t met him yet because he lives way further down south in Florida. There is a city called Eden there. But that would basically be the Holy Grail of sorts, to meet The Redeemer. I hope I can one day.” Bryson stopped for a moment to daydream about that potential encounter. “But Jonah said the Temple needs me here to bring people into the fold. Which is fine. I’m still sort of scared to leave for a brand-new place. And I can still help my mom here.”

Despite her skepticism and how hokey it sounded to her, Mariah couldn’t help but be intrigued by this Redeemer and the city of Eden. It was interesting that the Temple chose to name the city ostensibly after the Garden of Eden from the Bible even though the Temple was a completely different faith. Then again, the concept of Eden was one that spanned throughout a lot of societies and outside of the Christian faith. It seemed this was a case of the latter. “I bet. I’ve travelled a lot, but the first few times I had to go somewhere new I was scared too. The unknown can be intimidating. Well, if you are sticking around here, have you had much success bringing people to the Temple?”

“Not a whole lot,” Bryson said, pursing his lips. “But there have been a few people and there were a few adherents that came here already, so it’s not like I’m totally alone, luckily. It’s a small town, though, so we also try to reach people outside of town. People like the Apalachee.”

“The Apalachee?” Mariah wasn’t sure if she had heard of them before.

“Yeah, a Native American tribe from way to the west. No one knows where exactly they came from or why they came here to the Panhandle but you hear all sorts of theories. The other religions in town have tried to reach out to them too, but . . . well . . .” Bryson trailed off.

Mariah leaned in waiting for an answer. “Well, what?”

A flash of trepidation was visible on Bryson’s face. “Raiders. Go figure, right? Well, there is one particular gang of raiders called the Bullsharks. Sounds a little bit wannabe edgy to me, but whatever. Anyway, they have made it tough to go preach outside town. The Temple and the other faiths have had people kidnapped by them, so the town council doesn’t let anybody in or out of Niceville without proper clearance.”

Mariah figured that those raiders she wasted just before coming into Niceville must have belonged to these Bullsharks. “They sound nasty. But what about the Apalachee? What more can you tell me about them?”

Bryson shrugged. “Not much more, unfortunately. They have been very reluctant to contact any civilized areas. No offense to them, I mean! The most anyone I know of that has interacted with them is through trade, and even that is rare. They aren’t hostile, just reclusive. They’ve probably had some issues with the Bullsharks too.”

Mariah once again pondered what he had to say. If the Apalachee came from further west, is there something they would know that could help against the Brotherhood or the Dissidents? Both of those organizations came from the west as well, so perhaps the Apalachee knew something about them. At this point, it didn’t seem like the GCU was going to get any new information on the F.A.C.T. on its own. Mariah wasn’t about to sit on her hands and wait for word from Darius. It may have been a longshot, but Mariah determined the next course of action was to find these Apalachee. “I really appreciate all the help, Bryson. But before I go, where are the Apalachee?”

“Well, no one knows exactly for sure. They seem to be pretty mobile and they only have a few of their people make themselves available for outside contact, so wherever they are living isn’t known. But last I heard, someone had done a little bit of trading with them to the southeast. Wait. You’re not going to look for them, are you?”

Mariah wasn’t sure how to answer his question, so she didn’t give him a straightforward response. “Why do you ask?”

“Those Bullsharks, remember? You can’t go by yourself! They’ll kidnap you or do something even worse to you! I don’t want anything to happen to you because of something I told you.” Bryson was pleading with her at this point. “PLEASE don’t go.”

Mariah found his concern very cute. “You’re a sweetheart, Bryson. But I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.” She showed him her laser rifle, 10MM, and sword. “I’ll be extra careful. For you.”

“You—you will?” Bryson’s cheeks turned their reddest yet. He seemed to have been prone to blushing and he was enamored with Mariah. “Er, of course! You can take care of yourself. I don’t want to be overbearing or anything. Just watch yourself out there, alright? And uh . . . thanks for talking to me. I know I probably talked a lot.” He scratched the back of his head. “It gets lonely out here sometimes.”

“Of course. It was nice talking to you, too.” Mariah gave him a big, bright smile and started walking away. “I hope your, uh, preaching goes well,” she said, turning around to him while walking backward briefly.

“Thanks.” Bryson sighed, sitting back down at the Temple’s doorstep.

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

Despite the town council ordinance on people coming in or out of the town, Mariah had no trouble leaving its limits. She crossed a bridge heading southeast across a body of water called the Rocky Bayou. There were some ruins in the distance. Most of the buildings were leveled or barely had any structure left standing, but some old businesses were still standing. Mariah didn’t notice any signs of life, save for some overgrown brush. But she knew better than to let her guard down. With a cocked laser rifle in her hands, along with her 10MM and Gabriel’s sword at the ready, she pressed on.

As she came closer to the ruins off the main road, Mariah’s mind went back to Bryson’s warning about the Bullsharks, which then went back to Commander Darius’s advice on rushing into danger. For a moment, she thought that maybe she was pressing her luck too much this time. Her determination, stubbornness, and burning hatred for raiders ultimately won out, but Mariah was starting to learn about assessing the dangers of certain situations better. She couldn’t help but think about Jacob and Valentina and how worried they were about Mariah’s well-being. Especially Valentina. Mariah vowed that she would find a way to make it up to her if she got to see her again. But she wasn’t going to turn back around.

What the hell am I even doing? Mariah thought. She was so focused on trying to make some sort of progress on her investigation that she didn’t really think about just how little information she had to go by. Bryson only knew that some traders contacted them to the southeast, but not how far in that direction. And now that she thought about it, would the Apalachee really use dilapidated ruins as their base? From how reclusive they sounded, they probably resided somewhere far off the metaphorical and literal beaten path. How would she find them? This was still new territory to Mariah. She had a lot of guesswork ahead of her and she didn’t exactly know where civilization ended and ruins—or nature—began.

[Fallout 3 Soundtrack: Forgotten]

In fact, this seemed more like somewhere that the Bullsharks would hole up . . .

Suddenly, Mariah heard gunshots ring out. She took cover behind a wall, peeking around the corner to look in the direction of the noises. She saw four people, two males and two females, dressed in raider garb. They must have been Bullsharks. Mongrel dogs were attacking them, but the raiders were able to put them down with ease. One of the male Bullsharks picked up some sort of bulky object that they had dropped but Mariah couldn’t make out what it was from where she was positioned. Almost spontaneously, the raiders started laughing amongst themselves and they stepped into a small warehouse. Constantly checking her surroundings to see if any other Bullsharks were coming, she crouched down and walked quietly to another entrance of the warehouse. When she got inside, she stayed hidden behind some crates while trying to get closer to see what they were doing.

“It’s a good day to be a Bullshark, ain’t that right, boy and girls?” One of the male raiders cockily asked in a rhetorical manner, placing the bulky object down on a table. “Those tribals didn’t even see what was coming.”

“I was just hoping we could take more of them. A handful wasn’t enough to sate Delilah’s bloodlust here,” one of the female raiders piped up and tapped her gun. Apparently, that was what she named Delilah.

“You know, you naming your gun normally would get a big ‘yikes’ from me,” the other male raider said. “But ah, what the hell? With this score, name your gun whatever you want.”

“I love killin’, but you know what I love more? Those fat stacks of caps coming our way,” the second female raider said with a cackle.

“Which reminds me: I been thinkin’,” the first male raider said, grabbing everyone’s attention but particularly the second female raider’s. “With the cash coming our way, I been thinking you and I could finally put this life behind us. Get a farmstead, start a family, raise some livestock. Just peace and quiet and put this all behind us.” After a moment of silence, all of the raiders started laughing again. “Who am I kidding? I can keep this up forever if it means more caps and more body counts! But tell you what, baby, I got something for you that’s better than caps coming your way tonight.” The male raider and the raider who was apparently his girlfriend were about to get a little frisky.

“Alright, save that for the bedroom,” the first female raider said, putting up her hand as if to stop them. “Let’s get this job officially done first. Then you two can go for your romp when you’re alone.” She turned to the other male raider. “And then you and I, Johnny…” she did an obscene gesture with her hands.

“Oh, hell yeah!” Johnny blurted out, but cleared his throat and regained composure. “But you’re right, doll. Let’s get this Facial-something-or-other to our employer.”

“Geez, Johnny, you can’t be THAT bad at reading. The word was ‘fabrication.’ I know the big-boy words are tough for you, but come on,” the other male raider said, playfully punching Johnny’s arm.

“Whatever, I’ll just buy reading lessons or somethin’ with our soon-to-be payout. Reading done nothing for me anyhow. The hell does this thing do?” Johnny asked.

“Don’t ask me. All I know is we’re getting paid to get it. I don’t care if this thing will nuke half of Florida. I see and hear caps, you get my attention. These words on the side mean absolutely nothing to me.” The unnamed male raider turned the object around to display its name.

Fabrication Accelerator for Combat Technology. The F.A.C.T.

How in the world did the F.A.C.T. get here? How did the raiders manage to get a hold of it? And who did the raiders get it from? And better yet, who was paying them to get it? Conspiring with raiders wasn’t the Dissidents’ or the Brotherhood’s M.O. given how xenophobic they both are.

Mariah felt like one of those protagonists in a story that took a convenient, arguably contrived turn, given how she happened across the F.A.C.T. When Mariah read the technology’s name, she let out an audible gasp. Upon realizing she did so, she covered her mouth and tried to stay completely out-of-sight.

But it was too late. The female raider with her gun Delilah was alerted by Mariah’s sound. “What the f--- was that?”

“S---, thought I was the only one who heard it. Sounds like we got company,” the unnamed male raider said, readying his assault rifle. He then yelled in Mariah’s direction. “Hey! We know you’re there! Quit playing games and come out! If you come out now, I may even be feeling a little generous and I’ll let you go if you pay up with all your caps and loot.”

As gently as she could, Mariah stayed crouched and tried to move farther away while staying in stealth. No way was she going to trust anything a raider said. She hoped she get the drop on them while they still focused on her original hiding spot.

[Fallout 3 Soundtrack: Never Surrender]

“Can’t hide forever. Come out and play!” Johnny’s girlfriend taunted, tossing a smoke grenade at Mariah’s previous position. As soon as it went off, Mariah popped out from her new cover and fired her laser rifle in their direction. She could only get a couple shots off in their direction but they missed—the raiders reacted quickly and took cover of their own.

“Can’t wait to count out your caps!” Johnny shouted, reloading his hunting rifle. “You’ll be so much easier to rob when you’re dead!” The raiders and Mariah traded some more shots, but nobody was going down. And Mariah was running low on ammo for her laser rifle. Even though she still had her 10MM, she wanted to save it if she could. No telling whether she’d need it to get out of there. There could have been other raiders nearby, for all she knew.

With no end in sight, Mariah tried to formulate another plan. As she surveyed her surroundings while still trying to be concealed, she noticed that there was a flammable canister right near the cover of one of the female Bullsharks. As that raider reloaded her weapon, Mariah quickly blew up the canister with a laser rifle shot. The impact sent the raider sailing out of her hiding spot, seriously wounding her. And with that window of opportunity, Mariah shot that raider dead.

The sight of his girlfriend being snuffed out enraged the raider named Johnny. “You wasted my girl! No! You’re gonna f---ing pay for that!” The raider tried to rush Mariah’s position in a blind frenzy.

“Johnny, no! Stay covered!” The other male raider pleaded. But it was too late for him. Mariah quickly popped above cover and shot him in the head while he tried to pepper her barrier’s sides with bullets.

In addition to bullets, the living female raider hurled every profanity and slur in the book toward Mariah’s direction. She finally capped it off with, “Your head’s gonna look real good as a mantelpiece, little girl. You ain’t the first I’ve killed, and you won’t be the last.”

Mariah needed to think of a new tactic fast. Her cover was getting broken apart by the sheer number of bullets pelting it. She looked around in her vicinity for something, anything, to give her an edge. A red, wooden crate that looked unlike the others around her was just a few feet out of her reach, out in the open where the raiders could shoot her if she tried to grab it. Mariah found a long piece of broken wood and was able to position it so that she could get the crate. Sure enough, her hunch was right: Inside the box was a grenade. She had seen similar crates elsewhere in her travels that also had ammo, explosives, and even firearms. It seemed that such containers had a knack for being in a convenient spot.

Mariah didn’t have that good of an aim with explosives, but she had no choice. She tossed the grenade underhanded toward the living female raider to better aim it and, hopefully, not make it obvious like an overhanded throw until it was too late. Perhaps Luck was on Mariah’s side, because it was perfect placement of the explosive and the raiders had not popped out of cover to see it. When the raider saw the grenade, there was no time for her to react. The explosion riddled her with shrapnel, forcefully sending back her corpse toward her boyfriend raider. “Mary!” The raider yelled. He was distraught and crying, touching her as if there was some desperate attempt he could make at reviving her. Now it was his turn to level insults, expletives, and incredibly offensive terms at Mariah. “When I’m done with you, your body will be unrecognizable!” It was amazing how murderous scumbags like raiders had the gall to be offended when somebody gave them a taste of their own medicine.

Grabbing his dead girlfriend’s submachine gun, he incessantly fired at Mariah’s position. He broke down enough of Mariah’s cover so that a bullet got through and caught her right arm. With a yelp, Mariah involuntarily tossed the gun and grabbed her arm where she had been shot. The searing pain, while not a mortal wound, was more intense than perhaps any other physical pains she had experienced before.

“Ha! Got you now, b----!” The living raider shouted, much more so out of anger than out of triumph. His girlfriend and his other two buddies were laying on the ground lifeless, making his seeming victory hollow. Even raiders could have feelings. “Never should have come here. And I’ll make sure you regret it for the last few moments of your life.” He started walking over towards Mariah with his hunting rifle, ready to fire at her should she try something sneaky. “Could’ve just walked way, but nooooo, you just had to play hero. Well, hero, your story ends here,” he said with sarcastic emphasis.

But just as the raider was almost in position to get a clean shot at Mariah, they both heard a loud, guttural noise coming from behind him. The raider and Mariah could see the fear on each other’s faces as they slowly turned in the direction of the noise. It was the unmistakable sound of a Radfrog—and a very hungry one at that. Ribbit, bellowed the frog. It may have sounded funny if Radfrog noises were being recited in a story, but when it came to being face-to-face with the monster, it was anything but that.

The raider fumbled with his rifle as the Radfrog moved towards him. The shaking of his hands caused him to miss the creature. It lashed its long tongue out at him before he could get another shot off, flooring him and knocking his gun to the ground. He desperately reached for his submachine gun but the Radfrog came charging at him, violently discharging liquid poison from its skin. The raider’s bloodcurdling screams were cut short as the monster bit into him.

Mariah was frozen in fear as the monster feasted on the raider. He may have gotten what was coming to him, but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pity—more so terror—at the way he went out. The pain from her arm subsided enough that she could reach for her laser rifle, though the panic also helped overpower the hurt. She stood up to steady her aim and unloaded an entire clip into the Radfrog, wincing in pain with every shot. Mariah seriously regretted not buying some Stimpaks before leaving Niceville.

The Radfrog, however, resisted the energy damage. While it was hurt, it wasn’t down for the count. At that moment, Mariah remembered hearing previously about how certain creatures could more easily shrug off certain types of damage. She specifically recalled hearing how Radfrogs were more susceptible to regular ballistics but more resilient against energy weapons. Sure would’ve been nice if she remembered that before, she thought. As she tried to reach for her 10MM, the Radfrog turned its attention to Mariah and flicked its tongue out at her. The wind was knocked out of her as she flew backward and hit the cold, hard floor. Her gun landed away from her, out of reach.

The Radfrog started barreling toward Mariah, hoping to make a meal out of her just like it did with the raider. Despite her panicking, fumbling hands, she was able to unsheathe her sword. As it stood just above her ready to chow down, Mariah thrusted the blade through its mouth and into its brain. The creature cried out in agony, and she pulled out the blade again to cut its throat. She rolled out from under the creature before it collapsed on top of her. Her mind flashed back to the battle in Holt where a Radfrog tried to kill her as well, but the fear she felt this time eclipsed her previous encounter.

Panting, Mariah gingerly and slowly picked herself up off the floor. She retrieved her guns and shuffled over to the F.A.C.T., clutching her stomach. The technology stayed right where the raiders put it. “Is this . . . just some box?” Mariah muttered out of a mixture of exhaustion and confusion. Examining the box some more revealed latches to open the contraption up, but Mariah figured it was better to leave those alone. “Just got to . . . pick this up . . .” The tech was very lightweight despite its bulk. She paused and started coughing up a bit of blood as she was trying to exit the warehouse. At first, she figured it was just due to her injuries, but a closer look at the blood show a bit of green liquid. “Oh no . . . Radfrogs . . . their tongues are poisoned.” A chill went up her spine as she recounted more of her Radfrog biology lessons. Desperately, she stumbled around at the boxes around her in the hopes of finding some antidote or any other healing agent, but there was nothing there. The monster must have gotten in a really good shot, because the poison was acting quickly. Gently letting go of the F.A.C.T., she slowly slumped to the floor.

Is this really the end? Mariah wondered. This was supposed to be the part where big moments in your life replayed in your mind, before you drew your last breath—or so she heard. She thought about some of her travels prior to Florida. About her settlement being attacked and her family and friends being slaughtered when she was young. About Bertrand, Valentina, and Jacob. About Darius. About Bryson. She was resigned to the belief that she would never see them again. Darius was right: She needed to be better about assessing danger. But it looked to her that this miscalculation was fatal. “I’m sorry . . . everyone . . .”

After several more minutes of labored breathing, Mariah’s eyes were fluttering as she frantically tried to keep them open. It was no use. She thought she heard footsteps but she could not tell if they were real. Her head hung down as she drifted into unconsciousness—and possibly toward her death.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Oct 7 2020, 02:17 PM

[SubRosa]

I keep thinking that Darius is the King of Kings of Persia...

Nice background info on the Posiedon takeover of PGEN. It builds more on the whole Pre and Post War attitudes and feelings of Florida.

No Church of the Atom? I suppose the New Life Church will have to do. It always makes me think of the Universal Brotherhood from Shadowrun.

Sounds like these New Life Speakers would make for great spies.

Oh, the Redeemer is an actual, real person? Straight into cult territory now. I'll pass on the grape Flavor Aid, thank you.

I like giving names to Raider bands, like the Bullsharks. That was one thing I liked about New Vegas, they had names like the Jackals, etc... Instead of being just generic Raiders.

That Facial something sounds like just what Mariah is looking for. I wonder who is paying the Raiders to steal it?

Whoa, that Radfrog is nasty!

Uh oh, Mariah's been poisoned!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Man I love Raiders. They’re kinda like the Sith in Star Wars. They’re so incredibly stupid but for some reason I just find them really fun! Maybe it’s because they tap into that very small part of me that would love to just say “[censored] it all.” and go start a bandit clan, lol.

Rader, I really enjoyed the fight with the Raiders, Rader ( ). Also that Radtoad is so delightfully repulsive! I really do feel like it would be terrifying to come across one of those, and I think it fits perfectly in the Fallout universe’s bestiary. As a matter of fact, I’d be disappointed if a future game set somewhere in the south didn’t have them as creatures in it.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Oct 8 2020, 07:08 AM

[Renee]

I don’t know how I am going to go about figuring out who is a traitor, but I’ll come up with something.

I say it's somebody not connected to Bertrand. Could be a janitor, for all we know...

Yes, there are some moments of Fallout humor here and there. I've found myself chuckling occasionally, at the descriptions of Fusion! for instance. It seems the FDA was decommissioned at some point in the Fallout-sidetracked universe! ... PGEN also just made me laugh out loud. These folks have no idea of the negative reputation nuclear energy has generated in our own reality. And I suspect those in the Fallout universe also had all of our meltdowns...

I can't help but picture her like Mariah Carey, albeit frequently sweaty, unwashed, and grim-faced.

I also enjoy Mariah's impatience and fire. Everyone keeps telling her to chill, do NOT get involved. She is nobody--the GCU will handle everything without her input. All of this keeps getting ignored. She reminds me of Carrie in that HBO show Homeland, although without any of Carrie's mental issues.

I like Bryson. His antics must be fun to write up. I picture him with a Gomer Pyle sort of accent, almost.

What?? A small gang of lowlife Raiders got the F.A.C.T.? HOw?? They're making all these other more organized groups look bad...

Well hopefully those footsteps belong to somebody who isn't nefarious.

This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 8 2020, 06:16 PM

[SubRosa]

I don’t know how I am going to go about figuring out who is a traitor, but I’ll come up with something.

I say it's somebody not connected to Bertrand. Could be a janitor, for all we know...

Have you seen Fallout? I don't think they have janitors. They just leave the skeletons from 200 years ago laying around!

[Renee]

Yeah, good point, ha ha!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

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

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

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

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



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

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

Chapter 8: Foreshadowing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m Mariah.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

///////////

[Fallout Soundtrack – Khans of New California]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

///////////

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

“Yes, Mariah?”

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

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

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

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

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

[Fallout Soundtrack – City of the Dead]

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

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

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

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

It was Obadiah. The Brotherhood of Steel had arrived.

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

[Renee]

Is the opening sequence inspired from a real dream?

That is something which could happen, eh? Native Americans going back to their more original ways, especially as the greater societies around them fall apart. I have heard it is possible to totally hide in Florida's swamps, even in modern times.

Even now, the Apalachee are considered a 'foreign entity', I tell ya. Anyway, I hope nobody finds out they have this stupid F.A.C.T. device. Seems more trouble than it's worth. But I also trust Mariah should help set things right.

I like how she's getting training in Lockpicking, Sneak, and Unarmed, without using capital letters.

Uh oh, the Brotherhood are here. I already don't like them much at all. Bastards. But again, it seems they've located the Apalachee solely due to this technology they're harboring. Well, I assume they've still got it. You did not actually say where this F.A.C.T. is in this new chapter.

This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 18 2020, 02:56 PM

[SubRosa]

I wonder how much of what Mariah saw in her visions might be real, and how much prophecy?

Ah, so the Apalachee had the Fact it seems.

I wonder if this other group that hired the raiders might be the creepy church?

Oh boy, out of the frying pan and into the fire!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

I enjoyed it, for the most part. The assault on The Bullsharks’ compound was fun!

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Rest assured, I have not forgotten about this. Real life has just been getting in the way, but I've got most of the next chapter done. Got a lot of IRL work ahead of me today, though.

[Renee]

It's okay. We'll be here.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

And we're finally back! We're coming close to the end of Part 1, but the overall story has only just begun. Here's Chapter 9 up at bat.

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

Chapter 9: Burying Grudges

[Fallout Soundtrack – City of the Dead]

“I thought you didn’t trust outsiders, Chief.” Obadiah said with a faint half-smirk, extending his arms out to his sides. Seeing him up close made his physical features more visible. Obadiah had jet black, short hair and a trimmed beard of the same color that followed his jaw line. He was of a stocky frame, a bit above average height but not exceptionally tall. “And yet, who is this lovely lady here?” He gestured toward Mariah. “She doesn’t look Apalachee to me.”

“I actually gave him a reason to put his faith in me, Obadiah,” Mariah retorted.

Obadiah furrowed his eyebrows quizzically when Mariah said his name. “Do we know each other? I’m quite good with names, but I don’t know yours.”

“I recognize her, sir,” one of the Brotherhood knights piped up. Obadiah looked in his direction. “I saw her escaping from the Fusion! plant where we fought those yahoos from Alabama.”

“Oh, I see,” Obadiah said, chuckling and turning back to Mariah. “You were the one who escaped from the Dissidents. What is your name?”

Mariah debated whether to spite him and not answer his question. She decided against doing so. Defiance wasn’t a viable nor wise option in this circumstance. “Mariah.”

“Mariah? Hmm. I think I have heard of you. Killed a bunch of Dissidents that attacked a caravan of yours, right? You must have been in that battle at Holt that we heard about, too. Otherwise, how would you be in the Dissidents’ clutches?” Mariah gave Obadiah a puzzled look. How did he know this much about her? “Yes, I know who you are. You’d be amazed at how quickly news travels. Not to mention my men and women here are quite proficient at deducing and finding out information. Well, if you were wondering, we sadly didn’t wipe out the Dissidents. Couldn’t even kill Russell, slippery old b------ he is. But that’s okay. We’ll be dealing with them in the near future.”

“How did you find us?” White-Feather demanded to know. “Why did you even come find us?”

“Like I said, we’re quite good at detective work. Found out you were doing a bit of trading in these parts and scouts were able to track down your location.” Obadiah wouldn’t explain that point further. “And given that neither the Dissidents nor the GCU had the F.A.C.T. in their possession, I realized that there was only one group that could’ve possibly had it: Yours. Yes, I know about it, so don’t feign ignorance. You’re the only other group who could have known about it and you would have been in the Birmingham area at the time it went missing. You must have snuck in the facility it was staying at before anyone else could take it.”

“Were you the ones who hired the Bullsharks to steal the F.A.C.T. from them?” Mariah asked accusatorily.

Obadiah seemed legitimately offended by her allegation. “Do you think that we would stoop to that level? To work with such filth like raiders? No, we did no such thing. But speaking of bargains . . .” Obadiah turned his attention back to White-Feather, “you made a big mistake not accepting my offer, White-Feather. Could’ve had your lands you so desperately seek if you just helped us out. I mean really, how did you think you were going to achieve that goal without us?”

“I saw the darkness inside you,” White-Feather said. “You would’ve betrayed us when you had the opportunity. This is far from the first time we have had trouble with you, you know.”

Obadiah did not directly respond to the accusation. “I don’t give a damn about your lands, White-Feather. We may have our history with your people, but I was willing to cast that aside. Your lands mean nothing to me as long as they don’t have Pre-War tech that we need to protect. And as long as you aren’t holding Pre-War tech that you shouldn’t have, I won’t seek trouble. But you have something that is rightfully ours, and we’re here to take it. Shows exactly why we can’t even think about working with outsiders. I clearly made a mistake even offering you an opportunity, because I’m guessing it led you to the F.A.C.T. You can be rest assured that mistake won’t happen again.”

“What do you even want the F.A.C.T. for so badly?” Mariah said. “Why is it so important that you are slaughtering people for it and that you came out all this way east for it?”

“Come on now, Mariah, even many civilians have a basic understanding of what we are about. The Brotherhood’s mission is to retrieve and reclaim—others would erroneously say ‘hoard’ or ‘steal’ or something along those lines—Pre-War tech so that fools like you don’t abuse them. We keep them safe from outsiders. And I suppose you could also say in that sense that we’re protecting outsiders from it, too. It’s a favor we are doing.”

“A favor? You’re ruthlessly killing people over it!” Mariah said indignantly. “You’re a monster!”

“No, I’m not. You are missing the big picture,” Obadiah said, shaking his head. “What we’re doing is for the greater good of civilization. While others seek to misuse technology and knowledge, the Brotherhood does what it has to do to save it. These people we ‘murder’ are not some sort of innocents like you portray them as. If we must put down those who would exploit it for their own gain, then it is our duty to do so. Especially for something as powerful as this tech is supposed to be.”

“But you’re the one who is looking to abuse it!” Mariah exclaimed incredulously. “You’ve deluded yourself! You’re just like the Dissidents!”

Obadiah bristled at her comparison. “You’d do well to not equate us to that glorified backwater gang. Look, I don’t expect an outsider to understand. The Founder of our organization, Roger Maxson, has laid out the mission for the Brotherhood and it is my responsibility to make his visions a reality. It might not be quite in the way that he envisioned—he believed in outsiders too much. But I do what is necessary. You might see us as barbarians, but what we are doing is what will resurrect civilization and make it thrive in the long run. That means that tech and knowledge like the F.A.C.T. cannot be in the hands of the Dissidents, GCU, Apalachee, whoever this other shadowy cabal is that wants it, or anyone else. It’s the Brotherhood’s destiny to claim it. If I ever do get to see High Elder Maxson again, he will be proud of what we are doing. If he is still alive, anyway.” Obadiah didn’t mention the fact that there were multiple chapters of the Brotherhood of Steel throughout the former United States, something that Mariah and White-Feather were not aware of.

“There is a price that will be paid for this bloodshed, Obadiah.” White-Feather vowed. “My people’s deaths will be avenged one day.”

Obadiah angrily jabbed an index finger right at White-Feather’s chest. “It’s your fault that more of your people are dead, Chief. You had them conceal something that is highly dangerous and belongs in our hands. And you could’ve avoided all of this if you just assisted us.” Obadiah cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, we’ll be taking the F.A.C.T. now. No need to tell us where exactly since a couple of your tribe’s members pointed it out. And to demonstrate how we are not cruel, I’m not going to have you all gunned down. You have learned your lesson, I hope. Just don’t even think about trying to impede us again. Not that you really could anyway. Oh, and Mariah?” Obadiah looked Mariah straight in the eyes. “The same goes for you. Don’t attempt to bring your precious GCU into this. Or deceive yourself into doing what you think are heroics.” Now he addressed his fellow Knights and Paladins. “Ad victoriam, brothers and sisters! Return to base. Don’t shoot any more of them, but make sure they don’t try anything slick either.” His soldiers responded affirmatively. A couple of them grabbed the F.A.C.T., which had been hiding in a dense thicket right next to the camp, while others kept their weapons trained on Mariah and the Apalachee until they left.

All was quiet. No one moved. None of them knew what to do. After a few minutes of silence, with the Brotherhood long gone, White-Feather dropped to his knees. “I’ve failed my people,” he said, anguished.

“What?” Mariah said.

“Many of my fellow Apalachee are dead because of me. Because of my hubris. It is my obligation to lead my people to safety and prosperity. Perhaps Obadiah was right. I should’ve just taken a deal with them. People under my watch would still be alive if I had. We would have been that much closer to our goals.”

“Absolutely not!” Mariah said indignantly, not toward White-Feather but toward Obadiah’s propaganda. “You could not have known this was going to happen. Obadiah showed you exactly why you couldn’t trust him. You did the right thing.”

“It is kind of you to say that, Mariah, but it does not change the fact that I couldn’t save our dead. Their losses are indicative of my failure.”

“Chief, look at me.” Mariah said, but White-Feather still looked at the ground. “Chief,” she said more forcefully. This time he turned to her. “Your job is inherently dangerous. Conditions for your whole tribe are inherently dangerous. There is no way you could have saved them all. The wastes are incredibly hostile to all of us. But the men, women, and children of your tribe look to you as their leader for a reason. You are the one best equipped to lead them, to bring them to their ancestral lands. I’ve seen it firsthand. You’ve come all this way and you can’t give up now. And it’s not just your tribe that needs you. The GCU needs you and I need your help, too. We can still stop the Brotherhood from fully utilizing the F.A.C.T. for whatever it is they are trying to do. Please.” She held her hand out to White-Feather. He grabbed it as she pulled him up.

“You are right,” White-Feather said with a renewed resolve. “I am the Chief of the Apalachee. It is my duty to lead, and by the Great Spirit, I shall. We shall defeat the Brotherhood, and the Dissidents the next time they come around.” He called the rest of the tribe that was present over to him. “Men and women of the Apalachee, let us bury our dead and honor them. We will rest tonight, and with the rekindled spirit of battle we will move out in the morning. We shall ally with the GCU to defeat our mutual enemies, and they will give us the land we seek.”

As the Apalachee moved about to lay their fallen to rest, Mariah talked to White-Feather again. “So where is the closest city? Are we close to Niceville?”

“There is a large settlement called Panama City that is closer to us but still too far to reach quickly. But I do know there is a GCU outpost fairly close to where we are. We’ll need you to be our emissary. There is still mutual distrust between our societies. Can you do this for us, Mariah? They will have to listen to you after what you have done for them.”

Mariah was reluctant to give explicit promises to people. She was anxious about failing to live up to a promise, no matter how hard she tried. But she was determined to see this through. She told White-Feather as much. “It is not often I promise things, Chief. I can’t stand the thought of not coming through. But damn that, you have my word that I will make this happen.” She held out her hand for a handshake. White-Feather obliged, shaking her hand in return.

“When this is all over, Mariah, I will see to it that your deeds are passed down in the annals of our oral traditions. But first thing’s first. Let us rest tonight and begin our plan tomorrow.”

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

Mariah had been exhausted for much of the past week, but a restful night’s sleep, resolve, and adrenaline amped her up in the morning. She and the Apalachee headed for a GCU outpost—Outpost Theta, to be exact—along one of the old Pre-War state roads. Going out ahead of them, Mariah walked up to the outpost and pleaded with the soldiers there to use their communication equipment. With an extra bit of charisma, and her knowledge of some of the GCU leadership, the soldiers couldn’t resist a pretty face. Mariah did not like having to use her attractiveness to help her achieve goals, but it certainly had come in handy for her in the past.

She first contacted Darius, the commander from Niceville, who again reprimanded her for her recklessness. Nonetheless, he was appreciative of Mariah’s efforts and receiving updates on the situation with the F.A.C.T. “I’ll inform Commander Bertrand and Lieutenant Carmichael immediately. He oversees the GCU for all of the Panhandle and will more than likely be leading the charge. I’m not sure how well GCU leadership will take working with the Apalachee though. A lot of wariness there, but I will vouch for you. I have no doubt that Commander Bertrand and Jacob will do the same for you.” Mariah wondered if Valentina would be joining an assault on wherever the Brotherhood were taking the F.A.C.T. But since she was not in a leadership position, Darius would not have any idea, so Mariah didn’t ask him about her. “Do you know where the Brotherhood took off to?”

“No,” Mariah said with a heavy sigh. “From what the Apalachee told me, it was southeast of where we were. But I’m still not too familiar with the lay of the land, and I’m not entirely sure where we were camped at. They’ll have to give you more of the details.”

“Alright, we’ll figure it out when GCU leadership convenes. Thanks, Mariah. Be careful out there.” Darius ended the transmission. Even though time was precious, it was going to take a day or two for GCU personnel to convene.

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

Another day passed. GCU leadership wasn’t able to fully meet in person yet so some were relegated to radio communications again, like Commander Bertrand. But Commander Darius was in town, along with the Commander for Panama City, a woman of Japanese descent named Masako. She wasn’t tall or bulky like her contemporaries, but she could give off a tough demeanor when needed.

The convention was held in a meeting room at the GCU headquarters in Panama City. White-Feather and some of his best warriors were also in the room. The tension between the GCU and the Apalachee was palpable, and it was going to be up to Mariah to ease it. Ironic, she thought, considering how she often found herself willingly participating in conflict and far from a mediating position.

There, Mariah met face-to-face with Lieutenant Carmichael, the overseer of the Panhandle that Darius had mentioned. He already knew who she was and some of her exploits. “So you’re that spitfire I’ve heard so much about. I’m Lieutenant Carmichael.” The two of them shook hands. “You’ve been making quite a name for yourself, Mariah. While your behavior has sometimes been . . . questionable, at best, I know you are also responsible for helping us in many ways. But before we begin, I need to know how you became aware of the Brotherhood’s possession of the F.A.C.T.”

“Well, they came to . . .” Mariah froze. How would they react if she told them the Apalachee grabbed it right from under the noses of the GCU, Brotherhood, and the Dissidents? What if that tanked any chance of a truce between the GCU and the Apalachee? She tried to think quickly about some other answer, one that wouldn’t be a lie but wouldn’t give the full story, but nothing came to her.

“Ah. Would it be because these tribals here took it first?” Carmichael asked with a thinly veiled animosity toward the tribe. “Tribal” wasn’t always used in an offensive manner, but it was often a derogatory term used toward uncivilized groups, regardless of who they were or where they came from. Tribal groups could be just about any ethnicity. It wasn’t clear if Carmichael asked this question because of his general suspicion of the Apalachee or if he logically deduced that it must have been them that took it. She could see even see it on many of the GCU personnel’s faces that, despite their cynicism toward the Apalachee, they were uncomfortable at the Lieutenant’s offense.

White-Feather spoke up. “It’s alright, Mariah. I’ll answer this mouth-breather. Yes, we had it. We kept it safe, and the enmity of buffoons like you is exactly why we had to keep it safe in our hands.” The meeting was already threatening to break apart when it had barely begun.

“You bite your tongue, Chief,” Carmichael growled, stepping towards White-Feather, who stood up in response, ready to fight. Tension was rising quickly. Apalachee and GCU officer alike were all ready to draw weapons.

This time, it was Mariah’s turn to be the voice of reason. She stepped in between White-Feather and Carmichael. “Stop it, both of you!” Everyone in the room turned their attention to her. “F---‘s sake, we are all on the same team here! We’re wasting time when the Brotherhood has this tech, and who knows what exactly they’re going to do with it? Now come on, we need to figure out how to band together to stop them. Let’s sit down and figure this out.” Lieutenant Carmichael’s face expressed indignation at her attempt to take authority of the situation but obliged. Mariah continued. “Look, the Apalachee may not have done everything the way they should have. But their intention was to keep the tech from the Brotherhood and the Dissidents. And when they met the antagonism of the GCU toward them, they decided it was best for them to continue holding onto it. I think that’s understandable.”

Carmichael scoffed. “If they just gave us the device, we would have been much nicer to them. Could have avoided all this trouble.”

“Oh, really, Lieutenant?” Mariah asked pointedly. “With the way you treated them? How would they know? I wouldn’t be giving to people who were nothing but hostile to me either, especially some tech that can create weapons seemingly at the snap of fingers. But here’s the thing: We all need each other now. The GCU has a lot of firepower but they can’t do it on their own. The Apalachee are very familiar with the Brotherhood, more so and for far longer than us, and we need as many people as we can get to take them on. I’ve seen firsthand what the Apalachee are capable of. We wiped out the entire Bullsharks raider gang near Niceville.”

“It’s true,” Darius spoke up. “Absolutely no reports of them showing up near the town. Some travelers even found their camp, laid waste to and strewn with Bullshark bodies. They might even turn it into a small settlement of their own with the threat over.”

Carmichael grudgingly admitted that that was an impressive feat. “Those a--hats have been a lot of trouble lately, so that does free us up now that they’re dead. But those are just some dumb raiders. I don’t see how these Apalachee can help us against such a technologically-advanced foe.”

Commander Bertrand chimed in on the radio. “Lieutenant, if I may, I have something to add.” Carmichael gave him the go-ahead. “For all the trouble she can get into, Mariah has been dedicated to our mutual cause. She fended off a Dissident attack on her caravan when she first got to Florida. She figured out that we were sending a force to Holt to stamp out the Dissidents on her own. She got a lot of information on the F.A.C.T. and more insight into the Dissidents and the Brotherhood which we might not otherwise have. And personally, she is directly responsible for my reinstatement as a Commander, as she discovered there is a traitor in our department leaking information to the Dissidents. We’re still working on rooting out who our Dissident mole is. I think we need to give her a chance here to make her case.”

It was somewhat astounding to Mariah that Bertrand gave such commendation to her after his frustrations with her when they last saw each other. She blushed a bit at his praise. “Thank you, Commander. That means a lot.”

“Fine, fine,” Carmichael relented. “So, what do you propose here then, Mariah? What is it that the Apalachee want?”

“All they want is the land that their ancestors had from centuries ago. They left Oklahoma because of some trouble there—which also had something to do with the Brotherhood—but that was where their people lived when the Great War happened. I don’t know where exactly the land is but . . .”

“It is what used to be the Apalachicola National Forest,” White-Feather said. “That’s all we are seeking.”

Commander Masako spoke for the first time. “That’s not far from here. But it hasn’t been truly settled by anyone yet, despite being within GCU borders. Irradiated creatures reportedly infest the place. I suggest great caution if you are looking to settle there.”

“Okay, so what do we get in return?” Carmichael asked, this time earnestly. “It’s one thing if we agree to a deal, but the GCU government’s Florida delegation still has to approve of it. And they’ll need a reason to.”

Mariah looked to White-Feather to see what they were willing to do. He answered. “You can have the F.A.C.T., but we must have a guarantee that our residence in our ancestral lands is permanent. Mutually beneficial trade can also be established, and together we can make strides in killing the dangerous wildlife there, so they don’t threaten any of us. My people have become adept at dealing with many such creatures.”

“And then, of course, we’ll take down the Brotherhood together,” Carmichael added. “Alright, we’ve got a deal, as far as I’m concerned. We’ll work out the details more later, but we’ll get our tentative agreement written down so we hold each other to it. Fantastic.” He clapped his hands once, but he kept a stoic expression. “None of that is going to matter, however, if we don’t deal with the task at hand. We need to figure out where the Brotherhood ran off to. We know that they need a particularly powerful supercomputer to use this tech, and Masako’s team has been trying to research whatever info they can find on one. Did you or your officers find anything, Masako?”

“We’ve pinpointed some candidates nearby and, based on what we know of the direction the Brotherhood went, we’ve narrowed it down some more,” Masako replied. “But we can’t verify there is working technology in any of these places. There have been rumors of a bunker somewhere in Laguna Beach that was used by the United States military, but no one has confirmed a sighting. The only other place that we think any sort of supercomputer could be is at Tyndall Air Force Base.”

“So one place we do know the location of, right outside of town, and another that we have only a general idea of,” Carmichael shook his head. “Not to mention all the other dangers along the coast in this area.”

“What dangers? Like radfrogs or radtoads? Sirens?” Mariah asked.

Carmichael chuckled but not in an amused way. “Oh no, those are child’s play compared to what’s out there. I mean, there’s probably some of those, yeah. We had some settlements along the coast in Laguna Beach a long time ago, but they had to be abandoned. Giant fricking aquatic abominations that we’ve taken to called ‘dreadnoughts.’ Then you’ve got Mirelurks, basically mutated crabs. They might be near Tyndall as well, but we definitely know the base is absolutely infested with feral ghouls. Some of the robots on base are active as well. Defense protocol because of the War, I suppose. We’ve tried clearing the place out a couple times before, but it seems that they just keep repopulating.”

“Do you think the Brotherhood knows about these monsters?” White-Feather questioned.

“Doubtful,” Carmichael replied. The hostility between the two leaders had mostly dissolved and they started treating each other with more respect. “They come from near where your tribe does, right? There’s no way they are familiar with this territory. They may be good at finding out info or scouting or whatever, but no way are they prepared for the horrors along the gulf there. Quite frankly, I’m not sure we are either. But we will likely have to deal with monsters and the Brotherhood at the same time.”

“So . . . what exactly are these dreadnoughts?” Mariah inquired. The name certainly sounded menacing. Mariah wasn’t taking them lightly, but she was somewhat skeptical of them being considerably worse than Radfrogs or any of the other irradiated animals she had already crossed paths with.

“They sort of look like giant turtles. Yeah, those same little guys that usually hide inside their shells when threatened. Don’t laugh, because dreadnoughts don’t act anything like them. To be honest . . . I don’t think they’re just turtles. They seem like they got something else going on in them biologically because they have features that aren’t turtle-like, but I can’t say for certain. Anyway, whatever they are or their origins, they are often as big as a house and are extremely, and I mean extremely, aggressive. I’d advise everyone in this operation to be prepared for at least one of them. The Brotherhood better watch out too unless they want to become food.”

“Noted. So, where do we go now? Tyndall or Laguna Beach? We can’t just split up our forces but what if we send everyone to one place and we’re wrong? We—”

Carmichael raised his hand, signaling Mariah to stop. “Easy there, spitfire. You’re going to play a big role in this operation, believe me. But we’ll handle the strategy. Time is of the essence, but we can’t just run somewhere without a plan. Now that we have the Apalachee here, we can better formulate one. Listen closely, everyone. Here’s what we’re going to do . . .”

[Renee]

Gosh Mariah, stop being so defiant! Kidding. I always cringe when she gets like that though, especially in the face of somebody who's got an obvious upper-hand against her. She's going to get her knee caps busted one of these days, or something such.

Obadiah didn’t mention the fact that there were multiple chapters of the Brotherhood of Steel throughout the former United States, something that Mariah and White-Feather were not aware of.

Right, and I imagine some of these chapters are more nefarious than others. The D.C. area chapter led by what's-his-name is arguably not as bad as Obadiah.

We can still stop the Brotherhood from fully utilizing the F.A.C.T. for whatever it is they are trying to do.

Oh no. No you can't, defiant one.

I do believe she can act as a go-between the Apalachee and GCU. All she'll need to do is tell Darius and Bertrand that the natives had the F.A.C.T., which is now in Brotherhood hands. Everybody is going insane over this F.A.C.T. thingie for some reason. They'll join forces just to get it. I say they should ALL join forces against the radfrogs, but whatever. Nobody'd listen to me!

She uses her Charisma.

I don’t see how these Apalachee can help us against such a technologically-advanced foe.”

I do. They'll be able to help in the same way Native Americans were able to help against the British during the Revolutionary War, and against the Bullsharks for that matter. They're better with subterfuge and infiltration, as they have the ability of using the land itself to their advantage.

We know that they need a particularly powerful supercomputer to use this tech,

In the backwards world of Fallout, in which all terminals are apparently greenscreen CRT technology we saw back in the 1980s, what does this 'supercomputer' equate to, compared to our modern world? Windows 95? 98? Kidding.

The end of this chapter is interesting, if only because Carmichael is the first 'official' to finally not tell Mariah she's not to be included in whatever comes next. I mean, if he said "NO you can't come with us" ... well, we all know how that would play by now...

This post has been edited by Renee: Nov 12 2020, 04:18 PM

[SubRosa]

I liked how you showed the Brotherhood's sense of entitlement here. In their mind Pre-War tech is rightfully theirs. So they are entirely justified in killing people and taking their technology.

Things are coming together now. It feels like we are moving toward a conclusion. Unless the Dissidents turn up again.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Chapter 10: The F.A.C.T. of the Matter

[Fallout Soundtrack – Metallic Monks]

The old U.S. Route 98 was the major thoroughfare that ran through Panama City, and one of the longest roads in the state. It was also going to play a critical role in the GCU operation. One direction went directly toward Tyndall while the other cut through the ruins of Panama City Beach and to the vestiges of Laguna Beach. To reach these destinations, the GCU would have to traverse bridges over large bodies of water. These bridges miraculously still stood mostly intact, except for some makeshift crossings of wood, steel, and concrete laid out over gaps.

Lieutenant Carmichael was betting his money that the Brotherhood would mostly go for Tyndall, as the location of that was relatively well-known and it was definitively a real place, not to mention the major Pre-War military center in the Panhandle. But there was still the distinct possibility that this fabled military bunker in Laguna Beach was real, and there was no way to know for sure if the Brotherhood knew about the myth and were going to look for it as well. Commander Darius was going to lead the charge there, with his second-in-command Jordan staying in Niceville to lead operations there in the interim. Sunny Hills’ Commander Bradford was able to spare some of his men and women to be led by Darius. “I would have Bradford leading the outfit based on proximity, but Darius has more experience in combat, and he does have familiarity with GCU personnel around Sunny Hills as well,” Carmichael explained.

Meanwhile, Commanders Bertrand and Masako would follow Carmichael into Tyndall Air Force Base, with Mariah coming with them. There was likely to be some resistance from feral ghouls and various robots at Tyndall, but there was no way to know for sure. The GCU set up their base just after they crossed the bridge in what used to be the Tyndall “FamCamp,” a facility where military personnel’s children could play while not at school. It was, hopefully, far enough away from the base that they wouldn’t be seen. Bertrand and Masako’s squads took different sections for camp.

Mariah and the Apalachee were getting significant upgrades in gear for the operation. Mariah finally got to trade in leather armor for the much sturdier defense of GCU combat armor. Even with the new equipment and her penchant for rushing into danger, she started to feel some level of apprehension about this mission. She had not been a part of anything like this before. A lot of people’s lives depended in part on her performance, when before her reckless actions mostly only directly affected her, at least in her mind.

Masako must have noticed Mariah’s nervousness, for the former clasped a hand on the latter’s left shoulder. “Are you alright, Mariah?”

“Oh, hey, Masako—er, Commander Masako. Yeah, I won’t lie. I’m feeling anxious. I know that’s not helpful for the GCU but—"

“There’s nothing wrong with being nervous about this mission, Mariah,” Masako assured her. “It’s a normal feeling. I’d actually be more concerned if you weren’t nervous at all. But judging from what I have heard about you and meeting you face-to-face, I’m confident that you have really grown from your experiences in the Panhandle.”

Mariah was a bit surprised at the statement. “Really?”

“Absolutely. You’ve been impetuous in most of your actions, even if they have mostly turned out to be a boon to our cause. But already now, you’re listening more to authority. You’re being more thoughtful about what you are doing. And you’re being more cognizant of how your actions are affecting and will affect others. I think you should be proud of that. I am.”

Mariah was blown away by the compliments and couldn’t help but blush a bit. “Thank you, Commander Masako. That means a lot.”

“Well, I also appreciate how you handled the Apalachee. I know what it feels like to be unwelcome because you are different.”

“What do you mean?” Mariah asked.

“I have Japanese ancestry. When World War II happened—close to 200 years ago at this point—Japan was one of the main enemies of the U.S., the U.K., and Russia. And when the U.S. got into the war, they indiscriminately threw many Japanese-Americans into internment camps. Some of my ancestors had to live in those camps. They weren’t unlike the internment camps that Chinese-Americans were thrown into before the Great War. The Japanese and the Chinese may have had some long-standing bad blood between them, but I still don’t believe how many Chinese-Americans were treated before the War was right. But war shows you just how terrible human beings can be too each other. Any group of people is capable of treating another group of people inhumanely and finding some excuse for why it’s justified. And I do mean anyone. Doesn’t matter what is your race, religion, gender, politics, whatever. It’s basic human psychology.”

Mariah didn’t know a whole lot about Pre-War history and told Masako as much. “That’s awful. But what about you? Have you personally felt unwelcome?”

“Well, I was born outside of GCU lands and didn’t move to Florida until I was already into adulthood. A lot of people can tell easily if you are from outside of the GCU, not just this state. And with groups like the Dissidents, Brotherhood, and some from Pre-War Georgia or in Florida outside of the GCU, it makes it easier for citizens here to show blanket hostility to outsiders. Not everyone in the GCU does it, of course, but a lot of people are feeling tense.

“And even when my general presence was warmed up to, some people weren’t too keen on me climbing up the military ladder to becoming Commander in Panama City. It wasn’t even the fact that I’m a woman—other Commanders have been women—although for some people, that didn’t help. It’s more that I was not a card-carrying member of the establishment. When you aren’t a member of an ingroup, you tend to be looked down on as someone in an outgroup. My small stature gives them a convenient excuse, though.” Masako was only about 5’6” and 125 pounds, but she was tough. She had to be to be a Commander. “Anyway, I know the Apalachee were met with suspicion when they came to Florida, and they were suspicious towards anyone outside their tribe. The Lieutenant, as you could see, isn’t very fond of them either. Same with some other GCU personnel. They’re outsiders in a time where outsiders are putting people on edge. My experiences probably haven’t been quite the same as theirs, but I know a bit about what that’s like.

“But you didn’t treat them like that. You helped them out and you found a way to bring the GCU and the Apalachee together for a common cause. That takes a lot of guts and effort, and I commend you for that.”

“Well, it’s nice that someone noticed,” Mariah said with a single, slight laugh. “Maybe it helps that I’ve traveled a lot and met a lot of different kinds of people.”

Commander Bertrand then walked into their tent. “Hello, Bertrand,” Masako said, saluting him.

“Hi, Masako,” Bertrand reciprocated the salute. “Can I speak to Mariah for a few alone?”

“Of course,” Masako said, patting Mariah on the back and leaving.

“Long time, no see, Commander,” Mariah greeted him. “Definitely not how I imagined us meeting again. Or hoped.”

“Indeed. It’s amazing how much can transpire over a simple matter of a couple of weeks. How are you holding up?” His frustration with her from the last time they saw each other was long gone.

Mariah started to feel like she was going to be sick. “To be honest, I’m pretty nervous. I know I can be pretty stubborn and head-first and all, but I haven’t been a part of anything like this before. There’s a lot at stake here.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Mariah,” Bertrand said, leaning in slightly. The ‘secrecy’ was a bit tongue-in-cheek. “I still get those proverbial butterflies in my stomach on major missions.”

Mariah’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? But you’re so experienced at this.”

“If you don’t have at least a bit of nerves when you’re part of an operation like this, then you are not approaching the situation correctly,” Bertrand answered, echoing Masako’s sentiment. “This is giving me some flashbacks back to Birmingham. All the death and destruction that felt avoidable to some extent. And then to top it off, we didn’t even acquire the tech. The Brotherhood and the Dissidents are still around. The seemingly endless fighting means a lot of opportunity to die in the wastes. At the same time, however. . .” Bertrand gestured to outside of the tent, indicating all of the GCU soldiers there. “I know what our forces are capable of, and I’m a firm believer that we can win the day. And you know what the major difference is now?” Mariah just shrugged after thinking for a moment. Bertrand pointed towards her and cracked a smile, something Mariah had not seen from him before. “We have you. And we have the Apalachee. Not to mention we are much more familiar with our enemy now. I’m determined to defeat the Brotherhood of Steel for good—and the Dissidents when the time comes.”

“Well, I’m with you there,” Mariah said. Bertrand’s determination and confidence began to rub off on her. “By the way . . . thanks for vouching for me the other day. That meant a lot.”

“You’re welcome. I’ve seen and heard of what you are capable of, Mariah. I’m glad you are on our side and that you are here. I believe in you. But I need you to promise me that you will follow the plan. Do not go off on your own unless it is a last resort. We need you to make it through this and we need you to make sure this whole campaign goes accordingly. Can I count on you for that?”

Mariah’s resolve solidified. “You got it. You have my word.”

“Good. When this is over, we’ll have to find time to celebrate. But it’s time to focus on what’s at hand first. Let’s go back and meet with the Lieutenant and the others.”

Mariah grabbed Bertrand’s arm before he turned around. “Oh, before we go: Is Valentina here? Feels like forever since we last saw each other. I . . . still feel kinda awful about not telling her that I was leaving town.”

Bertrand nodded. “Yes. But she is with the squad I am leading on our side of the base, so you won’t be able to see each other for now. I’m hoping to keep her out of combat as much as possible, as she isn’t as experienced as we would like for this mission. Still, she’s a valuable member and has other talents at her disposal.” Mariah was disappointed but understood. She planned to meet Valentina first thing after this whole ordeal was over.

//////////

Lieutenant Carmichael reiterated the plan with the GCU and Apalachee leaders as well as Mariah. The Apalachee’s penchant for reconnaissance and stealth would be key to scouting the area for any signs of the Brotherhood, along with the possibility of robotic and feral ghoul threats. Tyndall Air Force Base was a sprawling, wide-open complex. The remains of aircraft and other military vehicles was strewn about the grounds, providing extra cover in case of a firefight. Yet there was one building that was ostensibly the main area of operations for Pre-War military stationed here, and it was likely what the Brotherhood would be most interested in. Meanwhile, the forces for Commanders Bertrand and Masako would be split up in an attempt to flank any Brotherhood when the time came to fight them, with parts of each force designated to move into this main building while others stayed outside. Carmichael would be coordinating between the two overarching squads.

The Apalachee scouts were given two-way radios that the GCU was able to spare for the mission and moved further into the base’s grounds. After several minutes, one of them reported on the GCU frequency to Chief White-Feather, who was with Masako and Mariah. “I only see some dead ghouls and inactive robots, Chief. Looks to be fresh activity but can’t tell for certain. No clear indications of the Brotherhood being outside.”

“Understood. Stay vigilant,” White-Feather responded.

“Do you think the Brotherhood know we are here?” Mariah asked, more so for a confirmation of her suspicions than as an actual question.

“Not necessarily. But I’m certain they are prepared for us to be here.” Masako replied. Then she turned on her two-way radio. “Alright, division one, move in very slowly and stay low to the ground and close to cover. Always better to prepare for traps than to be surprised by them.” Her squad did as she commanded.

The seconds passing by were starting to feel like minutes, and the minutes felt even longer. The base was quiet—too quiet. Mariah was getting restless and anxious. She had to suppress her impulsive nature to stick to the plan. As GCU and Apalachee personnel walked further into the complex, signs of recent entry into the buildings became more noticeable. The dead feral ghouls were still warm and steam from laser weapon shots still emanated from wounds. The Brotherhood was definitely here.

[Prodeus Soundtrack – Hot Spot]

As the time dragged on, soldiers were awaiting further orders. Before Carmichael or Masako could give them, the sound of weapons could be heard in the distance. Everyone’s adrenaline began pumping again as they frenetically looked in all directions. The weapon firing was coming from near the GCU camps. That was when Bertrand tuned into their frequency and bellowed, “S---, we got Brotherhood inbound! Patrol was walking around, and they found us! They’re calling in reinforcements from inside the complex, so get ready!” Bertrand and most of his squad were still at the camps and the sound of energy and ballistic firearms could be heard through the radio.

The time to fight was now.

“Soldiers take cover! Brotherhood will be pouring out of the buildings at any moment!” Masako yelled. And sure enough they did, not long after the declaration. Out first came several Knights and Paladins clad in Power Armor, but most of the Brotherhood only had their own style of combat armor to protect them. Many of the Brotherhood had energy weapons like laser rifles and even a few plasma rifles, while the GCU and Apalachee mostly had ballistic weapons. They undoubtedly had been searching for more technology to claim while they were here. Mariah wondered if there were some Power Armor units inside the complex that were still usable. If so, the Brotherhood were undoubtedly scrounging through the place for them as well.

And so the pandemonium ensued once again.

Mariah still had her 10MM pistol and sword, but along with her upgrade in defense came an automatic combat rifle and a couple stimpaks. It was a lot to carry, but luckily her armor was designed to accommodate a bigger inventory. She took cover with Masako and White-Feather. Grenades, bullets, and profanity flew seemingly everywhere. There was already a need for GCU leadership to improvise, but they were pinned down behind a rusted-out military truck. Mariah wasn’t confident she was going to get out of this situation this time, but she did her best not to show it. “Commander Masako! What do we do now? We can’t get any shots off!” She had to yell over the incessant firing.

“Let’s try this!” Masako quickly ducked underneath the truck. There was still enough a gap to get under and she tried shooting low at any Knights and Paladins she could. She managed to drop a couple of them by shooting out their feet and lower legs. One of them writhed in pain but was able to desperately crawl back behind her cover. The other Knight wasn’t so lucky as either a GCU or Apalachee member dispatched him. It seemed that other Brotherhood saw what Masako was up to and fired at her position underneath the truck. She scurried back behind her defense as quickly as she could, but she may have died if it weren’t for White-Feather’s quick thinking. He grabbed Masako’s legs and pulled her away before she could be shot. “Whew. Thank you, Chief!”

“As long as we are allied, I will see to it that I keep alive as many of my allies as possible,” White-Feather replied matter-of-factly. “We need to get Mariah and some of my warriors into the main building now! She seems to have a penchant for solving these problems and they will be best suited for sneaking around the facility if they have to.”

“But we can’t!” Mariah said as more lasers and bullets hit their truck. “They’ll kill us the moment we pop out of cover!” White-Feather pulled hard on the truck’s passenger door to see if he could find anything that would help. The condition of the vehicle was so deteriorated that the door was unintentionally pulled off of its hinges. “Well, that sure is convenient,” Mariah noted.

“This door is big enough to protect you.”

“But how is it going to hold up against weapon fire? You just broke it off its damn hinges!” Mariah was flabbergasted at his suggestion. White-Feather quickly whipped out a pistol and started firing into the door before she put it in front of her, startling Mariah. He looked at the other side of the door and found none of the bullets penetrated. “You could’ve warned me, Chief!”

“Every second counts, Mariah. I was careful anyway. This was an Old-World military vehicle, so they were going to give its exterior extra protection. But perhaps there is something in this truck I can use to provide better covering fire.” He rummaged through the glovebox for any sort of big weapon, but to no avail. The truck was angled enough that he could search in the truck bed without being shot by Brotherhood soldiers. “As your people might say, ‘bingo.’” He was referring to the fact that he found a missile launcher. It only had a few missiles with it, which was hopefully enough for this situation.

Yet as was always the wastes’ wont, things got more complicated—for both sides. Loud mechanical noises blared as some of the inactive robots started to wake up. Most of the gunfire from both GCU/Apalachee and Brotherhood ceased as they turned their attention to a new enemy. It soon became apparent that neither faction turned them on, because the robots were ready to kill any and all humans. Were they programmed to awaken if fighting broke out on the Tyndall grounds, or did somebody else turn them on? In any case, most of the robots were the usual types: Protectrons and Mr. Gutsies. But there was another type Mariah hadn’t ever seen before. They walked on spider-like legs and sported dual .50 caliber rifles and long serrated blades they could switch between. “What the hell are those things?!” Mariah blurted out as the automatons started discharging their own weapons. It felt a lot like Holt, only this time with machines instead of irradiated monstrosities.

“Aegis bots! As far as I know, they’re only in Florida,” Masako said, her face turning grim.

“Seems like a lot of things happen only in Florida!” Mariah responded with a mixture of sarcasm and seriousness. They all still had to yell to each other over the gunfire.

“It’s a crazy state, I’ll give you that! Heard it could be that way Pre-War, too. Anyway, it’s got two rifles and sharp blades, and it can arguably be worse than a Sentry Bot. Might be able to go toe-to-toe with an Assaultron. Can jump short distances, too. We got a few up-and-running in a few places in the GCU, so I’ve seen them in action.”

White-Feather interjected. “This is the best time to get Mariah out of here! The robots aren’t preoccupied with our position yet.” They were busy attacking the Brotherhood and other spots where GCU and Apalachee soldiers were. “You must go now, Mariah!” White-Feather called to a couple of his warriors a short distance away, who were not being attacked by the mechanized entrants of the battle yet either, to go with her to the main building. “And may the Great Spirit be with you!”

“Watch yourself and come back in one piece!” Masako chimed in.

Mariah nodded to both and readied her makeshift shield, bolting across the open field with it on her left side. She met with the two Apalachee who were to escort her as they ran to the main building. They found one of its doors, but it was locked tight. Mariah pulled out a bobby pin, always carrying a few with her wherever she went. As she was focused on picking the lock, one of the Aegis bots turned the opposite corner and caught sight of them. “Trespassers, lower your weapons and stay where you are,” it uttered in a deep, robotic voice. “Obey or you will be swiftly terminated.” Mariah’s hands started to sweat and fumble with the lock as she lost focus and tried to improvise what to do next.

White-Feather must have noticed the issue because he shot a missile right at the Aegis bot. It was severely wounded, though not down for the count. But that gave Mariah all the time she needed to reconcentrate on the lock. After about another ten seconds, the door was opened. Mariah and her Apalachee companions quickly filed into the door as the Aegis bot retargeted them, barely missing with them its rifle shots. It tried a last-ditch effort to pounce on the door, but they closed it just in time before the Aegis bot could reach inside with its blades. It tried to break in, but the door material was heavily reinforced. Mariah quickly locked the door back up.

//////////

[Fallout Soundtrack – Vats of Goo]

Mariah and the two Apalachee walked carefully through the hallways of the complex’s main building, crouching down intermittently in case there were enemies nearby. As they got deeper into the building, the sounds of war outside faded further. So far, it was silent inside the base. But they had no idea where anything was in the building. All the clocks they found walking around were broken, making it difficult for them to tell how much time was passing.

“We need to figure out where the supercomputer is in here,” Mariah whispered in case there were any adversaries around, Brotherhood or robotic. “There’s got to be a map or something somewhere. Maybe a terminal. Then we can relay the information back to the leadership.”

“Maybe there’s an . . . office? Around here somewhere. That’s what outsiders call them, right?” one of the Apalachee said. His cheeks had four red stripes of war paint. “Maybe this room down the hall to the left.” It was indeed an office for a Colonel by the name of A. Jackson, judging by the nameplate on the door. This time, it was unlocked. The room also featured a terminal and a map of the complex on the Colonel’s desk.

“Perfect!” Mariah said excitedly but still at low volume in case of danger nearby. Miraculously, there was still power running through the terminal, but she needed a password. “Damn,” she lightly pounded the table. “Come on, there’s got to be something . . . aha!” She found a journal of the base’s colonel in one of the desk drawers. After thumbing through the journal, she came to its final entry. Apparently, the Colonel—despite what his status might have suggested—was a forgetful person and had to constantly have a map of the complex at his side and wrote down his password. I already have trouble remembering things at my age, and now we have to change our passwords every fricking month. Mariah read in the last journal entry, dated October 22nd, 2077. I’m a Colonel. Why should I have to? I’ll have to devise some sort of hint system or something. Not the best move to write a password down, but what else am I supposed to do? I can’t even remember where everything in this fricking complex is. The sentence after that contained the password. Mariah logged into the terminal.

As she scoured through emails and other entries, she found all sorts of interesting information. One of them talked about some tech called a G.E.C.K. Mariah wondered to herself what that could be all about, because the email itself didn’t say much about what it was or where it was going. If the GCU won the day, they would have to look through all the data. She then finally came across information about the supercomputer, so there definitely was one here. Further details noted it was somewhat similar to the ZAX supercomputers created by Vault-Tec, but obviously designed with military usage in mind. The same entry talked about the F.A.C.T. and how it was indeed supposed to make its way to Tyndall. Mariah’s jaw dropped at all the new information and how it came together. But there was no time to go through any more of the data on the terminal. “I think we got what we need, guys. Let’s move out.”

As the three of them followed the map and walked through the facility, Mariah hoped that some of the GCU squads made it inside. Mariah and her two Apalachee compatriots certainly couldn’t take on Obadiah and whoever else was with him on their own. She couldn’t help but wonder about whether Bertrand, Jacob, and Valentina survived the Brotherhood patrol that attacked them. Pessimism about their fates creeped into her mind and she had to promptly shake it off. Positive thoughts, Mariah, she started telling herself. Focus on what we need to do. But she wasn’t sure what exactly to do next.

The three of them came closer to the supercomputer’s room. A chamber above the room, protected by a set of bulletproof windows, contained the supercomputer’s primary controls. They knew they were near when the sounds of whirring and electricity got louder. Mariah feared that Obadiah was already making use of the F.A.C.T. They quickened their pace, but as they rounded another corner, two Brotherhood guards came into view, facing toward their direction. “Halt! You’ll go no further!” One of them shouted.

Mariah gasped as the Brotherhood soldiers readied their weapons. “Mariah, get out of here,” the second Apalachee, who had similar war paint to his fellow tribesman but in white, urged her.

“I can’t just leave you guys,” Mariah protested.

“My brother is right,” the red-painted Apalachee said. “You are more important to this mission. We’ll hold them off.”

“But. . .”

“Go!” He pushed her into a different connecting hallway as the two Apalachee preemptively fired on the Brotherhood, who returned the attack. Reluctantly, Mariah bolted down the corridor. She could hear four distinct yelps of pain from their direction as she ran, followed by complete silence except for the mechanical whirring. It ostensibly appeared that the Apalachee and Brotherhood had both killed each other.

Mariah had to reorient herself to her location after the detour, but she realized that she didn’t have the map anymore. She couldn’t remember if she had it and accidentally dropped it or if she had given it to one of the Apalachee. It was too late to go back to retrieve it. She did not recall where they were relatively to where she was as she focused on running away as fast as she could. Doing her best to follow what she thought she remembered on the map, she looked for location-identifying information on the walls. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath, readied her combat rifle, and walked slowly. The corridor she soon found herself in was riddled with debris, more so than the rest of the building she had explored so far, and had several connecting hallways in all directions. Mariah creeped slowly past the rubble. A couple more minutes passed by as she tried to decide which direction was the right way.

Her pondering stopped, however, as the clicking of a pistol cocking came from directly and closely behind her head. “Well, well, what do we have here?” the pistol’s wielder said. The color drained from Mariah’s face as she froze. The voice was unmistakable. She immediately recognized it.

“Gerald?”

[SubRosa]

One thing I like about your story is that I can use Google to see where everything is. Given that, have you considered making a Google Map of all the Mariah Fic sites? I did it for the Stormcrow fic, and it turned out to be really easy.

When you aren’t a member of an ingroup, you tend to be looked down on as someone in an outgroup.
Ain't that the truth.

The Aegis spider bots sound really creepy!

“Seems like a lot of things happen only in Florida!”
Seems like the Florida Man ... meme is still alive and well.

I was wondering if the Dissidents would turn up for the big final brouhaha! Cool.