Fallout Wastelander

Chapter 74 Bloody Introduction

My trip from the former RobCo facility, turned base of operations, to Vault 101 was boring and uneventful, to say the least. However, the one coming from my home here in the world of Fallout was anything but, because shortly after we got on the road, we came across a sizable band of raiders making their way down from the north.

Oh, would you look at that, we got a bunch of raiders approaching from our front... Welp, sucks to be them because they'll serve as good practice for Butch and the gang. I mean they're gonna have to start killing at some point, so might as well get their brutal initiation out of the way as soon as possible.

Aware that the quicker they got used to killing and the savagery of the wasteland the better off they would be, I quickly informed them of the hostile presence ahead, so they could mentally prepare. "Hey, we've got some hostile contacts ahead."

"Really?" Paul questioned.

"Oh, damn, that was quick. I thought it was going to be a while before we would get to experience our first fight out here." Butch commented.

"Yup, so get ready because you guys are going to get the first bit of blood on your hands." I told them last as they swiftly fixated on the approaching enemies.

Situated on the main highway running just behind the vault, the convoy got set up with the heavily armored units at the front and the not as tough units taking up positions behind them. When the whole convoy had taken their positions in the formation I commanded them to, we didn't bother waiting for the enemies to come to us and started advancing on the raid party ourselves. The speed at which we were moving at wasn't slow by any means, so it wasn't long before the targets of elimination spotted us, and when they did, many of them were smart enough to turn tail and run.

However, a good chunk of them had long left the realm of normal humanity behind and were so tainted by the vicious, ruthless ways of the wasteland that even typical behavior like self-preservation was chucked straight out the window. Thus, the ragtag crew of wasteland bandits opened fire with their assortment of small-caliber weapons and explosives.

And so the bloodbath begins.

Not one to sit there and take any sort of hit, no matter how light it was, I issued my command since the gang had grown hesitant when the time to really pull the trigger came. "RETURN FIRE!"

As soon as my words echoed through their ears, it jolted them awake and caused the three of them to get it together and pull the trigger just like they had been trained to do. 

If they had been any old schmuck strolling out of the vault like in the original game, they would've died right here and now if it wasn't for the literal suits of iron I gifted them.

Although I wasn't impressed with their initial lack of action, it wasn't out of the expectations I had for them, seeing how they were nothing but a bunch of newbies who had just left an underground utopia for the very first time. So I didn't pay it much mind as I watched their fired rounds rip into the far less equipped combatants.

The raiders' piddly rounds hit us before the boy gave it back to them in spades, but their effectiveness was pretty much non-existent against something so sturdy. Hence, they just simply bounced off our power armor-covered frames before falling weakly to the ground and clinking around on the broken pavement beneath our feet. 

Paying absolutely no mind to the worthless damage coming from the group of savages, I watched Butch and Wally tear through multiple raiders in one shot each with their gauss machine guns. And whilst the two of them were doing that, Paul lobbed a stream of 40mm grenades with his fully automatic grenade machine gun, that blasted whole groups of them to bits with the deadly explosive force the munitions possessed.

This encounter shouldn't last much longer at this rate.

Many of the raiders fell at my boys' first bout of fire, but eventually the gruesome act they were committing caused them to lose their mettle.

Welp, I guess that's all the killing they can handle for the moment, time for me and the bots to step up to the plate.

Not wanting to overwhelm them too much right from the get-go, I spun up my unique gatling laser and started cleaning up the remainder of their forces, most of which were trying to flee at this point. My boys had done a number on them and though they didn't have the balls to slaughter them to the very last one, I sure as hell did. So even though nearly half of them attempted to flee desperately for their lives, they weren't anywhere near fast enough on their feet to outrun the superior firepower and numbers we possessed, and thus they too fell under the combined combat power of the convoy.

"You guys good?" I asked casually after butchering the remainder of the bandit scum.

"...Y-yeah, I'm fine." Butch responded after a momentary pause.

"I am too. I just felt like I couldn't strike down a bunch of fleeing people who hadn't even attacked me." Wally answered second.

"Mm, I'll be alright. I'm just a bit nauseous is all, so I'm going to need a minute." Paul followed last.

Hmm, I wonder how I can help them adjust their mindset... Ahh; you know what, let me show them what happens to those unlucky enough to be captured by the local raiders. It's going to be an awful sight without a doubt, but it should give them plenty of reason to kill the bastards going forward.

"Well, if it helps your conscience, they would've done the same to us had they been better equipped. In fact, they would've done far, far worse than just this... You know what, let me show you, guys."

All three of them wore inquisitive looks behind their armor-covered faces following my words, but they didn't broach the topic since they would find out here soon enough. Following the decimation of that random raid party of savages, I had my robots gather up all the loot the raider crew had on them, no matter how roughed up the item may have been. My mechanical forces were so thorough in their scavenging efforts that even the bits and pieces of equipment that got blown up in the fight were collected. I mean why leave anything behind when I could just simply use my repair field on them later on to fix them up good as new.

"Looks like that's all of it... Onward."

Good and ready now, I was originally planning on having us continue on up the road and head on back, but after taking note of my pals' state, I decided to take a detour to the Springvale School to introduce them to the real cruelty of the wasteland. With my mind made up, my boys and I turned it around and retraced our steps back the way we came since it was the shorter route of the two, all whilst being sure to stay alert and constantly scan the surrounding area for incoming threats. Our speed was fast due to the mechanical nature of my forces and the equipment we were wearing, so the short distance to the school was covered rather quickly.

It doesn't look like anyone came back and claimed this place since the last time I was here.

Unable to find anyone keeping watch up atop the school building nor in any of the windows, I approached the dilapidated pre-war building with my bros. The second we reached the doors, I made sure what laid on the other side was safe, and once I was sure there were no booby traps; I opened the set of double doors.

The doors weren't locked, so they swung open with a rough creaking sound and revealed a vile, distressing sight that no one from the vault would ever have laid eyes on had they remained inside the protective confines of its sturdy, nuke-proof walls and structure. What the gang and I bore witness to once we entered the school lobby was a set of multiple cages filled with skeletons and rotting corpses of captured wastelanders… Some of which were small enough to be considered children.

"What is this, Harold? This isn't real, right... Right?" Butch questioned in utter disbelief.

"Unfortunately, this is as real as it gets, and this is what may have happened to us had we not been as kitted out as we are and weren't lucky enough to die in the fighting."

The three guys who would've become Tunnel Snakes without my interference stood there stunned, but I was running on a tight schedule so I hurried the lesson along. "I don't think I need to explain any further why you can't be softhearted out here now, do I."

"...No. I think I got the picture." Wally answered for the trio.

Detecting a noticeable amount of rage beginning to build in Wally's voice I didn't make the gang stay here any longer. "Good... But don't think this is all the wasteland has to offer because there are still plenty of decent folk out here that aren't looking to do such God-awful shit to you, me and others believe it or not."

"I hope so..." Butch commented, sounding a bit demotivated and unsure if leaving the vault was truly a good idea.

"You'll see." I said last before we returned to the convoy and began heading north.

The journey back continued to be a lot more eventful than the one I had on my way over to Vault 101, but it wasn't anything our combined firepower couldn't handle. Things continued to unfold in this fashion and though there were several more encounters with the wasteland's more hostile locals, i.e. the roaming bands of raiders, super mutants, and the mutated wildlife that wandered and inhabited this part of the Capital Wasteland, they were of no issue and only further hardened my buddies' mental and added to their growth.

However, after adding a number of fresh kills to the scattered decaying corpses that had been accumulating on the sides of the deteriorating road I found myself traveling back and forth on an increasingly frequent basis, we came on upon the VAPL-84 Power Station I always passed, along with the towering Tenpenny Tower that laid further south just past my base, Fort Dawn.

"You see that lone skyscraper in the distance, guys?" I said, pointing out the old world structure in the distance.

"Yeah."

"That's our first stop."

"Uh-huh... So, what are we going there for? Because that doesn't in any way, shape, or form look like the base you described to us."

"Well, I would hope not because that's the closest settlement to Fort Dawn, that large industrial structure over there that I've been armoring and mounting defenses all over." I said, directing my friends' attention over to my HQ.

"I can't see it too well; give me a sec." One of the boys said before two of them looked down their weapons' scopes.

"You're not talking about that gargantuan facility covered in high-tech weaponry and massive sheets of metal plating, are you?" Butch asked in disbelief at the sight he was scoping out.

"That be the one." I answered smugly.

"..."

"...How in the fuck did you accomplish all this in the short time you've been gone from the vault, big bro? I mean, I know you're something of a genius, but come on now." Wally questioned as he continued scanning the structure that would serve as the foundation for my future ambitions.

"I've experienced quite a bit of growth whilst I've been running around out here, carving out my little slice of heaven, so you'll soon come to understand how I managed to accomplish all I have thus far." I answered vaguely before redirecting the conversation back in the direction I wished it to go. "Having said that, wait until you guys have caught sight of what I have hiding inside."

"Anyways, circling back to Butch's original question, I've been meaning to pay that place a visit, so I thought I might as well get the visit in before heading home since once we do we likely won't be coming out again since there's a bunch of stuff you three gotta do let alone me."

"Ahh, I guess that makes sense... Welp, hopefully these wastelanders aren't too savage, otherwise I'll have to dispense a few knuckle sandwiches." Wally thought aloud.

"I think they'll lean on the more civil side of things, seeing how they're not a raider group and all, so let's try to keep things from going in that direction if we can help it... At least in the beginning." I not so subtly recommended to Wally, who had a propensity for solving issues through the most direct and expedient means, i.e. violence.

"I'll try, but the wasteland hasn't exactly opened up its arms to us in the short time we've been out here, you know."

"Although that might be correct, we've still yet to visit a settlement."

"Mm, I guess you're right... Okay, I'll keep my fists stowed for the time being, but if they get mouthy, I might not be able to keep them away from their faces for long."

"That's what I like to hear, though I will say I doubt they'll start anything, seeing how we'll be rocking up with a small army." I said last, ending the back and forth there.

Honestly excited to visit my first actual wastelander settlement, I had us pick up the pace a wee bit and kept moving south in the direction of the old Tenpenny Tower. We kept moving towards our target and before long I spotted that old fart Tenpenny scoping us out with his sniper rifle, but he only trained his rifle on us. Eyeing the old man back as I slowly but surely closed the bit of distance still remaining between his home and us, I found he wisely refused to shoot.

However, it wasn't long before he began interacting with something sitting on the table beside him, and soon enough a tallish, light-skinned man dressed in a professional suit and sporting a set of jet-black shades along with a dapper hat walked through the double doors behind him.

I'm not 100% sure, but that guy looks a hell of a lot like Mr. Burke...

Cognizant of the interaction going on between the man and his boss, the man in professional attire, whom I presumed to be Mr. Burke, soon left. Unsure of what they talked about due to the massive distance between us, I heightened my alert status along with the convoy and kept moving in the direction of the settlement.

I hope they don't do anything shortsighted... But they've managed to survive this long out in super mutant and raider territory, so I doubt they'll do anything that'll piss me off when I got a large force in tow that's more than ready to back me up if shit really goes down.

Pretty confident that they knew what was good for them, the whole bunch of us kept our current pace while we continued to scan the area for any threats lurking nearby.

| Creatures Killed & EXP Gained |

Deathclaws (2) 4,500 Exp - Giant Radscorpions (7) 5,670 Exp - Radscorpions (15) 3,375 Exp - Raiders (72) 24,300 Exp - Raider Veterans (5) 3,713 Exp - Super Mutants (18) 12,150 Exp - Super Mutant Brutes (6) 5,400 Exp - Super Mutant Masters (2) 2,250 Exp - Total Exp 61,358

| New Loot |

Aid: Bags of RadAway (27) - Jet (23) - Med-x Syringes (17) - Psycho Syringes (14) - Stimpaks (39)

Ammo: .32 Rounds (357) - 10mm Rounds (2,747) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (608) - 5mm Rounds (7,553) - 5.56 Rounds (11,177) - Flamer Fuel (304) - Fusion Core (2) - Microfusion Cells (144) - Mini Nuke (1) - Missiles (7) - Small Energy Cells (208)

Money: Bottle Caps (6,667)

Skill Books: Guns and Bullets (1) - Tumblers Today (1)

Weapons: .32 Hunting Rifles (8) - .32 Revolvers (4) - 5mm Miniguns (2) - Brass Knuckles (5) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (9) - Chinese Officer Swords (2) - Combat Knives (101) - CSG10 Submachine Guns (15) - Flamer (1) - Frag Grenades (70) - Frag Mines (25) - Light Machine Guns (2) - Missile Launcher (1) - Molotov Cocktails (14) - N99 10mm Pistols (77) - R91 Assault Rifles (35) - Sledge Hammers (2) - Spiked Knuckles (2) - Type 17 Chinese Pistols (13) - Type 93 Chinese Assault Rifles (19)

Weapon Magazines: 5mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (5) - 5mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (2) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (30) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 30 Round Magazines (66) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 65 Round Drum Magazines (8) - Light Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (7) - N99 10mm Pistol 12 Round Magazines (243) - R91 Assault Rifle 30 Round Magazines (151) - R91 Assault Rifle 75 Round Drum Magazines (15) - Type 93 Chinese Assault Rifle 30 Round Magazines (82) - Type 93 Chinese Assault Rifle 75 Round Drum Magazines (24)