I haven't written on these forums for sometime, and I may be a bit rusty. Any constructive critisim is welcomed.

Androids Rise: The Rise of A3-46

Prologue

Everything in the town was in shambles and ruin. Not a single living creature was around, that is, except for Android A3-46, a tall stong looking man with a shaven head and hard brown eyes. The A3-46 was the most elite Android ever created by the Commonwealth at the Institute. It was created to replace the outdated A3-21 which was beginning to show signs of its age. The famous Doctor Zimmerman, was killed by being pushed through a third story window by his own personal body guard, which was a A3-21 model. No one knows why the Android pushed him, but it did and after that the whole model began showing signs. After Zimmerman's death, the Commomwealth began building new designs, but A3-46 was the best one created. It had everything they needed in an Combat Capable Android: Speed, Endurance, Strength, Intelligence, and the ability to follow orders so precise, even a human given the same order could not fullfill the order as precise.

The Commomwealth scientists celebrated their new achievement by breaking out old bottle of Champeign that tasted terrible, but was the only thing they had. The scientists kept the A3-46 model a secret for several months, still giving it a regular training exercise to keep its abilities sharp. But they had yet to test it out in the field.

Four weeks later, some Commonwealth scientists and soldiers, travelled to The Pitt with A3-46 armed with only a small pistol and a few clips of ammunition. The scientists and soldiers setup a small base with computers and sensors of different things, to process and evaluate A3-46's killing ability against live enemies.

It started well, A3-46 gave the people who stopped him his alias: Marcus Renshaw, and that he was a traveling wastelander looking for a slave to buy. Everything went well from there, A3-46 moved deep into the Pitt while the scientists and soldiers waited in their hidden base, reading the new data on their computers, that was flowing in from the Android. A3-46 or Marcus Renshaw as they began calling him, took up residence in a small shack near one of the highly irradiated rivers, taking a job as a Slave rangler, and began getting the slaves all pilled together so they could be ready to sell. Marcus showed great in those early days. He did the job he hired onto as a Slave rangler, for three mor months in the Pitt; the scientists and soldiers still reading the data flowing in from Marcus' sensors and read-outs of the Pitt and other things that focused mainly on him.

After another month, the scientists had gathered enough information on Marcus and his abilities, and set in Operation: Omega. The plan to see Marcus' final capability, extermination! They tracked the time, energy he spent, and his exoskeleton health. The Pitt would never be the same.

Welcome back! :foodndrink:

Thanks, but about the story??

Sounds good so far but i'll wait till the next installment to rate it.

You'll just have to wait till tomorrow for Chapter 1. Genius takes time

Screw it, I've had Chapter 1 done for a day now. Might as well post it?

Chapter 1: Death is an Android in disguise

The Pitt was dark and humid from the factorys. Smoke rose in the moonlight while guards were put on watch. At the Commonwealth base in the wasteland, the scientists readied what they would need before they gave the activation code to Marcus through the computer.

"Everything ready?" The main scientist asked. He was a short man, very knowledgable about robotics and bio-enginering. His glasses slid down his nose, annoying him at times to push them back into place. They all wore white science overcoats, and on those coats was a crest that said, The Institute, next to the collar flaps on the right.

"Everything is ready sir. Begin Operation Omega, sir." One of the scientists replied, walking over with the rest to watch the exciting moment.

"Everything we've worked hard to do with this Android, everything we've built into him will be show to us by its full capacity. Be ready to push the abort/deactivate button if things do not work, Reynold." The main scientist said looking back at the computer. "Here we go!" The computer quickly began filling up with all sorts of unlegable writting. It was working though, Marcus during his sleep awoke suddenly alert and with him pisol in hand. The Androids sensors were exstatic with orders to be fullfilled. But the main order was: Eliminate all human life in The Pitt.

Without a word, Marcus stepped out of his hut and walked over to his neighbor's house, not thinking to knock like a normal human would. The door peeled right off its hinges, shocking the neighbor awake with a jolt when he saw Marcus standing there. Pistol held at his head. Before the man could get a word, Marcus pulled the trigger, the man's head shot back, his eyes rolled back into his head. Blood and brains exploded from the back of his head, and landed on the wall behind him. Marcus walked back out, and began for the next house. It was the same with that house, and the four houses after.

The word began to quickly get spread around that there was a killer in The Pitt, and he was unstoppable by any of them. Gun shots could be heard in the distance, and women quickly grabbed their children and tried to take shelter, but with one of Marcus' perks, his auto-changable inferred spectrum eye sight, they had little place to hide. That was another marvel, that the Commomwealth celebrated. The A3-46 model had the ability to see in Inferred, X-ray, Ultraviolet, and Visible light that all humans and animals could only see. It was the ultimate creation, built to stand up against a Deathclaw or Yao Guai strike, A3-46 was showing greatness in place of horror.

As Marcus made his way from the small shacks that lay near the river, and moved towards the slave compound. He began going up against fierce Slaver resistance. They fired all they had at the Android, but nothing seemed to be doing anything. He bled like any other person, but still he continued silently to kill his screaming victims. At the base, the scientists and soldiers cheered and celebrated the data that was flowing in, A3-46 had a killing ratio of 8-1 with in minutes, and the numbers were rising rapidly. Soon it became 12-1. Marcus was a killing machine. But for the slavers, Marcus was a nightmare.

"Guntherson! hurry and blast that [censored]!" A slaver yelled to one of his workers. The young man didn't know what to do, he just fired in fear which made his aim a bit off. Marcus absorbed all the bullets that hit him, he flinched a bit but continued.

"What the [censored] is happening with this guy!" the slaver yelled again. No reply came from Guntherson, gun shots rang out from Marcus, and the slaver took cover hoping not to be shot. He peeked over behind his cover, and saw that Guntherson was slumped over with a single bullet hole in his head. His eyes were rolled back in his head, his lips drooped down, and blood rolled down his forhead, dripping off onto a broken slab of concrete.

"TYPHOON!" A man yelled from across two buildings, holding a rocket launcher, and looking over at the slaver. "HAY TYPHOON! WATCH ME BLOW THIS [censored] TO THE MOON!" The slaver was a regular, he was always a bit energetic and if properly diagnosed, would have Attention Deficet Hyper-active Disorder. The Rocket Launcher was a big as him almost, Typhoon looked at Marcus making sure he didn't see the slaver with the rocket launcher.

"HURRY UP AND BLAST HIM YOU DUMB [censored]!" Typhoon ordered with worry and demand in his throat. He was a powerful man, stong for what he did, but nothing compared to Marcus. The sound of the gasses echoed as Typhoon watched the first rocket fly through the air, almost in slow motion as it headed right towards Marcus who was busy knocking down a slaver and without remourse on his face, shot him three times, putting in a new clip. Typhoon watched in horror and excitement as the rocket flew straight and true towards the beaten android. But Marcus had terrific sensors that were meant to detect flying objects and such.

As the rocket was about to hit the ground, Marcus stepped a bit to his left, just dodging the rocket before it exploded with a loud bang, sending rock and other debris through the air. The slaver with the rocket launcher cheered, loading another just for safe measure. Typhoon began to cheer as well, standing up and raising his rifle in happyness. It seemed to be all over.

"DID YOU SEE THAT TYPHOON! I GOT THE SON OF A [censored]. NO ONE IS WALKING AWAY FROM THAT!" The slaver said, Typhoon's ears rang a bit from the blast but that would go away soon. Marcus' body was no where to be seen. It seemed like he had be oblitereated from the rocket.

"GREAT JOB KID! NOW WE CAN REST EASY!" Typhoon yelled back, lowering his guard a bit so he could relax. The slaver with the rocket launcher didn't reply, Typhoon figured he was coming down from the building so they could speak better. It was over, but the houses near the river would need to be fixed up and new workers would have to be found to replace the dead ones.

Typhoon walked up to the top of the building, which was its third floor. Orginally the building had had five floors, that is, before the bombs and everything. People on the ground cheered and celebrated their quick victory over the wild killer. Typhoon called over to the kid once more, trying to get him to reply. It didn't happen, nothing but silence.

"Hay kid where-" Typhoon looked up at the building towards a sudden crash of glass. A body suddenly came flying with the falling debris towards Typhoon. He stood stunned as the body came to a crashing stop against the cement. Blood sprayed all around, some getting on Typhoon as he walked over, his hands shaking in horror of the body. The kid's body was blood and torn. It looked like his face had been smashed in by one really good punch. His arms were broken, and both his legs along with four of his ribs. People called to Typhoon asking what it was that fell? He couldn't respond, he was shocked at what he saw.

"We all die sometime?" A strong hulking voice said coming from a shadowed doorway. Typhoon looked quickly, and saw a tall figure standing there. He couldn't make anything out body wise, but two dim lights close together. "When you die. It will be like him." The figure said again. Typhoon's eyes began to water, as he looked at the recked body of the young slaver.

"[censored] you, piece of [censored]." Typhoon said leaping up, and charging towards the shadowed figure. Marcus stepped out of the shadow a bit, revealing his face and forward body. His face was covered in dried blood and dirt. He looked like a mess, but he was still in fuctioning order. Typhoon charged with everything he had, before drawing a knife from his belt and holding it, ready to stab Marcus in the chest. The Androids combat sensors calculated all the possible ways this could go in seconds. The enhanced combat chip was extordinary in its way.

Marcus with surprise to Typhoon, grabbed his arm with the knife and broke it quickly. Typhoon did not have time to scream as Marcus gripped his throat with his enhanced strength choking the life out of him.

"I told you, when you die. You'll die like him!" Typhoon looked at Marcus, trying to break his grip of his throat. He gasped for air, each gasp he took, Marcus mimiced the gesture. The man was beginning to turn blue in the face, air was not reaching his brain anymore. He was starting to black out. "Goodbye." Marcus said with a flick of his wrist, snaping Typhoons neck in two. People stood at the bottom of the building, and looked at Marcus as he approached the ledge, and threw both of the bodies to them. The women shrilled in fear and the young children cried out. Marcus turned around, and grabbed a rocket in each hand. He had taken them from the dead slaver from before. They were already armed and ready to explode, when Marcus threw the first in his left hand, sending it through the air perfectly. People screamed and scattered but in the chaos, the rocket sent bodies of women, children and men flying through the air lifeless. He did not relish in the killing, how could he with his feeling sensors downed by the explosion of the rocket. But continued with his order, that's all it was to him.

More bodies flew through the air, and smacked against walls as Marcus finally ran out of the rockets, and began shooting into the crowd, hitting them all in the head or upper spine sending blood all over. His targeting system was top of the line, nothing the wasteland had could beat Marcus at targeting something from a distance. His optimal zoom capabilies excelled as his sight zoomed in and out, targeting different ranged targets.

After a few hours, The Pitt was completely silent of screams and shrills of horror. Buildings stood crumbing even more, and houses stood burning slowly to the ground. Marcus' pistol rested in his hand, the end of the barrel smoking from the intense heat that came from the barrel. The Pitt had been completely exterminated, no living creature had been left alive. Not even the slaves themselfs were helped by Marcus. Women, children, old people. Everyone was dead, Marcus walked around checking over the place once more as figures on a small hill walked towards him. Marcus ignored them, waiting till they were closer to strike. But he was out of ammo for his pistol, it was alright. His fists would do just fine.

Finally the figures came into view, and approached Marcus. It was the scientists and soldiers packed with their computers, and other gear. The lead scientists stepped from the group, knowing Marcus could strike at any moment.

"A3-46 Recall code: Omega, initialize. Lets return to the Institute, A3. We are all very pleased with your results."Marcus stood there for a moment, allowing his hostile side shut down, making him almost making him into a brain dead state of just being a machine that took orders. The soldiers and scientists were impressed, and hurried to the Institute to allow A3-46 to become fully operational in all Commonwealth dealings that involved hostile negotiations. It seemed that recently, the Commonwealth's leadership was taking a interest in NCR business, some of which involved the Commonwealth directly, and some that they didn't want it to be known. Android A3-46 model also known as Marcus Renshaw, would be their crowning achievement against the snooping, NCR.

10/10 :clap: a few mistakes though like in this part

everything we've built into him will be show to us by its full capacity

should be

everything we've built into him will be shown to us by its full capacity

and it should be infrared not inferred. But anyway good job nonetheless!

Good to see you back Strangelove. You still got it.

Good to see you haven't completely forgot about us, Strangelove.

Nice story, I can see your interested in Androids now as well. Keep up the good work, I like how you always work with different factions and groups, rather than what is usually on here. Mostly its about the BOS or Enclave, but seeing something on The Institute is something interesting and unique. Keep up the good work as always

Welcome back, man.
Overall pretty good, just watch your spelling. Good to see you home XD

Glad you all like it. My "Word" is a bit screwed up, and sometimes it reads things wrong or says things are wrong that aren't. I'm fixing it. But Chapter 2 should be up later today.

Chapter 2: TOP SECRET

When the science team returned to the Commonwealth, and quickly began turning the data Marcus had given to them. The leaders were amazed at how well Marcus handled out in the field. They celebrated even more, with the terrible champaign they had so much of. All while Marcus, the star of the Commonwealth and The Institute, practiced his gun tactics at the training field. He was all cleaned up now, the dried blood and dirt had been cleaned off of him, and the cuts and scratches he had suffered were all healed together. Marcus was back to his top form.

"Ok Marcus, lets see what you can do with this Assault Rifle here. 10-1 says you run out of ammo before the course even ends." The course director said jokingly, and handed Marcus the rifle. It was light in his hands, good balance, and seemed to have a good enough kick when fired. "Remember Marcus, you've got to step up to the line before I can start the course."


"Oh yes, sorry about that." Marcus replied stepping to the firing line, his Assault Rifle ready in hand. The course director smiled and pulled the lever that began the course. This course trained both Marcus' reflexes and quick ability to tell a non-combatant from a combatant. The course started with a whine from the starting siren.

Quickly Marcus stepped forward, firing at a target with a 10mm pistol. He fired a small burst, blowing the targets head clean off. Another target popped up, revealing a man holding a gun to a womans head. Marcus' targeting system quickly chose the man's head and fired. The woman target was not even damaged by the bullet rounds that tore the targets head off once more. Marcus continued down the course, in the distance a target popped up, revealing a sniper target. Marcus zoomed in, and fired three bursts, all hitting the target in fatal areas on the body.

The Course Director's computer read and followed Marcus through the whole course. Timing him and judging him on his kill ratio. He was doing well, the Course Director was amazed at the agility he had to take down a target, and register another within a second of killing the one. Marcus was improving in his kill ratio, he was closing in on the highest score, with only two targets left. He looked around, the course was silent all around, suddenly a target popped up revealing two gunmen with a baby and the other with a screaming mother being held back by another gunmen. Marcus quickly took aim and fired, hitting the gunmen with the baby in the head, and a split second after, shooting the other gunman in the throat and head.

Another siren sounded, deaming the course relay over. Marcus lowered his guard, and switched to non-combatant mode. The Course Director walked out with two scientists that had walked in while Marcus was finishing the last two targets.

"That was a good job, Marcus. Tomorrow we'll work on another weapon?" The Course Director said taking the Assault Rifle from his hands, and returning it to the armory. The two scientists stood impressed at Marcus' new killing ratio of 45-1. They showed him the paper work, he was impressed as well. The Pitt had increased his kill ratio as well, but this was even better. The scientists looked at him, he was sweating like a real human would. He was totally capable of showing human feelings and emotions. The Pitt was just a training exercise. The NCR would show much more resistance than a bunch of slavers and wasteland scum.

"Marcus if you would come with us. We have a mission we'd like to assign you, it is of high priority." One of the scientists said, resting his hand on Marcus' shoulder.

"No problem, Doc! If a mission needs to be done, then I'm your man to get it done." Marcus replied with a smile. The scientist returned the gesture, and the three walked out of the course and made their way to the mission debriefing room. Along the way, other Androids were being worked behind closed doors or some were coming out of their rooms. Some Androids were used as science assistants, taking notes and things like that. But Marcus was destined for greatness, the Commonwealth had alot of hope in Marcus, and his abilities.

The scientists and Marcus walked into the debriefing room, it was full of people. Mostly other Androids that were assigned to the same mission. A tall man, shorter than Marcus but a tall man to others, sat at the head of the table. Two Commonwealth guards stood on opposite sides, armed with Plasma weapons. Marcus took his seat next to another android, while the two scientists left the room. The man stood up, and greeted the group of no more than seven.

"All of you here have been assigned to a special mission, and that is why you are here. None of you will be working together directly on this mission, but you all will be working for the same goal. So listen carefully to the main plan, so then you won't be lost while you are assigned specific duties to accomplish the mission." The man walked over to a map, and pointed a large land mass, that was obviously the United States and some other countries, Marcus didn't know. Everyone in there listened intently on what the plan was, they all seemed very excited. "It seems the NCR, located here, has been looking into some killings that they've been experiencing in their territory. These killings have been considered linked by the NCR, but we can't allow them to look further into it. For one reason, we did it?"

The group looked at one another, astonished that the Commonwealth was doing missions in the NCR, and they were being passed off as murders. Marcus and the group began talking, but order was quickly taken back by the man as he continued.

"Like I was saying, the NCR has been looking into a string of murders that we've done. But they don't know we've done them, but we worry they might catch on after they took into custody one of our operatives for questioning. NCR is made up of some small settlements, so it should be easy to infultrait them with your alias'. You will all be given folder that inside give you specific targets and places of interest we need to you to take care of any way you can. But what you are all working for, is the collapse of the NCR's investigation into these murders." One of the Androids across from Marcus raised his hand, looking confused a bit.

"Why were these murders done?" The Android said lowering his hand. The man giving the debriefing looked at him, and smiled. The Android smiled back, but quickly got rid of it as the man lost his.

"Because those files are classified to you. Anymore questions, besides the murders?" The man asked curious, looking over the table. No one answered or raised their hand, "Very good then. These two men will give you your specific mission debrief. Do not speak with anyone or others with your mission. It is Top Secret, understand?"

"Yes sir!" The group replied, taking the folder that was handed to them and leaving. On all their folders, was their name. Marcus took his, excited about his new mission. He walked down the hall, and took some stairs up before he reached his room. It was nice, small and cozy for a single person. He sat down at his desk, his desk and room were always clean and tidy, since he hardly lived there. Marcus began pulling out papers and photos, reading about the people in his photos and places he would be going.

[TOP SECRET]
[MISSION IV T]
[OPERATIVE: A3-46]

[The man in the photo is one Officer Andrew Garret. He works for the NCR's military complex, and is one of the head officers working on the murders. If he succeed's at his duty, The Commonwealth will be exposed, and hundreds of NCR soldiers will be sent to attack. Though the Commonwealth is strong and inteligent. We can not directly stand up against the NCR's military.

Kill this man, and anyone who is with him when you kill him. Hide the bodies if you can? Just don't let anyone see you kill him. Once you've done the job, get into contact with "Alice". She will assist you with what will be needed after.

Good luck, and good hunting]

Marcus tore the message up, and put it in his little fire stove. They were always told to burn their mission directions after reading, so no spies or someone else could know about it. The room was filled with things that Marcus never really used. He took what he needed from the folder, and placed the rest in the fire with the burning orders. A knock came to his door, it was soft and gentle.

"Who is it?" Marcus asked before opening it.

"Its Tania, Marcus. Just come to wish you farewell?" A woman said as Marcus opened the door. She was a scientist, that worked with Marcus during his construction and training at first. Her brown hair made her eyes glisen in the light a bit. "I just came to say farewell, and that I hope your mission goes well."

"Thank you, Tania. But it's just a regular mission. Nothing out of the ordinary, just some people need to be told some things. I should be back soon?" Marcus said resting his hands on her shoulders. Tania looked up at him with a smile, worry was all over her face. Marcus was like her child in a way. She had taught him how to speak and read. She had done alot with him during his first years. Marcus kissed her gently on the head, and walked off down the hall. Tania waved farewell, and returned to her lab.

Marcus made his way down the hall and some stairs, reaching the stationing area of The Instititute. The Commonwealth had, with all their superior technology, created and restored several Vertibirds that were used to dispatch Androids and others deep into the wasteland. The pilots themselfs were Androids, only assigned to fly Vertibirds for the Commonwealth.

Marcus could see others who were assigned to his mission, board their own Vertibirds. Marcus returned to reality after being stuck looking at a woman he had never seen before, until the mission debrief. She began flooding his mind, he had never seen her, and wondered who she was.

"Let's go, Space Cadet!" The pilot ordered, pointing to his Vertibird.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted." Marcus said hoping into the Vertibird. It was nice inside, loud but nice. The pilot got into the pilots seat, and began making the last checks as the engines warmed up. Marcus strapped himself into the seat, looking out the Vertibirds side windows, out into the wasteland.

"Your weapons are under your seat if you want to grab them. Might be a good idea, incase we crash!" The pilot said jokingly as the Vertibird lifted off the ground, and headed west. Marcus did as he was asked, and grabbed a briefcase that was fairly large. He unlatched the briefcase, and was amazed at his weapons. He took the two combat knifes assigned to him, and slid them into their sheaths, one attached to his belt, the other was inside his boot. He was also assigned twin .223 pistols. They were something to have while on a mission. He strapped them into their holsters, both attached to his tighs. And finally, Marcus was given a rifle that needed to be assembled. He quickly took the pieces, and in five minutes had assembled what turned out to be a Assault Rifle. Marcus smiled at his new toys he could play with. Next in the briefcase was extra ammo for the pistols and rifle. Marcus placed the clips into their carriers on his belt, and on his bandoleer that went across his chest and back.

The Vertibird continued its course west, Marcus placed the briefcase back under his seat and relaxed into his seat. He shut his eyes, for when he woke up. NCR would be on the horrizon, and Officer Andrew Garret would be in his sights.

10/10 10/10 That was a good chapter. I like the caring part, Tania had for Marcus, like he is apart of her in some weird way. Reminds me of those old cheezy Sci-fi's during the 70's and 80's. But your story, and your character development are MUCH better.

Keep up the good work, hope to see more soon

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What he said, dont stop doing what your doing strange.

:goodjob: :goodjob: :goodjob: :goodjob:

The only problem is that some sentences end in ?'s when they aren't questions...

Chapter 3: Welcome to the NCR

Marcus awoke to the sound of the Vertibirds engines, and the pilots voice. He looked around, his system was getting orginized as Marcus looked out one of the windows down onto the wasteland. All around, it was arid and dry. Nothing was growing for miles around. Something that did catch Marcus' eye was two Giant Radscorpions battling one another over something. He zoomed in, and saw it was a dead wastelander or at least pieces of a dead wastelander. Marcus leaned back in his seat to relax, the pilots voice entered his ears.

"NCR is just a few miles up ahead. Get ready to go." The pilot said gesturing at Marcus to look forward. He did so, and saw nothing but more arid and dry wasteland. Marcus was confused at what the pilot was pointing at.

"What are you pointing at?" Marcus asked confused, and still trying to spot what he could. The pilot laughed, and pointed to a faint object in the distance that was growing in size.

"There, that's where I'm dropping you. That's your destination." Marcus looked at the pilot, and zoomed in to the growing object. It was a small settlement, getting larger and larger as they flew closer. Marcus' eyes couldn't zoom in any farther, so he just sat back in his seat and relaxed until they were five miles out from the town. The Vertibird's propellers began to level the ship out as the pilot gently brought the Vertibird on the ground. Marcus checked his weapons once more, just to be safe. The engines went silent, and the pilot rummaged through somethings he had up front with him.

"Thanks for the lift. You picking me up once this is done?" Marcus asked curious.

"Maybe?" The pilot replied, then pulled out an old wasteland trader outfit for Marcus. "Here, put this on over your clothes. You'll fit in better with the population if your wearing this. Not so out of place." The pilot said smiling at Marcus as he put the large coat on, and others. Marcus grabbed some dirt and smeared it on his face and clothes, after a minute, Marcus looked like a true wasteland trader. The Vertibirds engines began to roar to life once again as Marcus grabbed a bag of junk to add more to his alias. The Vertibird lifted into the sky, and flew away back towards the East coast, back to the Institute.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders, and took a breath. He looked at the empty bleak wasteland, and started towards the settlement. He was excited to get the mission finished. Then he could return to the Commonwealth and Institute to relax, though he didn't really need to relax, it was just part of his human emotions chip that made him think that. Marcus could if ordered or needed, could kill for hours, but rarely would he be ordered to do so.

As Marcus neared the town, a small sign with the words "Welcome to Shady Sands" written on it. Marcus smiled, Shady Sands, he had heard of this place before. He had read stories and papers on past events taking place in Shady Sands. He would be just another wastelander, visiting Shady Sands. His mission was clear to him, and he wanted to get it over with. But he always did it so precise and clean, it was impossible to imagine something like an Android could do such a thing.

The town was walled off from the world, or at least from the dangers of the wasteland. Marcus approached the wall, they were fairly tall. Taller than himself. But Marcus could easily tear them down with his increased strength.

"HALT STRANGER!" A voice said on top of the wall. Marcus stopped, looking up at a man with a rifle in his hands, ready to blow Marcus' head off. The man stood strong, not blinking an instant as Marcus raised his hands showing he was no harm to them. Another man came rushing over, he was also carrying a rifle, ready to fire.

"Who are you wastelander?" The second guard asked lowering his guard while the other still had his rifle raised. Both were clad in typical combat armor, but Marcus could shoot through it with his twin .223's. Marcus smiled at the two gaurds, his hands still raised in the air.

"I am just a gentle wasteland trader, looking for a place to offload my inventory. Marcus shook the bag of junk, some metal things clanked together while others banged. The two guards both lowered their guard even more, and allowed Marcus to enter the town of Shady Sands. It was early morning, and the town was just waking up to the rising sun. Marcus had to cover his eyes so the sun wouldn't blind him. The two guards walked down, approaching Marcus with their rifles to their sides.

"Welcome to Shady Sands, partner. Sorry for the antics, but we've been having some problems with wastelanders coming into town causing problems for us. You won't be causing any problems will you?" The first guard asked looking Marcus over once or twice.

"No, I won't be here for very long. Just to drop off some inventory, and maybe get something to eat, and have a place to sleep before I move out again." Marcus replied looking at the town. The two guards smiled and walked off, back to their posts. Marcus walked off into the town, quickly finding one of the towns merchant stores. The inside was covered in all sorts of wasteland junk: Kitchen ware, armor, weapons, food, meds, and some clothes hanging on a rack.

"Oh hello?" The merchant said. He was an old man, with a long white beard and partially bald on top but with long white hair flowing behind him. He wore old glasses that seemed to small for his face. Marcus approached the counter, and layed the bag of junk on the table. He untied the top and revealed all sorts of metalic junk, and some other things. "Selling today are we?"

"Yes." Marcus said letting the merchant check out his wares. A young woman was standing in the back room, busying herself with some work in the back. Marcus looked at her, she spotted him eyeing her with a mirror next to her. She smiled, her eyes were soft and kind. Her face and eyes reminded Marcus of Tania back at the Institute. He smiled back at her, and returned his attention back to the old merchant.

"You've got some very valuable things here. I'll give you fifteen caps for the computer sensors, ten for the sensor modulars, and twelve for the scrap metal pieces. What do you say?"

"That's fine. It should be useful?" Marcus said counting the caps faster than the old merchant could hand them to him. It was all there, all 37 caps. It was all really meaningless to Marcus, the need for caps but like any Android built to intervene with humans, they were a hollow need. The old merchant smiled and placed the bag of metalic junk behind the counter. Marcus smiled to the young woman once again, and walked out back into the town. It was starting to get busy with traders and settlers alike, Marcus needed to find a place to stay, a place to work out of.

Bravo! Bravo! I love this story and will continue to follow it.

This story is coming along very well Dr. Strangelove. Keep up the good work, character development is coming along great. I'm also going to be keeping an eye on this story. :tops:

Chapter 4: Surprise

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the town began to get crowded with wastelanders and locals even more. Marcus had a hard time traversing through the streets of Shady Sands, trying to find a place to stay until his mission was complete. Large Brahmin moved through the streets with large boxes of goods and things to be sold by the traders. Small bars and diners were filled with people getting something to drink and eat before their day really got started. Marcus took it all in, registering faces with his target, but no one matched. Marcus figured this would happen, so he quit searching all the faces that pasted, and stopped in front of a small two story motel.

The place smelled like something had been burnt or over cooked. Marcus had smell receptors like a dog, but much better. A woman appeared at a desk with a very large book. She was a stout woman, her body was not proportioned well with anything on her. Marcus took her for a child, so asked where the owner of the motel was. The stout woman looked up at Marcus, the book was a account book with all her sells and buys. She fixed her glasses to focus on Marcus.

"I am the propriator of this establishment. What can I do for you?" The woman said in a crow like voice. She wasn't very old, maybe in her mid to late 40s, but her business had aged her many years ahead. Marcus looked at her, getting her face resignation on file.

"I'm looking for a place to stay. Do you have anything available?" Marcus replied finishing his resignation of her. The stout woman put away the book currently on the table, and grabbed another book with all her registered visitors. She looked down the row, and stopped.

"Yes I do. Room 9, it's upstairs and just down the hall. Do you need anyone to carry your things?" The stout woman asked, motioning towards a small boy with a slave collar around his neck. He looked tired and not take care of very well. Marcus had pitty for him, but saving the boy from a life of slavery was not in his missions description, and he was all about the mission at the moment.

Marcus waved the boy away, and took his own things up to Room 9. The door creaked open as Marcus saw the room was neat and clean. Surprising for what the rest of the delapidated motel looked like. The room didn't smell either, and Marcus could breath easy or just turn his smell receptors off. There was a small window in the room, light broke through the broken blinds giving a strange shadow on the wall. Marcus could hear the town bustling with commerce and culture. He pulled the blinds up, and the strange shadow disapeared from the wall. The window was partially open, and Marcus decided to close them so the dry breeze wouldn't bother him. He looked back into the room, and decided to get to work quickly. His memory files had the mission papers on file, so he could refer to them when he needed rather than carry dozens of papers along with him.

The Android sat down, and began looking through his files. There were dozens of files, for different missions and people. It only took a couple of seconds before Marcus found what he was looking for. The whole mission and everything on Officer Andrew Garret was together, so Marcus wouldn't be confused on where to find the information. With his fingers, Marcus poked at the air as if he was searching for something right in front of him. But they were actually working inside his mind to scroll through the all the information.

"File 223/46/B." A voice said inside Marcus' head. It was a gentle voice, programmed to help Marcus find files and such for missions. The voice sounded very similar to Tania, who denied to Marcus that she put her own voice in there to help him. Marcus didn't mind, but he knew like she did that it was her voice.

The voice continued pulling files about the mission. Marcus quickly read them, most were about his time of operation, and where Officer Garret worked, and when he went on patrol. Marcus was pleased with all the information he had been given by The Commonwealth. It was all very neat and detailed.

"Retrieve file 234/46/A, please." Marcus said seemingly talking to himself. The voice filed through, and pulled the file out, displaying it to Marcus.

"File 234/46/A." The voice replied. Marcus read the file quick, and then placed it back in its filed area. After a few more minutes of reading reports and other things on Officer Garret, Marcus readied hiself to find Officer Garret, and put a stop to him before he discovered what The Commonwealth was doing in the NCR.

Marcus walked back down the stairs, the stout woman still sitting at her desk reading through her books. The young slave boy, still sat in his corner alone and silent. The town was noisy, very different from what The Commonwealth was like, which was calm and collected. Shady Sands was chaotic and noisy, but Marcus had been programed to deal with this like any other human interactive Android. The sun was warm against Marcus' replicated skin, inside his skin were tiny little receptors built to give the Android a sense of feeling and touch. For the A3-46 model, it was all very real and personal almost in a way.

As Marcus made his way through the town, vendors called out to him, telling him of great deals he was getting and that the vendor up ahead was a crook like no other. Marcus could read peoples facial expressions, telling if they told the truth or lied. Almost every single vendor Marcus spotted was a crook. He had to say, they needed to make a living somehow, and though Marcus didn't condone lying himself, it was away to get through life for the vendors.

Everything that was anything was in a frenzy as Marcus approached the Shady Sands guard house. The guards had created a wall of themselfs, blocking off any civilian trying to get through to see what was going on. They had surrounded a house, and on one visible window, Marcus eyed blood covering it. This interested Marcus, so he decided to see what was happening. Civilians were shouting and some were crying out in sadness as Marcus approached one of the guards.

"What happened here?" Marcus asked curiously and a little confused.

"Someone was murdered just a couple of hours ago. Get out of here, this is no place for wastelanders or Shady Sands residence." The guard said holding some spectators back. Before Marcus turned around to leave, two guards walked out with a body covered in a blanket with blood on it. Marcus used his x-ray vision to register the victims face. It was a woman, around her early 30s. Marcus scanned her face with the others registered to him. Surprisingly there she was, Mrs. Nancy Garret. Suddenly a rush of surprise surrounded Marcus as he realized Nancy Garret was Officer Andrew Garrets wife. Marcus walked away, confused and trying to figure out what had happened. Was Mrs. Garret one of the targets for another Android assigned to the mission. Marcus didn't know, but hopefully his mission was unfaltered, and he could continue searching for Officer Garret, who would obviously be put in a highly secure location.

Marcus stepped out of the crowd, and leaned against a buildings wall, thinking of what his next move would be. He rescanned the face of Mrs. Garret time and time again, bringing up her vitals and how she died. It was obvious to him, she died of two bullet wounds, and to finish the job, she was strangled until no air could reach her brain. She had had a stroke during the strangulation, and that is what really killed him. Marcus couldn't blatenly tell the Shady Sands guards, they would probably take him in as the killer. No he had to wait and bide his time, all while still searching for Officer Garret. Marcus looked up into the bright blue sky, this mission should have been a cake walk. But because of some stupid Android, Marcus was forced to reform his plan all together. Once the mission was done, Marcus could relax.

Its good, another 10/10 from me. The story does seem to be going a bit slow, but knowing you Strangelove, you've got something up your sleeve that will blow us all away, so keep it up

Once again, nice job! 9/10!

Chapter 5: Hello and Farewell

The next day, Marcus payed the old woman at the desk another sum of caps to stay for two days, and returned to his room. The woman took the caps without question, she was obviously a greedy person. But lucky for her, Marcus still had enough caps. For hours, Marcus thought of what his next move would be, he listened to the people on the street, they were all talking about Mrs. Garret's death, and who had killed her. None of them were close to the answer, but neither was Marcus. He thought of what he could do to get Officer Garret out alone. But the death of his wife counter acted what was possible if she hadn't been killed. People spoke about how Officer Garret was in hiding from the killer or killers. He was under heavy security by Shady Sands guards.

Marcus decided to go get a drink at the local bar. The owner was a mean tough looking man, but Marcus could easily kill the man, he took a face recognition of the owner, and took a seat at the counter. Marcus ran his vitals, seeing that the man was highly stressed, and with high blood pressure. The owner walked over, he had an eye patch over his left eye, and he smelled of cheap beer.

"What will you have?" The owner asked in a gruff rocky voice.

"A whiskey please. Give me two." Marcus added as the owner nodded and walked to get him his whiskey. The place was crowded with traders and citizen alike, people were talking and laughing with one another. Others were passed out drunk, and were hauled off by the bar's security, who threw them out on the street. The owner returned with the two whiskey's in little shotglasses. Marcus payed for the drinks, and quickly drank both of them. He raised his hand, asking for two more. The owner nodded again, and brought two more shotglasses of whiskey.

"Is that all?" The owner asked looking at Marcus with a dirty smile. His teeth were yellow and had some brown holes in them. The teeth were probably dead, and just hung there without anywhere to go. Marcus looked at the owner, and smiled back.

"Yeah, get me a beer aswell. I think I deserve it?" Marcus said with a cheerie tone to his voice. The owner grabbed a beer from under the counter, and placed it infront of Marcus. He looked around at the patrons, and smiled at Marcus.

"So what have you been doing, that's brought you to Shady Sands?" The owner asked curious of Marcus.

"I'm just another wastelander who gathers junk and sells it to who ever will take it?" Marcus said downing one of the whiskeys. The owner laughed, his yellow brown teeth were even worse than Marcus had realized. His laugh was strong and deep. It surprised Marcus, when the owner snorted as he laughed. "So how long have you been working here?" Marcus added.

"Oh several years now. It used to belong to my grandfather, and really my whole family. Its just been passed down to me now." The owner said leaning on the counter top. He pulled out his rag, and scrubbed a dirty spot on the counter. The place was full of smoke and the smell of dirty tired people. Marcus fained interest in the owner's reply, taking a swig from his beer. The owner and Marcus looked at one another for a moment in silence. Marcus didn't now how to react, it confused him at why the owner was silent and watching him.

"What?" Marcus said laying his beer down.

"Nothing, you just remind me of this one guy I met in here. But its nothing really. Enjoy your drinks." The owner replied walking off to serve other patrons. Marcus recovered the owners face from his data files, and contorted it a million different ways to show what he looked like when weary of someone. It only took a couple of seconds for Marcus, when he found the man's face. He scanned it, placing a grid over his face, and taking readings from each square grid. As the data was being collected, Marcus continued to drink his beer and finish his last whiskey. A minute later, and the data was finished. The man was lying, he was looking at Marcus for one reason. To figure out if Marcus was an easy kill.

The bar crowd began to grow as the hour passed, and Marcus finished his beer. He walked out, and waved good-bye to the bar owner. Marcus had found the killer of Shady Sands. Now all he had to do was kill the owner so he could continue on with his mission. The streets were terribly crowded, and Marcus traversed the crowds, finally making it to his room. He went over the data once more, and studied the eyes of the bar owner. Marcus wasn't surprised, but at the same time was a bit stunned. The bar owner was an Android, A2-33, was his model. Those Androids had been obsolete for years now, some were still used at the Institute, but none were used as field operatives for the Commonwealth. Marcus deemed the Android a "Runner", an Android which had decided not to work with the Commonwealth anymore, and wanted to be "free".

Marcus checked his twin .223's and combat knifes strapped to his legs. He covered the weapons with his large Trader coat, and walked back out into the town towards the bar. The owner did not see Marcus walk in, which allowed him to sneak over into a dark corner of the bar, and watch the bar owner. His x-ray vision showed the Androids robotic skeleton underneath his synthetic skin. The obsolete Android would be nothing to Marcus, he had killed his share of escaping Androids. This one would just be another notch in his belt.

As the hours passed, and the bar began to close, Marcus slipped into the bar owners office without being noticed by the bar's security, which was just a bunch of tough looking humans. The office was messy and unkept. Marcus checked the owners desk, finding a plasma pistol in one of the droors. Marcus grabbed it, and placed it in his Trader coat. He checked around some more, but found nothing of interest. The bar owners loud voice echoed faintly into his office, wishing the bar's security a good night. Marcus took a seat behind the desk, waiting for the Android to walk in. He grabbed his .223's from their holsters, resting them on his legs underneath the desk.

The Android was shocked when he saw Marcus sitting there waiting. He looked nervous, grabbing his rag and wipping his brow of sweat. His voice stuttered as he tried to talk to Marcus.

"W-what do y-y-y-you w-want?" The bar owner asked nervously. Marcus smiled and nodded towards the other seat infront of him, allowing the nervous Android to sit. Marcus was getting an itchy trigger finger. He smiled before he spoke a word the Android.

"You killed Mrs. Garret didn't you?" Marcus said acting semi-dumb in his question. The Android was sweating even more now, he grabbed his rag, and wipped his brow of even more sweat. Marcus smiled, looking deep into the Android's eyes.

"I don't know what your talking about, I've never met Mrs. Garret in my life. I've seen her around with Officer Garret, but never have I spoken to her. Marcus sighed a heavy sigh, and revealed both of his .223's, placing them on the desk, both hands ready to pull the triggers. The Android leaned back a bit, knowing of his fate if he didn't speak the truth.

"I don't think that's the right answer?" Marcus said semi-dumb once again. "I know you killed Mrs. Garret because when they took her body from the crime scene, she had the killing technique of an Android. An old technique I grant you, but of an Android none the less. Now did you kill Mrs. Garret in her home?"

"Yes!" The Android said finally giving up his need to lie. It would buy him a few more moments to live. Marcus smiled as he got the answer he wanted. He looked at the sweating Android, taking temperature readings as he saw the Androids body almost all in the orange, the center was a dark red.

"Well, now that I know who killed, Mrs. Garret. I can ask the question, why did you do it? What did you gain from killing her. Because for me, your little stunt has almost cost me a mission." Marcus said, his voice rising higher in anger.

"I was told to kill her because she was going to go to her husband about some slaves or something. The people who I worked with are an orginization that help escaped slaves and androids, get away from their lives. They helped me get away from the Institute while I was in the Capital Wasteland. They're called 'The Railroad', and they mostly operate in the Capital Wasteland. But some operate here in the NCR, mostly in Shady Sands." The Android seemed to be calming down, he was sweating less, and his body temperature was dropping to a normal rate. Marcus smiled, and looked at the worried Android.

"Thank you for the information. You have been a great help, but one last thing-" Marcus said standing up with both .223's in hand. "Where is Officer Garret?" The Android looked at Marcus scared and stunned, he stuttered his words again as he spoke.

"He's at the guard station. He's in a secure bunker like room that can only be accessable by having the passcode. The guards stationed to guard the room had it. I swear that's all I know."

"Thank you for the extra help. Your death will not be in vein now." Marcus said raising both .223's at the Android who looked up, with fear in his eyes. The .223's erupted with a loud explosive crack as four rounds were fired into the obsolete Androids chest. He fell to the ground, lifeless. Marcus quickly holstered his weapons, and grabbed a combat knife from it sheath. He grabbed the Androids head, and cut out the Androids computer inhibitor that stored all its memories. Marcus placed the bloody metalic piece into one of the pockets, and lept out of a window in the office, leaving the body of the dead Android there for all to see.

The sound of voices echoed throught he alley as Marcus made his way to the motel. The streets were still a bit busy with people walking around, having a nice time. Some looked to where they thought the gunshots came from, Marcus just ignored them and walked into the motel, quickly heading to his room. As Marcus pulled out the computer inhibitor, and placed his Trader coat away, the sound of a womans scream echoed through the town of Shady Sands. Marcus would investigate the Androids inhibitor later. Now was a time to rest.

Another android? Interesting. Wouldn't killing that android compromise the Institute though? Who else could make an android and get it all the way there? Still a great read though.

It will be explained more in later chapters, what the Android was doing all the way out west and such. You can count on it

Another great chapter, Dr. Strangelove. But I am curious to how there is another Android? Do the others in Shady Sands know he was an Android or was he quiet about it like Marcus?