[Fury, this is Apache Six, over]

“[Six, this is Fury]”

[The SF teams spotted a scout approximately two clicks North of your position. Need you to intercept and capture. Target is stealthed, so use your thermals, over.]

“[Copy Six. Fury is moving] Ok boys, we got us a snatch and grab. Move out.”

All of Fury Squad stood from their hasty fighting positions and began to form up. Almost immediately a beacon was sent to his heads up display, showing the location of the scout with a red diamond. The originator was one of the snipers, Dagger Three. It was slowly moving around the rubble, bouncing around erratically.

Pulling up his satellite map, he quickly found a way through the ruined streets that should take him behind the lone scout. He transmitted his findings to the rest of the squad as he marched out. The all fell in behind him, weapons ready. Even though most of the Brotherhood was locked up tight in the Pentagon, there was no telling what kind of mutations they would run into.

Valerie had taken the Le’Elephant Bridge and subsequent highway into the plaza. From what Audie had told her, it was the same path the Brotherhood had taken when they assaulted the Purifier when the Enclave had it last time.

The road itself was a death trap. Buildings on either side could house anything from enemy soldiers to super mutants, who would have a clear line of sight and perfect crossfire. She crept along in her borrowed stealth suit, eyes always above and around. Every window was a potential ambush spot.

She had no worries of mines here. The D.C. Wasteland was riddled with old mine fields, from the days following the Great War. Most were ancient relics, but still deadly to the unwary. Since the assault had come through here, all the traps had either been set off or disarmed, leaving a clear path right to the Jefferson Memorial.

She used the craters in the road as cover as she bounded down the street, pausing at each one to give a quick scan of the area. The sounds of the Enclave Engineers working on their bridge could be heard in the distance, as well as some Vertibirds landing on Rivet City. Other than that though, there was utter silence. Not uncommon in the wasteland, since most of the wildlife had been killed off by the Great War, centuries ago.

Once more, she was about to bound to the next crater when two Enclave Soldiers came around the far corner and took positions on either side of the road, facing her direction. Not wanting to push her luck, Valerie paused in mid step, doing her best not to move an inch. With any luck, they would pass her by without notice.

But the two soldiers didn’t move at all. They stood just as still as she, holding their weapons in a relaxed position. Slowly, she lowered her body into the crater she was about to step out of. Once she had gotten inside, she looked back the way she had come.

Two more soldiers stood at the bottom of the Highway Ramp, weapons also down. Her pulse began to race as she looked for a way out of the canyon of buildings. To the west was an empty husk of a building, with no wall on the far end. If he could make it to the window, she’d be free.

Suddenly, her world was thrown into disarray. A loud thump seemed to originate from either side of her, and dusk obscured her visor. She managed to wipe it away, only to see her doom standing upon her.

A fifth Enclave soldier was standing directly on top of her, his legs spread apart, barely an inch from her own. He was staring down directly at her as if she weren’t even wearing the Stealth Suit.

From this distance, she could see everything about hi armor. It was a glossy black like the rest of the Enclave Power Armor, with the word “Wrath” painted on the right briast. The only blemish was a slightly different shade patch just above the word. Its eyes were the most terrifying thing though. Its bright red eyes froze her in place just as easily as glue. The bug-like head was fixated on her and nothing else.

With lightning reflexes, it grabbed her left arm and hoisted her to eye level. She didn’t even have time to scramble away. She suddenly realized the direness of the situation and began to lash out at her attacker, kicking it and punching with her free hand. It seemed to have to effect on the black monstrosity holding her, but her hand and feet began to ache from the abuse she was inflicting.

A painful shock passed through her body, originating on her held arm. Her muscles refused to respond and fell limp. The stealth field surrounding her body disengaged as well, leaving her completely defenseless, as if she had any.

The Soldier’s free hand wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her under its arm, carrying her like a pile of rags. He set off down the road, followed by the other four soldiers towards Rivet City. Valerie knew her life was as good as over.

When Fury Squad arrived at Rivet City, they immediately headed towards the makeshift jail that had been set up in the former museum. Once the prisoner was in the jailer’s custody, Wrath dismissed his squad and headed towards the armory.

His suit had been damaged by the two story drop he had decided to take. It had the desired effect, but that kind of strain is what the shock absorbers were built for. Since the paradive was complete, there was no more need for them and everyone had turned theirs in to the arms room.

Inside the storage compartment of the Advanced Power Armor each soldier was required to have a set of fatigues along with their emergency survival and repair kits. He stripped off his power armor and donned his work uniform. With his armor in for repairs, he decided to head back to the jail. Without his armor, he was forbidden to leave the city, so he wanted to make the best use of his time.

Before he arrived he sent a message to Staff Sergeant Blight asking if he could borrow Corporal Heard for a while. Since she was an interrogator playing sniper, and Falcon Squad just came off shift, she would be the best choice. Corporal Heard also had a taste of the field, rather than most of the intel pukes that had never seen outside of their office.

As he walked into the jail, the guards halted him and checked his credentials. His computer implant was transmitting the correct codes, so they let him through.

The jail itself was a mess. The museum it had occupied had been mostly scrap and junk, displayed prominently as trophies throughout the hangar. The Military Police that came with the Light Boys had pushed all of the stuff into large piles at the eastern end. Force cells and their power generators now lined the floor underneath the walkway. Most were empty, as the Enclave dealt with criminals harshly, and few prisoners not in need of serious medical treatment had been captured.

Wrath approached the only cell with a female. He had known his prisoner was a woman by the armor she was wearing. A stealth suit leaves little to the imagination. Because it completely encased the wearer though, he had not seen her face.

Even now he couldn’t make out her features. The prison detail had stripped her of her stealth suit and donned a fresh set of orange jumpers on her. She was curled up in the fetal position with her blond hair covering her face.

Wrath disengaged the force field of the cell. With a start, she sat up and looked into the face of her captor.

His blood froze. Wrath’s last mission in the DILTER had been nine years ago, to Chicago. He had spent a year infiltrated within the Brotherhood’s ranks, learning what technology they possessed and how to overcome it. When the opportunity came for him to leave, he did so under the cover of a mutant attack.

Valerie was her name. She had been training with the reconnaissance squads and had befriended him all those year ago. He had assumed she would have remained there and fled with the rest of the Brotherhood.

The look on her face said it all; Recognition and joy, followed by denial, betrayal and heartbreak. She sat there, staring back at him, neither moving. It was almost like a bad dream for both of them. Only this one he couldn’t wake up from.

Chicago, one of the most devastated cities during the Great War. Only two other major cities had been hit harder, D.C. and New York. Chicago had been the economic capital of the Mid-west Commonwealth. What remained of the great skyscraqers that once dominated the city littered the grounds around it. Even the suburbs had been destroyed by the nuclear fireballs that annihilated the city core.

Specialist Gregory Wrath stood outside the ruins, observing the landscape. He had been given the mission of finding a group of technologically advanced militia that had been reported in this area. How anyone could find anything in this ruin was beyond him.

The Great War had done much more than destroy everything that man had spent generations building. Just the sheer number of nuclear weapons alone had caused the Earth’s tectonic plates to shift, changing the landscape overnight. Hills and mountains now grew where once there were only plains. Rivers had changed course or dried up completely.

What few maps that had been uploaded into his computer were useless. Nothing was the same as it was two hundred years ago. If the techies could ever get their satellites up and running, they could re-map the terrain and generate new imagery. That was still a decade off though. The encryption used by their ancestors was that complex.

Unfortunately, that meant everything had to be done by ground reconnaissance. While more reliable than aerial reconnaissance, it took more work to get results. Hence his current situation.
Wrath debated on just walking into the city. Since he didn’t have a Geiger Counter, there was no telling how bad the radiation there was. There was little life left around, even most bacteria had gone extinct. What few patches of grass that had survived the nuclear fireballs was now a dried, crunchy brown carpet. Even the trees were nothing more than charred wood.

The outfit he had been issued for this mission was not the best they Enclave had. It consisted of loose fitting clothes that some of the other reconnaissance teams had managed to scavenge from ruins or bodies. He hoped this set came from the former. His section leader said it would help him “blend in” to the local populace.

His cover was that of “Goyacla”, a tribal from the east, near the “endless water”. He thought it stupid to attach superstitious names to the Earth (“Great Mother”) and sky (“Devil’s Home”). He had been indoctrinated on many tribal names for simple things, as well as beliefs, all of which had come from a now extinct tribe located in the outskirts of New York.

Wrath and the New York Enclave didn’t agree with President Richardson’s mass genocide, but followed orders anyway. With him gone, it didn’t take long for the New York scientists to discover a cure and vaccine for the Forced Evolutionary Virus, using the Poseidon Oil Rig Scientists’ own research against them.

It was now time for the Enclave to make itself known again. The inhabitants of Liberty Bunker had lived a life of seclusion. Before President Richardson’s death, they had only came out and slaughtered or captured those who saw them. People were still being rounded up, but once the FEV cure was given to them, they were relocated throughout the cleared sections of New York City, along with the technology and security that came with the Enclave.

The sun was almost at its zenith. Time for Wrath to move in or abort. The latter really wasn’t an option at this point, since he had no information. Reluctantly, he stepped of the hilltop he had been standing upon and began his hike into the city.

It took him several hours to navigate the ruins of the suburbs. It wasn’t until he came within site of a ruined parking garage that he realized he might be on the right track, or completely screwed.
A sign was stuck in the concrete. On it was a wreathed sword with three cogs behind it. He didn’t know if this belonged to the militia group or raiders. Neither would have surprised him much.

Before the war, Chicago had a trove of museums and National Guard armories. Some were even said to have Powered Armor in them, and possibly tanks. If any could be found in working condition, it would be a boon to whoever found them.

As he continued deeper in the city, signs of recent traffic could be seen in the area. The ruined husks of cars and rubble had been cleared from sections of the road, making them passable once more. Large boot prints leading in all directions were imprinted in the dust and dirt of the streets.

About a mile into the city, he saw his first patrol. The four man unit was approaching him cautiously, ancient weapons at the ready. Wrath was able to identify Mark I pattern Laser Rifles and some M4 Carbines. They were wearing T-51B Powered Armor, a staple of the National Guard.

He knelt in the middle of the road, hands spread out to either side. His squad leader had instructed him that this was one of the tribal signs of submission. The more they thought him just a meet local, the better his chances of coming out alive.

The patrol halted just a few paces from Wrath.

“Initiate Valerie, search the local for weapons and gear.”

One of the armored figures carrying an M4 approached him and patted him down. The armored figure pulled out his brass knuckles from his back pocket, as well as the combat knife he stored in his boot.

“That’s it Sir, he’s clean.” It was a feminine voice that spoke from Initiate Valerie. Wrath had guessed it was a female by the name, but one could never tell with some of the tribals.

“Tribal, my name is Paladin Marshall, of the Brotherhood of Steel. State your name and purpose for being here”

Wrath had been briefed about what to do in this kind of situation, and rehearsed it several times before departing Liberty Bunker.

Slowly he rose to a standing position. “My name is Goyacla, of the Long Branch people. I was sent by our Shaman to find the Warriors of Iron and learn to protect my tribe from the Worm-with-many-legs. They attack our people from the endless water, and kill our fishermen. Without strong warriors, my people will die.”

Paladin Marshall nodded at Wrath. “Very well. Initiate Valerie, escort the new recruit, we’re heading back to base.”

“Sergeant Wrath?”

It was Corporal Heard standing next to him. Wrath had trailed off into a best forgotten memory.

He turned to face the young Corporal. She was still wearing her power armor, and dwarfed him in his fatigues. Although by size she was smaller than he, wearing her armor just added that much bulk to her.

“This is the prisoner we just grabbed from the ruins north of here. Her name is Valerie. I want to know what she is doing here, the enemy’s strength and disposition, and any other useful information you can get out of her. Keep it painless too, I need to talk to her when you’re done.”

Wrath watched as Corporal Heard picked up Valerie and carried her off to the interrogation cell. The scout was still too shocked to resist, and stared at Wrath the whole time Heard carried her away. The look of betrayal never left her features.

As the sun set, Audie became worried. Knight Valerie still had yet to report in, and her mission time was long past. He stood in the ruins of D ring in the Citadel, watching the Enclave Engineers working around the clock to finish their bridge.

Either tomorrow or the next day, the battle would begin. He had done all that was possible in the preparations for it, and soon they would discover how well they would do. Nothing seemed to stop this black tide from the north from taking what they wanted, but Audie was determined to have them pay for every inch of ground they walked upon.

Sarah stood next to him. It was the first time he allowed her to don her armor since coming back to the Citadel. The two watched in silence as layers of metal plating were being lain across the remains of the Potomac River. The Engineers would then move forward and drive steel beams into the mud for the next set. More engineers behind them were using gun-like tools to fasten the plates to the beams.

Reasons for the Enclave building a bridge rather than use existing ones was not hard to fathom. Had the Enclave began moving towards one of them, Audie would have sent his own sappers to trap and rig it with explosives. The structural integrity might also be a question to them, but the La’Elephant Bridge had withstood the weight of Liberty Prime easily.

He examined the Engineers’ armor at a distance. With every ounce of his soul he hoped they would not partake in the assault. Each one was easily the size of a super mutant overlord, with thick black plates covering the entire suit. The ones pounding in the beams wielded massive sledge hammers that would make short work of anyone caught in its path.

They did move much slower than other Enclave soldiers though. Where a normal man could walk from one end of the Citadel to the other in just under a minute, the Enclave Engineers might take half an hour at best. Their armor sacrificed speed for strength and protection, almost like the land crawler at Adams Air Force Base.

That same crawler had destroyed Liberty Prime with an Orbital Nuclear Strike. When Audie had reached the firing controls, he had noticed that the Citadel was already pre-programmed into its coordinate database. If this Enclave had access to the same satellites, they might begin their assault with a nuclear bombardment. A frightening thought indeed.

He doubted that though. They would want as much of the Citadel intact as was possible. The computers alone had data in them that stretched back before the Great War. The Brotherhood had since used them for all of their research and personnel tracking as well. A nuclear strike would wipe out all that information, leaving them with nothing to gain here.

Audie had seen enough. He tapped Sarah on her shoulder as he turned to leave. She took one last glace at the bridge work, and then turned to follow him back to the courtyard. It wouldn’t be long until they saw the Enclave close enough.

The interrogation room looked to be a former cabin of Rivet City. A folding bunk was on the far wall, with desks lining the other two. The wall Valerie sat against was bare. A small table sat in the middle of the room. It was where the Enclave Soldier had questioned her in depth about the Brotherhood of Steel.

She was too numb to really care. The one true friend that she had made in all her years in the Brotherhood now worked for her most hated enemy. How he came to join them was a mystery to her. The man she knew as Goyacla was now on the opposite side of this war, and she hated it.

The door opened and he walked in. The uniform he wore was a gray, black and white camouflage design. She had never seen anything similar in all her years in the wasteland. Her captor’s path continued to the metal table in the center of the room, where he sat, hands folded in front of him, starting at her.

All she saw was apathy in those cold, blue eyes. Not even a hint of emotion or depth of his soul was reflected back at her. They were not the eyes she remembered all those years ago back in Chicago. He had been fully of life back then.

New scars and wrinkles creased his face. The scar going over his left eye had not been there when they first met. He was also paler now than he had been before, but other than that, there was no doubt in her mind. It was the same person, very much unlike now.

Slowly, she stood, never taking her eyes away from him. The metal chair across from his was still vacant, and had been since her interrogation had ended. She had yielded no secrets, for she made sure not to know any before she left. What she had known could easily have been found out by watching the Citadel, as she knew the Enclave had been.

There were still more secrets to be had within her head however, but the Enclave interrogator seemed only concerned with the situation at hand. They could have spent hours questioning her about the Chicago Detachment, or even the other units further west, but didn’t. Valerie knew it would come though, the Enclave wouldn’t be here for long.

As she reached the table, rage overcame her. Her friend had betrayed all the ideals they had trained for. With lightning honed reflexes, she slapped him across the face. A loud smack rang through the room. The Soldier was unprepared for it, and was nearly thrown from his chair.

She let the anger flow through her as she reached back for another strike. Before it could connect however, she found herself face down on the table, arm bent painfully backwards. She hadn’t even realized he had moved, and was now holding her in an arm lock.

“I suppose I deserved that first one, but I don’t intend on taking the rest.” He released her arm and shoved her back before taking his seat once more. “Sit down. I came here to explain, not dwell on what is done and past.”

“How could you? How could you join these Monsters?” Her voice was barely a whisper, the depth of betrayal stinging deeply within her heart. “They kill our brothers and sisters, the very same people you were taught to look after!”

His laughter filled the room. “My dear Valerie, you are too naive. Joining the Enclave after I left Chicago would have meant I had left them in the first place, which I hadn’t.”
In all her years of traveling the Wasteland, she had never heard such an unbelievable tale. If Goyacla had been a spy for the Enclave, there was no telling who else could be inside the Brotherhood right now, spilling their deepest secrets to their most feared enemy.

“My name is Staff Sergeant Gregory Wrath, and I have been in service to the Enclave all my life. I was sent to Chicago to learn about a strange group of technologically advanced people establishing a foothold in our country. We had no idea who you people were, and had only the faintest rumors to go off of.

“When I was approached by your patrol, I had no intentions of joining your order, only learning of it. When I wasn’t given a choice in the matter, the mission directed me to stay. If you want to blame anyone for this situation you and I are in, blame your own recruitment programs. I only wanted to learn, not train in archaic military equipment and tactics.”

The blood rushed to her face. She could barely believe any of this was happening to her, not after all this time. Not after saying her good bye to him that fateful day, as if she would see him when he got back.

“But I trusted you! You could have left at anytime! Told us who you really were! And when you disappeared, we all thought you were dead! I cried at your funeral!

“Then, I find out eight years later that you have been working for our enemy all this time, and you expect me to blame my own Order!? What kind of beast reasons so!?”

Wrath shrugged. “This whole War is a misunderstanding. We wanted peace. Our predecessors have smeared our name, and made us to be an icon of fear and loathing. We are not the same as those that came before us.”

It was Valerie’s turn to laugh now. “I was in New York, I saw the devastation your people wrought on the Wasteland. I watched them destroy my squad, unprovoked, and subsequently my camp, also unprovoked. And you say you want peace?”

“And what of the first group sent to our City? The ones that attacked our men, bearing a flag of truce? That is what started this war. If you cannot be reasoned with like civilized people, you shall be dealt with like barbarians.

“And as for the Wasteland inhabitants, we only relocated them to the City. The Enclave before us started to sterilize them, but we have since changed their opinion of us.”
Valerie leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “So what now? Why bother preaching your Brahmin [censored] to me?”

He matched her stance. “While I am unfamiliar with a “Brahmin”, I assume it’s some sort of mutated Bull. And as for the now, you go back to your cell, and I go about conquering the last remnants of resistance here. Eventually, we’ll ship you and your friends back to New York, where you can be integrated into society once more.”

With that, Wrath stood and left the room. As he was walking out the door, he turned once more to her. “And just for the record, I never meant to hurt you. I had no intentions of leaving the way I did. If it makes you feel any better, the Goyacla you knew died that day.”

The Paladins pushed him hard. Being an initiate was not much different than being a recruit once more, only less intense. The psychological breaking down was easy for him to fake, since he had already gone through it once before. Becoming what they wanted him to be was a bit harder to sham however.

Wrath had to learn everything all over again, or at least pretend to. A tribal who knew too much about advanced weapons would be suspicious. A tribal who knew military tactics however, was not a tribal. That on the other hand, was genuine ignorance.

The Brotherhood of Steel used different battlefield tactics than the basic ones taught in Liberty Bunker. Their unit organization was tailored to fit only small, squad sized engagements. Combat Drills consisted of putting heavy, mobile fire on an enemy and approaching at a slow march, keeping up a consistent barrage of bullets.

When mini-guns weren’t available, they were taught to use their superior armor as a way to close with unarmored opponents and use heavy melee weapons in gain the edge. It may have been crude, but it worked exceptionally well against lesser armed foes.

The differences in training were startling to Wrath. In Liberty Bunker, they had trained extensively in firing ranges before even thinking of doing a live fire exercise, let alone a surface mission. Even though the Brotherhood of Steel could have done something similar, they used Initiates as front line soldiers almost from the start. A baptism of fire, so to speak. After surviving so many patrols and battles, they were promoted to Knight, and made a full member of a squad.

No Initiate Patrol went out without at least one Paladin, one of the senior veterans of the Brotherhood. The rank structure and promotion merits were almost medieval in their formation, but served well. The rank insignia was a conglomeration of old military and ancient runes. Wrath made a note of each one he saw and stored the images in his internal computer for anolysis later.

What was even stranger to Wrath was the caste system of the Brotherhood. Their leadership was known as Elders, while the fighting arm known as the Knights. Alongside the Knights were the Scribes, more scientist than warrior. Where the Knights would slay the enemies of the Brotherhood, the Scribes would research any technology found on the slain.

Apart from either, and rarely seen, were the Craftsmen. They ran the factories of the Brotherhood and built fortifications throughout the Wasteland. Craftsmen also tended the farms supplying the other castes.

Each caste had its own internal rank structure, and each one was different. Since Wrath was training to be a Knight, it was the caste he was most familiar with. The Paladins in charge of his group made sure he knew the entire structure from Initiate all the way to the Grandmaster back in California.

When not training or maintaining equipment, the Initiates were given some measure of free time. While not all areas of Bunker Alpha were open to them, nor were they allowed to leave, the Brotherhood had extensive social areas and workout facilities within the bunker.

Calling it a bunker was a bit of a stretch though. Bunker Alpha itself was built in the basemant of a parking garage. Most of the superstructure had been destroyed, but the basemant and vehicle ramp were still intact. This is why Bunker Alpha was the home of most of the vehicles recovered by the Brotherhood of Steel.

It was far from an impressive display. Most of their beaten up antiques ran on petroleum, a resource that was rare in the days before the Great War. The few that were fusion powered were so damaged they required near constant charging of their batteries to keep them running.

While the sheer number of vehicles might scare other scavengers or raiders, they were still no match for even a handful of Enclave Strykers. Even a single Abrams M1A8 would make short work of every vehicle here. If it ever came to open conflict with these techno-scavengers, Wrath had no doubt the Enclave would win hands down.

Their warriors were also poor when compared to the Enclave Soldiers. Here in Chicago and further west the Brotherhood may rein supreme, but the Enclave from the Poseidon Oil Rig were even barbaric by the Liberty Bunker’s technology.

Wrath had made a few friends here. Most of the Initiates were Tribal recruits, just like he was posing to be. He did his best to distance himself from those. A few, like his friend Valerie, had been born into the Brotherhood and were now just reaching service age. They were perfect for gaining intelligence on the background of this strange order.

Valerie had been a great help getting him accustomed to the existence here. At first she had been a quiet girl, but after working his charm on her, she opened up to him. Valerie would tell him about the history of the Brotherhood, from the creation in California to the exodus to Chicago and subsequent reunion. She pointed out important people for him to know, and helped him memorize the credos and oaths he would need to speak once he attained his Knighthood.

In return, he gave her companionship. She asked questions about his tribe, and he responded with all he knew about the extinct tribe. Not much was known about their culture, so he made a lot of that up as he went along, making sure to note of each detail in his computer. In the six months he had been in Bunker Alpha, Wrath had pretty much created a complete database on a fictional tribe. Hopefully his information could be used by further infiltrators.

They often hung out together shooting pool or just listening to old music. Living underground all the time took a lot of getting used to. Even having spent all his life inside Liberty Bunker, once he had ventured outside it was difficult to return to the dull construction of a bunker. It was like an addictive drug, being able to see the stars every night, feeling the breeze on his skin, and taking deep breaths of non-circulated air. Valerie seemed not to mind it though, which only added to his cover.

As relaxing as this time spent in Bunker Alpha was, it had to end sometime. Wrath had to report all he had learned back to Liberty Bunker. If he stayed here too long he might end up being classified as a deserter, or even dead. While his transponder was working properly, at such a great distance it did little for him.

The only way it would help him is if they sent another infiltrator or a scout his way. Once he came within a mile or so of another Enclave soldier, he would be able to send a report back to them. Until that happened though, he was stuck here alone in a potentially hostile environment. For how long would be another story altogether.

love it,you need to continue,like now,ok???!!!

Already working on the next section. I post them as I complete them. Be expecting more in a steady stream, 1 or 2 a day at least.

Sergeant Owens took a quick scan of the rooftops. The Brotherhood scout had been apprehended, but the Special Forces team had lost track of too many patrols to be anything but cautious. Their enemy was preparing for an assault, and every weapon outside meant a potentially dead Soldier before the final assault began.

It was his top priority to prevent this. The assault would happen in early tomorrow evening, with the sun at their backs. Even though the Bridge would be complete by morning, the Enclave used every advantage they could, even ones provided by the sun.

Cherokee and Delaware companies were almost set in their own assault positions as well. Once the assault began, the other two companies would join the battle. Cherokee from the north, and Delaware from the east. The siege would be complete at that point, leaving little hope for those trapped within the Pentagon’s ruined walls.

The only sound that rang across the ruins around him was the noise made by the Engineers. Even the Brotherhood had finished their external fortifications a few hours ago. Since the battle was imminent, they had also ceased their live firing, most likely to conserve ammunition. They would need every advantage available to them.

Rivet City was filled with the feelings of desperation and fear. Even though Valerie’s experience with the city was confined only to her cell and interrogation room, she could tell there was something missing from it.

The Enclave had more technology at their disposal that any other faction within the Wasteland. Thousands of soldiers filled their ranks. They seemed to be an unstoppable black tide that just rolled along the Wastes, crushing all that stood against them.

The prisoners in the cells around her were all testament to how powerful their foe was. While the bright orange jump suits everyone wore covered most of their body, Valerie could tell some were members of the Brotherhood without seeing the Mark of Steel on their arms. They held themselves with dignity and respect even when in the hands of their enemy.

As far as she could tell, no one was receiving any kind of maltreatment from the Enclave, much to her surprise. Meals came three times a day, with trips to the latrine as needed. They were also given as much water as they asked for, by the gallon if wanted. Such display of wealth was unheard of here in the Wasteland, even if the purifier was working properly. The water wasted by the Enclave could supply a village for months.

The guards that patrolled around the upper walkways were less intimidating than the soldiers encountered outside though. They wore modified combat armor and carried much smaller projectile weapons. The uniforms they wore underneath were the same as she had seen on Wrath.

She still couldn’t believe what he had told her. The whole time he had been in Chicago, Wrath had been working for the Enclave. He had opened her up to the world around her, and had been the only person she was able to really call a true friend. As mad as she was at him right now, she still couldn’t bring herself to hate him for it. She might hate the organization he worked for, but not him. The irony was not lost on her.

It had been a long awaited day for Valerie, when she finally joined the ranks of the Knights, just as her father had done decades ago. The ceremony was nothing truly spectacular, consisting of the remains of her initiate squad and a few elders. Each ceremony was private to make it more memorable for the newly promoted Knights.

Since she was no longer an Initiate, she had moved into her own quarters. Being a Knight had other advantages, but that was her favorite. She no longer had to sleep in a bay with thirty other Initiates and live out of a locker. This room was her own until she transferred to another bunker or died.

While not lavish, she had more space and privacy than ever before. She still had to share the communal latrine with the rest of the order, but so did everyone else in this floor of the bunker. Space was a premium in Bunker Alpha, and the Craftsmen were working around the clock to restore other levels of the former parking garage to accommodate more personnel.
A slight knock on her door broke her of her revelry. It took her barely four steps to reach the other end of the room, where she unlocked and opened the door.

Her friend, Goyacla, was standing on the other side. He was still an initiate, but only for a few more months. Soon he would be promoted to Knight himself if rumors held true.
She smiled at him and stood aside so he could enter the room, which he did. The room was barely big enough for two people to move freely in, but she still managed to squeeze past him back to her bed.

“It’s great isn’t it? Just think, soon you could have your own room too!”

He smiled back at her. “That would be nice. The bay doesn’t smell too nice after a long patrol.”

She sat on the bed and stretched her legs. “Too true. At least it’s not as bad as the other Bunkers. Some even have ghouls!”

He cocked his head at her. “What's a Ghoul?”

She was surprised he didn’t know what a ghoul was, since they were so common in the Wasteland. His people might have called them something else though.

“You’ll know one when you meet one. Anyway, make yourself comfortable. Unless you have to head out on patrol soon?”

Goyacla shook his head. “We’re not going out for a few days. My squad didn’t fare so well after that last incursion with those raiders, so they’ve been sent to do some more training. I was given time off because I did so well.”

He was showing great promise as an Initiate, that much was certain. Even her father mentioned him a few times as one day being a great asset to the Brotherhood. He grasped at ideas quicker than other Initiates and had an unbelievable memory. He could recall minute details of the most trivial events almost at command. At his rate, he might even see General, if the Wasteland didn’t claim him first.

He sat down on the bed next to her. Since the mattress was over two hundred years old, it had lost most of its former comfort ability, but it was still better than sleeping on a hard floor.

“So what do you plan on doing with your time off? Feel up to some pool?”

“Silver and Shield squads have pretty much taken up the reck room. I thought about hitting the gym, but that’s where my squad is, getting some correctional training. So I figured I’d come here and hang out.”

They sat in silence a few moments. She recognized this as his way of goading her to fill the silence. Since she had been training in reconnaissance, she learned to treasure the quiet of the world. He turned his head at looked at her expectantly, wanting her to tell him more about the Brotherhood.

Instead of speaking, she leaned forward and kissed him. Rather than act surprised as she had expected, he kissed her back. Her own shock only lasted a second, and she followed back with another kiss, more passionate this time. What was meant to be a tease ended up becoming the best night of her life in the bunker, one neither of them would forget for a long time.

It felt good to don his armor once more. The damages to his leg servos were completely repaired, and the rest of his armor had received a complete maintenance from the armorers. Even though the Armor itself was over thirty years old, with the overhaul it felt almost brand new.

The servos augmenting his strength and reflexes moved with ease. His power plant was even showing increased power output. If there had been more time before the assault, Wrath would have sent his entire squad in for a maintenance check.

His bed was calling to him. Today had been a very eventful day, the physical and emotional drain almost too much to bear at once. Wrath was a man who lived in the now, and tried not to dwell on the past more than he needed too. Seeing Valerie again destroyed the mental block he had placed around his time in Chicago.

The only physical reminder he had of that place was the tattoo on his right forearm, the Mark of Steel they called it. He always did his best to hide it from others and himself, not out of embarrassment or misunderstanding, but to keep the memory in the past, where it belonged.

In all of his years of service, the Chicago mission could be considered his only regrettable act. While his mission was a success, prompting his acceptance to Shock Trooper training, he did kill three others in cold blood to escape and left all the friends he had made behind. It was necessary, but that didn’t make him feel any better at this moment.

It all came down to Valerie. The look on her face tore open his soul. In order to even face her, he was forced to activate the neural blockers implanted in his head. Unfortunately, he could only use them for a few hours at a time. Any longer and he risked severe permanent brain damage.

The upcoming mission should be occupying his thoughts, but they kept wandering back to Valerie. He knew she would not be mistreated, but still he worried. She could be rather impulsive at times, and might try something stupid. Hopefully the guards and constant supervision by the Military Police abolished such thoughts from her head.

Tomorrow evening would be the last battle of Washington D.C. Plan after plan had been played out, revised and only a few survived the butchering process. Those few that did were further dissected for each company, platoon and even squad. Wrath knew his part in the assault, as well as every other squad’s in the Battalion. But as every veteran knew, even the best laid plans changed once the first shots were fired. Only time would tell how this assault would play out now.

The Enclave Engineers finally finished their bridge across the Potomac River. Audie had expected the Enclave Soldiers to come rushing across as soon as the last of the steel plates were fastened into place, but no one even step foot on the west bank of the river. The engineers slowly marched back to Rivet City, seemingly abandoning the bridge they had spent days building.

It was only a matter of time now. All of the Brotherhood of Steel was in their battle positions, standing by for the big attack. His men were prepared for the vanguard, and only once they were set in and the main force came across would they strike back. Audie wanted to inflict maximum damage to the invaders of his homeland.

He knew this battle was futile. But for every second they delayed the assault, it bought them that much more time for their reinforcements to arrive, if ever. This whole battle was about saving time.

If it did turn out badly, there were escape routes dug to the metro and sewer tunnels. From there it would be a mass exodus westward to report to Vault Zero in Colorado. Audie only hoped they were already enroute here.

[All units, this is Apache Six. Report Status and stand-by for Go Code.]

[Six this is Falcon, we’re good to go.]

“[Six, Fury, Good to go.]"

[Apache Six, this is Thunder, we’re set and ready to ROCK!]

[Six, Reaper. Set and ready.]

[Apache Six, Slayer Seven. All Slayer Squads report set and ready.]

Wrath was watching the sun begin its downward progress in the sky. A few more minutes and it would be in the perfect position to mask their movements across the bridge.

His adrenaline was starting to pump hard. Everything seemed to move a bit slower every minute as the clock ticked down in his display. The heart beat in his ear was almost deafening. It was time to resolve this.

All the remaining members of his squad were crouched behind some rubble near the bridge, directly behind Falcon Squad. Thunder was behind him, and behind them were Reaper Squad and the remaining Platoon Command Group. It would be a rush through two hundred meters of open killing fields to get to their next position.

The clock reached zero. It was time.

[GO! GO! GO!]

With the release command, Falcon Squad stood and took off at a dead sprint to a pile of rubble just north of the bridge. Wrath waited half a second more before following suit, but his destination was a larger pile just south west of the bridge, in the shadow of the Arlington Library.

Wrath ran as fast has he could, holding his weapon in one hand to give him more speed. By the elevated heart rates he received on hi Squad Status, he knew his men were following suit. As he got closer he leapt with all the power his legs could muster to clear the pile of concrete and steel.

When he impacted on the ground, he immediately dropped onto his left shoulder and rolled once back onto his chest, bringing his weapon forward in a firing position. The rest of his squad joined him almost immediately.

Nothing. There were no shots fired at all. Wrath watched as the last of Apache Company crossed the river and took support their by fire positions. Blackhawk Company was already beginning to stage on the far side for their assault. When the last members of Apache Company were in position, Blackhawk began their movement across.

The lead elements of Blackhawk Company moved with extreme haste, they needed to run parallel to the Pentagon’s walls. It was five hundred meters of open ground with little or no cover along the way. Speed would be their only defense in this battle.

As they breached the fence surrounding the Pentagon, all hell broke loose. Wrath received warning icons across his armor as his vision was blacked out. All he could see were the icons flashing. Slowly, his visual began to fade back in, as casualty beacons began appearing all over his field of view.

The breaching section was gone, replaced by a small mushroom cloud. Those lucky enough to be well outside the smoking crater were taking heavy fire from the building next to Wrath, the Arlington Library. More fire began pouring from the walls and roof of the Pentagon, killing Soldiers all around.

Wrath sorely missed Roberts at his side. His sniper rifle would have made short work of the Knights in the Pentagon. Using the scope on his rifle, he began searching the Pentagon for targets of opportunity.

One Knight stood out to him. He was wearing T-45B Power Armor, but on his shoulder was a strange tube like weapon. Another Knight was loading what looked to be a small atomic bomb in the back of it.

Using his Computer Assisted Targeting System, he aimed at the mini-nuclear weapon and lined up for his shot. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl and he applied the slightest pressure to his weapon’s trigger. When it kicked back slightly, he knew a round was off.

Almost that same instant, Wrath’s field of view dimmed once more. When it came back, he could see the rooftop of the pentagon engulfed in the same mushroom cloud that was dissipating on the ground in front of him. One threat dealt with.

The rest of Apache Company was returning fire into the Pentagon, knocking off chunks of concrete and rubble. Still the Brotherhood was pounding the remains of Blackhawk Company with unrelenting fury. More enemy fire was still coming from the Arlington Library at the backs of Blackhawk.

“FURY SQUAD! ON ME!”

Wrath stood and was followed by the rest of his men. Once they were all ready, he took off at a sprint straight into the wall of the Library.

He crashed through the reinforced concrete with bone jarring force. His armor integrity dropped down to fifty percent in one instant as the wall around him exploded inward, sending large chunks of shrapnel into the building.

The dust made it impossible for him to see through. Wrath quickly activated his thermal viewer to ensure no one was nearby, and then stormed deeper into the structure. He knew most of the shooting was taking place on the upper floors of the building. The longer he took the more of his fellow soldiers went down.

The first corner he came around took him into a large lobby. Large metal crates were stacked against the front door. The Brotherhood probably expected the breach to occur there. More than likely they were packed full of explosives. He ignored them for now and continued on his mission.

The rickety stairs in the center of the lobby looked as if they could collapse at any minute. If those ruins could hold the weight of the much heavier T-45B power armor, then his shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. He took them four at a time, anger and adrenaline fueling his drive to reach his enemy.

Audie saw the flash of light on the Citadel roof and knew this battle was starting to tip out of favor for the Brotherhood. They might have struck the first major blow, but the Enclave reacted quickly and eliminated their one major advantage.

There were more Fat Mans in the armory, but mini-nukes were hard to come by. Their entire stock was on the roof, only a half dozen or so. If they survived the blast, they would be too irradiated to even consider arming for use now. He still had plenty of traps ready for the Enclave. The Citadel would claim more than a handful of Soldiers before it fell.

From his vantage point, on the fifth floor of A Ring, he could see the entire bailey and most of the roof of the other four rings. Knights and Paladins were pouring heavy fire on the assaulting Enclave.

For communications, he had placed senior Initiates near key points to sign or yell reports to him. If a position was taken by the Enclave, they were to run to him and inform him of the situation. The remaining Initiates and Scribes were stationed in the lower levels, awaiting the retreat command to take them westward. It would be the last act of defiance of the Citadel against the Enclave.

A sudden explosion erupted from the Arlington Library. A Knight clad in his Power Armor sped through a dust cloud in the northern wall, followed shortly after by four others. Audie watched as the five warriors under his command were thrown head first over the Citadel’s walls, a distance of over three hundred meters.

When they impacted, fellow Knights rushed to their aid. He could tell by their posture that none survived the impact. The ambush he had prepared had provided a momentary lapse in the Enclave Assault, but failed to stop the attack. He had counted on the Enclave directing a significant force to the Library, thus providing some relief to be besieged defenders. That hope had obviously been misplaced.

More fire erupted from the Library now, directed at the Knights on the roof of the Citadel. Audie watched as a swathe of light struck down his fellow Knights with relentless fury. Bodies struck by this beam of light were hurled clear across the Citadel, their bodies striking the northern wall with a sickening crack of metal on stone.

Another flash of light engraved a trench across the Citadel’s rooftop, ripping apart their defenses and throwing bodies to all directions. Whatever weapons the Enclave possessed, Audie had never seen the like. Their projectiles moved too fast for the eye to see, giving those targeted not even the slightest chance of escape.

This was warfare on a scale unimaginable. Audie was almost tempted to give the retreat command, but thought better. While it was true the Enclave possessed ranged weapons with unimaginable power, in close combat, range would be a moot point. Besides, he still had more tricks up his sleeve.

Fury squad was unleashing devastation unlike anything he had ever heard of other than the Great War. After watching the deaths of his brethren down below, he and his men could not even think of controlling their anger. Wrath knew his request from the Elder, to take as many prisoners as possible, but he felt the Elder would understand in this case.

While any series of T-45 Powered Armor might be able to take a hit from the M81 Slayer he held, they stood no chance of deflecting Corporal Marks’ Shredder rounds, especially not those sired from Specialist Williams’ MAC. Fury Squad’s heavy weapons were tearing apart the Pentagon.

[All Ground elements, this is Angel Five. Stand by for Zeus deployment. Command Override Omega.]

Wrath could barely believe what he was hearing. Zeus was the Elder’s call sign. An Omega Command Override meant for all units to cease fire and assume defensive positions. He could only watch as all of his squad reluctantly stopped firing and took cover behind ruined walls and rubble.

A Vertibird began to descend from the heavens, carrying a battle vehicle of immense proportions, heading directly into the center of the Pentagon.

Whatever sort of weapon this was, it broadcasted “Elder” on his IFF display. In appearance it was a massive two legged war machine, its two arms bristling with a multitude of weapons. Easily it could have housed three armored Soldiers in its chassis, or one large mutant.

All of the Brotherhood Knights still alive turned their fire on the Vertibird with the Elder beneath it. Since all of the Enclave soldiers below them had ceased firing, they faced absolutely no opposition. Even the door and tail gunners on the Vertibird itself were quiet.

Just as the Elder’s elevation was about rooftop height, the slings carrying his armor released, plunging him five stories to the ground below. A dust cloud arose from the impact, and the Vertibird sped off back into the sky once more. An eerie silence floated across the battle grounds as the last Knight stopped his barrage.

Just as Wrath though something had gone horribly wrong with their leader’s strange entrance, all hell broke loose. Explosions ripped apart the last vestiges of fortifications, throwing their defenders clear off the Pentagon’s ceiling. The ferocity in which the Elder struck out with left Wrath in absolute awe of his war machine’s power.

[All Elements, this is Zeus! Cancel Omega Override and resume the Assault! Do not stop until this ground is ours!]

A cheer rose up from the battered elements on the ground as men surged up once more and ran towards the main entrance. The large steel plate that had once served as a gate had been completely destroyed by the Elder’s initial storm of fire. Wrath found himself caught up in the excitement of the moment, and jumped down onto the street below, followed quickly by the rest of his squad.

There was no more need for a support by fire element, nearly all resistance had been removed by Fury and the Elder. All that remained was to take the halls of the Pentagon and flush out the last remnants of resistance. The Elder would be unable to assist in that assault, as his war machine stood at least two stories tall.

A massive explosion ripped through the front gate as Wrath began his charge northward. Enclave Soldiers were thrown back from the opening, which had collapsed inward upon itself. Still it did little to even slow the black tide of troopers rushing into the Pentagon.

This battle was lost. Audie knew that once that huge weapon had been dropped into the middle of the Citadel. Even before the first rounds had been fired from that engine of destruction, he had ordered the retreat. The last ace up his sleeve had been the charges rigged on the entrance, and even that had little effect.

He stood by the entrance to their newly carved tunnel network in the Laboratory, ensuring that the last of his Knights would escape the onslaught of the Enclave. If necessary, he would give his life to save even the lowest scribe from their hands.

Sarah stood on the other side of the tunnel entrance. Audie had already sent her father ahead with the remains of Talon Squad. The Mutant Brux barely fit within the confines of the recently made tunnel, but he should have no problem once they reached the sewers.

An Initiate ran up to Audie from the upper catwalks.

“Sir, this is the last of them. Everyone else is either dead or too wounded to make it. Paladin Gunny said to move out and seal the entrance.”

Audie nodded his head at the young knight prospect, and signaled him to head through the tunnel. Once the last scribe was though had looked at Sarah. He could tell she wanted desperately to go out into the fray. Common Sense held her back though. To leave now would be suicide, and leave the refugees with one less escort across the wasteland.

She ducked inside the opening, just a few steps ahead of Audie. They passed by Paladin Shawn, who stood by to blow the tunnel. He had used most of his C4 explosives on the main entrance, but saved a small reserve just for this. He lit the fuse and took off after Audie and Sarah, not wanting to be anywhere near that explosion.

The three ran through the sewer system, putting as much distance between them and the detonation as possible, all the while attempting to close with the column of survivors. When it finally did explode, all they heard was a dull boom that echoed through the sewer tunnels.

Audie slowed his pace, and as the other two began to match it, he waived Paladin Markus ahead, leaving just him and Sarah in the sewers.

“What's wrong?” she asked, not knowing why they were stopping.

Audie shook his head. “We’re not going with them. I told Brux to take them to the Brotherhood Army. You and I have unfinished business here. By the time the Army gets here, I want them to find the Enclave in complete disarray.”

By dawn, the last of the Brotherhood of Steel within the Pentagon had been captured or killed. The battle had been costly, but well worth the prize. Entire stacks of ancient computers containing untold wealth had been discovered. Techies and scientists were already enroute to exploit the treasure trove of information.

Seventy soldiers had been severely wounded, sixteen killed and four missing in action. Wrath had no doubt that those four had been vaporized by the atomic blasts fired by the Brotherhood. MEDEVAC birds were flying non-stop missions to evacuate the dead and wounded.

He knew the own toll on his armor was bad, as well as the rest of his squads. The servos that had felt brand new not twelve hours ago were struggling to keep him standing, let alone moving. His entire left shoulder spaulder was missing, and major cracks crisscrossed the remainder of his suit.

The Elder had summoned him though, and he couldn’t spend any time with the Armorers. He was struggling up the stairs from what had been dubbed the Laboratory. The Elder was still in the courtyard, as only a Vertibird would be able to extract him from the ruins around him. Unless of course, he decided to destroy a section of wall and walk out.

It took him several minutes just to reach the feet of the Elder’s war machine with his armor so badly damaged. Standing here, he realized just how small he was compared to the massive construct in front of him.

He barely reached the upper thigh of it. Each arm was littered with a half dozen weapons, from gigantic chainsaws to gattling plasma guns. It was a massive machine of destruction, fit only for war.

“Sergeant Wrath, I am glad you survived this battle.”

He had thought the Elder’s voice had been booming back in Liberty Bunker, but being amplified by his machine’s speakers made it almost deafening. The sound echoed off the walls and all eyes in the Pentagon turned to the Sergeant and the Elder.

“I wanted to congratulate you on your success in this campaign. I also will be sending you a mission brief shortly. Get your armor repaired and ready for battle. Transmit to me when you and your squad are ready, and I shall send you what I want from you. Dismissed.”

Wrath nodded his head at the Elder before turning around and heading back to where he came from. He didn’t understand why the Elder had summoned him when he could have just transmitted the message to his computer. Being over two hundred years old and the only surviving veteran of the Alaskan Campaign obviously had some perks.

Audie led Sarah through the sewer system and into the metro tunnels, heading on a generally north and west track. They needed to reach Vault 101 before the Enclave had time to expand their control out of the Citadel. He had to warn his friends there of the doom just outside their recently opened doors.

He also kept a small arsenal in Megaton, not too far away from the Vault. All he managed to get out of the Citadel was what he had brought with him, his trusty scoped gauss rifle and T51B armor. His only hope was that the Enclave’s dark reach didn’t stretch that far yet.

Once the two restocked on weapons and ammunition, they would have to abandon their armor. Even though they would be less protected against the dangers of the Capital Wasteland, they needed the ability to blend in with the average population. The Enclave could never hope to control every inhabitant in the D.C. area, no matter how large their force was.

He counted on that. In ancient holo-tapes and records he had read of something called a partisan, an ordinary citizen turned soldier. Since they were less trained than normal combat men, they struck only where the enemy was least defended and most vulnerable. A handful of well placed guerilla fighters in the right place could do more damage than an army ten times their number. It would be the only way they could ever hope of going up a force as powerful as this group.

awsome cant wait for the next bit. :intergalactic:

Resolution

Wrath had found himself back in Rivet City once more, along with the rest of his squad. They had been given a priority evacuation, after the wounded had been taken away, for equipment repairs and refit operations.

Rivet City was not the same as when he had left it three days ago. With the Elder’s arrival came all the support elements normally kept out of the fight. A surgical team was busy establishing a true operating room, while supply clerks and armorers were establishing their own workshops to maintain weapons and armor. The Enclave Science Teams had already dismantled most of Rivet City’s laboratory section and were currently improving the hydroponics section to support more people.

It was becoming a full scale Enclave outpost. It had been Major General Patterson’s decision to establish Rivet City as the main Enclave Stronghold, since the Pentagon would undoubtedly come under constant attack.

Fury Squad had only been back less than a day, and already boredom was setting in. Wrath found himself thinking of Valerie, still held within the makeshift jail of Rivet City. Since she possibly held intelligence of critical value to the units in Washington D.C., she would not be evacuated to Liberty Bunker until their control here was absolute.

As much as he wanted to see her once more, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate his presence at the moment. Too much was happening too fast for her, and he would only complicate her ability to adjust.

From the medical reports database, Wrath was able to tell she had already been administered her Phase One inoculations. After the fourth phase, she would be ready to accept the implants given to every Enclave Soldier, if she so chose. He knew she would refuse, at least at first.

Other than thinking of Valerie, Wrath’s time was spent in the Rivet City market place. Since the Enclave’s form of currency was electronic, he had no way of purchasing anything the local vendors sold. Apparently, old bottle caps were used in place of money. Being a Combat Soldier meant he had no time to scavenge, so anything not issued to him was unavailable. Rumor had it that the Enclave would be setting up a currency exchange station, but that wouldn’t come for some time.

So he wandered through the shops, browsing the wares unable to buy anything. There was an interesting selection of goods, everything from clothes to narcotics. Only the weapons shop was temporarily closed at the moment. The remaining four businesses were open, though not much trading was being done at the moment.

Those citizens that had not taken up arms against the Enclave were allowed to roam the city, but chose not to. The cabins and hotels were overflowing with Enclave Soldiers and Rivet City citizens alike. Most soldiers were forced to sleep on the Aircraft Deck out in the open or in hallways and closets.

The Light Boys had completely taken over security and law enforcement within the city itself. A mutant crab infestation had been cleared out in the lower decks, and the engineers were currently sealing breaches in the hull to prevent further influx of the creatures. After that, there were plans in the works to restore the Aircraft Carrier back to working condition.

That would be a momentous day that Wrath hoped to see. Though by standards from before the Great War, the U.S.S Oriskany was an antiquated floating museum, it was the only Aircraft Carrier the Enclave had found with any hope of returning to the seas. All of the old “super carriers” used during the Resource Wars had either been struck by nuclear weapons or were resting on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Other than the Oriskany, the Enclave was in control of two other hulks, the Dreadnaught U.S.S. Anchorage and an attack submarine, the U.S.S. Wolfhound. Both were resting in New York Harbor under fifty feet of water. Time had not been kind to either, and both required extensive restoration before the Enclave even considered bringing them back to the surface. The frequency of Kraken attacks didn’t help either.

The Krakens were only one of the obstacles faced by the Enclave Navy. The Giant Squids reached an average length of two hundred feet and weighed several tons. One could easily sink any water vessel. Then there was the Black Weed.

The Black Weeds covered the sea floor of the east coast. The once bountiful seaweed had somehow grown somewhat intelligent and carnivorous. The Enclave Scientists tested samples of the Black Weed, finding no influence from the F.E.V., leading to the conclusion that this was a mutation brought upon by massive doses of radiation.

Only small vessels that clung close to the coast could hope to avoid the Black Weed. Anything that had more than a fifty foot draft would be ensnared and slowly torn apart. Early attempts to kill the Black Weed with a modified version of the F.E.V. proved useless, and anti-radiation chemicals had little effect on the massive plant clusters.

Other mutations plagued the waters of the Atlantic, but most were easily dealt with. Massive Great White Tiger Sharks were only a problem for divers, and preferred deeper waters. Blue-Back Killer Whales hunted only in the deepest parts of the ocean, and were easily scared away by Tesla weapons. Hundreds of other predators lurked in the water, but none that posed a serious threat accept for the most unfortunate seafarer.

Wrath hated the water anyway. Unless he could see the bottom of whatever he was swimming in, he shortly found himself getting out of it. Very few things scared him to the core, but any sea creature was on that list, mutated or not. Unless he was eating it.

A general warning chime came across his internal radio. Since he had no arms or armor, Wrath began running towards the Aircraft Deck, where the Light Boys had their heavy weapons. If an attack came, it would be his job to evacuate any casualties. Hopefully this was only a drill, and no one would be fighting here.

Audie was staring through the scope of his Gauss Rifle, zeroing in on the Armored Enclave Soldier. He knew his lone assault would be ineffectual, but he had to do something to calm the raging storm in his chest.

He steadied his breathing and began pulling slowly on the trigger, never taking his eye off his enemy. They had taken his home from him, and would pay in blood for this atrocity committed in the Capital Wasteland.

The weapon buckled as the sub-light round left the chamber, heading straight for his target. A millisecond later, its head exploded in a gory mess, sending bits of helmet and brain matter in all directions. The other two soldiers barely had time to react as Audie pulled two more shots off, striking each one in the briastplate.

He had no time to revel in his kill however. The nearest safe haven was several kilometers to the west, and Sarah was waiting on his return. She had managed to find a small abandoned raider camp just shy of Emmet Mills, and they had set up a hasty base of operations there.

Audie had hoped to replenish his ammunition and supplies in Megaton, but found the area crawling with Enclave Soldiers. He had to dodge three patrols just to get in sight of the gates, only to find them heavily guarded by the three soldiers he just fired upon.

Stirring up the bloat fly’s nest was never a good idea, but it did relieve his stress a bit. He had spent over a year scavenging the wastes for the treasures he stored in his home, and now they were in the hands of his enemy. Most of the relics he had saved were irreplaceable.

Which meant the two would have to go about restocking arms the old fashioned way, scavenging the wastes. Maybe if they encountered a small enough Enclave patrol they might be able to take them out and raid whatever they had, but that was doubtful. All the patrols he had seen were at least five soldiers strong, more than enough to take out two Knights by sheer firepower alone.

Intelligence was an asset they sorely lacked as well. Audie had seen several weapons of to what purpose he could not fathom. One that he had seen being carried by a patrol looked to be a combination gattling gun and plasma rifle. That one was the least strange, if not terrifying possibility. Other patrols carried standard plasma weapons, and even a few gauss weapons.

Surprisingly though, there was almost a complete lack of Vertibirds in the sky. He had seen plenty land in Rivet City, but since the battle for the Citadel, he had only heard a few in passing. The Enclave might have been keeping them in reserve for another major offensive, but he doubted that.

When the Enclave from Raven Rock they used their Vertibirds for everything from troop transport to scouting and even bombing missions. Even though these Enclave came from a different place, was there any reason they shouldn’t be the same? That tactic had proved brutally effective in the first Battle for the Purifier.

He was glad they weren’t using Vertibirds near Megaton though. He had a hard enough time staying hidden among the scant few rocks and rubble in his escape westward. Behind his every step he could hear the sounds of Enclave Soldiers running in all directions, searching through the very same ruins he was running though. He knew this area too well though, having lived here for the past year and a half.

Once he left the last buildings of Springvale, it was nothing but rocky ground and ruined highway between him and safety. If he could keep the Enclave off his back long enough, he might be able to make it to decent cover. The only problem was there were very few hiding places between here and there.

Out of options, Audie took off at a dead sprint south west. Before he made it even a few feet out of hiding, a plasma bolt flew by his head, its path close enough to scorch his hair in his left temple. A miss, but too close for comfort.

More shots flew over his head. Without his Power Armor, he was extremely vulnerable to any enemy fire, especially plasma rounds. Even with his armor he would only be able to take a few shots at most, or one well placed round. Without, the molecules in his body would breakdown, turning him into a puddle of goo. He had seen it often enough, only this time he was on the receiving end of those bolts.

He glanced backwards at his pursuers, long enough to see an extremely large ball of molten plasma heading his way. At the last second he dove to the left, behind the scant cover of a few rocks. The large plasma blob missed him and collided with a rock wall, dissolving its structure and causing a small landslide. Audie raised his weapon and fired a few shots back, just to keep their heads down momentarily.

One of his wild shots connected, and the Enclave Soldier was thrown backwards. The others dove for cover. It was all the reprieve he needed, and took off once more, all the time trying to ignore his body’s need for rest. Audie knew he couldn’t keep this pace up for much longer, and the Enclave showed no sign of slowing down.

Failure was not an option for him though. He had faced their like before, and would triumph once again. It was only when he heard the not too distant steps of an armored soldier in front of them that he began to feel fear. The sounds of a gattling gun spinning up only worsened the nightmare unfolding.

When the first rounds began to erupt, it only took him a fraction of a second to realize he was not the target of this barrage. He lifted his head to see this new combatant in the skirmish.
The Black Power armor would have given him pause, except that it was standard T-45D model, not the type the Enclave used. This was probably the first time Audie was ever glad to see a member of the Outcasts.

More Outcasts began lining up along the rocky ledge, adding more fire into the pursuing Enclave soldiers. Sporadically, plasma bolts began flying though the sky, in the general direction of the Outcast firing line. The Enclave advance had stopped however, as more soldiers began taking cover and returning fire.

Audie quickly ran behind his saviors, and turned around to give them support. With less attention focused at him, he was able to take aimed shots at the Enclave soldiers. Each pull of his trigger sent bodies flying or heads exploding.

The Outcasts were taking a beating as well. With their weapons, they had no hope of repelling the Enclave advance, but they tried to anyway. Two Outcasts were killed when one of those giant plasma bolts struck in between them, splashing both with its deathly hot liquid. The return fire of the Enclave was becoming more accurate by the second.

Neither the Outcasts nor Audie needed any further encouragement. Without pause, the remaining six Outcasts and Audie took off running again, heading west. The Enclave continued to fire after them with every step they took, but it was clear that they were no longer pursuing, for now at least.

He felt exposed on the Island. Lying behind his fifty-caliber sniper rifle, Sergeant Owens scanned the surrounding area, looking for any possible enemies out in the wastes. Not so much as a fly moved out there.

Word had come across the theatre net that one of the occupied cities had come under attack by unknown forces. That meant all forces in the D.C. area immediately went on alert, until command deemed it safe to resume normal operations.

Sergeant Owens found himself stuck in Rivet City for the moment. His suit was in critical need of a new charge, and his stocks of supplies had been running low. Once the Pentagon had been taken, he and his team had been ordered to refit here before heading back to their main base, several miles north.

Once the alert was over, he fully intended on returning to the wastes. While defensive operations were the specialty of the Light Boys, and offensive to the Shock Troopers, Special Forces were excellent at reconnaissance and harassment. They were the scalpel to the Infantry’s broadsword.

No wars had even been one by any Special Forces team, but many had been started and even prevented by them. A single team, infiltrated behind enemy lines could completely disrupt an enemy’s command and control ability, or halt its logistical movements. When bigger forces converged on the teams, they would disperse, only to reassemble in a location deeper inside enemy territory.

The Special Forces hadn’t been too successful in Alaska during the Resource Wars, but they had wreaked absolute havoc in mainland China. In Alaska they were fighting on American soil, so they had to be careful in choosing their targets. Entire teams had been lost because they were not allowed to sew the destruction they had been trained for.

Not so in China, everything there was fair game. While the Chinese Crimson Dragoons proved to be more effective at causing mayhem on the front lines, Special Forces avoided contested areas. A munitions factory supplied an Army, while ammo bunkers only single units. It made the choice for combat commanders easy.

However, once the Alaskan Campaign ended, all Special Forces soldiers were recalled back to their respective bases for reassignment. By the time the Great War had struck, every member of the Special Forces found themselves trenched in with the 36th Urban Combat Infantry Division, in Liberty Bunker.

Sergeant Owens was grateful that things had turned out the way they did, otherwise he would not have had the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest warriors in history. The men that trained him came from a long line of soldiers that learned from those veterans. He had joined their ranks with great pride, knowing he was one of the sharpest weapons in the Enclave’s Arsenal.

The wastes in front of him were as barren as they could be, but looks could be deceiving. A small army could hide within the rubble and not be seen until it was too late. Night time would be a different story, as the Enclave’s thermal imagers would be more effective, but during the scorching hot days everything appeared bright red looking through them.

A message beacon popped up in his computer. It contained no actual message, but such a practice was utilized when a friendly unit was approaching a security element. He acknowledged the beacon, allowing the sender to approach.

A soldier wearing urban fatigues took position beside him. Since the Light Boys wore their combat armor, this was either some REMF trying to get a glimpse of combat, or one of the Shock Troopers on refit.

The soldier scanned the terrain with a set of binoculars he brought along. Owens spared a glance at the man, if only to get a read from his IFF. Once glance was all he needed.

The soldier was Staff Sergeant G. Wrath with the First Shock Troopers. His appearance would have passed him for a techie or paper pusher, but yet his IFF clearly stated otherwise.

Seeing a Shock Trooper out of his armor was a new experience for Owens. All the plating and mechanics of the suits made them appear to be large hulking death machines, but this man looked as frail as any other soldier. He was even smaller than most others too.

Without request, the new addition to his sniper hide began marking targets and sending them to Owens. Most snipers kept their own target reference points, but Special Forces Snipers tended not to. You never knew the enemy’s technological capability, and keeping records other than in your head was dangerous. Even then, a skilled interrogator could extract what they needed. Owens had the confidence to resist until the information was not longer of use, days if necessary.

He regarded the Shock Trooper in a new light. Most thought themselves above other Soldiers, not worthy of assistance or even the slightest attention. In bars, he and his team had even come to blows with some Shock Troopers. Granted, in Combat everyone needed to work together, but that never stopped the little rivalries in garrison.

Even with the Reference Points, he could not see any threat approaching nor hiding in the ruins. It became more and more apparent that this was nothing more than a waste of time. The Brotherhood of Steel had been crushed and driven from Washington. The only threats that remained were the few isolated members who now found their former homes occupied by the Enclave. In Owens’ mind, there was no chance for an organized resistance, at least for now.