» Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:54 am REPARATION
CHAPTER I: THE HIGHWAY
Sophia Evans slipped the helmet of the Advanced Power Armour Mark I over her head and felt it slide softly in place. She kept it unlocked just to be prepared if things got nasty, but she expected nothing more than a few mutated creatures or troublesome Wastelanders. Michael and Sam, two of Sophia's friends who she had known since her training as a child, walked by and wished her good luck on her mission. She smiled inside her helmet and gave a quick nod and thumbs up before throwing her Laser Rifle over her shoulder. Her friends left and continued on with their day while Evans stood up, stretched, and checked her footlocker to see if there was anything else she needed. She grabbed some Stim-Paks, Rad-X and Rad-Away, and a small bag of bottle caps. Why they haven't started using proper money confused Sophia; they already used it in the West, yet the capital of this great country still resorted to the bottle caps off of some pre-war drink. She shook her head and left the room towards the Vertibird hangers. As Evans approached the door, it noticed the presence nearby and automatically opened and closed as she walked through. Engineers ran about, performing various repairs and refuelling the aircraft. She walked to her assigned Vertibird and met with the pilot, a short man with brown, greasy hair who wore dirty and grime-covered Recon armour.
"Sergeant Evans, I presume? Hmph. We'll be dropping you at the bottom of the mountains, on top of the old freeway. It should be safe as long as you stay up there, and will take you about half way to Megaton. But once you reach dirt ground, keep an eye on your surroundings," said the man, who crawled into the aircraft after he finished.
Sophia crawled in after him, sitting herself in the back by a fellow Enclave soldier who clearly didn't want to be on whatever mission he was on. After a short, bumpy ride, the Vertibird landed and Evans climbed out. A thick wind blew dust everywhere which settled and formed a thick layer of particles on what was once a major road before the Great War. She headed out towards Megaton, often checking various vehicles for old supplies or medicine. A truck which probably had supplies was unfortunately caught between two sides of the broken highway, with the back end slightly in the air and the front hanging towards the ground below. A small, wooden bridge allowed passage across the gap. Sophia looked ahead and noticed even more cracks and faults in the free way ahead, and hoped there was an easy passage across all of them. Below, Mirelurks watched the Enclave soldier as she continued on, the mutated creatures waiting patiently in case she fell.
It would take a few days travel to reach Megaton, so as the sun crept behind the mountains, she set up a makeshift camp in an old Nuka Cola truck. There was already a small mattress, but she chose the cold, hard steel over the slightly comfortable mattress, which was probably filled with diseases of all kinds.
Time passed and several hours later the one responsible for the make-shift bed carefully approached. A skinny Raider and three dogs (lol), each covered in dirt and grime, advanced carefully. The canines charged forwards, the Raider following close behind and preparing to attack the Enclave soldier while she was still unaware.
"Well look what we got here boys! Fresh meat! Ha-ha!"
Sophia woke to the noise of rapid barking and footsteps. She turned and quickly grabbed her laser rifle, holding it tightly with post hands. She saw a shadow that stood out from the barren landscape and cloudy, night sky. There was a large explosion as a shotgun went off, sending a spray of bullets that smashed into the walls of the truck and Evans' shoulder. Luckily her armour absorbed the main blunt of the blow, which allowed her to get her own shot in which tore through the Raider's left arm. The man cried in pain and fired his shotgun desperately in an attempt to kill the Enclave soldier. This time, the armour did little to fend of the shotgun blast after already taking one before. Blood leaked out of the wound and over her armour, running down her body and onto the floor of the truck. Meanwhile, the Raider's dogs had climbed their way onto the truck and stood looking at Sophia with hunger and hate in their eyes. Attempting to ignore the pain, she raised her weapon and fired; slicing through the neck of one of the dogs and sending it's head flying through the air. The two remaining dogs lashed forward, each going for their own leg. The dog on the left never managed to get a proper purchase on Sophia's metal power armour, but the other managed to sink it's teeth into an unamoured part of her foot. Blood seeped out and the taste of the red fluid made the canine turn insane. It bit and clawed but in the end the only blood it got was it's own which ran down the walls of the truck a moment later. The other dog continued to attack in vain, and like his friends, got a laser blast to the face.
The Enclave soldier grabbed a single stim-pak and drove it into her shoulder. She grunted in pain and waited as the medicine started flowing through her body. Evans decided to ignore her foot for the time being. No sense wasting stim-paks on a little wound such as a dog bite, even if it was rather painful. Creeping out the back of the truck, she remembered the Raider she had shot and looked around for his body. A trail of blood and a chunk of flesh on the ground led to the injured Raider, who held a Chinese Pistol in his hand.
"See ya in hell!" shouted the man, firing the primitive weapon. If Sophia had been wearing regular armour the round may have wounded her, but in her advanced power armour, the bullet was harmless and bounced off.
"Should of aimed where you shot before," whispered Evans, before delivering a kick to the head that smashed his skull in. She looted the body, and found nothing but the broken shotgun and the Chinese pistol. Both were equally useless. The sun was not yet visible, but the sky was getting light in the East, so Sophia decided to head out. Grabbing her equipment, she continued on along the old freeway, rifle in her hands should she meet any more Raiders or creatures.
