» Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:16 am In the Year 2277, Washington D.C. was a nuclear-ravaged wasteland. This was true for all of the world, or what was left. In particular, the suburbs of D.C. were home to a number of people with makeshift shelters across the dusty landscape. The light poles became their building beams, with the wire becoming the binding that kept their homes, and their only claim to life together. The old country farms became refuges for drug addicts and thieves. The cities where lives were valued became killing fields. Creatures of horrible descent, some even human, walked the earth spreading death through gun barrels, claws, and their own twisted minds. The lives of these people were hard, though there was no difference where they went, the world was one desert, with humanity struggling to survive against horrors the worst imaginations couldnt even conjure forth. Life was hard, but it was the only life that a boy named Victor Skadinsky had in the settlement of Megaton.
Megaton was named for the undetonated atomic bomb at the center, life flocked to this creation of death in an ironic fashion. The settlement's buildings were made of rusted iron parts taken from planes in a ruined airport. The town looked like a junkyard. The torn metal of this town was slowly crumbling and rusting away. The town was small, about the size of a football field. As Skadinksy began his run to the water plant, he noticed The Brass Lantern, the town's diner, was open. A young brunette was standing behind a counter made of a piece of a plane's wing.
"Hey sky." The brunette spoke to Skadinsky in a rather agitated voice.
"Hey Carol, how's your boss been?" Skadinsky replied, pointing to the refridgerator that stood behind the counter. Carol opened on the Refridgerator, pulling a Nuka-Cola out an opening it with a key.
"The boss hasn't been good, Doc don't want to fix her either, says that she is fine. I swear if I see her pass out again, blood spewing out her mouth like last month, ill give doc a piece of my mind and my daddie's 5.56er...that'll cure his problems." Carol was in an angry mood, slamming the bottle down by Skadinsky.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa...Lady, if you plan on busting caps in people, you should think who will fix you up after sheriff has his way and a full clip of his rifle with ya..." Billy Creel stood up from his bar stool, his .44 magnum glinted in the sun. Carol knew what the Bandana-clad mercenary meant.
"Ok, fine billy. But he should do something with Jenny." Carol replied to Billie's remark in a calmer fashion. "Well I gotta go get to the plant, my dad wants me to work on the pipes there. Seeya Carol." Skadinsky finished off his bottle, planted the cap in his pocket and walked up the steps toward the plant. "we come on the Sloop John B..." Skadinsky thought to himself as he climbed up the town crater to the water plant.
The plant was a dark ashened shack, there was something different though about today, there may have been a light on somewhere, but Skadinsky didnt know, olny that there was something different about today. "I'm here in the back room!" A familiar scratchy voice shouted out from a room in the back end of the plant. It was his father. As Skadinsky began to move toward the back room, he noticed a strange blue light coming from the back room. He rounded the corner to find his father welding two pieces of metal together with a slient blowtorch.
"Well son, i think i've got this plant almost finished up for the summer dust storms, just an extra plate needs to be gotten for the water heater wall. You need to go to the merchant outside and get it, Wolfgangs here. Skadinsky nodded as he pulled a comb out his back pocket to comb his hair back.
"Remember you have to go with the merchants to Rivet City tomorrow, Victor. You get my rifle out of the closet and prep it when you get done." His father was still welding the sheet metal pieces together.
"Alright i'll go get the metal from the merchant, hang on." Skadinsky replied as he walked out the doorway to the front gate.
The front gate consisted of two plane wings, two motors powered by a car microfusion cell, and a turn on piece. His father helped build the front gate with a few of the survivors. Victor pressed the buzzer on the side wall, sending a buzzing sound to the gate guard, a guy named Hawkeye.
"HALT, WHO GOES THERE!!!" Hawkeye got up, his sunglasses askew, his rifle in hand, looking around for someone other than the merchants. "I'm down here Hawkeye!" Skadinsky shouted out from inside the town. "Now what in...oh...sorry sky..." Hawkeye mumbled as he holstered his rifle, and lowered the valve that turned on the gate.
"Sorry I gave you for a raider Sky, I'm getting jumpy around this time of the year, gotta watch out near the dust storms...Take care man..."" Hawkeye sat down on his chair, still gazing at the Nuka Cola Machine in nearby Springvale's ruins.
"Welcome to a treasure trove of tires! A box of burned books! And the home of a higher purpose in junk!" Wolfgang gave a rather high greeting to anyone looking for that special something.
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"Hey Wolfgang, I'm just here to get a piece of scrap metal."" Skadinsky said calmly, pulling out about 7 caps. ""That's all? Alright, remember I'll be here tomorrow so we can go to Rivet City together. Seeya Sky."" Wolfgang waved to Skadinsky as he walked into town. Skadinksy carried the piece of scrap metal to the front door of the plant, knocked on the door, and then ran home.
Skadinsky pulled a rifle out of the closet and set it on his bed, it was a Springfield Bolt action 1903 replica rifle. Sky aimed down the sights, the flip up sight had been replaced by Moira's Sighting Circle System, at least that was what she called it. The Rifle seemed perfect. He laid it against his shelf with about 30 rounds on the shelf as he went to sleep.
""Wake up! It's time to go on your trip!"" Skadinsky heard his Father, Dmitri in their house, he had prepared several pieces of equipment for his Son. The sound of the wind blowing from outside was intense, the first dust storms were beginning. Skadinsky suited up with a leather coat, which had 4 pockets for ammunition, and his belt which had enough space for a sidearm, and a face mask. "
"Be careful out there sky."" Dmitri put one hand on his shoulder , and gave him a .32 caliber revolver. Skadinksy holstered the pistol, and said goodbye to his father as he headed out the front gate. The front gate was open already, there were 7 people in the convoy, including him. ""Well, now that we're all here, lemme tell y'all what we are doing here."" Wolfgang exclaimed to the group of people as they were eating a small bit of their food for the journey. ""We're heading to rivet city by following the Potomac. We'll be stopping by a power station to pick up a piece of equipment along the way too. Let's move out.""
As the caravan moved toward D.C., The dust storms became more powerful. The stinging sand from the storm bit at Skadinsky's flesh. In the distance he could make out a blue light. The caravan began to move toward it cautiously. A shot from a rifle rang out with a flash by the light. A caravan guard had lost his arm and was down on the ground immediately. ""AMBUSH!!!"" Wolfgang shouted as he got down his stomach and readied his rifle, a replica of the Heckler and Koch G3. As shots were fired from both sides, Skadinsky ran to the right side to flank the enemy by a broken down Cliffside. Skadinsky fell into what appeared to be a square pit. He blacked out.
The Russian woke up stiff. The pain in his back was sharp, but only because he fell on the rifle. The boy checked to see if he had any wounds. He was OK, his legs were fine, he could move his arms well enough. ""Now, where am I?"" Skadinsky thought to himself as he reached for his lighter. The light proved it was a sewer access point. The door was behind him. It was sand blasted of all paint. The lock had been blasted off. ""Got to remember how to properly make sure this isn't a trap...come on...Got it!"" Skadinsky held up his rifle in one hand, and slowly opened the door, checking for any resistance from a trip wire. There was none. He looked on the ground; almost wanting there to be a trap, there was none. He put his other hand on the rifle and began to move through the dark tunnels of the D.C. Sewer systems.
Checking the corner behind the door, he found a garbage can with a microfusion cell in it. Pocketing the cell, Skadinsky rounded the corner and found a Nuka Cola machine, it was empty. As Skadinsky moved through the area, he noticed a door that led to the rail system; he slowly opened the door and moved forward. He was in the tunnel leading to the central station area. He moved slowly toward the center area, noting a glowing red light coming from the floor beneath the bridge.
Slowly moving down the escalator, Skadinsky is in awe of what he saw. A massive machine wired to a chair, several switches lighting up, blinking lights. Machines of all types, and what appears to be several car engines. At one part of this giant machine sat several unused wires with sensors at the ends. On the other side was a console that consisted of an opened terminal, and several machine parts wired to the front, and back of the terminal. At the Terminal stood an old man, at least 50 years old, his tattered lab coat hung quite badly on his body. A Chinese assault rifle hung on his back. "
"An AK replica? Never seen those used before."?" The Teen didn't mean to say anything; it just came out of his mouth on reflex. The old man spun around, pulling the rifle off of his back in a flash, his comb over moved with its own gravity. "
"Who are you?"" the old man shouted, as he readied the rifle. "
"Whoa, take it easy, I'm just lost. I got separated from a caravan going to Rivet City. I mean no harm.""
Skadinsky held his hands up, nervously as he told his told his story. ""Ok, I see. Just don't touch anything here."" The Old man put away his rifle and continued to work on the terminal. "
"What are you doing here?"" Skadinsky asked as he picked his rifle off of the ground and holstered it. "
"I'm working on a machine that'll hopefully end all of this."" The old man replied. ""What do you mean? Stop the nukes?"" Skadinsky was confused at what this strange man proposed, but while he was here, he wanted to know more. "
"Well, this machine can send a person through time and space. I've almost got the mix right, and I do have results. This machine works, and eventually I'll go back in time and do what I can to stop the dropping of the bombs."" The old man had a confidence in his voice, and in his rifle, Skadinsky could see that.
""The problem is that I'm pretty old, I'm not sure if my body could stand the force of being flung through time. But I think I've said too much, you should try and find your way out."" The old man was still working on his terminal, Skadinsky didn't move.
""Sir, maybe I can do this for you."" Skadinsky moved over to the left side of the old man, looking at the machinery that made up this "Time Machine"," made him wonder if this could be made at Megaton. "
"No, you have a family to go back to. You should get back to them."" The Old man was agitated, and looked at Skadinsky with a stern look. "
"No, the way I see this, I won't be gone long, and if this machine works, I won't have anything to go back to."
The Old man thought of this new idea, ""You've got a point kid, you should leave all of that stuff here, and make sure you don't have any ammo or guns on you."
" The old man moved with a reinvigorated step about him, turning on switches and pressing buttons all over this massive machine. Skadinsky sat down in a chair that had many metal pieces on the hand-pieces; the back area where the neck would rest had even more sensors. The old man rigged 4 wires to suction cups and stuck them to his head. "
"By the way, my name is Esther, Esther Wright."" The Old man in the lab coat said as he rigged two support pieces to Skadinsky's wrists.
"You will appear in this very spot in Washington D.C. on December 10th, 2076, from there you need to go through D.C. and get to Fort Constantine, sneak in, and launch a nuke at these coordinates."" Esther gave him a holotape; it had coordinates on it in his voice.
""What are the coordinates for?"" Skadinsky asked him, puzzled over the coordinates.
""Its coordinates are for a place above the ocean, the ICBM in Fort Constantine will collide with the first ICBM launched, which will cause a ceasefire to occur, stopping the war, at least for a year or two, then things will be even harder for them to launch a nuke, by then the US army will have stormed shanghai."" The plan that Esther had was planned out pretty well, Skadinsky knew this guy had some facts to go with it.
"
"You'll experience some slight sickness, but eventually it will wear off."" Esther was preparing some final touches to the machine. It powered up with sounds that echoed throughout the train room. "
"Good Luck Kid and Godspeed!"" Esther saluted him as lights from above and below him began to shine very brightly, they blinded him.
Skadinsky opened his eyes to a new world. The room was in perfect shape, all of the room was repaired, and bustling with people in suits, women in fur coats, and kids in their coats. There was so much life around him. He looked at himself, he was still in his dusty leather coat, it looks like nothing bad happened to him on the trip here. It was cold in the train station. It was December, he remembered now. He still had the holotape in his coat pocket. He stood up and walked out of the station through the second door.
The city Of D.C. was beautiful. Mechanical machines held buildings up, electronic pillars connected the buildings, and the detail in each of the skyscraqer was amazing. The snow fell beautifully on the towering structures. Cars rolled by powered by fusion coils. As Skadinsky rounded the street corner, he noticed a crowd of people standing around a store window. In the window were televisions, working ones. "
"This is amazing! A working TV!"" Skadinsky thought as he weaved through the people to watch the televisions with so many people. "
"In other news, Soldiers previously deployed at Anchorage are set to return to their respective Cities today, Soldiers from the 22nd infantry division will be arriving to D.C. and the surrounding area tonight from Adam's Air force Base. Back to you tom!""
"This was amazing, this puts Galaxy news radio in old DC to shame," Skadinsky thought as he had his eyes glued to the moving pictures. "
"Thanks Karen, prices for the popular soft drink Nuka Cola have raised to an all-time high, the reason is, as our senior correspondent Jill Kensington says; is because of increased shortages of passion fruit, the key ingredient of Nuka Cola. Recent talks in Australia over the shortage have proven, well....fruitless. This is Tom Wright, from Galaxy News, signing off.""
Skadinsky decided it was time to do some exploring, there was definitely more to see in this city.
As The Cossack began to walk down the street, he saw something familiar. It was the capitol building! Our Nation's capital! As he began to pick up his pace, he noticed something wrong, there was a crowd of people going toward it! He ran to get a better view on top of a bridge. The crowd of people numbered at least 60, most of the people were in snow camouflaged clothing, a few were holding signs, Skadinsky saw that one sign read: "We WANT FOOD!"
"what's that s'posed to mean?" The young man thought as he looked in front of the crowd, there was a line of people ahead of them, soldiers! They were dressed in armor, kinda like brotherhood of steel armor, but it looked better. This must've been the T51b armor Crow was talking about. Skadinsky thought as he looked at the horrid scene, and the weapons the soldiers were carrying, they were carrying power fists and police batons, they looked like robots of death from a distance, but Skadinsky knew they were human, at least a bit. The soldiers held up their batons, and began to beat at people, horribly, people were screaming, crying, cursing, throwing things at the soldiers, but they didn't stop. "
"I need to get out of here!"" Skadinsky thought as he ran across the bridge. He passed by another wave of protestors, this time they had guns. Lots of guns.
A riot. He was in a riot, in D.C., and needed to keep safe. Skadinsky ducked into a grocery store to hide from the people. "
"You're hiding from the cops too?"" a younger woman had said something to him from behind a counter.
She was young girl, about 15; she was a Caucasian blonde, wearing a set of what appeared to be her father's fatigues, and a black coat. "
"Yeah, I just saw these soldiers kick the smack outta some folks."" Skadinsky replied, trying to be smooth, it didn't work. "
"Well, my dad's one of those 'folks getting smacked, he's smart though, he'll be back any minute. My names Ella, What's yours?""
Skadinsky replied in a smooth, ladies-man voice: ""Victor. I'll only be hiding here for a minute or two; I gotta go to Fort Constantine.""
Victor looked out the store window at the scene; he was startled when he heard gunshots ring out, ""Oh crap, and guns now!"" Victor kept down, but Ella joined him by the window. They watched as the chaos unfolded, "
"you gotta go to Fort Constantine? There's a bus that takes you close by that, you'll have to walk the rest of the way though. I can tell you where to go though."" Ella told him as she looked at the scene, fires were appearing in the snowy areas now. The two could see the lights from the window. "
"Oh god! Dad!"" Ella exclaimed as she saw a rather tall man limp toward the store, he was bleeding badly.
Ella opened the door and caught him as he collapsed on the floor of the store. Ella looked at Victor, a tear rolled down her eye. Victor helped drag him to the backroom.
He had a busted lip, a broken nose, what appeared to be broken ribs, and worst of all, a gunshot wound. Victor, as if on reflex, snatched up a first aid kit from the side of the store counter. Victor injected a shot of Med-x into him to dull the pain. Ella set her father's nose, and got two small pieces of wood, to hold it in place. Victor injected the man with a stimpack. He knew he had to set the wounds above the heart, as his father taught him, Ella and Victor set him in a chair. "
"He'll be fine, the broken ribs will heal naturally, his nose will be fine, and the bleeding will stop shortly."" Victor said quietly to Ella as she looked in horror at how horribly bruised her father was. "
"Oh god, you saved his life!?I can't thank you enough! Wow! How did you know how to do that!"" Ella exclaimed as she put her arms around Victor in thanks.
""I learned after a while."" Victor spoke as if saving a man's life was nothing. ""Thank you so much Victor?But this place is too dangerous! You need to get on a bus and get out of town! I'll Never forget you!"" The Cossack nodded, and walked out of the grocery store.
The nearest bus was very close by, almost down the road about 20 yards. No one except the driver was on. The shots in the distance died down, but where replaced with police sirens, and frantic calls to the hospital from payphones. Skadinsky boarded the bus, and took a place by the front. The driver was a weathered war veteran, a rather large Hispanic, a grey moustache covered his scars. The Cossack placed a stack of bills on the front of the bus and muttered: ""Fort Constantine please."" The drivers eyes widened, he pocketed the bill, looking for anyone else on the bus, or if anyone else was looking. He slammed the bus door, and flew down the road, screaming past a traffic light. "
"I ain't askin' why you're going there mister, but this is a one way trip sir."" The Driver announced to the Russian teen. ""I understand."
The bus pulled up to a Diner outside of the fort. Skadinsky got off the bus and surveyed the situation over a cup of coffee. There were 3 guards at the front gate, each had a laser rifle and had T51b armor. "
"If I had a good pulse grenade, their optics would be fried...that would be perfect for getting a weapon too."" The Teen thought to himself, observing a change of the guards. A truck pulled by the diner.
""A military truck!?maybe I can sneak in.."" Skadinsky thought as he threw down a 100 dollar bill and walked out. The trucker walked in, he was a rather young man, in his 20s, he knocked over a set of bottles on his way in, causing a waitress to trip. He apologized, then asked for her number. The trucker walked out of the diner with a red, hand shaped mark on his face.
The bus pulled into a garage area, the trucker immediately went to the bathroom to comb his hair and fix his face. Not one person was in the truck garage. Skadinsky looked through the boxes in the truck, ""Just what I needed, a pulse grenade! This'll deal with robots and power armor.""
Skadinsky pocketed about 7 grenades, and got out of the back of the truck. He was also by the nuclear storage building! The walls of this room were lined with nukes. ""Good Lord! This is like megaton times 20!""
Hearing a soldier leave the bathroom, The teen hid by a stack of crates, rummaging through them, he found bobby pins, and a screwdriver. The soldier unlocked a door with a card key on a shipping platform by the truck and began to take crates from the truck. He however, did not go through the door he unlocked!! Skadinsky took this time to go through the unlocked door and began to go through a long tunnel underneath the base.
As Skadinsky neared the central server of the Fort, he noticed there were 2 stationary guards in T51B guarding a door, looking at the long shadows they casted, The Cossack concluded that they had silenced rifles.
"This'll be too easy."" The boy thought, taking out the pin of a pulse grenade and throwing it against the door pane, making it ricochet into the room. The explosion was followed by the thump of two bodies. Skadinsky jumped into the room, snatched a rifle off of a stunned soldier, and held down the trigger.
The shots had penetrated the neck area of the power armor, killing the soldiers instantly.
The gun that the soldier had was the R91 assault rifle, the standard assault rifle of the era. The rifle had a silencer, a scope, and had no stock. The rifle was also made of hard black plastic, unlike the normal assault rifle. Searching the bodies was impossible, they were too heavy from the armor, and if he tried to take off the armor, it would take too long.
Moving on, Skadinsky shot the entire central area of the lock off of the door that those soldiers guarded to find the mainframe area. He moved toward the central computer with caution about him. In the room, there were hundreds of machines he had never seen before, machines that simply weren't normal.?
The mainframe computer wasn't locked, so following Esther's insturctions, weren't too hard.
>coordinate for nuclear icbm payload: *IMPROPER CLEARANCE. LOG IN AS ADMIN*
>set new coordinate y/n
>Insert password : _______
>password: WACOAZICHAR1347 ACCESS GRANTED!!!
>set new coordinate y/n
> new coordinate: WARNING! TARGET 0.0 km from CODENAME ARKHAVEN redirect payload? y/n
> payload coordinates set. Monthly Missile Test for current coordinates commencing in 00hr:00min:03sec
""Wow...That svcks...""
