once more lorca you have blown me away!!
keep up the good work!!!!
:tops: :tops:

EDIT: i got the one-hundredth post!!!
WOO HOOO!!! :celebration: :celebration:

All i can say is wow. This is an amazing story. Can not wait to read the rest. Truely an inspiring piece of work.

Great story Lorca. This being the first thing I've read from you I'm really impressed with the World you've built. Can't wait for the next part

Thanks for all the feedback fellas, high time for some fresh material I think!

----

Chapter 10: Parallels


The Constitution, her deck awash with blood and ink from the unnatural abomination that had threatened to drown the old frigate, chugged resolutely into the Chesapeake Bay. Leaving the swelling grey waters of the Atlantic, she forged past the broken ruins of the Bay Bridge, her hull sweeping aside plastic and wooden pieces of flotsam that had been carried down from the many tributaries of the mighty estuary. Marie paced the deck, heavy footsteps producing a grotesque squelch. She threw narrow eyes at her devious captain, who himself had eyes set straight ahead. The dying sun cast its rich oranges over the estuary, but farther north on the horizon another light blinked on and off.

"The Point Lookout Lighthouse," shouted the captain, sounding noticeably relieved at the sight. "We dock a few miles up the Potomac."

Marie didn't respond. Something else had transfixed her. The water was gradually becoming clearer, from a familiar brackish brown that reminded her of the rivers back home, to a lighter green, turning grey and then lighter shades of blue once they sailed past the single blinking light of Point Lookout Lighthouse."
"Incredible," she whispered to herself. She had never seen water like this before, on such a scale.

As the cold winter's day drew into its twilight, lights sparkled on the shore ahead. The captain angled a large spotlight on the bridge, flashing it towards the settlement three times in slow succession. The lights were returned from the twinkling shacks that lay ahead. The Constitution slowed, her engine roaring as she struggled against the flow of the river. The captain ran about the bridge flicking switches and pulling levers, much to Marie's amusemant.

The Constitution slowed to a crawl as she approached the wooden buildings and jutting piers that lined the shore. The silhouette of a bulky man wearing a peaked cap waved them into a vacant docking space.
"Throw the heaving line down to him," shouted Hartt. "It's on our port side!"

More figures appeared to pull the Constitution gently into position, as Hartt ran down from the bridge to throw mooring warps to more appearing figures. Aping what she saw, Marie untangled ropes wrapped around a pole on the bow, exerting much of her strength as she struggled with the old and bloodstained docking lines. She felt a small thump as the Constitution's bumper made contact with the solid concrete of the dock. More figures appeared, expertly wrapping the lines around rusting mooring bollards. The Constitution came to a perfect halt, the waters of the dock far stiller than the rough waters of the Atlantic coast of the tumultuous Bay.
"Stand back," gestured Hartt, unhooking a gate on the port side of the ship.
Hartt picked up a clumsily constructed metal sheet, sliding it out of the opening to connect the ship with her berth.
"Done," he said.

The helpful uniformed figures now positioned themselves ominously at the end of the gangway, barring the exit. From his macintosh, Hartt pulled out a clipboard which he showed to the figures. They parted, allowing him through. The men, dressed in grey and dusty uniforms adorned with buttons, marched onto the ship.
"What happen'd to Va Beach?" one of the men asked Hartt, in an accent Marie strained to understand.

"Heard you need the supplies more up here," replied Hartt. "Besides which, I've got a passenger."

"All we need is your cargo," the man replied. "Don't need strangers. Could be from anywhere. How'd you know she ain't one of them Districters?"

"Because she's from The Pitt."

"The where? Major'll wanna talk to her before she's allowed anywhere."

The men silently bustled Marie off the ship, now illuminated by buzzing lights. She knelt to dip her longcoat in the waters of the dock, washing the caked blood off the faux-leather armour of G1-01. The men watched, then motioned her towards a mostly intact brick building. Another man shouldered his way pasted her as she entered the building, wearing a strange blue jumpsuit, stitched up in places and obviously ailing due to its age.

"Major," Marie's escort interrupted. "We've a stranger here."

The man stopped dead in his tracks. "Where from?" he growled.

"Came with Hartt's cargo, from a pit or somethin' Major."

"A pit?"

"The Pitt," announced Marie. "And I seek passage to The District."

The major let forth a hearty laugh. "Don't we all. Here to sell them information about our shipping operations are you?"

"I've no interest in that. I want to find and kill The Lone Wanderer."

The major's ears appeared to [censored] up at the name, his posture tensed up. "And why on Earth would someone from so far, far away give a damn about him?"

"Because he killed my father."

"Is that right? Well, perhaps you'd better step inside my office. Before my manners escape me, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Old Dominion."

awesome!
:tops: :tops:

Thought this was done, looks like I;ve got more catching up. It's really amazing how you've attracted such a fanbase. I mean there's fanfics everywhere but half the people here I've never seen post on any ting but this. Tht's an achievment.

fallout_fan_boy what is your take on RP's. I haven't heard any correlations between you an them.

I like where this story is taking us. Can't wait for more

Great stuff, I'm really enjoying your story.

i dont really like RP's on this sight, mostly because i dont like fallout RP's in general.
i kind of like FF's more because they seem more...guided...than RP's.
and i say that because every RP i have been in has either died due to in-activity, or just wore itself out because we never developed a solid plot.
so, to re-iterate, i dont really like RP's, but i like FF's better.
does that help? XD

yeah

Very well written, nice development.

Good job.

Indeed the response has been overwhelming, and humbling. I'm very pleased that patient people continue to follow Marie's journey despite my long gaps in updates, thanks for all the feedback. Anyway, I think it's time for another update!
---

The major, as the apparent subordinate called him, pointed Marie inside the plain concrete building. Inside, maps and lists lined the walls, tables piled with ammunition and disassembled weapons. Motioning her inside a large room with a map laid out across two tables pushed together, well lit by multiple blinking lights, Marie got a better look at the major. His hair was unkempt and greying, a scruffy beard and deep set eyes dominated his face. As he sat down at the table, she noticed his blue jumpsuit had yellow numbers stitched on the back of it, '75'. On his wrist, she noticed a clunky machine, adorned with buttons and switches, glowing green.

"Have a seat," he said, pointing at a battered chair. "Now, before we go further, I think I should know a little more about you. Who are you, and where do you come from?"

"My name is Marie Ashur, and I have travelled here from a city far to the north, known as The Pitt. My home."

"I figured from your accent that you weren't from around here. Nobody around here speaks like that. Anyway, tell me everything you know about The Lone Wanderer."

"He came to my home when I was a baby, from The Capital Wasteland. I understand it's called The District now. The histories from that time are muddied, but from what we can gather he came posing as a slave, then overthrew the rulers of The Pitt."

"It was a slave town?"

"Back then. Now it's run by ex-slaves, trying to eke out an existence in the ruins. If it weren't for the working steel mill The Pitt would have been abandoned long ago. Anyway, from what is passed down, he entered Uptown - where the masters lived - and single-handedly slaughtered them all. While there, he kidnapped me and killed my father, delivering me into the hands of my surrogate mother."

"What happened to your real mother?"

"I've no idea. The area was overrun by Trogs...hideous mutants, not long after, so I assume she fell in the chaos."

"Interesting. So you've travelled all this way for revenge?"

"No," said Marie firmly. "Not revenge. I want answers about my family, and he's the only one who knows the truth. I think I've answered enough of your questions - what is it you know about The Lone Wanderer?"

"Only fair that I tell you what I know, it seems," said the major as he reclined in his chair. "You need to know two things. Firstly, he is the figurehead of the entire District. They've formed a government, but he's not officially part of it. Regardless, he is a symbol of their people and his voice carries great weight. Secondly, he's dangerous. Very dangerous. We've tried to kill him, specifically, on three separate occasions. Assassins, mercenaries, doesn't matter. He puts them down."

"I've met his robot clone in The Commonwealth, so that doesn't surprise me."

"Robot clone? Lord above. Anyway, there's an old pre-war saying. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, are we friends?"

"If you'll get me to him, I'll help you as much as I can."

"Good. Report to Lieutenant Carr outside, he'll fill you in on what you can do to help us."

"Will do," said Marie. "You do seem awfully quick to trust me."

"I've routed out District spies for ten years. You're not one of them. Too...wet behind the ears, too obvious."

"Thanks," scowled Marie. "In that case, why do you think I'd be useful to Old Dominion?"

"You've made it this far, and nobody makes it this far without a will to survive. It's a wasteland truism, if you lack that killer instinct, if you hesitate, if you're too soft, you end up dead. Or worse. So perhaps you will be useful. Perhaps. If not, we could loot that Commonwealth tech off your corpse, so it's a win-win."

"Try it," Marie replied. "Before I go, what's your name? Why are you dressed like that?"

"You have spirit, at least. But it's none of your business. Call me 'major', everybody else does."

"If I'm going to be working for you it is my business. Besides, major is a rank, not a name."

"Are you always this persistent? Maybe it's why you're here at all," the major sighed. Rolling his eyes, he answered. "Chief Technician of Vault 75, George Gorski. At your service. So unless you want a food dispenser fixed, go and talk to Carr."

Sensing that she was pushing her luck, she left the building. Carr was waiting.
"Major musta sized you up quick to send you out so quick, and alive"

"He seemed-"

"Listen missy, I don't need ta listen to ya, you need to listen to me. Prove yerself to Old Dominion and you'll get whatcha want from us. Yer not much use to us lookin' like hell, so get yerself to the barracks and get some grub and sleep. We head out at sun-up for another round-up."

"Round-up?"

"You'll find out in the mornin'! Thems the barracks over there. Report to me at sun-up, one of the boys'll get you out of the hay if yer not up. Oh, I'm givin' ya a provisa...pervis...temporary rank in Old Dominion's Self Defence force, from here on out yer a private. Meaning everyone who ain't a private tells ya what ta do. Now get."

Marie barely understood a word but for Carr's pointing to the wooden shack next to the major's building. Scavenged bunk beds were arranged in neat rows inside, about half occupied. Marie climbed up to top bunk of an unoccupied bed, as far away from the snoring men as possible. Following her tiring journey, she fell into a deep sleep. She awoke to Carr's shouting and the scuffle of boots on the ground.

"Come on boys!" he yelled through the door, "Got a round-up for the front!"

"What's going on?" she asked one of the passing men in uniform.

"Round-up!" he replied, giving her an annoyed look, as if she'd asked the stupidest possible question. Marie quickly checked her equipment. Finding nothing missing, she applied salve to her ear and joined the men outside, who had ordered themselves into ranked lines. In front of them, a strange machine.

"MIND arrived two hours ago, fresh from Richmond," Carr explained to his men. "Our boys sighted a band of muties a few days ago, making their way here. Let's go give 'em somethin' ta die for!"

The men whooped and clapped in support of their Lieutenant, although Marie was transfixed by the bizarre implement in front of them. It stood about twenty feet high, a tower comprised of metal struts, tapering to a point. Fixed to each of the four sides were dishes, wires running down to a complex looking control panel at the base. The apparatus was mounted to a sturdy wheeled base, apparently salvaged from abandoned cars. Ropes were attached to the base, evidently to provide locomotion.

"MIND's here," whispered a soldier to her. About damn time. Aughta stem the tide!"

"What is it?"

"Our best hope against The District and beasties. Enough pvssyr, listen to the 'tenant."

"Muties are squatting about two miles inland. Make it tidy!"

The ranks of men sprung into action, grabbing the ropes attached to the machine and dragging it without effort. The lieutenant followed behind, next to the control panel. He waved Marie over to him.

"While the boys pull MIND, you're on escort duty. Make sure nothing touches it, it's more delicate than it looks. Sometimes it takes a minute to work its magic, so make sure no muties get close."

"But what is it? What does it do?"

"He he! You'll see girl, you'll see!"

Baffled by her introduction to Old Dominion, she followed the soldiers as they carted the machine out of the dock and out into the country, pulling it along the remains of an old freeway. Skeletons of trees obscured Marie's vision, the area heavily forested before the war. After about an hour of uneventful marching along the cracked asphalt, Carr tapped his finger twice on the sheet metal of the machine's base. The men stopped instantly. Seeing the display, Marie readied her weapon and knelt behind the cover of the base. Carr then tapped three times on the metal, and the men arranged themselves in a circle around the machine. He flicked a switch on the panel, releasing a lever which he then pulled. The machine began to emit a high-pitched whine, straining Marie's ears.

"3...2...1...make a racket boys!"
At this prompt the men surrounding the device began shouting and screaming towards the dead woods, mocking the mutants and baiting them to show themselves.

"Come on out y'all ugly bastards!" the lieutenant bellowed in his unique manner. "We've got one hell of a sur-prise for ya! C'mon muties! Heeere mutie mutie mutants!"

Marie was horrified at this display, frantically looking around for the unnatural creatures they were summoning. The shouting subsided, as she heard hisses and roars over the soft whine of the machine. The patter of footprints in mud followed. As soon as she caught sight of the first, bald and hideous feral ghoul face, Carr slammed his palm against a large button on the panel. The dishes on the device emitted shockwaves, instantly giving Marie a headache. The ghouls stopped in their tracks, heads lolling on their necks, as if in a daze. Carr pressed another button on the panel, emitting a series of quick whines from the machine in varying pitches. The ghouls appeared to awake from the stupor, and advanced towards them. Marie raised her Plasma Beam to fire, but was shouted at by Carr.

"No! They're ours now. Roll up boys, let's head to Manassas."

The men broke from their circle formation and once again took up the ropes to cart the device further up the freeway. The ghouls dutifully followed, seemingly marching in step with the uniformed men. More ghouls soon followed, only to join their curious comrades. It took all of Marie's restraint not to fire on them, despite Carr's admonishments. Eventually she heard heavier footprints, a green hand reaching around a tree to tear it down. A placated look upon its tortured face, it too joined the band. This time, Marie could not restrain herself, raising her rifle and firing. Carr knocked the rifle up, sending a stream of green plasma into the sky.

"Damn it miss, he's on our side now!"

"What the hell is it?!" asked Marie, a look of horror on her face. She had seen many horrors in The Pitt, but nothing like this lumbering muscle-bound beast.

"Super Mutant. Did you just crawl out of a vault or somethin'? Although they are becomin' much rarer these days. He'll be good to have."

"What did that machine do? Why aren't they attacking us?"

"Hell, don't ask me about the science, I just press the buttons. The major's the expert on it, he gave it to us. Makes muties friendly, they'll do whatever we want. Watch!"

He pressed a few buttons, altering the pitch again. The impromptu army at once lifted their left legs up, hopping along in a ridiculous display.

"Hee hee! Adorable ain't they. Not gonna be so adorable to them District types, that's fer sure."

"So it's some kind of mind control device?"

"Not to us, don't get yer panties all in a bunch. The worst it does to smart folk is give them a headache the first few times. For them, though. Well, you saw. Hee, I never get tired of that little trick! I asked the major to program a little song and dance routine for 'em, but he said it was a waste of time, miserable bastard."

Marie shook off the headache as they moved towards Manassas. Checking her compass, she realised they were heading north. The right direction at least. The band stopped at a campsite, situated around an intact church. The army of mutants marched onwards, kicking up dust as they left. To Marie's surprise, the major appeared outside the church.

"Successful round-up, Lieutenant?"

"By the book, Major. Got more than we were expecting, too. Missy here was fair shocked by our secret weapon, but we had no problems."

"Excellent work. Establish a perimeter. Ashur, a word please."

"It's usually Marie," she replied as the major led her into the church.

"You look surprised to see me. Old Dominion has been a land of constant shock for you, I'm guessing."

"To put it mildly. How did you get here?"

"I left while you were sleeping. Richmond wishes a forward command post south of Manassas, top priority. You're standing in a former reconnaissance point. Me and the men will transform the rather slapdash camp soon enough. From the look on your face, I'm guessing you want to play twenty questions again."

"I was rather...curious about some things," Marie replied. "Namely that machine of yours. Mind, Carr called it?"

"Mental Influencing Neurowave Device," Gorski recited. "The reason Old Dominion still exists."

"I'm still in the dark about Old Dominion...and why you're at war with The District. You seem pretty organised - shouldn't bastions of civilisation be cooperating, reclaiming what was lost? That's what The Commonwealth does, and then some."

"I don't care what The Commonwealth does," scolded Gorski as he sat in a pew. "Ignorant outsiders. Do you actually care about our plight, or is this just more information to aid your little quest for vengeance, or however you want to dress it up?"

"I was raised to help the innocent. You might say it was my entire purpose in life," explained Marie. "Please, tell me what happened to cause this war."

"Very well. It begins fifteen years ago, from what I'm told."

"What you were told? Where were you?"

Gorski pointed to his back with his thumb. "Seventy-Five," he replied. "As I was saying, fifteen years ago. You saw that angry looking green brute with the ghouls and swampfolk?"

"The Super Mutant."

"Yes. They were unknown in these lands, until then. They began to migrate from the north, in significant numbers. Relentlessly aggressive, powerful, merciless. Only interested in death. The various surviving settlements of what was Virginia released that in order to survive, they needed to band together for mutual protection. That is how Old Dominion was reborn. Truthfully, The District was their inspiration. They'd already banded together, to form a functioning state out of the wasteland."

"You copied their example?"

"It seemed to work for them, so why not? In any case, this alliance kept the beasts at bay, even if they remained a menace in the coming years. It expanded south, as more and more Super Mutants pressed into Virginia. Eventually they established their military and admin capital at Richmond, following the coast and James River. I, meanwhile, was still keeping a vault in working order."

"The vaults are those big, underground shelters, right? Why'd you leave?"

"Believe me kid, I didn't want to." Gorski paused for a moment, as if bracing himself for the memories. "Tell me, in your travels, have you encountered an organisation calling itself the 'Brotherhood of Steel'?"

"Not directly, but I've heard of them. In our long histories, before The Rising that started our city as I know it, they visited The Pitt."

"Really? I heard they'd come from the west. What exactly did they do there?"

"Rumour has it they killed everything in sight, took some technology and left. It was called 'The Scourge of The Pitt'."

"Ha," laughed Gorski bitterly. "Sounds about right."

"But what they did, enabled civilisation...however flawed...to reclaim The Pitt. Before, people were like animals...worse than Trogs."

"Then what gives these tin-men the right to kill and steal as they see fit? Brotherhood, pah! Vultures...Locusts of Steel!"

"That's the law of the wasteland," Marie shrugged. "If nobody else is using it, they may as well reclaim old technology."

"And what if someone else is using it? You'll notice that all your equipment is still in your possession. The men under my command have honour, respect. The Locusts of Steel..."

"What happened to make you hate them so much?"

Gorski stood up, and pressed a button on his wrist computer. A recording started, crackling and filled with static.
"This is Paladin J... of the Brother..od of Steel, transmitting to the Overseer of Vault 75. The outside ...steland is being tamed by my brothers, but ...believe this noble end...vour could be completed faster with your cooper..ation. We believe you poss...s a device tha...d greatly reduce the blo....shed in our struggle to ...vilise this land. We ... only...peacefu... ...tions with the citi...s of Vault 75 and eagerly ...ait your reply."

"That's how it started. That's the first I heard of the Brotherhood of Steel, called into the Overseer's office to listen to that broadcast, picked up on our emergency frequencies. Only the government would know that frequency, or even where we were. It was a shock, to hear the outside after all this time."

"What's the device that Paladin is talking about?"

"Years ago I couldn't even tell my closest friends about this. Doesn't matter now. You see, the vaults were never designed to save anyone. They were...experiments. Each one. Ours involved the MIND program, mental manipulation, suggestion and control."

"Control? That's horrible!"

"Didn't work as intended. You said The Pitt was a slave town? Some of your people will be familiar with a device called the Mesmetron, a pre-war...weapon, which makes people highly suggestible. Or blows their heads off, or turns them insane. Our vault was designed to replicate the first of these effects, on a massive scale. As Chief Technician, I looked over the schematics under orders of the Overseer. The signal had simply become too weak to directly influence any human mind. All it did was give people headaches."

"Better that than turning people insane...or blowing their heads off."

"Quite. After endless tinkering, we gave up on the project and focussed on everyday survival. Until the Brotherhood contacted us. We decided not to respond to them, for the good of the vault it had been decided that the Vault door must remain shut."

"But that changed?"

"Hmmph." Gorski replied, pressing another button on his wrist.

"Vault 75, this is the Broth...ood of Steel. We beg your assistan.... ... battle against the horrors of the wasteland. We know the nature of your ex...riment, and have calculated that against degraded and mutated minds your MIND control device will be highly effective. For the sake of innocent lives, we a....t your response."

"That's what they sent after a few days of silence. Patient, they ain't. But we had innocents of our own to consider. Innocents who lived their lives without ever knowing the true nature of our vault. What would the Overseer tell the men and women under his protection, when outsiders waltzed into their vault and took away some mysterious piece of equipment? If that's all they'd take. We replied with nothing. Then they stopped playing games. Listen to this."

"Vault 75. This is the Brotherhood of Steel. We have received no response, despite our urgent pleas and innocent lives being lost. We present you with a final ultimatum. If we receive no response to this broadcast, we will be forced to assume that nobody remains in the vault who can reply. We will take any action necessary to defend the peoples of the wasteland and protect our brothers. You have two weeks to respond, or we will take action."

"That was two weeks after the last message," sighed Gorski. "I remember it like yesterday, although it was about fourteen years ago. The Overseer scoffed at the message. Our blast door weighed thirteen point three tons and could withstand a direct nuclear blast with only a two per cent failure rate. What could this 'Brotherhood' and their idle threats do? How naive we were. The two week deadline came and went, with no further broadcasts. We figured they'd gotten bored, their requests unanswered, the door sealed shut. I was working on a Mister Handy robot in the Atrium, adjacent to the entrance when I heard it. Vault warning lights and siren sounded, followed by an immense rumbling from the main entrance, followed by an enormous crash. The Overseer's voice came across the PA system, telling residents to get to quarters, ordering all security to the main entrance. The next thing I heard, a crack of a nine millimetre pistol, standard issue to Vault security. Then another. We'd been invaded. After the two shots, a whir...then rapid succession of gunshots. I ran to the Overseer's office as the bullets began to fly. Looking down on the Atrium, I saw the invaders entering. Clad in metal, black eyepieces, smoking minigun barrels like something from a nightmare. The Overseer cursed them over the PA, picking up his own weapon and running to the Atrium. Bullets sparked off the metal suit, then the tin-man aimed his minigun. He blasted the Overseer, turning him into a red paste...he screamed, for a second."

"What did you expect? You did shoot at them first-"

"They had no right!" Gorski bellowed. "They had no right to invade our home! To steal our technology! Of course we defended ourselves. But Vault Security stood no chance against their weaponry. I knew right then I had to get out. I grabbed a Stealth-Boy from the Overseer's office, removed the control chip for MIND, transferred its schematics to my Pip-Boy then wiped them off the main computer. I opened a secret tunnel to the main entrance, still guarded by those steel monsters. I cloaked myself, tip-toeing through the blood of men I had known, my friends. After that, I just ran until I could run no more, the Overseer's scream still in my ear."

"An incredible escape," said Marie. "What happened to the rest of the Vault?"

"I don't know. I returned years later, with a squad of Old Dominion soldiers. We found the Vault abandoned and stripped of tech. They probably abducted the rest of the Vault, as we found no evidence of battle."

"You think the Brotherhood of Steel would abduct an entire Vault?"

"Why not? They blasted the doors off and invaded, who knows what they are capable of. Eventually I ran into a village, tied into the burgeoning Old Dominion alliance. I told them everything. They told me that they'd run into the locusts before, in small numbers. They'd come, poke around for technology, then leave. They weren't exactly popular, and less so after 75. They didn't give up their search for MIND, but we fought back. Against them and the mutants. Eventually we were able to replicate the MIND program. We've got three units in the field currently. One was previously destroyed, another's under construction. The District and their Brotherhood jackals have technology far beyond our own, so MIND and our mutant bedfellows have been our only hope."

"So that's how you became a major for Old Dominion?"

"Yes. They appreciate my talent, and for my own part, they've treated me well."

"With all their technology, I'm surprised you've lasted this long."

"They've got the guns, but we've got the numbers. Plus, we're not defenceless. We've launched a few counterattacks, of varying success. But truthfully, this war is reaching its climix. We're making our stand here, at Manassas. This far, and no further. It's also where you come in, an unexpected boon in this war."

"How do you mean? I'm not sure I like where this is going. I don't want to be a soldier in a war I have no part in."

"Oh, but you do. The enemy of my enemy, remember? Here's where you come in. Have you ever heard of the term 'decapitation strike'?"

"You want to cut someone's head off?"

"In a manner of speaking. A decapitation strike is an attack which aims to cull the leaders of the enemy in one action, leaving the rest of them running around like a headless chicken, with nobody to give them orders. It's why D.C. was so heavily hit, why the Whitehouse is apparently a smoking crater."

"So you want to take out the leaders of The District?"

"One of them - your boy, The Lone Wanderer. The blow to their morale will be devastating, they think he's invincible."

"Hmm, I'm liking the sound of this a bit more," Marie replied with a ruthless smile. "So what do you need me to do?"

Gorski walked to the church alter, and pulled out a vaguely cylindrical contraption, carrying it to Marie.

"What's that? Another mind control device?"

"No," Gorski chuckled, setting it down on a pew. The initials 'M.I.R.V.' were stencilled on its side, a collection of mini-nukes stacked in the tube. "This is the axe we use to cut off the head."

"Where'd you get it from?"

"One of our snipers took down some Brotherhood recon scum, who was carrying this beauty with him. He was probably planning to do the same thing to us."

"What...exactly does it do?"

"Rains death, that's what it does. Our techies in Richmond have had this under the microscope - it's a unique Fat Man, a mini-nuke launcher. Only this launches eight of them, carpeting an area in radioactive death. Just, heh, keep upwind of it."

"So you want me to shoot this at the Lone Wanderer?"

"Not exactly. It's pretty impossible to miss with this thing, so all we need you to do is aim in the general direction of their HQ, then pull this trigger. Big boom! Everybody dead."

"And after that?"

"After that, you do whatever you want to, safe in the knowledge that your father rests easy, vengeance has been taken and that you've helped a lot of people." Gorski rolled out a pen-drawn map on another pew, pointing to a blue circle. "Here's where we are now, just south of Manassas. Or what was Manassas. We're using the muties as cannon-fodder, to hold District forces. Whilst the battle rages, you slip through. With District forces distracted, you head to the Pentagon - or 'The Citadel' as they call it - here. About twenty-three miles north-east of the field. Use your compass and this map to help you. Once you get there, you know what to do."
Marie nodded, as she strapped the M.I.R.V. around her shoulder, grunting as she strained to take the weight.
"So, when do I head out?" she asked.

"Whenever District forces decide to engage us, which they will. They can't resist. Our men and the freak-job corps are waiting for contact, then you rush to cut the head off."

"Sounds good to me," Marie said, clapping her hands together. "What do I do until then?"

"Get some rest. Get a good meal. Looks like you could use one."

Marie helped herself to a pot of bubbling mutfruit stew in front of one of the tents, as men moved around laying sandbags and barbed wire. More hypnotised mutants marched through, heading north. Marie pulled one of the grey-uniformed men aside as her ear began to throb again, asking if they had a field medic. He pointed to a tent, marked with a red cross. The ear had become more and more painful, the bullet wound mangling the pinna and deafening her left ear slightly. The cheerful doctor dropped his smile when he saw the wound, producing a laser scalpel. Injecting local anaesthetic, he sawed off the mangled portion of the ear and attached a bandage tightly over the wound. Marie could barely hear a thing through the ear, but her right ear was still good - as was her will to fight. As she was leaving the tent, Gorski ran up to her.

"About time you got that sorted out. Just as well, I need you to hear. This, particularly." He threw a green rectangular block towards Marie, which she instinctively caught. "A 2043B radio. It'll allow us to keep in constant contact through my Pip-Boy. If you get stuck, lost, need directions, you tell me. Our advance scouts have reported contact, so it's time for you to go to battle. Good luck, and Godspeed."

Marie nodded, tucking the radio into her longcoat pocket. She followed the men out of the camp, jogging at brisk pace under the afternoon sun. To her left, a legion of ghouls, swampfolk and Super Mutants, patiently waiting for battle. Behind them, the far less numerous soldiers of Old Dominion. Checking the map, Marie aimed to skip across the left of the Manassas battlefield and travel east to the Pentagon - where she would be glad to be rid of the M.I.R.V.'s weight.

"First wave sighted," shouted a soldier, bringing a scope to his face.

Marie easily spotted silhouettes on the horizon, jerkily moving towards the dusty flat field. As they came closer, they emitted sporadic lasers from their hands. The mutants stood their ground, one or two ghouls taking hits. As they came closer, Marie recognised them - Protectrons, like the ones that wandered around the steelyard back home.

"Do. Not. Be. Alarmed," one said as it approached. "Law and. Order. Will be resumed. Shortly."

"Attack!" yelled a Dominion soldier. At once the mutants charged, arms flailing, hissing and roaring.

"Stupid. Metal. Man!" one of the Super Mutants shouted, as it ripped the arms off one of the units, producing sparks and smoke which didn't seem to faze the mutant at all. The rest of the robots soon fell before the horde. Marie simply watched, perched atop a rock and crawling forward, unnoticed.

Lying prone, Marie felt something...something moving. Gentle shakes of the ground at first, in the rhythm of footsteps. Far away footsteps, that grew closer, kicking up dust and making the tiny pebbles around her jump. A copse of tree skeletons to her left disappeared, replaced by a titanic bipedal figure. It emitted a booming voice which echoed over the battlefield, drowning out the ghoul groans and Super Mutant pvssyr.

"COMMUNISTS DETECTED ON AMERICAN SOIL! LETHAL FORCE ENGAGED!...GAGED!... GAGED!...GAGED!"

OMG! :tops: This just gets better and better!

oh (censored)
they repaired liberty prime?
marie's screwed XD....
wait...she has the MIRV....
:nuke: :nuke:

To bad the MIRV fails vs Liberty Prime. Keep writing this really does get better and better

As has been said this keeps getting better and better then you bring back Liberty Prime. awesome.

thats in the canon game dude,
this is the lorcavirse.

If she nukes the Citadel who will be able to give Liberty Prime new orders, not to mention maintain or repair it? I would guess the Major would tell her to avoid contact and continue with her mission.....even though there might not be a Old Dominion left to celebrate her success. However, I get the impression there is more going on than meets the eye.....

A good traditional plot twist at this point is for the lone wander to be shown to have a different character than expected and for the District to actually have redeeming qualities. Another possibility is that we're looking at a red herring and lorca will play everything straight. We could also get a downer ending, which is likely if Marie has a one-on-one confrontation with the Lone Wanderer. As for Liberty prime itself, either it will get destroyed by marie, marie will attempt to blow it up but fail spectacularly, or she'll continue on to Arlington (Pentagon is technically in Arlington, Virginia, not D.C.) There's also the possibility that the lone Wanderer did something to Marie's mother that's not what we would expect. (She's likely dead, but the Lone Wanderer in-game didn't have to kill her, and it's not definitively stated how she died)

You have alot of good theories. i was also wondering about Marie's mother.

This story is gripping can't wait for more. This story is one of the maibn reasons i check the threads everyday.

I'm sure I'll like whatever Lorca comes up with....it's fun to guess though.



She'll certainly meet him face to face.....that's the climix of the story, after all. Assuming Lorca is envisioning him as having G-VG Karma he's likely to be more sympathetic to where she's coming from than his android doppleganger was, and the meeting might not end in bloodshed. But it could end any number of ways. The traditional way these sort of stories end is they eventually meet and either she takes him down or his explanation for what he did satisfies her to the point she can let go of her anger and forgive him. *cue Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue'*



I think she'll call the Major and either receive orders to take it out, or to continue with her mission....it all depends on how important the Old Dominion is to the story. I suspect there is a lot to be revealed about the Old Dominion and the origins of this war, facts that the Major....interesting rank for the commander of a front...isn't aware of either. I doubt they have the ability to stop Liberty Prime from getting to Richmond and leveling it short of that MIRV. I suspect she'll be ordered to take out Liberty Prime as not doing so means immediate catastrophic defeat for them. Then they'll have to come up with a Plan B.

Liberty Prime is awesome, as is your writing ability and story. Excellent job.

Brace yourselves for another update!

----

Marie's eyes widened, her jaw hanging in a combination of amazement and stupefaction. The behemoth towered over even the brutish muscle-bound Super Mutants. On its mighty rounded grey shoulders, two swivel-mounted cannons unlike anything Marie had seen before. Almost similar to her plasma beam rifle, although much larger, dancing with white sparks. It's stomach, if it could be described thus, was comprised of a different material - an orange metal Marie didn't recognise, arranged in hexagons, appearing in stark contrast to the grey of his head and shoulders. His entire form shimmered slightly, as if he was giving off immense heat, distorting the air around his frame.
The throng of mutants did not share Marie's amazement at the sight, rushing forward to attack the giant with tooth and claw.

"Ha ha ha! Stupid robot!" screamed one of the Super Mutants. "I love a good fight!"

"CHINESE HUMAN WAVE TACTICS DETECTED!" the booming voice replied. "PROBABILITY OF MISSION HINDRANCE...ZERO PERCENT!...CENT!... CENT!...CENT!"

The throngs of mutants swarmed around the feet of the giant, flailing at the metal. The giant moved his mighty arms, positioning his palms flat, showing them to the mutants in an apparent order to halt. Without warning, flames erupted from the wrists. The inferno swirled around the giant's feet, torching the helpless mutants swarming around him. Some were incinerated immediately, some fled, flailing in agony until they succumbed to the flame. A charred Super Mutant charged towards him, only to be crushed underfoot, the snapping of bones and crunching of ligaments audible over the crackling flames.

"Prime," the radio in Marie's pocket crackled. "Stay calm. Don't do anything stupid."

"What is it?" Marie asked frantically. "What do we do now?"

"Right now command is ordering a withdrawal of our troops from the field. The freak corps will stay, hopefully will distract him long enough for our men to pull back. Your mission remains the same. Gorski out."

The grey uniforms began to flee, as the mutants mindless fought the metal giant. A compartment in the giant's chest opened, revealing three drill-like protrusions, angled upwards slightly. Manoeuvring himself, the giant fired three balls of glowing energy into the air. The drills angled upwards slightly, firing again, then repeated. The glowing orbs remained on the field for a few seconds, before detonating in a rolling wave of death, sending body parts flying through the air, creating smoking gaps in the mass of mutants.

The two shoulder mounted cannons fired on the survivors of the lethal bombardment, as the chest compartment closed. Two arcs of white light emitted, striking remaining pockets of mutants. The blast dropped those it struck instantly, while those of the periphery of the blast began to spasm and sizzle, before falling. The giant turned its attention towards the fleeing grey uniforms, sending men tumbling which each blast of white death.

In a state of near panic, Marie brought her beam rifle to her shoulders. Determined to at least try and save some of the fleeing Dominion troops, she aimed hastily towards the chest of the giant. She fired, drawing the green beam diagonally across its chest. Its surface rippled, like a finger being dragged across a pool of still water. The giant turned its head towards her.

"INERTIA SUPPRESSION FIELD HOLDING! COMMUNIST PLASMA DERIVATIVE ATTACK...FUTILE!...TILE... TILE!...TILE!"

Marie struggled to bring the M.I.R.V. device to her shoulders, aiming it towards the giant. As she prepared to fire, she spotted the shoulder-mounted lightning cannon aiming straight towards her. In fear, she dropped the M.I.R.V. with a clatter on the stony ground, turning tail to flee. As she turned, she felt a jolt of pain through the small of her back, as if someone had stabbed a spear straight through her. She cried out in pain, her arms flailing, her legs unresponsive as she fell to her knees in the dirt. Blackness engulfed her.

"Ashur," crackled the radio, "Respond! Continue to the Pentagon! Ashur, respond...respond..."

A pair of clumsy footsteps shook her out of unconsciousness. Her vision was blurred, her energy totally drained. She could not muster the strength to even look around, let alone carry on her mission. The smell of charred flesh filled the air, the caw of carrion birds greeted her ears. The footsteps came closer as she struggled to think what to do.

"Ughhh," breathed an inhuman voice. "Dead humans...good. I'm...hungry!"

"This one alive!" responded a similarly monstrous voice. "Take back...maybe find more green stuff. Need more of us!"

"Yes...more. To kill all the humans!"

Marie heard a scuffle and a scream, as one of the beasts appeared to pick something up. Her legs still numb, she tried to drag herself away, her jacket scraping against the dirt.

"Uh...hello? Anyone there?" asked the first voice. "...You're here...stop hiding!"

"Found you!" yelled the second voice, running towards Marie. A cruel hand wrapped itself around Marie's leg, whisking her off the ground and throwing her over a fleshy green shoulder.

Marie drifted in and out of conciousness as her captors carried her away, aware only of the ground passing beneath her as she once again lost conciousness.

She awoke to bars, a primitive cage build from shopping carts her prison, an acrid smell in her nostrils. Her arms and legs were bound with cord. Looking around as she became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed another cage next to hers, another prisoner bound, breathing heavily and bleeding from his mouth. "Carr..." Marie whispered. The impromptu prison camp was apparently built into some concrete ruins, some of the walls still standing. Her two captors stood guard in the centre, patrolling back and forth. Marie tried to gnaw through her bonds, but to no avail. The metal wire dug further into her wrists as she struggled for freedom. "Carr!" she whispered again to the wounded soldier, but to no response. His grey uniform was caked in blood, his right arm missing from the forearm. Marie continued to struggle, her eyes watering in response to the pain.

"What's the matter human?" one of the brutes asked her. "You scared? Ha ha!"

An old-fashioned mud-dragging eh? Well, we've known for a while now you were going to make marie work for it.


Lorca might still go for a downer ending where Marie dies, as downers aren't as frequently used tropes as their positive siblings, and thus would make a good plot twist.

id rather see her talk with the lone wander before the stories over