» Fri May 27, 2011 10:52 pm The Enclave trooper was already toppling backward - Lyons' last volley of plasma fire had melted through the helmet of his power armor and done things to the contents that were best not described - as Ron rushed his position. Off to the right, the distinctive rapid pvssyr of Fawkes' gatling laser had also fallen silent, indicating that the super mutant had finished off his foe as well. Ron swept the room with the muzzle of his assault rifle, but it seemed to be clear of further enemies. Now there was just one door between his little group and what was once the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial - now the center of Project Purity.
Ron swallowed hard, flexing his fingers on the weathered grips of the old Chinese rifle, as he remembered what had happened the last time he'd been here. For the sake of his companions who hadn't, he explained. "Okay. The control room is right through there. Now, listen - there's a lot of important and sensitive equipment in there that does not take well to bullets or lasers. So please, nobody start shooting unless I do."
"I understand," Fawkes snarled - he couldn't help it, that was just how the green giant talked - while Lyons acknowledged with a simple nod. Ron took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
There was a time when he hadn't known how to breach a room full of potential hostiles... or disarm a mine, or take down mutated wildlife, or strip a laser rifle for parts; a time when his main concerns had been doing well on the G.O.A.T., dodging bullies, not getting caught sneaking into restricted parts of the Vault, and maybe stealing a kiss from Amata. A time when he had a father. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and maybe it was. Sometimes it seemed like that bright young man, who only wanted to become a doctor like his Dad, had died in this very room. Or maybe it was in the ruins of D.C., or in Moriarty's Saloon, or maybe even with Jonas in the Overseer's office.
Colonel Autumn was waiting for him, just like before, with another pair of Enclave soldiers flanking him. Ron wished he could say he was surprised. The longcoated officer seemed to feel the same way; as everyone's weapons came up to track each other, his only reaction was a drawled "You again." He didn't even go for the laser pistol holstered at his belt.
"Hold your fire," Ron reminded his companions through clenched teeth. The Colonel and his bodyguards were standing right in front of the pipes and cables leading up into the control room. One stray shot... "Give it up, Autumn. You've lost."
Autumn didn't blink. "I beg to differ. The Enclave is at the height of its power. Once this facility is operational, the people will flock to us for fresh water, protection, and a plan for the future."
Ron shook his head, his rifle's aim swaying a bit but never leaving Autumn's chest. "Raven Rock is gone. Eden is gone, he self-destructed. And the Brotherhood is mopping up what's left of your troops outside. It's over."
He could see Autumn absorbing that news, but the officer's resolve didn't crumble; instead, after a moment, his jaw firmed again. "The American people are worth fighting for. The future must be secured." Now he did draw his sidearm, slowly raising it to point at Ron. Fawkes and Lyons tensed; the servos of Brotherhood and Enclave power armor whined faintly. "I won't let you stand in the way of that."
"You're the one who's in the way." Ron sighed. "I don't want to kill you... okay, to hell with that. I want to kill you a whole lot. But that won't solve anything. It won't bring my father back. The fighting has to stop, here and now."
Autumn's cool, dispassionate visage acquired a faint smirk. "And what would you have me do? Let you have everything I've worked to build? Let you destroy it all?"
"You didn't build this!" Ron shouted, startling everyone in the rotunda and wiping the expression from the Colonel's face. Luckily, no one fired. "My mother did, my father, other people you killed! You think I want to destroy it? Their dream, that they gave their lives for? Why in God's name would I do that? Why?" He finally paused for a ragged breath, his knuckles white on the grips of his weapon. "Is it because you try to destroy anything you can't control? You never stopped to think that maybe they wanted the same thing as you. Clean water for everyone, a fresh start. A future, for the people, the American people. That's all they ever wanted. It's all I want. It's all I've got left. Please."
The barrel of Ron's assault rifle had been drifting lower and lower as he pleaded with the other man, and now he discarded any pretense of aiming it at him, letting it hang at his side as he held out his free hand. His eyes stung with unshed tears. "Just walk away. It's not too late. Let me do this for them, for everyone."
Autumn gave Ron and his companions a long appraising look. "And you... you would just let me leave? How can I be sure you won't just shoot me when I turn my back on you?"
Because I'm not you, Ron thought bitterly, but Autumn was already speaking again. His tone was somber, his lips pursed as if he'd tasted something he didn't like - the ashes of defeat, perhaps. "If you're telling the truth about Eden and the rest... I suppose it doesn't matter much now." He holstered his weapon, at the same time gesturing for his guards to lower theirs. "Very well. I leave you to your fate."
One of the men in armor covered their retreat, just in case, and Fawkes remained similarly vigilant; but Ron didn't even twitch until the exit door closed behind them. Lyons whistled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you'd let him just walk away. It's amazing the world hasn't beaten that out of you."
Ron looked at her bleakly. "No, I meant what I said. I wanted to blow his head off. But I knew Dad would never..." He shook his head, dismissing the rest of that thought. "Enough. Let's do what we came here for."
As he and Lyons mounted the steps to the control room, with Fawkes close behind, Ron noticed a few things that made him wonder and worry. First, the chamber had been sealed again; second, while the bodies of James, Dr. Li's assistant Janice, and the others from last time had been removed (as Ron had assumed they would be, though it still bothered him to have no idea where or how his father's remains had been disposed of), there was a new one in an Enclave environment suit face down on the floor. Finally, he could hear Dr. Li's voice coming through the intercom, and it sounded urgent.
"Hello? Hello, is anyone there? This is Dr. Li - something's wrong with the purifier."
Lyons pressed the talk button. "Dr. Li? It's Sarah Lyons. I'm in the control room, we're both here; what's going on?"
"I've been monitoring the equipment remotely and we have a serious problem. The facility has been damaged during the fighting. Some of it looks accidental, some of it may have been sabotage. There's pressure building up in the holding tanks. It needs to be released now or the whole facility could explode!"
Ron and Sarah looked at each other as Dr. Li went on. "To release the pressure, you're going to have to turn the purifier on. Do you understand me? It has to be turned on now!"
There was the faint sound of a sigh from the other end of the intercom. "If I'm reading this right, there are lethal levels of radiation inside the chamber. I'm sorry, I wish there was some other way, but there's just no time. It has to be done now, or the damage will be catastrophic."
Ron put down his weapon, leaning it against the railing, and reached into one of the pouches around the waist of his combat armor. He poured out two Rad-X pills into his palm, swallowed them, then shrugged and downed the rest of the bottle.
"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.
"I'll do it. I'll start the purifier." Wish my rad suit wasn't hanging in my closet back in Megaton, he thought. For what good it'd do...
"But you'll be killed!"
"Yeah, just like my dad. Guess that fits, huh?" Ron tried to grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll finish what they started."
"Wait! Send the mut-- Fawkes!" The Sentinel whirled on the third member of their party. "You go!"
Ron reached over and took hold of one of the pauldrons of her armor, turning her to face him again. "There's no time to explain. I can fix this, but I have to do it right now." He lifted his gaze past her shoulder. "Fawkes, good luck out there. It's a great big world... I'm glad I got to see some of it."
"As am I, my friend," Fawkes replied gravely.
Lyons' face was hard now, her stare accusing. "So, what, you have some kind of death wish?"
"No! Maybe," Ron allowed ruefully. "Hey, you heard me. I can't let this be destroyed. Everything they worked for..." He trailed off, looking at her. She's so pretty. Oh, what the hell.
As kisses went, it wasn't much - Ron had no experience to speak of, and no time - but he would have regretted going to his death without doing it. And the look on Sarah's face when he pulled back was worth it. He actually smiled as he turned toward the airlock. "Goodbye."
The outer door closed with a hiss and the inner door opened. Ron didn't need the clicking of his Pip-Boy's Geiger counter to tell him the control room was hot; he could feel it, a faint prickling on his skin and a sour taste in his mouth. He knew the symptoms of radiation exposure, from textbooks and personal experience. Got to work fast.
A quick glance over the board confirmed that the G.E.C.K. had been installed and everything was ready to go. Damn considerate of them. All that remained was to punch in the authorization code; Ron did so with clumsy fingers, fighting the sudden wave of fatigue and nausea. Two one six... alpha and omega. I love you, mom, dad. Make you proud. The ENTER key was twice the size of the others, and his fist slammed down on it.
He never heard the Geiger counter's scream as its needle pegged itself in the red, or Lyons shout his name; he only heard the roar of the great machine starting up, felt the heat blast through him, saw a swirling storm of bubbles briefly obscure Jefferson's face that stared back at him through water, glass and centuries. We hold these truths to be self-evident... that all men are created equal...
The floor came up and smacked him. He tried to rise, but he was just too tired, and his head hurt. He'd done everything they'd asked of him; surely now he could rest? His vision blurred as the control room lamps got brighter and brighter, whiting out everything...
The light was blinding. He blinked, and wondered that he was able to. He was supposed to be dead. He should be dead. He squinted against the glare, wondering if this was the radiance of Heaven. If that crazy was right about Atom, I'm gonna feel awful stupid.
Then the light swung away, revealing... a ceiling. It was, Ron gradually realized as his vision and thoughts began to clear, a familiar ceiling. It looked like the ceilings in the Citadel. And there was a certain smell in the air, and faint sounds of pre-War machines, that he'd known his whole life; he was in an infirmary. An infirmary at the Citadel.
He tried to lift his head, but he might as well have attempted to pick up Megaton's infamous centerpiece. He was as weak as a kitten. His throat burned, and his whole body felt sore and wrapped in gauze; maybe it was, he couldn't tell.
A timeless time passed as he lay there on what he now knew to be an examination table. Eventually a shadow appeared above him, cutting off more of the light - a horrific visage, set in a permanent teeth-baring grimace. If Ron had been able to move, he might have flinched from it.
"It is good to see you awake," the super mutant growled softly. "I knew it was not your time. You still have much to do."
Fawkes. Ron couldn't even muster a croak, but his lips moved. The giant nodded and put a hand on his chest; he could feel the added pressure. How? he mouthed.
"That... is complicated. First, you must rest." The weight lifted. "And someone else wishes to see you."
"That's right. Move it, you big ugly." The words were delivered with affection and a power-assisted shove, as Fawkes' looming face was replaced with another that was much more agreeable. "Let me tell you something about Lyons' Pride, kid. You're not getting out of this outfit that easy." With a smile and a twinkle in her eye, Sarah Lyons bent down to dab a kiss on his forehead. "Get well soon. We could use you out there."
THE END
... but only for now
