Fleur de Lis
Chapter 1
"The Gang's All Here"
"The Midwest had become a forgotten wasteland long before the Great War. As the country's patriotism grew, it's taste for grass-roots America soured, and the population flocked to the coastal commonwealths in droves. Cities like Chicago and Minneapolis, which once rivaled their seaboard cousins in size and power, shrank to embarrassing sizes. The buildings themselves still stood, but there was but a handful of people left to enjoy them. It is here, in this sprawling wasteland, that many of Vault 53's inhabitants decided to claim for their own. However, when they emerged from behind the solid blast doors and into the nuclear sun, the inevitable feeling of hopelessness set in. Some set off toward the coasts, where they were certain to find others. Some returned to the Vault, willing to remain where they had always been. Most, however, spread out and staked claim to what remained of St. Louis. The Mississippi, mostly pure of radiation, provided enough water and food to sustain their small group. Buildings stood largely intact, providing shelter and locations to scavenge. As the city grew, the St. Louis Arch became a beacon to any unfortunate soul who became lost in the wastes, and a symbol of the Midwest."
The Holotape ended with a panning shot of the Arch, standing tall despite the rust and missing panels. Our Captain rose and returned to the front of the room. He ejected the tape and pushed the projector aside, then turned to us.
"Most of you know me already, but for you Greens my name is Captain Franklin Bass, and I'll be your commanding officer on this operation. Sorry to bore you folks with the history lesson, but command insists we know about the area we're heading to." He pulled down a map of pre-war America, with commonwealths and large cities highlighted. He pointed to St. Louis, nestled along the Mississippi River, which divided the country in two. "This is where we have all been reassigned to. As part of an alliance, our company is being moved to this area in order to prevent a takeover from these two hostile groups." Our Captain pointed to Chicago and Kansas City. "They apparently don't appreciate the new kid on the block, and the St. Louis militia isn't prepared to handle what's coming to them." He released the map and it quickly rolled back into the wall-mounted holder. "Welcome to the Fleurs."
Captain Bass dismissed us with a salute, and directed the Greens – new recruits, of which I was one – to a tent outside. I followed the crowd of roughly fourty bodies out the door and into the California sun. Innumerable tents scattered the camp, but the one that we were directed to was clearly labeled 'Fleur Supply Tent'. We lined up and slowly went through the tent, one by one. As I waited, the man in front of me turned around.
"What's your name, kid?" I looked up from the ground, realized he was talking to me, and actually had to think for a moment to remember my name.
"Katz. Eric Katz."
"Maurice Harrison." The man stuck his hand out and I returned the gesture. Harrison, a tall, lanky man of African decent, pulled a paper from his pocket. "What squad you get assigned to?"
"Bravo 48." I had memorized mine in fear of losing the information sheet handed out on Day One. Harrison looked down at his sheet and smiled.
"Same here. Guess I'll be seeing more of you then, Katz." I nodded with a slight smile as Maurice turned around. After more waiting I was finally ushered into the tent. The woman at the desk looked up at me with a stone expression.
"Name and unit number." I told her the information and she entered the back of the tent, returning a few minutes later with a box of equipment that she handed to me. "Find your Sergeant if you have any questions." She waved me on and I exited the tent quickly. I found a place to sit near the edge of the camp and started sorting through my equipment. A newly manufactured assault carbine, wrapped with plastic, sat on top of custom-issue body armor. Unlike standard NCR armor, it was painted black and had a stylized yellow fleur-de-lis painted on the right breast, in contrast to the NCR's usual avoidance of extravagance. The clothing was also black, and clearly took style cues from Ranger armor. The back of the trenchcoat was also emblazoned with a fleur-de-lis. The helmet was a traditional combat helmet that was simply painted black, and lacked any sort of decoration. I returned everything to the box and trekked over to my tent, then set upon packing my equipment.
I emerged from my tent at daybreak the next day with the nervous anticipation that accompanies any such event. The center of the camp was alive with activity, soldiers rushing about and preparing to leave later in the morning. The sun crested over the only concrete structure surrounding the camp, casting red and yellow against the light clouds in the sky. I passed through the mess hall, picking up and then devouring the tasteless mush being served. I started to search the camp for the man that I had met in line yesterday, Maurice. He found me first, crouched before a small box serving as a table. He waved me over, and I joined him.
"This is something special here," Harrison said, pointing to the fleur-de-lis on his chest. I smiled slightly.
"It must be important if the NCR is being luxurious." Maurice chuckled, then leaned back.
"There isn't much I'm gonna miss about this place," he muttered. I nodded in agreement. Maurice glanced over at the mess hall. "Especially not the food." We both sat in silence for a moment, then Maurice looked up as a woman approached, carrying a wooden box of supplies.
"Hey, Harrison," the woman said quietly. She set the box on top of the other, then squatted down. "Who's this kid?"
"Eric, this is May Kyo, our other squadmate. Kyo, Eric Katz." May nodded slightly in my direction, and I waved back. I took a moment to study my companions as they sorted through the box that had just arrived. Maurice was light skinned, considering his race, and had a shaved head. His brown eyes were also light, and shone with happiness. May was tanned and had a slight frame. Her green eyes were bright against black hair that was only a bit longer than my own.
"Hey, Katz, wake up." Maurice nudged me, and I shook my head slightly. "What were you doing all zoned out like that?"
"Sorry. It just happens sometimes. I'm not much of a talker, if you haven't noticed." Maurice chuckled and patted my shoulder.
"Trust me, I'm not that stupid." Maurice passed me a jar from the box. I opened it and peered inside. "A little bit of elixer, if you're into that." I closed the lid and handed it back to him.
"Not until noon, at least," I laughed. Maurice shrugged and returned the jar to the box.
"Where you guys from?" May asked, in an attempt to fill the silence.
"I was born in New Vegas," Maurice started. "We moved to The Hub after my little brother got killed." May nodded, then looked at me.
"Oh, I was born on a farm outside of The Hub. When my parents died I moved into the city." I looked down for a moment, then back at May. "What about you?"
"My parents were caravaners, so I didn't really have a home for a while. Once they got killed, I decided to stay in Shady Sands for a while."
"Seems we all had fucked up childhoods then," Maurice said quietly. I nodded. An awkward silence grew between us, as none of us knew quite how to continue the conversation. Luckily, an outside force helped us with it.
"What squad are you privates with?" a tall blond man asked, bearing the decorations of a staff sergeant.
"Bravo team, 48th squad, sir," Maurice replied. The sergeant smiled.
"Just the group I've been looking for, then. My name is Staff Sergeant Joshua Sanderson, and it looks like I'm your commanding officer for this little operation." We all stood and saluted the sergeant, who returned the gesture. He pointed to us one by one, and we introduced ourselves.
"Well, now that we're all aquainted, I'll let you be. Meet with me here an hour before the convoy is set to leave." We saluted again and Sanderson turned and left.
"I'm gonna go gather my gear and say my goodbyes," Maurice said, then started toward his tent.
"I think I will too," May stated. "It was nice to meet you, Eric."
"Yeah, you too." I waved as she walked away, then made my way to my tent. I gathered my equipment, donned my new armor, and wandered the camp for the last time.