A.N.

Hello everybody, seeing as this is my first big fanfiction I would just like to start by saying that this story is going to take a while. I will upload chapters as quickly as I can, but I'm planning on later chapters being a lot longer than this one and combined with school and other stuff I might not be able to get them out incredibly quickly. This chapter is just the prologue and therefore is shorter than what I want to do later on, but I hope that you guys enjoy it.

Prologue: James and Catherine

War. War never changes.

Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage. The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.

War never changes.

The end of the world occurred pretty much as we had predicted. There were too many humans and not enough space or resources to go around. War was still waged over the resources that could be acquired. Only this time, the spoils of war were also its weapons: Petroleum and Uranium. For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states, bent on controlling the last remaining resources on Earth.

In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the storm of world war had come again. The destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders. The earth was nearly wiped clean of life. A great cleansing, an atomic spark struck by human hands, quickly raged out of control. Spears of nuclear fire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Humanity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that blanketed the earth. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation.

But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world – but War, war never changes.

In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them - all except those in Vault 101. For on the fateful day, when fire rained from the sky, the giant steel door of Vault 101 slid closed... and never reopened. It was here you were born. It is here you will die. Because, in Vault 101: no one ever enters, and no one ever leaves.

Life in Vault 101 is about to change. For the scars left by the war have not yet healed and the Earth has not forgotten –and War, war never changes.

November 17, 2257

Catherine looked up from the copy of Programmers Digest that she had been reading.

She gazed around the room she was sitting in. It was a very small room with metal walls and a rusting floor. There were large pipes running across the ceiling and the walls. A small bed covered in a green blanket was under one of the pipes and across from it was a desk with Catherine's terminal. In one of the corners there was a green leather chair and by the door was a table with a small electric fan and an empty bottle of scotch.

She started to smile as she thought about how her husband James had recently acquired a newfound love for the drink. He had picked it up from one of the men that had been bringing supplies to them here at the project. His name had been Larry an older guy probably about forty-five with a whitish red bear and big bushy eyebrows. The man liked to smile a lot and he was always cracking jokes whenever he came around. She started to think back to the very day.

It had been a very good morning.

The tests were running smoothly and they were coming out as she and Madison had suspected. She had been reading through a report that had been delivered by her Madison when suddenly she heard a whoop of Joy.

When she went to inspect what had made the noise. She found her husband James nearly bouncing up and down as he sprinted towards her.

"What's got you so happy" she asked.

"I got that blasted radio to work."

"That's it. That's all that happened. From what I heard it sounded as if you had just learned the secrets of life." She was in disbelief. She had been expecting something a little grander.

"Catherine, this is the most important thing that's happened all week. Now there will be no more silence, no more boring days filled with nothing, and no more madness at the fact that I am the only person who works in this danged office." As he finished with his ramblings he started to leap in the air once more.

She just smiled at the way her husband was acting. She was about to tell him to shut up when they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What's all the yelling about?"

Catherine and James looked over to see their friend Larry. His wrinkled face displaying a wide smile and a sparkle was in his eyes.

James rushed past Catherine to greet Larry as he explained about how he had fixed the radio.

Larry chuckled at James' excitement. "Well, then it looks like were in need for a bit of a celebration" he said. "So it seems mighty lucky that I just happen to have brought a couple of bottles of scotch with me."

James had been hooked since

Catherine brought herself out of the happy memory.

She looked back down at her magazine. She wanted to finish the article that she had been reading but she knew that she had a report due and that she might as well get it over with. She walked over to the desk and set her magazine down. She pulled open the top drawer of the desk and grabbed a blank holotape. She inserted it into the drive on the side of the terminal and then started to look in the drawer again. It took her a few minutes but she finally found the microphone, unraveled the wire, and got it hooked up to the terminal.

After opening the program that would allow her to record and making sure the uplink was connected to the disk drive she started the report.

"Today we started testing the theories on different batches of water. The first batch worked fine and the third worked excellently but the second batch slightly disturbed us. That batch of tests was inconclusive, but Madison and I are convinced it's a problem with the second filtration system."

At that moment James walked in to the room. He was smiling as he hanged his overcoat next to the door and walked over so that he could stand behind Catherine. He started to rub her shoulders and leaned in so that his head was resting on top of hers. Catherine looked at him and gave him a warm smile before continuing to work on her report.

"We're going to recalibrate the equipment and try again tomorrow so that... James, please, I'm trying to work. Now's not the time! ...So that's the next step. Assuming we get the results we need, we'll move on to... James!"

He had started to kiss her along the neck. She looked up at him and pushed his face away.

"Stop, I need to finish these notes!" He looked at her with a pouting look on his face. She ignored the look and continued on with the report.

"...We'll move on to diagnosing the issues with the radiation dampeners that should... Owww! James!" He had softly bit her ear and she started to laugh softly.

"Now? We really shouldn't."

She leaned into kiss him before realizing that she had left the microphone on. She turned back to the terminal to unplug it.

"Will you hurry up?" James complained.

"Just one second James. I'm trying to unplug this dang thing but I can't find the cord. Oh, wait there it is. I've got it."

November 24, 2257

Catherine looked carefully at her husband. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking and right now it was harder than ever. He was obviously shocked, that part was clear to her but beyond that his emotions were a mystery. As she looked in to his face she started to realize just how lucky she was to have such an amazing person as a husband.

James was a tall Caucasian man standing at about six foot three inches. He was also a very slim man. Not having much when it came to muscles but that didn't mean he wasn't fit. He had a head of chestnut colored hair that was combed back in a wavy fashion that was held in place with a small amount of gel. He was cleanly shaven except for a few chin whiskers. He had chocolate brown eyes that have a tired expression to them. His nose was thin and he had small lips. Even though he was only thirty-six he had small wrinkles on his forehead and deep laugh lines. This came from the fact that he was almost always smiling.

He was currently wearing a white overcoat that had a large black stain on the left arm and a burn hole on the lower leg area. He was also wearing some a blue jumpsuit under the coat and dirty black dress shoes. On his left leg he wore a black sock and on his left he wore a white one. He had a silver watch and his wedding ring on his left hand. His right hand had a bandage wrapped around it from the cut he had gotten the day before when his knife had slipped.

After a few moments he looked up in to Catherine's eyes and saw that she was trying to read his expression. He smiled at her she was truly beautiful and he couldn't even comprehend how he had been so lucky to get a woman like her.

She was a woman of average height and a slightly plump build. Her skin was smooth and a burnt orange color. She had a few freckles and a dimple on her left cheek. Her hair was short, smooth, and despite her age it was a light gray. Her eyes were the colors of emeralds and they glinted now as she awaited his response. She, like him, was wearing a white overcoat though hers was a lot cleaner.

"James, are you alright" Catherine asked worriedly.

"Of course I am, just a little surprised" he responded as he reached over to grab his open bottle of scotch.

He took a sip of it before he looked back up at her.

"I can't believe this though. It's just weird to think about it happening. Catherine, can you imagine me raising a kid? I wouldn't be able to do it alone, it would be impossible."

He looked deep into her eyes, "I love you," he said.

"I love you too James, and don't worry about anything I will always be here for you."

"Promise?" he asked.

"I promise."

July 13, 2258

The light was flashing and coming in and out of focus.

It shined to reveal a small medical room that smelled like a mixture of an underground cave and old tap water.

The room itself was small and square. There was a big metal door in the wall and a large bulletproof window next to it. There were pipes running across the ceiling and machines with big blinking buttons. Medical supplies were lying around here and there and some filing cabinets were pushed against the walls. Wires were slithering across the floor connected to very advance looking medical equipment. The equipment had been recently used to give birth to a child. The child was a small frail being who came out crying and thrashing, waving its small little fists around in circles. Yet now the child was quieter and was lying on a gurney with a blanket wrapped around its small body.

The recently born baby opened its eyes so that it could see two shadowy figures through its blurred vision.

It blinked its eyes again. The lights were taking some time to get used to.

One of the shadows was looking at another gurney and holding the hand of the woman lying there. The other had just recently come into the small room and was walking towards the man. When she got over to him she tapped his shoulder to get his attention and then handed him a clipboard "Thank you Madison" said a rough yet happy voice as he took the clipboard from the woman. He looked at the clipboard for a few seconds and then stood up; he looked at the clipboard one more time then turned to the woman that was laying on the gurney.

"Well Catherine, it looks fine. Let's check on the baby" he said and he walked over to the gurney where the baby was lying down.

"Let's see are you a boy or a girl" he said and smiled at the small being. He checked very quickly. "Well you're a girl, a beautiful healthy baby girl" he looked over to the woman lying on the other gurney. In the dark the woman was hard to see and the baby couldn't make out very much other than that she was laying down and was dressed in a medical skirt.

"You hear that Catherine we have a little girl"

The woman gave a weak chuckle.

"Oh James it's wonderful, a darling little girl, our darling little girl" she said as she smiled at James.

He looked back down at his daughter, "You have a bright future ahead of you sweetheart, I'm sure of it." She clapped her hands and giggled.

"Look at you, look at you. I'm your daddy honey, daddy."

He looked over to Catherine to see that she was lying on her side and a huge grin across her face. He started to grin too, this was amazing he was a father he had never been happier in his entire life.

"Now you're going to need a name aren't you," he said to the baby in a serious voice.

"You see me and your mom have been thinking. What do you think about Samantha? I think it fits you perfectly"

The baby started to giggle again as if to say that the name was perfect.

He leaned over so that he could whisper into Catherine's ear. "I think she likes the name you chose" he said.

"That's because it's a lot better than the crappy name you chose," she replied.

"Lakeesha was probably the worst name you could have come up with. I mean seriously what even made you think a name like that would be good. Plus, Samantha Neilson sounds a lot better than Lakeesha Neilson."

He looked at her and frowned "Ok I get it, my girl names kind of sucked. My boy names on the other hand were amazing."

"Firstly, your names didn't kind of suck they really sucked." She said as she raised her one finger

"Secondly, James Jr. was not such an amazing name." she raised another finger

"And thirdly, Madison is waiting for you to turn around." She raised one more finger and pointed all three over his shoulder

James, mildly surprised, twisted his neck so that he could see Madison.

She was smiling at her two friends antics.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the projector is ready whenever you are James."

"Good, good. Let's get started then."

He stood up and walked back over to the gurney where Samantha was laying.

"Looks like it's time for the gene projection," he said, "let's see what you'll look like when you're all grown up."

As he spoke a monitor swung down from the ceiling. It had a glowing circular screen on one side and a rectangular one on the other. It started to beep and several words appeared on the rectangular screen. James looked over at them quickly and flicked one of the switches under the screen. More words appeared upon the terminal screen and James seemed to be paying close attention to them. He spent a couple more second flicking switches, turning knobs, and pushing buttons before the computer beeped again and a robotic voice started to speak.

"Insert mother D.N.A." It said.

At hearing this James picked up a syringe, walked over to Catherine, and inserted the needle into her arm. The syringe slowly filled with dark red blood. James pulled the needle out of his wives arm and hooked the syringe in to place above the projector.

The monitor beeped and said "D.N.A. confirmed, mothers name is Catherine Neilson, African American. Please insert father D.N.A."

James took another syringe and repeated the process he had done with the first.

After he inserted it into the monitor the computer beeped "D.N.A. confirmed fathers name is James Neilson, Caucasian. Please insert infant D.N.A."

James looked down at his daughter. "Don't worry honey, we won't have to draw blood from you we can just use your umbilical cord for the required D.N.A."

He grabbed the cord that he had previously cut and stuffed a small amount of it into a small metal cylinder. He hooked the cylinder into the projector just like the syringes.

After a few seconds the blood started to siphon out of the syringes and the cylinder was sucked into the machine. There was a sucking sound as the materials were vacuumed in to the processor that was housed inside the projector. The processor beeped a few times before the computer voice spoke again.

"Thank you for inserting all needed D.N.A. Please wait while data is uploaded, it may take a few moments for the data to decipher."

James turned back to Samantha. "Don't worry this should only take a few seconds and then we can see what you will look like when you are all grown up."

A few minutes later the computer beeped again. "Difficulty reading data please wait." James stopped and looked curiously at the screen where a section of data had appeared.

... . .-.. .-.. - / .- - . .-. .. -.-. .- / - ... .. ... / .. ... / -.- - ..- .-. / .-. .-. . ... .. -.. . -. - / .- - ... -. / ... . -. .-. -.- / . -.. . -. / -..-. . .-. .-. - .-. -..-. / .. / -.. - -. - / .- .- -. - / - - / ... . - / - ... . / .- - .-. .-.. -.. / - -. / ..-. .. .-. . / -..-. . .-. .-. - .-. -..-. / ... . .- .-. - / .-. .- - . / .-. .. ... .. -. -. / -..-. . .-. .-. - .-. -..-. / .- . .-.. -.-. - - . / - - / - ... . / .- .- ... - . .-.. .- -. -.. / ... .- - .- -. - ... .- / -. . .. .-.. ... - -.

The computer beeped and the data erased itself from the screen.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, there was trouble reading the data. The problem has been fixed and the process will proceed as normal. Proceed when ready." The machine beeped in its low tone.

James stared at the terminal for a second making sure that everything was in check. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with the data and that everybody was waiting for him to do something he told Madison to start the process.

Madison walked over to the monitor and pushed a large, glowing, red button on the bottom of the machine. The machine started to make a whizzing sound as it powered up. The monitor's circular screen started to glow green as the whizzing stopped.

A tan shape was on the circular screen. It stretched, and moved, and shaped. As it continued to form it became the shape of a human head. The monitor beeped thrice "Because of the data complexity and the randomness of genes there is only eighty percent confirmation." The blob was starting to show human facial features as a nose, ears, and lips grew. "Data implies that the child will be Caucasian with hints of African ancestry. She will have Brown-red hair and green eyes. Please enter personal information." When he heard this James grabbed a piece of paper and inserted it into a scanner. "Information found. Welcome to the world Samantha Neilson. Data shows that visual is prepared"

James now looked at the screen to see that the blob had now transformed to show what his daughter would look like in her later life.

She looked a lot like him.

Her skin was only a bit darker than his and had a few freckles here and there. She had a thin face much like her dad and they shared the same jaw. Her lips were small and rounded and were one of the features that came from her mother. Her ears looked like Catherine's as well. Her nose was small and pointed. She had large murky green eyes and long reddish-brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was a very pretty young woman.

James smiled as he saw his daughter. "You look so beautiful. See that Catherine that's our daughter" he looked towards his wife to see that she was smiling even more then he was. "Oh very pretty" she said and laughed out of pure joy. Catherine was really happy. She had a little girl that she could raise and love. Nothing could make her feel bad now, nothing at all.

James looked back at his daughter. She was looking at the picture of her older self and was smiling with her mouth wide open. James kneeled down so that he was level with Samantha.

"It's a big world out there full of all sorts of people, what about you what kind of a person are you going to be?" he asked.

A monitor to Catherine's side beeped. It beeped again and then started to beep faster and faster. Catherine looked at her lover "James, James" it sounded like she was having trouble breathing.

James walked over to the monitor and grabbed a needle that he then injected it her arm. The monitor started to beep slower then sped up so that it was faster than ever. Catherine started to shake violently and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Damnt she's going in to cardiac arrest, Madison get the baby out of here."

Madison ran over and started to pull the gurney out of the room. James leaped over to the other side of Catherine's gurney and started to push against her chest.

"One one-thousand, two one-thousand" he panted as he pushed.

As the gurney was pulled out of the room the baby started to cry again. She wailed and moaned and the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Madison yelled for help and one of the aids ran past her in to the room. She kept on pushing the gurney until she came to an empty room. She calmed the baby down by handing her a teddy bear. Samantha looked at the small stuffed animal and started to giggle.

"Now you just wait here and I'll be right back in just a second" Madison told her.

She turned back through the door and started to sprint back down the hall.

When she got back into the room she found James still attempting C.P.R. She looked at him sadly, tears started to collect on her lashes and roll like rivers down her cheeks. She couldn't stand seeing James in this state of defeat and despair.

"James, please stop" she pleaded.

"No, I can still save her" he yelled

She could hear the hopelessness in his voice and it broke her. She couldn't stand to hurt him, but if she let him stay here he would just keep pushing until his arms gave up and he blacked out.

"James, stop. It's too late. Catherine's dead."

A.N.

So there it is, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm hoping on having chapter one up soon.