Stealing Sydney

Self-insert to the Fallout 3 quest "Stealing Independence"

A little back-story on my character and the world he lives in:

Name: Daniel Vale

Appearance: white-tan skin, brown eyes, short black hair. Tall, well-built form, in the prime of youth. Almost always wears a Regulator Duster and wields an Ak-47 (aka Chinese Assault Rifle.

Positions: Regulator, Savior of Megaton

Key events: killing the Overseer of Vault 101 (Amata's father), loss of Lucas Simms (shot by Mr. Burke) aiding the West's and letting Ian West move into Megaton.

Known titles: Lone Wanderer, Paladin of the Wastes, Restorer of Hope.

Bullets started to pepper around me and Fawkes, I instantly pushed Fawkes behind a ruined stack of desks.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" I shouted at the figure that was still firing from behind a pile of rubble.

"You can't help a Mutie!" the shadowed person yelled back. A woman, probably the same age as me judging by the sound of her voice.

"He's different! Let us through before more hostiles show up!" I hollered, starting to peep through over the rubble I was hiding behind, trying to see what she looked like.

She lowered her weapon. "Alright hurry up before you alert every other Mutie in this place."

I nodded to Fawkes, as he pushed himself up and I did the same. We ran to the source of fire.

"How the hell did you get one to follow you?" She asked.

"Long story." I said stressing the o in long. "Let's start with names, Vale." I said, pushing my thumb to my chest.

"The name's Sydney," she said, stretching out her hand which I gratefully shook. It was always nice to find someone in the Wasteland who wasn't a complete jerk. She was really cute to. Tan skin, short black hair, almond brown eyes, just like mine actually.

"I see that Abraham Washington got someone else to go on this suicide mission." She said, putting a fresh clip in her 10mm SMG.

"I take it you're here for the declaration, what do you know about it?" I asked her.

"Some old pre-war document that the old man can't wait to get his hands on, but the area is flooded with Super Mutants, not even my upgraded SMG can take all of them."

"What's this about your SMG?" I asked, looking down at it.

"Increased rate of fire, I'm sure you heard it on your way over here." She chuckled, gesturing toward the pile of mutant bodies that both she and I had helped to make.

"Anyway," she said, returning to the topic at hand, "Why don't we team up, get the declaration, and then go to Rivet City and have a few drinks after we split the reward?"

"Sounds like a good deal to me, but if we're going to Super Mutant turf, you need to be at your best."

She looked at me puzzled, "For a wanderer you seem to care about others a lot, even for a Regulator." She said, looking over my coat.

"Hey, good people are hard to come by, so I need to protect as many as I can. Do you need stimpacks? Rations? Ammo?"

"Well, they did do a number on me, but I'll walk it off. I've been through worse." It was only then that I noticed the bullet holes in the front of her black armor.

"Here, let me help you with that." I grabbed a nearby overturned table and put it face up, gesturing for her to sit on it. I took out a wrench I found in one of the many toolboxes that there were on the way over, and started pulling the bullets out of her armor.

To break the silence, I spoke, "Now that we're working together, why don't you tell me more about yourself?"

She laughed as I yanked another round out.

"What is this a date?"

I laughed to, "Well if you want it to be."

"Well what is there to tell though? I grew up just like every other girl in the wastes, staying away from slavers, just trying to stay alive."

I chuckled, "Maybe you and I share a thing or two in common." Becoming slightly more serious, I asked her, "how's your back?"

"It's nothing…" She said, not wanting to show weakness. To which I sarcastically replied, "Uh-huh, turn over." She looked hesitant, I was still a stranger to her, so I reassured her, because I knew she would expecting a shot in the back. "Trust me, I'm a doctor."

And at that she slowly turned around and laid forward. The back of her combat armor was only cloth and leather, and had a few holes in it. Two had blood stains around the hole.

"Shit, Fawkes, I need two stimpacks." I held out an open, up facing hand in which Fawkes carefully dropped two stimpacks in.

"If I'm going to treat you, this needs to go off," I said tugging at the armor.

She got up, "If you peak I'll kill you." She said, taking off the armor to reveal a gray under shirt. "Noted," I replied pulling off the backside as she lay back on the table and started to treat it as best I could.

"Damn, bastards got you good." I said, tearing out one of the bullet holes and injected some of the first stimpack.

"Yeah," she grunted. "I'm starting to regret taking this job."

I laughed, "The harder you get knocked down, the stronger you will be when you stand back up."

"I guess. So why'd you take this job?" she asked, changing the subject. "Well, I could always use some extra caps, and seeing a bit of history remembered and restored is always good. You?"

"Mostly the caps, I'm one of the few mercs in Rivet City."

"I see…" I concluded, treating the last bullet wound.

"Alright, slap your armor back on and lead us to the Declaration."

"Right," she said, quickly standing up and putting her gear back on.

"Oh, and take these stimpacks, I have plenty to spare."

"Thanks, you're to damn nice for a wastelander." She chuckled, and at that I had to laugh.

"I get that a lot, believe it or not."

She seemed a little lacking, only having one SMG, and upgraded or not, a 10mm wouldn't fare well against a horde of mutants.

"And take this to, I had Fawkes bring a spare in case mine broke, but you can have it."

She gladly took and loaded the fully repaired Ak-47 I offered her.

"So do you know the way to the declaration?" I asked her.

"Yeah, just give me a second to unlock the elevator on my terminal." She said, hitting a few keys on a nearby computer. The elevator across the hall, which was previously encompassed with a red-orange light, was now supporting a dark green.

"Let's go." I said, and all three of us headed toward the elevator.