Fallout 3: United We Stand
by Emerald7337
Summary: After saving the Capital Wasteland, the Lone Wanderer embarks on his most ambitious quest yet; uniting the Capital Wasteland and putting an end to hate, fear, and injustice once and for all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout 3, or any of the characters in the game. I do own Edward, AKA "the Lone Wanderer", and any other OCs I may or may not add to the story.
Read on, Fallout fans...
Foreword
War. War never changes.
Since the dawn of man, humans have always fought with one another, for a multitude of reasons; God, justice, land, wealth, hatred... All have been excuses for humans to slaughter one another.
Even in the year 2278, 201 years after a devastating nuclear war, when humans have every reason to forsake their differences and band together to rebuild the world... they don't. Instead, the Wasteland, as the Earth is now known as, is a radioactive hell, full of violence, thieves, and murderers. Why do humans continue to hate one another, even in times that call for unity? The answer is simple; war never changes.
Last year, in the late summer of 2277, a young man named Edward emerged from Vault 101 into the Capital Wasteland in search of his father, and almost single-handedly saved the Wasteland from certain doom...
... And now, is beginning to question whether he had really done anything at all...
Fallout 3: United We Stand
Chapter One: The Big Idea
The hot July sun was high in the sky, beating down on the small settlement of Megaton. Everyone in town was going about their daily business. Sheriff Lucas Simms was patrolling, keeping a lookout for any trouble makers. Confessor Cromwell was standing in the ankle-deep pool of water surrounding the undetonated atomic bomb in the town's center, preaching his crazy religion. Maggie Creel and Harden Simms were playing tag. Jenny Stahl was serving some squirrel stew to a few Megaton settlers outside the Brass Lantern. And town crime boss Colin Moriarty was standing on the platform outside his bar, watching over "his" town.
All were completely unaware that they were being watched at the moment.
The observer was none other than Edward Malcom, sitting on the roof of his Megaton home, letting his legs dangle over the edge. Not taking his eyes off his Megaton neighbors, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, lit it, and placed it in his mouth. He took a deep inhale, then removed the cigarette from his lips and exhaled a puff of grey smoke. He sighed forlornly as he placed the cancer stick back in his mouth and took another deep breath.
"Something on your mind, friend?" A gruff voice asked. Edward look over to see Charon, his Ghoul bodyguard, climb through the hole in the roof (which Edward had installed to allow access to the roof in the first place).
"Oh, hey Charon," Edward greeted, right before taking another drag of his cigarette. "I was just thinking."
"What about?" The ghoul continued to question, taking a seat next to his employer. Edward shook his head.
"Ah, nothing important." He fished the box of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered one to his Ghoul friend. "Want a smoke?"
"No thanks," Charon politely refused.
Edward shrugged and pocketed the box. "Suit yourself."
There was no more conversation for a while after that. The two sat on the roof in silence. Edward continued to smoke and look down at the town, while Charon did the same, minus the smoking.
Finally, after almost a half-hour, Edward spoke again.
"Been almost a year now."
"Huh?" Charon asked, looking confused.
"I said it's been almost a year now," Edward repeated, not taking his gaze off the small settlement. "Since I left the Vault, I mean. It's amazing how much I've done since then. In the past ten months, I've..." he flicked his current cigarette off the roof and started counting off on his fingers. "Disabled that atomic bomb down there, repaired an antenna relay for a DJ in DC, helped write a survival guide for the Wasteland, helped stop an ant-themed supervillian by helping a robot-themed superhero, stopped a colony of fire-breathing ants, saved a town from a pack of vampires, saved another town from some Super Mutants, snuck some slaves out of Paradise Falls, helped some Ghouls move into a luxurious new home..."
"By killing all of its residents," Charon interjected, smiling at the memory of blowing apart the Ghoul-hating bigots of Tenpenny Tower.
"... lied to an old guy so that some android can continue living in peace, helped some escaped slaves take back the Lincoln Memorial, rescued a group of mercenaries, found a violin for a little old lady, given some growth serum to a talking tree so that maybe the Wasteland can be green again one day, retrieved the Declaration of Independence, did some dirty work for a little bitch named Betty, found my dad, helped some scientists escape the Jefferson Memorial, saved my old home from destroying itself, found a G.E.C.K., convinced the psychotic President to kill himself, taken back the water purifier my Dad died protecting, saved that same purifier from destruction, and destroyed the Enclave once and for all." (1)
Charon chuckled. "Been a hell of a year, kid."
"Yeah..." Edward lit himself another cigarette and took a long drag. "And yet, I can't help but think I haven't really done anything."
Once again, Charon looked confused. "Whadda you mean? Of course you've done stuff! You just listed a whole bunch of-"
"No no no," Edward said, shaking his head. "I mean done anything to actually make a difference."
Now Charon looked even more confused. "Uh..."
"I mean, sure, the Wasteland has clean water now because of me, but what difference does it make?!" Edward finally snapped, badly startling Charon. "It's still nothing but chaos out there! There are still Slavers capturing innocent people and selling them for profit! There are still Raiders out there; stealing, raping, and murdering! There are still Super Mutants, kidnapping people and changing them into Super Mutants to add to their army! People are still suffering, dying..."
Edward stopped his rant there, and sighed. He took another long drag of his cigarette, trying to calm himself. He was no longer angry. Now, he was sad; Charon could see that his employer was fighting back tears. And the Ghoul understood why. Even after everything the kid had done, the Capital Wasteland was still a hell-on-Earth.
"Hey, come on now," Charon began, trying to think of something to cheer the kid up. "You've made a hell of a difference out here. Thanks to you, no one ever has to worry about those Enclave bastards ever again!"
"And all those other threats I mentioned?" Edward asked, giving the Ghoul a deadpan stare. "The Slavers? The Raiders? The freakin' Super Mutants?"
"Well..." Charon racked his brain, trying desperately to come up with an answer that would satisfy Edward. "The Brotherhood of Steel is making good progress-"
"Charon," Edward interrupted. "You know as well as I do that the Brotherhood isn't doing any good. They've been working here for what, twenty years? And all they've been able to do is hold back the Super Mutants; they're nowhere close to solving the problem!"
"Well... Remember boss, they are working with limited resources out there."
That seemed to do the trick. Edward looked back towards the town and sighed once again. "I... guess you're right. Maybe if the Brotherhood had more men, or weapons, then they could make a difference. Maybe if they had help..."
Edward stopped there. His face remained frozen, mouth agape.
"Boss?" Charon asked, waving a hand in front of Edward's face. "Hey boss, you okay?"
Slowly, Edward's mouth closed. His lips then began to curve up into a smile, and soon, that smile became a grin.
"Of course!" Edward shouted, making poor Charon jump. "Why didn't I think of it before?! Help! That's perfect!!"
"Uh... boss?" Charon questioned, now fairly freaked out. "What are you-?"
"There's no time!" Edward stood up. He ran to the hole in the roof, stopped just short of it, and turned back to Charon. The grin hadn't left his face. "Charon, round up the team! Tell them to meet me in the living room within the hour!"
"But why?" Charon asked again, still terribly confused. "Boss, what are you thinking?"
"I'll tell you what I'm thinking, old buddy; I'm thinking we're finally gonna make a difference in the Capital Wasteland!"
And with that, Edward jumped through the opening, into the house. Charon followed suit, just in time to see his boss run into his room and slam the door shut. Charon stood in the hallway for a few minutes, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Finally, he just shrugged and went off to find the rest of the team. Boss's orders, after all.
----------
Within twenty minutes, the living room of Edward's home was occupied by the strangest group of people you'd ever seen. A Super Mutant in a torn Vault 87 jumpsuit, a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin, a Mister Gutsy robot, a greaser, a Ghoul, and a dog were all sitting at the wooden bench in the center of the room. Together, they were known as the Capital Crusaders; a team of adventurers brought together by Edward. (2)
"... And then he just ran into his room and slammed the door." Charon said, finishing his explanation of why he had called a team meeting on such short notice.
"Strange," the Super Mutant called Fawkes said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He mentioned making a difference in the Wasteland. What do you think he meant by that?"
"I'm not sure," the Brotherhood of Steel member, known as Star Paladin Cross said with a shrug. "But if it benefits the Brotherhood, I'll be happy to assist."
"Well, whatever it is, it had better be important," Butch the greaser remarked sourly, crossing his arms. "I was this close-" he held up a hand with his thumb and pointer finger very close together for emphasis. "To goin' to bed with that Nova chick!"
"The General has led us all through some tough times, and he deserves our full trust and support," the Mister Gutsy known as Sergeant RL-3 said, referring to Edward by his usual nick-name (well, the nick-name RL-3 had given him). "If he says this plan will make a difference in the Capital Wasteland, then you bet your ass it'll make a difference!"
"Arf arf!" the dog barked. No one was sure what Dogmeat just said, but they assumed that he was agreeing with RL-3.
The sound of footsteps caught the group's attention. All six heads turned towards the staircase to see Edward walking down the stairs, a rolled-up piece of paper in his hand. He sat down in his usual chair at the end of the table.
"Everyone's here, boss," Charon said. Edward nodded.
"Very good, very good," he said, a serious look on his face. "Team, let me ask you something; what is the biggest threat to Capital Wasteland?"
The other six members of the Capital Crusaders glanced at one another. They weren't sure what the right answer to that question was. So, each person offered a different response.
"Um, the Super Mutants?" Cross guessed.
"The Slavers?" RL-3 suggested.
"The Raiders?" was Butch's uncertain answer.
"Enclave remnants?" Fawkes offered.
"All those mutated creatures?" Charon threw in.
"Bark?" Dogmeat answered.
Edward shook his head. "All very good guesses, but you're all wrong."
Like Charon before them, the Capital Crusaders were very confused by Edward's words. How could none of those things be the biggest threat?
"Those are all significant threats, but none of them are the biggest threat," Edward explained, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "The biggest threat to the safety of the people of the Capital Wasteland...
... is disunion."
...
...
...
No one said anything. They were all too busy thinking "What the hell is he talking about?".
Edward sighed. "Let me further explain. The whole reason the Capital Wasteland is plagued by the dangers previously mentioned is because so few people are working together. All we have scattered across the Wasteland are small settlements acting independently. It's enough for people to live, but not enough to deal with the dangers of the Wasteland.
What we need to do is work together! We must unite all the settlements, from Underworld to Megaton, from Rivet City to the Republic of Dave, from the Citadel to Arefu!"
Slowly, Edward's words sunk in, and the Capital Crusaders started to nod in agreement. But they still looked doubtful.
"We understand what you're saying," Fawkes said. He looked at his teammates to confirm that they shared his uncertainty. "But do you really believe that it could work?"
"Yeah man," Butch said. "Uniting all the settlements? Is that even possible?"
Edward opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it. He thought about the question for a minute, then sighed.
"I'm not sure," he finally said. "But if we don't try, then the innocent people of the Capital Wasteland will continue to suffer. If we don't try and unite now, then we will never be free from the terrors of the Wastes."
The Capital Crusaders continued to glance at one another, silently debating whether or not Edward's plan was worth even attempting. Cross was the first to speak.
"If you truly believe that it is for the good of the Wasteland," she said with a smile. "Then I'm in."
"I too shall join in this undertaking," Fawkes said.
"I guess I don't really have a choice," Charon said with a shrug. "Seeing as how you hold my contract and all."
"You have my full support, General!" RL-3 said.
"Woof!" Dogmeat barked in agreement.
Butch was the last to speak. He pondered for a long while, then finally answered, "Aw, what hell? I'm in."
Edward smiled. "Perfect," he said, unfurling the paper he still held and laying it down on the table. It was a map of the entire Capital Wasteland, with several locations highlighted.
"Now, here's the plan..."
(1) In order, the missions Edward listed are as follows; The Power of the Atom, Galaxy News Radio, The Wasteland Survival Guide, The Superhuman Gambit, Those!, Blood Ties, Big Trouble in Big Town, Rescue from Paradise, Tenpenny Tower, The Replicated Man, Heads of State, Riley's Rangers, Agatha's Song, Oasis, Stealing Independence, Tranquility Lane, The Waters of Life, Trouble on the Homefront, Finding the Garden of Eden, The American Dream, Take It Back!, and Who Dares Wins.
(2) This is my actual team in Fallout 3, which I got by exploiting the Puppies! perk. ;D
And that ends chapter one. A little on the dull side, but not bad, if I do say so myself. But I'll let you guys be the judge of that.
Until next time, Fallout fans!
-Emerald7337