A trumpet sounded within Raven Rock. It was a warning chime. Shaizina sat beside the boots of a set of power armour, polishing the last part of it. As soon as the chime ended, Shaizina stood up and looked over the armour one more time. Despite the fact that it was third generation, it shone like it had just come off the production line. She looked on it with pride.
"UP AND AT'EM, YOU MAGGOTS!" Shaizina yelled, turning to the barrack. She was the only one awake. She had already showered for the day, had her hair pinned into a tight bun, and was ready to go. " MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! YOU CAN SLEEP WHEN THE MUTANTS ARE ALL DEAD!"
The soldiers around the room began to stir. Quickly, most realized it was time to get up. They tripped over each other, scrambling to grab there boots and cloths. One grabbed a towel and toiletry bag. Shaizina spied this " Campbell, if you wanted to shower you should have done so before first call. You can wait until tonight." The solider slouched in defeat. " We will not be late again, will we now?"
All together the unit cried out, " NO MA'AM!"
Shaizina kept en eye on the clock and gave the men 10 minutes before she called out, " FALL IN! MORNING INSPECTION!"
The men scrambled again to stand at attention in front of their bunks. Most were put together; a few were not. One man had half his face cover in shaving cream, the other was cleanly shaved, minus a few small nicks of hurry. Shaizina walked up and down the aisle, picking the smallest thing apart. Laces not evenly tied. She stopped in front of the man with the half shaved face. "Baker do you think this is acceptable!"
"No, MA'AM!" he cried back.
"Drop and give me 20!"
The man complied. "It seems that you all need to be able to think faster in the morning. On my mark to the track. Don't forget your weight bag, men!" She grabbed a weighted backpack from beside her power armour. Most of the men had not earned theirs power armour; so the bag was a training tool for now. Her men where quick as well, seizing there bags and lining up. Shaizina took her place at the front and called on "SQUAD DOUBLE TIME!" She began a quick march run, followed by the group. They moved through the base as other did as well.
They came up on a group of higher ups and turned there attention and saluted as they passed. One of them called over. "Hold up a second, Lieutenant."
Shaizina stopped and jogged on the spot. "Carry on. Keep formation and run laps till I relieve you"
Her squad carried on down the narrow hallway. Shaizina came to attention. "General!"
"Squad's coming along nicely."
"Thank-you, sir."
There was a long pause before the General spoke: "Your mother would be so proud of you."
Shaizina smiled. "Thanks, Dad"
"Carry on, solider. Hopefully we will be able to meet in the mess hall tonight. I have an interrogation of that vault dweller today. If it goes well we should have fresh water by the end of the week, and less Super Mutants to worry about by the end of the month," her father said warmly.
"That would be a great victory for the Enclave, Sir" Shaizina saluted her farther before beginning to jog down the corridor once more. Everything suddenly began to slow down. The air got hot it, was silent and at the same time the loudest explosion she had ever heard echoed around her. The ground became unstable as the base exploded into a fireball.
Shaizina awoke surround in rubble, ash, and twisted metal. She looked around and pushed the debris off her. She was lucky that at the time of the explosion she had been close enough to the surface that she had not been buried alive. She kept surveying the area as clouds of smoke filled the air. Her ears rang and her eyes filled with tears. She called out for help. Anyone, someone. Someone had to be alive. What had happened?
She tired to stand but found it difficult. She looked at her leg: a large gash tore through it. She tore a strip from her shirt and tied it around the wound tight to stem the bleeding. Pushing herself up, she climbed over rocks, trying to get out of the crater that was once her home.
She got the top of a ridge. She looked around and things started to become clear. She saw blood and body parts everywhere. She started to tear up more. She was lucky to have survived. She doubted anyone else did. The ground around her gave way. She tumbled down what was left of the mountain and landed hard on the ground. It hurt to breathe. Was this it? Had any of the Enclave survived? Her vision blurred as she looked around.
She saw a syringe on the ground near her. With the last of her strength she crawled towards it. Please let it be a Stimpack. Without thinking to read it she grabbed the needle, shoved it into her arm and pressed the plunger. Euphoria took her as she passed out from the blood loss.
Waking again Shaizina felt her leg. It was hard from the dried blood. She picked up the the needle and looked closer. "Fucking Med-X." She threw it away.
Even when she had been shot two years ago she would not let the medic use the anything but a stim on her. The Med-X must have given her enough relief to get her though.
She looked around. Things were clearer now. She saw what was left of a med pack. Pushing herself to stand, she was able to put a bit of weight on her leg now. She found a half-burnt rucksack and pulled out two Stimpacks. She used one immediately. After scavenging around, she was able to find a hunting rifle and some bullets.
Having dealt with her injury as best she could have having secured some supplies, she gathered her thoughts.
The Enclave was surely aware of the explosion and they would be dispatching Vertibirds to Raven Rock to look for survivors; likely they were already on the way. Rummaging through the sack she found a pair of binoculars. A few Vertibirds were out on patrol and they must have heard the explosion.
She scanned the horizon through the binoculars, desperately hoping to see a VTOL. What she saw made her blood freeze: she saw several hulking figures approaching. They advanced across the Wasteland with large strides, their clawed hands slicing through the air.
"Deathclaws..." Shaizina gasped.
Of course. The Enclave's patrols had spotted a large Deathclaw group to the south-east and had been capturing the animals for use in combat. After being fitted with a mind-control device, the brutes were formidable weapons in combat. Few troops could stand their ground when facing down a charging Deathclaw.
The animals were approaching quickly. Shaizina judged them to be no more than a few kicks away. She was in no state to take them on and they would be upon her before the Vertibirds would arrive. Shaizina knew she had no choice but to escape while she could.
Remembering the aerial surveys of the area, she knew the Jefferson Memorial was due south-east. The bulk of the Enclave forces was likely assembling there. It was her best option. With luck, she could meet en Enclave patrol on the way.
The only issue was that the Deathclaw nest was in the same direction. She would have to head due east, towards Fort Constantine. This would give her a wide berth around the dangerous territory to the south. The Enclave encampment nearby might still be occupied. At the very least, she might find a radio or some supplies.
After passing the Fort, she could head south towards the DC Ruins. Intelligence suggested Brotherhood Remnant patrols had been spotted in the area, but Shaizina would rather take on the Brotherhood than Deathclaws.
She knew it was a long shot to make it to the Memorial, but she had to try. The Stimpack had worked and she took off across the waste, leaving behind the crater that had once been her home.
The journey was perilous. Shaizina had to contend with navigating the rugged terrain, avoiding the wildlife when possible, and scavenging whatever supplies she would find.
By the time she had made it to the door of Paradise Falls, she was hungry, tired and only had three bullets left. She was meet at the door by a very annoying man who demanded payment for entry. Shaizina could not believe it. She was on her last legs and this annoying man would not let her in. She even begged to let her in.
The man would not budge. "Listen, sweet cheeks, if you can't afford enter then maybe we can work something else out." The mans eyes inspected her with lechery; he even licked his lips.
Shaizina had enough. She had lost everything. Her home, her family, even her pride. She would not loss her self-respect. She moved quickly lining up the back of the gun and drove it into the guard's nose.
He stumbled back "You crazy bitch! I will kill you!"
She didn't wait for him to act and swung the gun, cocking him across the head. She charged at him as he fell. The two began to tussle, throwing wild punches. He pulled out a knife and slashed her across the stomach. She screamed and punched him in the face.
"That's enough!" yelled a dark-skinned man.
The two stopped, breathing heavily, both bleeding. The man she had been fighting spoke first. " I am sorry boss, she didn't have money for entry and she just went crazy."
"I know what I saw. I saw you trying to get lucky. Go to clinic. Visitor's price." The well dressed Boss man scolded. "You, woman, come with me"
Shaizina gave the guard one last kick before collecting her broken gun.
"Allow me to introduce myself: Eulogy Jones. I am the owner of this encampment." He spoke with a syrupy voice. "What may I call you?"
"Shaizina," she said eyeing him up. She could not get a bead on him. Was he a person to be trusted or was he someone to be feared?
"I must say, we do not have people come this way in as poor shape as you. Usually they avoid us, knowing we enslave the weak," Eulogy continued.
"Well I am not weak, so I have nothing to fear."
Eulogy laughed. " No you certainly do not. Ah, here we are: this is my home."
Shaizina had been so focused on the man she did not notice he had led her through the camp. She followed him into the house. It was set up like a love nest. Beds and empty bottles everywhere. She spoke up, " You better not have any ideas."
"Oh, my dear, I always have ideas. Come this way to the bar. I have a proposition for you." He went to the bar and poured two drinks.
Shaizina eyed him distrustfully, but seeing him drink, she followed. The warm liquid hit her stomach.
Eulogy also slid over five Stimpacks, two Med-X and a bottle of Buffout.
"So what's all this going to cost me?" Shaizina knew how the waste worked. Nothing was free.
"An offer. It is rare that we see someone from the Enclave around here I am not sure if you are a deserter or if you just didn't make the cut, but anyone with that kind of military training would be a useful tool." Eulogy was smiling. " You stay here and work for me. I give you a gun, some armour, of course some meds, and your first slave collar. You come back with someone in it. You debt is cleared and we do business. If it's empty, I put one on you and have a new pet."
Shaizina was stunned. It took her a second to realize he had seen her dog tags. She would have to hide them in the waste from now on. But would she be a slaver...Could she. What did he mean a drop out?
Eulogy pulled out a collar. "You see, my dear, you are already in my debt. You will either go on a hunt and bring me back something worth while, or I slap the collar on you before you have a chance to leave this room. Keep in mind, even if you attack me, you have a whole camp of slavers to get threw and you are out of luck."
He had her. Shaizina took the collar. She would play along for now. Once she did as he asked, she would be free and she would surely come across an Enclave patrol eventually. When she did, she would return to wipe this scum off the face of the Earth.
It took her a week to get her first slave. She cried that night. She thought this would be enough to earn her freedom, but Eulogy had found fault with the slave. He sent her out again and kept finding reasons to go back on his word. Either the slaves were too skinny, too weak, not attractive enough, too old...the excuses went on.
She considered making a break for it and finding her way to the Enclave, but Eulogy was one step ahead of her: he always a few slavers with her to keep her in line. The other slavers always carried the ammo and supplies, so even if she was able to give them the slip, she wouldn't make it far.
It was two months later that she heard the news: the Enclave had fallen. After the crippling blow at Raven Rock, the Brotherhood of Steel had gone on the offensive and attacked the Jefferson Memorial. Autumn had been killed in the fight and the Enclave had been all but wiped out.
That night, she did Med-X again. The guilt from what she had been forced to do coupled with the news was too much. Lying in her bunk, tears rolling down her face, she happened to glance over at the syringe Eulogy had given her when she first arrived in Paradise Falls.
Wiping her tears, she picked up a syringe and eyed it. The liquid inside was a blueish colour. It seemed impossible that such a small amount could relieve so much pain. Shaizina knew what this chem could lead to. She had seen her fair share of soldiers in the infirmary fall prey to its grip. She had heard grown men begging for just one mode dose; crying like little children. Too much and they became shells of their former selves: once honorable, they would steal, cheat, lie, and even kill for their next high.
On the other hand, she remembered the day it had all ended. She recalled in vivid detail the pain she had felt and how the medicine had made it all go away. She had nothing left now. The Enclave was gone and she had betrayed all her principles.
While she listened to the slavers celebrating the news outside, she felt powerless. She just needed to escape for a little bit, pretend this was all a dream.
As the plunger compressed, shooting the drug into her vein, she succumbed to its embrace, thinking of better days and happier times.
The next morning she awoke full of regret. She promised herself that it was just a one-time thing. She just needed some help dealing with the bad news. It would never happen again. It is so easy to lie to yourself...
Two long years passed. Shaizina was unrecognizable. She had gone from a clean-cut solider to a raiding slaver. Her body was covered in tattoos, including one on the back of her neck that was for the Enclave. She lived for her high. She had become Eulogy's second in command after she ran a successful attack on some Rivet City guards, bringing in three of them.
One day, she was sitting in her house, smoking and looking at a map trying to find her next fix, when Eulogy came in.
"I have a special bounty for you. This little shit has been causing grief for anyone who has secrets they don't want out. Bids are starting at 500 caps just for a chance to hurt this shit."
Shaizina put her cigarette in her mouth and took the bounty sheet. "Arrathir Quinn? Hmmm...seems to like stealth. Last seen by Megaton. Shouldn't be to hard." She collected her gear and set out.
It was two weeks of playing cat and mouse. Arrathir knew he was being hunted. Shaizina would not give up. She winged him a few times, but he always managed to escape.
Finally, she thought she had him cornered. They were near Deathclaw territory and she knew he had to be close. When she heard the cry of a Deathclaw she ducked into the nearest cave opening. Looking into her bag, she saw that she was low on supplies. She would have to wait the beasts out. Damn.
She went to go further into the cave when she felt something warm and breathing. Swearing, she shone he light around, pointing her gun. The light cast upon, Arrathir, who pointed his gun back. They stood there for a second.
"If we shoot it, will draw them," Shaizina whispered. "Neither of us will survive."
Arrathir slowly lowed his gun. He heard the shriek of a wastelander being attacked and went running for the opening. Shaizina grabbed him and growled, "Hey, they're already dead. You don't want to go out there. The damn things are migrating and they will kill anything for food. You won't get a shot off before you are dead."
Arrathir gazed at the opening. "Why should I trust you, slaver? How do I know you aren't just trying to keep me here till your buddies arrive."
Shaizina had climbed onto a ledge. " You don't, but if you want to go out there and be turned into hamburger, be my guest. I would prefer you alive though, that is how I get paid."
She reached into her bag and pulled out her last dose of Med-X. She sighed. It was going to be a long couple of days.
"The Deathclaws have got to be the most horrible thing you will find in the Wasteland. They are hungry and territorial. They are killing each other. Believe me, it is a horrible way to die. I watched a group last year attack a camp. They even ate some of the settlers alive. Pity, couldn't even save the kids."
Arrathir raised an eyebrow, "Save the kids?"
"Enslave. I meant enslave," Shaizina sputtered, glaring at him.
He looked at her. "I thought it was bullshit. I had heard you never took kids, no matter how easy. Avoided the mothers too, if you knew before hand, but you really don't."
Shaizina cocked her gun. "I am going to shoot you. No one spreads lies about me." She tried to glare at him, but slowly, a smile broke her face for a second and she put the gun away.
Arrathir laughed, " I knew it; you do have a soul. The witch of the waste. Never thought I would see the day."
Shaizina pulled out a blanket. "We are stuck here for at least four days. You best not piss me with your bullshit."
Arrathir followed suit. Fighting was pointless. It would just draw attention. The two sat across from each other, making camp, and sleep slowly took both of them.
Arrathir woke up a few hours later. The sun had started creeping into the cave. He still heard the shrieks of the Deathclaws. He looked over and saw Shaizina cover in sweat and writhing. She was still out, but looked in pain. He climbed over and went through her bag; at least 10 empty needles were in there.
"She's a fucking addict. This damn bitch has been hunting me for two weeks, and she is a fucking addict."
Arrathir found himself with a moral quandary: this woman was a slaver. Arrathir had no love for slavers. They were just as bad as raiders in his books; worse even since raiders had the decency to end your suffering while slavers merely prolonged it. She was out. He could kill her while she slept and nobody would ever know.
Pulling out his knife, he put it to her throat. One slice and it would all be over. It was the logical choice, but something stayed his hand. As he struggled with his dilemma, Shaizina's eyes opened. They were bloodshot and weary.
She knew instantly what he was thinking. Arrathir saw the look of defeat on her face. The fire that he'd seen in her eyes the first time they'd met was gone. She was a broken creature; resigned to her fate. She looked on him almost pleadingly, asking him to end it all.
As he was about to slit her throat, Shaizina's eyes went wide and she rolled to the side, retching as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the rocky ground. Arrathir recoiled slightly in surprise; her hair had fallen away from her neck and he saw a tattoo there. It was a capital letter E, surrounded by twelve five-pointed stars. The middle bar of the E was composed of three horizontal lines. Arrathir recognized the symbol. In his training, they had learned about the military forces that were present in the Wasteland. This woman was Enclave.
Shaizina sat up, wiping the bile from her mouth. Arrathir gazed at her, puzzled.
"You're military?" he asked.
"Yeah. What's it to you?" she replied.
"How did you get mixed up with the slavers?"
"What does it matter?" she sighed.
"How you answer decides whether I kill you or not," Arrathir growled.
"What's better than sleeping in a Radroach-infested dump, listening to the screams of innocent people?" she replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Pull the other one," snapped Arrathir. "The military has some honour. Even if you're a deserter, you wouldn't just forget all that crap they drilled into you."
There was a long pause. Shaizina's face twisted in reflection as she remembered her past, what she had and what she'd become. The values she'd betrayed, just to save her own sorry skin. The lives she'd destroyed.
She felt some anger towards the stranger. Who was he to judge her? He had no idea what she had been through and what she had to do to survive. Then again, she was a burnt-out junkie, always looking for the next high; willing to do almost anything to feel some relief from the reality she was in. Was this really surviving?
"What would you know about honour?" she finally said. "You're a cowardly thief who sneaks in because he's too afraid of a fair fight."
"I know more about honour than you ever will. I do right by other people. I can go to bed with my conscience at rest and when I wake up in the morning I can look at myself in the mirror...if I had one," Arrathir said.
Shaizina grabbed a handful of pebbles and threw them at Arrathir. It was more of a halfhearted throw than an actual attack.
"You wanna go?" he snarled, readying his knife.
"Bring it on, little man," Shaizina replied. "You missed your chance!"
Suddenly, they heard the nearby growl of a Deathclaw. Both exchanged glances. A fight would draw attention. This would have to wait until later.
Hours passed. They waited in silence while the sounds of the Deathclaws echoed around them. Even without having seen the damn things, Arrathir knew he was in no hurry to meet one. They sat on the cold floor, weapons at the ready in case the beasts found them. The silence was only interrupted by Shaizina occasionally throwing up. As time went on, the screeches grew dimmer and they let down their guard slightly.
After sitting in uncomfortable silence for a while, Arrathir spoke up.
"I have questions and I want answers. You answer one of my questions and I'll answer one of yours. No bullshit. No lies. Just the truth."
Shaizina sighed. "Fine. Nothing better to do, I suppose." She figured the more she could learn about this guy, the easier it would be to capture him once they got out of this cave. "Your idea, so you ask first."
"Why slavers? Even if the Enclave is gone, there are better options," he finally said, after pondering for a while.
"First group I came across after Raven Rock blew up. It wasn't meant to be permanent," she said. "What about you? You're pretty sneaky. Where'd you learn that?"
"I had training," said Arrathir.
"Don't piss on me and tell me it's raining. You want honest answers from me; I expect the same from you."
"Fine. I was part of a program. In a vault."
"Ah, Vault-Boy, eh? Where was it?" asked Shaizina.
"Far, far away. Too far for you to ever find," said Arrathir. "That's two questions." He held up two fingers. "My turn. What's keeping you with the slavers? You said it wasn't supposed to be permanent."
"I like the scenery," the slaver replied.
"Come on," said Arrathir. "I'm ex-military too. Nobody with that background just rolls over and gives up. It's not in us to stop fighting."
Shaizina chewed her tongue while she though of an answer. Putting her past into perspective for somebody else was difficult. She kept chewing on her tongue, trying to put her thoughts into words. Finally, she got up, went to her bag and pulled out an empty syringe, which she tossed on the ground between them.
Before giving Arrathir a chance to process what this meant, she shot back with her own question: "Any kids?"
"Not in my line of work," said Arrathir. That got a chuckle out of both of them.
"So," he said, nodding to the syringe, "If that's why you stayed at first, why do you stay now?
"A lot of reasons," said Shaizina, staring mournfully into the empty air. She quickly moved onto her next question, "So, how long have you been a Ghoul?"
"Wait a second! You never really answered my question! 'A lot of reasons'? What does that mean?"
"What do you want me to do? Everything that I knew was gone. I got indebted to the wrong people. I'm not proud of what I am, but it is what it is. You want me to get all teary-eyed? It's not like I have a lot of options!" yelled Shaizina.
"There's always other options," argued Arrathir. "You could travel with me."
"Well, maybe I should!" barked Shaizina.
There was an awkward pause as each realized what had just been said.
"Well...I mean...it's a choice..." stammered Arrathir.
"Oh yeah, like you lead such a good life," scoffed Shaizina.
"Better than yours. I'm free," said Arrathir. She threw another handful of gravel at him.
"Would you stop that?" said Arrathir, brushing the gravel off his coat. Silence fell between them again.
"You do realize when I don't come back there will be as many bounties on my head as you've got on yours?" said Shaizina. "There will be nowhere we can go in the Capital Wasteland where we won't always have to be checking over our shoulders."
"Then we leave DC. People are always looking for information. If we work together, we could help a lot of people."
"Who says I want to help?" asked Shaizina.
"Sometimes helping people involves mischief," answered Arrathir.
That was a fair point. Shaizina considered the possibility. She'd always wanted a way out but she had stopped looking for one herself. Maybe this was her opportunity to move on with her life.
"Why should I trust you," she asked, suspiciously. "How do I know that you're not just gonna wait for a bounty on me to show up and turn the tables on me?"
"I'm not that kind of a person," said Arrathir. "It's everyone for themselves out there, so I know trust is hard-earned, but I think this is a risk worth taking. We need to keep hoping it won't always be this bad."
"I'm never sleeping with you, old man," Shaizina said.
"The thought of the possibility of an inkling hadn't even begun to cross my mind," said Arrathir, chuckling.
"Deal," said Shaizina, sticking her hand out. They shook.
"I have one condition: burn my bounty," added Arrathir as they broke the handshake.
Going into her bag, Shaizina pulled out a pack of matches, a pack of smokes, and the bounty note. Putting a cigarette in her mouth, she stuck a match and set the note on fire, using it to light up. She tossed the burning paper on the ground, where it curled and turned black as the fire consumed it.
A week later the two of them exited the cave. Shaizina was pale but looked clearer than she had in years. She gave a stretch as the two of them observed the clear Wasteland. Dead bodies filled the valley. Arrathir looked at them in horror. "I need to see what could do all that damage."
"Trust me, you don't want to see it," Shaizina said. "So where are we going now?"
Shielding his eyes against the sun, Arrathir estimated the day was just beginning. They could still get a long way before nightfall.
"I heard there was a ship that landed on a building in the Commonwealth," said Arrathir.
"That would be something to see," said Shaizina.
Lighting a cigarette, Shaizina lifted it in a toast to the Capital Wasteland. "God help whoever ends up on our shit list. They're going to need it."
And with that, the two new companions set off in the Wasteland. Old alliances change and new ones are forged but war...war never changes.