Since the dawn of time, humanity has been a slave to its own animalistic behavior. Anger, greed, lust, these simple instincts have led to countless tragedies, as we were blinded by them, and could only see the short term rewards. Even after atomic fire rained from the sky, giving humanity a chance to start anew, we still resorted to becoming animals.

Nearly 190 years after the nuclear fallout, a small band of travelers came together and formed a trading caravan, marching across the wastes in search of fame and fortune. However, the trials were harsh, and do to constant runs ins with raiders, mutants, and savages, the caravan had barely any supplies to sustain themselves, let alone money. They went on with high hopes, yet they remained unknown by the rest of the world.

One day, the caravan came across the ruins of a village, built out of the remnants of a pre war suburb. All that remained of this village were ashes, corpses, and a small child. The caravan, either out of sympathy or pridefulness, decided to take this child and raise it as their own. The boy called himself Kennedy, and freely went with the group. The boy didn't seem to know what happened to the village, as if he had not paid attention to the slaughtering of his own people. Even when under the care of the caravan, he grew close to none of the travelers, talking to them as if they were acquaintances. The caravan soon grew to dislike Kennedy, but continued to travel with him, as they felt responsible for his safety.

Many years passed, and Kennedy soon grew into a teenager. Sadly, the process had not been kind on him. He had short, scraggly, greasy brown locks, and unkempt facial hair that came out of of his face like patches. His body odor was also unpleasant, and the lack of proper hygiene didn't help. The travelers were growing older as well, and soon they would need to come to terms with the limitations of their own aging bodies. However, one of the travelers, who referred to himself as Rice, was not yet ready to give up his dreams of fame and fortune, and decided that it was time to take a different approach. On their travels, the group found a collection of tents, filled with uniformed men serving something known as the New California Republic.

While the travelers tried to barter off what little they had, and Kennedy ate away at some spare food, Rice began to talk with the camp's sergeant, and the two struck a deal. The NCR would consistently pay the caravan if they delivered rations and supplies from one area to the next, and only traded with settlements which were a part of or allied with the NCR.

When Rice told the others of the offer, the travelers immediately stopped trading with the camp, and packed their supplies to leave. The group did not see eye to eye with Rice, as they wished to gain fortune independently, and not be tied down to any one group. They marked Rice as a traitor to their dream caravan, and demanded that he leave.

"Fine!" yelled Rice, "I don't need any of you, or this stupid caravan! I'll make it big all on my own. Next time you'll see me, I'll be surrounded by caps, booze, and women!"

Kennedy immediately stopped what he was doing and ran over to Rice.

"Did you just say women?" asked Kennedy, looking up at the "traitor."

"Hell yeah, kid! I'll be covered in them!"

"I want to go with you, please."

Like most young men his age, Kennedy had become very interested in the opposite sex, yet life with the caravan denied him the chance of meeting many women who weren't trying to kill them for supplies. Rice was amused by Kennedy's almost pathetic plea, and decided to travel with him as a companion.

And just like that, Kennedy and Rice had left the others. And for the next few years, things seemed to work out for the two. They went from town to town, performing odd jobs to raise enough caps to eat. When they had saved up enough money, they would prepare to move on to the next town. It wasn't an easy life, but it was one that the two were proud of. But one day, while Rice was out hunting radroaches to take care of a settlement's infestation problem, Kennedy tried to get a prostitute to sleep with him. The prostitute took the caps and ran off. When Rice confronted Kennedy, he acted as if none of what had happened was his fault, and refused to apologies for loosing all of their money. This caused a bitterness to grow between the two, and they soon mutually despised each other.

Eventually, Rice decided to leave Kennedy in the middle of the night. When the young man woke up, all that remained was a note, and a strange device.

"Sorry kid, I can't have you tagging along anymore. If we ever meet again, I'll be living it up in one of those summer homes on the beach. I left behind a little something for you to remember me by. I found it in a trash can."

Kennedy picked up the device, and flipped the small switch on it. A digital map popped up, with the words "unofficial Vault Tec vault finder" appearing above it. The map showed Kennedy's current location, and a list of nearby vaults, the underground fallout shelters that humanity took shelter in. One particular vault caught Kennedy's eye.

Vault 69.