Heart of the Wastes (Working Title)

By: Wellman1989

Introduction

It was just another day in the capitol ruins. Cluttered streets scattered with garbage and general junk from a civilization that destroyed itself 200 years ago snaked between hollowed out buildings. At times the ruins seemed to be skeletal, gawking down at you as if they knew the secret to some horrific death that awaited you around the next corner and were delighted to have the opportunity to witness it first hand.

Lyon's Pride, the finest that the Brotherhood of Steel could muster, cautiously wound around destroyed cars and piles of debris. They were spread out in case they were ambushed and stray fire blew one of the cars' mini-reactors, which were still volatile after 200 years of inactivity. Each man (and woman) in the Pride had earned their spot on the team through countless acts of valor in the field.

Sentinel Sarah Lyons led her team expertly, fully capable of making tough decisions in the most hectic of battle situations. Under her were Knight Captains Colvin, Dusk, and Gallows, all of whom were extremely talented in their respective fields of communications, sniping, and spec ops. There were three more Paladins in the squad at the time.

Their mission was to assault a known Raider hard point and liberate the slaves that had reportedly been gathered there for sale and transport to Paradise Falls. Sentinel Lyons hoped to get this done quickly and get back to the Citadel before dark.

"Let's step it up, unless you guys want to spend the night in the Ruins again!" she shouted behind her. Without wasted communication the Pride kicked it into gear and began jogging double time to the office building that was supposed to house the slaves.

They were moving so rapidly over the terrain that they were half way into the mine field before the first ones went off.

"Get down!" commanded Lyons as assault rifle fire chattered from both sides of the street.

The Pride scattered so as not to become a single perfect target for a missile and found cover as best as they could. Moments later Paladin Glade opened fire with his minigun into the windows where the muzzle flashes were coming from. As he poured death through the openings of the ruins from the middle of the street, the rest of the squad split up and breached said buildings from street level.

Gallows, Sarah, and Paladin Kodiak (a veritable jack-of-all-trades) went into the west building while the remainder of the team, including Glade, took the east side. They quickly discovered that the very Raiders that they had been sent to deal with had gotten the drop on them and were responsible for this ambush. Unfortunately for them the Pride were the best of the best and quickly cut a swathe of death through the ill-equipped and underwhelming Raiders.

Alas, as the Pride had finished clearing the buildings the sun gave its last burst of light and slipped below the horizon ending another grueling day in the Capitol Ruins and putting to bed any hope of the Pride being able to accomplish their mission that day.

"That's it for today ladies and gentlemen," said Sentinel Lyons, "let's pack it in for tonight and get started early in the morning."

The Pride complied and quickly fortified the western office building they had just cleared as they deemed it more defensible than the other. When preparations for waiting out the night were made, Paladin Vargas began to prepare the evening meal of Cram and InstaMash and everyone allowed themselves the smallest bit of relaxation from the constant threat of death that anyone operating in the Ruins became accustomed to.

All except for Knight Captain Gallows. It wasn't ever what he said exactly that tipped you off, in fact he rarely spoke at all. His body language was enough to let one know that he never let his guard down. Paladin Glade always took it upon himself to tease Gallows about his rather off putting austerity and gravity.

"Hey Gallows, what the hell's the matter with you? You look like someone spat in your Sugar Bombs daily and nightly when you were a kid."

Gallows didn't look up to acknowledge that he had even heard Glade's barb. Instead he continued cleaning his Laser Rifle.

"You know, Gallows," chimed in Knight Captain Dusk, "it might increase team solidarity if you were to lighten up a bit, or maybe just let us get to know you a bit more."

"Ahh, sounds like someone wants to hear a story!" laughed Glade, "Old Dust and Grime here hasn't said ten words to any of us that weren't in the field commands as long as I've been here!"

Gallows didn't know what it was that made him start his story. Maybe, he thought later, he just felt like getting Glade off his back or felt like proving him wrong. Or maybe he needed simply to get something off his chest that had been simmering for years and this was the excuse he hadn't even known he'd been waiting for.

For whatever reason, Gallows opened his mouth and began, "Ten years ago I was commissioned to locate a High Paladin named Walter Katz…"