Introduction
The Great War created the Wasteland, nuclear warheads and biological weapons devastated our world in moments, those unlucky enough to survive have struggled to eek out an existance in the fallout- forging unethical and immorale governments and communites whose only focus is survival at any cost, small battles rage for what precious resources remain, fear and desperation have pushed entire populations to drugs and crime, this is a world of rape, murder and slavery, a savage world of pain and suffering- the old world is a forgotten dream, its a 'brave' new world.
New York, 2164, the city is a devastated wasteland of dilapidated buildings and rubble, small settlements and trading outposts dot the landscape, controlled by gangs and crime families battling for resources and technology, underground hives of mutants and raiders attack daily- life is hard and short, its kill or be killed, no law, no order, just life or death...and a man from a forgotten time is about to wake up to this harsh reality...
Jonas Murphy was conscripted into the New York Rebel Army on June 12th 2065, aged 18. With the US Army fighting the Red Army throughout the western states New York was left undefended- as the war raged on the states disbanded, some waging war amongst themselves for the resources to continue the battle. Police forces in New York and New Jersey united under a new military force to defend themselves against these threats- the New York Rebel Alliance.
Murphy was conscripted from Rikers Island prison complex, a 'reward' for good behaviour- a fair exchange for what would have been a life sentence, Murphy's crime? Take your pick. Murphy grew up on the streets of the Bronx, abandoned at 5 by a drug dealing father and a crack addict mother- options were thin, and the street gangs offered food and shelter as long as you had quick feet and fast hands. After 13 years of robbing, stealing and dealing, Murphy's rap sheet was a long story- one he was never happy to tell.
In 2076, when the warnings came from other states that the Red Army were planning to neutralise all threats in the USA by dropping nuclear bombs the NYRA elected to send 50 of their city officals and scientists into an underground vault, the vaults had been funded and built by a government contractor called Vault-Tec, although Vault 68, their vault, had never completed construction- the war came too soon, and New York had been considered too late.
The plan was a risk, the incomplete vault would protect its inhabitants for a short time in stasis, but the power supply would fail after 200 years, and there were few supplies for the survivors.
To protect the vault dwellers from outside threats a small task force was selected from the NYRA and assigned to the vault- 4 men who would take shifts over the next 200 years, 1 to provide maintenance and defence for five years, taking it in turns while the other three were in stasis.
How did Jonas Murphy get messed up in this? He made the mistake of falling in love. She was a scientist named Amy Kipps, she didn't even know Murphy was alive, but he had been on protection detail at her research facility for months, watching her come and go, she was everything he could ever want- maybe the only girl he could really change for, and even if she didn't know he loved her, he volunteered for the vault defence position to protect her- even if he would die of old age giving her a chance to live...
But as with all things in the Great War, the plan didn't exactly work out...
Chapter 1 : The Awakening
Vivid red lights pulsated through cracked glass, a beaming, blinding light penetrating his tired dry eyes, ice cold blasts of steam burning his lips and eyelids, the sound was muffled but clear...shot gun blasts, footsteps, click, BANG...the sound of shattering glass, a piercing scream...footsteps, click, BANG, glass shatters, another scream...what the f*ck was happening?!
Murphy grasps at the emergency controls, remembering the remote control in the palm of every sleepers hand...but which hand? Memory seems vague...why can't i feel my fingers?. Wait...anaesthetics, the anaesthetics won't wear off for another ten minutes- anexamin, a new government drug derived from rohypnol, this stuff knocks you out but the side effects are not helpful in this situation...memory loss, minimal blood flow..that explains the fingers- BANG!, another scream, this time its more than sound- ''WHYYYY?! WHY THE F*CK BISHOP!?'', then just more screams.
A single thought strikes through Murphy's mind, ''I've got to get the f*ck out of this f*cking stasis tube!''
Ten minutes pass, the screams are further away, the shotgun fire seems close but the vault is all steel construction- maybe the sound is reverberating...''who f*cking cares? I have to get out NOW!'', panic sets in.
Pins and needles start stabbing at Murphy's body, the feeling is coming back to his fingers but he can't feel the emergency controls, able to move his neck now he desperately looks around the stasis tube for the controls but theres maybe an inch between his body and the glass door- he doesn't panic...it must be on the floor, Murphy closes his eyes, concentrating on trying to move his legs.
''SH*T! F*cking restraints!'' Murphy cries out, realising his legs are tied down by a harness, could be another hour before he can move his hands.
''Please give me time, please give me time, please give...'' KABOOOOOM! An explosion rips through the vault, shutting down all the power, Murphy's harness opens, the stasis tube flies open throwing him to the cold hard concrete floor...
Dazed and confused, Murphy looks up at the stasis tube opposite his own- the 1st shift, Lieutenant Bishop Kane, an empty tube...no body, closed casket. There's blood everywhere, dripping from the walls, the ceiling, puddles of blood on the floor...its the other shift officers, their bodies full of shotgun holes, their dead faces contorted in pain, Murphy looks up at the nearest data panel- the year reads 2164...88 years?! Murphy missed his shift, he was never defrosted, how did this happen?! Who's killing everyone?! And...
''Where the F*CK IS Bishop Kane?!''