Fallout: Brotherhood of Betrayal
Comrades betray each other, and men continue to mess with nature. Humanity is threatened once again, and one man will determine the fate of his entire world. Dim the lights. Turn off the TV, and the radio, and immerse yourself in the story. Look through the eyes of the hero, as he sets out on a dangerous quest, befriends strange allies, goes head-to-head with his own Brothers, and uncovers a disturbing plot that will lead him down a path to save the world, or take control and doom humanity. Welcome, hero. The Brotherhood of Steel wants YOU!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout or anything in the games, Fallout 1 and 2, mentioned here. Original characters and names are mine, though.
Out From Vault X: The Brotherhood of Steel!
A dull ache spreads through your head as you regain consciousness. As you push yourself to your feet, you see that you are in a dark room, the only source of light coming from a flickering screen at the end of the room. You feel someone push you from behind and walk forward until you stop just in front of the computer terminal. Blinking through the fuzz of your vision, you can make out the words on the screen.
"War, war never changes. The end of the world occurred pretty much as we predicted. Too many humans, not enough space or resources to go around. The details are trivial and pointless, the reasons, as always, purely human ones. The Earth was nearly wiped clean of life. A great cleansing, an atomic spark struck by human hands, quickly raged out of control. Spears of nuclear fire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Humanity was nearly extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that blanketed the Earth. A quiet darkness fell over the planet, lasting many years. Few survived the devastation. Some had been fortunate enough to reach safety, taking shelter in great underground vaults. When the great darkness passed, these vaults opened, and their inhabitants emerged to begin their lives again."
When you finish reading, a hand reaches forward from behind you, and pressed a button on the terminal keyboard. The words disappear, to be replaced by another passage.
"120 years ago, a great mutant called 'The Master' thought to build himself an army to rule the world. Many flocked to him; yet others had to be forced into compliance. Many of his followers came from the Children of the Cathedral. Humans-turned-mutants were unaware of his intentions, thinking he meant to elevate them to his level, ridding them of negative emotions such as jealousy, pettiness, and hatred, in exchange for their humanity. In what were described as 'big vats full of what looked like acid', men and women were 'dipped' into these vats, the contents within changing them forever. They grew in size and strength, their endurance and stamina improving. Yet their intelligence dropped drastically, and they grew in aggressiveness, many losing their minds. When The Master fell, the vats were destroyed, their contents thought forever gone."
Shocked and amazed, you scroll down, reading the next section of the passage.
"50 or 60 years passed, and something called the FEV virus was brought into existence. A military group called the Enclave, led by the President of the United States, tested this virus at an old military base, on miners. The produced results were the same, and more mutants were created. They had hoped to turn the FEV virus into a super-soldier program, but they failed, the test subjects far too stupid and violent. The program was shut down, but the experiments did not end there. The Enclave began to experiment with the virus, changing it. Upon its completion, the virus would be released from an oil rig, spreading to every inch of the globe, and horribly killing every 'mutant', or non-pure strain of human, in the most brutal and horrifying method. The President, the Enclave, and the virus, were all destroyed as the oil rig went up in a massive explosion. Humanity was saved again."
You scroll down again, bringing the last sections of the passage to the screen, your eyes widening as you read.
"Most of the created Vaults were listed with numbers, and as we have recently found out, the inhabitants underwent experiments, unaware. Some vaults had only men, others, designed to open after just six months, some had not enough food. We've heard the legends of Vault 13, but Vault X, the one vault NOT listed, is the one you came from. Vault X was a secret vault, a training ground instituted upon its creation. The day the vault would open was unknown, but the generations of people inside underwent rigorous training, honing their bodies, minds and skills, not knowing what it was meant for. It was never intended to be opened so late, just a few months ago, but when the door opened and the inhabitants walked out into the world, all able-bodied young and old men and women were immediately drafted into the Brotherhood of Steel. Vault X was the breeding ground for Brotherhood Soldiers.
Of course, many were not expected to make it through the training, drills, and practice missions. 95 of the Initiates died within the first week, the last 5 becoming Brothers. Unfortunately, your comrades of the vault, the other 4, perished not long after, leaving the one percent, you, the only one fit for the life of a soldier. The training program failed on a grand scale, but as you survived, it is believed that only you, a survivor, can solve a problem that has recently arisen. Intelligence reports that a faction of the Brotherhood has found an ancient strain of the FEE virus and has begun their own experiments with it. Unfortunately, this time, it worked: the super-soldier program has succeeded. Half-men, half-mutant, this faction believes that the FEE virus is the future of the Brotherhood, and eventually, the world. The Brotherhood takes a strict, 'No Mutants' policy. Our Brothers have betrayed us. You have been trained in weapon skills, sneaking, lockpicking, field medics, mechanics, and killing when necessary. These will come in handy.
It is your job to make your way to the betrayers' base. This will be a long, dangerous journey, and the people and obstacles you meet along the way will help or hinder you in your quest. Hopefully, you will succeed in your mission. You mission is this: you are to find the rebel base, destroy the FEE virus once and for all, kill the super soldiers created by the virus, and even kill all Brothers, unless you can bring them back to our side. Their, a tough but fair punishment awaits them. You will be given basic armor, a weapon, and supplies to help you in your quest. As you are unaware, this base is currently located in California, near Vault City. The base you must journey to lies to the south of the New California Republic. It is located near The Hub and Junktown. As you make your way down there, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the area. Good luck, Initiate. You are going to need it."
The computer terminal logs off, and the lights come on, temporarily blinding you. You turn around and blink rapidly, trying to clear your vision. You see that you stand at the end of a large room with metal walls. On the wall behind the computer terminal is the Brotherhood insignia. Standing behind you is an elderly man in gleaming silver Power Armor, with his helmet off, a large door behind him. Off to your right in a Brotherhood Scribe, with a small trash bin, a pair of scissors and a razor. To your left, an attractive young woman in Power Armor, standing in front of a small door. A movement from the elderly Paladin catches your attention, and he speaks to you. "All right, Initiate, listen up! My name is General "Sparks" Barnaky." "What's your real name?" "SHUT UP, MAGGOT!" "It's Julia, isn't it? You know, Pretty Woman? I always hated that movie. Hookers don't have hearts of gold. They have hearts of stone and mouths like vacuum cleaners." You receive a sharp smack upside the head. "You have your mission, but that is not all! First off, Brother Sigil here will try to bring that unruly hair of yours into control. Brotherhood Knights do not look like wild men. After this, Brother Vee will issue you your armor. You will suit up, and then you will be given your weapons and supplies. After that, you will speak to me, and then you will begin your mission. Now, report to Brother Sigil."
You turn to Brother Sigil, and walk over to him, giving a sharp salute, and receiving one in return. He pushes you into a seat, and walks behind you. You hear snipping and see your hair fall. Minutes later, he comes around to your front and lifts your chin, using the scissors and then razor to tame the unruly mass of facial hair. When he is finished, he produces a mirror, and you see your face for the first time. Your dark hair has been combed back close to your head and neck, past your shoulders, and you sport a thin goatee. You note that you have a dishonest face, like a con man, or a backstabber, and you find you like it. Your also quite handsome. "I didn't know I was that good-looking", you joke. Un-amused, Sigil pulls you out of the chair and pushes you towards Vee, saluting her and receiving one in return. She regards you skeptically before speaking. "Unfortunately, our money and supplies are low. I cannot issue you a suit of Power Armor. I can give you this." She produces a set of Combat Armor and hands it to you. She opens the door behind her, and you walk in to suit up. You come back out, looking at them through a darkened lens, which is more merciful on your sensitive eyes.
Brother Vee nods, and motions to a table. There you see two guns, two boxes, a knife, a medical doctors bag, and a backpack. "I cannot issue you high-powered guns either. Here you have a Shotgun, a 10mm Sub Machine Gun, two boxes of Shotgun shells and 5mm JHP, and a field Combat Knife. In your backpack, you will find four hundred chips, spend them wisely. You will also find a Lockpick set, ten bottles of Cherry Nuka-Cola. Don't give me that look, I know the taste is bad, but you'll have to deal, soldier. You also have three boxes of noodles, and a wrapped platter of some rotten meat crawling with maggots. It'll keep, and unless you find a restaurant quick, you'll just have to choke it down. There is also a Mechanical Lockpick, a set of pliers, a wrench, a radio, five Frag Grenades, and some Junk. Maybe it will come in handy. In your med kit, you'll find ten Stim-paks, five Super-stims, one Ultra-stim, I hope you won't need it. There is also a scalpel, gauze, three rolls of bandages, two splints,a bottle of disinfectant and a bottle of antiseptic, and a First Aid book if you need to check something. That is all, soldier."
You place the medical bag in the backpack, slide your arms through the straps and hold it comfortably to your back. You then walk back to Brother Sparks, who nods as you approach. "Not bad, not bad", he says. "You just might have a chance. Now, listen closely, because I will not be repeating myself! First off I want you to make your way to Broken Hills. They run caravans around the northern part of California, and one goes right to the NCR, which is where you need to be! Now, if you hurry, you can make it to Broken Hills a day before before the caravan leaves. That way, you will have protection as you make your way down their. On the way, you may encounter a small group of raiders, maybe a second. Stay alert. Initiate John Stone, and welcome to the Brotherhood of Steel. That is all! Dismissed!
Brother Sparks moves aside and points to the door. You walk toward it and it opens, you step into the gleaming elevator. You press the Ground button, and there is a lurch as the elevator slides down. The door opens and you step into a dark room with a round door at the end. You walk towards it and slide it open, sunlight pouring into the room. For the first time in your life, you see the outside world. Eagerly, you step outside, a wide smile alights on your face, and as you take a look around...your smile fades as you realize your standing in a desolate crap-land of dust and desert! You sigh and look down at your Brotherhood-issued Pip Boy 3000, seeing Vault City marked as a day or two above you, and the town of Broken Hills a good five days travel south. Steeling yourself, you set out into the wastes, and your adventure begins.