Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, nor anything associated with fallout (except this story itself), and any quotes used in this and future chapters belong to those who will be given credit.

Fallout

Volume 1: Trinity

Foreword

June 2255, Illinois

Several Brotherhood knights stood in the octogonal training arena. The sun beamed down on them mercilessly; no birds flew. The dry ground seemed to radiate a heat of its own. four above-ground, metal tunnels connected to opposite sides of the arena walls, and receeded into the ground. The arena itself donned a grid dome made of rebar; an entrance was situated on one of the eight walls, though it could only be opened from the inside. The walls were thick, with passageways within. The dirt ground inside of the arena was almost featureless, having only sandbags and two unnatural mounds of dirt. The knight commander, accompanied by the head scribe, watched from one side, on a balcony; another scribe stood at the opposite side, with a boy sitting with his legs dangling off the railing. In his lap was a Grognak the Barbarian comic book. The knights cautiously approached the dirt mounds, fingers on the triggers of their weapons. Just as one of them was a few feet away from one of them, a radscorpion burst out, sending dirt everywhere, giving itself a temporary screen. It impaled the knight through the chest, before whipping its tail, throwing its victim several meters away. Not too long after, another scorpion erupted out of the other hill. As the knights engaged the arthropods, the scribe looked down at the boy.

"What did I say about reading comic books during training? You aren't going to graduate to knight if you don't study." She pulls it out of his hands and closes it.

The boy groans, rolling his eyes. "Aw, come on, Mags. I've seen this a thousand times. And they're just shooting it. No strategy."

As if to support his statement, one of the lazerbeams ricocheted off of the shell of one of the scorpions, and struck the railing, The boy flinched.

Mags put one hand on her hip, and dangled the comic book over him with the other. "And what would be the best strategy in this situation?"

He unholstered his lazer pistol and took careful aim. When the scorpion had its profile to him, he fired. One of its legs crumpled, becoming useless. It screeched while limping. The knights took advantage of this, finishing it off. Spinning the pistol with his finger through the trigger guard, before holstering it, he smirked at her.

"Their armor is weak around the legs."

The knight commander smiled at him, though he received less than pleased looks from the head scribe. Mags narrowed her eyes for a few moments, before handing the comic back to him with a smirk of satisfaction. "Atta boy, Damian."

August 2268, New Mexico

Damian cracked an eye open. He was in a car. An Atomic V8. The glare of the sun reflecting off of a sideview mirror forced him to turn away. It was then that he felt weight on his legs. Gently, he brought his hand to rest on the muzzle of the mongrel resting on him. It whined and lifted its head, before nudging him.

"Not now Maula. Just rest." He said, leaning his head back against the window.

Maula did, but only for a few minutes. Her head shot up, and her whine turned into a growl. Damian didn't acknowledge her at first, but when she rammed her nose into his stomach, he glared at her.

"What?"

The dog looked out the window behind him. Because of his position in the car, it would be difficult to look behind him. He craned his neck to look through the driver's sideview. In the reflection, a glowing radstag was barreling towards them. Damian jumped to the drivers side of the car just in time to dodge the antlers, which pierced the door and the windows. The car shook. He patted Maula on her bony back without looking at her, muttering an out-of-breath 'good girl'.The radstag pried its antlers from the car door, and backed away. It lowered its head, and charged yet again, making new holes in the door. Believing it couldn't get in, Damian relaxed. That is, until, the radiation leaking from it began to melt part of the door, window, and heat up the car. He frantically sought his gun, while keeping an eye on the deer. Just as it pulled itself loose again, he found the rifle.

'Yes!'

The stag charged forward, as Damian brought his Gauss Rifle up, and charged it. The deer made impact with the car, and a blue bolt left the rifle simultaneously. An explosion of light, and the sudden jerking of the car disoriented him. A few moments later, he recognized the feel of the ground beneath him, and the warm feeling of his own blood. Groaning, he sat up and looked down. In his side was a shard of glass. He grimaced as he slowly pulled it out. Maula trotted towards a nearby shrub, and dragged a large bag back to him. Then, she stuck her head into it, before pulling out a stimpak. Damian smiled and took it. He injected it into his side, and within seconds, the wound closed, as if it had never been there. Unfortunately, he didnt always have time to use stims. His many scars were proof.

He stood and slung the bag over his shoulder, pulled his brown bandana over his nose and mouth, along with his goggles over his eyes, and glanced at the headless stag. Its blood gave the car a new coat of paint. As for the car itself, the passenger side door was caved in, and the driver side door was hanging open from one of its hinges. Glass was everywhere. His gaze shifted up toward the sun, before moving down, landing on a small but noticable blip in the distance. Light reflected off of the top of the figure, making it appear as though it were a beacon. Damian glanced down at Maula and nodded to the light.

"Come on. It won't be long now."

The dog barked in response, before running ahead. Damian followed.