Vault Wars
by InMyDreams446
Summary: My version of the Vault 101 rebellion. After the Lone Wanderer's departure, Vault 101 goes to hell. This is the story of Amata's rebels, and their fight against the oppressive Overseer and his army.
Warnings: Will contain language and violence. Whether it's enough to warrant an M rating is unclear at the moment.
Quick Note: In my game, my character's name is Jake. So that's the name I'll use for the Lone Wanderer in this story.
Episode I: The Vault Menace
Part One: A Call to Arms
The date is August 23rd, 2277, 200 years after the world was devastated by a nuclear war. The place is Vault 101, a special underground facility designed to shelter people from the nuclear holocaust. While other Vaults have opened up in the years following the Great War, Vault 101 has remained closed. Because in Vault 101, no one ever enters, and no one ever leaves...
At least, that's how it used to be.
The trouble started when the Vault's doctor, a fellow named James, left with no warning or reason. When James opened the Vault door, he unintentionally let a bunch of nasty Radroaches in. From there, things got bad, fast.
Furious that the Vault had been opened, Overseer Alphonse Almadovar ordered the interrogation of Jonas Palmer, James's assistant. When Jonas insisted that he didn't know anything, the guards beat him to death. From their, the death toll rose quickley. Grandma Agnes Taylor was cornered by the Radroaches in the cafeteria and died of a heart attack. Paul Hannon Jr. and his mother Vikki were also attacked by the roaches, but didn't have the good fortune to die of heart failure like Agnes. Poor Floyd Louis was killed by the Radroaches when attempting to repair some damaged machinery. Mary Kendall died in a fire, along with her young daughter, Monica. And Miss Beatrice Armstrong died after Andy, the Vault's robot servant who had been made the new doctor, attempted to fix her sprained toe... By amputating her entire left leg. Andy was quickley demoted to janitor.
Still searching for answers, Alphonse ordered the guards to interrogate James's child, Jake, who happened to be his daughter Amata's best freind. But Amata stole her father's gun and gave it to Jake, also promising to help him escape the vault. Alphonse brought his daughter into the security office and demanded to know where Jake was. When she wouldn't answer, the loyal Officer Steve Mack started to beat her, and Alphonse did nothing to stop him. It was the quick intervention of Jake that saved Amata from meeting the same fate as Jonas. Killing Officer Mack and freeing Amata, Jake made his escape into the Wasteland in pursuit of his father.
Shortly after, the remaining security officers killed the last of the Radroaches. But the trouble wasn't over yet. After James and his Jake's escape, a number of Vault residents (mostly young people), wanted to keep the Vault open, so that they could interact with the outside world, or leave the Vault for good. Alphonse would hear none of it, however, and ordered the surviving security force to guard the Upper Vault, called the Atrium, and prevent anyone else from leaving. With this debate threatening to boil over into an armed conflict, Amata confronted her father in his office, hoping that things can be resolved peacefully...
Amata walked through the door that led to her father's office. Alphonse Almadovar, the infamous Overseer, was staring out the window that overlooked the Vault 101 Atrium. The Vault Security force, along with a few other residents, stood in the Atrium guarding the main door. The door that led to the Vault's main door, which separated the underground shelter from the nuclear wasteland above.
"Hello, Amata," Alphonse said, turning to face his daughter. His wore a calm face, but you could see the anger in his eyes.
"Hello, father," Amata returned. She too wore a calm face, but you could see the fear in her eyes.
"I understand that you wish to speak with me about the... Disagreements between some of our Vault residents and myself?"
"Yes," Amata took a deep breath before continuing. "I really think that we can avoid any conflicts if we just open up the Vault-"
"Absolutely not," Alphonse said firmly, crossing his arms.
"Look, if you'll just listen to-"
"I said no!" Alphonse snapped, startling his daughter. "I will not have the safety of my Vault compromised, just because some brats are bored!"
"Dad, you're not listening!" Amata said, her fear turning to anger. "The Vault can't take any more in-fighting! We can avoid any more bloodshed if we just open the door and interact with the outside world!"
"Avoid bloodshed?! If we open that door, it would be like opening the gates of Hell! We've already lost valuable Vault residents to the Radroaches, which came from the world above!"
"Not all of the people we lost that day were killed by the roaches," Amata stated, glaring at her father. "What about Jonas?"
Alphonse sighed. "What happened to Jonas was regrettable, but it was unavoidable-"
"Unavoidable?!" Amata asked/snapped, raising her voice. "You ordered your men to beat him to death! You might as well have done it yourself!"
"Amata-"
"And then you ordered those same men to kill anyone that went outside their rooms!" Amata continued, her voice rising. "Tom and Mary were almost killed! If Jake hadn't have intervened-"
"Do not speak that name!" Alphonse said fiercely, glaring at his daughter. "He's the little bastard that caused all this! Him and his asshole father! They are both traitorous scum!"
"Don't talk about them that way!" Amata retaliated. "James was a good man, and so was Jake! He saved Tom and Mary, and Ms. DeLoria! And he managed to leave without killing any of your precious Vault Security!"
"What about Officer Mack?"
"Jake killed him to protect me! And he was beating me under your orders!"
"You left me no choice!" The Overseer and his daughter were now in each others faces, staring the other down. "I had to find out where Jake was, and prevent him from further compromising our safety! I had to do what was best for the Vault!"
"What was best for the Vault?!" Amata snapped, furious at her father's words. "Was murdering Jonas best for the Vault? Was sending your men on a killing spree best for the Vault? Is keeping people trapped down here like slaves best for the Vault?!"
"Amata-!"
"You don't care about what's best for the Vault! All you care about is oppressing us, you power-hungry son-of-a-bitch!!"
What happened next was almost too fast to comprehend. Alphones's hands flew to his police baton, and he drew it, striking the right side of his daughter's head in one swift motion. Amata fell to the floor, and a small wound on her head split open. Fighting the pain in her cranium, Amata pushed herself onto her knees and looked back at her father, blood running down the side of her head. She expected him to look horrified at what he had done and help her up, apologizing profusely.
But Alphonse did none of this. He didn't even look sorry. He just glared down at his daughter, his police baton still drawn.
Amata stared at her father for what seemed like an eternity, but was really just about 20 seconds. She then got up and ran out the door, one hand covering the still-bleeding wound.
"Amata! Come back here this instant!" Alphonse bellowed. He didn't sound the least bit remorseful. Amata just kept running. As she made her way down the stairwell that led to the diner, tears started flowing down her cheeks.
...
Down in the Lower Level of Vault 101, several people patiently sat in the clinic, awaiting Amata's return. These were the "rebels", the Vault residents who wanted to keep the Vault door open to the outside. Steve Armstrong and Tom Holden were talking in one corner of the room, as were Christine Kendall and Susie Mack. Teacher Edwin Brotch and Lucy "Old Lady" Palmer were doing their best to clean up the clinic, which had been stormed by Vault security when they were looking for Jake. Butch DeLoria was casually sharpening his switchblade while Freddie Gomez begged Butch to let him join his gang, the Tunnel Snakes. Wally Mack, the other Tunnel Snake, sat by himself in the corner, contemplating all that had happened. Vault robot Andy was in the clinic's examination room, trying to clean up the mess from his "operation".
When the clinic's door opened, everyone turned their heads, expecting to see Amata. What they weren't expecting was to see her with a bloody wound on her right temple and tears rolling down her face.
"Oh, my word!" Old Lady Palmer gasped, walking over to Amata. "What happened to you?!" She took Amata by the hand and led her over to a chair. "Sit, sit down. I'll get you patched up."
Amata took a seat as Old Lady Palmer went to fetch a first aid kit. The other rebels were quick to gather around her.
"Jeez, Amata," Butch remarked, staring at the injury. "What the hell happened up there?"
"My father happened," Amata replied, staring down at the ground.
Several people gasped in horror.
"Your own father did this to you?" Christine asked, a hand over her mouth.
Amata simply nodded.
"Man," Tom remarked, shaking his head. "I knew Alphonse was a bastard, but this..."
"I know what you mean," Steve added. "I mean, ordering his men to kill is one thing, but striking his own daughter..."
It was a few moments before anyone spoke again.
"So let me guess," Wally said with a scowl, crossing his arms. "The old man ain't gonna open up the Vault, right?"
Amata nodded again. Several people sighed in frustration. As they pondered what to do next, Old Lady Palmer returned, carrying a medical bag that James had left behind.
"So," Freddie finally said. "What do we do know?"
"Maybe if someone else tried talking to Alphonse," Mr. Brotch suggested. "Maybe one of the adults, like me or Mrs. Palmer-"
"Talking won't do any good," Amata interrupted, sadness in her voice.
"Huh?" several asked.
"Talking with my father won't help," Amata continued, wincing slightly as Old Lady Palmer applied disinfectant to her wound. "The reason my father wants to keep the Vault closed; the reason he killed Jonas, tried to kill Jake, and did this to me; it's because of power. He's never cared about the welfare of the Vault. If he did, he wouldn't have done the things he did. All my father cares about is keeping his power over us. And the only way he thinks he can keep his power is through fear, intimidation, and violence..."
Amata choked back a sob. She looked up at her fellow rebels, and her expression changed. Rather than sad, she now looked determined.
"You know what? If my father thinks that he can use violence to oppress us, then we only have one option; use violence against him."
"You mean..." Susie Mack started.
"That's right." Amata stood up, balling her hands into fists. "It's time to fight back. If the Overseer wants a battle, then we're gonna give him a war."
End of Chapter One...