Gunfire. Screams. Explosives. Sounds Katya Brown knew very well, muffled as they were by her helmet and somewhat damaged eardrums. The smell of freshly spilled blood, human and Super Mutant, was also not uncommon for her. The silence after the battle didn't surprise her either. Not until she realized she could only hear herself breathing. No cheers of victory, no cries of pain. Nothing.
The sight of the citizens of Big Town bloody and broken behind her were the first thing in all her travels to truly horrify her. She'd never failed to protect anyone before, let alone an entire settlement. Suddenly the smell of blood and gunpowder churned her stomach. Half digested bits of mirelurk came up quickly, followed by a choked sob. These scared people had depended on her to save them, like she had for so many others. And she failed.
The next day and a half was spent digging graves and burying the corpses. She tried to put them to rest with dignity, cleaning them up so they looked peaceful, regardless of the gruesome wounds that ended them. She spent another five days rigging up the mangled remains of the Super Mutants and slavers that had attacked to ward off further attacks.
Katya wandered into Megaton in a haze of delirium, walking right by people she'd normally greet with a smile, straight into Moriarty's bar. She sat heavily in a stool, wordlessly motioning to Gob for a whiskey. The song on the radio, Butcher Pete, came to a close, and Three Dog came on, announcing the news and a new story about the Last Best Hope for Humanity. Katya's eyes went wide.
"News time, children! Now, I've got new reports from the settlement known as Big Town. Somethin' about super mutants takin' residents prisoner... All I know is the kid could have helped, and didn't. Nice going, asshole."The residents of Megaton had seen some sad things in their lives. They did live in a wasteland bomb crater, after all. But Katya's breakdown after Three Dog's news report... That shocked everyone. The Paragon of Virtue wasn't prone to crying, even with broken limbs and radiation poisoning. But that broadcast shattered her.
She wished she'd never gone to Big Town.
