I do not own the Fallout Universe.


-Intro-

There was only darkness. 'Where am I?' he thought. He dared not to utter a single word, for the wall of darkness had every inch of danger in it. His eyes searched wildly for an answer. He tried shutting his eyes and then opening them wide several times to make sure they were not actually close. Bit by bit, the brittle pieces of concrete continued pounding the floor as they fell. A thunderous rumble from the crash filled the space. He had to leave, wherever he was.

The heavy beating drums of his heart muffled the echoing crash. His throat itched from the dust-filled air, ended up coughing horribly to expel the irritation. Warm sweat drenched all over his body. He shifted his back uncomfortably on the hill of rubble. The rumble slowly echoed away like a growingly distant thunder.

As he sat up, a painful sensation weighed on his right shoulder. He held his breath and inspected any injuries. There was neither sharp pain nor an open flesh wound. Regardless of it being dislocated or broken, he sighed in relief that he could still feel the grip of his rifle. He shuffled his legs, an attempt he regretted on doing when he felt an unbearable agony. He hadn't anticipated that his departure would be postponed due to this injury.

He had to make a choice: get out of the building with injured legs or wait until someone finds him. He chose the former. Staying in the building meant certain death. He leaned forward and clumsily slid down the hill. He landed face first onto the carpeted floor. A groan escaped from his breath as the pain on his shoulder as well as his legs were too difficult to persist. Nevertheless, his hand-held firmly to his rifle. He extended his left arm and swept off any obstacle that may be on his way, as he patiently dragged himself across the dark, unknown space.

His pitiful journey ended when he bumped onto something hollow. He felt around it as best as he could. There were handles for drawers. On top, there were noticeable dents, and it was rusty due to age and lack of care, but other than that, it was flat. He held onto the edge and pulled himself up into an upright sitting position behind the desk. The metal desk grated as he leaned onto it, shortly resuming the echo that the rumble had left.

The desk made him feel quite secure. A few moments passed, his heart slowed to a steady beating pace. His breathing slowed, he scrounged in his left pant pocket and took out the silver locket. He felt the rough indentations, and the cracks. He held it firmly and prayed for God to guard him and lead him out of danger.

His lips were moving on their own as he prayed but his thoughts were elsewhere. He kept cursing himself for being a coward. He wished that he had seen it before it happened. All this self-infliction of regret, he also knew that they are prepared for the job. They knew the potential dangers that lurked within these walls. His comrades were cautious, and trained. Yet, he messed up, turning this simple job into a nightmare.


War, war never changes. In 1945, the United States dropped their atomic bombs on Japan, ending the Second World War. This was the first publicized atomic bomb in history, causing an international fervour for nuclear development, generally abandoning the research for transistors. This led to the mass production of nuclear powered vehicles, computers, batteries and many others. People were so content with their lives that social trends froze for more than a hundred years. This nuclear research also led to advances in artificial intelligence, and robotics. Mister Handies, Robo-Brains, and Protectrons were the few examples of robots that function to ease daily human life. However, nuclear tension exploded to an impending war.

Due to the lack of transistors, ineffective and bulky computers and appliances were costly to develop. Manufacturers required more oil to lubricate machinery, and energy intake to produce an item. World oil resources rapidly dwindled to almost nothing. Inflation went up causing several markets to crash. United Nations disbanded as European nations began to wage war for the last of the oil reserves.

In 2067, Canada was forcibly annexed by the over-populated, more powerful United States, shortly after the discovery of the Canadian oil sands. Most Canadians were violently against this. Public revolts raged on the streets of Toronto. Urban guerrilla fighters harassed the American garrisons for years. Nuclear tension rose. This tension gave the opportunity for was a growing private corporation named Vault-Tec to monopolize on bomb shelters, called Vaults.

In 2077, the Great War began. Nuclear missiles filled the skies, and set the world on fire. The war lasted for two hours. No one knew who started the war, in the end, no one cared.