Raquel sat at her usual post atop shipping containers. It overlooked the expansive area to the north of Nellis Air Force Base, the place she had called home all her life. Next to her on the dirty table was an assault carbine that had been begging for action. She sighed. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to make it through their territory. Most of the time it was just a drifter that had accidentally stumbled into the area.
As time went on however, things to obliterate, also often referred to as target practice, had stopped altogether. She knew it was wishful thinking when other tribesmen said that their reputation had kept people away. Raquel knew this wasn't the case.
She began to look over her grenade machine gun. The first time she had taken up the weapon it had seemed like overkill. What could possibly need repeated grenade fire? Her tribe had a knack for high-powered weapons with equally as destructive ordinance. Almost every Boomer carried a 'grenade-this' or 'launcher-that'. It was safe to say, the Boomers had an affinity for explosions, it was right in their tribe name. Explosions created a feeling of safety, ironically enough. The sound of an explosion waking everyone up in the middle of the night helped them sleep sounder, for it meant another savage extinguished. Raquel found she was much more restless if she slept without hearing at least one explosion. This was why she was so anxious today. There had not been an explosion in months. Granted she mostly slept during the day, her rounds at the night shift had also turned up with no artillery fire. Howitzers spelled safety to everyone at Nellis AFB.
The longer time went without a tally on the side of the watchtower, the more it made Raquel think someone was tipping the savages off. She glanced over at the Strip to the east. It was quite the sight. A pretty sight, but yet to her, it was the sight of the ego of the old world. The world that got them here. The damn Boot Riders had turned to an old world name the 'Chairmen' they began to call themselves. Raquel remembered Pearl speaking of the Chairmen's egos and their ruthless manner. This, she had said, was why the Boomers did not make contact with the outside world. To prevent corruption and manipulation that would surely follow if the savages breached their walls. So here she sat, keeping a vigilant watch. Keeping the savages at bay.
Raquel considered herself lucky to have been born a Boomer. The Boomers were one of the few tribes that hadn't been sucked into the old world games of the strip. Gambling, liquor, and whores were a shallow mirage that only lasted so long, and when you finally woke up, you were broke. This was another one of the elder's quotes. Though Raquel was considered an elder now, she tried not to think of it that way. It made her feel old. She was only twenty-nine, but her experience made her appear older in the eyes of her tribe. Though she was often overlooked for the very same reason. She was working the mid-day shift today to oversee the raid on the array building. It had been overrun by ants and was no longer operational. It was vital that they regained control. She had fought some expected resistance from the other elders when discussing who to send to dispatch the array situation. Raquel had pressed the matter, it was important that they got their greener, younger units more experience.
Raquel returned her thoughts to the present. Her attention turned to a man sprinting towards her. He came from the direction of the array. The way he ran exuded sheer panic. Raquel hefted her gun from her lap and stood. She began to move down from her post and meet the man.
This must be the team I sent in to take care of ants, she thought. From the looks of things, it didn't go well. Behind the man she could see two others scramble from the array building, they were headed in the direction of the main base.
The young man approached her breathlessly. His face was covered with a thin layer of sweat that shone in the setting sun. He placed his hands on his knees and hunched over, taking ragged breaths as he tried to regain his breath.
Raquel could see he was scared, she knew what he was about to say.
"Speak!" Raquel demanded, trying to snap the frightened young man from his panic.
"T-the ants…" he took a few more ragged breaths, his brown eyes glassy with a mix of exhaustion and fear. Raquel knew this look all too well, but thankfully her experience granted her a method of dealing with this. She would have a nice chat with him later.
"They exploded when we shot them…" the young guard took another breath, "The laser weapons made them blow too. They were everywhere! We lost half of our unit… Some of our guys didn't get out, Arms Master."
Raquel glared down at the young and obviously green guard.
"So you just left your brothers down there? What's your name?" Raquel demanded.
The young man's brown eyes widened as he realized what his superior had said.
"Daniel, mixed arms unit, Arms Master." The young man said hesitantly.
"Well, Daniel. Seeing as you left your comrades to die, let's see if we can regain some of your honor and prevent being painted a coward. Come with me and help me look for the wounded. That's an order."
"Yes, Arms Master." Daniel said, straightening up to attention. He then sheepishly stared down at his hands, indicating he had no weapon.
Raquel wasn't about to let him off easy. She knew lives were at risk, but she wasn't about to let him use her carbine. She sat her grenade machine gun underneath the table and reached for her assault carbine. She also slung the ammo capacitor that rested on her back onto the ground and grabbed a medical kit. The two began to run towards the array. She tossed the med-kit to Daniel. She ignored his puzzled look when she neglected to give him a weapon.
"Here, carry this and use it to treat the wounded. We need to get them to the doc as soon as possible. And if you find yourself face to face with an ant in there. Fight it with your bare hands." Raquel said disdainfully, "I'm not about to let you off easy for being foolish."
When they came up on the scene, Raquel could see that Daniel wasn't exaggerating. There were disheveled bodies in the main room along with two dead ants. Scorch marks and blood lined the walls around the corpses. There was a distinct smell of gunpowder in the air. It was common scent around the base but it was especially strong here. Raquel trained her gun on the doorway to the left. She could hear the groans of the wounded. Daniel remained a step behind her. Raquel put her back to the wall and quickly peered around the corner. The sound of numerous insect feet pitter-pattering on the floor could be heard. Raquel leveled her assault carbine and fired at the oncoming ant with controlled burst. She took great pride in her trigger discipline when the ant collapsed before her. She turned and looked at Daniel, "Go!" she whispered.
Daniel quietly made his way to the fallen. He immediately began applying stimpaks and bandages to the wounded areas on his squad mates. Raquel continued to watch the perimeter while Daniel treated the wounded. She was not accustomed to this much blood. It made her feel a little woozy. The nice thing about her tribe is most of their enemies were taken at a distance and obliterated. She had seen a few sprays of blood, but her job generally didn't involve much gore. Apparently the two wounded were named Chaun and Micah. Both were wounded quite badly, but they managed to stay conscious with Daniel's help until Argyll could make it there. Daniel also made sure to assist with carrying Chaun and Micah from the building. Raquel was forced to fire pot shots at the ants to keep them at bay. This was a far more serious problem than she had originally thought.
The walk back to the infirmary allowed her time to reflect. Daniel was a coward, quite clearly. Judging from his lack of success with the mission, he probably wasn't any good with a weapon either. What she did notice was his way around field medicine. He was quite good. He was nowhere near Argyll, but given time he could replace Argyll. Perhaps not fully, but Daniel was quite a bit more mobile than Argyll was these days.
Raquel made a mental note to bring this up with Pearl tomorrow. For now, she had a date with her bed. She entered the women's barracks and immediately began to remove her armor. She let out a sigh. It had been a long day. The image of the brutalized corpses in the array didn't readily leave her conscience.
Raquel shook her head at this, too many times had they slipped up. Their numbers and resources were thin as it is. She knew sending a green unit into the array was a bad idea, but the other elders had pushed for it, given the base perimeter had to be protected at all costs… like always. The Boomers were running thin and they were growing more desperate with each day. Raquel collapsed into her bed, silently thanking her tenure. It allowed her the rights to a bottom bunk in the women's barracks.
Raquel hadn't been asleep more than an hour when the sound of howitzer and missile fire rocked the barracks. The Boomer women were all shaken awake in their bunks. Whispers ran rampant as the explosions did not relent. Raquel sat with her eyes closed listening closely, counting the explosions. Something was wrong, there had to have been at least two-dozen rounds fired. Her eyes shot awake just as the thud of hurried boots stopped at the door. Shortly after it door burst open, revealing an exasperated guard's voice.
"Arms Master! A savage has reached the gates!"
When I first came across the Boomers I found myself intrigued by their culture. It almost immediately reminded me of a more violent version of Vault 101 with their isolationist policy. They too believed they were shielding their people from the 'harshness of the wasteland'. I also saw shades of Fallout 3 in some of their characters. Raquel especially reminded me of Sarah Lyons, whom is one of my favorite Fallout characters so I wanted to try and give her more of a story. And yes, hers will be different from Sarah, I promise.
Anyways, I always felt they had great potential to be hashed out a bit more. The quests with them involved seemed to breeze by. I have yet to come across a fic involving the Boomers and see that none of their characters are available for selection. Correct me if I am wrong thought because I would like to see other people's work if it is out there.
So here I am writing fresh off of my in game inspiration. I haven't yet decided if this is going to be a romance or not. It really depends on how things go. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.
IrishRed5
