Prologue

December 4, 2288: 408 days after leaving Vault 111

Nathan Laurie was a soldier. A survivor. The survivor. Well over a year ago, Nate emerged from Vault 111 after being cryogenically frozen for a little over 210 years. His whole world was ripped asunder and he was thrust into a new one where it was a constant uphill struggle of survival. He had fought mutated abominations of man and beast. He had combated the elements, synthetic humanoids, men clad in old-world power armour and even hordes of literal psychotic killing machines.

And now he was pinned in a ruined home by a gang of raiders with pipe weapons.

Go figure.

Nate gritted his teeth as a round struck the edge of the ruined wall he was crouched behind, loose flecks of concrete skittering off of his olive drab combat armour. He looked to his companion, a dark skinned man clutching to a laser musket and similarly dressed with the exception of an iconic minuteman hat.

"Y'know, it's starting to get tedious fighting these fellas, Pres," he said, a wry grin on his face. Preston Garvey chuckled dryly, tipping back his hat as more of their cover was chipped away.

"You say that every time, General," the minuteman replied, cranking up his weapon. One. Two. Three. Four cranks. The weapons hummed, casting a dull glow to their surroundings. "And every time I tell you the same thing. The wasteland will never be without raiders."

"I know, I know. Won't stop me from having a good bitch about it though." Nate grunted as he hefted the anti-tank rifle in his hands, the servos in his exoskeleton somewhat lessening the load. He slapped in a fresh mag and the metallic fingers of his cybernetic pulled back the slide. "Cait and the others should have attacked by now. Where the hell are they?"

Preston shrugged and stole a quick peek over the top of their cover. Their battlefield was no different to the rest of the Commonwealth. Ruined buildings with boarded up windows lined the roads and rusted husks of once gleaming cars filled the cracked and broken streets. And currently using the cars as cover was a dozen or so men and women, each dressed in crude armour scavenged from whatever they could find and grasping makeshift weapons in their weathered hands.

Preston ducked back behind the wall as a fresh volley of gunfire rippled from the raiders, the bullets burying themselves into the mortar and brickwork of the old corner store they were hiding in. Nate wetted his dust caked lips and flicked down his goggles, cycling through the vision modes. The heartbeat sensor clicked to life and he pulled himself from the wall. He did an about turn and raised his rifle, resting his cheek against the stock as he aimed at the wall.

His vision was swapped with a dozen heartbeats, each one pulsating in rapid succession. He adjusted his aim as he settled on the closest one. His training kicked in as he focused his breathing.

Inhale through the nose, deeply, expanding my stomach for a count of four. One. Two. Three. Four. Hold the breath. Slowly exhale. Hold the empty breath.

He squeezed the trigger. The rifle boomed and the shockwave sent dust and debris skittering away. Nate's exoskeleton stabilized him enough to stop him from being sent sprawling onto his rear as the round tore through brick and mortar. Through the sizeable hole left by the round, he could see the raider being ripped off her feet and her body shattering from the bullet. Blood spewed around her, painting the wrecks and her companions alike in her fluid.

The sheer brutality of his kill brought about a lull in the gunfire as the raiders realized how far over their heads they were here.

PZCHOOM!

A raider suddenly glowed as he was struck in the chest by a beam of energy, his body simply evaporating into ashes. He was scattered to the winds before he even had a chance to strike the broken ground. Preston ducked back behind the wall and cranked his musket again.

"You'll pay for that, bleeder!" A raider clad in what looked to be parts of a shopping cart screamed. He put a hand on the bonnet of a car and was mid-leap before he was suddenly snatched from the air, a blossom of blood puffing from his body. At the far end of the street, Nate could see the distinct reflection of a sniper scope.

It seemed McCready was in position. And if he was shooting...

"Oi, ya' bunch of pansy arsed fuckers! Are ya' ready for the thrashin' of ah lifetime?!" A thick Irish accent cut through the air as a bloodthirsty redhead wielding a spiked baseball bat barrelled out of a nearby building and into the confused gaggle of raiders.

Cait swung her bat around and a raider's faced crunched underneath it. She laughed with a terrifying amount of glee as she kicked out with her leg, striking another in the groin. He doubled over before being promptly sent reeling as the bat connected with his face.

Nate breathed a sigh of relief as Cait's team stormed out of their cover. Piper was sliding over a crumpled car, crashing into the raider on the other side. She unloaded two bullets from her 10mm pistol into the downed woman, quickly turning around and waving a synth in a trenchcoat forward.

"Come on, Nicky! You don't want to miss out on all the fun, do you?" Nick advanced much more cautiously than the other two, sticking to cover where ever he could find it. He popped out from behind the car and squeezed the trigger with a thin, almost delicate metal finger. A raider wielding a machete crumpled to the ground.

"Y'know, Piper, that kind of bravado is going to get you into a whole mess of trouble one day," he scolded gently as he passed her. "Especially if you go charging in like that."

"Ah, Nicky, you worry too much in your old age!" She giggled with a light punch to the synth's shoulder.

Nate turned to look at his friend, gesturing with his head to the ensuring slaughter. With a firm nod, the pair of them leapt into the fray.

Time to clean up the Commonwealth.

A/N: Welcome everyone to my first ever fanfic! I, OllyWollyJaPollyWolly (a mouthful, I know,) hope that you will enjoy this story as it progresses along. There are many (and I mean many) Fallout fanfics out there, but I hope to be able to provide a unique story for you all.

Please, leave a review and any feedback. Your comments will help me develop as a writer!