- Cover me!
A storm of plasma fire struck the place where the woman was standing just a few seconds ago and a mortar shell landed just behind the rock creating a small crater. The futile attempts to hold the line thus far have had a little effect, enemy forces still advancing at the alarming rate.
- You idiots! – an officer was yelling trying to be heard over a firefight. – They have only five man dammit! Hold the…
Nobody heard what they had to hold as the officer hit the ground with a face torn to shreds, lying broken, just like the morale of the defenders. Mortar crew was doing its best to keep the pressure on the attackers, but because the ground forces could not hold the enemy in one place long enough for the shell to land it had little effect. The enemy got closer and now the markings on their power armor were well visible – a three cogs with a sword in the middle – The Brotherhood of Steel. The figures embodied in the power armor broke the line, some of the defenders tried to run, but a precision sniper fire picked them off one by one, an invisible angel of death striking the weakest points of their power armors. Some people think that they make you practically invulnerable to any kind of damage, but the sniper seemed to know where to strike to make it pop like a can of beans. A few minutes later the gunfire died down and only the Brotherhood squad was left standing on the battlefield .
- McGrath, Taylor secure any data they had here, Wilkins check the bodies, maybe some of them are still alive. The rest of you secure the perimeter. – people nodded as knight-commander gave orders to his team.
- You can skip the bodies. – a woman in a stealth suit appeared out of nowhere. She had a sword on her back and was carrying a prototype Gauss Rifle Mk. II, the way she was holding it suggested that she saw more battles than the entire squad put together. – I know my trade, they are all dead. If that's all I'm going home.
- Yes that is all Knight Maria – a knight-commander said with a irritation in his voice. – Your assistance won't be needed from now.
She did not liked the man one bit, but she felt obligated to participate in a mop up operation. She just felt she has to do it, for those who have not lived long enough to see the day… or maybe it was just her mad quest to get revenge on a Enclave for all they did to her. She couldn't say now. Not sure if she ever could. She left without saying goodbye, the headache struck again, harder than yesterday, just like every day. Doesn't matter… Maria set course on the ruins of Springville, sun was high on the sky and the visibility was good enough to see ruins of D.C. from here. She walked that road countless times, both ways. Coming home always felt good for her, probably because it was taken away from her before... she shivered thinking of her exile again, of her first days topside, she shut down the door in her mind so those memories would stop coming back, not now, not today. Another time perhaps – she lied to herself, as she did most of the times when the memories came back. The Pip-Boy 3000s radio was set to Galaxy New Radio, as always, a sad tunes sinking from a tiny speaker in her helmet hidden beneath the hood. Sun was already setting down as Maria finally reached Springville, and continued up the hill, towards a concealed wooden door in a side of a hill, and behind that door was Vault 101 – her home. She waved at the guard, not paying attention who has the shift today, and head down to the lower levels, to her room, where she could finally wash away all the dust from the Wastelands and rest after another day of tracking and killing remnants of once bold and powerful Enclave. In a bathroom she barely recognized herself in a mirror, her young face, skin scorched by the sun and short, blonde hair all covered in that blood and dust accumulated during two months of her exile and no matter how hard she tried, she knew that she will never wash it away completely, just as Moira said – "It's like putting a glass mosaic back together – once the glass is broken, it will never be the same again, no matter how hard you try, you have to take the pieces and make them into something new." Maria got back to her room, now in her old Vault 101 jumpsuit, Gauss Mark II lying on the desk demanding attention. She started cleaning it, disassembling it, a standard maintenance check for dust around the coils and things like that. She could as well leave it until tomorrow, but she felt she needs to do it, just like every day. That was something that kept her together, a routine she could get back to, something to ease the nerves.
- You're back. – a happy voice spoke to her as she moved her eyes from a disassembled rifle at the table to a figure standing in the door. It was Amata – her best friend and an Vault 101 Overseer, another part of her story, she would never forget, yet she still could not decide if she even wanted to forget that part. – How did your run went?
- Pretty good. – Maria answered turning herself to face her friend. – It's just…
- What?
- It has been a month since we took down their Mobile Command Platform at Adams Air Force Base, and they just keep showing up, we take down one outpost, and another one shows up…
- You did not expect they will just wave a white flag after that did you? – Amata shivered at the mention of Enclave and Maria well understood why, memories of Enclave horrid experiments still fresh in women memories .
- I don't know what I've expected. – Maria said, the headache struck again, stronger than before. Amata saw a expression of pain on her friends face.
- These headaches again? Maybe you should see a doctor about it?
- Maybe I should… but first I need to take care of the rifle.
- You promise?
- Promise what? – Maria asked facing her rifle again, just like she'd forget the last sentence.
- Promise me you will go and see the doctor about those headaches.
- I promise. Sorry I'm just tired.
- That much I can see. – Amata said as she began to turn to the corridor. – Just… just be careful ok?
- I will.
About fifteen minutes later the rifle was whole again, clean and polished. Maria left her room and headed to the vault clinic. She promised Amata that she will do it, and if anything in her did not changed during her time topside it was her, being a woman of her word.
- Hi Maria, what's the matter? – a blond woman in a Vault lab coat asked.
- Alice? I didn't knew that you're holding this nights shift.
Alice – half of the competent medical personnel 101 had since the events that forced Maria out of the Vault and a fugitive from a Commonwealth. That's right – Alice was an android, a fact not many people were aware of. In fact only Maria, Doctor Hanson and Amata known Alice little secret.
- Well I do, I don't suppose you came here to chat. – Alice replied.
- No I don't , you see for some time I'm having those terrible headaches and nothing seems to be helping.
- For how long exactly?
- About… a month I think, since I got the Project Purity up and running. – Maria held something back, she have not told anyone about occasional whispers she heard right before a headaches strike, but how would she? "Oh and by the way I hear voices in my head"? No, no one would believe her and people would think she went insane.
- Well, I'm going to do a scan of your brain and we should see what's wrong. – Alice said with a ever present smile on her face.
Sometime later the tests were done, and Maria went back to her room, as Alice told her that it will take some time to make sense of the results. The next couple of days were quiet, yet the distant feeling of whispers just on the edge of her mind still accompanied Maria. Finally she decided to check on the results and went to Alice.
- So, what's your medical opinion? – she asked Alice. – How bad is it?
- Well… - Alice was hesitating to replay, like she did not know what to say. – The results are in but…
- But what? Come on Alice I'm a big girl, I can take this. – Maria asked more urgently, she just wanted to know what the problem was and be done with it.
- It's unlike anything I've seen before, the unusual brain activity you're displaying is… just incredible, I cannot find anything that would match it in any known cases on eastern coast. What I do know or suspect rather is a cause of this syndrome.
- So… what is it doctor?
- A heavy exposure to radiation… if I recall correctly you have taken an enormous does at the purifier right?
- Right… I'm not even supposed to be alive after that, seems like it was enough to make a ghoul die from a radiation poisoning. But why did you said it does not match any known cases on the eastern coast?
- Well… - Alice replied slowly – during my time in Commonwealth I did hear a rumors about a similar cases back west, but I don't know how much truth they hold.
- So, you're saying that you don't know what this problem is or how to fix it? Only that it's caused by my exposure to the radiation?
- Yes, I don't have the answers you are seeking, but perhaps some doctors on the west will know.
- West you say? Well, thanks for everything Alice.
Maria got back to her room, and she was thinking on Alice words the entire way, one word in particular keep coming back to her – "West". She begun packing up everything she would need. "It's madness!" – a little voice inside her screamed – "You can't just pack up and head to the western coast, it's suicide!"
- The answers are there, and I must know them. – she said to herself, deep within she was committed to the goal. She will go west and find the answers. A couple minutes later she was back in her armored stealth suit, her bag full of stuff she would need in her journey, rifle on her back, pistol in her holster, a sword next to the rifle. She was ready.
- Going somewhere? – Amatas voice was calm yet Maria managed to feel a sound of sadness and concern in it. – Alice told me everything you know?
- So much for the medical secret. – Maria tried to turn it into joke. – I have to do it Amata, I need to know. Besides it's not like I'm going to be gone forever, I will be back before you even notice.
- I know just… be careful will you?
- I will, I promise. – she said as she embraced her friend with a hug. They stayed like that for a while, then Maria let Amata go. – See you soon.
Maria walked through the massive Vault door, with at her side Amata. She realized that it was morning, sun was slowly climbing up to the sky, just like the day she left the Vault for the first time in her life.
- You can say many things about the surface… - Maria said watching the sun. – But you can't deny the view.
- Yeah.
The friends hug for the last time and Maria put her helmet and a hood on, walking down towards the ruins of Springville, Amata stayed on the overlook for a while longer until she lost a sight of her friend and then she walked back to the Vault.
As for Maria - A Long Road lies Ahead.