Fallout: New Order

So, my first Fanfic... based on Fallout 3. I honestly wouldn't have guessed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout 3. It belongs to Bethesda Games studio.

So, I hope you enjoy. I doubt you will, though.

Prologue: Temptation.

Date: March 22nd, 2277

The wasteland: a truly barren wilderness, and so very dangerous. Vast stretches of bare ground and rubble are the main consistencies. The radiated water, sickly coloured and leaving a deep stench in the air, is all too common. Ruins of towns of a civilization where lives were once lived lie strewn along the aberrant country. Corpses of humans, fleshless dogs and mutated bears are seen in every acre. Wormwood winds blow through the hummocks of detritus. Confirmed, a desolate place to be.

And yet, the human race clings to survival, despite everything they have done to hinder themselves from this. Like all species, adaption is intrinsic. Their answer to the disaster that occurred was so typical: as if it was second nature to them. The colossal underground vaults provided infallible protection against the radiation – but the human race could only be contained for so long. Eventually they emerged from the metal enclosures to see what had become of their proud world and, well... such pride no longer existed, apart from those who refused to accept the catastrophe. The main option taken was to create fortifications in key areas of what is now known as 'The Capital Wasteland' and expand from these: the more prosperous of these are Rivet City, the Citadel and Megaton. Separate factions are created continuously as makeshift protectors, each with their own goals. Some travel across the badlands, trading E&A (Equipment and Ammo) to make it through each day. And a very large chunk of them still lie within the vaults, cowering from the hinterlands above – but not all. Some wish for freedom out in the open, for the thrill of near-death on a daily basis. It is from one of these vaults that four of these people emerge, like every wanderer before them, trying to make a name for themselves...

Time: 7:29am.

The escapade was one of good fortune: handed to them, in all honesty. As the darkness became mere shadows in the light, a familiar sound for the barren landscape came into pitch – the footsteps of a group of wasteland inhabitants. However the footsteps belonged to a very dangerous) set of mercenaries – the Talon Company Mercs: to see them so far away from D.C was a rare sight. From the broken fragments of rock emerged four of the darkened-jungle coloured, psychopathic warriors, armed with Chinese assault rifles, combat knifes and frag grenades. To see a group of these assailants so far out from the burnt out remains of D.C was also a rare sight, but it didn't matter to them - they were here to do one thing: seek, destroy and ransack.

The metal grilled door of the vault opened and closed with echoes, in the space of seconds. The four militants rushed forward to the vault's blast door. The head of the group flicked the switch, and the cog-shaped gate monotonously shifted backwards, and to the right. They slowly entered, with guns raised and senses sharpened, taking in the ramshackle appearance of the entrance chamber. There was nothing of value to scavenge from the first room: the four of them took their position at the first automatic door: it shifted upwards. The Mercs advanced, taking in the long corridor for any signs of life.

If they hadn't been so wary of human movement, they might of noticed the tripwire stretching across the open space about a foot off the ground, an inch away from the door. And if they had noticed this, they would've noticed the bottlecap mine connected to it. But they didn't. The first stepped over it unintentionally, but the second dragged his feet. In the silence, there was a 'click'.

BANG.

The Merc who stepped in first was flung off his feet, and sent crashing into the right-hand wall about six feet down. The two who hadn't entered got sent back the way they came – one ended up impaled on the leg of an overturned table. As for the unfortunate one who tripped it... the less said about him the better. The sudden shock of the explosion left as quickly as it had arrived, and a still silence swept upon the vault. It didn't last long: voices called out from within the first corridor:

'Jackpot!'

'Keep it down! They might not be dead yet.'

'I can see what they ate, of course they're fucking dead!' Laughter rang out.

One of the doors cranked open, and a man with a fair amount of muscle stepped out, a .32 pistol toted. He jogged over to the nearest Merc, and promptly shot him in the head (just in case). He looked up from this, and retched slightly. 'Thats some mess. Hey Shanks, you don't wanna see this. It's sick to look at.

'I'll be fine. I'm not a pussy like you. And if it's sick, stop looking at it.'

'Lay off of Browning, will you?' came a third voice from the hallway, 'There are guts sprayed all over the place. It is disgusting, and it's hard to draw your eyes away.'

'Yeah' came the first voice, and a figure began to emerge from the shadows, 'Whats up with you, Shanks? You don't see me insulting everybody in sight.'

'Tch. Sorry' Browning walked over to the final Merc and looked down. 'Seriously Brown, I-'

'Forget it' he said shortly. 'Get their armour on, it looks mostly intact.'

'Sweet! They've even got helmets!' said Delaney, and they set to work, replacing their Vault jumpsuits with the resilient Talons armour. The helmets had darkened visors, making it impossible to tell each other apart – except the fourth, Dunway, who was black.

James Delaney, who wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier and preferred to punch first and think straight later, looked even more dangerous with a rifle. 'At last!' He aimed it at nothing in particular 'I've read about these babies – people are gonna be running scared from me now!'

'Y'know, most people we meet are gonna be armed too, dumbass,' said Dunway, 'And that isn't a BB gun; if you hit us by mistake there isn't a second chance.'

'Least I can shoot straight, Dunway. You couldn't hit a radroach if it was already dead.'

'Yeah, like that's a big target. I'd like to see you hit one of those from 50 fe-'

'Shut the fuck up, both of you,' came Shanks, 'We aren't gonna survive out there if you're like this.'

'We'll be fine. We're not pussies like you,' said Delaney mockingly.

'Fuck off, asshole.'

'Or what, Shanks? You'll shoot me? Oh, I wanna see this, this'll be fun...'

'Seriously Delaney, if you don't lay off us, you getting left behind,' warned Browning.

'Same to you Browning: what're you gonna do?'

'Three guns against one,' he said coolly.

There was a short silence, then James holstered his weapon and walked to the open vault blast door, muttering 'Pussies' before he stepped into the cavern.

Time: 7:37

The metal grilled, semi-boarded door slowly swung open, and in swept the long-awaited sun. Even with the visors, the four former vault dwellers shielded their eyes. They had never seen the outside world before - and now they knew what had become of the planet. They hadn't expected any better though – their guardians and mechanical servants had told them enough about that. In the north-eastern distance was the remnant of a highway with the rising sun between its 'legs'. There was nothing else but dust swept rocks and a couple of nearby skeletons.

'So what do you suggest, Brown?' came Shanks' question.

The former clicked his tongue and over to and up a small mound nearby. The slight higher ground didn't help: there wasn't anything definite to see. All he could make out was a darkened mass of shapes beyond the highway.

'There could be a settlement past the highway over there,' he said, pointing in said direction 'I can't see anything else worthwhile. That's my suggestion, but I'm open to other options.'

'Fine by me.'

'I'm up for it, just try to stop me,' said Delaney, 'Lead the way Brownie, I'm behind ya!'

'Unanimous,' muttered Dunway.

'Alright then,' said the apparent leader, 'let's move. Stay sharp, fellas, anything could be out here...'

Like I said; the mere prologue.

Pretty pathetic when I look back at it. Anyway, rate and review (if you want).

Chapter 2 will be coming as soon as possible.