Knight in Power Armor
Chapter 2: Welcome to Megaton
A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed my story so far. I've made some corrections, so if the urge strikes you; feel free to check them out. Also, a warning in the event that it matters; there will be foul language used in this chapter.
See That Guy: Hopefully I've shone more emotion in this chapter, but for his initial reaction, he's prior military, he makes sure he can defend himself first, and then start to worry about what happened. Same idea for ambush reactions.
More or Less anonymous: Those are the only two disciplinary actions in which he got demoted. You (as in the reader) don't know what other trouble he's gotten into, nor how much of it may or may not have been his fault. Just FYI.
Normal story
"Speech"
'Thought'
(Authors note)
After walking for a few minutes, it started to dawn on me; I was in Fallout 3! I was in a damned video game! How the FUCK did I wind up in a god damned video game! I'd seen more than my share of combat, I'd been shot at, I'd been shot, I've killed and I've done more than a few things I'm not proud of, but this was starting to freak me out, and I don't get freaked out. A little squeamish at a body torn apart by an explosive, maybe, but I never freaked out. Live fire training took care of that, mostly. Robby seemed to notice my discomfort.
"Sir, are you alright? You've been walking back and forth for the last 45 seconds." It said. Almost in a concerned tone. Strange, for a computer, but it did seem to have a since of humor, so.
"I think… I think I've started to come to terms with my being… here."
"I take it that's not going well, sir?"
"No. Why? Why, out of all the people on Earth, why me?"
"You're personality prof…"
"Don't give me that shit! There has to have been someone else that matches what you need. Why the FUCK me!" Robby was silent for a few seconds and when he did talk, it was in a hushed voice.
"I honestly don't know, sir." Before I could respond, I heard something running towards me. Training and experience took over. I turned, raised my rifle, sighted the enemy, a mole rat, aimed, and fired off a burst of bullets. The rifle must have been in very good condition for Fallout; all three rounds hit square in the head. It didn't explode, like in the game, but it did drop dead. I walked over, but recoiled quickly. It smelled worse than the sewer that I had just stopped smelling. I took a deep breath.
'Get a grip Jason. You're here. It's fucked up, it's insane, but I can get through it. I can use the fact that I know what's going on to my advantage.'
"Ok. I think… I think I'm good, for now."
"Very good to hear, sir! Now, if I may make a suggestion, shall we continue on? There may be more of those critters lingering about out here." About 15 minutes later, I caught my first look at Megaton. Like everything else I'd seen, it looked straight out of the game. If this kept up, I might start thinking this is the game. Either that or the most wacked out dream I'd ever had. Thinking on that, I pinched myself to test that theory. Felt real enough to me.
"I presume that means you're really here, sir?" I stared at the Pipboy.
"Seems like. How'd you know what I did?"
"I have connections into your surface nerves, sir. From those I can detect your level of health and injuries. Right down to something as small as a pinch. How else did you think I had accurate information for the status screen?"
"I've been trying to wrap my head around too many other things to think about that. Makes sense though." Shortly thereafter, I found myself in front of Megaton, being yelled at.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" I looked up to see Stockholm pointing his gun at me.
"This is new. INFORMATION, TRADE, AND A PLACE TO SPEND THE NIGHT." I yelled back.
"KEEP YOUR WEAPON HOLSTERED!" I heard the sound of an engine revving, and the doors opening. I slung the AK across my back, barrel pointed down and right. A trick I learned so I could draw my weapon quickly. It seemed that whatever the game did to make the weapons just sit there didn't work, I had tried earlier.
"Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe. We promise."
"Uh huh, I'm sure." I said as I walked in. Once inside, when I saw Lucas Sims, I hesitated. This would be the first time I actually had a conversation with another human since arriving here. Yelling at Stockholm didn't count.
"I'll be damned. Another newcomer."
'Oh, you have got to be kidding me.'
"Name's Lucas Sims, town sheriff. And mayor too, when the need arises. I don't know why, but I like you boy! Something tells me you're all right. So welcome to Megaton! Just holler if you need something." I had to work to keep from face-palming, straight out of the game in every aspect. I decided to skip some of the game forced pleasantries and cut to the chase earlier.
"Thank you sheriff. Could you point me in the direction of someplace to trade for supplies and information, and also a place to rest?"
"Moria sells all kinds of stuff at her place, Craterside Supply. Take a guess where it is? Heh heh heh heh. As for information, you could try Moriarty's. Just be careful. Moriarty is NOT your friend, no matter what he may say, so don't fall for his lies. And for god's sake, don't trust the man. Nova at Moriarty's would be able to get you a bed. Anything else you need?"
"That should do me. Thanks sheriff, I'll let you continue on with your business now."
"Sure thing. Take care, now."
"Will do. You too." I walked past Sims and started up towards Moria's.
'Way too similar to the game. How did, what-ever-there-name-was, know? It's too damn close for it to be a coincidence. Argh, I'm just going to drive myself crazy thinking about all this shit, best to focus on the here and now.' I leaned against the wall to Craterside Supply, pulled out my bag of caps and counted them up, to make sure I had enough for a bed, if need be. 375 caps, didn't take as long to count as you might think. I entered the shop and noticed that the armored 101 suit wasn't there, meaning the lone wanderer had already been by.
"Well look at you. You seem much better equipped than most people that come in here. Looking to sell some of it?" Moira, cheerful as ever.
"Ah, no thank you, I think I'll hold onto this a little while longer."
"No problem. If you change your mind though, I'll give you a good deal. That stuff's in great condition."
"I'll keep that in mind. Do you know of any work that needs to be done around here? I mean for someone as well equipped as I am."
"Not really, no. I used to, but a nice young girl from a nearby vault is helping me with that."
'A girl? Why am I surprised? Perfectly reasonable for the lone wanderer to be female.'
"From the vault you say? Could you tell me more about her?"
"Why? You looking to settle a score or something?"
"No, no. Nothing like that. Let's just say that, well, she and I have similar goals, should have similar goals, or will, should have similar… I don't know. It's complicated."
"Sure sounds like it. When I see her again I'll point her in your direction. Ah, what was your name again?"
"My name? It's, ah, just call me, Knight."
"Knight? So where's your sword?" I patted the rifle on my back.
"Modern times, modern weapons. I should be around town for a short while, can't say where exactly."
"You got enough caps for a room at Moriarty's for that long?"
"I don't think that long, but I'm sure I'll find a place." I set a few caps on the counter. "Thanks for the info Moria. See you around."
"What's the caps for?"
"For pointing that vault girl in my direction. I like to thank those who help me by helping them, and caps usually help in all kinds of situations. Take care."
"You too." I left the store and checked the time on my Pip-boy; 1446 (2:46) lunch time. I headed to the common building, found a little corner bed that was unused, and pulled out something that looked like a poor imitation of steak. I took a bite, and almost regretted it. Fortunately for me, I had eaten plenty of MREs, so I knew how to eat without tasting much. I think I preferred the MREs, though. After eating, I took apart the AK-47 and cleaned it with some rags I found lying around. With that, I decided that I had had enough for one day, gathered my gear so that I would wake up if someone disturbed it, and settled in for a nights rest, hoping that no one would stab me in the back to grab my gear, and praying that all this was just a terrible nightmare, somehow.
A/N: And there it is. Hopefully I've worked out some of the kinks. To those who want to see something specific happen in the story, give me a shout out. You just might see it happen. Of course, I reserve the right to say 'no.'