Chapter 1
Jason slowly opened his eyes and sat up, cracking his knuckles and neck as he did. He wiped his green eyes and brushed the long, jet black hair out of his face. He stretched his arms out and gave a great yawn as he turned and scooted his legs off of the dusty mattress. After a moment, he tiredly stood up, and a symphony of crackling emitted from the joints in his legs.
Three weeks, he thought to himself. It had been exactly three weeks since he faked his death, and was brought to Megaton by Reilly's Rangers. Since he'd been there, all he'd done was help Sheriff Simms. Finding a home in Megaton was easy, as he'd decided to stay in his father's old house, above the Brass Lantern restaurant. The house was large enough, though, as it had two floors and plenty of room for food and weapons. The bedroom was on the second floor, and to the left of the bedroom door was the storage room, and a chem station. Forward, was the staircase, which led down onto the first floor.
The door to the outside was indirectly forward from the bottom of the stairs, next to a column of machinery. The main room had nothing in it beside a bobblehead stand, a shelf along the stairs, a chair in the corner, and a locker next to the door. In the back of the room was a small kitchen, full of shelves and a fridge. The fridge was empty, though, as Jason only ate at either the Brass Lantern below, or Moriarty's Saloon, across the crater.
Jason yawned once more, and slowly stomped down the stairs. While he walked, a breeze gently buffetted his thin, metal shack. As the wind died down, he reached the bottom. Jason stepped over to the locked next to his door and opened it, withdrawing an old brown duster that his father had given him. Now becoming fully awake, he stuffed his arms int the sleeves and pulled to coat over his back. He snatched his big hat from a nail in the wall and opened his dor, stepping outside.
In front of Jason's house was a large, metal walkway, one of many in Megaton. His home stood on the side of a crater, and the walkways and ramps were required to reach this area. No grass grew in Megaton, as the town was built around a large, deactivated nuclear warhead. The town looked like it was built in a dessert. There was nothing attractive about it, except that it was the only town in the center of the Capital Wasteland that was safe.
Jason swept his hair back once more and pushed his hat down onto his head. He then looked up at the sky as he walked forward, toward the east side of town. The sky was blue, but occasionally, gray and green clouds would block the sky as they did today. Since the sun hadn't shone, it was relatively cool in Megaton, and the wind supplemented the temperature nicely.
Jason didn't travel very far along the rusted catwalk before being stopped by an older man.
"Good morning," greeted Jason, tipping his hat forward.
"Mornin' to you, too," said the man, taking his own hat off.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Jason asked politely.
"Heh, I guess you don't really remember me," said the old man, forcing himself to chuckle a bit. "You see, I just wanted to thank you fer what you done, freein' me and all."
"Oh, you're Marco!" said Jason, now remembering the old man. "You were at Springvale."
"I sure was," Marco replied. "And thanks to you killin' all them raiders, I'm a free man. But I really stopped you to ask your name."
"My name?" asked Jason.
"Yessir," said Marco. "We all just wanted to know our savior's name."
"Oh, well it's Sixx," answered Jason.
"Well, nice meetin' you, Sixx," said Marco, poking Jason in the chest. He then walked off, shaking his head and muttering, "Sixx, I'll 'member that name..."
After the encounter, Jason continued forward, passing Old Man Jerhico's house, and then turning right to walk down a ramp into the crater. Walking around the warhead, he strode up another ramp, and traveled along another walkway to Moriarty's Saloon, where he would eat his breakfast.
Moriarty's Saloon was also a two-story building, with the bar on floor one, and the rooms on the upper the left of the front door were to stairs leading up, and to the right was a lounging area full of tables and chairs. Directly in front of the door was the bar, and behind it, Moriarty's office. Jason sat down at his usual seat at the left end of the bar, and saw Gob walk over with his breakfast.
Gob was a goul, so not many people liked him, and Moriarty would usually hit him for talking to customers too much, but when Jason was at the bar, Gob could talk all he wanted. All gouls were subject to bullying, though, not only Gob. Gouls were humans that ventured into intense radiation pockets. Rather than dying, they lived on for hundreds of years, their bodies decomposing and slowly falling apart. Some people in town would call Gob 'zombie,' or 'skinny,' but Jason was always kind to him. In return, every time Jason came in, Gob already had his meal cooked ready to eat.
"Morning, Gob," said Jason, scooting the plate toward himself.
"Mornin' Sixx," replied Gob. "Colin made it, is it any good?"
Jason took a bite of his brahmin steak, letting the foul piece of overcooked meat sit in his mouth for a moment. "It's only good when you make it, Gob," he said finally, spitting the meat out.
"Thanks, Sixx," said Gob, Removing the plate from the bar. "Let me get you another, on the house."
"Can you do that?" asked Jason, concerned that Moriarty might punish Gob.
"No way, friend," replied Gob. "But for you, I'll risk it."
"Can't let you, Gob," said Jason. "You're gonna get out of here, you have to be alive. I'll pay twice, and you still get your tip."
Gob smiled, and turned to face the stove, beginning to cook another steak. Offering Gob a tip was a sort of code between the two. Gob was a slave to Moriarty, and wasn't free until he paid a debt of two thousand caps to him. Of course, Moriarty charged him room and board, too, so the only way to keep out of constant debt, was to leave the intitial two thousand out of his payments. When Jason offered Gob a tip, it meant he was really stashing a few hundred caps away, which in the end would be used to pay for Gob's freedom.
After a few minutes of waiting, and listening to Galaxy News Radio, Jason's meal was served to him once more by Gob. This time, though, Gob prepared the steak, rather than Moriarty.
"So, how about now?" asked Gob, pouring water into a cup.
"Better," replied Jason, stuffing the steak into his mouth. But as he looked up at Gob for a response, Gob's head was down, and he avoided Jason's eyes. Suddenly, a voice shouted from behind Jason.
"Oi, zombie!" it shouted. "What did I tell yea about lookin' me customers in their eye?"
"S-sorry, Colin," Gob muttered, turning away.
"What in the hell did yea just tell me?" he shouted again, pointing a finger at Gob. "Me name's Mister Moriarty, zombie, and don't you forget it!" As Colin Moriarty took a seat at the stool next to Jason, he snatched the plate from the young man.
"Good morning, Moriarty," said Jason, slightly impatient. "You know, stealing your customer's food isn't a good way to earn their money."
"Ay, blow it out your ass, Jason," Moriarty spat, waving Jason away.
"Jason? but my name's-" Jason began, but was quickly interrupted by Colin.
"Aye, I know who you are, lad," Moriarty said. "As did I know your father, and his father before 'em. You boys all look alike, you know."
"I see," replied Jason, nodding his head. "You won't tell anyone, right?"
After a few moments of chewing on Jason's steak, he finally answered. "I'll get right to the point, lad. I liked your granddad, and your father's an okay fella, but we never made close friends. So, don't take it personal."
"Take what personal?" Jason asked nervously.
Holding a hand out, moriarty replied, "Wait a moment, lad, and let me explain. I'm an old man, and an old man's gotta get by. When I see an opportunity, I take it. Since I like your family, though, I'll be nice about it, and give yea the good news first. Talon Company knows who y'are, laddie."
"How is that good news?" Jason snapped. "How do they know?" Jason became infuriated. He'd need to start all over, now. He couldn't fake his death, this time, though. He would have to disappear completely.
"Well," said Moriarty. "I told 'em. That's the good news. Here comes the bad news. Yea remember what I said about takin' opportunities? Well here it is: I told those mercenaries you were here! And they're comin' up right now, laddie!"
Jason jumped from his stool, and slammed Colin's head forward, onto the bar. Holding Colin down, he growled, "What the hell, Moriarty!? How could you do this?"
"Yea see, lad, turns out havin' the offspring of a Brotherhood Elder is worth three thousand caps here in D.C.."
Jason threw the old man to the ground, and drew a knife from inside his duster. As he grabbed Colin by the collar, three Talon Company mercs came crashing in through the door. They all had shaved heads, and carried automatic rifles. Each also wore black body armor, all marked with the white talon insignia.
As the mercs entered, everyone in the saloon panicked, and looked for a place to hide. In the lounge, people hid behind tables and chairs. Gob ducked under the bar. Releasing Moriarty, Jason stood slowly to meet his adversaries.
"Hey there, pretty boy," one said, sidestepping around Jason's flank. "You're worth quite a lot here in the wastes."
"How'd you get past the Regulators in these parts?" Jason asked, turning to face him.
"We got 'em in their sleep," the merc replied.
"Why not do the same with me?" Jason wondered aloud.
The merc then answered, "It's more fun this-a-way."
Jason then looked at Moriarty, who was still on the ground. "What about him?" he asked nodding at Colin. "You even gonna pay him?"
"You know," the merc said impatiently. "You got a lot of questions, for a dead guy. You plannin' on talking this much after we shoot you?"
"No," replied Jason. "But as a matter of fact, you won't be shooting me."
"Is that right?" the merc asked as his companions began to laugh. They stopped suddenly, though, as the door flew open again. It wasn't a merc entering this time, though. It was Sheriff Harden, sporting his double barrel shotgun. He dispatched one of the soldiers immediately, blasting a cavity into the man's chest with his shotgun. At the same time, Gob arose from behind the counter, unloading his .32 revolver on the second merc. With the first two dispatched, Jason thrusted his knife into the hand of the third, forcing the man to drop his gun. Now outnumbered an injured, the Talon mercenary threw his hands up and dropped to his knees, shouting, "Please don't kill me!" and "I was only trying to scare you!"
"My ass," snorted Harden, loading two more shells into his gun. "Now we gotta waste our bullets on your sorry hide."
"Hold on, sheriff," said Jason, patting Harden on the shoulder. "I wanna talk to him." Jason then sunk down to the Mercenary's level, holding his knife against the man's throat. "So, do you want to tell me where you guys are?"
"I don't know where the main base is," the merc whimpered. "They've always kept me in the field."
"You look scared," said Jason. "Especially for someone who was just threatening to kill me."
"I-I told you, I dunno where our base is," The merc repeated.
"And you can't even tell a lie?" asked Jason, chuckling. "So much for the feared Talon Company. So here's what's happening: I'm gonna cut on you until you tell me where you guys are hiding."
The merc refused to answer. Forcing the mercenary onto the ground, Jason held the man's face down, slowly carving a gash into his forehead. The merc began to scream, and after Jason finished the cut, the merc began to talk.
"We're in Germantown!" he screamed. "We're in the police station!"
"You see?" said Jason, withdrawing his knife. "That's all you had to say. No you're gonna go back, and you're gonna tell 'em that I said The Regulators are coming to shut them down. Got it?"
The Merc nodded quickly, wiping the blood from his face afterward.
"Now," said Jason, pointing at the door. "Go."
Without saying anything, the merc scrambled to his feet, and dashed out the door.
"Nice work fightin' off that bastard, laddie," said Moriarty, slowly standing upward. His balance didn't last long, however, because as he stood, Jason spun around and punched him right in the jaw, knocking Colin out cold.
"I guess it's lucky I showed up in time," said Sheriff Harden.
"Yeah, it is," replied Jason, scratching his head.
"Guess you're goin' after those guys?" Harden asked.
"Yeah," said Jason, shaking his head.
"So are you really the Elder's son? Is that how you interrogated that guy? It's because you're a paladin?"
"Yes, I am. And yes, it is."
"Well I'll be damned," said Harden, smiling. "No wonder you were able to whoop all them raiders. Talon Company's more organized than raiders, though. You can't take 'em all on your own."
"My father was friends with Sonora Cruz, the leader of the Regulators," said Jason. "They fought Talon back then, so maybe I can talk them into doing it again."
"You gonna stick around here, or jump into the fighting?" asked Harden.
"I don't have a choice," said Jason. "If word is out that I'm alive, I might as well get back to work. Right now I have to head to the Regulator HQ and tell them what's happening."
"All right, then," said Harden. "I'd go with you, but I got a town to run." He then offered his hand to Jason. "It's been nice workin' with you."
Jason took the sheriff's hand. "Likewise," he said.
"And just so you know," Simms added. "If you want a little help, come by my place before you leave, I got something for you."
"I certainly will," raplied Jason, pushing through the front door. He walked out and backtracked through town, returning to his house. Multiple thoughts flew through his mind as Jason walked along the rickety walkways. He wondered if the Brotherhood would come to Megaton to reclaim him, or if more Talons would show up and destroy the town. He also thought about the regulators. Would they fight Talon Company?
The regulators were certainly a small organization, no bigger than they were twenty-five years ago. They acted as a sort of police in the wastes, killing and imprisoning people like raiders or slavers. Their leader was a woman named Sonora Cruz, who would be in her fifties by now. The Regulator Headquarters was a small fort out in the northeast, close to Canterbury Commons and the scrapyard, far North of D.C..
Jason didn't waste time when he returned to his house. The moment he entered, he quickly strode over to the locker next to his front door, snatching the handle and swinging the hatch open. He took from inside his father's old ten millimeter pistol, which he brought with him from Vault 101 twenty-five years ago. Next to it was a small plastic bag, which held five full clips for the handgun. Jason then opened the bottom hatch of his locker, and grabbed a long object from inside, which was wrapped in a red blanket. He pulled at and unfolded part of the blanket, revealing the front barrel of his pump shotgun. He tore the blanket entirely, and then reached back into the locker, grabbing a handful of twelve gauge shells. After loading the shotgun and stuffing a box of shells from the locker into his coat pocket, Jason slid the shotgun into a long holster on his back, and his pistol into a holster on his waist.
After arming himself, Jason exited his home once more, turning left and descending down a thin metal ramp toward the gate. Rather than heading for the gate, however, Jason turned left once more, and walked straight toward Harden Simms' house. He approached the storm door and beat his fist upon it, wondering what this gift from Harden was. After a moment of waiting, the dark skinned sheriff opened the door and stepped outside with a rifle in his hands.
"Hello, Harden," said Jason, tipping his hat forward. "Thought I'd come tell you I'm about to go."
"Good thing you stopped by, then," replied Harden. "You see I've got this rifle for you." he then presented the bolt action rifle in his hands. "It's my Pa's old hunting rifle."
Jason took the rifle and inspected it, pulling the bolt back and knocking on the wooden stock. "It's in great shape," he said finally. "You sure you won't need it?"
"No way, friend," said Harden, smiling. "Heirlooms don't mean shit to me, and now I got some assault rifles. That old thing is powerful, though, and it shoots straight enough."
"Thank you," replied Jason. "It certainly will come in handy, I'm sure of it."
"Oh, before I forget," Harden said quickly, sliding a box out of his own coat pocket. "Take these .32 rounds, some ammo for the rifle."
"Thanks again," said Jason, accepting the ammunition. "I guess I'd better go. If you need to contact me, I'll be making stops at Arefu, Bigtown, and maybe Meresti."
"Duly noted," replied Sheriff Simms, waving at Jason.
"Later," said Jason, waving back and jogging to the giant metal gate. Pushing on it, Jason forced the great hinged slate forward, allowing him to walk out of Megaton and into the Capital Wasteland.
"What's good, children! This is Three-dog, awhooo, and you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! Time for some news, folks. So today, I get word that a couple of mercs from Talon Company came into Megaton lookin' for someone. Turns out that someone is our very own Jason! He's alive, children, and this old dog couldn't be happier right now. As a matter of fact, he's been hidin' in Megaton this whole time, and if you thought that was crazy, wait 'till you here this: he was living under the guise of a fella named Sixx! That's right, kiddies, Sixx, the lone wanderer from Megaton is in fact Jason, paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel!"
"When the Talons moved in on Megaton, that P.O.S. barkeep, Colin Moriarty, sold our friend out to 'em. They got more than they bargained for when they tried to take on Jason, though, because when they did, the whole situation ended in a gunfight right in Moriarty's Saloon! Jason and his friend, the sheriff, whooped Talon ass, and now, from what I hear, Jason's left Megaton. Why he's gone, we don't know, but I sure am glad that he's all right!"
"This is some good news we sorely needed, especially with all that's been going on. 101, congrats on your kid bein' all good. And kid, good work takinng those Talons out. Thanks for listening, children! this is Three-dog, awhooo, and you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! We're radio free wasteland, and we're here for you!"