Disclaimer: This story is written using the setting and the characters of Bethesada's Fallout franchise, and as such, they all belong to Bethesada. Original characters, fictional locations, and such are all entirely made up and any resemblance to other people/places is purely coincidental. If you find a reason to sue me, proceed. Just be warned, I'm virtually penniless and have a cute little puppy that relies on me for food and a warm place to sleep. A puppy, people. Don't be cruel.
Chapter Two - Buffer Zone
A Story set in Fallout 76
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord, thy God, is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9, the Holy Bible
"When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage, give me the strength to save a life, whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child before it is too late, or save an older person from the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout, quickly and efficiently to put the fire out. I want to fill my calling, to give the best in me, to guard my friend and neighbor, and to protect his property. And if according to Your will, I must answer Death's call, bless with your protecting hand, my family one and all."
The Firefighter's Prayer
"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared."
George S. Clason, American Author
Two weeks since that day when the forty-six survivors made their home at Charleston Fire Department, recuperated after the long flight from Morgantown, and subsequently decided to reform the Fire Breathers.
The Fire Breathers. The elite division of the Responders, the original Responders that had fallen to the Scorched Plague. Those brave men and women who had given it their all Who had died after spilling sweat and blood, paying the highest of costs. Their sacrifice, the survivors had agreed, would not be in vain. They would finish what the Fire Breathers began, they swore, and honor them by putting an end to the Scorched Plague and the Scorchbeasts that had ravaged and hunted the residents of Vault 76.
The new Responders were scattered as well, the idea behind that name dead once more. But not for long, if they had their way. And they were damn well going to have it their way.
With Anthony and a few others away down south, taking the final exam for the Fire Breathers, it had fallen on Harry to hold down the fort and maintain order as well as direct the rebuilding. There was just so much to do, so much to get through. Even though he had been given the rank of Lieutenant, Harry still found himself relying on Adam Campbell, the former Security Chief of Vault 76, and Ibrahim Nassar, one of Vault 76's best medical practitioners, for advice and support.
Campbell, despite the issues he still struggled with, had been put in charge of the Armory and was being tasked with maintaining their supplies, as Dr. Nassar believed serving as quartermaster would help Campbell work through his problems by giving him something external to focus on.
Dr. Nassar, on the other hand, had taken the initiative in establishing a field hospital in the parking lot outside with Dr. Kathryn Price, using tents and training the few volunteers they had in basic medical care. Last he had checked in with them, they were planning on setting up another tent for triage duty.
A few were on the roof, working with their chief scientist, Jack Foster, and his brother Steve in establishing hydroponics farms, focusing primarily on what little seeds they had left over from Vault 76; mainly lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, but there were also a mix of other things being grown as well, such as beans and radishes and spinach along with herbs like chives and basil. There were also plots in between the hydroponics tents filled with dirt they had carried from behind the Fire Department building, to grow things like corn, silt beans, and mutfruits. Every resource would be critical, after all.
The water supply, Harry was happy to report to everyone, would suit them for the time being. The Protectrons had managed to maintain a fully supply of the precious resource and with the water purifier he and his engineers had managed to cobble together, they were able to produce a steady supply of purified water.
Though, Harry would have to talk to Anthony once he was back about making a quick trip to Vault 76 and retrieving a Water Chip or two.
That would speed up the process much faster and ensure they would have all the purified water they could ever need. Speaking of Anthony, he wondered how his newly-minted leader and his crew were doing in Belching Betty. Of the forty-six that had survived so far, just over half of them had stepped up and volunteered to join the Fire Breathers. Twenty four candidates in all. The Protectrons had been buzzing with excitement at that, Harry chuckled as he remembered them being informed of how many volunteers they had now.
The training had taken a week to go through. Learning all the procedures, all the signs and signals they'd need to know. Thankfully, many of them were already similar to what Vault Dwellers would have had to learn in order to be made security guards.
The physical exam, on the other hand... The Protectrons had reported that it would be taking place in Charleston. That didn't sit well with the survivors and it took the better part of a day for two of their expert programmers Amanda Martin and Scott Coleman to reprogram the Protectrons and rewrite the Fire Breathers' own programming.
Instead of running through Charleston, they had established a new training course around the Rusty Pick after clearing it of the Super Mutants that had infested it, with only five of their own getting injured in the process.
It would have been worse, much worse, if Rodrigo Rodriguez hadn't been there.
The sharpshooter had managed to pick off most of the muties, while keeping the rest suppressed just enough to allow his fellow survivors to close in on them and flank the bastards. Harry peered out the window then, catching sight of the Hispanic sharpshooter supervising the construction from his position atop the building, his trusty rifle in his arms.
In any case, with the new training course set at the Rusty Pick, which had also been converted into an outpost and supply depot, the majority of the candidates had passed.
The final part, though... They had thought about reprogramming that test as well but Anthony had put his foot down. Instead, he had gone through the final exam with Martin and Coleman's help, redesigning the parameters of the test to be as thorough as possible without being far too difficult. A quick survey at the mine had revealed the remains of the last few candidates and some preliminary investigation had turned up that the final exam had been considered too difficult by some of the original Fire Breathers.
Still, Harry couldn't imagine it being too hard for the likes of Alex Caruso, Michael Sorrentino, Anna Davenport, William Bryant, and Elizabeth Moore, nor for the man leading all of them, Anthony J. Barrett. Those six, he knew... Everyone knew... Were the best of them all, the toughest they had to offer.
It wasn't until night began to fall that Harry heard excited chattering outside, sat up from his desk and made his way out to see what was going on. A crowd had already gathered just up ahead. Moving through the rear of the building, just past the defunct water fountain, Lieutenant Reinhardt soon came face to face with his superior.
"Captain," Harry grinned, happy to see every one of them back, looking banged up but still alive and kicking. "I take it you all passed?"
"Flying colors, Harry." Anthony chuckled. He looked around then, then back at Harry. "Listen, can you get the team leaders together? It's been three days now, I want to see where we're at now."
Lieutenant Reinhardt nodded, "Absolutely. Decontamination is up and running, so report there first. We'll be waiting in the meeting room."
The better part of an hour passed before Anthony opened the door and showed himself.
It had originally housed the Fire Breathers' master terminal along with a huge mess. During the clean-up, the programmers had relocated the terminal to a corner while everyone else had fixed the room up. It hadn't taken long for Anthony and Harry to claim the room as their conference center where they'd hold debriefings and hand out the jobs.
Anthony looked around the room quickly, noticing that everyone had indeed come. Behind him walked in the rest of the new Fire Breathers, the men and women that had taken the final test with him.
"All right," Anthony began as he seated himself at the head of the table, while his crew went over to one side of the room, leaning against the wall. "Harry?"
Lieutenant Reinhardt slid over a report he had complied while waiting for his superior. "In the last three days, things have stabilized somewhat. We're presently split into four groups for the time being. Campbell," Harry gestured toward the former security chief," suggested the idea of establishing departments to to compartmentalize the process, keep things simple."
The Captain went through the report quickly. "Smart idea. Was thinking of doing the same thing but you all beat me to it, so that saves us a bit of time. Got names for your departments yet?"
Harry shook his head. "Not yet, no. We wanted to run it by you first."
Anthony nodded. "All right, first things first... Reinhardt, you're already our Chief Engineer, so you're sticking with that for now. I'm thinking Department of Engineering?"
His Lieutenant hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Actually, Captain... I've got mechanics and programmers on the team, and we've been dealing with a lot of things beyond what, uh, engineers deal with. We've been making repairs to the automations around the station and bringing as much of the terminals back online, so... I was thinking, Department of Technology?"
"Sounds good," Anthony conceded him the point and scribbled down the name. He looked at Dr. Kathryn Price next. "You'll be our Chief Medical Officer, all right? You were one of the chief doctors in Vault 76, anyway." Dr. Price nodded in agreement. "Name of your team?"
The doctor cleared her throat. "Department of Medical Services."
Anthony scribbled down the second name, then looked over at the other doctor in the room, Dr. Jack Foster.
But Jack beat him to the punch then, smiling as he spoke. "Chief Scientific Officer, obviously. And as seeing as we're focusing primarily on applied science... That is, applying our existing scientific knowledge to produce practical results to benefit us, whenever it's in improving existing technology or improving overall efficiency... I'll be heading the Department of Research and Development."
The Captain chuckled. "I see you still like to hear yourself talk, as usual." Jack simply smiled back, not really arguing against that. He did like hearing himself speak.
Anthony looked over at Adam Campbell after scribbling down the third name. "And you, Chief of Operations?"
Campbell looked up at his superior then, at the man that had used to be one of his own security guards back in Vault 76. He remember the day he had met Anthony Barrett, who had been assigned to Security by the Overseer herself. He hadn't thought the kid would last long and so he rode him hard, gave him the worst jobs, the most dull patrols... And despite all of that, Barrett had come through time and again, reporting for every duty on time and never leaving even a minute early. It hadn't taken long for Barrett to hit it off with the rest of the security guards as he was always finding the kid hanging out with them, playing pool or throwing darts.
He really couldn't think of very many people that could have done a better job keeping everyone here alive. Adam knew he was definitely nowhere near that list at all either, not after Morgantown. "Department of Requisitions. We'll do everything we can to keep everything running, kid."
Anthony smiled then, genuinely happy to see the old man still hanging in there, still working alongside them.
He scribbled down the last name then. "Good. I'll want a list of people you've got working in your respective departments later, people." He stood up then, gestured toward the Fire Breathers that had taken the exam with him. "Here's what's happening on our end. The six of us have passed the final exam, obviously. How many candidates do we have waiting to take the exam?" He asked, looking at Harry.
Lieutenant Reinhardt looked through his notes quickly. "We have... Eighteen candidates so far. Every single one of them has passed the first test, and the last of them finished the physical exam two days ago."
Anthony went over the numbers in his head. He nodded, "All right, we're going to split up the candidates into teams of their own. The final exam, though... It's still pretty damn rough, I'm not gonna lie. The six of us went in together, figured that'd give us an edge, considering we didn't know what to expect. This time around, we'll be continuing what the Fire Breathers had going back then, four people to a squad."
Campbell looked up at the Captain then. "That's only four and half a squad then. How that's going to work?"
Anthony smiled. "Six squads, Campbell. The six of us here will be squad leaders." Campbell nodded then, satisfied with the answer. Anthony gestured toward the Fire Breathers then. "I'll be leading Alpha Squad. Caruso will be leading Bravo Squad. Sorrentino, Charlie Squad. Davenport, Delta Squad. Bryant, Echo Squad. And Moore, Foxtrot Squad."
The five of them nodded, accepting their assignments from Captain Barrett. He went on, "Everyone, talk to the candidates. Put together your squads. Train them and go over the procedures. Get them ready to kick ass and take names." Anthony looked at every one of them then, giving each man and woman a moment of attention. "You'll be taking your squad through Belching Betty. We'll start after this weekend, one squad a day."
He was about to conclude the meeting when he stopped himself. "And one more thing, all five of you. I'm promoting all of you to the rank of Sergeant." The Fire Breathers grinned in return, happy with their promotions and the chance to lead a squad, to really do something to help rebuild their new organization, to help Barrett with his plan to retake Appalachia.
"Now, get the hell out of my sight!" Anthony grinned as he adjourned the meeting, everyone chuckling and standing up, making their way out of the room and to carry out their duties.
Everyone except for Harry.
"I would have thought you'd be promoting Caruso to Lieutenant at least." The Chief Engineer said, finally.
Anthony chuckled. "Why would I do that?"
Harry stared at his superior, waiting until the younger man was looking at him. "Because you need a second in command, and at this point, I'm the only lieutenant you've got here."
"Which makes you my second in command, I'd say." The Captain smiled.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, sir..." He ran a hand through his brown hair then, sighing. "But we both know I'm no soldier. No security guard either. I'm just an engineer, Tony." He hadn't really expected his position to be permanent. No, he had thought that while Anthony was relying on him to keep everything together, hold down the fort while the Captain was out and about, it would have been smarter to have another Fire Breather as the second in command, someone to build on his legacy if anything ever happened to him. And all this, he said to Anthony.
The Captain just chuckled. "There's a certain truth to that line of thinking, I'll give you that, Harry. But, you know what? I'm just a security guard. Protecting people, keeping them safe, tackling the dangers before they endanger others, that's what I did. That's what I do now. It's what I excel at. As you put it, I'm a soldier, and this is my war to fight." He smiled then, pointing at Harry. "You on the other hand... You're an engineer. By that very definition, you're a builder. And that's what we were meant to do, that was the job Vault Tec gave us, the job our Overseer is depending on us for. To rebuild America. Build a better world than the one that destroyed itself."
Harry couldn't argue with that reasoning. Not when he had heard it from the Overseer herself as well. Everything he had done since leaving Vault 76, it had all been to help rebuild. And he was beginning to see what Tony was getting at now. The Fire Breathers would be fighting to reclaim Appalachia, but it would be up to men and women like him to make it worth every drop of sweat and blood.
Anthony looked down then, returning his attention back to the report in his hand. Looking over some of the candidates he had in mind for his own squad. "And that's why you're my second in command, Harry. I'm going to take Appalachia back from these bastards, and you're going to rebuild her. For the Overseer and for everyone else still alive, for everyone we've lost, for everyone who died before Reclamation Day. Together, we're going to reclaim Appalachia."
At that, Harry finally smiled. "You got it, boss."
Current Population: 46 Survivors
Author's Note: Okay, first things first, I'm just having a tiny bit of a problem with the next chapter for BRAVE NEW WORLD but I'm nearly through it, so that should be up sometimes this week, no worries. Second of all, I was honestly not planning on updating this story already so soon but between the few reviews I got and Paladin Bailey having yet to check my private message to him, I decided to update this story as well. Mostly because I've just gotten through putting together a rough outline for THIN RED LINE, put together profiles for every single survivor in the story so far. Yeah, that's right. 46 names. 46 dates of birth. 46 hometowns, hair colors, details, the works. Just in case I freakin' need it. Probably won't, but better safe than sorry. This is gonna bite me in the ass later though, once more survivors start showing up and joining the Fire Breathers. Oy vey. On to the reviews! Paladin Bailey - Seriously, send me the link for the discord. XD I'm bored playing on my own! Angry lil' elf - That does sound like an interesting idea, I'd like to hear more about it. :) Just PM me or something, and we'll talk about your story idea. Glad you're enjoying my story, though! Mnemah - I was honestly expecting to see a few stories on Fallout 76 pop up, even during the B.E.T.A days. Seeing none was something of a disappointment. And a few days into the official release, there was still nothing. So I figured, might as well write one myself, plus I wanted the dubious honor of being the first to write a fan fic for Fallout 76 on this site. :P Dubious, right? Duuuuubious. Glad you're enjoying the story so far, and even more glad you're enjoying my writing style! I'm definitely no native myself, so if I ever screw up on something, please do point it out so I can properly fix it. I'd really hate to not do West Virginia justice! Engineer455 - We've already spoken about this in private messaging, so there's not much more to say on the subject. Glad to have you reading, though! And to everyone else who's already read and fave'd and is currently following the story, my thanks for putting in the time! :)