Due to the exposure of so much radiation, Russia ended up suffering a hellish nuclear winter. Survivors had to hide in subway tunnels or underground bunkers to survive. It's 200 years after the bombs fell and it's still that way. A young man is trekking across what used to be Moscow, he has on a suit of power armor that keeps his body warm. His name was Garney, and he was a Brotherhood of Steel soldier running a mission. His mission was to see if there was any type of civilization whatsoever. Or at least any survivors.
The myth was that he would have to look for a giant red smoke signal sent by his contact. The contact would then take him to the subway entrance, and then they would both descend into the frozen tunnels underneath Moscow. Garney looked in the sky, there was red smoke trailing off in the distance. He started heading towards it. This must have been his contact, Dmetri.
Dmetri was the descendant of a Russian family that had taken residents in one of the local vaults. They kept their heritage for generations and passed it on to him, the only reason he even remembers the location of Moscow is from a map his mother had given him. He made sure to keep it with him at all times.
Garney met Dmetri at the entrance of the tunnels his power armor making whirring sounds and running a diagnostic. "Hello Dmetri, how are you?" He asked the man covered in fur at the entrance. "I'm fine, yet my body is colder than killing a baby." Garney chuckled, that was the sense of humor he liked. Dark. The only good kind of humor in a world now so cold. "Shall we head in comrade? If not I can understand perfectly, and tell your mother hello. I already told her that last night." Dmetri smirked. Garney shook his head, "You and my mother Dmetri, I don't understand your obsession with corpses."
"They don't make a sound, or fight back."
"Just like your mute sister."
"You are getting better at this friend." Dmetri chuckled, "But the time for jokes is over. Once we are inside I can not tell you what is inside there. The only way to find out whats down there is to go down there."
"Alright then, let's head inside." Garney said, and they headed into the dark tunnel. Into the guts of Moscow. Right away they noticed it was considerably warmer down in the tunnels, and the air wasn't as stale as on the surface. The rads were also significantly less lethal than they were on the surface. Dmetri and Garney both had to consistently take Rad-X and RadAway to keep their bodies healthy. If there was anyone left in Russia, there was no way they were human.
As they went farther down in the tunnels they started seeing more and more frozen bodies of people who didn't survive the nuclear winter. Some of them were hugging each other, others were sitting alone or laying alone by themselves. One man was pounding furiously on a big locked door before he was frozen in place.
"We should check this door, there might b goodies behind it," Dmetri said as he pulled down a gas mask across his face. Garney turned the strength modifier in his power suit on and punched at the door. It only partially opened the door so he kept going. Fist after fist, punch after punch and finally the door gave way. Gas steamed out of the passageway and the two men were blasted with a huge intake of hot air.
Inside was a corroded iron corridor, filled with green smoke. Charred skeletons lay all around the corridor, still filling the air with the smell of dead and burnt flesh. "These people had tried to escape while the others had tried to get in. What the hell is going on here Dmetri?"
"I do not know, but we must keep moving forward. There is something big in here, something worthwhile. I can feel it."
"It's either that or get caught in a blizzard."
"Good thinking friend. Now let's go," Dmetri led him down the iron corridor. There were more human remains as they kept traveling. They entered a big metal room covered in more of the green gas. The skeletons here were more docile than the other ones, hugging each other laying down looking at the ceiling with empty eye-sockets. Garney kept his composure and both of them continued on through the tunnel. "This is more than a metro station. It has to be. Corridors this long wouldn't be used just for maintenance," Garney said as they continued forward. "Exactly, it has to be some kind of military compound."
"Why do you say that?"
"The lettering on the walls. I can only make out some of the words but the words I can make out include phrases like top secret and no unauthorized personnel."
"Do you think the security system still works?"
Dmetri shook his head, "We can only pray that it died with the city."
After a short time they came upon another iron-wrought door. It was huge and had several complicated locks on it that seem to be controlled by a nearby terminal. Dmetri puled out a big white chunk of material with wires and a keypad on it "This is why I never leave home without a little bit of explosives to uncomplicated things. I'm setting this for 10 seconds. That gives us enough time to get out of the way." Dmetri put the explosives on the door, punched in a couple commands, and started sprinting down the hallway. Garney followed suit.
The explosion rocked the whole place, littering the floor with debris. Dmetri and Garney composed themselves and headed into the doorway. They saw what few have ever seen, a giant pulsating Tesla coil surrounded by balls of electricity. A giant vat sat underneath the coil filled with a greenish, brown liquid. Garney clapped his hands, "This will aid the Brotherhood immensely, let's see if we can find a terminal Dmetri."
"Already on one and translating the data."
"Ah, do you have any idea what this thing is?"
"No but- wait one second. Something's come up."
"What is it.?"
"It says this can neutralize radioactivity with intense electromagnetic beams. This is a giant neutralizer. Itwould be worth a fortune."
"Exactly why the Brotherhood wants to get its hands on it."
"And the Enclave."
"What about the Enclave?"
"They'll be willing to pay a whole lot more than you to get this neutralizer. I think it's time I switched sides."
"Dmetri. Don't do this."
Dmetri pulled another explosive charge from his bag and headed over towards Garney, "My friend you have two choices. One, let me have this and die. Or two, I blow us all the way back to the Great War." Garney smiled, ...and to never let technology fall into the hands of those willing to use it for malice." He grabbed the explosives from Dmetri and detonated them. The neutralizer would belong to the Brotherhood of Steel, or no one at all.