Again, hope you are all enjoying reading this so far. No more edits since my massive overhaul last time. This story goes more into the changed timeline of things. Basically, all of the major events happened but in different orders, further apart or closer together as it allows for a more fluid writing experience. No huge changes though. Please like, follow, or leave a review!
Also all bold text is a terminal entry.
...
Matt started towards the city having left Julia heading north. With every step the wasteland lost more of its characteristic sand. Changing into an endless grey of concreate. Here he was sheltered by from the wind that whipped up so many violent wasteland sandstorms. Without the consent noise of wind that he had become so accustomed to, Matt noticed the silence.
The city is truly dead, not like The Pitt that rang of industry and life. No, this city was dead with only the occasional gunshot or scream to pierce the deafening silence.
He pulled his rife close to his chest not letting his guard down in this the most dangerous area of the wasteland. His eyes scanned his broken surroundings. The road he was traveling on made its way through the city on the rivers bank which lay on its eastern side while its western side was covered by pre-war ruins.
The road was pot marked and appeared to be well used by the variety of creatures that now called the city home. Luckily for Matt the road appeared to be free of those travellers.
For now, at least. Matt thought.
Matt wanted nothing more than to move into the city ruins, to find cover and to make himself less visible. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to get through the ruins, buildings lay collapsed across all the road ways and the residents that survived there did take to kindly to visitors.
So, Matt carried on passed countless rocky out cropping's and ruined shop fronts, all of which Matt was sure would contain a rife that would spell his end.
Still he carried on ever watchful.
Finally, he came to a bridge that spanned the river, through one of its archers he could see the Citadel, the home of the Brotherhood of Steel. Further in the distance he could see the glinting lights of the energy barrier surrounding Project Purity, his father's dream.
His brief respite was broken by crack of a ride shot.
He dove for cover, jumping behind a rusted car.
The next round struck the car sending sparks into the air, vibrating Matts body as he pressed up close to the rusted hulk.
"Fuck" Matt swore to himself.
Matt quickly pulled his pack off his back, pulling out two grenades.
Another round hit the car.
He reached down to pull his knife from his leg spat on the blade, quickly putting a shine on it. Then he slowly put the blade above the wreak. Trying to stop the glint from the shooter in the reflection.
He quickly spotted them.
A camp set up in one of the arches of the bridge.
Matt replaced the blade to its spot and pulled the pin of the first grenade. Throwing it half way between his position and the snipers nest.
A great cloud of smoke erupted from the grenade hiding Matts position from the shooter.
Matt slung his rife over his back and counted to 3 then he jumped over the wreak and sprinted to the position under the sniper's nest.
Pulling the pin from the second grenade and threw it into the sniper's position.
Screaming and the noise of blind panic came from the nest.
BANG
The grenade went off. Throwing out flames and black smoke above Matt. Showering the surrounding area in pieces of the sniper and the crap they had collected they're from other travellers.
Matt picked his way round the side of the bridge and taking a makeshift ramp up to the nest. He looked in on his carnage.
The small alcove was covered in blood and scorch marks. Around him lay the pieces of three bodies, in the corner two women with tied hands were propped up against a wall one had, had her leg blown off. While the other cried and tried their best to stop the bleeding of the first.
One of the would-be ambushers had survived, covered in cuts from broken furniture which now lay scattered inside and outside of the nest. He had a foot-long piece of steal sticking out from his abdomen which he was weakly trying to remove.
Matt walked over to the ambusher up clipping his holster as he did. The ambusher started by the noise as Matt crunched over broken glass, looked at the rife at his feet.
The man didn't even try to reach for it as Matt pulled out his pistol and fired a round into his head.
The uninjured women screamed.
"Please shut the fuck up" Matt shouted.
She grew quiet.
He walked over to them. And pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it all while holding his pistol.
"Your friend?" he asked taking a drag and looking at the women with only one leg.
The other women shook her head.
"My… mum" she finally said.
"Ah, my condolences", Matt said as he looked at the injured women.
"She's not dead, please help me get her to a doctor. I'll give you anything, please help me"
"She's dead already" Matt replied "just hasn't stopped breathing yet. Best just to get it over with"
Matt pointed his pistol at the injured women's head.
BANG
The women jerked and fell limp to the floor.
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER" the women cried trying to get closer to her mother.
Matt looked at the women closer, she didn't look to old maybe 15 or 16. She also looked neatly kept, the clothes she was wearing were well made if in tatters now. She didn't have the malnourished look that haunted so many other wastelanders.
"You two from Rivet city?" Matt asked
The women glared at him.
Matt glared back.
Finally, the young women broke "Yes, we were going to visit friends in Megaton when the guards we hired turned on us"
"Well today is your lucky day. You get to live." Matt crushed his cigarette under his boot.
He quickly un did the women's binds.
"I know you hate me" he said as the women stood up "But what I did was for the best, she wasn't going to live and you trying to carry her back would have just got you killed as well."
She nodded.
"You should go back to Rivet city and never leave it again, unless you're willing to accept that life is cheep out in the real wasteland."
Matt then pulled a small bag of caps from his duster and handed them to the women.
"That should buy you a real guard for your way home. If you follow me to the citadel, you should be able to get a trader to take you back for that money."
She looked almost thankful. For a split second.
"What about her" she nodded to her mother. "Can we bury her, before we go?"
"No time, people tend to not give a shit about what happens to their bodies once their dead. Because well their dead. Leave her and follow me"
With that Matt left before she could say a word.
He heard her hesitate for a moment. Then the footsteps followed him.
Good se might survive out here after all.
He slowly made his way down the ramp waiting at the bottom for the women.
As she approached he spoke.
"We're not far from the citadel now. But I have rules, shut the fuck up, don't make a sound and most importantly don't make a fucking sound. If your going to cry all the way there, I'll put a bullet in you."
She stood shocked at his outburst.
"Look it's better its me rather then the super mutants or raiders." He paused seeing the silent tears rolling down the women's cheeks. He sighed, "Just stay behind me and I'll get you home ok?"
She smiled a sad smile and nodded.
"Good"
Matt retraced his steps to the car he was hiding behind earlier, walking past the now spent smoke grenade. He quickly pulled on his backpack.
With that they set off to the huge walls of the brotherhoods fort.
The journey was quick and uneventful. The way that Matt liked it.
The Citadel hadn't changed since he has last been there when he sort refuge with Dr Li and the other survivors from Project Purity. The vast oddly shaped building stood strong against the ruins around it. In front of it lay a large flat concreated area where members of the Brotherhood patrolled protecting the large steel gate that allowed passage in and out. The whole building over looked the vast Potomac River, on the opposite bank sat Project Purity, always mocking the brotherhood.
So close and yet so far. Matt thought.
He remembered the last time he had been here. A broken man having seen his father killed. He had blamed the Brotherhood for his death. They had wanted the Project Purity back online but had send no men to protect it. When he left he had just finished yelling at the elder for an hour then stormed out into the wastes. He was in the Pitt only 3 weeks later.
As he came closer to the sentries he raised his rife above his head as he had done so many times before.
A small detachment of power armoured knights came to meet them, breaking from their patrol route.
Matt stopped before the knights reach them, holding his hand out to stop the women, who had been trying to hide behind him.
The ground shook as the group of 5 knights approached.
THUMP THUMP THMUP THMUP
The heavy plates driven by hydraulics never cease to amaze Matt with their noise and the intimidation they allowed the user to have over whoever saw them.
Finally the paladin leading the group spoke. "What business do you have here?"
"You guys are always to the point, aren't you?" Matt replied looking the paladin up and down. He held an early model laser rife in his hands while a 10 mm was attached to one of his leg plates.
"Business" The paladin replied his voice conveying his annoyance at having to speak to someone he saw as below himself.
"I was just escorting the lovely young women to the safety of the Brotherhood, I'm sure you'll be willing to help her find her way home." Matt smiled. "Also I'm here to help you fix the mess you've made of my fathers dream." He nodded towards project Purity.
The paladin simply stared at Matt.
Matt stared back. He could hear muffled noises coming from the paladins helmet.
Guess they got a tec upgrade, about time they got some helmet radios. He mused.
"Come with me" he finally instructed. "Danse, make sure a caravan takes her" the paladin ordered to one of his knights.
"Yes sir" The knight took a step forward. The women filched back out of fright moving back behind Matt.
Danse reach to his helmet and removed the clasps, the hiss of escaping air filled the air.
He pulled off the helmet reviling a smiling hansom face. "Please miss, I'll get you home safe" He held out his hand as he spoke.
Matt smiled Never remove your helmet in a conflict zone first rule brotherhood recuits are taught. Well that and a near sexual attraction to technology.
The women looked to Matt. Matt nodded.
With that the women left with the Danse, as they walked away matt could see they had struck up a conversation and the women looked much better than she ever had in the brief time Matt had known her.
Matt smiled at the paladin who had also been distracted by his subordinate's disregard for regulations. "He seems like a nice guy, I think he'll go far" Matt smiled broader than before.
"His liberal interpretation of our codex will be discussed after I have taken you to the elder" The paladin replied in his flat tone. With that he gestured that the rest of his knights should return to their patrol.
He started walking, Matt followed.
He was quickly waved through the main gate and through the double doors that marked the true entrance to the citadel.
As Mat walked into the courtyard he was once again aware of how powerful the Brotherhood truly was. Around the edges a number of different training areas were set up including, a sparing area, a shooting range and a rough track had been made around the edge. But that was not what impressed Matt the most. Rather it was the 20 recruits stood to rigid attention in the middle of the courtyard, stood on a large hatch, receiving a lecture on Brotherhood battle tactics.
I wish we were half as organised as this lot. Matt thought as he passed around the edge of the courtyard moving through another set of doors into the bowels of the Citadel.
They quickly moved through maned check points at the entrance to each sector of the Citadel, first science and research, then through the scribes and finally into the living quarters for the knights and paladins.
Matt knew the corridors that they walked through, from his own time as a Brotherhood initiate. Almost straight out of the vault he had nearly been killed downtown until a Brotherhood squad had saved his life. That was the first time that he met Sarah. He smiled at the memory, he had asked if he could join. She had flatly refused and didn't speak to him again until the following day when he walked back into camp with a working satellite dish.
That had been a ballsy move for someone as green as him, but he always was good at sneaking around. He had creeped past 40 super mutants to get that dish and to impress her.
Sarah had let him join since they had just lost a member to the behemoth that attacked the radio station. For a year he had trained with the Brotherhood calling the Citadel home. He had wanted to become a scribe and study the old world. Until he was ordered to retrieve his father and begin project purity once again. And no one refuses a direct order from the elder.
At last he was interrupted as they came to the elder's quarters.
"He's waiting for you" With that the paladin made to leave.
"Wait" Matt called after him.
The paladin tuned around.
"Don't you want a tip? What is it like 5 caps?"
The paladin turned and walked way.
Matt chucked to himself. Then composing himself he opened the door.
The room was well lit a number of pre-war bulbs hung from bare light fittings, they illuminated a small room, with a simple couch and table, with a door on the far side opening to the elder's personal quarters.
On the couch sat elder Lyons the man had aged badly in the time since Matt saw him last. His skin had receded over his bones, the muscle had once had disappeared and his eyes were blood shot from lack of sleep.
"It's good to see you" He finally spoke a weak smile appearing on his lips. "Please sit" He pointed to a yellow pre-war chair that appeared to come from the same set as the couch.
"I will not ask where you have been. It does not matter and I'm sure you will tell me if you feel it is important. Many thought that you ran away from your oath. But I always knew you would come back." he spoke as Matt rested his equipment on a table and took his place on the chair.
"All I ask is now you are back you are committed to our goals, to bring peace to the Capitol. Unite its people and save them from the many plagues that affect them." His voice soft and full of conviction.
It scared Matt he hadn't questioned his mission until this moment. He thought of why he had joined them in the first place. He pushed these doubting aside as fast as they came. He was a scared boy when he joined. Now he was determined he had a vision, his own, not Lyon's, not his fathers. He hadn't simply inherited his vison it was his own. Time for the old men and old ideas to be washed away and replaced.
"I never strayed from your ideals or the ideals of my father" Matt lied.
Lyons smiled. "Good, your father was a good man" he looked sad again. "So was Dr Li"
"Was?" Matt interrupted.
"She left for the Commonwealth, a land to the south, seems to think she would be better off there then here. Stupid of her, leaving her dream unfinished" With this Lyon's stared into the distance.
Suddenly he looked Matt in the eye. "So many good friends, so many good people gone. Your father was one of the greats, he would be proud of you…." His sentence trailed off.
"I'm dying" He finally said.
"I'm sorry" Matt replied shocked by the matter of factness of it.
"Don't be, I have done all I can, I leave the brotherhood in capable hands with Sarah" Matt's eyes lit up at the mention of her. "I see you haven't lost your sparkle for her" he chuckled, soon he was in a coughing fit.
Matt stood to help. Lyons waved him away.
It soon settled down as the elder withdrew his hand from his mouth he saw it was covered in blood. He quickly wiped it on a cloth next to him.
"Cancer" he smiled. "Of all the ways for a solider to die the enemy we cannot fight, really I think the irony is killing me faster"
Matt laughed as did Lyons.
"You should speak to Sarah, she is elder in all but name now. She's giving a briefing in the war room. Go and fulfil my dream" With that the elder waved Matt to the door.
Matt stood and collected his equipment. Turning to the elder he pulled a folder, baring the vault-tec logo from his backpack.
"You have never been able to figure out where the super mutants are coming from have you?"
"No, it is my last great regret, we have merely stemmed the tide."
"It's all here." He placed the folder on the coffee table "vault 87"
The elder's eyes lit up and showed some of the life they had before. "Thank you" he smiled and picked up the folder. "You have made an old man happy"
With this Matt left the room and headed towards the briefing room.
A number of the soldiers and scribes, he recognised on his way gave him dirty looks.
Fuck them. Matt thought.
He waited outside of the briefing room for the meeting to end. He was a dick, but he wasn't going to upstage Sarah with his miraculous return after all, he liked her. But he had changed so much, and she was in command now, how had it changed her. Would they still have what they had before? The energy the excitement of it, the flirting. God he had missed her. The thoughts plagued him until the door to the briefing room opened an hour later.
The assortment of paladin's and scribes walked past him without giving him a glance.
Until the last man out, who wore the emblem of Lyon's pride. "You can go in"
Matt looked at the man, it was Vargas. He had always disliked the man. He saw himself as a fther figure for Sarah, but Matt always saw him as the creepy uncle.
Matt nodded to him and walked through the door.
The room still had the large round table along with an assortment of chairs, some meetings papers were still scatted about the room.
Sat at the head of the table was Sarah. She looked beautiful, she didn't wear the power armour he associated with her, rather she was dressed in simple scribe robes. Matt didn't think anyone could look good in them until he saw Sarah. She was staring hard at a paper in front of her one hand on her head, elbow resting on the table, her tongue sticking out between her teeth as she did when she was stressed. He always found it cute and teased her about it before he left.
The rest of her was just as he remembered as well, her hair was tied up, her skin perfect despite the hostel environment of the wasteland. Her fingers tapped the table as she read, another of her nervous habits.
Matt smiled, she was the same. Serious and beautiful.
Finally, he spoke "Good meeting?"
She looked up from her paper. A look of shock came across her face, as she looked up and down at him.
He looked down himself and saw the dry blood from his fight with Jericho as well as the state of his ragged thrown together outfit. Not worthy of a reunion.
"What the fuck happened to you out there?" She got up from her place and ran over to him, pulling Matt into a tight embrace.
"Oh you know a couple of firefights here a couple of gunshot wounds there. The usual stuff" She laughed, he could feel it through out his body. He pulled her closer and rested his head on hers.
"I missed you" she said softly.
"I missed you too" he said back and broke the embrace.
She looked even more beautiful without the expression of worry, her face was a wide smile.
It suddenly changed, and she punched him across the yaw. Nearly flooring him, Matt went down to his knees rubbing the spot she had hit him.
"Now, WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?" she shouted.
"WHAT THE FUCK SARAH" he shouted back.
The door slowly shut behind him, pulled from the other side by an embarrassed guard.
"You deserved that, and you know it" she said calming down a little.
"Maybe, but fuck. A little warning next time." Matt stood up again still holding his jaw.
She laughed "you always did have a glass jaw. Even when we were training you and you wanted to become a scribe, because you hated the fighting. I see that's changed." She raised an eyebrow at his gear.
"Yeah well books don't stop bullets I realised" he said in way of an explanation.
"So what happened to you" she grew concerned again some of the softness from earlier creeping back into her voice.
"Slavers, took me." He started. "I managed to get free ended up upstate, needed to fight my way back. It's been hell. Met some good people, killed some bad ones. Saw some places that filled you with hope, others that filled you with dread." Matt thought of the Pitt and the wasteland shitholes he had wiped of the map as he spoke. "I'm back and that's all that's important"
She smiled wryly "Well I guess you'll tell me in time"
Matt pulled her into another embrace this one lasted much longer, he lifted her chin with his hand and pressed his lips on hers.
She responded wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closer still.
They broke their kiss and smiled at each other and laughed.
"I see you got bolder in the time you were gone" she laughed.
"Life's too short I realised" he chucked back.
"So" she started moving away from him, he let her even though he didn't want to/ "What can the brotherhood do for you? Come to re-enlist?"
"I want to finish what my father started. The G.E.C.K, I think the brotherhood knows how to get one"
She snorted a laugh "If we could we would have got it"
Matt pulled a holotape from his duster. "This contains a full list of all of the vaults, all de classified. I know that vault 87 should have got a G.E.C.K but it didn't. It was stored somewhere else to be transported. I could only access the vaults in the DC area, I need a terminal that was allocated to national vault operations to access where the storage location is. A guess who has one of those?" Matt grinned.
"Use it and whatever else you need, so I take it this site is out of state?"
"Yeah, I think this will be a quick trip home. I'm sorry I won't be able to help with your Enclave problem"
"Don't worry about that, the stalemate has worked quite well in our favour, we simply try and ignore each other while trying to gain the upper hand. They thought they had it with an orbital missile system, we soon put a stop to that. And soon we will be ready to launch operation Prydwen."
Matt's eyes lit up
"Sorry can't tell you, beyond top secret even from you. Go and find what you need. That's an order" she said though a smile. "I'll organise a recon expedition from our Adam's, it'll take some time though, we are stretched thin."
"I'll go myself. No offence but the brotherhood isn't known for its subtlety. This needs to be quick, in and out. Have your guys meet me for extraction fins somewhere and hold up" Matt replied.
"If you insist, but I'd rather you have someone to back you up"
She looks worried. Matt thought.
"Don't worry I'm much better at this then I was 2 years ago."
"Please be careful, I would like you back in one piece" she said now returning to her papers.
Matt left the briefing room towards the archive rooms a smug smile on his face.
After spending an hour helping the scribes to go through the huge collection of pre-war terminals until he found the vault-tec one he needed.
After booting it up and loading in the holotape. He started to scan through the list of vaults and the materials they contained.
Pre-war society was fucked-up if this is what they did to each other. He thought as he scanned through some of the experiments.
Finally he came across the G.E.C.K log showing the transport tracking for the Vault 87 G.E.C.K. It had been stored in another vault one of the few suited to its storage needs until it could be moved again. He finally came to the end of the log:
The G.E.C.K will be deposited into specialist storage facility within Vault 111…..