Ch. 07: Second Monument Guards
The Lincoln Memorial is… Well, I suppose it's just like any other buildings around. Meaning, pretty much destroyed. Although, the mostly intact pillars on the outside gives the impression that it still maintains its structural integrity, but the common wasteland feature of blasted out walls and roofs makes me question it; and of course, there are the sandbags. The symbol of wasteland structures. The basement, or the part that is underneath the marble structure, seems to be mostly spared from the nuclear blasts.
With my back to the back wall, I leaned in to take a peek into the memorial, using the crumbled part of the wall. Ah, there it is, the magnificent white obelisk. During pre-war era, it was a tribute to one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Now, it serves as an antenna for the Galaxy News Radio. It may not sound like much, but in this hell called Capital Wasteland, it is the beacon of hope. Before it lies the Reflecting Pool. It was probably beautiful in the past, I can just imagine it, the clean water of the pool reflecting the clear blue sky. But now, it's just a giant tub, filled with murky green water polluted by radiation and centuries of abandonment, no longer able to reflect as it once did. Well, I suppose I could say it is reflecting the hearts of the wastelanders.
As I suspected, there are no signs of super mutants anywhere, or at least in sight. What's even odd is that there are no signs of Abolitionists either. There should be at least one or two patrolling the perimeter. Breaking cover, I walked into the memorial's interior, the group following immediately after. To the right of us stands the mighty statue of Abraham Lincoln, or in this case 'sits'.
"Hey, they remade its head." Mayborn commented, pointing at the statue's newly recreated head.
So they did. I heard that the abolitionists had a good mason. so it getting fixed was a matter of time. But, fixing the statue before walls or roof? If you ask me, I'd say their sense of priority is whacked.
As far as I can see, there are no evidence of them getting wounded or killed recently. That means that they either abandoned this place, which is unlikely, or hiding in the basement.
"Should we make contact with the Abolitionists sir?" Collins suggested.
Perhaps. I am curious as to why there are no super mutants around here, and maybe they have a clue on that. Also, they are our neighbor, so periodically saying hello won't hurt.
"Yes, it shouldn't take long." I replied.
The memorial was heavily fortified. The structure was built on top of a foundation that sticks out about three meters from the ground, making the assault only feasible by using the 20 meter wide set of steps, located in front of the structure. Making it even more formidable was the barricade made of sandbags that were placed strategically to defend against any hostiles that comes up those steps.
As we reached the front side of the memorial, I pointed to the two barricades located at the bottom of the foundation.
"Mayborn and you, the guy with the laser rifle, take up that position." I commanded.
They quickly obeyed.
At the middle of the steps was a landing, as the memorial itself is smaller than the foundation. There was the second line of defense; where three barricades were placed. I pointed to the one in the center.
"White, take that position. The rest, follow me."
The entrance to the basement is located below the landing on the southern side, which is the left side looking from the front, of the steps. We quickly made our way down to it.
"Hello, anyone in there?" I said, as I knocked on the door.
"What? What are you doing here! You wanna get killed or something?" A hushed female voice exclaimed.
"Is that a threat, or are you referring to the fact that you all are huddled up in there?" I inquired, half jokingly. "To answer your question, no. But, this lack of green uglies are positively boring me to death." I replied with a touch of sarcasm. I know this is an inappropriate time for any joke, but I just can't help it.
"What? No, I'm talking about a deathclaw." The voice replied.
"Are you saying that the deathclaw drove off the super mutants?" "That's unlikely." Collins interjected and inquired.
Sudden thud of power armor hitting the ground drew my attention away from the conversation. I moved away from the door in order to look up, to check on the initiate. The initiate was crouching on the other side of the barricade, pointing his sniper rifle towards the hole in the western wall, where we entered the memorial.
Then I heard it. The noise was was faint, even with the amplifier on the helmet, but it was distinct. I recognized it immediately. Bone scratching against stone, and that only meant one thing.
"You haven't introduced yourself…" A voice came from the other side of the door, this time male.
"Shut up. We're the friendly neighborhood metal men and we're about to have company." I faintly yelled at him. Fortunately, they got my meaning and stopped talking without any fuss.
The ground shook, followed by an air ripping roar. A typical intimidation tactic used by deathclaws; I can just imagine commies pissing their pants.
"Friend of yours?" I jokingly said as I jokingly knocked on the door.
I can sense Collins shooting me a murderous glare. I'm sorry, the freaking deathclaw set himself up and I couldn't help it.
"Shit, it saw me!" White said as he looked down the scope of his sniper rifle.
He proceeded to squeeze the trigger. A .308 round shot out of the barrel, towards the deathclaws head. Even though the bullet was hurtling at an incredible speed, to us who had our full attention focused on it, it seemed as it was travelling at crawling pace. A moment later, the it hit the target… on the horn… and ricocheted.
"Running would be a good idea." I said nonchalantly.
Mayborn was the first to bolt, followed immediately after by Collins. White stood his ground, carefully aiming for a second shot. I moved away from the door, and back on to the steps.
"Fall back Initiate!" I commanded as I pulled out my minigun.
He fired the second shot before retreating. The bullet hit its right shoulder; not causing much damage but managed to slam it with enough force to stagger it. This gave everyone enough time to put some distance between it.
Once the initiate had retreated behind me, I let my minigun shred the air. Dozens of bullets tore through the air to hit the deathclaw, although most of them just ended up bouncing off. However, this also had the effect of slowing its movement and prevented it from charging. I took this opportunity to slowly walk backwards; keeping a constant distance between myself and the deathclaw.
After couple minutes of constant barrage, the barrels begun to glow red. Again, the deathclaw staggered.
"I'll cover you, sir!" The initiate shouted.
Seeing that it was enough to keep the deathclaw at bay, I stopped firing. I immediately turned around and dashed to where the initiate was firing. This gave the minigun enough time to cool down.
The sniper rifle has more punch, but the slower rate of fire and the faster need for reload makes it difficult to slow down the deathclaw to a comfortable level. By the time I got into position to fire again, the deathclaw has closed the distance to just 15 meters. As I begun to fire again, the initiate dashed to further back, and I also commenced a slow retreat. We were able to repeat this process one more time.
"Shit. I'm out of ammo." Initiate White exclaimed.
I was able to expand the distance between us and the deathclaw, but we still had around 200 to 250 meters to the outpost. That's not good. Sure, we could try running. With the assist from the power armor, we can run 100 meters in just 10 seconds, but anyone that has lived in the wasteland long enough can tell you that nothing can outrun a deathclaw. To make things worse, I'm running low on ammo as well.
Then, suddenly, with a flash of yellow and red, followed by white smoke and black shrapnel, the deathclaw exploded. Well, it seemed like it, but the reality is not so easy on us. In actuality, the ground beneath it exploded, which covered it in flame, debris, and shrapnel. Ah, of course, just because the super mutants were concentrated on the capitol building side, there is no way the monument guards will leave this side of the monument undefended. I must have been so concentrated on shooting the damn thing, I didn't notice the Brotherhood tagged frag mine.
A second later, the deathclaw came out of the remaining dust cloud, looking royally pissed. Thankfully, the mine did it's job and the deathclaw was limping on its left leg. To make things worse for the deathclaw, it was struck by a beam of laser. Seeing that we are more trouble than we're worth, it turned around and fled. Even though its leg was crippled, it was still able to run with frightening speed.
"I heard from scribes what happened. You guys okay?" A voice came from behind us.
We turned around to face the source of the voice. Standing there was a figure in an impressive chrome finished T-51b power armor; the gatling laser in his hand making the figure more imposing.
"Paladin. Thank you for your assistance sir." The initiate was the first to speak.
"I could have handled that." I mumbled under my breath.
"What's that, knight?"
"Let's go initiate." I told the initiate. "Saved by a monument guard. How low have I fallen." I commented. Even with the helmet on, I can just tell that initiate has an confused face. So, I decided to explain. "You see, when you get relegated in the brotherhood, you end up as a Three Dog's lackey. That's why he is protecting a monument and not primary nor secondary interest of the brotherhood."
"Speak for yourself, knight." The paladin retorted.
"And what exactly does that mean?" I said confused, but I ignored his comment; deciding that thinking about it is too much of a pain.
I walked passed the paladin towards the outpost, followed by the initiate not too close. Probably because, he is shocked that a knight can talk about a paladin in such manner, right in front of one.
At the base of the monument, is a shack made of metal bits and pieces. It is probably used as a cafeteria, Which can be assumed from the pile of pre-war meals stacked on one side, and the kitchen set that screams 'Made In Megaton' shoved in the other. At the center is an oblong table and a dozen chairs. The room is dimly lit by candles on the table and fusion cell powered lamps on the walls.
Sitting at the tip of the table is the head guard. Flanking him on both sides are two other guards, one of which are the chrome paladin that drove off the deathclaw. On the opposite tip is me. Sitting beside me on the right is the Initiate, and to the left of me sits the base ball cap scribe.
"All right, tell us what's going on." One of the guards spoke.
"I would like to ask the same, actually." I countered.
"You first." The chrome paladin said.
Noticing that I was about to make a retort, Initiate White spoke first. "Uh sir, the trouble started just 30 minutes after we left the Citadel…" He continued to recount the journey up to this point.
"A smarter than usual raider, mirelurk infestation, and an out of place deathclaw? All in the first day?" Came a shocked voice.
"Well there's our story. Now my turn. Where are the uglies?" I asked.
The room went quiet.
"We don't know." Finally one of the guards spoke.
"What?"
"Yesterday night, we went to bed with the lullaby of mute's war cries; next morning, nothing."
"You're joking right?" I said shocked. Looking at each guard's face, I continued. "You can't all have been asleep."
An awkward silence followed.
"Huh, what did I tell you White. These may be paladins, but they're no elites." I said pointing at the guards.
"Says the one that purposefully abandoned patrol duty on multiple occasion."
"Well, yes. But, that was when the Lone Wanderer came through the area. Given how thoroughly he cleans out the area, any patrol was redundant."
"Oh? Do our brethren at the Citadel need an outsider to secure the parameter? Pathetic."
"Enough!" The head guard finally spoke. His deep and commanding voice resonating through the room. "We have already notified our situation to the headquarter. I am astounded that you have not heard of our situation before you set out. No matter, I will also notify them of your situation. You may take shelter here tonight, and resupply for the rest of your mission." He continued, without giving us a chance to respond.
"Thank you, sir!" I responded. It may be out of my character to address someone as 'sir', but from the tone of his voice, I figured that he is not a man to mess with.
"Dismissed."
Everyone, except for the head guard, stood up to leave.
"Knight, you stay." The head guard said, as I was about to leave the room.
Once I sat back down on the chair and everyone has left the room, he spoke. "I was not notified that you would be visiting here. Which means that you are intending on obtaining this, are you not?" He finished by gesturing to an object in front of him.
"Ahh, how insightful of you. I guess I don't have to sneak into the armory anymore."
"Oh? Who said anything about simply handing them over to you. These are not cheap you know. And if I recall correctly, your mission is an escort. I do not see how these can be utilized."
"Look at it this way. An escort mission requires smart tactics to safely deliver the V.I.P to their destination, and smart tactics require infinite imagination, and that must be fueled by equally large amount of equipment. When it comes to the amount of equipment, there is no such thing as 'too much'."
"Really? I am sure that the famed Lone Wanderer will dispute you on that; with his tale of how many times he has been tormented by an 'extra pound'."
"True, but there is one major difference between him and me. As his title suggest, he travels alone. On the other hand, I have several scribes to carry my stuff. Besides, it's not going to be utilized here either."
"Very well, but only one. You better not waste it. And if anyone asks, you did not get it from me."
"Deal. You can be assured, I'll keep your secret stash a secret. As I always do."
The dinner was held about an hour later in the same room as the meeting.
"Damn you, for making my job difficult. Did you have to come here without notice?" Said the chrome paladin, as soon as I entered the room. It appears that he is in charge of preparing dinner tonight.
"Anything to annoy you, chrome." I responded, as I made my way towards the table; where the rest of my group has already gathered.
"I have a name, you know."
"You never bother to tell me."
"You never bother to learn!"
"Oh, that reminds me. We should continue the introduction we had. Last time we tried, we were so rudely interrupted by those mirelurks." I said, turning my head to face the group.
"What!? You still don't know each other's names? Shouldn't you have done that during briefing?"
"Look, the hindsight is 20/20, all right? I wanted to get away from the Citadel and its menial tasks as fast as possible. I was thinking of doing introductions on the road." I retorted. Returning my attention to the group, I continued. "Let's start with you, baseball cap."
"Yes sir. I am Gerald Miller. Scribe, mechanical armor expert. Formerly a knight. I became nearsighted. So, I retired from the military."
"Military retiree. So, that's why there are so many scribes. You next, the guy with the laser rifle."
"I'm scribe initiate Max Dalton, electrical engineer, sir."
"Okay, is that everyone?"
"You haven't introduced yourself yet, sir." Collins spoke up.
"You can just call me Knight." I replied with a smirk.
"Oh, they have no idea. Do they?" The chrome paladin said to me knowingly.
"Hm! He's an unfriendly one, isn't he?" Collins said to White.
White, who looked confused, most likely because of the paladin's remark, was staring at the paladin, simply ignored or didn't even notice her.
"No, they do not." I replied to the paladin, almost burst out laughing.
No, no. Revealing my name to them now, won't produce much of a reaction. I have to wait for a better timing. Well, let's just say that when people say 'Knight', I don't know whether they are referring to my rank or not.
"Now that introductions are out of the way. Finish your dinner fast, and get some rest. We'll be leaving early tomorrow. Remember, proper rest is required to keep yourselves from getting injured. I don't want this mission to get dragged out longer than it is necessary, because some of you have gotten injured and we had to wait for treatment." I gave a moment of silence for my words to sink in. Then, I continued. "Actually, maybe not. From the way things have gone today, you might simply skip the injury part, and go straight to death. That would save me a lot of time."
"Wow, this is the reason why you're not getting promoted. The disregard and apathy for your fallen comrade." The chrome paladin said from the side.
"Really? And here I was, thinking that it was because of my attitude towards superiors, and complete disregard for any and all military procedures." I said with a fake surprised look.
"That too." Came the reply, accompanied b a disapproving look.
Just as I set it, the alarm clock rang at 5:00 a.m. What is up with these pre-war machines? They've been nuked for pete's sake, and it still functions? How is that even possible? The room in which I woke up, eerily resembles a solitary confinement. The floor is made of metal, which cools to an cruel degree during the night. The walls are barely 6 feet apart; just enough for me to lie down diagonally. I knew that Washington Monument fort won't have enough room for my entire group, but how did I end up being the one sleeping in the elevator? I never thought I would have to put on my power armor in this cramped place, I might become claustrophobic.
When I came out of the elevator, which was about half an hour later, my group had already assemble at the main gate.
"Wow, he wasn't kidding when he said he doesn't follow military procedures." Collins said with a mock surprise.
"What do you expect? It's me. There is no way I'm waking up anytime earlier than five."
"Weren't you the one that wanted to leave early?"
"Yeah, yeah. There's limit to everything, you know. Whatever, let's just go."
And begins the second day of our hectic journey.
