Chapter 6: Salvation

Fort Lewis Command Center, Washington, 2277

"Have a seat Agent Tyler and listen closely because I'm only going to say this once." Barked the famous Colonel. Tyler sat down in the office chair in front of the Colonels desk. Colonel Dornan stood up and grabbed a map from one of the shelves lining his right wall. The map highlighted Enclave territory along with the territories of other factions including the Brotherhood and the NCR.

"Well Agent Tyler as you can see over the past couple of decades the New California Republic has expanded exponentially since most of our forces have been expelled from New California. This Rogue state claims territory as far north as Southern Oregon as far south as Baja California and as far as the east as large portions of Nevada. Power projections from our boys in intelligence estimate the NCRs army to number upwards of 100,000 troops with a fleet power equal or Superior to Task Force Washington and an air fleet on par with ours due to the sacking of Navarro. They are the biggest threat facing the Enclave and the reestablishment of the United States government currently. They control major industrial centers and can produce equipment at an outstanding rate. They are well organized under a perverted interpretation of the pre-war United States military. The NCR has well establish supply lines and standardized equipment. They also make you use of satellite and computerized Communications bringing them almost on par with Enclave Command and Control. While all of this would lead one to think that the chances of fighting and winning against the NCR are slim there is some good news. First, it seems a patriotic fervor has begun to rise within the NCR. Recently a new political party has begun to rise in popularity and influence, the Old America Party. The main goals of the Old America Party are the immediate return immediate return of the United States government to power. This party has major influence in places like Vault City, New Reno and settlements near Navarro, speaking of Navarro. Secondly, Enclave influence in the region has begun to rise. Those forces that stayed behind and managed to survive behind enemy lines have now established small strongholds and outposts inside NCR territory making it easier for agents like yourself to infiltrate the NCR. Lastly, words come up from those elements still in New California the NCR is at war we don't know exactly what's going on yet but we do know is a major battle was recently fought in southern Nevada rumor says it was over Hoover Dam. A new party has entered this little game of ours and that's where you come in. You are going to be send south to one of our refueling outposts hidden within New California. From there your going to gather Intel on the old world party and give us an up-to-date assessment on their influence in the NCR and wherever possible try to support their efforts. Work fast though because your primary objective will be to move East and make contact with this new faction. In the past America's bloodied its enemies through proxies and we're hoping to do the same here. So after you make contact with them you are to immediately reestablish contact with command and if this new faction proves to be friendly enough delegates will be sent to negotiate our support for this little war being fought over the Mojave. This is a great opportunity for us the NCR is already weakened from its war with the Brotherhood, thousands of NCR soldiers are dead and their economies is in shambles. That and the morons stole a dead hand device from Navarro and accidentally nuked one of their only major supply lines to the Mojave. Now is our our time to regain our influence in the southwest again and hopefully one day retake Navarro. Any questions?"

"No Sir." Tyler said. "God dammit, don't call me sir I work for a living and I earned the rank of Colonel." The Colonel paused for a moment before continuing. "Well then you will be sent south in two days. Until then you will be stationed here, feel free to examine the facility and ask vets from New California about the terrain, you might even find someone who was deployed outside of Navarro in one of those special missions for the President."

Cleveland, Ohio, 2277

Winter was pissed, the mission had only just begun and they were already a man down. Shortly before arriving in Cleveland the Raiders had stopped pursuing the team, they seemingly had a reason to not enter the outer boundaries of the decaying city. Rubble and collapsed skyscrapers decorated the Metropolis that once held hundreds of thousands of lives. Even from the very edges of this ruined city Winter could hear gunfire and explosions as the remaining survivors fought for what little remained.

After realizing the Raiders would not pursue them any further Mac pulled the Humvee into an alleyway and everyone began to dismount from the vehicle. "Ok you two stay here, Mac your on overwatch, Will take stock of our ammo and equipment. After that put Jay in a body bag and recover his equipment. Im going to search the area for either a settlement or place we can set up a temporary HQ at." "Yes Sir." They say as Winter begins to walk out into the streets looking for refuge.

After walking for about half an hour Winter saw what looked like a walled off town. Makeshift bulwarks made in between ruins of skyscrapers made sure there was only one entrance to the settlement. As Winter walked to the settlements entrance he saw four sentrys standing guard, all wearing leather armor and carrying bolt action rifles. "Hey" Winter called as he stepped into the guardian's view "im friendly don't shoot." "Stop right there" the oldest looking one said "who are you and what's your business in C-Town?"

"I'm a merc with the Reapers,we're a group west of here, we were on our way east and got jumped by raiders. I'm just looking for a place to stay and resupply, we have caps." The lead sentry stared at Winter for a few moments that seemed to last for hours before finally relenting. "Ok son, how many men do you have? If its not that many I'll see about letting you in." "It's just my and two of my men, we also have a pre-war military vehicle that we're using for transport." "Alright son go get them and come back here, although if your not back in two hours than I'll assume your dead." "Thank you sir you won't regret this."

One Hour Later

Winter had run back to the squad and had them moving all in about forty minutes and twenty after that they had reached the main gaits to C-Town. Winter's fears that the man was lying were shown to be false when he saw the gates open on his approach. The Will parked the Humvee next to the entrance. "Ok Will you stay with the Humvee while me and Mac look for a place for us to stay and resupply." "Roger that sir."

With that Winter and Mac dismounted from the Humvee. As Winter got out he saw the old Sentry along with another man who looked even older than him. The Sentry waved him over so Winter walked up to him. "Well it looks like ya made it I'm Lead Sentry Dillard but you can just call me Dill and this is Mayor Hampton. He has a few questions for you your man here can go to the market to buy those supplies, this shouldn't take much time." Winter nodded and began to follow the men towards a three story building. He knew that this little interrogation would either build some trust between him and this community or destroy any chance he has of getting to Georgia.