Necessary Actions Part 2

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"So were those people you talked about my friends or…?!"

Rodney was standing up and screaming at the speaker. As if it were the President himself.

"Calm down Doctor! I have just gotten the reports myself, and from our initial interviews, it appears that they are not your friends."

"How do you know? They could be drugged or have amnesia or any other host of things I don't have a clue about!"

"You must believe me when I say they are not your friends, they have been questioned by one of our patrols and are instead looking for one of their friends who was taken by slavers."

"Do you at least have a picture or something? It could be that they don't know who the Enclave are!"

"You are incredibly persistent aren't you Doctor? Very well, if you will give me a moment I will have our patrol send us an image of each. But you must allow some time for them to follow through. In the meantime I will continue our discussion from before."

Rodney dropped his head, very frustrated, but not having much a choice.

"But but… argh… alright… but please, once you have their pictures please show me so I can see whether it's them or not."

"You have my assurances Doctor. Now back to our original topic, the problems in the wasteland. The FEV mutants or 'Super Mutants' as they are colloquially known."

"You were saying something about it being a solution as well?"

"Yes, because there is prior evidence of FEV mutating, our hope is that our geneticists will be to make a genetic variant of it that will purge the mutations."

Rodney had his hand up in argument, but sighed and stayed silent. He wasn't too sure about these mutations and whether or not the Enclave was acting out of sincere fear, or just totalitarianism.

"I can see you are apprehensive, I do not blame you. But you have not lived on this world, and you have not personally experienced the hardships and tribulations that plague our people. It may seem like a drastic and frankly genocidal course of action, but it has been almost 30 years of war in the wasteland. Many of the men you see in this base were born under the cloak of war and know nothing else."

"I see, well I guess you know your own planet better than I do, but where do I fit in?"

"I need you to make modifications to Project Purity that will allow us to directly lace all the purified water with the virus. Our geneticists have been working diligently, and assure me that in all tests so far, it will not affect a person with limited radioactive exposure in any negative way."

"Oh and how long have they been doing these studies? Lemme guess, less than the 20 years Project Purity has been online."

"Doctor, your pedantic diatribes are beginning to annoy me. I will do you the favour of ignoring them instead of reprimanding them. You are a stranger to our world and our customs and you must accept that. All I need to know is whether you can make the modification or not."

"Well… yes, as long as everything else is in place then definitely! But…"

"Then I would ask that you help us Doctor. And in order to prove my vision to you, I extend to you the offer to join one of our teams that will be heading into the wasteland to commence a house cleaning operation."

Rodney, not wanting to experience the wasteland personally, for fear of all the dangers of radiation, as well as dismemberment, vehemently rejected his offer.

"Oh no no no… I'm quite alright here doing research, I'll be glad to work on Project Purity!"

"Stupendous, I will transfer all needed research and materials to Dr Manning's laboratories immediately. I will immediately order our troops to let you come and go throughout the base as you please.. And before you leave, we have gotten images of the travellers I spoke of earlier."

The screen in front of Rodney activated, and showed two people who while looking similar to Colonel Sheppard and… damn, he keeps forgetting her name… Vger? No that was the Star trek thing… Alice something or other… in any case, it wasn't them.

"*Sigh* no… unfortunately that's not them… but I can use those pictures to give you a better picture…"

"Very well Doctor, I regret that we have not found them yet, but with any luck we will be encountering them soon."

"I hope so… I wouldn't want them running into any of those things you showed me."

The conversation continued, Eden easily multitasking the 20 different things his multilayers processing units were busy working on. Eden began another subroutine, taking the actual pictures of the two Brotherhood armoured people who had attacked the outpost in the capital and sent it to his most trusted subordinates, keeping the information from the recently much more aggressive Colonel Autumn. These Atlantis folk might come in very handy and he needed to make sure there weren't any more… incidents.
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"You okay Sir?"

John nodded and made a growling noise with his throat, he set down his end of the crate and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"I'm fine, let's just take what we can carry and get outta here before it gets dark."

Alicia put her own side of the crate down, able to tell that Sheppard was not ok. Even if it weren't for her natural woman's intuition, the fact that he was being very quiet was proof enough. But as he was both her commanding officer and only ally at the moment, she decided she'd wait until they were safe to see if he wanted to talk about it.

They'd stolen just about everything from the Enclave outpost, Flak had been right and there was more munitions there than they could ever hope to need… at least they hoped. Plasma Rifles, Pistols, Grenades, as well as dozens of parts for both weapons and power armor were all housed inside the well maintained crates. They quickly moved the crates into an abandoned shed nearby, to both hide it and store it as it was way too much for them to carry.

"You think Flak would want those suits of armor?" Alicia panted, tired from hauling the heavy crates.

John nodded, and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Yeah, we're not taking them though. Just take any ammo you can carry and stay close. We're leaving."

She nodded, and shifted the plasma rifle on her back. Alicia followed John as he moved out, leaving the destroyed building and the small now deserted outpost.

It was a quiet walk, they had taken the long route to avoid any others who might see them with the Enclave tech. John's usual chatty nature had apparently been suppressed and it made it all the more intimidating.

It was getting dark now, and they were still far off from Rivet City. John stopped and sighed, looking to Alicia.

"I don't think we'll make it back today… I'm not too sure I wanna travel 'round here in the dark."

Alicia nodded, and looked around.

"We should make camp in one of these buildings, preferably up high."

"Agreed."

John didn't say anything else and instead just motioned for her to follow him.

Slowly, they climbed up the skeletal remains of a large building with some stairs still intact. It was a sobering sight to see the remains of other people in the shattered ruins, some in bathtubs, and others on the stairs. Finally they reached an area that was relatively safe and far from any unsafe ledges. A window in the wall gave them a good view of the area by the river, the most likely area to see other people.

They set down their equipment in a corner and tried to find comfortable spots. When Alicia pulled out her lighter in order to make a fire John waved his hand negatively.

"No… no fires, that'll draw people in like moths to a… well… I guess it would be moths to a flame."

Alicia smirked and then shivered, the wind nipping at her.

"You're right… you got any more of that… squirrel?"

John didn't laugh, and just dug into his pack.

"Yeah, should be enough to last us the night, might have to shoot breakfast tomorrow though."

Alicia was worried, John was typical a very jovial person and his sudden seriousness only made her more nervous. She sat down in front of him and tried to look vulnerable. He handed her another stick of squirrel meat and pulled another one out for himself. John silently chewed and leaned against the wall.

"Sir?" Vega tried to sound a bit worried.

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't Atlantis have sent us help by now?"

John nodded and sighed.

"Something must be stopping them. And Daedalus was heading back to Earth so… might be a few weeks before we can expect any heavy support if the gate's down."

Alicia shivered a bit and looked to John expectantly, he seemingly didn't notice. "So… it's just us then?"

John kept nodding, using his body motions instead of his voice to communicate. He pulled out his canteen and took a sip.

"Just us… and McKay… any luck we'll find the jumper with him and get the hell outta here."

They were silent again, forcing the hard chewy meat into their gullets. Alicia didn't like this one bit and finally decided to be a bit bolder.

"Sir.. Um… permission to speak freely?"

John sighed and pressed his palm against his face. "Leese, I've been telling you to speak freely for days… what's on your mind?"

She moved closer, and leaned forward to whisper.

"Uh well… are you umm… are you okay sir? "

John huffed in amusement. Alicia obviously knew something was up.

"I'll be fine Leese… I just didn't expect to have to shoot someone in cold blood when I woke up this morning."

She understood, Alicia had watched through her scope when John had taken the plasma rifle and hesitated before shootin the second Enclave soldier in the head even as he was trapped under the concrete. It was easy to understand why he had done such a thing, but apparently John didn't want to accept it.

"You didn't really have a choice sir… he could have ID'd us."

"Yeah… that's what I keep telling myself. Just sucks is all."

Alicia decided to let the matter drop, and rubbed her arms trying to keep warm. John, finally feeling a little better, noticed immediately.

"Aw crap, hell's the matter with me? Come 'ere."

John waved her to come closer, she gladly did knowing that he was offering to keep her warm. Alicia settled in beside him, much happier.

"Thanks sir, I hate the cold."

Alicia shivered again and curled up to John. He resisted snickering and wrapped an arm around her, while pulling the field blanket from his pack with the other.

"I guess you'd be used to the heat, you were stationed in Iraq 'fore 'lantis right?"

Alicia nodded as she snatched the edge of the blanket from John and pulled it around her body.

"Yeah, a little too hot but I didn't mind. Ha, guess those are the Spanish genes for ya."

Even through their significant armor, John could feel a certain tightness begin to bother him, he was careful to try and make it inconspicuous, but feeling Alicia suddenly shake a little made him wonder if she knew what her being so close did to him.

Alicia on the other hand was biting her lower lip, hoping the pain would keep her from laughing. She could understand his reluctance and slight embarrassment over being caught, so Alicia simply played it off and tried to remain civil. The Colonel was obviously careful in his newfound camaraderie with her, and years of regulations and just downright courtesy kept him in control. Alicia couldn't help but be a little flattered that he thought enough of her to have to shift his pants whenever they got close.

"So this cold doesn't bother you too much?" Alicia mumbled, trying to keep from giggling.

"Nah, I spent a year at McMurdo 'fore I came here, in the winter no less. I got used to it."

"Mmmm… musta sucked. This place doesn't seem much better."

John chuckled softly.

"Oh I dunno… those giant crabs were pretty tasty, long as you survive killing the damn thing first."

Now Alicia giggled, and settled back into the crook of his shoulder. The hard metal plates were uncomfortable, but she could feel his neck and chin against the back of her head. Alicia felt the obligation and asked quietly. "You want me to take the first shift?"

"Nah, get some sleep Leese. I'll wake you in a few hours."

"Thanks… John."

He raised his eyebrows, and involuntarily pulled her closer. It wasn't often people called him by his first name and Alicia had rarely, if ever, used it. So when she turned around and wrapped her arms around him to get more comfortable, John was reminded of an old Simpson's episode "Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts…"

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"AH! Help! Get away get away!!!"

Rodney fell on his back, tripping over a rock. The cat sized beast moved forward and hissed at him.

Rodney kicked at it but none of his strikes connected, the winged monster jumped up and began to bite at him.

Just as it neared his face, an azure coloured beam cleanly bisected the mutated insect, the wings fluttering to the side as green gooey blood splattered on Rodney. One of its legs ended up on his forehead, the hairy feelers still moving as it slid off.

The Enclave Soldier who had heard him was merciless, he laughed uncontrollably and extended his hand to help the doctor up,

"Oh my god… I'm saving that gun camera footage. Just a freakin' roach."

Rodney dusted himself off, deciding that he'd much rather wait until he could either get transportation or Sheppard and his Hispanic brunette sidekick came to rescue him.

"Roach? That was more like a Big-enough-to-bite-my-face-off Roach!!"

The trooper laughed, and picked him up off the ground. He was still laughing.

"You could step on the little bastards next time, fucking waste of ammo."

Rodney had decided to take a look around Raven Rock to see if there were any viable escape methods, instead he found a nest of some kind among the rocks. He'd tossed a pebble in to see what was in there and came under attack from the giant roach.

It wasn't long before he was back inside the facility, now with full access to his gear from the Jumper. All of the weapons had been confiscated but he at least had his tablet and all the MRE's he could have hoped for. No more risk of radiation poisoning from eating mutated crabs, bears or even giant man-eating rats.

Dr Manning was awaiting him, in her typical scientist smock and a sunny smile. "Rod! So you've decided to stay?"

He nodded and rubbed his neck where the roach had aimed to bite.

"Yes yes yes… I uhh… I kinda had a little encounter with a giant roach that wanted to eat my face so I figure I'll just wait till Autumn's storm troopers in the heavy and safe looking armor find my friends and…"

Dr Manning snickered at Rodney's run on sentence. "Calm down!" She got up and took his hand. "If you want to go somewhere then you'll probably need an escort. I'm going to be heading out soon to take samples from different Wasteland settlements to get an idea of how much radiation exposure there is out there. It's the first time I'll have left Raven Rock and I'd love it if you'd join me."

"Oh… uhh… I dunno… I mean… would I get one of those super snazzy power armours?"

Dephany shook her head and instead went back to her desk.

"No, we save those for the frontline troops. It's not even the most advanced armor we can build but the resources to build them are just too demanding. However… it seems that with your conversation with our president, you've been cleared to have this."

Dephany pulled out a small pistol, and a few bricks of ammo.

"This should keep the roaches away, I guess you really made an impression on him. President Eden I mean."

"Uh yeah, we uhh.. I mean he seems like a decent person… a little demanding, but decent."

Rodney absentmindedly began to check the pistol, clearing the chamber and loading the first clip, Dr Manning watched, impressed. "You've used guns before?"

Rodney realised what he was doing and tried to play it off. "Oh uh…. Just some times… usually my friends are the ones with all the big loud and scary guns."

Dephany chuckled, and pulled out a pair of holsters.

"Here, I hope you're a good shot."

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Alicia felt movement underneath her, shaking her awake. She spoke with a hoarse voice. "Hmm? Colonel? What's…?"

Sheppard's hand came down over her mouth, silencing her. Alicia fought back for a moment before hearing his voice next to hers. "Calm down… Shh… look."

Alicia blinked hard, and resisted yawning. The sun was down and the only light she could see by was the faded moon in the sky. Alicia nodded and moved John's hand from her mouth. His arm was surprisingly dense with muscle. She turned to look at him and saw him peeking out through the window. Whispering, Alicia kept her voice low.

"What is it?"

John motioned out the window, he had his rifle at the ready. Alicia looked out as well and saw a group of super mutants moving slowly along the river bank. They had assault weapons and the largest one held a rocket launcher.

They were moving in a slow wide pattern, obviously searching. One barked orders to the others. "Argh! Need more… dip in green stuff, make more…!"

John was tired, he'd been awake for almost 24 hours and he could feel the weight of his eyelids, he contemplated taking one of the stimulants he'd found on the Enclave Troopers to keep frosty, but deciding to err on the side of caution, he waved at Alicia to stay low. John whispered quietly. "I don't think they'll see us but we shouldn't stay out here. You feelin' ok?"

Alicia nodded, and stretched her neck before taking her gun in her hands. "Let's move, I'll cover you."

John shook his head and pushed the barrel of her rifle down with his palm. "No, we're gonna wait 5 minutes, and then sneak around them. Rob's maps show a tunnel or subway that'll put us on the other side of Rivet City."

Alicia clicked her jaw, she wasn't too sure about going underground in this place. "Sounds dangerous sir… but I'll follow you if you go sir."

John sighed, he didn't want to go but they needed to get to Rivet City soon and with Super Mutants roaming around, the underground was the most likely way to avoid getting torn apart and eaten.

"Glad to hear it, there's a note pinned to the tunnel… something about Ghouls…"

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A/N: Ugh, strange. Hit a mental block but hopefully I broke it here. Next Chapter should be fun, (if you've played Fallout 3 you know how f**ked up the subway tunnels can get.)

Rodney's gonna get a bigger part now, i came up with a decent story for him thanks to a late night conversation with my bro about something creepy that happened to him in Fallout.

I've actually fully planned out a story now, so new chapters should be a few days apart (max a week)

Thanks for reading! Enjoy and as always, Reviews are always appreciated!