Chapter Nine

The members of the Untouchables all swarmed around Nate as soon as they saw him. He greeted each of them personally, with handshakes, hugs, and a surprising peck on the cheek from Vanessa Hale. Nate froze instantly, clearly uncomfortable, but it wasn't the first time Vanessa had done it, they were just rare. Normally he didn't react when women did things like this to him, but the memories he had relived included ones of Nora, and that brought a sense of guilt. He had been in the Commonwealth for a year, and he still hadn't found his son. He then set off towards the comms room. He had been out of action for about five days, and because of it, he needed to get on top of matters. He managed to raise Preston on the radio.

"General Garvey, this is Major Thiel, reporting in."

"Jesus Christ! Nate? What's your status, soldier?" Came the general's enthusiastic reply. Nate just shook his head in silent amusement.

"I'm alright, sir. A bit of a harrowing experience that induced a coma and flashed my memories before my eyes. But I'm operational, and ready to take the fight to the gunners." Nate told his boss.

"I understand, but SOP, which-by the way- you created, dictates that after an event like this, the soldier in question takes a mandatory two-week leave. I'm ordering you back to Sanctuary to take that leave. I'll expect you here by the weekend. That's four days, plenty of time for you. Settle your affairs and come home." Preston was off the radio in a flash.

Nate was dumbstruck. He hadn't been expecting a mandatory leave, especially not from Preston. Unfortunately for him, RJ, Piper and Nick heard the conversation, so there was no way he was ducking out of it. The look RJ gave him confirmed it. It wasn't very often that the sniper followed Minutemen protocol, mostly because he was often on his own, but when he did, he did it extremely well. MacCready was out of the room in a flash, and before Nate could chase after him, he heard MacCready shouting that 'the major got some R&R, and that Mac would still be in charge.' Nate sighed and went up to his room.

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Unlike the rooms most minutemen officers had, Nate's was very spartan, if not for the wall filled with guns. He had a bed, a bedside table, a desk, and a small couch to read reports in. The wall was a different matter. Nate had learned basic gun maintenance in boot camp for the army. Delta training had taken it to another level, where he could make crude, but efficient parts for his gun I the field. His year with the DIA had honed his maintenance skills even further, to the point where he could use limited resources to make the parts he needed to keep his guns in top condition. He hadn't thought it to be a very special skill before the bombs dropped, but he had learned the importance of upgrading weapons to their potential quickly in the Commonwealth.

He'd sent Codsworth all around the Commonwealth, mapping as he went. On certain trips, he disabled the Mr. Handy's personality subroutine, and sent him to trade for materials, before re-activating the butlers amusing persona. When Nate had rescued Preston and the Quincy survivors, he had quickly built a friendship with Sturges. The mechanic was a genius at learning to build new things, and was even better at teaching his trade to those who were willing to learn. Nate and Sturges had founded MinuteArms, the business that made weapons for the Minutemen. Nate had made it clear from the get-go that the Minutemen wouldn't supply their own weapons. Nate knew that if the Minutemen became something he didn't like, Sturges would pull out from business with them. Of course, the Minutemen had hundreds, possibly thousands of stockpiled weapons from across the commonwealth, but the weapons that MinuteArms made were of a superior quality.

Nate's weapons surpassed even the best MinuteArms guns. Rifles, shotguns, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, revolvers, and semi-automatics lined the walls. Nate had used each weapon at least once, but the one gun that held his heart was the M4A6, the assault rifle he had used in Anchorage. Technically, when the bombs dropped, Nate was retired, but unofficially, he was still an active member of Delta Force, but was on an extended leave to help raise his son. Nate had kept the rifle in an airtight case under his closest, and when he emerged from Vault 111 two centuries later, he was informed by Codsworth that the gun was still there.

The other of his beloved weapons was the SIG Sauer P220, another memento from his past. It was never standard issue in Delta Force, or any of them for the matter, but the stopping power of the gun, as well as Nate's proficiency with it, meant that Colonel Nelson had let the matter slide. It had been a well-known fact that with a P220, Nate Thiel could clear out a bunker faster than most men with assault rifles could. It had been one of the reasons he had been seconded to DIA SOG/SAD.

This was the first time since he had worked with them that Nate thought about the DIA. He had been as much of a patriot as the others, and never objected to the operations he was sent on, but working with the DIA had been something different. SOG/SAD was the Special Operations Group/ Special Activities Division, or the paramilitary arm of the intelligence agency. Most of SOG/SAD had been made up of former special forces, especially Delta, so Nate fit in quite well. Once he had served his year with them, Nate had been told after the war was won, he would have been recruited to the DIA. He wasn't sure what he would've been like as a spy, but the thought had intrigued him at the time. At least before he was sent back to war, after which he had completely forgotten about it.

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Nate shook himself out of his stupor, and began packing his things. His M4 was carefully taken down from the wall, and laid out on his desk, with the P220 following shortly. Four magazines for his rifle were stacked, while seven pistol clips were lined up underneath, not including the ones that would be loaded into the weapons. From the chest at the foot of his bed came more supplies, including food, water, bandages, and Stimpaks. The next thing was the cloaks. They had been MacCready's idea, once he saw how well Nate could blend into the environment. The cloaks were made from ballistic fibres, and were woven together is a motley of colours. They couldn't be used by just anybody like a stealth-boy could, however. The myriad of colours blended in to certain environments, and for someone like Nate, meant that he could pass almost invisibly through many areas. The Untouchables had many cloaks for many different areas, but normally only carried one extra with them.

The last and final thing he prepared was his armour. Originally, Nate had worn a modified combat vest, but with Sturges' help, and a lot of caps and hours spent finding rare materials, Nate had managed to create a new body armour for himself. Made up of small, oblong trauma plates, the armour was weaved together like scales, giving Nate more flexibility and manoeuvrability than he had expected. The under-suit he wore was made of Aero-Foam, which was extremely durable, and allowed him to move silently. The rubber soles made him quieter, and gave him more grip when he was in slippery places.

Nate stared at his wall of weapons for a few minutes, trying to figure out if he needed anything else. He decided he didn't and sunk into his couch, to catch his thoughts for a few minutes. Unfortunately for Nate, he didn't have that luxury.

"You moron, you don't have anything for long range encounters. What happens if you run into a sniper who can shoot halfway decent, and all you've got is your M4 and a pea-shooter."

MacCready was as blunt as usual, but Nate appreciated it. Some of the others, like Piper and Nick, were eyeing him cautiously, making sure he was stable.

"Okay, first, I'm going to start with the part of that sentence that not only annoyed me the most, but hurt me the most." Nate announced dramatically, to MacCready's surprise. "My sidearm is not a 'pea-shooter.' Just like you can accurately put a bullet in a man's head from two-hundred yards away with a rifle, I can accurately put a bullet in a man's head twenty yards away, while I'm being shot at, with my pistol. Secondly, you are a genius RJ. I knew I was forgetting something, I just couldn't place it."

Nate rose quickly, ignoring the dizziness he felt, and moved to the gun-wall. He began combing up and down his rifles, trying to find the right one. MacCready stood behind him to the right, ready to help if needed. His eyes landed on one of his more extensively modified DKS-501's. It had a 25X scope, an extra-long barrel, a sturdy bipod, and a rubber butt, which dampened the recoil immensely. It easily had a 2500-yard range, and it was light enough that Nate wouldn't be slowed by it. He placed it on his table, and grabbed three magazines for his webbing, and another to be loaded into the rifle, if the time came. He locked it on to the side of the rifle with a powerful magnet. Then, he stopped to admire his gear. He was packed.

That meant it was time for a briefing of the Untouchables. Nate had noticed that when they had heard of his injury, many of them came to the alley, bringing trainees and candidates with them. While he wasn't happy with the new guys seeing him in a weak position, he also knew that it reinforced the point that Nate had driven across all his trainees- No one is invincible, just find a way to beat them. The gunners very nearly had beat Nate, but privately, he wondered if he was indeed un-killable. It didn't make sense how he had survived so long with very few permanent reminders to show. He assumed that there was a higher power looking out for him and left it at that.

When Nate ordered a briefing, the mess building was cleared rapidly. The veteran members of First Company sat closer to Nate, while the recruits and candidates sat in the back away from him. He clambered onto one of the mess tables, and cleared his throat loudly. The company hushed up. There were about thirty of them here, not including recruits, which meant all but one squad had shown up.

"If you haven't heard by now, I've been given mandatory leave. That means while you lot are out slogging it the mud, and digging through the dirt, I'll be over at sanctuary, having barbeques every night, and sleeping like a baby while getting fat." Nate decided to start with some humour. It worked, judging by the chuckles, but he pushed on. "However, before I leave to enjoy myself, I do have some assignments for all of you. Alpha Squad will be going to the Castle, to oversee training, and find out if any of them have the potential to join the First. Bravo will be heading to the Slog, which has demanded that a new squad be sent to garrison, due to racial slurs against the ghouls. I'll be investigating that case personally. Charlie will go to Sunshine Tidings, because I've decided I want it converted into a rest stop. Elements of the Second Company will be waiting for you there, to assist with construction. Delta squad will stay here for your rotation at the alley. Finally, Echo will be going to Diamond City, just because I want McDonough sweating." That brought a few more chuckles out. "Any questions?"

When none were placed forward. Nate nodded to himself. He was content to leave the First Company now, even if he didn't want to. He said his goodbyes, shook hands with many men, and set off, first towards Oberland Station, then to Greygarden. He spent the night at Greygarden, and then began travelling up towards the Drumlin Diner. He was about a mile from the diner when he felt an odd feeling pass over him. He knelt to check the ground, and a round slammed into the tree next to him. He threw himself down, and rolled to the side. Nate briefly wondered if the was MacCready, testing him, but threw the thought aside. This was most likely a Gunner sniper, and they were dangerous.

MMXVII

Authors Note

So. Stuff happened. No flashbacks this chapter, but we did get a good idea of what the Minutemen First Company is like. I also explained the cloaks that they wear more in-depth. It's not stealth tech, like the stealth-boy, but simply good old-fashioned cloth, and men who can hide. Nate's officer room is filled with guns, and the sniper rifle I had him grab, the DKS-501, is the name of the canon sniper rifle that appears in Fallout, Fallout 2, 3 and New Vegas. I wrote a sniping scene a few chapters ago, but I really want to write a sniper duel, so that's what I'm doing. Leave reviews, or PM me what you think.

Vonok,

Soviet_Babushka