Hello everyone. Last time, we left Damian as he was being captured inside Vault 87 and taken to a mysterious place. Let's see how he will manage to get out of this situation.
Please enjoy.
(Thirty minutes earlier, somewhere above the Capital Wasteland)
"Target is 10 clicks away."
The man was dressed in a black outfit with headphones and microphone. The place he was sitting in was illuminated by a small red light and he was surrounded by the sound of an engine.
About ten people were sitting behind him. All were wearing black power armor and a helmet with a red visor, except for one, dressed in a black uniform and a beige raincoat. He was holding a small file in his hands with loose leaves piled on top of it. On one of them, a picture of a grey briefcase was attached to the briefcase by a paper clip. The briefcase bore the Vault-Tec company logo and the letters 'G', 'E', 'C' and 'K' on it.
"Colonel Autumn," said the man with the headphones and. "Target in sight."
"Threats?" asked the officer, raising his head.
"Twenty plus foot-mobile, scattered around the landing zone."
"Permission to engage," Autumn said in a monotone voice.
To the roar of the Vertibird's engines was added the crackle of a heavy machinegun mounted on the front of the aircraft. Autumn returned to his notes. A few seconds later, the aircraft turned sharply to the side. The Colonel looked up at the pilot.
"My apologies, Sir. The enemy has rocket launchers."
A small detonation sounded outside the Vertibird. A few seconds later, the crackling sound of the machinegun ceased.
"Sir, all hostiles targets are eliminated but Hunter 2-2 reports engine trouble on their Vertibird. They are requesting instructions."
"Tell them to RTB. We'll continue the mission without them."
The pilot nodded and spoke into his radio. Autumn's Vertibird began its descent.
"Gentlemen, you know the mission," Autumn said. "For President Eden and for America."
"For Eden and America," the soldiers answered in unison.
A tremor indicated that the Vertibird had just landed. One of the soldiers pulled a handle and the compartment door opened, lighting up the interior of the cabin. The soldiers jumped out of the aircraft and dispersed, forming a security perimeter around the aircraft.
Autumn descended in turn, escorted by two soldiers equipped with a plasma rifle and a minigun. The small group headed towards a plain surrounded by rocky hills and piles and metal plates driven into the ground.
The Vertibird took off and started circling the area. A second one was also circling in the sky. One of the soldiers of the group approached the plain and held up a Geiger counter. The device sizzled.
"Our intels are accurate, Colonel. The entrance to Vault 87 is deadly radioactive."
Autumn waved at a group of soldiers. They lowered their weapons and headed for the hill overlooking the entrance to the Vault. They placed a small circular device on the ground and ran away. The next moment there was an explosion. One of the soldiers signaled to one of the Vertibird. The device pivoted and fired a rocket at the spot where the explosion had just taken place.
A hole several meters deep in the ground was where the missile had hit. The soldiers dropped a rope in the hole descended one after the other. They arrived in a metal and concrete corridor, in complete darkness and eaten away by rust.
"The radiation level is minimal, but we'll have to be careful not to stay too long," said the soldier, putting away his Geiger counter.
"Forward, Upsilon attack pattern," Autumn ordered.
The group of soldiers progressed rapidly through the tunnel. They encountered three Super Mutants and one Centaur and quickly eliminated them.
"I'm picking up two heat signatures," whispered one of the soldiers. "One human and one animal."
Autumn waved his hand. One of the soldiers grabbed a small grenade from his belt. A second activated the sliding door in front of them. The door opened enough for the soldier to throw his grenade to the other side.
Through the opening, a large white flash appeared along with a deafening noise. The sound of something falling to the ground was heard. The door opened. On the floor, a young man in t-shirt and fatigues, with a Pip-Boy on his wrist. Beside him was a briefcase, similar to the one in Autumn's notes.
Three soldiers entered. One fired a shot at a dog in the room.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm securing the area," the soldier spat.
"Silence," Autumn barked as he entered.
He crouched down beside the young man and looked into his eyes. A sneer appeared on the Colonel's face.
"Secure the G.E.C.K. and bring it to my Vertibird."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
One of the soldiers grabbed the briefcase and headed down the corridor. Autumn stood up and turned to one of his men.
"What condition is he in? Is he all right?" he asked, pointing to the young man lying on the ground.
"The flash will knock him out for a while."
"Excellent," said Autumn. "Prepare him for transport."
Autumn walked away, leaving his soldiers handcuffing the young man. They returned to the Vertibird. Autumn grabbed a radio and started talking into it.
"Mr. President. Mission accomplished. We're heading back."
The Vertibird took off and headed north.
(Three hours later)
Damian slowly opened his eyes. He was in a room with steel walls and ceiling, enclosed in a metal cylinder, surrounded by a blue force field. In front of him, an arch-shaped metal door, lit by blue lights, indicated "cell 4". On the right, a locker and on the left, what looked like a security camera, imitating an eye with a fluorescent blue pupil.
"Ah... You're finally waking up."
Damian turned his head. He almost vomited, his inner ear and brain still affected by the big white flash and detonation that had knocked him unconscious. The Colonel Autumn was standing in the room with him. At his side was a small cart and surgical utensils.
"I was afraid my men's stun grenade was too powerful for your savage metabolism," Autumn continued.
"Where...?"
"We're going to keep it simple. I'll ask the questions and you answer them nicely."
The Colonel of the Enclave stood in front of Damian's capsule and folded his arms behind his back.
"You're going to give me the code to the purifier, and you're going to give it to me right now."
Autumn's arrogant gaze rang out over Damian's face.
"What's going on? Where am I?" Damian asked.
His migraine was gradually subsiding, but he still couldn't move.
"You're in no position to ask or demand anything," Autumn answered. "Give me the code to the purifier, and we might let you live."
Damian was starting to remember what happened to him. He had been captured by the Enclave and was now most likely in their base.
"The code," Autumn repeated.
"I'm not telling you anything, you fucking bastard," Damian hissed.
He knew that even with the G.E.C.K. in their possession, the Enclave would not be able to start Project Purity without the activation code. Damian did not know the code. He had been racking his brain trying to find it, but he had come to the conclusion that the only one who knew the code was his father.
Autumn's jaws clenched.
"I'll be honest with you, I'm not in the mood for jokes. Give me the code or you'll regret it."
Damian remained silent, staring at Autumn.
The Colonel approached the wagon. He looked at it for a moment before turning to Damian.
"You know," he said as if he had just remembered something. "The cell you are in is a pre-war technology, which acts as some kind of stasis pod. I'm won't explain it to you in details, as I know you won't understand, but know that it has some… Interesting features."
He walked around Damian who could only turn his head. The second after, Damian felt electric current running through his body and screamed.
"We have ways of making you talk," smiled Autumn. "Now give me the code."
Damian felt a second electric shock. He panted and spat. He felt that if the force field was deactivated, he would instantly fall on the floor.
Autumn came back in front of him and stared at him.
"The code?" he asked.
Damian swallowed his saliva and took a few deep breaths before turning his head towards the Colonel.
"Fuck you," he managed to say.
Autumn did not reply and stared at him. He returned at the control panel of the cell and Damian screamed as a new and more powerful electric shock ran through his body.
"Give that damn code. Now!"
"Seriously… Fuck you…" Damian panted.
Autumn's face was red in anger. Damian had nothing to win in provoking the Colonel, and at that very moment, he was sure that he was going to die. If that was the case, then he would do everything to piss off Autumn.
"'Colonel, I need you in my office.'"
A voice out of nowhere echoed through the cell. Autumn rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to the eye-shaped camera.
"Mr. President, I don't have time. I'll join you soon."
The voice was that of President Eden, the same voice that came out in a loop from the little flying robots of the Enclave that surveyed the Capital Wasteland.
"'Now, Colonel,'" insisted Eden's voice in an authoritative tone.
"Yes Sir," Autumn hissed between her teeth.
He turned around to give Damian a murderous look before leaving the cell. The door closed, leaving Damian alone.
"'At last, some peace'", said the voice of Eden. "'Please excuse Colonel Autumn, he's been under a lot of stress lately and he has anger management issues that can lead to… This type of behaviors.'"
"Fuck you too. I'm not telling you anything."
Eden was silent for a few seconds.
"'You'll find your personal belongings in the locker by the door. I'd love to meet you face to face. There are a number of things I'd very much like to discuss with you.'"
The force field disappeared, and Damian almost fell to the ground. The eye camera followed him as he headed towards the locker. President Eden's tone was surprisingly friendly, even paternal. If Eden wanted so much to meet him, Damian was not going to keep him waiting. As soon as he entered his office, he would kill him, then he would go and kill Autumn before blowing this place up and he would kill all the soldiers of the Enclave on his way.
Damian opened the locker. Inside, he found his clothes, his bag and all his belongings, and strangely, his rifle and 10mm pistol. The only thing missing was the G.E.C.K.. Damian finished getting dressed in difficulty, his body still num by the electric shocks. He turned, ready to call Dogmeat. His heart tightened when he remembered the vision of Dogmeat lying on the ground of Vault 87. He sighed and walked towards the door.
Damian exited the cell and arrived in a narrow corridor with a metal wall, lit by blue lamps. The floor, a steel grate, concealed a multitude of pipes and electrical cables.
"I don't mind going into his office, but where the hell is it?" Damian thought.
He hadn't taken two steps outside the cell until he felt a hand grab him and push him against the wall.
"Don't move!"
Damian looked over his shoulder and saw an Enclave officer in grey uniform twisting his arm off.
"What the fuck are you doing outside, you should be in your cell!" yelled the Enclave officer.
"Wow, calm down, I have the right to be here!" Damian cried out.
The officer burst out laughing.
"On whose orders? The President's maybe?"
"You got it. He wants to see me."
Damian could feel the officer twisting more and more his arm. At that rate, he was going to break it.
"Yeah, sure. Like I'm going to believe that," said the officer.
"Just fucking ask him, then," said Damian. "I'm sure he'll be pleased to know that you made me arrive late to the appointment."
The officer remained silent for a moment and took Damian to another camera eye near the cell door. He cleared his throat and started talking in a nervous voice.
"Mr. President, sorry for the inconvenience, but I have here the prisoner from the Vault who says he has an appointment with you."
"'I don't remember authorizing you to contact me directly, Lieutenant,'" replied Eden's voice in an authoritative and annoyed tone.
The officer swallowed his saliva. He loosened his grip on Damian a little.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but... Well, it seemed to me that... It was an extraordinary request. My apologies, Mr. President."
The camera stared at the officer for many seconds. He completely let go of Damian who massaged his arm.
"'Apology noted Lieutenant,'" said Eden. "'I did indeed order this person to join me at my office. Is that clear enough?'"
"Yes, Sir. Again, my apologies, Sir."
The officer apologized a third time, while Eden ordered him to report to his commander for a new assignment. At the same time, another Enclave officer passed by. He frowned as he looked at Damian but quickly understood that it was better for him not to say anything when he heard Eden's voice.
"'You,'" said Eden. "'Escort this young man to my office.'"
The new officer looked at the camera and Damian before nodding and standing at attention. He motioned for Damian to follow him.
As they walked, Eden's voice echoed through several loudspeakers, ordering to let Damian reach his office without intervening.
The officer led Damian to a large corridor. Holographic blueprints were scattered along the walls. The base of the Enclave seemed to be in an underground bunker. On one of the plans, Damian could read the name "Raven Rock". It was probably an old pre-war military installation. After all, if the Enclave boasted that they were the descendants of the U.S. government and its military, then it was logical that they would have invested in such a complex. Strangely enough, the architecture of some of the lights and technology around it reminded Damian of the alien spaceship.
Like the alien ship, Raven Rock had a cryogenic and technology lab. Upon inspecting the plan, Damian realized that he would have to go through the entire base before reaching Eden's office.
They walked to another section of the bunker. Scientists in white suit and protective masks with opaque visors were working on computer consoles or on animals or mutants, immersed in large capsules filled with a yellowish liquid. Damian felt as if he could see Vault 101's biology class, with its jars of animal organs or heads immersed in formaldehyde, except that the Vault had no feral ghouls, Super Mutants or Robobrains' brains in its jars.
Each new section of the bunker was guarded by two soldiers in power armor and Damian could see several patrols of soldiers, led by an officer and accompanied by one of these little flying robots.
Damian and the officer continued walking for several minutes to a small corridor when Colonel Autumn's voice echoed throughout the bunker.
"'Attention all Enclave personnel, this is Colonel Autumn. I am giving orders to ignore President Eden's latest directive. Order to shoot on sight the prisoner from Vault 101. Repeat. Order is given to shoot the prisoner from Vault 101.'"
Damian and the officer stopped and looked at each other. The officer slipped his hand on his belt to grab his plasma pistol. Damian kicked him in the stomach and knocked him out with a kick to the face.
Damian rushed to the first room he could find. It was a laboratory. Four sections occupied the corners, serving as a work surface or test room. In the center, a stasis Super Mutant was floating in its giant jar of formaldehyde.
Damian dived into one of the four sections of the lab. Upstairs, the guards on duty, fired their plasma weapons. Damian managed to eliminate one of them. Around him, the lab assistants ran for cover. An alarm began to sound. The whole base was about to rush on him.
Damian ran to the exit of the lab. He fired blindly. He didn't care if he hit a soldier, a scientist, or one of those jars with the test subjects in it, as long as he got out of there without being liquefied by a plasma shot.
He entered the main corridor and went down a flight of stairs. He went through a door labeled "3B". On the other side, he came across a large cafeteria. Several laser rays greeted him. He jumped back and grabbed a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin when he heard footsteps down the stairs. Damian threw the grenade down. He heard a scream followed by an explosion. He entered the mess hall shooting blindly.
Damian took cover behind a metal pillar and knocked a table to the side to protect himself from the attackers coming down the stairs. He reloaded his assault rifle and stood up to fire. He had four enemies in front of him.
The first, an officer was shot in the chest and collapsed against a table. Damian pulled out a new grenade and threw it at the three remaining soldiers. The explosion made the cutlery and food flew from the tables.
Damian looked towards the center of the explosion and saw only dead bodies. He left the mess hall, climbed a new staircase and went through another door. He was in a corridor with several steel pillars. On his right was a staircase and a door leading to the cryogenic laboratory.
He turned around and struck the door control box open with the butt of his rifle and pulled the wires out. A shower of sparks flew out of the box and the lights in the door went out.
Damian walked towards the door leading to the cryogenic laboratory. He activated it and was stunned by what he discovered.
The cryogenic lab was organized in the same way as the biological lab, but it was different, partly because of the low temperature, but also because of the stasis chambers that occupied parts of the room.
What left Damian speechless was the stasis capsule in the center of the lab. Floating in a fluorescent blue cylinder, a nightmarish creature was watching him. Three meters high, brown scaly skin, or so Damian assumed, the creature had thorns on its back and a long reptilian tail. Its limbs, thin and muscular, were reminiscent of those of the dinosaurs in Damian's childhood picture books. Its arms ended in hands with three huge, razor-sharp, three-foot claws. The creature's head resembled that of a lizard or a dragon. It had a broad jaw with sharp teeth and horns on the top of its head. Its eyes, reptilian, stared at Damian through the cryogenic force field of the capsule.
Although he was convinced the creature was asleep, Damian couldn't help but feel that he was being watched. The other cryogenic capsules contained wild ghouls or mutant animals, some vaguely resembling bears.
When James had explained to Damian that there were worse things than Super Mutants in the Capital Wasteland, he found it hard to believe. He now had proof that the mutations of the D.C. wildlife had created horrors that even his worst nightmares would be unable to imagine.
The cryogenic lab was strangely deserted. Damian hurried across it. He arrived in a wide corridor lined with doors. He activated one of them and stumbled upon a dormitory. He kept walking forward and stopped near a map. The alarm continued to sound, and he heard footsteps. A whole squad of soldiers in power armor converged on him. Damian entered the nearest room and closed the door behind him.
"You? But…"
Damian was standing in front of Anna Holt, the scientist from Project Purity, who has been missing since the Enclave took over the Jefferson Memorial.
"What are you doing here?" asked the scientist in her usual dismissive tone.
Damian heard the shouts of the Enclave squad approaching. He backed away from the door and held his breath. When he was certain they were gone, he turned back to Holt.
"We all thought you died in the attack on the purifier. What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.
"They captured me in the attack and brought me here."
Damian then noticed that the room they were in didn't look like a cell, but more like a bedroom.
"Wait..."
"At first I didn't want to help them, but have you seen all this technology they have? It's way beyond what the Brotherhood can get and beyond anything I've ever seen."
"You helped these guys?" Damian cried out.
Holt sounded surprised.
"Of course, they want to help people and change the Wasteland. You've seen this place you've seen this technology. Working in that environment was a golden opportunity."
"Helping people? Do you know what those guys are doing to the people out there?"
Damian shook his head in disgust.
"So, you told them everything? Did you tell them about the G.E.C.K. and how it takes one to make the purifier work?"
"Yes, I told them about the G.E.C.K." answered Holt.
"You betrayed Doctor Li and your friends! But more important, you betrayed my father! All so you could work in that bunker and help those murderers!"
"I'm sorry you feel that way. What are you going to do about it? Kill me? And stop shouting, I don't want to be seen with you."
Damian drew his gun. Holt's condescending, haughty expression turned into surprise and then fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but Damian fired before she could make a sound. Holt fell backwards onto her bed, blood gushing from her forehead.
Damian put the gun away. He felt neither relief nor guilt. Holt had knowingly helped the Enclave run Project Purity, and she had informed them about the G.E.C.K.. If Autumn and her men were able to find Vault 87, it was her fault. The entire advance Damian thought he had on the Enclave had been wiped out by a poor woman of science, preferring to satisfy her desire to work in a laboratory full of the latest technology, rather than remain loyal to her former companions.
Damian left the room without a glance at Holt's corpse. He felt that everyone who had willingly joined or worked with the Enclave deserved the same fate as Holt.
Damian walked through the dormitories. He managed to avoid another patrol. He found it strange that the Enclave didn't have more staff at its headquarters. Most of their troops must have been on other levels of the base or at Project Purity. As well, some of the doors he wanted to use were locked while others seemed to open when he arrived.
He entered a large circular room. In the center was an interactive table, representing a map of the Capital Wasteland. It looked very much like the one the Brotherhood had at the Citadel. Damian searched for a few seconds and found the locations of the Citadel and the Jefferson Memorial. He noticed the locations of the Vault-Tec fallout shelters and the various human settlements. Small dots flashed and did not correspond to places Damian knew.
He heard footsteps behind him. Two soldiers in power armor walked through the door Damian had come through. Damian raised his rifle to them and emptied his entire clip in their direction. The bullets that fell on their armor ricocheted until some of them went through the metal layer.
Damian left the room without checking if the soldiers were dead. He came across a large room. Three metal pylons supported the ceiling. He came face to face with an entire squad from the Enclave. The soldiers pointed their laser and plasma rifles at him. Behind them were two Sentry bots.
Damian froze. He wouldn't have time to take cover or turn back. He heard the laser weapons activate and waited for the fateful moment when the officer would give the order to fire.
He closed his eyes. His thoughts drifted to the Jefferson Memorial, the purifier that would probably never be completed. To the Citadel and the few acquaintances, he had there. To Sarah, whom he liked very much, despite her being a little too authoritarian and a little contemptuous of the inhabitants of the Wastes. To the inhabitants of Megaton who had finally welcomed him as one of their own. To Vault 101 and Amata. He wouldn't have the chance to see her again and tell her how he felt about her. Finally, he thought of his father and mother. He would soon join them.
Damian heard the officer of the Enclave screaming. It wasn't an order to fire as he had prepared himself to, but a horrible scream of pain. When Damian opened his eyes, he noticed that the officer's body was lighting up. His skin disintegrated and his flesh turned to ashes. Where the officer had stood up a few second earlier, was a black skeleton, with small pieces of charred flesh still clinging to it.
The other soldiers turned around. The two robots that accompanied them pointed their laser cannons at them. It was all over in seconds. The laser melted the steel of the power armors and helmets, charring flesh and bones in excruciating screams.
Damian stood still for several seconds. He didn't dare to move for fear of getting shot at in turn.
"The, President, will, receive you. Please, step forward." said one of the robots.
Damian was beginning to understand why he had found it easy enough to reach Eden's office and why the robots had killed the Enclave squad, when he saw one of those eye-shaped cameras. Eden was so anxious to meet him that he had not hesitated to have some of his men killed.
Damian approached slowly to a large metal door which slid to let him pass. It opened on a wide corridor, joining a large room. The whole room was occupied by servers, databases and computer consoles. In the center, a huge tower surrounded by a staircase rose about ten metres. The tower was also composed of data banks and computer cables.
Damian climbed the stairs. He finally arrived on a small metal footbridge, in front of a huge computer. The main screen was on and only showed a white horizontal line, centered along the entire length of the screen. Smaller screens were scrolling lines of code or images from security cameras. On the large console in front, a terracotta pot with three small yellow flowers was placed, in a vain attempt to make the place look less spartan.
Damian looked up. The tower was several meters tall meters and it was impossible for him to see the top.
"Ah... Face to face, at last. It was time for us to meet."
Damian recognized Eden's voice. He looked around him but saw no one.
"I am delighted with your success. I had not foreseen that the journey would be so difficult, but it has allowed me to test your abilities."
"What's this circus?" Damian spat. "If you want to meet me in person, show yourself and stop hiding behind a screen, you coward!"
Eden's voice emitted a small laugh. Damian looked around again, looking for a human figure. He could see nothing. He was alone.
"Let's get it over with!"
"But I'm here, right in front of you."
Damian turned to the computer. He looked at the machine, slowly understanding what Eden had just told him.
Hope you enjoyed.
I added some things in the interrogation part with Autumn as it felt a little weak in the game.
As for the title of the chapter (in case some of you wondered where it comes from), "The Eagle's Nest" was one of the Third Reich's meeting and government place in Bavaria. I chose the name for different reasons. It's located in a mountain and was used for government purposes, like Raven Rock. I hesitated with another (in)famous WW2 German place "The Wolf's Lair" but I finaly chose the first one (mainly because of the location and the fact that Raven rock and Eagle's Nest refers to birds).
