Author's Notes: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. So I want to talk about how I want to take the direction of this story before we start this chapter. So, first off, I've decided and for the next two chapters, I'm gonna take a break from Mark and his story. This reason for this is that, when we left off with Mark in the last chapter, he said they had five days until the Gunners attacked. And what this means for the story is that, around chapter 20, we will pick up with Mark up again. If anybody has any questions about this, just be sure to PM or write a review. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Now for this chapter, we will be continuing our flashback at Navarro. Thanks for reading.
Sergeant Augustus Autumn
Enclave Base Navarro
July 4, 2243
1320 hours
The main command building was in shambles. There were dead and wounded Enclave personnel everywhere. There was rubble everywhere, and I could even see some parts of the building start to collapse. But then Major Kreger pulled me and Eddie aside.
"Sergeants Autumn and Johnson, if I hadn't said this already, good job. Now, I need to explain to you our plan. But first, some good and bad news. The bad news is that we are the only Enclave left in the base. The others are all either dead or evacuated earlier. But in addition, even with your actions halting their advance, the NCR and Brotherhood will come back, and they will come HARD. So we need to get out of here, because if we don't, the Enclave will be a stain in the history books. Now before the war, the US government built underground transport tunnels under their military bases. And they built one under this base, in fact. And they had those tunnels going to other military installations all over the United States. However, this specific tunnel takes you down the coast to an military installation outside Los Angeles, cuts west to Las Vegas, and then goes up into the mountains to Denver. It's gonna be a long-hard journey, but that is the only way we are going to survive. But we are going to need time in order to get everyone out. So we need to barricade anywhere we can so that we can stall them for as long as possible. Understood?" he explained to us.
"But what about my father?" I asked Major Autumn, regarding my father, Augustus Autumn Sr.
"Well, he was the highest commanding officer we had, so he is the first one that we got out by vertibird. He is currently on his way to the Enclave base in Denver. Anyway, enough talking! We need to get ready to leave! So move out!" he shouted as we ran to start barricading the command building.
Almost an hour later, we had almost finished barricading the building when we heard several large explosions.
"What the hell was that?" Eddie asked me as a power-armor clad trooper came running down the stairs.
"Autumn! Johnson! Get to the roof! Major Moreno needs to see you!" he yelled as more explosions rocked the building. We then ran up two flights of stairs up to the roof of the three-story roof. On the roof, was Major Moreno with a squad of power-armor clad Enclave troopers.
"Autumn, Johnson! Thank God you're here! Look!" he said as we both looked out. There were over 150 NCR troopers moving in with 50 Brotherhood paladins and knights, with APCs with 25mm cannons in support.
"Oh, god. We can't stand up to that. So what do we do?" I asked Major Moreno.
"In the building next to us, there is a Fat Man nuclear catapult launcher. We need to get to that to even have a chance of surviving their advance." he told us.
"But how do we get there without getting slaughtered?" Eddie asked the Enclave major.
"We're going to cover you. But still, run fast and don't stop for anything...Alright they're here! Get ready to run!" he said as we stood up, ready to move. When the APCs were in range, Moreno motioned for us to get ready.
"Get ready...Go, go, go!" he yelled as we moved towards the building with the Fat Man. We went to the ladder on the side of the command building, while we were dodging bullets and lasers. When we reached the ground, we ran from crate to crate, trying to stay out of view of the APCs 25mm cannons.
"Stay out of view! Move!" I shouted as we sprinted like our lives meant it, which in all reality, they did.
When we reached the building, I kicked the door open and as soon as the door was closed, we went to barricade it with two desks.
"Come on, I'll stay here, while you get the launcher! Move!" I told him as he ran up stairs. It took a minute, but then I started to hear voices on the other side of the door.
"I know he's in here! Get this door open now!" a gruff, male voice shouted. I then heard feet shuffling as I heard the command of "Stack up!". I then realized they were going to breach the door, so I ran to some hard cover. I heard banging and then the creaking of metal as the door was literally forced open. A squad of NCR troopers with bayonets fixed to their service rifles charged in the door.
"Drop your weapon!" one shouted before they charged me. Two first charged me with their rifles, firing as they charged me. When one got in range, I grabbed his rifle from his hands and shot him in the chest dead with his own gun. The second was filled with rage with the death of his comrade, so dropping his rifle and pulling out a combat knife, he charged me.
I got into my fighting stance as he tried to slash at me with his blade, but I was able to dodge the strikes. This allowed me to get the blade out of his hands, so that we would be on the same level. Noticing that his blade was out of his hands, he tackled me, which resulted in us wrestling on the ground. As we battled, I was able to see the rest of his squad move towards us, rifles at the ready. That gave me an idea. I then reached for the fragmentation grenade on his belt, and pulled the pin on it. He was too busy grappling with me to notice me showing him towards his squad, as the grenade went off, killing him and his entire squad.
At that moment, Eddie came back down the stairs, Fat Man in hands.
"A little help?" he asked me as I went to help him carry the nuclear launcher. Using a back door, we were able to make it back to the main command building without harm. When we reached the ladder, Moreno greeted us.
"You've got it! Good, we might not make it much longer! Get up here!" Moreno yelled as we climbed up to the roof.
The roof was a mess. There were many dead and wounded Enclave troopers and the ones that were not were moving from cover to cover, shooting their weapons as much as they could. Me and Eddie then set up the Fat Man. We first got it out of the case, and then set it up on a tripod. Next, we then got the telescopic sight set up. And finally we loaded the nuclear shell.
"Alright, we're all set. Setting elevation at twenty-seven-hundred meters. Moving device position to fifty degrees. Firing in, 3, 2, 1, firing!" I shouted as I fired the nuclear shell. It arced in the sky and fell to the ground. A great white flash erupted as all of the NCR and Brotherhood soldiers were incinerated, along with all the APCs. The dirt turned black due to the heat of the blast. When we saw this we began to cheer. After this, Major Moreno then came up to me.
"Damn kid, you do have your father in you. Now come on, we need to get the train!" Major Moreno, once again, shouted as we went down into the building. When we all arrived back on the main floor, we went into a separate room where there was a service elevator that would take us to the train platform. We all then stepped into the lift as it went down into the earth.
When we arrived at the train station, we arrived in a big room with several train cars, with tracks heading in different directions. We met up with Major Kreger when we arrived. Moreno was the first to speak.
"Well, Judah, this is everybody. The only people left in Navarro. Now...get down, Judah!" Moreno shouted as I turned around to see 3 Brotherhood paladins armed with miniguns getting ready to fire.
"Get to cover!" I shouted as the miniguns opened fire. They hit around 5 people, before everyone had managed to get cover. However, they continued to fire. I had ran into one of the train cars for cover, with Major Kreger next to me.
"Kid! I need you to create a distraction! Do it!" he yelled.
"What for?" I yelled right back.
"Just do it!" he commanded. So I went to my pack and found a pulse grenade. If the grenade went off anywhere near their power armor, it would disable and leave them immobile. So I ran to a crate, dodging 5mm gunfire as I ran, and primed my grenade. I waited until they were reloading, and then I threw the grenade over the top of the crate. When it detonated, it fried their power armor, which caused their armor to heat up and burst into flames.
"Well, god damn! That was beautiful!" Major Moreno said happily as the Brotherhood burned in their power armor. But then his tone changed to a more sincere and sad tone. "So kid, as I might have said before, I have to get Major Gannon's wife and young son out of here. It was the one promise I made to Mark before he dies: that his wife and kid would be safe. Now, that is why I'm taking them, Major Kreger and myself on the second train to Vegas. It's much more isolated out there, away from the NCR and Brotherhood. It's the best place for them." he said sadly.
"But what about me?" I asked him.
"Well kid, you are taking the rest of the contingent to Denver." he said plainly.
"Me? Why me?" I inquired, shocked at what the Major had said.
"Well kid, I always knew you were special, and so did your father. That;s why he wanted you to lead the Enclave when he was gone. Now he's not necessarily dead, but he's not here, which is why I need you to step up and be a leader. Alright, kid?" he said.
"Yes, sir, I can do that." I responded.
"Good, now you have a train to catch, Sergeant. Dismissed!" he said, saluting me. I saluted right back. As I got onto the train to Denver, I knew that I was now the leader of the Enclave, and that now, I had to step up.
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading. Reviews and PMs are appreciated. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Thank you.