Chapter 7 - Reclaiming America
Amata Almodovar stared at her terminal in stunned disbelief.
Administrator Almodovar,
By now you have likely heard of the Vegas Empire's reclamation of America. Or perhaps you have not. It does not matter.
I will be blunt: you are next.
You need not be alarmed. I can assure you this is the best thing to ever happen to you. Effective immediately, you are hereby Administrator of the Washington Region. Your people will be allowed to remain in Vault 101, but I strongly advise you to allow outsiders in to prevent inbreeding.
We will give you one month to prepare your people. After that, you will begin your task of rebuilding the Capital Wasteland.
We have watched you, Amata. We know you are capable of this.
Are you ready?
Robert House
Advisor of Emperor Gabriela Lopez
LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!
It was on days like this that she wished her lifelong best friend hadn't been killed when his father escaped the Vault.
-tcg-
"Are you fucking serious?"
Butch was the only one who managed words. The rest were stunned into silence as they stared wide-eyed at her.
"I am," she said firmly. "They sent me the proof. The apocalypse is over, everyone. There are big changes ahead!"
"We can't let outsiders in!" Her father made no attempt to hide the disdain in his tone.
"Dad, you know we have too." She was firm. "Robert House is correct. We only have one generation, two at the most before inbreeding kills us."
Nobody said anything. They knew she was right.
"I'll give you all a month, then I expect you to be ready for the Vault to be open." She glared death at them. "And you BETTER not be bigoted assholes to the newcomers, or every single one of you is working 10 hours a day. Understood?"
All of them quickly nodded.
-tcg-
"What are you talking about?" The little child that was Stanislaus Braun couldn't believe what she/he was hearing.
"I'm not bluffing," the child that was Gabriela Lopez replied. "You have external feeds. You know we're telling the truth."
The child said nothing, and lowered her head. "So I'm dead, I guess?"
"Of course not! We can make great use of you."
Her head came back up and she grinned. "Really? You mean it?"
"Yes, with one condition." The child's expression suddenly darkened. "You activate the Chinese failsafe, right here, right now. You won't be lonely for eternity - we will have regular visitors to you to consult on the development of the Empire. But you are DONE eternally torturing these people. Understood?" The child paused. "Oh, and you're letting James out too. We need him."
She was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Understood."
-tcg-
Yeah, I can't have the Lone Wanderer in this story. He's too much of an X factor, so he gets the shaft. Sorry, buddy!
Review please!