Chapter 12, Radioactive
We continued on, and it wasn't long after that we had arrived at Gibson's Scrap Yard. I had gone through it before and it was a stereotypical junk yard with old world cars stacked on each other, that were just husks of what they used to be. Old Lady Gibson lived next to the scrap yard and I assumed that was where the terminal was.
"Are we going to ask to use Old Lady Gibson's terminal," I asked.
"The terminal isn't in that house. Don't worry, we aren't bothering the old lady. It's a little past the scrap yard," Veronica says, continuing past it.
We continued a bit further and saw an old, beat down shack. Tires were stacked to the left of it, with an old, destroyed shelf to complement it. The door had wood planks nailed in it to keep it standing, and the sheet metal covering the roof was starting to cave in. As we got closer to the door, I could smell the pungent smell of something rotting, and I heard Elizabeth yack in disgust.
"What the hell is that smell? Did something crawl and die there," She asked, covering her mouth to prevent throwing up.
Yeah, maybe an animal crawled in there and died or someone was eating something there and forgot to clean up.
"Probably, wouldn't surprise me." Veronica said, "Or it could be an old mangy boot that Old Lady Gibson threw aside from her foot fungus."
"Wait really," Elizabeth questioned.
"No, I'm not sure either, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest."
We entered and were met with a swarm of flies flying out. We all started to swat them away as they left. Once it was clear, we entered and saw just how much of a mess this place was. There were tin cans all over the floor, empty beer bottles scattered everywhere, old papers on the wood floor shuffled around, and even a couple of empty whiskey bottles littered in the mess. The shelves were crooked and leaning against the wall at an angle, a refrigerator on its side against the wall, a book shelf pushed away from the wall with books scattered around it, and a mattress that had more beer bottles and tin cans littered across it. The walls had barely any boards left in it, with the sheet metal being used to help patch the open holes.
"Well, whoever was last here, clearly didn't pick up after themselves," I stated, moving some of the bottles aside with my foot.
"Yeah, clearly this won't win house of the year," Veronica says, "I wonder what is sticking up the place?"
"I found it," Elizabeth said.
She pointed behind the bookshelf and I went over to see. I covered my mouth, almost wanting to throw up on what it was. It was a dead ghoul. Most likely feral, but these guys start to really stink after a week once they die. The radiation can only do much to prevent their corpses from rotting away too soon. So they just become free food for maggots.
"What is it, " Veronica asks.
"Dead ghoul. Most likely feral," I replied.
"Gotcha," She responds.
On the floor to the left was the terminal that Veronica had mentioned and she approached it.
"Ok. Let's see what we've got here... Okay, yeah, this is the one I was thinking of. The pulse gun. Although maybe the rangefinder could work too. And it looks like the NCR was onto some miracle farming technology."
"What's a pulse gun," Elizabeth asked.
"It's an electromagnetic weapon from before the Great War. Experimental. It never saw mass production. But they were building it as a countermeasure to power armor, which they feared the Chinese were developing. Supposedly a prototype was being housed at Nellis. Imagine what it could do to the Brotherhood. We'd be on equal footing with any idiot with a gun," Veronica replied.
"Tell us about the rangefinder," I asked.
"It's a targeting device for some kind of doomsday weapon based at HELIOS One. It was lost sometime after the War. We held HELIOS One for a time. Lost a lot of people defending it. Too many. All for this weapon they never got working. If it turns out to be a dud, it'd show how flawed our goals have been. Father Elijah said he thinks a scavenger might have sold it on the Strip."
"Ok, You also mentioned some farming technology. What was that about?"
"More or less. Supposedly it's a vegetation enhancer. NCR has a science branch headquartered at McCarran airport. Guess they found something. Guess somebody wasn't very good at keeping secrets, either. We'd never pursue it because it's not a weapon. But self-sufficiency is fundamental to us. If it works they'd see the value of an alternate course," Veronica replied.
"So which one would benefit the most?"
Veronica paused for a moment, "Well, personally I think the pulse gun would do the best. If it does exist, it might scare McNamara. He does scare easily. I used to jump and scare him when I had the chance when I was a kid," She replied.
"Let's go that route then," I declared.
"Yeah, maybe they'll think twice about engaging the NCR if they know one of those could be floating around. The notes say to look around Nellis Air Force Base. He suggests going through filing cabinets and computers in the commanding officer's quarters."
"Perfect, we actually know the people there really well. So, it shouldn't be that much of an issue to approach them on this," I replied.
"Oh that's great to hear. We will have to travel a bit before we get there, so get ready to flex your calves," Veronica said, with a giddy attitude.
Yeah we are definitely going to be traveling for quite a while to get there. It might be well into the evening by the time we arrive. Regardless, we left the stink infested shack and made our way to Nellis. I led this time so the Boomers don't get all itchy trigger fingers on us and blow us to smithereens. Throughout the travels, Elizabeth and Veronica were having conversations with each other. It wasn't really important or at least anything that I cared to remember. They talked back and forth about their brief time out in the Mojave and how they had similar upbringings. Though they didn't really dig any deeper than just what was on the surface. I guess this is what girl talk is.
I started to notice my stomach growling.
"You getting hungry Evan," Veronica asked.
"Yeah, let's stop for a moment and eat a little bit," I replied, touching my stomach.
Elizabeth set her bag down and rummaged to get one of each flavor.
"Ok Veronica, we have Southwest Beef and Black Beans, Spaghetti with Beef and Sauce, Chili with Beans, Hash Brown Potatoes with Bacon, Pepper and Onions, and Chicken, Noodles and Vegetables in Sauce. Which do you prefer?"
Veronica thought for a moment, "I think I'll take the Pepper and Onions. I'm not too hungry right now. "
"I'll take Southwest Beef and Black Beans," I replied.
Elizabeth tossed us our choices and then dug out a Hash Brown Potatoes with Bacon. I ate in silence while Elizabeth and Veronica continued their talk from when they were walking. Veronica was sharing a bit about her time in the Brotherhood and how she had a bit of a mischievous side in how she always loved the idea of getting up to no good. Once we finished, we wrapped up our trash and continued forward.
After many hours, I finally saw the familiar road that led to Nellis, and by that point, the sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon. Before I could continue, I heard Veronica clear her throat.
"You sure they are not going to blow us up at the first sight of us right? I'd hate to be half the size I was coming in."
"I assure you, they will not launch any missiles at us. They know us very well and speak highly of us." I replied.
"I guess I'll take your word for it."
We continued forward and to no surprise, they didn't fire at us and opened the gate.
"Ah I see you were able to resist allowing your trigger finger to take over," I sarcastically said to the guard.
He shot me a look, before we continued further. He'll get his chance I'm sure once the Battle of Hoover Dam begins. We continued forward to where Mother Pearl's bunk was and walked up the steps to her door. I opened the door and she was just on the couch as before, reading a book. She took notice of me entering, set the book down, and got up to greet us.
"Oh hello Evan. It's good to see you again. What business do you have out here?"
"Hello Mother Pearl. I was just wondering if you came across any keys that might have something to do with a piece of technology like a weapon," I asked.
She paused for a moment to think, "Now that you mention it, there was a key with a note by Colonel Blackwell. I can get it for you real quick."
She got up and walked over to a filing cabinet. After going through a few drawers, she takes a key wrapped in a piece of paper and walks over to hand it to me. I rolled out the paper and took the key out of it. The key was just a black key for a regular old lock. As for the note it read,
Due to current events, Staff Sergeant Daniels is hereby authorized to transport item no. T-11836A, codenamed "CIRCUITBREAKER," to the installation known as Vault 34 to be sealed in its armory for safekeeping until the manufacturer can retrieve the prototype for production.
Signed,
Col. Roy Blackwell, USAF
So it looks like we are headed to Vault 34. Wherever that was. Maybe Mother Pearl has an idea.
"Do you know where Vault 34 is," I asked, rolling up the paper around the key.
"It's near the pumping station, south of here. I remember it being in the mountains," she replies.
"Ok, we can head out there in the morning. Traveling at night to a creepy, abandoned vault is not something I want to experience," I expressed.
"That would be wise. You can use the same room you both used last time."
"Thank you," I responded, nodding my head.
We left her bunk and made our way back to the bunk Elizabeth and I had stayed at last time. I opened the door and took notice that they had cleaned up the place as if there was no trace of us living there before.
"So, there's only two beds, " Elizabeth says, "How should we do this?"
I looked at Veronica and she responded, "I think you and Elizabeth should share. It would be very weird if I shared a bed with either of you. We aren't that close."
"I think that would be the best option," Elizabeth replies, looking at me.
I could feel my face getting slightly hot. Why can't there just be a normal situation between the two of us? I guess as long as I don't make it weird, it won't be.
"Yeah, that might be the best idea," I said, scratching the back of my head.
The two of them had a weird smile as they stared at each other subtly, like this may have been set up somehow. Or I'm probably overthinking it as I do that more often than I am proud to admit. Regardless, I went into my room with Elizabeth behind me and I set my bag near the bed. I unzipped it, got my toiletries out, and went into the bathroom. Afterwards, I went to the bathroom and I brushed my teeth before going back to the bedroom. I took my armor off and set it down, beside the bed. I took my pants off and kept my shirt on as it was a bit chilly here compared to last time. I then got under the covers and got ready to go to sleep. Before I could fall asleep, I heard the door open and I opened my eyes to see Elizabeth enter the room with just her shirt on and her blue panties. I resisted the urge to stare at her as she walked over to the other side of the bed, and got under the covers.
"Good night Evan," she whispers behind me.
"Good night Elizabeth," I replied.
I could feel her subtle breath hitting my back, as the bed wasn't as big as the one in the Lucky 38. I took a deep breath, "Don't make this awkward Evan," I thought to myself, as I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to see Elizabeth was facing me directly. Her eyes were closed, but I felt something subtle touching my legs. I looked down and saw in the darkness, the faint silhouette of her legs ever so slightly touching mine. I slowly backed them away and took a deep breath. I'm really trying to not make this awkward, but it's really hard when stuff like this is presented to me. It's not easy for a 22 year old to not be tempted to do something. But I wonder, does Elizabeth feel the same way? I mean she has to be feeling something. Or again, I'm overthinking. I slowly got out of bed, so as to not wake her up and put my stuff on as quietly as I could. It wouldn't be long till I hear her moan slightly as she wakes up.
"Did I snore", she asks, rubbing her eyes.
"No, I just wanted to get ready to get on the road soon," I replied, getting my shoes on.
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, her bed hair getting a bit in her eyes. She threw the sheets over, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom. I finished tying my shoes and grabbed my bag. I walked out to the main area and saw Veronica was already to go with her clothes on.
"You ready? I'd hate to leave you out of the fun," She asks.
"Yeah, we can pick up some breakfast from the hanger before we head out," I replied.
We all gathered our stuff and headed out to the hanger. The sun was peeking over the horizon ever so slightly and started to cast a morning shadow across the ground with the air being colder to feel. It reminded me of a few years ago when I was on my way to New Vegas, I had stopped somewhere and snow started to fall. I had never seen it before and when I grabbed some of it in my hand, it felt soft, but ice cold to touch. Feeling the air now, makes me wonder if it will ever snow here in New Vegas.
We reached the hanger, with the smell of breakfast feeling in the air. We entered and just as before, the place was full of hungry people, waiting to get food. We entered in line and it looked like at the end was an omelet bar, with different fillings we could put in. Once we got closer to the front, I grabbed some ham, cheese, and onions and placed them on my plate and handed them to the guy making the omelet. I stood to the side and I felt I tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw it was Jack.
"Hey, did Janet get here ok," I asked.
Jack smiled, "Yes, thank you for getting her to Nellis. I've never been so happy in my entire life!"
"That's great to hear, how's work on the Lady plane?"
"Oh It's going great, Janet has been able to help as well with it and it's pretty much finished. This has been a dream come true to work on the Lady. I don't think I've seen Loyal this frisky in years."
I gave him a thumbs up.
"So, what brings you back here so soon?"
"Well, the ladies and I need to get to a Vault for a piece of technology after we eat."
"It wouldn't happen to be Vault 34 would it?"
"Yeah it is why," I asked.
"That place is full of radiation. You wouldn't last an hour there. I think Loyal has some spare radiation suits you can use."
"Really? That would be great if we could borrow them."
"I'll tell Loyal. Come meet us at the Lady to pick them up," Jack says, turning around and walking away.
I turned around to see the omelet was done, grabbed it, and made my way to an empty table. Elizabeth and Veronica joined me a few minutes later.
"So, that vault that we have to go to, is full of radiation," I said, finishing my first bite.
"Really, I've always wanted to grow another head. Would make for some great conversations," Veronica replied.
Elizabeth giggled, "That would make for some interesting conversations."
I smiled, "Anyway, Jack told me that Loyal would more than likely give us some to borrow so we can enter. We just have to swing by the Lady to pick it up."
"What the Lady? Is it the statue they worship here," Veronica asked.
"No, it's a plane I helped them dig out of the water."
"Ah, I see," Veronica replies, eating another bite of her omelet.
We spent a few more minutes finishing up our food, threw away our trash, and headed to the Lady. Once we arrived, I was able to get a good glimpse at the Lady and it proved Jack right. It was pretty much finished. The holes and missing parts that were once on it were gone and looked more like a complete airplane. Loyal was on top of the plane and took notice of us coming towards him. He jumped off the plane wing and walked towards us.
"So I have a suit for each of you. Though Evan, you won't be able to wear your armor underneath it. It's too thick to fit underneath it," Loyal states.
"Ok, do you want me to change into it and you hold onto my armor," I asked.
"Works for me. Would also be a great insurance policy to make sure I get these backs," he replies.
Couldn't argue with him there. Radiation suits aren't easy to come by here in the wasteland and are great to have especially if you are hunting for prewar technology in highly radiated areas.
"Follow me," He says, walking to the other side of the hangar.
We followed him and he had laid out three radiation suits. The suits were all yellow with buttons to seal it up from the chest with glass helmets that looked like snow globes and had white gloves at the end to complement the helmets. There is a tube behind it that hooks up to a pack that allows for filtered air to come in for us to breathe. Finally, there were these stylish white boots that went with the gloves.
"Ok, these should fit under you well since you will be wearing clothes underneath it, except for Evan," Loyal states.
We all grabbed the suits and I started to take my armor off. With just my shirt and underwear, I was able to slip into the suit just fine. It felt a bit loose, but not enough to where it would start to sag and feel like I was wearing a fat guy's clothes. To complete my outfit, I put on my backpack. It shouldn't get too radiated as long as it doesn't stay down there as long as possible.
Loyal took my armor," Ok, I'll hold onto this until you get back. Happy trails."
"Ok, we'll see you in a bit," I responded.
We all left the hangar and made our way to the gate. Once we arrived, I noticed the guard was looking at us funny.
"What's the suit for," he asks.
"It's to allow us to enter the vault. It's heavily radiated," I replied.
"I see," he replied, opening the gate for us.
We walked through the gate and made our way to the vault. It wouldn't take us too long to reach Vault 34 and once we arrived, we saw the remnants of an old, green army truck. Clearly it had seen better days as its green was barely noticeable due to the weather ripping the paint off over time. Past the truck, we could see the slip in the mountain and at the bottom of it, was a giant pool of radiation with a barrel submerged in it.
"Everyone's suit on tight," I asked.
"Yeah," both Elizabeth and Veronica said at the same time.
"Alright, let's head inside," I state, walking up to the gated door and opening it.
As we entered, it was just a cavern, with glowing mushrooms growing in the rocks.
"Is this what the vault looks like," Elizabeth asked.
"No, the entrance must be a bit further," I reply, walking forward.
We continued forward and as we kept going, I could feel us going down deeper and deeper slowly, like we were only getting closer to the center of the earth. Eventually, I saw the familiar gear shape entrance of where the vault door would have been and saw a line of dead ghouls there. Their clothes were extremely tattered, but I could tell by the faint blue of their clothes, they used to be vault people. What also is interesting is that these bodies look fresh. Like at least a few days fresh.
"Well, looks like we can expect Ghouls in this place. But considering how fresh these bodies are, someone has been here," I stated.
"How fun. Maybe we could try communicating with the Ghouls and tell them we come in peace," Veronica says.
I chuckled at that. Sadly, these guys have rotted so much and became feral. So communicating with them is out of the question.
"Do you think they might still be here," Elizabeth asked.
"Maybe, we have to see. But, given the radiation, I have my doubts," I replied.
We continued forward, into the bowels of the vault. It clearly was old and nature had taken its toll on it. Vaults had this style of feeling like an old bunker, but also looking a bit more modern and retro. But compared to the one I lived in, rust lined the walls of this vault and sometimes we saw pools of radiation on the ground showing where the radiation had come from. As we continued forward, I could hear the screams of ghouls, echoing along the vault.
"Looks like we have residents coming to greet us," I stated, drawing my rifle.
"Awesome, I love punching ghouls with this," Veronica says, lifting up her power fist.
"Well, you can go first Veronica," Elizabeth says, with her laser pistol drawn.
Veronica eagerly got ahead of us and the Ghouls started to come pouring out of the doorway. She punched the first one and it flew so fast, it hit the wall hard, leaving a blood splatter on the wall. Another Ghoul was soon behind, jumping forward, trying to swing at her. Veronica dodged to the right and the Ghoul flew right into a desk and before it could turn around, Veronica punched its skull so hard, its head exploded all over the desk. A final Ghoul came out and slammed Veronica to the ground. I went behind it and grabbed it under its arms, and it started to flail around like crazy. I body slammed it to the ground, and Elizabeth shot it in the chest.
"Well that was fun. Though I shouldn't have gotten so excited and forgot to check behind me," Veronica said
"Well, it happens. At least it was something that didn't have a brain left," I replied.
"Yeah, that's true," she replied, looking down.
"Anyway, we should try to find the armory and the only way to find it is through the Overseer's office," I specified.
"How do you know vaults this well," She asks.
"I grew up in one. And I've seen a few of them before and their layout is mostly the same," I answered.
We advanced further into the vault and just like my vault and all the others, it was a maze. Sure on the top it told you where to go to find a palace in the vault, but it didn't help that pathways were blocked off or Ghouls would be in the way that we had to take down. Not only that, the familiar feeling I had of reentering a vault after being on the surface for long periods of time, always gave me a closed off feeling and made me feel that the walls could close in at any moment. The combat wasn't anything special when it did happen. Elizabeth and I could hit them at range and if there were more and they got close, Veronica would swiftly take care of them. Her punch would either send them flying into the wall, exploding one or multiple of their limbs from their body. We worked well as a team, tackling the ghouls as they came our way. But, what I saw earlier only confirmed something to me. I noticed that there weren't many ghouls we were fighting. Which meant that someone had come down here and cleared most of the Ghouls. With that realization, I felt a level of concern flow in as I wondered if we had come all the way here for nothing. What if they took the weapon already? Then what? After what felt like hours, I finally saw a sign that pointed to the Overseer's office.
I took a breath of air and pointed to the sign, "Finally, we are almost done"
"Yeah, I'm starting to sweat from all the punching. But it's a good workout," Veronica said, taking a breath as well.
We pressed on forward, turning the corner towards the Office, I saw that one of the doors was being kept open by a metal box and a barrel. We went under the door and persisted forward to see the sign "Overseer's Office" above the door. I pushed the button to manually open the door and was greeted with quite a sight. The office looked like the one my Overseer had, control panels lining the walls and to the left, a giant circular window to allow him to oversee the vault inhabitants. However, I saw the Overseer was laying over the top of his circular desk, similar to the one that Elder McNamara had, with his head and left arm missing. There were also the remnants of the turret on the floor, blown to pieces that would have been under the Overseer's desk, protecting a secret way out.
"Ok, whoever took out those ghouls at the front, clearly made it this far," I announced.
"If they made it this far, they must have gotten the weapon, " Veronica said
"Not necessarily, I doubt they could get in without the key," I replied, holding the key up.
"True, but what's stopping a pair of bolt cutters?"
"Nothing I supposed. But I don't think someone wants to lug those things around."
Veronica shrugged in agreement. I walked over to the terminal and saw that the armory door had already been opened. So they might have reached the armory but couldn't get into the chest and left. More than likely at this point.
"Armory is already open, let's head back and make our way there," I say, backing away from the terminal.
"Lovely. More maze running. Really should have brought athletic shoes more than these stylish, radiation boots," Veronica expressed.
"You could have, but you would have big feet by the end of our journey here and we would have to call you bigfoot from now on," I jokingly replied.
Veronica laughed with Elizabeth joining in.
"I don't think I want to imagine Veronica with big feet," Elizabeth commented.
I smiled. Seeing Elizabeth laugh and smile more was a welcome change from the closed off, stern look she had after she saw how horrible the world was. Now she was starting to lighten up a bit and finding enjoyment in this harsh world. Once our laughter had subsided, we left the office and went back into the maze to find the armory. After trekking down stairs, through a Clinic and pools of radiation, we finally found the sign that pointed towards the armory. I pressed the button to open it and was met with stairs that took us down further in the vault. We followed the pathway once we reached the bottom and opened the final door before being greeted by the armory. As always, it looked like my vault's armory, though more messy. There were ammo boxes littered everywhere, giant wooden boxes on the sides of the wall, and a pool of radiation was in the corner next to a giant wooden box. I saw in the front of the room was a silver, metal box with a lock on it. This had to be it.
"There it is. And it looks like they couldn't get it open," I stated.
I kneeled down to get ready to unlock it, but before I could, I could hear Ghouls above us on top of a railing, overlooking us. Before I could react, one of them jumped on top of me, and the other two attacked both Elizabeth and Veronica, pushing them away. The Ghoul was frantically swiping at my head and thankfully the helmet was protecting my face from being lashed. I finally pushed him off with my feet and it sent him flying into a metal shelf, causing the shelf to fall down on him. I grabbed my rifle and hit him in the head with the stock of the gun until he stopped moving. I turned around with my rifle drawn, ready to assist both Veronica and Elizabeth and saw that they had taken care of their Ghouls.
"Everyone good? Was their suit breached," I asked.
"No, I think we are good," Elizabeth said, checking her suit.
"Same here, " Veronica says, doing the same thing.
I even checked myself out and noticed that there were scratch marks on the helmet from where the ghoul was swiping at me. If that was my face, it would not have been pretty. I really should find a helmet with something to protect my face.
"Alright, I'm going to try to open this again," I stated, walking back to the chest.
I put the key in the lock and opened the chest. I was greeted by the pulse gun and some ammo for it. I took the pulse gun out to examine it. It looked pretty much like those old Sci Fi movie guns that aliens used. It had two little light bulbs on each side of it with a power cell on top that was most likely where the ammo was placed for it. It also had an orange cone like shape on the front of the gun to no doubt help disperse the energy once it left the gun. It was incredibly lighter than what I was originally thinking. I put it in my bag and zipped it shut, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a rifle on the table. I approached it and saw that it was a Marksman Carbine. These guns had a scope on them and even a bayonet fitted on them to help at range and close quarters. But they were hard to come by as only the NCR had access to these weapons and the means to produce ammo for it, which was 5.56mm. The same ammo type as my Service Rifle. I placed my old Service Rifle on the table and picked up the Carbine. I checked the ammo in it and it held 30 rounds and was ready to go. It must have been fitted with an extended mag so whoever had this, thought highly of it to customize it this well. I checked the ammo box on the counter and it had around 300 bullets for it. I put the rest of the rounds in my bag.
"Ok, we got the pulse gun and I got a sweet new Carbine," I said, holding up the Carbine.
"Awesome. Let's get out of here. I think we have seen enough of our fair share Ghouls for today," Veronica states, walking to the exit.
I nodded in agreement. I followed her to the exit. It would be quite a while until we finally found ourselves out of the vault. It may have been easy backtracking and following the bodies we had left, but it still took us time. Once we finally got outside, Veronica took her helmet off with her hair flowing out.
"Finally, fresh air. I was getting pretty sick of breathing my own recycled air and the air of the vault," Veronica stated.
"I agree," I replied, taking my helmet off.
I was grateful to finally breathe in the fresh air even if it was the same old dusty air of the Mojave. And with the gun in our hand, we're one step closer to potential peace between both the Brotherhood and House. The only concern I have is if this will be enough to convince him. Elder McNamara was very strong in his beliefs and convincing him would be no easy task. Veronica may have a strong relationship with him, but he's given off the impression of being stubborn and headstrong in his beliefs. And in my experience, those people are hard to convince the most. But, if Veronica is right in bringing him physical proof like this pulse gun and showing how much of a threat it could be to the Brotherhood, this could be the evidence to convince him. And with that in mind, then we might have a shot and change his view for the Brotherhood.
