Chapter 3: Taking Point
[November 2287]
As far as Xavier's memory was concerned, this would probably go down as one of the worst days of his life – if he ever did recall all his memory back.
The bald African-American woke up two months ago under the care of Sarah Connor with no memory except his name. Apparently, her father, John, found him lying about near the railroad tracks, unconscious and half dead. He brought Xavier back to his house, the father and daughter taking turns caring him. When he woke up, he nearly choked Sarah out of reflex and surprise (scaring all three of them in the process – himself included).
He didn't even know why he did it (and he did apologize furiously because it) but the two waved it off, trying to assure it was fine. Although they didn't want to be repaid, Xavier did it out of duty in exchange for what they did. Tenpines Bluff, where their home was, served as a mutfruit and tato farm for nearby settlements – and since John needed a hand, Xavier gladly volunteered.
Although he made the work easier for the Connors, Xavier wasn't the a social type. The best Sarah could get out of him were about two sentences (making it a running joke among the three of them – the two would laugh and Xavier would just chuckle). Slowly, however, he came out of his shell and while he was occasionally silent and serious-faced, he started smiling and hold a decent conversation from time to time.
Then Charlie Parker came.
She and her father, Clinton, came to Tenpines Bluff looking for a place to settle in exchange for work. John, welcoming anyone willing to earn their keep, allowed the two to stay. Immediately after that, the whole farmstead became more livelier thanks to Charlie's non-stop talking – always an inquisitive mind, Xavier thought when one time he, John, and Clinton were repairing the destroyed cabin on Tenpines to use it as the main house and convert the old shack into a storage room, Charlie kept asking Sarah multiple farming questions (Sarah enjoyed it the whole time) – and, to the surprise of the Connors, managed to get Xavier more talkative, ending with Xavier finally getting his first friend
The life in the farm was tranquil as ever until they heard from passing caravans rumors of a raider gang expanding their territory. Luckily, everyone (save Charlie) had weapons and Xavier, surprisingly, was good at making modifications. Since they had enough materials to build at least two turrets, everyone agreed that setting them up was top priority.
Sadly, the raiders struck even before they could even bring out the materials.
So here they were, rounded up like cattle as the raiders ransacked their little farm – Xavier winced at how bad this would affect, given that winter was setting in. The amnesiac could see everyone was scared (Charlie herself was shaking in fear as her father hugged her protectively) and even though Xavier knew John was a tough guy…well, even the mightiest could fall. 'If there is any God out there,' Xavier prayed, glaring at the raider pointing a pipe rifle at him, 'would you so—'
"'Ey boss!" shouted one of the raiders, leering at Sarah. "Mind if I drag t'is cutie behind them bushes?"
"Don't you dare touch her!" Xavier roared, earning chuckles from their captors, the loudest from the one planning to do it.
"Well, well, well," the raider said, walking towards Xavier with a sadistic grin on his face. He pulled out a switch blade, patting his cheeks with it. "Looks like we 'ave a 'rave un boys! Wat d'ya reckon we do to 'im, boss?"
Their boss, the one wearing cage armor, looked at them and grunted. "Do wat ya have to do, Ratas."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" A voice shouted, making everyone tense up. Xavier, on the other hand, noted the voice was filtered, suggesting the person was wearing power armor. "Maybe we can resolve this thing peacefully."
Out of the dead trees a banged-up T-45 came lumbering into the farm, the barrels of the CZ55 spinning. "And why not?" the raider shot back as every one of them hefted their weapons, preparing for a fight (one even bringing out a Molotov).
"'Cause you're completely surrounded." Another filtered voice announced, just as another set of armed people wearing unrecognizable clothing (though it still looked like it was scavenged) and a modified T-60 power armor with a Gatling laser came into view behind them. "Now, I suggest you boys just drop your weapons and raise your arms in the air."
The raiders must have been stupid (probably because of their chem addictions) since they didn't notice that their hostages were out of the line of fire but they – unfortunately - weren't. The moment one pointed her pipe pistol at the T-45, their rescuers rained fire on them, killing them all even before they could move their weapons to the hostages.
Ratas, however, managed to get out of the way and grabbed Sarah to do whatever he was planning. However, he never got the chance as Xavier shoulder-charged him, knocking him over. Bringing out his concealed shock baton, Xavier hit him hard with it before punching him hard in the face, stumbling backwards. Ratas tried to point his pipe pistol at him. He never got a chance as a dog clamped his jaws on him before his head blew. Looking for the source, he saw a woman in a faded military fatigue shirt holding a Laser Musket wave at him. Xavier was about to wave back when he caught a glimpse of the woman's face. Suddenly, the world spun around and darkness took him.
# # # | # # #
Xavier was standing in a pristine white room, wearing a black leather coat that looked familiar. In front of him was an old man, faced wrinkled and hair white from age, sitting in front of a glass wall looking down upon some huge indoor room. "I am old now, X. Sooner or later, I will die."
"With all due respect Father, your legacy will carry on." Xavier replied, unfazed by the declaration.
The old man chuckle, turning to him. "Is it really my legacy?" he asked, staring right into the eyes of Xavier. "Or is it the other way around?"
"I do not understand sir." Xavier replied after a pregnant pause.
Wordlessly, Father stood up and motioned him to follow. Xavier followed like an obedient puppy, acting as his shadow as they entered his living quarters. It was very spartan – only things that help brighten the white room were blue vases and some pictures of a lighthouse and some kittens. Father inputted a code on the door panel before motioning Xavier to enter. "Activation Code: F4-111-2K77."
Suddenly, Xavier stiffened as if his entire body froze up – he tried moving his arms and legs but to no avail. Father looked at him, giving a sad smile. "I do apologize, X. I know you are programmed to follow my order…alas, this mission requires drastic measures."
"Father," a small voice asked from Xavier's left side. "Who is this?"
"Ah…I was just about to introduced you to him." Father replied kindly, looking at someone outside of Xavier's vision. "Come here, young one."
A small boy with black hair came into his view, looking shyly at the man frozen in front of him. "Shaun, meet Xavier." Father said, chuckling at a joke he only understood. "Xavier, meet Shaun William Adams."
# # # | # # #
Xavier gasped for air, as if he woke up from a nightmare. Looking around, he found himself on a sleeping bag under a pole tent. Suddenly, he heard Charlie screaming "He's awake! He's awake!"
Finding out about someone from his past was painful but getting tackled by a hyperactive 8-year-old takes the cake. "Oomph!" Xavier cried out, slamming down back on his bed. Charlie jumped on top of him, squeezing the air out of him. "Charlie…can't…breath…"
"Don't scare me like that, okay!" Charlie berated, lessening her hold on him. Xavier smiled, knowing that Charlie saw him as an older brother of sorts. "I thought you got shot..."
Xavier ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, I'll never get shot." Xavier said, smiling as she looked. "I promise you."
"Well, looks like that five hours of beauty sleep finally paid off!" Sarah commented, making the two to look at the tent's flap. "Mind if I join you?"
"Come on in," Xavier motioned as he and Charlie sat up, giving her space in the tent. "Charlie here tackled like a frenzied Deathclaw."
Sarah laughed as she sat down. "That she did," she replied, also ruffling Charlie's hair. "So, what happened to you?"
Xavier's shoulders visibly sagged down, feeling depressed. "I…I remembered someone from my past. He was an old man named…Father, I think." he confessed, enough for Sarah and Charlie to hear. "We…we were in some kind of clean room, all of it looked pre-war with a hint of something new. Father called me 'X' and before I woke up, all I can remember is a name – Shaun William Adams. Everything else is a blur..."
Charlie and Sarah just gave him sad looks before the little girl hugged him. "It's alright X, we'll help you find this Father guy so he can tell you who you are!" Charlie said, a bright smile on her face. "May be the Minutemen can help too – they seem like nice people! Or maybe the Followers can help you, I'll call one of their doctors!"
Sarah and Xavier chuckled as the girl ran to find one. "That girl is something, isn't she?" Sarah pointed out, a soft smile on her lips. "An innocent girl surviving the wasteland."
"It what keeps us adults going," Xavier replied with a ghost smile. "Anyway, did you see the woman with a laser musket?"
"You mean General Adams? Yeah, she was the one who saw you faint."
"Oh…" he paused. "She's the reason I remembered Shaun."
Before he could reply, an African-American woman came into their view following Charlie. "Howdy there!" the woman said with a drawl. "You feelin' good now, kiddo? Heard from this young missy that you're amnesiac. That true?"
Xavier nodded. "I…just found something from my past but everytime I try to remember it, all I see is blurry things. Hey, do I remember stuff if it's somehow related to the memory?"
The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Well...usuall' they do but often, it just comes back to them eventually. Why?"
"Well…" Xavier replied, "The woman with the musket earlier, General Adams? She was the reason why I blacked out and remembered something. "
The woman smirked. "Well then, why don't you ask her. She may have seen you before! They just got back from Corvega, wanna talk to her?"
Xavier nodded and slowly got up from the tent, Charlie and Sarah trailing after. Looking around, he saw the whole place buzzling with activity while John and Clinton were talking to two others – one who Xavier somehow knew.
From the looks of it, Nora was explaining to the farmers what had happened. "…so we ended up wiping out the Raider base in Corvega." Nora informed John as they neared them. "Additionally, we ended up rescuing a captured Minutemen group from them. They'll be guarding your settlement for the foreseeable future – until you can get defenses up, that is."
"In exchange for what?" John asked, surprising Nora.
"Just give them food and board, Mr. Conner." her companion replied smoothly, ignoring Nora's confused look. "That's all we Minutemen ask."
John and Clinton looked at each other. "Then the Minutemen are really back, huh?" John replied, giving a smile Xavier hadn't seen before. "Thank God you guys are back.
"Uh…what just happened?" Nora asked as the two farmers left them.
Preston shrugged. "Out here, most folks believe that all actions have a price – regardless whether they like it." he replied, shouldering his deactivated Laser Musket. "It's common practice back then when the Minutemen were still strong – though General Becker made sure that we only accepted food, board, and some supplies if they offered it."
"Yo, how was the talk with Conner?"
The general shrugged, giving her husband a smile. "Went better than I expected, actually. How are the newly liberated Minutemen?"
"Thankfully, they're composed of vets so we need not worry about training them." Nate replied before turning to Preston. "Turn outs, they're part of another Minutemen group headed by a Lieutenant Jack Foster. Ever heard of him?"
Preston furrowed his brows before shaking them. "Nope, must have been part of another group Hollis knew, why?"
"Apparently, the two have been talking via letters on how to revive the Minutemen." Nate replied before smiling. "Hollis was supposed to be the next Minutemen General if it wasn't for the Quincy Massacre."
"So wait, there's another Minutemen group out there?" Nora asked, confused. "And they had a plan to rebuild the Minutemen?"
"Yup – and things get even better: Preston would have become Hollis' next in command if he ever became the general. After finding out that Hollis died just last week, Foster tried to organize a search party for you – since you were the next in line to be the Minutemen General!" Nate said, grinning at Preston's shocked look.
"Are we going to have to give up command then?" Nora asked, wondering how this was going to affect everything. "We've already put too much effort into this, Nate."
Nate shook his head. "No need to – Captain Barry said that since Preston was the highest commanding officer when he appointed you as the Minutemen General, his word still stands. Foster's apparently too old to be the new general – he was present when Fort Independence got invaded by mirelurks about 40 years ago. You still there Preston?"
The major didn't reply, apparently still shocked by the revelation. The couple just stared at him, eyebrows raised, before he said "I…I need to sit down for a moment."
The commanders left the shocked Preston as he sat down, moving towards the cliffs of Tenpines to admire the view. Seeing his chanxe, the amesiac approached them. "A…uh, nice view, isn't it?" Xavier began from behind them. "Names Xavier by the way, the—"
"—the one that fainted because you saw me." Nora said, grinning as she nodded to his two companions. "I know I'm gorgeous but I ain't drop-dead gorgeous, pal."
Xavier splutter at the pun, making the Adams and his friends chuckle. "Anyway," Nate continued, "why did you faint? Nora said you seem pretty okay until you saw her, then you just drop on the ground."
Xavier didn't look at them, instead staring at the setting sun. "I'm…um, I'm an amnesiac." he said, taking in a deep breath. "The only…thing I knew when I woke up was my name…and when I saw you, I remembered something from my past."
Nate looked at his wife's eyes, seeing confusion as well. "Well…" Nate began, unsure how to begin. "Sorry to say kid, but we don't know you – we're…ah…not exactly from around here."
Nora cringed when Xavier became crestfallen. "Oh…but do you know a 'Shaun William Adams'? It's the only–woah!"
Xavier didn't know what the hell happened: one moment he was standing and the next thing he knew was he had two N99 pointed at him.
"How," Nora asked in a calm voice that spoke volumes. "Do you know the full name of my missing son?"
Quick as lighting, Sarah got in front of him while Xavier instinctively pushed Charlie behind him. "Woah!" Sarah shouted, getting the attention of everyone in the settlement. "What the fuck?"
"Kid, get out of the way!" Nate growled, an angry look at his face. "My son is missing since we got out of a vault and suddenly, this guy knows his full name!"
"Look, I don't even know who Shaun is! I had a vision…of sort." Xavier butted in, trying to keep the attention on him and not on his companions. He pulled Sarah behind him and raised his hands. "All I know is there was an old guy, a kid, a room of some kind, and that name! That's all I know, I swear!"
Nora gritted in frustration before dropping her gun to her side, clearly pissed off while Nate screamed out loud to vent his frustrations. "Dammit," she muttered, kicking a pebble to vent her frustrations before taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "So close!"
Preston, having heard the shout, rushed towards the source alongside many others, Barry right behind him. Getting there, he saw the Xavier shielding a girl while a woman did the same for him. Nora, on the other hand, looked pissed about something while Nate was throwing a tantrum. "Well, shit." Preston muttered, sighing. "What the hell is going on?"
"Your General," Sarah said, anger in her tone. "Pulled a gun on Xavier!"
"He knew my missing son's name!" Nora argued back, raising her arms in exasperation.
"Enough!" Preston bellowed, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. Now that he got their attention, Preston straighten his back and took a deep breath. "We're all civilized people, are we not? Then let's act like one – we're not like the raiders that we just killed recently."
"Woof!" Bobby barked, agreeing with Preston. Nate gave a sigh, running his hand across his hair. He was suppressing his anger of being so close yet so far to his son. Nora, on the other hand, finally calmed down and rationalized the situation.
"Preston's…Preston's right," Nora conceded, her voice trying to sound calm enough. "We have to act rationally and logically right now. I…I apologize, Xavier. Shaun's…a touchy subject for both of us and…and well, we fear he might be an old man right now."
Xavier gave her and her husband a strange look. "What do you mean 'might be an old man'? From what I can remember, he looks like he was ten years old!"
"What?" Nate exclaimed, his anger suddenly disappearing. "The vault's records show he was taken 60 years ago!"
Eyebrows furrowed, Preston asked "When you met the kid, where were you?"
"We…we were in a small room. Everything looked white and advance–"
"Wait – did you say the room was white and advance?" Captain Barry asked in shock, eyes widening as if he was told something dangerous. When Xavier nodded (albeit bit confused), Barry became somewhat deflated. "Well, shit."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Well, shit." Nate said before looking at Nora. "Looks like Skynet met reality."
"Nate!" his wife admonished him before looking apologetic to Barry. "Ignore him; Nate likes to joke when things like these tend to happen."
"I would laugh if I got the reference, ma'am." Barry said, still looking resigned as if it was the end of the world again. He gave Xavier a sad smile. "I know this seems a lot to take but…"
Barry trailed off, patting Xavier on the back. 'Dear God…I'm a synth!'
Well…Captain Barry thinks he is – after all, you just don't have memories about a sterile environment where a single command can force you to do things. It was…terrifying, to say the least – that wasn't even counting on the fact that he wasn't a fucking human being! Xavier groaned and covered his face. "Don't worry kid," Barry comforted him. "You could have been runaway synth the Railroad managed to rescue."
"Wait, who's the Railroad?" asked Nora, looking at the Minuteman captain.
"Rumor is they're like this underground group who help free synths from the Institute, like the Railroad during the US Civil War. Grapevine in 75 says we're actually working with the Railroad in exchange for help and the like."
"75? That a vault?" Nate guessed, getting a nod from Barry.
"We took it from the Gunners two months ago." Barry replied, shuddering. "It was one hell of a fight – had to check corners twice because the whole place was booby trap like the Nuka-World entrance before it was liberated. Anyway, Malden is pretty much under Minutemen control, we don't have to worry about Sector Four finding a regional HQ."
Nora nodded. "Alright, we'll stay for the night – tomorrow, we'll head for Malden and meet with Foster. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Xavier – I take it you want to be left alone for the meantime?"
Xavier nodded absently, the three leaving him in peace. The general wasn't wrong – being called a synth was a lot to take in. It did explain a few things – how he was so quick on his feet and that incident when he held Sarah in a choke hold. Everything he thought he was good at was actually programmed into him. 'Oh god,' Xavier thought, 'what if I was sent here to spy on the Minutemen?'
"Mind if I sit?"
Startled, Xavier saw it was one of the Followers, a blond-haired man with glasses. Nodding, the man sat beside him, grabbing a stick and poked the fires to keep it going. "What's troubling you, kid?"
Xavier didn't answer, he just stared into the horizon. "I just found out…something." he replied, getting an 'ah' from the Follower. "About my past, that is."
"Let me guess, it's eating you up?" the man said, getting a nod from Xavier. "I had a friend like you too, ya'know. He lost his memory when someone shot him at point blank range – straight to the head, mind you!"
"How the hell did he survived that?"
The man shrugged. "Dunno, he was always lucky, that bastard. Anyway, when he woke up, he only remembered two things: his job and his designated courier number. His name, age, family, dreams, all gone – he never did find out who he was, truth be told. He then ended up creating a new nation, gained an ally in the form of the NCR, and supplied electricity to half of the Southwest USA!"
Getting a surprised look from Xavier, the man chuckled. "Yeah…well, that's Six for you. The thing is, kid, someone knew who he was before he was shot in the head. A man named Ulysses got a hell of grudge against him that Six had to go to this area known as the Divide. I don't know the full details of what happened but apparently, before he took up the New Vegas job, Six accidentally destroyed an entire region – killing and trapping a shit ton of people."
Bringing out a water bottle, he took a swing before continuing his tale. "Anyway, Six came back a changed man – disillusioned, broken, and lost. We found him staring at a bottle of Vodka – not drinking, just staring – at the 188 like, I don't know, the week before the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and we were like, 'Dammit Six, get a hold of yourself! We got a battle to win!'
"Six just wouldn't respond, looking into a bottle of Vodka. Suddenly, he brings out a gas mask 'You're wrong, Ulysses. The Divide isn't my legacy – New Vegas is.' He then stands up in this fearsome elite riot gear he looted from the Divide, looks at all of us straight into our very souls, brings out his Ranger Sequoia before cocking it, and says 'Get your gear ready, we're freeing Vegas.'"
The man chuckles, as if he was remembering something. "Honestly, that week leading up to the battle was hell. We crisscrossed the entire region, gathering allies, preparing our gear, and laid down the foundation for a free Vegas. The entire battle was down right crazy – Securitron helping NCR hold the line, Boomers dropping bombs at the encroaching Legion, and the Brotherhood and Enclave working side by side as they routed the retreating bastards.
"Anyway, the battle wasn't important – it was what Six said that matters. Yeah, Six may have started a series of actions that lead to the creation of the Divide and committed genocide but the point is, that was the old Six! What mattered the most was the future he created after that. Sure, you can never be cleansed from your sins – Lord knows what the NCR will do to me if they found out about my past – but you can become more than that. Don't let your past define you, let the lessons of today shape the future you have."
Yawning, he got up and stretched. "Anyway kid, I got to sleep - and before I forget, I'm Doc Gannon by the way. Hope that story of mine helped you in your troubles."
Xavier watched Doc Gannon left, contemplating the entire story. In some ways, he could relate – no memory before being surprised with something about your past you never knew. Only difference was, this Six person only had to contend with the blood of those killed in the Divide place. Xavier, he had to contend that he wasn't natural – a freak of nature, to be exact. Then again, Doc Gannon did stress out that the past shouldn't shape him, but rather his actions of the present should. Should he, a synth, keep on going or just lie down and die?
Suddenly, he remembered an incident when Charlie asked Xavier about his past. Sarah explained to her the details about his memory lost and that Xavier wasn't really Xavier's real name – only something that they had to suggested to him and Xavier took. Charlie just shrugged before saying "Eh, Xavier will always be Xavier to me."
Looking at the stars once more, Xavier made his decision.
# # # # # # # # # #
"I can see Medford!" Nate announced from his seat as he drove the Fastback towards Malden. "Will be there in a minute."
Preston nodded as the Fastback moved, slightly nervous about meeting a friend of Colonel Hollis. The colonel, Captain Barry, three other minutemen, and Preston split up with the main group at Tenpines. The general would have come but since someone had to lead the group back to Sanctuary, she assigned Nate to represent her (that and she didn't know how to drive the Fastback).
"Stop when you see the Minuteman Flag - the checkpoint has a Fatman, so be careful!" Captain Barry said, getting a thumb up from Nate.
"Well then, I'm stopping." Nate said as the Fastback came to a halt. "I just saw one of them fire a flare up the sky."
"We'll have to disembark here then, colonel." Barry replied, the hatch going down a few seconds later. Upon exiting, the Minuteman Captain got in front of the Fastback and waved his arms widely. "Thunder! I repeat, Thunder!"
Preston looked to Nate questioningly, who shrugged. "I'm guessing it's a callsign. Speaking of which, we're going to have to create some for our usage. We can't have anyone just claiming to be Minutemen when in fact, they weren't."
"True…" Preston replied, thinking back at the time when they met up with a person claiming to be him a month after Quincy's fall. The look of pure horror when Preston introduced himself to the kid gave them something to laugh at after all the pain they experienced. The kid, Anthony, joined their little to group in the end as they traveled up north, becoming a full-fledged Minuteman under his teachings. Sadly, he died as he covered the group from some roving raiders as they passed Lexington – just before he lost Emma and Josh to the feral ghouls in Super Duper Mart.
"Sun!" the Minuteman manning the elevated guard post shouted back, lowering his weapon. "You're a week late, Captain!"
"Got captured by the Corvega Raiders, so sorry for forgetting to call home Mike!" Barry replied sarcastically as they reached the checkpoint before hugging Mike. "Get the LT on the horn, I found Preston's group. Price, give the report while I'll lead the two to HQ."
Surprised for a second, Mike nodded vigorously before shouting orders at the nearby Minutemen (with Price trailing after him). Surveying the place, Preston whistled as he appreciated the set-up of Malden. He could already see a sniper nest from the top of police station, covering the rubble-made barricade and the two elevated guard posts.
Following Barry into the town, Preston saw another barricade covering the northern approach into Malden. "Nice set-up you got here, Captain." Nate commented. "I like how you made Slocum's Joe HQ a makeshift HQ."
"Nah, that's just our spotter nest." Barry replied as they went past it before gesturing to the buildings around it. "We got mortar teams on some of the building here. If the Gunners plan on rushing us, they'll have to face our mortars first!"
"Got to admit, that's a good defensive option there captain." Preston said as they reached the school (the destroyed section of it turned into a heavily fortified pillbox), Barry ushering them down the basement. "If we only had that kind of firepower at Quincy…"
"We were actually lucky to find them inside Vault 75, along with a manufacturer for ammunition and weaponry." Barry explained as he guided them deeper into the school, the basement clear of any rubble and filled with sandbag fortifications. "Apparently, Vault-Tec made 75 as a gene-harvesting camp, with an optional goal of creating a superhuman army."
"Wait, Vault-Tec wanted to harvest genes?" Nate asked rhetorically, looking sick. Hell, Preston felt sick too – even with his little Pre-war knowledge, he knew that to get genes, one must cut people up.
"That's…that's just sick." Preston muttered disgustedly. "What…what happened to the previous occupants?"
Barry chuckled as they entered the vault. "They revolted. Apparently, they got sick and tired of what was being done to them, so they used their training to get out – we had to brush the dried brain matters off the wall!" Barry exclaimed as the sentries saluted him. "At ease, troopers. Is Lieutenant Foster at his office?"
"No sir - he's currently at the command center." the sentry replied. "He's been briefed of the situation, sir."
Barry nodded and lead the two Minutemen officers deeper into the vault, passing through multiple doors and various rooms until they reached a door with a label 'Command Center'. "Oh, before I forget," Barry said, grinning as the two guards saluted them. "Be prepared to be shock!"
Preston's jaws dropped as he viewed the room before him - there was a large map of the Commonwealth displayed in front of two rows of terminals and broadcasting equipment (though only half of them were in use). Behind them, an old man with greying hair stood watching over them impassively, wearing a darker version of Preston's outfit. Quickly noticing them, the man gave a huge grin before making his way towards them. "Ah, you must be the Colonel the captain reported. Lieutenant Jack Foster," the man introduced himself, offering his hand. "Pleasure to me you, sir!"
"Likewise LT." Nate replied, shaking Foster's hand. "Got to say, I'm pretty impressed with the set-up you have."
Foster waved him off. "Bah - we just inherited this from the Gunners we kicked out of here. Got to say, it was pretty neat we manage to disrupt their operation even if they have another one like this somewhere south."
Nate merely hummed, looking about. "How updated is the map?" he asked.
"Probably half a century or less." Foster answered, crossing his arms. "This was the last image sent to us by the Vault-Tec satellite before it lost power. We're pretty much using 'word of mouth' of our units topside to update the placements and stuff."
"How constant is that, Lieutenant?" Preston asked, spotting a diorama of Malden to the side.
"Every twenty minutes. Unfortunately, we can only cover the northwest section - probably eastward too once I've transferred some personnel over to your base." Foster replied, frowning. "Anything southwards is gonna have to wait until we bring our numbers up."
"Got any smaller version of this map?" Nate asked, hand on his chin.
Motioning them towards the Malden diorama, Foster pointed them to an old, yellowing map of the commonwealth. "This is a pretty recent one, commissioned by the Bunker Trading Guild. Thankfully, a…'friend' of ours managed to get one for our usage since the Guild stopped liking us."
The map was pretty standard - it showed the major roads and regions the commonwealth had, as well as markings of hazard points and certain points of interest. "Think you can get one for our base?" Nate asked, looking at the map with interest. "That way we can start plotting patrol routes and staging areas as well."
"I'll get one right away, Colonel." Foster said just as a bell rang somewhere. "Anyway, it's lunch time and I have no doubt that you two are hungry. We can discuss the changes the General wants at my office, sir."
# # # # # # # # # #
It was five in the evening when Nate returned to Sanctuary, yawning as he parked the Fastback in front of the bridge. Finding out that the Commonwealth Minutemen had enough infrastructure to rebuild it lifted a weight he didn't know was on his shoulder - Nate worried that it'll take some years before the Minutemen could be brought up USAF standards, since all the equipment they was one APC, two regulars (five if you included Struges, Nora, and him), and the Atom Cats as auxiliaries. With the appearance of Base Malden (as Foster called it), however, things were looking up for the Minutemen. Not only did they get a reliable source of equipment but the Minutemen could start sending out more patrols and give greater protection coverage to the settlements in the Commonwealth North.
"Mr. Nate!" Codsworth called out, waving at him with his claw and making Nate smile. The Mr. Handy had been a boon to everyone in Sanctuary, becoming the de facto chef of the settlement as well as a wealth of information for the two new wastelanders. "How was your trip, if I may ask?"
"We got good news, if that's what you're wondering." Nate replied, crossing his arms. "You know where my wife is?"
"Indeed!" Codsworth said happily. "She back at your house, waiting for you at ol' Shaun's room. In fact, she ordered me to tell you - and I quote - 'Get his fat ass right here!'."
Nate frowned. "You got any idea what she wants?" he asked as the two left Preston to deal with the additional Minutemen assigned to them by Foster.
The Mr. Handy shook one of his eyes. "'Fraid not, sir." Codsworth replied. "Best you run to the missus before you sleep at the couch. I'll be at the Strip if you need anything, sir!"
Nate shook his head at that joke, waving goodbye to his robot servant before making his way to his house. While all the houses were torn down, Codsworth managed to save their house from destruction. The rest built their own homes near theirs, with Preston and Sturges deciding to bunk up in the Strip as it was the temporary Minutemen HQ.
"Honey, I'm home!" Nate shouted as he entered his house. Although still looked rundown, the house starting to feel livier by a tiny bit - there was a couch and coffee table facing the screen window, the small radio they scavenged from the Red Rocket playing old hits from long ago. The kitchen itself was bare, Sturges still wasn't sure how to fix the pipes to get running water, but with the power back on, the houses could have refrigerators for drinks and store raw food.
"Nate, we got a problem." Nora announced, coming out Shaun's room. She shoved a piece of paper on his hand. "Read, now."
Hello Nate and Nora,
If you want to know why this note ended up in your desk, meet me outside the Vault 111 entrance at six in the evening. All will be explained by then.
Best,
An Old Friend
The note then ended with a logo of an E with a lightning bolt behind it, enclosed within a wing-like box similar to the old US Air Force logo. Nate knew what the logo meant - hell, his wife designed it before they retired after the Alaskan Campaign. He could still remember the day the joined…
# # # | # # #
"You called us, sir?" Nate asked, Nora standing besides him. They stood in front of General Chase's desk in Camp Harvey, a few days before they ship home.
"Indeed I did, sergeant, captain." the general said, bringing out a cigar from his pocket. "Sit, please."
The two soldiers sat down as Chase lit his cigar. "Now, you two might be wondering why I called you here, I take it?" he asked, the couple nodding in reply. Chase didn't say anything, bringing out three glass and a Johnny Walker from his drawer. "You two want a drink?"
Again, Nate and Nora shook their heads as Chase filled all three glasses. "Err...General, why exactly did you call us here?" his fiancee asked, shooting a quick confused glance at Nate.
The general sighed, downing one glass to their surprise. "The government has been infiltrated." Chase said bluntly, holding his hand up before Nate or Nora could protest. "And I don't mean by the Reds."
"What...what do you mean, sir?" Nate asked, concerned. "Who infiltrated the government?"
Leaning back, General Chase gave a long suffering sigh. "I was...part of a...group of, shall we say, 'highly influential' people," he spat, making the two flinch. "Who all came to the same conclusion that this war against the Chinese Communist will end with the total annihilation of Earth through nuclear warfare."
Nate felt horrified, his fiancee grabbing his hand tightly. "A mutually assured destruction…" he muttered.
General Chase chuckled, hearing Nate's remark. "Yup - it'll be a MAD scenario times a thousand. To that end, our group decided to invest into the massive fallout shelters in order to preserve our society and culture from such a catastrophe - which is why Vault-Tec was created in the first place - and so Project Safehouse was , while the whole thing began 'for the greater good', it was corrupted by greedy corporate bastards and the American Purists." he revealed, to Nate and Nora's horror.
"Pu-Purist?" Nora stammered, not that Nate was surprised. He'd heard a lot of talk about Trumpism when he was still in college - none of them portraying it's believers in a good light.
While the 'source' (President Donald Trump, the 45th American President) had good intentions during the early 2010s by trying to make America great again, the ideology was corrupted to the point it declared all white American males were the 'greatest' people of all time and everyone else not them were their 'servants' - almost akin to Nazism.
(Nate knew Nora had a bad run-in against them but didn't know the full details - all he knew was she was shaken by the incident and was the reason for her to take a law degree.)
General Chase nodded, a solemn look on his face. "Indeed...the project is now focused on saving the 'Pure Americans' - basically anyone who isn't them." he said with venom, sighing afterwards. "All those planning gone to waste…"
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Nate asked, feeling obligated to help the greatest (in his opinion) general since Patton, with Nora quickly seconding him.
The general gave a small smile. "I knew I could count on you," he replied, "and yes, you can do something about it - I want you to join-"
"We're joining." Nate and Nora said in unison, grinning at each other as Chase laughed.
"You don't even know what you're signing up for!" the general replied in good humor, grinning.
"Bah!" Nora exclaimed, smiling widely. "Anything that will stop the Purist bastards is a cause I can join."
Nate just shook his head. "I'm just going because she's joining." he jokingly answered, getting slapped by his fiancee. "Hey!"
"Don't mind my husband-to-be, General." Nora said, ignoring Nate's protest. "But yeah, who else is in it?"
The famed Anchorage liberator downed his second glass, looking grim. "As of now, we're still outnumbered by the Purist faction. We're...how should I say this…'selective' in our recruiting process to ensure we aren't discovered by the Purist or their lackeys."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence then, General." Nate said, feeling elated that he and his fiancee were completed trusted by General Chase.
"You're welcome, Nate." Chase replied in good humor, pouring himself another drink. "Come, let me give you two a toast."
Nate and Nora got their respective glasses, raising it to the air. "Welcome," Chase said, clicking his glass with theirs. "To the Republic Enclave - protectors of everything America stands for!"
# # # | # # #
Nate stared at it with disbelief, slowly meeting his wife's eyes. "Well then...I stand corrected."
"But why contact us now - they could have at least rescued us from our drama here." Nora asked, eyeing the note with suspicion. "And are we even sure we're meeting 'our' faction and not the Purist?"
Nate agreed, it did look suspicious. "You think it's a trap?" he asked, getting a nod. "Hm...what time is it?"
"It's...uh, nearing eight." Nora replied, looking at her pipboy before glancing at her husband. "You're not thinking-"
"If it's a trap, we might as well spring it on our own terms, honey." Nate explained, unholstering his N99 and checking its magazine. "You know all too well that for us to survive a trap, we spring it on our own terms."
His wife sighed, rubbing her temple. "Fine...let me just get my pistol." she conceded, shooting a glare at Nate.
Once she was ready, Nate and Nora made their way to Vault 111's cog elevator (informing Preston they were checking the vault if they left anything behind), looking over the Sanctuary settlement. Doing a quick search around the perimeter, the couple found no one waiting for them, much to their disappointment.
"The note said they'll be here by six, yet where is he?" Nora asked as she inspected the note again
"May be he's watching us from afar?" Nate suggested rhetorically, the two walked over to the cliff overlooking Sanctuary, the settlement slowly lighting thanks to the makeshift streetlamps Nate and Sturges placed throughout the settlement. Thankfully, Sanctuary was producing enough electricity to power it five times over, allowing the settlers to splurge a little. Already, Nate could see Preston giving the minutemen squad a settlement tour as they walked about underneath the settlement lights. A faint ringing made the Minutemen Colonel smile, realizing that Codsworth was done cooking their dinner and would probably berate them for coming in late.
"Sanctuary's starting to feel like home again, don't you think?" Nora murmured besides him, smiling at the budding settlement they were now residing. Nate hummed in agreement, hugging her with his left arm as they enjoyed the silence.
"I agree." a deep, raspy voice said from behind them.
Quick as lightning, Nate drew his pistol and pointed it into the direction of the voice. "Who the fuck are you?" Nate growled, cocking his N99 at the intruder.
Before them stood a ghoul in a tattered US Army general's overcoat, a N99 holstered to the hips, that had seen better days and a battered tricorn hat, grinning at them as he puffed some smoke from his lit cigar. "I'm not surprised you don't recognize me," he replied, chuckling as he removed his cigar while Nora scanned the perimeter. "I've seen better days…"
"Who are you?" Nora repeated, training her gun at the ghoul.
"Who do you think I am?" the ghoul countered, crossing his arms. "I thought you'd recognize the uniform at least - this is what I wore for your wedding, remember?"
Nate and Nora shared a look, the only person who wore a military uniform to their wedding was… "General Chase?" Nate exclaimed, giving the ghoul a once over. "You look like shit."
The ghoul laughed. "Yeah...well, not all of us have the luxury of sleeping in a freezer." he countered, smirking as he took another drag of smoke. "Though I heard it wasn't a pleasant experience."
Nate shook head, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that General Chase was still alive. "If you're General Chase," Nora began, still looking suspiciously at the ghoul. "Tell us something that only the three of us will know."
"You joined the Republic Patriots even before I could tell you what we stand for." the ghoul (Chase) replied, daring them to say otherwise.
Nora and Nate blushed, remembering that incident. "You really look like shit, General Chase." Nate said, enveloping his former commander in a hug. "Damn...what happened to you?"
"Radiation leak in Nahant," General Chase replied, sighing after the two finished hugging him. "Let's sit down shall we, it'll be a long story."
"Let's use that, then." Nora suggested, pointing towards the capsule unit near the gate entrance. "I'll run back to Sanctuary and get us some food."
Once they were settled in (Nora grabbing three plates of Grilled Radstag and some water), General Chase began his story. "I was in the Nahant base, inspecting it when the bombs fell. Thankfully, I've ordered all three Republic bases to be on full alert and completely manned by our forces so when we went into lockdown, we were fully prepared. Unfortunately, the base I was in had a faulty radiation blocker and the repair team was lost to the bombs, killing a third of the base's personnel before we managed to repair it.
"Anyway, we rode out the storm for over a century while still maintaining contact with the other two bases, while Base Nahant slowly turned into this," the general said, gesturing to himself as he drank water. "Not all stayed isolated, mind you. Base South Beach in Southern California ended up creating a trading caravan that we use to get information and earnings while Base Swampland in Florida ended up becoming a post-war city for the entire region."
General Chase then sighs. "Unfortunately, we also got hit hard. Project Magellan was nearly lost if it wasn't for the quick thinking of the crew after a cave-in Base Nahant. Base South Beach's caravan, Happy Trails, is in dire financial straits thanks to bad governance and trade wars. Base Swampland has it worse - Florida is currently undergoing an ecological crisis because of a Vault-Tec experiment gone wrong."
"Jesus…" Nate muttered. "You'd think that freezing people is one thing, making experimental plants is something else."
"What about the Purists, sir?" Nora asked.
"They're dead." General Chase replied simply, laughing at the confused looks he got from the Howards. "Not kidding, they're dead - sure there's an occasional or two Enclave groups but they're too small to be considered a large threat."
"How in the hell did that happen?" Nate asked, looking at General Chase.
"Funny story, that one." the ghoul replied, chuckling. "While we don't have direct access to it, Base South Beach had been monitoring a Poseidon Oil rig 200 miles off the coast of California. They started detecting activity around 2200 but were unable to recon the site, given the heavy defenses it had when I procured its schematics a few years before the bombs dropped. However, everything ceased around 2242 - apparently, they pissed off a female wastelander after the Purist used her hometown's population as lab rats."
"What?" Nate and Nora exclaimed.
Chase nodded, looking amused. "We don't know the full details but from what we gathered, the wastelander - 'Chosen One', according to the reports - hunted down the Enclave for abducting her town for experiments. One thing lead to another and boom, the Purist high command is wiped out and the rest scattered into the winds until they regrouped back at the Capital Wasteland."
Nate whistled, impressed. "Damn...that girl got some balls." he said, Nora chuckling at his remarks. "What about the remnants in the Capital?"
"Now that even a funnier story," Chase answered, taking a last drag from his cigar. "Apparently, a group of ambitious scientists had this grand idea of creating a massive purifier to cleanse the irradiated waterways of the Capital. The Enclave got wind of it and decided to repurpose as a way to spread their wastelander-killing virus. Unfortunately, that led to the entire wasteland uniting against them, leading to their second - and final - downfall."
"Sweet Jesus…" Nora muttered, grinning before frowning. "Err...where does that leave us, sir?"
"What d'ya mean, honey?" Nate asked, confused.
"I mean," Nora began. "The Republic Enclave was created to stop the Purist, right? But with them gone, what's our next objective?"
"Remember when I told you the Enclave still has remnants about?" Chase replied, getting a nod from the two. "We fear there's one operating here in the Commonwealth."
Nate blinked, surprised. The only group that people feared in the Commonwealth were raiders, Super Mutants, and… "You're talking about the Institute, right?" Nate guessed, recalling the discussion he had with Captain Barry about the group.
The ghoul general nodded seriously. "We have reason to believe that the Institute is working for or under orders from the Purist Enclave. We discovered intel that the two factions were talking over encrypted channels." he revealed, puffing out smoke. "Unfortunately, the system had a failsafe that resulted in the emails being destroyed but we do know the two were talking about a 'Phase 3' and an 'agitator' the Institute needed to 'keep up the demands'."
"You think it this 'Phase 3' involves the Commonwealth?" Nora asked, looking worried.
Chase nodded. "Indeed - if you've heard about the Institute, you know they're the reasons for the mysterious kidnappings happening all over it." he said, looking grim. "We've focused all our assets to find information about them but unfortunately, we've been made - one of our agents disappeared two months ago, resurfacing a few weeks back and didn't make contact with us, at all."
"Shit." Nate cursed, grimacing.
"We've pulled out immediately, not wanting any of our assets to be discovered - everything we built up was abandoned except for one or two agents to keep us abreast with the situation." Chase said, sighing before slowly smiling. "Then one of our agents got wind of your little settlement up North, I just had to see it for myself!"
Nate and Nora blushed at the praise. "Yeah well...the situation forced us." Nora explained, turning gloomy. "Especially...especially after we found out about Shaun."
"Shaun's...Shaun was kidnapped by the Institute around 60 years ago." Nate continued, suddenly feeling tired. "We-we don't know why they did so but...but all we know he's stuck down there. We got word he's...he's apparently 10 years old but the timeline doesn't match up - for all we know, he grew for 10 years before they froze him again like us!"
"I see…" Chase said, mulling over their words. Nobody spoke as the Howards comforted each other while the ghoul general looked lost in thought. "I think I might be able to help with that."
The Howards looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, general?" Nora asked, looking confused.
"You two need more manpower for the Minutemen - and yes, I know about the issues they're facing." Chase explained, removing his cigar. "At the same time, the Republic needs a safe way to get our agents on the ground."
Nate immediately understood what the general was hinting. "You want to insert Republic Enclave into the Minutemen." he guessed, getting a nod from the ghoul. "And given the Minutemen's role in protecting settlements…"
"...you'll have a legitimate reason to investigate the Institute!" Chase said with a grin. "Because everyone blames them for any kidnapping, disappearance, and unexplained deaths in the Commonwealth."
"Which means it gets your men safely on the ground to conduct intelligence runs while the Minutemen gets veteran recruits and we get intel on where the Institute hid Shaun." Nora summed it up, grinning. "Reminds me of that meme where Rey shot down three Tie Fighters in one shot."
All three of them chuckled at that image as Chase stood up to stretch. "Well then, I best be going then - need to update the Council on what was agreed on." he said, throwing his cigar away. "If you want to contact me, ask for Logan's help - he's our last agent on the ground, given ghouls can't be replaced by synths anyway."
Giving one last salute, the general left the Adams to contemplate everything. "This day is full of surprises, ain't it?" Nora muttered, staring at the door the ghoul general exited. "Not only did we find out that there's still a base full of Minutemen, the Republic's still and alive and kicking, and we don't have to start from scratch!"
Nate nodded, smiling. "One would think a post-apocalyptic world would be all doom and gloom."
Nora didn't reply, merely resting her head on her husband's shoulder while he arm hugged her. "Life finds a way, hun. Life finds a way."
Awesome Notes & Notifications:
HELLO EVERYONE, I'M BACK!
Welcome to the rebooted "Fallout: Commonwealth's Rebirth", with massive changes involving plot, Fallout 4 mods, characters, and even lore!
2019 has been a year of great change for me and my family. I won't go into details but let's just say I was (and still am) humbled this year, made some self-discoveries that I needed to learn, and basically became a better person in general. Hopefully, this rebooted story will be great to old and new readers alike...and I do hope you like the new developments shown in this chapter. Don't worry, this won't be the last of the many bombshells I plan to drop.
Anyway, please do leave a review, a comment, or a constructive criticism for me to read. I know I used to do a "Reply to Reviewers" but ever since that review spam I got caught up with I'm no longer doing it for now. Also, this story is in SpaceBattles as well so please do drop by on there for any added knowledge I might give.
NEXT: Nick's City Blues (January 15, 2020)
