Reviews:
zezia333: I'm glad you're liking the story.
TheEliteDucky: The smiles on the officers faces weren't the smiles of "Let's go to war!" They were smiling because all of their men are willing to fight a war to stop a mad man from killing more innocent people. Hope you had a good Christmas.
alanranks7: It'll be a looooong time before America comes back, but it will come back eventually.
THESNH00: Hope you had a good Christmas.
EclipsePheniox: I haven't forgotten about your idea friend. I promise.
GuestDB: The next story you can expect a male courier who is pro NCR at first, but his opinion will change to independent.
Dragonbornwanderer: Unfortunately I don't think I could get Rivet City to be repaired, but in this chapter you'll find something better.
StaticBomb93: In the next chapter we'll find out where Eric got the gear.
Fallout2033: You can count on it! OORAH
Guest: Don't worry, here it is!
Chapter 16: Gathering Strength and Paradise Falls…Literally
25 Miles North of Rebirth. June 11, 2279. 8:45 P.M.
Rebirth Army Base wasn't the only military installation Chase had constructed. It was one of four instillations built to help the U.S. Military with resurrecting America back from the dead. Rebirth was mainly designed to keep the soldiers safe from the war along with most of their aircraft and vehicles. Due to the lack of space for some aircraft, General Chase had constructed a massive airbase (smaller than Adams Air Force Base. Adams is very big in the story to accommodate the military's air force and airborne units) not far from Rebirth. The airfield had a single runway and dozens of hangers. Several of the hangers had bombers that helped paved the way for ground forces in Alaska and the rest had Army, Marine, and Air Force helicopters. Hueys, Chinooks, Tarhes, Vertibirds, and the newest helicopters that were created by General Chase's R&D Department, the Bell AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopter.
The Cobra was designed as a rapid response helicopter for the United States Marine Corps. Its main objective was to attack heavily armed enemy positions and provide cover for U.S. ground forces. It was set to be introduced into combat in Alaska and China, but the military needed a helicopter that could provide heavy support and drop in power armored troops. That's where the Vertibird came in.
Like Rebirth there were several Sentry Bots and Mister Gutsies patrolling the perimeter of the airfield and a minefield that surrounded it.
Approaching the entrance to the airbase was a convoy of humvees and trucks. Many of the soldiers on the trucks were the remaining Army, Marine, and Air Force pilots. A soldier in an officer's uniform got out of the passenger's side of the lead humvee and approached the Sentry Bot guarding the gate.
"Major General Ashley Christine Brookes, 20th Special Forces Group, Base Access Code please." The Sentry said.
"Aim High… Fly, Fight, Win." The National Guard officer said.
The Sentry remained silent for a couple seconds to process the access code before saying. "Access granted. Welcome to Bravo Airbase General. Orders?"
"You and every other Sentry Bot and Gutsy get into the loading containers." Ashley ordered the Bot.
The Sentry processed the Major General's order before replying. "Understood, have a nice day!" The security bot and every other bot on base moved to loading containers that were spread across the airbase.
Brookes got back in her humvee and grabbed the radio. "All pilots get to your aircraft and fly back to Rebirth! Transport craft, make sure you get all of the bots into the loading containers and take them back with you!" She put the radio down and looked to the soldier driving the humvee. "Back to base Corporal."
"Yes General." The lower rank replied as he put the humvee in drive, did a U turn and drove back to Rebirth as all the pilots were driving into the base, heading for their aircraft.
5 Miles East of Rebirth. June 11, 9:00 P.M.
Before the bombs fell, there was a train carrying several more tanks, humvees, AAVs, howitzers and equipment to Rebirth. The train was under the escort of 85 soldiers that were to be a part of Rebirth. Unfortunately, the bombs fell before they could get to the base. They were able to make it to the checkpoint tunnel and seal it off before succumbing to the heavy radiation. Their fate would be unknown until now.
A team of Army Rangers, under the command of veteran Ranger, Lieutenant Grady Walker, were waiting outside the tunnel entrance. They had been tasked with getting the train up and running to the one mile checkpoint north of the base so they could unload the vehicles. If they were going to fight, they needed more than 90 tanks and landing vehicles for an invasion.
The Rangers had set up a perimeter around the tunnel while one of their guys was rewiring the power box to the tunnel gate.
"Come on you piece of shit!" The Ranger growled through his teeth trying to fix the wires on a panel which gave him one hell of a shock. "OW! SON OF A BITCH!" He shouted shaking his hand trying to get rid of the pain while the other soldiers laughed.
One of the Ranger's buddies took over for him. "Jesus Christ time has been a real bitch to this thing." He said as he fixed some circuits and moved some wires around.
After a few more minutes of trying and uttering profanities, they had restored power to the tunnel gate and it opened up for them. Unfortunately they couldn't restore power to the lights. The Ranger team gathered in a two-by-two cover formation and quickly walked inside the tunnel with their marksman carbines raised and flashlights on. Four Rangers stood guard outside the tunnel while the rest of the team got the train running.
The group mainly stuck to the walls as they continued to move forward.
"Hey LT. when we get to D.C. where do you think they'll drop us in at?" One Ranger asked.
"Wherever they tell us Corporal." Lieutenant Walker said keeping his guard up. The truth was he already knew what assignment they had once they got the train to the one mile checkpoint. "Keep your mouth shut and eyes forward!" He ordered. Since they were in unknown territory, it was best to be on alert until they knew the area was secure.
As they approached the train a large chunk of concrete fell from the roof. It's destination, on top of one Ranger.
One of his buddies noticed it and grabbed the Ranger by the back of his collar and pulled him back as the concrete hit the railroad with a loud thud.
It took the Ranger a few seconds to process what would've happened had he not been pulled him aside. He looked to his partner. "Thanks."
Before the Ranger could reply they all heard a loud growl further down the tunnel causing them to raise their weapons in the direction of the sound. They rode their bolts forward on their rifles.
"What the hell was that?" One Ranger asked as they could hear the sound of footsteps running towards them.
"Nothing good." Lieutenant Walker replied.
Not long after he said that there were several skinny corpses in combat armor running right at the soldiers with the intent of tearing them limb from limb.
"Contacts! Drop'em!" The Lieutenant ordered as he fired at one, blowing a hole in its skull.
The Rangers all fired their marksman carbines into the advancing corpses, dropping most of them with precision headshots. Some of the Rangers stuck to what they were told at basic training. They fired their rifles and put two rounds in the ferals' chests and one round in their heads.
There had to have been more than thirty feral roamers coming at the Rangers. One of the roamers was glowing and he was charging directly at Lieutenant Walker. The Lieutenant fired his rifle four times in the ghoul and it was still coming for him. He went to fire a few more rounds, but the glowing roamer had gotten close enough to knock the rifle out of his hands. As the ghoul went to slash at him, the Lieutenant grabbed its wrist to halt the attack and with his free hand, pulled a combat knife and jabbed it inside its ribcage repeatedly.
The feral didn't fall to the ground; it was still standing, trying to wrap its jaws around the Lieutenant's neck. The Ranger Lieutenant pulled the knife out of its chest and jammed it right in its left eye, finally killing it. The LT. let the glowing roamer's lifeless body fall to the ground and he looked to see that his men had killed the last of them.
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck are these things?" One Ranger asked out loud.
One of them knelt down next to one of the bodies and pulled a set of dog tags from around its neck. He examined the tags closely. "Holy shit."
Lieutenant Walker looked to the lower rank. "What?"
"These are our guys from the 153rd Cav. Regiment." He informed them.
"Bullshit." The veteran Ranger said.
"See for yourself." The Ranger said throwing the tags to the Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Walker caught them and read them over. He sighed. "Goddammit. So this is what the radiation does." He stuffed the tags in a pocket and looked to the rest of his men. "Cortez, Wilson you're on tag detail. The rest of you see if there are any more of our boys that are suffering. If there are, put them out of their misery! Once you've finished, get the train running!"
The soldiers all went to accomplish their tasks leaving the Ranger Lieutenant to his thoughts.
"Hell of a way to die." A voice said next to him. Lieutenant Walker turned to find one of his buddies standing there staring at the corpse of what used to be a fellow U.S. soldier. "Poor bastards."
Grady nodded. "Yeah." Their heads shot up when more gunfire was heard down the tunnel. When it stopped Grady shook his head. "At least we can put them out of their misery."
The Ranger nodded in response and was about to say something when the train horn echoed throughout the tunnel. After the rest of the Rangers finished collecting the tags they boarded the train.
Now that they had the train, Lieutenant Grady and his Rangers could get ready for their next assignment. Recon the surrounding D.C. areas.
Newport Naval Station, Rhode Island: June 11, 9:05 P.M.
"Tiger Team to Rebirth; we're one Mike (minute) out from Newport." Josh Bennett, Commander of SEAL Team 5 informed Admiral Howard over the radio. A Chinook helicopter carrying a platoon of Navy SEALS, under the escort of two Huey helicopters with miniguns and rocket pods, were en route to Naval Station Newport.
"Copy that Commander. The ships are underneath the dry docks. There's a manhole in Warehouse 3 that'll lead you down there." Admiral Howard replied.
"Roger. Admiral if we come in contact with any indigenous personnel…" Commander Bennett left the question hanging in the air.
"If you come under attack you are clear to engage. Just get in, unfreeze our guys there, launch the ships, and get the fuck out! Understood?"
"Understood Admiral. Tiger Team out!" Commander Bennett looked to the rest of his SEALS. "Lock and Load!" The SEALS all inserted a magazine in their marksman carbines and switched their safeties off.
The pilot of the helicopter shouted to the SEAL Commander. "Alright Commander, we're setting down now." He informed him as the helicopter started to descend. The two Hueys were circling the Chinook searching for any hostiles in the area that might try attacking the landing SEALS.
The SEALS all stood up from their seats and moved towards the loading ramp. The moment the helicopter landed, the SEALS all darted out of the back and set up a tactical perimeter so the Chinook could safely take off again. The helicopter was immediately in the air and escorted back to Rebirth. It would return in three hours to pick them up.
Commander Bennett scanned the surrounding area before whistling to get his SEALS attention. "Warehouse 3 is just one click (1000 meters or one kilometer) to the northeast. Let's move!"
The SEALS all followed their commander to the designated warehouse, being cautious every step of the way. When they approached the warehouse they were met with a couple random wastelanders with Chinese assault rifles slung over their shoulders.
The wastelanders kept one hand on their rifle slings and they slowly approached the SEALS with their other hand raised up as a way of showing they meant no harm.
Commander Bennett ordered his men to lower their weapons, but to stay sharp. The SEAL Commander slung his rifle over his shoulder and raised his hands up to show he wasn't a threat to the wastelanders.
"Hello there friend!" One of the wastelanders said in a very friendly smile…and a weird accent the Commander never heard of. "My name's Henry, I'm the mayor of Newport. What can I do for you boys today?"
The Commander was a bit thrown off by the weird accent, but he still held out a hand to Henry. "My name is Commander Josh Bennett. My men and I are here to…" Commander Bennett didn't know whether or not he should tell him about what was underneath the Naval Base.
Henry smiled. "By chance, are you here for that bunker underneath the building?" He said pointing his thumb at the warehouse behind him.
The Commander's eyes damn near popped out of his head. "How do you know about that?"
Henry snorted. "A manhole in the center of the building isn't exactly a discreet way to hide a bunker."
Commander Bennett groaned at the stupidity of the men who built the compound. Bennett's SEALS were trying to figure out what accent Henry was speaking in. It was going to drive them nuts.
"Master Chief, what the hell kind of accents are they using?" One SEAL asked in a hushed tone of voice, not wanting to offend the wastelanders.
"It sounds like a mix between Eastern New England and New Yorker." The higher ranking SEAL said.
"Never heard it before. It sounds freaky." The SEAL said.
"Do you mind leading the way then Henry?" Commander Bennett asked.
"Not at all. The sooner you guys get whatever is in that bunker, the sooner we can set up more homes down there."
The SEAL Commander stopped in his tracks. "Hold up! You're telling me you don't want the stuff inside the bunker? You only want it to set up homes?" He asked as he resumed following the mayor.
"Yeah. We already have more than enough guns and ammo to fight a long war and enough food and water to last us a decade. The one thing we really need right now is shelter for when the storms hit."
"Storms?" One SEAL asked.
"Yeah. We get some pretty destructive storms. Look at those other buildings." Henry said pointing at what was left of Warehouse 8 and 9. Both buildings were completely caved in. "We just need to build some more homes down there and use it as a shelter. Is it big enough for 500 people?" He asked as they walked inside the warehouse.
"It's big enough for 5,000 people." Commander Bennett told the man. He looked around at all the tin shacks and makeshift homes set up inside the warehouse.
"Damn, what the hell do you have down there?" Henry asked.
Commander Bennett chuckled. "You'll have to see for yourself." He looked around at some of the people and some of them looked like they haven't showered in weeks. "Is this how you people live?" He asked feeling sorry for some of them.
Henry shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, more or less, but like I said, we have enough food, water, and supplies to keep us going for a long time."
They made it to the manhole and climbed down the ladder where they found the bunker door with a small computer console next to it. Commander Bennett walked over to the console and entered the password…Not for self, but for Country.
The bunker doors opened up and the group walked down a long hallway until they approached a second door that automatically opened for them. They were now underneath the shipyard dry docks.
The SEALS and Henry all stood gaping at the sight in front of them. There were four U.S. Navy ships sitting on ramps that would lift up to the roof of the dry docks where it would open up, then the ship would slide down the ramp and into the water.
The four ships were a Wasp-Class Amphibious Assault Ship, a Los Angeles-Class Submarine, a Spruance-Class Destroyer, and a New Mexico-Class Battleship.
"How the hell did Chase manage to build this?" One SEAL asked shrugging off the shock.
"We can ask him when we die. Until then, let's find the cryo-chamber and wake the sailors." Commander Bennett said.
Two Miles North of the Capital Wasteland. June 11, 2279. 9:16 P.M.
To the north of the train tunnel that leads to the Pitt were four U.S. Army helicopters, a Huey, a Chinook, and two Vertibirds. Inside the Huey were Eric, Amata, Butch, and Shadow Knights, Lieutenant Ryan Smith and Captain Melissa Broadhead. In the Chinook were the Alpha Dogs and the rest of Eric's group. The two Vertibirds were providing escort with a squad of Marines in each one.
Eric knew that they were getting close to the Capital Wasteland and he didn't want to let Marshes know he was back.
"Pilot!" The Major turned his attention to Eric. "Can you set us down here? I don't want to alert enemy patrols."
"You got it kid!" The pilot activated his helmet radio. "Night Stalker 6 to Night Stalker 1 come in!"
"Go ahead Night Stalker 6." The pilot in the Chinook helicopter replied.
"We're going to land here. The kid doesn't want us to alert enemy scouts or patrols." The Major informed the other pilot.
"Roger that, touching down now!"
The Huey and Chinook landed while the two Vertibirds remained in the air providing cover. As soon as Lieutenant Smith's Shadow Knights set up a tactical perimeter, the choppers all took off back to Rebirth.
Lieutenant Smith looked to Eric as the rest of the group joined them. "Ok Eric, where do we go from here?"
Eric pulled up the map of the Capital Wasteland on his Pip-Boy. He pointed at SatCom Array NW-05a. "Here. We had a small outpost at the SatCom Array. We may still have guys there."
Lieutenant Smith nodded and looked to his squad. "Alright you heard the man." He looked to the Miles brothers. "You two provide sniper cover and make sure we don't encounter any trouble!"
"You got it!" They said simultaneously as they got up and ran ahead of them to find a place to set up a sniper's nest.
Eric took point and led the Special Forces group to their destination. They made it a priority to stay hidden and not come across enemy patrols. Eric just hoped that the first group of people they came across would be soldiers from Lyons' Brotherhood…if there were any left alive.
Big Town Prison Camp. June 11, 2279. 9:31 P.M.
"Come on buddy, wake up!" A Brotherhood Paladin said giving Paladin Commander Mullen another soft kick to the back. Mullen stirred before fully waking up. "There you are sunshine."
Mullen gently rubbed his bruised eyes before looking around to see where he was at. He saw many wastelanders and a couple Brotherhood soldiers sitting and wandering around. "Where am I?" He asked looking up at the soldier who was kicking him. It was Paladin Jacob Alexander, presumed to have died in the assault of Big Town.
"You're at the Big Town Prison Camp." 'The same place you fuckers sent us.' Alexander added mentally.
Now everything started coming back to Mullen, his attempt to flee the Capital Wasteland with his last Warrior Squad, Marshes catching them…him getting knocked unconscious.
Alexander extended a hand to the battered (former) Lost Hills soldier which he thankfully took. "Since I answered a question for you, maybe you can answer a question for me." He said in an interrogative voice.
Mullen could tell that it would be best to give this guy what he wanted. "Sure. What do you want to know?"
Alexander grabbed Mullen by the arm and led him inside the old town clinic, where several Brotherhood prisoners were waiting. They may have been stripped of their power armor, but they looked like they could tear the Paladin Commander in half "Everything. We want to know everything. We know who you are Command Mullen. So start talking or else we'll kill you before Marshes does!"
Mullen swallowed hard. He knew he had no other choice, so he decided to answer any questions they threw at him.
SatCom Array NW-05a. June 11, 2279. 10:14 P.M.
Eric and the others were close to the SatCom Array. They had managed to make it without getting spotted by enemy scouts or patrols, albeit they had to kill a few scouts if they wanted to keep going. Eric and his group were impressed by the level of stealth and lethality the Shadow Knights were showing, especially Captain Broadhead's effectiveness with a throwing knife. Every knife she threw had managed to hit the target in the neck, effectively dropping them. For the long range kills, Mason and Grayson were nailing precision headshots with their suppressed M-14s. They even managed to decapitate a couple officers.
Eric noticed something different about the Lost Hills soldiers. Those that were wearing T-51b power armor, the armor had been painted black. He'd find out more about that later. Right now they were approaching the SatCom Array and Eric didn't like what he saw. Part of the satellite was on fire and there was a squad of seven Brotherhood soldiers lying dead around the entrance.
The group all slowly raised their weapons and was on alert. Sergeant Weston used his radio to contact the Miles brothers. "Ace, Bullseye, you guys see anything?"
"Negative Insurgent. The area's clear, but watch your ass going in. We got you covered." Mason told them.
"Roger that Bullseye, Insurgent out." Carter hung up the radio and looked to Lieutenant Smith. "Area's clear Ryan."
"Let's move!" Lieutenant Smith said as he and Eric led the group closer to the SatCom Array. When they made sure there were no Lost Hills personnel in the area, Eric and Butch checked each Brotherhood soldier to see if any of them were alive. Sadly for them, none of them were. The bodies were still warm, so they were killed not too long ago.
Eric sighed and proceeded to collect the tags from each of his fallen Brothers. Butch and Amata helped.
'Command to Pack Leader, come in Pack Leader!" General Foster's voice said over the radio.
Ryan walked over and grabbed Carter's radio. "This is Pack Leader, go ahead Command!"
"Give me a SITREP (Situation Report) Pack Leader!"
Lieutenant Smith sighed looking around at the deceased Brotherhood squad. "We've managed to remain undetected, had to take out a couple drifters here and there. So far, no contact with friendly personnel."
"Roger that Pack Leader. Remember to check in every six hours."
"Understood Command, Pack Leader out." Ryan said hanging the radio back up and looked to find Eric had finished collecting all the holotags with a solemn look on his face. He knew the feeling. He'd lost his fair share of men in China.
Butch had to ask. "Why do you guys use code names over the radio?"
Lieutenant Smith decided to answer for Butch. "In case anyone is listening in on our transmissions." Ryan chuckled. "Plus, you have no idea how bad it threw off Chinese radio officers that were listening in on our frequencies. We said things like, "Insurgent you need to get across the jumper cable to intercept the shooting stars.""
Jericho's face scrunched up in confusion. "What da fuck does that mean?"
"It means this dumb fucker right here." Ryan said pointing at Sergeant Weston.
Carter snorted in amusement. "Love you too buddy."
"He had to sneak across the Yangtze River so he could take out a nearby patrol. If that didn't throw off the Chinese I don't know what did."
Eric chuckled and was about to reply when a gauss charge flew right past his head, missing him by a few mere inches.
"COVER!" Lieutenant Smith shouted as Eric dove to the side and took cover behind a small boulder while everyone else found cover behind the SatCom Array.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE GODDAMMIT!" A voice boomed out not too far away from the group. "Eric, is that you?"
Eric recognized the voice. He poked his head up over the rock. "Glade?"
"Hold your fire, we're coming out!" Glade shouted.
Eric looked to his team. "Hold your fire guys." He stood up from behind the boulder and saw Glade and the rest of Lyons' Pride along with a small squad of Knights approach them. Eric smiled. "Damn good to see you buddy." He said pulling Glade into a brotherly hug.
"Back at you Eric." He pulled away and looked over Eric's shoulder to see the group of Shadow Knights standing behind him. "Who are they?"
"Glade, meet Ryan, Carter, Parker, Steven, Dallas, Marshal, and Melissa. Two more are hiding somewhere providing sniper cover." He looked to the Shadow Knights. "Guys this is what's left of my squad, Glade, Colvin, McGraw, Morril, Artemis, and…where the hell is Gallows?"
"You mean the stealth suit wearing motherfucker that got the drop on us?" An irritated voice said behind the Shadow Knights. Everyone turned to find the Miles brothers being held at gunpoint by a decloaked Gallows with their rifles slung over his shoulders.
"Let'em go Gallows, they're with me." Eric told the Spec Ops officer. Gallows lowered his weapon, unslung the M-14s and handed them back to the twin brothers.
"How the hell did you manage to spot us?" Mason asked taking his rifle back. Gallows simply shrugged his shoulders.
"He does that all the time, trust me guys. He's fucking good at disappearing and detecting snipers." Eric told them.
"Anyone that can get the drop on a Shadow Knight has to be fucking good." Lieutenant Smith said in admiration.
Paladin Glade was about to speak when they all heard an enemy patrol that was closing in. "We have to go." Glade urged. "We have a camp set up at Raven Rock."
"Let's go then."
The group all took off in dead sprint to the East just as the enemy patrol arrived in a humvee. They checked the dead Brotherhood squad before searching the surrounding areas for any survivors. Once they made sure the area was clear, they got back into the truck and resumed their patrols.
Big Town Prison Camp. June 11, 2279. 10:33 P.M.
Mullen had just finished telling Alexander and his group of soldiers everything he knew, his betrayal to General Marshes, his attempt to flee the Capital Wasteland, and the possibility of the Midwestern Brotherhood coming to fight. Plus he told them of every location that was vital to Marshes.
Alexander was the first to speak. "So the Midwest might be sending troops to fight?"
Mullen nodded. "Yes, but if they do, they'll be walking into one hell of a fight. Marshes dispatched half of his forces to the Western Border along with a lot of our tanks and artillery to hold them off."
Alexander sighed. "Shit." He looked to his fireteam. "Let's hope Eric made it to that base."
Mullen was confused. "What base?"
"My fireteam and I, along with Paladin Richards and his platoon attacked Big Town and Arefu to provide a distraction so that Eric and his team could travel north to a military base with soldiers that might be able to help us." Alexander informed the former Paladin Commander.
"So then who traveled west to get the Midwestern Brotherhood?" Mullen asked.
Alexander shrugged. "Who knows? Probably Richards, probably some other Brotherhood soldier. All I know is it wasn't Eric."
"So you really think he's coming back?" Mullen asked.
Alexander leaned forward. "I don't think, I know. He's not the kind of person to abandon wastelanders who are being threatened with death every day. He'll die for the wastelanders just so they can live a better life."
Mullen scoffed. "I can't believe you and your chapter abandoned the Codex just to help a bunch of wastelanders. If anything, you'd be doing them a favor by putting them out of their misery."
One soldier who had been leaning against a wall got up to snap the ignorant man's neck, but Alexander raised an arm to block him. He pointed at Mullen. "I want you to do something for me Mullen. I want you to go outside and if you don't mind, get rid of your west coast God complex and go socialize with some of the wastelanders that you bastards put in here. I mean really get to know who they are; get an understanding of them and hopefully you'll learn why we fight for them, why we'd die for them without hesitation."
Mullen thought about it for a few seconds before nodding and leaving to do what Alexander requested. As he was about to leave he remembered something. "There's something else you should know. Marshes plans on launching a full-scale attack against the Purifier tomorrow at 0830 hours. He's going to send 500 of his best troops, plus our remaining tanks to try and take out the energy field surrounding the building."
Alexander nodded and Mullen stepped outside. One of Alexander's men looked to him. "What do you think boss? Should we be worried?"
Alexander rubbed a hand over his face. "If you'd asked me that a few days ago, I would've told you not to worry. Now…I think we should definitely be worried."
Raven Rock: June 11, 2279. 10:42 P.M.
Paladin Glade led Eric and his group to the makeshift command set up next to the destroyed entrance of Raven Rock. He was greeted by Paladin Richards.
"Eric, good to see you back." He said saluting the Star-Paladin.
Eric returned the salute. "It's good to be back. I've brought some help with me."
Lieutenant Smith approached the Brotherhood Paladin. "Lieutenant Ryan Smith, 1st Platoon Alpha Company." He said extending a hand.
Paladin Richards shook the Lieutenant's hand. "Paladin Tyrell Richards, 2nd Brotherhood Recon Platoon. Is this all of you?"
"For now, we may have more troops coming in two days, three at most." Ryan informed them.
"How many more?" Richards asked.
"Around 30,000 troops."
Every Brotherhood soldier that heard Lieutenant Smith stopped dead in their tracks.
Richards thought he was losing his mind. "I'm sorry did you say 30,000 soldiers Lieutenant?"
Ryan nodded in confirmation. "That is correct."
Almost every Brotherhood soldier erupted into a small celebration of cheers and yes's.
Paladin Richards didn't believe in God, but for the first time in his life, he was silently thanking him. "30,000 soldiers, plus the Midwestern Brotherhood, luck is finally on our side."
"The Midwestern Brotherhood?" Eric looked to Glade and the rest of the Pride. "You guys managed to get the Midwest's help?"
"We did." Glade said with a small smile. Eric did a fist pump, but his celebration was short-lived when Glade said. "There's just one problem though."
Eric frowned. "What?"
Glade and Paladin Richards led them to a table that had a map of the Capital Wasteland laid out across it. "We were able to catch one of Marshes' Lieutenants and according to him, when Glade and the others drove West, Marshes didn't want to take any chances of coming under fire from the Midwestern Brotherhood, so he directed more than half of his men to the Western Border to hold them off. They'll be walking right into a shit storm."
"Is there any way we can give the Midwest easier access?" Lieutenant Smith asked.
"We tried to weaken their defenses, but I lost ten guys in the process." Paladin Richards informed them. "Right now we're focusing our attention on areas that will hurt Marshes the most." He looked to Lieutenant Smith and his Shadow Knights. "Does your army have aircraft?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then your first target will be here." Richards said pointing at one spot on the map.
Ryan inspected the destination closely. "Paradise Falls?"
"Yep. There are six AA guns set up around the area. We need to take them out along with the forces there. The problem is there are over 50 soldiers stationed there and if we launched an attack against them, a nearby response force of 100 reinforcements will be there within 10 minutes."
"Do you have a plan?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. We have a team attack them from the East to get their attention. While they're focused on our boys, we have another team quietly insert from the West and set up explosives around Paradise Falls. Of course you'll have to take out a few stragglers here and there."
"Where are the AA guns at?" Captain Broadhead asked.
"One of them is by Eulogy's Pad, one is by Lock and Load, two of them are behind Cutter's Clinic, one is by the entrance, and the other is located by the slave house."
"Slave house?" Lieutenant Smith asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Paradise Falls used to be home to a small army of slavers, before Eric here," Richards said nodding his head at the younger man. "managed to wipe them off the face of the planet."
"So how come you haven't gone ahead with your plan?" Eric asked.
"We don't have any C-4 left." Richards said.
Ryan smiled. "We do. Parker." Seconds later, Specialist Parker Daniels walked over and set a duffle bag full of C-4 on the table.
"Is that enough?" Parker asked.
"Uh, that's way more than enough." Richards said a little shocked by how much C-4 was in the bag. There was more than enough to level the Capitol Building.
Eric looked to Paladin Glade. "You and the rest of the Pride get their attention while I and Lieutenant Smith's men plant the explosives."
"You got it Eric." Glade said.
"Alright, what are we waiting for?"
Paradise Falls: June 11, 2279. 11:59 P.M.
Four of Marshes soldiers were patrolling the Eastern walls of the old slaver colony. One of them removed his power helmet so he could have a smoke. The moment he stuck the cigarette in his mouth a gunshot rang out in the distance and a bullet had nailed him right between the eyes. Colvin smiled as his target's brains splattered out the back of his head.
"OH SHIT, MAN DOWN!" One soldier shouted as another soldier was dropped by Colvin. The soldier crouched down behind some debris and got on his helmet radio. "This is Three Six we're taking enemy fire from the East; two guys are KIA. Get your asses out here now!" He ordered as he aimed his gauss rifle trying to find out where the hell the enemy was at. By the time he had managed to locate Colvin's position, the Knight Captain fired a third round, impacting his visor and hitting him in the left eye, effectively killing him.
All Lost Hills soldiers in the compound ran out of the buildings and started charging over the walls or were on the rooftops trying to take out the attacking forces. The moment more soldiers started showing up, Glade and his men all opened fire on the responding soldiers, forcing them to take cover. Their attention was completely focused to the East.
Glade pulled out a radio. "Ok Eric, now's your chance."
"Roger that." Eric replied.
Eric and his group were waiting near the cliffs to the West. The minute they received the ok, they took off for the Lost Hills Outpost while Mason and Grayson provided sniper cover. Dogmeat was waiting by Drowned Devil's Crossing to alert them of incoming enemy patrols.
As they approached the first two AA guns, the twin brothers picked off the soldiers guarding them. Parker opened up his duffle bag and pulled out two C-4 charges.
"We got you covered Parker. Go!" Lieutenant Smith said.
Parker ran for the first AA gun and set a charge underneath it before going for the second one. Once both charges were set the group all hurried to the third AA gun set up near the junk entrance. After Parker set a charge on the flak cannon, they all quickly made it through the entrance, checking to make sure there weren't any guards wandering around. Parker gave Eric six charges and they all broke off into two groups. Eric, Amata, Butch, Jericho, Harkness, Charon, and Captain Broadhead went to place the charges at Lock and Load and the AA gun set up next to it.
As Eric was setting the charge on the gun, a soldier without his power helmet came walking out of Lock and Load. Not wanting to alert the soldiers early, Captain Broadhead grabbed one of her knives and threw it underhanded, impaling the soldier in the eye before he could have time to respond. Melissa pulled the knife out of the dead soldier's neck and wiped the blood off the blade. She had Butch and Harkness follow her to check and see if there were any more soldiers in old slaver gun shop.
Lieutenant Smith and his men all moved to place charges inside the barracks, the clinic, Eulogy's Pad, and the slave house. They swiftly and silently mowed down all opposition that got in their way. Corporal Walcott ran inside Cutter's Clinic and a soldier in combat armor walked out of the back room. The soldier never had time to react as Dallas ran at him with tremendous speed and tackled him to the ground. The massive, seven foot tall Shadow Knight then lifted the soldier to his feet and tossed him a good six feet across the room.
The soldier got to his knees, but was too stunned to prepare for the next attack. Corporal Walcott walked over and ripped the combat helmet off the soldier's head and with one hand, twisted it to the right, successfully snapping his neck. After the soldier's limp form hit the ground, Dallas grabbed his charges and set two of them up in the filing cabinet.
Over in Eulogy's Pad, Chief Petty Officer Mills walked inside and took out two guys with his silenced marksman carbine. He set a charge at each support pillar in the building.
Once they had set all the charges, they and Eric's group all made a hasty retreat back to the Cliffside where Mason and Grayson were. They had managed to set the charges in less than 5 minutes.
Eric pulled out his radio. "Objective is complete Glade. Pull out now!"
"Copy that Eric."
Down on the East side of Paradise Falls the soldiers had lost more than half of their men and were wondering where the hell their response force was. Then suddenly, the enemy stopped firing. The soldiers looked out in the distance to see Glade and his squad pull back.
"They're retreating sir. Should we go after them?" One soldier asked looking to the commander standing on the roof of Lock and Load.
The commander was about to give his men the go ahead to chase their attackers down when suddenly, he felt a sharp pain hit his arm. He looked down and saw that his arm had taken a bullet and he hissed in discomfort. The commander ran to the edge of the building and saw some of his men were lying dead around the compound.
"Hostiles are inside Paradise Falls!" He shouted. All of his men climbed back over the walls and started searching the compound for the hostile soldiers.
Up on the ridge Dogmeat had ran back over to Eric and his group as a way of letting them know the response force was close by.
Sure enough, at least a hundred Lost Hills soldiers were sprinting towards Paradise Falls to see if they can help their fellow brothers and sisters.
Parker's finger was gently tapping against the detonator, waiting for the moment to blow the entire place to kingdom come.
"Wait for it!" Eric said. "Wait for it!" The moment the last of the soldiers had made it to the junk entrance he gave the order. "Now!"
Parker pulled the trigger and the group watched in astonishment as the buildings and walls were all blown apart. The AA guns were reduced to smoldering pieces of metal and the force of the explosions was sending soldiers flying left and right. Eric saw one soldier get launched a good 30 maybe 40 feet in the air only to come back down and land head first on a chunk of concrete. Even the power helmet wasn't enough to stop his head from being crushed.
Debris began to rain down across the landscape, some of it falling down on where Eric and the others were positioned.
Marshal dusted off his cavalry Stetson before whistling at the level of damage they had just inflicted. "Hot damn that was fuckin' beautiful!"
Ryan chuckled. "Yes it was." Then something caught his attention. Miraculously three soldiers had survived the blasts. Two of them were dragging the third one away by the collar of his power armor, because both of his legs had been blown apart. "Ace, Bullseye, I have three fuckers trying to flee."
The twins looked down their scopes. "Got them." They said concurrently.
"Take their fucking heads off!" Lieutenant Smith ordered.
They both fired their rifles at the same time, taking out the two soldiers that were still standing. The wounded soldier tried to crawl to safety, but the two Shadow Knight snipers fired again, hitting him in the head at the exact same time.
"Hah, totally my kill!" Mason said proudly.
"The fuck it was. I hit him first." Grayson protested.
"You forget who the better sniper of the family is." Mason said trying to piss his brother off.
"Better sniper my ass. You couldn't hit broadside of a barn." Grayson mocked.
"Bro, bro, listen, no one likes a sore loser!" Mason said.
Lieutenant Smith thumped the two bickering brothers on the head to get their attention. "Girls you can blow each other when we get back to Raven Rock. Let's get out of here before more patrols show up." Everyone gathered their weapons and advanced back to Raven Rock.
"Having a hard time keeping your dogs on a leash Lieutenant?" Captain Broadhead asked jokingly. "Scratch that, they're more obedient than you."
Ryan knew she was just busting his balls. "Well I asked for German Shepherds and they gave me chihuahuas." He said directing the mock insult at his snipers.
"Hey!" The protested, causing everyone to laugh at their discomfort.
Melissa just shook her head. "This coming from the poodle of the group."
Everyone erupted into OOOO's and laughed at Ryan's twitching eye. "Fuck you all." He said trying to sound serious but couldn't keep the smirk from forming on his face. Ryan shook his head. 'Damn good to have her back.'
The Purifier: June 12, 2279. 4:19 A.M.
There weren't many Lost Hills soldiers patrolling around the last Brotherhood base in the region. The only patrols there were at the abandoned super mutant camp near Rivet City and the soldiers in the old Coast Guard patrol boats that Marshes had acquired. There were a dozen boats; each had three soldiers, one on the .50 caliber, one with a missile launcher, and the other with a light machine gun. There weren't any snipers keeping an eye on the energy dome that surrounded the Jefferson Memorial, because Marshes had ordered them to the Western Border. He also figured there didn't need to be a large security presence for 30 soldiers. That was a fool move on his part.
The soldiers on one boat were discussing the attack against the Purifier that was going to take place in less than four hours. None of them noticed the soldiers on the other boats suddenly fall to the floor. Some of them fell off the edge, but the strange thing was, they didn't make a sound when they hit the water.
Across the Potomac from the South, were three snipers with suppressed rifles. They smiled, because their next targets weren't wearing their power helmets.
"So when we attack we're only testing the energy fields?" One soldier asked.
"That's correct. If we can't break through the barrier, then a team will-" The soldier never got to finish what he was saying. A bullet him in the side of the head, causing his brains to splatter out the other. The other two soldiers went for their helmets and weapons, but were dropped just as quickly as their commander was.
Not long after the snipers took out the guards, the heads of several soldiers slowly appeared out of the water. Three soldiers climbed into each boat and started putting on the power armor of their fallen enemies.
The soldier calling the shots got on his radio. "Command this is Tiger 6. We have successfully taken the enemy's place. Initiate phase one!" Commander Bennett said.
SEAL Team 5 had infiltrated the Capital Wasteland without being detected.
Well what do you think? Marshes and his men are getting sloppy. Not bad for the Shadow Knight's first mission in the Capital Wasteland. Now the American Military is slowly sneaking its way among the ranks of Lost Hills. Any who leave a like or review, or both. Remember that constructive criticism is welcome. The next chapter wont be up for a few weeks so you'll have to wait a little longer.
NCRMC signing off for now.