Galactic Fallout

Disclaimer

This is a non-profit Fan Fiction

Mass Effect is owned by Bioware

Fallout is owned by Bethesda

Please support the official release

Chapter 3 – Dun Durn Duurr –

The tension on the Alronzo was reaching a fever pitch; the crew had been following a recently discovered trail to a cache of Prothean artefacts deep in uncharted space. These artefacts had the potential to rewrite modern technology, advancing the galaxies current level of advancement by decades or centuries, but upon their arrival they had hit a snag.

"So Professor you're telling me… us that there is an intelligent species inhabiting this solar system!?" asked a Turian who's mandibles seemed to be dancing from the confusion "The same solar system that we were traveling to!? That we are currently in!?" He added almost in disbelief, a mix of stunned anger and wide eyed hysteria showing across his carapace face.

"That is correct Jaliruss" replied Kelzad , the Salarians large eyes rapidly vibrating as he read the data "Well that is at least what the recording shows us".

"Well that's just great" the Turian swore, "just brilliant" he added as he forced his two fingered fist into the nearest consul, its dull thud forcing the room to complete silence.

The gathered crew and bridge staff just stared at the Archaeologist, true Jaliruss was tense at the best of time, but this seemed totally out of character.

"What's wrong Jaliruss" Liara dared to ask "you seem a little to hopped up over this?"

Jaliruss did not immediately reply, only strolling to the bridges view screen, staring out into open space, standing only inches from T'Soni.

"We have no idea who or what this new species is like" he stated with a serious no nonsense tone, "for all we know they could be like the Krogan, or worse the Rachni!"

"We don't know that Doctor" the cool a polite voice of a Hanar stated,

"Ha do we, even if they prove friendly we will have to inform the council"

"So?" Liara stated completely dumfounded by the Turian's logic

"They will have us pull out, and sure as hell they will have their own teams swoop in and steal the find of the century!"

"Jaliruss, the council sent us here to…"

"They gave us bare bones permissions to go out and hunt down an ethereal Pyjak, why do you think they pulled the funding? They want us to fail!"

Once again no one answered

"Jaliruss did you take your medicine this morning?" the Asari captain asked, leaning from her command chair in the direction of the raving Turian.

The only reply was a grumble.

"Either way" Liara began "They could be…"

"Could 'be' is the word" Shiala said coolly cutting the conversation off in an instant, "they could be this, they could be that…" her tone ever more adjitated by the needless bickering "I personally want to know"

"Commander Shiala, we are not speced for first contact, I really feel…"

"Jaliruss!" a firm response came "if these alien pose as much of a security threat as you say they are do you really think it really falls inside your sphere of responsibility" the Asari stated, giving the Turian a harsh glare.

The Turian once again did not answer, slinking away to the back of the bridge. Liara swearing he muttered something about Asari and a trash compactor.

"Didn't think so" she Shiala stated with a cold glare "Kelzad!" the Commando barked

"Yes mam"

"Do we have the coordinates from the location these signals are originating from?"

"Yes mam, it appears to be the third planet in the solar system" he said, once again reading from the consul, "it is a little way past are supposed destination"

"This matter takes priority." Shiala said, brushing off the harsh looks she received from the Archaeologists, "Forward the specifics to the Captain Professor, and then bring the Alronzo into orbit!" she ordered taking her place at the front of the bridge

"So what do you think you will find down there"

"No idea, hand held lasers?"

"Ha get a grip; those are centuries away from being made!"

"Not really a friend of mine in Armax told me they have a promising prototype"

"I call Varren shit on that"

Garrus Vakarian could only hang his head as he listened to the Salarian's conversation, the three of them had been arguing for the last half an hour, over what the so called 'egg heads' would find down there in the ruins while playing a game of Sur'Kesh Run. Kind of ironic coming from a species known for its scientific genius. Either way the conversation had gone through everything from alien doomsday weapons, magnetic space elevators to even working diet pills, which was as ridiculous as it sounds. However all the while they argued they continued to play that over complicated card game that had way to many rules.

Still as the Turian stared across the security's rather tiny sleeping quarters he couldn't help wonder if this venture would solve 'his' little problem. Scratching his face paint the carapace alien began to wonder if had made the right call on leaving the force, it had been a hard decision.

"Hey blue what do you think?"

Caught off guard, Garrus looked up realising he had been unceremoniously addressed by the little pet nickname he had received from the ships resident Krogan.

"What?"

"What do you think they're going to find down there?" One Salarian with a very slimy grey skin tone asked.

Absently scratching the heavy blue armour he had been wearing, Garrus grimaced at the thought of actually talking to the ships mercenaries. He had tried to stay away from them as long as possible, originally out of professionalism but eventually it was because he felt that every single one of them was watching him.

"I don't know" he said with almost a grunt, "could be anything"

"And that's the point" said a Salarain with an orange skin tone, "it could be anything so I don't see why you feel it's going to have laser weapons Avot"

"Better than your diet pill Ganto" the grey one replied placing a card down on the pile all three of them once again ignoring him.

Resting his head in his two fingered hand Garrus couldn't believe he had to work with these idiots. Still he was grateful that Liara had taken him on as security, as it benefitted both of them, she got a man she could trust and he got to continue his investigation. Although he was certain that fight he had fallen into had knocked her confidence in the Turian C-Sec agent. Still they both got what they wanted.

Getting up and moving towards the door Garrus mumbled something about getting some fresh air, to which he earned a few quizzled looks from the Salarian three man band. Shaking it off he exited their quarters, absently brushing past the small table his 'colleagues' were using and into the open hallway.

Taking a deep breath the Turian let out an equally large sigh almost straight after.

'Was it really worth all the trouble'

However while Garrus had left his room just for some peace and quiet he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to get any. He was surprised that he hadn't heard them arguing from within his quarters, either way he better have a look.

Walking along the simplistic and rather grey hallway he rapidly made pace and swung round the corner to face two people. One was a rather short green skinned Salarian in whitish armour and dashes of red anointing his shoulders, part of the group he had just escaped. The other was the ships resident Quarian, Tali something or other, her trademark skin tight black environment contrasted heavily against the purple wraps and hood she wore. Not exactly subtle Garrus mused.

For some reason the two were arguing, the Salarian was being fiercely non-complianthis arms crossed, while the Quarian was trying to explain something.

"I am sorry mam, but Miss Shiala is not taking any visitors as of the moment" the Salarian stated, his blackish eyes fixing her with a stern glare.

"Look I told you I just need to see her, someone told me…"

"I told you she… is… not… taking… visitors" the Salarian stated spelling out the situation word by word as if he was talking to a child.

"But Sir"

"Captain" the Salarian stated a clear sense of pride, "and I told you already, so get back to the engines!"

"It is also very hard for someone to have visitors when they are not in" Garrus said coolly from behind from the so called 'Captain'.

"Wait she isn't… why didn't you tell me!" Tali yelled in exasperation, stamping her three toed feet angrily, and "seriously I would have gone if you just told me!"

"Well yes I knew that of course… just she is a busy and..." the Salarian began giving Garrus a rather hash expression.

"And playing with a crew member warrants this" asked Garrus the bony ridge above his eye raising slightly at that remark.

"Well she didn't even tell me why she wanted to see her" the Captain said rather rebuscuoly, "all she did was barge in and…"

"I did not barge in" Tali growled "And all I wanted to do was show her this" she snapped reaching into one of her low slung belts pouches.

Garrus suddenly felt his entire body freeze. He was also fairly confident that the Salaian just as easily recognised what Tali had produced, the warm blooded amphibian suddenly switching to cold, his skin turning from bright leaf green to a pale sickening sick colour.

"W-where did you get that" the Salarian asked, a small tremble escaping his high pitched voice.

"I… is something wrong" Tali asked, her mouth piece flashing each time she spoke.

"Where did you get that" demanded Garrus, taking a step towards the Quarian, now looming over her.

"I-I found it… i-in the engine room" she stated nervously suddenly feeling as though she was holding something very dirty, "What is it?"

"A primer for a bomb… a very big bomb" Garrus explained, his voice heavy with worry and agitation.

"To be specific it is one of a series of twelve used in the PK-92 Thermo Fusion Destabilisation charge… very deadly…" the Captain read off almost as if he had swallowed the handbook. "could take out this whole ship!"

Garrus swore, he knew that this trip had been too easy, especially considering the previous fiddling of funding he had seen. But right now he needed to stay focused. Turning to the Captain he grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a shake.

"Get your men, sweep the ship, find this bomb!" he ordered to which the Salarian nodded, "and you" he said now pointing at Tali, "Head to the bridge, Commander Shiala is there, show her the part and tell her what we found!"

Tali of course didn't waste time to argue and headed right for the bridge, at a break neck pace that only Quarians could run at.

Garrus of course headed straight for the armoury, he had a ship to save.

"Commander Shiala we will be arriving in five minutes" the Asari captain informed the stern faced commando at the front of the bridge.

"Good" she nodded, still staring at the oncoming shape of a brown and blue planet, "Thank you for the update"

"Well I will be glad to get this done" grumbled Jaliruss, " we have more important things to do"

"Aren't you even the least bit curious as to who or what these new aliens are about" Liara asked, striding over to the Turian.

"Unless they have something meaningful to offer the galactic community…" he began before pausing to mull his answer over before rudely continuing "then no!"

"There is no need to be so rude Jaliruss" Liara stated, surprised by the Turian's anger.

"Well i…"

"Excuse me" a bridge hand called out to the room, "I have just detected that someone has just activated an Escape Pod down in Engineering"

"What why" the Asari captain called over to the Salarian

"No idea the head engineer cut communications after the count down, something about getting the men to work"

"What? Why would Jacobus do that?" the Asari captain asked.

The last question she ever got to ask!

The wind howled across the wasteland, it hollow cry whaling as it ran through the caverns and the long dead plants of the sand ridden land. The difference between the fringed night and the blistering day cast up massive waves of dust and irradiated earth. The starry night was frequently drowned out by the massive clouds of toxic soil and deathly air, with this night being no different. It was a land of desolation, ruin and death, broken only by the occasionally craggy rock and burnt tree.

There were few things that ventured out into this barren world, fewer still that dared to walk the radiation filled night.

However there was one lone figure trudging his way across the sand filled plain, he was clad in a leather duster that he wrapped tightly round himself, a long metallic rifle slung across his back. His face was wrapped by a scarf, his eyes concealed by a shady hat and dark pair of tinted glasses exposing no skin.

Each step this figure took seemed to be expertly placed, the soft foot prints he left in the sand would be blown away, his black leather boots leaving scant evidence that anyone had walked this path. The figures motions were carefully timed with the gusts of the wind, merging his profile with the dust making seem as if he and the landscape was one. He did not run fast, he did not walk slowly, he just seemed to wanderer through the wastes, all alone.

Still there was an edge to his movement, a stiff harshness, like a coiled snake. The wastes were not kind, and this man knew it. He had seen the horrors of the world and endured it. It was not something you could explain, only experience.

Suddenly though the air was permeated by a sudden explosion throwing the low lying dust flying into the sky.

Snatching the rifle from his back the man dropped into combat stance. As the figure watched the dust settle he took note from the direction the dust had flown and the force of the explosion that had brushed his face, slowly turning his head in the direction of the blast.

However as he stared he saw nothing, his meticulous eyes picked apart the horizon in its low light, but all he could see was just emptiness of the wasteland and hear the howl of the wind.

"Hmm…" the figure growled as he holstered his rifle, he could only wonder what the source of that explosion could have been, before proceeding on his way.

Before he could take one step though he saw something over his shoulder, even by only gleaming it he could tell it was dazzling bright. Reaching to his side he whipped out a large and powerful revolver, spinning around as he did to face this new threat. The pistol hugging his hip as he he prepared to aim and open fire.

However he instantly wished he hadn't.

In front of him lay a giant ball of fire, rocketing through the sky and heading straight for him.

"Crap!"

Kicking his foot down the man used the kickback to roll over his head and enter a free fall tumble down the hill, sending him to the bottom at a break neck speed. However as he reached the foot of the gigantic brown hill he saw the top of it disintegrated in a titanic explosion, that sent even more dust flying.

Clutching his scarf more tightly around his face, the figure blocked to the dust, as the combination of earth and sand obscured his vision completely. But through the darkness he managed to catch the flame like trail of whatever had just landed tumbling way off into the distance before seeing it fall to earth with another defining crash.

The resulting blast this time knocked back all the dust, allowing the entire wasteland to see the smoking crater that it had just formed, denting the earth for all to see.

The figure however just sat there, dumfounded by what he had just witnessed. The only thought that was running through his head was that this, whatever it was, was bad. He had only twice seen something come from the sky, once with the Enclave and once with… something else. And while he former had been terrifying he still had nightmares about the latter.

He needed to check this out.

If not for his own personal curiosity, for the safety and security of the Capital Wasteland.

After all he was Michael Reading, The Lone Wanderer.

Authors Comments

Well here is the next chapter, and our first look at the Lone Wanderer. Sorry it took so long and in truth it really isn't much, so yeah I am now at University and have been for a month and it is a lot of work, I don't really have time to brain storm ideas for the story beyond the basic plot, although I am glad to see people taking a consistent interest in my story so long after I published it. Maybe a simplified structure works better.

Anyway please comment and tell me what you think, the feedback really inspires me to work harder and put more effort into improving my work. In addition I would like to see what you think is happening in the story.

Either way enjoy.