Chapter Two
Yuri was the first at the door. He took hold of the knob and gave it a hefty twist. When he attempted to open it however, the doors hinges and lock being rusted, remained steadfast and barred their way. Yuri gave the door his right shoulder and the thin metal door cracked open. "That's one way of doing I suppose." Hamilton chirped. The group followed Yuri into the dark room where they stood for a moment. The Gutsy unit hovered in behind them, taking care not to damage its appendages'. They waited as it fumbled with a small wall terminal until the florescent lights flickered to life. The room was now visible, a small room that contained many lockers which covered almost all the walls except another door that was metal and sealed, much like the last one. The Gutsy unit turned to the group and chimed, "Please locate your respective lockers and belongings." Viktor skimmed the lockers with his weary eyes; each locker had its own name plate screwed into the door. He saw Yuri, Hamilton, Dimitri, and finally his eyes rested on his locker. He shuffled over to it, unsure that he would like what he would find. A small censor hummed as he stepped close to the locker and a small panel unfolded from beside the handle. On the panel sat a green board with light yellow lines intersecting its middle. A small voice command emerged from the panel. "Please confirm identity, if you have lost your fingers or your prints have been changed, please contact Administration or the Infirmary. Thank you." The small panel buzzed as if in anticipation, Viktor gazed around and noticed that the others were skeptical of the identification system, he sighed and mashed his thumb against the green panel. After a second that seemed like an eon, the panel spoke again, "Identification Verified, Access Granted. Good morning Viktor." A loud tumbling noise erupted from the locker as the locks disengaged, whatever was inside must have been important. About this time the others had begun the fingerprint process. Viktor pulled the locker door open slowly, the contents coming to light slowly. The first thing he saw was the black visor staring at him from eye level, he almost flinched before he realized that it was a helmet, complete with an ebony eye screen. He picked up the helmet and was astonished at its weight and feel; it must have been fifteen pounds of reinforced steel. He pulled it out the rest of the way and stared deeply into the blackness. The helmet itself was scarred and dented, but had a trustworthy glint to it. He fumbled it over in his hands a couple more times and then replaced it in the locker, just below the helmet rack, a metal suit sat folded in the bottom, next to an assault rifle, complete with mid-range scope and a 9mm pistol. Viktor was unsure why he would need the weapons, if the surface had been nuked, then surely everyone was gone. Something caught the corner of Viktor's eye; he looked at the door and noticed a picture of him standing with a remarkably beautiful woman, with deep brown eyes and long black hair. He took it in his hand and gazed at it, caught in awe. In the photo he was wearing a black tuxedo and she was wearing a tasteful, black ball gown, the two of them joined hand in hand. Over his shoulder he heard a voice say, "She's beautiful. What's her name?" Viktor glanced back at Yuri, whose locker was next to his, he then shook his head, "I wish I knew." Viktor placed the picture back on the locker for a moment and picked up the metal suit. He slowly fitted himself in heavy armor; it felt as though he had just gained twenty pounds. A small light on the wrist panel lit up, Viktor instinctively pushed the small button underneath and the suit squeezed his every curve, conforming to his body perfectly. The white metal suit fit like a glove and Viktor felt some strange pride in wearing it. He put on the pistol's holster and rested the 9mm inside. He then threw the assault rifle's strap over his shoulder and placed the helmet under the same arm. He then took the picture and stored it in a small compartment under his suits storage compartment, or what he hoped was a storage compartment. A loud thud came from across the room, Viktor spun on his heels to see what could've made that noise. Hamilton had dropped a small rocket and cursed aloud while gripping his foot in hand. In his locker a rocket launcher sat against the corner. A metal suit sat as well, along with a box of grenades, and what appeared to be a box of different knives and blades. Benito was, like Viktor, suited up and ready to go. The difference was that Benito was carrying a .50 Caliber rifle on his shoulder complete with a silencer and his armor was leather looking material and was surely lighter than Viktor's. Viktor looked back to Yuri who was carrying a combat shotgun with a grip attached. Yuri was like Viktor, full metal suit and was wearing his helmet, which was painted a deep green. The last one left was Dimitri. He was outfitted in a similar leather-like outfit; he carried a silenced assault rifle and pistol. His armor was painted the same, jet black as Viktor's. Hamilton finally suited up, rocket launcher over his shoulder, and a bandolier holding his various grenades. Everyone seemed ready to go, when the Gutsy unit hovered to the center of the room and the chest screen flickered to life once again. The General sat behind his desk again, this time however, he looked much older and still looked worn out. He parted his lips to speak but then closed them. He finally began his sentence, "I don't quite know how to say this, gentlemen. Everyone you may have known, their long gone. Your families were likely incinerated with the rest of the populace and if they did somehow survive the blast, the radiation would've killed them off." Viktor rested his hand on the compartment without even realizing it. The general sighed, "This news may be grim, but there is a lighter side to it. Many people survived underground, Vault-Tec was successful in installing their Vaults all across our country. The small communities inside will emerge if they haven't already. We are sending you to become the peace-keepers of the new settlement of our great land. You will establish order and ensure that individual freedom remains in our people's hearts. There is one more thing I need mention to you all. We gave you all the chance to select one family member, or close friend, for cryogenic freezing. You all made you choices and I am sure it was a tough decision for each of you. If the facilities underground base wasn't damaged they should be waiting for you, untouched by the hell above. When you complete the reeducation process, we will give you the coordinates to the facility, as well as the access codes to awaken your friends." The general stopped and placed his hands on the table. He pushed himself wobbling to his feet. He brought his eyes back to the camera after a quick slouch and stared for a moment as if in sentiment. "I wish I could be there to see it boys. Our country's finest reclaiming our once beautiful land. Viktor, lead your team well." Viktor was dumbfounded for a moment; he gazed back at the general in disbelief. The old man wiped a small tear from his eye and slowly snapped to a salute. The group found themselves doing the same back at a man who had died long ago. An unexplainable connection was made and then destroyed in the same second. Viktor felt with all his being that he owed the old man the future he dreamed of. The screen flickered to the U.S. Army logo and then went dark altogether. The Gutsy unit hovered silently. Yuri placed one of his heavy hands on Viktor. "Well, I suppose that you're the lead then, lieutenant." Viktor turned back, "Lieutenant? How would you know that?" Yuri pointed to the Silver Bar indicating the officer rank. "That's how." Viktor nodded slowly gazing around at the other ranks among him. Yuri was a Specialist, Benito was a Sergeant First Class, Hamilton wore a red Sergeant emblem, which indicated marines, and Dimitri's rank emblem was unknown to the rest of them. Each man stopped and looked to Viktor. He nodded and said, "Let's get this over with." The mister Gutsy hovered to the next door and plugged his arm a small terminal beside the door. A humming sound was heard and the door slid open, rust free. Inside was a small room and the Gutsy unit barked, "Next stop, training facility, floor seventeen." The men shuffled into the elevator and watched as the door slid closed, feeling more and more ready for what lie ahead of them.