Hello! I've updated this chapter a bit, don't worry, I plan on releasing multiple chapters soon! Computer class does wonders for me! I changed the... "scene" with the soldier in Echo, but nothing else was changed. :(
Jason couldn't stop thinking about Dallas on the way back to base. I let Dallas die, on MY watch... He thought. How does that make me a good leader? I sent them down that... that... cesspit! I'm the one who's responsible for my men, if one of them die, morale goes down, if morale goes down... the men get mutinous... No I won't let that happen, I can't let Dallas cloud my mind... I have to be strong, for Sarah, for Marcus, for the Enclave...
"Jason are you alright? I know this was the first time you lost a man in the field, but all great leaders have lost men under their command! Don't think you're a bad leader, you're just... a rookie, like me!" Sarah tried to cheer him up. Jason ignored the pep-talk and went to the pilots of the Vertibird.
"How much longer until we get back to base? I don't want to be near this thing we found any longer than we have to be." He declared.
"Not much longer just a few clicks out from here, what did you guys find anyway? A G.E.C.K.?" asked the pilot.
"Some kind of schematics, they look like a few different Pre-War vehicles that never made it past prototypes."
"Really? That's fucking weird..." Jason walked back to his seat and tried to get a grip on himself before they landed, the last thing he needed was to be out of commission with so much work they had. Ok first thing's first, once we get to base I need to report Dallas's death to the Colonel and the Doc, next I need to get these schematics to our engineers to get some of these vehicles started. Suddenly, the whole Vertibird jerked to the side and sent Jason flying. With a loud bang Jason was out cold.
"Jason! Oh crap, oh crap!" Sarah yelled as she unclipped her harness, she ran towards Jason and scooped him up in her arms. She checked the back of his head and saw a large gash gushing with blood.
"Crap! We need a medic! What the hell is going on?!" She screamed.
"Someone's got a lock on us! Some kind of anti-air missile launcher!" The pilot yelled back. Sarah clipped Jason to a seat and ran to the co-pilot seat. The pilot managed to get a lock on the hostiles below them and fired two rockets. All the raiders below could hear was certain death come screaming down towards them, as the rockets exploded on impact the raiders scattered back to their hole in the ground. The pilot finally got a break after searching for a good place to land and managed to land in a courtyard of and office building. As every one exited the Vertibird Sarah immediately began to treat Jason, she looked up at Marcus and the Pilot.
"Marcus stay here with Jason and the Pilot, you..." Sarah pointed at the Pilot, "Get started on repairing that bird, we need to get back to base as soon as we can, I-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who made you the leader?" Marcus interjected.
"You really think you're fit to start giving orders after the Vault? I need you to keep these guys safe Marcus, not giving orders after still being in shock about Dallas. I'm sorry but yes, I'm the leader for now." Sarah explained. She loaded her rifle and put on her helmet, "I'll be back in a few, I'll keep in touch on the radio." she said as she began to enter one of the building's hallways.
"Nice, taking orders from someone below you... So much for Chain-of-Command..." The Pilot said sarcastically.
"Shut up." Marcus snapped.
As Sarah walked down the empty hallway she saw a staircase, as she peered down she guessed that there was at least five flights of stairs.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Firebase Echo - 63 miles away
"I'm out! Someone give me some ammo!" Yelled a soldier as he buried themselves in a crater made from a grenade explosion. The base that Jason and his squad were supposed to be at was under attack by an unknown group, the soldier peeked over the crater and saw a complete warzone. Troop transport trucks were ablaze, Enclave soldiers were scattered across the open area of the Firebase; desperately fighting for their lives as they all fell one by one. They knew the base would be overrun soon, but somehow the men and women had the courage to keep fighting. As a last ditch effort the soldier grabbed their rifle and ran. He didn't know where he was going he didn't give two shits, "If I'm gonna die, I'm taking a few of you fuckers with me!" Bullets whizzed past the soldier until one struck him, the bullet pierced his kneecap. He pulled out his Colt M1911 and fired wildly, he got up and tackled one of the attackers. The soldier fired three rounds into the person's face and shot another. Nearby on the roof of a building a sniper was taking out soldiers when they saw the soldier take down two of his colleagues, they fired their Barrett .50 Cal and saw the soldier drop. As he crawled behind cover writhing in pain, the soldier felt a jolt of pain and tasted a warm irony liquid in their mouth, suddenly as they looked behind them a sword was yanked out of their back. The soldier turned around and shot the Stealth Armor-clad person in the head, they gasped for air and looked up to the sky, trying to get their final moments of peace among the battle going on around them, "Huh... Now this... is nice... if only I stopped to appreciate this... more..." The soldier let out their final breath and closed their eyes, another casualty of war.
Outside of temporary camp for Warrior Squad
Sarah looked out over the cliff and was amazed, "Marcus... if you were here... this would be the most beautiful thing you have ever seen..." she said over the radio. Despite nuclear war destroying most of the world their were still breathtaking areas in the wastes. Below the cliff was the ruins of a small city, but not like DC, all grey and a swampy-green or like Nevada, all sandy-yellow and brown. This city was truly claimed by the wilderness, grass grew over the old pavement and flourished, trees were in full bloom as pink and white were all along the tops of them. Animals roamed the abandoned city as they hunted and grazed, this was a perfect ecosystem. A small deer brushed up against Sarah, she pet the young animal as she took a few more moments to appreciate nature at it's best. Sarah grabbed her rifle and began to walk back up the stairs.