It's been a month since the last serious incident in Vault 121. The Russian still couldn't believe it... A walking calculator was leading the people of this Vault, and they were completely fine with it. Well, most of them, anyways. Ivan heard the stories about indoor riots and the countless attempts at killing *it*.

IT. That's right. It's a thing! Are all Americans this stupid or just lyudi in DC? This is such bullshit! the Russian concluded.

He really couldn't stand the Overseer, but life in the Vault was good, at least for now. Plenty of booze, women and entertainment. These people have it good, gotta give it to them. The world outside is harsh, full of dangers. Ivan was heading for a briefing in the Overseer's Office. The life support system returned several errors in the Hydroponics Bay and a team was being sent to investigate.

After the meeting, a security team lead by Chief Frosst entered the ventilation shafts of what everyone in the Vault knew as the "The Garden". Their mission was to locate what's causing the airflow disruption to that specific room.

"We're in the pipe, five by five," a security guard announces over the radio.

"I have a bad feeling 'bout this, man," another guard complains.

"Knock it off, Sanchez! You always have a *bad feeling* before missions," Chief Frosst was slightly annoyed.

"Well, can't be helped, Chief. Who knows what might be lurking in the shadows?"

"Whatever it is... we'll just kill it. It's our job to protect this Vault. Now, move it, sweethearts!"

They were walking inside the ventilation shafts for 10 minutes now. Even thought the tubes were big enough for a 6.5 foot man to fit through, giving them enough space to move around, one of the guard was starting to get claustrophobic. Jim noticed the man getting all sweaty and couldn't contain his laughter.

"Anybody ever tell you you look dead, man?"

"Knock it off, Henricks!" the Chief intervenes, as usual. "Breath slowly and deeply, Sanchez. Count to three on each breath. Remember, this isn't real, it will pass."

Jim continues: "Someone get a babysitter in here, on the double."

"Whoa... You're so funny, Henricks. At least I'm not fallin' for a toaster, like you."

"What did you fuckin' say to me?" Jim bursts out.

"Knock it off, both of you! We're on a mission, don't you forget it."

The Chief places himself between the two 'children'. He was getting sick and tired of babysitting these idiots. Frosst was really missing his army days, when everything was simpler and his word was law.

A few minutes later, the team reached a junction. The ventilation shaft was splitting in two and they had to choose where to go next. Sanchez was feeling a lot better, even though he was still jumpy at every little noise he would hear.

"Alright ladies, we split up from here," the Chief announces. "Team One, you go that way. Team Two, follow me. Nice and easy, don't run in the tubes."

"Yeah, right, running is the last thing I wanna do in these tight corridors," Sanchez mumbles.

"Quit your whining," Jim says annoyed. "Why do we always have to bring him along?"

"Because he's good with explosives," the Chief replies. "All right, let's move!"

Sanchez and four other security guards took the shaft to the left, while the Chief, Ivan and three others took the one to the right. Two minutes in and the lights suddenly go out in the tunnels. The red, emergency lights kicked in shortly, and they also had their flashlights, but Sanchez's claustrophobia was coming back in full strength.

"What the fuck, man?!" Sanchez yells over the radio.

"I have sights of mole rats in generator rooms four and five," the Overseer announces over the radio. "They cut the power."

"What do you mean *they* cut the power?" Sanchez starts panicking. "How could they cut the power, Overseer? They're animals!"

"My bad. I meant they chewed through the cables. Deploying turrets... Please stand by. Threat eliminated. I'll send in the technicians for repairs. Carry on with your mission, Chief."

Sanchez and his team exited the ventilation shaft into a large room. But they had to cut their way through some kind of resin to get there. The strange web was probably what was causing the airflow interruption to the hydroponics, the team concluded. Sanchez was lucky; he was only seconds away from losing it. Back in a large room, he was starting to return to his normal self. A security guard was looking at the Vault schematics on his Pip-Boy, trying to figure out where the hell they are.

"Overseer, we're in an unmarked room, coordinates: 247... Wait! Please stand by. There's something here! Kane, go check it out. I'll have to get ba-"

The transmission cuts off. A few minutes later, a voice is breathing heavily over the radio.

"Kane? Can you hear me? Kane? Parker? Raven? ANYONE!?"

The Overseer recognizes the voice. It was Sanchez.

"Oh God... Overseer, they're not moving!"

"Who's not moving?" the Chief intervenes over the radio. "Pull yourself together, soldier! What's going on?"

"I... *breathing heavily* We were attacked... by mole rats. Lots of them! I seem to be the only survivor. My feet... I can't move."

"Hang in there, man! We're coming to get you." Ivan speaks over the radio.

"Hurry," Sanchez begs. "There might be more of them."

Team Two hurried back to the junction, but when they got there they noticed the hatch to the left was closed.

"Open the hatch, synth!" Ivan yells over the radio.

"Negative." the synth replies. "Chief Frosst, seal that hatch and return to the Vault."

Looks like the power generators came back online, as the lights switched back on in the tunnels.

"Fuck you! We can still get him!" the Russian yells.

"Conditions have changed. This isn't open to debate. You will fall back. Copy?"

"Copy that," the Chief replies over his radio. Looking at Ivan, he adds, "Trust me, man. She might not look like much, but our Overseer is the most sophisticated computer in the world, or what's left of it. She has calculated the risks, she knows what she's doing. I've seen it before, we have to let this one go."

"Bullshit! She is machine! Why you listen to machine? You serious?"

The Russian grabs the blow torch from one of the security guards and starts cutting through the hatch. Chief Frosst was not sure how to proceed; he had his finger on the trigger, but on the other hand he would prefer his head attached to his body. The Russian was scary with his katana. The voice on the radio came back.

"Contact! I have multiple incomin' hostiles on my MD." Sanchez reports, trying to crawl away, but failing. The pain in his leg was too much. "I'm not goin' to make it. One of them buggers chewed on my left leg; I can't even stand. Overseer, turn on the lights in this room."

The Overseer complies, even though she saw everything on the infrared sensors minutes before. That's what she meant when she said that 'conditions have changed' over the radio.

"You guys should see this thing, it's huge! It's a Hive. Looks like... I'm not comin' back after all. We... can't let these fuckers... get... into the Vault. I know... I know what I have to do."

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing for a few seconds, waiting, listening. Except for the Russian; he was still cutting through the hatch, refusing to abandon his 'comrade'.

"This is Sanchez, preparing for sacrifice... Take care of my family."

"We will. Thank you for your service," the Overseer replies. There was an obvious sadness in her voice over the radio, if one can believe synths are capable of emotions. The synth was *content* knowing that there are still some good people left in the Vault, willing to follow her orders to the letter, no matter what.

"For the Overseer!" Sanchez yells and fires his MIRV straight into the heart of the Hive, right before the mole rat guardians reached him. Several loud noises followed, seemed like the Vault was breaking apart, and then, silence...

Chief Frosst finally raises his rifle, showing he was determined to shot.

"Please step away from the hatch, Ivan. Riko, get the torch and seal that door."

Ivan mumbles something to himself, but he has no choice now. The Russian hands over the torch to the security guard, who starts welding the cuts he made earlier in the hatch. He looks at the other guards; how can they be okay with this? For the Overseer! He couldn't believe this bullshit. These people are psikh.

I'm going to kill that bitch! the Russian thinks to himself as he heads back to the Vault, alone.