Disclaimer: Fallout 3 is the property of Bethesda Softworks. I gain no monetary profit from writing this.

ATLAS

Chapter 3: Outside

From the foreword to The Constitution of the Second Republic: "The Founding Fathers, when they wrote the first Constitution of the United States of America, did the best job the times they lived in allowed them to do. They were trying to forge a nation, and trying to overturn centuries of bad philosophy simply couldn't be done in the time they had to do it in. They had to work with what they had. Add in the fact that they themselves hadn't worked through all of the problems with what they were proposing, and failure could have been predicted from the start. But I saw what their work could have been, and when I wrote the second Constitution, I made sure not to include the same contradictions that made the original work fail."

"Come on, you've got to wake up!"

'I just finished a fifteen hour workday only a short time ago. I don't think so.' "Leave me alone. I'm trying to get some sleep."

"No, you've got to get up right now! If my father's men catch you here, I don't know what'll happen!"

Now the agitation in her voice got through to his sleep-addled brain. Instantly awake, he sat up. "Why would they be looking for me?" he inquired, curious, while putting on his Vault suit. He idly noted that Amata wasn't paying attention to his lack of clothing. "I haven't done anything."

"This isn't about some stupid prank!" Finally meeting her gaze, Marcus gave a start, unsettled by the fear in her eyes. "You're dad left the Vault somehow. Jonas is dead! So you'd better listen to me and get moving, if you don't want to end up like him!"

'Jonas is dead? What the fuck is going on? What the hell did you do, old man?' "I'm listening. What happened to Jonas?"

Tears welled up. "I'm sorry… he's dead. They beat him… They just wouldn't stop… And my father ordered them to do it.

"I snuck out to warn you as soon as they were gone."

'Son of a bitch! Goddamnit old man, I just gave my report last week! Now Almodovar thinks this was my idea!' "Why didn't you say so?! I think it's time for me to go." He spun around, hurriedly grabbing his pack and tool belt, before digging out a screwdriver.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!

"Listen… you have to follow your dad – escape from the Vault. And you have to do it now, while everything's still in confusion." "My thoughts exactly," he interjected. She ignored him, and continued, "Maybe it's none of my business, but… you seem just as surprised as me to learn that your dad has left. Didn't he tell you what he was planning?"

"No, I had no idea that he was planning to leave. That explains why your dad had Jonas beaten to death though: he must've thought Jonas was in on it… which he probably was."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure he had his reasons… what did you mean, you didn't know he was planning to leave?"

"I mean that I was planning to leave. I wish the old man had talked to me about this, we could've left together!" All the while, he was digging at a panel on the wall with the screwdriver. Finally, it popped open, revealing a modified Vault-Tec issue pack and satchel, along with his unstrung bow and quiver. Carefully practiced movements strapped the pack and quiver to his body, before sliding the bow into the quiver. Slinging the satchel over his head, he turned to Amata, noting the shocked look on her face. She quickly shook herself out of it.

"I guess that doesn't matter anymore. I can help you escape. I have my own plan!"

"Not another one of your 'plans', Amata…" he retorted, thinking about her plans for his birthday.

"I don't have time to explain. You're just going to have to trust me!" She was getting hysterical. "Listen, there's a tunnel…"

"Beneath your father's desk, I know. That's how I was planning to get out."

"Okay. Use these to get into his office." She handed him a box of bobby pins. "That's how I always get in."

Marcus looked resolute. "I'm out of here."

"Oh, one more thing. I stole my father's pistol. I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case."

'A gun? Nah.' "No, you keep it. You may need it more than I do."

"Well, okay. I guess it may come in handy if I run into any Radroaches.

"All right, I'll try to meet you at the exit. Watch out for security. Good luck!"

With that, she took off running.

He moved to follow her, and paused. On impulse, he grabbed his old BB gun, and then opened the desk. In it was the sensor module he'd first modified nearly four years ago. Now, it bore little resemblance to its original design, outfitted with radio parts and the like. 'I guess it's time to put this thing to good use.' He spun a dial on the face, giving the device a small jolt of AC electrical power, and charging the built-in capacitor. When the small light came on (indicating that the capacitor was charged), he flipped the switch.

A radio pulse went out, activating a similar device attached to the main security terminal. It charged its own capacitor through the terminal's power box, and then engaged, disabling the Vault's security cameras.

Flicking another switch, this time a manual one on his PipBoy, Marcus disabled the tracking system embedded in the arm-mounted device. He put the unnamed radio-sensor device in his desk ('They may never even notice it in there'), and dashed out the door. Moments later, he stopped. 'Why the hell are so many of the lights out?'

As if in answer, the intercom blared an announcement from the Overseer. "The Radroach infestation is under control. All residents are hereby confined to their quarters. Do NOT interfere with Vault security personnel."

'… Nice old man. Nice,' Marcus realized, 'pretend that some of the lights shorted out, creating this situation, so that no one questions the Vault security being all over. With everyone confined to their quarters, if Amata hadn't warned me, I would have stayed too. Then have me arrested, and tell the Vault that I sabotaged the light system, and that any injuries or deaths are my fault.'*

He was almost to the stairs when he was confronted by Butch.

"You gotta help me! My mom's trapped in there with the Radroaches!"

'What the hell?' "Sorry, Butch, no time. I've got my own problems now. Here, take this." Marcus pressed the BB gun into his hands. "You should be able to save her with this." Without pausing even to gauge Butch's reaction, Marcus continued on, leaving a stunned Butch clutching the gun. A cry from his mother, however, broke him out of his stupor.

"I'm coming to save you, ma!" he shouted, and charged off.

On the next floor, he ran into Officer Gomez. "You're lucky it was me who found you. Get going, and I'll forget I saw you."

"And I'll forget that you work for a homicidal maniac."

"Don't I know it. Why do you think I'm letting you go?"

Running past Andy ("DIE you disgusting vermin! Flame on!") torching the Radroaches that had been after Stanley, he ducked into his father's office. 'Maybe he's left a note or something.'

No note, but he did notice something he'd never seen before: the wall behind his mother's Bible quote, which had fallen to the floor. There was a small, makeshift safe built into the wall. Quickly picking the lock, he withdrew a holotape labeled "Home, Sweet Home", a small bag of something metal, and a set of blueprints for… some sort of weapon. 'What the hell is this?' Unable to spend much time contemplating it, he left. As he passed Stanley, who was repairing Andy, he quipped, "Stanley, consider this a promotion." The man chuckled darkly at Marcus's retreating back.

No sooner had Marcus reached the Atrium then Mary and Tom Holden tried getting past the guards to the door. 'Idiots.'

To his surprise, the guards drew their guns and fired, fortunately missing the two with the first salvo. Without thinking, he drew two of his shuriken and threw then in rapid succession. Officers Richards and O'Brian were both struck in the throat and… fell to their knees, dropping their guns, grasping their throats and coughing. 'Glad I didn't sharpen those two,' he thought, as he sprinted down the short hallway and cold-cocked both of them, knocking them out. O'Brian's armor was in good condition, so he grabbed it and put it on. 'Security has kill orders, after all, and I'd rather make it out of here without any holes.' The security helms were ignored as too cumbersome.

"I'll take those. You've just proven you can't handle these responsibly," he remarked with little humor, confiscating the weapons.

Someone had propped open the staircase door ('Probably Amata,' he supposed), which was fortunate because someone else had engaged the security lock on the main door.

Upstairs, he ran into Security Chief Hannon. The man was about to order him back to his quarters, but upon recognizing Marcus, he charged with a wordless yell, brandishing his security baton like a sword. He was still yelling when Marcus pulled him into a shoulder throw over the railing to the lower floor.

Ignoring the indignant yells of Allen Mack, he sprinted towards the Overseer's office, leaping from Radroach carapace to Radroach carapace, crushing the bugs as he went. 'Why the hell is everyone so afraid of these things? They're bugs. Even scaled up like this, their carapace can't take 80 kilos of man and 20 kilos of gear landing on their backs. Hell, the scaling up actually makes their carapace weaker, since their weight increases faster than their size.'

He stopped briefly upon finding Floyd Lewis's body. 'Damn shame. He was a good engineer,' he thought, noting the lacerations from Radroach mandibles on his body. 'Looks like he tripped over his toolbox, and they bit his throat while he was down.'

Loud voices from the security office made him finally pause, knowing how close he was to the exit.

Creeping close, he discovered Amata being interrogated by her father and Officer Mack ('That sadist'). He cheered inwardly when, after Mack threatened her, she drew the gun and pointed it at the sadist. He was less happy, and more surprised, when Amata fired on the advancing officer, killing him, but he didn't blame the girl. After Mack fell, she dashed out of the room, leaving her stunned father in her wake. She didn't notice Marcus there.

When Marcus stepped into the security office though, Alphonse did. "You! I don't think you understand how much trouble you're in!"

"Shut up, old man. You're a murderer, and I don't give a shit what you have to say. Consider this my severance pay." He slugged the older man in the gut.

Alphonse gasped, falling to his knees, just as the second blow came, smashing his head into the wall and knocking him out.

He looked down at the unconscious man. 'Should I just kill him…? Nah. Jonas made his choice when he helped Dad, and I'd rather get out of here without a body count. I don't think Amata would forgive me, come to think of it.'

He turned around, and walked calmly to the Almodovar quarters, leaving the old man to his 'rest'. As he left, he remarked, "That's two murders and who knows how many deaths on your hands, old man."

Hearing Amata sobbing, he approached. "Oh my god! I had no idea that my father would… I had no choice. Officer Mack, he…

"Take it. I don't want it anymore. I don't know what I'd do if I still had that gun and my father came looking for me."

He nodded, taking the weapon. Fortunately, Vault security armor suits had built-in holsters for Vault-Tec issue 10mm pistols. "I'll be sure to put this gun to good use."

Her response came out reproachful, as though she blamed him for her slaying of Mack. "Maybe it would have been better if you had taken it in the first place!"

"No," he disagreed, "The only difference is that it would have been me killing Steve Mack instead of you. He'd still be dead."

"I don't know. But you'd better get out of here. I'll try to meet you at the Vault door. If I don't make it… good luck."

He stopped briefly to check Jonas's body. On it was a holotape labeled "Goodbye". 'Probably from Dad'. Ransacking the nearby drawers revealed some packs of pre-war dollars and, oddly, a carton of cigarettes. He turned to the door, withdrew a bobby pin, and quickly picked the lock, allowing him to access the office.

Hacking the console was made easy by the fact that Alphonse Almodovar hadn't changed his password in six years. He'd read the other files before, so he ignored them, and opened the tunnel door.

With only a few Radroaches for obstacles, it didn't take long to reach the Vault door. He stood at the controls, frozen. Finally, addressing no one, he said aloud, "I will never forget this moment," and hit the switch.

Klaxons blared, announcing the imminent unsealing of the Vault. Footsteps behind him, too quiet to be anyone wearing armor. "Oh my god! You actually opened it!"

His head turned, and faced Amata. She continued, "You did it! You opened the door! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible!"

"…When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I always have."

"You're right. I never should have doubted you."

"Just so you know, Amata, it was your father who messed with the lights. Any injuries or deaths are his fault."

"…Okay. I'll make sure to tell everyone."

"If you aren't coming with me, I have to go."

"It's tempting, but… my place is here. Goodbye, Marcus. Listen, if you do catch up with your dad, tell him I'm sorry. For… you know, Jonas, and my father, and everything."

A nod was the only reply she got.

Shouts behind him as he crossed the threshold, "For the Overseer….! Wait, there's no way I'm going out there!" made him chuckle. He reached the door, knowing it had been opened only hours before and paused, listening to the Vault Door close. His eyes closed with it, and he pushed, taking his first steps into the light.

Author's Notes: This chapter felt a little contrived to me. I'll be improving on it in the future, so if you thought so as well, don't worry.

UPDATE: Made a few changes, prior to anyone actually suggesting any. Just stuff that occurred to me after reading through it again.

Note: With a few exceptions, all of Amata's speech, including typos, is from canon.

*This is my understanding of the canon story. I'm not sure how right it is, but I think it's logical, and it fits all the evidence.

The fact that the Overseer reacted so badly to James leaving in canon bugged me, because I couldn't imagine him wanting anyone dead over it. So, I built the plot device of the "performance report" to make the scenario more believable. Besides, it hasn't even been a week since Marcus gave his report, so James's leaving must have cracked Alphonse.

As for the lights, I thought that was obvious. The whole point isn't to fool Marcus; it's to fool the other residents. This is what Hitler did in the build-up to the Second World War He staged events knowing that his enemies would not be fooled, because it was the German people and not those enemies who were the targets of the deceptions. It creates a suitable cover story for a leader pretending not to be a dictator.

One of the reasons I used so much of the in-game dialog was to keep the story familiar to Fallout 3's fans. It also kept me from skipping too much and forgetting details.

…I have to admit, it's been very difficult to not skip ahead to the main action of my story. I've got a ways to go before I get to the point of maximum writer's freedom, and it's hard to hold on to the fact that I need the necessary foundation first. It's okay though, I'm not the only one who has to go through this: Marcus will have to, as well. At least he'll be getting to work with his hands during that period though.

Just so you all know, the standard story is just the beginning (in case you didn't quite get the opening sub-paragraph). I'm going to do something that's never been done before, not in any story I've ever read, anywhere, Fallout 3 or not. You may not see it coming, or you might: sometimes I foreshadow well, sometimes I don't. This is my chance to show anyone who cares to look exactly how I see the world. Relentless optimism and clear, far-reaching vision is the name of the game. Never expecting perfection, only expecting better.

Philosophical Discussion Part 2:

Ah… I think it's gonna be a while before I write another of these. I just wanted to mention that. Maybe the next chapter or the one following.