Chapter 7: Outpost Outnumbered
"Sorry about the treatment you got in the ballroom shop," a medium height man in red robes of Hispanic descent was leading the Vault Dweller and the two Wastelanders toward the back of the building, "Our intelligence reports are coming back that a huge raiding party is gearing up to take this place and we're in the midst of building more weapons to repel them."
"That's not gonna happen today, is it?" the engineer asked with concern in his voice.
"Doubtful," the Scribe said with some assurance, "Last we got from the Recon Teams the Raiders were still as far west as the Locks. I'm sure you guys will be long gone before they come knocking."
"Joy," for some reason, Scribe Rodriguez's assurances made Rep feel even more unnerved.
"Just get our radar running and stay out of the Paladins' way and everything will be fine." They came to the loading dock for the facility as Rodriguez unlocked the door, "One thing," Rep asked as he stood next to the man, "What's a Paladin?" The large door rolled upward as a large man stood in the doorway just outside. Rep looked up and yelped when he saw the man in intimidating armor standing before him. The armor looked almost the same as the people standing at the fence in front, but much much bigger. And meaner looking.
Rep felt a hand on his shoulder which caused him to jump. Once both feet were firmly placed back on the ground he turned to find it was Cheryl, "Jesus, don't do that!" He gripped his chest as he tried to control his breathing.
"That," the Scribe pointed to the metal-suited man, "is a Paladin."
"You'd best watch yourself, local," the metal-suited man spoke through his intercom, the distortion leaving an additional chill in the large doorway, "unless you want... trouble."
"I'll be sure to remember that," the engineer had a hint of worry in his voice. He hesitantly strafed and passed the man to walk outside. Once outside, between the main building and the radar tower was a large field with a set of spectator bleachers to one side. The field itself was split with one half being used as an exercise field with several men and women doing jumping jacks and stretches, and the other was being used as a target range.
Rep stopped and observed the people around him, "What is this place? A military base or something?"
"Not exactly," the Scribe responded, "We took control of this facility about six weeks ago from the Raiders. We've been trying to repair the radar array, but we just don't have the resources."
"I take it since you kicked these Raider guys out, they're a bit on the cheesed side, huh?"
"It's been a bad few weeks for us. We only have so many people here that are combat-ready. With the report of them gathering resources, all we had time for was to do the same. We have tried to contact Alpha Base, but the storms north of here have kept them buried. We're on our own."
Walking past the field they approached an old fence that had been rusted and knocked down, several years of neglect laid in the deep pits of the metal poles that held the fence. As they walked past the fence, Rep noticed an old faded sign that denoted the former owner, "'Restricted Area: U.S. Government Property,'" Rep read the red, white, and blue crest-shaped sign aloud. He raised an eyebrow as he walked at a hastened pace to catch up with his group.
The door to the metal building next to the radar tower opened, first to enter was Rodriguez, followed by Rep, Cheryl, then Moreno. The room was filled with freestanding reel-to-reel data recorders hooked into multiple computer terminals and sweeping electron displays. All of the equipment was off sans one terminal hooked into a power relay. "So," Rep started while looking around the room, "what seems to be the issue?"
"It looks as though there was an electromagnetic pulse that swept through here and knocked out one of the data recorders. There's a short somewhere causing all the equipment to ground out."
"What about that radar antennae? Anything wrong with that?"
"Every so often the sweep on top stops and we need to restart the terminal controlling it." Rep nodded his head as he walked to one of the data recorders. After pawing around the device he slid between the terminal and the recorder to get a good look behind the recorder, "Uh, huh." Crawling back out from behind the recorder, he stood back up and opened the recorder's bottom hatch to see almost nothing out of the ordinary except for a small puddle of water under the main processing board. He looked up and saw a small hole in the roof of the building; not large, but just big enough to let some snow flurries in though none were falling. Considering the last few days...
"Found the problem."
"Already?" The Scribe almost couldn't believe the Vault Dweller.
"Yeah," Rep pointed to the hole, "You see that? I found a break in the main power line going to the terminal behind the recorder. When that EM Pulse came through here it must have melted and exposed the main line to the elements. When the snow comes in from that hole, it melts to water, hits the main line, then drains power to ground causing the power terminal to go out and the radar to stop. The same water source also shorted out this data relay in the recorder causing all the other equipment to short in line."
The Scribe knelt down and crawled behind the recorder himself, "Well, I'll be damned. I never would have thought..." he trailed off as he hefted himself up, "How did you figure that out so fast?"
"Same thing happened in my Vault about three years ago. Water pipe broke and flooded our data control center; screwed up half our systems for a month."
"So, what do you need?"
"A bundle of scrap electronics, scrap metal, a couple of conductors, and a roll of duct tape."
"How about someone to patch the hole, too?" Moreno chimed in.
Several hours passed. With a pair of welding goggles over his eyes and his pre-war hat turned backwards, Rep used his plasma pistol like an arc welder to melt the scrap metal into a bridge patch for the main power cable. On Rep's instruction Moreno changed out the faulty components on the data recorder's processor. Cheryl laid asleep in the opposite corner of the room, her draped in one of the Brotherhood's blankets and her laying on a military cot.
Moreno tightened the last screw on the board, soon after closing the bottom hatch, "Ready when you are, Rep."
"Almost there..." the engineer said, putting the last touches on the cable; he was wrapping the exposed cable in the duct tape, "and... done!" he ripped the sticky-back tape by hand denoting completion of his task. Standing up he looked over his own handy work. To be able to wear the goggles he had his hat backwards with his regular eyewear resting on the top of the hat. He took the glasses off his hat, took the goggles off, then placed his glasses on in their proper place. As he looked at his work a little more he spoke to Moreno, "Did you clean up the water?"
"Yep," the man said, "All's ready," "Alright," the blue jumpsuited individual said, turning the bill of his hat back toward the front of his head, "let's hope for fireworks, but no explosions." Rep walked to the main power disconnect on the master power relay and placed his hand on the switch, "Contact!" With a burst of sparks, him and Moreno heard the generators outside the building start humming. As the generators humming got louder several clicks and beeps were heard as terminals and data recorders all around the room came to life. With a look of satisfaction on his face, Rep nodded his head when all the radar screens came up.
Rep turned to Moreno who was still in amazement. "I can't believe it!" the cart driver exclaimed, "I can't believe I got something so old to work." "You did a damn fine job, man," Rep complimented, "I couldn't have done it without ya."
"I couldn't have done it without your instruction. You're a helluva lot better at teaching this stuff than Reggie."
"My Overseer once tried to make me do Post-G.O.A.T. for possible Engineers. Promptly told him the kids were too stupid to understand me. Saying I couldn't do it without you is something I don't say that lightly."
"Well, us out here in the Wasteland could use a guy like you. God knows the things you worked on in that Vault... Say!" Moreno snapped his fingers as though he had a eureka moment, "You and Cheryl came through Dresden Heights, right?"
"Yeah, that's why I'm fixing this shit right now."
"Well, it's said one of the two power plants still has an intact reactor; it just scram'd and has been sitting there all this time. If this area can use anything it's a guy who knows how to fix and operate a nuclear reactor. We could use the power to run well pumps. We badly need the water."
Rep raised one of his hands in a halting gesture, "Man, I don't even know where I am right now. I got kicked out of the lifelong home four days ago; I've been shot at, had explosives thrown and launched at me, been irradiated, and although I haven't seen one yet I've heard of Deathclaws and I ain't too fond of meeting one. Is it possible I can put it up on the back burner for a bit while I make some... some... What the hell is the name of the currency you use?"
"Caps?"
"Yeah, caps. I need to get settled first. Alright?" Moreno was a little hurt by the man's words, but not offended. Sure, Rep was upset, but understandably so; like the man had said his whole life turned upside down in less than a week and was a little put upon, if not overwhelmed. When the engineer noticed Moreno's sullen face, he realized he reacted a tad too harshly, "Hey, I'm sorry," the man sighed out, "I didn't mean to snap at you."
Still keeping his sullen expression the cart driver-turned-assistant shook his head, "No, I knew better than to say anything. We had another guy who was tech savvy like you come to town and I got him killed,"
Rep blinked harshly, "What?"
"Remember what I was telling you about the Kandewit plant on the edge of town?" Rep nodded in response, "Well, I found some really weird information on another terminal at another one of their factories on the other side of town that talked about this really powerful energy cell; it was a very powerful reactor that was the size of a Nuka Cola bottle and was four times more powerful than a fusion core. I asked this techie guy to get it for the town's wells. We found pieces of him on the outside of the plant."
"You're pulling my leg."
Moreno raised his right hand, keeping a very serious tone, "Stack of bibles. I saw it, and at least two merchants and six merchant guards made the discovery with me. Everyone in town knows not to go in there."
"What about those Brotherhood guys?" an inquisitive look came across Rep's face, "Whatever's in that joint must be killable, and those Paladin guys are built like brick shithouses, so..."
"Eh," the driver had a look of hesitation on his face, "the Brotherhood only helps when it benefits them and when it comes to tech, they take anything that isn't nailed to the floor. This was a secret I shared with one other and he's gone now. It's better undisturbed than in the hands of the Brotherhood."
"Okay," the engineer conceded, "fair enough. I wouldn't want to be at the shit end of their stick, especially with the hardware they're sportin'." Rep walked to one of the electron sweeps and saw a small blip on the screen. It was moving fast, too.
"Yeah," Moreno said aloud, "you'd have to be packing some serious firepower to mess with these guys."
BOOM! There was a bright flash of light followed by a blast of air that shook the control building. Moreno and Rep fell off their feet as Cheryl was knocked out of the cot she was sleeping in. Part of the roof support structure came down and fell on top of Moreno's legs pinning them.
Rep felt himself getting dizzy. He lifted his Pip Boy up and saw the Geiger Counter start to rise again. Someone just launched a Mini Nuke onto their position. He heard Moreno's screams of agony as he saw through his foggy vision the cart driver's legs crushed under a support beam. Cheryl pulled her blanket off of her head to see and hear the commotion going on around her, "What the hell was that?"
"I think that, 'unlikely attack,' just happened," Rep said with a strain, "Get over here, Moreno's hurt!" Cheryl scrambled to her feet and bent down to check on him as Rep tried to get to his feet. "Come on, Vault Boy," she yelled, "are you hurt, too?"
"Someone hit this place with something radioactive."
"You mean...?" Rep nodded his head before Cheryl could finish her question, her now noticing the sweat drenching his face, "Shit!"
Outside the control shack people in the exercise yard dodged explosions laid on by rockets, missiles, and mini nukes. Not everyone made it. Those in armor ran toward the front gate to fortify it only to have the gate explode inward from a C4 explosive charge. The Brotherhood was then overrun by Raiders; men and women dressed in leather armor and armed with rocket launchers and Fat Men - among other weapons - crawled through the break in the makeshift fence and started attacking the Paladins at close range. Blood curdling screams were heard from all directions.
Inside the main building BoS Scribes were gathering together as much of their research as possible as the attack outside raged on. A group of Initiates lined the doors and windows and provided suppression fire as the Scribes gathered their materials.
At a terminal near the stage of the old ballroom Scribe Rodriguez was inserting and removing holotapes into the machine at rapid pace, transferring information to a large holodisk recorder. He yelled over the sound of plasma and laser weapons fire to hurry with the information. From the back service areas of the facility a squad of Paladins marched out. From over the noise the commanding officer barked out an order, "Initiates, report to your fallback positions! Protect the Scribes!"
Quickly following orders the Initiates backed away from the front of the building and toward the ballroom as the Paladins replaced them. One of the Initiates started backing away from his position when he tripped on an ammo box and fell back, accidentally firing off a plasma round from his rifle and blowing a hole into the ceiling above the Commanding Paladin. "Clements!" the female Paladin yelled, a chunk of plaster hitting her in the helmet, "Get your retarded ass up and follow your fucking orders for once!" The Initiate - Clements - hopped to his feet and saluted, "Yes, sir!"
"Stop with that boot camp shit and MOVE!" Clements broke his salute and started running towards the ballroom with the rest of his squad. He spotted Scribe Rodriguez still transferring data to the holodisk. An explosion rocked out behind him as he heard the Paladins scream. He looked back and saw what looked like an arm fly past him and hit the floor. It was still clad in Paladin armor clutching a piece of a plasma pistol. Seeing the gore ahead of him, the Initiate gripped his rifle and made a beeline right for the Scribe, "Brother Rodriguez! It's time to go!"
"Not yet!" Rodriguez screamed as he typed furiously into the terminal. A loading bar was nearly complete on the machine's screen as the holodisk writer hummed though it's sound was drowned out by the ensuing carnage occurring around it. The loading bar inched closer to the end as the Scribe started inadvertently encouraging the device to speed up, "Come on, baby! Just a little bit more!"
"We gotta go NOW!" yelled the Initiate, the intercom in his helmet crackling from the high volume yelling he was performing into it.
"In five... four..."
"They're coming in!"
"Three... two..." the bar on the screen counted down as Rodriguez followed along, "One... Done!" The holodisk writer popped open and ejected the disk. As the Scribe reached for the info disk the monitor of the terminal exploded following the sound of gunfire. Raiders came in through the windows and doors and flooded the ballroom shooting anything moving. The Scribe grabbed the disk just as Clements grabbed him by the arm and practically dragged him to the service halls in the back.
Back in the radar shack Cheryl had her hands under Moreno's arms as Rep tried prying the support beam off him with a pipe. In his current condition the Vault Dweller didn't have the strength he usually had. He was breathing heavily as he tried to lift the beam again, but ultimately all his muscles gave out as he collapsed on the floor. Moreno yelped as what had lifted off his crippled legs dropped back down on him. The driver gripped Cheryl's hand in pain trying to keep himself from screaming; it only worked so well for he groaned in agony.
"Jesus, I'm sorry!" Rep said weakly, "I wish we had some Med-X or something." Rep knelt down as he poured sweat trying to regain himself in his state. Cheryl looked to the ailing men before her as bullets and explosions were heard outside the small shack. She carefully but quickly put Moreno down then ran back to the bunk she laid in to grab her gunny sack. She pulled out her bottle of Rad-X and took a capsule out. She ran over and shoved the red and yellow pill down Rep's throat. After hacking and coughing from having the chemical rammed down his esophagus, yelled at her, "What the fuck, lady?!"
She grabbed his arm and showed him his Geiger Counter; it was back to before his first RadAway treatment, "If you don't slow it down, you're gonna die!"
"What good is that gonna do when they kick in the door?" he said weakly but sarcastically.
BAM! The door to the shack flew open as a large metal-clad boot kicked the door in. Rep jumped from his crouching position in sheer panic causing him to stumble and fall backwards, yelping as he did.
Clements and Rodriguez ran into the door and quickly closed it behind them. Cheryl looked over, "Thank God!" She motioned to Moreno, "He needs help!" The two Brotherhood members looked at each other then ran over to assist. Clements grabbed the piece of debris and hefted the heavy steel beam off the cart driver's legs.
Laser bolts, bullet ricochets, whistling missiles, screams, breaking bones... sounds of all kinds rang out as the Raiders battled to knock down all the fences and walls that isolated the once beautiful grounds from the hands of their keepers; it was failing effort for the Brotherhood as they lost ground...
And fast.
