Chapter 8: Microwave On High
As the battle raged on outside of the radar shack Clements and Rodriguez tended to the wounded cart driver as Rep peered out of a hole in the wall of the metal shack. Helping as best as she could Cheryl started moving what furniture in the building against the door keeping whoever was outside out.
"Hang on, buddy," Clements said to Moreno, "this Med-X will help a bit." With that the Initiate placed a needle into the downed man's arm. As soon as the chem went in, Moreno became more relaxed; his breathing slowed and the look of pain slowly subsided. Just as the scribe started setting the driver's broken bones, Rep yelled out, "Oh, shit! They broke through!"
Clements came over to the Vault Engineer's position and looked outside to find the Raiders were, in fact, overtaking the Brotherhood Paladins. Light was low due to the setting sun, but it was clear enough to show the sheer numbers of Raiders laying assault on the outpost. "Jesus Christ," the Initiate said aloud quietly, "We're in trouble."
Cheryl looked over to the two men at the wall's opening as she finished putting a desk chair on the furniture pile with a labored exhale, "Can we hold them off?"
"That depends. I have this plasma rifle and three cells. Anyone got anything else?"
"I left my pistol at Reggie's," said the female wastelander.
"I have my plasma pistol. It has an infinite auto recharge, but only I can use it," said the Vault Dweller.
The Hispanic Scribe looked from where Moreno laid, "I have my laser pistol, but I'm out of munitions."
"I left my shotgun in the cart." Moreno slammed his fist into the cold floor under him, "Fuck we're just sitting here waiting to get shot!"
"The ammo dump is just across the field," the young Paladin-in-training was peering toward the announcer's booth atop of the bleachers across the old sports field, "If I can run there fast enough, I could..." "Forget it, Initiate," Rodriguez interrupted him, "like it or not, even in Power armor, with the number of Raiders they have and the explosives in their possession, they'd tear your ass up like tin foil."
"There's gotta be something here we can use!" Rep said, looking around the room. After looking around he saw a little yellow sign that read, CAUTION: Microwaves in Use with a radiation trefoil symbol on it. Rep quickly turned to the Scribe, "What in here used Microwaves?"
"Back in the Pre-War days airports experimented with a landing system using microwaves. From what the documents said they abandoned the project when the same tech the map in your Pip Boy uses was made. We found this was one of the test sites."
"Where's the emitter?"
"On top of the radar tower."
Rep turned to Clements and pointed to him, "You; big guy in the armor."
"Clements; Initiate Clements."
"Clements, how much can you lift in that suit? I got an idea."
Outside the radar shack, several Paladins, Initiates, Scribes, and Knights were fighting furiously, but they were forced to retreat, turning and firing to enhance their chances of escape. It was a failing effort. The front line of Paladins went so far as to engage in hand-to-hand combat, beating and pummeling Raiders with the butts of their guns, nearby junk on the ground, or just using the raw strength of their Power Armor to crush skulls. They still came. It was a horrible bloodbath.
The sun was sinking fast as Rep and Clements ran from the radar shack's roof access to the radar tower. Running across the catwalk bridge to the scaffold made said bridge creak and groan under the weight of Clements' Power Armor. After running up the stairs Rep doubled over the railing, vomiting as he did. The constant motion finally caught up with him. "What's wrong, man?" the Initiate asked, putting his metal-suited hand on the Vault Dweller's back. "I have deadly radiation sickness," Rep said gasping for air as he did, "It was at a manageable level until those assholes blew up those fucking radiation bombs."
"You mean the mini nukes?"
"Mini nukes?" the Engineer facepalmed himself, "Fuck this place!"
"You're not gonna die on me, are ya?"
"Only if we don't get rid of these plebes." Rep looked along the outside of the scaffold for something. He found a wiring trunk running along one of the load bearing members that split off and ran to a parabolic device one level above them. He pointed toward it, "We need that emitter."
Down in the shack, Cheryl and Rodriguez moved the terminal banks in front of Moreno. He was now propped up against a filing cabinet holding Clements' plasma rifle keeping an eye on the door. After moving everything into position the Scribe grabbed the rifle from Moreno and gave it to the Wastelander beside him, then took out his own laser pistol. Cheryl saw this and was stricken by confusion, "I thought you said you had no ammo?"
Rodriguez took the used energy cell out of the weapon and started prying it apart with a knife, "I don't, but your Vault Dweller friend gave me an idea; until he needs the power I can tap into the radar's generator." Using the knife the Brotherhood member in red robes cut the cable leading to the power control terminal and started splicing into the energy cells.
Clements hauled the large bulky device over the bridge along with the cable. Putting it down, Rep started work on the control board. He pulled out a screwdriver, turned on his Pip Boy's overbright mode, and tore the control unit's housing open.
In the field, a couple of Raiders took notice of the bright green-hued light shining on the rooftop, "On the building!" Just then, the crowd of people shifted direction as they rushed toward the shack.
"Fuck me!" the Initiate exclaimed, "We've been spotted!" He ran back from the edge of the roof back to the hole in the ceiling and proceeded to yell down, "We have incoming, get ready!"
Everyone inside the shack gripped whatever weapons they had, Rodriguez finishing the power cell modification on his laser pistol. The Scribe dragged the large power cable behind him as he knelt down behind the bank of computers. On the opposite side of the bank Cheryl primed the plasma weapon and took aim at the shack's door.
Moreno, Med-X now taking hold of him, was unfortunately the least tense individual in the complex. His will for self-preservation had dropped so low he couldn't help but comment on the situation in an inappropriate fashion, "Cheryl, did you invite the in-laws over again?" The female wastelander looked back at the man behind her and found him laughing to himself. She turned to the Brotherhood Scribe with a raised eyebrow, "How much did you give him?"
"I instructed Clements to give him a whole syringe. We didn't need him freaking out or going into shock." Cheryl now raised both of her eyebrows and looked back at the now chemmed up cart driver who was still laughing to himself. She turned back to the door as she shook her head, "Wish I was him right now."
Back on the roof Rep was still splicing connectors on the emitter as Clements turned on his helmet's spotlight to better see the horde of psychos rushing toward them. They were looking for the opening in the fence in the darkness to all attack at once. Not being a seasoned Knight or Paladin yet the young Initiate called back to the Vault Engineer working on their salvation with a nervous tone to his voice, "Hey, Vault Guy? They're at the perimeter! Can you hurry a bit?"
"I'm tryin', goddamnit, I'm tryin'!" Rep responded, stripping wire jackets with his teeth, "The circuit traces are corroded away," he spit the wire jacket out of his mouth and started using his pistol as a soldering gun, "I gotta patch the circuit and bridge the connections."
"How long?"
"With any luck, a couple of minutes."
A large uproar erupted behind them with a sound of metal linkage crashing accompanying it. Clements looked back over the edge and saw the perimeter fence on the ground and the horde of Raiders rushing the radar shack. "That better be a fast couple of minutes!"
BANG! The door to the radar shack shook as a mass of human bodies slammed into it making an attempt to gain entrance to said shack. The barricade Cheryl placed in front of it held as it shook from another impact. The first impact made the Wastelander and the Brotherhood Scribe jump from the tension then arm their weapons and steady them at the door. After a few bangs more it suddenly went quiet; they even heard the mass of voices outside the shack distance themselves.
"The hell?" was all Cheryl could say.
"Did they retreat?" Rodriguez quietly asked himself.
"I donno," Cheryl answered back, "I don't like it."
From the opening in the ceiling they heard Clements scream down, "FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Cheryl and Rodriguez looked at each other.
A C-4 charge blew out the wall pushing the data terminal the two hid behind back knocking them to the floor. The C-4 was rather weak for it only blew a hole big enough to let one person at a time in the wall, but nevertheless Raiders screamed as they started crawling through the hole. Rodriguez quickly rolled over and saw one of the unwashed psychos start running at him with a bayonetta'd assault rifle when he charged his pistol and hip-shotted the lunatic in the head.
Cheryl quickly rose on her feet to see another two Raiders crawl through the hole. Two males. They eyed her up then had lustful looks in their eyes. She was about to go for her pistol to find it missing. She forgot she left it in Brahmin Wood for Reggie to repair. She also dropped the plasma rifle she was to use. She closed her eyes as though she was in pain and sighed, "Of course. Good going, Cheryl."
The one closest to her charged first. Upon hearing the man's feet shuffle, Cheryl's eyes snapped open and she threw a right punch to the man's solar plexus causing him to double over. The other Raider started running to help his friend, screaming as he did. In quick response, Cheryl gave the Raider a high kick to the chin, shutting his screaming up quickly as she landed the blow.
As the second man fell onto his back the first psycho managed to straighten himself out enough to be a renewed threat along with a straight razor he pulled from his waistband. Just as Cheryl turned to pay mind to her other attacker he lunged at her with the blade taking a swipe at her. She threw up her arm to protect her face and managed to deflect the blade with the armor plate on her arm, but with the next subsequent swipe, she wasn't as lucky for this swipe cut through her jacket and the underlying flesh. She grabbed her arm in surprise.
Rodriguez kept the tide at bay at the hole in the wall. Out of the corner of his eye the Scribe looked to find the Wastelander gripping herself in pain. Over the blasts of his weapon, he called out, "Hey, look out!" The Raider that cut her once was about to deliver the final blow.
WHOOSH! A green plasma bolt ran out and struck the man in the chest. Where his chest should have been was now a green glowing crater with visible red guts with bits of bone around it. WHOOSH! Another bolt flies out and strikes him again and now half of his torso goes missing. What's left of the Raider is a quivering mass.
Cheryl, shocked at what had transpired before her, turned to the Scribe calling out to her, "Hey, you alright, miss?" She looked at Rodriguez then looked behind her. She found Moreno laying on his front in the prone position holding the plasma rifle. It looked as though he passed out after firing the weapon.
Back on the roof, Rep finally finished his modifications on the emitter, "I got it! Let's go!" Clements rushed over and picked the device up. Rep hung the excess cable around the shoulder to haul to the edge of the roof when the cable suddenly jolted in the other direction pulling the Vault Dweller to the ground. He yelped as he was pulled back causing the Initiate to look back and find that the Raiders found the scaffold's staircase.
The crowd of crazed Raiders roared as they stormed the bridge connecting the radar array to the roof of the control shack. They charged with weapons drawn firing wildly at the Initiate holding the emitter. Rep rolled over and saw the horde of psychos rushing toward them. He pulled out his plasma pistol and opened fire after switching usage modes. For some reason Rep's plasma bolts were being deflected off the Raider's bodies; they had some kind of plasma-resistant armor on. Even with modifications only a plasma rifle can punch through that armor better than his pistol.
Despite that, Rep continued firing at the Raider party rushing over the bridge. By this time Clements turned toward the gunfire, the force of the bullet impacts slightly kicking him back as he investigated the source of the bullets. He saw Rep on the ground firing at the mob of scumbags heading at them, "Holy shit!" was all the Initiate could say.
Rep screamed over the gunfire, "Clements, fire the emitter!"
"If I do that," the Paladin-in-training cautioned, "I'll hit you, too!"
"Don't worry about me! Just do it!"
"But…"
"If you don't, everyone inside is going to die! Do it!" Clements took heed of the Vault Engineer's words and crossed the wires that started the device. As the device whined up, Rep unzipped his vault suit and pulled the back of the suit over his head in hopes that the suit's radiation shielding layers would protect him.
Down below, Cheryl and Rodriguez defended the shack with only one laser pistol between them; Clements' plasma rifle had finally run out of ammo. She threw the rifle to the side and yelled over the chaos to the Brotherhood Scribe, "I'm out!"
That was when the lights in the shack flickered and dimmed. Rodriguez pulled the trigger of his energy weapon just to hear it click. He pulled it multiple times to hear the same click. He noticed the lights were fluctuating, "They started the emitter."
The noise from the device was becoming so loud the horde of Raiders stopped from the sound alone. Clements pointed the device at them, "Winner, winner, MY-CROW-WAVE DINNER!" The Initiate bridged the discharge connection and a massive volley of microwaves fired toward the mob of crooks causing the front rushers to spontaneously burst into flames, screaming in agony as they dropped to the roof floor and even running to the edge and falling over.
The masses turned tail and started running back toward the tower as Clements himself turned and ran back to the other side of the roof. Just outside the shack Cheryl and Rodriguez watched as Raiders gathered at the opening in the wall. They all realized the two people in the shack were out of ammo, "We're fucked, aren't we?" the Wastelander asked the Scribe while looking to the crowd outside. Rodriguez was about to answer when they heard heavy bangs on the ceiling reminiscent of Power Armor-clad footsteps, "Not as much as them! Duck!" He dove back behind the console at the confusion of the female in the room.
Cheryl looked back to the opening just in time to witness a spotlight shine on the crowd right before they erupted into a ball of flames. Rodriguez grabbed her by the jacket and pulled her down, "Stay down! Those microwaves will cook you like a radroach in a warhead blast!"
Outside the Raiders began retreating. Within the crowd, you can hear a few of them screaming things like, "Fuck this!" and "This ain't worth the Chems!" as they started back toward the front of the compound, their numbers far smaller than before the rush at the Radar shack. As they ran a few more of the fleeing Raiders caught on fire and fell to the ground. Alas, the Raider horde vacated the grounds.
Cheryl and Rodriguez stood from behind the piece of equipment that shielded them from the dangerous energy of the microwave emitter. Cheryl looked outside and watched the stragglers run through the hole in the main fence they created for themselves, laughing as she did as they tripped over one another. "That's right!" she yelled, "you fuck with Vault Dwellers, you fuck with death!"
Rodriguez cocked an eyebrow, "Vault Dwellers? Plural?" Cheryl looked back to the Scribe, a somewhat alarmed look on her face. She pointed up to the ceiling with her arm that had been cut, now duct taped to help stop the bleeding, and stuttered a bit as she explained, "Well, I mean, uh, Rep. I mean, I've heard of other Vault Dwellers, like the one I heard about in the Capital Wasteland?" All this did was confuse Rodriguez more. Before he could respond, she changed the subject, "Where is that tubby nutball?"
"Brother Rodriguez?" a voice rang above. The two conscience people in the shack looked to the hole in the ceiling and saw Clements looking down. He had a solemn voice as he spoke through the armor's intercom, "Brother Rodriguez… You might want to get up here. It's pretty grim." Cheryl looked at the Scribe with an even worse look of panic in her eyes than she did before. She ran to the shack's back door and up the scaffold, the Brotherhood member following behind. Upon getting to the roof and hopping over dead Raiders she made a bee-line to the man in the blue jumpsuit on the floor and slid like a baseball player to home plate and stopped beside him.
She pulled the back of his suit off his head and rolled him over. The Vault Dweller was hemorrhaging out of his Rad burns. She picked up his arm with his Pip Boy and saw his Rad meter was at 995, "Oh my God! Rep!" She dropped his arm and tugged on his suit making an attempt to shake him awake, the blood from her forgotten wound dripping all over the roof. She called his name again and again until he finally opened his eyes albeit weakly. He groaned as he looked at the woman holding him by the fabric of his clothing, "You… hurt?" "No," she said, almost sobbing when he finally spoke. "You're gonna be okay, Rep," she pleaded, "we're gonna get you… Rep?" Rep's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he went limp. The last thing he heard as he slipped into the blackened abyss…
"Rep! No! Don't lea..."
