Been a minute hasn't it? Well shouldn't be a surprise I'm working on another project, my job, school, all the things. But enough about that it's time for the defense of Raven Rock
GOW
"What do you mean no! This is a state of emergency and I'm a General. I should be able to lead the army against that emergency." Colwell argued while firing highly effective bursts of bolts with his gatling laser, having replaced the fusion core with the many within his Pipboy 3000.
"I mean not a chance in hell! You assaulted the General of the Army and abandoned the enclave right before a major attack against us! I should have you on trial for high treason." Razz snarled through the radio. Colwell laughed, the image of Razz trying to be intimidating to funny not to.
"Shouldn't you be on medical leave? Your tummy ache is probably the worst injury you've had your entire military career." Colwell taunted, causing the head of IA to twitch.
"Now is not the time, you two!" Autumn reprimanded, some frustration seeping into his voice.
"You should tell him that! Now, I have no idea what you're talking about me punching Autumn, but we have a bunch of things that need to be killed, and that is my specialty so shut up and give me the ability to do my job." Colwell tossing another depleted fusion core into the swarm of black beasts, smiling evilly as it exploded into a beautiful cloud.
"Since when have you cared about your job!" Razz sounded mad now. Colwell Smiled at his voice.
"Razz! Do you want me to double your punishment!"
"Ooohh," Colwell oh'ed in joy.
"That goes for you too, Colwell!"
"Fuck did i do!?"
"Being a pain in the ass for one but I'll let it go if you tell me what you're planning to do. If, and I do mean if, I have you take charge of Raven Rock's defense." Autumn must be desperate if he was actually willing to let go of a punishment.
"Do you even need to ask, General? I plan on leaving no enemy of the Enclave alive." There was a moment of silence as Autumn nor Razz spoke. Colwell's smile grew knowing where this would go.
"Alright, I'm on strategic command, but I'll give you field control," Autumn finally answered.
"Hell yeah!" Colwell wooted in joy.
"Don't make me regret this."
"Yes sir, just one question. What's a strategic command?" Colwell could feel Autumn's regrets through the radio.
GOW
Navarro leaned back in his new accommodations and looked at the mess in front of him, he had to rip apart a good chunk of his power armor already and knew he'd need to dismantle more yet to get anything useful out of it.
"Hey! Got your stuff." A young girl's voice called.
Navarro glanced at the entry, no one had talked to him since Raven left and he'd been working in quiet since so someone talking from outside, much less a voice that young, surprised him.
"Are you going to invite me in or should I dump your shit out here?" The voice said.
"You can enter," Jose said with a slight smile. The tent flap moved and true to the voice a young girl entered, carrying a box from what he could tell had some medical supplies and food.
"About time, so you're the outsider that killed Charles?" She asked, looking him up and down. "Why does your face look like you went down on a blender?"
The general let out a brief chuckle before he froze before realizing the comment came from a young child.
"Oh right,' he thought, "Raiders".
"I'm surprised there are kids in a raider camp, doesn't seem like the kind of place young would be raised in," Navarro commented, placing down a piece of equipment he had in his hand.
"What are you talking about? We got people fucking here all the time," she said.
"Sex and child care aren't exactly the same thing," Navarro said after a moment of pause as he was surprised by her language.
"I guess, how did you get those scars anyways?" She asked, once more focused on the mismatch of healed wounds on the general.
"From missions, the fresher ones are from some of those Grimm that I met before I got to the camp. Assholes hit me when my armor was already falling at the seams." He answered, gesturing at the tatured armor pieces and armor rig.
"Missions? What are you, a Huntsmen?" She asked, sitting on Navarro's new bed without permission.
"What does hunting have to do with missions?" Of course he knew of hunting missions back during the Walk East days but people don't generally connect the two.
"No, not a hunter. A Huntsman, you know, a protector of the innocent, slayer of Grimm, and all that other bullshit. What the hell are you if you aren't one?" The young girl asked, her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
"A soldier. I'm a proud member of the Enclave Military having served for almost a decade." Navarro explained to her, his back straight and head held high.
"The fuck is a Enclave?"
At that Navarro chuckled before glancing at the tent, knowing he was surrounded by raiders and their demented lives of chaos and blood. Yet stable enough to care for and raise children. Which is troubling. An adult choosing to become a raping, pillaging, mass murderer, well they get turned to ash. But a child who was taught and only knew that type of life from the start? They'll still get turned to ash if they did any of it but it's not without some pity.
However, right now, he had an opportunity to turn this young girl, maybe barely into her teens, at most, away from this life and became a proper civilized human being.
Wasn't this what the Enclave was all about from the start? To bring back civilization to a war-torn world? Before scientists deemed everyone but themselves as worth saving. Before the Presidents declared war against all of mutant America. Before the Enclave people themselves saw themselves as truer humans over everyone else.
It is what he wants-no needs to believe in now.
"I can tell you about us if you want. Maybe if you get through long enough of my spiel I'll let you choose which scar's story to hear from." Navarro asked her, his voice soft but not weak.
"I don't got any other shit to do today. So, sure, why the hell not?" She agreed, laying down onto her back into his bed, arms cross behind her head.
Navarro let a small smile crack before telling her, for the lack of a better word, the glory, both stained and stainless, of the Enclave.
As he began his story he was unaware of the bird that sat outside his tent listening in.
GOW
Eden observed the orderly march of Enclave Regular's towards the main entrance. Groups of them entering the hall from the elevator, stairwells and intersecting corridors all quickly getting into marching order.
Those directly in front of the entrance were the Squadrons, a dozen of a dozen strong military special force units having rapidly responded to Autumn's command. Their differing emblems, colors, and armors dividing them among themselves but all united under one military, one goal, one ideal.
A perfect allegory for the United States of America.
Eden patched into several dozen comm. signals between the soldiers, Regular and Sqaudroneer. The tidal wave of words and emotions would have driven any man mad but Eden was no man. With ease he cycled through, cataloged, and digested each piece of information. From every word, in every tone, to every motion, he stored it all in his massive memory banks for later referral.
The Regular's were nervous, not all but most. Many of them never experienced an attack on them, especially on their home. Most knew the favored role of an attacker that wielded vastly superior weapons and tactics. Placing them in the role of defender, even against this vastly inferior but admittedly very numerous enemy, put them at a disadvantage, both in experience and morale.
However, some Regular's had experienced this before. The officers and petty officers who lead them. They joined the Enclave, recruited from Enclave bunkers scattered across the waste the same as the other Regular's, early enough in the Walk East to gain such experience. To be fighting on the backfoot. Of having enemies at every turn, behind every tree, and beneath every stone. They held no such nerves. Instead, they spoke of attack strategy and prior experiences, comparing this circumstance to others.
The Herd of Carnivores Bearson's.
The Master's Lost Legion.
Deacon Malph and his Horde of Ghouls.
With many more, to many more, to list. The horrors the Enclave has already faced and continues to face is awe inspiring making each one an American Hero.
The Squadrons, however, were vastly different. They did not speak of prior battles or victories. Of nerves and worries. They were quiet, focused, and prepared. According to Eden's records more than half should have been joking, laughing, or arguing. Free from the stresses of the others and more than prepared to face any threat, even with their attention divided. He gave quick scans on their files, once more, confused on their actions or lack thereof. Which revealed to him a detail he had nearly forgotten.
They were at Poseidon's Fall. The Squadrons were made up of the most experienced and longest enlisted soldiers in their army. An army which began on that dreaded day. The day they lost their families. While most of the Enclave still could call on their parents or siblings, these men and women had no one. They were forced to watch powerlessly as their home was imploded, killing everything they held dear to them in smoke and ash. Forced to face the wastes and its mutants at a young age, some as young as fifteen. A reality many were not ready to face but dealt with it all the same.
Now, once more, on this day, they face an enemy that threatens their home. The place that holds the families they made for themselves and life's they carved out of blood, ash, and plasma.
Eden could not fathom the thoughts that swirled in their minds. The flash of unpleasant memories entering their minds.
A rendition of Star And Stripes Forever echoed through the hall. Silencing those who spoke and having everyone focus towards the entrance itself where General Colwell stood, his speaker blasting the music.
"Listen up!" He began, pausing for a moment, for what I assume was dramatic effect. His music volume lowered and became a muffled background.
"Outside these doors are an unknown mutant species that have begun assaulting our mountain, our home. We aren't in DC anymore. We don't know how we got here, and we don't know how many of those mutant fucks are out there but there is one thing we do know. That I know. This is our home. It has been our home for a few years now and this will be our home till we civilize the wastes. Those fucking mutants outside are not going to change that." He paused and looked at the soldiers around him, purposely for dramatic effect.
"The last time our home was attacked I was too young to fight for her and she fell. Now that I'm your general I intend to show these muties how one solider can fuck up someone's day. How each and every soldier in this room is a reason not to fuck with the Enclave! We are proud, strong, and we will keep this home safe no matter the cost!"
The entirety of the entrance antechamber was a cacophony of cheers and roars. APA readouts signaled significant adrenaline surges across the board. Heart rates skyrocketed and increased release of cortisol and endorphins in many.
More than half of the Enclave's Military might were within these halls. The remainders, a number of Regular and all the Auxiliaries, are staying within the walls as reserve, or as a last line of defense.
"You've all been briefed on what your job is. I want us to control the entire area around this mountain by the time we get the hangers back online, if any of you have questions ignore them and kill the muties. It's time to open the gates of hell and show those bastards that they fucked with the wrong people!" Colwell said to them all, his dramatics getting the better of him, he turned away from the crowd and looked at the gate, a half circle of his Devil dogs surrounded him with their cyber dogs at their owners' sides.
GOW
Defense of Raven Rock has begun.
Eden's view of the battle was disjointed due to lack of topographic imaging and the lack of their outer perimeter surveillance, lost due to the transportation, to provide him the optimal view he would have preferred.
However, the radio communication painted the picture well enough to connect the missing pieces unseen by him.
"Bloodhounds, Roughneck, form up behind Devil Dog! We're gonna clear the bastards covering the road!" Colwell ordered, taking point with his squadron and two others, totalling thirty six men, empty fusion core and microfusion cells in a rapid push towards the field.
GOW
Colwell scanned the field as his finger weighed down the trigger of his Gatling Laser. As always he was on point, spearheading the charge, while his Dogs were not far behind him.
With a glance to his rear, he noticed Minotaur elected to disregard his laser rifle when it ran out of ammo. Instead pulled out his Super-Axe, the poleaxe version of a Super-Sledge, and his preferred weapon, its large foot and a half edge glistened under the sun, the dual mini-rockets rushing forward to its target in bursts of speed, slicing mutants into pieces with precise swings.
"I'm not sure what I'm cutting here. It doesn't feel like flesh. Those white spikes are definitely armor though, a little tougher to get through, but there's no blood, no bone, nor intestines. How the fuck are these things even alive?" Minotaur questioned, giving one of the ones he killed a suspicious poke before disintegrating.
"Hey, Minotaur, hold one down, I want to see what happens if we tear a piece off while it's still alive." Sirius, a fellow Devil Dog, requested. Minotaur obliged happily, ducking the swipe of another wolf-like creature who stood on its hind paws, but before it got back on all fours Minotuar shoulder tapped him causing it to stumble backwards.
"Go for it, Sirius!"
"Thanks, man." He replied, before firing his laser into one of the monster's legs severing it off. He picked it up in his hands as he stood on top of the fallen mutant, weighing it down.
"Huh, it's already started to disappear but the fucker is still alive. Looks like the eggheads are gonna have fun with these things." Sirius raised his pistol and began firing into enemy lines again. The bolts turned the head into ash before it disintegrated itself.
"Then let's make sure a few of them are alive by the end of this," Argos recommended.
"I know a few scientists who owe me a few favors. We'll have those reports before anyone else." Colwell's grew a smirk at those he had in mind. He hadn't visited them in a while, but he wouldn't mind reminding them of their place.
"They're thinning in number, Colwell! Use any explosive you have to clear the path! We need that fire line set up now!" Autumn radioed in, his voice roaring with his command.
"You heard him boys, light em up."
"Thought you'd never ask, General," Sirius said, holstering his recharger pistol and reaching for the flamer magnetically held onto his back.
"You really know how to make a guy's day," Lakia added on, his borrowed laser rifle being disregarded as he greedily reached for the Grenade machine gun he kept on his back.
They moved up as the other Devil dogs backed out of the way, grabbing the hand-held grenades that they kept on their person and began to pelt the approaching forces with explosives.
SZZROOM
With how many grenade were tossed towards the mutant hordes the deonation covered the entire field with a destructive glow.
Szzroom
Whenever more grenades fell and touched the hot, glowing, plasma.
They all detonated, instantantly.
SZZROOM SZZROOOOM
The field glowed in a beautiful mix of deep emerald and bright crimson as hundreds of mutants melted into nothing, covered in green goop.
"God damn, I love the sound of explosives!"
GOW
"Valkyrie and Knight's are on Echo Ridge, placing mobile AA turrets and proceeding with AA's counter attack." Eden could only gleam a partial view of the Squadrons, known for their marksman, sniping the aerial mutants in the shape of large crows and ravens. Double barreled turrets being placed before being activated, immediately they began to spin, firing hundreds of laser bolts into the air.
"This is Hickory, 2nd and 4th Platoon on me. We're dropped down the courtyard onto the clearing. Let's beat the Dogs to the front line!" Hickory and his squadron, along with close to a hundred soldiers leaped off edge and fell towards the mass of mutants, crushing many under their feet.
"Hah, to slow Breaux! We're already on point Alpha! 2nd Engineer Platoon, get here already!"
Eden observed as the Devil Dogs, Bloodhounds, and the Roughnecks made a crescent shaped firing line allowing the engineering platoon, carrying welding tools, sheet metal, and more. Thanks to the multipurpose adaptability of power armor the engineers were able to quickly establish metal barriers.
"Bring in the miniguns!" A dozen men lugging miniguns marched to the barricades and rested their weapon upon them.
Colwell and his Squadrons disengaged, allowing the miniguns to open fire without fear. Their belted rounds funneled into their chambers firing fifty bullets per second. The unified heavy weapons fire cleared entire fields in a matter of moments but they were filled once more by these strange mutants.
The engineers dropped crates at their feet before opening them. Revealing thousands of belted rounds within. One of the heavy gunners grabbed the belt from the crate and attached it to his gun, his portable cylinder of ammo already depleted, before firing once more.
"Point Bravo secured! 1st Engineer Platoon, get your asses moving!" Hickory called through the radio.
"3rd Platoon pushing towards Point Charlie!"
"4th Platoon, support them!" Colwell ordered.
"Inquisitors are heading to Delta. Bloodhounds want to assist?"
"Bloodhounds here, right behind you!"
"This is 2nd Auxiliary Platoon, we've got banging at side entrance B2!"
"Hellfire's on approach! We'll burn them out!" The Squadron of fire specialties, equipped with Flamers, Incinerators, and laser rifles, modified for incendary damage imstead of piercing and cuttting like the standard model was designed for.
"Hellfire's stick to that side, we'll need a beachhead on that front!"
"Affirm, General!"
"7th Platoon are cleared! Sending them to redavue with Valkyrie and Knight's." Autumn announced, the camera followed 7th Platoon a number of which were now equipped with heavy anti-air weapons, Missiles Launchers and Tesla Cannons, while others carried crates of ammunition, rockets more than likely, strapped around their back before scaling the walls.
"Platoons 4th to 6th, and 8th form up behind Hickory and push to Point Golf. Platoons 9th to 12th get your asses out of Raven Rock and form up behind Devil Dog, we're pushing for Point Foxtrot!" Colwell ordered caused the lagging platoons to swarm from the mountain, sprinting to his location.
"Point Charlie Secured! 2nd Engineer Platoon form up!"
"Hellfire reporting, east side is overrun. Requesting support!
"Roughnecks take 4th Platoon and head to Hellfire!"
"Affirm, General!"
"Captain Filmore here, 4th engineer platoon in, we've set up mobile artillery waiting for the green light."
"Sight in 200 feet away from the mountain, any reinforcements or retreating mutie that hits that line better be reduced to ash." Colwell ordered.
"Copy sir, sighting and firing."
"This is 3rd Engineer Platoon. Raven Rock's exterior defenses are operational."
"Turn it on then!" Colwell growled out.
"Activating."
Eden was disappointed he could not see the silent mountain turn into a literal fortress of destruction. His limited view allowed only the sight of the sky turning red and green with laser and plasma fire. Those giant bird mutants explode when hit by tracking missiles or disintegrate entirely when hit by tracking mini-nukes.
He watched in satisfaction as the overrun sides of the mountain that had been turned black from the number of the monstrosities were swept off in one fell swoop.
The sea of black beyond the sides of the mountain faded as barricade after barricade turned the feild into a city of iron and steel. With every mutant purged by laser, plasma, and nuclear fire the mountain of Raven Rock became safer. The dying mob of beasts dwindled and dwindled until only dozens remained.
By the time Eden received word that the vertibird hangers were operational, the battle was completed and the Enclave's enemies were slain.
GOW
And there you have chapter 4, not sure if 5 will be the next thing I upload or the new story I'm working on, or maybe one of the others I'm focusing on I doubt it but something will come some time, hope you enjoyed and can't wait to read your comments on the story or in the discord 5B4kC2qSG3