Disclaimer: this chapter has a fictional depiction of the Russian military. The author, being from a country that has been invaded by Russia in recent years, is not supporting the actions of the Russian military in real life. Like I said, it's fictional.
After bidding farewell to Ana in Cairo, the Courier and Cassidy began their journey to Russia. The flight from Cairo to Siberia was a lengthy one, which both the Courier and Cassidy tried to alleviate with small talk, most of it involving the Courier's homeland, which Tom was more than happy to share.
"…So, wait, you mean to tell me you use bottle caps as currency in there?"
"Most of the Wasteland does. There's a limited amount of them, they're impossible to counterfeit, and they're less likely to be destroyed in a gunfight. Some people, like the NCR – New California Republic – still uses paper money, but it's not accepted everywhere. Legion has gold and silver coins."
"What's the NCR about?"
"They're a democracy, with all the good and bad that comes with that." Tom explained. "The NCR isn't necessarily bad, if you ignore all the bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and inability to get things done."
"Hard to be worse than the guys crucifying entire towns." Cole commented, intrigued by his story.
"There was a group that was infinitely worse than that, but they went almost extinct a while back." the Courier said. "Anyway, why are we going to the Soviet Union in the first place?"
"The Soviet Union hasn't been a thing for nearly a century." Cassidy corrected."As for why, remember that woman you saw on one of them monitors? The one with the pink hair. I'm going to try to recruit her."
"Right, I'll just add that to one of the many things that are different in this world." Tom rolled his eyes. "You mentioned they were having a second Omnic crisis over there."
"Yeah. Their omnium, which has been shut down for thirty years, has reactivated recently, and started pumping out these crazy war machines, and they started takin' over parts of Siberia." Cole explained the situation as best as he could. The chaos caused by the second Omnic crisis has been one of the main reasons why the cowboy decided to join Overwatch in the first place.
The Courier just nodded in understanding as he looked down to the landscape below. The rest of the flight was pretty much the same, with both of the men killing time with small talk. In a few hours, the dropship arrived, dropping the two off in an abandoned village in the Krasnoyarsk Oblast, before flying off in an unknown direction. The Courier and Cassidy continued their path eastwards, to the Novoanskoye Forward Base, where the soldier they were recruiting was stationed in. Cassidy has explained that their target is Aleksandra Zaryanova, an ex-bodybuilder who joined the Russian Defence Forces as a soldier in the wake of the crisis. The Courier was still unsure as to what was so special in her that made the cowboy consider recruiting her, but decided to go along with it anyway.
The men walked through the Siberian wilderness, avoiding major settlements to avoid unnecessary attention, mainly due to the conspicuous power armor. The Pip-Boy showed that their destination, the village of Novoanskoye, was located about 6 miles east of the landing zone, which would take about two hours of walking to cover. The Siberian terrain was something that the Courier wasn't really used to, growing up in Nevada. Sure, there was snow sometimes in Jacobstown, but it was nothing compared to the large tundras and taigas of eastern Russia.
"Christ, it's freezin' in here." Cole remarked, wearing a winter coat that did nothing to alleviate the cold.
The Courier didn't respond. Thankfully, all power armor models were made to withstand any weather conditions, which shielded him from the unforgiving Siberian cold. After a few seconds of fiddling with his Pip-Boy, the iconic guitar intro to "Big Iron" blared through the speakers before Marty Robbins' voice started singing.
"Good to know that classics like these still exist in the Wastes." the cowboy stated, enjoying the song.
"Yup. It's probably the most popular song in the Mojave, now that I think about it. Plays on the radio all the time." the Courier said.
As the pair went eastwards, they encountered more and more destroyed and abandoned villages. From what he'd heard, Siberia had been hotly contested between the Russian and Omnic forces, and it took the Russians quite a bit of manpower and resources to force their adversaries to retreat east of Krasnoyarsk. The Courier cast a sympathetic glance at the demolished houses and charred corpses, thinking back to his very first visit to Nipton, an experience which only fueled his desire to eradicate the Legion off the face of the Mojave.
November 2, 2281
Nipton, Mojave Wasteland
Tom, wearing a simple set of leather armor, has been following his failed murderer's trail for over a week now, hoping to intercept the snake who tried to kill him over the stupid chip. The Courier still had trouble understanding what was so special about the item he was supposed to deliver, and Johnson Nash shared some interesting details about the delivery order. Apparently, someone had a grudge against him. Someone who was originally supposed to accept the job, but turned it down as soon as Tom's name came up. What was up with that? Is that what that guy meant by saying that "the game was rigged from the start"?
Seeing the town of Nipton, Tom was relieved. He was running low on supplies ever since he dealt with the convicts in Primm, and hoped to replenish them in this town. Tom didn't remember ever visiting Nipton, but then again, his memory was a little fuzzy after being shot twice in the head. He remembered bits and pieces, but there were significant holes in his memories still. In any case, what he heard about this town is that it was not a quiet, friendly town like Goodsprings was. No, this was a town which had an extremely seedy reputation, where prostitution and thievery were a normal thing. Almost like a worse version of New Reno. In any case, he wasn't planning on staying in this town for long.
His thoughts were cut short as he approached the town. Tom narrowed his eyes as he saw the infamous red flags with the golden bulls on them near the entrance, and several fires burning a bit further into the town. There was no mistaking what happened here, and Tom even contemplated turning back, seeing as he was about to enter newly acquired Legion territory. As he approached, he saw a brown-haired bespectacled young man, dressed like a Powder Ganger, running towards him. The Courier reached towards his holster, but noticed that the man was unarmed.
"Yeah! Who won the lottery? I did!" the Powder Ganger screamed in delight as he approached Tom. "Smell that air! Couldn't ya drink it like booze?!"
The man laughed maniacally, confusing the Courier further. "Are you feeling all right, buddy?" Tom asked, still considering the option to shoot him in the face. The Powder Ganger was acting crazy.
"Are you kidding me? Never felt better! Yeah!" the guy exclaimed. "I just won the lottery, the only lottery that matters! Oh my God, smell that air!"
"What happened here?" Tom asked, still confused what the man was rambling on about. "Are you… a Powder Ganger?"
"Powder Ganger? What..? I mean, yeah, I used to be, sure!" the guy responded, ignoring his first question. "But not no more! Powder Gang is small-time, man! I'm a winner! I won the motherfucking lottery!"
With that, the ex-Powder Ganger ran off, leaving the Courier even more confused. Maybe the Legion's occupation of this town wasn't so bad, if all the guy could talk about was some stupid lottery?
The Courier found out the answer to that immediately as he walked further into the town, seeing the famed wooden structures that the Legion used for their preferred method of execution. Crucifixion was neither quick nor painless, and while he'd heard a lot about the Legion crucifying the population in captured towns, this was his first time seeing it with his own two eyes. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. He recognized that the men lashed to the crosses were Powder Gangers, judging by their attire. While he wasn't a fan of them after having to deal with them in both Goodsprings and Primm, this was a bit much, even for him. Moving closer to a large building in the middle of the town, he noticed several heads on pikes nearby, too. Charming.
As he approached the building, Tom saw a group of men exit from the building, being followed by several mongrel dogs. He recognized their red clothes and sports gear repurposed into armor. These men were Legionaries. They were led by another legionary, wearing a hollowed-eyed head of a coyote as headwear, with dark goggles over his eyes. Tom didn't quite know how to resolve this. Granted, the Legion weren't raiders, they didn't attack everyone they came across, but he wasn't taking chances, so he kept his hand near the holster.
"Don't worry. I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates." Their leader calmed Tom down, noticing his nervousness. He spoke with a hint of eloquence in his voice that didn't quite match his barbaric appearance. "It's useful that you happened by. I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And when you move on, I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that the Caesar's Legion taught here. Especially any NCR troops you may run across."
These words seemed to put the Courier at ease. He still felt disgust at what the Legion committed here, but he didn't feel strongly enough about it to carry out a suicidal attack on the group of Legionaries gathered here.
"Who are you?" Tom asked. He wasn't quite familiar with the big-shots in the Legion, only knowing about Caesar himself as well as his former and current Legates, the Malpais Legate and Lanius.
"Ah, where are my manners? I am Vulpes Inculta of Caesar's Legion. I serve my master as the greatest of his frumentarii." the Legionary introduced himself. "We frumentarii are soldiers of a different stripe, capable in battle, but skilled as infiltrators and agents as well."
Just his luck. A week into his wild goose chase, and he'd already encountered one of the highest-ranking men in the Legion. At least this guy was reasonable enough to let him go. The Courier doubted that Vulpes would show him the same kindness.
"And what exactly was the lesson that you were trying to teach here?" Tom asked cautiously. He knew somewhat of the Legion's philosophy, that might makes right, but he wanted to hear the answer from the man himself.
"Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already." Vulpes mused. "But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson. It was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself – the people here didn't care. It was a town of whores." the frumentarius snarled at the last words.
"…What happened here?" the Courier had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprung it did they realize that they were caught inside it, too. We captured everyone, and herded them to the center of the town. I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery."
Suddenly, the Powder Ganger's happy screaming made much more sense to the Courier as he listened to Vulpes in shock. Meanwhile, the frumentarius continued speaking.
"Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when 'loved ones' were dragged away to be killed." Inculta recounted, snarling. "They outnumbered us, yet not once did they try to resist. They stood and watched as their fellows were butchered, crucified, and burned, one by one. They stood and hoped their turn would not come. Each cared only for himself."
The Courier didn't know what to say at that point. Brutality was onthing new for the Wasteland, but this was on a whole another level. He hated himself for being so weak, afraid of the men in front of him. He wanted to do something, but knew that there was no chance in hell that he could've taken a group of Caesar's best, all at once. The Courier hung his head, exhaling sharply and closing his eyes.
"Fine. You want me to share what happened here, right? I'll do as you ask." he said, not even looking up to face Inculta, who was visibly amused by how uncomfortable Tom was with all of this.
"Then I bid you 'vale' – until we meet again." the frumentarius said, walking away with the rest of his Legionaries.
'Hopefully we never will.' the Courier thought to himself bitterly. He disliked the Legion immensely even before witnessing their brutality firsthand, but seeing the kind of destruction that they inflicted upon what was mostly an innocent, if a bit corrupt town, he couldn't help but shake off the feeling of anger. This was what the reality of the Mojave would be if the Legion somehow managed to defeat the NCR in the inevitable battle for the Dam. The Courier hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but the Republic's incompetence planted seeds of doubt in his mind. Sighing, he proceeded onwards to Novac, hoping to forget what transpired here.
This wasn't a memory that Tom liked to revisit, but he couldn't help but go back to it after witnessing the destruction that these Omnics inflicted upon these villages. He sighed loudly, disappointed that even in the distant, alternate past that didn't see humanity destroy 80% of itself with atomic hellfire, humans still managed to create such destructive weapons. It was times like these when he saw a bit of wisdom in the Brotherhood of Steel. While they were overzealous in their pursuits, they did have a point that advanced technology in the wrong hands leads to disaster, more often than not. Witnessing evidence of that first-hand, the Courier could definitely see what the Brotherhood meant, and the need for an organization like Overwatch became very clear to him. Their goal was admirable, if a bit far-fetched. The Courier wasn't aware who else was involved in it, but what he had seen so far was not enough to take on those threats. Not only that, but the organization was also illegal, banned decades ago. Restoring it would take way too much time and resources, and Tom wasn't sure they had an abundance of both. Then again, the Followers never had it easy, yet they managed to stay a beacon of hope for the Wastelanders, and they operated in far more hellish conditions. Maybe this wasn't going to be as fruitless as he'd first thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by Cassidy tapping his armor lightly.
"Hold on, partner." the cowboy said, pointing to what looked like a car at first glance. The only difference was that its wheels weren't touching the ground, but hovering above it. "See that truck? If it's still workin', I might be able to hotwire it."
The cowboy approached the strange, hovering vehicle, and tried to open its driver-side door. It was locked, so he grabbed his revolver and slammed its handle into the window, breaking it and opening the door from inside. Cassidy took his seat as he fiddled around with something near the steering wheel, and moments later, the car lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Well, this is lucky." Cole said, buckling his seatbelt. "Get in."
The Courier obliged, getting on the cargo bed of the truck. Surprisingly, it managed to hold the weight of the power armor well enough. As the Courier made himself comfortable in the back of the truck, Cassidy started driving, cutting their travel time in half as the vehicle passed through the Siberian countryside.
Novoanskoye Forward Base. Siberia, Russia.
Soldiers of the Russian Defence Forces were getting ready for yet another patrol. It was a hard time for them, as the initial success of their offensive against the Omnics had run its course, and it's turned into a stalemate. Among the Russian soldiers, one Sergeant Aleksandra Zaryanova was stoic as usual, but deep down, she was nervous. There were many reports of skirmishes between the Russian troops and the Omnic forces near the town of Novoanskoye, and she could tell that something big was coming. She was worried for her family, still living in the town. As she was getting her gear ready, she was interrupted by a fellow soldier.
"Comrade Sergeant!" the soldier, a blond man who was at least three inches shorter than her, called out in Russian, holding a photograph of her from her bodybuilding days. "What you did after the world championships was truly heroic! C-can I have your autograph?"
Zaryanova looked at him with a stern expression, catching him off guard. She stared at him for several seconds before she burst out laughing, the rest of the unit following soon.
"Of course!" she said with a smile, putting a hand on the soldier's shoulder. "But only after the patrol. Get your gear ready, we're out of the door in five minutes."
The patrol went somewhat smoothly. Zaryanova felt slightly down, seeing the state that her hometown was in. The casualties on the Russian side were high, and the war against the Omnics wasn't going well at the moment. While Aleksandra didn't lose hope for eventual victory and liberation of her homeland, she was fully aware that the price for victory was going to be high.
Currently, Zaryanova was sitting in the mess hall with the soldier that asked her to give him an autograph, handing over the signed photograph to him, which the soldier graciously accepted.
"Thank you." he said with a smile, which soon faded from his face. "Is it always like today?"
"No, it was worse today." Zaryanova sighed. "Every day they gain more and more land. Our position isn't sustainable."
"So… what are we doing here?" the private asked, confused.
"We're here because the people of Novoanskoye once mined metal to supply the omnium. Now they must strip the land of metal to starve it." the ex-bodybuilder clarified. "But if you're asking why I'm here… I grew up in Novoanskoye. My friends and my sisters, my community all serve these efforts. I want to protect them and their work. Maybe your family is here too? Or in a town nearby."
"I am simply here to wipe the Omnic scum off the face of the earth." the private narrowed his eyes with that declaration, earning him a raised eyebrow from Zaryanova.
"The ones who attack here, yes. Destroy them all. These tin cans won't even pause to look you in the eye before they gut you." she told him. Aleksandra was about to continue, only to be interrupted by a blaring alarm. Officers marched into the mess hall, screaming orders at the soldiers.
"Omnic forces have broken the northeastern front!" Zaryanova heard the commander say. "We are sounding a general retreat to consolidate defences around Krasnoyarsk and oversee its evacuation. Your platoon leader has your orders!"
"What about Novoanskoye?" she asked him, only to be shocked by the answer.
"It's already lost. Our orders are to focus on Krasnoyarsk."
This was one of the few orders that she wasn't willing to follow. She joined the army to defend her people, her hometown included.
"Commander. Permission to…" Zaryanova began speaking, only to be interrupted by her senior officer.
"Do what you have to do." he said.
Sergeant Zaryanova nodded her head in thanks as she grabbed her gear and exited the base. As she was about to set off in the direction of Novoanskoye, she saw a pick-up truck speeding towards the base. As it approached and stopped beside her, she saw a man in large, dark gray metal armor sitting on its bed. She recognized the man driving the vehicle as the cowboy from Overwatch.
"Aleksandra Zaryanova." the cowboy greeted, tipping his hat. "Need a ride?"
The ex-bodybuilder looked at him, then turned towards the man in the armor, unable to discern his facial features through that helmet of his that resembled a beetle. Shrugging, she opened the passenger seat of the truck and got in, not bothering with the seatbelt. The truck took off eastwards, towards Novoanskoye, which could be seen burning a mile away.
"So, you want us to go toward that?" Cassidy asked.
"You don't have to come. I go where I'm needed." Zaryanova replied with slightly broken English, keeping her eyes on the road.
"Funny you should mention that." Cole smirked. "You don't know who I am, don't you?"
"You're ex-Overwatch, I've seen your face before. McCree, if I remember correctly." the sergeant replied. "The man in the back, I do not recognize. Is he the German?"
"No, he ain't Reinhardt, and I don't go by that name anymore. Cole Cassidy, pleasure to meet you." the cowboy introduced himself. "If you know who I am, then you know I'm handy in a fight…"
"Thank you, but when we get to Novoanskoye, you should take your truck and head west." Zaryanova declined his offer. "I don't expect we'll meet again."
This, Cassidy wasn't too happy about. "That ain't my style, Zarya." he said, stopping the truck at the entrance of Novoanskoye. "Listen, Courier and I will cover you."
"This isn't your fight." Aleksandra refused once again, exiting the truck and immediately blasting an Omnic with her gun, jumping into the fray.
The sergeant began going through the village, shooting at every Omnic in sight. She noticed a group of them approaching civilians, and immediately attracted their attention towards her, allowing the civilians to escape. The Omnics started firing back, but their attacks only served to hit the barrier emitted from her Particle Cannon. With every shot, the coils around the cannon started glowing brighter, charging it up with energy as she released a powerful blast that destroyed the robots in one single, powerful beam of energy.
While this attack was certainly effective, it took a lot of energy, which now left her completely vulnerable for another group of Omnics that was closing in on her. However, they didn't get the chance to fire, as the truck rammed straight into them, with the man in the armor dropping down from its cargo bed with a loud thud, before firing upon the Omnics with a weird pistol that looked like it came out of an old alien movie. Surprisingly, the gun was effective, as each of the shots caused the tin cans to spark and shut down, their insides effectively fried by an electromagnetic pulse.
"Thought you could use some help." Cassidy said, exiting the truck and approaching the two hulking figures.
"Fine. You set them up, I will knock them down." Zaryanova relented with a sigh.
"What exactly are we doing here?" the Courier asked, gaining her attention. "What's the objective?"
"The people need to evacuate." Zarya responded. He nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"So we should just draw the enemy's fire?" the cowboy asked, receiving a nod from Zaryanova. "Alright, I can work with that."
The trio immediately got to work, shooting every Omnic in sight, allowing the civilians to evacuate. Cassidy, in his usual fashion, was fanning his revolver, sending a hail of bullets into the Omnics. Zarya was mowing them down with her Particle Cannon, while the Courier was extremely effective in frying the enemy with his Pulse Gun.
It soon became abundantly clear that they were going to need more firepower, as the sheer amount of Omnics attacking Novoanskoye was staggering. The Courier was about to reload the Pulse Gun, only to be interrupted.
"You, in the armor." Zarya called out to him. "Shoot me."
The Courier said nothing, staring at her through the empty, yellow lenses of the helmet of the Power Armor, while tilting his head to the side. The Russian rolled her eyes.
"I can power up my gun by absorbing energy that hits the barrier it makes. I don't have enough energy, so shoot me!"
"…Fine, but not with this. It fires an electromagnetic pulse, which probably isn't good for the barrier." the Courier replied, putting away the Pulse Gun while rummaging his pack for a replacement.
After a few seconds, he'd found what he needed. Cassidy watched in surprise as the Courier pulled out not his usual semi-automatic Garand, but another antiquated rifle from roughly the same time period. It was the Browning Automatic Rifle, or B.A.R. for short. The Russian raised an eyebrow at the Courier's choice of weaponry, but didn't comment on it. Cocking the charging handle, Tom emptied the entire 20-round magazine into her, successfully fueling her Particle Cannon. It wasn't quite enough, so the Russian motioned for him to do it again, which he did. The cannon was glowing brightly, and Zarya smirked.
"Now watch what I can do." she said, pointing the gun at the Omnics. "Ogon' po gotovnosti!"
She fired, releasing a massive burst of energy that completely wiped out the entirety of the Omnic force. The Courier and Cassidy had to shield their eyes from the sheer brightness of the ray released from the gun, and once it subsided, were shocked to discover the sheer power that Zarya wielded. Now, the Courier understood why Cassidy wanted to recruit her to Overwatch.
"Whoa." he heard the cowboy mutter. "Looks like you bought yourself an opening for your village. I wouldn't waste any time, just don't take too long."
Zaryanova nodded, moving further into the village. Tom and Cole noticed her hugging two shorter girls who looked a lot like her, correctly deducing that the girls were her family. As the girls conversed in a language that neither men could understand, the Courier noticed some movement to his right. As it turned out, some of the Omnics were still operational. A mistake which Tom rectified immediately, firing upon them with the Pulse Gun, watching in satisfaction as the robots dropped to the ground.
"Now that's how it's done." Cassidy voiced his approval, putting a cigar in his mouth and lighting it.
The rest of the day went by smoother. The trio successfully wiped out what was left of the Omnic forces in the village, evacuating all of its population with minimal casualties. Zaryanova bid farewell to her family as the two men approached her.
"You saved the whole village." Cassidy stated matter-of-factly. "It was darn foolish to go in there alone like that. Foolish, but… brave, too."
"Thank you both for helping me save them." Zarya nodded with a serious expression on her face.
The cowboy nodded back. "Listen, what would you think about doing this more often? Lending your strength to people who might not survive without it, I mean. The world's going to hell, Zarya. The RDF won't miss one soldier, but Overwatch could use your strength. Let's join them, and we could figure all this out. The Talon hits, Null Sector activity… and omnium attacks."
"Enough talk!" the Russian interrupted him, forcibly grabbing his arm. "I'm in."
'Huh. That was surprisingly easy.' Tom thought to himself. Indeed, the Russian needed far less convincing than Fareeha did.
"Sasha!" he heard one of Zarya's sisters call out to her as she raised her hand, causing the Russian to approach them. What she saw was apparently important, which is why Zaryanova motioned for the men to follow her. The Courier saw a strange, square device in the hands of one of Zarya's sisters, and it showed footage of some large city, burning in flames as a reporter's voice blared through the speakers of the device.
"Widespread panic in the wake of the sudden Null Sector attack in Paris has people asking: is this an isolated incident, or the beginning of a new war?" he heard the reporter's voice. He was confused, not knowing what the Null Sector is, but understood that whatever happened in Paris was anything but good.
"God damn it…" the cowboy muttered with an angry expression on his face. "This is just messed up."
"We're too far away to do anything about it, Cassidy." the Courier said. "What's our next course of action?"
Cole sighed. "There's a Talon base in Mongolia, near the border with Russia. I reckon we could hit it and steal ourselves a ship. We can use that to pick up Fareeha and Baptiste in Cairo."
"Where do we go from there?
"There is one last person I want to recruit before we go to Gibraltar to meet up with the rest of Overwatch." the cowboy explained. "She's in South Korea. There's some bad stuff going down with the Omnics there as well, in the city of Busan. After we're done with that, it's straight to Gibraltar."
"Alright. Let's go." the Courier said, before turning towards the Russian. "You coming?"
Zarya nodded, and the trio entered the same truck that Cassidy previously hotwired, driving southwards to Mongolia.
The Russo-Mongolian border was a fair distance away. It took more than ten hours for the team to finally cross it and to reach the small town of Ulaangom. After resting for a bit at a local hotel, the trio was on the road once again, driving towards the Talon base which was located near the town. The garrison at the base was relatively small, enough so that the team dispatched the Talon operatives present there with ease before stealing one of the dropships stationed there. From there onwards, it was smooth sailing as Cassidy went on to carry out his plan, flying to Cairo first in order to pick up Fareeha and Baptiste before flying more than 5000 miles east, towards Busan.
After the Null Sector attack on Paris, the South Korean military was on high alert. The country put its most elite unit, the MEKA squad, to a state of full combat readiness. As it turned out, the decision was completely justified, as a red alert sounded in one of the military bases in Busan, as multiple drop pods containing Null Sector Omnics were dropped from a large command ship flying high above Busan. The MEKA unit engaged the Omnics in combat almost immediately, but the Null Sector had a clear numerical advantage.
One of the soldiers, a young, brown-haired woman by the name of Hana Song, more commonly known as the professional gamer DVa, took several of them down inside her egg-shaped pink mech.
"Captain, permission to take this fight to the command ship!" she yelled into her intercom, only to be disappointed by the response.
"Permission denied, DVa. We need more information before sending Busan's last line of defence up there." she heard her captain's voice. "Highlighting civilian evacuation plans for you. Clear the enemy from those routes while we analyze the threat."
The pro-gamer sighed with a disappointed expression on her face. "We have our orders. Priority is civilian defence." she told her squad mates as they continued engaging the enemy.
As the fight went on, it became abundantly clear that the Null Sector was too much for the MEKA squad to handle. Several of her squad mates had their mechs damaged by the Omnics, and it wouldn't be too long before the Omnics overran the Korean army.
"Captain! We can't withstand this, we need to fall back and regroup!" one of the mech pilots desperately screamed into the intercom.
"DVa, return to squad and support evac. We're pulling out." the captain addressed Hana, who was less than pleased to hear these orders.
"No! We can save the city!" she yelled. "If I can just get into that command ship…"
"DVa, there's an unidentified dropship entering your sector." she heard through the intercom. She looked up, and saw a group of people in the opened hatch of the dropship. Hana's eyes widened as she recognized the cowboy in the group.
"MEKA squad, this is Overwatch." she heard him speak in their private channel. "We're here to turn this fight around!"
With that, a woman in bright blue metallic armor exited the vehicle, floating with her jetpack as she released a barrage of rockets aimed at the drop pods from the Null Sector command ship, shooting them down before they could land. A man in a large suit of dark gray armor, holding an antiquated automatic rifle, jumped out of the dropship, the loud thud from the impact shattering the asphalt below. The dropship followed soon, lowering so that the dark-skinned man, the pink-haired woman and the cowboy could disembark.
"I've got you covered!" Baptiste yelled, immediately activating his Immortality Field, covering the surrounding area with a glowing, yellow dome that protected the MEKA squad from the oncoming barrage and allowing them to initiate repairs on their damaged mechs while Zarya and Courier were taking the Omnics down, using the same strategy that helped them secure a victory in Novoanskoye.
"Tell us where you need us." Cassidy spoke in the intercom, putting his finger on the earpiece.
"Overwatch, clear the evacuation route two blocks north. Emergency personnel will direct you." he heard the captain speak.
"Can do. We'll have this wrapped up in no time."
"Excellent." the captain remarked. "MEKA squad, we're back in the fight! Converge on the command ship, wedge formation! Synchronize targets for formation strike!"
"Systems charged and ready!" the cowboy heard a choir of voices yell in the intercom as the MEKA squad unleashed their combined weaponry into the command ship while Overwatch took out the last remaining drop pods, allowing the civilians to evacuate. The sight was mesmerizing, the Courier had to admit. While he was no stranger to large-scale battles, this was on a completely different level. He felt somewhat good about this, smirking under his helmet at the thought of saving people.
It seemed as though with Overwatch's entry into the battle, the whole thing was turned upside down, as the drop pods were taken care of and the command ship was retreating. The battle was effectively won, the only thing that was left was to take care of the remaining Null Sector units on the ground, which the Courier, Fareeha and Zarya were more than happy to help with. Cassidy spoke on the intercom with the MEKA squad's captain as Baptiste provided aid to the injured Korean soldiers.
"You guys dropped in just in time." one of the Korean soldiers thanked the team as the dropship landed at the MEKA base, allowing them to disembark. "Thanks for having our backs."
"Happy to help." Fareeha nodded with a smile.
"Captain, what's our status?" the Courier heard the girl in the pink mech, the one they were supposed to recruit, ask her commanding officer.
"MEKA base is a bit banged up, but all right." her captain replied. "We're still assessing the damage, but it could've been a lot worse without our new friends."
The girl understood what she was talking about as the team approached her, with the cowboy offering her a hand.
"Howdy. I'm Cole Cassidy." he introduced himself, then pointed at the rest of his teammates. "This here's Pharah, the big'un to my left is Zarya, the feller in the scary armor is Courier, and the healer you folks were getting' chummy with on the ground is Baptiste.
"Glad to meet you!" Hana greeted them happily. "My name is…"
"DVa, we know. You're quite the pilot." Cassidy complimented. "We came to see if MEKA squad was interested in joining forces with us."
The pro-gamer looked away sheepishly. "Honestly, I requested permission to team up, but it was…"
"Approved." she was interrupted by her captain, a stern-looking middle-aged woman in a red jumpsuit.
"HQ is approving it?" Hana asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Let me handle HQ. I'm making the call to dispatch you to Overwatch. We can't afford to be caught unawares like this again." the captain explained. "MEKA squad will remain here, but DVa, you have a new assignment. Assess the Null Sector threat to Korea and update our tactical response. You may travel as you see fit to accomplish this task. If Overwatch is gathering the intel we need, I want you right there with them."
Hana saluted her with enthusiasm. "Yes, ma'am. Dan gyeol!"
Cassidy approached the captain with a flash drive in his hand. "You can start with this. Data on all the new threats we've been monitoring."
"How… what do we owe you for this?" the captain asked in gratitude.
"Nothing at all." the cowboy tipped his hat with a smirk. "Consider it a gift, from the old guard to the new."
It was done. Hana soon bid farewell to the rest of her squad as the Overwatch operatives entered the dropship. The Courier, now out of his power armor, was in the process of clearing his B.A.R., though his mind was somewhere else entirely. This has been a wild week for him, from being thrust to a completely new world to fighting various battles across the known world, something that would've been borderline impossible to do in the irradiated hellscape that he called home. It always felt good when he actually made a difference, be it defeating the Legion at Hoover Dam to save the Mojave from slavery or defending humanity here, in this strange and dangerous world. He briefly looked away from his automatic rifle as he looked at the rest of his teammates, who were mingling with each other while he remained silent, tuning out their conversation. Knowing what these people were capable of, the Courier thought that maybe his initial pessimism of Overwatch's ability to fulfill its duty was unfounded. After all, each and every single one of these people was capable, and most importantly they were genuine in their mission to defend the world. This was something that he could respect and get behind.
'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' the Courier thought to himself as he looked out of the window, taking in the view below. It was nice to see a landscape that wasn't destroyed, irradiated and filled to the brim with various monsters, both human and non-human. He couldn't deny that this world was infinitely better than the one he lived in. While it was no paradise, it was much safer than the post-nuclear hellscape he called home. This was closer to the future that Robert House had planned for the Wasteland, only this was real.
The Courier's thoughts were cut short as he heard his name mentioned.
"…Hey, Thomas." Tom heard Fareeha call out to him, "I've wanted to ask, how did you team up with Cassidy?"
"Stumbled upon him by accident at some dump in Arizona. Saved him from a raider gang there." the Courier shrugged, omitting important details from the encounter. "It's not really an interesting story."
"What's that armor, by the way?" the newcomer in the group, Hana, asked curiously. "I've never seen anything like it, it's so cool! And your gun is super ancient, I've seen it in World War II video games!"
The Courier winced, not knowing what to say. He readily divulged his past to Cassidy, but was unsure what to do with the rest of the group.
'Then again, I'll have to share my story to that friend of his, the one who can maybe repair the Transportalponder.' the Wastelander thought to himself, before coming to a decision.
"Look, my story is a bit complicated, and there's still a lot of stuff I need to sort out. I'll tell it when we get there."
A/N: And that's the end of that. I'm hoping to finally start releasing longer chapters, but currently I can't seem to write anything longer than 7000 words. Shame, really, but I hope that whatever I'm writing is entertaining enough for the readers. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts in reviews, any kind of constructive criticism is appreciated!