Fallout:History Repeating (Alpha and Eliara)

[AlphaZero]

Storm cloud rolled through the night sky blocking out the moon and drowning the Commonwealth into an inky blackness that swallowed the landscape. They couldn't have hoped for a better night to launch their attack. The stolen airship sailed through the night sky hidden among the thick black clouds the heavy downpour drowned out the sound of virtabird engines as they descended into the Commonwealth. Securing Diamond City would be easy, a large enough force of troops at the local security forces would roll over without the slightest opposition. The Brotherhood outpost had less than two dozen troopers stationed there, they would die before surrendering but so long as any cache's of tech they had stored remained undamaged that was good enough. The Castle, the seat if power for the Minuitemen would no doubt put up a bigger bigger fight from behind the fortified walls with their artillery, but should things drag on for too long they could always unleash one of THOSE things and decimate their ranks and the fortress along with them. The castle would be a very useful strategic foot hold, but loosing it would not cost them anything, it was hotly debated amid the command that it would be easier to simply unleash one of thing beasts upon the fortress and show the Commonwealth just how futile resistance was. But the decision had been made that the easiest way break the spirit of resistance amid the people was to remove the woman. She had brought the Minutemen back from the brink of extension and lead them against the Institute.

The pitch black night concealed the approaching fireteam, six troopers, two in power armor, but not the X-01 the Enclave favored but old suit of T-51 re-purposed from the Brotherhood cache in the Capital Citadel. One leading from the front wile the other brought up the rear their on board optics baithing their field of view in green, a map marker displaying the distance to their target, an old Red Rocket truck stop the woman had claimed as home. The virtabird dropped them two clicks east of the target zone, leaving them to make their approach under cover of darkness.

Ahead lights burned through the darkness, illuminating their target. The power armored trooper at the front with marking on his armor identifying him as a lieutenant raised an armored fist bringing his team to a hault. Another quick gesture and the four lighter equiped troops broke away, crossing the broken concrete and moving into flanking positions on either side of garage.

What none of them knew they had been followed.

Max whipped rain water from his face with the back of one gloved hand, the gesture subtle enough not to disrupt the field projected by the stealth boy hanging from his belt. He didn't know what the Enclave was up to but the things he had seen in the last decade made him sure of one thing.
Whatever they had planned for the Commonwealth wasn't good.

The high-pitched whine if a motor grabbed his attention and the familiar smell of ozone filled the air as one of the power armored troopers opened fire on the truck stop with a gateling laser.

 

[Eliara]

Initially Jennifer hadn't planned on settling down at Red Rocket that night she wanted to push the ways further to Sanctuary that was larger, better defended, and had more amenities than the other places besides The Castle of course. Hanging her heavy overcoat on a wall hook she had just laid her head down on an old pillow, planning on resting for a few hours and to let the storm clouds pass. Little did she realize that was going to be the least of her concerns.

As she lie there drifting off she heard a whirring sound, the spinning up of some motor that wasn't one she had installed or had anyone working on. And before she was able to complete her next thought the stream of lasers began slapping against the walls of the truck stop, leaving burn marks across anything that wasn't wood or flammable, and giving away the energy weapons signature smell in the air. Jennifer's first action was to roll out of bed and drop to the dirty, cold floor as the spray of red filled the space around her. Reaching into her nearby backpack she withdraw a homemade grenade, packed with extra powder, vacated the pin and tossed the heavy explosive towards the direction of the firing just to buy her some initial time.

The grenade went off with a loud, building shaking thump dirt and dust falling from the walls. Jennifer grabbed her backpack, a self upgraded combat shotgun and charged towards the garage. The door had been open, and she ducked in the hallway as the red laser splashed around her quick escape, there she was able to close the door assuming she wasn't only going to be attacked by one person she armed a nearby lunchbox mine and slid it into the hallway, in case someone decided to come through the closest door. The other she could cover with the shotgun until the laser had to cool down or switch batteries.

 

[AlphaZero]

An explosion rocked the still night, bringing shouts from the troops, whoever was in there was fully ready to fight back and the Enclave didn't like that one bit. The trooper around the buildings north side brought their plasma rifles to level and advanced quickly towards the side door wile the pair on the other side took up similar positions. The laser gateling gun came to an abrupt hault as the power cell ran dry. The second trooper raised a plasma rifle kitted out with sniper attachments and sited on the open windows, catching site of movement inside he fired a shot, a bolt of green streaking through the night. The other two fire teams pushed onwards through the door, weapons at the ready, the first team stepping right into the field of a mine which made short work of them.

Now Max knew he needed to act. He knew that the old structure couldn't take the assault of the gateling laser forever and made his choice quickly. A little bit of creative thinking on his part would get him through this. A bit of duct tape, folded over and stuck to a pulse grenade would burn out the power armor, forcing the wearers to abandon the suits, making them easy targets. He took a deep and charged forward, the sudden movement breaking the stealth field. He thumbed the primer on the greande as he passed between the two armored troopers, using the stick tape to attach it to one them. And started to count down from five in his head.

He stepped into the light, becoming a clear target to anyone wanting to take a shot. The old vault suit had seen better days, torn and patched over and over again, the once vibrant blue colour had fadded under the sun and was caked with the dirt of a thousand roads. A leather bandolier crossed his chest, an old peice of comabt armor attach to it on his shoulder with the number 101 spray painted on in yellow. Shaggy dark hair stuck out from under old Nuka Cola cap he wore.

Shouts from the two troopers behind him, the whine of laser starting to spin up again. Then a bang and the air was full of static that caused the hairs the back of his neck to stand up. He didn't really aim as he continued his charge, instead laying on the trigger on old rifle he carried and sending a blind volley of rounds into low building, manging to catch one of remaining troops in the neck wile the other dropped to his stomach to avoid the spray.

 

[Eliara]

Jennifer heard the apparent confusion outside as now shots seemed to be coming from many different directions, this confused her and also gave her an idea. Arming another mind, this time and old world frag mine, she set it near the door of the garage and opened the large sliding door enough that she was able to slide her backpack under and then herself. Dressed in a pair of old, many times stitched cargo pants and an old stained white t-shirt she knew that her only hope was to make it to Sanctuary, it would take a sizable force to remove that location and likely they had already heard the commotion from the truck stop.

But she wasn't one who readily fought long range engagements her time forging and building the Minutemen had trained her in the use of the shotgun, and close range combat. At a distance she was at a considerable disadvantage especially against the power armor. But what she did have was a knack for tinkering and was capable of making the grenades and mines that she had used in the truck stop. For the time being she needed to worry about saving her own skin, and not what else was going on though.

She knew that behind the truck stop the land sloped upwards a little and ended at the very top in a water tower, but before that was some thicker brush and in the darkness with those older model power armor suits it would be harder for them to spot her, all she needed to do was put a little distance between herself and the truck stop in order for that to happen. Jennifer took to putting her plan into motion, running the distance to the first set of bushes, large enough to hide her shape for now, until she felt safe to make it to the next, and the next. It was cold that night, and likely she would be crawling her way through the dirt and the mud the next little bit.

 

[AlphaZero]

Max caught site of someone moving from the corrner of his eye, dashing from the garage into the night. His attention drawn away for a fraction of a second he didn't realize he had closed distance with building and slammed into a low wall, his momentum carrying him over it to land in a heap ontop of one of the dead Enclave troops.

"That's gonna leave a bruse...." He hissed through gritted teeth as he tried to orient himself within the confines of the gas station. Short walkway, door to his, a low counter just ahead of where he was. Enclave trooper taking aim at him.

"Oh shit..."

He rolled, fumbeling to try and reload the empty mazine from his rifle, the awkward angle causing him to loose his grip and drop it leaving him no easy recourse but to tuck himself into a ball and roll through the open door into cover. Max took a moment to recover, pressing his back against the wall shared with the hall, working the well used and cared for 5.56mm pistol from the holster on his thigh.

He was out numbered and the advantage he had with the element of surprise was gone, maybe, he decided, it was time to try a different approach.

"Ok, look, you guys are clearly at the disadvantage here. So why don't you just surrender and walkaway, and I'll be merciful. Sound fair?"

A volly of plasma shots lanced through the open door slammed into the wall, leaving thick, green scortch marks where they struck. Maybe he wasn't going to be able to bravado his way outta this one.

 

[Eliara]

Jennifer turned around to see the truck stop and the attention of the attackers turn towards someone else who was still there. "Is it one of mine?" She asked herself, trying to narrow her eyes to see who it may have been, but she also assumed he didn't know about the mine left in the garage either and promptly had to turn herself around. Checking her belt she had one grenade left, and the only way she would be able to turn the tide is if she was able to get close. From this distance her shotgun was of little use against the targets.

Sneaking down the hill between the bushes and junk still in the area she managed to get a bit closer as the attackers attention was turned towards the stranger, the night lit up with green blasts of energy. The side of truck stop scorched and quickly was going to relent to the assault from the attacking force, and now that she was a little bit better able to see them Jennifer had no idea who they were or what they were doing here.

"Shit, what am I going to do?" She asks herself in a hushed tone, thumbing her grenade absent mindedly, if she was able to disable some of them or make them think another force was attacking it would turn the attention away from the truck stop.

Grabbing the smaller 10mm pistol on her hip she aimed at one of the attackers, firing a few quick shots to turn their attention. Ducking behind an old tree stump she pulled the pin from the grenade and tossed it in the direction of the gathered attackers, hoping to at least momentarily scatter their attack so that she and the stranger could escape.

 

[AlphaZero]

Another explosion from outside drew the attention of the trooper inside the building, giving Max an opening. He swung out of cover, keeping himself pressed flat against the wall, one arm raised with the pistol leveled at the target, sucked in a breath to steady his hand and squeezed the trigger. The gunshot echoed in the tight confines of hallway, leaving his ear ringing, the 5.56 AP round slammed into the target's chest, the harrdened point punching through the ceramic plating and puncturing a lung before a second round went higher, catching him in the throat and lodging itself there. The trooper let out a gargle and collapsed in a heap before Max turned his attention towards the two troopers outside, only to see a chared patch of Earth and two badly damaged suits of power armor where a greande had detonated.

"Huh?"

With graceful arrogance he spun the heavy pistol around his finger before dropping it smoothly into his holster, stepping over the dead boddies and quickly patting them down for any supplies they may have, leaving the assault rifle where he had dropped it and instead hefting up on of fallen plasma rifles, "Well hello there pretty, are you my new friend" he said patting the side of weapon.

 

[Eliara]

"Here I thought you were talking about me." Jennifer says stepping over the bodies, gently giving one of the power armor suits a push as it fell to the ground as one solid peace. She dug through the pockets of some of the downed attackers, taking any papers, maps, things of interest that she can acquire. Before heading past the new friend she acquired and into where she was sleeping, hefting her heavy over coat and slipping it back on. "Who are you?" She asked him, coming out of the room and looking towards him her pistol still in her hand as she watched him closely.

"No one just attacks out here, are you with them? Something go down between you all? Why would they attack this place?" Jennifer asked him, demanding answers in case he knew anything that might help.

 

[AlphaZero]

The woman starteled him when she spoke and Max did his best not to jump. Whoever she was and whatever the Enclave wanted with her, she was a babe, that was for sure. Though he highly doubted they wanted her for her looks. He shifted his stance slightly, letting the rifle hang at his side, a show of none hostility towards her.

"Easy there sweet heart. I ain't got nothing to do with The Enclave. Well, nothing that ain't shootin' them down and ruining their plans. Not really sure what their plans where comming here but I'm assuming it invovled killing you." He gestured north, to the settelment on the other side of the river, "If they where interested in that settelment they'd have sent a bigger force."

He licked his lips nerveriously, eyes the colour of a TV set to a dead channel locked on her, trying not to stare in a creepy way.

 

[Eliara]

"That settlement across the river is mine, so was this place. And from the looks of it I'm assuming my other places have been attacked as well." She says confidently, "Walk with me, tell me what you know of this Enclave." Jennifer asks, already turning with her pack over a shoulder and shotgun in hand.

"By the way I never thanked you for helping out back there. That was quite the attack." Jennifer says, looking over her shoulder as she takes a few steps away. "You coming?" She asks him wanting to see if he would join her. "It's only a few minute jaunt over there, across the bridge and the river. Shouldn't be to bad at all." Jennifer says to the mysterious man who helped her.

 

[AlphaZero]

Max let out a heavy sigh and felt himself relax, broad shoulders sagging sightly as the tension that had been running through his system left. The adrenaline was still making him a tad jumpy but a walk in the Cold rain would help get him grounded and setteled. And this woman could be an alliey, if the Enclave was moving in force he'd need all he could get. They may have been falling apart when he followed them out of Capital a decade ago, but they'd grown since then.

He fell into step behind her, cradeling his newly claimed plasma rifle.

He still had nightmares about West Virginia and the things he'd seen there. He shuddered, and not from the chill of his soaked clothes.

"I know a lot about the Enclave. So I'll keep this a brief as possible. They're bad news. When the Brotherhood packed up shop suddenly a couple years back they came in, managed to secure the Capital and when the Brotherhood did come back they got crushed. They......". He trailed off.

The Enclave had wrecked havoc all over the Capital, had used Megaton as a test bed for those....things they brought back from West Virginia.

".....they don't fuck around."