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Post by Hitotsumami on Feb 23, 2012 1:07:14 GMT -5
War. War never changes. In an age of gunfire and survival, only the strongest and most cunning make it from one day to the next on the ruins we call the Capitol Wasteland. Thievery, mutants, corrupt men, ignorance, knowledge, no one can escape the disaster on earth. The first bomb was the signal fire for the generations to come, a signal to take up arms, take up companions, and take up the ruins for themselves. There is no fixing the past, but the future is an open canvas, waiting and ready, not for you, nor against you, but within your grasp to change.
Whatever is waiting in the world is your choice, our choice, to shape. And no matter how taunting that world is, we will not surrender our life, but create one to be remembered. |
--- Roland tipped his sheriff's hat as he stepped out of the small ruined town of Springvale, and gazed forward. sitting up top on a hill was a location he never visited, but had heard of plenty before: Megaton. Recognizable by it's heavy tall metal walls and it's huge gates, it was a city made almost completely out of airplane wreckage, and it was quite a feat. Roland was never unimpressed out here in the Capitol Wasteland. "They don't have such innovation back in the west," muttered Roland. Roland was from the west, a place, while it did have it's problems like anywhere, it was a mostly comfortable place. He made the decision to leave many years ago, and now he had made it to the east coast. It was here he became a Regulator, a rogue sheriff, a cowboy, searching for evil-doers and ending their days with his trusty pistol. It was a job he enjoyed. He gained caps from doing it, and he got to keep his freedom and explorer and travel wherever he please. Being a Regulator, Roland could wish for nothing better. And it was because he was a Regulator that he was coming to Megaton in the first place. Word was, there was a man inside these walls that did not belong. Such a rumor spurred Roland's interest, and, Megaton being a place he had never visited, he took up the chance to see what exactly was going on. By now, he was just outside the gates, and a Protectron, a hefty robot, was giving his greetings. Roland tipped his hat, then looked foward as the huge gates screeched open before him. An adventure was about to begin.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Feb 23, 2012 1:35:23 GMT -5
The Brass Lantern. Clean, respectable, up to sha- no he couldn't think that with a straight face. It was a miserable little shack at the bottom of a waste-filled crater, but at least the owners kept some semblance of order. Plus they served drinks, which was all that Kenny cared for.
"Jenny, any cola on shelf? Got the caps if you do."
He never did like sitting at the bar, sometimes he swore he could hear the humming of the bomb not twenty feet behind him. Of course he was sure it was all just superstition, after all those Children of Atom folks practically hugged the damn thing all day and never came off worse for the wear. Or at least he had never seen such a thing, but he had only been here a few months so perhaps time would tell.
Fiddling with his hat on the bar while waiting for service, he drew forth a scrap of paper covered in crude handwriting. What could be likened to a map in the same way a deathclaw could be likened to a pet, he eyed it over with a burnt piece of wood in hand. Some sort of circle in the middle with a smile, in turn surrounded by squiggling lines and exes. It seemed he was looking for something, but what?
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Post by CJ on Feb 23, 2012 2:34:38 GMT -5
S. Miles was her name, but that's about all anyone knew officially. She was a walking spectacle, decked out in a yellow, full body radiation suit. A crude, bright white, happy smiley face, consisting of two lines and a symmetrical curve, was painted on the helmet. There were rumors she was a ghoul, a glowing one at that, but it was not a terribly pressing concern. After all, an undetonated bomb rested at the core of the town, what was the danger of having a mentally unstable radioactive individual who could easily remove her suit at any time? However, Miles actually helped keep Megaton running. She had no real job (she could never find a knack for a trade) so she spent her time singing show tunes in her tiny shack at the edge of town or doing charitable works like building, delivering, stocking, and cleaning. Just please don't take that suit off, the citizens of Megaton would beg when she offered her services. "It must be because I'm so gorgeous," Miles would respond, likely having forgot the reason why she put it on in the first place. On that cloudless day, Miles put herself to the task of "make everything beautiful today," which usually meant picking up trash. She made her way down to the center of town, near the undetonated atom bomb. She was careful to stay away from Confessor Cromwell, who would constantly berate her for "not accepting the Glow" when she already had a light bulb back at home. There she found a beer bottle (amongst other garbage). Bending over, she tried to pick it up but it rolled right out of her fingers. Her gloved hand couldn't grasp it firmly enough to pick it off the ground. Her hands rotated, trying to pick up the bottle like a crab. Menial tasks like this could take hours. Most of the citizens learned to leave Miles alone in her tasks. So long as she was preoccupied, she couldn't do any harm.
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Post by crocoduck on Feb 23, 2012 17:34:12 GMT -5
Alexander woke at exactly 7 AM, like always.
Being used to sleeping on the most uncomfortable of make shift beds, he woke up relatively comfortable in one of Moriaty's rooms. It was especially nice since he knew he didn't have to worry about waking up at night to make sure he was safe. Gothe was really all the security he needed.
They slept in the same bed, both with their hands tightly wrapped around their weapon of choice and both cared less about the fact that they slept in the same bed. Gothe probably cared less than he did, for Alexander had to admit a certain feeling of security and comfort by having her at his side. He realized it was probably residual longing for his mother or something pathetic like that.
He made a note in his mind to make sure to work on eliminating that dependency.
For now, he had to start his plan.
He wanted to start it yesterday, but they arrived too late in the night. They were nearly shot at by their sniper, for Gothe's appearence always puts snipers on edge. But after a quick talk with the sheriff at the gate, they were "politely" directed towards Moriarty's saloon.
Moriarty himself wasn't too kind at being woken so late at night and gave them a good deal of attitude. That was until he took a good look at Gothe, heard her growl, and allowed his frighten self to be sweet talked by the Alexander. The result was a room at half price for one night only, so long as they promised to not kill anything and be out early tomorrow.
Fulfilling his side of the bargain, Alexander packed his things and called out to his companion. "Ready to go? There's a whole lot planned for today."
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Post by Hitotsumami on Feb 24, 2012 8:48:29 GMT -5
As the doors finally came to a halt, the sprawling settlement of Megaton became truly visible for Roland. He took his first steps in and took a look around. Roughly constructed out of metal and ramps, it seemed to circle around in all directions in a confusing tangle of platforms. Already, he could tell he might get lost a time or two in this unfamiliar place.
He also noticed it was all hand built, there was no town here before the war. Back where he was from, most settlements were towns that survived the bombs. Instead of building new towns, they simply claimed back the old ones. Why did the residents of Megaton not do the same? Sure, most of the towns around had been completely destroyed, but there were a few places still habitable. But he decided to shake off that thought, for Megaton was still quite an amazing place in the Wasteland, and unlike any town around, it had a wall.
As he walked further into town, a man spotted him, who was actually wearing the same thing he did, and approached him.
"New into town, huh?" mentioned the man, eying him in a weird way. "Just don't cause any trouble and we'll get along just fine."
"Nice to meet you too," muttered Roland, walking past the man. He wasn't interested in people who gave no respect.
"Name's Lucas Simms," called after the man. "And I'm the sheriff in this town. Just watch your step around here."
Roland raised a hand to acknowledge that he heard, and continued down the trailing path that seemed to lead to the center of Megaton. So, this town had a Sheriff. Roland was once a Sheriff of a town about this size, but he felt disconnected with the job, and he didn't think he'd get along to great with Lucas anyway.
As he approached the center of Megaton he spotted what appeared to be a huge pre-war bomb, some kind of nuclear device. He wasn't too much into the science aspect of these things, but he did know that they were the reason the world was the way it was. Why in the holy hell it was laying in the middle of town, he had no idea.
"They didn't tell me about this back at the Regulators," muttered Roland, now thinking twice about coming into this town. He overheard what seemed to be a religious leader praising the bomb, and that only worsened his attitude.
However, something caught his eye. In a pool of water surrounding the bomb was what seemed to be a person in a thick full body radiation suit trying to clean up around the bomb. Cleaning up around a nuke... that sounded a bit ironic.
He decided to approach the person, watching footing so as to not step into what he could only imagine was highly irradiated water. He reached down, quickly picked up the bottle and tossed it at the person. "Even in a rad suit, I'd watch it around something like this," he said, taking a step back.
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Post by CJ on Feb 24, 2012 11:28:08 GMT -5
The woman in the rad suit slowly turned her head toward the approaching stranger. The white smiley face painted on it nearly glowed in the sun.
She moved her hands forward in an attempt to catch the bottle thrown at her. It juggled in her gloves until she got a proper grip. She tossed it into a bag on the ground at her side.
"Watch it?" she asked. "I don't think there are any watches around here. I'll let you know if I see one."
Her voice had an echoing quality to it. It was strangely electronic, as though she was speaking out of a radio transmitter. It was not gravely, like one would expect a ghoul to have (if they had known she was a ghoul), but rather melodic.
"I really like your hat," she said. She raised her gloves up and walked toward him. She didn't try to take it, but simply made a grabbing motion with her hands. "Are you a cowboy like that Lucas fellow?"
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Post by Xero on Feb 24, 2012 12:56:49 GMT -5
Vincent gathered his belongings and quickly vacated the rundown residence he had stopped at for the night. The house, from what he could gather, no longer had owners as the entire left side of the house had been blown away. Still, it served its purpose. It provided Vincent with a relatively warm and cozy bed to sleep in for the night. Vincent was actually on his way to Tenpenny Tower to discuss business with Allistair Tenpenny. However, Vincent became distracted with a few mole rats. Easily dispensable creatures. Provided a tasty dinner.
Vincent began his march toward the west and after an hour or so, he encountered what he believed to be a structural abomination. A complete eyesore. It was the city of Megaton. How remarkable. A true engineering masterpiece. Clearly, today was not one of Vincent’s “good” days. He approached the man-made, rusty city and was halted by a Protectron. “You truly are a hunk of wasted metal. I want you. You can protect me from the ghouls. They don’t like me.” The Protectron said nothing. “Fine. I see how it is. No hard feelings.”
At that moment a man exited Megaton and approached Vincent. “Hi. New in town? The name’s Lucas Simms. I’m the sheriff of this town. Watch your step around here and don’t cause any trouble.” Vincent looked at the man in utter bewilderment. A sheriff? “I am a sheriff as well. I sheriff ghouls. Someone has to keep them in line.”
Without letting the man speak another syllable, Vincent walked past him and into the uniquely crafted city. He gazed at the entire city and suddenly, the look on Vincent’s face changed when his eyes met a particular object resting in the ground at the bottom of the hill. It was a nuclear warhead and there seemed to be people worshipping it. Vincent smirked. “These misguided miscreants do not have an understanding of the power within that bomb. But I do.”
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Post by Neurotick on Feb 24, 2012 13:15:15 GMT -5
Gothe was in no mood to wake up. She did eventually wake up all the same, but she was decidedly unhappy about it. It didn't fit her style to just let people live like that, but Alexander had made such a big deal about keeping the folks in this town alive. That was the other thing she wasn't happy about, being in a proper settlement with people just...living there. No movement. No danger. Everything was just stagnant.
"Shoulda killed that bastard downstairs..." Gothe mumbled while she shifted around on the bed, "...woulda made me feel better about this shit."
"Ready to go? There's a whole lot planned for today."
"Kid, you can take your 'planned' and shove it where the sun don't shine," Gothe got up from the bed and stretched. It was just the usual banter; insult, insult, hit him somewhere, and then agree on something. It worked well enough.
"It's bad enough you got me sittin' in this place, now you're tellin' me what to do? I oughta just kill you now to put you out of my misery." She kicked him in the shin. Not very hard by her standards, but her standards usually killed someone.
"So where we headin' now?"
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Post by crocoduck on Feb 24, 2012 23:37:15 GMT -5
That damned beast.
He had stopped calling it a woman after about the fourth time it hit him. He always forgot how much pain it brought him on a daily basis. On the other hand, however, he'd probably be dead by now without her. Assuming he had left the brotherhood by now.
Regardless, he rubbed his shin with annoyance before responding to the beast.
"Would it make you feel better if I let you pee on the walls? You'll get to kill people soon enough, I promise. " He meant it.
His first order of business was that bomb, and there was a good chance somebody was going to die before he got to it. His hunch was spot on.
Stepping downstairs into Moriarty's saloon, Alexander spotted the person he was really looking for. Or he assumed he did. He had asked Sheriff Sims if there was anybody he should steer clear of, being a young and vulnerable child that wants to avoid any bad company, and he was warned of a "Mr. Burke."
Simms knew nothing useful enough to arrest the man, but the fact that he worked for Tenpenney, wore a suit and just lounged around most of the day told Alexander that he was a man of interest. He was his key into the town.
Either he would turn out to be useful beyond what he expected, or Alexander would just humiliate and find a way to expel Burke and thus gain the favor of the town. Both options were of great interest to him.
Not even bothering to tell Gothe his plans, for she wouldn't care anyways, he approached the suited man.
"You don't look like any of the others in this dump. My name's Alexander" Cautiously, Alexander put out his hand for a shake. "Who are you?"
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Post by Kuro on Feb 25, 2012 0:55:04 GMT -5
Mr. Burke had really not been doing much when the young man suddenly came up to him. Let it not be said that he had not been watching him and his partner, however: He knew that neither the boy or the lady was a citizen of this junk heap. He shook Alexander's hand and smiled.
"Well, well. Look at you. Such a young man and you have better manners than most people here in this putrescent cesspool." He either whispered or hissed the last few words, not wanting to make anyone hostile. "I...am Mr. Burke, and I am very happy to make your acquaintance. After all, you are a rather valuable individual..." He seemed to say the words in a some sort of attempt to be persuasive or smooth, but there was an air of mockery or sarcasm. "Yes, I can see that certain light in your eyes. The light of leaders, of innovators. I know of a quick way to get you quite a bit of caps in the name of advancement. Are you interested?"
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Post by crocoduck on Feb 25, 2012 1:06:29 GMT -5
Ah, this was the man indeed. It was certainly who he had hoped he would be. This Mr. Burke was his key. There was still a chance he wouldn't play out to be as important as he hoped, but he'd help him win Megaton's favor nonetheless.
Smiling, Alexander responded with an equally low whisper. "You need not attempt to flatter me, Mr. Burke. We both seem to have an accurate gauge on one another. I think we're better off cutting to the chase. My radiation levels increase every second I'm in this metallic hell."
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Post by Kuro on Feb 25, 2012 18:19:24 GMT -5
Mr. Burke's smile grew.
"Ah, good, someone I can really talk to.
I represent certain...interests. They see that this town, this Megaton, is a blight on a growing, magnificent urban landscape. We would have such a stain on the landscape dissapear, and you can assist us in doing in so. After all, it already seems that you know just how disgusting this place is. A savage depot, an embarrassment to high society, really." He leaned in. "You see, the undetonated atomic bomb for which this town is named is very much alive. It just needs a little...hm hm hm...motivation." Along with the deep chuckle, Mr. Burke was practically grinning now, his snow-white teeth showing as if to present their greatness. Indeed, it could have been seen that the suit and hat were not just for show: He was definetley an upperclassman, a true member of the "high society" he spoke of. Needless to say, it was a sharp contrast to the homely nature of the run-down bar.
"I have in my possession a device constructed for a single purpose: A purpose i'm sure that an intelligent young man like you could guess at. You'll rig it to the bomb and then you'll get paid. Handsomely. YOU can detonate it later at a certain, secure location." His voice was reminiscent of a snake and his face almost seemed to be contorting to the visage of one. "What do you say?"
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Behind the counter of the bar, a rather quiet ghoul cleaned the glasses, his eyes occasionally looking in the general direction of the suited smoothskin. Due to the ways the walls were set up, he couldn't look into the room where the conversation between Burke and the boy was taking place. But he could hear. It got hard when they whispered, but he could hear something. He wasn't really able to make it out, but it didn't sound good. He looked back down, as if trying to avoid looking anyone in the eye.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Feb 25, 2012 19:40:33 GMT -5
Kenny shouldered his way through the door, hat under his arm and still holding the map. He seemed almost irritated as he quickly looked around, all but ignoring Alex and Burke's little chat. Standing at the end of the bar he hit it rather bluntly with a jury-rigged laser pistol to get the ghouls attention.
"What have you got on tap? The Lantern is out of anything remotely drinkable."
It may have seemed like a hostile gesture at first, but as he stood there it may have been visible as to why he hit it; doing something like rapping with his knuckles would have been impossible with his hands shaking so much. Indeed as he held the weapon there it sounded like someone may have set off a pair of wind-up clattering teeth on the bar, his hand jittering the gun so. To the perceptive eye it was clear to see this effect was not limited to his hands, his whole form shaking to some degree, his head twitching as he scanned about nervously.
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Post by crocoduck on Feb 26, 2012 0:37:43 GMT -5
Alexander watched the man's every move with careful caution. He was not only taking care to not be duped, but also to learn. This man was clearly one of experience in the devious arts, and as Alexander had learned from all his reading; the best learning comes from watching masters in the field.
He knew this man's faults. He was proud. He couldn't fathom the idea that anybody could outsmart him, much less somebody of Alexander's stature. He also careless. All it took was a mere suggestive sentence from Alexander to get the man to open up about the heinous act that would get the town to kill him immediately.
He was certainly good at the presentation though. His grin was simply unsettling, yet incredibly effective. It seemed sincere in its enthusiasm, as if this man really believed in what he was doing. That'd be a very useful smile to emulate.
So for the first time, Alexander tried out his Burke smile. It came out rather well, seeing as Burke continued his story. Then came time for the chuckle. Alexander had practiced fake laughing several times. Travelling through the waste land with Gothe leaves him safe from most of the dangers, but it also keeps him bored. These were the kinds of things he did on his free time.
So with a perfectly genuine sounding chuckle, Alexander went along with the conversation as it reached its zenith. Smiling at the conclusion of the man's offer, Alexander extended an open palm. "I think that by the time it took you to say all that, I could have attached the device and been headed to this secure place by now." Grinning an equally serpentine grin, Alexander awaited this device.
The instant he received it was when things would get interesting.
With his two fingers of his unused hand, he subtly signaled to Gothe to prepare for action. He didn't need to say "Kill this man" because action for Gothe always resulted in death. All Alexander had to do was to make sure to get out of her way.
His only hope was that she'd at least wait until this device was in his hand before she attacked.
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Post by Kuro on Feb 26, 2012 15:17:33 GMT -5
Mr. Burke laughed. It wasn't as deep as his chuckle and it still had a mocking tone about it.
"Oh, I like you. I can see that you are, as am I, a true man of business." He handed the Fusion Pulse Charge - Some sort of strange device covered in dials and buttons, with one particularly large dial standing out - to Alex. "I can also see that you're picking up a few tricks. Yes, I am a rather excellent model to learn from, aren't I? If you continue acting like that, why, you may almost get to where i'm at today. I'll just stay here for now. After all, there are a few things for me to check up on, some last-minute formalities. Don't worry, i'll meet up with you at Tenpenny Tower southwest of here. You can't possibly miss it."
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Gob jumped at the new customer's sudden noise. He had been trying to pay attention to the conversation in the next room and the customer's introduction was a rather rude awakening. He turned to him, sounding as if his lungs were shriveled and black and his throat as dry as a desert.
"We have beer, scotch, vodka, whiskey, and wine. Not exactly what one might call drinkable-"
Gob noticed too late what he had done. Why did he try to start small talk with the smoothskin? He would beat him, probably whip him in the head with that gun of his. Gob thought he had learned to stay quiet. No one liked it when a ghoul talked to them, except maybe that radiation suit gal. She sure didn't sound human, but he couldn't tell for sure. As he cringed, waiting for the strike, he thought of what that lady might look like under her helmet.
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