Fallout: War on the Commonwealth Chapter 0, The Prize (1 of 2)

Sergeant Anna and her Minutmen squad including Haley, Sarah, Daisuke and Gareth.

Date: September 5th 2180

Location: Western edge of the Commonwealth

Event: The Super Mutant invasion at Dimond City

Characters:

• Staff Sergeant Anna Jones
• Sarah Johnson
• Haley Johnson
• Daisuke
• Garth Henson
• Eyebot
• Brute Straal
• Super Mutants
• Mutant Hounds

The land of the Commonwealth is a bruised and wasted landscape devoid of the life; the natural cycle that once existed over a century ago was now but a figment of nostalgic past. The day the world stopped turning when the atomic warheads began to fall upon American soil. In an instant at the very second when the first nuclear hellfire bloomed marked the end of civilisation. Or at least the prosperous age of mankind’s story.

Even as a century had gone by from that fateful day the wounds are still fresh. Normality is a long stretch into impossibility. One must adapt to this new world lest the woes of the past drag you to a life of misery and destruction.

But from the skeleton of the dead beast that was Post-war America arisis new if somewhat scattered communities in a land called the Commonwealth. Farmers, traders, settlers and even small villages have formed the building blocks to reform a new chapter in humanities history.

Yet dangers are rife from feral ghouls lurking in dark places, Raiders with little understanding of peace pillage farms for food by gun point, creatures of the sea and land hunt down the weak to feast and worse things beyond that are yet to come. All of this has slowed the progress of rebuilding civilisation.

Yet there is a growing militia who seek to protect these scattered communities; bound not by politics nor money. For like history of old the Minutemen will come at a minutes notice to protect and serve the people of the Commonwealth.

The trail down a ruined road of shattered tar overgrown with nature like decade old unattended garden, and long abandoned vehicles rusting like nails; five armed figures roam the road. These are the Minutemen who are tasked on an important mission to transfer an Eyebot from the Minutemen Lexington base to the far West. From there they must uncover the secret that the Eyebot is withholding and find the long forgotten military base to discover what treasure or danger it could contain.

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First battle: Mutant patrol

Staff Sergeant Anna Jones, a soldier of the Minutemen and third generation of the Jones military legacy. She was assigned on an important mission by Lexington command to transport an important item. A mission she had reservation for due to lack of supplies, manpower and her teams experience for beyond Commonwealth dangers.

But orders were orders, it’s in her blood to follow commands demands. But she had this feeling of unease that she couldn’t quite work out.

The Minutemen found an Eyebot in an abandoned military stockpile bunker a few months ago. The technicians went to work on finding out why the Eyebot was left behind in the bunker. What they found was something worth sharing with command, a location in the Eyebots recording could be worth investigating.

The mission was classified to all but those within the briefing room and only a select few could take on this mission. Because of the ongoing Super Mutant attack in the Commonwealth, supplies and support were limited with less likelihood of any rescue.

The team assembled included Anna Jones, a disciplined and skilled leader who can work and maintain a suit of T-45 power armour. Daisuke is an experienced marksmen who’s record is second to Anna’s in tallying the most kills. Haley and Sarah are sisters who were born and raised as farmers in the Wasteland. After their farm was saved by the Minutmen from a raider attack, they signed up to join the Minutmen and offerd their farm as a new established settlement to the cause. Finally there’s Gareth, he’s known by many to be a well respected lawman who patrols just outside Lexington.

Whatever it was that’s bugging her thoughts she put it aside and focused on the objective.

The selected team went out west across the Wasteland; as they faced small encounters like Feral ghouls, Raiders and a few Radroaches along the way towards the outskirts of the Commonwealth. But these small and fairly easy encounters were nothing compared to what they were about to face…

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Anna’s father once told her a story about her late grandfather, Alfred, who was a soldier serving in Alaska during the Resource war at Anchorage. He was one of the many soldiers to have suited up in power armour, the advantage that the USA needed to take back American oil.

Alfred with a squad of the finest soldiers fought tooth and nail keeping an outpost off the enemy’s claws. Victory was in sight as the pushback was a slow but strong wall of American might. It all seemed right as the enemy were pushed back with nowhere to run. That was until reality came like a comet on impact; one of the squad members had been reckless and stepped on a landmine. The explosion blew everyone up high as they flopped like lifeless mannequins. Alfred was lucky enough to have worn T-51 power armour so the impact only broke parts of his armour off. However for his squad they didn’t have the protection of power armour, the impact quite literally tore them apart.

Ever since that day Alfred never said much about the war to his family for it would drag him to his bleakest memories, transfixed on that fateful moment. His victories, the great patriotic pride and even the victory at Anchorage became but a distant and meaningless blur.

Despite just how skilled and disciplined Anna’s grandfather was, no matter how many medals he’d won during the war, none of it mattered to him. He lost his squad of those who he trained with and even made friends through years of bonding and struggles in the war.

He died in 2110 aged 72 defending his family from a raider ambush. Rather than let fate repeat itself Alfred told his family and settlers to go away whilst he made a distraction to give them time. The last time anyone saw him was his son, Mark, who saw his father enter a T-45 suit of power armour. Still retaining the military green coat of paint with patches of rust and grime from long disuse.

As the group made for a safe distance away from the ambush they suddenly heard a loud explosion down the hill.

Alfred sacrificed himself by triggering a fusion core to explode. The blast had disintegrated the raiders along with his life in the blast.

And so her father would tell her the stories of her grandfather every night. The quite man who said very little by the scars of war. But ultimately he made the greatest sacrifice to ensure his family and the survivors of the community could settle and rebuild a new tomorrow.

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The Minutemen came across a Super Mutant patrol that was directly blocking their path towards the tunnel entrance. Two hungry Mutant Hounds and a Super Mutant were scouting around the area, seeking out any intruders daring to cross their territory.

Luckily there were sandbags in front of them so Daisuke and Anna took positions. The rest split as Haley and the Eyebot went west side and Garth and Sarah took east side. The fighting took fourteen long and excruciating minutes as one by one the squad were wounded during battle. Haley had broken her leg from viscous bite by a Mutant hound, ultimately making her down from the action as she limped to safety. Her Eyebot companion received some damage from the hound, but luckily it went to safety before it could have received serious damage.

Sarah upon seeing her sister wounded sent her wild as she fought against the second Hound. Garth helped Sarah as they tried to pin the hound down.

Daisuke and Anna faired better as they took on the Super Mutant Patrol guard. Despite being equipped with a simple Laser Musket rifle, Daisuke managed to inflict a lot of damage on the guard. Anna did the final shot as she shot the Mutant’s head clean off.

The hounds had pinned Gareth and Sarah as it inflicted wounds on both, eventually making them disposed and unfit to fight back. In the end it was down to Anna and Daisuke who took the hounds down.

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The battle was over at a great cost. One squad member suffered crippling injuries, two with minor injuries and the Eyebot took some damage. The mission was already looking grim and they weren’t even passed the tunnel towards their destination.

Anna had her doubts about the mission before they set off back at Lexington. She questioned commands decision to give her a mediocre squad who could barely fight a mission like this. They didn’t understand the outside world away from Boston, they haven’t seen what she’d seen.

The set back from one severly injured squad member meant they can’t move forward until her injuries are patched up. Anna knew for sure that the more they waited around the sooner the Super Mutants will catch their scent.

Granted, Anna had to admit that Daisuke did an outstanding job despite how I’ll supplied and equipped the team were. He dealt some damage to the Patrol mutant and killed his hound. He’s earned Anna’s respect and she would see to it that he is rewarded by command for his bravery.

She cursed command. But she wasn’t surprised, they weren’t military minded people because like all Minutemen they were farmers, settlers, ex small time raiders and good for nothing goody twoshoes. They saw death and destruction on a daily basis for sure as all who lived in this post apocalyptic world. But none of them really saw just how bad the Wasteland had become.

These Super Mutants were a threat unlike anything the Commonwealth had ever seen to date. If Dimond City and the rest of the settlements are going to survive then action must be taken.

If Alfred or Colonel what’s his name? If they were here now they would sort the Minutemens problems and focus on protecting the Wasteland where its  needed most. It’s no secret that Anna and the Minutemen high ranks are greatly at odd with each other on how to deal with situations.

In Anna’s perspective she saw command as a group of opportunistic merchants and corrupt political leaders in the guise of “the good guys”. They’d risen from the Apocalypse as influential people, who all decided to gather as one organisation. To use historical symbolism and uniforms of the past to rally the people to their cause was a smart move. But could they keep it together with the facade and accomplish the retaking of the Commonwealth?

Who’s to say the Minutemen have the peoples best interest at heart? They accept anyone into the militia and pretend they’re all of a sudden the Commonwealths answer. History taught her that only the corrupt and self serving individuals would ever see themselves as “the good guys”. The military knew what it was and didn’t shy from the fact that duty carried a heavy price. Such is the sacrifice of the brave so that the young may learn from past mistakes and build a bright tomorrow.

However from Command’s point of view, they had debated in secret about the threat that Anna poses to the Minutmens future. She was strong and determined in both mind and body. Her family military beliefs made her the best as a capable commander on the field. But her links to the past, her beliefs and ideologies and her ruthless solutions had made her a threat to the Minutemen.

If she gained favour and support over time she could possibly cause a curfew and take over the Minutemen. Command therefore decided that a suicidal mission given to her would be the best solution. Even if the mission was a lie, even if the team were on purposely ill equipped and supplied. Who would know? Anna can’t refuse this mission because of her dogmatic mindset. She wouldn’t see the lie. To her this was another mission that she would aim to accomplish.

Her team will be a punishing cost to the Minutemen, to put them on this mission for the sake of making it seem believable is a sin. However, the risk of a takeover during a time when the Minutemen are fighting a Super Mutant invasion would jeopardize everything they have built so far.

Better to prosper for mankinds future by sin rather than to let history repeat itself and let a tyrant rule.

War, war never changes…

End of part 1