Retaliation
3 weeks later:
After the destruction of the NCR prison camp in the MDPL-13 PowerStation, the Sons of Liberty began to form a presence in the Eastern part of the region…
Inspired by their resolve, other rebel groups became more aggressive in raiding NCR-related targets…
However, the NCR has not turned a blind eye on these turn of events…
Raven Rock; NCR Army Regional HQ:
An elderly general eats Brahmin steak coupled with some wine in the base's lounge.
Opposite to his position is another man, who was wearing a familiar robe. He was eating the same Brahmin steak but coupled with scotch.
"So…" the NCR general said "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
The man simply smiles and says "Nothing really… I just heard that the 'Great' General Lee Oliver was having trouble keeping the citizens in line…"
"Not true" the general quickly replied with a sharp tone "I got rangers and troopers all over the place… Even if there are rebels, we can easily destroy em with superior military tactics and strategy"
"Is that so?" the man replied with a taunting tone "That's not what I heard…"
"What do you mean?" Oliver replied
"Well my informants tell me that a small rebel group managed to raid one of your prison camps…" the man replied with a leer "A prison camp guarded by your oh-so-famous rangers…"
Oliver didn't utter a word… He was clearly annoyed at the man's statements. 'How did he know that?' is what one would think he thought…
"I believe they're called the Sons of Liberty…" the man continued
"Is that all you came to tell me?" Oliver said with an annoyed tone "…If so, then leave before I call the guards on you"
"Oh my dear general…" the man said "…I came here to offer a little 'business deal' with you, your president has already agreed to the terms but I leave to you the final decision"
Oliver was intrigued and said "What business deal?"
The man simply smiles as he hands over some documents and schematics to the general.
Seeing one of the documents, the NCR general couldn't help but give a sinister smile…
Near Old Olney; 1:00pm:
Ellie, Johannes and 5 other armed rebels observe a NCR caravan from a small hill, over looking the road leading to the deathclaw infested ruins…
"What's the intel on this caravan?" Ellie asked
"Same shit as always…" Johannes replied "…food, ammo, and if we're lucky, some weapons…"
Using her binoculars, Ellie notices that the caravan is only protected by 2 NCR rangers armed with Service Rifles…
"That's odd…" Ellie said "…Only two guards for this one… Although they're rangers, you'd think these caravans would have a tad bit more protection, don't ya think?"
With a serious look on his face, Johannes said "…There's something wrong here… Wanna abort?"
Ellie ponders to herself… She can't deny that there's something odd about this convoy… She could only theorize that somewhere in the area, is a counter-insurgent squad ready to attack them when they strike…
"So?" Johannes asks "…What do you think?"
For a few minutes, Ellie was quiet, trying to assess if it was worth the risk…
Eventually, she escapes her thoughts, looks at the young rebel and says:
"Let's go… I think we can take on whatever shit those bastards throw at us"
With that, the two commanders signal the other 5 rebels to begin the attack…
With one rebel, armed with a hunting rifle, staying behind to provide sniper cover, the other rebels move in to intercept the NCR caravan.
As the caravan nears an intersection, Ellie signals the rebels that she'll handle everything. She then stands up and begins to run towards the guards.
As one guard looks behind him, Ellie pounces at him and stabs his neck with her hidden blade.
In response, the other guard began to shoot at Ellie. Agile, the young mercenary simply rolled to the side. The man fired several shots that were easily dodged by the mercenary…
"I-Impossible…" the ranger said as he tries to fire again but finds out, to his horror, that he emptied the magazine…
"What shitty luck you have" Ellie said as she lunges at the man as he reaches for his pistol.
With both guards neutralized, she signals the other rebels that the area was cleared… Despite the threat being gone and the supplies just there for the taking, Ellie still couldn't shake this feeling of danger but she decided to ignore it…
As the rebels began to raid the supplies, one of them notices a peculiar pattern in the barren wasteland… As he investigates the weird pattern, he hears several guns cocking…
Sensing danger, the rebel shouts "Danger!" before being shot in the head by an invisible enemy.
With one of their own dead, the rest of the rebels raise their weapons, in an attempt to find the threat but there was no sign of life in the vicinity… Just an ever expanding barren of land…
"W-Where are they?" another of the rebels said with a nervous tone as she falls victim to the same threat…
With the danger clear as crystal, the rebels decide to huddle and created a makeshift cover using the wagon. They then heard several shots ring past them.
"The hell is going on!?" Johannes said with an annoyed tone
"HELL IF I KNOW!" Ellie shouted as she stands up to see where the fire was coming from.
"GET DOWN, YOU IDIOT!" Johannes shouted at Ellie
But it was too late as the young mercenary was shot in the area of her left shoulder… Was she shot in the heart?
The young mercenary then falls to the ground, motionless.
"Hey!" Johannes said as he checks up on Ellie "You okay?"
Ellie's perception of reality shifts as she loses consciousness…
Flashback:
The young mercenary opens her eyes at the response of someone calling her name, "Ellie"
She sees a familiar man, the same man who tried to kill her before.
"Ellie" he said with a gentle voice "You alive?"
"Of course I am" Ellie replied "So how do I use it?"
"Just concentrate" the man replied "Mind over body as they say"
"…Okay…" Ellie said nervously
She then closes her eyes as she concentrates…
"What the fuck am I doing?" Ellie thought to herself "Where is this place?"
She then opens her eyes and was surprised with what she saw…
All inanimate objects were covered with a grey aura while everyone in the lab had a blue aura around them…
"Wow…" Ellie said in amazement "…What is this…?"
The man smiles as he sees Ellie's face.
"It's called 'Eagle Vision" he replied "Looks like you have a natural gift here"
"No kidding…" Ellie muttered as she continues to be amazed by her new found ability…
"With that" the man said "You can easily identify a friend and a foe… To put it simply, enemies have a red aura around them while allies have a blue aura. Pretty easy right?"
"Amazing…" Ellie says as she smiles in awe
Back to the present:
Ellie suddenly wakes up as she hears several familiar voices shouting: "WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY!?"
Opening her eyes, Ellie sees the situation has taken a turn for the worse as she sees another dead body of a rebel next to her…
Johannes notices Ellie waking up.
Surprised, the rebel leader said "ELLIE!?"
"What?" Ellie wondered
"Not that I'm sad you're alive" Johannes replied "But how are you alive?"
"What are you talking about?" Ellie wondered
Johannes didn't utter a word he simply pointed at his left shoulder…
Doing the same, Ellie saw a bullet hole in her armor…
"A gap in my leather armor?" she thought as she examines the hole…
She was surprised to feel her skin beneath the hole but there was no injury, not even a burn mark… She was fine…
"I'm…fine…?" She said in confusion
As she tries to understand what happened to her, the flurry of bullets shook her back to reality.
"WHAT DO WE DO!?" one rebel shouted
Ellie then approaches them and says:
"I got this"
Annoyed, Johannes says "What do you plan to do this time!?"
Ellie simply smiles and closes her eyes as she begins to concentrate…
Upon opening her eyes, Ellie sees the world in a whole new light… Her fellow rebels are surrounded with a blue aura. Remembering her dream, she takes a peek and sees 4 people covered by a red aura.
"Found em" she said as she brings out her pistol.
Breaking cover, the young mercenary opens fire and lands several bullets on one target. As the enemy begins to fall to the ground, Ellie grabs the body and uses it as a human shield as the other soldiers opened fire on her. She throws the body aside as she stabs another with her hidden blade and then, once again, uses the body as a human shield as she quickly closes the distance with her 3rd target.
Upon reaching her 3rd target, she draws her pistol and shoots the enemy soldier in the head. Her final target unloaded an entire Service Rifle magazine on her but her human shield blocked all of the bullets.
Out of ammo, the enemy soldier drops his rifle and attempted to use his sidearm but the young mercenary acted quickly and lunged towards him.
In response, the enemy draws his combat knife and prepared to fight the young mercenary in hand-to-hand combat. For a few seconds, the two fighters stared off, waiting for one to make first move… Ellie was in her 'sumo wrestler' stance as she carefully watches the movements of her enemy...
Just that, the enemy soldier lunges at her and swung his knife left and right. Ellie managed to dodge all of his swipes as she carefully looks for an opening
She then blocks the knife with her left armguard. Acting quickly, the enemy soldier drew his pistol in an effort to shoot the young mercenary at close range. But before he could properly aim it at her, Ellie used her right arm to move the enemy soldier's arm to the side, making him miss his shot.
Not giving up, the enemy then pulled his right arm back and attempted to stab Ellie while she 'had her guard down'.
To his surprise and horror, Ellie blocked his knife but it was not her armguard that did the job, she blocked the knife using the palm of her own left hand… Horrified, the man could only look at mercenary's merciless eyes…
"How are you alive?" He said in a horrified tone "I shot you… In the heart…"
Ellie simply smiled and said "You shot me? Then allow me to return the favor…"
Ellie then pulls her left hand out and sucker punches the man in the face… The man drops to the floor face first but he was still alive and conscious…
As the man was reeling from the damage he took, Ellie stood before him, ready to end his life…
Knowing it was the end, the man could only utter "What are you?"
Ellie simply flicked her right wrist and said "I'm just a regular merc trying to make a living in this world…"
She then plunged her hidden blade into the man's throat…
With the threat gone, Ellie closes her eyes in an attempt to 'deactivate' her eagle vision…
Opening her eyes, her vision was back to normal… She then looked at the bodies of the enemy soldiers she killed and she was surprised to see that they were wearing some kind of black suit…
"What are these?" She asked
Johannes proceeded to examine the bodies for any clues. A few minutes later, he stood up with a nervous look on his face…
"What up?" Ellie asked
"These suits…" Johannes said "These are Chinese Stealth Armor…"
"Stealth Armor?" Ellie wondered
"Pre-war Tech…" Johannes replied "Makes anyone who wears it invisible… Only a few were ever developed… Where did the NCR get this kind of tech?"
"Pre-war tech huh…" Ellie muttered "…This is a problem, isn't it?"
"The NCR's learning some new tricks…" Johannes said "Looks like we're gonna need some new toys and more manpower if this rebellion's ever gonna dent the NCR"
Worried, Ellie could only reply "Yeah…"
"By the way…" Johannes said as he interrupts Ellie's train-of-thought "…How's your hand?"
"Huh?" Ellie wondered as she remembers what transpired a few minutes ago
Ellie opened her fist and saw that her left hand was completely healed. It was almost as if she was never injured in the first place.
Just like when she was shot, no trace of the wound was left…
Johannes simply gave a serious face as he notices Ellie's condition…
"Just as I thought…" he muttered silently
"What's happening to me?" Ellie said with a nervous tone
"Not a clue" Johannes said "But at least whatever it is, it's benefiting you. So no harm done and no use stressing over it…"
"Y-Yeah you're right…" Ellie nervously replied
"Alright!" Johannes said "Let's head back to base! The NCR's got some new toys so we're gonna need a countermeasure!"
"Right!" The surviving rebels replied enthusiastically
Temple of the Union; Sons of Liberty Underground HQ
5:00pm:
Johannes walks into Ellie's room as he sees her preparing for her next trip
"You ready?" Johannes said
"Yeah…" Ellie replied as she double-checks her equipment "Can you handle everything while I'm gone?"
"Please" Johannes confidently replied "I managed to create this rebel outfit on my own and survived a few weeks without you. I'm not gonna start becoming dependent on you, now won't I?"
"I guess you're right" Ellie replied with a chuckle "...So where's my next destination?"
"Vault 112" Johannes replied "A group of rebels known as Lyons' Pride is taking refuge there"
"Lyons' Pride?" Ellie wondered
"They were one of the best squads in the Brotherhood of Steel" Johannes replied "Especially after the Lone Wanderer joined their ranks"
"I've been meaning to ask" Ellie said with a curious tone "Who is this 'Lone Wanderer'? Been hearing a lot of rumors about him during the time I was stationed in the Purifier…"
"The Lone Wanderer…" Johannes explained with a smile "The hero who made the Capital Wasteland into a much safer place. Because of him, this entire region flourished and grew… That is until the NCR came…"
"Wow…" Ellie said in amazement "He must be something to be able to do that. Do you know his name?"
"Only a few people still remember him" Johannes answered "Some even forgot his gender… Although I know that he's male, I never got to know his name…"
"That's too bad…" Ellie said with a dejected tone "By any chance, do you know where I can find this 'Lone Wanderer'?"
"Sadly no" Johannes replied "He disappeared in 2297… Nobody's heard from him since…"
"Damn…" Ellie muttered in disappointment "…Oh well… So where's this Vault 112?"
"It's located in a place called Smith Casey's Garage" Johannes answered as he hands Ellie a familiar device "Here, take this"
Ellie takes the item and sees that it looked like a giant watch
With a confused face, she asks "What is this?"
"It's called a Pip-boy 3000" Johannes answered "It's a very useful device used by people who lived in these vaults… I found a spare and thought that you'd have more use to it than I would…"
Ellie puts the new device on and began to look at the many features that the device could offer
"Wow…" she said with amazement "…This is awesome"
"Glad you've taken a liking to it" Johannes replied "It's got a Geiger counter, radio and most importantly, a map. Basically, it's a must have for a traveler!"
"No kidding…" Ellie replies as she continues to be amazed
A few minutes later, Ellie and Johannes stand at the Vault's gigantic metal door.
"You better find a place to crash before 6pm" Johannes said "You wouldn't want to get some unwanted attention from the NCR"
"I got it" Ellie replied "I'm off and thanks for everything!"
"Oh and when you reach Vault 112" Johannes said "Give them this holotape"
"Right!" Ellie answered followed by a salute
"Good luck!" Johannes replied as he closes the vault door
Johannes' Quarters; a few minutes later:
Johannes sits in his office chair as he checks his terminal for anything new…
His eyes flicker as he sees that he has a new email. He opened it and began to read the contents.
His eyes squint as he finishes reading the email… He then stares at the familiar insignia in his room.
Minefield (Capital Wasteland); 5:45pm:
As Ellie reaches the destroyed suburb, she quickly notices that something was odd and with her reflexes, she narrowly dodged a laser. The young mercenary looks around to see where the shot came from but her normal eyes could not locate her target.
The unknown enemy then fires another shot, this time using normal bullets, which she narrowly dodges again.
Taking cover behind the remains of an old house, Ellie closes her eyes and concentrates.
And once again, her 'eagle vision' activated and she began to scour the ruined suburb for her enemy… She then spots several tall and bulky figures in front of her…
"Super Mutants?" she thought to herself as she prepares for a difficult fight
As one of the them reaches Ellie's line of sight, she 'deactivates' her 'eagle vision' to see her foe and is surprised to see not a super mutant but a NCR squad, with each trooper wearing T-51b Power Armor. It had to be NCR because the breastplate had the insignia of the double-headed bear…
"Why are they shooting at me?" Ellie thought as she checks her new Pip-Boy for the time "5:50!? It's not even curfew time yet!"
As the NCR troopers closed in, Ellie quickly climbed the destroyed house to the roof. Despite the house looking structurally unsound, Ellie easily climbed the derelict building to the roof. She then 'activates' her 'eagle vision' once again and sees only 3 figures in front of the house. There was no one else around the area.
Ellie smiles as she returns to her normal state and slowly sneaks to the edge of the roof. Amazingly, none of the NCR troopers noticed her and are now scouring the suburbs for her. One is armed with a Laser Rifle, outfitted with several upgrades including a scope and a laser accelerator. The second one is armed with a standard Service Rifle, outfitted with a reflex sight. And the last one is armed with an Chinese Assault Rifle, outfitted a grenade launcher.
Initially, Ellie thought of using her hidden blades but the power armor may be too thick for her blades to handle and decided to find an alternative tactic. She then notices the 3 soldiers split up, this may be her chance. She then stalks the trooper armed with the Chinese Assault Rifle.
Like a ninja, she skillfully utilizes her abilities in parkour, which aided her greatly in stalking her target. The lone trooper then stops behind another destroyed house and kneels down to investigate something in the ground.
Ellie knew this was her chance and she drops down to the ground, without arousing the suspicion of the NCR trooper.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ellie flicks her right wrist and with a quick burst of speed, she grabbed the trooper's helmet and pulled it off.
Before the NCR trooper could react, Ellie plunged her hidden blade in between his eyes. The NCR trooper dropped to the ground, dead.
Ellie then proceeded to strip the trooper of his armor and wore it. Ellie was surprised that she remembered how to properly wear power armor, as she had never worn one before save for that dream she had, and she managed to snuggly fit into the suit. She then grabs the dead trooper's weapon to complete her disguise. Checking on the weapon, she finds that the rifle is loaded with 7.62mm Armor Piercing rounds.
"Whoah…" Ellie said to herself "Such firepower you boys have"
Now disguised as one of the troopers, Ellie walks back to the destroyed house, hoping to meet with the other 2 troopers.
A few minutes later, the two troopers arrive
"Any luck finding that woman?" The Laser rifle equipped trooper asked
"Negative" the other trooper answered
"Negative on mine too" Ellie answered in a deep male voice
"Damn" the Laser Rifle trooper said in disappointment "Search the surrounding area, she couldn't have gone far!"
As the two troopers turn their back on Ellie, she raises her rifle and fired one shot at the trooper holding the laser rifle. The bullet easily punches through the armor of the helmet and pierces the soldier's skull. As his body drops to the ground, Ellie quickly runs for cover.
In retaliation, the other trooper opens fire on Ellie and later, hides behind a destroyed car as he continues to open fire on the young mercenary, who was hiding behind a destroyed house across the street. It was a stalemate, with each soldier exchanging fire but failing to hit one another. For the next few minutes, this was the situation that enveloped Ellie.
Soon, the firing stopped and everything was silent. Ellie stood against the wall of the destroyed house, waiting for something to happen. She glances at the car and saw nothing… Something was wrong.
Ellie quickly tried to use her 'eagle vision' once again but the power helmet made it difficult to see, which forced her to remove it in order to use her ability. She looks around as quickly as she can as she notices that the enemy trooper was not behind the car. By the time she found the trooper, he was just around the corner. He had traveled across the street and crept slowly through the side of the house to catch her from behind. Ellie quickly crept closer to the man, in an attempt to catch him through the corner of the building.
As the man drew closer, Ellie quickly breaks cover but before she could pull the trigger, the man grabs her left arm and raises the rifle. A struggle ensues as the two vied for the opportunity to fire their respective rifles on the other and in that same struggle, both individuals drop their rifles. With no other option, both contenders fought in hand-to-hand combat. The man lunges first, attempting to sucker punch Ellie. But the mercenary dodges the enemy's fist and retaliates with a right hook. The man blocks it with his left arm and proceeds to kick Ellie's legs.
The young mercenary jumps back and does an axe kick with her right leg. The trooper grabs her right leg and proceeds to throw her. Despite being thrown, Ellie quickly regains her balance and began to do a flurry of kicks on the trooper, who manages to block most of her moves.
Luckily, she lands a kick on the man's stomach area. As the man kneels down, Ellie unleashes a flurry of punches on the man's helmet. This disoriented the enemy soldier as he tries to punch her like a drunk. Ellie easily dodges the blow by ducking and quickly moves behind the man. She then grabs the helmet and pulls it off. Almost immediately, she grabs the man's head and like a steering wheel, she snaps his neck.
After the fight, Ellie takes off her power armor and proceeds to loot the troopers for any valuable items.
Among the items she looted are about two hundred 7.62mm armor piercing rounds, a handful of medical supplies, which include stimpaks, mentats & buffouts and a holotape, with a label that says 'For your commanding officer only'.
Minefield; 7:45pm:
As Ellie takes shelter inside one of the destroyed houses, she plays the holotape she looted a few minutes earlier.
"Lieutenant Bigsby" A male voice said "We have reason to believe that a Brotherhood remnant squad is in your jurisdiction. Intel suggests that a squad called Lyons' Pride is hiding somewhere in the southwestern part of the region, around the area of Smith Casey's Garage. This squad is well-equipped and well-trained. Exercise Caution when dealing with them."
"At least" Ellie muttered to herself "I know for sure there's a rebel group there…"
Tired from the day's events, Ellie closes her eyes and proceeds to sleep.