Crisis

Outskirts of Modoc; Ghost Farm:

The sun was setting in a field filled with various crops but not a single soul was in sight.

"Very subtle, Alex" Rufus thought, walking through the cornfield

After finally emerging from the cornfield, the lone wanderer notices several 'bodies' crucified along the road leading to a small shack.

"Nice trick" Rufus monologues wiping his finger on the blood soaked bodies "Have a lot of Brahmin, I see… Still a waste of food though…"

Rufus then walks towards the shack.

He knocks on the door, which slowly opens on its own.

Suspicious, Rufus readies his rifle and slowly enters the shack.

Save for a few pieces of furniture, the shack was empty.

After closing the front door, Rufus kneels down and moves a rug, revealing a trapdoor.

He opens it, seeing a barely lit cave under.

The lone wanderer looks around the area outside the shack, noticing a slight movement in the cornfields.

Ignoring what he saw, Rufus does a leap of faith, dropping down a few feet.

Before hitting the bottom, the lone wanderer turns to his back, safely landing on a pile of hay.

Emerging from the hay, Rufus is confronted by 3 hooded figures.

For a few seconds, Rufus stares at the 3 hooded individuals, ready for a fight.

Rufus reaches for his pocket while the 3 figures flick their wrists.

The lone wanderer presents a medallion with the Assassins' Insignia.

"Ah, welcome Master Assassin" one of the figures said, disengaging his hidden blades.

"Hello" Rufus replied "Is the mentor here?"

"Yes. She's over there"

The hooded individual points to the farthest part of the cave.

Rufus follows his comrade's directions, eventually ending up in a small room.

"Ah… If it isn't the 'lone wanderer'" a brown-haired woman said "Came to pick up your package?"

"Yes" Rufus replied as the woman rummages her stuff for a holotape "I'm surprised Alexander managed to come into contact with the Brotherhood"

"Actually, Polonsky was the one who dropped this off. Here"

"That makes sense… Thanks"

Rufus grabs the holotape.

He prepares to play it as a man walks into the room.

"What is it?" the mentor asked

"We have several unidentified individuals on the surface" the man replied

Concerned, Rufus goes with the other assassins to the surface.

Using another secret passage, the assassins stealthily move through the fields.

There, Rufus quickly identifies the intruders.

Clad in a familiar decal of red and yellow, the intruders looked like Roman soldiers from ages past.

Sensing danger, Rufus covertly orders them killed.

Navarro:

Meanwhile, Ellie finishes administering the serum on Talon, reverting his mutation enough to be able to have a functional arm and hand.

"Wow…" Talon said looking at his left arm "… It worked"

"Great" Ellie replied "Your arm still retains some features from your claw form. But you can now turn it into a shield, blade, claw, and a normal arm. All you have to do is think hard"

"Thank you"

"No problem"

As the members of Wolf Pack were getting ready to set out, a NCR trooper approaches the squad.

"Commander Neumann" the trooper reported "Ma'am you're needed at the command center"

"What's going on?" Ellie replied

"Colonel Polonsky is on the line. He reports that Vault City is under attack"

"What?!"

Anxious, Ellie quickly goes to the command center, which was in a bit of disarray as the operators seem to be struggling to make sense of the countless reports coming in.

"Polonsky" Ellie said, opening a comm channel from her console "What's going on?"

"Not good" Polonsky replied "We have a huge crowd of enemy troops! They've overrun the NCR detachment in the area! We're holed up in the council building. I got a priority one package here! We need reinforcements and we need them now!"

"Polonsky. Who's with you?"

"The president and 4 senators. We don't ha-have m-much t-time-"

"Polonsky? Polonsky, come in. Damn it!" Ellie said turning on the base's PA system "All available personnel, prepare for battle. I say again all available personnel prepare for battle. This is not a drill!"

"Commander!" one of the command center operators said "We're receiving reports that Shady Sands, San Francisco, Modoc, and Arroyo are under attack!"

"What?!"

"NCR troops stationed in each settlement report that they are slowly being overwhelmed"

"Goddamn it! What of the Brotherhood and other NCR detachments?"

"Elder Maxson has mobilized the Brotherhood of Steel to defend the settlements. NCR's Heavy Infantry Corps has been mobilized to defend Shady Sands and San Francisco. The Rangers were deployed at Modoc and Arroyo. And 1st Recon has been sent to Vault City."

"Ok… What of our own troops?"

"12 squads are standing by, ma'am. Notably, the Control Company, Sigma Squadron, and Wolf Pack are awaiting your orders"

"Very good. Send the Control Company and 4 squads to San Francisco. Another 4 will defend Shady sands with Sigma Squadron. Wolf Pack and the rest goes with me to Vault City"

"Acknowledged!"

The situation was dire.

Like with their allies in the east, unknown forces orchestrated a series of attacks throughout the Republic and the results was utter devastation.

The Enclave forces in Navarro scrambled to defend the overrun NCR and Brotherhood forces throughout California, leaving a skeleton crew to man the base.

Vault City:

On board their vertibirds, the responding Enclave troops had a clear sight of the destruction unfolding…

Brotherhood squads engage the enemy by the town's entrance.

Downtown is burning as fragmented NCR squads desperately fight the hordes of enemies upon them.

The council building was surrounded as the entrenched troops try desperately to halt the enemy's advance.

And the Vault, itself, has been breached as enemy soldiers begin entering the premises.

"Shit…" Owen said "They really did a number on this place"

"Cut the chatter" Ellie said "I want 2 squads to support the Brotherhood forces in the entrance. Another 2 in downtown to unite the scattered NCR forces and Wolf Pack will secure the council building"

"We're not going to try and secure the Vault?" Jonas asked

"We're stretched thin as it is. We can't risk dividing our forces too much"

"Understood"

The reinforcements quickly went to their assigned objectives as the enemy forces began to slowly retreat to the Vault.

"Hold on!" the vertibird pilot said as the aircraft tilts to the left "Enemy missile lock!"

"Flares! Flares!" his co-pilot said, deploying flares

"Vivian! Marta!" Ellie shouted as a missile narrowly misses the vertibird

"Right!" the two responded, quickly making their way to the right of the aircraft

Vivian draws her Barret while Marta mans the minigun.

The two soldiers lay down heavy suppressive fire upon the enemies with deadly precision and accuracy.

A few minutes later:

Wolf pack reaches the vicinity of the council building as the NCR troops slowly gained some ground.

"Polonsky!" Ellie said over the radio "Backup has arrived!"

"Finally!" Polonsky replied "Bear Force One is down and those bastards got the building surrounded! Any help would really be appreciated!"

"Got it! We're dropping down next to you, so hold your fire to the right!"

"Copy!"

The vertibird moves to the front of the building, dropping ropes down next to the NCR barricade.

"Wolf Pack! Let's Go! Go! Go!" Ellie shouted as her team drops down, minus Vivian who provides sniper support.

Talon hesitates for a moment as he grabs the rope, thinking deeply to himself…

"Talon?" Vivian said "What are you doing? Get down there"

"Oh" the young man said, snapping back to reality "Y-Yes. Of course!"

Wolf Pack quickly takes cover by the sandboxes, supporting the remnant NCR forces.

It was an intense fight with no end in sight as both sides were firing with everything they've got but failing to advance at every turn.

The enemy's sheer numbers prevented the NCR from advancing and the NCR's skillful tactics kept the enemy at bay.

"Welp" Owen said "I think we can safely say these guys are from the Legion"

"What makes you say that?" Marta asked

"Other than the plainly obvious uniform and combat gear they're wearing, their tactics and battle style are almost identical to how the Legion used to fight decades ago"

"Cut the chatter, you two" Ellie interrupted

Hiding behind a pillar, Talon hesitates as bullets fly past him.

"Talon? Talon! TALON!"

Talon once again snaps back to reality, hearing Ellie call him.

"Talon!" she said "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing…" he replied looking at his left arm

The young man clenches his fist, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath.

The second he opens them, the young man breaks cover and concentrates his thoughts. His arm quickly mutates and turns into a shield.

Talon was taken aback from the sudden transformation but quickly returns to the battle at hand.

The young man leads the charge as Wolf Pack and the remaining NCR troopers charge towards the enemy lines.

Talon was amazed that he was feeling no pain despite hundreds of bullets hitting his mutated arm.

"Stop" Ellie commanded as Talon stops midway into the charge.

"Why?" he asked

Ellie winks at the young man, turning to the other members of Wolf Pack. She nods at them as she, Owen, and Jonas each throws a flash grenade at different directions.

The grenades stun most of the frontline forces.

Owen and Ellie break cover, each engaging the enemy at melee range.

Ellie makes quick work with her hidden blades, opting to use a quick slash to the throat or a stab to the center of the chest.

While Owen uses his machete to decimate the enemy ranks, one after another.

Jonas and Marta attack the enemies in the back of the line with Jonas using his GP-25 grenade launcher and Marta using her M249 SAW to make quick work of the crowded enemies.

"Ellie" Vivian said after hitting one enemy in the head "I'm seeing 2 enemy T-45d power armors headed your way!"

"T-45s?!" Ellie responded as rockets begin to hammer Wolf Pack's position "Well this just keeps getting better and better!"

"Miniguns and Shoulder-mounted rockets" Jonas said looking through his binoculars "Legion or not, these are too advanced even on the Brotherhood's standards!"

"Vivian!" Ellie said reloading her rifle "EMP!"

"Got it" Vivian responded, picking up a missile launcher

The sniper fires the missile, hitting right in the middle of the 2 enemy power armors.

The rocket releases sparks of electricity, disabling the 2 power armors.

Jonas fires a smoke grenade from his GP-25, covering most of the forward area in a thick blanket of smoke.

Wolf Pack breaks cover and attacks the disoriented enemies.

Using her eagle vision, Ellie leads the charge as the enemy forces were quickly defeated by the advancing NCR forces.

Reaching the two disabled power armors, Ellie and Talon, with his claw, uses brute force to open both power armors, neutralizing the hapless soldiers inside.

Vivian switches the heat vision of her scope, easily picking off exposed enemy units.

Owen and Marta emerge from the smoke and engage the enemy forces in Downtown, supported by Brotherhood, NCR, and Enclave reinforcements.

After what seemed to be hours, the stalemate was finally broken with NCR troops successfully securing the perimeter of the council building and Downtown, enabling Enclave Vertibirds to evacuate the president and other civilians.

"Where are you going?" Ellie asked, seeing Polonsky board one of the Vertibirds

"Headed towards Gecko. That's where we're evacuating the civilians. I need to make sure that place is secured. Can you spare a few troops there too?"

"Gladly" Ellie said, commanding 2 squads of Enclave troops to fortify Gecko "Be careful out there, Polonsky"

"You too, Ellie"

As the last vertibirds flies away, Ellie rallies the combined forces of the NCR, Brotherhood, and Enclave.

They begin their push towards the Vault, the last area still under the enemy's control.

Vault 8 (Level 1):

With Talon using his shield, the coalition forces push through a long steel corridor.

It was a slow advance but the coalition forces were gaining ground nonetheless.

Reaching the airlock door, the enemy forces open fire furiously from the other side.

"I need some power armor over here!" Ellie commanded as 3 Brotherhood Paladins in T-60 power armor answer her call "Clear a path for our forces to advance!"

The Paladins nod as they go through the vault's door.

Bullets rained on the 3 paladins who stood firm and fired their respective miniguns, decimating the enemy defenders.

The Vault was finally breached as coalition forces slowly pushed the enemy deeper into the vault.

Reaching the living quarters, the coalition forces were gaining ground fast. It was only a matter of time before they could trap the enemy forces at the final level.

"More power armor!" Jonas reported as 2 red bulky power armors emerge from one of the rooms.

"Focus fire on them!" Ellie commanded as her allies opened fire on the 2 power armors.

Unfortunately, the small arms fire from their rifles and machine guns proved ineffective in denting the armor.

They soon point their wrist mounted weapons at the coalition forces.

"Fall back!" Ellie shouted as the enemy soldiers release a stream of fire upon them.

Not hesitating, Talon charges towards the two soldiers, turning his arm into a shield.

Unlike the bullets, Talon could feel the pain of the fire hitting his skin.

Despite this, the young man resists the pain through sheer force of will and rams his arm into one of the soldiers.

Ellie takes the opportunity to charge towards the other soldier.

She quickly catches the enemy soldier off-guard, placing several sticky grenades on the joints of the suit which detonate shortly after.

"Nice to see that these things have the same weaknesses as regular power armor" Ellie said as the enemy power armor collapses on its own weight.

Meanwhile, Talon quickly changes his arm into a blade.

The enemy soldier blocks Talon's blade with the power armor's arms.

They momentarily stop the young man's mutated blade but were the soldier's efforts were futile as the young man manages to cut both arms off.

With both power armors disabled, the coalition forces resume their assault, further pushing to the 3rd level.

Ghost Farm:

Meanwhile, the battle in Modoc and Ghost Farm was slowly dying down as the responding coalition forces finally rout the enemy forces.

In the now bloody fields of the Ghost Farm, Rufus examines the bodies of the enemy forces.

"Their uniform…" he monologues "… Definitely Caesar's Legion. But how… Why?"

"Hey, wanderer" the mentor said, approaching Rufus "Any idea on how these bastards knew where we were?"

"I'm guessing they followed me" Rufus replied "I had a feeling I was being followed since I started collecting Alex's tapes"

"Knowing that… You led them straight to one of our hideouts?"

"Exactly"

"Goddamn, Rufus… If you haven't proven your credentials to this Brotherhood, I'd have slashed you with my hidden blade already"

"Well… You, of all people, should know how I work"

"I know… I know. I guess this means it's time to evacuate the hideout"

"No… The Slags and the people of Modoc will be prime targets for these people. Legion or not, Vault-Tec will definitely come calling soon"

"Are you saying we must stay here and endanger the Branch?"

"Don't you think the Brotherhood has done enough running? If we are to fight Vault-Tec, we should be more direct. They're not Templars and we can't easily get to them…"

The mentor thought to herself for a moment but before she could reply, an apprentice approaches the two.

"Mentor" he said panting "A transmission is going through the radio waves"

"Transmission?" the mentor wondered as Rufus quickly accesses the radio on his Pip-Boy.

Vault 8 (Level 3):

Trapped, outnumbered, and running out of supplies, the remaining enemy forces opted to surrender.

The battle was over and Vault City was secured.

Exiting the Vault, Ellie and Wolf Pack were getting ready to rest a bit…

"Ellie" Vivian said approaching Ellie "You have got to listen to this"

"What?" Ellie said as she follows Ellie to a nearby tent.

Several coalition soldiers surround a radio as a transmission seems to be going through…

2078:

A brown-haired man, wearing a business suit, walks through a hallway.

He glances about, staring at a few paintings and decorations as he walked.

Eventually, he finds himself in front of a big door.

His heart was pounding, fast.

He exhales and swallows his nervousness as he opens the door.

It looked like a meeting room, with 6 older gentlemen seated around the table.

They were staring at the young man and whispering.

A bit nervous, the young man takes his seat as a tall gentleman enters the room.

"Gentlemen" the man said "I regret to inform you all that Mr. Karl Sanderson, the CEO of West Tek, has passed away"

"What?!" one of the older gentlemen said "Alec. How did this happen?"

"My men were evacuating him and the rest of the West Tek staff stationed in California when an intruder came and murdered all of them by detonating the reactor"

"Barbaric… Could it be that our enemies survived the Great War?"

"It is a possibility. Nevertheless, this is merely a small inconvenience. I will not allow one man to sully our plans for the new world. As we speak, our scientists and researchers scattered throughout the various vaults are conducting countless experiments to better our race and enable only the worthy to inherit the new world! Their sacrifice and dedication must not be wasted. In line with this, I would like to introduce Karl's successor. His son, Joseph Sanderson. You have my condolences for the loss of your father…"

"Th-Thank you, Mr. Oppenheim" the young man replied

"Will he represent West Tek?" the older gentleman asked

"Yes" Oppenheim replied "Back to the topic at hand. This incident has shown us that there are still cockroaches that survived our little nuclear war. It is time that we begin planning on how to deal with them"

2312:

Ellie and Vivian walk closer to the crowd as a man, with a deep menacing voice, seems to be transmitting something through the radio.

"Dogs of the New California Republic" he said "You have grown arrogant. You think that you are the superior government, continuously expanding your lands beyond those that are rightfully yours. You lie, cheat, and steal to get your way. You step on those that do not adhere to your rule. And most importantly, you have no honor. Today is only the beginning of our righteous war against your republic! We shall cleanse this land of your filth! Your corruption! Caesar lives on! The Legion is undying! And WE SHALL HAVE OUR VENGEANCE!"

The ground then begins to shake.

Before anyone could say a word, a flash of light shines in the distance. Ellie and the others instinctively cover their eyes.

Nervous, Ellie slowly puts her hands down and opens her eyes.

She is greeted with a grim sight…

A mushroom cloud… In front of her.

"Shit. Shit… Shit!" she exclaimed, realizing where the explosion came from "Polonsky! Polonsky!"

She begins to breathe heavily as no one was responding.

"Epsilon Squadron. Alpha Squadron. Come in. Anyone! Fucking respond!"

No one. The radio was dead silent.

Shaking, Ellie drops her radio as she stares at the mushroom cloud.