Resistance
Raven finds himself in the same white empty space.
This time, several cubes began to move and form together, seemingly at random.
"So doc" a young male voice echoed "We're moving onto Ezekiel now?"
"Yes" the German doctor replied "It seems we have completed all the necessary memories for Raven. Ezekiel's memory should start where we left off"
"Finally"
Raven's character model then switches to that of Ezekiel's.
Wyoming
2117:
Inside a destroyed building's 4th floor, Ezekiel scans the streets below, through a destroyed wall, with his binoculars.
"My area's clear" he reported in the radio
"No signs of anyone on mine either" Helen answered
"Devoid of life on my end too" Miguel responded
"Copy that" Ezekiel replied putting his binoculars away "I'll head further into town as planned"
"Roger. Be careful" Helen responded
After putting his radio away, the initiate stands at the edge of the destroyed room.
It's a straight drop to the ground below.
He looks around, spotting a collapsed portion of the building connecting to the building across the street like a bridge.
The initiate quickly jumps onto the unstable bridge.
It moves a bit but stabilizes.
He then runs across, ending up on the 2nd floor of the other building.
As he steps on the floor, gun shots echo around the town.
Instinctively, Ezekiel hides behind a wall.
"Did you guys hear that?" Helen asked
"Yep" Ezekiel answered
"Ditto" Miguel replied
"Based on the sound" Ezekiel continued "They're closer to my position"
"Zeke" Helen said "Don't even think about-"
"Sorry Helen but I got some suspicious noises to investigate"
"What?! Darn it, Zeke! Miguel. You're closer. Can you rendezvous with Zeke?"
"I gotcha! Don't worry. I'll keep your boyfriend safe!"
"H-He's not my boyfriend!"
Landing on a flat roof, Ezekiel crouches and slowly walks towards the edge.
He takes a peek on the street below.
"5 individuals" he muttered "Rifles… SMGs… Looks like they were attacked by molerats"
As he stands up, Ezekiel feels someone tap his shoulder.
The initiate quickly turns around, grabs the individual's arm with his left hand while grabbing his MP5k with his right.
With one hand, he aims his submachinegun at the individual's head.
"Miguel?" he uttered
"Hehe… Hi" Miguel replied as Ezekiel puts his gun down
"Damn it man. I almost shot you"
"Sorry. So what'd you find?"
"5 unidentified individuals. 2 armed with hunting rifles and 3 with HK416s. Judging from their armor, they're most likely raiders"
"Raiders huh…"
"I'm thinking of letting them pass but…"
"But what?"
"I don't know… I just have this bad feeling about them… I can't really put my finger on it but they don't feel like raiders to me"
"Feel like raiders? You got a 6th sense or something?"
"Hard to describe man. Something feels off about them and I think we're better off letting them go"
Miguel then takes a peek himself.
"You sure you don't want to take em out?" he asked
"What? Why?"
"Come on. It'll be good practice. We can even have a contest on who can get the most stealth kills"
"You seem eager to kill them"
"Well they're rubbing me the wrong way too"
"What's your assessment?"
"Dunno… The assault on the Seattle base started with "raider groups" appearing so suddenly near the shelter"
"You think they're from Vault-Tec?"
"Possibly… That's why we gotta take em out. They'll be a huge threat if I'm right. And if I'm wrong, then it's just one less raider group in the wasteland"
"You do have a point…"
"Call me paranoid but… I just don't want Seattle to happen all over again"
Ezekiel then ponders for a moment. "… Alright. Let's take them out"
"Nice!"
"So what's the plan?"
"You tell me. Aren't you the academic out of us 3?"
"Hmm…"
Ezekiel peeks down once again.
2 raiders lean on a church's wall while the other 3 enter the premises.
"Hey Miguel" he said "You any good with a rope dart?"
"You kidding?" the other initiate replied "The mentor basically drilled all that knowledge and skill into my head"
"Heh. Let's see who gets more stealth kills then. Count starts after we assassinate the two outside"
"Oh yeah. Loser takes up guard duty for a week?"
"Deal. I hope you're ready to sit down and stare at security monitors for a week!"
"Oh hoho. It's on!"
The two initiates fire their rope darts, hitting the church's roof.
They nod at one another before the mechanism starts pulling them across.
As they see their targets below them, Ezekiel disengages his rope dart first.
He lands on top of his target and quickly stabs his throat.
Startled, the other raider points his rifle at the initiate but Miguel lands on top of him.
The other initiate then stabs the raider's neck as Ezekiel stealthily enters the church via a window.
Crouching behind some rubble, the 3 raiders each scour a different corner of the church.
The initiate slowly makes his way to one of the raiders.
After flicking both wrists, he stabs the raider the neck and as she turns around, Ezekiel slashes her throat.
She falls on her knees as Ezekiel covers her mouth.
"1 for me" he whispered, as he turns to his next target.
He observes the 2 raiders for a while. They were too close to one another to immediately act as well as a small open space was between them and the initiate.
But one raider then moves towards the back of the church.
Seeing the opportunity, Ezekiel quickly makes his way to his target.
As he prepares for another assassination, a dart flies past him and hits the raider's neck.
The raider touches his neck while turning around.
He begins to cough as he falls to his knees.
Seconds later, he collapse to the floor and dies.
Ezekiel turns around, seeing Miguel crouching on top of a ledge on the 2nd floor.
His right arm was extended, pointing to where the raider was.
He smirks as he uses his rope dart to climb onto the roof via a hole.
With a grunt, Ezekiel sprints to where the last raider went while still crouching.
As he rushes to the 2nd floor, he hears gunshots above him.
"Miguel!" he uttered running to the top floor.
Rushing to the bell tower, Ezekiel spots the raider opening fire on Miguel as he rappels down inside the church through the hole.
The raider runs to the hole but Ezekiel opens fire with his MP5k.
His shots graze the raider's legs.
The raider switches targets and returns fire.
Ezekiel jumps back to the bell tower as the bullets cause the bell to ring.
The initiate then throws a smoke bomb.
The roof is covered in smoke as Ezekiel quickly breaks cover and charges through the smoke.
He spots a silhouette through the smoke.
He fires a burst before slinging his MP5k.
His shots hit but it didn't seem the raider was affected by the damage.
He then attempts to stab the raider's legs with his hidden blades.
But his opponent grabs his right arm and throws him.
Ezekiel barely manages to grab onto the roof's ledge.
He spots his opponent aim his HK416.
The initiate is forced to let go as a couple of shots fly over his head as he falls.
Acting fast, Ezekiel fires his rope dart and pulls himself back to the roof.
The raider aims his rifle but Miguel charges through the smoke and attacks him.
The raider blocks Miguel's hidden blades with his rifle.
He quickly lets go of his rifle and grabs both of the initiate's arms.
With his hidden blades rendered useless, Miguel struggles to resist the raider as he slowly pushes him to the roof's edge.
Ezekiel quickly jumps on the raider's back, causing him to let go of Miguel.
He attempts to stab the raider in the neck but the raider manages to either dodge the strike or move wildly enough for the initiate to miss.
Unfortunately, he loses his footing and the two tumble down the roof.
Ezekiel holds onto the ledge as the raider grabs his left leg.
"Zeke!" Helen shouted from a building across the street.
At that moment, Ezekiel lets go of the ledge and aims his right gauntlet at the raider while his left hand rests near the elbow.
Upon pressing a button, his gauntlet fires a single bullet, hitting the raider's head.
He quickly fires his rope dart at the church's wall, stopping his descent as the raider's body falls to the ground.
He then rappels down as Miguel and Helen meet up with him.
"Zeke!" Helen said "Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I'm fine" he replied
"Miguel?"
"I'm ok"
"Good" Helen said as she approaches Ezekiel
With a sigh, she punches him in the face.
"Helen?!" Miguel said as he parries her punch
But Helen knees him in the stomach.
Miguel collapses to the ground, holding his stomach.
"That hurt, you know!" he complained
"Oh?" Helen replied "Well good! Because I don't get what random thought went over both your thick skulls to do this shit!"
"What do you mean?"
"Our goddamn orders are to scout the area! Not kill any suspicious people we see!"
"Come on, Helen. These raiders were kinda suspicious. The attack on the Seattle base started with a group of raiders"
"And you think killing this specific group is gonna do anything?
"Well yeah!"
"You're a moron then! Goddamn it… Let's go back to the shelter… I hope the mentor doesn't grind us to dust for this…"
"Wait. Shouldn't we check on these corpses first?"
"Why? They're already dead"
"Look. Maybe we can find proof that they're Vault-Tec scouts"
Helen sighs. "…Fine but we're heading straight back right after we're done…"
As the three were about to check the corpses, they hear the familiar sound of vertibird engines reverberate around the old town.
"Vertibirds?" Ezekiel wondered as the three stare at one another and nod.
They each fire their rope darts, quickly climbing to the top of the church.
From their vantage point, they spot several vertibirds lift off from their hidden shelter.
"Why are our vertibirds launching?" Ezekiel asked
"So much for being subtle…" Miguel remarked as the vertibirds fly northeast of their shelter.
Sensing something may be wrong, the three teenagers nod at one another and proceeded to return to their shelter.
2312
Ranger Station Peregrine, Zion Canyon:
"Hey Laura" Rufus said "Shouldn't we check on your wounds? You got a bit of a beating from that creature after all"
Laura turns around.
"What the?!" Rufus exclaimed as there was not a single wound or bruise on the courier's body "Wow…"
"Can we move on?"
"Um… Yeah… So… Where to next?"
Laura checks on her Pipboy.
She tinkers a bit on the menus before turning to the wanderer. "Straight ahead. Signal's stronger in… that direction"
"How'd you get your Pipboy to track signals like that? I can't get mine to do that"
"I tinkered with it a couple of times since I got it decades ago"
"Wow. You handy with electronics?"
"A bit. Had to learn a lot of skills to survive"
"Impressive. Maybe once we're done here, you can teach me how a couple of those skills"
"Don't push your luck. Our cooperation is only temporary"
"Wait" Alexander interjected "Laura. When you tinkered with that Pipboy, did you disable the tracker?"
"What tracker?"
"Shit"
Puzzled, Laura approaches the general. "What are you talking about?"
"Every Pipboy has a tracker" he replied "Vault-Tec uses them to keep tabs on the dwellers that are out of their vaults"
"Vault-Tec? Vault-Tec is dead"
"You're wrong there" Rufus added
"Anyway" Alexander said approaching Laura "We gotta disable that tracker before-"
The courier pulls her hand away and aims her 9mm pistol at the general.
"Whoah there" he said "You gotta trust me when I say that we need to disable that tracker"
"Look" Rufus said "Whatever is happening here is way bigger than the NCR, the Legion, or even New Vegas itself. So we gotta cooperate"
"Yeah. I've heard that NCR crap before. Also, the Legion? You mean the remnants down south?"
"Remnants or no, they're still the Legion. But that's beside the point. We can't continue suspecting each other! There are bigger things at stake!"
"Neither of you are touching my Pipboy. I'll check for this 'tracker' once we're done here"
"Not a good idea" Alexander responded "If me and Rufus are right, then we'll be in serious trouble once we reach the source of that signal"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there"
"Please listen to me! We have to-"
"Fine" Rufus interrupted "Have it your way"
"Rufus?!"
"We can't change her mind. Besides, she's a tough one given that last fight. I think we can manage a Vault-Tec ambush"
Alexander sighs. "Shit… No use debating when two wasteland legends agree on this… But I do hope you two remember that I'm not an enhanced human that's been twisted the wasteland"
"Sure. Sure, princess" Laura responded "We'll keep you safe"
"Want us to hold your hand while we climb?" Rufus added
"Oh now you two decide to team up" Alexander responded
The Spine
A few minutes later:
"This is it" Laura said as they stop at the end of a cliff, which was oddly devoid of fog.
"Here?" Rufus wondered, looking around "There isn't anything here"
"We're close to the Southern Passage too" Alexander added "Me and Rufus didn't notice anything when we first came here. Far as I know, the transmitter should stand out like a sore thumb"
"My Pipboy has never been wrong about these signals before" Laura retorted "Also, how do you know what the transmitter looks like?"
"Don't hold this against me but I've seen them before. I never used one but can't say the same for the other NCR generals"
"Heh… Typical. NCR playing dirty as always"
"Can't argue with that…"
"Anyway" Rufus interrupted "The fog doesn't seem to reach this place… So Laura may be on to something"
"That's true…" Alexander replied "The fog seems to cover the entire canyon except this area. Hmm… You could be right. Let's take a look around"
Meanwhile, in a cliff overlooking The Spine, several invisible individuals take their positions at the edge.
Each one observes the three individuals below with their scopes.
"Targets in sight" one of them said in a monotone robotic voice "Awaiting directive"
"Execute" a voice on their radios replied
The second they hear the command, the invisible assailants all fire their rifles.
Laura quickly looks towards the cliff before pushing Alexander and Rufus out of the way.
One shot hits the ground.
Another lands on the Courier's torso.
And the 3rd bullet hits her leg.
"Laura!" Rufus said
"I'm fine!" Laura replied pointing towards the cliff "Snipers!"
"Damn it!"
Rufus quickly grabs Alexander's arm and ducks as 3 more bullets fly above them.
The wanderer quickly runs and hides behind some rocks while Laura opens fire with her M1903 Springfield rifle.
The enemy snipers quickly disperse as Laura runs to Rufus' side.
The battlefield grows silent as clouds cover the sun.
"You know where they are?" Rufus asked
"Cliffs" Laura answered "Ahead of us"
"Snipers, right? You got a bead on them?"
"More or less. Looks like they displaced after I shot at them"
"Good enough. You seem to be more enhanced than me so I'll draw their fire. You take them out. Sounds good?"
"Yep" Laura replied reloading her rifle "I'm ready"
Rufus nods as he brings out his service rifle while Laura positions herself behind a huge rock, scanning the cliffs for the 3 targets.
With a deep breath, the wanderer breaks cover and begins firing on the cliffs, unsure if he is being precise with his shots.
He stops firing after a couple of shots, the battlefield still being silent.
He looks around, spotting nothing out of the ordinary.
"DUCK!" Laura shouted, prompting Rufus to comply.
He hears a gunshot and a bullet quickly flies past him.
"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed
"Another one!"
"What?!"
Rufus quickly rolls to the side as another bullet lands on the spot he was on.
"You found where they are?" he asked
"Almost" Laura replied scanning the cliffs "I still need a couple more shots to narrow my search"
Rufus sighs as he scans the cliffs once more.
As Rufus continues to act as bait, Laura focuses her attention on the leftmost part of the cliffs.
She zooms her scope into an area near the edge.
She quickly pick up the sound of a gunshot.
This time, she spots a muzzle flash.
She fires a single shot on the estimated location of her opponent as Rufus narrowly dodges the bullet.
She observes the area she fired upon, holding her breath.
Seconds later, she spots a figure uncloak.
It was wearing what appears to be a black stealth suit, her bullet had hit its mark.
"One down" she announced pulling back her rifle's bolt.
"Nice!" Rufus said hiding behind some rocks "Let me catch my breath"
As Rufus catches his breath, he notices a familiar distortion on the corner of his right eye.
He quickly draws his revolver and fires.
His bullet lands on his assailant's leg.
"What's with everyone and stealth boys around here?!" he exclaimed as the assailant lunges towards him.
The wanderer fires several more shots, all landing in the torso and legs.
But the injuries did not hinder the assailant as it draws its ripper.
Rufus rolls to side as Laura diverts her attention to the adversary in front of him.
"Focus on the other sniper!" Rufus exclaimed as he grabs the assailant's right arm, stopping the ripper from reaching his head.
Laura nods as she scans the cliffs for the other sniper.
She hears a gunshot but fails to spot the muzzle flash.
The bullet lands on Rufus' left leg.
He flinches as his assailant punches him in the face.
Rufus falls to the ground.
His assailant jumps and tries to stab Rufus with his ripper.
The wanderer quickly blocks the ripper with both his hidden blades, resulting in sparks forming near Rufus' face as the ripper's chain grinds against his hidden blades.
Rufus struggles to keep the ripper away from his face as the assailant proves to be stronger.
Alexander quickly aims his rifle and opens fire on the assailant.
He hits the assailant but it hardly flinches.
"Tough guy, huh?" Alexander uttered as he ejects his rifle's magazine.
He reaches into his pocket, picking up two armor piercing 5.56mm bullets.
He quickly loads them into the magazine and pulls the rifle's charging handle back before putting the magazine back in.
He carefully aims at the assailant's head and fires two shots.
One hits the assailant's mask, breaking it, while another hits its torso.
This time, the assailant flinches, giving Rufus enough strength to push the ripper away from him.
The assailant moves to its right as it inadvertently lets go of the ripper.
It loses its balance, prompting it to place it palms on the ground.
Rufus quickly stabs the assailant's torso with both hidden blades and pushes him to the side.
He quickly gets back up but his assailant stands up as well, unfazed by the damages to its body.
The two stare at one another for a moment.
"Oh… I see" Rufus said recognizing his assailant's disfigured face and black outfit "So this is where the Black Suits went after the war…"
His assailant cracks its knuckles before resuming its assault.
Rufus parries a left hook and dodges a right uppercut.
He attempts a counter with his left hidden blade but the sniper hits his gauntlet, causing him to flinch.
The Black Suit attacks again with a right hook.
Caught off-guard, Rufus narrowly redirects the fist with his left arm.
He responds with his own right hook, hitting the assailant's face.
His assailant hardly flinches as it counters with a kick.
Rufus blocks it with his left leg and stabs the assailant's stomach with his right blade several times before punching the assailant in the face once more.
This time, the force of the attacks cause the assailant to step back.
Rufus quickly grabs his revolver and reloads but is interrupted when the sniper, once again, narrowly misses him.
He ducks, continuing to reload, as the assailant recovers and punches the wanderer with a left hook.
He falls to the ground as the assailant prepares to crush him with its fists.
Alexander quickly opens fire, causing the assailant to cover its face.
Seconds later, the NCR general hears a click.
"Shit!" he shouts as the assailant charges towards him.
Alexander jumps back, dodging a right hook.
He quickly draws his M1911 and fires it while his left hand holds his rifle.
The assailant covers its face while walking closer to the general, who keeps on stepping back.
After 6 more shots, his pistol runs out of ammo too.
Seeing this, the assailant sprints towards him, eventually grabbing him by the neck.
It lifts Alexander up.
The general resists by kicking the assailant's face but it only causes its grip to tighten.
Rufus climbs on the assailant's back and stabs its shoulder with his right blade, prompting it to let go of the general.
It then grabs Rufus by his right arm and throws him to the ground.
It then lifts its right foot and attempts to stomp him.
Rufus grabs the foot with both hands.
Despite this, the assailant continues to apply more pressure on his foot, making harder for Rufus to keep it away from his torso.
Alexander quickly reloads his pistol and opens fire once more, prompting the assailant to cover its face.
This distraction gives Rufus enough room to push the foot back, causing the assailant to fall to the ground.
As it tries to get up, Rufus quickly jumps on top of it and thrusts his right blade towards its face.
The assailant grabs the right gauntlet with its left hand while preparing to punch Rufus with his right hand.
The wanderer quickly grabs the other hand as both fighters struggle to overpower the other.
Alexander quickly switches his M1911's ammo from standard to +P.
He carefully aims at the assailant's face.
As he was about to pull the trigger, a bullet hits him in the right shoulder, causing him to distort his aim and prematurely pull the trigger.
The bullet flies past Rufus' left hand and lands on the assailant's arm, just near the left shoulder.
The damage was minor but it caused the assailant to flinch a bit, enabling Rufus to overpower his foe.
With all his strength, Rufus drives his right blade into the assailant's face.
Seconds later, both its arms drop the ground. It was finally dead…
Meanwhile, Laura continues to struggle finding the sniper as it displaces after each shot.
"Where's that muzzle flash?" she muttered, scanning the cliffs.
She hears another gunshot, this time the bullet lands near her.
The Courier instinctively ducks as she hears another shot.
She then carefully peeks from the side of the rock. "Where are you…?"
Seeing a tree just a few meters ahead, the Courier breaks cover and runs for it.
She continues to stare at the cliffs as she hears another shot.
The bullet lands in between her feet before she jumps into the nearby tree.
"I'm onto your little hiding spot…" she muttered bringing out a Legion Denarius
She closes her and exhales before flipping the coin.
She grabs it while it was still in midair and quickly slams it onto her left arm.
"Heads" she uttered before breaking cover.
She aims her rifle towards the cliffs and begins to walk slowly forward.
A shot rings into her ears as a bullet flies past her left ear.
"Almost there…" she uttered adjusting her aim to the right
She hears another one. This time, she is hit in the right leg.
Ignoring the pain, Laura adjusts her aim slightly upward.
And another shot rings in her ears.
The bullet grazes the left side of her torso.
Laura adjusts her aim slightly to the left.
She stops walking and holds her breath.
"Jackpot" she utters pulling the trigger.
She continues to anxiously watch through her scope.
Seconds later, she spots a black figure uncloak.
"Bullseye" she uttered with a smirk
"Nice shot" Rufus said approaching the Courier
"Thanks. How's your companion?"
"I'm alive" Alexander replied "A .308 round isn't enough to take me down"
"Alright then… So what were these guys?"
"Black suits" Rufus answered "I always thought they were NCR experiments… But them being here explains a lot of things"
"So the NCR's been delving into mad science lately?"
"I wish it was that simple" Alexander responded "The Black suits are also hand-me-downs it seems…"
"From Vault-Tec, I presume?"
"Yep"
"Anyway" Rufus interjected "Judging by the fact that they tried to kill us in such a coordinated way, it means that Vault-Tec has something valuable here"
"But where?"
Rufus closes his eyes for a moment. "Can you still track the signal?"
Laura checks her Pipboy. "Yes. 94.03%"
"Hmm… Try to get that to at least 99%"
"I'll try"
Laura then begins making short steps forward, back, and sideways, eventually walking towards the cliffs.
"Here" she said stopping at the bottom of the cliff
Rufus walks closer.
He observes the area around the cliff. "Say. Do you think the natives won't mind if we destroy these cliffs?"
"I can explain it to them"
"Good. Anyone got explosives?"
"Not me"
"Negatory, chief" Alexander answered
Rufus then approaches the dead Black suit.
He loots the body for anything useful, eventually finding 3 hand grenades.
He walks back to the cliff and places the grenades. "Not enough…"
He turns to Laura. "By any chance you got a Nuka Cola quantum, tin can, turpentine, and abraxo cleaner on you?"
"Those are oddly specific…" Laura remarked checking her bag "… Yes I have them"
"Good. Give it here. Alex. Can you check my pack there should be a couple of lunchboxes there"
"On it" Alexander said complying "Here"
"Nice! Give me a few minutes"
"What are you making?" Laura asked
"Bombs… Hopefully they'll be strong enough to damage these cliffs"
2117
Wyoming
Upon returning to their helter, the teenagers quickly looked for their mentor.
As they run through the halls, the teenagers comes across several soldiers and commandos running past them, heading towards the hangar.
"Grandpa?" Ezekiel said, recognizing his grandfather's armor
Raven and his squad stop.
"You go ahead" Raven commanded as his squad continues running except for Jane
"What's going on, grandpa?"
"Nothing too serious. Don't worry, little man. We're just gonna check on the New York base"
"New York? That's pretty far… But aren't we kind of exposing ourselves with the number of vertibirds we're flying at the same time?"
"We got it handled. Didn't you have a mission?"
"Oh that's right! We need to report to the mentor! Have you seen her?"
"Yeah. She's in her office"
"Thanks, grandpa. You'll be back soon, right?"
"Yeah. This won't be long"
"Ok. See you later, grandpa!"
After waving goodbye, the teenagers continue their way towards their mentor.
"Let's hope you're right about this being short…" Jane said as she and Raven continue to the hangar
"I know…" Raven replied "But one thing's for sure; Oppenheim's getting desperate"
"Mentor" Helen said as they enter her office
"Ah" the mentor replied "You've all returned. Give me a report"
"Yes ma'am" Helen responded as they sit down and report their findings
"You wiped out an entire group of suspected raiders despite my orders specifically saying that you all are to conduct reconnaissance"
"Yes ma'am…"
The mentor sighs. "Ezekiel. Miguel. Must you two turn everything into a competition?"
"Sorry…" Ezekiel and Miguel said simultaneously
"Well I'll just have to carefully think about your punishment then"
"What?!"
"You think you'll get away with performing unauthorized acts under my watch? I don't think so"
2312
Fort Covington, New York
In another underground base, Audrey and her squad of Brotherhood of Steel Paladins, all wearing T-60 power armor, cock their weapons as their elevator descends to the lower levels.
"Alright" Audrey said "I want everyone to stay on high alert. This place may be a pre-war ruin, but there's no telling what's lurking inside. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" the paladins responded as the elevator stops.
The paladins raise their weapons as the elevator doors slowly open.
The squad leader steps out first, turning on her power armor's light.
They are greeted with what appears to be the aftermath of a battle.
Skeletons were strewed all over the place.
Some were lying, face down, on the ground.
Others were hanging on the makeshift barricades.
And quite a number were sitting down against the wall, many were still clenching their guns.
Audrey crouches and investigates the skeleton wearing a peculiar outfit.
It was a blue armored suit. The color was faded and dust covered almost every part of it.
What caught the squad leader's attention was a familiar logo on the back.
"Vault-Tec?" she muttered standing up "What are they doing here?"
After a few more minutes of investigating, the squad presses deeper into the facility.
Each room they come across being the same sight of makeshift barricades and skeletons scattered all over the area.
They soon reach a hangar.
Near a destroyed vertibird, Audrey notices several barricades lined up in what appears to be 2 planned defensive lines.
Near the wreckage were makeshift sandbags and office tables, acting as a tall makeshift cover, as well as 2 M60s still attached on top of the sandbags.
Behind them was simply a row of sandbags.
Judging from the numerous skeletons scattered in and around the barricade, it seemed that the occupants of this base made their last stand here.
Audrey and her squad approach the barricades.
She notices a skeleton still wearing something akin to a Chinese Stealth suit at the 2nd barricade.
The suit was faded and there were some tears and bullet holes around it.
Audrey got out of her power armor.
She then approached the skeleton, checking for anything interesting.
All she found was a patch bearing the skeleton's name: Kira.
As she turns around, Audrey notices distortions in the distance.
"Stealth Boys!" she shouts as the invisible enemies open fire on her squad.
The paladins return fire as Audrey quickly jumps into her power armor.
"Thermal vision!" she commands "5 hostiles! Dead ahead!"
The enemy soldiers scatter but none of them hid behind cover.
They simply stood there continuing to open fire on the paladins.
The paladins form up around the first set of barricades.
They were hitting their targets but their enemies were hardly flinching.
The enemy soldiers were also hardly damaging the paladins' power armor.
Just then, Audrey notices another hostile enter from the hallways, this one seems to be armed with a heavy weapon.
The enemy soldier fires his weapon, sending fireballs at the paladins.
"That's a heavy incinerator!" one of paladins shouted "That's Enclave tech!"
"Shit!" Audrey said as she opens fire on the enemy soldier "Focus fire on that hostile!"
The enemy soldier continue to lob fireballs at the paladins all the while walking closer to them.
"Grenade!" one of the paladins shouted as Audrey notice a grenade behind them
It detonates, causing the paladins' power armor to shut down.
"SHIT!" Audrey yelled "EMP!"
As the paladins struggle to get out of their power armor, the enemy soldiers uncloak and surround them.
The enemies were all wearing Hellfire Power Armor and armed with various automatic rifles.
"Been a while since we fought Brotherhood scum" one of the enemy soldiers said
"What do we do with them?" Another asked
"The same order we've had for the past 30 years… Execute them and take whatever they got"
As the enemy soldiers prepare to force the paladins out of their power armor, an invisible creature grab one of them and throws him across the room.
The enemy soldiers turn around as another one is grabbed and thrown.
They open fire on the invisible creature but seem to be missing.
Concurrently, a squad of Talon Company soldiers enters the fray.
"Engage! Engage!" Jack commanded as the enemy soldiers scatter and the paladins' power armor finally turns back on.
Audrey and her squad recover and proceeded to fire upon the enemy soldiers from behind.
The enemy soldiers quickly retreat further into the facility.
"After them!" Audrey commanded as her squad complies
"No!" Jack shouted "We gotta retreat!"
"What?! Why?"
"I'll explain later! Just trust me on this!"
"Damn it! Alright! Squad! We're pulling back!"
The paladins and Talon Company squads then retreat back to the elevators and ascends to the surface.
Jack quickly exits the elevator just as it was opening.
He approached a group of Talon Company soldiers, who are engaging several hostiles in power armor.
"Status?" he asked
"We're surrounded, sir!" one of his soldiers replied as a fireball hits a wall "They shot down our vertibirds!"
"Damn it, Jack!" Audrey said "What the hell is going on? Why are you here?!"
"Ah shit! Sorry old man. But I gotta kill a few of these guys!"
"What?"
"Hey Goris! You think you can help me out here?"
"Goris?"
A deathclaw suddenly uncloaks next to her.
Audrey shouts and aims her rifle.
Jack intervenes and pushes the rifle down. "Don't!"
"What?!" Audrey responded as her squad points their weapons at the deathclaw
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" the deathclaw responded as several more deathclaws uncloak behind the paladins
"Talking deathclaws?" one of the paladins uttered
"We don't have time for this!" Jack said "They're friendlies! Put your weapons down!"
After a few seconds, Audrey and her squad hesitantly comply as the deathclaws gather around Goris.
"You think you can handle them?" Jack asked
"We've faced worse" the deathclaw answered
"Ok then. Audrey! We are going to fight through these hostiles! I have a safe zone in place and I'll explain everything there! So until then, follow every single one of my orders to the letter! Understand me?"
Audrey hesitates.
"Audrey!" Jacks shouts "We have no time! Decide!"
"Ok! Alright!" she replied "What do we do?"
"On my mark, the deathclaws will cut a path for us! Just follow my lead!"
"Roger"
"Goris! When you're ready!"
"Try to keep up" the deathclaw said as he and his brethren gather near the doorway
"Go!" Jack shouted as the deathclaws run outside as the enemy soldiers began targeting them.
One deathclaw jumps high and lands on top of an enemy soldier.
With a loud roar, it slashes through the Hellfire Power Armor with ease.
Another few deathclaws ram their respective targets as each of them stabs their legs.
Goris, meanwhile, grabs another hostile by his mask and throws him at another hostile.
With the enemy lines broken, Jack and the others exit the building and started running straight towards the deathclaws, as the creature continue to decimate the enemy soldiers in their way.
They soon reach a dilapidated building with the enemy soldiers close behind.
"Don't stop!" Jack commanded as they continued running
Upon exiting the building, Jack detonates several planted explosives, causing parts of the building to collapse, forcing the enemy soldiers to stop their pursuit as their way is now blocked by debris.
Despite shaking their pursuers, Jack and the others continue their retreat, eventually reaching the old bakery.
"You go down first" Goris said "We shall keep an eye for any trespassers"
Jack nods as he leads paladins to the hidden elevator.
"Now then" Audrey said "Care to explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Our mission here is not just to search for old Enclave data" Jack answered "We're here to recruit more people into the Union military"
"Recruit more people? What?"
"I was given another mission. I didn't understand what it meant at the time since I was told to recruit the local militia present in the area"
"Local militia? There aren't any settlements near this place!"
"Wrong. There are pockets of Enclave holdouts here"
"Enclave? But didn't Ellie find them all?"
"Not all of em… If my memory is right, based on the weapons and power armor of those hostiles, we just met what's left of Enclave Squad Sigma"