Wastelands Chance of Revival

[Maharg67]

WILL BE USING MATERIAL FROM AN EARLIER WRITING: THE DIMENSIONAL WAR

War took place through out the 1990s culminating in Armageddon Day. :unsure:

mention of Bobby Triplets' parents has been removed from Chapter One as there were changes later in story :verymad:

Second half of Chapter Four has been changed; please reread. :blink:

Chapter Five was accidentally repeated in two postings; one has been deleted. :whistling:

Chapter Twenty-One was Edited and changed in important ways. Please reread. :wallbash:

 

 

 

'The only good thing about having so many enemies is that most often our enemies are enemies of each other.'

Marshal Sarah Lyons, Commander of Lyon's Pride, 2173

 

'When they first showed up, those big hulking armoured figures scared the willys out of me but when they started shooting all those feral ghouls, raiders and other monsters, I just wanted to kiss them.'

Nathan Riddly, Wastelander Farmer, Crosswayne, 2173

 

'Bloody damned tin cans on legs should have staid over west!'

Hacking Dan, Raider Ganger Battlebuggy Driver, 2173

 

PART ONE

 

ONE

 

Bullets exploded off the battlements but Bobby-Bob dropped too quickly and crawled along behind the steel and sandbags at the top of the thick metal Megaton wall. The slimly muscular, fairly tall young man wore typical DC Wastelander clothes of a settler being tough but reasonably comfortable. His dark blonde hair was under a cap and he had webbing of leather belts dotted with pouches and useful items.

 

Raiders were out there but no normal gangers. Nor were the hot insane ravers or coldly insane reavers, thankfully. They were raider mercenaries serving the Warlord Han/Lo who had come from the north seeking loot. Instead he had only encountered a scattering of bigger strong settlements able to resist him and abandoned smaller settlements. The settlers from the latter fled with all valuables into hiding only to emerge to reclaim their settlements when Han/Lo was gone. The Warlord didn’t bother to destroy the small settlements because they were made up of structures that could quickly be rebuilt.

 

Han/Lo had another problem. Other raiders didn’t like him invading their territory. Regulators, the only real law in the DC Wastelands except the sheriffs and vigilantes, were trying to find a way to get rid of him. Slavers feared he would take too many locals. Mercenaries didn’t like other mercs busting into their territory. There were others who did not want him there; in fact nobody welcomed him apart from a few wandering ex-Soviet soldiers who joined his ranks.

 

Han/Lo had plenty of ex-Soviet soldiers with him being a mixture of zhouls, ghouls and humans. Zhouls were effected differently from ghouls by the radiation, baseline mutagen and biomazz influences. Zhouls had smooth boneskin, being hairless and strangely skinny. They were faster and more agile than humans but not as strong. Ghouls, well ghouls were rotting but at variations of appearance right from more human looking semighouls right through to ghouls proper. Demighouls were ones who looked human but had the radiation resistance and expanded life span of ghouls; demighouls were rare.

 

Bobby-Bob was not focused fully on the raider mercenaries outside of the walls of Megaton. He was watching his nasty older cousin who was definitely up to no good. The cousin, one Rodger, was creeping along around close to the main gate and he had a kitchen knife in one hand. Then he was looking at the back of one of the two gate guards who was peering at the enemy through a peephole. She was a middle aged militia soldier in much patched up mercenary gear. Beside her was a more powerful type of bolt-action hunting rifle firing the .308 calibre. Next to her was a two thirds empty metal case of bullets. Ammo was never greatly in abundance and she had to make her bullets last.

 

The criminally insane cousin lifted his knife dramatically into the air and rushed at the gate guard. Bobby-Bob aimed his .308 calibre bolt-action rifle and shot the fool in the back just as the second gate guard shot Stephen with a .32 revolver-pistol. Stephen shuddered and fell to the ground.

 

Bobby-Bob came down to where a group was soon gathering. Harry Rash, the other gate guard, was grinning and speaking. “I got the little creep. I killed him. What a shot, aaahhh. If it wasn’t for me the gate would have been opened to let the warlord in.”

 

Bobby-Bob walked up and people parted to let him through. Most people did. He had that kind of air about him. People were citizens of Inner Megaton and semicitizens of Outer Megaton hoping to become citizens. The Free Trade Zone was normally some tents and stalls outside the main entrance but of course that was impossible now the fool invader was there.

 

Doctor Church spoke from where he was crouched beside Stephen’s body. He was a bitter angry man but he played a mean game of chess and was happy to have Bobby-Bob visit him for a game and some grey tea, coffu, or even coffee when it could be gotten. In turn Bobby-Bob secretly gave him healing herbs and items he had found in one of his wanderings through the DC Wastelands.

 

“The poor fool was killed by two bullets coming from two guns because of the angle and because one is a .32 pistol bullet and the other is a .308 rifle bullet.” He turned his head and saw Bobby-Bob who was holding a rifle. “Here is Bobby-Bob now and I figure he did the shooting with the rifle. Both of you can claim the kill if you really want to do so. I don’t see no bounty being paid this time or much honour in killing this poor sick fool.”

 

Bobby-Bob spoke up. “I shot him with my rifle from up on the wall top battlements.”

 

Harry frowned at him. “So the little hero of Megaton gets another prize. There is a bet going that your stupid cousin would be shot by somebody sooner or later and the shooter would get five goldworth and a dozen cold beers. Now we will have to share the prize except I am not into sharing. So since you aren’t adult yet, I will take the lot. Only fair as far as I can see.”

 

At which point Sheriff Lucas Simms said, “Harry Rash, you would know fair if it came and kicked you up the a***. Firstly I am not standing for no such bloody betting and secondly, if I find out that any one of you influenced that poor sick mind into doing this so you could shoot him, I am going to hang you from high.”

 

Harry Rash grinned. “No proof exists for such a claim on me, sheriff. So I will be taking at least my half of the prize being three goldworth and eight beers.”

 

Lucas was a big black man, tall and very tough with broad shoulders. He reached out with surprising quickness, grabbed Harry by the collar and hauled his face up close. “Listen to me close, real close. There is no bet! There is no prize! We don’t have bets on killing people because it leads to people getting the wrong ideas in their heads. Now, you just go away before I blow a hole or two in you.”

 

Harry turned and, with a scowl, strode off. He was heading towards Moriarty’s saloon, the Go-Go Delights. This was because young attractive women danced in skimpy clothes in two cages while music played from some fairly good musicians in a corner or from an old digital audio cassette, DAC, player-recorder. The basic ugly looking machine was stamped DCTek because it was made Postwar by the DCTek Corporation based in their own fortified bunkerplex (bunker complex known as DCTektown) across the big wide river from the floating settlement of Rivet City. Rivet City and DCTek were competition in manufacturing certain items but basically ignored each other.

 

So it was Moriarty who had made up the bet for killing or so Bobby-Bob figured. Lucas Sims and a few others would quickly guess the truth. Harry Rash would be claiming the full prize from Moriarty hoping that the saloon owner hadn’t heard the truth of what was going on. But Moriarty pretty much ran Outer Megaton despite the sheriff’s attempts to stop this from being so and so Moriarty would probably know that it was Bobby-Bob who shot the dead man with a .308 calibre bolt-action rifle. Which meant that he would know that Harry Rash would be lying if he made a claim on the betting prize. But what would he do about it?

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited November 29, 2009 by Maharg67

[Herculine]

Wow... I wish I could crank out quality stuff as quickly and easily as you seem to do!

[Maharg67]

TWO

 

Bobby-Bob chatted with a few people, shouldered his rifle and walked to Doc Church’s Clinic. Inner Megaton had a small hospital but those in Outer Megaton had only Doctor Church to care for them with his rough bedside manner and bitter memories. Still he had a lovely petite nurse with ginger hair and a Prewar white nurse’s minidress and practical mid-heel shoes.

 

The good doctor, despite him being a slaver’s physician once, brought in the cousin’s body with some help by a semicitizen called Urien, a jack-of-all-trades who was hopeless at all of them. He barely made enough emergency issue coinage and authorised tradechips to live on by going out with foraging parties to dig up muttbages, to pick muttfruits and to carefully gather up glowshooms. There were other items to gather but those three were more common closer to Megaton where the wall battlements could shoot at any aggressors.

 

Urien left with 50c in EICs (Emergency Issue Coins), which would buy him a cheap meal of rat or squirrel or meatworm and muttbage stew. Or maybe some other treat like long stored Prepacked Long Life Preserved Mealpacks, PLLPMs. There were other cheaper foods that one could buy. Some grumbled but when Bobby-Bob had been younger his family had been lucky to get that so he was not so fussy.

 

The doctor turned him with a softer frown, being his version of a smile, and then he spoke. “So what is this new trick of yours going to be?”

 

“Not my trick!” Bobby-Bob wondered why he trusted Doctor Church as he did only a very few people including his triplet sisters, his mother, Lucas Simms, Moira Brown in a cautious way because she found it hard to keep secrets and some others. His older sister he was not sure about. His older brother he distrusted totally as he did his father. “As I keep saying, I am but a conduit for the Light and Enlightenment. Any information come in from patients that won’t go against confidentiality?”

 

The doctor snorted. “Only the same sort of whispers that all sorts of people are picking up. There is a battle raging somewhere between two Raider Warlords between DC and the Pitt. The winner will take control of a very large territory, lots of Raider Barons and other raider scum. Gangers mostly but there are a few raider mercenaries, ex-soldiers come south from the DomniCommonwealth.”

 

He meant the DomniCommonwealth as controlled by that damned DomniInstitute, DomniTek and the Grace Family. The rebellion up there was on its way to being crushed which would make the third failed rebellion. The DomniCom Government just kept sending waves of mercenaries, basic android soldiers and battletrons at the poor rebels so they didn’t have much of a chance.

 

Bobby-Bob noted the body of his cousin lying on an old hospital gurney and he walked over to it. Rodger was lying on his back with a peaceful expression on his face but Bobby-Bob felt impelled to do what he did next, though he was not sure why. He reached down and lay both hands on the chest and then closed his eyes. He focused. Then the energies flowed through him, a white light and he shimmered. He had felt such things before but never so intensely.

 

Rodger’s body shimmered and then vanished. The clothes and shoes became empty. A blue sparkling shimmering blue humanoid, translucent and yet vaguely like the old Rodger Goodman, stood there nakedly facing them. Translucency and shimmering in certain places made his nudity less so. He was many shifting shades of blue flowing in patterns through out him.

 

Doctor Church shook his head, took up a half bottle of bathtub gin, and filled up a fairly clean shot glass. He knew better than to ask Bobby-Bob if he wanted to have a drink. Bobby-Bob would politely refuse and not tell anybody but if Bobby-Bob’s mother found out, she would give the doctor a bad time. The doctor gulped down the spirits, it wasn’t really gin of course, and sighed.

 

The entity spoke in an odd muffled, echoing voice. “I am an nature elemental of air-water. I see now how bad my life has been and how badly I reacted to it. Harry Rash provoked me into trying to take a life at the gate. He fed on my fears. I do not know why. The madness became worse to me when he and Nobs Hankin convinced me to eat some of those gold-black mushrooms.”

 

Doc Church cursed. “Lucky that stuff didn’t kill you and no wonder it caused you to go madder than you were. I have seen what that stuff can do when I was…”

 

The elemental turned and smiled at him. “You were an alcoholic and half mad with the loss of your family when you became a slaver doctor at Paradise Falls. Now, please stop drinking so much alcohol and then Bobby-Bob will no longer need to keep healing you and keeping you back from suicide when there is so much else for him to spend his time and energies on.”

 

The elemental that was Rodger turned back to Bobby-Bob. “I am going to sink down into the large underground supply of water that Megaton relies on and begin to cleanse it even more than it is now. I will do some exploring. I still enjoy having company so I will see you later, if you do not mind. I used to enjoy playing chess and was not bad at it and perhaps I can find some good salvage or other stuff to bring back with me.”

 

The doctor frowned but then nodded. He sighed. “That was my last drink of alcohol.”

 

Bobby-Bob shook his head. “No, that was your last shot glass of cleverly substituted fake hard alcohol. What you have been drinking for the last month is something I call quasicol; it tastes like alcohol, stimulates a little and helps clean out the system. It also has vitamin and mineral supplements plus some carbohydrates. I think I am going to market the stuff and you can endorse it, if you wish, for a reasonable fee of course.”

 

Doc Church grinned and pointed. “Your bottles of quasicol are over there in that cupboard. Did you really think you could fool an old sot like myself. So, I drink the quasicol and start getting better. You sell the stuff, I endorse it, you pay me an endorsement fee and I buy medical supplies for all those fools who can’t pay for treatments. What about the dead body. People are used to seeing a dead body lowered into a grave.”

 

“No, not really, just a cheap easy built coffin that crumbles easy with passing time.” Bobby-Bob was frowning. He felt annoyed that Church had so easily seen through is trick but then again he should not have been surprised for the doctor was damned clever in some ways. “You have a deal. I have to go. There are things I need to do before I head off home in the big down under.”

 

The elemental ended up stopping to help Doc Church go into the workshop room in the back to put together a cheap wooden coffin. There was plenty enough waste wood to make enough weight to convince people there was a body inside.

 

Bobby-Bob had acted calmly about the transformation, the relifenation of Rodger but he didn’t really feel that way. He had expected something to happen but not that. It seemed weird but somehow did not feel evil or dark.

 

He left the clinic and headed towards Moria Brown’s place. His only real regret was that he had missed meeting the cute nurse.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited November 29, 2009 by Maharg67

[Herculine]

See what I mean...?

[Maharg67]

THE ALTERNATE 1961-1970

Will be added to in future

1961

 

Professor Carver in England gives his famous Silver Flashes on the Moon Lecture in which he speaks of evidence of some kind of alien existence on the moon. Though many mock him, many also either admire him or admit that his evidence can not be easily refuted. There is something odd about Luna just as there is about Mars and other worlds.

 

1962

 

Both the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics declare that they will send astronauts to the moon by 1970.

 

Junglenam War begins in the Amazon as South American Coalition forces start fighting hivac humanoids who have started attacking native villages and other settlements including government outposts and plantations. It is soon evident that the local SACDF garrisons are not able to deal with the threat. More SACDF units are soon sent into action and international aid is given to the military effort including the increasing use of military advisers.

 

Whaling ships begin to vanish in the Atlantic Ocean. Japanese Naval investigations lead nowhere.

1963

 

Mutagen-A321 becomes publicly announced as a new scientific and medical breakthrough allowing for many special developments to improve the world. Many are sceptical and some scientists are cautious. One Professor Quartermass of the UK declares that the new breakthrough is dangerous and must not be used but he is largely ignored.

 

Helicopter backpacks (helipacks) lead to a new kind of soldier and new sports plus other uses. These are soon followed by jetpacks and flivvers (personal small helicopters).

 

First public appearance of prototype biomechanical walker with limited intelligence and programmability (Walkermok Type-A11a Model-32c).

 

First electric bubblecars are mass manufactured in the European Unionate. Their relative cheapness to run, reliability and non polluting means they are from the start a strong competitor to the big North American petrol using cars in much of the world. Manufacturing of such vehicles is soon going world wide.

 

Elvis the Pelvis undertakes a world tour with the Archies Band as back up.

 

First 'shocking' appearance of miniskirts and minidresses on women (of course) in public in Australia.

 

Woodstock! The hippy and peacenik movement begins to grow large and public.

1964

 

First prototype DNA based biomech template invented for the creation of new zibiomechanical. Zibiomechanical can be grown based on DNA of natural organisms.

 

First antigravity boosters tested publicly in Death Valley USA. The tests are only partly successful but are very promising.

 

First green flashes seen on the surface of the moon. Much public interest. The USA and the USSR sign space non aggression pact.

 

US AirCav and Marine units officially sent to the Amazon to assist in the war with the Hivac.

 

Famous pacifists and politicians plus other VIPs go to meet the Hivac to offer a 'hand of friendship'. The few people who escape bring with them frightening audio-visual accounts of the hivac massacre of the peace party. The hivac attempt no negotiations but simply attack. Only the intervention of US Special Forces and tribal locals saves any of the group.

 

1965

 

Nuclear (H-bomb) destruction of major hivac multihive.

 

Growth-production of first zibiomechanical workers able to work in very harsh environments. Trade unions around the world begin public campaign against adoption of zibiomechanical workers. Zidroids and zibots.

 

First successful use of grafted zilimbs, zibiomechanical limbs for amputees. Many lives are soon being transformed for the better.

 

First nuclear super submarine and super aircraft carriers are launched this year. The first is Soviet and the second is US.

 

First anti-gravity boosted rocketship flight into low orbit from the UK. The Glorious Alpha is only a small craft but it is extremely efficient, economic with resources and turn about time before it can relaunch. It carries 4 people and one metric ton of cargo. Bigger AGB-rocketships are soon being developed in the UK, the USA, the European Unionate and the USSR but smaller ones are being produced in many more countries.

 

1966

 

Failed attempt to assassinate US President Bobby Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.

 

Apollo Eleven to Luna (the moon) lands Eagle One with 3 astronauts while 2 astronauts circle the moon. Two men and a woman on the moon and a man and woman in orbit. Using a fold down, fold out moon-rover they investigate the area after a flag raising ceremony. They find an ancient entrance into the moon, a clearly alien structure of exotic design, but are not able to open it.

 

The five Silver Beatles produce their famous Silvery Moon Album that breaks all previous charts records.

 

First verticopters (antigrav assisted helicopters) and vertijets (antigrav assisted jets) go into production as military and civilian machines.

 

1967

 

Hivac destroy small city in Amazon Rim and massacre half of population.

 

Dragons seen in flight in Africa

 

Whaling is ended as the constant vanishing of whaling ships and the need for warship escorts otherwise makes it too expensive.

 

Birth of the ziodroidic Muppets in the TV show Sesame Street.

 

Establishment of permanent international moonbase and the start of construction of Spacestation Freedom, two wheels and a spoke, in L5 orbit.

 

1968

 

Disneyland the amusement park is opened in Florida USA. Its massive popularity means that soon more are planned.

 

1969

 

Launch of the controversial Hue Hugo's Playboy Magazine and Playboy Clubs.

 

Dragons attack PanAfrican villages and towns. European Unionate military forces and other services are sent to assist.

 

1970

 

Moonbase Progress is attacked by tripoc mechatripods but the attackers are repelled by heavy defensive network-system.

 

Krakens start to sink civilian ships in the deep Atlantic Ocean.

 

Tripoc comet-ships splash into the Pacific Ocean but some land in Central Australia. Australian military forces do battle with mechatripods trying to reach the ocean and assistance is soon arriving from other nations

Edited November 14, 2009 by Maharg67

[Herculine]

I like a sci-fi story that creates its own history based on real history. Nice use of this creative tool.

[Maharg67]

THREE

 

Bobby-Sue was dressed much as Bobby-Bob was but she wore a knee length skirt instead of trousers. She stood on a ladder and picking up an old, carefully repaired Prewar hardback book, she turned to Moira Brown. “Really, Moira, your theory of openness is a nice one but men and boys may just take advantage of it.”

 

The shop had walls covered with shelves and these were nearly overflowing with an amazing range of goods, many of them odd or down right strange. Stuffed dolls lay piled next to boxes of odd buttons and rolls of carpet were stacked beneath shelves of partly damaged Prewar magazines. There was pottery of all kinds, empty steel cans all cleaned ready to use with home made lids, drill-heads, tools of all kinds, half full bottles of cleaning liquids, cherry bombs, odd assorted chess pieces, a wide range of ceramic figurines, stacks of JI Joe, Grognak the Barbarian and Captain Cosmos toonbooks, a crossbow-pistol, old but cleaned and repaired clothes and much else.

 

One big shelf held special projects as modified by the Bobby Triplets.

One was a backpack survival kit complete with some equipment and supplies including five stimpaks, a bandaging kit in its own box, antiseptic, powerful sedatives, a basic .22LR pistol and a compass.

Another was a long basic telescope.

Another was a globe-camera made from an altered eyebot with much of it, including the laser, removed and a base added.

Another was a basic but sturdy fishing-pole complete with reel, line and a small box of sinkers and hooks.

There were others.

 

Moira Brown had her own interesting slant on life, a rather eccentric one, and stood there naked carefully sweeping the floor. She was a little on the fat side but was very attractive with her lightly tanned eurowhite skin and long red-brown hair. She was pouting now because she didn’t like it when people couldn’t see her wisdom.

 

Bobby-Sue had arrived to find the public area of the Emporium crowded with men and boys perving at Moira as she sold them cheap items or ended up climbing up and down a ladder to check objects hanging from the ceiling that suddenly these men or older boys really badly wanted to have a look at. Five minutes after Bobby-Sue was in the rather odd shop the men and older boys were gone. There was something about all of the Bobby Triplets that was subtle but powerful.

 

Moira smiled. “But I made $155.23 profit with no IOUs because I already have too many of them and nothing stolen either; I triple checked after you sent every one of those handsome cuties away. I sold all of those copper knobs and the last of my portable rat roasters, all of my wild raspberry radroach lollies and, yes, even my last do it yourself mine detection kits. I put the red warning label on my last MDK that said it didn’t work quite as I expected, you know the label with the black skull and bones on it that you suggested would make it look better.”

 

Bobby-Sue flipped carefully through the book and then nodded. “I want to buy this book from you, Moira.”

 

“You can have it, sweetness.” Moira sighed. “Really you have done so much for me, you and the other Bobby Triplets and your mother. Oh yes, your older sister and that wonderful Sheriff Lucas Simms.”

 

At that moment the front door to the shop banged open and in stormed the nasty scowling faced Colin Moriarty, the owner of the Go-Go Delights. His scowl turned to a leering, sneering grin as he saw Moira. “So it’s true! You b****, you took my customers away from my saloon today so if you don’t want trouble I suggest strongly that you put some clothes on. Either that or you pay me 50% of what you earn and maybe we can come to a deal. As it is I figure you owe me 50% of what you made today. My gogo-girls made no tips today and poor Nova, well that s*** made me no profits. So…”

 

Then he noticed that Bobby-Sue was pointing a .38 revolver-pistol at his head with a very steady hand and a half smile on her face that did not reach her now steel hard eyes. “Moira Brown is Megaton true and blue. Everybody knows Moira Brown has her own special ways and sometimes, well sometimes they have interesting results. Today was an interesting day but most likely not to be repeated. Go away, Colin Moriarty, and never enter this shop again, ever!”

 

Moriarty looked into Bobby-Sue’s eyes and went to say something nasty but something told him not to do so, something smart. He turned and stormed out of the shop, banging the door behind himself.

 

Bobby-Sue leapt lightly onto the floor and her pistol vanished. “Before you go and feel sorry for poor old Moriarty, Moria, you should know that Nova had twice her normal customers today. She told me men where getting all excited by seeing you and racing off to see her to… well to help relieve them of tension.”

 

Moira frowned. “Colin Moriarty is a very rude man. Poor Nova must get very tired massaging all of those men.”

 

Bobby-Sue sighed. “Moira, Nova is a prostitute.”

 

“Ooohhh!” Moira walked over to one shelf of many at the back wall and took out an oversized Tshirt and slipped it on. The white Tshirt went down half way to her knees, was translucent and had on the front MOIRA BROWN’S PROJECTORIUM. This had been her original name for the shop but thankfully she had changed it to the Exotic Goods and Services Emporium. The Emporium was in Outer Megaton with the big main shop room that they both stood in, a small apartment for Moira, a big storeroom and the Projectorium or project workshop. There was a basement, a concrete chamber left over from the old destroyed building, which was a mixture of many things.

 

Moira faced Bobby-Sue. “So that explains why people say rude things about poor Nova. I like her very much. Now, will this prove to be less troublesome?”

 

Bobby-Sue nodded. “Less troublesome and yet still attractive to certain gender and age of customers.”

 

There was a hard knocking on the door and after a moment in came Sheriff Lucas Simms, a ruggedly handsome black man with a cowboy style outfit of hat, jacket and other gear, two large holstered .44 Magnum revolver-pistols and a large Alsatian dog walking beside him.

 

He closed the door behind himself, looked at Bobby-Sue and grinned. “Moriarty just complained you pointed a gun at him for no good reason. Damned fool must have come in here looking for trouble.” He turned to Moira. “You look… well not so devoid of clothes as Moriarty claimed.”

 

Moira slipped her Tshirt off and smiled. “I looked like this.”

 

Lucas Simms sighed and closed his eyes, but only after a moment. “Now, Moria, you know I am happily married to Kate Simms and she would be after me with her shotgun if I was stupid enough to forget it. Please put the Tshirt back on.”

 

Moira shrugged and did so. She spoke. “What bad thing happened?”

 

Moira was also famous for being able to sense things, odd things. Lucas did not look surprised as he opened his eyes and smiled at Moira. “Looking good, Moira. Your cousin, Bobby-Sue, was shot by your triplet brother and by Harry Rash.”

 

“Rodger!” Bobby-Sue did not seem at all surprised. The sheriff nodded. It was an open secret that what one triplet knew, all three seemed to know. “He was set up to do something stupid by Harry Rash and Nobs Hankin. They got him to eat some of those gold-black mushrooms.”

 

“No wonder he got worse.” Lucas Simms snorted. “I don’t suppose you will tell me how you happen to know this, at least later.”

 

Bobby-Sue nodded. “Later!”

 

Moira Brown’s mind was already drifting away to other subjects. She was staring into mid air as she muttered to herself. “A survival guide, yes the people need a comprehensive survival guide for the DC Wastelands.”

 

Lucas Simms sighed heavily. “Another project is being born. I have to go and see what that damned Warlord is up to now. We will talk later, Bobby-Sue.”

 

Then he departed.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited November 29, 2009 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

MEGATON

To be Edited in Future

 

INNER MEGATON

 

Exposed Basement Bunker: 3 Levels

 

Power Plant

Power Storage

Mattercator - Duplicator - Replicator

Zibiomechanical Centre

Other Related

 

Central Computer Room

Secondary Computer Room

Computer Interface Room

VR-Loungers Chamber

Other Computer

 

Robotic Central Control Chamber

Robotic Workshops and Recharge-Storage Chambers

Other Robotic

 

Water Treatment Plant

Workshops and Workrooms

Small Manufactories

Storerooms

 

Special Reserve Storage (Water, Food, Other)

 

Mayors Office

Town Council Offices and Meeting Chamber

Town Service Offices

Public Meeting Rooms

 

Megaton Community Bank Centre

MCB Vaultroom

 

Public Archives, Library, Museum-Gallery

Public Education School (all ages)

 

Sheriff’s Office, Armoury and Jail

Town Guard Office, Armoury and Training Centre

 

Small Hospital

 

Apartments

Dormitories

Laundry

Public Toilets and Bathhouse

 

Old Family Penthouse

 

ATOMIC FLYING-WING BOMBER

 

Professor Brown’s Laboratory Workshop

 

Power Plant

 

Workshops

 

Radio Megaton (Pilot Cabin)

Morning Megaton (Newssheet)

 

Toilet Cubicles

Shower Cubicles

Sleeping Cubicles

 

 

OTHER

 

Houses

Hotel

Three Sets of Apartments

 

Tavern

Cinema-Theatre

Gardens

Shops

 

Workshops

 

Brahmin Yard

Dairy Farm

Moss Farm

 

HOLY MEGATON

 

Inner Church of Atom (Priests and Followers Only)

Middle Church of Atom (Would be Followers and Above)

Outer Church of Atom (Public Preaching)

 

Houses of Atom (Families/Priests)

Dormitories of Daughters/Sons/ of Atom

Barracks of Guards/Knights of Atom

 

Holy Gardens of Atom Centred on H-Bomb in Cradle

 

Farm

Brahmin Pen

Holy Herb Garden

 

Shop of Divinities

Voice of Atom (Newssheet)

 

MIDDLE MEGATON

 

Town Council Public Office

Public Meeting Chambers

 

Town Guard Training Area and Barracks

Militia Rooms

 

Deputy's Office and Deputy Dogs Kennels

Volunteer Deputy Rooms

 

Houses

Four Sets of Apartments

Three Hostels

Shops

 

Barney’s House of Wax

 

Hallwells’ House of Herbs

 

Small Manufactories, Workshops, Workrooms, Related

 

Airport (Small basic airstrip, helipad and shed terminal plus small hanger)

 

 

OUTER MEGATON

 

Old Common House

New Common House

Public Toilets

Public Bathhouse

 

Craterside Supplies

 

(Moira Brown) Exotic Goods and Services Emporium

 

Brass Lantern Diner (Outer and Inside Service)

 

Go-Go Delights Saloon

 

Trade Caravan Stop-Over and Hostel

 

Stagecoach Stop-Over and Hotel

 

Regulators Office

 

Faith of the Way Temple

 

Church of the Holy (small church)

 

Sisterhood of Compassion Outpost

 

Crater Pool (Rock and concrete pool of clear water)

 

Brahmin Pens

Farm

Muttree Plantation

Muttfruit Orchard

 

Cemetery

Edited November 19, 2009 by Maharg67

[Herculine]

Is there a Bobby-Bill and a Bobby-Boo too?

[Maharg67]

FOUR

 

Bobby-Bob was on his way to Moira Brown’s establishment, making his way along metal walkways and past various structures, when the small fixed wing aeroplane flew quite high overhead. It had overhead wings, a single propeller, a simple cab and was a basic sturdy, slow flying small aircraft. It wiggled its wings to indicate it was friendly and began circling to come into land at the small airstrip in Middle Megaton.

 

Aeroplanes did fly in the DC Wastelands. They came from settlements like Rivet City at DC Harbour, BigTown south of the Lamplight Mountains, Arefu, Canterbury Commons the trade caravan centre, Rockopolis that was actually hidden but which had a known outpost, the eccentric Republic of Dave and DCTektown. There were also the mysterious Subwayers of the Subways Union, the Ormons of the HolyVault, the folks of Vaultburg who had a FTZ and Vaultville who also had the same. There were also darker settlements like Paradise Falls, Armageddon Park and the slave owning fortified farming estates of Crosswayne. Whispers spoke of there being a Ghouls Underworld and other strange places.

 

The infamous Talon Mercenaries were based at Fort Bannister. The much respected Ironside Mercenaries were based at Fort Courage. GuardTek Mercenaries were based at Fort Atomic at the very edge of DCTektown.

 

Aeroplanes did not often fly in the DC Skies and this one had come from an odd direction. It was a Piper Cub, an aeroplane not equipped with weapons, easy and reliable to fly but with only fairly slow speed and limited range.

 

Megaton had its own poetic quality to look at but it really was a great jury-rigged mixture of aeroplane parts, prefabricated buildings, salvaged stuff from ruins in the area and actually built stuff. Brick working, carpentry, metal working and much else had gone into expanding and improving the settlement. Robotic, roboremotic and human labour had gone into it, plenty of the last because of lack of the first two. It had taken years.

 

For a moment he stopped and took it all in, wishing it had more colour, more greenery and more variation. It was too basic, too ugly and had a too uncared for look for his liking. He wondered why he had this sudden need to study Megaton.

 

Then it came to him from somewhere deep: Megaton was in danger!

 

He was one of three, of triplets, being Bobby-Bob, Bobby-Sue and Bobby-Anne but there were others, their projections, the ones they had as young children thought of as their imaginary friends. He needed to go to Moira Brown’s shop to pick up something for his mother but perhaps an imaginary friend could help.

 

In the distance he could see the shop and he watched Colin Moriarty storm out of it and stomp back to the saloon that was not very far away. Bobby-Bob knew what had happened in a secondary fashion through Bobby-Sue’s perceptions; it went both ways of course.

 

Was Moriarty part of the danger? Moriarty had all of his wealth sunk into the settlement and would hardly risk it; the saloon was his one and only real asset and he knew it. Even that he had required from his father, having gained little with his own efforts for he was a greedy, cunning parasite.

 

Bobby-Sue spoke in his mind. “You go to the airport and investigate the newcomers. I will take the stuff to mum that she wanted from Moira. She really is lovely looking. Oh, mum will want you to investigate the newcomers.”

 

He smiled and set out for the airstrip. It was simply a matter of making his way to the defence-security wall between Middle Megaton and Outer Megaton, going through the airlock style double gate with its Townguards and protectron robots on sentry duty, and to make his way through other buildings, along other walkways and pathways, until he came to a fairly big flat clearing, the airport with its single airstrip and helipad. There were two Megaton Airlines biplanes, one for two people and one that could carry four passengers. There was a Piper Cub that belonged to Snoopy Brown along with his biplane. Then there was a bubble-helicopter sitting on the helipad. The newcomers’ Piper Cub was there with two young women in flight leathers talking to Johny Johnson the aircraft mechanic. The newcomers tried to hide it but they stood like experienced, highly skilled soldiers.

 

Bobby-Bob ambled over that way.

 

Sergeant Franklin stood blonde and lean. She almost smiled at Johny Johnson and let him peep at her cleavage a bit more. She was aware of Bobby-Bob coming casually their way and was aware that he did so with a smooth flowing fashion that spoke of a very experienced hunter or more than that.

 

Private Jill was brown and fulsomely short but not at all fat. She smiled very warmly at everybody and it was not easy for most people to see what a very efficient killer she was. She had already dismissed Johny Johnson as a typical Wastelander skilled worker, a worker who knew how to get things working well with limited resources. But she was now watching Bobby-Bob very carefully.

 

Franklin spoke to the mechanic. “So you have what we want, then?”

 

The mechanic nodded. “A good condition battery, yes but that other part, well I will have to check the storerooms. Sally should know if it is there. She is the airport clerk and we have a computer terminal. Oh, here comes Bobby-Bob. You want to know something, check it with him or his triplet sisters. His mother is the Mayor of Megaton but that’s not why the Bobby Triplets are the ones to ask. I got a feeling you want to know a lot more than about a few aeroplane parts. I will get going. That shed over there is the terminal and has a small shop in it. You can get a hot cup of coffu with fresh brahmin milk or something to eat but no booze, not here at the airport.”

 

He waved at Bobby-Bob, turned and hurried off.

 

Bobby-Bob got there, handsome and smooth faced. He smiled at the two young women, both at least a couple of years older than himself. Then he spoke. “Name is Bobby-Bob. You come from the west. I didn’t know anything was over that way in the way of settlements. Still, out beyond the Charnel Houses, a set of ruined suburban houses and other buildings where lots of gangers and hard scavengers. Your aircraft has only relatively short range and is fairly slow going. I have flown a Piper Cub a few times.”

 

The woman nodded. “We are part of an expedition from the west. We were told to talk to one Colin Moriarty if we needed information.”

 

“He is one source of information, that’s true!” Bobby-Bob nodded. “Lots of yao-guai over that way; big mutated bear creatures.”

 

The woman responded. “We have seen them. They keep away from our group. We have what we call muttbears to the west. These yao-guai look bigger and nastier. Do you know how we can contact Colin Moriarty?”

 

“He hangs out at his saloon, the Go-Go Delights, most of the time. There are go-go girls there, hence the name, some rigged gaming wheels, a bar of course, some rooms to rent, a small bare courtyard that he calls a ‘beer garden’ and a single prostitute for hire. Her name is Nova.” He shrugged. “She also might know something. Moriarty does know things but he is expensive and he doesn’t always tell the whole truth, the truth and nothing but the truth.”

 

He paused before he spoke again. “Moriarty got a black plastic package about a month back. A man came in here in a big rush on horse back. He was shot and in a bad way. Doctor Church helped him as best he could but now he is in a slow regen-capsule, an SRC. He should be up and about in about five days. Town Council figured he was some kind of agent so it was better to have him alive instead of making new enemies. Megaton already has too many enemies. That damned Warlord is one of them but we are dealing with him. That is we and others who, ironically, would normally be only a threat to us. Other raider types, gangers, keep hitting his people from all directions. We have various types of raiders here: gangers are the most ‘normal’, ravers are red hot berserkers but worst are the ice cold berserker reavers. Then there are raider mercenaries like those laying siege to Megaton. Oh, the horse is fine but your people owe for various medical, stable and other costs.”

 

The tall woman sounded bemused. “Why do you figure we are after the black package or are linked with this man.”

 

“Same kind of fighting leathers.” He shrugged. “Same kind of movements. You lot are no loose trained street fighters or militia trained irregulars or even mercenary types who often end up serving to defend various settlements or trade convoys or the stagecoaches. You are soldiers. There are still soldiers around. Ironsides Mercenaries are proper soldiers as are Reilly’s Rangers, the damned Talon Mercenaries and a few others. Whispers are that the Subway Union has a proper army. Vaultburg and Vaultville, based on VaultTek LifeVaults, both have small professional defence forces. So does Rivet City as does Canterbury Commons. DCTektown has a fair sized force. All sorts of whispers go around but folks are understandably cautious about just what information they give away.”

 

He went on. “District of Columbia is what people are starting to call this area and not just the DC Wastelands. Columbians are what we are but not those Colombians from South America. ‘U’ instead of an ‘O’ after the ‘L’.”

 

“Franklin!” She tried a half smile. “You have given us a good deal of information.”

 

“Only common stuff that anybody could tell you.” Bobby-Bob smiled richly. “The man who passed the black package over to Moriarty paid him to keep it until you lot showed up, I suspect, but Moriarty is not to be trusted. He passed over the black package to the Town Council and they gave it to Professor Brown. Officially the old coot is Megaton’s scientific expert. He is brilliant but quite eccentric. He is the uncle of Moira Brown who runs the Emporium shop. She is also rather eccentric but likeable as is the professor but he no longer has the black package because I do. I bought it off him with various services to help him complete a project of his to streamline pigeon courier services. Interesting concept that would have pigeons launched into the air in capsules at supersonic speeds so they start their flight with a real boost. Hopefully no pigeon will have to try it out.”

 

Franklin sighed. “Okay, you have built up to this point, what do we need to pay you to get the package?”

 

Bobby-Bob looked thoughtful. “Nothing! Consider it passed to you for free. I have already copied all I need to and have back-engineered, in partnership with my triplet-sisters of course, our own improved version of the unit. As a neuralizer it has some problematic points to its design concepts. It could cause harm to both an interfaced brain and to the sensitive cyberlink circuitry. Yet it also has some real break through concepts.” He shook his head. “We assumed it was Prewar technological stuff at first but we changed our minds. But we do not know who made it or why for it could fit a whole lot of purposes from enhanced virtual reality to controlling power armour to piloting a space-shuttle.”

 

The two newcomers stared at this young man who looked like a typical DC Wastelander in wonder.

 

Franklin frowned. “You improved it?”

 

Bobby-Bob nodded it. “Only in a basic sense of making it easier and safer to test. The technology will need more work done on it but our resources are not exactly endless. We do what we can with what we have. I suggest you settle in for a few days. The Warlord’s people probably got surprised when you flew in but there is a chance they will be ready for you to try to leave and will try to shoot you down. One of my triplet-sisters or I will get back to you as soon as we can. They are Bobby-Anne and Bobby-Sue. Don’t bother with the terminal. Go to the Brass Lantern Diner and tell them that the Bobby Triplets sent you.”

 

He smiled, turned, and wandered off except that he made good time for somebody who seemed to be meandering.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited November 29, 2009 by Maharg67