War of Realities (Redone and Improved)

[Maharg67]

54^th

MEGATON SUBWAY STATION SURPRISES

NOT ON THE SUBWAY NETWORK MAPS

 

PART 1

 

Tomkie walked quietly, quickly across the great raised bridge that went from the main entrance on one side to the main entrance on the other, that is to two rampway hallways. There were ticket machines, kiosks for security officers and other petty officials, robots frozen in action and other things one would expect in a DC Subway Station. This station was very clean and in very good repair compared to many beneath the surface of the DC Wastelands.

 

Others came with him but not his sister. The Megaton Town Council had decided that since the twins had a strong psychic link, one would go down and one would stay up in the town. To appease Tomkie's sister, they assured Tamlie that she would be the next to go into the depths and her brother would stay in Megaton. The neobaby, Tumnie, was with Tamlie up in the settlement. There were others with Tomkie, men and women with guns and some dogs sniffing for danger.

 

Cutiebird was perched on Tomkie's shoulder but Heroica and Puss were home with his twin sister because Megatonfolk would not let them go with the group. Cutiebird only got away with it by flying to Tomkie at the very last moment.

 

Sheriff Lucas Simms was there, was frowning softly as he looked around. He spoke then as he examined two long passenger monotrains sitting quietly on the tracks. "Lots of resources here but no apparent danger. Seems too good to be true and in the DC Wastelands that is not a good sign, well at least not generally speaking."

 

Professor Brown was there, had for once come out of the seclusion of his home that was his also his library-study and laboratory-workshop complete with big telescope to view the stars with. He lived in an aircraft perched above part of Megaton, put there by a big constructor robot that still stood in part of the growing settlement. He spoke. "This station is not on any of the official maps of the DC Subway Network, the DCSWN, that we have found, even those that were being used on Doomsday itself by the general public."

 

Tomkie snorted. "That is because, I suspect, it is different. This was probably built as a prototype station, a new design to replace the many aging Subway Stations all through the DC that President James Patriot Jackson did not change when he transformed the DC so greatly. Only half the stations were changed greatly. The other half only had relatively minor changes. See those robots. They are not of the Tron Series that are common through out the DC. No, they are slimmer, more agile, more advanced or so I suppose."

 

Old, craggy and tough looking, the professor seemed a little sleepy and removed but anybody who knew him well, knew this was an illusion. Professor Brown spoke. "You have sharp eyes, Tomkie. The row of vending-machiens down there are not like typical vending-machines. The station is bigger than average with more platforms. There are more than usual doors leading off the station, including what seem to be elevator doors. We need to look around more but we need to stay together as a group. There is something about this place that makes me not so comfortable."

 

Yes, there was a troubling sense about that DC Subway Station.

 

PART 2

 

The vending-machines were Replicators that produced goods from baseline Mattercated materials fed into the machines from some other place. They were branded NukaCola, GadgetsGalore, QuickMeals, ReadGlossy, AmChicken, NesDiner, HoloShowtime, CharityLink, SpinOLuck, being nine machines. Yet there were also three covered up ones and one blank looking one.

 

Tomkie examined each machine in turn. Sheriff Lucas Sims stood on guard, being nervous because he could sense danger but not see any. Professor Brown stood back from the machine and examined them in turn. The others stood guard, three men and four women.

 

Professor Brown then spoke. "I must confess that I am of the Guardian Thirteen. I am a Follower Guardian."

 

The sheriff snorted. "No real surprise! The way you saved the settlement a few times by coming up with clever gadgets at the right moment, well I was not the only one who began to wonder. There have been many whispers spread of the Guardian Thirteen, not all good. Why the truth now?"

 

"The Guardian Thirteen are coming out into the open, we are revealing our true nature, though not fully, to better help people against the great threat that is coming. Megatonfolk will need the resources of this place, will need to join with the rising Union of DC, the UDC, in order to survive." Professor Brown then nodded. "President James Patriot Jackson was in many ways an insane monster but there were streaks of goodness in him. Look there, the CharityLink machine. CharityLink vending-machines helped many people survive before and after Doomsday. Super cheap or free basic goods like blankets, sheets, drink, food, medicines, clothes and others all made quite well."

 

Tomkie operated the NukaCola machine and down into the chutetray came clattering a typical bottle of NukaCola Original. He picked it up, turned and gave a mild grin. "Ice cold and ready to drink if you feel stupid enough to put this stuff in your body. I am always puzzled why so many people bought this toxic, addictive, overly sweet stuff."

 

Professor Brown laughed in an ironic fashion and then explained. "There are far too many addicted fools but many people bought it to clean motors, to turn into cheap biofuel, to use for other purposes than to drink. They would normally put a label over the NukaCola one, warning people not to drink the stuff or let children get hold of it. A red skull and bones symbol was commonly used. The NukaCola Corporation knew about this but what could they do; anyay, they were still making a profit. Other corporations were not so pleased because they lost profits as many people used NukaCola instead of their specialised products that were much more expensive."

 

Tomkie laughed and then so did the sheriff. It was good to know that people had managed to use a TekCorp trick against the big corporations that had swollowed up the economy, monopolising it as they semilegally absorbed smaller corporations or just illegally destroyed them; President James Patriot Jackson's government openly protested but did nothing.

 

Tomkie spoke. "There is credit in every one of these machines, a good deal of it. I expect it was put in for testing reasons."

 

So they began to buy items, lots of items, but they did not try to use them. Professor Brown would not have it until everything was tested to make sure that it was safe to use. All of them hoped that this would be a new resource for Megaton and also others.

 

PART 3

 

The station was not just built for civilian commuter traffic but for civilian freight and military movements. They found improved typical features such as toilets, restrooms with coin-showers and vibro-chairs, a VR-Arcade, a big diner, a smaller fancier cafe, staff areas, a security office, robot service-support facilities and so forth. There were also some freight transit depots, a military barracks, military offices and other not so typical facilities.

 

There was a mass of valuable goodies to loot and other resources to exploit there.

 

Colin Mortiarty wanted to come down with family members and goons to have a look around. Realising that Moriarty wanted to steal what he could before a proper inventory was made, he was told by Sheriff Lucas Simms that he and his others would be shot if they tried to do so. The decision was a popular one amongst Megatonfolk.

 

Most doors were unlocked or easily gotten through anyway but a few remained stubbornly closed. Tomkie and the Professor could have opened even these but a silent agreement was made. What ever was behind those doors needed special investigation before the doors were opened for any to enter the places beyond them. For both sensed danger behind these doors and other things just as bad.

 

More people came down and spread out in armed search parties. They went along all four Subway Tunnels leading from the station only to find that they only went for 100 metres and then were blocked by huge armoured emergency-security doors. These were very firmly locked. Three of these tunnels went horizontally, which was to be expected, but one plunged downwards to a level that supposedly no Subways were to be found and this was most unexpected.

 

On the armoured door of the tunnel that went downwards there was a big temporary sign that read in various languages: TO LIFEVAULT-101. Below the main words were others. THIS SIGN MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE FULL FUNCTIONING OF STATION BEGINS.

 

Even as the first search party stood close to the big armoured doors, they could hear a soft thudding from the other side even through the very heavy and advanced armour layers of the barrier. All of them got a subtle but terrible sense of threat coming from behind those huge doors.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

55^th

THE MEETING OF LARA CLEAVE AND KNIGHT CAPTAIN GALLOWS

A NEW ALLIANCE FORGED

 

PART 1

 

Knight Captain Gallows and his two comrades fell out of mid air with a dull flash of light and a shimmering. They hit the ground and they rolled to their feet. Their stealth power amour, training and experience served them well at that moment. They were at the edge of a weirding zone, or so it seemed. A good strong clue were the metre tall wombles bustling around them as they busily built up fortifications to a settlement. Armoured metal doors were in metal plated packed earth domes and there were packed earthen walls cleverly reinforced with stone, metal and wood. The wombles looked startled and some came over to greet the newcomers, but most went on doing what they had to do.

 

Knight Captain Gallows noted the wombles were all armed with carbines, big for them, or stubby, powerful repeater-crossbows. The carbines were bolt-action weapons with fixed box magzines that were loaded using stripper-clips. The three had heard stories of the wombles, though most people though them to be just another DC Wastelands falsehood. Wombles were amazingly clever at back engineering other people's technologies, at utilising basic technologies to do much with and making odd but effective hybrid inventions. The repeater-crossbows were one of those. The carbines were cut down but improved hunting rifles. Though damned tough of body and surprisingly powerful, the adult wombles wore flexisteel helmets and breastplates with mild ornamentation that varied with individuals.

 

The Chief Womble, an adult female, smiled up at Knight Captain Gallows with out showing too many teeth. "We wombles heard stories about you, Knight Captain Gallows, but many of us thought such stories must be mere fantasies."

 

"We heard the same about wombles." The tall, powerful captain slipped off his helmet. "We went to BigTown and from there followed the MutantLord, his super-mutants and others, including people taken from BigTown."

 

The womble nodded. "Queen Alice told us of this herself. She has made alliances with the Four Dynasties of the Card. The land here folds in on itself in a way even our brightest do not quite understand. Go deeper into it and one goes into another realm called Wonderland. There are powerful leading characters there like the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Jabberwokky. We wombles do not go there often for it is crazy but almost normal. The almost normalness of Wonderland makes it in some way even more disturbing. We come from Wimbleton, a small domain closer to Wonderland where giant things fall from the sky sometimes like sunglasses and teaspoons, half eaten sweetrolls and toys. Our people take and use these as much as we can. Though we welcome you, we wombles do not think that such a meeting of different realms should be happening. You are more than you seem."

 

Knight Captain Gallows nodded. "I am informing my comrades, as I inform you, that I am a Lesser Guardian of the Guardian Thirteen."

 

Erika and Harack, his lesser ranking comrades, took of their helmets and gave him looks of irony.

 

Erika spoke. "Did you really think that we had no idea you were different? All those amazing little tricks you pulled to keep us alive, your amazing physical and mental abilities, the way that many monsters just flee from you and there were you few, small mistakes. One of us would open a container and find nothing but then you would appear, open the same container and pull out something very useful to us. Then there were the times we should have died of wounds but you somehow healed us with only our normal medical gear. Mostly there was the information you had with out good explaination and the easy way you tracked your way through this amazing DC."

 

Gallows grinned mildly. "Aaahhh, yes, well the demands of survival sometimes overcome caution and I have always trusted the pair of you fully even though you both started out as traitors, as followers of the Secret Elder who is none the less than the DarkZiazin himself. The Unity is emerging slowly but steadily amongst the Orders of Steel. That, the clever wisdom of many Elders and the Guardian Thirteen plus assistance from others, has undone the conspiracy of treason amongst the Orders of Steel. You are Unity and so you could no longer be so blind, so easily manipulated, by the DarkZiazin. The enemy over stretched himself for he was too arrogantly sure he could win quite easily. That is why he has now been focusing his forces here in the DC Wastelands. He no longer even supports the conspiracy amongst the Orders of Steel."

 

Harak looked around at the wombles. "Makes me glad I turned against the DarkZiazin."

 

A womble went up to Harak and waved a paw-hand at the man. "You know longer be so silly. We wombles know about DarkZiazin. He tried to conquer Wonderland but he was thrown out on his bum. Not even the Red Queen of Hearts would listen to him and she can be so very foolish. The Cheshire Cat gave him some claw marks to remember."

 

Knight Captain Gallows smiled. "The DarkZiazin would be more hurt in pride than anything else."

 

PART 2

 

Lara Cleave and her people approached the womble settlement with care until a womble sentry sprung up and greeted them. They entered the large settlement in dim light to find the people having a communal meal. Knight Captain Gallows and his comrades were there. Lara Cleave went straight to him and sat on the same long, thick log as him and next to him.

 

She spoke then. "Knight Captain Gallows of the Brotherhood of Steel, a Lesser Guardian of the Guardian Thirteen."

 

Gallows swallowed down a live meaty-grub and then turned to her. "Seems everybody knows the truth about me. I have a strong sense we need to work together, that our goals are similiar. I wish to find out what is happening to the victims taken from Bigtown."

 

Bigtown? Lara Cleave responded even as a womble passed to her a bowl of wriggling meaty-grubs splashed lightly with spicy sauce and a half roll of a heavy grain bread soaked in olive oil. "I wish to go into LifeVault-0087, to which I am drawn, to rescue some special folk and to learn where the super-mutants are coming from. Our objectives are very much linked. We fear that both the children of the Lamplight Caverns and the adults of Bigtown are part of a supply of victims to be turned into super-mutants."

 

The Brother of Steel nodded as Lara Cleave thanked the womble and began to eat. "LifeVault-0087 may hold the answers but matters may not be so straight forward. I suggest we move forward and investigate what ever comes up in turn until there is good reason to do otherwise."

 

"Yes, that would be smart, considering our lack of knowledge." He sighed and then turned as a wise looking womble coming over. He wore thick glasses and a smart looking tartan style hat and scarf.

 

The Wise Old Womble stopped and smiled at the two humans. "Aaahhh, I can take you as far as the exposed fortress of the MutantLord of the super-mutants. Other wombles will come with us. We have our own reasons for going there. We had to abandon a settlement there in a great hurry and we cleverly hid some stuff we could not bring with us. We will find it, gather it up and bring it home."

 

So plans were made and agreed upon.

 

PART 3

 

Humans in stealth power armour and the wombles moved quickly through the wild, weirding influenced landscape where the 'normal' of the DC Wastelands mingled with even weirder stuff. A peaceful group of deathclaws wandering past, carrying big pods harvested from lolly-honey trees. Their ancestors had blundered into the weirding and they had adapted. Still powerful, and savage if necessary, they became dark, dull purplish in colour and became peaceful allies of the wombles. Now they were called purpleclaws.

 

Old agreements were called on and three purpleclaws joined the expedition, staying close to the wombles at first but soon mingling with the humans also thanks to the influence of Knight Captain Gallows of the Guardian Thirteen and Lara Cleave of the Young Thirteen.

 

They headed now towards the now visible Lamplight Mountains, one smaller one that many did not know of thanks to the distorting effects of a big and a pocket weirding zone, the latter actually having unique properties even for a weirding zone. The terrain became more typical of the DC Wastelands complete with ruins of buildings, roads and other signs of human construction. Ahead of them lay a long, wide, gentle slope of rock that led up onto the top of the smaller mountain, a tabletop affair. On top of that was an area of extremely high radiation and the main vault entrance to the airlock, security network that led in turn to LifeVault-0101 proper.

 

They could try to go through the radiation but the wombles had heard of another way. They would skirt along a wide, long balcony of rock that was not truly natural for it actually had a rock safety-wall, so was not truly a natural ledge. The wombles had sent exploration gathering parties out of their weirding zone and had made contact with the children of Little Lamplight of the Lamplight Caverns. The children had fallen in love with the wombles, even the Fogminds who came drifting towards wombles as if gently drawn by powerful magnets.

 

The wombles promised to introduce the humans to such VIP Clearmind children as Mayor MacCready, Lucy, Bumble and others along with the dogs, some robots and the AI-supercomputer network-system known as CARE for reasons long lost.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

56^th

RISING OF THE UNITY

ACTIONS, REACTIONS AND SIDE EFFECTS

 

RISE OF THE UNITED DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, THE UDC

 

The word came from the new capital of the newly created UDC which was the newly revealed TriVaultplex of Vaultburg consisting of LifeVault-0105, LifeVault-0106 and WarVault-0107 along with linked demivaults, bunkerplexes and other facilities. A 'Y' formation of Subway Tunnels linked the three main vaults with a large Subway Station at the point of intersection. These Vaultfolk were the core of the power behind the Union of the Subway now revealed to be much larger, much more sophisticated and more advanced than had been previously been assumed by outsiders. The Unity was strong there.

 

Now the UDC was stretched along the Potomic River from RivetCity to the Potomic Isles, was on the Northern Patriot Island and some other DC Islands but was now through a big area of the DC Subway Network. The UDC offered and gained alliance with the Orders of Steel and the Guardian Thirteen. Negotiations began with the Clanfolk, Crosswayne and the ISH (Independent Survivalist Holdfasts). Other settlements were approached such as Sugartown, Megaton, Arefu and Girdershade. The Republic of Dave was ignored as was the Holy Vault of the Ormons for both had made it clear in the past that they would never negotiate and that both had odd ideas that one day that they would become, naturally, the rulers of the DC.

 

Now began a great, fairly rapid and surprisingly efficient reformation of the old Unions to become properly the new nation state of the UDC.

 

UNITED ACTION OF THE YOUNG THIRTEEN

 

The Young Thirteen began the stronger ways of communicating with one another and started to send to one another small non living items, experimenting with their rising powers. Basic small wooden bricks, blocks of ice and such like were teleported instantly. At first ice blocks would appear as melted water and wooden blocks would be lightly burned but with surprising speed the thirteen of them improved. From there they began sending useful items and important items. At first the items were quite small but the volume and heaviness of mass was soon increasing. At first they kept this new activity to themselves but then they began to inform a select few others.

 

RISE OF THE ANTIUNITY

 

Reaction came to the rise of the Unity in the form of the AntiUnity. This was normal but this time the DarkZiazin reinforced the strength of it, of the natural fear of the Unity that arose inside many folk. The negative reinforcement only worked in some places and some folk in those places. While most reactions were more passive aggressive, some were quite aggressive and a very few were of incredible desctructiveness. The AntiUnity emerged strongly in the DomniCommonwealth, being focused in the DomniInstitute. The AntiUnity was strong amongst the Party NeoSoviets of the People's Hegemony. Others arose in the DC Syndicates of Paradise Falls. Then there were the religious fanatics of both the Holy Vault and Crosswayne who hated each other as they did others. But the big threat were the Dazi who rose to oppose the Mozi.

 

THE POWER OF DAVE

 

Dave had always had some power to influence people, that is psyker or psychic powe, but mostly he had been something of a joke as was his father, Tom, The history of the area of land was most odd; it had in turn been the Kingdom of Larry, the Republic of Stevie-Ray, Billsylvania, the New Republic of Stevie-Ray, and, most recently, the Kingdom of Tom, after Dave's father. Dave had overthrown the Kingdom of Tom and so had emereged the Republic of Dave.

 

But recently Dave's power over people had grown and no longer was such a joke. The population had grown and so had Dave's Harem of wives and concubines along with Dave's Bodyguard of fierce women and his Army, his Public Service and his Museum. But as Dave's strange hypnotic power grew, especially over many women, so did his mental instability. Dave's Republic was growing in both size and powerful but also in weirdness.

 

Most folk did not realise the truth; that is that Dave was no longer really Dave except for a sprinkling of folk who also sensed the DarkZiazin behind the new Dave though they could name the influence as such.

 

DRAWN TO PALMSIO ISLAND

 

The Spacers being on Palmsio Island, the new colony of the Mars Federation and Spacer Union, were strongly of the Unity and so to the island they drew others of the Unity. Away Captain Ryker of the Mars Federation was disturbed by this development and commed Captain Kirk of the Enterprise. Kirk advised patience but careful observation while he made contact with the Leadership of the Mars Federation.

 

The original Palmsions were surprised at first at the influx of new people but the Unity was rising amongst them also and, unknown to either Ryker or Kirk, in the Mars Federation also. But one amongst the crew of the Enterprise clearly knew the truth; she was the highly empathic therapist Dana Troya. When Dana went to speak with Ryker, to warn him, he was not ready to hear what she had to say but she was patient and gently persistant.

 

RISE OF THE LESSER GUARDIANS

 

Many influential and gifted individuals through out the DC Wastelands, people well known who had made a big impact on life, came to know that they were so called Lesser Guardians linked to the Guardian Thirteen. Yet there were also those who came out of relative or total obscurity to become Lesser Guardians. Lesser Guardians became followers of particular Guardians of the Thirteen or linked together in working networks or just went solo. Many took on the labels of Healer, Slayer, Bard and a fair few others, these forming into new Guilds.

 

But then also rose those opposed to the Guardian Thirteen, to the Unity, to be called the AntiGuardians but more commonly known as the Betrayers, the Destrucors and many such titles. These also formed Guilds.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

57^th

FOCUS ON MEGATON

FLOWING TOWARDS THE ONE PLACE

 

EAGLEENCLAVE REFUGEES FROM RAVEN ROCK

 

Citizena, Citizenori and Citizenbabe in Raven Rock made it clear that they and others in the EagleEncalve fortress were in danger. Whispers were circulating of people vanishing, of people being dragged away to dingy security chambers where they were tortured. So it was, that with some difficulty, the three convinced their parents that they could start teleporting folks to Megaton.

 

Tomkie, Tamnie and the neobaby Tumnie were a focus point of the teleportation focus. In other words the people from Raven Rock appeared in the same big metal chamber that the three were in. EagleEnclavers popped up one by one, each individual sparkling shimmering into solid existence. Each brought as much equipment and supplies with them as they could carry.

 

The Unity was strong in those who wanted to escape most the EagleEnclave, with some exceptions, and those with the Unity were teleported more easily. The newcomers rested until they could begin fitting that and other chambers close to it as future quarters. They were understanbly concerned that the Megatonfolk did not yet know they were there apart from Professor Brown who suddenly showed up with a smile and some much welcome supplies.

 

When they brought through all but one who turned out to be a double agent, he was not teleported, Citizena, Citizenori and Citizenbabe themselves came instantly to Megaton. They were exhausted and Citizenbabe slept curled up with the neobaby Tumnie, who was also tired out. Tomkie and Tamnie also had to rest.

 

Professor Brown's people showed up, a bunch of quiet, clever specialists of varied kinds. He examined the items that the EagleEnclavers showed him, the plasmaguns and other new EagleEnclave developments. But they had relatively little to show him for they had not been trusted to come into contact with many new EagleEnclave technologies. Professor Brown knew that he had to at once get the attention of the new UDC Government and the Orders of Steel to warn them of the threat of the returned EagleEnclave with its new weapons and other tricks. Of course he contacted the others of the Guardian Thirteen.

 

A MEETING OF MINDS

 

Mayor Harrington, Sheriff Lucas Simms, Professor Brown and some other Megaton VIPs, all sat across a big table from the new former EagleEnclave leaders. There was an envoy from the UDCG, the United District of Columbia Government, and another from the Orders of Steel. The latter was one of the new Diplomats of Steel, a new Order of Steel carrying out diplomatic duties of many kinds along with some intelligence work. The twins and neobabies from both Megaton and formerly of Raven Rock, were also there.

 

Mayor Harrington was still annoyed with the twins for binging the EagleEnclave rebels to Megaton but also astonished by how it had been done. Yet she had spent a good deal of time and effort convincing Megatonfolk that the newcomers were valuable for many reasons. They were a fine selection of skilled and experienced people. They brought new technologies, new ideas. They brought not only the warning of the EagleEnclave threat to the DC Wastelands in general but to Megaton in particular. The EagleEnclave wanted Megaton, but more importantly, what was below Megaton.

 

Elaine Harrington spoke. "We need to fortify not just the settlement of Megaton but the whole of the Jagged Crater. Now there are the areas below us. So far we have found the huge Megaton Subway Station Complex stretching out from the actual station and no less than three small, two medium and one large sized other bunkerplexes. There are many other tunnels, chambers, staircases, rampways and a good deal else. New space, new resources but new demands also. We need people. In the past we have been reluctant to let them in but now we want people not just for smaller settlements in the Jagged Crater but for down in the depths. But we need newercomers to be checked carefully as they come in. Major threats are appearing but there are minor ones of criminals, fools and disruptors."

 

The Harrington Family were on the edge of the rising Unity, not fully part of it but not outside of it either. The Mozi made Elaine nervous as they were Unity Core and central to the rising and evolving UnityMind.

 

Erin, the foster father of the twins from Raven Rock, responded. "The EagleEnclave have new types of weapons, armour and instrumentation. They have improved their organisational skills and they have large numbers of new soldiers, workers and specialists coming from somewhere. We know of the Eagle Rock super-fortress buried beneath the landscape of Northern Alaska. We know of the EnVaults in Alaska and Northern Canada, large vaults based on the design of VaultTekVaults but with some important changes. Yet, we who have been privy to the inner circles of the EagleEnclave, can not explain the appearance of so many new inventions, recruits, equipment and supplies. Yet we have strong clues, indicators, of what is happening. We found a fragment of document that somehow escaped both shredding and recycling. Most of the words on the note meant nothing but some stood out; one was enclones, another was endroids and the third was enbots."

 

Professor Brown looked troubled. "Enclones would most likely be clones as mass produced by an advanced cloning device, perhaps a whole network-system. Endroids are most likely androids an enbots are robots. I suspect by the contents of note fragment that all three are multiple purpose units to be produced in large numbers and then to be further processed to carry out various roles. We need to find out more so that we know just how big a threat these new additions to the EagleEnclave are and how we might better deal with them. In the past large scale cloning has often led to difficulties which is why it has never been used before."

 

Elder Dwan of the Order of Diplomacy, spoke. "The EagleEnclave has launched a large assault against the Brotherhood of Steel in California and the New Californian Republic, the NCR along with other forces forced to become allied with them. Yet the attack seems more to be designed to stop the Orders of Steel in the west from helping those in the DC than in actually conquering or destroying that region of the former USA. The same can be said of the stronger, healthier NCR that has been slowly but steadily expanding across California. With the abandonment of the Mid West and other areas of the former USA by the Orders of Steel, our forces are concentrated in two areas and both, it seems, are under threat. I suspect that we of the Orders of Steel have been cunningly manipulated into dividing our forces into two isolated pockets. We are facing new, unknown threats and yet it seems that we are coming to the limit of our own resources."

 

Professor Brown sighed. "As the Follower Guardian of the Master Guardian Professor Geniusstein in the hidden Smithsonian University, I can tell you that this is not the case. For example, there is the Spacer Union based at Orbital-L5 and Luna along with the Mars Federation based on, of course, Mars itself. Though they have problems of their own, indications are that they will try to assist us as much as possible in a wide range of ways. They already have a colony on an island in the DC Islands. One major difficulty is that Skynet is fully active again and has proven to be stronger, more dangerous than was assumed by either the Spacers or the Federats. To fully assist us they will have to deal with the Skynet."

 

"There are also the Ironsides, Security and Hunter Mercenary Forces which are we are expanding to make much stronger."

 

"The Regulators are being expanded and becoming more specialised against particular threats as the new UDC takes over many of their old law and order duties. Regulators are hunting down and dealing with the Eaters'O'Evil and other such new threats more deadlier than gangers or bandits or bank robbers or rustlers or smugglers or slavers."

 

"The Orders of the Way are expanding in size and number. The Sisterhood of Compassion and the Brotherhood of Protection are becoming large and more capable. There is hope."

 

He spoke again after a pause. "We appear to have come to a period of relative quiet before the storm. The primary enemy is preparing for the big strike, or so I compute. We have time to further our own preperations but no time to waste."

 

There was more talking to be done, more decisions to be made and it happened.

 

COMING OF THE IRONSIDES MERCENARIES

 

Fort Courage had turned out to be not useful enough for the Ironsides Mercenaries and then Marshal Ironsides got contacted by GreyMaharg and was directed to set up the Ironsides Mercenaries in the Jagged Crater. He was informed that seemingly brand new bunkerplexes, three of them, would be found hidden there and that they would be full of equipment, supplies and useful data. Each would also have robots, roboremotes and androids.

 

The first Ironsides Mercenaries got there damned quick and soon others were moving into the new bunkerplexes that made up Fort Ironsides just north of Megaton in the Jagged Crater. The Ironsides were soon setting up an outpost in Megaton where the bemused Megatonfolk realised a whole army of mercenaries had slipped past the observers on the Jagged Crater walls and to the new Fort Ironsides. Ironsides were soon visiting Megaton to spend EIDs and since his saloon was popular, Colin Moriarty was much happier. He had been forced to give up the money that the former Mayor had gambled away at the saloon but the new income more than made up for that.

 

Marshal Ironsides knew of the former EagleEnclavers and grudgingly accepted them. His main concern was the strange reports about the locked armoured doors in Megaton Subway Station and other indicators of things most dangerous down there. He had no doubt that the Ironsides would be expected to go down there and to deal with what was there. Hence the new types of equipment and supplies found in the three bunkerplexes along with more standard stuff.

 

Marshal Ironsides visited the odd subway station and there he met and talked with Professor Brown, the new mayor and others.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

58^th

COLLAPSE OF TRANQUILLITY

WAKING TO REALITY

 

PART 1

 

Tranquillity Town collapsed along with the rest of the Super Virtual Reality realms of Professor Braun and just over a million people woke inside SVR-capsules or, much fewer, in SVR-chairs. Brainbots, androids, robots and roboremotes raced to help people to come safely out of their capsules and chairs. Many were groggy and a fair few were sick. Soon volunteers were assisting others. The Unity was arising strongly in VirtualVault-0112. As for Braun, his dead body was found in the High Overseer's Office in a very special designed SVR-capsulechair. He had died quickly but horribly with a twisted grin of agonized triumph on his face. Why triumph?

 

The twins carefully removed Braun from his capsulechair and lay him out on a trolley. Then they and a doctor examined the dead body of a man that many now hated as a sadistic monster. Yet it was the twins who discovered the strange glistening silicon capsule in the dead man's brain with very thin cables of the same material webworked through the whole brain and down the spinal chord to flow out through the body. Had Braun really been himself? Was Braun in control? Was this really Braun?

 

Doctor Sarah Lee, an elegantly tall black woman in a dark dull pink jumpsuit, examined the strange object carefully. "Professor Jack Patriot Jackson, brother to the Mad President, he did some work with Braun. Nobody trusted Professor JPJ. He liked to experiment on his associates as much as he did so on his official victims. Braun was always a fool but he only became a sadistic monster after he worked with Professor JPJ. Now, perhaps we know why."

 

Winona shook her head. "The device might have caused Braun to become a monster except that secretly he already was. He kept that part of his nature private until he could come out in the open with it and nobody could stop him. Or at least he thought so. His grand SVR program was becoming unstable but that does not explain this amazingly sudden ending of it. Over a million of us are now awake in.. what is largely a vault full of SVR network-systems and other network-systems supporting them. Our options are to find other places for people to dwell, to survive, or to create a new, safer SVR program for people to dwell in."

 

Sarah Lee turned and frowned. "Braun, alias the PlayMaster, forced me to torture my patients with strange and horrific medical treatments and to give myself to any patient who wanted me so as to humliate me. The Unity saved us or at least it helped."

 

Chaske spoke this time. "The Unity had something important to do with what happened but somebody pressed a button somewhere and simply turned everything off. This whole set-up was designed to generate dark psychic energy to feed something, perhaps the DarkZiazin himself. Thus Braun got to play nasty as the PlayMaster and the DarkZiazin got what he wanted. Or so we compute."

 

The doctor sighed. "Well I have patients to tend to. If the Unity is tuned into a SVR program, it should be safe enough for all who use it. It is odd, this Unity, and hard to comprehend but it feels good to me."

 

The tall black doctor departed quickly to see to the good of a whole lot of people needing medical attention.

 

Winona and Chaske carefully examined the silicon thing and it was not long before they realised it was a quasiliving silicon organism of a very alien nature that should not have existed on that world. It was also very dangerous.

 

PART 2

 

The twins led a group out of the VirtualVault, up through a long large gently sloping tunnel that led to a secret entrance to a huge commercial garage-workshop centre known as Smith Casey's Motor Service Centre. Actually it was one of a chain of such places found through out the former USA and had actually been run by CarTek, a TekCorp that built the common, cheap three wheeler tricars. Such odd triangular vehicles could be found through out the DC Wastelands in places.

 

There were molerats and molemice there but they acted passively with the twins there. Beyond the underground levels of the complex, with many robots and other hardware including rows of tricars and other vehicles in various stages of repair, they found the ground level of the structure. It was more damaged and Brother Outcasts in power armour were going through the stuff. The Brother Outcasts, four of them, had a MrGutsy robot with them.

 

The Outcasts of Steel, or Brother Outcasts, had not appreciated recent developments in the DC Wastelands. They had been forced to fight the Hordra Raiders and now they faced Orders of Steel growing in size and strength as more people came in from the troubled Mid West and other areas. To top it off they faced the new UDC who were increasingly taking over more areas and were not happy about the Brother Outcasts tramping around as they pleased.

 

The Brother Outcasts wanted to loot some of the SVR hardware and software but the twins fronted them with firm refusals. VirtualVault-0112 lacked some kinds of resources but it had plenty of security roboremotes, robots and turrets.

 

Winona confronted Sergeant Prallet who was a wiry, tough woman with her helmet removed. "Your people can hire the use of our SVR network-systems once we make them safer and we put new programs into them. They would be good for training purposes."

 

Prallet frowned. "We Brother Outcasts are seriously thinking of going back to California, to the Lost Hills."

 

Chaske, who held a sleepy neobaby, spoke then. "New threats have risen up the middle of the former USA as if meant to divide the Orders of Steel in California from those here in the DC. I wish you luck in getting all the way to the Lost Hills when large, heavily armed air-convoys and convoys have been forced to turn back. I suggest that your people form a new Order of Steel, giving you a semi-indepence. Such people as Elder Owyn Lyons would then be unable to push you around so easily."

 

The sergeant snorted. "I actually agree with Elder Lyons. Only reason I went with the Outcasts was to be with my chosen comrades. I will inform our Elders of the existence of VirtualVault-0112. Who knows, they may want to come up with some sort of deal. Fort Independence has its limits as a fortress, as a base of operations. We will get back to you."

 

The Brother Outcasts departed and they took with them some looted items from the garage-workshop complex that the twins gave them as a symbol of good will.

 

PART 3

 

Orders of Steel and UDC people begant to arrive at VirtualVault-0112 in convoys along with Sisters Compassionate and Brother Protectors. They brought assistance but they also brought questions. The twins had found doors opening into demivaults, largely empty of technologies and unused, stretching out from the VaultTekVault proper. A hospital was set up along with a depot of goods for the awakened sleepers. People needed beds, food, medicines and much else.

 

What ever resources could be taken from Smith Casey's was taken and used be it basic furniture or car motors or what ever else. Oddly enough the molerats and molemice staid friendly and settled into a hard life of sleeping, begging for snacks, playing with children and getted petted by adults. The suggestion of any of them being killed for meat never even came up and would not have been generally welcomed. People were tired of aggression and death, even if it was in super virtual reality.

 

The Orders of Steel, other Orders and the UDC were all highly interested in using the SVR network-system, once made safer and more secure, for many reasons including training, education, relaxation, medical purposes, research and others, plenty of others. Plans were being put into place to create a copy of Washington DC as it once had been, with some variations, complete with many of the facilities.

 

The twins, with neobaby, began their own special investigations of the SVR network-system but it was not long before they warned the others to not use the SVR facilities for there was a hidden secondary network-system linked to the main one. It was very well hidden but the twins found it with the help of the neobaby. She sensed the silicon quasiliving organisms and was upset but led her beloved Winona and Chaske right to the right place.

 

A silicon quasiliving set of winding cables led to a secret other vault but this was a TekVault filled with control chambers, laboratories, laboratory-workshops, workshops, storage depots, computer centres and much else including mostly inactive roboremotes, robots and androids. There were also hundreds of dead bodies, fairly well preserved in the stale air, all of them having been killed by nerve gas sent through the ventilation network-system of the vault. They had been dead for at least a century.

 

The newcomers began to explore, to study the TekVault and to try to understand what had gone on there and why.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

59^th

BENEATH PALMSIO ISLAND

THINGS BENEATH THE ISLAND, BREEDING

 

PART 1

 

Away Captain Ryker himself led the armed force through the big old damaged armoured door, blowing it open with specialised shaped explosives. Federat, Spacer and Palmsion soldiers of the new local Guard, went carefully into the big chamber beyond. The Unity sensed extreme danger in that dank half cave, half metallic chamber that was huge and plunging off into deep darkness.

 

Amongst rusting machines of huge, complicated and exotic design were the skeletal remains of many dead humans, destroyed robots and things that scuttled, slithered and darted. Part machine, part organic things came attacking in waves being in an amazing variety of shapeforms and sizes. Triangular things slithered quickly over the metallic floor and these all looked almost identical to one another. Then came quickly shambling glistening humanoid zombie like creatures, constantly rotting and regenerating, holding crude weapons that they would club enemies with.

 

Supported by robots and androids, the soldiers in energy armour crouched or stood in a well planned defensive formation and then let rip with a constant withering fire of energy and projectile weapons. Grenades were thrown that bounced further amongst the enemy before exploding in mid air to rain death on everything below. Pulsebeams, pulses of energy and projectiles exploded the zombie like creatures, each with a triangular creature fused to and into its upper middle back, into its spinal chord.

 

More and more of the monsters swarmed at them but stupidly and in a way that just led them to being destroyed. Yet Ryker and his people made no leeway deeper into the chamber and with monstrous things falling from the ceiling and from raised catwalks, they did not wish to do so. The fighting went on.

 

PART 2

 

When the chamber was cleared of living monsters and clearing up began, others arrived of surprise nature. The Orders of Steel and the new United District of Columbia had sent officials, soldiers, scientists and others to the new colony on the island. Oddly enough they arrived at almost the same time that surprising news came from space that the Spacer Union and the Mars Federation were merging together as the new Solsystem Federation. With apparent amazing speed, the Unity had arisen in the Martian Federation. With Unity came new ideas, new breakthroughs in technology, new problems and, hopefully, new solutions.

 

Sisterhood of Metaphysics and Sages of Steel studied the strange machiens, the network-systems in that place, as did others both from the DC and from space. Not only that but they spent a good deal talking with each other, exchanging information, even as diplomats met on another part of the island. Even at this very early time the surprising idea of the UDC and the Orders of Steel joining a new Solsystem Alliance were approached with positivity. It was apparent that they all faced powerful threats and that they needed each other.

 

The DC Watcher had returned to Spacestation Freedom and her traditional position as orbit observer but now she was also a coordinator, an adviser, of communications and transporation efforts between the new Solsystem Federation and those in the DC. The struggle continued but new ideas were arising and a new joint strength.

 

Ryker moved around in an armoured hazmat suit but still hated the idea of being in that great chamber of horrors. Powerful banks of light lit it up now and robotic gun turrets constantly sought for danger as did robots but he was glad of his two bodyguards in energy armour. He noted the alien bodies, lain out neatly on plastic sheeting being examined by specialists of many kinds in armoured hazmat suits. The things were being destroyed consistantly, after careful study and measuring, except for a few well secured samples.

 

PART 3

 

Ryker turned to find himself fronting the short, plump dark skinned Professor Ableson from the Smithsonian University that very recently had been rediscovered officially by the UDC and absorbed willingly by it. The UDC Leadership did not question all of the existing projects of the university but intended expansion and addition of projects. They strictly staid away from Professor Geniusstein's project though that project kept absorbing many valuable resources. Instead they began getting reports from that project, concise bulletins and bigger files. The UDC also wanted to know how Doomsday had come to be and just what had happened before and on Doomsday. So much remained unknown and speculative.

 

Professor Ableson was a Lesser Guardian but then again, so was Ryker. Both were still dealing with the discovery of their true nature and their link to the Guardian Thirteen and other Lesser Guardians. The Great Guardian Plan was ceasing to be a secret, a plan and an intervention that came just before Doomsday but not in time to prevent Doomsday.

 

Ableson was frowning softly through his big, now clear visor. He spoke in Esperanto. "Professor Jack Patriot Jackson was here. He created something with the assistance of a huge team of specialists, guards, workers, administration people and caretakers. The project was big but eccentric. The project used a crazy mixture of human and alien sciences of different kinds, known and alien DNA samples and a large amount of genetic engineering. Professor Jack Patriot Jackson learned something, it is clear from the few of his notes we found recorded in the data network-system, but then he departed. That is after creaing many monsters, he betrayed all but a few select followers and left them to the mercy of the monsters after sealing them with out armour or arms in this chamber. I have never seen much about this supposed brother of President James Patriot Jackson though I did hear of a mysterious Professor James Patriot Jackson. It is most confusing."

 

Ryker shrugged. "I can not help you much there but there was a sister called Jane Patriot Jackson, a beautiful super genius of a monster, who was heavily involved in the space programs, the colonising of L5, Luna and Mars including the two Martian Moons. Yes, she was even more linked to the colonisation of Venus that was a terrible half failure of Terraforming. The only major fact I know of Professor Jack Patriot Jackson was that he was very much into extremely eccentric, even rather insane experimental projects. He was linked with the X-Files Investigations Taskforce that was a controversial semi-indepent project of the FBI run by the rather famous, perhaps lightly infamous, FBI Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder."

 

Ableson shook his head. "Actually the X-Files Investigations Taskforce, the XFIT, was run by FBI Agent Skinner and had also other agents but Scully and Mulder were its most prominantly known investigators and most long term involved. You have a reason for bringing up the XFIT."

 

Ryker nodded. "Just before Doomsday the whole XFIT came up into space. They were fleeing, like many others, from the insanity and warfare that that befallen much of the world, especially the DC. They brought a great many datafiles with them. This included a secret project investigating Professor Jack Patriot Jackson himself. They came up with an odd conclusion that did not seem to make much sense at the time. Professor Jack Patriot Jackson was trying to create a whole series of alien hybrid creatures, all with human DNA but also with other DNA from Terran life, that would assist in opening what he called the Thirteen Seals of Eternity Confinement."

 

Ableson looked deeply surprised and then he shook his head as if in bemused wonder. "We have made a very important discovery. This may very well help us to know what the DarkZiazin has really been up to along with the more powerful, more ancient and more evil force that lies behind him, that supports him, that manipulates him, that uses him."

 

Ryker looked around. "Well, there are armoured doors we have yet to open yet and more secrets to reveal but I want a bigger military force here before that happens. I suspect strongly that what we have run into so far is nothing compared to what is waiting for us."

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

60^th

FALL OF THE PATRIOT REPUBLIC

VANISHING TRICKS

 

PART 1

 

Boris and Ivan had considered themselves fairly immune to violence but as they ran along the side street they knew they had been fooling themselves. Tracking down and attacking isolated targets was one thing but this major fighting was something else again. The two of them wore stolen Republican Guardsmen uniforms and body-armour, the Republican Guard being the common army of the Patriot Republic now in the process of collapsing. The two dived behind a hastily raised barricade of drums, big metal wheel-bins and a big old clunky van on its side. Around them were rebels and army soldiers that had joined the rebel cause. The twins aimed autorifles at the oncoming enemy and fired off volleys of bullets. A new comrade fired off a rocket-grenade from an RGL over her shoulder and there was an explosion amongst the enemy.

 

A very strange enemy of malformed humans running in odd jerky fashion with out reached hands like claws and dried out, skeletal bodies with clothes and other gear hanging from them. These were victims of the Eaters'O'Evil and those monsters were swarming through parts of the city making new distorted humans. Only pulselasers did them real harm, as did flamers, but their distorted human victims could be wiped out by normal weapons. Ironically the palelombies, just one name of many for them, were prone to attacking any lifeform but the Eaters'O'Evil went only after true karmic evil, of which there was a rich supply of in the republic. Many folks suffered either only a light drainage of energies or none at all while children were rarely attacked.

 

Boris and Ivan aimed and then made a decision. They put their guns down, held hands and raised their free hands into the air, palms facing the coming palelombies. From their hands came a bright flash of golden light arching outwards towards the on coming creatures; those creatures all shimmered and collapsed. The firing stopped as normal appearing men and women stood slowly up with some apparent confusion while around them were normal corpses. The ones who stood up were now Mozi of the Unity.

 

Others turned to the twins in surprise. Boris and Ivan were already famous, infamous, but now their reputation would gain a new high amongst many and a new low amongst others.

 

Boris said, "Why have the Eaters'O'Evil come to Patriot City in such large numbers at this time?"

 

Ivan shrugged. "I do not know but I suggest that it is very important that we find out."

 

PART 2

 

They had vanished back in the Patriot Republic! That is the president, the high elites and their followers.

 

Patriot Republican President Jerry Patriot Jackson was supposed to be, officially, a descendent of President James Patriot Jackson of the USA but in truth he was but a superclone. In his car he led a procession of armoured vehicles, cars, trucks, vans, motorbikes and other vehicles into a great metallic stone chamber. He knew how Lord Hordra had been killed by demons, along with his followers, but this time the DarkZiazin himself was there to make sure no such thing happened again.

 

The Doomdemons had attacked Lord Hordra and his followers, destroying them in an act of treachery against an agreement made with the DarkZiazin. The DarkZiazin had informed the even more powerful evil that was behind his efforts and that one had then attacked the Doomdemons. In the distance lay the bloody, gory, bizarre remains of many massacred demons including the goat headed creature that was now stuck on a great sharp ended pole. There were a few odd corpses like glistening, softly glowing octopi except they had far more than eight tentacles and they had many black glistening orb-eyes both on the body and the tentacles.

 

In the distance in that vast metallic stone cavern chamber was an area of dark, glistening green forest and grasses where Marshal Sadobutcher and his Patriot Warriors were camped down and preparing for their role in the future invasion of the DC Wastelands. There was a huge armoury there with new types of weapons, armour and other nasty clever devices to be used in the invasion.

 

PART 3

 

Boris and Ivan leapt out of the police car even as it came to a stop. They pelted across the big flagstone courtyard, also used as a casual carpark, and leapt over the dead bodies of Patriot Guards that had been stripped of power armour and weapons. The new government had only formed long enough to declare that it would be joining the new United District of Columbia and was inviting in UDC 'Peacekeepers' in to help deal with the enemies of the new order. Even as the twins ran up the stone steps leading up to the big metallic doors of the Patriot House, a hulking fortress, the muffled sounds of gunfire drifted to them from the north. Despite this the fighting was starting to decrease even as the Talon Mercenaries fled from the island and the Peacekeepers, heavily armed and armoured, began to land on the island in helicopters and electric-gliderplanes.

 

The heavy armoured doors did the impossible and clicked, unlocking themselves, and swung open for the twins. They raced through the opening and across a big chamber. Glowing, flittering figures of Eaters'O'Evil were moving around the chamber and beyond but they kept their distance from the pair of young men. Boris and Ivan slowed as they noted that everything of value had been stripped from the big lobby chamber except some items just too big or fixed to move such as wall tapestries and great floor rugs.

 

They walked across the floor into the next big rock chamber, smaller but still impressive in size, and there they noted the strange, curled up and oddly burned corpses of Eaters'O'Evil that looked disturbingly like strange children. Eaters'O'Evil had been created by a criminally insane living-goddess by the name of AshuMaharg, child-cousin to GreyMaharg, a relationship most odd but natural with such exotic entities. It was bizarre to think that AshuMaharg had considered herself doing only good works when she created that and other evils to plague the Multiverse with. They crouched next to the dead figures and touched them.

 

Young Mozi adults rose with sparkling shimmering and the Eaters'O'Evil grew very agitated before they fled away in fear. The Mozi had only hazy memories of being Eaters'O'Evil, none of them pleasant. They were naked and so the twins led them through the fortress seeking clothing and other useful items for them.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

61^st

LIFEVAULT-0101 TWISTED MYSTERIES, SECRET HORRORS

PAST TRICKS, TRAPS AND TERRORS

 

PART 1

 

The twins of LifeVault-101 projected the form of Aaphant to get into the Elite Zone but the first five attempts failed for the zone was protected by an exotic series of energy shields and odd layers of exotic materials that stopped them. They did not desist even as, with out warning, all Elitors withdrew into the Elite Zone and sealed themselves in. Commoners, even the High Overseer, were taken by surprise by this sudden move. Demands for the Elitors to explain, to open the armoured doors and gates, were not responded to.

 

Aaphant found a way in and, in phantom form, he slipped through a very tiny gap in the energy and solid barriers. Once in the Elite Zone he was at first surprised by how basically normal it seemed by vault standards. The floors were not made of solid gold, young sexy adult like androids did not prance around the place and the air was not perfumed as many whispers spoke of that place. He drifted along a big main hallway for some time before coming across the torn up bodies of two women Elite Security Guards. Their hitech body-armour had been shredded as if it was paper and their fancy Kiplaz plasmaguns, long and boxy shaped, were dropped to the floor.

 

Aaphant touched them and they shimmered. Two Mozi stood up slowly and carefully in repaired gear, picked up their Kiplaz weapons and turned to look at the phantom entity. Aaphant was surprised to have discovered that these Elitors were clones born from a poor genned entity known as a multiwomb. They were enhanced of mind and body but were mind controlled or at least they had been. Now they were Mozi of the Unity and they wanted to free other vaultclones from enslavement. Most vaultclones were women.

 

Opro-543 spoke with a clear undertone of anger. "We vaultclones have been always considered more expendable than non-clones. They do not consider us to be Elitors as they are. The vaultdroids have more status than we do. The Elitors are dying off. Many decades ago they foolishly listened to the DarkZiazin and gave into his charm. He gave them what was supposed to be a special mutagenic serum that would turn Elitors, over generations, into superhumans. All they would have to do in return is keep tight records and send data to given coordinates via a secretive and complicated system. The Elitors did so. The serum was called the Elitor Serum and it seemed to work as following generations improved mentally and physically. Then problems began to emerge. Women began to give birth to monsters of physical or mental or psychic or mixed nature. The worst were the hidden ones that grew up in the normal Elitor population only to abruptly transform and cause chaos or, worse, to start slowly to become monsters while doing much harm before they were discovered. The Elitors fought back. They used every trick that they had including all of their hitech resources, but they were always losing. Now the monsters roam much of the Elite Zone with the survivors sealed into one sector. The monsters are trying to get out into the rest of the LifeVault to feed, to rampage, to kill and to destroy."

 

Aaphant nodded. "Follow me and we will try to gather together a bigger, better armed force."

 

Aaphant sensed the evil in that place now as they moved along a wooden wall panelled hallway dotted with well protected oil paintings, sculptures and other Predoomsday artworks that no Commoners had been allowed to see. They heard the muffled noises of rocket-rifles and Kiplazs being fired, horrific noises of insane rage and smelt strange smells. They passed under a torn apart gun-turret half hanging from the ceiling.

 

Then they came to a naked middle aged man curled up on the floor, an Elitor but also a psychic monster, who had been hole burned with a plasmagun. This one did not wish to be brought back and his body collapsed into dust. Why? Because Aaphant learned now that the monsters were releasing from their bodies an active FEV, a very special kind of Forced Evolutionary Virus, that turned many people into monsters and made others into immune carriers. Even dead bodies could be a threat.

 

The next monster was a psychic also, a young woman wearing only shorts, she hurled objects at the vaultclones with her mind. The vaultclones crouched even as Aaphant knocked out the young woman and, to his surprise, transformed her into a Mozi. She stood with out false modesty and carefully picked up the artworks she had thrown and put them back where she had gotten them. Thankfully none had sustained serious damage.

 

The action had only just begun and Aaphant was slipping away as the twins became tired. Some last minute communications took place and plans were formed.

 

PART 2

 

Aarie and Aaron went to the High Overseer and told him that they were Aaphant, or at least that Aaphant was their projection. The High Overseer was wary of anybody with such abilities but he quietly sat with them in his office and gained what knowledge that they had of the Elite Zone. Understandably enough he was highly disturbed by what he heard but he did not doubt the twins. The Unity was slowly and steadily rising amongst the Commoners of the Elite Zone. Then he gaven them some information.

 

There seemed to be at least three groups of distorted Elitor monsters on the loose outside of the Elite Zone but inside the vault. They had ended up being forced to flee from armed groups, roving robots and fixed turrets but it was feared that they would get past such and to unarmed citizens. Movement between zones and sectors was being restricted and many doors, hatches and vent-grids were being locked that had not been so in the past.

 

High Overseer Alphonse Almodovar steepled his fingers, elbows on his large desk, and studied the twins carefully. "It is time to reveal to you some Vaultgov top secrets. Our agents have suspected the truth about and behind the Elitor Madness for over twenty years now. We suspect the reason your adoptive father was allowed to come into the vault to live with you, the neobaby boy and your sister, was that the Elitors hoped he might be able to assist him with their problems. To some extent he did so. His drugs, his antiserum, slowed down but failed to halt the growing instability in the generations of Elitors. The large minority of still sane Elitors now trapped in the Elite Zone are now so most likely thanks to your father, James."

 

Somehow this did not surprise the twins.

 

Aarie spoke then. "Professor James Ashworth is a most brilliant man."

 

Alphonse sighed. "A most brilliant but secretive man who sneaks around the vault and even leaves it to go on secret expeditions to where, we do not know. Can you clear up what your father has been doing?"

 

Aaron shook his head. "He has told us frustratingly little. What other top secrets?"

 

Alphonse nodded. "LifeVault-0101 was a mess in the making. In the end there was no clear idea just what was supposed to be accomplished here. Was it a real effort to have a population survive to some future date to reclaim the surface or was it some weird experiment or what? The Elite did not arise by accident. The Elite was created on purpose and so was the Elite Zone, which is far more secured than I had hoped it would be. I did not know of the special physical and energy barriers or the existence of vaultclones. Another top secret is a huge vault door, identical to the main vault doors, leading to something unknown. Vaultgov and the Elitors failed to open it. I would like you psychic gifted super geniuses to try. Another top secret is this: the planned High Overseer of LifeVault-0101 was not supposed to be a human but at the last moment before the vault was first sealed up, the sealed orders were changed and the first human High Overseer was appointed, the old fool. I would show you a chamber of a very special and baffling nature. Perhaps you might better understand what is in it than others who have tried to, including Professor James Ashworth."

 

PART 3

 

The creature that was frozen, seemingly dead, half buried inside the hardware of the special chair looked like a super-mutant but one with a huge oversized head that was so big it had to be supported by a special cradle. It was inside a half circle metallic counter like desk and in the centre of a disk shaped chamber with many 3Dwallscreens that it could view quite easily. The creature was a cyborg of sorts.

 

The twins examined him carefully and then, casually, touched his skin at the same time. The creature shimmered, opened his eyes and then raised up his head with the strange chair. He swivelled himself around as security guards aimed guns at him and the High Overseer stepped back in shock. Then he spoke to the twins in an oddly elegant, refined voice. "Why thank you very much, my fine young man and woman, that does feel so much better. They switched me on and expected me to ruthlessly dominate the minds of the Vaultfolk in LifeVault-0101 and when I told them that, one, I could not successfully do so, and, two, I did not want to try, they switched me off again. Well, I was in a semi-active and semiconscious state for a very long time. I am Mozi of sorts and I sense the Unity rising. This is good but also concerning; what of the AntiUnity reaction and what of the possible madness that might result from such a process. Aaahhh, there is so very much to talk about. Here is a list of small vaultrooms hidden away and heavily secured being their locations, their security codes and contents as known. I suggest you take care as I have doubts of the accuracy of my databanks."

 

There was a soft chattering noise as a print-out flowed from a slot in one wall and fell into a tray below it.

 

The creature spoke again. "I name myself the Special Overseer to assist the High Overseer and the rest of Vaultgov. I am now attempting to gain access to the Elite Zone. I am being blocked but I think I can get through given enough time. Perhaps three or so days at most." He turned his special chair to face High Overseer Alphonse Almodovar. "Please tell the twins the very basic secret truth of LifeVault-0101. Clear your mind of the programming conditioning that blocks the truth from yourself and speak it out. Code Activation Alpha-Alpha-Beta-Beta. To be or not to be as human as appearance suggests one to be. What am I but a reflection of how others see me? Code Completion Alpha-Alpha-Beta- Beta."

 

The High Overseer looked very startled. He became pale of features and he walked over to a chair and sat down in it. Then he sighed heavily and turned to the twins. "We Commoners are all vaultclones, even those born inside vaultclone women in later generations. We were not created to bring life to the surface but death and destruction. Each and every one of us has inside us the genetic ability, the genetic triggers, to turn into monsters. We are the real Hordra, what ever that means. Raiders of the Hordra Islands were false Hordra. Lord Hordra was supposed to come to LifeVault-101 and trigger us all to become part of his monstrous true army, his new generation of Hordra Raiders, but he did not arrive. The experiment with the Elitors was to see if they, non-vaultclones, could be changed into true Hordra and thus many non-clones could be recruited. It is the sort of insanity that the DarkZiazin would come up with."

 

The Special Overseer stretched as much as he could and then sighed. "Could somebody please scratch the tip of my big ugly nose. It has been driving me crazy for almost two centuries."

 

Aarie went over and scratched the cyborg-super-mutant on the nose after she and other laughed with surprise and relief of tension.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

62^nd

CRITICAL HITS

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN THE DC AND BEYOND

 

FATE OF SPACESTATION FREEDOM

 

Skynet became fully active so suddenly and so aggresively that the newly fledged Solsystem Federation was taken totally by surprise. From seemingly nowhere came a cloud of super-missiles driven by fusion-rocket drives. These AI-supercomputer guided monsters spat anti-missile missiles and pulselaser beams out to deal with interception missiles and interceptor-drones. The newly reclassifed SFSS Enterprise fired off two great pulsebeams and vapourized over half of the super-missiles. Anti-missile missiles managed to destroy others. But then it happened!

 

Spacestation Freedom exploded, blowing savagely apart as other super-missiles, the real ones this time and not the fake decoys that were in the first attack, struck the big structure almost at the exact same moment. Thousands died as the great spacestation was disintegrated totally at one end and the middle. But thanks to the Unity many survived as, realizing its power, the Unity teleported itself and many others, including plants and animals, to the surviving three wheels and managed to, somehow, save them.

 

But there was no denying it. The Solsystem Federation had suffered a major blow.

 

The DC Watcher died instantly and with that death much damage was done to the fight against the DarkZiazin and the darker forces behind him.

 

INDEPENDENT SURVIVAL HOLDFASTS HOLD FAST TO LIFE

 

The Independent Survival Holdfasts were very proudly independent from outsiders and, to some extent, from each other and their own union. So it came as a shock when the big island of Indepence Isle began to issue radio cries for help and flares were seen to be shooting up into the sky. Very soon the Clanfolk and even the fanatical folk from Crosswayne were coming to the rescue for it was the Unity and just a basic sense of wrongness that drew them. As aeroships, helicopters, boats, ships and other craft sped for the troubled island, in the semidarkness the explosions and gunfire were evident as flashes and the tracer fire arced into sight at times.

 

ISH vessels were fleeing with older folk, children, the handicapped and those men and women, mostly women, who would care for them and guard them.

 

The Ishfolk seemed astonished as a large military force of Clanfolk and Crosswayne Knights of Atom landed on the shore in power armour and at once launched an attack on the bizarre creatures attacking the island. Undeathobs crawled small and ghastly over the ground but the Beautiful Ones, as they called themselves, were far worse as they floated through the air that glowed morgue light bright around them. They hurled bolts of morgue light that hurled even power armoured soldiers to the ground.

 

There were thirteen Holdfasts being one primary, three secondary and nine commons. The primary, three secondaries and five commons were secure and getting more so as reinforcements arrived but the other four common Holdfasts had fallen or were fallen. The true vampires had taken them with sudden horrific force. Now they gathered the zombies that rose from their feeding on their human and other victims.

 

With the Beautiful Ones came fast shambling zombies, undead things that had once been living Ishfolk. They used objects as basic weapons and had terrible strength but they were easily killed by pulselaser weapons, high voltage electricity and ultraviolet beamers that could not do the same to normal life. Robots attacked them and were hurled backwards but one by one the Beautiful Ones were killed, the zombies were burned and blown apart. Zombies died with shots to the head and solar plexus or being pulsebeamed or struck with high voltage electricity but one could simply blow them apart with enough firepower or burn them with flamers.

 

Destroying zombies was an act of good karma.

 

The fighting went on as ISH Guardsmen and Militiamen, many of them being women, managed to organise a planned offensive that swept across the island.

 

FLEEING FROM THE EAGLEENCLAVE AND OTHER THREATS

 

Refugees started coming from the north and the north-west beyond the DC Wastelands. They came in raggedy air-convoys and columns of land vehicles, they came in animal drawn wagons or trudging on foot. They came down the rivers in riverships or hovercraft or even just on makeshift rafts. There were tough tribals, religous societies, displaced settlers of the general Wastelander kind and others. There were humans, fearfully fleeing packs of zhouls, ghouls, animanoids, mutated monsters and much else.

 

The EagleEnclave was attacking to the north and north-west as it created a staging zone to further prepare for the major offensive to come against the DC Wastelands. Yet they were not having it all their own way. Unity had found it difficult to rise in the EagleEnclave but a large minority had fled, had escaped, while fooling the EagleEnclave Leadership that they were still loyal. Then they, now called the FreeEnclave, had struck back after forming an uneasy but surprisingly effective alliance with settlers, seminomadic tribals and others.

 

There were reports of the appearance of a great army of super-mutants that were suddenly appearing to march out from one of the weirding zones but not just more well known kinds but new kinds of monsters, some of them huge and some with terrible new abilities.

 

GARY, GARY, GARY

 

They came rushing out of the ground, smashing open formerly buried utility hatches, and rushed screaming in the tens, then the hundreds and fianlly in the thousands towards Sugartown. Guards saw the identical Gary clones and were shocked for a moment but the alarms were screaming and the Sugartown Guardsmen were racing to defend the town along with anybody who had a gun and could fire it. A few Garys had guns, a few had body-armour, a few had both but most of them came with tools, kitchen knives, branches and anything else they could carry. Many wore raggedy dark, dull blue vault jumpsuits but many were in undersuits only or even naked. Gary-clones were tough, were enhanced physically and mentally but they were quite insane. The Gary-clones were of a unified mentality that rejected the Unity. The Gary-clones hated anything that was not of them because they feared anything that was not of them.

 

Machineguns, autoguns, missiles, rockets, rocket-grenades were fired at the oncoming wave as a trade convoy tried desperately to escape to Sugartown. They threw out non living cargo to pick up people trying to escape on foot. Garys were slaughtered, were burned down, were blown up, were wounded to flop horribly on the ground or to crawl onwards in beserker rage.

 

A virtibird flew overhead, circled and fired down upon the Gary-clones. It seemed that nothing could touch it, what with the Gary-clones being so poorly armed. But the Gary-clones had something else that made them so dangerous, that had allowed them to massacre many of the people in LifeVault-0108 and driving the others off. Many did escape through tunnels that they collapsed behind themselves with explosives. Many Garys looked up at the vertibird with intense hatred, focused on it, and the armoured machine began to shudder and shake. The pilot tried to fly the powerful machine away but the vibrations became more intense and terrible. Then the vertibird exploded terribly.

 

"Bad Gary!" The voice echoed powerfully through the air as the strange little man came striding into view. "Very bad Gary! Poor sick Gary, all frightened and unhappy with your poor sick common mentality. They made you all wrong and you have hurt too many others, killed too many others, but many of you have died also. Poor frightened Gary. Now it is time for you to come with me and to be a good Gary and to be a happy Gary."

 

The Garys all stopped as if hitting a padded wall and stared in surprise at GreyMaharg and then, as one, they dropped all the items except the actual weapons and tools. They gathered tightly together and then they began to weep, to smile, to laugh, to dance, to cheer, to sing, to scream as the strange little man stopped before them. Then, as one, they became calm. The living-god smiled. "Gary is going home now but not to that horrible LifeVault-0108 where Gary was always scared and unhappy. No, to a new and better home."

 

GreyMaharg clapped his hands and both he and all of the now smiling Garys vanished with a sparkling shimmer of energies.

 

Sugartown was saved and so were the Garys.

 

Some would blame the DarkZiazin for what happened but this time he had nothing to do with it and neither did the greater evil behind him. As he would often say, while he did much evil he was hardly the inventor of evil and hardly the only instigator of evil.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 14, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

63^rd

SOME SURPRISE ASSISTANCE

HELP OF LIVING-GODS/GODDESSES

 

DC DEFENCE SECURITY BOUNDARY, THE DCDSB

 

The great DC Defence Security Boundary was destroyed in many place, partly in ruins in many places and functioning fine in many others. At least that was how it was one moment. Then, with a sparkling shimmer, the DCDSB was all fully functional and its controls were tied to the Prime Guardian herself, she who stood down in the depths of the True Pentagon.

 

The new UDC military forces and the Orders of Steel were active in the False Pentagon, or what remained of it, as they turned it into the new Free Alliance Unified Forces Central Defence Base.

 

The DCDSB was improved, enhanced, expanded with many new weapons, instrumentalities and other tricks. Now it served the refugees with way-point shelters complete with necessary goods and services. Many roboremotes, robots and androids became active. Defences were immobile, semimobile but also fully mobile. There were forts ready for the UDC, the Orders of Steel and other forces to use. The DCDSB went around the whole of the Patriot DC from the eastern shoreline of DC Delaware to the northern border, to the western border and, of course, the southern border. It had its own subway tunnels, twin monorail lines, going all the way around. It had bunkerplexes not just for the military but for civilians, manufactories, workshop complexes, research and development complexes, compunetwork complexes and much more. There was so much to it that it would take a long time for the UDC and others to truly know them all.

 

The Prime Guardian made her first contact with many leaders, other VIPs and yet others of the Free Alliance. Many of her choices would have surprised most people.

 

Raven Rock became isolated from the rest of the EagleEnclave forces. Though it was now enlarged and had much more powerful military forces, it became relatively vulnerable. President Eden #3 was in Raven Rock, being but one of three huge AI-supercomputer network-systems that together made up President Eden. Though #3 was smaller and less central than #1, as #2 was, it was still a sudden new vulnerability for the EagleEnclave to deal with. PE3 had a good deal of vital data in its databanks and the base itself had a good deal of secret hitech that would do massive damage to the EagleEnclave if the Free Alliance captured it.

 

President Eden made a decision with out consulting the humans of the EagleEnclave Leadership. The AI-supercomputer network of network-systems recalled all units into the base, sealed up the base and then detonated a self-destruction nuclear bomb hidden in Raven Rock. The fortress exploded at once, disintegrating everything and everybody within the confines of the heavily armoured and rock buried walls. The ground shook heavily and part of it caved it but then there was stillness and quiet.

 

GREYMAHARG'S MEETING WITH OLD BILL

 

The atomic car, the Highwayman, flew low through the sky and above the strange, broken landscape of the DC Wastelands. Then the automobile, which did not look as if it should be able to fly, landed on a short stretch of road that was under fairly good condition. The car halted with a throaty roar and then was quiet. The strange young man climbed out and adjusted his impressive Texas style cowboy hat. He strode over to where Old Bill was waiting patiently with his companions, be they human or animal or robotic or android. Old Bill had gathered more companions to assist him in his quest to seek out odd stories in dangerous, isolated places.

 

Old Bill looked tired, was tired. He came stepping forward and shook hands with the living-god. Then he spoke. "Well, you asked me to keep an eye out for odd things. I would not be surprised if you knew it all, anyway."

 

The strange young man smiled. "That's not what I sense to be the case, Bill. Please talk freely."

 

Old Bill shrugged. "All sorts of small battles are breaking out all over the DC Wastelands between folk, even those who used to be comrades, friends, lovers. Enemies have become allies. Everything is going mad. I suppose the Unity is rising but what is fighting it? The AntiUnity was the word that formed in my mind, like some kind of natural reaction to the Unity. Or maybe not so natural. Anyway lots of folk are turning bad or if they were bad, even badder. They all seem to be fighting but also heading towards Paradise Falls as if it is some kind of powerful magnet pulling on them. Nobody who is truly good seems to be turning AntiUnity. Is Unity good?"

 

"Generally good but problematic and potentially dangerous." The living-god scratched the heads of the four dogs who came over to greet him, having woken up from a restful sleep, with tails wagging madly. "Unity is a next stage in human evolution but will it lead to an evolutionary dead end, that's the trillion megadollar question. Even a living-god can not know everything, Bill, and I did not know about the strong movement of the AntiUnity towards Paradise Falls. Please talk some more."

 

Old Bill shrugged. "The Doomsday Mists are surrounding the Weirding Zones as if trying to confine them or so many are reporting."

 

GreyMaharg sighed. "To confine, yes, but what else? On Doomsday billions of people did not die in the normal fashion. No, they died but not fully naturally and they became disembodied, trapped in the Doomsday Mists, part of those glowing mists and linked to each other. The Doomsday Mists are dangerous, Bill, even to the power of we living-gods made flesh on this level of existence. We are weaker here except with powers that could easily do more harm than good. We have done what we can, most of us doing so from secrecy so deep that nobody but I know they exist in this world. Why, because they have to so as to both keep safer and to better be able to assist me to do what is necessary. They, like me, fear that the Unity is rising inside the Doomsday Mists and amongst the trapped, disembodied life there. If that happens, well the Unity as a whole could be driven insane or even criminally insane. This in turn would increase the power of the AntiUnity that in turn would stregthen the insanity and so forth."

 

Old Bill frowned. "Well, I am setting out for some place to retire. I have had enough ot this trading business. I am going to get married and settle down. Perhaps in Sugartown or Megaton or Rivet City or anywhere that will take me."

 

"Orbis Sanctuary!" GreyMaharg snapped his fingers and, with a sparkling shimmer, the boot of the car opened up but expanded strangely then, up and down, creating a big door inside a metal framework. "Your companions and yourself are welcome to stay there as long as you like. Inside you will find a big long airlock like chamber with a door at the other end. Go in with all your people, including animals, robots and androids."

 

Old Bill gave a sudden look of surprise. "I got a vision of that place, this Orbis Sanctuary. Peaceful, productive but odd. I get a sense of... well of incentives there to become enlightened, or at least more so. It is more than just a sanctuary there, isn't it?"

 

GreyMaharg nodded. "Especially now that Orbis is behaving itself, it is a special back-up hope not just for humanity and other peoples of this world but for this whole world."

 

Old Bill and the others went into the special airlock and then they were gone. But the strange young man gave a soft whistle and the airlock became filled with molerats, molemice, a big radscorpion, a bloatfly, some insects, small lizards and other creatures including a family of ground-squirrels. They were all very peaceful and none touched the plants that floated into the airlock chamber with them in a way that was supposed to be impossible. Then they were also gone to Orbis Sanctuary.

 

With a sparkling shimmer the big old hulk of a car went back to its normal appearance and outer shapeform. GreyMaharg climbed in and the machine vanished with a sparkling shimmer.

 

SHENAMAHARG'S GAMBLE

 

Yes it was a gamble but a living-goddess had created the evil of the Eaters'O'Evil and another could and would at last fix it after an amazingly long time and effort of studying the problem. Eaters'O'Evil had been created never to be fully destroyed. The attempts to do so had always failed in the end for it only took a few Eaters'O'Evil to escape for soon many thousands to exist again. From thousands came millions and then there were trillions.

 

Daughter of GreyMaharg, ShenaMaharg stepped out of a shiny silvery orb of three metres across, exactly, and she was of silvery skin, hair and a translucent robe. She looked around from where she stood on the very top of the Washington Monument and threw her hands dramatically up into the air. When her empty hands flew open, out of them flew tens tiny silver orbs that each split into two. These split into two. Then so did these. This took place every second. Thus the number of tiny silver orbs, each one milimetre wide, doubled every second. 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640 and so on until swarms of them were flying through the sky in all directions. Others shot down to lower levels and some went straight through the ground or buildings, phantom fashion."

 

The Eaters'O'Evil would remain with the same name but they would no longer create poor pitiful monsters. No, they would create Mozi. It was a gamble but she had taken it in hope that an evil could be turned into an advantage for Unity and the future of that world.

 

SHABMANDO RECONSTRUCTS FOR GOOD

 

The tall, angular man danced in cargo pants with big, clomping boots, along the street of Washington DC and as he went he touched machines, wreckages of vehicles, of robots and even such things as vending-machines. Not every one of them but enough. They sparkle shimmered, they changed, and they became what he would call Enlightened Robots or enlightbots. They were of different sizes, shapes and abilities depending on what they were made from. The motorbikes had become clever wheelbots and the cars were bigger wheelbots and so forth. The enlightenbots followed him as a growing army not for fighting or destruction but to carry out a very progressive series of projects. They were heading for a special place to carry them out in.

 

SAFFRONMAHARG CONFRONTS THE BEAUTIFUL ONES

 

As the battle raged on across a large part of the ISH island, SaffronMaharg, another daughter of GreyMaharg, came to that island and she struck with a great blast of special light that flooded across the ISH Territories. The Beautiful Ones perished, screaming, and for a few seconds exposed their true form of horrific appearance that caused even brave fighters to scream, to fall back and even to vomit or faint. Then they were gone as were the zombies and the undeathobs. A healthiness boost swept through all life from microscopic lifeforms to tall trees and people. SaffronMaharg, all saffron from head to foot, whirled and danced through the air and then she was gone, as quickly as she came, with a sparkling shimmer.

 

TO BE CONTINUED