PLANET FALLOUT THIRTEEN

[Maharg67]

-18:2-

 

JACKY, JESSY, JILLY JACKSON

 

As soon as the triplets entered the Sugartown PFP Chapter Lodge, they could sense that something was wrong in the sense of things being unnatural. In that large, elongated main chamber dotted with cheaply printed 2D hate posters, pamphlets and badges heaped on desks, they observed the secretary, a bodyguard and a general assistant. Only the secretary was a woman, a young one whispered to have been Redman’s poorly kept mistress. The triplets then knew that all three of these so called smoothskin humans had been under some kind of powerful but subtle dark psychic influence. This was the real reason that they had not noticed the death of Redman.

 

Why had such a force wanted Harold Redman dead so badly?

 

Sheriff Callahan had examined the office already and had found nothing of any importance except for two clues. What made finding clues difficult was all the blood, gore and violent chaos in the office space.

 

One clue was a strange black business card with golden lettering that one side and a strange game wheel on the other.

 

Another was a grey envelope that had arrived by semiofficial private mail delivery just the day before. It held a grey A4 sized sheet of paper, folded neatly twice, that had neat printing of black on one side. Except that the envelope was not addressed to Redman but to a woman in the Chapter Lodge named Elango Sashman. The writing on the paper was also clearly encrypted and needed some kind of code key to decrypt.

 

Elango Sashman should have been in Sugartown for she was a fairly well known personality there though she had only lived in the settlement for just over two years. She was an aggressively loud antimutantist and supporter of the PFP and she had made enemies but what many people mentioned about her, in private, was that there was something subtly disturbing about her. They did not to be near her. This included a few of her PFP comrades.

 

So Harold Redman had opened an envelop, with an encrypted message inside, addressed to Elango Sashman and then he had died. How long after opening the envelope had he died? To the surprise of the triplets, they sensed that it had been but a matter of a few seconds.

 

Callahan frowned when Bobby made both the envelope and letter vanish in mid air somehow and yet he did not say anything about it openly. Perhaps he sensed even then that this was a case that was over his head and that the Jackson Triplets were more likely to deal with it.

 

The sheriff examined the exotic black and golden business card and then quietly handed it to the triplets for the language was not any he knew but Jessy and Jacky seemed to understand it well.

 

Neither the grey envelope or the exotic business card would be mentioned in Sheriff Harry Callahan’s official report.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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Edited September 19, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-19-

 

UNITYFREE

 

UnityFree awoke and arose first in Alphaburg, a LifeVault with a youthful woman and a dog in it but soon Unity’s influence was slowly but steadily spreading beyond Alphaburg.

 

At first UnityMind, which was based and focused away from Centralia, had no real awareness of this other aspect of Unity arising in Centralia. If it had done so, most likely UnityMind would have consulted the UnityElders and together they would have tried to suppress UnityFree in Centralia by using the heavily controlled UnityNetwork and the UnityOrders.

 

It was not certain if they would have chosen to use the Thirteen against UnityFree for it seemed that both UnityMind and the UnityElders were starting to suspect the true loyalty of the Thirteen. They had good reason to.

 

Another scavenger came to Alphaburg and was transformed when Agna touched him, Agna being the scavenger that OummuO had rescued from death. Of course Agna did not do the transforming; it was UnityFree. Then others came; some ghouls in the night, a pack of savage dogs, some molerats and even a deathclaw. Soon all were part of UnityFree and were living together peacefully in Alphaburg. It was not a perfect situation but it was good enough.

 

UnityFree sensed that it had to take careful steps for there were many dangers for it to face from active enemies to the typical ones of the Centralian Wastelands.

 

Yet more recruits kept arriving of all sorts.

 

Agna bustled around the big common chamber serving up bowls of different foods to various others. The big old, but now youthful, deathclaw was slumbering close to a large fortified door as he acted as a sentry of sorts. Next to him slept a couple of formerly savage wild dogs who now were youthful and quite safe with him.

 

A former ghoul, now very human norm looking, was busy at one of the computer terminals as she sought to dig up buried datafiles in the LifeVault’s data network-system. There was a strong sense through UnityFree that OummuO had brought the first two UnityFree to that LifeVault not by accident. There were hidden treasure in and linked to that place.

 

Then Silvina, former ghoul who was getting her hair back, made a noise of excitement and she spoke. “This is a fake LifeVault. In truth it is but the entrance area to a far larger underground complex that lies beneath us. Before that, though, we can access hidden storage areas linked more directly to Alphaburg. Only trouble is I have only basic data on both.”

 

Agna nodded. “Then we must continue to take short, careful steps. Now, would you like some stew with breadbiscuits to eat?”

 

Silvina looked around at the fairly bleak chamber which UnityFree was already trying to make more comforting and then back to Agna. “That would be good. Then we will continue to list, sort and better utilise the resources here in Alphaburg.”

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Terminal%20Pix%201/TERMINAL-IT-Workit-00052-1.jpg

Edited September 20, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-20:1-

 

JASMINE, JADEKIN, JIFFY ASHWORTH

 

Normal timetable driven routines kept the Ashworth Triplets busy. They had continued their efforts to hack into the TekVault0101 computer network of network-systems, that into places they were not meant to go, of course. They began to assess what they already knew of vault organization, society and life.

 

There was the High Overseer, the Assistant High Overseer and the Council of Overseers that operated in the Central Vault Government Subvault away from others. There could be found most of Vaultgov administration and many specialised service-support departments, offices and branches. There were also various committees, subcommittees and councils.

 

Each normal inhabited subvault, such as the one the triplets lived in, had its own Subvault Overseer, most often known simply as the ‘Overseer’. Beneath each Overseer were Directors, Coordinators and Supervisors along with various offices, agencies, committees and so on.

 

Vaultfolk were all smoothskin humans being 10% male, 30% female, 30% neuter and 30% cyborg. The neuters and cyborgs tended to keep to their own areas. Cyborgs were 40% standard, 30% medium, 20% heavy and 10% specialist types.

 

Roboremotes of a wide range were very commonly used. Basic robots, or dumbots, were less common and so called true robots were very uncommon. Androids were fairly common but easily outnumbered by robots let alone roboremotes. Of androids, 75% were the common vaultdroids but the other 25% were made up of a variety of specialised types including entertainment, companionship, security and others.

 

What else was important to know?

 

There was super virtual reality that was linked to the roboremotes but also to the super virtual reality realms of education, training, entertainment and other purposes. Much of this was done in the one great SVR realm of Normalville.

 

VaultShop was the one and only way for Vaultfolk to buy their goods and services. VaultShop had a fairly limited range of goods and services to sell. Jumpsuits were always dark, dull blue. Haircuts were regulated standard. There were some sporting goods one could use in the Community Centres such as baseball bats, basketballs or even ballguns. Arts and crafts were basic and regulated.

 

There were sporting teams for various sports, being a regulated number of five teams of each sport for each subvault. Only basketball, baseball, ballgunning, some swimming and basic athletics were allowed.

 

There were three large swimming pools for each subvault but demands on them were heavy and people had rationed time that had to be booked ahead.

 

Three meals and three snacks a day were free but the menu was basic and hardly what one would call exciting. VaultShop sold a small range of luxury snacks and drinks but there were expensive and not always available.

 

VaultNetwork provided communications and other services through many network-systems including 3Dphones and 3DTV. At least 3DTV had many programs, though most were very old being PreDD. VaultNetwork was also transportation with elevators, rampvators, Ebuses, Etrams, Ecars, Ebikes and even wireportation, or wire-teleportation.

 

There were the Civil, Security and Military Police. The Military Police defended the subvaults but in theory there was also the Vault Guard that defended the whole vault except none had ever been seen in that subvault. There were the ‘secret police’ the Security Intelligence Service, the SIS.

 

There was the Social Regulation Service, the SRS.

 

Then there were the Civil, Security and Military Support Services to back up the Police and the vault in general.

 

There were various volunteer and community service agencies except that normally one had no choice about ‘volunteering’. Community service was a form of punishment for antisocial or criminal misdeeds not bad enough for harsher punishments.

 

The triplets realised, even Jiffy, that they really did not like being Vaultfolk or living in TekVault0101. They kept seeking more information.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-20:2-

 

JASMINE, JADEKIN, JIFFY ASHWORTH

JAPHANT

 

The Ashworth Triplets came to understand that they could together project a fourth entity, a phantomic one that could pass ghostlike through solid barriers. The first time they tested this they sat together with Jasmine and Jadekin facing each other, cross legged on the floor, with Jiffy sitting between them.

 

Japhant passed through from the apartment, through other apartments and saw that Mrs Young was having an adulterous affair with Mr Han. This was understandable, for marriages were arranged by the Social Regulation Service, and the couple hated each other but if they were caught they would be heavily punished. They did feel sorry for Mrs Han, who they liked very much.

 

Japhant moved along public hallways after that, not wishing to spy on any more private lives unless they had to do so. They saw the Tunnel Snakes, led by Butch DeLoria, loping along a public hallway. The triplets knew the boasting, arrogant Butch since they had come to the vault. He and the Tunnel Snakes saw themselves as real rebels but others tended to see them as a joke.

 

Japhant then passed through many areas of the subvault that were known to the triplets. They noted petty corruption, petty organised crime including illegal gambling, prostitution and fist-foot fights. They noted that semilegal cottage industries were rising up in the poorer parts of the subvault making a surprising variety of items from scavenged recycled materials such as toys, jewellery, figurines and much more. The Ashworth Triplets came to understand that because their father was a highly paid professor in the vault that they had a good life compared to many Vaultfolk. May folk were suffering from overcrowding and mild malnutrition.

 

They had suspected much of this but Japhant went so quickly and smoothly through the subvault that it taught them much in the form of an overview of TekVault0101 life.

 

But then they came upon some facts that surprised them. When Vaultfolk died, their bodies went through a socially regulated form of funeral service, and in theory they were cremated. In truth all dead bodies were recycled and became used in many ways, including as processed food to feed Vaultfolk.

 

Then they got to the neuter and cyborg sectors and they were greatly shocked. For if other Vaultfolk lived badly, the neuters and cyborgs lived in shockingly cramped conditions.

 

But there was worse to come in the form of the Rimzone where dwelt semilegal second class citizens with mutational effects. They lived in conditions that were very harsh and made the triplets quite angry. The Rimzone was whispered to exist but was officially denied. Yet the Rimzoners were clearly used in sweatshops and doing other harsh, unhealthy work. They farmed radroaches, killed them and filled wheelvats with them that were delivered to an elevator and from there to an unknown destination. The same was true for radshooms, tall thin green glowing mushroom like plants that were quite toxic.

 

The Ashworth Triplets knew that they had to do something to change matters for the better.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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Edited September 20, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-21:1-

 

BOBBY, BUFFY, BENNY BOBBINS

 

Getting into Outer Megaton was fairly easy once they flashed the introductory letter but Sheriff Lucas Simms intercepted them and gave them the once over with hard, sharp eyes well practised at picking out villains of varied kinds.

 

They stood in Outer Megaton, the trade area where convoys stopped over and where the Moriarty Family had the notorious Girls’N’Games Saloon, the Goods’N’Guns Shop and the Girls’N’Guys Motel. There were various outposts, some small temples, hostels, some huts, men’s and women’s toilets, a bathhouse and a few other facilities there. Megaton had over three hundred thousand people in Inner Megaton and over a hundred thousand people in the sprawling barely controlled chaos of Outer Megaton. As for Deep Megaton, it was supposed they had at least three hundred thousand people there also.

 

Buffy went off to buy some items from a small shop, not the one owned by the Moriarty Family.

 

Bobby smiled at the sheriff. “We have come to meet with the mayor. We have personal business with her.”

 

Sheriff Lucas Simms smiled right back but the smile did not quite reach his eyes. “You and your sister here walk like cool, smooth death. You two are very dangerous. In all my years I would say you two are amongst the most dangerous folk I have ever met. I have heard of your exploits. Between the two of you, you have killed a few hundred raiders, bandits, gangers, slavers, cannibals and other nasties. There are some very big rewards on your heads out there but funny enough experienced professional assassins do not seem keen to go after you; only the fools do that.”

 

Bobby shrugged and lost his smile. “We do as we must, sheriff, we do as we must. You have a nice town here. I like the feel of this town. Would like to settle down here if given a chance to do so.”

 

Benny stuck his head out of his pouch and the neobaby smiled at the sheriff. Then he stretched his arms out of the pouch and looked up at his little big brother. He then spoke. “Bobby, brother, I want a drink of water.”

 

Bobby looked down and smiled. “Water coming up.”

 

Sheriff Lucas Simms then made a big mistake. “Dragging a neobaby around with you shows you mustn’t care for him much.”

 

Bobby’s hand moved so fast the movement was not visible and then he had a big powerful revolver pistol aimed right at the sheriff’s head. Bobby spoke very coolly. “Really, Sheriff Lucas Simms, you should keep such foolish statements to yourself.”

 

Which was when Bobby realised he had many guns pointed towards him.

 

The sheriff shook his head and grinned. “Well, that was an amazingly impressive display of quick draw skill, son, but you can see a whole lot of local folks have you in their sights. Now you, your sister and your neobaby can just leave. Megaton doesn’t need your kind here. Mayor Harrington may have her reasons for wanting you here but I have enough troubles already with scum like the Moriarty Family, the Mercy Brothers, the Dagger Sisters, O’Henry and the Megaton Boys.”

 

Bobby made his gun slip back into its holster with amazing speed. “You set me up, sheriff, which was very clever of you but I will not be forgetting this, not ever. You just made one very dangerous enemy, most likely the most dangerous enemy you have yet made.”

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-21:2-

 

BOBBY, BUFFY, BENNY BOBBINS

 

“Enough!” The attractive mature woman strode towards both Bobby and the sheriff. She was a redhead, she was tough looking and she radiated confidence. She stopped before the pair of them in her clean basic Wastelander gear and she spoke again. “Stupid, stupid men. Will you ever grow up? Sheriff Lucas Simms, you overstepped yourself. I was told you were planning this little trick so you could have an excuse to get rid of the Bobbins Triplets but too late to stop your stupidity.”

 

Benny the neobaby was looking flushed with anger. His small fists were clenched. He crunched up his face. Then the sheriff rose swiftly up into the air, straight upwards. Lucas Simms cried out in fear, he had never liked heights much, and flailed his arms and legs. Then he stopped and began to slowly to turn somersaults through the air.

 

People stared in amazement. Some cried out. Bobby grinned and looked more relaxed. Buffy came out of the small shop with a bag of items she had bought, looked calmly up at the spinning sheriff and smiled. She already knew what had happened thanks to her intrinsic link to the other triplets. If Bobby had really been in danger, she would have exploded out of the shop and Megaton would have truly known fear that day.

 

The redhead spoke again. “Very well, please let Sheriff Lucas Simms down, Benny Bobbins. I will buy you a lolly.”

 

Benny liked lollies. He gurbled with joy and the sheriff gently fell to earth where he looked quite upset.

 

The redhead turned and gave Lucas Simms a very hard slap across his face. “Never, never do that again or it will be me marching you out of Megaton, do you hear. I am mayor, you are sheriff. Stay within your authority.”

 

People had put away their guns and were going back to normal business. Realising that he had no support, not even from two deputies who were frowning at him, Sheriff Lucas Simms turned and stormed off.

 

Mayor Elaine Harrington frowned hard at Bobby Bobbins. “Next time you keep your calm, young man. Megaton needs Sheriff Lucas Simms more than it needs you, at least until you prove yourself. Yes, I have heard about the infamous Bobbins Triplets, at least in the form of lots of whispers. Now, where is your vehicle? You do have one, I take it.”

 

Buffy spoke then. “Mayor, you are under threat. You should not be here by yourself.”

 

“I am not here by myself.” Elaine smiled. “I have many good townsfolk around and anyway, you are here. You may as well start protecting me. One way of doing so would be to draw less attention to yourselves.”

 

Bobby shook his head. “Bodyguards need to be noticed, mayor, as deterrent. Deterring attackers is a big part of the job. You are far from the first folk we have protected. We would like to move into Megaton.”

 

Mayor Elaine Harrington groaned. “Yes, you would say that after causing so much ruckus, wouldn’t you? Come on. I will take you to the Harrington House to meet family, friends and others in live there.”

 

Benny made a sound of protest. “Lolly?”

 

So the mayor bought Benny a small lolly-stick and then they drove in the battlebuggy into Inner Megaton.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

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Edited September 19, 2010 by Maharg67