"Blood, Sweat and Tears"

[Slicer51b]

Before I start this masterful and truly brilliant work of art critigue <sarcasm>, let me make note that I have only read the 4 Prologue images + the first 3 chapters. So I am starting from scratch and using only the information I pick up from reading it now.

 

1. Typical Evil Villian interogative methods. Must we always do some elaborate torture or interogative methods? Don't knives or unarmed hands work well enough? Or if you have to keep up with the whole ultra advanced tech image of the Enclave, use a fancy power outlet without a surge protector or whatever that contraption is called.

 

2. Evil stormtroopers always suck when it comes to combat. I find it perfectly reasonable that Jericho with all his experience could still kick ass, however I find it a stretch that he could fight his way into this base. You know, Chinese Assault Rifle vs Enclave Power Armor. Even though it is almost always in more crappy condition than my copy of Enders Game, it should provide protection against that. So we counter that by giving him an awesome alien-tech weapon. I find this part perfectly reasonable. It would be so typical of military personnel forgetting to put an insanely powerful weapon under lock and key.

 

3. The Orbital Strike is a peice of s***: I found this ridiculous in the vanilla game that the orbital strike could only blow up a big bot. I not only find it hilarious that the Enclave guys completely miss their targets but that they kill a bunch of their guys + blow up a bunch of vertibirds. Reminds me of that incident in Camp Lejune with the artillery guys almost blew up a general's wife driving on the nearby highway....

 

As you may have noticed my level of sarcasm and cynicsm is at a peak (forgive my spelling, I am feeling too lazy to figure out the right spelling right now). I had to wait hours to get into the mentioned dupe's office to get my leave papers signed. To give you an impression of how long I waited, I came with a novel in hand. Gone Tomorrow, a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, about 500 pages. I was at about 330-350 pages. I finished it during my wait time. So my impression of humanity is at a low ebb.

 

Lt Slicer51b

Alien Technology Adaption Division

Terran Starship Command

[AliasTheory]

1. Ah. I suppose you are right but I wanted to establish a good atmosphere that people would recognize upon first reading this. Stuff us gamers can relate to.

 

2. "...however I find it a stretch that he could fight his way into this base."

 

Read on. And Ender's Game! I've talked with some people about that.

 

3. "I not only find it hilarious that the Enclave guys completely miss their targets but that they kill a bunch of their guys + blow up a bunch of vertibirds."

 

Never said the Enclave decided to declare the orbital strike.

[Slicer51b]

3. "I not only find it hilarious that the Enclave guys completely miss their targets but that they kill a bunch of their guys + blow up a bunch of vertibirds."

 

Never said the Enclave decided to declare the orbital strike.

 

The plot mysteriously deepens. Now we the audience must ponder who is responsible for the strike. Those things don't exactly grow on trees, plus one needs skilled technicians to be able to use an Orbital Strike Platform.

 

Lt Slicer51b

Alien Technology Adaption Division

Terran Starship Command

[AliasTheory]

TBH, I have considered rewriting the earlier chapters. I didn't expect things to take off as it has. :)

[Spaceritual]

Another good read...kept me glued to the screen till I finished it then read it again a little later....nicely paced chapter that one...if your going for a re-write perhaps leave that till your thinking book form or something as its like going half way on a journey and suddenly your sent back to the start again...

[AliasTheory]

@Spaceritual: That's the plan. After I'm all done then I'll go back.

[AliasTheory]

A post just to say special thanks to Ithildin, who has kindly volunteered some of her time out of her busy schedule to look over my writing for grammatical and spelling errors. Everyone is free to help out.

 

Haven't started on the next chapter yet. Sorries. But the whole storyline has been planned out already.

[Spaceritual]

@Spaceritual: That's the plan. After I'm all done then I'll go back.

 

Sounds good then..and happy holidays :)

[gormonk]

"1. Typical Evil Villian interogative methods. Must we always do some elaborate torture or interogative methods? Don't knives or unarmed hands work well enough? Or if you have to keep up with the whole ultra advanced tech image of the Enclave, use a fancy power outlet without a surge protector or whatever that contraption is called."

 

play the game called "evil genius" it's a funny game... man how you can interogate

 

"2. Evil stormtroopers always suck when it comes to combat." thats a no brainer... ever watched starwars.... how the f can a few poilets take down a freaken death star with out the incompantance of the stormtroopers????

 

"3. The Orbital Strike is a peice of s***" ok..thats a given.... ive noticed thats its more like a artillery barrage than a "orbital strike" simply because of the inacceracy of the dam thing....... and the mass ammount of warheads witch btw look like potatos. i think it should either be a giant beem of light(see fallout NV) or 5 missiles (see what lays in the crator of the white hole/flipping museam(places in fallout 3) )

[AliasTheory]

<----- BACKWARD

 

============================

Chapter 19: Teatime

============================

 

With the first component in hand, we depart from Vault-Tec, leaving Dogmeat’s soulless body behind. Lyn is still wounded and a bit lightheaded, but some quick limb binding will be enough until we get out to safety. The stars are watching us again as we climb over the mountains of gigantic concrete slabs, mere crumbs of the once great corporations that stood proudly before the Great War. Lyn almost gives in to her exhaustion at the top of our climb, but I lend her my hand and pull her through with everyone’s literal support. At the apex is an all too familiar sight: an arid world being reclaimed by nature, spots of green here and there. I have to sigh, but it could be worse. Why, without the largely-exposed moon in the sky, there would be nothing to see!

 

We trek a mile out and settle down in the shadow of a tall tree on a relatively lush and steep hill. Piling together our resources produces a shoddy tan tent, us a blob of dark silhouettes inside, the tent itself perhaps just big enough for all of us to sleep in, although likely uncomfortably. But camping always feels so warm and homely, a sensation I never quite felt back in the Vault. The light of a small campfire beats against the tree trunk, sparks stinging the tiny leaves, but the fire is truly small; I doubt anyone is staying up late tonight. Well, except me. I’m on duty…because I want to be. It’ll give me time to think about things; there’s too much to ponder about.

 

Laying out the cardboard mats indoors, Saori and Butch break out the canned food and metal utensils and begin chowing away with amazing speed, shoveling heaps of food into their mouths. Pork and beans are a real treat for us. Saya shyly dips her fingers in the oily solution and licks them clean, seemingly without appetite, and Lyn, sitting cross-legged, spoons the seeds out slowly as if to savor what little flavor they have. She’s still injured, so I sit behind her and bandage her wounds with a large doughnut of white cloth. Just a little bit more time and I’ll be all done.

 

Everything is peaceful again, the tinkling of the metal hitting solid surfaces audible. Lyn gently puts down her can of food and her utensil to speak. “Drew, may I see you outside?” she asks with a weak smile, looking kind for once. “Just the two of us?”

 

“Wha ho!” Butch exclaims, sputtering in my direction. “You guys never told me you had it going!”

 

I slowly wipe the greasy liquid off my face, unamused, rolling my eyes and then squinting at him in a hint of disgust. “Not true. Just eat your damn food,” I snap. The sound of crackling from the outdoors is then the only thing that can be heard, but only momentarily; I hear Saori breathe in deeply and then sigh, gradually and seemingly miserably.

 

“But sure thing,” I reply, my attention now back at Lyn. “We’ll finish wrapping out there. It’s getting hot in here anyway. And sour-smelling...” I stand up and face the entrance. “Like a**.”

 

Butch coughs forcefully. “Because you’ve smelled that before!”

 

Ignoring his words, I open the torn covers of the tent entrance and lead Lyn to the other end of the hill by some rocks. Normally we would be greeted with a rather scenic overlook of the Wasteland, forests of young vegetation, shrubbery and all, but there is only darkness. Dark clouds are rolling in and slightly cover the moon, but their tops seem to shimmer with the light of all the heavens. I stop walking, and Lyn’s footsteps cease their thumping, a slight echo behind mine. A light and refreshing breeze blows by.

 

“So Lyn,” I say as I turn around, “what was it that you wanted to-”

 

Bam. It took me an entire second to realize it, my face now feeling numb, but Lyn had punched me clean across the face. I stagger towards the center of the hill, hurt and caught off guard.

 

“This is YOUR fault!” she screams, bandages unraveling. “This NEVER would have happened if you weren’t here!”

 

I’m stunned, the roll of bandages still in my left hand. Hateful, she reaches for a knife on her side. However, there is no brandishing of weapons; charging, Lyn runs straight towards me, but I’m prepared to retaliate. She tries to slash me with an overhead strike. A foolish mistake. I intercept her swing with a right-handed grip, deliver a crushing blow to her abdomen with my right knee and sweep her feet. Lyn hits the earth with a thud, winded, groaning in pain. I snatch away her blade effortlessly, confiscating it like one might do to a child.

 

I scoff. “Cool your jets. Don’t make me beat you up any more than you already are. And no more sharp objects! Christ, I’m allergic to those.”

 

There is no response other than her groaning and struggling, now much quieter.

 

I toss the roll of bandages on her, bouncing off her tense body onto the ground behind her. “Finish wrapping yourself up. I’ll get you something to drink…then we can have a little talk, m’kay?”

 

I drag my feet back to the tent. I whip the hanging fabric aside and lazily toss Lyn’s knife into the far corner of the tent without a second thought.

 

“What was that out there?” Saya gasps, her eyes large. “I heard Lyn...” With a frown, she begins to stir the can of food with her finger of a ladle.

 

“It was,” I answer bluntly. “She’s alright. That was her knife.”

 

“No way…” Butch intrudes. “She attacked you with that, didn’t she?” His expression strangely brightens in that moment. “That means you took that b**** down!” Excitedly smiling, he jumps out of his seat. “Dude, high-five bro!”

 

I slap his arm away and remain serious. “I’m looking for the tea. And a blanket.” Looking upset, he sits back down, disappointed that I did not share his feelings. It wasn’t fair game, anyway.

 

“Here, use mine,” Saya remarks, handing me a folded brown blanket from the tent corner behind her. It is nice and soft to the touch. “And Saori put the tea by the fire outside. All the cups are there too.”

 

I then notice Saori is gone. Again.

 

“Agh, great. Did you see where Saori went? Hope she didn’t wander off too far…”

 

“She’s looking out back.” Saya angles her head towards the tent walls in avoidance. “She doesn’t like the competition.”

 

I give a quizzical look. “What competition?”

 

There is some hesitation, perhaps some regret for even bring up the topic, her head sinking lower, but I eventually get my answer. “Romantically,” she says, cringing.

 

“What are you talking about...?” I turn to the opposite corner and raise my voice, recalling some words from earlier. “Butch…!”

 

“No, no!” Saya closes her eyes and shakes her head vigorously. “It’s not like that. Even before that…she was…interested.”

 

It’s my turn to groan. “Oh gosh. Fine. I’ll deal with it later…this is the last thing I need.” I face Butch. “You got lucky,” I mouth. I leave the tent, and then notice the teapot I had so carelessly overlooked from before. “And don’t put yourself down, Saya!” I call, waving my hand for none to see. “You’re not part of this!”

 

“I guess…but after you’re done, please give me back my blanket!”

 

I put the blanket over my shoulder. Removing the pot from the heat of the fire, I pour two small cups of tea, careful not to be too precarious. Last time I burned my hand, and that didn’t feel too great. I don’t know what Saori put in this time, but I’m sure it’ll be just fine; usually it is just whatever foodstuffs we have leftover.

 

Lyn now sits facing away from the campsite, under the right side of the large tree, cross-legged and arms on her lap. Loose bandages around her head and her hair wave in the air relaxedly. As I approach her, I set down the two small tea cups and throw the blanket over her shoulders, floating down to a rest as a companion of comfort.

 

“You feeling better?” I ask, taking a seat on her left, a hand on my knee.

 

“She’s wrong,” Lyn comments, staring away into the darkness. “There is no competition.”

 

“So you heard; good ear. But I know.” I scoot around to get comfortable, avoiding the small pebbles scattered about. “Drink some of her tea. You’ll feel better.” I hand her one of the cups.

 

She pokes her index finger through the loop of the cup and maneuvers it closer to her body, then she looks down at her feet. “Thanks.” Gripping the handle tenderly with her aid of her thumb, she takes a small sip.

 

“No problem.” I taste the tea. It is a refreshing, juicy Punga flavor this time. I never thought that would make a good flavor. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

 

“Ugh…you idiot,” she sinks, still facing away. “I didn’t want to talk about anything. You know that.”

 

I’m positive she was just reacting to the atrocity at Vault-Tec, but there’s my cue. “Well fine. I want to talk about something then. About you.”

 

“You don’t care about me. You never did. Why do you want to know about me? We’re through after this, remember?” She pulls the blanket over herself tightly.

 

I did not foresee this, and she’s right; I never really did care about her all too much back at the Vault. Yet, there is my answer. “Well, times have changed, and years have passed. We’re all out of one-oh-one now and the world is different. And you’ve changed too.”

 

“Hmph. I still don’t need to answer your questions. At least respect me about that.”

 

“I saved your life,” I remind her. “Or all of us, actually. Maybe not your friend’s life, but your life. So you owe the rest of us that much.”

 

She finally gives me a quick glance, and then resumes her posture. “Okay…fine,” she gives in unhappily. “But you’re going to be asking all the questions. Otherwise I’m not going to say a thing.”

 

“So be it.” I look down at the ground as if to refer to a paper with all my greatest questions about Lyn, but it is true: nothing is there. It really doesn’t matter though. I know just where to start: the beginning.

 

“Why and when did you leave the Vault?” I question. “You never had to follow us into this screwed and nuked ‘Land of the Free’.”

 

An immediate response. “The world back there in that dungeon was meaningless to me. I had no real friends and no real family that cared about me. I was purposeless; ‘We are born in the Vault, we live in the Vault, and we die in the Vault.’ And more importantly, I still believed Dad was alive out there with all my heart. So I left, through the exact same way I observed when you were all shown the door.” She says it all clearly and easily.

 

“You are forgetting about the ‘when’.”

 

“Maybe a week after you four were expelled.”

 

“And Megaton?”

 

“What kind of senseless question is that…?”

 

“I think it is safe to say you went there after. Nearest place, although it is a big pile of scrap metal. That’s where we went too. What happened there?”

 

A deep sigh. “I heard about you all first because of my suit. “From that man...with the beard and hat...” She struggles to create the connection and puts her lips to the teacup.

 

I suppose asking about later losing the customary attire is irrelevant at this point. That fact isn't really important. But I fill in the blank for her. “Sheriff Simms.”

 

“He told me he saw two boys and two girls that came from the same Vault,” she continues. “He asked me if I knew about you all. I said I didn’t. Then-”

 

“Why did you lie?” I interrupt.

 

“I wanted to forget about it all. I hated the Vault and still do! I wanted a time machine; a memory eraser; a reset button. I wanted to start over.”

 

“And that’s why you joined us, years later…” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

 

“No. You joined me.”

 

“You let that happen.”

 

“Only because I thought you four would be useful for my cause,” she counters. “That’s what I said. And you have been, if that’s what you want to hear.”

 

“Ha. And we just so happened to cross paths in the Wasteland…after these few years…”

 

“Yes...that’s true.” I sense some wavering in her thoughts, her voice sounding unsure. “After a few years.”

 

“If that’s so, how come we never saw you at Megaton?” This mystery has always stumped me since it dawned on me. “Or Rivet City? Or all of the other big cities and towns of the Capital Wasteland?”

 

“The world is a big place, Drew. That’s a pretty easy answer.”

 

“Well, Megaton then. We never even heard about you. You just set off on a huge camping trip from day one? You only left a week later. The rest of us were still clinging on to the scarce resources there in ‘shanty town’ for a while.”

 

“I left Megaton a long time ago…as quick as I came. I don’t remember much of anything there, except that stupid warhead in the middle that has yet to go off.” She pauses, as if peering back into the deep recesses of her mind, plucking out the memories, one at a time. “I told Simms to forget I ever came, and I guess he kept his word. I wanted to even forget Megaton because the people there hated me.”

 

“What are you talking about?” I laugh. “The people of Megaton are the kindest people I know-“

 

“No they aren’t. They’re paranoid about everything and everyone because of that bomb; they’re desperate; they’re ignorant about the world outside their own. Just like the Vault. They never accepted me! They never welcomed me!” She hugs her body tighter. “None of this fit, and it was not my place. So I packed up and left to Canterbury after talking with the traders. They go all over the place.”

 

It’s probably useless to argue with Lyn about Megaton’s folk. Perhaps she just had a bad experience. Well, Saori's efforts have disarmed that bomb for good, so the townsfolk have changed in response. But getting back on my topic of interest: Canterbury is another story, as none of us four ventured that far northeast. “The small town that serves as the hub of all trade…” I mutter.

 

“Yes. The folks there were kind and had food to spare. They cared for me like family for the longest time. And then…”

 

“And then…?” I say in anticipation.

 

“…that’s all,” she concludes. I’m not going to say any more about that.”

 

“Just leave me hanging, huh? Well, I suppose that is enough.” Now that is a side of Lyn I never knew; we even think differently about something so broad and so general. I guess if I really wanted to hear everything, I would need a dictionary-size of a book to get it all down. But moving on to part two, where there is still so much more to learn. It’s time to move onto the main course. “So…you want to talk about how you found your dad?”

 

There is a gap and an expression of doubt, almost as if she had somehow forgotten the answer. “I don’t want to…but for you, fine. Rivet City. It was a few years later and weeks ago. I heard the name ‘Fabre’ from a female scientist there and then things took off. Dad was at Project Purity, and I found him.”

 

“And then the Enclave came and messed things up…”

 

She confirms for me. “Yes.” Pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

 

“The reunion went well, I hope?”

 

“That’s personal.” Lyn looks at me with scorn and then spits the other way; some long hair strands had pasted themselves onto her lips in the wind. “I’m not telling you anything about that. You don’t need to know anything that was said then.”

 

I scratch my head, my gaze shifting away from her. “Cutting me real short there.” I’m sure some valuable information I’m not seeing is contained in that very conversation, but I’ll let it be. I suppose everyone needs some privacy. “Alright.” I turn back swiftly. “Also, why didn’t we four know about your dad back in the Vault? Vault one-oh-one suit and all,” I say, gesturing, hands scaling the length of my body.

 

“I was told he left the Vault right after I was born inside it. That’s what the Palmers, who as you remember took care of me, told me when they thought I could understand what happened.” She sighs again, and then inhales sharply. “I never wanted to know that! I never wanted to see Dad die! I wish I was just a Palmer. Lyn Palmer. It was so cruel…or crueler…” She sniffs.

 

“Ah…well that makes sense. The rest of us were aged two then.” I put my hand on my chin. “I wonder what James’s reasons were…”

 

There is some trembling in her voice. “Project Purity.”

 

“So you’re going to tell me about the reunion?”

 

“No. I said I’m not.”

 

“Hmm.” I think I have an idea about her abandonment. “He chose that experiment over you?”

 

It seems I’ve hit a sensitive point. It might have been the way I phrased it; Lyn wipes across her eyes with her right arm, but stays strong. “Not the experiment…the many people that would be saved by it. It was selfless…not selfish. I understand now.”

 

She finishes the rest of her tea and sets the cup aside.

 

“I’ll take the cup.” She slowly grabs it from above and is about to shallowly drop it in my hand, but I retract my arm and close my fingers shut. “But two more questions first. These are more relevant time-wise.” The cup falls to the ground, ringing with emptiness on the gravel.

 

“Why do you always have to be so curious, you monkey…?”

 

“Calling me silly names; that’s what I am. Why did you act against my lead in the fight with Raiders, and why did you faint back in Vault-Tec? You were saying strange things.”

 

“Those Raiders,” she says in painful disgust. “You want to know why my life is in ruin? You want to know?” She takes a deep, sorrowful breath, mustering the rest of the day’s energy to speak her thoughts and exhales shakily. “I was jealous.”

 

I am confused. “Jealous?”

 

“You were always better at everything, Drew.” She buries her face with the blanket, though her voice still comes out fairly clear. “You scored higher on the aptitude tests – the GOATS – than anyone else in the Vault in all categories, and you were just so…good at everything. Even better than all your friends here. Alone your strengths are greater than all theirs combined. They always said that test wasn’t true no matter what grades were, but I know you are smart anyway. I wanted to prove myself, having the means, and I failed. Okay?” She stops and wheezes. She being a better fighter, huh? I reconsider her comment and then recall the VATS and her loss of eyesight. That machine was her aid and her identity. How did she get that rare piece of technology? I have another question, just really quick, another query -

 

“Can we…please stop now?” she swallows.

 

For the first time since our joining, against her own words, Lyn is the one asking me a question. How the tables have turned; like Saori, you are so delicate on the inside. And Saya is just so. Wait, no, that’s all wrong. Anybody would react this way, if not, more explosively I think. Maybe I asked too much from her and the dark past that I never truly understood, and had taken too lightly. Maybe even the mighty Butch would choke on those bitter gallons of memories, too.

 

Maybe this is wrong.

 

“Okay,” I reply softly. “We can stop now.”

 

“Thank you.” She gets up quietly, speedy to avoid my visual contact, now with Saya’s blanket still over her shoulders. I pick up the fallen teacup, thinking how much more eventful her Wasteland years were than the rest of ours.

 

“But that last question,” I add, “do you think…?”

 

“I’ll think about it. In the morning…please.”

 

“Alright.” The power of the ‘p’ word. I’ll slip in the question about the VATS too, though. I don’t think that will be too tough on her emotions. I then look down at my side and realize I had never touched my tea since the taste-test.

 

She begins walking back towards the tent, hunched over and possibly shivering.

 

“And Lyn?”

 

“What is it now…?”

 

“Sorry. That was very brave of you to talk about yourself. You’re no joke either.”

 

She stands still in front of the doorway in silence. I can hear Butch and Saya laughing inside, and notice dark clouds slowly taking reign over the speckled realm above. Rain begins to fall, the drops infrequent, but bulky and heavy. The moon has disappeared as well.

 

“Good night, Drew. Keep us safe during our slumber.”

 

http://fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1293474212.png

 

 

FORWARD ----->

Edited July 31, 2011 by AliasTheory