Fallout Mars Doom

[Maharg67]

FALLOUT MARS DOOM

ON GOING NOTES: POINT LOOKOUT

TO BE EDITED, ADDED TO.

 

FACTIONS

 

FOLLOWERS OF THE APOCALYPSE

A large well organized group of these people are in the area seeking to study, to understand the Doomsday transformed swamplands and the exotic resources that have appeared in them. Linked with other Followers of the Apocalypse in Calibraska, entering DC and other parts of the Marslands.

 

SWAMPFOLK

Distorted humans of often freakish appearance with enhanced physical qualities that can make them very dangerous. Always cannibalistic and brutally savage. Often stupid and, thankfully, often sterile. Some very strange and dangerous types appear in some areas.

*PILGRIM'S LANDING: Capital settlement.

*BEACH LOOKOUT: second largest settlement

*SANDITOWN: third largest settlement.

*REFUGEE LOOKOUT: settlement based on old refugee camp (from plague and war)

 

TRIBALS

A range of tribes of tough, exotic peoples each with some unique qualities. Some are cannibalistic while others are ritualistic cannibalistic only, devouring people in smaller number on special occasions only. Range also in power, technological sophistication though none are very advanced and in other factors.

 

UNIFIED COASTAL WAYS REPUBLIC, UCWR

A series of fortified settlements linked by coastal road, a single railway and by water and air. Between settlements are outposts and three hidden telephone cables separate from each other.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

INTERLUDE BEGINS HERE

 

00-01(0061)

GREATER EPIC STORY: FROM SOMEWHERE IN SPACE

THE TRIPLEOBSERVER

 

The TripleObserver floated, more than invisible, in space from where it observed Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, perfectly round. There was Mars, almost exactly the same size as Terra, also known as the Lost Earth, except it was not really Mars as it had once existed.

 

On Mars Doomsday much more had changed than the vast majority of the peoples of Mars knew be they of the Skylands, the Overworld, the Midworld or the Underworld along with other other 'places'. Mars had grown larger, expanded and changed, as had its two moons.

 

The TripleObserver did not know why this was so but it had gained, was gaining, some important clues. Mars Doomsday was linked with Earth Doomsday somehow in what could be called a temporal distorted fashion and both were linked with the Lords and Ladies of the Ways, as they were sometimes called.

 

Yes, they who did not truly know their own history or their own nature. The Lords and Ladies of the Light, the Lords and Ladies of the Shadow, the Lords and Ladies of the Dominance, the Lords and Ladies of the Twilight and others that were yet to arise into well known existence, they dwelt in delusion, some more so than others.

 

There was also poor RothuaRetirwa victimized as a unique AncientOne by other AncientOnes though not by all of them as was often assumed. Then there was the cunning, brutal RotideCitirca who was supposedly created by the Lords and Ladies of the Shadow, even it thought this to be the case, but which was of another origin altogether.

 

There were the Thirteen of Thirteen, now fragmented and suffering though some more than others. There were the newer arising Thirteens, linked with the Thirteen of Thirteen though not always in obvious ways.

 

Of course there were factions of mortal peoples, many of them, on-in Mars and beyond Mars. Though many were powerful, only some were truly key to the balance of forces. The trick was to work out which factions were these keys. The focus of such things shifted but right at that moment it seemed to be in the Domain of Centros, the DC, of the Wastelands of the Marslands.

 

The World Bubble around Mars sparkled a little. Below it lay such factions as the Unified Orbital Republic, the DomniCommonwealth and other factions. These Skylanders only survived because of the exotic resources that had appeared in low orbit between the World Bubble and the Martian atmosphere. Little did they know of the threats that lay buried in some of those big clumps of resources, those chunks of rock.

 

Below the Skylands was the Skynet that was being secretly expanded, resourced, and changed by a dark influence. It was an old threat that was becoming a greater new threat and somehow the Skylanders had not picked up on it except for one that stupidly and greedily assisted in the process. That one was the DomniCommonwealth.

 

The TripleObserver observed and sent comprehensive bursts of much data to a variety of destinations, some deep in outer space but others far closer.

[Maharg67]

00-02(0062)

GREATER EPIC STORY: FROM SOMEWHERE IN SPACE

THE TRIPLEOBSERVER

 

The TripleObserver was in three places at once, hence its name, and another aspect of it had done the seemingly impossible. It had effortlessly gone through the World Bubble surrounding Mars except it really had not gone directly through.

 

It moved amongst a great cluster of quad-wheels, cylinders and other space structures including ones attached to great orbital clumps of strange material. Biometal, bioplastic, rock of varied kinds and more. None knew where it came from, not amongst the Unified Orbital Republicans, but they survived on these strange regenerating resources.

 

A short range orbital-freighter moved past with rockets pushing it steadily towards a processing station. It was an old but well cared for machine. Much of the UOR hardware was in this condition. She noted small guardships and smaller guardboats along with sleek fighterships and smaller interceptors. There were orbital-liners, orbital-freighters, orbital-tankers and other elegantly chunky vessels along with many roboremotes from quite small to quite massive, the latter being far less common than the former.

 

This was the central colony cluster of the Unified Orbital Republic and though it looked ready to defend itself, it was not so. With new resources, and by taking the UOR by surprise, Skynet was about to strike a devastating blow against the cluster. Even if the UOR survived it would be greatly weakened for nearly half of its population was in that cluster along with much of its political, industrial, military and other important resources.

 

Hope came spinning through the vacuum, gleaming and glittering, making its presence very obvious to the locals. It was a silvery smooth metallic sphere dotted with tiny globes that were perfect copies of the main sphere, each attached by unseen means to the surface of the greater sphere. The smaller spheres were of three sizes being nine metres across, three metres across and one metre across. The greater sphere was exactly eighty-one metres across. Yet all of these appearances of size were illusions.

 

One TimespaceLord had come in a SphereinTARDIS along with three TimespaceLordlings, cadets, and nine TimespaceLordites, followers. It made the number thirteen. There were also generated avatars of them along with shapers that became what ever what was needed be it humanoid, robotic machine like or what ever else within their capacities. The TimespaceFolk 'glimpsed' that the TripleObserver was there but could not find its exact location or nature.

 

The TimespaceLord Coda allowed only for direct intervention in emergency situations and even then it had to be done with great care. This was one such situation. Smaller silvery spheres began to break away from the major one and they shot away to empty areas of space. Arriving there they began to transform, with sparkling shimmering effects, into multiple purpose multiple modular globeships, globebarges and globeboats of different sizes. Then came three sizes of globestations, the smallest being identical in size to the biggest of the globeships.

 

These gifts were not much more advanced the the technologies that the Unified Orbital Republic already had but they did hold some break throughs and they were a whole lot of resources. When there were many of the gifts ready to use, the SphereinTARDIS vanished with a sparkling shimmer.

 

Having gained communications of many kinds, with much knowledge including instructions and warnings, the Unified Orbital Republicans were soon moving quickly to take control of their new gifts. Now they would have far greater chances of not only surviving the Skynet attack to come but other threats yet to emerge. They would also improve the quality of their existence.

[Maharg67]

00-03(0063)

GREATER EPIC STORY: FROM SOMEWHERE IN SPACE

THE TRIPLEOBSERVER

 

A third aspect of the TripleObserver observed the bizarre and dangerous intruder slipping towards Mars.

 

It was a 'thing' that had warped, distorted and captured ships of many kinds, absorbing them into itself. So one could see a part of a massive zetan mothership, great glowing biomechanical tentacles in huge clumps, part of a once beautifully elegant silvertori starship, great chunky cylinders of space garbage that had long lost its identity, a PackPredator ship fused into part of a bug meteor ship and much else. There was something' abnormal about this 'thing' that went beyond its appearance, something' that was profoundly disturbing.

 

Distorted lifeforms, and 'thing's 'thing's even less natural, struggled to survive over its surface inside a shimmering bubble of barely breathable toxic atmosphere. The GlimmeringFog covered large parts of this bizarre world. Living distorted often fought the undead. Sometimes parts of the great 'thing' absorbed a lifeform or something undead.

 

It was not alone. A fleet of autorobotic warships followed it at a safe distance, massive and very powerful. From them spat bombardments of great pulses of energy, great laser beams of UV light and special missiles that could not be captured and integrated into the 'thing' by the 'thing'. The many battleships were huge and protected by great force bubbles and much advanced armour but their were obvious signs that the 'thing' had got to them, distorting them, bending them in places, burning them.

 

Galacticos Warlords had sent the fleet of star-dreadnaughts to follow the 'thing', to constantly bombard it, after the primary Galacticos Imperial Home world was destroyed by it, millions of Galacticos Citizens being horribly absorbed including the then ruling Galacticos Emperor himself.

 

Once their had been a thousand of these star-dreadnaughts but one by one they had been forced to retreat lest they be absorbed, had self-destructed a safe distance away. Now there were only a hundred and one ships left. Yet their constant massive attacks had achieved the desired result, keeping the 'thing' from becoming even stronger and more terrible than it was.

 

The 'thing' was heading towards Mars where it desperately sought something' vital to its longer term survival. That is a very exotic starship that had crashed into Mars on Doomsday only to vanish to some mysterious hiding place.

 

One of many Solsystem Federation guardian solar satellites, huge and powerful in their own right, detected not the 'thing' but the hundred and one star-dreadnaughts. It did observe that these star-dreadnaughts were incredibly powerful and were firing constantly on something' that somehow was not really there. This was beyond even LifeProclamation technologies to detect.

 

A big Solsystem Federation solar satellite abruptly shot towards the 'thing', was absorbed by it, was smashed into the vast bulk of it, and it was lost to Solsystem Federation control. In a few minutes it was no longer what it had been, was now part of the 'thing'.

 

A nuclear weapon exploded just below the surface of the 'thing'. Many civilizations mistakenly used nuclear weapons against it thinking that this would destroy the threat; instead the 'thing' absorbed nuclear missiles and then later detonated them, feeding on the unleashed energies.

 

What had saved most civilizations was the careful, subtle influence of ancient Multiversal entities who carefully shunted the 'thing' away from targets. Unable to feed as much as it wanted to, the 'thing' had failed to grow as strong as it could have done.

 

But they were not shunting it away from Mars. The TripleObserver knew that in this case such was wisdom even though it could easily seem to be quite the opposite.

 

INTERLUDE ENDS HERE

[Maharg67]

FALLOUT MARS DOOM

ON GOING NOTES: POINT LOOKOUT

TO BE EDITED, ADDED TO.

 

FEATURES OF IMPORTANCE

 

PILGRIM'S LANDING

Fairly large fortified settlement on the coast. Capital of the Unified Coastal Ways Republic, the UCWR. Some industry. A LifeVault beneath. Shelters. A hospital, a Sheriff's Office and other institutions. The riverships from DC dock here and return from here.

 

RUZKA'S LAIR

Ruzka is a massive yao-gai, or muttbear, of great power. She is at least twice the size and mass of a typical muttbear adult, even a bigger male. The lair is a large rocky cave dotted with remains of her victims including tribals, swampfolk and feral ghouls. Strangely enough there are also some circus items including a big red ball of the kind used by circus bears. There are secrets in the cave and other caves near it.

 

SSN-37-1A NUSOVIET STEALTH INFILTRATION SUBMARINE

Location of sunken of huge NuSoviet stealth infiltration submarine landed into one of the relatively small Martian Oceans. This happened during NuSoviet Invasion of Mars. It is a very large submarine and is largely operational. Inside are surviving crew members in emergency status-capsules, semiactive androids in bays and semiactive and active network-systems. Most of those in the submarine left it during the invasion being special forces soldiers and sabotage infiltrators. Hence the transport bay is empty except for two small submarines though the full compliment of lifepods is on board. There are also some nuclear missiles, cruise-missiles and torpedoes, including two smart-torpedoes. There are also some special secrets hidden inside the submarine.

 

TURTLEDOVE DETENTION CAMP

On the surface just a few buildings surrounded by fences and with a few vehicles but has a larger, more secretive underground base complex. In theory Turtledove Camp was meant only to house a dozen or so NuSoviet captives for interrogation but in truth, secretly, it held over two hundred of them in the underground base. While interrogation was part of the reason they were there, they were also subjected to horrible experimentation. Yet the captured NuSoviets were not the only ones secretly held there. There are still horrors locked inside the semiactive base, most of them in status-sleep. The camp area is heavily defended by many turrets and a squadron of sentrybots and is infested with savage zhouls including some GlowingOnes.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

HERE STARTS PART FOUR: POINT LOOKOUT POSSIBILITIES

 

03-01(0064)

FALLOUT MARS DOOM: POINT LOOKOUT POSSIBILITIES

GRAHARG THIRTEEN

JONNI THIRTEEN

JOHNSTONE THIRTEEN

 

Eddie Johnstone raised his rifle, fired and shot the crazy charging swampfolk man right in the forehead. The malformed one collapsed to the muddy ground, dropping his basic hunting-rifle as he did so. Mutated, inbred and berserker insane were most of the swampfolk but there were some exceptions. Eddie, like his sisters, wore hornlizard leather body-armour, very tough.

 

Ellie Johnstone stepped past him and swept her gaze across where the energy field had left an area of dried out mud with slight burn marks across its surface. The capsule lay there, silvery dull and smooth cone shaped with rounded off edges something like the old fashioned space capsules of the late 20th Century.

 

A door hummed open and out stepped JonniB1 in assault power armour. She moved with amazing speed and agility, death as fluid grace, yet the triplets 'sensed' no threat from this one. JonniB1 stretched as she stood next to the quite large teleportation capsule.

 

She spoke to the three Johnstones, one male and two females. “That was an interesting experience. Getting from Sanctuarius to the Wastelands is hard enough with out some mysterious dark force trying to block one or even to destroy one.”

 

Essie Johnstone examined the advanced technologies of JonniB1 including her 3B1carbine. “We wouldn't mind some gear like that to use here in the Deep Swamps. Hard to imagine this place was beautiful forestlands before Doomsday took place.”

 

“Yes, that is true.” JonniB1 looked across an amazing landscape of swamp waters, muddy islands grown thick with mutated mossgrass and grasses, gnarled trees tough and ugly and strange mushroom like growths from small to huge. “Others will soon emerge.”

 

Out of the teleportation capsule, from three doors including the one JonniB1 had come from, stepped more supersoldiers. Then came Granarg in her own power armour, looking in shapeform and size much like any supersoldier. She moved smoothly, gracefully, but differently in a subtle sense.

 

Granarg stretched and then looked around. “Yes, Point Lookout, a heaven gone to hell but a strangely beautiful hell.”

 

“Beautiful? Maybe but deadly! We were out hunting a ghouler party... berserker crazy ghouls but not feral ghouls but ghouls with smarts enough to work with weapons and tools. They have been raiding tribals and swampfolk both, stirring up trouble when there is already trouble enough. Then we found what was left of them. Something had massacred them amazingly brutal like and it was no swampfolk or anything else we know of like deathclaws or rogue robots or tribal warriors.”

 

Granarg responded. “Where?”

 

Essie pointed to a spot not too far away. “We have lain claim to all of the loot.”

 

JonniB1 spoke from inside her power armour. “We could make a trade deal but we would not try to steal from you. My people have landed here in large numbers, have come from space to do so.”

 

Ellie responded even as Eddie looted the dead swampfolk man. “We have heard of many zetan space-saucers landing in a place called the Drybone Swamps for it is drier and more like dry clay mud than in other areas. There are many strangers, strange beings, that came out of the space-saucers but they have begun peaceful trade with the Scoutishqua Tribals and some sasquatch moving through the area.”

 

Sasquatch were a mystery that was never fully, satisfactorily explained by anybody. Or so it seemed. They looked like huge ape-humans but they moved with amazing grace, speed and power but also quietness. They left behind very few traces of their passing except on odd occasions. They were also very much like the sasquatch, or BigFoot, of North America of the Lost Earth. Except that these sasquatch wore webbing of metallic leathery belts with pouches and various devices.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

03-02(0065)

FALLOUT MARS DOOM: POINT LOOKOUT POSSIBILITIES

GRAHARG THIRTEEN

JONNI THIRTEEN

JOHNSTONE THIRTEEN

 

Eddie spoke. “We are but tribals...”

 

Granarg shook her head, a little. “You are but vaultfolk of TekVault1111, a TekVault that officially never existed. It lies deep beneath the Delta and is linked to over a dozen LifeVaults and other underground facilities that have become part of the Unified Point Lookout Republic. The UCWR, the Unified Coastal Ways Republic, is secretly an offshoot of the UPLR. I am Granarg of the Graharg Thirteen. Gratarg met you on one of her visits to TekVault1111 that you call Vaultburg.”

 

Eddie snorted softly in annoyance. “We are scouting up here on the surface because of the reports of strange activities, of dangerous outsiders, of the big landing of zetan saucercraft that has taken place. Then we picked up whispers, gained info from some swamp rhouls, and came here because this death of the group of ghoulers is the third such massacre reported in this area; there might easily be others.”

 

Essie took over. “There have been reports of biomechanical entities, biomechics, moving through the swamps around here. Some even fly or hover. They show the symbols of RotideCitirca, which only some here know the significance of in the swamps. We will show you.”

 

The massacre sight showed that the ghoulers, ghoul raiders, had been taken by surprise. Something huge and powerful had come exploding up from beneath swampy waters, had attacked with shocking speed and power. The berserker ghoulers had fought back quickly, and efficiently, but had perished also quickly. Their smashed bodies were scattered across the area except that all of the brains, all of the blood and much of the flesh was missing. Their lootable items remained. There were some guns, fleximetallic body-armour including helmets, some sealed rations being MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), two stimpaks, some unopened litrejons of purified water. Ghouls could drink and survive on highly radiated water but purified water was healthier for them in some ways.

 

JonniB1 spoke. “Have you heard reports of strange dragon like creatures, of types of supermutants?”

 

Eddie responded. “Yes but the reports were vague being swampfolk whispers. Not all swampfolk are berserker cannibals. A large minority are the swampees, are peaceful unless they have to defend themselves. These swampees have an odd treaty with other swampfolk because they provide trade, basic healing and other services for those savage swampfolk. Swampees are allied, are linked, to we Unifiers.”

 

JonniB1 smiled. “My people, the superfolk, are part of the Unified Orbital Republic and linked with the Unified DC Republic. Both are becoming part of the Unified Free Republics.”

 

Eddie frowned. “We know just as we know that many unityfolk fear you superfolk so much they want you ejected from the UFR. We are of the factions that are open to having superfolk and other peoples amongst us who are on the edge of Unity. It angers us that unityfolk factions have been undertaking secret negotiations while leaving such as you superfolk in the dark. Yet it could be worse than that. We were scouting up here on the surface also to find out if certain fanatical unityfolk factions are seeking to attack and destroy the superfolk, and others, who have landed in the DC River Delta.”

 

Granarg stepped forward. “The 'controlling presence' is back at work amongst Unity except that this time it is here in Point Lookout. Or so I fear. I take it you know of Abadonton's clones, the brainbugs and the doppelgangers.”

 

Ellie responded this time. “In general terms, yes, but not much detail. Unityfolk whisper-networks have been running hot with such subjects but the whisper-networks are not always greatly efficient or accurate.”

 

It was a reminder that 'Unity' was still young, was still growing in strength, hegemony and integrity; UnityWay was still vulnerable because of it and RotideCitirca was taking what advantage he could of this weakness while he-she-it could.

[Maharg67]

03-03(0066)

FALLOUT MARS DOOM: POINT LOOKOUT POSSIBILITIES

GRAHARG THIRTEEN

JONNI THIRTEEN

JOHNSTONE THIRTEEN

 

After returning the teleport-capsule back to Sanctuarius, they set out for the Drybone Swamps. Traveling was fairly slow because of the difficulty of the terrain. Even with out more exotic areas like the big bubble producing bubbling pools, the swamp mud sinkholes and half sunken buildings sticking haphazardly out of the waters or muddy grounds, the muddy waters and muddy ground were obstacles enough. The ugly, gnarled trees were mutated versions of those of the forests that had once clad the area. Tanglergrass and mossgrass was common. Strange creatures shared the swamp forests with those more typical of PreDoomsday ones.

 

Twice large groups of savage feral ghouls, zhouls, moved in the distance and amongst each swarm moved a handful of highly radioactive GlowingOnes. They did not even seem to notice the group and Granarg herself was responsible for this being the case.

 

They passed the wreckage of a huge supersonic jumpjet bomber mostly sunken into swampy waters. Eddie informed the others that unityfolk had long ago taken the nuclear weapons from the warmachine and disposed of them. They had also managed to recover some valuable other loot.

 

They were passing through an area edging two tribal territories being the traditional enemies of the ChimpanaWio and the GorillaWio. What made these tribes particularly different from most was that one was made up of chimpanzee human hybrids and the other gorilla human hybrids. Such animal human hybrid peoples had been created by illegal experiments of one Professor Moroto. The gorilla-humans were bigger and stronger but generally the chimpanzee-humans were faster and more agile. The 'conflict' between the two tribes was odd in that it generally consisted of ritualistic combat in which nobody was badly injured let alone killed.

 

They were moving past an abandoned swampfolk site, skeletal remains heaped beside an old fire hole, when they heard the gunfire and the bizarre screaming shriek of attacking mutagons. The supermutant dragon like creatures rose above treetops and into view as bullets hammered into them along with rocket-grenades and pulselaser pulsebeams. One of the mutagons screamed in agony as a shoulder launched multiple purpose missile struck it and exploded. The creature fell, burning, towards the ground and vanished from sight.

 

Granarg spoke. “I would very much like to know how RotideCitirca managed to both obtain mutagons and to gain control of them. I suspect that OmniMultiple technologies are at use here if not the influence of OmniMultiple itself. A kind of mutagenic mutant as they are, mutagons are not products of TekVault0087.”

 

The surviving mutagon retreated, flying low and fast through the air just above the swamp forest canopy.

 

Those who had fought the mutagons were an odd mixture of ChimpanaWio and GorillaWio warriors along with soldiers in battle power armour. The animal-humans were lighter armed-armoured and more numerous but the fewer power armour soldiers were heavier armed-armoured. They were zezan supersoldiers but were not special forces as Jonni and her comrades had been but were Power Infantry often known as 'power grunts'.

 

They had come from the landed fleet of zetan space-saucers in the Drybone Swamps. They were glad to meet these other supersoldiers and very glad to meet JonniB1 for Jonni was famous and popular amongst the superfolk. Yet they also had bad news. There was sickness amongst the zezan basifolk and some of the dangerous zezan distorts had escaped into the swamplands.

 

The grounded fleet was seeking a new home and Sanctuarius would be an ideal destination for them. If they could get all of the space-saucers they could travel in them to Sanctuarius or so Granarg hoped.

[Maharg67]

FALLOUT MARS DOOM

ON GOING NOTES: LOST, THINGS FROM BEFORE

TO BE EDITED, ADDED TO.

 

Before the great colonization effort of Mars, that started after Earth Doomsday took place, there were earlier Martian colonization efforts, even earlier exploration efforts and before that, alien activities on Mars.

 

LOST HUMANS

It is said that lost in the Marslands, both the human inhabited and beyond the Boundary, are to be found remains of earlier human exploration and colonization efforts. Officially none of the colonization missions were successful and all came to their doom. Yet stories persist that this is far from true, that there are hidden human civilizations out there in the Marslands long lost to the rest of humanity.

 

Then there are 'lost' zetan colonies, Ancient Martian cities and much else.

 

BARSOOM

Most exotic of the tales speak of a strange zone called Barsoom, which in alien simply means 'Mars'. Here it is said strange egg laying marsupial humans, four armed green humanoids, flying-ships, domed citystates and canals are but some of many exotic features.

[Maharg67]

03-04(0067)

FALLOUT MARS DOOM: POINT LOOKOUT POSSIBILITIES

GRAHARG THIRTEEN

JONNI THIRTEEN

JOHNSTONE THIRTEEN

 

What was RotideCitirca seeking in Point Lookout? Was it more data or was it more than that? Were there more powerful ancient artifacts hidden in the swamp forestlands? It would hardly be surprising if there were.

 

They left behind the animal-human warriors, who gained all of the loot from the dead ghoulers, and with the new platoon of power infantry, they headed again towards the Drybone Swamps.

 

At one stage they saw a massive mutated alligator basking in the sunshine, it being very much bigger than any PreDoomsday animal. They passed south of a large military encampment, long abandoned except for semiactive and active autorobotic technologies. It was known as Turtledove Detention Camp but was more like a fortress with some open topped yards. Turrets, some very large, could be seen in the distance along with heavy armed-armoured sentrybots.

 

Eddie spoke. “Turtledove Fortress is what we call it. So far nobody has managed to get very close. Too much fire power protecting it for a mere detention camp.”

 

Granarg sounded concerned. “Stay away from there. My people strengthened the security there and also altered it so it would keep what is hidden, down under the camp you see, from getting out. Of course we sought also to keep anybody outside. In theory only NuSoviet POWs (prisoners of war) were sent to that camp and they were treated very well according to the New War Convention of Mars; in practice deserters and political prisoners were also sent there; many were experimented upon in terrible barbaric ways. I will discuss this matter no further.”

 

A zezan supersoldier spoke. “Those things down there, in some ways they are like us superfolk; we can 'sense' them.”

 

Granarg halted and looked at the supersoldier in surprise. “Amazing. Perhaps there is now hope of doing something positive with the poor creatures down there.”

 

JonniB1 added to the talk. “I also 'sense' such a thing. There are zezans down there being basifolk, distorts and something that are almost superfolk. I suggest we divert and go to meet these zezans, our cousins.”

 

Eddie, Essie and Ellie were more than willing to go along; they wanted to know more about Turtledove Camp.

 

Somehow it was no surprise that they got past the turrets and robots peacefully for Granarg sent a passcode signal that they were peaceful. Inside the walls of the encampment they found a small, bustling, peaceful settlement of rhouls growing food, tending tame aquatic molerats, crafting items and recycling resources. Along with the rhouls, peaceful feral ghouls, were some more human like ghoulimans, humans, androids, cyborgs and smart-robots. There were Followers of the Apocalypse, being members of all of these folks including the rhouls, in the earthy coloured jumpsuits of the faction.

 

The Followers of the Apocalypse sought to improve the Wastelands for the peoples but also for nature itself. They assisted people where they could and though well armed, they were defensive aggressive only. They had been at odds with the Orderdom of Steel in Calibraska but agreed with the Orderhood of Steel in DC.