I am sure a lot of you play Fallout. I was a little disappointed with the new Fallout 4. To me there just wasn't enough dialogue or what I wanted to say wasn't there. It also kind of irritated me that there were no speech checks to talk any of the factions out of destroying each other, useless Minutemen quests to defend settlements no matter how many people or defenses was already there, and don't get me started on the random radiation storms. If I ever meet the person that programmed those and thought it was a good idea, I will throat punch them. So I am going to write this in the way I believe the storyline should have went based on the tactical and military experience of the Lone Survivor (male character) so it will not follow the exact storyline of the game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout or anything associated with it or Bethesda Software and am not writing this for profit.

Vault 111

Time and Date Unknown

Retired Colonel Jonathan "Bullseye" Jones shook his head to try and clear the fog from it. It was cold in the pod and ice covered the glass in front of him. Once his head cleared a bit, he took his hand and wiped the frost from the glass.

Standing in front of his pod were two people. One he immediately recognized as having some type of military or similar training. He was also wearing some type of metal contraption on his left arm and was bald. The other was dressed in a full hazard suit so all he could tell from the shape of her body was that it was a female.

He could barely make out what they were saying as the woman pointed to his wife and son Shaun's pod. "This is the one." The bald man motioned toward the pod. "Open it up then." The woman turned to the pod release switch and did as she was told.

As the pod opened, John could see his wife holding Shaun. "Is it over? Are we alright?" His wife asked. The bald man answered. "Almost, just a little while longer."

The woman in the hazmat suit began reaching for Shaun. John's wife kept a tight hold on her son. "I've got him. No, I've got him." The other woman continued to struggle with her. The bald man raised a large pistol and pointed it at his wife's head.

"Let the boy go. I won't ask again." His wife continued to hold on to their son tightly. "No. I'm not giving you Shaun. I won't let you take him!" John was yelling to let her go and leave them alone. Then the world seemed to stop as the large pistol belched flame and a loud bang echoed through the room. John's wife's head snapped back as blood sprayed the inside of her pod.

The bald man was not happy. "God damn it. Get the kid out of here." As the pod closed on his wife, John made a cutting motion across his throat and pointed at the bald man. It didn't seem to bother the bald man as he leaned close to John's pod.

"Well, at least we still have the back-up." John locked eyes with the bald man and the bald man actually shivered a bit before walking out of John's view. John let the image of the man's face burn into his memory as he began looking for a way to escape his pod. He was getting nowhere when a fine mist came from nozzles above his head and the fog returned to his mind as the frost recovered the glass in front of him.

Unknown amount of time later

John woke again to the fog in his mind. This time though, his pod door opened and he fell forward to land on his hands and knees. He coughed a couple of times and looked around. Seeing nobody around he rose to his feet and moved to his wife's pod. He flipped the same switch the woman in the hazmat suit had and the pod opened with a hiss.

John reached up and cupped his wife's frozen face. "I'll find the son of a bitch that did this and I'll get Shaun back. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you my love but I will avenge you." With that he removed his wife's ring and attached it to the chain on his dog tags that still hung around his neck.

John moved down to the other pods in the room to see if anyone was still in them. Each pod was still closed and contained someone. Ice crystals covered the inside of every pod. John realized these were not decontamination pods as he had been told.

"These are cryogenenic suspension pods. Why would Vault-Tec do this" John said to himself as he moved to the computer control terminal near the door. He accessed the terminal and saw that all of the people in the room were dead as the manual override used when Shaun was taken, had caused a malfunction in the pods killing everyone except him.

John searched the room quickly to see if he could find a weapon or anything useful. Nothing was in this room at all so he moved down the hall to another room full of pods. A quick check of the computer terminal there confirmed the people in this room to be dead as well.

John noticed an expandable baton lying on top of a table next to an empty coffee cup so he picked it up. "Well it's better than nothing I guess." He said quietly to himself. As he moved down another hall he noticed something scurry across the floor and it was moving in his direction. As it got closer, he raised the baton and smashed it down on what he now saw to be a giant cockroach. "What the hell? Giant cockroaches?" Was all he could think.

He searched the vault room by room but didn't find much else of use. He did come across a stimpack in the security office and more empty coffee cups. He accessed the computer terminal in the Security Office to try and gain more Intel on his situation. He passed through the messhall and took note of anything that might be useful later as he didn't want to burden himself with a lot of junk just in case.

In the Overseer's office, he found more stimpacks and the best find so far. A 10mm pistol and a couple boxes of shells. John lifted the lab coat covered skeleton from the chair and laid it gently against the back wall before settling himself behind the computer terminal. He read through all of the entries and was slowly building a picture of what had happened after the vault was sealed. It was not a picture that was to his liking either. John had spent more than twenty seven years in the United States Army.

He had progressed through Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces training to become a triple canopy wearing member of Delta Force. He was one of the troops sent in to liberate Alaska after the Chinese invasion. He had a very strong sense of honor and he was fuming over the orders to the Overseer from Vault-Tec executives.

John finished reading through the e-mails and other information on the Overseer's terminal and then used it to unlock the large door leading out of the office. Before stepping into the hallway, he searched the Overseer's bedroom, finding several bobby pins and more ammunition for the pistol.

There was also a small armory attached to the Overseer's office where he put the bobby pins and screwdriver he had found to use. He had read about the Overseer's experiment with the Cryolator Rifle so he decided to pick the lock to its case and take it with him.

John stepped into the hallway leaving the Overseer's office and immediately crouched down after seeing several giant cockroaches hanging from the walls ahead of him. He drew the 10mm and took careful aim at the closest cockroach and squeezed the trigger. The cockroach exploded in a green spray of goo. The remaining cockroaches dropped to the floor and began skittering towards him.

He let out a slow breath and opened fire on the five roaches heading his way. John smiled to himself as the last cockroach blew apart just as the five before it had. "I've still got it. Six shots, six kills."

He stood and made his way passed the mess he had made of the cockroaches. As he neared the embarkation room, he noticed another cockroach approaching him. Instead of shooting it, he holstered the pistol and drew the baton. As the roach leapt into the air, John brought the baton down on its head, splattering it before it could reach him. He moved into the room and looked down at the roach blood and guts splattered all over his vault suit. Lucky for him he not only found several clean and neatly folded vault suits, he also found more ammo for the pistol.

After collecting the ammo and a clean vault suit, he moved to the platform where the vault door controls were. He had to kill another roach that was hiding under the skeleton of one of the Vault-Tec workers.

Near the workers skeleton he noticed and picked up a dusty pip-boy. "Sweet, it looks like a much better model than the ones I worked with in the Army." He fastened the pip-boy around his wrist and secured the latch. He wiped the screen and pushed the power button and smiled in satisfaction as the minicomputer went through is start-up and self test.

Once the boot up was complete and the icon on the screen actually gave him a thumbs up, he pulled the remote link from the pip-boy and plugged it into the door controls. A few seconds later, John replaced the remote link into the pip-boy and hit the vault door activation button.

He was happy to see the mechanism swing into place and spin to release the locking bolts in the massive vault door. It screeched and squealed as the massive, semi-star shaped door retracted and rolled to the right side of the opening.

As John rode to the surface on the very same elevator that it seemed he had just came down on, the bright sunlight temporarily blinded him. He took a quick knee to make himself a smaller target as he gave his eyes time to adjust. All around him, John could see almost nothing but devastation and destruction.

More skeletons lay scattered around the immediate area. After a quick search of the trailers and vehicles surrounding the vault he began making his way down to Sanctuary Hills. He was puzzled at the lack of footprints that he just knew he would find that would give him an idea as to the direction the murdering bastard had taken his son.

The sights he was seeing around him were puzzling as well. Several of his neighbors houses were in lying in ruin, others were still standing but in shambles. Dead trees and broken cars littered the streets.

As he rounded the corner toward his house, a very welcome sight greeted him. His robot butler, Codsworth was hovering right there in front of his house. "Codsworth? Wow buddy. You look like hell!" The robot drifted toward him. "As I live and breathe! Mr. John, is that really you?" Hearing the familiar British accent caused a smile to grow on John's face. "Yes Bud, it's really me. Did you see a bald man and a woman wearing a hazmat suit pass though here?"

The whir of motors hummed softly as Codsworth spun in place. "No sir I haven't seen anyone in quite some time. I have looked for evidence that you and your family had been killed in the bombing but was thankfully unable to find any. Speaking of the Mrs. and young Shaun, where are they?"

Sadness crept back into John's voice. "That bald man and woman I asked you about killed Nora and stole Shaun. But I am going to find them and make them pay for what they did no matter what it takes." Codsworth was as stunned as a robot could be.

"Sir, these terrible things you are saying, surely they can't have happened?" This time a cold resolve settled over John. "They did happen Codsworth and I was powerless to stop them. But I will not rest until I find them and bring Shaun home where he belongs. First, it looks like we need to clean up around here, get us a solid base of operations established, and go from there."

Codsworth stopped feeling sorry for himself and perked up as much as a robot could. "Right you are Sir! Just tell me what you need done and I'll get to work on it. On another not, I did find this holotape left my the Mrs." He said as he produced it and handed it to John.

John accepted the holotape then looked around the ruined community in deep thought. "Well first I would say we clean up our house and get the holes patched up. While we work, give me a sitrep on all you have seen and learned since the bombs fell." John began sweeping the house and throwing out broken furniture while Codsworth filled him in on the last two-hundred years and change.

John froze. "Wait, did you say two-hundred years?" Codsworth actually chuckled. "A bit over two-hundred and ten years give or take a few dings on the old chronometer." John actually had to sit down. "Two-hundred years... I'm shocked. I almost don't know what to say. So much time wasted. Well, no since crying over spilled milk. Let's get back to it."

By night fall, John and Codsworth had most of the house cleaned, the broken furniture piled outside, and the holes in the roof and walls patched. John had made several trips back to the vault with Codsworth coming along to help carry equipment and resources to repair the house with.

Even with the death of his wife and the kidnapping of his son, John's Special Forces training allowed him to achieve a deep, healing sleep. He still dreamt about Nora and Shaun and doubted he would ever stop dreaming of them.

John was awake before daylight and trying something he had learned from Codsworth the previous night. During his training, John had eaten a lot of strange things, grilled radroach was not one of them. He had actually laughed when Codsworth told him the names of some of the mutated animals no inhabiting the Earth. He was angered to learn about the Super Mutants, Raiders, and other dangers that the radiation of the war had spawned. Together John and Codsworth had killed several Bloat Flies and more radroaches while searching the community for more resources.

With Codsworth using his buzz saw on the fallen trees and helping John drag the sheared logs to the perimeter, a sturdy wall was beginning to take shape around the small community. John took a break and leaned against the corner of the house nearest the gate. He looked around at his and Codsworth's handy work and realized they would need stronger walls than just trees if Super Mutants or Raiders decided to attack the town.

"Codsworth, do you know if the old iron works is still operational?" John asked as a plan began forming in his mind.

"I have no idea Sir. The furthest I have been from home was down to Concord where some Raiders took a few shots at me before I decided it was time to leave. I haven't ventured out since."

John pondered on that for a bit. "Well, I guess after we get this wall up, I'll have to start scouting further out and see what I can do about those Raiders." Where the road leading out of town crossed the river, John built two guard towers, one on either side of a large junk gate between the stone pillars of the bridge.

He added another gate and two more towers on the path leading up to the vault and a total of five more towers in strategic points around the little community. Every tower was in view of at least one, sometimes more towers and had interlocking fields of fire as well.

It took a little over two weeks for John and Codsworth to finish the wall and guard towers. They had to begin gathering more timber from the surrounding woods but they got it done. John never went anywhere without the baton and the pistol on him.

He had found a crude pipe pistol chambered in .38 caliber and several grenades lying next to a skeleton in one of the abandoned houses. He used the weapons skills he learned in the Army and the workbench near his house to fashion a stock, a longer barrel, a suppressor, and a scope to turn the pistol into a medium range rifle.

Once the wall was completed, John began work on a water purifier that would bring clean drinking water from the river. He had to scrounge parts from several cars around the neighborhood but he got it up and running with a small generator he built as well.

It took him another week to finish the purifier and generator, then John packed a small backpack with bottled water, ammunition, and some grilled radroach. He then washed off in the river, took some radaway, then got a good night's sleep before starting out for Concord the next morning.

As he crossed the bridge, John saw a man's body next to a dead and mangy looking dog. He searched the body finding another pipe pistol, some .38 shells, and a combat knife. He drug the dead man off to the side of the road. "I need to bury him and start burying the skeletons as well. It's the least they deserve." John thought to himself. So he drug the man up the small embankment and began to dig a grave.

After an hour of digging he was satisfied with the depth so he gently laid the man in the bottom and began covering it back up. He then fashioned a small cross out of some broken limbs and placed it on the grave.

As he drew near the old Rocket Station, he noticed a large German Sheppard begin to approach him. The dog wasn't acting aggressive and didn't look anything like the mangy mutt he had found earlier. John realized this had been someone's pet so he took a knee and held out his hand palm up. "Hey boy, where's your owner? Are you out here all alone?"

The dog cautiously approached John and sniffed his hand. He whined just a little bit and gave a small bark. John began to pet the dog and look him over.

"Good boy, you've been getting regular baths and food haven't you? You can come with me if you want. I think I'll call you Dogmeat, if that's ok with you." The dog barked once and wagged his tail happily.

As John stood up, a large form burst from the ground a few feet in front of him. Dogmeat growled and immediately lunged toward what John now recognized as a molerat from Codsworth's description.

He drew the 10mm but before he could aim and fire, Dogmeat ripped out the molerat's throat. Several more burst from the ground though and he realized they had lured Dogmeat into an ambush. John immediately opened fire, killing everything he targeted.

Dogmeat fought with several molerats as well dodging in and out to avoid their large teeth and claws. John and Dogmeat fought the molerats for several minutes before they were able to kill all of them. John had managed to kill any that attacked him before they reached him but Dogmeat had not been quite so lucky. As fast and skilled as he was, he was still injured slightly.

There was a pot hanging on a trellis behind the station so John built a fire under it to heat some water. Once the water was boiling, he took some and put into a pot he found in the station to use to bathe Dogmeat's wounds. After the wounds were cleaned up, John took out a stimpack and used it to help his new friend heal faster.

After roasting some of the molerat and having a good meal, John decided to look around the station a bit to see what he might find. He found several useful items to include some still working tools and duct tape. He also found a working computer terminal and learned there was a cave not far from the station.

"I'll bet that's where those molerats came from. It would make the perfect spot to ambush prey from for them." John thought to himself. Since it was just past noon, he decided to try and locate the cave to put an end to the molerat ambushes.

It didn't take him long to find the cave and a small cache of fuel cans and more tools just outside its entrance. John decided not to use the pistol or the rifle as he realized no ammunition factories were around to make more. So he drew out the baton in one hand and the combat knife in the other and entered the cave slowly.

Inside the cave, he spotted another molerat around some junk near the back of the cave. He flipped the knife around so he held it by the point before drawing his arm back and letting it fly. The knife struck the molerat between the shoulder and neck and sang to the hilt.

The moley (as John was starting to call them in his head) didn't even squeal before it rolled over dead. He killed two more moleys before he figured he had them all. As he was exploring the small cave, the Geiger counter on his pip-boy began clicking like crazy and he realized the nuclear waste the terminal had said was hidden here was leaking.

John collected everything of use he could find (which included an intact fusion core) and quickly left the cave. He took another shot of radaway as soon as the pip-boy showed he was clear of the radiation. When he was almost back to the station, he heard gunfire coming from Concord. He whistled once and Dogmeat came running out of the station to meet him.

John removed the rifle from his shoulder and began moving quickly toward the gunfire, using the buildings for cover. As he moved passed each building, he paid close attention to Dogmeat's reactions.

Dogmeat would slowly approach each building with his ears perked and nose twitching. When he didn't smell or hear anything, he moved to the next building. In this way John was spared the job of having to clear each building himself to make sure he didn't leave an enemy at his back.

As John pied (Police and Military slang term for peeking around a corner in increments) one corner, he noticed a Raider (from Codsworth's description) firing down the street at someone in the Museum of Freedom. John shrugged. "If the Raider is shooting at someone, that someone must be a good guy." He mumbled to himself.

So John used the corner of the building as a rest and centered his crosshairs on the back of the Raider's head. He breathed out slowly and at the bottom of the breath, he squeezed the trigger gently. He smiled in satisfaction as the Raider's head jerked forward and blood sprayed the wall in front of him.

John moved forward to the next building and again pied the corner. There were several dead bodies in the street and at least four more Raiders (that he could see) that were also firing at someone in the museum. He watched for a few seconds and saw a man wearing an old style musketeer hat and a long duster, fire a laser rifle off the balcony of the museum. One of the Raiders was hit but not critically.

John centered his crosshairs on the wounded Raider and shot him before he could use the stimpack he had pulled out. He quickly changed targets and shot another Raider that turned to look in his direction. "Two down, two to go." John thought as the man on the balcony hit and killed a third one. John shot the last one and broke cover at a run toward the museum.

The man on the balcony had known someone else was out there killing the Raiders attacking him but didn't know where exactly they were until John killed the last one and began running toward him.

"Quick, grab that laser musket and help us! The Raiders are almost through the door and I can't hold them for long!" The man on the balcony yelled before going back inside the museum. John did as he was told and scooped up the strange looking rifle and several fusion cells from the ground. He sat them off to the side though as he wasn't too sure about the way the thing looked. "I'll stick to my slug throwers I think." He said to no one in particular.

He entered the museum to see two more Raiders on the floor above him firing to the floor above them. The museum was in terrible shape compared to what he remembered. He quickly killed the two Raiders he could see then reloaded his rifle.

As he made his way through the museum, the motion sensors on the old program for the museum tour, picked him up and began the play from the Boston Tea Party.

"Shit." John cursed as another Raider heard the noise and took a shot at him. John's reflexes saved his life as he dodged back just in time and the bullet smashed into the wall where his head had been. "What I wouldn't give for a suit of power armor." John said as he tossed a grenade around the corner.

The Raider saw the grenade but couldn't get away before the explosion ripped him to pieces. John pied the corner and moved out after seeing the remains of the Raider.

As he came further down the hall, he heard voices. "What the fuck was that? Hey Tony, you ok man? Tony? Aw shit man, I don't like this one bit. I don't want to stand around and get shot man." Complained one of the Raiders.

Moving quickly but quietly, John closed in on the voices. He pied the corner and saw two more Raiders in another room looking nervously around them with pipe pistols in their hands. To save ammunition, he drew his knife in one hand and slung the rifle while drawing the 10mm as well.

He stepped around the corner and let the knife fly while shooting the second Raider in the face. The knife struck the first Raider in the throat and he was dead before he hit the floor.

John pulled the knife out of the Raiders throat and wiped the blood off on the Raiders shirt before continuing to move toward his goal. He heard two more Raiders yelling at someone behind an apparently barricaded door at the end of a hall. "Open this damn door or I swear I'm gonna go get all my friends and come back here and kill every last one of you!"

He moved to the door in the room he was in quickly as he heard the other Raider. "Come on man, we got other shit to do. Let's go get the rest of the gang and come back."

The other Raider kept talking shit as they moved toward the door John was waiting beside. As the door opened, John pressed himself against the wall and waited. When both Raiders had moved passed him, John reached around the last Raider and sliced his throat.

As the Raider began choking on his own blood, the Raider in front spun around to see the 10mm pointed straight at his face. "Aw shit." Was all he said before the heavy slug blew his brain apart.

He searched each Raider for more ammo and useful items. He then moved up to the doorway and looked around the corner to see the door at the end of the hall open slightly. Then he heard the voice of the man that had been on the balcony. "Hurry up and get in here before the others show up." John didn't need to be told twice and made his way to the door quickly.

Once inside, he saw there were three men and two women in the room. The man from the balcony approached him. "Man I don't know who you are but you are a godsend. I'm Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen."

John smiled slightly. "John Jones or JJ to my friends, I was happy to help. It seems a lot has changed in the last two hundred years. Are you guys going to be alright?" Preston looked a bit confused but continued.

"A month ago there were thirty of us. Now we're down to five. If you're still willing to help, we could sure use it." JJ shrugged slightly. "Sure, what do you need me to do?" Preston smiled and looked toward the man wearing mechanics coveralls. "Tell him your plan Sturgis." The man in the coveralls turned from the computer terminal he was working on.

"Did you see that crashed vertibird on the roof as you came in? Well someone left a cherry set of T-45 power armor. The problem is that the power source is depleted and I don't have one handy. There is one in the generator in the basement but the door is locked. I'm a mechanic not a lockpick."

JJ simply shrugged out of his backpack and pulled out the fusion core he had found in the molerat den. "this should do just fine to power it." JJ said with a slight smile. Sturgis smiled even bigger. "Well alright. Looks like our luck is turning around. You see, on the Vertibird is a mini-gun. Slap that core into the power armor, rip that mini-gun from the mount, and give those Raiders hell."

Preston breathed a small sigh of relief. "Yep, looks like our luck is turning. When you and that mini-gun show up on that roof? Those Raiders will know they picked the wrong fight." Despite what JJ had been through over the last few weeks, he smiled back and headed for the roof. As he passed an older lady wearing a fortune teller's turban on her head, she looked up at him. "Careful kid. Something's coming and it's angry."

JJ looked at her a bit confused and continued on to the roof. As soon as he opened the door to the roof, he saw the suit of power armor standing right in front of him. JJ grinned and slapped the fusion core home in the back of the armor.

He then turned the wheel and was happy to see the armor split and open to allow him to enter it. "Whew, glad this thing wasn't froze up and still works." He thought silently.

He glanced over the readouts on the HUD (heads up display) in the helmet then turned to the mini-gun on the vertibird and pulled it from its mount. A Raider on an adjacent rooftop spotted him and called out.

"Hey Boss! We got something on the roof!" But those were the last words he ever spoke as JJ spun up the mini-gun and shredded the Raider. Several more Raiders came running up the street to their doom as well. The 5mm mini-gun made short work of any Raider stupid enough to expose himself.

As the remaining Raiders wizened up, JJ sat the mini-gun aside and picked up his rifle. He took careful aim and began taking out one Raider at a time that had anything exposed. He could only see the foot of one so he shot him in the exposed foot.

The Raider screamed and sat up to grab his foot so JJ shot him in the head. JJ could count three remaining Raiders at the far end of the street but they weren't exposing themselves to be shot by what they now realized was a highly trained and expert shot.

JJ was contemplating jumping from the roof and taking the fight to him when a loud roar and sound of screeching metal came from the far end of the street. To JJ's surprise, the street access grate tore open and a large Deathclaw jumped out.

"You've got to be kidding me?" JJ said aloud as the Deathclaw attacked and shredded one of the Raiders. JJ had an idea then so he moved to the edge of the roof and whispered down to Preston who was crouched on the balcony below. "Preston, hold off on firing until they finish with each other. Then we team up on the winner. Either way, we come out ahead." Preston whispered back. "Sounds like a great plan to me."

For the next several minutes, JJ and Preston watched as the Deathclaw and remaining Raiders fought it out in the street below. It was a foregone conclusion that Deathclaw would come out on top as the Raiders didn't have the firepower to handle something like that. JJ only hoped what he and Preston had were enough to finish it off.

As the last Raider screamed and died, a plan begin to form in JJ's head. "Preston, shoot for its legs and see if we can lure it next to that truck about halfway down the block. When it reaches the truck, shift your fire to the engine compartment of the truck and I'll do the same with the mini-gun."

Preston agreed but said he wasn't sure why JJ wanted him to do that. Preston opened fire and hit the Deathclaw in its right leg. It roared in pain and hobbled as fast as it could toward them. As Preston cranked his laser musket, JJ took careful aim on the Deathclaw's right eye with his rifle. As soon as the Claw was near the truck, JJ squeezed of his shot, striking the eye which exploded in a spray of blood and gore.

The Claw screamed in utter anguish and fell against the truck. Preston shifted fire to the truck as JJ sat down his rifle and picked up the mini-gun. It only took a couple of seconds fire between the laser musket and the mini-gun before the fusion core in the truck engine exploded in a mini mushroom cloud. The Deathclaw was completely incinerated in the blast, ending the immediate danger.

Preston headed back inside and to make it shorter, JJ simply jumped from the rooftop and landed in the street with a loud crash before going into the front door. Inside the small group were just making it down the stairs. JJ walked up to Preston. "Is everyone ok?" He asked. Preston looked at him in utter disbelief. "That was a pretty amazing display. I'm just glad you're on our side." To be diplomatic, JJ pulled off the T-45 helmet. "The feelings mutual Garvey."

Preston reached into the pocket of his duster and produced a handful of caps and fusion cells. "Here, I know it's not much but it's the least I could do for your help." JJ frowned but accepted the offering. "I didn't do it to get paid. I did it because it was the right thing to do."

Garvey held up his hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just used to everyone being out for themselves, you know? You remind me of my friends, the other Minutemen. You should join us at this place Momma Murphy knows about, Sanctuary Hills." JJ looked up at the name of his home.

"I've already set up my base camp there. I lived there before the war. My butler robot and I have already built a wall, defenses, and a water purifier there. You and you're people are more than welcome to share it with us, there's plenty of room." Preston looked confused. "Are you sure you're alright? You say you lived there before the war?"

JJ nodded. "Me and my family were in vault 111 when the bombs fell. They put us in these pods they called decontamination pods but they were really cryogenenic suspension pods. I've been frozen ever since the bombs first fell. I just woke up a few weeks ago."

Preston was totally shocked. "Man, I didn't know, sorry. Did anybody else make it out?" JJ lowered his head a bit. ""My son, Shaun. He's less than a year old. While I was still trapped in my pod, someone stole him and murdered my wife." Preston lowered his head a bit with sorrow for his new friend. "I'm sorry again friend. It's tough to see someone hurt and be helpless to do anything about it." JJ smiled sadly and placed his hand on Preston's shoulder.

"Well, let's get you folks to Sanctuary Hills and get you settled. Once you're safe and sound, I'll bring Codsworth back with a cart and collect anything useful from the Raiders and Concord."

A short time later as they approached the gate, JJ could see Codsworth hovering in one of the guard towers. As Codsworth noticed the group approaching with JJ in the lead, he made his way to the gate and had it standing open when JJ got there.

"Mr. John. Did you find someone to help you with your search?" He asked in his distinctly British accent. JJ couldn't help but smile. "You could say that. I made a few new friends. They were looking for a safe place to stay and were headed this way. I told them they were more than welcome."

Codsworth spun in place. "Can't have enough of those now days. Jolly good show. Shall I escort them to their new homes?" Preston stepped forward. JJ turned a looked at him.

"Garvey, you can follow Codsworth or just pick any house you want accept the one in the center that is locked. That's mine. We've cleaned up some and repaired the holes in a couple. The others you'll need to work on yourselves. There's a workbench across from my house and an armor and weapons bench as well. Codsworth and I will lend a hand when we get back from Concord. I've used the house with the workbench as a storage area for supplies and resources. Feel free to use anything you need out of there."

Preston thanked JJ and let the others go and chose their own house while he mounted the steps to the guard tower to take Codsworth's place guarding the gate. When it was decided the group would choose their own house, Codsworth grabbed the handle of the cart they had made from an old pick-up truck bed and followed JJ to Concord.

A few hours later, JJ and Codsworth returned with the wagon nearly overflowing with junk. Preston eyed the wagon as it passed. "I guess you have your reasons. That stuff just looks like junk to me."

JJ chuckled. "Ah yes junk but useful junk believe me. You see that old coffee pot? Well, break it down and I see steel, asbestos and ceramic. We can't go to stores and buy stuff the way I used to in my day. We have to break everything down and use what we have until we can get the world rebuilt again."

Preston nodded in understanding. "I knew I liked you for a reason. Back in Concord you said you were happy to help. Are you still willing to do that?" JJ motioned for Codsworth to go on and the robot obediently pulled the wagon on toward the storage house. "Of course I am Garvey. What do you need me to do?" Garvey hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he let it out.

"I received word that a settlement is having trouble with Raiders. I'll mark it's location on your map. Make contact with them and see what you can do to help." JJ nodded. "Sure thing Garvey. Let me help Codsworth unload that wagon and I'll let him explain to Sturgis what I am looking for in the next load. It will take several trips to get everything I earmarked for salvage in Concord alone. I'll accompany them back on the next trip and head out from there."

True to his word, he helped unload the wagon and went back to Concord to help Sturgis and Codsworth load it up again before heading toward Tenpines Bluff.

About halfway to Tenpines, JJ noticed a large satellite dish and remembered that it had been an Air Force listening station. He altered his course toward the station a to see if there was more fusion cores there. He had picked the lock at the Museum of Freedom and taken that one from their generator. He now had a full core and one at 80%.

As he drew near the station, he heard gunshots coming from it. He increased his pace and got close enough to see what was going on through his rifle scope. He could see a Raider shooting at several moleys. A second Raider and a large dog came out of the concrete bunker of the station and joined the fight.

Between the two Raiders and the attack dog, they made short work of the molerats. The dog and the first Raider had been injured so JJ took careful aim on the Raider and shot him in the head.

This caused the dog and the other Raider to start looking around for him. But as he had a suppressor on his rifle, they had no idea where the shot had come from. So JJ switch the crosshairs to the second Raider and shot her as well.

The dog must have zeroed in on the shot as his hearing was sensitive enough to hear it even through the suppressor as he started toward JJ at a full run. JJ slung the rifle over his shoulder and waited as the dog rapidly closed the distance between them.

The dog got a huge surprise when he ran up on the JJ in full power armor. The dog jumped at JJ's head only to be stopped cold in the steel grip of JJ's right hand. JJ simply squeezed and crushed the dogs neck, killing it instantly. He looked down at the dead animal and shook his head. "Sorry to have to do that boy. You should have just ran away."

He made his way to the bodies of the two Raiders and searched them finding more ammo for his rifle and several molotov cocktails. Dogmeat was sniffing around the dead molerats and barked once. JJ went over and found an old silver pocket watch around ones neck. "Good find boy. This may come in handy." He said as he took the watch off of the dead moley and scratched Dogmeat behind the ears.

JJ moved inside the bunker where he found an old flip lighter, a pack of old stale cigarettes, and a dirty looking carton of water. He picked up the lighter and spun the wheel with the thumb on the power suit. He smiled wickedly inside the helmet as it sparked and a flame sprang up. He closed the lighter and picked up a couple of the molotov cocktails before heading through the door to the underground bunker.

He crept as quietly as he could in the power armor and made it down a flight of stairs unnoticed. At the base of the stairs he spotted a laser tripwire. "No wonder there was nobody guarding the door." JJ mumbled to himself. He deactivated the trip wire then the tesla trap on the ceiling.

He made it to the first level and spotted another Raider and another dog on a catwalk through an opening on his left. He unslung his rifle and quickly shot both of the dead. Another Raider had seen his friend fall over and blood spray the wall. He didn't hear anything but knew someone was attacking and killing his friends. "You're gonna pay for that asshole! You're dead when I find you!"

JJ zeroed in on the Raider by the sound of his voice and spotted him through another doorway. The Raider was smart enough to stick to the shadows but not smart enough to keep his mouth shut. It cost him his life as a bullet ripped through his mouth and tore out the back of his neck.

Because of the Raiders yelling, the other Raiders had been alerted to the threat. JJ spotted three moving together under the catwalk. He lit one of the molotov cocktails and through it and the spot in the middle of the three Raiders. When it exploded, flaming fuel quickly covered the three Raiders causing them to scream in pain.

As JJ took aim just in case one survived the flames, a stream of bullets stitched him across his left side. He quickly ducked back behind the cover of the bunker wall. "Son of a bitch!" JJ yelled as one of the bullets had penetrated a seam on the arm of the armor. Someone down there had a mini-gun loaded with armor piercing rounds.

The stream of bullets stopped and JJ could hear the clanging of a mini-gun being reloaded. So he sprang from his hiding place and over the rail of the catwalk. He landed less than two feet from a dark skinned female with white hair.

A stock T-45 suit of power armor weighed in at around 900 pounds. So when he hit the ground, the force of his landing knocked the female Raider to the ground. Before she could recover, JJ kicked her in the face with all the power the servos in the legs could generate. There was a sickening crunch and a tearing sound. The Raider never even screamed as her head was literally kicked from her shoulders.

JJ searched the place but found no more Raiders. He did find several radroaches that he didn't waste any ammo on. He simple smashed them with the boots of the power armor. After killing the radroaches, he found a toolbox with a pretty silver locket and some wonderglue in it. He shook his head. "Humph. Wonderglue indeed. It's over 200 years old and it's still as good as the day it was sold."

He found a key in a desk that said Intel room on it. After collecting a few things (to include the fusion core he originally came here for) he made his way back to the first level and the Intel room. Inside that room, he found several grenades, another Kevlar to go with the one he found in the roach room, and a mininuke.

He collected everything that was of any value and put it all in the Intel room before locking it behind him. He did restock fully on ammo and the grenades and added the fusion core to his backpack. He had attached the backpack (rucksack) to the premade points on the power armor designed for just that purpose. It made the ruck hang a bit to the left but the wearer couldn't feel that under the power armor.

JJ chuckled as he remembered the look on his first drill instructors face when JJ told him the designer of the original system was an idiot. And to prove his point, JJ hit the switch to open the armor and exit it, splitting the ruck down the middle as it was attached to each shoulder like you would wear it without the armor. That little move cost him plenty of pushups but it did get the ruck redesigned so it attached to only one side of the armor.

By the time JJ made it to the surface, it was almost dark. So he decided to spend the night in the underground bunker. He carried the bodies of the Raiders and the dog outside and buried them even though he personally didn't feel they deserved it.

After carrying them to the surface, he exited the power armor on the first level of the bunker to conserve the fusion core. When he was finished with the burials, he heated some water to take a sponge bath with. He then fixed a meal which he shared with Dogmeat before laying down for the night.

The next morning upon leaving the underground bunker, JJ was pleased to see that the Intel room key also locked the main bunker door. This allowed him to double lock the valuable resources he would come back and pick up later with Codsworth.

From the Air force listening station, it took less than an hour to reach Tenpines. As he approached the settlement, one of the farmers approached him with his rifle leveled. "Hold it right there, that's close enough." The obviously scared farmer said.

Even thought the leveled rifle was no threat to JJ, he stopped anyway and kept his hands away from his rifle. "Didn't you ask the Minutemen for help?" JJ asked casually. This caused the farmer to look on in surprise and lower his rifle. "You're really with the Minutemen? I wasn't sure you guys still existed but we sent word with a passing trader just in case."

JJ lowered his hands. "We're rebuilding the Minutemen from the ground up. You can always count on us to lend a hand when you need it." This brought a smile to the farmers face.

"If that's true it would definitely be a turn for the better. We could really use your help with a group of Raiders. They came through a few days ago and took everything they could carry out and said they'd be back every week. Told us if we didn't have what they came to get each week we'd be in big trouble. We know where they're coming from but we can't do anything to stop them. We're farmers not Soldiers."

JJ just spoke evenly to try and reassure the farmer. "That's ok, you just tell me where they are coming from and I'll kick their asses for you." The farmer's wife had walked up at this point.

"They are coming from the old Corvega Plant. They've turned the plant into a veritable fortress." She said with an edge of venom in her voice. JJ chuckled. "That's ok. Taking down fortresses is my specialty. I'll see you again when it's done."

It took JJ three days to make it to the Corvega plant as he had to fight his way through feral ghouls and another small band of Raiders hold up in Lexington. The leader of the Raiders in Lexington was wearing a refurbished suit of power armor. Not a complete set just more of a hodge podge of pieces with cages welded around them.

JJ took the fusion core from that suit and the four more the leader had in an ammo can. That brought his total number of cores eight although the one in his suit was down to less than ten percent.

JJ made his way up onto the old overpass that went by the plant. From this vantage point, he was able to recon the plant much easier. It also gave him the advantage of higher ground. The Raider leader also had been carrying a modified hunting rifle chambered in .308.

JJ removed the suppressor from his rifle, beefed it up at the workbench by the Rocket Station in Lexington, and attached it to the hunting rifle. After studying the movements of the Raiders guarding the outside of the plant, JJ decided to make his move.

He waited until one Raider was at the end of the route he was walking and the furthest from all of the other Raiders. "One down, fifteen or so to go." JJ thought quietly. Twenty minutes and eight dead Raiders later, the Raiders finally realized something was wrong.

Only a couple of them realized the most likely place the shots were coming from and made their way to the bottom of the overpass. That was what JJ had been waiting for so he stood up and jumped from the overpass, crushing one Raider and knocking the other to the ground. He repeated the field goal punt on this Raider like he had on the one in the bunker. That left about five or so Raiders on the outside of the plant.

As JJ began moving toward the plant, he got a nasty surprise. From his angle on the overpass, he hadn't been able to see an automated machinegun turret until it opened fire on him. Several of the 5.56mm rounds hit the armor before he was able to duck behind a concrete wall.

Luckily none hit his body even though they penetrated the outer layer of armor. JJ pulled a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the turret. With the turret destroyed, JJ made his way to the front door of the plant.

After the explosion from the grenade, JJ figured a stealth approach was out of the question so he pulled both 10mm pistols out and kicked in the door. He had taken a second 10mm from the last Raider group he took out.

JJ moved through the plant killing anything stupid enough to cross his path. The only problems he ran into was a couple of Raiders threw molotov's at him and another had some grenades. The molotov's he shot out of the air before they reached him, with the grenades, he was lucky enough to have decent cover to duck behind.

An hour after entering the plant, JJ walked out of the there, thankful of the power armor he wore. He collected all of the weapons and ammo from the Raiders outside and re-entered the plant. He had an idea and had found just what he needed in the plant. He piled all of the Raiders and the few ghouls from the plant into an empty trailer and spent the night working on his project in the plant.

Early the next morning with Dogmeat sitting by his side, JJ rolled out of the door of the plant in a finished Corvega SUV. He had found it mostly complete on the assembly floor with a sealed crate of the parts needed to finish it sitting next to it. Once he bolted up the drive train and finished the last few touches, all it took to get it fired up was one of his spare fusion cores. It was a rough ride back to Tenpines but JJ made it in much less time than it would have taken to walk it.

The farmer and his wife stood staring in shock as JJ pulled up to their house in the SUV. They were still standing there staring at the SUV when JJ walked up to them. "Those Raiders won't be giving you anymore trouble and I even managed to salvage me a ride from there." He chuckled.

The farmer finally snapped out of his trance. "That's great news. Here's some caps for your trouble and we talked it over. We decided if you came through for us that we would support the Minutemen. If we want it to get any better around here, we have to help each other. You can count on us if you ever need anything."

On the way back to Sanctuary Hills, JJ spotted a robot salvage not too far from the listening station. He had went back there to collect the gear and stuff he left there since he had a vehicle to carry it in now. He pulled up to the salvage and saw a large sentry robot sitting enactive in it. He approached it cautiously and saw that it was completely deactivated. In a truck marked with a huge US star. He quickly opened the truck and was excited to find another fusion core and an M-71 Assault rifle with a case of ammo in it.

JJ went inside the salvage shack and found it still had a working terminal. Laying near the terminal was a holotape marked "combat sentry MKIV prototype". JJ picked up the holotape and loaded it into the computer. He found the activation code for the robot and used it. He was hoping that, since it was a prototype, his override code would work and he could take control of the robot. A combat sentry robot would come in real handy in defending settlements.

He could hear the sentry powering up and going through its self test. As he began walking to the door he heard the distinct sound of molerats bursting through the ground and attacking the sentry. He laughed and waited until the robot finished shredding the poor moleys that hadn't stood a chance. He opened the door and stepped out in front of the robot with a primed hand grenade in his hand, just in case.

"Command override, code Alpha Zulu seven three Tango eight niner one niner, initiate." The robot froze for a few seconds while it processed the command. JJ was sweating even inside the climate controlled power armor. He knew he would only have a slim chance at surviving if the code was not accepted. JJ breathed a sigh of relief when the missiles and rotary gun on the robot retracted and the robot responded. "Command override code accepted. What are your orders?"

JJ motioned toward the SUV. "Standby until I finish collecting resources from the shed then follow me." The sentrybot rolled to the back of the SUV and stopped. "Acknowledged." Was all it said. Once the useful scrap was loaded into the SUV, JJ got in and rolled out toward home with the sentrybot following behind like a little puppy. A little puppy with rotary cannon and rotary missile launcher but a little puppy none the less.

Not long after leaving the robot disposal yard, JJ spots something through the trees. JJ stops the SUV and hurriedly climbs into the back and into his power armor. As he steps out of the back and moves to investigate what he saw, the sentrybot rolls up behind him and follows.

JJ thinks for a little bit then turns to the sentrybot. "Stay and guard the truck. No one is to approach except myself and Dogmeat here until further notice." The sentrybot stops and reverses direction to the truck where it begins a slow circle around it. "Acknowledged."

As JJ and Dogmeat approach the area where he saw something, he hears a weird grunt. He stops and searches for the source of the sound. Dogmeat is growling and looking to his right. JJ lifts the .308 and scans the edge of a small ridge to their right. He spots the source and squeezes the trigger, dropping the radstag in its tracks.

He stands up and moves toward the downed stag when a second one charges over the edge of the ridge and barrels right into JJ. The radstag falls backward with one of its heads hanging limply. It tries to stagger up but Dogmeat is on it with his jaws on the throat of the still conscious head. With two radstags dead and a third running for its life away from JJ and Dogmeat, JJ turns back to what he spotted earlier. He finds a power armor frame with a chest piece and a left and right leg. JJ smiles and heads back to the SUV and stows his power armor in the back again. Then he removes the fusion core from his armor and goes to the partial suit.

Amazingly, this suit powers right up as soon as the fusion core is installed. JJ gets in the suit and walks it back to the truck then loads it next to his suit. "Wow, that's a lot of weight in there. We'll have to take it easy going back Dogmeat." Dogmeat cocks his head to the side and barks happily at JJ. JJ turns to the sentrybot. "Ok, stay alert and continue to follow the truck. Approach is allowed by anyone unless I tell you different." The sentrybot moved to the back of the SUV. "Acknowledged."

JJ didn't have any more problems getting home. When he approached the gate, he could see the stunned look on Preston's face. He stopped the SUV and walked up to the gate. "You gonna let me in or just stand there and gawk?" He teased Preston.

Garvey hurried down from the tower and opened the gate. JJ decided to let him off the hook. "I took care of those Raiders that were giving that settlement trouble. They've decided to join our cause. The SUV was a bonus as the Raiders were basing out of the old Corvega plant. It was on the assembly floor almost complete so I finished it. The sentrybot accepted my command override code from before the war. I figured it would really help boost the security of this place."

Preston just smiled. "That's great news. We'll take back the commonwealth one settlement at a time. Here, you might want one of these. It will help signal any Minutemen in the area to come to your aid if needed. It might not be much use now but as more and more settlements join the cause, it will become more useful. And don't worry, I'll be right there by your side, General."

JJ shook his head. "I'm no General, Preston. I made it to Colonel before I retired but that's as far as I went." Preston just smiled and continued. "The leader of the Minutemen has always held the rank of General. And the best thing about being the last Minuteman is there's no one to argue with me when I say you're the new General."

JJ chuckled and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Alright Garvey, I'll do it. Now let's get this stuff offloaded and let me get a bath. I'm wore out and just want to sleep for a week." Preston closed the gate behind JJ and the sentrybot.

JJ pointed everyone in the town out to the sentrybot and had it record everyone so it knew who was supposed to be there. He also added Preston to the command acceptance for the sentrybot so Preston could issue directives as well. With that done JJ set the bot to sentry and sent it off patrolling the community. He then unloaded the SUV, heated him a tub full of bath water, bathed, ate, and crashed out for the night. Tomorrow would be the start of another adventure and JJ had plans pouring through his head.

First installment on my new series. I know I promised to finish up the others but I just can't make anything work there. I'll do my best to at least get Assuming the Mantle finished but I won't make any promises. This one is easy as I can log into the game for any inspiration I need. Well enjoy and I'll get more started soon.