Wave On, Old Glory

By: TallYapflip

Nora grunted as she fell to the cold, metallic floor with a thud. The muted internals of Vault 111 were accented with the faint dripping of condensation and the blaring on an alarm. She hacked and coughed as her lungs breathed in fresh air for the first time in… God knows how long. Her muscles ached, and she slowly worked out the stiffness as she pulled herself to her feet.

It all came crashing down on her in an instant. That bald man, the figure in a Hazmat suit… Nate! Ignoring the dull throbbing in her limbs, she stumbled over to the cryo pod across from her own, and looked inside. Just as she remembered, there was a .44 caliber round embedded in her frozen husband's chest. She simply stared at the image of the love of her life, cold and lifeless inside a metal tube. She managed to fight back the tears that were welling up, even if just barely. "I'll find that son of a bitch…" She offered to the corpse sealed within the cryo chamber. "I promise… I'll find Shaun. You just get some rest…" She offered the faintest, hollow smile as her hand pressed against the cold glass viewport. "And save me a place at the bar, huh? I'll have a helluva' story for you when I get up there."

She sighed, banging her fist on the glass as a final parting to her husband. She had seen enough death and destruction to last several lifetimes… Anchorage made sure of that. She had spent four years of her life in that shithole, trading fire with the Chinese. Four years with the Marines had hardened her. She could shove just about anything down, ignore it, and keep trudging forward. She'd do it again.

She gave the cryo pod one last look before she turned and headed for the door. She threw the heavy emergency release lever and stepped through the door. As she took a quick look around, she was surprised to see that every other cryo pod had remained closed… only hers had opened. As she happened upon a still-active computer terminal, she soon discovered why. Life support had failed for every pod but hers, killing the other occupants while they slept in their stasis. "Fuckin' Vault-Tec…" She muttered to herself, closing down the terminal and heading across the hall.

She stepped into some sort of security room. There was a desk facing window into the generator room, with a telescopic baton resting on the desk. With a shrug, she grabbed the baton and flicked it open. She was certainly grateful, once she saw a giant roach crawl across the glass. "Fuckin' Christ…" she muttered. "Of course the roaches got huge, why wouldn't they? This world wasn't shitty enough."

She quickly cleared the kitchen, gathering up whatever looked useful. She had found a few packs of cigarettes, some well-preserved food, and a few bottles of water. She tucked the cigarettes into the pocket of her vault suit along with the water and canned food. There was no telling with the world was like up above, and she wasn't going to leave the Vault unprepared.

Stepping through the door to the reactor room, she saw arcs of electricity dancing between the pylons, and a large collection of those giant roaches that had wandered just a bit too close to the generators. "Well… not going that way." She muttered, following a service catwalk around the generators. She saw one of the roaches feasting on the bones of a Vault-Tec scientist. Before it had a chance to direct its attention to her, she bashed it with the baton. She cringed slightly at the squelch, but continued on.

The connected hallway contained three of the disgusting mutated roaches, one of which managed to nip at her leg. The vault jumpsuit's leather was enough to keep the creature's mandibles from breaking skin, but it still hurt like a motherfucker.

After crushing the roaches that stood in her path, she stepped through another door and into an office of sorts. Immediately, she noticed the 10mm pistol sitting on the desk beside three boxes of ammo. She picked up the weapon, surprised by the near-pristine condition of it. She racked the slide back, checking the chamber. It brought a certain familiarity, holding a gun. She left the baton behind as she gathered up the pistol and spare ammo, then set to searching the room.

She found more ammo boxes, more packs of cigarettes, a few stimpacks, some antibiotics, and a rather strange weapon locked inside a glass display case. After attempting to break the glass with a 10mm round, she was rather saddened to find that it was reinforced quite well. After digging through the terminal, she discovered that it was some sort of freeze-ray called the Cryolator. "Comin' back for you…" She mused, opening up the evacuation tunnel.

As she moved through the tunnel, she saw five more of those strange roaches. Now that she had a gun, they were easy pickings. She had managed to kill all five of them, only missing twice. She was rather happy with that number, given that she was never great with a pistol. She always favored the old R91.

After clearing the tunnel, she found herself in the Vault's entrance. There were six skeletons scattered around, one of which had a familiar device wrapped around its wrist. She walked over, dropping to one knee as she picked up the Pip-Boy. She locked it into place on her wrist and powered it up, happy to find that it still worked. She wiped the dust from the screen, letting it finish booting up.

She fiddled with the settings for a few moments, filling out a new user's questionnaire in the process, then slid the small connecter out from the back of the device and plugged it into the door control terminal. She smiled as a plexi-glass covering flipped upwards, granting her access to the door's controls. She pressed the button and took a step back, letting the door's mechanisms begin working.

She made her way over towards the extending platform, covering her ears as a loud grinding noise filled the room. The heavy, reinforced blast door eventually slid free and was pushed aside by the control arm, giving her access to the surface via the elevator that she had taken. She stepped onto the elevator, steeling herself for a moment before she threw the switch, sending it towards the surface.

XXXXX

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Nora muttered, looking out to the shattered remnants of the Commonwealth. Boston rested in the distance, the once-thriving city rendered desolate and shattered by the nuclear bombs. All of the greenery was replaced by sickly, brown, and dead plant life. She could see Sanctuary Hills, which barely stood, just a few hundred feet away. She sucked in a deep breath and started walking down the path that she had taken all that time ago.

It wasn't until about halfway up the painfully slow elevator that she had looked at the little digital clock and calendar that was built into the Pip-Boy. 2287… two hundred and ten years. She almost didn't believe it, but it made a certain kind of sense. She was in a cryogenic stasis for god knows how long. It had all seemed like a second to her, but it was painfully obvious that it had been more than a second when she looked out to Boston.

Descending the path leading to Sanctuary, she found herself at the edge of her old suburb. The wind faintly whistled, kicking up dust and dead leaves. As she looked to her left, she was rather surprised to see a familiar Mr. Handy robot toiling away in her old yard. "Codsworth?" She approached the robot, rather cautiously. He did have a flamethrower and buzzsaw, after all.

"As I live and breathe!" Codsworth declared, his three eyes focusing on Nora. "It's… it's really you!"

"It's me, buddy." Nora gave a regretful smile. "Sorry, two centuries late for dinner."

Codsworth gave a hearty laugh. "It's no worry, Mistress. Now… where's your better half and young Shaun? I'd imagine they're famished."

"Nate's… gone, Codsworth." Nora sighed.

"Ma'am… are you saying?" Codsworth began.

"Yes, Codsworth…" Nora nodded, solemnly. "Someone took Shaun. Bald head, gravelly voice, .44 magnum. Have you seen anyone like that?"

"I'm afraid not, the most I've seen around the neighborhood is the stray dogs and the occasional ruffian from Concord." Codsworth explained. "If you'd like, I could scour the neighborhood for you, see if I can't pick up anything."

"No harm in trying." Nora shrugged. "Go ahead, buddy."

"Right away, I'll be back in a jiffy!" Codsworth declared, that normal energy returning in an instant as he jetted off towards a house to start looking around.

Nora watched Codsworth for a moment before she stepped inside her old home. She was rather surprised, Codsworth must have kept the inevitable looters away from their home for the most part. The furniture looked broken beyond all repair, but there was still quite a bit intact. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the Grognak comic still sitting on the kitchen counter, beside that coffee mug she had left there.

With a sigh, she made her way back into the Nursery, seeing the crib in the same spot. She felt a pang in her chest at the sight, seeing the nursery that she and Nate had spent weeks preparing destroyed. It was all so much, seeing her world reduced to ruins. It hadn't even sunk in yet. She knew it happened, but she still hadn't accepted it yet.

She shoved her thoughts down, realizing that having a Vault suit stuffed with meds, ammo, and supplies was getting rather uncomfortable. She had gotten so pressed for space that she was forced to tuck a few of the spare magazines into the suit itself just to carry it all. Then it hit her. If nobody had looted the house…

She turned around, running into her old bedroom. Her bed had been completely shattered, but the safe was still intact. It was built into the floor, just under the bed. She smiled as she knelt down, testing the lock. It had stayed locked for over two hundred years, keeping its contents secure.

She dialed in the combination, pulling the safe open. She smiled as she found her old fatigues, another 10mm pistol, fifty rounds of ammo, a holster, cleaning kit, some cash, and her old dog tags. Next to all of her old military memorabilia was Nate's, bringing that stinging feeling back.

Again, she shoved it down and removed her fatigues from the safe, placing them down atop the dresser. The camouflage garments were still clean and pressed, but that probably wouldn't last around here.

She set about to removing the skintight vault suit, struggling with the zipper for a moment before managing to peel the leather jumpsuit off. "Fuckin' vault-themed BDSM gear…" she muttered, tossing it onto the shattered bedframe. She walked over to her side of the dresser, happy to find most of her clothes still relatively intact. She rummaged around inside for a moment, grabbing an old sports bra and placing it down atop the dresser. She un-hooked her bra, tossed it into the drawer, and pulled the sports bra over her head.

"Fuckin' goddamnit…" She grumbled to herself, finally managing to get the sports bra on. Everyone called her crazy, but she was convinced that they put something in the water. Either that, or she had managed to put on a bit of weight in her retirement… naturally, she settled on the former.

She looked down to herself, eyes scanning over her dozens of tattoos that she wore proudly on her arms, legs, and torso. Almost every inch of skin on her arms and legs was covered by ink, and much of her stomach and upper chest was as well. She had built up a fair bit of muscle mass during her time in the service, and she was happy to see that cryostasis didn't cause muscle atrophy. She sighed as she pulled an old white t-shirt on, then set about to donning her old camouflage fatigues. She couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it, seeing that Staff Sergeant's emblem on her shoulder again.

She strapped the holster to her thigh, tucking the slightly-modified 10mm pistol away. Her old home-defense weapon wasn't anything amazing, she just threw a compensator on the barrel and called it a day.

She adjusted the fatigues as she moved to the kitchen, stowing the food and water away in the fridge beside an old Nuka Cola and shattered milk jug. Of course, there wasn't any power, but she just needed a place to keep it until she found a backpack.

Just as she finished storing her food stock away, Codsworth drifted through the door. "Ma'am… there's no sign of young Shaun or his captors. I think… I think they really are gone!"

Sensing the distressed tone in Codsworth's voice, Nora turned. "Codsworth, calm down… we're not going to get anywhere by freaking out, okay? Do you have anything, anything at all? Anywhere that might give me a lead?"

"I suppose you could always check in Concord…" Codsworth gave a shrug with his grabber and buzzsaw arms. "I'd be careful down there, though… the rascals have been getting rather loud late at night lately."

"Thanks, Codsworth." Nora nodded. "Hold down the fort for me, okay? I'll be back soon."

XXXXXX

Nora sighed as she walked across the bridge to Sanctuary Hills. On the other side, she found what appeared to be a wild dog, which had been impaled by a tire iron. Beside the dog, there was the corpse of a man wearing a leather overcoat with some makeshift armor held on by a few straps. It looked like it was made of scrap metal and leather scraps.

She knelt down, loosening the straps of the metal armor and removing them. She only found the armguards and leg guards, but she figured a bit of protection was better than none. She fastened all of the armor into place, adjusting it to keep the jagged metal from digging into her skin. As she flipped over the corpse to fully pat him down, she found a rather ramshackle-looking weapon. It was obviously a rifle of sorts, but it looked to be made from pipes and spare junk. She was genuinely surprised by the craftsmanship, there was even a charging handle and magazine release button.

She pulled the magazine from the side of the pipe rifle, examining the rounds within. It was chambered in .38 caliber rounds, which still seemed to be common enough judging by the four spare magazines tucked into the man's coat pockets.

She fiddled with the pipe rifle for a moment, trying to figure out how it functioned before standing upright and continuing on down the road. Just as she rounded the bend near the Red Rocket Truck Stop, she was surprised to hear the bark of a canine. As she looked over, she was surprised to see a rather large German Shepherd running up to her, stopping a few feet away as it sniffed at her.

She couldn't help but smile. "Hey, buddy… what're you doing out here all by yourself?"

The dog gave a short little whimper as he approached, coming right up to Nora and looking up to her, cocking its head to the side.

"Aww… you wanna come with me, pal?" Nora asked, kneeling down and scratching the dog's head. As the dog gave a happy bark, licking Nora's face, she laughed. "Okay then… let's stick together."

Nora couldn't help but smirk as her new canine companion walked alongside her, occasionally sniffing at the ground as he followed. She had elected to search the truck stop, hoping to find something even remotely useful. She was lucky enough to find a Stimpack, some more cigarettes, a few rounds of .38 tucked away in a desk drawer, and some duct tape. What really surprised her was the full suite of workbenches in the garage. Everything from a reloading bench to the power armor cradle. With how close this was to home, she made a mental note to come back here and see about building something akin to a home out of it.

After searching through the truck stop, she continued on the road to Concord, with her new friend still walking alongside her. As she rounded another bend, she saw a rather gruesome sight. It was a cow… at least she thought it to be a cow. It had two heads, and had its innards exposed as huge mutated mosquitoes were feeding on its remains. They must have noticed her, as they removed themselves from the creature's corpse and went airborne.

Not taking any chances with something as downright godawful as a giant mosquito, she raised her pipe rifle and fired three rounds at the closest one. At least they went down in a few shots. Just as the second started closing the distance, she fired off another two shots, putting it down.

She shuddered as the mutated insects twitched on the cracked asphalt. "Does this radiation only affect the bad shit?" She looked down to her canine companion, who simply cocked his head to the side. "No giant crops?" The dog simply gave a confused whine. "Just as confused as me, huh?"

Before she could continue her one-sided conversation, the distinct sound of gunfire could be heard from Concord. Her stance and demeanor switched in an instant. Strangely enough, she heard what sounded like an energy weapon. Probably a laser rifle judging by the low humming noise.

"C'mon, buddy." Nora nodded for the dog to follow alongside her as she jogged down the road, keeping the makeshift stock of her pipe rifle pressed into her shoulder as she moved. She moved through the alleyways between buildings, sticking to cover as she approached the central road through Concord. As she emerged from an alley, taking cover behind a burned-out car, she saw a few people dressed in tattered clothing firing up at the old Museum of Freedom. There was a single figure standing on the old balcony, firing down with a laser weapon.

Nora tensed up as she heard the canine let out a deep growl at the sight of the ground-level individuals. She sucked in a deep breath, bringing her pipe rifle to bear and settling her sights on the torso of a Raider that was taking cover behind an old lamp post. She slowly squeezed down on the trigger, sending the .38 round into his side. He fell to the ground in a heap, with the other Raiders looking around in confusion.

She swung her rifle around, firing another few shots downrange and keeping a Raider with an automatic pipe rifle pinned behind a wall. When that Raider made the mistake of poking out from cover, one of the rounds struck him in the shoulder and sent him to the ground.

She heard another shot from the balcony, and watched as another Raider was simply vaporized by the high-energy laser. The last Raider broke cover and tried to run for the door to the Museum, but was stopped by a round from Nora's rifle. She tried to fire two, but felt her magazine click empty. "Mags hold twelve…" she noted in the back of her mind, removing the magazine and slotting a new one into place. "Hey!" She heard the figure on the balcony call out. "Over here, on the balcony! I've got a group of settlers inside! The Raiders are almost through the door! Grab the Laser Musket down by the door and help us, please!"

Nora looked up in confusion, but saw the man step back inside. With a heavy sigh, she covered the distance between her cover and the Museum with caution. As she approached the Museum, she saw the 'Laser Musket" that the man had described lying beside a woman who was riddled with bullet holes. She wore a pair of black pants, a white shirt, a long blue overcoat, and a tricorn hat. Strangely enough, there was a symbol painted on the front of the hat in white. It was three stars surrounding a crossed musket and lightning bolt.

Pushing that into the back of her mind, she grabbed the Laser Musket and the microfusion cells that were lying beside the deceased woman. Sliding one of the cells into the proper place in the side of the weapon, she worked the hand-crank and watched the energy build up in the vacuum chamber beside the crank mechanism. It was a rather crude weapon, but it got the job done judging by the pile of ash on the ground a few feet away. She sighed, stepping through the door.

Immediately, she was greeted by the sight of a Raider on an upper walkway pouring fire towards the wall, likely trying to keep whoever was inside suppressed. She raised her Laser Musket, lining up the crude iron sights and squeezing down on the trigger. She watched as the Raider fell down in a heap, then worked the crank on the weapon.

She proceeded through the Museum, surprised by the power that this deceptive little musket carried with it. It easily put down even armored Raiders, searing a neat hole through them. As she reached the top floor, putting a shot through a Raider's torso, she heard a raspy voice shout out. "C'mon out here so I can skin every last one of 'ya!"

Steeling herself, reached down to her holster and removed the 10mm pistol. She rounded the corner, seeing two Raiders trying to knock down a door. A momentary flicker of humor crossed her features. They weren't even kicking near the handle, all of their strikes were directed towards the center or hinge-side of the door. With little issue, Nora raised her pistol and put a round into each of the Raiders.

Looking around and seeing no further enemies, Nora called out. "Building's clear, you can come out!"

She watched as the door swung open, with a dark-skinned man standing on the other side. He was wearing a similar uniform to the dead woman outside, but his was a notably darker shade of blue. The brim of his tricorn hat was also pinned aside on his right side, and he cradled a much longer Laser Musket in his hands. "Man, I don't know who you are but your timing's impeccable…" He sighed, the traces of a smile on his face. "Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen."

Nora smirked as she stepped through the door, closing it behind her. "Minutemen, huh? Name's Nora." She watched as her faithful canine companion padded over to an old woman sitting on a couch, lying down beside her.

"You haven't heard of the Minutemen?" Preston asked, confused. "I thought everyone in the Commonwealth knew about us… you new around here or something?"

"I… guess you could say that." Nora nodded, tentatively.

"Well, thanks for the assist, Nora." Preston sighed. "Damnit… first the Ghouls in Lexington and now this mess?"

"What happened?" Nora asked, sliding her pistol back into its holster.

"A month ago there were thirty of us, yesterday there were eight… now we're five." Preston sighed. "We're trying to make our way to Sanctuary, but these Raiders trapped us in here."

"Sorry… sounds rough." Nora offered her words.

"Don't suppose you'd be willing to lend a hand a while longer?" Preston asked.

"Sure." Nora shrugged. "You guys got a plan? Sounds like more Raiders are surrounding the building." She was right. She had heard the shouts through some of the broken windows, mostly of surprise.

"We sure do." Preston nodded towards a man wearing denim overalls. "Sturges, tell her."

Sturges turned away from the terminal he was typing away at, a broad smile on his face. "There's a crashed vertibird on the roof, old-school. Pre-war… might've seen it on your way in." Truthfully, Nora didn't see it, she was more concerned with the gunfight outside. "Well, one of its passengers left behind some seriously sweet goodies… I'm talkin' a full suit of cherry T-45 power armor; military-issue, and a minigun. Get those and you'll be able to give those Raiders an express ticket to-"

"Stop." Nora held a hand out, smiling broadly. "You had me at 'Power Armor' and 'Minigun'… "

Sturges chuckled. "I like you." His face evened out again. "Only problem is the old fusion core in the armor ran dry. There's another one downstairs, but we can't get to the damn thing. It's behind one of those metal security doors."

"I'll see about getting that F.C." Nora offered. "Everyone sit tight, I'll be right back."

XXXXX

Nora walked back into the Museum Manager's office with a broad grin on her face and a fully-charged fusion core cradled in her arm. "Point me to the T-45." She smiled.

"Alright!" Preston smiled, looking to a door on the other end of the room. "Lemme unlock the door for you."

As Nora made her way towards the door, she was stopped by the old woman that her dog had sat beside earlier. "Careful kid… there's something comin', and it's angry."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked, confused.

"It's… it's big, underground… and it's got horns like the devil." The old woman explained. "Scales, too. I've seen it."

"Okay…" Nora nodded. Truth be told, she didn't believe this woman for a second. She had seen some crazy shit in her time, but psychic powers? "Probably smacked out of her mind…" She thought to herself.

"Alright, I'll keep it in mind." Nora nodded. "C'mon, buddy." She nodded for her canine to follow.

"You're lucky you found Dogmeat, kid." Mama Murphy offered, giving a gentle smile.

Nora couldn't help but chuckle. "Dogmeat, huh?"

"A lot of people around here know him… he's a great help. Only likes certain people, but you two seem to be getting along." Mama Murphy explained. "He'll take good care of you."

"Alright, door's unlocked." Preston called out, catching Nora's attention.

"Cool." Nora nodded. "Dogmeat, stay." She ordered. Obediently, Dogmeat sat himself down beside Mama Murphy and let out a happy bark. "Good boy."

She made her way through the door, around the corner, and towards the roof access ladder. As she climbed onto the roof, she was greeted by exactly what she expected: a suit of T-45 power armor and a minigun that was still attached to the Vertibird's pintle-mount. A broad smile crossed her face as she practically skipped over to the rear of the power armor, placing her Laser Musket and Pipe Rifle down on the ground, and slamming the Fusion Core into place in its slot. The armor wasn't anything amazing. It was rusted and dented from centuries of exposure to the elements, but these things were built tough.

She turned the valve on the rear of the armor, causing it to open up. She stepped inside, fitting herself into the frame. After a moment, the frame closed around her, and the HUD lit up. She gave an experimental flex of the arms and legs, satisfied that they would hold up to what she had in mind.

With a smirk, she grabbed her Laser Musket and ran the sling across the chestplate of her power armor. She stomped over to the crashed Vertibird, grabbed the handle and trigger guard of the minigun, and yanked it from its mount. She engaged the motor, watching the barrels begin spinning as the weapon spun up. Looking down, she saw that the ammo drum was almost completely full, and that devious smile returned.

"Boss, we got someone up here!" She heard a Raider call out.

She stepped through the Vertibird, barrels of the minigun still whirring. Just as the Raider who shouted out to his companions came into view on the roof across the street, Nora jammed down on the trigger. The hail of 5mm rounds from the minigun nearly split the Raider in half, turning his torso into a cloud of pink mist as he crumbled.

"Holy shit! Power armor!" Another called out.

Knowing full-well that the suit could handle it, Nora sprinted towards the edge of the rooftop, leaping off. She landed on the ground with an earth-shaking thud, the hydraulics and pneumatics of the power armor's frame dampening the fall to almost nothing. She still felt some shock, but it was like falling from a few inches to her.

She heard the familiar sound of small arms plinking off the heavy plating of power armor, and swung the minigun around. The Raiders had occupied much of the central road, and were using old cars and sandbag walls for cover. She simply jammed down on the trigger and swept it across the street, advancing as she did.

The Raiders, in their thin garb and crude armor, didn't stand the slightest chance against the hail of fire pouring from the minigun. More funneled in from the intersection, and were almost instantly cut down by the steady stream of lead being sent downrange.

Just as Nora was about halfway to the intersection, she heard a deep roar from… somewhere. Much to her surprise, she watched a massive creature claw its way out from a sewer grate. Seeing the Raiders shout "Deathclaw!" in fear, she wasted no time and jammed down on the trigger again.

The Deathclaw's thick hide managed to hold against the onslaught of 5mm rounds, and it charged at her with a deafening roar. Its razor-sharp claws were bared as it charged, covering the distance quickly. Nora, her vision tunneling-in, lowered the minigun slightly and sent a stream of rounds into its left leg. The weaker hide on the leg gave way, and the creature tumbled to the asphalt as it let out a roar of pain. As it was on the ground, she simply poured the remainder of the minigun's ammunition through its head, turning it into a pulpy mass.

Nora let out a heavy sigh as the minigun clicked empty, the motor simply spinning the barrels. She removed her finger from the trigger and looked around the area. She managed to surprise even herself. Twelve Raiders were completely eviscerated by the barrage of fire from her new toy, and three more cut and ran. Shrugging, she made her way back towards the Museum with the minigun in-hand.

As she pushed the door open with her shoulder, she saw that Preston, Dogmeat, and the settlers were gathered by the ticket booth. Preston seemed to be lecturing Mama Murphy on her Jet use. "Explains the 'visions'… she's smacked out of her fuckin' mind." Nora thought to herself as she approached, her heavy armor clanking as she walked.

"Ho-ly shit…" Preston managed, turning to face the mass of armor that Nora occupied. "That was a pretty amazing display. I'm just glad you're on our side."

"Don't mention it, Preston." Nora offered, smirking as she heard her voice altered by the armor.

"Well… since it's the only way I know how to say 'thanks' with anything other than words…" Preston reached into his overcoat, producing a bundle of Microfusion Cells and a small bag that jingled slightly. "Here, take it."

"I didn't do it for the reward, Preston." Nora offered.

"Sorry, just used to everyone being out for themselves in the Commonwealth." Preston shrugged. "Listen, we're heading to Sanctuary… it'd be great if you could join us."

Nora shrugged. She had to go put this Power Armor on the cradle anyways. "Alright, Garvey… I'm in."

"That great!" Preston smiled. "C'mon, everyone, let's get moving."

Everyone left the Museum, walking down the central road towards Sanctuary. Nora and Preston headed the pack, and talked as they moved. "So… you said you're not from around here. Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"Well… that wasn't entirely true." Nora explained. She figured that she could trust Garvey enough to confide this in. "I'm… well, I'm from before the bombs fell."

"Wait… what?" Preston asked, stunned. "But you're not a Ghoul!"

"Yeah…" Nora had no idea what a Ghoul was, but she decided to roll with it. "I'm from Vault 111, up on the hill behind Sanctuary. We were all… frozen for over two hundred years. I was in the Marines before the War."

"You were in the military?" Preston asked, earning a nod from Nora. "Makes sense, I guess. And you are cleaner than most people out here."

"Thanks… I guess?" Nora chuckled. "Probably won't last long, but hey. It's good to see some people keeping the American Dream alive."

"What do you mean?" Preston asked.

"Minutemen?" Nora asked. "Like… the Minutemen from the Revolutionary War?"

"Huh?" Preston asked.

"You're telling me you don't know about the American Revolution?" Nora asked. "The war that literally birthed the greatest nation on Earth?"

"Can't say I do…" Preston shrugged. "The Minutemen are almost a hundred years old now, I always just thought it was a name the founder made."

"Damn… looks like you're getting a history lesson." Nora smirked beneath her helmet.

Author's Note:

Alright, since I'm already five stories deep, I figure why the hell not see how many in-progress stories I can rack up on here (send help, I can't stop). To give myself some credit here, I'm only partially working on this one. This one's a bit of a collaborative effort, so there might be some slight deviations in writing style.

If you've ever read anything I've written before, this should go without saying, but this is going to deviate rather heavily from canon. And if you know me, this should also go without saying: I'm not exactly going to be... consistent with updates. I've got a rather demanding work schedule, and this is just a hobby for me, but I do what I can to update things semi-regularly.

With all that out of the way, let me know what you think. Let me know if it's good, if it needs improvement, or if it's just straight irredeemable trash.