Foreword: This story takes place after the events of the Lone Wanderer, exactly two years after the events of Broken Steel. The Vault Dweller does live, but he does not play a important role. He has traveled far from the Capital Wasteland, traveling the world. So, onto the story. Ah, and one more thing. This is an Altered Universe story.

Prologue

"Ya think this is the place?" The heavily armored man asked, gesturing towards the metallic door in the distance. His comrade nodded, his helmet clanking. Wind rushed through the wasteland, sending dust everywhere. It would have annoyed the two men if they hadn't been equipped with armor. The tallest of two, Jerry, pulled the hunting rifle from the strap on his back, and loaded it.

"Well, if it is, then we need to be prepared for some...resistance, eh?" Jerry remarked, an unseen smile on his tan face. His partner did not respond, but he showed his understanding when he drew his forty-four magnum from its holster. They stood on a moderately tall piece of rock, where they could see a large metal square door set into rock. They were near the mountains, so there was quite a bit of rock around.

Jerry nodded to his partner Mickey, and then leaped off the rock, his armor clanking. His partner did the same, his magnum held out in front of him. Jerry approached the door, and it opened as he neared it. The groaning of the metal could have been heard a mile away. They stepped forward into a small cave, which proved to be completely empty. Jerry looked very carefully, but he did not find anything of importance. He sighed and turned to the small GPS device in his hand, restored by the famous Brotherhood of Steel. The coordinates on the map proved to be correct, they were exactly were they were supposed to be.

Mickey, on the other hand, did find something of interest, a small button set into the rock, barely noticeable by a normal person. Fortunately, Mickey was an incredibly observant person.

"Jerry, look at this. I might have found something." He uttered in a thick Russian accent. Jerry quickly made his way over to Mickey, noticing the button once he came close.

Hmmm, a button?

"Don't just stand there, press the button." Jerry impatiently barked. Mickey pressed the button and the rock began to shift, revealing some worn stairs. It led up to a small door, which would most likely lead them to there destination. They had been sent to this place to uncover a piece of technology by the Brotherhood of Steel, a organization that seeks technology, as well as protecting the citizens of the Wastes. Jerry and his comrade had come here from a distant Brotherhood base, where they were assigned to Elder Lyons, the leader of the Brotherhood in D.C.

They were famous for many heroic feats during there time as Brotherhood Paladins. So, due to their previous record, they were sent on a high priority mission such as this. The thing they searched for was a pre-war component that would complete the Brotherhood's mission of restoring their most prized possession, Liberty Prime.

They didn't actually know exactly what was on the other side of the door, but they were ordered to take anything that even seemed interesting. The place they were about to enter was a pre-war laboratory, it could contain many things, but there top priority was to obtain some sort of data chip that would allow Liberty Prime to operate at a hundred percent power.

The laboratory was discovered when a small holotape was found on the skeletal remains of a scientist. The holotape contained some sort of journal entry, the researcher spoke of a lab that she planned to investigate. She was working for someone she called Roswell, but that was not what interested them, it was the lab itself. The Brotherhood was surprised at the fact that the lab had evaded their attention for so long.

On the holotape, it mentioned that the facility contained several experiments, so the two man group knew they may face some resistance.

Jerry rushed up the steps, Mickey following. When they reached the top, another metallic door similar to the entrance made its home. This one was a lot smaller though, a regular door. When they reached the top, the door opened automatically, and the duo stepped forward, and into the lab.

Far away from the lab concealed in the mountains, a man trekked across the wasteland. On his back was a assault rifle, fully loaded and ready to split some skulls. He wore an old baseball cap, and some leather clothing. He had a belt on his waist, small leather bags tied on, each containing supplies. He was well equipped for danger. Actually, he expected danger.

He moved forward, over a small hill. In the distance, he could see a small raider camp, several armed people milling around.

"Well, you couldn't evade me for long, could you?" He said aloud, a wide grin on his face.

His name was Mark Wallford, and he had been tracking these pack of raiders for days. They had killed a trader a few days ago, and him being a mercenary, he was paid to track them down and kill them. His employer was a good friend of the trader, and he did not like good friends dying. Mark was getting paid well, plus he got to keep most of the loot, except for a necklace that belonged to the trader. The man wanted it as a memory of his good friend.

Mark moved forward, hiding behind small hills as he neared the small group of wasteland bandits. The camp was built under the ruins of a shack, sheltering the three bandits. As he jumped from hill to hill, he observed their camp. One of the raiders, a red headed woman, was equipped with twin ten millimeter pistols. The two other bandits were both large men, axes in hand. They were just sitting around talking by the time Mark got as close as possible without showing himself.

Mark withdrew his weapon, and poked it out from the top of the rock, where all three sat cross legged, discussing their next raid. Mark aimed at the red headed woman, the highest threat due to her ranged capabilities. She noticed the gun, just before a volley of bullets pierced her body, one ripped right through her neck, instantly ending her. The other two jumped up, axes in hand, and began to run towards them.

Mark rose from cover, and started to jump backwards, pulling a grenade from the small leather bag at his waist and chunking it at them. Four seconds later, organs littered the ground, the remains of the two raiders strewn about. Mark smiled grimly at the sight before him, and began to loot the dead raiders. He found a set of assault rifle ammo, and a load of medical supplies. By the time he accumulated all the loot, which consisted of two pistols, a bunch of medical stuff, and a hunting rifle, as well as the necklace.

He quickly surveyed the camp one last time, before setting off, heading for the large city of Megaton. He had a long trip ahead of him, at least a few days. There he would consult his employer for his pay. Then he would head off on another mission, wherever his job took him.

Behind him, in the small camp, a small man began to munch on the remains. This was what the world had done to people.

The wasteland turned even the greatest of people into monsters.

That is the way of the Wastes.

**

So, this is just a prologue, setting up some important events. What will the Brotherhood duo find in the depths of the mysterious laboratory? Where will Mark's job take him next? Find out in the next chapter!!