FALLOUT: Sievert - Vol.4: Divergence

Chapter 35 - What I'm doing

So after about 10 minutes of listing features off, Shanna said it was good enough, then wished to go over the performances of the suit in another list of items; before we could start I hear the door burst open from the other side of the room. The sound of power armor stomping followed. I didn't think anything of it, but, unfortunately, it was for me.

The soldier in power armor walked over to me and grabbed my wrist hard, pulling me back. "You're needed in the Armory NOW!" he barked. I looked at his breastplate; he was a Specialist Corporal, wearing T-45D.

I let out a blunt "OUCH!! Stop!" from the feelings of being clamped.

Blaire ran over and smacked the back of the heavy trooper's hand. "Let GO OF HER!" Blaire yelled. The Cpl's hand unclamped my wrist. I took a second to rub my wrist and thank Blaire.

From across the room, I see 2 other power armor units turn around, see us, and stomp their way over. Their shoulders and chest pieces had 3 stripes up... and 3 stripes down, 1 with a diamond in the middle; a Master Sergeant and a First Sergeant.

Their T-51B power armor had brown stripes across the helmet, and 2 from shoulder to shoulder.

The Master Sergeant budges in first, "CORPORAL WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!? YOU WERE ORDERED TO MOVE THE WARRANT OFFICER TO THE ARMORY, AN HOUR AGO!" He screamed through his power armor voice and air filter, to what seemed at the top of his lungs.

The First Sergeant wasn't talking; he looked down at me rubbing my wrist with a red mark around it.

The First Sergeant then forces his way in "Corporal. May I remind you; something I shouldn't have to do; that harming of a fellow soldier, abusive behavior against trainees, forceful in-TENT on a female, AND DISRESPECT OF AN OFFICER IS GROUNDS FOR A-SHIT-FUCKING--SSANDWISH!"

The MSGT. looked down at me and what I was doing with my wrist as I stood back up; Blaire holding my arm. The MSGT. Exploded: "CORPORAL! No. PRIVATE FIRST CLASS!!! YOUR ASS IS MMIIIIINNEE! OFFICERS MEETING ROOOM!! NOOOOWW!!!" I could just about hear the MSGT's real voice through the voice changer.

After the ordeal, I helped Shanna do her research, then she let me go; she was in a much lesser enthusiastic tone after what she witnessed. I reported to supply and picked up a good-sized box that had simple necessities containing personal MREs, toiletries, and a pamphlet on how things work around the base. I took the box back to my room and set it next to the bathroom door.

I climbed back in bed and took a nap, already exhausted from the day, being shook up from that encounter.

...22 days later...

  About sometime later, a lot of comforting in, a lot of wondering, and a lot of shooting range time with the new handgun I got from the armory, a nice Colt 10mm M1911E; along with the frustration of the stiff oversized uniform and the sound of vertibirds common. The sound of nothing but military talk and the perfect feeling of the conditioned environment; life seemed good, no real need to do anything.

Wake up, eat, talk to some people and maybe an exercise of something, relax, and then back to bed; and everything in-between. I even got the T-45L back. All I really wanted was to be like this forever. But, my feelings were not right, I've felt like I have been leaving others behind, this all had to end; it was just a large guilty feeling.

I get a knock on my door; I put down a book I was reading from a small section of books scavenged from controlled parts of the city. Opening the door, Daniel steps in by force wearing her new mk.II combat armor and seeing her new rank, Staff Sergeant.

"Hey, dork! The officers meeting is soon, you gonna tell me their plans like last time?" she said in a forced excited whisper. Mark standing behind her in the brand new mk.III combat armor that comes with joint guards, lighter material, and supplementary gap spall plates. As always, he doesn't say anything.

I speak up, "I'll tell you what I can, I guess."

Right, when I said this, she gently squeals and hops up and down a bit, replying back "This infiltration information is going to turn the war! I know it!" she says with a grin.

She continued in a whisper, "I got word from HQ, that we're going to be pushing to Colorado soon, we made a deal with the Legion, a cease-fire. I don't know what we're doing, but I think it's to snag any vaults on the way there and mountain bases using the Desert Rangers! We need to hurry back so we can give Hanna all the info we got!"

"I guess." I thought to myself a bit, 'if I retrace my steps I should find what I felt like I lose, right?' Before Daniel turned around and walked out, her hair fluttering around as she half skipped away.

  Then the end of the month, 23 days here, I was called in for an officers meeting. The meeting was between the 1st LT and up. The meeting started with a headcount, then general reports of various things I didn't care for. Though, something that shocked me a bit was how they indiscriminately disposed of the Ghoul population that was manning the nearby power plant for not being cooperative.

Though, the Colonel stated that we are too close to the front lines, and can't have faults now. I didn't know if that meant killing them or just kicking them out of the area.

The Hanford Nuclear Power Plant has been able to unbury its spent nuclear fuel and waste tanks. The waste has been extracted and placed into an above-ground reinforced lead and Depleted Uranium tanker. After inspections, they found the current tank's bottoms have been eaten away from the nuclear waste after such a long period of time, contaminating the groundwater slightly.

A Captain stood up and started talking about how to clean up the area. "The nuclear-fuel waste can be refined and split, turning it into glass and the remaining bi-product waste will be half-lifed and will eat away at the nuclear waste container much slower. After we refill the container, we can half-burry it, and then it'll be the next person's problem in 300 years from now."

Some people agreed to this and wished to know what to do about the non-fuel nuclear waste, things like radioactive tools, clothes, and the like. But the Captain simply said that we would need a blast or particle furnace, something they don't have, to super burn and dry out that light waste and turn it into pure ash; then contain whats left and bury it.

The Colonel spoke up next, "We need more info on this unknown outfit, the 'Cry'. They are an unknown, and probably very well-trained force. If they are hostile and attack the power plant, full resistance will be met under my authorization. But it'll be difficult to defend or fight against what we don't know." Stating in a calm but informative tone.

I spoke up "Do we have enough protection at the power plant?"

A Major took my question "Yes we have atleast one full Company of 100 total troops on station there with laser weaponry, and 45 officers with power armor. If anything happens there, there is a Brigade of 5,000 troops here, with a special forces unit, a mechanized infantry detachment, and a squadron of about 85~ish pilots to take control of 30 Vertibirds and some assortment of Hueys." He informed.

I simply sat back in my seat and relaxed. I hummed gently, in a relaxing manner, to myself. After about another hour of some officers making a field plan and request of changes and authorization demands, it finally ended. Before I even knew it, it was getting late. I walked back to my room after looking around the empty terminal.

In short, the movement plan is to land grab up to at least the road I traveled by, to be the new border.