At The Precipice Of Something New

Something Evil

Fort Hagen
May the 28th, 2288
23:57

Disorienting.

More than simply a byproduct of the uneven lighting and the disastrously messy corridors and rooms, trying to find their way through the former military base was disorienting because of its size.

Nothing was where it was supposed to be. Though she knew she had only been inside a handful of times before the day everything changed, before the War reached and surpassed its boiling point, the dissonance in lack of familiarity and surroundings she had, albeit briefly, once recognised was infuriating. Worse still was knowing, or, at least, feeling, they had been going in circles, up and down stairs, trying to find a way deeper into the facility for hours. Too many of the rooms looked the same, or similar enough to be misleading. A mess of memos, data, and intelligence reports printed out and bearing stains and age from over two centuries were left and littered about within what had once been a bustling military installation. The most unsettling sights amongst the mess were what remained uncovered on the desks once belonging to dedicated servicemen, Americans willing to risk their lives as spies and soldiers for their country against the Red Menace, and those in command of the base. It was seeing the photograph of General George M. Martine, his wife Hannah, and their daughter Madeline in the large office once belonging to the facility's most senior officer, however, which caught Nora by surprise, feeling sick knowing none of them were still alive, their family forever separated, the General never able to have gone home to his wife and daughter in Duxbury one last time. What words were scrawled on a notebook left on his desk said it all. Mutually assured destruction. God bless America, or, at least, what's left of it. Tightly entwined anger and upset beating in her chest, Nora left the room the second she could, reconvening with Cait, Nick, and Dogmeat to, yet again, attempt to find their way down to the deepest parts of the building where, they suspected, the man they were hunting awaited them.

Finding the main staircase again, the lawyer, the detective, the former cage fighter, and their eager canine companion made their way down and back into the lower levels of the facility, or, at least, the ones accessible by the stairs. Guns drawn and moving slowly and quietly, Nora, Cait, and Dogmeat followed Nick through to what the detective was hoping would be the route to somewhere – anywhere – in the facility where they could descend deeper into it. Minutes passed but felt like hours, and, time feeling almost nonsensical, Nora glimpsed at her Pip-Boy every so often to check the time, her heart sinking in her chest when, soon enough, they reached midnight. Hands shaking a little, she steadied them around her revolver again, and, upon hearing Cait excitedly call her, Nick, and Dogmeat over, all but ran to where the former cage fighter was waiting, having found a hole in the wall large enough to pass through. When they were all through, the first thing they saw were an array of computer consoles, desks, chairs, and papers left hastily behind. The second thing they noticed was the sudden burst of energy blasted towards them, quickly followed by the violent and grating metallic voices of synths, synths older than Nick, and programmed with only one directive, to follow orders without question. Chaos. Her thick leather jacket nearly singed by one of the blasts, Nora ducked out of the way of several more as they were fired and began shooting at the synths almost instinctively when she dove under one of the desks to protect herself the best she could.

Aggravated by the noise and the sight of the synths, Cait let out a furious yell before firing on them as quickly and forcefully as she could with her shotgun. One by one, between her, Nora, and Nick, the synths began to fall to the floor, reduced to nothing more than faulty circuits and wires. Impatience getting the better of her, once she felt sure she wouldn't be too badly injured by any of the synths, Cait pulled out and administered herself a dose of psycho. Then, holstering her shotgun, she pulled out her twin knives and began attacking the remaining synths in a frenzy while also taking the time to stab at the ones looking already dead to ensure they were completely beyond repair. More restrained and careful than the former cage fighter, Nick kept Dogmeat behind him while he shot down the synths charging towards him, disturbed by every word they said, every phrase they repeated over and over again. Not a moment too soon, when the synths were all destroyed beyond repair, the lawyer, the detective, and the former cage fighter paused. Careful not to hit her head against the desk as she stood up, Nora got back on her feet and reloaded her revolver, sweeping a few likely useful things into her bag, a few of them taken out of a half open trunk and a torn ammunition bag. Helping herself to whatever ammunition and chems she could find, Cait began doing much of the same after she sheathed her twin knives. Seeing an elevator lift at the other end of the room, Nick dusted himself off, reloaded his gun, and then quickly got to work on one of the computer terminals to attempt to get the lift working. Quicker than he expected, the elevator bell rang out and the doors opened. After a few seconds of hesitation, Nora, Cait, and Nick stepped into the lift with Dogmeat, pressed the button to go down to the lowest level, and waited while the rickety lift descended.