Sarah splashed some of the water on her face, careful not to burn her skin with the irradiated liquid. It was 7:00 am, and she was about to head to the Bailey to meet Levi and her father for the briefing on some assignment he'd thought up for the two of them.
Making her way through the corridors, out of the barracks and up the stairs to the Bailey, Sarah wondered what her father could possibly want from her and the Lone Wanderer at this point.
Strolling past the makeshift hand-to-hand combat arena, she could hear Three Dog's standout voice proclaiming the "Good News" to the Wasteland. Mention of the Lone Wanderer could be heard, though these days most of Three Dog's updates were spreading word of Levi's actions.
Elder Lyons and Levi were both waiting for her near the front entrance to the octagonal structure that was the Citadel. They were all in private, nobody to overhear them; which only made Sarah even more curious.
Her gaze flicked to Levi without her thinking about it, and she quickly glanced away, hoping her father hadn't noticed. Levi still seemed overly fatigued, but he certainly looked better than he had the previous days before.
"Sarah, nice of you to join us," Elder Lyons greeted his daughter, "now I don't have much time so I will cut straight to the point.
"I need the two of you to return to Vault 87."
"Vault 87? The one where you got the G.E.C.K.?" Sarah asked, looking at Levi, who nodded.
"Yeah, I found a way past the radiation surrounding the area by going down underground through Little Lamplight. It have me direct access to the Vault." he turned to Elder Lyons, "Excuse my interruption, sir, but why do you want us to go there? I've retrieved anything valuable from the Vault."
"Because further research has shown us that another modified form of the FEV exists within it. I assume you saw the 'experiments' that were carried out, Levi?"
"Yes, sir..." Levi closed his eyes against the sickening memory of the mutants and abominations that were trapped in cells in Vault 87, pawns of biological terrorism and slaves to experimentation.
"I can't give away some information, such as my inside source, but I will tell you that I am certain the Enclave did not get their hands on this FEV sample. I have the location of the Virus within the Vault, I just need someone to retrieve it. A small group who can go in, get the target and come back without drawing any attention or giving away our goals."
"So you asked the two of us?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. Not even the Lyon's Pride can know of this. It's simply too dangerous," the Elder explained.
"You said it was another mutated strain of FEV we're going after? How was this strain modified?" Levi broke in.
"That's where this gets dangerous," Lyons replied with a from tone, "as this strain is the first that can be administered through air. It's the very first airborne strain of FEV. Not only is it dangerous in that aspect, but the tests done on humans using this particular strain turned them into something unheard of. There's nothing like it in the Wastes.
"They become shells of their former selves, creatures. Their senses are enhanced hundredfold, and their agility and strength are beyond comprehension. But they're not human. They possess no human qualities, besides a basic appearance. The extremities reform to make these things asexual, and with no gender identification. They lose hair and nails, and they hunger for flesh, but not in a way like you've seen these ghouls want for flesh. These things lack any human intelligence, but possess the gift of the hunter.
"I'm sure you can understand that this would be absolutely catastrophic if it were released. On a pandemic scale. It cannot be heard of, mentioned to anyone that is not the three of us, and you must never attempt to study the Virus, just bring it right back here."
"You're not going to run tests on it either, are you, father?" Sarah asked, a hint of fear unwillingly edging itself into her strong tone.
"Unfortunately we must, in order to identify the strain's origins, and discover whether any more of this was made. Once we have learned what we need, we will see it is properly disposed of."
"That makes sense and all, but how do we transport it? If it's anything like the FEV canister Eden gave me, it could be damaged or anything. It could be damaged before we even find it, from the super mutant activity in the Vault. And if it's airborne, that means we'll both be susceptible to it.."
"Levi has a point," Sentinel Lyons added, "you've at least come up with some sort of method for us to safely transport the Virus, right?"
"Indeed I have. I've had Doctor Li and Rothchild working on a case particularly for transporting the Virus safely. It is pressurised, reinforced and even contains cryogenic technology if you feel you need to use it."
"Got it," Levi nodded sternly, "we'll leave right away."
"Any other questions?" Elder Lyons asked.
"Yeah, can we have the information on where to find it?" Levi half-joked.
Elder Lyons couldn't help but smile at the two. His daughter had grown up so much, and even more so since she had met the young Levi. The boy had grown too; become a beacon of light and hope to all in the Capital Wasteland.
"I'll put the instructions into your Pip-Boy. Remember, not a word of this to anyone. This one canister of FEV contains the potential to wipe out the last bastion of humanity, on a worldwide scale.
"It's up to you two now. Don't let us down."
"You can count on us, sir," Levi grinned, "we'll get that Virus back here immediately, and then we can get to taking down the Enclave."
Next chapter: All Fear Avoided
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Early Sunsets (Fallout 3)
FanfictionSometimes the person you fall in love with isn't the one you know you could have a future with... A/N: With the recent release of Fallout 4, and my lack of funding to purchase the game, I've been playing Fallout 3 a lot lately, and came up with this...
