Fallout 4: War and Pursuance

Chapter Six: When Freedom Calls

When entering the building, the first thing Nate remembers was that this was the Museum of Freedom. It was very obvious because it was mainly about the history of the U.S. from the American Revolution to now. Paintings showed battles from the war and famous soldiers, but for some reason, there was one showing the famous portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte riding his horse, but somebody photoshopped his head with somebody else's. Nate couldn't help but get the feeling that the man was very important.

Gunfire broke out in the building that brought Nate back into reality. He looks up to see raiders on the top floor firing at him. He takes quick action by taking cover behind a wooden pillar. Dogmeat rushes behind cover, easily dodging flying bullets. Nate fires a beam from his new laser musket at the enemies from above. One raider gets hit and falls off the ledge, landing on the first floor. The second raider lights up what appears to be a glass bottle with a rag on it. Molotov.

Nate shoots the raider's arm, having him drop the cocktail. The glass breaks and releases a large fiery flame. The raider screams in pain as he is being burned alive. Nate and Dogmeat leave the main entrance into a hall where tourists from the old world would go.

"No more British occupation!" yelled out a voice. Nate holds his musket up high and enters the next room ahead of him. He lowers his weapon after seeing mannequins. Some were dressed in 1700 clothing and the rest were dressed as British redcoats wielding muskets.

"Down with you, lobster backs!" yelled a voice recording of a colonist.

"Go back to England thieves!" yelled another. Very patriotic. Nate and Dogmeat continue forward through another room that has the boat where the Boston Tea Party took place. They pass by the boat and head up the wide stairs. Below the stairs was the basement where there is a locked security door leading into a room with a yellow generator with some sort of core in it. Ignoring it, the two head inside the halls. Nate stops when he hears voices.

"I'm telling you, man," said a raider. "Let's just get the hell out of here. We got no reason to hang around and get shot."

"Stop bein' such a fucking pansy," said the other. "We hold out for the others. Like we're suppose to."

Nate looks down at Dogmeat. "Sick 'em," he said. Dogmeat rushes towards the raiders in the room and attacks one of them. He bites one's arm and tries dragging him. The raider resists and tries to let go. Nate rushes in and fires at the two, killing them on sight. He then notices the museum's mural. It reads:

This mural commemorates the many sacrifices of the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. From Lexington and Concord to the shores of Iwo Jima, from the Sea of Tranquility to the Anchorage Front Line, Americans have fought and died through the ages to secure our nation's freedom. May their sacrifices remind us all that freedom is a privilege afforded to the many, yet hard won by a noble few.

The painting consisted of American patriots from the Revolutionary War battling against the British, U.S. soldiers in World War Two with dozens of plane carriers, a large battleship, and helicopters and tanks in the background, and finally astronauts and a power armored soldier battling on the moon.

Nate and Dogmeat continue onward upstairs. Two raiders were waiting for them whilst taking cover. They fired at the backup. Nate fires at one's head, blowing it up, then fires a beam at the next one. Nate runs down the hall and finds the room where there are a group of people. One of them was the African-American man that gave Nate the distress call.

Nate and Dogmeat enter the room. There were only five people in there; three men and two women. One of men was on a terminal, and the last one was a Chinese man sitting next to a young woman and an elderly woman. The armed African American stared at Nate with relief.

"Man, I don't know who you are, but your timing's impeccable," he said with a smile. "Preston Garvery, Commonwealth Minutemen."

"Minutemen?" asked Nate. "I must be traveling back in time."

""Protect the people at a minute's notice"," Preston quoted. "That was the idea. So I joined up, wanted to make a difference. And I did, but...things fell apart. Now it looks like I'm the last Minuteman standing."

"I'm so sorry," said Nate. "What happened? Who are these people with you?"

"Just folks lookin' for a new home," he answered. "A fresh start. I've been with 'em since Quincy. Lexington looked good for a while, but the Ghouls drove us outta there.........a month ago, there were twenty of us...yesterday there were eight......now, we're five...it's just me, the Longs- Marcy and Jun - that's old Mama Murphy on the couch. And this here's Sturges."

"Howdy," he said. Nate looks over at everyone. Sturges was the one with blue overalls and goggles hanging around his neck. Marcy was the one next to her husband Jun, and Mama Murphy was the elderly woman dressed like a gypsy. Dogmeat wanders around and lays down next to Mama Murphy. The old woman smiles and pets his head.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," said Nate. "It must of sound rough."

"Thanks," said Preston. "It's...good to meet someone who really cares. Anyway, we figured Concord would be a safe place to settle. Those Raiders proved us wrong. But...well, we do have one idea."

"Let's hear it," said Nate.

"Sturges," said Preston. "Tell him." Sturges gets off of the terminal he attempted to hack to face the sole survivor.

"There's a crashed Vertibird on the roof," he said. "Old-schooled, pre-war. You might've seen it. Well, one of its passengers left behind a seriously sweet goodie. We're talkin' a full suit of cherry T-45 power armor. Military issue."

"Whoa, that sounds both great and useful," Nate grinned. "I like it."

"Yeah, I thought you might," Sturges laughed. "Protection with an added bonus: get the suit, and you can rip the minigun off the Vertibird. Do that, and those Raiders get an express ticket to Hell. Yah dig?"

"I definitely dig," said Nate. "So the minigun's just like a rifle, except bigger and heavier, right? Never used one before."

"Don't see why not," he said. "It'll have a manual trigger. Just aim it at the bad guys and do the ollllle' spray and pray. Now as for the armor, it's out of juice. Probably has been for a hundred years. It can be powered up again, but we're a bit stuck."

Nate thinks about it, and remembers that sets of power armor need Fusion Cores. With them, they can be able to power up the steel-powered armor.

"Fusion Cores," said Nate. "That's what we'll need."

"We know where to find one," said Preston.

"But we can't get to the damn thing," added Sturges. "It's down in the basement locked in a security gate. Look, I fix stuff, I tinker, but security ain't my forté. You can give it a shot."

"I'll go get it," said Nate. He exits the room and heads back downstairs. He goes down the broken floor that leads down into the basement. Nate goes on the terminal next to the security gate and hacks into it. With luck, the door opens. Nate enters inside and finds the Fusion Core inside the yellow generator. He takes it out and heads back upstairs.

"Got it!" he said.

"Excellent," said Sturges.

"Well all right," smiled Preston. "Maybe our luck's finally turning around. Once you get into the power armor and get the minigun, you can show those Raiders they've picked the wrong fight. Good luck."

Nate nods. He walks over to Dogmeat and gives him a whistle. His dog stands back up and sticks by his side.

"Be careful out there," said Mama Murphy in a slow tone. "I sense a great disturbance coming." Nate stares at her, keeping that note in his mind. He and Dogmeat head out up to the roof.