James Gregor Castner

As soon as he fired his .44 bullets into the creature, it felt like they had been shot back at him. The impact of its projectile threw him on the ground. And for a moment, he was dazed and blinded. He heard sickening smacks, his ticking geiger counter, a clattering spear, shotgun blasts, and the loud powerful bangs of a beast killing rifle. Unfortunately, the last sound he heard before wiping his face was the Angler bounding away.

Radioactive shit...
He tried to scrape the swampy muck off of him, but it was stuck. His geiger counter kept going off, but it lessened as he scraped more and more off. He thought about removing his armored vest, but decided it was better to catch a few rads than catch a few bullet holes. As he got up, he felt a spike of pain in his chest. Feeling carefully, his ribs had not been broken, but most likely bruised.

“Hey can someone help me up?”, the Enclaver called from the ground. Remembering how badly James had been clawed in the fight, he went over and helped the bloodied man up. The wound was one of the deeper ones he’d seen. As he helped him, he reflexively murmered to the Enclaver like he was an injured Paladin: “You’ll be alright. Only a flesh wound.”, and immediately stopped, remembering he was helping an old, basically unrepentant, enemy turned friend.

Sitting down on a rock, the Enclaver preceded to get out some aged Enclave bandages.

“Probably gonna need surgery on this...” James grunted his arm stinging as he continued wrapping the bandage “How far is it to the crash site?”

He had been listening to the device just before the fight began. Felt like an anchor in an otherwise hellish world. “Not far. Only a few hundred yards.”, he said while looking off towards Steve and Corrine. They seemed to make it out alright, but he’d make sure in a sec. He refocused on James’s wound. “You fit to continue? How does the arm feel?”

He turned towards Steve and Corrine before the Enclaver could respond. “Are you two fine? I heard someone getting hit.”

“Will be alot easier, even crippled to get back to town with the power armour especially if we run into any more fish whatever the fuck face monster thing that was… Are they usually that big?"

“No knowledge on them, see what Corrine thinks”, he replied starkly.

Once he made sure everyone was fine, he silently re-equipped his laser rifle and started to take a few steps down the road. The fight had put him into war zone mentality, he realized. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’ll take point again. I didn’t take too hard of a hit.”, he turned around. “The vertibird is close. We should try to sneak the rest of the way to avoid anymore encounters. Plus there’s probably some creatures near the wreck attracted by the explosion and fire. We could get the drop on them.”, some life returned to his voice as the plan was formulated.

James William- Getting Moving Again

“Not far. Only a few hundred yards.”, he said while looking off towards Steve and Corrine. They seemed to make it out alright, but he’d make sure in a sec. He refocused on James’s wound. “You fit to continue? How does the arm feel?” he said before turning to them “Are you two fine? I heard someone getting hit.”

“The.... thing attacked Connie.”James replied before commenting on his arm “It’s still attached but probably the only positive thing I can say.” James chuckled as he wrapped another bandage around his arm “It fucking hurts, I can barley move it and I can’t even feel my fingers..”

if I couldn't see them i'd think i'd lost them.

Apart from bandaging the wound there was little James could do, even if he had the correct tools he was no doctor so after finishing with the bandaging James placed the box back into his backpack and used his rifle as counterweight to stand up properly

Can’t use this anymore... walking stick perhaps?

After Standing up for a minute or two James slowly and with slight pain tucked his damage arm into his jacket’s front pocket before speaking to the group “I can move... but it will be alot easier, even crippled to get back to town with the power armour especially if we run into any more fish whatever the fuck face monster thing that was… Are they usually that big?"

“No knowledge on them, see what Corrine thinks”, brotherhood replied starkly.

James turned to Connie “do you know what that fish thing was? Oh and take this.” James asked as he offered her his level action rifle “I can’t use it anymore.”

A few minutes later everyone was ready to move out “I’ll take point again. I didn’t take too hard of a hit.”, brotherhood stated before turning around. “The vetibird is close. We should try to sneak the rest of the way to avoid anymore encounters. Plus there’s probably some creatures near the wreck attracted by the explosion and fire. We could get the drop on them.”

“I agree with the sneaking but outside of close quarters I’m probably gonna am next to useless in a sneak attack and I’d rather not risk getting clawed by Mr. Fish head again.”

Next time I probably won’t be as “lucky”

CORRINE DOOLAK - western road -- evening

Castner called over to her and Steve. “Are you two fine? I heard someone getting hit.”

“It fucking hurts, I can barely move it and I can’t even feel my fingers..” James volunteered as he awkwardly wrapped his injured arm. James placed the box back into his backpack and used his rifle as counterweight to stand up properly.

Corrine grit her teeth, unable to believe that James had replied despite the fact Castner hadn't waited long enough for him to reply. "Just a little bruised," she replied, finally.

After Standing up for a minute or two James slowly and with slight pain tucked his damage arm into his jacket’s front pocket before speaking to the group “I can move... but it will be alot easier, even crippled to get back to town with the power armour especially if we run into any more fish whatever the fuck face monster thing that was… Are they usually that big?"

“No knowledge on them, see what Corrine thinks”, Castner replied starkly.

James turned to Corrine “do you know what that fish thing was? Oh and take this.” James asked as he offered her his level action rifle “I can’t use it anymore.”

How typical, Corrine thought to herself, a sarcastic smirk spreading over her face. Mainlander boasts about, telling us that our island ain't more dangerous than anywhere else, nearly gets ripped apart by a single angler, and NOW suddenly they respect the fact that shit's dangerous and they want my help. "I do know what that was. Everyone back in town knows what that was. We all tried warnin' ya about them back in the Plank, this mornin' but you weren't interested, then." She nodded at the rifle being offered to her. Her head pulsed and pounded in pain. "Ya sure ya don't wanna point that thing at me, like before?" Corrine pushed the rifle back at James. "Keep it."

“I’ll take point again. I didn’t take too hard of a hit.”, Castner stated before turning around. “The vertibird is close. We should try to sneak the rest of the way to avoid anymore encounters. Plus there’s probably some creatures near the wreck attracted by the explosion and fire. We could get the drop on them.”

“I agree with the sneaking but outside of close quarters I’m probably gonna am next to useless in a sneak attack and I’d rather not risk getting clawed by Mr. Fish head again.”

"Anglers tend to stay close to water, seems unlikely we'd encounter another one. Gulpers, though, or shamblers...radstags..." She trailed off, then pulled Steve closer to herself. "Somethin' weren't right about that angler. They can be big, to be sure, but its size ain't what worries me. I ain't never had one live through my spear rippin' into its neck -- its skin was thicker than usual." She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. "Somethin' weren't right," she muttered again.

Steve Miller - Near the Reservoir

“I can move...", Williams said to Castner, "but it will be alot easier, even crippled to get back to town with the power armour especially if we run into any more fish...whatever the fuck face monster thing that was…Are they usually that big?"

“No knowledge on them, see what Corrine thinks”, Castner replied starkly.

“Do you know what that fish thing was?", Williams asked, "Oh and take this.” He then offered Corrine his rifle, the clear implication being that he couldn't use it in his condition.

"I do know what that was...", Corrine replied sarcastically, "Everyone back in town knows what that was. We all tried warnin' ya about them back in the Plank, this mornin' but you weren't interested, then." She looked at the rifle Williams was holding out and nodded at it, a smirk on her face. "Ya sure ya don't wanna point that thing at me, like before?" Corrine pushed the rifle back at James. "Keep it."

"Point it at her....again?", Steve thought. He didn't like the sound of that....now wasn't the time or place, but he would talk to her about that once they got back to the Docks.

“I’ll take point again", Castner cut in most likely to prevent things from escalating, "I didn’t take too hard of a hit.”, Castner stated before turning around. “The vertibird is close. We should try to sneak the rest of the way to avoid anymore encounters. Plus there’s probably some creatures near the wreck attracted by the explosion and fire. We could get the drop on them.”

“I agree with the sneaking but outside of close quarters I’m probably gonna am next to useless in a sneak attack and I’d rather not risk getting clawed by Mr. Fish head again.”

"Anglers tend to stay close to water, seems unlikely we'd encounter another one. Gulpers, though, or shamblers...radstags..." She trailed off, then pulled Steve closer to herself. "Somethin' weren't right about that angler. They can be big, to be sure, but its size ain't what worries me. I ain't never had one live through my spear rippin' into its neck -- its skin was thicker than usual." She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. "Somethin' weren't right," she muttered again.

"That wasn't all", Steve replied quietly, as he wiped away the blood on her forehead with a clean rag to get a better look at her injury. Fortunately it didn't appear serious. Steve hoped there was a first aid kit on the Vertibird. He then added, "it pulled out that spear and then threw it at you...furtunately it's aim was bad, but that's something I've never seen an animal do before, have you?."

Steve then pulled the tracker out of his bag, and used it to locate the correct direction.

"Let's get to the Vertibird and collect what we came for", Steve said to Corrine, "the sooner we get this over with the better".

The Gang Finds The Vertibird

After the unfortunate encounter with the Angler, the group chooses not to chase after the wounded creature and instead continues on their search for the downed vertibird. They creep through the island's underbrush and try to keep as silent as they can, keen on not stirring up another monstrosity like the one they'd just encountered.

The needle on the homing device continues to climb, until its apparent that the vertibird is almost directly in front of them. Sure enough, through the thick fog, they can start to make out the faint outline of the downed craft. However, as they approach it, they can also make out the silhouettes of other figures. The silhouettes eventually begin to materialize into the distinct shapes of several cultists in their characteristic robes and white masks, at least four of them. Three cultists appear to be ransacking the vertibird, shifting through gear and the corpses of Castner's comrades. It appears that they've already removed the bodies from the wreckage, and have curiously set them neatly to the side and lined up in a row with white shrouds covering them as if preparing them for burial.

Behind the three cultists looting the wreckage, a fourth stands idly by directing the others in their efforts. He or she, the flowing robes making it almost impossible to assume gender, appears to clearly be the 'leader' of this small band. An odd headdress shaped to resemble something out of ancient Egypt and made of various odds and ends from the island is adorned atop the cultists head, given further credence to their status. Standing directly beside this individual is a gulper. This gulper, unlike the others, appears to be smaller and the head cultist strokes its back almost lovingly as if it is a beloved pet.

The head cultist turns to the others,

"Well?" A feminine voice asks, "What have you learned? The Prophet is eager to know why The Brotherhood is here."

One of the cultists stands and approaches the leader with a bow, "The craft and its passengers were indeed armed high priestess, but we have no indication that there was any more to this group than the corpses we recovered. It seems unlikely they came to attack us and perhaps merely wandered off course."

"Or it is a scouting party," The head cultists replies as she pets the gulper, who snuggles into her open palm eagerly, "The Brotherhood would be apt to send such an expedition to asses a situation, and then they would send their soldiers to wipe us out. Such is their way."

"Surely they would not dare. They could not hope to succeed..."

"That would not deter them...in any case, The Prophet has foreseen this eventuality. We must destroy all evidence of this craft and capture any Brotherhood soldiers that remain and bring them to The Prophet. Plant the explosives and take the bodies, we will take them to the Deep Fog and bury them in The Mother's grace. Everything else goes to The Nucleus."

The cultist bows, "Of course. By The Mother it will be done."

The cultists then continue about their work, hurrying to obey the commands of this 'high priestess' and unaware of the group's presence.

James William- preparing an ambush

Staying away from the water this time the group continued forward, the homing device buzzing louder and louder until they could pretty much see the vetibird in front of them but as they got closer they could also see they weren’t the first to reach the wreckage.

There was three, no four atom fruitcakes ransacking the vetibird with the fourth, seemlying the leader judging by the different Ancient African looking mask overseeing the operation as she stoked some sort of slimy Gecko
creature.

Looking around the wreckage James spotted what appeared to be brotherhood’s fallen comrades; oddly enough the atoms had curiously set them neatly to the side and lined up in a row with white shrouds covering them as if preparing them for burial.
Where they planning on burying the bodies? odd..

The seemlying female judging by their voice cultist with the ancient African headdress spoke to the others asking what they had found out about the brotherhood mission but it was the mention of some “prophet” that caught James’s attention....

"That would not deter them...in any case, The Prophet has foreseen this eventuality. We must destroy all evidence of this craft and capture any Brotherhood soldiers that remain and bring them to The Prophet. Plant the explosives and take the bodies, we will take them to the Deep Fog and bury them in The Mother's grace. Everything else goes to The Nucleus."

Nucleus that must be there base...

“Looks like they suspect war with the brotherhood. "James whispered to brotherhood “but if they are covering up an accident, then perhaps they aren’t fully ready yet.”

The cultists having finished their little chat went back to work, hurrying to obey the commands of the 'high priestess' and seemlying unaware of the group's presence.

Now how are we are gonna get that gear? I somehow doubt they will just give it to us.

“Well if we are want the brotherhood gear looks like we are gonna have to fight for it.” James whispered to the group “don’t seem to have noticed us yet so we could attempt to sneak around and fire on them from all sides... Loud but should get the job done quick. ”

“Or...” James added on somewhat hesitate to suggest this “since I’m injured I could run out, act like fish face just attacked me and ask for help, make a big show out of it.”

Bloody hurts now so won’t be much acting.

“Assuming they don’t just attempt to shot at me on sight whilst they are distracted dealing with me you can sneak up and take them out quietly or hell maybe even try to capture them.”
Should Attempt to get one of them to talk...

CORRINE DOOLAK - Vertibird wreckage -- night

The one thing that kept her putting one foot in front of the other, through the brush, fog, chill, and low light, was clinging to how sweetly and tenderly Steve had wiped her blood off of her forehead. Every time a haunted thought of the abnormal angler entered her mind, she pushed it away, to think of that single moment. It seemed they had made the right call in continuing to the wreckage instead of trying to go back to town, as it truly was not too far from where they'd been confronted.

Well. It seemed like it. The mangled mess of metal and downed trees was crawling with cultists. The group stuck to the shadows to observe the cult before proceeding. Corrine squinted into the darkness. The cultists were combing through the wreckage, but gathering nothing.

“Well if we are want the brotherhood gear looks like we are gonna have to fight for it.” James whispered to the group “don’t seem to have noticed us yet so we could attempt to sneak around and fire on them from all sides... Loud but should get the job done quick. ”

"You're kidding?" Corrine hissed. "There's at least four of them, plus the leader, and the gulper -- and please trust me when I say they are stronger than they look -- even if we take out one or two before they see us, we're still outnumbered."

“Or...” James added on, “since I’m injured I could run out, act like fish face just attacked me and ask for help, make a big show out of it. Assuming they don’t just attempt to shot at me on sight whilst they are distracted dealing with me you can sneak up and take them out quietly or hell maybe even try to capture them.”

"Who do ya think yer talkin' to? Because I ain't actually shot a gun before and last I checked, ammo was limited." She looked between Castner, James, then Steve. "They think the Brotherhood were scoutin' the place out, and are lookin' for survivors to take back to their base. The Nucleus. That means they've done something with...or, to...the Children of Atom." Corrine shook her head, sadly. "We can pose as Brotherhood, all of us, and just let ourselves be captured, get into the heart of the cult and find some way to...you know...make it explode. It's a pre-war nuclear sub. We'd save the town, at least." She swallowed. "Not sure we stay alive for many more hours, otherwise, considering our condition and their numbers."

Corrine stopped speaking, but rest her gaze finally on Steve, trying to read his reaction from his face.

James Gregor Castner

As they delved further into the brush, following the ticking of the tracker, James’s mind wandered. What if the crew survived? Earlier he’d decided that he’d fight them if he had to, but should he try to convince them to help? Or even lie? There wasn’t a good answer. He’d just have to see what happened when they arrived.

As they pushed further into the undergrowth, he could suddenly make out silhouettes of several people. He was tempted to call to whoever it was, thinking it could be his comrades, but something didn’t feel right. That instinct was confirmed when the forms became more clear: cultists. Four of them, with some sort of pet mutant. And… three bodies. His brothers. Whatever harsh feelings he had towards them were forgotten for the moment at the sight of their blood, of the cultists treating them like trash.

"Well?" A feminine voice asks, "What have you learned? The Prophet is eager to know why The Brotherhood is here."

One of the cultists stood and approached the leader with a bow, "The craft and its passengers were indeed armed high priestess, but we have no indication that there was any more to this group than the corpses we recovered. It seems unlikely they came to attack us and perhaps merely wandered off course."

"Or it is a scouting party," The head cultists replies as she pets the gulper, who snuggles into her open palm eagerly, "The Brotherhood would be apt to send such an expedition to asses a situation, and then they would send their soldiers to wipe us out. Such is their way."

"Surely they would not dare. They could not hope to succeed..."

"That would not deter them...in any case, The Prophet has foreseen this eventuality. We must destroy all evidence of this craft and capture any Brotherhood soldiers that remain and bring them to The Prophet. Plant the explosives and take the bodies, we will take them to the Deep Fog and bury them in The Mother's grace. Everything else goes to The Nucleus."

The cultist bows, "Of course. By The Mother it will be done."

The cultists then continue about their work, hurrying to obey the commands of this 'high priestess' and unaware of the group's presence.

James would like to seem these cult freaks try to resist Maxson’s war machine, but that wasn’t going to happen as far as he knew. Though more might come when they get no report back. He couldn’t allow them to blow up the vertibird, that was for sure.

“Well if we want the brotherhood gear looks like we are gonna have to fight for it.” James whispered to the group “don’t seem to have noticed us yet so we could attempt to sneak around and fire on them from all sides... Loud but should get the job done quick. ”

"You're kidding?" Corrine hissed. "There's at least four of them, plus the leader, and the gulper -- and please trust me when I say they are stronger than they look -- even if we take out one or two before they see us, we're still outnumbered."

“Or...” James added on, “since I’m injured I could run out, act like fish face just attacked me and ask for help, make a big show out of it. Assuming they don’t just attempt to shot at me on sight whilst they are distracted dealing with me you can sneak up and take them out quietly or hell maybe even try to capture them.”

"Who do ya think yer talkin' to? Because I ain't actually shot a gun before and last I checked, ammo was limited." She looked between Castner, James, then Steve. "They think the Brotherhood were scoutin' the place out, and are lookin' for survivors to take back to their base. The Nucleus. That means they've done something with...or, to...the Children of Atom." Corrine shook her head, sadly. "We can pose as Brotherhood, all of us, and just let ourselves be captured, get into the heart of the cult and find some way to...you know...make it explode. It's a pre-war nuclear sub. We'd save the town, at least." She swallowed. "Not sure we stay alive for many more hours, otherwise, considering our condition and their numbers."

He was silent during this exchange, gauging their ideas. The vertibird supplies could definitely help the town in the short term, but a few laser rifles and some power armor might not be enough in the long term. The chance of successfully infiltrating the Nucleus seemed slim, but not a bad idea. but they were going to blow the vertibird if they didn’t act.

“For once I agree with the Enclaver. We need those supplies. We could attempt to infiltrate the nucleus another night, but tehy’re going to blow up what we need right now if we don’t do something.”, he whispered urgently. He turned to the Enclaver. His offer to be a distraction was noble, but seemed unnecessary. “I don’t think we need to you to do that James. We have enough of an advantage by catching them from surprise at multiple angles.”, he looked to Corrine next, though he addressed all of them. “I think we can take them if we have Steve and I fire our powerful guns against the leader and the gulper. Those two can either rally the troops, or sniff us out with their… enhanced abilities.”

Steve Miller - near the crashed Vertibird

"Who do ya think yer talkin' to?", Corrine hissed at the Enclaver, "Because I ain't actually shot a gun before and last I checked, ammo was limited." She looked between Castner, James, then Steve and then continued. "They think the Brotherhood were scoutin' the place out, and are lookin' for survivors to take back to their base. The Nucleus. That means they've done something with...or, to...the Children of Atom." Corrine shook her head, sadly. "We can pose as Brotherhood, all of us, and just let ourselves be captured, get into the heart of the cult and find some way to...you know...make it explode. It's a pre-war nuclear sub. We'd save the town, at least." She swallowed. "Not sure we stay alive for many more hours, otherwise, considering our condition and their numbers."

After considering what both the Enclaver and Corrine had to say, James finally spoke.

“For once I agree with the Enclaver", he said. "We need those supplies. We could attempt to infiltrate the nucleus another night, but they’re going to blow up what we need right now if we don’t do something.”, he whispered urgently. He turned to the Enclaver. “I don’t think we need to you to do that James. We have enough of an advantage by catching them from surprise at multiple angles.”, he looked to Corrine next, though he addressed all of them. “I think we can take them if we have Steve and I fire our powerful guns against the leader and the gulper. Those two can either rally the troops, or sniff us out with their… enhanced abilities.”

"I agree with James", Steve whispered, as he flipped the switch to turn the tracker off before the cultists heard it and put it in his pocket. "Even if we bring back the supplies, and drive them back tomorrow, there are no guarantees we'll survive the attack after that. Or the next one. Or the one after that. But if we don't succeed here and now, they will roll over the town for certain tomorrow. At some point we just may have to take a hit for the Team as you suggest, Corrine, but the town has no future beyond tomorrow if we don't get the equipment on that Vertibird back to town. Also, I thought I heard it said back in town that at least some of these people are locals...in which case they would know who you are." He shook his head. "Even being caught at night out here with members of the Brotherhood might be enough to make them decide that you've chosen a side....to them the wrong side....and who knows what would happen to you then. It's just too big a risk to take."

Steve then looked over at Castner. "there is something about this "Nucleus" that you should know..", Steve continued, "...from the markings on some of Corrine's tools I think the sub docked there is a missile sub, which means it might still have nukes on onboard....the big city killing kind. Something will eventually have to be done about that." He then added. "If we're gonna fight them here, you're best suited to lead us. What do you need us to do?"

Captain James William- shooting at cultist.

He shook his head. "Even being caught at night out here with members of the Brotherhood might be enough to make them decide that you've chosen a side....to them the wrong side....and who knows what would happen to you then. It's just too big a risk to take."

“And that’s assuming they even believe we are brotherhood... I might be able to pass with my enclave uniform but why would they think you two are brotherhood? No offence but I don’t think they are that stupid...”

Well the grunts might be fooled the leader shouldn't

Steve then looked over at Castner. "there is something about this "Nucleus" that you should know..", Steve continued, "...from the markings on some of Corrine's tools I think the sub docked there is a missile sub, which means it might still have nukes on onboard....the big city killing kind. Something will eventually have to be done about that." He then added. "If we're gonna fight them here, you're best suited to lead

“Well if the Submarines commander followed standard protocol they would have fired those nukes off in 2077 when china attacked.... I don’t know if was different for subs but most US nuclear devices required a launch key and possibly a password to fire them.” James replied back.

May be different on subs, don’t always have contact with land.

“Take the key and they won’t be firing”

And it would be pretty hard to manually set one off.

“I suggest we shoot the leader, the one with the fancy hat along with that gecko thing and then demand the others to surrender. We can ask them about the submarine and if it has any nukes on-board. Atom fruitcakes worship the bloody things so should be common knowledge.”

Launch key info might only be for high-ups however...

With the plan seeming in agreement everyone got into position with James learning his rifle on a nearby log and aiming it at the cult priestess. botherhood crouched in the underbrush, and took careful aim at the small gulper with his laser rifle whilst Steve worked his way around to a different position, choosing a spot from where he could fire from a prone position behind hard cover, such as a tree or rock.

Once everyone was in position James and Steve fired their level action rifle's at the cult priestess whilst Brotherhood fired at the Gulper.

Switching to his plasma defender but staying (semi-hidden?) in the underbrush he called out “THIS IS THE UNITED STATED MILLTARY, SURRENDER NOW OR YOU WILL FIRED UPON.”

OOC: Roll results for group, James C: miss on gulper, Enclave James: hit on priestess, Steve: critical hit on priestess.

The Gang Shoots the Cultists

After some debate, the group ultimately decided to attack the cultists, using the element of surprise to get an advantage over them. Steve and Captain James took aim at the apparent leader, and after a few tense moments of breathless silence, opened fire. James's shot hits first, a dead shot right to the leader's left calve. Almost immediately afterwards, Steve's shot hits the priestess directly in the head, cracking her makeshift headdress and causing the leader to slump to the forest floor below. As she falls, the broken headdress rolls off her, revealing an unfortunate sight indeed. The listless stare of a familiar face greets them.

Avery.

Spooked by the shots, the mini-gulper jumps away from Avery's body, and James C misses his shot only by a hair. The frightened creature hides behind the corpse of its former dead master, and bares an angry wide-mouthed snarl at them.

“THIS IS THE UNITED STATED MILITARY, SURRENDER NOW OR YOU WILL FIRED UPON.”

The remaining cultists turn to the dead body of the High-Priestess Avery and then to the surrounding foliage, from where the gunshots originated. Shocked by the sudden attack, the cultists stare for a few moments before their expressions turn to rage. The words of the Enclave officer are meaningless to them, as is the notion of the United States Army. All they feel is anger. (OOC: Failed to roll for speech.)

"MURDERERS!" One shouts. Immediately the cultists draw their weapons. Two of the cultists produce radium rifles from their flowing robes, while the third grips a meathook in his right hand. They return fire and attack.

Corrine jumps into action and attacks one of the enemies before them, giving them a deep gash with her weapon of choice. (OOC: Either the cultists or the gulper, doesn't matter. I'm counting the same amount of HP for them. Its a hit but not a critical hit).

The cultists themselves then attack.

One of the cultists with a radium rifle fires at Castner, grazing him with a bullet (OOC: Hit)

Another fires at Captain James, but the bullet goes wide and misses completely. (OOC: miss)

The third cultist rushes at Corrine with his meat hook, slashing at her with it, but she is able to swiftly dodge the attack. (OOC: miss)

Finally, the mini-gulper rushes at Steve. The creature is surprisingly quick and agile, and he's unable to get a bead on it before it jumps up and sinks its teeth hard into his arm (OOC: Critical hit)

CORRINE DOOLAK - the fight

She tried very hard to hide her disappointment in Steve. Corrine hadn't exactly fully expected he'd just immediately take her side, but she'd be lying to herself if she didn't internally admit she'd hoped he'd have supported at least something she'd presented to the group.

How any of them thought it was a good idea to push her into a gunfight was beyond her. And they called her idea of claiming Brotherhood status crazy...

Fucking mainlanders.

She suddenly felt very lonely.

Someone was directing her to take a position. Her stiff and cold joints reminded her of her mortality, somehow, and she merely nodded. Corrine crouched behind a hollowed out log and watched as James drew his weapon to fire on the one leading them, petting the gulper. His aim and shot was true, and in a flash, the woman was struck down, her headdress shattered, revealing a face all too known to Corrine.

"NO!" she shrieked.

Gunshots erupted from their various positions. Corrine tried to swallow her emotions, but they were too great. This wasn't like confronting wildlife or a crazed trapper. Someone she'd known for years, cultivated a friendly, almost familial relationship with before she disappeared, was just killed before her very eyes. She hadn't realized she'd straightened, causing one of the cultists to notice her.

"THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, SURRENDER NOW OR BE FIRED UPON."

"Murderers!" cried the cultist, staring at Corrine. He lunged. Instinct took over her, for once, and she stepped into the fray, brandishing her trusty spear. The blades left a nasty gash on the cultist, wounding him. She watched as the gulper dashed behind the lifeless body of Avery.

Corrine swallowed. Everything around her seemed meaningless. If she couldn't save Avery, what was the point of saving the town? It had barely hung on without her leadership. God only knew that Longfellow was drinking himself to death, and almost everyone else was packing up to leave.

Despair overtook her. Another cultist drove themselves towards her, but she dodged the attack, electing instead to kneel next to Avery's body, dropping her spear onto the ground next to her. The gulper leapt into the fray, leaving Corrine alone with the body. She looked down and turned Avery's face towards herself.

It appeared as though there were metallic and plastic components mixed in with the blood and bones of her skull. Corrine blinked back tears and shook her head, quickly assuming the fog was making her see strange things. "God dammit!" she cried, taking two fistfuls of Avery's frock and shaking the body. "God dammit, Avery, why?! WHY?!! What the hell were ya thinkin'? The town -- the island -- needed you! We all needed you!"

Nothing made sense. Months of creeping, worsening fog, plus all the events of the past day, finally caught up to her. Fear, exhaustion, confusion, you name it -- it took hold in Corrine, just then, and she started to cry. She crumpled herself over Avery's body, giving in to heaving sobs, completely oblivious to the rest of the fighting around her.

James Gregor Castner

The little creature was fast enough to dodge his shot, but the same couldn’t be said for Cult leader. A headshot from Steve ended her in a sickening way. He could hear her skull and headdress crunch… and something else. Her broken headdress tumbled off dramatically to reveal an older ethnic woman, with bits of plastic and wires poking out from the bloody hole.

A Synth? Why?

"NO!" Corrine shrieked, startling him. It must have been a former friend of hers who joined the Cult. She stood straight up in shock.

"THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, SURRENDER NOW OR BE FIRED UPON."

"MURDERERS!", shouted back a cultist.

And then chaos erupted. The cultists started firing on them with makeshift assault rifles, while one one sprinted towards Corrine with a meathook. Before he could fire back, pain split through his thigh. Training kept him from faltering. He grunted and raised his rifle, taking careful aim at the center of mass of one of the gun toting cultists, and sent two blasts in his direction. He dropped to a prone position to reduce his size.

Corrine suddenly stumbled directly into the range of fire, sobbing incoherently over the dead synth.

“CORRINE GET DOWN! FLATTEN YOURSELF!”, he shouted a little panickedly. He fired a volley of rushed shots around the enemies, hopefully suppressing them from firing at Corrine. He thought he heard Steve getting attacked, but he was too busy trying to cover Corrine.

Captain James Williams- FIGHT!

"THIS IS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, SURRENDER NOW OR BE FIRED UPON."

"Murderers!" cried the cultist, seemlying engaged instead of scared shitless by the death of their cult squad commander.

Should have seen this coming.. Oh well

Chaos quickly erupted with two of the cultists taking out and firing their makeshift “rad-rifles” or whatever they were called at the James but for Captain James alteast the underbrush was able to hide his position as the cultist missed.

Aiming his Plasma defender James began to fire back at the cultist (shoot check one?)

The Third cultist however took out a meat hook and lunge at Corrine who had charged in with her spear but luckily for the islander she was able to dodge their attack.

Perhaps she can disarm them.

Meanwhile the mini-Gecko creature had swiftly rushed at Steve, blocking his attempts to stop it the creature jumped up and bitted deep into arm. Thankfully Steve was able to get his sidearm out and began to fire into the creatures head... very few things can survive point blank magnum shots to the head.

should be able to deal with on his own...

“CORRINE GET DOWN! FLATTEN YOURSELF!”,

James turned back to see that Connie, seemlying Crying had crumpled herself over Dead cult leader’s body and right in the middle of the on-going fire fight “DO YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH? GET THE FUCK DOWN NOW.”

“GODDAM IT”

Not wanting Connie to get shot in the crossfire James stood up, still firing his plasma defender at the cultist he dash forwards to an piece of the crash vetibird which he hoped would provide cover like the log but would be out of the way of Connie. (Run/shoot check two :)

----
Optional: Should a cultist get up close to James he will throw his plasma defender at them and then pull out his shotgun

Steve Miller - Crashed Vertibird

Moving as quietly as he could, Steve maneuvered around the crash site until he found a rock to get behind that gave him a good view of the downed aircraft and the Cultist leader....who James had assigned him as his first target. He dropped and got down prone behind the rock, then took careful aim, and waited, thinking of the discussion they had had moments ago.

The hurt look in Corrine's eyes when he had backed James over her bothered him, but he didn't see any other way around it. Steve understood she was reluctant to fight what she considered her own people, but he felt that was clouding her judgement...from what he had been told while in town the Cultists had made it clear that it was 'their way or the highway', as Dad had liked to put it. Either join their little group, or leave...or be driven into the sea. If they had given up, then the choices would have narrowed to join or die...and even if they pretended to go along, the odds of being able to get free in time to help the town were basically nonexistent. Nope, when they chose to proceed after that "angler" nearly killed the Enclaver, they had committed to fighting if need be to get that equipment....and as it turned out if they hadn't, they'd have been doomed and not even know it until it was too late. With the suits in that Vertibird....there would have been no stopping them when they came to town. As bad as the odds were now, even if they did prevail here, it was better than no chance at all. All he could hope was that Corrine eventually saw they had made the right call.

The Enclaver took his shot, and the battle began. The Cultist leader jerked and whirled to her right in response to the thwack of a bullet hitting home, Steve adjusted his aim slightly and fired, the round punching a hole in the leader's mask just above the right eye and gore exploded out of the back of her head as the bullet passed through, and the cultist immediately began to crumple to the ground.

One down, three to go, Steve thought grimly as he worked the slide of his rifle and looked to the Vertibird for his next target, trusting Castner to have dealt with the pet of hers. The Enclaver called out some nonsense being from the Government, predictably the Cultists replied with angry shouts of "Murderer!" and began to return fire. Seeing Corrine engaging one of the cultists with her spear, he looked for a target that would not place her in his line of fire. Settling on a Cultist that popped out of the Vertibird wielding a odd looking rifle, which he fired in the direction of the Enclaver. Steve lined up a shot, and just as he pulled the trigger, he heard a angry sounding growl from atop the rock he was using for cover, then a weight fell suddenly on his back. Too distracted to note if he scored a hit or not, Steve rolled to his right onto his back, throwing whatever it was off. He then looked over to see his assailant, it was that creature the now dead leader had as a pet...Castner had failed to kill it, it would seem...and it looked quite pissed. It scrambled to it's feet and lunged at him with a snarl. He tried to club it with the butt of his rifle, but the infernal creature dodged his desperate attempt and sank it's teeth into his left arm, shaking it's head for good measure. Steve bared his teeth in anger and pain, and instinctively let go of the rifle with his free right hand, and drew his revolver, pushing the muzzle of the revolver forward until it was placed directly against the creature's chest.

"Fuck you!", Steve hissed as he pulled the trigger. "FUCK. YOU!" he repeated angrily as he released the trigger of the revolver and promptly pulled it again, firing a second shot into the creature. If the first two shots didn't do the job, he had four more.......

OOC: Just to be clear, its one roll per round for each person. Irrespective of the number of shots. That's just to keep things simple.

Cultists vs. The Gang Round 2

In her grief, Corrine had become dulled to raging battle around her, instead kneeling before the body of her fallen former friend and sobbing uncontrollably. The bloodied cultist with the meathook raised his weapon, ready to drive the hooked weapon into the woman's skull, but hesitated when he saw Corrine's display of grief over the dead Avery. Instead of delivering the blow, he simply passed Corrine by and made his way to attack one of the other members of the group in a strange display of mercy, or perhaps, something else.

--------

Castner raised his rifle and fired two shots at one of the cultists armed with the radium rifles. The cultist had sought shelter behind a piece of scrap metal from the crashed vertibird, and the shots bounced harmlessly off the metal plating. The rest of his shots kept the cultists pinned down and away from Corrine, but like the meathook wielding man, the rifle armed cultists ignored the weeping woman. She was like an island in a raging storm of battle. (OOC: Roll result: miss)

Captain James returned fire with his plasma defender, one of the shots striking the meathook cultist, who had proceeded to charge at him after he'd passed by Corrine. His bolt struck the cultist in chest and the man collapsed instantly to the ground. (OOC: Hit. Meathook cultist killed).

Steve's grappling with the mini-gulper ended with him emptying two shots into the creature point-blank, impossible to miss at such a range, the creature let go of his arm: which was now bloodied from the creature's surprisingly strong bite. The mini-gulp let out a yelp of pain and curled up on the forest floor, it was breathing heavily and clearly close to death. Before the creature had bit him, he'd fired at one of the cultists coming out of the vertibird, and had managed to hit him. However, the cultist was not downed, perhaps driven on by some chemical enhancement or nothing more than sheer crazed zealotry, and despite the wound, seemed still able to fire his weapon. (OOC: Hit on one of the radium rifle cultists).

-----

The two remaining radium rifle armed cultists return fire, popping up from the various bits of cover they are weaving between to take shots at the group.

One takes aim at James Castner and fires quickly, missing the Brotherhood soldier completely in his haste.

The second takes a shot at Steve, firing a round and striking him squarely in a non-lethal area (OOC: Your choice Tib). Radiation from the bullet permeates his body. This, combined with the wound from the gulper, causes Steve to collapse from his injuries. (OOC: Steve is downed).

(OOC: I rolled to see who would be the targets of the cultists return fire, and James C and Steve were the two picked. So Captain James sort of wins his run/doge roll by default I guess).

OOC: So to sum up the final rolls, in Round 3 literally everyone rolled a miss (lol). And in Round 4 both Captain James and Castner rolled a 6 for a critical hit. Which ended the fight immediately. I gotta say that was a hell of an interesting roll set.

The Gang vs. The Cultists - Final round

Both of the James's continued to exchange fire with the cultists, ducking and firing between hails of gunfire. Bits and pieces of wood flew from tree trunks and the sounds of bullets ricocheting off the metal and bolts of laser and plasma scorching the carcass of the vertbird could be heard around the clearing. As the battle continued, forcing each side to reload, Captain James shouted out from behind cover,

"Atom has abandoned you, Surrender and you may live to regain his favour!"

"Atom is a false god!" One of the cultists shouted back, "The Mother preserves this island and its people!"

And the firefight continued. Finally, Castner was able to get a bead on one of the cultists, and once they popped out above cover, opened fire. A laser bolt tore into his upper chest and he collapsed instantly. Seeing their comrade fall, the remaining cultist lets out a cry of frustration and anger and began firing wildly, with reckless abandon. The last cultist moved out from behind cover and the Captain was able to put a plasma bolt into them as well. The cultist let out a screech of pain as a large chunk of their body began to liquefy from the heat of the bolt. And they collapsed to the ground dead.

Looking over, the group could see that the mini-gulper had finally expired as well. The creature breathed its last minutes ago. In the midst of the fight, it had managed to crawl over to the body of its former master, and nuzzled itself against her before passing.

Just as the group are getting their bearings and realizing the toll has wrought on them both physically and mentally, they hear a rustling in the nearby foliage.

Suddenly, two more armed cultists burst from the undergrowth. The two of them take the group by completely by surprise and charge Castner and Williams with pole hooks. Just as they are about to reach them, gunshots ring out and both collapse instantly. The group turns to find Longfellow, Rose, and a small group of Harbor folk coming out of the treeline, having obviously heard the gunshots and came to investigate. Smoke drifts from the barrel of Longfellow's lever-action,

"Not as spry as I used to be, but hell if I still got it...." he mutters with a grin, still half drunk but having apparently slept off at least some of his stupor.

"Oh lord is that...." one of the townsfolk says as they realize who Corrine is kneeling next to.

Longfellow realizes it as well, and carefully walks over and crouches down next to Corrine,

"She's gone Corrine....best leave er' be. We'll give her a proper Harbor funeral. Whatever she became...she at least she still deserves that. Come on now lass....lets get you up..." Longfellow offers her his hand.

As some of the other harbor-folk tend to Steve and check to see if both Castner and Williams are alright, the Railroad agent, Rose, begins inspecting the bodies of the dead cultists. She seems concerned about something after having seen Avery's body. Slowly, she begins pulling the mask off the first cultist she finds. Her eyes widen,

"No...." She murmurs.

Frantically, she runs over to the next cultist, and likewise pulls their mask off,

"NO!" She shouts loudly. Her cry now garners the attention of the harbor folk.

She sprints to the third cultist, and nearly tears the mask off revealing the face of a young woman. Her eyes widen once more and she then charges over to bodies of the two cultists that Longfellow had just felled, ripping both of their white masks from their faces.

"NOO!" She screams, and collapses to the forest floor sobbing.

"T-t-they're" She stammers, "..they're...Synths."

OOC: Just for a refresher since its been awhile, Rose is an escaped synth turned Railroad agent.

CORRINE DOOLAK - battlefield

"CORRINE, GET DOWN! FLATTEN YOURSELF!"

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH? GET THE FUCK DOWN, NOW!"

Both James' were screaming at her. Reflexively, she looked up and around, instead, wondering what the immediate danger could have been. The cultists were aiming at the shooters, almost deliberately avoiding her. She wiped snot and tears off her face with her sleeve and looked back down at the ruined Avery. Seeing the mess that had been her friend caused another wave of sadness to rise up within her, and she started crying all over again.

The shouting and gunfire continued around her, but the world was lost to Corrine and her grief. She buried her face in Avery's robes, completely consumed by her grief, sadness, anger, and confusion.

It was quiet for a few moments. A gentle hand on her back broke her from her fit long enough for her to hear the gruff, familiar voice. "She's gone Corrine....best leave er' be. We'll give her a proper Harbor funeral. Whatever she became...she at least she still deserves that. Come on now lass....lets get you up..."

Corrine straightened slightly, her face wet and blotchy from her weeping. She accepted Longfellow's hand and stood, her cold, arthritic joints screaming at her from within her body. "She should'a come home. I should'a tried harder ta make her stay, earlier today," she gargled.

Rose had appeared and was frantically jumping from body to body, crying out as she did so. Suddenly, it was her turn to crumple into a wreck of sobs. "Th-they're synths!"

Corrine sniffed and wiped another stream of mucus from her nose. "Synths? From Acadia? An' like --" Her eyes widened and she turned around on the spot, taking a quick role call in her mind. "Steve. Where's Steve?" She looked at the townsfolk who gave her blank stares. "The mainlander I was with, in the blue coat!"

"Oh! The young fella," called one of the folks from behind a particularly large rock. "He's over here. He's down, but still breathin'."

Corrine stepped towards the islander and knelt next to Steve. "Shit," she breathed. "He needs bandages. Bring me my bag!" she barked, pointing at her discarded duffle lying at the edge of the clearing. One of the townsfolk next to it jumped and did as bid. Corrine tore through her belongings and found nothing but a couple of rags. She pressed one onto the worst of Steve's wounds. "I can't have ya die, too. Please."

Steve Miller - Vertibird Crash Site

Steve opened his mouth, releasing his foe and staggering back crying out from the pain from the two fiery wounds that had coursed through his body with the shouts from his foe and the loud noises. He crumpled to the ground and rolled up into a ball, hoping the pain would go away, but it only lessened, leaving behind a dull throbbing that made it hard to breathe. He felt something wet on both his back and his chest...he knew that something was very wrong. In front of him he heard a strange click click, just like the two he had felt before the pain began..so he opened his eyes to see what it was. A few feet away, he saw a human he knew, though for some reason he could not remember their name, sitting and leaning on one arm, blood welling out of his forearm, and with the other pointing an object at him that he recognized but could not name for some reason. His face was a mixture of great pain, and a feral look of vengeful glee. It was clear now that the end had come. Emotions flooded through Steve, pain, anger, loss, sadness because he had failed an a obligation that was important to him....as well as a question, a simple question, but one he could not put into words.

All he could do was wait for the final blow to come.

But it didn't.

After a pause that seemed to go on forever, his foe's expression changed. While the pain remained, the glee ebbed away, replaced by sadness and regret. His arm lowered, and the device fell into his lap, and he looked at him and sighed.

"I'm sorry, little guy", he said. He then struggled to get up. But as he began to do so, something moving too fast for him to see hit the arm the man was leaning on with a gout of blood and he fell back down. "For fuck's sake!", he exclaimed, then collapsed, no longer moving except for his breathing.

His foe was helpless, but Steve didn't want to fight any more. His desire to seek revenge for what had been taken from him unjustly had ebbed out of him just like his life was, leaving only the terrible sense of loss and need to grieve....and a unaskable question he knew now would never be answered. He knew the end was near, and that he wanted that end to be by Her side. A new determination filled him, and he forced himself onto his hands and knees and began to crawl. Slowly and painfully, Steve advanced hand over hand towards his goal, ignoring the noise and yelling as the other humans fought, focused on Her crumpled form, the one person who had meant everything to him. Another human, a female, was sitting by Her. He recognized her as well, though like the other, he could not remember her name. She was grieving for Her, just like he was. That also made Steve glad, and reassured him as well....if others grieved for Her, then his love for Her couldn't have been misplaced. Finally, he reached Her side, the other human moving aside slightly without even noticing it as he snuggled up to Her body, which was still warm. As he felt her warmth, the pain finally ebbed away, and peace settled over him, and scattered memories of happier times flitted through his head as he drifted off to sleep.

As the darkness of sleep enveloped him, one final thought occurred to him....now, at the end, merely idle curiosity...the question that had been on the tip of his tongue ever since She had been taken away from him right before his eyes.

* After a long period of darkness *

"Shit," a voice said, distant as if from the bottom of a well, "He needs bandages. Bring me my bag!"

In the background was some distant movement, then something hit the ground nearby and the voice spoke again.

"I can't have ya die, too", she said, "Please."

A sharp pain shot up his left arm as something was pressed hard against it, enough pain to wake him up.

"Why?", Steve shouted in anguish, "Why did we have to die? What did we do wrong?"

He then opened his eyes to see Corrine hunched above him, deep concern written on her face. He began to cry.

He had finally understood what the question was.

James Gregor Castner

James was halfway through his second rack of cells when he finally lined up the shot on the cultist, firing a burning shot through the man’s torso. He collapsed instantly. Before he could shift attention to the other cultist, who was now wildly spraying bullets outside of cover, the other James put a plasma bolt in him.

A blissful silence descended on them as the green glow of plasma faded. His breath was ragged as he reloaded his laser rifle. The firefight took something out of him besides blood. Suddenly two more burst up near him and he hastily drew his .44. Before he could send a few wild shots at them, a crackling volley of rifle shots took them down.

Longfellow and a few others came out of the woods, guns still smoking.

"Not as spry as I used to be, but hell if I still got it...." he muttered with a grin, sounding half drunk. James could have hugged the old coot, but he was too exhausted.

“Thanks for the assist”, he said slowly, gasping from exertion. He grasped some stimpacks and bandages from one of his pockets and applied them to his leg wound, where a bullet had grazed him. One of the harbor folk helped him, and got him to his feet. James looked around at the aftermath, processing all that had happened.

Then he remembered Steve being attacked. He stumbled over to him as quickly as he could. It looked like he had been shot and chewed on by some animal. The little monster he had tried to shoot earlier, now feeling guilty that it had slipped past him.

"Why?", Steve suddenly shouted in anguish, "Why did we have to die? What did we do wrong?" before starting to cry. It looked like he was in some kind of shock.

He quickly went down on his knees and applied a stimpack to Steve’s injured arm and chest. As he applied them, he said what he would say to anyone who was a part of his unit: “you’re gonna be ok. You’ll make it, buddy”, he wasn't sure that was the the case, but he said it as fervently as he could.

"NO!", shouted one of people in the clearing. Another Far Harbor resident lost to the cult and killed in the firefight?. Then the woman sprinted between the other cultists, finally arriving at the two Longfellow had killed.

"NOO!" She screamed again, and collapsed to the forest floor sobbing. He wasn’t sure what to do.

"T-t-they're" She stammers, "..they're...Synths."

He looked at Corrine sympathetically. "I'll see what she's talking about", he said as he got up from beside Steve. He remembered the woman Corrine had been crying over was a synth, and it appeared the others were too. He was skeptical of Maxson’s demonization of the synths, but he was still cautious of them. Fake men could hide any number of secrets. It certainly meant something that the cultists they’d were all synths.

He hesitantly walked up to the sobbing woman, and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss”, he said uncertainly. He decided to risk a question. “What were these synths to you? Why would they all join the cult”.

(OOC I think this is the first time my James has met Rose. And sorry, had to take care of these other things before scavenging the vertibird.)