[IC] Fallout: The Outer Banks (Always Open)

[Gurren1]

Chapter 1: Sparks of War

Kill Devil Hills, also known as the Heart, is the capital and most civilized area of the young Outer Bank Republic. The buildings around the city are clean with sharp paint recently applied and friendly people walk the streets without weapons as they have no fear of attacks inside their great city. The more you walk deeper into this paradise the more you find pristine Pre-war houses and artifact such as a Super-Duper Mart still used today as a market. Politicians roam the inner-city showing off expensive pre-war suits eating at the newest café the Wright Brothers that serves expensive Jagged-Tooth Shark Steak and Fresh Fruit from Bakers Island. The capital building finally as you reach the center of the city is a testament to the Republic a four-story brick building over looking the ocean with roman columns supporting it the utilizing took over 10 years to build and now is the crown jewel of the ORB with merchants from far-away lands amazed that it was built before the war. (The Banks are able to keep these buildings from being destroyed from hurricanes since the last one hasn't happened in 40 years only the elders knowing what they were like.) The Heart allows anyone to come into the city for free if they are disarmed and anyone can use the beautiful beaches as long as they pay the 20 caps to get in, even ghouls which other settlements aren't to fond of are allowed in. While the rich and happy enjoy there steaks and sunsets elsewhere the Republic is in dire situations.

Washington, a trading settlement far west has been under a siege for weeks now by the Covenant a cunning and ruthless raider group that has withstood ORB assaults for years has finally taken the offense. Attacking Washington a small settlement with 200 people and many traders from the west. They were able to hold off the first 5 attacks from the Covenant but now have finally been broken with a the whole town crawling with the raiders. Whats left of the townsfolk are stuck in the Police Station with around 10 ORB soldiers left helping them. The Republic is mounting a counterattack against the raiders and asks for assistance from anyone who is close.

Meanwhile up north near the Virginia border the Guardsmen have set up camp and are waiting for a moment to strike. The swamp however has pushed them back over the border and the Outer Republic is gathering troops around the swamp. An eerie calm is around as merchants from the capital wasteland still come through both territory's often selling items more expensive seeing the standoff. An extremely dangerous part of the Banks unless your a trusted trader both sides will shot you down.

Elsewhere the peaceful Chinese Remnants are fully opening their borders to anyone to come in or out. If anyone steps into their territory a cultural shock is assured as the old pre-war buildings have been painted with red stars and Chinese Flags hang from every balcony. Old Propaganda posters from China still hang all over the town covering the old American ones. This is a truly strange place in the Outer Banks and maybe even the entire Wasteland. There is still some who after all these years still don't trust them even the OBR has the trust issues and refuses to let anyone of these Remnants from setting up shop in the capital city.

In Swans Quarter where the Crimson Wings hail from a new discover was found some weeks ago, a Vault. The Vault named 33 was hidden inside a lake but since it has dried up its now a barren hole in the ground. A very eerie site as the door is rusted shut and the 33 barely visible. Some workers trying to get it open have claimed to hear screaming or scratching coming from inside and have refused to work. The Crimson Wings are now offering jobs to anyone willing to help open this mysterious Vault.

All around the Outer Banks Wasteland is things to do but awhile a dark cloud is combing over it waiting spark lighting on this peaceful environment.......

[CloseEnough]

@Gurren1 @Crossfire @Kingfisher @Ulstermann
Eden

It was hot

A dry heat that relentlessly came over the skin in sheets. Leather armour slick underneath made even more uncomfortable by the constant weight of gear as though a punishment to add on to the many. Yet even so no one seemed to have been complaining, shirts wrapped around heads with others trying to find ways to purify the contaminated water that was available to all those daring.

The sound of footsteps over the dry water bed was constant. The crinkling noise of excited whispers acting as an annoyance while a woman sat on a dusty stone. Hunched over in a laxed position it was easy to tell she was someone that had embraced the life of the wasteland. Body toned and scarred, a harshness about her while holding a hide bound book seeming to have been faded for anyone else to enjoy but her golden eyes alone.
It was somehow a strange sight. Just a woman reading a book in the dry sun soaked heat. Yet once the gaze feel passed her to the looming door of vault 33 it became obvious that she somehow did not really belong. Her ears could still hear the muffled cries and whimpers that helplessly cried for any aid, screams for help and in acknowledgement she turned a page.

"What are you doing?"
Raising a brow the woman looked up, almost board when seeing one of the workers. Lathered in sweat and caked from head to toe in dirt from hard labour. A strain expression on his face. Realizing what the question was trying to gain she simply began to read again, once again turning the page.
"Why aren’t you helping?"

Her reading halting for a moment she began to glare, standing only to find that she was built sturdier than some. Without a word she turned to leave, carefully placing the book in a pouch at her side, her footsteps soft and stride confident, instead making her way to the mercanaris as she took her place in the shade, ignoring the others yet seeming to belong, her arms crossed with her back to a wall, head down and tracing the pattern of her boots. She was just like them, not there out of the compassion for those trapped and the secrets guarded. But another move in her own survival and those she's connected to.

"Don't mind that one, she shows up, never says a word and dose as shes told. Good woman, don't go ruining that." Her ears perked at the voices, another one sitting on the back of a gelding spoke with a smugness about him, a familiar face that asked her what she was working for this time.

Realizing it was her source of payment she simply pointed to the box labled junk. Her bag was full of bottle caps to last her a bit already, she didn't need to carry or want to hold more due to the idea of a mugging. Instead she saw the chance for new materials for someone that deserved it more than herself.

------

Aurora

In a small shack located a few miles away from the vault, the sounds of muffled machines could be heard. Steel plated walls and a perfectly smooth concrete floor, tools littering the floor with a suit of power amour glistening in the the artificial light from generators.

Skilfully working on the amour, hands delicate and swift, working the circuit board hidden within the suit's chest. A smile gracing the woman's lips as she continued to work hard. Her red hair tied in a pony tail with gold eyes focused on every wire, every fuse, every single spark.
"This will work, it has to work."

Her voice was soft, reaching down she positioned a wooden block between her tires again to keep from sleeping before getting back to work. Papers littering the floor around her causing the woman to look back at the detailed designs periodically. The world outside a blur, and the dry heat kept relatively cool from the fan inside.

[Crossfire]

Brick "Forge" Burnside

All was quiet at the trading post of Davenport. The merchants came out from their camps and set up their displays as per the usual morning routine. The makeshift marketplace had sprung up suddenly in recent weeks, all hands hoping to see a share of the caps coming in to the main attraction. It seemed like some were in it for the long run, builders had been commissioned from the nearby town of Creswell to construct a couple of shacks. Apart from the worn but homely old-world house that stood dead center of the quickly expanding shantytown, the only other free-standing structure was an old barn that had recently been converted into a hotel of sorts, a place for travelers to hang their hats while the maestro did his work. For indeed in that old house, miracles were being performed, miracles that brought people from all around. Miracles that had drawn young George Cantwell. He was soon to be recruited into the ranks of the OBR Riflemen and wanted to carry forward his family's legacy, so a week ago, he had set out from Elizabeth City with a caravan headed for this very trading post. Cautiously he made his way up through the row of merchant stands, and navigated around Brahmin, saddled down with goods, until he stood in front of the old house. His eyes were drawn to the sign hanging above the doorway.

FORGE

Elated that his journey was over, George walked up the steps and knocked twice on the wooden frame.
"Just a minute!" He heard a voice call, seconds before the door edged open. A young looking man dressed in leather garb and a green military-style jacket peered back at him.
"Yes sir? How can I help?"
"Are you Forge?" George asked.
"Me? No, no, I work for him. My name is Brick. Were you looking to avail of his services?"
"Uhh, I guess so, yes"
"Well come on in then, take a seat at the table here" Brick stepped out of the way to allow the young soldier-to-be entry. George did as Brick said and took a seat.
"Up on the wall next to you is the list of services, we'd be here all day if we were to explain them all, and Forge is a busy man, so why don't you explain to me what you need and I'll suggest the best course of action?"
George reached to his side and tugged at his holster "This is my father's pistol. Or, I guess, it was. And his father's before that. Kind of a family heirloom. Anyway, it hasn't really been firing right, and I really wanted it at my side when I enlisted"
"Well, let me see it" Brick reached out and took the pistol from the table. he sized it up from all angles and gave it a couple of shakes "Well right away I can tell ya, your sights are off-center. I could fix those right here, but that's not it. If I was a betting man, I'd say its the barrel, could be cracked, I mean, this has been in your family for generations, no offence to you and yours, but I doubt its ever been properly serviced. Now, what we can do for you is the standard full bodywork job. Strip it down, see what's what, replace some parts, clean it all up then pop it back together, that'll be about 75 caps, that's the flat fee on servicing jobs anyway. However if you wanted to bring this weapon up to 110%, I'd suggest the premium service. I have no idea if that's even in your price range, but I will tell you, it'll be at least 200. We do the same work, but on a premium job, we use nothing but the absolute best parts. Sometimes they're even custom made for the job, like cutting a new barrel from old-world metal and the like. And we throw in a handful of bullets as a bonus. It's an expensive service, but if you chose to go for it, I guarantee you that weapon will last until your children's children walk this earth, if not longer"
"Wow. That sounds great, I definitely wanna do right by my father, so yeah, give me the premium service. 200 caps you said?"
Brick held up a hand "payment on completion of services. That's a hard-line rule here. One last question- does she have a name?"
"A name? Uh, no I don't think. I guess I never really thought about it before"
"All great weapons are named. Forge really likes that, and you seem like a decent sort. Respectful. So I'm gonna throw in a tag job on the house. Now lastly, it's gonna take a while, I'd say midday tomorrow, so what you can do...." Brick trailed off to reach off to a side table just out of George's view ".... is take this coupon over to Angie, she runs the inn over in the other building. That says you're one of Forge's customers, she gives you a bed for the night and some food in the morning for free."
George was overwhelmed as he stood up "Wow, this is great, thank you sir"
"Hey, don't mention it bud. We'll see you back here tomorrow"
"Oh, and can you tell him not to do anything about the scratches on it? Dad liked to make a mark on it whenever he killed something"
"Yeah, no problem kiddo, see you later"

George had just left when another man pushed his way in through the door. At first glance it'd be easy to call him a raider, and maybe he was, but right now, he was a paying customer known as Hardy.
"Mr. Hardy, welcome back" Brick said "You here to pick up the Tenderizer?"
"What? I come for my bat" The loud and ignorant man exclaimed.
Brick reached below the counter and placed a metal baseball bat out in plain view "You paid for a tag job, and with all the work done on this beauty, Forge decided to name it the Tenderizer. Shall we recap?"
"I just want the stupid thing, got places to be kid, how much?"
"175 caps"
"Are you friggin' for real? He didn't even really do nothing, not that I can see. Where is this Forge hack? I wanna see this guy"
The change in tone was immediate. Brick reached out and took a hold of the bat "I really think you want me to recap the work. You said, and I quote "I want this thing to be so strong that I could swing it at a rock 1000 times and it wouldn't dent" Now, if I can draw your attention to the tip here, that ring? That's from cutting it open to place a 'core' inside, a kind of infrastructure to keep the exterior shape, it also adds a bit of heft, for a little extra damage on impact. I constructed that 'core' used energy cells to cut open the bat, and then welded it back up. Then I was inspired and so I welded on this ring of crimped metalwork along the top edge, that's where the name came from. This thing can really cause damage" Brick walked out to face Hardy, gently patting the bat against his empty hand.
"Wait... you? You're Forge?"
"Correct. So before you insult me further, I have to ask. Do you want a demonstration. Maybe I can convince you its worth the 175"
"Just... hang on man" Hardy began fumbling around in his pockets. Brick didn't wait. He gripped the Tenderizer in both hands and made a huge swing, the "crown" of the bat connecting square with Hardy's jaw. The much bigger man fell over, blood streaming from his mouth, nose, and ears. He tried to speak, breathe even, and found only pain when he tried to use his dislodged jaw. Finally he managed to squeak out a "wait" between his moans of pain.
"You don't deserve this weapon" Brick spat out with pure venom "How could you? You don't respect it, care for this beautiful object. THe only way, you could ever.... EVER honor it.... is to be its first victim"
"no. please" the words were more groans than anything else.
Brick brought the bat down once more, smashing the last ounce of life from Hardy. He stood upright, drew out a scrap of cloth, then wiped off the blood from the weapon.
"Had a feeling you weren't the one meant for the Tenderizer" he told the bashed corpse matter of factly. Oh well.

Brick went to the door, and poked his head outside, he scanned to porch until he set eyes on the armed guard standing nearby.
"Hey Joe, you're workin' today? Need you to drag Mr. Hardy out of here when you get a chance. Might be some blood to clear up too, but there's Abraxo in the closet. I gotta get to work"
"No problem boss man" The guard responded.
Brick retreated inside and headed off for the workshop he had set up in the back room, George Cantwell's pistol in hand.
"I know just what I'll name you....." he said as he slapped on some gloves and got to work.

[Kingfisher]

The Highwayman

A road of cracked asphalt and fire blasted earth stretched out before the Highwayman, crunching beneath each steel-clad footfall. Concrete and soil had become one beneath the nuclear devastation of Chinese Warheads, and the land had been left a sickly mess of cracked grey and greenish brown.

It was on the right path.

The armor-clad juggernaut strided onwards, its joints whirring and hissing, Scooped Machine-Gun clutched in its metallic hands.

It wasn’t long before the first few raiders came slipping out of the marshland.

The Highwayman’s power armor was far more sleek than the bulky get-up worn by wastelanders, so the Guardsmen didn’t think twice about rushing the featureless wanderer.

“You’re trespassing upon the kingdom of the Watch.” A grizzly figure in an old-world military uniform sneered, as him and his buddies came wandering up to the Highwayman “Hand over your valuables, and the just and noble Guardsmen will allow you to walk away unscathed, outlander.”

“The ORB are paying good caps for dead Guardsmen.” a steely voice rasped from beneath the Highwayman’s cold metal helmet “How about you hand over all your valuables, or I bring them back some souvenirs?”

The grizzled one shot his comrades a look of confusion.

“Let's waste this asshole!”

Their rifles barked, letting out a crackle of bullets, which pinged harmlessly off of the Highwayman’s hard metal body.

The Highwayman squeezed the trigger if its machine gun, sweeping through the Guardsmen with a feral bellow of roaring gunfire. A few strained coughs, and bubbles of dark red blood, and then the road was littered with the bullet-ridden corpses of four Guardsmen.

“No second chances.”

The steely figure pressed on up the road, its destination within its grasp.

[Gurren1]

@CloseEnough

A scruffy beared man who was easily identifiable as a Crimson Wing member by his Bomber Jacket decorated in pre-war Air Force patches walked to the center of where all the eager workers were waiting to begin the work; for their caps of course. The man looked all around him visible sweat coming from his brow and briefly locked eyes with a woman in the very back who looked odd in the place of all these dirty and worn down people. He then coughed and began to speak,

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen my name is Preston Grines, your boss as soon as you enter that hole. You all will behave accordingly in our territory and will be penalized if not. Now for your payment 20 caps for a full day of work another 10 for bringing any type of explosive to us. To motive you even further the first ones to crack that damn thing open gets 200 caps and a share if anything down their. Now if you need me I will be in the shack over there and my boys will supervise all. Good Luck!"

With that the man tighted up his jacket and started walking over his makeshift shack built for this operation drinking his canteen as he walked away from the crowd. The crowd started slowly walking over to the hole where two more Crimson Wing soilders waited handing them shovels to dig the Vault out more they only had a few available and anyone who couldn't get one had to dig with their hands or make shift diggers.

@Crossfire

Word had already spread across Davenport that Forge had killed someone. The OBR even if they didn't have full control over this terriroty were still considered a police force of sorts out here and so were dispatched to his shop. Three ORB Riflemen came knocking on his door in the late hours of the day stepping on the dried up blood of Mr. Hardy. The Riflemen wore military fatigues with helmets on along with .22 rifles in hand. They knocked on the door asking to come in and question him.

[CloseEnough]

The Vault

@Gurren1

She watched the male with a brow raised arms crossed as she began to calculate her pay. 20 caps, not to bad for just a day of work, but it wasn't that she was interested in. The moment she told her sister what was going on the red head had already began to try and crack what she called another code in life. A few plans in her pocket neatly written by the girl herself. The girl's words ringing in Eden's head. "just give these to whoever in charge, I still can't find a power source big enough but maybe they do."

She recalled her sister trying to explain exactly what it was she was trying to build but honestly she couldn't get her mind around it. The girl was gifted in the mind in a way that Eden could never understand. Watching the others begin to move, some trying to sell explosives and ammunition for a handful of caps she began to shoulder her way through the main camps. Ignoring the stares one or two gave her as she looked through the tents trying to pin point the guff looking male that gave out commands.

"What's your business?"
A soldier armed gave her no time. His glare a hash one for a thief she simply put her hands in her pockets, giving no sign of attack as she nodded her head to the pathway the man went through. "I have something for him" her voice was quite, a bit hoarse even from ill use yet the guard did not seem to buy her explanation.

Rolling her eyes she looked back at him, a piercing stare when he said that everything can be given to the traders, not their commander. Not one for charisma she simply rose her arm, her knuckles knocking on the shack door in a rasp due to her gauntlets while she maintained eye contact with the one who tried to stop her.

Ignoring the others she pulled out the plans her sister made when she heard the door. Neat hand writing for every side, every circuit of the creation that was being pulled from the girl's mind with beyond detailed explanations of what was needed, the only thing that was missing was a power source. "Just an idea" her job from Auroa complete she locked her gaze with him for only a moment before she was pulled away, apologise echoing through the air while she made no further attempt to run, instead trying to find something she could use to get her hours in.

Aurora

@Crossfire

"Thats it! Why didn't I think of it sooner!"

The sound of wheels over steel and concrete bounced off the wall inside the work space. The red head having to hold her arms out against the wall to stop herself when she turned her chair. Documents on the shelves she was already grabbing them, bring forth calculations from her head alone as she furiously began to write. The components of a compressed laser rifle with a battery pack the size of a fat man lye on the table. A creation from her mind alone, looking to be an ugly thing till one saw the amount of power it could have.

A pen in hand, the paper began to fill again, fusion cores showing up in detailed art works as she crated the image from memory in every component. "If I use a fusion core as an initial battery and take out the original calibration for power out put I could make it even stronger but....." A sigh escaping her lips she leaned back in her chair, the break-less wheels causing her to slid across the room as she looked at the ceiling. "But the amount of juice needed to cut a vault door would make it good for only a few minutes....God dammit!"

Running her hands furiously through her mane she groaned. Hopefully Eden did as she asked. The idea that pepole were trapped was eating away at her mind and yet every answer she came up with also had a problem included. "Why can't I have some lost tech or something?" Putting her hands back on the wheels of her chair she began to roll, getting back to work to try and find the answer at a different angle, her hand reaching for the radio she turned it to the news to find whats going on in the world only for a story covering a weapons specialist by the name of forge.

Ears perking at the sound she stopped her hands for a moment. Listing in when the person on the other end began to explain how a brilliant weapons enthusiast killed another customer because he didn't respect a commission that was made. A shudder running down her spine Aurora shook her head. That is someone she would not want to cross paths with. What was his idea on respect? Did it change and he would just snap at anyone?

Yet another crazy idea began to creep in her mind. She was stuck, her sister had no idea how to help her with getting the vault open and she needed another mind. The radio was her main connection to the outside besides Eden and so, with a heavy breath she changed the channel, bringing out a mic she made a while ago without her sibling’s knowledge as she connected with the trading posts.

"Hello? Testing, yes this is a weapons smith calling in about mr forge, dose he. Dose he talk to people on radio at all?" Already she was picking up her pen again, trying to get the information needed in order to contact the crazy person.

[Crossfire]

Brick was smoothing out the rough edges on a piece of piping he intended to use as the new barrel for George's pistol. The parts of the weapon laid out neatly on the workbench in front of him, all shiny from the vigorous polishing he had given them. He held the pipe up to his eye to peer through it.
"Beautiful" he said to himself "Now just to size up the barrel fittings, and you'll be all better again Legacy. Do you like that name? I'm sure you do"
Three sharp knocks interrupted his train of thought.
'Who could that be?' he wondered.

@Gurren1
Brick pulled back the door to find himself greeted by three armed OBR Riflemen.
"Hello sirs, how can I help you today?"
"We'd like to speak to Forge"
"I'm sorry, but he's real busy right now. Got himself locked in the workshop, strict orders not to disturb him. Anything I could help with?"
"We just wanted to ask some questions about a disturbance" the leader said.
"I've been here all day, so come in, take a seat if you'd like, and ask away"
Before he could even full close the door, a second caller came knocking. He opened the door to find Douglas, Angie the innkeeper's brother.
"Hey Doug, what's goin' on?"
"Radio transmission for Forge, got a young lady on the other end who wonders if he'll speak to her" Doug peered around to see the soldiers "Everythin' ok here?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll take that transmission" He saw Joe coming back from his errand.
"Ok guys, I'm real sorry, I gotta run for just a moment, but Joe here" he waved the bodyguard inside "Has been hangin around all morning, so you can direct your questions to him, I'll be back though"

@CloseEnough
Brick took a seat in front of the radio and pulled the microphone in close
"This is on and tuned in right?" He said to Douglas
"Yeah, just tap in and start talking"
"Hello? Testing. Testing. This is Brick Burnside, I'm Forge's....... assistant. How can I help ya?"

[CloseEnough]

@Crossfire

Hearing the voice on the other end Aurora was actually surprised to find a cool and collected personality on the other end of the speaker. Looking around she began to collect her thoughts, grabbing her desk so she wouldn’t slide away. A young voice unscathed from the wasteland escaping her lungs.

"Oh umm, yes hello. I'm in the process of making a new laser riffle with a more compacted point. I was using most of the pieces from sniper barrels and scopes and used a old military circuit board to narrow the path and streamline of the laser so that instead of it being a wide range weapon it would be extremely precise and go through things like steel. I have her put together but the only power source I can think of is a calibrated fusion core remastered so that it tunes out more juice to get her running. Problem is she would only live for a few minutes and I was wondering if you had any ideas for a longer life span, I'll be willing to send over the caps needed for the information if you have it."

She was serious about it to, tapping at her desk she kept looking back at he creation that if worked right could cut through something like a vault door if what her sister said about them was true. She was heavy, and nameless, but she could do some amazing things if given to the right reason. "Hello? Are you still there sir?"

[Crossfire]

@CloseEnough

Brick's mind was racing as he thought up a solution "I'm still here. Forge has taught me a thing or two about Energy gear. What I think will do the job for ya is something called a Tesla Power Converter, what it does is it transfers energy from other power sources, so it could resupply the charge to the fusion core. Not really efficient in the long run, because this thing is gonna eat through Electron Charge Packs, Microfusion Cells, and Energy Cells even, but it could definitely solve a short term problem, if that's what you're looking to do"

He sat back a bit further, adding up all the factors in his head "We have just about everything we could need to set you up over here in the shop, if you want, you can send me your location, and I'll personally make sure that it's not only delivered to you in a timely fashion, but that it works. We can discuss payment after the job is done, for now, you just let me know how you want to proceed"

[CloseEnough]

@Crossfire

"Tesla power converter.." Already she was writing everything he said word for word, looking at her books down the faded titles of her collections that shes been keeping. "Short term should be aright, shes beautiful but far too heavy for long term use, with the right power output though I'm expecting her to get through a vault." Looking through her documents of supplies she let out a whistle. Since when was the last time she worked with energy? She had a few energy cells? Still she'll have to get Eden to look for the rest.

Hearing the offer though caused her to freeze. Shes had people over without Eden knowing but it was extremely selective. One was someone from the brotherhood of steel cause they found her hoarding lost tech, it was a lengthy process but because of it her knowledge expanded and they were given some bits that she had no use for.
But someone, a normal person from the commonwealth. Looking down at her chair made her uneasy. It was always a game of chance, if it were up to her sibling she would never see the sun and live a long life. And so she grew a rebellious streak but let someone from the waste land know of her location?
"I..I'm well, I don't know. You see I'm in a situation where I can't trust that information to anyone I don't know and trust with 100% accuracy. I can build her here, but if you need me to I can still pay for the information you just gave me....." Her voice trailed off, she would have appreciated the help but would allowing someone like forge near her sanctuary be okay? And more so could she do it without Eden finding out?

[Crossfire]

Brick was impressed. The girl on the other end didn't sound very old, but she seemed to know her stuff.
"No payment necessary for that. If you're going to be building it yourself, here's what you'll need. A couple of military-grade circuit boards, 2 at least, but you can loop in more for extra output. You hook those into the main switchboard of a Tesla Pack, like the ones that come with a Gatling Laser, or a similar weapon. You'll want at least 20 Energy Cells lined off around your circuit, to act as power regulators. You need a microfusion cell plus a few extras on hand, 5 at least, load it in just as you would with a normal laser rifle, and it'll act as the catalyst. Attach ECP's to both power nodes inside the pack. That's your secondary power source. Vault doors are thick, so I'm thinking you'll want 10 or more Electron Charge Packs. The last thing you need is a conduit, I'd recommend an arc welder with a refined tip mod, you hook that in to the auxiliary power, fire it up when the fusion core hits 50%, should maintain the energy levels long enough to cut through the door, provided you don't waste time when swapping out Electron Charges or microfusion cells"

Brick went through his mental checklist one last time, just to make sure he'd covered everything.
"And that should be it. The offer is still on the table if you need any of those materials or ammo types, anything at all like that. I'm pretty sure Douglas here keeps the radio on day and night, so if you change your mind, you can reach me at any time, just ask for Brick"

[CloseEnough]

@Crossfire

"No wonder why shes not sounding right, only used one" soft mumbles escaped her as she kept writing everything down with practiced hands. How had she not heard of this guy before? This was actually, well it was a good source of information and he wasn't even asking her to pay? And offering to be a supply line?

Before long her pages were filled, looking over everything to make sure they were in place. "Wow, this is incredible, I never thought to a Tesla pack, than again had not worked with them as much as I would have liked." Sighing she looked up in thought, hearing the offer causing her to blink. "Brick? Well than thank you so much, if I ever find a way to escape and get a horse I'll be sure to stop by and be a paying customer."

Wheeling back to her project though she began to realize what the amount of power the beauty had would do to her. "Shes gonna be a one time use...power like that with her body is going to over heat her to the point that she'll melt to the Tesla pack and eat the core...." She sounded genuinely sad to realize that using the weapon would ultimately destroy it. A creation from her own hands and only gets to take in one breath.
Still, Eden needed to get into the vault and that is exactly what shes going to do. "Thank you Brick, sorry, forgot to turn off the radio."
She was quick to turn it off when she realized the light was still flashing. Pushing down her thoughts she went through her stations, it would be a bit till Eden came back, and by then she expected herself to find a way to open that door.

[Crossfire]

Brick didn't have time to respond before the radio signal cut out. He smiled to himself.
'Nice kid. Respectful. Didn't catch a name, but if she ever drops by, I'll have to offer her a deal'
He turned back to Douglas "You'll be keeping tabs on this right? Any responses, let me know right away"
"Sure thing Brick"
He stood and headed out. His mind now laser-focused on what to tell the Riflemen waiting for him.

'What if... no that won't do, they'd know that's a lie. Can't tell them everything. Unless..... wait, could that...? It's just crazy enough to work'

@Gurren1

He slid back in to the house "Sorry about that gentlemen, business is booming that's for sure, even getting requests over radio transmissions now" He turned to look at Joe "So, catch me up here, what do you need to know and what has Joe been telling you?"

[Kingfisher]

The Highwayman

The watch tower was a tiered construction of rusted metal platforms and concrete pillars. Its paint was peeling away, exposing cracked reddish steel, and the glass spotlights at its peek had been smashed centuries ago. Nevertheless, it gave the Guardsmen occupying it a decent level of high-ground, and had been paramount in halting the progress of the OBR through this section of the marshlands, as snipers picked off their scouting parties from on-high.

It also just so happened to be home to Chief Genlin; the Highwayman's target.

Its approach had been planned meticulously, so that the steel-clad figure could make its way towards the tower under the cover of night. Its dull metal body trugged steadily through the marshland, a speck lost in the sea of darkness, as the Highwayman drew closer and closer to the tower.

Once it was nearing the base of the tower, the Highwayman ducked down behind the carcass of a fallen tree, its mechanical eyes fixing on the Guardsmen patrolling at ground level.

*

"Oh Jeeze! Oh Fuck! Please, help me!" a curvy blonde girl came scampering out of the night, bare-footed, with her tattered clothes hanging off of her full body in grubby rags, and trails of glistening tears streaming down her tanned cheeks.

"Hold it right -fuckin'- there, girlie!" Barked one of the Guardsmen, sliding to one knee and slinging his assault rifle off of his back.

"For God's sake, Gomez, she's just a child!" Snapped one of his comrades, giving Gomez a sharp shove as he came striding out to meet her.

"P-please, h-help..." sobbed the girl, running straight into the soldier's arms, and pressing herself tightly against his chest.

"Easy, girl," The soldier soothed in his most comforting voice "You're safe here. These are good people you're amongst. Can you tell us what's happened?"

"Oh God," The girl was choking on her words "Lurkers came o-out of the swamp...attacked our caravan," her lower lip wobbled as she spoke "they...oh god, they got my big brother!"

"Official orders are to shoot unidentified hostiles on sight." grumbled Gomez, as he pulled himself up off of the ground.

"Yeah, the crying teenaged girl is really fucking hostile," the other guardsman scowled at him "Shithead." He turned his attention back to the girl "Come on, missy. I'll take you to see the Chief."

[Gurren1]

@Crossfire

The Riflemen had been waitng patiently walking around the house waiting for Brick but by the time he came in the obvious leader of the trio a tall lanky man had grown restless. " Mr..... Umm Brick isn't that right? We don't need to talk to Mr. Joe we need to talk to you about a killing earlier this morning. Even if you don't directly live in ORB territory we are still responsible for protection in these areas. So how about you tell us what happened from the beginning?" The man said in a stern voice looking directly at Brick.

@CloseEnough

Preston was working on his laser rifle trying to keep it in pristine condition as he heard a knock on the shack. With a sign he put down a component for his rifle and opened the door. "This better be go-" he stopped mid-sentence to see a girl giving him a piece of paper and mumble something that sounded like "idea". He grabbed the paper and started to look at it after a few moments trying to understand it something clicked in his mind and his eyes grew wide.

"Get off that girl!" He said to the guard pulling her away. He slowly walked over to her still looking bewildered at the paper. "This is....this is.....Its advanced even for Crimson Wing standards! How could have you come with this!" So if I....If I am understanding this right you want to cut through the Vault door with a laser rifle sortofthingy?" He said waitng for a reply from the women.

[Crossfire]

@Gurren1

"Well, Joe was here all morning, so he can corroborate my story" Brick began. He took a deep breath "Start from the beginning right?'

This is it, no backin' down now'

"Can you guys keep a secret? Ok, here it is- there is no Forge. It's me. It's always been me. I created Forge as a sort of boogeyman, a new urban legend to build up the business. Get people talkin' about us, and when people started showin' up here to capitalize on the relative success, I felt a responsibility to form a reputation of 'this Forge guy is not to be fucked with' to ensure their safety. Now as to this morning, Hardy came here to collect this"

He produced the Tenderizer from beneath the counter and laid it in front of them before continuing.

"I'm usually pretty good about knowing my customers, I get a sense of their intentions from my talks with him, Hardy was the first guy I've met since I came to the Outer Banks that I wasn't 100% on. Should've walked away, I know that now, but at the time, I couldn't really refuse him without good reason, and I couldn't think up a suitable lie. He brought it here about 2 days ago, wanted it done up to be, and I'm quoting him here "fucking indestructible", so I did the work, as promised, and when it came time to pay me, Hardy decided to be a piece of shit about it. I explained to him what I had done and why the price was what it was. Now, I could try and bullshit you boys into believing that he got violent, drew a gun on me, and I acted in self defense, but I'm not doing that, I'm telling it like it is. He insulted me, insulted my work and then I hit him, cracked his jaw, right at the hinge. Now, you feel the metal capping on top of that bat, it's solid, and it's edges are fairly sharp. You can see the blood on the floor, he wasn't gonna live, so I finished him off. Joe here dragged off the body, took the caps off him, and tossed him in the river for the sharks. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. Got a few complaints about him from the people camped up here, said that he'd threatened a few of em, he'd bash in a fella's head then take his woman for himself, that sort of thing. And you didn't see him, but I'm, convinced he was a Raider, he dressed like one, definitely smelled like one. Maybe a bit smarter than the average river rat, but he had the attitude. That's about all I know, so any other questions?"

[CloseEnough]

@Gurren1

Just as she was walking away she heard the male tell the guard to let her go. Moving to her side she kept a hand on her hip, a blade hanging from her belt and tapping at her side while she looked at him with an easygoing expression. She honestly looked a bit board in a way. Raising a brow she allowed a sigh to escape her lips when the guy tried to figure out what her sister had planned.

"I didn't make it." She really had no idea how this was going to work, only that Aurora looked at her with glistening eyes when she was explaining the idea. Something about a laser that was far stronger than normal but after that she was thoroughly lost. The thought making her realise that she should go check up on her soon. Seeing the look on the male's face caused her head to tilt upward, her gaze leaving to the blazing sky. "Its being made....."

Aurora

@Crossfire

"Circuit board, circuit board, come on where are you!!?"
An annoyed groan was heard in the workshop. The lowered tables being filled from fuses found in everyday objects, to military grade equipment from the pre war times. Each and everything pristine in care and circling her creation waiting to be put together yet she was missing a few vary key factors. One more military grade circuit board, and a Tessla board.

She looked everywhere for the darn things but even when it looked as though a death claw had just woken up in the space she found nothing. Resting her elbows on the cracked arms of her char she put her face in hands, "this is going no where...." What was she going to do? Its not like Eden could go and get a Tessla board, she had to get one from the brotherhood of steel before how on earth was she going to get another one?
She was already looking back at the mic, Brick did say his shop had everything she was going to need. If she played her cards right she couldn't be gone for more than a few days right?
She was already wheeling out to the door, a low slide allowing her to see out into the world was gripped in her hand. Slowly she opened up, the breath of cooling wind greeting her. "Chase? Chase you there?"

A gruff older looking man was stationed outside, a camp made with a fire going, cooking what seemed to be rad stag meat. "Year Aurora? What do you want?" He was hired by Eden to stand guard, live out here and not laying a hand on the red head earned him his own living space and a handful of caps, but she knew she had to have rubbed of on him show how.

"Would you be willing to help me get to Outer Banks? Theres this workshop out there that have the last pieces for the laser, I bring her over and we'll be able to get into the vault in no time." Chase seemed to just roll his eyes, turning the meat over in his spite. "So your saying that if I help you get that thing you been working on in the outer banks you can finish it and...well what do I get in all this?"

"How bout 40 caps and my eternal gratitude?" It was not a large loss, after all if this went right she would be getting 200 soon. She watched him get a strange smile, one that looked to be half mockery. "Aright, but that sister of yours finds out, I won't be defending you."

[Sohtem]

Reese Schubaltz

The long, seemingly unending, damaged road was starting to take its toll on the man in the brown duster traveling down it, his trek through five or so states had been a long one, taking months and that was just plain wandering at the time, he had no idea why he had decided to travel out there, though that had changed after hearing a few rumors about a land that had fresh crops and was seemingly undamaged by the fallout that happened a century ago. The only thing that had made his trip a little easier was when he got on a transport Vertibird, he would've liked to fly the whole way to this mythical land he kept hearing about, but they couldn't fly that far, so it was walking again for him, which he had been doing for about three hours now, signs as he passed showing the distance being shorter and shorter.

He took a break and sat down underneath some metal that provided shade as he took a swig from his canteen, glancing out at the wasteland as the heat of the sun beat down on it. He sighed and then soon stood up after putting his canteen away, knowing he'd get no closer to his destination lying around and continued on his way towards the Outer Bank Republic.

As he made his way further down the road, he noticed a woman crying over a man and his good nature couldn't refuse to ignore someone in need.

“Excuse me, is everything alright?” He asked the woman as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“No! Stay back!” She shouted as she jumped up and away from Reese.

“It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to know what's wrong.” He spoke calmly, raising his hands up halfway to show he wasn't an enemy.

“M-My friend, he's hurt, can you help him?” She asked hopefully.

“I don't know, what happened?” He responded as he took off his pack and then started to examine the man, checking his pulse, not really noticing the woman slowly make her way behind him.

“He just collapsed, I don't know why.” She spoke with a grin and then pulled out a pistol and pointed it at his head, the seemingly unconscious man on the ground soon shooting his eyes open with a grin and then pulled out a knife, pointing it at Reese.

“Well well, looks like we caught us a good one.” The man spoke as he began rifling through Reese's bag.

“What does this fool have?” The woman spoke in a smug manner.

“Let's see, caps, couple of bullets for his gun there, some kind of roll of...tools? What's this stuff?” He asked Reese as he looked at the rolled up set of surgical equipment, a set of tools he received for having helped a doctor in Colorado, they weren't in the most pristine condition, but they were good enough to work on people with.

“Please, take the caps and even my ammo if you want, but don't take those tools, I need them.” He spoke still in a calm manner, he didn't want to have too, but he would make a move if he needed; bandits, it was typical out in the wastes, but even with this happening, he still wouldn't give up on trying to help people.

“What you is? Some kind of doctor or somethings?” He asked quizzically as he unrolled the tools, seeing a few types of scalpels and various other tools to either open or dig into the body.

“Sort of, look, you and your friend here can have the caps and ammo as I said, just leave the equipment, please.” He spoke again, though bandits were pretty thick when it came to mugging people, that and being very greedy.

“Nah, perhaps we take all your stuff and kill you or take you back to our camp, could use a doctor in there.” He chuckled.

“Last chance, I'm trying to save you two.” He spoke, not really wanting to harm them, but sometimes you had to harm people in the wastes to survive.

They both looked at each other for a second, bemused by what he said and then laughed, not believing what they thought was an empty threat.

“Oh yeah doctor fella? And what exactly you tryin' save us from?” He smirked at him, putting the items back in the bag, ready to give his partner the signal to kill Reese.

“Me.” All he spoke before pulling out his knife that had been hidden to them, quickly grabbing the woman by the wrist and stabbing her in the thigh, the action causing her to accidentally pull the trigger and hit her partner in the arm before falling to the ground.

Reese quickly grabbed his bag and then started to run, then two sets of gun shots started to ring out behind him, bullets whirling past as they narrowly missed him, they weren't the only two, two more had been hidden nearby behind some rocks and started to run towards their fallen comrades. Reese needed to find some place at a distance to get too, two reasons being that it was stupid to try and fight two armed assailants at close quarters and the second being that he hated close quarters combat, he much preferred to be at a distance where he could see everything, no doubt one of the reasons for that being his sniper training.

The man groaned as he got to his feet, clutching at his wound as he looked over the many rocks Reese managed to slip behind, “When we find you, you'll wish that we had killed you quickly!” He shouted as he grabbed the woman's gun and started to spread out a bit to find him.

Reese had managed to find a cliff, it wasn't the highest, but it had a high enough vantage point and enough debris around it to hide him, he quickly set his bag down next to him, attached the silencer he had for his rifle to the barrel and then slapped in a magazine, extended out the bipod attached to it, peering down at his would be killers. Slowly he inhaled and exhaled, slowing down his heartbeat from both running and the events that just transpired, he set his sights down at the bandits below, them looking around the area where he was no longer at.

He didn't need to check for wind and make adjustments, the air was stale and humid. He decided to go after the furthest bandit in the back and shot him in the thigh, the shot not making a sound as the suppressor did it's job and quickly the man fell to the ground, immobilized. The already injured bandit and the other one quickly turned around when they heard their partner go down and then quickly pointed their weapons at various rock cliffs, not knowing where the shot came from.

“Come out and die like a man!” The injured bandit spoke, still nervously pointing at various rocks as blood slowly trickled from his arm.

No response was given, just another silent shot happening and then the fourth bandit fell as he too was shot in the leg, screaming in pain as he gripped at the newly formed wound, the bandit with the arm wound quickly ran behind a bit of scrap and rocks that were nearby, thinking he was safe, wishing he knew where Reese was. That was one of Reese's best talents, at least with his rifle, being able to hide well when it came to long range combat, he didn't have to really move, just stay still, which is what he preferred.

“Where are you?!” The bandit shouted, firing blindly at rocks that Reese was not near, before quickly dropping his gun as the hand that had been holding it had been shot, causing the man to scream in even more pain.

With the all the bandits incapacitated, Reese pushed up the bipod, detached the suppressor from from the rifle and then ejected both the magazine and the bullet that had been in the chamber, putting it all back in his bag. Slowly he made his way down to the bandits, tossing away their guns from them and then made it over to who seemed to be the leader of the small group, at least to Reese and said, “None of you are going to die from your wounds, but I suggest finding a better way to live, next time you'll come across someone who isn't in the mood to let you all live.”

With him having said his piece, he started his long trek once more, hoping he wouldn't run into any more bandits, there was enough death in the wastes and he wasn't the one to add to it unless it was necessary.

“You just wait! We'll find you again and we'll rip you limb from limb, count on it!” The injured bandit shouted as Reese continued on his walk, a sign showing that he was only one mile away from the closest town, Davenport, perhaps he could find a place to stay for the night.

[Gurren1]

@CloseEnough

"You didn't make it?" He said puzzled but continued, " I will pay you 50 caps to lead us to who made this right now! This is the best news I've had since that one time we found replacement Veribird wings!" Preston said with a shine in his eyes he was excited at the thought of opening the Vault very soon and not having to pay for all the workers that came.

@Crossfire

"So your the Forge then... You know I could have probably figured it out if I thought about it hard enough. But anyways Mr. "Brick" you can't just go around bashing peoples heads in for insulting your work. We are trying to bring law back in the wastes not act like barbarians like them savages up north. But since you are on of the top sellers and builders of weapons around this here town I think we can forgive you... this once. However watch your back if the rumors are true Mr. Hardy had a few friends who might not appreciate the death." The Riflemen said to him.

After a few more moments of silence he motioned his other two subordinates to get up and leave the building. They thanked Brick for his time and proceeded to patrol the market once again.

[Crossfire]

Brick sighed with relief. He couldn't afford to be arrested, he simply had too much work to do. Joe spoke up as he started going about his duties.
"That was a ballsy move boss, might be a stupid one. What if they blab your little secret?"
"Then all of it has been for nothing, we move forward with phase two- expansion. We hire more guards, more sellers, and I start lookin' for an apprentice, turn this place into a real Gun Runners outpost. I trust them though, I think the secret's safe for as long as we need to get the caps to afford phase two"
"So what about the raiders?"
"Clear up the blood, then go find Travis and Arthur, we're gonna need to be on high alert, in case they do make an attempt on us. Full perimeter check. I'll get back to work"

He retreated to the workshop and picked up where he left off with George's pistol.
"Now Legacy, where were we?"