Fallout: Great White North

[Unionhack]

Satisfied (yet disappointed) with the results of their search, Luke stood up and nodded to Rick, a silent motion for him to take it from there. He left the office and made his way to follow Chris and Tooms to the plague.

[Aarah]

"Guess he got what was coming to him then." Chris said quietly as he looked over at Franklin.
Between killing the innocent scouts, and his involvement in the virus, at least the world had one less nasty piece of work in it.

"We'll head on to the lab then." Chris said to Luke.
He walked up to his niece in the hallway.
"Y'okay?" He asked.

Hidden:

Ninja'd

[The SheoDovah]

"Joint occupation!?" Grace exclaimed but was a bit relieved when Zhang mentioned that civillians would not be purged. She was about to voice her thoughts on her vault being seized by the two groups when Everett stopped her. He offered her as assistance and she was glad that she could leave the vault. It was likely for the best that she was out of it for a while. "It's the least I can do for giving the traitors the means to spread the damn thing." She told Rick then looked at Everett. "I think one of us should explain what is going on whilst we still have the chance to avoid misunderstandings." She suggested. "All it takes is someone assuming that we've been raided for all hell to break loose." She hoped that Zhang and Rick would give them the chance to inform her people about the situation. That and she did not want to come home to a vault engulfed in chaos.

[Baloth-Kul]

Without looking away from the computer terminal, Rick addressed Grace and Everett. "Yep, let Everett do it. Just be careful how you phrase it."

[Kerr]

Rick activated the terminal, it didn't even have a password. However it looked like all data was accessed via holotape, nothing was stored locally. If the garbage can was any indication, what information they might haven gotten was already long destroyed.

"Those raiders have been a thorn in our side too. But you'll have to deal with them alone, we can't spare the men." said Zhang.

Everett rubbed his forehead with his left thumb and index finger. "I can do that, I'm sure I can think of something to calm people down." said Everett with frustration in his voice.
----
Chris, Chris Xiao and Luke made their way towards the lab. "I'm doing okay I'm just, I'm worried about my parents. I don't know how much help I'll actually be in there." said Chris Xiao gesturing towards the medical clinic as they entered it.

"Ah, good evening. Can I be of assistance." said Hermes the Mr Handy as the trio entered. Tooms was already getting the samples of New Plague from the lowest floor of the Vault, he'd likely be at the lab within a few minutes.

[Unionhack]

Luke looked to the robot. "No thank you, Hermes. I'm afraid we'll only be here for a little bit." he answered. He wasn't entirely sure if the robot could be trusted, whether it was programmed with ill intent or was simply ill-equipped for carrying the samples. Opposable thumbs would be preferred to mechanical clamps, after all.

[The SheoDovah]

Grace Atkins of Vault 115 - Vault 115

"Yep. If it came from me, they would assume that this was part of a long term plan to get my way or some [&@%!] like that. Or some of them at least. Ah, but you don't want to hear about that. " Grace told Rick whilst rubbing her amulet with the palm of her hand then looked at Zhang. "I can't and will not offer any of my teams for assistance." She looked at the remains of the holotapes. "Everett, would it be possible to keep these? I know it's junk but it could come in handy for any future projects and admittly, I've always wanted to try my hand at restoring holos that are badly damaged." She loved tinkering with salvage and knew that many looked at her with various degrees of judgement but she just loved taking things apart, putting them back together or creating new things.

[Aarah]

"Yeah, me too. But we'll get this done and then head straight back there and get them better again. That's what we're doing." Chris reassured Chris with a nod.
"And you can totally help in here. You can measure stuff and hold things, besides, it's Tooms that knows how to do all this, and maybe Luke too. Us two can be the assistants."

[Baloth-Kul]

Rick cocked an eyebrow at Grace's request to the smoldering contents of the garbage can. He left the office, and made his way back to the entrance hallway.

Hidden:

Basically, just to wait there until he's needed/when we're moving on.

[Kerr]

"I see. Well do let me know if you need a hand." said Hermes. "Or clamp." The robot let out a hearty laugh at its own joke.
---
Chris Xiao nodded and put on a smile at her uncle's reassuring words. But Chris could tell she was still incredibly anxious.
---
"You'll have an easier time bringing The Overseer back to life but sure, knock yourself out." said Everett in response to Grace's request.

Hidden:

I have to wonder in what world Grace thinks she can fix those.

Anyway, producing vaccine is going to take hours and Luke & Chris will need to be super focused and outside of that Rick & Grace have basically done what you wanted to do here. So is everyone good with a time skip? I was going to have it go to the next morning, you drop by The Chinese camp for a bit before going back to Camp Elk Lake. You'll be meeting up with Constance again and then we can get back into posting.

I'm going to be putting in a little of bit of filler material about what happened at the Chinese Camp (it won't literally be you drop everyone outside and drive away without so much as a hello, that doesn't make sense for PCs or NPCs) so you can put character's feelings on things that happened and maybe particular things they did at the camp during the time skip in the first post you make after it.

[Unionhack]

Spoiler:

That's fine by me.

[The SheoDovah]

"A chance is still a chance." Grace told Everett as she walked towards the ruined holotapes. "Oh, probably does seem a bit odd. I best explain why I asked." She told Rick after realising that outsiders may not share the same view as her towards junk. She was used to people either dismissing her as a bit crazy or ignoring her passion for collecting what seemed like junk. "I collect junk and fix it. Well, they call it junk. I call it remenants of the past and it can be repurposed. Old cans can be turned into scrap which can be used to jury rig a machine. A tire can be turned into a seat. A car can be dismantled, repurposed into several things but i'm starting to ramble." She knew it was very slim but having a side project to return to, would be a welcome distraction.

[Aarah]

Hidden:

Yep, timeskip sounds fine.

[Kerr]

22:05 - Vault 115
After a few minutes Doctor Tooms came back with the canisters containing New Plague. With his notes and the high tech lab equipment, they were ready to get to work. Luke, Chris, Chris Xiao and Doctor Tooms all worked through the night. Tooms stayed up the entire time while his assistants took breaks to sleep and eat in shifts. However through their dedicated work and skill they were able to produce several batches of vaccine and as a result, hundreds of syrettes each filled with a doze of that precious cure. While they were working Vault security was disarmed, Officer Everett explained to everyone what was going on and the joint occupation began, with both Black Cats and PLA members agreeing to stay behind.

Eventually the doctors all agreed that what they had produced should be enough, more could always be made later and it was best to move now before the infection spread further. Due to the unusual nature of Limit 115, while what they made was primarily a vaccine, it could also work to cure people in the early stages of infection. However for those already infected it was probable they'd still be rendered sterile and if the infection was further along, they could be beyond helping altogether. While they might have saved those communities from being wiped out altogether, doubtless lives would still be lost.

The truck was loaded up with crates of the cure, Tooms didn't even oversee the people doing it, instead once the doctors had agreed they'd done enough he thanked them all for their help, wished them luck in the future and collapsed into a bed so he could get some much needed rest.
----
10:00 - Vault 115
In the morning, the caravan survivors ate breakfast as the hundreds of dozes of New Plague cure were loaded onto the truck. Grace took one of the last frag grenades from the Vault's armory. Rick, Luke, Lester, Chris, Chris Xiao, Grace, Field Commander Zhang along with one of his men, Jan Iwinski and Kristie Goodcrow all got into the truck. The other Black Cats and PLA troops were staying at the vault. Once they were ready they set off in the direction of Elk Lake Commune.

Some people were already starting to show symptoms at the commune and had been put in quarentine, the elderly June Dunn was among them, the woman Rick knew was a former leader of a Front de libération du Canada cell. In her old age she looked to be in poor condition. They spent about half an hour there as the vaccine begun to be dispensed. Talking with Yisheng, Seb and Field Commander Zhang, Rick agreed to stand trial after The Restless Dead had been dealt with. Zhang would serve as prosecutor, Yisheng the judge and Rick would be free to offer his own defense. Both parties agreed they'd stand by whatever judgement Yisheng would lay down and in a desire to remain impartial, the elderly mutant doctor demanded nobody else talk to him personally about these topic until the trial took place.

Ming Xiao had woken up from her coma but still wasn't in any shape to get up, she was asleep when they arrived and nobody wanted to wake her. Chris was able to spend some time with his brother and niece, they talked about a wide variety of topics. His niece wanted to partake in the assault on The Restless Dead, insisting that they'd need more trained medics. But ultimately he was able to convince her to stay at the commune on the condition and that he'd go in her stead. While they may have desired to stay longer, they had to get back to Camp Elk Lake. Leaving Field Commander Zhang, the soldier who was with him and Chris Xiao behind, they got in their truck and set off again.

When they returned to Camp Elk Lake, over two dozen people had already been quarantined and given what vaccine they already had. Camp Elk Lake had more doctors than the other communities around Elk Lake but also a larger population. Still with the new batch of vaccine now in hand they were able to start distributing it to the general population. Between Kuo, the Goodcrow family and other medics in training, they didn't need help from Chris or Luke to do so. Eventually Constance Holliday called the group to her office.
----
11:30 - Camp Elk Lake
Rick, Chris, Luke, Grace, Lester and Jan Iwinski all gathered in what was once Major Cooper's office. Constance gave Rick a flare gun and began to outline a plan for their assault on The Restless Dead. Constance was in charge of Alpha squad and Rick was taking command of Bravo squad. The six people in the room who weren't Constance would head to 'The Summer House' (the cabin Riel had taken over) and meet up with Black Cat forces there, that would consist of Bravo squad. They'd take the mountain pass Anderson discovered and sneak around to the rear of the camp, once Rick fired off the flare into the sky or significant gunfire was heard, Alpha squad would rush into camp in two trucks and take them out. All Bravo squad had to do was make them think the attack was either coming from the mountain pass or behind them so Alpha squad would catch them off guard. If all went according to plan they could then just let Alpha squad get to work, joining in if they wanted.

"Word's bound to have gotten out about Rhodes and Coop. Maybe the quarantine too. If ever there was a time to raid our camp, this is it. And they know that." said Constance, pointing at The Restless Dead's logging camp on her map. "I want to do this and I want to do this now, we can leave at noon. No more skirmishes, we finish them." She stepped back from the table the map was on and crossed her arms. "And you get to finish the job you were hired for, we bring back those cattle. With all that's happening you might have forgotten about it, but the farmers ain't. We can still pay you for it, if you want, but you'll all be welcome to stay. Once we sort out the eh, housekeeping, I'm sure this will be a great place to live."

Hidden:

That whole sleeping in shift thing means that you are all rested.

[The SheoDovah]

Grace Atkins - Vault 115

Grace went to her office or what she referred to her office with the holotapes and immediatelly catelogued them. She drafted up a rough plan and schedule for the repairs. For the rest of the day, she spent her time between this and her quarters. She grabbed the last frag grenade from the armoury and was eager to wipe out the raiders. She hated dealing with them and it always made her job harder. She hoped that by contributing to the effort, Vault 115's relationships could be repaired before it could consider the options of trading, being allies or neutral and couldn't help but wonder who would serve as Overseer if the vault was allowed to remain independent.


During the journey, Grace was very impressed by the working truck and was tempted to ask a lot of questions but she knew it was not the time to do so. She had never ridden in one before and one of her many plans for the Vault was to repair a truck for trade purposes. She had salvaged a lot of items but had not gotten the chance to find an intact truck. Though, retrieving it would be the biggest issue.

She was rather curious about why Rick was going on trial and whilst she harboured a bit of resentment for his declaration of taking charge because he viewed that he could, she couldn't really find a fault with him based on their limited interactions.

She was surprised by the state of the chinese camp but held her tongue desptie the millions of questions she had and made a mental note to inquire about it later.

After they arrived at Camp Elk Lake and being summoned to discuss the attack, Grace knew that her actions would reflect on Vault 115's future or believed it would factor into that.

"As a representative from Vault 115, I would like to formally apologise for the actions of our overseer and the traitors." She told the corporal in a bid to try to make a good first impression.

[Aarah]

Now back at Camp Elk Lake, Chris felt a thousand times better knowing that his brother, his brother's wife and unborn child, and all the other people that had been infected with the virus had been administered the vaccine. All things considered, it was incredible that they'd been able to catch it before anyone had been killed by the new plague.
It had been great to spend time with Seb again. Ming was conscious, and their family had been reunited once again. Chris felt like he and the others had brought so much trouble to both the Chinese camp, and here at Elk lake. Obviously, being carriers of the virus hadn't been the group's fault, but he couldn't help feeling some guilt, all the same.

He was apprehensive about joining the raid on the Restless Dead; he was no field medic, and shamefully timid in the heat of battle, but his joining had prevented his niece from going, and he couldn't have let her go on such a dangerous mission. Besides, he knew he could help people who needed his skills, and it would be selfish of him to let his fears and insecurities stand in the way.

At the meeting with Constance, he sat on a backwards chair with his arms folded on the backrest. His chin rested on his arms, as he listened to the plan.
He nodded along, a feeling of relief washing over him when he heard of the Bravo squad.
That's where I'll be. I can do that.

[Unionhack]

Luke held his chin in his palm as he listened intently to the plan that was presented to him. It wasn't the ideal solution in his mind, but the Restless Dead were a threat that needed to be stopped. He was glad that they were at the least not going to be in the thick of the conflict unless they chose to be; and he was intent on only doing medical work on this day.

God knows, they'll need it.

"I hope to see you on the other side, Constance." he offered as a gesture of goodwill. "Hopefully this will be the last firefight that Elk Lake sees in quite some time."

[Baloth-Kul]

Hidden:

Talking to Chris in the commune. Just a little thing.

Rick - Vault 115
While the doctors worked on their cure, at some point during the night, Rick went to the bathroom. After ensuring he was alone, he smashed the incriminating holotape into tiny fragments, and flushed them down the toilet.

As Tooms parted company with them, Rick made sure to have a few last words with him. "Just remember...this isn't over. After we've won or lost, they'll put you to trial. I can't really say what I think the outcome ought to be, but be sure to make your peace."

Rick - Elk Lake Commune
Aside from his necessary talks with Zhang, Seb, and Yisheng, Rick kept his head down at the Commune. Part of him wanted to visit in on Ming, and on June, but he decided against it.

He did, however, ask Chris for news. "How is Ming's condition?" Rick wouldn't press any further than that.

Rick - Camp Elk Lake
After listening to Constance go over the plan, he nodded curtly. "Understood. We'll get the job done. Any word from the summer house? Are they sick? Are they..." Rick trailed off, and elected not to finish his thought on the matter.

[Kerr]

Tooms didn't even respond to Rick when he spoke to him, it looked as though he'd already accepted whatever faith people would decide he deserved.
----
Constance looked at Grace and nodded when she gave her introduction. "Me too." said Constance in response to Luke with a brief smile, but it quickly dissipated as Rick spoke up. "Riel is, um, runner said he's in a pretty bad way. The tin can can keep him company while you go out but... Kuo said some folks might be beyond saving." said Constance, her voice cracking slightly. Her eyes were starting to water. She rubbed them, she was trying to keep her composure but it difficult. It was clear Riel and her had a very close relationship. Constance coughed assertively before speaking again. "But he's tough, old [&@%!] ain't dying now."

[The SheoDovah]

Grace Atkins

Grace returned the smile. "This may be too much to ask for and i apologise in advance for it. But after we've dealt with these raiders, could we discuss the salvage rights or the future of their camp? It would make for an interesting project and would be the perfect place to renovate it." She knew it was unlikely but if she didn't ask, she would regret it.

[Aarah]

Chris lifted his head from his arms over Constance's news about Riel. He looked concerned and saddened.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine." He reassured her with a comforting, if unassured, nod.

Chris looked at Grace when she spoke and frowned ever so slightly, scratching his beardless chin.
She's jumping the gun isn't she? We don't even know what's going to happen with the Restless Dead; she might get killed, and she's already thinking about making their base a cosy home.

[Kerr]

"These [&@%!] try to kill us all and now they want a reward!?" Jan exclaimed.

"It's ours. That's the discussion. End of." said Constance in a stern and clearly strongly irritated tone as she glared at Grace. Her eyes turned back to others and her tone softened. "Truck's in the garage, take it when you're ready to go. And come back in one piece, Coop had some booze he kept hidden, you'd hate to miss out. Tonight we drink to a free Elk Lake."

[Baloth-Kul]

Rick gave a halfhearted smile. "Looking forward to it."

He looked at the rest of the group. "Make sure your gear is ready, make sure you're ready--I'll just be a minute."

Hidden:

Just a quick word to Constance, when they're alone. Whether previously or after everyone clears out.

"Provided I live to see tomorrow, I'm going to be put on trial." Rick informed Constance. "You might've heard already, but some of the Chinese military tried to stage a coup. It turned violent, obviously--and I killed their leader, after the shooting had stopped."

"They think they're putting the Black Cat on trial. That's not a bad thing. Whatever should come of this, the Black Cats of Elk Lake have a future full of possibilities. Maybe you'll disband, or just claim that you are. Head back into the shadows, or stay topside." Rick scratched his beard. "Use it. If I survive, I'll be leaving Elk Lake. There's got to be American remnants, raider gangs, all sorts of people setting up shop where they shouldn't. And if I die, well, they won't be able to use me as a boogeyman, make out the Black Cats to be terrorists."

Hidden:

And I s'pose I'm good for a timeskip? Bringing all my guns and grenades into the truck, and ready for the final showdown!

[Aarah]

Chris got up off of his chair and let out a laboured sigh.

He already had a laser pistol, cells, and a baton; hopefully he wouldn't need to use any of them, but he had a feeling that that was wishful thinking.
The only thing he needed to replenish were his doctor's supplies, and then he was ready to go. Ready as he'd ever be.

[Kerr]

"[&@%!]." Constance muttered when Rick explained the PLA's plans to put him on trial. "We're not going anywhere, that's for sure. Do what you think's best Rick, but if they think they can kill you and that we're just going to take that lying down, they've got another thing coming."

Hidden:

Sure, we'll be skipping ahead to The Summer House pretty soon then.