POV Rio
After clearing out the Atrium, Overseer's Office, Security Room, and Reactor Room, it was time to deal with the other Wings. We could hear the Gunners trying to breach the doors, but having no luck. Since quite a few were near the doors, I activated the previously laid traps.
BOOOM
The Rune Traps and explosives go off on both sides and kill 9 more Gunners. That left 27 Gunners in the entire Vault. The Left Wing, where the detox room was, had 15 Gunners, and the Right Wing had 12. While the Left Wing had our objective, I decided we would clear out the Right Wing first. Just in case.
We opened the doors and saw the minced meat that used to be Gunners. I cast a cleaning spell to clear a path for us. We slowly went further down. This part of the Vault was in shambles compared to the rest of the Vault. Walls had been breached, and parts were covered in dirt and refuse. The Gunners had at least cleaned up some parts. The Chems were stored in a closet, and the skeletons had all been piled up into a damaged room. The Gunners in this part were not on alert yet, as they likely assumed the explosion was them breaching the doors.
The first Gunner we came across was alone, so I teleported to their shadow and slit their throat. The next was a group of two, so I stuck a knife through their skulls. The next group was three, so I waited until they were just far apart for me to kill all three without them causing a scene or alerting the others. When I see my chance, I teleport to the right-most target and slit their throat and gently lay their corpse down. Then I threw several throwing knives right as the others turned around. Two knives into their eye sockets and throat, a piece made them die and fall to the ground. The other Gunners didn't hear as they were a few rooms away. Unfortunately, this was where stealth ended, as the next 6 were very close together and had a Turret.
I gathered everyone and got ready to rush in. I would attack from behind while my companions attack from the front. By the time they notice me, it will be too late. My first target was the leader of this wing. I could tell that he was the leader because he actually had armor. The Gunners I had killed so far had either no or very little armor. This Gunner had a full set of Medium Combat Armor. It wouldn't save him from a dagger to his throat, but it was noteworthy.
BOOOM
The others start their attack, and the Gunners become distracted, giving me the chance to kill the commander. I quickly drop his body and switch to my M1911. Two shots and two more were dead. The others noticed me and panicked. Which meant they got out of cover and were killed by the others. The Turret was the first to go during the attack.
After dealing with the Gunners in this section, we gathered the loot from here. It was here that Cait discovered the Chem closet and noticed that Vault-Tec had supplied the Vault with a massive supply of Chems.
"Another f*cked up crime to add it Vaut-Tecs' list," Cait commented.
Cait also struggled when seeing the Psycho, but I stored it in my Inventory so she didn't have to look at it. The rest of the loot was decent. Some Medical Supplies and Equipment, a sizeable cache of Chems, some ammo, weapons, food, water, and lots of soap. The last item was the Heavy Weapons Bobblehead. It read: When subtlety fails, unleash the Cannonball Surprise! It gave a permanent +25% critical damage with heavy weapons.
After looting the Right Wing, we moved on to the Left Wing. The Left Wing was not on full alert, but they were at least in groups of two. I repeated the strategy from the Right Wing to thin out their numbers, but they quickly caught on that something was happening, so they all retreated to the Detox Room, as it didn't have a back entrance. It also had several Turrets guarding it. By the time they did this, they had 9 Gunners left. It would be a tough nut to crack, but I had confidence we could do it. The first thing I did was destroy the Turrets. That made the Gunners even more alert, but it was clear they knew they were under attack.
POV Major Maurer
I was trying desperately to get in contact with HQ, but all the radio channels seemed to be jammed. I was terrified of what that meant.
'There's no way the Enclave would attack us. They are too busy fighting at Fort Drum. But who else could do this? The Institute?'
I wasn't even sure who was attacking us, but I knew that it seemed like most of this Wing had been compromised. I was hoping that by retreating to the Detox Room, we could avoid them trying to use explosives. I just had to pray that either I could negotiate with our attackers or manage to get a message out to HQ. I didn't care about the Vault, I just wanted out of here alive.
'If they have gotten this far, that should mean General Mauser is dead, right? So I wouldn't be deserting, I would be making a strategic retreat. Yeah, I might even get promoted if I get out of this.'
I didn't want to think of the fact that it was highly unlikely I would survive this or the fact that they would likely punish me instead. Instead, I focused on getting the HAM Radio working. As I was doing this, I started to hear the sounds of gunfire and screams. My hands started to shake. But then I took a breath and made a prerecorded message that would transmit to HQ once the jamming ended. I barely finished setting up the transmission when my second in command came running in.
"Boss! We can't hold..." he didn't finish as his head exploded.
I shakily took my revolver out and aimed at the door. That was when I felt like something was right behind me. My entire body was shaking at this point, as I wasn't paid enough to deal with this crap.
'This was supposed to be an easy assignment.'
"I don't want to die!" I screamed while looking behind me.
I shot at the air as nothing was there.
"Boo!" said a voice from behind.
"AHHHHHH!" I scream and faint.
POV Rio
I look at the unconscious Gunner Commander on the floor and wonder if that is normal.
'Am I that scary?'
I shrug my shoulders and tie up the Gunner and then disable the automated message he set up on the HAM Radio. I needed more time in the Vault. In fact, Vault 95 was the perfect base. It had only one entrance, and I could easily disable that elevator or even relock the Vault Door, and once it was done, almost no one could get in without my say. The only downside is that Vault 95 is really far from the rest of our controlled territory.
I also took this time to clean up some sections of the Vault, as I intended to use the Vault as the area where I use the summoning ticket. It had all I needed. Medical Supplies and Equipment, a secure location, it was far from our territory, and if worst came to worst, I could bury the entire Vault and keep whatever I summoned sealed down here. But before any of that, we had to help Cait.
"The answer to me problems is sittin' in that room, but I dunno if I should go through with it," Cait says with a scared tone.
"If you don't go in there, you could die, or at least suffer for a long time," I reply.
"I know... I know. But what if the Psycho's the only thing keepin' me together? What if this opens me eyes and I don't like what I see? There were reasons I dulled the pain. Things I didn't want to face.... things I was tryin' to forget. I'd rather be spittin' blood than relivin' the past," Cait says with a terrified tone and a worried face.
Before I can respond, time freezes, and a menu shows up.
[Benign Intervention:
Your friend Cait is suffering from a severe addiction to Psycho, but she isn't sure if she wants to get clean. You now have a choice that can change her life forever.
Choice A:
Encourage her to get clean. Doing this, she will no longer be addicted to Psycho but may suffer from the memories she was suppressing. Doing it this way will also cause Cait to be much healthier; however, she loses the ability to use most Chems and Cybernetics. She will grant the player the Trigger Rush Perk at Max Affinity. Trigger Rush:
Thanks to your relationship with Cait, Action Points regenerate 50% faster, and you do 20% more damage when your HP is below 35%.
Choice B:
Encourage her to stay on Psycho. Doing this, she will continue to be dependent on Psycho and will no longer suffer from memories of her life. She will also no longer suffer as severely from any Addiction. Now only causing minor pain. Doing so also grants Cait a slight decrease in Intelligence for a massive boost to all other stats, such as a Strength score of 15. She also gains a permenant 50% damage reduction from all sources. She will also be more likely to use all other Chems and may become addicted to them as well. She will grant the player the Chem Rush Perk at Max Affinity. Chem Rush: Thanks to your relationship with Cait, you can now use Chems. While under the effects of Chems, you gain +20% Damage and +15% Damage Resistance for 30 seconds.
Choosing one option locks you into the path of that perk; even if you change your mind later, you will only end up losing both perks. Not choosing will cause Cait to die in 12 hours regardless of the player's abilities. ]
I sit at the menu for a minute, trying to process what this choice is all about. The second option is clearly the better choice if you look at things from a strictly utilitarian approach. But I was not that interested in the gains it provides. It was my firm belief that Cait asked for help, and I sure as heck wasn't going to let her down by accepting a better price from a stranger.
'I chose Choice A!'
The menu goes away, and time resumes. As it does, I take Cait's hand and look into her eyes.
"I don't want to lose a friend," I say firmly.
"You... you'd really miss me, wouldn't you. Well, who the hell am I to let you down?" Cait says with a smile.
Cait takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When she opens them, I see she has made a choice.
"Okay... I'm gonna sit in the chair. Whenever you're ready, you go ahead and throw the switch," Cait says while entering the Detox Room.
I check the terminal and make sure the equipment is working properly before I turn the machine on.
"AuGh!" Cait screams in agony.
I sit by her side and hold her hand as she screams in agony and has tears streaking down her face. The process takes only 5 minutes, but it felt much longer because we kept hearing Cait's screams. Once the machine was done, Cait's arms were released, and Cait was covered in sweat. She was breathing heavily, but when it came time to get up, I helped her stand up.
"How... How are you feeling?" I ask.
"Strange... I feel really strange. Everythin' feels... different. Everythin' feels... clearer. Colors, sounds... smells, nothin' is like I remember it. I... I can't believe it worked. The cravin's, the pain... hell, even the rush... they've disappeared. Was I really that far gone?" Cait asks with a confused face.
"You had me worried," I reply with a smile.
"Seems you're not the only one. I can see now that everyone was worried about me. Look... I'm never going to forget what you did for me today. You stepped up and helped when everyone else cashed out. I know I suck at thank yous, but that's the best you're going to get out of me. Now, how about we get out of here... and leave this place far behind," Cait suggests with the first genuine and truly happy smile I have ever seen from her.
"We will once I deal with a few more things," I reply.
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Author's Note:
I am curious, would anyone take better rewards even at the cost of their friend's health? No judgment, just curious. As for why I say a friend, I guess it's because in this situation, Cait has been with Rio for a few months now, and they have saved each other, most likely quite a few times. Until next time, Ciao.