When we last left Frank, he was unable to fully-comprehend a Scottish accent. This wouldn't be so bad if FalloutScott were incomprehensible to everyone, but the fact is that...mostly...everyone else could. Yeah, life was strange like that. Speaking of life, Frank WAS right about his arm. The damage had reached the machinery in that arm and it WAS slower as a result. The reason it wasn't a heavy load on his arm was down to the redundant hydraulics Scott had in his suit, it still functioned, it seems. Frank came leaping in at Scott, Scott switched his grip on the Uber-Sledge, and Frank was a line drive to second base!
FalloutScott: I've got a wee confession ta' make. I am not left-handed. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC6dgtBU6Gs] I'm not right-handed either, truth be told.
Dammit, he was ambidextrous, the cunning bastard! Wait, you can't improvise that. Have to be...born that way, yeah. Still, it was starting to look like we need a damn samurai in here for this guy. Sledging the ground, he caused alot of dirt and dust to fly up and provide a temporary smokescreen. From there, Frank would be able to hear the the buzzing of little car engines again - which was bad - and then everything cleared to reveal Scott holding a Rock-It Launcher. Those things weaponize wasteland junk to the point of decapitating mutants with teddy bears!
FalloutScott: Have a taste of this, ya wily sausage!
Sausage?
Exploding toy race cars numbered in the half-dozen, their detonation yields being rather nasty for how compact they were. Some seemed to be waiting for Frank to make a move, Programmed to intercept? Maybe... Anyway, Scott loaded an ashtray and fired it off!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ferdinand was talking about craziness, and Evan had to agree. You DON'T need drugs to be crazy. This man was indeed his own kind of crazy. But he was so crazy, that he just might work! ...or something. Anyway, he seemed to be well-inclined to handle the Enclave guy. And as one of his fellow Scribes shouted "My clipboard!" as Ferd's horse ate it, Evan had a plan. Not just a crazy plan, but a GOOD plan.
Evan: We won't need to fight an army. I don't think the bulk of the Enclave is even IN the Capital Wastelands. We're going to take advantage of the Enclave's Human Asset plan. And before you ask, they registered me as one, thinking I was just a Vault Dweller.
Asset 19, in fact. Forcing Asset 18 (Dudley) to get his ass moving, he asked Ferd to saddle up and head outside where he left his motorcycle. Evan appeared to be trying to get someone on the radio as they got moving.
Evan: Citadel to Frank, Citadel to Frank. Do you read me? Frank, are you out there fighting an Enclave bigshot, by chance?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Captain Edwards had seen all the subtle signs of a man altered by machine before. The body language, for one, told such a story. Identifying himself as a former Paladin, the soldier became more at-ease, as did his squad. It sounded about right. In fact, it sounded about as bad as it could for a man. He'd been ghouled, and that wasn't good, but he was still a man and a man could fight.
"I heard rumours that the chapter here was accepting those afflicted with mutations and also of a re-emergence of the Enclave in its proximity. Based on what I've seen here, I'm guessing the museum's not normally like this. If you need assistance with your objective here I'm ready and willing."
Edwards: You're damn right on all counts. Believe it or not, one guy did all this, a hotshot from the Enclave that stole a transmitting dish for GNR. Asshole put it in the Lunar Lander, souped it up with weapons an' shit, and now it's flyin' it's ass all over the place. Giving us a hand wit' that will go a long way to putting you in a good light with Elder Lyons.
That seemed to settle it, then. Tallion was given about all the information they knew about the lander-bot, especially that the dish was inside and they didn't want it broken. Fortunately, the three that went after it were victorious and soon...they had the dish. Fighting their way back outside wasn't as much a problem as it would've been, considering Tallion had cleared out a load of those robots on the way in. There might be some left, but they wouldn't leave the place, probably. Very soon, a Vertibird with Brotherhood markings would land to get them, the dish, Tallion and Laura, and especially the injured man back to the Cidadel. They would arrive just as Evan and Ferd were leaving. Said vertibird was soon bound for the Washington Memorial to re-install it. Tallion would be escorted to Sara Lyons next.
Sara: I'm going to assume you were successful.
Edwards: We had help. BIG help. Tallion here's from a southern chapter. They put 'im out simply 'cause he got an attack of the ghoulies.
Sara: *Sigh* Those other chapters are getting more and more like the Enclave they hate...
Edwards: Yeah, and mah boy, Three Dog hears back west some old 'Clavers are actually heroes or some shit.
Sara: Strange days ahead of us, for sure. Alright Paladin. My name is Sara Lyons, Elder of this chapter in the Brotherhood of Steel. I think you need to be updated on the situation if you want to join my command. Get anything you need, info-wise, from the scribes and then rig for battle. I've got a giant robot AND a giant mutant on the loose, there's radioactive plant monsters roaming the wasteland, people have been imploding, the weather's bad, and get this... We have a clone war.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was Vorn's will. Because the traitors and dissenters had not been killed by the Walrex - because they killed it - Vorn simply did not rain in that area, and lo they were without water. Crawver, Abe, and their followers had, however, located rudimentary food supplement, such as it was. They would live, for now, but where were they? Well, the answer was...no longer in the Capital Wastelands. They were south, in Virginia. There was a distant sound, coming from a distant hill, even further south, if they wanted to try that. There was also a group of rad-vultures circling above a spot to the east, and a smell... They could go in any direction that they liked, really. They might find all kinds of misfortune, or misfortune find them instead!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Having finished his work, Larry was at last ready to head out back into the wasteland. He paid his respects to the sheriff, and set out. Ah, but in which direction? Where was his planning to go? Well, about the time he was leaving, a guard up at the wal, watching things, was taking a drink from his canteen...when he noticed something shocking enough to nearly choke. He coughed, beat his chest, and attempted to shout out what he'd seen. Unfortunately, you know what it's like to choke on fluids. You can't talk for a moment because of the state of your throat. So, he rang the warning bell and banged his rifle against the wall to warn Larry before fixing his rifle to aim at it. At what? Well...Larry would hear the thump of heavyset footprints from his left, and...
"Yo. Human. Going my way?"
At full height, it would make him seem like a dwarf in comparison, but it naturally took that hunched posture that they do. The skin was dark and gray, not the usual tones that their kind they were seen in, but there have been cases. The horns, the eyes, the dense muscular body, the tail, and that toothy grimace all said it in one gulp: Deathclaw... The SIZE and the STYLING of the horns said further: Alpha... The weird part, though, was what IT said, TO HIM. A talking Deathclaw?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And now, an interlude between Natsuki, Constance, and a bus full of Sylphys.
Natsuki was in the back of the bus, basically chilling with her arms behind her back during this time. She was making plans with this Sylphy lot, and she was smirking from the song. She almost cracked up at the transcribed tale that Constance was getting out of them. It was when questions came of a decision-making quality to her that she spoke up.
Natsuki: The Enclave's been monitering the Gary Stampedes for a while now. We were getting kinda' worried that they would breed or something. Seeing as how they've become natural enemies of the Sylphys here, I think we should help handle the situation. Getting these gals on our side could be damn useful for what's coming.
American Enclave Scout of America Sorrowfeld responded to her idol's comments with a thoughtful, though not too enthusiastic, nod. With the assistance of the Sylphys, the Enclave would have the ability to bolster their ranks with a clone army. All the setbacks that the Enclave had suffered over the years would be swept away. Constance would have been honored to be part of this watershed moment were it not totally contingent on the utterly unpredictable Sylphys.
That was a destination further down the road and dealing with the Gary Stampedes was a more immediate situation. Regardless of how thoughts of a contingent heavily armed Sylphy clones terrified Scout Sorrowfeld, she would follow Miss Lieutenant Natsuki Manriki to the four corners of the world.
"I'm with you Lieutenant Natsuki, ma'am" Constance said as she continued to focus on navigating the pothole filled road that lay before the American Enclave Scouts of America Short Bus transport.
"Sylphy! Sylphy! Sylphy!" Exclaimed the Sylphy directly behind Constance as she covered the driver's eyes. Were it not for the fact that Constance was already blind and detected the world in front of her via her ears, the vehicle and its occupants would have more than likely met a fiery ending at the bottom of a ravine.
"Are you kidding me?!" Scout Sorrorfeld exclaimed as she reacted according to her training and shot a backhanded strike at the Sylphy behind her.
*POING!!*
No one else might have noticed the strange sound that Constance's fist made when it came in contact with the Sylphy's face but the Blind Scout did hear the strange sound, not that it mattered since where once sat a single Sylphy, two now sat, sharing an identical stunned reaction at having been struck by Constance. Natsuki stood bolt upright from where she had been sitting, her eyes wide and her mouth open from surprise and wonder. Did they...did they just see how these clones were keeping their numbers in a vast, hostile world? Why they weren't dwindling? Them OR the Garys? Natsuki thought this over for a moment, then said...
Natsuki: Ask them if they're absolutely certain that the Garys have been staying dead when they kill them. 'Cause if both sides do this, we have a problem...
Namely, they could be at war forever as long as enough divisions happened. That was just creepy...
"That's just plain creepy..." Constance muttered from her position in the driver's seat, her utterance echoing Lieutenant Natsuki's thought.
"Sylphy Sylphy!" The two Sylphys sitting behind Scout Sorrowfeld said in stereo.
If the rolling of her eyes would have made the intended emotional impact that Constance had desired, she would have done so. Instead, her annoyance was displayed by her Cat Ears being tucked backwards briefly. The world, as it turned out, was even more bipolar than the American Enclave Scout of America had thought when she had just met the group known as Team Lucy. With the discovery of self replicating clones, the world appeared psychitzophrenic.
If both the Sylphys and the Garys were able to replicate in this manner, the consequences were dire. The two populations had the posibility of replicating exponentially and consuming all the food resources the Wasteland surrounding the former District of Columbia until there nothing was left.
Remembering her orders from Lieutenant Natsuki, Constance addressed the two Sylphys behind her.
"Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy?" The Cat Eared Scout asked.
"Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy?" The stereoscopic Sylphys responded.
"They said that they're sure that the Garys don't do ... um... that whole splitting thing." She translated, "But how are they even able to do that in the first place?"
[hr]
Enclave Intelligence Offier #411 stretched out in one of the Diner's many empty and dilapidated booths. She'd been jockeying a desk for the last few years and relished any amount time she got to spend in the field, even if it meant meeting some of the Wastes' more unsavory inhabitants.
Came the voice of her Vertibird pilot through #411's radio.
Minutes passed before #411's contact entered through the Diner's front door, pausing to look at the Plamsa scorched Raider corpses that #411 had left piled up on one side of the room.
"We have an issue," Henry McGee stated as he sat down across from #411, "it seems that a little experiment of mine has gotten a little out of hand."
"We'll get to your issue, but what's the status of Lucy Black?"
"She's gone. She abandoned her group."
"And you didn't bother to follow her?" #411 asked with a voice dripping with annoyance.
"No. Like I said there was something more important."
"Like the fact that there are more of these 'Sylphys' than could have been created in the clone vats?"
"Yes."
"And just how did that happen?"
"I introduced a piece of Vault Technology that I discovered into the cloning machinery of Vault 108. It's an unstable molecule that duplicates itself when it is introduced a certain amount of kinetic energy. Vault Tech tried to use it to create ever replicating food stuffs. Unfortunately, as the residents of that Vault discovered, chewing caused the food to replicate itself. When I opened the vault, I found the entire population of the Vault dead of severe head trauma due to the replicating food stuffs or starvation." Undertaker McGee stated.
"Clearly you didn't think this through." #411 stated the obvious.
"I did - but I thought that it would behoove me to inform you of the issues that you will be facing."
"No. You didn't think it through at all." #411 repeated as she forwarded her intelligence to the Enclave Intelligence Offices.
[hr]
Oh, thank goodness. They only had to worry about one side of these things being capable of this. True, this meant that they still had to deal with that fact here with the Sylphys, but at least the lot of them would be manageable, overall... Natsuki scratched her head over the question, looking over the clones for a moment. Clearly, something in the cloning process itself did this, because it was far from natural. Natsuki did not know actually WHAT did it, but she could hazard an area of hypothesis.
Natsuki: Something unstable on their bodies, their very physical structure, I guess. This'd be more a question for mom, really.
Mom, as in Second Mom, Doctor-18, of the Enclave. Not as in the Diclonius from another world, Lucy. Still, given all the bumps on the road, Natsuki hoped that when they reached their destination that the bus wasn't overcrowded... The Super Duper Mart wasn't far, was it?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well, we dunno what exactly Danielle's up to, but it seemed as though she and Marlon had taken care of their business. Once again, they bugged Morgon Bloom's mercenary bodyguard to get going. Where to? The bridge. Only a short time had passed since the nuke had gone off, and the command crew of Rivet City were busy working with the machinery up there. The two of them came up just in time to see the ghoul in the stylish business suit and cane talking with the captain. Their escort held a hand back to Danielle and Marlon, indicating that he did not want his paycheck's conversation interrupted.
Captain: Well, you were right. The prints have come back and it was indeed a Chinese warship. It was populated with Glowing Ones and we could see three Vertibirds fleeing the scene before the explosion.
Bloom: It's not the sort of thing I like to be right about, but there we are. China survived the war, after all. Were they all ghouls?
Captain: It seemed that way on the tapes and enlargements. There was...something else.
Bloom: What did you find?
He showed Morgan one of their enlarged prints and he immediately let out "The hell is this?" when he saw it. Big walking squid thing...
Captain: We believe it to be roaming sea mutation. The water is irradiated as much as the land, as you know. Who knows what could be in that water?
Bloom: Find me proof, one way or the other, but do not cancel preparations. They made it here from China, so we can at least get along the coast.
So saying, the captain nodded and Bloom was free to talk to Marlon and Danielle.
Bloom: Welcome to the bridge of Rivet City, you two. I understand you have some rather important business to conduct with me on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wasn't it kind of weird that there were green mutants here on the east coast? Those were California badasses. Of course, that's was still nothing like those Sylphy weirdoes. After the battle was over, a number of the Sylphy clones ran off, though strangely...did it seem like there were more than there should of been when you consider the amount of bodies on the ground along with the mutants? Well, no time for that. A short time after Evan had left with his charges, Charlie Cannon was admitted inside the Citadel of the Brotherhood, where he could rest up a little. This...is when William, Johnny, and...SYLPH - Oh shit - soon came into view.
Soldier: Aw shit, it's another one! This one's with... Hey, that's William Knight! He's not dead!
The problem was, they hadn't seen that until a damn sniper had sighted them up to take a shot at Sylph. But since the shot had never been taken, they were safe...ish. The problem was that for all their apparent safety, they were greatly diminished. Lucy Black was gone, and there was no way of knowing when she would be back. Hopefully, it would be soon...
FalloutScott: I've got a wee confession ta' make. I am not left-handed. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC6dgtBU6Gs] I'm not right-handed either, truth be told.
Dammit, he was ambidextrous, the cunning bastard! Wait, you can't improvise that. Have to be...born that way, yeah. Still, it was starting to look like we need a damn samurai in here for this guy. Sledging the ground, he caused alot of dirt and dust to fly up and provide a temporary smokescreen. From there, Frank would be able to hear the the buzzing of little car engines again - which was bad - and then everything cleared to reveal Scott holding a Rock-It Launcher. Those things weaponize wasteland junk to the point of decapitating mutants with teddy bears!
FalloutScott: Have a taste of this, ya wily sausage!
Sausage?
Exploding toy race cars numbered in the half-dozen, their detonation yields being rather nasty for how compact they were. Some seemed to be waiting for Frank to make a move, Programmed to intercept? Maybe... Anyway, Scott loaded an ashtray and fired it off!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ferdinand was talking about craziness, and Evan had to agree. You DON'T need drugs to be crazy. This man was indeed his own kind of crazy. But he was so crazy, that he just might work! ...or something. Anyway, he seemed to be well-inclined to handle the Enclave guy. And as one of his fellow Scribes shouted "My clipboard!" as Ferd's horse ate it, Evan had a plan. Not just a crazy plan, but a GOOD plan.
Evan: We won't need to fight an army. I don't think the bulk of the Enclave is even IN the Capital Wastelands. We're going to take advantage of the Enclave's Human Asset plan. And before you ask, they registered me as one, thinking I was just a Vault Dweller.
Asset 19, in fact. Forcing Asset 18 (Dudley) to get his ass moving, he asked Ferd to saddle up and head outside where he left his motorcycle. Evan appeared to be trying to get someone on the radio as they got moving.
Evan: Citadel to Frank, Citadel to Frank. Do you read me? Frank, are you out there fighting an Enclave bigshot, by chance?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Captain Edwards had seen all the subtle signs of a man altered by machine before. The body language, for one, told such a story. Identifying himself as a former Paladin, the soldier became more at-ease, as did his squad. It sounded about right. In fact, it sounded about as bad as it could for a man. He'd been ghouled, and that wasn't good, but he was still a man and a man could fight.
"I heard rumours that the chapter here was accepting those afflicted with mutations and also of a re-emergence of the Enclave in its proximity. Based on what I've seen here, I'm guessing the museum's not normally like this. If you need assistance with your objective here I'm ready and willing."
Edwards: You're damn right on all counts. Believe it or not, one guy did all this, a hotshot from the Enclave that stole a transmitting dish for GNR. Asshole put it in the Lunar Lander, souped it up with weapons an' shit, and now it's flyin' it's ass all over the place. Giving us a hand wit' that will go a long way to putting you in a good light with Elder Lyons.
That seemed to settle it, then. Tallion was given about all the information they knew about the lander-bot, especially that the dish was inside and they didn't want it broken. Fortunately, the three that went after it were victorious and soon...they had the dish. Fighting their way back outside wasn't as much a problem as it would've been, considering Tallion had cleared out a load of those robots on the way in. There might be some left, but they wouldn't leave the place, probably. Very soon, a Vertibird with Brotherhood markings would land to get them, the dish, Tallion and Laura, and especially the injured man back to the Cidadel. They would arrive just as Evan and Ferd were leaving. Said vertibird was soon bound for the Washington Memorial to re-install it. Tallion would be escorted to Sara Lyons next.
Sara: I'm going to assume you were successful.
Edwards: We had help. BIG help. Tallion here's from a southern chapter. They put 'im out simply 'cause he got an attack of the ghoulies.
Sara: *Sigh* Those other chapters are getting more and more like the Enclave they hate...
Edwards: Yeah, and mah boy, Three Dog hears back west some old 'Clavers are actually heroes or some shit.
Sara: Strange days ahead of us, for sure. Alright Paladin. My name is Sara Lyons, Elder of this chapter in the Brotherhood of Steel. I think you need to be updated on the situation if you want to join my command. Get anything you need, info-wise, from the scribes and then rig for battle. I've got a giant robot AND a giant mutant on the loose, there's radioactive plant monsters roaming the wasteland, people have been imploding, the weather's bad, and get this... We have a clone war.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was Vorn's will. Because the traitors and dissenters had not been killed by the Walrex - because they killed it - Vorn simply did not rain in that area, and lo they were without water. Crawver, Abe, and their followers had, however, located rudimentary food supplement, such as it was. They would live, for now, but where were they? Well, the answer was...no longer in the Capital Wastelands. They were south, in Virginia. There was a distant sound, coming from a distant hill, even further south, if they wanted to try that. There was also a group of rad-vultures circling above a spot to the east, and a smell... They could go in any direction that they liked, really. They might find all kinds of misfortune, or misfortune find them instead!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Having finished his work, Larry was at last ready to head out back into the wasteland. He paid his respects to the sheriff, and set out. Ah, but in which direction? Where was his planning to go? Well, about the time he was leaving, a guard up at the wal, watching things, was taking a drink from his canteen...when he noticed something shocking enough to nearly choke. He coughed, beat his chest, and attempted to shout out what he'd seen. Unfortunately, you know what it's like to choke on fluids. You can't talk for a moment because of the state of your throat. So, he rang the warning bell and banged his rifle against the wall to warn Larry before fixing his rifle to aim at it. At what? Well...Larry would hear the thump of heavyset footprints from his left, and...
"Yo. Human. Going my way?"
At full height, it would make him seem like a dwarf in comparison, but it naturally took that hunched posture that they do. The skin was dark and gray, not the usual tones that their kind they were seen in, but there have been cases. The horns, the eyes, the dense muscular body, the tail, and that toothy grimace all said it in one gulp: Deathclaw... The SIZE and the STYLING of the horns said further: Alpha... The weird part, though, was what IT said, TO HIM. A talking Deathclaw?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And now, an interlude between Natsuki, Constance, and a bus full of Sylphys.
Natsuki was in the back of the bus, basically chilling with her arms behind her back during this time. She was making plans with this Sylphy lot, and she was smirking from the song. She almost cracked up at the transcribed tale that Constance was getting out of them. It was when questions came of a decision-making quality to her that she spoke up.
Natsuki: The Enclave's been monitering the Gary Stampedes for a while now. We were getting kinda' worried that they would breed or something. Seeing as how they've become natural enemies of the Sylphys here, I think we should help handle the situation. Getting these gals on our side could be damn useful for what's coming.
American Enclave Scout of America Sorrowfeld responded to her idol's comments with a thoughtful, though not too enthusiastic, nod. With the assistance of the Sylphys, the Enclave would have the ability to bolster their ranks with a clone army. All the setbacks that the Enclave had suffered over the years would be swept away. Constance would have been honored to be part of this watershed moment were it not totally contingent on the utterly unpredictable Sylphys.
That was a destination further down the road and dealing with the Gary Stampedes was a more immediate situation. Regardless of how thoughts of a contingent heavily armed Sylphy clones terrified Scout Sorrowfeld, she would follow Miss Lieutenant Natsuki Manriki to the four corners of the world.
"I'm with you Lieutenant Natsuki, ma'am" Constance said as she continued to focus on navigating the pothole filled road that lay before the American Enclave Scouts of America Short Bus transport.
"Sylphy! Sylphy! Sylphy!" Exclaimed the Sylphy directly behind Constance as she covered the driver's eyes. Were it not for the fact that Constance was already blind and detected the world in front of her via her ears, the vehicle and its occupants would have more than likely met a fiery ending at the bottom of a ravine.
"Are you kidding me?!" Scout Sorrorfeld exclaimed as she reacted according to her training and shot a backhanded strike at the Sylphy behind her.
*POING!!*
No one else might have noticed the strange sound that Constance's fist made when it came in contact with the Sylphy's face but the Blind Scout did hear the strange sound, not that it mattered since where once sat a single Sylphy, two now sat, sharing an identical stunned reaction at having been struck by Constance. Natsuki stood bolt upright from where she had been sitting, her eyes wide and her mouth open from surprise and wonder. Did they...did they just see how these clones were keeping their numbers in a vast, hostile world? Why they weren't dwindling? Them OR the Garys? Natsuki thought this over for a moment, then said...
Natsuki: Ask them if they're absolutely certain that the Garys have been staying dead when they kill them. 'Cause if both sides do this, we have a problem...
Namely, they could be at war forever as long as enough divisions happened. That was just creepy...
"That's just plain creepy..." Constance muttered from her position in the driver's seat, her utterance echoing Lieutenant Natsuki's thought.
"Sylphy Sylphy!" The two Sylphys sitting behind Scout Sorrowfeld said in stereo.
If the rolling of her eyes would have made the intended emotional impact that Constance had desired, she would have done so. Instead, her annoyance was displayed by her Cat Ears being tucked backwards briefly. The world, as it turned out, was even more bipolar than the American Enclave Scout of America had thought when she had just met the group known as Team Lucy. With the discovery of self replicating clones, the world appeared psychitzophrenic.
If both the Sylphys and the Garys were able to replicate in this manner, the consequences were dire. The two populations had the posibility of replicating exponentially and consuming all the food resources the Wasteland surrounding the former District of Columbia until there nothing was left.
Remembering her orders from Lieutenant Natsuki, Constance addressed the two Sylphys behind her.
"Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy?" The Cat Eared Scout asked.
"Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy Sylphy?" The stereoscopic Sylphys responded.
"They said that they're sure that the Garys don't do ... um... that whole splitting thing." She translated, "But how are they even able to do that in the first place?"
[hr]
The Wild Wastelands: The Grisly Diner
Enclave Intelligence Offier #411 stretched out in one of the Diner's many empty and dilapidated booths. She'd been jockeying a desk for the last few years and relished any amount time she got to spend in the field, even if it meant meeting some of the Wastes' more unsavory inhabitants.
Code:
"Ma'am - Your guest is coming in from the North. ETA: 5 minutes"Minutes passed before #411's contact entered through the Diner's front door, pausing to look at the Plamsa scorched Raider corpses that #411 had left piled up on one side of the room.
"We have an issue," Henry McGee stated as he sat down across from #411, "it seems that a little experiment of mine has gotten a little out of hand."
"We'll get to your issue, but what's the status of Lucy Black?"
"She's gone. She abandoned her group."
"And you didn't bother to follow her?" #411 asked with a voice dripping with annoyance.
"No. Like I said there was something more important."
"Like the fact that there are more of these 'Sylphys' than could have been created in the clone vats?"
"Yes."
"And just how did that happen?"
"I introduced a piece of Vault Technology that I discovered into the cloning machinery of Vault 108. It's an unstable molecule that duplicates itself when it is introduced a certain amount of kinetic energy. Vault Tech tried to use it to create ever replicating food stuffs. Unfortunately, as the residents of that Vault discovered, chewing caused the food to replicate itself. When I opened the vault, I found the entire population of the Vault dead of severe head trauma due to the replicating food stuffs or starvation." Undertaker McGee stated.
"Clearly you didn't think this through." #411 stated the obvious.
"I did - but I thought that it would behoove me to inform you of the issues that you will be facing."
"No. You didn't think it through at all." #411 repeated as she forwarded her intelligence to the Enclave Intelligence Offices.
[hr]
Oh, thank goodness. They only had to worry about one side of these things being capable of this. True, this meant that they still had to deal with that fact here with the Sylphys, but at least the lot of them would be manageable, overall... Natsuki scratched her head over the question, looking over the clones for a moment. Clearly, something in the cloning process itself did this, because it was far from natural. Natsuki did not know actually WHAT did it, but she could hazard an area of hypothesis.
Natsuki: Something unstable on their bodies, their very physical structure, I guess. This'd be more a question for mom, really.
Mom, as in Second Mom, Doctor-18, of the Enclave. Not as in the Diclonius from another world, Lucy. Still, given all the bumps on the road, Natsuki hoped that when they reached their destination that the bus wasn't overcrowded... The Super Duper Mart wasn't far, was it?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well, we dunno what exactly Danielle's up to, but it seemed as though she and Marlon had taken care of their business. Once again, they bugged Morgon Bloom's mercenary bodyguard to get going. Where to? The bridge. Only a short time had passed since the nuke had gone off, and the command crew of Rivet City were busy working with the machinery up there. The two of them came up just in time to see the ghoul in the stylish business suit and cane talking with the captain. Their escort held a hand back to Danielle and Marlon, indicating that he did not want his paycheck's conversation interrupted.
Captain: Well, you were right. The prints have come back and it was indeed a Chinese warship. It was populated with Glowing Ones and we could see three Vertibirds fleeing the scene before the explosion.
Bloom: It's not the sort of thing I like to be right about, but there we are. China survived the war, after all. Were they all ghouls?
Captain: It seemed that way on the tapes and enlargements. There was...something else.
Bloom: What did you find?
He showed Morgan one of their enlarged prints and he immediately let out "The hell is this?" when he saw it. Big walking squid thing...
Captain: We believe it to be roaming sea mutation. The water is irradiated as much as the land, as you know. Who knows what could be in that water?
Bloom: Find me proof, one way or the other, but do not cancel preparations. They made it here from China, so we can at least get along the coast.
So saying, the captain nodded and Bloom was free to talk to Marlon and Danielle.
Bloom: Welcome to the bridge of Rivet City, you two. I understand you have some rather important business to conduct with me on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel.
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Wasn't it kind of weird that there were green mutants here on the east coast? Those were California badasses. Of course, that's was still nothing like those Sylphy weirdoes. After the battle was over, a number of the Sylphy clones ran off, though strangely...did it seem like there were more than there should of been when you consider the amount of bodies on the ground along with the mutants? Well, no time for that. A short time after Evan had left with his charges, Charlie Cannon was admitted inside the Citadel of the Brotherhood, where he could rest up a little. This...is when William, Johnny, and...SYLPH - Oh shit - soon came into view.
Soldier: Aw shit, it's another one! This one's with... Hey, that's William Knight! He's not dead!
The problem was, they hadn't seen that until a damn sniper had sighted them up to take a shot at Sylph. But since the shot had never been taken, they were safe...ish. The problem was that for all their apparent safety, they were greatly diminished. Lucy Black was gone, and there was no way of knowing when she would be back. Hopefully, it would be soon...
