Bailey cautiously lowered her weapon as the Paladin and the newcomers spoke, seemingly they were old acquaintances but she remained on edge as the group moved towards a Bunker. She kept her eyes on the sky as the rest entered the Decontamination and quickly followed as the defenses started to activate. She passed through and started to remove the hazmat suit and placed her equipment down against a wall and took a seat on the floor alongside it. She rested her head against the wall and let out a tired sigh as she thought back on one of her earlier missions... [2nd December, 2276 - Near Fort Ritchie, Maryland] [ [color=0072bc]Scientist[/color] [color=ec008c]Bailey[/color] [color=39b54a]Damian[/color] [color=598527]Corporal Wallace[/color] [color=00aeef]Sergeant Prescott[/color] ] She stood and looked out of the Vertibird door as it flew alongside an old Pre-War motorway, the night sky was dark but occasionally lit up by a bolt of lightening bursting down to earth from the clouds as the rainstorm approached Fort Ritchie. Small clusters of fire and electrical light were visible on the horizon and occasionally a few clusters hugged the old motorway each cluster showing the location of a small remnant of humanity. She looked to her left side at the Scientist sitting on one of the canvas seats working away on her handheld computer, a Bulky thing it lit up the copper colored visor of the Scientists hazmat suit. Bailey had always thought the Scientists portable computers were too cumbersome and unwieldy, it was similiar to the "Pip-boy" series used by Vault-Tec but it was more of a block or slab instead of being wrapped around the wrist. To Bailey's right was a longtime family friend Damian Brewer, He was a couple years older than her and was one of her older brothers best friends. Standing in the other door of the vertibird was Sergeant Prescott the commander for this mission and Corporal Wallace, a quiet and mild mannered communications specialist. The troopers looked out of the vertibird with the glowing orange eyes of their X-02 power armor and the shape of their helmets making them look like monsters to anyone able to catch a glimpse of them, the vertibird begins to descend and starts to circle a clearing in a burnt out, dead forest. The clearing is populated by a mass of grey and green buildings of a utilitarian design, rusting hulks of green vehicles with faded white stars on them scatter the compound, above them flies the tattered remains of the U.S. Flag flying from a battered flag pole that looks as if it is ready to fall over at any minute. Around the compound the original pre-war fence has been reinforced by wastelanders and would pose a serious challenge to any raider group trying to breach it, the front gate has been smashed open and a super mutant behemoth stomps around. Remains of a battle litter the above ground areas with the bodies of super mutants and wastelander militia left where they fell. The scientist looks up from their screen... [color=0072bc]"Hopefully we've got here in time, the beacon is still active but it's faint. If they're here they must have retreated into the tunnels. If we're going to get our agent out then we need to find them Sergeant!"[/color] Damian and Corporal Wallace man the Vertibird's door mounted guns and start cutting down super mutants in the compound as Bailey and Sergeant Prescott start firing their weapons at the Behemoth. Super mutants shriek and writhe as they're cut down by gunfire and the behemoth begins swatting at the vertibird with it's makeshift club but only succeeds in smashing a couple trucks and killing a few of it's brother supermutants. After a short while the Behemoth's leg buckles and snaps just below it's knee due to focused small arms fire and it falls to the ground, thrashing around helplessly. The vertibird hovers above the centre of the compound and Bailey, Damian, Prescott and Wallace jump down using their power armor's hydraulic system to land safely. The four troopers finish off the remaining mutants around the outside of the compound before calling for the vertibird to land near them just infront of the blast door to the underground bunker system. The vertibird swoops in and lands just infront of them kicking up a cloud of wasteland dust as it settles on the ground and shuts down it's engines. [color=00aeff]"De Lara, Brewer! You two clear the underground, Me, Wallace will stay with the bird till you give the all clear."[/color] Bailey and Damian glance at each other and nod as they turn to run to the blast doors [color=ec008c] "Yes Sergeant!"[/color] The ground shakes under them as they run in their power armor up to the blast doors and pull them open, they're heavily damaged and behind them is a makeshift barrier of crates and furniture where the wastelanders made a desperate last stand. The bodies of the wasteland militia are draped over the barricade and propped up against walls. The trail of super mutant and human bodies leads off down a corridor with flickering lights, Bailey swallows as she turns on her searchlights causing her armor's orange eyes to glow bright and light up the way ahead. Damian comes up behind her and laughs slightly as he puts on his own lights. [color=39b54a]"Scared yet? I remember last time-"[/color] [color=ec008c]"No. It was ONE time..."[/color] [color=39b54a]"Awww but we didn't mean anything by it..."[/color] Bailey cautiously moves down the corridor past the pre-war checkpoint and towards the stairwell. [color=ec008c]"You left me in the service tunnels with no lights for an hour."[/color] [color=39b54a]"You were fine!"[/color] [color=ec008c]"I was ten!"[/color] Bailey takes a step back and uses the weight of her armor to knock the stairwell door off it's hinges. [color=39b54a]"And look! You're all grown up now and smashing down your own doors!"[/color] The two of them walk down the stairs stepping over all types of bodies and debris from the battle. [color=ec008c]"Shut up... You couldn't even make a cup of coffee until i showed you."[/color] They follow the debris through a maze of tunnels until they come to a office with a window overlooking the former military warehouse. It has been converted into a underground settlement by the wastelanders and now their bodies litter the ground between their market stalls and shacks of this densely populated, slum like settlement. The two of them jump through the window and come crashing down in the communal "square" of the settlement and mop up a couple super mutants looting the settlement. They can now hear the gentle pulsing of the distress beacon. Bailey looks around and spots a pulsing red light behind a counter of a market stall. [color=ec008c]"Here!"[/color] She walks over and looks under the counter and is surprised to see a small child probably about six years old wearing torn and battered pajamas, She has long dirty, brown hair and is clinging to the distress beacon and looks terrified as Bailey peaks under the desk in her power armor with it's glowing eyes and it's "Devil Horns". [color=ec008c]"Hey there little one... You wanna come out from there?"[/color] The little girl hides behind the beacon, Damian comes over as Bailey realizes her armor is probably scaring them. She takes off her helmet in the hope of presenting a friendlier face to the terrified child. [color=39b54a]"Please tell me there's not a kid under that desk..."[/color] [color=ec008c]"There is a kid under this desk."[/color] The small child relaxes a little upon seeing Bailey's face, She holds out a small bundle of holotapes with Enclave markings on them. [color=ec008c]"Thanks little one... You wanna come with us? We can help look after you till we find your parents ok?"[/color] [color=39b54a]"Just so you know, I am not up for being this kids surrogate parents with you."[/color] The little girl nods gently and clings to her beacon as Bailey picks her up and holds her in her left arm, The trio work their way back up to the surface and are greeted by jokes as they emerge from the blast doors. [color=598527]"You were supposed to clear the Bunker Bailey, not start a family in there..."[/color] [color=0072bc]"You certainly got busy Brewer..."[/color] Bailey carries the little girl who is now clinging to her to the vertibird and sits her on one of the canvas seats inside and puts a seatbelt around her waist, The little girl continues hugging the Beacon. The team mounts up again and the Vertibird starts up and slowly lifts off into the stormy sky as the Scientist takes control of the Holotapes they came for. [Present Day, Brotherhood Bunker in the Necropolis.] Bailey snaps out of her memory and resumes observing the motley crew of mercs and brotherhood.