Vaermina
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- self-insert young justice
And yet it's very obvious there is.
Meetings Squared (part 16)
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Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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18th May 2284
15:44 GMT -6
Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"
I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.
I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.
**Yes, Chief Krono.**
Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.
"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."
"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"
I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.
"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."
"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"
"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"
Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"
"Chief Krono?"
"-head."
We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.
"Yes?"
"General wants you, sir."
"Ah-."
Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."
"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."
"Sir."
We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.
"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."
Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.
Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.
"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."
"General. Governor. Do you know something?"
Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."
Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."
Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"
"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."
"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."
"No, we can."
Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."
"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."
That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"
"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."
"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"
"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."
Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."
"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."
I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…
**[Picture the site]**
In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.
**Krono to Station.**
**We hear you, Chief.**
**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**
**At once, Chief.**
**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**
**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**
Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.
**Whenever you can. Krono out.**
I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.
15:44 GMT -6
Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"
I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.
I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.
**Yes, Chief Krono.**
Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.
"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."
"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"
I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.
"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."
"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"
"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"
Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"
"Chief Krono?"
"-head."
We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.
"Yes?"
"General wants you, sir."
"Ah-."
Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."
"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."
"Sir."
We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.
"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."
Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.
Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.
"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."
"General. Governor. Do you know something?"
Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."
Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."
Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"
"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."
"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."
"No, we can."
Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."
"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."
That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"
"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."
"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"
"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."
Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."
"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."
I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…
**[Picture the site]**
In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.
**Krono to Station.**
**We hear you, Chief.**
**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**
**At once, Chief.**
**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**
**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**
Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.
**Whenever you can. Krono out.**
I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.
Last edited:
joha4270
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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Huh, the EMP destroyed vacuum tubes?
I don't know if these are special Fallout tubes that are significantly weaker than IRL ones or something strange going on the with the EMP, but normally one of the few advantage tubes have over transistors are that they're much likelier to survive an EMP (the word I see is usually "immune ", but everything croaks if you just put enough juice through it)
My Fallout lore is insufficient to speculation on who/what it could be, so I shall just keep it to complaining
I don't know if these are special Fallout tubes that are significantly weaker than IRL ones or something strange going on the with the EMP, but normally one of the few advantage tubes have over transistors are that they're much likelier to survive an EMP (the word I see is usually "immune ", but everything croaks if you just put enough juice through it)
My Fallout lore is insufficient to speculation on who/what it could be, so I shall just keep it to complaining
Chojin Patriarch
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One lucky bomb in the right place would cripple most of the country. But I expect they picked Vegas for more than its plenitude of conference centres. On the other hand, someone sneaking in under stealth technology of some kind...
At least telepathy makes it much easier to check with subordinates, unlike the rest of them stuck with radio and talking.
Anything at a lower altitude would have been quite a bit noisier, I suspect, and have to be closer.
Why would Britain or any European power even bother with the US at this stage anyway? It's got to be something closer to home, surely.
And to be honest, up towards the Arctic Circle, there's a lot of places within reach of conventional ballistic rocketry.
...Oh, that's gonna be what this is, isn't it? Some forgotten AI in a bunker with satellite access woke up and assumed the war was still hot...
Eh, it sounds plausible, but any rocket silo would have fallen into disrepair if not occupied. It turns out rocket fuel doesn't have that long a shelf life, you know...
Calling in their best allied troubleshooter, I see. That's what you get for becoming an Adventurer, Krono.
Hopefully once the confusion settles down, other delegates will have the same thought. Who knows, more business might get sorted out there with some liquid encouragement than would get addressed at the conference table...
Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later.
Well, if they explain their connection, that might put minds at ease. It'll be interesting to see if anything comes of his BiL and the priestess...
Ah, the folks who do the real work getting it done. Though I imagine it isn't easy, given the impact of the EMP on communications.
Interesting. Mapping out the observed time of detonation from various sites to try and calculate the point of origin?
With a name like that, he's got to be a thorn in someone's side.
Prior to the blast, or by the blast itself? Then again, they'd have a hard time finding out.
From context, telepaths working in concert to expand their range and sensitivity greatly? It'll probably be more effective than mundane technology, but we'll see.
Oh, Krono? You've got people with EVA training?
It'll take a little longer, but they might also be able to scan various space junk for other potential 'goldeneyes'. Bet that name will catch on for that sort of thing too, thanks to Krono.
...Oh, yeah. Psychic powers. Just stuff a bagful of tubes in an airlock, have someone handle them carefully.
Why not both? Hedge your bets, after all.
Some folks still getting used to using that title, eh?
Ah, pinging his people remotely so they can handle the hard part of the call.
And with the long-range contact initiated, he can reach them more easily.
Since Krono's people are probably embedded in places the NCR troops can't easily contact.
Fitting. It was Fallout 3 that had the Mothership DLC, after all.
True. Have Spaceship, Will Travel. Can they reach the Moon or Mars in it, I wonder?
Washington, eh? A few possible leads up there, if the Wiki is anything to go by.
So, bets someone up that way got their hands on either an old ICBM silo or a satellite control station and tried to mess with their foes? And everyone else just got caught in the splash zone because the responsible party didn't care about collateral damage? Whatever it is, someone's in for an ass-kicking once Krono gets there, I bet...
Duke Long
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Neruz
HISSSSSS!
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It's actually a state thing; tubes that are currently actively powered and connected to anything that could serve as an antenna for an EMP (such as a large scale power grid) are more vulnerable than transistors, while tubes that are not actively powered and are not connected to an antenna are less vulnerable.
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Yes. It didn't didn't destroy every single vacuum tube, just enough that stuff stopped working over a large area.
Thank you, corrected.
I don't always succeed but I do always try.
They probably wouldn't, but they might have been trying to E.M.P. someone else and caught America in the blast radius.
Thank me, corrected.
Clell65619
Know what you're doing yet?
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They do not, good thought though.
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Is that the I.R.L. answer, or is that the Fallout canon answer?
Clell65619
Know what you're doing yet?
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IRL
Not to mention the programming needed to make such a change to the launch trajectory isn't possible from the fire control system. If someone wanted to do that, a whole lot of highly technical work would be needed. Also, I'm not sure of the life span of the solid Rocket propellant, but I'm pretty sure it isn't two centuries stable.
Neruz
HISSSSSS!
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Nuclear weapons aren't stable for two centuries; there are numerous materials used in nuclear bombs that need to be replaced every few years, and the high explosives used to cause the implosion need to be replaced every couple of decades.
But tech in Fallout seems to last forever, with robots like Codsworth functioning just fine for over two hundred years despite the abject impossibility of that, so we just have to assume that ppl in the Fallout-verse built shit to last and somehow managed to solve all the physics related issues of making a nuclear missile that still works just fine after two hundred years of sitting in a silo.
Meetings Squared (part 17)
New
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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18th May 2284
15:59 GMT -6
"Ah, sir? Mister Krono?"
A… Member of the Chairmen has threaded his way through the milling crowd.
I turn away from the map and hold up my right hand. "Over here!"
He smiles awkwardly as he passes over a note. Looks… Maybe nineteen? The Chairmen had a change of leadership a couple of years ago after their former leader tried overthrowing Mr. House. Really, they were lucky that he decided to be chirurgical about removing 'Benny' rather than just killing the lot of them, but I suppose that would have been bad for business.
I open it-.
'Look up'.
Of course.
I walk out of the hall and over to the nearest Securitron. "Robert, is your laser communication array up and running yet?"
The police officer image on the screen flickers, and then is replaced by Mr. House's face icon. "No, I've been prioritising bringing Helios and the Hoover Dam up to full operational capacity. If you want to send a message, I have the most powerful radio transmitter in the Pacific Southwest."
"Alright, please point it directly upwards, set it to shortwave and send 'Krono ready'."
"And what wavelength am I transmitting on?"
"It doesn't matter, they'll pick it up anyway."
"… Very well. Have you repaired a satellite already?"
"No. There should be something on radar. Unless they've got the stealth system working, which is a possibility."
"Might I ask who I'm talking to?"
"Albert."
"I would appreciate it if you could-."
I raise my right hand in surrender. "I'm sorry. Six years ago the aliens who provided Area Fifty-One with so many examples of their technology tried abducting people from the area around Washington D.C.. The prisoners broke out, killed the crew and captured their Mothership."
"… I… Don't imagine that the aliens use vacuum tubes or transistors."
"No, which means that if they were near to Earth, then they should have a recording of what happened."
"Yes, that-. I have a response. I'll route it through this Securitron."
The screen flickers, and then… An artist's rendition of a space suited Vault Boy's head replaces the image of Mr. House.
"Krono, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, now."
"Yes, I-."
"What's this about the Enclave setting up in Illinois?"
Ah… I didn't… Tell him specifically, but… "I think it's fairly self-explanatory. I needed to put them somewhere, and Illinois was uninhabited. Uninhabitable without a super Garden of Eden Creation Kit."
"You gave them-. What for?"
"Because they're no longer a threat, imprisoning them was wasteful and expensive and Illinois needed to be rebuilt by someone."
"They tried to poison the Capital and they murdered my father."
"Albert… You let Colonel Autumn go. If you-."
"Yeah, because I wanted him to die slowly! I wanted him to watch while we rebuilt Washington while his whole outfit fell apart so he could see what a useless moron he was, not because I wanted him to start over!"
"Ah. In my defence, you didn't tell anyone that."
"Jeez, and now he's just-. Great. Great."
"You can still work to rebuild Washington faster, though I'll warn you now that he's actually doing a pretty good job with Illinois."
"There anyone else living there?"
I… Don't know where he might be going with this. Though I'm a little nervous about the destination, because the primary weapon of the Mothership hits as hard as a large strategic nuclear warhead, and can fire once every five seconds.
"Yes. There was a cryogenic suspension facility with a few thousand people in it. We destroyed the A.I. that was vivisecting them to use their brains as computers and let them out."
"So the Enclave's their heroes."
"I'm… Not sure how much of their history they've taught them, but… Yes."
I hear him sigh. "Why couldn't they have acted like that in Washington?"
"I'm… Not entirely clear on that. If your father had been a member of the Enclave Autumn might have killed him for disloyalty, but otherwise it makes very little sense. And… I'm sorry if this is a sensitive topic, but why did your father refuse to help them? They were trying to make Project Purity work, that's what he wanted..?"
"I'd ask, but he's dead."
I give him a moment to calm down.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Someone used a large electromagnetic pulse weapon about a hour ago. I was hoping that your ship might have detected something."
"I mean, it might, but I don't speak zetan."
"You don't speak-? How are you doing anything?"
"Guesswork. Pattern recognition. Rote learning. The layout's pretty logical. Got a couple of Brotherhood scribes up here writing a user manual… We can manoeuvre, work the transporter, fire the gun, that stuff's all fine, but if you want to look at sensor logs…"
"Would it be alright if I sent a few mechempaths up to speed things along? We're all used to zetan systems and psychic powers would-."
"Oh God yes."
"Right, I'll get that sorted."
"Okay. And once they're onboard and we've got the sensors working, we can go take a look… Where'd the attack come from?"
"We don't really know. The obvious possibilities are one of the Chinese successor states and the Washington Brotherhood. So if you could head north once you've picked up our specialists..?"
"Yeah, we can do that. Ah. Have they got any anti-spaceship weapons? Because this thing's got shields, but I don't think it's got any point defences, so we're pretty much just sitting here with our asses hanging out."
"As long as you stay far enough away from the surface it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that the officer of the watch knows to move the ship away from the planet if there's any sort of launch. And I can send our psykers up in a saucer if you like, and they can use it as an interceptor."
"I was more worried about things like giant surface-mounted ray guns."
"I have no intelligence on giant ray guns, but I can't say I've got great sources in Washington State or China. That's not a technology I'm… Aware of anyone developing. Energy weapons above a certain size have heat dissipation issues, and missiles and bombs were usually more efficient."
"I'll turn our shields up all the way, just in case."
15:59 GMT -6
"Ah, sir? Mister Krono?"
A… Member of the Chairmen has threaded his way through the milling crowd.
I turn away from the map and hold up my right hand. "Over here!"
He smiles awkwardly as he passes over a note. Looks… Maybe nineteen? The Chairmen had a change of leadership a couple of years ago after their former leader tried overthrowing Mr. House. Really, they were lucky that he decided to be chirurgical about removing 'Benny' rather than just killing the lot of them, but I suppose that would have been bad for business.
I open it-.
'Look up'.
Of course.
I walk out of the hall and over to the nearest Securitron. "Robert, is your laser communication array up and running yet?"
The police officer image on the screen flickers, and then is replaced by Mr. House's face icon. "No, I've been prioritising bringing Helios and the Hoover Dam up to full operational capacity. If you want to send a message, I have the most powerful radio transmitter in the Pacific Southwest."
"Alright, please point it directly upwards, set it to shortwave and send 'Krono ready'."
"And what wavelength am I transmitting on?"
"It doesn't matter, they'll pick it up anyway."
"… Very well. Have you repaired a satellite already?"
"No. There should be something on radar. Unless they've got the stealth system working, which is a possibility."
"Might I ask who I'm talking to?"
"Albert."
"I would appreciate it if you could-."
I raise my right hand in surrender. "I'm sorry. Six years ago the aliens who provided Area Fifty-One with so many examples of their technology tried abducting people from the area around Washington D.C.. The prisoners broke out, killed the crew and captured their Mothership."
"… I… Don't imagine that the aliens use vacuum tubes or transistors."
"No, which means that if they were near to Earth, then they should have a recording of what happened."
"Yes, that-. I have a response. I'll route it through this Securitron."
The screen flickers, and then… An artist's rendition of a space suited Vault Boy's head replaces the image of Mr. House.
"Krono, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, now."
"Yes, I-."
"What's this about the Enclave setting up in Illinois?"
Ah… I didn't… Tell him specifically, but… "I think it's fairly self-explanatory. I needed to put them somewhere, and Illinois was uninhabited. Uninhabitable without a super Garden of Eden Creation Kit."
"You gave them-. What for?"
"Because they're no longer a threat, imprisoning them was wasteful and expensive and Illinois needed to be rebuilt by someone."
"They tried to poison the Capital and they murdered my father."
"Albert… You let Colonel Autumn go. If you-."
"Yeah, because I wanted him to die slowly! I wanted him to watch while we rebuilt Washington while his whole outfit fell apart so he could see what a useless moron he was, not because I wanted him to start over!"
"Ah. In my defence, you didn't tell anyone that."
"Jeez, and now he's just-. Great. Great."
"You can still work to rebuild Washington faster, though I'll warn you now that he's actually doing a pretty good job with Illinois."
"There anyone else living there?"
I… Don't know where he might be going with this. Though I'm a little nervous about the destination, because the primary weapon of the Mothership hits as hard as a large strategic nuclear warhead, and can fire once every five seconds.
"Yes. There was a cryogenic suspension facility with a few thousand people in it. We destroyed the A.I. that was vivisecting them to use their brains as computers and let them out."
"So the Enclave's their heroes."
"I'm… Not sure how much of their history they've taught them, but… Yes."
I hear him sigh. "Why couldn't they have acted like that in Washington?"
"I'm… Not entirely clear on that. If your father had been a member of the Enclave Autumn might have killed him for disloyalty, but otherwise it makes very little sense. And… I'm sorry if this is a sensitive topic, but why did your father refuse to help them? They were trying to make Project Purity work, that's what he wanted..?"
"I'd ask, but he's dead."
I give him a moment to calm down.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Someone used a large electromagnetic pulse weapon about a hour ago. I was hoping that your ship might have detected something."
"I mean, it might, but I don't speak zetan."
"You don't speak-? How are you doing anything?"
"Guesswork. Pattern recognition. Rote learning. The layout's pretty logical. Got a couple of Brotherhood scribes up here writing a user manual… We can manoeuvre, work the transporter, fire the gun, that stuff's all fine, but if you want to look at sensor logs…"
"Would it be alright if I sent a few mechempaths up to speed things along? We're all used to zetan systems and psychic powers would-."
"Oh God yes."
"Right, I'll get that sorted."
"Okay. And once they're onboard and we've got the sensors working, we can go take a look… Where'd the attack come from?"
"We don't really know. The obvious possibilities are one of the Chinese successor states and the Washington Brotherhood. So if you could head north once you've picked up our specialists..?"
"Yeah, we can do that. Ah. Have they got any anti-spaceship weapons? Because this thing's got shields, but I don't think it's got any point defences, so we're pretty much just sitting here with our asses hanging out."
"As long as you stay far enough away from the surface it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that the officer of the watch knows to move the ship away from the planet if there's any sort of launch. And I can send our psykers up in a saucer if you like, and they can use it as an interceptor."
"I was more worried about things like giant surface-mounted ray guns."
"I have no intelligence on giant ray guns, but I can't say I've got great sources in Washington State or China. That's not a technology I'm… Aware of anyone developing. Energy weapons above a certain size have heat dissipation issues, and missiles and bombs were usually more efficient."
"I'll turn our shields up all the way, just in case."
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Ngamer11
Experienced.
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That should say 'send'.
McGraww
Versed in the lewd.
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Always a risk with the whole "let them live with their failure" option.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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Yeah. Even more so if you don't tell anyone that you're going with that.
ForeverShogo
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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- Sep 25, 2016
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A lot of things in Fallout are just plain weird. Even ignoring the technologies present or their longevity. A big one is radiation. Or, more specifically, the radioactive water in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 that Bethesda loves making a thing for some reason. I hear they do it in Fallout 76, too, but I never played that one.
Radioactive materials would either settle or be flushed out by the water cycle, or be rendered non-radioactive just by the passage of time. Most radiation from the bombs would actually be gone within a week. Even "salted" bombs meant to make an area stay irradiated for longer would have the danger pass between 5-10 years.
The main plot of Fallout 3 shouldn't even have been a thing. At least not for the reasons stated. Water purification would still be pretty important. It's why you can safely drink tap water, and why for quite a bit of human history you were better off drinking alcohol.
Granted, Fallout America handled nuclear waste disposal in an absolutely abysmal manner, but the people of that world should stilly generally only need to worry about poking around the half-assed disposal sites or any reactors that melted down or whatever. At least when they aren't dodging mutated wildlife.
Radioactive materials would either settle or be flushed out by the water cycle, or be rendered non-radioactive just by the passage of time. Most radiation from the bombs would actually be gone within a week. Even "salted" bombs meant to make an area stay irradiated for longer would have the danger pass between 5-10 years.
The main plot of Fallout 3 shouldn't even have been a thing. At least not for the reasons stated. Water purification would still be pretty important. It's why you can safely drink tap water, and why for quite a bit of human history you were better off drinking alcohol.
Granted, Fallout America handled nuclear waste disposal in an absolutely abysmal manner, but the people of that world should stilly generally only need to worry about poking around the half-assed disposal sites or any reactors that melted down or whatever. At least when they aren't dodging mutated wildlife.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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I'm sure the Zetans would be horrified to learn the monkeys banging coconuts together have figured out how to fly their ship by banging coconuts together.
'was a'
'they'
'say'
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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Not familiar with that group. <Quick wiki check> Ah, local toughs. Who appear to serve as enforcers for Mister House, it seems? So someone or something local has news for him.
I'm sure the rest of them are being very loyal right now, at least.
Ah, looks like Albert is already trying to get in touch.
Handy to have the 'ear' of the man in charge.
Probably the safest option there, House, yes.
No need to specify, I think. The people it's meant for will hear it.
...In the sense that it orbits the Earth, yes.
The Mothership isn't really common knowledge, after all.
House. This is an emergency. Orders first, explanations after. Remember, a sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant at rest (though a running EOD tech outranks everyone!)
Yes, it sounds like science-fiction. A lot of what happens in the wastelands is like that.
Assuming their sensors are automatically recording everything.
Fitting. Betting it's the classic Mercury look of baggy jumpsuit and large-visored helmet. Seems fitting for the era.
I'll bet he has. Just the connection of Area Fifty-One to the Zetans...
Oooh... Safe bet Albert has very bad impressions of the Enclave... To be fair, most of the Enclave factions are bad.
Better to put them to good use than let them sit around stewing in their anger.
Ah, Krono's estimation of his character starting to lose it's lustre?
...Well, that is a heck of a misread.
I suppose the spite is a good motivator, at least.
I know Illinois might be a shithole, but we don't really need it burned off the map.
I think I remember those chapters. Yeah, a rare case of the Enclave doing some good.
Dumb local leadership, probably.
...Wow, imagine if all these folks had any ranks in Speech at all. All that because none of them bothered to compare notes...
Right, enough focusing on the past, yes.
Ah, the language barrier.
Oh goddammit...
How have they not caused a catastrophic meltdown or self-destruct yet?And with that, Krono basically made a friend for life. Or at least until something else happens.
Ah, that's what they were hoping the Mothership could help with, actually...
...Yes, that is something of a problem.
Fortunately, ICBMs aren't great at orbital insertions, merely high-altitude parabolic trajectories, I guess?
One of the few realistic aspects of Fallout, eh?
Good idea regardless, yes. Who knows how some groups will react to an alien ship zooming around...
Right, several problems solved, including what might well have been one or two that weren't problems yet. Now they can actually get on to working out what the hell happened and who's responsible. And then it'll come down to Krono heading that way and asking some pointed questions about what the hell happened...
Duke Long
Glomerulus
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'Chairmen'?
'it'
I guess the 'look up' was from the Sky Walkers who managed to detect the mothership, and just sent a message via a local? Because I don't see how the Chairmen would know that.
hkim
Know what you're doing yet?
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It kind of already did, this is where Krona landed.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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It's more their programming than anything else; remember that the vast majority of early space rockets were ballistic missiles, with the warhead replaced by a satellite and (more importantly) their guidance systems replaced for orbital use.
Of course, given this is nuk-a-palooza Fallout, there's good odds there was earlier development, and wider deployment, of the really fun things like FOBS, and other depressed trajectory concepts.
(The latter being one of the things that gave defense planners in the 1980s not just gray hairs, but white; submarine-launched missiles using depressed trajectories would have to be launched from very close to the coast, but in so doing could, say, launch from off the Delmarva area and hit Washington in less than five minutes. Interestingly, this is, reputedly, one reason that second-generation submarine-launched anti-submarine missiles like Sea Lance and Vodopad were cancelled (in the first case) and not widely deployed (in the second); a high-speed, long-range ASW weapon is, functionally, a depressed-trajectory ballistic missile, and a nuclear depth charge fuzed for surface burst is indistinguishable from a nuclear bomb...)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Thank you, corrected.
Not always. In Fallout 3, if you say that you'll let him go and then shoot him dead while he runs away, your companions will comment on your generosity while you peel his coat from his corpse.
Wisdom
Thank you, corrected.
No, that was relayed from the Mothership.
Thank me, corrected.
Weirdly, not in Old World Blues. Eureka, MacArthur and the Pioneer Company are all way nicer than Fallout 2 Enclave. The leader for the Pioneer Company Enclave route was raised by pre-War ghouls and learned his patriotism from them and the other pre-War American military ghouls. On the Eureka Enclave route Granite is horrified and disgusted at what the Fallout 2 Enclave was doing and swears to be better than them, and MacArthur wouldn't be able to function without the hard working mutants.
Neruz
HISSSSSS!
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Its because of the Cold War nuclear apocalypse propaganda, as well as the fossil fuel anti-nuclear power propaganda, both of which frequently claimed that nuclear radiation would poison the world forever.
Fallout's creators grew up with that propaganda, and they also intentionally designed the setting under the auspice of a "what if the post-war era was right about the future" sort of thing, so in Fallout nuclear radioactivity lasts for thousands of years, if not longer.
Vaermina
Well worn.
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They very specifically used dirty weapons designed to leave radioactive residue for hundreds of years.
Also, Fallout 76 only takes place 25 years a free the bombs fell.
WereDragon
Bookwyrm
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- Feb 17, 2020
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"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat.
They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.
So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
Also isn't the Helios Array a giant space laser? Pretty sure there was at least one in Fallout New Vegas.
Mquz
Versed in the lewd.
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Every single car and mech in fallout had radioactive material in it. I wouldn't even be surprised if their industrial scale water systems used batteries with radioactive material to power their systems. They were shielded while they worked, but once the nukes dropped, a lot of those leaked presumably, which is where all the radioactive water comes from. They used atomic batteries instead of our standard lithium ion ones wherever possible (which is also probably why some of the tech still works - atomic batteries can't be recharged but stay functional for centuries.)
Darko
Connoisseur.
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"imagine that"
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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As far as most people know, HELIOS One is a solar power station. It is also the control centre for the ARCHIMEDES II satellite, but... That's probably been fried along with the communication satellites.
Thank you, corrected.
Sockmonkey
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Yeah, like I've said before, my take/headcannon is that the weird/wrong/inconsistent tech levels in fallout are because so much of it came from reverse-engineering and/or just copying captured alien tech without actually understanding it properly. A lot of the "radiation" isn't actually regular radiation, but some other effect that acts a bit like radiation or emits conventional radiation as a by-product of what it's actually doing.
It's like what medicine used to be like, where they had some things that worked, but had no idea of the actual mechanism behind it.