Anything Goes

Writer's Note: This was a starter written for Scoundrel. Liked it so much I decided to make it my sample. Please be aware I don't write this much normally. Was just feeling inspired and letting the muse flow. Enjoy!

[ ANYTHING GOES ]

Another day, another dive.

Yet today wouldn't be so predictable.

Janet and Guts had just been doing a routine sweep. Clearing debris, looking for supplies. You didn't survive out here without being proactive. They'd get more than they bargained for in the basement of that unnamed facility. The upper floors had been picked through, but the real prize awaited them in the half-crumbling shipping bay. One of the rusted white cargo crates hiding a hatch inside. A familiar logo etched into the yellow painted bulwark: Vault-Tec.

"Wait-" disbelief stifled her only moments before it clicked. "Holy hell!! Guts, get over here!" Within seconds a saw whizzed to life, rushing closer. Gruff robotic tone barking out tensely "Hostiles?!" The grey Gutsy paused to scan the interior of the crate. Giving a grunt of disapproval.

"Janet.."

The cautionary manner didn't stop her. Janet already clattering to her knees, examining it's integrity. "Janet we don't have the intel for this diversion. It's too risky. Let's stick to the plan." Fingers traced the beveled logo until she swiped a pressure switch. The hatch groaning to prop open on it's expandable tracks. Janet sliding back just in case company lurked below. There was only silence.

"Janet we need to keep moving. We haven't met our target parameters and it'll be dark soon." She'd smirk, pulling herself up to stand. "Then we best hurry up huh? Whatever's hiding down there could blow our usual scraps out of the water." Guts didn't hesitate to retort. "Whatever's down there could blow you out of the water, dumbass." She was already stepping down the unveiled stairs of the hatch. "For a Gutsy you sure don't have any." A sudden light flashed downward to illuminate her path. "Beats having a flimsy skin suit. Move, i'll lead."

Stepping underground they'd arrive into a large dark cavern. The pan of Guts' light barely locating a walkway. It almost seemed like the space hadn't been fully completed. A short trail would bring them to a station. The cubicle sized domicile having a few terminals and leftover shelves inside: a checkpoint. Another cursory wave of the light exposing a massive door, sealed by machinery. This was... a vault?!

"A true blue vault, Guts! Can you believe it?! Imagine what might be in there!!" For all her travels this had been her first time seeing one up close. She expected most of these to have already been cracked open. Lucky them. With a few audible clicks she'd crack their encryption and find the unsealing protocols. Authorizing their entry before pressing the large red button beside it.

One loud clang caused an ominous hiss from the bulkhead. Warning lights and sirens blaring. Air rushed from the cracks as that iconic cog whirred to life. The intercom's feminine voice calmly expressing gratitude. 'Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec.' Janet couldn't help but stand in awe. This moment felt.. surreal. A surge of excitement and uncertainty rushed her senses. He would have loved this. With one more echo of the turning locks it would swivel to the side. Exposing the entry.

"Weapons hot. We don't know what's in there." Guts' logical command brought Janet out of her daze. "Right. Let's go." She'd pull the laser pistol off her belt before stepping forward. What would Vault-Tec be hiding? She'd heard the stories. About how much of a gamble these places were. Sometimes you walked away with enough supplies to last you months, others you didn't walk away at all.

Here's hoping it'd be worth the risk.

As they breached the vault it seemed to detect their presence. The entire interior suddenly lit up, making Janet flinch. "Easy. I'm not picking up any targets yet." Guts' reassurance made her trigger finger loosen slightly. "Ok, let's look around." The Gutsy would hover down the hall, letting his sensors sweep the area for threats. But it was... quiet. Too quiet.

Janet spotted hall markers right away. The first few were fairly standard: bunks, mess hall, storage. Typical things you'd expect of an underground living facility. But then one sign sent her speed walking. R & D

Now they were speaking her language.

Keeping an eye out for any surprises Janet would wander the vault. The surroundings made her feel.. off. Little clues keeping her on guard. Skeletons, signs of struggle, furnishings tossed and destroyed. Something happened here, but what? Her robotic sibling came speeding to catch up, reprimanding her. "Are you trying to die.. Stick together."

Rounding another corner Guts would suddenly rush in front of her. Making her bump into him. "What the hell!" His frontward optic would scan the blast door up ahead. RESTRICTED AREA painted on it's face. "I'm picking up life signs in that room. And several more below it." Below it? So this place went even deeper?!

"Got it." Acknowledging his warning they approached slowly. A panel on the wall seemed to be the only thing keeping them out. "Watch my back." She'd set to work, clicks and beeps filling the space once more. This one was stubborn but Janet's hacking skills proved better in the end. The black and green screen blinking as a vault boy popped up, thumb up and smiling.

The door would rise to expose a more advanced chamber. Tables cluttered with tools and parts, racks packed with containers, and last but certainly not least- a bulky metal suit the likes of which she'd never seen before. Her heart nearly stopped in a comical moment of love at first sight. "Well hello beautiful~" Was it some kind of power armor? An unreleased prototype maybe? The possibilities made Janet happy as a brahmin in a razorgrain field!

"Janet." Once again Guts snapped her back to her senses. "What's-" she didn't even finish her sentence before spotting exactly what he did. Far on the opposite end of the r&d lab a large ceiling conveyor sat. And latched into the securing frame? A hulking man in a pod. Though she wanted to enjoy studying the suit it would have to wait.

Glimpsing a terminal beside the rig she'd step up. Taking one more look at the seemingly frozen man before searching for files. Strangely this terminal seemed to be scrubbed clean of everything except one file. Selecting it a sheet was pulled up. A majority of the information had been redacted or deleted but for a small blessing it did have one thing: a name. "...Tychus Findlay. I'm guessing that's you, big guy..."

Without warning red alarm lights would begin blinking. An ear piercing alarm sounding through the lab. 'Threat detected. All residents please proceed to your homes. Security lockdown will be initiated in FIVE. MINUTES.' Janet's heart sank. "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t! Did I miss something?!"

It wasn't Janet and Guts that caused the alert.

At the rear of the lab was another blast door, noticably more durable than the one they'd entered through. So imagine her surprise when a roar rippled from the other side. A sudden slam actually putting a dent in the barrier. "Janet! We need to retreat, now!" Guts was ready to drag her out if necessary. Another slam made that dent deeper. Enough so that a gap had formed at the bottom.

Black metal fingers would suddenly curl through it. The door screeching as it was forcefully lifted. Resulting in sparks and metal groans of resistance. It would give soon enough. The thing standing behind it left Janet frozen. She'd seen a lot of things in the wasteland, but this? This was unheard of.

The remnants of a man, not unlike the one frozen beside her, stood there. More metal than flesh at first glance. Robotic parts had been surgically integrated onto his body. The torso resembled a T-45 power armor piece, an Assaultron head fastened into the central chest cavity. His left arm was human, the right another extension of assaultron hardware. It was his lower body that really shook her. He didn't have legs anymore. Just the lower section of a Sentry bot carrying his mass.

She almost didn't see the head charging up.

"JANET!" She'd gasp from Guts shout and dodge. Narrowly avoiding becoming a pile of glowing ash. She'd take shelter behind the pod as Guts fired upon the cyborg. Hovering back to force it to follow him into the vault. Hoping to buy her time to escape. Panic stricken Janet attempted to formulate a plan. Only one came to mind.

If that strange armor meant anything of value, it was that it could help their situation. Rushing over to it she'd desperately search for a release. Something to allow her to enter just as power armor did. But this was foreign technology for her. Some parts she recognized while others felt like they were straight out of a science fiction comic.

That's when it hit her.

This MUST have been the sleeper's suit. Why else would they both be in here? Maybe that thing went nuts before they could wake him up. She wasn't about to lose Guts making their mistakes. She'd bound for the terminal and find the cryopod menu, pausing at the confirmation prompt to look at him one last time.

"..This better not bite me in the ass.."

'Begin unfreezing process?'

>>> [ YES ] <<<