Video games, had always been an escape for Sara. A way to forget the s**t life had to offer her. A job breaking her down, only to return to the ever present quiet of her home. Yet she just didn't have the energy to change it. Work was fine for the most part, and she saw no reason to go out there and get married. She shivers a bit as she slowly enters her tiny apartment. As lonely as it was, it was still home, and she just couldn't bring herself to get close to someone again. Even if it had been eight years. Tired, she kicks off her shoes and leaves them at her door. She removes her work pants as she heads for her couch and pulls on her sweat pants. It was early December and it had only snowed once. A bit strange for Minnesota weather. She figured it had something to do with the hurricane that hit awhile back. She lets out a yawn, ignoring the T.V for now as she sits herself down at her computer desk. Sure it took awhile to make, but it was damn worth it as she turns it on. She was finally able to play games she hadn't been able to before. She loved Skyrim to bits, but now she was slowly getting into Fallout. It was hard not to be fascinated by it's history. The first two games had been made by a company called Interplay Entertainment, who were connected to Black Isle Studios, the same people that made Baldur's Gate, another favorite of her's. They wanted to make the game 3D, but seeing how Neverwinter didn't quiet turn out that well, they sold it to Bethesda and the rest was history.
She lets out another yawn as her computer boots up and she types in her password. Windows 10 wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. It was better then seven, and a hell of a lot better the Vista. That had been a huge disaster. She removes her glasses, rubbing her eyes, it was only a little after five in the evening and she was ready for bed. Work was starting to tire her out, even though she changed from her usual late night shifts. She should just cut her losses and move to the bigger city, but it just brought back to many unpleasant memories. She shakes the thought away as she checks her mail, nothing, no surprise there. She dicks around for a bit, before looking into any mods she wanted to try out. She found a few she liked for Skyrim, mostly simple stuff. Things like adding more farm animals to the area. Fixing up the towns after the Civil War. Marking out the roads better. Making a lighter version of Daedric armor. It was kind of neat because it had the same design as the Nightingale armor. She even put in a mod so her Companion Vilkas would keep up with her. She had a habit of always having him around. She smirks a bit, she hadn't played in awhile, but she shakes the thought away, later. She finds a few interesting mods to try out. Ones that allowed her to play as someone other then the Sole Survivor. It more or less worked the same way the Alternative Start mod would work, if it did at all half the time. She also found a mod that added a bit more options to who you wanted to romance. As well as the ability to marry them. It always surprised her how little work they put into Fallout 4. Better then the third, you only got maybe eight people that would follow you.
This was the first time she ever played a game that involved guns. She mostly stuck to games that were built of the Dungeons and Dragons engine. So it took her a while to get used to it, but she found she liked it. She yawns again as everything loads and she picks out the mods she wanted to try. She was just a lonely survivor that called the Commonwealth her home. She could choose any path she wanted, so as she made her person, and jumps into it. Armed with nothing more then a old looking outfit and a 10mm pistol, and a small backpack, she was ready to go. Her first task, join the Brotherhood of Steal, to see if her marry anyone mod worked. She was going to try it on the Elder for giggles. If she was right, she would be able to not only clear out the airport herself, but wait for their arrival. If she was correct, she wouldn't have to wait long. So she found her way there after a bit of wondering about, only to run into a horde of Feral's. She knew now to aim for the legs, because these things could run. It reminded her of the Walking Dead. She lets out a low snort as she pictures herself with the sheriff outfit, oh poor Rick. She rubs her eyes again as she pauses, God she was tired. It was only six, it was far to early to go to bed. So she gets back into the game, she had to be careful, she only had so much ammo, and she was trying not to use cheat codes. It was hard since it worked the same way as Skyrim so she already knew how that worked. She makes a sweep of the area before making her way into one of the bunkers.
Another mod she added was to be able to pull out a small sleeping bag so she could rest anywhere. She finds a safe enough spot to wait for the Prydwen to show up. Shouldn't be long, they would show up, to investigate the going on's of the Institute. It was still a bit creepy, knowing what she did now. Not only did they replace people, but they would more or less make new people in their place. Genetic clones basically, only difference being the Institute places chips into their brains. Synths, some where good, like Nick Valentine. She still had a hard time not wanting to kill him because he was the same voice actor behind Mercer Frey in the Thieves Guild. The jerk that tries to kill you, still she had to hand it to the guy, he was good. She lets out another yawn as she shakes her head. She sits her glasses down for a bit as she rubs her eyes. It was still far to early for bed, yet she just needed a minute. She saves her game and puts her character into the sleeping bag. At least it would act as a spawn point if anything happened. She just needed a minute as she lays her head on her desk and closes her eyes. It was the last thing she remembered. --- Flying majestically over the Commonwealth, the Prydwen flew over the ruined city. Elder Maxson stood at the front windows, watching with little interest. He came here for a reason. Not only was he here to look into the several missing squads that had vanished into this place. But they finally seemed to have enough information to point them that somewhere down there was the Institute. He watches as the Vertibird's descend to the airport, it would make the perfect base.
All they had to do was clear it out. Several Brotherhood knights came in, all in their Power Armor. However, the place was quiet as one of the knights removes his helmet. "It's...a bit quiet..." Knight Lucia looks around as another knight Rylan moves slowly. Someone calls out. "Hey I found something!" They go running toward the voice to see Knight Gavil looking down at a sleeping body. They move slowly to see the person, this woman, was still very much alive. He picks up his communicator as he radios the Prydwen. "Elder Maxson sir, the area is clear, however we have located a single civilian, by the looks of it, she cleared the area herself..." Maxson blinks as he hears this as he tilts his head. "What..?" He picks up the tiny piece of equipment and clicks the button. "Soldier...are you honestly telling me a single person cleared out the area...?" There was a small pause. "Yes sir, she doesn't look harmed either..." Maxson lowers his arm a bit, trying to figure this out. "Bring her on board..." Hell they could use more soldiers. If whoever this was could clear out a area of Feral's, alone, hell yeah it'd be worth the trouble. The Knight picks her up and takes her onto the Vertibird and onto the Prydwen taking her to doctor Captain Cade. The man blinks as they bring her in, her body limp as they lay her on a single bed. The doctor looks her over, taking her pulse. She was alive, just out cold. The Knight leaves as Elder Maxson enters, wanting more information on the person they had found. The doctor was still looking her over. "Elder, your'er here, good...from what I can tell, she's just out cold..she should wake up soon." Maxson nods at this, he wasn't going to go anywhere until he got answers.
Everything was a strange blur of movement. She could swear she could hear someone talking but ignores it. Damn neighbors, why couldn't they ever shut up? She turns a bit, wait, she could feel a blanket. That couldn't be right. Her mind slowly seem to catch up on something wasn't right as she lets out a low groan, waking up slowly. God's it felt like she got hit by a truck, only for it to back up and try again. She rubs her head as she slowly sits up, wondering why the room was so fricken bright. Didn't change the fact she was now in a bed, what was going on? Her eyes slowly seem to focus as a strange man looms over her. She lets out a scream and jolts as she quickly backs away. "What the ever living...!?" He holds up his hands to calm her. "Shh...relax miss, your safe." "Miss?" She almost snickers at that as she looks around. "Where...?" He gives her a relaxed smile. "You're on board the Prydwen, I'm Knight-Captain Cade, you were found down bellow, as well as a number of dead Feral's.." She shakes her head a bit as her mind was slowly starting to clear away the fog. Wait, what, she was dreaming right? Maxson was off to the side, she hadn't quiet noticed him yet. He was more or less just taking her in. Shoulder length brown hair, tanned skin, not to muscular, but she didn't look like she had any training in combat. Still he kept his mouth shut as she seems to take this all in. "Err...so you..found me and brought me here?" She was just trying to figure this out as the doctor nods at her. "Yes ma'am, Elders orders, we could always use able people in our fight.." Her arm lowers at this, was this part of the mod she put in, or, what the hell was this? "Against the Institute...right?" He seems to light up at this as he turns to Elder Maxson. "Right..if you are felling up to it, I'm sure our Elder would like to hear what information you have."
"Elder?" Her eyes turn to see the man himself, standing there with his arms behind his back. The internet wasn't joking, for man that was only suppose to be twenty, puberty hit this man like a tank. He was way more intimating up close and personal. The doctor leaves, now it was just him and she could swear her heart was pounding. She slowly slides off the bed to bow her head to him, showing some degree of respect to the man. They were the same height, but that battle coat of his made him look more imposing. "Um...sir.." Thank goodness for old habits. Maxson nods his head to her. "Relax, I'm impressed, not many people can pull off something like this...why are you here?" "Crap..." She didn't want to lie, but she had no idea what to tell him. "I got lost to be honest, never really been out here before." Which was true she had never seen Massachusetts up to now. Her brows knit a bit. "Guess it never helped I never really know where I'm going in the first place...at any rate I saw this place, figured it be safe enough...and I guess you lovely folks found me passed out.." She had to guess that's what happened, at some point she passed out from her exhaustion. Maxson listens to her story closely, taking a mental note of everything she said. "So what do you know about the Institute?" She thins her lips at this. "About as much as anyone else, I heard a few people talking. From...what I managed to pick up they seem to come right out of nowhere and replace people with...Synth's..." She still had to admit, the idea alone was scary as crap. "Not really sure I understand it myself, but from what I can guess is when they take said people they copy their memory into a chip. My guess is the idea is to have spies without anyone taking notice. But what they fail to see is people DO take notice, I mean it's hard to miss a loved one acting strange all of a sudden...right?"
The look on his face was, interesting. He seemed to be taking this all in. "So we were right.." He whispers to himself before he stands a bit straighter. "Thank you miss....?" Her eyes go wide again, well crap again. "Sara is fine sir..." Her last name really didn't mean much any more, at least for her. "Your last name?" She could swear he grumbled a bit. "Hagen...no relation to the fort I swear." He takes this in and nods, he would need a proper report on everything about her. That was if she was willing to join that is. "So you are aware of the activity out there, outside of Feral's, the Institute proves to be a threat to the people here." He again seems to look her over. "Perhaps with proper training, you can be an asset to us." She looks up at this. "You want me to join you guys?" Well this took an interesting turn, again she had to wonder if she had some hand in this odd outcome. God her heart, felt like it was pounding in her ears. "Heh, where do I sign?" Maxson smiles at this as he holds out his arm to lead the way. He had a good feeling about this. Normally they didn't trust outsiders. Hell he still had a hard time with it, but they needed the numbers and there was no way in hell he was going to let this slip through his fingers. She follows him down, past several people that didn't pay them any mind. He leads her to his room/office and opens the door, pointing to his table. Oh sweet Jesus, her anxiety just hit new levels as she takes a seat. but the man was nothing short of professional. "Of course he would, you dingus." He gathers some papers before sitting down across from her, writing out her name first.
He did this with everyone. Put it on paper first, then enter it into the terminal, something he learned over time. "Alright, date of birth.." She blushes a bit as she looks to the side. Her favorite game, seeing how many people got it wrong when it came to her age. It was a bit fun and annoying at the same time. "May eleventh.." If she remembered right, the year here was 2287, so that would mean. "Year 2255.." Which made her thirty-two. She just watches the man do the math in his head, she was waiting for it as he slowly looks at her and she just smiles. Of course her mind going. "That's right you smug b*****d, I'm WAY older then you." "Yeah I know, surprising isn't it..?" He just sat there, half debating if she was pulling his leg. The look on her face told him otherwise. He had so many question, but shakes his head. "Moving on...parents?" She opens her mouth but ends up rubbing the back of her head. "Alive as far as I'm aware, but...is not really that important.." She looks off to the side as he just gives her a small nod. He made a mental note to ask later. "Siblings?" "No sir.." He nods as he continues down the list. "Now, you don't have to answer, since not many people know, but do you know your blood type?" She nods her head at him. "Yes sir, I'm O positive, I donated my blood some years ago so I could have that information." She also bruised the minute they poked her, took forever to heal. "Sure it left one hell of a bruise, but it was nice to know I would be able to help...well hell just about anyone.." He looked impressed to say the least, writing that down.
"Where are you from?" Oh God she wanted to sink down a bit. No point on lying to the man. "Originally...I was born in what used to be known as California.." She really hoped she was getting this right. She was still learning the lore behind this game, and even Bethesda admitted they didn't put much effort into it. That pecked his interest of course, his history came from there after all. "Grew up some hours away from San Francisco, from what I remember my dad was a mechanic...." She looks down again as she shakes her head. "I left the state...oh gosh...when I was..twenty-six?" A little before she was twenty-six if she remembered right. "Been on the move since, ended up out here to this lovely gem." She goes quiet as Maxson just keeps his eyes on her. She already felt like sinking into the floor, he wasn't helping. "Why move?" "Oh boy..." It takes her a minute to answer. "It...just wasn't home anymore...after...well everything..." Her voice lowers a bit, not really wanted to dive into that pit again. He seems to take the hint, he had enough for now. "Very well, now, normally we don't normally let people in without some kind of sponsor to speak for you. Seeing as we didn't see you in action, I'll have to think of something." Truth be told he wasn't sure who to assign to this task. He would do it himself, but he had enough on his plate trying to figure out where one of his Paladins vanished. He lets out a small sound, one step at a time here as he slowly stands. He might as well just give her the tour, and she might as well go along for the ride.
