Better Dead than Red - Briefing Room

(Not only will I be making the first post in AAFB, but hopefully this will lead to a post in D.C. Ruins as well.)

Bravo Team filed into the small briefing room within the Adam's AF Base office building - messy, though it was - with a brilliant view of the Mobile Base Crawler from the window. Standing next to a holographic projector mounted to a table was a man of above-average height, shoulder-length brown hair, and the face of a youthful, ambitious young politician. Clad in a steam-pressed black business suit and a pin bearing the Enclave emblem on his left breast flap, the self-appointed Secretary of State allowed the men clad in Advanced Power Armor Mk. II, Tesla Armor, and Hellfire Armor to take their seats. These men were apart of a hand-picked task force put together by Isaac Horrigan and Captain Crunch, which was to be dispatched on a mission that was going to be revealed by the Secretary as soon as the Captain arrived. Isaac trusted no one but Captain Crunch to get this mission done, which was why he picked him above all other officers in the Enclave military to lead Bravo Team into the D.C. Ruins.

The holographic projector was zoomed in on a topographic satellite display of Arlington Cemetery, with a close-up view of Mama Dolce's. Isaac took a drink of a nearby bottle of Nuka Cola, and if the light were any brighter in the room, the dark spots under his eyes from lack of sleep would be a lot more visible. For an unknown reason, there was also a small holotape player rigged to a loudspeaker in the room as well.

Isaac waited patiently for Captain Crunch to arrive.

A man paused just outside the door to the conference room. He was a massive bear of a man. Muscular, encased in a suit of heavily scarred and battle worn Tesla armor, with his full complement of weapons, he looked like a big ball of death and whoop ass, ducking and twisting around he squeezed into the room. The man reached up and removed a patched officers hat,"Not to be a buzz kill, but why are all the meeting rooms in the old structures? The doors aren't built for power armor, let alone mine." Captain Crunch said good humorously, of course this wasn't the mans real name, but since he had changed it, the enlisted men seemed less nervous around him. Even now he received a few friendly greetings which he returned with a nod as he took his seat. "So, Mr. Secretary," He addressed his friend more formally than he normally did due to the audience, "I can assume that since you've called upon me to bring my armor, that you have something for me to do with it?"

The Secretary of State laughed quietly to himself as he made his remark. "Of course, Captain." He didn't even mind that the man wasn't addressing him as "Sir"; Crunch was Isaac's friend, and Isaac allowed only him to refer to Isaac as an equal. Not because he was egotistical, but military formality was a tradition that was worth keeping alive.

Ignoring his first question about why they were in the buildings (it was for privacy), Isaac looked from the soldiers masked behind Power Helmets to the man whose girth could only be rivaled by a Super Mutant. After they were situated, Isaac clicked a button on a little TV-remote-like device, causing the holographic projector to zoom out to Arlington Cemetery. "Arlington Cemetery," he began. "Many of our ancestors, forefathers, and fallen American soldiers are buried here, as you all know. Considering this, you can easily understand why I am very, very upset about the report I found on my desk this morning."

Isaac pressed another button, and it again zoomed in on Mama Dolce's. "This is Mama Dolce's Food Packaging Plant. Back before the bombs fell, this place was responsible for Sugar Bombs... it's a shame, too, because I used to eat those all the time as a kid back at Raven. And before any of you ask, no, this mission isn't about getting us a bunch of sugary cereal." Hearing some of the men chuckle, Isaac paused. Good. He liked throwing a little humor into his briefings, it kept morale up.

Isaac then placed the remote down, walked over to the holotape player, and pressed a button. What came out of the rigged speakers was something that made Isaac visibly flinch, even after hearing this three times already.

Quote :

"Greetings to the oppressed masses from the peace-loving peoples of China. *static* All peace-loving peoples must join together to stop the war of aggression being waged by the Wall Street gang. *static* Why do you continue to send your boys to die for your capitalist masters? *static* Your boys are dying on the Alaskan front and all for nothing. Bring them home before it's too late. *static* The gang of Wall Street fat cats and their Washington warmonger puppets have plunged the world into war to lining their own *static* ... Do you think your leaders would keep you safe when the bombs fall? You will die while the Wall Street gang and their hangers-on live like kings and ...*static*"

Isaac turned the player off as the message began repeating the introduction. "One of our Eyebots picked up this signal on an FM frequency while moving through Arlington on a recon course. Shortly afterward, the Eyebot was destroyed by an unknown cause. Our technical team was able to pinpoint the radio frequency from Mama Dolce's... and something tells me that there's more than just a looping radio signal inside that factory."

Isaac clicked another button on the remote, and the holographic projector zoomed out to the very tip of Arlington Cemetery, at the northern gates. "Your mission is simple. You will infiltrate Mama Dolce's, find the source of this radio frequency, and eliminate it. If my suspicions are correct and there are indeed Chinese Commie vermin in there, you will kill them and bring me their commanding officer... alive. I want to know if there are more of these bastards inside our borders. If they've been around for this long, then their commander has to know something."

Isaac then flicked the projector off, and turned the lights on. "You will be transported via Vertibird to the northern edge of Arlington. It's not a far walk. However, due to the close proximity of the site to the Brotherhood of Steel-occupied Pentagon, I ask that you exercise caution and avoid engaging any Brotherhood patrols at all costs. I'd really appreciate it if they didn't know of our operation." Isaac paused, and smiled. "I know many of you have been itching for a fight. This is no Project Purity, but I'm sure killing a few Commies will tide you over until we launch a counter-attack. Dismissed - your flight leaves in oh-eight-hundred hours."

A feral grin broke out on Crunch's face halfway through the recording, he could see where this was going. When Issac finished his presentation he stood. "You heard the man. Get your gear ready, get your meal and rest up. We've got work to do." When the men had left he moved to stand looking out the window, "Commies huh? That's certainly unexpected, didn't think there were any left." He said lightly

Isaac sat down on a rotating chair as Crunch dismissed Bravo Team. "Yeah, I didn't believe it either until I heard the recording." The Secretary seemed rather optimistic in his tone, however. "I have a feeling these guys will be a walk in the park, though. The Commies weren't known for their equipment during the war; all they had were cheaply made assault rifles and the occasional stealth suit. They didn't even have Power Armor." Isaac swiveled around in his chair like a little kid, and stood up, moving towards the window. "Those assault rifles shouldn't even be able to pierce our armor. This should be more of a fun mission than an actual challenge."

Crunch grinned, "I could use some stress relief after all the time i spent refurbishing the base defenses." He scowled at the last words. Over the last few weeks he had worked furiously patching the major holes in the bases defensive lines. "Did you know there was a path intruders could take that completely bypassed almost all of the major defenses? Rest assured that is fixed now." And it was true, now there were very few places one could set foot in the main base without being tracked by at least one turret "and the way crucial terminals were placed was plainly idiotic. Even a light force could have disabled every turret in the base with out firing a shot!" He shook his head.

Isaac nodded. "Good. I'd hate to make the same mistake that Autumn made with Project Purity's defenses." He stared out of the window, back at the Mobile Base Crawler. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" he mused, from the top of the satellite dish to the Crawler's gargantuan treads. "Big enough to run over a Behemoth, and connected to every satellite left in the earth's orbit." He sighed, and turned away from the window. "We can't lose this base. This is the last place we have on the East Coast... so many good men died at Raven Rock... men who could have helped rebuild our nation."

He took another sip of the Nuka Cola, finishing the bottle. As he lowered it from his lips, he turned back to Crunch. "If we're going to rebuild America and create the America that Eden wanted to see, then we have no place in our capital for Commies. Let the boys have some fun with this mission. Kill the red bastards, and take whatever you find there for yourselves, even if it is a bunch of sugary cereal. Just make sure to bring back any intel, and their commander in one piece. He needs to be in good enough condition to... answer some questions."

"Yes si- ... Isaac, I'll definitely get this job done before dawn." crunch said with absolute conviction. "Those commies won't even see themselves die." He walked to the door and squeezed himself out of the room. He had things to prepare...

(three things,

1. can this mission be at night?

2. I'm will be getting the paralyzing palm perk when caps permit.

3. sorry for the short post. wanted to get it in before my steak dinner and well .... STEAK!!!! )

Isaac nodded. "The Vertibird is ready when you are." As he watched his top commander leave, he turned followed him out of the room, and made for the next available Nuka Cola machine. He had more work to do on Eden.

((1. Sure.
2. Okay. I was thinking of going for Cyborg, myself.
3. No problem. Enjoy. ^.^))