Shane himself was more amazed at how little his childhood surroundings had changed. He paced through the hallway he used to run through and found his bedroom still as it was. Bed in the corner, desk by the window, dresser by the closet. It was certainly neater than it was when he left all those years ago. The desk itself, however, had been greatly used. Amid child’s drawings drawn in pencil and pen, as well as sloppy handwriting, indicative of a child learning to write, he found a game of pyramid solitaire laid across all of it. It was nearly completed, but was left in a hurry, considering the bordering cards were slid somewhat out of place.
He turned towards the door to fetch clean clothes for Diana, but stopped in the sight of the young Maverick in the doorway. The boy had identifying features similar to Shane’s, upon closer inspection. They both had dark brown hair, the deep set eyes, and their father’s nose. Shane took a knee and eyed his brother.
“Well, little man, is this your room?” he asked with a smile.
Shyly, the boy nodded. He couldn’t have been more than six years old. He was also wearing Shane’s old clothes, this outfit consisting of a faded blue t-shirt and shorts.
Shane kept a kindly pitch, but added a commanding tone. “Well, tell me your name.”
“Joey,” the boy answered sheepishly.
“I hope you know mine.”
“Mom told me you’re my big brother. Shane.”
“That’s me.”
Joey’s voice became less shy. “You don’t look like my brother though.”
Thinking back on this, Shane never sent photos of himself in his letters to home. “Do you know where my picture with Dad is?”
Joey nodded and quietly scurried across the hall and into the master bedroom. Shane followed him. Their parents’ bedroom had the queen-sized mattress, a TV atop the dresser, and a sidetable drawer with three photographs in frames. The first was Shane’s mother, a young woman in a cocktail dress with longer and darker hair embracing a short-bearded man in a Ranger uniform, Shane’s father. The next was obviously a baby Joey blowing at the flame of a lit candle while he was being held by their mother, who had the appearance closer to the one she now bore. The last one was of their father, with greyer hair and a fuller beard, but a still built appearance, standing next to a younger Shane. Both of them were in full uniform, Maverick Sr with more rank and decoration than Shane’s basic tans.
Shane could hardly recognize himself, however, compared to the appearance he bore now. His fifteen year old self was cleanly shaven and wore his hair much shorter and cleanly cut, compared to Shane’s now scruffier chin and longer, slightly unkempt helmet hair.
He pushed his fingers through his hair and slicked it back, then looked square at Joey. “How about now?”
Joey laughed. “Now you look more like Dad.”
“Did Dad shave his beard?”
Joey nodded with a stupidly comedic grin.
“No way. I only saw him do that once.”
They both started laughing. And in a similar way. There was an obvious difference in the pitch and Shane looked like he was enjoying himself for once.
“Probably the first time anyone's seen Ghost without her sunglasses,” he chuckled, kissing her cheek. “If we pulled a stunt like that here for the first time, I'd be court martialed.”
He set his laser sniper rifle, electrified sword, and Gladius on the workbench and led Diana into the house, where they found an old laundry room. The washer and dryer hadn't worked in centuries and had mostly been used for parts and extra storage, but there they were.
Stairs leading up to the bedrooms and bathroom were adjacent to the kitchen. Shane's mother was cutting tatos and brahmin meat. The little boy was hiding behind her, peering around to see the strangers.
Shane looked at the boy and smiled before heading upstairs. He'd introduce himself to him later.
“Ladies first, Shane!” His mother reminded him. “I have extra clothes if she needs any.”
The upstairs bathroom had a working shower.
He wasn't sure what lurked within the church, but he searched around for hiding places and anything useful.
(stephen.english@myldsmail.net)
Thesalus had hit Shane's gun out of his hand, but didn't give him time to draw another weapon. Shane had to move quickly to continue blocking the blows with the riot shield, bit it was difficult. But finally, a tap to the arm shot more volts through his body and made him open to a kick to the stomach, leaving him sprawled on his back and on the ground.
Shane got to his feet, his legs shaky. He saw what debilitated him, a pair of coils connected to a battery slightly above the guard of the katana sending a current through the blade.
Thesalus stepped closer, making the Ranger raise his guard. The Centurion held the electrified katana in both hands and dealt quick and brutal blows to the core that Shane struggled to block. With a quick flourish while he was reestablishing his guard, Thesalus disarmed Shane and made the gladius fly several meters away.
The Ranger ducked and rolled past a swing to the head, over to the melted bodies of the guards and their riot shields. He picked up the most intact shield and stood up, drawing his .44 revolver. Thesalus was at too close a distance for it to be useful. Shane used the shield to block the katana while firing shots that his opponent would avoid by stepping around the shield. There were only so many rounds a revolver could chamber.
–---------------------
Diana had caught the attention of a squad of Legionnaires that quickly took cover in one of the houses, taking shots at her through the window.
Across the ridges and down to the valley, Novac was being retaken.
Six separate attack groups, each led by either a Ranger or one of the Tombstone Gunslingers, kept the Legion boxed in. The Legionnaires with firearms were targeted with sniper fire while the ones charging for melee were mowed down with machine gun rounds or met with hand to hand combat. Most of the Legion's attention was on the front, where the brunt of Novac's militia were attacking from the highway and the north and south.
Behind the lines, Shane and Andy's attack groups snuck in, quietly positioning themselves to attack the reserves closer to the town center.
Shane spotted Centurion Thesalus surrounded by his personal guard, riot shields and submachine guns in hand, all standing near the command tent they erected in the center of the fenced motel area. Tired from the ordeal of the night, Shane pulled a bottle of Nuka Cola Quantum from his satchel and downed it.
He looked over at one of the grenadiers. "Plasma." She tossed a grenade of that type to him. He looked back at the fence Thesalus and his men were set up behind and saw the dumpster positioned on the corner of the wall and the fence. He took a deep breath and started sprinting for the dumpster. He leapt up to the dumpster and then stepped on the fence, then chucked the grenade he was holding into the center of the ring of riot shields, right at Thesalus' feet, before falling on his side on the dirt ground.
Reacting immediately, the guards positioned themselves to form a line between the Centurion and the Ranger. Thesalus, however, saw the grenade and ran away, diving for the dirt just as the grenade exploded and consumed the men with their backs to it.
Shane and Thesalus groaned and stood up slowly.
"Clever..." the Centurion growled. "So you think you can beat us by killing me?"
"Beating the Legion will happen with or without either of us..." Shane answered back and drew his gladius. "Killing you is a bonus..."
"Ah... Personal, is it? Is it that hostage you simply so 'heroically' rescued? My men told me she was of good breeding stock. I think after I take your head, I'll have my men find her and breed her thoroughly..."
Shane lost it at that. He charged at the Centurion with his gladius, roaring furiously. Like a blur, Thesalus drew out a single-sided blade and struck the Ranger with the blunt and in the arm, shooting thousands of volts into him and making him drop and slide a bit on the ground.
"Or perhaps I'll let you watch one another as your castrated and my seed is sown in her... Then I'll take your head."
She could see Shane standing out there, somewhat distorted by the dirty glass, giving orders and directing combatants in their methods of striking and avoiding casualties. Every so often, he would stand alone beside her power armor, looking out over the ridge.
Then she saw him walk down and disappear from view, her power armor alone. He and several squads started down the hill and into the dusk.
Shane looked at Diana and sighed, giving her hand a final gentle squeeze before getting up and putting his helmet on. "Make sure she's healed enough to escape. Don't let me down, Roland."
He left the tent with the epistle in hand, his stride somewhat weakened. He found the power armor standing alone and stopped to set his hand on it.
"Looks like it's just me, then..."
At that moment, a young man, no older than eighteen and wearing binoculars, ran up to him, panting. "Sir! The Legionnaires have taken the town... The traps should be going off any second..."
Several series of poppings noises could be heard over the ridge.
Maverick started walking to where the main force of men were. "Tell everyone still able to fight to get into squads. Mingle them with the Bright Brotherhood. No one in Legion armor is getting out alive. Not after we take them on all sides..."
He got to work, organizing people quickly.
"It's not your fault..." he told her. "It's mine... I never should have left you alone..."
He let her go and clasped his hand around hers, letting her lay back down properly. He lowered his lips to her forehead and kissed her there gently.
"From now on... you and I stick together."
Shane clenched his fist so tightly that the leather in his gloves made a low squeak under the strain. "I'll make them pay..."
He tried to relax a bit as he gave her a shot of painkillers and a Super-Stimpak for her leg and everywhere else, but once he treated her, he dropped the syringes and embraced her, holding her closely.
He ran over to it and worked the door open. But he found no one inside.
"Huh? Where are they, Skie?"
"Ah... Well I don't have eyes on the back of my head, but I know there's a beautiful woman behind me who's been through a bit of that hell..." he whispered. The speaker in his helmet let her hear that.
When they reached the war camp, the makeshift hospital tent was full, so Shane found an empty tent with a cot and laid her on it gently before taking off his helmet. Using his bits of medical knowledge, he touched the top of her thigh and the sole of her foot and worked them towards the knee.
"Tell me where it hurts and how bad they beat you..." he said.
"Absolutely not," he said to her as he went in front of her and picked her up under her thighs to carry her on his back. "It'd take years for us to make up for everything we'll do for each other, and it still wouldn't be enough for me. I'd still be indebted to you well into the next century... And I wouldn't mind that... Keep talking to me, Diana, tell me what you see..."
"A behemoth, he answered, running out through the street, their dogs following. "Hopefully he'll lose interest..."
The last of the gunfire died and a mighty shout came from the park, echoing.
"SWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
"It apparently calls himself Swan..."
Unbeknownst to him, they were partly running over a dilapidated line, a gold brick path.
The Vexillarius had only barely regained his sight when he was hit in the face with the bag Shane was holding, which spilled out its contents; rocks.
He was then shot by a .44 special round to the throat, courtesy of Shane himself. He then spent the other five rounds in the cylinder taking out the rest of the Legionnaires around them until the ground was littered with Legion bodies, none of which able to fire off a shot.
The Ranger picked up Diana's weapons and gave them back to her. "Alright let's regroup with the others outside the town. C'mon."
He started for the camp towards the hills, keeping close to Diana the whole way. The first thing he'd do would be to tend to her.
He held her carefully, making sure she felt the piece of steel under his left arm.
"That's alright," the Ranger said, discreetly slipping his hand into his bag, conveniently covered by Diana's body. "I think we'll all be going now."
Diana heard several muffled clicks under her.
"Eyes," Shane said nonchalantly, so everyone in their party could hear.
He pulled a bundle of grenades out and tossed them in the air, which let them fly out around them. A sudden and bright flash erupted from each of them, right in the eyesight of the unprotected Legionaries around them.
All of the caravan guards took shots at the Behemoth while the caravan master tried to escape with the brahmin. It picked up a sack out of the water, which held rocks bigger than its fist. The doberman mother followed Skie while the male kept close to Richard and growled.
The Behemoth threw one of its rocks at the guard carrying an assault rifle, which blasted him through the window of the building Skie was in. It threw another rock at the brahmin, which killed it and made it fall on top of the caravan masrer.
"Every man for himself!" one of the guards shouted before running away. This was a mistake, as he was hit with another boulder.
One by one, the men started to scatter. Richard figured that would be a better idea than to let himself be killed too, so he ran into the building with Skie and the pups.
"Time to leave..." he told her. "Back door."
Within ten minutes, Shane was leading Roland and Cliff down to where Diana was being held captive with the Gunslingers in tow. He held four full sacks on his belt, probably holding their weapons.
They stopped twenty-five yards away. Shane spoke up. "We'll surrender these men, but I want whatever you took from her in my possesion first."
He threw a balled up sack at the leader and watched Diana.
Richard looked and saw the caravanner unzip his pants with their back to them.
"Wait!" he shouted. "Get away from there!"
It was too late. The caravanner started urinating in the river. When that happened, a Behemoth Super Mutant wielding an anchor for a club rose out of the water and started roaring before it smashed the hapless man with the anchor club.
Richard picked up the bag full of puppies and have them to Skie, before holding his rifle at the ready. "Run!"