[A/N: I'm behind on my writing. My job has been kicking my ass lately because other staff quit and they can't find anyone to hire ig. Sorry I know my updates suck. I meant to have this one out yesterday but I fell asleep. I got two more I'm working on to drop in the next few days then I'll start working on the next five to release at the middle of the month. Enjoy.]
It didn't take long to reach the coordinates for Vault 120. The entrance to the vault is on one of the numerous small islands off the coast that belonged to the U.S.
As we made our approach, I noticed the island was fairly large and had ruins of buildings littering the place.
The island was curved like an L and the remnants of the Atlantic Aquatic Research Institute (AARI) was mostly destroyed.
Pre-War, AARI, was a facility dedicated to research on marine biology and oceanography.
Vault-Tec established thier presence on the island in a joint venture with the U.S. government in 2075 at AARI request.
A massive sub-aquatic vault facility was constructed and plans for scientists to move in and study the oceans depths were made.
Publicly the vault's research was advertised as a study of the effects of radiation on marine flora and fauna, but the government wanted more for their investment.
They wanted something they could use and the head researcher from AARI, who started the whole project and specialized in marine biology and genetics, promised them results.
To get the government contract with Vault-Tec using government funding Dr. Aaron Wilson told his investors that the secret to longevity and enhancement could be found in marine life. With the charisma the man was able to exude, he secured the contract.
When the national alert went off signaling the nuclear attack, many people who were in the Atlantic Aquatic Research Institute fled to the vault door but most were immediately turned away or shot by security personnel.
The vault did not let anyone in that was not on their list. With the vault sealed, the people left on the island, bore witness to nuclear fire and then were subjected to radioactive fallout.
From my vantage point, I could see nothing human was alive on this island. There were no signs of intelligent life surviving on the surface to be seen.
I activated the VTT after slowing our approach and began looking for a good landing spot.
I spotted a courtyard between two ruined buildings that was large enough to accommodate landing.
As we descended, I saw movement on the ground. Numerous figures crawled out from the ruins and began circling my landing spot.
"Ferals... of course..." I said offhandedly.
"Want me to eliminate them for you, Sir?" Lady next to me looked eager to help but I shook my head.
"No need. I installed automated turrets on the Hydra. I'll let them handle it." I flipped a switch and the two laser turrets on the undercarriage came to life and began targeting the ferals below.
The turrets locked on and fired a continuous volley of red laser beams.
We watched as the beams tore through the horde of ferals, some ending up with large burn holes and missing limbs while some turned to a pile of ash from disintegration.
"Not bad at all." I said with a smirk. There were at least 30 feral ghouls that heard the Hydra's approach and came out to attack, only to burn into nothing.
"There were quite a few here. There might be more hidden further in." Lady stated.
"Yes. We will have to tread carefully to reach the vault door." I replied.
The Hydra touched down over the corpses of the ferals and then the cockpit opened and we stepped out.
"Secure the courtyard. I'm leaving the automated defense system online to prevent anyone or anything from messing with the Hydra."
"Yes sir!" Lady replied and then began checking the courtyard for any feral stragglers that remained hidden.
"Ok. Now to check my compass..." I opened my hud and checked the quest marker. "1137 meters north-northeast. That's should be the in the main pavillion then."
The place we landed was a courtyard between some of the smaller buildings but the vault door was was supposed to be inside the main building.
"All clear sir." Lady finished checking for any hidden enemies in the area and reported.
"Alright good, grab the supply bag. I'll take point and you cover the rear." I said as I pulled out my guns and then began walking towards the quest objective.
It didn't look like these buildings had much loot and I could have Lady scavenge them with me later.
We followed a sidewalk that passed under a elevated pathway that connected the two buildings and followed it.
The path led to the main pavillion that was a very large multi story building. The walls were cracked and in a state of disrepair but the building was still mostly intact.
The entrance had two double doors that had many glass panes shattered. Withered shrubs in long planters lined the wall outside the building and a large decaying sign above the doors read 'Atlantic Aquatic Research Institute'.
I cracked a set of doors open and then cautiously stepped inside with Lady following behind me.
The lobby of the building we were in had overturned chairs and a desk with a terminal.
The place had a more modern feel that other places I've seen, kind of like art deco. Paintings of various marine life was painted directly onto the walls and ceilings with a blue wavy background.
It might have looked pretty before the bombs fell but with the decay and poor lighting coming in through the windows, it just felt creepy.
I crept slowly into the lobby, not seeing any hidden enemies. I noticed the place was lacking power as none of the lights were on and the terminal at the reception desk was unpowered as well as the few elevators just beyond the desk.
After checking around, we moved through a pair of double doors at the back into a hallway that went left to right.
There were signs with arrows that pointed which direction certain areas were.
Raising my flashlight up to read the signs, I saw one that said, "Vault 120".
I lead the two of us right towards our objective. The silence was loud and every footfall echoed through the halls.
As we turned a corner, we ended up in a long hallway that was lined with aquariums on both sides.
Some of them were shattered and empty and dried up and some of them had fungi growing in them.
That hallway stretched for awhile until we started passing more doors to our left and right. Some of them were bathrooms, lecture halls or offices but we didnt stop to loot any of it since we didnt come here for office supplies and looting up here could wait until we were done in the vault.
Past the offices, I started to hear a chittering sound in the direction we were heading.
I signaled with my hands for Lady to stop and sneak. My [Hidden] indicator was moving with each of my footsteps, meaning that I was in an enemies perception range.
With my pistols up, I moved through the halls with purpose until the hallway opened up to a larger space.
Peeking out, I spotted clutches of mirelurk eggs all over the room and a few regular mirelurks moving around and tending to the eggs.
I knew that there must be more in the area since I was seeing quite a few eggs. I signaled Lady to engage before I stepped out from the hall with her moving beside me.
I opened fire on the first mirelurk closest to me and Lady did the same.
The first shots going off caught all the mirelurks attention and they turned to fight and kill us to protect their nests.
But that made it easy to take them down as we pelted their sensitive parts not protected by a hard carapace.
Four lurks went down easy, I then turned to Lady and ordered her to destroy all the eggs in the room, while I moved toward a the far side of the room where the Vault 120 exhibit and entrance was located.
"Make sure to lay mines at all the doorways, just in case any more lurks return to this area." I ordered Lady and she nodded and continued smashing eggs.
I walked through an old deflated balloon arch, which had a banner that read, "Vault 120! Building a better future for both land and sea!".
I couldn't help but think that was a stupid slogan but I paid it no mind because a beautiful vault entrance stood before me.
My attention moved the skeletons that littered the room, many of them wore labs coats but there were many that wore vault security armor with rusty guns still in thier hands.
I approached the vault access console and rubbed the dust off of it with my gloved hand.
The console had power while the rest of the building around it didn't.
I saw that as a good sign.
*ding*
[Quest Complete!....]