Community:Fanfiction/Fallout: Tales from the Haddon War

Fallout: Tales from the Haddon War is a Fanfic written by KitMaelstrom, detailing the experiences of numerous Haddon War veterans, written from an in universe perspective as after-action reports are filed.

Chapter 1: Steel Behemoths
[''The following is a transcription of the interrogation of a survivor of the Battle of Trench Line-78, known informally among army units as the Scar. Access is prohibited to those under clearance level "GARL", and can and will be punished by imprisonment.'']

Interrogator: Hello, Nicole.

Nicole: Hi? If you don't mind, could you kindly tell me why the fuck I'm being held here?

Interrogator: You know why you are here.

Nicole: No. No, I really have no clue whatsoever. Would you be so polite as to fill me in?

Interrogator: You were at The Scar.

[''At this, Nicole's face falls, her aggressive attitude instantly gone. For several seconds, she remains silent, only talking upon further prompting from the interrogator.''].

Nicole: Yeah? So what if I was?

Interrogator: We have very little information on that particular engagement. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the reason why the Californians broke our lines.

[''Nicole falls silent again, apparently pondering the statement. Following this, she raises her head, a look of weary resignation on her face.'']

Nicole: If I tell you, will you release me from this situation?

Interrogator: Of course.

Nicole: Well, I suppose that someone should know the story. If it helps...

[Sighs somewhat sadly.]

Nicole: We had been deployed to the south, from Trench Line-92...or Line-93. Wasn't like I bothered to learn the name of the hole in the ground that I was living in. NCR forces had been steadily pushing up for the past couple of months. The Scar had taken somewhat heavy casualties, and my unit was sent to replace those losses. Wasn't a pretty situation, but we supposed that it could be worse.

Interrogator: What were you doing at the time of the engagement?

Nicole: Cleaning my rifle. Trench warfare broke down even the most sturdy of equipment. Between battles, I was almost constantly wiping dirt away from the bolt, applying new oil, and, if I had the time, adjusting the weighting and the sights. Recently, I had acquired a nice scope for it, really light, well sighted, could be mounted easily. I had to trade a couple of ration packs for it, but it was worth it. I think that I had been fiddling with the mount and the sighting when I heard the alarm go off.

Interrogator: What happened then?

Nicole: What do you think that I did? I stopped my tinkering, shoved a fresh clip into the mag, loaded the mag, and ran to the dugout. For once, I was glad that the army had issued me a bolt-action instead of an AR. In the conditions that I was in, having a weapon that required less maintenance was a lifesaver. I reached the dugout, peered through the scope, and saw...nothing.

Interrogator: Nothing?

Nicole: Well, nothing might be a bit of an exaggeration. What I mean was that with the wall of smoke that had somehow sprung up in front of the trench, I couldn't make out a damned thing. All across the line, I saw people doing the same thing that I was, looking through scopes, iron sights, or just pointing their weapon in the general direction of the grey wall. For a moment, it seemed that the smoke had just appeared, was just taunting us. Still, I kept my finger over the trigger, and my eye to the scope. Still, it seemed like there was nothing...and then I heard the engines.

Interrogator: Engines?

Nicole: Yep, engines. A deep, reverberating rumble just echoing through the plains. I heard murmurs behind me, discussion as to what they could be. As for me, I just kept my eyes on the smoke. And amidst the gray, I saw...red. I didn't hesitate. I fired. But the lights didn't fade. And the sound of engines kept rumbling, getting ever closer, as more lights appeared among the smoke.

Interrogator: What happened next?

Nicole: Well, shortly after, they rolled into view, these giant forms of steel, moving along on tracks that churned the ground beneath them. These behemoths, like monsters of some kind.

Interrogator: Like pre-war cars?

Nicole: No, not like them at all. These were bigger. Way bigger. On their own, they would have been terrifying, but...they weren't.

Interrogator: What was with them?

Nicole: The NCR hadn't just deployed these things. The smokescreen that I am sure they put up wasn't just there to obscure these vehicles. And those red lights that I had seen earlier began to multiply. Shortly afterwards, dozens, probably even more than a hundred NCR troops came walking out of the smoke. But that wasn't the part that scared me.

Interrogator: What did?

Nicole: The stupor that everyone seemed to be in vanished abruptly, and we began to fire. Our shots just bounced of the armour of the Californian vehicles, so we redirected them to the troops. I brought my scope up to an enemy soldier, lined it up with his chest, and fired. He staggered a bit; I thought that he was done for. But then, he just kept walking like nothing had happened. I had noticed that they were wearing some kind of armour, but I never expected it to be that effective. I shrugged it off. Maybe he had just gotten lucky. But it happened again. And again. And again. Shot after shot, none of them eucceeding in in downing any.

Interrogator: What was the calibre of the rifle that you were using?

Nicole: Pretty standard for a hunting rifle. .308, standard round. No jackets, no hollow points, no AP. Just plain old .308, and something that should have knocked the wind out of anyone, especially at the distance of engagement. But it just failed to do anything, like it was made of rubber. And no, it wasn't. What kind of soldier would carry rubber rounds in the field?

Interrogator: What did you do after that?

Nicole: I honestly don't recall that well. I think I scrambled out of my hole, reloaded the rifle, and continued fighting. There was a HMG atop a guard tower, rattling away as more of these armoured troops charged. It seemed to be the only weapon that we had that had any real effect on them. I heard a boom, some kind of ear splitting crack, and the tower exploded. I thought that I had seen cannons on the vehicles, but this confirmed it. After that, all hell broke loose. The cannons on the other vehicles began firing as well, whittling away at our lines as their armoured soldiers poured into The Scar. I kept firing, the battle becoming a bit of a daze, until I felt something slug me in the chest. Hurt like hell, it must have been a rifle round. If I wasn't wearing armour, I probably would have been done for.

Interrogator: What happened next?

Nicole: I fired, staggered around, everything began blurring up. I could hear shouts nearby, as well as heavy footsteps running towards me. I spotted a side tunnel, and ducked into it, just as my would be killers entered the room. I turned through the tunnel, weaving throughout the trench as the gunfire began to die down. Eventually, I spotted light down one path, and darted for it. It took me out a few hundred metres away from the main trench line. I saw, in the distance, the NCR continuing to advance. I did the only thing that I felt I could. I ran.

Interrogator: Thank you, Nicole. That will be sufficient.

Analysis: ''Nicole's description of the NCR troops suggests that the Republic has deployed a new variety of heavy body armour, as well as some method that can be used to create massive smoke clouds. These "Steel Behemoths" are troubling. While reports are spotty, what evidence we have suggests that they have created and are utilising tanks. Their armour is tough enough to render the majority of our weapons useless, suggesting either some variety of chemically hardened steel, or simply extremely thick plating. If they have the capability to produce 1000, 500, even 50 of these things... I shudder at the thought of it. My recommendation is to begin issuing AP rounds to frontline personnel, as well as increase shipments of guns using the .50 MG round, specifically the Armour Piercing or Explosive variants. Additionally, I believe that we should move more artillery into position, and create another line of minefields. If these things break past the trenches...then it could mean the end of the empire.