The Broken Banks [Closed] [M] [Slow]

North Carolina’s Coastline

The sun had all but disappeared behind the Western horizon now, painting the scattered storm clouds purple and deep orange. The rain was no more than a misting sprinkle now, and most of the rainwater was draining from the peninsula back into the sea, where it would start the great cycle of precipitation all over again. Nightfall had begun on the Banks.


Rumbling hisses could be heard from the wetlands as the swamp thrashers attempted to attract mates. The mutant reptiles could sense the coming weather, and there would be plenty of warmth to help their eggs develop in the season.

This was both an advantage and a disadvantage to the Natives and anyone traveling the swamp lands. The upside was, of course, that the great beasts could be heard before they were seen. This made them easier to avoid or capture. The down side, however, is that the largest of these monsters swim out of the deep swamps and closer to the coast when mating. The bigger they were, the more swamp folk it took to kill them.


One of these such ancient creatures was Granddaddy. Granddaddy, who had been given his name by the Natives, was almost a century old. The great reptile’s prehistoric genetics had been twisted by the irradiated water in many ways. The most prominent of these mutations had been Granddaddy’s unstoppable growth hormones. His growth was further fueled by the hot temperatures of the Carolina summer. Cursed with a higher metabolism than most thrashers, as well as dangerously hyper-active mitochondria, the beast ate frequently and in staggering amounts. No creature found in the wetlands was safe from Granddaddy’s short temper or titanic jaws. Scars lined his body from head to tail, telling a painful story of many victories.


Dusk had painted the swampland in strange colors. Granddaddy floated through the scummy water, using his enormous legs to push against tree roots and stumps for extra propulsion. The beast opened his mouth as he swam, taking a long drink of murky water. Granddaddy knew he would need this hydration soon. The reptile crawled out of the muck and over a downed tree. The weight of his body crushed the tree trunk beneath him, removing the need to crawl over it any further.


Back in the lightly-irradiated waters of the eastern wetlands, Granddaddy continued his movement and release a rumbling hiss before submerging completely in the swamp. Soon the water would not bee deep enough to allow this. To avoid this problem, he will cross the Alligator River. Over his many years of life, Granddaddy learned that he can travel easily in salty water if he simply does not fall asleep in it or drink it. The great reptile picked up his speed. He was getting hungry again.

Roanoke Island,
Manteo Mansion - The Engineering Lab

"Their weapons are in good condition, and have fierce loyalty to their leader, whom I don't know much about, unfortunately. He is quite intimidative, to me at least. I've heard rumors of a new project. Something mechanical. Something big. They have plans of getting Troopers in Manteo, they may already be in. Sorry, it's hard to think under pressure.”


Oxford looked at Frederick curiously, adjusting his glasses. The man ran his skinny fingers through his grey-white hair, and cleared his throat. He then nodded to his assistant, who approached the robot and pressed a switch on it’s panel. The Professor released Frederick from it’s clamp before floating around the table and back behind the wall from where it had came. It powered down nearby. The sound of a power source hummed from it‘s direction as it recharged it‘s battery. Oxford then turned to Frederick again as his assistant scribbled notes quickly on her clipboard.


“Frederick… it is very important you are completely honest with me. You mean to say the Storm Troopers are attempting to infiltrate the Banks, specifically Manteo City?” Oxford asked in a serious tone. His assistant continued writing furiously. Metal Face took a step away from the heavy steel door, obviously interested in this part as well. They had all heard rumors of the Storm Troopers from Ghost Team and Fox Team. Only Oxford and Darwin knew the full danger of it’s implications, as both were familiar with American History before the Great War.

Banks Peninsula
Kitty Hawk, East Side of Town

Tigru considered the old woman’s words for a long moment, the began to follow her to the caravan of wounded still remaining in Kitty Hawk. He would not tend to the injured, but would stand guard quietly near Grandma. He did small things like hand her supplies and bring the patients to her. Most of the Wolves did not seem to notice Tigru, as they were concerned with their wounds. A few, however, regarded the man with suspicion. The mercenary acted indifferent to this, but he had noticed. It would be good to get off the Banks and back into the swamps of the mainland, if only to be free of the ever-present Wolves on the peninsula.


“Amos Moses. Is he really yer son?” Tigru asked as he watched the sun disappear behind the western horizon. “You two don’t look much alike.” he added, producing a bent cigar and relighting it now that the rain had stopped.


The mercenary had happened upon Amos a few days ago. The mutant and his buddies could have easily dispatched Tigru, outnumbering him eight-to-one. But they had not. Instead, their leader had paid Tigru to deliver the message to the old woman that lived on the pier of Nag. The merc accepted quickly, desperate to leave the company of such badly mutated folk. What had disturbed him more, however, was that this mutant had been Amos Moses. The Native was nearly a legend in the swampland, and a boogeyman to the Wolves. He was what gave their children nightmares, and what the Wolves on patrol watched over their shoulders for. He was a butcher of Wolves and a king among Natives. Ironically enough, his conversation with Tigru that day had been fairly intelligible and straight forward.

Tirgu waited for Grandma to respond after her last patient had left her for the departing caravan. Cigar smoke trailed from his nostrils. Something in the man’s gut urged him not to go back to Amos and his kin. He ignored it. There was payment involved.

Banks Peninsula
The Trail to Whalebone

The caravan of wagons, soldiers, and wounded kept a steady pace as they advanced south to Whalebone. As they passed close to the military town of Kill Devil Hills, the echoes of machines and military exercises could be heard. A great engine rumbled somewhere within one of the hangers. Snipers watched the group from the six towers rising above the town.


As the traveling Wolves left Kill Devil behind, only the cool breeze and the rolling waves could be heard. The evening grew steadily darker, and lights appeared across the coast of the Banks. All of the settlements on the Banks steadily glowed with both artificial and fire light. The trek to Whalebone had taken enough time that the sun had completely sank. The gentle rain stopped, leaving the Broken Banks wet and foggy in the warm evening.


Whalebone could be heard even before the caravan of Wolves from Kitty Hawk had topped the massive sand dune just to the north of it. ( It had been called Jockey’s Ridge in the old world, according to a faded sign. ) As the people and the wagons paused on the dune‘s crest, they looked across the grassy sands to find a dense makeshift city before them. Buildings and structures were built in and on top of the old ruins, with some hanging from the side and some supported even further above by stilts and beams. The settlement was illuminated with various lights, some of which moved and flashed. Various types of music came from inside the place, and it was obvious Whalebone’s celebration of the Blood Moon was well underway.


Jade had fallen asleep for the last half of the journey. She awoke groggily to the sound of the music and the beat of drums somewhere in the city. Sitting up quickly, the young woman groaned in pain. Holding her injured arm against her chest like a child and giving her shoulder a pouting glare of disapproval, the girl looked around desperately for Thiago. Spotting the tired fisherman walking behind the wagon, she spun around so that her legs dangled off the back as it bounced down the sandy dune. Her eyes looked tired and dark.


“You’ve been walking all night, huh?” Jade asked, a little more coherently than before. It was clear that she had sobered up a little. Unfortunately, if the young Wolf did not get another injection of Med-X soon, she would be in a great deal of pain.


“My memory is… fuzzy. The death jaw hit you, then came at me. After that… I don‘t remember.” she said quietly. A look formed on her face somewhere exhausted and perplexed. The wagon bounced over a rock, causing the girl to hiss quietly in pain. She was silent for a minute, watching Thiago trudge along behind the wagon and the Brahmin that pulled it. Laughter and festivities could now be heard beyond them. “You decided to walk all the way to Whalebone just to make sure I was okay?” she asked with an utterly blank expression as the wagon drew close to Whalebone’s gate. “Thiago… that’s…” Jade struggled to find the words.


“It’s a pretty kind thing to do.” Roth said. He had been walking near the side of the caravan containing Jade, and had slowed his pace enough to currently be walking beside them.


“Let me give you two some advice,” the leader of Roth Team continued. "Whalebone is our most highly populated city, so it will be crowded and confusing for a Gate Town girl and a fisherman. Most of the Wolves and contractors there are decent enough, but some of them will take advantage of you if your not careful. The festival has already started, but the clinic is still open.” the armored man said to them. He then raised his voice. “Open the gate!” he roared.


Whalbone’s gate was less impressive than either of Kitty Hawk’s. A few Wolves unlocked a large plate of metal from it’s deadbolts and slid it across the ground. Rusty wheels below it groaned in protest as the way into Whalebone opened for the group. “We’ll drop you guys and the wounded off at the clinic, but then Roth Team and I are leaving Whalebone. Good Luck.” Roth concluded to Thiago and Jade before moving to the front of the caravan.


Inside the city, the caravan cut a road through narrow streets crowded with Wolves and tradesmen. Lights and laterns of various shapes, colors, and sizes hung everywhere. The structures and houses had been built towards the sky, with some standing as tall as four stories. Other houses and shacks had been built from the side’s of other buildings. The result was a settlement with rope bridges and walkways connecting the various upper layers of the town. Below, the roads slithered through the town around buildings and under rope bridges. For someone who had ever been to Megaton ( Likely no one in Whalebone had. ), the kind of town structure would be familiar. The major difference was more wood and less metal.


The caravan came to a stop on a forked road. The building in the point of the fork was the Whalebone Clinic. It had once been a small, Old World hospital before the bombs fell. The Wolves in Whalebone had done a decent job with repairing it and expanding it with extensions on the second floor. The sound of a jukebox drifted to the caravan from the bar across the street, and the air was filled with people celebrating.


As Jade and the other injured were dropped off here, Roth Team quickly gathered on the other side of the street. The Team Leader seemed to be explaining something important to his unit, but Jade could not make out his words over the sounds of the festival. Drums beat somewhere nearby.


Roth and Kim turned to Thiago and Jade, giving them a nod before Roth spoke. “Pick it up. Kill Devil in 25.” Roth stopped and turned back to Thiago from the street. “You’re a good man. Not many of you left these days.” the leader of the Wolve’s light assault team concluded as he tossed a medallion of sorts to the fisherman. Turning back to his men, they followed the winding streets out of Whalebone.


Jade sat on the porch of the clinic, staring at the lights and lanterns hanging from all the strangely proportioned dwellings around them. A doctor of sorts bearing the mark on his hand was examining Jade wounds. He had already administered anoter dose of Med-X. He had bound her wound over again, then stood and turned to Thiago.


“She tells me she’s with you. Keep and eye on her, she can’t stress that arm for a bit. If she breaks open the stiches and tear the wound before it has some time to heal, she could bleed out easily. I’m going to give her a Stim-Pak in the tissue surrounding the veins. That should trigger the healing process enough that she can move about.” The Wolf handed Thiago a small pouch. “Here. This should be enough supplies to take care of her. With the proper use of the meds, she’ll be recovered soon enough. I apologize, but I must attend to some of the others injured. Good Luck, you two.” he said. The man turned and entered the clinic, obviously exhausted. He wouldn’t be getting much sleep this night, either.


Jade looked at Thiago and tilted her head, curious to what the two of them would do now. The Med-X kept her calm, and she waited patiently for Thiago to come up with a plan. It had been a hell of a day for Jade, and she didn’t feel like thinking much for now. “That was Roth himself. He is one of the highest rank Wolves on the Banks… I could do military jobs for years and not come close to his position… and he wasn‘t even born a Wolf. He‘s had his own team now for a few years.“ The gate guard said in a quiet tone. It was difficult to say whether she wanted Thiago to understand this, or was simply rambling her thoughts out loud. “I’ve only spoke to him twice, and both times was only to open the Gate.“ Jade continued, lost seemingly lost.


Her distant eyes turned back to Thiago. “That’s a silver pass he gave you, Thiago. It’s a kind of mark given to the most important contractors. Hard tah come by is an understatement.” she continued in her dreamy voice, smirking. “You can go anywhere on the Banks with that, no questions asked.”


She handed Thiago the key to their hotel room down the street. “So... Bar, Hotel, or Gamblin’?” she asked with a chuckle. Jade stood up, currently numb to her own pain. The chems had already started repairing the damage. People cheered from a bar nearby. A cluster of blue fireworks exploded and rained shimmering ember across the town. A steady drum beat was heard floating through the allies among the Wolves and contractors flooding the streets.

Roanoke Island
Manteo Mansion - Observatory Room

As Darwin had entered the Observatory Room, the group of stranger knelt before him in a show of respect. Darwin's power helmet gave nothing, but behind it he was a bit surprised at the rarity of such gestures, especially among non-Wolves. Two of the strangers in shining armor moved to the great doorway, taking guardian stances. The man in Enclave armor watched this quietly. His helmet's lens cluster and logistics system analyzed everything he observed,.


One of these soldiers seemed to be taking great interest in Darwin's Advanced Power Armor Suit. In truth, Darwin was also in awe of the Camelotian Armor design. His mind raced with idea of manufacturing a suit with the tech of the Enclave Advanced Logistics Armor combined with the craftsmanship and density of the Cameoltians. Of course, he did not know who they were yet. But still, his ever working brain burst with new ideas. He had struck gold in the Banks.


"It is an honor to finally meet you my lord," he said, with a respectful bow of his head. "Truly your family has been most hospitable, and we look forward to our future together. I believe we have much to discuss my lord. Much indeed." William glanced over his shoulder at Angel, still shocked by both her abilities and the technology 'Lord Darwin' possessed. "Much Indeed."[/i]


"It seems Ghost has an eye for detail. He has informed me of the events leading up to your arrival at the Mansion. You must be William? And that would make this gentlemen here Hardwin. Wich leaves you two," The power helmet voiced through it's speaker. "who must be Marlon and Ordeith. It is a pleasure to meet you all." he said, motioning to the strangers with his obsidion power gauntlet. "I am pleased that you found my Wolves hospitable. Forgive them for any offense they may have caused, they are a naturally distrustful people. But who can blame them, in a world full of so much evil." he mused, looking back to Ghost and Chau.


Darwin then bowed his head forward and reach behind it with his right arm. Marilyn instantly started towards him, but Ghost's shaking head stopped her advance. There was a quiet hiss of pressure, and the power helmet was unsealed. Marilyn held her hand to her mouth and shot Angel a look of fear.


"Enough, darling. These people aren't of a sort you understand yet." Darwin said to his wife as he removed the power helmet. Long, dark locks of black hair fell around the shoulders of his armor. In the absence of the helmet, the head of a dark complected and well proportioned man remained. He sported a well trimmed, short black beard across his jaw and had pronounced cheekbones common with his Pre-War ancestors. The most striking feature of the middle aged man, however, was the grisly scar that ran from his hairline to the bottom of his cheek, missing his eye by a mere fraction of an inch.


"You've met my beautiful wife, Marilyn. She was one of the original Wolves. And this is Angel, an adopted member of my family who means a great deal to me. And yes, she is a Magician. The people of the Old Worlds called them Psykers, Psychics." Darwin said, placing his power helmet on the table and walking to Angel and Chau. Darwin gave the girl a reassuring smile before returning his attention to William. "There is much to speak about, and the story of the Wolves is as long as the day, I'm afraid. Soon enough I would wish to explain their history and our purpose, but first I have a few questions of my own, if your in the mood for a little more conversation." He said, returning to the table in the center of the room.


"I am very curious as to who you are as a people, and where is it that you hail from?" he said. His voice was deep and powerful when unfiltered by the helmet.

Banks Peninsula
The Streets of Nag

Alpha watched with considerable interest as the leader of the bandits ordered her men to stand down. The setting sun had painted the town in pink and orange, making Alpha feel as if this was destiny. She was not pleased with the smug look on Rachel‘s face, however. The Stumpy Bandits dropped their weapons on Nag’s main street before stepping forward.


"Well well. It seems I was caught." Seth said as she waited for Alpha to act.


“I was really hoping you’d resist, Seth.” The woman in the camouflage armor replied. “Big, Carter, Jordan, Moss. Round them up! Clint, please bind Miss Seth.” The woman ordered, rising from her knee. The suit’s leg servos gave a soft hiss of protest.


Clint, a Wolf in his mid twenties, approached Rachel after exiting the window of his cover. Despite being weighted down by his reinforced leather armor, he was the fastest of Alpha Team. He held his gun on Rachel as a few Wolves from Grizzly Team gathered all of the Bandit’s weapons. After they had been disarmed, Alpha Team and Grizzly Team began escorting Rachel and her men to Kill Devil Hills, the military.


As the group walked across the sands and left Nag behind, it had grown dark and stopped raining. Alpha had said nothing to Rachel as Kill Devil appeared on the horizon, quietly walking beside her the entire way. As the grew closer to Kill Devil, the speaker in the power helmet clicked on. Alpha spoke in a dull tone, but not an angry one.


“If you have anything you want to say, Rachel, now is the time. When we get into Kill Devil, it will be all business.” The woman in the power armor advised. The rest of the Wolves remained silent, most of them not even having heard the comment from the back of the group. Only Sig looked to Rachel as he walked, wondering what the leader of the bandits would say.






Herb watched the young man walked down the muddy path through the trees, sitting on top of an old barn. The building was barley standing, and the swamp had already submerged the base of the structure. Herb blinked as the human screamed and shouted in at nothing in particular.


Herb and his brother Gerb (who was currently hiding in the muck below the barn), had been expecting a couple of bad men to show up after the explosions they had heard. Instead, they both watched the screaming lad with great curiosity.


"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A REAL ROCK! YOU'RE A STONE!" He kicked the rock away. “Don't laugh at me!" The man screamed. He grabbed his blowtorches and pointed them at the tree. "Burn tree!" The Natives watched the strange man burn the tree, both of them remaining silent. Gerb’s one working eye blinked slowly as the tree was incinerated. Herb scratched the sores on his back and coughed s he observed Paxton flaming the tree. Gerb had was also showing great interest in the actions of the small human, and was now standing halway out of the muck.

Roanoke Island
Manteo City - The Sixth Street Tavern

“The name’s Rufus. Not Dante. I think the celebrations have gone to your head, Scarlett. I don’t go gallivanting on the oceans. As a matter of fact, this is my first day on the waves. Tilbert over in Boat 11 got himself shot by bandits. I found the body, and suddenly it looks like I’m the new captain of the SS Shit-Rig. Simply put, it’s been a weird day and Sweetheart, you’ve just made it a lot weirder.” He smiled a little wider, sealing the sentiment with an appreciative nod. “But I’ll drink to that.”


Zoller toasted Scarlett, taking a slight sip of beer before calmly lighting the pipe. He blew a cloud of smoke as he waited for Scarlet to respond.


The woman with the burning red hair regarded him warmly, smiling wide. She sat back in her seat at the booth and crossed her legs. The hat she wore had shielded her face from most of the patrons of the bar. Scarlet chuckled and emptied the glass of dark liquor.


“Well you don’t look like a Rufus.” the woman said in an amused tone of voice. The hustle and bustle of the bar made it impossible for anyone to hear their conversation. “And you don’t look much like a man of the sea, no offense.” she concluded. Holding up her glass, she jingled the ice it contained loudly. A server approached and took her glass. Scarlet then replaced her arm on the table and nonchalantly adjusted her dress with the other hand.


The woman leaned partially over the table, holding Zoller’s gaze. She brushed a rebellious lock of crimson hair behind her ear as she spoke. “You have a strange accent in your voice. You’re very well groomed. Your body language is forced. You visibly tensed upon spotting that Wolf Soldier, and something about you made that same soldier want to have a word with you. And then there’s your eyes. Boy, if you only knew how much of your soul dwells in your eyes. Those aren’t wolf eyes… and then there’s the fact that I’m very good at this, darling. It’s my job to be perceptive. And you… are not who you say you are.” she concluded upon seeing the server approaching again.


Scarlet changed her tone to that of a ditsy, wealthy woman. “Oh my, Dante, that must have been awful! To think that those heathens from the swamps would be so vile?” she asked, leaning back in her seat once again and acting outraged as the girl sat down her refilled glass of liquor. Scarlet nodded to the girl and handed her a few caps. After the girl had disappeared back into the mob of drinkers and laughers, Scarlet returned her fluid green eyes to Zoller.


“So humor a girl when she gives you a kiss, saves you from the mean old Wolf, and buys you a drink. Who are you.?” the woman said with obviously genuine interest. Even as she awaited his response, she seemed to be looking him up and down. Studying him. Filing every detail of the stranger in her memory. And she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Roanoke Island
South of Manteo City

What happened next was hazy for Ding-Ding. One of the troopers intervened, possibly saving the Wolf’s life for the time being. The man in the armor called the woman’s blade and the pliers off. Words were exchanged.


The groups bickered back and forth, but Ding-Ding heard nothing. The young man had gone into a strange, panicked trance. He prayed to suddenly awake from this nightmarish situation, feeling as if the events he was experiencing were happening to someone else, and not himself.


With a cold flourish of steel, Hauser's own blade was digging into Ding-Ding's finger, kissed by fresh pearls of the man's blood. "You. Schweine. You will tell us about the gates. Any alternate entrance our friends here could use. Any distractions we could use, any smugglers nooks and crannies we could make use off." He turned to the impassive Enclave Soldiers in their masks of tech and metal, then back to Ding-Ding. With a smile, he angled the blade and pushed it a little deeper.


"At the risk of sound redundant, please make your answers genuine."


The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving the two groups standing in the eerie light of dusk. The clouds were thinning now, and the rain slowed and stopped. The waves crashed against the banks of Roanoke Island nearby the group. Then the echoing sounds of motors running and metal squealing. The Gates were closing.


Ding-Ding met the Storm Troopers gaze for the first time. He looked as if he were sleepwalking., and his eyes now held a great distance to them. “The Gates… There are four gates to Manteo City. One… is the bridge from Whalebone. The second is at the docks, to the northwest. The third is… to the southwest of the city. That‘s the gate myself and… “ he struggled to remember the name of his fallen brother. “Uh... It leads to the beach, and then here. And the fourth gate is… tucked away northeast of here. It’s the only one that isn’t crane powered. You could probably get in through there…” the Wolf said lazily, despite the blade at his throat. “No other way in that I know of…” he concluded. He looked to Alphonso as the man spoke.


"Just who are these wolves anyway?"


“What?” Ding-Ding asked. He wasn’t even sure Alphonso had been talking to him, but he had answered anyway. Asking a Wolf who the Wolves were was like asking a person who people were. Ding-Ding could not think of anything to say in response to the question, so he said the only thing that came to his mind. “I don’t understand.” he admitted.