I hear the whirling noises of the settlement’s gate once again as it was opening. Another day, another caravan run. “Today is a good day to die! Amirite Rookie? BAHAHAHAHA!” Ren said jokingly. The memory from the previous caravan run is still fresh, remembering what happened gives me the shivers; I sure do hope we won’t ran to another radiation storm this time.
Ren put some audiotape to keep us company during the trip. Yesterday Once More by the Carpenters started playing, Ren has numerous audiotapes in her glove compartment, it really makes me wonder where she got all of it. “Hey Ren, Hope you don’t mind me asking but, where’d you get this many audiotapes?” I asked her. “Oh that? Well I’ve been in so many Caravan runs that I’d collect interesting junk I found, Pre-war audiotapes are one of ‘em” She answered. “I just think it’ll be nice to keep yourself and your comrades company with some tunes as you cruise the wasteland.” She adds.
Considering the amount audiotapes in the compartment, and how she mentioned before that she already experienced numerous Radstorms, it’s safe to assume that Ren is indeed a Veteran to this job. Maybe that also explains why she isn’t that affected on losing her comrades but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care, I saw her at the caravan truck the other night, offering a toast of whiskey to our fallen comrades. Caravan running is one hell of a job after all.
Ren got the rank of Caravan Officer First class, I’m curious on how old was Ren when she joined the Caravan Runner Corps, come to think of it, I don’t even know how old Ren is. I really want to ask her questions due to my curiosity but I should really let her focus on the wheel, it’s hard to cruise around the wasteland considering the minimal light that reaches the surface due to the thick clouds which are remnants of the great war, and all the mist and dirt accompanying it. Not only that, the wasteland is rather unpredictable considering the mutants, raiders, slavers and pillagers and other crazies it has to offer.
The noise of the Caravan’s engine revving, its wheels sweeping through the terrain, the slight aggressive currents of the winds accompanied by the blinding mist is all I could hear as we cruise the wasteland. Music from Ren’s audiotapes indeed gave us a little bit of comfort. Gabriel’s Ville is only a few kilometers away so it’ll probably take us an hour or less.
I see the settlement’s lights in the distance despite all the mist, dirt and darkness of the wasteland. I still remember the first time I entered Gabriel’s Ville along with other Recruits from other settlements months ago. Almost half of the recruits quit, maybe due to the rigorous training or the dangers and risk accompanied to the job despite its high wage. Lucky for me to survive and graduate, after all, it’s not only the high wage that kept me going, but my will to find something in the wastes that would make life worth living, something that I would consider worth treasuring in a lifetime, I know it’s a vague but I’ve got a feeling it’ll come around soon.
We went straight to the Settlement’s Caravan outpost as soon as we enter; there were many Caravanners and Constabulary officers assigned there compared to other settlements, it’s the Headquarters after all. I felt a sense of nostalgia when I saw new recruits in the training ground. Ren seems to know a lot of personnel assigned here, which reminds me of my question earlier. “Hey Ren, Hope you don’t mind me asking, how old were you when you joined the Caravan Runners?” I asked her. “Hm? Oh! I was almost your age, pro’lly 17 or 18” She answered. “How old are you again” I asked her a question once more. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m already 28! BAHAHAHA” she replied with a little sarcastic tone.
She’s been doing this for 10 years?! Though I’m not very surprised considering her high rank, but the fact that she’d survived for a decade in such a dangerous profession is admirable. I wonder what’s her secret is. Ren asked an officer she knew about someone named “Trisha Agarwal” they were calling each other “mate”, maybe they are classmates back when they were still recruits, they seem to be really close. We were directed to go to the HQ’s Engineering and Tech Division.
The Engineering and Tech Division building was void of personnel when we enter, or so we thought. “Scrapyard sent you?” We hear a voice from the distance; we’re then approached by a lady in uniform as we turned around. By the looks of her uniform, she’s not a Caravan runner but rather a Constabulary Officer. Both Ren and I stand straight and saluted. “Carry on” she says as she continued approaching us, it’s hard to distinguish her face due to minimal amount light and the patrol hat she’s wearing , but she appears to be wearing glasses, though her image got clearer and clearer as she gets closer. “I am Gunnery Sergeant Trisha Agarwal, I’m guessing Scrapyard sent both of you.”
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“No way…” says Ren with a surprised tone when she saws Trisha’s face. “NO WAY!” she then rushed to Trisha and hugged her. “I KNEW IT WAS YOU FOUR EYES! BAHAHAHAHA!” I was flabbergasted by Ren’s action to an officer of higher rank but it seems that Trisha is happy to see her as well; she was smiling as she hugged Ren back. “Missed me much Mak?” she replied, “I was doubtful it was you, until I hear your voice and see your glasses! BAHAHAHAHAH!” Ren replied as she was still hugging her. “What? Didn’t Darkwaters tell you my nam- OOF too tight-” Trisha replied. “I have trouble remembering names four eyes! You know that BAHAHAHAHA! I missed you!” Ren answered. “Yeah I missed you too, Mak” *cough* Trisha replies as she was struggling to breath.
It was a nice reunion; Ren told me that Trisha’s her best friend back in training camp; they chatted for a while about what’s going on with their lives lately. Trisha offered us some liquor and food. I reminded them again about why we were there in the first place; they got carried away about the situation that they almost forgot to talk about the plan. I’m glad I reminded them sooner, it’ll be a pain in the ass discussing the plan if both of them got drunk. “Oh yeah, my bad…let’s see…Diesel and controller chip huh?” Trisha’s tone shifted to a more serious one.
“The Diesel supply from the Charlie-B Caravan should arrive here in Gabriel’s Ville in less than an hour. It should keep The Scrapyard and the two other allied settlements running for another three months or so. As for the 2 controller chips, Seth Darkwaters gave an estimation that the water supply for both settlements should last in 2 or 3 more weeks, the reports from our Caravan Scout Rangers say that there might be a possibility that such parts can be scavenge from the old water facility near the ruins but there is no guarantee” Trisha adds.
All of a sudden, the settlements sirens started blaring, all civilians are ordered to stay indoors, Ren, Trisha and I rushed to the armory to arm ourselves, we then climbed the wall watch towers to see the commotion. All personnel remained alert on their grounds and communicated through the radio. It was a raider attack; Trisha looked through her rifle’s scope, a siege vehicle accompanied by a team of raiders can be seen charging from the distance, it must be the reason why the motion sensors were triggered, they are planning to destroy the southern entrance.
The siege vehicle was quickly destroyed by a single artillery fire, ordered by Trisha herself. The raider team survived and took cover from the destroyed vehicle as they continue to fight back using their firearms. Trisha ordered for another artillery fire but it seems to deal little to no damage as rounds were still being shot by the enemy. Trisha halted the artillery attacks and ordered her men to counter using their firearms. The exchange of fire between the opposing sides continued for a minute until all of the raiders were killed by the allied snipers.
“That’s odd; raiders usually come in large numbers if they are planning to pillage a settlement, why are they so little this time?” Trisha questions the situation, she seems confused. “Maybe they’re running low on troops considering how awful they are in battle! BAHAHAHAHAH! Or maybe those idiots are drunk or stoned and attacked us for fun amirite? BAHAHAHAHA” Ren said jokingly as they both laughed about it for a while.
Suddenly, Trisha’s radio started detecting a distress signal, “This is Charlie-B Caravan, Requesting for immediate back up! Over” the distress signal keeps repeating the message. Trisha then came to a realization that the raider attack from earlier was just an interference so that the settlement can’t receive the message due to the radio channel being switched and send reinforcements quickly, she quickly orders the Alpha-A platoon, consisting both Caravan Runners and Constabulary officers, me and Ren included to arm themselves and get the armored vehicles ready.
“Bastards! I sure hope they haven’t touched the goods yet!” Trisha said angrily as we were arming ourselves in the HQ’s Armory along with other personnel. “So much for calling them idiots, I wonder what other clever magic tricks they got on their sleeve, Hell I’m sure it won’t work on me again!” She says as she loads her .50 Caliber Barrett.
I heard the whirling contraption of a settlement’s gate opening for the second time that day, as we left quickly, hoping we’re not too late.