Natalia looked around the cave, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. At her feet was a corpse, merely a skeleton that didn’t make it inside the Vault.
Poor sap, Natalia thought as she took the ammo it was holding and put it in her pack. She took careful steps forward, holding her gun ready. A sudden shape scurried across her vision and stopped, looking at her with red eyes.
She aimed down and blew the rat’s head apart with a single shot. Knowing they could be poisonous and disease filled, she wasted no time in sending a second round into the side of the one farther off.
She reached a long corridor, and for the first time in her life saw daylight.

Stepping outside of the cave, she felt the warm sun on her and spread her arms, closing her eyes and basking in it. Then she reminded herself to snap out of it and get to her task. On her journey, she’d spend plenty of time in the sun, no doubt. Looking out across the horizon, she could see........well, not much. Desert. Sand, sand, and more sand as far as the eye could see. Natalia checked to see where her canteen was and set out across the desert.

At nightfall, she made a small fire and sat by it, warming herself. “Not very much excitement so far...” She muttered. Then she saw the scorpion. The one that was about 7 feet long, not counting the tail. “Shit!” She yelled as she jumped up, nearly catching herself on fire. The thing had to be a result of radiation, there was no way something like that could have grown that big on its own. Slowly inching away from the fire, Natalia got about 20 feet away and ran. She stopped when the thing was out of sight.

She found the Vault the overseer had told her about, Vault 15. It was easily reached by climbing down a ladder to its cave access. The airlock had been conveniently opened already, the large cog-looking plug lying on the ground nearby, blown out by depressurization. Natalia simply ignored the rats scampering around nearby.

Then she was bit on the knee by a large moleish looking thing half as big as she was. Leaping back, she shot at it, only to hear the bullet ricochet off the walls a couple times. Cocking the gun again, she fired straight into the thing’s head, breathing a sigh of relief as the skull caved inward and it slumbed over, laying in a pool of its own blood. Stepping over it, Natalia looked down an old elevator shaft.
She explored the rest of the ruins, but all she found was a black leather jacket with one sleeve cut off and a matching leather outfit (which she thought looked pretty good on her), a mean Heckler & Koch Submachine Gun, and a big pile of rubble where the water purification area was. Sighing, she turned back, only stopping to introduce the pig sized rat biting at her heels to a blast from her new gun.

Climbing back up the ladder from the Vault, Natalia sighed as she stuck the needle of a Stimpak into her arm and pressed the button, feeling the healing chem flow into her and easing the pain from the many rat bites she had gotten.

She flipped open her small wristwatch computer, looking at the display.
“WELCOME TO THE ROBCO PIPBOY 2000” it chimed in an electronic voice.
The on-screen display showed that not only had she plugged around 53 rats so far, but also that she had wasted 5 days travelling to this pit. 125 days before Vault 13 ran out of water.

Coming up the path, well, up the sand, was a small travelling caravan consisting of several guards, and a merchant of Asian descent.
“We were on our way to Shady Sands, just west of here. Want to join us?” The merchant asked, motioning. Natalia shrugged. “Sure.”

The merchants dropped her off at a nice, peaceful village, surrounded by an adobe wall. “Welcome to Shady Sands, stranger.” said the man at the gate holding a rifle. “Please holster that weapon while you are here.”

Natalia did so, and walked in. It was a peaceful village, children and dogs running around, people walking to and from the farms and water supply. It was strange seeing people not from the Vault, or at least not living in it anymore. They wore simple clothes, shirts and pants, the women in skirts. No dyes were in them, they were plain browns and whites. Nearby were some pens with a couple Brahmin, the two-headed cow creatures that populated this radioactive world. She saw a woman with a pretty smile and stopped to talk with her, trying to find out about this place.

The woman bowed slightly. “Welcome to Shady Sands, traveler. My name is Katrina. My job is to greet strangers and help them understand our village. We find that there are fewer problems if you listen to what I have to say.” Natalia smiled. “I’m looking for a water-chip. Seen one?”

Katrina brightened. “As a matter of fact, yes. My old home, Vault 15, had one. I haven’t been there since I was hurt, but you might find what you are looking for there. Someone said that they tried to go to the Vault to have a look around, but it was dark and the elevator was broken. I hope you’re better prepared.”
Been there, done that, Natalia thought as she smirked. “Where can I get some better equipment?”
“You’ll have to barter for it” Katrina said.
Natalia blinked, used to being supplied for by the Vault. “Tell me more about bartering.”

Katrina smiled and nodded, used to this question. She asked it herself once. “Bartering is the exchange of goods. You give me some items, and I give you items in trade. If you don’t have enough items to trade, there are always caps.”
Natalia arched an eyebrow. “Caps?”
“Bottle caps are the only common money found out here. The caps are backed by the merchants of the Hub, so you can trade them anywhere.” Natalia nodded. “Tell me about this place.

Katrina motioned to the town. “You are standing in Shady Sands. We are but a small town in a large world. We just want to be left alone. Besides some mutated animals and other creatures of the desert, only the Raiders give us trouble. Aradesh is our leader.” She pointed to a large house nearby. “He is in the large central house, speak to him.”
Natalia smiled. “That’s all for now, thanks.”

Katrina nodded as Natalia walked over to the large house she said Aradesh lived in.
Aradesh was a quiet looking man, but very friendly, probably of Indonesian descent. He was simply clad in burlap-ish robes, and his black hair was up in a bun.

“Greetings. Your business in Shady Sands might be?” He asked, looking her over.
“I’m from a Vault to the west. My people are dying of thirst and I need to find a water purifier chip for them to survive.”
Might as well give it to him straight, she thought. Village leaders were not people to mess with.

He looked at her oddly, sizing up the leather outfit she was wearing and the submachine gun at her side. “Wanderer, I shall believe you...for now. You may enter Shady Sands, but be warned your every move will be watched.”

Natalia looked around the room. “What’s going on here?”
“Oh my yes” Aradesh declared. “Great packs of Rad Scoprions are killing our herds of Brahmin. We don’t know where they’re from, and no matter how many we kill there’s always more!”
“Well, I’ll help you get rid of these things,” Natalia said, shrugging. Now that she had a better gun she would be able to kill the things.
Aradesh’s expression brightened into a smile. “Thank you! You are always welcome here, kind one.”

Natalia returned the compliments and stepped away. Nearby was a small room, which Natalia stepped into. A girl stood there, about 18, in normal clothes. She had short black hair and a pretty smile. Apparently this was Aradesh’s daughter.
“Hi! I heard there was a traveller in town, but I was kinda skeptical until I saw you. My name’s Tandi, what’s yours?”
“My name is Natalia.”
“Well,” Tandi said, looking around slightly. “how do you like our little town? Bored yet?”
Natalia smirked. “Hell yes. There’s nothing to do here but watch the Brahmin mate.”
Tandi smiled widely. “Finally! Someone else who sees! Of course, you’ve probably been everywhere, so this...this must be hell for you,” She said, smirking.

Natalia shrugged. “If you’re so bored, why don’t you leave?”
Tandi scoffed slightly. “Me, leave? I wish. I don’t know enough to leave alone and no one else wants to go, and worst of all, my father says he would have a heart attack if something happened to me!”
Natalia shrugged. “Shoot, I have to go. Good luck.”
“Well, thanks for talking. We don’t get many strangers here, so it’s always good to talk to new people. Well,” Tandi said, sighing, “See ya.”
“Bye” Natalia shook her hand and walked out of the building.

Natalia walked on into the guard’s quarters. A man that was standing looked to her as she entered. He had a kind of scruffy look to him, with a slight beard stubble, brown hair reaching just a bit past his shoulders, and wearing blue jeans and a white shirt, with a leather jacket. Like hers, one sleeve was cut off. He smirked, looking to her.

“Hello, stranger. You look like you’re new here. What’s your name?” he said, looking her up and down.
“I’m Natalia,” She said, shaking his hand.
“Good to meet you. I’m Ian.”
She looked at him. “What do you do here?”
“I was a guard for the merchants of the Hub. However, I was shot during a raid by bandits. I’be been staying here, since the people have helped me recover. Still, my knowledge of the outside world and my experience make me useful here. Shady Sands is my home now. Occasionally, I even get to visit Junktown or the Hub to do some trading, since I’m the only person here who has ever really left town”
She smirked. “I’m sorry to hear about your injury.”
“Thanks. It’s pretty much healed up.” He patted his shoulder.

Natalia thought Ian could be a good companion for the journey to come. “Could you help me out a bit? Your experience would be useful.”
Ian thought. “Hmm. Tempting offer, since this place gets boring. Tell ya what. Standard rates. 100 caps, and you’ve got a deal.”
Natalia smirked at him. “How about a piece of the action, instead?” She had no caps at all.
Ian smirked, taking out a silver Desert Eagle .44 magnum. These ancient guns had become extremely popular due to old 20th century movies featuring them.
He loaded it with a brick of full metal jacket ammo. “All right, I’ll help you out in exchange for my share of loot.” He smiled at her. “Let’s go. It’ll be good to get back into action!”

Natalia smiled as they stepped outside. “First, let’s do that job everyone’s talking about, with the Rad Scorpions.”
Ian nodded. “Seth knows about that.”
Natalia loaded her SMG up with armor piercing rounds for the thick exoskeletons of the scorpions, then walked up to Seth, the guard that had told her to put away the gun when she entered.
“What can I do for ya?” he asked. Ian wiped a speck of dirt off his Desert Eagle and put it in his holster. Natalia put the ammo clip fully into her gun.
“Take me to the Radscorpion caves.”

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