If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
The soldiers moved forward with one careful step at a time, as the rescue had begun.
The trail continued to east.
Sico stayed at the front of the small group for several minutes, moving slowly enough that the soldiers behind him could examine the ground without disturbing it. He had no interest in reaching the slavers quickly if doing so meant losing the only evidence that could lead them to the children.
The first set of footprints remained visible between the trees.
Some were deep.
Others barely marked the soil.
The ground changed repeatedly as the trail crossed patches of mud, dry grass, and exposed stone. Whoever had led the children away had not bothered to conceal every trace. Perhaps they had believed the darkness and distance would be enough.
Sico crouched beside another impression.
"Same boots?"
One of the soldiers knelt beside him.
"Similar tread pattern."
"Similar?"
"Could be the same group."
He pointed farther ahead.
"There are smaller impressions too."
Sico's eyes followed his finger.
The marks were faint.
Almost lost beneath the disturbed soil.
But they were there.
Children's footprints.
Sico's jaw tightened.
"They took them this way."
Sarah stood a few steps away, watching the search team work.
"How long ago?"
The soldier examined the ground again.
"Hard to say."
"Some of the soil has been disturbed since."
"But I'd say within the last several hours."
Sico stood.
"Keep moving."
They advanced.
The trail became easier to follow once they reached the old logging road the patrolman had mentioned earlier. Tire impressions appeared in the softer earth near the edge of the road.
Sico immediately signaled for everyone to stop.
A soldier crouched beside the marks.
"Two vehicles."
Sico studied them.
"One?"
The soldier shook his head.
"Two separate tread patterns."
"Anything else?"
"First vehicle was heavier."
"Truck?"
"Likely."
The second set of marks was narrower.
Perhaps a light utility vehicle.
Sico looked ahead.
The road disappeared between dense trees before curving toward a distant rise.
"Mark the location."
A soldier placed a small marker beside the track.
Sico turned toward Sarah.
"We follow the vehicles."
She nodded.
The convoy began moving again.
The Humvees had remained farther back while the soldiers searched, but now they were brought forward carefully. Engines were kept low whenever the terrain allowed it, and the drivers avoided unnecessary use of lights.
Nobody wanted to announce their presence.
The supply trucks remained behind the armored vehicles.
Sico climbed into the lead Humvee.
Sarah entered beside him.
"Keep the spacing," Sico told the driver.
"Yes, sir."
"No unnecessary radio traffic."
The driver nodded.
The convoy moved.
For the next hour, they followed the fading tire marks through increasingly isolated terrain.
The road narrowed.
Trees grew thicker.
At several points, the soldiers had to dismount and verify the trail before allowing the vehicles to continue.
The Commonwealth seemed to close around them.
Ruined buildings appeared occasionally through the trees, their roofs collapsed and windows dark.
Old telephone poles leaned at strange angles.
Once, they passed the rusted remains of a pre-war delivery van abandoned beside the road.
Nobody spoke.
Every few minutes, a scout would raise a hand.
Stop.
Examine.
Confirm.
Continue.
The tension inside the lead vehicle slowly increased.
They were getting closer.
Eventually, one of the forward scouts returned at a jog.
He leaned toward Sarah's window.
"We found the road again."
Sico looked at him.
"Where does it go?"
"Toward an industrial area."
"How far?"
"Maybe another mile."
The scout hesitated.
"There are structures ahead."
"Occupied?"
"We don't know yet."
Sico nodded.
"Take us there carefully."
The convoy moved another half mile before the scout returned again.
This time, his expression was different.
"President."
"What?"
"We have a building."
Sico looked at Sarah.
"Everyone halt."
The order traveled quietly through the convoy.
The Humvees rolled off the road and into a wooded depression.
The supply trucks followed.
Engines were switched off.
For a moment, there was only the sound of wind moving through the trees.
Sico stepped out.
"How far?"
The scout pointed toward the ridge.
"Less than three hundred meters."
"Can we see it from there?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Sico gestured toward Sarah.
"Let's take a look."
They moved uphill with several soldiers.
The ground offered enough cover to keep them hidden.
When they reached the crest, Sico lowered himself behind a fallen section of concrete and brought his binoculars to his eyes.
The abandoned warehouse came into view.
It was larger than he had expected.
A long industrial structure stood behind a partially collapsed perimeter fence, surrounded by cracked loading areas and overgrown weeds.
Several vehicles were parked around it.
A pair of old trucks.
One smaller utility vehicle.
And another vehicle that looked as though it had been modified repeatedly over the years.
Sico slowly moved the binoculars across the compound.
Entrance.
Side door.
Loading bay.
Roofline.
Windows.
Guard positions.
He counted them.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then another near the western corner.
More movement appeared near the main entrance.
Slavers.
Some carried rifles.
Others had improvised weapons.
A group sat near a makeshift fire.
They were talking.
Laughing.
One raised a bottle.
Another shoved his companion playfully.
They had no idea they were being watched.
Sico shifted the binoculars.
Another guard leaned against a vehicle.
Further along, two men sat against the warehouse wall.
Apparently asleep.
Then Sico's eyes stopped.
Cages.
Inside the compound.
Four metal cages stood beneath a covered section beside the warehouse.
Sico's breathing slowed.
He counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then he saw movement inside the largest cage.
A small face.
Another child moved closer.
Sico adjusted the focus.
His stomach tightened.
Children.
All ten.
They were alive.
Some were sitting together.
Others stood pressed against the bars.
One child was crying.
Another appeared to be holding onto a younger child.
None appeared seriously injured from what he could see.
Sico lowered the binoculars.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Sarah watched him.
"What did you see?"
Sico handed her the binoculars.
"The children."
Sarah looked.
Her expression changed almost immediately.
"They're alive."
"All ten."
She lowered the binoculars.
"Thank God."
Sico nodded once.
Then his attention returned to the warehouse.
"They don't know we're here."
Sarah looked toward the compound.
"Guard rotation?"
"Poor."
"Some are drinking."
"A few are asleep."
"They're relaxed."
"Too relaxed."
Sico studied the entrances again.
"We use that."
Sarah nodded.
"We can hit from both sides."
"Exactly."
Sico pointed toward the eastern approach.
"You take the east."
Sarah followed his gesture.
"I'll move through the tree line."
"Your group cuts off the rear and the loading area."
Sico pointed toward the western side.
"I'll take the front."
"We push them inward."
Sarah understood.
"Between us."
"And away from the children."
Sico nodded.
"That is the important part."
He turned toward the officers waiting behind them.
"Listen carefully."
They gathered around.
"No one fires unless they have a clear target."
"Secure the exits first."
"Block the road."
"Nothing leaves this compound."
One officer nodded.
"What about the convoy?"
"Keep one Humvees covering the approach."
"Supply trucks remain here."
"Medics stay behind the assault elements until we secure the compound."
"Yes, sir."
Sico looked toward another officer.
"Get the snipers into position."
The sniper team moved immediately.
"I want clear lines of sight toward the warehouse."
"Not directly through the cages."
The sniper commander nodded.
"Understood."
"You watch the guards."
Sico's voice hardened.
"If anyone grabs a child…"
He paused.
"If anyone uses a child as a hostage…"
Another pause.
"If anyone raises a weapon against the children…"
The sniper commander understood.
"We stop them."
"Immediately."
"But extreme care."
"Yes, sir."
Sico looked around the group.
"The children are civilians."
"The slavers are the enemy."
"That distinction remains absolute."
He let the words settle.
"If the shooting starts, nobody forgets why we're here."
Sarah checked her rifle.
"My group is ready."
Sico nodded.
"Communications?"
A radio operator raised his handset.
"Both channels are prepared."
"Keep traffic short."
"Yes, sir."
The snipers disappeared into the trees.
The assault teams began moving into position.
Sico watched Sarah's soldiers vanish between the trees on the eastern side.
His own group moved lower along the western approach.
The warehouse remained quiet.
The slavers continued talking.
One guard leaned back against a crate and laughed.
Another drank from a bottle.
Nobody looked toward the tree line.
Nobody suspected anything.
Sico stopped behind a fallen concrete barrier.
He raised the binoculars one final time.
The cages came into view again.
One child had moved to the bars.
A little face stared outward.
Sico couldn't hear what the child was saying.
But he could imagine it.
Where are we?
Where is my mother?
Are they coming?
He lowered the binoculars.
His expression had become completely still.
Sarah's voice came through the radio.
"East team in position."
Sico pressed the transmit button.
"West team ready."
The radio operator waited.
"Perimeter?"
"Blocked."
"Convoy?"
"Secure."
"Medics?"
"Ready."
Sico looked toward the warehouse.
The operation could no longer wait.
Every minute they remained unaware was useful.
But every minute also gave the slavers another opportunity to move the children.
He turned toward the officer beside him.
"Tell everyone."
The message traveled through the assault teams.
"Rescue operation."
"Children first."
"Control your fire."
A quiet acknowledgment came through the radio.
Sico took a breath.
"Sarah."
"Ready."
"We go now."
There was no hesitation.
"Understood."
Sico raised his rifle.
His soldiers tightened their grips.
Across the compound, the first slaver stood and stretched.
Another stepped toward the warehouse entrance.
Neither noticed the movement beyond the trees.
Sico lifted one hand.
The soldiers froze.
He waited.
A guard walked away from the cages.
Another turned his back.
The opening was there.
Sico's hand dropped.
The Republic moved.
Sarah's force emerged from the eastern tree line first.
Boots struck dirt.
Weapons rose.
"Republic! Down!"
The nearest slaver turned.
His expression changed from confusion to disbelief.
Then the first controlled shots cracked through the compound.
The guard dropped behind a vehicle.
Another tried to run toward the warehouse.
A sniper's rifle sounded once.
The man collapsed before he could reach the entrance.
Sico's soldiers surged forward from the opposite side.
"Move!"
The western assault element crossed the open ground in disciplined formation.
Short bursts of gunfire forced the remaining guards away from the cages.
One slaver reached toward his weapon.
A Republic soldier shouted.
"Drop it!"
The man hesitated.
A rifle cracked.
The weapon fell from his hand.
He dropped to his knees.
Sarah's team hit the loading area almost simultaneously.
"East side secure!"
"Keep moving!"
"Cut them off!"
The slavers had been caught completely unprepared.
Some tried to flee.
They found Republic soldiers waiting.
Others attempted to reach the warehouse.
They were forced back by controlled fire.
One man suddenly broke from cover and ran toward the cages.
Sico saw him.
"Sniper!"
The rifle cracked.
The slaver fell before reaching the children.
The shot was so precise that the nearest cage remained untouched.
Sico didn't stop.
"Keep advancing!"
His soldiers pushed forward.
The compound erupted into confusion.
Shouts.
Gunfire.
Boots pounding across concrete.
Orders shouted from both sides.
But beneath all of it remained the same objective.
The cages.
The children.
Sico reached the main entrance.
"Clear!"
A soldier kicked open the door.
"Inside!"
Two Republic soldiers entered.
Sico followed.
The warehouse was dark and smelled of oil, dust, and stale smoke.
Somewhere deeper inside, a child began crying.
Sico heard it.
His expression hardened.
"Find the cages."
"We're on it!"
Behind him, Sarah's voice came over the radio.
"Eastern side secure!"
"Good."
Sico looked toward the interior.
"Then finish clearing this place."
He advanced deeper into the warehouse.
Outside, the last organized resistance was collapsing.
The slavers had finally realized what was happening.
They had thought the wilderness would hide them.
They had thought the Republic would never find them.
They had been wrong.
Sico moved toward the sound of frightened children.
"Keep moving."
The soldiers followed.
As the sound of frightened crying led Sico deeper into the warehouse.
He moved carefully through the darkness, rifle held ready but no longer raised toward every shadow. The soldiers behind him spread out along the corridor, checking doorways and corners one at a time.
"Left clear."
"Right clear."
"Moving."
Their voices remained controlled.
The fighting outside had begun to fade.
What had started as a sudden eruption of gunfire was becoming scattered bursts separated by longer stretches of silence.
One of the remaining slavers appeared at the end of the corridor.
He raised his weapon.
"Drop it!"
The command came immediately.
The man hesitated.
A Republic soldier stepped into a better position.
"Put it down!"
The slaver looked toward the doorway behind him, apparently considering escape.
Then he lowered the weapon.
It hit the concrete floor with a metallic clatter.
"Hands where we can see them."
The soldier complied.
Two Republic troops moved forward and restrained him.
"Clear."
Sico continued.
Another room contained crates, ammunition, clothing, and several pieces of equipment apparently taken from previous victims.
No children.
No civilians.
"Check everything," Sico ordered.
"Yes, sir."
They moved on.
A loud crash came from somewhere farther inside.
Sico turned immediately.
"Contact?"
A soldier appeared around the corner.
"Last group trying to escape through the rear."
Sico moved toward the sound.
Sarah's voice came through the radio at almost the same moment.
"Eastern side is secure."
"Any movement outside?"
"Negative."
"Keep the exits covered."
"Already done."
Sico reached the rear section.
Three slavers had attempted to force their way through a damaged service door. They found Republic soldiers waiting outside.
One surrendered immediately.
Another tried to run along the fence.
He was tackled before he reached the tree line.
The third raised his weapon.
A Republic soldier fired a controlled burst.
The man dropped.
Silence followed.
Sico stood still for several seconds, listening.
Nothing.
No shouting.
No running footsteps.
No gunfire.
Only the distant rustle of trees and the faint ticking of an engine outside.
"Report."
One officer checked his radio.
"Building nearly clear."
Sico nodded.
"Search every room."
"Every room?"
"Every room."
His voice became firmer.
"We don't leave because we think we've checked enough."
The soldiers understood.
They searched storage rooms, offices, maintenance areas, upstairs platforms, abandoned workshops, and narrow spaces hidden behind stacks of crates.
They found weapons.
Documents.
Stolen supplies.
Several restraints.
Evidence of other crimes.
But no additional captives.
Sico remained with the search teams until the final section had been checked.
Then Sarah appeared through the main corridor.
"Compound secure."
Sico looked at her.
"Casualties?"
"Two soldiers with minor injuries."
She paused.
"Three slavers captured."
"Others?"
"Neutralized."
Sico nodded.
"Any sign of additional prisoners?"
"None."
"Good."
Sarah looked toward the deeper end of the warehouse.
"The children?"
Sico turned.
"They're here."
The words seemed to change something in the room.
Even the soldiers who had been moving with hard military efficiency relaxed slightly.
Sico followed the sound of crying.
They reached the covered section outside the warehouse where the cages stood.
The sight waiting there stopped him.
All ten children were still inside.
They had gathered close together.
Some were sitting against the metal bars.
Others stood behind them.
Their faces were pale.
Dirty.
Exhausted.
One little boy had both arms wrapped around another child who looked younger than him.
When the Republic soldiers approached, several children immediately backed away.
Sico understood why.
To them, everyone wearing a weapon probably looked like another threat.
He lowered his rifle.
Then slowly placed it against his side.
"It's all right."
His voice was deliberately gentle.
"We're Republic soldiers."
The children stared at him.
"We came to get you."
No one answered.
Sico crouched so he was closer to their eye level.
"You're going home."
A little girl wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"Are you… really?"
Sico nodded.
"Yes."
"Where's my mother?"
"We're taking you back to her."
The girl's lower lip trembled.
Sico kept his voice steady.
"But first, we're going to make sure everyone is okay."
He looked over his shoulder.
"Open them."
The soldiers immediately moved toward the cages.
Keys were found among the confiscated equipment.
One lock opened.
Then another.
The metal doors swung outward.
The children didn't move immediately.
A medic stepped forward and offered a blanket.
"It's okay."
"You can come out."
The first child slowly stepped through.
A soldier crouched nearby, keeping his hands visible.
"Easy."
The child looked around.
Then another came out.
Then another.
Soon the entire group was standing outside the cages.
Some clung to one another.
Others looked around in confusion.
One boy began crying again when he saw the bodies of the slavers farther across the compound.
Sico immediately noticed.
"Move the children through the other side."
He pointed toward the supply trucks.
"Keep them away from the fighting."
"Yes, sir."
The soldiers formed a protective corridor.
The children were guided away from the warehouse.
Blankets were wrapped around their shoulders.
Water was distributed.
A medic knelt beside each child, checking pupils, pulse, breathing, bruising, and visible injuries.
Sico remained nearby.
"Any serious injuries?"
The lead medic shook her head after examining the first few.
"Nothing immediately life-threatening."
"Some bruising."
"Dehydration."
"Minor cuts."
"Fear."
Sico looked at the children.
"Fear isn't minor."
The medic glanced up.
"No, sir."
She understood.
"It isn't."
Another medic approached.
"They've all been examined enough to travel."
Sico nodded.
"Keep monitoring them."
"We will."
He counted the children himself.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
He counted again.
Ten.
Every child was there.
Sico looked at Sarah.
"All accounted for."
She gave a small nod.
"All ten."
For the first time since arriving at the settlement, some of the tension left Sico's shoulders.
But the operation wasn't finished yet.
"Final sweep."
Sarah immediately turned toward the soldiers.
"You heard him."
The Republic troops returned inside.
They checked every corner again.
One soldier searched beneath the loading platform.
Another inspected an upstairs office.
Two more examined the vehicles outside.
They recovered documents, weapons, maps, and other evidence.
A locked room was discovered behind a false partition.
It contained supplies and several crates.
No people.
"No additional captives!" someone called.
Another soldier answered from the far end.
"Nothing here!"
Sarah returned to Sico.
"Everything is clear."
Sico looked toward the children.
They were being settled inside the supply trucks.
The rear sections had been cleared of equipment and lined with blankets.
Medical personnel climbed in with them.
A few soldiers stood nearby, keeping watch.
Sico gave the order.
"Back to the settlement."
The Humvees started first.
The supply trucks followed.
Sico entered the lead vehicle with Sarah.
As they pulled away from the warehouse, he looked back through the rear window.
The abandoned building slowly disappeared behind the trees.
The Commonwealth swallowed it again.
But this time, the children were no longer inside.
The return journey felt completely different.
The road was still rough.
The trees were still dense.
The dangers of the Commonwealth had not suddenly disappeared.
Yet the silence inside the convoy no longer carried the same weight.
There was quiet conversation from the trucks behind them.
The occasional sound of a child speaking to a medic.
A few soft cries.
Someone asking for water.
Another child asking how long it would be before they saw their parents.
The medic answered gently.
"Not much longer."
Sico listened.
Every so often, he asked Sarah for an update.
"How are they?"
"Stable."
"Any worsening?"
"No."
"Anyone need evacuation?"
"Not at the moment."
Sico nodded.
After another stretch of road, he asked again.
Sarah looked at him.
"You've asked three times."
"I know."
"They're okay."
"I know."
She gave him a faint smile.
"You're still going to ask again."
"Probably."
Sarah looked through the windshield.
"I understand."
The convoy continued.
Food was distributed to the children in small portions.
Water bottles passed from hand to hand.
The medics continued checking their condition.
One little girl eventually fell asleep beneath a blanket.
Another child leaned against the side of the truck, finally too exhausted to remain awake.
The soldiers remained alert.
Weapons stayed ready.
No one assumed the road home was automatically safe.
The slavers' surviving members had been captured or neutralized, but the Commonwealth contained countless dangers.
The convoy continued through the same roads it had followed earlier.
Eventually the familiar landscape began appearing.
The old logging road.
The damaged fence.
The settlement beyond the trees.
Sarah spoke over the radio.
"Settlement ahead."
Sico looked forward.
"Tell them we're coming in."
The message traveled.
The damaged perimeter appeared.
People were already gathering.
Someone must have seen the approaching Humvees.
The first vehicle entered.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The supply trucks followed.
The settlers standing beside the road watched in silence.
At first, they saw only the vehicles.
Then they saw the soldiers.
Then the rear of the trucks.
And finally, they realized why the convoy had returned.
The children.
A murmur spread through the settlement.
People began moving closer.
Sico stepped out of the lead Humvee.
Sarah followed.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The soldiers began opening the rear of the first truck.
The first child appeared.
A woman near the road stopped breathing.
Her eyes widened.
She whispered a name.
The child looked up.
There was a heartbeat where neither moved.
Then the woman ran.
"My baby!"
The child recognized her.
"Mom!"
The little girl jumped down from the truck and ran straight into her mother's arms.
The woman dropped to her knees, pulling her close.
She was crying so hard she could barely speak.
"You're here."
"Oh God."
"You're here."
The child buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
Another child emerged.
A man standing several meters away suddenly called out.
"Ethan!"
The boy's head snapped around.
"Dad!"
He ran.
His father caught him halfway, lifting him into his arms.
The man's face crumpled.
He held his son so tightly that the boy laughed through his tears.
"You came."
"I told you I'd find you."
The words came out broken.
"I told you."
One by one, the reunions began.
A mother recognized her daughter.
A grandfather pulled a little boy against his chest.
A brother shouted another child's name.
A father simply stood frozen until his daughter ran into him.
Then he collapsed to his knees and wrapped both arms around her.
The settlement, which had been so quiet moments earlier, became filled with crying.
Not the frightened crying of the warehouse.
This was different.
Relief.
Disbelief.
Joy.
People laughed while tears ran down their faces.
Some parents repeatedly touched their children's faces as though needing to prove they were real.
One mother kissed her daughter's forehead again and again.
Another father kept whispering,
"Thank God."
The ten children were home.
Every one of them.
Sico stood several meters away.
He didn't approach.
This moment belonged to the families.
Sarah came to stand beside him.
Neither spoke for a while.
Around them, Republic soldiers lowered their rifles.
Some watched quietly.
Others looked away, giving the families privacy.
A young soldier wiped his eyes quickly before pretending to adjust his equipment.
Sarah noticed.
She said nothing.
Sico saw him too.
He understood.
The mission had begun with five dead settlers, twelve wounded civilians, three injured Republic soldiers, and ten empty beds.
It had ended with ten children standing in their parents' arms.
The dead could not be brought back.
The injuries would take time to heal.
The settlement would remember the raid for years.
But the children had survived.
That mattered.
A little boy suddenly looked over his mother's shoulder toward Sico.
Their eyes met.
The boy hesitated.
Then he gave a tiny wave.
Sico raised his hand and waved back.
The boy smiled.
Then disappeared again into his mother's embrace.
Sico lowered his hand.
Sarah looked at him.
"You got them home."
Sico watched the families.
"They got themselves home."
She smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
The noise of the reunion continued around them.
For once, Sico didn't need to give another order.
There was nothing left to organize.
Nothing left to chase.
Nothing left to prove.
The Republic had gone into the Commonwealth looking for ten missing children. And they had found them, then bring them back where they had belonged.
______________________________________________
• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-