Chapter 28: Media

Weeks later:

Firebase Izoold, Virginia:

10:45pm

"Firebase Izoold…" Ellie muttered as she scouts the base from a nearby cliff "Heavily fortified… Estimated at least 30 shooters, armed with standard NCR equipment. No Rangers. No Power Armor."

As she scouts the base, Ellie brings out a holotape and plays the contents on her Pip-Boy

"Your next job is to help the Sons of Liberty Virginia Wing to attack this NCR forward base. Weaken the base defenses but don't make it too easy for them to take the base. That should give you a window to reach your target. Same as always. You go in, take out the target and get out. The attack is scheduled to begin at around 11pm. Don't be late for the party"

As if right on que, gunfire suddenly erupts as the sound of battle cries echo throughout the night.

"Someone's got an itchy trigger finger…" Ellie remarked as she checks on the time "10:50. Oh well. Least I can finish this early"

Bringing out a pair of binoculars, Ellie assess the situtation. "They're getting their asses kicked. What's the field commander thinking making them go on a blind charge like that?"

Her attention then shifts to the east towards the source of a few loud gunshots.

"Bingo…" she said as she spots several individuals on the cliffs "Snipers… Priority one then"

Ellie attempted to use her abilities to reach the snipers but found herself running at a normal pace. "Looks like I injected too much of that serum… Not like it's gonna be much of a hindrance"

Within a few minutes, the mercenary reaches the snipers. She crept close to one and taps his shoulder.

"Hi" she said as she punches the man in the face

Before the 2nd sniper could react, Ellie uses her hidden blades to impale his left shoulder and neutralizes the threat by punching him on the left cheek.

The 3rd sniper quickly drops his rifle and attempts to draw his pistol. Ellie moves quickly and manages to wrest control of the gun from the man and does a pistol whip on his head, knocking him out.

Ellie then grabs one of the sniper's rifles.

"An M14 EBR…" the mercenary noted "… Damn… These guys don't even realize how vintage this thing is…"

Wasting no time, the mercenary provided sniper support to the rebels below. Upon breaking through the gate, Ellie quickly heads to the east.

Rebel Camp

A few minutes later:

"Lightly guarded…" Ellie remarked as she scours the camp "… Just as planned"

Sneaking through the camp, Ellie quietly eliminates the camp's guards by slowly choking them until they lose consciousness.

It did not take long for the mercenary to reach the commander's tent as the female commander emerges from it.

"There you are…" the mercenary muttered as the female commander walks towards the rebel buggy parked at the edge of the camp.

Moving quickly, Ellie enters the tent and finds a lone holotape on the table. With no other object of interest, Ellie takes the holotape and proceeds to stalk her target.

As her target was about to the buggy, Ellie charges towards her target, quickly grabbing one of the guards and throwing them on the ground and knocking him unconscious with a punch to the face.

Her target quickly gets on the buggy and speeds away as the other guard opens fire on the mercenary. Looking around, the mercenary quickly spots another buggy and resumed her chase.

Quickly noticing the mercenary catching up, the rebel fires the buggy's .50 cal on Ellie's buggy.

Ellie quickly maneuvers her vehicle to avoid the shots.

Eventually, she manages to get close enough to jump on the enemy buggy.

She quickly grabs the guard, manning the machine gun, and throws him off the buggy and sets her sights on her target.

Acting fast, the female commander makes a hard left, disorienting Ellie but not enough to force her off the buggy. She tries again and makes a hard right, still failing to dislodge the mercenary.

Desperate since the mercenary was dangerously close, the female commander makes another hard turn. This time, however, the vehicle topples over, dislodging both individuals off the vehicle.

Ellie and her target quickly recover from the accident as they stand up and stare at one another.

After some time, the female commander quickly draws her pistol and fires a shot. Acting fast, Ellie dodges the shot and charges at her target. She attempts to grab the pistol but her target proved to be an agile fighter as both individuals parry each other's blows, as well as the mercenary constantly redirecting her target's right arm to ensure all of her shots miss. Soon, Ellie manages to pin her target to the ground. Holding her target's left arm, Ellie attempts to stab the commander with her right blade. But the commander grabs Ellie's right arm and tries to stop her to no avail as Ellie was stronger.

"You" Ellie said as she watches her target slowly die "Tell me who the fuck has been fucking the rebellion over!"

"You have no idea" the commander said as she coughs up blood "You traitor…"

"Don't fuck with me!"

"I-I mean what I said… You are a traitor… You betray us…"

"You were with the Enclave?!"

"Enclave?" the woman said as she gives a pained laugh "You have no idea… I wonder what the Grand Master saw in you…"

"Grand Master? Hey! What the fuck do you mean?!"

Not long after, the commander closed her eyes and died, leaving an angered Ellie to put together what she said.

"Grand Master…"

By the power vested in me, you are now one of us

"Huh?" Ellie uttered as she saw a vision of a man holding her hand "What was that…?"

Abandoned Subdivision:

Entering one of the houses' basements, Ellie meets up with her allies to discuss her latest mission.

"Nice work, Ellie" Polonsky said "The NCR's grip on Virginia is weakening"

"Yeah…"

"Something up?"

"N-Nothing. I found this holotape in the rebel camp. Inside is only one document. Says here that there's a high value prisoner inside Camp Guam"

"Camp Guam? The former Chinese prison camp?"

"Yeah… It's currently held by the Sons of Liberty right? You think this intel is any good?"

"Hmm… Based on these docs, this prisoner is a high value target. I think it's worth checking"

"Alright. I'll head out then"

Camp Guam

8:30pm:

Standing over a hill, the mercenary scours the immediate area.

"That's weird…" she remarked "Not that many guards and one building… Is the prison underground..?"

Minutes later, Ellie jumps down and infiltrates the lone building with little effort.

After picking the lock on the door, Ellie proceeds into the building, noticing that she is headed underground.

Camp Guam (Underground Prison):

"Spacious" Ellie noted as she emerges from the entrance door

She turns to her right and proceeds to a nearby room, manned by two guards.

"Easy" she whispered as she knocks out both guards with ease

Checking the bodies, Ellie finds a holotape on one of the guards

"What do we have here…?" she muttered as she puts the holotape on her Pip-Boy

"Alright" a familiar male voice said "This intel should do for now. What's the status on the notable target in the area?"

"Following the surprise attack a few weeks ago" A familiar female voice replied "the rebels are on the defensive. TC is fortifying the western front, mostly Girdershade. RR is mostly posted in the center, fortifying Big Town and other surrounding settlements. Regs are the weakest of the bunch and they're covering the eastern front"

"What about the Pride?"

"They're done. That ambush eliminated most of the members but Arthur and Elysse are unaccounted for"

"Of all the people to be unconfirmed… Those two are our biggest threat. I expect an update on them. And it better be good"

"Yes sir. I'll make sure of that"

"Those voices…" Ellie muttered as the recording ends "Where have I heard those before…?"

Despite her efforts to remember, Ellie could not figure out the identity of the individuals in the recording. Not wanting to waste any more time, the mercenary proceeds with her mission.

As Ellie traverses the hallways of the prison, avoiding guards, a scream echoes through a narrow hallway. Curious, the mercenary headed towards the source.

What she saw horrified her. A Sons of Liberty Soldier beating a NCR prisoner while a wastelander, another prisoner, is begging him to stop.

"Good-for-nothing NCR!" the rebel shouted as he punches the prisoner senseless

"Please stop!" the female prisoner begged as she grabbed the rebel's legs

"Bitch!" another rebel said as he pulls the woman away "Another NCR whore!"

"What the hell?!" Ellie muttered as she contemplates on helping the prisoners

"NO!" the woman shouted as the guard continues to beat the NCR prisoner

After a couple of punches, the guard suddenly feels someone grab his fist.

"I never thought you guys would go this low…" Ellie uttered slowly and angrily "I didn't create the Sons of Liberty for you guys to fuck over!"

Ellie then twists the man's arm and covers his mouth as she throws him against the wall, knocking him out.

The other guard attempts to take the female prisoner hostage by placing a knife over her neck. "He-"

But before he could utter anymore, Ellie presses her palm on the guard's face and smashes him to the wall, knocking him out.

With both guards neutralized, Ellie checks up on the NCR prisoner, who was badly beaten.

"Th-Thank y-you…" he said with a pain tone

"Save your strength" she replied "I'll give you some stimpaks that should help with your injuries"

"Wh-What do we do now?" the female prisoner asked "When the guards wake up or find us, we'll be in big trouble"

Ellie ponders to herself for a bit. "Stay here for now. When all hell breaks loose, then that's your cue to escape"

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Thank you. Is it ok if I ask who you are?"

Ellie smiles at the woman. "I'm just a regular wastelander trying to make a living in this world"

Lower levels:

A few minutes later, Ellie nears her destination.

"The control room should be round here… Just near solitary confinement"

As she scours the area, a guard emerges from a room to her right. "Bingo"

Ellie makes her way to the door as the guard goes to the higher levels. Slowly opening it, she finds three guards inside the room. One in front of some monitors, another smoking in one corner, and the last one asleep in the middle.

Ellie checks her equipment. "Hmm… Should I go lethal?" She then checks on her gauntlet, specifically the undercarriage. "Sleep darts… Why not?"

Seconds later, Ellie bursts through the door and quickly fires her sleep dart on the guard by the monitor before he could flip the alarm. The smoking guard quickly drops his cigarette and attempts to pick up his rifle but Ellie quickly closes the distance and unleashes a flurry of punches, knocking him out. The sleeping guard dropped from his chair and was about to fire his pistol but the mercenary quickly threw a knife, hitting his right hand, prompting him to drop his pistol.

The mercenary quickly reloads her sleeping darts and hits the man before he could properly react.

She then moves to the monitors. Placing the guard's body on one side, she checks on the controls.

"Emergency release" she muttered as she spots a button "Hell is about to break loose"

She then presses the button, opening every single door in the prison.

"Who opened the cell doors?!" one of the rebel guards shouted as a NCR prisoner pounces from behind.

"The prisoners are escaping!" another guard shouted as another prisoner pounces on him before he could fire his gun.

"Have fun boys" Ellie muttered as she heads towards solitary confinement

Solitary Confinement:

"Only one way out" Ellie remarked "All the doors are open. My target must still be in his cell"

She heads towards the cell door at the very end of the hallway.

Opening the door, Ellie is greeted by a familiar face. "YOU!"

"Well. Well." The prisoner said with a hint of confidence "I never thought, you'd come to my rescue"

"I should have guessed it was you"

"Why? Expecting someone else?"

"Actually I was. Someone much more dignified and refined than you, Gusurg!"

"That's sharp, my lady" the man replied as he walks closer "So are you gonna get me out of here?"

"Give me a good reason to"

"Word is, you've been accused of being a spy for the NCR. You want to know who the spy is, right?"

"You know who the spy is?"

"I have more or less an idea"

"That's not reassuring"

"Well you're free to just leave me here"

"Fine… But you'll follow every order I give, no funny business, and you WILL tell me EVERYTHING you know!"

"Yeah. Yeah. I promise"

"Alright. Let's go"

"Ladies first"

Abandoned Subdivision;

The next day:

"So Gusurg was the high value prisoner in Camp Guam?" Polonsky said

"Yeah… I also got another holotape that matches his voice. Looks like he was talking to the spy. So Gusurg, who the fuck did you talk to?"

"I can't really say. She had a hood and a mask on so I can't really tell"

"Bullshit! You better fucking tell me or I'll fucking gut you!"

"Whoah there. I'm actually keeping my end of the bargain. Yes. I was the guy at that recording but the person was wearing a hood and mask so I couldn't really recognize em."

"Gusurg. You damn low son of a bitch! You have exactly 5 seconds to tell me or I'll make sure you'll be breathing through a tube!"

"Temper. Temper. But I do know one thing. The spy is closer than you think"

"What does that mean?!"

"изменник друг"

Angered by his reply, Ellie approaches the traitorous soldier. "What does that fucking mean?! You better tell me you motherfucker!"

Before she could even get a hold of him, Gusurg drops a grenade to the floor. "See you guys later"

"Cheeky Bastard!" Ellie shouted as the grenade detonates, blinding and deafening Ellie and Polonsky as Gusurg escapes.

After a few minutes, both individuals recover but Gusurg was gone.

"FUCK!" Ellie shouted as she kicks the wall "Can't even trust that bastard!"

"But he did leave some clues" Polonsky replied "This holotape can be useful. I'll have our guys check it out. Also, his statement 'the spy is closer than you think', does that mean anything?"

"I don't know… Should we trust any of that shit he said?"

"It's worth looking into. Anyway, we better go back to D.C. The Virginia rebels could handle things from here. Good work, Ellie"

"Right…"

D.C. Ruins

A few days later:

Ellie walks through the ruins as she continues to ponder on Gusurg's words. "What the hell does he mean…?"

Her thoughts are then interrupted when a sniper nearly lands a bullet on her head.

"A sniper?!" Ellie uttered as she quickly scrambles for cover "Where...?"

As she peeks through the window, the sniper fires again, hitting the wall on Ellie's left, missing her left eye by a few inches. "Shit. He's skilled!"

Ellie then goes deeper into the building as she attempts to use her eagle vision but could not find her attacker. "Looks like I gotta get closer… But I need to cross the street…"

The mercenary goes to the very end of the building and stares at another building across the street. "The serum's still affecting my abilities… I hope my luck holds out"

Ellie then positions herself behind a destroyed wall and prepares herself for her next move.

"Fortune favors the bold" Ellie muttered as she sprints towards the building across the street, barely dodging a shot from the sniper as she nears the building.

Entering the building, Ellie uses her eagle vision once more and finds the sniper. "Rooftop. I found ya, you bitch!"

To her luck, Ellie finds that the building she is in is connected to the building that the sniper is on. She sneaks her way through the building and eventually gets behind the sniper.

She prepares to take the sniper by surprise but before she could grab the sniper, her opponent suddenly turns around, grabs her arm, and throws her to the floor. The sniper then draws his pistol but Ellie quickly rolls to the side, dodging the bullet.

Ellie quickly gets up and engages the sniper in CQC. The sniper proved to be a capable fighter but it was not enough to hinder the mercenary who manages to pin the sniper to the floor.

"Now then, who am I dealing with?" Ellie said as she removes the sniper's mask

Shocked at the revelation, Ellie could only utter "WHAT?! Marina?!"

"You're gonna kill me too, Ellie?" the sniper said "Just like how you got the Pride killed?"

"Marina. It wasn't me! I'm not the spy"

"Bullshit. You expect me to believe that?!"

"Marina please. Believe me. You know I would never do such a thing!"

"I thought that too until that day… You had no idea how everyone was worried about you, especially Vyse. You fucking left us and now here you are crawling back"

"It's true that I left you guys back then and I'm sorry… Especially about Vyse. But now I'm back and I'm willing to make things right."

"You expect me to believe that half-hearted bullshit?!"

"Alright…" Ellie said as she helps the sniper up "Shoot me then. A few weeks ago, I injected myself with a powerful serum. It's affecting my abilities and I think I'll die if you shoot me in the head right now. So if you don't believe me then shoot me"

Marina then draws her pistol and positions the muzzle on Ellie's forehead. "I'll ask you one last time. Did you betray us?"

"No… I'll never betray you guys"

Marina stays silent for a moment before finally putting her gun down. "Fine… I believe you"

"Marina…"

"Honestly, I never believe that you were the spy. I just needed to confirm it"

"Marina…"

"Anyway, if you really want to make things right, I got a job for you"

"A job?"

"High Command wants to attack Little Lamplight but the kids there are preventing us from moving. The NCR is using those kids as hostages to make sure we don't touch that place"

"So you want me to rescue those kids?"

"Not just rescue. That place houses a lot of kids. I doubt you can get in there and extract them without problems. My proposition is to take out the enemy commander"

"Enemy commander?"

"Yeah. Intel says he's been abusive to those kids and he planned the entire hostage bullshit. Kill him and the rest of those NCR bastards will lose morale, giving the kids time to escape and giving us the opportunity we need. Here, I have a picture of the target in this holotape."

"Right. I'm on it, Marina. Also, thanks for believing in me"

"No problem. Besides, we're doing what we can for the wasteland, right?"

"Right"

"Meet me back here in 2 days for an update"

"Alright"

Little Lamplight (Caverns):

6:45pm:

"Infiltration was almost too easy…" the mercenary noted "… For such strategic location, one would expect it to be better guarded…"

She then spots her target, alone, in the far end of the caverns. She makes her way to the man, avoiding the other guards.

In no time, she finds herself just above the man. She drops down and prepares her hidden blade.

Landing on top of the man, she quickly stabs him in the chest.

"Gah!" the man uttered "W-Why?"

"Your days of abusing these kids is over, you scum"

"A-Abusing? Wh-What are you-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, he succumbed to his wounds. With her target down and after providing an escape route for the children, Ellie easily leaves Little Lamplight.

D.C. Ruins

2 days later:

"Good work, Ellie" Marina said with a smile "Thanks to you, we managed to take Little Lamplight without a problem"

"And the kids?"

"They're in good hands"

"That's good. So what now?"

"I got another job for you. This time, it's one of our own"

"One of our own?"

"I've been looking into the spy. I managed to dig up something about this guy. He's been limiting the distribution of water to the settlements to enable him to sell some of it to NCR caravans. Take him out"

Temple of the Union

Days later:

Ellie enters the underground vault and uses her eagle vision to pinpoint the positions of the guards.

"Should I really do it…?" she wondered as she remembers what Marina told her hours before

"Again, great work. We're making good progress! I've got a new mission for you" the sniper said "A squad of rebels in the Temple of the Union are planning to defect to the NCR. This time, no one should leave that place alive"

"Kill everyone? Why?"

"They're all traitors. We can't take any more chances"

"There's something off about this, Marina"

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Ellie. Just know that these guys are traitors that need to be put down"

"Marina…"

Ellie contemplates on her choices before finally deciding. "If I kill the commander, maybe the morale of the others would drop"

She makes her way through the vault, avoiding the guards.

Minutes later, she finds her target and covertly eliminates him.

As he lay dying, the commander uttered "Wh-What did I do?"

"You're a traitor. Defecting to the NCR. Such a despicable and cowardly act"

"Defect? What do you mean? I never planned to do that"

"Save your lies in the afterlife"

"Shit… I get it now… Listen to me. You don't know what you're doing"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing is true…"

"Nothing is true? What are you talking about? Tell me!"

But the man was already dead and could no longer answer the mercenary's questions. "Nothing is true..?"

With her target down, Ellie leaves the area with a heavy and confused heart.

Yao Guai Tunnels

3 days later:

Ellie stands on an elevated part of the cave as she observes a meeting between Jack and a hooded figure.

"Ellie. I finally know who the spy is"

"Really? Who?"

"It's Jack! The Talon Company Commander"

"The merc?"

"Yes! As well as Ronald Laren, they've been leaking information to the NCR for the past few months!"

"Those two? But how?"

"I'm not sure but they're definitely the ones behind all the shit that's been happening!"

"Fuck…"

"Right. Jack is going to meet with someone in the Yao Guai Tunnels. Again, no one should walk out of there alive"

"Right…"

"Marina…" Ellie muttered as she leaps towards Jack, her target.

As she nears her target, Ellie flicks her right wrist but she notices the hooded figure suddenly draw a pistol and shoots her in the right shoulder, causing her to miss her mark.

Ellie quickly recovers and the hooded figure quickly puts down her hood.

"Dallas?!" Ellie uttered

"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Dallas shouted as she opens fire on the mercenary who quickly breaks for cover

"What are you talking about, Dallas?! Jack and Laren are the spies! They're the traitor!"

"Shut up!"

Ellie quickly makes her way to Dallas. With her enemy up close, Dallas drops her pistol and engages Ellie in CQC. They attempt to land a punch on one another but both manage to grab each other's arms.

As they struggle to free themselves from each other's grip, someone shouts "Enough!"

"Polonsky?" Ellie uttered as she continues to struggle

"Jack and Laren are not the spies" he said

"What are you talking about? I met up with Marina and she told me"

"What Marina told you were lies"

"What are you talking about? All those people she asked me to kill were evil"

"Evil is relative. Besides, the men you killed were not even remotely close to that"

"What do you mean?"

"The NCR commander you killed in Little Lamplight was actually preventing those kids from being evicted by the NCR. With him dead and the rebels taking over, those kids were given two options: leave or work for the rebellion"

"No way…"

"The one at the Purifier was actually giving water to everyone, including the Pro-NCR communities. Thanks to you, these communities are no longer being given water just because they either supported the NCR or preferred to stay neutral. And that commander in the Temple of the Union was never planning to defect. In fact, he was about to expose the real spy!"

"What?"

"Jack and Laren have been leaking information to the NCR but it was all false information to enable them to identify the spy. Now, we finally know who the spy is thanks to them and the holotapes you gathered!"

"No… I refuse to believe that Marina would lie to me like that. There's no way she'd manipulate me like that"

"Don't you get it, Ellie?!" Dallas shouted "Marina IS the SPY!"