Part 4: Brahmin Woods, Part 2: And Remember, No Video!

Holy shit, it's a load of screenshots. Hopefully, the other missions will go a lot smoother.

Alternatively, I can ramp up story telling and use less screenshots. Eh, we'll see with next post.

Post 4: Brahmin Woods, pt. 2: And Remember, No Video!



The trio of Initiates, having deftly dealt with a hostage crisis, are ready to charge forth.



Flashman again acts as the pointman, barging into the building by following all the room clearing procedures he was taught: none!

A raider in a the corner near damn shits himself: all that shooting and screams outside failed to alert him that something is amiss!



Thus, he's punched to death!



On an interesting note, he was totting a spear gun. Likely, this had been an eccentric raider, somewhat cooky, somewhat unstable, but still well liked by others for his spear gun antics.

Rest in peace, Speargun Jones.



There's another disinterested raider up in that bunker! Being a cautious lot, the Initiates prepare for a three pronged attack: on the left, Stitch crouched behind a well while Farsight positions herself on the right. Meanwhile, Flashman crawls down the middle.



He approaches the door largely unseen. Success!



Wearing more armor might help, but getting suspicious why the door you were watching mysteriously flew open would help more.



Further on, we see what used to be the gathering place of the so-called "urban youth" before the war.



And a to the south east, the remains of one of those dining places that used to have an all chromed outside and waitresses that either wanted to leave the small town or were so burned out that they never stopped smoking.

Currently, they're infested by two raiders. They probably aren't burnt out, or else they would not have come on this raid.



The great plan was for Stitch and Farsight to distract the raiders with fire, while Flashman sneaks through the court (only slightly perturbed by ghosts of basketballs).

The ruckus flushes out another raider that wasn't spotted in the initial scouting. What a twist!



Ah, but the ending is very predictable: Flashman runs up to him and punches the raider till he stops moving.

Not all people submitted for Brotherhood training are smart enough to stop at that point, but Flashman graduated at the top of the class.

A quite literal top, since it was a mound of corpses and he was the only one left standing.



However, being smart doesn't exactly pay off that well, because then you start having outlandish ideas. For example: having some Molotov cocktails, Flashman desired to test out their effects on raiders.



Unfortunately, the explosive concoctions failed to impress or inflame the raider, proving to be a waste of money. Flashman could have sold those things, either to the Brotherhood or a drunk of some sort.



Flashman resorts to his natural talent: punching people. It served him well in his pit fighting years before the Brotherhood, it will serve him now!



Yet pit fighters rarely had SMGs with them! Being shot was no fun, no fun at all!



And while a pit fighter would nurse his wounds with rotgut and more rutgut, this required more serious medical attention. Brotherhood was better trained and better equipped than any snake oil salesman that ever pretended to be a pit doctor, and so was Stitch. First Aid was a lot more helpful than simple (if easy to use and abudant) stimpacks.



Flashman was quickly patched up and ran off to beat the two raider in the diner into pulp. Farsight moved up a little to provide covering fire (if possible).



The first raider was dispatched without much trouble, even if Flashman was under fire from two people the whole time.



However, the second raider proved to be more of an opponent. Not only was his pistol more suited to shooting while dodging fists than his dead coleagues hunting rifle, he was also one of those people who managed to used stimpacks in the middle of the fight.

There were legends that before the war, fighters would gather all the stimpacks they could and punch each other for days till one of them ran out of healing. Flashman believed them to be true.



The raider jumped up to celebrate driving off Flashman and got Farsight's bullet for all his troubles.



Having patched up Flashman - again - the Initiates continued scouring the village. As luck would have it, this village only ever had one way to go forward, so they were in no danger of getting lost.



They spent some time clearing the rooms before Farsigh spotted the worst sniper ever: not only did he not help his buddies at the diner, he also didn't notice people running around him till they started shooting at him.

And that's why you don't make the near sighted guy a sniper, no matter how hard he asks for it.



However, he could still fire at shapes, and Flashman was a red shape that popped up just over the ladder.



It's not easy, being shot and falling off a ladder, landing on you face.



And it doesn't get better the second time around.





Neither is running away from sniper in a straight line.



However, Flashman wasn't an idiot who would charge at a prepared enemy, and neither would he do it twice.

He much more preferred startling raiders before punching them dead.

Their "arghs" sounded like music, especially in Wasteland, where music didn't really survive.





As for the sniper, Flashman sneaked up the ladder and then charged at him.

Unfortunately, he charged with a stimpack, so it was a little embarrassing when he had to drop it in favor of the brass knuckles.



Sniper dealt with, they proceeded to the next ruin of a building. Stitch and Farsigh were placed in an ambush position. Maybe they'll catch someone?



Nope, not likely. Flashman got to punch out a dog and an another raider. One other fled away as fast as he could, while another composed himself and opened fire. Fighting tribals taught him that bullet was mightier than fist (or a pen).



But Flashman had spent most of his life beating things into submission, and he wasn't ready to stop now. The raider soon found himself getting punched quite a few times despite emptying a magazine at the Initiate.



His cowardly friend finally ran out of ammo and came to help with his fists.



While Flashman managed to eventually break the first raider's face (and everything else), this time, two were more than a match for him. Time for a tactical retreat.



This retreat lured the raider straight into the sights of Farsight and Stitch. While Flashman was away, they had stricken a conversation that was about to turn weird and both were happy for the interruption.



The damage incurred in the last fight left Flashman more of a mummy than a man, in that he had been bandaged so much, there was no place to apply new bandage to. Without taking a rest to let the body heal naturally (and for all the stimulants including the First Aid kit to really kick in), he would have to contend with stimpacks.

Nobody wanted to break out the doctor bag in the first mission!



And off they went, to assault the last area of the village.

It contained, counter clockwise:



A parking lot, with one parked brahmin.



The longhall of the village. Judging by the decor, it used to a BDSM goods store before the war.



And totem of skulls, closely guarded by two raiders who may or may not have built it.



The squad (more of a fireteam) went into an adjacent room to talk tactics ("...shoots, Stitch does nothing, and I'll punch everyone dead, got it?").



Hark! Another easily startled raider that had no situation awareness! A quick firefight (at the distance of a meter or two) ensued.



The volume of fire ensured that eventually the raider was shot dead.



After that small snag, the plan continued in perfect order: Farsigh shot people, Stitch did nothing, Flashman charged to punch people.



Like so. Flashman: delivering more concussions than concussion grenades.



The other raider needed some more persuasion to get punched.



Unfortunately, she had a friend who heard her ineffectual threats and came to help. Flashman decided to live to punch another day.



Farsight then kept the raider occupied while Flashman had his wounds plugged.

In his words, he "ain't got time to bleed".



On the other hand, there's always time for FLANKING!



The unfortunate raider must have known some freakishly strong baby girls. Not unlikely, in this radioactive, FEV drenched wasteland.

Remember, kids: if you have questions about why something in the wasteland is like it is, the answer is FEV, every time.



Boo might go for the eyes and arrows might home in on knees, but Flashman is known for taking down elbows.



The long hall had six raiders, way too many for Flashman to punch in one go. To this end, Farsight was sent on the roof to see if she can shoot someone through the strategically placed holes.



Raiders, bearing wary of strange spiked holes in roofs, didn't loiter under them.



However, one of them still managed to spot Farsight sneaking about. Not much sneaking when your head can be clearly seen in the background of the cloudy sky.



The cover blown, Flashman sprung into action!



PUNCHING ACTION!

75% of all raiders agree: getting punched by Flashman hurts.

(25% don't really have the time to state their opinion)



Mr. Lupercal here is the leader of this band of raiders. He's as cocky as someone who had just pulled off an assault on a defenseless, peaceful village can be.

His speech ended in bullets, so Flashman ran away most heroically.



Sallying for another go, wounds are patched, and Flashman pops in some Buffout, the best drug for when you want to punch out a brahmin in one hit.



Flashman can now kill a bull with his left hand.

Of the right one, he himself is afraid of.



Tough words for someone so easy to punch!



At the same time, Stitch and Farsigh who were supposed to sneak from the left and suppress everyone, are doing a shitty job. Even raider feels the need to taunt them.



Flashman punches out the potty mouth...



...and, being an equal opportunity puncher, punches his lady friend dead, too.



With the raider in the back taken care of by Farsight, Flashman wants to give incendiary weapons another chance: this time, with grenades!





...and no!



Running back, Flashman laments all the money he could have made selling the grenades... and his singed eyebrows.



A few stimpacks later, he's good as new!



Horus: not immune to punching!



Near death, Horus gives the tired villain line about him and the heroes being the same.

Brotherhood of Steel is an old military organization that maintains superiority through training and high technology, exchanging their services for new recruits.

Raiders loot, rape and pillage.

Doesn't sound that similar to me!



Flashman wonders if he'll have to punch out any Ezekiels later on.



In the end, there's only one thing left: a defiant locked box!



Lock pick skill of 35%, away!



Repeat this image about 20 times (I'm not joking).



Yay! Now to...



Fuck, how did he do that?!

After another five attempts...



Ah, the great treasure of two stims! Raiders need to set their shit stashing priorities straight!



After marveling at some ruins he can't access, Flashman unlocks the single gate in the fence, which leads him near the place where punched out his first dog.



Now, to inform Aradesh that his Brahmin theme park is safe again!





Having been bright enough to be one of the few people in his village that didn't consider all books to be toilet paper, Flashman is a little perplexed about the tribal's mention of angels. Who do angels picture into the divine bovine hierarchy of worshiping brahmin?

For a peaceful man, Aradesh seems to have enjoyed the violence a little too much. That isn't much of a problem, since he's happy to hand over the recruits. Almost eager to "trade off our future".



Flashman has finished his first mission and all of hostages, as well as all of the Initiates survived it. General Barnaky is happy! Hooray!

Now, Brahmin Woods is safe and free to live in a lawful society. The regulations for getting a Brahmin kumis license might be a bitch, but at least you know that it's Nuka Cola free.

NEXT TIME: BUNKER ALPHA!

Where we mostly sell stuff and replace the most of the team with better recruits.