Fallout 4: Rebirth At Vault 81

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Greg was stable, resting under Doc Sun's care. The workers were tired but relieved. And Diamond City's wall—its shield against the Wasteland—stood taller than ever. Tomorrow, the work would continue.

Sico wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, his body aching from another day of hard labor. But even as exhaustion threatened to drag him under, he knew he had one more thing to do before calling it a night. Greg.

The memory of the accident was still fresh in his mind—the sickening crunch, the way Greg had screamed in pain, the blood pooling on the dirt. They had caught their mistake, reinforced the weak spots, but it still didn't sit right with Sico. Someone had gotten hurt because of a rushed job. Because they hadn't been careful enough.

With a heavy sigh, he made his way toward the small clinic tucked away in one of the quieter corners of Diamond City. The market had settled into its usual evening rhythm—shopkeepers packing up, traders exchanging the last bits of their stock, and the occasional group of kids running through the streets, laughing despite the Wasteland looming just beyond the walls.

When he reached the clinic, he hesitated for a moment before pushing open the door.

Inside, the air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and the faint metallic tang of blood. Dr. Sun was at his workstation, organizing a few vials of medicine, while Greg lay on one of the cots, his leg elevated and tightly wrapped in bandages.

Greg noticed him first, letting out a dry chuckle. "Didn't think I was important enough to warrant a personal visit."

Sico smirked, pulling up a chair next to the cot. "Yeah, well, figured I should check in. How you holding up?"

Greg exhaled, shifting slightly. Even that small movement made him wince. "Doc says I got lucky. Could've been worse."

Dr. Sun didn't look up from his work. "You say that now, but if you don't let that leg heal properly, you won't be walking right ever again."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I got it." He turned his attention back to Sico. "But seriously, kid. I appreciate you getting that thing off me. Thought I was a goner for a second."

Sico shook his head. "We should've caught it before it happened. We were rushing, cutting corners. That's on us."

Greg waved a hand dismissively. "Shit happens, Sico. Ain't the first time something's gone sideways on a job, and it sure as hell won't be the last. You didn't drop the damn wall on me on purpose."

Sico leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with both hands. "Still. If we'd checked it properly the first time…"

Greg studied him for a moment, then let out a tired sigh. "Lemme tell you something, kid. I've been working construction since before you were born. There's no such thing as a perfect job. You do your best, you fix your mistakes, and you keep moving forward. That's all you can do."

Sico sat in silence for a moment, letting Greg's words sink in.

Dr. Sun finally turned around, arms crossed. "He's right, you know. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to help anyone."

Sico exhaled, nodding. "Yeah. I know." He looked back at Greg. "You need anything? Food? Water?"

Greg smirked. "A new leg, maybe."

Sico chuckled. "I'll see what I can do."

They sat there for a while, the weight of the day finally settling in. Outside, the hum of the city continued, but in here, it was quiet. Peaceful, in a way.

After a while, Sico stood. "Get some rest, Greg. I'll check in on you tomorrow."

Greg gave him a lazy salute. "Don't work too hard, kid."

Sico shook his head with a small smile before stepping out into the cool night air.

The wall was stronger now. Greg was going to be okay. And tomorrow, they'd keep going. Because that's what survivors did.

Sico took a deep breath as he stepped out of the clinic, letting the night air cool his skin. The exhaustion from the day's work still clung to him, but his mind wasn't ready to rest just yet. The accident weighed heavily on him, and even though Greg had shrugged it off, Sico couldn't do the same.

His boots echoed softly against the worn concrete as he made his way back to the construction site. The city had settled for the night, but a few stragglers still wandered the streets—guards patrolling the perimeter, a merchant packing up his stall, a couple sharing a quiet moment on the steps of an old building. Life in Diamond City never truly stopped, even when the world outside its walls had fallen apart.

When he arrived at the worksite, he found Sturges standing near the section they had reinforced earlier, his hands on his hips, eyes scanning every inch of the structure. A dim lantern hung from a makeshift post, casting long shadows over the uneven ground.

Sico approached, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Sturges huffed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hell, no. Not after today. I figured I'd double-check everything, make sure we didn't miss something else."

Sico nodded, stepping up beside him. The reinforced section stood strong in the dim light, a testament to their hard work. But after what happened to Greg, it was impossible to trust it completely.

"You find anything?" Sico asked, scanning the structure with his own critical eye.

Sturges sighed. "Couple of weak welds, nothing major. Fixed 'em already. But I'm more worried about what we don't see."

Sico crouched down, running his hand along the base of the wall, feeling for any imperfections. "Yeah. We thought this part was solid before, and look what happened."

Sturges let out a dry chuckle. "Ain't that the damn truth." He crossed his arms, staring at the structure like it had personally insulted him. "I keep going over it in my head, tryin' to figure out where we went wrong. We were careful, Sico. Sure, we were moving fast, but we weren't reckless."

Sico frowned. "Then why did that section give out so easily?"

"That's what's got me worried," Sturges admitted. "If it was just a bad weld or misaligned beam, we would've caught it during the first check. But this… it collapsed too fast. Too clean. Like it was meant to fail."

Sico's stomach tightened. "You think someone sabotaged it?"

Sturges didn't answer right away. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "I don't wanna jump to conclusions, but let's just say I ain't ruling it out."

Sico stood up, his mind already running through the possibilities. Diamond City was a safe place—safer than most—but it wasn't without its problems. There were always people who didn't agree with how things were run, who thought they could do better. And if someone wanted to make a point, sabotaging the wall would be a damn good way to do it.

Sico glanced at Sturges. "We need to check everything. Every inch of this wall, every bolt, every weld. If someone did this on purpose, we can't let them get away with it."

Sturges nodded. "Already on it. I've got Preston and a couple of the others going over the older sections. If something ain't right, we'll find it."

Sico exhaled, rolling his shoulders. His body screamed for rest, but he pushed it aside. There was too much at stake.

"I'll help," he said.

Sturges didn't argue. He just handed Sico a wrench and gestured toward the eastern section of the wall. "Be my guest."

For the next few hours, Sico worked in near silence, methodically checking every section assigned to him. He tested bolts, tapped on metal plates to listen for weaknesses, inspected welds under the flickering light of a lantern.

As the night stretched on, Preston walked over, wiping sweat from his brow. "Found anything?"

Sico shook his head. "Not yet. But something about this doesn't sit right."

Preston nodded. "Yeah. Sturges said the same thing. We're being careful, but if this was sabotage…" He sighed, crossing his arms. "We need to figure out who's behind it."

Sico leaned against a steel beam, his mind racing. "Could be someone with a grudge. Someone who thinks Diamond City's leadership isn't doing a good enough job."

Preston grimaced. "Wouldn't be the first time."

They stood in silence for a moment, both lost in thought.

Then, Roy's voice called out from the other side of the site. "Hey! I think I got something!"

Sico and Preston exchanged a look before hurrying over. When they reached Roy, they found him crouched near one of the newer reinforcements, his flashlight shining on a section of metal plating.

"What is it?" Sico asked.

Roy pointed at a weld near the bottom of the wall. "This ain't normal. Look at the way the metal's been melted."

Sico squinted, kneeling down for a closer look. At first glance, it seemed like a regular weld, but when he ran his fingers over it, he could feel the uneven surface, the way the metal had warped in places it shouldn't have.

"This was done in a rush," Roy continued. "And not by us. We've been careful, double-checking everything. This? It looks like someone came in after and tried to patch it up fast, like they were covering something up."

Sico's jaw tightened. If someone had been messing with the wall, then they had more problems than just a construction accident.

Preston exhaled sharply. "Shit."

Roy nodded grimly. "Yeah."

Sico stood, looking out over the darkened city. "We need to tell Sturges."

By the time they gathered everyone, the realization had settled in—this wasn't just an accident. Someone had tampered with the wall, and if they hadn't caught it in time, another section could have failed.

Sturges ran a hand down his face, looking more exhausted than ever. "Son of a bitch. We were so focused on building this thing up, we didn't even think to watch our backs."

Preston folded his arms. "Now we need to figure out who did it—and why."

Sico exhaled. "And we need to do it fast. If they're willing to sabotage the wall, what else are they willing to do?"

Silence fell over the group. The Wasteland was dangerous enough without having to worry about enemies within the city walls.

Finally, Sturges straightened up, his expression hardening. "All right. We keep working, but from now on, we keep a closer eye on things. Nobody works alone. We double-check every piece of work, and if something seems off, we stop and figure out why."

Preston nodded. "I'll talk to the guards, see if anyone's seen anything suspicious."

Sico looked toward the wall, the structure that was meant to protect them from the horrors outside. It had taken so much effort, so much sweat and blood, and now someone was trying to tear it down from the inside.

He clenched his fists. "Whoever did this… we'll find them."

Sturges nodded, his jaw set. "Damn right we will."

Sico took a deep breath, forcing himself to think clearly. His body ached from the long hours of work, but this wasn't the time to rest. If someone was trying to sabotage the wall, they had to act fast—before something even worse happened.

He turned to Sturges, his expression serious. "You lead the team. Go over every inch of the repairs, make sure nothing else has been tampered with. If you find anything suspicious, don't just patch it up—figure out what the hell they did and why."

Sturges nodded, his jaw tightening. "Yeah. We'll make sure this thing holds." He turned to the workers who were still gathered, their faces a mix of exhaustion and unease. "All right, folks. You heard him. We're not just fixing this wall—we're making damn sure it stays up. No shortcuts. No assumptions. Check everything."

The crew murmured their agreement, though Sico could see the tension in their eyes. They were used to working hard, but now there was an extra layer of paranoia settling in. If someone within Diamond City was behind this, it meant the enemy wasn't just out in the Wasteland—it was right here among them.

Sico turned next to Preston, who was already waiting for orders, arms crossed, eyes sharp beside him stoof Sarah.

"You two," Sico said, "take a team and start looking for whoever did this. Someone had to have seen or heard something. Start with anyone who had access to the worksite—guards, traders, workers. If they've been acting strange, if they were around when they didn't need to be, I want to know about it."

Preston nodded. "We'll ask around. But if this was an inside job, they're not gonna just admit to it."

"That's why you gotta be careful," Sico said. "They've already proven they're willing to take risks. If they think we're onto them, they might try something worse."

Sarah adjusted the strap on her rifle. "We'll keep it quiet, at least at first. But if we have to crack some skulls to get answers, I won't lose any sleep over it."

Sico almost smirked. That was Sarah for you.

"Just be thorough," he said. "We can't afford to miss anything."

Sarah and Preston exchanged glances before nodding.

"We'll check in if we find something," Preston said before leading Sarah and a few other guards toward the marketplace.

Sico exhaled, rubbing his face with both hands. The situation had turned into a mess real fast. One minute, they were just trying to rebuild. The next, they had a potential saboteur in their midst.

He turned back to Sturges, who was already getting the workers back in motion, checking welds, reinforcing beams, making sure nothing else was rigged to collapse.

"This was supposed to make things safer," Sico muttered under his breath.

But that was the thing about the Wasteland. No matter how much you built, no matter how strong you thought you were, there was always something—someone—waiting to tear it all down.

________________________________________________

• 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:-