Trees? There hadn't been trees here the last time he had emerged from this tunnel. It appeared that Harold's influence was spreading even faster than the Treeminders had predicted. Orion River, The Lone Wanderer, hadn't stepped foot in the capital wasteland for eight years, not since the accident that had torn him apart, forcing the Brotherhood Scribes to turn him into a cyborg. They'd replaced his right arm, left leg, both lungs and kidneys and his vocal cords with advanced robotics. A side effect of this was that he now spoke like a sentry bot. He'd spent that time as the acting Lord of the Pitt, building a new society. Now he was coming home. Doc yapped happily beside him. One of Dogmeat's puppies, Orion had named Doc after the dog his father had been turned into in Vault 112. Doc had been cyberneticly and genetically augmented, making him stronger, faster and tougher than any regular dog. Orion's power armor was a formidable creation. He called it 'Wanderer's Power Armor'. Advanced with alien technology, its fusion core would last ten times longer. The armor itself was flame resistant, radiation resistant and energy resistant. It also automatically applied adapted alien biogel if he was wounded. As for his weapons, he was carrying his homemade Tesla Rifle, a rifle version of the Tesla Cannon, the Microwave Emitter and the Shocksword. Orion wondered how the Capital had changed in nearly a decade. He would soon find out.
As he and Doc made their way down the slope away from the Pitt tunnel, a harsh voice called out to them.
"Halt, civilian!"
Two Brotherhood Knights had their Laser Rifles aimed directly at Orion.
"By order of Elder Maxson of the Brotherhood of Steel, we request that you turn over the technology that you are carrying. Your Power armor, for example".
Orion stared at the two Knights for a solid minute, while Doc growled softly. He slowly reached up and unclasped his helmet, and then took it off. Underneath, he was wearing and Chinese Commando hat that had "The Hat of the People" inscribed on the inside. His messy auburn hair stuck out in tufts from underneath it, and he'd grown a thick beard during his time in the Pitt.
"Since when has the Brotherhood reverted to robbing the people they swore to protect?" he asked
The Knights began to laugh.
"Have you been living under a rock for the past couple years?" one of them replied.
"Elder Maxson has returned us to our true path, protecting ignorant savages like you from using technology you don't understand".
Orion weighed up his options. He had a feeling that these men would kill him if he didn't comply with their demands. Even so, he felt honor bound to give them a chance to walk away before he attacked.
"Just go," he said "Go and forget you saw me. I keep my stuff, you live long lives, and everybody wins".
Upon hearing this the Knights began laughing again. Taking the opportunity, Orion drew his Microwave Emitter and blasted them. For a second nothing happened. Then there was a sickening "splat" sound, as the two Knights head exploded inside their helmets. Orion moved quickly, looting their corpses of ammo and caps. Finally, he pulled the Knight's Holotags from around their necks and pocketed them.
"Old habits die hard" he muttered to himself, while Doc gave what sounded like a bark of agreement.
They'd built a guard house on the ledge outside the cave. Not that it did much good when all of the guards were asleep. Inside the cave had received some serious upgrades. Turrets all along the roof and barricades to funnel any attackers into a tight space where they'd be easy to pick off. She'd done a good job with the place. Eventually Orion reached the end of the tunnel, and the huge steel door that blocked his path. The symbol on the door was all too familiar. It was the same symbol he had painted on the front of his armor. A yellow '101'. A woman's voice floated over the intercom.
"Orion, is that you?"
For the second time today, the Lone Wanderer reached up and removed his helmet. And for the first time since he'd left the Pitt, he smiled.
"I'm home, Amata".