Chapter 2: A New Day
Five years; that was how long it had been since the Wanderer had survived the events of Mothership Zeta and all but concluded his grand adventures in the Capital Wasteland. It was early in the morning, as the Wanderer reflected on his past adventures. He remembered how he had left the comforts of his home, Vault 101, in search of his father. He remembered how this had led him on a grand journey, a journey which took him from the Vault to Megaton to D.C., as well as plenty of other places in the vast and surrounding wastes. He recalled how he had found his father, only to lose him again at the hands of the Enclave, and how he joined the Brotherhood in order to save the legacy his parents had left behind in this world, a purifier for all the water in the Capital Wasteland. It was working splendidly, the caravans were now guarded by at least one brotherhood squad each, and more people were recruiting every day for caravan protection detail.
Clean water was flowing as freely through the capital wasteland as blood had been before, and the people were all the better for it. There was still the occasional raider attack, and a few disputes between towns over who deserved more water, but all in all, the Capital Wasteland had been pretty peaceful for the past couple of years.
The Wanderer sat in his newly renovated home in Megaton, he was now not only the leader of Project Purity, he was also the Brotherhood's head scientist helping to make sure the project would run as smoothly as possible, as well as to aid in rebuilding Liberty Prime and making the most of the strange technology acquired from "Mothership Zeta.". While sitting as his desk logging in how many gallons of water each settlement received, Dogmeat came and brought him a note with the Brotherhood of Steel symbol on it. He tugged and pulled at it for several minutes until he let it go, covered in dog slobber. He opened the letter, and out fell a chip on to his desk. "Strange." he thought, and then began reading the letter.
"Dear Wanderer.
We here at the Citadel have received a strange transmission coming from the West. We're not sure what it is, but it appears to be advanced technology. While the technology provided from the Alien Ship has helped immensely in the rebuilding of Liberty Prime, it is too advanced for us to finish rebuilding some of his vital systems. If you would, please go and investigate this signal. The chip that is with this package has all the details and simply needs to be attached to your pip boy to upload the information.
Sincerely,
The Brotherhood of Steel."
"What's that?" said a voice from behind the Wanderer.
The Wanderer turned around to see a six year-old girl standing before him, with a curious look on her face and a teddy bear grasped in her hands. "Ah, Marie, I didn't see you there." The Wanderer said to her smiling. "You're up rather early. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Daddy!" Marie replied. "So, what'cha doin'?"
The Wanderer had adopted Marie four and a half years ago. She had been part of the reason he had settled down in Megaton; after all, he didn't need to constantly risk his life like he used to now that he had a daughter to raise. However, this letter presented an opportunity for the Brotherhood and all the Capital Wasteland, one that could guarantee the safety of all its inhabitants for quite some time. He didn't know what to do.
"Oh, it's nothing. How about we make some breakfast?"
As they proceeded to cook breakfast, the Wanderer continued to ponder the message. He didn't want to leave Marie, but if the Brotherhood could rebuild Liberty Prime, then at long last the Capital Wasteland could be fully secured at last. Not that the Brotherhood hadn't been able to deal with the situation up to this point, but having Liberty Prime back would be an absolute guarantee of the safety of every citizen in the region. Furthermore, the potential technology could aid in gaining control over all the systems of Mothership Zeta.
Up until this point, Mothership Zeta had remained mostly a mystery. They could control the basics, but no one was able to figure out how to actually fly it, launch more teleporters, or operate other advanced systems. If there was some kind of advanced tech to be had somewhere in the middle of this once great country, they could possibly use it to finally figure everything out...
"You're thinking about somethin', I can tell." Marie said.
The Wanderer snapped back into the present, away from his thoughts. Marie was looking at him with a smile on her face, though she was obviously concerned. The Wanderer knew she could tell that something was up. He remained silent for another moment, then he finally spoke.
"Marie, I may have to go away for a while; longer than usual. Something really important has come up, and it could really help all the people around here. But I'm going to have to travel quite a ways, so you'll need to go stay with Sheriff Simms for a while, ok?"
"Aww, can't I go with you just this once?" She asked. "I promise I'll be really good!"
"Not this time Marie; someday, I promise. Just not this time." Marie frowned, clearly upset that her father was leaving again, and on a trip as serious as this. "Don't worry though. This trip may be longer than usual, but I promise I'll be back before you know it, ok?"
Marie pouted for a moment, before finally giving him another smile, saying, "Oh, ok. But you better be back soon!" With that, the Wanderer finished his breakfast, and prepared for another grand adventure in the Wasteland.
