August 17th, 2277

With weary eyes, almost saddened by the fact he was awake again, Conway lifts his reluctant body out of bed. The brown-greenish tint of the saloon didn't differ that much from that of outside, but he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to see better anyway. He didn't really remember that much after he entered the town, but he could tell that he was in the saloon. With quick haste, Conway put his overcoat back on, heaved the leather pack over his shoulder, and returned his combat shotgun back to his sling. He made all sorts of noise coming down the stairs, but nobody minded. Scavengers and merchants alike always carried the same weight as a pack-Brahmin. Exiting through the front door, the bright light hit Conway in the face; nearly blinding him. However, after a few seconds, his eyes were able to re-adjust to the outside light. He leaned forward against the railing in front of the bar, and looked out over the town.

The settlers were all about their own business. They were working, eating, sitting, and doing ordinary things for ordinary wastelanders. Their sheriff patrolled the area, keeping a watchful eye for trouble. The town preacher was spouting his sermons to the sky, being loud enough for all to hear. Despite standing in a knee deep puddle, he raised his hands to the sky and kept shouting, with no one stopping him.

"Behold! He is coming with the clouds! And every eye shall be blind with his glory. Every ear shall be stricken deaf to hear the thunder of his voice. Let the men, women, and children of the Earth, come forth, to gather, and behold of the Power of Atom!" The preacher yelled.

It should probably be mentioned that the town of Megaton is built around the crater of an un-detonated nuclear bomb. The "puddle" that the preacher, Confessor Cromwell, is standing in, is a large irradiated pool of water sitting underneath the un-detonated bomb. Otherwise known as "King of the Wackjobs", Confessor Cromwell spouted more and more about the "glory of atom".

"What a delusional man." Conway mumbled under his breath. "I will never get why someone would worship a nuke, much less as stand near one."

As amusing as it was to watch the Confessor rant some more, Conway thought it best to stock up on some supplies before going out into the wastes that day. Megaton's own Craterside Supply always had what he needed, not to mention his favorite tinker owned the place. He proceeded down the scrap metal ramps to the shop, and opened the door. Sure enough, Craterside Supply's eccentric owner was there, sweeping the floors.

"Oh, Moira!" Conway exclaimed. "I'm back!"

Moira looks up from her sweeping to see Conway standing in the door. She drops the broom and shrieks with delight. She almost stumbles over her blue RobCo. jumpsuit trying to make her way to him. She wraps her arms around him and shakes him all about, grinning and making as many happy noises as she can. Conway smiles, but doesn't try resisting.

Back when Conway was still a kid, his traveling family merchant business would often take him to Canterbury Commons; a small community on the eastern side of the Capital Wasteland. It was a major transit zone for merchants of all varieties. One of the times he traveled there, he noticed a slightly younger girl by herself reading a book against a building. Her scarlet red hair stood out against the browns, blacks and greys that usually adorned heads. After a nervous introduction, Conway and Moira would soon become good friends. Both of them were tinkers and learned from their families important repair skills. She would always try to build a wacky invention to lecture Conway about it, but he never minded. He was finally able to connect with another person besides his parents. However, with traveling merchants for parents, all situations are short-lived. He pledged to always see Moira once a year, if the trade business was lucky. For the most part, he has kept his promise; and it was even better when she moved to Megaton.

"Eeeeee!" Moira squealed with excitement, still bear-hugging Conway. "I didn't know you were coming to town! I would've straightened the place up more had I known!"

Moira quickly picks up the broom and tosses it behind a shelf, grinning out of nervousness.

"Ah, it's alright be me, Moira! It's a lot cleaner than Moriarty's that's for sure." Conway said reassuringly. "I was in town for some R&R, and I thought I would come by and say hi. Maybe grab some gear before I head out again." He stated as he cradled his combat shotgun, while reaching for his leather satchel.

"Well you know you came to the right place!" She pointed out with glee. "That is, if you got what I need…" She says with a slight purr to her voice.

Conway grins as he reaches into his leather satchel to pull something out.

"Oh, I got what you need right here…" Conway says playfully. He pulls out a conductor and a fire-hose nozzle and sets them on the shop counter. "Just what you asked for: one conductor, and a fire nozzle. You're welcome." He says smugly.

Moira quickly grabs the items and inspects them. Her expression is serious, and analytic. It always worried Conway when Moira did that, he didn't want to see her disappointed. After a moment or two of silence, Moira smiles and places them on the shelves behind her.

"This is wonderful! I am so close to getting all the parts! Thank you Conway!" She gratefully expressed. "Now, I assume you didn't do this for charity, so what would you like for the parts?"

"Hmm. Let me think…" Conway pondered.

Conway knows Moira has the caps for payment, but he is more interested in that Vault-Tec jumpsuit hanging on the wall behind her. It wasn't any old Vault jumpsuit, but an armored one, reinforced with leather! Sure it looked a little bit tight, but Conway thought he would look dashing in it.

"How about that jumpsuit on the wall? I'm sure that's totally worth those two very important items you requested." Conway says half-jokingly, but half-seriously.

"Oh, Conway! You are such a clown. Of course you can't have it. It's a client's order, I'm just waiting for them to pick it up!" She declares with pride. She puts her hands on her hips stating, "How about 40 caps for the two?"

Well that's obviously much worse than my offer. Let's sweeten the deal… "Let's make it 50." offered Conway. "I had to trek all the way to the RobCo. factory just to find that conductor!" He exclaims.

Moira thinks about it, and shrugs. "Why not? You have been a very good fetcher for me over the years. Now how about you spend some of those caps here?" She remarks.

You may be scatter-brained, Moira, but you certainly are a saleswoman... Conway nods his head in agreement. "Alright, alright, I give in. Let's do some business. You got any shotgun shells on stock? Some of that pre-war food if you got any would be great. Oh! And a stimpak would be the bee's knees!" He declares, soon after having a regretful look his face.

Did I just say that…?

Moira rolls her eyes and gives a smirk as she lines up the products on the counter. "There you go, I got 10 shotgun shells, a can of pork'n'beans with some cram, and one stimpak."

Conway's eyes widen in delight. This is why he loves Megaton. He reaches towards the shells, when Moira slaps his hand away. He looks back at her confused.

"Nope. Payment first, Conway. That's store policy." She says seriously as her arms are crossed.

Conway laughs nervously. "My bad, Moira. How much do yo-"

She cuts him off. "50 caps, and no, you may not get a discount." She looks him in the eyes and grins, knowing fully well she won.

Conway sighs, and takes the items. He looks longingly at the bag of red Nuka-Cola bottle caps that was intended for him, but realizes it's for the best. He places the shells in his pants pockets, and the food and stimpak in his satchel. "Just use my in store-credit… I know I have some." He concedes. He looks back at her defeated, but empowered. "Alright, I need to go out and make my living. I'll be back in a couple days."

As Conway is about to head out the door, she tries to flag him down.

"Wait!" exclaims Moira. "Before you go, do you want to help me with my survival guide? I have finally planned all the sections I want for it, but I need an assistant to test them for me."

Conway sighs and tries to look for a way out. Moira is his friend, so he doesn't want to crush her dreams. However, he remembers quite fondly about the last "assistant" that took the job….

"I'm sorry Moira, I can't right now. I need to be as fit as I can be for scavenging right now. If I make some serious caps on this outing, I can come back to help you. But, I am sure someone will help you out really soon. Who else would pass up an offer like yours?" He reassures her.

While initially disappointed, Conway's reassurance perks her back up to her giddy self. "You're right! I just need to be patient. Ooh! I know! I'll go prep the survival items! That way whoever takes the job can start immediately! Thanks Conway!" She shouts as she runs upstairs in her building.

Conway shakes his head in disbelief, chuckling as he walks out of the store. He proceeds to make his way to the entrance of the town and waits for the main door to open while he hears some commotion going on near the crater in town. As he goes to look, he can see a man wearing a Vault-Tec jumpsuit talking with the Sheriff. The man looks young, perhaps in his late teens or early twenties. He has a 10 mm pistol attached to his waist, but it is holstered.

The Sheriff and the man with the Vault Suit seem to be having a civil conversation, so there's no reason to stick around here…

With a kick in his step, Conway readies his shotgun and exits Megaton to begin his daily routine. He heads toward the abandoned ruins of Fairfax. Although he couldn't stop thinking to himself about that man who entered town. Something seemed different about him. He couldn't put his finger on it…

Wait, wasn't that the same number on Moira's jumpsuit?