Gun Powder and Maps – Chapter 2 - Restitution


Once again, the courier's plasma rifle buzzed as she stared upon the ragged gang member's in front of her, their blood seeping into the cracks of the crumbling road. She adjusted her rebreather and sighed. Killing was not a love of hers. But it was a necessity. She rummaged through their belts and pockets, grabbing half empty bottles of water and spare microfusion cells. These were the staples of wasteland life and were not meant to be left behind.

Back into vault 11 she delved, shaking the memories from her mind of when she was there last. Boone and ED-E had accompanied her into the steel underground fortress on that journey. With five dead bodies littering the entrance, a macabre trip had been insured for the three.

With any threat long gone from the rusted interior, Brooke ventured deep underneath the silent Mojave Hills. ED-E buzzed along beside her, the ever constant companion. The machine was a hovering, spherical robot with antennae protruding from its exterior making it thusly resemble the USSR satellite, Sputnik. Every few seconds an occasional beep or hum would interrupt the silence between the two, but the quiet always returned.

They walked down the steps of the overseer's office and walked down the tunnel filled with blinding light below. "Go towards the light, Martyr," had been the last words that echoed through that tunnel.

Human and robot arrived at the end of the walkway into what appeared to be a projection room. Robots littered both sides of the room, bullets and cells scattered across the floor. Brooke scavenged all of the materials she could from the metal beasts as ED-E scanned them all methodically. It was a habit of his.

Those very robots scattered upon the floor had tried to kill the courier on her last sojourn to the area, thinking she was the supposed "sacrificial overseer" for the Vault 11 community. Her booted foot smashed the head of an unsuspecting protectron in malice. Brooke scoffed at her work and walked towards the only door in the vicinity, entering the room it led to with ED-E in tow.

Within the room stood the evil monster of Vault 11 that had demanded yearly sacrifices, otherwise the "brains" of Vault 11; the main frame computer. Keys clicked as Brooke's fingers crossed over the keyboard with a fine-tuned precision. Suddenly a computerized voice erupted, "Congratulations citizens of Vault 11. Contrary to what rumors you have heard, you will not all be-" The clash of a fire axe made the voice whir down and Brooke took a deep breath, drawing the axe back for a second swing and beating it into the shining metal and glistening plastic. She ripped away the outer shell to reveal the inner workings, a lovely tangle of multi-colored wires and boards upon boards of circuitry.

Mr. House's ownership and development of RobCo. had most likely developed this technological abomination. The thought made the courier laugh as she began to dislodge the various memory boards and system installments House had requested of her. ED-E pleasantly beeped as Brooke read the schematics, showing where and what she needed in the contraption, aloud to herself while continuing to grab green glistening panels with etched coppery currents running on their surfaces.

The innards of a computer, let alone a mass computer interface, were not Brooke's strong suit. She could hack into a system with no effort at all, but again, it was a necessity. Building computers was a past time she did not relish in.

With her prizes wrapped and safe inside her duffle bag, she left. Upon exiting the gear-shaped door leading to the underground world, her hands rested on her hips and oxygen filled her lungs until they could hold no more. "Life can be good ED-E. And right now it is wonderful." The robot swiveled back and forth and the two set off for Good Springs to pay a visit to Doc Mitchell.


A/N: Story statuses are located on my profile page. I try to update often. Thanks for reading and reviewing!