Knight in Power Armor
Chapter 4: Explaining Project Purity
A/N: Sorry for the late posting, but I do have an explanation. Two words; InFAMOUS 2. O.K. that was one word and a number, but you know what I mean.
Big Sister K & Mr. Zeek: Knight never really got a good look at her, being prodded with his own gun every now and then. The description is forthcoming.
Kenpokid: Not sure yet. Knight definitely wouldn't know until he ran into it, and even then, may or may not have played those parts.
Knight's narration
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
(Authors notes)
As I waited for Kess, I thought of what our plan of action would be. Kess was obviously working on Moira's book, but I didn't know how much she'd done yet. I knew there was a hollowed out rock with a sniper rifle behind Megaton, but how was I supposed to get it without Kess asking a lot of questions I didn't have answers for? Maybe I could slip out, grab it, and get back before Kess showed up. Nope, too late for that, here she comes. You know, this is the first time I've been able to get a good look at her without a gun pointed in my general direction. She's kind of cute. Ruffled brown hair, like she didn't care what it looked like or what others thought, about 4'' shorter than my 5'10'', flashing green eyes always on the lookout for trouble, leather armor, so she probably traded the armored 101 suit, 10mm holstered at her side, ready for action. (I suck at describing people, I'm sorry.) I may have been looking too long, though.
"Is there something on my face?" Yep, busted. I'll just have to leave that rifle for later.
"No, just trying to make sure I can pick you out in a crowd, and that I don't shoot you in an abandoned building, or something." She didn't look convinced. "So, shall we get started?"
"First you tell me what you know about my father."
"I think that's best told on the road, or way, or, whatever."
"Huh?"
"Not many roads are in good condition, and none for very long, so we wouldn't be on a road for any length of time, and now I'm babbling. I'll just shut up now." She looked like she didn't know what to make of me. Granted, I don't know what to make of me half the time, but then, that's the world we live in, or I lived in, or, damn it, I'm doing it again.
"A bit odd, aren't you?"
"I've been told that, and worse. Anyway, let's go, and I'll tell you what I know." We left Megaton, and made our way south towards Rivet City, I had no inclination to fight a behemoth without some really heavy gear. Though, this not being a game, and us by passing that part of the story, the fight might happen without us. People might die if we didn't intervene. Of course, we might die if we do, and there I go again. I really do that a lot, don't I? I could ask Kess what she thought we should do, but not without her, again, asking questions I didn't have answers for. I used that excuse more than I'd like.
"Project Purity, a very ambitious set up. The goal was to build a water purifier so large and powerful that it would cleanse all the water in the Capital Wasteland. Revelations 21:6. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.'"
"How do you know that passage?" Demanding, but I suppose I would too, if I were in her position.
"It's from the Christian Bible. I had one, but it was taken from me some time ago."
"That doesn't explain how you know it goes along with what my parents were doing." Crap, did I just reveal my hand? I hope I can get out of this.
"One of my connections, the same one who gave me all this information, told me about how your mother, and by extension father, related that passage to their work. It does give it a rather romantic feel to it."
"And who is this connection of yours?"
"That would be telling."
"That's why I asked."
"If I tell you it could put their life in danger."
"Their?"
"Only one, but would you rather me say his or her?"
"It would make more sense."
"But it wouldn't be as much fun."
"I take it back. You're not odd, you're weird."
"Because normal is boring, and has a tendency to get you killed."
"Sounds like you speak from experience."
"I do, but we were talking about your father. The Brotherhood of Steel was providing protection for the scientists working on the project. As I told you earlier, it was going well until you were born. Once James left for the vault, the others weren't able to make much progress, so the B.O.S. decided it wasn't worth protecting any more, and abandoned it. Unable to properly defend themselves from anyone and anything wanting in, the scientists decided to abandon it as well. Most went back to the nearby Rivet City, which is where we're going now."
"What's it like?"
"I've never been there personally, but I've heard they took a pre-war aircraft carrier and made a city out of it. With James back on the surface, it must mean he's made a breakthrough with the project. He'd need to round up the people he worked with before to make it work. That's the reason we're going."
"Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this."
"Not as much as you think. I'm just telling you facts and reasons. The most I have to think on it is to organize it." I checked the time on my Pip-boy; 2148. (9:48) It will be dark soon.
"Where did you get a Pip-boy?" Crap. That is exactly the type of question I wanted to avoid.
"You know, for the life of me I can't seem to remember. Useful bit of tech though. Let's find a place to spend the night."
"Why? It's not dark yet."
"No, but it will be much easier to find a spot while it's still light."
It took us about an hour to find one that worked. Hard to find, defensible, and somewhat comfortable, and by then it was almost too dark to see.
"I'll take the first shift."
"Don't try anything while I'm sleeping."
"It wouldn't go over well with James if I did."
"Is that all you care about?"
"No, but it's a good reason for me to behave myself." Not that I'd try anything anyway.
The hours passed by, and we finally changed shifts. I laid down on the softest piece of rock I could find, and drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Read and Review, leave tips, suggestions, criticism, plot ideas, and so on and so forth.
Rule 11: All of your carefully picked arguments can easily be ignored.