A/N - I've decided that, since this is more about the practice of writing than accomplishing a particular set chapter length, I'm going to go ahead and stop at what feels like "natural," stopping points rather than shoot for particular lengths. This might make it easier for me to post. We will see. All errors remain my own.

Fallout: Vaulted - Jump 133 Part 4

From a distance, I could see that a small group of individuals had gathered outside the guild. An impressively huge mound of items were already bagged and boxed and stacked. I guess the stuff was mostly ready to strap onto my burly little brahmin. Okay, she wasn't so little, and I intuitively knew that she could absolutely carry all that. She was practically made for loads like this. But wow. So much.

I held an inner debate about what I ought to do, as easing her load too much could be just as damaging in the long term as loading her down too much.

Added to that admittedly tiny conundrum was that the gathered group was a much larger number of people than I expected, given the earlier conversation. I figured that there would be the two from Chris' side and the medic and me. But there were ten people I hadn't seen before, and Melinda and Chris. I felt the stirrings of concern, but it did mean I couldn't really gripe about the pile of stuff, as most of the group were also heavily loaded down, carrying massive rucksacks. Chris was talking with Melinda and two individuals paced about, watching everything attentively, obviously guarding the wares.

One of the guardians greeted me. She was bald and lean, but surprisingly shapely. I had been given to understand that most ghouls were by nature very thin. She was sleek, but it was cat-like rather than meat and bone-like and she wore her leathers very well. She had a surprisingly nice voice too and my thought that she was little more built was confirmed when she bounced on her toes a bit. "Ah, great, you're here! I'm Sophia. As you can see, we're almost ready, but we're waiting on the doc. He forgot a book."

Well, a little extra time wasn't going to hurt. I said, "Oh. Okay." And tallied the number up to eleven travelers. This was likely both a good thing and not. As more people meant more stuff, which was good for the settlement we were visiting. But it also meant there was more possibility of someone seeing or saying something. I wasn't sure where that paranoid thought arose from, but it seemed semi-logical. Then again, as I sometimes told my loved ones, I never claimed to always be rational. People just expect me to be and I often act that way, but that didn't mean I arrived at the answers the way they would.

I decided to ignore the other people for the moment, though not out of rudeness. I had things to do. I said as I continued to lead Betsy close to the pile, "Nice to meet you Sophia." I eyed the large stack and considered how I was going to tackle it. "Anything else I should know?"

"Chris wants to leave pretty quickly, but said to take your time packing the Brahmin right. He'd rather not have to stop because of a loose rope or something."

I nodded and patted Betsy as I considered what I was looking at, "I got a few ideas to keep that from happening. In fact, I'll get started now, if that's okay."

"Do you need any help?" She asked brightly. Any other time, I absolutely would have enjoyed the assistance, but not at the moment.

"I got it," I said confidently. "This won't take too long."

She offered me a skeptical look, but shrugged, turned away and took post again. As soon as she was facing away from me, I stopped the world.

Everything went quiet and still, all motion ceased. Even I paused, taking a moment to take a mental snapshot of where and how I stood. I toed the ground a bit, to set a mark, then I let go of Betsy's lead. It hung in the air as if I still held it.

It was time to make a few changes and choices. First, there was no way I was going to spend a half hour lifting and carrying all that when I had easier ways of loading Betsy down. Second, I had told Chris that I had ways of speeding things up, but we hadn't discussed when to do them. I suspected now was as good a time to take care of at least one option. And finally, I had decided to do something I hadn't done before.

I saved.

Saving, as I understand it, is now a little known skill among multiuniversal jumpers; at least according to the Goddess of my Jump. There had been a conflict in the past and the knowledge was generally lost, though some few of us remembered how. I was one of the fortunate, in that I'd learned the skill before it was banned by a mysterious governing body as forbidden knowledge; which, as I've learned from my time in a few universes is kind of typical. However, just having the skill was ironic, as I'd never used the ability to mark a point in time and designate it as saved in all of my jumps, ever. I kept forgetting to do it, as I was very much an in-the-now kind of personality and even at the worst, and there had been some experiences where I wasn't sure I'd live through it, I never really worried about final outcomes.

Still, at this point, I wasn't really saving for me. I was saving because these people had a need and I did not know how our journey might go. As I observed all the belongings and the generally hopeful expressions, I realized I wanted to see this through. It might not ever be needed, but...

I also wanted to do so at least once and it might as well be now as any other time. I might never do it again, but we ought to try new things in life now and then, right?

Strangely, saving felt physically good as well as emotionally. There was a bit of "flavor," to it and a extrasensory sense, which was oddly recognizable. The "space," (not that there was a literal space) that had been saved felt like an anchored point in time, a point of fate. That was something I recognized from various other nifty experiences in multi-universal places and times. It was a surprisingly interesting sensation, and not just because of the instant sense of security I'd felt. Hello Maslow. Who knew this would fit a hierarchical need.

I suddenly really wanted to talk to a few of my more time-wise and historically inclined companions, both for feedback and wisdom.

But that was not to be, just yet. Soonish, I hoped.

After saving, and wallowing in the feeling of the moment for a bit, I allowed time to restart and strode over to Chris. "I'm going to load up Betsy, but I wanted to give you a heads up that I'm doing it my way. It's gonna go very fast, so don't fret." I didn't give him or Melinda a chance to talk back, because I didn't want them to tell me no. Instead I turned right around and hurried back to Betsy.

"Reggie, I got this. Would you mind setting the cold chest by the guildmaster. She's the woman I was talking with last night and who is standing by the guy I just spoke with.

"I recognize her, July. I will do as you ask." He floated away, holding the box I'd designated a cold chest with two of his strong metal arms.

Once he was gone, I started unloading Betsy. Once I had her unloaded, which didn't take that much time, I bent over as if I were going to begin repacking everything and paused the world again. Then I shuffled my belongings into my inventory. No sense making her carry absolutely everything, even if she could.

I took a moment to really look at Betsy then, as I contemplated the best way to pack things, and considered the idea that a bit of forethought could make things much easier for all of us, but especially me. I realized that the reason we weren't using a wagon was likely that the roads were poor. In another time and place, I'd likely have just gone with laying out a new road. It'd be as simple as pushing out some overpowered reparos as we made our way to wherever. Or building a maintenance shack that would spawn road engineers and the like. But there wasn't really time for that and I wasn't settling here. Yet.

So, a wagon with wheels was out. But that didn't mean we couldn't have a floating flatbed for Betsy that would even the load out, which she could pull. It wouldn't be as traditional as strapping everything in with a bunch of leather and ropes, but it would likely allow for a safer carry of all that planned gear. It took half a minute to transfigure random stones into what I needed, which was basically a covered wagon with a nice protective half-oval roof. It even had a door and sliding ramp in the back. Nice. Then there was the tinkering to make sure it at least held the illusion of being a powered unit. Then there were the runes to make sure that it was all sturdy, stable, floaty, powered with certain utilities and yet still could carry a huge load of items and make it lighter by about twenty to thirty percent. Then there was fitting the harness and sundry gear onto Betsy; especially after I accidentally altered her.

Really, I had been aiming for the trailer, but when one uses magical upgrade, you get what you get. Yes, the flatbed was mightily improved and impressive, as it now had side drawers and windows, but Betsy, who remained a lovely reddish brown, had her horns straightened, realigned and recurved into something a tad more visually appealing. She still had three horns to a head, mind you, and she still had two heads, but everything about her looked less warped and more honed and as if this was how a Brahmin was meant to be.

She was also massive; broader and stronger and she stood on her four hooves like a queen. She wasn't quite "Babe," sized, from myth, but she was no tiny thing either. I guess it happened, because I had an unconscious desire to make her capable of enduring whatever we might face; and, also, because I was still wonky on how I was powering things. I usually had fine control, and it was coming back, but still. Oops?

Then it was a matter of actually doing the repacking, which did not take long at all. Telekinesis for the win! And magic! I got that stuff settled and packed fairly quickly, with enough room left over for more.

No doubt some people would stare once I renewed the time flow, maybe, but one of the reasons I forewarned Chris verbally and in such a way as could be overheard, was that it would put the others in a state to accept things without too much questioning. I let time flow again, went back to Chris and Melinda and patted Reggie affectionately. "Thanks Reg. If you'll go watch over Betsy for a bit, I need to talk with Chris and Melinda."

"As you wish, Ms. July," Reggie said as he floated away.

I turned to Melinda and Chris, ignoring the widened eyes and said, "Okay, so Betsy is ready to go and I know you said, don't be flashy, but…" I lifted my hands and let them flop down. "Couldn't help it. I overshot." I gave them a charming what can you do smile and then said, "When the medic gets here, we should gather in a tight group. And then I can put a speed and security whammy on us as a group. Maybe double our speed? Hopefully only double," I mumbled as I looked back at Betsy.

Chris raised a hand, somehow managing not to sound panicked. "That will be unnecessary. I believe we will make good time as it is."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "If you're sure."

"Oh," Chris said, nodding at his people and obviously thinking on consequences of overpowered speed spells. "I am sure."

==Vaulted==

It wasn't bad. Chris was right that we made good time. Once the the doctor arrived, we left in a semi-organized group, heading south and east. The roads were cracked, but they were a path. We could follow it. We didn't run, but we also didn't slack. Betsy kept up without any problems and Reggie made sure she had food and water. I was introduced to the others piecemeal. Except for the doctor, John Stavros, and I, they were all from Shady Places. Seven of them were ghouls and three were human. I got to know everyone a little better as we traveled, but especially Sophia, who seemed to take a shine to me. Or maybe she was just the bubbly friendly type. It made the walking go by quickly.

About half a day in, we had our first event. Giant mole rats broke through the ground and were shot down like … well… rats. I didn't have to do a thing.

Ghouls, it turned out, are stupidly fast. Amazingly fleet. I had somewhat realized this when I witnessed Chris grab that snack cake, but now I knew it was a thing and not just him. And, apparently, ghouls who still had the capacity to think were dangerously accurate with ranged weapons. The attacking creatures had enough time to yowl, growl, leap threateningly into the air and fall in bloody heaps at our feet.

Okay then.

I made a mental note about not underestimating my new friends.

As promised, we did stop for breaks, where we could take care of personal details as necessary. I made sure the wagon was working well, which it was and that Betsy wasn't being chafed. She seemed to be in good shape and very content. Reggie who was a surprisingly good conversationalist, was also doing well. Excellent.

Those of us who walked on two feet didn't really take breaks just to eat, so there was no one moment when we stopped for lunch or anything. Eating and drinking was something that could be done on the way. Everyone had their own food. And then there was me.

As was my habit, I pulled food and drink from my right jacket pocket just whenever. I noticed Sophia noticing, and she raised her brows at me. So rather than explain, I just shared some of the goods.

Oddly, she said nary a word about it, but she did share some of the random snack packages that I shared with her with the others. That seemed fair. She stuck with me a bit more after that, without seemingly overly obtrusive as a guardian. Chris wandered near us around mid-afternoon and I handed him an Orange Julius, some chips and a chicken sandwich. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

When a longer break was called in the evening we stopped by a small river. The wagon had outside panels that could act as counters, so I pulled one down, set up the Water Purifier, connected it to the power source and switched it on. Dr. Stavros got someone to haul a few buckets of water and the next thing I knew they were filling dozens and dozens of water bottles and flasks and stacking them in the wagon in some of those flattened boxes that had been brought along. Well, that wasn't what I was actually expecting, but okay. My intention had been to let folks refresh their personal supply, which, you know, they did. But I guess Dr. Stavros was taking advantage of the opportunity, which was not necessarily a bad idea, considering. So I helped them.

We were just getting ready leave when I my senses… tingled. Danger. I didn't even think about it. I shoved the good doctor into the wagon before he could actually get too far away and closed the door in his face. Then I locked everything down with a wave of my hand. Then it was a matter of shielding, because Betsy and her Cargo had to be protected, so I made a really good one, digging a full protective circle right into the ground, rune-ing it at high speed. A blue dome of light formed and then went invisible.

Satisfied, I turned and that's when I noticed Sophia, standing right in front of me. She pointed at the circle and said, "How strong is that?"

"Should keep bullets out? And…" I let the ramble drop. "Pretty strong." I nodded. "The bad guys shouldn't be able to get in without a lot of effort."

Sophia whistled and made some hand motions and the next thing I and the other humans knew, we were all in that circle, with the ghouls drawn tightly around us, just outside of it. Then we all heard the bay of hounds and the sound of wild, mocking laughter ringing in the air. Raiders. A lot of them.

Great.

I reminded myself to be mindful. I mentally tagged my current group so they showed up in my HUD as friends and then I scanned the perimeter as I armed myself with a rather large longsword and a pistol.

Yikes. Lots and lots and lots of red dots. Way, way too many to be random. I doubted these raiders were opportunists. These raiders knew who we were, what we had. Someone had planned this. I suddenly understood what Sophia and Chris and their people had been facing. This was organized raiding.

So, we had a kazillian raiders and Sophia had been rather insistent that I "stay," in the circle, but I was kind of feeling insistent that my new friends shouldn't just be out there in the open like this. And then there was the HUD message that flashed by, reminding me about the Spirit of the Jump; meaning that so far I was on track, but don't over do it. So I didn't feel as if I could do the obvious thing and earthbend a quick and dirty fortress.

But I could stop time.

So I did. I realized, I didn't have to do anything truly major, just… thin the ranks. So I squeezed past our guard, and strode into the forested area and did just that. I didn't kill anyone, as that would have left evidence. I merely stunned and transfigured a lot of them into little stone figurines and then stored them in a box of holding. I did not know what I was going to do with them, but I figured I could tuck the box in inventory until I could figure it out. I could always set the survivors on an empty world somewhere. I cut the group down by about half, figuring that would be a much more manageable number for my friends to battle. I still wasn't thrilled that they were essentially out in the open like that. So, I made another circle, one that would allow them to fire through, but would hinder people firing in, and then I set some boobie traps, things that would gum up the works for anyone who made it in past a certain range, but wouldn't automatically endanger my group.

When I was done, I took position again after re-arming myself and let time flow.

You know, I don't think the raiders even noticed that their numbers had been cut. They were just as annoyingly loud.

Then the bullets started flying and the fight was on.