Chapter III

The trip to Zion Valley, it seemed, would be a lot longer than a day trip. It took several hours to just reach the passage way that would lead to Zion, Kurt was starting to regret his decision. The sun was beginning to set and the pair decided to stop for the night. As Kurt began to start a small fire he could see Cass standing looking down at him. He was struggling. He rarely traveled at night back home and always had a companion such as Fawkes or Jericho build the fire. "Need some help there?" Cass chuckled.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. Looking up at her with a red face full of embarrassment, "Yea."

She laughed and kneeled down opposite of him and began to work on getting a spark going beneath the wood they had gathered. As she worked Kurt watched intently. Finally a spark. The two sat back, Cass stretching her arms and legs to get as comfortable as one could on the small bedroll. Kurt however sat straight up with his hand on his belt, ready to grab his pistol if he needed it. "Paranoid much?"

He looked across at Cass and shrugged, "Maybe." He sighed and stared into the fire, "Just preparing myself for anything I suppose."

"And by anything you mean 'shooting someone or something dead'?" He didn't know how to respond. "Sorry," Cass could tell she was starting to strike at his nerves.

"It's okay," he assured her, shifting his gaze back to her. "It's been a rough ride." A moment of silence washed over the pair. Neither knew what to say to the other; Kurt wasn't sure if he should fill her in on his past so she'd understand his slight paranoia while Cass was unsure of asking any further questions out of the fear she would drive their new partnership into the ground. "I wasn't born out here," Kurt admitted, breaking the long silence. Cass looked up at him to see his distant eyes. "I was born in a Vault," he nodded toward the Pip-Boy, "That's why I have this."

"So why are you out here now?" She was internally afraid of the answer. She didn't understand why anyone would leave a Vault if it was functioning correctly however during her travels with Emma she knew that most Vaults failed in some horrific way.

"My dad left," he explained, "When I was nineteen I woke up to just find him gone. The Overseer, our leader, didn't really like the idea of anyone leaving because of the outside world being the way it is. However I learned a dark truth that day: the Vault used to be open all the time but was closed when my father arrived with me as an infant."

Cass' eyes widened slightly, "So you weren't born in the Vault..."

Kurt shook his head, "Turns out I was born out in the Capital Wasteland but dad didn't want me to live a life of hardship out there and took us to the Vault."

"So why did he leave?"

"He was a scientist, he and my mom worked on something called Project Purity. He wanted to finish it to honor her memory." Kurt finally took his hand away from his gun and leaned back to relax. "I followed him. Unfortunately some other groups wanted the project for themselves and killed him for it. I survived and completed his work."

Cass wasn't sure how to react. It was certainly a rough life, rougher than most. She figured most people in the world today were born into the chaos and that was it; this was the first person she met that was born somewhere safe and untouched by the old war. The shock he must've gone through sent chills down her spine. It isn't like most children who are taught how to use a rifle at a young age and start fighting for survive early, he was safe and didn't have to do anything hard until he was already a man who suddenly learned his entire life was a lie. "So why are you here?"

"It was one last job from my mentor," he explained, "However now it is to find out why this man called Ulysses lied to get me here." More silence fell upon them. Kurt felt better telling her even if she was a complete stranger. Not many people were sympathetic and having someone simply listen was enough to get him more comfortable. The two gazed at the fire and kept quiet the remainder of the evening.

Although the Lucky 38 was open to the public, the lounge that Mr. House once resided in at the top of the tower was still off-limits to most patrons. Only the high rollers and those close to Emma were granted access. Tonight, however, she had asked everyone to leave her be. Alone, she looked down at the city lights below. She sat staring with her thoughts keeping her company. She was nervous, if Ulysses was alive he would go to any length to get revenge. He had already proven that once in the Divide and if he was willing to organize a force to attack the Mojave he'd do anything he wanted to New Vegas if it meant hurting Emma.

Moving away from the window she walked through the curtains into the next room where a large computer screen was located. Mr. House once occupied the screen but it had since been deactivated. Yes Man occasionally used it to communicate with Emma though she asked him to relocate to her personal terminal in the presidential suit. It was mainly so that he wouldn't listen in on her private conversations with her close allies however she often cited the change of location due to the presidential suit being the location she preferred to conducted business for the republic.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of the elevator upstairs rang open. Turning she saw a older gentlemen in a lab coat begin his descant down the stairs towards her. "Arcade," she greeted.

"Evening Emma," he replied with a soft smile. Arcade Gannon was her chief medical officer and a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse. Although he wasn't against the Legion taking control of the dam and in turn New Vegas, he realized early in Emma's companionship that the Legion wouldn't bring the peace to New Vegas it desperately needed. Emma however had a plan that he couldn't deny would work better than anything the Legion or NCR could ever come up with. Independent Vegas, while not always as stable as promised to be, truly was a growing power and Arcade was proud to be a member of it. "Boone said to check in on you."

Emma nodded and turned back towards the derelict screen. "Why?" She knew why but that didn't mean she'd try to dodge Arcade's psychoanalysis of her.

"Well he filled me in on what happened at the dam," he seemed to trail his words at the end, unsure of how to proceed with his questioning. "He's just worried that this attack might have you on edge." Emma stared blankly out the window after he spoke. She was growing nervous that the truth would come out; that her dark, true, past would come to light and she'd lose everything she fought so hard to secure. "You okay?"

She seemed to notice a shift in his tone, staring back towards him with her eyes twinkling from fresh tears beginning to form. "I don't know," she answered, her voice cracking and shaking.

Arcade placed a hand on her shoulder and provided a warm smile. "We're all a family," he calmly spoke, "Boone loves you, I love you, we all do Emma." Emma turned her gaze back to the city, not commenting or adding to what Arcade had said. "We're here." Emma nodded, her gaze glued below. Arcade sighed and looked out with her. Arcade and Emma always had a unique relationship compared to the others in their company, they had this older brother and younger sister kind of relationship. However tonight was the first night since they met that Arcade felt uncertainty from her. The confidence she always had seemed to fade thanks to this attack. It unnerved him, as it did Boone. But all he could do, or any of them, was be there for Emma and continue their mission in keeping New Vegas safe.

Amata Almodovar, the acting overseer of Vault 101, sat quietly at her desk typing away at her console. The door to her office slip open and a slightly older women, with dirty blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, walked in and smiled. "Morning Amata," she greeted as she sat down at the chair across from the desk.

"Good morning Amanda,' Amata greeted. She placed her hands on her desk, giving her full attention to Amanda. "Any new reports?"

Amanda nodded with a smile, "The new Megaton shipment will be leaving in the next hour," she started, "And the caravan from Big Town will be here sometime this afternoon."

Amata nodded, "That's good," she turned and kept typing at her console, "Good work."

Amanda nodded and stood to leave but stopped at the door. She turned back to face Amata and again approached, this time she stood over her. "Look we don't have to talk about it now..." Amata sighed, clearly disapproving of her advances, "...but I really think that we should talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Amata assured her.

"Really?"

"Really."

Amanda nodded with a smirk, "Alright, well I'll see you tonight then?" Amata nodded. Amanda turned and left the overseer alone. As the door slid shut, Amata began to rub her forehead. The recent stress of the new trade deals with Megaton and Big Town were taking a toll on her. Amanda asking to talk about their fight didn't help either, in recent days she seemed more determined to talk about it. There wasn't anything Amata could talk about, her job wouldn't allow her to be distracted and, despite Amanda being her closest friend, she was being a distraction recently. It made her feel like the bad guy and reminded her of her father when he was overseer. She sighed and continued working on her terminal.

Amanda slowly walked down the halls, away from Amata's office and towards the atrium. Life in Vault 101 had changed a lot over the years since Amata took the position of overseer from her father. While she often wondered about life outside the vault, she wasn't as adventurous as her younger brother was. While she did initially leave the vault with him to find their father, she returned after his death and hadn't left since.

Besides, she had duties in the vault now, leading the security force and also acting as Amata's personal assistant. She took her job seriously, one of the reasons the recent altercations with Amata were still fresh in her mind. She wondered why Amata wouldn't discuss the matter. Her only fear was that it would result in their friendship being damaged. Sighing, she continued through the halls.

Her strolls was interrupted with a violent shake and the sounds of a massive boom from above. Amanda fell sideways against the wall as the alarm began to sound. "Security Chief Amanda to the Vault Entrance immediately!" Amata's voice rang trying to rival the shaking of the world above. Amanda regained her balance and sprinted down the halls, passing a few civilians who were caught outside in the halls when the earthquake hit. This had never happened in her life and none of the older residents mentioned it occurring before.

As she approached the final hall the earthquake seemed to stop. She slowed her steps and nodded towards Butch, who stood patiently waiting for his captain in his full security uniform. "What the hell is going on?" Amanda practically yelled as she brushed past Butch and into the main entrance.

Butch followed and sighed, "I wish I knew ma'am," he stopped beside her and a few other officers, all staring at the massive steel door. "Earthquake hit and the terminals began reading massive radiation spikes outside." He turned his head and nodded for an officer to follow up.

Amanda turned and faced the officer, who stood beside a terminal with incoming data streams being displayed. "The spike started seconds after the quake hit," he explained as she moved closer to examine, "Must be a radiation storm of sorts?"

She stood up and turned again to face the door with a sigh. "Something doesn't feel right about this..." She shook her head, trying to dismiss her doubts. She didn't need to worry anyone with theories she had no way of proving, especially now with the radiation levels. Still, she couldn't help but feel something else happened. "Alright let me know when the levels drop a little, we can send a team out to investigate then. I'll be in my office." She eyed the door one last time before turning to leave.

End of chapter...