1.1


"Deacon," said Cam. Deacon was pretending to sunbathe under a bright light in the botany lab.

"Hello Ne-e-ew Cilicia," said Deacon.

"Don't call me that," Cam replied.

Deacon didn't stand up, but he sighed. "How can I help you?"

"I have to go home," Cam said. "I… I want to go back to Vault 85. They sent out a radio signal after Thelonious heard that I was, well, New Cilicia."

"Okay," said Deacon.

"Okay?" Cam asked.

"Yeah. You're a great girl, but you seem sad. Go home. Send a postcard. Come back soon," said Deacon. "Bring Kiran," he suggested.

Cam stood silently by Deacon sunbathing.

"Deacon, Cam, can you get out of the lab? The carrots are photosynthesizing." Elizabeth requested from the corner of the lab. "You're upsetting them."

"You heard the girl, Cam. Go home," Deacon told Cam. "I, too, am photosynthesizing."

"Okay," said Cam. "I'll get Kiran."

Cam slipped into Kiran's room. She stood in the doorway for a moment, watching Kiran read.

After a second, Kiran peeked out from behind her book. "Oh, hey!" she announced. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah," Cam said. Cam explained her plan to Kiran quickly, and then asked if Kiran was willing to come.

"Sure!" Kiran announced. "Do I get to meet your family?"

"My dad," Cam told her. "Grab your stuff. I think we should go soon."

Cam and Kiran walked by the Botany lab to leave, and Cam waved goodbye to Deacon. She accidentally bumped into Nathan.

"Sorry," she mumbled to him.

"Where are you going?" he asked innocently – so innocently, in fact, that she told him. She and Kiran said a quick goodbye, and they both slipped out of the vault together.

The longest part of the walk was the walk to the Vertibird flying service, where they were going to rent a Vertibird to get to Albany.

"Oh man, I can't wait," said Kiran. "I haven't been on a real mission since Elizabeth disabled my synth component," she explained. "And I'm excited."

Cam nodded. "They should know what became of Katherine."

"He's probably proud," Kiran blurted out. "Your father – he's probably proud. I'm sure of it. You've done a lot of good."

"Not enough," Cam mumbled, half to Kiran, half to herself.

"Cam," said Kiran. "Not to be alarming or anything, but I think someone is following us."

Even though she didn't mean to be alarming, Cam was very alarmed. She spun around, whipped out her baseball bat, and got ready to hit the next moving thing she saw with it. "Come out here!" she demanded.

"Hey!" David emerged from behind a building. "Sorry! Just wanted to make sure no one tried to jump you or anything."

"We can handle ourselves," Cam told him.

"She means, 'thanks for coming David, we'd love your help,'" Kiran informed him. And then she whispered, "I think she's just hangry."

"You are not whispering," Cam informed her, but she was grinning. "Should we grab something to eat before we take the flight, then?"

"If it'll make you stop looking like you're about to hit both of us with that bat, I'll let you eat anything," Kiran told Cam, only half realizing the innuendo of the statement.

"I'll, uh, take you up on that," Cam said.

There was a long silence that David broke. "Okay, I have mongrel jerky!"

They sat and started to eat, when Kiran said, "Hey Cam, not to alarm you again, but I think someone else is following us too."

"Oh, Hell," Cam groaned. She turned around too, shuffling to look at a slim, dark figure in the distance. "Is it a ghoul?" she asked.

"No, it's fucking Nathan," Kiran told them.

"What's fucking Nathan?" David asked.

"No, it is Nathan," Kiran said. "Nathan, what the fuck!" she called into the distance.

The figure grew larger and less dark as Nathan paced up to them. "Sorry," he said. "I was told to keep an eye on you all. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."

"No, you wouldn't," David replied.

There was silence.

"Sit," Cam said. "We have jerky."


2.1


Quasar woke up. He tried to move, but he was groggy. He was groggy and he was strapped to an operating table. He started to pull against the restraints violently, thrashing and writhing.

The only noise in the clean, white room was his grunts. "Let me out of here!" he screamed. He started spewing profanity until the room started to glow red, and a door opened.

A black woman with buzzed, black hair walked into the room. She was wearing a lab coat, and once Quasar got a good look at her, he realized she was beautiful.

"Where am I?" he snapped. "Let me out! I'll kill you!"

"Oh, well if you're going to kill me, I'd rather not let you out. My name is Madeline Chester. Good morning." There was more silence. "I said good morning."

"Fuck you."

She sighed. "Quasar Jones. You know, a while back I sent an operative out to collect DNA from you by fucking you," she explained. "You see, Mr. Jones, we're cloning you."

Quasar thrashed some more. "Why? Why me?"

"Because you are very good at what you do."

"Fuck you!"

Madeline ignored him and strapped his head down. She took a razor and started to shave a part of his head.

"Don't touch my fucking hair!" he wailed.

When she was done, she placed a mask around his mouth. "Count down from ten," she told him. And then she turned on a drill.

"Are you lobotomizing me? No, no, no, no…" on the tenth 'no', he passed out.


3.1


"Grammar," said Elizabeth. "Yes?"

"Grammar yes?" Valerie raised an eyebrow.

"Kind of?" Elizabeth offered. "Well, you know how to read, which is good for a fifteen year old nowadays," she complimented.

"Thanks," Valerie said. She had only turned fifteen a few weeks ago, and the entire Railroad elected Elizabeth as a makeshift 'teacher' for the kid.

"Okay, the first thing a lot of people get wrong is a coordinating conjunction," Elizabeth said.

"Aren't you a scientist?" Valerie replied.

"Yeah. A literateone. Anyway – for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so." Elizabeth wrote the words on a blackboard with chalk. "If you have two sentences, you can put them together by using a coordinating conjunction, but here's the thing – you've gotta have a comma."

"I know what a comma is," replied Valerie.

Elizabeth wrote: I am a scientist, but I can read. On the board.

"If you don't have 'but', then it's a run-on," she explained. "And if you don't have the comma, it's a run-on."

"What's so bad about a run-on?" asked Valerie.

Elizabeth erased the 'but' with her thumb so it said: I am a scientist, I can read. "It's ugly," she offered.

"Okay. Got it. Commas."

"Also, punctuating quotes," she said. "Put a comma or period inside of the quotation. It's the one thing most people forget. Commas, Valerie."

"I understand," Valerie mumbled. "When do you use a period versus comma?"

"If the next action after the quote isn't describing how the character said the quote, then you use a period and capitalize the next word." She wrote an example on the board.

"Elizabeth?" asked Valerie.

"Yes?"

"Do you teach sex-ed?"

Elizabeth paused. "Nope! I'm the Virgin Mary! Next question?"

"How don't you get pregnant if there aren't any condoms in this vault?" Valerie asked again.

"Remember the time I told you that I blew up once?"

"Yes?"

"I don't recommend it, but blowing up usually spays you."

"Oh," said Valerie. "What do you do if you don't have a bionic uterus?"

"Uh… abstain?"

"Okay, but what if –"

"Valerie, where are these boys you're talking about? You're the only one here younger than 21!" Elizabeth interrupted. "I'm going to go… harvest the carrots."

"Photosynthesis!" Valerie announced.

Elizabeth gave a thumbs up.


4.1


As they headed back to the club, Martin and Candice debated on what to say to Elsa when they broke the bad news that X6-91 was still alive and more courses were coming.

They entered the nightclub through the back entrance and then headed to the private room where Elsa was waiting.

"Did you kill her?" the blonde synth demanded.

"Um," said Martin. "The thing is… we kinda underestimated the courser."

"You didn't kill her?" Elsa took in a sharp breath of air.

"We tried our best," Candice offered gently. "We had a plan to kill her, but she got away. She said that more would come."

Elsa sat on the bed and placed her head gently into her hands. "This is bad," she whispered. "Really bad!"

Martin sat next to her and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her. He didn't see Candice frown.

"Look, we're sorry," he told Elsa. "But I promise that Candy and I will protect you."

There was a pause, and Candice looked none-too-pleased about the offer he just made.

"Do you mean it?" asked Elsa. "Or… or are you working for the courser?"

"I know you don't have a good reason to trust us," said Martin. "But if there's one thing I want to be remembered for, it's that I keep my promises."

Elsa looked to Candice for confirmation, and the other blonde nodded. "It's true."

"So you both promise to protect me?" asked Elsa.

"Well, it wouldn't be knightly of me to not protect a beautiful girl like you," Martin joked. Elsa smiled, and Candice rolled her eyes. "I'm serious!" said Martin. "I'll protect you until my dying day."

Elsa popped up and wrapped him in her arms. "Thank you!"

"Do you have anywhere you can stay?" Candice asked.

"N…No," Elsa admitted. "This club was the only place I could find…"

"Well, it looks like you're coming to the Railroad with us," said Candice. "The best way to keep the courser off of our tails is to find them."

"I'll take my cut from the manager, crab my stuff, and then go," said Elsa.

"Are you sure your boss will be okay with this?" asked Martin.

"He might not like it, but leave him to me. I'll make sure he's happy with me leaving," Elsa assured the two.


4.2


Elsa was talking to Deacon and Elizabeth, who were fiddling with her synth components.

Meanwhile, Candice and Martin were sitting in their old room in Vault 002. Martin was running his thumb up and down the action figures he'd scavenged while working for the Railroad. "This one is from Tæles of Chivalry," he told Candice.

She didn't respond.

"Candy, are you mad at me?"

Candice sighed. "No."

Martin pressed his lips together. He was sitting in a loose t-shirt and jeans, and Candice was still in her combat gear. "Hey Candice?"

"What?" she asked.

"Come with me," he said. "Wait – can I blindfold you?" he asked.

"Can you… blindfold me?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's a surprise."

She reluctantly agreed, and they made their way out of the room and down a few sets of stairs.

"Where are we going?" asked Candice.

"You know what a surprise is, Candy," he told her. "It's, well, a surprise!"

She rolled her eyes under the blindfold.

He led her down a final staircase and into a room that smelled like lavender. He turned on the lights and took off the blindfold.

They were in a simple vault room with a comfortable-looking bed, a small couch, and a dresser with a changing screen.

"Why are we in here? It looks like nobody's ever lived here."

"Go look in the dresser," he suggested. "The surprise is in there."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but opened the dresser. She let out a small gasp when she was the content.

Inside, there was a long, blue, strapless silk dress. It wasn't too revealing, and left just enough up to the imagination. It looked just like the old dresses Candice used to look at in fashion magazines. She touched the fabric gently and a smile crept onto her face.

"Martin, where did you get this?" She caressed the silk in awe. She held it out in front of her and admired its form.

"I remembered you telling me you'd always wanted a real dress. I asked around and found a pre-war designer store in the Upper East Side. I made my way there and fought through some super mutants and ghouls, but it was worth it."

"How much is it worth?" she asked.

"I'm not a fashion expert… obviously… but a mint-condition pre-war dress would probably go for a lot to the right person. Hey, try it on," he offered.

She, without any further encouragement, ran excitedly behind the changing screen. He saw her silhouette as she stripped out of the vault suit and pulled the dress over her feet.

She stepped out from behind the curtain and his eyes went wide. The dress accentuated all of her features, and his face went red.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"Wow! Is all I have to say! Wow!" They both then became painfully aware of Martin's obvious erection. I'm never wearing jeans again.

"I can't thank you enough for this dress," she said to him. She sashayed to him and then stood in his personal space. "I mean, I really can't."

"Oh, gee," Martin mumbled. "It was nothing. Just a day trip…" He was beet red.

"No, I'm serous," she said. "You need a reward for risking your life. Let me get champagne." She left the room, leaving Martin red and eager.

In a few minutes, she came back with wine. "No champagne," she apologized. "This is Elizabeth's red."

"She gave you her red wine?" Martin asked.

"I told her I'd let her run a few tests on my blood if she gave it to me," Candice explained.

They both sat on the couch and drank the red slowly.

"Martin," Candice said when they were finished. "You really do deserve a reward, and I know just the thing."

She kissed Martin fully on the lips, and his brain shut down when he felt her lips finally touch his.

She lifted him to his feet and pushed him onto the bed.

"Wait, I didn't do this just so I could get into your–"

Candice cut him off, "I know." She undid the clip of her dress and it fell to a puddle around her feet.

Maybe there is a God, Martin thought to himself as she pulled off his shirt. Just maybe.


4.3


"Martin and Candice banged last night," Vic told Lisa and Elizabeth.

"They took my wine," Elizabeth told both of them. "I mean, Candice offered to let me test her blood, but they still took my wine."

"How do you think it went?" asked Lisa.

"Well, between all three of us, he was a major virgin before this," Vic told the two of them. "So he probably like… missed the hole and ignored her clit."

Lisa snorted. "Maybe you should teach anatomy," she suggested to Elizabeth.

"Are we talking about anatomy?" Valerie jogged into the room. They were all sitting in Lisa's room, gossiping like teenagers.

They all went a little bit quiet.

"You guys, I'm fifteen!" Valerie snapped.

"Fifteen year olds do quantum physics, not boys," Elizabeth informed her.

"What kind of fifteen year olds..." Vic's voice trailed off.

The four heard shuffling, and they all turned to watch Martin slide past their room in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Does he look happy?" asked Vic. "I can't tell."

Lisa peeked her head out of the room. "Where is Candice?"

"Did they have sex?" Valerie asked. Lisa shushed her and they all waited.

Candice eventually walked out, and Elizabeth jogged after her. "Hey, can I get that blood sample?"

Candice was carrying a dress.

"Cool dress," Elizabeth said. "Blood samples, though?"

"Elizabeth, can we have a girl talk?" Candice asked her.

"Is it a talk about blood samples?"

"It… can be?" Candice offered.

Elizabeth and Candice popped into the biotech labs and Elizabeth prepped a syringe.

Candice eventually said, "Obviously you know I slept with Martin."

"Obviously." Elizabeth wiped down Candice's arm with a pad soaked in rubbing alcohol.

"When you sleep with Nathan, do you... does he... How long..." Candice couldn't seem to ask a question.

"Usually lasts a long time," Elizabeth said. "Did Martin..."

"He did not," replied Candice. "I thought it was going to be perfect, but it washis first time..."

"So, what you're saying is that you didn't orgasm once?" Elizabeth stuck the needle into Candice's arm.

"I didn't say that," replied Candice.

"You didn't have to. Bad sex is a bummer." She drew Candice's blood. "But it was his first time. Are you going to try again?"

"I don't know," said Candice. "He got me a nice dress, and his... member was perfectly large, but he just didn't know how to use it."

Elizabeth gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure he'll get better."