Chapter 28 - Redemption at Coyote Tail Ridge

Sian was very nearly dead on her feet when they finally reached Bitter Springs in the late afternoon. She had taken a short nap when she had waited for Syrus and Boone outside Vegas, but basically, she'd walked from Cottonwood Cove to Vegas and then back down to Bitter Springs. On 3 hours of sleep.
But all tiredness was forgotten when they entered the refugee camp.
In Freeside, people were poor, hungry and haggard. But this was a whole new level. The children especially looked like walking skeletons. Their eyes were haunting.
Sian, Boone and Syrus didn't say a word as they walked up to the command tent, drinking in the despair. People were shrinking away from the Nightstalker, but Rex instinctively kept close to him, designating Aurelio as a pet.

"Boone, what is this place?", Sian asked.

"It's the place where people on the run get stranded. You don't look like our usual comers though. What are you doing here, if I may ask?" It was a woman who answered Sian's question, but as the trio turned around, they saw her freeze up.

"Captain Gilles. Still here, I see." Syrus and Sian looked to Boone with surprise. The derisive sneer did not seem like him at all.

"What... What are you doing here, Boone? Didn't take you as the reminiscing sort." The woman caught herself quickly, but Sian noted that she didn't meet the Sniper's eyes.

"Where I go and what I do there is none of your damn business, Gilles. See, the Captain here," Boone continued, looking at his two companions, "she's the one who gave us the orders. And when we told her what was happening... Radio silence."

"There was a communication mix-up that resulted in some non-combatants being killed. It was a tragic mistake, but we've done all we can to make amends." Gilles protested.

"Some miscommunication," Syrus remarked.

"Fucking disgrace, if you ask me," Sian spat. The temptation was great to spit at the woman's feet, but she resisted it masterfully.

Faced with the combined animosity of the expressive trio, Captain Gilles' face become stony and her tone defensive. Staring at Boone again, she said:

"Do what you must and then leave. We have enough trouble around here without the likes of you."

Sian finally had enough. She hadn't slept, walked for almost two days, had some very emotional soul-baring with two of her closest friends and the Captain's insulting tone was the icing on the cake.

"Don't you even fucking worry about it! I've had enough of your stupid face anyway! It was your failure to act that caused the Great Khan Massacre! You could have stopped it, but you took the coward's way and said nothing! Don't you dare talk down to Boone because you are not able to face the fact that you royally fucked up!"

And with that, Sian just strode passed the stunned Gilles as if she'd ceased to exist, Aurelio and Rex at her side, rattling and growling, respectively. Syrus strolled after her with a broad grin on his face, and Boone followed suit with a last glare to his old C.O.
There was a fire behind the tent where Sian stopped and fumed.
Syrus wagered she probably gave off more heat than the flames right now. Boone was not in a good mood either. If he hadn't been at this place, he might have cracked a smile at how angry Sian had gotten on his behalf. But being back at Bitter Springs weighed on him more than he expected.

"I couldn't help but hear you tearing the captain a new one," Sian turned at being addressed and found the calm voice belonging to blond man in bloodstained clothing.
"While I agree with the sentiment, she fought hard to keep this camp open. These people have nowhere else to go."

"You know this place isn't exactly safe? We saw five deathclaws on our way here."

"No, I know. But it's the best we got. Besides, deathclaws rarely venture into this enclosed area, if we don't make too much noise."

"That can't be ideal. Is there anything we can help with?" The words were out before Syrus really chose to say them. But the children here.. He'd seen it in the slave children back in Arizona. Some had the same look in the eyes, and it was them that screamed at night.
He'd always hated the screaming when he was a boy.

"Well, unless you plan on wiping out every deathclaw in a five mile radius..." the man sighed heavily.

"Well, we could try," Sian threw in. Boone and Syrus both gave a death stare. Even the animals looked as if she went insane.
"Okay, fine. Then not. Anyway. My name is Sian, these dudes are Boone and Sy, the two furry cuties are Rex and Aurelio. What do you do here? And what can we do to help that doesn't involve mutated monster lizards?"

"I'm Lieutenant Markland. I'm an army field medic and the only doctor here. I can treat bullet wounds, shrapnel, trench foot no problem. But this, the kids and the psychological trauma and all the rest is out of my league. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" he asked, and when all three shook their heads, he looked dejected.
" I figured as much, no offence. What I really need are medical texts - books on psychology or paediatrics, specifically."

"I don't know where you'd find the books. But there's a doctor at the Follower's post in Vegas who probably memorized every medical text ever written. Maybe you could learn from him? Or we could at least take the children to Vegas? They'd be safer there."

"What? And feed them how? Freeside doesn't have enough food as it is," Boone interjected. He felt for the kids, truly he did, but he didn't want them to draw the ire of Freesiders who'd have even less food.

"Yeah, but House has cash stashed away. I could buy food for a hundred children! And I was going to talk to the King about this anyway, to improve the situation in Freeside. Anyway, we'd manage, and if we have to house them all in the tower," Sian responded sternly.
She was not going to leave this place without the issue settled.
"And these children need help. Arcade, Julie, they are the ones we need, and if they aren't here, we need to bring the kids to them."

"I already promised Julie I'd go hunting for the Follower's. I'd find enough meat to feed some kids, surely. And there's a ton of farmers just sitting on their asses at the Fort. Solutions are everywhere!" Syrus was quick to agree with Sian. The only problem was getting the kids to New Vegas. For that they needed Boone on board. They needed to double team him.
"And just imagine if Arcade ever found out about this. He'd go ballistic that we didn't do anything!"

Markland was listening to these strangers just throw around solutions left, right and centre. He made the few troopers they had patrol day and night, just to make sure nothing surprised the fragile residents here.
Knowing the children would be behind the safe walls of New Vegas would be a great relief. And learning from the Follower's... Markland had always wanted to join them as a child, but his family had pressed him to join the military.

"Listen, I have no idea who you guys are, but if you would really do that for us, I... I'd be forever in your debt. I swear, this would mean the world."

Well fuck, Boone groaned internally, there's no way I can say no now.

But then the unamused sniper remembered something. 'Use those regrets to make amends.'
At one time, Bitter Springs had become a mass grave. Now, he had the chance to make sure that some children living in this hell hole might have a better life.

"Fine. If we all die on the way back, it's entirely your fault."

Sian beamed at him, and exchanged a quick smirk with Syrus when Boone looked away.
Still grinning, she turn to Markland. The doctor looked amused, and Sian realized that had immediately figured out what she and Syrus had done. She led him toward the medical tent.

"Lieutenant, let's do it like this. We have something to take care of tonight, but if you can get the children ready, we could leave tomorrow morning. Do you have a map here? We could try and find a route that would be the least dangerous. I realize they won't be as fast as us, but if we start early enough, we could probably reach Vegas by nightfall, what do you think?"

And with that, a blond and a blue head were stuck together over a map.
Syrus and Boone were left with not much to do, and just lounged on the unoccupied cots.
In a few hours, night would fall. Syrus wasn't quite sure what they would do then, but he was determined to doze until the time came.


"This is where it happened. Coyote Tail Ridge. Still looks the same."

Syrus and Sian said nothing. They didn't know what to say. Rexie walked up to Boone and nudged his hand, and the Sniper absent-mindedly scratched the dog's ear.

"I'd like to stay here tonight," he requested softly.
"Think about some things."

"Of course. Whatever you need." Sian suppressed a yawn, but Syrus caught her.

"Sian," he spoke quietly, "take a nap. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow again, and you need rest. I'll stay up."

Sian didn't protest. She'd not make another walk like that if she got no sleep.
She curled up into a ball, Aurelio snuggling up against her as usual, and was asleep in an instant.

Syrus sat down next to girl, and kept an eye on Boone. He didn't like the Sniper any more than he did yesterday, but Sian had very clearly told both of them that they needed to learn to at least live with each other.
And he had promised to try. The boy knew it wouldn't be easy, and he wasn't delusional enough to believe this would put an end to their fighting, but Syrus had promised to stand by them, to denounce the Legion.
It was not a promise given lightly, and he intended to keep his word.
Now he wondered what Boone must be thinking.
Bitter Springs was common knowledge in the Legion, and while massacres belonged to the Legion's standard warfare, for someone like Boone? Well, it had messed him up proper, no question there.

'Use your regrets to make amends.'

Sian had told him in private that that was what Boone wanted to do. Syrus didn't have specific regrets, but just by association, if he wanted to be accepted, he had amends to make as well.
All of this was incredibly complicated.
But he'd have nothing else to do all night. He might as well figure out a way to prove himself.

Helping out around Freeside will be a good start. Sian wants to organise something with the King, I'm sure I can find a way to be useful there. And I need to make sure no other Frumentarii sneak their way onto the Strip. Keep us safe for as long as possible.

Boone didn't move at all, just staring out over the Canyon and Syrus was bored to tears. Sian was out like a light beside him, so there was nothing for him to do.
He simply flopped onto his back, and rested his head on his hands, thinking about nothing in particular.
That is until, a few hours later, he heard a faint noise.

Sitting up quickly, Syrus noticed Boone had heard it too.
Quietly, he went over to the Sniper who was staring through the scope of Sian's rifle into the wasteland.
He growled lightly, and handed the rifle to Syrus without a word.

Looking through, Syrus felt his stomach drop to his knees. A raiding party..
He swore softly, pushed the rifle back at the other man, and went to rouse Sian.
When she woke, he immediately signalled her to be silent.

"There's a raiding party on the way here. Legion. We have ten minutes, by the looks of it."

"Fuck, shit, goddammit!" Sian hissed, not able to decide on a curse.
"How many?"

"Not sure. Standard size is twenty men, but that would mean at least three decanii."

Sian was on her feet in an instant and walked over to Boone, peering into the night. She could make out faint movement in the dark.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

This had been what Boone was waiting for. He hadn't known where and when it would happen, but he knew it was coming. But now Sian was with him. He never wanted her to be anywhere near him when Life came collecting. Or Syrus, even though he didn't like the boy.

"You two go back to the camp. Tell the troopers what's happening, they need to be ready. I'll pick off some of them from here. The ridge is hard to climb from where they're coming, so I'll be able to get a good amount, and the ones that slip through, you can get."

"No way!," Syrus stated.
"That's suicide. Sian, give me one of your guns, I'll stay here too, you get the troopers ready."

"You're going back to camp." Boone growled, but Syrus stared him down.

"Shoot me or deal with the fact that I'll help you. Those are your options."

Sian cut the argument short before it could begin. She rummaged in her bag and shoved three frag grenades at Syrus, and then unlatched her .45.

"Don't lose it," she warned him as she handed it over and gave him the three extra clips she carried. It almost pained her to part with her beloved gun, which she remembered she had gotten from her father, but Syrus needed more punch than Maria, her 9mm, could provide.

She quickly hugged both of them, hoping that this wouldn't end badly. Then she ran.
Aurelio and Rex sprinted along beside her.
After she'd reached the refugee camp, the girl started rousing the sleepers, while she explained the situation to the two soldiers standing guard at the entrance.
They didn't question her story, not with how urgent her tone was, and helped her wake the people.

When they'd found everyone, Sian and the the other quickly climbed up to the command tent.
Lieutenant Markland was already there, as was the Captain. They both looked like they'd been hastily awoken, Gilles still pulling on her armour.

While two soldiers ushered the frightened refugees into the command tent, Sian explained the situation.

"Legion raiding party is on the way here. At least twenty men, might be more. They definitely have dogs with them. If we have explosives, that'd be great. Take out as many people as possible before they get too close. Boone and Sy are on Coyote Tail Ridge, trying to head them off, so try not to shoot them if they need to fall back."

The soldiers were listening with rapt attention, checking their rifles as they went. Except for Captain Gilles, who was still salty at getting yelled at.

"How would you even know, kid. Go stay with the refugees, you'll be safe and out of the way there."

They did not have time for this, but Sian let herself be goaded into replying.

"If you survive this, you should radio in to Primm and ask just who cleared out the Powder Gangers from there."

"It was a random courier, the story made rounds. Why do you care?"

"I was that courier, you twat. Courier Six. I can take care of myself, if you can, is still unclear," she turned to Markland instead.
"Do you have a spare service rifle lying around? Boone has my sniper rifle."

"Yes, of course!" The doctor rummaged around in a box by his desk, drawing out a battered rifle.
While Sian inspected it, Markland addressed the ten soldiers in the tent.

"Four of you, cover the entrance from Canyon 37. Make sure no one gets through, or they'll attack us from both sides. One stays near the command tent with the refugees, the rest of us, head to the front to take them out. Canyons, grab some frag grenades. Remember we have two friendlies out there. Captain, if you stay with the men by the Canyon, I'll take the front."

Gilles nodded, and Sian, with the surprisingly well-kept rifle, knelt down to speak to her pets.

"Aurelio, you stay with the soldier at the tent, okay. Anyone wearing a skirt, kill. And Rexie, you'll stay with me. Markland, I'm coming out front with you."

The nightstalker rattled his tail excitedly, and trotted over to the huge soldier tasked with protecting the refugees, while the rest grabbed explosives and ammo.
Sian was just about to say something when a massive explosion sprang them into action

As soon as Syrus' grenade exploded in the sea of crimson, Boone started shooting. The boy had warned him to look for the distinctive helmets of the Decanii, as they were the most seasoned warriors. Boone saw the logic in that, and found two helmets, blowing them apart with bullets.
The raid party reacted immediately when fire had been opened on them, scattering as much as possible.

There were more than Syrus expected, and he lobbed his second grenade, managing to maim three of his former brothers. He tried to ignore the screams.
A few of the Legionaries slipped past the ridge, and Boone wanted to turn to target them, but Syrus stopped him.

"They always attack in waves. Let the troopers handle these, we've got to catch the second one."

"How many?" Boone was reloading as he spoke.

"Two or three. Depending how many soldiers they have."

"Makes for more target practice."

Syrus grimaced, but didn't respond. They had killed a fair few people, but the second wave was already advancing. They heard growling. Syrus squinted into the night to spot the dogs.
Legion mongrels were almost as dangerous as the soldiers, but a lot faster.
If he could get them together...
Seeing the small pack of mangy, matted beasts, Syrus took aim, pulled the pin and lobbed the grenade as far as he could. It exploded right in the middle, and the dogs went down with whines and yelps. Boone was already starting to pick off the soldiers, but this time, they had been warned by the dead and dying littering the Canyon entrance and did better at evading the bullets.

"Head for the camp!" a voice yelled from below.

About half of the wave ducked into the canyon and out of sight, and half of the remaining men fell to Boone and Syrus, who had also started shooting.

There was only enough time for both of them to change their clips before the third wave showed up. This was the largest one yet, 15 men, and fast, evasive ones too.
Try as he might, Boone could not land a hit on the Decanus of this group, so he focused on the footsoldiers.
Some fell, some got past them, and this time, the two shooters on the ridge had to dodge bullets. One grazed Boone's biceps, and Syrus had to jump away to not be shot in the foot.

"Come down and face me like men, you cowards!" The Decanus yelled up at them. Most people of this wave had gotten past them, and both men heard sounds of battle coming from the refugee camp.

"Head to Bitter Springs, make sure Sian doesn't kill herself. I'll take care of this." When he saw, to his utter amazement, that Boone wanted to protest, he angrily cut him off.
"I'm trained in melee combat. I know how the Legion fights. You don't. You're of no help here, you'll just get yourself killed. Now go!"

Without letting the NCR grunt respond, Syrus slid down the side of the ridge, drawing his machete when he was on the ground.

"I knew it," the Legionary spat, "I knew I recognized you, traitor!"

Syrus grinned humourlessly. Now he had to win, had to kill the Decanus. If word of this reached the Fort, they'd know that Sian wanted to betray the Legion.

"Let's dance, amicus!"

Boone watched only for a second longer, before he ran back towards the refugee camp, reloading as he went.

Once he reached the mouth of the Canyon, he saw what chaos had erupted. Sian and Markland were fighting side by side, Rex circling around them.
Three soldiers lay on the ground, two were still on their feet, but Boone did not see that they had taken out any Legionaries. Those bastards had gotten close, and Sian was the only one of them trained in close quarters.
Rex clamped his powerful mechanic jaw around a legionary's leg and yanked him to the ground before going straight for the man's throat.

Sian was fighting to people at once, and they moved so fast, Boone didn't dare shoot at them, for fear of hitting his friend.
But he took a knee and aimed at the other Legion fucks. He took out the first one with a clean head-shot, got a second on in the back, and a third who was fighting Markland in the thigh.
The soldier, no older than Syrus, stumbled and the Lieutenant smashed the butt of his rifle into the boy's face.

The two enemies Sian was fighting had driven her away from the main fighting.
They were good, extremely fast, and she was holding back. Sian was afraid to lose control, so she was fighting to keep it.
This was turning into more and more of an impossible task and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. A well placed machete swipe against her hand nearly pushed her over the edge when a huge fist landed on the side of the perpetrator's head, sending him, careening to the ground.

Boone had flown into close combat, fuelled by anger. He was a sniper by trade, but bar fights and military training had prepared him for situations like these.

A shot rang out, and the second hostile clutched his chest, bright red blood pulsing out through his fingers. Rex and another soldier were finishing off the last Legionary on their side.
With everyone dead, Markland sprinted up to the command tent, the others hot on his heels.
There too, bodies were strewn about, troopers and Legionaries alike.
The man guarding the refugees was a bit battered, but alright otherwise, and Aurelio was unharmed. Sian gratefully knelt down and hugged her venomous critter, not minding the blood on his fur and scales. Rex licked his four-legged companion, and Aurelio gave a contented little hiss.

Boone saw that Gilles was still on her feet and took in that information with mixed feelings, but aside from one more soldier, the rest of her little troop hadn't made it.
With a start, he remembered Syrus was left behind with the Decanus.

"Sian, I'm going to go help the brat. He st-"

"I have a name, you know." Syrus said from behind him, but his voice lacked its usual bite. Sian gasped sharply at the sight of him and Boone immediately realized why upon turning around.
His face and clothes were splattered with blood, he was sporting some cuts, and his right eye was already swelling shut.
But the worst was his hand. His left hand was covered in blood, and with a sinking feeling, the sniper saw that the small and ring finger were missing. Blood was still dripping from the wounds and he was very pale.

Lieutenant Markland switched into doctor mode upon seeing the boy's hand. He couldn't help the dead, and the rest of the soldiers were fine. Sian had a gash on her hand, but would absolutely survive having to wait a moment.
He grabbed the boy's arm and marched him over to the medical tent.
Sian and Boone shared a look. He wasn't resisting, which told the two of them all he needed to know about his situation.

"Syrus. Is he dead?" Boone asked from the tent entrance. Syrus blinked at being called by his name, but nodded.

"You may want to take the rest of the troopers and bury the dead. Burn them. Whatever. The last thing we need is some Deathclaws being attracted by the blood."

Boone nodded grimly. Sian had sat down beside Syrus and latched onto his hand. Boone saw that Syrus was tougher than he looked, and would probably even shrug off the loss of his fingers, but Sian would not let him out of her sight for the next few days, he figured.
The burly man left to go take care of the fallen while Markland started cleaning Syrus hand.
The fingers were severed cleanly almost at the base.
They would probably heal nicely once he patched them up.

"What happened? And are you injured somewhere else as well?"

Syrus twitched a bit as the Lieutenant started washing out the wound with alcohol, but it didn't hurt any more than a whipping, he found. In fact, the stimpack that Markland administered dulled the pain even more. Like honey had laid itself over his senses.

"It's nothing. Shit happens. I still have eight fingers. That's a lot."

Sian resisted the urge to slap Syrus for that remark. But she knew better than that. The girl remembered the training sessions she'd often watched and knew the loss of some digits or even a limb was something Legion soldiers expected.
But Sy wasn't Legion any more, she had to remind herself of that constantly.
Tonight had proven it to her beyond doubt, and Boone seemed to have gotten the message as well.
Markland decided not to press the issue, but began to close the wound with tiny sutures. He was considering on slipping the boy a sedative as well, but he could see the green eyes clouding over and the lids drooping already.

"Not used to meds, eh boy? Well, you'll have a nice sleep, but the walk tomorrow will be hell either way."

He wrapped Syrus' hand thickly with fresh bandages and looked him over. It seemed like he had no other complaints, aside from being bruised to all hell.
Time would heal that wound.
With Sian's help, he unlatched the armour and got the wounded boy settled onto a cot.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for him to fall asleep.
Sian tucked the thin blanket snugly around him before Markland ordered her to sit at the table so he could look at her hand.
It was a deep cut, but not so very bad.

"You're going to need stitches as well. You're all too lightly armoured for close combat."

"I don't like heavy armour," Sian replied nonchalantly.
"It slows me down. I'm not very strong. So I need to be fast. Today I just wasn't."

The man snorted at her remark. These people were really something else. But without them, tonight would have been a bloodbath.

"You know, I had almost stopped hoping for help. Until you came. The fact that you'll take in these kids.. It means the world to me. I've been looking at their faces for so long, unable to help..."

"Hey now," she interrupted, "You've been doing the best you can. And it's a hell of a lot more than most people do. And in Vegas you can learn all about trauma and child psychology. We're just three idiots with golden timing."

"Maybe," Markland agreed.
"But, your hand is done. You should get some sleep. It's only a few hours till sunrise."

Sian pulled off her bloodstained jacket, threw it in a corner and sank down on the cot next to Syrus.
Before she drifted off, she hoped Boone and the Lieutenant would have the sense to get a bit of sleep as well.


Arcade was standing at the Freeside gate, Veronica, Marrita and Joshua beside him. Sian had been gone for three days now, and yesterday, Boone and Syrus mysteriously disappeared.
They couldn't make any sense out of it.
The shadows were getting longer now, as they were nearing nightfall. Joshua was still angry at his daughter for running off, but there was a know in his stomach, and he hated it.
He just wanted her to come back in one piece.
The others were no less worried about their friends. Once they had realized the Sniper and the Legionary missing as well, speculations ran wild.
Veronica had suggested they might have gone to look for Sian, but non of them really considered the possibility. Those two hated each other far too much to form an effective team.

"Why are we even standing here?" Arcade grumbled, turning to face the others.
"Like a bloody welcoming committee. When we should be back home, so they know they screwed up when they get back."

"Will you stop snarking already?" Marrita laughed. She was the only one who wasn't that worried. Of course she wasn't happy with the disappearance, but she was convinced Sian, and then Boone and Syrus, had done what they thought was right. Even if they choose the dumbest way to go about it.
"They'll be back tonight. I feel it in my bones. Just you wait."

Arcade grumbled some more, but before he had a chance to retort, Vero peered past him.

"Well, there is a big group of people coming into view back there."

Arcade spun around, and Marrita and Joshua squinted out toward the wastes.
Veronica was right. It was a large group. But as they came close, they noticed a majority of the group were tiny.
Eddie, who was hovering beside Joshua's head, twittered excitedly and zoomed toward the group.

"See. Told you they'd be back today," Marrita laughed. She strolled out of the gate to meet them, the others following suit.
Once they came closer, an odd sight greeted them. It was Sian, Boone and Syrus alright. With about 25 kids and an adult in army grunts. The Legionary looked a lot worse for wear, but he didn't let that burden him apparently.
Syrus and Sian and the stranger were each carrying one of the younger children, while a little girl with milky eyes had her hand coiled in Boone's shirt.
Rex and Aurelio were trotting along beside the group, occasionally nudging one of the children along.

"Where the hell have you been?" Arcade raged, but Vero's sharp elbow to his side shut the doctor up. She glanced at the stranger. And the children, some of which recoiled when Arcade had started yelling.

"Hi guys," Sian called out cheerily. She looked exhausted, but in high spirits. The small group they had left behind noted that Sian, Syrus, Boone and the soldier were basically splattered in blood. The children with them had mixed reactions to the newcomers. Some stared uneasily at the heavily bandaged Joshua while others did not react at all.
Once Arcade really took a look at them, he went onto doctor mode immediately.

"What did you bring us here, then? A field trip?" he kept his voice even and friendly, so as not to scare them.

Sian started moving again, herding the children toward the gate. She knew it was irrational, but she wanted them behind the walls before the sun set.

"We went to Bitter Springs," she started to explain to her friends and father.
"It's a refugee camp now, but... Arcade, you couldn't imagine it. It's this strung together camp, surrounded by deathclaws. And the kids... Well, you can see for yourself. Trauma. Starvation. We needed to take them somewhere safe. Lieutenant Markland did all he could, but it's just too much for just one man."
"I'm Markland, by the way." the blond man in grunts threw in.
"These three were heaven sent, I tell ya. Immediately offered to help, take the kids back to the city. And the Legion ambush. Without them, a lot of these kids wouldn't be here any more."

Joshua threw his daughter a truly murderous look when the Lieutenant mentioned a Legion ambush. Once they were safe back in the tower, he'd yell at her for the rest of the night. But he figured that she wanted to have the children taken care of first.
Her compassion buttered him up a bit.
They stepped through the gates, and it didn't take ten seconds for them to draw attention. And not only the good kind.

"Eddie," the small robot chirped happily when Sian addressed him.

"Head over to the 38. Let Victor know I need four Securitrons at the Old Mormon Fort, okay?"

Another high-pitched chirp, and Eddie zoomed off toward the Strip.

"You think there's going to be trouble?" Boone asked in a low voice. His face looked even more clouded than usual. The girl hanging on to him stumbled a bit over a pothole, so the sniper reached down and reluctantly grabbed her hand so as to guide her better.

"I'm not sure," Sian replied. The others strained to listen as well.
"Better safe than sorry, don't you think? I can easily dispatch some. Tomorrow, I'll talk to the King. Together, we should come up with something. But first. Drop of the tots, then back to the tower. We need to talk."

"Yes, we do," Joshua growled behind her. Sian was not looking forward to being alone with him.

The large group stepped through the gate of the Fort, and luckily, Julie was at the guard post, chatting with some Followers.

"Julie! Buckle up, we have a ton of work to do!" Arcade called.

"Oh my, what have you brought us?"

After the situation was explained, Julie agreed to take the children in. She set her doctors to work, examining children and re-housing people to make room for them. The children where small enough to share beds, so after about an hour it, was done.
Some of them where asleep in a flash, others lay on their mattresses, silently staring at the canvas ceilings of the tents.
Arcade offered Markland his own bed, as he'd be spending the night in the 38.
On her way out, Sian informed Julie that she posted some Securitrons outside, just to be safe.
The Follower's head doctor didn't like it, but she was still thankful for the precaution.

On a whim, Sian decided to include Julie in her upcoming plans. The Followers were liked in Freeside, and if she and the King would come to some kind of accord to improve the living situation in the poor outskirts of the city, Julie would move Heaven and Earth to help out.

So the blue-haired girl told her to come to the King's School around noon. Julie arched a brow, but nodded. Finally run out of ways to stall the inevitable, Sian joined her small family on the walk back to the Lucky 38.

Her father's firm grasp on her shoulder did not bode well. But Sian smiled. Because for however angry he was, and whatever stupid, reckless scheme she pulled, that iron grip reassured her that she had someone to come home to.