Xavier returned to the Capitol Wasteland. His military securing all the area between the Capitol Wasteland and MIT. Xavier looked over the fields where the Punga grew throughout the ground. It had been less than a month, yet the fields had expanded as he wished. The refined fruit surviving in the greenhouses. He expected there should be mature and flowering plants soon enough. Harold's trees had grown into saplings. They were now at their most vulnerable. Their military spread most thin, their resources not yet as plentiful as needed. They needed an aggressive military expansion, pumping out androids to add to the army like A3-21s model would take some time. Xavier had a back-up but they needed testing that it wasn't quite ready for. Experimental testing on himself was fine, he could risk himself. Not the soldiers, not his people.
Xavier went to Pinkerton's facility, it had been cleaned to a pristine condition and repainted white and blue. He found one of Pinkerton's assistants, "Get Pinkerton here." he ordered.
The assistant nodded and ran off through the cave system that had been created through collapses that had been cleared out. He came back, carrying Pinkerton, "Hello Xavier, I know, I know, trip was productive, blah blah blah." Pinkerton coughed, "Xavier, if I die, don't put me in a robot or anything, I will find some way to sabotage everything you do if you do it. But before I die, I have one last project..." the assistant set him down and he hobbled down into the tunnel, "Well, come on then, the project that you set me to do is almost finished. I have built the thing."
Xavier followed him through the winding tunnel, the assistant walked along with Pinkerton, fussing over him.
"Oh, come on! Go bother your wife and daughter! Leave me alone with Xavier." Pinkerton ordered.
The assistant ran off.
"That was Sticky?" Xavier asked.
"Of course. I have people more proficient at combat protecting our base, but we don't have much risk from raiders at this point, nor super mutants. Your spiders have solved both of those problems... Sometimes I wonder why you even have a military." Pinkerton said with a chuckle.
"It helps our people, and the spiders, while large, we only have a few hundred. We have to keep that number down to prevent people getting nervous." Xavier explained.
"Yes, yes... Concerned about making the people comfortable, but how about making them safe?" Pinkerton asked.
"That's what your project is supposed to do." Xavier said with a chuckle.
"I still think the spiders would be easier and more effective." Pinkerton said.
"That's your problem." Xavier replied.
They entered into a large cavern, there was no trace of a continuation of the hall on the other side.
"Based on blueprints and records we found, this room was another cache of weapons. We pulled out all the scrap and have been using it. But you know what I pulled you down here for, here it is." Pinkerton indicated the large structure in the center of the cave. It was four meters tall, human shape without a head with four cameras in the chest. There was a curve from shoulder to shoulder where the neck should have been. The shoulders were a meter wide and the arms were two and a half meters long. A quiver was mounted on its back full of arrows. The arrows were smooth cylindrical pieces of stainless steel with sharp conical tips. A giant bow sat next to the machine. Pinkerton led Xavier down the path to it, "Now then, I made it to connect up to the spine implants. This model sends out a signal to the wireless transmitters I made in the spine implants, if there is no rider, it opens up. Get up close to it."
Xavier walked up to it, holding out his hand. As he touched it, the front of the suit opened, revealing a coffin with wires sticking out of it.
"Climb in, back first." Pinkerton instructed.
Xavier turned his back to the opening, he looked back and grabbed the opening, bracing himself with it, he climbed in.
He felt the wires seeking out his spine, and latching onto it. His world went black. The machine closed and he could see again. His sight was much more clear than outside the machine, Pinkerton tapped on the machine, "Can you hear me?" His voice sounded tinny.
"Yeah, but the sound is a bit tinny." Xavier replied, his voice coming out of Pinkerton's radio.
"I suppose I could make it sound nicer after the sound gets filtered. This model is made just for you, the normal model will attach to a modified agility skeleton, so if the unit gets too injured, the pilot can eject and get the hell out of there or stand and fight as they see fit." Pinkerton stepped back from the machine and began walking off to the side, "Pick up the bow, test the targeting." Pinkerton pointed at a spot on a rock that Xavier thought was blank. Looking at it through the machine's eyes, there seemed to be a blue glowing target on it.
Xavier grabbed the bow and looked at the rope made of spider silk on it. He tested it with the machine's hands, it made a loud twang. He drew an arrow, on close inspection they had rifled grooves all down the shafts. He nocked the arrow and aimed, firing immediately. The arrow broke the rock, splitting it in half. It had landed right in the bullseye.
The machine opened and Xavier stumbled out, now free from it.
"What'd you get out for?" Pinkerton asked.
"I don't like it." He replied, breathing heavily.
"Perhaps we need to work more on the compatibility with the nerve endings." Pinkerton mused, "Mind if I go public with this project and ask for volunteers?"
"Yes, volunteers only, let them know about the nausea and stuff though." Xavier shook as he stood, his skin shining with a sheen of sweat.
"Very well, nausea, difficulty with motor control, cold sweat, anything else you're feeling?" Pinkerton asked, jotting down the notes.
Xavier pinched his arm and winced, "No other problems, but you might want to make it so that people can feel their body while in the machine."
"It blocks sensation as well as sound and sight to the brain..." Pinkerton furrowed his brow, "That is a problem, we'll work on it."
Xavier nodded to Pinkerton, stumbling as he made his way out of the cave.
