Hello everyone. 3 days without publishing anything. I'm a lazy ass.
Please enjoy this chapter.
The Talon Company mercenary whistled between his teeth. Immediately, three other mercenaries sprang from their hiding places on the concrete terrace.
"You're pretty hard to find, kid," said the mercenary with the sunglasses. "We've been looking for you for days. I was beginning to think you'd been eaten by the Radroaches, but you were actually cooing with your girlfriend."
"What do you want from me?" Damian asked.
"You seem to know who we are, so I'll save you the boring part of the conversation. I heard you're the kind of guy to help the people in the Wastes. Well, our employer thinks it's boring, so he wants us to kill you."
From the corner of their eye, Damian and Sarah could see the other mercenaries put them in their sights. Dogmeat was growling and showing his fangs.
"On my signal, you take cover," whispered Sarah.
"No need to chit-chat, beautiful," said the leader of the mercenary. "Stay right where you are without flinching and we'll try to finish it quickly."
Sarah dove to the side, grabbing her laser gun at the same time. Damian threw himself to the ground near a concrete wall. He felt a bullet pass within inches of his head. He drew his gun and fired blindly. Behind him, he heard Sarah's laser gun crackling. A scream of terror came from the mercenary leader. Damian turned his head and saw that Dogmeat had jumped at the man's throat, closing it jaw on him. One of the gunmen on the concrete terrace turned his head towards his chief, giving Damian time to put a bullet in his skull.
Damian looked over his shoulder. The two remaining mercenaries focused their fire on Sarah, crouching on the other side of the road. He raised his gun and forced his attackers to take cover. One of the mercenaries raised his rifle at them and fired blindly.
Damian felt a pain in his thigh. He rolled to his side and felt a warm liquid run down his leg.
"I got you f..."
The mercenary didn't have time to finish his sentence when a laser beam hit him in the face. He screamed a heart-rending cry and fell backwards. The last surviving mercenary stood up while he fired at Sarah and Damian. A bark echoed behind him and the next moment Damian heard a hiccup of pain and the sound of a body falling to the ground.
Sarah crossed the road and the parking lot. She climbed the steps to the terrace and swept the area with her rifle. All their attackers were dead. Dogmeat trotted towards her, wagging his tail. His mouth was stained with blood and his fur on his neck and shoulders was all sticky.
The Sentinel went down the road again. Damian struggled to get up, grimaced and held his hand against his thigh. Seeing the blood dripping from his fatigues and between the young man's fingers, Sarah rushed towards him.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, I think the bullet ricocheted off a wall and..."
Sarah knelt and grabbed her belt around her jeans before tying it around Damian's thigh. She ripped the fatigues open. There was a small hole in Damian's thigh from which a thin trickle of blood flowed. Sarah delicately grazed the contours of the wound. She felt a small bump.
"The bullet is still in there. I can get it out," she explained as she searched her jacket pockets.
She grabbed a small first health-kit and took a out her combat knife and disinfected it and brought it close to the wound. She looked up at Damian.
"It's going to hurt a little."
She pushed the tip of the blade into the wound. Damian grimaced and choked a hiccup of pain. He looked away and tried to concentrate on the landscape, looking for a new threat. He could feel the cold metal sliding against his open skin and the unpleasant sensation of the knife and the bullet under his skin.
"Fuck..."
Damian looked down at Sarah.
"What's going on?" he asked nervously.
"The bullet's stuck to the artery. That means if I miss, you're going to bleed out on that road."
"So, don't miss."
"Maybe we should wait until we get to the Citadel and get you checked out..."
"No," Damian cut in. Walking with that piece of metal in your leg is too risky and if you carry me, you'll be an easy target. You need to get that bullet out of me now."
Sarah nodded. She plunged the blade back into the wound. After several long minutes, Sarah slowly removed the knife and grabbed the bullet with her finger and dropped it on the ground. She grabbed the buckle of the belt that serves as a tourniquet.
"Now it is the moment of truth."
She looked at Damian and started to loosen the belt. The blood was almost no longer flowing from the wound. The artery was still intact. Damian let out a sigh of relief and felt his body relax.
Sarah took the crushed bullet in her hands and looked at it from various angles.
"Do you want to keep it as a souvenir?" the young woman asked ironically. "I must have something to make a nice pendant out of it."
"If you can assure me that it will prevent me from taking another bullet in the future, I'll take it."
Damian finished bandaging his leg while Sarah went to search the corpses.
The mercenary's leader had had his throat crushed and torn out by Dogmeat. The Sentinel wanted to retrieve his weapon to give it to Damian, but it had jammed, and a shell was stuck in the ejector. A quick inspection told her that the trigger also needed to be changed and she noticed that the barrel was twisted. She found a note on a crumpled piece of paper. A man named Tenpenny had ordered the young man's death.
Sarah went back to see Damian and handed him the paper.
"Any idea why the almighty Tenpenny wants your head?" asked the Sentinel.
"None," said Damian as he read the note. "Who is this Tenpenny?"
"He's the owner of the Tenpenny Tower, southwest of here. It's said to be one of the most prosperous places in the Capital Wasteland and one of the few with non-irradiated water."
"As if the Super Mutants, ghouls and Raiders weren't enough, now I've got an army of hitmen on my trail," Damian sighed.
"Karma," Sarah smiled.
They went up to the terrace and inspected the other bodies. The body closest to them had also had its throat crushed by Dogmeat. Damian approached the mercenary hit by the laser. The beam had completely burned his face, leaving only bones and some blackened flesh tissue.
"Here, I have a present for you."
Damian looked behind him. Sarah walked towards him with a rifle in her hands. Damian got up and grabbed the gun.
It was an assault rifle, a little shorter but heavier than Damian's. The young man recognized the standard Type 93 assault rifle of the pre-war Chinese PLA. Probably a remnant from the Battle of Anchorage, brought back by a survivor.
Its last owner had attached a leather band around the grip. The wooden handguard had turned white but still looked solid. Damian adjusted the folding stock and strap.
"The weapon is chambered in 5.56mm so no need to look for another type of ammunition. You even have a bayonet with it, but I suggest a good old dagger instead," concluded Sarah.
Damian noticed a retractable steel rod under the barrel and retrieved the magazines the mercenaries were carrying before resuming their walk to the Citadel.
Once at the Citadel, Damian was escorted by Sarah and two other soldiers of the Brotherhood in power armor to the infirmary, a small room occupied by a bed and some surgical tools, and by a Mister Gutsy who was actually the Citadel's medic. After closing the wound and injecting himself a Stimpak, they went to Lyons' office.
The old Elder was sitting at his desk facing a pile of files. In the corner of the room, Damian noticed an African American woman with a military haircut and wearing power armor. On her back was a large metal mass and on her hip was a laser pistol.
The desk was decorated with a Brotherhood flag in faded colors. On the desk Damian noticed a small wooden frame, probably containing a picture of Sarah. On a wall he could see a blackboard. On the blackboard, a grid had been drawn and seemed to indicate patrol schedules or news reports.
When Lyons saw Damian enter, he put down his pen, stood up and gave him a broad smile.
"I'm glad to see that you're healthy," he said. "I thought my daughter would find you sooner, but the important thing is that you're here."
Sarah gave Damian a discreet look of reproach, telling him that they should have arrived at the Citadel sooner, if she hadn't had to chase him to Minefield or wait for him at Megaton. Lyons dismissed the two soldiers with a nod, leaving him alone with Damian, Sarah and this other woman.
There was a brief silence during which Lyons looked Damian straight in the eye.
"Sarah told me that you have decoded the Vault-Tec terminal and that you know where to find a G.E.C.K.?" Damian finally asked.
"That's right," Lyons answered, inviting Damian to take a seat in a chair facing him before sitting down in turn. "As Sentinel Lyons may have inform you, a special team should be sent to Vault-Tec headquarters to try to get our hands on a map, or a document indicating the location of Vault 87."
"And…?" asked Damian.
"Unfortunately, our scribes weren't able to get any more intel from the Vault-Tec computer. That is why I will send a salvage team to Vernon Square."
"I'm in," said immediately Damian.
"Actually, said Lyons. "They already left. Paladin Vargas and some members of the Pride left an hour ago and they should be back tomorrow morning."
Damian seemed disappointed but knowing that the elite of the Brotherhood was part of the mission made him think that the mission would be a success.
"Anyway, if I wanted you to come to the Citadel, it was to speak with you," Lyons continued. Finding a G.E.C.K. will not be an easy task, but assuming we can do it, we will need to install it and activate Project Purity. Your father had a coding system installed in the Purifier. He... Chose to activate a specific one that rendered the Purifier's control room inoperable. The only way we can regain complete control of Project Purity is to reverse the sequence your father entered using the Purifier's activation code.
"And you think I have that code," Damian concludes.
Lyons nodded slowly. Damian felt that all eyes were on him. Even Dogmeat, sitting next to him, was staring at him. He lowered his eyes and stared at the damaged edge of Lyons' desk.
"I'm sorry, I don't know it," Damian said.
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "Maybe your father mentioned it in a conversation or…"
"I'm sorry, Sarah, but I'm sure. My f... My father never told me about Project Purity before I left The Vault and in the short time I spent with him, he never mentioned any activation code."
Sarah let out a sigh of disappointment. Lyons lost his gaze in the blank and seemed to be lost in his thoughts while the woman behind him remained impassive.
"We'll find it in time," Lyons finally said. "In the meantime, we must concentrate on the battle that lies ahead against the Enclave."
Without giving Damian time to ask him how he would take back the Jefferson Memorial from the Enclave, Lyons turned to the woman behind him.
"Meet Star Paladin Cross, my personal bodyguard and advisor one of the most trusted people I know. She, along with Sentinel Lyons, will be supervising you.
The one called Cross politely bowed her head to signify her agreement. Sarah probably would have liked to go to her men rather than watch Damian, but she showed no sign of it.
Lyons let Damian out of his office. Sarah stayed inside for another moment, probably to report back. Damian sat on a bench by the door. He checked on his wound and saw that it was almost entirely healed leaving only a thin scar.
While Sarah was still inside, he began to think of an excuse for his absence of several days. He suspected that the Brotherhood would want to know where he had been and what he had been able to do during those few days on the alien ship. He first thought about telling them the truth before chasing that idea away. No one would believe him if he ever told them that he had proof of the aliens' existence. Thinking back, it was better to keep this discovery a secret. The news of an alien ship in orbit above the Earth might as well be taken as another rumor of a slightly crazy wanderer, as it might attract the attention of unwanted groups of people. And if the Enclave discovered the truth and managed to seize the ship, it would be virtually invincible.
The office door closed behind Sarah. She had detailed her research and discovery of Damian. She had, however, deliberately omitted to mention that he had been missing for several days and had not mentioned the strange light in the sky near Minefield. If Damian did not mention it to her, then it was not a threatening subject for the Brotherhood or the Wasteland.
A sound of breathing caught her attention. Lying on the bench, Damian slept with his head resting on his travel bag as a pillow.
"I find it hard to believe that the tiny, vulnerable baby I escorted almost 20 years ago has grown so much."
Sarah turned around and saw the Star Paladin Cross next to her.
"Yes, it's also hard to believe that the young scared resident of a Vault that I met a few days ago has managed to survive that long," replied the Sentinel.
For a moment, Sarah remembered when some of the members of Project Purity, accompanied by the Brotherhood troops in charge of protecting the Jefferson Memorial, arrived at the Citadel. She remembered James cradling his son in his arms. She had overheard a discussion between some scientists, blaming James and his son for the abandonment of Project Purity, accusing one of being selfish and putting his child's future ahead of the Project and all of humanity, and the other of being born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
About a day after their arrival at the Citadel, all the scientists except James had left for Rivet City or had scattered in the Wastes. James had heard of a sealed Vault, not far from the town of Megaton, and decided to take a chance to enter it and offer his son a safe future, safe from the Super Mutants, Raiders, Slavers, feral ghouls and other abominations that dominated the Capital Wasteland. Accompanied by the Star Paladin Cross and two other Paladins, James and Damian had left the Citadel in the direction of Vault 101.
Sarah could still see Damian as a baby, wrapped in a cloth and hanging on to his father, on the day they left the Citadel. She never thought she would see him again, let alone in the middle of the ruined capital.
The young Sentinel watched Damian for a few moments. She tried to imagine the weight he was carrying on his shoulders. As a Sentinel and leader of an elite unit, she had a huge responsibility, but her task of leading her men into battle and killing the Super Mutants suddenly seemed insignificant compared to the future of the Capital Wasteland.
"Let him rest," said Sarah as she walked away. "Tomorrow, we're going to give him a hard time."
The Star Paladin Cross smiled briefly before walking away.
"Faster, Franklin! I've seen a one-legged man run faster than you!"
Damian huffed and puffed. He jumped over the small cinder block wall and rolled around, then stepped on a beam over a ditch, before jumping between several marks on the ground.
"I should strap some brahmin meat on your back and ask that dog of yours to chase after you! Maybe then you'll run faster!"
The small obstacle course that Cross and Sarah had devised for him stretched across the inner courtyard of the Citadel. He had to walk around the courtyard, clear all the obstacles in his path, then set up at the shooting range, load a laser rifle, shoot three targets, do the same with a pistol and assault rifle, attack a dummy in hand-to-hand combat with a knife and start again, all in three minutes.
Damian was on his tenth round. His legs were on fire, big drops of sweat were beading on his forehead and cheeks. The clothes the Brotherhood had given him were all sticky and wet. For a moment, he almost wished that his leg wound would reopen, but he felt that Sarah would make him run the obstacle course even with a broken limb. The other recruits of the Brotherhood were standing by the doors to the different wings of the building or on a small platform and were watching Damian.
He arrived at the shooting range. He loaded the microfusion cell into the laser rifle, removed the safety, aimed and fired. The ray hit a target painted on a small wall. He then fired at a soda bottle on a crate and finally at a mannequin dressed as a Super Mutant. He unloaded the energy cell from the rifle and moved on to an assault rifle and then a pistol and repeated the same actions. He then ran towards a second dummy, grabbing a knife with a serrated blade and stuck the knife into the cloth bag that served as the body of the mannequin.
He heard a bell ring.
"Come on, Franklin!" Sarah shouted. "Give me a series of push-ups and pull-ups, on the double!"
Damian wiped his forehead and dragged himself to a bar attached to two walls further away.
"Rhys! Pek! Care to tell us what's so funny?" shouted the Sentinel. "Maybe you'd like to join the Franklin's training?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Damian saw two recruits wipe the smiles off their faces and shake their heads frantically. As he lay down to begin his set of push-ups, one of the guards on duty at the door shouted that Vargas' team had returned from Vernon Square. Damian dropped to the ground with a sigh.
"It's not nap time yet!" barked Sarah's voice.
The Star Paladin Cross stood in front of Damian, even more impressive in her power armor. Without needing to say anything, she encouraged Damian to resume his training. As she counted the number of push-ups he was doing, Damian could see Sarah moving away towards the Citadel gate.
She came back a few minutes later with a worried look on her face.
"Okay, that's enough for today, Franklin," she said.
Damian let himself fall to the ground and rolled onto his back.
"Not bad," Sarah said with a sly smile. "Maybe we'll be able to make a real soldier out of you."
Damian growled. He had already trained with others Brotherhood recruit while he was at the Citadel just after the fall of the Jefferson Memorial, but he did not recall it to be that difficult. He noted somewhere in his mind to never make fun of Sarah again and he found himself envying the Super Mutants and the Herculean strength given by their mutation.
"Go get a shower. Meeting at the briefing room in ten mike" Sarah said, grabbing a towel and throwing it at him.
About ten minutes later, Damian had put on his Ranger armor, which seemed to weigh a ton. He found Sarah in the middle of a discussion with Vargas, Rothchild and Elder Lyons.
"Good you're here," smiled Rothchild. "Paladin Vargas managed to download a file with the location of all Vault-Tec fallout shelters on an holotape.
"That's going to tell us where Vault 87 is?" Damian asked.
"It did when we found it, yes," Vargas replied. "Now we just have to hope that the trouble we went to will be worth it."
"Thank you, Paladin," said Lyons. "You may go and rest now. I want your full report on the mission in the morning."
"Aye, aye, sir." Vargas replied before he left.
"If you'll come with me," said Rothchild.
The scribe headed into one of the corridors of the Citadel, followed by Damian, Lyons and his daughter. They arrived at a large laboratory, the doors of which were guarded by several soldiers. The walls were strewn with computers and electronic machines. In the center, a large white curtain seemed to hide something, connected to power cables. Damian lingered for a few seconds on the many scribes working around the place and saw Doctor Li and the other survivors of Project Purity who seemed to be overseeing the strange operation in progress and whatever was under that curtain.
Rothchild stopped in front of a large map on a wall. In the lower left corner, Damian could read that it was a map of Washington D.C. and its surroundings. Several points of interest were indicated, such as the Citadel, the Mall and Galaxy News Radio outposts, Megaton, and Rivet City. Damian also noted the location of the Jefferson Memorial and Vault 101 and other points in the ruins of D.C. that were unknown to him.
"Well, let's see if the efforts of Paladin Vargas and his men will pay off.
The scribe inserted a small holotpae into a slot in the wall next to the card. The icons on the card faded away for a few seconds before reappearing. Four more icons had just been added to the existing ones. On both axes of the map, two small metal rods began to move. At their intersection, a metal circle, allowing to highlight a precise point of the map, and a small transparent screen where geographical coordinates were displayed.
Rothchild approached a small keyboard and wrote a few seconds on it. The map locator slid to each of the new points. The icons took the form of a gear, which Damian recognized as the door of a Vault. Below each icon, a number was displayed each time the locator passed close by and faded as the locator moved away.
Damian noted that the location of Vault 112 was not shown on the map and he was internally pleased to know that Braun would continue to rot alone without anyone knowing. In the end, leaving aside Braun's Personal Vault, Vault-Tec had built five Vault in the Capital Wasteland. Vault 101, next to Megaton, Vault 108, south of a place called Canterbury Commons, Vault 92 in a small ruined town North of the Wasteland, Vault 106, northwest of Vault 101, and finally, Vault 87, far to the West.
"No really a close walk," Damian commented as he slid his gaze between the Citadel and Vault 87.
"It's going to take us several hours or even a whole day to get there," added Sarah.
"Indeed, but you won't be part of the journey Sarah. I need you for another equally important mission," Lyons intervened.
"If I don't go with Franklin, who will?" Sarah asked, visibly disappointed.
"Star Paladin Cross will go with him, as well as a Knight I leave it to you to choose," replied the young woman's father. "Reginald, do you think you can free one of your scribes to go with them?"
"Certainly," replied Rothchild. "I will let you know when I have chosen a suitable candidate."
An hour later, a small group consisting of Damian, Star Paladin Cross, Dogmeat, a Knight named Berry and a young scribe named Hood left the Citadel in the direction of Vault 87. Only Cross had chosen to wear her heavy power armor, the other members of the Brotherhood having opted for more discreet and comfortable clothes.
The most direct route would take them past a place called Fort Bannister. While he talked with Berry, Damian learned that it was an old military facility. The base had been a direct target of nuclear bombing during the Great War, but according to Berry, the area had, strangely, little or no radiation and the Talon Company had made it its headquarters. Having to pass in front of the door of those hired to kill him did not please Damian very much but he did not have much choice.
On the way, they passed near Megaton and Vault 101. Damian felt his heart grow tight at the thought that his home was only a few yards away from him, but that it was impossible for him to get there. He took comfort in the thought that once the purifier was back in the hands of the Brotherhood, the Enclave would soon fall, and he could return home. He noticed that they were taking the same route he had taken to get to Vault 112. The fact that Vault 87 and its G.E.C.K. were not far away from it made Damian sigh sadly. Without knowing it, he had found himself within easy reach of the missing piece of Project Purity. He wondered how his father would have reacted if he had known that the key to his life's work was so close.
Along the way, Damian had spoken at length with Cross. He had learned that it was she who had escorted him and James from the Citadel to Megaton and then to Vault 101. The Star Paladin held James in high esteem and praised him highly. When Damian told him that he had been very angry at his father for lying to him all these years, he felt Cross's inquisitive look on him, but she was pleased to hear that Damian had decided to help him work on Project Purity.
After several hours of walking, without encountering anything but a few foul-looking stray dogs, they arrived in sight of Fort Bannister. The old buildings of the Fort were nothing but a pile of concrete rubbles and the large, twisted radio tower was threatening to collapse at any moment.
Situated slightly higher up, the Fort was always surrounded by a wire fenced enclosure. The surrounding landscape was dotted with craters of varying width and depth. The road leading to the Fort was exceptionally deserted, unlike the many rows of vehicle wrecks that were usually found. On the other side of the fence, Damian could see fortifications, as well as small human figures.
"From here you shouldn't be bothered," said Cross, putting away a pair of binoculars. "If we go slightly around that way, we should avoid being spotted."
They climbed a hill and skirted a rock formation, always keeping an eye on the ruins of the Fort. When they were sure the Talon Company sentries could no longer see them, they went back down the road.
They kept moving forward and the sky above their heads was getting darker and darker. Suddenly Cross motioned for them to stop and climb a hill. When they reached the top, Damian glanced over a small rock. A group of about ten Super Mutants was passing by. The monsters were chatting among themselves with their guttural voices. By discussion, it was to be understood, a torrent of grunting and screaming. They passed Damian and the others and headed towards a small forest of dead trees a little further on.
"I've never seen so many uglies outside of downtown D.C.," Berry said as he lowered his rifle.
"What are they doing here?" Hood asked nervously.
"I don't know, but nothing good anyway," replied the Knight.
The young scribe could hardly hide her apprehension. Damian couldn't help feeling sympathy for her. Not much older than him, the young woman, long brown hair, pale skin, a mole above the lip and small emerald green eyes shining with intelligence, was a perfect reflection of Damian when he came out of Vault 101. Accustomed to the security of the Citadel and its piles of archives and technical documents, diagrams and manuals, she wasn't cut out for the Wastes, but Rothchild had chosen her for her quick-wittedness and because she was the one who had deciphered the Vault-Tec terminal and she had also accompanied Vargas' team in Vernon Square.
Quite the opposite of the Knight Berry, a thin-looking man with a slightly tanned complexion and very short black hair, but whom Damian knew to be a formidable fighter just by looking into his eyes.
Hood almost stuck to Berry, who seemed not to care. The young scribe had questioned Damian at great length about his life in the Vault, how it worked and how the Vault was still active. Now that they were not far from Vault 87 and had just crossed paths with this large group of Super Mutants, the young woman was finding it increasingly difficult to erase the mask of discomfort and fear that was settling on her face.
"Relax," Knight Berry smiled. "With me and the Star Paladin Cross, you're safe. Besides, I've heard that our Lone Wanderer here, is also good at killing muties."
Hood nodded nervously and smiled. Damian noticed that she tightened her hands more firmly on the handle of her laser gun.
"Let's go," said Cross as she walked down to the road.
A hundred meters separated them from the entrance to Vault 87, located in a cave behind a wooden screen door. The coordinates recovered by Vargas and the Troop clearly indicated this location. A plain, bordered by rocky hills and dotted with small dry bushes. On the plain, large pieces of metal and steel beams ending in a spike were planted in the ground. Patrolling around the entrance were three Super Mutants, equipped with studded sticks or hunting rifles.
"Great, more uglies," hissed Berry. "What the hell are they doing here?"
With no one to answer him, he sighed and glanced at Cross. Crouching with the others behind a rock overlooking the plain, she looked at the Super Mutants for a moment before turning to Berry and nodding. The Knight aimed up his rifle, adjusted the laser power and fired three successive shots. The mutants hit the ground almost simultaneously, all of them hit in the heart. Berry lowered his rifle and after making sure that no other mutants would appear, they leaved their hiding place.
Damian stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed Berry by the arm.
"Something wrong?"
Damian pointed his Pip-Boy at him. The pointer on the Geiger counter was slowly oscillating. He took a few steps forward and the crackling intensified with each step. Damian jumped backwards. Moira's experience with the bucket of irradiated water may have made him more resistant to radiation, but he wasn't crazy enough to check it out.
Hood reached into her bag and grabbed another Geiger counter. The dial with the pointer was mounted on a small grey case and was connected to a long retractable telescopic rod. The young scribe unfolded the telescopic arm and reached as far forward as she could before she extended it. The pointer jumped directly to the highest value and the ticking of the device changed to a long, high-pitched crackle.
"It's unbelievable!" said Hood. "We're at over 3,000 rads per second!"
"What do you think is causing it?" asked Berry.
"I... I don't know," said the young scribe as she grabbed back the rod and cleaned it. "The area doesn't look like it was hit directly during the Great War and I don't see any radioactive material or waste that would explain it."
"Let's get out of here before we all get sick," said Damian.
They returned to the rocky hill. Berry set up his rifle and began to look around.
"I've never seen radiation levels so high. If we ever try to go through there, we're going to fry for sure," said Hood.
"But we got to get into that Vault one way or another," Damian said.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," said the young scribe in a defeatist tone. "Even if we give all the Rad-X we have to one person, that person will die before reaching the door, and even if they do, the level of radioactivity will probably be just as high on the other side.
Damian swore and rubbed his jaw with his hand. He was trying to think of a way in, but none came to mind. Whether or not there was a G.E.C.K. inside Vault 87, there was no way to reach it.
"What if we give all the RadAway and Rad-X we have to Star Paladin?" Berry suggested. "With the lead coating on her power armor, she could make it."
"I can try," Cross replied, starting to pull the yellowish liquid pouches out of her belt pockets.
"No," replied Hood, shaking her head. "Even with that, the level of radioactivity is far too high."
"Damn it," Damian hissed between his teeth.
They remained silent for a few seconds, until Hood spoke again.
"Wait a minute," she mumbled.
"What? Berry and Damian said at the same time.
The young scribe searched frantically through her bag. Cross, Damian and Berry exchanged incomprehensible glances and stared at the young woman.
"Perhaps... Yes, it's possible... Within those parameters, then...," mumbled the young scribe to herself.
"Hum, Alice?" said Berry.
"Scribe Hood, care to share your idea with us?" Cross asked.
The young woman jumped out of her thoughts and realized that Damian, Cross and Berry were staring at her with a frown.
"Er... Yes, sorry. My apologies, Star Paladin."
She grabbed a piece of paper and she unfolded it and turned it over several time before putting it on the floor. It was a map. It had the same information as the tactical map of the Citadel.
Hood had placed her finger on a point just beside the annotation marking the entrance to Vault 87.
"Vault 87 is here," explained the young scribe. "And right there is a set of caves converted into a tourist attraction before the Great War."
"How will this help us?" Berry skeptically. "And how do you know that?"
"I saw a flyer about the caves in the library the other day and while we walked here, we passed a billboard that mentioned them."
She straightened up and pointed southeast. Cross grabbed her binoculars and observed the direction Hood was pointing.
"You think that since Vault 87 is nearby, it's possible to get to it through the caves, right?" asked Damian, who was beginning to get his hopes up.
"Yes."
Hood turned to Star Paladin Cross as she finished packing up her binoculars.
"It's worth a try," she said. "But stay on your guard, we don't know what might be lurking in those caves."
Damian, Hood and Berry nodded. They left their positions and headed for the caves.
Hope you enjoyed.
Hood and Berry are characters I created. As I already said in one of the notes of a previous chapter, I always found strange for the Brotherhood to ask the LW to do everything on its own. Sure you have companions to back you up, but come on...
Anyway, thanks for reading and until next time (not in 3 days I promise)
