Chapter Specific Characters: Gage Reeves, Skye, Daisy, Shank, Tabs, Mags & William Black, Nisha, minor background characters
There was a long pause from the other side of the radio and Gage came over, standing beside Ash and raising an eyebrow at him. Ash shrugged with a mischievous grin and finally the voice on the other side spoke up. "It's a serious transgression to use this frequency for anything other than serious Brotherhood business, soldier." They said firmly, making Ash snicker. "Do you find something funny, soldier?"
"Just the fact that you think I care what this frequency is supposed to be used for." Ash informed, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other at the knee as he decided to have some fun.
There was some indignant spluttering on the other end before the person behind the voice managed to pull themself together. "I want to speak to your superior officer this instant. That's an order, soldier!"
"Sure, sure, just a sec." Ash replied, shifting the receiver around a bit before holding it still again. "Oh wait, I'm my own superior officer! Silly me. What did you need?"
"That does it, solider, I'll have-"
"Oh, and I'm not a soldier." Ash interrupted, glancing over as Gage pulled up a chair. "There haven't been any soldiers here in about a year."
"What-what do you mean? This is frequency Arx Ferrum Four Seven, a-"
"Yeah, I'm aware this is a Brotherhood frequency." Ash interrupted again, hoping he was annoying the soldier he was talking to. "But there's no soldiers here. See, they're all dead." There was a long pause before a different, stronger voice came on.
"This is Sentinel Frost, Brotherhood of Steel. Who am I currently speaking to?"
"Overboss Ash, Nuka-World Raiders." Ash responded, smacking Gage's arm when he snorted and raised an amused eyebrow at him. It was covered by the woman on the other end having a similar reaction at least verbally.
"Well, Overboss, I currently have an entire army that's been waiting impatiently for a year now to hear how the Commonwealth mission is going." Frost said, putting a decidedly sarcastic emphasis on Ash's title. "It'd be a real shame if I had to tell them that because some asshole somehow cut into a Brotherhood frequency they're gonna have to wait until I can march all their asses out there so they can see for themselves."
"Yes, I imagine that would make them quite grouchy." Ash replied calmly, a grin that didn't match his tone playing his face. "Which I imagine would be bad news for the asshole on your frequency once they found him." Some of his amusement had bled into his voice and his grin only got wider. "Unless of course that asshole was just dying for the opportunity to take on as many Brotherhood soldiers as you dare to throw at him." He added, bristling slightly when Frost laughed mockingly at him.
"Do you really think one raider, hell, do you really think even a group of raiders stand a chance against the entire West Coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel?" Frost asked, sounding very much like she believed that Ash was entirely full of shit.
"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." Ash replied, his voice casual again. "I think two raiders and an army of synths stand more than a chance against your army of tin cans."
There was a pause and then Frost sounded closer like she was now holding the receiver close. "Synths as in synthetic humans?"
"Those would be the ones, yes." Ash replied, watching Gage get up and come back with a bottle of alcohol from the fridge and two glasses. He took his cup when Gage offered it to him and took a sip.
"Alright, Overboss, you've been awful indulgent so far, so why don't you enlighten me as to how a raider is currently in possession of an army of synths?" Frost asked, tone suspicious now.
"Oh, did I forget to mention I'm also the acting Director of the Institute?" Ash asked, his tone light, bordering playful as his leg swayed a bit. "Silly me. I have so many titles now, it's hard to keep them straight sometimes." He said, ignoring the way Gage shook his head and mouthed something probably disparaging.
There was another pause and then Frost sighed like she was dealing with a difficult child, which definitely rubbed Ash in all the wrong ways. "Alright. I don't know if you're high or just delusional, but you have three days to return this frequency to the Brotherhood of Steel. If I don't hear from Elder Maxson by then, my forces will march on the Commonwealth and after confirming that the Prydwen is still under Brotherhood control, we'll go raider-hunting until we find you."
"Ooh, fun." Ash replied, still grinning despite the bit of annoyance he was feeling at Frost's general personality. "See you all in three days, then." He then flicked off the radio and cracked his knuckles, not particularly caring that only about three knuckles actually cracked. "Looks like we're going to war."
"Yeah, I figured it was just about inevitable once you got your hands on this blimp." Gage said, sipping his drink and looking at Ash. "Also, ya really only got two titles and you don't even use one of 'em."
"Shut up, I was having a moment." Ash pouted, swatting Gage's arm and standing from his chair. "Now, we have three days to prepare and then the Brotherhood has to get here, so that'll probably take even more time. I think that's plenty of time to prepare."
"Should be." Gage muttered, standing as well and setting his drink aside.
When Gage didn't add anything to that and seemed to zone out, Ash frowned. "Gage? Are you mad at me?" He asked, tilting his head a little when Gage focused on him and shook his head before looking away.
"Not so long as you don't try to make me stay behind." He replied, looking thoughtful.
"Of course not!" Ash said, shaking his head like the thought was absurd. "I wouldn't dream of going to war without my hubby by my side. I mean, what was even the point of letting you get blessed if I don't ever get to use my new powers around you?"
"I mean, bein' immune to rads has plenty of practical uses outside of war, but-" Gage started, trailing off with a small smile as Ash rolled his eyes at him.
"Yes, okay, lots of boring real-world reasons, but also the one big, fun one." Ash replied, tapping his foot on the floor a bit as he looked around the room. "Think a conference table would fit in the cockpit? I don't think it'll fit in here."
"What do we need a conference table for?" Gage asked, frowning but also looking amused.
"I wanna get Skye in and talk about tactics. I think the three of us'll be able to figure out the best way to wipe the Brotherhood out quickly and brutally." Ash replied, leaving their room and heading over to the ladder that would take him down to the cockpit. "You have practical knowledge, Skye has technical knowledge, and I'm just really good at killing things. Together, we'll have a kickass strategy banged out in no time."
Snorting softly and following Ash down into the cockpit, Gage nodded. "Yeah, I think a conference table'll fit in here just fine."
About an hour and a half later, Ash, Gage, and Skye were all standing around a large table in the cockpit that had a map of post-war America on it. Skye was on one end studying the map and Ash and Gage were on the other, Ash with a marker and Gage with a pensive frown. They hadn't been at this long, but they hadn't really come up with anything all three of them could agree was a solid plan yet.
Skye had suggested simply relaying an army of synths into Brotherhood territory and wiping them out in an ambush, Gage had been unsurprisingly on board with that one, but Ash refused to let his synths have all the fun. Gage had suggested a different ambush approach in which they waited for the Brotherhood to arrive and then relayed the army, and themselves, in. Skye had been surprisingly supportive of that one, but Ash didn't like the idea of letting the Brotherhood get so far into his terf. Ash was aware he was the main problem with both of those, but that's why they were all there.
"So if we ain't gonna go to them and we ain't gonna let 'em come to us-" Gage started, his frown only growing more pronounced.
"I never said I didn't like the idea of going to them, I'm just not letting the synths have all the fun." Ash interrupted, glancing at Gage before returning his attention to the map. "And the only thing wrong with your sit and wait approach is that I don't want those fuckers anywhere near my settlements."
"If I could make a suggestion?" Skye cut in, also looking over the map.
"That's what you're here for." Ash said, raising an eyebrow at Skye.
"The synths are immune to radiation as you and Mr. Reeves are." They started, pointing at one spot on the map up near the Canadian border. "The Great Lakes are highly radioactive. If we met the Brotherhood of Steel near the Great Lakes, it would give you an unlimited source of radiation to utilize and keep them away from your settlements."
"That's a good idea." Ash hummed, circling the lakes with his marker and drawing a quick radioactive symbol near them.
"We don't know for sure the Brotherhood'll pass close enough to the Great Lakes for that to work out." Gage interjected, also looking the map over. "The Capital Wasteland is up here, but we're over here. Goin' straight across like that probably wouldn't be the most efficient path." He said, pointing out the locations on the map and dragging his finger across to illustrate his point as he spoke.
Skye hummed and Ash chewed on his bottom lip a bit. "Do we know if there are any notable occupations that might keep the Brotherhood from taking anything but a straight path?"
"According to my most recent intel, no." Skye admitted, looking down at the map again. The room was quiet for a bit before Ash spoke up again.
"What about flying to the Citadel instead of relaying?" He asked, tapping his marker on the table. "Could Armageddon get us to the Capital Wasteland in three days?"
Pausing, Skye straightened up a bit and took a moment to think before nodding slowly. "I believe so." They answered, looking to Ash. "In fact, if my calculations are correct, it should only take us two days."
"How quickly will that team you sent for those nukes be back?" Ash asked, ceasing his tapping when Gage placed a hand over his own.
Looking down at their wrist device, Skye poked around a bit before looking to Ash again. "The team is relaying the bombs into the bays as we speak. They'll be finished within the hour."
"Bet we could squeeze in a quick stop over the lakes for you to fuel up on the way over there." Gage added, looking over at Ash and shrugging at the surprised look he was giving him. "I'm still not alright with you bein' a walkin' nuke now, but you don't gotta detonate. You said you could use the powers some other way."
Smiling brightly, Ash looked back down at the map. "So, we'll take one of the vertibirds with us. We'll go from here to the Great Lakes, I'll fly down on the vertibird and fuel up with as much rads as I can hold, and then we'll get back on course to the Capital Wastes. Once we're there, me and Gage'll head down in the vertibird, I'll shower the battlefield in radiation, and then the synths can come down and help us pick off whoever doesn't die quick enough." He looked up, looking between Gage and Skye. "Sound like a solid plan?"
"Affirmative." Skye said, giving a firm nod and taking Ash's marker to dot the path they'd be taking so they could get the route to the pilot.
"Solid as it's gonna get." Gage agreed, smiling at Ash. "Can't believe we're goin' to war with the Brotherhood."
"I know right?" Ash said excitedly, practically bouncing on his heels. "I'm finally gonna get to beat my record for most deaths in a day."
Snorting, Gage shook his head and wrapped an arm around Ash's shoulders. "Not what I meant, but yeah, that too." He conceded, smiling at how excited Ash was. Then he frowned again, suddenly thinking of something. "Hey, uh, how do we know the Brotherhood won't shoot us outta the sky when they see us comin'?" He asked, looking over with a raised eyebrow when Skye scoffed. They very nearly looked insulted.
"Armageddon is technologically superior to its predecessor in every way. Whatever the Brotherhood may have in the way of anti-aircraft weaponry, Armageddon can handle it." They said, sounding quite sure of themself.
"Well, that's good enough for me." Ash declared as Skye and Gage stared eachother down. "Inform me once the synths are finished loading the bombs. Dismissed." Skye broke eye-contact with Gage to nod once at Ash and left the room.
"Is it insensitive to call them a dick?" Gage asked once Skye was gone.
"Probably, but you're not wrong, so who cares?" Ash responded, getting a smile out of Gage and smiling back. "We'll need to pack for the trip. I also need to get that small army of synths that I mentioned ready to go."
Adjusting his hold on Ash so he could use the Pip-Boy, Gage watched over his shoulder as Ash typed in commands, paying attention to which tabs he went to and how the command was put in just in case he ever had to give the synths an order for some reason. It looked simple enough but Ash had a way of making tech-related things look simple. Gage had seen him hack terminals before, after all, and it hardly ever took him longer than a couple of minutes where Gage had never been able to wrap his head around it. Then again, he'd set up a relay correctly after only ever watching Ash do it, so maybe putting in commands was as simple as it looked.
Speaking of relays, Ash triggered the one he'd just set up and both men found themselves inside Sanctum. "Think I should tell the gang leaders what I'm doing?" Ash asked, craning his neck back to look up at Gage.
Humming a bit in thought, Gage nodded. "Probably. Just in case. We do have some time to kill, after all." He replied, stretching a bit so he could kiss Ash on the forehead. "We should probably eat soon too. It's gettin' kinda late."
Giggling softly and nodding, Ash straightened up and started up the stairs to their room. "Alright. We'll eat while we get packed up, then we'll grab Daisy so she can come with us, and we'll go let the gang leaders know what we're up to."
"Sounds like a plan, boss." Gage said, following Ash up the stairs and getting a duffle bag and his pack loaded up with supplies for the trip. Ash also used a duffle bag in addition to his pack even though Gage was almost entirely sure anything Ash wanted to bring would fit in his pack. He still wasn't sure if it was magical or some sort of science he'd never understand, all Gage knew for sure was that that stupid pack was bottomless.
"Hey, Gage?" Ash suddenly called between cramming down mouthfuls of his unsatisfying savory dinner and stuffing clothes into his duffle bag. "I think it's fair to say I own this corner of the Wasteland, right?"
"I think anyone who disagrees might end up eatin' lead, so yeah, pretty fair." Gage replied, looking over at Ash. "Why?"
"What do you think about expanding to the Capital Wasteland? I mean, we're heading over there anyway and once we take out the Brotherhood, the whole area will be unoccupied." Ash said, pausing in his stuffing as he rambled and quickly choking down the last of his food. "I bet there's a ton of trade routes we could profit from if we could just get a foothold and get enough raiders over there to keep it." When Gage didn't reply right away, Ash looked over and raised an eyebrow at the look Gage was giving him.
"Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?" Gage asked, looking at Ash adoringly. While Gage wasn't into the whole mass-murdering part of Ash's plan, which wasn't to say murder wasn't fun and didn't have its own charm, just that mass-murder was really more Ash's thing, he was most definitely into the hostile take-over part. For all Gage had always thought of himself as fairly ambitious, Ash had him beaten in the ambition category and that was definitely one of Gage's favorite things about him.
Smiling broadly, Ash looked away and kept packing his clothes. "Yeah, I thought you'd like that plan." He said happily, zipping up his duffle bag and setting it down with his pack. "Maybe once we get ahold of the Capital, we could work on establishing a route from Nuka-World to the Citadel." Ash hummed, mulling the idea over even as he shared it. "Take a little piece of each territory we pass through until we have the route secured and then work our way outwards until we have the whole American Wasteland under our thumbs." He laughed a little and turned to look at Gage. "I mean-" Ash was interrupted as Gage suddenly cupped his face with both hands and kissed him hard.
After a brief moment of being stunned by the sudden kiss, Ash kissed Gage back, his smaller hands coming up to cup Gage's. When Gage pulled away, he shook his head at Ash, smirking down at him. "We ain't even won the war against the Brotherhood yet and you're already settin' your sights on the rest of the Wasteland." He muttered, more in love than he knew how to properly express.
"I mean, who's gonna stop us?" Ash asked, finishing his thought from earlier as he smiled dazedly at Gage. "I've been looking at the reports of new recruits to the gangs and our numbers are only growing. We were probably gonna need to expand again soon anyway."
"Hell, I'm sold." Gage said, pulling Ash close by the waist. "I never thought I'd say this, but let's take over the Wasteland."
Grinning broadly, Ash looped his arms around Gage's neck and pulled him down for another kiss. Before things could get any further than that, both men got back to work, Gage focusing on his meal while Ash packed for him. Once they were both done, Ash lured Daisy to the room with radstag heart and Gage helped him wrangle her into her harness. She was big now, but she was still young and still behaved like it, her enthusiasm for getting harnessed for a walk off the charts. Still, once she had the harness on, she calmed down and became fairly manageable for said walk. As young and enthusiastic as Daisy was, she was still well-trained enough to know to behave once the harness was on.
While Gage slid on the metal glove that allowed him to handle Daisy without getting his arm ripped off now that she was bigger and much stronger than him, Ash piled up their bags together and connected them all with a metal relay bracelet. He set the bracelet to take the bags to Armageddon and then took Gage's hand so they could go to Nuka-World. Shank had finally become desensitized enough to Ash and Gage suddenly appearing that he didn't do more than glance up as they appeared. He nodded in greeting but straightened up and came a step closer when Ash approached.
"Something up, boss?" Shank asked lowly, raising an eyebrow at Ash.
"I need you to gather as much information as possible about the trade routes from here to the Citadel in the Capital Wasteland." Ash replied, grinning at the naked surprise and confusion that instantly took over Shank's cool facade.
"Sure, sure." Shank said, getting control of his features quickly. "What for?"
As much as he knew Shank shouldn't question him and that he himself didn't have any obligation to tell him, Ash had been hoping he'd ask that. "I'm going to war with the West Coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel and taking the Citadel for Nuka-World. After that, I'll be taking over enough turf to establish a safe route for our traders." He explained, grinning as the surprise returned to Shank's face. "I need you to get me information on the already established routes so I can decide which bits of turf I'll need to take first. Of course you'll be paid handsomely for whatever information you can dig up."
"Right." Shank breathed, an uncharacteristic grin splitting his face. He glanced at Gage and laughed softly at whatever reaction he got before returning his attention to Ash. "I'll start digging right away and have it all ready by the time you get back."
Nodding once, Ash left with Gage, grinning at Gage once they got a fair distance away. "What was that little exchange over my shoulder?" He asked, raising a curious eyebrow at his husband.
"I mighta been braggin' a little." Gage replied, smirking at Ash. "We're more powerful than we ever dreamed under you and we're only gettin' stronger." Reaching out, Gage wrapped an arm around Ash's waist and pulled him just shy of close enough to mess up his walking momentum. "And you're all mine."
"You got all that across in the time it took for him to glance over at you?" Ash asked, a laugh in his voice and a hand sliding into one of the back pockets of Gage's jeans.
"He was already thinkin' all that, I just had to bounce my eyebrows at him to get across the braggin' bit." Gage replied, smiling when Ash laughed and shook his head.
"You're lucky I'm into that whole possessive thing you have going on." Ash said, looking around happily as they made their way into the Zoo. It was even prettier inside the Zoo now that Nuka-World's main power was up and running. Now that the Pack didn't have to worry about power-consumption restrictions, they'd gone truly overboard with colorful, twinkling fairy lights. It made the smell of animal droppings and the general odour that tended to linger around Pack members specifically much more bearable.
"Boss!" Tabs shouted, getting off her throne as Ash approached and gravitating towards Daisy. Daisy recognized Tabs and perked up instantly, really hamming up what she knew got her the most attention and happily eating the strips of jerky her antics earned her. "Somethin' I can do for you?"
"Not exactly." Ash replied, smiling at Daisy as she happily rubbed herself against Tabs in an affectionate gesture that she'd learned from Nubs. "I'm planning on expanding to the Capital Wasteland, so I need you to get together at most fifty of your people to ship over for when I establish our main Capital outpost." He explained, smile morphing into a grin as Tabs' eyes widened, getting jerked out of her surprise as Daisy trilled impatiently at the piece of jerky Tabs had been about to give her. "You can assign a secondary Alpha for the new outpost or try to keep control remotely. Whatever works for you."
"Wow." Tabs said, rubbing Daisy's head affectionately as she chewed on her treat. "How long do I have to get everything together?"
"A week at least. Probably more than that, though, I'm not really sure." Ash replied, waving his hand dismissively at Tabs. "Don't worry about it. I won't be moving everyone into the new outpost until every gang is ready. You'll have plenty of time."
Nodding, Tabs laughed, sounding surprised and pleased. "Alright, sure thing." She said, grinning at Ash. "Hell of a step forward."
"The new Capital outpost isn't even the half of it." Ash replied cryptically, grinning at Tabs and turning to leave.
"Oh, what!?" Tabs shouted as Ash and Gage started leaving. "No! You can't just-!" Groaning loudly as Ash just kept walking, Tabs huffed out a grudging laugh. "Fine! See you around, boss!" Tabs simply got a wave over Ash's shoulder and she laughed again, shaking her head at the Overboss' theatrical secrecy. Dick.
Next up were the Operators. Mags and William were playing cards with a few of the other Operators when Ash and Gage came in and Daisy went for one of the randos instead of William this time. They started when she bumped her horned head against their hip but calmed down quickly and took the rare opportunity to pet a deathclaw as Ash pulled Mags' and William's attention, effectively pausing their game as they left the table.
"To what do we owe the pleasure, Overboss?" Mags asked pleasantly, glancing over as the whole table took the sudden break as an opportunity to pet the friendly deathclaw. Gage was watching over the interaction carefully for any signs that Daisy might be getting overwhelmed, but she was just happily hamming it up and enjoying the attention.
"We're expanding our operation into the Capital Wasteland, so I need you to get together at most fifty of your people to ship over for when I establish our main Capital outpost." Ash informed, smiling a bit when Mags grinned, looking quite pleased at this news. "It's up to you if you wanna assign someone to be in charge at the new outpost or if you wanna try to lead remotely."
Mags and William shared a look and then looked at Ash again, both of them now looking quite pleased. "I think I have someone in mind for that." She replied, sounding excited though keeping up her quiet, posh voice. "If you don't mind my asking, what brought this on?" She asked, sounding sincerely interested.
Shrugging, Ash decided to keep up the unnecessary mystery he had going on. "Let's just say we stand to make alot of caps from this and leave my reasoning at that." He replied cryptically, managing to keep from smiling too much when Mags narrowed her eyes just a bit and hummed.
"Very well." She replied, giving Ash a nod. "Caps are as good as reason as any."
"Probably the best reason, anyway." William agreed, eyeing Ash just as curiously as Mags.
Offering the siblings a hum, Ash glanced over to see Daisy getting belly scratches. "Well, as much as I hate to interrupt that, that was all I had." He informed, looking back at Mags and William. They both gave him a nod and a polite goodbye and Ash collected Gage and Daisy, heading for the Disciples next. Daisy was practically bouncing along, clearly very pleased from all the attention she'd just gotten from the Operators. Ash laughed softly at how happy she was and opened the door to Fizztop.
Coughing once as the smell hit him, Ash looked around and walked over to the little shack where he'd met with Nisha the last time. Gage had a similar reaction, but Daisy perked up, likely smelling food where the two humans only smelled rot. Gage heard Ash sigh from where he was waiting near the entrance and chuckled softly when Ash walked over to the ramps with his shoulders slumped.
"Up the fuckin' ramps, then." Ash muttered as he passed Gage, shooting him a glare when Gage chuckled again. "Shut up, you'd be sad if I stopped wearing the heels." Gage pursed his lips as he thought it over briefly and then nodded, making Ash smile. "Come on." Ash said, making his way up the ramps as fast as he could without risking breaking his ankles or the heels of his boots. They arrived at the top of the ramps eventually and Ash located Nisha, relaxing in the shack without her boy-toy or Dixie.
"Ah, Overboss." Nisha greeted, ceasing in picking at her nails with her knife. "Dixie's out."
"I was looking for you, actually." Ash replied, raising an eyebrow at Nisha. "I'll be expanding into the Capital Wasteland soon, so I need you to get together at most fifty of your gals to ship over for when I establish our main Capital outpost." He explained, realizing when he heard noisy crunching outside that Gage was outside the shack with Daisy. "How you wanna handle the leadership is up to you. Assign someone or try to do it remote, I don't care either way."
Humming in interest, Nisha nodded. "You know, you surprise me. I was wrong about you."
Blinking once in surprise, Ash smiled in confused amusement. "Do I wanna know what you thought of me before?" He asked uncertainly, standing his ground even as Nisha stood and walked right up to him. He may or may not have been needing to repeat "I'm a married man" to himself in his head as he tried not to have any inappropriate thoughts about the dangerous woman invading his personal bubble.
"You seemed soft." Nisha said, apparently not afraid of getting stabbed, for good reason, Ash realized, deciding he was soft. "I didn't think you'd last as long as you have, figured someone would off you and try to take your place." She carried on, putting a hand on her hip and smirking. "Turns out you were made for this life."
Managing to hide all of his bisexual panic, Ash snorted and shook his head at Nisha. "Well, rude, but I get it, I guess." He replied, getting a soft laugh from Nisha. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about the expansion."
"Right. I'll have my girls ready to go by the time you get back." Nisha guaranteed, brushing past Ash and busting Daisy crunching away on a leg bone outside.
"Daisy likes your decorations." Gage greeted, raising an eyebrow when Nisha smiled.
"She has good taste. Like her dad." She said, glancing back at Ash when he exited the shack and then moving past both men.
"That- that was fuckin' weird." Gage muttered, frowning at Ash.
"Yeah." Ash agreed, shrugging a bit. "I think maybe she finally likes me." He said, a perplexed frown playing his face. "Either that or she's planning my assassination."
Snorting, Gage shook his head. "It took her long enough, either way." He said, shrugging when Ash gaped at him. "I mean, it's been awhile since you took over." He defended, shrugging again. "I ain't sayin' I hope she's tryin' to assassinate you or anythin', just that, if she is, it took her long enough to decide to."
Scoffing softly, Ash walked over and stretched out Gage's Pip-Boy arm. "If she actually assassinates me, I'm going to haunt you." He promised, as he set up a relay.
"Yeah, alright, I deserve that." Gage muttered, frowning even as he accepted Ash's threat. Ash flashed him a playful smile that Gage returned before the younger man triggered the relay back to Sanctum.
It was around one in the morning by then but Ash decided he needed a moment to explain to Nubs and Daisy what he and Gage would be up to despite Gage's halfhearted informing that they didn't understand. He found it cute and smiled the whole time despite his protests. Then they relayed up to Armageddon and made their way to their quarters at the back of the second level of the airship and stripped down before getting into bed. Ash slept in oversized pajama pants that barely managed to stay on his hips and Gage slept in his boxers and nothing else.
It was somewhat difficult for the two men to fall asleep with all the noise inside Armageddon. There was the sound of synths busy at work on various tasks and then the constant dull hum of the engines. The room was dark, though, and the bed was warm and comfortable even though it was unfamiliar, so Ash and Gage fell asleep eventually, Gage going under first and Ash following soon after. The trill of the alarm came several hours later and both men got dressed and moved to the mess hall for breakfast.
After breakfast, Ash suggested they head to the cockpit to watch the Wasteland go by and Gage agreed. It was around three in the afternoon when a greyish blue mist started to form on the horizon, condensing into more of a fog than a mist the closer they got. Then the Pip-Boy on Gage's wrist chimed and he tore his gaze from the window to look down at the device. "That fog is the lakes." He muttered, lowering the Pip-Boy. "It's time for us to board the vertibird."
Nodding, Ash held up a pill to Gage, having retrieved it from his pack when they'd returned to the cockpit from lunch not that long ago. "I know you're supposed to be immune to radiation, but I thought you'd want to be extra sure." He explained, smiling when Gage took the pill and swallowed it dry easily.
"Doesn't hurt to be too sure." Gage said, returning Ash's smile and following him out to the flight deck. They were instantly assaulted by an intense smell coming from the fog they were slowly but surely flying into. Ash hummed lightly at the smell but Gage gagged and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.
"You don't like it?" Ash asked, frowning in confusion when Gage shook his head. "Huh. I think it smells pretty good." He muttered, looking out at the fog. "Why don't you go get your respirator? I'll wait right here."
"You sure you don't want yours?" Gage asked, his voice muffled by his hand. When Ash gave him a nod, Gage hurried back inside and came out a moment later with his respirator firmly in place. He sighed in relief when he breathed in and didn't smell the fog.
Laughing softly, Ash boarded the single vertibird they'd brought and waited for Gage to join him before signaling for the pilot to go. "I guess I like it because I'm Atom's Harbinger or whatever." He said, having to talk louder to be heard over the sound of the vertibird starting up.
"It smells like stale water, radiation, and rotten plants." Gage informed, holding onto Ash's hips like last time as Ash held onto the gatling laser on the door.
"I don't really know what it smells like to me." Ash said, breathing in deeply and humming again. "It sort of smells chemical and it's kinda strong, but- I dunno, I like it." He felt Gage laugh more than he heard it and he glanced back to see Gage looking down at him.
"Well, we're both showerin' once we get outta this whether you like it or not." He said, smiling under his mask when Ash smiled at him.
"Fair." Ash replied, looking back over the fog and catching his first glimpse of the black water of one of the lakes as the vertibird lowered. He wasn't exactly sure if the radiation absorbing thing was automatic or if it was something he had to focus on, but he didn't feel any different as they hovered there above the water. Suddenly Ash got an idea and looked back at Gage again. "Lemme see the Pip-Boy." He said, taking the device from Gage as he snapped it off and clipping it onto himself.
"I thought it couldn't measure your rads anymore." Gage said over the shrill beep that Ash cut off much more quickly than last time.
"It can't, but it can still tell me my temperature." Ash replied, looking down at the Pip-Boy and seeing that his temperature was indeed rising steadily. "Do I feel any warmer to you?" He asked, glancing back at Gage. Gage shook his head, brows furrowed as he watched the counter on the Pip-Boy tick higher and higher. "I don't feel any warmer to me either." Ash said, looking back down at the Pip-Boy and raising an eyebrow as his internal temperature reached one-hundred fifty degrees. It was still climbing.
"Maybe you don't have a cap." Gage suggested, a frown in his voice.
"Maybe." Ash mumbled, trying to focus on how he was feeling. He didn't want to make himself sick or something, after all, so any little change was probably worth noting. Ash felt good though. He felt energized, in fact. Just short of jittery, really. Two-hundred degrees. The number was still climbing. "That's enough, take us back up." Ash shouted over to the pilot, not missing Gage's sigh of relief as they started to ascend out of the fog and back up to Armageddon.
Once they'd reboarded Armageddon, which took quite a bit of careful maneuvering on the pilot's part, Ash and Gage made their way to the communal showers. Their room had a bathroom, but the shower was tiny and Gage wasn't keen on the idea of trailing the smell of the fog into the room they'd be sleeping in for the next two days. It was during that shower that Gage realized he really was spoiled from living in Sanctum. The water pressure on Armageddon was shit compared to Sanctum and he found himself actually noticing. Not minding, necessarily, but definitely noticing.
Luckily, mysteriously appearing clean clothes were as abundant on Armageddon as in Sanctum, so Gage didn't have to go traipsing through the airship in a towel. Ash would've done it naked, his lack of shame something Gage admired about him even when he was shaking his head and scolding him for being shameless. He never meant the scolding seriously, anyway, and Ash knew that. Besides, they both knew Gage liked looking when Ash decided to start stripping or walk around naked.
Now clean and fully clothed, Ash and Gage made their way back to the cockpit to keep watching the Wasteland go by underneath them. A love of heights was something they shared, so when Ash climbed the little railing in front of the windows to sit on the sturdy, reinforced glass, Gage joined him, the two raiders holding hands and simply enjoying the view on the way to slaughter an entire army-worth of people. It would be a bit of time yet before they arrived, so there was plenty of time to do so and both men planned on taking advantage of every moment.
A day and a half of traveling later, Armageddon was nearing the massive fortress that was the Citadel. Ash and Gage were already boarded on the vertibird that was docked but ready to go and suddenly Armageddon's speakers crackled on. Ash grinned and Gage raised an eyebrow at him. "Soldiers of the Brotherhood of Steel!" Came Ash's prerecorded voice, a mocking tone in his voice as he mimicked the speech the Brotherhood had blared over the Commonwealth when they'd arrived so long ago. "Retaliate if you dare! Our intentions are hostile!" There was a long pause in which Ash flashed his grin at Gage, who rolled his eyes and shook his head though Ash could tell he was smiling behind his respirator. "We are- Armageddon!" The speaker crackled off and Ash laughed, turning his attention to the pilot and giving the signal to take off.
The pilot obeyed and the vertibird shook as it dropped from its dock and started to fly them out over the Citadel. This time, instead of being behind Ash, Gage was on one of the gatling lasers, prepared to do some firing into the crowd once he started spotting soldiers. Ash was also on a gun, but his eyes were closed as he focused on a mental image of greyish blue smoke covering the battlefield. The laser fire started up, both from the ground and across from Ash as Gage started returning fire, but he kept his eyes closed, not really sure how to activate his powers but hoping focusing on what he wanted to happen would work.
"I was right about them havin' missiles." Gage grunted, the earpieces he and Ash were wearing allowing Ash to hear him. "Guess I'm gonna have to let Skye tell me they told me so when we get back up to Armageddon, though, cuz they ain't even gettin' close to us. Whoever's usin' the laser up on Armageddon's got great aim." Ash simply smiled, trying to keep on-task until Gage's voice pulled his focus again. "Think you should take a look at this, boss."
Eyes blinking open, Ash looked down and gasped in happiness at the blanket of dense fog hanging over the Citadel. "It worked!" He said happily, hearing Gage's soft chuckle in his ear and finally taking aim with his gatling laser. It was nearly impossible to see anything through the fog, but stray laser beams kept coming up through the haze as the no-doubt panicking Brotherhood soldiers tried to fire at an enemy they couldn't see and that's where Ash and Gage aimed.
Eventually the laser fire died down and Ash switched the frequency on his earpiece. "Lower us." He told the pilot, switching back over to Gage's frequency as the vertibird started moving down. "Ready, love?"
"Ready, darlin'." Gage confirmed, following Ash down into the fog once the vertibird stabilized and the pilot signaled the distance from the ground to be safe. Ash drew Sin Cannon and Gage triggered the relay to call in the synths waiting up on Armageddon before drawing Hellfire. The blue flashes of the relays cut briefly through the fog covering the battlefield and the laser-fire started up again as the remaining Brotherhood soldiers tried to fight despite it being painfully clear they were going to lose.
"Sounds like some of them are still breathing." Ash said, grinning and cocking his shotgun.
"Sure does." Gage agreed, cocking his own gun and following Ash further into the fog. They passed dozens of corpses that had been clearly cooked alive by the rads that had been rained down on the battlefield and Gage was glad he had his respirator on. He couldn't imagine how it all must smell. The chemical smell of radiation mixed with the smell of burnt flesh and hair. It was probably nauseating.
Finding the smell no more nauseating than the smell of rotting corpses, which he was pretty much used to by now, Ash easily carried on without a mask while he hunted down the remaining Brotherhood soldiers. As anticipated, most of those surviving soldiers were in power armor. What was unexpected was that some of the survivors weren't. Apparently some of Atom's chosen had made their way into the Brotherhood of Steel. They died the same as their armored comrades though, a blast from Sin Cannon or a shot from Hellfire spelling their doom in lead. The armored soldiers took a bit more chipping away at to go down, but that was the reason Ash had agreed to let the synths help.
All in all, the war between Armageddon and the entire West Coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was over in a little over an hour. The fog had mostly dissipated with the picked up wind of a coming storm by then, but Ash also absorbed some of it back without really meaning to, replenishing the radiation stores he'd depleted over the Citadel. Once the battlefield was laid bare and illuminated by what sunlight was left peaking through the clouds beginning to blot the sky, Ash could tell this was indeed his largest slaughter yet. There were easily hundreds of corpses on the battlefield. Mostly adults, a few dogs, and even fewer children all dead because their leader picked a fight with the wrong teenager.
Taking a deep breath, Ash let it out slow and grinned calmly. "That was fun." He declared, shooting his grin back at Gage who was just taking off his respirator.
Flashing Ash a grin of his own, Gage nodded and looked around at all the bodies. "Wasn't much of a fight. I'm startin' to think you really might be unstoppable." He said, glancing up at the sky as the first fat drops of rain started to come down.
"Took you long enough." Ash teased, suddenly getting an idea and sticking his tongue out for a raindrop. When one hit his tongue, he cringed on instinct but then he grinned happily. "Yes! Rain tastes good again!" He cheered, spinning around in the quickly worsening storm. He still remembered when he'd caught a raindrop on his tongue after his first encounter with the Brotherhood of Steel and how it had tasted like battery acid and piss. Now rain tasted like rain again.
Laughing softly, Gage shook his head at Ash. He didn't really like being wet, but Ash was having fun dancing around under the rain and after their victory, he couldn't bring himself to get him to go inside. They could get cleaned up and dried off once Ash had his fun. Gage would live until then. If going to war with the fucking Brotherhood of Steel and being around Ash in general hadn't killed him yet, a little rain certainly wasn't going to.