Chapter Nine: Rivet City Blues
Washington DC
November 15 2289
Dark grey clouds formed in the sky and the air smelled rejuvenated, hinting that fresh snow was a possibility over the next three hours. The impending snow storm did little to deter the flutter of activity in Rivet City. Thousands of people were roaming about the various levels of the ships, and dozens of boats and houseboats were moored near the main entrance. At least a dozen people were dismantling the broken bow of the ship for scrap materials, a most profitable venture for anyone in Rivet City. Farms dotted the fertile lands near the river banks, many were in the fields trying to gather the last of this season's crops. They provided a stark contrast to the ruined buildings and old super mutant dens that were only several miles from Rivet City, most of which had been looted and scrapped over the past decade. Brotherhood and Rivet City security teams were loading up Brahmin with water shipments that were the lifeblood for the northern communities of The Republic of Dave and Megaton, as their populations swelled from refugees coming from the north east. In just thirteen years, the Capital Wasteland was once again becoming a beacon of civilization as it had been centuries ago, in the old days.
Anita had seen pictures of the old navy vessels, but seeing the vastness of the vessel in person was astounding. There were thousands of people that roamed about, most of whom paid her little mind. She gathered her tan wool coat around her to keep out the damp chill of the air and glanced at Veronica next to her, who had a large brown hood with yao guai fur lining obscuring most of her head. Neither of them really knew where they were going, but both had a sense of adventure when it came to going to new places. It also helped that there was a vast Brotherhood presence here. Anita had spotted at least four squads roaming around the area near the city entrance. Her understanding was that Rivet City was led by a council, but at least a third of the members were affiliated with the Brotherhood.
"I hate this kind of cold, it gets into your bones" Veronica said in an irritated voice. "I never should have thought that winter was preferable to a summer in the Mojave" she commented.
Anita nodded her head in agreement. No matter how many layers she wore, she still shivered from the damp November air. Not to mention that her nose was wrinkling in disgust at the smell of the fish carcasses that were being cleaned by fishmongers at their market stalls. She and Veronica started to walk up the hardy metal ramp and across the bridge to the main entrance. The entrance to Rivet City was bustling, much to her dismay, she noticed that the main door that led to the stairwell was uncomfortably narrow and there wouldn't be much space between her and strangers. On instinct, she reached down to her waist to make sure her rather measly amount of bottle caps and precious metal scraps were still in the canvas pouch, along with her spare electron packs for her plasma pistol.
Up ahead was the first security checkpoint and was manned by three city guards. The city guards all wore simple black uniforms with the words 'security' painted on in them in bright white letters. Most of them carried 10mm pistols or various assault rifle models that looked custom. One of them, a man that was likely no older than twenty asked them what their business was inside Rivet City. Anita had been told by several other scribes to just tell Rivet City security they were there to meet with the Brotherhood of Steel officials that had an office within the city. She had an understanding that most of the time, no Rivet City guard would refuse a brotherhood member entrance to the city.
They both continued walking and pushed open the door that led straight to the marketplace; Anita had never seen so many merchants in one room together, there must have been at least thirty merchants selling their products here, all clamoring for sales. As she walked through the narrow pathway between each stall, there was one that caught her attention, it had all types of hand-crafted jewelry that was being sold by a woman who appeared to be in her seventies. Anita stopped for a moment to glance and was entranced by the woman's gleaming jewelry and the merchant herself was wearing more jewelry than she had ever seen in her life.
"See something you like?" she asked. "If you can't afford my pieces, I also do palm readings for two bottle caps. When I was young I traveled throughout Appalachia. Retired from it all twenty years ago to start learning the nearly lost art of palm reading" she stated, her voice shaky. "The radiation has touched my mind over the years and has helped me master this art" she claimed.
"I've never heard of it before" Anita told her, although her curiosity was starting to get the best of her. She shrugged and pulled two bottle caps out to give to the woman. "I'm curious about it."
"Give me your hands child" she ordered. Anita held her hands out and the woman turned them over to look at her palms. She looked them over for about a minute and hummed an old song to herself. Veronica had a skeptical look on her face, but didn't say a word.
"Hmm, you're one of those Brotherhood women, those energy weapons always leave burns if you're not wearing gloves. You have water hands, very lovely…" she started to say and continued inspecting the lines on her palms.
"The lines you're looking at, what do they mean?" Anita asked curiously.
"This one right here, this is the head line" she said, pointing at the second line on her palm. Yours is quite wavy; you're not afraid of straying from the path laid out for you. This one is the heart line…you poor thing, yours is fractured. Your life line is strong though…one of the strongest I've seen sweetheart" she said in a quiet, mysterious tone.
"What does a fractured heart line mean?" Anita asked, sounding quite concerned about it, since it obviously concerned the woman.
"Death is no stranger to you child. But don't let the words of an old woman keep you from enjoying your day with your friend here" she said dismissively. "Have a good day ladies" she said as she let go of Anita's hands.
Once they got out of ear shot, Veronica turned to her. "Don't tell me you believed a word she said, she's obviously talking out her ass. Women like her are everywhere in New Vegas, they're all scammers" she whispered skeptically. "I've seen plenty of crazy things in all my years, but nothing to make me believe fortune tellers."
Anita shrugged in response. "I'm not that naïve. Most people are scammers in some regard. Besides, I already know my luck is shit; what she said didn't change my mind about that" she answered dryly.
Following the signs, they both walked towards the church that Anita had heard was catholic, just like her mother. She flashed a brief smile at a blonde young woman that made eye contact with her for just a moment. This part of the ship was less crowded than the marketplace, but it was still crowded enough to set in feelings of claustrophobia. Plus, as they both descended down a few levels, it was becoming hard to ignore the briny smell of humans and untreated river water. She felt relieved when she saw the sign for 'Saint Monica's Church' which was illuminated by an array of mismatching lights.
An elderly man was tending to the altar, along with a man in his thirties. Both wore simple brown robes that were cinched at the waist and worn leather shoes. The younger man looked her way.
"What brings you here to Saint Monica's Church today? Are you travelers, seeking the blessing of Saint Monica herself?" the younger man asked in an excited tone.
I've never heard of a 'Saint Monica' she thought to herself, confused at what type of church it was. Her confusion was evident to the young…priest she thought they were called. Then again, there were likely many saints she had never heard of in her youth.
"Ah, you're both brotherhood; you definitely haven't heard the story of Saint Monica" the young priest said rather presumptuously. "No offense intended ma'am, all are welcome here" he apologized. "Many brotherhood members do not care for the story of Saint Monica in my experience" he rationalized.
Anita glanced at Veronica, who just shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "I would love to hear the story of Saint Monica" she said with a polite smile.
"After the great war that tore this once great nation apart, a ghoul woman gave birth to a miracle—a baby girl that lacked…her parents' affliction. In her youth she became enslaved and gave birth to a boy named Ehren. She endured countless horrors during her sixteen years as a slave; but every night she prayed to God that her baby boy would be safe. When she was able to find him years later, she learned that he had become a slave trader and he soon made her one of his slaves. He tortured her every night, but every night she healed and told him 'I forgive you' every single time. Eventually he learned that the love of his mother was boundless, as was the love of God. That realization led him to repentance and he set his slaves free" the priest explained calmly as he regaled her the gruesome story of Saint Monica.
"Why did he torture his own mother?" Veronica asked uneasily.
"Well, Ehren blamed his mother for the horrors he endured as a child born into a slave gang" he answered.
"I see" Veronica commented, her eyes wide open.
"Saint Monica sounds like a remarkable woman. I could never imagine going through the tribulations that she had throughout her life. Thank you…Priest?" Anita started to say, not sure how to address the young man.
"Acolyte Diego Ma'am" he corrected her.
"Thank you for telling us the story of Saint Monica. I will think of her trials often" Anita said graciously.
"It's always a pleasure meeting people who wish to hear her story. May God light your path in the Capital Wasteland."
Anita felt disappointed that this wasn't a traditional catholic church, yet the story Acolyte Diego told her was fascinating, albeit tragic. She and Veronica were attempting to retrace their steps to get back to the marketplace. It was difficult to navigate the crowded corridors as they all had the same indistinguishable gray metal architecture. Anita thought that they were both heading in the right direction, but then they arrived at a dead end corridor; she wanted to kick herself for not paying attention to the lack thereof of people on an otherwise crowded ship. She turned around and was relieved to see the young blond woman from earlier, she hoped that she was a local that could direct her to the marketplace. The woman's canvas jacket was loose around her slight frame, standing several inches shorter than Anita. The young woman stood tall, and stared at both of them.
"It's not too often that your kind finds themselves all alone in these lonely corridors" she started to say, the tone of her voice sent chills down Anita's back.
She put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Three men came out from behind one of the doorways. They were all nearly Anita's height, yet also bone thin. They all sported various fabric scraps underneath a layer of combat armor. Anita looked at Veronica, who had her hand resting on her pistol.
"Good targets Maya" one of the men said excitedly. He looked at both of them with his brown eyes and pulled his gun out. "See, if you were anyone else, we would be content to just relieve you of all your valuables. Brotherhood though…I would gladly throw your corpses overboard and watch the mire lurkers feast on your flesh!" he exclaimed.
One of the other men paced in a circle around her. "That's too kind of a fate for any brotherhood members. Your people never cared about us slaves in Paradise Falls. I watched them arm our masters" he said bitterly and spat on Anita's feet.
Within a blink, two of the men drew shivs out from underneath their coats. "Fuck the Brotherhood, fuck Maxon, and fuck you two" one of them snarled as he lunged towards Anita and Veronica.
Anita drew out her plasma pistol and held her arm up to deflect his incoming blow that was aiming for her stomach. A loud crack broke through the air as the shiv hit her pistol; she prayed that it would still work. Frantically, she aimed the pistol at his chest and pulled the trigger, hoping for the best. She could feel the immense heat radiating from the pistol, burning her hands but she felt a sick sort of pleasure as the plasma round corroded away at her attacker's flesh. His dying eyes were full of hatred as he groaned from the pain of his flesh and bone melting away.
A white hot pain radiated through her as she felt the shiv point pierce her dangerously close to a lung. Without thinking, she whipped her body around and kicked at the man's knees in an attempt to incapacitate him. The man's knees cracked and he screamed in pain, but took another swipe at her. Veronica was deflecting countless blows from the young woman, who was wielding a rusty combat knife. Anita was thankful that Veronica never left anywhere without her 'powerfist' contraption because Veronica managed to break the rusty blade. The young blonde woman started to cower in the corner without her weapon, as the other man remaining aimed for Veronica's side with his own knife.
Anita's hands were starting to blister from the heat of her gun, but the adrenaline pumping through her encouraged her to ignore the searing pain radiating from both her hands and the puncture wound. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger on her pistol and watched the plasma round start burning her attacker's leg, causing him to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Rivet City Security, stand down!" Anita heard a voice shout from behind her.
Two Rivet City guards drew out their rifles and held them steady at their sides, the safety buttons clearly off. They both assessed the gruesome scene, one of the attackers was taking his last ragged breath and the other man was screaming as his flesh was being eaten away by the residue from the plasma round, the other man backed up against the door with the blonde woman.
"What business does the Brotherhood have on the lower levels of the ship?" one of the guards asked.
"My friend here wanted to go to Saint Monica's Church" Veronica answered. "We took a wrong turn when we left the church and were ambushed by these four" she said.
"Do you two need any medical attention?" one of the guards asked, not caring about any of their attackers.
"I'm…fine" Anita responded, remerging from the mental fog that was starting to form in her brain from the sudden loss in adrenaline. She looked down at her hands, which felt as if they were on fire and were blistering fiercely from her malfunctioning pistol. Suddenly she started to feel the puncture wound on her backside more acutely as she started coughing up blood. The dingy grey hallway around her was spinning. She closed her eyes for just a moment and fell into a puddle of her own blood; sounds of boots and shouting droning in her mind until she heard nothing, then the world fell silent in her head.
Mountains stood tall and mighty in the distance, proving that there was an end to the vast plains of America. Pine trees were coated in snow and deer were gnawing hungrily at the pine branches. Wet snowflakes started streaming down from the sky and accumulated inch by inch, slowly going up to Anita's knees. She saw her goal in the distance, it was obscured by a bright light that reflected off the fresh snow. Exhaustion built up in her body as walking through the snow felt like carrying hundred pound weights around her legs. As time passed, she lost her footing and fell face first into the snow. She felt a foot of snow cave in around her body and felt colder than she had ever felt before. When she built up enough energy to rise out of the snow, she felt a wet warmth around her body. Looking down, the pristine white snow was now crimson red and the sickly smell of iron-rich blood filled her nostrils. Blood was dripping from her hands and back. Suddenly, the winds started howling and in her ears she could hear nothing but screeching that scared the deer away from the trees. A sharp pain radiated throughout her body and everything went black.
The next five days all blended together and Anita may have been in some state of awareness for only a few hours each day before falling back asleep after being injected with Med-X as the pain started seeping in once again. The puncture wound in her back made even sleep hurt her, the only relief she could feel was sleeping on her stomach. One afternoon when she woke up, she was horrified by her new scars on her hands and the soreness that she felt from even moving a finger to grasp the food she was eating. When the doctor came by with a fresh does of Med-X, the relief washed over her instantly and sleep over took her once again.
While Med-X brought her respite from the pain, it did not dull the nightmares. Instead it fed them. After the dream of staining snow, the nightmares that came following nights were all the same. All she could see were the beady alien eyes from the creatures she was ordered to kill. And then screams filled her ears, human and alien alike. When the nightmares ended, the pain set in once more.
One week after the incident in Rivet City, Anita sat up in bed in mid-afternoon. Chilly air was coming in through the cracks in the Citadel walls, which felt incredible upon her slowly healing body. She craned her neck to look to her right and smiled when she saw Chipeta and Joaquin sitting there, both looking happy to see her awake.
"You're alive!" Joaquin said a little too loudly, which made Anita laugh.
"Aren't you two supposed to be learning with the other squires right now?" Anita asked light heartedly, she was happy to see both of them.
"Dad said that we should see you this afternoon. We tried coming here other times, but Dad said no" he informed her.
"You both would have been bored watching me sleep here. Yesterday was the first day I was up for more than three hours. I'm still in a lot of pain" she explained to them. She reached her hand back to run it through her messy hair but stopped half way when she felt the searing pain from her back muscles.
She heard footsteps coming in from the doorway close to her bed. Dread built inside her as she noticed who it was. Maxon. His navy blue robes swished under his reinforced leather coat. Noticing the scowl he wore on his face, she braced herself for some form of reprimand from him (all though it was normal for him to be scowling, she blamed her apprehension on the medicine). Despite her faith in him as a leader, which was strong enough that she was willing to openly declare support for him, she still felt uneasy around him.
"Hey you two, I think it's time for you both to head back to your quarters" she told them both as Maxon walked closer.
Adjusting herself so her back stayed flush with the cold wall she tried to wear an unreadable look on her face. He stood at the foot of her bed and nodded at the medical scribe who quickly walked away to attend to the other patients inside the clinic.
"Scribe McNamara, I'm pleased that you appear to be recovering quickly. Scribe Santangelo and a Rivet City security officer told us about how you got injured. Consider yourself fortunate that stab wound wasn't any deeper, either the infection or blood loss would have killed you back there" he told her in a rather morbid manner, his voice sounding cold.
"I appreciate your concern High Elder Maxon" she responded politely, trying to match his cold tone with her voice. "It was my fault, I misread the navigational signs once we had left Saint Monica's Church" she said. She looked down at her blistered hands and avoided his gaze.
At the mention of visiting Saint Monica's church, Maxon looked at her with both curiosity and skepticism. "In recent years the clergy there have taken a stance against our presence on the Rivet City Council, mainly due to our stance against abominations" he said bitterly.
"I wasn't aware of that. I had just heard it was a Catholic church, similar to the ones my mother attended when she was a child" Anita justified to him.
"I know you're capable of navigating through new territory, but the Capitol Wasteland is a brutal place. Even now, after decades of exterminating the vermin from these lands" Maxon told her calmly.
Not sure how to respond, she nodded in agreement with his words. Absent mindedly, she smoothed out her slightly scratchy tan undershirt. It was taking all of her self-control to not blurt out to Maxon why he bothered visiting her if all he was going to do is give her a passive aggressive scolding for exploring what was supposed to be the 'safest' city in the Capitol Wasteland…The temptation was becoming too much and before she knew it, she blurted out her thoughts.
"Why exactly did you come here Maxon? Was it just to reprimand me for going to the wrong place at the wrong time?" she asked and cringed in annoyance at the amount of self-control she had lost while being prescribed chems.
Maxon smirked in amusement at her outburst. "As a leader, it's important to spend time with any injured members" he reasoned. "When you're deemed fit for duty in a few days, I have a new assignment for you" he informed her mysteriously. "Good day McNamara."
"Ad victorium Elder" she stated respectfully, wondering what her new assignment could possibly be. She swung her legs, which felt like jelly over the side of the bed and got up to do a brief workout under the supervision of a medical scribe.
Three afternoons later, she felt elated at being told she could finally return to her quarters and was cleared for assignments inside the Citadel. This morning had been her last Med-X dose, now she had a half dose of fixer every afternoon to wean her body off the strong chem.
As she was heading to her quarters for a change of clothes, she remembered that Elder Maxon had wanted to speak with her about a new assignment that was created for her. She found it strange that she had to go directly to him, since usually Proctor Jameson gave her direct orders. Before the Rivet City incident, she was plotting ways to get closer to Maxon to figure out his end goals. She forgot to account for the fact that Maxon appears to always be one step ahead of his enemies; which made her ideas of getting close to him seem fantastical. He was a heavily guarded man, despite his attempts at pleasantries.
When she opened the door to her quarters, she immediately stripped off the scratchy linens that she had been wearing for over a week. Certain material textures now felt horrible against her hands. She reached under her cot to find her warmest robes. She threw on the weathered gray robes and pants glanced at her reflection in the small mirror shard on the wall. Her hair was disheveled, but that was a battle she didn't want to fight today. Hoping that running her fingers through her auburn hair would make her seem more presentable, she opened the door and started walking to Maxon's office on the other side of the Citadel.
Anita felt suspicious when she noticed that it was just Maxon in his office. Most of the time, his office was filled with his high ranking officers and council members, oftentimes all bickering with one another.
As usual, he had a cigar lit and was reading a report at his desk. Anita couldn't stand the smell of the cigar smoke, but she tried her best to ignore the stench.
The inside of Maxon's office at the citadel was decorated with a small orange flag with the brotherhood sigil draping proudly over the wall. A precious few photographs dotted the walls and the desk. Most of the faces were unfamiliar to Anita until her eyes landed on a photo of Jessica Maxon. Her smile could have lit up an entire room in the photograph and her pale blue eyes complemented her light brown hair. Anita felt a sense of sadness after looking at the photograph for a few moments, she knew that it was likely taken back when she was Jessica Gavens, as she looked to be no more than eighteen in the photograph. When she died years ago in her early thirties, her body was weak and frail from the cancer that overtook her, which also happened to Anita's mother. Jonathan Maxon was in the other photo and he was proudly holding baby Arthur. Anita noticed that Elder Maxon inherited from his father was the dark hair and intense gaze, otherwise he took after his mother with his blue eyes and Roman nose.
"Welcome in Scribe McNamara" he said calmly. He gestured her to sit down in one of the chairs near his worn out desk.
Author's note: Happy Holidays everyone! Life is crazy for me right now—moving and holiday shenanigans have made it hard for me to carve out writing time lately. I've been taking a lot of time to plot out future events for this story—I think that I will go with thirty chapters all together. I do improvise as I write oftentimes, but I'm trying to keep in mind the ending I have planned. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season!