A peaceful night fell on Megaton, wrapping the settlement in a blanket of whatever passes for a sense of security in the Capital Wasteland. A lone watchman stood above the gates to the town, peering out over the moonlight hills that rolled down to the ruins of a pre-war town. The wind carried smells of food and the sounds of conversation and laughter from the saloon perched on the other side of the central crater.
Jayck sat at the ragged, wooden bench table in his home, listening quietly to the radio coming from his Pip-boy. He had been tuning the dial to the Galaxy News Radio station when he'd noticed a new signal in the feed. Curious, he'd dialed in to listen and the voice that drifted from the speakers froze him in his seat. The hulking green figure sitting opposite him watched silently. The message had looped three times already and Jayck remained still. In the kitchen, his cattle dog, Dogmeat, munched happily away at his dinner.
"Do you know this person?" Fawkes asked gently. Jayck stirred from his trance and looked up at the mutant, clearly shaken.
"Yeah, she's my…that message is…it's my home. It's where I'm from," Jayck said. "The message is coming from Vault 101."
Dogmeat padded in the room, content and full of brahmin meat, He sat next to Jayck, leaning his head on the young man's leg and wagging his tail. Jayck absentmindedly scratched the dog while he stared ahead, lost in thought.
"Another vault?" Fawkes asked. "I didn't know there was one so close to here. But, I suppose it makes sense, if you were born there. You're not old enough to have entered the vaults as I did."
"It's very close, old man," Jayck smiled, though it was a hollow thing that quickly slipped away. "Just in the hills to the northwest, by Springvale. And if they need me…if Amata needs me, then I have to go back."
"Of course you do," Fawkes nodded. "It's who you are. But it is not who I am. I do not believe I can bring myself to enter another vault. Especially one untouched by the wasteland until now. The memories would be," he sighed heavily, "painful."
Jayck looked at his friend with sympathy. "It's okay, this is going to be painful for me too. But if she's to the point of asking me for help, then I have no choice. I have to try and make up for what I've done."
Fawkes cocked his head curiously. "An atonement? What was your sin?" The mutant's teeth gnashed and sent spittle flying on the table. He turned, ashamed of his outburst, but his eager eyes remained on Jayck and waited.
"It was the night that I escaped the vault. I'd never killed anyone before. I fought with the other kids my age, but it never got to the point of using weapons. The guards kept them under lock and key anyway," Jayck said. His eyes wandered to the wall of lockers that contained more firepower than the entirety of Vault 101's armory. He stood up and walked over to them with a certain gun in mind.
"Amata had given me her father's pistol earlier that night. I was nearly to the exit when I saw her being interrogated in a room by security guards and her father." Jayck opened the creaking metal lockers and began rummaging through the racks of weapons he'd collected from his adventures in the Capital Wasteland.
"I opened the door and tried to use the gun to get them to let her go. I don't know if I could have made it shake more in my hands if I tried. The guards turned on me, but then the roaches managed to get into the room. They'd been terrorizing the lower levels of the vault and had finally made their way to us, looking for an easy meal. The guards turned to focus on the bugs and Amata's dad lunged for the gun. He managed to grab it and we wrestled with it between us," Jayck's voice trailed to a whisper. "Then a shot went off. The gun jumped and the Overseer was dead before he hit the floor." He pulled a hauntingly familiar 10mm pistol from the locker and held it gingerly.
"I couldn't hear what she was yelling at me. I was in shock and my ears were ringing from the gunshot. But I saw her face and knew I had to leave. To run and never look back," Jayck stared at the gun. "I left to look for my dad and told myself there was no way they would take me in again. I'm still not expecting a warm welcome, but I guess I was wrong."
"Will you be leaving tonight then?" Fawkes asked.
"I have to. You heard the message. I'm not sure who they made Overseer after I left, but I have an idea of who it might be. Someone that was dangerous enough in his old position. If the power of being Overseer has gone to his head, then I don't have any time to waste."
Jayck went through the contents of the lockers, taking out what he thought he might need. Stimpaks, microfusion cells, 10mm rounds, and a wicked combat knife with spikes protruding from the knuckle guard. He found a leather holster that he'd claimed for his SMG and laid them both on the table. Finally, he took out a plasma rifle he'd repaired and checked the wires and couplings before setting it with the rest of his assembled weaponry.
Supplies. He needed supplies. He grabbed purified water from his fridge that Wadsworth, his Mr. Handy unit, kept stocked for him. Preserved food went in next. He didn't know the full state of things in the vault, and didn't want to chance being unprepared. He packed all the supplies and ammunition into a duffel bag and turned to the metal figure standing against the wall.
A set of Brotherhood T-45 power armor emblazoned with the symbol of the Lyon's Pride unit; a lion rampant over the sword blade of the Brotherhood's standard. Its condition was far from pristine, being covered with dings and dents from various bullets that had struck it. But it worked, and it was Jayck's, and that was what mattered to him. For whatever awaited him in the vault, he hoped it was enough.
Jayck secured the SMG in its holster and fit it to the thigh plate of the power armor, tugging at the straps to tighten them. He slid the knife home into the sheath he'd welded to the other thigh plate. He tapped the fusion core on the back for luck, grasped the wheel on the back of the power armor, pushed it in, and twisted. The armor's hydraulics hissed and opened like a metallic flower. Jayck hauled himself inside and pushed his body forward, signaling the armor to close. The steel shell closed down on him and the padded interior fit snug against his muscles. The helmet's HUD sprang to life, showing his home in an eerie green light. He grabbed the duffel's strap, threw it over the armor's shoulder pauldron, and picked up the plasma rifle.
"I will remain here, if you don't mind my using your home," Fawkes said, looking around the room. "Perhaps Moira has something I could read on the journey back to the Museum."
Jayck smiled in the green glow in his helmet. "You do that. But remember to be careful. Moira's always happy to see you, but everyone else…" he let the sentence hang in the air.
It had been an eventful day when Jayck brought Fawkes to Megaton with him. Despite them both approaching with weapons stowed and hands raised, Stockholm, the scout that sat atop the settlement's gates, had still fired a warning shot at them. Lucas Simms, the local sheriff, came out to see what was going on and he and Jayck struck a deal. Fawkes would be allowed to enter the settlement with Jayck, as any other traveler to Megaton would, and he would be allowed the same protection as anyone else. If he started any trouble, then he would be shot and Jayck would be thrown out forever. If anybody started trouble with him, they would answer to Jayck directly. So far, nobody had shown the guts to start anything with Fawkes, but that didn't keep them from glaring at the mutant any time he wandered the settlement.
Moira, however, had taken to Fawkes like a best friend. Her natural curiosity couldn't get enough of the mutant's physiology and life story and the two would talk for hours on end. It thrilled the awoken philosopher in Fawkes to be able to discuss anything and everything with somebody for the first time in centuries, without being berated for it by the other mutants of Vault 87.
"Of course. I would not want you to cause trouble here," Fawkes nodded. He watched Jayck reach down to scratch Dogmeat with a gauntleted hand.
"I'll be back soon, buddy," he said. Dogmeat's tongue lolled happily and he gave a bark of acknowledgement before padding to his bed for the night.
"Safe travels, my friend. I will see you soon," Fawkes said.
Jayck reached up and clapped the mutant on the shoulder as he passed. Even in his power armor, Fawkes still loomed over him. Despite their time together and the trust between them, Jayck couldn't help but understand the people of Megaton a little more when he was in the mutant's shadow. Shaking off the thoughts, he pushed open the door.
It was never truly cold in the Capital Wasteland, but the nights were certainly cooler. Whispering winds floated across the ground, picking up small clouds of dust as they blew around the settlement. Jayck made the short walk to the entrance and pushed open the sturdy metal gates as if they were made of cardboard. The thrill of wearing power armor and the strength that it gave him had never fully gone away, and he hoped it never would.
Closing the gate behind him, he made his way down the hills, feeling Stockholm's gaze on his back as he left. His pace was hurried, but not from fear of the wastes. He had done that countless times now. This was different. Now, he was going home.