Renee took advantage of the rare calm moment to pull out a whetstone and sharpen her knife. The scraping sound made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end but soon enough it faded into nothing more than background noise. She sat on a stump by an old train track. And around her, for once, was blissful silence.
Curie sent her out for more plants. "Monsieur Howard wants more supplies," she'd said, clearly agitated at being torn away from her research. "And 'e expects me to just drop everyzhing and make zhem… Ah, but I shouldn't complain. Anyway. If you would be so kind as to get me as much Hubflower and Ferns as you could. And anyzhing else you find, of course."
So she did. She headed out in the early morning when fog still hugged the ground and followed a train track out of the Ruins to a place called Oberland, at least according to the settlers. They didn't mind her scrounging around for herbs fortunately. And even were willing to trade. Now the sun shone high in the sky and Renee felt ready to head back to Diamond City with a bag full of flowers and some clothes for Gene—she hadn't forgotten their agreement, after all.
Renee held up her knife to inspect the edge. It was chipped in a few places, but still razor-sharp. She put the whetstone back in her bag and slipped the knife back into its holster at her hip. With a stretch, she stood.
As she walked along the track, she continued to think on Curie. It'd been a few weeks now that they were working together; or rather, that she worked for the scientist. Mostly Curie just needed her to run petty errands, which left her with a lot of free time. As much as she wished she could spend that free time at the Home Plate, she dared not to. Instead, she frequently explored more of the Ruins for scrap to sell or any materials Curie might eventually need. Usually it ended with being shot at.
A growl stopped her. She grabbed for her rifle and looked around. There wasn't any movement in the trees but that didn't mean there wasn't danger. She swung around, her finger on the trigger.
There was another growl and she shot in its general direction. "Back off!" She shouted, readying another bullet.
To her horror, a Yao Guai stumbled out behind a copse of trees. Even she knew better than to tangle with a Yao Guai. With a yelp she shouldered her rifle and took off in a run the opposite direction.
The mutated bear ran after her. She could hear it crashing through the brush behind her and when it roared it sounded far, far too close. Renee scrambled to run faster.
She remembered briefly in her childhood when a Yao Guai terrorized her hometown. A group of the adults all got together to kill the damn thing, and even then, three were killed. Two more were injured, and old Mr. Harris just was never the same. Granted, it was an absolutely massive Yao Guai, but still. She wanted no part in any of it.
Her boots skidded along the ground as she came to a rocky outcropping just off the track. Without another thought she jumped down, just as the Yao Guai swiped at her. She landed ungracefully, feeling the rock scrape against her arms and legs, but sprung back up to hide in a nearby cave entrance. Her heart pounded in her chest.
Fortunately, the Yao Guai seemed disinterested.
She took a breath. Her eyes adjusted to the cave and she looked around. "A…Vault?" She looked back outside to see some decrepit shacks and old cars. But further in the cave, there was the unmistakable Vault door. "81" was painted on it in big, bold numbers.
"Well, uh, how about where you're from?"
"Vault 81. Though I was made 'ere in Boston."
Curie's home. Renee straightened and walked further into the cave. The door was open and two guards stood at attention. They immediately pointed laser rifles at her, her least favorite. "I'm friendly," she said.
"Who are you?" One guard lowered his rifle but didn't take his hand from the trigger.
"Renee Jones. I'm…a traveler?" She shrugged, hands held up. "Just exploring."
"What business you lookin' to take care of here in 81?"
She took a breath. "I'm looking for someone."
The two guards looked at each other before nodding. "Fine. But no funny business. One wrong move, and you're gone, you hear?"
Renee lowered her hands. "Understood." She walked past them into the Vault proper.
Truthfully, she'd never been in a Vault before. She met folks who had, but it was her first time stepping foot in one herself. From the stories she expected it to be dingy and filled with Ferals, or Raiders, or—based on the horror stories she heard as a child—even man-eating plants. Instead this Vault was clean and filled with normal, every-day, average people.
"Excuse me." She approached a young woman in a lab coat fiddling with a console on the wall.
"What do you want?" The woman turned, frowning. Her eyes were narrowed.
"Who can I talk to about finding someone? Or, uh, finding information about someone?"
"Go bother the Overseer. I'm busy." She huffed and turned back to her work.
Renee snorted, turning on her heel. "All right, fine, Jesus."
She walked further into the Vault and passed through an array of sensors that loudly scanned her, making her jump. "Shit!"
"Normal radiation levels for a Wastelander." An older man was looking at terminal. "Sorry, it's protocol to scan anyone who enters the Vault."
"So do I pass?"
"With flying colors, miss." The man grinned. "The elevator's just inside."
Renee gave him a nod and continued on. The guard by the elevator looked her up and down but said nothing, instead stepping to the side so she could use the elevator. It was cleaner and smoother than other elevators she'd been on and she hardly noticed at all when it stopped on the bottom level.
She hardly took three steps out of the elevator before two children accosted her. "Wow, another Wastelander!" The boy cried.
"Uh, yeah…" Renee looked down at them. "How did you…"
"Nothing gets past us." The girl circled Renee once. "You don't look very impressive."
Renee tried not to be insulted at the comment. "Thanks, I think."
"I'm Austin! And this is Erin." Austin looked at Erin with a grin. "Hey, want a tour? Just five caps!"
Renee smirked and crossed her arms. "Little entrepreneurs, aren't you?" She chuckled and dug out some caps from the pouch on her belt. "How about I give you two caps and you tell me where to find the Overseer?"
Erin and Austin shared a glance. Erin shook her head. "Three caps and you've got a deal."
"Oof, you drive a hard bargain. Fine." Renee handed over the caps with a grin. "Now, Overseer."
Austin turned and pointed at a large, circular window overlooking the thoroughfare. "Right up there."
"You made me pay three caps for that?" Renee scoffed and walked past them. "You two really do drive a hard bargain."
"Thanks, miss!" Erin waved.
"Don't spend it all in one place." Renee gave a half-hearted wave in return.
She went along the balcony, ignoring the strange stares aimed her way from all the Vaultsuit-wearing inhabitants. She wouldn't be caught dead in one. Oh, once upon a time she actually tried one on; it wasn't uncomfortable, but… Well… It was still ugly. And she had more self-respect than that.
Turning a corner, she found a desk with another guard. "Sir?" She rang the bell on the counter.
He frowned and slapped his hand over it. "What?"
"Is the Overseer open for guests? I have some questions." She leaned on the counter, grinning. "I won't be long."
The man glanced away a few times before finally nodding. "…Fine. Right upstairs." He grumbled under his breath.
"Thank you!" She sauntered past.
The door to the Overseer's office opened before she had a chance to knock, so she strode inside. "Overseer?" She thought a moment. "Or is it like Madame Overseer?"
The Overseer herself was a middle-aged woman, portly, but didn't look unkind. Her eyebrows rose and she blinked. "I wasn't expecting visitors today." She looked beyond Renee. "I thought I told Officer Jackson I didn't want to be disturbed."
"Oh, he said I could just come up. But if you're busy…" Renee took a half step back.
"No, no. You're already here. Sit." She sat in a large chair on one side of her desk and gestured to the smaller chair across from her. "Gwen McNamara, Overseer."
"Renee Jones, uh… Traveler." Renee shook the hand offered her once and sat down. "Comfy."
Gwen kept her expression neutral and leaned forward, her elbows on her desk. "Indeed. So, what can I help you with? You'll have to excuse the other residents, it's only been recently that Vault 81 has started letting in outsiders. If you have any complaints about them, I'm willing to listen, and I apologize in advance for their…intolerance."
"Oh, I don't have any complaints. I'm actually here about someone." Renee crossed her legs. "I was wondering if I could ask you about Curie."
Gwen tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "Who?"
"Curie. You know, Curie Collins? Scientist?" Renee held up a hand to her crown. "About my height, short brown hair, hazel eyes. Small. French accent?"
"Curie, Curie…" Gwen tapped her desk for a moment before it seemed to click. "Right, I remember now. CVRIE, the Miss Nanny Mr. Howard found in the secret Vault. That's the only Curie I know with a French accent, at least." She leaned back in her chair. "But you're describing a…person, right?"
Renee furrowed her brow. "What Curie do you know?"
"Well, a while ago, months now, Mr. Howard—General Howard, I suppose—went into the secret Vault here in 81 and found a Miss Nanny robot named CVRIE. Apparently the poor thing'd been back there for over two hundred years. Last I saw he was taking her out of the Vault so she could see the Commonwealth." Gwen shrugged, shaking her head. "I didn't really talk to her. She told me her designation was CVRIE and I gave her permission to be freed some any and all Vault-Tec obligations. That was all. But, like all Miss Nanny bots, she did have a very distinct French accent. Hard to miss."
"But that's… That's impossible. Curie's not a robot. She's human, like us. She lives in Diamond City, she's a scientist."
"CVRIE said she was working with the scientists in the secret Vault during the war. Before they died, of course." Gwen tapped her desk again. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to be stuck in a lab for centuries. Good thing she's a robot. Makes it easier for them, I suppose."
"With all due respect, Mademoiselle Wright, I 'ave survived centuries longer zhan you. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Vault 81. Though I was made 'ere in Boston."
"I was designed to be a scientist."
Renee stood up, nearly stumbling over the chair. "I have to go. I'm sorry."
Gwen stood next and hurried around the desk to grip Renee's elbow. "Miss Jones, are you all right?"
"I… I don't know." Renee blinked rapidly. Her mind whirled with the possibility that Curie could be a robot. But it was impossible. Curie was human, not a Miss Nanny. Not even remotely close to an Assaultron, and those were fairly human-shaped.
"Why don't I take you down to the infirmary, have Rachel or Dr. Forsythe take a look at you?" Gwen started to lead her away.
Renee wrenched her arm free and shook her head. "I need to go back to Diamond City. I need to…" Her throat went dry.
Just who, or what, the hell was Curie?
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