CHAPTER 24: NEW BEGINNING.
"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -Lao Tzu.
Inez and Louis gently laid Asimov on a work table, Doug pushed off the worthless junk to make room. Victoria pulled up a generator on a small cart with jumper cables. Inez went to work by using a long screwdriver to pop his chest plates open and then attached the clamps to the jumper nubs on the generator side. She clicked the other clamps together, creating sparks before attaching them to the inside ports of Asimov's chest.
A surge of power coursed through the Assaultron, his body jolted and twitched on the table for a moment like a fish out of water. The energy from the generator gave Asimov enough power to be functional enough to move and respond. His vision came back online and calibrated, the first person he saw was Inez with eyes full of relief.
"Asimov! You're back to normal!" Inez threw her arms around him gently and held tight.
"More like at 17% function. Well below acceptable parameters. But thank you." Asimov returned the hug.
"Glad to see you're functioning, Asimov." Louis gave him a thumbs up. "You had us worried there, I can't believe you took a blast like that dead on."
"I too am having trouble processing that." Asimov sat up and hanged his legs off the side. "But I am thankful for what you all have done for Inez and me."
"Well, as Louis says, it's the right thing to do." Doug shrugged indifferently.
"Is he going to be okay?" Joe asked.
"He needs to charge up for a bit." Inez answered. "Once he has enough power in him I'll begin repairs. If there's one thing good about these Rust Devils, they got a lot of tools to fix robots."
"And while you're waiting," Chloe smiled brightly like someone on payday. "Let's loot this place! We got a whole military base to ourselves!"
"Speaking my language, kid." Joe smirked.
Wayland felt his stomach grumble and placed a hand on it. The battle of the day left him starving. "I hope this place has food. I'm getting real hungry."
Victoria softly chuckled at his innocent demeanor when they weren't in battle. "Come on, I'll help you look for food." they both went off together.
"And I'm gonna change back into my clothes. This armor is literally falling apart." Louis pulled off a piece of metal from it to demonstrate.
"Same here." Doug spoke.
"Thanks for reminding me." Chloe waved before go off to find a private place.
Three hours passed as the wanderers looted the hangar and fort. The group practically cleared the place out and pooled all the useable weapons, scarce ammo, cans of food and alcohol, medical supplies and other items of value. It wasn't much of a haul despite the large area. Most of the food was already eaten with only empty cans as proof, but plenty of booze for an entire settlement. A long table served as their place to put all they found and got a lucky break after exploring the catwalk. Spark's makeshift room at the back section was filled with good loot, including ammo that went with some of their weapons.
After they were done with the rummaging, it was time to call it a night. Louis commanded the Sentry Bot to patrol the grounds around the hole in the wall. Inez gave it a quick check and informed it was functional enough despite the damage, although she advised direct combat was out of the question. A barrel fire burned in the center of the hangar to chase out the coming chill of night. Several cots laid waiting for them so they could stay close and sleep in shifts. Louis spent his time after getting changed back into his Vault jumpsuit and trench coat by pulling data from the terminal. It was a wellspring of information on the make and design of the Sentry Bots that gave him answers he wanted to know.
And before that he treated his burn cuts with a stimpak he found. Even with something like that healing him, there will still be noticeable scarring on his forearm and waist side.
The wanderers gathered around the fire, Doug placed a grate over the barrel to cook their cans of food. Asimov still needed time to charge his body and just listened in on their conversation.
"So did you find what was on that terminal?" Inez asked as he sat down.
"Boy, did I." Louis answered as he looked at his Pip-Boy screen. "These things were top secret. Like really top secret. Only a select few knew."
"Secret weapons and experiments." Joe scoffed at that. "Nothing new there."
Louis placed his can down and looked at the data. "From what I've seen on the journal entries, the people that designed these robots were on a strict timetable to complete them. They spared no expenses and loaded these machines down with all kinds of weapons. There was even plans for more, including a flamethrower. Thank god that wasn't in them." he shuddered at the idea.
"Talk about over accessorizing." Inez felt disgust, the last thing those robots ever needed was more ways to kill. "What were they even going to do with those Sentry Bots?"
Louis scrolled the screen for a moment. "I'm not sure. There's no record of who even started the project. All I could find was records of funds and materials. Apparently the scientists and engineers behind this were rung through the ringer. I'm talking working days at a time, night shifts, and even working the holidays. The journal logs even had hidden pages with quite a lot of choice words for the people running this base. Along with what looked like an attempt at writing an erotic novel, a grocery list, a page about making a new comic book series about robots, and even a recipe for rum cake and chocolate pie." he chuckled to that. "I'm beginning to think some of them went days without sleeping..."
"Funny you should mention that..." Joe began to think.
"What, the rum cake and chocolate pie?..." Doug asked with a mouthful of food.
"No. About the scientists and engineers. I remember people like that were always in demand for decades." the Ghoul snapped in response. "I even heard of grants that pretty much paid your way through collage if you showed a decent amount of skill in those fields."
"That's a bit strange." Chloe commented. "It's kinda funny, but my father once said to me collages of the old world were like expensive daycares. What with all the frat parties." she chuckled to herself.
"What's a...frat...party?" Victoria asked.
"Short answer, a lot of drinking and getting lucky." Louis spoke.
Wayland finished his fifth can of mini hotdogs and swallowed them down before speaking. "I'm just glad we didn't fight all ten of those robots." his eyes turned to the four still standing still as statues. "Good thing they weren't very smart."
"Actually, big guy, I was wondering why their operating performance seemed below normal standards." Louis hesitated on telling what he discovered. "Turns out those Sentry Bots were pretty stupid from a technical standpoint. The developers put too much time loading them with weapons that they didn't have time to work on the hardware. It's very basic programming, even a Protectron has more going on in its head. Hence why they needed a terminal to control."
"So what you're saying is...we got lucky. Again." Doug clicked his tongue.
"Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth..." the Vault dweller shrugged.
"All brawn and no brains," Inez stood up and stretched. "That's a dangerous mix, especially with robots. And if you guys will excuse me, I'm going to fix Asimov."
Joe slowly stood up next. "In that case, I'll start bringing down the stuff in Spark's messy room. All I found so far was junk and a cardboard box filled with nudie mags."
"Please tell me you didn't touch them..." Chloe winced. Porno magazines are always in high demand and quickly...tarnished.
"Are you kidding? I was thinking about setting the box on fire. For all our sakes..." the Ghoul chuckled.
Louis looked at his Pip-Boy once more. "I'll give this place one last sweep, but before that..." he twisted the knob a few times and pressed a side button. The data he downloaded from the terminal deleted one line of code at a time before the screen went black. "There, now no one can use this data to try replicating those things."
"I doubt anyone has the technology to rebuild those things." Victoria pointed out.
"You're probably right. But it's better to be safe than sorry." he agreed and walked off with Cavall following at his side.
After that, everyone continued with their own activities to pass the time. Inez rolled up another toolbox cabinet, she pretty much grabbed any tool and robot part that wasn't nailed down.
"Okay, I think that's all I need..." she said while rolling up a welding gas tank and cart.
"I think you might have too much..." Asimov retorted.
"If there's one thing that's good about these Rust Devils, it's that they got a lot of tools and parts to spare." Inez wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "I'm just going to check the back one more time. Better to be safe than sorry."
Inez walked towards the back section where an assortment of tools on tables and pegboards, and robot limbs hanging from hooks with chains tied to the supports of the catwalk. The area was a mess of junk cluttered around, and maneuvering through was headache inducing. Inez spotted a box of fuses behind a wide support and went towards it, she rummaged through the old bulbs to see which ones were still in good condition.
"So how far off course are we?..." Doug's voice was heard nearby.
"Don't worry, once we get back to Inez's settlement we'll be back on track. We haven't lost our direction of the signal." Louis answered him while checking the Pip-Boy.
"Signal?..." Inez quietly wondered. Curiosity pushed her to listen in despite the back of her mind telling saying not to. Ever since they came into Garry's shop, something about them seemed more odd than the usual people that have come and went. She peeked her head around the support and spotted them several meters away near another column.
"That doesn't change the fact we lost two days." Doug sternly continued. The mood became tense between them, an argument that had been coming for hours. "We can't solve every problem we come across. I'm glad we helped Inez and Asimov, but we'll get nowhere at this rate. Today it was military robots. Tomorrow? Who knows what the fuck it will be?"
"You think I don't know that?!" Louis sharply cut in. "I know the Wasteland is a terrible place. Even now, something horrible is happening! But..." he stopped for a moment to calm down before going off the rails. "What would you have had me do? Would you have been okay if we just left Inez to her fate? I'm trying to save the world, but I can't turn a blind eye like it's nothing when someone needs help."
Doug stopped himself from saying something he would later regret. Once Louis' mind was made up on something he stuck to it, no matter what. Despite how much it frustrated him, Doug knew he was right about saving Inez and helping Asimov. Even if every time they got involved, a shootout soon followed.
"Look, let's just put a pin in this. We're tired, and I got shot twice." Doug let out a heavy breath, the last thing he needed was a headache to add on. "Just promise if we get involved in something like this again, you won't leap in without a second thought and talk with everyone else to come up with a better plan."
"That's why I have you, Doug." the Vault dweller smiled again. "You're my steady hand..."
"Call me your right hand man and I will dropkick you in the gut..." Doug warned with narrowed eyes.
"And there's the dry wit I know." Louis turned around and started walking off. "I wouldn't dream of it. I'm grateful you're around to pull my ass out of trouble."
"I've always pulled your ass out of trouble!" he ran a hand through his messy dark brown hair. "And we still got a long way to go..."
Inez hid herself back behind the support. Her mind ran with questions, where were they going? What signal were they following? She wanted to ask, but that would reveal she was listening in. Yet at the same time, after all that happened today, a part of her wanted to go with them. For a long time she planned to go out into the world with Asimov. Working in Garry's shop allowed the use of her talents to fix things for others. Yet the small settlement was only one spot, and so many other places needed someone with her skills. Just like her parents did back in the small community in Mexico where they lived before coming into the states with other people that helped rebuild prewar technology for other struggling towns.
She returned to the task at hand and picked up the box of fuses and rejoined Asimov who was waiting patiently.
"Did you have any trouble?" the Assaultron asked.
"Uh, no trouble." she placed the box on the table.
Asimov watched her facial ques and recognized the pattern that she was deep in thought. "You're thinking of something. I know that look on you."
"I told you to stop reading my face!" Inez blustered with both hands on her cheeks. "Alright, fine, I've been thinking. I've actually been thinking this for a long time, we should finally head out."
"But, Inez, it's too dangerous out there. It's not like with your parents and the people we traveled with." Asimov disliked this conversation, it always put them at odds. "Why bring this up now after so long?"
Inez breathed deeply through her nose and exhaled before answering. "Because I want to move on. It took being abducted to realize nowhere is truly safe. And I don't ever want my skill used to hurt innocent people like the Rust Devils planned with those Sentry Bots." she quickly looked to the wanderers going about their business. "And maybe it's because of them too. They might be the strangest group I've ever seen, but they still helped complete strangers like us. We should repay them."
Asimov thought it over. It was always a bold choice to venture out, and even he wasn't built for everything the world could throw at them. "No matter what you choose to do, I will always be at your side."
Inez held her index finger up. "Oh, that reminds me." she grabbed a wrench from the table and swiftly whacked him on the forehead. It wasn't a hard strike or soft one, just hard enough to make a noticeable ping against metal.
Asimov tiled his head slightly in confusion over the action. "I...don't follow..."
"That was for trying to blow yourself up!" she placed the wrench back down hard. "You can't protect me when you're in pieces! So don't ever think about doing it again!"
"I was only taking the best possible course of action at the time and-"
"You were thinking like a regular Assaultron." she interjected. "And you're not that anymore. My father didn't rebuild you just to go all bombardeo." she took a moment to gather her thoughts. "A regular Assaultron doesn't fight to survive, it only fights as programmed and wins no matter what." she poked her finger against his faceplate. "You're more than that. And you got more going on in there than just a CPU. So from now on, we protect each other. Bien?"
Asimov looked down, if had a face, it would be contorted with remorse. During that, years worth of video recordings played before him. From the time he was first activated, or reactivated to be more accurate. The years of watching Inez grow from a little girl in her village to the young woman she is now. And now she wanted to go off into the world with him at her side.
"Alright. Whenever you want to go, I'll be ready. And I promise I will calculate my options better and survive."
"Good to hear." Inez beamed back to cheery as ever. "Now, let's get you patched up. Can't have you falling apart on me."
Asimov gently grabbed her hand before she could pick up a tool. "But know this, I protect you not because your father programmed me. I protect you because I want to. It's my choice."
Inez squeezed his hand in response. "And now it's my choice too." she let go and finally got to work.
"But I must ask, why did you strike me with a wrench?"
"Because I was still angry with you and it was the only thing I could think of." Inez raised her open hand. "If you were human, I would have slapped you."
"Fair enough."
()()()
Joe held a box of random medical supplies in his arms as Wayland walked down with him. A large crate slung over his shoulder, a lightweight item compared to his strength. The two reached the bottom steps and went towards the table.
"Well, looks like we found the last of anything useful up there." Joe said as he placed the box on the table.
"Why did that headboard have robot heads on spikes?..." Wayland asked curiously.
"Eh, it's a rich tapestry into the mind of a fucking psycho." Joe flicked the side of his head with a finger.
Wayland placed the large crate down, the table creaked from the weight of their finds. "How are we going to carry all this stuff back? There's too much."
Joe looked to the table, the Super Mutant had a point. They got so overzealous with looting the place that they didn't realize how much they brought in.
"Shit. We do have a bit of a problem." the Ghoul crossed his arms in thought. "We cannot carry it all, yet we cannot leave it behind. If only we had a cart or..."
His lapis colored eyes looked around the area for anything useful. A smile came across his wrinkled lips, tucked away in a corner was a open trailer with a tarp covered in holes.
"Perfect!" Joe perked up, a rare thing for him as the two went up to it. "We can use that to haul our goods."
"But, how are we going to pull it?" Wayland looked it over, even gave the tire a light kick.
"Don't worry about that, big guy. I already have an idea, I just need to have a talk with Louis..."
()()()
Louis sat a table by himself. In front of him was his dual Colt M1911 pistols, Desert Eagle 50AE, AN-94 assault rifle, Mossberg 590 riot shotgun, and combat machete on the table. He found a pair of knuckle dusters and pocketed, adding to his weapons. Scattered with the guns was a small box of bullets and empty magazines. The Vault dweller inspected each bullet before loading them, the Rust Devils clearly never took good care of their weapons, so their bullets suffered the same problem. Louis clicked his tongue in annoyance and dropped the current bullet into another small box. The casing had a dent.
"How did these people give us so much trouble without killing themselves?" he asked himself before picking up another bullet.
He didn't notice Victoria approach him until she cleared her throat. Louis quickly turned his eyes up to her with surprise. "Is this a bad time?..."
"Oh, never. Have a seat." Louis gestured his hand to the chair across from him.
"I just wanted to give you this." Victoria held up a bag and placed it on the table. The jingle of caps rattled in it.
Louis raised a brow in surprise at the large sack. "Uh...what's this for?..."
"Repayment." she pulled the chair out and sat down. "I owe you for the clothes and weapons you bought me, remember? There's over six hundred caps with interest."
It took Louis a moment to remember it. "That thing? Vic, you don't have to pay me back." he leaned forward and pushed the bag back to her. "I didn't do that just for you to pay me back. This is your find, keep it."
Victoria pushed the bag back in response. "And I insist you take it. Where I came from we repay what we owe or take. That's the system we stuck by for generations. And I won't take no for an answer."
"Alright, fine. But I'm only taking it as a gift." Louis hesitantly grabbed the sack and placed it beside him. During that he noticed her bottom lip quiver for a moment. Thinking of her home still brought deep pain. "Are you...still having night terrors?"
The redhead crossed her arms for comfort and leaned back in her chair. "They come and go. Sometimes I just sleep through it. Those are the worse."
Choose his next words carefully, Louis wanted to see if she would open up more to the issue. "If you ever want to talk, I'm willing to listen. I want to help you recover."
Victoria's mood lighten to that comment. "Why do you like helping others so much anyway?"
Louis shrugged in response. "I've always been the helpful type. I even held a lot of jobs back in my Vault..." he dropped the bad bullet into the box. "And I'm serious. I would never judge you, I've heard about the horrible things slavers do."
"It's even worse in person. Especially how they raid people's homes." she stood up, remembering the day she was enslaved ran the risk of triggering a panic attack. And that was the last thing she wanted them to see. "But thanks. I'll...think about it. Just not now, I want to focus on the task at hand."
"Have you..." Louis paused for an awkward moment. "Ever thought about returning home?"
Victoria faced away from him to hide her trembling face. "It's been so long. I never asked about the state we lived. And it wouldn't matter if I ever returned anyway." she turned her head back. "After they were done rounding us up, Jeremiah's father and his slavers burned it to the ground. Just for fun."
Louis almost stood up to say something, but Victoria was already far off. He slumped back in his seat and decided to leave her be. Best not to push it right now. She was right, they must focus on the trip first. For now. "Time heals all wounds, Victoria..." he while continuing his inspection. "Ah, finally, another good bullet!"
()()()
Doug did his own inspection on his weapons. His cargo jacket draped over the seat and box cap on the table. Just like Louis, his weapons laid before him to reload. The Browning 9mm pistol, the double barrel sawed-off shotgun, the Winchester rifle model 1866, fire axe and combat knife that was stabbed into the table.
The clink of a bottle made him look to Chloe, she placed a bottle of unlabeled rum and two glasses on the table. "Care for a drink? I found this in a desk." the raven hair Synth asked.
"More like a barrel." Doug chuckled lightly.
Chloe put a glass in front of him and popped the cork. The brownish liquid filled both glasses as Chloe sat down across from him. Both lifted their glasses and clinked them together before taking the first drinks.
"So...you and Louis going to be okay?" she asked after a few moments.
"Oh, God, please tell me you didn't hear that..." Doug sighed, he worried someone overheard them.
"Just bits and pieces. Do you guys often argue like that?" Chloe asked before taking another drink.
"Not often. Usually." Doug took a big gulp. "Despite him being born in a Vault and me born on a farm, we've managed to form a very odd friendship."
"Have you ever been in his Vault?"
"A few times. Went to the pool, the library, rec room, gym, the cafeteria a few times." he finished filling a magazine of his 9mm. "But I never stayed long. Couldn't stand the claustrophobia of it, I could never figure out how anyone can stand living in those places."
"You said before your town trades with his Vault, right?"
"They do. But Louis didn't come out until he was around six years old or so." Doug finished his glass and placed it down.
Chloe stopped herself from taking another drink, a surprised look all over her face.
"Not like that! Guess that came out wrong." Doug held his glass up. "More, please."
Chloe refilled the glasses in kind. They sat for a moment in silence, Chloe pulled out her plasma pistol to inspect it.
"Did you find any ammo for your plasma weapons?" he asked to end the silence.
Chloe sighed and put the plasma rifle away. "No, surprisingly. No plasma cartridges or fusion cells for my Institute rifle."
"Hmm, now that you mention it, you've never used it yet. Is there a reason why?" Doug finally had a reasonable excuse to ask about the bulky white and red weapon.
She faced away, not even sure how to answer. Very rarely had she used the weapon during her years as merc. "I don't use it much. Mostly a memento I suppose. It was one of the few weapons my father took when he left the Institute. A reminder of his past if I had to guess."
"I suppose that makes sense, and you don't see that kind of weapon everywhere." Doug said while finishing another magazine.
"If there was one thing good about the Institute as my father would say," Chloe took another sip. "They were very clean and tidy."
"I'll bet that place would be a sight to see." Doug finished off his second drink.
"Pray you never do." Chloe's tone changed. "Despite the peace now, the Institute was a place full of secrets that crossed the line too many times. My father was haunted for years by the work they did."
"I think when this is all over, a lot of things are going to haunt us." Doug sighed sharply.
"Good things there will always be something to drink..."
()()()
Inez placed another one of Asimov's armor pieces onto the pile next to him. It took almost an hour to strip him down and inspect the internal damage. "Let's see, you're not as damaged as I thought...but you're not well off either. Looks like I'm going to be pulling an all nighter..."
"You need to sleep. Today has been exhausting for all of you." Asimov said, he could tell she was weary.
"Not until you're fixed. You are literally on a life support." she pointed to the power cables connected to the generator. "So to speak..."
"Then maybe we can help?"
Inez turned to face the group that came up from behind her. Louis held up two fusion cores in his hand like an offering.
"Where did you get those?!" she pointed at the yellow cylinder like cores, looking upon them like lost artifacts.
"I've had one for a bit to see if someone would pay a lot of caps for it." he placed the two fusion cores down. "The other one and several more were up in Spark's room. Seems like he was hoarding more than just porn."
"You just continue to keep on giving, don't you?" Inez picked up one to examine. "But at least Asimov will be back to full power." she set it back down on the table. "But why are you all here?"
"We figured you could use a couple of hands." Victoria answered.
"As the old saying goes, many hands make light work." Joe sparked up a cigarette, using his hands indeed.
"Not all of us are engineering geniuses like you, but just tell us what to do and we'll follow." Louis grabbed one of Asomiv's armor pieces. "For starters, Wayland is pretty good with metalwork. He can help buff this plating."
"A Super Mutant that works with metal? This I got to see." Inez smiled towards him. Wayland smiled bashfully while rubbing the back of his head.
Inez loaded Asimov with two new fusion cores into his back and disposed of the old ones. They tossed them far away outside in case of a possible fusion meltdown. After that the hangar was filled with the sounds of power tools and pounding metal. Wayland, Doug and Joe worked together on Asimov's armor plates with welding torches to seal the cracks and a metal press to hammer out the dents. But even with their efforts there would be noticeable scratches left over, and Asimov never had a fresh off the assembly line to begin with.
The rest helped Inez with whatever she needed, either by giving tools she asked for or assisting with something that needed more than two hands. Louis did his own task by extracting bullets lodged into his joints and frame. After awhile there was a small pile of dented and fragmented bullets. Inez liked to poke fun at Asimov by saying he was 'naked' or down to the 'bare bones' of his body. Asimov just sat patiently while they worked, neither bothered or affected by Inez's harmless jokes.
With help the wanderers finished in two hours and had Asimov back to full optimization. All loose wires reattached, screws and bolts tightened, actuators calibrated, and internal parts realigned. Soon after, Asimov's armor pieces were refitted back onto his dark gray frame and moved around to make sure everything was lining up correctly.
After that they called it a night. Most of them pretty much fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows of their cots. The one Wayland slept on creaked under his weight with his legs dangling off at the sides. They enjoyed a good rest that night, knowing Asimov and the Sentry Bot stood watch over them.
March 22/2296
The sun began to rise as the wanderers awoken to the sunlight pouring in through the holes in the wall and ceiling. The cot Wayland slept on broke under his weight during the night, yet he didn't stir at all and was surprised to see it broken beneath him when he woke.
Following Joe's idea, the open trailer was loaded up with the goods they found. Louis clicked the padlock close around the chains he wrapped on the Sentry Bot's back leg. They assembled a makeshift hitch of chains to keep the trailer leveled while being pulled across the Wasteland. More of their findings was thrown in and secured as everyone started to climb in.
"Okay, I think that's the last of it." Louis brushed his hands off. "Where's Joe?"
"I think he was checking the Rust Devils to see if they had anything of value." Victoria said as she came up beside him and threw a duffle bag in.
"Wasn't there a bunch of vultures circling the bodies?..." Doug asked.
"Fuck off you damn birds! I'm not a corpse!" Joe's voice echoed to their ears, along with the sounds of dry screeches.
Inez and Asimov came out through the hole, the mechanic genius tore apart the terminal for extra measure. Later she will tell Garry about the bots so he and others could come by and disassemble them. No sense in letting materials like that go to waste.
"So when will you ask them if we can join?" Asimov questioned.
"I'll do that when we get back. I don't think now is a good time." Inez answered him before they joined up with the others.
Joe was the last to get in after a fruitless search and fending off a few buzzing scavengers. They loaded up on the trailer and sat near the corners to look out for possible ambushes. Louis climbed up the Sentry Bot's back and hanged off near the right shoulder like a proverbial monkey to guide it. Before giving an order, he looked back at the Rust Devils accompanied by flies and more vultures coming. A stab of regret hit his heart again, he was still responsible for the slaughter no matter the means.
But he turned his thoughts away from it and gave the order to move. The Sentry Bot moved, the trailer lurched forward from the sudden pull as everyone held on to be thrown off. After a couple of adjustments, Louis got the bot moving at comfortable speed to keep the trailer steady as possible on their way back to Trader's Haven.
The trip took two hours thanks to the bot's speed. Nothing slowed them down during the ride, only the occasional critter that ran from the loud noise alone. It wouldn't be long before the people saw them approaching, to which they shouted and waved their arms to get their attention. The newly rebuilt gate in progress opened with several waiting guards that welcomed them in.
Inez spotted Garry in the crowd near his shop, a small smile crept up on his face when he saw her. The wanderers hopped off the trailer and started unloading while being bombarded with questions by the eager crowd. But before any of that could be answered, Louis gave the Sentry Bot one last order so it would no longer be a threat. Shutdown and disconnect.
Next they sold off the loot, raking in about six thousand caps, a good portion of that came from auctioning off the Sentry Bot for scrap. They stocked up in Garry's shop for ammo and supplies, Joe finally got ammo for his combat shotgun, Webley MK 4, and Sako 85 rifle. Chloe got plenty of plasma cartridge to spare, along with Wayland and Victoria stocking up too.
"That's quite an ordeal you all went through." Garry said to the Vault dweller from behind his counter. "And we were about to pull together a group to come get you guys."
"Well, that's the gist of it." Louis gave the shopkeeper a quick rundown about what they went through.
Inez stocked some of the tools they took to be sold. Soon she will ask them, but no matter their answer she and Asimov had to move on.
"Hey, do you have anymore shotgun shells?" Doug asked after not finding any on the ammo shelf.
"Hmm, I'll check the back. Give me a few minutes." Garry turned around and left through the backroom door.
Now was her chance, Inez looked to Asimov for courage. The Assaultron met her eyes and nodded to continue, knowing she could do it. Every journey started with one big step, and asking to come along was their first. Inez came up in front of Louis, figuring he was the best one to start with.
"Oh, what's up, Inez?" the Vault dweller ask, not even noticing the nervous look on her face. "Looks like we'll be heading out soon. Want to cover as much ground before night." he reached his hand out. "It was nice meeting someone as talented as you."
Louis expected her to shake his hand, but instead she placed a hand over his and lowered it. "About that, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."
All the attention in the room turned to her upon those words. Having all those eyes on her didn't help.
"Is...everything okay, Inez?" Louis didn't like the long silence.
"Please let us come with you guys!" she blurted out quickly and surprisingly. "I know I'm not very strong or a skilled gunner, and Spark was the only person I've killed. But I can be useful in another way! For starters, Asimov doesn't need to sleep and eat. And I can use my skills to fix your weapons and other things that people can pay me to do."
The room stayed quiet, not sure how to answer before Louis started speaking. "Uh, Inez, this is so sudden. Why do you want to come with us anyway."
"I'm sorry, but I overheard you and Doug talking last night about a signal you're following. So a small part of that perked my curiosity. But what I really want is to do what my parents did and help others so my talents won't be used to hurt people like those Rust Devils wanted to." Inez started to feel more calm as she talked. "If I can fix war robots, then I can fix just anything else you can think of. I promise not to slow you down."
"Inez, listen," Joe held a hand up. "It's a nice offer, but tinkering with machines won't help in a fight."
"That is why you will have me." Asimov stepped in to the conversation. "As she said, I require no rest or nourishment. And wherever she goes, I go too. We will help you all, but we must know the details of your mission."
"Hold on a second, we haven't made a decision yet." Doug frowned at the robot for being nosy.
"What Doug means is we need a few minutes to talk this over." Louis piped in.
Inez let a breath out, the one she held from fear of being denied. "Of course. I need to tell Garry anyway. Come on, Asimov."
The two left the wanderers alone to talk amongst themselves on whether or not to let them come. Inez closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall to fend off her wobbling knees.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised they didn't just welcome us in..."
"Trusting others is hard to come by in this world." Asimov spoke. "Despite them coming to save you, we're still strangers."
A clatter made them turn to Garry, who just came out from the back room with the ammo Doug requested. "You have something to say to me, Inez?"
She approached her boss, wondering how he would feel of her leaving. But before she could get one word out, Garry reached behind his back belt and held up a sack of caps. "There's about two hundred in here. It's not much, but it should help you out for a bit."
"Uh, Garry, why are you-"
"I overheard you talking to them. These walls are kinda thin." he placed the caps on a nearby table. "You two want to see the Wasteland. And your skills can help a lot of people."
"But you seem so calm about it. To be honest I thought you would be upset." Inez said, she looked to the caps in the sack and it felt like a final paycheck. "We've been working together for five years."
"I won't deny I'm a little upset." Garry kept his tone and face straight as ever. "Even so, I can't keep you from doing what you feel is right. Now get ready, I'm not the kind of guy for teary goodbyes."
Inez didn't know what to say, so she just threw her arms around him and held tight. "Thank you for everything. We will never forget you..."
Garry slowly returned it with one arm, he was not the kind of person to show too much emotions. "I've already had my time in the Wasteland. Now it's your turn to make a name for yourself. Your parents would be proud, wherever they are..."
"What will you do once we're gone?" Asimov asked.
"Eh, I'll probably get a new kid. This place needs an extra pair of hands."
Inez released him and picked up the sack of caps. She wanted to decline it, but Garry was stubborn with every decision he made. So there was no way he would take it back. Now all she needed was to hear the wanderer's decision.
()()()
"Well, if everyone is cool with it, then I'm fine either way." Doug gave his answer.
Joe grumbled with a conflicted frown. "I won't deny they can be useful. But she's very inexperienced in a fight. We're gonna have to be firm and quickly teach her. Even if we have someone like Asimov with us."
"I'm okay with her coming along too." Victoria smirked. "To be honest, it's a little boring with just you guys..."
"I second that." Chloe said with a raised hand. "I might be technically under contract with you guys, but there's only so much people with guns can do."
"I like her. She's very nice." Wayland thought about the first time he met her two days ago. "She didn't scream because I'm a Super Mutant, she screamed because she liked my minigun."
"Then it's decided. We're all in favor of both them joining." Louis looked down to Cavall near him. "What do you think, boy?"
Cavall's tail wagged with excitement and barked happily to whatever it was he said.
The creak of the backroom door ended their conversation. Inez and Asimov noticed their silence and figured they came to an answer. Louis looked back to his friends, a few nodded in response, collectively figuring he was the best person to tell her.
"So, Inez and Asimov..." he spoke as if he was about to break some bad news. But he couldn't hide the creeping smile on his face for long. "Pack what you need. We're letting you come."
"Really? You guys mean it?!" it took all of Inez's willpower to not cry with joy.
"It's like you said," Victoria spoke happily to her. "Your skills can help us a lot."
"And Asimov's mechanical power is a nice addition." Joe cleared his throat. "As long as he doesn't try to blow himself up."
"I promise that won't happen again." Asimov responded.
Inez turned around and headed to her room in the back. "I'll pack my things! What do I need? I need my toothbrush! Definitely need that!" she questioned herself.
Her room became a clutter of packing noises, a large duffle bag rested on her bed and almost overflowing with tools. Inez dug out her closet, packed two more RobCo jumpsuits and casual shirt and pants. She owned only a handful of regular clothes. She got a holster for the newly acquired Beretta M9 since she needed to be armed and ready for anything. Asimov watched her pack, adding up the weight in her duffle bag. And he didn't like the amount to it.
"Don't you think you have too much?..." Asimov asked her.
"I need to be prepared. You know the Wasteland is full of surprises." Inez reached under her bed and pulled out a pet project she made. "There you are!"
The device was a handmade electric charger. Its trigger made from a caulking gun to create a charge that built up in a cylinder of copper wire and conductors. Above it housed a charge gauge that went from green to yellow to red. Raveled on the side held four different cables, two with mini jumper clamps, a wall outlet and amp jack. All of it held together by a metal bar and frame, making it comfortable enough to hold and carry.
"I thought I lost this thing." Inez placed it in the duffle. "Never know when something needs a charge."
She zipped the bag close and tried lifting it up. But soon the weight of it became very clear that she wouldn't get anywhere like that. Something Asimov knew would happen.
"I told you it would be too heavy..."
"No! I...got..it..." she turned around as the bag straps began to slip. "See? I...can..."
The duffle slipped out, but Asimov quickly grabbed it before the tools hit the floor. "You will only slow yourself down this way." he placed the bag back on her bed. "Let's try this again. I've already thought up of a more efficient method of packing."
Everything was taken out of the bag and replaced with a backpack. They packed a screwdriver set, wrench set, socket wrench set, a hammer, power drill and drill bits. A basic set of tools without having a dozen of each this time. Inez took a big tool belt with pouches and packed several more tools like allen wrenches, lock picks, an odd amount of nuts and bolts, and even a multi-tool pocket knife that was a limited edition item from Vault-Tec. The last piece looped to her belt was a red pipe wrench, both for heavy work and a possible melee weapon if needed.
Inez checked herself one more time before throwing on the dusty backpack. She hid the fusion cores at the bottom, items those valuable needed to be well hidden. "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained." she said while looking at the small mirror in her room, almost not recognizing herself.
"All adventures begin with one step." Asimov came up beside her, a place he will always be. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer."
They stepped out from her room and met the waiting wanderers. Seven now made nine, Inez gave Garry one last big hug before stepping out of his shop.
"Ready for this, Inez?" Louis asked as he adjusted the Pip-Boy signal.
Inez's eyes looked around the town that had been her home for the last five years after her parents made her stay behind so they could handle a personal task. Another part of the reason she wanted to leave was to find them and ask why they had to stay behind. "I'll miss this place. But I'm ready to move on."
They pressed on towards the gate, the people saw them off with farewells and thanks since she had fixed just about everything there at least once. Garry watched his assistant leave, his mind racing with worry on the possible and horrible things that could happen to her. But consider what they went through just to save her, he convinced himself she was in very good hands.
But that left him with one problem. He had no assistant. Not far from his shop stood a teenage boy also watching Inez and Asimov leave. A smile came on his face.
"Hey, kid..."
The boy turned around to him. "Uh, yeah?"
"Come on in. I need a new assistant and you could probably use an honest paying job." Garry turned and opened the door to his shop. "Hurry up, don't keep me waiting. You got a lot to learn..."
The young man didn't argue. Truth was he needed a job, so he followed his new employer in.
With a heavy rattle, the gates slowly closed behind the growing group. Signaling that Inez had truly left her home on an adventure she still didn't know the details to.
"So, Louis, while we're on the move, what is it you guys are doing?" Inez asked, not knowing the surprise she was in for.
"Right, details to the trip." he showed her the screen. "It all started back in the town me and Doug came from."
"Don't worry, Inez, I'll be sure to fact check his story." Doug cut in.
()()()()()()()()()
Alden flopped against the outside wall of an old building, leaving a streak of blood as he fell to his knees. Moving caused his dry wounds to seep with blood again after spending the night buried under a pile of metal from the tank explosion. It was a miracle that he even survived the night. All his limbs were covered with cut and burns, his armor nothing but hanging pieces. Even if he did get medical help, amputation on all of them was likely since they already began to fester with the smell of gangrene.
The former second in command pushed open the door into the nameless building. There was nowhere else he could go, no one to turn to. Nothing else but to wait for death to take him, the only regret he had was not ending Spark's life first. He slumped against a wall near a broken window, everything around him began to blur from blood loss, already beginning to slip away. He hoped whatever animal that might find him ended up choking on his flesh.
A crunch of dirt snapped him back to consciousness, Alden's eyes wandered around for whoever or whatever came in. But soon the answer to his question came, Alden's body trembled upon seeing the benefactor that lead them to the fort. The Rust Devil wished he could just die right now.
"You? Why are you here?..." he asked with fear laden in his ragged voice.
"What happened here?" the benefactor demanded with an emotionless, cold and synthesized tone.
