I have been inside the Citadel for three months now. Arthur reinstated me as sentinel, with most of the powers that it entails, leaving the Citadel grounds is forbidden. It's not just me, any officer high than a paladin has to get authorization by an Elder. There are a few Elders here. Arthur, however, is still the highest in command and no one is challenging his leadership.
Outside the Citadels wall, according to scouts, are pretty much the same as they were during the time the lone wanderer from vault 101 walked in these wastes. There aren't as many settlements as there were in the Commonwealth and many of the raider gangs and slavers went underground making it difficult to hunt them down. There is still a large super mutant and feral ghoul threat, and a distrust of the Brotherhood is still present amongst a lot of the locals, due do a certain scribe that sold the water from Project Purity a few years back.
In the Capital Wastes, there aren't as many factories as there are in the Commonwealth and it is harder to produce the products needed for the people to sustain themselves. The Mama Dolces and Nuka Cola factories are fully operational producing Canned Stew and Nuka Cola around the clock. Working at one of these factories is a job many would kill to have. The plant workers have built their own little cities inside the factories so little, or no harm could come to them travelling to and from work from various settlements.
It seems nobody trusts anyone outside of these walls and the sounds of gun shots are common due to the many tall buildings.
"I guess seeing the sites isn't an option," I joked at our weekly meeting.
"Not until the super mutant treat is taken care of downtown," One of the Elders wearing a thick red robe replied. "Believe me, I would like to go to Rivet City to visit an old friend I haven't seen in months. It's just too dangerous to out there, even for Brotherhood."
"Which reminds me," Arthur said. He was in his blue robe; it was customary to wear robes and not our flight suits I have learned after my first weekly meeting. "I have found some turrets along the outer wall aren't as responsive as I would like them to be. I have noticed molerats getting too close to perimeter forcing the sentry bots to engage fire."
"I'll have my scribes take a look at them," A proctor replied.
"Anything else that needs to be addressed?" Arthur inquired.
"One of the patrols in the Citadel's draining tunnels reported hearing the shrieking of ferals echoing in the tunnels." A head knight donning his power armor replied. "I would have sent them in to investigate, but you know how those tunnels are, sir. It's a maze and it's so easy to get lost in them."
"Yes," Arthur replied. "I understand you set up a barricade and have 3 men watching the tunnels."
"Affirmative, sir." The knight replied. "None of the ghouls ventured close enough to shoot at. The Brothers are getting antsy and want to go hunting."
"No," Arthur said. "Until we get a detailed layout of the sewers, no one is to venture past the barricade. And make sure only those able to wear power armor are on guard duty. I don't need anyone getting radiation poisoning if glowing one decides to show himself."
"Anyone else have anything else to add," Arthur asked and pausing for a bit. "In that case, this meeting is adjourned."
We all got up and headed for the door.
"Sentinel," the Elder with the red robe said to me before I could leave. "Arthur and I have something to discuss with you."
"Yes," Arthur said. "Please lets go to my office."
I followed Arthur and Elder Matthews to the 3rd floor of the B wing where our apartment was along with Arthur's and my office were. We walked inside his office that had two very large windows overlooking the Bailey. I sat on the large black leather couch, in my usual spot when I was in his office. Elder Matthews sat on the other end of the couch taking out a notepad and pencil. Arthur sat back an armchair across from us.
"It appears to me," Elder Matthews cleared his throat, "that you might have some knowledge of the Capital Wastes…. Through a game that you played… in your… um… universe."
"You see," Arthur said before I could answer. "The Elder is having trouble comprehending that you are from another universe."
"You don't believe that I am a traveler?" I looked Elder Matthews in the eyes.
"Oh, I believe you did come here in the way the Institute brought you here," Matthews clarified. "I just don't understand how this universe is a video game in your universe."
"Yeah," I said. "I don't understand that either. But I am here now… living it, and I cannot explain it."
"Right," Matthews replied. "Which brings me to my next few questions, and I hope you can answer some of them."
"I'll try," I said reluctantly looking at Arthur with disapproval.
"Alice," Arthur said to me. "You might have some information that we could use to fight our enemies in the Capital Wastes,"
"Any information I have probably happened already." I said. "I played Fallout 3 years ago."
"Fallout 3?" Matthews asked.
"Yes," I said, "It's the third game of the series, it took place in the Capital Wastes… 10 years before Fallout 4."
"Which took place in the Commonwealth," Arthur said trying to understand.
"Exactly." I said.
"What was your roll in Fallout 3?" Arthur asked.
"I played the vault dweller, from Vault 101."
"James and Catherine's daughter?" Matthews said. "Nonsense, she resides in Megaton."
"I am sure she does," I said. "I didn't say I was her. She was the main protagonist in the Game. Just so you know, I could have chosen to be a male in the game."
"Interesting," Matthews said. "This makes me wonder how many universes there are."
"Let's just concentrate on this one for the time being," Arthur said.
"Right," Matthews replied. "Once again, is there anything you can tell us that we don't know."
"Like I said, It already happened and most of the things was probably discovered by the Vault Dweller. I assume she would have more information than I do."
"Well just tell us what you do know," Arthur insisted.
"Okay," I took a deep breath. "I'll start out at the beginning. In the game I leave the vault in search of my father…"
"James," Matthews said writing it all down.
"Yes," I continued. "I went to Megaton where I help some shop keeper with her Wasteland Survivor guide to get enough caps and experience to travel the wastes safely. There I disarmed the bomb that was in the middle of their town."
"So you know how to disarm nukes, too?" Arthur asked.
"No," I laughed. "I just needed to click a button to do it and the game checked if I had enough skill to do it."
"So, you do all of that and you leave Megaton to look for daddy," Matthews said getting into a role-playing setting.
"From there I went to find Three Dog who has probably has information on where my daddy… father went. I fought alongside of Sentinel Lyons to get inside."
"So you knew Sarah," Arthur's eyes lit up.
"A very limited version of her." I said. "I met you too, Arthur, a 10-year-old version of you."
"I was a brat back then," He said blushing. "I hope they didn't portray me as mischievous little kid."
"No," I said. "From what I remembered, you were a scared, bored and rather lonely squire who wanted to go out hunting for super mutants."
"Somethings never change," Matthews said. "Er… uh except for the scared and bored part. I mean you still love hunting down mutants."
"Continue," Arthur said a little perturbed.
"So, we beat this behemoth and Lyons gives me the power armor that I am not trained to wear…" I think for a bit. "But anyway, I go up and talk to Three Dog who says he will give me information where my father is only if I help him fix the radio transmitter on top of the Washington Monument."
"So you know how bad that area is."
"I thought the Brotherhood would have cleared it by now." I said.
"That is what we are looking for, the source of them." Matthews said. "We don't know where they keep mass producing."
"But you know about Virgil's serum?" I could have sworn I told him about it.
"The super mutant in the Glowing Sea," Arthur interrupted me. "What does he have to do with this?"
"I thought you would have sent someone to investigate him."
"We didn't have the resources in the Commonwealth invest on your hunch." Arthur said. "Explain why you are concerned."
"Well, in the Fallout 4 game, the vault dweller is supposed to find a way into the Institute. They weren't captured by them. Virgil explains teleportation and to return the favor I… or the player needed to get the serum that cures FEV in the Institute."
"You never mentioned a cure for FEV." Arthur sounded agitated. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I just remembered it now," I said.
"Elder, you cannot expect her to remember everything." Matthews tried to calm him down.
"No," I said.. "I probably should have mentioned this before we attacked the Institute."
"I need you to think, Alice." Arthur said to me in a calm voice after a few moments of silence. "Anything you can remember that will help us, even if it's 200 years old information. I need to know."
I told him everything I knew. From the Enclave bunker in West Virginia in the White Springs, and how I knew how to launch a nuke from all of the missile silos there to the Dunwich building in D.C. I tried to think of everything I could.
"In the Capital Wasteland," I said finally. "Every time I play the game, I find someplace I haven't found before. There is so much of your world that I don't know about or haven't explored. I used to look a lot of things up on Wiki's."
"What the hell is a Wiki?" Matthews asked.
I explained to him about the internet, how it could be a vast source of information… even if it sounds trivial.
"I don't understand how your video game could be so detailed." Matthews said. "Nothing we have compares to it. You seem to know a lot of our history and maybe even our future."
"You have those Visiontrons," I said. "And those memory loungers in Good Neighbor."
"I think you have told us enough for now," Arthor said looking tired. "Matthews, I need you to co-ordinate a team with our Brothers in the Commonwealth to the Glowing Sea to find the super mutant named Virgil. I also want the ruins of the Institute scoured for any potential remains of this miracle serum."
"What are we to do with this super mutant?" Matthews asked.
"If he still has any human qualities," Arthur said. "Capture him. If he is too far gone, well… you know what to do."
"Yes, sir." Matthews saluted and walked out.
"Why on earth would you drop a nuke on your own soil?" Arthur sat down next to me on the couch.
"It was to kill the giant bat scorched queen." I said. He was being affectionate.
"Tell me," he said getting on top of me. "Does the vault dweller and I get close in any of these games?"
"No," I said welcoming his proposition for sex and letting him take off my robe. "You as a companion was never implemented in the game. But I am sure many people wanted you as a romantic companion."
