Johanna had left Boston Airport with Danse plenty of times, but never far enough to require a vertibird for travel.
Her heart was fluttering with excitement and wonder as she tried to see past Nora, who couldn't help but to block the view with the hulking frame of her newly assigned power armor. She stood by the open doors, opposite Danse, amiably offering details about the state of "Sanctuary", which appeared to be a pre-war neighborhood that was mostly intact and now a thriving settlement.
Johanna kept herself attuned to the conversation but didn't comment. In all honesty, their destination didn't matter. She was happy to be away from the Prydwen and its hostile inhabitants.
It felt like her heart was getting lighter with every mile put between her and her floating prison... despite the circumstances. That she was promoted and assigned to Danse's field team was due to unfortunate conditions. Knight Ricci had been killed while the team tried to defend the police station from feral ghouls. The casualties were minimal, with Ricci being the only death. Though Rhys had received a flesh wound, he was back on his feet and scowling from the seat opposite of Jo.
Whenever prompted about the subject, Danse insisted that the team only won the fight because of Nora. The strange vault dweller had near perfect aim with any gun given to her, including the now infamous nail gun which she had indeed taken from her vault before leaving.
Nora left the nail gun behind today, in favor of a weapon with a little more power. Jo recognized it as Danse's modified laser rifle, the one he called Righteous Authority.
Johanna was taking Haylen's place as a field scribe during her absence. Haylen, who was also the team medic, had been temporarily assigned to desk duty- "Until she gets her head clear," Danse had said.
Though she hadn't seen or spoken to Haylen upon her return, Johanna knew enough about the girl to assume she was grieving for her friend. She was a very sentimental person, that much was obvious.
Jo wondered if Haylen would feel the same way if she died. Would anyone grieve for her? She started to think of somebody that she had truly bonded with, but it was difficult.
An image of Arthur Maxson appeared, unbidden by every logical part of her brain.
She shook it away, fearful that she was becoming too emotional, and far too attached to someone who saw her only as a soldier. The fluttering feeling in her gut was making her queasy.
The logical part of her suddenly put a different thought in her head, one that saw just how alone she was in this forsaken wasteland.
She eyed Danse, who was still listening to Nora with unguarded emotion in his eyes. It was strange to see him so open with this woman, and it made Jo feel slightly dejected. The smile on his face was natural and she wished that she could have a shared bond with him, as Nora did.
She allowed herself a moment of self loathing and wished for someone that she could smile with. Someone that cared enough about her to miss her when she was gone. She hated her lack of social skills, her complete inability to make connections with others.
"There it is." Nora's voice was robotic behind the mask of her power armor, but Johanna detected a hint of excitement in her voice.
"Nice work, initiate," Danse praised Nora with a warm tone that Jo had never heard him use before. He had put his helmet over his face and she wondered if he was still smiling underneath it.
Johanna stood and carefully moved closer to the open side of the aircraft as the pilot brought them lower.
Sanctuary was a thriving settlement, indeed. She saw colorful houses in the distance and to her delight, there were large open areas where crops grew. She recognized some- corn, grain, melons. She was excited at the the prospect of testing their soil and crops for radiation, though their business in Sanctuary was not scientific.
They were on a mission to work out trade deals with nearby settlements. The Brotherhood needed food for its soldiers and Elder Maxson had sent Danse's team to aquire the goods. The paladin had briefed them in his grave tone, explaining that failure was not an option.
Johanna knew the Brotherhood's motto well. Ad victorium. To victory. Anything less was not acceptable.
The pilot began landing his aircraft gently on a grassy plain, Danse and Nora jumped from the machine before it hit the ground. Without the aid of power armor, Jo waited until it came to a complete stop before following, Rhys on her heels. She followed Danse and Nora as they walked across a mostly destroyed wooden bridge to the prewar cul-de-sac that was called Sanctuary, then and now.
The place was amazing and Jo wasn't sure where to look first. Not only had most of the homes survived, the people looked well fed and happy as they farmed their crops. There was a large pen with brahmin grazing inside. Everywhere she looked were settlers bustling with a sense of purpose. There was even an old Mister Handy among them, using its tools to cut stalks of razorgrain.
Most amazingly, the telling glow of artificial light came out of all the windows, bright enough to illuminate the words painted on the siding of each house. They said things such as Common House A, Bath House, or Market.
One building even claimed to be a schoolhouse. Johanna watched in astonishment as six children climbed over the jungle gym of its playground. An assultron watched over the children, calling them back into the building for class.
As much as she wanted to explore the area, Jo sadly followed Danse and Nora into the home across from the school. It had no painted label against the siding, but there was a prewar "No Trespassing" sign nailed to a bright red door. Nora opened it with no hesitation.
"Make yourselves at home," she called, gesturing around them as she threw her helmet onto the couch. Jo found herself wondering how the other vault dweller had come to have her own fully furnished home in this settlement.
By the looks of it, Nora had only lived there for a short while. It was clean, but there were no personal items or decorations, save for a folded American flag and a law degree from pre war days, both encased in glass and displayed on built in shelving.
As her eyes passed over the picture frame, Jo stopped walking in her tracks.
"Damn it, Polowski," Rhys complained as he ran into her from behind. He shot her a glare and Johanna blushed, hurriedly moving out of his way with a mumbled apology.
Though an old certificate would usually not catch her attention, Jo was absurdly curious about how Initiate Nora Barber had managed to get a law degree in 2077, over two hundred years ago. She also noted the name on the encasing of the American flag- Nathaniel Barber. A husband? A brother? There was no additional information.
Though Nora had seen her looking at the two items, she did not comment. In turn, Jo promised herself she would wait until they were alone before she posed any questions of Nora's identity.
"The town sheriff will be the one I need to find, okay? Just... stay here." Though she spoke to all of them, Nora trained her eyes on Danse. In that moment, as she saw the displeasure and anxiety cross both faces, Jo realized just how close they were. Maybe they didn't even know it yet, but the scientist in Johanna recognized attraction when she saw it. They were crazy for each other.
"Initiate, if you need additional support... " There was slight blush to his cheeks as Danse found himself at a loss for words. He was saved by Nora, who chimed in brightly that the town had a Deathclaw sentry and she would be perfectly safe.
Nora stood still for a few moments, taking in the shock on their faces and looking serious as ever, before she finally burst into laughter.
"Oh, you should see your faces!" She had a light, airy laugh that broke the tension in the room. The team smiled back at her with half grins. "Seriously though... I'd keep your distance, he's always hungry."
Still laughing, Nora was out the door before anyone could comprehend her parting words.
xxx
As nice as it was, Johanna was not content to hide in Nora's house and watch the activity pass by the windows. It was because of this that she found herself doing something she normally wouldn't have done- climbing out a window in the back bedroom while Danse stood guard over the exits in the living room. He had backed up Nora and insisted they wait for her to return inside.
Jo didn't even feel bad about it when she vaulted out the window.
A farmer who was working in the yard of a neighboring house was watching her closely by the time both of her feet hit the dirt. Jo might have said something to him so that he didn't think she was a prowler, but she spotted the rows of fruit trees that held fruit she had neither seen nor heard of before.
Becoming excited at the possibility of a new species, Jo dashed over to the grove of fruit trees that was Nora's back yard. After entering the correct code for an in depth examination of the plant, Jo took the diagnostic tool of her Pip Boy and inserted the needle into the strange purple fruit.
Her Geiger counter clicked its warning and Jo felt her excitement dissipate slightly. Though reading low, the fruit seemed to have a natural radiation. Frowning, the girl wiped the sensor on her pants before kneeling to stick it in the dirt. The readout was the same as the fruit on the tree.
It was a good thing the Brotherhood was as not nearly as picky about food as she was.
"What are you doing?"
Startled, Jo jumped to her feet and yelped.
"You scared me," she said breathlessly. It was the farmer from next door and he was staring at Johanna with a frown.
"You came in with Nora."
"Yes," she nodded as if her bright orange jumpsuit left any doubts.
The farmer was a young man, less than ten years older than herself. His skin was a deep olive and he was quite good looking for someone that had been exposed to radiation since birth.
"I'm Johanna," she said tentatively. "I'm a... scientist." Something told her the word scribe would fall on deaf ears.
"I see. That's why you think you have a right to poke holes in our crops?" If it wasn't for his easy smile, Jo would have thought he was serious.
She smiled back sheepishly, though she told herself that she shouldn't be ashamed of her scholarly pursuits. There were not enough educators left in the world.
"Can you tell me- is all of the food you grow here irradiated?"
Her question took him by surprise, but not for the reason she thought it would.
"Where did you grow up, under a rock? Of course it is. The dirt's all irradiated, isn't it?"
Jo couldn't help but to laugh. She'd assumed the farmer would be simple, and then he goes and makes her look like a fool. She was forced to stifle her laughter before Danse heard the sound and came to investigate.
"I have a few more questions. Do you have a couple minutes, Mr...?"
"It's Tucker. None of that mister bullshit, alright?"
"Fair enough." She began to question him about the cultivation of the mutfruit trees, but quickly moved on to other subjects when she realized that this man could answer almost every question she had about the Commonwealth, not only on food and farming, but geography of the Wasteland as well.
Being a veteran of the wastes, he helped her mark several more settlements on her Pip Boy, most notably Fenway Park, which now housed Diamond City-a place even larger than Sanctuary.
"So... you come from that vault up there too?"
Johanna followed the nod of his head past the neighborhood homes and into the trees. A large hill kept the vault hidden from view. Nora's vault.
"No, mine is miles from here... Is it really so obvious? Do I stand out?"
"Like a sore thumb," Tucker agreed. "Your lot is always so pale. And I never met anyone who didn't know about radiation in the food."
"Good point."
Johanna suddenly realized that she was holding a normal conversation with a stranger. Whether it was because of her curiosity or his easygoing nature, she couldn't say for sure.
"If you're not busy... " Jo began, glancing longingly at the bustling settlement around her. "Well I'm new around here, I could use some directions around town."