Chapter 2: First Steps
[October 2287]
Plop!
The Adams stared at the grilled radstag (a two-headed mutated deer, according to Preston) that Codsworth dumped before them. "Are…are you sure this is edible?" Nora asked, poking it with her fork. Everyone else ate the meal their butler made with gusto, enjoying the comfortable dining area of The Strip.
"Of course, mum!" Codsworth exclaimed, dumping another load onto Zeke's plate. "Mrs. Donald taught me everything I need to know about wasteland cooking! With my programming, I can assure you these meals are made to perfection!"
"What, never tasted radstag before?" Roger mocked.
Nate glared at him. "Yes." he retorted, surprising everyone (save Preston). "FYI, my wife and I have been stuck in a Vault-Tec cryogenics experiment since 2077. So do forgive us for not knowing 'the ways of the wasteland'."
Everyone just stared at them in shock. "Wait...2077?" Wally Warwick asked, face scrunching up. "Why do you look like 'Mom and Dad' old?"
Everyone burst out laughing, the mood lifting up slightly. "Vault-Tec did something to us, you see." Nate explained, once the laughter died down. "They placed us in these giant pods that froze us for 210 years. We, uh...just came out of it recently."
"Damn…so the rumors are true." Zeke said, everyone turning to him.
"What rumors?" Nate asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Well, according to some traders coming from the Capital Wasteland, Vault-Tec created two sets of vaults: one set was their promised fallout shelters and another was for some twisted experiments of theirs." Zeke revealed.
"Are…are you telling me some vaults…were created for experiments?" Nora asked, shocked by the information along with everyone else.
Zeke nodded, looking grim. "Yeah. According to the traders, one of these vaults created the Super Mutants." the Atom Cats leader recalled, shocking everyone
"Super Mutants are…huge hulking beast with little to no intelligence and have a taste for human meat," Preston explained to the Adams, seeing they didn't know what they were. "Much like that pre-War super hero they called…Halk, Hulk, I think?"
The two got the picture, shuddering. "So these Vaults were created for experiments?" June Warwick asked.
Zeke nodded. "According to the trader, that is. Though I did meet a dude who claimed he was from the Capital. Said some 'Lone Wanderers' – twins who came from a vault and ended up saving the place – that the Muties were humans that were transformed from some green goo."
Everyone shuddered at the implication. "Are you saying…that there's probably a Vault out here that's creating super mutant?" Roger asked, eyes wide in fear.
"Dunno man, I just hope those Suppies die out already!" Zeke exclaimed. "They're some tough sons of bitches, mind you!"
"Hold up," Nora cut, raising her hands. "Can we go back to the topic at hand: are these things edible or not?"
Sturges, who was starting his second bowl, grinned. "Of course, we're eating it!" he exclaimed.
Nora face palmed. "I mean, will we get any radiation poisoning from eating it?"
Rowdy, another Atom Cats member, shook her head. "Nope." she stated, munching on the meat. "Though you may want to stay away from Pre-War cans though."
The two still stared at the bowl as if it was a bomb until Preston produced two bottles of Nuka Colas. "Here," he offered, giving it to them. "If you're afraid of the taste, these will remove it."
Slowly – but surely – Nate took a small bite from it, expecting the meat to taste like rubber. Instead, he got nothing. "What's the taste supposed to be, anyway?" he asked.
"Uh…radstag meat, I guess?" Bluejay, another Atom Cats member, answered.
Nate swallowed, still not tasting anything before drinking some Nuka Cola, waiting for its cherry taste to hit his throat. Instead, he got nothing but liquid running down his throat. "It's official, I can't taste anything."
Nora then tried it, tasting nothing as well. "You sure you added seasoning to this Codsworth?" she asked, turning to her Mr. Handy.
"Of course, mum!" he boasted. "I even added some seasoning I harvested myself."
"You guys are probably experiencing some side effects from being frozen for almost 200 years." Roger guessed, getting weird looks from the others. "What? Never tried putting ice on your tongue and then eating afterwards?"
Sturges understood what he was trying to say. "You're probably right. Cryogenics could have caused this kind of side effect." the engineer added.
With that, Nora and Nate groaned – and much to everyone's amusement – finished their bowl quickly.
"Got to admit," Nate began as he pushed his away. "Never thought I'll eat a radiated deer for dinner."
Nora glared at him. "Don't remind me Nate!" she begged as she swallowed her last. "I'm imagining I'm eating that stew back in Anchorage and not mutated creatures!"
To their horror, the two found their plates being refilled by a humming Codsworth. "Codsworth…" Nate begged, staring in shock at the robot. "Why?"
"Because a plate of grilled radstag is not enough to compensate for 229,950 missed meals." Codsworth said with finality. "Three of these should be enough to get you two back to shape!"
Everyone laughed at the looks on the couple's faces. "Ya know," Zeke quipped, getting everyone's attention. "I have a good feeling about this place."
Nate raised his cola. "Amen to that, brother!" he shouted, everyone following afterwards (even a still-disgusted Nora raised her glass just for the sake of it) before the two began – reluctantly – digging into their plates.
"If I may say," Codsworth announced, once Nate and Nora finished their third – and final (much to the two's relief) - plate. "The former settlers built a few beds above us, although they can only allow 10 people to sleep on. They did have plans to build individual homes though but the raiders prevented that plan from going through."
"Now hold up!" Rogers cut, hand raised. "You mean to say riders killed the previous settlers?"
"Tried too," Nate corrected. "They ended up killing off the raiders but none survived. Codsworth's been guarding the place since. Now, anything else?"
"I'll take the first watch," Preston offered, standing up. "I'm still good for the next few hours."
"You sure? You could use some rest, Preston." Nora asked, giving him a once over. Preston gave her a smile, she sighed. "Alright…but take Codsworth with you. He can show you where the guard posts are."
"Proud to serve mum!" the Mr. Handy said proudly, saluting.
"Sturges, are the turrets up?" Nate asked
The wasteland engineer shook his head. "I need to calibrate the 'Friend or Foe' tag first before I power them up." he explained. "And someone has to put up some signage to warn people off."
"Looks like we're going to need watchpeople." Preston muttered
"Duke and I can join you, Preston." Bluejay offered.
As Duke stood up to argue the conscription, the rest entered went up to the dorm. Although it reminded her of an army barracks, there were at least some curtains separating each bed. "Now that the powers up and running, I think it's best we build something more habitable." Nora suggested as the two took the bed near the window.
"Sure, let's get some sleep first, hun." Nate replied as he plopped down. "Finally...a good bed to sleep in."
Nora just chuckled as she curled up beside her husband. "Tough first day, huh?"
"You bet," Nate answered before staring at the ceiling, lost with his thoughts. "Nora…what do you think—"
"Don't you dare finish that!" Nora whispered, letting him spoon her. "No use imagining what would have happened. Remember what Benji told us in our wedding?"
"'Focus on the present, because through that, we can change the future.'" he quoted before snuggling his wife close. "Thanks honey."
"Now, get some sleep." she ordered, yawning. "We have a big day tomorrow."
# # # # # # # # # #
"So…" Sturges drawled, grinning at the two Vault 111 sole survivors of as they ate their breakfast. "You two still not tasting anything?"
The sun was steadily rising in the east, signaling it was morning as the early birds (Preston, Sturges, and Zeke) were eating breakfast prepared by Codsworth (Grilled Radroach). "If you want the texture, I can tell you." Nate grumbled, earning a chuckle from Zeke.
"So, what's the order of business today, General?" Preston asked Nora in jest, who gave him a look.
"I haven't agreed to the 'General' thingy yet, Preston." Nora replied, feeling tired. Although her sleep was peaceful, Preston's offer weighed in her mind. "But if we're going to improve this settlement, we got to have some farming land ready."
"That's wonderful!" Codsworth exclaimed, adding another of the fried meat on Zeke's plate. "Mr. Donald built a fenced area by the cliffs in the old Sertürner's Lot, although they weren't able to plant the seeds for a fourth cycle."
"Well, once everyone's awake, we can start doing just that." Zeke chimed, taking a bite from his plate. "The Warwicks will probably want to show you guys how to do it, having been farmers and all."
Nate nodded. "Well, Nora and I could probably learn a thing or two from them." he conceded before pointing out to the empty lots around them. "We can also build a few houses, give everyone some privacy."
"We could but we may not have any materials." Nora disagreed. "We could chop down some trees but it'll take too long to make wooden planks to use."
"That may not be a problem, mum." Codsworth announced as Roger and Wally entered the makeshift dining room. "In one of the root cellars here, most of the materials brought by Mr. Arthur's group can be found there."
"Thanks for the info, Codsworth." Nora replied before turning to the newly arrived. "Morning, had a nice sleep?"
"Nothing like the old Warwick Homestead…but it'll do." Roger grunted before taking a seat besides Zeke. "Grilled Radroach?"
Zeke nodded before giving him a plate. "Good enough to make your wife's cooking a run for her money."
Roger just cocked an eyebrow before taking a bit. "Well, I'll be damned…" the farmer piped, eyes wide open. "You are right!"
"Right about what?" June asked as she came down. "Morning, you all!"
Everyone greeted her in reply. "Looks like this Mr. Handy is gonna beat you in cooking!" her husband quipped, savoring his meal.
Eyebrows raised, June grab and fork and took a bite. "Damn…you are right!" June exclaimed, much to everyone's amusement.
"Damn…now I wish I could taste this." Nora muttered, staring at her meal gloomily.
Nate just patted her on the back. "Don't worry, we'll get our taste buds back." he comforted.
"Anyway," Preston addressed, getting everyone's attention. "What do we have lined up today?"
"Plant some crops and get some materials to build a house." Nate announced, finishing his meal. "Afterwards, we can set up who gets the guard post duties for tonight."
"Good idea," Zeke told them, giving his plate back to Codsworth, who had taken the role as the cleaner and cook of the newly made settlement. "Duke told me he wants nothing to do with night shift, something about wanting to sleep at night and guard during the day time."
"Duly noted!" Nora replied before turning to June and Roger. "So…uh, how do people farm nowadays?"
"Same as they did back then: just find a small area to plant on, build a fence around it, and then seed it." June replied, taking a bite from her meal. "Find me a farming area and I'll teach you guys how to do it. Just let me finish my breakfast first."
"Sure, we got all day anyway." Nate replied jokingly, earning a light slap from his wife. "What, you know it's true!"
Once everyone was done eating, June brought the Adams couple near the makeshift barn (a fenced up are with a roof) to get the seeds. "This here is ole Daisy – and yes, she still produces milk." June introduced, patting the cow on the head before opening one of its bags. "Now, listen carefully!"
June showed then a fruit that suspiciously looked like a deformed grape with yellow leaves. "This here is a mutfruit. It's sweet and all but it gives you rads – well, the wild ones anyway." she explained, giving them one to hold. "Mostly grows in trees and kinda looks like those old pre-war fruits called berry, I think."
Nora gave it back to her before being handed with a carrot. "Surprisingly," June stated as she placed the mutfruit back in the bag. "These Pre-War vegetables are still alive and kicking – along with corn and melons, that is."
"Now, don't confuse this with a tomato, 'cause it ain't." June warned when she gave them a tomato-like plant. "It's a tato. On the outside, it looks like a tomato but if you open them, you get the texture of a potato. Also, potatoes aren't really extinct cause from what I heard, they still sell some potatoes in the west coast – wherever that is."
June then brought out a small bag from the cow's load. "Now, if you follow me, I'll show you how to plant these babies."
As they walked towards the designated farmland, Nora asked "So, are these the only ones we can eat in the wasteland?"
June shook her head. "There are a lot more out there, honey." she lectured, wagging her finger. "For example, we have the tarberries that only grow on top of water, like those lilies in a Pre-War book, but very hard to find, mind you. The only place you can find them is in the Slog, a ghoul settlement here in the north - like the guy you buried earlier."
The Adams had woken up early to bury Logan and Jake in a fenced-up area and bring the Fastback back to the settlement. Preston had explained that Logan was a ghoul, a Pre-War person who was transformed by radiation (which explained why he had marine dog tags on him). He also explained two kinds of ghouls: those with their minds intact and those who became feral. He even told them the backstory about the Slog.
"Shame about the inhabitants of the Slog…getting kicked out of their homes because of their looks." Nora said.
June nodded. "Yup, you would have expected the Diamond City to be understanding but no – stuck-up bastards." she replied as the reached their destination. "Now, let me show you how to farm here in the wasteland."
As lunch time came (along with lots of dirt on their clothes), Nate and Nora finally knew the basics of Wasteland farming. Apparently, cultivated plants don't give rads when eaten while the wild ones do. They also learned about a few more creatures in the Wasteland: yao guai (a very large bear-like animal), mirelurk (an irradiated and enlarged crab creature that lives in water), radscorpion (another irradiated bug the size of a car), bloatfly (a mutated fly), mole rat (a literal mole rat about the size of a small dog), mongrel (a mutated dog that looked like it was starving), bloodbug ("one damn mosquito high on sugar bombs"), and stingwing (a mutated dragonfly-like creature with "a shooting tail").
"What's that smell?" Nate asked as they neared the central house, sniffing the air. "Is…is that grilled meat?"
June smirked. "Yup, kiddo, that's grilled alright!" she replied as they near the house, they saw Zeke, Duke, Sturges, Preston, and Roger sitting around a newly constructed long table with chairs they got from other houses. "Who made the dining table?"
Duke and Sturges both raised their hands. "We did!" both said in unison before the engineer added "We found it annoying to sit on the floor. Don't worry, we found one in that cellar by the bend."
"Same with the chairs," Duke continued. "Thought it was collecting dusk in them if nobody actually sat on them."
Nate sat on one of the couches offered along with Nora. "You know," Nora began as she snuggled close to Nate while waiting for the food to arrive. "It's actually nice. Thanks, you two!"
"No problemo, General." Sturges replied with a mock salute, getting an eye roll from Nora and a laugh from Nate.
"'General Nora Adams of the Commonwealth Minutemen'…" Nate said out loud, testing the sound of it. "Sound catchy, Nora. I like it!"
Nora just groaned before lightly slapping her husband on the chest. "Nate! We haven't talked about it yet! Besides, does 'General Nate' sounds nice?"
"I get why you're having second thoughts for it, Nora." Nate said, trying to calm her. "But how hard could it be!"
"This isn't like commanding a squad, Nate!" she insisted. "Look at what happened to General Chase after the war! You and I were there when it happened."
Instead of answering her, Nate turned to Preston. "What are the duties of a Minutemen General, Preston?"
Although surprised, Preston answered "The General is to command all the Minutemen, issue out patrols, check upon the defenses of its allied settlements, and ensure the moral of the army is up."
"No bureaucratic red tape bullshit, right?" Nate inquired, getting a confused look from everyone. "I mean, no need to sign papers, talk to the press, write reports, and all those boring office work?"
Preston shook his head. "No need for that. We might need paperwork but it's up to them how taxing it should be. Personally, the Minutemen General is the one always fighting with their troops."
Nate nodded, grinning to his wife. "See? A Minutemen General is the warrior kind, the ones always near the front lines and fighting with the soldiers!" he pointed out. "You did just that when we met up with Preston, remember that?"
Nora bit her lips before it slowly became a sly smile. "Oh no, I know that smile!" Nate shouted, now feeling afraid. Nora only gave those sly smiles whenever she was thinking of doing something very mischievous. "Under no—"
"I hereby promote you, Nate Adams, to the rank of Colonel." Nora said in her best imitation of General Chase's voice. "You are now the second highest ranking commander of the Minutemen Army."
Nate just groaned, before face palming and muttering some incoherent. Everyone, on the other hand, just stared at the couple, still not comprehending what happened. "What," Nora asked, a smug smile on her face. "Never seen a promotion before?"
"But…but to promote someone, you have to hold rank first!" Sturges exclaimed, arms raised up.
"Well…" Nate drawled, staring at him. Seriously, how could not anyone see Nora basically accepted Preston's request. "She is a general, is she not?"
Preston finally understood what was happening. "So…are…are you accepting…the rank?" he asked slowly, afraid this was just all a dream.
Nora gave him a deadpanned look. "No, I just promoted my husband to colonel because I felt it was cool." she sassed. "Yes Preston, I am accepting the rank of General for the Commonwealth Minutemen…unless you don't want me to?"
"NO! I mean yes! I mean-ARGH!" Preston screamed in frustration, the tension breaking as everyone laughed. "What I mean is…yes, I want you to be the new General of the Minutemen."
"Wait, what about the other Minutemen?" Duke asked. "Won't they object?"
To everyone's surprise, Preston snorted. "The only good thing about being the last Minuteman is nobody can object about my decision to make her the new General of the Minutemen."
"Well then, I do believe this is a call for a celebration?" Zeke began as he brought out a bottle of whiskey, grinning. "Anyone up for one?"
Nate and Nora both declined (after having some bad blood about alcohol) while Preston just grabbed bottle, opened it, and drank it all. "Damn…" Nate muttered as the Minuteman finished the bottle under ten seconds.
"I needed that," he said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, earning a laugh from everyone. "Today is now classified as one of my best days ever."
"What was the first then?" Zeke asked, getting the bottle back with a smile on his face.
"My birthday." he replied, smirking just as Codsworth brought two plates full of grilled meat.
"Lunch is served!" Codsworth proudly stated as he gently set the plate full of food in the table's center. "Would any of you care for some purified water?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"That…that was a fulfilling lunch." Nora stated as they finished eating. "I can even already taste some of it."
"What was the taste then?" Roger asked as everyone was finishing theirs.
"Tasted like burnt barbeque." Nate stated as he drank some purified water, "better than nothing, I guess."
"What's a 'barbeque'?" Jun Long asked, looking a bit better than he was yesterday.
"It's like a squirrel on a stick," answered Codsworth as he picked up the plates. "Only made with any other meat out here."
"'Squirrel on a stick'?" Nora asked, bewildered. "Squirrels are still alive and not mutated?"
Everyone shrugged. "Yeah, though no one has seen one alive and running. We just find chunks of it lying about or if we're lucky, a dead on a stick already." Sturges said as he handed his plate to Codsworth. "It's the sea creatures we're not sure off - the only one we know of are Mirelurks. Nobody wants to dive in because of the rads."
Nate whistled, understanding the problem. "Well, who wouldn't?"
"True," Sturges said, nodding in agreement before looking outside. "Anyway, I was thinking we should build more guard posts. Sanctuary's borders could use some more of them."
Nora looked outside and saw it was cloudy, a perfect time to build. "Alright, I'll help out with the construction. My dad taught me a lot of carpentry, so I can help with that. Anything else?"
"We could mod our weapons." Rowdy suggested, gesturing to another workbench in the Strip's garage. "Weapons nowadays can be modified to your taste. For example, a pipe pistol – when added a stock, longer barrel, and a scope – can become a sniper rifle."
Nate grinned as he pumped his fist. "Alright!" he exclaimed. "That's something I wanna do!"
"I'll be bringing up the required materials after I wash the dishes, mum, sir." Codsworth offered. "Would anyone care to help me?"
"I'll do that." Johnny D. offered as he stood up, stretching. "I'll help with the construction as well."
"Well, me and Zeke here need to check that Red Rocket, down the road." Duke said. "We might need to scavenge some materials to build and mod."
"Go to Concord and scavenge the raiders while you're at it." Preston ordered, as he placed on his coat before turning to Jun. "I'll take Jun with me for the first watch, along with Bluejay. Ready to learn?"
"Scavenging is one of the rules here in the Wasteland, Mrs. Nora." Roxy explained as Nora was about to protest. "It's the survival of the strongest out here, ma'am."
"So…if I ever kill anyone out in the waste, I have to take their belongings?" Nate asked, feeling queasy about stealing from the dead.
"Only if they have things of value," Roxy pointed out. "For example, if the guy has .308 rounds, 5 caps, and a compensated pipe rifle with a bayonet, you take it."
"But if the guy you killed has only a silver spoon, a teddy bear, an empty whisky bottle, and a bottle of jet, you leave it for others…unless you need the bottle and when you're a jet addict." Rowdy continued.
The couple nodded, uncomfortable but understanding the circumstance. "Alright, but that doesn't I like it." Nora mumbled.
Mama Murphy, who was silent throughout lunch, waved her off. "Of course dear," she said in a sage-like manner. "Sometimes, your opinions won't matter to all but at the right moment, it will.
Nora smiled as she stood up. "Thanks Mama Murphy." She replied before looking at Codsworth. "Alright Codsworth, show us the construction supplies."
Everyone started standing up and went to work. Marcy went with the Warwicks to help farm while Rowdy, Roxy and Nate went to what Rowdy called 'Weapons Bench'. "Alright Vaulty, here's the rundown of what weapons you can mod with what materials." Rowdy exclaimed as she patted the work bench.
Nate stared at the Atom Cat member. "'Vaulty'?"
Rowdy just shrugged while Roxy giggled. "Why not?" Rowdy asked as she sorted the materials. "You come from a vault, remember?"
Nate was about to retort but decided against it. "Just show me how to modify the weapons." he said, sighing.
"Well then, here's lesson one for you." Rowdy said, motioning to the pipe rifle she placed on the workbench. "If you're going to mod something, you gotta know what part you wanna mod."
Picking up the rifle, she pointed to the stock. "For example, you wanna replace this standard stock with a marksman version for better accuracy, recoil, and melee." Rowdy explained. "Or maybe you want to improve the barrel to lessen the weight."
She then placed the weapon down and retrieved a basket full of parts: wonder glues, screws, bits of steel, etc. "Next thing you need to note is the materials needed to construct the mod." Rowdy told him as she sorted out the baskets. "Right now, we only have enough to create a short light barrel and a short scope. However, if you scrap scavenged materials like metal trays, toy cars, or a damaged board you get from random areas of dead bodies, you can create more."
Nate nodded, quickly understanding what the two were teaching. "First, I have to know what part to modify and then check if I have the materials needed to use." he summarized. "What's the third step?
Rowdy smiled. "Looks like we got a quick learner here Roxy," she told her fellow Atom Cat, getting a giggle. "The third and final step involves making it. Roxy here will show you how to do it. Oh, and one more thing: these are called mods, nothing else – got it?"
Nate nodded before watching Roxy explain to him how to make the mod. He took the information in as quick as a sponge, having been familiar with the stuff she was doing – he didn't graduate college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering for nothing. Nate did as she instructed when it was his turn, not missing any detail and making it quick without any mistake. "Damn…" Roxy said, whistling as she examined the modded pipe rifle. "And here I was thinking you'll have three tries before you get one right."
"Yeah well…I graduated with an engineering degree before the bombs fell, so this is just a review." Nate replied, trying to downplay the bragging.
Rowdy picked it up and checked the gun. "Well, you wanna try it out?"
Nate nodded, hiding his excitement, and the three headed out to an open area to check it out. Nora, who was having a conversation with Johnny and Sturges, saw the three leave Strip. Johnny smirked at when he saw what Nora was looking at. "No need getting jealous, ma'am. Roxy and Rowdy both root for the other team."
"I—what?" Nora asked, clearly confused at what Johnny was talking about.
"Rowdy and Roxy are in a relationship, so need to fret about either of the two trying to steal your husband." Johnny clarified as he hammered a plank of the guard post.
"Those two…those two are in a relationship?" Nora asked, not comprehending what he was talking about. "Wait, you mean their lesbians?"
"Lesbians?" Sturges repeated, looking at Nora. "Well, if that's what you pre-war people call two women in a relationship, then yes, they're lesbians."
"And…nobody's complaining?" Nora asked, frowning as she looked at Johnny.
"Nope," the Atom Cat replied. "Well…unless you call Duke's anger now he can't shag Roxy a complaint, then no."
"Oh…" Nora trailed off, unsure how to react to the information. "It's just…before the bombs fell, the majority of society was divided on the matter. One side called it a sin or a disgrace…while the other side said society must respect who they love. Nate and I…since both of us had a friend in a same-sex relationship, we supported the other side."
"Really?" Johnny asked, sounding incredulous. "Damn…well, at least nobody cares nowadays."
"True," Sturges agreed as he handed Nora the saw. "Anyway, back to our original conversation, you said you were a lawyer?"
Nora nodded. "Yup. Lawyers are people who defend your rights when you're being tried for a crime here." She explained, wiping sweat from her brow. "I was about to begin my practice when the Sino-American war broke out. Army conscripted me to join and commissioned me as a captain for the 101st Airborne Division."
Nora chuckled. "Getting commission as a captain was the least of my worries. Did you know I was forced to make an after action report every time my squad comes back after a fight." she complained half-angrily as she sat on the ground. "I have to write every detail of what happened during any fight with the Chinese!"
Her two companions laughed with her. "Don't worry, General." Sturges reassured, smiling. "No need to do such stuff. I bet no one wants to do those either after all."
"True!" Johnny agreed as he stood up. "Hell, most papers we have are useless nowadays. Most of those are just found in Vault 81 or Diamond City."
"Vault 81?" Nora asked suddenly, interest peaking at the mention of a vault. "There's another Vault out there?"
Sturges nodded. "Yeah, near the Chestnut Hillock Reservoir." he pointed out before he saw Nora's alarmed expression. "Don't worry, the Vault ain't an experiment. The people there may be isolationist, but they have a good heart and trade purified water for goods."
Nora sighed in relief. "Good to know," she said. "Are there any other Vault here?"
Both Johnny and Sturges shook their heads. "None that we know of. From what I know, people only know about Vault 81." Johnny said, dusting his hands. "Anything else?"
Nate had finished testing the weapon (getting good results out of it) when he saw Nora with Sturges and Johnny. "Don't worry about Johnny snagging Nora," Roxy reassured the Colonel of the Minutemen she saw him looking over to them. "We Atom Cats have an honor code we live by, so don't worry about it."
Nate was about to protest but Rowdy shushed him. "We know that look, Nate." she said before giving her girlfriend a quick kiss. "Both of us give that look whenever we see each other with someone's company."
Nate, who had discovered about Roxy and Rowdy's relationship earlier on, gagged at their public display of affection. "Don't do that in front of me, will you?" he muttered, though he didn't put any heat in his tone. "It's disgusting."
The two just laughed. "You flirt with your wife all the time!" Roxy countered, smirking. "I bet you guys would kiss if you don't have restraint with you."
"Ha, ha, ha." Nate deadpanned. "Come on, let's go see if we could help with the others."
Meanwhile, nobody noticed Mama Murphy contently sitting on one of the chairs she took from the Strip, happily humming to herself as she watched as everyone made Sanctuary habitable from the cliffs overlooking the settlement. 'The winds of change have arrived at the Commonwealth…and the Sole Survivors of Vault 111 are its deliverers.' Mama Murphy thought to herself as she saw Nate and Nora playfully annoy each other. 'Though...for the better or for the worse…it remains to be seen.'
# # # # # # # # # #
As the days went by (and with it, the snow falling), everyone living in Sanctuary pitched in to help improve its facilities. Sturges, being the more knowledgeable engineer between him and Nate on wasteland technologies, directed most of the work. Nate helped him out when it came to building machineries for the settlement, ranging from generators, turrets, purifiers, and a radio (to draw more settlers and surviving Minutemen to them). Nora, the unofficial leader of the settlement, managed the construction of most buildings (with the Longs and Mama Murphy helping with the materials).
"You do realize," Nora began, arms on her hips as she stared at the newly constructed storage house/armory of the settlement. It was placed in front of the Strip to allow easy access to it. The Fastback was also brought into Sanctuary, getting parked in front of newly-built building. "It's been a month since we woke up Nate."
"Oh really?" he replied in surprise. "Damn…it felt like it has been days only, honey!"
Nora laughed as Preston came before them. "General, Colonel," the newest Major of the reorganized Minutemen greeted them. A week ago, Nora had asked about the rank structure of the Minutemen but Preston's reply made her groan in despair. Apparently, the only people with ranks in the Minutemen were the individual Minutemen squad leaders and the General himself, leaving many of the Minutemen to have no ranks at all.
With her new rank, however, Nora made it clear how things will be run under her. With Nate's help, she organized the new Minutemen rankings according to the US Army rank structure: Privates, Corporals, Sergeants, Captains, Lieutenants, Majors, a Colonel, and a General.
The lowest, of course, were the Privates and Corporals as the backbone of the Minutemen (or as Nate liked to call them, grunts). Next were the Sergeants and Captains, who will command the three-man and five-man Minutemen patrols respectively. Their main duty is to lead the Minutemen squads on daily patrols to ensure that the people know the Minutemen were always ready to help.
Four Lieutenants, two Majors, a Colonel, and a General will then make up for the High Command of the Minutemen. Nate suggested that they divide the Commonwealth into four sectors that will be handled by a Lieutenant. Then, two Majors will then handle the Northern and Southern Command of the Minutemen. Sectors One and Three will belong to the Northern Command (based in Sanctuary) while Sectors Two and Four reports to Southern Command (based in The Castle). Finally, the Colonel and the General will then be the overall leaders of the Minutemen Army.
This way, there won't be a power vacuum when the Minutemen General dies or lose a headquarters immediately – a problem the old Minutemen faced when General Arthur McGann (Nora's predecessor) died at the loss of the Castle, the only Minutemen HQ back then. The new Minutemen Army, under Nora, will now be based in its Northern Command Center, Sanctuary (and temporary boot camp), until the Southern Command could be established from The Castle (once recaptured on a prior date).
However, it was easier said than done. Right now, Sanctuary was there only base with five Minutemen (Jun being their latest recruit) that can respond to the calls for help. Then again, they should be given some slack – after all, they were still rebuilding and recuperating from all the defeats they've suffered in the past. "What is it, Major?" Nora asked, smiling as Preston stopped before them. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Preston frowned before snapping a sloppy saluting. "Sorry General," he apologized, still saluting. "I need to get used to the changes."
"At ease Major Garvey," Nate ordered before explaining to the flustered Major how to execute a proper salute.
"I'll remember that, Colonel." he promised before turning to Nora. "Private Jun reports that a group of potential settlers are making their way here, General. Apparently, their old settlement in Jalbert Brothers Disposal was attacked by Raiders. After hearing about Sanctuary, they decided to make their way here for a much safer place to stay."
Nora nodded and was about to ask about Jun's training (God knows the man needed a lot of help to come out of his shell) when bells started ringing. "That's near the bridge." she said, frowning. Without a word, all three of them ran for the bridge as fast as possible.
"Give me a sitrep, Bluejay." Nate asked upon the trio's arrival to the bridge. A week after their arrival, Sturges had directed more focus in building turrets and traps for the only bridge leading to Sanctuary. One week later, the bridge was now defended by two Pipe turrets place on an elevated platform with a Guard Tower in between them – the one Bluejay was currently manning.
"Flare went up over the ridge." Bluejay replied, pointing his compensated laser rifle towards its direction. "Looks like Duke and Zeke met some opposition."
"Alright…Nate, with me!" Nora ordered. "Preston, you're on overwatch."
Nate raised his compensated pipe rifle as the two ran towards the flare's last position – which happened to be near the Red Rocket Station. Nora, who was carrying a scoped silenced pipe rifle, looked through it and cursed. "Five raiders in a pincer movement." Nora said quietly as the two took cover near some destroyed vehicles. "Two in front of them with three behind."
"Take out the two, I'll go in and give suppressing fire." Nate said. From the looks of it, Duke and Zeke met up with the potential settlers and decided to help them reach Sanctuary. "That'll give them a break from all the fighting."
Nora nodded, lining up her shot. She fired at a raider, blowing up the unsuspecting his head in firework-like explosion. The other never got a chance to turn as Nora fired again, killing him as well. Duke, who was firing at the ones Nora killed with his assault rifle, was stunned until he saw Nate running towards them, gun blazing at the enemies, forcing the last three raiders to duck. Upon reaching them, Nate ducked behind the wrecked car Zeke was using for cover. "Took you guys long enough." Zeke grunted through his T-60 speakers.
Nate chuckled as began firing at the Raiders, forcing them to duck again. "Yeah well…we took the scenic route to get here." he joked as the two of them saw one of the raiders head blow up. "Come on, let's kill these bastards."
Zeke smirked as Nate immediately jumped out of cover, raining fire on the last two. Thanks to some scavenged metal armor from the Concord Raiders, Nate was now wearing a metal chest piece armor with metal arm guards, making close-up encounters much safer for him. One raider, however, had a combat shotgun (quite dangerous for anyone doing CQC) with him and was preparing to fire at the Colonel.
Nora, seeing the shotgun, immediately lined up her scope and fired, knocking the gun out of his hands. Before the raider could react, Zeke took aim and fired, spraying the raider's chest with .45 rounds with his assault rifle. The last raider (female from the looks of it) became enraged that she injected something into her to become crazier than usual, firing at anything moving. Unluckily, Nate got nicked on the legs by stray bullets as he dove for cover along with everyone else.
Nora, who was having a hard lining up the shot, managed to get a lucky opening when the raider stopped to reload. Quick as lightning, she aimed and fire, blowing up the raider's head just as she was about to continue her crazed actions. Replacing her magazine, she walked up to the small group, Nate limping back to them. "What the hell was that?" she asked, tossing bandages to Nate.
"Either Psycho or Overdrive." Duke said as he reloaded his assault rifle. "Kinda like an adrenaline booster, makes you feel invincible and all."
Nora said nothing as she assessed the group they rescued. There were four adults (two females and two males) with two children (two girls around 12 years old). Two adults (a male Ghoul and female human) were wearing drifter outfits, the Ghoul holding a combat shotgun with a backpack and the woman carrying a huge backpack about half her size. The other woman, on the other hand, was wearing brown armored robes and a small sack on her back, looking around with suspicion, keeping that weird-looking contraption on her hand close to her chest and poised to attack at the slightest provocation.
The last man, wearing hooded green shirt, patched leather pants with pouches on his belt, approached them. "I thank you for rescuing us…" he trailed off, looking at Nora and Nate.
"Colonel Nate Adams of the Commonwealth Minutemen." Nate introduced himself, offering his hand. "And this is my wife, General Nora Adams."
The man shook it with gratitude. "Thank you then, Colonel, General. I am Victor Reznov, leader of this group of travelers." he said as introducing himself, a grateful smile on his face. "I believe you four come from Sanctuary?"
"Hell yeah, man!" Zeke exclaimed happily, his helmet off. "You guys got the message, I guess?"
Victor nodded. "Yes…although, I would like to ask if any of you have anything against a Ghoul?" he asked, eyes narrowing at then.
"If we have, then we would have stated in our radio broadcast the 'No Ghouls Allowed' line." Nora pointed out, smirking. "Besides, our duty as Minutemen is to protect the Commonwealth's people at the minute's notice – keyword being Commonwealth's people."
Victor looked relieved. "Very well then, let me introduce to you my fellow travelers." he said, motioning to the others to come near.
Pointing to the Ghoul, Victor said "This here is Old Man Jacob. He's our protection detail and resident cook." Said Ghoul just gave them a once over before tilting his head in greeting. "Beside him is Trader Natalie. She sells mostly food, clothes, some stimpacks and ammo, and an occasional chem."
Natalie waved at them merrily as two children peeked behind her. "These two are Jessie and Mia, orphaned twins Natalie and I take care off." Victor said, crouching down and ruffling one of the twin's hairs. "And this is Veronica."
"Veronica Santangelo." she replied curtly, eyeing the four saviors with suspicion. "I hail from the west coast, near New Vegas."
"New Vegas…as in Las Vegas?" Nate asked, getting a surprised nod from Veronica. "Damn…will you look at that, Nora! The Gambling Capital of America survived without a scratch!"
Nora just laughed. "No Nate, we are not going on a cross country trip just for you to gamble." she joked.
"Anyway, how in the world did Vegas survive?" Nate then asked Veronica. "I know Nellis Air Force Base was there along with Hoover Dam, perfectly good military target for the Chinese."
Everyone – including Veronica – seemed confused about what Nate was asking. "How…how did you know about Nellies and Hoover Dam?" she asked, clearly surprised by Nate's knowledge of pre-War Vegas.
Nora changed the subject, knowing it will take a while for them to explain how. "Can we please go now?" Nora asked, looking about. "We'll answer your question privately once we're back in Sanctuary – we'll scavenge the dead later."
Grudgingly, Veronica accepted and the rest began to move towards Sanctuary. "What's her problem?" Nora asked Victor, who had decided to walk near her while Nate took point again.
"I dunno know." he confessed, sighing. "She stumbled into our camp, badly wounded and delirious from being dehydrated for God knows how long. When we were patching her up, she kept mumbling the words 'pock-lips', 'flowers', and 'Mojave'. Upon waking up, didn't seem to know where she was and kept asking where her companions were."
Nora looked at Veronica, who really seemed distant with everyone around her. "Did she tell you anything about herself?" she asked.
Victor nodded as they neared the Red Rocket Gas Station. "After she had calmed down, that is. She told us her name and said she was part of a group called 'Followers of the Apocalypse'." he said. "They're a group of people dedicated to helping the people of the wasteland, something like the 'Red Cross' or the like before the bombs. I call it bullshit."
"Why?" Nora asked, frowning. "It's a noble idea like the Minutemen."
"Yeah, but the problem is, nobody helps anyone without getting something in return." Victor countered as their group caught sight of the Minutemen Statue (Preston had named it as such seeing that Sanctuary was now officially the Minutemen HQ, the statue near its border should be called that). "I think that group's going to ask for food and money in return for helping them."
"Hey," Nora protested. "Before the bombs fell, the Red Cross was a worldwide organization whose main duties were to care for everyone in need. If this 'Followers' are something of the same, then they're good in my book."
"I still doubt them." Victor stated with finality. "However, one thing's for sure: what ever happened to her group, she was the only survivor."
"I agree." Nora said, stopping in front of the bridge leading to Sanctuary.
Nate spread his arms wide open in a gesturing manner, turning towards the group like some game show host. "Welcome to Sanctuary!" he exclaimed, a grin on his face. "The official Minutemen Headquarters and Settlement where you can safely live in!"
The group eventually made their way across the Sanctuary Bridge; avoiding the broken parts on it ("We have to patch this bridge later, Nora." Nate stated to his wife as they passed it) and were greeted by Preston and Sturges.
"General, Colonel." Preston greeted, correctly saluting this time.
"At ease, Major." Nora ordered after saluting back.
Preston relaxed and looked at the group. "These from Jalbert?" he asked, getting a nod from Nate. "Good, they've arrived safe and sound. Oh, a trader named Lucas is setting up near the Strip."
"Anything else to report, Major?" Nora asked.
The major nodded. "He just told me about a settlement in Tenpines Bluff." he said as the three of them walked towards Sanctuary Storage House. "He said that they're having some trouble from raiders."
"Did they tell you where?" Nate asked, entering the armory section of the house.
Preston shook his head. "They asked if they could speak first with the Minutemen that'll be helping."
Although large, the Sanctuary Armory had a few weapons stored in them: namely pipe rifles, pipe pistols, a few melee weapons, three N99 pistols, and two laser muskets. It was quite understandable for it to have only a few weapons since the settlement only had a few people in them. Thanks to Nate's brilliance in modding weapons, however, all the weapons in it was good enough to deal more damage than necessary. Grabbing one of the deactivated Scoped Laser Musket, Nate threw it to Nora before grabbing some ammo for the two of them.
"To the Fastback, everyone!" Nate said with a grin. "Let's show them that the Commonwealth Minutemen ain't dead yet!"
Edited: 12/15/19
