John breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the dark cave. He hoped this was the place...he'd already scoured three other caves already and was growing sick and tired of destroying the local wildlife or odd raider hideout when he had far more important matters to attend to.
The enclave had moved fast, he had to give them that. Already there were patrols all over the wasteland and he'd barely avoided getting caught by them so many times that it wasn't even funny. Only once had he'd been caught, and that had been because they had dropped right on top of him with one of those vertibirds of theirs...
John patted his new assortment of odd grenades he'd received from that little engagement. The explosion of the vertibird had really been a blessing, the only thing that had kept him from getting killed most likely. Although the following run to escape other groups of enclave closing in on the explosion had been less then fun...he at least now had another trick to play on them for later, couldn't complain really.
Keeping his rifle at the ready, but still not powering it up in fear of the glow revealing him in the dark tunnel, John moved forward. He had learnt to move quietly over his life in the wasteland, and though the power armour had taken some getting used to...he now believed himself to be quiet even with it on. Of course the deathclaw in the last cave had disagreed with that...John shrugged, silent or not, it didn't really matter since he had to check the place out.
It still felt a little odd not to wear his pip-boy, he had even missed it last night, but he knew he had made the right decision to give it away. He was not a vaultie anymore after all...and they could use any help they could get. He smiled tightly, he had closed a chapter of his life...though he didn't miss it that much to be truthful. Peace and quiet seemed nice...but it held no real charm to John...not as long as there was work to be done.
Ghosting down the cave floor John quickly reached the bottom and turned the corner with his rifle raised, ready to put a bolt of searing death into whatever creature awaited him.
Instead he found himself aiming at a surprisingly sturdy looking gate. Blinking he took pause to understand what he was looking at.
In front of him the cave had opened up into a large cavern, but a mere dozen steps inwards and a wall of riveted steel plates and wood had been erected across the cavern, blocking all entrance save that through a gate that seemed to be a solid block of steel. Huh, the wall sort of reminded him of Megaton...but looked sturdier, probably because whoever lived in the cave didn't need to build a wall all around the settlement...crafty bastards.
Then he heard a gun being cocked and instantly powered up his plasma rifle. "Stop right there you mungo!" A far too young voice called out with far more authority then one could expect out of such a young boy. Looking up John saw the boy...no more then twelve years old, dressed in combat armour too big for him and a rifle that was longer than himself...and eyes squinting in hostility as he held John in his sight. "Another step and I'll blow your head off!"
John sighed, so young...they were all so young...but this one...it was just obscene. "I'm not here to cause trouble." He powered his rifle down and put it behind his back. Not like there was much danger of that hunting rifle punching through his helmet...and John somewhat doubted the kid really wanted to hurt him.
"Yeah? What do you want then?" The kid gestured his rifle at him. "Speak up!"
Taking a careful step forward while raising his hands into the air John decided to play the diplomatic game. "I need to enter vault eighty-seven, I'm lead to believe it's somewhere in this cave."
The kid laughed, tone bitter: "Yeah it's here, we've sealed it so the monsters can't get out, which is funny since those in it before didn't want to let us in long ago!" John frowned, monsters? Wonder which kind? "But this is little lamplight, a place for kids, not mungos like you! So since you can't get in I guess you have to find another way!"
"Why can't-"
"I just told you! No mungos allowed! Now piss off before I blow your head off and let the others drag your naked corpse out to the deathclaws!" The kid leant forward against his wall, teeth bared like an angry dog.
Ugh, always another obstacle, even some who didn't seem to make any sense... "Fine, hang on." Stepping back John lowered his hands...and sat down in the corner of the cave, leaning against the cavern wall while considering his next move. The kid was still eyeing him, obviously ready for anything...but John didn't rightly care about that as he considered his options.
The kid was referring to others...and him as a mungo...probably meant 'grownup'...so it was a town for kids? Little lamplight...John frowned, he remember when he had talked to the people in Big town...this was where they came from? Peculiar...where did the kids come from then? Did the people in Big town send them here or something? Why would they do such a thing? Damn the world was fucked up...
Those thoughts took him no closer to his goal however, frowning he considered what he could do. The wall wasn't so thick he couldn't break through it with a few plasma bolts...and he doubted the kids could put up enough of a fight to stop him really.
Killing children...was he actually considering it? The morals he knew the vault and his father had ingrained into him screamed against it...but he remained calm as he considered it. He could just scare them into a corner and then move on...but that would also equal killing them since it would deprive them of their wall that kept out the animals and odd raiders...
So however he did it he would kill them by his actions, his morals didn't like that. Of course he could justify it in that he saved so many others...whole settlements full of people would have a better life if he just killed a few kids. If one looked at it neutrally it was a greater benefit for the people of the wasteland if he just barrelled his way through and got going...his morals still refused though, not wanting to admit the logic in his thinking.
Maybe he should discard his morals? He knew he could...he could practically feel them, like memories they were tangible things to him by now...if he chose to do so he could throw them to the side, eliminate them from his mind. Would that not be for the best? They had caused too many problems already...removing them could possibly save hundreds if not thousands of lives.
The fear that it would stop him from doing his work, not caring anymore, he discarded...his need for a purpose was too great for him to throw aside his mission due to a lack of morals. So maybe...
The image of his father appeared within his mind, how he had begun to melt as the radiation destroyed him...that had been a good death, but why? Had it not been because he died for what he believed in? And did that not reside in his morals? If John simply removed his morals...would he not deprive himself of the chance for a good death? He shuddered at the thought.
Not that he liked the idea of dying, but it was a possibility after all, and to die meaningless...like another raider or mercenary...was terrifying.
Maybe he could just change his morals?
No, that would open a window for further changes, letting him arbitrarily change them as opportunities presented themselves...which would deprive them of their value.
So either push them aside or not...the first a scary option...the other one probably full of hardship.
"Never easy is it?" He muttered, forcing himself to stand up. Stepping forward he raised his hands above his head and spoke up: "Hey kid!?"
"Oh for fucks..." Came the mutter as the kid rubbed his eyes in a weary gesture, then aimed the rifle back at John with a glare. "...what!?"
"You don't trust me right?"
"No shit, got a brain within that tin can of yours?"
"Because I'm a mungo?"
"Wow, you're serious aren't you?" The kid shook his head, teeth bared in irritation. "Of course because you're a mungo!"
John ignored the quips, they were most likely used to strengthen the kid's own resolve after all, no doubt he was far more nervous about the massive shape before him then he let on. At least he hid it better than Butch...heck he would probably put up a fight if threatened. "But if I get you to trust me you would let me in...right?"
"Well..." The kid frowned, confused at John's words. "I...guess." Then the brave face returned, God...John almost felt proud at it. A mere child ready to fight him, defiant...like him... He knew he would never have a child, for some reason he was sure of it. Oh great, now he really couldn't kill them, dammit... "What's your idea?"
Shrugging John pushed his irritation aside. "You tell me, surely there's something you would need of a guy living on the outside?"
"Well...yeah there is one thing." The kid frowned, struggling with a tear perhaps? "Sammy and Squirrel-"
"Squirrel?"
"Shut the fuck up!" The child barked back, silencing John to his own surprise. Heh, he was starting to like this kid...another reason to not to shoot him...John sighed. "The idiots went out of the walls and were taken by the slavers, if you can get them back I'll let you in." Slavers? As in the fortress Paradise falls? That wasn't really what he'd had in mind... "Or you can find another way, be my guest."
John grumbled, once more he considered pushing aside his morals and do what was needed...but he couldn't bring himself to do it anymore, his mind set. "Great...why won't you tell me to blow up the enclave headquarters while you're at it..."
"What was that?" The kid leaned forward to hear him, looking a little offended.
"I said I'll do it!" He called back, closing his fists in irritation. How did he always get roped into stuff like this? Even when he tried to avoid it shit kept being tossed into his face for some reason...maybe he should have taken Amata's offer? "Don't suppose you know the price on a slave...?" He muttered the last, not really wanting to push his luck.
"Great! Now piss off before I change my mind!"
"Right, right..." John turned and lowered his hands. Already moving away he mulled over how he was supposed to dodge enclave patrols...reach Paradise Falls...get the slaves without getting killed by a group that no doubt held quite a lot of hostility to him...and then return with two kids in tow and a potential army of slavers and enclave troops in hot pursuit. "God I'm an idiot..."