Augustus was staring gloomily into his bowl, filled with mush―he knew exactly what went into the food processor. He didn't want to ruminate on what variety of amino acids he was shoving into his stomach, or what bound that mush together into an unrecognizable lump on the spoon. He lifted the spoon and let a blob of it fall back into the bowl, and sighed.

Distractedly, his thoughts turned from this to something more or less harmful to his ego. Eden. Eden had played him like a piano, an accompaniment to Lillie's VIOLA. His role would forever be that of the background harmony, no matter if that harmony were flawed and grating on one's ears.

He smiled grimly to himself. He'd been reading entirely too much poetry, lately. The elaborate mannerisms had rubbed off onto him. As it had... with Lillie, to disastrous effect.

As was instructed, James had been delivered to the area. The plot was in full-swing and the dramatic pauses were unbearable, waiting for the next cycle of monitoring to complete. The "orchestra" was reviewing the tapes once an hour now, reviewing Lillie's activity.

She was not ill... not that he could tell. She'd slept for a much longer time than was appropriate, but she appeared hale once she woke. With her, now, was a leather-clad man armed with a rifle, varying between agitated and pensive in nature. Lillie had attacked him at least once, upon waking, and she was constantly watching him. That was good; Augustus didn't trust any wastelander, even one who appeared to have been hired as protection. The look in the man's eyes when he stared at Lillie―

No, he didn't want his brain focusing on that. It was hard enough for him to justify his own feelings without introducing some vile sort of covetous behavior. Augustus closed his eyes for a moment. All he could do was hope.

...But he hadn't much hope, left. This next move of Eden's―the development of James being introduced into the wastes―had been what he'd hoped for. He hoped that Lillie had somehow worked her side of the board to force Eden's hand, and that she wasn't put aback by the move.

He couldn't trust that she had planned this, though. Everything he'd trusted before was also planned for, by Eden. He wasn't able to warn James of whatever had been put into place for Lillie, regarding VIOLA. There were so many outcomes of the supercomputer's vague threat about losing the feed, he couldn't pinpoint any one as more pertinent than the others. All were worrying, and most were fatal.

If she had a bomb in her head, at least her suffering would be over with that much more quickly. He didn't want to imagine. He did.

Augustus breathed out, calming his hand. The spoon had been rattling on the edge of the bowl, a sound that was immeasurably loud in the quiet of the mess hall. Couldn't do that―

He was worried for Lillie, dammit. Bothered him, the concern he was fettering inside his head and chest. It was useless to think in that way, he knew. She was safe, her father would find her. Everything would be well once James managed to run her down and get her into that Vault. It would work out, James and he focusing their collective brainpower onto defeating the supercomputer. It would work.

She had been safer before, though. Safer in the bunker, where he could watch her. Safer when her spirit was being crushed by him; safer when she was a child, when she had not yet lost her father. Safer before she came to Raven Rock―safer when she was not yet born―

His spoon danced across the edge of the bowl again. Augustus put it to the side and covered his face, rubbing his eyes. His worry for the girl was completely expected by Eden, and he knew it would use her to compel him into action. He had to get a better grip on himself. Wouldn't do to lose his head―it was only a matter of time before he would be subjected to Eden's machinations again. And Lillie might suffer for that.

Eden expected him to fight the feelings; maybe it planned on his unwilling nature to push him into being agitated, once more. He'd been oh-so malleable when he was agitated. Regretted that he'd caused anguish to Lillie, and turned his weapon on her. Even if he was proud of her, when she'd fought him off. He should not have given into that anger. It was uncouth.

That was one matter he'd not had to worry about, though. Augustus stared down into the gray lumps of the unidentifiable porridge. He'd reviewed her combat holotapes. Lillie was using every trick in her book to deter threats. She'd not backed down from danger, but assessed the situation and provided an entirely adequate response―an excellent response, even.

The whole of that, and knowing she'd been trained by himself, made him feel rather strange. Beyond being proud, he felt some emotion in his chest that... he wanted to act upon, but was unable due to circumstance. He... admired her. She'd taken everything she was taught and done exactly what she was ordered to, with slight delay. She was a good soldier.

He appreciated her as an asset, he reminded himself. An unbidden thought reminded him that it was unlikely he'd ever see her alive again. The thought only worsened his pain.

Augustus sighed and began to eat, trying to ignore the errant thoughts. He honestly wished he was still having migraines. That pain was more tolerable than this strange constricting feeling he was experiencing in his chest.

Idly, he thought that it might be a heart attack. But no, he wouldn't presume he could be that lucky.

"Colonel Autumn!"

One of the technicians in the "orchestra" monitoring VIOLA. He turned his head but not his body and acknowledged the man. "Sir, she's reached the Vault," the technician began. "As of one hour ago she was poised to enter, but―"

Augustus dropped his spoon into the bowl and stood up. It was going to be a very painful day.

Let us get it over with, then.

Lillie was at the Vault entrance, staring at the wires under the door and using the intercom to speak to those within. Her education was not complete, regarding Vaults in general, but technical specifications had been provided to her. Eden itself had gone over the plans with her and discussed various solutions to hypothetical problems.

Augustus moved into the monitoring station and positioned himself to see the footage. She must know that the so-called "exercises" were designed to accommodate her in this venture. That everything had been planned to meet this eventuality. If...

He watched the technician placing a holotape into the terminal. If he were to take her messages as Eden interpreted them, he would be alarmed at her steadfast refusal to comprehend his warnings. He knew she was particularly stubborn when she was emotional, such as when she'd found he'd lied about James―

That lie had been given out in spite and hate, and now came back to haunt him. He took a deep breath and released it. Patience, he reminded himself, was a virtue. He would be patient and attempt to understand her better, and wait for another sign.

If he were to imagine another interpretation of her poetry... He mused to himself for a moment. "Freedom's chosen station" had been in Don Juan; the titular character, upon viewing Britain, had been extolling the country's virtues prior to being set upon by a brigand. He suspected Lillie had been telling him that she understood who he'd referenced, in his warning.

"Death, thou shalt die" probably referred to Eden, and her opinion of the President. Combined with one another, the two lines made her declaration of being "ignis fatuus" into a promise.

A promise that she would deceive, and play along. If he could believe that was what she'd meant.

"Here we are, sir," the technician said, moving away.

Augustus watched in silence for a moment. Lillie had been conversing with the residents of the Vault, when she was interrupted by James. His attitude was nervous, as he moved up to her and placed a hand over her eyes. For ten minutes, the feed was blank apart from small shafts of dim light peeking through his fingers.

After ten minutes had elapsed, James was violently thrown back and knocked onto the floor; Lillie's outstretched hand was palm out and trembling. She'd pushed him away. Augustus frowned. He needed her to be as affectionate as she once had, for the plan to work―

The bodyguard caught her attention, Lillie's eye rapt on his face as he spoke. "Wish there was audio," one of the other technicians said, before being hushed.

Augustus concurred. Given the body language, however... it would not assuage his concern to hear what this grime-crusted rifleman was saying. He continued watching until he caught a brief glimpse of something in the corner of the footage.

"Stop it there," he ordered. The technician hit a button and froze the screen. Augustus drew closer, squinting.

The Vault door was opening in this frame, a small crack of light showing through the crenellation. In the very edge of the screen was a small white blur, with black scribbling on it; he was sated. James had actually given her his message.

"She has access to the Vault, now," he said, ordering the man to stop the footage. "Keep the schedule, mind her actions, and gather as much information about the Vault as you can. We will trust that Lillie can effect a change on the people's minds; that is all we can do at this time."

"Are you not going to watch the rest of the tape, sir?"

Augustus shook his head. "Mind her actions," he ordered, again. More firmly. As if he doubted her, as if she was suddenly to be suspected. Which was as he intended.

It was all he could do not to give away the ruse. If the technicians believed that he had reason to be concerned about Lillie's actions, they would first assume it was due to her being where she was born; her actual home. They would place precedence on her, and not on what James was doing.

It might buy the man some time to figure out what to do about Lillie. If she was so angered by him that she was violent toward him... she would not acquiesce to surgery, nor would she allow James to examine the visual integration apparatus. Or examine her for any trap Eden might have laid into Lillie's head―

Augustus narrowed his eyes as he stared at the wall, contemplating the matter. "Sir, she did leave another message―" the technician was saying. Augustus turned himself back to the terminal and nodded, calmly.

Fast forwarding the footage: Lillie and the two men entered the door, punctuated by some rough gestures by an older man in a standard 101 jumpsuit. A discussion was apparently held, and the three were escorted further into the Vault. Augustus was relieved that the Overseer had allowed them inside, if under heavy guard. He wasn't concerned about the guards. Lillie was more than capable of handling any security the Vault had to offer.

The group was shown into a jail cell and locked inside, and Lillie had another brief argument with James, her hands animated in her periphery. She moved herself to one of the beds in the room and drew out the message he'd given her. Her eyes moved over his message, slowly.

"Where'd she get that?" someone said, behind him. "Looks like your handwriting, sir."

He said nothing, but watched as she turned the paper and wrote on the back. "From chains, would gladly be their tyrant's ape."

Augustus breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't be certain that she would understand, but―he could be sure now. She knew. She knew who he'd meant when he warned her. And her response was enough that Eden would not gather more than it ought to, but assume she was still working toward the mission goal.

He hoped, once more.

Note: For clarity. (Also, we will be seeing Lillie soon, I promise)

Though first in glory, deepest in reverse,
He tasted empire's blessings and its curse;
Though kings, rejoicing in their late escape
From chains, would gladly be their tyrant's ape;

"The Age of Bronze" by Lord George Gordon Byron