"Colonel, I have need of your assistance."

Augustus acknowledged the supercomputer with an indecipherable grunt, his hand stuck into the face plate of a Hellfire Armor. Working through the inner components, he pulled one of the lenses from the visor and inspected it briefly before discarding it.

More trouble with the power supply to the helmet. Intermittent surges through the core systems were causing oxygen failure even when the helmet was not properly fitted. He'd already examined the core for defects and found that the core itself was not seated correctly in the molded shell; that problem could be rectified, but the test subject had lost consciousness and he was determined to find out why.

His hand slid across the metal, leather gloves protecting him from the rough edges of the face plate. The seal on the helmets wasn't effective unless completely secured. The seal itself was in good condition, so he thought it probable that the exhaust system was flooding the helmet with carbon monoxide when the power fluctuated. This could mean a variety of concerns―

Augustus squinted at the face plate and followed a wire back toward a connection. He didn't bother to look up at the intercom light, but kept his eyes on the job. Human life, especially the lives of his soldiers, was more important. There simply weren't enough men to lose one through something so inane as an armor test.

He was also using the problem as a distraction. Trying not to think about―

Augustus closed his eyes for a long moment and breathed out. He had been trying to ignore that for a week, now, with variable success. It wasn't helping his mental well-being to know that he couldn't help imagining what was going on with Lillie and James, but he had finally managed to block it somewhat with determination.

Or rather, block thoughts about what wasn't going on with the two; Lillie had been unconscious again for a day or two earlier in the week, and Augustus had been certain that meant James enacted his plan to remove VIOLA. But the feed was continuous, once she woke from the long dark.

The dire implication made by Eden... the back-up plan, to stop James from removing the apparatus, had been on his mind for far too long and far too late into the night. Deep down he knew that James would not dare harm Lillie, even if she pushed him away or attacked him. If she was in danger by his removing VIOLA, he would abstain.

She must have a bomb in her head, or some other disturbing fail safe. He did not wish to analyze that idea.

He admitted to himself that he felt something other than simple professional pride toward the girl. It was unsettling. And he wasn't sure quite how to handle himself, when facing such demons.

"Would you please report to the monitoring station, Colonel? I really would like this to be dealt with personally... and quickly."

Augustus sighed, removed his hands from the interior of the helmet, and shot the intercom light a look. If the supercomputer needed a physical hand on the matter, it was likely another attempt to draw out his emotions toward Lillie. That had happened twice thus far, and Augustus had not bought into the charade. He had never fought a battle so hard. But he had won.

...Without Lillie around, and by allowing himself to maintain that she had not existed, he was back to the behavior prior to her arrival. A stubborn refusal to let the computer push him around. It was better that way.

"I will be there as quickly as I can manage, sir," he replied, placing the helmet down.

The trip through the hallway to the monitoring station was normally a very short one, but Augustus slowed his steps, dreading what he might find once he arrived. He had not set foot inside of the monitoring station for nearly a week, ignoring the missives sent by the technicians. Requests for interpretation of the footage were rebutted with orders to stay the course, and collect data.

Eden wanted him to observe Lillie's actions. She was inside the Vault. It was possible that she had finally convinced the people to join the Enclave. He doubted that very much, however. That Vault... their goal, didn't lend to a positive outcome for the Enclave. There was little she could do but ruin the Vault and force them to depart, leaving him and his men to deal with an uncooperative group of people who were in no way prepared for the wastes.

If it was not Enclave pursuits, Eden only wanted to torture him again. If Lillie was dragging her feet because she wanted to send him more messages, or if she was fighting with James again, Augustus would be necessarily called to intervene. And Eden would capitalize on the opportunity to test the weary Colonel once more.

That damn computer would have no qualms about dangling him as bait for the girl, to force her hand. And she would take the bait, without question. Augustus sighed, turned his head to the side to hide his dour expression, and entered the room.

"What is going on," he barked at the nearest operator, who jumped in his seat and turned to stare at his commanding officer.

"Colonel Autumn, sir?" the man asked, confused.

Augustus frowned and snapped his head toward the intercom. "Mr. President?" he asked, his voice becoming tight with anger.

"Colonel, please review the last recorded holotape," the intercom crackled. "When you have completed that, report to me."

Augustus rubbed his temple briefly, before accepting the holotape presented to him.

"Lillie is still in the Vault," President Eden said. Augustus shifted his weight and felt the holotape in his pocket, gently butting against his leg. "And she has made little effort to convince the inhabitants to leave. This latest tape has shown us that."

"That is what it appears to be, sir," he agreed, nodding wearily.

"If this course of action continues, I will have to act." Eden sounded strained.

Augustus did not want for that, either. His being pushed into coercion―manipulating Lillie once more, as he had with his ill treatment―was not a desirable outcome. She would fold if he asked her. She was a good soldier. He kept his face as emotionless as he could.

"But, why?" Eden asked, sounding agitated. The light brightened, burning into Augustus' eyes. Eden sighed, as if defeated. "James is undoubtedly behind this. His stealthy scheming was something I had anticipated, though I expected Lillie would have played much nicer with her father. ...Unless it is a plot between the two, to confuse me."

"Lillie doesn't know the truth," Augustus started, but realized it was futile. James would have told her, of course.

"As much as I value your advice, I also expect that her father denounced my name. No, my dear Colonel, she knows."

"I expect James has, yes," Augustus murmured, slowly. "But Lillie might not necessarily believe her father." If she did know, then he hoped she would play dumb― "She is a rebellious teenager, of course, and she trusted you, sir. She's very cunning, despite her silly exterior."

She'd been remarkably good at pretending. Augustus cringed on the inside. He himself had been fooled so many times by her marked innocence. ...That innocence that he had seen to be real. She was smart, but she was still young.

Perhaps that was what made her attractive to him. Augustus cringed, this time on the outside. He needed not to waste his time thinking of that. Especially around the supercomputer so hell bent on making their lives miserable.

Eden sighed. "Again, I find my databanks are bereft of information related to the mindset of teenage girls."

Augustus sputtered, coughing and covering his mouth to hide the laugh. He looked at the floor and drew his brow together. Yes, she was very young, too young. He must stop letting his thoughts run wild as if he were a teenager, himself.

"No matter." Eden cleared its "throat". "We will not enact the back-up until I am certain that Lillie is not following orders anymore. When the time comes, I will inform you."

"Yes, sir."

Later, as he sat at his desk reading yet another Deathclaw incident report, Augustus removed the holotape from his pocket and tossed it into a drawer. He shut the drawer and finished the report, before removing his jacket and hanging it up on a peg, then sitting back at the terminal.

The scotch had been finished and never replaced. He was as sober as the day he was born, and did not intend to drink again. Serious thoughts were fluid in his mind, bubbling about and confusing him.

Particularly, he was confused by his attitude recently. He―honestly, he missed the girl. It was novel, in a way. He hadn't thought he would like her as much as he had come to, now, and he certainly didn't like that, in her absence, he was left... wanting.

Her innocence, his role in harming her psyche, and his attempt to repair that by becoming a protector... he was embarrassed by the terrible wrenching of his heart when he thought of such things. His shame and guilt, her reaction to physical contact, even the wide-eyed look on her face when she'd kicked him in the face. Every single thought about Lillie made him hurt.

He needed to distract himself from such thought. Immediately.

Lillie's actions inside the Vault didn't surprise him. She had been unsuccessful in her persuasion of the Overseer, at least. Augustus had noticed that immediately; as she grew more animated, the Overseer's body language had become the opposite. He was giving no quarter, and shut down her persuasion.

Eden had either chosen to ignore that, or had wanted to bait Augustus with the idea. He had not risen to the occasion. ...He wished he knew how the Overseer had withstood Lillie's charm.

Augustus opened the desk drawer to retrieve the holotape. It pulled out harder than he expected, causing the desk to shudder. He was more agitated than he'd thought. He breathed out slowly, and opened the drawer to the fullest.

He was momentarily confused. There were two holotapes in the desk drawer; there should only have been the one. The other―looked as it if had been secured to the underside of the desk and was knocked loose by his motion. Augustus blinked back surprise and withdrew both tapes.

He knew one would contain Lillie speaking with the Overseer, getting into her father's face, and arguing with the rifleman she'd hired. Actions that he had intended to review. ...Actions that he knew would probably agitate him more.

The other tape... he turned it around in his hands and kept it out of the view of the intercom light. His father's handwriting. He frowned, and squinted. The spindly handwriting he himself had inherited was all over the back of the holotape, letters tilted slight to the right.

He put it into the terminal and gave it a quick once over before ejecting it and shutting down the computer. The holotape went right into his breast pocket, and his hand covered his face in disbelief.

"I don't know if I can trust President Eden," it read. "Priority Override, Authorization code 420-03-20-9."

Good God. The destruct sequence for the ZAX supercomputer. His father had had it, and had not told him. And he was right. No one could trust the ZAX bastard. Augustus ruminated on the thought; possibly destroying the supercomputer right that moment.

No... it'd have to be a last resort, of course. But at least the option was there. And afterward―

Augustus rubbed his mouth and breathed out into his glove, a sigh of relief. Thank God Lillie was still in that Vault. It would be best for her to never leave. But he―he had no way to guarantee she would stay.

Augustus shook his head at himself, covered his eyes again, and tried not to let the sick feeling in his chest overtake his head.

Was it really too much to ask that he have a damned heart attack?!