Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land
Chapter Fifteen - Adam
The main meeting from the council ended, and then the meeting between Princess Piña Co Lada and her subordinate began. Adam knew that the meeting specifically would be between Elder Lyons, the Princess, and Knight Bozes. The protectron, which had been used to broadcast Mr. Robert Edwin House's voice, was back to its normal function. There were questions, multiple questions, about how one could access the various robots across the wasteland.
If Mr. House was able to access them then it meant that he was most likely the only person in the world that knew the state of every country. He likely knew what was happening across the globe, and it also meant that he had a foothold already on the other side of the gate. The construction protectrons over there had the same transmitters on them. That meant that he could access them when needed. He could use them as his proxies, and of course it made him wonder why he hadn't introduced himself before now.
Still, his mission stood before him. The place he had to travel to was close to Raven Rock. It was a bunker that was built prewar, and more specifically it was one that he'd passed several times. He'd seen where it was supposed to be, but there was no indication that it even existed. In truth its existence was even more hidden than that of Vault 112. He looked at those following him. Lelei, Rory, and Tuka. The three of them walked out to the Vertibird that was still waiting for them. He looked at it and gave a nod, "Okay, we need to go ahead and move out," he said before he looked at them, "I'm not going to tell you to stay behind, but I am going to ask that all of you be careful."
There was a look from Rory that he took as almost indigent. He understood that she likely had a connection that he couldn't understand to her god, but it didn't mean that he wanted her to get hurt regardless. The four of them climbed aboard the Vertibird, and he felt it lift into the air. As it moved he indicated on the map on his Pip Boy where they were heading. Once that was done he hung onto the side and watched as the machine began heading toward their destination.
What would have taken days to walk was taking less than two hours to reach by Vertibird. When it landed he stepped out and looked at the location. The information that Elder Lyons had given him told him exactly where he was supposed to go. He walked forward, touched the earth colored rock, and he felt it slide. For a moment it seemed to simply hang there, but then it slid down. He looked at the intercom system that was there.
"This is Paladin Adam Jefferson," he said as he stood there, "I've come to speak with the members of the Enclave that wish to join with the Brotherhood."
There was quiet for a moment, and then he heard the hissing sound of something working by hydraulics. The ground began to quake under him, and he moved as the very earth began to pull apart. What was there before him was a massive set of silo doors that led down into what had likely been a launch tube for one of the many nuclear warheads that had been launched in the great war. He looked at the others, and he began to walk down the metal steps that were on the side of the tube.
The others followed him, and he could see how the metal structure itself looked completely intact. Halfway down he noticed that the tube wasn't empty. There, standing at attention, was an unlaunched nuclear warhead. Yellow words were written across the top of it, "To China with Love, Uncle Sam."
The problem was that the gift was never delivered. He wasn't sure why, but then the fact that the Enclave had access to something like this bothered the hell out of him. Why would they have something this powerful here? What purpose could it possibly serve? No, he knew what the purpose was. Its entire purpose was to annihilate all life. It was designed to deliver the full power of the sun onto a single spot. He didn't know why it had never launched, but then again he wasn't interested to find out either.
They walked further down, and as they did the lighting on the sides of the tube began to glow. Slowly the entire room illuminated around him, and he saw the various access tubes that run from the main tube itself. Those tubes likely were the places where the explosive blast of the takeoff from the warhead could escape. Only one tube itself was lit up, and so he followed it. He walked until they came to a door. Once there the door itself slid open, and he looked inside to see several Enclave officers. One of them looked at him, her eyes looking haunted and almost dead.
"You were the last one to speak to President Eden," she said, her voice sounding hollow, "He told you the final orders, and we need to know, what were they?"
He looked at her, "To disband the Enclave," he said, "He believed that what was trying to be built was far too dangerous. That the same mistakes would be made again, and those mistakes would end up destroying the world all over again. Instead, he wanted to see the world rebuilt. Not just for those in the Enclave itself, but for everyone."
She studied him, "We want to join the Brotherhood," she said, her voice still hollow, but also exhausted, "We're tired. We know that we can't go on like this, but there's a problem. One of the scientists has an experiment that was salvaged from our original headquarters. It's incredibly dangerous, and he's threatening to use it in order to silence us. We need you to stop him, and stop it. If you can manage to control it, that would be best, but if not then it has to be stopped."
He nodded, "What's the experiment?"
She studied him for a moment, "Tell me, did the brotherhood have any information on Frank Horrigan?"
Adam looked at her, and tried to think about what he'd been allowed to read. After becoming a knight he'd been given access to several of the records kept by the Brotherhood of Steel, but he hadn't been allowed to see everything. There was quite a bit that was deemed above his need to know. However, there was a single record he remembered reading.
"I know he was part of the Enclave," he said, trying to remember, "That he was an agent, but that's about all that I know."
The woman shook her head, "They've kept much from you," she said before she moved toward a terminal. He watched as she keyed in a few things, and after she did a projector dropped from the ceiling. He watched as the wall behind her lit up. On it was a thing that looked like a cross between a suit of power armor and a super mutant. Huge didn't begin to explain how gigantic the thing was.
It looked as if it had to be twelve feet tall, and he watched as the stills showed it slaughtering individuals, then turning on super mutants, and finally slaughtering deathclaws. He looked at it with a giant knife, and from what he could make of the stills it appeared to enjoy what it was doing. The woman looked at him, "Frank Horrigan was the special agent. He was dedicated to the ideals of the Enclave, and he followed orders with the single mindedness of a sociopath," she said as she looked at him, "He became mutated, and somehow the scientists at the time managed to control it."
The woman shook, "The Enclave had the idea to clean the world, to ensure that only pure humans would be able to take it back," she said before she shook her head, "None of us are pure anymore. We've all been tainted by this wasteland. The only ones pure are the lucky bastards that were in project safehouse that managed to remain locked up this entire time. Maybe those lucky ones over in Boston that are in cryo."
She almost laughed before she stopped, "Sorry," she said before she looked at him, "Frank Horrigan is easily on par with a super mutant behemoth. In fact, if he was to fight one I'm sure that Horrigan would win. His intelligence is far higher, and he'd use that to his advantage."
She studied him, "That's what the scientist is threatening us with. That's what he has to keep us in line. We want to join, but we know that if we leave he'll release Horrigan."
She shook her head, "We wouldn't make it more than a few yards, at best," she said, "So, we need you to deal with the scientist. Stop him from releasing Horrigan, and if you can get control of the situation, better."
He studied her, "and if he releases Horrigan?"
She breathed out, "We won't have to worry about being tainted by the wasteland anymore."
He nodded, and looked at the door behind them. It was a door he'd seen time and time again in the wasteland. Sealed doors that were often used in the metro station. They worked on an electronic locking system, and they were fairly sturdy. That wasn't to say that they were invincible though. Giant ants could get through them with enough time. Most super mutants were too large to get through them, but he imagined that if a behemoth was to charge at one it would knock the door loose. Likely it could, with enough time, rip the entire section of wall away.
He walked toward it and the door opened. He heard steps and looked to see Rory behind him. He began to say something, but she had this look of certainty about her, "We are in Hardy's domain," she said as she looked around, "And yet it isn't her that I feel. This other god, this unknown one, it is here, and it is powerful."
He looked at her, "What do you mean?"
She shook her head, "You go to face one of its champions, and I will accompany you. We will fight it together. There will be stories told of our deeds here this day."
He smiled, "I'm sure that there will be something."
He looked to see Lelei and Tuka as well, "If we're going then we need to know that what we're facing is incredibly powerful. If they're right and its like a behemoth then I want all of you to remain out of its reach."
"Ah, have you finally came to your senses?!" a voice crackled over the intercom system, "Good!"
He stepped forward and looked around. Around him was just the dimly lit tunnel of the old missile silo. The amber lights gave enough light to indicate where to go, but it did so very little else. It didn't give anything else that would tell him much more than they could head in the direction they were in. Most of the floor was pitch black, and he knew that if sections of it had fallen through then he'd be in a world of hurt.
Without much other choice he turned the light up on his Pip Boy. Instantly he was missing the power armor. He was missing the way it felt around him, and he was missing the protection it gave. He felt practically naked without it. It felt as if he was walking into what could easily be a horrible trap. Moving carefully he let the light of his Pip Boy guide him. He looked at the greenish light as it illuminated the area.
Moving carefully he could see areas where the ground had ripples, areas where the cement looked unsteady, and he did his best to avoid them. He stepped closer to what looked like a large door, and he realized that the door itself was designed just like a vault door. He moved up to the controls, and he smiled at the familiar controls that were there. He worked with them for a moment, and the door began to retract.
"What are you doing?!" came the voice over the intercom system, "I didn't say to come down here!"
The door moved, and he looked to see an odd blue light shining from behind it. He moved forward and saw several bodies suspended in some kind of gel. He looked at them, and then he saw something moving. Maybe, at one time, it would have been a man, but now it was a collection of mechanical parts. Its arms looked to be made from the various arms of a Mr Handy. Its head looked to be human and was suspended within a jar. The jar itself was filled with the same gel, and its eyes were looking directly at him.
"Who are you?!" it screeched at him, "What have those fools done?!"
It growled, "I'll show them, I'll show them all!"
He moved toward the floating cybernetic organism only to smash into what felt like a force field. His time at Raven Rock told him exactly what it was. The Enclave had designed energy fields that kept anyone from passing through them. Liberty Prime had been able to disable them, but that was due to the fact that Liberty Prime was the most powerful robot ever built. Still he pressed against the energy field, and he could see the electrical arcs of it rippling across his skin. It felt like a thousand needles poking him. Still, he found that by pressing against it in two places it caused the electricity that created it to arc together.
He pushed a hand forward, and between those arcs he was able to move forward. The key to opening it was to create a fluctuation. It had been exactly what Liberty Prime had done, but only on a much smaller scale. He pulled his hand back, and he held his hands apart from each other. The arcs began dragging them closer, but he held them as far apart as possible. The things he'd learned out in the Wasteland was helping. The old tech books left behind at the electronics stores, learning about the way technology worked at Robco, and of course learning how to access old technology was all helping him. He held his hands there for several seconds before the energy field flickered.
He'd expected it to simply let him through, but instead there was a concussive blast as it disengaged. He was thrown back, and to his surprise he felt a set of smaller arms around his waist as he flew. The sound of metal gouging out other metal was heard, and he heard a small laugh, "You truly are interesting Paladin Jefferson," Rory said as she let go of him, "now, let us face what this abomination has released."
The floating head laughed as its modified Mr. Gutsy body hovered in the air, "Face your doom! Face the single greatest scientific discovery ever! I, Doctor Bruce Jekyl will ensure the death of those traditors and of you interlopers!"
The door behind him slid open, and Adam realized that it wasn't powered. Something had grabbed a two ton blast door and slid it open on its own. The figure that stepped out looked as if it was the bastard child of a suit of hellfire power armor and a super mutant. It stood over the standard super mutant. It was smaller than a behemoth, but it looked more powerful regardless. A low snarl escaped from its mask.
"Where the fuck am I?" the growling voice said inside of the helmet, "Where's that mutie scum that infiltrated the oil rig?"
"Horrigan!" Dr. Bruce Jekyl shouted, "Attack them!"
There was a moment of hesitation, "Just who the fuck are you to order me?"
The large meaty hand grabbed the floating head, "You're nothing, a science fiction reject," the growling voice said, "And I answer to the president, not some little abandoned science project."
"Wait! I'm the commanding Science Officer here!" he shouted, the glass surrounding his head started to crack, "I'm your commanding officer! This is insubordination!"
The jar busted, shards shot out across the room, and the head came down on the head, "No! Wait! Let me go!"
"By order of President Dick Richardson, in accordance with the anti-terrorist and traitor act created by the remaining government, I find you guilty of using United States resources for your own personal gain. I also find you guilty for attempting to command a secret agent that is above your paygrade. Punishment is death, die."
The head turned into a meaty pulp before the large figure moved forward, "No, you bunch of muties," he growled, "I'm going to tear you to pieces, and then I'm going to clear the rest of the US of your filth."
Adam grabbed the gun that was on the holster that he remembered to put on. The small handgun looked no different from any other forty-four, but the moment he pulled the trigger there was a sound of ethereal screaming. It filled the small area as green energy surrounded the barrel. He pulled the trigger, and watched as Cthulhu's Gambit fired. Before when he'd fired it the reaction was similar to a mini nuke.
He watched as it hit Frank Horrigan square in the chest. He'd seen how mini nukes had taken out super mutants. They'd taken down behemoths, and he'd seen Deathclaws literally blown to pieces by them. The massive amount of energy hit the solid form of Frank Horrigan, and it seemed to disburse around him. He watched as the form stepped forward.
"Hmmm," the growling voice said, "Nice trick."
A massive combat knife that was easily the size of a sword and twice as thick came up, "but let's see what you think about this."
He began to rush forward, and he watched as Rory jumped out to meet his combat knife with her ax. The two clashed, and to his surprise the knife held. Horrigan grunted as he pushed forward, "You're not the first kid I've had to kill, not gonna be the last."
She laughed, "A child am I?" she asked as she flipped backward, "I'm far older than you know."
He looked at her, "Pretty smooth skin for a ghoul," he replied as he began to circle as much as he could in the small space, "Still, ghoul, deathclaw, mutant, it doesn't matter. You all bleed."
She laughed, "Funny," she said, "I was thinking the same thing!"
They clashed again, but this time one of the arms from the now dead Dr. Bruce Jekyl flew toward Horrigan. It was covered in a blue shimmering light, and the arm got close before his hand went out and grabbed it. Adam watched as it was crushed easily, "Not sure what kind of mutie power that is, but you're next"
Adam raised the gun, "Rory, get clear!"
He pulled the trigger again, and once more it filled the area with the ethereal screams of something damned. The energy covered the barrel of the gun, and he watched as it launched toward Horrigan. This time however the massive monstrosity swung his massive combat knife at the energy. The effect caused the knife to break in half. Its blade flew toward the wall, and it embedded into it.
"Well now," Horrigan growled as he looked toward those standing there, "This just made things interesting."
He kept the wall behind him, and to Adam's surprise he didn't just rush forward. He wasn't being an irrational fighter, but instead he seemed to study those around him. Adam watched as he neared the wall, his right hand grabbing the section of the blast door. He pulled forward and a stretching sound erupted through the entire area. What came out was a large gear. Adam had seen them before in the metro tunnel. The blast doors that worked down there had two different kinds of doors, and those with the gears were designed to move with the gears either pulling them up or to the side.
The gear itself looked to be exceptionally large, and Horrigan held it like a shield. Rory rushed toward him, slicing her ax toward him. It caught the side of the gear, and instead of deflecting off it seemed to cut through three of the teeth before stopping. She jumped back and pulled the weapon with her.
"Nice try, mutie," he growled, she started to move again, and this time he swung the gear like a shield and hit her hard. The momentum of her attack along with the force of his swing caused her fly past him and slam hard into the wall. Adam watched as she embedded into it, and to his surprise Horrigan didn't come for them. Instead he moved toward her and grabbed her leg, "Not gonna lie mutie, you've made this fun. But you're just some ghoul cunt, and I'm the power of the Enclave."
He pulled her loose and swung her hard into the floor causing her to hit hard enough to embed into it. He then lifted his foot and began to bring it down. At that same time his shield began to glow blue and flipped back on him. The action knocked him away. Adam pulled the trigger again, but this time he wasn't aiming at him. He was aiming above him. Sure he had moved the blast door, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be hurt by that much weight falling on him. The sound of the ethereal screaming filled the room, and then once more Cthulhu's Gambit released its power. This time it hit the locking mechanism for the door.
It was destroyed in a brilliant rain of shrapnel and the door fell straight down onto Horrigan. It pushed him to the floor, pinning him hard. He grunted, and Adam could see him trying to get loose. That thing was far more powerful than he'd imagined, and he racked his brain for someway to stop it. Slowly the idea began to form. He opened up his Recordings in his Pip Boy, and he began to pull up the recording of President Eden. He found the one he needed, and he quickly played it.
"This is John Henry Eden, President of the United States of America. I can see now that the Enclave needs to integrate itself into the Wasteland. We do not need to overthrow it. For that reason I am triggering the self destruct of Raven Rock. Please, allow Adam Jefferson to leave and go straight toward the Jefferson Memorial. Having pure water returned to the Capital Wasteland will go far to rebuild the faith in the United States Government. May God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."
He watched as Horrigan stopped moving, "President John Henry Eden?" he asked, his voice still a growl, "How long have I been out?"
Adam breathed out, glad to have some moment of reprieve, "I'm not sure," he replied as he stepped forward, "But the president decided that it was worth attempting to save the people here."
There was a growl for a moment, "Fine," he said after a moment, "but all of you are trespassing on Federal Property. Leave, and do not return."
With that he watched as Horrigan began to stand, and as he did he lifted a door that was at least two tons up and above him, "I suppose that means that I am under the authority of the highest ranking individual here."
Adam felt a moment of relief, "I met several officers further up. I believe that one of them was a major."
Horrigan nodded, "Very well," he said before he looked to Rory who was standing, "We're tabling this for now, ghoul, but do not cross me."
With that he began to move, and Adam watched him, "Okay, officially he scares the piss outta me."
