Engineering Workshop, Watchpoint: Gibraltar
In the afternoon.
The workshop was usually loud, expected with the extensive use of tools and heavy machinery, but it was relatively quieter than usual today. Only two people were inside the workshop, Bastion and Brigitte. The omnic just stayed in place as he didn't have much to do at the current moment, occasionally looking around to find anything he hasn't seen before in this room. He had some new pieces of armor plating on him, newly improved Lindholm works. Shinier, rounder, and most importantly, lighter. Well, not nearly as shiny due to a hint of ceramic in them.
The one who worked on them was at the workbench, doing work unrelated to omnic upgrades. Wearing heavy protective leather gloves, she held a welder above a piece of olive green armor with orange highlights. It was cylindrical on one end and had a somewhat bulbous figure on the other. Wearing protective eyewear, she welded a section atop of it, conjoining two armor pieces to form the one. Occasionally, she would set the welder aside to use a wrench to tighten a fastener or two, ensuring it was rock solid. Holding the wrench in her mouth for quick adjustment.
However, her head slightly bobbed to the music playing through her red headphones. All the music talk from Hana got her searching for "classics" to listen to while she works and playing in her ears was some vintage R&B "club banger" from the early-2000's, sung by some woman. Despite being laser-focused on her job, she was really getting into the song, having had it on loop for the past hour. The movement of her head bobbing gradually moved down her body the more she got into the song. Swaying her head side to side, then her torso, and then her hips. Bastion noticing her swaying, cocking his head in curiosity.
Finally, she finished welding the armor piece and let it cool off. Next, she slipped it over her left forearm, where it fit snug around her. She smiled at her good work, and now, started to really get into the song. Her movements becoming more exaggerated and her humming becoming louder. Mouthing the words as if she was singing aloud by this point, and she stepped back and began shimmying, moving back and forth between the workbench and Bastion. Putting her hips and shoulders into it, working up more of a sweat on top of the one she got from working. Moving and snapping her movements every time with the beat, synchronizing with the lyrics. She twirled around and immediately saw Bastion, still looking at her in confusion. She kept smiling and shimmied over to the sitting omnic, Bastion tipping his head to the other side as she got closer. She held her hands out and hovered them over his rectangular "cheeks", shaking her body side to side as she slowly retracted her arms and fluttered her fingers.
"Rweeeooo?" were the only words Bastion could express at that moment, unable to comprehend what the human just did to him.
Brigitte laughed but kept shaking her booty as the song got close to ending before playing all over from the beginning again.
Meanwhile, Nathan just stood in the doorway of the workshop, carrying a haul of parts and scrap metal he retrieved over his shoulder. He just watched her dance around the workshop floor, oblivious to who had just returned with the things she needed. Then, he felt a finger tap on his shoulder.
"Umm… Should we notify Brigitte of our return?" asked Orisa, who stood next to him with a bunch of junk tied to her behind. Courtesy of the Waster.
"… Should we?" he asked back.
Suddenly, he felt the air rush by his cheek when Ganymede flew by in a green blur. They watched the bird fly into the workshop and land on Bastion, who greeted his friend upon their arrival. The bird proceeded to affix a piece of thin metal it had into its nest, which still laid untouched on his shoulder. However, when Brigitte noticed the bird, she finally looked towards the door and froze faster than Mei's experiments. Quickly getting her headphones off.
"Hey… uh… You're back!" she exclaimed, her face becoming red.
"Uh-huh, what are you listening to?" Nathan asked, walking inside with the extra supplies and setting them down.
"Oh… uh… Nothing."
"You sure were moving a lot for nothing."
Brigitte's blushing only got worse, before she started groaning and brought her hands up to her face to smother herself. Orisa got concerned and was about to approach her, but Nathan scoffed as he held up a hand to stop her. He patted Brigitte on her tattooed shoulder.
"It's alright, I won't tell anyone," he reassured her.
"Please don't," she said.
"As long as you help fix up my new shotty, no problem."
Brigitte looked at him, her face still flushed as a tomato, but her embarrassment slowly subsided and she began smiling again. Laughing, even. Realizing how silly she must have seemed when they walked in on her. Nathan turned to Bastion and gave him a pat on the chassis. Bastion beeping to him.
"When I get back, I'll make sure I will," she said, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"Get back? Get back from what?" Nathan asked, turning away from Bastion.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you! I'm going to be deployed on a mission tomorrow with the others."
"With whom?"
"Reinhardt and my dad, obviously. Also, Jesse, Fareeha, and Angela are going to be going, too. A lot of people."
Nathan's ears perked when he heard that last name, but he didn't do anything else as he stood there with his hand still on Bastion's chassis. Hearing wings flapping and seeing Ganymede land on his shoulder, looking at him. The bird's little head cocked to the side.
"Even Dr. Ziegler?" he asked, his voice laden with subtle surprise. "Sounds serious."
"It… is," Brigitte sighed. "I'm only surprised we haven't gotten to it sooner. Everyone's been preparing for it, and so have I. Honestly, I'm a bit anxious, but hopefully, we'll only have to be out there for a few days. You know, you're really lucky to be on leave. I'm jealous! But… You've certainly earned it."
"Did I? Well, it gives me an excuse to be doing stuff around here."
"And a great help you've been!" she compliments, walking over to where he was and putting a hand on the armor plating they gave to Bastion. Knocking on it to ensure it was sturdy.
Then, Brigitte felt something rubbing against her leg and she looked down to see Tiger brushing his cheeks against her pants. He looked up at her and meowed, and she bent down and scooped the fluffy cat into her arms. Once she had him firmly against her chest, she gave Tiger a long kiss on his fluffy cheek. Coddling him like a baby.
"And I certainly will miss you!" she said to the cat, giving him more kisses on his head.
Nathan watched before stepping over and petting the cat she held. Feeling the soft fur on his head, giving a little scratch behind the ears like a dog. Ganymede cautiously regarded the cat as he perched on Nathan's shoulder. Tiger looked at the bird, pupils dilating for a second.
"Regardless, good luck," Nathan told Brigitte, giving the cat one last pat.
"Thanks," Brigitte smiled at him.
"Anything else needs to be done?" he asked, looking around the workshop.
"No, actually, I think we're done. We're actually ahead of schedule for what I've wanted to do. Thanks to you, of course."
"Can't take all the credit, but if we're done here I think I'll turn in early. See ya', Brigitte. Try not to get killed."
Brigitte blinked but knew that Nathan was just saying "goodbye" in his own special way. Probably a more common greeting from where he's from. However, just as he turned away and was about to walk out she called out to him.
"Hey, uh, Hana wanted me to tell you she has something to show you. Don't know if you'll be interested?"
Nathan paused, confused for a moment but quickly realizing what that could be. He had a sneaking suspicions Brigitte was involved with the kid's plan, whatever it may be. What was her angle?
"I'll keep it in mind," he said. "Goodbye."
He waved his hand back at her and walked out of the workshop. However, upon doing this, he realized he didn't have a set destination in mind. Realizing he had already exhausted the options of things he planned to do for the day, possibly even the week. All the chores being done before he realized they were. Then, he remembered the names Brigitte listed off, the ones who were going to be shipped away on another mission. Remembering Dr. Angela Ziegler being one them. It was at this moment that he also realized he hasn't done anything for her or the infirmary. He didn't even bother to ask. Probably was too busy to realize that, even if she was one of the busiest people on base.
'Goddammit, I'm getting old…' the Waster was disappointed with himself for not being on task, again.
Before he went further, he turned around to get Bastion since he almost forgot to bring him along, too, but stopped when he saw the omnic on his feet and just… "Chatting" with Orisa. The two, large omnics conversing with each other as Ganymede flew around then. Orisa complimenting Bastion on his new look and saying how she was "excited" to be working with him for the coming weeks. The older omnic booped, Nathan understanding that he was basically saying "likewise". Ganymede then landed on Orisa, perching his little feet onto her right tusk. She jumped, at first, her eyes becoming wide like they always did when encountering something new, but they quickly emoted "elation" upon seeing a new, feathery friend. Nathan just watched them, before deciding to leave them in peace.
Bastion was outgrowing him, already.
When Nathan walked into the infirmary, the first thing to greet him was the clean and sterile smell. Oddly feeling set at ease the moment he walked in, knowing that there should be a doctor nearby. Looking around, the place looked as pristine and shiny as it always did, the floors, the walls, and the ceilings as clean as a doctor's coat.
Offering to sweep the floors was off the table for him, now.
Second, the rows of cots that immediately ahead did not have anyone in them. No patients covered in bandages or near the brink to be treated. No one left for him to assist Dr. Ziegler with, all of them most likely in a clean bill of health to begin with, out and about somewhere. He expected no less of someone like her.
Yet, Dr. Ziegler was nowhere to be seen, and Nathan found himself alone in an empty and quiet clinic. Not even the sound of idle medical equipment to be heard. He thought it was odd, considering she was almost always in the Medical Wing as if it was her own quarters. Probably was, for all he knew. Which made not immediately finding her a little disconcerting for the old Waster.
Suddenly, he heard laughter and snapped his head to his left where Dr. Ziegler's office was. The door was closed and the windows were frosted, so, he couldn't see what was happening inside. But curiosity got the better of him and he slowly walked over to her office door. He was being careful about where he shifted his weight in his step, making sure he didn't make the floor or walls. As he inched closer, he tilted his ear towards the office to listen better but making sure to not get too close to the wall to not alert anyone inside. The voices got slightly clearer once he got closer, and he felt a small tinge of relief when he discerned the source of the laugh to be Dr. Ziegler. She sounded like she was in the middle of a conversation with someone else. Leaning in just a smidge closer, Nathan tried to discern who that voice belonged to, the room's insulation proving to be quite the eavesdrop-deterrent. Eventually, he heard what sounded like an electronic reverb within his tone.
"Uh… Nathan?"
The large Waster jumped at the sudden interjection and bared his teeth as he spun around to whoever spoke. A split-second later, he calmed down and saw the person who snuck up on him was Dr. Ziegler's assistant, Aida. In her doctor's coat and wearing a holopad close to her chest.
"Oh, it's you, Aida…" Nathan said somewhat hushed, stepping away from the office door. "You made my heart jump."
"Sorry! Do you need help?" Aida asked, looking back at Angela's office.
"No, I just… I just came by to see if any help was needed in this place. I figured Dr. Ziegler or you probably needed something done here. Although, looks like you have things squared away."
"I've heard you've been going around Gibraltar, lending a helping hand. I appreciate that. While I don't need any help with my chores, I'm sure Angela might have something for you."
"You've heard?"
"Yeah, the Watchpoint isn't too big, so word tends to get around. I've also heard about your leave. Are you doing okay? Angela told me-"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he said, not wanting to be constantly reminded why he was a frequent visitor to the Doctor.
Aida's brow furrowed but she simply nodded out of consideration.
The clinic was then filled with more noise as the door to Dr. Ziegler's office opened behind them. The first one out was Angela, holding the door open for someone else as she left the office with them. The one that went after her was Genji, who was still chatting with the Doctor as he walked out. Then, to Nathan's surprise, a third person exited the office after Genji, his brother – Hanzo. Sporting a quaint smile as he regarded both his brother and Angela. Not saying anything as the two of them talked, keeping quiet and only listening to them. However, he lost that smile the second he looked up and saw the large frame of Nathan, who didn't have a smile, to begin with.
"Again, thank you for the wonderful meal!" Angela said to them, smiling. "It's been some time since I've had good sushi."
"Thank you for eating with us, doctor!" Genji responded. "It was nice to sit down and have a nice conversation with the one who saved me… And the one who almost killed me in the same room. Isn't that right brother?"
Hanzo took a second to respond as his focus was somewhere, but he quickly caught himself and regarded the two, again.
"Yes! It was… Pleasant, brother," Hanzo said, regaining that quaint smile. "Thank you, doctor, for your time. I… Haven't had a conversation like that with other people for some time."
"The pleasure was mine," Angela returned, bowing her head a little. "I was glad to be of help."
It was at this moment she finally noticed who else was in the infirmary with them when she turned her head. Her eyes lit up upon recognizing who it was.
"Nathan!" she exclaimed, surprised she hadn't spotted him sooner. "You're here!"
"Nathan! What brings you here, my friend?" Genji asked.
Nathan looked at them, unsure what to say despite telling Aida the reason just a few moments earlier. As he regarded them, his eyes landed on Hanzo, who stood behind Genji and Angela. Nathan looked at him for a second too long before he blinked.
"Came here to see if you had any work, Dr. Ziegler," he answered, crossing his arms. "Figured you might be busy and need a load off your back. Basically, I just want to help."
For some reason, the blonde Doctor blinked, and her smile faded away when he said that. Nathan noticed, losing the reassuring smile he tried to put on to make his offer seem less disingenuous. It wasn't like him to just offer his assistance out of the blue, he was more than aware of that. Fortunately for him, Angela's regained her friendly demeanor.
"That's… Good to hear," Angela commented, that smile slightly growing. "I can't think of anything off the top of my head, right now, but we can look in my office if there's something you can help with. Just give me a moment, please."
"Of course, Doctor," Nathan said, graciously nodding.
She smiled once more before she looked back at the Shimada brothers. The Doctor escorted them to the infirmary's exit, exchanging farewells with them.
"Goodbye, Genji… I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow?" Dr. Ziegler said.
"That where our paths have determined, yes. See you, then, Angela," the Cyborg Ninja said to her before looking up. "Goodbye, Aida. Goodbye, Nathan."
Aida wished him goodbye and Nathan deeply nodded.
"And I guess I'll say the same for you, Hanzo?" Dr. Ziegler said, addressing the older brother.
"Yes, it seems so," the Archer said, nodding. "Thank you for being a gracious host, Doctor."
Of course, when he looked up his smile faded. Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly, his teeth clenching a little. Thoughts of fucking him up only flashed for a moment in his mind. Only a moment.
"Farewell," is what he only said to the rest of them.
Finally, the Shimada brothers left, leaving the Doctor, her assistant, and the Courier alone in the quiet and clean clinic. After the door had closed, Dr. Ziegler turned around and Nathan rose his head.
"Please, step into my office," she said, inviting him in as she walked inside.
Nathan stepped forward but cast one last glance towards Aida before walking into Angela's office. Aida smiled, he nodded.
Stepping into her office, Dr. Ziegler closed the door behind him. Nathan then stood there and looked around her office, taking in what he saw. In the middle of the room was her desk, a modestly-sized table where a computer, some stacks of papers, and a few binders and folders were neatly organized, with some cabinets and drawers on its sides. Surprisingly, it was made of wood – a light coffee colored shade of wood. Almost instinctively, he reached out and rubbed a finger alongside it, seeing no dust on his fingertip. On the wall to the left of the desk, there was a bookshelf with an assorted array of items, ranging from office supplies to more stacks of papers, and books, but it was sparsely populated of those. It acted more like a display case than serving the purpose of storing books. And on the opposite wall was just some old, corduroy couch that almost spanned the entirety of the wall it was seated against. At one end of the couch, there was a tall lamp almost as tall as Nathan. Finally, to the back of Dr. Ziegler's desk, was a large window with an envious view of the Mediterranean. As if this facility was designed with trying to give the occupants a view of that sea at every opportunity humanely possible. It didn't smell as sterile as the rest of the clinic, but it was cozy.
"Hmm…" Nathan let out as he kept examining the room. 'Not a bad place to enjoy some coffee,' he thought.
"Sorry if my office is messy," Angela said. "I haven't had the time to properly clean it."
"Hm? Oh, no, that's fine doctor. It's just that I don't think I've ever been inside your office until now."
"Really? I thought you had been in here, before?"
"Apparently not… Odd."
"Well, depending on how you look at it, that could be a good thing," the Doctor said to her visiting patient before walking up to him and gesturing to his right forearm. He held it out to her and she gently grabbed it with both her hands to see if it healed nicely since the last time she treated him. "How are you feeling, Nathan?"
"Fine, I guess," the patient answered. "How about you? Thing's been alright?"
"Better than usual, although, I have been making myself a little crazy trying to be on schedule."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine. You're here to help ease the burden, though, right?"
"Exactly why I'm here, Doctor."
"Then, let me see what I can find."
She smiled and walked around her desk to where her chair was. After taking a seat, she scooted up to her computer and tapped a button, making several holoscreens appear in mid-air. Nathan's eyes snapped to these, seeing some that were reports, notes, patient listings, and other medical related things. However, some of them weren't medical related, one appeared to be a newscast about some conflict in Russia featuring a paused video of Russian soldiers engaging what appeared to be omnics. Another holoscreen had something more innocuous, a recipe for a chocolate beverage. That certainly caught Nathan's attention before Angela swiped it away along with some of the others.
As she kept searching through her computer, Nathan noticed a box set aside from her computer that had assorted food separated into their own little sections by built-in dividers. It looked like one of those old TV dinners he'd scavenged, except the food looked fresher and the box wasn't made of cheap metal but a sleek, black wood. There was some leftover rice and what he presumed to be sliced fish, with a pair of chopsticks over it. Two of the "sections" were devoid of food, finished by the doctor.
"Hey, what's that?" the Waster asked, pointing at the box.
"This?" the Doctor said, gesturing to the box. "Oh, it's a bento box. Genji made it for me earlier, for lunch."
"Huh, didn't know he could cook… Was it good?"
"It was very good. I had a nice meal. You should try it, sometime. I'm sure Genji wouldn't mind making one for you if he has the time."
"Then I'd have to make something for him, to repay the offer. Not sure he'd like Waster cuisine, though."
"If the ingredients were fresher, he might like it. I did," Angela smiled up at him.
Finally, Angela summoned a holoscreen that looked like a checklist of duties, responsibilities, and chores she had made for herself. Most of the things listed already had a checkmark in their respective boxes and were crossed out, though. Only seeing more of that as she scrolled through it.
"Hmm, it doesn't look like I need anything to be done, right now," Angela said, leaning in to look at her list. "Of course, that could change soon, but… It looks like I'm good here, for now, Nathan."
"Huh," Nathan said, also leaning in to get a closer look at the list. "So, it does. That's surprising."
In all honesty, the busy, working Waster felt a tinge of disappointment when he learned he couldn't be of any use to the good Doctor currently. The one that's treated him so many times by this point. He figured there would've been something to help her with, to show his appreciation. Hopeful that there might be.
"It really is, isn't it?" Dr. Ziegler said, looking up at him. Then, she closed her eyes as she let out a deep sigh and leaned back into her chair, making it roll back a few inches. But before she did that, she reached up to the back of her head and pulled off the hair tie that kept her ponytail in place, letting her blonde hair loose. They only fell short of her shoulders but hid every part of her head except her face. That caught Nathan's eye.
"For once, things have been on schedule," she smiled, looking towards her window. "It went the way I wanted them to. No sudden complications, no problems with the equipment or supplies. Things ran smoothly for once. Of course, there was that debacle with the Junkers recently, but that got quickly resolved. I was glad to hear you got through that unscathed, as well, Nathan. One less visit from you to worry about."
Angela smiled as she looked up at Nathan, but she saw him just staring at her, almost blankly. As if he had not registered what she just said.
"Nathan?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry," he realized, before gesturing to her hair. "I've never seen your hair like that. Kinda threw me off for a loop."
"Did it?" she asked, brushing some strands aside from her forehead. "First my office, and now my hair? We must be setting a precedent today!"
"Yeah… So, as you were saying?"
"As I was saying, things actually worked out the way they were supposed to and I'm glad they did. I feel proud of myself for that one, for once. Of course, I have Aida to thank for much of that."
"She's a good kid. Glad you have someone like her helping around," Nathan said as he glanced over to the office door, wondering where Aida was now.
"I'm very much in agreement. Especially since we were able to get all the important things done just in time."
"'Just in time?'" Nathan questioned, then remembered what Brigitte said earlier. Getting tired of standing and stepping over to Angela's desk. Turning around and leaning against the top of the desk, still regarding Angela when he got closer. "In time for what?"
Because of where he sat and the placement of his right hand as support, he accidentally un-paused one of the holoscreens and it started playing with sound. Sounds of gunfire and explosions filled the office as the video featuring Russian soldiers in the snow was what he un-paused, Nathan now watching it. The headline "Russian Offensive Against Omnics Continues" as clear to him as the footage of the Russians fighting giant omnics. Some of them like the big stomper back in Numbani.
"For that," Dr. Ziegler answered, looking at the holovid before turning to Nathan.
"…To Russia?" he questioned further, realizing where she was going to be shipped off to. "To a warzone?"
Then, it all just clicked for Nathan. Realizing why everyone on base seemed to be in overdrive for the past couple of days. What they were alluding to when he asked them what had been acting as a flame under their asses, what they were preparing for. What they seemed anxious about. He's surprised it took him this long to not get an answer, especially since it seemed to be such an easy one for him to find out. He could've just asked, sooner.
"Yes, I chose to be deployed there," Angela answered, earnestly looking Nathan in the eyes. "Almost everyone did once we found out how… Grave the situation had gotten over there. Only degrading further and further as the months went on, unable to act upon it earlier because of our lacking capabilities. But now… With the favorable conditions that I understand we were able to achieve, thank God, we should be able to, now."
She looked back to the holovid, Nathan doing so, as well. The newscast kept playing but now showed civilians walking away from the rubble – their homes. Some of them crying, others trying to hide their grief. Escorting them were soldiers, decked out in winter gear and toting AK variants he's never seen. One of the soldiers on camera was significantly taller and brawnier than the others and wore white armor plating with blue highlights and winter camo clothing underneath that. However, that soldier caught Nathan's attention because of the bright-pink hair she had on her head, very out of place in a battlefield. Still, she didn't look like a pushover and as soon as she spotted the camera recording the people shambling away from their destroyed homes, she angrily marched over and swiped at the camera lens. Making the news cut to different footage.
"And I guess I have you to thank for that," Angela then said, making Nathan look back at her. "For helping us get there so we can finally help them."
Nathan glanced to the holovid, seeing more snow. He reached over and grabbed the lower-right corner of the holovid, bringing it over and looking at it for himself. Watching war in Russia. He'd never thought they would show stuff like this on the news.
"Didn't think that's what I was doing," he admitted, putting the holovid aside. "You gonna be alright, over there?"
"I'll be with everyone else, so… I should be," she said with another smile directed to him, before reaching over and pausing the holovid. "I'll mainly be tending to the sick and wounded while everyone else deals with the 'omnic menace'. Don't worry, Nathan, your bodyguard skills won't be needed this time. You can go back to enjoying your leave when we're gone and do… Hmm, what do you like to do?"
"Right now? A whole lotta nothing. And to be honest, I'm not exactly sure if I'm keen about having the only doctor that's been fixing me up these past few months be thousands of miles away."
Dr. Ziegler's friendly demeanor faltered for a moment, realizing the concern she might be putting Nathan through once she leaves.
"…I'm sorry to do that to you, Nathan. I hope you underst-"
"But!" Nathan continued, holding up a finger. "But… If you're gonna be over there helping them, then I guess that means I've done some good. About time I did."
"Nathan…" Angela said, shaking her head. "You think you haven't done good?"
"To be honest, Doc? I'm not sure. A lot of things, here and back home, make me unsure. But maybe now can be a… Good step in the right direction, whatever that may be. Maybe that's helping you, who knows?"
He got off her desk, arms still crossed, and walked away. Towards the couch.
"And maybe that can start with me watching your office while you're gone. The clinic even!" Nathan exclaimed, flopping his large frame down onto the right side of the sofa with a satisfied moan. Feeling himself sink into the cushion, the fabric softly brushing against him. Then, he pivoted himself and lied down on it, his head on one cushioned end and feet on the other. Luckily, the couch was more than long enough to fit him. "Although, I'm sure Aida already has that covered on both fronts. I guess I'll watch over her, too. I dunno, what do you think?"
When he looked over, he saw Dr. Ziegler with the most bewildered expression he's ever seen on her. As if the man she was looking at was not the same one she was speaking to just moments earlier. He would've thought he just made her worried until she smiled warmly once more.
"I guess I would have nothing to worry about, then," Angela said. "So long as you promise to behave and make sure everyone is taken care of in my absence, of course."
"Sure thing, Dr. Ziegler," Nathan said.
"And I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen you this relaxed!"
Nathan Brin looked at himself, his torso and legs splayed over the couch. He just shrugged, but he realized a sight like this was only once in a blue moon. Not recalling a lot of instances where he casually crashed onto a comfy couch. It didn't feel too bad.
"Yeah, I guess we are setting precedents," the Waster said, sitting up on the couch. "So, are you sure you're going to be fine without me there?"
"I promise, Nathan, I will be. Just if you make sure my office is still in one piece when I come back."
"Maybe I can fix you up some lunch for when you do? Not in one of those 'bento' boxes, but something to keep it neat and tidy."
"…Sure," the blonde Doctor accepted, looking up at him with those blue eyes. "That sounds nice. I'll look forward to it."
Nathan sat there and addressed her when she accepted, looking back at her with his auburn eyes. Smiling quaintly, he finally got up from the couch and nodded to Angela.
"If that's that; Goodbye, Dr. Ziegler! Stay safe," Nathan wished.
"Thank you, Nathan," Angela responded, also standing up from her chair. "You, too."
With one final nod, Nathan walked away and towards the office door. Grabbing the knob and swinging it open, he walked through the doorway and left her office, closing it behind him. Alone again, Dr. Ziegler stood there and looked at the door he just left through, holding her hands in front of her. After several moments of silence, as she stood there, staring at the door, she finally let out a big sigh of relief. Looking down at the almost finished bento box.
On the other side of her door, Nathan took another step forward but suddenly stopped, standing there for several moments as he just stared ahead and thought about what just happened. Almost feeling himself not breathe, until he finally relaxed again and took a deep breath through his nose.
'It's a wonder she wound up here,' he mulled to himself, thinking about her. 'Too good for her own… Good. God, I hope she'll be okay.'
Getting it out of his system through another breath of air, he walked to the exit of the infirmary. The door sliding open and then close, he was out into the hall again and immediately turned right to go back to his quarters. He stopped when he spotted someone scrambling to get behind a wall as he was about to.
Freezing up for a second, he instinctively put his hand over his holster and slowly walked over to the wall. Careful where he was shifting his weight, he inched closer and closer to the corner. His hand twitching centimeters above his sidearm. Finally, he arched his body over and peeked around the corner to find Hana in a tank top, sweatpants, and slippers making a futile attempt to hide.
"Kid?" Nathan said aloud, dropping his defensive stance and stepping around the corner to address her.
"Oh, hi!" Hana exclaimed, quickly shifting her weight and leaning her elbow against the wall. "What's up, dude?"
"Why were you trying to hide?"
"Hide?! I wasn't hiding!"
Nathan just narrowed his eyes at the young woman, which was enough to make her drop the charade and not make either of them jump through hoops, again. They were around each other for long enough to pick up on some unspoken things. He practically saw straight through her when he did that. She made a defeated groan, not wanting to be under that scrutinizing gaze for any longer.
"Look, I asked Athena where you were, and she told me you were at Mom's for some reason, so I came here to ask if you could…" she started to explain but trailed off as she broke eye-contact for a second.
"Could what?" Brin pressed.
"If you could…" she trailed off again, wincing when she did. Realizing she was using up precious time, she grumbled and shook her head before going on, rapid fire. Just to get it done with. "I was wondering if you could come with me and listen to some music I think you might like?!" Hana finally said, feeling like a massive weight got lifted off her the moment she finished.
Looking up, Nathan's gaze had shifted to one of mild confusion.
"Oh, this… Why…?" the Waster questioned.
"…I dunno," Hana admitted, shrugging. "I thought it would be fun."
"Is that why Brigitte was asking me about what type of music I liked when we were working?" he pointed a finger at her.
"…Maayyyybeee…"
"Ugh, kid!" he threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose, tired from her antics. "I'm not sure what you're trying to do but I'm not sure I have the time for it. Maybe later. Thanks, but no thanks."
He patted her on the shoulder before walking past her and back out into the hall. Hana pouted, shifting her eyes to Nathan before she stamped her foot and turned around to face him.
"There might not be a next time, though!" she exclaimed, not loudly, but enough to make herself be heard.
"Is that so?" Nathan asked back, still walking.
"Yeah, because I'm going to Russia with everyone else!"
The Courier stopped, looking over his shoulder to see Hana facing him with an irritated – almost hurt – expression on her face. Her hands clenched into fists. Yet, her eyes were fiery and determined to get him to stop and listen. Which she did.
"You're going to Russia?" he asked, fully turning around.
"Yeah…! Yeah…" she answered, loosening her stance. "I was hoping to show you what I found and see your reaction before I get sent off tomorrow. I wanted to since you seem so… So…"
She tried to find the right word to express what she thought, probably having trouble due to English not being her first language, despite already being so proficient with it.
"Frustrated!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I don't know, I thought you would need to chill."
"I never asked you to do this," Nathan said, apprehensive about it.
"I know. I just thought it would be nice to do."
For what seemed like the longest second, Nathan just stood there and regarded the young Korean girl who offered him to listen to music of all things. Something so simple yet unexpected. He has noticed what subjects he seems to discuss with her every time they get stuck with each other, but he never thought they ever amount to anything more than passing the time. In retrospect, that would make this partly his fault. Making her go through all the work and effort to just collect music for him. All of it before a deadline, too. Certainly, there could've better uses of her time. She had much more of it left than him, anyway.
"Fine," Nathan relented, glancing at his Pip-Boy's clock. "Show me."
Hana's frustration dissipated for a moment, and she gleamed.
"Kid, this sucks," the 40-year-old Waster said as he sat on her bed, wearing a pair of wireless headphones connected to her computer. He was sitting there after agreeing to be dragged along to one of her schemes. What followed was a barrage of mediocre music and shoddy songs flooding his ears for the better part of an hour. Songs that Song was adamant he was going to like.
And yes, the headphones glowed an annoying shade of pink and blue.
"Really? Not even this one?" the 19-year-old Korean asked, more surprised than offended from his honesty. She was sitting in the office chair for her desk, manning the controls for the massive playlist of songs she had amassed.
"Yeah, I kinda dig this one," the 26-year-old DJ, Lúcio, said, wearing his own set of headphones and sitting on the bed, but lying down with his head resting on the foot of it. "Nice, mellow, uses real instruments and a real voice."
"Sounds like it was sung by someone whose balls haven't dropped," Nathan mocked, frowning further the more he listened. "Is that really a man singing?"
Lúcio stifled a laugh when he said that, while Hana sat there and frowned at him. Nathan unaware of Lúcio laughing behind him because of the music.
"Looks like it," Hana responded, looking at the holoscreen and seeing the artist's face on the thumbnail.
"Eh, sorry, kid. I'll pass on this one."
She looked over her shoulder back to him, mentally sighing in defeat for this one as she went back to scrolling through the list. Trying to find a more suitable piece of music for him to listen to. Unaccustomed to wearing headphones for so long, Nathan took them off for a moment to clean his ear out, especially because it started to itch. Feeling all the sweat starting to stick to the skin in and around his ear. Felt almost disgusting and he wondered how they could stand wearing them that long. After he had relieved himself of that itch, he looked over to Lúcio and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Did she drag you into this?" Nathan earnestly asked.
"Pretty much," Lúcio shrugged, lifting one side of his earphone to hear him. "Helped her collect a bunch of songs for this playlist because I'm a musician. Stuff that she and I thought you would like. I'm not sure why she decided to do this, but hey! It's the thought that counts, right?"
"What did she offer you?"
"An autograph."
Nathan furrowed his brow.
"Must be one expensive autograph," he grumbled.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Lúcio responded. "I'm not gonna sell it, though. No need."
Nathan looked at him, wondering what he meant by that. Then, Hana gestured to them as she found another song for him to listen. He already began gritting his teeth before he put the headphones back on. Aside from the sweat and heat, the headphones themselves were at least comfy and fit around his big head. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing these anywhere else, though.
"How about this one?" Hana said as she tapped a song which had an album-cover that was just a black "X" against a green background. "It's older so you might like it."
'How old?' he thought before he leaned forward onto his knees and started to listen. The song opened with the strumming of a guitar half-a-second before the singer spoke up. It was male, but he still sounded like his balls were clamped.
"When your legs don't work like they used to-"
"Nope!" Nathan sat up and shook his head, repeatedly.
"Really?!" Hana exclaimed. "We were barely one second into it!"
"Already don't like it. Again, it sounds like it's being sung by a teenager! Is that what they all sound like?"
"A lot of them, yeah. During the early-2010's," Lúcio answered, still chilling on the bed.
"Kid, you said you looked up vintage music, right?"
"Yeah, that's what I did!" Hana said, getting a bit defensive about the queries for which she searched music. "And I got all these hits and classics from the early-2000's and such. I swear!"
"This isn't the vintage I'm accustomed to."
"What is? Can you at least give me some names?"
"I… Great, I can't remember because we listened to so much crap already."
"Not even a date?"
"It's Pre-War! They all are!"
"'Pre-War?' You mean before the Crisis?" the Brazilian DJ asked, his brow furrowed.
Nathan snapped his eyes to Lúcio, realizing who they were in the room with. Not the first time he had a 'slip-up' with him close-by. Probably getting too used to having him in his vicinity. God help him if Nathan got drunk with him or Satya close by. At least they won't be in the same room together.
The Waster shifted his eyes to Hana, who also had a look of concern. Their frustration and anger starting to simmer down now for their own sakes.
"Uh, yeah," he quickly answered, saving face. "Music before the crisis. Long before the Crisis."
"All of that was before the Crisis, though?" Lúcio said, still seeming confused. "Or, do you mean earlier?"
"Yeah, probably. A few decades, give or take. I guess you can tell I don't really listen to the music I like, can't ya'?" he bullshitted to appease him.
In all honesty, he couldn't really give less than a fuck about what type of music they knew he liked. It didn't seem relevant nor necessary to go through all of this, and he could feel the frustration boiling over not just in himself. He only agreed to come along to appease the kid and maybe make her feel better, but he felt her at the end of her wits, too. He was surprised at how calm the DJ was throughout the entire process, though. Not bothered by most of the comments Nathan made or him constantly fidgeting with the lent headphones. Just making light of the situation, even if it all seemed silly – a bunch of younger people trying to help one older person listen to some music. Not a situation he was expecting to get himself stuck in here.
Unfortunately, for Nathan, the kid was relentless and still pushed on in trying to find the "right music" for him. Whatever that was supposed to achieve. Honestly, he just felt bad.
"Okay, but before that!" Hana held up a finger before bringing it over and tapping another song on her computer. It had an album over consisting of the portraits of four drawn characters in a 2x2 grid with the word "Gorillaz" above it. Nathan never understood why so many of these artists and songs had spelling errors.
Then, in his ears he heard the sudden shriek of a psycho laughing, almost making Nathan jump to kill a raider before realizing that was the song she had selected. Almost in shock that a song would open with that. Even Hana quickly realized her mistake and paused the song, looking over to see an agitated Waster.
"The fuck was that?!"
"Sorry!"
After they had calmed down and against all sensibilities, the three went forward with the catalog of music, Nathan being pelted again and again by music he just could not get into. There were a few he gave longer listens to than he would on average, but it would eventually end with the song being cut short by a shake of his head. However, to their credit, most of the songs didn't consist solely of an electronic noise, which he appreciated greatly. Having a more "natural" feeling to him, if that's what he had to call it. Still didn't beat Mr. New Vegas' playlist.
This venture started to take its toll on everyone in the room when the sunset and the room was thoroughly dark except for the computer's lights. Both Hana and Lúcio yawned while Nathan kept checking his Pip-Boy's clock more frequently as they kept going.
Currently, they were listening to a band from the 1990's, having gone a decade earlier to strengthen their efforts. It seemed promising, at first, given how the song they picked opened with one of the most intense electric guitar riffs Nathan ever experienced. Almost intense enough to make him ignore the fact the album cover had a naked baby on it. But then, the singer started singing once the guitar calmed down.
"Load up on guns, bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self-assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word"
'Well… That's fucking dark!' Nathan legitimately shocked with what he was listening to, wondering how this song even became a "classic" in the first place in this world. However, despite that initial reaction, he kept listening to the song instead of throwing the headphones off. Founding himself strangely intrigued yet stunned by what he was listening to. As the song went on, the instrumentals and lyrics only became more distorted and convoluted. The singer becoming downright unintelligible at certain parts of the song. But at least not sounding like a kid. A morbid curiosity being the thing that kept him listening until it stopped. Fading away with one last screech and riff.
There was only silence afterward, the Waster trying to process what he just listened to. If raiders like the Fiends ever became cognizant enough to make music, that song is probably what they would make. The opposite of what the band's name is supposed to be.
Nathan's shock must've been visible because when he looked up he saw Hana looking at him with bated breath. He turned his head to see Lúcio sitting up and looking at him, no longer lying down.
"You just finished an entire song," Song stated, her slightly ajar but it slowly shifted into a leer. "Did you-?"
"That was probably the raspiest, grimiest, and grungiest singer I've ever heard," Brin responded, taking off the headphones and putting them onto her desk.
"But did you like it? You listened to it without stopping!"
"I did… But I'm not sure I did."
Taking a deep breath like he had a huge weight lifted off his back, he checked his clock one more time and stood up to his full height. Stretching with his arms reaching the ceiling.
"Wait, are you gonna go now?" Hana asked.
"It's getting late," Nathan said, feeling the joints in his shoulders and arms pop. "You have to be deployed tomorrow, right? Get some rest, kid, you'll need it."
"But we barely just got into the pre-2000's! There's, like, one more song I want to show you!"
"And how do you think that will play out? Face it, kid, I'm an old dog set in his old ways. As I said, it's getting late."
"But it's not even…" the young woman began, summoning a digital clock then seeing that it was getting late. Later than she planned it to be. "Oh."
"Yeah. Thanks for this, anyway, kid. I learned a lot. Stay safe in Russia."
He placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair, making it frizzy and causing her to growl as she batted his hand away. Passing by Lúcio, he nodded to him and was soon out of Hana's room, the door sliding open and close for him.
"That went out better than I expected," Lúcio said, content with himself. "He was rather chill about."
Not taking long to get to his room, he wasted no time getting his clothes off and taking a quick shower to clean the day away. Scrubbing extra hard around his ears. Afterward, he walked back out into his room feeling almost exhausted and sat down at the edge of his bed. The music-listening session with Song drained substantially more energy from him than he anticipated. As rubbed his hands into his face, he saw Athena appear on his desk but at a tolerable brightness in the dark.
"How was it?" Athena asked.
"Exhausting," Nathan answered.
"Well, I hope you aren't about to sleep, yet, because Hana just sent this."
Athena's screen was replaced with a black-and-white picture. The coloration catching his eyes, Nathan squinted in the low light as he got up and walked over to the computer desk. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a black-and-white picture of a man with circular glasses, long hair, and a floral pattern shirt looking at the camera. Above him were words, what he assumed to be another title for this album.
"'The Essential John Denver'," Nathan read, only frowning further in confusion. "Who the hell is that?"
"A singer," Athena answered. "Apparently one Hana thought it'd be imperative for you to listen to before going to bed."
"She's relentless…" Nathan only shook his head, his patience already thinning and just wanting to go to sleep. Not wanting to suffer through another "vintage" pop song. "When's this one from? Early-2000's? 1990's, again?"
"1971."
Nathan looked up at Athena when she said that. That was the oldest song he's heard of from her playlist, so far. If his math was correct, that would make this song more than a hundred years old in this world. Older than everyone, even the older members of Overwatch. The songs he liked were well beyond that in his world.
"Alright, play it," he said, without really thinking. "I still got some stuff to sort. I could use background noise."
"Of course."
Walking over to a corner of his room where his belongings were somewhat messily strewn about from earlier, he heard the song begin with the gentle strumming of a stringed instrument supported by the constant but soft, rhythmic beating of a drum. A second guitar joined in before the male vocal, presumably, the "John Denver" on the cover, began singing.
"Almost heaven… West Virginia," a soft but not meek male voice sang with an old, radio-like reverb. "Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River."
Nathan Brin stopped and raised his head to the music. Looking over his shoulder to see that singer's face still on his computer, a little bar on the bottom that moved as the song progressed.
"Life is old there, older than the trees," John Denver continued, catching Nathan's attention. "Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze…"
"Country roooooooaaaaaaaaddddssss, take me hoooooooommmmmmeeee
To the plaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccceee I beloooooooooooooooooong!
West Virginiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, mountain mammaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Take me hooooooooooooooommmmmeeeeee, country roooooooooaaaaaaaddddssss!"
For what felt like the longest thirty-seconds sitting there, the old Waster from New California sat there on his knees and listened to this 100-year-old song about a man singing about home. His home out in the country, in a place that sounded very far away. Singing with an assortment of homegrown and natural instruments that didn't detract anything from this song.
Quickly, Nathan got to his feet and practically scrambled to sit down onto his office chair to properly listen to this song. Once he was seated, he just sat there and stared at the holovid that played, even though the image was as still as he was. He just kept listening, taking in the words and the sounds. Feeling himself relate to a songwriter that has been dead for half-a-century. Memories of his home playing in his mind as the music did. Memories of the roads, the country, and the mountains. Of the Mojave, New California, and Arroyo. Feeling more homesick than he ever did in the past few days. The past few weeks, even! Almost surprised that he was just sitting there and… Listening to some old song. Like's he's done so many times before.
Never expecting a good country song in this world. That's why he kept listening.
"Take me hoooooooooooooooooome, down country roooooooooooooooads
Take me hooooooooooooooooooome, down country roooooooooooooooads!"
And like that, it was done. One last strumming of some strings and that was it. The room becoming quiet, again, and Nathan just sitting in his chair. Staring at the computer, wearing nothing but his boxers. He leaned back in his chair with that empty feeling that song had given him. And the resurfaced memories of North California.
"…Huh…"
After another minute of sitting in silence, staring at nothing, Nathan sat up and reached over to his desk and picked up the photo of him and his friends at Jacobstown. Looking at that picture more and more in the past couple of days. Yet, for some reason, he imagined another photo in his head. One that wasn't real but felt like it. One that could if things kept going the way they were. He didn't know when his ticket back home will come up, and he certainly wasn't going to stop looking for it or working towards finding it, but…
"…Nathan?" Athena called out, more than concerned with how silent he's fallen.
"Athena… When does everyone leave for Russia, tomorrow?"
It was another beautiful morning in Gibraltar when the sun came over the Mediterranean in the East, but the agents of the New Overwatch had little time to enjoy it, unfortunately. Currently, in the early hours of the day, the Watchpoint had become the busiest it had ever been ever since the Recall, as dozens of Overwatch agents marched and ran across the hangar bays. Teams heading to their respective dropships as support personnel carried supplies, munitions, and equipment. However, outside one of the MV-261 Orcas, things were a bit calmer as several agents waited for their squad mates.
"Morning, Doc," Jesse McCree greeted, getting in one last smoke before deploying as Dr. Angela Ziegler walked up to the door ramp.
"Morning, Jesse," she greeted back, not entirely dressed into her Valkyrie suit but carrying the rest of her outfit in a duffle bag in one hand and her staff in the other.
"Have a good night's rest?"
"No. Not at all."
"Pre-Mission jitters?"
"I guess. Where are the others?"
"Fare, Lena, and Hana should be inside the ship. Just waiting for Brig, Rein, Torb, and everyone else to show up. Pretty big operation."
"No doubt. Especially for our precarious state in the world. Hopefully, things will pay off and we can help the people afflicted in Russia, but I'm still unsure."
"About what?"
"About… leaving Gibraltar. It isn't the first time, I know, but… I don't know. It feels like I'm leaving something behind."
Jesse tugged one corner of his mouth before he stepped over and place his human arm on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, you'll be fine," he said, looking down at her. "I and the other will make sure of that. You are our doctor, after all!"
Angela looked up at him with those exhausted eyes, nodding at him and thanking him.
He smiled back before he dropped his hand and went back to smoking again. However, when he looked up, his eyes widened when he spotted something behind the doctor. "What the…"
Upon noticing, Angela turned around and immediately spotted Nathan in his black armor with his pack slung over his shoulder, his rifles on his back, and his helmet under his arm. Walking towards them and the ship.
"N-nathan?!" Angela exclaimed, as he walked up to them and stopped in front of her.
"Morning, Dr. Ziegler," Nathan greeted, unfazed by her reaction.
"What- uh- W-what are you doing here?!"
"Coming along. Going to Russia with you guys."
"But but- You're supposed to be on leave! Why are you-?"
"I got tired of it."
Angela shook her head, looking up at him with a very incredulous expression. Equally shocked and surprised.
"Nathan, you seriously don't think that I'm… That we are going to let you on this mission?! What are you even thinking?" she questioned, very seriously.
"I already cleared it with Athena and Winston, Dr. Ziegler," Nathan responded, straight-faced. "They were somewhat confused, at first, but I convinced them that it wouldn't be a bad idea to let me join in this mission."
"And what makes you think that?"
"I can shoot well, I'm experienced with wild terrain, I've dealt with war machines before, and…"
The Courier reached to his belt, producing a Pulse Grenade in his palm.
"I've got equipment that could prove more than useful."
Even with all of that, Angela couldn't lose that scowl over her face. Staring at Nathan straight in his eyes. The Doctor now wide awake with frustration, surprise, and concern bubbling up within her. However, even as she shook her head, she looked down at the Pulse Grenade in his hand. Setting her staff and duffel bag down, she reached over to his hand and made his finger wrap around the grenade before she wrapped her hands around his. Holding him firmly as she earnestly looked up at him, almost pleading with her blue eyes.
Meanwhile, behind them and in the ship, Hana stuck her head out.
"Hey, what's going on?" she questioned, before spotting what was happening outside. Her eyes becoming wide and her becoming ajar. Seeing her "Mom" hold Nathan's hand as she looked up at him, very earnestly. "Oh…"
"Please, please… Be careful out there!" she demanded of him, her eyes becoming a bit fiery in that instant. "I'm begging of you, please!"
Nathan, even though he did a good job hiding it, was taken aback by how forward and adamant Dr. Ziegler had become once she learned the Waster will be coming with them to Russia. Although, he appreciated the concern she had for him. Deeply.
"Don't worry. We all should be safer if we all stick together, right?" he asked, trying to lighten the situation.
"We should, but you never know," she responded.
With that, Nathan nodded and stepped over to the door ramp. However, he stopped and turned back to Dr. Ziegler and motioned to the ramp.
"Ladies first."
"Looks like they didn't do a bad job," Jack commented as he was perched on a mountain overlooking the old Jean Correctional facility. His red visor the glowing in the desert night. "A bit sloppy, and it looks like they let some stragglers go, but… Not a bad job."
"So, they're armed and dangerous?" Ana responded, her blue visor regarding him.
With the scope, she carefully observed the wide area before them and scouted out areas of interest. Of course, there was the old prison – now more of a ruin – especially with multiple dead bodies and signs of fighting all over its fenced perimeter. A couple hundred meters or so West of the prison, there were wreckages and abandoned vehicles in a dirt trail leading to it. On the opposite side to the East, where they were situated, there were multiple tracks that showed more vehicles that ended up running away from the fight. Little sign of a struggle. They didn't really expect less from bandits holed up in an old prison.
"Did Jesse ever mention a Deadlock post out here?" Ana asked. "Back when we were still legitimate?"
"I don't know, that felt like a lifetime, ago," Jack replied. "This does look more like a recent encroachment, though. Deadlock's gotten bolder. Reyes should've cleaned them up a long time ago."
"Jack!" Ana was quick hit him on his shoulder, only making him look at her in annoyance.
"What?"
"You're doing it, again."
The mask was always good at hiding his reaction when he realized what he was doing. When he started to let old memories take him away to somewhere where he wasn't. Distract him from what he was trying to do in the now.
"Sorry," he grumbled, shaking his head.
"It's fine, Jack," Ana said, looking at her old friend before looking back towards the prison, seeing if she missed anything in her scope.
"So… You figure out how you're going to make it up to Fareeha, yet?"
"Not yet," she glumly said, eye still focused on her scope. "I'll try to think of something. Hopefully, by the time we figure out what's happening here."
"I know you will."
Her former-Strike-Commander nodded in understanding, turning his gaze back out towards the prison ruins. However, as the old soldiers continued observing the old prison and the area around it, Morrison looked to their left and immediately spotted something far away in the distance. His old eyes still sharp, even in the dark.
"Ana!" he called, reaching out to her. She looked up from her rifle to him. "South. About three clicks in the distance. You see that?"
Ana quickly displaced and went in front of Jack before taking a kneeling stance on her right leg, propping her support arm's elbow over her left knee. She was quickly able to find and center her scope over what Jack had spotted and easily saw the set of flashing red-and-blue lights in the night. An entire column of flashing red-and-blue lights heading north on Interstate 15.
Goodsprings, Nevada, Mojave Desert
The Courier's Search Party had only been in the alternate Goodsprings for what was roughly a day, but in that short amount of time since they were picked up by some old man and his grandson – after saving them, of course – in their dumpy, old truck, the town had changed remarkably with their arrival. Well, more accurately, the town's atmosphere rather than the town itself.
They went from being nobodies and strangers in a not-so-strange land to the saviors, heroes, and stars of this ghost town. The outsiders unknowingly throwing the town into a festive and cheerful spirit when they returned from the prison after running out the bandits. Every man, woman, child, and omnic quickly and surprisingly threw together a celebration for the outsiders, of course holding it in the town saloon. Music, food, and alcohol galore, more than what this town seemed capable of producing. Where this town seemed dead and barren when they first arrived, it had become one of the liveliest sights this side of the Mojave Desert. Impressive, especially considering how old much of the population was even when they finally got out, but there were still quite a few young people out, as well.
A lot of the townsfolk wore smiles, nonetheless, happy that there was someone who helped them. Isolated in the desert for so long.
They were so happy the party did not lose steam as it lasted well into the night, the entire day spent celebrating the heroes from nowhere. And while those heroes did have someplace to be and someone to find, they couldn't just immediately skip town. Not to mention, there was free food from the saloon, free of charge. They didn't have to pay for the drinks, as well.
For dinner, Veronica joked that she would be fine with a burger but didn't expect the waitress to come back with the biggest and juiciest slab of ground beef between two hearty buns she's ever seen. Slathered in some type of gourmet sauce with cheese melting on the beef, not to mention, a side of the most fried potato slices she's ever seen on one plate. Boone, sitting with her, helped himself to a large beef steak served with a side of beans and a baked potato. The beef was juicy and bloody, and the beans – although, cautious at first from personal experience – were the freshest he's ever had. For once, probably younger than him. And the baked potato was dressed like something from the Ultra-Luxe, with as much, if not more, flavor without the "pork". The dogs next to their booth were far easier to please and just helped themselves to big steaks on plates for each of them.
Over the course of their dinner, the Wasters got quick, little visits from numerous townsfolk wanting to show their gratitude or drop off a beer they bought them. At first, they were off-put by the sudden approaches, Veronica more than Boone, but over the course of the day they eased into the feeling of being thanked by the townsfolk. Not a feeling they were used to, directly at least. One person came up holding one of those black rectangles with her.
"I hate to be a bother, but can I take a quick selfie with y'all?" she asked, smiling but a little meek in her tone.
"A what?" Veronica asked.
"A selfie! Y'know, a picture! With you and your dogs!"
"A picture? Uh, sure!"
Smiling even more, the lady knelt next to them and brought her arm up. Holding that black rectangle in her hand, the Wasters watched the black mirror turn on and show the image of three people all huddled up next to each other. For a moment, they could see their own surprised expressions on the small mirror before the lady tapped some white circle that was on the screen and it flashed white with the sound of some unseen shutter coming from the device. After that, she quickly looked at the screen before smiling up at the Wasters and thanking them, then going on her way. They just stared at her as she walked away, however, Boone looking at Veronica for clarification.
"I thought those things were phones?!" she exclaimed, the saloon's music making her unheard by everyone else, thankfully. "I didn't know they were also cameras!"
"That was a phone?" Boone questioned.
After going into a little tirade about the technology in this world and Veronica joking about how Scribes she knew would have wet dreams about the things they've seen so far, they went back to just enjoying their dinner. More than earned after a long day. Eventually, creating empty plates and full bellies, but still filling those bellies with the occasional sip of beer. With the party at the saloon still in full swing, they now had an opportunity they haven't had the privilege of for some time: Relax.
"I gotta admit, I think we did the right thing," Veronica said as she sipped her beer, also one of the tastiest she's drunk.
"You 'think'?" Boone asked, sipping his own.
"Yeah, the food alone nearly makes it worth it. And… It feels good to be doing something like this, again. Helping people in need, making sure the bad guys lose. That sort of thing. It brings me back to when it felt like I was doing something that meant something. Even if that wasn't what it was always like or how it was."
She dropped her gaze for a second before taking another sip of her beer.
"Certainly, wasn't that cut and dry all the time, even traveling with Nathan. Especially with Nathan," she said. "You think he ever… Was proud about anything?"
"Him? Of course," the 1st Recon Sniper said, leaning into his seat. "We did a lot of things when we traveled together. Went to a lot of places. Helped a lot of people. There's bound to be something, shouldn't there?"
"Is killing Legion one of them?"
"Without a doubt."
Veronica smirked as she regarded her NCR friend. However, that smirk did disappear rather quickly when she started thinking about it again. Thinking about what happened in the past. Stuff that had her concerned and wanting answers, before she even left New Vegas.
"Hey, I have to ask…" Veronica began. "You were the last one among all of us to see Nathan, right?"
"When I was out on leave or patrol, yeah," Boone answered.
"Did you talk to him? Speak to him about anything, the weather, the raiders?"
"Yeah. Every time we'd spot each other either one of us will come by to say 'hello'. Not often, but every now and then. Why?"
"How… How was he when you talked to him? How did he act? What was he like? I heard that he's become rather different than what we knew him as. Especially after…"
Veronica paused, trying to come up with the words for what she wanted to describe. However, she just became frustrated.
"After a lot of shit," she continued, unwittingly an apt description regarding who she was talking about. "I just don't want any surprises when we do find him."
"Yeah… I know what you mean. Nathan's still the same old, same old, but, when I talked to him and asked him how he was? I knew something was off. I just hope not for the worse."
The Sniper broke eye-contact with Veronica and reached over to another bottle of beer that was left for them, this time it would be his third. Using the counter to pop the cap off, he pocketed the piece of metal and wasted no time taking a hearty gulp of the beverage. His Sniper eyes then scanning the saloon, he watched dozens of people enjoying their time, enjoying their life with alcohol and food. The music that played was still unfamiliar but enjoyable for the Wasters. Not feeling completely alien to this Mojave town. However, as Boone's eyes kept scanning, he spotted Parmley at the bar, sitting at one of the stools. Getting rather intimate with one of the local girls. Arching an eyebrow, he poked Veronica to get her attention and guided her by pointing at the bar to what he spotted. Taking a second, she spotted what he did and huffed in disbelief.
"Jeez, I almost thought that was Nathan for a second!" she exclaimed, then laughing to herself. "He's just missing half-a-foot and black hair."
"Fun memories, isn't it?" Boone asked.
"Yeah, if you call living in fear of being run out of town because he plowed someone's wife 'fun'."
"You know he wouldn't do that."
"I know, but it wouldn't kill him to keep it in his pants every time we went somewhere that had females in it! Sheesh, I'm afraid to learn the damage he's incurred here!"
After Veronica shivered from that sordid thought, Jennette walked up to their booth with Joseph in tow. The boy taking care to pet the dogs first before sitting down with the omnic opposite of the Wasters.
"Y'all enjoying the dinner?" she asked, her tone ever-friendly.
"Enjoyed the dinner," Veronica clarified, groaning as she rubbed her stomach. "It only hurts a little."
"Heh, I'm glad to hear that. Gladder, still, to see the town in such high spirits now! Thanks to you and your friends! We're more than grateful, here. Everyone."
"Hey, don't mention it! We're just doing what we do. Just a couple of Wasteland Heroes!"
"'Wasteland Heroes'? That sounds so cool!" Joseph spoke up after hearing that term. "I wish you guys could stay so you can tell me more about where you're from. It sounds so cool!"
"It sure does, Joseph," Jennette said, hugging him close to her. She looked back to Veronica. "But I'm still wondering: What happens after this? You guys are going to part ways with us soon and are gonna go off and find your friend. Are you guys gonna be okay, out there?"
"Yeah, we will. We've been doing good so far," Veronica said, exchanging glances with Boone. "It might take some getting used to, you know, being in an entirely different dimension and all. But I have a feeling we'll find him, somehow. Or he'll find us, he's good at that. As I said, we just need to be pointed in the right direction."
"Sorry if I've asked before, but what is your friend's name? His real name, I mean."
"Nathan. His name's Nathan."
"Really?" Joseph piped up, seeming disappointed by the revelation. "That's a boring name."
"Joseph!" Jennette was quick to scold him before she looked up and just sighed. "Well, it isn't what I expected from someone who looks so intimidating and scary on the holovids. No offense, of course. He just left an interesting impression on the news."
"So, I've heard," Veronica cast another smirk towards Boone, who returned one to her. "Anything else I should be aware of."
The omnic just stared at her, her faceplate unreadable but her stance subtle. She adjusted herself in her seat before leaning forward, a little.
"Yeah, actually," she began, her tone cautious. "Since you're not from here and judging from how you reacted since you first saw me, word of advice: there are more people like me out there in the world. A lot more. 'Omnics', is what we're called. Long story short, we have a complicated history with humans and whoever you may come across, human or omnic, may question your stance on the subject matter."
The Waster's immediately thought of Ghouls and Super Mutants back home. Seems like some problems never go away wherever you are.
"Wait, but no one seems to mind you here? Is there still animosity?" Veronica asked.
"Like you would not believe, sweetie. Especially in certain parts of the world," Jennette glumly stated.
"I see… Well, I'm glad to have met an omnic like you."
Then, to their right, Senior walked up to the booth table but with Billy in front of him. The old man had an obvious smile that didn't completely overtake his face. Meanwhile, the Sheriff looked like he was suffering from alcohol withdrawal. When they got to their table, Senior gave Billy one look and gestured to the Wasters, who was looking up at them in anticipation. Finally, after some deliberation, Billy reluctantly dropped several metallic and small squares that were no bigger than a Legion Denarius. They weren't sure what they were, at first.
"Credit Chips, all for the bounties you turned in," Billy sounded out, not at all exhilarated that the town was rid of the gang. "E$100,000."
"Wow, that sounds like a lot…" Veronica said, picking up one of the Credit Chips and taking a closer look.
"It's more than he makes in a year," Senior happily said, pointing to the Sheriff.
"Yeah… Can I go now?"
With another stern look from Senior, Billy brushed past his shoulder and retreated further into the saloon, wanting to be away from them. Everyone at the booth watched him go, some of them happier than others.
"I'm hungry," Joseph said, breaking the silence he left.
"Alright, let's get you something to eat," Jennette responded, getting up with him and through the saloon.
Boone scooped up the credit chips into his hands and addressed Veronica. "I'll tell Parmley of our good fortune if he isn't too busy. After that, we should start devising a plan."
"Sounds good," Veronica said, Boone leaving the booth just a second later.
Then there were fewer, Senior standing and Veronica sitting. The dogs were there too, but they weren't much for conversation.
Without saying anything, Senior just shook his head and went over to sit opposite of Veronica in the booth. As he did so, the music in the saloon changed to a new song.
"Almost heaven, West Virginia…"
The old man paused for a second to process what was playing over the speakers before he just grumbled and shook his head. Once seated, he grabbed one of the dozen gift beers and cracked one open. Quickly taking a drink from it.
"Now I'm drinking here at night," Senior said, nodding to himself. "Doesn't feel bad."
"Not at all, Senior," Veronica replied. "Not at all."
"Just call me Clark. I fuckin' hate that nickname."
She smiled, nodding in agreement.
The next few minutes were then spent in silence between themselves, Clark just drinking his beer and Veronica mulling in her thoughts. The song that was playing was very nice and Veronica liked it, but Clark seemed to loathe the longer he kept listening to it. Fortunately for him, the song eventually ended, and she watched him physically slump in relief.
"How come you don't like those songs?" she asked.
"What?"
"The song that just played and the one that played in the car when you first picked us up. It was about some fruity drink, I think. Why don't you like them?"
Clark just looked at Veronica and took another swig from his beer before answering, "My wife."
That took a second for her to understand, remembering the pictures he saw in the house.
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Di-did she like them?"
"She loved them," Clark looked her in the eye. "Always listened to them on repeat, practically 24/7. Drove me crazy every time I would hear her just listening to those songs, even through her earphones. Sometimes waking me up in the morning. Memorized the lyrics through her, as a result. Still hate the songs but they remind me of her."
"I see. I'm sorry I brought that up."
"Why would you be? Ain't your fault she's gone."
He sat there, thinking about what he just said and looking at the bottle he was drinking away. It was almost gone, and he raised it as if he was about to finish it, but he just placed it down on the table.
"And if you're wondering, my son – Joseph's father – is also dead," he said, sitting up and leaning onto the table. "But I'm sure you already figured that out."
"…Yeah, I did," she honestly admitted, seeing no reason to tiptoe around that subject anymore. There were enough clues for her to figure out. "He was the Sheriff?"
"Was. And he did a damn good job at it, too. Proudest day of my life when he earned that star. Helped keep the peace in and around town. Knew everyone and everything in Goodsprings. A lot of the young people usually skip town the second they can find a job elsewhere, but not him. He stayed home and worked for home. And things ran smoothly, more or less, when he was in charge until… Well, let's just say a certain gang rolled up into town."
His old features became grim for a moment, easy enough to miss or hide in the dark-lit corner of the bar. But when he brought his head up, he had another gratified smile giving him more wrinkles.
"But now they're gone," he said, looking at one of the people responsible. "I'm impressed. You didn't fuck up, and either killed or sent those chickenshits running. I'll be a bitter sonofabitch till the end, but you made me happy for one day. I guess all that bullshit you told me is true. Good enough, I suppose."
"We're happy to have been of assistance," she smiled, taking her bottle and holding it up to him. "Cheers!"
They clinked bottles, polishing off the rest of their beers. After that, the ex-Scribe sat there and thought about what just happened, remembering that they were in an alternate dimension Goodsprings and that her friend was somewhere out there with some organization that everyone knows and yet doesn't know. What she did know was that she and her friends just liberated a town from bandits and were having a party thrown in their honor. They had made new friends, new allies possibly. Not long after their escape from some random facility in the middle of nowhere. She still didn't know who those people were, but she'll find out eventually. Veronica's still a sharp tool, she just didn't have much of a shed to live in for a long time.
However, she was broken out of her thoughts when she saw in the corner of her eyes something metal coming towards her. Startled when Jennette grabbed her and looked at her.
"You need to come outside, quick!" the omnic said, an unnerving tremble in her mechanical voice, before helping her up from her seat and leading her to the front door. Rex and Cooper followed.
Outside onto the porch, feeling the chill air blow against her, Jennette led Veronica further into the road until they stopped, and she pointed down at something in the distance. Squinting at first, she quickly saw what looked like a collection of flashing red-and-blue light over the night horizon, growing steadily larger and larger the longer she looked at it. Eventually, Boone and Parmley ended running out of the saloon to see what was happening, too. Along with several other patrons.
"It's the police," Jennette said, catching Veronica's attention. "There's too many of them. I think they're here for you!"
"What?!" Veronica exclaimed, feeling her heart jump. "Why?! We didn't do anything wrong! Uh, maybe they're here for the bandits?"
She was suddenly blinded when a bright light from above shined upon them, Veronica throwing up her arms to shield herself. Wincing and blinking a dozen times, she looked up and saw an aircraft hovering above them. A black helicopter hovering over them and the saloon, kicking up dust and sand where it was. Almost drowning out the noise from the saloon. Then, its speaker blared.
"Everyone, this is the U.S. Federal Marshals! Get on your knees and put your hands on your heads! Any attempt to run or flee will be met with appropriate force."
Staring up at the big light in the sky, Veronica looked back at the caravan of flashing police lights that were getting closer by the second. Probably not having long before they cross into town. Looking back up at the helicopter bearing down on them like some monolithic entity in the air, disturbing the ground with just its presence alone.
'U.S.?! Federal Marshals! Then that means-,' her mind was racing with a million thoughts, realizing the situation had taken a turn for the worse. 'Nathan!'
Suddenly, the night sky filled with light when several large explosions went off in the distance, where the lights should be. The column of lights stopped having been momentarily halted by what seemed to be a deliberate attack on them. Then, people started screaming and running when an automatic energy weapon started firing in the general direction of the helicopter. Veronica winced and covered her ears, scrambling to find the source of the gunfire. The helicopter also caught by surprise by both the explosions and the gunfire, began to veer away from the saloon and fly in the opposite direction. Blue bolts of energy flying and scaring it off further. The helicopter already on the other side of town when the barrage of energy discharge finally stopped. When the dust had cleared, Veronica laid her eyes on a man standing in the middle of the road, with one red line for an eye and a big gun in his hand. Boone was quick to draw his sidearm on him as he took one step forward.
"Jack, that was very reckless! You could've gotten someone killed!" Ana lambasted him over the radio.
"You got a better idea to scare off a chopper?" Jack asked back. "Cover me."
Undeterred by Boone, Jack stepped forward. He spotted three humans wearing clothing vastly different from the rest of the townsfolk and two dogs – one of them very unnatural in nature.
"Ana, you seeing this?"
"Yes. Looks like them."
"We've been looking for you," he said to them, getting within view of the saloon's porch lights. "You caused quite the stir. First the Watchpoint, now here."
When everyone saw the blue leather jacket, the red mask, and a big gun, a collective gasp occurred among the crowding patrons outside the bar, which now numbered in the dozens.
"That's Soldier: 76!"
"What's he doing here?"
"What is Overwatch doing here?"
The Search Party all glanced back to what that person said, now staring at the man in the blue leather jacket.
"Overwatch? You're with-!" Veronica couldn't finish as she heard the hammer of a revolver being pulled behind her head.
"All of you are under arrest!" Billy screamed, holding his sidearm and sweep it at all of them. "Back up! Everyone, back the fuck up!"
"Bastard…" Boone snarled, keeping his sidearm trained on the Soldier.
Jack craned his neck to see what was happening, twitching his head to the police, which was still on the horizon.
"Ana, we might need a solution-"
Fortunately, Billy couldn't do anything as the stock of Clark's shotgun slammed into the back of his head and sent him to the floor in pain. Kicking away his sidearm, Clark racked the pump of his shotgun and stomped his foot right on top of the Sheriff's chest. The muzzle of his 12 Gauge loaded for bear and pointed at his head. The old man snarling. Joseph was about to run out to his grandpa, but Jennette rushed there to make sure he didn't do anything rash.
"Alright, with that out of the way," Soldier: 76 said, bringing all attention back to him. "I don't who the hell you are and what you even did, but you need to come with us."
"Are you serious? Why the hell would we do that?!" Veronica spat out.
"Because either we take you somewhere where you won't end up in gov't custody, or they put handcuffs and haul you to a maximum-security prison."
"Why?! They're here for Overwatch and we're not Overwatch!"
"They see a group of individuals who wiped out a prison full of members from a notorious gang. That seems pretty Overwatch to me."
"Anyone worth their salt can do that!"
"What about escaping from a top-secret facility and leave a glowing crate in the process, beforehand?"
Veronica's eyes widened, realizing the effect that their actions there might've had.
"You-! I-!
"It wasn't hard to notice. Look, we don't have much time! You want to get out of here, or not?"
"How? How are we going to get out of here?!"
Her answer then came in the sound of jingling keys. She turned around to see Clark searching through his pocket and tossing his car keys to Veronica, who caught them in her palms.
"Take the truck," Clark said, looking at her.
"Clark…" Veronica struggled for words.
"Take the truck, take your belongings, and go! We'll handle everything with the Feds, here."
"But we can't-"
"That man has been with the New Overwatch for as long as I can remember. He's been in as many headlines as your friend has. He'll lead you to him."
Morrison's ears perked when he heard what the old man said, wondering who this "friend" was supposed to be. In the interest of time, he'll figure it out later.
"And thanks," Clark said, nodding to her.
Veronica clutched the car keys she held in her hand and looked ahead to see the truck still parked in between the store and the saloon, with all their belongings in the bed and trailer. Seeing their ticket to Nathan had come sooner than expected.
"Okay," she said, turning around to the masked man. "Let's go."
"What?" Boone questioned, still holding his sidearm firm.
"Outstanding," Morrison grumbled, looking back to the road to see some of the lights were starting to move. "Give me the keys."
Veronica held them out to him as he walked by, the keys snatched out of her hands and watching the strange Soldier walk over to the truck. The townsfolk giving him a wide berth. Glancing back at the lights, Veronica ran over to Clark and gave him a hug, making him jump for a moment but keeping that shotgun trained on the Sheriff. Veronica then did the same for Jennette and Joseph, who reciprocated the same feelings to her.
"You have to go with Overwatch, now?" Joseph asked, saddened by their sudden departure.
"Stay safe," Jennette said, her metal arms hugging her tight before letting go.
Soon, the other members of the search party said their own goodbyes to the Walkers and some of the other townsfolk before they made way for them to the truck.
However, before Boone went to the truck, he walked over to Clark and the dirty Sheriff of the town. Reaching down, he grabbed the shiny seven-pointed star on his uniform and ripped it off. Walking away, he didn't even look at the piece of metal when he threw it onto the pavement.
"Your town needs a new sheriff."
So… This story just hit 1000 Followers… Sweet as.
Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading! Unfortunately, school is starting again (tomorrow, in fact, by the time I've uploaded this chapter) and the updates will begin to slow down, again. However, I was actually on time with this new chapter! Feels good, man.
Responses…
Guest: Hmmm… Okay, fair enough. I understand where you're coming from with the pacing being too slow, but I did feel that was how things went with how I've been writing these chapters and where I want to take them to. However, one thing that is for certain is that more stuff is gonna happen with more frequency as the plot goes on. I just hope my schedule will allow it. Hopefully, that makes sense.
Falloutman111: Yes, it was "inspired" by EVE! Maybe a bit of Classic Fallout, too…
Enfermero: ¡Gracias por leer! ¡Buena suerte con la universidad!
Guest: "Am I live"…? I hope I am, but your grammar is really off in what you typed. Nonetheless, thanks for reading.
Anyways, I'll see you all on the lowdown!
Pillock, out.
