Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land
Chapter Twenty - Nine - Adam
After the fighting between Aqua and Rory had been stopped the first stop was simple enough. Kazuma had proved that there were some goods to be had in the buildings around them, but of course with there being raiders there was every chance that they would run into traps. Since he seemed exceptionally skilled Adam had suggested that Kazuma check the buildings for traps and disarm them if he could. The reasoning for it was simple enough.
Still, that left them before what looked like a prewar police station. From what he could see it was little more than a collapsed two story building. The years had not been overly kind to it at all. The water that filled the bottom half of the station was likely full of rads, and he took a look at Aqua. The easy answer was to have her purify the water. It would allow them to fill their canteens, and it would ensure that walking through the water wouldn't be an issue for them.
"Aqua, do you think that you could purify the water over there?"
The blue haired goddess stood and seemed to look as if she was feeling especially self important. The moment he asked Adam wondered if he had just stepped into something he didn't want to be a part of. From what he'd seen Aqua acted like a spoiled child most of the time. In truth the only one that really seemed to have a handle on her was Kazuma, and he wasn't exactly sure why that was. Maybe there was some kind of pact between them or something, but he didn't understand why Kazuma was able to practically stop her when she was acting the way she was acting.
"Sure," she said, "Right after you all worship me like the goddess I am."
He was about to say something when Kazuma walked up behind her and gave her a little nudge on the back of her head, "What was that for?!" she shouted, "I mean he's asking me to do something that only a goddess could do!"
Adam watched them for a moment while Kazuma shook his head, "A useless goddess, or one of their water purifiers," he said after a moment, "Didn't you realize that they've set up a massive water purifier back where we were at? It stands to reason the only reason he's asking is because it's more convenient to ask you than to go find a water purifier to do the job for him. So, stop being a brat, and just purify the water."
"No!" she shouted as she sat down in the middle of the road, "I won't! I want you to apologize for smacking me! More than that I want a new bottle of expensive booze! You sold my bottle, so I deserve a new one!"
"What do you need from up there?" Rory asked as she neared him, "From what I can tell the toxins and impurities in the water won't hurt me. I heal and regenerate from pretty much any damage, so I should be fine."
He nodded, "We're needing to check to see if there is any sign of Sentinel Reeder's brother. We also could use any directions to armories that might be there. I don't mind going, after all the power armor will protect me, I was just asking her to do it so that everyone could look things over. Not to mention it would be helpful for Kazuma since he's the one that is best suited at sneaking into places."
She nodded, looked at Aqua, and squinted, "So, you are so pathetic that you would ensure that he," she said pointing to Kazuma, "Cannot complete the request without being pampered. You are truly useless."
He watched as Aqua stood up, "You take that back!" she seethed at Rory, "I am not useless! I am the goddess of water!"
She walked forward and stuck her hands into the murky water that flowed through the bottom half of the police department, "Purify!"
The water glowed a brilliant blue for a moment, and then to their surprise it was crystal clear. Adam looked at Kazuma who nodded. Once again Kazuma seemed to disappear completely. He could see the slight disturbances in the water, but it was obvious that the adventurer was good at remaining mostly hidden. Within a few moments the few remaining lights of the police department began to flicker to life. Adam watched as the a few terminals began to flicker, and then movement in the water could barely be seen again.
When he appeared Kazuma was carrying a few clips for what looked like low caliber handguns, a couple of hand grenades, and a few boxes of sugar bombs cereal. He handed it over, and then he produced what looked like a small lief of paper, "So, this has the location of a few armories that the police were using," he said as he looked at them, "I also looked up the name Reeder, and I found a Detective Joseph Reeder. It seems that he was last known to be helping to locate someone called the Fens Phantom."
Sentinel Reeder seemed to straighten up at that, "Wait, the Fens Phantom?" he asked he stood there, "I heard something about that."
"What is it?" Adam asked as he looked at him, "I mean, do you know what it was supposed to be?"
Sentinel Reeder nodded, "A serial killer here in Boston," he replied as he looked around, "From what I read he was connected with about sixteen different disappearances. If Joey was looking into him then he must have stayed active after the bombs dropped."
Adam looked at him, "Okay, then let's prioritize the armory closest to the area he was last seen in," he replied as he looked at them, "We can kill two birds with one stone. If we're lucky the information in the armory might give us some more to go on."
He looked at the information on the paper and saw that there was a city depository that connected to an armory. It was less than a block over from the Fens Street area, and that likely was the best place to begin looking at. With that he brought up the map in his HUB and he could see the marked location. That was still something he felt was amazing about Pip Boys. If they had the address of a location down they were able to give a fairly accurate location of where to find it.
He set the location, and he began to lead them. To his surprise Nancy was still following them, and she seemed to be interested. He knew that they were likely going to be going somewhere else, but he wasn't going to force the issue at the moment. Maybe they could end up helping one another. If nothing else it would be interesting to see how well she could work alongside them.
Sure, he felt guilty, a little, for the way he talked to sentinel Reeder. He'd made him face his prejudices and basically leave them where they were. Maybe that wasn't the right way of putting it. He was certain that Sentinel Reeder hadn't forgotten the things that happened during and after the great war. In truth, he doubted that Sentinel Reeder would ever forget it. He did hope that he would understand that Nancy wasn't the one to blame for those events though. Unless she had been alive during that time there was no way she was responsible.
In truth he knew that her connections to anyone that might have been responsible was thin at best. It would have been because she was a descendant of someone that had done something terrible. That would mean holding her responsible for the actions of people that likely had been dead for a couple hundred years. That wasn't fair, and he knew that. Still, he stopped the line of thought.
It was a bridge he would cross when they got there. Instead he paid attention to where they were going. The sound of gunfire echoed ahead of them, and they slowly made their way toward it. He saw the sight of people wearing prewar military gear running around with a strange symbol on their chests. One of them turned toward the group. Adam watched as the individual lifted what looked like a standard combat rifle and fired.
The bullet hit his armor and ricocheted off toward the left. He heard it hit the aged brick wall of a building and the person firing didn't stop. Adam raised his own rifle, a plasma rifle that he'd gotten from the Enclave after rescuing them, and fired. The shot seemed to hit the one firing at them just right and he let out a scream of pain before he began to bubble and then turned into a puddle of green goop. The others with him turned, and he noticed one of them wearing a rusty set of T-45 power armor.
"Fall back!" he shouted to the others, "Those fuckers have assistance incoming!"
With that they split their fire between two directions, but at the same time they continued to pull back from where they were shooting. Adam continued to lay down suppression fire, and slowly made his way forward. He wasn't sure, but he had to figure that these individuals weren't out here for the benefit of others. Slowly they made their way toward an old subway station entrance and disappeared into it.
He held up his hand, indicating that they didn't need to follow them. He saw another group, wearing hats that looked similar to the old pictures he'd seen of the American Revolution, and also wearing trenchcoats. One of them looked toward him and gave a nod, "Thank you," he said as he neared him, "We weren't expecting help. I'm James Wire, First Lieutenant of the CommonWealth Minutemen."
Adam nodded, "Paladin Jefferson of the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel," he replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you First Lieutenant Wire."
He saw James Wire give a smile, "Thank you for that," he replied and looked toward the subway entrance, "I'm not sure what the Gunners were after, but they've started to become a problem."
Adam looked where he was looking, "Who are they exactly?"
He saw James Wire shrug, "I heard that a bunch of them are leftovers of some group that called themselves the Talon Company. Supposedly they were a big time mercenary group in the Capital Wasteland. Not sure what happened to them, but a bunch of them came out this way. They found a couple of the military bases, got some combat armor, a few weapons, and started hiring themselves out as mercenaries here."
He shook his head, "They basically will work for anyone that's willing to pay," he stated, "I mean anyone. Raiders, slavers, anyone that has caps can hire them, and they're completely ruthless."
Adam nodded, "We dealt with the Talon Company before," he replied as he looked at the subway entrance, "I have to admit that they certainly fight like them. So, what are you doing out here First Lieutenant?"
James Wire looked at him, "Honestly, we've been trying to help people relocate from some of the more dangerous areas," he replied as he looked at him, "There's areas that have gotten lousy with Super Mutants. More than that, we've been running into issues dealing with people just disappearing. So, we're doing what we can to make sure that people are safe."
Adam gave a nod, but he knew that his helmet wouldn't show the approving look he was giving, "That's quite noble," he stated as he looked around, "We're currently on a scouting mission, but do you have an idea of where a suitable location would be?"
James Wire shook his head, "We just came from Diamond City, but it's changed recently," he stated as he looked behind him, "Before it allowed anyone to move into the city as long as they understood that any raider action would result in being either killed or tossed out. Now, they aren't accepting any new residents unless they either provide a service that no one else can, or are willing to pay a couple thousand caps to move in."
"It ain't fair!" one of the people behind James Wire shouted, "We ain't got by a five hundred caps between the lot of us!"
Adam nodded, "I can see the problem with that," he replied, "Is there another location then?"
James Wire nodded, "We heard of a new settlement called Goodneighbor. Apparently it is exactly what Diamond City used to be. A place where you can live as long as you understand and abide by the rules."
Adam nodded, "Okay," he replied, "Do you know where this Goodneighbor is?"
James Wire nodded, "It's over by the old Mass Fusion Building, and I think that it was called Scollay Square back before the war."
Suddenly Adam saw his Map appear in his hud, and the location of Goodneighbor lit up. He saw that the location wasn't far out of the way they were heading, "Okay," he said as he looked at them, "It's in the direction we're heading. If you want to join us we'll make sure you reach it before we head on forward."
He watched as First Lieutenant Wire seemed to consider the offer, and after a moment he nodded, "Sounds good to me," he replied before looking at the people behind him, "Okay, we're going to follow the Brotherhood of Steel until we reach Goodneighbor. Once there we're going to enter and attempt to associate ourselves with the community. If what we were told is correct then we should be able to settle there."
There were a few looks of worry, and Adam couldn't help but see the looks of uncertain reservation on a few of their faces. He wanted to say something, and he looked at Sentinel Reeder whose body language was as stoic as usual. In truth, it was hard to read him while he was inside of his power armor, but from what he understood he would never be getting out of it either. The power armor had more or less fused to him.
Wherever the Sierra Madre was, and whatever it was, most likely had to be one of the most dangerous places in the wastes. Adam knew right away that he didn't want to go there unless there was no other choice. If he did go then he would need to forgo the power armor. He honestly didn't want to be stuck inside of his power armor for all time. Besides, he understood that if he wasn't a ghoul and that happened that it would be a death sentence for certain.
"Paladin Jefferson," First Lieutenant Wire said as he looked at him, "While I don't know where your destination may be, I'd personally suggest stopping at Goodneighbor for a few moments. If nothing else it might allow you the chance to resupply, and it could help you with any directions or information that you may need."
He gave a nod, "Thanks for the suggestion," he replied before looking ahead, "Alright, let's head out."
With that their group began to move. Despite the Gunners, as First Lieutenant Wire called them, escaping into the subway system he felt that they were prepared. For one, Sentinel Reeder had the most experience with combat missions than anyone else. In addition they had other powerful individuals with them. As they made their way he could hear the sounds of something heavy thudding ahead of them.
"Ha ha, stupid humans!" the voice of a super mutant rang out, "Super mutants are superior! We strongest there is!"
He held up his hand and moved forward. Despite the power armor being less than ideal for stealthful approach he looked around the corner to see three superior mutants fighting with what looked like raiders. During his travels in the capital wasteland he'd learned to let the two groups duke it out among themselves. For one, at the end of it usually it would lead to only having to deal with one enemy, and secondly it would usually weaken the one that would have to be dealt with.
"Yeah!" shouted one of the raiders, a woman it appeared, "Fuck him up!"
He watched as a sledge hammer swung at the closest raider, and he watched as the raider's head gave way. Blood and gore exploded as the super mutant laughed in delight. He knew what was coming, and he watched as the other raiders began to concentrate their fire on the closest mutant to them. It wasn't a bad plan, but raiders didn't typically tend to be the most cohesive teams to begin with. Normally, their working together was out of necessity instead of a sense of brotherhood. If things got dicey they'd leave one another to die in order to save themselves. It was something that he'd seen time and time again.
One of the raiders raised a sawed off double barrel only to have it hit with the hammer. The gun broke in half, ruining it completely. The raider then shook his head, "Fuck this!" he shouted as he started to run.
"Get back here you pussy!" the woman shouted as she opened fire with what looked a homemade pistol, "You stupid fucker!"
She got hit and slammed against the wall. Adam watched, and he wondered why he was doing this. She was a raider. She was someone that likely would turn on him in an instant. Still, he moved forward and began firing his rifle. The shots tore into the back muscle of the super mutant. It bellowed in pain, and he watched as it turned around. He saw it lifting something in its hand, and he used the H.U.B. to target it. He fired, and the grenade exploded right before it completely left the hand of the super mutant.
It's hand blew into pieces, shrapnel tore through the face of the super mutant, and it stumbled back, "No!" it cried before he fired two shots into its head. He watched as the back of the super mutant's head exploded out, and it fell over. He looked at the girl that was lying there. Her hair wasn't in the usually blood coated designs that most raiders wore. Instead it was just bed frazzled. She groaned before looking up.
"Oi, who the fuck are you then?" she asked as she slowly started to get up, "And why did you save me arse?"
He looked at her, "Consider it a lack of clear thinking," he replied, "I'm not in the habit of saving raiders."
He could see the scowl on her face, "Yeah, well I'm not in the habit of being indebted to a wanker, but here we are."
She slowly got up, "So, what now?" she asked, "I mean you saved me life, such as it is, and that means that I owe you. So, want to get out of that armor and have a row or something?"
He laughed, "Yeah, not interested. I'm with someone," he replied, "If you want to make it up to me then turn around and save someone else. After that, consider us even."
She studied him, "Wait, so all you want me to do is save someone's sorry arse and that's it?"
He studied her, "It's not hard," he replied, "See someone in trouble, step in, and save them if you can."
She shook her head, "Naw, I'll follow along with you lot, and I'll save your sorry arse, and then we'll be even," she said as she looked at him, "Name's Cait."
"Paladin Adam Jefferson with the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel."
She studied him, "Heard about the Brotherhood of Steel from some ghouls that came from further out west," she said as she studied him, "Sounds like they're sort of raiders with better tech. Not much difference in what you lot do and what I was doing."
He studied her for a moment, "I can't speak for the other chapters," he said as he studied her, "But that is not how we operate. That said, if you want to follow along, that's fine. We're heading toward Goodneighbor, and further on from there."
She gave a nod, and once again they began to move. As they did the sounds of gunfire remained an almost constant. It was normally distant, further off than he'd want to admit, but the map was displaying where Goodneighbor was located. There were places where it would be nearly impossible to get past the rubble without a suit of power armor, and so they had to take alternate routes. What looked like it should have been a mere hour's walk turned into six hours, but still, they made their way to Goodneighbor itself. He saw the large wall that had been built.
It was sturdy, well formed, and appeared to be made with protection in mind. Unlike most raider's walls he could tell that the wall itself was sturdy enough to withstand normal attacks. Still, he walked toward the single door, and then stepped into the what looked like a giant meeting between the residents there.
"I'm tellin' ya that it don't matter!" someone shouted, "We've done fine without anyone in charge, and Hancock might have helped start this place, but he ain't the one ta be put in charge."
"Sonny," a ghoul said as he looked at him, "We both know how things are going. Like it or not we need a place that's for the people, by the people, you dig?"
Adam looked at the one the ghoul was talking to. He was older, his face looked weathered, and he looked as if he'd been on either side of multiple fights before. The fact that he was alive was a testament to the fact that he was a survivor, "Yeah, I get it," Sonny replied, "but Hancock, we don't need someone to tell what the fuck to do. We come together anyway. Why do you need to be in charge?"
There was silence, "Okay, I can see that you feel some kind of way about this, so I'm going to explain it, just once," Hancock stated, "And I'm explaining because I figure that you deserve the explanation, but I won't do it again. Sonny, we're getting bigger. There's a lot more folks here, more than we had, and more than we started with. Like it or not, we're going growing, and growth means that someone needs to set down a set of rules for us all to follow. The only rule I think we really need is to watch out for one another."
Sonny studied him, "Same here, but Hancock we can just kick out the sacks of shit that don't wanna follow. We're the same mind on things, so why go through this?"
There was silence, and then Hancock shook his head, "You know Sonny, I like you," he said simply, "I like you because we worked well together. Hell, I liked you because you stepped up when we needed it, but I also heard that you've been eyeing the prize my man. I heard that you're thinking about doing what I'm suggesting, but a little longer out."
There was silence, "Who said it?" Sonny asked, and Adam noticed that he didn't deny it, "So, who told you?"
"That'd be me," a ghoul with a head of hair said. Adam noticed that she was dressed in a business suit, "Sorry Sonny, but while I like you I don't think that you've got the chops to be the one to keep this place together."
"That's bullshit Daisy!" he shouted, "Fuck, did all of you forget that I helped fight off the dumb dumbs?"
There was a chuckle, "No one has forgotten," Hancock replied, "But no one is going to hand over the keys to the city either. Face it Sonny, the vote was cast, this was what happened, you can dig it, or if you can't then we've got a problem."
He watched as Sonny stepped back, and he could see him reaching for a holster. He began to ready his rifle, but it wasn't needed. Before Sonny could get his gun pulled Hancock had stepped forward and buried what looked like a Bowie Knife in his gut. Sonny stepped back his eyes wide, and Hancock pulled the knife out, and then stabbed him again, "Sorry Sonny," he said as the older man dropped to his knees, "But Goodneighbor don't have any place for someone looking to screw everyone else over."
He then looked toward them, and Adam nodded, "Looks like we might have crashed the party a little early."
There was a laugh, "Yeah, maybe," Hancock said as he neared him, "Seems to me though that there's a bunch of you here. So, what's the story?"
Adam studied him for a moment, "There's a group of refugees that was looking to move to a settlement," he said as he motioned toward the people with them, "We were just escorting them here."
Hancock looked behind him and then nodded, "I see, I see," he said before he studied them, "We don't mind the extra people, but everyone in Goodneighbor lives by the simple rule of by the people for the people, you dig?"
Adam nodded, "Just like in the history books, right?"
There was a laugh, "Exactly my man, exactly, and just like our illustrious forefathers, we don't do anything completely for free. Extra people means extra resources. Just so happens that I saw something under the streets that could use someone getting to. Looks to be some old prewar medical facility. Don't have a clue why it's under the street, but we could use the chems and stempacks there. You go check it out, make sure that it's all good to scavenge from, and we'll let everyone here move in. Sound good?"
Adam looked at him, back at the others, and then nodded, "Yeah, it sounds good."
There was a part of him that remembered what it was like to do this. In a way it almost made him nostalgic for Moira and her Wasteland Survival Guide jobs.
