Snowflake on the sand
Chapter 28
Midnight Science Fiction Feature! Part 1
"Remember!... I… I don't remember what I was supposed to say but YOU remember!" Winter felt her eye twitch as the voice of Klein was heard all over the Big MT, but sadly she had no time to comment her dislike of the so called genius, Six had somehow managed to anger three of the robot-dogs that supposedly could lead them to X-8.
Sadly it would seem that Six was no animal friend, so the dogs quickly looked at the lobotomite in distrust and launched to attack him, Six slammed his super-heated saturnite fist killing one of the dogs with a sickening crunch, Winter for her part was more humane when putting them down. A swift cut of her new axe was all it took, the head quickly falling to the side. Her weapon was not one she liked, but one she wielded out of necessity. Her poor sword had reached its breaking point and it had already began to chip at the edge and she knew it was time to take a page out of Six's book and use what she had at hand.
Her beloved sword was now on one of the desks in the Sink, the AIs promising to take good care of it, Muggy even volunteered to polish it in his spare time. "Get off me!" Six said as he punched the dog that was trying its hardest to rip his head off, pushing him off he changed to Lucky and MM. Six grumbled as he looked down at his revolvers "Low on ammo, fuck me guess I'll have to go with the saturnite fist, it kinda burns my hand but whatever, what about you Winter? The lobotomite left any blood on the axe?"
Winter shook her head, but she did do a double take just in case. The lobotomites where though as nails, two bullets to the head where simply an inconvenience (Six was very offended when he saw that), but in the end they simply needed more bullets. Throwing axes, which the lobotomites that also carried, simply did not work for her but the larger variant of the weapon, the Proton Axe was a godsend, the small particles of dust in the air making the weapons sparkle.
Winter gave him shrug "The balance is going to take some time to get used to but other than that I will manage, do you think that we are close to X-8?" Six looked at the horizon and then back to the Dome. "Maybe, the dogs come from that hill over there. But we're close I know that, if my theory is correct that is"
"That the amount of dogs correlates to our proximity to the facility?" Winter asked making Six gave her a look that made it clear he was about to lie about something "Sure, we can go with that. Stick close to me, I get a feeling that things are going to get weird" Winter nodded as she stood by his side, the height difference now making her chuckle "How's the weather up there?"
Six snorted as they passed some wreckage that Six could not quite make out what it was "I feel the same to be honest, my back no longer hurts thank God but the thing is that I don't feel is a little scary. Before the satellite I could touch my bones and feel it you know, now I pass my fingers and I touch something alien to me… heh but that doesn't matter right now, I live and now I don't have to worry about dying from whatever the hell happened to me on the Divide"
Winter paused their walk as she remembered the destroyed crater, the winds resembling the air on the Sierra Madre "Are you sure that it comes from there?"
There was a pause as Six kicked ruble hitting the tall yellow wreckage "Yes, when I was dying I saw flashes of my past. Most of it doesnt make sense to me, I know some names and that I did something with the NCR and then I moved to the Divide… I have to go Winter, I need to know. What did I do? Why do I feel like shit whenever I think about that place, I need closure. But it can wait just a little longer, we are so close Winter, the mad doctors can get you home" Six sad with a large smile as the reached the top of the hill.
Six looked back and frowned "Better to put their minds to do something good, I think they have too much time on their hands" Winter looked at what Six was looking and found herself frowning as well. The wreckage they had walked through was not a giant building as she first thought. It was a robot, a giant robo-scorpion laid in the middle of the crater. The tail as tall as a two store building while the rest of its dismantled body laid covered in rubble for the most part but Winter could still see the pincers of the mechanical monstrosity rising above the sand.
The rest of the trip to X-8 was short, the dogs had started to thin in numbers but to the amount of Robo-brains had doubled, Winter frowned as they reached the facility "I hate that its lights are like that, it makes it look like a cheap strip club in Vale"
Six gave her a look "What do you even mean? To me all of this looks futuristic as hell" there was silence as Winter recalled how much humanity had advanced here with computers that looked like her grandfather in his youth would have called dated, it really put things into perspective when she thought about to Six all this was some sort of alien craft. To her it was as if she was in a retro-futuristic book and if she was quite honest with herself, she preferred the wasteland it gave her less of a headache. Before they could continue their conversation the doors opened automatickly as green light made them cover their eyes for a brief second.
Winter prepared her axe as Six glared inside, a small tick that he used for VATS but when he spotted nothing he took off the saturnite fist. With a hand sign that Winter had taught him they ventured into the facility, the door closing quickly behind them. To their surprise carnage greeted them, machines cut the limbs of different types of creatures and even human. As the conveyer belt dragged them to somewhere deeper in the facility, Six shuddered as he spotted a still alive lobotomite trying to crawl away, half of its body gone. Feeling merciful he slammed his fist against its head shattering the already tortured remains of the human, Winter looked away trying to keep her breakfast on her stomach. Brains in jars floated and she was tempted to ask Six if any of this could be his, but she noticed how none of them seemed to fit the description of the human brain, they were too small.
"There is corridor that takes us down to the heart of this thing, do we go forward?" Six asked getting a quick nod as a response, the corridor was no better than the main entrance Winter found a new appreciation for Vault Suits as they kept all the blood that was dripping from the pipes from touching her skin. As the path changed into two Six looked with curiosity at the one in the left, brief flashes of electricity coming from it, it gave him the feeling that it was something akin to the vault bellow the Sierra Madre.
But the room disappointed him greatly "This is it? There's just a stupid computer" he commented as he played around with the terminal, Winter looked at the option in curiosity "Splicing? What where they trying to do here?"
Her companion gave a shrug as he looked into the option, Winter narrowed her eyes as she saw the option "I don't understand how mixing DNA of creatures could help them win the war, I don't think launching an army of those… mutants from the Mojave would do anything for a war"
Six merely chuckled "That's because you have never met a Deathclaw or Cazador, now those things would have turned even the most hardened veteran from the old turn tail and run, you have never met either of those have you?"
Winter shook her head as Six stopped in the option to splice a lobotomite and a robot. "No I haven't, it makes me think that they might not be so deadly if they are not that much of a plague in the wasteland" the courier stopped and turned to fully look at her. "Deathclaws and Cazadores are not, and let me emphasize, they are NOT a plague because they infight between their own species and eachother. If either of those monsters decided that we are far easier to deal with the Mojave would be a lot more empty… did I click something by accident?"
Six said as he looked at the terminal again, as the machines started to move and electricity filled the room Winter spotted as a lobotomite dropped to the ground followed by a robot and then the room exploded with light and there in the middle if the room stood a new creation.
The Robo-Brain looked around the room as if confused, Six and Witner not moving a muscle and it got even worse for them when the machine started to talk not aware of the duo looking at him in shock "Who… am I? I feel different. Awake, alive! For the first time ever I feel so awake! What's going on? What is this strange new world around me? What does it hold in store for a dreamer such as myself?"
The machine pondered and the world responded to it, a large metal claw descended and shot electricity at it destroying the creature. Winter heard the saddest "NOOoooooo…." She had ever heard as the machine finally fell to the ground, killed by the world he was so curious to explore. For a moment there was silence, but Six broke it as he started to chuckle "There's… no WAY HAAHAAHAHAHAHAAH!"
Winter glared at him and slapped him on the back of the head "Six! How could you laugh at that! It's awful!" Six simply pointed at the poor robot "He… HAHAHA… oh man, there even was a pause. The doctors really are cruel bastards aren't they? It almost makes me scared to see what is on the other side of the facility, but I think is best if we don't mess with this console anymore creating abominations is not really my thing… even if they are funny in the end"
"I fail to find the humor in the death of Dreamer, but it does answer some disturbing truth about some of the machines that we have found on our travels… you know I actually don't want to think about it anymore, damn the scientist and their need to make war and even worse hell." Winter grumbled as Six placed a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry, I am sure that when you get home, war would be the last thing you would have to think about"
A smile made its way onto her lips "A vacation sound appealing, I don't think general Ironwood would deny me that after everything I have done for him and Atlas" Six nodded absentmindedly as they entered what looked like to be the main attraction of the facility. "That and you bring with you all the technology we offer, Nukes I think it would be best if you omitted" an image of the more… unsavory people from the army flashed in her mind as Six headed to the big console on the room.
Shaking his head he motioned to Winter to take a look at it "Can you make heads or tails of this, I really do not get a thing its says in there" the specialist obliged as Six moved to the side to let her look. The options themselves did not look all that difficult but the subject of it made her raise an eyebrow "High school? And this will… upgrade the weapon they gave you?"
Six raised the Sonic Emitter as if hopping something would happen "That's what they said, but do I have to go to this… high school, I mean is not that I don't take drugs anymore. But I only use them when I need the boost in a fight you know… don't give me that look ok I am trying to kick the habit." Winter blinked in confusion as the words made her stop thinking for a moment. "High school, you… have some education right?"
Six shrugged "I can read and write just fine, I know how to fix my gear and weapons… I think in the past I did study something but all that stuck is what I know now, I do not know what a high school is"
Winter nodded as she prepared the test "I think it would be best if I explain it as we go, let's go inside I set the basic test to run" the doors opened quickly eager to test their new volunteers, what greeted them made Winter nostalgic for something she had never experienced. Her adolescent years were spent with either private tutors or the toughest grill sergeants, but she had seen in movies how a normal school would feel.
"Attention students! This is you principal speaking, God-Principal Bourus! In this facility my word is laaaw so remember to follow everything that I say down to the letter or you will be punished. Just like Richie Marcus, him and his stupid face" the booming voice of the mad doctor announced as Winter looked down at the mission objective, retrieving three student records was the mission. Sounded simple enough on paper but she bet there was something hidden among this ruined halls.
Six for his part was busy staring at the posters on the wall "Da fuck is communism?" he asked out loud making Winter tilt her head "Now that's a good a question, I do not know. I think is a… political term here in your world, Remnant has some political groups like it but I never delved too deep into them. Hardly mattered what people believed in on the mission you know"
Six hummed "And best to let things from my world's past stay there, do you want to go together or split up?" the courier asked making Winter shook her head "Best if we stick together, if this is a test than everything we do can affect the entire facility" she commented as she began to move towards the right door. Fake trophies littered the halls and some posters urging the young to enlist as soon as they were of age.
Winter stopped to stare at some of them a weird feeling come over her, Power Armor of legend shone as a handsome man grinned towards her. "Enlist now, save us from the Red Menace" she briefly wondered if the Power Armor the Brotherhood of Steel used resembled the one that the posters liked to parade. There was also some power armor that she did not recognize Six frowned at it "Dammed cockroaches, this poster is not supposed to exist what the hell" was all he said as he ripped it off the wall. Winter tilted her head in confusion as she saw him tear the thing and stomp on it, but did not comment on it.
Six seemed to be better at recalling his past and thinks he disliked, more than echo now Six walked faster, reacted quicker the slow healing had begun… or that was what winter hoped. As they continued deeper into the school the rambles of Bourus became more and more personal.
"I get the feeling that the doc really did not like this Richie" Six commented as he used the sonic emitter to shatter a machine gun. Winter snickered "Seems like even the mighty brains had to deal with bullies but the one thing I am sure that no high school had this dogs as security" she commented as she slammed one to the ground and then chopped its head off. A faint green light caught her eye, a small terminal shone making the science skeleton feel supernatural.
Thankfully it did not come to life once they approached it, Winter connected her PipBoy and downloaded the records while Six guarded her. "You know here's the thing I don't get about this test, what is it meant to do. Test our ability to steal the records or just to see if the security is good?" Winter shrugged "If I was a scientist I would test both at the same time, careful I hear something in the library"
Six nodded "Yeah, I was hoping it was my imagination"
As they opened the doors to the library a lobotomite immediately jumped towards Winter with an axe in hand, Six grabbed him by the leg an slammed him while Winter sunk her axe on his chest. The lobotomite merely pushed them off, not caring about the axe on his chest it growled at them as he took it off and threw it at Winter, Six catched it before it landed and handed it to her.
"Ok enough" he muttered as he pulled out his super-heated Saturnite fist and slammed it against the Lobotomite's leg, the bones cracked under the pressure but it refused to go down hoping on just one leg. Winter finished the job she started as she finally cut his torso in half. Blood fell on the library floor as the Lobotomite trashed for a few seconds before it finally stopped moving "Really goes to show that pain really is what makes us human" she muttered as all the viscera made her shiver a bit.
"Found another terminal, this one has a lot of F's whatever that means" Six commented, Winter downloaded it also but took some time to stare at the books next to the terminal. As she looked at the tittles of the books she felt a small part of her feel amazed while the rest of her was terrified. Indoctrination at is finest, every single book was something about the glory of the America, the terror of the red menace and all sorts of military propaganda. The young minds of the world grew up with only hatred in their mind.
Winter watched as Six eyed some of them with disinterest "Do you think this ws how schools where? Young kids learning that everything outside their country was out to kill them?" there was so quiet as Six gave her a small shrug "Hard to say honestly. The old world from what I understand weaponized everything to win the war, I would not be surprised if every kid was told that they would go to war and save their people. Vaults have the same mentality, the outside world is evil and out to kill you… is all a circle to be honest"
As they continued deeper into the school the words of Six made her feel… weird, the circle comment especially as if things never changed "Bullshit" she muttered but Six heard her "Sorry?"
"I said bullshit, the circle thing you said. The world ended and look at it now, it evolved and now it's nothing like the one before" Winter commented, a lobotomite screamed as he lunged at them but Six simply smashed his head off. There was a pause as he stared at her "Did it? To me we're still in the same loop, two super powers at war the poster boys of freedom and country against the guys in red. The only difference is that I am pretty sure that the ones from the past had more firepower, War never changes Winter…"
Winter shook her head "Then why keep going, why fight if in the future the schools and kids will just have a new enemy to hate?" Six clammed up at that. Winter let out a sigh and placed a hand om his shoulder "Look, I'm sorry that I brought this up right now but I just… this place… I really did not expect a school to be like this"
Six nodded "… I will have an answer, when we leave the Big MT. but for now lets just find the thing the doctor wants" Winter nodded as they reached the second floor of the building, more dogs and turrets tried to stop them. Lucky made short work of the turrets while Winter dealt with the dogs.
"Down the hall, there's the storage room. Where sport equipment is stored, for jocks like Richie Markus who like balls. You heard that Betsy? Richie likes BALLS" Six snorted at the ramblings of the doctor, Winter found it more childish so she didn't laugh but a small smile did make its way to her lips. "Trauma is one hell of a thing" Six said as the last record was downloaded and their objective was complete. The exit was guarded by two robot dogs who instead of running at them shot some sort of wave barely visible, Six frowned as he felt himself being pushed back by the wave "It's like the sonic emitter, don't let it hit you it will knock you down"
The dogs growled as they attacked the duo Winter barely managing to avoid their attacks, trying something new Six took out the sonic emitter. The waves seemed to do more damage than his bullets making Six grin. A powerful blast from the sonic emitter was enough to blow their brains out, Winter shook her head "Poor creatures"
"Yeah, at least there is one in the Mojave that is nice. His name is Rex, when we get back you have to meet him. He's very sweet, the King gave it to me… well and Sarah but it's my dog now!" he commented as they exited the simulation area.
A/N: The midnight Science Fiction Feature begins! Thank you sooooo much for all the reviews, I took some time to read all of them and honestly thank you. I have finished writing all the ideas I have for the story so now I can safely say that the process should speed up a bit. And maybe even a sequel but only time will tell.
Thank you again and see you soon!