Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land
Chapter Thirty - Five - /Sentinel Reeder
The horrors of war were something that could be seen years after the war itself. Even before the great war there was evidence of World War II hanging around. /Harold Reeder had seen of them himself. When he had joined the Army one of the first places he'd been sent to was Europe, and specifically to one of the few American Bases that was still there. He was certain that the base was still there today, but he wasn't sure how it was being used.
He did remember that while they were working they'd come across something that had been left for over a hundred years. The ancient artillery shell was something that hadn't exploded, but they carefully removed it. The danger was still there, and through careful work they had managed to disarm that shell. They hadn't disarmed the ones that was in a field where some poor farmer was working.
The sound was something he still remembered to this day. The explosion, the screams, and then the quiet. They'd ran off base, moving toward the farmer's land, and found pieces of him scattered throughout the field. The explosion had been something larger than the shell itself. It had been one of the many bombs dropped by the Axis Power in their attempt to demoralize the British people. It had taken the farmer, his horse, and his two children that were there with him.
It had left a traumatized woman that laid on the ground wailing over her loss. That scene was a perfect example of how war simply did not change. It was a perfect example of how the horror left behind by a war didn't go away simply because the war stopped. It was no different here. This medical center had been more than just a simple hospital. If Doctor Braun had been part of the staff here that meant that it was connected to something much bigger.
He knew about Project Safehouse. He didn't know all of it. After all he was a soldier. Granted, he was a soldier that wrote for a popular magazine, and that gave him some leeway, but it wasn't a mystical key that simply opened the doors for him. What he discovered was either the carefully edited and curated information that the government was willing to give the population, or it was information that he'd managed to dig up.
What he found on Project Safehouse was that it was presented as a way to ensure the survival of the American People by creating underground shelters. These shelters would ensure that the population would have enough individuals to begin to rebuild. That was what it was supposed to be. That was the foundation, and in order to sell the idea they did have to create some that actually held to that standard. There were a collection of the shelters truly designed to ensure that people would survive.
Over the years he'd discovered the other end of it. The shelters themselves were often designed around horrible experiments that were designed to test human endurance. Each experiment was meant as a way to see how humans could adapt, live, and thrive in their environments. Some of the experiments were meant as cold and pitiless things that were simply meant to see how long it would take to kill off the inhabitants. There was no denying that the government he'd originally served was playing god.
The remains of that government, the Enclave, had attempted to continue to play God until they were stopped. He'd been there with Elder Maxson when they encountered the first Vault Dweller. He'd seen the horrors that were left behind, and had long since walked the United States since. He'd heard the name of Doctor Braun a few times, and he'd discovered more about the man than he'd put down in the records.
Doctor Braun was a sadist at heart. He lived to torture and torment. His entire staff that originally worked him had turned in record after record of his abusive nature. His demand for working twenty-four, forty-eight, and seventy-two hours straight. His insistence that their sleep deprivation was purely weakness, and that they had to either overcome it or be drummed out of their position. He'd toyed in the lives of interns that worked under him. Causing one intern to break up with her fiance in the slim chance that Doctor Braun would actually accept her.
The records of her hanging herself after he'd laughed about how idiotic she was had been all but shredded and buried. It was only a few holotapes left behind by a couple of disgruntled security guards that told the story. So, he wasn't surprised by the situation the children were in. And it told him that this was more than just some hospital. This was another experiment. One that Doctor Braun himself had decided to conduct. Most likely he was checking to see how the pods worked, if there was a chance to truly keep a body from aging, and he had never had the chance to truly see if would work.
When the bombs dropped it caused everything to end. Harold knew that the experiment that was happening here had never stopped. It had never ended. So, when the door finally opened to the hall that Adam believed the children were on he was less surprised to see the set up of it. The pods were here, and they looked disturbing. They weren't the sleek pods like the Adam had described that the Outcasts had used for the Anchorage training, or like were in Vault 112.
They looked more like cylinders that were standing in each room. Green viscous fluid surrounded the small forms inside of the cylinders. They seemed to float there, various wires and tubes running through the fluid to them, and he noticed something else. These children hadn't been simply dying of some disease. They were wounded. Dozens of them, all of them seeming to be missing pieces, and the evidence of what this was sit heavy on him.
These were the children from the areas that the Chinese had attacked. These were the ones fortunate enough to survive, but unfortunate enough to not escape unscathed. They were each wounded in such a way that the current medical treatments would do nothing. They were in indescribable pain, and they were being driven insane by it. This was more evidence of Doctor Braun's sadistic nature. What he knew of Doctor Braun came from the documents he'd read, the debriefing that Adam had given to Elder Owen Lyons, and of course from the very brief encounters he'd had with the man.
What struck him was Doctor Braun's arrogance. His single minded belief that everyone else around him was simply there to fulfill his needs. He'd been an asshole when he met him, and if he was to guess he'd gotten no better since then. Still, if he was forever locked in a virtual prison then that was good enough. Let the man rot for all time. Allow him to be stuck alone in a virtual hell that he could never escape from.
It didn't help much for the children that were locked away here. They were stuck in a hell that was created by Doctor Braun. They were stuck and forced to exist in whatever tormented state they were in. Each of the cylinders looked to be still functioning, but there was no denying the state of the children inside of them. He watched as the first one approached was one of the worst cases. He had expected to hear Aqua comment about how easy this would be, but instead the goddess, if that was truly what she was, seemed to be showing some actual concern.
"How could he?" she asked as she looked at the child in front of her, "She's stuck in a nightmare, her soul is connected to her, and yet it yearns to be free. She's trapped in an endless loop of pain."
She touched the cylinder and he could see the concern on her face, "She's begging us to take her out, to let her go," she commented as she looked at the cylinder, "They're all begging the same thing."
She began to tear up in front of them, falling to her knees, and crying as she sat before the children, "They're everywhere around me, they're begging me to get them out, to help them, I can't do all of them! There's too many to do at once! I can't do it in my current form! Kazuma, tell me I can do it! Please tell me I can do it!"
He watched in surprise as Kazuma walked toward her, "Aqua, I've never known you to give up on anything," he said as he looked at her, "It might be some of the stupidest things that you don't give up on, but you don't back off, and you don't give up. I know that you can do this. I have faith in you."
She finally looked toward the cylinders again, "Okay," she said as she studied them, "Okay, let's try."
From there it was insanely simple. The moment they opened the first cylinder the girl's vitals began to drop. The sounds of the medical machines around her went to work alerting that the girl was dying. Without hesitation she began healing her. Not only did she heal her, but Sentinel Reeder watched as pieces of her that had been missing were suddenly recreated. She was whole, and it was not a moment too soon as the next inline began to open.
He realized that the moment one opened they were designed to all open. There wouldn't be a simple take and pause. They would have to move to each of them. Again, this was more evidence of Doctor Braun being a sadistic ass. He'd set this up to test the limits of the medical doctors that would be working on these children. He designed it to make them have to work faster than they would normally work in order to save them.
He was proving himself to be someone that deserved every single second he spent in the virtual hell that he'd created for himself. Still, he watched as they worked hard to save the children, a boy next, followed by another girl, followed by two more boys. They were being opened quicker, and Aqua was looking stressed as she ran from one to another. She was casting healing magic as fast as she could, but it was evident that it was taking a toll on her.
Whatever magic she was pulling from seemed to be fairly massive, but he doubted that it was infinite. Something told him that eventually she would be too exhausted to move. The children that were saved were sleeping, and he could only hope that they would remain asleep through most of this. It was going to be interesting to get them out of here. He considered Good Neighbor for them, but the only real spot that they would be truly safe was beyond the gate.
They needed to be taken to the other world. There was clean water, clean air, and the kind of place that they could live and grow. That was where they deserved to live. He knew it, and he knew that it was the best chance that they had. The best chance for them was to go to a war zone. It seemed insane, but then all of the wasteland was nothing but endless warzones. War zones from two hundred years ago, war zones from enemy parties of raiders.
Everywhere someone went in the wasteland they were walking into a fight for their lives. Most of these children wouldn't last long outside of a decent settlement. Even then it would be iffy at best. Sure, there was Little Lamplight. Adam had spoken about it, and he'd said that it was a settlement composed of nothing but children. Still, that didn't sit well with him either. Sending children to be cared for by children didn't seem like the best of ideas. The children needed someone that would be able to protect them. And besides, from what he understood Little Lamplight sat next to Vault 87. Being close to any Vault was dangerous anyway.
The poor children deserved to go to a place where they would be safe. He considered it, and decided that he'd speak to the representative of the Minutemen. If he would be willing to help escort the children to the airport, and see them board a Vertibird then he would be fine with giving his support to the Brotherhood of Steel establishing friendly negotiations with them. That was certainly the best option that they had. He believed that the children deserved to live somewhere without the threat of a war well over two hundred years old.
He watched as they moved through the children, moving from one cylinder to another and Aqua used her healing magic on them. The cylinders were opening faster, and he could see how she was struggling. At this point it wasn't just sadistic. Doctor Braun had wanted the doctors caring for these children to fail. He wanted them to fall short and not be able to heal them. He wanted them to bask in their failure. That was the only thing that he could think of.
Still, to his surprise she was managing. She was breathing hard, and by the twentieth child it was obvious that she was struggling. He watched as Kazuma looked at her, and then looked toward their knight, "Darkness, I need you to get over here, quick!"
She moved toward him, and it was obvious that she wasn't sure of what it was that he was going to do. Without warning he grabbed the back of her neck and then grabbed the back of Aqua's neck, "Drain Touch!"
In an instant a purple light flowed through him and he let go after a moment. Darkness seemed to stagger, but it seemed that the action had given Aqua the energy she needed. Without hesitation she began moving to the next child. He watched as she moved through the next ten, their cylinders opening quicker than before. By the time the fortieth child was released it was obvious that Aqua was struggling. Still she managed the last healing spell on the final child.
Sentinel Reeder watched as the young boy's eyes reformed, his skin healed, and it looked as if he was in decent condition. It wasn't until after the final child was healed that Aqua fell back. She was caught, and Sentinel Reeder moved toward her. He helped to move her to the place where she could rest. The time seemed to almost pause. He watched as Aqua seemed to breathe normally. The goddess was resting peacefully, and he relaxed at seeing her seem to be resting and not suffering.
"What shall we do with them?" their knight, their crusader asked, "They seemed to be quite insane before."
He nodded, "No denying that they were left to rot, and that likely drove them insane," he replied as he studied the sleeping children, "I'm thinking that back across the gate might be the best place for them. It would be a chance to allow them to gain some true rest. The wasteland isn't a forgiving place, and it certainly isn't a place that any of them would recognize."
"The other side would be safer for them," Adam commented, "I have to agree that it would be better to have them over there where they could be watched and protected."
He nodded, "The minuteman that was leading the displaced settlers," he said as he looked toward Adam, "If there are more of his group, it might be worth an idea to negotiate with them. We could have them transport them to the airport. Once there we can send word that they are to be taken via Vertibird back to the Capital Wasteland and then through the gate."
It wasn't the best option, and he knew that. It was simply the best option they had at the moment. It was the only one that he could think of that would allow them to move the children, and it would also allow them to continue on their mission. While he wanted to ensure their safety he had to consider the mission they were on. Securing Nuka World, if it still existed, would prove to be useful. An entire park full of advanced technology available for them to use.
Such a treasure trove of technology would be useful to the Brotherhood of Steel. Additionally it would be useful to the people across the gate. He agreed with Elder Lyons that technology needed to be safeguarded. And like Elder Lyons he believed that technology could still be used to help people. That the benefits of it could be used as long as it was monitored and not allowed to go off dangerously. He believed that technology had more benefits than it did withdrawals.
To use it meant to be vigilant in ensuring that it wasn't used incorrectly. It meant ensuring that people understood the dangers of it. It meant teaching a healthy respect for what it was, what it could do, and what it could cause. These were things he intended to do. These children would already know much about technology. They were alive when the two centuries old technology was new. They likely knew how to work it.
And that was another reason for sending them across the gate. Over there they would be monitored by the Brotherhood of Steel. They would grow around the kind of respect that was needed for technology. They would come to understand that while it was beneficial there were limits that needed to be made on those who could access it. Anyone that seemed dangerous, unhinged, or volatile had no business messing with advanced technology.
"There's more to it, isn't there?" Rory asked as she looked at him, "Oh, I agree that they deserve to live somewhere that they can grow freely, but I don't think that is the only reason, is it?"
He studied the demigoddess and finally he nodded, "The children are from two centuries ago. They know technology. They likely know how to use it, and how to make basic repairs. That kind of information would be dangerous if it got into the hands of raiders or other factions that want to see the control of others," he replied as he looked at her, "The best option is to ensure that they are taken somewhere that they can grow, be monitored, and ensure that they are taught the values that will best help both worlds."
She nodded, "It's a sensible answer," she replied, "I respect it, but I want to know why not simply say so?"
He studied her, "Because, it means removing them from the only world they've ever known, and it means ensuring that whatever is done for them is done for two reasons. To help them, and to ensure the continued peace and survival of those who want peace."
He looked at the sleeping children, "They are a chance that we never should have gotten," he replied, his voice eerily calm, "We've done nothing to deserve a chance to start fresh. These children are a clean slate for us. Maybe they're the first clean slate for most of the wasteland. I don't want to muddy those slates with the horrors that exist outside of this medical center."
The words were something he believed, and he knew that. He truly felt that these children were the clean slate that they didn't deserve. Yes, they had been driven insane, but he believed that they could be saved. There was no doubt in his mind that these children could become something far more than what Doctor Braun had thrust upon them. The key would be to get them out.
He knew that it would be a chance to set some things right. It would be a chance to help heal some of the old hurts. Of course that meant that they had to get them to the gate. It meant working with another group, and it meant that because they had to go on to Nuka World. Htye had to because that was their mission. He looked toward the door leading back to the stairwell. The answer resided back in Good Neighbor. It was obvious what had to be done.
He breathed out and considered the only option that they had. They needed to get them up to the surface. They then needed to get them up, and they needed to ensure that they were able to be taken to the airport.
"We need to ensure that they make it back," he said, the words were something he'd already said, "As soon as Aqua is rested we need to head up."
Part of him knew that the moment they did the real decision would come. Help the children, ensure that they were taken back safely, or have the Minute Men do it. The Minute Men was a decent choice. It seemed that they might be the best choice. They needed the assistance, and having a large paramilitary group on their side would be the best option. The Minute Men would prove to be a great asset.
If they could prove their worth by doing this for them then it would prove that they could work with the Brotherhood of Steel. It seemed only right. So, again it was the best option. It was the one option that he knew would be the best. Yes, it was trusting them with something important, but at the same time it would prove that they were committed.
"Sentinel Reeder," Adam said as he looked at him, "Sir, if you want we can make the trek back to the airport. It isn't going to be that much time spent out of the way, and it will give us the chance to check for any other locations that might have been connected to the police in the area."
The suggestion was one that he knew was heartfelt. Paladin Jefferson, Adam, was trying to give them plenty of reasons to go back. He wasn't suggesting that they go back to the Capital Wasteland, but he was giving them enough reasons to go back to the airport. He was giving them a decent out. He could respect that. He looked toward the ceiling.
"We can't afford to become too distracted from our mission."
He watched how Adam studied him, "Sir, it's not being distracted," he replied, "It's performing our main mission. We're protecting the old world. The children are exactly part of what it is that we're supposed to be protecting."
Sentinel Reeder nodded. The answer was the truth. Protecting them was their mission. It was the very thing that they were supposed to be doing. They were supposed to be ensuring that the technology of the old world was protected. More than that they had a duty to the people of the wasteland. That was part of what they originally were meant to do. They were meant to protect the people.
Elder Roger Maxson had meant for that to be their mission, and it had gone astray only after it was obvious that they lacked the numbers. That wasn't an issue anymore. Elder Lyons had found a way to bolster their numbers, and he agreed with how he had done it. He had accepted the people of the wastes into their numbers, and showed them how to live a life worth living. He'd given them a purpose.
For many that was more than they could hope for. It was giving them more than a place to stay, or food to eat. It was giving them something more than what most could ever really hope to see in their lives. They weren't just surviving, but they were living and thriving. He understood it completely. Their purpose was likely what was pushing them toward the better future that they had long since given up hope on.
That future was closer now with the gate. The evidence was there. A world without the effects of the great war. It was a world that was worth fighting for, and a world that these children deserved. It was something that he believed that they should have. They should have the chance to live in an uncorrupted world. He wanted to give them that, and he wanted to give them the same purpose that Elder Lyons had given so much of the wasteland.
He felt it was right, and he felt that it was the one course of action that made the most sense. After a moment he looked at Paladin Jefferson, "Very well," he said, "We will get the assistance from the Minute Men, and we will take them back to the airport. Then we will return to our mission."
"Sounds like a plan sir," Adam replied, "Once they're back, I'll send word to Sentinel Lyons about them coming through. I'm sure that she will ensure that they're seen to by the most capable people we have."
Sentinel Reeder shook his head, "WE will need to reach out to the empire," he replied as he studied him, "We have the theory, but I am certain that we don't have any acting psychiatrists. The best we have are a few doctors, and while I believe that they can help with their health, I doubt that they can do much for their mental health."
Adam studied him, "I know I mentioned him before, but Doctor Barrows did say that he practiced psychology as well as medicine. He had said that it was necessary in his attempts to keep ghouls from going feral."
Sentinel Reeder nodded, "Then send word to have him help, but still reach out to the empire. Even someone that is considered a priest would be beneficial."
He looked toward Aqua, "Or maybe a goddess."