Being a member of the Vanguard used to be a special profession among the many occupations in the Pitt. People dread being assigned to unrewarding jobs in the city. While assignments were often rotated to ensure some degree of fairness there were some who were exempt if their services were considered "essential" for the greater good of the city. Under this system, few went hungry in the Pitt or struggled to find adequate housing thanks, but still, unfulfilling work was just work for most people.

That is why many often looked up to the Pitt's professional defense corps with awe and prestige. During the Revolution, the Vanguard was made up of the 50 strongest slaves that stormed Haven with their Champion. It was said that the Wanderer was the charge's sole survivor. However, the charge was brutally successful in that they cut and killed their way through the slavers' quarters.

They had charged up against gunfire and armored foes barricaded near Haven and successfully bludgeoned their would-be masters and the vicious raiders that supported them. To the old residents of the city, the vanguard were legendary. It was this pride that carried the new guard forward as they patrolled the city.

In the months since the Brotherhood-Council Security Agreement was passed, the institutions of the Pitt had slowly been integrating more and more Brotherhood personnel. Especially egregious to some, was the fact that positions of immense responsibility and power were often granted to those coming directly from the Capital Wasteland rather than the personnel that had been stationed locally for some time. Some of the more skeptical citizens worried that the Brotherhood would eventually eclipse the Council in influence and even occupy the city through military force.

The Brotherhood naturally hoped to immediately march their troops through the city's districts and buildings in the name of "security concerns" but instead were convinced to accept a compromise instead. For the time being, the Vanguard still had a place among the Pitt's institutions.

More recently, a new curfew had been announced after a reported discrepancy had been discovered within the Council's investigation into the trog crises. They revealed a misreporting from the Wanderer himself had logged into the city's records. Such a scandal suggested that the disease had spread unchecked in recent years.

More, the public outcry and concern ensured that the Wanderer needed to stay hidden from public life. In truth, he had always been a recluse but more significantly, it meant that those without the proper disease mitigation equipment were required to stay home after sunset. According to the Brotherhood Scribes, the disease was far more easily spread at night and they were working quickly to contain the outbreak and to dispel the contagion.

It was for this reason that fewer and fewer patrols were being made by the Vanguard. Many had already transferred to Brotherhood command to receive the necessary, life-saving equipment. The few who remained within the guard were the ones who believed that the Wanderer had never made a mistake at all.

This much was certainly true for the two men patrolling one night in the entertainment district. It was known to locals as Nightstalker Alley given the high prevalence of bars and other late-night entertainment sources. While it was referred to as an "alley" it was more a thin street that had happened to become the home of many nightlife establishments. Before the Council began their urban planning section, stalls, stores and apartments tended to form organically and based on demand. It was through the arrival and intervention of many influential merchants and their demands where the Council transitioned towards a more planned model.

The consequences of the plan were mostly beneficial. After all, the old way was done simply due to the material realities of rebuilding a society and reforming it away from the oppressive slave regime that came before. While James had intended to move quicker in dispelling some of these issues, he tended to allow other leaders to tackle these kinds of issues instead.

That said, the alley was marked through the large number of neon signs that had been taken from ruins across the city and then refurbished into their current locations. The scrap ensured that each establishment tended to mix and match whatever parts worked resulting in a colorful but chaotic mess. Barkers also tended to stand in front of their stores in attempts to attract customers but the recent curfew had slowed traffic only to the most brave and desperate.

Empty as the alley was, the Brotherhood apparently stayed clear from the area and so the Vanguard who were assigned to nearby patrol routes were given special equipment to patrol areas like the alley as well.

One night, two men happened to pass a local hole-in-the-wall before stumbling directly in a man of great concern to their organization.

"You're James Young." A voice called out into the night. James turned quickly, cursing the cheap cloak that failed to mask his face. "The Wanderer."

"Wanderer, Champion, who's asking?" James responded. It was all he could think of as a response. His left hand instinctively shifted over to reach for his sidearm. The two members of the watch instead lowered their weapons, making it absolutely clear that they were not interested in a conflict.

"I am Guardsmen Kip, this is my sister Mei." the guard on the left spoke first, cautiously. The combination of the dark night and the armor each of them wore, made it difficult for James to distinguish one from the other. "We're big fans."

James nodded in response. He looked around in the event that this was some ploy by the Brotherhood or some other group that sought his attention during the current crises. During the first couple of weeks, the Council continued sending couriers to ask for his thoughts on policies despite the fact that they were the same people who voted to oust him. The experience had ensured that any person approaching James now tended to get the cold shoulder and the silent treatment unless it was a truly important matter. He had many preparations to attend to and advising a Council woefully unprepared for their jobs was not one of his concerns. The alley proved empty save for the alcoholics with poor constitutions in the distance. James eyed the guards carefully, wondering how he should proceed. They seemed eager to talk to him but now that he was here before them, neither could think of what to say. James elected to make the first move.

"So I see." James returned with a polite smile. He turned to leave before being stopped.

"Sorry sir, there is a curfew for all citizens. No exceptions unless previously announced, I'm afraid." the guard who identified himself as Kip spoke. James only grunted in response, hoping to signal that he was not in the mood for any interaction. He was not keen to allow himself to be stopped or worse, to be taken into custody tonight.

"I'll be more careful." James smiled once more. Kip shifted his weight around as if he was unsure quite how to treat James.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you leave unescorted either, Mr. James." Kip interrupted James's exit again. James turned to face the twins. "But I speak for both myself and my sister in saying we would be happy to escort you wherever you need to go."

James studied both of them carefully. They were wearing some of the older and lighter model frames. They were minimally armored with the focus being a T-45d helmet modified to filter the atmosphere with a breathing apparatus on their backs. They were useless given what they claimed to prevent but James did not care if the Brotherhood chose to waste more resources away on solving a problem he had long since overcome. He also noticed they were armed only with an Auto-Axe and a sidearm. He could easily escape them if the need arose. However, James simply nodded instead, seeing as the two guards relaxed, seemingly happy to accompany him.

"Where will you be journeying to today, Mr. James?" the sister now spoke. It seemed the prospect of an assignment more interesting than patrolling the alley had brought her into a more talkative state.

"You will be escorting me to the trainyard. I plan to leave the city tonight." James answered simply, throwing the hood of the cloak over his head. It had begun to drizzle and James was determined to stay as dry as possible on his long walk. The two guards seemed to have frozen in the reveal. They recovered quickly and followed James at his casual pace.

"Leaving, sir?" Kip asked. "You will be departing the city again?" James nodded. They waited, expecting an explanation. When he offered none, Mei stepped forward.

"When will you return, sir?" Mei asked. "Many people worry about the Brotherhood and they may worry more if you are not here to keep the peace."

"There is not much I can do about their fear, unfortunately." James replied, turning in what he thought to be Mei's direction. "The Council has ousted me and they've agreed to the Brotherhood's plot to discredit my actions." As he spoke, James watched the disappearing skyline. The city was famous around the region for being one of the few consistent sources of light after dusk. Workers were still working on reestablishing consistent power connections to all the buildings within the city's relatively limited borders. The ruins were quite expansive but the actual areas inhabited by humans were small.

"Well, the people don't believe their lies, Mr. James." Kip huffed in reply, apparently sure that the entire city's populace remained in perfect step with its former Champion.

"I wouldn't be so sure," James started. "but I sure appreciate the vote of confidence."

The trio walked in silence for some time. They had long since left Nightstalker Alley behind and they were now crossing the Pitt Bridge. The centuries old contraption had seen better years but work crews had been working to reinforce damaged areas to the best of their abilities. Much of the old vehicle wreckages had been cleared and scrapped so the journey was smooth save for the occasional tool or workstation left behind by the day crew. Eventually, the silence was interrupted.

"What is the source of the discrepancy, sir?" Mei asked. James gave her a look so she continued. "We have been told officially that you forged entries into the documents to avoid having to deal with the problem. Even the Commander has suggested that it was a way for you to assert power and influence over the Council just by claiming the job was done."

"You seem to be more of a thinker, Mei. Does that strike you as rather likely?" James asked her earnestly. Mei studied his expression carefully. If anything, he seemed amused by the skepticism and the allegations.

"No." she admitted. Kip huffed in response.

"Of course not!" Kip exclaimed. "Would someone like Mr. James, the Lone Wanderer do something like that? Why would he lie about curing the trog disease?"

"I never claimed to cure the disease." James corrected. The siblings exchanged looks.

"If you didn't forge the data then," Mei reasoned. James nodded to confirm. "is everything the Council says a lie?"

"No." James replied. The simple answer came with such brevity that it surprised the siblings but they continued following.

"So then the TDC continues to ravage sectors of the city?" Mei continued her line of questioning.

"No." James answered. "The TDC and its variants have been exterminated. It should not pose future problems."

"What makes you so sure?" Mei asked. James looked at her and pondered his response.

"What precisely do you want to know?"

"I've heard that you and the original members of the Vanguard marched out of the city in search of a lost vault."

"Correct."

"This vault was said to have contained some technology that could help cure the contagion. So the expedition left immediately to find it. Only you returned."

"Also accurate."

"Did you find the technology needed to cure the contagion? What happened at that vault?"

"The technology we needed was already present within the city. In fact, Ashur stored many units in Haven. There was no knowledge we learned from the vault that we could not have learned otherwise. And the vault…" James paused. "The vault was a deathtrap given the experiments that were designed there."

"So the Vanguard…" Kip interjected. James gave him a look. He did not wish to discuss the vault further.

"So then the trip was pointless." Mei concluded. "Then how did you cure the contagion?"

"Simple." James smiled grimly and pointed to the young guard's weapons. "The vault contained equipment that was producing a mixture of gasses that accelerated peoples' degeneration into trogs. The Vault was another FEV testing center. Disabling the machinery was enough to prevent future people from degenerating further."

"Then the people who had already been changed were…"

"Eliminated."

"There was no cure? There was no way to find one?"

"I don't know if I would say that there was no way to find a cure." James emphasized. "But I am not smart enough to study her and isolate one."

"Her?"

"Marie." James replied softly. "My father was a doctor and I was trained to replace him. I am able to stop gunshot wounds, nurse people to health from radiation sickness, but what is that compared to reverse-engineering a cure from a toddler?" James rubbed his left thumb over the sidearm in its holster. "Instead of waiting, I chose to turn to my other specialities."

"But what about the staff inside the hotel? We learned that you worked with many scientists to produce a cure."

"I never cared for the stories that the public relationships office produced. I prefer the truth be told instead. There were no other scientists, I killed the only other people who might have known enough to find the cure safely."

Mei paused for a moment, speechless. "Why?"

"I was young, naive. I believed in the wrong person when I first came to save this city." James answered. "Now, I know a little better. I will not place my trust in the wrong person again." James's gaze turned to the Prydwen hovering above. Despite the storm and the darkness, he could just pick out the behemoth's shape silhouetted against the city lights and the thundering clouds. It seemed that that answer had given the siblings enough to think about. They did not speak again as they walked.

The trio finally came to a stop. They had reached the trainyards and the earlier drizzle had quickly become a deluge. The thundering from minutes earlier had crescendoed to an omni-present clash of nature above them. James stepped forward towards the abandoned train tunnel. Before he fully entered, turned back to face the young guards.

"Any other questions?" James asked. He wore a tired, tight smile on his face. The two guards remained silent. James nodded to himself like an old man. "I am no hero. I never was. I was just a kid who was good at a couple things. If you want me as your champion, know what kind of person you invite into your lives." he warned.

They did not respond. So James turned, waved a farewell and made his way into the dark tunnel. Aside from the pitter-patter of the rain, the siblings stared and watched as the man they had known to be their champion marched slowly out of sight. They stayed even after they could no longer see light from his Pip-Boy or hear the clomping of his boots bouncing off the empty corridor.

The siblings stood there for a while. Moments turned into minutes and by the turn of the hour, Kip was the first to speak.

"Mei?" he asked softly, unsure of his sister's mood as the helmet hid her face.

"Let's go, Kip." Mei responded, her voice strong. "We have a patrol to finish."