"Look alive. You can put down the laser rifle, Deegan.", the General told the ghoul.
The combat armored ghoul slowly lowered his weapon as the General lowered hers. While she appeared to not be able to lift anything of import, her adventures in the commonwealth had shown not only a surprising skill at sneaking and the pistol but an astounding amount of luck as well. At least luck is what Edward was going to chalk it up to. How else could someone get the drop on him?
"Haven't seen you in a while.", he gruffed out.
The General holstered her weapon. "Don't know if you've been listening to the radio, but the Minutemen have been rather busy as of late."
"I don't.", Edward replied. "Always pays to keep both ears on the job. No one's actually been out this way yet. I aim to keep it that way. And patrolling a wide enough path away from the craft while keeping close enough to catch anyone who might come by is nearly a full time job all by itself."
"Ah.", she nodded. "Well, we are still a ways away. You got to me before I could 'discover' anything alien.
"But still, I do need to keep tabs on Dr. Cabot. Are you going to escort me in, or can I go on?"
The ghoul frowned (she thought, but considering the radiation's deformities...). "Git.", he said with a head toss in the general direction.
She continued on. Eventually she came to what appeared to be an above ground bunker, or at least a bunker's entrance. She was certain that she was standing where the skid mark of the crashed alien ship had been. But there was no trail, and her memory of the trail led to a metal door set in concrete. And as she approached, a spot light's glare fell on her.
The door opened. Jack Cabot immediately apologized. "I am sorry about that. But as we both know, with this we cannot be too careful."
"You don't have to tell me that, Dr.", she accepted.
"Do come in.", Jack invited.
She stepped inside the bunker. The...well, not facility. Artifice? It was set up as well as any of her other settlements. A fusion generator provided plenty of light, security turrets and the like. And the walls were solid concrete and steel.
"I gave priority to privacy.", the scientist explained. "I whole heartedly agree that the Commonwealth at large is not ready for the admittance of alien intelligence. Between the religious and identity complications alone, the Wasteland has not bred a large amount of...let us say - patience and rational response to perceived threats.
"Hence, a quick raking over of the crash marks allowing what plants still grow in the irradiated soil to take hold while mixing in the moved dirt with the rest of the dead ground so common. Anyone who remembers the cave would know that it would be opportune to use as a pseudo-Vault. The outside edifice gives a demand for privacy, as well as enforcement of that demand."
"I see.", the General assessed.
"That is most of the reason I haven't been able to give but the most cursory once over to the alien's craft. Or its corpse.", Cabot continued.
She held up a hand. "Don't worry. I'm impressed.
"But you did say 'most' of the reason. What's the rest?", she asked.
The scientist nodded. "Equipment. So far, I'm only able to guess at what theoretical technologies this find seems to match up to. I would need a host of spectroscopy and variable resistance conductors to begin to even determine the materials that make up the ship, leave alone/"
"Jack, I am not a scientist.", the General cut him off. "That's why I brought you in on this. I won't know what you're talking about without years of study. And in the world as it is now, that probably means apprenticing here or at the Institute. Neither of which I have time for.
"Did you take note of what you believe you need?"
The man nodded. "Over here, at my accounting desk. I mean, I keep my written record for posterity and my note taking during experimentation separate so the first isn't damaged by the latter. It's served me well these centuries. Hm...there you are."
The General looked over the hand written list, making sure she could read (and pronounce) the various items on it. "This seems like a lot. Is it?"
"Not yet.", Cabot explained. "I can't really conceive of what 'a lot' would be considering the sheer scale of the investigation. I would suppose your entire Institute could be consumed in this find. But considering the need for absolute secrecy, I've limited that particular list to what's absolutely crucial and I can't obtain from my own stores for this particular stage of my investigation. Assuming that I don't trip some microscopic or otherwise cloaked safeguard and tear a hole in the planet when the craft's stardrive explodes."
She gritted her teeth. "I'm just asking because my only source for things like this is the Institute itself. And they know that I'm not a scientist of any sort. I'll need to be able to abscond with this without raising suspicions, let alone being asked questions.
"Fortunately, I'm on my way there now for an entirely different project, covering my absence from the Minutemen as well. And that task is going to preoccupy just about everyone. So I want you to go over this list with me. I need to know what this stuff is, what it does in case the Institute calls any of it by another name, and what's more likely to be paid attention to than not."
"Of course.", Jack acquiesced. "And as for the, ahem, other thing the Institute was supposed to be working on?"
The General drew a vial of MYSTERIOUS SERUM from her coat. "They're still working on replication. But they're close and they know what it 'will' do. So I expect a regular supply the forthcoming. Just keep your eyes on the work, Dr."
