1

"Valentine ahoy!", Lookout called. "How has your mission faired, Ensign?"

Nick led a pack of Hellfire armors up to the aged Mr. Gutsy robot. "It would have gone smoother if I had known that the Constitution had switched dry docks."

"Aye, that's understandable.", the robot replied. "We found another with a social security number, so the captain inducted her as well. She scavenged us enough supplies to fix a lot of the internal systems."

The synth pretended shock. "So the Ironside's assignment of finding a worthy addition to the crew was canceled? And no one told me?"

"That's between you and the captain.", Lookout decided. "But if you were gunning for that promotion to lieutenant, you may have missed your chance."

"Good. Lower the dingy, so I can bring them on board.", Nick told the robot.

"Ensign Valentine with new crew. Permission to come aboard?", Lookout called.

A small wooden boat was slowly lowered to ground. Reilly's Rangers, Nick Valentine, and the Lone Wanderer made their way to it. It was shortly decided that they would have to make multiple trips.

"This is your plan, Valentine?", the Lone Wanderer asked with an underlying incredulous tone to her voice. "A wooden ship halfway up a ruined building?"

Valentine quickly replied. "Every vehicle in the Commonwealth is claimed, mostly by the Minutemen. Who, if I remember correctly, will chew you up and spit you out if you so much as show your faces now that your sister in arms tried to kill...well, everybody."

"She's not any sister of ours.", Reilly stated.

Nick scoffed. "Because you're flying your own colors and she broadcasted the Brotherhood of Steel's? So I'm just mistaken? You wanna find the nearest APC and ask for a ride?"

Reilly shut up.

"Now then.", Nick continued. "This is the U.S.S. Constitution. It was serving in sea combat before these ruins were built. If we can get it to the ocean, we'll be in the Capital Wastes in a week. And considering that it's not in the building I remember it being in, our job became considerably easier."

It was the Lone Wanderer's turn to scoff. "Getting the ship into the ocean and out of this building is easier? Than what? Bringing it through time out of the past in the first place?"

"No. It means the rockets work.", Nick informed. "Notice those big honking rockets on the sides of the ship? If it got out of one building, that means this thing actually flew. All we gotta do is get the thing to take another trip, and we're in the ocean. We're in the ocean, then we're in the Capital Wastes. Badabing badabooom.

"Plus, unlike everything else that could make the trip, this is under friendly control. Due to my being pre-war, I have a social security number. Which meant these robots were able to identify me as a citizen of the good ole U.S. of A. They immediately conscripted me and assigned me a mission. Fortunately for me, that mission was off ship. Fortunately for you, that mission was to bring back a crew that could help get the Constitution back into the water and on mission. Doubly lucky for you, the Yangtze has been running supply missions to the Capital Wastes. So 'on mission' meaning 'fight the commies' is going to get you back to the Capital Wastes."

The Lone Wanderer's armor nodded. "Provided a crew full of pre-war robots accept us and we can fly a leaky boat to the Atlantic."

"If you have a better idea, doll face, I'd love to hear it.", Valentine told her.

The dingy had arrived on the top deck of the ship, bringing any bickering to a close. On the ship, was a hulking sentry bot, decked out with a positively ancient hat denoting it as captain. "Ensign on deck!", a nearby protectron called out.

"Ah, Ensign Valentine.", Ironsides greeted. "It has been a long time since we lost communication. How has your mission progressed?"

"Yeah, progress - that's it. I've made some.", Valentine told the assault vehicle. "These are a couple of the people worthy enough to join your crew. I have more recruits coming up. Sorry it took so long. I was...uh, making sure they were up to the job."

"Oh?", Ironsides asked. "So they have special skills?"

The Lone Wanderer looked back and forth from Valentine to Ironsides and maybe for the first time wondered how she managed to get herself in this mess. What possible skills could the Rangers show a pre-war robot to prove they weren't 'landlubbers'? "Um. Yes. For instance, Reilly is an excellent map maker.", she tried.

"Ah. A worthy and rare skill indeed.", the sentry bot agreed. "Ensign. If your recruits are equally skilled, then we only have one mission left before we are at sea! A veritable cache of Mr. Handy fuel containers were unearthed by a slumbering pack of the wretched, following the radioactive rain that poured over the land. With enough of an away team, we can capture that fuel and use it to return the Constitution to her appropriate realm. Are any of your recruits suited for such a mission?"

Nick looked back to the dingy that was carrying more of the power armor clad, 'not a mercenary' team and their heavy weaponry up to the deck. "Yeah, I think we might have a couple that could take on a few weather agitated feral ghouls."

2

"Remind me to kick that synth's ass.", Brick yelled over the roar of his MINI-GUN. "A few? Agitated?

"Ah, goddammit!", the man yelled as a feral ghoul had managed to slide out of an air vent and nearly glue himself to the man's power armor.

The Lone Wanderer's stealth suit materialized her out of nearly thin air. One swing of her electrically enhanced sword took the now-monster's head before she blinked invisible again. "You better be thankful for all this danger and carnage.", she called out. "If it was easy, don't you think the Minutemen would have taken all the fuel these ghouls were resting on top of."

"Any of you want to can the chatter so we can be alive when we try to bring this fuel back to the ship?", Reilly asked.

3

The synth detective, Nick Valentine, stood on deck of the Constitution with Ironsides. He stood nearly still as he considered his clues. The behavior of the Brotherhood of Steel and its operatives that he could see. The behavior of what was once a desperate mother turned nation ruler in all but name, as shown by her many minions. If/

"Ensign Valentine, are you functioning within normal parameters?", Ironsides asked.

Nick nodded. Then he remembered who he was communicating with. "Just conserving power when not task."

"Admirable.", the sentry bot praised.

The detective returned to considering his clues.