Replaced previous chapter due to mishandling two plot threads. Please reread, as relevant story direction changes are documented there.
1
The domestically uniformed Minutemen climbed out of the vertibird. They surveyed the destruction of what was supposed to be Arefu. Sure, they expected the regular crumbling infrastructure of the wasteland. But the shacks had been burned to the ground. Even expert scavengers would be hard pressed to find anything that could be built into anything else.
Except a slapdash flag that seemed at first glance to have the Minutemen logo. And it had the words "Pay or die" on it.
"We're fucked, you know.", one stated.
2
The marine knocked on the door.
"Come in, dear.", Agatha called out. "I'm just about done."
The marine came in, leaving the others along with the Assaultron and type 2 synth outside. "Ma'am. We're from the Minutemen."
The elderly woman nodded. "I know. I guess I had always known you were coming. I've made my own station here, but I listen to Mr. Three-Dog often enough.
"Miyamoto Musashi once said that it takes a thousand days of training and ten thousand days of practice to make a master. That is the SOIL STRADIVARIUS. My music is much less organized unfortunately. See that my replacement gets these. Thank you, dear."
The woman pressed a few buttons on her radio setup, went to a chair, and stilled.
The radio broadcasted. "This is my last piece. I dedicate it to the Minutemen, who have come to take over our Capital Wastes. I apologize gentlemen, but I don't think these old bones will live under your rule."
Mozart's Lacrimosa began to play.
Another marine stuck his head in the door. "We're fucked, you know."
3
The Lone Wanderer listened to her radio playing the sad notes on violin.
"And so it ends."
