Note: The next arc is most likely to be the last for 'book 2' of this. At that point, there will be another introspection as per chapter 93.
1
A flash of lightning arced off the desert floor. Washington D.C. was not supposed to be a desert. None of what the Director had seen was supposed to be the nightmarish lack of an ecosystem it had become or the freakishly mutated threat of an ecosystem it had become. Take your chances.
"That reminds me.", the Director addressed the other CLEANROOM SUITS accompanying her. "Project Purity. It was flowing water back into the area, and clean water at that. When can that be restored and how long will it take for the ground to let life grow in it again?"
One of the personnel tore their eyes of of the coursers guarding them. "Sorry, director. I'm not assigned to that project. But a quick Fermi estimate of the size of the Capitol Wastes, water needed to cleanse contaminants and the build up of hostile minerals without a weather wash, factor in germination rates...on an order of a generation? One of their generations, not ours.
"Ma'am."
The Director sighed. "Well, at least Agatha's channel's end left an acceptable opening for the Molecular Relay signal to be carried."
"Similar projects have followed your lead with extending Freedom Radio to other territories, so has our installations. We do still have coursers assigned to Synth Retention Buereu after all.", another CLEANROOM SUIT clad scientist informed. "There isn't a place in the entire Commonwealth oversight that we won't be able to reach. Provided they aren't under a Brotherhood of Steel dissipation field."
"Are those harmful to them? Through long term exposure of who knows what energies?", the Director asked.
The other Institute person shrugged. "Here's hoping.
"But we do have to get to work, Director."
The red head nodded.
At the alien space craft and the spilled power ALIEN POWER CELLS surrounding it.
"You're right. We have to get all this packed up and back to Dr. Cabot before Brandis either slips up, disobeys me, or just gets told by a little birdie about this. Then I have to have him start his 'biggest project in the history of mankind' instead of focusing all the samples under one team.", the Director agreed.
"Say, why have you guys never tried to recruit Brandis?"
Another shrug. "The same reason we never recruited Roxxy. Or Sturges. Or who was the Railroad pickup - Tinker Tim?"
"Tom. And don't blow his cover."
"Tom.", the Institute agent agreed. "They're smart for a wastelander. Really smart. But nothing for which we can't use a type 3 synth."
"Are you saying that they aren't sentient?", the Director asked.
"Oh, of course they're sentient.", the other assured. "They can assess new circumstances, change motivations, understand new schema. But...our genetic stock comes from the faculty and student body of the most bleeding edge pre-war institution on the planet. Our education has been formulated to take advantage of our unique culture. Anything less than Dr. Li or Dr. Cabot or the Mechanist...these people don't show the necessary genius to leap frog into placement.
"I sincerely hope that I'm not angering you by bringing up the previous director's method of recruitment. But he was your and your husband's son and we managed to start his integration at an extremely young age. If he was not completing the dynamic social network mapping of the previous attempt at unification's fallout when he was preteen, he may been kept at arms length like Kellog was."
"You are angering me by bringing up my family's history.", the Director warned.
The scientist changed tracks. "Then your more recent accomplishments. Your predecessor managed to find Dr. Li, Dr. Wallace, and because of the nature of your predecessor yourself over the last decade. In your time with us, you've managed to locate three suitable candidates already. All of these people have been able to introduce new ways of thinking to our own. So while a Sturges or a Roxxy may have been able to 'catch up' so to speak if we had caught them early enough, a sentient person having chosen a particular viewpoint that isn't all that ingenious to begin with wasn't worth the effort."
"But back to the task at hand. Dr. Cabot has given us detailed instructions on what he believes can be transported through the Molecular Relay. We'll collect everything and leave the Coursers to make their way back with what hasn't been declared safe or deciphered. We just need you as the General to mark the containers as 'DO NOT OPEN'."
2
The Lone Wanderer stared at the lot where her house once sat in Megaton. Gob stood beside her.
"Moira let this happen?", the Lone Wanderer asked.
The ghoul scoffed. "Moira didn't let anything. She just drew the long straw after the General grabbed everything with a badge. She tore in here with an army, announced that she was letting us choose a representative as long as it wasn't the one she came to collect. Moira went out with the General and came back to start packing. She left in one of those cars they got, the APCs saying that she was going to tour the Commonwealth and tell us all about it when she got back. Then we're supposed to decide whether we join up or get blocked off from everything.
"In the meanwhile, the General took everything of yours. Your dog, your robot...well - you can see. But Dog Meat was barking and people were yelling about not messing up your robot's memory. So I think they're both safe for the moment.
"You really turn your sword on a child because she had food in hand?"
The Lone Wanderer rolled her eyes so hard. "I turned my sword on a pack of military grade robots and the mercenaries that fielded them. The ones that were barging their way toward a town full of kids."
"You think there's anything to be done?"
The Lone Wanderer nodded. "I have one last idea to protect my father's legacy."
"Sic the Brotherhood of Steel on her?"
"Two. Two last ideas then.", the Lone Wander corrected.
3
"Maybe you're not doing it right?", Emaline asked.
MacCready fiddled with the Vaul 88 issued PIP-BOY. "The General herself showed me how to do this, alright. And it worked on all the other vaults didn't it?
"See, there we go."
And with that, the door to Vault 101 that could have withstood a nuclear blast started to pull back. "Be ready for anything?"
"I thought Intell said that this vault was standard.", Sydney objected.
MacCready scoffed. "First, that means no experiment and still occupied. There may be more hostiles down here that have the good sense to use their pre-war technology than the entire Commonwealth. Second, this is supposed to be where Lil' Miss Bad Ass comes from. If everyone in here is half as deadly, then there's an argument that we should have brought everyone."
When the door rolled away, vault security could be seen running up with their padded armor and 10 MILLIMETER PISTOLS. "Who the hell are you?"
"Major MacCready and the Special Forces of the General's Minutemen!", MacCready shouted back. "We've been assigned to clearing out vaults/"
A round bounced off of a Far Harbor volunteer's MARINE ARMOR.
"Hold your fire!", MacCready called out. "I said we have been assigned! Vault 108, 106, 92. All were Vault-tec experiments on the populations inside. Weird stuff."
Another round whizzed by.
"I don't think they believe you, boss.", Sydney warned.
MacCready yelled into the vault. "Stop shooting! We need to talk. We don't want your vault. We do need to make certain you aren't hiding the Lone Wanderer."
They definitely were not stopping shooting the pistol rounds now.
"Alright, fall back.", MacCready ordered. "We got the door open. It's occupied. The only way we're going to even attempt to prove we're not hostile is if we don't actually kill anyone. We'll keep the door open, that ought to panic them considering how I've seen Vault 81's reps act. We camp out at the tunnel entrance in case Lil' Miss Bad Ass tries to come in or out and report back to the General."
"And when she says sweep 'em?", Emaline asked. "Only way to make sure about the child killer."
MacCready took a breath. "She's not there. Not yet."
"And if she is?", the woman pressed.
The man kept his eyes on the hostiles as they stalked backwards to the tunnel entrance that led to Vault 101. "Then we do our jobs."