City of the Sun
Just a few minutes later they were pulling up an adobe arch, stretching across the road. An iron gate had been fastened to it, though it looked like a recent addition. The arch was connected to an adobe wall, at least five feet high and lined with barbed wire at the top. Beyond the wall was a small city, maybe two dozen buildings, the largest of which was a church near the center. Just beside the gate, inside the wall, was a two-story adobe house, the second-floor patio converted to a kind of open-top bunker, a man and a woman standing watch.
AJ slowed the Wanderer down as they approached the gate, and someone came out to greet them, weapon in hand. AJ switched off the motorcycle's engine and rested his hands on top of the handlebars, looking their greeter over. He was male, mid-thirties, and dressed in white pants and a peach-colored shirt. In his hands was an AR-15 sporting wood furniture.
The man propped the rifle up against the gate and unhooked a clipboard from his belt, motioning for AJ and Penny to approach. They disembarked from the bike and walked up to the gate, waiting as the man flipped through a few sheets on the clipboard.
"Hi, welcome to the City of the Sun. I'm Daniel. Traveler, caravan ambassador, lone wanderer?" he asked AJ, then looked at Penny. "Well, wanderers," he said with a smile.
"I'm Alexander Jackson, and this is my daughter, Penny. We're from Sunshine, to the north. We came down here because I heard you may have work for us?" AJ said, and the man nodded.
"Yes, we do. I'm with the Acolytes of Sol, a religious convent here. We have a number of jobs available, such as farmhand, water purifier, teacher, doctor, we badly need doctors. Midwife, I guess you can't perform that job and she's too young for it, guard, that sort of thing. Don't need any preachers, we've got that covered," Daniel said. "Could use an arbiter, though."
AJ looked at Penny. "What's an arbiter?"
"Someone who delivers our message. With force," Daniel said. "We're not a militant cult, but the roads of the desert are plagued with all kinds of marauders and highwaymen. We need arbiters, men and women willing to root these parasitic vermin out."
"That sounds like it's for me," AJ said. "We just ran into a group of highwaymen, just up the road at a ranch house. Three of them. Said they were holed up in a cave."
"Most highwaymen shack up in pre-War gas stations, coolant stations, truck stops, auto shops, you know, the places where they can work on their vehicles. You said the group you encountered were living in a cave? Do you know if there are any more?" Daniel asked.
AJ shook his head. "No idea. There are countless numbers of caves and abandoned mines out here in the southwest," he said. "If there are more, they could be anywhere."
"I know," Daniel said. "Well, you and your daughter are welcome in our city as travelers. There's a commons house, near the church, that you can stay in. If you're interested in joining our convent, or getting a job here, talk to Priestess Brooke. She's usually in the church." Daniel released the lock on the gate and pulled one side open. "Welcome to the City of the Sun."
"Thank you," AJ said. He and Penny mounted the bike and slowly pulled into the city, taking it easy as they went down the street towards the church. It was on the corner of a four-way intersection, a U-shaped hotel behind it. AJ carefully maneuvered the bike around a group of heavily-laden pack Brahmin, enjoying refreshments courtesy of a bathtub filled with water, and pulled into the hotel. His was the only motor vehicle on the parking lot, mostly dominated by Brahmin and their caravanner handlers. He parked up and the two of them disembarked from the vehicle.
AJ brought up his hand to shield himself from the sun. A few of the caravanners were jealously eyeing his Lone Wanderer, but most were keeping to themselves or tending to their animals. He walked out of the parking lot with Penny in tow and headed around the corner to the peach-colored church, ascending the stairs to the heavy wood doors. He pushed them open, the shade within a welcome respite from the day's unrelenting sun.
The church was lightly occupied by a few worshippers and priests, clad in peach robes. Behind the lectern, mounted to the wall, was an orange-painted wrought-iron star, flanked by two tall candelabras. AJ snickered at the holes in the wall around the star, showing where the cross had once been mounted, and approached the lectern. A priest with his white hair done up in a bun was standing behind it, tending to some books. He turned to face AJ as he approached.
"Oh, a newcomer? Two, actually. How delightful," he said, and put his hands together. "I am Starlight McCoy, one of this fine convent's humble tenders. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I'm Alexander, this is Penny. We're looking for a Priestess Brooke, I was told by the gate guard that she might have a job for me?" he said, and Starlight McCoy nodded.
"Oh yes, yes of course. She's with Starlight Zimmerman currently. Ah come with me, come with me, I'll see you to her," McCoy said, gesturing for them to follow. AJ shrugged and fell in behind the man, taking hold of his daughter's hand as the priest led them down a flight of stairs behind the lectern. At the bottom was a tiny room, and another staircase going up to a door. The priest led them up to it and into a hall that stretched on to the left, ending with a spiral staircase. At the top of the stairs was another hallway, two doors on either side and another short stairwell leading to a door at the end. McCoy brought them to the door on the right and knocked.
A moment later the door opened and a man stepped out, heading down the hall to the door at the end of the hall. McCoy gestured for them to follow and they stepped through the door the man had come from, an office inside. Behind a large wooden desk was a woman in a peach-colored robe, a star-shaped headdress perched on her red head. She smiled warmly at the newcomers, a motherly look on her face.
"Hello. Who are these newcomers, Starlight?" the woman asked.
"This is Alexander, and the girl is Penny. They're here about the job, I am told," McCoy said. The woman nodded and walked around the desk, tracing one finger along its top. She stopped and sat upon its corner, her fingers in a steeple in her lap.
"So pleased to meet you. I am Startender Ernestine Brooke, the mother of this convent. Tell me, Mr. Daniel introduced you to our lovely city, yes?" the woman asked, and AJ nodded.
"That's right. He said you were looking for an arbiter."
Brooke shared a look with McCoy and nodded. "Yes, that's right. Tell me, what do you suppose being an arbiter entails?"
"Well," AJ said, and cleared his throat. "Mr. Daniel was pretty clear. He said it was someone who delivers your message with force. I'm not a particularly religious sort, but I'm told the job involves keeping our roads clear of highwaymen and other opportunists."
"Yes," Brooke said. "That is part of it. There is another part to it, one a sight more dangerous than excising little human tumors from our roads. There exists a menace in our deserts, one that needs not food nor water nor rest. A menace that has been plaguing our convent for almost a month now. Could you guess what it is?"
AJ thought about it a moment. "A menace that doesn't need to drink, or eat, or sleep? Well, just about the only thing I can think of is a robot."
Brooke seemed pleased by his answer. "Correct," she said. "Not just a robot, however. A whole legion of them. They wander our desert and our roads, harass our messengers and our caravans. Perhaps this is a problem you could solve?"
"Perhaps," AJ said evenly. "I'd need help, if it really is a legion of robots. My daughter is a good shot, and I'd like to keep her close at my side if it can be helped. I imagine I'll need some other people to help."
"We are not warriors. Here, we celebrate the gift of life that Sol has granted us. We are strong enough to sweep away organic vermin, but these robots and the Machine God are a sight stronger. It will take an even stronger soul to eliminate them. Is that you?" Brooke asked.
"I'm sorry, 'Machine God'?"
Brooke nodded. "Yes. It has its own messengers. They have come through, with not arms nor armor, and have spread its message. A message of warning, declaring that we are trespassing on its land. It has demanded that we leave. I will do no such thing. If you and your daughter are strong enough to remove this menace, then I shall have you christened arbiter at first light. Provided, of course, you perform a task to prove yourself to us."
"Mmm, I see. And what does this task involve?" AJ asked.
"There exists a highwaymen encampment to the south, in The Portal," Brooke said, and AJ gave her a look.
"'The Portal'?"
"The people there speak another language and fight ferociously. They have rebuffed two teams of Deliverers. It will be up to you to erase them in Sol's light. Do this, and you shall become our Arbiter."
AJ rubbed his chin and looked at Penny, who looked uneasy. "What do you think, princess?"
"It sounds dangerous," Penny said, and turned her attention to Brooke. "Will you give us a house if you make daddy an Arbiter?"
"Oh yes," Brooke said. "Your own house, plus ample pay. I understand that I'm asking you to take on a dangerous job. We provide free schooling to our children, as well. I'm afraid that medical services still cost money, though; we haven't quite gotten to the point where we can make them free."
"I'm in, so long as you are too," AJ said to Penny. She seemed to think about it a moment before she shrugged. "We're in. Is there a particular way you'd like me to do this, or...?"
"Anything is fine, so long as they cease to be a threat to us. Kill them or convince them, if you can, but either way they must go. You must do this by yourselves, to prove that you are both capable of delivering our message in the strongest terms imaginable," Brooke said.
"I see," AJ said. "In that case, we'll go tonight, under cover of darkness. Are there any shops in town that I can visit to get better gear?"
"Yes," Brooke said. "The hotel outside, that you doubtless stopped by. The caravanners there are from other settlements, like The Arena and Three Sisters Trail, that will have wares for you to peruse. I'll even give you an advance, to fund any purchases you think might be necessary."
"That'd be great, thanks," AJ said. Brooke walked back around her desk and produced a small wood box, which she opened. She counted out thirty gold coins, which she handed to Starlight McCoy, who then handed them to AJ. He pocketed 25, giving the remaining five to Penny. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"If you fail, there will still be a place for you here. We have other jobs you might be suited for. I would recommend seeing our doctor before you go, as well. They are all too rare, sadly, and a check-up might be wise," Brooke said.
"I'll do that, thanks."
Back outside, at the hotel, AJ found the caravanners where he'd last seen them, setting up temporary market stalls in the hotel's parking lot. They were bringing down chests and trunks from the pack Brahmins and popping them open, displaying everything from cookware to underwear to guns and building materials. AJ and Penny walked among the throngs of people perusing the wares, haggling and hawking.
"I'm gonna go see if they have any nice clothes," Penny said, and took off. AJ watched her run to a merchant at the far corner of the parking lot, set up under the shade of the hotel's second-floor veranda, and start rummaging through the suitcases.
He turned his attention back to an open chest in front of him, chock full of a pile of guns. Finding anything of value was a losing prospect, maybe the merchant had something special in stock. He approached the man, sitting on a wooden milk crate, his deeply-tan skin slightly reddened from the sun. "Lookin' for somethin' particular?"
"I'm looking for something that'll help with highwaymen," AJ said. "And robots, too."
"Hell, all my good shit's in the other chest. Your shotgun's good enough for them bandits, I'd say," the merchant said, and stood. He approached the pack Brahmin and started unlashing a Nuka-Cola-themed suitcases, which he set down on the pavement with a grunt of exertion. He released the clasps and opened it up for AJ to take a look.
"Jesus Christ!" AJ said.
"AHEHEHE! I knew you'd like this shit. That's just the shotguns, too," the merchant said. AJ crouched down by the suitcase and began looking it over. The suitcase had a wooden slab inside it, to separate the bottom layer of guns from the top layer. Judging from the size of the case and the size of the guns he figured there were six, three on the top layer and three on the bottom. The top layer was home to a Pancor Jackhammer, an H&K CAWS, and an Ithaca 37. He removed the bottom layer and nearly fell over when he saw what was on the bottom layer.
"Sweet fucking Mary," AJ said. "A Neostead 2000, a Beretta Silver Hawk, and... Oh my good God, a fucking Winchester City-Killer." He pulled the City-Killer out from the case and marveled at it, seriously impressed. "I'm almost afraid to ask what you want for this."
The merchant shrugged. "Sixty coins."
AJ put the City-Killer down like it was on fire. "Fuck that. What about the Jackhammer?"
"Ehhhh, forty?" he said. AJ replaced the other guns in the case and looked the Jackhammer over. It was heavier than the M1897 by at least double, but had a capacity of at least double too, thanks to the revolver-like cylinder. The gun's walnut* body was in good-enough condition. "That's not gonna do so hot against robots, less you buy some slugs," the merchant said. "Think I got like half-a-dozen pulse slugs around here."
"How does it even work?" he asked, and handed it to the merchant. He grabbed the pistol grip, ran it forward, and then ran it back*, and the cylinder rotated in response.
"That simple," the merchant said, and handed it back to AJ. It was a truly magnificent piece of hardware, expertly made and seriously intimidating-looking. He looked over his shoulder at Penny, at the other end of the market, and set the gun down.
"Got something more important to spend money on," AJ said, and the merchant shrugged.
"Suit yourself."
AJ counted out a few coins for the pulse slugs and then went over to where Penny was, her hands on her hips and her stance wide. AJ watched her talk to the merchant for a few moments before he came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing his thumb back and forth. She looked back at him with a smile on her face. "Daddy! I found something special that I think you'll really like! I already bought it, I'll show ya later!"
"Oh?" AJ said. "Well alright. Say, if I like it, I'll give you a reward."
Penny's eyes brightened up. "OK! Did you get anything?" she asked, and AJ shook his head.
"Nah. Gonna go back to the house and get some rest."
"I'll come with you," Penny said, and the two of them headed back across the parking lot to the hotel's office. A blonde woman smoking a cigarette told him she charged by the day, and that there were five rooms available out of the 27 at the hotel. AJ figured they didn't need the room yet, since they were going out later that night to take care of the highwaymen, but he didn't want to run the risk of being without a place for them to stay when they came back, though he was sure that the Acolytes would give him a room once they made him Arbiter.
He paid for just one day, three coins, and the woman handed him the key to room 23, on the second floor. The two of them went up the stairs to the room and went inside, pleased at its relatively-clean state. The blue carpet was only stained in a few places, and the single long dresser opposite the lone bed was only chipped in a few places. The TV even had power, not that there was anything to watch beyond the 'Please Stand By' screen. He shrugged off his backpack and sat down on the bed, glad to be resting his feet. Penny took off her backpack and went straight to the bathroom, letting out a cry of delight that it actually had running water. She'd had to pour water from her canteen into the sink of the last hotel's bathroom.
AJ lied down on the bed, surprised at how tired he was. According to his watch it was just after 3:00pm, but he was ready to turn in. He figured between the ghouls at the Sunshine substation and the highwaymen outside the gun shop his body had given all it had.
Guess it's a good idea to get some sleep before tonight anyway, he thought. He put his hands under his head and closed his eyes, asleep within a minute.
*In our world John Anderson's Jackhammer is constructed primarily of polymer and stamped steel, and is charged by means of running the pump-like forward grip to first cock the striker and manually rotate the Webley-Fosbery-like camming surfaces of the cylinder. In Fallout 2, the Pancor Jackhammer appears with a solid walnut stock and pistol grip, without a readily-apparent charging mechanism. It is my own speculation that the Fallout 2 Jackhammer is charged similarly to the British SREM rifle.