Indulgence

AJ pulled the M113 up to the front steps of the Church of Sol and stopped. He popped the hatch and was surprised to see Startender Brooke standing on the steps, talking with McCoy. They both looked at who and what had pulled up to the front doors of their church and smiled when they saw it was AJ. He hit the switch for the rear ramp and it dropped to the pavement, but he elected to exit the vehicle by lifting himself out the hatch above the driver's seat. He sat on the edge of the APC and waited for Penny to come around before he spoke. "Well, your scouts were right."

"You continue to impress, Arbiter..." Brooke said. She handed a clipboard to McCoy and dismissed him before approaching the vehicle. "Was it a challenge to recover?"

"Only until we got inside," AJ said. "This bad boy's armored enough to stand up to anything a Protectron can throw at it, and it's pretty much impervious to bullets. Plasma and rockets are a problem, though, but this thing's armed with an automatic grenade launcher. My princess gave the bots a taste of their own medicine at the airport."

Brooke looked at Penny, who beamed. She reached up to AJ and he jumped down off the vehicle. He picked her up and lifted her up onto the APC, so that she could sit on the edge, and then he turned back to face the Startender. "I think it'll give us the edge we need for White Sands."

Brooke nodded. "I'm glad to hear it, Arbiter. Allow me to go over the plan with you." She reached into a pocket and produced a map of New Mexico, which she spread out in her grasp. AJ stepped behind her to look over her shoulder. "Look here, to the west. North of the city of El Paso is the missile range, here. None of the base's features are shown on the map, but this enormous gray expanse is the grounds of the base. Without seeing the base for ourselves there's no way to know how many buildings there are, the layout of the base, and so on. In essence, I'm asking you to go in blind."

"Mm," AJ said, rubbing his chin. "If this is really where the Machine God's robots are coming from then I imagine that the Machine God itself will be in the main building. There's a probably a robot factory somewhere in the base, too." He looked closer and saw what looked like the road to the base's entrance, off Interstate 70. "There's another base here. Holloman Air Force Base."

"I see that," Brooke said. "Still, White Sands is the largest military base in the region. The Machine God is undoubtedly there. I understand it'll be a huge task, Mr. Jackson. As a result, I'm prepared to pay you a truly stellar sum: 1,000 Eagles."

AJ cocked an eyebrow. "A thousand, no less? Yeah, that'll do it. Still..." he trailed off, looking at the size of the area declared to be the base. If the Machine God wasn't in the main building then it could be in a building anywhere in, or under, the grounds of the base. Finding it could prove to be a monumental challenge, even with the M113. "I think I'm gonna need backup for this one."

"Pick anyone you think you'll need. Starlight McCoy and Zimmerman would be more than willing to help."

"I'm sure, but I think I'll go with someone I've worked with before. If you don't have any problems with me using outsiders, that is," AJ said, and Brooke shook her head.

"Of course not, Alex," she said. "We're not a cult; we want nothing but the best for the settlements in the region. Call upon anyone you think can help. I would like to ask, though, that you take a few days' rest before you take on this challenge. You and your daughter have been running around up and down the Zia Desert ever since you got here. You've earned a vacation, I think."

AJ shared a look with Penny and smiled. "We appreciate that, thanks."

With that Startender Brooke departed, leaving AJ alone with Penny. He looked up at her and she grinned. "A vacation sounds fun!" she said, and AJ nodded. He gently grabbed one of her calves and started rubbing his hand up and down it, and her grin widened.

"It does, yes," AJ said. "But first, we gotta go talk to someone. Get in the APC, we gotta take a little drive." He helped Penny down from the M113 and then the two of them climbed back into the vehicle, with Penny taking her spot in the gunner's seat. AJ closed up the vehicle's ramp, turned them around, and then began driving back north.

Half an hour later they were pulling up to the hotel in Sunshine, an electric Chryslus Highwayman parked outside. AJ parked the M113 across the street from the auto shop next to the hotel and the two of them disembarked, stepping back out into the baking afternoon sun. His old boss, Laura, was in the shop, working on a Chryslus Fusion Flea. AJ paid her no mind as he stepped into the tiny alley between the shop and the hotel, heading straight to the bar nestled behind the auto shop. He stepped inside to the ring of the bell above the door, the sound quickly replaced by the radio.

"Why is it always the same song?" Penny asked.

"Wish I knew, princess," AJ said as he approached the bar. In the far corner, sitting in a booth with his back to them, was a man dressed in black combat armor. A very large pistol in his thigh holster. AJ ignored him and sat at the bar. "Don't know what kinda name Johnny Guitar is, either."

A moment later Cassandra came out from the backroom and stopped when she saw who it was. "Thought I heard th'bell. Didn't know it was gonna be you, AJ!" she said exuberantly. "What're you and the little lady doing here, anyway?"

"Got a job, with the Acolytes. You were right about them; they've got a whole town there, well-fortified. Running water, decently-stocked houses, good defenses. We've been working with them the past few days and we've finally got a lead on all the robots that have been plaguing the roads for months. Trouble is, I think I'm gonna need help."

Cassandra scoffed. "AJ, I got the bar to run. I haven't been on a job in months. What'dya want my help for?"

"Remember Tucks ?" he asked. "You still owe me a favor. I know you're a crack shot, I know that you've saved my ass more than once, and here's the best part: the Acolytes are paying me a thousand Eagles for this one. Split between the three of us, of course. 333 for me, 333 for you, and 334 for the princess."

"Uh huh," Cassandra said. "Why don't you ask Hands?"

"Hands?"

"Th'guy in the corner," Cassandra said, and nodded at the armored guy in the booth. "Don't ask me why he calls himself that. I didn't ask. Probably better off not knowin'."

"Don't know him. Don't trust him. 333 Eagles, Cassandra, just for killing bots. Sure you want to pass that up? Just let Laura run the bar while you're gone; won't take more than a few days."

"Uh huh," Cassandra said again. "And just where are we going?"

"...White Sands Missile Range."

Cassandra's brows shot up. "Are you fuckin' insane, AJ? It'd take a whole army of power armored soldiers to take on a military base like that, especially if it's crawlin' with combat bots. Just what the Hell are you thinking, trying to go into a place like that? We'd all be dead inside a minute."

"It's dangerous, I know, but the pay reflects that. And," he said with a shark-like grin, "we've got a couple secret weapons. The Acolytes taught me how to hack Protectrons, to get them to fight other robots. And, they sent us to Hacienda airport to retrieve an armored vehicle the pre-War military left there. An M113 armored personnel carrier, complete with a grenade machine gun in a ball turret. We ride into White Sands with that and we can blow away all the robots in the place without so much as a scratch."

"And this APC works? You tested it?"

"You bet your ass we tested it. Penny bombed the fuck out of every robot that was at the airport, it was majestic," he said, looking at his grinning daughter.

"It was really fun!" Penny said.

"Right..." Cassandra said. She seemed to mull it over for a minute before sighing. "Fine, I'm in. Just so long as I don't have to become an 'Acolyte of Sol' and worship the sun or any of that mumbo-jumbo. Let me go get my gear and let Laura know what's going on."

AJ nodded. "We'll be waiting out on the road."

Father and daughter stood from the stools and went back outside, through the alleyway and to the M113 parked by the road. Penny walked into the back to escape the sun while AJ waited outside, leaning against the vehicle. A few minutes later Cassandra came out, a DKS-501 sniper rifle slung over her shoulder and a Calico M950 in a shoulder rig. She saw the APC and whistled appreciatively, looking it over.

"You weren't kiddin'," she said. "Dunno how well it'll stand up to a Sentry's missile but it looks like it'll be enough for the little tin cans."

"It's great," AJ said. "Fast, well-armored, and packs a serious punch. Perfect for getting us into White Sands unharmed." He brought her up to speed regarding what the Acolytes referred to as the Machine God but left out the part about General Zoe and the North Peak Intelligence Facility; he had his own theories on what they'd find at White Sands and didn't want to clue her in just yet. Not if he didn't have to, anyway. Cassandra took it all in with a series of nods.

"Well, we won't know anythin' till we actually get to White Sands. If the cultists want you to take a break before you try it then that's fine by me. I'm guessing they got a hotel in the town?"

AJ thought about it a moment. "Actually, why not stay here? Penny and I'll go back to the city to rest up, then I'll come pick you up in a few days."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Chrissake, AJ, you made me get all my shit and now you want me to stay here. Well fine. Just don't forget about me when you leave, got it? Enjoy your vacation."

"Will do," AJ said with a smile. They said their goodbyes and then AJ climbed back into the M113. He closed the ramp and sat next to his daughter on one of the troop bay's benches, the Pipboy 2000 in her hands. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Where's Miss Cassandra?"

"She's staying here until we go to White Sands," AJ said. He put one of his hands on Penny's thighs and she set the Pipboy aside. "Looking forward to our vacation, princess?"

Penny nodded. "Yep," she said, and grabbed his hand. "Can't wait to get home, daddy." He saw the look in her eyes and licked his lips, his hand starting to roam.

"Why wait until then?" he said. He stood, kissed her, and started undressing her. She did the same, swiftly undoing his belt. He broke the kiss only to pull her shirt off for her, staring and groping greedily at her body. "Is it alright if I water your garden today, Princess?"

Penny thought about it a moment and frowned. "It's way too hot in here, daddy. We'll get all sweaty and gross if we do it like that."

AJ smiled. "Don't you think I deserve a reward, too? For letting you keep that PipBoy?"

"Yeah, but... It's really hot in the tank, daddy."

"OK, OK," AJ said. "Why don't we do something that doesn't require either of us to move much?" he asked. She looked up at him expectantly, hands drawn up to her chest. He unzipped his pants and pushed her onto her knees, her hands moving to hold his thighs. "And don't worry, I'll return the favor once I'm done."

"'Kay," Penny said, and got started. He grinned down at her, hand on her head, and her gray eyes gazed back up at him, devoid of light in the dim atmosphere of the APC.

"This is why I love you, princess," AJ said. "I respect you, and you respect me."