Begin Recording
Morning
Recording by Scribe Ellison
I woke to Deacon saying, "Milk machine right on the corner, you can't miss it."
"You sure you want to tell me all your secrets?" Nick's voice replied dryly.
"One dead drop is not all our secrets. Anyway, you're a synth, you're practically family."
Nick chuckled. I rubbed my eyes and said, "Hold out for a good codename."
"Good morning, Overboss." Deacon said way too cheerfully.
I got up and stretched as far as I could before various injuries protested. "Ow… I want a bath but I guess raiders don't take baths."
"Not the ones living here; there's no shower. Not exactly the upper stands."
No wonder it stank. "Ugh."
Looking around it was clear someone had been hard at work. The buffet counter had been cleared of clutter and was now covered with neatly arranged gear: guns, armor, food, and chems. And a bucket of bottlecaps.
Nick smiled and gestured, "While you flesh and blood types were asleep I cased the place. I present Overboss Colter's possessions, or at least the ones Gage didn't take before you arrived."
That brightened my day. "It's Christmas!"
"He had some good stuff." Deacon said, considering a gun of strange design.
"Is there enough here to buy three slaves?"
"The family you came here with?" Nick said and we both looked at Deacon, who was most likely to know the price of a slave.
"Sure." Deacon said, making a pile of some of the better weapons and all the caps and chems. "I'll pack these up. Who's shopping? You?"
"Better not start freeing slaves on my first day as Overboss." I sighed, "Nick, I—I do need you here, but I don't like your chances in with two hundred raiders who never saw a synth before. I haven't even seen any ghouls. And it's my fault the Monteiros got nabbed."
Nick nodded. "It had occurred to me that this mug is a liability in our present circumstances. I'll get your friends out, find Dogmeat, and make a beeline for the nearest ham radio. What do you want me to tell the Minutemen?"
So we worked that out. I wasn't going to be able to walk home for weeks, and being Overboss seemed like the best way to stay alive until then. And we might as well get to work on freeing the slaves while we were here.
While we talked that back and forth we got breakfast and the men turned their backs while I scrubbed the parts of me not covered in bandages and washed my vault suit. The reinforced fabric dries almost instantly so shortly I was clean and dressed with my hair pinned up and feeling like myself again.
Nick swapped his trench coat for a stained leather duster, heavy gloves and a sack hood with a helmet. He even stood taller, looming. "How's this?"
I was startled into laughter. "Oh my god, you're terrifying! That's great!"
"That's how I got in. Nobody got in my way." This apparition of doom speaking with Nick's raspy, quietly amused voice was strange and made me laugh more. He picked up the weapons for trade, packed up and tied together. The bundle was ostentatiously big and heavy and Nick just slung it over one shoulder. That would be good for his terrifying image. "All right, I'm off. Be careful. Do not make me have to tell Piper you got yourself killed."
Then Deacon and I had to watch the clock and plan how to handle Gage's visit. Deacon had an idea for a cover story since he couldn't hide the whole time we were here so we got that straight while we had breakfast, and that led to a plan to buy more food in the market since neither of us trusted raider rations.
The outside elevator went down and came up again. Gage called, "Mornin', Overboss." then he spotted Deacon. "The hell did you find him?"
Deacon was sitting on a sofa eating a mug of porridge and taking pulls from a vodka bottle.
I said, "That's Shades, I hired him from Cappy's Cafe this morning to be my bodyguard. He's not a member of one of the gangs so I know he's not loyal to anyone else. And he's dumb as a brick."
Deacon saluted with the bottle. Which was full of water but Gage didn't know that.
Gage grunted and looked me up and down. "Good, yer lookin' less like what the cat dragged in. Here's the map you wanted."
He stretched it out on the counter and weighted the corners down with some mugs. The map was exactly what I wanted. A professional prewar map with all the maintenance buildings as well as the rides shown, and new notes written recently in pencil, things like 'ferals here.' I could see several doors in the outer wall of the park; we'd have to see if they were blocked now or still open. I tapped the mountain in the middle of the map. "Well I know we're here and I've seen the slave pens and the scrap heap but what else is out there? Tell me about this place."
"Bigtime amusement park before the war. Well I guess if this place is any indication it wasn't so hot before it all blew up. Before we got here, bunch of traders had set up shop and hired a whole lotta guns to protect 'em. They were dug in like ticks. That's why it took pulling a buncha gangs together to even have a chance."
I nodded, "It's a good location, close to the Commonwealth and… whatever's west."
"Yeah. The traders thought it'd make a good hub, pulling in buyers from all around. We're thinking it makes a good central location for sending gangs out."
I know my eyebrows went up. The raiders I was used to seeing didn't think farther than 'camp near the road, hold up travelers.' "And you've got it."
Gage pointed to the map, "We've got Nuka-town, and the traders work for us now. They ain't happy about it, but screw 'em. We really need the rest of these parks though. Every one of 'em not under our control is a threat. People go in and vanish. Monsters come out. And the gangs are all cramped up. Unless they get room to spread out soon there's gonna be bloodshed."
I slid my finger over the map, looking at the other parks. There was a lot of space there. "What's in them that's killing people?"
"Different things. Dry rock gulch is just fulla bloodworms, lots and lots of bloodworms. Some idiot turned on the robot security in the Galactic Zone. The bottling plant has glowing mirelurks. Kiddie Kingdom's full of radioactive mist and to hear the survivors tell it there's some kind of ghoul overlord with an army of ferals. And Safari Adventure's crawling with mutant deathclaws. One came out once and it took five missiles to bring it down."
"And all these raiders haven't been able to clear them by force of numbers?"
"It ain't that simple. Leader loses too many people and suddenly one gang's weaker than the others. But you try and make a team of members from all the gangs and you gotta worry about them backstabbing each other in the fight. Colter could've commanded that kinda loyalty once but I can't and neither can you. Not yet anyway."
Well that was true. "You can teach me to have that kind of authority, I'm guessing?"
Gage nodded, "That I can. I been running with gangs my whole life. I know how raiders think, what motivates 'em—and how to use that to your advantage."
"I'm listening."
"First thing you gotta do is get the gangs behind you. You don't have to trust 'em, hell, you don't even have to like 'em, but you need them to respect you enough to follow you."
"I don't even know who these gangs are, beyond that some of them wear masks and some wear facepaint. Who are these guys?"
"There are actually three lots, quite the assorted bunch. All used to hate each other and maybe they still do to a certain degree. Took a shitload of work to get them all on board with this idea so I really don't want to lose them now. If I were you I'd start with the Disciples, they live right here in Fizztop Mountain. They're the ones with the masks. They might all be crazy, hell, probably are, but Nisha has her reasonable moments. The Disciples like violence, the bloodier the better. Promise them they'll get plenty of it. Then you've got the Operators, based over here in the Parlor. Spoiled rich kids but that don't mean they aren't ruthless killers. If you can impress Mags they'll listen to you, or just promise them plenty of caps. Then there's the Pack. I'm not saying they're savages but… they're savages. Don't know how Mason keeps them on a leash. They follow whoever they think is strongest. Show some teeth, I guess."
There was a certain doubt in Gage's voice on that last sentence and he looked me up and down, my faded blue vault suit, glasses, and hair up in a neat low bun that lets me wear a helmet. None of my gear gives a bloodthirsty raider impression. I said, "Don't worry, everybody likes me." Which is entirely not true. Deacon snickered faintly.
Gage rolled his single eye. "Yeah, I wouldn't count on that. Technically you're already the new Overboss, that's half the work done right there. Just—meet the leaders, talk with 'em, show them you mean business."
I nodded but said, "They sound so… organized. And the different looks. I've met plenty of raiders but none of them had uniforms."
"Huh. Commonwealth gangs. Most of 'em don't even qualify. They ain't organized, don't make smart decisions. Basically one step up from rabid animals. I've run with some of 'em over the years and every time they either think way too small or get themselves wiped out by people like you. I make it a point to get the hell outta dodge before that happens. Don't mistake the gangs out here for those Commonwealth saps. Gangs out here, they got agendas and they're gonna expect results. You can't afford to forget that."
"Right… I can make this work." I said, and Gage must have heard something in my voice. Because he was right about me. I am ambitious and I do want to take Nuka-world. And just then being Overboss was the way to getting the intel we needed to get what I really wanted. "I'll meet the leaders. Where can I find you?"
Looking off the balcony Gage pointed out his 'digs' in one of the Nuka-town buildings. "Blue door, ya can't miss it. If I'm not there someone will know where to find me."
"Thanks. I'll come get you if I need you."
By the time I turned back from watching the outside elevator take Gage away, Deacon was already at the counter making happy noises over the map. "Ghouls, killer robots, bloodworms, this one just says 'monsters.' It's the whole B-movie lineup! Oh, and I see some doors we could sneak your army in by. Too bad we can't start the party until you're back on both feet."
I started putting on my armor and gear. "I'm going to beg Mackenzie for some way to get this thing off my foot, and then I think I'd better meet at least one of these gang leaders. I think Gage means for me to take raiders to help deal with all the monsters and there might be a way to do that."
Deacon's eyebrows arched above his glasses. "Don't let this Overboss thing get to your head, Em. That was not a stupid raider that was just up here. He realizes you're trying to use him..."
Well that was sobering. "Do you think I said something wrong?"
"Nah. Played him like a champ. Just don't forget our goals diverge radically. Now let's go visit the market!"
Begin Recording
Overboss
Recording by Scribe Ellison
It was late afternoon, dinnertime, when I left the market. The setting sun stabbed my eyes and I could feel a headache massing behind the effect of all the chems.
Luckily Fizztop Mountain was very visible and I stumped towards it wobbling on the medical brace on my foot. I wanted that thing off and soon because it was scary knowing I couldn't run. If the raiders just hanging out here decided to come at me… but they didn't. I got some stares from behind masks and facepaint but nothing more. Maybe Gage ordered them to give the new overboss a chance.
The mountain was big, not a skyscraper but imposing and it cast a long shadow across the park. A fake mountain with a giant bottle leaning against it, all made of crumbling fiberglass. Through the holes where the fake stone had fallen in I could see darkness and bits of the steel structure the mountain was built on. Something stank, the distant charnel smell of bodies hauled not quite far enough away.
Looking up I could see what must be the restaurant, a curving balcony coming off the side of the fake mountain. And there was the elevator, I just about walked into the cables because I was walking while looking up. I hit the button to bring the lift down. An even more rickety raider-built platform than others I've seen, but once off the ground I was safe from being mobbed. And there was a glimpse of a spectacular view before the lift reached the top and I had to turn to look into the restaurant.
Overboss Colter had not been a tidy occupant. There was trash on the floor and leftover food on plates on the long buffet counter where, before the war, people would have sat to eat. The commercials on TV had mentioned five-star dining but this place had booths and couches and looked more like a gimmick place where you could watch the chefs make your food or something. No diners were here now, just Gage, still in his yellow armor, sitting at the counter with a gun in pieces in front of him. He heard the elevator arrive and stood up to face me.
"You look like the Gauntlet chewed you up and spit you out but seeing as you're the only one to ever walk out I guess I can't complain. Welcome home, boss! These digs're yours now. Hope you like the look. Colter had some peculiar tastes."
Gage gestured around to the prewar abstract art on the walls and several human animatronics, plastic human shapes set out like statues with weapons and clothes draped over them. I muttered, "Peculiar is right. What's with the mannequins?"
"Fuck if I know. Colter hauled them up here from all over the park, used to put clothes on 'em and leave them at the edge to see if anybody took potshots." Gage gestured off the edge of the balcony and added, "But the view is somethin', huh?"
I turned, and it really was. The market was below, the center of the park and a sludgy pond, and beyond the front gates empty land went on forever.
"It's all yours, boss. Everything you see is under your control now."
I turned away from the edge and sat on a stool at the counter, glad to get the weight off my ankle, and looked up at Gage. "I still don't get it, why put me in charge? Talk to me, Gage, tell me what I've gotten myself into."
And Gage was happy to oblige. He slouched back on his stool and said, "You may have noticed that our former Overboss, Colter, was a real asshole. And that's me being nice. Ended up being poison for this whole operation. Way I see it, surviving the Gauntlet means you've got what it takes."
"You helped me in the Gauntlet." I pointed out.
"Yeah, I did. Look, I'll be honest with you, this operation needed someone to take the reins and it sure as shit ain't gonna be me. Hell, there's already some blamin' me for supporting Colter all this time. My talents are best put to use helping a new Overboss get all this shit under control, you get me?"
Even my chem-addled brain could read that. I raised an eyebrow. "So, are you just going to paint the bullseye directly on my back or what?"
Gage chuckled. "Ain't gonna lie, that's part of the reason you won't see me stepping up and running things. But I'm telling you, it ain't gonna be that bad. I can fix what's gone wrong here, but I need your help."
Behind Gage was a set of double doors, standing open to a large indoor room. Maybe open to air it out; an unpleasant smell of male sweat and distant rot seeped out on the air. The lights weren't on but I could see more animatronic dummies standing creepily in the darkness. How did Colter sleep at night? I shook off the moment of distraction and asked Gage, "What did go wrong?"
He smiled, gestured out at the view again, "Nuka-world. That was the dream. Huge, built like a goddamn fortress. You run this, the world is yours..."
And I thought how different the size of the world can be depending where you're looking from.
"We had a good start on it, Colter and me. Hell of a lot of work went into getting the Disciples, the Operators and the Pack to work together, but we got here. 'Bout a year ago we push in through the front gate, take over Nuka-town, get these traders under our thumb. But then, well, Colter got lazy. He was content to sit on his ass up here, never put in the effort to finish taking the rest of the park. Gangs got restless, started pissing each other off. It was… is… a real mess."
As he spoke Gage turned back to finish oiling and cleaning his gun and I absently started emptying the pouches of my gun harness, counting bullets, "You held this place for a year? Impressive."
"Yeah, but it ain't gonna keep much longer. It was little shit at first. Heated tempers, arguments, the occasional shooting. Got worse over time though. Gangs started staking out as much territory as they could, all being on top of each other like this. Started looking for excuses to turn on each other. If somethin' ain't done soon to settle things down it's gonna reach a point there ain't no comin' back from."
"And you think I can do that."
"Yeah, I've heard about you. In charge of the Minutemen, ain't'tcha? You took those has-beens and pulled half the Commonwealth together and now you're sittin' pretty right on top with those saps followin' your every order. So I know you got ambition. So, you in?"
I had a sudden coughing fit to cover—I'm not sure what. Laughter maybe, or unwise words like 'you've clearly never met the Minutemen.' Because the only time anyone follows my every order is when there's no time to discuss at length what the orders should be.
My attention was again caught by the creepy animatronics in Colter's back room. I swear one of them was smiling. Colter had put a hat on that one. And a tan trenchcoat.
It was definitely smiling.
Suddenly the world was a much better place.
It had only been a moment. I turned back to Gage, "Yes. I'm in—but I'm hurt and I need to sleep off all the jet the doctor gave me. I want to know everything about the gangs, and what you want to do to take the rest of the park, but—tomorrow?"
"Right. Sensible." Gage sounded relieved and quickly put his gun back together. "I'll come back in the morning—well, morning raider time which means early afternoon—and we'll get started. The plumbing's good up here and the water in the faucets is clean. Both elevators lock. I warned the gangs off you but someone might get frisky."
"Thanks." I said, sloppily happy and probably smiling a very strange smile. The head-clearing chem Mackenzie gave me was definitely wearing off. "Bring me a map of Nuka-world if you can. Need to know what we have to work with."
Gage arched his visible eyebrow, surprised, and did a little salute as he stepped onto the elevator. "You got it, boss. I look forward to working with you."