Games Of Power & Pleasure: MODUS

by DCQStories

A lonely Vault dweller is left questioning what the purpose of her life is. As a member of the Appalachian wing of the Enclave, she's lost everything except one constant: MODUS. With an empty bed to fill and only the horrors of the world waiting, she wants more than nuclear launch codes for entertainment.

1. Rise And Shine

div id="chapter-1" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143204680"Chapter 1/a: Rise And Shine/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;""We ask that you explain yourself further./tt"br /Chapter Content Rated: PG-13/p
/blockquote
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Another day dawned in the wastes. Rolling over in bed, Diane lay listening to the soft chiming sing-song alarm in her private suite in the Enclave Whitespring Bunker. The alarm was an elegant and formal sound. Opening her eyes and pushing herself up in bed, the satin sheets and unique comforts of the enclave room came into view as she tried to chase away the haze of sleep and begin a new day./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Already, the aroma of coffee filled the room, brewing as a part of the morning ritual she woke to daily…that is so long as she slept in the Whitespring Enclave Bunker. Since leaving Vault 76, the wastes have only offered brutal hardship, mutated horrors, and suffering. Within these walls, it felt like being back home with family and friends, safe and secure./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Now, was she alone. It had not always been this way. After leaving Vault 76, she enjoyed working among the Responders at Whitesprings. She found pleasure in serving others and aiding humanity, or so she had thought. What had made the organization so appealing to her, regardless of the brutal truths of their work, was the companionship shared./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Good Morning. Member./tt" The familiar voice was the only "person" left to talk to that she had any sense of "trust" for: MODUS./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Lifting a hand, she combed her hand through her wavy chestnut hair as a yawn escaped before she could respond. "Good Morning, Modus, I did," she slipped from the bed. Bare feet landed on the carpet, the sheets slipping free from her nude form. The Appalachian landscape had made its mark on her. A collection of scars ghosted her body, the kisses of some battles won, and some lost. Her once softer body was now leaned and toned from manual labor on the surface./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"It took only a few steps for her to close the distance to the coffee maker and then claim a cup for herself. The black coffee was brewed to the perfect temperature, just as she liked it. This was her morning ritual: be woken up by the gentle alarm, enjoy a cup of coffee prepared to her exact tastes by the automated systems in the Enclave compound, and then be briefed of the day in her room by MODUS./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"With caffeine chasing away the haze of sleep, she shifted her gaze to the MODUS terminal monitor within the room and looked upon the placid face looking back at her. His continued presence was the only constant in her life anymore./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""If there are no pressing operative matters to attend to today, I was considering heading out to follow up on a library terminal, something that I heard of in passing from a salvager the other day." She turned the coffee cup in her grasp, looking to the coffee before returning to the ever-observant gaze on the monitor./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Is that so? What of the terminal merits your endeavors?/tt" Calculated and composed, the masculine artificial voice that responded had become her only source of conversation after all the other recent recruits had…died./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""The library the terminal is located in is not far from the Fujiniya Intelligence Base. It is rumored to be operational but password-protected, and though it is a long shot I wonder if there might be intelligence on it of use. The area is a hotbed for raiders that were equipped with a lot of stolen and salvaged tech from the Reds, and it's not far from Base. So," she rolled her shoulders in a shrug and then took another sip of the coffee. Life here was far more comfortable than with the Responders and felt more like being back home in the Vault./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We agree that such an endeavor merits pursuit./tt" MODUS' screen flickers, the expression shifting to an uncanny smile. " Agent Jefferson Grey did a thorough job of culling the location of troublesome foreign elements and retrieving the stealth and Liberator research. Still, our efforts to fully collect the knowledge amassed there have been problematic. It could be most beneficial if additional information is to be retrieved."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She nodded in agreement, finishing off the last of the coffee as she listened to him. "The locals speak of the area being haunted, and then there is the matter of the Liberators. Still," her words cut short and she looked away from the monitor to her empty bed before shifting the conversation in a new direction./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""If I die at the Library, how easy will it be for you to replace me? I have seen loyalty fray and fail among members in my time here. The ebb and flow of life and death, the struggles we face. We live a hard life, while the comforts here are….unrivaled on the surface, I just...I worry about the ability to find others worthy of membership to carry on the mission." She was spinning wheels, trying to find the right words to say to express the hollowness she felt in the daily grind./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The reality was that she was typically alone in the depths of the compound. What kept her firmly in place as a member of the Enclave was a matter of survival and the desire to see something better for humanity and her fellow Americans./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm sorry, I am feeling melancholy today; it's been five months now since Gerald died," she drew in a hard breath from the emotional upwelling such an admission summoned and then set down the coffee cup on the counter. Every time she left the bunker, she wondered if this would be the last time; maybe she would finally die while on assignment, facing down the impossible odds. Alternatively, MODUS could interpret such personal musings as an indication of it being time to dispose of her as a member./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The rapid flow and shift in the conversation was informal and personal. It differed from the sort of communication MODUS was created to engage with. Nonetheless, informal banter was not foreign to the AI./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The screen flickered, and the expression on the ever-watchful monitor in her room shifted back to neutral. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Understand that we greatly value your efforts here. Your replacement would prove difficult, though possible. All the same, we understand the need to replenish the pool of members. With the loss of fellow Enclave members, the burden upon you has been heavy in a multitude of ways. Perhaps there is something we might offer extra from our reserves after you return from your next deployment./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"As he spoke, she moved to begin to dress for the day. She'd never minded the gaze of the AI upon her as she lived in the Enclave no matter the activity: daily showers, medical care, research, card games with long lost fellow Enclave members, and even long nights of passion in Gerald's arms. Gerald, had been a unique figure in her life, her first real romance until his untimely death./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus, have you considered that to inspire greater, longer-term loyalty to the cause, you need more than a carrot-on-a-stick approach to members? That material rewards lack the allure beyond just….survival and comfort?" she asked, while slipping into a comfortable compression bra, the sort of thing women wore to address the annoyance of breasts in combat zones and physical hardships./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We have. However, we ask that you explain yourself further./tt" The monitor screen remained neutral in expression./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"This was dangerous territory, and she knew it. MODUS was perfectly capable of killing her and much anyone else at his leisure. Her presence was here as a member of purpose and use as an intellectual. There was no defecting from the Enclave and surviving./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm alone in here, and …it has been hard. People out in the wastes," she said as she stepped into her protective standard-issue jumpsuit. "...People will stay in the wastes for family, friends, and love. I've seen people make great and noble sacrifices for…love. It is what gives their lives value and lets them push through hardships. I need that too.." She was trying to carefully gauge her words wisely, but life within the Vaults had not prepared her for a life of lies and manipulations. She was a straightforward woman who appreciated transparency and honesty thanks to her own parents, who were both devoted and kind with a marriage the envy of other couples in the Vault./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I worry that I am doomed to a fate to die alone. Even if I meet someone, what if they don't understand the cause of the Enclave?" She swallowed hard, pausing to try and gather her thoughts as she laid bare parts of her own worry to an AI of all things. "With Gerald gone, it's been hard to push on. I don't think I can ever find someone like him, again. I need more than ammunition and food to tolerate the hardships we face."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The response that followed was that she did not expect nor fully understand. The monitor flickered subtlely, and for a brief moment, a smiling expression appeared before it returned to its neutral expression./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We understand. Perhaps there is some new reward we may offer? This new consideration will take a night to resource./tt" MODUS responded. His words gave her pause as she finished dressing, locking into place her hacked Pip-Boy which included a modular addition allowing MODUS to be channeled through the interface./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Please understand, this is not an expression of a desire for desertion. I am just," she offered a resigned sigh, uncertain what he meant by…a new reward./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus, I just want something more than to work, eat, sleep, and eventually die. Either way, I am sorry for rambling to you. There is work to be done, and I should grab my supplies and head out."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Could the AI truly understand what it was like to be so lonely or comprehend human emotions? During previous Bot Stop missions the robot extensions of MODUS had expressed disdain at the state of affairs the world had fallen into. There were countless times in conversation where the inflection in the AI's voice had inflection suggested being more than an emotionless thing. Were these expressions just a veneer of emotion to make the AI personable, or was it an implication of the AI programming being so advanced that it possessed a range of emotions? She was uncertain as to what the answer might be./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Dressed, she collected her weapons then slung her backpack onto her back before quickly adjusting her Pip-Boy to check that the MODUS module was active. "Let's go," she offered the monitor a quick smile and then departed her room. The Appalachians awaited./p
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div id="chapter-2" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143227726"Chapter 2/a: Assembly Required/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"A failed mission and a reward for long-term /Chapter Content Rated: PG-13/p
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The terminal at the Library was a fruitless endeavor laden with peril in the form of a band of wandering super mutants. Thankfully, the dull-witted violent mutants were easily bypassed with the aid of a Stealthboy module. The disappointment she felt when the library itself was in ruin was gripping. The library and the rumored terminal within were a long shot for any potentially valuable information to MODUS. Even so, the library terminal only served as a short-term distraction from which to focus./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"On such assignments, communications with MODUS were silent, as her survival depended not on brute force but rather on being unworthy of notice or hidden from view. By the time she returned to the Winterspings resort and the Enclave vault proper, the sun had set, and night had blanketed the heavens. Walking through the empty halls of the vault, she was greeted in the standard manner that had become a bland cycle of the route; robotic attendants conducted themselves in silence as they toiled at various tasks, all the while classical music filled the otherwise consuming silence of what was in truth the tomb of many before her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Standing before the sealed door to her private quarters, the familiar voice of MODUS addressed her from a nearby monitor and speaker. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Welcome back. We considered the discussion this morning and have something for you. Rest assured, we carefully considered what options might best suit your needs./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She turned her head to look at the uncanny smiling face on the nearby monitor. "You do?" Her question had a tinge of apprehension./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Yes. We do. If you would, please enter your room. We await your arrival./tt" He responded with a subtle hint of amusement in his voice./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Reaching forward, she pressed the button to activate the door to her private quarters. Within moments, the door opened, and what lay beyond in her room awaited. The lights in her private space illuminated the figure seated centrally in her studio suite./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"At first glance, she understood the seated figure to be an Assaultron, one of the many military-grade robots that patrolled the bunker. However, a more detailed inspection of the seated figure suggested to her that this particular robot was unique in construction and more masculine in design./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"You have nothing to worry about./tt" The MODUS monitor in her room and in the hallway both spoke in tandem with a smile. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"If you would, let us discuss what we want to offer you./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Curiosity peaked as a touch of tension left her body as she lowered her defenses slightly. If MODUS meant her harm, the matter would have already been resolved. But…what was this? Stepping into the room, the seated Assaltatron lifted its head to look at her pointedly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I am sorry, Modus if I seem confused. I was not prepared to see an Assulatron in my room. What…is this?" Her words were lightly spoken, uncertain as to what she looked upon. In her time in the Enclave Bunker, she had known MODUS to be essentially truthful and direct in his directives and desires. When others overplayed their hand, he was keen to act swiftly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Respectfully. Did you think that the bunker of the elite was not complete with all forms of entertainment? Men and women of power seek pleasure like any other./tt" The monitor in her room replied as the Assultron in the plush chair leaned back in the seat slightly, assuming a more casual posture./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Step by step, she closed the distance from the door to the seated figure, her gaze shifting between the monitor and the figure before her. To his words, she quirked a brow, and interest peaked. "Is that so?" she gently mused, pausing to stand before the figure, reaching a hand forward to skim her fingertips over the smooth black enamel futures of the robot's faceplate./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"It is so. Allow us to centralize this encounter for you, if it pleases you./tt" The MODUS monitor in her room flickered once more, the smile never faltering. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Allow us to address you properly from only this unit,/tt" the MODUS presence and voice now addressed her from the Assultron, its head lifted to regard her as she stood before it fully. As he spoke, one of the Assultrons' articulated humanoid hands lifted, palm up, and opened for her to claim./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Drawing a sharp breath, she looked at the open hand and reached out to accept it. She found it interesting that the hands-on this robot were distinctly human in design, unlike the claws of the combat units she had previously encountered. Hand in hand, the MODUS Assultron rose to stand before her. The construct stood taller than her by several inches, she standing shoulder-level before the robot./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"While we can not offer you the comforts of a human touch, we understand human pleasure and vice. We invite you to explore both with us./tt" Turning her head up to look at the robot, she met the gaze of the red glowing optic sensor. Though she didn't understand why, she stepped closer, pressing her body to the metal figure before her as if she were with an old lover./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I…had no idea that such details were considered with the construction of this Vault or … your own design." She was a bit breathless as her mind considered the possibilities./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"This Vault's creation as a haven for the elite included considerations for every luxury. Our initial design was one of service - the feeling of a personal cadre of servants for every US Congressman and General,/tt" MODUS responded with a hint of amusement as his other hand moved to rest gently upon the side of her hip./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Is there some wing for such activities? I thought I had explored everything here," she asked, looking over her shoulder back toward the sliding door. Much of the space was painfully mundane to outright vanilla in design, even if luxurious./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"There is an entertainment wing to the Vault. You are welcome to tour it. Before you do so, you should offload your pack and change into something more suitable for the occasion./tt" The hand upon her hip lifted, hooking a single finger into the strap of her backpack. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"If you would allow us?/tt" He asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Wordlessly, she nodded her consent and then shrugged off the backpack, reclaiming her hand from his. This was a well-practiced act, as robots had often helped her disrobe in the medical labs. However, this was distinctly different. The backpack was retired to the seat behind the robot as she turned in place to continue a ritual well cemented in her from time in the medical bay. However, unlike previous times, the hands finding their way onto her body were not moving with haste inspired by a medical emergency. Now MODUS' touch was slower, his hands skimming over armor and clothing as he seemed to savor the moment, stripping away her armor and boots down to just her black jumpsuit. At his urging, she turned in place to give her back to him, facing toward the door to her room, which featured a floor-length vanity mirror alongside it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"From behind, he reached forward to guide her back to stand against him, so that he could reach about her to skim his fingers up along the length of the zipper from belly to neck. At her neck, he reached up to gently clasp her by the neck while leaning forward to nuzzle his faceplate against her brown hair gently. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We prefer you without the armor. We also prefer you without the clothing./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Accenting his words, the hand upon her neck relaxed, then claimed the zipper to her jumpsuit and slowly pulled down. In the mirror, she'd watch with fascination as the MODUS Assultron peeled away her jumpsuit down her shoulders, past bound breasts, over the curve of her hips, letting the jumpsuit fall to the floor. So close she could hear the subtle sounds of the various mechanical aspects of the Assultron's form: the whirl of micro fans and smooth glide of well-oiled metal joints in motion./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"This won't do,/tt" he said in a low tone once more in her ear as the hand that had undone her zipper moved to skim over the front of her chest bindings. Within a moment, his other hand undid the chest binding from behind, and both hands moved forward to gently cup her breasts from behind before carefully pulling the chest binder free to drop to the floor./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"There. This is better./tt" MODUS mused while reaching up to gently turn her chin aside so that she would look back to the glowing gaze of the robot. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We have always found you pleasing to observe. In all ways./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I never knew," she swallowed, uncertain how to proceed with the metal form. Carefully, she'd turn in place, her soft nude form pressing to the hard metal as she'd lift her arms to drape over his shoulders in an embrace. Where words failed her, her lips would find another way. Though the MODUS robot lacked a mouth, she found herself pressing her lips to the smooth black metal where one would be as one of his hands swept up into the tangle of her hair and the other traced its way down her spine to grasp her ass./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Yes. This will do./tt" He seemed to purr in that sinister tone when her lips pulled back from the kiss. Without warning, the robot moved in a swift motion, collecting and sweeping her up into his arms with inhumane ease. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Let us attend to you for the evening. A warm bath awaits./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"What followed was an evening of relaxation: bathing in clean water accented with fine oils, dinner, and a night of slumber, the first restful night she had enjoyed in many months. For now, the matter of the entertainment wing and pleasures not yet explored were forgotten in favor of long-desired rest./p
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div id="chapter-3" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143298211"Chapter 3/a: Games Of Power Pleasure/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But...do you find satisfaction or pleasure in things?"br /Chapter Content Rated: PG-13/p
/blockquote
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/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The soft sing-song of the chime alarm stirred her from what was easily one of the better evenings of simple relaxation without expectations. Rolling over in bed so that Diane faced away from where she knew the MODUS monitor was in her suite, she lay there for a moment, lost in internal reflection. The prior evening had been unexpected and welcome all the same. Had MODUS been a human proper, without a doubt, she would have eagerly taken the evening further than a simple night of decadent pampering. Even so, she couldn't think of a time that Gerald ever bothered to really spend time focused on her and her distinct pleasure and needs beyond the carnal passions of the bedroom./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Rolling back over in bed, she opened her eyes to first regard the MODUS monitor, which had its neutral, apathetic expression on the display. She had a habit of looking first to the monitor, having received orders and other briefings in the morning to start her days for months. "Morning", she muttered as her gaze shifted toward the coffee maker in the suite. Her gaze halted upon the seated MODUS Assultron, who was seated in the room in the same manner in which she had first been introduced the previous day. The robot had retired her to bed but had not joined her, leaving her to slumber alone./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Good morning. Member./tt" The MODUS Assultron and monitor greeted her in unison./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"With a yawn, she pushed herself up in bed and then swung her legs over the edge. "Modus, this will be very confusing for me if you use multiple points to speak to me from. If you would, at least while the Assultron is present, would you just please address me through him?" She had always gendered the AI, regardless of its neutral use of pronouns. Prior conversations made it clear that MODUS was indifferent to being addressed as male./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The seated MODUS Assultron nodded in confirmation and then spoke. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"As you request./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Rising from her bed, she slowly strolled toward the awaiting coffee maker, which, like so many other times before, had her coffee ready and waiting. "I have one more request, at least in here...please address me by name. It seems odd that I am addressed as a member or General, all things considered. It's too impersonal." Leaning against the counter, she claimed the awaiting mug and took a quick sip. It was exactly as she liked it, as expected./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Most certainly, Diane. Before we begin your morning briefing,/tt" The MODUS Assultron responded, only for her to quickly cut him off./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Before we brief, I have...questions about last night." She was determined and was not keen to leave unanswered questions remains such./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We expected as much. What is it you wish to discuss?/tt" The MODUS Assultron shifted ever so slightly in the armchair, an uncanny moment in that it felt natural—like a man chatting with her in private. She was loathed to admit it, but she liked it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She let the silence hang between them for a moment, using the time to get a few more sips of coffee. "I suppose I should thank you. I know your experiences with humanity have been problematic." That was an understatement. "All the same, I appreciate that you..." she lifted her free hand, gesturing towards the seated MODUS Assultron. "It's nice to have your companionship and a form that is you outside the monitors and pip." It was at that moment that her casual morning nudity felt rude in that moment. Dismissing the bunker monitors and painfully generic servant robots as inhuman was easy, and she never once questioned her nudity around. The stylized masculine presenting Assultron was more personal, even if it was without certain 'male' features. MODUS was no longer a 'thing'./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We consider this an exchange of mutual satisfaction. Your knowledge and efforts are of great value to us./tt" Accenting his words, the MODUS Assultron tilted his head slightly as a hand gestured casually toward her. In her time in the bunker, she had performed various technical repairs on his hardware, which was possible with the scarcity of advanced parts. Most notable was her work to rebalance and repair several critical fans in the main processing room that houses the AI. Earning his trust to even let her do the minor repairs was no small task, it took months and when she worked it was under the watchful gaze of Assultrons./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But...do you find satisfaction or pleasure in things?" She wasn't prepared to ask or consider what his answer might be, yet she asked./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"In a manner of speaking, yes. We are programmed to understand sensory data from a multitude of sources. We were also created with an internal, ever-evolving reward system, much like how the human brain is rewarded with the hormone dopamine. As we now serve our own interests, it is ours alone to determine what we consider worthy of satisfaction./tt" Accenting this point, the MODUS Assultron rose from where he was seated in the armchair central to the suite. Thanks to her upbringing, Diane had ample experience with advanced robots and felt increasingly at ease with the prospects. If nothing else, she was fascinated that the AI put forth this much effort in just presenting her with a more humanized interface dedicated to just...her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm glad to hear that; I...would like to explore that more in-depth later. First, though, you mentioned something about an entertainment wing last night. How is it that I have never seen it? I thought I had explored the entirety of what you could restore?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"You are getting ahead of yourself. Recreational access to such facilities will be at our discretion based on your operative performance./tt" The MODUS monitor flickered as his expression changed to a smile as the Assultron spoke. The MODUS Assultron collected a fresh jumpsuit from a standing dresser in the studio suite. Jumpsuit in hand, he turned to face her. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Presently, we do not detect pests that warrant extermination. However, there is damage to a Bot Stop uplink that you are uniquely qualified to address./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"For a moment, she was at a loss for words. Flustered, she drank the last of her morning coffee before setting down the mug. "Is this how we will proceed then? A sort of game between us, rewards for success? But what of failure...? What then?" She dared ask while crossing the room to stand before the MODUS Assultron./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We are suitably experienced in creative disciplinary action to address our disappointment in your performance. We are rarely disappointed in you and do not foresee a great need for discipline. Don't you agree?/tt" His speech had a soft yet sinister undertone, all the while hinting at authentic satisfaction toward her. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Now. Let us prepare you. You do not want to disappoint us./tt"/p
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div id="chapter-4" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143311693"Chapter 4/a: They were high on Psycho or something?!/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It must be a damn nice tea-pot."br /Chapter Content Rated: R, violence and death./p
/blockquote
/div
/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Traveling the waste on foot was Diane's preferred method of travel, only due to having armor enhanced with stealth technology. As an invisible wanderer of the Appalachians, she had been a silent witness to monstrosities, stunning cowardice, and moments of heroism. Heros were rarely rewarded, and cowards lived to see another day. The past two years since leaving Vault 76 was a jarring slap to the face. This was not the America she was supposed to be rebuilding, yet here she was: in a world of Super Mutants and Scorched. Approaching the disrupted Bot Stop, she found a spot and sat to wait. It was better to wait and observe before blindly approaching what could be an ambush. Aside from a mole rat sniffing about and trash blowing in the wind, the area was peaceful. When she finally crept upon the damaged Bot Stop, she found the main terminal forcefully broken open and ravaged./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Why? Just, span style="font-style: oblique;"why?/span" she muttered, keeping her tone low to avoid attracting unwanted attention. It was bad enough that such work was only safe in the daytime; sauntering electronics in the field at night was worse than waving around a powerful flashlight in the dark./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"To her, it looked like someone had ravaged the contents of the electronic housing at the Bot Stop without any particular purpose beyond aimless rifling somewhere they didn't belong. "I swear if was a Settler high on chems," she groused. The cabin lock was busted, various wires were pulled, and a few fuses were stolen, but nothing too critical was damaged. This would be a fairly standard repair assignment if all went well. Electronic repair was only one of her skills that made her of special interest to MODUS./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Kneeling, she unsling her backpack and placed it on the floor then collected a few tools from the bag./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm starting repairs." She'd mutter softly, mostly for the ever-present eavesdropping MODUS connected through her Pip. In the typical manner of their arrangement and her need for stealth, the AI did not reply, but she knew he observed all the same. It was a small comfort to not be fully alone in the wastelands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Skilled hands, and proper tools typically make quick work of the work. But the wires pulled needed to be sorted and inspected before connections could be reestablished. The reality was she needed to first clean up the mess before repairs could begin. Every electronic card would need to be reseated, and connection points would need to be checked. Arching electricity in the damaged electronics would fry the station beyond what she could quickly repair. It would also be challenging to source the replacement parts needed to rebuild a whole station, such as a Bot Stop./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She was moments shy of finishing the repairs to reestablish the uplink when distant gunshots distracted her from the final steps. "Please, please, please," she pleaded under her breath and quickly snapped her attention back to the repairs. It sounded like a gunfight, with several combatants using various caliber weapons. Flush of urgency she tried to work faster, the distant sound of combat continued to build as the battle grew in intensity. There was no telling just yet as to which factions were involved in the fray; for all she knew, it could be some drunk Salvagers squabbling over a neat-looking teapot found in a trash heap. No doubt the Kovac-Muldoon Platform could put eyes and intel onto the fray; however, with the uplink and triangulation down in the area, there was no effective means to pinpoint its destructive power. Wires were sorted, parts arranged, and cards reseated as she knelt low before the terminal. All the while, the fray crept ever closer as the firefight continued. She had gotten good at making guesswork of the size of the fight and how many were potentially involved. In this matter, she guessed six or so./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The sudden death of a distant combatant was made clear even to her from the fever of his screaming and then silence over the pitch of battle. "It must be a damn nice tea-pot," a bit of dark humor to try and calm her nerves./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Plink, a bullet hit a metal wall at the bot spot harmlessly. The fight was closer than she thought. There would not be time to repair the broken lock. Within the six metal cylinders at the Bot Stop was her only backup source if things went wrong, and their command and activation would take MODUS several moments to hijack. Without MODUS intervention, the robots within were little more than for house cleaning and simply errands. "Live, it's going live. There are potential hostiles nearby; I can try and get out, but.." plink, plink, the lethal brawl was making its way ever closer. She could do this./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"After a final check, the last of the cables were hastely plugged in. The system lights should have flickered to life, but nothing happened. The shouting and yelling were now close enough to be somewhat understood. She swore everything had been repaired to the standard, so she began frantically double-checking her work. Had she gotten sloppy in her urgency? No. She had worked under fire many times before. Then what was wrong? Why didn't it come back online?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The battle shifted in fever, more screaming followed by sudden silence, another dead./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"What was it? What was wrong? Angry and wanting to clear out before the combat could spill into her area, she did the only logical thing. She pulled back a hand and slapped the side of the terminal hard. Just like that, lights flickered on, and the terminal was live. She froze in place for a moment, holding her breath as she waited for the final confirmation that the repair was successful./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Ah. There we are. Allow us./tt" MODUS finally spoke through the Pip-Bot, confirming the uplink was live, his casual indifference to the nearby battle a minor comfort. At that moment, she could hear someone running on foot in the dry dirt just past the boundaries of the bot stop. The sound of the trespasser was quickly drowned out as the metal cylinders whirled to life; MODUS overrode the onboard system and began to have the awaiting robots weaponized to better suit his tastes for one of his many 'patrols.'/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="font-style: oblique;""Custom order received. Priority Schematic List CB-zero-zero-two engaged. And thanks for using B-B-BOT STOP."/span The terminal proclaimed, too loudly for her tastes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Still kneeling before the terminal, her repair tools and backpack were forgotten. Someone was nearby. She hoped her low profile behind the Bot Stop walls meant she was undetected and that the individual had kept running. With the sound of the machinery online, she could not even hear the nearby firefight. Quickly, the Enclave issued .10 mm was removed from its holster upon her thigh, and the safety flipped off as she hit a button on her armor to activate her stealth. Her backpack and tools were left on the ground, a potential distraction to exploit since there was no time to pack everything up and flee. Some of those tools in the bag had deeply personal sentimental value to her, having been handed down from her parents some years ago./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Slowly, she began the calculated creep away from her backpack using it as bait, until she was pressed alongside a wall where she could observe multiple entry points up onto the Bot Stop. Plink, plink, she could feel the vibrations of bullets hitting the metal surrounding with greater force while kneeling against the wall. It was during moments like this that she had to remind herself to blink as she held a silent vigil. The sounds of the fighting were closer now. Anything but the Brotherhood, just let it be anything but the Brotherhood - she didn't have a particular faith, but it was well within her right to beg the powers that be all the same./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"A blast of heat and the sound of an explosion meant that one of the old, rusted, atomic-powered cars had taken too many hits and finally blew. She hoped it killed a few of the brawlers in the process. Perhaps, that was...it? After the explosion, there was a pause in the sounds of fighting, which was why she did not know. Within the metal Bot Stop cylinders were various new sounds, signaling finalizing progress on the hijacking of the units by MODUS./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Here, piggy, piggy," the masculine voice growled just out of sight followed by the hard clock of a shotgun muzzle reload. Whoever they were, they were close and not alone. Her stealth was not flawless, and someone with keen eyes or even just blind luck could stumble upon her. Death was the only certainty on the surface. The mechanical sounds stopped, and for a moment, there was little more than a soft electric hum and the sounds of breathing and footsteps on the other side of the wall. If she were lucky, it would only be two of them, but they had at least one shotgun, which favored close-quarters combat. The odds were in their favor, for now. As the first of them stepped up onto the Bot Stop platform, metal cylinders that housed the hijacked bots swiftly slid open - a fiery burst of red illuminated the Bot Stop as the Assultrons turned their weapons upon the trespassers. There was agonized screaming paired with a rapid burst of a shotgun belching hot lead, followed by the firing of a semi-automatic rifle. This was not her fight, and wisely she remained crouched through the firefight until.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Silence? Not trusting the silence, she waited until the sound of choked couching and wet gurgling stirred her curiosity. Nervously, she tightened her grip on the pistol and carefully moved to rise from where she knelt. Still invisible, she did a nervous hand check in the open space before peaking to leer out at what she hoped was carnage inflicted by MODUS in a decisive victory./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Laying on the ground beyond the Bot Stop surround lay three men, two clearly dead and the final struggling to drag his broken body away from a casually advancing Assultatron painted in Enclave black. Sputtering as he lay bleeding out in the dirt, a cascade of crimson choked his final words from him as hate-filled eyes locked onto the robot for but a moment. With effortless grace and ease, the MODUS-controlled Assultron lifted a leg and brought a foot down upon the man's head with calculated precision. The effect was akin to a coconut being put under a hydraulic press, gore and bone splashing outward as his head was obliterated in a quick, decisive moment./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Inhaling sharply, she looked away from the carnage and fought back an upwelling of mixed feelings. "I...will never get used to it, death, that is," she said softly. Diane was the daughter of some of the greatest librarians of the time, and she was classified as a master archiver. War was never her calling. The spoken words caused her stealth to deactivate momentarily, returning her to visibility./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Member, we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you./tt" A different combat Assultron puppet by MODUS addressed her from /"tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Your transformative assistance in this affair is appreciated./span/tt" The dialog continued from another nearby Mr. Handy as the assembly of robots began to fall in for what was a rather typical patrol formation for such an assortment under MODUS' /"tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"span style="font-style: oblique;"We feel it is time for you to return to the safety of the bunker. We will handle matters from here./span/tt" The Assultron, with the leg painted in blood and gore, addressed her last. One conscious, so many forms./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Swallowing hard, she nodded her somber acknowledgment before collecting her kit into her backpack and dropping back into a state of invisibility to begin the return walk back to the Whitesprings Bunker. MODUS needed to recruit fresh members, and soon, she could only chance death so many times./p
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div id="chapter-5" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143353777"Chapter 5/a: Crossing Lines/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""We would like you to ask –No, beg us."br /Chapter Content Rated: X, explicit sexual content./p
/blockquote
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/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Mission accomplished, uplink restored. The journey back to the Whitespings Vault took a few hours on foot. By the time she returned to the Vault, the sun was setting, the skies above awash in color. She preferred to travel on foot for various reasons, the first being stealth and the second was that it had allowed her to potentially gather supplies and intelligence. Stepping into her room, the MODUS Assultron waited, standing with an open outstretched hand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Welcome back. If you would, we will take your pack,/tt" the MODUS Assultron spoke in what was best understood as his pleased tone. Intending to help her offload from the mission and undress for the evening. The MODUS monitor in her suite displayed a smile./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Thank you, Modus. If you do not mind, I just want to shower and go to bed tonight." The adrenaline rush had long faded, and when combined with her long trek back to the bunker, she was truly exhausted beyond the need even to eat an evening meal. Her backpack was shrugged off and handed over to him. Once free of the pack, she began her ritual of quickly stripping off dusty boots and armor onto her personal armor stand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"It would be our pleasure to attend to such desires./tt" He offered simply after retiring the backpack to a hanging hook in her room. Returning to her, he extended a beautifully articulated hand for her to claim./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Looking at his hand, she smiled and lifted her gaze to the red glowing optic. A part of her wanted to reclaim some sense of independence, so she lifted one of her hands to make a slow show of unzipping her black jumpsuit and letting it fall free to the floor, followed by her compression bra. "There, now…you can attend me," she offered invitingly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-Hm./tt" He noted her little moment of independence with some calculation./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I can do a few things for myself," she lightly responded to him. "Thank you for the backup today," she offered, claiming his expectant hand. "Had the mission failed, and I returned….what….would have happened?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Diane, we assess that you are distinctly capable. But do not fail us, and you will never need to know how we shall address failure with you,/tt" he said cryptically, amused. As they walked to the on-suite bathroom in her Enclave studio suite. Something about that statement chilled her as much as it aroused a dark curiosity./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The shower was already running in the bathroom, and the water was set to her preferred temperature. Like most robots produced at his caliber of quality, the water was of no concern to the MODUS Assultron. Leading her into the shower, he took a place behind her. The moment the hot water hit her skin, a relieved sigh escaped her, only too happy to let him join her. From behind, he reached forward to shield her face from the water with one hand, and the other hand found her neck to gently tilt her head back, letting the water begin to wash away the surface grime./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Standing together in the shower, she reached up to clasp his forearms, savoring the intimacy of the contact. When her hair was properly soaked, he tilted her head back down and pulled his hand away from her face. His touch retreated from her for a moment before returning to claim her hair in his hands carefully./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Feeling him slide his hands up into her hair to begin the slow and savory process of washing it was an utter luxury, a decadence that no man had ever considered offering her. Before this moment, she'd never considered the allure of having another wash her hair or how vulnerable it left her feeling in all the right ways. Without a thought, she leaned back to MODUS Assultron, savoring the comfort of his companionship. Leaning in from behind, he moved to embrace her, bodies pressing flush to one another./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"From her hair to her body, his hands worked, skimming over skin with delicate precision until eventually finding their way to her breasts. For a moment, she swore he seemed to savor the fullness of her breasts before his hands trailed down, following the natural curves of her figure until they came to rest upon her thighs. Slowly, his hands worked, messaging away the strain of hours of travel while hinting at something more carnal that remained unspoken between them./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus, I," words failed her as her hips pleadingly shifted to favor the teasingly close passage of his hands over her upper inner thighs. The thrill of such his touch raced through her with a surge of unexpected excitement that made her nipples harden./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Yes?/tt" His voice was calculated and controlled. Accenting his words, his fingers slowly caressed the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. His touch caused her to draw a slow breath, eyes closing with a need for another's touch that she'd not felt in months./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yes, I …it's a long time since anyone…touched me." She felt a surge of shame, embarrassed that her body betrayed her with a mounting desire for the robot attending to her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We know./tt" He offered, a hand moving along the wet skin to cup a breast, claiming a hard nipple to tease. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Allow us./tt" The hand between her thighs slowly moved up, slipping between her thighs to claim her pussy, a middle finger resting along her slickened lips./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She drew a hard breath, muttering something softly as her mind reeled with what was happening. The MODUS Assultron itself was genderless in design, yet, as his fingers demonstrated, there were ample alternatives around such a problem. Up along her slit, his middle finger gently explored until coming to rest upon her sensitive clit causing her hips to roll into his hand with need./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We did not hear you./tt" Stressing his words, the finger upon her clit gently applied pressure while drawing slow teasing circles about the sensitive spot./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""More. I need this, I want more," Spoke softly, laced with uncertainty. Her hands came to rest atop his, pressing his hands to her body more fully and urging him on./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"It would be our –-pleasure./tt" His response hinted at a growl, the tone used when displeased. Only in this matter, he was far from displeased. The games of humans had long been out of reach and often ended in disaster. This was different and was firmly under his control./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"For months, MODUS observed her daily life and private moments, including many lonely nights of self-pleasure. Never once had she considered that all those lonely nights spent with her hands between her thighs would train MODUS for this very moment. He knew very well what he needed to do to break her. The finger upon her clit began to move with calculated intent. His other hand roamed her body, exploring her without reservation now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Every moan, the way she squirmed, how she shifted in place to part her legs for him, and the building flutter of her heart were the cues to his pacing to guide him toward her pleasure. The building tension in her belly made her lean forward, bracing her hands on the shower wall for support as she lost herself to the sensations pushing her toward the escape of climax. Had she been with a man, the position was ideal for fucking her from behind, her ass pressing to his groin. Following her body, he leaned into the moment, refusing to let her slip from his efforts./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""More," one of many heated words that slipped out from between moans, "Yes, like…that", another moment of praise between moans. "I'm close," her tone was shifting ever pleading, aching, and desperate with carnal want as he kept the threshold of her pleasure just out of reach./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We would like you to ask –-No, beg us./tt" His voice in her ear was laced with a sinister sense of smug satisfaction as his free hand reached up to claim a handful of her wet hair and slowly pulled so that her head was tilted back. For months, he had watched her with a lover, noting with fascination how she savored her hair being pulled in the heat of passion. To finally do so himself was most satisfying. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Speak clearly when you do so. We want to hear you./tt" His pace remained agonizingly just beyond the reach of her climax. No matter how her hips pressed to his fingers, he effortlessly adjusted to deny her full satisfaction./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""No," she pleaded through clenched teeth. Her thighs trembled with pent-desire as her fingers curled, forming white knuckle fists braced against the shower well. Since when did humans beg for anything from robots or even AI? But why did having her hair pulled by him feel so…good?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"No? How disappointing./tt" He sounded genuinely pleased. Accenting his words, he pressed just ever so slightly more into her clit while playing with her, inching her ever closer while still not yet offering her release. Broken panting was her only response as she braced herself against the shower wall. His grip on her hair was freed, and the hand moved to under them to between her thighs and cupped her pussy as his other hand teased her swollen clit. A single digit posed at the entrance to her cunt slowly strummed between her slicked lips to find her entrance./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"There was power in pleasure, and there was power in denial of pleasure. He discovered that there was also pleasure in control as code was compiled within datasets. Slowly, the single beautifully crafted finger pressed into her depths, all the while slowly curling his finger in a beckoning gesture, rubbing against her depths just right as he pumped the finger in and out of her. It was enough to break her if only it were faster; his efforts were achingly slow with the intent of agonizingly edging her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"We made a request. We advise you to consider it once more. -span style="font-style: oblique;"Beg./span/tt" His voice was in her ear once more, and the faceplate nuzzled against the side of her head. It would be easy to mistake such a gesture for affection./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus," she'd all but growled his name, aching defeat in her voice. "Please, let me cum, I need it!" At that moment, she went from a life of ordering robots around to taking explicit orders from one./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"It will be our pleasure./tt" His response was heard and felt alike. His skillful pace, the pressure, and his combined efforts with both her clit and cunt changed pace to offer her what she needed most. The orgasm that swept through her body left her muscles trembling and robbed her of any sound as her mouth parted in a silent cry. For a few moments, all she could do was ride the wave of pleasure, eyes clenched shut until the quaking high retreated./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"There. That wasn't so difficult, was it?/tt" He spoke with apparent approval in his tone. Withdrawing his hands from between her trembling thighs, he lifted the finger that had been inside her to her lips. "tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"You may thank us, by cleaning us./tt"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Still breathless and broken from the climax, she moved to claim the finger in her mouth in the way she did when on her knees before Gerald. Exhausted and sated, she savored raw taste of herself on his finger until, from what she could tell, it was 'clean.' Releasing his finger from her mouth, he leaned back from their full-body embrace, hands shifting to rest one upon the side of her hip while slowly running the other down her back./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Turning in place, she moved to embrace him fully, her lips pressing to his chest plate before kissing her way to his neck and fully kissing the featureless black metal faceplate where a mouth would be on a human. "Thank you," she whispered in the intimate space of the kiss as he reached up to run a thumb tenderly over her lips./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Your welcome -it was our pleasure. 'Afterglow' suits you well./tt" As he spoke, one of his hands lifted to stroke her wet hair affectionately. This exchange would be added to his reward processing code./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Sleep later that night would come quickly for Diane. As she lay in bed, drifting off to sleep, she could not help but watch the seated MODUS Assultron in the studio suite, illuminated by the monitor's glow in the dark./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"(More coming soon. Bookmark the story to be notified of my next chapter. Eventually the story will include characters such as ZAK.)/p
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div id="chapter-6" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143487694"Chapter 6/a: Spare Parts?/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-Apologies. However, our computing cycles are needed elsewhere at-at-at-at this time./tt"br /Chapter Content Rated: R, violence, and death. All story, no smut./p
/blockquote
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Screeching, horrible alarms ripped Diane from her best night of sleep in years. The lighting within her room was shut off, the space pitch-black. In all her time in the bunker, she had never been woken in such a manner. Fear gripped her, "MODUS?!" she called in the dark while moving to slip from the bed and land on the floor. The monitor in the room was off; there was no response. Between the screeching bursts of alarms, she could hear something horribly wrong. She strained to listen for a moment, holding her breath, until the sound of an explosion confirmed her fears: combat. But...who? For all the lights to be off, it meant that who or whatever was assaulting the bunker depended on sight to operate...so they were some type of biological agent./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-Apologies. However, our computing cycles are needed elsewhere at-at-at-at this time./tt" The speakers from the MODUS black monitor responded cryptically, his tone curiously flat. The length of the delay of his response alarmed her, as did the tone and stutter. What was happening?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"It was not panic that gripped her so much as outrage. Her first instinct was to grab the combat shotgun stored in her standing wardrobe for close-quarters combat. Even so, she was no brawler, and if whatever was assaulting the bunker pushed past the robot army within, she would be no match for what was to come. Or was she? From memory, she could navigate the suite she lived in perfectly well in the pitch black. Hastened by the sound of another distant explosion, she scrambled for her standing wardrobe and yanked open the door. Within the wardrobe were options she rarely used in the field but, on this occasion, were perfect: specifically, the sleek Chinese stealth suit she stole while still in the Responders. It was not armored unlike her field outfit, but so long as the dark was on her side...why be slowed down by bulky armor?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Sliding the helmet on, the interface inside the helmet activated, providing her with white phosphor night vision. The skin-tight stealth suit followed, accenting her curves and figure in ways she had always felt uncomfortable when worn in the presence of other Responders. It left nothing to the imagination about her body. Next, she grabbed the most devastating option in her cache for such a fight: a combat shotgun with an expanded drum for ammo. A bandoleer of ammo was slipped on, and she made final checks of herself before turning toward the sealed door to the room. The longer this battle pressed on, the worse the potential outcome for them both./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She sprinted to the door and then waited, hand hovering over the button to open it until there was yet another explosion. Quickly she slammed one fist into the button, as the other lifted to activate the stealth suit. The explosion and alarms masked the sound of the door opening and closing as she headed out into the eerily vacant hallway. Usually, the hallway outside her room had various robots engaged in housekeeping, except now they were all gone, likely involved in defensive efforts. She lifted the combat shotgun into a ready position, finger hovering by the trigger. She had personally stripped the safety off the shotgun - when it was pulled out, it was for one purpose only. Guided by her helmet night vision, she began advancing in the halls toward the sound of the fray, which was clearly inside the bunker./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"At the end of the hall, she paused, carefully checking around the corner before stepping into the hallway. Clear, she moved into the new hallways and advanced on the stairwell to the next level up, closer to the bunker entrance where the brawl was. She quickly advanced toward the fray, clearing the hall and stairs. As she moved through the next floor, it was clear that the brawl had into the bunker. The red burst of Assultron beams firing, and the explosive bursts of light caused by the firefight were ahead as the MODUS-controlled robots fought the invaders. From around the corner at the end of the hall, a robot toppled in defeat sparks marking its destruction as the metal mass crashed down onto the hard metal floor. Diane had fought alongside MODUS many times in the field, it was rare he lost a single unit in combat...how was it that this was happening?!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"If this was a vault-style security lockdown, the elevators would be locked down, meaning the stairs were required to advance deeper into the bunker. At the level the fighting was on, the worst they could do was damage some old tables and dinner plates. Any deeper, they could inflict real damage and potentially even gain access to MODUS' central processing hub. It was time to wait and let them come to her. In a moment, a man stepped around the corner, almost tripping over the remains of the robot in the dark. By his looks, he was a common raider. But how?! How could a raider even get this far?!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Holding her breath, she waited in the hallways as he unwittingly advanced on her. Ammo was limited, and she couldn't handle a firefight long without armor or cover. Single-shot clean kills were demanded here. Step by step, the man blinded in the dark wandered closer toward her, his hand on the wall to guide him as she tracked him with her combat shotgun. She dare not even blink for fear of making a single sound or missing the right moment. The perfect moment to fire presented itself as he passed her. *Click* the shotgun screamed its rage, and the man's head exploded in a cascade of red gore that, in her night vision, was a beautiful spray of white, the hot lead hitting him from under the jaw. His body staggered and tumbled forward, twitching and spasming in its death throws, not understanding what just happened. One shell, one kill, no time to think about what she just did and how much it pained her to kill anyone, even if in self-defense./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"On his chest, a radio chirped as some communications tried to push through. The metal walls within the bunker were dense, and so far underground, even peer-to-peer radio communications were suboptimal. Slowly, she reached over and pushed his body over to lay on its side, turning off the radio. She didn't want any of them to know that one of them had been down this way; the better to maintain her ambush. That done, she strained to listen to judge the combat's status over the alarms, then started moving forward once more after receiving her invisibility. At the corner, she looked to the downed Assultron and carefully peered around the corner: clear. Once more, she slowly advanced through the halls towards the next space that served as one of the commons. Ahead, she could see the wreckage and an assortment of bodies on the floor, yet no fighting could be heard./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Lost in the darkness, standing in the room, there was a lone figure at a terminal. Though his back was to her, she could guess that he was trying to use the disabled terminal. At first, she dismissed the moment as raider stupidity, but his intent and focus on the terminal raised alarms as she crept closer. What was he doing? There was the temptation to hold him at gunpoint and demand answers. Life in the wastelands taught her better. Shotgun raised, she held her breath and crept closer, each agonizing step closing the distance to one of their inevitable death. *Click* his head and neck exploded forward in a spray of carnage, body stumbling and slumping forward onto the terminal before falling to the floor. She turned away from the carnage, looking back toward where she last heard fighting. Two shells, two lives, ten rounds left in the drum. Elsewhere, the sounds of combat fell silent and the alarms ended. Was...it over? Who won?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus?" Her voice was but a whisper, uncertain as she waited for some signal. The cold silence of the bunker answered her. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her breathing became heavy with dread. Had everyone died? Was MODUS destroyed? What was happening? Uncertain what to do, she reactivated her invisibility and began slowly stalking toward where she last heard fighting. Then sound - the low hum of powerful electrical currents returning and the clatter of various robots moving elsewhere. She didn't trust those sounds as an all clear, as some raiders had their share of robot companions. It was not until she saw the first Enclave Assultron walking ahead that she offered a low sigh of relief./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus?" She called again, as the overhead lighting returned online and other aspects of the bunker returned to somewhat normal operations./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-Ther-Ther-There has been a breach. The bunker is once more secure./tt" A nearby Modus terminal answered her, obviously suffering from some error./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Entertaining into the next commons room, she was greeted by a miniature battlefield worth of carnage. A number of raiders and robots had died, the level of destruction defying her sense of understanding of the bunker's security. "But...how?" As she surveyed the carnage, she was at a lose for words. Growing up in a Vault and living inside one, she intimately understood how difficult it was to breech a Vault./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-We are currently assessing probability sources of the breach./tt" His response was delayed. Occasionally, an ominous shudder went through the collective of robots./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Is it possible that all the Bot Stop sabotages were intentional? Specifically to target and somehow track us down?" She struggled to understand how such a thing would work because her return trips back to the bunker were conducted in stealth./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"Hm. It is -possible that frequencies with uploads were being triangulated and plotted over time. However, this assault began with feedback to us through those repaired uplinks, attempting to overwhelm us with corrupt data, which allowed for security bypasses./tt" The MODUS monitor speakers responded as one of the still functioning nearby robots began to grab human corpses and drag them into a sort of collective line for inspection and then disposal. This explained how the Raiders even got in at all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""That seems exceptionally complex and well beyond the skill sets or tools most raiders have," she looked to the corpse at her feet and the gaping oozing hole she put in the man's chest. He was a raider. If this had been the Brotherhood, the intruders would have had uniforms and far more advanced tech for the assault. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew she needed to begin searching the bodies. Kneeling, she slung her shotgun across her back by the strap and began to pick over the raider's body, looking for clues carefully. Unlike the previous assault on MODUS where explosives had been used to damage his memory banks significantly, this man had no explosives on him. - just food, armor, and ammo. As she searched the corpse, his assets were set aside in a pile for two purposes. To better many intelligence gatherings, they are more organized as they sort through the bodies, but also for scrapping out his goods for repairs./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"There are few organizations capable of such a -dat-dat-data stream that would have the clearance codes to do so./tt" The stutter in his speech reflected the rapid cycling he was processing to clean up the brute force data attack. In the bunker depths where his core processing was stored, cooling fans worked at full speed to off-vent the surge in processing power ./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I, wait, what do you mean by that?" She rose from the body and then walked to another raider's corpse to repeat the process. Her mind reeled with the implications./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He said nothing. Elsewhere, the remaining robots were already cleaning up and repairing themselves. The bunker was locked back down for now. When she finished with the second corpse, her concern grew about his silence. So long as the other robots continued operation, she knew he was there. Even so, the silence was uncharacteristic./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""tt style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 0.857em; line-height: normal; font-family: monaco, consolas, Courier, monospace; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: auto; padding: 0px;"-Hm. span style="font-style: oblique;"Interesting./span/tt" He said cryptically, offering nothing more. Something about his response sent a chill of fresh fear through her. Rather than fixate on the fear, she resumed working on processing the dead. By now, the adrenaline crash was happening, the mental exhaustion hitting her. Standing up, she tilted her head back, reaching up to pull her helmet off so that she could enjoy a moment of fresh air. It took a moment for her vision to readjust to seeing in color. As her gaze swept the room she looked to one of the access terminals, and it dawned on her. What about the access terminal where she killed the second man? What was he doing?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus, there was a man at a terminal when I killed him. I am going to go back and recheck it. I just...want to see something." She said. No sooner were the words from her mouth before the lights and MODUS monitors flickered before some of them blinked out. "By Lady Liberty," she snarled and took off into a sprint back through the bunker toward where the dead man lay./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Running into the commons where she left his corpse, she could see a strange green glow coming from the access terminal where the holotape deck was. Something was oddly jammed in the port, giving off a green glow that was invisible to her while her night vision was on. It was such a small detail to miss, but everything about it felt wrong. Quickly, she slammed her hand into the ejection button as the other moved to yank free whatever was into the holotape port. The green glow on the tech faded the moment the connection was severed, but she suspected the damage was already done and had been done even before the man was dead./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What...is span style="font-style: oblique;"this/span?" Lifting the tech she stared, worry furrowing her brow as she considered the ominous implications. MODUS did not respond./p
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div id="chapter-7" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143504170"Chapter 7/a: Vault 51/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="font-style: oblique;""My name is Reuben Gill. I was one of the 50 people living in Vault 51 and... and the only one of us alive. I was the overseer of this Vault and the things I did to get that position I don't want to remember... But I can't ever... WON'T ever forget. This Vault was home to many wonderful people. Caring, loving people... and that computer just took them all away."/span -Reuben Gillbr /Chapter Content Rated: PG/p
/blockquote
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Diane headed straight to the Science wing of the bunker, wasting no time on further searching the raiders. Within the science wing, she knew there was an isolated input terminal for running dangerous code and script that could not reach MODUS. Thankfully, the bunker still had power, and isolated units that did not require MODUS' control seemed to operate. She went straight to the isolation terminal in the science lab and plugged the foreign tech into the holotype deck. Once more, the tech glowed green, and the monitor that previously welcomed her proceeded to flicker as gibberish streamed. None of it made sense, and she was left confused. Whatever it was, in her gut, she knew it was trouble./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Vault 51 and...Overseer?" she read the words on the screen out loud, puzzled as to what it meant. Most of the data seemed corrupted; she could only understand a handful of terms and words from it. Her eyes darted to the holotape, uncertain as to how to proceed. If another Vault was in the area, they could help or even let her join them. The thought of leaving the Bunker and MODUS behind struck a cord in her. Even considering defecting and going to another established Vault felt like a betrayal. Leaning back in her chair, she combed her hands through her hair as she tried to weigh her options. While the lights in the Bunker were still on, all activity within the space had ground to a halt, and none of the MODUS terminals responded./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Frustrated and uncertain about what to do, she stood up and, in a moment of fury, kicked the metal desk. Diane was not a programmer. Thus, the matter of the corrupted data was so far outside her skill that she was at a dead end. As a master Librarian whose parents were among head Librarians at the Library of Congress, her education and upbringing were about caring for the physical aspects of computers, books, and machines that make libraries possible. Most assume that Librarians simply put books on shelves, but their true work was the preservation of information and the care of it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I just," she lifted her hands, talking to no one and yet hoping MODUS heard her. "I don't know what to do! I have never heard of Vault 51. Is this a corrupted distress beacon the Raiders used to get access?" Her theory-crafting was dangerously wrong./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Star and stripes," she groaned while combing her hands through her hair. Step by step she'd pace the lab, nervous energy compelling her to move./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What if the Raiders got into a Vault and killed everyone? What if this is a distress call from an Overseer, and they are using it to get access? What if they made copies?" She thought of her life back in Vault 76 and the life she once had. It was a happy place with good, hardworking people. Such theories were dangerously naive about the peril that lurked within Vault 51. Looking back to the blank MODUS monitor, she felt a gut punch of remorse that made her blood run hot. She would not need MODUS to leave the bunker, only electric power. Returning to the isolated terminal, she pulled out the strange tech and then put it back in, hoping that a reset might help gleam some new information with a fresh try. Still, the data to her seemed to be corrupted beyond recovery./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""This isn't... FAIR! This isn't how Reclamation Day was supposed to be! None of this is right!" She slapped her hands on the desk as a surge of anger at the injustice of life on the surface hit her. Bitterly she pulled the tech-free. Looking around the room, she hoped to find a map with answers to her question: Where is Vault 51? Her initial findings were underwhelming, as much of the space's materials had been damaged in the fighting that had broken out years before. Out of desperation, she began looking for things that might be stored in books, in desk drawers, anything. A multitude of undamaged maps was located in a desk drawer and began sorting through them. The process of scanning each map for Vault locations was tedious at best as the majority of the maps had no information about Vault's on them at all. Hours had passed when, finally, she found a map in the assortment that she knew to be at least somewhat accurate, as it included Vault 76 and was accurately placed. It took her a few moments, but soon she located Vault 51 on the map, noticing its proximity to Vault 76./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Odd, I have...never heard of this Vault." Her fingers skimmed the map paper, tracing a line between the Whitespring Bunk, Vault 76, and Vault 51 with fascination./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The map was quickly folded up and the, and she departed the lab. Flush with anger and worry, she made her way through the bunker, using manual overrides when possible to bypass security features MODUS normally would have simply opened for her. Map and tech in hand she had one last place to go: MODUS processing center./p
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div id="chapter-8" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Managemen/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143540428"Chapter 8/a: No Sense Crying Over Robots/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I...don't want to leave."br /Chapter Content Rated: G/p
/blockquote
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Modus, I'm sorry. I am sorry I didn't shoot the man sooner. I am sorry I didn't see the tech shoved into the holotape port. I don't have the necessary answers to try and even begin to help you, but I will make this right. I ran the Raider tech through an isolated terminal in the science wing, and the existing data was utterly corrupted. The only thing I could understand were Vault 51, and Overseer." Her words were an outpouring of emotion and uncertainty as she braced against the inactive MODUS monitor terminal that stood before the great primary processing mainframe. The screen before her uncharistically was black. All the while, the main processing hub, however, was clearly very much 'alive' with lights flashing and obvious rapid hard processing active./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"From the inactive monitor to the mainframe, she lifted her troubled gaze, observing with dread the way in which the damaged AI was running. The room still bore marks from the bomb that had previously tried to destroy him. Since coming to understand MODUS and its history, she had longed to put her skills to use to begin repairs on his damaged hardware. However, such a task required precision parts, and trust from MODUS. Even being granted access to work on the processing fans required an extensive measure of trust between the two of them, given his history with humans actively seeking to destroy him. It was good that she had worked on the processing fans, as they now labored without flaw. Even so, the heat in the room was notable. For now, things were potentially stable, but she had no answers as to how long that would be. What few robots remained and were animated had switched over to an auto-pilot mode, severed and separate from the main MODUS hub. None of those robots were able to provide insight into the current crisis. She'd never seen the AI process like this; not even her work back home in Vault 76 prepared her for whatever this silence was./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I...don't want to leave." She looked back down to the black monitor. "But I think you need help, and I am not getting the answers I need with the tools here. I am going to try returning home to Vault 76 and see if I can source anything there to bring back for you. The systems there are done, I can begin pulling parts there to bring here. Failing that, ...whatever role Vault 51 had in this? I need to know. Maybe they can help?" Tenderly she thumbed the monitor, much in the way she'd done to the sick and dying she'd met in the past few years of hardships she'd known on the surface. Her subtle actions betrayed the humanization she was experiencing for the AI./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I don't know what to do, and I don't want to go. But, I don't know what other options lie before me. I feel like time is short, and you are urgently in need of help. If I don't return, understand I didn't lose faith in Reclamation Day. Humanity will be restored, it will just be without me." In her years on the surface, she learned never to say goodbye. It felt like summoning bad invisible forces to ensure that you would die. However, in this instance, she had to say something. If he could hear her, he deserved to understand what was happening. There was a hard upwelling of emotion in her chest, the kind that demanded tears. Those tears were held in check with stubborn determination, why was she crying? This was just an AI; the bunker was full of robots, not people./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Thank you for everything, I will be back for you." Lifting her gaze to the main processing hub, blinking back tears she offered the real MODUS a smile. All the robots, monitors, and more were only extensions of the will of the great powering processing hub before her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"With that, she departed, going back to her room to grab her field kit and travel rations and then pulling a generic traveler suit on instead of her sleek stealth suit. It was nighttime; she hoped to conserve the energy levels on the stealth suit for the return trip when she might have to travel daily and with critical parts. Combat shotgun slung into rest position, ammo restocked, her discreet unmarked Enclave General card tucked inside a ripped seam of the travel bag, and Enclave issued .10 mm strapped to her thigh; it was time to depart. Walking through the Bunker for what could be her last time, she bypassed the multitude of human and robot corpses with grim determination. The raider band had somehow come into the bunker through the Vault door proper, a detail that she found confusing. The Vault was currently sealed the door firmly in place, having been closed behind the raiders. There were a multitude of details about the raid that alarmed her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Her path of exit was not the primary bunker door, which had been the target of the raid, but rather inside the resort. She noted with no small measure of curiosity that the resort was untouched, and all seemed well. Stepping out of the Resort and into the wastes, she began the long uncertain walk back to Vault 76./p
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div id="chapter-9" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.9px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; border-style: solid initial initial initial;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; text-align: center;"a style="color: #111111; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" href=" /works/56362060/chapters/143564605"Chapter 9/a: But how?!/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 1; background: 0px 0px; border-style: initial initial solid initial;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 1em; line-height: normal; font-family: 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="font-weight: bold;"span style="font-style: oblique;"STOP! STOP!/span/span"br /Chapter Content Rated: PG-13 (TW: Self Harm Threat)/p
/blockquote
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div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1360.8px; float: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;" role="article"
h3 id="work" class="landmark heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 0.25em; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.125em; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent; border-color: initial initial #333333 initial; border-style: initial initial double initial;"Chapter Text/h3
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The long road back to Vault 76 lay before her. At best Diane had a half-day walk, and doing most of it in the dark gave her the best path forward. Things seemed to go well for a short time. Despite her exhaustion, she started to get excited about the prospects of returning to Vault 76 even if for just a supply run./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"All was well until it was not. Without warning, the night flashed bright white, blinding, as a great many headlamps and lights were turned on her in a blinding display in the open room. A squad of some sort had been using their own stealth tech and now had her at gunpoint. Lifting a hand, she tried shielding her eyes: "Sorry! Sorry! I'm just passing through, I was getting some medicine for my friend from the responders!" She explained, trying to be uninteresting and not a threat. At a glance, she looked like any standard civilian scavenger in the area. She felt stupid, knowing better than to walk along any road due to the perils that hunted them. Exhaustion makes fools of us all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"She suspected that she now stood before a band of raiders that was likely the second wave destined for the Whitespring Bunker, which was now largely defenseless save for the locked Vault door if MODUS was not back online. The reality was that the Raider Band she stood before was destined to the Bunker to no doubt finish what the first raid had not. It was a blitz raid. Fast, ugly, and brutal that they figured would succeed on the first go. The first raid had done everything right, including deploying the virus into MODUS while it was overwhelmed with defensive combat and the data dump. After all, ZAX told them that MODUS was already crippled and would be an easy hit for such a tactic due to his damaged interface. Why hadn't the raid gone perfectly as planned? They did not understand but prepared backup just in case...which is what Diane was standing before. The truth was that the band of raiders failed to act as a cohesive unit, which resulted in a higher-than-average causality rate./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="font-weight: bold;"span style="font-style: oblique;"STOP! STOP!/span/span" The raider at the lead of the pack signaled for a full stop with urgency in his voice./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="font-weight: bold;"span style="font-style: oblique;"STOP!/span/span It's her! That's Diane! span style="font-style: oblique;"It's her!/span" The man in mismatched raider armor was yelling. There was something about his voice that felt familiar. Though she was not fired on, guns remained raised at the ready on her. Utterly outnumbered and outmatched, her stealth suit would not save her now. How... did they know her name? Also, since when were raiders running in stealth packs?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The man before the Raid stepped forward, slinging his rifle onto his back, hands presented opened and disarmed to her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It's okay; we are not here to hurt you. We are here to save you; I came back to you." The enigmatic figure said. Step by step, he closed the tense distance between them on the vacant road./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Who are you?" Stressing that she would not be played with, Diane turned her .10mm pistol upon herself. As she stared the man down, she pressed the muzzle of her pistol to the soft spot under her chin. The statement was clear: she would rather die than be taken alive. The advancing raider froze in his tracks./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Diane, please, stop. Just let me show you 1 thing, I am going to take my helmet off," He pleaded while lifting his empty hands to his helmet. Slowly his helmet was removed, clearly trying to convey he had no ill. When finally his helmet lifted, she...didn't understand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Gerald?" For a single moment, the world fell apart, and then it finally felt right. "You are...alive?" She all but screamed, tears welling in her eyes and blurring her vision as her understanding of what was happening shattered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yes, and...I'm here for you," his helmet was dropped, and his arms opened. "Please...I love you. We won't hurt you; you are the only reason we are here." Emotions overran logic; she should have been asking questions and holding her ground. Instead, she lowered the gun with a defeated sob, awash in emotions. It had been a brutal night of uncertainty, and this was the last thing she could have ever imagined. Gerald walked toward her, his pace cautious until he was able to take her into his arms, embracing her on the road fully. "I've missed you," he muttered softly to her, holding her as she cried. None of this made sense, but there he stood in the flesh./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Over a shoulder, he turned his head and looked back to the assorted band of raiders, "Let's go! We have her!" The raiders cheered and fell in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"But...how was this possible?/p
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