CH 3 book 4: The big dig ( part 1 )
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Typical of a late November morning, the weather was cold and crisp as Audrey followed MacCready down the familiar, narrow alleyway leading toward the home of the ill-reputed Bobbi no-nose. In her desire to please her hired gun, the disillusioned widow had chosen to put off the job Hancock had given her during his visit with her at the memory den, deciding she was in no particular hurry to stick her neck out for him again just yet- not when far more convenient jobs were available to be done first...Trudging after the young merc, she contemplated the possible ramifications for the decision idly, glowering wordlessly at the pavement beneath her feet as they approached the rusty, weathered steel door to the warehouse where the ghoulish woman resided.
To their dismay, MacCready had been able to discern very few details surrounding the job at hand, thanks to the No-Nose's pension for secrecy regarding her lucrative operations- and other than a few rumors surrounding her strained relationship with the mayor, they had been able to glean even less insight in regard to the mysterious ghouls past, making her something of an unknown quantity to the pair. Prudently, Audrey worried at the idea of doing business with someone they knew so little about but resolved to put aside her grievances due to their urgent need for caps.
Wary, the apprehensive duo shared a brief look of reproach as they came to a stop at the warehouse door, sharing a quick moment of silent communication before inevitably setting aside their reservations in favor of making more caps... To their surprise, they didn't have to wait long before their prospective employer answered, sliding open the panel on the high, narrow security window built into the reinforced entry...
"Hey you two." She greeted casually in a slow, rasping drawl, inky black eyes shifting between the pair as she sized them up behind the safety of her door. "lookin for work?"
Hesitating, Audrey shot MacCready a pointed look, silently urging him to take the lead- after all, he had made the decision to seek the woman out, and she had little desire to draw further attention to herself since her brief run as the shroud... All things considered; it seemed only fair that he should be the one to negotiate the terms of their agreement.
Unperturbed, the young merc stepped forward, giving Bobbi a level look as he appeared to ponder the question.
"What kind of work?" he asked suspiciously.
"Good work- under the supervision of the best boss you'll ever have..." She answered vaguely, brushing the question off with a quick, witty remark. "- If you don't mind a little manual labor, and don't ask too many questions, you're in- I'll give you fifty caps to start...interested?"
Unsatisfied with the offer, MacCready scoffed, shooting her one of his signature looks of righteous indignation before pressing for more caps.
"Oh, come on- Fifty caps? You can do better than that..." He exclaimed, managing to sound severely unimpressed. Eyes narrowing, No-Nose's weathered lips pressed together in a harsh line as she gauged his demeanor, and the two starred each other down for the span of several moments before she inevitably amended, giving in to his demands.
"Fine- you can take a hundred up front." She compromised reluctantly, sounding mildly annoyed. "But that's the highest I'll go."
"Alright- we're in." He responded in turn, glancing back toward Audrey to shoot her a look of smug satisfaction as the auspicious ghoul slammed the panel shut on the window, and unbarred the door to allow them entry to the ancient, ruined warehouse.
"Thats what i like to hear." She stated approvingly, opening the door and motioning for them to follow. "let's go downstairs- I'll give you the lowdown..."
Expectantly, they followed her lead, allowing her to direct them down several flights of stairs that descended into the bowels of the decrepit building, until they eventually reached the basement, where it immediately became obvious that someone had been digging- displaced dirt covered the floor, and a gaping hole existed in the far left wall, where a section of foundation had been broken and cleared away, allowing access to the soft earth beyond.
"Well, this is it." She announced confidently, coming to a stop near the entrance of a dark, narrow tunnel before turning back to address her new workers. " Ready to get to work?"
Shooting her a dry look, MacCready responded to the question with his usual sarcasm.
"No, we followed you down here for the exercise." He quipped abrasively, eyeing the tunnel dubiously, as if he expected it to collapse any minute...
"Hah- funny." Bobbi shot back quickly, answering his sarcasm with her own brand of dry humor as she gestured toward the narrow stretch of tunnel behind her. "Well, you'll get plenty of exercise here- If you haven't already guessed, You two are gonna be doing some digging..."
Inspecting the excavation site carefully, Audrey wondered at the motivation behind it, reflecting idly on the effort their new employer had expended in keeping the details of her operation quiet in Goodneighbor- There had to be a reason for all the secrecy. Mining a tunnel wasn't exactly easy work...
"What are we digging for? Buried treasure?" She asked curiously, only half joking. Making a face, Bobbie shrugged dismissively in response to the inquiry.
"You could call it that- but seriously, lay off the questions." She reminded tersely, refusing to divulge any more information on the matter. " The other two are down there digging already- go give em a hand, will ya?"
For the second time that day, the pair shared another moment of silent communication, exchanging similar looks of suspicion regarding the ghoul's secretive behavior before resigning themselves to the task at hand- curiosity piqued. To their relief, Bobbi had graciously gone to the trouble of collecting and providing a set of sturdy shovels, as well as mining hats with built in spotlights to help illuminate their way in the dark...Jaw set, MacCready led the way, reaching out to press his hand against the wall as he squeezed through the narrow opening, shouldering his way into the dark root filled passage with his charge at his back. Slowly, they pushed forward, following the path illuminated by their gear silently until they heard the sounds of distant conversation echoing through the passage ahead.
"Hey- i think we can finally get through..." One voice exclaimed; excitement evident in his tone as it bounced toward them off the narrow walls. Audrey and MacCready paused momentarily to listen before pressing on, picking up the pace so they didn't miss out on whatever break through was happening up ahead.
"Wanna see what's on the other side?" A second voice inquired curiously in turn.
Through the tangle of broken roots obscuring their way, a dim light became visible in the distance, and they pushed toward it eagerly. Soon, the tunnel soon widened, opening up as they emerged into what appeared to be an intact maintenance compartment of the old Boston sewer system.
Tentatively they exited the tunnel, stepping out onto a broken brick landing and pausing to evaluate their surroundings- A few paces ahead, a small staircase once utilized by city workers led into a shallow, dried-up drainage pit, where a set of ancient, rusty pipes ran along the length of the wall before disappearing beneath a pile of rubble on the other side. Here, the ceiling was high, and the walls were spaced far apart, giving them plenty of room to move around in the shared workspace. At the far end of the compartment, Bobbies two other employees continued their conversation, clearing away the remaining rubble between them and the next section of ancient sewer, oblivious to the arrival of their new coworkers...
"Oh yeah...You think Bobbi will pay us this week?" One of the men, clad in a padded denim jacket and worn, dirt-stained jeans asked hopefully, causing his partner to groan.
"I don't know man; it's starting to feel like we're doing charity work... wait- did you just hear something?"
Falling silent, the pair paused at the mouth of the newly cleared opening in the collapsed far wall, cautiously peering into the shadows of the dark passage to find the source of the noise- and just as Audrey and MacCready moved to join them, a high-pitched squealing echoed out of the dark hole, and whatever the men saw inside caused them to back away in terror.
"Shit- its crawling with Mirelurks!" The second man announced, discarding his shovel as he prepared to flee.
"Let's bail- Bobbi can take this job and shove it!" His partner declared in agreement, dropping his own equipment as he followed the other man's lead, retreating toward the exit. As the men shouldered passed the new recruits, one of them called out over his shoulder.
" Good luck down there newbies- you're gonna need it!"
"Awe, great!" MacCready shouted in frustration, dropping his shovel and reaching back to grab the rifle he kept strapped to his back, just as an angry troop of irradiated crabs burst out of the passage in front of them.
Horrified, Audrey starred in shock at sight of the giant, mutated crustations, freezing in place as they began to charge, slimy slaver dribbling from their small, pinched mouths... Taking immediate action, her hired gun unloaded one shot into the face of the lead monstrosity, killing it instantly, and momentarily deafening them as the gunshot bounced loudly off the walls, amplified in the confined space- At once, he realized that his weapon was too slow to operate in close quarters, so the young mercenary reached over, pulling Audreys pistol from the holster at her hip and pushing her aggressively out of the way way as the remaining Mirelurks closed in on their position.
Adrenalin surging, MacCready barely managed to dodge a mud caked claw as one of the creatures lunged at him, dancing out of harms way just in time and causing it to careen against the steps behind him- Wheeling back around to mount another attack, the shelled horror squealed in rage as it reoriented itself, beady eyes zeroing in angrily on its target. Reflexively, he raised the unfamiliar weapon in his hands with speedy precision, squeezing off two consecutive rounds at point blank range, dispatching it before whipping around to face the remaining beast.
Realizing it was outmatched, the overgrown crab seemed to hesitate, emitting a cacophony of strange, high-pitched noises before attempting to flee back the way it had come, only to suffer the same fate as its brethren when the young merc emptied his remaining bullets into its retreating form. Too shocked to move, Audrey watched the altercation with wide eyes, leaning heavily on the wall she had landed against as the mutants carapace shattered, causing its soft fleshy body to spill out onto the dirt, excreting rivulets of thin, blue blood...
Once the compartment had fallen silent once more, MacCready allowed himself to fall into a sitting position in the dirt, heart hammering painfully against his chest as he clutched the revolver with shaky fingers.
"What the hell is going on in my tunnel?" Bobbi no nose called out to them, just missing the action as she emerged from the narrow tunnel, armed with a ten-millimeter pistol and a determined expression to defend her prospects.
"Dude!" MacCready yelled back at her angrily, thoroughly shaken from his close encounter with death. "The place was crawling with Mirelurks! How did you not plan for this!?"
Brow's furrowing, she frowned in response to the accusatory admonishment.
"Sure, this wasn't expected, but that doesn't mean I don't have a plan- its gonna take a lot more than a couple Mirelurks to stop Bobbi no-nose..." She declared confidently, unbothered and not the least bit discouraged.
Finally remembering how to move, Audrey braced herself against the wall, forcing herself to her feet before moving stiffly to MacCready's side to offer him a hand up- His quick thinking and actions had likely saved her life that day, and the significance of the gesture was not lost on her. Temper subsiding, the young merc took her offered hand gratefully, allowing her to help him up before sheepishly returning her revolver.
"Sorry- my rifle wasn't gonna cut it in here. Not enough room." He explained apologetically, causing her expression to morph into one of confusion.
"Rob, you don't have to apologize for saving our lives." She informed him light heartedly, brows pulling together as her lips quirked into an incredulous smile. Looking away, the young merc blushed lightly, not quite sure how to respond. A few moments of awkward silence punctuated her sentiment before he turned his attention deliberately back to their thoughtful leader- Despite the unexpected hiccup in the Ghoulish woman's plans, Bobbi no nose continued to plot, regarding her last two recruits thoughtfully before deciding to clue them in on her contingency plan...
"Well, you both stuck around at least, so I guess your promoted- congratulations, you get to be my new hired guns." She informed them dispassionately, wheels turning inside her head. "Now, I think we need just one more guy- An old friend. He'll want a fair cut ofcourse, but we saw where being cheap got us..."
"Us?" MacCready echoed back indignantly, shooting her a sharp look of exasperation as he began to question her sanity. Beside him, Audrey shifted uncomfortably, a dozen more questions forming in her mind at the mention of their "cut"-which implied that instead of getting paid weekly for their labor, they would instead be splitting a lump sum upon achieving a goal.
"Who is this guy?" She chanced to ask, fervently hoping the Ghoul would finally spill the beans on what exactly she was trying to achieve by accessing the network of subterranean ruins below the city.
"He's just the guy we need to speed things along- He likes gadgets, money, and not much else. First though, I think its best if you actually see what we're going after... I have some things to check up on in diamond city- head over to the noodle shop there and I'll meet you when I finish up business."
Not waiting for an answer, Bobbi No-Nose turned on her heel, disappearing back inside her tunnel to make preparations for the trip, leaving her new recruits to stare after her in slack jawed silence.
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Pleased by the prospect of leaving Goodneighbor behind for a while, the pair decided to head for Diamond city the following morning, hoping to reach the great green jewel before sundown. As they departed, the young widow looked up toward the mayor's window, surprised to find him watching her from the comfort of his office suite with a pensive expression- Guiltily, she shied away from his unsettling gaze, aware that he probably assumed she was on her way to check out the Pickman gallery like she had promised, rather than going to aid Bobbi No-Nose in her secretive treasure hunt...
A few days prior, Audrey would have been too angry with Hancock to care how he felt about her actions, but after the concern he had demonstrated during their last conversation, her ire had abated somewhat, leaving her to wonder if she hadn't overreacted initially, placing the blame for Kent Connollys death on him rather than taking responsibility for her own part in bringing about his demise- After all, he may not have done much to save the pitiful ghoul, but at the same time, it hadn't been his actions that landed them in that position to begin with...In the end, she only had herself, and Kent to blame.
Traveling at a brisk pace, they took a short cut through the commons, skirting the perimeter of the dangerous territory cautiously before making their way onto Newbury Street, and following its length toward the ruins of Fenway Park. By late afternoon, they had arrived at the Trinity Plaza without incident, and the monster green walls of the city soon became visible in the near distance. From there, they headed toward the stadium lights, edging slowly toward the city through the narrow, dilapidated streets surrounding the immense structure before finally arriving at the gate.
" Wow, I haven't been to diamond city in years, but i can tell ya, nothing's changed." MacCready observed wistfully as they stood at the top of the stairwell by the entrance, overlooking the crowded field below. As they descended, his hazel green eyes drank in the familiar surroundings with obvious interest, comparing his memory of the city to its current state while they wandered further inside...Passing Nat's vacant newspaper stand, Audrey wondered idly how Piper was doing as they made their way toward the market at center field, arriving at their destination just before the sun began to set...
" Oh man! Have you ever had this guy's noodles? They're amazing!" MacCready informed his charge enthusiastically as they approached the Power Noodles stand, greeting the bot behind the bar warmly like a long-lost friend. "Hey Taka, would you set me up with some of your shima...uh, shimichanga ni whatever they're called?"
As always, the bot responded with his singularly programmed response.
"Nan-ni shimasho- ka?" It asked in robotic Japanese.
"Yeah, yeah!" MacCready answered enthusiastically, taking a seat in one of the available stools surrounding the circular bar and momentarily forgetting their purpose there in his eagerness to satisfy his hunger. "Thats the stuff!"
"Nan-ni Shimasho-ka?" The bot repeated again, prompting the young merc to slap the surface of the table raucously in response- Audrey jumped as his hand made contact with the table, surprised by his animated response.
"You're damn right I'll take two servings!" He exclaimed, as if understanding the defective bots repetitive dialogue completely- which he must have, since it immediately began dishing out the requested order, before sliding two bowls of the steaming chicken flavored noodle soup in front of him. Gratefully, MacCready reached in his pocket, procuring a handful of caps and depositing them in a messy pile in front of the robotic food vendor unremorsefully before proceeding to attack the hot meal.
"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" It asked her as she took the open seat to his left.
"Uh, no thank you...I'm not hungry." She refused the bot politely, reluctant to spend her caps on food when she had packed ample provisions before they had set out from Goodneighbor- Though admittedly, the hot noodles did appear far more appetizing than the centuries old can goods, and stale boxed cereal she had stuffed in her backpack to ward off hunger...
"There you two are!" A familiar, graveled voice called out to the pair unexpectedly, causing them to look up in search of its owner as she approached the noodle stand. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up."
Recognizing Bobbi No-Nose's rich, textured drawl, Audreys brows pulled together, eyeing the ghoul's conspicuous attire suspiciously as she moved to take the seat next to her.
"Bobbi?" She asked dubiously, glancing over her shoulder nervously to make sure they hadn't drawn any attention from the surrounding locals- The Ghoulish woman had adopted a gas mask to cover the irradiated planes of her face, hiding the rest of her marred skin beneath a long-sleeved flannel and a pair of insulated jeans, even going so far as to wear gloves to hide the rough, pocked skin of her hands and wrists...
"Yes, it's me- I have to hide my face around these parts. People like me aren't allowed in diamond city." Bobbi informed the younger woman ruefully, a bitter edge creeping into her voice before she pivoted the subject expertly back toward business. "Now, let's get down to it- That big wall of glass looming over the city is the mayor's office. most people don't know it, but there's a strongroom buried beneath, and the mayor's just sittin on top of it..."
As Bobbi spoke, Audrey grew very still, slowly beginning to realize what the motivation behind the secretive operation might be- If mayor McDonough didn't allow Ghouls inside the city, that seemed like more than enough cause for someone like Bobbi to plot against him, and his aforementioned strongroom. If that was the case, was it wise for her to continue their involvement in the risky scheme?
"...And let me guess- that's our target?" She guessed reluctantly, fighting the urge to heave a heavy sigh as she began to wonder if they had yet again gotten themselves into something they might not be able to handle.
"You got it." Their disguised patron confirmed, demonstrating complete confidence in her own abilities as she prepared to divulge her plans at last. "...The guy has it coming if you ask me, with how he treats my kind...Maybe he deserves worse."
Lips pressing together, Audrey took some time to deliberate, weighing the risks and benefits of continuing their agreement, gaze wandering absently toward the skybox as she contemplated the possible loot.
"What's inside?" She found herself asking after a moment, ignoring the nagging little voice inside her head that reminded her theft was a crime...Trouble was, she could hardly hear that voice over the urgency of the one stressing over how much money she would need not only to keep her promise to MacCready, but to achieve her own goals in the near future, admitting that she may have to make a few moral sacrifices if she hoped to find Shaun anytime soon.
"Caps, meds, food- Enough to keep this city running for a long while." Bobbi admitted conspiratorially. "It's things we want- and if you get in on this, there's plenty in it for you, got it? So, what do you say we make this party a little bigger? I managed to track down my tech guy- his names Mel, and hes right here in diamond city. The guy can make a gadget to solve any problem- thing is, hes a bit locked up right now, so You'll have to get him out of there before we can begin... I would do it, but i can't just stroll into diamond city security with this face- covered or not."
Brow's furrowing, Audrey thought about all the trouble Bobbi had gone to in her efforts to snub the mayor, wondering how this Mel character fit into her grand scheme- involving another person would mean they each got a smaller cut should the operation succeed, so she had to assume he was important somehow. Still, a lot of digging would need to be done to cover the distance between Goodneighbor and Diamond City, even with another set of hands. Somehow, she doubted the likelihood that the endeavor would succeed.
"...Tell me about the security office." She found herself asking despite her reservations, closing her eyes and exhaling deeply as she came to grips with just how low she was willing to stoop to further her own ends- vaguely, she recalled Hancock's concerns regarding her moral compass, and his fear that she may become some sort of tyrant if left to her own devices...Perhaps he had been onto something after all, she thought wryly.
"It's built into the old stadium locker rooms- and it smells the part." Bobbi informed dryly, before issuing a quick reminder. "This isn't a maximum-security prison you'll be walking into, and it isn't heavily guarded. No problem for someone like you, right? Pick a lock, find a key, bribe a guard- the usual stuff. I don't care how you do it, just get him outta there, okay?"
Sensing the time had come for her to make up her mind once and for all, Audrey turned to her right to give MacCready a questioning look, offering him the opportunity to voice his opinion on whether or not he wished to continue with the job before agreeing to go any further. Wordlessly, he gave a quick shrug, continuing to slurp his noodles, blatantly unconcerned.
Decided, she turned back to Bobbi with a resigned expression.
"Alright... I'll get him out." She agreed reluctantly, beginning to second guess her decision to put off Hancock's orders in favor of working for Bobbi no-nose after all- On one hand, if all went well, they stood a chance at making enough caps to finally move on the gunners up at mass pike. Thinking back on how long it had taken for them to save up the meager number of caps and supplies they had accumulated, she didn't think they could afford to pass up an opportunity to expedite the process- on the other hand, the consequences of failure could prove fatal for all of them...
"Good." Bobbi exclaimed, sounding pleased with the outcome of their arrangement. "I'll be waiting for you back at home base- Don't muck things up."
Abruptly, the undercover ghoul rose from her seat, excusing herself from the table as soon as their agreement was final. As she made her hasty departure, Audrey watched her go silently, a deep sense of unrest blooming in the pit of her stomach.
"Well," She thought out loud, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I guess it's do or die now..."
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After his less than pleasant meeting with the director, Nathanial Stryder forced himself to comply with Shaun's instructions to meet with the various division heads, descending wordlessly from the residential stack to meet with Allie Fillmore, the head of Facilities department the very next morning- Having heard the tense conversation that had taken place between the director and his charge the previous afternoon, X-6 seemed to follow behind him even closer now...
"Almost done- just have to tighten up this primary drive servo..." Nate heard one of the technicians saying as they wandered into the one of the alcoves built around the perimeter of the main concourse, where most of the system diagnostics took place- The space was louder than he was used to, filled with the electric thrumming of complex machinery. All around the concourse, institute technicians meandered from machine to machine, performing various system diagnostics to ensure their equipment was functioning smoothly, and applying general maintenance wherever necessary.
"Thats the third primary drive break down this month!" Another voice complained dispassionately in response, drawing his attention toward the right of the alcove, where a young female technician appeared to be repairing one of the robotic generation two synth units under the supervision of the division head herself. "As far as I'm concerned, the faze out on these older models can't come soon enough..."
Allie Fillmore was short and stout, with medium length dirty blonde hair and big blue cow eyes, wearing a unique yellow accented lab coat that set her apart from the rest of the technicians under her authority- In response to her critical opinion of the robot in question, the younger womans eyes flashed up reflexively, fixing her superior with a sour look before refocusing on the servo in question.
"Oh...I don't know, most of them have lasted long past their projected life span- If you ask me, they were built pretty well." She disagreed casually, before straightening to re secure the newly serviced robots metal chassis back in place on its skeletal frame.
"Well, I can't argue with that- Even so, I'm ready to see the full gen three roll out."
Ignoring the statement, the young technician gave the synth a quick once over before addressing it directly to relay instructions. In response to her direct eye contact, the bots glowing red ocular sensors tightened momentarily, and he turned toward her to await orders.
"There we go- all set." She informed it positively, lips pressing together to form a self-satisfied grin. "Unit, you may return to duty."
"Thank you, ma'am." The synth responded robotically, turning away from her and marching off to resume its designated task as a glorified Roomba...
"Thanks again." Allie Fillmore told the technician as she began to walk away, resuming her own designated task at one of the maintenance terminals nearby.
"OfCourse." She called back listlessly over her shoulder, excusing herself with a curt wave of her hand. While witnessing the exchange, Nate got the sneaking suspicion that the younger woman wasn't particularly fond of her superior- But if Dr. Fillmore noticed as well, she certainly didn't seem to care, appearing unbothered as she began to wander off in search of another task...
Dismissing the unimportant observation, Nate forced himself to approach the division head while she was otherwise unoccupied, nervously going over what he intended to say in his head before making his introduction, in the hopes of not making a fool of himself in front of his sons respected colleagues.
"Excuse me, Doctor?" He addressed the middle-aged woman formally, keeping a polite distance in an effort not to startle her.
Not recognizing the voice of the person requesting her attention, Dr, Fillmore looked confused as she turned to answer, expression quickly morphing into one of startled surprise as their gazes met, and a spark of recognition lit her eyes.
"Oh wow, so the doctor wasn't exaggerating- You really have made a full recovery!" She exclaimed pleasantly, managing to sound both impressed, and surprised by the revelation. "Well alright then...I'm Allie- Allie Filmore. you can think of me as the institutes chief engineer. I'll admit, when father told us what he intended to do after retrieving you from the vault, most of us had our doubts- such a daring procedure hasn't really been attempted in our time. It's good to see the surgery was a success!"
Unsure how to respond, Nate pressed his lips together and offered a wry smile.
"Yeah, thanks... I just wasn't ready to die yet I guess." He joked dismissively, causing Dr. Fillmore to grin in response to his attempt at humor.
"Thats understandable- the will to survive is the most basic human instinct- On behalf of the institute, I'd like to apologize for the events that lead to your...injury. Kellog always was a cold bastard. If you ask me, we're better off without him." She apologized seriously, hoping to convey a sense of compassion before moving on to engage in the expected formalities. "Now, I suppose I should give you the rundown of the Facilities division, to get you up to speed on what we do here. I'll answer any additional questions you might have afterward."
Gesturing for him to follow, Dr. Fillmore began to lead him around the concourse, giving him a small tour of the Facility access points as she offered an abbreviated explanation of the divisions purpose, and the duties of those who had been assigned to work under her.
"As you might have guessed, the technicians here keep the institutes mechanical and electrical systems running smoothly. We maintain and upgrade all of the systems that make it possible to live and work in a place like this- You might not be able to see it, but there's a lot of machinery behind these walls that recycles the air and water and provides power to all the laboratories and living quarters. What we do down here might not be as exciting as the other departments, but it's at least as important. Without us, this place just wouldn't be possible."
Surveying his surroundings with a thoughtful expression, Nate nodded absent mindedly, acknowledging the importance of her work politely before deciding to indulge his curiosity.
"Who built this place originally? Has it been here long?" He asked, noting the untarnished appearance of the infrastructure around them. Dr. Fillmore flashed him an approving smile, seeming to appreciate the question.
"Ah, a great question- I can see where Father got his powers of perception. " She complimented, causing him to blush bashfully as she launched into a quick history of the institute's origins. "The construction of the institute is the work of generations of scientists. the original survivors of the great war- our ancestors- took refuge in the basement of the old commonwealth institute of technology. Over time, their sons and daughters dug deeper into the earth and built increasingly sophisticated habitats and laboratories. It's a process that's still going on today- even now were digging out tunnels for new facilities and infrastructure. Just think what this place will look like a hundred years from now...I hope I'm there to see it."
Brow's furrowing, Nate wondered momentarily how she planned on achieving that goal, considering she was already passed her prime, but didn't dare ask for fear of insulting her- Instead, he decided to inquire after some of the other brilliant minds that made up her department.
"I'd like to know about some of the other people here in Facilities- What do they do to contribute to the cause?" He asked conversationally, taking care to appear interested, and fully engaged as he awaited her response.
"Oh ofcorse." Dr. Fillmore exclaimed eagerly, all too happy for an opportunity to boast about her staff. " Dr. Lawrence Higgs is our mechanical engineer- he oversees the major life support and security systems. Power distribution is Dr. Wattson's area of expertise, and doctor newton Oberley is in charge of food and housing- he coordinates with bioscience to ensure that our meals are well balanced for optimal nutrition. we also make use of a number of synth units for low priority maintenance and labor."
"It must be a challenge to meet the power demands of a place like this." He observed, reflecting on all the high-tech amenities the people there enjoyed, and the life support systems that were required to run in definitively to keep everyone alive.
"Absolutely. We scratch and scrape for every precious ounce of voltage that we can." She admitted seriously, making direct eye contact as she spoke to emphasize the importance of that fact. "Over the years we've learned a few tricks to help supplement our power budget. When necessary, we can tap into select sources on the surface to keep things running- taking only what we need ofcourse- fortunately, Advanced systems is always working on new solutions to generate more energy... It's a good thing too, because the demand is always increasing- You don't even want to know what a single use of the molecular dematerializer consumes..."
"I'll take your word for it." Nate responded jokingly, giving her a warm, lighthearted smile as he prepared to take his leave, satisfied that he had done his duty and gleaned all the insight currently needed in regard to her division. "Well Dr. Fillmore, thank you for showing me around and giving me the run-down of Facilities- it was highly educational, but I think I've taken up enough of your precious time for the day..."
"Absolutely, it was wonderful to meet you- and I look forward to working with you in the future. Good luck settling in!" She responded customarily, giving him a bright smile, and reaching out to shake his hand before allowing him to depart.
Once they were out of ear shot, Nate dropped his personable facade and reached up to massage his temples, unable to shake his annoyance at having to engage in trivial pleasantries with people he couldn't care less about, and things he couldn't even begin to understand- What the heck was a molecular dematerializer anyway? He didn't have the slightest idea, nor did he have any desire to find out- But there he was, dutifully complying with his sons demands...
Watching closely, X-6 sensed his charges frustration, surmising the other mans train of thoughts based on his previous eagerness to seek out his spouse. Despite himself, he opened his mouth as if to speak, drawing Nates attention before appearing to think better of it, and swallowing whatever he had been about to say.
"What?" The bitter veteran snapped impatiently, frustrated by the courser's continuous dedication to propriety.
"...Nothing sir." X-6 responded predictably, causing Nates frown to deepen.
"Bullshit- You were about to say something, so say it."
"...Apologies- it's not my place to interject my opinion." The courser began, breaking his stoic silence for the first time that day in order to offer some advice. "I know you are angry regarding the directorates decision to deny your request for departure, and I can't pretend to understand your feelings- your...Desire to endure the filth on the surface for the sake of a single female- But I feel compelled to inform you that if that is the goal you insist on moving toward, then cooperation is your best course of action. if you continue to work with the people here, and make yourself an asset, you may yet achieve your goal..."
Stopping abruptly, Nate turned on his heel to face the synth, scoffing ruefully as he fixed him with a scathing glare.
"What does it look like im doing? Do you think i give a fuck about these people- the people who kidnapped my son and put a bullet in my head? If not for the love I bare that single female, I wouldn't waste a single breath in aiding their cause...But I guess someone like you can't comprehend that, can you?"
Jaw setting, X-6 averted his gaze pointedly in response to Nates hostility, withdrawing from the conversation before the situation could escalate.
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