Chapter 12 – Benevolence Squared.
"Good morning, Ladies," Nate beamed at the two women still lying together next to the fire.
Piper woke with a start and looked up in shock at Nate. "God, what time is it?" she asked looking embarrassed at her current situation. The woman behind her stirred and wrapped her arms tighter around the blushing reporter.
Piper turned to Sarah, and laughing, "come on you, we have been busted and need to get up."
Sarah opened her sleepy eyes, "I swear I only fell asleep about ten minutes ago." She grumbled.
Piper slid out of the sleeping bag and turned to warm herself by the fire.
"You might want to get dressed, sweetie." Cait smiled at Piper who was only wearing a sports bra and thong. "It's a cold morning."
"Sorry," she blushed as she looked at Nate, "I guess we slept in."
Nate laughed, "Relax Piper, you are all good. We are not in a rush and Curie still has the eggs to do." He looked at Curie who smiled and nodded.
"Good morning gang." Valkyrie called from the top of the stairs. "Ooo, I see someone got lucky last night."
"Sorry V, would have invited you too but there is so little room in these sleeping bags." Piper shrugged.
"Oh, I can make a larger one for you if you would like." Curie offered in her signature matter of fact tone.
"How long have you been there." Piper looked at Curie, who was by the small cooking pan, making some pancakes.
"I was on sentry until about an hour ago and then I began making breakfast," Curie said cheerfully. "I thought I would let you two sleep; you looked so peaceful together."
"She wriggles… a lot," Sarah said as she too slid out of their shared sleeping bag.
Dressed in a similar fashion to Piper, Sarah seemed as unconscious about her attire as Piper did and immediately began doing some stretching exercises.
"God, she reminds me of you…" Cait leant over to Nate and whispered.
"You mean beautiful eyes and a lovely ass?" Nate chuckled. Cait responded by giving Nate a glare. "I was only joking…" He laughed.
I'm
"You had better be, mister." Cait poked her boyfriend in the ribs.
"Yours is the only ass I have ever looked at." Nate grinned.
"Ha!" Cait exclaimed, "now I know your lying, Mr Bossy."
"Oh, that, erm … I have my eyes shut throughout." Nate laughed again.
"You guys finished having your little love in over there." Piper asked from the other side of the cooking fire. "You two are way too sickly sweet and we are about to have breakfast."
"Says the girl who has just woken up in the arms of her belle." Curie laughed as she poured out a few mugs of steaming hot coffee.
"Scrap that," said Nate, "I love you and everything, Cait, but I might just have to run off with Curie because," he continued as he collected one of the mugs, "you know… coffee."
"Oh no you don't," Piper wagged a finger at Nate, "You'll have to fight me for her." She laughed and then turned to Sarah, "sorry."
"Oh well," Sarah sighed as she too joined in with the banter, "It was great whilst it lasted, Piper, but I can see exactly why I have lost out." Sarah also reached for a mug of coffee and fell silent as she savoured the inviting aroma.
"So, now we have all broken up over Curie and her amazing brewing skills, what's the plan? We just going to wander up to the Wildwood Cemetery and start looking for her?" Cait asked as she helped Curie dish out the breakfast.
Nate looked to Sarah who was slipping on her clothes. She then came to sit back down next to Piper and took a plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon from Cait. "Thanks, and yes, I think so." She answered.
Nate turned to look at Piper, "Do you know where she tends to walk to, with her Caravan I mean?"
"No idea, I am afraid. Before she disappeared, she would often roam between the Drumlin Diner and Bunker Hill." Piper shrugged.
The team finished their breakfast and were soon packed up and ready for the patrol north. It wasn't long before they saw a lone figure, stood by the side of the road, smoking a cigarette. Nate and Sarah walked up to the figure as the remainder of the team dropped back a few meters.
"Hi, are you Heather?" Nate asked as he approached the lone woman.
Seeing the team, the woman flicked her cigarette butt away and smiled. "Yes, that's me. Can I help you."
"Well yes." Sarah smiled, "I'm Sarah and we heard your advert."
"You did?" Heather sounded genuinely surprised. "Wow, an actual real customer." Heather then said quietly. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and smiled. "I carry the highest quality alternative medicine products you can find in the commonwealth today. Interested?" She recited in a well-practised but slightly stilted manner.
"So, you are a doctor?" Nate asked.
"No, I'm not a doctor." Heather responded. "You see, for me, traditional medicine is adequate if that's all you have, but I offer something much, much better." Heather turned to indicate her small duffle bag. "Traditional medicine cures you today. Alternative medicine can improve your overall health and vitality forever. It's true, trust me. Use my healing preparations often enough and you will see and improvement in your overall health." She finished in the same stilted presentational manner.
Sarah moved up to the bag and began chatting to Heather about the compounds and remedies she had in her assorted collection. After bargaining over the price, Sarah packed away a number of salves and ointments as well as a few vials of some interesting looking concoctions.
Heather then indicated the rest of the team, "Where you headed?" she asked.
"Why do you ask?" Nate responded, not sure if this was the beginning of Heather showing her true colours. Was she a Casdin supporter and would she recognise Sarah?
"Well …. Erm, to be honest, I'm looking to get off the road." Heather responded. She then let out a deep sigh. "I need to stop travelling alone, you know. And I need someone to watch my back." She paused and looked off to the middle distance. "It's dangerous out here, and getting more so every day. I know what…." She brightens up, "I'll give you a discount on my products and 200 caps if I can join you. Not only do I need to get off the caravan trail but I also need to …. do something else. And you know, you hear about all this cool stuff in the commonwealth, but when all you do is bust your ass on the road you never see it."
"You have literally just met us." Nate exclaimed.
"Well yeah and no…" Heather tipped her head from side to side, "I know who you guys are. I'm a trader, if something's going on in the commonwealth I know about it. Traders love to gossip." Heather turned to look at Nate. "And I have kinda been following what you have been doing." She said sheepishly. "You see, the thing I need to do has something to do with that fucker Kellogg and I know for a fact that you and your team killed that son of a whore when you found him hiding out in Fort Hagen."
"Ok, so you want to get off the road and you want to join us?" Nate confirmed.
"Yup, you guys are quite frankly kick ass and being a trader isn't. Listen, I can look after myself." Heather stated, "Been on the road my whole life. Been training with weapons my whole life. I won't be a burden and I will learn fast."
"And you know my team, right?" Nate indicated to the girls waiting a little way down the road.
"Oh, that's Piper!" Heather looked surprised, "Great, everyone's favourite reporter." The tone in Heather's voice showing her contempt. She looked at Sarah, "I like to keep my distance from Piper. I am always worried I might trip and fall into that giant mouth of hers."
Nate rolled his eyes, "Hang on," he said, "let me go speak to the team," and he headed back down the road towards the girls.
Heather turned to Sarah, "That's a Brotherhood Uniform, of sorts. Were you a member?" She asked.
"Yes, I still am, just walking with these guys for some company. I am visiting some of the farms up in this area and fancied the company and the extra firepower." Sarah lied convincingly.
"My parents were brotherhood." Heather volunteered, "They were from California originally. Travelled to the wasteland under Elder Lyons. At some point they fought with Lyons and left. Dad said they abandoned Lyons and his bad ideas, but not the Brotherhood. Even though we stopped here, I always had the feeling they wanted to go back to California. My mom was a Paladin. She's the one that trained me with weapons. She wasn't going to have kids that couldn't handle themselves. She died along time ago, my Dad's a scribe."
"What happened then." Asked Sarah.
"Well, everything was great until one day my Dad just decided to leave." Heather answered with a shrug.
"Did you ever get to ask him why?" Sarah was now genuinely interested as to why Henry Casdin would abandon his two daughters.
"Yeah, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. He might have left because my mom was gone. You know, grief can make people do some weird shit." Heather blew out a breath, "I should know. He went back to the Capital Wasteland with a Brotherhood Recon team. I haven't seen him since."
Nate had returned and caught the last piece of that conversation. "You want to walk with us to say Bunker Hill, then that's fine but we are not looking for another team member just yet." Nate tried to sound as conciliatory as he could.
"Are you sure? You are the third group I have asked as my only other option is to hire a Caravan Guard. The problem with that is every time one opens his mouth… a complaint falls out. Not that desperate yet. So, please can I team up with you guys?"
"Thank you for the remedies and we really wish you good luck, but right now we just don't have the capacity for another team member, I'm sorry." Nate nodded and then turned to head back down the road. Sarah followed.
"Shout if you ever change your mind," came the call from the diminishing figure as the team returned back down the road to the south.
As the group made their way southeast, heading to Boston Airport and the Prydwen, they all closed up to hear what Sarah had to say about her chat with Heather.
"She's not a concern, not after what I heard. It seems that you were right Piper. Heather and her sister were abandoned whilst they were still kids, and they haven't seen him since. It didn't even sound like Heather knew her Dad ran the Brotherhood in the Capital Wasteland." Sarah stated.
"So, let's just say you make it to the Prydwen and confront Maxson, what then?" Asked Piper. "You have control of this part of the Brotherhood, but you are against Henry Casdin and his part down in DC? That sounds dangerous."
"Yes, the Brotherhood of Steel at war…. That doesn't sound good." Nate agreed.
"Yes, that is my biggest worry." Sarah slowed her pace, "I have to rely on the fact that if I do wrestle control from Maxson and we can parley with the Institute, then the benefits of staying civil outweigh the cost of going to war." Sarah responded.
"A heavy burden." Curie looked sympathetically at the Brotherhood of Steel Soldier.
"Yes, it is." Sarah nodded and then turned to Piper, "all I need now is someone to massage my shoulders once in a while, to keep them supple," she smiled.
"I think I might be able to help." Piper grinned back.
"What was it you said the other day, Piper?" Valkyrie smiled "Ew! get a room."
The team made their way back past Taffington Boat House, and then south, crossing over the Tucker Memorial Bridge. Just on the other side of the bridge the team heard gun fire coming from off to their right. Taking cover Nate sent Curie forward to have a look at what the firefight was about. Helping out a local trader or caravan was something his team would do but if it was Raiders fighting Gunners then he would leave them to it. Curie was soon back reporting that it was a group of humans, who looked like traders, fighting a bunch of the robots Nate and his team had come up against before. He signalled for the team to close up.
"Curie counts at least five robots left, so we will do this quick and simple. We will form up here," Nate held out his arm to show a line parallel to his position, "walk up and take them all out at the same time."
The team were soon spread out and Nate gave the signal to advance. Nate had Sarah next to him and as they advanced, the two of them spotted a large, tracked robot and a floating eyebot on the far left of the melee. They made short work of them as the rest of the team finished off the other machines. After the dust had settled there was one blue robot left, who seemed to be tending to the fallen humans.
"That one seems to be on their side," Curie indicated to the dead humans.
Nate walked up to the robot that was mainly made up of a military Assaultron body but with parts from a sentry bot and the civil protectrons. The robot turned to face Nate.
"My friends … did not survive the attack. Thank you for assisting. I was certain to meet my end here as well." The robot said in an artificial female voice.
"Are you ok?" Curie asked as she came to stand next to Nate.
"Physically, the damage is minor, but I am registering sadness and anger at the loss of my friends." The robot responded. "It may sound strange coming from a robot, but they were my … family. Again, I thank you for your efforts. I know they would have thanked you as well."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Nate said sympathetically.
"My name is Ada. This was the third time we'd been attacked by robots like these. Even with the weapon and detection upgrades Jackson gave me, I was unable to defend them."
"Whose Jackson?" Curie asked.
"Jackson was the leader of this caravan. He had a great mind for technology. In many ways he was my creator. He installed all my current upgrades. Unfortunately, they were not enough to protect them from these robots." Ada signalled the recently destroyed machines around her.
"Your upgrades?" Curie continued to question Ada.
"Yes, modified using a robot workbench based on prototype schematics that Jackson found when exploring the General Atomics Factory. The workbench allows for a wide range of robot modifications. Perhaps if I had more Sentry Bot based defences, I could have successfully defended my friends against these robots."
"You say they have attacked you three times, are they targeting you for some reason?" Nate asked.
"Probability is high that I am part of that reason. Besides myself, Jackson also created Turing, Hurtz and Porter. Our built-in modifications would be desired pieces of salvage. We knew we ran the risk of encountering more of these hostile robots if we stayed in the Commonwealth. If only we had made the decision to leave."
"You couldn't have known something like this would happen." Curie offered by way of sympathy for Ada's fallen friends, although it was obvious to the entire team that this caravan should have left the commonwealth a long time ago.
Ada showed that she knew this too. "The probability of attack was high. I should have forced our departure." Ada paused, "In recompense, I will seek justice for my friends and stop these robots from causing further harm. It's time to uncover the source and confront their leader: The Mechanist."
"The Mechanist? Sounds ridiculous." Piper laughed as she came up to stand next to Nate.
"Perhaps, but the name does not change the level of threat." Ada moved to stand closer to Nate, "You have shown willingness to aid others. I ask you that you please assist me in stopping this Mechanist. In return, I can give you the schematics to build your own robot workbench, so you have additional resources in the undertaking." Ada asked.
Sarah, who had also joined the group, looked at Nate. "Having something like this new workbench would certainly bolster my claim and give me something to reward those who chose to follow me. Creating new robots will boost our presence here in the commonwealth hugely."
"But doing this will take time, can you afford to wait?" Nate responded.
"Well, Maxson isnt going anywhere." Sarah nodded her head towards the general direction of the airport. "Can I speak to you alone for a second?" She asked Nate.
"Sure," Nate responded and the two of them walked a few paces from the Robot. "I know this is a lot to ask, and I know you are already doing me a huge favour covering my ass whilst I look to take over the Brotherhood, but this … "She pointed to Ada, "could be the key to getting onto the Prydwen without a firefight."
"Ok, I am going to have ask the team about this, but that seems fine to me. What about you wandering around the commonwealth being a target for Kells whist we look for this mechanist?" Nate asked.
"Yes, well, I think I need to disappear whilst you do this, as I would only make the task harder for you, if it became known I had joined your team." Sarah looked over to Piper. "I think I need to get back to the bunker as soon as possible and lay low whilst you find this mechanist. We can keep in touch, I mean, if you can spare Piper on occasion she can come over and brief us on what is going on." Sarah broke out into a huge a smile. "What! Can't a girl have a bit of fun?"
"I have never seen Piper like this before, you have obviously put a spell on her and it is great." Nate smiled back. "I'll keep Piper, as she is a real asset in the team, but there is no reason why she can't pop up to the bunker every so often on a trade run."
"I would like that" Sarah replied. "I'm going to head to Bunker Hill and see if I can't get on one of Old man Stocktons Caravans. He is a nice chap, he might help me." Sarah looked down the road towards the monument.
"Yes, he is, but he is also a Railroad agent, so be careful what you say. Its not that the Railroad are dangerous to you guys, but just play it safe, ok?" Nate stated quietly, "Oh and I didn't tell you that."
Sarah rested her hand on Nates forearm, "You are a saviour, and I am very grateful, but this is the right thing to do."
"I get it." Nate nodded, "If we can get a stable and helpful Brotherhood, working for the people of the commonwealth, then things become a lot easier, and peace becomes a real prospect."
"Yeah, although that does seem like an unlikely prospect right now." Sarah sighed as she indicated the carnage around her.
"You going to be OK getting to Bunker Hill?" Nate asked.
"Always the protector." Sarah smiled. "I'll be fine, I've got Owen, it's just round the corner and we will keep our heads down." She reassured Nate. Sarah nodded to Owen and the two of them headed off down the road to where Piper was stood on sentry. A quick few words and a kiss from Sarah and the pair were off, Piper heading up to where the rest of the team had formed a huddle around Nate
"So, slight change of plan." Nate began. "Ada here wants to seek out and destroy a person called the Mechanist."
"The person responsible for all these robot death squads roaming the commonwealth?" Curie asked.
"Yes, and in return she will share with Sarah the plans to build a robot workbench that will greatly increase the Brotherhood's ability to use robots to do some good around here." Nate replied.
"Amen to that." Cait quipped.
"But what this means is Sarah has to lie low whilst we help Ada here. She wanted to come with us but felt her presence would be more a magnet for trouble than the benefit of an extra gun." Nate looked at his team, "But this is a change in plan and yet another mercy mission to help the citizens of the commonwealth. What do you reckon?"
"Well, we are the citizens of the commonwealth" Piper shrugged, "so I am up for helping."
"So, we are still planning on helping the Brotherhood but just a bit later, yes?" Curie asked.
"Sarah believes this Robot technology that Ada has would be a perfect bargaining chip to get an audience with Maxson without the need for a gun fight. And I don't know about you, but I am not that keen to take on the whole of the Brotherhood here in Boston, especially as it sounds like most of them would be up for a change in leadership anyway."
"But we are taking Piper away from her new girlfriend." Cait teased.
"She will only be up at the bunker," Piper smiled, "So I can see her anytime we are back home."
"Ok, so we are up for this change of plan then?" Nate checked with the team.
"It sounds like a sensible next step in preparing for a change in Brotherhood leadership." Valkyrie added, "I might be fairly new to all of this but that sounds like quite a big deal if we can pull it off."
"Getting the biggest military force in the Commonwealth on the people's side would be huge." Piper exclaimed. "We have to make this work."
"Right then," Nate said as he turned and walked up to where Ada was waiting. "We are on side and willing to help." He stated.
"I wish I had the proper vocal registry to express my gratitude. Now we last saw a group of mechanist robots heading North, just past Mystic Pines. There was a Command bot with them. If we can get close enough it may contain information that will lead us to the Mechanist. They were searching for a new radio signal that had just appeared. I overheard the leader of the band issuing orders as they went by. Thankfully we were able to stay hidden from them."
"Wait!" Cait exclaimed, "you don't think they picked up on Heathers new signal, do you?"
"Who is Heather?" Ada asked.
"A pain in the arse trader who is based up at the Wildwood Cemetery. But someone we don't want slaughtered by a bunch of crazed robots." Piper added, readying her weapon. The remainder of the group did the same.
"Vertibird?" Nate asked Cait, who nodded and ran up the road twenty yards and threw one of her signal grenades. As the team was closer to the centre of the city of Boston itself, it was only a few minutes before a Brotherhood Vertibird touched down.
Nate ran to the pilot and after shouting some instructions received a thumbs up in return and team, plus Ada, were soon loaded on board and making their way north to Heathers last known location.