Act 4 - Chapter 44: Power Surge

Psalm 22

A Little Over 1 Week Later

Narrative Continued by Nathan Porter

Part of me honestly thought it was going to suck when I was put in the scav trade, but I gotta admit that I sorta like it a little more than being in the Guard! No offense to the boys back at the barracks, or John, Parrish, Lt. Young, Carl, and all of them, but duty in one of the towers or market patrols sorta sucks or gets boring after a while. The scouts or expeditions into the wastes are always fun if not pretty tragic or frightening, but there is almost never a shortage of anything to do in Scav, so that's super nice. Plus! Despite my hand being gone, the guys and gals of the scav shops look at me like I'm a total badass… It's probably Because my hand is gone… I mean, I am still a badass, but what I mean is that I get like the best of both worlds being in scav. Like, for example, they sorta did make me the guy that holds the toolbox in those first days, but then they quickly learned that I knew how to reload ammo, so I got to actually help do that! Making ammo gets sorta tedious, but I knew that this ammo would be used by my brothers on watch or in the towers so that made it so much better… Then the thought of how I used to be one of them would make me sad as freaking hell, only for my new buddy; Finn (or Mr. Carter) to tell me how they could use me for the scouts!

I can't believe it took the loss of my hand to get a promotion to a position I thought was only one for the guards!... Not really. I did know that Scav had their own scouts. I'd actually been out there once with Paul and some of Doyle's guys when we worked with some of the scouts from Scav.

Anyway, Finn and Tara, and Leo were saying that they're usually making ammo when they aren't getting ready for a scout or aiding with some of the techs. Basically, I was added to their group not long after Carl's wedding. Those three spent the past several years learning engineering off work and other stuff to help fill in with the fellas of fuel recycling, and repair, so they were a lot more adaptable than I am, but that's cool... I sorta forgot where I was going with this, but basically, I got approved to work with the scouts by my new supervisor, Mr. Dawson… He has no idea what to think when I call him, "LT," Haha!

I still can't thank the Constable enough for letting me stay at the barracks while I work with the Scav shops. I get off every day and get to pal around with my old fellas over there, and nothing against my new friends of Scav, but the boys of the guard love me so much that I knew from the start that it'd be cruel to leave them just because I got a temporary change in my job. My mom's doing pretty well too. I got a bit of extra time to see her since the swap in trades… Perhaps I can talk about her more later, but I literally just remembered where I was going with what I was saying earlier.

So, it was probably around a week ago when me, Leo, Finn, and Tara got done with our work on the RAD scrubbing earlier than expected (That's something else I learned how to do pretty easily). After that, we were asked to help with the fellas of Battery and Power and their little project. I gravitated towards my main man, Steve, the 40-year-old gentleman who made me the hook hand when I helped him during his work with the restoration team a few weeks back. He's so cool. Anyway, I learned he worked with battery and power units for the first half of the day, and I nearly crapped myself when I remembered and saw firsthand what they were working on.

Steve and his team had come across some schematics a while back from a scrap merchant in the market around a year or two back that piqued their interest. The Battery and Power team just managed to get all the parts, finish assembling the thing, and then got it wired up to the fusion generator on this side of town. When me and the part-time scouts joined the Battery and Power team, they really just needed some extra hands to help lift the thing onto a little wheeled platform… I had to sit out on that because I couldn't get a grip on it with my hook, but when the lifting was done, Steve and his group powered it on. I had no idea what their new contraption was at first glance, but then it started humming, and Steve shook the hands of everyone in his team and everyone there for the little Christening saying aloud;

"Congratulations everyone! We have us a working FC recharger system!"

That's right! I remembered what the Constable told me before I was discharged from Dr. Franklin's clinic, the whole reason I was excited to go to Scav in the first place;

"I got you a job in Scav. They're setting up an FC Recharger system they found recently, so you can at least hold the toolbox for them while you wait for a new han-"

I kinda forgot about that with all that was going on, getting a new hook hand, Carl's wedding, holding the toolbox for the other mechanic teams, making ammo, and decontaminating toasters brought in from the fetch teams.

The fusion core recharger system was a pretty stupid-looking thing, a heavy metal little pillar with God only knows what sort of circuitry inside, a tube for I think Steve said "two" prewar nuclear fusion batteries and a big bicycle wheel-looking thing connected to the top that spun when the power was on… After the initial test, Steve shut the thing off, and that girl on Steve's team "Naomi" (who was actually super cute to be such a power dork) came over with one of the FC batteries. Steve placed the FC in the machine's tube thing and tested it again. We all stood by for probably like a couple of minutes, and then Steve said we got 1% on the little monitor thing they installed.

This all might not seem like that big of a deal, but it really was. That's sorta why I decided to write about it at all. It was true that New Canaan had a power system that came from two miniature nuclear generators beneath the two most power needing (power requiring?) parts of town, the Northeast and Southeast quadrants of town. Most of the shops and trades were in those parts of town, and although the center and temple were powered as well, construction lacked the resources to properly power the homes that were far more numerous in the Northwest and Southwest quadrants. Because of this, almost all of the homes were powered by little generators made by the Battery and Power team of Scav that used microfusion cells we'd have to trade for with outsiders.

It was true that one of those generators with 10 full microfusion cells could adequately heat a handful of homes for at least a couple of months of winter, and it was also true that most family homes were still lit by the oil lanterns that illuminated the streets of town and market. BUT with the construction of the FC recharger, those little generators might be a thing of the past. If what Steve and his team said after their cheers were true, we could power all the homes across town with just a few FCs per quadrant for all of the cold months and then recharge them in the summers. Not to mention how the microfusion cell-powered generators can be sold or donated to the tribes and create a boom of prosperity throughout the region!

But the coming golden age is not the reason I decided to write in my journal for the first time in a while!... But is "write" the right word? Honestly, if it wasn't for the scav shop letting out earlier than the guard's day shift some days, and if it wasn't for my time working with mom at the east end library when I was a kid, I wouldn't have such awesome terminal typing abilities. Thanks to that, any of my descendants reading this in the community archives can actually read about how awesome I am instead of think this is something I wrote when I was a four-year-old... Suppose the extra free time is another reason why scav isn't all bad... Sorta remembered the terminals at the library have printers like the day after I had Paul help me write my first letter to Alyana since the hand ordeal... I'm probably going to keep having him write the letters to Alyana till Steve can fix up the pencil holder since he has really nice handwriting, and making my LT transcribe my thoughts makes me feel like a romantic of sorts... and like I have some authority over him Ha!

Anyway, back to what I was saying, the main reason I decided to "write" is due to what happened because of the FC recharger, and how it directly affected everyone's favorite guy: Me.

By the end of the day, the Constable heard news of the FC recharger test, and the battery they tested was at 83% (or something). Steve and his team were speaking with the Elders about the possibilities of what the new power tool meant, and I was just getting ready to go back to the barracks when I got to talk to the big teddy bear. I told him how the sole reason I was sent to Scav in the first place was accomplished and I am ready to take over his position as Constable now, he called me an idiot, my feelings got hurt, and then he told me to stand by.

After he was done with his overly long chat with Steve and the Elders, the big fella approached me once more and said for me to tell my new pal Finn to get some gear together after I check in with Mr. Dawson tomorrow morning. He said he wanted me to lead my buddy, Finn of the Scav scouts, that Cindy gal who works in the Scrap Mechanics shop, and Naomi of Battery and Power over to his office in the barracks first thing. He almost told me to fetch someone else from Battery and Power at the face I made when he said "Naomi." But, he didn't, then he left to go tell my super, Mr. Dawson, about the situation, and I went to join my pals at the barracks for the rest of the night.

I suppose there's more I could say, but that next day, I led Mr. Carter or Finn, Cindy the mechanic girl, and that spicy little Naomi over to the barracks. The Guard had just finished morning muster from the looks of things, and we headed inside, passing the boys of the day shift during the weapons issue. Cindy and Naomi took my advice and covered their ears before entering the barracks so as to avoid all the boys' non-biblical words for the first two gals to enter the "single men's home" in probably a year or two.

Anyhoo, on the top floor, the girls uncovered their ears, and just outside the Constable's office, the big man stood in the doorway speaking to my boy Salgado and Mr. Nelson of Lt. Roth's detachment… After joining their chat, the Constable said that the task he needed us to take part in required a very small team. He said that he only selected me, Salgado, Nelson, and Cindy the tech because we were some of the very select few to have any experience with the secretive nature of the assignment he had in mind. I had a fairly good idea what this was about until the Constable mentioned Cindy was in on the assignment as well. I'm pretty sure Cindy herself was confused by this also. The Constable paused and asked Finn and Naomi to give their oath of promise to secrecy for this assignment. The look in Cindy's eyes said she must have had to speak with the Constable recently about this as well after returning from the place somewhat recently.

Either way, Finn and Naomi raised their hands and promised before God and the Constable that they would not share any of what they were about to hear with anyone. Then the Constable explained that Mr. Salgado and Nelson were going to lead us out to a place that only a select few in the Constable's Guard and even fewer in trades like Scav knew about beyond the walls, our community's armory beneath the ruins of the old National Guard installation at Spanish Fork. Naomi and Finn grew somewhat fearful looks, having no idea what Spanish Fork was, Salgado and Nelson were curious about why some techs were coming with, and it was only me whose jaw dropped open at the realization of what we were going to fetch from there!

Constable Hanshaw handed Salgado one of the three special keycards, made some notes in a log, and told us all to get some gear and head out no later than noon of that very day.

"If you set out then, you'll be there by dark, which is perfect… They got some sleeping bags and cots there, so just get some day packs, set out at noon, take to the wastes as soon as you pass Provo, crash at the armory, and head back first thing in the morning if possible… And Nathan, you take this…. You six stay safe. Please."

The Constable handed me a small stack of folders that I immediately put in the field pack I checked out earlier. Constable Hanshaw didn't have to tell me to know that the folder contained the orders for Finn, Cindy, and Naomi. After that, Hanshaw had me come into his office, he shut the door, turned me around, and shoved something into the bottom of my pack that I almost immediately forgot about the second we stepped back out of the office. Then we all headed downstairs.

Finn had a backpack with him, just like I told him to fetch before I rounded up Naomi and Cindy, so the rest of the morning was spent getting some gear for the road and field packs. There at the barracks west-end armory, Cindy and Naomi were given basic .45 pistols as customary for any group of any sect or trade that was leaving the walls. Finn, being a scav scout, was experienced with the semi-auto .308s, so he was given one of those. Salgado and Nelson already had their issued .45 submachine guns, while I was able to sweet talk Lenny Graff into giving me one of the 10mm SMGs with an additional two drums… only to further demonstrate to Naomi that I was far cooler than Salgado. Then, by noon, we headed out.

Finn and the gals were curious what we were going to get from this mysterious Spanish Fork place, and so were the guards. Mr. Salgado and Nelson knew not to ask about the orders, but Cindy and the others did before we told them that discussion was out of the question. I only told them that they would get their orders when we were securely inside the bunker as per custom.

It was probably the secretive nature of this half-day trek that made Finn and the girls quiet, but after a few hours, it was the late afternoon, and the sun was lower in the west when we had just passed the scaver community at Provo. I remembered passing Provo on the stretcher on return from the Sevieri job, and there really was no better sight than seeing the second biggest community in New Canaan's jurisdiction. It was true that the wastes between Provo and the market or gates of New Canaan had their own dangers, mostly in the way of mutated creatures, but knowing you had reached Provo pretty much meant that you were already home during any return trip from the wastes. Cindy, Finn, and Naomi came to Provo for trade with their scavers several times a year, so they all wanted to stop, but me and Salgado and Nelson (mostly me) kept us moving.

Two or so hours after leaving Provo, we were in the wasteland far off the main roads taking a nice break waiting for the sun to lower even more and the stream of travelers on the road to thin. The fence and half-buried depot sat as an abandoned ruin nobody would look twice at about a mile and a half to the west. I could just barely see the little concrete building that marked the armory before the sun disappeared.

We waited just a little longer for it to get only a tad darker and for that long trade caravan to pass and we continued our chat. Throughout our wait, we passed the time chatting lowly, and Cindy asked for the orders again, and I again had to tell her that I couldn't give them till we were inside. Cindy was a 35-year-old woman with two kids of her own, so I failed to understand why she didn't have more patience about that. If we hadn't happened to pass Cindy's husband in the streets after getting the field pack issue, and if she hadn't told him that she was assigned to a special guard assignment, I would have worried about who was taking care of her kids. Anyway, Salgado on the other hand was making me internally furious when he was fawning all over Naomi with words about how much he enjoyed dancing with her at Carl and Jessica's wedding… they really were remarkable on that dance floor, but then I started making Salgado furious when Naomi started fawning all over me at how, "adorable I was, dancing with that little girl."

I told Naomi that the little girl was my old Lieutenant's daughter, Hannah, and that I was basically a big brother to Lieutenant Young's kids, and everyone in the guard who was younger than me. I knew I was beating Salgado when I saw the face Naomi made as I told her that I really wanted to ask her to dance at the wedding, but just couldn't find the words because of how stunningly beautiful she was in that striped dress and the way she wore her long brown hair… But then Mr. Nelson betrayed me when both he and Salgado asked me simultaneously; "How's Alyana by the way?"

I explained to Naomi that Alyana Mituskrona'ka'na is merely a beautiful tribal woman who will always have a special place in my heart… which is true… but Nelson and seemingly Finn and Cindy had enough of this whole thing when Nelson stood with those optics to his eyes saying;

"It looks clear now. Come on."

I'll only explain what happened in there by explaining the orders of the techs.

After it was dark, after the moon was high, after the trek past the rows of time-buried army trucks, after stepping up to that concrete bunker, after Salgado used the special card on the terminal, after the heavy blast-proof doors creaked open, after the door closed behind us, after stepping down the winding stairs, and after pulling open the heavy steel door, we stepped into the armory. The lights turned on, and I felt myself give those four suits of T-45D powered infantry armor a little wink. Entering that armory was always something else, but past the bays full of crates of rifles, handguns, magazines, submachine guns, and more ammo than we could count, those four suits at the far end were the prize. I kept our group in place as I removed the orders from my pack.

Any individual orders for people sent to the armory were "for their eyes only" but I still asked Finn and the tech girls about it. They studied their Constable written and elder-approved orders for a minute, Cindy saying she was basically supposed to ensure that suits 2 and 3 were operational, noting that the last work done to them by any mechanics was in May of 77 or something. She added that she was supposed to perform additional checks on all, note any faulty systems in the suits, and make projections on what suits 1 and 4 need to function.

Finn said he was supposed to work with Cindy and Naomi to make additional and backup logs of any errors or faults in the systems, note anything that may be in need of repairs, and compile a list of tools and parts to reference before the next team is sent here.

Then Naomi said she was essentially supposed to run diagnostics on the power systems of suits 2 and 3. She was supposed to install a fusion core and run the gauge to test the power consumption for user operation of suit 2 specifically, and log all results for a minimum of two hours…

Naomi was just about to ask something when Finn reached the back of his thick orders folder and pulled out a slim folder, handing it to me saying, "Looks like your orders got mixed in there with mine,"

I took the folder, not thinking I would be given any sort of orders when I spoke to the Constable (given the fact that my technical skills so far since joining Scav consisted only of toolbox holding and ammo reloading). I opened the folder, ignored the smirking and rude comments from Salgado and Nelson about the size of my folder, and learned how true the phrase, "Size doesn't matter," is when I read the lone paper inside:

"To : Nathaniel Porter
From : Constable Obadiah Hanshaw

You are to enter Suit 2. I have provided you with a Fusion Core. The last techs to work on those suits have left the manuals in the stack of documents atop the tool chests. !YOU MUST READ THE PROVIDED MANUALS! before you do anything inside the armor. Answer the questions from the two techs HONESTLY (and without sarcasm or any form of euphemism) while you are inside the suit. Wear the suit back home on your return trip. Make note of any and ALL potential problems with the suit's operation after you get a feel for maneuvering around in Suit 2.

I know you may be inclined to run back home in the suit, but remaining with your group is non-negotiable. I am putting a lot of trust in you, son. Please, for the love of God, don't let me down or let this permission get to your head.

I am giving you, Nathaniel Porter, this sole responsibility and permission with one caveat :

…"

I felt the grin nearly break my face in half as I met eyes with Salgado and Nelson, the boys probably wondering what could have possibly been oh so tasty and good on that one little sheet of paper. Not wanting to frighten her off, the smile left my face immediately when Naomi looked up from her papers and asked the team in that lovely little voice of hers;

"It looks like we forgot to bring a battery with us."

Naomi met eyes with everyone briefly, but just then, I remembered the Constable stuffing something into my pack as I reached into my pack for the FC when I read the last part of my orders:

"…

*VERY IMPORTANT*

Note : If your hook hand is incompatible with suit operation, you are to hand the suit and the orders over to Salgado and Nelson. I need an accurate test of all the systems' functions, and that cannot happen if you can't even move the right arm or hand within Suit 2.

Salgado will take charge of the suit for testing and basic functions within the armory.

Nelson will be trained on operation first thing in the morning before return. Nelson will lead the group's return trip. (It is imperative that one who is able to control all functions of the armor be in command of it during any time in the wasteland.)

This armor is intended to be used by scouts and only those most reputable in the guard when we have the complete stock within the walls. New Canaan's T-45D armor is intended to be shared."

Split control of the suit?... With those two?... If some little tech thing doesn't work?... Yeah right.

My hand found just what I expected at the bottom of my pack, my fingers gliding delicately across the smooth rounded top before curling around it's thick and girthy yellow metal casing. I met eyes with Naomi briefly. She extended a hand, the look in her eyes said she didn't "want" it, she "needed it," bad. She asked,

"You going to give it to me, Nathan?"

Yeah I was.

But knowing exactly what I was going to get to do, I found it more fitting to meet eyes with Salgado and Nelson first. I can't even explain how satisfying it was to see the smirk on Salgado's face at my tiny orders disappear as I slipped that long thick nuclear fusion battery out and slapped it into Naomi's delicate hands. She felt the weight of it, saying, "Wow, it's heavier than I thought," and I noticed that pretty little brunette 20-something couldn't even wrap her fingers all the way around it. I gave the boys a wink, and you can bet that they watched when she stuck it in her… suit of power armor.

You can bet that they watched when I gave it a firm push till it was deep inside, till that hole was completely filled... with a nuclear battery.

And you can bet they watched when I entered her… suit of power armor.

I'll repent about that later.

I really gotta get married as soon as possible.

Anyway, what happened after that was one of the best moments of my life.

I don't believe I could be held responsible for ignoring one part of the Constable's orders. It turns out that my right hand (or lack thereof) made part of the suit's systems not functional. Cindy said there might be workarounds for that, but she was a specialist in mechanics and comms equipment, saying that she would have to run the situation by the fellas of Data Recovery or the tech shop. Basically, I could move around in the thing, but the right arm of the suit hung limp, I guess because there was no hand for the suit to interface with.

Actually, make that "Two" of the Constable's orders I sorta subverted (there were probably more)… I forgot to read the manuals before entering Suit 2. But that's what Salgado was for. I had him hold up the manuals to the visor while Naomi plugged me into the rolling little diagnostics cart thing and ran her systems checks. That required me to stay in place, so it all worked out.

Honestly, as the only person in New Canaan history to have both had sex and been in a full suit of old-world powered infantry armor, being in a full suit of T-45D armor was a lot better than sex. Or at least made me feel more powerful… Then again, it had been a while since I was last with Alyana, so I may not be the best judge of that sort of thing.

Anyway, I could go on about our time at the bunker. I could go on about what Cindy, Finn, and Naomi had to do for the other suits. What they checked on Suits 1 and 4, what they fixed, or what they wrote for the next team to fix. I could talk about how I learned how to walk in the suit, how much fun it was to chase Salgado and Nelson around the bunker while the techs worked, I could talk about where we found the sleeping bags, how our sleep was, what we had for breakfast, etc, but I think it's more fun to talk about the look on the faces of those at the gate stations and the looks I got in the market when I walked up to them that next day around noon.

As I stood there waiting for the gates to lower with the team behind me and dozens of people from the wastes surrounding me, I tried to strike up a heroic pose. I was going for the hands on the hips while I looked off into the distance, but I again could only move one arm, so I probably looked more like a woman giving her man the cold shoulder than anything. I decided to drop that immediately anyway, instead looking to the faces of Paul, Carl, Rhynes, Hansley, Savitt, Doyle and his boys, and the Constable who must've been awaiting our arrival.

More wasters gathered around the 8-foot-tall marvel in the black-plated armor (Me), almost seeing the mouths of the boys behind the barricade water at the sight of the gorgeous white crosses on the shoulders and on the front of the chest plate.

I was wrong, this was Totally better than sex.

Seeing Don Hansley stutter almost like he was talking to a pretty girl, the kiddo glanced at the Constable and back at me, asking, "That's Nathan in there?"

I spoke, hearing the voice emitter click on inside the helmet, "Fear not, citizen! For 'The Crusader of Steel' is here!"

The men behind the sandbags raised hands to their ears when I spoke, and I assume the wasters of the market did too (I couldn't say for sure though since the peripherals in the helmet weren't great). Hearing some of the kids around me laugh, I heard the Constable say, "You need to turn down the voice emitter, Nathan" as I looked towards the ground, not wanting to step on any kids when I started moving. Doyle gestured to Lockwood to go start the gate-opening process and I answered the Constable;

"Sorry Chief. Emitter volume was fine until Salgado and Nelson hit something when we were wrestling… I mean, when I accidentally hit some setting… couldn't find the page to fix it in the manual."

I tossed Constable Hanshaw one of the spare manuals, saw the boys behind the sandbags holding back grins, and glanced back to see Salgado and Nelson trying not to blush. Seeing the techs shaking their heads looking supremely embarrassed, Naomi was the only one trying not to laugh at the memory of how much fun me and the boys had while she and the techs worked on the other suits.

After a moment, the Constable stepped towards me, saying, "Either way, welcome back home. Thanks for doing this quick fetch run."

Looking straight through the tinted visor and into my eyes, almost at eye level with me, I was about to comment on how tall he was again or ask who was going to wear the armor since I doubted he'd be able to fit in it when he extended his right hand…

I tried to mentally command the suit to work, but again, I couldn't raise my right arm or hand.

"I can't shake your hand, Constable… I wouldn't want to break your hand. This thing's grip is super strong."

The gate began to lower, and the Constable smirked, "That's what I thought…" seeing right past my diversion, he looked to Naomi and Cindy, "… Sorry girls, Nathan here was supposed to let someone else operate the suit if he couldn't work both arms, I may need you to stay a bit longer today to test them out…" Looking at Salgado and Nelson, "… You two follow us as well. Nathan was supposed to hand over control of the suit to you boys if he couldn't fully operate it…"

I was a little too ashamed to look at Salgado and Nelson, but I knew when they got in it later they'd understand why I did what I did. Still, that didn't stop the Constable from adding to me with that disappointment every former or current guardsman dreaded;

"… You've always been so good at following some orders while forgetting others," and then the gate crashed to the ground.

The wasters around us gradually dispersed, I followed the Constable inside, feeling the disappointed gazes of Salgado and Nelson even through the thick steel of the armor, and hearing the muffled laughter of the techs as we reentered town.

All I could do along the walk back to the scav shops was remind the Constable that it was his own fault since he knows me so well and should have given Salgado and Nelson their own orders.

Anyway, what a day that was.

1 Week Later

Things have been pretty good since that power armor job at Spanish Fork. Salgado and Nelson got to have their time in the armor, so they weren't too pissed at me afterward. I think the Constable is going to be more clear with orders in the future though. Or at least permit the sharing of orders regarding the Spanish Fork armory within the bunker. Or something.

Anyway, I had not been in the armor since. Steve and the team of Battery and Power keep the recharged fusion cores under lock and key somewhere. That, and stealing one of them for a little jog around town in that beautiful T-45 Suit 2 would be a surefire way of getting put in front of the Elders for a temporary exile tribunal.

The short time I spent in that sexy new armor though has sorta revived my desire to get back into the ranks of the guard though. That's sorta why I'm writing again.

I finally had my chance to speak to the traders of Vault City who arrived just the other day.

After talking to my supervisor, Mr. Dawson, the Constable gave me the day off to meet with those traders. The doc they brought was nice enough, did all the measurements, took samples of my DNA, and told me again how it would most likely be another 5 or so months before he'd be able to return here for the prosthetics procedure. The guy wasn't clear about all that involved, but it took his team about a month just to get here from the far west, took another couple months to grow the cells in their fancy labs and whatnot, then another month back. He said the price for doing the whole thing, including the installment/surgery upon return was going to be around 1,000 caps. I whipped out my bag of donations the Constable gave me earlier, and gave the man 40 of our community's pure silver little coins, telling him "half up front, half when he returns for the procedure." The man's jaw dropped, and I gave him an extra couple for travel expenses. He assured me he'd be back our way as soon as possible, still looking wowed from holding so much pure silver.

He must not have done much business with New Canaanites. I guess that makes sense since our folks usually get seen by Dr. Stepp inside or sometimes Doctor Franklin outside.

Speaking of which, the old Vault City doctor man in the heavy coat and dusty blue suit asked me if Dr. Franklin was single, haha! I said "I think so," but didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't sure he was the 50-something doctor woman's type. Anyway, he changed his stall's sign to "closed," and sauntered off towards the clinic, probably to go flirt with Dr. Franklin, and I headed off towards the barricades to return the remaining donations and give every man of the guard a big hug.

I still had the rest of the day off from Scav, so after returning the remaining donations to the Constable, after hugging several of the day shift boys on patrol in the most embarrassing way possible, I took the time to get some stuff done. Having just returned from dropping off my third or fourth letter to Alyana since the wedding, and after having a little chat with the passing courier working for our guys at the post shack near the edge of the market, I spent most of the day with Lt. Paul and the boys at the gate station.

Paul and some of the others were in the middle of a chat about something that was clearly troubling him a bit more than John or Rhynes. I didn't catch all of it, but Paul mentioned how nobody has heard anything about what happened to some group of mercenaries that the NCR Trade Boss sent around the north. This was the first I heard about this, but it was easy to gather that the Trade Boss sent some group of toughs to try and push through the White Leg presence around that area or something. I sorta tuned out for a bit, more wondering what route that Vault City doctor took to get here. Or more importantly, what route he'd take to get back home… Or even more importantly, what route he'd take to get back here to install my new hand.

I tried to keep one eye on the entrance to Doctor Franklin's clinic while I was with the boys. It would have been a pretty good idea to tell him the routes around the north GSL were still really dangerous if Leonard's mercs were taken out recently.

I tuned back in when Paul said there was still a chance that the Trade Boss's group was fine, and perhaps Leonard just hadn't given the guard any updates. That would've been very in-character for that guy. Either way, John mentioned the group of mercs set out around two weeks ago, maybe a day or two after Carl's wedding. Lt. Young mentioned being a bit worried about that tribal stranger with the dreadlocks and trench coat who was supposedly on that expedition.

That's right. I'd almost forgotten about that guy. I remembered seeing him, I think the day before I moved to Scav, but I completely forgot to tell him about Jesus… I was pretty busy with the new guys.

It definitely felt like Paul was a little more worried about the fact that the disappearance of Leonard's mercs would mean that he'd likely be put on a scout to investigate. Paul even mentioned such a worry. Rhynes asked why that was an issue for Paul, and my old LT said he recently promised his family he'd be staying close to home since returning from the Sevieri expedition. I said it sounded like a quick job if he ended up having to go investigate, and mentioned that I can have a chat with his family to explain things if he wanted. His precise words were;

"Please don't."

And my precise words were;

"Your loss. I'm super persuasive."

In the end, everyone including Paul had to agree when Carl said;

"No use worrying about it now. Nothing to do but wait to hear something from Leonard."

We went on to chat about other things, most notably, the situation with the new guys. I'd heard about that a few days ago. It was a real shame that we spent those several weeks giving them all that training only for the big chief to tell them that they'd only be part-timers. Apparently, it had been a few decades since we had part-time guards, but thinking about it now, I think it was for the best. We'd given all those "conscripts" so to speak, the best training we could, but there simply weren't enough LTs able to conduct adequate training in the wilderness. I think Canady and Herbein had the newest guards trained to fill their ranks before Constable Hanshaw did the big conscription a few months back. Before them though, the newest guards were probably Licus, Granger, Pat, and Hansley… and Graham I guess.

Still, I agreed with the majority in that all the guys we'd been training in the recent weeks were best suited to return to their trades before the conscription and be given orders to fill in whenever any of the full-time guards were out in the wastes. Honestly, that seemed like such a good idea that I sorta started wondering why we hadn't had a system like that before. Now that I think of it; I should ask the Constable if I can serve as a part-time guard! My hook may not make me good for carrying a rifle out there in the wastes, but I can certainly do market patrols with it and lead the new guys.

Note to Nathan/Me: Ask Constable about serving in the part-time guard. He might even let you be a lieutenant of the reserve guard! Ask him about that too. Don't forget!

Anyway, there's not much more to say. While I was with the boys at the barricade, I definitely made a point to thank Paul for writing out my most recent letter to Alyana. I'd sent quite a few to her in the past few weeks since he offered at the wedding. Even though I've been capable of typing and writing out things at the east end library, I haven't been able to bring myself to "Type" a letter to her since we've been exchanging handwritten letters for years. I don't think she'll notice the difference between my handwriting and Paul's, or Clay's (I had Clay write one.. I won't make that mistake again.)... I actually don't even think I've mentioned losing my hand in any of the letters.

I'm still waiting to hear back from her, but that's normal since it always takes between two and three weeks to hear anything from her. Suppose I'll find out all that I told her when I get her response! Anyhoo, I mentioned this situation with my darling Alyana to the boys at the sandbags and I got to talking about the courier I chatted with just before joining my pals by the gate station. There wasn't a whole lot to say about that, however.

That courier seemed like an alright guy. A bit gloomy though. Guy said something about how he was still pretty upset about accidentally harming a community he held dear or something. I agreed it was probably best for him to do a bit of courier work to clear his head a bit. He seemed sorta eager to hit the road since he'd been in the market for a few days, but I suggested he return here if he wanted to chat about his troubles (after he drops off my letter of course). Guy said he'd consider it, but likely wouldn't be the courier to return with Alyana's letter (I sorta chatted about her a bit more than I probably should have). He was somewhat familiar with lower Utah but admitted that he was eager to return back to the west and NCR. The man said something about just getting a lead on some jobs in NCR territory that he had a perfect in on thanks to some of the other runners at the NCR trade post. Word is, some fella in New Vegas is planning on having some special tech shipped to him from inside NCR territory. Provided he gets back to NCR in the next couple months, he'd be a prime candidate for the job that is supposedly pretty lucrative. He did say that he'd try to make his way back up here in the next year or so, provided he doesn't get a bullet in the head. We shared a nice laugh at that, such a thing was surprisingly common, especially in the Utah wilderness as well as Mojave wasteland he'd be passing through. It was just nice making a fella as blue as that courier smile.

Anyhoo, I shook the courier's hand, told him I'd pray for safe travels (especially to make it to Alyana's village), and he left with a grin. Some of the guys mentioned other interesting couriers or wanderers we'd met at the postal shack in the past years, or ones we'd met since the NCR trade post was established. Paul mentioned meeting with that dreadlocked guy with the freaky eyes one last time before he set out with the NCR mercs nearly two weeks back, and told us how that guy also said he did courier jobs from time to time. Before we could ask, Paul mentioned something about how gloomy couriers seems to be the fashion these days, and I was going to agree, but then remembered I never met that Ulysses character, so I wasn't one to speak on the matter.

I totally forgot to ask the guy I met for his name, but that was fine. I'll bet I can make that Ulysses fella with the creepy eyes laugh or smile since Paul evidently failed, Ha!... If he and the other NCR contracted mercs survive that trip out through White Leg territory of course.

I also totally forgot to warn the Vault City doc about the dangers of going through the north GSL after he was done visiting with Doctor Franklin. He probably already knew that though, those VC traders are pretty smart if not a bit stuck up sometimes. I'd just have to add that to my list of prayers to the Big Man.

I'm never really super sure how to end a journal entry, but might write again when I get Alyana's responses or something. Definitely when I get my new hand! Or if I get to help with the rest of the power armor...

Oh yeah! That reminds me. I ran into the Constable on my way back into town after I was done palling around with the boys at the gate. He said he might send me out again to get some of the other suits after those techs he sends finish up their work on the other three. He said he's still figuring out which techs to send and he's still waiting for the Elders' approval. He won't need me for the tech work, but when they're done, I am one of only three people to have power armor operating experience in all of New Canaan history, so I'm sort of a huge deal in this matter.

I wonder if Alyana even knows what power armor even is? I was talking all about that in my last two letters... Sorta wish that courier didn't leave so quickly.