"The power armor is doing well with the tests, madam!" Hal says as it moves around the shack the two found somewhere near a settlement after traveling over the uneven and unforgiving terrain.
Testing its effectiveness against the likes of mutant insects and animals, the power armor certainly lived up to the hype around it.
Didn't want to garner unwanted attention, the only knock against the power armor, so the two stayed on off-beaten paths, and took long ways around into Tennessee.
"Now, I see why those idiots want one!" Mal comments how the power armor was much more comfortable than she expected after spending hours going over the terrain reaching the shack.
Attentively checking the power armor's levels, Hal chirps that despite what Mal put it through, the power armor remains in optimal condition.
"Well, we're not picking fights with a brown bear, Hal," Mal pointed out how they learnt the limitations of the power armor through the remains found.
Acknowledging this with a trill, Hal believed that with the modifications and upgrades, the power armor can handle brown bears, now.
"I don't want to test my luck," Mal sighs as she stretches out her arms after being in the power armor for hours.
Running a hand through her wild hair, Mal yawns as she moves around the shack while assessing their situation.
Hal said the signal was still moving west, stopping periodically, and if they kept up the pace, they will be in the approximately of the signal.
"Are you certain this is what you want, madam?" Hal inquisitively asks.
Dabbing a wet rag under her sweat latent amber eyes, Mal asserts, "Didn't come this far for nothing, Hal."
Acknowledging this, Hal watches with its eyes as Mal takes a spot in the shack as she relaxes for the moment.
"Madam, if I may, you have been unusually tense since we set out on this adventure of ours, are you okay?" Hal inquisitively asks her.
Rubbing her left forearm, Mal asserts, "I will be, Hal."
It's a matter of time.
All they needed to be follow the signal.
"Well, since we're here, should we stop off for supplies?" Hal asks her.
Pulling on her leather coat as she stands up, Mal responds with, "How much caps do we have?"
Counting to itself, Hal summarizes, "Oh, roughly ten thousand and nine hundred caps, madam."
Nodding, Mal sighs, "I need a drink, how about an oil can on me, Hal?"
Twirling, Hal exclaims, "Oh, thank you, madam!"
It stops as it asks, "Hm, what about the power armor, though?"
Couldn't exactly take it into the settlement, it might cause an uproar.
"Don't worry, Hal, I got it covered. Anyone tries anything, this thing will give them a bad day," Mal assures the worried Mr. Handy how she plans on everything.
With everything accounted for, the power armor powered and locked down, the two ventured out of the shack.
Guiding her, Hal floats over the uneven terrain as its eyes remain hyper-focused on any threats.
It said that the settlement nearby was called Albion and that it would have what they need to refresh themselves for the next haul.
"Hm, though I do wonder how the power armor fares in mud," Hal notices blip on its radar for more storms coming through the state within a few days' time.
Walking alongside it, Mal remained optimistic that the power armor would handle muddy roads easily.
Mud pits might be a different story with the weight, but that's par course with anything, really.
"Well, have to try everything, right?" Hal shrugs with its multiple arms.
Arriving in Albion, they see it as a thriving settlement that didn't have too much of a problem, and the sight of Hal drew curious eyes towards it as it floats close to Mal as they find their respected drinks.
Found a mechanical shop and Mal bought Hal a can of premium oil.
The mechanic on hand was marveling at Hal as he commented how he never saw a working Mr. Handy in that shape.
"I have been working out!" Hal resonates as it twirls.
Leaving with the premium oil and Hal drinking it as it held the can with two hands with a twisty straw, the two moved towards a bar where it looked to be the place for a good drink.
Entering it, the two instantly have eyes on them as they went through the bar up to the counter.
A ghoul bartender with curiosity in his dark eyes' whistles at the sight.
"Damn, here I thought these things were gone!" Grissom comments.
Casually shrugging, Mal responds with, "Greatly exaggerated."
Chortling, Grissom recalls the robots during his time, how helpful they were helping him load his trucks, and the whimsical feeling dissipates as he notes that there weren't many working robots left since then.
"Well, this one's a different story," Mal sat at the bar with intent on getting a bottle of bourbon.
Hal chirps, "My madam is often too modest for her own good!"
Getting her a bottle of bourbon, Grissom notes that Mal isn't someone he seen before.
"Just drifting through," Mal simply says as she drinks from the bottle.
Sipping on its premium oil, Hal stays close to Mal's side until she finishes her bourbon and departs with it from the bar.
Couldn't drink all day, they needed to get supplies.
With Hal following her, she went around grabbing what they needed, and upon finishing the list, they left for the shack with the supplies, where Hal stops Mal from going towards the shack as it notices something off.
Going forward, Hal spots fresh blood on the door as it quickly switches modes.
"Madam, stay behind me!" Hal orders Mal as it investigates.
Floating forward, Hal uses one of its hands to open the door as it screams a curse in French, only for someone to scream back, "Please! Don't shoot me!"
Instantly recognizing the voice, Hal lowers its guns as it exasperated, "Madam, it's Harold!"
Going forward, Mal enters the shack and sees Harold with spent stimpaks beside him as he looked bruised and weathered while the stimpaks began their effects on him.
"What the hell happened to you?" Mal questions him.
Coughing, Harold struggles as he says, "They got Rose!"
Eying him, Mal questioned him with, "Who?"
Once more he coughs before Harold explains how a group of people kidnapped Rose wearing antebellum clothing despite his attempts stopping them.
"We don't have much time; they could be anywhere!" Harold gestures.
Gritting her teeth, Mal points out, "I didn't agree to anything, bud."
Didn't need to explain anything more about how she warned Rose the dangers of the Wasteland, before Harold shouts, "You've got a bounty on you!"
Rousing, Mal echoes, "A bounty?"
Nodding, Harold states how he and Rose were captured by the bounty hunter and how he had a picture of Mal.
Concerned, Hal wonders if they overlooked a raider during their daily razing, before Mal points out the raiders wouldn't have the caps to pay a bounty hunter much less a bounty hunter willing to take bounties from them.
"Whoever put one on you wants over three-hundred thousand caps for your retrieval!" Harold stresses.
Listening to him, Mal grew quiet as Hal questions the bounty.
"I got away from him, but if he found us. He'll find you, too!" Harold warns.
Getting closer to him, Mal points out that she can handle herself and she has Hal has backup if she needs help.
"He won't go down easily," Harold further warns her.
Crossing her arms, Mal questions him with, "What're you angling?"
Quickly gesturing, Harold stresses, "You have a bounty on your head, and we need to find Rose!"
The moment he brought up that Mal wasn't the only bounty the bounty hunter was after, Harold stopped as something he said about the second bounty resonates with her.
"Antebellum?" Mal's tone of voice changes.
Nodding, Harold then describes what they were doing and how a super mutant was seemingly affected, too.
"A super mutant in Tennessee?" Hal grew quizzical.
Didn't expect that twist in the story.
"Yes, it was terrible!" Harold coughs.
Groaning, Hal laments, "And here I thought the raiders were dreadful!"
Chewing on her inner lip, Mal wanted to know where this happened, and when Harold told her, she only said, "They're going east."
Blinking, Harold asks, "What's in the east?"
Mal never answers him.
Instead, she asks if Harold was able to move.
Nodding, Harold got up from his spot as he rubbed his face with a wet rag.
"Hal, how long will it take?" Mal turns her head towards the Mr. Handy.
Calculating, Hal gives the length and time, and Mal chews on her lip before begrudgingly saying to Harold, "You owe me."
Exhaling, Harold thanks her for the reconsideration, before he notices a look in her amber eye.
"How do you know what a power armor is?" Mal got to the point.
No one would easily pass up the opportunity of taking a power armor seemingly left behind in a shack.
Or the opportunity to strip it for parts.
Harold was too unusually calm for someone who should be surprised and in awestruck at the sight of a functioning power armor.
Harold sheepishly remarks, "Most people do!"
Shaking her head, Mal demanded to know why Harold decided to pick the shack instead of trudging back to Albion unless he got an inkling that the power armor was inside it.
Pointing out that he was in a rough shape as he explains how he needed shelter and didn't look too closely until he rummaged through the shack for stimpaks, Harold could see the disbelief in Mal's amber eyes.
"If I tell you, would you believe me?" Harold exhales.
Crossing her arms again, Mal states, "It couldn't hurt your chances."
Their conversation was stopped when Hal got involved in their conversation by warning them how the bounty hunter would come back to Albion as a logical step in reclaiming Harold if what he said is true.