Chapter Text
It was afternoon and the air was muggy. The desert landscape once lived better days, just as the captives, who were enslaved at the canyon, surrounded by large rocks.
This people, or according to others: zombies, who were named officially ghouls, were standing next to each other.
The men and women, who’s only fault was that their skin was rotting alive. Their captors undressed them to underwear, while the three Enclave soldier was in powerarmor. Although the group had their very own radio station this soldiers listened to the rival’s news. Perhaps they were bored by President Eden’s cheap marketing craps.
The radio could be heard clearly among the Enclave equipments. And what to say… a condemned couldn’t even imagine a better funeral oration!
“What’s up, wastelanders? Did you miss your disc jockey? Yup, it’s Three Dog at the microphone! I have news, kiddos, big news! I know from reliable sources that where the Enclave is settling cleansing, there’s no Ghoul left alive, regardless of whether is or isn’t in his right mind! But radiation infected friends there is hope of protection, outside of the Underworld! The Brotherhood of Steel explorers spoke with a mere residents who said that they were encountered with a white Enclave Eyebot, and where the drone appears, there will soon be seen fleeing Ghouls, and after a little search the man can also caught some Enclave bastards, all unconscious by the way! The only question is whether those big eyes got to do anything with our little vaultdweller or not? It is quite possible, because the kid is sympathizing strongly with the ghouls, otherwise he wouldn’t use that repellent mask… And now, a little music…”
The two tin imitation looked at each other, and soon laughed when they heard one of the songs from the GNR’s not so wide music library. Although the singer did not want to set the world on fire, but one from the two Enclave soldiers somehow had a different opinion. He unhooked his weapon from his back and incandesced the Flamer.
A blue flame came out from the deadly weapon’s tube. A small heat was what the that cabbage needed…
The prisoners huddled even better together at the sight of the sudden flames.
The third soldier, who was an officer went to the table and turned off the radio. As silence fell, he heard some buzz sound from his back. He turned quickly, and in an instant he gt face to face with one of their metal messengers.
Less than five steps away from him an Enclave Eyebot was hovering just above his subordinates. The metal thing silently buzzed and stood, nailing his large optics at the Ghouls. They also watched the show. Because as it turned out, it was quite a big show. The snow-white drone was lying just above those two can masquerade, sorry, I wanted to write: power armored soldier.
The officer was quite surprised, soon wakened from the dismay and drew his guns. He pointed one of his weapons on the Ghouls, while the other on the Eyebot.
“Everybody, stay where you are!” shouted the man.
“Oh, fuck, this shit never works out…” The soldier heard a soft female voice, but by the time he looked up, he has seen only a rotten board piece, only if he had the luck to see it coming strait to his face.
The punch was so successful, and this would be proved by the officer himself, as soon as he’ll wake up with strong headaches.
The Ghouls were still staying next to each other, with horror in their eyes looking at the gray-clothed wastelander, who covered her face with her hat’s brim and with a cloth. Only her two large, brown eyes could be seen.
She had a tall stature, what was well suited with her nice hourglass figure under her thick coat.
She dropped the board, after that she bent down to the victim, and after a short search she pulled out a hidden dagger from his boot. With that in her hand she walked toward the ghouls. She freed the first man, and after leaving the weapon to him, she turned and left without a word. The white drone followed her.
As the freed ghoul helped his friends as well, one person, who was visibly hurrying, as the knife cut the rope, what was tying him down, he ran to his clothes.
The soldiers gathered them all in a pile. Probably they wanted to burn it.
The above-mentioned Ghoul dressed scarcely, and as he took his other equipments as well, he also started running after their mysterious savior.
She was gone far away, but the ghoul caught up with her.
“Hey, wait!” shouted after her the man with a hoarse voice.
“Leave me alone, or I’ll let on you Renegade!”
The drone turned to the ghouls with a buzzing sound, hearing the woman’s voice. Its laser weapon stood looking at the man’s face, and was already ready to fire.
“I do not want any trouble!” said the man, as he got his hand in front of his face.
“That’s my opinion as well” she replied. “Then we have no more to discuss!”
“Hell no! You just saved my life! And with mine ten other people’s lives too!”
“They sure need you more than I do. Go, rather help them”.
“I’m Quinn, and very glad to meet you!”
But even if he offered his hand to the woman, she avoided the handshake.
“At least, please tell me your name!”
She stopped for a moment and then turned to the man, then took a deep breath and than finally shouted.
“God bless America!”
Quinn, the wandering ghoul was not expecting this, and anyway, with such patriotism, always the Enclave comes to mind for the most of the wastelanders.
“Your last name is maybe Vargas?” Quinn said, still surprised. “Just because I know someone from Megaton… Well, whatever…”
“You still don’t want to disappear?”
Their conversation then suddenly stopped, as a Vertibird flew over their heads. As he looked at her, he suddenly saw sadness and pain threw her eyes, but he also discovered longing as well.
“It’s going at your friend’s direction” said the woman. “You’d rather stay with me, or go to help them”.
Quinn instead of words came to action, he ran back to where the others were. He hid among the rocks to watch the events. The ghouls had fortunately escaped just before the vertibird arrived, hearing the machine’s sound. The Enclave didn’t found anything there, only the three Seven Sleepers. But then they surely will have a big surprise when they’ll wake up. They can see first the face of their favorite colonel. Colonel Autumn looked through the sleepyhead men with military rigor, while at his back a white-coated scientist picked his eye glasses while working on an instrument.
“You can find here too?” cast a look behind the colonel.
“Yes, sir” responded the lab rat. “A high concentration of fuel, used by the Eyebots, can be found here. That’s certain that one got there, but I can’t find information about this in our database”.
“Corporal Craig” Autumn addressed the officer who in the meantime succeeded to reimburse. “I wait your immediate report! You’ve promised dead ghouls, where are they?”
“Um… Colonel Autumn” tried to gather his thoughts on the officer but the pain almost stab his ears as he uttered the letter “c”, while he was facing the ground, and almost sunk into the ground with shame. He called the colonel at terrain for neither subjects, nor dead ghouls. He knew well that the situation was serious.
“Colonel” interrupted their conversation the scientist, catching this way the white-haired man’s attention. “I found something! The fuel what’s spreading in the air is not fully the same to what we are using. Its composition doesn’t include the component “R”, instead it was used radscorpion poison. But it has been modified to avoid the poison to harm the components! This requires a serious level of knowledge. I think it would be good to look in Rivet City’s laboratory. Maybe they know something about this”.
“I know every scientist, who’s working in that city!” the colonel replied. “None of them is aware of Enclave secrets. Corporal Craig, a white eyebot was the assailant?”
“Not entirely, sir… But… But how do you know that it was present a drone as well?”
“The Wasteland has been filled with the news! However, there’s something about only a few people is aware of, but I do not wish to speak to you about this. So an Eyebot, a white Eyebot was the attacker. But what did you mean, when you said that it was not his doing entirely? Answer, soldier!”
“Among the three of us, only I remained at my consciousness when the drone appeared. The thing located above my comrades, which technically is not very beneficial, because if I had to shoot, and after disarming it, that thing would have been produced easily an electric vapor discharge, what may be fatal, if it’s falling on a power armor, since the armor conducts electricity”.
“Military knowledge…” shook his head the colonel. “And say, corporal, you also saw the owner of the Eyebot?”
“No, sir… I just heard… I heard a woman’s voice, but so quietly that maybe I would be unable to recognize it even if I hear it again”.
“Oh, really?” he stared at the corporal. “It’s sad to hear that. Mainly because there is no need for someone to be in the Enclave army, who’s incapable of a simple voice verification!”
The corporal opened his mouth to answer, but under azide while he dealt with the breath, Colonel Autumn took a laser gun and with a single well-aimed shot he made a small band of jelly heap.
The other two sleepyhead seeing this, frightened like hell, but the colonel accepted their report, and after he ordered the retention of fifty percent of their monthly salary, they had to pay the cost of the journey as well.
Quinn watched the events in the shelter of the cliffs above. As he was lying there, he also wondered that something is wrong around him. But it’s cause he only realized when the soldiers started the vertibird’s engine.
Then he realized that he heard the wind, but down there no one’s cloth blink until the plane was not powered.
The ghoul carefully lifted to look around, but as soon as he increased, he felt something touch his back. He laid back down in seconds, snatched his combat knife from his belt, then he turned. He saw Renegade, the white Eyebot above him. The machine gave out the wind like sound, while howering over the man.
Quinn lowered his weapon while looked around to see if the woman is around as well. It was no need to him to search for a long period, the traveler with the hat was really there. She was kneeling behind a boulder, and watched how the plane was rising in the air, and then disappeared into the clouds.
She still looked with the same expressions on her face after the machine, than when she first observed it.
Qiunn decided not to press on the subject. After all the ominous sounds died down, he got up and rushed to the woman. He touched her shoulder, and when she lifted to him her gaze, Quinn said goodbye. But before he thanked her for saving their lives. He was not asking her other things, he simply offered her to visit the Underworld if she’s nearby, and then he left.
He went down, looked around a bit between the equipment what was left behind, searcjing for something useful.
As he was digging through the trash, Renegade appeared out of nowhere. He knew, that if the Eyebot is nearby its master will be not far away as well, and he wasn’t wrong. As soon as he finished the search of the boxes, the mysterious stranger appeared beside him.
„Many people are there, in the Underworld?” she asked from the ghoul. „Just because I’ve heard about the place. It is said that only your kind is leaving there!”
„Sometimes we have some smooth-skin visitors as well, but you heard it right, the Underworld has basically only ghoul residents! But who help us are welcomed there as well regardless their looks.”
„Is not easy to travel with Renegade. We are not going at all to places like Rivet, Canterberry Commons or Megaton. The place where I have been staying, meanwhile was invaded by raiders. I have no longer a place where I can fix my little sweety, but she already could use a little maintenance”.
„In the Underworld we can provide place, devices and even personnel if you mind”.
„I need only place and a little scrap metal. I can handle the rest”.
„We’re providing everything you could possibly need!”
Out of habbit he held out his hand, but than he soon attempted to lower, but the woman grabbed his hands and shook his hand.
„I’m Elaine, glad to meet you!”