calmhrtprevails | (no subject)

The door opens on a vista of rocky landscape punctuated here and there by yellowed, rough-edged grass and low, scrubby brush. There's a hint of coolness on the breeze in the otherwise warming air, and a scent of distant rain. "We are," Fawkes rumbles, "some hours' distance from the Citadel. We're likely to stop at the town of Megaton first, and then make for the Arlington route the rest of the way."

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From:

cantdiequiteyet

At least that sound is familiar.

"What kind of welcome can we expect?"

From:

calmhrtprevails

"The people here know me by now," says Fawkes. "They'll most likely be wary, but offer no threat. Some of them may even be friendly. The robot at the gates may consider you dangerous, but so long as you don't make a hostile move towards him or anyone else, he won't turn you away."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"Alright."

As long as she doesn't have to kill anyone, it's OK. She's quiet again, nothing but the footsteps on the ruined road.

From:

calmhrtprevails

That, fortunately, will not be a problem. The gates to the metal city are guarded by an odd figure made of metal with a glowing part on top. "Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe, we promise," it says.

From:

cantdiequiteyet

Teresa stares at the robot when it says that.

Then she stares at Fawkes to see that makes what she heard make anymore sense.

When it doesn't, she just nods and walks on.

From:

calmhrtprevails

"The town," says Fawkes, "is built around an ancient weapon of war that was too dangerous to move. My friend disarmed it some time ago."

(The robot was pronouncing it perfectly safe before that, but Fawkes isn't aware of that.)

The city gates slide upward at the robot's pronunciation of both arrivals to be acceptable. Beyond lies a city built of scrap, metal rooms and buildings stacked up on top of one another all along the sides of a vast crater. Stairs and pipes lead the way down to the crater bottom, where a pool of water has gathered around a large, ovoid shape- "That would be the bomb in question," Fawkes notes.

There are, yes, a few cattle here. Well. One cow, at the moment. With two heads. She's being tended by a young boy with dark skin and a blue coat. There are other people around as well- some running shops, some arguing with each other, some trading, at least one seemingly praying to the bomb while up to his knees in water.

From:

cantdiequiteyet

Teresa takes all this in quietly, her expression her usual enigmatic smile.

"Are they safe here?" she asks. "From the creatures outside?"

From:

calmhrtprevails

"They are," Fawkes confirms. "They built on this spot to use the crater for their protection."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"The... 'bomb'?"

Teresa doesn't know what a bomb is, by the way.

From:

calmhrtprevails

"That device," says Fawkes, indicating the great egg-shaped thing at the center of the crater. "It was one of the weapons meant to be used in the Great War, two hundred years ago. If it were used, the explosion it would cause would level every building for miles, and leave most of the living things in the region no more than shadows burnt onto melted rock."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"No wonder they avoid it," Teresa says, following his gaze. "It's disarmed now, but the monsters still avoid the area?"

She just wants to make sure she has it right.

From:

calmhrtprevails

"The monsters don't avoid the area," says Fawkes. "The walls of the city, and the slope of the crater, provide shelter. And look, there."

He points to a narrow catwalk running around the interior of the walls. Specifically, to a man on the catwalk, leaning forward to peer through a small hole.

"The walls are guarded by men and women with guns. They have the high ground, and can strike at any enemy that's stupid enough to come within their range, as long as they see them first."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"Oh."

She understands now, looking up and watching the walls.

"Humans defending themselves." She'll get used to it. Rigth now, her own ignorance amuses her.

From:

calmhrtprevails

"They do their best," Fawkes agrees. "When they can't fight, they find safer places to live instead, as far as they're able. Or they combine both, when they can."

He indicates a two-storey structure off to the left, the first house inside the walls. "That's my friend's home," he says, "and where I stay when I'm here. The man who runs this town, Sheriff Simms, lives in that house across the way. I had planned to retrieve some extra supplies before continuing on to Arlington. Is there anything you might need?"

From:

cantdiequiteyet

She shakes her head.

"No, I ate and slept before departing. We'll get what you need."

From:

calmhrtprevails

"Very well," says Fawkes. "This way."

As Fawkes unlocks the door to the Megaton house, a tinny, electronic-sounding voice with a faint, movie-derived English accent announces, "Good day, sir! And welcome back." Teresa may notice, as she steps through the door, that the voice appears to be coming from a floating thing of metal limbs and glowing parts. "How may I be of service this afternoon?"

From:

cantdiequiteyet

Teresa tilts her head instantly at the strange apparition.

"This is your friend?"

From:

calmhrtprevails

"No, no," says Fawkes. "My friend is human; her name is Ellen."

"Whereas I," the machine announces, "am named Wadsworth. I am a Mr. Handy robot, built for household maintenance and daily care. I keep the place tidy while Mistress is away, among other duties."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"Oh," says Teresa. She inclines her head to the robot in greeting.

It doesn't matter to her.

From:

calmhrtprevails

"Wadsworth, I need my electron charge packs, please," says Fawkes. "Then Teresa and I will be on our way to the Citadel."

"Very good, sir!" Wadsworth announces- the robot is, it seems, incapable of speaking in anything but an announcement tone. "Will you require anything else?"

"Radio the Citadel and tell them I'm bringing a companion with me," says Fawkes. "She's a fighter from outside the Capital area, and she wants to volunteer."

"Indeed," says Wadsworth. "Very well, then."

With that, the robot floats up the metal stairs that run along one wall of the house. Fawkes takes the opportunity to step over to the lockers against the far wall and start looking through them. "There are some things," he says, "that you may want to recognize before we go any further. I believe my friend has some of them here. They may be dangerous- even to you."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

"Oh?"

Now that sounds interesting - something dangerous to her. "What are they?"

From:

calmhrtprevails

"The gun the man fired at us on the road today was only one of many different kinds," Fawkes says. "It was slower, and less powerful, than quite a few others."

He turns around, his arms full, and begins laying things out on a nearby picnic table salvaged from some scenic area. Someone from a world more modern than Teresa's would know them as guns. Someone with more specialized knowledge might well be excused blanching, because this is at most a house of two residents and there are more weapons here, and of greater caliber, than two people can reasonably use.

"All of these," he says, "are different kinds of gun. The smaller ones may be fired one-handed, and only put a few bullets in the air at a time. They pose less danger at a distance than the rest, but they're very common. These-" He indicates a slightly larger weapon of about the same muzzle bore, but squarer design and greater bulk. "Fire bullets of about the same size and weight, but are faster, and can quickly fill the air with many bullets. Not for long, you understand, but in many battles speed is enough to end things in a few seconds. These larger ones are assault rifles, and are often carried by the others of my kind. They do more damage, and can fire more rounds at a time. Some of them fire bullets designed to pierce through armor."

From:

cantdiequiteyet

Teresa watches, and listens, and takes it in.

And she suggests out loud, "you're right. One of those - bullets? - could hurt me if it hit me in the wrong place."

But the person would have to have good aim. "If I see one, I will take out the bearer first."

From:

calmhrtprevails

"A wise idea," Fawkes says. "Also, there are these."

He lays down an oval of metal about the size of a fist, and several round, flat objects a bit smaller than dishes.

"This is a grenade," he says, pointing to the first one. "If you pull this part out, here, and then release this handle, it will explode soon after. Most people pull the pin and throw the grenade at their target. These are mines; they will explode with great force if they're active and you come too close. Some of them produce more force and a wider blast radius than others. It's best to avoid them entirely, if you don't know how to inactivate them."