"I'm telling you, this is a really bad idea." Veronica states behind Christine as they both walk through the desert.
"And I'm telling you, I'll believe it when I see it." Christine retorts, concentrating on following the path. Veronica already knew where the base was, but Christine herself had left while the group was still in Helios One...
Veronica just huffs and speeds up to match Christine's pace, "And what are you going to do once we get there? Last I heard you hated your parents, all our old friends abandoned us when they found out our secret, is there anything left for you to care about?" she bluntly states, causing Christine to stop in place with a severe frown.
She turns and glares at Veronica, "In case you forgot, we were born under the codex, we grew up under the codex, we should have DIED, under the codex! It baffles me that you could so easily throw it away!"
"Like you threw me away!? Leaving without a word? I didn't want to go against everything we were taught Christine, I just thought that family should be valued above it... Family is the only reason I'm letting you go back, but family is also the reason I'll drag you back kicking and screaming if you try to reveal anything about Bulwark." she heavily warns, knowing that Christine knew enough to put Bulwark in some amount of danger... Sure, there wasn't much their enemies could do with such information now... But later on? Perhaps.
"I told you, I didn't throw you away!... Elijah manipulated me! All while I was under constant scrutiny by the others, you at least had Elijah's protection... You didn't have to worry about getting raped when you turned the wrong corner!" Christine exclaims, causing both of them to go silent momentarily.
...
"Was it really that bad?" Veronica quietly asks, not having realised how she must have felt. Looking back on it now, Veronica could barely spend any time with her, Christine's parents, friends, and colleagues abandoned and bullied her...
Christine just numbly nods, placing a hand on her chest, "The only reason I hadn't off'd myself or fled into the desert was because of the Codex. I thought that even if I was an outcast for the rest of my life, I could still be useful in serving it... That's when Elijah introduced me to the Circle of Steel..." she shakes her head and stares straight at Veronica, "That's why I need to see the Chapter's degradation myself, I need to see if it's true."
...
Veronica gives a long sigh, "Fine, but don't blame me if we have to shoot our way outta there. Your parents might be sorry for how they treated you, but the others? I never asked, but judging on how they received Afton, I doubt they think any better of you." she says, not stating the obvious that her appearance would certainly raise the Brotherhood's more xenophobic traits.
Christine's hair hadn't started growing back properly yet, and there wasn't really anything they could do for her scars either. Veronica didn't mind it, but she couldn't exactly be called 'attractive' anymore, nor do the Brotherhood think well of experimental subjects.
The Brotherhood was founded due to human experimentation after all, so it wouldn't surprise Veronica in the slightest if they demanded a full examination under threat of execution.
Soon enough, the duo reaches the road where the Brotherhood base was currently located... Judging by the many burned remnants of old caravans, Hardin had been busy. Just as they were able to see the new make-shift Brotherhood walls in the distance, they were accosted by a small group of people all wearing Power armour.
"Halt! You are in BOS territory, state your identities and reasons for being here, or we will execute you!" one of them states while their is voice muffled by their helmet.
Veronica raises a brow and scoffs, "You guys seriously forgot what we look like already?" she asks while raising the brim of her cowboy hat.
Their departure from Bulwark had been a rather frantic affair, so neither had elected to 'borrow' some Power armour from Afton, especially considering he didn't know what they were up to. Christine's head was also partially covered by a cowboy hat, but it still didn't cover all of her scars...
"Veronica, huh? You runnin' around here with another of your mutant friends? Tell me, was that Ghoul worth getting kicked out?"
Veronica snorts, "Oh, it was well worth it. At least now I don't have to deal with douche-bags like you... Let me guess, nasally voice, cocky attitude and thinks he's big shit despite only being 5.6... Jenkins. Hey, even in your armour you look short." she quips.
A few of the other BOS members snicker at their companion's face but quickly compose themselves. The now named Jenkins jabs a finger at Christine while still glaring at Veronica, "As you learned last time, take your pet Ghoul elsewhere or we'll remove it for you. Permenantly."
Christine had already had enough of this annoying douche bag, if she had a gun that could breach Power armour she might've had half a mind to shoot him... She raises her head and lifts the hat, "I'm not a Ghoul, maybe if you were smarter than the average feral, you'd have realised that." she spits in a low tone.
"C-Christine!?" a female voice squeaks from one of the soldiers, they step forwards and raise their helmet, revealing Melissa's face... Though, she looked absolutely awful, with heavy black bags under her eyes, clammy skin, and even a few scars around her neck where her armour was less thick. "W-what happened to you!?" she exclaims, sounding exhausted but still managing to muster up her emotions.
"Hell." she harshly states before continuing, "But it doesn't seem like you're doing all that much better." she questions.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Michael Jarrett
Nazlican Erdem
Tarlock
Justin David
The other men in Melissa's squad were looking between them questioningly... Most didn't know someone called Christine, nor did they recall her existence. After all, it'd been many years since she'd left, even people stubbornly holding grudges would've forgotten about it by now.
"Hey... Isn't she the one Veronica was bangin'" one quietly questions, getting nods of affirmation from the others.
Veronica ignores all this and continues to look Melissa over, "Seriously though, you look like shit... What've you been doing to end up like this?"
Melissa gives a dull laugh, "Overworking, what else is there? We've-"
"Stand down and shut up, do I need to remind you that giving information to those outside the Chapter is strictly forbidden!?" Jenkins cuts her off.
Veronica frowns at him, "Don't you talk to her like that, I know little guys are always angry, but you gotta deal with that privately."
Jenkins grits his teeth but shakes his head, "What are you doing here anyway? You aren't part of the Brotherhood, and neither is she. Some might say you're trying to spy on us..." he trails off meaningfully.
Christine shakes her head, "Technically I never left the Brotherhood. I'm only here to check the place and speak to Elder Hardin. After that, I'm not sure."
"No." Jenkins spits, "There is no reason for us to bring you to the Elder... Just go on your way and don't come back to our territory... Or I might not be so lenient."
Christine scowls, "That isn't your decision to make, you think Hardin will be happy if you send me away?... Fine." she turns to Veronica, "You win, let's go back to Bulwark." she says while slowly walking back.
Veronica gives a small shrug and follows along, "Maybe if we get back fast enough Afton wouldn't have noticed us leaving..." she mutters, deciding not to think about Glados' almost omniscient gaze around Big Mt.
"W-wait!" Jenkins suddenly shouts from behind them, "I'll take you to the Elder..." he sheepishly says, not willing to risk his career to spite the two women.
"Good."
With that, the duo is led towards the new Brotherhood base, past the make-shift walls and through all the hastily constructed huts the members were now using to keep their tools and other equipment ready to be used at any moment... Of course, they still utilised the bunkers as housing, no point wasting space after all...
Jenkins leads the duo through the place and eventually reaches a building larger than the rest, and once they are inside they are greeted by quite a weird sight... Elder Hardin was slouched in a huge chair, however, he wasn't wearing his Elder Robes as tradition usually dictates. Instead, he wore power armour without the helmet, but that wasn't what was weird about him.
Hardin seems to have torn up his Elder robes and used them to decorate his Power armour. It wasn't even done well, making him look more like a tribal warlord than someone belonging to the Brotherhood. If you consider his almost 'Caesar-Esque' posture, Veronica was beginning to get worried for the future of her old group.
As soon as they step inside, Hardin's brows begin twitching erratically, a frown now prominent on his face. "What does a traitor want now? Shouldn't you be happy we didn't execute you on the spot?" he asks, clearly annoyed.
Veronica crosses her arms, "You don't really believe that do-... Nevermind." she starts but holds herself back when she remembers the reason they were here.
Hardin sends a lazy glance at Christine, "And what do we have here? Another freak maybe?"
"Well, you could say I've physically as much as you have mentally... And physically? You weren't this bald last time I saw you." she shrugs.
...
"I have half a mind to have you taken outside and shot. Who are you? I don't know your face, those scars, your voice... Are you an assassin?" he suddenly asks, his arm visibly ready to grab his weapon.
"Mmhmm. Well, I guess you wouldn't remember that time someone dismantled your weapon and stuck it back together with super glue. Yeah, I doubt anyone remembers you running around the training field not firing a shot while not notic-"
Hardin begins unconsciously growling at the memory, "Christine." he answers, quickly putting two and two together... "I'm not one for tearful reunions, so what do you want?"
"I want to know what's been happening around here! Why you are targeting both civilian and military caravans that travel down the road! Why you are so flagrantly breaking the Codex!" Christine exclaims, nowhere in the Codex did it allow the Brotherhood to raid civilian caravans without an exceptionally good reason...
Such an occurrence had only happened a few times in BOS history, one where the civilian caravan was unknowingly transporting tainted goods, and another when a terrorist rigged bombs inside it... If Hardin couldn't answer this simple question then it would be a clear and prominent example of the Chapters moral degradation.
Hardin squints at her, "We require resources to retake our place in the Mojave as protectors of technology and peace. What other reason could there be?" he states, sounding like a crappy politician.
...
Resources? That's the reason?... Hardin didn't seem to be trying to hide it either... Had he gone mad? The way he was acting, dressing, and moving the Chapter it sounded likely. If it weren't for McNamara, she might've started to think the position itself is cursed...
That said, she still had a couple questions for him before they left. She wanted to leave as quickly as they entered, hopefully before her parents got wind of her visit. "What is the real reason you threw Afton out of the Chapter? Some BOS groups classify non-feral Ghouls as humans, as long as they aren't classified as an abomination, they should be allowed to live under our laws."
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Michael Jarrett
Nazlican Erdem
Tarlock
Justin David
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT