SESSION 15: RISING TENSIONS
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 14: THE ROAD HOME
Next Session: SESSION 16: THE SECRETS OF EARTH ANCHOR STATION
Players: The Heroes of St. Louis, Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Zero
*May 20th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 26)
The party gathered themselves after their fight with the Yao Guai. Mouse mentioned that he was feeling tired and wanted to head back to Emancipation in a more direct route. Mister Man examined him and saw that he was physically healthy, but obviously mentally drained. Mouse said that he would head home via the Missouri River Bridge and then get a room at the Candlewood Suites in Emancipation. They said their goodbyes and parted.
The group headed south, looking to cross the Missouri River at Camp Jefferson. This first brought them to the Garnett Farm, a large agricultural centre with an exclusive contract to supply the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel. They were greeted by Hal Garnett, the principal owner and manager of the farm. They found Garnett pompous and rude, uninterested in trade, information and hospitality. This seemed to be a type in the Midwest, the gentleman baron. People who's commercial links to the Brotherhood give them outsized wealth and power.
The group continued to Camp Jefferson and found the fort in a better state. Immediately after the St. Louis Attack, the evacuation camp was filled with injured survivors. Hundreds of burned and traumatized civilians were attended by dozens of Brotherhood personnel. But now, three weeks later, there were only a few dozen evacuees, looking healthy and well-fed. The Brotherhood presence was back to normal and there was an easy mood. Lex's champion shooting record was still up on the blackboard.
They went to the old capitol building to see Paladin Hector, but were greeted by a substitute. The fort, and administration of the central Missouri area, was in the hands of Knight Sergeant Borchardt - an enlisted solider, not even a command officer. It seemed all of the ranking Brotherhood members were elsewhere. The party gave the Sergeant all the information they had on Gravestone, the Ophelia Howe situation in Higginsville and the Denver orders from the crashed Brotherhood vertibird.
The supply officer opened the fort's stores to the group for trade. They sold their excess gear, bought many pieces of armour and Zero bought himself a new power fist. Without access to workshops, they were finished in the base and moved on.
Remembering farmer Ginlet's complaint that Alexa Garridan's hunters were driving radstags into his cornfields, the group traveled to Lake Speculation to cull the animals. They had wanted to clear the forest of the albino radstag three weeks before and suspected the creature would be beyond their combat skill. But having grown in power and equipment, they were now up to the challenge. They expertly stalked the albino radstag and its rangale, approaching it with care. The party dispatched the mutated deer easily. Their greatest challenge was keeping the animals from fleeing.
After butchering the animals, they headed north to the Ginlet Farm to tell Erwin Ginlet of their success. Erwin was tepid about the favour they had done him, only offering them a 10% discount on corn. He clearly held his friction with Alexa Garridan against Lex, though he did note that Alexa had come to collect his ballot for Emancipation's independence vote. Farmer Ginlet proudly declared that he had voted for independence from the Brotherhood.
The sun was starting to go down and they decided to cut west and go to Vault 40. Lex had a home in the vault and could host the group for the night. Descending into the Devil's Icebox they found the door of the vault wide open, staffed by a single elderly security guard. The guard greeted Lex, Mister Man and their friends and informed them that Professor Adabo, Dean of the Vault 40 Academy, wanted to speak to Lex.
Professor Adabo was the effective leader of the vault, an important figure who rarely interacted with the vault dwellers at large. Lex insisted on heading there first. Vault 40 claimed to have thrown off all of the tyranny of Vault-Tec, but they found Adabo in the old overseer's office, sitting at the command terminal. She was a stern, elegant woman, an accomplished historian and a strict administrator. After greeting the party, Adabo asked to speak to Lex privately, offering free meals to the visitors. The group left except for Mister Man, who was apprehensive. The professor ordered Mister Man to go meet with his manager, Giles. Mister Man left and Adabo locked the door as he left.
Lex began to report on her adventures, but the professor was uninterested, saying, "Professor Gritch is going to be traveling, so everyone in the staff is moving up. I'm promoting you to professor. Congratulations."
But Lex was uninterested in a teaching post. She relayed that she had now seen the wasteland and could help more people as an adventurer than she could from staying in the vault. Adabo was angry. She accused Alexa of misinforming Lex. She insisted that Lex's place was in the vault and she was lucky to receive a position on the staff. Lex apologized, giving Adabo a list of qualified technicians who could do her job. Professor Adabo decided that Lex was still a vault dweller and would always have a home in Vault 40, but if she refused to be on the staff she would no longer have any access to the vault's workshops or secure facilities. The tense meeting ended with the relationship strained.
Meanwhile, Mister Man went to the laundry closet where Giles the leader of the vault's Mister Handys was working. Giles greeted Man warmly and informed him that with the situation in Camp Jefferson stabilized Mister Man's services were once again needed in the med bay. Mister Man was uninterested in returning to his duties if it meant being separated from Lex, and refused. Giles was confounded, claiming that the vault dwellers had found Man destroyed at a strange station and rebuilt him. The robot owed his life to the vault and should do as he was told. Mister Man still refused.
Giles's tone changed. He declared that the data Mister Man was carrying was too critical to the vault to be wandering around freely in the wastes. If Mister Man was leaving again, he would have to submit to having the information erased. This data was integrated into Man's programming and its erasure would result in severe memory loss and cognitive problems, but it was worth it for the safety of the vault. Mister Man said that he needed to speak to Lex to consider his options. Giles accepted this, warning that if Man ever decrypted the data, or allowed anyone else to copy it, he would never be allowed in Vault 40 again.
The group met up in the Vault 40 cafeteria for an evening dinner. Lex mentioned that she didn't want to spend the night. She had become disillusioned with the vault and its controlling demands. Mister Man was doubly sure they should leave soon, as they wanted to erase his brain. Mrs. Darbinian, an older vault dweller spotted Lex and approached her. Darbinian said that Joey, her son, had enrolled in Farm School in Ravenwood. He had promised to write once a week, but she had received no letters in 2 months. If Lex was traveling, it would be a kindness if she could check on Joey. They agreed to look into it if they were ever nearby.
Lex wasn't going to leave without speaking to her mentor Gritch, so she traveled to the vault workshops. The work day was ending and Gritch greeted her amicably. He relayed that Paladin Hector had visited him recently, noting that the Brotherhood would soon ask Gritch to go to Dixie in order to repair a hydroelectric dam. Lex asked Gritch to design textiles to fix Scribe Daniels's blimps back at Whiteman Air Force Base. Gritch asked Lex if they really wanted to arm the Midwest Brotherhood with dirigibles and Lex thought they should. She had seen the brutality of Caesar's Legion and other groups, deciding the Brotherhood was a lesser of many evils. Gritch agreed to send the materials.
Discovering that Lex was refusing a teaching position and would go out into the wastes again, Gritch thought it was time to teach Lex how to make Ballistic Weave. This ultralight fiber could be woven into regular clothing, armouring it against attack. He could teach her up to Ballistic Weave Mark IV, but in order to teach her Mark V, he would need at least 10lbs. of pre-war Ballistic Fiber to show her the technique. As an ideal platform for the Ballistic Weave, Gritch had developed a Triaxial Braid Undersuit that the staff had taken to calling "Gritch's britches." He also noted that standard Mister Handy armour was insufficient for combat and would need to be upgraded to Hardened Plate. Gritch could no longer give these things to Lex for free, but he could allow her to buy his services. The group paid Gritch and he and Lex got to work immediately.
While Lex and Mr. Man were working with Gritch, Linda and Zero took the opportunity to go down to the vault's fusion reactor. The machine was enormous and hummed with nuclear energy that excited Linda's religious senses. Standing by the reactor was a technician named Liz Langley, who was a childhood friend and co-worker of Lex. Liz mentioned that a Brotherhood Scribe in Emancipation wanted 24-hour electricity to the village. At the same time, Professor Adabo wanted full power to Vault 40's workshops and the reactor couldn't handle the demands of both. Liz was trying to figure out how to safely modify the reactor for greater output.
Zero had no idea how to run a fusion reactor and was concerned that a Brotherhood scribe was making decisions for Emancipation. Linda turned to her god Atom for divine inspiration in how to improve the reactor. The voice of Atom did not tell Linda how to modify the power plant, but she was blessed with a memory. Linda recalled being a little girl, before she was blessed with enormous size and strength. She was in the old food factory with her parents and the Children of Atom community they lived in. Linda was sitting on her father's knee and he had said to her:
"Now Linda, if you ever want to increase the output of a Vault-Tec Super Reactor, all you need to do is..."
But there the memory faded. Liz, in a very vault-y way, thanked them for their time. Soon the group was reunited and they left the vault immediately, fleeing into the night. Traveling through cave country in the dark was dangerous, but they used their survival skills to navigate back to Emancipation.
It was 10pm when they got to the village, and even from across the highway they could see the lights and movement of Brotherhood soldiers in the streets, specifically a commotion near the Victory Column. Coming closer, they found Booch the super mutant bartender chained to the 11 foot marble column that commemorated Vault 40's rejection of Vault-Tec. There were a group of low-ranking Brotherhood personnel crowded around Booch, mocking him. The party were horrified, stepping in and chastising the soldiers. Booch had chained himself to the column in protest and the soldiers were trying to get him to move, even threatening to pour a full chamber pot over his head.
A Brotherhood corporal arrived and ordered his troops to leave Booch alone, freeing the party to talk to Booch. The super mutant explained that Paladin Hector had marched into town with soldiers, ready to take over the town. But the independence vote had won the town's referendum. Mayor John Giscala had to inform Hector that his troops had to turn around and leave. The paladin was angry, but ordered his unit to leave. As they were going, a Brotherhood soldier had shouted insults at Alexa Garridan. Lex's Aunt Alexa had shouted right back. The soldier threw a punch and a brawl ensued. When it was over, Paladin Hector arrested the soldier, Alexa Garridan and Mayor John. There were all being taken to Gamma Town for trial.
The Brotherhood was supposed to leave, but Scribe Keres was continue to occupy the village "for its defence." Cindy Zhao was supporting the occupation, allowing her shop to be used as a base of operations. Booch was protesting the action by going on hunger strike, chained to the Victory Column. The group implored Booch to eat, but the super mutant explained that he fought for the Brotherhood in the Calculator War and that he would never use violence again. He needed to oppose the takeover and was willing to die for it. Booches Bar was being run by a friend, maybe permanently. Noting that a healthy super mutant could probably go without food for over a month, the group left Booch, wishing him luck.
Zero led them to Penn Terrace, the official residence of the mayor. There they found Sheriff MacElroy as acting mayor of the village. He and Dr. Antyllus were rooting around in Mayor John's records, bickering and looking for the town charter. The Sheriff greeted his friend Zero and asked about the mission to Gravestone. Zero handed over the 50 fake ghoul ferality tests and MacElroy promised to deploy them right away, just as Mayor John had instructed. The Sheriff and Antyllus promised to continue to advocate for the Brotherhood to leave, noting that their leader, Scribe Keres, was an academic and not a soldier. She had her mission, but she was not unreasonable.
Zero insisted on seeing Keres face-to-face. They found that Cindy Zhao had cleared out half a warehouse for the Brotherhood headquarters. It was equipped with heavy equipment: they were expecting to stay for a while. Scribe Keres claimed that the soldiers were only in the village to defend it in a possible war with Caesar's Legion. But there was a diplomatic summit going on right then in Denver and a lasting peace seemed likely. Keres promised Zero she would leave the village the moment she got the order from the Brotherhood Elders in Chicago. If the negotiations with Caesar went well, that would happen soon. Zero was unhappy, but parted respectfully.
It was late and Lex was planning a full day of crafting at the village's workshops. The group rented rooms at Candlewood Suites and went to sleep. Lyttle Bridges, the hotel's owner complained viciously about the Brotherhood. Her complaints seemed justified when the group could hear noisy drunken soldiers outside their window late at night.
*May 21st, 2317*
(Adventure Day 27)
The next day Lex and Mister Man set to upgrading all of their new weapons and armour. Linda found a merchant at the Parking Lot Bazaar who sold oversized armour, giving Lex even more to work on. Zero filled up the party's water bottles at the public spring and then took the opportunity to see Mother Sage at the Altar of Atom. He brought the religious leader a crudely written note from Linda. Mother Sage was moved, expressing her love and concern for Linda. Sage was uncomfortable presuming that Zero would know about Gravestone because he was a ghoul, but did so anyway. She relayed that just the day before, a truck full of Inquisitors had stopped at her altar. They were heavily armed, coming from Holy Toledo and going to Gravestone. Zero was concerned, but it wasn't exactly a surprise.
Mother Sage lamented that she had made no progress on super mutant rights within the Children of Atom. The religion's leader, High Confessor Leo I, had made no actual proclamation about the issue. The ruling had come from the council of Confessors beneath him. Leo could single-handedly undo their decision, so Mother Sage had written him many letters. She had no idea if he was even receiving the messages, but she would continue to write and pray. Zero relayed the information to Linda. He mentioned that Gamma Town was in the direction of Holy Toledo. They would have to go to the holy city someday and set things right.
By the time all of the crafting was done it was nighttime again. The group headed to Booches Bar for dinner and a drink. They found a strange woman running the bar. She was tattooed and tough-looking. They asked her for her name and she said they could call her Tameka. Remembering (by spending an AP) that the kit they found under the bridge at Checkpoint Hazelgreen, the one made to help fleeing Legion slaves, had a map signed by Tameka. They carefully brought up the subject with the bar tender.
Tameka explained that it was said that Caesar often sent fake runaway slaves into the Midwest as spies. And even if this wasn't true, the Brotherhood Elders in Chicago believed it was true. So, genuine slaves fleeing Caesar's lands were taken into detention camps. These were spacious, comfortable places, but still a prison. People like Tameka and Booch worked to take Legion slaves into the Midwest and set them up with false identities so they could live in peace. This took a great deal of money and resources. Tameka and Booch had powerful friends, a group with the money and power to facilitate their operation. Tameka explained that you don't find them, they find you. If the party continued to do good deeds, they would be contacted soon.
The group were a little wary. They thanked Tameka and got her to cook their collection of wild meat. Retiring to a table to eat and drink, they spotted a familiar face. Qarla DiNovo, the reporter they had confronted in Gravestone was sitting alone at a booth. Qarla invited them to her booth and they sat. Being from Boston in the Commonwealth, the group thought Qarla might have some insight into Synths. She noted that growing up in Boston, many of her closest friends were Synths, but her father had destroyed the Institute's lab 30 years ago, so there were no new Synths. Zero was surprised and impressed that Qarla was the child of Nate DiNovo, known as the Sole Survivor, hero of Boston.
Lex hadn't heard the story, so Qarla explained. In 2077, her father had been frozen by Vault-Tec. He was thawed in 2287, when he discovered that Boston was being overrun by the evil Institute and their Synths. Nate had destroyed the Institute, blowing up and burying their Synth labs. He had then united the Minutemen to repel the forces of the Capital Wasteland and establish a formal Commonwealth government. A few months after that, Nate's friend Nick had told him about a missing girl who was convinced she was a Synth. Nate, being a big damn hero, had gone up to an island in Maine called Far Harbor to help. He died there. The Minutemen were furious and sent hundreds of soldiers and secured the island. Qarla was born later, growing up working on the newspaper with her mother and Aunt Nat.
Qarla had been following the party, trying to discover who they worked for. But discovering nothing, she concluded that either they were free agents, or part of a conspiracy so powerful that it was invisible. The group groaned at the idea that they were secret agents. Zero convinced Qarla that they were independent and could be trusted. Qarla became serious and conspiratorial. She asserted that in order for the St. Louis Attack to both kill all of the delegates and destroy the city's only heavy bridge, the bomb would have to be placed precisely. Whoever set the device both knew what they were doing and had free movement around the Gateway Arch. The Brotherhood would have had extreme security around the park. So, either the attack was an inside job, or conducted by someone so powerful they could outmaneuver the Brotherhood's best security.
Qarla disclosed that a year ago, her mother Piper Wright, the editor of the Publick Occurrences newspaper, had gone missing. Neither the Diamond City police or the Minutemen had any explanation and had stop investigating. Even Qarla's Aunt Natalie, the President of the Commonwealth, had moved-on quickly. Qarla was suspicious and interviewed some of the soldiers who invaded Far Harbor back in 2288. Some reported that they were not allowed near the island's observatory. Something had happened there that the Railroad wanted to keep secret. Qarla was conflicted. She thought of the Commonwealth as a great and moral nation, and the Railroad as its protectors. But the Synths of the Railroad had enormous power and worked in secret. Nobody knew what they were really up to.
Qarla was heading back to Boston, riding on her motorcycle. She said with the bridge in St. Louis gone, she would take the bridge at St. Petersburg. She was worried she wouldn't be able to find gasoline. The group said their goodbyes and assured her that they must one day visit her in Boston to help investigate.
They returned to Candlewood Suites for another night's rest. In the morning they would head to Earth Anchor Station to decrypt Mr. Man's data. Earth Anchor might even be the station where Mister Man was found destroyed. After that, they would head east to Gamma Town to help Mayor John and Aunt Alexa. But first, a rest. As they were heading to bed, they asked Lyttle Bridges if Mouse was enjoying his room. Ms. Bridges remarked that she didn't know what they were talking about, Mouse had never checked-in...
Next Session:SESSION 16: THE SECRETS OF EARTH ANCHOR STATION
Next Session: SESSION 16: THE SECRETS OF EARTH ANCHOR STATION
Players: The Heroes of St. Louis, Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Zero
*May 20th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 26)
The party gathered themselves after their fight with the Yao Guai. Mouse mentioned that he was feeling tired and wanted to head back to Emancipation in a more direct route. Mister Man examined him and saw that he was physically healthy, but obviously mentally drained. Mouse said that he would head home via the Missouri River Bridge and then get a room at the Candlewood Suites in Emancipation. They said their goodbyes and parted.
The group headed south, looking to cross the Missouri River at Camp Jefferson. This first brought them to the Garnett Farm, a large agricultural centre with an exclusive contract to supply the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel. They were greeted by Hal Garnett, the principal owner and manager of the farm. They found Garnett pompous and rude, uninterested in trade, information and hospitality. This seemed to be a type in the Midwest, the gentleman baron. People who's commercial links to the Brotherhood give them outsized wealth and power.
The group continued to Camp Jefferson and found the fort in a better state. Immediately after the St. Louis Attack, the evacuation camp was filled with injured survivors. Hundreds of burned and traumatized civilians were attended by dozens of Brotherhood personnel. But now, three weeks later, there were only a few dozen evacuees, looking healthy and well-fed. The Brotherhood presence was back to normal and there was an easy mood. Lex's champion shooting record was still up on the blackboard.
They went to the old capitol building to see Paladin Hector, but were greeted by a substitute. The fort, and administration of the central Missouri area, was in the hands of Knight Sergeant Borchardt - an enlisted solider, not even a command officer. It seemed all of the ranking Brotherhood members were elsewhere. The party gave the Sergeant all the information they had on Gravestone, the Ophelia Howe situation in Higginsville and the Denver orders from the crashed Brotherhood vertibird.
The supply officer opened the fort's stores to the group for trade. They sold their excess gear, bought many pieces of armour and Zero bought himself a new power fist. Without access to workshops, they were finished in the base and moved on.
Remembering farmer Ginlet's complaint that Alexa Garridan's hunters were driving radstags into his cornfields, the group traveled to Lake Speculation to cull the animals. They had wanted to clear the forest of the albino radstag three weeks before and suspected the creature would be beyond their combat skill. But having grown in power and equipment, they were now up to the challenge. They expertly stalked the albino radstag and its rangale, approaching it with care. The party dispatched the mutated deer easily. Their greatest challenge was keeping the animals from fleeing.
After butchering the animals, they headed north to the Ginlet Farm to tell Erwin Ginlet of their success. Erwin was tepid about the favour they had done him, only offering them a 10% discount on corn. He clearly held his friction with Alexa Garridan against Lex, though he did note that Alexa had come to collect his ballot for Emancipation's independence vote. Farmer Ginlet proudly declared that he had voted for independence from the Brotherhood.
The sun was starting to go down and they decided to cut west and go to Vault 40. Lex had a home in the vault and could host the group for the night. Descending into the Devil's Icebox they found the door of the vault wide open, staffed by a single elderly security guard. The guard greeted Lex, Mister Man and their friends and informed them that Professor Adabo, Dean of the Vault 40 Academy, wanted to speak to Lex.
Professor Adabo was the effective leader of the vault, an important figure who rarely interacted with the vault dwellers at large. Lex insisted on heading there first. Vault 40 claimed to have thrown off all of the tyranny of Vault-Tec, but they found Adabo in the old overseer's office, sitting at the command terminal. She was a stern, elegant woman, an accomplished historian and a strict administrator. After greeting the party, Adabo asked to speak to Lex privately, offering free meals to the visitors. The group left except for Mister Man, who was apprehensive. The professor ordered Mister Man to go meet with his manager, Giles. Mister Man left and Adabo locked the door as he left.
Lex began to report on her adventures, but the professor was uninterested, saying, "Professor Gritch is going to be traveling, so everyone in the staff is moving up. I'm promoting you to professor. Congratulations."
But Lex was uninterested in a teaching post. She relayed that she had now seen the wasteland and could help more people as an adventurer than she could from staying in the vault. Adabo was angry. She accused Alexa of misinforming Lex. She insisted that Lex's place was in the vault and she was lucky to receive a position on the staff. Lex apologized, giving Adabo a list of qualified technicians who could do her job. Professor Adabo decided that Lex was still a vault dweller and would always have a home in Vault 40, but if she refused to be on the staff she would no longer have any access to the vault's workshops or secure facilities. The tense meeting ended with the relationship strained.
Meanwhile, Mister Man went to the laundry closet where Giles the leader of the vault's Mister Handys was working. Giles greeted Man warmly and informed him that with the situation in Camp Jefferson stabilized Mister Man's services were once again needed in the med bay. Mister Man was uninterested in returning to his duties if it meant being separated from Lex, and refused. Giles was confounded, claiming that the vault dwellers had found Man destroyed at a strange station and rebuilt him. The robot owed his life to the vault and should do as he was told. Mister Man still refused.
Giles's tone changed. He declared that the data Mister Man was carrying was too critical to the vault to be wandering around freely in the wastes. If Mister Man was leaving again, he would have to submit to having the information erased. This data was integrated into Man's programming and its erasure would result in severe memory loss and cognitive problems, but it was worth it for the safety of the vault. Mister Man said that he needed to speak to Lex to consider his options. Giles accepted this, warning that if Man ever decrypted the data, or allowed anyone else to copy it, he would never be allowed in Vault 40 again.
The group met up in the Vault 40 cafeteria for an evening dinner. Lex mentioned that she didn't want to spend the night. She had become disillusioned with the vault and its controlling demands. Mister Man was doubly sure they should leave soon, as they wanted to erase his brain. Mrs. Darbinian, an older vault dweller spotted Lex and approached her. Darbinian said that Joey, her son, had enrolled in Farm School in Ravenwood. He had promised to write once a week, but she had received no letters in 2 months. If Lex was traveling, it would be a kindness if she could check on Joey. They agreed to look into it if they were ever nearby.
Lex wasn't going to leave without speaking to her mentor Gritch, so she traveled to the vault workshops. The work day was ending and Gritch greeted her amicably. He relayed that Paladin Hector had visited him recently, noting that the Brotherhood would soon ask Gritch to go to Dixie in order to repair a hydroelectric dam. Lex asked Gritch to design textiles to fix Scribe Daniels's blimps back at Whiteman Air Force Base. Gritch asked Lex if they really wanted to arm the Midwest Brotherhood with dirigibles and Lex thought they should. She had seen the brutality of Caesar's Legion and other groups, deciding the Brotherhood was a lesser of many evils. Gritch agreed to send the materials.
Discovering that Lex was refusing a teaching position and would go out into the wastes again, Gritch thought it was time to teach Lex how to make Ballistic Weave. This ultralight fiber could be woven into regular clothing, armouring it against attack. He could teach her up to Ballistic Weave Mark IV, but in order to teach her Mark V, he would need at least 10lbs. of pre-war Ballistic Fiber to show her the technique. As an ideal platform for the Ballistic Weave, Gritch had developed a Triaxial Braid Undersuit that the staff had taken to calling "Gritch's britches." He also noted that standard Mister Handy armour was insufficient for combat and would need to be upgraded to Hardened Plate. Gritch could no longer give these things to Lex for free, but he could allow her to buy his services. The group paid Gritch and he and Lex got to work immediately.
While Lex and Mr. Man were working with Gritch, Linda and Zero took the opportunity to go down to the vault's fusion reactor. The machine was enormous and hummed with nuclear energy that excited Linda's religious senses. Standing by the reactor was a technician named Liz Langley, who was a childhood friend and co-worker of Lex. Liz mentioned that a Brotherhood Scribe in Emancipation wanted 24-hour electricity to the village. At the same time, Professor Adabo wanted full power to Vault 40's workshops and the reactor couldn't handle the demands of both. Liz was trying to figure out how to safely modify the reactor for greater output.
Zero had no idea how to run a fusion reactor and was concerned that a Brotherhood scribe was making decisions for Emancipation. Linda turned to her god Atom for divine inspiration in how to improve the reactor. The voice of Atom did not tell Linda how to modify the power plant, but she was blessed with a memory. Linda recalled being a little girl, before she was blessed with enormous size and strength. She was in the old food factory with her parents and the Children of Atom community they lived in. Linda was sitting on her father's knee and he had said to her:
"Now Linda, if you ever want to increase the output of a Vault-Tec Super Reactor, all you need to do is..."
But there the memory faded. Liz, in a very vault-y way, thanked them for their time. Soon the group was reunited and they left the vault immediately, fleeing into the night. Traveling through cave country in the dark was dangerous, but they used their survival skills to navigate back to Emancipation.
It was 10pm when they got to the village, and even from across the highway they could see the lights and movement of Brotherhood soldiers in the streets, specifically a commotion near the Victory Column. Coming closer, they found Booch the super mutant bartender chained to the 11 foot marble column that commemorated Vault 40's rejection of Vault-Tec. There were a group of low-ranking Brotherhood personnel crowded around Booch, mocking him. The party were horrified, stepping in and chastising the soldiers. Booch had chained himself to the column in protest and the soldiers were trying to get him to move, even threatening to pour a full chamber pot over his head.
A Brotherhood corporal arrived and ordered his troops to leave Booch alone, freeing the party to talk to Booch. The super mutant explained that Paladin Hector had marched into town with soldiers, ready to take over the town. But the independence vote had won the town's referendum. Mayor John Giscala had to inform Hector that his troops had to turn around and leave. The paladin was angry, but ordered his unit to leave. As they were going, a Brotherhood soldier had shouted insults at Alexa Garridan. Lex's Aunt Alexa had shouted right back. The soldier threw a punch and a brawl ensued. When it was over, Paladin Hector arrested the soldier, Alexa Garridan and Mayor John. There were all being taken to Gamma Town for trial.
The Brotherhood was supposed to leave, but Scribe Keres was continue to occupy the village "for its defence." Cindy Zhao was supporting the occupation, allowing her shop to be used as a base of operations. Booch was protesting the action by going on hunger strike, chained to the Victory Column. The group implored Booch to eat, but the super mutant explained that he fought for the Brotherhood in the Calculator War and that he would never use violence again. He needed to oppose the takeover and was willing to die for it. Booches Bar was being run by a friend, maybe permanently. Noting that a healthy super mutant could probably go without food for over a month, the group left Booch, wishing him luck.
Zero led them to Penn Terrace, the official residence of the mayor. There they found Sheriff MacElroy as acting mayor of the village. He and Dr. Antyllus were rooting around in Mayor John's records, bickering and looking for the town charter. The Sheriff greeted his friend Zero and asked about the mission to Gravestone. Zero handed over the 50 fake ghoul ferality tests and MacElroy promised to deploy them right away, just as Mayor John had instructed. The Sheriff and Antyllus promised to continue to advocate for the Brotherhood to leave, noting that their leader, Scribe Keres, was an academic and not a soldier. She had her mission, but she was not unreasonable.
Zero insisted on seeing Keres face-to-face. They found that Cindy Zhao had cleared out half a warehouse for the Brotherhood headquarters. It was equipped with heavy equipment: they were expecting to stay for a while. Scribe Keres claimed that the soldiers were only in the village to defend it in a possible war with Caesar's Legion. But there was a diplomatic summit going on right then in Denver and a lasting peace seemed likely. Keres promised Zero she would leave the village the moment she got the order from the Brotherhood Elders in Chicago. If the negotiations with Caesar went well, that would happen soon. Zero was unhappy, but parted respectfully.
It was late and Lex was planning a full day of crafting at the village's workshops. The group rented rooms at Candlewood Suites and went to sleep. Lyttle Bridges, the hotel's owner complained viciously about the Brotherhood. Her complaints seemed justified when the group could hear noisy drunken soldiers outside their window late at night.
*May 21st, 2317*
(Adventure Day 27)
The next day Lex and Mister Man set to upgrading all of their new weapons and armour. Linda found a merchant at the Parking Lot Bazaar who sold oversized armour, giving Lex even more to work on. Zero filled up the party's water bottles at the public spring and then took the opportunity to see Mother Sage at the Altar of Atom. He brought the religious leader a crudely written note from Linda. Mother Sage was moved, expressing her love and concern for Linda. Sage was uncomfortable presuming that Zero would know about Gravestone because he was a ghoul, but did so anyway. She relayed that just the day before, a truck full of Inquisitors had stopped at her altar. They were heavily armed, coming from Holy Toledo and going to Gravestone. Zero was concerned, but it wasn't exactly a surprise.
Mother Sage lamented that she had made no progress on super mutant rights within the Children of Atom. The religion's leader, High Confessor Leo I, had made no actual proclamation about the issue. The ruling had come from the council of Confessors beneath him. Leo could single-handedly undo their decision, so Mother Sage had written him many letters. She had no idea if he was even receiving the messages, but she would continue to write and pray. Zero relayed the information to Linda. He mentioned that Gamma Town was in the direction of Holy Toledo. They would have to go to the holy city someday and set things right.
By the time all of the crafting was done it was nighttime again. The group headed to Booches Bar for dinner and a drink. They found a strange woman running the bar. She was tattooed and tough-looking. They asked her for her name and she said they could call her Tameka. Remembering (by spending an AP) that the kit they found under the bridge at Checkpoint Hazelgreen, the one made to help fleeing Legion slaves, had a map signed by Tameka. They carefully brought up the subject with the bar tender.
Tameka explained that it was said that Caesar often sent fake runaway slaves into the Midwest as spies. And even if this wasn't true, the Brotherhood Elders in Chicago believed it was true. So, genuine slaves fleeing Caesar's lands were taken into detention camps. These were spacious, comfortable places, but still a prison. People like Tameka and Booch worked to take Legion slaves into the Midwest and set them up with false identities so they could live in peace. This took a great deal of money and resources. Tameka and Booch had powerful friends, a group with the money and power to facilitate their operation. Tameka explained that you don't find them, they find you. If the party continued to do good deeds, they would be contacted soon.
The group were a little wary. They thanked Tameka and got her to cook their collection of wild meat. Retiring to a table to eat and drink, they spotted a familiar face. Qarla DiNovo, the reporter they had confronted in Gravestone was sitting alone at a booth. Qarla invited them to her booth and they sat. Being from Boston in the Commonwealth, the group thought Qarla might have some insight into Synths. She noted that growing up in Boston, many of her closest friends were Synths, but her father had destroyed the Institute's lab 30 years ago, so there were no new Synths. Zero was surprised and impressed that Qarla was the child of Nate DiNovo, known as the Sole Survivor, hero of Boston.
Lex hadn't heard the story, so Qarla explained. In 2077, her father had been frozen by Vault-Tec. He was thawed in 2287, when he discovered that Boston was being overrun by the evil Institute and their Synths. Nate had destroyed the Institute, blowing up and burying their Synth labs. He had then united the Minutemen to repel the forces of the Capital Wasteland and establish a formal Commonwealth government. A few months after that, Nate's friend Nick had told him about a missing girl who was convinced she was a Synth. Nate, being a big damn hero, had gone up to an island in Maine called Far Harbor to help. He died there. The Minutemen were furious and sent hundreds of soldiers and secured the island. Qarla was born later, growing up working on the newspaper with her mother and Aunt Nat.
Qarla had been following the party, trying to discover who they worked for. But discovering nothing, she concluded that either they were free agents, or part of a conspiracy so powerful that it was invisible. The group groaned at the idea that they were secret agents. Zero convinced Qarla that they were independent and could be trusted. Qarla became serious and conspiratorial. She asserted that in order for the St. Louis Attack to both kill all of the delegates and destroy the city's only heavy bridge, the bomb would have to be placed precisely. Whoever set the device both knew what they were doing and had free movement around the Gateway Arch. The Brotherhood would have had extreme security around the park. So, either the attack was an inside job, or conducted by someone so powerful they could outmaneuver the Brotherhood's best security.
Qarla disclosed that a year ago, her mother Piper Wright, the editor of the Publick Occurrences newspaper, had gone missing. Neither the Diamond City police or the Minutemen had any explanation and had stop investigating. Even Qarla's Aunt Natalie, the President of the Commonwealth, had moved-on quickly. Qarla was suspicious and interviewed some of the soldiers who invaded Far Harbor back in 2288. Some reported that they were not allowed near the island's observatory. Something had happened there that the Railroad wanted to keep secret. Qarla was conflicted. She thought of the Commonwealth as a great and moral nation, and the Railroad as its protectors. But the Synths of the Railroad had enormous power and worked in secret. Nobody knew what they were really up to.
Qarla was heading back to Boston, riding on her motorcycle. She said with the bridge in St. Louis gone, she would take the bridge at St. Petersburg. She was worried she wouldn't be able to find gasoline. The group said their goodbyes and assured her that they must one day visit her in Boston to help investigate.
They returned to Candlewood Suites for another night's rest. In the morning they would head to Earth Anchor Station to decrypt Mr. Man's data. Earth Anchor might even be the station where Mister Man was found destroyed. After that, they would head east to Gamma Town to help Mayor John and Aunt Alexa. But first, a rest. As they were heading to bed, they asked Lyttle Bridges if Mouse was enjoying his room. Ms. Bridges remarked that she didn't know what they were talking about, Mouse had never checked-in...
Next Session:SESSION 16: THE SECRETS OF EARTH ANCHOR STATION
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