Doc Milton

Born in secret to parents that follow the cult known as The Children of Atom, Milton was seen as a bad omen from the moment he took his first breath. His mother and father were having an affair and saw his disfigurements as a sign that their deity was not pleased with their deception. Offering themselves to the mercy of their community, it was decided that the couple would be exiled with their mutant offspring as punishment.

Remaining inside the The Rad Farm without the protection of their former brethren was not an option, so Milton's parents opted to head north for a settlement they had seen on their travels. Seeing the boy as the manifestation of their guilt, they never showed him any affection despite making sure he was well educated. When he was old enough to travel, he was apprenticed out to a caravan that saw the benefit in having someone around that was resistant to radiation.

His duties were modest to start, assisting as a cook and learning to set snare traps for wasteland critters to stew up. Once he got a bit older, he was trained with a firearm to hunt larger game and patrol the camp at night on the lookout for intruders. This evolved into a role on scavenger missions where Milton served as a scout for bad pockets of radiation. Although he was never treated particularly well, his purpose gave him confidence and afforded him protection while traveling in the caravan.

Most of his earnings went straight to his mother and father, however he was given a small allowance for entertainment that he used almost exclusively on pre-war books and holotapes. Obsessed with absorbing the lost knowledges and anecdotes, Milton soon found a topic he could not learn enough about. Surgery and Anatomy became the focus of his waking thoughts, but no one wanted to teach a mutant about medicine as most held a paranoia that his condition could spread to them.

It wasn't until he ended up at Rattlesnake Jim's Sarsaparilla Plant that he realized just how badly he was treated by his companions. A haven for the unwanted mutants of the wasteland, he almost passed for human amongst them, and they treated him better as a stranger than his parents had ever treated him as their son. The only real obstacle was RJ himself, as he almost seemed to be a different person each and every time they visited.

Once he learned that the man only wanted people to listen to his stories and validate his 'soft drink' making abilities, Milton devised a plan to win over the pre-war ghoul. Instead of buying books, he now bought Sarsaparilla Green. He gave it out to any ghoul he encountered during their trading runs, claiming that it possessed qualities beneficial to necrotic post-humans specifically. Although many turned their nose at the taste, the effects from the mixed in chems secured him enough customers to start a humble side business.

He learned the intricacies of RJ's quirks and how to placate him even in his worst states. After a few years passed, he worked up the courage to ask him to hire Milton full time as a trader. Jim was always in need of people to run his swill across the Dust Bowl, so he accepted without hesitation and even made a personal investment supplying him with a track-driven vehicle to help transport the product in bulk. With a route that led him back and forth to the Rad Farm, Milton finally felt a sense of freedom and so he simply never went home. He never imagined anyone would bother to come look for him, after all he had always been the black sheep that even his own parents never wanted to be around.

These new living conditions greatly improved his mood, and he felt he began to thrive amongst others like him. He was not allowed inside the city when he made trips to the Rad Farm, but that didn't bother him much. Several establishments similar to RJ's were set up along the way, even a few brothels that would let him stay the night. Although he still read medical journals and textbooks when he had downtime, he was comfortable for many years running this routine and fancied himself a roving trader above all else.

What Milton didn't know was that his parents were aware of his new business and his trips to the Rad Farm. Feeling betrayed that they were not cut into the profits and jealous of his connection with the city they were exiled from, they hatched a scheme to get back at him and end their suffering once and for all. Milton was careful about his route, doing his best not to travel too close to any hostile entities. He did however have to cross Slaver's Road but could do so without drawing attention if he stuck to his schedule. This is where his mother and father planned their ambush, setting up a mine that could immobilize his vehicle.

Sure enough, when he reached the trap one of his tracks was blown clean off and he was left stuck in the darkness next to one of the most dangerous highways in the region. As he tried to work on a plan, hoping perhaps that the cover of night would keep him concealed, a bright flare illuminated the ground all around him. Milton could do little more than watch as the convoy of Chryslus sports cars descended on his location, their bright spotlights turning night to day and leaving his position hopelessly exposed.

At first things looked grim, with the slavers beating and robbing the poor man and loading him into a cage-car. Upon seeing his mutated visage and collection of medical texts they quickly changed their mind on his fate. Believing he belonged to the The Kansas Cartel, he was taken back as a prisoner rather than a slave and turned over to the descendants of Vault 191. Although it was clear to them that he was not one of them through birth, they saw potential in his interests and decided to train him to cook chems.

This was by no means ideal for Milton, but he would take this life over true slavery any day. He was paid a meager wage for his services, and although unable to leave Corvega City, he was given free reign inside. Once he had earned enough trust to be left unsupervised, Milton began trying to locate the vehicle they had towed back with him on the day of his arrival. Still in rough shape, it still had an intact transponder that he was supposed to activate if he got into trouble. Although he didn't believe RJ could do anything to save him, he turned it on to give him some closure on what had happened to him and his Sarsaparilla Green shipment.

He had almost forgotten the incident when a few days later a lone vehicle approached the gates at a casual speed. It was evening, meaning that the patrols had already left and although a sizeable force remained to guard the city, they were mostly Fodder. When Milton recognized who was behind the wheel, he immediately made a point to get close and be seen, though he had no idea what this madman was planning to spring him from this prison.

Stepping out of his truck wearing a wide-brim cowboy hat and a tan duster so long it nearly dragged on the ground, RJ began to whistle a casual tune as he walked up on the barricade. About a dozen turrets peered down at him, and by the time he got close enough to speak, several automatons had been activated as backup to reinforce the confused mutants. When he was ordered to identify himself, he reached in his pocket and produced a small metal star and waved it about for all to see.

"I am a law dog of the Los Verdugos. That's right THE Los Verdugos. You have one of my mine in there and I don't care a continental what condition he is in, I want you to turn him loose to me right here, right now!"

The guards seemed more confused than intimidated, sending several out to get a better look at him once they decided he was indeed alone. Although lacking in intellectual capacity, nobody here was quite as dumb as RJ must have been hoping. When they pressured him about his accent, he turned and very seriously responded in an even tone.

"Estoy aquí por sus prostitutas y drogas."

Although no one understood the words he was speaking, they all knew better than to attract the attention of the real Verdugos, so any doubt about his connection to them had to be taken seriously. Fearing the anger of their own kind however, they decided to send word to the Kansas Cartel to come check RJ out. This seemed to be a deal breaker as far as Jim was concerned so he raised a scavenged Pip Boy from one sleeve and punched a few buttons furiously while screaming towards the city for Milton.

Run, Milton, RUN! You aren't on the whitelist so keep your fucking head down and don't pick up a gun!"

This of course raised the alarm amongst the guards, however before anyone could so much as raise a weapon, the automated defenses began turning ominously in their direction. Taking advantage of this moment, Jim quickly drew a fancy energy pistol from inside his coat and shot three holes in each of the two men standing before him. Turrets and Protectrons began opening fire on the guards and civilians alike, and Milton barely escaped running hunched over and covering his head. Before he climbed aboard the rusted pickup, he noticed an eyebot leaving the city and landing in the bed of the truck.

RJ had a good laugh at the slavers' expense on the way back to the compound. He bragged about his 'spectacular diversion' and his eyebot hacking module, stating how stupid someone must be to put all their faith in automated defenses. When asked whether or not he actually spoke Spanish, he simply stated he learned a few phrases to get around when he was traveling south of the border. Upon returning home, Jim made sure to wave at the automated defenses he had put all his faith in to protect his property in his absence.

After this experience the two became inseparable. RJ decided to make Milton his official doctor now that he could make chems, and set him up with an Auto-Doc to fill in the gaps of his medical knowledge. When Jim in indisposed, it is often Milton that meets newcomers and decides whether or not they are safe to let in.

• Nickname- The Cook


• Age- 39


• Birthplace- The Rad Farm, Kansas (United States)

Character Sheet