“Have
you gone mad?” Charlotte demanded, her voice booming so loudly that
the refugees in both the cafeteria and the nurse’s office had
surely heard her.
“Let’s
be realistic,” Drew said. “The best chance of survival is to form
an alliance with the local settlements. Together, those power-armored
bastards don’t stand a chance. It’s also the best way for the
local population to see you for what you truly are. Not monsters, but
allies willing to fight with them.”
Charan,
who was standing to Charlotte’s right, shook her head. “Will
never happen. They will fear us and turn on us.”
“Why
not? Jack, Amy, Sarah and I all see you as people.”
“Debatable,”
Charlotte said. “Sarah is still afraid.”
“Nah,”
Veronica disagreed. “She’s alright. I’ve been hanging around
with her. She’s good.”
“See,”
Drew said. “People can be swayed.”
“Yes,
they can,” Charlotte agreed, though Drew could almost hear the
‘but’. “That is what makes them dangerous,” she continued.
“They can be swayed to trust us, but it will be far easier for them
to be swayed the other way. Letting them in was a huge mistake, and
you have put us all at risk.”
“I
agree,” Charan said.
“Some
of them would have died,” Drew pointed out. “The injured
especially.”
“So?”
Charan asked. “Let them die.”
“Does
that include Jarik?” Drew asked.
Charan
frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Jarik
was among the injured,” Drew told her. “If I had turned them
away, he would have died.”
Charlotte
growled while Charan looked concerned.
“Don’t
worry,” Drew continued. “He’s okay. At least he was when I last
looked. He’s worse for wear, and unfortunately, Sarah had to
amputate one of his legs.”
“Can
I see him?”
Charlotte
jumped in before Drew could respond. “That’s a stupid idea.”
Drew
steeled himself for what he was about to say. It wasn’t easy to
stand up against a thirty-foot monster. “If you put aside your
misgivings and your fear, then you could help a lot of people.
Despite everything, you have a lot of good in your heart, Charlotte.
Yes, a lot of people will reject you even if you save their lives.
People will see you as monsters, and it might be true that nothing
will change their minds, but in the end, who gives a fuck what they
think?”
“I
give a fuck because those people could be a threat!”
“Everyone
and everything could be a threat,” Drew pointed out. “And believe
me, as long as I am alive, I will protect you.”
Bek
scoffed. “She doesn’t need protection from you, little man.”
“Shut
up, Bek,” Veronica muttered.
“Agreed,”
Axa added. “Drew’s right. We can help, and we should help.”
“Suppose
that I do not want to help them?” Charlotte said.
“That’s
fine,” Drew accepted. “But you want to fight those Brotherhood
guys for blowing up your home, right?”
“Of
course I do. And we are going to win. We will show everyone that
messing with us would be a mistake.”
“Messing
with any of us,” Drew said.
“I
do not care about you,” Charlotte retorted.
“That
much is clear,” he said. “But you still need to be prepared.”
Gemma
spoke up. “What about making more weapons for us?”
“On
the to-do list,” Drew said. “But I can’t make energy weapons
for everyone.”
Bek
raised a hand. “Can I get a gun?”
“If
you prove that you can be trusted,” Drew said.
“I
can be trusted,” she argued. “I haven’t done anything wrong for
the last few days. I’ve been really good.”
“We’ll
see,” Drew said before looking back up at Charlotte as she spoke.
“I
don’t need any weapons,” she said. “My claws and some large
rocks will do me just fine. I’ll crush those tin-canned bastards
like they were nothing.”
“Regardless,”
Drew said, “if we find ourselves having to defend the plant, then
it’s likely that we might have to work together with the settlers.
A good chunk of them are armed and will likely be willing to fight.
This means we need to introduce them to you before we’re put in
that situation.”
“No,”
Charlotte said. “You should have them leave as quickly as
possible.”
“They
already know of your existence,” Drew pointed out. “Not that
you’re here, but they know you’re real.”
“Then
we should destroy them.”
“No,”
Axa said loudly. “Drew’s right, if we want to survive long-term,
then we need allies.”
“What
makes you think the locals want to be our allies?” Charlotte asked.
“You are naive if you think they won’t want to kill us.”
The
most annoying thing was that Drew knew she was right. Even so, he
wanted to believe that humanity was capable of putting aside its
prejudices. At least long enough to deal with the Brotherhood
secessionists. He just wished people were able to live and let live,
but their fears always won out in the end.
“We
need to make a plan,” Drew said. “And to do that effectively, we
need an introduction.”
Gemma
raised her hand. “I can go if you want.”
Veronica
interjected. “I should be the one. Apart from Bek and Glower, I’m
the shortest and least intimidating.”
Axa
quickly pointed something out. “If I were you, Drew, I would
probably get them to give up their guns before any meeting. Don’t
want anyone panicking and taking shots.”
“Good
idea,” Drew agreed. “I’ll go talk to them, get them prepared.
Though I doubt getting them to give up their weapons will be that
easy.”
“It
won’t,” Charlotte said. “I doubt they will give up their
weapons.”
“You’re
probably right,” Drew agreed.
He
was starting to regret all his recent decisions. With the arrival of
the refugees, the Robco plant had turned into a powder keg, and all
it would take was a spark, and the whole place could erupt.
He
wished things had gone differently. He wished they had gone literally
anywhere else because they had put him in an impossible situation. At
the end of the day, it wasn’t the refugees' fault, and it certainly
wasn’t the Greenclaw’s.
He
had a feeling deep down that this was going to be a complete and
utter disaster. He was fucked, and all he could do was attempt to
contain the inevitable shit show.
“I’ll
see you in a few minutes,” Drew said as he turned and headed out of
the warehouse.
The
walk back to the cafeteria honestly felt like he was heading straight
towards his doom. Most barely tolerated ghouls, and they were mostly
human. Now, he was expecting them to accept humans turned Deathclaw.
He’d
gone mad. That was the only explanation because there was no way they
would accept it.
With
a deep breath, Drew stopped outside the double doors that led to the
cafeteria. Over the next few minutes, he was going to attempt to sell
them on the impossible. That big scary-looking monsters were actually
friendly, lovable, not-so-little scamps.
He
closed his eyes as he prepared himself, going through all the talking
points he wanted to touch on.
“Here
goes nothing,” he said, opening his eyes and pushing the doors open
as he stepped into the cafeteria.
All
eyes fell on him, including a rather worried-looking Jack.
“Okay,”
Drew said after clearing his throat. “Now, I guess you’re
wondering where I went. Well, I was talking to some other guests we
had here.”
“We
heard a very loud voice,” the mayor said. “Was another town
attacked?”
“In
a manner of speaking, yes,” Drew said.
Jack
stood up and stepped over to him. “Can I talk to you outside for a
moment?” he asked.
“Uh,
sure,” Drew said as they both left the cafeteria.
The
moment the doors were closed, Jack let loose his grievances. “Telling
them is a mistake. Forget about those guys in power armor. We might
end up with a war raging right here inside these walls.”
“They’re
gonna find out eventually,” Drew said. “Either by someone
wandering or them spotting them when they go out to hunt. The
question is, do we tell them in a controlled manner or allow them to
find out in a chaotic one?”
Jack
bit his bottom lip. “Maybe we could cordon off areas of the factory
and ask them not to go hunting for a few days.”
“You’re
literally asking them to starve themselves. Charlotte and Kiki, in
particular, need a lot of food. They’ve already been cutting back
on their intake. It’s not fair to ask them that, and I doubt
Charlotte would listen anyway.”
“We
could end up with a bloodbath. They will turn on the Greenclaws as
soon as they find out.”
“We
didn’t.”
Jack
licked his dry lips. “This is a bad idea, Drew. You’re putting
all of us in danger.”
“It
is better to face the problem head-on. We have to tell them.
Otherwise, we are most certainly going to have an incident.”
“We’re
going to have an incident if you tell them.”
“Correct,
but at least this way, we can break it to them more slowly. Ease them
in.”
“How
can you ease them in? It took me over a week before I was
comfortable, and if I’m honest, I’m only really comfortable with
Grace… I mean Sekka. Them in there they won’t accept them
because, unlike us, they have no prior connection. They can’t see
past their exterior. It will be all they can see.”
“It’s
the right choice,” Drew said as he stepped back into the cafeteria,
Jack following close behind.
“So,”
the mayor began. “Do you have something to tell us?”
“As
a matter of fact, I do,” Drew said. “First of all, I want
everyone to place their weapons down by the serving counter by the
kitchen over there.”
“Why?”
a voice asked.
“Well,
for one thing, you don’t need to carry them on you while here.”
The
mayor shook his head. “What if they attack?”
“Then
you’ll know where they are. Besides, I think all your weapons need
a good cleaning and a good service.”
“Not
wrong,” another voice said.
“No
way!” yet another voice added. “We’re not giving up our guns.”
Drew
glanced at Jack, who gave him a ‘what did you expect?’ look.
“I’m
not asking you to give them up. I just want you to place them by the
counter over there.”
“Not
gonna happen,” yet another voice said. “We have to be prepared if
they attack.”
The
mayor spoke for his people. “They won’t give up their weapons,
and I don’t blame them. We were attacked, and we could be attacked
again at any moment. We need to be ready.”
While
Drew had expected this outcome, it wasn’t any less disappointing.
“If
that’s how you feel,” Drew said as he tried to think of how he
was going to tell them that the Greenclaws were staying there with
them.
“I
guess I should just tell you,” Drew said out loud.
“Tell
us what?” the mayor asked.
“You
are not the first guests to seek refuge here.”
“You
said that already,” the mayor said.
“Where
are they?” another voice asked.
“They’re
staying in the warehouse,” Drew answered.
“I
didn’t even know any other settlements had been attacked,” yet
another voice said.
“That’s
because it was located quite a ways away, and the people living there
aren’t exactly human.”
“Ghouls?”
the mayor asked.
“Gross,”
another voice said. “Keep them away from us,” a third added.
Drew
let out a tired sigh before he glanced down at his Pipboy. Telling
them outright probably wouldn’t work. His only course of action was
to replay the recordings made by the scientist who had turned his
friends and loved ones into the Greenclaws.
With
it being his only real option, he made his way to the center of the
room and raised his arm.
“Listen
closely,” he said as he turned up the volume and hit play on the
first recording.
*
* *
There
was utter silence as the final log finished playing. Thus far, the
recordings had proven very useful in explaining what was happening to
those unaware, and he hoped that it would do so again.
The
mayor was the first to speak. “I don’t understand.”
Mandy
did. “It’s those green Deathclaws. They used to be people.”
“Bullshit!”
someone yelled. “Those recordings have to be fake!” another voice
yelled. “What if they’re not!?” another voice said.
Drew
could see the uncertainty and even fear etched on their faces. He had
always known that it wouldn’t go down well, but even so, he had
hoped. With a good chunk of them armed, he knew that bullets might
start flying the moment he brought her in, so he had to somehow still
find a way to ease them into it.
“There’s
someone I want you to meet,” Drew said. “And I’m sure she wants
to meet you too.”
“Who?”
the mayor asked.
“The
green Deathclaw,” Mandy said with a look of wonder. “It’s true,
she really is intelligent, isn’t she? I knew it!”
Drew
clenched his jaw. He was glad at least one of them seemed
enthusiastic, but everyone else’s expressions ranged from confused
to terrified. “I need everyone to promise not to shoot at her.”
“This
is bullshit,” the mayor said. “This is some kind of trick.”
Drew
shrugged. “Sure, you got me,” he said sarcastically as he made
his way towards the doors. “I’ll go fetch her. Jack, keep them
company.”
“This
should go down well,” Jack muttered as Drew left the room.
It
wasn’t going to go down well, Drew knew that much at least. The
whole situation felt kind of surreal. He felt like he wasn’t in
control and he was being herded along a singular path. He wasn’t,
though, and at the end of the day, he was simply trying to contain an
impossible situation. It was either controlled introduction or
uncontrolled, and he would prefer things to be under control, even if
it was merely an illusion of it.
As
quickly as he could, he made his way back to the warehouse.
“Are
they prepared?” Charlotte asked the moment he stepped inside.
“No,”
Drew said. “But I think we should probably go through with it
anyway. I’ll have to bring two Assaultrons with us just to be
sure.”
“So,
you are willing to kill them to protect us?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m
not willing to do anything. They’re there as insurance.”
“I
don’t understand why you feel the need to introduce us in the first
place?”
“Because
sooner or later, one of them is going to wander, and when they do, it
is certain that they will bump into one of you. I’d rather they
know you’re here and keep clear than be scared to death and cause
an unintentional incident.”
“I’m
willing to meet them,” Veronica said. “Maybe I’ll just peek my
head through the doors to start.”
“That
might be a good idea,” Drew agreed. “Things would have been a lot
less complicated if they had decided to go literally anywhere else.”
“You
could have turned them away,” Charlotte pointed out.
“Yeah,
I could have. But I think Charan would have been upset if Jarik had
died because of that decision.”
“How
is he?” Charan asked.
“Unconscious
last I knew,” Drew answered. “I’ll see how they are doing once
I’ve introduced Veronica to our guests.”
“Thank
you,” she said.
Drew
turned on his heels. “Come on then, Veronica. Let’s get this over
with.”
They
left the warehouse, and Drew led her straight to the factory floor,
where he activated two Assaultrons, which were on standby.
“This
seems like a bad idea,” Veronica said. “Maybe we shouldn’t take
the robots.”
“It’s
for your safety,” Drew said.
“Is
it too late to back out?”
“You
can if you want to.”
“I
just want to get this done.”
“I
won’t make you if you don’t want to.”
“Well,
I’m always up to meeting new people. It’s just a lot more
difficult when you’re the embodiment of people’s worst
nightmares.”
“Well,
I think you’re lovable,” Drew said with a smirk. “Maybe we
should try having you talk through the door before entering. Get
people used to your voice.”
“Good
idea.”
Slowly
and with a lot of apprehension, they made their way to the cafeteria.
Along the way, they happened to bump into Amy. She didn’t look
happy.
“I
went to the cafeteria, and Jack filled me in,” she said. “You
gone crazy?”
Drew
had long since gotten fed up with people questioning his decision.
“They
would have found out eventually,” he answered. “Like I’ve told
everyone else, it’s better this way. We can ease them in instead of
them finding out by accident. Try to avoid an incident.”
“We
might still…”
“… Have
an incident, yeah, yeah, I get it,” Drew interrupted. “At this
point, I don’t think there’s another choice. I doubt those people
are gonna leave any time soon, and if we’re attacked, I can’t
have the Greenclaws hide away. I doubt Charlotte would allow that,
anyway.”
Amy
raised her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’m not the
one that needs convincing.”
“Sorry,”
Drew apologized. “I’m a little on edge.”
“Understandable.”
Drew
nodded and then glanced at Veronica. “You still want to do this?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t sound at all certain.
They
continued on, stopping outside the cafeteria doors.
“Wait
out here while I prepare them,” he told Veronica before looking at
the two Assaultrons. “You two, come inside with me and stand guard
at either side of the doors.”
“Understood,”
they both said in unison.
Veronica
looked down at her body. “I wish I had something to wear.”
“I
didn’t think you were that bothered about being naked?”
“I’m
not usually, but there’s gonna be a lot of new people in there. I
kinda feel exposed.”
Amy
patted her on the arm. “That’s because you are exposed.”
“Let’s
just get this over with,” Veronica said as she took a few steps to
the right, hiding herself from the view of the doors.
Drew
stepped forward, pushing the doors open before he and Amy stepped
inside, followed by the two Assaultrons who stood at either side of
the doors. Mutters erupted all around the room, and while most of it
was just noise, he did manage to pick up the odd word such as
“robots” and “threat”.
“I
don’t understand,” the mayor said, looking at the Assaultrons.
“Those are robots, not Deathclaws.”
“Very
astute of you,” Drew said dryly. “She’s outside.”
“She?”
a voice asked.
“Go
on, then,” the mayor said, folding his arms, clearly disbelieving.
“Show us this Deathclaw.”
“She’s
not a Deathclaw,” Drew said, raising up his Pipboy arm. “I played
the logs for you. You know what they were, who they are.”
“Some
voice from your arm thingie proves nothing,” the mayor said.
“No,
but Veronica will.”
“Veronica?”
the mayor asked.
Drew
ignored him as he called back to her. “Veronica, you can say
something if you want.”
“Hello,”
the deep yet feminine voice said from behind the doors. “Sorry
about the attack on Riverside. Sounds terrible.”
“That
voice sounds fake,” the mayor commented.
Mandy
slowly stood up out of her seat. “I wanna see her,” she said,
sounding almost excited yet terrified at the same time.
“Not
quite yet,” Drew said. “Need to ease people in, first. Get them
comfortable with her voice.”
Veronica
nervously agreed. “Uh, yeah, I don’t want to scare anyone.”
The
mayor looked as unimpressed as anyone could possibly look. “This is
some sick joke, isn’t it?” he questioned. “After everything
we’ve been through, you are making fools of us!”
There
were murmurs of agreement. They didn’t believe him, which wasn’t
unsurprising. He wouldn’t have believed it either in their place.
“Okay,
so I guess I’m gonna have to ask Veronica to peek her head through
the door. Try not to shoot her face off; otherwise, the Assaultrons
just might return the favor.”
Drew
glanced back to tell Veronica to poke her head in when the left door
opened slightly, and a horn moved into sight. There were several
gasps which turned into a few “Oh my god’s” and “What the
fuck is that” as her full head came into view.
“Hello,”
she greeted.
There
was utter silence. It was so quiet that Drew swore he could hear the
faint voice of Charlotte talking from all the way in the warehouse.
A
clawed hand appeared, and she offered a wave. “Uh, how are all of
you?”
The
silence continued. It was clear that they were all trying to make
sense of what they were seeing. The mayor then smiled, which confused
Drew. He had expected him to be scared, but he looked... Happy?
“I
see,” the mayor said. “You had me fooled for a moment there.”
Drew
felt even more confused than ever. He wasn’t certain how he could
think it was a trick. There was clearly a Greenclaw poking her head
through the doors.
The
mayor continued. “I’ve been to the old fairground back when I was
younger,” he said. “I’ve seen those old animal robots there.
Some of them were very well made, though time had taken its toll on
them. Worn down, and most were busted. Deathclaw robots will
definitely scare those metal men.”
Out
of everything Drew had expected the mayor to say, that hadn’t been
one of them. He thought that Axa was some kind of robot, and he had
to admit that, in a lot of ways, it was genius. He was seriously
considering going with that angle and getting them to believe the
Greenclaws were some kind of robot. Unfortunately, he knew that going
that route would only bite him in the ass later.
He
took a look around to make sure no one was clutching their weapons. A
lot had their hands under the tables out of sight, so it was hard to
tell. He was walking on metaphorical eggshells. If one of them took a
shot at Veronica, then the Assaultrons would return fire in kind,
which could easily turn the cafeteria into a bloodbath.
“Veronica,
I guess you can come in now. But slowly.”
“Slowly
is good,” she said as her head disappeared from view.
A
few moments passed before the two doors creaked open, and she ducked
through the doors before standing up to her full height of around
eight-and-a-half feet.
Much
to Drew’s surprise, she was not only covering her breasts and
crotch with her long arms but actually looked shy and intimidated by
the large group that filled the cafeteria.
There
were more murmurs, including a few utterances of “shit” and “it
looks so lifelike”, among others, including: “Why does it have
tits?”.
So
far, no one had opened fire, which was good, but he was far from
being out of the woods.
“Odd
design choice,” the mayor said, staring.
Mandy,
who was stood up, took a single step forward. “It’s not a robot.
It’s real. My boyfriend will be amazed. We knew that one saved us.
You can turn invisible, can’t you?”
“Uh,
yeah,” Veronica said.
“Do
you recognize me?”
“Can’t
say I do,” Veronica said. “It was probably Axa or Sekka you
bumped into. They’ve always been into helping people.”
As
Drew took a look around the room, he noticed someone clutching a
rifle against their chest. A fear crept inside him that the guy might
actually freak out and shoot her, so he casually put himself between
them and Veronica.
“Wow,”
Mandy continued. “So you’re all really nice, then?”
“I
wouldn’t say that,” Veronica said, looking at Drew.
“Veronica
isn’t a robot,” Drew said. “Again, you all heard the
recordings. She is a friend from Paulson. She’s human in her heart.
They all are.”
Silence.
Drew could see on their faces that they were trying to process not
only what he was saying but also what they were seeing. The fact no
one was running and screaming was a good sign, but he could tell that
it would only take a single thing, and the room could very quickly
and easily descend into chaos.
“This
has to be a trick,” the mayor said finally. “It can’t be a
Deathclaw. It hasn’t attacked.”
“And
it talks,” a second voice added.
“Has
to be a robot,” a third voice said.
“Why
would he make a Deathclaw robot with tits?” another voice asked.
“Because
he’s a pervert,” the third voice said.
Drew
felt his ire rise. “Veronica is not a robot, I assure you. We first
met at the Red Rocket Mega Stop. Well, we met years before that, but
I was reunited with her there.”
“And
the rest is history,” Veronica said.
Drew
decided it was probably best to end things there. “Okay, Veronica.
I think you can head back to the warehouse now. Amy, can you go with
her?”
“Sure,”
Amy said.
“Nice
meeting you,” Veronica said as she ducked below the door frame and
left with Amy following behind.
Drew
breathed a sigh of relief. Veronica had come and gone without being
shot. It certainly could have gone a lot better, but it also could
have gone infinitely worse. If anything, they appeared to be a
mixture of confused and frightened. He had to reassure them somehow,
yet he wasn’t entirely sure how to do that.
“They’re
scary, but they’re sweet once you get to know them,” Drew said.
Everyone
stared at him like he had just said the most stupid, unbelievable
thing in the world. From an outside perspective, he could understand
that point of view.
“I
think it’s best that you are given time to go over what’s
happened,” Drew told them. “Just remember, they are on our side
if you’ll let them be. Don’t make them your enemy. It’s not
fair on them, and it’s certainly not fair on you.”
He
didn’t wait for a response since he wasn’t expecting any and
turned and left the cafeteria. Whether or not he had made a huge
mistake, only time would tell. At that moment, though, he felt like
he needed to lie down.
So
much had changed in such little time. When he had first set foot in
the factory, he had been living in Colville, and the Greenclaws had
merely been unsubstantiated rumors. Now he was living with them.
Drew
entered the manager’s office, made his way past the desk and stared
out the window at the wilderness beyond. The refugees from Riverside
were not happy about the presence of the Greenclaws. That much was
certain. If it came to it, at this point, he would side with the
Greenclaws over those from Riverside. That was if it wasn’t
Charlotte who started it. If that was the case, then he might be
forced to side with the refugees.
The
whole situation was a mess. The only thing that wasn’t was how
Sarah and Suzy had done an excellent job treating the injured. Even
so, a lot of people from Riverside were either dead or missing, and
the whole thing gave Drew pause. He had heard stories of the
Brotherhood, but they tended to go after the bigger things, not
attack towns and caravans because they had robots. He kept on
thinking as to the ‘why’, but the only answers were guesses and
conjecture. The most likely was that they were trying to rebuild
their strength, so they were gathering what they could, but to attack
so brazenly also meant they were fine with taking losses.
It
just didn’t make sense. At least not to him. Perhaps if he had all
the information, all the details, it would, but until then, he was in
the dark as to their true motivations.
Something
caught his eye. At first, it appeared to be a black dot in the sky,
perhaps a bird. But as it grew closer, it became apparent that not
only was it not a bird, but it was an aircraft.
“Vertibird,”
he uttered before he grabbed his laser rifle and bolted out the door.