They had taken the Assaultron line to pieces and were making sure that every component was cleaned and ready. Drew had already de-crusted and polished most of the machine parts, but now he had to ensure that once he started them up, they didn’t stop until he had an army.

“Clean as it will ever be,” Amy said.

“Without spending weeks or months scrubbing, that is,” Jack added.

Drew had to agree, yet he still felt a little apprehensive. Starting up old machines was always a gamble.

“Okay, we’ll put this all back together, then while I’m running a diagnostic on this line I want you two starting up the Sentry bot line,” he said looking at Amy and Jack. “It’s time we made some more of those. I want something to bolster those Protectrons that are wandering around the parking lot. And speaking of those Protectrons, I still need to bring them in for maintenance and reprogramming.”

“How many Sentry bots do you want us to make?” Jack asked.

“Not sure yet,” Drew said as he heaved up a heavy component and slotted it back into its housing. “We’ll probably do five and see how it goes from there.”

They wasted no time putting the Assaultron line back together and five and a half hours after they had first taken it apart, the newly cleaned production line was back together. During that time, Gemma and Veronica brought robot components through from the stock warehouse ready for assembly

It was time-consuming and tiring work, yet Drew knew it would be worth it. He needed to protect his home and those he cared about and that included the Greenclaws.

The doors to the stock warehouse opened and the two Greenclaws stepped in for what had to be the fiftieth time and placed the large boxes down along the rear wall.

“We nearly done?” Veronica asked. “I feel like I’ve been doing this for hours.”

“We have,” Gemma said. “But I agree, how many more components could you possibly want in here?”

Drew took a quick look through all the boxes before he answered their question. “Can you two find more boxes of Sentry bot parts?” Drew called over.

“Sure,” Veronica said. “Anything else?”

“No. Just bring in a few boxes. That should be enough to get a good few dozen Assaultrons and a handful of Sentries built.”

He headed over to the terminal and logged in before starting the diagnostic on the Assaultron line. He watched as it began to scroll through all the components each with an ‘OK’ next to it. The only issues that arose were the same ones on the Sentry line, those being maintenance checks and recommended parts replacements.

“Looks like it’s fine,” he said. “We’ll put the Assaultron components in ready for manufacture, but before that, I want to run a test cycle.”

Drew’s fingers rushed against the keyboard and the Assaultron line hummed to life. It ran through its cycle before ending with the green letters on the screen telling him that it had been completed successfully. Just like it had done with the Sentry bot line.

“Looks like it’s ready,” Drew told the others. He quickly checked the time, seeing that it was six-fifteen in the evening. “You guys want to stop for something to eat?”

Jack shook his head. “Let’s make sure it all works, first.”

“Agreed,” Drew said. “Place all the Assaultron components in their slots. If this goes well, then we’ll have an army of them by week's end.”

Jack sighed. “I wish the autoloader worked.”

“We don’t need it,” Drew said. “We won’t be running any of this anywhere near full speed and we need the components from it as spares.”

The doors on the far side of the room swung open and Drew looked over to see Sekka as she stepped inside, crawling under the low frame.

“Just in time,” he said. “I’m about to build our very first Assaultron.”

“We have a problem,” she said as she strode over, her footfalls heavy on the concrete floor.

“What kind of problem?” Drew asked. He could tell from her tone that she didn’t have good news.

“Bek and Axa were out on patrol around the perimeter and they caught someone in some strange-looking metal armor spying on us. They got away.”

Drew took in a deep breath as he fully took in what he had just been told. It wasn’t good news, that much was clear. Anyone spying on them, whether they be Brotherhood or not could impact his plans negatively.

“What kind of armor?” he asked.

“Not big like power armor, but tight. Covered most of the head. Just the face was exposed.”

“Could be a scout,” he said as he rubbed his eyes.

Amy walked over to him. “What do we do?”

He rolled his shoulders. “We continue doing what we’re doing.” He glanced back at the production lines. “It’s gonna be a looong night.”

“So we pulling an all-nighter?” Jack asked.

“We don’t have a choice.”

At that moment, Veronica and Gemma stepped back from the warehouse with boxes full of Sentry bot parts.

“What’s going on?” Gemma asked. “You look dour.”

“Possible scouts,” Drew answered. “Which means that we could have a fight on our hands within the next few days.”

“That soon?” Veronica asked, sounding unsettled.

“That soon. Which means we need to bring the timeline up a lot. We need to have a small army by the end of tomorrow.”

Drew pointed to the console. “Jack, turn the Sentry line on.”

Jack rushed over while Drew headed to the crates. “We need to start placing these parts into their hoppers.”

He glanced at Amy. “Can you go fetch Sarah? We might need her help.”

“Can do,” she said as she hurried out of the room.

He stepped up next to Jack as the others got the Sentry line ready to start a production run.

“You think we can do it?” Jack asked.

“If we can’t then some of us will die. Simple as that.”

“Right, so we better do our best,” Jack said.

“We have to,” Drew said with a nod before he went to help the others.

Before long, both the Sentry bot line and the Assaultron line were ready to be started.

“Okay, we’ll pump out one Sentry and one Assaultron,” Drew told the others. “Then if nothing goes wrong, we’ll start proper production.”

“Should I start the Sentry line?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Drew confirmed. “I’ll focus on the Assaultrons.”

“Okay, setting up to make one Sentry.”

Drew did one final check before he too set up his line to produce a single unit. He glanced over at the Sentry line as it rumbled into life before he hit ‘execute’ on his own terminal.

The sound with both lines running was immense. A few hours of it and he knew they would all be well on their way to being deaf.

“I think we’ll need to find some ear protection,” Drew shouted.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “I think I saw some in the small office on the back wall.”

“What about us?” Sekka yelled. “I doubt those ear protectors will fit over our heads.”

“You can wait outside. Jack, go fetch four of them, two for when Amy gets back with Sarah.”

As Jack hurried off, Drew kept his eyes on the lines, moving between both consoles to make sure nothing was awry. Soon, he was back and Drew put on the ear defenders. Almost immediately, the sound level was cut in half.

“Perfect,” he shouted.

The doors opened and Amy stepped inside with Sarah and Suzy. Jack promptly headed over and passed the ear defenders over to them.

After putting them on, they all made their way over to Drew.

“What do you need help with?” Sarah asked.

“At this moment, I want you to stand over by that big red button on the wall and press it if I tell you to.”

“Is it an isolation switch?”

“It’s an emergency stop button. Halts the entire plant. If I see anything going wrong, I want to mitigate potential damage.”

“Got it,” Sarah said as she hurried over to the button.

Even though the Sentry line was started up first, an Assaultron was the first off the end fully constructed.

“Look at that,” Drew said as he stepped over to it. “A dozen or so of these and those idiots would have to start rethinking their position here. These along with the Sentry bots, and they will seriously have to rethink things. These added with the turrets on the roof and they would be stupid to attack.”

A Sentry bot rolled off the line next and Drew wasted no time running a diagnostic on both, which they passed.

“This is it,” Drew said, looking at the others. “We can actually do this. The only line left is the Gutsy line. We can convert the Assaultron line for Protectrons, but I don’t think they’ll be needed.”

“How many do you want us to make?” Jack asked.

Drew thought for a moment. He really wanted to just start up the lines and let them run, but he knew it was safer and there was less chance of something going wrong if they produced one at a time. He also knew that would take forever.

Drew rubbed his chin. “If we can make five and there are no issues, then we’ll start producing in bulk.”

“Sounds good,” Jack said. “Do you want me to do another one?”

“Yeah, make another one and I’ll make another Assaultron.”

“How many do you want to make altogether?” Amy asked.

“Until there are no more parts,” Drew answered. “Tonight, let’s make five of each. Then tomorrow, we’ll start anew and pump out as many as we can. I was thinking an all-nighter but I think it’s best if we’re rested up and ready in case those power-armored goons do show up looking for trouble”

“Good idea,” Amy agreed. “No point in messing up our sleep schedule if we don’t have to.”

Drew nodded. “Once we have a sizable force, we’ll start work on fixing up the Gutsy line.”

Drew watched for a moment as the Sentry line rumbled back into action before he started the Assaultron line with an order of one unit.

Again, the Assaultron was the first to be finished and Drew immediately ran a diagnostic on it. Like the first, there were no errors, or at least none that were of any concern. He then ran a diagnostic on the Sentry bot as its construction finished and he found the same.

“Fantastic,” Drew said.

“Want to make a third?” Jack asked.

Drew took off his ear defenders. “You know what? Maybe we should put these four on patrol around the perimeter. Those Protectrons are next to useless.”

“Good idea,” Veronica said as she and Gemma peered in through the door. “Make sure they don’t shoot at us.”

“You’ll be safe, don’t worry,” Drew promised. “I’ll put all of you on the ally list. Like I did with the turrets.”

“Didn’t they shoot at Lotte when they first arrived?” Gemma pointed out.

“I fixed that,” Drew said as he stepped over to the terminal.

“I hope so,” Gemma said before she and Veronica disappeared back behind the doors.

“I’m going to give them a route around the perimeter. One Sentry and one Assaultron going clockwise, the other two going anti-clockwise.”

“Sounds good,” Amy said. “I’ll sleep a little better knowing they’re out there.”

“I agree,” Sarah said from where she stood by the emergency button.

He moved away from the terminal and over to the first Sentry bot.

“Okay, I deactivated their remote control systems,” Drew told everyone. “This means I am going to activate them manually.”

“Why do that?” Jack asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if we can shut them down remotely?”

“It would, but we don’t know if those assholes can hack the frequency.”

He unhooked his Pipboy jack and plugged it into the first Sentry bot. Not a moment later, a mechanical hiss emanated from its hydraulics as it rose up on its three-wheeled limbs.

“Awaiting command!” it uttered in its deep robotic voice.

“Stand by,” Drew said as he unplugged his jack and stepped over to the first Assaultron, plugging it into its port. A few moments later, it whirred into life as it stood up straight.

“Instruction required,” it said, looking at him.

“Okay, I have set you two as Unit-One-A and Unit-One-B. I have issued a patrol route on the exterior of this facility.”

The Sentry bot answered first. “Affirmative.”

“Understood,” the Assaultron added a moment later.

“I will activate Unit-Two-A and Two-B and you will all head outside together.”

“Affirmative.”

Drew quickly activated the other two robots and told them the same thing before turning to Jack.

“Show them outside. Take them through the stock warehouse.”

“Yessir,” he said excitedly. “Follow me.”

The four robots rolled and strolled after him noisily while Drew walked back over to the main console. They were still a long way from being secure, but it was a definitive step in the right direction. A pair of Sentry bots and Assaultrons along with the turrets for support should easily deal with a small group of aggressors, even if they were wearing power armor. He planned on having ten more by the end of the night, five of each, though he would settle for four if it got too late.

“They’re on patrol,” Jack said.

“Right, go tell the Greenclaws can go rest.”

“Sure thing,” he said as he walked off.

“Sarah, you and Suzy can go as well. Amy, Jack, and I can deal with it from here, I think.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Drew nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, I’m sure. Things have been going far better than I anticipated.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Amy warned.

Sarah took off her ear defenders. “What do you want me to do with these?”

“Take them with you. Might be handy to have.”

“Okay, I’ll do that,” she said, holding them against her chest.

Jack stepped back into the large room with Gemma and Sekka close behind.

Drew looked over at them. “Didn’t Jack tell you that you could go rest?”

“Yeah,” Gemma said. “But we wanted to be here just in case.”

“Okay,” Drew said with a shrug. “We’re going to produce five more of each, put them on patrol, and call it a night.”

“Are we going to do it one by one?” Jack asked.

“Yes, like we discussed,” Drew confirmed. “We’ll check the lines after every single one we build. Can’t afford to have something go wrong.”

He and Jack made their way to their respective consoles and after a quick check, they started them up with another order. The lines rumbled as the parts were put together. A robot came off the end of their respective lines and they both moved them before doing a diagnostic and a quick line check before repeating the process. By the time they had completed all ten, an hour and fifteen minutes had passed. Satisfied, he considered putting them on patrol like the other four but decided to hold them back, just in case. Besides, it was best not to show the enemy all his pieces, at least not before he was ready.

Amy stepped over to him and slapped his back. “We’re actually doing it,” she said. “We’re building an army.”

“It’s not an army yet, but we’re getting there.”

“Don’t forget you have us, too,” Gemma pointed out. “I think we can already defend this place pretty well.”

“Let’s get to the point where we don’t have to use you to fight,” Drew said. “Fourteen robots is really good for one day, but let’s bring that up a little. I also want to get the Gutsy line pumping out robots as soon as possible. I think the lines are good, so we can leave them to work autonomously, given that we keep the feeds for the components and parts stocked up.”

“We’ll be ready,” Sekka said.

Drew nodded slowly. He was hopeful, more hopeful than he had been that morning, but they still had a long way to go until he was truly happy that they were well-defended. Being safe, was only the first step. He ultimately wanted to drive the Brotherhood splinter group back out of the region. Only then could he truly say the Greenclaws were safe.

Deep down, though, he knew he couldn’t say that. He hadn’t really been thinking about it due to his attention being elsewhere, but there was also the fact that he doubted the locals would react well to the Greenclaws either, even if they were friendly. There would be tensions, even hostilities and he currently had put no thought into how he was going to deal with the inevitable fallout when news of intelligent Deathclaws that used to be people started to spread.

Drew came out of his thoughts as Gemma approached him.

“Hey,” he said smiling.

“Hey,” she said right back. “You’ve done really well.”

“Thanks.”

She looked around at the others and then back to him. “Well, goodnight, I guess. I want to see how Kiki’s doing.”

“Sure. Send her my best.”

“I will.”

Drew watched as she left before he addressed the others. “I’m calling it a night. I’m feeling kinda tired.”

“Same,” Jack said.

“Yeah,” Amy agreed. “Been a busy day.”

“Been a busy couple of days for me,” Drew said. “Will be a busy week. Hell, it’s gonna be a busy month.”

“Goodnight,” he said.

He made his way up to the office and stood at the window and stared out at the darkening sky. There he stood for several minutes before he sat himself down in the chair and continued to stare out, keeping his eyes on the highway.

The enemy was coming. It was only a matter of when.