“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.