It was a brisk January morning as I woke up and exited the Hydra, where Elizabeth, Lady, and I had slept.
The morning sun was barely peeking over the horizon. I stretched out and then began moving around camp before activating the Hydra's intercom system to sound reveille.
The cadets stirred at the morning call, and by 0700, or 7 AM if you prefer, they stood at attention before a briefing board I had set up.
There was also a park map that I had found and spread out over a table.
"Cadets, today you will be given the second half of your exam assignments. You've gotten a taste of what the wasteland of our former country has to offer when you passed through Boston. But here? This place will truly test you.
"This place might seem like just a former amusement park, and that is true, but there is also no shortage of irradiated mutated creatures, automated defenses, and biological hazards for you to experience.
"The objectives I have here on this board must all be fulfilled, or none of you will qualify to graduate from cadets.
"If that happens... That 'Hell Week' you experienced a month ago will look like a picnic..."
I paused to let that sink in, and I smiled wickedly as many of the cadets went pale, remembering the absolute torture I had put them through back then.
Seeing that my threat had landed, I continued.
"There are five parks for you to pay attention to and a sixth that you are prohibited from entering.
"The sixth is the home of some survivors, Kiddie Kingdom, whom I have had dealings with. They agreed to bring the assets we needed from Kiddie Kingdom and leave them at the front gate for us to collect.
"They may also decide to return with us as citizens later, so I expect you to interact with them positively if you happen to meet them."
Part of the negotiation I had with Oswald and Rachel included this. They agreed to collect the items I wanted from Kiddie Kingdom as long as my people didn't bother them while they made a decision on whether to join us.
I suspected they also wanted to observe our people in action before fully committing, which seemed reasonable to me.
All the cadets had to do was collect the goods the ghouls had gathered at the gate and bring them back here.
"The five park areas you will need to pay attention to are these: Nuka-Town, Galactic Zone, Dry Rock Gulch, Safari Adventure, and World of Refreshment, the Nuka-Cola Bottling Plant.
"The first one I recommend you pay attention to is Nuka-Town. While I did not see any people as I passed it, there were signs of survivors potentially living there. I suspect there is still a human presence within.
"Perhaps the arrival of a force outside their gates has pushed them into hiding.
"I advise you to make contact with these people, establish friendly relations, and gather information on the other objectives within the park, which are posted on this board."
After giving them an info dump, I pointed to the captains.
"Captains, you now have your assignments. I expect you to handle this together. Don't fail to meet my expectations."
And then I briskly walked away and left them to their own devices.
Jonny, Markus, and Reina approached the board and inspected the park map.
"How should we proceed? Nuka-Town first?" Reina asked.
"That will require diplomacy, so I think Division Two should handle it. Markus is the most sociable," Jonny suggested.
"I can handle that," Markus started. "But shouldn't we have Division One scout it out first? What if they aren't the friendly type? Or Reina, why not use that Eye-Bot you've been fiddling with? It can go in and take a look, right?"
I smiled as I listened to them forming a game plan. This kind of experience was very important to their growth since I never wanted a mindless colony of drones. The Winter Soldiers being the exception.
I wanted a fully functional military force of my own. One that could handle tasks tactically and efficiently without relying on me to hold their hands through it all.
I purposely left Nuka-Town alone so they could have the experience of interacting with outsiders. Those same people had definitely heard my arrival and hidden themselves. I knew this because, ever since the monorail arrived, I'd had a feeling of being watched from that direction.
You know that feeling you get when someone is looking at you? Yeah, I've been getting that feeling like crazy.
So, while I didn't see anyone, I already knew there were people living in there.
How many was hard to say since the area hadn't become a merchant hub yet, like it would later before the raiders took over.
But there was definitely someone there.
I sat down and cracked open a cold bottle of Nuka-Cola as I watched them organize themselves. I had some corn soup brewing for breakfast, which the cadets helped themselves to before leaving camp to start their day.
I looked out over the valley and smiled. There was a mountain of useful resources here that I wouldn't have to personally collect.
I was already mentally counting a humongous bag of caps since that was one of the objectives. To collect every bottle cap here and bring them to me.
They likely thought it was just part of their exam. None of them even knew how valuable these caps were to me and would soon be to everyone else in the wasteland.
'I am about to be apocalypse rich,' I thought to myself in amusement.
With the cadets gone, I decided to take Lady and Elizabeth on a walk to some other obscure locations, not only to enjoy the scenery but also to investigate a few things.
The first was a place called Grandchester Mystery Mansion, which had gained notoriety after a little girl, rumored to have been possessed, brutally killed her parents. She later escaped from an asylum after turning 18 and committed suicide in the attic.
The mansion was then seized and later purchased by Nuka-Cola Corp. and turned into a tourist attraction.
What drew me to this place wasn't any potential loot.
It was the supernatural phenomenon that occurred here in the game.
The ghost of that girl, Lucy, could be seen, and it was very creepy.
I needed to confirm the existence of supernatural activity in this real world. There were way too many unknowns, and also... I was intensely curious.
Would we really see a ghost?