POV Rio
I went back to our base and found MacCready was no longer covered in gunk. Everyone was waiting on the main floor. I could see they had been waiting to open presents, so I joined in and we opened our presents. I got some interesting presents from everyone else. Curie gave me some Horse Electrolytes. I wasn't even sure where she got them.
"I am not proficient in veterinary care, but I do know that Electrolytes are vital for the functioning of a living being," Curie said with an innocent smile.
"I... Um, thank you. I always wanted some," I say while thinking of what they may taste like.
'Is it even safe for me to eat these?'
The next present was from MacCready. Thankfully, his was somewhat normal. He got me a Butterfly Knife. It was in great condition. When I tried to open it fancily, I stabbed my fingers.
"Ouch," I say while putting my finger in my mouth.
"Hah, maybe you should practice a bit more before trying to get fancy," MacCready says with a smile.
I just nod and put the knife away while thanking him. The next present was something I was a little nervous about opening. Dogmeat had gotten me something, and I was not sure if I would like it based on the rotting smell coming from the box. I open the box and have to try hard not to gag. It was the mutilated and rotting corpse of something that I couldn't immediately identify. But I was able to discern that it used to be a rat of some kind.
"Thank you so much, Dogmeat. I will cherish this," I say while trying to smile as best as I can.
Everyone else gives me a wide berth as the smell is quite rancid. I grab a jar from my inventory and place the present inside. I wasn't lying when I said I would cherish it. It was an adorable gesture from Dogmeat. Once it was in the jar, I used a few runes to disinfect it so that it wouldn't rot any further. Then I put it in my inventory.
'I think I have shelf space back in Vault 111. Yeah, that should work.'
The last present was from Cait, and when I opened it, I didn't know what to say. It was a bridle. I wasn't sure if this was insulting, funny, inappropriate, or something else.
'Are bridles normal for a sentient horse? I would imagine no. As they are kind of like bondage stuff, right? I don't think I want to know, as that feels like a can of worms I would rather not think about.'
Cait was laughing at my face, and MacCready was trying to stifle a laugh, but that broke when Curie asked if this meant I was rideable. I facepalmed hard enough that the slap echoed through the whole house and into the nearby street. Everyone broke down laughing except Curie, who was looking at us with a confused look. After we've had a laugh, we settle in for a nice day of relaxation. I make some hot cocoa and mix in the Horse Electrolytes. Turns out they were expired and possibly tainted.
I was fine. But everyone else was glued to the toilets for several hours. I tried to help them, but they were unwilling to let me into the bathrooms to help. They were evacuating from both sides, and from the sounds of it, it was messy. As for the Horse Electrolytes, I kept them as I figured I could use them as a bioweapon. Sure, it might be a war crime, but as a famous clown once said, "Geneva Convention, More like Geneva Suggestion."
Oh, but Curie was fine as she didn't mind me healing her. Mostly because she didn't understand the concept of nudity being embarrassing yet. Or at least she couldn't process what she was feeling, which was embarrassment.
"Now up next, I have a breaking news story," Travis said over the radio.
'Hmm, wonder what he is talking about?'
"We have reports of a reindeer running over an older member of Diamond City," Travis says.
"PFFFT!" I do a spit take.
I look at the radio and turn it up to hear what else they saw.
"We also have several reports that the same Reindeer has been seen delivering poisons across the Commonwealth. Though some say that the gifts were actually really helpful. Mayor McDonough has put a 50k cap bounty on the mysterious reindeer. If you have any info, please let Diamond City Security know. Now, in theme with this incident, I have a song that I got from the mysterious reindeer. It's called Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer," Travis ends while putting on the song I recognize.
I get a quest completed notification.
[America's Most Wanted!
Rewards:
Rudolph The Most Wanted Poster Settlement Object Unlocked
A Full Set Of Christmas Music ]
I feel my face blush heavily with embarrassment, and I cover my face with my hands. I couldn't believe someone saw me run over Ann Codman. I am not saying that she didn't deserve it, but still. And the bounty on my head was just... I don't even have the words for it. I took a peek at the wanted poster and decided to never show anyone. It was a very accurate depiction of a reindeer with a red nose. I decided to do what any rational person would do. Ignore the issue and hope it goes away.
'At least Travis got some nice music. And I at least got a full copy of the music of Christmas.'
I could have replicated the songs of my memory, but this saves me some time. Which reminded me of a plan I had been thinking of trying out for a while. I had access to a powerful radio tower and the know-how for setting up a radio station. Not to mention the numerous relay stations I had activated. I also left behind remote control programs for each of those towers. But my real plan needed something a bit better. That was where a place I have been meaning to check out for a bit came in. ArcJet Systems had lots of interesting and useful tech, but one was the most important. The Deep Range Transmitter. If it worked like I thought it did, then I would be able to broadcast as far as the West Coast with no issues. It would maybe need some slight modification, but it should theoretically work.
'I might even be able to broadcast to London. Or at least Ireland.'
I turned down the radio and decided to think about which specialization I should choose for the Elite Changelings.
'Mage for certain, but what should the others be?'
I already knew what each specialization meant. It would mean they had 100 in their two main skills, 80 in three secondary skills, and 50 in all others. Needless to say, that was really strong. A skill of 50 was generally the value of a highly skilled person. Nearly an expert level. It would mean the elites were very much so elites, capable of operating in almost any situation. They also get a SPECIAL stat based on the chosen speciality. A Mage had Intelligence. A Warrior had high Strength. A Sniper would have high Perception and so on.
'Sniper is definitely out. The increase in Perception is useless in most cases. They can already sense far beyond the human average. And scopes can compensate for any lower Perception.'
There were a lot of choices, but some were not that useful, such as the Bard and Monk classes. In the end, I decided on the Mage, Tactician, Tech Specialist, and lastly the Assassin.
The Tactician was the leader and one of the choices that came with a more specialized mind built for tactical awareness and leadership, while also retaining offensive capabilities. Their skills and stats were the following.
Skills:
Cracking: 50
Barter: 100
Energy Guns: 50
Explosives: 80
Guns: 100
Magic: 80
Medicine: 50
Melee Weapons: 50
Science: 50
Sneak: 50
Survival: 80
Unarmed: 50
SPECIAL Stats:
Strength = 10
Perception = 10
Endurance = 10
Charisma = 15
Intelligence = 15
Agility = 10
Luck = 10
The Mage was the magic specialist who came with an increased mana capacity and effectiveness when casting magic, as well as high magic resistance. They could cast several spells at once and were immune to casting interruption. Their skills and stats were the following.
Skills:
Cracking: 50
Barter: 50
Energy Guns: 50
Explosives: 50
Guns: 50
Magic: 100
Medicine: 80
Melee Weapons: 50
Science: 80
Sneak: 100
Survival: 80
Unarmed: 50
SPECIAL Stats:
Strength = 10
Perception = 10
Endurance = 10
Charisma = 10
Intelligence = 15
Agility = 10
Luck = 15
The next member was the Tech Specialist. They were proficient in everything tech and science-related and were chosen as they could give a more scientific view. That, and they could help me work in the lab if I needed help. Their skills and stats were the following.
Skills:
Cracking: 100
Barter: 50
Energy Guns: 80
Explosives: 50
Guns: 50
Magic: 80
Medicine: 80
Melee Weapons: 50
Science: 100
Sneak: 50
Survival: 50
Unarmed: 50
SPECIAL Stats:
Strength = 10
Perception = 10
Endurance = 10
Charisma = 10
Intelligence = 20
Agility = 10
Luck = 10
And lastly was the Assassin. They were the stealth and elimination specialist on the team. Now technically everyone one one the team was a stealth specialist because of my perk and their species, but the Assassin was far better at the craft. They were enhanced to be completely silent while in motion and possessed knowledge of poisons and specialized methods for eliminating enemies. If I needed something dead, then they were the first bug to go to. Their skills and stats were the following.
Skills:
Cracking: 50
Barter: 50
Energy Guns: 50
Explosives: 50
Guns: 80
Magic: 50
Medicine: 80
Melee Weapons: 100
Science: 50
Sneak: 100
Survival: 50
Unarmed: 80
SPECIAL Stats:
Strength = 15
Perception = 10
Endurance = 10
Charisma = 10
Intelligence = 10
Agility = 15
Luck = 10
I was quite satisfied with my choices. They covered each other's weaknesses and could easily operate in their squad without my support. Which led me to what to call them. I knew they were technically meant to be my guards or something like that, but I didn't need that, so instead I made them into a highly lethal spec ops squad. I felt there was only one name that fit best. Delta Squad.
'Now, should I name the Changelings after them, or should they have traditional Changeling names? Wait, do they already have names?'
I wasn't sure, so I decided to summon them. A flash of green fire and 4 new Changelings appear before me. They fall into a bow.
"Your highness," a Changeling with violet eyes says.
"There is no need to bow. Now, please introduce yourselves. I will start. I am Rio. I like honesty and magic. I dislike disloyalty and almost everything the Raiders do. My dream is to make this world a stable and peaceful place to live. As for my hobbies, I like building things," I say.
"I am Pharynx, I am the leader of this squad. I like protecting the Hive. I dislike seeing Changelings living in squalor. My dream is to bring glory to the Hive. As for Hobbies, I like polishing my armor," the violet-eyed Changeling responded.
The next to respond was an orange-eyed Changeling. They were also the only female, as far as I could tell.
"I am Urtica. I am the Tech-Specialist. I like learning new things. I dislike people who damage books and records. My dream is to write a book on the history of our species. And my hobby is reading, writing, archiving, oh, there are just so many things I love to do!" Urtica says with an excited voice.
The next to respond was a red-eyed Changeling.
"I am Sclerite. I am the stealth and assassination specialist. I like silence. I dislike paint. My dream is to protect my allies. My hobby is hiding from others," Sclerite says with what looks like a smile.
It was hard to tell as they were wearing a face mask. The mask reminded me of someone, but I wasn't sure who. Before I could dwell on that, the next response came from the last Changeling. This one had calm, light blue eyes.
"I am Cornicle. I am the magic specialist. I love magic and learning about magic. I dislike people who use magic improperly. My dream is to become an Arch Mage like my Idol Arch Mage Mirage. As for Hobbies, I like reading, practicing magic, and cooking," Cornicle says with a small smile.
I was a bit surprised by some of their answers. Cornicles' love of cooking is kind of cute. Sclerites' dislike of paint is odd, but it makes me think there is a story behind it. Urtica's name is interesting as it is the only one that isn't bug-based, and she is the only female. She is also quite the ball of energy and joy. Sclerite seems like the quiet type. Cornicle is the bookish type, but not too antisocial. Pharynx seems like a tough but caring leader type. Each one of them seemed like the kind of bug I could get along with.
I was familiar with their capabilities and confident in their ability to complete the work I needed done. I asked them a few more questions and learned some more info. They apparently didn't need to feed on love. Instead, they could feed on any emotion; it just differed in the taste department. They also needed far less emotion to sustain themselves. They could go a few months without feeding in a desperate situation. Their transformations had no time limits beyond the Mana cost. They had an inventory like mine. They came with gear specific to their class. And lastly, they could feed passively just by being near someone. Active feeding would give them far more energy, but passive feeding was practically undetectable.
The first mission I gave them was one I had been thinking about doing for a while, but I just didn't have the time, and I would have to do it solo. I sent them to the Boston Airport to collect all the valuables they could find and to make sure the place was more difficult for the B.O.S. to take over if they tried. The reason I would have to do it alone if they weren't around was that the Airport had a massive horde of Feral Ghouls. They numbered in the thousands. I could either disguise myself or transform into a ghoul, but my other companions couldn't. But Delta Squad was different. So I sent them off after making sure they knew where they were going. I even lent them the AHO for the mission. They would take the salvage to Sanctuary, where Captain Guto of the Griffon Mercenaries would be expecting them.
Guto was the leader of the summoned Griffons. I had summoned a total of 7 Griffons so far, and they had been in charge of protecting Sanctuary and keeping an eye on the surrounding area.
'I wonder if anyone is willing to accept healing now?'
I get up to walk upstairs when I notice a present under the tree.
'Huh? That's odd. Did I miss one?'
I grab the present and see it is from Santa. At first, I thought it was a joke by one of the others, but I read the note and opened the box. I froze when I saw what it was. It was a glass orb. That alone wouldn't be a big deal, but the orb was a dark blue color. That, and I could sense it was a magical artifact. I grabbed it and yanked my hand away from it as I could tell what this was, and I had to be careful.
The orb was a Memory Orb. They are magical archano-tech devices that store memories and knowledge of other people, allowing others to experience those memories long after the person who recorded them dies. The reason I was being careful was that these things send you into the memories, and you become unaware of your own body and your surroundings outside of the memory for its duration. And I have no idea how long this memory might be. Thankfully, the present came with a piece of paper explaining how to use this Memory orb safely.
'Hmm, this will be interesting.'
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Author's Note:
Another long chapter, I am on a roll. I made references to quite a few different things in this chapter, some more obscure than others. I wonder if everyone will find them eventually. Also, don't eat heavily expired food or supplements; it's just a bad idea. I did think that Rio would become the most wanted creature in the Commonwealth once Christmas morning came around, as so many people were on the naughty list and suffered the same consequences. People aren't stupid (well, mostly), so they would connect the dots quickly. I want to clarify that it is the reindeer form that is wanted dead or alive, not Rio. Rio did technically commit a War Crime with his gifts. Now they deserve it, but still, it is technically a War Crime. But then again, it's Fallout, so it's more of a suggestion at best. What do you think of the class choices? I think they were good choices that balanced the team's synergy with lethality. Don't worry about Cait and MacCready; they will recover soon. Until next time, Ciao.