POV Rio
As I step away from the computer, I see Pharynx behind me.
"Hello there," I greet him.
"Hello, Your Highness. I have an urgent report from our agent monitoring Nuka World," Pharynx replies.
"Very well, let me see it," I say while taking the report.
As I read, my eyebrows keep rising. When I finished, I had only one comment.
"This world can officially bite my shiny metal... a...armor. Yeah, armor," I stop myself from cursing, but I do give an exhausted sigh.
"That's what she said," Cait yells from down the hall.
"That doesn't even make sense! And get out of my house!" I yell back.
I look at Pharynx, who was a stoic as he always is.
"Sorry about that. Now, is this report accurate?" I ask.
"Yes, sir," Pharynx responds.
"Sigh. Okay. Send a squad of agents and let Agent Fang know his new mission is to use the chaos to rescue the slaves in Nuke World. Try to do it discreetly, but prioritize their lives first. And also see if they can learn why the creatures of Nuka World are acting so... coordinated. My guess would be some form of aberrant creature. Also, make sure they guard against psykers. This creature or psyker is likely residing in Safari Adventure. Be careful," I order.
"Yes, my leige," Pharynx replies.
"Sigh. At this point, I am starting to think you guys do that on purpose to make me agree to form a kingdom," I reply with a blank stare.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Your Highness," Pharynx says with a very small smirk.
I narrow my eyes at him.
"Uh huh?" I reply unconvinced.
Pharynx loses the smirk, but I was certain that he was messing with me, but I let it be, as I knew I wouldn't get an answer that I would like.
"Has there been any update on the Gunners?" I ask.
"Yes, sir. The Gunners managed to survive a trap set by the Enclave that would cause the entirety of Fort Drum to become a lake. Our agents report that a Nuclear Device did it, but that is not confirmed yet. We do have reports that the Gunners survived with just over 100 members left after the sound caused a nearby caste of Mirelurks to attack them. They haven't left the ruins of Adams Center, NY," Pharynx reported.
"Hmm, that fits. Keep an eye on them. If there is a chance to wipe out any Gunners, we can. I doubt they would try to come back to the Commonwealth, but just in case, we need to be ready," I order.
"Yes, Your Highness," Pharnyx replies.
I chose to ignore his reply and send him away. I then create another clone and send it towards the Pentagon.
'Let's see if I can figure out what caused the death.'
POV Cassidy
"Finally! That was ridiculous," I reply.
"Hmm, yes, but I am not getting a signal from the facility," Yesman comments.
"What? What do you mean you aren't getting a signal?" I asked, shocked and a decent amount annoyed.
"My sensors are not picking up any RobCo Communications. The only signals I am detecting are from a few Radio Stations and a few civilian radios that seem to be chatting with each other. It seems the Settlements are quite safe. This place seems real swell," Yesman replies.
"I swear to god that if we made this trip for nothing, I will be furious!" I complain.
"Don't you fret! I am sure everything will go well if we stay positive," Yesman says with his usual cheery tone.
"Sigh. Whatever, let's check out that facility, the geezer wants us to check out," I reply.
We travel around the Boston Ruins just in case there are any Raider gangs, and the first thing I notice is how... peaceful it is. We keep going until we get to a bridge that we need to take to get to our destination. However, it was guarded by people with weird-looking guns and Power Armor.
"Do we try and find a way around?" I ask.
"From the chatter I have picked up, I believe these are the Mintuemen. They shouldn't be hostile towards us. At most, they may ask for a toll, but even that might not be the case," Yesman replies.
I decide to trust Yesman on this, as he hasn't been wrong so far on our journey. Or at least not by much. So we approach.
"Halt! Please state your business," replies the guard in Power Armor.
"A caravan heading to the coast to sell my wares," I reply.
"Hmm, you must not know. There aren't any populated settlements past this bridge. If you're looking for trade, I would suggest Sanctuary up North. Diamond City in the West. Or the Castle in the South," the guard responds.
"Am I not allowed to scavange the ruins past here?" I ask.
"Wow, you must be from really far away. There aren't any ruins left past here. But you can go if you don't believe us. We are mostly here to act as a supply station. We don't prevent others from passing as long as they aren't hostile," the guard responds.
"Hostiles? Should I expect any Raiders?" I ask.
"Hahahaha, Raiders? The last gang got wiped out 2 weeks ago. The nearest Raider Gang would be in Nuka World. But that's a long trip," the guard says with an amused tone.
"Wh-what? No Raiders? How... How is that possible?" I ask aloud without meaning to.
"We have worked hard to make the Commonwealth a safe place. The only kind of threat you might come across is the rare wildlife that might cause some issues, but we have been thorough in the cleanup. Here, since you are new to the Commonwealth, take this pamphlet. It will tell you everything you need to know about traveling and what laws we have. If you don't like to trade with our group, that's okay. Diamond City is an independent settlement in Boston. They will gladly take your trade," the guard responds while giving me a pamphlet and seemingly not being offended by my unintended insult.
"Thanks, do I need to register my robot?" I ask.
"Nope, just make sure it doesn't break any laws and you will be fine. At most, registering it would give you the right to sue someone for damaging it. But that's about it," the guard responds while moving to the side to motion me through.
We leave the checkpoint, and when I get far enough, I feel confused. I expected a lot of things, but nothing like this. Part of me wanted to believe that their claims were nothing but postering and propaganda, but from what I could see, that didn't seem to be the case. I also quickly learned that they were being very truthful when they said there was nothing to scavange. There weren't even any buildings left. Or foundations.
'How the heck did they manage to take the foundation?'
I felt a little better when I found the secret entrance to the facility, and it was still present, but when I opened it, I found nothing but dirt.
'No...'
I looked at the dirt with empty eyes. But I didn't break down as I decided I at least got paid.
"Welp, that was a very long road trip that ended very anticlimactically. But that's not my problem, I got paid," I say aloud.
"Hmm, my scanners indicate there are no signs that the facility exists anymore. However, my scanners also indicate that the facility wasn't filled in," Yesman replies.
"What do you mean? This is the right place, right?" I ask.
"My records indicate this is the correct place. However, my sensors indicate that there is no facility here, and from what I can tell, there never has been one," Yesman replies.
"What? What are you saying, the facility just stopped existing?" I ask.
"No, I am saying that my sensors indicate there has never been a facility here. There are no signs of construction nor any indications that the facility was buried. This area looks like it was never used except for the road," Yesman replies.
I look at him and wonder if he is malfunctioning.
"This is the right place, but nothing ever existed here? How does that make any sense?" I ask.
"I have no idea," Yesman answers cheerily.
"Sigh. Let's ask around, maybe someone knows about what happened," I reply.
We walk around for a while before going back to the checkpoint to ask about the place we were looking for.
"Huh? RobCo Sales & Service Center? Yeah, I remember that place. It was removed," the guard responded.
"What do you mean removed?" I ask.
"Well, the Land Clearance Department came through and removed the building and everything connected to it. They did the same with everything else in this area. Last, I heard they started working on Boston now. If you are looking for a specific piece of machinery or some data, you can go to the Castle to buy it. Can't guarantee they will sell it, though. Certain things are sold and are kept by the R&D Department," the guard replies.
"They... Are you saying they removed an entire building, including its foundation, and then filled it in with dirt? Why?" I ask.
"We need the materials. And the process is made easy with the C.A.M.P.s; they made scrapping any building very quick and easy. That and it helps clear up more land for future settlements. And if the area is not in use, it can become a home for Pirates or criminals. Better to remove it, so if they want to try and make a base, it is easy for us to spot it," the guard replies.
"C.A.M.P.s?" I ask.
"Yeah, they are some sort of fancy device that can help you scrap things and build things far faster than by hand. It was some Vault-Tec invention or something. If you want to know more, you'll need to ask the Land Clearance Department. They also handle people looking to make new settlements," the guard responds.
"Uh, okay, I will do that. You said I can go to the Castle, where is that?" I ask.
"The pamphlet has directions, but just ask any patrol or make a stop at the docks, and someone can help you if you get lost. It used to be called Fort Independence, if that helps," the guard responds.
"Thanks," I reply, and instead of going to the Castle, I decide to go to Diamond City to ask another source of info to get a better understanding of these Minutemen.
'This is becoming stranger and stranger.'
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Author's Note:
Cassidy finally arrives. She would have arrived sooner, but the Gunners, Feral Ghoul Horde, and Super Mutants kept her from arriving. That and the time it would take to walk from New Vegas to Boston would take over a month if you ran nonstop. So, given they made many stops on the way and rested plenty, I believed they would take much longer to arrive. As for why the facility was gone, Rio had the entire area cleared out to gather more resources.
As for Nuka World, I had planned this for a while; let's just say a certain something wants to be like you. The Enclave had a Nuke but no way to launch it, so they just planted it below the base and prepared to use it as a trap for the Gunners. Lastly, a major event is about to happen, so prepare for that. Lastly no weekend chapters this week. Until next time, Ciao.