Fallout 3 - Beautiful Stranger

Chapter 1 Part 2

"This. Is. Three. Dog!

Another beautiful day dawns in the Capital Wasteland, brothers and sisters. Another beautiful day! The sun is shining, the water, the clean water, is flowing, thanks to that mysterious Lone Wanderer, and it is finally getting out there. You, yes, you can partake of the sweetest of sweet tastes, coming to a settlement near you.

Speaking of the Lone Wanderer. No-one has heard from our hero in a long time. Have they died? Have they moved on to pastures new? Have they been abducted by aliens? Who knows?

If you're out there, friend, that old wagon wheel, Lady D.C. could use your help one more time.

It seems the Super mutants are organising. Word on the streets, and by the streets, i mean the through short wave radio, is they have a new leader and that leader has a plan for world domination!

Nothing like aiming high!

So, if you see our old friend from Vault one-oh-one, tell them we could use a helping hand. Or, maybe, some other hero could rise up from the ashes?

Because the good old Capital Wasteland could sure use a hero right now.

This is Three-Dog coming at you from deep in downtown D.C. and here's a little Pat Boone mellowing the mellow for all you uptight folks out there."

-+-

She could see the woman, now. Dishevelled, wearing a big coat covered with pockets, rips and tears repaired with untidy stitching, cloth flapping. She wore an old football helmet, the grill bent and dangling, attached by only one spur. She couldn't determine how old she was, weather or age had caused her flesh to wrinkle and sag, browned by the unforgiving sun. Despite that, she had a friendly face. Laugh lines and crows feet betraying a humorous nature.

The mattress looked like it had seen its fair share of dirt and oil and, what looked like blood. She wanted to sit down again, but balked at using the thing she had been laying upon only moments before. Even though, if she was going to catch anything, it was, in all likelihood, too late.

"What happened here? Where am I?" It was the same question she had already asked. Words in different places, but the same.

"Heh. You Vault Dwellers! Hide away in your metal caves and come up here hoping the world is all roses again." The woman chuckled.

"Vault Dwellers?" It wasn't a term she remembered.

"People like you, Honey. I've seen one myself." The woman pointed at her left arm. "Had one of those Pip-Boy things, same as you. Wore a fancy blue jumpsuit, same as you. Came from a Vault, same as you. They didn't have a shiny new sidearm like you, though, just a dirty old shotgun."

She lifted her arm and looked at the device attached to it. This was the thing that had made her arm feel heavy. A bracer, thick, with plastic and metal attachments and a small screen that showed nothing. She didn't want to switch it on. She didn't want to wear it, either, but it seemed to be locked in place. The gun the woman mentioned was in a holster on her hip. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. She didn't touch that. Didn't want to. Yet.

As she looked at the device, she also saw the arm of the jumpsuit the woman had mentioned. Bright blue, with brown leather accents, it was made from some strange material, a tight weave that gave it a pattern not unlike a shark's skin.

"You still haven't answered my question." Looking out between the boulders, she felt sadness weigh heavy upon her. "How did this ... all of this devastation happen to this place, whatever this place is?"

"War happened, Patience! War devastated it all. Here. Everywhere." The woman seemed to find it amusing. "Damn near two hundred years ago. Death from above. Didn't they tell you anything in your Vault?"

"I don't remember." She slumped to the ground, rubbing her forehead. "I don't remember a Vault, I don't remember my name, or how I got here. I don't remember anything!"

"You just relax. I'm sure it'll all come back eventually." The woman had pulled out a stick with some kind of meat attached to it, from one of her many pockets, and chewed, thoughts seeming to run through her head. "That Pip-Boy thing has a screen. Maybe it's got a holo tape in it? Might tell you something?"

She lifted her arm and examined the device, turning it to look it over. There was a switch on the side and, with a slight hesitation, she flicked it on. The screen remained blank for a second before starting to light up with a green glow. She could feel a slight hum from the device even as she watched random looking characters flicker on the screen and then the words "Vault-Tec Pip-Boy ... Loading. Stand by." appeared.

The words "Stand by" pulsed in a slow rhythm but nothing else happened. She was about to switch it off when the device beeped and something resembling a map appeared on the screen. A list of options could be seen at the top of the screen; "Status", "VATS", "Data", "Map" and "Radio".

Two dials on the device seemed to control horizontal and vertical movements on the screen and she tried to move between the options, only to be met by a message appearing. "Locked - Incorrect Location." All except for the "Radio" option that had "Galaxy Radio" listed. She didn't switch on the radio.

"It's not working!" She slapped the screen, but it made no difference.

"I know a certain someone who might be able to fix it. A real wizard with gadgets and gizmos." The woman finished the meat on the stick and replaced the stick in her pocket. "She might even fix it for free. She's strange like that. Likes helping people. I don't know how she keeps that store running, throwing away good Caps by helping people."

"Who is she? Where can I find her?" She was interested now.

"Woman by the name of Moira. Runs a store up in Megaton." The woman adjusted her football helmet.

"Can you show me?" She was eager, now, to unlock the secrets in the Pip-Boy device. She needed to answer questions about herself and the Pip-Boy might have them. Or, at least, some of them.

"Sure. You can't see because of the rocks, but if you head north-east ..."

"No, I mean, can you take me?" She saw the woman squint, thinking.

"It'll cost you. Saving a life is one thing. Leading you all the way to Megaton? Now that's a different matter." The woman waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "I doubt you have any Caps. It don't look like that Pip-Boy is coming off your arm any time soon and I don't take kindly to guns. I tell you what, we find you some new clothes, you give me that fancy jumpsuit, we'll call it even. What do you say, Patience?"

"Deal." She had no connection to the jumpsuit. It was just clothing. She needed answers more than an outfit. It seemed like a good deal to her.

The woman spat in her hand and held it out. This was something the Vault Dweller, Patience as she seemed to be called now, did remember. She spat in her own hand, clasped the woman's and made a vigorous handshake. The deal was settled.

"The name's Valrie, by the way. I thought I'd tell you, seeing as you didn't seem to give a shit." Valrie pulled another stick of meat from a coat pocket and offered it to Patience. "Squirrel-on-a-stick?"

Patience shrugged and took the stick. She was, after all, quite hungry. At least Valrie hadn't charged her for it. Yet.