Outside

In retrospect, Ellen should’ve remembered one critical thing before stepping out the Milliways door: namely, that she had no clue whatsoever about where she’d been going. Leaping blindly through the emergency door out of the Enclave fortress of Raven Rock had been a good idea at the time. Taking the jump without knowing what she was going to land in, while carrying a suit of body armor and a super sledge almost as long as she was tall? Not such a great idea.

In keeping with a name like Raven Rock, it was a very long fall.

She pushed herself up as best she could, which was not well at all. She’d heard a number of crack! sounds on the way down, but couldn’t match any of them up to local pains; everything hurt. That was what came of carrying a-

BRRRRABOOOM!

Oh, Ellen thought weakly. Smoke was pouring into the night skies above, Vertibirds streaking through it and away in every direction. Guess that’s the end of that, then.

She turned to look around her, ignoring the ongoing series of explosions from above. Raven Rock, it seemed, had been buried in the side of a very large hill or very small mountain. By the look of things she was about three quarters of the way down the rockface, with only a dozen yards or so of steep, gravelly drop-off between her and a sluggish, oily-looking stream. She’d dropped the sledge and the armor, but more importantly, she’d lost track of her companion. “Cross?” she called, loudly as she dared. “Star Paladin? Where are you, Cross?”

“Over here.” A blue-clad arm poked up from behind a pinkish rock of considerable size. “I’m all right.”

Which was not really the case, from what Ellen could see as she limped around the boulder. Under Ellen's helmet's light, Cross looked about as one might reasonably expect an unarmored, unprotected human to look after a lengthy fall down an unforgiving slope. On the other hand, there were two drained stimpaks lying next to her; Ellen figured it was best to take the older woman at her word. “Oh good,” she said, and crouched down nearby. “I was worried.”

Cross smiled, which didn’t do her split lip any favors. “You found time to worry?”

“I fell into Milliways when we jumped out the door,” Ellen admitted. “It was an accident. There should be armor and a weapon for you around here somewhere.”

“A happy accident, I see.” Cross leaned her head back against the rock. “Well then. Once the stimpaks’ve done their work, we should find them and get moving. I doubt everyone in the Enclave was on board those vertibirds.”

“All right,” said Ellen. “I don’t want to- ohgod.”

“What?” Cross said sharply. Ellen couldn’t speak; she only held out her left forearm. Her Pip-Boy’s screen had shattered in the fall. Several knobs and dials had been ripped off along the way. The only thing that remained of her Pip-Boy was the metal sleeve, the fingerless glove, and a few shards of glass.

They stared at the device in silence, neither one wanting to confirm out loud that they were now officially lost without even the most rudimentary form of map. Ellen started to draw breath, not knowing what she’d do with it.

Something scrabbled in the gravel below them. Ellen hissed and drew her plasma pistol. Cross rolled from her seated position to her knees and did much the same. A moment later the chatter of Gatling laser fire lit up the area, and a smell of burning reached them- and then a familiar, strained voice boomed out, “My friend! I see I’ve found you at last!”

Ellen was dimly aware that her jaw had dropped open. It didn’t seem very important.

Booted feet crunched against the gravelly slope, and a moment later the mutant- the meta-human’s bulk heaved into view. “I knew you had survived,” Fawkes said. “I had hoped to assist in your rescue to repay my debt to you.”

Ellen still didn’t seem to have access to words, but Cross’s eyes were on Fawkes’ weapon. “Looks like you’ve got a new toy,” the paladin murmured.

“Yes,” agreed Fawkes, “and a most fascinating one at that. This technology is amazing. Imagine the evil that can be eliminated with such tools!”

A smile touched at the corners of Cross’ mouth. Ellen blurted out, “What the dickens are you doing here?”

Fawkes chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound. “When I made my way from the armory to the exit,” he said, “I saw your capture. A little cleverness allowed me to follow your captors. I only wish I could have arrived sooner to aid your escape! As I owe you my freedom, I felt it was only fair that I return the favor. After all, I know no one else in this world.”

Ellen and Cross exchanged glances briefly. “I could always use a hand,” Ellen admitted. “Especially since we’re lost, too. Want to come with us?”

“My friend, I would be honored to follow a hero such as yourself.”

“We’ve got some things to find here first,” Ellen said, ignoring Fawkes’ comment, “but once that’s done, we really need to get moving. Find some high ground and figure out where we are. We’ve got to get back to the Citadel as soon as we can.”

Fawkes nodded. “Very well,” he said. “I shall follow.”

Fort Constantine

They've been traveling for what feels like hours in the darkness, relying more on Fawkes' low-light vision than Ellen's helmet light to find their way. A moving light in the darkness only invites investigation from those least wanted, after all. The stream that ran past Raven Rock was a breeding ground for mirelurks, several of which chased them a considerable distance before finally being felled. Ellen insisted on digging a firepit and preparing at least a little of the meat after that. She'd seen Cross' haggard look and knew all too well how hungry the older woman must be after the events of the past... however many hours. Fawkes declined, saying he'd already eaten. In the end, there was enough.

They're moving again now, the fire dead and buried, and making their way up a hill that probably offers a commanding view of the Wasteland in daylight. For now the only view of any sort that it offers is of great black bulk against the skies: buildings, unused, or at least unlit. "I don't suggest we go in," Ellen murmurs, "but this might be a good place to wait for morning."

Fawkes nods. "It seems defensible," the meta-human says. "At least, in theory. We should be mindful."

"Of course." Ellen glances at Cross. "What do you think?"

"I think," said Cross, "that I hear something mechanical moving nearby."

Ellen goes silent and crouches down immediately behind the wreck of a gutted Corvega, presenting the smallest profile she can. The others join her. None too soon, either. The chittering clatter of treads heralds a robobrain slipping out from behind one of the smaller buildings, on its way towards one of the larger. Before anyone can say anything, plasma fire lashes out from further along the slope, missing the robot by inches.

The return volley, of plasma and lasers and bullets alike, lights up a cluster of armored Enclave foot soldiers who give the impression of being very much taken aback by the counter-fire. As the squad starts shooting in earnest Fawkes observes, “They seem disheartened.”

“I’d be too, under the circumstances,” says Cross. “Lost their headquarters and their leadership, and now it’s six of them versus quite a security system.”

No one speaks for a while, allowing the battle to rage without them.

“And yet they persist,” says Fawkes. “It makes me wonder what this place must hold, if they’re willing to risk themselves this way.”

“Must be an armory,” Ellen says. “They probably didn’t grab as much as they should’ve on the way out of Raven Rock and they must need to replenish their stock.”

“Them or someone they report to,” Cross agrees. “Ellen… the Enclave has the purifier, and the GECK. If they haven’t started it already-“

“They haven’t. They need a code word.”

“Then it’s only a matter of time until they guess it,” Cross says. “Whatever they’re willing to risk themselves to get here can only fortify their position at the purifier. We can’t let them have it.”

Ellen winces, looking over the three of them and calculating their ammunition supply. After a moment she says, “I need to find a door, I think…”

“Do so. And quickly. I’ll explain to Fawkes, but we can’t afford to wait for a large group to assemble.”