Trouble on the Homefront

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens into the dusty, metal-smelling interior of a house built from the parts of long-ago airplanes. Light leaks into the room through the greased-paper covering over a few windows, and through the chinks in the metal walls. Ahead, a set of dented lockers takes up one wall. An alcove in the back seems to hold dishes and possibly an ancient refrigerator. There's a workbench off to the left, and stairs leading upward off to the right. "Well," Ellen says, "this is it. Home sweet home."

"Welcome back, mistress!" comes a tinny, mechanical voice from upstairs. "You weren't gone long at all that time..."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Fine! Let them be scared so long as they obey!" says the Overseer, a faint raggedness creeping into his tone. "I've done everything I can for them- for humanity- throughout my entire tenure as Overseer. They don't know what they're talking about- they're here, and they're staying here, for their own good."

Ellen clears her throat and steps forward. "Actually," she says, very mildly, "I was sort of hoping to get your side of the story before things got any worse."

"Thank you," says the Overseer. "Frankly, I wouldn't have thought it of you. Not with your history."

Ellen glances at Tyler. "I'm listening, Overseer."

[basic_powers]

Tyler just goes quiet for now. He's going to listen to this story, even if the Overseer isn't telling it for his sake.

Might even be better that way.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Everything I have done has been to secure the future of this Vault," says the Overseer. "I realize there are malcontents who want to return to the surface, but there's simply no way it can be done. Not and continue our mission. We've already risked enough."

"It's livable up there," Ellen says. "Dangerous, but livable- and you knew that, didn't you? I spoke to Mrs. Palmer."

"That's not what I mean." The Overseer shakes his head. "When this Vault was first conceived it had a reason for existing- a mission given to the very first Overseer by Vault-Tec corporate headquarters. That mission's been passed on from one Overseer to the next for our entire history, just like every Vault's- assuming there are any left, of course."

Ellen's eyebrows go up at that. "I thought," she says slowly, "that all the Vaults had the same mission?"

"Not exactly," said the Overseer. "Protecting the residents was important, of course, but there were other purposes than that at work. Vault 101 was intended to be the very last bastion of humanity. We were supposed to exist in isolation even after the other Vaults had opened, on the chance that the surface wasn't as viable as whoever might have sounded the all-clear had thought. Our mission was to preserve a pure strain of humanity for as long as physically possible, untouched and unravaged by the horrors of the wastelands above."

[basic_powers]

...

What?

The invisible boy is not hearing this right.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"My predecessor's 'good neighbor' policies only lost us people and resources," says the Overseer. "Some to accident, some to sickness, some to Wasteland hazards. There was simply no way we could fulfil our mandate and keep ourselves separate and pure if that had continued. I had to seal the Vault once I took the position. To return us to our original purpose."

Ellen is trying very, very hard not to clench her right hand right now; she's pretty sure the pop-pop-pop of knuckles cracking would result, and that could only ever be taken the wrong way. "Sir," she says, "I appreciate your being straightforward with me. But why now? Why not when-"

"When you were younger?" The Overseer shrugs. "For the same reason none of the rest of your generation were told. How many of you would have wasted your lives in trying to get out, only to wind up piles of bones in some mutant's den? To be frank I was leery of letting you and your father in at all, considering what you might have been exposed to- but I had no choice if I was going to keep my people alive. We had no doctor. We needed your father's skills to continue the mission. The only way to save everyone and return to what we were supposed to be doing was to allow him in, and close the door forever behind him."

[basic_powers]

"...why not teach defense courses?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Name me one style of defense that's proof against radiation," the Overseer answers. "One gun that can stand up to the New Plague, or any of the other diseases the Chinese were waiting to empty into the jetstream. The moment my people started coming back contaminated or mutated, the mission would be a failure."

Ellen coughs at that, clearing her throat. "Ah, sir," she says, "speaking of guns..."

"Hmm?"

"I have a note you should probably see," she says, and holds out her Pip-Boy.

The Overseer doesn't go white, exactly. But he's looking pretty ashen by the end of the note.

[basic_powers]

"...inbreeding isn't any defense against mutations either." Tyler can be heard muttering.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The Overseer doesn't seem to have heard Tyler. "Where did you get this information?" he asks.

"Security Chief Hannon's terminal," Ellen says. "He'd had Mr. Brotch beaten and thrown in the cells, but Mr. Brotch heard him talking about it."

"Dear God." The Overseer runs both hands over his face and through his hair. "I had no idea they were getting this far out of control..."

"I don't think you can really say you're protecting the mission if you can't protect the people from themselves," Ellen points out. "How much is going to be left of the Vault after Security attacks everyone in the clinic?"

"Not... not nearly enough." The Overseer drops his hands, shaking his head slowly. "I can't let them do this, of course. But..."

[basic_powers]

"...but you can't kill them either..and if you did, who would be able to help keep everyone safe..." Tyler finishes quietly. "Sir? ...I don't think this problem is cause of outsiders like me."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"No," says the Overseer. "No, it's not."

He glances out the round window at the far side of his office.

"The fault is mine. My leadership brought us to this. All of this." He stands, places both hands on his desk. "I believe I need to speak with Chief Hannon, directly. And then, I think, with Officer Gomez and a number of the other men- and then with my daughter."

[basic_powers]

"...Mr. Hannon's kinda tied up at the moment." Tyler replies, tapping his fingers together sheepishly.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I hope you mean that literally. I'm in no mood for chasing down recalcitrant would-be murderers."

[basic_powers]

"...do you mind if he's hanging from the ceiling?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Are his ears open?"

[basic_powers]

"...yeh, but I kinda punched him a couple of times with a taser gauntlet, so it might be a while before he wakes up."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The Overseer snorts. "I'll bring a chair. I want to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up."

---

Several discussions later- with Hannon, with the other security men, with Gomez- the Overseer finally dusts his hands off on his sleeves. "That's done with," he mutters with some distaste. "I had no idea things had gotten this bad. Amata's downstairs, you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Take me to her. There's something people need to hear."

[basic_powers]

"Sir...why don't you broadcast it over the radio frequency on all the Pip Boys?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I plan to," says the Overseer. "But I need to speak to Amata directly."

Ellen nods, and leads the way down into the living area, Dogmeat at her heels. The Overseer glances at this and that along the way, shaking his head and muttering to himself. When they finally reach the clinic, most of the people who were there earlier have settled down for food or naps- except for one.

"Dad?" says Amata, wide-eyed.

[basic_powers]

Tyler's goint to sit himself down next to Dogmeat for the moment and give the dog lots of ear scritches while the Overseer and Amata talk things over.

"....hey. Where'd Winston run off to?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Around back, I think," Dogmeat answers. "I think he's looking for more bugs."

The conversation going on among the humans, meanwhile, is quiet and low voiced- until the Overseer clears his throat. "People of Vault 101," he says, and the sound echoes over every Pip-Boy in the room. "This is your Overseer. I have an announcement to make. Recent events have made it all too clear that the people of this Vault need leadership, but not of the sort which I am able to provide. I wish to announce that, effective immediately, I am stepping down as your Overseer and turning the title and all its responsibilities and privileges over to my daughter, Amata..."

[basic_powers]

What? Well...not like she's not going to be a bad leader. Tyler's just going to turn and stare at this development.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It looks as if nobody here was really expecting that, with the possible exception of Mrs. Palmer. Amata stammers something in response- really, how do you answer something like that?- and her father smiles. "I shall, of course, be available for any advice or assistance she might require. But for now... for now, my time is done."

Amata shakes her head and looks around the room. "Well," she says as brightly as she can manage. "I certainly do hope to put things right, with all of your help. Thank you so much..."

[basic_powers]

..That might just be because Mrs. Palmer is a wise old lady.

Tyler's just beaming...this should be a very bright start for the Vault 101.

"...Ellen, I'm gonna see if I can find Winston, I think he ran off to find more rad roaches."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Good idea," says Ellen. "I think I need to find Reverend Avellone. If that's all right, of course."

"Oh- sure," says Amata. "But don't go far. There's some things I need to do anyway, but we really need to talk."