Head of State

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Well. Reilly's been dealt with, and her people are happy with that. It's time to go back to the basics now. Ellen needs to get herself out to the Lincoln Memorial and check things over so that she can report to the slaves and get them set up before getting back to Rivet City. Of course, from what she remembers from Mr. Mills' world, the Memorial has decent lines of sight and a fairly strategic location. There are Brotherhood of Steel patrols around the base of the Washington Monument; that implies that if there are mutants holed up in the Memorial, they must be pretty well established, otherwise the Brotherhood would've gone after them. Too bad Tulip was out of Stealth Boys when Ellen stopped by her place in Underworld. Maybe she can get one from the bar....

Comments

[g00d_d0ggie]

Bwerp? inquires D0G, eying the other robot with a great deal of interest. He doesn't meet other machine intelligences very often.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"My name is Cerberus. I'm a certified, qualified Mr. Gutsy unit, serial number WR0471, stationed in Underworld for the foreseeable future," says Cerberus in response. "What sort of prototype are you supposed to be?"

[vance_prime]

"His name is D0G," says Alyx, a touch defensively. "He's one of a kind, and I built him myself."

Bwoop! says D0G, in a tone that suggests 'damn right!'.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Bully for you, ma'am," replies Cerberus. "I don't get much news about ongoing developments in the Wasteland down here. Good to see American ingenuity's still in full swing, despite everything."

[vance_prime]

"Yeah, well, not everybody can rely on surviving pre-war technology. No offense."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"None taken," says Cerberus. "Can I be of assistance today?"

The robot has no face, so it's a little hard to tell, but one gets the impression that it's rather pointedly ignoring Ellen and concentrating on Alyx and D0G.

[vance_prime]

"Possibly. Do you know anything about anyone holed up in the Lincoln Memorial?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Negative. Unless it directly threatens the welfare of Underworld and its citizens, I don't get to hear about it."

[vance_prime]

Alyx nods. "Well, thanks anyway. I need to go stock up on ammunition."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Closing dialog system," says Cerberus, and drifts off.

Ellen shakes her head. "I'm surprised he didn't try to pull anything on you," she says. "The first time I was here, he implied Dr. Barrows was about to vivisect a wounded human to see what made her tick, just to get him in trouble."

[vance_prime]

"What? Why??"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He hates ghouls," Ellen says with a shrug. "They've fitted him with a combat inhibitor that prevents him from attacking them, and they've programmed him to be polite to their faces and generally polite to visitors, but he considers them rotting zombie maggot farms that he'd burn if he could. I guess they must be pretty hard up for security if they have to settle for a guardian like that."

[vance_prime]

Alyx shakes her head. "I might have to read up on pre-microchip computing and come back and reprogram that sucker."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Winthrop would love you for that," says Ellen. "He's the local maintenance man and engineer... ah, we're here."

The gallery they've headed into is comparatively small, but it holds a respectable stock of items, and the counter boasts both a cash register and a solid, one-piece, green-screen terminal. Behind the counter a scabrous-looking woman in a short black vest and long-sleeved faded red shirt is thumbing through a book. She looks up with misty blue eyes and gives an absolutely ghastly smile. "You came back!" she says; her enthusiasm sounds genuine, even if her voice sounds like it's being pushed through steel wool. "You really came back. Wow. And you brought another friend!"

"Hi, Tulip," says Ellen. "This is Alyx, and this is D0G."

[vance_prime]

Alyx gives Tulip an awkward little wave. "Hi. Um, I need to buy some ammo?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Sure thing, honey, it all works," says Tulip, gesturing to the shelves behind her. "Name your size. I got everything in use in the Wasteland and a couple of things I don't think anybody uses any more."

[vance_prime]

Oh good! An excuse to look at the shelves rather than the woman with no nose, no ears, and most of her skin and hair gone.

"Twelve-gauge shotgun shells, and nine-millimeter bullets. In clips for a semi or submachine gun, if you've got 'em."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Hm. You know, I think- yeah, okay, here..." Tulip takes down a couple of positively ancient, dust-covered boxes. "Most of the guns around here use ten millimeter. A few years back, though, Quinn picked up a couple of cases of this stuff from some guy who said he'd come in from out west. Nobody's had any interest in it since. Lemme know if this is suitable. As far as the shells go..." She gestures at a small stack of green and red boxes. "Always in demand."

[vance_prime]

Alyx holds up the box and carefully blows the dust off. The printing underneath is faded, but still legible. She reads it and lets out a low whistle. "Armor-piercing. Nice."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It's all the same price as far as I'm concerned," says Tulip. "Not like anybody else's ever expressed an interest. Standard, armor piercing, hollow point, it all takes up shelf space just the same."

[vance_prime]

Alyx opens one box, then the other, pulling out the clips to ensure that they're still in good shape.

"How much for the lot?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The clips are fine- untouched and unused, but still fine. Tulip names her price, and Ellen's eyebrows jerk upwards in surprise. "That's maybe a quarter of the price for ten millimeter," she murmurs to Alyx.

Then Tulip mentions the price on shotgun shells; Ellen nods. "That's about what you'd pay anywhere, though."

[vance_prime]

"Excellent." Alyx opens the bag of bottlecaps she acquired from Bar and starts counting out.

Haggling? What's that?

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Something Ellen's no good at either, for whatever that's worth. Tulip smiles and says, "Another satisfied customer. There anything else I can do for you?"

"I think we should be good now," says Ellen, "unless you know anything about the Lincoln Memorial..."

"Nah, I haven't heard anything. Quinn doesn't go up that way much," says Tulip. "The Brotherhood guys at the Washington Monument took a couple of potshots at him once when he headed that way. It's not worth it."

Ellen nods. "Okay, then. I think we're set. Ready when you are, Alyx."

[vance_prime]

"Just a sec..." She carefully pulls out the clip in her pistol and replaces it with the hollow tips.

Better safe than sorry.