Chandler

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The trudge across the Wasteland from Rivet City had taken less time than Ellen expected, but she didn't stop at Megaton regardless. About halfway there it had occurred to her that if she was going to have a chance of passing her visitor off as a recently emerged Vault dweller, she was going to have to bring him in from some distance- and not be seen by Deputy Weld until she did so. So she'd swung around to the west, up along the rock formation that housed Vault 101 (a thought that still gave her a pang or two), and down towards Springvale from the north. One of the outlying houses would do well enough for her and Dogmeat for the night, since Tanya's ants were patrolling the ruins against possible raider incursions.

The house was still standing when she returned from Milliways. "Well," she said, "here we are."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Then congratulations," Ellen says. "You have the only coffee in the Wasteland. There's no place to go and get it. I mean, there's some chairs in my house and a table outside, if you want, and you can hardly see the bomb at all from the walkway outside my door, so that's something, but..."

[pickyourmoments]

"It's instant," Chandler says, pointing to the bit on the label that says so. "If you know some place that can heat up our water, we can go there. Or your place is good."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Tell you what," says Ellen. "As long as you don't jump out of your skin or anything at the sight of a guy without a nose, we can go to what used to be Moriarty's. They know me there, and Gob's got a hot plate. It's right across the crater from me, so we can just go around on the walkway and you'll get a good view of the town. How's that sound?"

[pickyourmoments]

"Kay..." Chandler says hesitantly. The picture in his mind is probably nothing at all like what he's about to see.

"Where's this Used to be Moriarty's at?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Highest point on the crater," Ellen says, and starts towards the walkway that leads behind the Simms place, the water treatment plant, and Moira's. "You can't miss it."

And you really can't, although the sign looks a little different now.

[pickyourmoments]

Chandler sees the... building and nods. "Nope," he agrees. "Can't miss that."

He follows her to the saloon and begins digging back through his pack again. "I got cups, too," he says, glad he thought to bring them after seeing the state of the whole place.

"Didn't bring any sugar or anything, though. I kind of ran out of room."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's all right. I like it better without sugar," Ellen says. "If you want milk, though, Moira usually has some. It comes from Brahmins, though."

The view from here down into the crater is pretty striking. There's a small eatery at crater level, its counter open in the front. There are people wandering back and forth, some working with the Brahmin and other small animals, others fiddling with equipment or guns or doing other things. One wispy, ragged-looking figure is standing ankle-deep in the water in front of the bomb, his arms upraised.

[pickyourmoments]

"Black is just fine," Chandler says.

He tries not to stare at the guy down by the bomb, or at the bomb itself, but... well, he's acting like the guy at the Bleecker Street station.

"What's he doing?" he asks finally, keeping his voice quiet to avoid being overheard.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's Confessor Cromwell," Ellen says resignedly. "Leader of the Church of the Children of Atom. He's preaching. The man can go on for an hour without repeating himself. It's kind of disturbing."

[pickyourmoments]

"So... Christianity?" Chandler asks, mishearing "Atom" for "Adam."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"No, you'd have to go to Rivet City and visit the Church of Saint Monica for that," Ellen says. "Atom. As in atom bomb. He believes that atomic division is the creation of universes and that the Great War was an act of holy creation, so he prays to the bomb to bathe all of us in its divine glow."

[pickyourmoments]

Chandler laughs, muttering something about Not-so-Saint Monica under his breath.

"He worships atoms?" he asks aloud.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Have a listen," Ellen advises. "I can't describe that kind of crazy properly when he does it so well himself."

[pickyourmoments]

Chandler does, and only nods. "Oh, yeah," he says easily. "It's like that guy on 53rd and Ninth with the eye patch and the stuffed dog."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Unfortunately," Ellen says, "this one has followers. I think maybe a quarter of the people here all believe the same way he does. And they drink the water. Megaton would get a lot more done if they didn't spend half their money on anti-radiation chems to patch up their innards after they partake of Atom's Glow."

She shakes her head in disgust. "Come on. Let's go get that coffee."

[pickyourmoments]

"Hey, I brought the clean water!" Chandler says, eagerly following Ellen into the saloon.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Good for you, buddy," rasps the rather squishy-looking fellow behind the bar. "You plan on drinking it in my place, though, you'd better be willing to- oh, hey. Hi, Ellen."

"Hi, Gob."

[pickyourmoments]

"Bwah!"

Chandler jumps at the voice long before he sees who it came from.

"Friend of yours?" Chandler asks Ellen.

This is one of his rare moments when he literally bites his tongue to keep from shoving his foot in his mouth.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"One of the first I made in Megaton," Ellen says, nodding. "Chandler, meet Gob; he runs the saloon these days. Gob, this is Chandler. He's new to the Wasteland."

"Lemme guess," says Gob. "Never seen a ghoul before?"

[pickyourmoments]

Chandler clears his throat. "Not... exactly, no," Chandler says awkwardly.

And then he bites his tongue again.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Huh. Ain't that somethin'." Gob shakes his head. "You know, most people get their first look at me and I gotta replace the ashtrays, because that's usually what they wind up throwing at me. I'm impressed."

[pickyourmoments]

He gives Ellen his "oh, god. Please help me" look.

"Next time, you might want to replace them with something not as breakable," Chandler points out.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I might try that," says Gob. "Congratulations, pal, you got yourself a discount. What can I get for you? Only make it quick, I got other customers." And he does- a one-eyed fellow in a worn red shirt and leather vest, two elderly people arguing with one another, a yellow-haired girl a little older than Ellen in more leather than a Hell's Angel, and several others.

[pickyourmoments]

"We just... came in for some coffee," Chandler says awkwardly. "She said we could do that."

He points to Ellen, as though he could have possibly meant anyone else.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Gob cocks an- well, if he had eyebrows left he'd cock one at Ellen.

"Can we just use the hot plate? Three caps each?"

"For you, kid, anything," Gob rasps, and fishes the ancient device out from under the bar. "Here you go. Have fun."

Ellen accepts the hot plate and nods towards a table off to one side, out of direct line of sight of the Bar. "This should do it," she says. "I'd come here more often now that Gob's in charge if I were in town more often. And if they served food."