The Capitol Building

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

When the door from Milliways opens, it opens into a dim and dusty space that smells like still air and old smoke. Things burned here, once; things died here. The scorch marks on some of the walls bear that out, as do the fractures and chip-marks in the tiles of the floor. It takes some blinking and adjusting to the dimness to see the place more clearly than that. Once this was a lobby, wide and high-ceilinged, with a curved reception desk and brass lighting fixtures. There were computer terminals and framed art and all the other little signs of civilization. But that was two hundred years ago, and it shows. Only the places where marble and polished granite decorated the walls still look anywhere close to healthy. The ceiling sags, where it isn't cracked or broken. The lamp-works fell long ago, rusting or being stolen. The terminals are still there, but the metal's covered in corrosion, the screens shattered, and it's best not to think about the state of the keyboards.

"This was the National Archives entry area," Ellen says quietly. "I've been here before. It was the safest place I could find this close to the Capitol. Star Paladin Cross is outside just in case any of the mutants decide to crawl out of the Mall trenches and come investigate."

Comments

[themysciran_diana]

"All right," Diana agrees.

She paid her own respects while Ellen was performing her own rites. For while Diana does not hesitate to bring death to those enemies that require it, she also doesn't have to like the necessity.

But in other circumstances, were they closer acquaintances -- Diana would commend Ellen for a job very well done.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The building is big, and there are still mutants elsewhere as the trio travels through it. But there are no more Enclave to be found anywhere, and no sign of working computers or viable data archives, either. At one point they stumble across a room containing massive mainframe, but it's long since gone to pot, its bulbs burnt out and insects and rodents nesting in its innards. Whatever the Enclave might've been looking for here, they won't find it, whether or not they come back. Somewhere deep in the bowels of the House wing of the building Finn rejoins them, the flaming sword Ellen gave him quiet for once- well-used, very well used- but quiet- and they move on.

When they finally push their way into the daylight on the eastern steps Ellen lets out a lengthy sigh. "Almost there," she says. "I just need to make it to the Seward Square metro, and then we can continue on our way to Vault-Tec. It's not much farther..."

"If I can make a suggestion," says Cross. "I don't know about the two of you, but it's been some time since I last ate. Are there any reasonably securable locations in the vicinity? It looks quiet here."

"That's because the last time I passed through I was with Reilly and her Rangers," Ellen says, "and the mutants here were put down. Come to think of it...." She nods up towards a fallen bridge that once spanned several streets. "Their headquarters is a little past that bridge. Reilly said I could consider it a home away from home, if I was ever in this part of the ruins. Diana, do you mind if we head there for just a bit?"

[themysciran_diana]

"I don't mind at all. It's only sensible to take advantage of an opportunity to regroup and refresh. Especially if the area is well-known to be clear."

She smiles faintly, looking up toward the bridge.

"Are there likely to be people in residence?"

And are they going to be inclined to shoot first and ask questions later? Diana's instincts say no, given what Ellen has said, but --

Well.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I... probably not," Ellen admits. "The Rangers were-"

Deep breath.

"I hired the Rangers to come and guard my father's water purifier against raiders and mutants. They were there when the Enclave landed. The last I saw of them, they- they were telling us to run while we still could."

[themysciran_diana]

"Ah."

Diana looks back at the girl.

"I am sorry, Ellen."

Being the one to live, the one to flee -- that is a hard, hard fate.

Harder than dying, in some ways. Especially for those who expect to fall in battle.

The living are the ones who remember.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods a little. "Thank you," she murmurs, and then a little louder: "We should be all right. Come on, it's not far."

She sets out along the left-hand edge of the street, studiously avoiding the open spaces and keeping as far from the wrecks of cars and trucks as she can. Just because the mutants were put down here recently doesn't mean there might not be something else lurking in the vicinity.

[themysciran_diana]

Diana follows her gamely enough, keeping her own attention where Ellen's focus isn't.

It's harder with someone she does not know well, but long practice and their recent battle experience has her managing it effectively enough.

In some moments there is very little to say.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It's not long before they come across a decrepit-looking alleyway with a pair of crossed swords painted over something resembling a crude four-leaf clover. "This way," Ellen says. "That's Reilly's emblem. It gets better further in, and it's not much farther, I promise."

[themysciran_diana]

"I've had longer marches," Diana says softly. "Never fear. Though I doubt a rest would go ill for any of us."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"There are worse places," Cross observes. "A single clear line of sight and stout walls on either side with no vantage points anywhere above- we're in no particular danger for the moment."

Ellen nods and continues through the alley. The passageway turns right sharply after a few more yards, passing under a larger building, apparently one more reinforced than many of its fellows. Then it opens up into a small plaza that must've once been the lunchtime gathering area for people working in the buildings on all four sides. One in particular has a visible entrance flanked by sandbagged fortifications, and the swords-over-clover logo painted to the left of the door. To the right are the words REILLY'S RANGERS, hand-lettered in white, and a crude green-screen computer terminal. Ellen slides the terminal's keyboard out of its recess in the wall and taps in the unlock code; the door slides aside, revealing a well-lit, metal-walled corridor. "Food supplies to the right at the end of the passage, medical and beds to the left," she says.

And then freezes, because somewhere in there, something just barked.

[themysciran_diana]

At the sound of barking Diana drops into a slightly more defensive position, gaze darting around the compound before centering on the now-open door.

Long years of dealing with Circe makes some things a habit.

"I suspect we might be wise to proceed cautiously."

She flicks a look from Ellen to Cross and back again, in case they have a different opinion.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"No arguments here," says Cross, and Ellen adds, "The Rangers didn't have dogs before."

"I know you know the premises, Ellen, but I'm better armored- I'll take point." Cross moves forward, her laser rifle in her hands. The passage isn't really designed for swinging that war hammer of hers.

[themysciran_diana]

"Is there a faction that does tend to travel with dogs?"

Not that that guarantees anything, but there is too much here that Diana doesn't know.

And in the meantime she falls in behind Cross and Ellen.

Nothing will take them from behind, all unawares.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Raiders, sometimes," says Ellen. "I've seen them."

She's got her plasma rifle out as she moves, and she's got her back to the wall. Cross is creeping along with surprising quiet, considering the metal she's encased in. As she reaches the corner she pauses, holding up one armored fist in the 'hold position' movement. A careful listener might make out the sound of a radio:

"Ever since Peter flew into town
He's been havin' a ball
Just cuttin' and choppin' for miles around
Single women, married women, old maids and all!"

Ellen grimaces. "Butcher Pete" is not her favorite GNR song.

[themysciran_diana]

Diana paces several feet behind them, splitting her attention between what lies before and behind them. She stops at Cross's command, though she may momentarily wish that her hearing were slightly less keen than experience has proven it to be.

No one needs to listen to songs like this. Surely.

Even if it is all that remains -- and surely that cannot be true, either.

Great Hera.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Thankfully it's not, but that will have to wait for another time. For now, Cross cranes her head to peer around the corner, then leans back. "I think," she murmurs, "that we may be in luck."

"How do you mean?"

Cross doesn't answer. Not exactly. But she does step around the corner and call out, "Excuse me."

There's a sudden rattle of weapons being grabbed and readied- but not fired- and then a woman's voice drawls, "Jeez, ma'am, don't do that! I almost fired up Eugene!"

"Brick?" Ellen exclaims.

[themysciran_diana]

"She named her weapon?"

Diana sounds more amused than surprised.

The Amazons, after all, had a Purple Ray, once. And a Purple Death Ray, too.

Eugene is an infinitely better name, and hopefully one prone to more -- contained destruction.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"She named her weapon," Ellen confirms, and steps out into the hallway behind Cross. "Brick! It's me, Ellen!"

"Well, I'll be-" Cross stands aside. The woman in the next room stands about a head shorter than Diana, her reddish hair cropped short in an old-style military fashion. Her olive green armor has the clover and crossed swords painted on it, amongst all of the scarring and pitting from combats long ago and recent, and while her arms are visibly scarred (with some very recent injuries, by the look of things), they're also heavily muscled. Possibly because Eugene is a minigun easily the size of a man's torso. "Ellen! Damn, it's good to see you alive! Donovan, get your butt over here, and bring the dog!"

[themysciran_diana]

Diana moves out into the hallway as well, looking sideways at Cross and Ellen.

"Rangers?"

Because Ellen obviously knows them, and they got in here, which suggests they may be.

But she seemed to think they were all dead, so perhaps another affiliated faction?

[takiena_called]

Finn, having followed Diana, eyes Eugene curiously -- though he also gives Brick a brief, polite glance.

He has a graze from a bullet on his upper left arm that he'd makeshift bandaged before re-uniting with everyone (and that was a surprise from this new flesh-and-blood body), and he briefly considers that they may have better bandages here.

It won't hurt to wait some time, though; introductions are important.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Rangers," Ellen confirms, as a helmeted fellow with cracked glasses ducks into the door at the rear of the room. "Brick, I thought-"

"The Enclave got us? Well, yeah, they did," says Brick. "Only reason me'n Donovan made it out was Donovan grabbed your buddy and dragged him into a supply room to keep him out of the line of fire. Me'n Eugene wiped them out the ones left in that room before we went lookin' for Reilly and Butcher."

"What happened to them?"

"What didn't happen to them, more like," says Brick soberly. "They're both laid up in the infirmary. Butcher keeps tryin' to get up and doctor, but he can't get more'n a few seconds on his feet before he has to lie down again."

Ellen winces, but before she can say anything else Donovan returns, and a streak of grey and black darts across the room to throw itself right at Ellen.

"DOGMEAT!!"

[takiena_called]

Finn almost laughs when Ellen and Dogmeat are reunited; half because of the fact that it's good to see, and half for the sake of the dog's name.

He shifts to watch them, though he does glance back to Brick and Donovan first.

Diana and he are the only two people who don't know the crowd, apparently; that's fine, at least for him.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Donovan leans against the wall and smiles, crossing his arms over his chest; Brick just grins.

Ellen's on the floor, you understand. The dog's leap took her completely by surprise. She doesn't seem to mind, though, although she's spluttering a little. You would too if a blue heeler the size of Dogmeat was trying to wash your face completely clean all by himself. Eventually she manages to push him back and wipe at her face with one hand while scritching his ears with the other. "I can't believe you managed to keep him from killing himself," she says to Brick. "I thought for sure he'd try to bite through power armor."

"Oh, he was gonna, all right," says Donovan. "Heck, he tried to chew through the door... say, you mind introducing us to your friends, here?"

"Whoop- I'm sorry." Ellen looks up at the others. "Everyone, these are Brick and Donovan of Reilly's Rangers. Two of four mercenaries that another friend of mine and I managed to rescue from a super mutant ambush in the Statesman Hotel a while back."

"Pleasure to meet you all, I'm sure," says Donovan.

"And these are my friends, Finn and Diana," Ellen continues, reasoning that if she's only got one name each for each Ranger, she only needs to give one name in return, "and my escort, Star Paladin Cross of the Brotherhood of Steel."

[themysciran_diana]

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Diana says, smile warm and bright.

It is a fine, fine thing to see a girl and her dog reunited -- and to know that all of Ellen's Ranger companions did not die, after all.

It gives her hope.

[takiena_called]

"--Hi," Finn says, after an awkward moment, smiling as well.