Presidential Metro
Jul. 7th, 2011 01:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aaaaaaaagh_skyFawkes, Ellen knew, was feeling restless. They'd been underground a long time now, with little or no light in most places beyond what her helmet and Pip-Boy could offer. Yes, they were traveling, yes, they were moving, but a life as long as his spent in the cramped and foul-smelling dark... well, it wouldn't endear this kind of travel to him, not one bit. And yet he was still there, following her, never once complaining.
"Fawkes, I swear, as soon as we've found the way to Adams we're turning around and heading for the surface just as fast as we possibly can."
"Thank you, my friend," rumbled the mutant. "The offer is appreciated. I hope we won't be here much longer."
"If we could just get through all these robots, it'd go a lot faster." Ellen shook her head. For a place as fallen to ruin as the bunkers and tunnels under the White House, the area sure was rife with sentrybots. And the occasional still-functioning gun turret on the ceiling, for that matter. They'd wanted to make sure the President was utterly safe, all those years ago, and the machines were still trying to carry out that duty. It was starting to cost them both dearly in terms of ammunition.
There was a dim glow up ahead, leaking around the edges of ancient doors. Ellen let her helmet-light flicker over the doors a moment before peering up at the ceiling. No turrets on this side, at least. She glanced towards Fawkes and said, "Want to bet something's waiting for us in there?"
"I believe I'm not supposed to take sucker bets," said Fawkes, with what might have been a smile to his voice. "Let's go and have a look."
Ellen nodded and took up a position by the left-hand door. Fawkes moved to the right. On the silent, mutual count of three they flung the doors open. Beyond lay a long, low-ceilinged, broad corridor with-
"Are those... Fawkes, are those train tracks?"
"They certainly look like the ones in my old database," Fawkes said, a bit dubiously. He strode to the edge of the trench that ran down the center of the corridor and crouched, the better to peer in. "Kept clean, by the look of things. And not much worn."
Ellen whistled. "Then we must be close," she said. "Paladin Tristan said we were supposed to be looking for the old Presidential Metro."
Fawkes started to answer, but another voice, a female one, interrupted. There must have been speakers concealed overhead somewhere. Ellen couldn't pinpoint the source of the words: "Please note that it is against the law to inhibit or interfere with any of the Presidential Metro Security Units."
"That doesn't sound good," Fawkes noted. He came to his feet immediately. "Take care-"
The all-too-familiar chatter of a ceiling turret rolled over his sentence. Ellen just shook her head and dove for cover. Where the turrets were, the robots usually followed.
One turret, three sentrybots, and a series of inane commercial announcements for Nuka-Cola and other pre-War goods later, the tunnel was finally quiet. Ellen considered raiding the robots for parts or ammo, but decided against it. Fawkes was already busy with one of them, and she figured he'd more than earned whatever power source the sentrybots had had that might be useful for his Gatling. She wiped at her forehead, a futile endeavor at best given the coverage of the recon armor's headpiece, and found a spot of wall to lean against while she waited.
A moment later she straightened up again. "Something's in there," she said tersely, nodding to a dark alcove some distance ahead on the far side of the tunnel. "I saw light. Moving light."
"Just a moment." Fawkes slotted an electron charge pack from one of the sentrybots into his Gatling. "Let's have a look at it before there's more trouble."
Ellen crept ahead slowly, wishing, not for the first time, that she had Dogmeat with her. After the first round of sentrybots, though, she'd found a doorway and forced the heeler to go back to Milliways. He'd tried to bite one of them. It hadn't gone well. Still, it would've been nice to have him there now, with whatever they were about to face lurking ahead...
"Warning," said a pleasantly calm female voice. Lights began to wink on all around, revealing, not a robot, but a mainframe console. The moving light Ellen had seen had been some form of oscillating readout. "Unauthorized personnel will not be tolerated in the Presidential Metro. Please access this workstation and identify yourself."
Ellen stared at Fawkes, who shrugged helplessly. She turned back to the console, memories of President Eden running through her head.
"Warning. Due to a major security breach, this system is on code red alert status. Prepare for security check." The golden-brown display oval briefly flashed oscillating light. "Attempting to identify local access user. Identification failed," it said. "This access point is restricted only to authorized personnel. Please identify yourself."
Well, it was certainly more patient than President Eden. Ellen thought for a moment, fingering her weapon. Then she said, more calmly than she felt, "Ellen Park. I'm here from-" This was obviously a pre-War machine. "-the War Department. The Pentagon. I'm trying to reach Adams Air Force Base."
"Please stand by," the machine said. "Identification accepted. Clearance assigned. How may I assist you today?"
... well, that was easy. "I need more information on this security breach, please," Ellen said. It probably meant her, but you never knew.
"Internal visual sensing equipment is detecting numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnels area," said the machine. "The individuals have damaged Metro equipment and refused dialogue with our security units. In accordance with U.S. Security Statute A567/B, the use of deadly force has been authorized."
Well, that explained- wait, no it didn't. Numerous individuals? Enclave? "Can you tell me more about these persons?" Ellen said, her mouth dry.
There was a pause, and then the machine said, "My apologies. My sensing equipment in that area must be damaged. My equipjment indicates the persons possess no internal body heat and are emitting lethal levels of radiation."
Ellen sucked in a breath and looked up at Fawkes. "Glowing Ones," she said.
"This system is able to command a large number of mechanized security units. So far, 22 percent of those units have been depleted on the breach."
"Lots of Glowing Ones."
"If there are ghouls enough to do damage to sentry robots," said Fawkes, "then I suspect you and I are in grave danger as well. Perhaps this would be a good time to acquire some more assistance." He glanced meaningfully at the nearby doorway.
"You're probably right," Ellen said. "Let's just... let's just get some more information first, okay? Computer, what else can you tell me?"
"Fawkes, I swear, as soon as we've found the way to Adams we're turning around and heading for the surface just as fast as we possibly can."
"Thank you, my friend," rumbled the mutant. "The offer is appreciated. I hope we won't be here much longer."
"If we could just get through all these robots, it'd go a lot faster." Ellen shook her head. For a place as fallen to ruin as the bunkers and tunnels under the White House, the area sure was rife with sentrybots. And the occasional still-functioning gun turret on the ceiling, for that matter. They'd wanted to make sure the President was utterly safe, all those years ago, and the machines were still trying to carry out that duty. It was starting to cost them both dearly in terms of ammunition.
There was a dim glow up ahead, leaking around the edges of ancient doors. Ellen let her helmet-light flicker over the doors a moment before peering up at the ceiling. No turrets on this side, at least. She glanced towards Fawkes and said, "Want to bet something's waiting for us in there?"
"I believe I'm not supposed to take sucker bets," said Fawkes, with what might have been a smile to his voice. "Let's go and have a look."
Ellen nodded and took up a position by the left-hand door. Fawkes moved to the right. On the silent, mutual count of three they flung the doors open. Beyond lay a long, low-ceilinged, broad corridor with-
"Are those... Fawkes, are those train tracks?"
"They certainly look like the ones in my old database," Fawkes said, a bit dubiously. He strode to the edge of the trench that ran down the center of the corridor and crouched, the better to peer in. "Kept clean, by the look of things. And not much worn."
Ellen whistled. "Then we must be close," she said. "Paladin Tristan said we were supposed to be looking for the old Presidential Metro."
Fawkes started to answer, but another voice, a female one, interrupted. There must have been speakers concealed overhead somewhere. Ellen couldn't pinpoint the source of the words: "Please note that it is against the law to inhibit or interfere with any of the Presidential Metro Security Units."
"That doesn't sound good," Fawkes noted. He came to his feet immediately. "Take care-"
The all-too-familiar chatter of a ceiling turret rolled over his sentence. Ellen just shook her head and dove for cover. Where the turrets were, the robots usually followed.
One turret, three sentrybots, and a series of inane commercial announcements for Nuka-Cola and other pre-War goods later, the tunnel was finally quiet. Ellen considered raiding the robots for parts or ammo, but decided against it. Fawkes was already busy with one of them, and she figured he'd more than earned whatever power source the sentrybots had had that might be useful for his Gatling. She wiped at her forehead, a futile endeavor at best given the coverage of the recon armor's headpiece, and found a spot of wall to lean against while she waited.
A moment later she straightened up again. "Something's in there," she said tersely, nodding to a dark alcove some distance ahead on the far side of the tunnel. "I saw light. Moving light."
"Just a moment." Fawkes slotted an electron charge pack from one of the sentrybots into his Gatling. "Let's have a look at it before there's more trouble."
Ellen crept ahead slowly, wishing, not for the first time, that she had Dogmeat with her. After the first round of sentrybots, though, she'd found a doorway and forced the heeler to go back to Milliways. He'd tried to bite one of them. It hadn't gone well. Still, it would've been nice to have him there now, with whatever they were about to face lurking ahead...
"Warning," said a pleasantly calm female voice. Lights began to wink on all around, revealing, not a robot, but a mainframe console. The moving light Ellen had seen had been some form of oscillating readout. "Unauthorized personnel will not be tolerated in the Presidential Metro. Please access this workstation and identify yourself."
Ellen stared at Fawkes, who shrugged helplessly. She turned back to the console, memories of President Eden running through her head.
"Warning. Due to a major security breach, this system is on code red alert status. Prepare for security check." The golden-brown display oval briefly flashed oscillating light. "Attempting to identify local access user. Identification failed," it said. "This access point is restricted only to authorized personnel. Please identify yourself."
Well, it was certainly more patient than President Eden. Ellen thought for a moment, fingering her weapon. Then she said, more calmly than she felt, "Ellen Park. I'm here from-" This was obviously a pre-War machine. "-the War Department. The Pentagon. I'm trying to reach Adams Air Force Base."
"Please stand by," the machine said. "Identification accepted. Clearance assigned. How may I assist you today?"
... well, that was easy. "I need more information on this security breach, please," Ellen said. It probably meant her, but you never knew.
"Internal visual sensing equipment is detecting numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnels area," said the machine. "The individuals have damaged Metro equipment and refused dialogue with our security units. In accordance with U.S. Security Statute A567/B, the use of deadly force has been authorized."
Well, that explained- wait, no it didn't. Numerous individuals? Enclave? "Can you tell me more about these persons?" Ellen said, her mouth dry.
There was a pause, and then the machine said, "My apologies. My sensing equipment in that area must be damaged. My equipjment indicates the persons possess no internal body heat and are emitting lethal levels of radiation."
Ellen sucked in a breath and looked up at Fawkes. "Glowing Ones," she said.
"This system is able to command a large number of mechanized security units. So far, 22 percent of those units have been depleted on the breach."
"Lots of Glowing Ones."
"If there are ghouls enough to do damage to sentry robots," said Fawkes, "then I suspect you and I are in grave danger as well. Perhaps this would be a good time to acquire some more assistance." He glanced meaningfully at the nearby doorway.
"You're probably right," Ellen said. "Let's just... let's just get some more information first, okay? Computer, what else can you tell me?"