Springvale

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door swings open, more or less; 'wobbles' may be a more accurate word. It's ancient, splintering wood hanging by the last good wishes of even more ancient hinges from a frame that wishes it could just lie down and die, and it opens onto a landscape of rather a lot of emptiness.

"I checked the ruins already," Ellen murmurs, indicating the squatty building in the distance. "There's nothing alive in there."

Icon to the contrary, she's taken the step of getting into her armor, which looks like a rather cleaner version of this, with American star-and-stripe motifs painted on the shoulder pauldrons and the Brotherhood of Steel emblem marked on the chest piece where a nametape might go.

Comments

[ladyfirestarter]

"It is not my forgiveness you need to seek, daughter."

Letting out a tiny fragment of the grieving anger she's felt since Ellen told her what was happening -- letting out only that tiny fragment, and no more -- is a lot like what she's already doing: letting out only a small fraction of the fire.

"A man is dead for your pride. More may yet follow. Not all souls can bear the touch of the Atom's light."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It's one thing to move from being human to being ghoul, to bearing Atom's mark within the flesh forever and ever. The congregation gathered here knows that to be a sign of blessedness. They've all survived it, so far. But to die of it....

"What must I do, Holy One?" Mother Curie asks. She can't bring herself to make eye contact with the fiery woman who speaks with the voice of Atom.

[ladyfirestarter]

... they didn't exactly cover this.

Charlie is about to throw a swift glance in Ellen's direction, but stops herself; it would be noticed, and noticed as furtive. Instead she lets the fire flare a little brighter ... and turns slowly, deliberately, as though making a point by her silence.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There is a soft, not-quite-heard muttering, as if those present were communing with an unseen* higher** power. Then the armored figure raises its voice again. "Preach all you want," it says. "Tell people about Atom all you want. But the holy water doesn't ever leave this building. You keep that stuff here, and you don't ever give it to anyone outside this room."

"So- the uninitiated-"

"That water's too much for anybody out there to handle! It stays here! It gets drunk here!" The armored figure stabs a finger in the direction of the Holy of Holies. "If they can look on the Sun and the Champion in there and not run screaming, and they still want it, they can have the water. No. One. Else."

Mother Curie looks to her silent, wide-eyed flock, and then back to her two visitors.

"Words first, woman," the armor's voice snarls. "Enlighten those minds of theirs first. If they want to enlighten their bodies after, that's up to them. Not you. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear."

"I... yes," says Mother Curie. "Yes, I think so. I'm sorry...."

"The water will not stop here again," the armored figure announces with ringing certainty. "Preach all you want, but the water's not stopping here again."

[ladyfirestarter]

"What you have done," Charlie says into the silence that follows this pronouncement, "was intended for the good of all, and for the glory of the Atom. The latter would not be enough to save you, were it not for the former."

Her fire flares high, and then dwindles to little more than the glow of embers around her head.

"This time you are forgiven, daughter. Let there be no second mistake."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thank you, Holy One," breathes Mother Curie. "Thank you. I- we- none of us will forget this day."

[ladyfirestarter]

"Good." Very soft. "You will do well to remember."

To the armored figure: "Little brother, is our work ended here?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The armored figure nods, once, and gestures to the stairs.

It's going to make a point of climbing out of there backwards, just so it keeps Mother Curie's eye contact as long as physically possible.

[ladyfirestarter]

Charlie nods, and turns to go.

She moves slowly, less for effect than because she's already close to exhausted.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

When they reach the surface, Ellen steps aside and holds out a hand for Charlie to grab. "Almost there," she murmurs in her own, somewhat muffled, voice. "I'm sorry. I should've warned you that this suit of armor comes with an AI and a voice of its own. Are you okay?"

[ladyfirestarter]

She takes the arm gratefully, leaning on it. "I'm good," she mutters back. "And it's no problem, it only took me a sec -- wait, an AI?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Not a very sophisticated one," Ellen murmurs as she sets course for the door back to the Bar. "It's from before the War. It was a prototype, to administer emergency medical care and keep soldiers on their feet in the field. It can carry on some basic conversations and repeat what I tell it. That kind of thing."

[ladyfirestarter]

"Got it."

A short silence.

"Think they'll listen? Long-term?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"They'll listen long enough for me to get to the Purifier and tell Scribe Bigsley what happened," Ellen says, "so they won't be able to get their hands on any more water. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get to Galaxy News Radio before my next assignment, and get some news broadcasts going to warn people about this stuff. After that... I don't know."

[ladyfirestarter]

"Well." A breath. "Here's hoping. And even if it only stops them long enough for you to get the word out, that'll help."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It's better than nothing. I'll be checking up on things as often as I can," Ellen says. "Anyway... thank you, Charlie. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

With that, she opens the nearest half-destroyed door, and the Bar lies on the other side.