Escort Mission, Pt. 2

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It takes a while, but Ellen's fire eventually does its work. When William finally wakes, there's a distinct smell of roasted meat in the air- and a distinct tension on Ellen and Dogmeat's part. "William," Ellen murmurs, "don't move."

A gaunt, haggard, human... oid... figure is staring at them from the gaping dark of a half-collapsed building's doorway.

"I think there are ghouls here. Feral ones. They used to be people. They might attack, or they might not- but don't startle them."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Which works pretty well, as the robot is stumpy and slow at best. Okay, the laser fire it sends after them is pretty quick, but it goes wide of the mark pretty much every time and eventually stops.

And eventually, the lumpy brownish scrub of the Wasteland gives way to the remains of an ancient road, wending its way up a steep hillside over which can just be seen an old pre-War water tower.

"Almost there," Ellen calls. "Canterbury's at the top."

[not_his_pa]

The laser fire makes William jump, but it does work for getting the Brahmin moving faster,

"Good."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The first thing visible at the top of the hill is a leafless tree with branches spreading in all directions, and a lone Brahmin loaded down with saddlebags and packs hitched in front of it. There's a woman in combat armor leaning against the tree, going over her assault rifle with a bored expression; she glances up and nods in the newcomers' direction, eyebrows raised.

"Looks like Doc Hoff's in town," Ellen says. "That's his Brahmin. If you need any chems or some of the local food or an exam or anything, he's good for it."

[not_his_pa]

William tips his hat,

"Always good when a town has a doctor."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He's a traveling doctor," Ellen says. "Makes the rounds of most of the Wasteland. I think he even gets up to the Republic of Tom once in a while. He was the first person I met coming out of Vault 101."

She turns Shiphrah and Puah's heads towards the cluster of buildings that lie beyond the tree. There's a small boy there of perhaps nine or ten waving excitedly. "Hi, Derek," she calls. "Go tell Uncle Roe the water's here."

"Okay!" chirps the boy, and dashes off down the ruined street. Ellen glances back at William. "That's Derek Pacion," she says, "the mayor's nephew."

[not_his_pa]

When William sees Derek he grins and watches him run,

"We get circuit judges and doctors out in Arizona too."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Lots of territory to cover, huh?" Ellen says.

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, and not a lot of folks willin' to cover it."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Doc Hoff is the only doctor who travels the Capital Waste," she says. "There's Doc Church in Megaton and Dr. Preston in Rivet City, but everybody else pretty much relies on Hoff. No judges anywhere, unfortunately, and no law except bounty hunters..."

"Except," says a male voice, "in a few places where someone's got things organized. Hello, Ellen."

The voice belongs to a man in his mid-thirties, balding, in a blue shirt and worn brown trousers. Ellen smiles and says to William, "This is Mayor Ernest Roe."

"Please," says Roe, "call me Uncle. Everyone does. Welcome to Canterbury Commons, young man."

[not_his_pa]

"William Evans, sir, it's good to meet you,"

He tips his hat and smiles because he sounds friendly and the longer William's in this world, the rarer that seems.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The pleasure's all mine," says Roe. "Thank you for coming all this way. Dominic and Machete are on their way to help unload your Brahmin. Think you'll be staying in town tonight?"

[not_his_pa]

William looks to Ellen since it seems like it's her choice, he wouldn't mind having a good night's sleep somewhere not on the ground.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"There's no way we'll make it back to Rivet City before nightfall," Ellen says, "and I'm not about to try to find room inside the city walls for three more Brahmin in Megaton. What've you got available?"

"Well, Doc Hoff's taken the spare room in the city hall for the night," says Roe, "but if you don't mind the smell of cooking, Joe Porter has a spare room behind the diner that he'd probably be willing to rent out. It's not much, but he keeps the mattresses as clean as his kitchen."

"I'm good with that if you are, William," Ellen says. "Or we can stop at Joe's first, if you'd rather have a look at the place."

[not_his_pa]

"I've got my bedroll so I'm happy to kip anywhere. Thank you, sir."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Roe nods. "You're welcome. It's the least I can do. This town wouldn't be anything without the traders and other travelers who come here, after all."

About then a woman somewhat older than Ellen passes by. She has tan skin and dark hair, wears leather armor, and is leading a large robot which appears to be carrying one of the full drums of water in its arms without slowing in the slightest.

"Mr. Wollinski's got some new machines, I see," Ellen says. "I hope he's not, um-"

"No, no, he hasn't been backsliding," says Roe, and adds, "at least, not that I know of. Derek keeps slipping up to the repair center and coming back all secretive, though, so you may want to pay him a visit if you get the chance."

Ellen nods. "Maybe later," she says. "We should go talk to Joe about that room first. Ready, William?"

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, I am,"

The robots never look anything like what he expects but it's reassuring how most people seem to act normal.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods and starts leading the way down the broad central street of town. The buildings here are as ruined as anywhere else, of course, but effort's been put into repairing and cleaning up a good few, one of which is a long, sleek building with a sign proclaiming it Dot's Diner. "This is Joe's place," Ellen says as they approach. "He's a pretty good cook. most people in town wind up eating here more often than not."

[not_his_pa]

It's a nice looking building and William dismounts and finds a place to tie Les up,

"If things were made out of wood, it'd sort of feel like home."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"We're not far from the town Brahmin pen, either," Ellen says. "That might be part of it too."

Ellen steps through the doorway- there's no actual door at the moment- into what's actually a pretty clean place of business, considering the circumstances. A dark-skinned, pale-clad man looks up from the stove he's working at and waves. "Hey there," he says. "Looking for a late lunch, or an early dinner?"

[not_his_pa]

"I'm thinkin' probably dinner as it's been a long day, sir."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Sure thing," says Joe. "We've got Cram, noodles, squirrel stew, iguana on a stick, some TV dinners... and what we haven't got I might just be able to make up for. Got a preference?"

[not_his_pa]

"No, sir. Ellen, what would you recommend,"

William asks and looks at Ellen, some of those he knows about but not all of them.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The stew's usually pretty good," Ellen says. "If you can put it over the noodles-"

"Sure thing," says Joe. "Anything to drink?"

"Beer, if you've got it?" Ellen says. "The water's for the town, not for me..."

[not_his_pa]

"I'll have the same, thank you."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Can do," says Joe, and turns to his stove.

Ellen indicates the nearby booths and stools. "Take your pick," she says. "We can sit wherever you'd like."