Rivet City

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens onto an afternoon of graying sky and greyer cityscape. Megaton and its buildings of metal were one thing; this is the ruins of DC proper, all tumbled-down concrete and metal rusted beyond repair. Here and there the occasional wall still stands, or rebar protrudes from a pile of rubble. Underfoot are the remains of what was once a street, but it's shattered more or less beyond recognition.

"According to my Pip-Boy map, we don't have much farther to go," Ellen says. "The river's up ahead, and then we just follow it to the boat."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's an assault rifle in reasonable condition," says Ellen. "Or four stimpaks."

She settles in at the nearest table nonetheless. The rooms might be expensive, but the food prices are reasonable, if one doesn't mind mirelurk cakes and noodles and some weird crunchy fruit thing Ellen's never seen before.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle frowns at Ellen's whispered reply, "Highway robbery."

Annabelle might recognize the fruit, provided it existed on her Earth. "The food is better than I expected," Annabelle says, surprised.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I may not be Mr. Staley," says the robot primly, "but I do pride myself on my hospitality programming. Ah, if I'm not mistaken, Ms. Weatherly is just about to arrive..."

The woman who steps through the door is in her mid-twenties, blonde, and wearing a faded blue dress. "New guests, Mr. Buckingham?" she asks as soon as she spots Ellen and Annabelle.

"I believe, madame, that they were looking for you in particular."

[aeons_crackshot]

"I believe your pride is well-placed, Mr. Buckingham," Annabelle says reassuringly.

Annabelle glances sideways at Ellen, since she has the best idea of what she's looking for. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Weatherly."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen stands up and nods. "Hi there, ma'am," she says, smiling as best she can- she's a little nervous, to tell the truth. "My name's Ellen Park."

"It's very good to meet you, Ellen," says the older woman. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you if you'd spoken to a trader by the name of Lucky Harith-"

"The fellow who showed up here with my nephew in tow?" Vera says. "I certainly did. Thank you for looking after Bryan, by the way. I had no idea things had gotten so bad in Grayditch."

[aeons_crackshot]

"We were hoping that your nephew had gotten here safely," Annabelle says with a smile as she stands up. After all, it would look a little odd for her to remain seated while Ellen is standing.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He most definitely did," says Vera. "I'd have him come here and thank you himself, but his bedtime was an hour and a half ago. Will you be staying here long?"

"Actually, ma'am, we mostly came here to talk to people about the settlement's history, and to give Harith the rest of what I owe him," Ellen says. "I don't suppose you could help with the first part?"

"oh, I wish I could, but I honestly don't know," says Vera. "My family came here when I was a little girl, and it was already pretty well established. You might want to try Bannon- he runs Potomac Attire, in the marketplace."

[aeons_crackshot]

"He's been here a long time?" Annabelle guesses.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Years, as far as I know," says Vera. "There might be other people who've been here longer, but I can't think of any names."

[aeons_crackshot]

"He's a good person to start with, then. Thank you for the information, and for letting us know that your nephew made it here safely."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"You're welcome. And good luck!"

As Vera heads out, Ellen turns back to the robot. "Mr. Buckingham? What time does the marketplace close around here?"

"In about fifteen minutes, madame. It opens again at eight A.M. tomorrow morning."

Ellen glances over to Annabelle then. "Okay," she says. "Do we want to try to find this man and get this done tonight? Or should we sleep in the common room and find him in the morning?"

[aeons_crackshot]

"It depends on how far away the Market is...." Annabelle says after a moments thought. "Even if we make it when the market is closing, we may be able to catch him before he leaves."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen thinks for a bit. Then she says, "Let's go find it anyway. If it's closed when we get there, at least we know where we need to go tomorrow morning."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods in agreement, "Sounds good to me."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods and pays for their supper. Out in the hallway, one of the security guards (they seem to be everywhere) points the way to the marketplace. It's not as far or as complicated a journey as Ellen had feared, thankfully, but it does involve heading downstairs twice. The second time, the door opens onto a vast, echoing room. Once upon a time it was an aircraft hangar; now it's mostly taken up by tents and booths.

"Looks like the marketplace to me," says Ellen.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Impressive," Annabelle says with a grin as she catches sight of the marketplace. "The question is, where is our quarry in all this hubbub?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I guess we look for a sign," Ellen says doubtfully. "Ms. Weatherly said he was at Potomac Attire, right?"

"If you're looking for Bannon," comes a man's voice from nearby, "he's already closed up shop for the evening." The speaker is a skinny little fellow who probably wouldn't look quite so weedy if he weren't wearing a rounded white motorcycle helmet perhaps two sizes too large for his head. He gives the impression of being an inverted exclamation point. "Anything I can help you ladies with?"

[aeons_crackshot]

"Perhaps," Annabelle says with a smile. "We were hoping to find out more about the history of Rivet City."

Annabelle glances at Ellen, since she's the one who has the better idea of what Moira is interested in.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Well, you came to a good place," says the man. "My name's Seagrave Holmes. I've been here a good few years now- not as long as some people, but ever since the restoration, anyway."

"Restoration?"

"Sure," says Seagrave. "The ol' girl used to be a lot worse off than she is now. You should've seen her when I got here- there were people living here, sure, but she was in horrible repair. Mostly I just came here because I heard anyone who'd help fix her up and make her a respectable place to live would be accepted as a citizen and get their own safe place to live. I've been here a good twelve years now."

"So it was settled before that?"

"Sure was. Couldn't tell you who did it, exactly, but...." He scratches his head. Or, rather, his helmet.

[aeons_crackshot]

"But...?" Annabelle inquires, hoping to prod Mr. Holmes into continuing.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Well, Doc Pinkerton would be the best man to ask if he were still here," says Seagrave. "Last I heard, he took his marbles and left when Dr. Li showed up, about nineteen years back. He had a shed in the broken-off bow, though, from what I recall. You might find some notes of his in there, if you can get in."

[aeons_crackshot]

"That sounds like a good place to start," Annabelle says with a smile. "Thank you sir, you've been very helpful."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"You're welcome, ma'am," says Seagrave with a mock-salute. "Come on by Rivet City Supply tomorrow if there's anything else you need- but I'd head on out now if I were you. Guards'll be locking the market up soon."

[aeons_crackshot]

"We will," she says to Seagrave. Then she turns to Ellen, "I guess we should be going before we're locked in for the night."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Common room sound all right to you?' she says. "If Mr. Buckingham is anything like Wadsworth, he's programmed to be active twenty-four hours a day, but I'd rather not spend that many caps... I mean, the alternative is going to see if we can't get into the other part of the ship."