“Settlers at Warwick Farm are requesting Minuteman help,” said the voice of Major Talbert over the radio. “Any units within range are requested to go to their location and give assistance.”

“Change of plans?” asked Heather.

“Yep. We’ll do Vault 88 after we see what the Warwicks want.”

“Then we’re going to have to work our way around Quincy to the south,” said Maccready, pointing in that direction. “Unless you want to try and take out the Gunners. Not something I would recommend without some more troops.”

“How many Gunners in Quincy?” asked Nora.

“At least fifty of them, including a couple of suits of power armor. With fluctuations in strength of twenty or thirty as patrols come in.”

So we could be facing as many as eighty of the bastards, thought Nora, staring at the edge of the ruins a couple of miles away. And if I stir them up they might come at Jamaica Plains. Fuck.

“And how alert are they going to be?”

“Not very,” said Maccready. “But not deaf and blind either.”

“Okay. We hug the shore and work our way down to the old sewage treatment plant. Any communications are to be whispered over the radio. So everyone stay alert. Weapons safed. If we are fired on I will make the determination as to whether we need to return fire. Understand?”

Maccready looked like he wasn’t sure about having to wait on her giving permission to fire, but after a moment’s hesitation he nodded. Don’t screw this up, Robert. You get us in an unnecessary firefight and you can hit the road. If you survive.

Nora had a nuke warhead inserted into the RPG, ready to take out at least one concentration of Gunners. She had two more on her ready rack, along with a trio of high explosive rockets. She let Heather lead the way, the woman moving with exquisite caution, Dogmeat beside her and a little to the front. Barb followed, her head on a swivel, while Nora followed close behind with Maccready by her side. Dogbot took up the rear, under orders to lay low until she gave the command to attack.

The dogs had been picking up training the entire time they had been on the road with the party. Dogbot was programed to obey its instructions to the letter. Dogmeat still had a will of his own, but seemed ready and willing to please. Nora had come to the opinion that the animal had been trained by someone as a scout dog, capable of sniffing out mines and explosives. He would stop ten yards or so from the explosive device, then go into a pointing routine that let the party know exactly where the threat was. So far they had avoided trodding on any mines when the dog was in the lead.

He also was a brilliant attack dog, with dogbot performing much the same. The dogs would avoid the straight approach of people they scented had firearms or energy weapons, coming in from the side with incredible speed. Most of the time they came in low, going for the groin, chomping down to cause the most pain and damage possible. When the target went down they went for the throat, biting down and ripping. If the command to pull off was given they immediately went to ground, low and crouching behind any available cover. Nora had worried at first that the dogs wouldn’t survive battle, but with their training, speed and instincts, as well as the body armor both carried, they had rarely taken any damage.

“What’s that smell,” complained Heather as they got within a half mile of the farm, the ruins of Quincy almost two miles behind. The Poseidon Energy Plant was on their right and slightly to the rear. They had picked out red figures on the catwalks and roofs, from the gear they were wearing Raiders. From their lack of actions they hadn’t seen the party, who were keeping low behind the bank that rose about ten to twelve feet past the waterline.

“That’s an old sewage treatment plant,” said Nora. “I remember the complaints about the odor prewar, which is why there were no houses built along this stretch. Only the generator over there and the lighthouse further to the south.”

“Well, someone is living there now,” said Heather, pointing out the red figures that were moving around the farmland inside the fence.

“In the settlement,” called out Nora over her suit speakers. “We’re friendly. Can we come in?”

The people inside the compound dropped their tools and grabbed up weapons, mostly pipe pistols that gave them minimal defensive capabilities.

“Who are you?” called out a slightly overweight man with a shotgun in hand.

“We’re with the Minutemen,” called back Nora, making sure that her armor, with the blue and white paint job of her faction, was visible.

“Come on it,” said the man. “Not that we could stop you if you were determined to come in.”

Nora had to admit that what he said was truth. She could take their settlement and kill everyone in it by herself by simply walking in and shooting everything. They had nothing that would stop her PA, and if they joined the alliance she meant to see that change.

“Is that X-01?” asked the excited teenage boy as the party walked through the gate in the fence.

Nora noted that part of the fence was crushed down, and some of the furniture was sitting in pieces on the ground. “It sure is,” she told the boy as she ejected from the armor. “How do you know so much about Power Armor.”

“The Atom Cats,” said the boy, as if that explained everything.

“Our neighbors,” said the still pretty woman in her forties, obviously the matriarch. “You can see that Red Rocket across the bay. They’re a group of guys and gals who are flipped over power armor. They have pictures of the X-01, and that’s the holy grail. You might want to stop in on them.”

“Later,” said Nora, smiling at the woman. She then met the family. Roger, the dad, June the mom, Wally, the young boy, and Janey, a very pretty teen girl who should have been dating the boys, if there had been any boys around to date. Three hired hands completed the settlement population.

“So, Roger. What can the Minutemen do for you?”

“Well, Nora. We have problems. A gang of supermutants from over on the other side of Quincy keep raiding us. Stealing all of our food. And if they ever caught us off guard, before we could go to ground, I’m afraid we will all be dead.”

“Any problems with the Gunners?”

“Not so far. They have bought food off of us. They go a little light on the pay, but they do pay. Now they keep bothering Zack and the boys and gals in the Atom Cats. They want that power armor, and Zack isn’t about to give them any.”

Then we need to see if we can help them, thought Nora. Just as soon as we get all these other things under control.

“Do you know where these mutants are coming from?”

“From the Wilson Atomotoys plant on the other side of Quincy,” said Wally. “I heard them talking about it the last time they were here. I hid out really good and listened to the idiots spill everything.”

“Brave boy,” said Nora, wondering if his mom had tanned his butt for his act. She knew that she would have. “We’ll go right after them today. We should be back by evening, if you can give us some space to pitch our tents.”

“It’s yours. But are you sure you want to go after them with just four? Shouldn’t you wait on some more soldiers.”

“We’re professionals, Roger,” said Nora. “In fact, we’ve taken out several large nests of supermutants in the past.”

“Do those symbols on the rockets mean what I think they do?” asked Janey, an excited expression on her face.

“Yep. They’re nukes. We don’t play around when it comes to taking out the scum of the Commonwealth. But only when necessary.”

After a half an hour break the party was back on the road, this time going south of the Poseidon plant. It was pure marshland, involving a lot of detours and even some wading in the rancid waters. Barb and Heather, in their Kerrigan suits, were waterproof for the most part, and Nora had no worries with her sealed armor. Maccready was soaked after wading the first couple of bodies of open water., and a constant stream of low volume cursing came from his mouth as they passed by Quincy to the south side.

“That must be the Atomatoys factory,” said Barb, gesturing toward the large water tower set in front of a good-sized building. The large red figures of Supermutants could be seen on the roof and walkways.

“Anyone spot the suicider?” asked Nora, zooming in with her own vision gear. She could make out the weapons of Brutes and other soldiers, along with the miniguns of the Masters. But no mutants walking around clutching a mininuke. She thought they would be on ground level, probably within the factory, ready to run out when needed.

“Give me a second, Boss,” came Maccready’s voice over the radio. “I’m almost in position.”

Nora looked over at the water tower, to see the small figure going up the ladder, long rifle over his back. He got to the top of the walkway and assumed a prone position, looking through his scope and sweeping his view.

“I’ve got one, Boss. About ten feet in from the main entrance. Just give me the word.”

Nora jacked her round selection into the magazine of the China Lake, four grenades. She worked the pump and put the first round in the chamber, then selected her first target. “Fire when ready, Maccready.”

“Okay. Now.” The suppressed rifle went off, much quieter than the weapon that the Sniper had been using before, though still louder than their smaller caliber assault rifles. Nora fired the GL a fraction of a second later, landing a round in the center of the largest concentration of the roof. The plasma grenade went off, those closest to it covered in glowing green plasma just before they melted away into piles of goo. Those further out were knocked back, the plasma burning them severely, killing some, blinding others.

The sniper rifle barked once again and one of the Primus Mutants fell, his minigun clattering to the catwalk. The one next to him fired, his Gatling gun spinning up to send up rounds out at random, just before his head rocked back and he fell beside his partner. Nora hit the front entrance of factory with a standard frag round just as a quartet were coming out to engage. Two were propelled back, dead, while the other two cried out, one going to his knees.

The Supermutants engaged as always, eschewing cover as they boasted their prowess. Making themselves easy targets. Barb and Heather started taking out targets of opportunity, while Nora landed her third grenade between a pair of riflemen on the roof. They flew over the lip of the roof to land hard on the ground below, unmoving.

“Everyone alert,” ordered Nora as she ran toward the building, her servos whining slightly. Her dogs oriented on her, while Barb and Heather each went to a catwalk that led up. Two mutants came out of the shadows, blinking away their sleep. Nora held down the trigger on her assault rifle and sent them staggering back, yelling, until they went down in the silence of death. With a command the dogs roamed out and searched the building. Moments later they were both sitting before her, ready for her praise.

“The building’s clear,” said Nora, ejecting from her armor so she could get a better look.

The factory was filled with Giddyap Buttercups, complete toys, scores of parts waiting to be assembled. Nora knew from experience, and from talking with Arlan Glass, that all the parts were filled with circuitry, fiber optics, just about everything they needed for building high tech machinery. She filled all of her cargo bots, and sent Wilson on his way to Jamaica Plains where he could unload. She wanted to get everything, tools as well as toys, and made plans to stay here for some hours so she could pack it all in and away.

Nora decided that they would spend the night at Jamaica Plains. She wanted to check out Vault 88 in the morning, and it was closest to her settlement of anyplace they could spend the evening in safety. Once she had unloaded all the Wilson products from her cargo bots they settled in for a meal with the settlers, then retired to her quarters for some fun and games.

*     *     *

Since coming out of cryo in the Commonwealth, Nora had made the acquaintance of two varieties of ghouls. There were the civilized variety, who were invariably law abiding and mostly peaceful. And the murderous ferals, physically even more deformed, whose only inclination was to attack or destroy. Quincy Quarries introduced her to another variety. Ghoul Raiders, who were physically much like the civilized variety, but were in no way law abiding. The homing signal for Vault 88 brought them to the northeast entrance to the quarry, and the view of a Raider camp built among the marble blocks of the quarry. Just like any other Raiders, the inhabitants of this camp opened fire as soon as they saw Nora and company. Fortunately, they were mostly using inaccurate pipe weapons.

There were a lot of rads in the quarry, probably sourced from the multiple toxic waste barrels. That concerned Nora, though not really for herself. Her people had more rad protection than most with their armor, and she didn’t intend to spend much time here. They fought their way through the upper quarry and its Raider huts, then found the entrance to the under-quarry. The under-quarry was a series of rooms formed by the way the huge marble blocks were arranged overhead.

The Raider ghouls down there were mostly stoned out of their minds, unable to handle visitors, especially when those guests showed up with murderous intent. Some tried to fight back, a few fell to their knees and begged for their lives. Nora was hearing none of that. Despite the horrible nightmares that were sure to accompany the execution of the Raiders, she couldn’t turn them loose on the world. Nor would she delegate such an odious task to her people.

“The signal is coming from down here,” she told her people as she stopped at the entrance to a downward sloping tunnel. It still wasn’t telling her much, only that all Vault Tech personnel were required to come to the aid of a Vault in trouble. She was beginning to think that all they would find down here were Raiders and the bodies of Vault dwellers.

“Stop,” shouted a voice over loudspeakers. “That door was designed to take a direct hit from a strategic nuclear weapon. You are wasting your time. And you are in violation of the law.”

Nora doubted that the eleven Raiders standing in front of the door or trying to work the entry mechanism cared about the legality of their actions. All they cared about were the riches to be said to be within vaults, and how they could get to them.

“We have company,” yelled out one of the Raiders, spinning around and leveling a double barrel shotgun at the power armor she had just noticed.

The gun spoke, and numerous pellets bounced from the armor, causing almost no damage. Nora cursed as she thought of the damage they must have done to her paint, and fired off a long burst that took down six of the Raiders in a sweep. The others started to fire, concentrating on Nora. That was natural, since she was the greatest threat. But they hadn’t a hope of taking her down with their pipe weapons and shotguns. In seconds the Raiders were down, while the woman over the speaker continued to admonish them on trying to break in.

Nora ejected from her armor, then plugged her Pip-Boy into the hatch control panel.

“What? You have a Pip-Boy? Who are you?”

Possibly your relief, thought Nora, though she was beginning to doubt that. She hit the button, the lights started flashing, and the huge door started to move back on its massive screw. Once it was back away it rolled aside, and Nora got back into her power armor and led the way.

“I am trapped by debris,” came the voice over the loudspeakers. “If you can dig me out we can talk face to face.”

“We can talk now,” said Nora, wanting to know what to expect before she took the effort to free this woman, who she was sure was a Vault Tech employee. When no answer was forthcoming she thought the com system was not functioning both ways.

“The control board for the workbench is in the main control room. If you want the assistance of the workbench you need to find it and insert it into the bench.”

The red workshop looked completely different from any of the others she had seen. It looked like a large metal wheel set into a base. And a slot for some kind of board. She found it quickly on a shoul in the control room  that she gunned down, and it easily slid into the slot.

“Very good. Now make some tools and see if you can take down the debris.”

Oh, I’m going to be much better than that, thought Nora, as she instructed her Handy to build a QESS and link it into the workbench. From there she built three more Handies, which went ahead and made a trio on constructrons. Locating the tunnel leading in, filled with debris, she set the robots to tunnel it out.

In minutes the tunnel was clear, and Nora found herself looking at a ghoul in a Vaultsuit with a very surprised expression on her face. “Did you bring all of those robots with you?”

“It’s a long story,” said Nora, stopping for a moment and gunning down some feral ghouls that were heading for her.

“Yes, my poor fellows. They made the transition to insanity. It might be for the best if you killed them, then we can talk.”

The exceptionally large chamber was filled with items that could become resources. Scores of train cars, the tracks they sat on, water towers, even a couple of forklifts. The team swept through the chamber killing all the ghouls, since the Vault Tech woman seemed to be the only one who hadn’t turned feral. And discovering the opening to even more large chambers leading off. Nora was thinking that this Vault had the makings of an underground city. And the rads coming off some of the rocks pointed to the availability of Uranium, and with it processed nuclear materials. Maybe enough to build up several settlements beside this one.

“I am Valery Barstow,” said the woman in her rough ghoul voice.

“And you work for Vault Tech,” said Nora, the last two words coming off her tongue like excrement.

“I do,” said the woman with pride. “I was to run experiments in this vault that would benefit all Vault Dwellers. Now that you are here, with your help I can run them now.”

“Vault Tech ruined my life,” hissed Nora, glaring at the woman, her hand on the butt of her Desert Eagle. “They lied to me, then stuck me in cryo. Their staff deserted the vault, allowing people to come in and kill my husband before my eyes. And everything I’ve seen so far reinforces the impression that Vault Tech were the worse scumbags on the planet.”

“I’m, sorry,” said Valery, hanging her head. “And I admit that Vault Tech was not always the most ethical in their treatment of their subjects.”

That word, subject, enraged Nora. That’s all we were to them. Subjects. Guinea Pigs. Not even people that they were sworn to protect.

“You can run the experiments as you like,” said the Overseer. “While it might skew the results some, we will still help humanity. We..”

“If you think I will aid you in your experiments, you are fucking crazy. You and the people you represent are no better than the Nazis. I would burn in hell before I helped Vault Tech.”

“Then I will just have to keep sending out the recruitment signal and hope I get someone with a more rational outlook.”

“How is this for rational?” asked Nora, pulling the Desert Eagle out and pointing at the Overseer’s face. “I hereby claim this vault in the name of all the people Vault Tech has cruelly abused though the last couple of centuries. This is my Vault, and that of the Minutemen. You are to leave, immediately, unless you want me to leave your lifeless body on the floor. So get the fuck out.”

“Please don’t kill me,” said the Overseer, holding her hands up to guard her face, as if that would stop the .44 slug. “Just let me gather my documents.”

“Leave everything,” hissed Nora, pulling back the hammer of her pistol for emphasis. “Not a bit of data leaves this vault with you. You can take your clothing, and your rotten mind, and get the fuck out.” Nora turned to her people. “Make sure she goes out the entrance. And if she resists, kill her.”

“My pleasure, Boss,” said Heather, motioning with her rifle for the woman to proceed her out of the chamber.

“They really pissed you off, didn’t they?” asked a wide eyed Mccready.

“You have no idea,” said Nora, shoulders slumping as the tension of the moment retreated. “The fucking scum. If I ever find their rumored headquarters Vault there is going to be a bloodbath. Now, let’s see about getting this place up and running.”

Nora spent the next couple of hours going over the data in Barstow’s computer. First she download the schematics to the vault structures and some new machines down to her Pip-Boy. Her robots meantime had been laboring in the background, clearing up the ghoul bodies, then going after the train cars, tracks and other items of no interest to her, giving her enough steel, rubber and other commodities to construct a decent sized structure. She would still need to bring in some other materials, especially circuitry, the one item that had threatened to become a bottleneck in the past, and probably would actually manifest in the future. And then she settled down to read about Vault Tech.

It simply reinforced her impressions of the organization. On the surface they were a corporation setting up the nation for survival from the nuclear war that was on the horizon. They couldn’t save everyone, or even a very high percentage of the population, but something would survive. But in the dark shadows’ underneath, they were positioned to perform social experiments on captive populations, in violation of every ethical principle of modern science. Her own Vault was one example. They had no idea they were going to be put into cryo, an untested procedure. There were hints of other experiments, including some to improve humans through selective breeding in a Vault in the Commonwealth. Medical experiments, government, even nutrition. Not all had taken place within the Vaults. Vault Tech wanted to use the entire population of the United States as their test subjects.

And there were hints that Vault Tech had been set up to survive the war as a corporation, with a regional headquarters vault in the Commonwealth. The only hint given as to location was somewhere on the River Charles in the southern region of the Commonwealth. Something she definitely would need to look into. She and the Minutemen were trying to rebuild a free society, where people could live their lives without undue interference as long as they worked hard, and they didn’t need the interference of the evil that was Vault Tech meddling in their affairs.

By late that night they had an entrance hall set up in the cavern, lit from the electricity of the reactor room and the convenient connections. For bedding they laid out their sleep bags. Everyone had showered with the water from one of the towers that had been earmarked for removal overnight, the liquid transferred to new storage containers. So everyone in the party was clean enough. Robert did his best to satisfy all of the women, with cock, hands and mouth. He came in Barb, then Heather, giving them both orgasms in the process. Nora ramped up her own excitement by playing with whatever her hands could reach, gently stroking clits, rubbing balls, getting into position so she could use her tongue on the genitals of whomever wasn’t meshing sex organs at the moment. The scent of wet pussies, of the emissions of an excited man, were intoxicating, and she added the perfume of her pheromones to the mix.

After his second cum Maccready needed some time to get it back up. Nora had to wait for her turn, Maccready licking her pussy while she stood over him, the two girls worked on his dick, licking and sucking as it slowly hardened. When she thought he was ready she lay back and opened her legs, inviting the man to fuck her. First he lowered his face to her lower body, kissing up and down her legs, enjoying the soft flesh of her inner thighs, the silkiest on any woman’s body, and especially so on her. Her pussy was bubbling over with lubricant, and she felt like she was about to go out of her mind with lust. But she decided to let Robert continue to eat her, to get her even more excited, and she had her first orgasm of the night with his tongue buried in her pussy.

Maccready moved up, and Nora squirmed as she waited for him to penetrate her. He played the tip of his cock over her genitals for a couple of minutes, driving her crazy, while Barb lay on one side, Heather on the other, sucking and licking on her nipples. Maccready set the head of his dick between her lips, then pushed in. Her tight pussy was so wet that he slid up to the hilt with the first thrust, and her second orgasm of the night rushed through her body. Laying there, he ground his pubic mound into hers while letting his dick soak in her wetness, and the third orgasm hit on the tail end of the second.

She had always thought the man needed work on his technique, but this night he worked it like a master. Leaning down to kiss her tenderly, her started to move his dick in and out of her folds. She went into the convulsions of another orgasm, her back arching until she almost feared that it would break. Her fingernails dug into the back of her man, cutting furrows that he ignored from the feelings of pleasure running through his own body.

Robert pounded her for an endless time, slamming his groin into hers, kissing her, while her girls continued to work on her breasts, caressing and sucking. Nora went into a series of orgasms, each more powerful that the last, until she hit a peak, her body humming with ultimate pleasure for minutes, her mouth open in a breathless scream. Her vaginal muscles clenched and unclenched over the delightful invader, until Robert cried out and sent spurt after spurt of hot Cum into her depths. Finally, with a last thrust, a last spurt, he collapsed on her, his chest pushing her breasts flat. They both lay there unmoving, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, Maccready’s cock softening in her, then falling out to release the flow of his seed.

“My God,” said the Sniper. “I’ve never had one like that.”

“You were wonderful,” said Nora, grasping the sides of his face and pulling him down for a deep, long lasting kiss.  “I don’t know when I’ve been fucked better.”

“So I passed the second audition?” he asked with a lopsided smile.

“You did indeed. I’ll have one of those every night, please.”

The girls laughed, running their hands over the sweat slick bodies of the lovers. “As long as you save some for me,” said a smiling Heather, Barb nodding her head in agreement.

*     *     *

“Picking up a radio transmission mentioning a Commander Nora Jane Adams,” said the Pip-Boy, waking Nora from a very pleasant dream. She groaned, thinking about telling the damned machine to fuck off, then thought better of it. Maccready, Heather and Barb all groaned as she disentangled herself from their sleeping forms. It always amazed her the contortions sex partners could engage in while sleeping off the bliss, but she was able to get free without waking any of them.

“Play the transmission,” she ordered as she sat her naked body in the chair by the Overseer’s desk, wondering who it could be. The Pip-Boy would have said if it had been the Minutemen, so it was obviously someone else.

“This is the Enclave, calling Commander Nora Jane Adams. If you can pick up this transmission, please contact us on this frequency. We have a proposition we feel might be of interest to you.”

What the fuck could those bastards want? she thought. Danse had mentioned the Enclave when she had talked with him about the Capital Wasteland. A faction claiming to be the legitimate United States Government. Well, as far as she was concerned, the United States was dead. Maybe it would be revived in the future by whoever could unite most of the continent. But the government back then had dropped the ball. It was still up for argument as to who actually fired the first shot. After over a hundred years of multiple nuclear powers and no general war it had seemed that countries could hold themselves in check. America, China, it really didn’t matter to her. If they hadn’t both played the roles of hardasses the war never would have happened.

According to Danse the Brotherhood had wiped them out in a great battle in the Capital Wasteland. It seemed that they weren’t completely wiped out after all, but how much power could they still have?

“Send on that frequency,” she ordered, wanting to get this over with. She would listen to their proposition before telling them to fuck off. “This is Nora Jane Adams, once a Commander in the United States Navy. The defunct United States Navy, Now, what did you want?”

It took almost a half-minute for anyone to answer, and when they did, a harsh voice man was the spokesman. “This is Lt. General Thomas Beacher, Commander. I’m hoping that you are still a patriot.”

“A patriot toward what, General?” she answered, realizing that they were going to try to appeal to her loyalty to the United States to rope her in.

“Why, these great United States of America of course. The same nation you swore your oaths of service to.”

“That nation no longer exists. The Chinese wiped it away while we did the same to them.”

“Not true. While most of the people died, most of the industry was wiped away, your government survived. And we are still here today, your elected officials and their appointed officers, fighting to uphold the constitution of this Great Country.”

“Just who elected them, with most of the population dead, and the rest disconnected from any kind of body politic?”

“Your President, Vice President, Supreme Court Justices and many members of Congress from that time are still alive today. Pending the result of another general election, which will be difficult to hold as I can imagine you realize, they are stewards of the country.”

“And how much of this country do you actually hold?”

“Some small sections, though we are working on more, and have hopes that you might strengthen our position in the States of New England.”

“And you have agreements with the New California Republic, the Republic of the Great Lakes, the Kingdom of the Carolinas, Caesar’s Legion and all the rest to give you power in their territories. And from what I’ve been told, the Brotherhood of Steel, East and West Coast Factions oppose you with all their strength.”

“They are all traitors to the very ideals espoused by the Founding Fathers. But we get off track here. I am asking you, in the name of our President, to reaffirm your loyalty and commitment to the United States. Will you do that?”

“I’m afraid not, General. I’m a general too now, you know. In the Minutemen, which I feel are the greatest hope for this region of the former United States.”

“We will absorb them eventually, along with all the others. In the meantime, we need you, Nora. You remember the United States as it used to be, just as we do. You, as far as we know, still have the uncorrupted genetics of the people of that time. You can be a leader, as well as the mother of a future genetically perfect generation that will make our country strong. And as far as that false title the Minutemen gave you, I can offer you promotion to full Captain in the United States Navy. Possibly Rear Admiral as soon as our leaders can vote on it.”

“Well, General Beacher. I don’t know how many troops you command, but according to my contacts in the Brotherhood there can’t be that many.  I reject the assertion that you represent the people still alive and trying to survive in the territories of the former United States. The United States is dead. Its elected government is dead. And any people you send to try and take over the Commonwealth will be dead at my hand. So fuck off.”

Nora disconnected before the man could speak again. She still had lots of questions, but didn’t think she would be getting any answers from them. Like how had they survived two centuries from the war? Were they ghouls? She doubted that with their talk of genetic purity.

“So, you told them to get fucked?” said Maccready, standing on the other side of the desk, Barb and Heather with him.

“I didn’t know you were awake.”

“We heard the loud talk and decided to see what was going on,” said Barb. “Sorry if we were intruding.”

“No. You need to know about these people too, in case we run into any of them in the future.”

“The Enclave were bad news in the Capital Wasteland,” said Maccready. “Rumor had it that they wanted to slaughter all the people who had genetic imperfections due to the rads. Which pretty much included everyone I knew. The Brotherhood under Elder Lyons took them down. And then the West Coast Brotherhood installed a successor to follow their fascist path.”

“Too bad Sarah Lyons was killed,” said Heather, who seemed to know a lot about things going on outside the Commonwealth.

“There were rumors that she survived, but went into hiding when Maxson took over,” said Maccready. “So I guess this means we don’t get those flags with the E on them to wear on our uniforms.”

“I loved my country, people,” said Nora, leaning over to pet Dogmeat who sat next to her chair. “I would have given my life for it. That government no longer exists, if the one we thought it was ever did. People of the regions deserve to determine their own fate. If the people of the different governments ever decide to form another union I’ll be right on board. But until then, to paraphrase Lee, my loyalties are to the Commonwealth.”

“Who was Lee?” asked a confused Barb.

“I’ll explain later,” said Nora, making a determination that they needed to start up a Commonwealth wide education system to teach the children the lessons of the past, and the skills they needed for the future.

The group spent another four days in the Vault, making sure the robots were putting everything together just the way Nora wanted. She still hadn’t figured out how they were going to welcome settlers into the underground, while keeping out the scum. For the moment she put up turrets at the main entrance and the tunnels going out into the other sections. They cleared those sections as well. Mole rats, ghouls, even rad scorpions and a death claw. And in the one flooded section a Mirelurk Queen that she took down with a pair of high explosive rockets from the RPG. She set the Handies to mining and processing the Uranium ore they found, which exceeded her expectations and put the alliance well on the way to temporary self sufficiency in reaction material.

And then they found, at the end of miles of tunnel, the subway station. The stairway above was blocked, though a couple of hours with a pair of construtrons cleared it enough for passage into a deserted upper station that was sealed off from the surface. Another hour and they had the doors cleared, and Nora was surprised and delighted to find that they were less than a quarter mile from the heart of Jamaica Plains. That solved her problem of getting settlers into the Vault. She found a couple of volunteers among the growing population of the Plains, stationed a couple of protectrons along the way, and had the start of the Vault 88 community.

Her and her party left through the quarry opening, letting the robots continue their work underground. She was thinking the Vault could become a rest and relaxation center for those who had had enough of the surface and needed some time in a clean secure environment. As well as another industrial center, one concerned with manufacturing high end electronics and power generating equipment.

*     *     *

“We were starting to wonder about you,’ said June Warwick as the party approached the settlement. “You’ve been gone over seven days, after all.”

“We took out the Supermutants on the day we left here,” said Nora, accepting a hug from Wally, then from Janey. Both of the children, though Janey was really an adult, were accepting of strangers and new things. “Then we went into the Quincy Quarry and cleared it of Raiders, then found an old Vault that is now another Minuteman settlement.”

“If you want to take out some more Raiders,” said Roger, walking up and smoking a pipe. “You might want to check out that old beached ship over there. A raider gang lives there. We see them heading out to the south on raids periodically, but they leave us alone. Probably think we’re claimed property by the Supermutants.”

“We’ll clear them out tomorrow,” said Nora. “Now how about joining the Minutemen. We can put up defenses so that anyone else who decides you’re easy pickings will get their heads handed to them. And we can expand your settlement, make it something to garner the respect of neighbors.”

“What about the Gunners in Quincy?” asked Wally. “Dad and mom used to take us there on Market days, before they moved in and chased everyone off.”

“Here’s the deal, people,” said Nora, grabbing a seat by the fire burning toward the front of the farm. “First order of business is to grow our strength. That includes getting as many farms and settlements on board as we can sign on. Then, when we have the troops, we go into Quincy and other places and smash our enemies flat. Until then we’re just poking smoking twigs in a stingwing nest. And I would appreciate it if you don’t trumpet the name of the Minutemen too much around any Gunners that might visit. Of course, once this place is bristling with turrets, you might not have to say anything.”

Nora built the Core Services Building and the QESS immediately, powering up the settlement, then ordering the robots to start putting up turrets. She had the foundations of the CSB built two hundred yards out from the current border, helping to block access from that direction. She then laid out the three story settler building, working areas on the bottom, living and recreation in the center, bedrooms on the top floor. That was assigned the pair of constructrons and a Handy, while the other two Handies strung up lights around the compound, including ceiling fixtures in the large room that had been the living quarters for the entire population of the farm.

The party settled on their bags in the CSB, most too tired for any games this night. Nora decided to forgo sex herself. She might be risking nightmares, but she felt good enough about what she had accomplished to try to sleep. While she could have made a play at one of the hired hands, none of them were that attractive to her, and she didn’t feel that desperate.

“Daddy, you’re so big,” cried out a young voice, followed by a series of moans.

“Is that Janey?” asked a wide-eyed Heather, sitting up on her bag.

“She’s fucking her daddy,” said Barb, not seeming in the least shocked. “What. My daddy started fucking me when I turned thirteen.”

“How did you put up with that?” asked Heather.

“Hey, on a small farm there aren’t a lot of choices for sexual partners. When my mamma had her time of life she stopped wanting sex, but daddy still wanted it, and I was available. He made sure I had my contraceptive and I enjoyed it, mostly.”

That was not Nora’s call. She didn’t like the idea of incest, but Janey was beyond the age of consent, so it was up to her who she fucked. As long as Roger didn’t get her pregnant, there was really nothing she could say about it.

The next morning they continued laying out the construction. The new settler house was almost finished, powered up, with turrets going up on the roof. The recruitment beacon went in, as well as some fencing and a gate to restrict entry. Another thirty acres of the rich soil was made available to planting, just waiting for additional farmers. The bots started putting together a large deck on the side of the property, giving them some room over the water for merchants and settler workshops.

“Let’s go ahead and take out that ship,” said Nora as she watched one of the robots working on the metal structure on the end of the catwalk, which would become the Warwick family master bedroom.

Nora got into her power armor, and halfway to the wrecked freighter pulled up the RPG, loading in a high explosive rocket and readying it to fire. She had thought about a nuke, but considered it a waste to use one of the expensive warheads on low level scum like that. Maccready hit a couple in the head from below as they showed themselves. Nora then jetpacked onto the ship and took out the rest. It was a ten-minute job, a pleasant change from some of the others, but she had to remind herself not to take things for granted. That their next target was likely to be more difficult was a given. In the main cabin of the Raider camp she found a Bobblehead, and more information flowed into her brain and body through her implant.

The Poseidon Energy Plant was an exceptionally large structure that also needed clearing out. The Gunners hadn’t been good neighbors at all, and had done nothing for their neighborhood. Watching a Raider coming out of a top entrance decided her, and she led her people up the catwalks, sniping and killing the gang as they went. This target had tempted her to use a nuke and shock and awe the defenders. However, a nuke going off up there would be just a little noticeable, and she really didn’t want to attract the Gunners.

The plant was enormous, with miles of catwalks and dozens of metal industrial shacks, with huge generating machines, mostly silent, on the floor. There were a score of Raiders inside, including one with the really bad Raider power armor that flew apart when she sent a half a hundred high velocity rounds into the helmet, the weak point. The central control room had another of the magical bobbleheads, and Nora felt her knowledge and abilities growing as the chip in the small statue linked with her implant through the Pip-Boy. They then went down into basement of the building, finding hundreds of pounds of circuitry and machinery that would be of greater use in the settlements, since the plant really wasn’t functioning. That would be for another time, when they were working at rebuilding the city of Boston, something that might be another generation in the future.

“Okay. You’re clear to the south and the southwest. So as soon as you get some more settlers we’ll consider this settlement a success.”

“Very good,” said Roger, stopping just a little too close. “And I must say you are a most attractive woman, Nora.”

“You have enough attractive women here to keep you busy, Roger. So, no thanks.”

Roger looked very disappointed but let it drop. Nora sought out Janey, wanting to get to the bottom of something that was bothering her.

“I’ve been fucking Daddy since I turned twelve,” said the young lady, now seventeen and not a bit embarrassed about committing incest with her father.

“And you’re okay with it?”

“Oh, yes. Since momma had her time of life she’s not been the most accessible partner. Sometimes she has sex with Daddy, but its rare. He needs an outlet, and I’m the only one available. Though I have to admit that he’s not all that good. Cedric and Bill are much better. Hell, even Wally is better, and he’s only fifteen.”

“Your brother?” asked Nora, feeling shocked.

“Well, yes. He needs to learn. Mamma was teaching him at first, and she still tried to make some time for him. We’re constantly fighting, but I do love him, and when we’re fucking we aren’t fighting. Which reminds me. Mamma said that you seemed to be a woman of the world, so I was wondering if you might teach me some things.”

“Why not,” said Nora after a moment’s thought. Janey was extremely attractive in a girl next door sort of way, and she was seventeen, a year older than the agreed upon Commonwealth age of consent, an adult by any legal measure. And it wasn’t like she was some innocent child.

That night, while Nora busy was pleasuring Janey, June walked into their room. “I was wondering if I might be able to join you?” asked the mom. “I much prefer women, and you are as pretty a woman as I’ve ever seen.”

“Sure,” said Nora, smiling up from where she had been eating the sweet pussy of Janey, licking at the smooth lips.  The girl hadn’t seemed the least bit flustered that her mom had walked in on her having sex with a relative stranger. “The more the merrier.”

The next morning Nora and party were on the move again. It had been a strange week. Gaining two settlements for the alliance, wiping out three Raider camps and a number of beasts. A confrontation with Vault Tech, followed by one with the Enclave. Some of the best sex in her life, and some of the strangest. Well, people would live their own lives, and as long as they weren’t harming anyone else, she was willing to let them have it. She understood how sexual needs trumped convention, or was that became convention, on isolated farms. The best way she could deal with that was to expand the settlements so that everyone had the choice of a partner. Some might never get to a point where monogamy was a viable system. But if they only involved consenting adults, that would work. After all, Nora was not a big fan of monogamy herself.

“It’s just that I was hoping you would spend some time with me, Boss,” said Maccready, hanging his head. “And I’m sorry I’m acting like such a little child.”

“Oh, come here,” said Nora, taking him by the hand and leading him into the General’s Quarters. “We don’t have time for much, so how about a blow job.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” said the man, now smiling.

My God. Men think so often with their little head, she thought, getting down on her knees, unzipping his pants, and pulling his already firming dick out. She started out slow, despite the sense of urgency she had to get on the road. If she was going to offer sexual favors, her pride forced her to do a good job. Ten minutes later, the head of his cock lodged in her throat, her hand on his balls, she brought him to orgasm, swallowing every drop.

“Damn, but you are good.”

“I know I am,” said Nora with a smile. “And thanks for my breakfast.”

Minutes later the party was walking out of the Castle to the calls and salutes of the people gathered. Nora was in her X-01 Assault Armor, newly touched up to cherry condition by Sturgis, who was leaving that day with a dozen people heading back to the northwestern settlements. The Minutemen had cleared out the neighborhood on the days when she was supervising the reconstruction of the Castle, but Nora insisted on the caution of a tactical movement. Raiders and other scum were known to move in without notice, and she hated to think of one of her people felled by a sneak attack from a supposedly cleared area.

The plan was to check out University Point for mentions of teleportation, then head over to Jamaica Plain to see if she could establish a settlement there.

“Mention of Vault Tech on radio scan,” said her Pip-boy, its newly upgraded software making it a true assistant.

“Play it.”

“This is an emergency broadcast from Vault 88. Authentication Code Word, Bendis. Unspecified emergency. All Vault Tech personnel are required to respond.” It then gave some more authentication words with instructions to follow the broadcast signal.

“Are you going to respond to that, Nora?” asked Heather. “And I’ve never heard of Vault 88.”

“Me either,” said Nora, stopping to think for a moment. She really hated Vault Tech, and would do nothing for the corporation if at all possible. However, this emergency might involve Vault dwellers, possibly people coming out of cryo like in her Vault, maybe more of them. Scared, disoriented. Or any one of a thousand other situations.

“Let’s go ahead and do what we’ve set out to do,” she finally said. “It will give me time to think, and possibly they will broadcast some more information in the meantime.”

The thought that the people in that Vault might already be dead crossed her mind. Vault Tech could screw up, and when they did, they screwed up spectacularly, as they had on 111. She really didn’t feel like facing a bunch of bodies, the remains of people who had put their trust in a corrupt organization that hadn’t deserved it.

“So we’re still going to University Point?” asked Heather, her manner more anxious than her normal chipper self.

“That was where your article said that attack on you and your people occurred?”

“Sure was. The motherfuckers. There must have been fifty Synths there that day, led by that scar faced motherfucker with the big revolver, Kellogg. Fifty Synths. We’ve already got some to add to my total, and I hope I can get some more today.”

“Will it really pay for all those people? For your sister?”

“No,” said Heather, shaking her head. “No, it won’t. But it will make me feel better.”

“Then we’ll kill as many of the fuckers as we can catch,” said Nora emphatically.

There was an old weathered sign before the entrance of the neighborhood. Traders Welcome it said. Past it were the ramshackle ruins of old huts, and bodies. They couldn’t have been the bodies of the traders who had been slaughtered that day. They weren’t old enough. Though well into rot, many having been torn apart by scavengers, Nora still estimated they had been dead for weeks, not years.

“Okay. We probably still have the killers near,” she whispered over the radio.

“Curious,” said a voice with a very mechanical feel over that frequency. “They are using tech that the savages don’t seem to possess.”

“What the hell was that?” asked Maccready, his tone one of near panic.

“Go radio cold. Now.”

If the damned things had radio, and could tap into the party’s net, one of their tech advantages was nullified. Nora waved her hands down, indicating that everyone needed to crouch, while she scanned her surroundings with the PA sensors.

“Why do you hide,” said a voice from very near. “Is it that you are afraid to die?”

Nora saw three skeletal figures in the red of heat walking jerkily toward the party, advanced weapons in their hands. She pulled up the China Lake, making sure it had the rounds she had intended, then popped one off to land at the feet of the machines, about thirty meters away. The grenade had a noticeably short timer, set to go off less than a second after hitting. Go off it did, the flare of electricity and the glowing ball of the electromagnetic pulse encompassing all three of the Synths. The machines froze in their tracks, all electronic systems fried, then tottered and fell over.

Fire came in, two lasers and a something that moved extremely fast, trailing a strong gust of air behind it. Maccready fired, pulled the bolt back and shoved it forward with speed, then fired again. “Why won’t the damned things go down?”

“You’re hitting them in the head,” said Heather. “That’s not a weak point.”

“Hey, I take head shots.”

Nora landed another pulse round onto the balcony of the building, which her Pip-boy was telling her was a residence hall. The round went off and the two Synths up there fell over, one all the way off to the ground. A laser hit Barb on her body suit, deflected away as the woman moved quickly behind new cover. Heather spotted and put paid to that Synth; her laser seemingly much more powerful than the weapons of the Institute.

“We must destroy them,” came a mechanical voice from one of the side buildings. The Synth within started to fire, mostly at random, and Nora landed another pulse grenade inside the room. With a flash the fire stopped.

There were three quick pops along with flashes of light, and a trio of Synths were suddenly standing out in the open where none had been previously. Shit, the Institute already has teleportation. She had no idea how their process worked, or if it was even the same as the one they were on the trail of. Or if it could teleport living creatures or only mechanical things like the Gen one and two Synths. The team took the Synths down before they could even orient to their surroundings. But now Nora had something else to worry about, since this enemy could teleport into place at any time to surround them or cut them off.

“I want to get a look at these things,” she told her people. “Cover me.” She walked over to the trio her people had just taken down, with three intact weapons laying on the ground next to them. And without any EMP damage as far as she could tell.

She didn’t think they had anything that would penetrate her armor, though they might do some damage. She had her Handy disassemble one of the lasers and run a diagnostic on the parts, grunting in confusion. “This laser is a piece of crap. Very poorly made, with substandard components.” She looked over at Heather, crouched down and looking. “I’m betting that your laser has three times the power of this thing. Still, we can use the parts.”

Conrad had indicated that the computers they needed to pull data off of were in the residence hall. The messages mentioning teleportation had belonged to an advanced student who had lived in that hall.

“Maccready,” she said, ejecting from her armor and calling the man over, making sure her two ladies were on watch. “We need to talk.”

“I was trying to put them down, Boss,” said the man. “I don’t understand. Hit something in the head and it goes down. Always.”

“And you pride yourself on head shots,” said Nora, looking into his confused eyes. “Problem is, the heads of these Synths don’t contain their central processors. You possibly destroyed their sensory systems, maybe. Maybe not. But if you want to kill them you need to take them through the center of the torso.”

“I take head..”

“Goddammit, Robert. You need to take shots that fulfill the mission, not those that boost your self-esteem. If you can’t take the shots I want you to take, we might need to call it quits. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Maccready, obviously thinking.

Nora was sure he wanted her help with something not having to do with draining his balls. Well, if he followed orders and helped her to achieve her objectives, she would be glad to help him with his. And to drain his balls on occasion as well.

“Let’s go have a look inside. And everyone remember where you’re aiming.”

Nora ejected from her armor before entering the residence hall, removing her power core and locking down the frame. While the armor would give her great protection, it was not stealthy. She thought about getting an integrated stealth-boy added, but it would still make noise. Not much, true, but enough for the Synths, with their sharpened sensors, to pick up. She was sure that she would move in her nano-armor and Forteleza strap on as quiet as anything on this planet, and she could depend on her superior speed and agility to out maneuver and take the Synth’s down. If she was within three meters of them before they located her, she could speed forward and smash them to the floor with her ultrasharp sword.

The outside of the building had been fairly intact, with no visible holes in walls or roof. The inside was a complete mess, with collapsed walls and floors that were little more than gaping holes over the morass that was the basement. She could see muck and mirelurk eggs through a hole in a wall that opened onto a collapsed floor. To the left were intact stairs that led up to a mostly whole floor. To the right were a couple of rooms, entered through collapsed walls, but with sturdy looking doors opening on what she hoped were other intact sections. There was power in the building, with working lights, and she hoped enough computer terminals for her to search for clues.

And further into the building, the loud sounds of the clumsy synthetic creatures moving around. She wasn’t sure what they were here for. To look for the secret of teleportation themselves, or to keep that secret from others. From what she had seen outside she would guess on the latter, though the technology hinted that somewhere in this building might be the superior process.

Nora went to the right, deciding to check out that section first on instinct. The dogs moved crouched and silent beside her, while Heather moved slightly behind. Barb was set as Maccready’s babysitter. The man moved quietly enough, though nowhere near as well as any of the females or the animals. Nora was hoping he would improve from working around so many experts, and from his proficiency with other combat abilities she was sure he would get better at sneaking as well. His problem right now was they were in an environment where his long-range weapon was not optimal. And the MAC-11 machine pistol hanging around his neck had little in the way of hitting power, though it could throw out a stream of slugs.

The first room had a safe and a working terminal. Nora picked the safe and scooped up a number of tech manuals, as well as some prewar money. She hacked into the terminal, then jacked her Pip-boy into the machine to let her handy assistant scan its databanks. It came up empty as far as teleportation was concerned, though some of the power and military applications on the machine could prove of interest.

The next room was a complete bust, shattered desks and wet books that were falling apart. She moved up the stairs, senses alert, when she heard something moving up there. Then the chilling sound of machine voices. She motioned to her people, got head nods in return, then went through the open doorway at the landing at the top.

Two Synths stood in the room, both looking toward the next room, which featured a floor that was more hole than anything else. One started to turn, and Nora sent a suppressed burst through its chest, then swung her rifle to sight in on the next and send it to robot hell as well.

“Cover me,” she told her people. “Maccready, on me.”

Barb and Heather took up positions to cover all the entrances into the room, while Nora went to work at the terminal behind the desk. Again, no mention of teleportation, though the scientific and historical information she downloaded onto a couple of holo-tapes could prove interesting.

The group worked its way from room to room, taking down Synths as they came to them. The robots seemed capable of only verbal communication with each other, though they could tap into Nora’s com. It was as if the people who created them had no conception of the tactical realities of war. That was okay with her. If the super geniuses who created the Synths wanted to act like such idiots in other areas that was fine with her. Give her a stupid enemy any day.

“Jackpot,” she whispered as the Pip-boy alerted her to mention of what she was looking for on a terminal that sat in an office that had to belong to a high-ranking professor or senior administrator. She looked over the information, reading about a doctoral candidate student who had been communicating with some scientists on another campus about quantum teleportation. From what she read, it was a process that didn’t actually disassemble to structure of the object to be teleported, but flipped their quantum resonances to make them pop into existence in another area. CIT, the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, had been working on the process prior to the war, but were face with a number of problems, including radiation damage to the subjects and the high energy usage of the teleporters. While another CIT, the Connecticut Institute of Technology, a New England rival, was working on it from another angle, and thought they had solved the problem of power use. Radiation was still a problem, and unliving objects were easier to teleport, since it required lower power but caused much more radiation exposure. While living creatures required the most energy, if one was to come through with minimal radiation damage.

“Okay. We’re going into the basement to look for the room of an Andrew Watson. He was in communication with the CIT in Connecticut about teleportation. I’m hoping he will have some schematics, or at least know where they might be.”

“Anything else on there?” asked Maccready, eyes narrowed at the concepts being discussed that were going over his head.

“Only that Watson survive the war. Probably as a ghoul, since his correspondence was logged in as recently as twenty years ago.”

“So he’s our ticket,” said Heather. “If the Institute didn’t kidnap him. Or the Synths didn’t simply kill him.”

They ran into their only major obstacle as they came back into the entrance hall. Where a dozen Synths were milling around, waiting. One fired one of the weapons that Nora thought of as a Gauss rifle, the ultrafast round slamming into the wall behind her.

“Significant danger,” said her Pip-boyt. “Take cover.”

Instead Nora launched a pulse round into the center of the Synths and they all went down like poleaxed steers. She started a Handy on ripping out circuitry and field stripping weaponry, while she gave the Gauss to Maccready to carry, wanting an intact example of the weapon to get to Sturgis and Conrad.

They found a working lift going down to the semi-darkness of the basement. The sound of ghouls came from ahead, and they deployed to move up on them and take them down with auto-fire. There were a number of rooms with power and terminals, and Nora felt she had to check them all out. One had some classified information on the prewar world, and what had happened when and just after the bombs flew. Finally she found the prize, in a room that had the looks of being occupied just a few years back. She hacked into the system, the Pip-boy the perfect cracking device, and looked over the files.

“Eureka,” she said. “This is it.”

“Schematics?” asked Heather, catching on to the excitement of her leader.

“No, though a lot of the theoretical underpinnings are on here. But about fifty years ago our CIT sent a team to recover the schematics of the Connecticut Institute’s teleporter, hoping it would help them to solve some of the problems with theirs. The Institute was in contact with Mr. Watson, who they refused entry into their facility due to his being a ghoul.”

“So the Institute got what we’re looking for?”

“Possibly not. The team never made it back. Their last transmission, before something killed them all, was on the railway line in the southern area of the Commonwealth. The Institute wrote them off, since they seemed to have solved their own problems.”

“So they just wrote off their own people as not worth their time,” said Maccready, sighing. “Nice people. I’m glad I’m not working for them.”

“So where to next, Boss?” asked Heather, as Nora loaded holo-tape after holo-tape with data.

Nora thought they had found enough already to improve just about every one of the technical systems the alliance used. Maybe not the QESS, but that system was already about as good as she could imagine. But she wanted teleportation. With it their people could go from settlement to settlement with no danger to themselves, at least if the system was safe. And if a system could be established across the Commonwealth? Well, that could wait. She wouldn’t trust anyone outside the alliance with that tech. And…

“Oh shit.”

“What is it Nora.”

“It seems that Vault Tech was rumored to have developed a similar tech to what the Institute used. And there are indications that the bastards are still around. So here’s what we’re going to do. I want to clear out Jamaica Plains and get something going there, so we have a strong point to the south of the Castle. Then we go see what's going on in Vault 88. I want to know if we’re still dealing with Vault Tech. The Institute may be our primary enemy, but Vault Tech could soon become an even greater threat.”

“And if you don’t find what you’re looking for in 88?” asked Barb.

“Then we walk the rails heading south and look for the missing Institute party. Either way, I mean to have that tech, even if it costs my life.”

*     *     *

They encountered no more interference from the Synths as they stripped the Residence Hall of just about anything of value. Nora left the computer terminals and generators, in case they needed to visit here again to look for more information. The main frames contained too much data for her to download on a hundred Pip-boys or a thousand holo-tapes. She had gotten everything she wanted, but there was no telling when they might gain more information that needed the research facilities of this place.

“I’m happy,” said Heather as the team moved off the site and headed for the next target settlement.

“How many?”

“Well, with the twenty-six we got at Malden, and the twenty-five we killed today, I have my fifty Synths. All thanks to you Partner. So you get my biggest discount.”

Nora smiled. She had found that the products Heather sold were as good or better than anything she could get from a doctor. And Heather even had some specialty products, like the emollient that had soothed her vagina while healing from the rape of the Supermutants.

“Thanks. Then I’ll take a dozen of your relaxing teas.”

“I’ll have to brew up some more,” said her friend. “And I’ll need some more mutated fern, so keep an eye out for them while we travel.”

Jamaica Plains had been an upscale Boston suburb prior to the war. Now it seemed to be ghoul central. Nora could make out the creatures congregating on the streets as they approached. She estimated about a hundred of them from her vantage on the hills to the north, looking down on the streets. And probably many more in the numerous buildings. Some of the structures were total losses, some seemed to be intact, while there were many others in between.

“You sure this place had one of those magic workbenches?” asked Maccready.

“No, I’m not sure. But the person who told me about it seemed sure, though they admitted they had run through really fast, and were fortunate to get out with their lives. But you can aim for the head here. Set up and take out all of the ghouls you can target. Meanwhile, I’m going in and attract all of them I can on me.”

Maccready took a prone position and sighted in. His first shot hit a Glowing One in the head at over six hundred meters, exploding its brains and dropping its lifeless body to the street. After that it was jack in a round and fire, jack in another and fire, each shot taking out a ghoul. The ghouls may have been brainless killers, but they could tell when a threat was menacing them and go after it. They swarmed forward, heading out of town and up the hill. Heather and Barb joined in, while the dogs pulled down any that looked like they might actually make it up to the base of the hill. And Nora headed down into them, nano-sword in a two-handed grip.

In this fight she wanted her enemy to know where she was. The noise the armor made was now an asset, though she wasn’t sure how much of one over the screaming cries of the creatures. As they came within range she swung, the blade cutting through heads, slicing off upper limbs, breaking backs. She killed one every couple of seconds, most before they could finish closing on her. Still, some ran into her, stumbling forward or lunging with their final burst of speed. They rocked her back, but the strength of the suit on widespread legs was too much for them to topple over. There was no way they could penetrate the armor plates, and Nora relished the frenzy of killing them melee. Since most of the force of her blows were generated by the frame servos, she was tireless.

The ghouls had no quit in them, no sense of self preservation. They didn’t break and run. They kept coming on until there were no more left. More came out of houses, attracted by the noise, to get cut down by ranged weapons.

“Okay. We’re going down there, so everyone stay close and alert. I really don’t want to ferret them out of their hidey holes at night. The damned things sleep like cats, only coming awake when they become aware of your presence. I would like to think we got all of them, but I don’t believe that. We’ll look for a place to camp on the way. Hopefully something on the top of a building with only one way to the top.”

“Why don’t we camp out here and go in when the sun’s up?” asked Maccready.

“I really don’t want to be wakened from a deep sleep by a death claw running into the camp, ripping everything apart. So we do it my way.”

Maccready nodded and said nothing, and Nora decided that was the best she was going to get from the man. They shot down some more ghouls on the way in, the creatures stumbling out of houses slowed by confusion. They found the workbench on the far side of the town, about fifty meters up from the lake that separated the neighborhood from another to the south that was partially underwater. A set of iron stairs led up to the roof, which was fairly clear of debris. The party set up the tents and settled in.

“So, what’s your story, Robert?” asked Nora as they sat around a fire consuming the meal that Barb had prepared. “Where did you learn to shoot so well.”

“I taught myself in the Capital Wasteland,” said the man around the food he was chewing. “I always thought it better to kill my enemy when they were at a range where they were unlikely to kill me.”

“And what were you doing in the Capital Wasteland?”

“I was born there. Grew up in Little Lamplight. Was even the mayor at one time, until I hit sixteen and had to leave. See, they had an age limit, and so I was on my own.”

“And the Gunners?”

“They were the only people I knew offering my kind of employment when I arrived in the Commonwealth. And boy was that a mistake. They were animals. They killed everything without a thought. I finally couldn’t take any more and left, though they like to say that no one leaves the Gunners. So, what watch do I have tonight?”

“You don’t have a watch. You have other duties. So go see to Heather and Barb, and I will keep first watch. But make damned sure you have enough in you to see to my needs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the man with a smile, getting up from his seat and heading toward the tent they had erected from the panels of the four smaller tents.

Soon the gasps and groans were coming from the tent, as Nora kept her attention on her surroundings despite the horny feelings that threatened to overwhelm her. Maccready took his duties seriously, and Nora counted the orgasms of her ladies, as well as the two he had. Soon silence reigned, the trio falling into an exhausted sleep.

Nora woke Heather at One AM, her watch, then crawled into the tent, shedding her clothes and sliding up next to Maccready. Her questing hand found his genitals, and she gently manipulated his dick and balls, sighing as she felt it jerk awake, followed by a yawn from the man.

“You ready for me, big man,” she whispered in his ear. “I sure hope so, because after today I really need to get fucked.”

“Heather and Barb wore me out, Boss. Maybe tomorrow night.”

Nora grabbed him with strong arms and turned him over on his back, then moved her mouth down to his groin and inhaled his cock. No matter what the man had said, he responded quickly, and Nora laughed as she thought of the way he had played her. She kept kissing and licking until his dick was straining at full erection. With a quick kiss on his lips, she climbed up and straddled the man. Placing the tip of his dick at her entrance, she sank down with a sigh, letting him seat himself in her tight, wet pussy. Starting off with rocking back and forth, she was soon feeling the pleasure rising from her clit as she rubbed it against his pubic mound. This went on for several minutes, until she started fucking him in earnest, sliding his dick in and out of her with each upward and downward thrust. Maccready started to groan out his pleasure, setting Nora on fire as she realized the effect her tight vagina was having on him.

Her first orgasm hit, her pussy clenching on the turgid organ within it. She was surprised that Maccready didn’t pop from the massage her vaginal muscles subjected him to. But he held on, and she continued to ride him for what seemed like an hour, but couldn’t have been half that time. Her second orgasm rose within her, bursting forth as she continued to ride, enjoying every inch of the man’s dick as it rubbed along the lubricated walls of her pussy. She cried out each time her clit came down on his groin, and she felt another orgasm coming on the tail end of the last, not letting her completely down as the most powerful of the night grabbed ahold of her body and turned her into a quivering mass, crying loudly into the night.

“My God, Nora. I can’t hold on any longer.”

“Let yourself go, Lover. Fire your load into me. Paint the inside of my pussy with your sweet cum.”

Maccready cried out and did as she ordered, his cock swelling, then spurting to coat her insides with his man juice. Her orgasm ramped up, her vision blurring, and she fell over and off, her ragged breath coming in deep gasps.

“You okay boss? I didn’t kill you did I?”

“If you had I would have died happy, Robert. I am extremely satisfied with your performance thus far. Now, I need to get some sleep, but thank you for making a dreamless sleep possible.”

Maccready enfolded her in his strong arms as he settled in behind her, skin to skin. He cupped her right breast in a hand, just holding it. Nora needed times like these, times that made her feel feminine and protected. His breath slowed and regularized into the calm rhythm of the exhausted, the warn air pleasantly stimulating the back of Nora’s neck. Moments later the world faded, and she entered an existence where the dreams were pleasant escape, in her subconscious thanking the man for giving her his love.

“I’m going to take a bath,” said Nora as she climbed out of her bag the next morning. “Someone watch for ghouls, then I’ll return the favor.”

“Aren't you concerned about rads in the water, Boss?” asked Maccready, yawning, his eyes locked on her naked body.

Nora felt herself blush slightly under that gaze, which frankly amazed her, considering what they had done the night before, and were likely to repeat this night. Watch it, Nora, she thought. He was a good subordinate and a good lover, bringing with him the excitement of new sex with a strange partner. But the last thing she needed was to fall in love. Nate had been the one, and as far as she was concerned he always would be.

“Oh, Nora doesn’t have to worry about rads,” said Barb, shaking her head. “Superwoman sheds rads like a drowned molerat fleas. Give her some liquid and the time to piss it out, and she’s rad free. The rest of us have to use meds or some of Heather’s teas if we don’t want to smell like ghouls through the day.”

Maccready kept watch from the rooftop as Nora scrubbed herself down, making sure every part of her was squeaky clean, then repairing back to the roof to get in her armor. When she had prepped the rest of them went into the water, splashing and playing, laughing, even engaging in some light petting that had them all aroused.

“We don’t have time for sex this morning,” she called down, her eyes roaming.  “Just let it simmer through the day and tonight will be so much better.”

Movement caught her eyes, and she fired a couple of bursts that knocked a pair of ghouls down that had been heading for the lake. More appeared and her people ran for the building, while she killed anything that approached. As soon as they reached the top the armor came on while weapons were readied.

“Damned things interrupted our baths,” said an aggrieved Barb. Nora thought they had been through with their baths, but not with their sexual play. Despite the ghouls showing up Nora felt good about her party’s mood. They were comfortable with each other, in all ways. A group like this would be there for each other no matter what.

It took the entire morning to clear the town, then part of the afternoon to make sure the town hall was ghoul free. They confronted a series of defenses that had been erected to protect the fabled Treasure of Jamaica Plains, which turned out to be mostly worthless memorabilia. By two Nora had set her handy to erecting a QESS, then pull the parts of the constructrons and Handies from its storage. Most of the earlier settlements were down to one robot for maintenance, leaving her with quite an inventory.

She claimed the house next door to the workbench, both floors, as her and her followers' quarters. A Handy cleaned it out and patched the windows, while a Handy and a constructron assembled the fusion reactors and some other equipment in the workshop room. Her own workbenches went in her quarters, and she started the robots on putting up a multipurpose structure, mechanical area, settler quarters and recreation facilities, overlooking the lake. She set one of the robots to repairing the old church, which had room for multiple work areas and some shops. The pumps went in, light poles went up, and finally the turrets. By nightfall it was almost all together, and the robots worked though the night to put on the finishing touches and put up the settlement recruitment beacon. Nora decide to make this settlement a farm, as least to start off, since they were extremely low on the circuitry needed in all electronic devices, and the automatic planters needed quite a bit. Possibly later it could become a market center and brothel.

The night, with the turrets and dogs keeping watch, the four humans had a small orgy, the women servicing each other when the man wasn’t available. It might not have been the passionate affair of the night before; which Nora was sure she would remember for some time. It was, however, very pleasant to all, and everyone got off enough times to be satisfied. Afterwards they set watches and slept till morning.

“In the settlement,” came a voice from the perimeter in the morning.

“Come on in,” called out Nora after shrugging into her nano-armor. There were five people waiting, looking tired and hungry. Three women and two men, if one of the preteen children could be called a man. The one adult man had his arm around the shoulders of a woman who had her hands on the shoulders of an adolescent girl.

“We heard your beacon,” said the one single woman. “I went by this place last week and none of this was here. Only swarms of ghouls. How did you do this.”

“We’ll explain tonight. Now get in here and have some food. Then we’ll show you where you can sleep.”

“Are you with the Minutemen?” asked the one adult male, a black man named Walter. “That’s some impressive looking power armor you have there, and those look like Minuteman colors.”

“Were you a Minuteman?” asked Nora, noting the laser musket hanging from the man’s shoulder.

“I sure was,” said the man, snapping to attention. “Corporal Walter Delgado. Company F, third battalion. And what is your position in the ranks?”

“She’s the General,” said Heather proudly. “We took the Castle back, and Colonel Garvey is back there organizing the troops.”

“Preston is a colonel? And you’re the general? Well, welcome, General. And maybe I need to get to the Castle.”

“Please, Walter,” said the woman, pulling on his arm. “You said you would stay with us.”

“You need to listen to her, Walter,” said Nora, walking up and taking the man’s hand in hers. “We need troops, but our strength is going to be in our settlements. Perhaps I can talk you into being the temporary mayor of this one. Until we get enough people here to hold an election.”

“That sounds good,” said Walter, smiling. “I wanted to do my part, but Margaret needs me too.”

“Then you serve all of us. But get some food inside of you, and give me the run down on this area.”

The five newcomers inhaled the food put in front of them and hesitantly asked for seconds, which Nora gladly provided. It was obvious that they were near starving, and Nora wanted them to be well fed before she left them to it. She spent the rest of the day showing them how to use the workbenches, including the operation of the QESS, which brought forth exclamations of amazement. And Walter pointed out the trouble spots to the south.

“That there swamp city is Hyde Park. A den of the rankest scum this side of Boston. A bad place.”

“And what’s the news on Quincy?”

“Since the Gunners shattered the Minutemen, the bastards have turned the place into a fortress. Both the town and the overpass. It beggars’ reason that they destroyed a trade center and didn’t use it for their own.”

“Well, they’re on my list of people who need to have their asses kicked out of the Commonwealth.”

“And when will that happen?” asked Felicity, the older white lady that had come in with the group.

“Not tomorrow,” said Nora matter of factly. “But we’re getting stronger every day.”

“Nora put together the alliance to the north of the city by herself,” said Barb proudly.

“Well, I had the help of my true friends.”

“But she was in charge,” continued Barb. “We have twenty settlements built up to the same standard as this place. We even have one farming settlement that is mostly ghouls. A thriving Trade Center, several industrial hubs, even a recruitment center in Diamond City and a militia outpost in Hangman’s Alley. Troops forming up, power armor like that suit, maybe soon even vertibirds. And the ties she has forged with the people who aren’t in the alliance. The energy she has shown to put this all together is frankly unbelievable.”

“And where did you come from, General?” asked Walter.

“Nora, please. You can call me General during official functions, but other wise we are all friends.”

“Okay, Nora. You look like a young woman, but you have to have been walking this world at least twenty, twenty-five years. And you have a military bearing about you. So, where were you hiding out.”

“Well, for about two hundred and twenty years I was in cryo sleep in Vault 111. Just came out this year, and I was the only one who survived.”

“My God,” said a wide eyed Felicity. “You’re prewar. And what did you do while the bombs were falling.”

So Nora launched into her tale of her life, her career in the Navy as a pilot, a new mother, and the day the bombs fell. She was in tears by the time she got to watching her husband murdered in front of her and her baby stolen. She even gave a description of the murderer, something that took Heather’s breath away.

“Kellogg,” said the redhead. “It has to be. Only one man fits that description. He was the one who gunned down my sister and so many others at University Point. Definite Institute.”

“Then after the Gunners we’re going to take out the Institute.”

“Good luck with that,” said Felicity.

“With all this woman had done,” said Walter, looking into Nora’s eyes, “I almost feel sorry for those bastards.”

The last thing Nora did that night was show the newcomers how to program the robots and use the QESS, so they could adjust the settlement to suit them. She knew that people wanted privacy, and there were enough semi-intact houses around that could be fixed up for them to have all they wanted.

By the time they were ready to head out the next morning seven more people had arrived, and they left a settlement with a small population of twelve, and sure to grow quickly as the refugees in the neighborhood heard about them.

Then you can transfer out, thought Nora, taking in all of the smiles and head shakes that signified the approval of the others.

“And if we work as one of the girls?” asked a pretty young blond who must have been sixteen. Old enough in this world.

“You get to keep half of what you make, while enjoying the comfort and safety of this settlement.”

The girl smiled and nodded, and Nora thought she had one of her part time prostitutes. Now she just needed two more, something she thought she would have no trouble recruiting. Prostitution was not looked down upon in this world, and many young women took advantage of the good looks of youth to gather a nest egg.

Home plate was a most unusual settlement, being as it was in the middle of another, non-allied settlement. She was using it as a recruiting station, drawing in people then farming them out to the other settlements. But now she was going to make it into a money-making concern, right here with access to the merchants of the Great Green Jewel. But first she needed to remake it, which would cost caps and resources before she saw any return on her investment.

She thought a new wall up at the vault entrance further in, as well as one blocking off most of the largest room, which she wanted to keep as an industrial center. The raised platform that was serving as an office could be turned into three small sex rooms, the place down the stairs as the lobby for the brothel. The showers and toilets would become public, while she had robots dig out some more areas further in so she could put in additional living amenities and bathrooms. The end of the largest room already held an eatery would become a full restaurant. The middle room would be the dance hall, while the area near the entrance would become a mingling room. It all came together in her mind. It would be a larger facility than the Dugout Inn or the Red Seat, and much cleaner than both.

Nora had planned on selling herself this night at one of the two venues in the city, but being raped by Supermutants earlier that day had soured her to the thought of letting anything penetrate her. Maybe the next time she visited the big city.

“Let’s get something to eat,” she told Maccready, getting up from the table. “My treat.”

“I must say that I am very satisfied with your performance thus far,” she told the man as they sat in a both with plates of steaming food. “You are exceptionally good as a sniper. You follow orders, and look after yourself and my girls.”

“What about my other duties?”

“Heather and Barb seem to be happy.”

“But not you?”

Nora sighed. “Look, Robert. I can call you that, right? The last couple of days have been rough on me. First that damned memory lounger. Then my night of drunken debauchery. Finally the rape by Supermutants. I’m sorry, but sex has been the last thing on my mind. That will change, I assure you.”

“And what if it’s soured you on sex for life?”

“Let me tell you my story, Robert. So you will know that is not possible.”

So Nora told her newest team member about herself. The times before the war, the times after. How she had used the Supersoldier serum to transform herself, in the process supercharging her sexuality. Her reliving the nightmare of her husband’s death a million times in cryo.

“My God. If it didn’t come from your mouth, Boss, I flat wouldn’t believe any of it. How in the hell are you still sane?”

“Maybe I’m not. Maybe you follow a madwoman.”

“Well, you seem to have it together out there in the Wasteland. You make good decisions, and give decisive orders. So if you’re crazy, I might just be crazy enough to keep following you.”

“Thanks, Robert,” she said, laying hand on his forearm. “And as soon as I feel the urge, you’ll be the first to know.”

That night Nora had nightmares, in spades. The vault and Nate’s murder, the faces of the people she had killed or seen butchered in front of her. The supermutants ripping her insides apart as they raped her. She woke up crying out, muffled by the pillow she had instinctively grabbed. She knew an orgasm would help. It was probably the only thing that could. But the thought of any kind of sex, even masturbation, made her sick to her stomach. She didn’t know how long she could bounce between these two imperatives. The need to have sex to retain her sanity and banish the nightmares. And the need to get over her most recent rape, a horrific experience unlike anything she had ever faced in the past. Something would break, and soon, or her people really would be following a madwoman.

*     *     *

The next day dawned a rainy mess, the sky full of clouds dropping their load of moisture to the ground. A morning like this normally meant a clear afternoon, but there were no guarantees. Despite knowing her people would be soaked to the bone, Nora decided she needed to go ahead. After all, the planned assault on the Castle was set for the next day, and people would be waiting on her.

She had nothing to worry about with the rain in her optimized suit of X-01 Assault armor. She had the best protection out there, and with the weapons she had she represented the ultimate in mobile firepower. Her assault rifle was hanging by its strap over one shoulder, her Garand in the sheath on that same shoulder. The China Lake GL was hanging from another strap, loaded and ready with four frag projectiles. The scoped RPG launcher was set in its mounts on her back, along with ten ready rounds, while the ultra-sharp nano-blade was attached to her left hip. Boxes and bags of ammo were attached to the belt around the front waist of the suit, giving her reloads for everything. More ammo sat in her cargo bots, giving her enough to fight a half dozen full battles. The Desert Eagle Auto-mag rode the hip of her nano-armor, within the power armor, her backup if she had to quickly eject.

It still made more noise than she would have without it, though nothing like the damaged recon set she had walked up from Goodneighbor. More like the soft whine of well-maintained machinery, it wasn’t audible at more than ten meters. It wouldn’t allow her to sneak up on an alert sentry and slit his throat, but if such was needed she could always eject from suit at a distance and stealth in. Leaving Diamond City they turned south and walked through the streets for about a mile, then turned east. A half a mile and they turned south again until they hit the walled in roadway of the that led into the east entrance of the Mass Pike Tunnel.

The Raiders who made that a base had their breakfast interrupted, leading to an interruption of the rest of their lives. Nora attracted most of the fire, pipe weapon bullets bouncing harmlessly from her armor, while she took down the Raiders. That done she turned back to the east and walked up the pike, Heather and Barb slightly ahead and watching for threats, Maccready by her side, his new .308 in hand and ready.

Maccready had loved her gift to him. A brand new .308 bolt action with an eight-round magazine and a ten power scope. He had immediately gone out into the fens to zero it in, until he could hit targets at a thousand yards to his satisfaction. Nora had watched in interest as the professional went about his craft, careful that everything was just so. And learning about the craft of sniping in the process.

At the first break in the wall to the south they turned to the southeast and went cross country until they ran into the large junkyard that loomed ahead. Nora hadn’t remembered so many junkyards prewar, but there must have been, since she doubted anyone would have taken the trouble to pile up cars, shipping crates and trash afterwards. She didn’t think the Supermutants who now occupied it would have bothered, though they had taken the time to erect a number of shacks and raised walkways.

“We can always bypass to the north,” suggested Barb.

“No,” growled Nora, glaring at the enemy settlement. “I want them dead. And now. So get ready for their attack. Maccready, target everyone you can see and take them out. And everyone look out for the suiciders.”

Nora pulled up her grenade launcher, checking the load to make sure she was carrying frag rounds, then selecting her target. The first round plopped down right in the center of the junkyard, directly into a cluster of mutants. With a sharp crack and a flash the round went off, a half dozen supermutants went flying, and several more clapped hands to shrapnel wounds. Some of those that had been blown back struggled to their feet, but over half lay still and dead. Jacking another round into the GL, she fired into another cluster, then the last.

The supermutants started screaming out their superiority as they came on firing. They were recklessly brave and tactically stupid, very few of them bothering with cover or concealment.

“Suicider at ten o’clock,” said Maccready over the radio. Nora looked over and saw the idiot trying to charge across the several hundred meters of open ground. A suppressed report from the sniper rifle and the mutant went down, and Nora cheered inside as she thought about recovering that warhead.

The party swept through the junkyard after the slaughter was over. There were some injured mutants, still single-mindedly trying to get to their feet and gunned down for their trouble. As they reached the other side of the junkyard Nora became aware of someone speaking over a loudspeaker. Something about it being a military checkpoint, and only open to active duty military personnel.

“That’s a Gunner outpost,” said Maccready, looking at the now alert figures a couple of hundred yards down the road.

“You want to send Barnes and Winlock a message?” asked Nora, looking over at her sniper. The supermutants had taken a bit of the edge off of her anger, but she thought a score of so of Gunners would help more.

“You got it, Boss. And what are you going to open up with?”

Nora had pulled the RPG off of her back and inserted a rocket with the atomic energy symbol painted on the warhead. “Shock and awe,” she replied, making sure her people were out of the back blast, then aiming in on the APC to the left of the bunker. She pulled the trigger and sent the rocket on its way, laughing inside as she saw the Gunners panic as they tried to find cover. Good luck with that, she thought as the rocket went straight into the old armored vehicle.

Mini-nukes were really underpowered weapons as far as nukes went. With a blast radius of at most thirty yards, they totally fucked up anything within that radius, while doing considerable damage out to fifty yards. Most of the Gunners died the instant the warhead detonated. Most of the rest were badly injured or shocked out of their minds. Nora bounded forward, RPG put away, assault rifle in hand, her people with her. She had to give them credit. Those Gunners still capable of resistance fought. Not very well, not coherently, and soon she had them cleared out of the checkpoint. There was little of interest in the area, with the exception of what was on the bodies of the mercenaries. Nora, her Handy and her people stripped down a score of good quality military weapons to send back to Home Plate on Wilson.

“When do you think someone will come along?” Nora asked Maccready.

“Well, when I was with them, patrols would check with each emplacement every couple of days, normally in the morning. So, tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Good enough. Let’s get to the Castle.”

Andrews station had already been hit, and hit hard. The dirty bodies of Raiders and their guard dogs were everywhere, most of their weapons missing. Nora counted forty-three bodies, and figured that the ones in the subway station had come out to help their comrades, and had died along with them. They found a Minuteman cap nailed to one of the shacks, a clear message as to who had wiped out this nest of murderous scum.

“Damn, I guess the Minutemen are back,” said a smiling Barb.

Nora didn’t think that quite accurate, but the troops who had been heading to the castle had made a stopover and a point. They passed the Gwinnett Restaurant further in, and the supermutant bodies indicated the Minutemen had also hit this location. It looked like a professional hit, and Nora wondered how many of the old Minutemen had come out of hiding to reform the ranks.

They continued on down the peninsula, the bulk of the old fortress looming ahead, to spot the people they had come to see set up in an old ruined restaurant. About a dozen tents had been pitched, and even a small flag had been placed, while what looked to be about twenty troops, men and women, in the colonial garb of the organization, gathered.

“Who goes there,” shouted a sentry. “Sergeant of the Guard, post number one. Approach and be identified.”

Nora was aware of a number of weapons pointed at them, many the hand cranked laser muskets, but also a number of auto rifles and even a couple of hunting weapons.

“Call out to Garvey so he can identify me,” she told the guard. “Meanwhile, I’m going to dismount my power armor.”

“Welcome, General,” called out Preston Garvey as he hurried out of the building, several men and women with him. “Glad to see you could make it.”

“Why did she get to be general?” asked a freckled face young woman to Garvey’s right. “Shouldn’t that honor have gone to one of the old guard.”

“Because people, and listen up, none of us have her military credentials or her abilities. Nora Jane Adams is a veteran of the prewar military establishment, formally trained. And she’s responsible for reestablishing our network of settlements. So no arguments. She is the commanding general, and I will hear no different.”

Everyone was silent after that, though some glares were still focused on her.

“I am honored to be your commander, people,” she told them. “My official prewar rank was Commander, United States Navy, Aviator. I realize the United States is no longer a going concern, and that you may have your doubts about me, so all I ask is that you give me a chance to prove myself.”

“I already gave them all a rundown on your history, General,” said Preston, rendering a salute. “If they had taken the time to listen. Now, if you want, we have a command center set up in this building. Not much of one, but hopefully enough for the job.”

Nora followed her second into the building, realizing that she needed to take charge here. This was not the time to act apologetic to the offended. She was the General. She had given blood sweat and tears to rebuilding the organization. Those that didn’t like it could leave. She would rather have fewer people than ranks filled with dissenters.

“Well, we still have about three hours of light,” she said, looking down at the sand table that someone had constructed, then out the window at the fort. “It’s still in pretty good shape for being what, seven hundred years old?”

“That it is,” said one of the gathered soldiers. “And hopefully the transmitter is still in good shape.”

“This is Sergeant Talbert,” said Garvey, patting the man on the back. “He’s in charge of communications, and I think would make a very good intelligence officer as well.”

“Then it’s Major Talbert from here on. Unless anyone had any objections.”

There were none, and Nora went to the window to look out over the fortress. The front gate area was a wreck, the wall destroyed in several places and crumbling into the ground. There was another gap on one of the oceanside walls, while all of the rest were still intact and very solid. She didn’t know what the inside was like, but envisioned intact rooms where the walls were whole, collapsed ruins otherwise. A plan was already forming in her mind, but first they needed to take the place.

“Okay. You people know more about this fort than I do. Any suggestions as to a plan of attack? And just what are we facing?”

“A bunch of overgrown lobsters,” said the freckle face young woman. “Mirelurks. Though from the description of the old timers it sounds like an exceptionally large queen was responsible for ejecting the troops.”

“Amanda here was in training to become one of our research staff,” said Preston, putting an arm around the shoulders of the young woman. “And here come two more.”

Nora turned to see Sturgis and Conrad come walking into the building. “Sorry we we’re late,” said Sturgis. “Some punks tried to interrupt out journey before our escort took them out.”

Nora noted that Sturgis and Conrad both wore uniforms, the double silver bars of captains on their collars. “You two here to stay?” she asked.

“Up to you,” said Conrad. “I think Sturgis wants to return to Sanctuary, but I’m thinking I can do more here. where you’re planning on building an army.”

The sounded good to Nora. She nodded and turned back to the rest. “Suggestions on how we take this place?”

The suggestions ranged from a multiprong attack to luring the mirelurks out into a preset firing line. She didn’t think multiprong was appropriate for fighting dumb beasts, and really liked the idea of luring them out.

“Okay, people. Here’s how we’re going to do this.”

*     *     *

Nora walked over the ruin that had been the front gate, her power armor whirring quietly with each step. She had her rifle in hand, her people spread out to either side. Twenty odd Minutemen waited on the other side of the ruined gate, weapons ready. The mirelurks started to come out of the ground as soon as they crossed into the courtyard. Many many mirelurks. The dogs barked and ran away on a command from Nora, and she and her people open fired and backed away. The swarm of mirelurks followed, more joining in. Nora fired some grenades into several of the clutches of eggs to stir them up even more.

As soon as they were beyond the wall her people turned and ran, while Nora drew her nano-blade and waded into the mirelurks. The rest of the Minutemen opened up, and it wasn’t long before scores of large bodies lay everywhere in the aspects of death. “I guess we’re having crab for dinner,” said Nora to the laughs of the gathered troops. “We still need to clear out the inside. I’ll go into the walls with my team. I want a squad on the walls taking out egg clutches, another to scour the courtyard. Until we have them cleaned out this place really isn’t ours. Now let’s move it.”

The inside of the fort walls was even more of a mess than the courtyard. Seaweed growing everywhere, clutches of eggs, mirelurks bursting from the large piles of muck. Fortunately they were no threat to someone in X-01, and she warded her people as they destroyed eggs and adults alike. Some of the eggs hatched, and disgusting hatchlings wriggled across the floor to strike and bite.

“We need help out here,” called a voice from outside, followed by a bone chilling roar of something exceptionally large. Nora hurried outside to see the top of the largest creature she had ever seen forging its way through the water toward the fort. The Mirelurk Queen, it was massive. From bottom to top she estimated that it stretched twenty meters or more. Lasers and bursts of fire were hitting it to no apparent result. Almost at the shore, it started to fire streams of acid at its tormentors. One of the Minutemen took a full stream into the body. He fell screaming to the ground, the flesh of his face melting away under the burning effects of the acid.

“Watch out for the back blast,” she cried out as she deployed the RPG, this time sliding a high explosive rocket into the tube. She aimed and fired, the rocket streaking into the face of the creature and exploding in fury. The Queen staggered a bit but came on, firing streams of acid at what it now saw as the primary threat.

“Taking damage,” said the suit. “Seek cover.”

“The hell with that,” cried Nora, dropping the RPG to the ground and pulling her rifle up. The Queen was moving over the ruins of the bayside wall, still trying to burn down Minutemen. One more fell, and Nora felt a surge of pride over the horror of seeing her people being killed. They had no quit in them, despite what had to be the most horrifying sight imaginable to most of them.

Nora held down her trigger, sending a stream of bullets into the face of the creature. Pieces of chitinous armor flew away, and she fired until the hammer fell on an empty chamber. With a quick pull and push she reseated the other side of the mag, slammed the bolt forward, and put every round she had into the creature. Another stream of acid hit her suit, and the damage schematic came up to show her that the helmet, torso and right arm were in the red. Another hit and they would most probably fail, and them it would be her flesh intercepting that killer fluid. The spout exploded just then, something hitting the protrusion and destroying it.

The rifle clicked on an empty chamber again, but the Queen was still moving. Bolt after bolt of laser musket fire hit the monster as she struggled to pull out a fresh mag. With a final shudder the Queen stopped in her tracks, then fell over.

“We did it,” yelled Preston, running up to Nora.

“We did,” she replied, ejecting from her suit and accepting the hug of her subordinate. It might not have been proper for discipline, but at the moment she couldn’t care less. “But at a cost,” she said in a soft voice as she looked over the two dead Minutemen. “I want them buried here in the courtyard, and a plaque erected in their memory. Now let’s see about this transmitter you thought so highly of.”

The transmitter was sitting right at the base of the tower, just as it had since prewar times. The tower itself was a tall structure, anchored by support wires on three sides attached to the walls. A rough frame structure had been erected around it, not enough to fully protect it, but just enough to keep some of the rain off. It was tough equipment, made for outside use, the only reason it was still functional. Or at least she hoped. That there was still power in the fort, though she was not sure how much, was shown by the working lights within the walls and the humming of a water pump directly outside. A power pole was erected outside the inner wall, a wire running from it to something inside.

Nora ordered her Handy to put down the supply station she had brought along next to the red workbench, then assemble a QESS. Then, to the wide eyes of many of the Minutemen who had not observed the construction process, the Handy assembled two more of its kind, then three constructrons and another couple of Handies. This was going to be an industrial sized job, so she wanted a work crew aboard that could handle it quickly. She then ordered a line run to the transmitter, which powered up without a problem. Major Talbert tested the transceiver, and Nora talked with him on her short-range radio, set to that frequency for the moment. She set her Pip-boy to monitor the frequency and alert her when certain keywords were heard.

As night was falling the robots were disassembling the rubble of the fallen walls and repurposing it into new marble. It would take time to rebuild the walls, including their interior spaces, but she was here for the duration. The Minutemen moved their tents into the courtyard and formed a rough camp, then built up some fires. One of the Handies went about butchering the mirelurks in the courtyard, and soon mirelurk stew was simmering in a number of cook pots over the fires. Meat was still a rare and precious commodity in the Commonwealth, and she refused to see it go to waste. The Handy kept butchering, using its saw arm to slice easily through shells and the meat underneath, then packaging it in the QESS, where it would be preserved in stasis, good whenever it was removed.

“I can’t believe we did it,” said Garvey, sitting with the command team around one of the fires, plopped down on the ground with all of them. “For so long this place has been the holy grail, and the shame of the Minutemen. And now it’s ours again. All thanks to our General.”

“I don’t think…”

“Hurrah for the General,” yelled out one of the Minutemen. “Hip hip hurrah.”

The shout carried around the fires until it was coming from every mouth. Nora had wanted to tell them that she had only been a minor part of this. That the battle had been won by them. Now she let them carry on. She had won them over, and now the organization was truly hers, so she might as well bask in some adoration before rolling up her sleeves and getting back to work.

“Preston,” she said as the calls died down. “What’s your official rank in the Minutemen?”

“I’m a sergeant,” he said proudly. “All I really wanted to be.”

“Not good enough Garvey. You are my second in command. And since your named me General, I will use my rank to name you Colonel.”

“But…”

“No buts. You are going to be doing a lot of the organizing around here, and you need the rank to make your commands have weight. So no arguing with General Adams, Colonel Garvey.”

“And how does the General feel about fraternization between the ranks?” asked Preston with a slight smile.

“I have nothing against it. As long as they are consenting adults, and as long as sex doesn’t get in the way of command decisions, I say let them have their fun.” Since they could die at any time.

“And would the General like to..”

“No, Preston. And it’s nothing about you. I was raped by supermutants yesterday.”

“My God.”

“I was almost killed, and you know how hard I am to injure. My body recovered, quickly, but it might take some time for my mind to follow. So please. I’ll let you know when I’m able to enjoy sex again.”

Nora went through her nightmares again that night, crying out her torment, and waking to the feeling of something between her legs. She looked up to see a shadowy figure positioned between her legs, licking and kissing her genitals. At first she wanted to hit the woman, who she thought was Heather. But it felt so damned good, and there was so much pent up tension in her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“No problem, Partner,” said Heather. “You needed this.” The woman went back to work, building up the tension in Nora’s body until it burst forth like a flood breaching a damn, and Nora was crying out in her passion. Heather moved up and started kissing Nora, then cuddled with her, bare skin against bare skin.

“I notice that you didn’t call me General,” said Nora after kissing her friend on the forehead.

“Nope. I’m not a Minuteman. Just consider me a contractor, and you my boss. I hope that’s enough.”

“It is,” said Nora, settling into a comfortable position in the arms of her partner. “It is.”

By sunup the walls were almost complete. The robots had duplicated the pattern of the marble blocks of the other walls until there seemed to be no difference. They were still at work on the front gate, as well the interiors. She thought that by evening they would have working quarters inside the walls, and she could instruct them to start to work on the other emplacements she had in mind. But first she wanted to meet with her officers and get their input into the direction they wanted to see the new construction take.

“We need a Core Services Building out here,” she said, pointing to the map someone had drawn up of the Castle. “And I would like to put in some new buildings on top of the walls, with room for beds and training facilities. They would raise the height of the wall and make the Castle more defensible. And an improvement on that ramshackle structure around the transmitter. I want to turn it into an intelligence center.”

“What about turrets? And artillery?” asked Lt. Amanda Slate, who would be mentoring under Conrad at the Castle, learning the ins and outs of systems engineering.

“We have artillery?” asked an excited Nora. As far as she knew no one else in the Commonwealth had big guns. They would go far to making them a major player once again.

“We did,” said Preston. “You can find some examples of destroyed mortars on top of the wall. Eight-inch monsters. And no one here knows how to build them.”

“Well,” said Nora, pushing down her sense of disappointment. “Let’s concentrate on what we can do. We build turrets, lot of them. Including tower emplacements that give them reach and angle of attack.”

“You expect us to get attacked here,” asked one of her squad leaders.

“Yes. I do. I would rather get ready for such a possibility and have it not materialize, then dismiss it out of hand and get bitten in the ass. We still have Gunners out there, though I plans to take care of them as soon as possible. And I have reason to believe that the Brotherhood of Steel will be coming to the Commonwealth in force. So, I want to be able to repel any attacks against our headquarters.”

After getting the input of her officers and NCOs Nora made her plans and set the robots to work. They finished cleaning out the garbage left behind by the mirelurks. She had four large fusion reactors running in the CSB, which incorporated the red workbench and which had a direct connection to the inside of the fort, and set up her workbenches in there.

Day three after taking the fort and the wall structures were rising quickly. She had decided on four story towers on each of the five bastions, with room for the mortars on top, enclosed by low walls for protection. The gates, though finished, didn’t satisfy her, and she started the bot on building up fortified gatehouses as soon as the wall construction was finished.

Automated planters went on the tops of each of the wall buildings, giving the fort the ability to grow its own food without turning soldiers into farmers. Two dozen laser turrets, supplement by a similar number of machinegun emplacements, gave the structure good defensive capabilities.

By day five she started to set up the towers. The one to the right of the front gate became an office complex, the one on the left was set up as a club and recreation center. The one to the back right was a barracks for NCOs and officers, while the one of the back left was enlisted quarters. And the one in the far back was set up with fabbers and industrial machinery. Lights went up all over, streetlights, spotlights, enough to make the night day around the fortress. Finally Minutemen flags and banners went up, letting everyone know who this structure belonged to, and serving notice that it was not to be fucked with.

Nora had been receiving regular pleasuring at night from Barb and Heather, using the General’s quarters that had been prepared for her in one of the sub bastion rooms, the others set up as kitchen and bathroom facilities respectively. She was thinking of heading out to see about some southern settlements the next day, then changed her plans after a meeting with her intelligence people, led by Talbert and Conrad.

“We keep getting keywords about teleportation from a datastream originating from University Point. I don’t know where this is going to lead, General. But it’s the first lead we’ve gotten.”

“Good enough,” said Nora, trying to contain her excitement. They still didn’t know if teleportation was even possible. But if it was it would make connecting the settlements so much easier. “Thanks, gentlemen. Conrad, Sturgis, stay please.”

After everyone else left she sat down on the couch between the two men, putting a hand on a thigh of each. “We’re planning something special in my quarters. Preston should be on the way, and I was wondering if you two wanted to participate.”

“Sure you’re up for it, Boss?” asked Sturgis, trying to keep the smile off his face that kept returning no matter his efforts.

“I am so damned horny for dick I’m about to catch on fire. My ladies will be waiting for us, so let’s not keep them waiting.”

Heather and Barb were scrubbed and naked by the time Nora arrived with the two men. She had had a huge bed constructed in the chamber, as much for sex games as for sleep. She helped the men to undress, then led them into the private shower, helping them to scrub down, paying particular attention to their sexual equipment, ramping up the excitement. Preston showed up, smiled, pulled off his clothes and joined them in the shower. Nora dropped to her knees and started to blow the men, alternating between each cock until she had them standing at full attention.

“Hey,” called out Heather. “What’s going on in there. We’re both about to burst out here.”

“I guess I’m being selfish,” said Nora, opening the door to the shower and leading the men out. They grabbed towels and dried off, then literally ran to the bed to dive onto the large surface. Immediately each man had a naked squirming woman in his arms and kissing him deeply.

Nora felt some trepidation as Preston positioned himself to enter her. “You sure about this, Nora?”

“I am,” she said, wanting to get this part over with so she could continue with a normal sex life. Or as normal as an oversexed whore like her could have. She grabbed Preston by the ass and pulled him in, gasping as the large penis penetrated into her wet folds. It felt good, and after a couple of slow thrusts all the anxiety was gone. All that was left was her lust, her desire to get herself and her partner off. Soon she was gasping out her passion, listening to the welcome sounds of her female partners getting the shit fucked out of them while they gasped in pleasure.

It felt right and natural when Preston’s dick swelled and he sent his semen into her in a series of spurts. She let his cock rest inside her for some minutes, letting it deflate as she kissed him deeply. “Much as I enjoyed you, Preston, this is an orgy. So we need to switch.”

Each man serviced each lady at least once. Conrad dropped out after that, and the three women worked over Preston and Sturgis, until only the youngest man was still capable of getting it up. He finished by fucking Nora once again, her laughing with joy as the dick squelched in her cum filled pussy. When he finished again she fell asleep in his arms, experiencing a night filled with the sweet dreams of making love.

Nora thought they were arrogant, not that they really deserved to be. While, from what she could tell, they were good enough combat troops, they were in no way elite. What they had was good armor and particularly good military weapons. No inaccurate pipe weapons for them. And frankly they creeped her out.

The women and men were for the most part cookie cutter clones. There were enough differences that she thought cloning was not an explanation. She thought they were the result of a breeding program, keeping the genes within the pool, as it were, while avoiding the effects of inbreeding. That they also recruited from outside their ranks was a given, since they seemed to want to field an army that could eventually take the Commonwealth. They had also been the final straw for the Minutemen, the only other military power in the region, destroying that faction almost entirely. That made them Nora’s enemy. A powerful enemy that she couldn’t afford to confront at the moment. But once she had the power at her fingertips they were going down.

She thought that she might have entertained a Gunner or two the night before in the Third Rail. She really couldn’t tell, and really didn’t care. They were caps in the bank. That was all, and it was her job to satisfy them. She would be incredibly happy to take their lives when the opportunity presented itself. In fact, if she caught small groups of them on their own, she could get a head start on retribution.

“Gather round people,” called out a voice from a balcony. Nora looked up to see Hancock, a pretty though severe redhead standing behind him. People started to gather in the small square below. Drifters, shopkeepers, the armed neighborhood watch. Even Triggermen, the ghoul criminal faction that affected the clothing and weapons of old-time prewar gangsters. Even KLEO was there, running with her assaultron gait to stand at the edge of the crowd.

“What town does the Institute not want to fuck with?” called out the mayor.

“Goodneighbor,” echoed the crowd.

“Who is not afraid of the Institute?”

“Goodneighbor.”

“And who leads Goodneighbor?”

“Hancock. Hancock.”

It was a rah-rah speech, and the people fed into it. Harmless, as far as Nora was concerned, it helped to allay the fears of the citizens. It was obvious that the people here loved Hancock, their mayor. She still wasn’t sure if the Institute was responsible for all the ills of the Commonwealth, but there were enough people who did believe it that it had assumed a life of its own. Something else to look into.

“So, where to today, Partner,” said Heather, up and chipper from all the sex she had experienced the night before.

“That place,” said Nora, pointing down to the end of the street.

“The Memory Den? Are you sure you want them to mess with your mind?”

Nora was sure. It would give her a chance to see both her husband and her baby again. The only memories she had of either of them was the murder of her husband and the kidnapping of her baby. Sure, she had other memories, lots of them. But none had the vibrancy of those, and she was hoping to find something that would replace the horror show in her mind at night.

“Can I help you?” said the pretty older woman who lounged on the old-fashioned parlor couch.

“I understand that you can help people relive memories.”

“We aren’t accepting new customers now,” said the woman with a frown. “And we don’t know if you can handle those memories we do find.”

“I can take it,” said Nora in a near pleading tone. “Trust me. I lost my husband and child recently, and I desperately want to see them again.”

“You poor dear,” said the woman, on her feet and putting her hands on Nora’s shoulders. “Of course we can let you see your loved ones again. Just take a seat in one of the memory loungers.”

Nora took a look at the four capsules scattered about the room. They were like comfortable chairs built into a container; the outer door raised at the moment. Two were in use, people reliving memories, probably of happy events of better times. What she was hoping for. She slid into a chair, feeling more than a little nervous as the outer hatch closed, sealing her off.

“We have a woman in lounger three, Amari,” came the voice of the woman who had greeted her. “She lost her husband and child, and wants a memory that connects her to them again.”

Give me something good, she thought. Maybe something having to do with making love to Nate, nursing her baby, anything to take the place of the awful visions she was seeing each night. “I’ve got something,” said the other woman, the one identified as Amari. “Here we go.”

Suddenly Nora was rerunning her vision, stuck in the vault, watching as the strangers walked up to Nate’s capsule. Not again, she thought. Dear god, give me something else. Unfortunately, she had no control of the vision, the memory. The machine had selected it, and she was merely along for the ride. Being the most salient of her memories, she was doomed to relive the vision she saw every night. The one she had relived a million times while she was in cryo, Her worst nightmare. The man leveled the large revolver and sent a bullet into Nate, her one true love’s, head. His head rocked back, and his eyes stared into nothingness, while the woman in the biohazard suit grabbed Sean. The ugly face of the murderer looked into her capsule, saying something about her being the spare.

“Something’s wrong,” said the woman named Amari. “I’m pulling her out.”

The vision ended, the hatch of the capsule rose out of the way, and a crying Nora tried to pull air into her breathless lungs.

“I’m so sorry,” said the woman, Irma. “We didn’t want you to remember that again.”

Nora laughed, a hysterical expression of emotion. “I’ve relived that damned memory a million times” she hissed, her hands clutching, wishing she could crush Irma’s throat in her strong grip. Heather and Barb were by her side, each holding an arm, ready to restrain their friend before she did anything foolish. “Relived it a million times while I was in cryo. Then every night in my dreams. And you couldn’t have pulled up something more pleasant.”

“I am so sorry,” said Irma again. “Here. I know it’s not much, but let us give you a hundred caps.”

“A hundred caps. You owe me so much more for making me go through that again.”

“Could you please come with me?” said the middle age brunette woman who must have been Amari. “I would like to talk with you.”

Nora told the woman her story, from her life before the war, to the Vault, the murder of her husband, the kidnapping of her baby. Then reliving the memory and waking up. A short bit on what she had done since leaving the vault.

“Amazing,” said the scientist. “I don’t have any experience with cryo, but I can think of how a memory could replay through a frozen brain, the neurons acting as superconductors.”

“Is there any way you can purge that particular memory from my mind. Please.”

“Nothing I can think of,” said the scientist. “And I recommend that you don’t use the lounger again. You’re likely to just experience the same memory again and again.”

“Thanks,” said Nora with a sad smile, tears still falling from her eyes. “I would sooner try to kiss a death claw than go through that thing again.”

“I’m guessing that it didn’t go well,” said Heather, running a hand over Nora’s back.

“Not so much. For all I know the dreams are going to be worse.”

“We’ll be there for you,” said Barb. “You won’t have to go through this alone.”

Yeah, but the dreams will still be in my head, she thought, grateful for the thought, but realizing that the problem was in her.

“I need a drink,” she told her two friends. She knew she had to be careful there as well. Alcohol helped, but the risk of addiction was always there. She couldn’t afford to become one of those people who drank to live and did nothing else. Doing things was the way to keep her sanity, such as it was. And the pleasure of sex, the rush and stimulation, did a better job, and was an addiction she could live with.

“Welcome, ladies,” said Charlie, wiping out a glass. “I assume you are not here to work?”

“Not at the moment,” said Nora, feeling a smile stretch her face at the memory, soon subsumed under the more horrific memories she had just relived. “Maybe tonight.”

“The customers you serviced could speak of nothing else, Guv,” said the Handy. “You made quite an impression, and I sold a lot more drinks.”

“Happy to have helped out,” said Nora.

“I notice that you are dressed for war today,” said the Handy. “I have another job that might be just up your alley.”

*     *     *

How in the hell did I let myself get talked into this? thought Nora as the lock clicked under her pick. Heather and Barb were lookouts, ready to let her know if the watch was coming near. Not that it would do any good if they were seen. She wasn’t about to kill any members of Hancock’s watch, though mention of his name might drive them away. Charlie had told her that the mayor had wanted these people in the ground when she had insisted on knowing who her employer was. Well, she hadn’t promised to put the triggermen in the ground, merely to leave their bodies laying to rot on the warehouse floors.

It really wasn’t enough money for all the risk, when she could have made five times the four hundred caps by merely letting men cum in her. It was hard to believe that in the world she had come from many people thought that was a sin, dooming a soul to the same hell that would be the destination of murderers. According to that logic, since she had already doomed herself to perdition by fucking men for money, she might as well kill some as well.

All three had their night vision gear engaged, the inside of the very dark warehouse as bright as day to their sight. She could see the red heat image of one of the inhabitants through a hole in the wall. Her suppressed assault rifle was set on full auto. She could have it set for three round burst, a more efficient use of her ammo. However, she wanted to have the control to be able to fire longer bursts and sweeps if necessary. Two voices were coming from the room, and she whispered instructions into the radio, getting whispered acknowledgements in return.

As soon as she had the men in her sights she fired, the almost silent weapon taking them down, the only noise a slight cry from one of the slain.

“What the hell was that?” asked a voice from upstairs. Footsteps sounded on the steps, a quartet of men coming down and into the fire of Barb and Heather. More yelling from upstairs, and Nora decided to wait to see if they would come down as well. Those people were a little brighter than the others, and waited for their attackers to come to them. Nora spotted a hole in the ceiling that led to another hole. Positioning herself, she rocketed upward on her jetpack, spraying the room with rounds as she spotted the mass of red figures.

“Well, that takes care of one,” she told her friends. “I’m still not sure about this one, but it will get us in good with Hancock.” The problem was she didn’t know if Hancock’s intensions were good. She might be murdering people for simply being his rivals in crime. But she was committed now, and didn’t think she could back out.

The other two warehouses went the way of the first. The people were well armed and totally unarmored, and knew nothing about combat tactics. She left behind a pile of bodies at all three locations, and was battling her conscience as well as the recurrent memories the sojourn at the Memory Den had brought forth.

After taking her pay from Charlie, she sat at the bar and proceeded to get drunk. Drink after drink of the strongest he had, while fending off the advances of men who wanted a replay of the night before. Her last semi-coherent recollection was yelling that she was on the house, then following a bunch of men into a side room. More drinks were shoved into her hands which she guzzled down, then the clothes came off and the gangbang was on.

Nora had very few clear thoughts of what happened from there. She wasn’t one to get drunk and fuck. She wanted to feel the sensations, and alcohol numbed them. Still, it felt good to have dicks thrusting inside her. She remembered a few orgasms, but they were vague, on the edge of awareness. To feel them Cumming, to know that someone was getting some enjoyment out of it. At one point she was on her hands and knees, a dick thrusting in and out of her pussy as she sucked on another cock. She took a short break and another drink, and then she blacked out. Nora must have been semi-conscious, because she was still a willing partner to the gangbang, but everything was blurred.

Her metabolism should have burned off the alcohol quickly. But it was extraordinarily strong rotgut that made Brobov’s seem like fine Kentucky Bourbon. And she was guzzling it faster than her body could burn it off, her subconscious desire to feel nothing taking hold. She kept crying out for more whenever her mouth wasn’t full. Whether for more liquor of more cock she didn’t know, and it didn’t matter, since she was getting plenty of both. She didn’t know how much cum she had swallowed, but later figured it must have been a quart. With as much or more going into and flowing out of her cunt. In a slutty life this night was the sluttiest of all, and she didn’t care, as long as she didn’t see the images of her husband gunned down and her child jerked out of his dead arms.

“Help me get her into the shower,” said Barb, on one side of Nora as they helped her up the steps of the condo.

“I feel sick,” mumbled Nora.

“We need to get her to throw up,” said Heather. “The sooner she gets that crap out of her system the sooner she’ll be able to sleep.”

Nora had no problem with that, and as soon as she was in position everything came up. What she had eaten through the day, along with the rancid taste of alcohol. Even the taste of all of the semen she had swallowed while being gangbanged. Then they held her up while hot water poured over her, her two friends scrubbing down her hair and skin, washing the sperm out so she would be clean when she woke up.

*     *     *

“God, but I wished I had died,” she told her friends as she sipped on the beverage that was the poor substitute for coffee they had in this time.

“You got so drunk you couldn’t help it,” said Barb, running a hand down Nora’s forearm.

“It’s not that I fucked all those men,” said Nora, shaking her head, then moaning as the hangover induced headache made her regret that move. “It’s that I was in no shape to enjoy it. In no shape to give them my best. And I gave it away for free. What the hell was I thinking?”

“Well, if you do anymore nights in the Third Rail,” said a smiling Heather, “you’ll have them lining up to get into you for whatever you want to charge.”

Nora smiled at that, then frowned. The man they had come to recruit was supposed to be back in town tonight, and what with making sure he was what they wanted on their team, she doubted she would have time to whore this night. And the next day they would be off.

“Thank you both for taking care of me last night,” she told the two she considered to be true friends.

“We should charge you extra for all the shampooing we had to do,” said Barb. “I’ve never seen someone with so much sperm on their hair and body.”

“I suggested that we shave your head,” said Heather, recoiling in mock horror at the look she got from Nora.

Nora had been growing her hair out since waking from the vault, and it was now to her shoulders. The longer hair made her feel more feminine, something she felt necessary to her self-image, since she was such a hardened killer. It was a bad combination already, the willingness to kill quickly and the feelings of guilt it brought. But if she didn’t do it, a lot of bad people would still be wandering the Wasteland preying on the weak.

“What time is it?”

Just before four in the afternoon,” said Heather, looking at the watch that Nora had gifted her, both of them, with.

“I guess we should go see our boy about six,” said Nora, thinking of going to the Rail a little earlier so she could fill her empty stomach with food.

“I think you won’t have any complaints about his marksmanship,” said Heather, who knew the man the best of all of them.

, thought Nora. But a single man traveling with three oversexed women needed to be a good shot with more than a rifle.

*     *     *

“Maccready’s in the back room, ladies,” said Charlie. “You might want to give him a moment. He has some bad customers back there.”

“And that’s the guy we’re looking for, Heather?”

“Sure is,” said the redhead, a concerned look on her face. “Best damned long-range shooter in the Commonwealth. But I don’t like that last part.”

“Then let’s see who these bad customers are,” said Nora, heading down the hall to the back room.

Two men stood outside the door, dressed in combat armor, the skull symbol of the gunners on their chest pieces. “Whoa, ladies,” said the one on the right, the smaller of the two men, holding out a hand. “They’re busy back there. But if you ladies want some company later?”

“I would sooner fuck a Mirelurk than one of your dickless wonders,” said Nora, glaring at the man.

“Why you fucking bitch. I ought to…”

The man moved forward, reaching a hand out to grasp Nora’s Nanosuit. To Nora it looked as if the man were moving in slow motion. She grasped the hand in both of hers, then twisted, driving the man with a cry of pain to his knees. The other moved, bringing a fist back and telegraphing the punch the entire way. Nora stepped out of its path and launched a hook into his ribs, doubling him over.

“Watch them,” she told her friends. “If they try to come in, hurt them.”

“Can we shoot them?” asked Barb, a cold smile on her face.

“Hancock frowns on unsanctioned killings,” said Nora, shaking her head. “But I don’t think he cares if you break some arms and legs.”

The sound of men screaming at each other came through the door. Nora turned the handle and flung the wooden door open, walking into the room as if she owned the place.

“Who the hell are you?” asked one of the men. “We’re conducting business here, so get the fuck out.”

“I don’t know who you are,” said the youngest man, his boyish good looks sending a thrill through Nora’s pussy. “If you’re looking for a friend, or trying to preach the word of Atom, you can turn back around and walk out. If you’re looking for a hired gun, then don’t go away.”

“What did we tell you about this bullshit, Maccready,” growled one of the men. “You don’t try to pull business away from us. When you quit the Gunners, you went out of business.”

“Well, Barnes, I didn’t agree to that fucking deal. So why don’t you take your girlfriend and leave.”

“We don’t have to take this bullshit,” said the other, larger man.

“Just shut it Winlock,” said Maccready. “You don’t own the Commonwealth.”

“Not yet, but we’re working on it. So how about we give you a good beating and leave. And the little lady can contract our services.”

“I’d rather hire molerats than scum like the people you represent.”

“Do you know who we are?” asked Barnes. “Do you know who you’re fucking with?”

“Yeah. Bullshit and Witless. So why don’t you children just walk out of here while you can.”

“Why you fucking bitch,” growled Winlock, balling up his fists and walking toward Nora.

Nora launched a hard side kick with her right leg into the solar plexus of the man, doubling him over. She spun on her plant foot and brought a hook kick into the face of Barnes. Barnes stumbled back, his hand going to his holstered gun.

“Uh uh,’ said Nora, her own pistol blurring out of her holster to point at the face of Barnes. “I’m on good terms with Hancock, so I don’t want to fire my weapon. But move that gun any further from that holster and the wall behind you will be wearing your brains. What little of them there are.”

Nora would have liked nothing better than to splatter both of their brains on that wall. These men seemed to be high in the Gunner organization. An organization that had all but destroyed the Minutemen. Chased the Longs, Preston, Mama Murphy and Sturgis away from their homes, almost causing their deaths at the hands of Raiders. She had already killed a score or more of their ranks in her short time in the Commonwealth, and swore that when the Minutemen had enough strength she would go after them in force, until not a Gunner lived.

“You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” growled Barnes. “If I see you out in the Commonwealth you’re dead.”

“Not if I see you first,” said Nora with a cold smile.

The two men stormed out, flinging curses at the men who were supposed to watch the door. Barb and Heather came into the room as soon as they left, while a wide-eyed Maccready stared.

“I don’t know who you are, Lady. But I like your style. But that was a dangerous stunt to pull.”

“I eat danger for breakfast,” said Nora with a laugh. “It tastes like chicken.”

Maccready laughed; a little boy laugh that went with his boyish good looks. Nora had been thinking about getting him into bed the moment she laid eyes on him, but business first.

“So you’re looking for a gun. I charge two hundred and fifty caps a week, non-negotiable.”

“Everything is negotiable,” said Nora with a smile, looking into the beautiful blue eyes of the man. “How about two hundred a week? When you’ve proven yourself you’ll get a raise. And I heard that you were the best sniper around. We already got up close and personal covered, but there are some opponents who need someone to reach out and touch them at a distance.”

“And just what could three pretty ladies need with a sniper? And can I ask, how much do your partners make?”

“Nora gives us spending money for incidentals,” said Barb, getting a nod from Heather. “And she lets us scavenge things of interest. The rest goes to the cause.”

“Oh, great. Just when I thought you legit, you had to say the C word and ruin it. So, just what is this cause?”

“We’re in the business of rescuing settlements and building them up so they don’t have to worry about people like the Gunners, or Raiders, or even Supermutants.”

“I think I’ve heard of you,” said the young man, perking up, his eyes showing interest. “And rumor has it that you are incredibly good at what you do.” Maccready smiled, an expression that lit his face. “At everything you do?”

“We need to see you in action, Maccready,” said Nora, returning the smile. “So how about a couple of auditions?”

“A couple of them,” said the surprised man. “I can see you taking me out into the city to see how I shoot. So, what’s the other skill I have to possess.”

“Well,” said Nora, her smile stretching as she started to unzip her nanosuit. “You will be traveling with three highly sexed women. And we all like to have a daily orgasm.” She slid the suit off of her shoulders and dropped it to the ground, then reached behind to undo the clasp of her bra.  “So, I need to see if you can handle that.” She glanced over at her two friends, sliding out of their Kerrington armor. “Think you can handle that, big man. If you can’t talk, just nod, then sit back on that couch.”

From the expression on the sniper’s face he couldn’t believe any of it. Nora stood in front of him naked, her right hand reaching down to play with her clit. Heather and Barb soon joined her, and the Sole Survivor could barely hold in her laugher as the man’s eyes, about to pop out of his head, couldn’t stay on either of them for more than a few seconds.

“First we need to check out your equipment,” said Nora, kneeling in front of the man, pushing his legs apart, then undoing his zipper and reaching in to grasp a cock that was well on the way to a full erection. “We need to see how you respond, so there are no surprises on the road.”

Nora pulled the dick from the man’s pants. Like most cocks she had seen in this time, it was uncut. Sometimes she missed the circumcised head of a penis, the elegant beauty of it, but the men here seemed to enjoy her manipulation of their equipment just as much as men had in her time.

“Very nice,” she said, estimating that it was just about seven inches and still growing. It would be the type of dick that would hit all the right places without causing undo discomfort. She kissed the head, listening to Macready suck in a breath. She licked up the shaft, then down, moving her tongue across his balls. He seemed clean enough, not surprising for someone in one of the city settlements, though not always the case. She thought he tasted good, not a requirement but always welcome. Taking the head in her mouth she bobbed up and down on it, feeling it firm into a full erection. Now she estimated eight inches, the perfect length as far as she was concerned. Maccready grunted his pleasure each time her head went down, hissing in air on the upstroke.

“Hey,” said Heather in mock anger. “Quit hogging the dick.”

“Then you all get down here and help me out. That okay with you, Maccready?”

The man said nothing, so Nora assumed it was just fine. She and Barb licked up and down the shaft, often kissing each other on the lips as opportunity presented. Heather, meanwhile, had gotten into a position underneath where she could work on his balls, licking, sucking and kissing. Several times they pulled Maccready back from the edge. The women switched positions, each taking turns on the balls.

*     *     *

Robert Maccready stared with an open mouth at the three women who had gone down on him as if his permission wasn’t even needed. Not that he wouldn’t have given it. They were gorgeous, all three of them. They looked up at him with those beautiful eyes, one set ice blue, another green, the third a warm brown. They seemed to be really enjoying their work, something missing from the whores he usually engaged to take care of his needs. He knew that these were not whores, though there were rumors of one or more of them selling themselves for the cause. These were girls who really enjoyed sex, giving and receiving. Any one of them, with their enthusiasm, could put any of the Goodneighbor whores to shame in performing oral.

Nora, the woman in charge, took him deep, all the way into her throat, then massaged his head. She then moved to his balls while the redhead moved up and took his cockhead into her sweet mouth. She alternated with the green eyed raven hair, Barb, then they settled  into kissing the cock between them, licking and sucking at intervals. Maccready could feel his balls starting to rise and a fierce tingling swept through his sack and testicles, aided by the questing tongue of the leader. He tried to hold back, to impress them with his staying power, but it was just too much. With a series of short grunts the man shot his semen out in seven spurts, into the mouths of Heather and Barb, who then shared a portion with Nora.

*    *     *

Semen was an acquired taste. Nora loved it, and her two partners at least liked it. Maccready had the taste of a man who ate a varied diet, marking him as healthy. He sat back with a sigh; eyes closed.

“How long till you can get it back up?” asked Nora, putting her hand on his cock, then pulling it off as he proved to be too sensitive after orgasm.

“I haven’t had sex in over a week before today. So give me five minutes, maybe ten, and I’ll be ready. Why? What do you have in mind now?”

“Well, your response was acceptable. But now we need to see how you fuck. How much pleasure we can get from you?”

“All of you?”

“Well, you don’t have to Cum in all of us if you don’t think you’re up to it. I would prefer it if you give all of us an orgasm. But that’s not expected either. After we train you we’ll expect more. But we all want to sample you. So,” said Nora, noting that the man’s dick was on the rise. “You ready?”

Nora took Maccready on last. He gave both her partners orgasms, but they were primed and ready. Barb came fast, while Heather took a little longer, and Maccready had to stop and pull out at one point so he wouldn’t spurt. Then it was Nora’s turn, and she guided the man to her entrance, grabbed his buttocks, and pulled him in.

“My God,” gasped Maccready, his eyes widening. “Your ladies were great. As good as anyone I’ve ever had. But this pussy is unbelievable. How do you stay so tight, Boss Lady? And so damned wet and hot.”

“Tell you about it later,” she said, closing her eyes and enjoying the dick sliding in and out of her pussy. “Now, let me enjoy the fuck.”

She had to admit that Maccready was really nothing special in the fucking department. His technique was very pedestrian. But he was earnest and really into the act. She urged him on, adjusting his motions with her hands, until he was hitting her clit on every thrust. She felt her pleasure rising, until the orgasm she had been anticipating burst over her. Her pussy clenched around the man’s dick and his second orgasm of the night spurted inside her.

Afterwards Maccready lay in the bed smoking a cigarette, a smile on his face.

“Enjoy it?” asked Nora.

“Hell yes. Unexpectedly, three gorgeous ladies come into my office and take advantage of me. All of you were good, and you were fucking unbelievable, Boss Lady. Excuse me, I meant fantastic.”

“Well, Macready, you need work. You were good enough to get us off, but we demand more than just a pedestrian orgasm. The good news is we think we can train you to service our needs well.”

“Train me?”

“Women always train their lovers, male or female,” said Nora after a short laugh. “Don’t feel insulted. As I said, you have potential. And you passed your audition. So, you still want to hit the road with us?”

Nora could tell that the man was intensely curious, but that never guaranteed anything. Fortunately, Maccready smiled and nodded. “Hell yeah. You give me something to kill, and sex like that afterwards, and I’ll follow you to the ends of the Earth.”

*     *     *

“So, when do I get a suit of power armor of my own, Boss Lady?” asked Maccready over the radio.

“You want this one?” asked Nora, grimacing at the grinding gear sound the X-01 frame was making with each step. She had done all she could to repair the frame, but it was beyond her capabilities. At least with what she had at Goodneighbor. At Home Plate she would have the resources, or be able to call them up if needed. But she had to get it there.

“No thanks. I’d rather have one that doesn’t tell everyone for blocks in every direction that I’m coming.”

You did a pretty good job of letting everyone know you were Cumming last night, thought Nora with a smile. She had enjpyed the sex herself, though still recovering from the vicious hangover brought on by several nights before. But Heather and Barb had availed themselves of their new sex toy once again, over and over, and Maccready had come through for them.

I should have just left this wreck at the condo, she thought as the left arm ground through a movement. It wasn’t like she didn’t have others, and she was planning on using an assault suit for The Castle. Well, they were over a mile away from Goodneighbor, and she wasn’t about to head back and listen to the I told you so’s of her people. Eventually she wanted her entire team trained up on power armor and jet packs. They might not use them on every operation, but having the ability to deploy would aid her planning considerably.

“Raiders up ahead, on the rooftops to the left,” said Maccready.

The young man had quickly taken to the tech she had given him. He sported a set of hacked visor and short-range radio. In fact, he had commented on how her weapons and other tech was better than what the Gunners offered. And they prided themselves on having the very best.

“Their women seem to all be fit and beautiful,” had mentioned Heather. “I guess you were getting all the sex you could handle, huh.”

“Nope,” had said the frowning young man. “The Core Gunners, that’s the ones who all seemed to come from the same secret program, will only mate with each other. Something about genetic purity. Which left the one third Wastelander recruits to make due with each other.”

The Gunners were definitely an enigma, and one that Nora would have to get to the bottom of eventually. But now was not the time.

A bullet hit the hardtop and ricocheted away, a clear miss of over foot. Maccready deployed behind a dumpster, avoiding the lure of cars that might explode if hit. Rifle to shoulder he fired, the loud report sounding over the street. Up on the rooftop a Raider was suddenly without a head, the body falling over the side of the building.

Well, he’s as advertised, thought Nora. And he had a pretty good weapon, though she could think of improvements. Maybe a state of the art sniper rifle from Arturo, then some mods she could add herself, including noise suppression. He was carrying a 10mm pistol, but she was thinking a small SMG for close in work. And some ballistic weave for the ratty looking trench coat and army cap he insisted on wearing. They were his lucky clothes, but his boss believed in the luck of good armor over anything else.

Maccready took out two more at long range before the rest came swarming down the outer stairs of the building. Raiders were like ill-disciplined children, the murderous variety. They had no patience, and would give up any tactical advantages they had to close with their enemy right then and there. Nora landed a grenade on the street just below the terminus of the stairs, and just before the Raiders had reached ground. The round detonated and sent three or four of them tumbling through the air, their limp corpses to land heavily on the street. Heather and Barb took down five more on the steps, and the only members of the gang to reach the street were dead as could be.

“What the hell is that over there?” asked Nora, looking at the red glowing lump in the center of the pound on her vision equipment.

“You don’t want to go in there, Boss Lady,” said Maccready in a serious voice. “That’s Swan’s Pond. People go in there, but no one comes back out.”

To Nora it looked all the world like some kind of Mirelurk, though the shopping cart strapped across that broad form didn’t look right. She was curious, but not so much that she thought finding out what it was while deployed in a suit of malfunctioning recon PA a good idea. They passed by the commons a mile or so later, then up to the large structure of the Boston Public Library. People she had asked had told her that the best way in was through the subway station, so that was what Nora decided. She ejected from her PA, took the fusion core, and locked it down.

“Should be safe enough out here,” she said, looking over the suit with its three sections of highly degraded armor. It weighed almost a ton, and without motive power it was going no place without a crane. Some scavers might be able to get the armor sections off, if they had the tools. She thought it fine for the hour or so they would be gone.

The upper subway station was empty save for the telltale meat bags of the supermutants. The smell was horrible, with the rotting meat and the excrement of the big mutants who shit where they lived. “Be very careful,” she told her people in a whisper. “I want to see them first, so we can take them out without a problem.”

They ran into their first mutants at the bottom of the stairs leading down. Nora was about five meters in front of the rest, rifle ready as she moved silently forward. So far so good.

“What’s that,” called out a sharper than average mutant, its red figure coming into sight, followed closely by one of the monstrous hounds. With a quick aim she sent a stream of suppressed fire into the pair, dropping them to the ground. The dying scream of the mutant alerted others, and a large red figure came out of a side passage, running at her like a football back.

“Suicider,” she called out, trying to get a shot at the bomb it was carrying. Her people did as they were taught, moving back up the stairs while laying down fire. Nora stood her ground, hoping she could get the deadly mutant before he got too close. Her bursts hit, body and arm, but not the bomb, until finally one did.

The suicider went up in a blast of fury, killing the two nearest supermutants, who were still in the process of trying to backpedal out of the way. The heat washed over Nora, burning her exposed skin. The blast drove her back, while pieces of ceiling and wall fell around her. Her last conscious thought was of her companions, separated from her by the collapsing stair well, if they hadn’t been buried by it. And then she was out.

Her first returning conscious thought, her mind still clouded with confusion, was of being lifted in the air while hands fumbled at her armor. The strap on armor was already off, only the nano-armor still in place, and big clumsy hands were trying to rip it, to no avail.

“It too tough, Brother,” said the rough whiney voice she recognized as belonging to a Supermutant.

“Then cut.”

Nora felt the tugging at the front of her armor, and opened her eyes to see one of the brutes trying to push a knife through the fabric, cursing as it refused to penetrate.

Nora kept silent. Right now she was in an awfully bad place. If they dropped her and left her alone for a short time she would heal up, and then she might have a chance to strike. Or sneak away.

“There opening in front. See if you can get it open.”

Nora peeked out of half open eyes, to see that two Supermutants were close around her, with several more in the background. All had their kilts down, baseball bat thick cocks standing at attention.

Oh God. They’re going to rape me. Her pheromones were working against her in this case, arousing the simple-minded creatures until all they could think of was sex. She really didn’t want that, and started to struggle, her hands and feet lashing out. A couple of the creatures cried out, but she might as well have been hitting a brick wall for all the real damage it was doing them.

“Help us, Brothers,” said the one holding Nora’s legs and having a hard time of it.

“What, you can’t hold one human female?”

“She strong. Stronger than believe. So help.”

Another mutant grabbed a leg, while the first switched over to holding a single. Another grabbed her arms and held them out, while the fourth fumbled at the suit opening. It slid open, and the mutant quickly pulled it off.

“I get these,” said the mutant who dropped her nano-armor to the floor. With a quick jerk he ripped her bra away, then did the same to her panties.

“I go first,” said another mutant, wearing the better armor of a leader.

“But we capture her.”

“I go first,” repeated the leader, his huge cock swaying from side to side as he approached.

Nora screamed. She didn’t want that thing inside her. It would probably tear her vagina to pieces. She might bleed to death. Or worse yet, her body would keep healing her while they kept feeding her those monster cocks, over and over again until they were all satisfied. Since she didn’t know anything about the sexual prowess of Supermutants, she had no idea how long that would take.

The leader put the head of his cock against her entrance and thrust forward. The entire thing pushed into her, until he was hitting the end of her cervix. A sharp agonizing pain let her know that real damage had been done to her sex organs. The monster didn’t care. He was getting a rare treat, and he pumped it in and out, the pain telling Nora that more damage was done on each thrust. It really didn’t take long, and the mutant’s face scrunched up in pleasure as he pumped a number of thick spurts into her.

It burned, that semen, and Nora realized the sperm was radioactive. If she had been a normal human she would have been doubly doomed. Bleeding to death from internal injuries while succumbing to radiation poisoning. The very male mutant withdrew, a flood of blood and sperm following his cock out, and another huge cock moved into place. Without a thought for the victim the mutant thrust in.

The second wasn’t as bad as the first, since most of the ripping had already been done. Still, some more of her tunnel sleeve parted, and the mutant frantically pushed in and pulled out, until he deposited another load of burning sperm in her. And then the next stepped up and repeated the process. And the next.

“She strong. Any other human female be dead by this time. Maybe we send her to brothers to the south and let them put her in vat to become supermutant.”

That thought horrified Nora. She had read about what happened with the Forced Evolutionary Virus on research terminals. She would grow into a huge green creature, devoid of the intelligence for higher thought. She would no longer be human, and would no longer be a female. She liked being human, and very much liked being female. Of course, once she was a Supermutant she would care not at all for what she had liked and desired as a human.

She continued to fight, but the three masses of muscle holding her gave not an inch. Another cock went in, more radioactive sperm flooded her pussy. She was starting to feel ill from the radiation, and though her body was clearing it faster than any other human could, with the sperm still inside her it was a losing battle. She was thinking that she might die of radiation poisoning, or maybe ghoulify. Neither of those were desirable. While she had nothing against the civilized ghouls, she also had no desire to become one of the hideous creatures.

Another mutant stepped up and pushed his dick in. He had gotten maybe three strokes in when blood splattered out from a new hole in his forehead and he fell back. The same thing happened with one of those holding a leg, while the other on that duty had an arm turn to ash, to fall screaming to the floor. Suddenly there were two dogs tearing into mutants, grabbing ahold of arms and ripping.

“Get off,” yelled one of the mutants, before a burst of rounds tore through his skull. The other mutants scrambled to get weapons. Under the expert attentions of Heather and Barb they hadn’t a chance, while more of the mutants further away fell at each report of Maccready’s high caliber rifle. In less than a minute all of the mutants were dead, along with a couple of their massive hounds.

Nora lay on the floor where she had been dropped, vomiting her stomach contents, then rolling back and forth as her pussy ached from the physical damage and burned from the sperm.

“Oh God, Nora.”

“Let me see to her, Barb. You and Maccready keep watch.”

“They tore me up inside,” said Nora, gasping.

“They did,” said Heather, reaching into her bag and pulling out a jar of salve and two bottles of her special tea.

“Their sperm is burning inside me, Heather. It’s radioactive, and if I don’t get rid of it the damned stuff will continue to poison me.”

“Then we need to clear that up right away.” Heather pulled some clean rags from her bag and soaked them in tea, then went to work sponging Nora’s vagina and uterus out. She pulled forth one rag, bloody and dripping with semen, and started with the next. “Drink both those teas. They’ll clean you up.”

Heather pulled another tea from her bag as she continued to manipulate the rag with her other hand. She stopped for a moment to pull open the tea and drain it, then went back to work. “Their damned jism was poisoning me too.”

“They were talking about giving me FEV and making me a Supermutant.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen now. As far as I know they either have to dip you or inject you. Raping you won’t change you, although I’ve never heard of anyone surviving the rape of a supermutant. Much less a gang rape.”

“Lucky me,” said Nora, the burning sensation fading. “I think you’ve got most of it out.”

“Then I’ll do one more cleaning, then apply the salve. The bleeding has stopped, and the vaginal sleeve is already healing. You’re going to be hungry and thirsty as hell in a moment, so if you can handle it swallow a couple of MREs, then drink your fill of water.”

“Thank you, Heather. Thank you too, Barb. And you too, Maccready.”

“Hey, if you hadn’t been leading like you did we would both be dead,” said Barb. “So thank you. How long before she recovers, Heather?”

“A couple of hours. Amazing. It would be a month for an ordinary woman.”

Soon Nora was sitting against a wall, her nano-armor back on, eating a second MRE. Her stomach had calmed, and her body was free of rad producing substances. The very thought of the Supermutants raping her made her stomach queasy, but that would pass. She was not looking forward to the nightmares of this event, but the alternative was just too horrible to contemplate.

“How are you feeling?” asked Heather, taking a close look at her patient.

“Stronger. Give me another fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

“How did you get to be such a superwoman, Boss?” asked Maccready, bringing over the strap-on Forteleza armor.

“I’ll tell your tonight.” It was about time the man got to know everything about her. After all, she either trusted him or she didn’t. And if she didn’t, she didn’t need to have him around.

“You still want to do this today?” asked Heather. “You don’t want to come back another day.”

“And pass up all that knowledge up above us,” said Nora with a lopsided smile. “And fail to make Daisy good with the Greater Boston Library System. Hell no. We’re here, so let’s do this. And I think it will help take my mind of this horrible situation.”

*     *     *

At first Nora didn’t think the door was going to let them in. A recorded voice kept saying that the Library was closed, and even when she talked to the computer controlling security she got nowhere. On a chance she plugged the data cable from her Pip-boy into the port. The powerful computer in the small device parsed through the subroutines, and the door clicked open.

“So when do we get one of those?” asked Maccready.

“It won’t work the same for you,” she said in a low voice. “You aren’t wired for it.”

“What the hell are you, Boss? Some kind of Cyborg?”

Nora hadn’t really thought about it, but in some ways that term fit her. She had an implant in her brain, put there by the Navy to help her link into the computer of the aircraft she flew. And it linked with her Pip-boy, giving it abilities that were missing to anyone who couldn’t direct link. She still didn’t think of herself as a cyborg, since her other exceptional abilities were biological and not electronic or mechanical.

“Everyone stay close and don’t wander off,” she ordered as they went through the door. The first thing she spotted was a tripwire laid across the stairs going up. And several clusters of fragmentation grenades hanging from the ceiling. She disarmed the trip wire, then straightened up to look around. To see numerous protectrons, some standing, others clanking along. There were several turrets at the top of the stairs, and the place looked ready for a siege. The bodies of a half dozen supermutants lay in the aspects of violent death across the stairs and landings.

“Well damn,” said Barb. “Looks like we were misinformed. The damned brutes never made it into the library.”

“Nope. It looks like someone set this place up as a death trap,” said Nora, walking up the stairs slowly, ready to fire or run as needed. The defenses seemed to be ignoring them, and she was thinking they could distinguish between normal humans and mutants, but she hated to stake their lives on that assumption.

Nora found a book return machine and deposited the book that Daisy had given her. The machine gave her some coins in return, something she could spend on a prize when she had accumulated enough of them. The library had power, a working computer system, defenses, and looked like it would have made a good refuge. Still, people had died here, as evidenced by the numerous skeletons.

“What now?” asked Barb.

“Now we look around and take anything of interest,” said Nora, picking up a telephone and watching the protectrons to gauge their interest. Nothing. “Electronics, interesting looking references, everything.”

After a half an hour of looting Nora had accumulated quite a bit, and Maccready was giving her a curious look.

“How in the hell are you planning to pack all of this out?”

“I’ll show you.” Nora called forth her cargo bots, all of which had been faithfully following her around in stealth, then Wilson, who had followed them into the building.

“These will carry my shit,” she said with a smile.

“You’re just full of surprises,” said the sniper, looking at her intently. “Maybe there’s something you can help me with.”

“Wait until we take the Castle and we’ll talk,” said Nora.

“Intruder alert,” called out the computer over the intercom system, as the turrets started into their firing sequences. “This is now a free fire zone.” The protectrons started to fire.

“Everyone cover until we can find out what’s going on,” ordered Nora.

The roar of supermutant voices, along with the whirring rapid fire sounds of miniguns let them know what was going on. The Supermutants were here, in force.

“Maccready, find a place to snipe at any who are out there. Gain some altitude. Barb, cover that entrance. Heather, on me.”

Nora was gratified that everyone, even their new guy, followed her instructions instantly and to the letter. She took up a firing position overlooking the entrance and aimed in on one of the mutants carrying a minigun. That worthy was tearing apart one protectron after another with his stream of low caliber rounds. A quick burst and the supermutant dropped his heavy weapon, to join it a moment later on the floor. Another hurried over to make a grab for the weapon, but a loud report and the spurt of blood from his head and he was falling over on top of the weapon. Heather blasted another mini-gun wielder with her laser, and just like that the heavy weapons of the invaders were out of action.

Two more waves of mutants made the attempt to take the library. If not for the humans they would have overrun the defenses. If not for those defenses the humans would have been sore pressed to hold out. Between them they taught the mutants a new appreciation for the Dewey Decimal System.

Nora set her ready Handy to stripping mutant weapons and downed robot parts, then picked her way into the secure area of the library, where the staff had made their last stand two centuries before. She read their final logs, including an appeal to protect the knowledge of this place. Much of that knowledge was on a couple of hundred holo-tapes that went into Wilson, along with some large reference books dealing with technology. She sent Wilson out the front door so it could navigate to Home Plate and the QESS there. In a half an hour it would be back, and she would have another load for it. There was a lot of information here that could aid her rebuilding of the Minutemen and the settlements, and she meant to get all of it she could, if not on this trip, then on a future visit.

“What the hell is that?” asked Maccready, looking over the Bobblehead.

“Let me have that,” said Nora excitedly, pulling the small statue out of his hands. Immediately it touched her skin and the small statue’s internal chip linked with her implant through the Pip-boy, and a wealth of information flowed into her mind and body.

“Something else you’ll tell me about tonight?”

“Yep. Now let’s get to Diamond City before it gets dark.”

Her people were already asleep in the room they were sharing, but Nora had been restless. She had taken a room by herself, since three in one of the smallish beds was extremely uncomfortable. They were almost out of money, and Nora had already been thinking about doing a little whoring at Bunker Hill.

“The going price is a hundred and fifty caps for my pussy, seventy-five for my mouth,” she told the guard with a smile. “I don’t really like it up the ass, but I might be convinced for the right price.”

“One seventy-five?”

“That would do it,” said Nora after a moment's thought.

“How much to take me and my two buddies on at the same time?”

Nora thought for a moment. “Four hundred and fifty would do it.”

“No group discount?”

Nora consciously released some pheromones to ramp up the man’s desire. “Since I don’t know where you’re going to stick it, or where you’re going to Cum, there is no discount.”

“Okay,” said the man, his eyes glazed with lust. “Four fifty it is.”

“And you only get to cum in me once each,” she cautioned. “I’m not quoting the price for an all nighter. So plan on an hour, get off, and go to bed.”

“Okay, okay. So. Meet you in your room?”

“Sure.” Now Nora thought that was going to be a tight fit, but doable. She wanted those caps, and an hour of discomfort would allow them to buy purified water for the road, always a necessity when she didn’t have a settlement and a QESS available.

“Knock knock,” said the man after Nora had gotten out of her clothes and laid out on the bed. She had some lubricant waiting  on the table beside the bed. She might agree to anal, but she wasn’t about to let someone stick something up her ass dry.

“Come in,” she said with a sultry voice.

“My god, she’s beautiful,” said the shortest of the trio, a man she hadn’t met. “And I can smell that wet pussy. Delightful.”

“Well, you can have the pussy, Matt” said the man who had brokered the deal, Tom. “I want that sweet ass. And you can start out with her mouth, Jerry,” he told the black man who was the third.

“Works for me,” said the man in a rumbling basso.

“Lay your caps on the table before we get started,” she told them, watching as the three piles of caps grew quickly on the tabletop. “Remember, one cum each, then you’re through. If you want another nut we renegotiate.”

No one protested, so Nora thought they had made a deal. She slathered lubricant on Tom’s cock, getting him hard with her hand.

“You’re very good at that,” said Tom. “But remember. I want to cum up that ass.”

Nora smiled at him, then mounted him, grunting as the large cock invaded her anal tunnel. It didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable, and she realized that anal was not going to be a go to technique for her. She moved up and down a couple of times, letting the man feel her anal canal, then motioned for Matt to mount her from the front. The average sized cock went into her pussy and the man whistled.

“I’ve never felt a pussy like this. What do you do to stay so tight and wet?”

“I fuck a lot,” she said, smiling at the man, then letting him thrust in a couple of times. Tom joined in, and she had two men thrusting inside her, getting into a rhythm. Jerry presented the biggest cock of the bunch, and she started licking the head, then running her tongue up and down his shaft.

“You got us a good one, Tom. Not like that tired old whore who works the trade center.”

Nora started getting into the airtight. Three cocks, all being serviced to the best of her ability, which was particularly good indeed. The cocks were going in and out of her lower orifices, and she started to pull Jerry deep into her mouth.

“This pussy is so damned good.”

“The ass is pretty damned special too.”

“I never had a bitch who could deep throat like this.”

Nora let herself go, feeling the tingling that was starting in her clit, then centering in her toes to move up the body. She started moaning, then shaking as the orgasm came over her.

“The bitch is Cumming,” said Matt. “Damn, but that hot pussy is clenching around my cock. I’m not going to be able to hold on. Shit, I’m Cumming.”

One down, thought Nora, as she felt the cock swell to spurt warm juice into her womb. And she had gotten an orgasm out of it as well.

The cock in her throat started to expand, and Jerry started sending his salty load into her stomach. A minute later Tom was grunting over and over again as his dick sent semen up into her bowels.

“Damn, that was good,” said Jerry, high fiving Matt. “You got us a good one, Tom.”

“Yep. Now everyone switch up so we can try her other holes.”

“Wait a minute,” protested Nora loudly. “I said one cum apiece. If you want to cum in me again its four hundred and fifty caps.”

“Listen to this little whore,” said Matt with a laugh, lightly smacking Nora across the face. “We’re here to fuck, bitch. And you’re going to keep putting out until we’re done. Understand?”

The man raised his hand to strike Nora again, this time with a flexed arm that indicated this one was going to be hard. And Nora sent a hard palm strike into his face that broke his nose and rocked his head back.

“Cunt,” yelled Tom, swinging a fist in to strike Nora over the eye. She blocked the next one, then lifted Jerry off her and threw him into the wall. Tom was then the recipient of a flurry of quick punches that knocked him bleeding to the floor.

“I’m gonna kill her,” yelled Jerry, reaching for his belt and the knife that was sheathed there. “You’re dead, bitch.”

Nora smacked the blade out of his hand, then sent a flurry of punches into his chest, knocking the man into the wall.

“What’s going on in there?” yelled out Tony Salvoldi, Joe’s son and the one who ran the flophouse built over the bar.

Barb and Heather were now awake as well, shouting their own questions. Nora shoved Tom into the wall and was out the door, jumping down from the second story and turning to watch the two men still conscious come boiling out, Tom with a gun in hand.

“Drop that gun, Tom,” yelled Kessler, shotgun in hand and pointing in his general direction. “Now someone please tell me what happened.”

“We paid this whore to fuck and she tried to cheat us.”

“That doesn’t sound like Nora,” said Heather. “She’s the most honest person I know, Kessler. Sure, she whores. A lot of people do. But she delivers and her customers get what they pay for.”

“They paid to cum in me once,” said Nora, pointing to the semen dripping from her lower orifices. “They did, as you can see. When I told them they were done they started to threaten me and hit me. Said they were going to fuck me until they were done.”

Kessler glared at the three men, who seemed to want to melt into the Earth. “Stealing sex from a working girl on Bunker Hill property is rape. And you know the penalty for rape.”

“But, she beat the hell out of us,” complained Jerry, hushing when Tom shot him a look.

Well, they were big strapping men, and she was a thin woman. So admitting that she beat them in hand to hand was not something they wanted to pursue. “I’ll drop any charges, once I’ve verified that my caps are still on the table,” said Nora.

“Good enough. Now you men go back to wherever you are sleeping for the night and leave the lady alone. I think she’s done with you. So get your clothes and go. And leave her caps.”

After the men had left Nora went up to the room and threw on her nano-armor, belting on her pistol. She counted the caps, satisfied that they were all there, then came back out.

“I’d like to talk with you,” said Kessler. “Please follow me to my house.”

“I hope I’m not in trouble.”

“Well, not with me. Now come on in.”

Nora sat, Kessler taking the chair facing hers. “I never took you for the type to whore. Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” said the older woman hastily, raising a hand. “After you took down Zeller, I thought you were the mercenary shoot them up type. Then when I found out you were with the Minutemen.”

“So you don’t approve of whoring?”

“Not at all. I did a little of it to make ends meet when I still had the face and body that men desired. And you have to be one of the most desirable women to stop by here in quite a while. Heather vouches for you, so you’re right with me. But if you want my advice, take them to your room one at a time, for an agreed upon time. If they get off in that time, say a half an hour, then they have nothing to complain about.”

“I’ll have no problem getting them off in that time. Probably in less than fifteen minutes.”

“Well, do that and you shouldn’t have any trouble. Though I would avoid Tom and his people. I’d hate to see you have to kill them. They might be assholes, but they perform a service with the caravans.”

“The deal to join the Minutemen is still on the table,” said Nora with a smile.

“Tempting, but no. I’ve heard about the Trade Center you built on the Finch place. That’s going to cut into our bottom line, you know.”

“I’m not trying to hurt Bunker Hill,” said Nora, sighing. “We needed a place to link the settlements in the northeast of the Commonwealth, and Finch seemed like the perfect place. If you join us I will make sure you are linked in as well.”

“The problem is,” said Kessler, shaking her head, “is that you have pissed off a lot of people we have deals with.”

“Raiders? Give us time and they won’t be a problem anymore.”

“But right now they still are a problem. And if we are seen as aligning ourselves with you they will start jacking our caravans again.”

“I think you’re making a mistake, Kessler,” said Nora, looking into the woman’s eyes and seeing them widen. “The Minutemen aren’t going to do anything to you. We believe in Capitalism and Free Enterprise, after all. And we need you and your products. Our patrols will do everything they can to protect the caravans out of here. We don’t have enough out there yet to cover everything, but we’ll get there.”

“I believe you. Trouble is, I’m an elected official, and I can’t go against my constituents. Maybe if you win some more of them over.”

had been hoping to win Old Man Stockton, the most powerful of the caravan owners, with some more sex. But he hadn’t been in Bunker Hill. Word was he had some family problems, something to do with his daughter coming up missing after one of his caravans had been hit. That might be an in, if she could find him to talk to. Or she could just hope he was back in residence the next time she was through here.

“So, where to next?”

“I’m going to Goodneighbor tomorrow. See what it is about.”

“I hope your not counting on Hancock to join you. He enjoys having his own little kingdom under his thumb.”

“Nope. I’m hoping to find a long-range shooter there.”

“You are such a contrast Nora Jane Adams,” said Kessler, sighing again. “Warrior, businesswoman and whore. So unlike the warriors I’ve met, someone who actually thinks. And willing to act, unlike most of the cautious business owners. And don’t even get me started on the working girls. Most don’t have a brain in their heads. I personally think you take too many chances, but it’s your life, and I have to admit that you are accomplishing great things. Now, I need to get to bed.”

*     *     *

There was a Raider gang controlling the bridge that was on the most direct route from the Hill to Goodneighbor. It was unfortunate for them that they chose to contest the passage of Nora and her party. She would have thought that seeing some high end power armor along with a pair of well armed companions coming at them would have let them know this was not a good morning to try and stop passage. Raiders didn’t think that way. They attacked at any time, for any reason or none. They fired on Nora, and the grenades she had sent their way in return blasted their barricade and the people manning it straight to hell. They ran into one more band on the way, and another section of old Boston was Raider free.

“Well, I guess this is the place,” said Nora as they followed the signs and stopped before the iron door penetrating the ragged but sturdy fence.

“It’s kind of rough,” said Barb, looking over at Nora. “But as long as we don’t get on Hancock’s bad side we should be fine.”

Nora was anxious to meet the redoubtable Hancock, the mayor of Goodneighbor and a ghoul. Said to have once been a resident of Diamond City before McDonough had ejected all of his kind. “Well, let’s get to it,” said Nora, reaching a gauntleted hand to pull open the door.

And here comes the welcoming committee, thought Nora as a big man walked toward them. Not very bright to approach a woman in X-01 power armor.

“Haven’t seen you ladies around here,” said the man in an aggressive tone. He stared up at the helmeted face of the power armor. “And you I have no idea about.”

Nora didn’t think she was going to have a problem with this guy, though the power armor needed work. The left arm wasn’t working at all, and both of the legs had weakened armor plates. She walked it over to the side and ejected from it.

“Another beautiful lady,” said the man. “Beautiful ladies need protection. So many bad things can happen. You need insurance, and I just happen to offer it.”

“You better back off,” growled Nora, hand to her pistol butt. “Or you’re the one who’s going to need insurance.”

“Okay, okay,” said the tough, who proved to be a coward after all. He held up his hands and backed off. “We’ll just say that your insurance is paid up.”

“What did I tell you about shaking down new arrivals, Finn,” said a tall ghoul, wearing of all things a colonial outfit with tricorn hat.

“They ain’t one of us, Hancock. You going to let strangers walk all over us.”

“Hey, this is me here,” said Hancock, opening his arms as if her was going to give Finn a hug, closing with the man. Nora saw what Finn didn’t, the hand of the ghoul reaching for a knife hilt protruding from a sheath behind the mayor’s back. With a quick pull the knife was in his hand, going into Finn’s stomach with a couple of quick thrusts. Finn doubled over and fell to the ground, to lay unmoving as he bled out.

“Welcome to Goodneighbor, ladies.”

“I really didn’t need you to do that,” said Nora, looking down at the body. “I could have handled him myself.”

“But we don’t like shooting in Goodneighbor. Too many chances of bystanders, innocent or otherwise, catching a stray bullet.”

“Goodneighbor,” said Nora, remembering this neighborhood as Scollay Square from her time, with its luxury hotels and apartments, its high-end shops. “That’s what you call this place?”

“That’s right. And everyone is welcome, as long as they play nice.”

Nora should have been shocked, seeing the chief official of a town knife a citizen to death in front of her. This world was getting to her though. Death was so common, what was another one.

“Where’s the best place to meet people?”

“You aren’t a working girl, are you? Of course you aren’t, with that walking fortress and armor and weapons that must have cost more than most of my citizens make in a year. Still, check out the Third Rail. And if you’re here to shop, go see my girl Daisy at the Discount Store. Now, I’ll leave you to it. And remember, no shooting.”

“Not everyday I walk into a place to be greeted by a murder,” said Heather.

Nora walked straight ahead to the shop with the sign that said Kill or Be Killed. An assaultron stood behind the counter, watching them intently. A couple of whores stood in front of the shop, dressed in slutty clothing that revealed more than it covered. It was like the prostitutes in Diamond City had been cloned or transplanted here.

“And what are you supposed to be?” asked Nora of the robot.

“I’m a woman, baby.”

“Of course you are. A very womanly robot.”

"I came to the conclusion of why serve the man when you can work for yourself. Designation K L E O. Kleo. Independent small business owner. And everything I sell was tested on the customers I didn’t like.”

Nora laughed. She could tell that she was in no danger here, and was beginning to like this robot. “Let me see what you have.”

Nora bought a small .38 auto that she could carry when she was wearing her one slutty outfit, then moved over to the discount store next door, to be greeted by an old ghoul who gave her a smile.

“What kind of selection do you have?” she asked Daisy, the proprietor.

“Some of it is on display, though most is in storage and can be browsed on this terminal.”

“What’s it like being a ghoul?” Nora asked, wondering what had compelled her to do so.

“It’s worse with all the questions. But it’s let me live for two hundred years.”

“You’re two hundred years old?”

“Okay. More like two hundred and seventy, give or take a decade. You can’t imagine.”

“I think I can,” said Nora with a smile.

“And now you’re just pulling my leg,” said Daisy. “Okay. If you know what the world was like two hundred years ago, why don’t you tell me.”

“It was a beautiful world, so calm and prosperous. We thought it would last forever, but we were fooling ourselves, and the world we lived in was doomed. When I saw the bomb detonate to the south of my home in Sanctuary Hills, the entire world ended.”

“Well, I don’t know if you’re the second biggest bullshitter in the Commonwealth or not, but you sounded like you meant it.”

“It’s true. Every word. Give me an hour of your time and I’ll tell you my story. Another hour and I’ll listen to yours.”

“You might want to look up the old ghoul at the Hotel Rexford,” said Daisy. “I believe he was from your old neighborhood. Now, do you want to trade.”

“I represent an alliance of settlements out in the Commonwealth,” said Nora, getting to the point. “I want to set up a distribution contract with you that will be of mutual benefit to both of us.”

“Wow. You are the most interesting person to walk through my door in quite some time. And from the look of you, you’re a fighter. So, can I talk you into taking on a mission for me. It pays.”

“And just what is it.”

“The Boston Library, the same one I used to live in as a little girl, is now the home of Supermutants. The idea of those big idiots controlling that repository of knowledge burns me up.”

“How much are you willing to pay?”

“A hundred caps?”

Nora laughed. There were probably mercenaries who would take that contract at that price, and die. “I need more than that to face a bunch of mutants. There’s ammunition, medical bills.”

After a bit of negotiating Daisy promised four hundred caps, as long as Nora returned a book that was two hundred years overdue. And Nora, now broke once again, was the owner of a luxury condo down the street. That was okay. She knew how to make money, and she carried her most valuable commodity on her person at all times.

The condo was luxurious, well worth the nine hundred caps. Probably a lot more. The former owner had left work benches and various commodities behind. While not large enough to make into a mini settlement like Home Plate, it was big enough to host a dozen or more people, perfect for the Minutemen. After that she decided to check out the Third Rail.

*     *     *

It was almost eight when Nora and company walked into the Third Rail. Nora needed caps, so she dressed for the part of someone who would do most anything for money. Stockings and tennis shoes, a pair of crotchless cutoffs that showed her labia to best advantage, and a short t-shirt that partially exposed her nipples. She felt slutty, and was sure to catch the eye of any man out for a good time. There would be plenty of other sluts out this night, but none of them had her hormonal advantages.

“Well, no one is going to mistake your intent tonight,” said Heather with a slight frown.

“Good. The sooner I get some man meat in me and some caps in my pocket, the better. You could always join in if you want. I think my pheromones are going to arouse everyone in the room, so you could take advantage of them.”

Heather simply shook her head and patted the pistol by her side. “You might need some bodyguards tonight,” said the woman. “The Third Rail can get rough, from what I’ve heard.”

“And Hancock said no shooting in his town,” she cautioned her follower.

“And if no one pulls a gun on you, there won’t be. But you are without armor, and only that small handgun in your purse.”

Nora could feel the eyes on her as soon as she walked out of her condo, clicking the door locked behind her. Heather and Barb both had keys, so they could go back when they wanted. She planned to be out until the wee hours of the morning herself, and didn’t know how things would go.

There was a man with a submachinegun standing at the entrance to the club, which consisted of a standard metal door. Inside there were bathrooms to the right, what once had been men and women’s room. From her glimpse of them they were in severe disrepair, and she wasn’t sure she would want to plant her ass on one of the filthy seats. A woman in low slung shorts and a breast revealing shirt stood to the side, glaring at Nora.

“If you work the club there’s a twenty percent tax,” said the ghoul in a three-piece suit who was apparently the doorman/bouncer. “Pay me when you leave. And there is a working bathroom downstairs.”

Nora thanked him and walked down the stairs. It all seemed on the up and up. If they charged a tax then they knew the score, and were willing to let women work their trade within the club. She heard the singing before she took the turn in the stairs going down. A heavenly voice singing a song she had never heard. Catchy, captivating, the work of an artist.

The main room was filled with the smoke of cigarettes and cigars, though Nora’s sensitive nose could pick out the odor of cannabis as well. She estimated thirty small tables, most with all seats occupied. The stage with the singer was to the left of the bar, another larger platform to the right, just in front of the derailed subway car that stuck its nose into the room. The larger platform had a stripper pole. There were two pool tables to the side, one with a couple of men in dirty suits playing a game, the other with a prostitute on top getting the shit fucked out of her by a large man while two others stood in line. Two working girls stood against the wall, staring at the newcomer, while the sounds of sex, slurping mouths and slapping groins, came out of several curtained alcoves. It looked like a standard place in the Commonwealth, made to separate working men from their hard-earned caps by whatever means the proprietor could come up with.

“Would you like a drink, Guv?” asked a Mr. Handy with a bowler hat and a stenciled Union Jack on his shell, his cockney accent thick.

“Quite the place you have here,” she said. “Who owns this place?”

“That would be Hancock. As in the mayor.”

“And the singer?”

“Miss Magnolia. The belle of the Third Rail. And anything else you want to know about her you can get from the lady.”

“And if I want to entertain a gentleman?”

“You can use the alcoves, unless you want to perform in public, in which case you can use a tabletop, a couch, or the second pool table, like Mary there.”

“And..”

“Look, sweety. I’m not a newsbot. I’m here to sell drinks. Now are you in?”

“Any news around town?”

“Yeah. Word is there’s a stranger in town who doesn’t realize that I’m a bartender.”

“Give me a whiskey?”

The whisky was rough and strong, like most of the rotgut distilled in the Commonwealth. Still, it settled the butterflies.

“Anyone ever use the stripper stage?”

“It’s open whenever Ms. Magnolia takes a break. Sometimes a girl, or a man, will get up there and take it off. And before you ask, no one knows what the damned pole is for.”

Nora knew, and thought that on the singer’s next break she would give a demonstration sure to get every dick in the place hard and ready for action.

“Send a drink to Magnolia, with my compliments,” she told the robot, counting the caps out on the counter. And that’s the last of my money, she thought regretfully, though she was sure more would soon be pouring in. “And when she takes a break I would like some music for the stripper stage.”

“You got it, Guv.”

Nora took a seat at the bar and sipped her drink, Heather and Barb to either side of her, watching in rapt attention as the singer went through her routine. The woman was gorgeous, with raven hair and blue eyes much like Nora’s. A tight-fitting red dress enclosed a curvy body that moved through a slow dance as she sung. The woman did two more numbers, then got off the stage. The Handy, Charlie, delivered the drink Nora had bought, pointing the buyer out to Magnolia. Some sultry music, a stripping number if she had ever heard one, started up, and the robot motioned her to the stripper stage.

Nora bounded onto the stage and started to dance. The people here had probably seen much like this before, though she was about to blow their minds. She raised a leg into the air, balancing on the other one and turning slowly, letting everyone see what she had. After a couple of minutes of dancing and display she jumped onto the pole and started to spin around it, going from top to bottom and back again, displaying her athletic ability among other things. Every eye in the place was on her, including Magnolia’s, and as she began to sweat the scent of her pheromones filled the air around her.

Well, every girl here that wants it is going to get more action, she thought, as she glanced at the men getting to their feet and approaching the ladies. Her performance would be good for all the working girls. The room erupted into applause and cheering as she dismounted, and horny men crowded around the stage as she walked to the edge.

“How much?” asked one of the men, a rough looking guy who could have just come out of a Raider camp.

“One hundred for the pussy. Fifty for my mouth.” Nora decide to go a bit light, but was still determined to charge more than the common girl, who she understood were charge seventy for a fuck. With twenty percent going to the club, she would still bring in eighty caps for a pussy fuck.

“How much for your ass?” asked another man.

“Four hundred caps, firm.”

“Why so much?” asked the clearly disappointed man.

“I really don’t like it up the ass. I think my pussy is much better for me and my partner. So there you have it. Take it or leave it.”

There were enough who wanted to take her vaginally, and within moments she was stripped naked and laying back on the pool table, a man with a normal sized dick positioning himself between her legs. She was already gushing, and she pulled the man into her, then let him set his own rhythm.

“I’ve never felt anything like this pussy,” said the man, giving her the best word of mouth advertising she could get. “My God, but she feels so good.”

Nora alternated between trying to get her men off quickly and trying to give them a good bit of pleasure to remember her by. Ten minutes was the minimum, fifteen the max. One lasted as long as twenty, a few came as fast as five minutes inside of her.

“My God. She really came,” said one of the men just before he spurted his seed into her.

“Oh, she’s just good at faking it, Marty,” said another.

“Bullshit. I can tell when a woman is Cumming. And the way that snapper was milking my cock couldn’t be faked.”

Heather and Barb watched for an hour, then led a pair of men off to one of the curtained alcoves, the only one still empty. Nora kept taking them on, stopping every once in a while to sponge out her vagina with a rag, tossing it into a corner for the bartender to dispose of later.

“When do you close?” she asked Charlie as she gulped down a drink on a break. Magnolia was singing in the background, and excited men who hadn’t had their chance at her were talking in the background.

“We don’t close, Guv. I’m on duty twenty-four/seven. Just go on as long as you want, then call it quits. The bouncer will make sure they behave.”

Fortunately there had been no ghouls lining up to use her. It seemed an unwritten rule that smooth skins not get blasted with radioactive seed. She had expected some trying to cheat their way in, but the normal humans made sure that didn’t happen.

Nora lost count of the men who came in her that night, though she tracked fourteen orgasms of her own. That was giving her Johns a special treat. Men liked to feel a woman orgasming while they were inside her pussy. She wasn’t doing that for all of them, but for enough that word would spread.

I’m done, guys,” she finally said, barely able to keep her eyes open.

“Will you be back tomorrow?” asked one of the men she remembered fucking her near the beginning of her run.

“Might be,” she told the man. She didn’t want to promise anything she couldn’t deliver, after all.

Nora sat at the bar sipping another drink, her nerves tingling with pleasure. Heather and Barb joined her, the flush and smiles of the well fucked on both their faces.

“How much?” asked Heather.

“Two thousand caps,” said Nora, almost breathless. “That gives us sixteen hundred after we pay the bar. How much did you two make?”

“Seven hundred each,” said a smiling Barb. “I think we’re set for a little while. And I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

Nora did the math in her head. The two had made eleven hundred and twenty caps, giving them a grand total of over twenty-seven hundred caps.

“Can I have a seat next to your boss?” asked a female voice, and Nora turned to see Magnolia standing next to Barb.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Barb, getting out of the seat and letting the singer have it.

“You were very impressive,” said Magnolia, flashing a wide smile. “In everything you did. Your dancing, your pole work, and the way you took on so many men and sent them all away satisfied. I’m not sure how you did it, but I’m envious.”

“You ever engage in, uh..”

“Whoring. Oh yes. Though I really don’t like men. I’m an old-time dyke through and through. I prefer women. And I have to ask. I heard you singing along with a couple of my songs while you were having the shit fucked out of you. Ever think of getting up on stage? I would love to do a duet with you.”

“I would like that,” said Nora, looking into the beautiful eyes of the woman. “And to answer your unasked question, yes, I am into women as well. I prefer men, but the soft touch of a woman is always welcome.”

“Then perhaps we should repair to my room at the Rexford,” said Magnolia. “Unless you’re too worn out.”

“I am tired. But never too tired to turn down a lady such as yourself.”

Nora swung a left fist into the head of the Glowing One, rocking it back. She took some quick steps back, to put some distance between her and the powerful monster, then reached over and pulled her .44 automag from its holster. The Glowing One was back on her in a moment, and she rammed hastily thrust pistol into its skull. A couple of quick pulls of the trigger blew its head off its neck, killing it instantly.

Grimacing in pain, Nora stood looking at her forearm, hanging at an obscene angle. Her bones were many times harder than those of a normal human, with reinforcing carbon fiber deposited by the augmentation process. But this ghoul had been many times stronger than its normally powerful lesser allies. And the bone had met its match. The pain was threatening to cause her to black out, while her stomach threatened to send its contents over the floor.

“You alright, Partner,” called out Heather, coming up the stairs.

“No,” hissed Nora, cradling her right arm. “Damned Glowing One broke my right forearm. I didn’t even think that possible.”

“Hey, you’re tough, Nora. But not invulnerable. Now let me get a look at it. I’m thinking we need to set it as fast as possible.”

“Why?” asked Nora, plopping down on the couch and staring at the body of the highly radioactive creature. “And I’m thinking we need to take this conversation elsewhere, before you catch too many rads from the Motherfucker.”

Nora took a seat on the couch on the bottom floor, looking at all the ghoul bodies. Getting to Croup Manor had been a struggle, fighting through Raiders and robots, including a couple of Assaultrons and some Gutsies, just to get to Nahant. Everyone had come through with some dings, and it had been pure luck that it hadn’t been worse. And then to fall to a ghoul. She had gotten cocky with the irradiated creatures. Thinking herself far above them. All of the ones they had encountered when walking into the small town, up to and including the swarm that had come out of the Manor, had been easy prey. Going down with single shots of all of their weapons dispensing shots to the head.

“Let’s get your armor and Vault suit off your upper body so I can get a look at the damage.”

“Pervert,” said Nora, with a short laugh that turned into a cry. “Hurts like hell.”

“Okay. We need to get the bones set before you start to heal up,” said the closest thing her party had to a doctor. “With your healing factor it will have set to the point where we need to rebreak it in less than a half an hour. And as easy as that Glowing One took out your bone, it will probably not be that easy for us. Now here, bite down on this rolled up rag.”

Nora had seen enough movies to know what was coming. Heather was gentle with her arm, until she jerked it into place with all of her strength. Nora screamed, her hyper-sensitive nerves on fire, her gorge rising. Heather slammed a needle into Nora’s arm and the pain faded behind the sensation of wellbeing that the opiates brought on. Heather skillfully placed the splints, then wrapped the gauze tightly around the arm. She then secured the arm to Nora’s body with more gauze.

“Now sit there for a couple of hours,” Heather told Nora in an authoritarian tone. “Don’t move the arm until I check you out and give you the go ahead. Understand?”

“You got it, Doc.”

Nora wanted to get to this future settlement. The property was in fine shape, the house with intact walls and roof. The windows were shattered, but they could be replaced easily enough. She wasn’t sure what she would be doing to this house. A recreation and gathering center? Quarters? She was thinking of building a three-story settler center for the people to live in, another building for crafts and jobs, and of course the Core Services Building. The QESS was filled with nuclear material bought from Deb. That had used up almost all the caps the three had made from the Trade Center prostitution gig at Finch Farms.

And damn that Kessler, had thought Nora once again. She had tried to bring the Trade Settlement into the alliance. When that didn’t work she had asked permission to use the workbench to connect to the QESS. Again denied. It would have solved so many problems. She could have bought goods from Deb and put them into the system. Instead she had to wait until she got to a settlement with a system to put the materials in, or simply carry them with her. Both methods came with their difficulties.

“You want us to go into the basement and see if it needs clearing?” asked Barb, sitting carefully beside her boss so as not to jar her.

“Wait for a couple of hours. I want to go in there with you.”

Think we can’t handle it?” asked the raven-haired beauty.

“Hell, I almost couldn’t handle something unexpected upstairs. So I’m not about to make assumptions on what’s down there. Meanwhile, let’s set up the QESS and get the robots through.”

“And we’re going to have to check out our neighbors as well,” said Barb, a troubled look on her face. “I think we have Raiders across the street, and possibly some Supermutants closer to the Oceanological Society.”

“Wonderful. Well, once we get the basement cleared we’re going on a hunt.”

The basement was home to three ghouls, none particularly powerful. Three quick shots and the estate was ghoul free. Nora took a few minutes to look over the logs in the terminal on the basement desk. It was a horror story of a man who had witnessed the bomb going off in the distance, then watched as his family started to change, quickly. Going feral, while he lived on and on in his misery. Until he had gone mad as well, the radiation rotting his cognitive centers, making him an animal.

Nora set a robot to cleaning the basement, while two more cleaned up the bodies littering the estate. Two constructrons began work on the CSB, while one of the handies, clean up duties done, started to replace the windows of the house.

“Ready to go meet the neighbors?” Nora asked her people.

“How’s the arm?” asked Heather, reaching out to gently palpate the limb. “I think the bones have set, though it might be some hours before you’re fully healed.”

“Damn. I don’t want to wait that long.”

Look, partner. You’ve almost fully healed an injury in two hours that would take anyone else two weeks. That’s quite a feat of recovery. So quit complaining. By morning you will be as good as new.”

“Well, I still want to take the neighbors out tonight.”

“I recommend against it, but you’re the boss,” said the redhead with a frown.

Nora wanted to act tough and go out and kill the scum infesting the Nahant area. Thinking better of it, she nodded to Heather. “We’re going to do it your way, Doc. Tomorrow morning it is.”

Nora set the robots to constructing turrets on the house. If something came at them in the night, the intruders would be the ones receiving the surprise. The party sat down to a dinner of heated workshop rations at the dining room table, engaging in conversation.

“So what the hell started the war anyway?” asked a curious Barb. “I mean, we live with the result around us, but still don’t know what kicked it off. And how could anyone start a war they knew would result in so much destruction?”

“As far as the official word, the Chinese launched a surprise attack on us. That was the official word.”

“And you sound like you don’t believe the official word,” said Heather. “Any reason why?”

“Many. Starting with the military response. Two minutes after they were reporting nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania, we had APCs on the streets and vertibirds in the air.”

“APCs?”

“The wheeled armored vehicles with turrets on top. Smaller than real tanks. You see them all over the place, along with crashed vertibirds. Anyway, those would have been based at the National Guard Training Center or the Army Reserve Center. Yet they were all over the streets of my neighborhood as soon as the strikes were reported. As if they had been pre-alerted. Same with the vertibirds. I’m thinking that Vault Tech had something to do with it. And for another thing, the multi-megaton blast went off to the south of Boston. If they had been trying to kill the city they would have hit it dead center.”

“Looks like they did a pretty good job of fucking the place up,” said Barb.

“Believe me. If they had hit downtown it would have been much worse. And for another thing, if these were submarine launched weapons, which all of the records seem to agree upon, why did they hit Pennsylvania first, Pittsburg as a matter of fact, before coastal Boston.”

“And how are you going to go about finding out for sure?” asked Heather, frowning.

“Checking every damned terminal I come to,” said Nora. “Looking over all the written records I can find. Talking with ghouls from that time.”

“And what’s the point?”

“I don’t know. I just need to know. I think Vault Tech had something to do with it, but I don’t know what.”

“And it’s apparent that you really hate Vault Tech,” said Barb.

“Better Living Underground,” said Nora with a grimace. “That was their promise to me and my family. And without warning, lying about the purpose of the cryo pods, they froze us. As part of an experiment. I certainly didn’t give my consent for my family and myself to be run through an experiment. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the Vaults had similar purposes. The clues are there, people. I just need to find them and put it all together.”

“Well, good luck,” said Barb, reaching over and putting a hand on Nora’s good arm. “We’re here for you, so whatever you need from us, you’ve got.”

“I keep finding references to CIT,” said Nora, her quick mind jumping around from node to node.

“That’s the old ruin on the North side of the Charles, isn’t it?” asked Heather. “What was it?”

“The Commonwealth Institute of Technology. Probably the most advanced research institution in America, though the people at Georgia Tech disagreed. But if there was any cutting-edge research going on in the Commonwealth before the war, they would be the ones.”

Commonwealth Institute,” said Heather in a hushed voice. “The Institute? Could they have been the beginnings of the terror of the Commonwealth?”

“I doubt it,” said Nora. “They were a college. With scientists of all types. If there was a nefarious origin to this Institute, I would expect it to be the Government or a corporate giant like Vault Tech.”

“So, when are you going to start looking into who took your baby?” asked Heather.

Nora winced. That was a sore point with her. “Whoever stole Shaun could have taken him ten years ago. Maybe forty. I have no way of knowing, and he has no way of knowing who I am. Two possibilities. He’s either already dead. Or he’s alive and well. And there is nothing I can do about either instance. If I can find him, great. I’ll go after him on the chance that he is not in a good place. But right now I’m concentrating on getting back at the kidnappers, and to do that I need an organized force behind me.”

“So you concentrate on the Minutemen,” said Barb, nodding. “While getting in on the good side of the Brotherhood. I still think the Institute is your best bet. They have a reputation for kidnapping people, after all.”

And they get blamed for everything, thought Nora. The easy mark, but what if they weren’t responsible for all the kidnappings in the Commonwealth.

The next morning they took out a Raider lair and a nest of Supermutants. Both groups acted to form and were easy targets. The Mutants had no suicider, though Nora wished that every group did. It made it easier on her team to know the threat was there. Instead they spent time and energy looking for something that might not be there. Or running the risk of being surprised.

By the next morning, after a quintet of settlers had come in, tracing the recruitment signal, Nora and friends were ready to move out to the next target. Up the coast, they could see it across the water, small in the distance. A lighthouse. That was intriguing, and Nora couldn't wait to explore that site.

*     *     *

The lighthouse appeared to be fully intact. The night before Nora and her friends had noted that there was a light in the housing at top, though it had a strange glow to it, not like an electric or even a gas lamp. Well, that was a mystery which would be solved when they got to the top.

There were more robots to destroy along the way, including some that seemed to be cobbled together from spare parts. They were equipped with lasers, carrying a lot of firepower and little in the way of defense. Nora tried out some of her new 40mm pulse grenades to take them down in groups.

The death claw seemed to materialize in front of them, using a chameleon effect much like a stealth boy. It immediately charged and headed straight for Barb, who froze for a moment that might have cost her life. Nora hit it with a burst in the side, capturing its attention. The beast turned toward the Sole Survivor, its massive claws ready to rip and tear. If it got those claws into Nora she was sure it would rip her apart in seconds, and no amount of supercharged healing would save her life. A strike came in, hitting the shell of the power armor and rocking her back. The creature realized that it wasn’t getting it well named claws through that armor and grasped her by the arms, lifting the recon suit in the air and slamming her to the ground.

“Taking damage,” said the computer voice of the suit. “Take cover.”

If I could I would, thought Nora, struggling to get away. But if she did get away it would go after her friends, who, lacking her armor, would be dead meat. Fortunately for her they were hitting it with everything they had. With a shudder that beast released Nora, then fell to the ground dead.

“Shit,” said Heather, looking down at the monster, then at her friend. “Nora, are you okay?”

“Just shaken up,” she said, running a diagnostic on her armor and seeing, with some relief, that other than some superficial armor plating damage to her arms it was relatively intact. “I didn’t realize they could go invisible.”

“Well, fortunately, most can’t,” said Barb. “The chameleon variety is rare.”

Not so rare that we didn’t run into one, thought Nora, setting her Handy to butchering the beast for meat and hide.

“Unbelievers,” shouted a voice from near the house built below the lighthouse. “You intrude upon the holy light of Atom. Begone.”

“Oh, great,” groaned Barb, checking her weapon to make sure it had a full ammo load on board. “These fucking crazies.”

Nora had heard of the Children of Atom, a cult that worshipped radiation. They would be mostly harmless if that were all they did, but they gathered in radioactive places that they considered sacred and held others away. The Pip-boy on Nora’s wrist was not picking up high background radiation, but there had been that weird glow the group had seen of nights.

“We would like to examine the lighthouse,” said Nora over her suit speakers.

“Begone, unbelievers. Blasphemers. Only those whose destiny is linked with division are welcome here.”

Nora had no idea what the crazy woman was talking about. Still, she was crestfallen that this prime spot might have already been claimed. She couldn’t see herself killing them for merely taking a spot that it was their right to claim. When one of them fired an energy weapon at the party that all changed.

“What the hell is that?” yelled Nora as the rad counter on her suit went off the scale as the burst of radiation hit. Truly little got through its shielding, just enough to let her know she had been hit. She felt slight nausea before her body shed the rads. Barb cried out as she was hit, going down to a knee and grimacing.

That was enough for Nora. These maniacs had attacked without reason, and now they had harmed one of hers. She jacked a grenade into her launcher and sent it on its way, to land at the feet of the Cultist with the strange gun and blast her into her afterlife, whatever that was.

“Kill them,” screamed a frantic voice. “Kill them all.”

The weapons of the fanatics were not really all that effective. The bodysuits of the party had good shielding, deflecting most of the rads. Enough hits could still kill, but since that was true of most weapons the party had gotten particularly good at cover and concealment. Rad meds took care of the rest, and soon they had the place cleared of fanatics.

“I’ve never seen the fanatics acting this violent,” said Heather as she and Barb were sitting on the couch in the living room of the house. Both were sucking down purified water to rehydrate from the effects of the rad meds they had taken.

“Well, this might explain it,” said Nora, sitting at the desk and using the computer terminal. “Seems this is a radical branch of the movement. The Sword of Atom, with a stated purpose of forcing unbelievers into the fold, or killing them if they refuse. I can’t allow that kind of behavior. And it also says they was set up at the small blast crater to the North.”

“Anything about what’s at the top of the lighthouse?” asked Heather.

“Something about a Blessed of Atom shedding his holy light. I need to see what’s up there.”

What was up there was another Glowing One, its rads sending Nora’s Pip-boy into a frenzy. She didn’t know how strong it was, but she was unwilling to take chances. Barb stood by the door, ready to loosen the bar, while Nora and Heather sighted in on the monster. As soon as the door was open it started forward, to run into a killing hail of fire that sent it in pieces to the floor, to join the bodies of a half dozen traders and settlers that the Cultists had given it for some unknown reason.

“We’re going to need to clear out that crater to the north,” she told her people.

“What the hell made it?” asked Barb.

“I’m guessing a tactical nuke. A battlefield weapon, and not a city killer. That would explain what, but not why. That may have to remain a mystery for now. But let’s get this place started and some defenses in place.”

A QESS in place and the robots working, Nora marked out what she wanted built. Resources were starting to get low, but she thought she might have enough steel, wood and concrete to complete this settlement and one more. After that it would be a wait for her settlers to gather more, while she used the caps they made to buy from traders and did some gathering herself.

The CSB up and the fusion reactors running, Nora ordered turrets placed along the roof, most oriented toward the north and the trouble spot up there. No sooner were they up than the laser turrets started to send beams out in the direction of the Crater House. The bright bursts of radiation came back, targeting the turrets that they could not harm. The Children of Atom took almost a dozen casualties before they gave it up as a bad job.

“I guess that sent them a message,” said Heather, smiling.

“The only message I want to send them is you are now dead,” said Nora. “It’s getting late, but we own the night, so what do you feel about hitting them in the dark?”

“Sounds like the way to go to me,” said Barb. “The maniacs have proven that they will not live and let live. So I say kill them all, and the equation becomes live for us.”

As soon as it was pitch black the trio was creeping forward, night vision engaged, weapons ready. Even Heather was equipped with a firearm, Nora’s assault rifle, decreasing her chances of being given away with invisible bullets instead of visible laser light that pointed back to her position. Nora had her Garand sniper rifle, quickly becoming a favorite, and well as her M79 GL.

They made it to the lip of the crater before they saw anyone. The interiors of the ramshackle shacks were illuminated by lamps and candles, while a couple of small generators chugged along in the background. Nora spotted the heat of a quartet of machine gun turrets and made note of them in her Pip-boy.

“Okay,” she whispered over the radio. “I’ll service them all with the GL, stir them up for us. Then I’m going for that shack in the middle right of the complex. Heather, take the nearer shack, Barb, the one on the left. Then we’ll select our secondary targets.”

“Wilco,” said the pair in unison, both stifling giggles at their timing.

Nora aimed in and let loose with a 40mm, landing the round directly into the opening of the shack to the front. The round went off, shredding everything within that structure, while she jacked in another round and serviced the next building. Six rounds, and every location got some love. Heather and Barb started taking out targets, Children of Atom, those who survived the grenades, coming to their feet and looking for enemies. Most just fired in random directions, the proclivity of people to want to fight back, even if they weren’t sure where the assault was coming from.

They went down one by one to the snipers, screaming about how Atom would protect them and destroy their enemies. Nora thought Atom was no more useful than most Gods if the results of his intervention were any indication. Soon there was no more movement in the compound, and Nora crept in through the first shed, looking, listening. There were bodies everywhere, still glowing with heat. All in rags, no helmets, most with the gamma guns laying next to them. A few had more conventional firearms. They were a sorry lot as a fighting force, and Nora thought that Atom needed a better sword.

Good thing I can joke about it now, because the dreams tonight are going to be holy hell, she thought, as she and her people started to gather up the gamma guns, which would give them more energy weapon parts for building defenses.

Late that night, after taking cold showers, the trio retired to their bags on the floor of the CSB. The double dildo came out and the three went to it, pleasuring each other with both the double and a couple of singles. Nora thought that she had missed this with her best buds. All knew how to work the bodies of their partners, and all experienced multiple orgasms before they fell into an exhausted sleep in each other’s arms. The nightmares still came, the faces of the poor dumb Children of Atom screaming as they fell, the death claw fighting with them. She made it through the night, her partners too exhausted to awaken from her whimpers.

“I think I want to check out Longneck Lukowski’s Cannery this morning,” said Nora as the party awoke and had breakfast. She had been hearing bad things about the place, people eating their meat products and becoming ill. While realizing that this time and place did not have the cleanliness standards of her time, still, selling tainted meat was beyond the pale.

The cannery was a mile down the road to the south, right on the coast. Nora thought the place might be a great addition to the Lighthouse Settlement, in the future. Right now she just wanted to see what was going on. They walked into the cannery to an argument between a pretty freckle faced lady in a Vault jumpsuit, the number 81 on the back, and a middle-aged thin man.

“Only the best ingredients go into my product,” said the man. “If your customers are getting sick after eating my meat, it must be something you are doing.”

“That’s it,” cried the woman. “Go out on the roads and sell your own damned meat. I’m through.”

“Are you a trader?” asked Nora before the woman could get too far.

“I’m Rylee,” said the woman. “Nice Pip-Boy by the way. Mine was a piece of junk.”

“So, you’re from a Vault?”

“Vault 81. The place bored me to death, so I left. Though the road is starting to get on my nerves.”

I’ve got a permanent place you can set up at. Actually several.”

“You’re that lady whose been helping out settlements, aren’t you? Well, what do you have?”

Nora sent her off to the Trade Center at Finch Farm, feeling good about getting the pretty young lady off the road, where she was a disaster waiting to happen. She could make a good living at an established market, and with her looks she might just make a good bit of money working the brothel part time. If she wanted to.

“Can we have a look around?” asked Nora. “I represent a consortium of settlements, and we might be able to send a lot of business your way.”

“Go right on ahead,” said the smiling man, rubbing his hands together. “But stay out of the basement. It’s dangerous down there.”

Nothing could have been more likely to draw Nora into the basement than that warning. Something was going on here, and she was sure the answer was down there. Taking the elevator down, she looked up as something clicked and the elevator locked into place. With nothing to it but to explore, she looked over the terminal and read the history of this place.

It turned out that Lukowski was leavening his meat with ground ghoul, the disgusting irradiated creatures going into otherwise wholesome food. It was no wonder people were getting sick eating his product. The miracle was that people weren’t dying.

It took about an hour of going through the maze of tunnels and putting down all the ghouls before she found a way to the surface. Barb and Heather looted everything they could find. After all, Nora was going to shut this man down as a public service.

“I told you not to go into the basement,” screamed the man, running for his office up the stairs. “Now I’m just going to have to kill you.”

The short fight didn’t go the way he expected. The Handies attacked, to go down quickly. She actually would have preferred to take him alive, but he kept shooting at her and a lucky shot from Barb took him through the head. They searched the place, coming up with a lot of loot, including the circuitry of the Handies and the packing machines, always something in demand. And a Bobblehead, this one unlocking some of her merchant abilities.

Back at the lighthouse they found four settlers had arrived, following the recruitment signal. Nora got them set up and made sure everything was as she wanted, then made plans to head up the coast the next morning to the last workbench on her list.

*     *     *

Coastal Cottage had one problem with it. Not that there was anything on the site to contest their occupation. A couple of Raiders, a few Mirelurks, and the property was cleared. While they were setting up the QESS and getting the robots ready a trio of death claws came charging onto the property. Nora ran to her power armor while Barb and Heather scrambled up some rocks. The death claws all converged on Nora, too stupid to realize that was the last move they wanted to make. Nora pulled the nano-sword she had sheathed to the outside of the armor and cut the arm off of one creature, then delivered a backhand blow that took the head off the second.

“Well, that’s over,” said Barb, climbing down from the rocks, the barrel of her assault weapon smoking. Three death claws lay on the ground, now dead claws.

“I don’t like the look of that valley over there,” said Nora after climbing out of her power armor. “I think the first order of business is to cover it with turrets.”

The ruins of the cottage came down quickly, the CSB went up just as fast. By the next morning they had the makings of a settlement. And were treated to the entertainment of a pair of death claws striding across the open area to the north one at a time, and being taken down by lasers. By late afternoon the place was finished, and later that evening they welcomed their first settlers and vetted them in, teaching them how to use the supply system.

“Where to tomorrow?” asked Heather as she, Nora and Barb lay in bed, basking in the post orgasmic glow which their efforts had brought.

“I think back to Finch first off, then to Bunker Hill the next day. From their I’m thinking of looking into Goodneighbor.”

The next morning there was a message from Preston in the QESS, with one question. Is it time to take back the Castle? Nora thought that over for a couple of minutes, then sent a message back. Sure, meet you outside in ten days. Nora wasn’t sure what they would be facing, only that it had chased the Minutemen off when they were still a power to be reckoned with. She wanted to go pick up her suit of assault X-01 from Home Plate, and then see about setting it up as a club to lure in caps from Diamond City. Maybe a dance venue and a small brothel as well, someplace the settlers who didn’t mind selling themselves could make caps. And a place where she could dance and whore as well. She really didn’t care if it cut into the profits of the Red Seat. While doubting it would put him out of business, it might cause the big boss to rethink his methods.

*     *     *

The party arrived at Finch Farm by late afternoon the next day, taking out some trouble spots along the way. Nora went looking for Rylee, hoping that she had made it safely. If she was here, it was another trader off the road and safe. The woman had chosen to go solo, and most of those didn’t last long.

“Yes. The young lady came in three days ago,” said Abigail. “She’s a go getter. Started working double shifts from the second day she was here.”

“I didn’t know we had enough business to keep her that busy,” said Nora, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, she spends her days setting up her shop and making contacts. And her evenings working the Brothel and making more contacts. Jake and Daniel have both been over there making her acquaintance, though I’m afraid they might be using their positions as the sons of the Duke to take advantage of her.”

“The sons of the Duke?”

“Kind of a joke name the caravanners have tacked on Abraham. We had a good laugh over it.”

“I’m really not sure what I’m doing,” said a voice that sounded a lot like Rylee’s as Nora approached her room.

“I thought you were a professional,” said a woman’s voice, rising in anger. “I expected for you to get me off.”

Nora recognized the voice as belonging to one of Lucas’ guards, a statuesque blond that reminded Nora of a Valkyrie. She knocked at the door then waited. Rylee, naked as a jaybird, cracked the door open. “Can I help you?”

“I want to know the same. It sounds like you’re having some problems.”

“I’m used to dealing with men,” said Rylee in a panicked voice. “Not women. But the guard insisted that since I’m a professional, I needed to get her off as well.”

“You want some help?”

“You would do that for me?”

“Sure. This Trade Outpost, including the brothel, is partially mine. And it hurts our reputation if you can’t handle all of our customers.”

“What’s going on out there?” asked the guard in an angry voice.

“We were just discussing how you were about to have the best orgasm in your life, Stacy,” said Nora, walking into the room and starting to pull off her armor.

“Nora,” said the woman in an excited voice. “Some of the boys have been raving about your technique, but I didn’t know you were into women.”

“Who do you think takes care of my two traveling companions when we’re on the road. Here’s what I’m going to do, Stacy. You get all your caps back, and you act as my demonstration lover to teach Rylee how to handle a woman. Deal?”

“Hell yes.”

Nora finished stripping, then climbed into the bed, her arms going around the body of the guard and her lips sought the mouth of the other woman. “Watch and learn,” she told Rylee, looking over at the clearly embarrassed young woman. “If you see something you can caress or kiss, go for it. And don’t be shy. There is no judgement here, and you can only get better by doing.”

Rylee nodded, and Nora started to work her way down the body of Stacy, spending some minutes working on her large and tender breasts, bringing sighs of pleasure to the woman. “When I move on start to work on her tits,” she whispered to Rylee, then worked her way down, licking and kissing along the tender flesh of Stacy’s inner thighs. She spent some minutes there, building up Stacy to a gushing bundle of nerves. Then she went for the prize, her tongue thrusting into the other woman’s pussy as her fingers manipulated the lips and clit. It didn’t take long under Nora’s expert touch, and soon the thighs around her head were quivering with tension. With a cry Stacy arched her back and her pussy gushed juices.

“That was wonderful,” said Stacy, sighing.

“We’re not through yet,” said Nora, giving her a couple of more seconds to come down, then attacked the clit with her tongue. In less than a minute the woman was having another, more intense, orgasm. Nora worked her into four more, until the guard was lying limp on the bed.

“Satisfied?”

“The guys didn’t lie about you. Nora. You were wonderful. I wish I could take you along on the road with me.”

After the woman got dressed and left the room, leaving a tip on the counter, Rylee started for her clothes.

“What are you doing?” asked Nora, raising an eyebrow.

“That was the final one of the night,” said the confused trader.

“What about me? I haven’t been seen to. And I want to Cum.”

“But…”

“I’m your practice dummy for the next couple of hours. So get to it. I’ll lead you along, but I want at least a half dozen orgasms before the night is through.”

She talked Rylee through her technique, licking and kissing breasts, running her hands over the soft sensitive spots of Nora’s body, gently rubbing the older woman’s clit. Nora cried out her pleasure, then pulled Rylee into a kiss.

“Am I doing okay?”

“You’re doing wonderful,” said a smiling Nora. “Now go for the prize.”

Rylee chuckled, then dove in, her lips and tongue doing to Nora what she had seen Nora doing to Stacy. Nora had to admit that the girl was not particularly good. She was clumsy, too fast, inexperienced. On the plus side she was eager, and was motivated to get Nora off. The plus side won out eventually, and Nora was arching her back as she pulled the woman’s face into her pussy, clamped her thighs around Rylee’s head, and exploded into an orgasm.

“Was that okay?” asked Rylee, running her hands over Nora’s tits.

“You still need work, but you got me off. It’s only upward from here. Now, would you like for me to get you off?”

“My God. Yes.”

Nora took the young woman to the heights of ecstasy over and over, until both giver and recipient lost count of the orgasms. Then Nora maneuvered her into a sixty-nine, taking pleasure as she gave it.

“Are you working the brothel tomorrow night?” Nora asked.

“If I have an customers.”

“Then I want us to partner up again tomorrow, so I can teach you some tricks to use on men, and more about pleasuring women if there are any available.” Nora thought that if Lucas’ caravan were still here the next day, Stacy would be a return customer. Maybe even Abigail. It wouldn’t give her enough time to make Rylee an expert, but it would set her well on the way to being a competent lover of both sexes.

“What about Jake?” asked the pretty black woman. “Don’t you care what happens to your son?”

“I didn’t raise my son to be a Raider,” growled the farmer. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s dead to me.”

“What’s so special about this sword?” asked Barb.

They were all seated in the living room of the farm’s one structure, which was also the bedroom, kitchen and workshop. It had to be one of the most miserable shacks Nora had seen since waking up in the future. The family was obviously poor, though the crops of tatos, mutfruit and razor grain were doing well.

“Grandpa modified it to shoot flames,” said Abraham. “It’s a family heirloom. I’ll pay to get it back. How about three hundred caps.”

“You’re going to send these young women into that death trap for three hundred caps?” spoke Abigail in a loud voice, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Okay. Okay. Four hundred.”

Nora thought of all the mercenaries in the Commonwealth who had taken on missions that resulted in their deaths for such meager pay. She wasn’t doing it for the money, though everything she could get helped her mission. What she wanted was this farm added to her alliance. Built up, strengthened, an asset to this region.

“I’ll get your sword back,” she told the man, then looked over at the woman. “And I’ll see if I can get Jake out of the hands of the Forged.”

“Look out for the Gunner Camp at Hub City Auto Wreckers,” said Daniel, the couple’s other son. “You send a round their way, even accidentally, and they’ll be all over you.”

Great. So now we have a bunch of trigger happy mercs on the sidelines, thought Nora. If things went really south the Slog might get involved, and while she had no doubt

their new defenses would put paid to a bunch of the bastards, the residents of the farm were sure to take casualties as well.

It was still late morning, and she thought she and her crew could take out the Ironworks, get the sword back, and possibly sit in judgement of a young man who had gotten in over his head. Normally she wouldn’t care about one young man who had joined the Raiders. They made their decision and paid the price. However, this one had a name, a father and mother, a brother. He had become a person to her in her mind, and if he could be brought back into his family she would do it.

Saugus was two miles north of the Finch place. The farm itself was a nice place, with maybe fifty acres of crops, way too much for the manpower they had. And room for two hundred acres more. It was on the water, a brackish inlet, with a view across the larger straight to several islands and a causeway.  A long portion of elevated highway ran through the property from north to south, separated by a hundred yard gap from the section the Gunners were occupying. The smoke coming from the stacks of the ironworks showed that it was still a going concern, though she had no way of knowing what or how much they were producing. The thought of a famous forge like that in the hands of alliance was a wet dream, and hopefully they could make it a reality in the future.

“I think we’ll make the approach from the south,” said Nora to her people as they entered the mile wide stretch of woods. “I prefer not drawing fire to the slog.” Though if we need it, some of the turrets there can engage across the thousand yards of flat terrain, she thought.

Wiseman had been concerned about Saugus as well, which was why she had put such heavy defenses up facing that vector. She didn’t want the Forged, or the Gunners for that matter, walking into the Slog and taking everything they had.

“We’ve got people on the roof,” said Heather, scanning the building with her night vision goggles, which also did a hell of a job during the day. “They have some scoped rifles up there.”

“They’re just Raiders with a fancier name,” said Nora, turning to look at her partner. “They probably can’t shoot worth a shit. They’ll be lucky…”

Something slammed into Nora’s helmet, feeling much like a hammer blow to her head. Her vision went black, her head spun, and she felt herself falling, the thought that this might be it for her fleeting across her consciousness.

“I think she’s going to be okay,” came the faint voice of Heather to Nora’s returning consciousness.

“What happened,” she stammered as she opened her eyes onto a blurry image of the world.

“One of those can’t shoot worth a shit snipers put a round into you helmet,” said Barb, her tone one of disapproval. “Good thing you had that monster on, and good thing you were turning to talk to Heather. I doubt if your face would have kept the bullet from your brain.”

“And what in the hell were you thinking?” hissed Heather. “You’re always telling us to not assume.”

“They were Raiders,” said Nora, the shock of still being alive running through her.

“And we ran into one who could actually shoot,” continued the redhead. “I know you are pretty damned good with a rifle at range, but I’m thinking we need someone who is dedicated to scanning our battlefield and taking out threats like that one.”

“Got one in mind?”

Barb’s rifle chattered, followed by some short screams as the targets were serviced. “They’ve been coming at us in pairs and trios for the last ten minutes. Idiots.'

'And yes," said Heather. "I have someone in mind. Back in Goodneighbor.”

“I need to clear the upper part of the Works,” said Nora, pushing herself to her feet and standing with an unsteady gait. “As soon as I get myself together.”

“That sniper will gun your down,” hissed Heather.

“Not if I use some tech advantages against him.”

*     *     *

Nora looked down on the maze of walkways and small industrial shacks that took up the roof of the Ironworks. Her jetpack only let her take to the air for twenty seconds of less before she needed to land and give it a break, but the Stealthboy she was using only gave her that much time in invisibility. Her suppressed rifle whispered, and another rifle wielding Raider went down. She shifted aim on another and sent him to his fire god, then took out a third as she dropped toward the roof, reengaging the jetpack just before she hit, turning the fall into a soft touchdown. There were still Raiders up here, but she had taken out all of those with high powered scoped rifles.

The other half dozen on the roof were victims of her normal style of run and gun. Get to cover, assess the targets, take one out and run as fast as her legs would carry her to the next position. The Forged got in some shots, all well behind her as they misjudged her speed. That was not a hard thing to do when she moved faster than anything they had ever before seen. The last Forged taken care of, she dropped to the ground on her pack.

Okay,” she said as her people ran up to her, dogs out to the flanks. “I think that was all of them. But the sooner we get inside the sooner we don’t have to worry about hidden shooters out here.”

“No,” said Barb, shaking her head. “We only have to worry about being bushwhacked in a dark factory.”

Nora liked her chances there, since they had the dogs, robo and living, to ferret out people laying in wait. They entered through the front door, pausing to let the dogs get a lay of the interior, then proceeded in. Nora had four weapons on her body. The backup Desert Eagle .44 as a last resort, and her 40mm GL and her assault rifle were cross belted over her back. In hand she had a Garand, modified to be a powerful sniper rifle that could stop most anything with a single shot. It was quiet as well, and she had gotten particularly good at hip firing it.

There were two Forged down on the floor, talking about the initiation execution they were missing because someone named Slag was punishing them. The conversation ended as Nora put a .308 through the head of one, then the other, in just a little over a second. They then moved through the massive factory, looting as they went, Nora taking down most of their opposition without any forewarning. They had two short sharp fights, Barb and Heather cutting down their opponents, and reached the door to the inner forge.

“Okay. This is it. I want to save Jake if I can, and there may be some victims in here. So watch your fire.”

It was impossible to go through that heavy double door silently. And the Forged, over twenty of them, were waiting with weapons ready. A large man in Raider power armor stood on a walkway overlooking a cauldron of bubbling iron. He finished shoving a hot knife into the head of the woman kneeling in front of him and pushed her body into the cauldron, where it sank out of sight even while the flesh was being melted away.

“Now here’s someone worth my time,” said the man that Nora took to be Slag. “She is strong. Not a weakling like you, Jake. So, one last chance. Kill the meat kneeling in front of you, or you go into the cauldron.”

“Don’t do it, Jake," said Nora, looking over at the frightened face of the young man. "Just walk away.”

“Hah. There is no walking away from this. It’s do or…”

Nora whipped the barrel of the Garand up and let off a shot at the Raider who for the moment was sans helmet. The .308 entered through his forehead, just to the right of center, and the eyes of the boss rolled up. His body teetered for a moment, then pitched forward, man and power armor joining his latest victim in the hot liquid.

Barb and Heather moved as soon as she did, and if they weren’t as fast, they were fast enough. Barb swept the Forged to the right with her assault rifle, ten rounds a second for two seconds, and eight of the trumped-up Raiders died on their feet. Heather got out four quick shot with her laser, and four severely burned bodies fell to the grating. While Nora fired off six more rounds, and the Forged menace was over in an instant.

“How did you get involved in this, Jake?” asked Nora, watching as Heather untied the young man who was to be Jake’s initiation victim.

“I wanted to provide for my family,” cried the young man. “They said we would only be raiding outside of the Commonwealth. They said nothing about preying on the neighbors.”

“Well, you need to put this behind you and go home,” said Barb, coming down the stairs from where she had retrieved Shishkebab, the sword of Abraham Finch’s grandpa.

“I can’t go home. How can I face my dad?”

“I’ll help you," said Nora. "Come along with us and I’ll put in a word for you.”

“Why did you bother saving me?” asked the teary-eyed young man.

“Because I could,” said Nora, her own eyes tearing up as she thought of all the people she had killed because they were beyond redemption.

“I told you that you were dead to me,” said Abraham as he stormed up to his son. “Now get your ass off my farm and never show you face here again.”

“He stood up to the leader, Abraham,” said Nora, putting a hand on the farmer’s shoulder and spinning him to face her.

“I..”

“Both of you, shut up,” screamed Abigail, her own eyes full of tears. “I want my family back. Now both of you make up and get along, or I’ll have you pealing tatos for the rest of the year. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said both Finch males in unison.

“You can keep that old sword,” Abraham told Nora. “I have no use for it, and grandpa would get a kick out it getting some use to help people.”

Nora couldn’t see using it either, but she graciously accepted. It could fit a display back at Sanctuary if nothing else. “Now, about the matter we discussed earlier. If you join the alliance I will make sure that you have improved living condition, including defenses.”

“And you already have how many settlements signed up in this region?” asked Abigail.

“Let’s see. Taffington, County Crossing, Greentop, The Slog, Nordhagen Beach, and you make six. I would like to have more but only your locations have the red workbenches that make it possible to quickly construct infrastructure. If some other farms want to expand the old-fashioned way, that would be great, but they will have to take the time and make the effort.”

“Any other plans in the future?” asked Abraham.

“Well, we’ve got word that there are workbenches at Croup Manor, Kingspoint Lighthouse, and a tract of land to the north. So those are next on my list.”

“You are a wonder, Nora.”

“Well, I have a proposition for you,” she said, hoping that they would listen. The manner in which they were staring the robots quickly assembling the Core Services Building while the foundation to their new house was being laid down made her think they would.

“The damned Raiders didn’t stand a chance against you, did they?” asked Abigail, nudging her husband in the ribs with an elbow.

“So, what’s your proposition?”

“I need to establish a trade hub out here, and you have an ideal property for it. So give the Minutemen a deed to, let’s say, a hundred acres, and I’ll build something to rival Bunker Hill. You’ll get a cut of the profits as leaseholders, of course.”

“And just what will be on this trade hub?” asked Abraham, eyes narrowing.

“Well, a market, along with rentable quarters for caravan hands and visitors. A bar and club for their relaxation and entertainment. And a place where the tired and overburdened can get some relief.”

“You talking about a brothel?” asked Abigail.

“Well..”

“No need to get embarrassed. The men, and women, traveling in those caravans have their needs. I’m not a prude, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. So, Abraham?”

“Let’s do it,” said Abraham, nodding his head vigorously.

That night, as Nora prepared for bed after taking cold shower, the water heaters not due to be ready until the next day, she retired to her quarters in the CSB. When she had her clothes off and was getting ready to crawl into bed a loud knock sounded at her door.

“Jake,” she said with a smile, wearing only the bathrobe she had hastily donned. “What brings you here?” Looking at the young man, Nora was feeling decidedly horny. Her friends had thought she needed the night to rest, but she knew better, since nightmares about receiving a head wound were sure to intrude on her dreams.

“I just wanted to thank you for all that you did for me. For my family.”

“Come on in and have a seat.” Nora made sure that her bathrobe fell open a bit, just enough to show a good view of her tits and a tiny bit of nipple. “You are very welcome, Jake. And do you see something you like?”

The young man licked his lips as he nodded. Nora smiled, and shifted to show a bit more of her left breast, including the full nipple, erect and straining.

“How old are you, Jake?”

“I’m eighteen,” said the boy in a stammering voice.

“And have you ever had a woman before?”

“No. I mean, no way. We’re out here in this isolated spot, with only the occasional caravan. And the women in those want nothing to do with you if you’re not a caravanner.”

Nora thought that was about to change, but she had an opportunity here to be the young man’s first, the woman he would measure all others against. It was an opportunity she was not about to pass up. Getting to her feet she allowed the robe to fall to the floor, standing naked in all her glory before the breath taken young man.

“Like what you see?”

Jake only nodded, unable to speak.

“Do you want to fuck me?”

Again the vigorous nod. “Then get up here and kiss me. We have to start things off the right way.”

Of course Jake didn’t last long once his hard young cock was in her pussy. A couple of minutes of thrusting and months of pent up juice was flowing into her. In a way it was disappointing, but this first fuck had not been about her. And being young he was up for another go in minutes. This time she was close to an orgasm when he came, and some work with her mouth had him up and ready again. The third time was a charm, and she hit her peak while he was still thrusting, coming down and back up into another sweet orgasm as he spurted his third load of the night into her.

“That was wonderful,” said Jake, lying beside her in bed and caressing a breast while she played with his balls.

“Up for another go?” She felt his cock hardening, and smiled. “Yep, you’re up for another go.”

The next day Nora was up and looking over the farm. The initial construction was almost complete, and a strong battery of turrets faced down the Gunner compound, including a half dozen on the elevated roadway.

“Jake can’t stop smiling today,” said Abraham. “What did you do to my boy?”

“I took his virginity, Abraham. I’m not always a good woman.”

“You are wrong there. You are an exceptionally good woman, who takes the time to take care of the little things.”

“I got something out of it as well,” said Nora with a laugh. “Jake was not all that skilled, but persistence paid off.”

“Well good for him. And you know he has a brother who is also a virgin, if you want to spread the wealth.”

Nora decided to spend a week here before moving on to Croup. Her head still hurt from the bullet her helmet had stopped, and she was plain tired. So she supervised the Trade Center built on the waterfront, along with an attached hotel and a club. The brothel was built as a standalone a little ways down the beach, with a luxurious lobby and four rooms for the prostitutes to entertain their clients. She still had to recruit some girls, hoping that they would be young, pretty and enthusiastic, not an easy combination to find.

The next night she fucked Daniel, then the night after had a three-way with the brothers. She let them down easily after that, letting them know she had enjoyed it, and was glad she could be their first, but that she was not a steady thing for them. And then, when three caravans had gathered to sell their wares to local farmers and check out the new facility, she moved forward with the event she had been planning. After all, she enjoyed everything she did, but financing materials was expensive, and once again they were flat broke.

*     *     *

“Okay. Everyone know what they’re doing?”

“I’m Fluffing?” asked Barb, eyes wide.

“Just get them hard before they come in to my room. No need to get them off, unless they really want to cum in your mouth. If they do, charge them extra. They’ve paid to cum in me, not you. And only if you want to. Got it.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve whored,” said Barb. “But I’m sure it will come back to me.”

“Heather?”

“I take the money and get them lined up. You don’t want me to do anything with them?”

“Only if you want to. And charge extra.” Heather was the one she wasn’t sure of. The woman had admitted that she had never done it for money. Like Barb and Nora, she had endured a rape or two, and had had several lovers, most of them women and the most recent Nora and Barb.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I know this was nothing that either of you were expecting to do, but the point is, we’re flat broke. I’ve seen the way those caravan people have been looking at us, and this seems like an easy way to separate them from their caps.”

“You’re doing most of the work?” protested Heather. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“And I’ve made my living on my back before,” said Nora with a smile. “So it’s no big deal to me. Especially with your herbals protecting me from disease, and the fact is that I can’t get pregnant. It will be fine. I’ll do what I’ve done before, and we’ll have a thousand caps or so at the end of the night. Enough to buy the supplies we need.”

Of course there was the rental of the room in this trade settlement. The Abernathy’s hadn’t wanted to charge her anything, but the brothel and the hotel belonged to their farm, and she wanted them to reap some of the rewards. And the showers for afterward to get the goo off of her weren't free. But they would run at most fifty caps, and they would still have nearly a thousand caps. And if it wasn’t enough, Nora had an idea for the next night.

“You’re on,” said the caravan guard they had hired for security this night. A deal with a free piece of ass on another night. A long and slow session of unhurried sex. Nora nodded, took a quick drink to squelch her butterflies, and walked out onto the raised platform that served as a show stage of the attached club. The radios were on, playing music from a Jazz station, and Nora approached the microphone. “First for a little show to warm you up. And feel free to toss caps on the stage.”

Nora started to sway to the music, turning around, gracefully raising a leg into the air, then jumping to come down in a split. She raised up from that position, her hands starting to unbutton the light shirt she had worn on the stage. A few dance moves and the shirt was over her shoulders, then tossed into the audience, mostly men, who were staring at her with rapt attention.

She unzipped her skirt, then slid it down and off, letting it fall to her feet and stepping out, kicking a foot high into the air. She kicked her shoes off next, each going spinning into the crowd. She hoped she would get them back at the end of the night. While not prohibitively expensive, they did cost caps, and the point of tonight was profit, not giving away clothing.

She spun on stage, reaching behind her and undoing the clasp on her bra, then letting the straps fall as she held the cups in place with her hands. A few flash moves, revealing, then hiding, and she let the bra drop, showing off her stiff nipples. The men went wild, clapping and yelling, realizing that they were watching an artist at work. Some more moves, teasing with her panties, and they dropped as well, leaving her naked on the stage. She had removed her Pip-Boy earlier and let Heather wear it for safekeeping. Wanting the effect of total nudity, she thought the portable computer did not fit.

Nora danced, a vibrant play of limbs, kicking her feet into the air, revealing everything. At one point she raised a foot high into the air, turning on her plant foot, opening up her pussy to the eyes of the audience. Caps were showering the stage, the men all trying to outdo each other as their cocks strained in their pants. Nora could feel the moisture dripping from her pussy, running down her plant leg in a glistening stream. The men could see it too, could tell that she was aroused, and knew they would get a hot wet woman tonight. Unlike so many of the dry tired whores that worked the circuit.

“Give me a couple of minutes,” she said to Barb and Heather as they set up in the brothel lobby. “Then send the first one in.”

“Of course you can blow me a bit, honey,” said a male voice outside the tent. “Don’t think I need it, but I would be a fool to turn down that pretty mouth.”

The sounds of a dick being sucked came through the side of the tent, Barb going to work. It went on for several minutes, and the sound aroused Nora even more.

“I think that’s enough, honey. I want to cum in that hot pussy in there. No offense.”

“None taken. Next.”

“Come here and fuck me, hunk,” said Nora, laying on the bed with open legs, her arms reaching out for the man.

“First things first,” said the hunky caravan guard, pulling off his clothing, then climbing onto the bed to bury his face in Nora’s cunt. She moaned as his tongue lapped at her pussy, sucking in juices. “Tasty,” he said, moving up and kissing Nora on the lips, letting her taste her own juices.

Nora reached down and placed the tip of his dick at her opening, then grabbed his buttocks and pulled him in. The large cock penetrated an inch, then stopped as the man let her adjust. He definitely knew what he was doing, and he worked it in an inch at a time until he had bottomed out. Nora smiled at him, then kissed him again as she enjoyed the feeling of being filled up.

“Now fuck me,” she said. The man complied, slowly moving in and out, his pubic mound rubbing against hers on each full penetration. Soon she was gasping out her passion. She had forgotten how arousing it could be to fuck a stranger, giving pleasure with no thought of the morning. No relationship, no responsibilities to each other. Just fucking for the payoff, monetary and sexually.

“You are so goddam wet and tight,” said the man, his face scrunched up in extasy. “I don’t think I’m going to last long.”

“Take your time,” said Nora, stroking the nameless man’s muscular back. “I’m yours to enjoy, so get what you can out of me.”

The man had some stamina, and lasted longer than Nora thought he would. She clamped down her tight pussy, giving him all the wet friction she could muster. Her own pussy started going in the convulsions of an orgasm, her riding out the pleasure of the hard member going in and out of her softness. And with a roar the man came, his dick swelling, then shooting spurt after rhythmic spurt into her sopping wet cunt.

“Much obliged, ma’am,” said the man, kissing her full on the lips, then pulling out and getting off the bed to gather up his clothes. The semen dripped from her pussy, a delicious sensation that told her that it had been real.

“Next,” called out Nora after she had used a rag to wipe most of the semen out of her. A short unattractive man came into the tent, starting to pull his clothes off as he walked toward the bed. Nora gave the man a welcoming smile. His attractiveness, or lack of it, didn’t matter. He was a customer, paying for a service she was providing, and it was a point of pride to give him the best she was capable of.

This one had a short fat cock, the kind she really loved. It let him push the entire thing inside her, rubbing their groins together, without the discomfort an overly long member caused going past her cervix. Unfortunately, the perfect cock had little stamina, and less than five minutes into the act he shot his load. He was smiling as he got off of her, though, so she figured he had gotten what he wanted.

“Oops,” exclaimed Barb. Nora, stifled a laugh and knew what had happened. Barb had gone too far, and the man she was fluffing had exploded in her mouth.

“No problem,” said the man. “I enjoyed it. You sure know how to blow a man.”

“Well, if you want pussy, get back in line and get yourself hard,” said a giggling Barb.

Nora laughed. Barb was enjoying herself. The point of this was to make caps, but if they got some enjoyment out of it so much the better.

“You’re already hard,” said Barb to the next man. “So go on in.”

“I want the whole experience, babe. So suck my dick for a minute then send me in.”

It was a little more than a minute, but then one of the largest men Nora had ever seen walked in the tent, his enormous dick stretching to front. “Sure you can handle this?” he asked with a smirk. “Most of the ladies say it pains them too much.”

“I can handle you,” said Nora, hoping she was right. Two cocks had already stretched her out some, though she could still always clamp down when needed. She threw the rag to the side, hoping that she had cleaned herself out enough, then motioned the man to come to her.

Nora grunted as the huge dick slid into her. She held him back, letting herself adjust, until he was all the way in. “Fuck me lover. But go slow until I tell you different.”

“Yes, ma’am. Wouldn’t want to hurt a beautiful lady like yourself.”

The man was good at following directions. At one point, when he had gotten into pounding her and Nora winced as the massive cock pushed too far in, he apologized and watched his depth of penetration closely. He lasted a half an hour, sending Nora into multiple orgasms, then blasted a massive load into her pussy.

“You were really Cumming, weren’t you,” he asked with wide eyes as he pulled his weight off of her.

“I always do.”

The man dropped thirty extra caps on the bed as he went for his clothes. “You were the best I’ve ever had. I hope I can have you again someday.”

Nora thought she would like that. Though she normally didn’t like cocks that big, since their owners were often careless with them, this gentleman had been incredibly careful, and the cascade of orgasms had been a delight.

“Next,” she called out, wondering what the guy would be like. No one entered, and she heard the gasping of an aroused woman and the slapping of groins from outside the tent. Curious, she got to her feet and looked out the tent flap. To see Heather and Barb both on their backs, legs in the air as a pair of caravanners fucked the hell out of them.

“I guess I have the next slot,” said a ravishingly handsome man, coming up to her. “The next fellows didn’t want to wait, and it seemed your friends were happy enough to take them on.”

Seeing the rapturous looks, the smiles, on the faces of her two friends, she guessed they were incredibly happy they had taken the men on. Well, good for them, thought Nora. She was always happy when friends got some good sex, and the men were doing a particularly good job of sending the two over the edge.

Nora took on four more, Barb and Heather three each, before Nora’s last trick of the night entered the tent. “Doc Weathers?”

“My boys kept raving about the best pussy they had ever had,” said the doctor, stripping out of his clothes. “And I thought that I needed to try it out myself.”

Doc had an average cock, and Nora had been stretched by the larger members that night. Still, she kept herself clean and wet, and her vaginal muscles were powerful indeed. She soon had Doc Weathers gasping in passion as he sent her into a last orgasm of the night. She clamped down on him, giving him the tightest pussy she possibly could, and played with his balls when he came.

“Marvelous. I think the men sold you short. That was the best sex I have ever had, Nora. Ask me for a discount the next time you’re shopping for meds.”

“Well, to say I was surprised would be an understatement,” she said to her two friends as they came into the tent to clean up and straighten themselves out.

“I wasn’t going to fuck any of them,” said Heather, blushing. “But hearing how much fun you were having, all the orgasms, set my pussy on fire. So when a good-looking man propositioned me, I said yes. For a price of course,” she finished, breaking out in a laugh.

“I’m glad you all enjoyed it,” said Nora, grinning from ear to ear. “Because I think we might have another night or two in this group if we want to make more caps. How many did we make, by the way. And whatever you earned is yours to keep. I was only counting on my earnings to stake us.”

“We made almost two thousand caps, Nora,” exclaimed Heather, nodding at a smiling Barb. “Easiest money ever.”

“And I thought you had sworn off men,” Nora said, looking at Barb. “And that you were too shy,” she said, looking at Heather.

“Well, you were having such a good time, I thought, why not,” said Barb. “I’m glad I did. There’s nothing like having a dick inside your pussy, to orgasm from groin to groin. To feel his seed fired into you from his excitement. To know that you have that kind of control over a strong man.”

“Ditto,” said Heather. “I’ve got to have more. Not that I don’t want more of you two, but the men were something special. Weren’t they?”

“They can be,” said Nora, frowning. “Just be careful. Some of them can be real assholes, and I really don’t want to have to kill one or more because he abused my friends.”

Nora could think of several reasons to kill the big brutes. Just being where they were they were a threat to several settlements. Wiseman thought they were interfering with the Traders who were buying his Tarberries. And this place was on Rhys’ list.

“Anyone see the suiciders?” she asked over the radio.

“A pair of them are hanging out on the left side of the portico,” said Heather. “I have a shot.”

“Give us a minute so we have a good angle on them,” said Barb. “I’m almost in position to get that Primus.”

Nora nodded, then acknowledged verbally. If they could take out the Suiciders they would take out a mini-gunner. And if Barb could get the other one, the leader out of the blast radius of the Suiciders, the fight outside the hospital would be over. Of course, that still left the large interior of the big hospital, probably swarming with the big green uglies.

The Supermutants were hideous. Standing at least nine feet tall, with shoulders and arms thick with muscle out of proportion to their bodies, Nora we sure that they were far stronger than any normal human. With their green wrinkly skin and coarse features they reminded the Sole Survivor of a cross between Neanderthals and a particularly scary comic book character from her time.  In a battle of strength she would be no match for one, though with her reflexes and speed, as well as the ultra-sharp weapons she carried, she thought she could come out on top in one on one melee.

Zooming in on the suiciders with her suit vision system, she could see the bombs in their right hands, their indicator lights blinking. The mutants carried the bombs always armed, ready to trigger in an instant. Unfortunately for them, that meant the bombs could be set off by anything hitting them. Unlike larger weapons, the mini-nukes had no safeties. It was hard enough to make a working warhead that small, and they weren’t all that powerful for the amount of nuclear material they carried, but still powerful enough to scare the shit out of anyone that faced them, whether in a Fatman or in the hands of a suicidal mutant. She sighted in on the suicider that Heather wasn’t ready to hit, in case the woman had an unlikely miss.

“Go,” she said in the radio. Heather’s laser shot was right on target, and the one suicider went up in a furious blast, killing the other suicider and the high ranking Supermutant with the mini-gun. Barb’s single round put a hole through the head of the other Primus, and just that quickly the strength of the Supermutant picket outside hospital had its guts ripped out. The three brutes, large stupider than usual Supermutants with bladed boards their only weapons, ran where they thought the fire was coming from. Nora took two of them out, Barb the third. The team waited a few moments in case some were in hiding or had gone around the corner for a bathroom break.

“I think that was it,” said Heather, scanning the area with her visor. Nora joined in with all the sensor power of her suit, to find nothing. The three moved down, Nora collecting the mini-nuke that hadn’t gone off, checking to make sure it was disarmed. They then moved to the door, listening for a moment.

“You two get to either side while I sow some mines. We’ll set up a kill zone and take out anything that comes into the lobby. Afterwards I’ll get out of my PA and we’ll sweep through, make sure all the mutants are dead, and get all the loot we can carry.”

The smiles she got in return let her know how her people thought about the plan. All hated Supermutants with a passion, and wiping out this cell would go a long way to making this region of the Commonwealth safe and secure. Nora pulled the door open, the dogs staying where she had told them to, then slipped in as silently as the power armor would let them.

“Oh shit,” hissed Barb into the radio. “Suicider.”

Nora saw the mutant coming from behind the main desk thirty yards in from the entrance, the beeping munition in his hand. She hadn’t expected them to have one inside and so close to the entrance, but there he was. “Get covered behind me,” she yelled, moving forward with the weapon she had chosen for the inside firefight. The M60 chattered away, running through ten rounds a second as the two hundred round belt fed through the receiver.

The suicider exploded ten meters from Nora, the blast encompassing the entire lobby. Her suit rocked back, while some of the heat and radiation penetrated, causing flash burns on her skin. Nora screamed, thinking herself dead. The voices of her people shouting into their radios told her they were still alive, and on opening her eyes and looking at the ceiling two stories above, she realized she was on her back and very much alive.

“I have taken critical damage,” said the suit. “Forward torso armor has been compromised.”

That means this armor is now useless, thought Nora as she pushed herself back to her feet. Not really useless, since the armor on limbs and back was still sturdy enough to turn most attacks. She was vulnerable in the part enemies were most likely to attack, though, and her helmet sensors were almost blinded. And the other mutants were coming out of doorways and down the stairs on the attack. More than she had ever seen at one time.

Barb and Heather were still behind cover in the rear, shooting around a desk and a pillar respectively, using the lessons Nora had taught them to expose as little as possible. Nora was the primary target, and every mutant with a ranged weapon was firing at her suit. Barb was firing one long burst at the mutants coming down the stairs, piling up the dead for the followers to trip over, while Heather was taking down those on the second floor firing over the railing, her laser taking them out one by one.

Nora held down the trigger of the M60 for the full nineteen seconds she had on the belt. The gun chattered away, sending out the powerful .308 caliber rounds in sweeps that were leaving every mutant in its path to fall, most dead, the others seriously wounded. Nora screamed the entire time, feeling the fragments of her armor and slivers of bullets penetrating her flesh. She doubted she would survive this fight, but was determined that neither would the mutants.

The machinegun clicked on empty, the belt expended, but there were no more living mutants in front of her. The stair was clogged with dead, and the only living mutants were on the third-floor firing over the railing. Nora let the machinegun fall from shaking hands and wrestled the grenade launcher into position, sending a high explosive shell up to the third floor. Some mutants flew off the walk to land in the lobby, many around them flung back into the wall. Nora jacked another round into the GL and fired, then again, over and over.

“Nora,” yelled Barb. “Stop. Their all dead.”

“All dead hissed,” Nora, before her eyes closed and she passed out.

“Suit eject,” shouted Barb, continuing with the override code that Nora had given to them for emergencies like this. The back of the suit opened and swung up, while the back panels of arms and legs swung open to the side.

Nora fell back and out of the suit, Heather and Barb catching her body and lowering her to the floor.

“She’s bleeding,” said Barb, pushing a stimpak into Nora’s hand.

“She's barely breathing,” said a concerned Heather, cradling her friends head in her lap. “Have you ever seen such a slaughter.”

A moment later Nora’s eyes opened and she took a quick breath. “Did we win?”

“We won, partner,” said a teary eyes Heather. “If not for you and your power armor that suicider would have killed me and Barb. You took the brunt of the blast, then swept the mutants in the lobby away with your MG.”

“Let me see,” said Nora, sitting up. “I’m going to be fine,” she told her friends when they tried to hold her down. “I can feel myself healing.”

“You’re not invulnerable, or immortal, partner,” said Heather. “You could have been killed in this fight. I think luck played as much a part in it as skill and equipment.”

 “Goddamn,” hissed Nora as she looked over the lobby. “Did we kill a hundred of them?”

“At least seventy of the Supermutants, and probably twenty or more of their hounds,” said Barb. “Maybe more.”

“Damn. You think there are any more of them in here?”

“I don’t know, Heather,” said Nora, feeling more of her strength returning every moment. “I can’t believe they were stupid enough to just fling themselves into our fire. But some must have pulled back.”

“You can’t believe a race that sends warriors in with nukes to suicide bomb can’t be suicidal in other ways?” asked Barb.

“I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. But I need to get on my feet so we can clear this place out.”

There were mutants still extant in the hospital. They hadn’t learned a thing from their fellows who had sacrificed themselves. The big uglies boasted about how superior they were, and how the humans were already dead, giving their positions away to the silent humans’ time after time. The place cleared, they packed out five trips with Wilson, sending meds and surgical instruments, circuitry and data, into the QESS system.

“I think we need to spend the night at Greentop so you can recover, Nora,” said Heather. “You heal fast, but even you need some recovery.”

“I agree,” said the Sole Survivor. “I could use a half dozen meals and a long sleep. And maybe some sex. Yes, definitely some sex. And my poor armor needs some major repairs.”

“I want check out Malden Center tomorrow or the next day,” said Heather. “I’ve heard rumors of synth activity there. And we can do something on my list, if you’re up to it.”

Nora thought for a moment. She wanted to get the Slog added to the alliance, but they were fine. There were at least fifteen armed settlers there, and Wiseman seemed like good leader. “Let me get the armor patched on the torso of my suit, in case these synths are as bad as the ones at Arcjet.”

The settlers at Greentop were happy to see them. The robots had completed their work and all the buildings were finish and running. The CSB, the Core Services Building was situated to not only provide power and water, but to place its concrete wall in the most likely path of attack on the settlement, from the direction of Malden. The laser turrets on the roof covered most approaches, while those on the repaired house, the new quarters and the settler workshop building, along with the scaffolding towers, would give any attacker a sharp lesson on why they should leave Minuteman settlements alone. It was purely a farm at the moment, but once they had their food producing needs under control, she was hoping they could contribute to the industry of the Alliance.

“It looks like you got the hell shot out of your armor. How in the hell did you come through that alive?” asked Doris, looking at the scorched armor, large holes visible in the front.

“Some luck and some toughness,” said Nora, looking at the armor and wondering herself how she survived.

“Who did you take on this time?” said Geof, standing next to a new settler, a cute blond.

“Supermutants,” said Nora, feeling like she wanted to take a seat. “I’m still feeling kind of weak. Do you mind if I take a seat in your house?”

“Not at all,” said Doris. “It’s really your house as well, after all.”

“We took out the tribe down in Medford Memorial,” said Heather, checking Nora’s vitals to make sure her friends was recovering, and smiling as she saw the results. “A whole fuck-ton of the bastards. We counted eighty some of them after it was over.”

“That many?” asked Taylor after a whistle. “How’d you take down so many?”

“Well,” said Barb, “Taking out some of their suiciders took out quite a few of them. And them running at us in the lobby in impossible to miss bunches did a lot more. But our courageous general taking fire as she mowed them down with her belt fed did most of the damage.”

“Don’t forget that you two accounted for many,” said Nora. “Barb piled up at least twenty of them on the stairs, while Heather killed those on the third-floor firing down at us. It was a team effort, and without all of us we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“Don’t forget the robots we took out on the way to the Slog,” said Heather.

“So you contacted those ghouls,” said Geof, his arm going around the shoulders of the new female settler. “Are they going to join?”

“They damn well better,” said Nora, her eyes flashing fire. “It was their mission, and after what we went through, the owe us. Of course, if they back out there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“They’ll join,” said Doris. “Are you going back over there tomorrow?”

“We’re going into Malden Center tomorrow,” said Nora, seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of the settlers.

“That place is bad news. Word is that no one who goes in there comes out. Be careful, because this thing you’re putting together needs you.”

“No one person is vital to the alliance,” said Nora, doubting her words as she said them. It was the right thing to say, but was it true? “Besides, we just came out of Malden Memorial, and I’m betting everyone who went in there before we did ended up in Supermutant cookpots.”

Nora got her food and rest, and the sex she craved afterwards. Geof and Thom were given permission by their women to see to the needs of the Alliance Leader. Nora told them they didn’t have to, but Doris insisted, and Nora and her two friends were seen to by the two virile men.

“I hope we didn’t ruin those two for their ladies,” said Nora as she looked at the smiling faces of her partners.

“They’re men,” said a scoffing Heather. “They’ll dream about us, you really. But when the only pussy around is their steady they’ll be satisfied with that.”

Nora thought her friend was correct. While she enjoyed the hell out of sex, almost all men were driven to it more than most women. They would take whatever was offered them to Cum in and be happy.

“Well, here we are,” said Heather as they stopped in front of the double doors of a metro station that looked like any other in the Boston area. And most of those stations were filled with their horrors, mostly Raiders and feral ghouls. Bad enough, but without the high-tech weapons the synths carried.

The Recon Power Armor was back at Greentop, while Geof, who had turned out to be a competent engineer, was smoothing out the repairs Nora had patched with the carbon titanium alloy that had come through the QESS. He would later spray paint it with the blue and white Minuteman scheme, all the paint subdued so it would not stand out in the brush. The helmet had also been patched, but Nora would have to replace the sensors, using the kits that Sturgis and Conrad had sent her.

Preston had been ecstatic that she had founded four settlements in the Northeast region of the commonwealth, and was on the verge of adding a fifth. He wished her safe travels and said he looked forward to seeing her back. Since she still had to get the Slog prepared, then go see what Mr. Finch might need to entice him into the Alliance, and was planning to go to Goodneighbor afterwards, she had been very noncommittal about her return. Goodneighbor was reputed to be a den of thieves and the shelter for the many ghouls who had been ejected from Diamond City by McDonough. She was thinking of offering them settler status if they wanted to get out of the neighborhood, while she looked over the shops and vendors that were said to have many weapons and tech not found in Diamond City.

“Keep your mind on the here and now, Nora,” cautioned Heather. “Sturgis and Conrad won’t even have the thing ready to fly for several weeks. Maybe a month.”

The message from her engineers had caught her full attention. A working Vertibird could be in her future, and with her training she was the only one able to safely fly it. Of course she would have to train Minutemen pilots to fly the Vertibirds that would follow, and in a year or two the Alliance would have its own air force. Maybe strong enough to challenge the Brotherhood if they came to the Commonwealth and didn’t play nice.

“Well, let’s go in and see what there is to see,” said Nora, testing the door and finding it unlocked. “So, everyone slow and quiet.”

The metro entrance looked much like every other one they had been in. A little more damage than some, all of the old shops collapsed. And then the chilling voice of something not alive spoke.

“I am picking something up from the entrance. We are not alone.”

“More of the criminals of this surface world?”

“I cannot tell.”

The machines started their way, the heavy tread of the metal bodies sounding on the floor. Nora started flashing hand signals, wondering if their silence would confuse the Synths. Raiders were likely to have been talking the entire time the humanoid robots approached. Well, her and her people wouldn’t make that mistake. Satisfied that her people were where she wanted them to be, all with a clear shot, she aimed in. Heather was backup for this fight, since her laser actually made more noise than their suppressed rifles, and Nora thought the machines would be more attuned to the high-tech weapons.

The two Synths walked into sight side by side, weapons held low. Nora aimed in on the head of the one to the right, sure that Barb was sighting on the head to the left. They had heard rumors that this generation of Synths had their processors in their bodies. She didn’t know it that were true, but either way their visual sensors were in their heads, and taking out those projections would blind them.

“Fire,” whispered Nora, squeezing her trigger and sending a five round burst of high velocity rounds into the head of her target. The head came apart in a scattering of shiny alloy, but the Synth stayed on its feet, firing its laser but not tracking on any target. Barb’s did the same. Heather fired on one of them, directly into the chest, her up gunned laser burning a hole through the torso with a splash of molten metal. The Synth went down like an axed steer, and Nora sent a burst from her rifle into the chest of her target to drop it to the floor.

“Looks like the rumor was correct,” said Nora, moving forward to get a look at the Synths without exposing herself to the entrance to the descending stairs. She knelt by the side of the one that Heather had killed, looking it over, then moving on to the next. “I think the processor was about where our hearts would be. But the visual sensors are placed where we thought.”

That made sense to Nora, who had wondered in her youth why all higher animals had their eyes and ears in the head. Not just because they were closer to the brain, and so the transmission loop was shorter. But it also gave them the best mobile viewing platform on the body, and the cyberneticists at the Institute seemed to have agreed.

“It doesn’t look like they’ve got any extra shielding in the region of their CPU,” said Heather. “I’m betting they are vulnerable to EMP.”

“Good deal,” said Nora, making sure the slots on her belt of forty millimeters were ready at hand. About half the grenades she had selected for this mission were pulse weapons, supposedly able to short out electronics for twenty meters from the release of the warhead. She also had a half dozen hand versions, slightly more powerful. Barb and Heather carried a similar number of the same.

The party looked over at the half dozen Raiders who laid strewn about, four of them obviously dead from laser blasts. Two had heads that were skewed at unnatural angles, necks broken. Nora was sure that the Synths were stronger than she was, though she doubted by much. She thought her reflexes and speed would put the robots to shame, her fast twitch muscles able to move her limbs much faster than the motor driven extremities of the robotic warriors.

Nora crept down the stairs, making as little noise as a small rodent, her team mates right on her tail with the same silence. She had her GL ready to fire from a snap position. The whining sounds of Synths moving in the station came to her ears, along with the scraping and heavy steps of their metal feet. Without the cushion of flesh, and without shoes, they were incapable of walking softly.

Nora was still in the shadows when she spotted the Synths. It looked like a couple of squads of the creatures, highlighted in red on her night vision gear. They were all looking away for the moment, as if expecting something to come from the other side of the station or down the tracks. Nora fired at a group of Synths further into the station, Barb and Heather tossing pulse grenades at the nearer robots.

With a flash and a crackle the grenades all went off, Nora’s first, followed by the hand tossed weapons of her friends. Most of the Synths froze in place for a second before toppling over, the gyros no longer working to give them balance. A half dozen were still on their feet, turning to fire and catching bursts from Barb and beams from Heather that cut through their chests. Nora jacked another round in and fired, taking out the largest group still on their feet.

The Synths had scored a couple of superficial hits on the team, the high-tech armor of the three women turning away the brief contacts. A long enough exposure could burn through, but the name of the game was not letting them get that exposure.

More coming,” said Heather over the radio.

A couple came into sight, weapons firing. A quartet were on their heels, then a flood of the robots. Nora landed a round right in the center, about ten meters back from the leaders, and the front of the wave collapsed. Barb and Heather kept the second part of the wave busy, while Nora placed another round into the back of the group. And then, just like the mutants the day before, their enemy was gone.

“I think that’s enough for now,” said Nora, to the disappointed gaze of Heather. “I don’t want to penetrate farther without power armor. What I do want is all the weapons and electronics we can get off these things. Quickly.”

The team moved onto the platform of the station. Heather took up a covered firing position and kept watch. The two Handies with the group went after the burned-out electronics in the chests of the Synths, moving up and jerking what they wanted out of each one in seconds. Nora and Barb started to gather weapons, putting the straps over their shoulders until each was weighed down by a dozen lasers.

“Okay. Out of here,” said Nora, leading the way up the stairs. There were of course a couple of more guns up there, but she thought they had already taken a good haul in energy weapons.

Nora caught the motion of a couple of Synths in invisibility, their Stealth Boys not perfectly camouflaging them, some of their semi-transparent figures blurring at the edges of their images. They came in with some kind of bladed weapons. Nora hissed a warning as she let the rifles slide from her shoulders and drew her nano-sword in a blur of motion, the ultrasharp weapon cutting through the neck of the closest Synth. A quick dodge and she set up the second for a killing blow.

She had been correct. While the Synths most probably had faster processers and fiber optic nerves, allowing for almost instantaneous thought and transmission, their servos were still limited. While her muscles could twitch many times faster than the machine motors.

“Good thing you were paying attention,” said Barb as they hustled out of the station and headed for cover in the Slocum’s Joe corporate office, where Nora could call up Wilson to transport the weapon barrels and receivers to a QESS. “Those things are horrible at sneaking, and they still almost got us.”

Nora had to agree that the Synths were indeed horrible at sneaking. They were good at using Stealth-boys, though. Not surprising, when no skill went into using the invisibility field generators. The party had learned a valuable lesson without paying too high a price.

*     *     *

“I expected that there might be ten or twenty of the brutes in that hospital,” said an amazed Wiseman. “But over seventy of them? If I had known that I wouldn’t have asked you to clear them out. At least until you could bring up more people.”

“And if I had known how many there were I wouldn’t have gone after them either,” said Nora, shaking her head. “But we did, they’re dead, so mission accomplished. So, will you be joining the Minutemen?”

“Don’t forget about the almost thirty Synths we took out in Malden Center,” said an excited Heather.

“You’re not talking about the escaped Synths the Railroad helps out, are you?” asked another of the ghouls. “Those poor people.”

“Not to worry,” said Barb quickly, since Wiseman looked like he was about to scream. “These were the Gen 1 type. All shiny metal and pure murder. And maybe some plastic covered Gen 2s. But no organic synths.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” said Wiseman with a smile. “So yes, we’ll be joining the Minutemen. As soon as we seal the bargain.”

“And how do we seal the bargain?” asked Nora, a sick feeling in her stomach as she looked into the hideous face of the very personable ghoul.

“Why, we fuck, of course. Best way to seal a deal, since I’m sure you don’t want to marry me.”

The look of horror on Nora’s face must have been apparent to all. She couldn’t go through with this. Not that she hadn’t fucked ugly men in the past, but none with the hideous deformity of the irradiated humans. But she needed this settlement in the alliance. Could she bite her tongue, close her eyes, and do it for Queen and Country?

“Oh, let her off the hook, Wiseman,” said the female ghoul that was talking with them.

Wiseman started to laugh. “It wouldn’t be good for you anyway, Nora,” said the ghoul through his laughs. “My bodily fluids are radioactive. All of my bodily fluids, and I wouldn’t want to burn your tender vaginal tissue with my manly emissions.”

Nora let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted to offend the man. She thought of him as a man, despite his condition, but the thought of having sex with him was something she couldn’t stomach. The woman wondered if that said something about her, revealing something she really didn’t want to think about?

“So,” she said, wanting to get her mind off this train of thought. “We’re going to want to build here. Water, more quarters, defenses, even working toilets.”

“That’s all fine. But this is our home. So I would like to see your plans before you start construction. And how long will your crew be on site?”

“You’re not going to believe this part, Wiseman.”

By late next day the robots had finished their work. Wiseman and several if his fellows walked the settlement with Nora, looking over the Core Services Building with its humming reactors and water filtration systems. The refurbished quarters with patched walls. New quarters with clean comfortable beds and showers. And multiple turrets, weapon’s barrels thrusting from armored cores as their sensors searched for enemies.

“Very nice,” said Wiseman, nodding his head. “You lived up to your part of the bargain, and we will do our part. Anyone who wants to settle here is welcome, as long as they are accepting of us, and we’ll start forming our militia squad as soon as we have the people and weapons. So, where to next for you?”

Kessler was very happy to see the rescued guards. She took the news that one of the men had stayed at a settlement with good grace. Not everyone stayed with the caravans, and when she heard of the wonders of the settlements that Nora was building she could understand why the man had left the service of the road.

“And you also took down BADTFL,” had said the smiling woman. “Good job. It seems that we hired a real badass.”

“Just doing what needs done,” said Nora, looking into the woman’s eyes. “If you joined my Alliance I could make this place over for you as well. Give you much better facilities.”

Nora already had a general plan of what she wanted to do with this place, starting with putting a wall of foundations around it that would be proof against any weapons Raiders might be able to wield. Following that with a ring building that would give residents and guests much more spacious living quarters and recreation facilities. And, of course, defenses.

“No thanks. I think you mean well, but I still don’t trust the Minutemen, and prefer for this settlement to remain independent. But thanks for building up the other settlements. Those sorry little outposts, with few people and even fewer products, are not really helping the caravans. The way you are building them up is going to provide a much larger market to our traders. And the idea of showers and clean beds is really going to help our caravan recruitment.”

Nora didn’t mention that soon the settlement system would be producing much of what the traders were now providing. It might not be as much of a boon as Kessler thought. Though with a little shifting of the market they would soon be making record profits on what they could deliver. And the bars and clubs that Nora was thinking of for the settlements would pull some caps from the pockets of the traders and guards. If she started putting some working girls in the clubs, even part time volunteers, the profit would be even greater. She didn’t think she would have any problem getting those volunteers. They would be protected, comfortable, receive medical care, and make a lot of extra caps they could use to buy the things they wanted.

The men they had rescued talked Nora up, with her permission. Barb and Heather expressed no desire for prostitution, though they did welcome the guys they had had sex with at Nordhagen into their beds while they were here. Nora opened for business at eight, and Old Man Stockton was right there. The old gentleman was really a horny bastard, and from the things he said about Nora he wasn’t about to pass up on the best pussy he had ever had. Joe came in next, followed by thirteen caravan traders and guards, including Lucas. She started charging a flat hundred and fifty a shot, thinking she was giving good product for that price, and came out of the night with twenty-one hundred caps after expenses.

Joe upped the price on her room the next night, which wasn’t a big deal with what she was bringing in. She had a little bit of a problem in the trade center when three of the whores tried to back her into a corner and intimidate her. “You need to stop offering your services,” said the largest of the women, one that actually had a body going to fat, unusual in the post-apocalyptic work. “You’re taking caps out of our mouths.”

Nora thought the woman, known as Large Betty, could do with fewer caps going into her belly. She instead she tried to reason with her. “Look, I only have one more night here, then I’ll be on the road for quite some time. And I need the money for a good cause.”

“I could care less about your cause,” said Betty, putting a hand on Nora’s throat.

Nora grabbed the front of the big woman’s shirt and lifted her into the air, her feet coming off the ground. “If you ever lay hands on me again I’ll break that arm. Understand me. I do some whoring, yes. But my vocation is warrior. So remember that before you start making threats.”

The woman nodded her head quickly. Nora lowered her back to the ground, not even straining, and the three whores hurried away.

She made over twenty-two hundred the second night, taking on sixteen men, including Ricky and Billy. That was about her limit. It left her drained, though she tried to have an orgasm with each and every one, rewarding both them and her. Men liked to make a woman Cum. They liked to shoot a load into a wet hot pussy, sure, but feeling the woman orgasm during the act gave them a feeling of virility. That she was a quick comer, and the more sex she had the faster they came, was a plus. But there were only so many she could have before she reached the point of diminishing returns. And she refused to fake it. That was cheating her partner.

“I’ll take three hundreds gram of nuclear material,” she told Deb the next morning, approaching the trader dressed for the road. “And sixty of those damaged laser and plasma rifles.”

“You’ve got a lot of people talking around here.” said Deb as she sent a helper for Nora’s order. “A lot of excitement. Raiders down and settlers up is good for everyone. And I appreciate your business as well.”

“Some of the ladies here don’t like that I am providing services.”

“Well, fuck them. I’ve noticed that the men around here are much happier. In fact, Old Man Stockton is virtually giddy from the pleasure you’ve given him. I’ve never seen him so happy.”

“Well, it’s about to end for a while. I’m planning on starting from three to five more settlements this time out.”

“That will make all the traders happy,” said Deb. “Even me, since traders have to buy my products before they hit the road.”

“You know, Deb. I’m planning to start producing things at my settlements. Now, I don’t want to put you out of business, so how about we talk, and make some deals for me to supply you wholesale.”

“Sounds good. When you start production come talk to me.”

Nora spent a couple of hours stripping the weapons of their barrels and receivers, taking all of the circuitry as well and loading up Wilson. He was full when she sent him on his way, and she dropped the stocks, frames and other leavings of the weapons in one of the abandoned buildings off premises.

“So where to, partner?” asked Heather as they headed north.

“I’m thinking first to Taffington, since it’s said to be abandoned and we can start up without permission. If they have a workbench like we’ve been told. Then swing around to Greentop Nursery, and hope they have something for us to do to prove our worth. Then maybe over to The Slog.”

“You might consider Finch Farm while you out that way,” said Barb. “Old man Finch and family are struggling, but they have a nice piece of property.”

“Do they have a workbench?”

“I think so. I seem to recall one next to the sorry little shack they live in. But you need to look out for the Hub City Auto Wreckers. That’s a huge Gunner camp.”

Nora thought about that. She still had three nuke rockets for her RPG. One or two of those could soften up that target enough to make it an easy strike.

“And I’ve heard that Croup Manor, on the causeway south of Gibson Point Pier and Lynn Pier has a workbench,” said Heather. “And its on the ocean, which means more salt production.”

Nora’s ears perked up at the mention of the two piers, both on Halen’s list. And Croup Manor was on Reese’s list, as was Medford Memorial. She started putting it all together in her head, then gave it up as she thought that she really didn’t know what she was going to find at the settlements.

They crossed the saltwater inlet at the Tucker Memorial Bridge, one up from the bridge they had used to cross on the way to County Crossin. There were some cars to strip, and Dogmeat pointed out a few mines that Heather disarmed, and they were on their way.

“Left branch takes you to Covenant,” said Heather when they got to the fork. “Nice place, but the people are creepy. Everyone smiling all the time. Not natural.”

“Well, we’re going right,” said Nora. Her experience with Bunker Hill taught her that nice places didn’t want to join a mutual protection society. Soon after stepping onto the right fork they were ambushed by robots.

The Gutsy, she thought it called itself a Major, lite them up with a fifty caliber. Barb went down cursing as some heavy slugs hit her Forteliza armor over her left arm. Most of each round bounced away, but some pieces of shredding bullet went into the flesh of her arm. Nora jumped in the way, rounds striking her chest piece and her armor calling out damage. A forty millimeter to the body of the Gutsy shredded it and dropped it to the ground. The Assaultron then made its presence known, fading into visibility as its strong head laser reached out and truck Nora, doing more damage to her armor. Barb shot out its left leg from a sitting position, and as the robot crawled toward them to try and catch them in the self-destruct, Heather sent a powerful beam into its head. A moment later it detonated, much too far away to do them damage.

“You okay, Hon,” said Nora as she exited her power armor and knelt beside Barb.

“Well, it hurts like hell,’ said her friend as she finished injecting a stimpak into her arm. “As to whether its going to kill me. I don’t think so. So let’s move on. I’ll rest at Taffington.”

Nora reentered her armor and moved on, her sensors on the alert for more robots. They came upon the boathouse, abandoned as she thought, except for a swarm of bloodbugs. There was a swarm outside that Nora took down with single shots. They walked into the house and shot down some more, then found the owner, her desiccated corpse drained of blood. Nora went out to the workbench and had her Handy assemble a QESS, then started the process going. The house was in good enough repair that she decided to keep it, as was the boathouse once she removed a couple of booby traps.

“I think we’ll spend the night while I make sure everything is going as planned,” she told her friends. "We can leave in the morning and head to Greentop Nurseries.”

By midafternoon they had a generator working in the Core Services Building, constructed on the concrete boat ramp. She soon had the walls up, pumps going, and three saltwater extractors working on the water of the inlet. She marked the points for the pumps, the water purifiers in the CSB, then the foundations for the settler quarters and the workshop building.

Nora looked over the house, marking the repairs she wanted the bots to make. Fix up the roof, patch a few wall holes, repair the railing on the deck around the house, and it would be quarters for eight or so settlers, including a toilet and shower in the upstairs area. She had the robots mount the Settlement Recruitment Beacon earlier than normal, hoping she might get someone in there before they left in the morning.

By evening the place was more or less ready. Two scaffolding towers, four laser and four machinegun turrets and the place was defended.

“In the settlement,” called out a voice from outside. Nora ran outside, to see two men in dirty but well made clothes waiting for permission to come in, anxiously looking at the turrets.

“Are you looking for a place to settle down?”

“We sure are,” said the older of the two. “We caught your beacon. So, is this a safe place?”

“It is. So come on in and let’s talk.”

She found out that the two were brothers, Bob and Ted Matthews, from the western part of the Commonwealth near Springfield. Their story was common. They had a decent farming settlement that the Raiders wanted more than they did. One night the Raiders attacked, putting everyone to the knife that couldn’t run. The brothers were good runners, and took off. Now they were looking for a place to settle that they could hold.

“Well, I think this would be a good place for you to settle, and I need someone here to greet and vet more settlers. Let me bring some weapons in through the QESS system so you can defend this place.”

“Just who are you. And how did you get tech like that QESS thing.”

“Long story. We just ate, but here are some rations the other settlements have produced.”

They talked for several hours while the robots continued to work in the background, completing the house first off so the brothers and her people would have someplace to stay. She found out that Bob was an engineer, trained at the vocational center in Springfield. While Ted was a medical specialist who had taken care of the people on his settlement. She thought they were both kind of cute, and started out to seduce them.

They seemed to be warming to her, and Nora excused herself for a moment to talk with her friends. “I think I’m going to fuck one or both of them. Either of you want to join in.”

“Yes,” said both, raising their hands and giggling.

“Then lets hit them with our heavy guns.”

Nora and the girls walked into the kitchen, where the brothers were still sitting and discussing their change of fortune, sans clothes. The eyes almost popped out of the heads of the two, a shocked expression on Ted’s face, a wide smile on Bob’s.

“What’s going on here?” said Ted.

“I think the ladies are going for a quick seduction.”

“And you win the prize,” said Nora, plopping into Bob’s lap. “Though if you act real nice we’ll fuck you too, Ted.”

Neither was what Nora would call an expert lover, but they were both enthusiastic. She, Barb and Heather took turns sucking them hard, then fucking them soft. They obviously hadn’t had sex in quite some time, as they both came as soon as they entered a pussy. The plus side was they were full of cum, and saw to the ladies for several hours before they couldn’t get it up again. When they finished they and the ladies were limp and tired, and Nora sat down to talk with them again.

“Is it always like this with you people.”

“With me, probably yes. Probably not with all the settlers. You can hit on anyone who lives here, as long as you know to take no for an answer. And tomorrow we are hitting the road, early. So your might want to get some before we leave.”

“Hell, if I die tonight I’ll figure I’ve already been to heaven.”

The robots were still going at it through the night. And the five people were going at it again when the sun was lightening the sky. The men hadn’t fully recovered yet, of course. But it took some time for them to cum, and all of the ladies had a nice morning orgasm to carry them through the day.

“Now if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact someone on the terminal, and we’ll try to get someone to you as fast as possible. Once we have all the settlements out here up and running that should be pretty fast, but until then it’s hit or miss.”

“Thank you, Nora,” said Bob, giving her a soft kiss. “And thank you, Heather and Barb, our warrior angels. I never expected a welcome like this.”

“In the settlement,” called out a soprano female voice. “We picked up your beacon. May we come in.”

The new arrivals were sisters, Becky and Debbi, both as pretty as the rising son. They looked with lust on the two brothers as they walked in and stood through the introductions. “I’ll leave it to you boys to get them settled. We need to hit the road and see about another settlement up the road.”

“Well,” said a smiling Heather. “That worked out well. I had fun with them, but they need something more permanent, and it looks like they’ve got it.”

Nora hoped so, though lust at first sight guaranteed nothing. Still, they had a start to a good community here.

They moved to the south of Malden, out of sight of the Supermutants at Medford Medical. They turned north at Med-Tech and headed North, sighting the greenhouse at Greentop Nursery about ten thirty.

“Looks good,” said Heather.

Yes, thought Nora. It does. The greenhouse needed work, but was still a serviceable growing shed. The house had an intact roof, though there were some holes in the wall. Two men and a woman were at work in the greenhouse, while another woman worked at a cooking pot. As they watched from cover another woman came out of the house. All were young enough to still have children, which was ideal, and that there were five of them meant they would start out as a fairly strong settlement.

“On the farm,” shouted Nora, standing up and walking into the open. “Can we approach.”

Every one of the farmers had a pipe pistol out in an instant, aiming them at Nora. Nora kept her rifle lowered, then exited her power armor so the people could see what she looked like.

“She doesn’t look like a Raider,” said the youngest of the woman, a freckled face redhead who couldn’t have been older than sixteen. “She’s clean.”

“Who are you?” asked an older Brunette.

“I’m Nora Jane Adams. I’m with the Minutemen. And I'm here to see if you need any help with anything.”

“We sure do,” said the young redhead. “We..”

“Shut it, Taylor. We don’t know who this woman is. Not really. I thought the Minutemen were through. Over.”

“We’re reorganizing them under new leadership.”

“Whose?”

“Mine. I’m building an Alliance of Settlements to protect people against Raiders and other threats. I’ve got ten on the other side of Cambridge, and three so far in this area. Now, can I come in so we can talk without yelling at each other. I have two more women with me, and I’d prefer if they could join me.”

“Look at them, Doris,” said one of the men, looking at the brunette, who was obviously the leader here. “Look at that armor, that rifle. And damn me if that isn’t a grenade launcher over her back. If they meant to harm us we would already be dead.”

“I mean you absolutely no harm. I want to discuss having you join us. If you turn me down we’ll leave, and you will have to contact us to bring us back.”

Barb and Heather stepped into view, along with the dogs and the ready Handy. The girls and Dogmeat smiled, and Nora could feel the tension going down.

“You said that you kill Raiders. How about Supermutants?”

*     *     *

“Anyone see the suicider?” asked Nora over the radio.

“Maybe they don’t have one,” said Heather.

The party was on the edge of another farm called Breakheart Banks. And this was definitely the band of Supermutants who had been terrorizing Greentop. They had been raiding the farm, forcing the settlers to flee while they trashed the place and stole all the food. The farmers were, of course, concerned that the Supermutants would kill them all if they caught them unawares.

“I’m going to start hitting them with grenades. Everyone stay alert for the suicider.”

She guessed that they didn’t have to have a suicider. If they couldn’t get their hands on a mini-nuke, not really that common, they couldn't equip one of the running bombers. But she didn’t want to take any chances.

Nora put her grenade launcher to her shoulder and aimed in on the central shack in the center of the area. The farm seemed functional, with corn, razor grain and tatos ripening in the sun. She wasn’t sure why they were raiding other farms, unless it was just in the Supermutant nature to do so. While still not sure where the damned creatures had come from, whether accidental mutation caused by rads, or an experiment gone awry, what she did know was the things were a menace that needed ended wherever they were found. She doubted they were a natural mutations, as there didn’t seem to be any female mutants, which meant there was no conceivable way in which they could have descended from a common ancestor. But who in the hell thought it a good idea to create these things, and how had they gotten free and out of control?

The round sent through the window to the shack and exploded, and Nora waited for the reaction. A lot of shooting, some yelling and boasting, but no flashing lights or the beeping of a mini-nuke. She sent another round into the building, a Molotov, setting the shack on fire. A supermutant came charging out, on fire, hitting the ground and trying to roll to put the flames out.

“I don’t think they have a suicider,” she said over the radio, jacking in another HE Frag round and sending it into another building. “Where the hell is the Supreme Lord?” she asked next. She wanted to bring that male’s torso armor back to prove to the farmers that she had killed the mutants here.

“I see him running for cover with a mini-gun,” called out Barb. “Got him.”

Nora made a quick sweep in case they missed anything. She found another couple of mutants in a shack about two hundred meters north of the main settlement, on the waters of the long lake. Nora thought this would make a great settlement, but without a workbench they would have to haul in materials to build it. Maybe when they ran out of buildable area.

“You got them,” said Doris as Nora threw down the torso armor and the mini-gun. “Was it hard?”

“Not particularly. Now, have you considered joining us?”

“How could we not. Yes, you can fortify us. And we’ll accept other settlers into our settlement.”

“Good enough. Then get ready to have your minds blown.”

*     *     *

Nora felt good about herself and her crew as they walked the shore of the long lake to the north of Greentop. She actually felt like singing, but thought that not a good idea when they were traversing potentially hostile territory. But it was a beautiful day, birds singing, the air fresh. And she was leaving yar another strong settlement behind her.

“I can’t believe how many of these mutated ferns I’ve found already,” said Heather as she pulled another couple of flowers from one of the plants. “Can we walk by the water so I can get some of the bloodleaf.”

“Sure. I…”

“Eliminate the damned targets,” said a robot voice, the kind used by a Gutsy, just before a stream of high caliber bullets came flying in. Barb and Heather ducked quickly behind trees. Wood splintered as the heavy rounds chewed through them. A few struck Nora’s armor, causing yet more damage.

“Take cover,” said the suit. “Damage taken.”

“No shit.” Nora tracked her rounds in on the Gutsy, watching as armor and innards came apart and sprayed everywhere. As the Gutsy fell a heavy laser came in and hit the suit, causing more damage.

Nora cursed as she tracked in on the Assaultron. Her suit was almost a wreck. Of course, that meant it had protected her precious body from that damage. She sawed off the leg of the robot with a burst, the best way to attack them. She then aimed in on the head and killed the robot so thoroughly that the machine didn’t even have the ability to self-destruct.

“They’re a fucking menace,” said Heather, getting up from behind the tree and knocking the dirt from her clothing. “How in the hell did so many Gutsy/Assaultron pairs end up wandering the Wasteland.”

They were military bots of course, and it seemed reasonable that they would operate in tandem. But Heather was correct in them being a menace. The team had found the bodies of Wanderers, Scavers and Traders that had been blasted apart, probably by the bots. So it was their job to destroy any the came upon, not just for self defense but to protect her settlements.

Not just the settlements, thought Nora. Sure, the settlements were her people, but she was actually out here to protect all the citizens of the Commonwealth, at least those not bent on taking everything from others.

They walked on, coming over a hill and looking down on the settlement they had come to find. The Slog, and Nora was surprised to see that it was built around an old swimming pool. A number of people were working in the fields that were full of corn and carrots, while others tended the Tarberries that grew in the water of the pool.

“They’re ghouls,” said Heather in disgust.

“Well, they’re not feral,” said Barb.

“All ghouls eventually turn feral,” said Heather. “It’s inevitable. Might as well take them out before they hurt anyone.”

“We are not going to gun down people. I said people, Heather, who are going about their business in a peaceful manner. Am I understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Heather, looking down as if ashamed. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine to think what you want, to have feelings. Lord knows I think ghouls are disgusting as well. But they can’t help what happened to them, and I think it’s wonderful that they found ways to move on with their lives. So no comments about how disgusting they are within earshot. I want this settlement to be part of the Alliance. They are placed well to support us in operations, and they’re already stronger that any other settlement we’ve found.”

“Can I help you?” asked a female ghouls as the party walked down to the swimming pool.

Nora exited her power armor before speaking. People preferred to speak to a flesh and blood face with a normal voice attached, and not to the visage of armor that the suit projected.

“Who’s in charge here, ma’am?”

“Ma’am,” said the ghoul with a laugh. “So polite. Hey, Wiseman,” she called out, waving to a ghoul in jeans and t-shirt. “We have some well-behaved visitors here.”

“And those are always welcome,” said the ghoul, walking over. “I’m wiseman, and this little operation is my responsibility.”

“I’m Nora Jane Adams,” said Nora, taking the offered hand while repressing a shudder. “I represent the Minutemen, and I’m here to ask if there is anything you need help with?”

“I’m assuming, based on your armor and weapons, that you are not referring to helping us tend our crops. But yeah, there’s something that you might be able to do. And not just to me, but to all the people of this region. But take a moment to look over our farm. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Ingenious,” said Nora truthfully. “Using an old swimming pool for a Tarberry bog. And it looks like you are much better off than most of the people of this region. But I’m thinking we can make it even better.”

“Quite the sales pitch,” laughed Wiseman. “You must have been a saleswoman before you became a soldier.”

“Lawyer.”

“I thought we got rid of all of them when the bombs dropped.”

“Prewar lawyer, before I served in the United States Navy.”

“No. You’re not ghoul. So, what’s your secret.”

Nora gave the ghoul the short version of her history while he stared in amazement.

“Unbelievable. So good to meet someone who remembers the same world I do. But is sucks that someone took your child. Any clue as to who it was.”

“All kinds of clues, but nothing definite. So, what caused you to settle here?”

“You mean after that Rat Bastard McDonough threw us out of Diamond city.”

“Why did he do that?”

“Because we’re ugly, we go crazy and kill people periodically, we scare the kids. But I have to ask you. How often do smoothskins lose it and kill someone? Look to the south at the Saugus Iron Works, the old forge, and you’ll see examples of humans who are psychopathic killers.”

“Can’t argue with you there. So, you want us to clear them out.”

“I wouldn’t send such pretty ladies to their deaths like that. No, I have something else in mind.”

But Zeller was said to have a number of Caravan workers, and he was also said to be a very cruel man. So those people were suffering, under threat of execution. That decided Nora. She needed to get in there and free those people, then get them back to Bunker Hill. Everything else could wait.

She had two ways to get there. Over the bridge across the inlet to East Boston from Chelsea. She didn’t like the look of that bridge, open in the middle and spanned by a tilted up wrecked car. The other was the long way around, by Revere Beach, which should be safe enough now, then overland to Easy City Downs, the old horse racing track, and over to the East Boston Preparatory School.

Connie thought that Easy City Downs was a Raider operation, as well as a base for some people she had yet to run into. The Triggermen, said to be mostly ghouls who patterned themselves after old style gangsters. Submachine guns and patched suits, they didn’t sound like much of a challenge, though their weapons were modern enough, though lacking range.

“Easy City Downs is my vote,” said Barb, looking at the Pip-Boy map. “We take out another stronghold and get a lot of loot. Then over to the Prep School and free the captives.”

“It might be easier to avoid the Downs,” said Heather, sighing. “But I have to agree that it needs to be taken out if we want to make this area safer.”

“Okay. Then Easy City Down it is.”

Revere Beach proved to be deserted. At least so it seemed. And surviving Raiders must have thought the power armor suit and the two women in high tech armor were their worst nightmare and refused to make an appearance. They did run into some especially suicidal Raiders further on. Nora wondered at their intelligence in taking on someone in power armor. It made them easy targets and the team reduced the Raider population in the area by dribs and drabs.

They stopped and went to ground five hundred meters from the downs. Something was going on there, with an announcer talking up the races. Nora couldn’t imagine that they had horses. She had seen none of the beasts since wandering the Commonwealth. It seemed that the fragile animals were extremely averse to pollution and radiation, and none survived in this region. Nora zoomed in on the action, and was surprised to see what was racing around the track.

“Fucking robots,” she told her companions. “Mostly Handies, but some Assaultrons, running around the track.”

“Think of all those parts,” said Barb, almost salivating.

“We don’t know who is in there, so watch your fire and let me lead,” she told her people.

Nora led with a forty millimeter into an obvious group of Raiders, killing a half dozen of them. Fire started coming in from all angles, and Nora started to scan them in VATS, selecting the enemies and ignoring the bystanders. Her HUD highlighted the opposition, enemies in red, pointed out by theirr weapons use, neutrals, identified by their lack of resistence in green. She took down every red image she could find, then moved further into the downs.

“Go ahead and take down the robots,” she told her people over the radio. A few of the bots had fired on her, and she considered them all hostile.

It was a tough fight, especially since there were noncombatants here to watch and bet on the races. Most were Raiders though, and if there was some collateral damage, most of the bystanders made it through alive. They found a robot shop with many machines that weren’t working but had good parts, and whole bins of spares. They raided food supplies and wandered on, Nora letting Wilson run his new program of gathering up salvage himself. Filled, he faded from view and hurried back to County Crossing to unload.

Nora walked into one large building and stopped in her tracks in shock. There were eleven totally naked women in the building, all looking at her with fear filled eyes. One was suspended from a cross, a living advertisement for the sex slaves they were. Several were strapped into torture machines that acted to hold them in the position, while more were strapped to beds. A Raider with earbuds in his ears was thrusting away at a slave. His body jerked and he came in the woman, then pulled out and turned to see the power armor and a rifle pointed at his head. Nora pulled the trigger and sent the rapist into his afterlife, then climb out of her armor so the woman could see that she was also female.

“Help us,” cried one of the women. “The Raiders were using us to make caps, or to use us to slake their own lusts.”

“I’ll get you out of here. Don’t worry. Let me get the chains off.”

“You need to get these collars from around our necks,” said a dirty haired blond. “If we wander too far from this area they blow our heads off.”

That chilled Nora to the bone, while driving her to a rage at the same time. It was bad enough that these women were being kept in enslaved prostitution. But they were constantly threated with death, the collars their capital sentence should they choose to run. Nora looked them over, trying to give them reassuring smiles and mostly failing. Every single one had the marks of abuse on their faces and bodies. Bruises, cuts, even some cigarette burns. All had dried semen on them, while some had fresh deposits leaking from their vaginas and anal openings.

“I’ll get them off and get you to safety. I..”

“We got triggermen maneuvering to attack us,” said Barb over the radio.

“I’ve got to go take care of some Triggermen,” said Nora, quickly holding up a hand when the women all started to protest. “I’ll be back for you. You,” she said, pointing to what seemed to be the most together woman. “See if you can find a key and get these chains off these other women. You are all free now, and free people do not wear chains.”

Nora quickly got into the suit and ran out to battle the triggermen. There were about as dozen of them, wearing worn versions of fancy suits that gave no protection. Their submachineguns had no penetrating power, and Nora took them down one after the other.

“Heather, Barb. I need you in here.”

“But the loot?”

“Can wait, Barb.”

“What the hell,” blurted Heather as she walked into the room, seeing all the slaves. The one Nora had left in charge had removed the chains from all but two, and she was working on one of those.

“They were holding slaves,” said Barb, her wide eyes taking in all of the captives. “Not unusual for Raiders. But..”

“This was a forced whorehouse,” said Nora, tears coming to her eyes. While she loved sex, and loved it when others got their fill, she could not countenance rape. And these women had probably been raped all through the day, every day they had been here. “See if you can find something to get those collars off,” she told her friends.

“The Boss, Big Lordis, had the keys to these things, the bitch,” said the woman that Nora had left in charge.

“What’s she look like?”

“She’s wearing a bomber jacket with a death’s head symbol on the left breast,” said the woman.

“Go find her and get the key,” she told her two friends. “Now, who are you? And where are you from?”

Nora found out that two of the women were from Nordhagen Beach, while the others had been wanderesr. The Raiders had killed their men if they had any, as well as any children they had with them.

T

he dirty haired blond from Nordhagen was also named Nora, and the Sole Survivor told the woman with a smile that they shared a name. A latino lady named Sonja was also from Nordhagen. The others had been wanderers before the Raiders had taken them.

“Okay. We have some decisions to make. I’m not about to go off and leave you to wander the wastes without protection. I’m with the Minutemen, and no matter what you’ve heard of us, we’re rebuilding. I have eleven settlements to date, most on the other side of Cambridge, but one up at County Crossing.”

She looked over at the other Nora. “Would your settlement be interested in joining with us. If so, I can promise you better crops, housing, and defenses. As well as purified water and hot showers.”

“And how are you going to deliver all of that way out here?” asked Nora, looking doubtful. “Are you going to march a hundred men and pack brahman full of supplies?”

“Well, you’re going to have to see it to believe it. But it will happen.”

“Believe her,” said Heather, coming into the room with a ring of keys. “This was the eighth or ninth major Raider gang we’ve taken down with Nora in charge. And I’ve seen her build most of the Settlements.”

“You’re that herbalist lady who advertises on the radio,” said one of the women.

“The same.”

“I think we can trust them, girls.”

“Okay. You can set up at Nordhagen.”

“Great,” said Nora, looking over the hopeful faces. Like most people in the Wasteland they were a resilient bunch. They could take what would break someone from Nora’s time and bounce back in a truly short period of time. “So, what about the rest of you. You can go and strengthen Nordhagen Beach. Or I can escort you to County Crossing in a couple of days. Or you can go back to wandering the Wasteland. Your choice.”

There were no takers on the last choice, everyone agreeing that they would look over Nordhagen and decide on it or County Crossing. Heather got the collars off and stacked in a pile, while Barb powered down the transmitter that set the limit.

“Does Wilson still have room?”

“He’s almost full. But you can probably cram some more in.”

“Then find some clothes for these ladies. I don’t want them walking to Nordhagen naked.”

The Wilson robot faded into existence in the room, opening the hatch to his commodious hopper.

“What in the hell is that?” asked one of the younger women, a girl barely out of puberty.

“This is my stealth relay bot. He hauls salvage back to one of my workshops, invisible to the world. I have another four slightly smaller bots accompanying me, also in stealth, but they can’t wander too far.”

“Damn, I almost feel sorry for the Raiders. Going up against people like you. Almost.”

Some of the others laughed, while a few looked like it would be some time before they could. Barb and Heather brought in armfuls of clothes they had found in the Raider quarters, letting the ladies choose what they want to wear. They also brought in a lockpicking magazine, Tumblers Today. Nora read it and felt that she was just a bit better at picking locks.

“Okay. We’re going to take you over to Nordhagen. Myself and Heather will lead, while Barb and the dogs take the rear. Stay alert and let us handle the fighting if there is any. Hopefully not, and in less than a half an hour you will be in a safe location.”

The trip to Nordhagen was uneventful. The farmer there, one Suzie, was overjoyed to see her partner, as was thirteen-year-old Gary, Nora’s son.

“We were expecting Big Lordis’ men to come and grab some more food,” said Suzie after being introduced to Nora. “Frankly, this one would have killed us. We’re near to starving already.”

“Then here,” said Nora as one of her cargo bots materialized nearby. She grabbed twenty-four of the workshop rations being produced at the other settlements and handed them out. “That will at least pull you back from the edge.”

“Amazing,” said Suzie.

“And I promised them they could set up her and fortify our farm. I’m anxious to see what they can do.”

So Nora showed them what she and her robots could do. It was well practiced by now, and less than thirty minutes after arrival two Constructrons and three Handies were at work. The Core Services Building went up first, and the settlement had power and purified water. The house started going up next, while an industrial center started on the waterfront.

That night the group of fourteen people plus the party sat around a fire while the robots toiled away, the humans eating a hearty meal of meat and vegetable stew, washed down with beer. They had brand new patio chairs to sit in, and a couple of streetlights gave them enough to see by.

“The showers are ready,” Nora announced at ten. "They’re cold, but give it another hour and you’ll have them nice and hot. If you can’t wait, jump on in. I know I’m going to wait on hot water.

Five chose cold, the rest waited for hot. Nora and friends waited until four laser turrets were set up on a scaffolding tower and powered up before they turned in. Nora really didn’t feel like sex, though from the sounds from the other rooms many of the ladies decided to make love to someone they wanted.

Most females, and quite a few males in the Wasteland, were bisexual. Complete homosexuality and straight heterosexuality were both rare. Men preferred women, and women men, but they often didn’t have their preferred partner around, so it was any port in a storm. Women took to it more naturally than men, and many continued having sex with females even when they had a man in their lives.

Nora woke screaming from a nightmare, to feel her friends working to give her the pleasure she needed to get by it. Their room was invaded by many of the other women, anxious to know what was causing someone to scream.

“She’s killed a lot of people this last week,” said Heather, looking up from where she had been licking Nora’s genitals. “She’s really good at it, but it doesn’t sit well with her subconscious. Not to worry. We’ll pleasure her for awhile and she’ll fade into a deep sleep.”

Nora apologized to the group of women the next day for her outburst. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve sacrificed much to make the world a better place.”

“Well, we’re going to East Boston Prep to take down Judge Zeller today. I’ll be back this evening, possibly with some captured caravan people. I ask that you put them up for one night, then I’ll escort them and those who have chosen to go to County Crossing. From there I’ll escort the Caravanners back to Bunker Hill. And I’ll try to set up regular traders to come her in the future.”

“You think of everything,” said Suzie.

“Well, not everything. So if you have any ideas about how I can improve things, let me know. We’re not a dictatorship in our Alliance. Everyone has a voice, and most times majority rules.”

“Most times?” asked Suzie, raising an eyebrow.

“Security is my bailiwick,” said Nora. “And I will not compromise there, not matter what anyone else might say.”

The walk to the Prep School was uneventful. They stood in front of the mostly intact building looking at the gruesome decorations the Raiders had erected to mark their territory.

“This is a stealth insertion, so I’m going to leave the power armor out here.”

“We’ve got you covered,” said Barb, Heather nodding her agreement and making sure her laser was topped off with fusion cells.”

I know you do, thought Nora as she slowly opened the door and slid inside. She heard people talking and laughing, the raucous conversation she expected of Raiders. They were coming from upstairs, and she climbed the partially ruined steps to clear them out. It was very dark on the next floor, and she could see the red images of a couple of Raiders on the side of a large pile of garbage, whispering as they tried to set an ambush. She crept forward, coming up behind a Raider and slamming her razor-sharp combat knife through the brainstem of the man, killing him instantly. The shock woman froze, and Nora slashed the blade across her throat and left her to bleed out on the floor. The hallway leaving this section on the same level was blocked with a high piled barrier of desks and other furniture, and she could see the red images of people beyond through the few gaps.

“What do you have down there?” she asked over the radio.

“A barrier of furniture ahead,” said Barb. “I can see that the floor above has collapsed, and there are people beyond the barrier.”

“Okay. Get set and ready to sweep them when they come at you. I’m going to send some grenades over the top of the barrier up here and stir them up.”

It was the way she preferred to fight in buildings. Letting the enemy attack her set positions, instead of probing into unknown territories sure to be mined or booby trapped. She sent a grenade over the barrier to explode on the other side to the screams of Raiders. With a couple of quick motions she had the launcher reloaded and sent another round over. Heather and Barb opened fire, and there was more yelling down there, so Nora ran down the stairs and came up even with Barb, who was delivering automatic fire on the Raiders shooting over the barrier. Nora sent a forty millimeter their way then shifted the launcher over onto her back so she could use her rifle.

Heather was involved in a hell of a firefight, her against a half dozen Raiders. Nora shifted the balance of power with her rifle, then pulled the GL back down to send a round into the next room. The grenade exploded, along with a couple of mines, and the incoming fire ceased.

“Watch out for mines,” she told her people over the com. “They’ve probably got them liberally seeded.”

Nora stopped for a moment to search a Raider, finding a letter marked contract, that swore these people to the service of Zeller in life and death. So, they were a bunch of crazy cultists, which made them even more deadly than the normal Raider. And needing to be taken out before they could grow larger. Nora cat footed it into the other room, finding a number of bodies, some of them killed by their own mines. Another started to activate, and Nora backpeddled out of the room before it could explode.

She motioned Dogmeat forward, Dewey right behind. Dogmeat was excellent at sniffing out mines, pointing to them like a bird dog when he found them. Dogmeat found a couple of mines, and Nora shot down a Raider that was aiming in on her dog. She worked her way around the room and came out behind the barrier, to see a number of bodies. Something fired at her from above, missing in the obscuring smoke, and Nora sent a burst his way, silencing him.

“I think we’re going to face some stiff resistance up these stairs,” she whispered to her people over the radio. She waved Dewey up the steps, motioning for Dogmeat to stay back. She was fond of both dogs, but realistically Dewey was a robot, who could be repaired if put out of action, while death for Dogmeat was permanent. She had thought of leaving Dogmeat behind, but his nose was better than Dewey's, and he was much superior at finding mines.

Nora readied her GL on a premonition. As Dewey reached the first landing up, a Raider came out on the next landing and took a shot at the dog. Nora pulled the trigger on the GL and sent a swarm of razor sharp flechettes into the body of the woman, shredding it. She pulled a grenade from her web gear, armed it, and tossed it on a curve that landed it through the doorway. A Raider screamed in panic and the hand thrown bomb went off, silencing the scream.

“Dammit, kill them,” yelled a loud voice. “And someone get in there and shoot the prisoners.”

“Will do, Judge,” called back a voice down the hall.

Shit. Nora ran up the steps, came through the doorway and fired a long burst that took down everyone in the hall. She gunned down a man down the hall who was disappearing into a door, then ran flat out, pulling her pistol and dropping the rifle to hand on its straps.  A man in the next room fire a shotgun at her, wasting the pellets on her armor, while she ran forward and shot him with three .45 rounds, sending him into the wall to slide to the floor in death.

“Help us,” called out a woman’s voice, followed by the shouts of some men.

Nora found the caravan workers, seven of them, in four cells. She ran back and searched Zeller’s body, coming up with a ring of keys. One turned in the lock and the people were free.

“Kessler sent me,” she told the people, five men and two women, who were trying to talk over each other. “Zeller’s dead and you’re safe. Any more of you?”

“I think this is it,” said one of the men. “Zeller was torturing us, trying to get us to join his cult. I think some of those he took away are dead, the rest joined.”

“Then they’re dead. Sorry, but if they fought back they went down.”

Barb and Heather came up, lifting their glasses and looking over the prisoners.

“So what? Did Kessler send the most beautiful women she could find? If you were our captors I think I would stay a prisoner.”

“When are you going to send us back to Bunker Hill?” asked one of the women.

“We’re going to take you to Nordhagen Beach for the night,” Nora told them, holding up a hand to silence their protests. “We have showers and meals for you this night. And we will escort you back to Bunker Hill tomorrow. I still have business at the settlement, after all.”

Nora looted the building with the help of the prisoners she had rescued, sitting down to read some terminals, and reading the story of Judge Zeller. It was a horrific tale of a madman who tortured people into joining his cult, finding their greatest weakness and using it against them. These people she had saved would have eventually submitted, and Zeller’s army would grow, until he was a major power in this region, threatening everything she was building.

The walk back to Nordhagen was uneventful, until they got within sight of the settlement. The caravanners started talking and gesturing, pointing at the new construction. Nora smiled as she stopped for a moment and looked it over herself.

The now three-story housing complex was finished, at least structurally. There were bedrooms on the second floor and a dorm on the top. The Core Services Building was as before, concrete block walls protecting the vital installations inside. And the industrial building rose two stories, actually three extended floors, into the air. Multiple turrets sat on the roof of the buildings. Three saltwater extractors sat in the inlet, smoke rising as they processed out the salt. A trio of oil wells were aligned on the other side of the industrial building, along with a pair of resource extractors. There was still work to be done. She was considering automated planters, though if the farmers wanted to work in the fields she would let them. It was their settlement after all.

“How did all of this get here?” asked Ricky, the caravan guard spokesman for the group.

“We built it,” said Nora, a satisfied smile on her face. “We’ll spend the night here, then escort some of the women who want to work County Crossing there in the morning. I should have you back at Bunker Hill by early afternoon.”

“Good enough,” said Ricky.

“And if we want to be part of this?” asked Steve, another of the guards.

“Ask the people here if you can be part of their settlement. If they say yes, you’re in.”

“You seriously thinking of getting out of the caravans?” asked Beverly, one of the two women.

“Hell yes. I’m tried of walking all over the Commonwealth. Bad food, bad sleeping arrangements, constant danger, while the trader makes all the profit. Give me a place with food, water, beds and showers any day.”

“You’ll have to work,” cautioned Nora. “Learn a trade.”

“No problem.”

“Then let’s go meet the settlers,” said Nora, leading them in. “And be careful of how you speak to the ladies. Most of them were Raider sex slaves yesterday, and they might not react well to being hit on.”

“And you and your ladies?”

“What my friends want to do is up to them.” Nora thought about it a moment. She hadn’t had any dick in four days, and the thought of getting fucked by a man appealed to her. “I’ll take a couple of you on, once you clean the stink of that Raider place off of you.”

*     *     *

“Come in, boys,” said Nora, inviting Ricky and Billy into her quarters in the Core Services Building. “See anything you like?”

Nora had greeted them at the door sans any clothing. She didn’t feel like playing games. She had already told the men what she wanted to do, and they were up for it, so she wanted to get right to it.

Barb and Heather had also been responsive to the suggestion of giving the men some restorative sex. One of the men had paired up with the woman who was going to remain a caravan guard, which left her two friends with one man each. They had been hungry for some dick as well, and anxiously awaited their cock for the night in the rooms they had taken in the industrial building.

“My God, but you are beautiful,” said Billy, taking her in his arms and kissing her throat.

Nora sighed, then looked at Ricky. “And what do you think, kind sir?”

“You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen, and I still can’t believe I’m about to fuck you.”

“Well, come over here to sit on the bed and I’ll get you ready.”

Nora stroked the cocks, watching as they grew. Ricky was just above average, Billy sporting a thick eight incher. She started licking them, at first alternating, then kissing and licking both cockheads at the same time. The men didn’t seem to mind their equipment touching that of the other, and Nora was sure they were both bi. That didn’t bother her at all, and if they started working each other over she would urge them on.

“Okay. It looks like you are both ready. So what do you want to do? To let you know, anal is not my favorite, though any type of vaginal or oral is right up my alley.”

“Double vaginal,” said Billy with a smile at his buddy.

“Why not. If the lady is agreeable.”

“I’ve never tried that before,” said a excited Nora, aware that her glands were pouring out the pheromones. “Why not. Go slow and let me adjust, and stop if I seem to be in too much pain.”

Nora didn’t think she would be in pain. She had taken cocks that had a greater circumference than those of both men combined. It would still be different, but that was the point. She wanted to experience all the different she could while she was still walking this world.

Billy lay on his back. Nora licked his dick for a moment, then mounted him facing away, her body shaking as he slid home and she thought about what they were about to do. She had seen it done on porno tapes, and once in a live show. And the thought that she was going to take two in her pussy was a rush. She took Ricky’s dick in her mouth and firmed it up as Billy thrust into her pussy in a slow steady rhythm.

“How is she?” asked Ricky, groaning from her oral.

“So tight hot and wet. I’ve never felt a pussy like this.”

“I get that a lot,” said Nora with a laugh.

“I’m betting you do. I’d pay for this pussy.”

“And I might charge you back at Bunker Hill,” she said, sighing from the stimulation she was receiving. “But tonight it’s all about the pleasure. So, Ricky. You ready to stick it in me?”

Ricky nodded and moved into place, sticking the head of his cock at her entrance as Billy stopped moving. He pushed in, a tight fit, but the lubrication Nora’s excellent pussy was providing let it slip in. Both men were now all the way in, seated, the hot wet sleeve around them, their own dicks touching within the woman, driving them wild.

Ricky started thrusting first, Billy soon joining in. At first they out of synch, but very soon they had a rhythm going, one going in while the other was pulling out, their cocks rubbing against each other with her pussy providing the lubrication. Ricky was rubbing her clit with his pubic mound, sending waves of pleasure through her body.

“You’re working my clit so good, Ricky. I’m going to cum, soon.”

“What about me?” asked Billy, obviously not wanting to be left out.

“You dick is sending the most delicious shivers up my spine, lover. Keep it up.”

The men were soon dripping sweat and grunting their pleasure as they continued to fuck Nora in Rhythm. She felt coming on, and hoped the boys would weather it, because she wanted more than one orgasm out of this. Then it hit, her pussy muscles clenched as her back arched and she was one pleasure cell from the tip of her toes to the top of her scalp.

“My God, Nora. I’ve never felt such a powerful orgasm in a woman.”

Nora panted some breaths before she could speak, then got it under control. “Keep fucking me like this and the next will be better.”

“That’s a challenge, Billy. We need to keep going until Nora Cums again.”

“I’ll try,” said Billy. “But that last one was almost too much. I’ve never felt a pussy like this. Jesus, Nora. What the hell kind of exercises do you do?”

Nora didn’t answer, just letting herself melt into the sex. She had never experienced anything like this. And as wonderful as the physical sensations were, the mental were even more powerful. The thoughts, the experience, of two men inside her pussy at the same time. She thought if their dicks were larger it would have been painful. But they were perfect. Simply wonderful.

“I’m not going to hold on much longer,” said Billy, his cock swelling within her.

Nora was right on the edge, and pushed herself over before Billy came and stopped the double. Her pussy clenched again, more powerful than before. As she was still rising she felt Billy’s cock begin to rhythmically spurt deep into her pussy. He was still as he came, but Ricky increased his pace and kept slamming it into Nora.

Billy’s dick softened and slid out, and Nora sighed as she felt the semen flow out of her and down her crack. And Ricky kept slamming into her, until the orgasm she was coming down from shot back into another rise and her body shook. That was all that Ricky could take, and he shot spurt after spurt into the welcoming sleeve. With a final grunt he fell to the side and off. In a moment he was up, lapping at Nora’s pussy, sucking his and his buddies cum out and swallowing it down.

“That was amazing.”

“You want to do it again,” said Ricky, looking up from her groin with a mixture of pussy juice and semen on his face.

“Maybe another night, but not now. It’s just too intense. I would like to take you both in a spit roast though, if that’s okay. And come up here so I can clean your face off.”

“One second,” said Ricky, sucking Billy’s cock into his mouth and cleaning it off.

“And that is so hot. I haven’t been with bi men in quite a while, and it is so hot.”

She licked and kissed Ricky’s face clean, then started to suck his dick. Billy got between her legs and licked her to an orgasm, then shifted to slide his cock back into the fantastic pussy that had just sucked the cum out of him. Soon he was thrusting away, while Ricky started thrusting into her mouth, finally going into her throat.

Nora had two more intense orgasms, then sucked down the load from Ricky’s cock. Billy shot his load into her, then moved so he could suck his semen out of her, while Ricky moved into position to clean his friend’s cock.

“I guess we need to go,” said Ricky when everyone was as clean as they could get without a shower.

“Please stay. Sleep with me. Hold me.”

“And here I thought you were the iron bitch,” said a laughing Billy.

“Most times I am,” said Nora, her eyes tearing up. “The deadliest motherfucker you’ve ever seen. But I’m still a woman, and need someone to hold me. So you two cuddle up with me and guard me through my sleep.”

A couple of Raiders were hanging out on the front porch of the large building. A short radio tower rose from the roof of the building. It had the look of something that had started off small and gotten larger, the government of course expanding their influence in the local area.

Nora pointed Barb to the Raider on the left, while she aimed in on the right. “Now,” she whispered into the radio, and both fired within a second of each other. Barb’s had time to start to glance at her partner before the 5.56 rocked her head back. They searched the bodies, rejecting the bad leather armor and quickly stripping the pipe weapons down, barrels and receivers going into a cargo bot while they dropped the rest as trash.

Nora thought stealth would be best in this place, so she exited her armor and locked it down, then tried the door. It was unlocked. Why wouldn’t it be, with such good security at the front. The door swung open without a sound and Nora crept in, looking around for a moment before signaling her people to follow. The dogs and the robots were in last, and Nora pointed out the targets to her people. The front room was an office, with multiple desks, ruined terminals and telephones. A couple of Raiders, one an armed and armored child, were sleeping on a bag in the next office. At a word through the Radio bullets went into both their heads, killing them instantly.

“No. Oh no. You fucking bastards killed them,” said a woman softly, moving in a crouch toward the dead. And joining them a moment later as Barb put a round through her head.

Nora really didn’t understand why the criminal scum didn’t wear head armor. They could still be killed, especially with a shot through the face. At any other angle they might survive, depending on the power of the weapon used. As she was thinking a turret activated and started to fire, exploding as Nora quickly engaged it.

“I’m going in there,” said Nora, pointing toward a locked and barred area, weapons and ammo cans on the shelves. She picked lock that had stymied the Raiders stopped her for a moment, but with the third pick she had it open and was in. Nora stuffed a dozen pistols into Wilson, the ammo into her cargo bots, then took the catapult mechanism off the Fatman launcher. She found three mini-nuke warheads. At forty grams of nuclear material each, she could turn them into three RPG rounds or build a large fusion reactor with twenty grams left over. A couple of Stealth Boys went into Wilson to join the pistols. Another office contained a series of file cabinets, mostly with junk files, though she found some holo-tapes for later perusal.

They went to the right and in. There were two paths they could take, but Dogmeat seemed insistent on the one to the left, so Nora followed. The party moved silently, night vision giving them a clear enough picture to maneuver as hands held pistol grips, ready to fly to the triggers.

The next office was empty of people, but with lots of telephones and broken terminals. Nora found a Gun and Bullets magazine that gave her the formula to make .45 ammo. Not in great demand, but she wasn’t about to turn down any crafting recipe. The offices on the left off the room had been for interrogation, and she snagged some holo tapes and handcuffs. A red figure appeared ahead through the door, reaching into a refrigerator to get a bottle. Nora closed with him silently, grabbed his ponytail, jerked, and stuck her combat knife in under his jaw. The man choked once and fell. They moved on, going down a hallway, Nora sneaking into a bathroom and killing a Raider man taking a leak. Then it was into the lockup area, which was a horror show.

Bodies hung from meat hooks, most naked, some with meat removed from buttocks or legs. These Raiders were cannibals, taking people from the streets and stocking their larder. Nora choked down her vomit, then forced herself to go into the cells and search. Finding a few holo-tapes that she bagged.

“You’re dead,” yelled a woman, and a shotgun went off. Barb yelled out, and her rifle cut the woman down.

“You okay, Barb?” asked a concerned Nora.

“She hit me in the chest,” said Barb, coughing a bit. “Right into the chest plate. Nothing got through."

The sound of more people coming toward them sounded through the halls, and Nora quickly set her people in ambush. Four Raiders ran into the kill zone, which lived up to its name. They stripped the bodies and then looted the place, while Nora read a terminal about the story of Sparta and his crew, who had been taking people off the streets like cattle. They had been avoiding Bunker Hill and the trade caravans, since Kessler was paying them off. Nora determined to have a talk with the woman about how her strategy was actually hurting the region. When they got back.

Nora filled Wilson and sent him on his way to Hangman’s Alley. The robot would head to the river, then fly up it out from the city, finally turning in past the bridge and going into the Alley, where a Handy would unload it into the QESS. Afterwards it would home in on Nora’s Pip-Boy. Round trip, three hours and minutes in change. Not bad, but she still wanted something on this end of the Commonwealth.

The bridge over the inlet was heavily mined. Heather volunteered for removal duty, so while Nora scanned, the woman moved quickly in on each revealed explosive and swiftly disarmed it. They made it across the bridge no problem, and Nora checked out the signs to either side of the road, identifying the Irish Pride Shipyards and Poseidon Energy Turbine 18-F. She wanted to check them out for what they had, but time was of the essence now, so she planned on later. They turned down the road to the east, traveling until they reached a crossroad, taking out some insects that threatened them, then turned to the north. Through another crossroad, until the fields of the farm appeared on the right, the National Guard Training Yard ahead on the left.

The farm was surrounded by a good bit of land, most cleared with some patches of woods scattered throughout. There was one metal shack, a ruined house with the red workbench in front, and the acre of cleared land with mutfruit. And a pond near the ruined house, which her Pip-Boy assured her was fresh water that was being fed by something.

“What are you doing here?” called out a blond-haired woman, covering them with a shotgun.

“We’re from the Minutemen. I got word that you needed help.”

“Oh thank God. I’m Connie Harris, and the bastards kidnapped Victoria, my lover. You ever had someone threaten your lover? I really don’t know what to do.”

“Calm down. We’ll get Victoria back for you. Who else lives here?”

“Victoria’s daughter, Stefani, and my hired hand, Wilbert.”

Nora nodded. Men were scarce out in the Wasteland. Raiders killed them first off, because they were the ones most likely to fight back. Leaving the farms worked by easily intimidated women. Nora exited her power armor, wanting the woman to see she was dealing with a real person.

“How many were there? And do you know where they took them?”

“There were five of them. And they took her to Revere Beach Station. Oh please, get her back. I miss her.”

“That’s a bad place,” said Barb over the radio, speaking into Nora’s ear bud. “A big gang runs the boardwalk, and they’re affiliated with those in the metro station.”

“They keep coming back once a week to take food. They say they’ll kill Victoria if we don’t keep ponying up, but we don’t have any more. And we are so hungry. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Stefani when she tells me she’s hungry.”

Nora pulled six MREs and a dozen purified waters from her cargo bot and gave them to the farmer. “Let’s go get Victoria and clear out the Raiders. We’ll go for the other nearby targets while we’re setting this place up. After that we’ll go after Judge Zeller and free his captives so we can escort them back to Bunker Hill.”

“Sounds kind of ambitious to me,” said Heather, frowning. “But I’m with you, partner.”

The party moved out to the east along the open field, avoiding contact with the Revere Satellite array and its Supermutants. They could wait. They crouched in cover outside Revere Beach, scanning the area, counting all the red images. There were over twenty of them in sight, which meant probably forty in the beach area. The rest would be down in the station, where they assumed their hostage was.

“I’m going to hit them hard,” said Nora, arranging her grenades in a ready belt, making sure she had RPG seekers and high explosives at hand, along with a pair of Molotov’s.

“Power armor,” said Heather, pointing out the figure moving down the boardwalk. “Two of them,” she said in a minute as another appeared.

Nora made sure the ready rack for the RPG was loaded up as well. Three cluster munitions, three high explosives and two armor piercing, in case the power armor was tougher than usual.

“Pick your target while I get this show on the road. And watch the backblast.”

Nora started the show off with a shot at one of the Raiders in power armor, sending an armor piercing rocket into hin across the three hundred meters aiming center mass. The Raider had enough time to make a half turn, seeing his death coming at him. The rocket hit and detonated, blasting the chest piece off the frame, while the explosion continuing up to lift the helmet into the air and eject it out into the ocean. She loaded the next rocket and waited for power armor Raider number two to make target of himself.

The Raider bounded into her view, a minigun spewing hundreds of rounds a second of 5mm Rounds, going everywhere, a few bouncing from the hardened carbon armor of her Recon suit. Heather and Barb took cover, popping up at random intervals to take Raiders under fire. Nora aimed in and fired, sending her second armor piercing rocket toward the Raider. Fifty yards from the target the rocket exploded, well short, though fragments took down some of the nearby raiders.

Nora pushed a high explosive rocket into the tube of the RPG, out of the armor piercing for the moment. She was hoping that it would do the job. Otherwise she would have to hit him with RPG grenades or her rifle. The minigun jammed, and the Raider frantically tried to clear it. Not in time to prevent the high explosive rocket from striking the helmet, blowing it and the head it covered off the Raider.

“That takes care of the power armor,” she said over the radio. “Engage them while I hit them with some heavy stuff.”

Nora fired a cluster munition, the rocket coming apart high over the target and dropping a number of bomblets on the Raiders below. Nora then dropped the launcher and pulled up her grenade launcher, sending rounds into every place that might shelter a Raider.

“That might have done it,” said Barb, moving forward.

“Everybody move slow and let me sweep. They probably don’t have anything that can hurt me.”

Nora moved with bounds, quickly closing the distance. A Raider with a hand flamer came out of a building and sent the stream her way. She engaged her jetpack and flew up and over, turning in the air to gun the flame throwing Raider down. There were several more Raiders in the buildings, sniping out, giving themselves away, then blasted into eternity.

The girls and the dogs came forward and Nora entered the station in her armor in case there was an ambush. There was not, the people inside still unaware that their gangmember buddies had been blasted to hell. Nora exited the armor. Now they had to be as silent as possible, and the whining of power armor gears was not conducive to stealth. The name of the game now was find the hostage and bring her out alive. If the hostage was killed this mission was a bust. True, they had almost wiped out a strong Raider gang, but Connie would not be happy, and Nora doubted they would be invited to use the farm.

The party moved forward, Nora leading, the dogs alert and pointing when they heard enemies. There were several Raiders in the station, taken down from the shadows. More on the landing down below, also killed with almost total silence. And then they were down on the track heading into the living area of the Raiders.

Nora went into the side tunnel, keeping a close watch for anyone who looked to be sitting or on their knees in restraints. This was a tense moment, in which her and her people could kill the hostage in a second. She shot down everything she saw that was armed, including a couple of turrets.

“Victoria,” she asked as she came to a red figure in a side passage, sitting with her hands restrained behind her back.

“Oh, please. Get me out of here.”

"We’re going to get you back to the farm. Now stay close and let us surround you. If anyone shoots at us go to ground and let us take care of them.”

The woman nodded, speechless, but she followed directions. They met no resistance on the way out, and Nora, once again in her power armor, saw no one along the Boardwalk, and figured any survivors were cowering in the shadows, not wanting to call attention to themselves. They made their way low and slow back to the farm.

“Victoria,” cried Connie as she saw her lover come walking into the camp.

“Mommy,” cried Stefani as she ran into her mother and wrapped her in tight arms.

“Thank you so much,” said Victoria, looking at Nora as the general exited her power armor. “I don’t know how you did it.”

“My pleasure. This is what we do. Now, I need to discuss bringing you into our alliance.”

“Can it wait,” said Connie in a peevish tone. “We just got back together, after all.”

“The longer you wait the longer you are open to attack. Sure, we can wait till tomorrow, but if the Raiders come at you there’s likely to be casualties.”

“Oh, let them do it, Connie. They’re good people to have on your side. What I saw on the boardwalk. How they slaughtered so many of that gang. I sure would feel better if they were giving us protection.”

“Go ahead then,” said Connie. “Victoria owns this stretch of land as much as I do.”

Nora set her Handies to making a QESS, then pulling out more robots and assembling them while the spellbound farmers watched. Soon she had three Constructrons and two more Handies, and they started laying out the foundations that she had marked out in her Pip-Boy. First the Core Services building, Concrete walls over the concrete foundation. The Fusion generator went in next, while two of the Constructrons laid out the foundation of the house. The Handies went to work with their saws and took down trees, turning the half acre plot into a full twenty acres, then cutting and stacking the lumber.

“How are you doing all of this?” asked Connie, looking on with wide eyes.

“My technicians have been developing technologies we’ve found in research centers.”

“You say your technicians. Where do you fit into this organization?”

“She’s the General,” said Barb proudly. “The top soldier in the whole alliance.”

“Barb,” yelled Nora. “We’ve talked about this.”

“We sure have. And you need to take credit for your accomplishments. I know you don’t try to hog all the glory, but some of it is yours. And by extension ours.”

“Proud to meet you General.. Hell, I never got your name.”

“Nora Jane Adams.”

“And you’re a Vault dweller?”

“I was. But I’ve put that behind me.”

“Well God Bless, Nora Jane Adams. And God Bless your friends.”

Nora pulled some more food from the QESS and gave it to the farmers. “Why don’t you make a meal for all of us, and we’ll continue to supervise the robots. We won’t be near finished until later tomorrow, but I hope to have us secure before we turn in for the night.”

For the next couple of hours, as darkness fell, and the farmers made what they had into a celebratory feast, the robots kept working. The fusion generator whined as it started sending out power, while the pumps in the pond pumped water into the two purifiers and the water heater.

They all sat down to a meal, telling their stories as the robots put up lights. Soon a tower of scaffolding was rising, the Handies assembling a couple of laser turrets on top and running wires to the power pole, which was wired to the generator. The bottom floor of the house was framed in, the concrete outer walls providing protection. A constructron and a Handy put together the bathroom, flush toilets and showers. The group, humans and robots, were getting to be old hands at this. They still didn’t have beds, but everyone put bags down on the ground floor so they could sleep.

“A real shower,” said Connie as she dried herself off with a towel that was manufactured by the Textile Factory in Sanctuary. All of the farmers had new clothes, a set of casual and one of sturdy work clothes. “I can hardly believe it.”

“You will be expected to work hard to improve this place, and we are going to set up a beacon to attract more settlers. If you think they’ll work out, keep them. If not, contact us and we’ll move them to another settlement. And check out the pistols and rifles we laid out for you. The turrets and robots will help to defend you, but you’re probably going to have to take up arms at times.”

“Willingly,” said Connie, putting an arm around her lover, also just out of the shower. “So, let me ask you Nora. Are you all hetero, lesbian, bi?”

“We all happen to be bisexual,” said Heather. “It makes the road so much more pleasant.”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to share the bags with us. I want to make love to my partner, since we’ve been separated for some weeks. Stefani is used to hearing us go at it, and Wilbert often joins us. So if you don’t want to participate in our games, feel free to start your own.”

“We’ll satisfy each other, so you and your lover can enjoy each other. But thanks.”

The Raiders struck in early morning, thirteen of them coming across the fields, trying to get in by stealth. They were picked up by the dogs and the turrets, and came under fire before they could get within range of their pipe weapons. It was a slaughter, and Nora was sure that was the end of the gang at Revere Beach.

“We’ve got a mission to clear the National Guard Training Ground and the Revere Sattalite Array while we’re in the area. The robots will keep working through the day, so just go on about your normal business. I’ve programed my Handies to plant a couple of acres of razor grain, corn, carrots and tatos to go along with your Mufruit.”

“Thank you. Mutfruit is tasty, but it still gets old.”

“Well expect a periodic shipment of meat. And are there any more settlements around here that might need our help. Ones that have the red workbenches like yours.”

“Well, there’s Nordhagen Beach on the coast. Finch Farms to the Northeast, Greentop to the north, and Taffington Boathouse to the Northwest. Though Taffington is abandoned. Oh, and The Slog. Bunch of civilized ghouls there. Nice people, though hideously ugly.”

“We don’t really care about outward appearances,” said Nora, believing that at heart, but not sure she would be able to have sex with a ghoul, civilized or feral. “As long as they work hard and get along with everyone else, they’re welcome in the Alliance.”

“Be careful with the National Guard Yard,” said Victoria. “It’s swarming with ferals. And Revere is a stronghold for Supermutants.”

“The reason we are going after them,” said Nora. “And I’m sure you will feel a lot better once we evict the neighbors.”

Nora checked out the power armor in the new station in the Core Services Building before they proceeded on their mission. The armor on the torso was weakened in a few places, as was the left arm, but it was serviceable, and she thought capable of handling anything she might run into today. That down she mounted up and led her people to the National Guard complex.

*     *     *

There were cars all over the National Guard parking lot. The kind that had good salvage, or might explode if shot. The sensors showed a number of turrets on the building. It looked like a danger zone, even before the ghouls came out to play.

“There’s a veribird crashed in the yard,” called out Barb.

Nora decided that she wanted that tech off the vertibird, along with some deep scans that would let her people build one. A vertibird would come in handy for moving around, though it would take quite a bit of time to build one. Well, her techs were wasting a lot of time on the motorcycle they were restoring. So why not an aircraft that she could actually fly.

They walked around the outside of the building, Barb and Heather taking out turrets as they came to them. There were a couple of blockhouses outside the main building, one open and almost empty, the other locked tight and sure to contain some good stuff.

“There’s a SentyBot up there in that blockhouse,” said Heather, pointing as the large squat robot behind locked doors. It glowed with power on her suit sensors, and Nora was sure it would activate when the party penetrated a sensitive area. That was a massive killing machine, and it could probably chew its way through her armor with its .50 caliber, while its rocket launcher could surely kill her in an instant.

“Watch it. If it starts to come out fire it up.”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” asked Heather in an anxious tone.

Nora didn’t answer. She wanted to move up there with stealth, so she approached from the side, where the SentryBot was unlikely to see her. She sowed a half dozen of the mines she had been picking up across the yard in front of the door, then snuck away.

“There. If it comes out the first thing it will encounter is mines.”

“Smart,” said Barb. “No wonder you were elected leader.”

They entered through the front door, immediately under assault by ghouls. Her girls fired them up while she went after them with her nanosword. They then searched the building, finding lots of ammo and armor, and something unexpected.

“That’s a BOS Knight,” said Heather.

Nora looked down on the dead and rotting woman who had tried to find shelter here and had been killed by ghouls. Nora took her holo-tag, and the electronic device on the ground beside her. And the holo-tape to listen to later. She would be able to tell Danse she had found a trace of their lost patrol, and hoped that would satisfy him. They went through the building, then through the security doors to the next, fighting ghouls the entire way.

The next building had even more ghouls. It also had a half empty armory that had a dozen military class rifles and a couple of machineguns. They loaded up Wilson, who had a very short trip this time, then went to check on the sealed blockhouse.

That building had a couple of ghouls as well, and a derelict suit of power armor, along with some weapons and ammo. Nora was betting that the SentryBot was going to activate from them penetrating this building, and readied her RPG in case her booby trap didn’t work.

Sirens were blaring and lights were flashing when they exited the blockhouse. And a series of explosions boomed from the area the SentryBot was housed, followed by one massive explosion as the heavily damaged robot detonated.

“Good plan,” said Barb as she moved up to the flaming SentryBot, looking at the red hot chassis that was unapproachable at the moment.

“We’ll come back for this one when he cools down. Let’s go back to the settlement and check out the progress, then unload the cargo bots. Then it’s Supermutant season.”

*     *     *

The holo-tape belonged to BOS Knight Tara Astlin, who had faced her end with courage and determination. Nora hoped that when her time came she would be so brave. And instructions were left to follow a directional signal. Nora programed her Pip-Boy. An area of her map was highlighted, and by chance it was in a line from the Settlement to the Revere Satellite Array. Well, first they needed to clean out the Supermutants, then they could worry about the recon party.

A couple of hundred meters from the outer fence Nora rocketed into the sky, looking over the yard with its number of scaffolding sets and four large satellite dishes. And a number of large red figures on the ground and on the scaffolding. There were some shacks constructed on the scaffolding.

“Fire on the mutants so I can see them moving,” she said over the radio, coming down to land on a hill four hundred meters from the array and let her jets cool.

“Wilco,” said both her girls, and fire started hitting some of the mutants. And starting the charge of the mutants she was looking for.

Nora jetted back into the air, picking up the two figures running, clutching flashing objects under their right arms. She fired on one, right into the warhead, detonating the nuke. She immediately switched fire to the next and blew him to hell as well.

Most of the other mutants were also down from the effects of the nukes and Nora once again thought it a bad tactic. It guaranteed that one of the mutants died, and had a high probability of killing others. As long as she and her people were aware of their targets, it was a win for the humans.

They quickly cleared out the shocked Supermutants, while the big brutes continued to boast of their superiority. “Isn’t it funny how they boast about how they’re better than us,” said Heather after she burned down the last mutant. “Who’s superior now, Muty, now that you’re dead.”

Nora followed the direction finder on her Pip-Boy and located the body of a Knight, his power armor standing by, within the bowl of a dish. She recovered his holotags and a hole-tape, then jump down so they could go on to their last stop for the day.

Reeb Marina was not much. It had some insects to put down, and there were Mirelurks that were killed and harvested for the coming night’s meal. Nora found the Haptic Drive in a locked footlocker, and they headed back to the settlement.

“We watched you at work,” said Connie as they came walking into the settlement. Barb and Heather dropped the sacks of Mirelurk meat by the cook station, and Victoria opened the bags and squealed at what we revealed. “What the hell were those two big explosions by the satellite station?”

“Suiciders,” said Nora after she climbed out of her power armor. “I took them out from the air, and they took most of their friends with them.”

“So the station is cleared out?”

“Yep. No worries there, until something else moves in. So I’m going to place some more turrets to concentrate on that approach. And the National Guard Yard is completely clear. Not a ghoul to be found, and that big combat robot is scrap.”

“So that’s the explosion we saw that way,” said Victoria. “We thought maybe we had seen the last of you. Glad we were wrong.”

“We got three new people in while you were gone. I have them working the fields, but I would appreciate if you would look them over for me before you go.”

The three newcomers were a couple with a fourteen-year-old boy. The man had on a Minuteman’s jacket, and Nora found out he was the survivor of a local unit that had come apart after the massacre at Quincy.

“I am so happy to meet you, General,” said the man, Torance, smiling with his arm around his woman, Pam. The boy, Wil, was their son, and it did Nora’s heart good to see a real family that had come through it together.

“I took the position under protest,” said Nora. “I’m not sure I have the discipline to lead disciplined troops.”

“Well, you seem to fight like a scalded Deathclaw. I don’t think the Minuteman could ask for better.”

“They’re fine,” said Nora as she went back to talk to Connie. The succulent odor of Mirelurk was rising from the cookpot, and Wil was making the acquaintance of his new playmate, Stefani. “Just keep working the place, welcome people, and keep improving, and you’ll be fine.”

After dinner Nora composed a message for her settlers at Graygarden to bring to Danse, along with the Holo-tags, the Haptic Drive and some images of the cleared out training yard and satellite array to show to Reese. The house was finished, everyone had a room and bed, and Nora retired to hers with her friends for some pleasure. Through their own fun Nora could hear the farmers pleasuring each other, and in a farther room Torance fucking Pam. All was right in the world, everyone well fed, protected, and having sex in its various forms.

“Let’s look this place over,” she told her people as the stopped before the Lab building. “We can still get to Bunker Hill before dark, I think.”

“Your call, Boss,” said Barb.

There were so many research labs, hospitals, and tech stores in this region of the city, as well as the premier research institution in New England. She wanted to get to them all eventually, but today she would pass them by, choosing only one so they could get their looting fix in.

They walked into the building, to be greeted by a friendly Handy.  “I’m Molly. Are you here about a job? Cambridge Polymer Labs are hiring all positions.”

“I’m interested,” said Nora, thinking it might get her further into the lab.

“Wonderful. Do you have any experience with synthesizing polymers?”

“Oh yes. I won the science award in college, synthesizing polymers.” She felt no guilt lying to a robot that represented a long dead company. She was sure this place had things she wanted, and she would have no problem living with herself to give her live people such advantages.

“You are hired as a lab assistant. Follow me.”

The robot led them to a room with a control panel. An alarm was sounding in the background, lights flashing, and Nora was sure it had been broadcasting the alert through the lab for the last two hundred years. They robot let them into another room and the door slammed shut behind them.

“What the hell,” yelled Barb, moving to the door and finding it sealed. “You want to crack it with explosives?”

“Let’s see what happens first.”

“I must tell you that the director has ordered mandatory overtime until the project it completed," said the voice of Molly over the speakers. "Good luck.”

They moved through several rooms, none of the doors working, using the holes in the walls. They found one room with hazmat suits, and she had Barb and Heather get in them. Her power armor was protection enough, though she soon decided to egress it since it would allow her to move more quietly through the lab, depending on her augmented biology to protect her from rad poisoning. The Pip-Boy was clicking away, letting her know that there were plenty of Rads. Bodies everywhere, some skeletons, some ghouls. Her vision glasses let her know which ones were still alive and on the verge of coming awake.

“Okay. This looks like the panel to run the experiment. Let me look over the terminal.”

The terminal gave her the information she needed. And the start of the horror story of the lab. The people had been locked in here to finish the experiment or die. The military commander of Boston had ordered that they could not leave, under threat of execution, until they completed the Pizoelectric chest plate that would send energy to the power armor.

“Look for these,” she said, holding up a container from one of the slots on the control board.

The three took down ghouls no problem, Nora considering that these had been the researchers who had been trapped in there. She went into on of the side rooms, then upstairs to enter another. Taking down some more ghouls she took several of the cannisters and looked over another terminal.

“That bastard,” she whispered, reading how the director had locked his lover in here to die with the rest. The scientists had tried to break out, even though there were turrets set to kill them.

She hacked into the room across the way after jetting up on the broken platform, then went for the reactor and the isotopes. The ghoul in there was particularly strong, but not strong enough to take a long burst to the head. She gained more information from terminals and felt like she had a better understanding of armoring, nuclear physics and working with materials.

The experiment was actually pretty easy to run, based on the information the dead scientists had developed before the passed on or went the way of the ghoul. Nora removed the chest piece and placed it in a cargo bot. She doubted the piece would be of any use with its inferior armor, and besides, it was from a T-51. But her techs could reverse engineer it, and give her suits that were much easier on fusion cores, while possibly adding some more energy protection.

“The director would like to see you,” said Molly as she let them out of the lab. “Please follow me.”

The director turned out to be a ghoul who attacked as soon as they were in the room. Nora crushed his skull with an armored fist, while Barb gunned down the newly hostile Molly. A couple of turrets fired up outside, now that they had proven themselves enemies to the facility. Taking good angles and using cover allowed the group to take them out with no problem.

And then they looted. A large number of telephones went into Wilson, followed by the circuits of the broken down computers. As always they left the intact machines that might be of use to get more information from this place. Nora found a surgical journal that increased her medical knowledge, as well as a fusion core.

It was still late morning, about ten, when they exited the lab and moved up the riverside street. Nora took a look down the bridge that led to the side of Boston with Hangman’s Alley in it, then took a quick glance as the Commonwealth Institute of Technology to her left. She got a strange feeling about the ruins of the college. She hadn’t spent any time there, but many of the science and tech instructors at Boston College had been graduates, constantly singing its praises.

“I want to make sure we get to Bunker Hill before dark,” she told a disappointed Barb, who was chomping on the bit to get in there and see what might be available. The scaver had told Nora that many people out for salvage had gone in the ruin, and very few had come out. Those that had swore they would never go back.

They continued down the river road for some miles, taking fire along the way and returning it most effectively. Raiders controlled this part of the city, though Nora and company made them remember that others could challenge them.

“That’s Greentech Genetics over there,” said Barb, pointing to a tall two-cylinder building. “Sure to be a lot of good stuff in there, but from what I’ve heard its very well defended by robots and turrets. Not a place to penetrate lightly.”

Then that’s another place we’ll have to check out. Nora thought that after taking care of business to the east she would have to come back here for a couple of days and comb the area. There were a lot of Raiders to take out, and the promise of tech that could make their lives much easier. If it didn’t kill them during the search.

“Trouble ahead,” whispered Heather over the radio, a block ahead and scouting with the dogs.

Nora could see the trouble, as a score of Raiders battled a dozen or so ghouls. The ghouls took down some Raiders. They were tough after all. But the Raiders had the firepower, and the ghouls didn’t last long.

“Any objections to taking them out,” she said over the radio, receiving positive acknowledgements.

Nora dropped a grenade into the largest cluster on the street, then another on a small group on top of a building. A bunch retreated into a building with crumbling walls. Nora took a moment to select a round, then sent a Molotov grenade into an opening. People screamed, and a couple of woman jumped out of the opening to fall to their deaths.

Raiders tried to take them under fire, but at over a hundred yards the pipe weapons just weren’t accurate enough to hit except by chance. While Nora and Barb’s rifle were pinpoint accurate. In the unequal exchange most of the remaining Raiders died. But not all.

“Pick off any that show themselves,” ordered Nora, getting ready to go into the air.

“Be careful,” said Heather over the radio.

“You know me.”

“Yeah,” said Barb. “We know you. So don’t take too many damn chances.”

Nora laughed. Of course her friends were correct, but she had the armor and the firepower, and her tendency was to take the fight to the enemy. She landed on the roof of the building to the right, looking into the chamber and seeing the smoking bodies on the floor. Going up a ladder she took fire from an underpowered pipe rifle, putting a single round into the man’s head. She then ran across an unsteady walkway top the top of the building across the street, going up several levels and taking out another four Raiders.

A round struck the armor with a clang, the power of a military grade weapon. The schematic for the armor showed no penetration, and Nora unlimbered the GL once again, arcing the shell into the top of the tall building across the street. She disregarded the lift that took people from this rooftop to the taller building. She had her own lift, and rocketed into the air to land on the other building. She found the leader of the gang bleeding out her life on the top floor, a pattern of shrapnel wounds showing how she had been injured. Nora took off her head with the nanosword, putting her out of her misery.

The Sole Survivor looked down to the barrier blocking the near side of the bridge, spotting two Raiders under cover and a machinegun turret. A well placed forty millimeter took care of that problem, killing the Raiders and blowing the turret into pieces.

Nora loaded up Wilson with the ammo, weapons and other objects in the leader’s HQ, including a .308 sniper rifle, then jumped down from the building. Heather and Barb were already in the process of stripping the other dead Raiders, while Nora went to check out the barrier that was blocking the bridge. She looked across the bridge to see another structure that was the duplicate of the one on her side. Sending a grenade into it, she blasted the metal door off its hinges, then sent two more in for good measure. No fire came back, whether because she had killed whoever had manned that barricade, or because they were smarter that average, realizing they were outclassed, she really didn’t know. She had suppressed their response either way, and she was willing to leave it to that.

“Wilson went on his way,” said Barb when she came back to them. “The first Handy is still field stripping the weapons and armor that remain, while the other is salvaging nuclear material from cars.”

“Good,” said Nora. While they had enough nuclear material for their needs, it was always in demand, and if they opened more settlements it was sure to run out. There were thousands of cars across the Commonwealth, and thirty or forty gave enough material to construct a large fusion generator. She was thinking that there had to be more stockpiles across the Wasteland, but where were they and how to access them.

“You did good work,” said the young black man hanging out on the front entrance of a large office building. He held out his empty hands, though he had a service rifle over his back. “We’re not Raiders, but that group has been harassing us for months.”

“Who are you?”

“I can’t say. Just know that we are good guys like you.”

“I think they’re Railroad,” said Heather as they walked on. “Crazy bastards want to rescue synths. I don’t trust them.”

“Well, I don’t want to kill people indiscriminately, so we leave them be, for now.”

It was getting late afternoon when they saw the spire of the Bunker Hill Memorial ahead and down a side street. There were lights, showing that they had power. Nora stared at the wooden warship that sat on a building a couple blocks ahead. She could make out the nozzles of large rocket engines on the bottom hull of the ship, and her vision gear showed a number of robots moving around the deck of the ship.

“What in the hell is that? And how the hell did a ship get up there?”

“That’s the Constitution,” said Barb. “They tried to recruit me last time I was by here.”

“Well, that sounds like a whole bunch of crazy I don’t want to deal with,” Nora told her people. “Let’s go check out Bunker Hill.”

Bunker Hill was well fortified, with wooden walls and towers on the outside. It looked like a great number of people were inside, and an older woman with blond hair was at the entrance with a shotgun in hand.

“Raider or Caravan?” asked the woman, looking them over with a suspicious eye.

“What?” asked Nora, not sure what the woman was asking her.

“I asked if you are a Raider or a Caravan Worker. So which is it?”

“Minutemen,” shouted Nora.

“I didn’t think they were still around.”

“We’re rebuilding. Can we come in.”

“Well, I’ve never seen a Raider with power armor like that,” said the woman. “In fact, I’ve never seen power armor like that. And the armor your girls are wearing looks very cool as well. Yeah, you can come in, but no shooting on the premises. I’m Kessler, by the way. And I’d watch how often your throw the name Minuteman around while you’re here. They’re not well liked.”

“Why?”

“Because we called for help from you people during a Raider attack, and you bastards never showed.”

“Before my time,” said Nora, ejecting from her power armor, leaving it parked by the scaffolding that wrapped around the spire. “We’re a new organization, with new people.”

“You still have to prove yourself to me.”

Kessler turned and walked away, and Nora had the impression that she would not be well liked here. At least by the owners. She walked into the trade center, inside the building that had been the museum.

“You want a tour of Bunker Hill,” said a cute twelve year old, approaching the group. “Only five caps.”

“Sure.”

“Well, the trade center is straight ahead, the entrance to Bunker Hill behind, my mom’s medical practice to the right of the entrance, the bar and lodgings toward the back. And the outhouse up the ramp. Thanks and enjoy your visit.” The child closed her hand on the five caps Nora had given her and ran.

“Why that little shit,” said Heather, while Nora laughed out loud.

“Quite the little scammer,” said Barb with a chuckle.

“Well, we now know where everything is, so let’s have a look inside.”

Inside was a commodious open space, with a half dozen trade stands. One was manned by a short haired brunette, the other had a mousy looking woman. And there was an older gentleman and a young woman standing by a counter near the side exit. There were also a couple of scantily dressed women hanging out, tired and worn out looking, and a couple of caravan guards.

“Welcome,” said the short haired brunette. “If you want water, we have purified coming out of that water fountain to the side. It’s free, but showers cost. I’m Deb, by the way.”

Heather and Barb followed Nora to the water fountain, waiting for their leader to drink her fill, then drinking deeply themselves. “What have you got for sale, Deb?”

“A bunch of things. I’m the only permanent trader based here, and I restock the traveling caravans. So everything they have, I have, and a whole lot more.”

Nora perked up at those words, a whole lot more. “Can I have a look?”

“Sure. There’s a terminal right there with my inventory on it. We have a large storage facility underneath this building, and if you see something you like that we don’t have up here, I’ll send someone down for it.”

Nora looked over screen after screen, seeing lots she wanted but couldn’t afford. Including bunches of weapons marked as damaged. Those were dirt cheap, and she was sure that most people couldn’t fix them. She and her techs could, or they could strip them of parts. There were at least a hundred laser and plasma weapons at ten caps each, rifles a little less. If she had a couple of thousand caps she would take the entire stock off Deb’s hand, then spend a couple of days here pulling the guns apart and sending them to her nearest settlement through Wilson. And taking a dozen of the best and sending them intact back to Sanctuary, where Sturgis, Conrad and their people could refurbish them for settler use.

“I want every damaged weapon you have, but I don’t have the caps, yet.”

“What are you going to do with them. Build an army?”

“I’m building settlements out in the Wasteland,” she told the woman. “And I need weapons parts to defend them.”

“How many do you have already?”

“Ten, on the other side of Cambridge. And I want to get more set up to the north and east of here.”

“Wow. Well bless you. And the weapons will be waiting for you when you have the caps.”

Nora flipped another screen in the inventory and stared in shock. “You have nuclear material?”

“Sure do. Don’t know where the guy gets if from, but he delivered a couple of hundred grams a week for several months before I had to turn him down. No one buys the shit, except for some Gunners who use it to make nukes. I really don’t like selling to them.”

“Well, I could use it to build fusion generators. A hundred grams will make one generator.”

“Tell you what. I was selling it for twelve hundred caps for a hundred grams. I’ll give it to you for a thousand a hundred grams.”

“And you have how much?”

“Three thousand grams, at the moment. But if I let my supplier know I need more, I’m sure he’ll start delivering again.”

Nora doubted that Deb would put her in touch with the supplier. That wasn’t how business was done in the Wasteland. Someone had something you wanted, you bought it from them, and not for a cheaper price from their supplier. But Nora knew she had to make a lot of caps from somewhere. If she were back at Diamond City she could fuck for enough caps in a week to get all of Deb’s nuclear material and all of those lovely loverly weapons. Perhaps she could make some caps here, but she didn’t think she would have the client base she would need. Still, she could ssurely earn some caps. She thought she needed to look into it.

“Got any work?”

“Well, there are rumors of a mess of feral ghouls at an old military training ground up by County Crossing. A hundred caps to clear them out.”

“Places like that are really dangerous. How about three hundred?”

“I know how you mercs jack up the price,” said Deb, frowning. “Some ferals can’t be that much for a party like yours, with the armor you have. So two hundred, and that’s my final offer.”

Nora thought of the area. The military training ground sounded like the National Guard Training Yard, on Reese’s list, and sure to have some weapons and ammo. She would get paid by the Brotherhood for that as well. And to the north was the Revere Satellite Array, another target on the list, Supermutants. And just a bit on from that the Reeb Marina, the location of a Haptic Drive containing data that Scribe Halen was looking for. Of course, where she went and her timing depended on what the farmers at County Crossing wanted. If it was a kidnapping she might need to move with alacrity. If a Raider or Supermutant problem, she might be able to delay while she took care of some other things. Either way, she needed to get a settlement and a QESS set up, to make her operations much easier here.

“I’ll take care of those ghouls for you.”

“And if you’re looking for something else, Kessler might have something for you.”

“You looking for weapons,” said the mousy looking woman. “I’m Cricket, and I have everything.”

“Let me see what you’ve got.” She looked over Cricket’s inventory, and while things were a bit pricey, she did have some interesting weapons. Including Service Rifles, a Gauss Rifle, and a couple of M60 machines guns. And an ammo workbench.

“You ever get over to Sanctuary Hills. Or maybe Starlight Drivein.”

“Not recently, no.”

“Well get over their and my people will buy five of those workbenches, plus as many of the belt feds and service rifles you have. Guaranteed.”

“Then I’ll have to get over there.”

“Did you say you have ten settlements over on the other side of Cambridge?” asked the older gentleman.

“I do. And you are?”

“Old Man Stockton, and I run four caravans across the Commonwealth. This is my daughter, Amelia. And where are these settlement located.”

So Nora named them off, and Stockton whistled. “Quite a number, and all of interest to me except Home Plate. Being that close to the Diamond City Market tells me they don’t need Caravans.”

“We would appreciate any you could run into the settlements. We’re in the market for just about everything.” She wasn’t sure about caps, but they had plenty of bottled purified water and food, and the factories would be turning out respectable quantities of things that people needed. Purified water might not go over big in Bunker Hill, since they had a damned water fountain pouring out the stuff, but she had to wonder how much of that was available for export.

“Kessler,” she said, walking up to the woman, who was tending a patch of vegetables. “Deb said you might have a job for me.”

“For the Minuteman operator, no. For a freelance mercenary with discretion, I might have something. As long as you have more than rocks in your head.”

“I’m smart enough. And discrete.”

“Well, we get on by paying off the Raider gangs. But Judge Zeller, a new operator, is trying to play us both ways. He’s taking our money, then still hitting our caravans, and we can’t have that.”

“How much. And where’s he located.”

“He’s located at the East Boston Preparatory School, North of the airport. I’m paying three hundred caps. I won’t haggle, cause I have a reputation to protect. But do the job and I will pony up some supplies for you.”

“Consider it done,” said Nora, who wanted to get in good with this woman.

“You don’t want to know how many there are?”

“Not really, unless you happen to have that information. Ten or fifty, we’ll go in and take their sorry asses down.”

“Confidence or Arrogance? Well, that’s your business. Just make sure no one knows we sent you.”

“And I saw you had working girls in the trade center. Let’s say I wanted to sell myself.”

“Yourself, or your friends?”

“They don’t whore. As leader of this group I do it to raise money for expenses. I…”

“You don’t need to explain. Sell it, give it away. As long as you don’t tease the poor men I have nothing against it.”

“No license or fee?”

“Hell no. Find a quiet place, I might recommend our flop house, and fuck whomever you like. You won’t find any judgment here. So good luck.”

Nora met her people at the bar run by the stout man and a younger man who looked like his son. “What’s good?”

“They have Mirelurk cakes,” said Heather enthusiastically. Nora wasn’t sure what the attraction was, since the living source of the food was pretty horrific. But she had to admit they were the closest thing to crabs the Commonwealth had post-war.

“Okay. Mirelurk cakes, vegetables if you have them, and beer. For me and my two friends.”

“So, did you get some more missions.”

Nora gave her people the run down on the missions, while the proprietor of the bar, Joe Salvoldi got in a very public argument with his son, Tony.

“Hey stranger. Will you tell my idiot son that joining the Railroad to rescue synths is a stupid move?”

“They’re running scared, pop,” said Tony. “And I want to do something important with my life.”

“And go to war with the Institute. You might as well join the Deathclaw preservation society.”

“I don’t know,” said Nora after a moment’s thought. “Freeing slaves sounds noble.”

“Noble my ass.” The man turned away, then started wiping down the bar. “And I overheard you. If you happen to get by Malden you might want to look in on finding the remains of my grandfather. He was a Minuteman, you know. And brave as they come.”

“How much?”

“Two hundred caps.”

“Sweeten the deal a bit and I’ll find him.”

“Okay, three hundred caps. And make sure you come back. I don’t want your death on my conscience.”

“Well, you know my route, more or less. Anything else of interest.”

“I would avoid that BADTFL office if you want to avoid trouble. A very bad Raider gang operates out of there.”

That interested Nora. If she could take them out in the morning, it was sure to engender even more good will with the traders. So she had one more piece of business to discuss.

“How much for a room for my two girls.”

“Sleeping, or other things?” asked Tony.

“A nice restful sleep for them. And a room for other things for me.”

“Twenty caps for their room, forty for yours. Theirs is on the top floor, near the end, while you can use the luxury suite to the right side of the bar.”

Nora counted out the caps, then, after giving Heather her Pip-Boy to look after, got into her working clothes for the evening. The crotchless cutoffs and short breast revealing shirt weren’t much sluttier than what the other Hookers were wearing, though the body within them was of much higher quality.

“How much?” asked Joe as he caught sight of her.

“One twenty-five.”

"The whores inside only charge a hundred.”

“And I will give you a much better time than they ever could,” said Nora, scenting her rising pheromones. “Money back guarantee.”

“Watch the bar, Tony, while your old man has some fun.”

Joe was not that bad, and Nora was able to cross the threshold before he came in her. The smiling man counted out another twenty-five caps. “You’re worth even more than that, honey. I’ll be sure to talk you up at the bar.”

“Thanks. And one twenty-five is fine. I have to build a reputation as well.”

“Smart businesswoman,” said Joe, getting dressed. “You were wonderful, and your morning shower is on me.”

Minutes later someone knocked on the door, and Nora opened it to see a smiling Old Man Stockton. “Did I come to the right place? Or should I ask, am I Cumming in the right place?”

“Then come in and Cum in,” Nora said, taking the man’s hand and leading him to the bed.

Stockton wasn’t bad either. Not great, but competent and definitely horny. Nora accepted his Cum in her pussy, then cleaned herself out with a rag. Over the next three hours she entertained eleven men, all Caravan workers, giving her a total of thirteen for the night before she closed up shop. That gave her just over sixteen hundred caps for the evening. Once expenses were taken care of she had fifteen hundred, and she thought that Bunker Hill would definitely be profitable enough when she was here. Nora took a shower before bed. It always amazed her. The men came in her pussy and mouth, yet she had Cum all over her at the end of a working night.

“I’ll take a hundred grams of nuclear material and a dozen old energy rifles.”

“Made some caps, huh,” said Deb with a grin. “If I had your looks I’d try to make some too. But from what the men were saying, it wasn’t just looks. They were all raving about how you were the best they ever had. The other girls are going to be jealous, so watch your back.” Deb leaned forward and whispered. “The boys said that you were really into it. So let me ask you. Do you really enjoy it?”

“Of course I do. They Cum, I Cum, and everyone is happy.”

“Then you are doubly blessed, because I can tell that the other whores do it with a grimace. So good for you.”

Deb had the nuclear material brought up, along with the weapons. The scrapped energy weapons went into Wilson, while the nuclear material went into a cargo bot. Nora got into her power armor and they hit the road, ready for a big day of mayhem.

Nora went to a knee and started flashing hand signals to her people. Barb to the left, Dogmeat along with her. Heather to the right with Dewey. While Nora went up the middle and drew fire. From the sound of the weapons they were using pipe rifles, which wouldn’t have the power to do much to her armor.

Rounds pinged off her armor and Nora was tempted to send a grenade into the church through a window. The scream of a young child halted that motion, and she ran at full speed to the entrance to the chapel, arriving just as Barb and Heather moved into position to cover her.

Nora went through the door, rifle at the ready, shooting one of the Raiders through the head, then pivoting to put a quick burst into the chest of the other. As soon as she killed them she regretted it. They had left this life too easy, she thought, as she looked at the several small bodies burning in the fire, and the one fresh one laying on the bed, her clothes ripped off. The girl’s genitals were red and swollen, and a large dildo lay next to her. Recording equipment was set up, and it was obvious to Nora what had been going on.

She exited her armor and stood over the child, tears coming to her eyes. “They were making snuff porn, just like Big Al,” she told her followers as they walked in and stared with open mouths. “Motherfuckers.”

“You want us to strip them?”

“Take their weapons and ammo, and nothing else.” Nora climbed back into her armor, then hoisted one of the bodies into the air and position the man with his ass facing out. She had snapped off the one of the legs of the camera, and now used the strength of her suit to push its pointed end thought his ass and into a wooden wall, pinning him there. She did the same to the woman, only jamming the pinion through the bitch’s pussy.

“Take some blood and write on that wall. Death to Child Pornographers.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Barb in a hushed voice.

Nora threw some more wood on the fire, then gently laid the child’s body in the flames, making sure the bodies of the rest were arranged for full incineration. Barb had finished the sign in record time. It wasn’t elegant script, but it was legible enough.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” said Nora, her voice cracking in a sob. “I’m going to kill every one of these assholes. Slow, if possible. Now let’s go say hello to Red.”

A couple of more miles, another hill, and they were looking down on a Raider camp, cobbled together shacks and walkways running over the cargo boxes that had ridden on trucks. Nora was ready to burn the whole place, down, but said some calming mantras. The Alliance needed every resource she could find. She picked out several turrets and thought of the gears she could get from them, then a Protectron and a Handy, or maybe a Gutsy, and considered the high-quality circuit boards she could, with luck, salvage from them. They needed all of those parts. The Handies and Constructons they were currently building were mostly Stupid Version 1.0. With the better boards they could be programed with a better AI that would allow them to operate without someone holding their mechanical hands.

“Barb. Take down everything to the right. Heather, the left. I’m going to take out any concentrations with the GL. If you can get to the turrets take them, but try to control your fire so we have more parts. Let’s get to it.”

Barb immediately took a Raider on a walkway under fire, dropping her dead body over the side. Heather ashed another in a watch tower. While Nora dropped a grenade into the only cluster of Raiders, relaxing in one of the shacks. When the round went off their bodies were relaxing against the side of the shack, slack in death.

“Motherfuckers,” screamed a woman, running up a ramp so she could get at the invaders, waving a Ripper. The hand held chain saw might have been deadly at close quarters, but it wasn’t the weapon of choice to charge people with good quality weapons. Barb hit her with a burst at the same time as Heather burned off an arm, and the woman fell dead with a quick death rattle.

“I guess your mother fucked you brother to get an inbred moron like you,” said Nora, kneeling to pull the Ripper of the woman’s arm. The turrets and robots were surprisingly easy to kill, and yielded up some valuable parts.

“Any of these people look like Red to you?” she asked her people.

“Red’s the big boss, so she’s probably in the stockpile, underground.”

“Of course she is, Heather,” said Nora, feeling stupid. “So let’s go crash the party.”

Nora hacked into the terminal and opened the door, while Barb and Heather looted everything in the outer office. The inside was dimly lit and filled with trash, just like everything else in the Wasteland. That surprised Nora, since the site had been run by the Feds and was well sheltered from blast effects. She figured the Raiders could ruin a wet dream, and everything they touched was trash. They started running into supplies almost immediately. Food, water, packs of energy cells, even liquor. No ammunition, which surprised her, but she figured it might be further in. The shelves were about three quarters empty, by they had been designed to hold a large amount of supplies, and even a quarter left was quite a bit. And the stockpile stretched ahead, more and more shelves lining the walls into the distance.

“We’re probably going to be sending settlers in here for weeks to strip this place,” said Barb. “You might want to build a secure facility to store all of this.”

“I’m going to build just that at Sanctuary Hills, and assign someone to keep track of everything. If a settlement has a need, we’ll stick it in the QESS for them to access it. And we’ll do the same with the surplus from the settlements.”

“Thought I heard something out here,” said a man, stepping into the light with shotgun in hand, another male beside him. “Shit,” he screamed as Nora ran her suit at them.

The shotgun spoke, but the pellets bounced harmlessly off the carbon armor of the Recon suit, and the mass and momentum bowled the two Raiders over.

“Where’s Red Tourette,” she growled at the man with the shotgun, nursing a broken arm as he looked up in fear. “I asked where Red is? And whose idea was using those children to make snuff flicks?”

“That was Red’s idea,” said the man. “I told her it was a bad idea, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“You lucked out, because I believe you,” said Nora, putting a single shot from her suppressed rifle through his head. “Now how about you? Help a sister out and tell me where Red is?”

“You promise not to kill me?”

“No. But I’ll promise you an easier end than any of those kids. Now tell me.”

“She's straight ahead. Keep going and you can’t miss her. I..”

The rifle phutted and a mist of red surrounded the man’s head as he dropped to the floor.

“Are you okay, Nora?” asked Heather, coming up and looking like she wasn’t sure what to do with a friend in power armor. She definitely couldn’t hug her. “You sound so damned angry, and I’m afraid you are just making new nightmares for yourself.”

“Maybe I am. But I want to be Red Tourette’s worst nightmare, and I’ll work on calming down after I leave her rotting corpse on the floor.”

Nora stormed forward, stopping herself from screaming Red’s name. She really didn’t care about stealth, but she did care about turrets and mines, and kept a close lookout, activating her VATS sensors periodically to scan for threats.

Barb spotted the ambush, sending a stream of fire into the first Raider she spotted, then ducking down as the other three fired. Everyone made it to cover, even Nora ducking down, trying to keep her temper from leading her into disaster. A couple of shots with the grenade launcher and the three Raiders were gone.

“A big woman in that power armor,” came a harsh female voice from ahead. “And a coward. Face me without that armor if you want to prove what a hero you are.”

“And you are a sorry bitch who takes her anger out on children. Children. What kind of animal does that?”

“The little shits were nothing to me. They were settler kids, who were stupid enough to run away from their families. And so they became actors in my productions. About the only use they could possibly be.”

“They were children. They weren’t supposed to be of use. They were supposed to be sheltered, educated, allowed to play, so they would grow up to be useful. Unlike you and your people, who are just a blight on the Commonwealth.”

“Oh, go fuck yourself, you coward.”

“Then come out and face me. I’ll get out of my power armor and face you without firearms. Would that be good enough for you?”

“And how am I supposed to believe you.”

“Eject,” said Nora, and the suit opened up. She climbed out as her people protested. “I’m out. Now show yourself.”

“And let your people shoot me down. No thanks.”

“Then I’ll come to you. Let me pass you barrier.”

“Nora,” shouted Heather, eyes wide as Barb stood there and shook her head. “Don’t. She won’t play you fair.”

“Of course you can trust me, Nora. So, you are the one who has been taking down the gangs. How special, for a Vault dweller to actually be worth a shit. And it will elevate me with the gangs to kill you hand to hand. You won’t stand a chance, you soft little Vault dweller.”

“I’ve got to do this guys.”

“No. What happens if you die?”

“Then I want you to kill her. As painfully as possible.”

“I’m coming through,” said Nora, picking her way past the mines and the turret, then climbing up the stairs.

“Stay right there, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

“What you going to do, Red?” said Nora in a steady voice, staring into the dead eyes of Tourette. “Did you lie to me?”

“No. I want to kill you with my own hands. But I want this to be fair. So get out of that armor. It looks tough enough to stop a bullet.”

“Sure.” Nora unbuckled and dropped her pistol belt, the unbuckled her strap on armor. Finally climbing out of her nano-suit and standing in front of the Raider Boss in just her underwear.

“You are a pretty woman,” said Red, her eyes roaming over Nora’s body. “If you weren’t so dangerous I would keep you as a slave and let you service me every day.”

“You couldn’t handle sex with me, Red. Look at you. You’re a dried-up prune, just like your sister, Lilly. I was surprised to read that Tower Tom dropped her into the brewing vat so she could ferment his beer.”

Red was actually a good-looking woman. Or would have been, if not for the perpetual scowl on her face.

“What do you know about Lilly?” screeched Red, her rifle aiming in on Nora.

“I read about her on Tower Tom’s terminal at the brewery. He killed her. By accident it seems, but he wanted to continue to play you for the fool and get food from you. So just think about it, you fed your sister’s murderer.”

“Keep her covered,” Red told her henchman, then put her rifle down on an old desk. She picked up a wire wrapped baseball bat and took a swing, then advanced on Nora.

“I’m going to fuck you up, little Vault dweller. You will be begging me for mercy before I put you down.”

“Bring it.”

Red screamed and ran forward. She was fast, and she aimed a swing at Nora’s body, obviously wanting to punish her. To prolong the torture. Only Nora was no longer in the way of the bat. She dodge away, then circled around Red, aware of where the henchman was. With a quick step she slid toward him, her right leg cocking into her side and striking out, hitting him right in the rifle and driving him off his feet to fall to the floor. Nora dodged away from Red and slid to the side of the henchman, striking him in the throat with a knife hand, leaving him to choke his life out.

Red came running at her, bringing the bat down in a blow intended to hit Nora in the head. She was scared now, facing someone fighting like she had never seen anyone do before. Nora jumped away, rolling in the air, then springing up again and landing close to Red, to backhand the woman across the face. Not a hard blow, just enough to sting. Then she back peddled away.

“What are you?” screamed Red.

“Just a soft little Vault dweller. One with more strength and ability than you’ve ever faced. But don’t worry. I’m going to demonstrate how outclassed you are before I kill you.”

Red screamed and swung, and Nora dodged again, then jumped into the air to hit the Raider in the face with a round kick. Again Nora held back her power. She didn’t want this woman to die too fast.

“Fuck you,” yelled Red, flinging her bat at Nora and turning to run toward her shotgun.

Nora batted the club aside, then jumped into the air and kicked Red in the back, sending her flying into some crates. Nora snatched up the shotgun and flung it away over the crates, then advanced on the Raider Boss. “What’s the matter Red? Don’t like my game?”

Red came at her swinging, a swift series of punches. Nora blocked each one, then gabbed the right arm and pulled it close, snapping it at the elbow, then breaking it again at the wrist.

“Fuck.”

“Having fun yet. The same kind of fun you gave to those children.”

Red turned to run, and Nora jumped up and kicked her in the back, then sent a side kick into her knee, snapping the joint. Red went down with a cry, and Nora swept in to grab the woman’s left arm and break it at the elbow.

Red fell forward, crying, terrified. Nora knelt down by her and slammed a knife hand into her right collar bone, shattering it. Another strike and the left collar bone was gone, and Red had no control over her arms at all.

“I’m going to break all of the bones in your body, Red. And don’t bother begging for mercy, because I have none in me.”

A red dot appeared between Red’s eyes, and Nora spun around and up to her feet to see Barb lowering her rifle. “Goddam you,” yelled the Sole Survivor, moving toward Barb, and running into a hugging tackle at the hands of Heather.

“Stop Nora. This isn’t you. You believe in the quick kill, not torture.”

“I couldn’t stand to see you do something you would beat yourself up for, said Barb, tears rolling down her eyes. The woman walked forward, wrapping Nora in a hug, taking the chance that her friend would attack her.

That was something Nora couldn’t do. There two had stood by her through everything. She had wanted to make Red a mewing broken things, and they had realized that the person she would hurt the most would be her. Nora cried, great racking sobs as tears flowed down her eyes. Her friends held her tight, letting her cry it out.

“I couldn’t help it. I saw those children and thought of Shaun. What if he had been captured by someone like her. What if he had been tortured.”

“Oh, she deserved to die in fear and pain,” said Heather. “Barb didn’t shoot her to end her suffering, but to keep you from prolonging yours.”

“Thank you,” said Nora, giving her friends another hug, then climbing back into her armor.

“You going to be okay?” asked Barb.

“With friends like you, how couldn’t I be. Now let’s clear this place up and loot the hell out of it.”

“I really think you’re going to have to work this one as a long-term project.”

Nora sent back all she could in one load of Wilson, after making sure the place was clear and killing the remaining two Raiders, cowering in a hidden space that couldn’t avoid her sensors. She set up a turret pulled from her cargo bot at the entrance, and posted a warning to anyone that wanted to loot the place. A sign, with Red’s head on a spike over it.

*     *     *

They headed to Walden’s Pond, a place Nora had remembered as being peaceful, a place she could sit for a moment and clear her mind. And now a haven for yet another Raider gang.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” she yelled as two Raider power armor suits came walking out of the gift shop, both with miniguns. Nora hit one with an RPG penetrator from her GL, killing the operator instantly, then charged forward and hit the other with her nano-sword until he joined his friend in death.

“I want this place cleared out. In Emerson’s memory, I want this place free.”

They looted the gift shop, and then went through the storeroom that led into a series of tunnels under the area. Nora egressed her suit, wanting stealth over armor, and they took down a couple of groups of Raiders with suppressed rifles.

They packed out more loot, then headed for Starlight. Nora was already worn out, physically and emotionally. She had found another survival guide at Walden, which had given her more information that seemed to flow into her DNA. And they found themselves walking down a road she had been down before. There was an old diner to the right side, a couple of people with guns out in front arguing with someone inside.

“This doesn’t concern you,” growled the tough looking woman who appeared to be the bodyguard. “Move on.”

“I’m making it my concern,” said Nora. “And you better lower that weapon if you don’t want a woman in a ton of advanced power armor to shove it up your ass.”

“Back off, Simone,” said the man. “I don’t think intimidation is going to work these people.”

“Smart man,” said Nora. “And you are?”

“I’m Wolfgang, and I sell chems. I have a dispure with Trudy, the owner of this establishment. Her son bought chems from me, and never paid. And I intend to get the money.”

“A fucking drug dealer,” said Nora. “Still a blight on society, even after the war.”

“Look,” said the man, looking genuinely offended. “Sure, I sell Jet and other highly addictive meds, always with a caution to use in moderation. Jet is useful for more than the high, as you should know if you’ve ever needed to move fast in a tight situation. I also sell Mentats, Calmex, Buffout, Radway, Rad-x and Rebound, which can be necessities in the Wasteland. So I’m not the bad guy. I provide products to those who need them, and it’s not my fault if some overindulge. I’m not their mama.”

Nora took a second to digest what the man had said, and a lot of it made sense. There were chem dealers everywhere. Solomon was an institution in Diamond City. He didn’t have a bodyguard like Wolfgang, but then he was in the middle of the most secure place in the Wasteland. Wolfgang provided a service out here, and people were responsible for their own lives.

“Tell the scumbag that he’s not getting another cap out of me. He got my boy addicted.”

“Your boy got himself addicted,” shouted Wolfgang. “I warned him to not use too much over a short time and he ignored me. I’m not his mama. That’s your job.”

“Can I come in and talk,” said Nora. “I’m with the Minutemen, and not affiliated with Wolfgang.”

“Exit your power armor and you can come in. But watch your hands.”

Nora ejected from the power armor and walked to the door.

“Well damn. You are one fine looking lady.”

“Thank you. I’ve been getting that a lot lately.”

“That scumbag got my boy addicted,’ said Trudy, a lady on the upper side of middle age.

“I’ll never touch that stuff again,” said Patrick, a young man who looked like he had been through hell and back. “Mama helped me to come down and get off the shit.”

“Look. This isn’t really my problem, but I don’t want to see anyone getting killed.” Glancing at the products behind the counter, she saw almost all of the chems that Wolfgang sold. These were two merchants, and they did provide a legitimate service. They were needed, and their feud did no one any good. “So why don’t you pay Wolfgang and it will be over. If he promises not to hook your son again.”

“Patrick will never get another chem from me,” said Wolfgang from outside.

“Look, I’ll even give you some of the caps. How much do you owe him?”

“Six hundred fucking caps. I don’t do enough business to cover that kind of cost.”

“I’ll pay him half of that if you can come up with the rest.”

“Or you could kill Wolfgang, and I’d give you the three hundred.”

“I’m not a killer for hire,” Nora told the woman, who she was beginning to realize was not a nice person. Well, one didn’t have to be to gain her protection. “You either deal with me or I walk and let you deal with him. Your choice.”

“Okay, okay.” Trudy went to her cash register and counted out three hundred caps, putting them in a bag and handing it to Nora. “Thanks for nothing.”

Sheesh, thought Nora as she walked out of the store. “Here’s three hundred from Trudy. Let me get three hundred from my pack and we’ll be square.”

“Tell you what. Pick out three hundred worth of product from me and pay me the caps for it. It’s the least I can do for you helping me out. But remember, moderation.”

Nora walked away from the old diner wondering if she could have handled that better. Well, everyone was still alive, and she had some chems that might be of use down the road, so maybe that was the best she could have done. She had seen enough killing for one day.

“Let’s check out Starlight. Then, tomorrow we’re going back to Cambridge.”

“You going to join the Brotherhood of Steel?” said Heather, her tone disapproving.

“Well, not really join them,” said Nora with a frown, hoping that she wasn’t going to alienate someone really dear to her with this decision. “Perform some missions for them and gather intelligence on their organization. But I’m still and always will be a Minuteman. Can you live with that?”

Nora held her breath as she watched Heather’s face. “I can live with that, Partner. I just don’t want to become part of that oppressive organization.”

“But are they really that oppressive?” asked Barb, who hadn’t reacted to Danse and company like the other woman.

“You’ll see,” said Heather.

Starlight was coming along nicely. There were now twelve settlers, all working jobs that were producing for the settlement chain. The robots had built a refinery, an arc furnace and a chem factory, as well as some scavenging stations they could use to process the materials brought back by salvaging crews. All of the adult settlers were cross training with weapons, so she would have some militia here if needed.

The settlers planned an impromptu feast for the team when they arrived. They had two hunters in the settlement, and the hunting to the north of the settlement was good, so the stew they made was meat rich. Cold beer brewed at Sanctuary was on tap, and the people celebrated their new circumstances. After they had eaten their fill, something that happened far too infrequently prior to their joining a settlement, the leader of the settlement, Jona Cutler, stood at the head of the table and asked for the attention of the others.

“I want to make a toast to our saviors, and especially to Nora Jane Adams. She came out of a Vault after losing everything she had. And instead of hiding she attacked this world, making it a better place. Food production is up, Raider activity is down, and we have full stomachs most nights. So here’s to Nora, Heather and Barb. May their days on Earth be long, and may happiness be their final reward.”

The people then gave Nora their personal thanks, and she retired that night feeling very embarrassed. It had been a hell of a day. She had taken down two Raider gangs, brokered a truce between two merchants, and then received the embarrassing praise of the people she helped.

After an hour of sex with Barb and Heather in her quarters, Nora lay between her partners, running her hands over the smooth bodies of the two. With the procurement of hundreds of good quality like new razors from the ruins around them, Nora had taken to shaving her legs and under her armpits, just like prewar. She had trimmed her bush, baring her labia while retaining a strip above. The girls had emulated her style, and all were freshly shaven and clean smelling this night.

“Feeling better?” asked Barb, leaning over to lick one of Nora’s firm nipples. Heather had the other breast in hand and was making circling motions over that nipple with her palm.

“Much. I’m sorry I got out of hand at the Stockpile. I don’t know what got into me.”

“You’re a mother,” said Heather, after sucking for a moment on the nipple she had been caressing. “You’re predisposed to look out for children. I’ve never had one of the little terrors, and it still cut me deep down to see those little bodies.”

“Let’s talk about something more pleasant,” said Nora, leaning over to kiss Heather. As she broke the kiss she looked at Heather, then at Barb. “I just want you both to know that I couldn’t have done all of this without you.”

“Yes you could,” protested Heather. “You have the smarts, the drive, and the fighting ability to see this through.”

“Well, be that as it may, it would not have been so pleasant without the current company.”

Heather kissed her way down Nora’s body, ending up with her mouth placed over the Sole Survivor’s pussy, lapping up the flowing juices. Nora hissed in a breath, and the time for talking was over.

*     *     *

“I accept your proposal,” said Danse, smiling at Nora.

The Knight Paladin was in his soft uniform, still offering him some protection with its ballistic weave, but nowhere near what his power armor did. Said power armor was parked in a repair station, still banged up from their mission, though it was obvious that the Brotherhood officer had been working on it.

“Okay, so we scout for you while we’re checking out places for ourselves. And clear out spots you would like cleared out, which benefits both of us.”

“I would like to give you a Brotherhood rank that you can use if needed, but the highest I can grant is initiate. I won’t bother swearing you in, since I realize your primary loyalty is to the Minutemen, and you are just an auxiliary in our service. Maybe in time you might want to formalize your relationship with the Brotherhood.”

“That could happen,” said Nora, giving Danse her best smile. She really wanted to get this one in bed, and while he was obviously attracted, he wasn’t taking the bait. She figured that Danse, like Reese, was wedded to the Brotherhood, and was not willing to compromise himself over something as trivial as sex. Well, to each their own.

“Okay, since you are going to search around Malden anyway, be on the lookout for our first recon team to the Commonwealth. They are probably all dead, but if you can come back with any of the intelligence they developed, it could be immensely helpful to us.”

“Will do.”

“Then go see what Reese and Halen want you to do, and I’ll see you when you swing back through.”

Danse got up from his chair and went back to working on his power armor. Nora had offered him the help of some technicians and hardware, but the Knight Paladin had turned her down. Probably worried about revealing their power armor tech, when Nora thought her tech was so much better.

Reese was still angry, but he watched his tongue, realizing that Nora could kick his ass. He handed her a list of locations they knew harbored what the Brotherhood thought of as Horrors. Feral ghouls and Supermutants topped his list, and Nora didn’t feel bad about ridding the Commonwealth of those. “And I don’t want to see your face until those areas are cleared out, Okay.”

“Whatever you want, Reese.”

Halen, as usual, was much more friendly. “Remember, bring the tech back to me. No taking it to your own people to disassemble, tempting as that might be.”

“I gave Danse my word,” said Nora, holding up a hand and putting the other over her heart. “What you point out to me is yours. Everything else is mine. Unless it belongs to the Brotherhood recon team I’m on the lookout for.”

Halen gave her a list about the same length as Reese’s, but was much friendlier in her words about wanting to see her back.

“You heard,” she asked her people as she walked out of the station.

“We heard,” came Heather’s voice over the earbud.

Sturgis had built some short-range transceivers for the team, a couple of ounces each with an operating range of about a kilometer. With the devices they could talk in tactical situations, or send signals to alert team members. Nora felt much better with the small radios, though she had to remind herself that they weren’t foolproof, and they might find conditions where the range was restricted to almost nothing.

“That Reese continues to be an asshole,” said Barb. “Though I have to admit the other two are civil. Even friendly.  Too bad Danse keeps giving you the cold shoulder.”

“Dammit Barb. I’m not trying to fuck every man in the Commonwealth.”

“But you can’t tell me you wouldn’t want that man inside of you, can you? And don’t lie.”

“Very well. I would jump Danse’s bones in a heartbeat. But he’s having nothing of it.” Even with my pheromones, she thought. That was some willpower there, and she respected Danse for it, even as it drove her crazy that he wasn’t giving her what she wanted.

“Same plan?” asked Heather, getting them back to business.

“Yep. Through Cambridge to Bunker Hill, then up to the northeast to check out the settlement Preston knows about. We hit County Crossing first, since they had a request, then play it by ear.”

Once they established a settlement she would be able to communicate with Preston and the others through the QESS.  Conrad had come up with a way of sending messages back and forth through keyboard. It was still a clunky system, but it worked.

She thought they had enough food, water and caps for an extended trip, though there were never any guarantees.

“Let’s hit the road,” she told her people after climbing into her power armor, and the three people, two dogs and multiple robots walked away for the police station to the River Road, turning North.

Nora took a second to get her breath under control, reveling in the orgasmic glow of their lovemaking. She had been so glad to see her people in Sanctuary, and Garvey had obviously been more than happy to see her. She wondered if he was banging any other settlers. Not that she would blame him. She wasn’t around all that often, and wasn’t exclusive to him either. In fact, she planned to spend the next night with Sturgis and Conrad to reward them for their service to the Minutemen.

The pair of tech nerds had worked some more miracles while she was away. They had built two more power armor suits, and run the two sets of software they had through the new electronics workbench, making many copies. They had developed more kits for easy assembly on site at new settlements, including the small fusion generator and a resource station. The resource station they had developed was another wonder. It allowed her to have input into their new production system at any settlement, and to pull or shift new production within the QESS. They had also built some oil wells at Sanctuary, and a couple of resource extractors.

Nora had been surprised at the oil extractors. She hadn’t thought of the Commonwealth as oil country. It really wasn’t, in a mass production before the war sense. But there were small pockets of raw petroleum and natural gas deep below ground, just like most regions of the continent. And the deep drill wells could get to it. While most of the rock under the soil had small quantities of resources, which the nanotech extractors could get at, while processing the rock into concrete at the same time. Add to that the new refinery and arc furnace factories, examples of which were up and running at Sanctuary in her factory complex, and they were starting to get a handle on producing new things, and not just scavenging the world. Sturgis had promised that more was coming, and Nora wanted to reward them with her most precious resource, herself.

Currently they were looking over the laser rifle Danse had given Nora, trying to tease out the improvements. And developing some laser turret kits using the couple of hundred energy weapon parts units in their construction. She planned to scatter a dozen of them around Sanctuary, making it an even tougher nut to crack. The others would be doled out to the other settlements, strengthening them as well. She wasn’t sure if the lasers were better than the machine guns, but when they were firing they were awesome, the beams linking them to the enemy and showing her people exactly where the attackers were.

“Well, I don’t think they’re inherently evil, although one I met was as arrogant as you could imagine. The other two were regular people. A little more militarized, but otherwise down to Earth. Although their obsession with gathering tech was disturbing. I got the distinct impression that they thought we shouldn’t be as advanced as we are.”

“And your feelings on that?”

“I think they can go fuck themselves if they expect us to give up tech. I got the impression that there is a much larger force in the Capital Wasteland, and that they might be coming here. Preston, I want the Minutemen to be strong enough to challenge them if they try to dominate the Commonwealth.”

“They could be a step in the direction of a United States, like you had in your time.”

“And fuck that too. It was good while it lasted, but in the end it failed as well. I’m still thinking of joining them.”

“Why in the world would you want to join a bunch of New Age Nazis, Nora?” exclaimed a shocked Preston.

“It would be a perfect chance to infiltrate them and learn just what their plans are. I know it’s a risk, but otherwise we are never going to know what they are about until they move.”

“Sounds much too risky to me. I’m not sure I want you to add spy to your resume’, but it’s your call. As long as you remember who your loyalties are to first.”

“So, what did you want me to do?”

“There’s an abandoned farming settlement at Sunshine Tidings that I think would make a good addition to our alliance. If you could get in there and get it ready, I’m sure it will attract some people from out that way.”

Nora lifted her Pip-Boy from the bedside table and looked over the map. Wicked Shipping was that way, and it was sure to have information, as well as some tech. And the Federal Ration Storage Facility was just around the corner, giving her a shot at Red Tourette. “Give me a couple of days here, and I’ll hit the road.”

“The new doctor would like to look you over while you’re here.”

“A real doctor?”

The settlement now had twenty people, not including Nora and her companions, who really belong to no settlement. She had been thrilled when she saw actual children, a ten year old and a twelve year old, learning skills from their elders. And a couple of the women were noticeably pregnant.

“She sure is. Was a settlement doctor up north. A surgeon. Until Raiders took her town, raped her continuously, and enslaved her.”

“Shit,” said Nora, wincing at the image. “How did she get away.”

“She poisoned them. Put every one of the bastards in the ground. Well, you known, left them rotting corpses on the ground for the scavengers to clean up. Sturgis and Conrad built her a real clinic, really more of a small hospital.”

That excited Nora. While she wanted a medical station in every settlement, having a hospital was a real plus. “I feel great. But sure, I’ll let her look me over. Now. I’m not completely satisfied, Mr. Garvey. I could us some checking out, so why don’t you use this instrument to probe me.”

*     *     *

“The Empress has returned,” said Conrad, looking up from his desk and smiling.

“Please don’t call me that, Conrad,” said Nora, sighing. “I’m not royalty, nor do I want to be."

"You could be if you wanted it, Boss Lady," said Sturges, coming up and giving her a hug. “And then I can tell people I knew her when.”

“I don’t want to be, son. In no shape or form do I want to run this whole shooting match.”

“But you already do,” said Conrad, walking up and putting an arm over Nora’s shoulder.

“And as soon as I can turn it over to someone else, I am. Now, what do you have for me?”

“I have some nuclear warheads for your RPG,” said Sturgis, gesturing to a rack that held a number of the long rockets. “Five of them, plus some armor piercing rounds and a few cluster munitions. It should give you some useful choices out there.”

“How about new weapons and armors.”

“Still working on those. We aren’t going to make you invulnerable, if that’s what you’re looking for. Most of the rest of our advancements have been in the industrial track.”

“I’ve heard about those, and I am very proud of you. Why don’t you both come by my house after dinner. Heather and Barb have turned the living room into an adult play room, and I’d like to invite you to use it.”

“We’ll be there,” said a smiling Conrad.

Nora walked toward the clinic, which really was reminiscent of a hospital. Two stories, a number of rooms on each floor, a middle aged woman manning the desk.

“Our fearless leader appears. Moose and Squirrel should soon follow.”

“I didn’t think anyone from this time would know that reference,” said a laughing Nora.

“Our settlement had a lot of amenities, including a projection system and a number of tapes. Until the..”

“Preston told me. You don’t have to say any more if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to. I’m Doctor Gilda Stuart, and what I want to do is look you over and make sure you are doing okay. It was a risky business using a prewar serum to change yourself, but superficially it seemed to have worked. Now, step into my examining room.”

The examination room had a table for the patient to lie down on, as well as a series of scanners that could have a look from any angle. Nora disrobed and lay on the table, and the doctor gently palpated her body.

“I never felt skin so soft. Or muscles so hard. And I seem to be catching an arousing scent. So, how is your sex life? And you’re taking your contraceptives I hope.”

“Sex life is supercharged, Doc. I’m having lots of sex, which is a blessing since it seems to be the only thing that relieves my nightmares.”

“Tell me about these nightmares,” said Gilda as she looked at the result of the scanners, which were probing Nora with X-rays and ultrasound.

“After I was put back in Cryo I had continuous dreams. All I could figure was that my frozen brain was acting as a superconductor, bouncing the last images I had seen over and over through my subconscious. So I saw my husband murdered a hundred thousand times while I slept.”

“I’m surprised you’re still sane.”

“Who says I am. I seem to enjoy killing the scum of the Wasteland a little too much.”

“As long as you’re only killing them I think we can live with that. Any other concerns.”

“Well, I keep thinking about having another baby. I really can’t afford to now, but seeing the pregnant women in the settlement is increasing the urge.”

“Uh huh,” said Gilda, pushing a button that caused the sensor arms to retract. “Well, the good news is your body is working at three hundred percent peak efficiency. I’ve never seen anything like. ATP production off the scale. Muscle fibers on overdrive. You are a miracle, my dear, and I wish I could bottle you and give you to all my patients. But I’m afraid that tech is beyond us. But about having a baby..”

“Yes?” asked Nora, anxiety almost overcoming her.

“I’m afraid you will never have a child of your own genes ever again. I think if was the cryo, but the genetic material is missing from all of your eggs.”

“But, I still have periods,” stammered Nora, her mind working toward denial. “Boy do I have periods.”

"The eggs are otherwise functional. They drop, they attach to the walls of your uterus, they start the process going. But with no way of completing fertilization, they flush at the end of your period and start the process going again.”

“But I’m no longer a complete woman,” Nora said, a tear coming to her eye.

“Oh, nonsense. You are as much a woman as anyone we have here. And more human than our synths.”

“Synths?”

“You have two Gen 3 synths among your settlers. With no memories of when they had been in the Institute. It seems they were rescued by the Railroad, and had their memories wiped, making them new people.”

“That’s, awful. It’s like killing them to save them.”

“More or less, since the personality is gone.”

“Are they a danger to us?”

“I don’t think so. As far as they’re concerned they’re normal settlers. Treat them no different and they will act no different.”

“And could you tell me who they are?”

“You are the Big Boss, so if you ask forcefully enough I will tell you. I recommend against it, since you will probably start acting differently toward them.”

“Then don’t tell me, doc. I have enough to worry about now.”

“You've done a good job, Nora. You are out there doing things that would send me screaming into the closet, and from what I can see, you really care about these people. And you’ve exhibited wisdom, a hard commodity to find these days. So don’t let the prospect of not being able to have children get to you. You can adopt, or carry the egg of a friend. I know it won’t be yours genetically, but I will be in every other way. The child will grow in your body if you choose that route. You will feel its heartbeat within you, its kicking feet as its nervous system grows. I think you will feel the same joy when you are holding the child after you birth it.”

“I gives me something to think about, Doc,” said Nora, sniffing while she wiped away the tears. “And I won’t be ready for a child for some years yet. I guess I can stop taking those contraceptives?”

“It would be a waste to take them,” agreed the doctor.

Nora started to laugh, and Gilda gave her a close look.

“It just hit me. The cryo procedure was a test of the reaction of people to going into cold sleep. So they could survive the trip to another star. So they would have gotten there, and there would have been no children. None at all. It would have been doomed to extinction unless they cloned. And I’m not sure if they had the tech for that yet.”

“I can see why it cracks you up. Vault Tech was an evil organization as far as I can tell, and any thing of theirs that failed was probably a good thing. Though normal people had to suffer.”

“I’ll be seeing you around, Doc. And please, don’t call me Empress, or Fearless Leader. I don’t want to become that person.”

*     *     *

“Oh God, you feel so good,” groaned Sturgis as he shot spurts of warm cum into Nora’s pussy. He had Nora in doggy, her kneeling on the cushions on the living room floor. Conrad was fucking Heather in Missionary, the herbalist crying out an orgasm as he pounded his dick into her sweet pussy. Preston was on his back, his hands grasping the hips of Barb as she rode him for all she was worth.

Nora’s house, the same she had used prewar, was now her primary quarters. She had one room, Barb and Heather the other. The bathroom was fully functioning, as was the kitchen part of the main room. There were a couple of couches in that room, covered in sheets to protect them from the emissions likely to drop on them. The rest of the floor surface was mattress, soft and resilient, and simply perfect for an orgy like she was having now. She might be able to invite another two couples here, but this one, with those she was closest to, felt like the best way to break it in.

Soon all were sitting on couches or resting against the walls, drinking the good beer the settlement was turning out. The sweat slick bodies of the women positively glowed with orgasmic flush, the men started to harden as they rested, and soon they were back at it, switching partners then plugging in.

“I enjoyed the fuck out of that,” said a giddy Heather as the orgy wound down. “It was so exciting getting fucked, while my best buds were getting fucked right alongside me.”

“We can have these as often as you like, Heather. At least while we are in residence. But in the morning we hit the road.”

That elicited some cheers from the woman, and groans from the men as they thought of their favorite partners not available for a week or more.

“You boys will survive,” laughed Nora. “You might even want to find a good woman to carry your child. Lord knows we need the children.”

“But not any of us,” said Barb, waving a finger. “We got things to do, places to go, and scumbags to kill. That’s kind of hard to do with a belly out to here.” Barb used her hands to mimic a pregnant belly.

“I enjoyed it ladies,” said Sturgis, who was actually turning into a skilled lover. “All of you.”

Nora knew that every man had cum in each of the ladies at least once. While she had no doubt that she was the best fuck of the group, thanks to her augmented biology and sexual experience, her friends were also skilled and desirable women who deserved the attention that they got.

Preston got up and sat at the small kitchen table, motioning for Nora to come over. “So you’ve got everything planned out. Unfortunately, we still don’t have any long-range coms in place. I was wondering if you’re ready to take back the Castle.”

“Not yet. I think we need to get more Minutemen trained up.” She had about twenty soldiers trained up, total. A couple of patrols walked close to the settlements each day, but the territory was in no way well covered. There were salvage parties going out each day as well, sometimes staying the night. Concord was disappearing under their attentions, each building collapsing in on itself as it was taken apart. Someday it might be a town again, but not for the foreseeable future. Not without one of the magic red workbenches.

“I understand,” said Preston, pulling on his pants, then shirt, and walking to the front door. “I enjoyed it, and you, Nora. Thanks again.”

Nora put on her own clothes, a casual set with t-shirt and jeans, and took a walk around the neighborhood. There were still a couple of dozen houses to take down, and thirty or so vacant foundations. Some of the foundations were in the process of disassembly. Soon another couple of acres of land would be available for automated planters. She wanted to grow enough corn to mass produce starch, using it to make adhesive. That was valuable. They needed a lot of it, and would need more when they started to produce their own weapons. The excess could be sold in Diamond City and other places.

“Good evening, mum,” said Codworth, on his own rounds to supervise the dozen Mr. Handies and six Constructrons that were at work. The robot was more intelligent than the rest, and with his understanding of what Nora wanted done was an excellent tireless supervisor.

“Codsworth. How are you doing buddy?”

“You brought purpose to me life, Ms. Nora Jane. It is so good to see the neighborhood coming back to life. The people are so happy, working with purpose as well. Thank you.”

Nora returned home and to her bed with a feeling of accomplishment. No, she hadn’t done it on her own, but she would be a fool to believe that she hadn’t been the catalyst of this rebirth. And it could still fail if we don’t keep growing, she thought. So it was hit the road again tomorrow and see what else she could do to further her vision.

*     *     *

Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup hadn’t been anything to write home about. A score of ghouls, a dozen trucks, many locked and needing picking or breaking into. There was some circuitry, and she got some intelligence from their computer that filled in some blanks on her map, some new targets to go after in the northeastern part of the Commonwealth. They looted some houses and bypassed a flood control station built under a damn, Nora deciding that could wait for another day.

“What is that?’ asked Heather, pointing to a tower rising to the north. It was mostly scaffolding with sandbag fortifications.

“It has a Minuteman flag,” said Barb. “I’ve seen them before, even climbed a bunch of them. They had some good weapons, ammo and even some preserved food.”

“Then let’s check it out,” said Nora, leading the way in her Recon X-01.

Nora jetted to the top of the tower, checking it out and gathering up weapons and ammo while her followers walked up the stairs. She had been thinking of jetpacks for them, but both had expressed no interest in hanging in the air and possibly falling to their deaths.

“What’s that?” asked Heather, who seemed to have the job that day of finding things in the distance.

“That looks like a Raider fortification,” said Barb, eyes wide with excitement. “Should we go take them out?”

It was a series of rough shacks up a small draw between two hills. A wooden wall sealed off the front, a metal door acting as the gate. She could see red figures on that wall, and more moving about on walkways. The system of the recon armor could set figures as green for friendly and red for enemies, making unknowns red until more data was gathered on them. The bodies hanging from meat hooks told her what they were. The place looked like could hold twenty or thirty Raiders comfortably, fifty or more if needed. Nora was guessing on thirty, and she though tthe cost of one rocket was more than offset by the payoff.

“I want to try something,” said Nora, deploying her RPG and loading up one of her ready rounds, a nuke. She was carrying the RPG on the back of the armor, in a configuration that had it ride with the rear plate as it rose up. The rack held eight rounds, one nuke, two clusters, and five HE. More rounds rode in one of the cargo bots. It would take time to get to those, but the rack could be reloaded from them within a short time.

The rangefinder on the launcher indicated that it was about eight hundred meters, eight-fifty to the center that was her target, well within range of the rocket. “Ware the backblast,” she shouted, checking behind her, then aiming in and letting loose. The rocket took off with a whoosh, heading swiftly to the target, flames at the rear. As soon as there was something for it to hit there was a brilliant flash, then a large ball of fire that rose over the fort, sucking in pieces of wood and trash as it rose.

“Okay, there shouldn’t be any rads in the fort,” she told her people. “At least not caused by my weapon. Let’s check it out, but let me lead so anyone firing will hit my armor.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t have a rocket launcher,” said Heather.

Nora had seen that the old standard army rocket launcher from her time could penetrate the torso of most power armor with two shots. The torso was really the only place to shoot, the only sure target. The Worsin’s Assault package on the X-01 would probably take five to six hits, this recon armor three or four. The armor piercing RPG was quite a bit more effective, but she doubted these Raiders would have one of those, if there was even anyone alive to use one.

She bounded with her armor toward the gate of the fort, hanging at an angle from its shattered hinges. With a jump she was over the wall, sweeping the fort with her gaze and only picking up the yellow images of corpses. She turned and pulled the door from its hinges, the servos in the suit whining as they supplied all the power she needed. The dogs ran in and fanned out, looking for survivors, while Barb and Heather walked through on alert.

“Check down here while I jet to the top of this nightmare.” It was a nightmare of construction, shacks and walkways seemingly placed at random. It was also a nightmare of death, not a thing moving. She counted fourteen bodies in the upper reaches, while Barb and Heather told her they found eighteen below. So the one warhead had taken out thirty-two Raiders, as well as a half dozen of their attack dogs. Thankfully there were no children, and Nora once again wondered why there were no babies. The Raiders obviously used contraceptives, because she couldn’t imagine the lusty bastards not having sex. Well, that was a mystery for the future, and it wouldn’t stop her from killing them, though she thought that any babies or small children she found alive would go to a settlement to be raised by the settlers. After all, babies and young children weren’t guilty of the crimes of the parents, though the one who could fight and kill were too badly damaged to take a chance on. Maybe in a society that had a surplus of resources, which this one wasn’t.

They stripped the fort of everything useful. The nuke had destroyed some of those things, shattering or melting bottles, bursting cans. There were crates and ammo cans that had protected their contents enough, and they packed out quite a bit of medications, ammo, liquor and cans of food. After stripping down all of the corpses, she set the two Handies to talking apart all of the pipe weapons and shitty armor. The few good quality weapons were partially disassembled and stored in a cargo bot, while everything else went into Wilson to be hauled back to Abernathy.

“Found a cave back here,” called out Barb.

Nora went in first, to immediately run into some Raiders who opened fire. As usual they were bad at taking cover, and Nora took them down with her rifle. Another six Raiders to add to the tally, and another forty pounds of junk to pack out.

It was about one o’clock when they started off for sunshine tidings around the lake, two when they arrived. There was an old derelict truck parked on the bridge over the damn, Raiders camped out, all staring at the fort that had just been taken out. A forty-millimeter took them out, and added more scrap to their haul. Wilson was back by the time they reach Sunshine Tidings.

“Free the Robots,” said Nora with a chuckle. A banged-up Mr. Handy came floating around the side of the central building, it distorted voice box shouted far out man. “A hippy commune, huh.”

“What’s a hippy?” asked Barb. “And you want me to take apart that Handy?”

“Not on your life. He lends some charm to the place. As far as hippies go, think dropouts from society who were nonviolent drug users. Free love.”

“I think you would have made a good hippy, Nora,” said a chuckling Heather.

“Who knows. If life had push me onto a different track.”

The co-op had six intact cabins, most with intact roofs and walls, one missing a back-wall panel. Nora thought they could be repaired very easily with lumber taken from the local trees, and would provide living quarters for twenty or so settlers. Water could be pumped up from the reservoir, while the central barn area would house workshops for settlers. The same with the mess hall. She found the red workbench in a metal shed, and set her Handy to constructing a QESS station and getting the rebuild started. Then it was clearing out the cabins and halls. There were ghouls in most of the cabins, radroaches in the couple that didn’t have ghouls. A glowing one in the mess hall. And with that it was clear.

By three in the afternoon she had two Constructrons and three Handies working, putting up the Core Services Building, building a pumping station down by the reservoir and running pipe up, constructing a fusion reactor. Two of the Handies took apart the several derelict tractors, then she sent one off to salvage the large truck the Raiders had been using as a base. She had them take down the grain storage containers and the outhouses as well. Her people would have more modern amenities.

“Well, what do you guys think?” she asked her people. “Farm, factory or research outpost?”

“I think you should build a casino,” said Barb. “Then we can come here and gamble, and you can do shows.”

Nora laughed. While the idea of having her own club appealed, there wasn’t enough traffic out here to warrant a casino. Unless she opened a Raider bar, and there was no way she was going to cater to those people.

“I think start out with a farm, then build it up to a research station or a military outpost. You’ve got a lot of area to the west and south to cover with patrols, and they’re going to need a base.”

“Sounds good. Farm it is, and we’ll make it defensible pending enough people to make it a base.”

By five the cabins were all repaired, cleaned, and lighted. She put some beds into one of the cabins to start the new settlers off when they arrived, what they would use as their quarters this night. And programed the robots to build a bathhouse between cabins one and two. The farm land plowed and some crops planted and it was almost ready for occupancy.

It was getting dark before everything was at least started, and Nora was thinking about some fun and games in the cabin. But she had been taught at Hangman’s Alley not to take anything for granted, so she set two of the Handies to build stands for turrets on the ends of the cabins and gave them orders to install five laser mounts and four machine guns. That should be enough to stop most attackers, or at least warn her that a larger group was coming in. The last thing she did before turning in was to scan the overpass to the South, checking out the moving red figures on the top or hanging around the elevator on the ground. Too many on the ground.

“What do you think?” she asked her people as they looked over the overpass.

“Gunners,” said Barb, looking over at Heather and receiving a nod. “Looks like a place they would set up, and the windmill generators are a big giveaway.”

“So we have military weapons, possible fusion cores and robot parts,” said Nora, already thinking about what she could get and ignoring the risk. “And some very good armor we can repaint for use on the Minutemen. Should we go for it now or wait until the morning?”

“Well, you’re always saying how we own the night,” said Heather. “They’re going to see us the entire way come morning, but tonight the ones who don’t have night vision gear, most of them I think will be totally blind.”

“Barb?”

“I agree. And we eliminate a threat that they might attack us tonight. They had to see us building here, and your construction process is somewhat amazing. So I expect them to come in and see what they can take. Maybe even tonight.”

“Okay. Get armored up. We move out in five minutes.”

*     *     *

“We got something moving down there, sir,” called a voice from ahead, where the elevator was located.

A spotlight swung their way, illuminating Heather and Barb. Then it swung onto Nora, and a moment later a rocket whooshed out of a launcher. The armor couldn’t move any faster than normal, but the woman inside had more than human reaction time, and got it moving on its way with unbelievable speed. The suit still barely got out of the way, and the missile streaked by to explode against a tree, shattering the trunk.

Nora went to a knee, picking out the red figure that was holding a launcher, making the motions of putting another rocket into the loading chamber. She brought her grenade launcher to her shoulder and let loose, striking the man directly with a high explosive round and blasting him into pieces. The shrapnel took down several others nearby, and many more opened fire.

Shit. They were forming up to attack us, thought Nora. It was a good thing they had all agreed to a night attack, or they would be fighting the gunners within the settlement. The turrets would have tipped the scales, maybe, but the settlement would have sustained definite damage.

Barb and Heather picked targets and opened up, mowing down some of the assault troops. With the sound of charging up, a bright laser beam reached out and barely missed a dodging and ducking Heather. Nora aimed in at the figure of an Assaultron and let fly, the grenade striking it directly in that laser head and blasting it from the body. The robot staggered for a bit then fell to the ground, exploding and taking out more Gunners.

“Gunners,” yelled a voice from above, and a couple of grenades came dropping down to the ground. Nora looked up to see what looked like a dozen people crowding the side of the overpass, most of them pulling rifles to shoulders.

“Grenades,” she yelled, alerting her partners. She dropped the grenade launcher to hang from its straps, then pulled the RPG off her back. The range might have been a little close, but she wanted those Gunners eliminated. She sighted in and sent the nuke on her way, yelling “Nuke fire in the hole,” to alert her people.

The rocket hit the section of the upper road over the heads of the gunners and went off with a brilliant flash, the fireball coming down to kill most of the Gunners. One in power armor, it looked like a T-45 suit, jumped down at the moment the rocket hit, falling to the ground and orienting on Heather. Nora ran at the suit, dropping the RPG and pulling her nano-sword. She swung the blade into the helmet of the Gunner, staggering the trooper. Nora swung again and again, until the helmet shattered and the next hit split the skull of the once pretty woman underneath.

“Too bad for you, honey,” whispered Nora as she sheathed the sword and pulled up the GL, jacking another round into the chamber. “Shock and awe,” she yelled. “You awestruck yet.”

“Fuck you,” yelled a voice near the elevator, and the sound of Barb’s rifle chattering cut the man off.

Thanks for letting us know where you were, thought Nora, engaging her jetpack and rocketing up to come over the lip of the overpass. Some shots hit her, but it seemed like there were few people up here to challenge her. She walked forward with rifle in hand and cut down the two remaining Gunners.

“How we doing down there?” she yelled to her people, thinking that short range coms might be the direction they needed to go in the near future.

“All KIA. And no injuries. Barb?”

“I’m fine. And all I see are corpses.”

“Start stripping them. I’ll start on them up here.” Nora called her Handies to her on her Pip-Boy, and was starting to relax when the remaining machinegun turret, the one the nuke didn’t take out, rotated into place and started to send .50 cal into her armor.

“Shit,” growled Nora, bringing up her rifle.

“Taking damage,” said the suit, just before Nora blasted the turret to pieces.

She did a diagnostic, seeing that she had lost over thirty percent of her torso armor. Not a disaster, but not optimal either. If there was some titanium alloy in the QESS system she could build a Power Armor Station and set a handy to patching the armor.

Nora stacked weapons, dozens of combat rifles and submachineguns, several dozen pistols, even a grenade launcher, onto the elevator platform. She sent it down, then started stripping Gunners, taking everything, armor pieces, fatigues, even underwear. It was all resources, and she would leave nothing behind when she was so close to a QESS. Calling Wilson she loaded him up and sent him on his way, even though the trip was less than seven hundred yards. She searched the remains of all the huts, what hadn’t been shot off the platform by the nuke, and had a good pile of drugs, liquors and food stacked to reload Wilson when he came back. One of the Handies went after the two windmills, stripping them of circuitry, gears and wiring.

Gears were always welcome, but they didn’t come in standardized sizes, which meant anything they constructed that needed them was a one-of-a-kind piece. When they had a parts factory or two up and running they could make thousands of standardized gears. She was thinking three sizes to take care of all of their needs, and they could make standardized turret, pumps and other necessary constructs.

She took the elevator down, then looked over what her people had gathered. They too had stripped the Gunners naked and taken everything. Nora considered taking apart the elevator, then decided to leave it up. She might want to use this overpass someday, and it would help if her settlers could have a way to go up.

“Okay. Let’s get a shower and relax,” she said, checking the time and seeing that it was just about eleven. They could all be asleep by one, then up to supervise the final phases of the setup and hit the road by ten, at the Federal Ration Stockpile by noon. And then the reign of Red Tourette would be over, and another Raider gang would be history.

“They did a lot of good in the Capital Wasteland,” said Barb, going to a knee and aiming in on an approaching ghoul. Barb squeezed the trigger and sent the round across the several hundred yards and into the head of the ghoul, the suppressed rifle almost silent.

“Different time, different people.”

The party was approaching Cambridge from the west. Coming over from Graygarden and following the radio signal they had picked up just outside the settlement. A young lady, Nora had assumed, identifying herself as a Field Scribe of the Brotherhood of Steel on a Recon Team. Nora was curious as to what they had been looking for on the edge of her territory. It might also be nice to find fighters who could help them out, and from what she had heard the Brotherhood were disciplined warriors.

“I’m picking up the sounds of movement ahead,” she told her friends. She was wearing a brand new suit of Recon specialist X-01 Power Armor, with heightened sensors, a brand new jetpack on her back. It had been a stroke of luck that Arturo had the schematic for an X-01 jetpack in stock, so the suit, with rebreather and built in sanitation system, was her vehicle of choice for this mission. It didn’t give her quite the protection of the assault and other suits, but was still better protection than the lesser varieties of PA, especially those not to the Worsin standard.

“Here they come,” called out Heather, looking through her own recon glasses. A swarm of ghouls started heading across the open territory before the start of the built-up area. Nora didn’t know what set them off, but something had.

Nora recalled that the Veteran’s Hall where she and Nate were scheduled to speak on Bomb Day was just ahead. Cambridge was sure to have a lot of stuff of interest, with Cambridge Polymer Labs, CIT, and a number of electronics and robot shops. They were always on the lookout for new tech, especially the holy grail of her current search, working teleportation.

Nora put her grenade launcher to her shoulder and let fly, sending a forty-millimeter round into the front center cluster of the leading wave of ghouls. The round exploded and blasted every ghoul for ten meters in each direction to the ground, dead. Those slightly farther out fell to crawl forward, their legs no longer working. Nora reloaded and sent another round into the cluster to the right, then one into the group to the left. That left a half dozen still on their feet and a score of crawlers.

Her teammates started taking down the ones still walking forward, Barb with single shots of 5.56, Heather with her laser. They walked forward on the alert, the dogs slightly ahead and moving in a crouch. Nora came to the first crawler and whacked it with her nano-sword, chopping its head from its body. She cut every one down as she got to it, letting Barb scavenge whatever objects they carried on them.

The second swarm was now in sight, and the team used the same tactic, cutting them all down, then walking into Cambridge. There were the bodies of Raiders scattered around, the poor fools overrun by the ghouls.

“You ever see Raiders and ghouls fight,” said Heather. “Raiders have guns and run, while the ghouls never give up. Quality entertainment.”

Much as she hated Raiders she still felt sorry for the poor fools. She thought that no one should have to face a swarm like that. At least not without warning and overwhelming firepower, such as her group employed.

When the got onto the streets of Cambridge, near the diner and the metro station, the ghouls came out in force, spaces that seemed too small unfolding the creatures which staggered forward. Barb and Nora went to full autofire, cutting the creatures down in droves, while Heather burned down the leakers. One got through and knocked Barb to the ground, but a swift swung nano-sword blade took care of it.

“I hear a laser,” said Heather, motioning ahead.

Nora could hear it too, amplified by her audio pickups. Those were the people she had come to save, and it seemed like there was still time. “Come up as fast as you can,” she told her people, engaging her jetpack and soaring into the sky. Looking down she could see one person in an older style of power armor, trying to take down the swarms of ghouls, while a man and a woman on the steps of the station tried to cover. The man, without power armor, was obviously badly hurt, and the woman was trying to shield him and shooting any ghoul that got close.

Nora hovered for a moment, all her jetpack would allow, while firing bursts down to take down ghoul after ghoul. The pack flared out, overheated, and she fell to the ground, drawing her nano-sword and coming down on a ghoul to crush it into the ground. She spun around swinging, taking down multiple ghouls. More were coming in, and Nora jumped onto the walkway on the barricade, pulling her rifle back up and sliding a magazine home, aiming in on ghouls and blasting them down. As it looked like it was about to get out of hand her party arrived, the humans shooting down ghouls while the dogs pulled them to the ground. In moments it was over, the ghouls all gone, the Brotherhood people safe, for the moment.

“I thought you might need some help,” she said, walking up to the man in power armor.

“Look at that armor,” said the woman who Nora assumed was the Field Scribe, whatever that was. “That’s X-01, like the Enclave uses.”

The man in power armor pointed his laser at Nora, while her people tracked in on him.

“Explain yourself. Are you Enclave?”

“I don’t know what the Enclave are. I salvaged this armor from a research facility. Well, the armor I reversed engineered to make this suit.”

“And what are you doing here?”

“We heard you were having pest problems, and I work for an extermination company.”

“Evading my questions are a sure way to get ejected from this compound.”

Nora put her armored hands on armored hips and stared at the man with disbelief. She had gone out of her way to come here, and was being threatened with being ejected.

“Not sure who you think you are,” she said, “but this is the territory of our alliance of settlements. So I suggest you explain what you are doing on our territory.”

The man seemed taken aback for a moment, not sure what to say. “Our information didn’t include intelligence on an alliance of settlements.”

“Brand new, And after hearing the young lady on your broadcast, I thought I might help you, to our mutual advantage.”

“I’m not sure how much I should reveal to a civilian.”

“Well, you can at least tell me who you are. That can’t be top secret, can it.”

“I’m Knight Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. The injured man in Knight Reese, the woman helping him is Scribe Halen. Now, civilian, if you might give me some more information on you and your unit. For my peace of mind.”

“I have Barb and  Heather with me, my team members. I’m not sure how high a rank Knight Paladin is, but I’m pretty sure I outrank you. I’m Lt. Commander Nora Jane Adams, US Navy.”

“Hah,” barked the injured Knight. “There has been no United States, or a Navy, for over two hundred years. Unless you are Enclave.”

“Still don’t know who they are. But to answer your unasked question, I came out of cryo a couple of months ago. Vault Tech put me and my neighborhood into cold sleep as part of an experiment. Everyone else died, I survived, but my infant son was stolen from me by parties unknown.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Danse. “So you were pre-war, probably discharged so you could have your baby. And your husband?”

“He was in power armor in Anchorage. He was murdered in front of my eyes in the Vault when they stole my baby. Then I was refrozen, and for some reason I survived.”

“What did you do in your Navy?”

“Fighter pilot. Ace. Though I did train with Army Airborne and was a Ranger dropout in college.”

“She sounds like she was a badass, Danse,” said Halen.

“If she’s even telling the truth.”

“You doubt my word, soldier,” said Nora. “If you weren’t injured I would dismount my power armor and kick your ass.”

“Everybody calm down,” said Danse. “Commander Adams. We appreciate your help. And from what you said, you had gone into the Vault well before the Enclave revealed themselves. They pattern themselves the remnants of the United States Government, and want to enslave every person on this continent. They would demand your loyalty if they contacted you.”

“And they could go fuck themselves. The US Government was one half of the disaster that ended my world, and I owe no loyalty to those bastards. The only loyalty I have are to the people of the Commonwealth.”

“Well, ma’am. We could really use your help. We located here because of their transmitter, but it’s just not strong enough to reach our base in the Capital Wasteland. Tell her, Halen.”

“There’s a transmitter booster at Arcjet Systems, just around the corner. But it’s sure to be a hard target.”

“Arcjet, huh. I remember them from before the war. Working on the engine for the Mars mission I do believe.”

“And I guess you’re going to tell us you were an astronaut next.”

“Reese, shut it.”

“No, Reese. That was beyond me. Those people were young Gods. I only regret they died before they got to go to the Red Planet.”

“Many people in the Brotherhood would disagree with that sentiment. But that’s neither here nor there. You’re a product of your time, when people thought tech advancement always a good thing.”

“I don’t think all advancement was good. The damn bombs that came close to destroying this world were an abomination.”

“So what do you say, Commander. Help us out.”

“Just call me Nora, and I would be happy to.”

“Then follow me to Arcjet. Or lead if you have a better idea where it is.”

They ran into some raiders along the way, then wild dogs and insects. Nora had to admit that Danse was particularly good with his weapon, bringing pinpoint fire onto the opposition. But she was also proud of her people, who did just as good a job.

“Why does only one of your people use a laser?” asked Danse.

“We don’t have that many of them, and Barb and me preferred firearms. Maybe one day I’ll warm to the things.”

“That does seem to be a powerful rifle.”

“Damn straight. I’ve taken down two raiders in power armor with this baby. Shredded their armor then put rounds through their heads.” She didn’t bother to tell Danse that the one had just gotten out of his armor to take a leak. One reason she was happy her current suit had a sanitation system built in.

“And what is that up there?” asked Danse, pointing the Graygarden.

“One of our settlements. Used to be a robotic hydroponic test site. The Robots are still there, along with human settlers.”

“You must have some interesting stories. I hope we can find the time to tell each other some of them.”

Nora was liking this guy. He had no idea what she looked like, no exposure to pheromones, and he was treating her as an equal. Soon they were in front of Arcjet.

“I think we should establish who is in charge before we go in. You undoubtedly outrank me, but..”

“I was a Squid and a pilot, and you are an infantry officer. This is your area of expertise, and your mission, so you are in charge. We’ll follow your lead.”

“Where the hell did those robots come from?” shouted an alarmed Danse.

“They’re mine. They help me with salvage operations.”

Danse looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. She thought the Brotherhood might take exception to anyone else taking technology. Well, she would let him take what he needed, and she would scrounge the rest.

“You might want to leave the dogs outside. At least the living one. We’re likely to run into things they will not help you against.”

Nora thought for a second, ordered the dogs to stay, then followed Danse into the building. She left the handy outside as well. They could always go back through the building after Danse got what he came after.

The second room they came too was filled with the remains of Protectrons. Barb grabbed what she could, while Nora looked at the blast points on the robots.

“Is this Brotherhood work?”

“No. Look at the evidence. There are no expended fusion shells, no blood. No, this was done by Institute Synths.”

“Motherfuckers,” hissed Heather, and Danse turned to look at her.

“It seems that your soldier has strong opinions on synths.”

“I’ve never seen one myself. While she..”

“Lost my sister and all my friends to the motherfuckers,” said Heather. “Motherfuckers.”

“Well, Nora. I think we are going to get up close and personal with them shortly. And if you want salvage, you can have all of the energy weapons they drop.”

They ran into the first synths several rooms further on, where a number of stairs ascended to an upper level. The synths seemed to come out of nowhere, firing their lasers and some other energy weapons. Nora and Danse took the brunt of their fire. Heather and Barb added their fire, and the synths went down quickly. Nora took a close look at one of the machines, looking much like a humanoid robot with no armor or skin layer. She thought them hideous, and considered that if the Brotherhood was the enemy of these things she wanted Danse’s people to be her friends.

They ran into synths all the way in. including another kind that had a covering of plastic plates. They were little smarter than the all metal ones, or so it seemed. More rooms, more synths, multiple turrets that activated. At one point Danse got caught in a corridor with more than a dozen laser turrets. Nora took most of them down rapid fire, Heather and Barb taking out the remainder.

Nora hacked through several terminals, getting them on further when they would have been stopped. And then they got to the engine test chambers, and the walkway that led up had been collapsed.

“We need to go down there and power up the elevator.”

“I could jet up there, but I can see where that wouldn’t help the rest of you. So down it is.”

They got down on the floor, right below the nozzle of the nuclear engine. She looked anxiously up, an unreasoning fear since there was no way it was just going to go off on its own.

“Can you get into the interior and start the generators. I'll wait out here on watch for synths. Then we’ll go up the elevator.”

“Sounds good,” said Nora, leading her people into the workshop area. “Well, what is this?” she asked, coming up on a strange looking large gun. “Junkjet. What in the hell does that mean.”

“No matter what it does, it's bound to have some good parts,” said Barb.

“I’ll take it then.”

They looted the area completely, getting a lot of technology and circuits. Nora then started up the fusion reactor and walked out to the viewing window.

“I’m under attack,” yelled Danse. There were dozens of synths out there, firing on Danse, whose armor was standing up to their fire, so far.

“Engine ready to fire,” said a computer voice. Nora saw the glowing button, and knew that if she pushed it the engine would fire. But it would incinerate anything in that room, including Danse.

“Let’s take them out,” she told her people, taking up her grenade launcher and running down the corridor. Nora sent a grenade into an upper landing with four synths on it as soon as they came in sight. She pulled the nano-sword and ran full on into a small group of synths, knocking them over like bowling pins. She struck out right and left, every blow to the head destroying one of the robots. Barb and Heather took cover by the entrance to the room and started putting fire into the synths, while Danse continued to take them out. And then it was over.

“Good job, Commander. Now, let’s get upstairs and find that Deep Range Transmitter.”

It took two trips by elevator to bring up two power armor suits and two in regular armor. At least the synths let them all get up before attacking. Heather was injured, though her armor protected her enough that it wasn’t fatal. Nora, Barb and Danse took down the other synths. Nora started searching, and found a box labeled Deep Range Transmitter.

“Found it,” she said, handing the component over to Danse. They rode up an elevator to the surface, coming out in a service shack, and exited the facility.

As soon as they were out Danse removed his helmet, revealing that he was a ruggedly handsome man. “Mind if I see what you look like, Nora. I keep imagining someone that you can’t be.”

“Might as well,” said Nora, opening her suit to the chorus of the AI, then climbing out.

“My word. You’re gorgeous.”

“Why thank you, gallant sir. You’re not so bad looking yourself.”

“You are one exceptional lady, Commander Adams. Anything you don’t excel at.”

“Well, I can’t cook worth a damn. Now, you want to take a quick look at my settlement before we head back to the police station?”

“Sure.”

Danse walked around the settlement, talking with people, looking at robots, while Nora unloaded her cargo bot and Wilson. There was a lot more to go back for, but she though that could wait for the morrow. She had hundreds of pounds of synth component for Sturgis and Conrad to look over before they recycled them. And over fifty energy weapons, many just the barrels and receivers, a few full-on weapons. Enough to let her make fifty laser turrets for the settlements.

“What in the world is that? A mailbox?”

“A QESS portal. A Quantum Entangled Storage System. Something my techs engineered from research holo-tapes. Anything that goes in can be accessed at any other station. So everything I’m putting in will be available to my people in Sanctuary Hills.”

“That’s some impressive tech,” said Danse, eyes wide.

Hope that gives you something to think about, thought Nora. She liked Danse, but she still had no reason to trust his organization. That they had more power than hers was a given, and if they felt the alliance had superior tech, they were unlikely to fly off the handle and attack. Or so she hoped.

“I’ll go back with you to Cambridge, then come back here to finish up at Arcjet.”

*     *     *

“Good job, sir,” said Halen as Danse handed over the Deep Range Transmitter.

“We knew you could do it, sir,” said Reese.

“I couldn’t have done it without the help of our friends here,” said Danse, gesturing to Nora. “Without them, I’m afraid I would have been just another casualty.

Nora’s power armor was parked outside the station, Heather, Barb and a couple of the settlers were busy stripping Arcjet of all it had. Nora had pulled back on her pheromones. She was still leaking some, but not enough to drive men crazy, and they might figure that Halen, also an attractive if dirty woman, might be the cause of their slight arousal.

Danse had showered at Graygarden, and Nora was going to offer the same to Halen. Maybe even Reese, if he started to act normal.

“They were amazing. As good as any I have seen among our ranks. I would like to offer Commander Adams a position in the Brotherhood.”

“And I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn you down, at least for now. I have prior commitments.”

“I doubt if this loner could have fit in anyway, Top.”

“Now listen here, buddy,” said Nora, storming toward Reese, her face a mask of anger. “I served in a military so large that your whole Brotherhood would at most have amounted to a brigade, probably more like a battalion. I won a silver star for shooting down a dozen Chinese aircraft, and flew innumerable ground support missions for United States Marines. So don’t throw that loner shit at me.”

“Get out of my face if you don’t want me to hurt you.” Reese went to push her away, and she moved too fast for him to follow.

“What the hell are you? A synth?”

“No, I am not a synth. My biology has been augmented to make me a better soldier. And if you push me I will hurt you. I’ll feel awful about it later, but I will react.”

“No one will hurt anyone,” said Danse. “I am sorry that you turned down my invitation, but I can understand it. You are building something special here, and any offer of tech to your faction would be laughable. And Reese, you would do well to remember that Nora helped us out, with no promise of recompense. Which reminds me. I want you to have my laser rifle. I have another just like it, but I think you might find it of use. Probably a bit more powerful than the weapon Ms. Heather carries.”

“Thank you,” said Nora, taking the rifle and looking it over. “How thoughtful. Now, are you going to be alright?”

“I think so. But if you want to look in on us periodically, to see if we’re okay, I won’t protest. And I would like to fight alongside you again in the future.”

Nora walked outside to get into her armor, Halen following her. “You must have really impressed Top, Commander Adams.”

“Nora, please. That world is gone, and I only use that title when I need to dress down assholes like Reese.”

“He’s not so bad when you get to know him. He’s just all Brotherhood. But I am so happy to have met you. Good luck out there.”

*     *     *

“Assessment,” said Danse looking at his people.

“I think she’s a threat, Top. You should have eliminated her on the mission.”

“That’s not the way I treat allies, Reese,” growled Danse. “Besides, I like her. But I have to agree that she and her organization could be a threat to our mission.”

“I like her too, sir,” said Halen. “To have gone what she went through and land on her feet like she did. And she’s not sitting around crying, but seems to be making a real difference to the people of the Commonwealth. Yes, she might be a threat to the Brotherhood and our goals, depending on what Elder Maxim wants to do here, if he even comes here. But she also might be a strong ally who can help us to make inroads with the people. And, she wants to find the same people we do. A pity she didn’t agree to help us. Even as a contactor she could scout out areas and acquire tech for us.”

“They’re using that tech, Halen,” said Reese. “Tech we are mandated to remove from their hands. And what in the hell could we offer them that would get them on our side? They already have better power armor than we have. And that damned magic storage device they have is beyond anything we can build. I definitely don’t trust that woman to use that tech wisely.”

“Okay. I’ve got a feel for your opinions on them. We will keep a close watch on them, but we will not interfere. And if they ask for our help, and we can give it, we will. Understood?”

Reese obviously didn’t like it, but he nodded his head, while Halen seemed to be enthusiastic about helping their new friends. And Danse wondered if he might convince Nora, when next they met, to do a little recon for the Brotherhood while they were knocking about doing their own thing. There was a lost patrol out there, the people who had preceded him to the Commonwealth, and his command really wanted to know what had happened to them.

More settlers, tired of not getting by in Diamond City, had come in. She had eight that wanted to stay, and she set up enough work stations for all of them, as well as both a full bar and diner, using some of the vendor contracts she had been procuring through the last couple of weeks. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to open the settlement to outsiders. While she might be able to do a good bit of business, it would allow the outsiders to get a look into her business.

That left eleven who were ready to pack up and head out. Only three could be talked into Hangman’s Alley, which she decided would be a military outpost for controlling the west side of Boston, once it had enough people. That wasn’t for everyone though, and she thought it might take some time to recruit enough soldiers. So eight, four each for Oberland and Graygarden. After she dropped them off she would come back and see what she might have to escort of Starlight. While not sure how long she would be getting a steady supply of settlers, she could always hope.

“We need to get our hands on some more quality weapons for our settlers,” said Nora, sitting down with her friends and having a noodle cup at Power Noodles. She had suggested to some of the residents that she might have someone who could reprogram the robot, who could currently only speak Japanese, and not much of that. She had received the impression that people here liked the robot the way he was. He was a tradition, and he was to remain a tradition.

The noodle cups were delicious. She needed more than one cup, but she could afford it. Three of her settlements were turning out ration packs that gave a filling meal and drink, and they placed the excess in the QESS system for other settlements to draw on. They were producing excess water that she could also pull out of the system and sell here in the city. It was looking like the necessity of whoring was about to go away. That kind of saddened her. It connected her to her college days, when she could look at the world through rose colored glasses. And, of course, no one said she had to quit.

“The problem is the damn Raiders almost always use pipe weapons,” said Barb after slurping down some of her noodle cup. “When they do get military grade or good hunting weapons, they take such shitty care of them that they inevitably ruin them. Supermutants aren’t much better, though they sometimes have some mini-guns in good repair.”

“Gunners,” said Heather. “I know you said you don’t want to tangle with them, but they are the enemies of the Minutemen, and they mostly have good quality weapons and armor.”

“Which makes them harder to take,” said Nora, shaking her head. “And I want energy weapon parts for turrets. Even the Gunners don’t have many of them.”

“Synths, if you can find them,” said Heather.

For all the talk of Synths in Diamond City, everyone worrying that they were going to be spirited away in the night, she had yet to run into any. When she mentioned that to Heather the other woman smiled, then frowned.

“University Point. The Institute has some camped out there for some reason, so we would be sure to run into them. Of course, it’s a long way from here through some very hostile territory. Maybe you’ll just have to wait to luck out and just run into some.”

Nora wasn’t sure if that would be considered good luck. Robotic warriors with high end energy weapons might be too much for them to handle. She was beginning to think she was going to have to take on this Institute that everyone was afraid of, and no one knew the location of, sooner or later. But right now she would continue to go after Raiders and Supermutants. That was enough of a challenge for now. But Gunners? They were better trained than Raiders, but from what Nora had seen that wasn’t saying much, and the high-end mercenaries were not up to her standards.

“Any luck with the detective?” asked Barb.

“Not a bit. His office is locked up tight, no answer at the door. And the area is too well patrolled to risk picking the door.” The last thing she wanted to do was run afoul of Diamond City Security and end up in lockup, or having to throw down on a force that had almost two hundred police officers. They weren’t very well trained either, and mostly equipped with shotguns, but they were on the side of civilization, and she didn’t want to kill them for just doing their jobs.

“Well, no one in town seems to know where he’s gone,” said Heather. “Or his secretary. Ellie, I think her name is.”

“Just bad luck. I was hoping he might be able to start tracking whoever took Shaun. I’m beginning to think it a hopeless task. He must be older now, but I just don’t know how old. Will he remember me? How could he, when I was just a towering blob to his vision when I still had him in my custody.”

She still didn’t know how long it had been since he had been kidnapped. Ten years. Twenty. Hell it could have been fifty. He might be dead, subjected to some experiment by the Institute or even Vault Tech. Or he could be the member of the organization that frightened so many people across the Commonwealth. But she needed to know, no matter what the outcome was.

“Well, your settlement system is already on the way to becoming the second most powerful entity in the Commonwealth. After Diamond City.”

“Not mine, Heather. It belongs to the people who make it up. It just lead the military and exploratory arm of the alliance. And speaking of which, I need to get some more settlements on board so we can keep growing.” And we need to find out if there’s teleportation somewhere out there.

Sturgis had contacted her, sending a message through the QESS system. They had looked through the mass of holo-tapes she had dumped on them, and found one from a purported Institute Operative who had lived in Lexington thirty years before. He had discussed how the Institute had been working on teleportation and hit a dead end. Some researchers had been sent to Connecticut to look into a research institute that had been looking into that tech about the time the bombs dropped. They had never reported back, and it was felt that they must have been killed somewhere to the south of Boston. Vault Tech was also rumored to have teleporters in the same tape, though no one knew for sure. It would make things so much easier if they could hop on a platform and materialize twenty or fifty miles away in an instant. Of course, the whole concept was also frightening, and Nora wasn’t sure if she wanted to put her body into one until it had been well tested.

They spent the rest of the day looking around the town, Nora getting requests for help that she turned down for the moment. She didn’t want to be tied down before she moved her settlers out, though some of the requests intrigued her. And she wanted to check out Goodneighbor, said to be a den of iniquity, but also the home to some interesting tech and a few stores. It was at least a day’s walk to the East though, and if they met resistance it might be much longer.

“Well, let’s see about doing Vadim’s crazy plan to build up the frightened DJ,” she said as the clock started to tick down.

“You really want to do this?” asked Heather.

“Not really. But I gave my word, so I’m stuck.”

That was the biggest problem with being the face of the Minutemen. She had to be honest, lest people start to doubt her word. Whether it was wiping out a Raider settlement or giving a blow job, if she said she was going to do it she needed to follow through. So she started off for the Dugout Inn, her whoring clothes in her pack, dressed in casual jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes.

She walked into the inn just before six, to see a frightened young man standing and waiting, looking like he was going to bolt at any moment. Vadim stood behind the bar as always, looking on, shooting Nora a smile and pointing to Travis.

Suddenly two hard looking men came walking into the inn, looking around for a second before heading straight for Travis.

“Well, what have we here, Bull?”

“I don’t know, Gouger. Looks like a quaking piece of shit to me.”

“Please go way,” said Travis in a shaking voice.

“And if we don’t wanna?” asked Gouger, the smaller of the two.

“Go away, or..”

“Or what, Travis? Were you going to say or else? Was that what you were going to say?”

Nora moved beside Travis and talked to him in a soft voice. “Are you going to let them do this to you, Travis? The only way it’s going to stop is if you make it stop.”

“But..”

“I’m here to back you up. So stop letting them push you around.”

“What the hell are you up to, bitch?” asked Bull, stepping forward to point a finger in Nora’s face. Nora slapped the hand away, purposively slowing herself down so she would not frighten the two off. She was certain she could take them both no problem, but that wasn’t the plan. Travis needed to feel like he had handled this.

“Leave me alone, or I’m going to kick your ass,” said Travis, his voice firming up a bit.

“Big mistake. We’re going to fuck you and your bitch up.”

Bull came at Travis swinging, connecting with the young man’s face and knocking him back. But not down or out, and Travis returned the punch. It wasn’t a skillful blow, but it had some power in it. Gouger came at Nora, also swinging. Nora blocked the punch with a forearm, returning the blow and feeling the man’s jaw shatter. Gouger went down like a felled tree, out, and Nora cursed herself. She had forgotten how fragile normal people were, and she really didn’t want to kill either of these two. Then her concentration was on Travis and his unequal battle against Bull.

Bull hit Travis in the stomach, folding him over, then raising a hand to strike his opponent on the back of the neck. Nora slammed a hand into his back, interrupting the blow and staggering the man. Bull turned to throw a punch at Nora, easily avoided, and she sent a low power palm strike into his face. Travis grabbed Bull by the shoulder and spun him around, slamming a fist into his face, then another into the stomach. Bull staggered away, and Nora grabbed him by a shoulder and slammed him to his back on the floor, where he lay, groaning.

“If I were you boys I would go somewhere else,” said Nora. “Before Travis here kicks your ass.”

Bull staggered up, then helped Gouger to his feet, aiding his friend in stumbling out of the inn.

“So,” said Nora in a cheerful tone. “How’d it feel to be in your first barfight? And to end up a winner?”

“I didn’t like it. But I guess it had to be done. Thanks, and I’ll see you later.”

“Well, that went pretty well,” said Vadim. “Though I worry that you kill them for a moment.”

I could have very easily, she thought, realizing what a disaster that would have been. “I’m going to make some love, and forget the war,” said Nora, going into her room and changing into her slutty clothes.

Again this night Crocker was her first customer. She thought he was smitten with her, and she was willing to give him an organ to cum in, but nothing more. He again paid more than the asking price, giving her two hundred and fifty caps. With some people she would have felt bad taking that much, but the doctor could afford it, and it was going to a good cause. She fucked three more men, then one woman, Becky Fallon, before trouble came looking for you.

“So, what’s your pleasure?” she asked the man.

“Bull wanted me to give you a good beating, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll fuck you after, so I can get some enjoyment above and beyond beating you to a pulp.”

The husky man came at her in a fighter’s stance. It was obvious he knew what he was doing. It was just as obvious that he didn’t know who he was fucking with. Nora avoided the two punches he threw, then hit him with a knife hand to the neck, dropping him to the floor. She kicked him in the face as her tried to get up and the man was out.

“What happen?” asked Yefim, barging into the room.

“This asshole was here to beat me up, on orders from Bull,” she told the younger Bobrov brother.

“Shit. That’s Rhino. One of Tower Tom’s boys. He specializes in fuck people up.”

“Well, this time he got fucked up. So, please get him out of my room so I can get to work.”

So took one another four men before she called it quits, making fifteen hundred caps. Not her best night ever, but still respectable. Vadim motioned for her to come over and talk to him as she started to walk out of the inn.

“I guess you can have me if you want,” she said with a smile. She wasn’t here to give it away, but she wanted the goodwill of this man.

“No. Well maybe yes, after talk.” The bar had almost cleared out, people going home to get some rest before a workday. “I have second part of foolproof plan.”

“You want me to fuck Travis?”

“Hah, that might do the boy good, but I have something else in mind. You see Scarlet around here. She make eyes at Travis, and he make eyes at her. If no one gives them a push the eyes are all that are going to work. I can’t suggest to Scarlet that she go see Travis, since I her boss. But you could.”

“Okay. That’s easy enough that I’ll do it. But this ends it, okay?”

“Okay. I have to tell you that Scarlet sometimes whores for me, so if she won’t do it, give her a hundred caps. But to do without pay first off.”

Scarlet was actually excited to hear that Travis was interested in her, and went out of the inn as if she were walking on air. She hoped it worked out for them. They were both nice kids, and deserved some loving.

“Okay, now how do you want me?” she asked Vadim.

“I want to take you on bar. You okay with that.”

“No problem,” she said, hopping up on the bar and offering herself. Vadim slid into her and started thrusting away. Yefim soon walked up and presented his dick to Nora’s mouth. Soon she had both brothers thrusting away inside her, Vadim in her pussy, Yefim in her throat. They had some stamina this night, and she was wondering when they were going to cum so she could go to bed. She worked every trick she could, her pussy squeezing Vadim, her tongue working Yefim’s balls. Vadim finally had all he could take and roared as he shot his cum into the grasping pussy. Moments later Yefim came, his balls rising up in their sack as his cock expanded, then shot his load down her throat.

“You good friend,” said Vadim, smiling. “You come back tomorrow?”

“I have to run out of town for the next couple of days, but I’ll be back.”

“Good, having you here is pulling in customers. After they fuck they eat, drink like no tomorrow. You good friend.”

*     *     *

The next day Nora escorted thirteen settlers out of town, all armed to some extent. The people who were going to man Hangman’s Alley, and she hoping they would welcome more people, all had good quality weapons, the two men combat rifles, the woman a .357 revolver. The rest of them had mostly pipe weapons, some with rifles, though there were three shotguns and a couple of hunting rifles among the ten.

The robots had continued to work on the Alley, and two of the Handies had stripped every car in the neighborhood of their wiring, components and nuclear material. A second fusion reactor was up and running, while all of the entrances were now open for business and fortified to the extreme. She set one settler up with a full bar at the ground floor of the building on the right, the female as a doctor on the ground of the building on the left, the third to act as general supervisor and watch that the construction kept going as planned.

Kathy, the woman working the stand, saw the people Nora had with her and stopped the group. “I want to set up at Oberland. Can you help me move my stock?”

“Sure,” said Nora, detailing her people to grab what they could and pack it up. She called up three of her cargo bots and loaded up the rest, and they were off. Oberland had actually attracted another settler, and with the six people she was leaving them they now had ten. Nora set up the robots to build a trader stand for Kathy, then continued on to Graygarden.

Graygarden was not really ready, but the five settlers pitched in to help with the construction. By nightfall they had a two story house going, as well as the beginnings of a service core building. The next day there were bathrooms, generators, and water pumped up from the river. She selected a supervisor who seemed to have some brains and taught him how to run the robots and the QESS. And then it was the trek back into Diamond City.

“When are we going back to Sanctuary?” asked Barb.

“After we get another load of settlers. I want at least ten to drop off at Starlight so I can get that place going.” And I want to make some more caps for the kitty. Or maybe I should say caps from the kitty.

Nora had been thinking about her sexual response post Supersoldier Serum. She was sure it had been a minor consideration to the researchers, but it had turned out to be a big deal for her. She was constantly in a state of low-level arousal, juice flowing in her pussy. It was always wet. Of course, it was gushing when she was getting near an orgasm. Her clit was much more sensitive, and the inside of her vagina was almost as sensitive as her clit had been pre-Serum. And while she was gaining control of her pheromones, she still exuded a low-level of attractant that caused every eye to turn her way. Her vagina seemed infinitely stretchable, and returned to a tight pre-fucked configuration within minutes of the cock pulling out. She really didn’t know how many men she could take on, but hadn’t seemed to have reached that limit yet. On the adverse side, she could still dehydrate and swoon from low blood sugar, so she needed to watch out for that.

They reached Home Plate by four, and Nora showered and got ready to pull a shift at the Dugout inn. So she was surprised when she walked in to find a frantic Yefim approaching her.

“You’ve got to help. Vadim has been kidnapped. You have to get him back.”

“Calm down, Yefim. Who took him, and where?”

“Vadim owed money to the bosses of Gouger and Bull. They came back, demanding that he pay, and stupid Vadim refused. So they took him at gunpoint.”

“Where?”

“Travis might know. Vadim and him talk a lot.”

“Right. I’ll be right back.”