“You’ve got a pretty nice setup here,” said Sturgis, looking around the premises as Nora and Barb walked in with their load. Nora walked the power armor into a workstation that had been in the carport of the house with the workbenches. She didn’t know how she was going to repair it, but figured with time would come knowledge. Meantime, it was still a useful pack mule.

 

“Did you make all of these robots?” asked the Tinkerer, squatting down to get a closer look at the other two robodogs.

 

“I found them in a bomb shelter,” said Nora, walking across the street to look at the new building two of the construction bots had put up that day. It wasn’t quite complete, though it had sturdy walls and an intact roof. The bot was in the process of hanging a door.

 

Another house had been taken down; its components stacked on the ground by the cleared foundation. Not only had the bots taken down the house and gathered wood, steel, aluminum, concrete and other materials, there was a nice stack of other components. Ashtrays, bottles empty and full, cooking gear, and the jackpot, electronic components. The Handy Bot had been hard at work taking apart TVs, radios and other components such as stereos and thermostats. Nora wasn’t sure what she was going to do with them right now, but was sure she would think of something.

 

“Sturgis was right,” said Garvey, walking around from the side of another house. “You found a nice place.”

 

“I always liked it, when I lived here before the war.”

 

“Before what war?” asked Preston, eyes widening. “You aren’t saying.”

 

“I’m two hundred years old,” said Nora, shrugging her shoulders. “I went into the local Vault when the bombs dropped. They froze me, or something, and I just came out of it the other day.”

 

“Damn. Anyone else come out with you?”

 

“No such luck. Three hundred people went into that Vault, and only one came out. Fucked up, huh.”

 

“That it is."

 

"And here I find myself in this beautiful new world, with such interesting people.”

 

“You mentioned being in the military?”

 

“I was a naval officer, though I took several years of officer training for the army.”

 

“Navy? So you were on a ship?”

 

“Sometimes. I was a fighter pilot, and at times my squadron operated from a carrier.”

 

“Well, pilot of not, you seem to be able to handle yourself on the ground. So look. I’ve got my hands full here, but I could sure use some help. You’ve seen the shape the Commonwealth is in. The only way it’s going to get better is if we forge an alliance of settlements. I’ve gotten word of one that needs help. Some information passed on by a trader. Think you can go over there and see what you can do?”

 

“I got some more preparations to make before I hit the road,” said Nora, not really sure she wanted to do this, and not really sure that she could turn down people in need. “So let me get what I need, and make sure this place is ready, and I’ll go see what they need.”

 

“Great. And talk to Sturgis if you want to help out around here. I know,” said Garvey quickly when he caught the expression on his face. “This is your place. But we need help, and you need people, so any help we can give each other is all good.”

 

“Preston told me that you needed some help,” she said to Sturgis as she approached the man, who was sitting with the others around a small fire.

 

“Well, we’re kind of hungry,” said June.

 

“She doesn’t care,” said Marci, her voice grating on Nora’s nerves.

 

“I’ll try to bring in some game tomorrow,” said Nora. “As far as crops go.” She held out her hands in the universal gesture of what do you want me to do about it?

 

“Well, we’re going to need some crops in the ground,” said Sturges, staring into her eyes. “Something that grows fast. There’s a farm to the south of the Red Rocket, if the trader I talked to knew her stuff. But first off we need some beds. We’ve been sleeping on the ground for way too long, and real beds would go a long way to making everyone feel better. This house here is great and all, but without some furniture it’s just another cave.”

 

“Beds? What do I look like to you? A carpenter?” Nora was starting to think that this was a really bad idea. But looking at their expectant faces, so hopeless, she couldn’t just turn them out on the road.

 

“I don’t know what you look like. But you asked if we needed anything. If you could help. So I’m telling you what we need.”

 

“God helps those who help themselves,” said Nora, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll program one of the robots to make some bed frames. There’s packing material over in the materials that you can use to make mattresses. So, that takes care of beds. Anything else?”

 

“We could use some clean water,” said Mama Murphy. “It’s been so long since I’ve been clean.”

 

“I have a pump going down by the river,” said Nora, wondering why someone hadn’t heard the machine and gone to investigate. “Give me a couple of days and I’ll get some piped up to here. Good enough?”

 

“And some defenses,” said Sturges, sighing.  “The more we improve this place, the more of a target we become.”

 

“What kind of defenses?”

 

“Turrets, mines, you name it.”

 

“I don’t know how to make turrets,” exclaimed Nora in exasperation.

 

“Well…”

“Come with me,” she told Sturgis in the no nonsense tone of an order. “Look, buddy,” she said, getting up in Sturgis’ face after they were some ways from the fire. “I’m letting you stay here out of the goodness of my heart. I’ll help you get started, but you’re going to need to do a lot of the work. You’re a tech guy, right?”

 

“Sort of. I play around with machines.”

 

“Then I’ll show you a terminal you can use tomorrow to look up some tech. Go through the holotapes on the desk, the databanks in the computer, and consolidate the information on things you might need. Things I might need.”

 

“I can do that.”

 

“Good.” Then you’re not totally useless. “And I’m going to need money. Don’t give me that look. Not for myself. But if I’m going to buy seeds from the farm, or stuff from a trader, I’m going to need, what do you use? Bottle caps?”

 

“Yep. That’s what you’ll need.”

 

“So start gathering them up for me. The more the better. We can get a lot of what we needed from the debris here, but not everything.”

 

“It would really help me if I could use your Pip-Boy,” said the man in a hopeful tone. “I’ve heard about them.”

 

“No way in hell do you touch my Pip-Boy.” She could imagine Sturges, like the little kid he seemed to be, taking it apart, circuits scattered everywhere, with no hope of putting it back together. “If it’s broken I won’t be able to replace it. Tell you what,” she amended as the man’s face fell. “If I find one or more on my travels I’ll let you play with one.”

 

She wasn’t sure how much good it would do the Tinkerer, since he didn’t have an implant to link with it. Still, it was a very good computer, and it could help in his research.

“Good enough.”

 

Nora, tired as she was, spent some hours going over the database in the new computer the robots had salvaged. She wasn’t sure what the man did for a living, but he had an awful lot of information on his machine. Data on different techs from around the Commonwealth, with a particular emphasis on West Tech and their subsidiary, Med Tek. Was he a spy, or working with the government on surveillance. There was information on a delivery of West Tech night vision to a research facility in Malden. Night vision could be a game changer. And surveillance reports on a man named Gorsky, who maintained a cabin to the southeast of the farm she needed to go to.

 

A holotape had information on cargo bots, something she had a real need for. If she could get some Stealth-Boys, something that had existed in her time, she could make some hovering robots that would carry her stuff for her. That would allow her to not only carry more gear, but to bring more back. And there were plans for a specific cargo bot that could play fetch, taking her stuff back to base and freeing her up. She didn’t think she could build the things on her own, but with he help of her robots and her resident Tinkerer she might just be able to get a couple of them into the air. But she needed the Stealth-Boys, if she didn’t want them getting shot down on sight by any number of people.

 

Barb tapped the side of the bed as she walked into their room. “In the mood?”

 

“Always,” said Nora with a laugh, stripping out of the casual clothes she had taken to wearing around the base. She climbed into the bed, sighing as Barb’s soft hands roamed over her body. Nora kissed the woman, then worked her way down to a breast, taking the nipple in her mouth and sucking gently.

 

“You certainly know how to show a girl a good time,” said a moaning Barb.

 

Nora worked further down, licking and kissing as she went, until she was on a level with Barb’s groin. First she kissed the soft flesh on both inner thighs, marveling in the sensation of the satiny skin that led the way to the honey pot. Then she went for that pot in earnest. The first couple of tongue flicks elicited another moan, and she held onto her lover’s thighs as she licked and kissed, coming back to the clit periodically. Barb was going wild, her juices flowing as Nora lapped them up with relish. After several orgasms Barb went into a back arching finale’, screaming like a mad woman.

 

“Stop,” said the younger woman, putting her hands on Nora’s head and gently pushing. “Too much. Let me come down a bit.”

 

“You could start on me when you’re ready.”

 

“Who said you’re going to get any?” said the laughing young woman. “I thought sure you were going to let one of those handsome studs have a go tonight.”

 

“Be my guest,” said Nora, getting onto her back and opening her legs, inviting the other woman to work her magic. “It’s going to be some time before I want a man.”

 

“Same here,” said Barb, shutting up and going to work, duplicating some of the techniques she had learned from her older friend. Nora sighed, then moaned as the talented tongue of the other woman assaulted her sex. Barb was a fast learner, and soon Nora was gushing juices all over the face of the younger woman. Her eyes popped open and she cried out as she felt something long and hard penetrating her pussy.

 

“What?” she asked, craning her neck to get a look at Barb sliding a dildo in and out of her pussy.

 

“Something I found on the road,” said the smiling lover. “Don’t worry. I cleaned it thoroughly. And tested it out on myself.”

 

“You should have let me use it on you,” said a smiling Nora, shaking slightly from her first orgasm.

 

“I wanted it to be a surprise. You can use on me another time.” Barb then shut up, flicking her tongue across Nora’s clit as she worked the dildo in and out of her pussy.

 

Nora closed her eyes and seemed to melt into the bed. Dreams of Nate entered her mind, her caring man making sure that she had all the pleasure she could handle. The second orgasm hit, and she tried to raise her body from the bed, then collapsed back. And started crying.

 

“Are you okay?” asked a concerned Barb, releasing the dildo and leaning away.

 

“It’s just, it’s just.” And she cried some more.

 

Barb cuddled her, holding her lover close while letting Nora cry it out. “I started thinking of Nate, and it just broke,” said Nora, looking over at the face of her lover. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. You’ve been through a lot in a relatively short time. I know, it been years, but to you it’s been less than three weeks since you saw your husband murdered, your baby taken. And then this whole new world.”

 

“At least I found friends like you,” said Nora, wrapping the woman in a tight hug. She fell into a deep sleep in the arms of her lover, passing a dreamless night before a new day had dawned.

 

*     *     *

 

“Okay, Preston. Here’s my itinerary for my wanderings. First over to this farm here to get us some seeds so you all can eat. Then down to Gorsky’s cabin to see what tech he had on his computer. Come back by here to drop off the seeds, then over to Ten Pines Bluff to see what they need. Oh, and a side trip to the West Tech research facility in Malden.”

 

While talking she was showing the Minuteman a map of the Commonwealth on her Pip-Boy screen. She wasn’t sure how accurate it was with the changes wrought by war, but it had to close to the mark on the major landmarks.

 

“Can’t the tech wait?” asked Garvey, a frown on his face. “After all, we’re talking about people here.”

 

“And having night vision could be a real game changer. I like the idea of being able to see an enemy while being invisible to them. While I realize you have your priorities, mine are to take down enemies while remaining alive.”

 

There was a lot of new tech she had pulled from the agent's, for that was how she was thinking of him no matter which side he had been on, computer. Polymer armors, grenades, scanning equipment for her workshops. If she got all this going she would be the most advanced warrior in the Commonwealth, using tech that was over two hundred years old.

 

The four waifs, as she had come to think of them, were up and working, putting together matresses for the bed frames the robots were running off, laying newly made pipe from the river pump to the center of the settlement, even getting the few seeds they had found into the ground. If all went well they should be seeing the shoots of melons, gourds and corn pushing up through the ground in a week. Of course, it would be some time longer before they actually saw food. But these were genenged crops made to grow fast.

 

The depot Mr. Handy had constructed a duplicate of himself, and was at work on another iteration. She needed to keep close tabs on the replication project, lest the Handies multiply to the point where they overran the Commonwealth. She also needed some starter kits for Construction Bot production. If she were to be helping other settlements advance, she would need at least a Handy and a Construction bot at each location.

 

“I think you’ll like these, Nora,” said Sturgis, watching as a construction bot bent and cut metal pieces, constructing a frame. “Pipe turrets. Of course, we’ll be able to program them to make more complicated defensive turrets once we have the materials, but these will at least let any intruders know they risk their lives to approach closer.”

 

“Great,” beamed Nora at the Tinkerer. She had thought that delegating would work with these people. After all, they had been resourceful enough to survive in this world, and the activity was improving their spirits. Or at least for most of them. Marci continued to be a wet rag that was dragging everyone down, and her husband, June, was just too damned depressed. They were contributing to the material welfare of the settlement though.

 

“Breakfast is served,” called out Codsworth, his claw hand manipulating a spoon and stirring a steaming pot.

 

“What do we have today? And do I want to know?”

 

“Just the meat you provided, mum. Along with the wild vegetables Mistress Barbara brought in. I can’t guarantee it will be the best meal you’ve ever had, but I can guarantee that it will be filling.”

 

The food was actually particularly good. Codsworth had many talents, but cooking was among his best. Everyone ate their fill, and there were enough leftovers to give everyone another feed during the day.

 

“The sight can help you, child,” said Mama Murphy, approaching Nora after she had cleaned the dishes, one of the old woman’s jobs.

 

“You think you can see the future?”

 

“The future, the past, the present. Things that aren’t apparent. But I need some Jet to bring it out.”

 

“Jet?”

 

‘We’ve talked about this, Mama,” said Preston, interjecting himself into the conversation. “That shit is going to kill you.”

 

“We all die, Preston. What’s important is how we live, and this young lady needs what I can give her. So bring me some Jet, and I’ll tell you what the sight shows me.”

 

Nora wasn’t convinced about this second sight the woman went on about, though the others, with the exception of Marci, thought she really had something.

 

“I’ll see what I can do when I’m out,” she said, not sure she wanted to feed the old woman’s habit. But if Murphy could give her insight into finding Shaun, wouldn’t that be worth the risk?

 

“I think you’ll find this of interest as well,” said Sturgis, almost bursting with excitement. He led the way to a newly constructed building he had taken over as his Tinkerer’s workshop. To point out what looked like a pair of oversized Eyebots. Each was a rough sphere a meter in diameter. When Sturgis pushed the central button on a controller they both rose into the air and hovered.

 

Nora wasn’t sure what principle they used to stay in the air. Only that they could and did do it. In her time science had pushed the boundaries of physics into the realm of the fantastic, and this was a prime example.

 

“The one on the right is a bot to haul your cargo with you, whether its junk or munitions. The one on the left is something the holotapes called Wilson. You can call him to you to haul stuff independently back to the base of your choice. The first will haul about a hundred pounds, Wilson quite a bit more.”

 

“Wonderful. And they’re working models.”

 

“Well, they don’t have their Stealth-Boys installed, because we didn’t have any. Those babies are a little more complicated than most of the other gadgets we’ve been making here. I’m afraid you’re going to have to buy some from a trader, or take them from the bodies of kills.”

 

“But I can still use them?”

 

“You can. But don’t blame me if they get shot down by some Raider.”

 

Good enough, she thought. When she headed out tomorrow she would have some new companions at her beck and call.

 

“We’ve got a pretty nice setup here,” said Sturgis as she was walking out of the workshop. “I think we can make this a home. And you’re always welcome here.”

 

Nora turned around and stormed over to the man, poking a finger into his chest. “This..is..my..home,” she said, poking his chest with each word. “You are welcome here, but don’t forget who owns this place.” She shifted her finger into his face and Sturgis made to slap in away.

 

Nora grabbed his hand, pulled him to her, and flipped him to the ground over her hip. He landed on his back in a huff of air, and she launched a side kick into his face, stopping just before contact. “And don’t forget who the warrior is here, Junk Boy.”

 

“That was uncalled for,” said Preston, coming over to stand in front of her. “The boy meant nothing by it.”

 

“Look, Preston. This settlement is my vessel, and I intend to run a taunt ship.”

 

“This isn’t your Navy, Nora. These are civilians who have had a hard time of it. They need some latitude on your part.”

 

“You’re right,” she finally said, looking down. “I’m sorry, Preston. So much has happened in the last three weeks. More than one person should have to go through.”

 

“I, understand. I’m not sure I could have handled what you did quite so well. But remember, these people also went through a lot. Seeing their friends and neighbors killed in front of their eyes. I lost every single man and woman in my unit. I… Well, you don’t want to hear what I went through, now do you?”

 

“When I get back from my first trip we’ll talk. Meanwhile, make sure they keep their noses to the grindstones.” She wanted this place to be strong, so it didn’t become another example of disaster in a place that had had far too many of them.