“How were they?” asked Barb as they walked down the slope and away from the settlement, toward the rope and plank bridge that went over the railroad cut.

 

“Probably the best cock I’ve had in a couple of hundred years,” said Nora with a smile. “Sorry, and I hope this doesn’t change things between us, but the thought of cock has been on my mind for days. And there it was, for the taking.”

 

“No worries. As long as you see to me tonight.”

 

Nora thought there would not be a problem with that. She was growing more and more horney of late, and she couldn’t seem to scratch the itch enough. “Let’s hit the road, partner,” she said, walking down the slope on the other side of the rope bridge, dogs in front, Handy to the rear, her invisible cargo robots wherever they hung out when she hadn’t summoned them. Wilson was somewhere close by as well, empty and waiting to be loaded up.

 

She had looked over the settlement workbench before leaving, realizing that the place could also be built up as a center of civilization, same as many other places she had been. They crossed the ruined road leading north, and she looked that direction to see the tall radio tower off to the direction. Lucas had warned her not to go that way, saying that a Raider boss in power armor, armed with a Fatman, lay in wait. Nora thought that one day she would take him, but this was definitely not the day.

 

She had not told the settlers or the traders about her intent to go to Malden. Best they think she was getting right on their Raider problem. But Nora had her heart set on night vision equipment, and the West Tek facility seemed like her best bet. For many things. So they didn’t have a need to know, and if she died on this mission Preston would just have to come talk to them himself.

 

“There’s an old airliner up ahead,” said Barb, pointing at the rising tail. “Gunners have a base up on the raised roadway.”

 

Nora thought that smart of the mercenaries, who she had no quarrel with and didn’t want to fight, at least until they gave her reason. The old highways were still running all over the Commonwealth, most double deckers with lots of ruined cars. They were at most a mile of roadway, before the gap of a fallen section separated them from the next section. There were ways up to most of them, a few fallen ramps, or installed elevator lifts, making them very defensible.

 

A flurry of gunshots sounded to their far right. The Commonwealth sounded like a major urban battleground, like Stalingrad was said to have been in her great great granddad’s war. Constant gunfire, explosions, and she had to wonder where the ammo was coming from. Someone was manufacturing it, and getting the rounds into the hand of the combatants. Maybe a business opportunity there. Or possibly a trade that needed to be shut down.

 

“I’ve wanted to loot this thing for ages,” said Barb as they came over the last rise to look down on one of the several section of huge airliner that lay in the hollow.

 

“Why haven’t you?” asked Nora, looking down at the wreck. She thought of the time when these things had ruled the skies, ferrying people and goods across seas to other continents. Then, in 2077, the sky had been a very bad place to be, as the pressure wave of the bomb had swatted them out of the air like so many bloodbugs.

 

“Well, those might have had something to do with it,” said Barb, pointing at the gaggle of ghouls who were milling about near one of the sections. The half rotted bodies of other looters lay on the ground, people who had made a try for the treasures and paid the price.

 

“Right,” said Nora, slinging her rifle over her back so she would have her hands free for the grenade launcher. She had twenty ready rounds in her gear, thirty more on one of her cargo bots. When she left Sanctuary she had been sure that would be enough for this mission. Now she wasn’t sure. The Handies would have run off some more ammunition, using fertilizer for propellant and warheads. She would have to stop by there anyway before going to Corvega, so she would have plenty of rounds. Then. Not now. She decided she could spare ten rounds to clear out this place, and started to pick her targets.

 

Sighting in, she sent a round looping into the largest concentration of ghouls. The round hit one of the ghouls in the head with a crack, blowing it clean off and shredding every ghoul standing close. Ghouls to ten meters were hit, many going down, others staggering away. Nora jacked in another round and let fly, right into the next largest concentration in sight, with similar results. She launched three more rounds, until there were no more large concentrations. She figured she had taken out over twenty ghouls with five rounds, damaging many more and reducing their combat effectiveness.

 

“Okay, let me thin the herd some more and we’ll go down.” Nora adjusted her load, slinging the loaded grenade launcher over her back and deploying the rifle. She was thinking an integral GL might serve her better, the weapon on the rifle. But it would make the rifle much heavier and harder to aim, while the M79 was a very accurate weapon.

 

Nora had been listening to the Wasteland Codex on the trip through her implant, the words appearing in her head without giving her away or interfering with her hearing. Right now the smooth voiced man was telling her about ghouls, then airliners. She aimed in on the head of a ghoul and fired, sending it to the ground as its head blew apart. She moved on to the next, then the next, calmly and efficiently servicing them in turn. The monstrosities weren’t much of a threat to her where she lay. They had no ranged attack, and had trouble shambling up the hill.

 

“Watch out,” yelled Barb, her machine pistol firing, while the dogs were up and growling. Nora looked to the side to see a large congregation of the monsters coming at them, probably from the section of airliner in that direction. Nora shifted aim and flipped the selector to full auto, sending a long burst into the mass that thinned it considerably. When the rifle clicked on empty, bolt back, she rotated the magazine and shot the bolt forward, giving herself another sixty rounds. She started firing short bursts, downing clusters of ghouls, then switched to single shot to take care of the few stragglers.

 

“Let me take care of these still down there and we’ll go exploring,” she told Barb.

 

“You’re so damned cool and calm with that thing,” said an admiring Barb.

 

“Panicking gets you nowhere,” said Nora, cutting down the last ghoul she could see with a shot to the head. “Now, let’s go see what we can find. But stay alert. These things seem to be able to hide in the most inaccessible places.”

 

There were rads near the airliner, and more ghouls coming out of the hidden spaces, just as Nora had thought. At close range she used her .45, knocking them in the head before they could go into their version of overdrive. One almost got to her, but Dewey took out its legs, then its throat, while Dogmeat kept watch for any others. She popped the locks on a number of suitcases, finding meds, old money, even some good clothing. And it one crate a bunch of ammunition. She found the cockpit in this section, and removed the black box and a bunch or circuit boards. She felt slightly sick when she walked away from that section dragging her loot, Barb beside her.

 

Checking her rads on the Pip-boy, she thought she could wait. After all, she would get the same side effects from the rad meds no matter how many she had in her.

 

The next section still had some ghouls as well, and she gunned them down just as mercilessly. They might have been people once, but as far as she was concerned they had no humanity. Less rads in this section, but more luggage to search. She popped locks while Barb cut fabric cases. She took some nice lingerie on a whim, but hit the jackpot with a suitcase full of meds, mostly the high-end narcotics. She thought that had been a smuggler, who though he would never profit from his venture, was giving her a lot of valuable items. After that section she loaded up Wilson and sent him on his way.

 

“Only high value items from this section,” she told Barb. “It’s going to be hours before Wilson gets back here, and I don’t want to be weighed down by too much.” She still had one of her cargo bots totally free, with some space on the other. She just didn’t want to come across something really valuable and not have room for it.

 

“This is our wreck, Scaver,” called out a harsh voice. “Drop your weapons and come out where we can see you, with your hands in plain sight.”

 

“Gunners,” mouthed Barb, a frightened expression on her face. “We really don’t want to be captured by them.”

 

“I didn’t see your names on anything,” yelled out Nora, letting her rifle rest on its strap while she readied the grenade launcher. “Finders keepers.”

 

“Your ass is mine, wise ass.” Some shots rang out, striking into the aircraft and letting Nora know that they weren’t sure where she was. She caught movement coming down the hill, to see a quartet of well armored, well-armed mercenaries coming down as if they didn’t have a care in the world. They would have been better served to have been well trained.

 

Nora lobbed a forty millimeters into the group, who were bunched up and presented too good a target to pass up. The round went off between the first and second of the group, killing the two closest instantly and sending shrapnel into the remaining pair, dropping them screaming to the ground. The Sole Survivor sent the dogs ahead to scout, then walked to the pair of wounded. One was groaning, eyes closed, while the other stared at her with hate filled eyes.

 

“Bad move, asshole. When the colonel finds out what you’ve done, he’ll…”

 

Nora shot the man through the mouth, silencing him. “I guess you’re not going to tell him, now are you.” She shot the other one, then looked down on the bodies.

 

All wore good military style metal armor, including helmets. Some had goggles that had the look of night vision devises. She tried on a pair, and was gratified to see that it gave her an enhanced image of her surroundings. She would have to wait for nightfall to find out if they enhance her dark vision.

 

“Let’s get their gear off and into the cargo bot,” she told Barb.

 

“You want to check out their base up there?”

 

Nora looked at the elevated highway and the broken section giving access. There was no movement up there, and she was sure that if anyone were about, they would have come to investigate. “Why not. As soon as we get this gear off and stowed.”

 

They stripped four matched sets of combat armor, including helmets and chest pieces, off the bodies, as well as three military grade combat rifles and a shotgun. The weapons barely fit, but she got everything in, then went to the ramp and the way up. There were lots of Gunner signs, the group that she recalled Preston having said precipitated the Quincy Massacre that had sent him and his charges into exile. Not a group that she cared for.

 

The only thing they found up on the highway was one machinegun turret that Nora took out with a burst, and bunches of equipment. Nora stuffed both of her cargo bots until they would hold no more, then led Barb back down and away, past the broken sections of airliner and into the woods.

 

She met another delightful insectoid as a pair of huge scorpion came out of the ground and scuttled toward the. “Take them out, Nora,” yelled Barb, firing a full magazine into the one coming toward her.

 

Nora emptied half a mag into the one coming at her, getting the idea from Barb that these things were deadly, while the Codex chattered away in her ear about how the Emperor Scorpion, once a pet, had mutated into these deadly creatures.

 

“Now help me take the stingers. But don’t get any of the venom on you.”

 

“Why the stingers?” asked Nora, pulling her combat knife.

 

“The venom in valuable in making meds.” Barb cut off the one on the scorpion she was taking care of and placed it in a sealable bag, holding it open for Nora’s.

 

A couple of hours later and four miles further they ran into a large cemetery. Nora thought it was called Wildwood, from her time. Burial had gone out of fashion in this world, where people were simply left where they had fallen, stripped of their valuables and awaiting the next scavenger to service their bodies, or burned in place. They picked scores of hubflowers in the cemetery, as well as more wild plants, then searched the mausoleums to the side. That was where Nora found the issue of Total Hack magazine that gave much needed information about constructing and controlling turrets.

 

“You know, we could head back now and you would have accomplished everything you set out to do,” said Barb.

 

“I still want the tech at those hospitals in Malden,” said Nora, shaking her head. “Especially the night vision schematics at West Tek.”

 

“You mean Med-Tek don’t you? West Tek doesn’t have a research facility in Malden.”

 

Shit, thought Nora. The man on the holo tape had said West Tek in Malden. So maybe it was Med-Tek, and the West-Tek nightvision schematics had been delivered there. Sure, she had nightvision, the makeshift kind cobbled together by the gunners. How much better would be the West-Tek kind from her time?

 

Nora listened in on the advertisement from Heather Casdin, her direction beacon leading her to a ruined house with no sign of occupancy. “Well, shit. Where is she?”

 

“Perhaps at that small crossroad over there.”

 

Nora looked in the indicated direction, to see someone sitting in a chair, looking back at them, what looked like a high powered laser rifle on her lap.

 

“That looks like Heather to me,” said Barb, waving and getting a wave back.

 

“Good to see you again, Barb. And who’s your friend with the Pip-Boy. A Vault dweller you’re letting tag along. You out of eighty-one, Vault dweller.”

 

“One eleven,” said Nora, looking the woman over. She estimated that Heather was about the same age as herself. Pretty, in an innocent sort of way. Some scars on her chin, but then who didn’t have scars in this place.

 

“That the one that’s sealed up, that no one can get into. So they decided to open up, huh.”

 

“I woke up in there,” said Nora. “Cryo sleep. Only been awake for less than a month.”

 

“The others wake up with you? Will we be seeing them out here in the Wasteland?”

 

“Not unless their frozen corpses learn to walk,” said a grimacing Nora. “I’m the only one who made it.”

 

“Wow. Doesn’t that just suck. So, what did you do before the war transformed this place into the paradise it is today?”

 

“Naval Officer. Fighter pilot. They were, you know..”

 

“I know very well what a fighter jet was,” said the redhead, her light brown eyes studying Nora. “I’ve actually studied holo tapes and books. My mom made sure I had an education. So, what did you seek me out for?”

 

“Actually, we’re on our way to Malden to look into some lost tech,” said Barb. “I suggested that she might want to look you up on the way.”

 

“Okay. Malden. Dangerous place that.”

 

“I heard your ads on the radio. Are you a doctor?”

 

“No. I’m not a doctor.” Heather getting to her feet and stretching. “I offer holistic herbal medicine. Much better than what the doctors give you.”

 

“I can attest to their working,” said Barb, smiling.

 

Heather had a slim body, enough muscle to move gracefully and efficiently. Small breasted, the kind of athletic woman’s body that turned Nora on. She was wondering what the woman looked like naked, and from the look she gave Nora, the Sole Survivor thought she would find out in the near future.

 

“Look. I’m looking for a traveling partner. Someone to watch my back, while I watch yours. Barb seems to trust you, and that’s a high recommendation as far as I’m concerned. So, to sweeten the deal, I’ll throw in two hundred caps and discounted services. What do you say?”

 

“Why don’t you hire some caravan guards.”

 

"Can’t really trust them, and most are dumb as rocks. While you strike me as someone who can make all kinds of interesting conversation. So, we do what you want, as long as you promise to help me do some tasks.”

 

“You any good with that weapon?”

 

“Been using weapons all my life, been fighting all my life.”

 

“Then you’re on,” said Nora, holding out a hand. “But keep your caps. Now, anyplace I can take a bath around here?”

 

Heather laughed. “Normally not the first thing anyone wants to know. Wastelanders are used to being filthy. But I guess if you come from the land of pre-war clean it’s different. So, you can bath in that lake there, with some of my patented herbal soap. Then drink some of my tea to shed the rads. You’ll be good as new.”

 

“And how far to Malden?”

 

“Three, four hours. So unless you want to get there at night, something I would not recommend, I advise setting up camp with me. I’m guessing your dogs are good at keeping watch. What about your Mr. Handy? Is he a combat model?”

 

“Afraid not. He specialized in taking things apart and building tech that I need. And then I have these.” At a signal through her implant the two cargo bots became visible behind her.

 

“Wow. That’s impressive. Could you build some of those for me.”

 

“I think you need a Pip-Boy linked to an implant to make it work.”

 

“Well, shit. And you said an Implant. You aren’t some kind of Synth are you.”

 

“Nope. Flesh and blood human born to human. Implants were pretty common in my time. At least in the military and tech fields.”

 

Heather showed them to the lake, then handed Nora a small bar of sweet-smelling soap. Nora and Barb shed their clothes, under the interested gaze of Heather, and splashed into the cold water while Heather kept watch with her laser. They lathered up, they dunked, coming out as clean as they could get. Nora also washed her underwear, thinking she would let it dry overnight in the camp. Dressed in her outwear and armor, she drank the small bottle of tea the trader gave her. It left her feeling tingly and healthy inside, and her Pip-boy showed that all her rads were gone.

 

“I’m going to grab a quick bath myself,” said Heather, stripping down, then heading into the water. She wiggled her ass seductively as she walked, and Nora thought the woman was coming on to them. Well, she had to know that Barb was a bisex, and her female traveling companion was likely to be as well. If she came on to Nora in the camp the Sole Survivor would accept. If not, then she and Barb would do some stress relief by themselves.

 

The camp proved to be a well-protected bunker under the wrecked house. It was filled with mementoes, and boasted a chemistry lab and many storage containers. There were two beds down there, and Barb staked out the one without a bag for her and Nora. They ate the squirrel stew that Heather prepared, filling and tasty, then sat in the living area and talked about things in general. When Nora started to yawn Heather suggested bed.

 

“Look. Are the two of you lovers or anything?”

 

“We are, though I also like men. But Barb is a great lover. You see, I have horrible nightmares. I think it has something to do with reliving the death of my husband over and over again for decades in cold sleep. It did something to me. Orgasms relieve some of the stress that triggers the dreams. Why. Do you want to join us tonight?”

 

“Damn straight,” said Heather, smiling. “It has been so damn long since I’ve had someone else play with my pussy. And I’ve got to admit, you are one hot woman, Nora. So let’s put your bags on the floor here, and I’ll put mine down. Give us plenty of room.”

 

After some preliminary kissing and fondling they formed a daisy chain on the bags. Nora had Heather’s pussy in her face, while Barb licked hers and had her genitals worked over by Heather. It was a lot of fun, and all of them had orgasms, Nora more than the others.

 

“I want to taste your pussy, Nora,” said Heather, her face glistening with Barb’s juices. “You did such a good job on me that I want to return the favor.”

 

So they shifted, each getting another couple of orgasms out of a new partner. At the end of their session of lovemaking Nora fell not a dreamless sleep that left her rested when she awoke.

 

“That was wonderful,” said Heather as she heated up breakfast. “How often do you..”

 

“Have sex like that. Well, every night if possible.”

 

“Mama Murphy, I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

 

“You know Mama Murphy?”

 

“Sure do. Her sight is real. If she tells you something, believe it. Where do you know her from?”

 

“She’s at my settlement, Sanctuary Hills.”

 

“Nice of you to put her up. But I think that’s a big part of you, Nora. Just watch out for synths. If you find out that someone is a synth, kill them. If you’re not sure, kill them anyway.”

 

Nora thought that was kind of extreme, and she realized there was a story here. One she hoped Heather would share with her in the future.

 

*     *     *

 

The trio looked down on Malden from a small hill to the south. The neighborhood consisted of a couple of hundred buildings, including a corporate office and two hospitals, as well as a large metro station. It looked very dead, with the exception of Medford Memorial Hospital, which had a number of Supermutants hanging around the front.

 

Wilson had been waiting for them when they emerged from Heather’s bunker that morning, and Nora had loaded him up and sent him back to Sanctuary. Heather had added some items, intending to establish a lab in the settlement.

 

“Medford might have some of the tech you're looking for,” said Heather, glaring at the Supermutants. “If we can take out dumb and dumber down there. Just watch out for the miniguns. And the suiciders.”

 

“Suiciders?”

 

“The dumbest of the bunch. They run at you with beeping, flashing mininukes, to blow up when they get in range. If you see one coming shoot it until it blows up. Don’t stop. And look for any others. They often come in pairs or more.”

 

Nora decided to hit up Med-Tek first off, and worry about the other hospital afterwards. While sure that Medford must have some good stuff, she knew things of interest were waiting for her at Med-Tek. After all, it was a research facility, and research meant cutting edge equipment. But first they had to get through the ghouls that swarmed the parking garage.

 

Heather proved deadly with her laser, turning ghoul after ghoul to ash. Nora didn’t want to use the grenade launcher out here, since it made enough noise to wake the dead and call them hither. All of their other weapons were relatively silent, the firearms suppressed, the laser naturally quiet. The pistols would make a lot of noise, but she had decided to hold them in reserve as well.

 

The door to the research facility opened easily enough, though she had to remind herself to hold it open long enough for the cargo bots to come in. The dogs fanned out, searching for enemies and giving the humans some security. Nora snatched the telephone from the reception desk, then pulled a letter that lay on its surface. She almost cried out in joy. It was a cover letter from West-Tek, detailing the delivery of manuals and schematics for the latest state of the art night vision equipment. What it didn’t detail was why this stuff had come here. Nora found the aforementioned schematics and manuals on the floor, along with a holo tape.

 

“You got it. So we can head back?” asked Barb.

 

“With all the stuff we’re going to find in here, you’ve got to be kidding.”

 

The party grabbed everything of interest. Desk fans, phones, surgical trays and instruments. The Handy went after broken computers, removing circuit boards and wiring. There were many bottles and packs of meds, holotapes, enough to keep her busy for weeks back at the settlement. They moved into the hospital, the Handy working behind them to salvage the larger machines. And came to a sealed chamber, lights flaring while a siren blared.

 

Nora tried her hand at the terminal, but it was locked down tight. She was sure there was a lot of things of interest that way. Probably a bunch of experimental drugs and scanning equipment. She still found plenty of that. X-ray equipment, gamma projectors, all things the Handy could take apart for her. Bottles of liquors in the offices, along with pistols and ammo, something she really didn’t associate with hospitals. Lots of empty bottles to smash and bag. Soon Wilson was filled and ready to go, and Nora went back to the door to open it for his exit.

 

She still had the one empty cargo bot, and room for thirty some pounds on the other. Plus the excess space in her and Barb’s packs. So they moved farther into the hospital, up stairs, through bathrooms, using doors when possible, holes in the wall when that was all that was available. They started running into ghouls, a bunch of them on a stairwell that the grenade launcher took down with one round. Then a room with a bunch of old computer stations, the ghouls coming down parts of shattered floor that had formed ramps. Nora and company gunned them down, then went up the ramp to the offices up above.

 

“We’re about at our limit, Nora,” said Barb.

 

“Just a little more searching,” she told her friend, making her way into what looked to be an executive office occupied by a very non-executive ghoul. He out of the way, she looked over the computer screen and read some entries, one catching her attention.

 

THEY DELIVERED THE SERUM THAT JACK CABOT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH. DELIVERED A HALF DOZEN VIALS THAT WE MIXED WITH THE HUMAN ENHANCEMENT SERUM. PRELIMINARY TESTS SHOW THAT IT DOES INDEED AUGMENT THE BIOLOGY OF THE SUBJECTS. CAN’T WAIT TO UNLEASH BATTALIONS OF SUPERSOLDIERS ON THE CHINESE.

 

Now that sounded interesting. She downloaded all of the logs and data onto a couple of holotapes, then hacked into a safe control to open a wall unit. Inside she found a padded container with a vial, labeled Lorenzo’s Oil. She thought this must be what they were talking about. But she needed to find the Human Enhancement Serum to go with it, and it was nowhere to be found. Possibly down in that basement facility she couldn’t get to. Still, she had one half of the Supersoldier Serum, and with luck the other half would fall into her hands in the near future.

 

“Well, it’s just before one. I say we keep gathering for another couple of hours. Wilson should be back by then, and we’ll load him up, then trek back to Heather’s bunker to spend the night. Then head for home tomorrow.”

 

“And Medford?” asked Heather.

 

“Another target for another day,” said Nora. “We can always come back here.” And maybe then we can find a way into the basement of this place.

 

After sending Wilson on his way again, the party started back to the cemetery and Heather’s bunker. Along the way Nora spotted an enormous Supermutant, and was prepared to fire on it as it shuffled along.

 

“Don’t,” whispered Heather, putting a hand on Nora’s rifle. “That’s a behemoth, and it will kill all of us if you attract its attention. You need a rocket launcher and a bunch of rockets to take one of those monstrosities down.”

 

So they waited for it to move on, then moved quickly and quietly behind it.

 

“I’m impressed,” said Heather as they relaxed in the bunker for the night. “You conducted a thorough operation and came away with a lot of loot. I think I hitched my wagon to the proper star.”

 

“Thank you. Now, what say we do some stress relief.”

 

“Speaking of that,” said Heather, pulling a trio of dildos from her bag. “I have some male simulators for us tonight. If you’re up for it.”

 

Nora was indeed up for it, as was Barb, and they spent several pleasant hours before sleep claimed them. The next day they loaded up Wilson, sending him on his way and giving Nora a cargo bot and a half of room to pick up things along the way. That done they left the bunker and headed out.