"Tell me, Overseer," I asked, "what does the name 'Brotherhood of Steel' mean to you?"

 

Gwen MacNamara seemed to chew on that question for a while before answering. "Probably not as much as it should. We briefly had contact with them seven years ago, but since then it's all been rumors and second-hand reports. They're based in C.C.," she explained, referring to Columbia Commonwealth, "but they started out further west. They'd have you believe that they're a military order dedicated to preserving technology, but from what little I saw firsthand they're one bad day away from being a cargo cult."

 

I'd arrived at Vault 81 a few hours ago, and even before I got inside it was clear that things had changed since my last visit. The first sign was the shanty-town (albeit, a nice shanty-town) on the north side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. MacNamara explained that it was the culmination of a project the vault had been working on for some time to produce high quality, radiation-resistant crops suitable for cultivating outside. With a little help from Mayor McDonough, they'd attracted volunteers to set up a small farming community right on the vault's doorstep - and protected by its security forces. 

 

 

Security forces which, it turned out, had been much more active since my last visit. Cedric Mansfield's raggedy force of ex-caravan guards and mercenaries had gone from patrolling the Chestnut Hill area and trying to keep out raiders to building a semi-permanent base on the Mass Pike and moving in to garrison the farm at Oberland Station. In terms of territory controlled, it didn't compare to my project at Concord and certainly not to my ambitions regarding Joint Base Hagen, but I couldn't deny that they'd staked out a valuable and strategically important position. 

 

"I suppose you're aware of the Rust Devil migration, then?" I asked. 

 

MacNamara had nodded curtly, "they made a few serious attempts to overrun our base on the turnpike, and since we pushed them back they've been harassing trade caravans up and down the rail line. I don't think they actually have a base on this side of the river yet - more likely they're sending raiding parties over the I-9 and the Old Wellesley bridges."

 

"The I-9, for sure," I agreed, "last time I was returning home from a visit to Diamond City, we spotted Rust Devils using a tank bot on this side of the river. I doubt they could have got it over the Old Wellesley."

 

"Can I ask you a favor, Ellison?" MacNamara asked. I nodded in tentative agreement.

 

"Can you take off your helmet? I'm sorry, but that polished façade is a little unnerving. I'd rather see your face."

 

"I understand," I said. "But bear with me a moment, getting out of the suit is usually a two person job." Still, I gave it the old college try and got the throat tubes out with a minimum of noise and thrashing. After that, it was a fairly straightforward process to clamshell open the helmet.

 

"Hmm, I can see why you prefer to leave it on," MacNamara said, adding, Doctor Forsythe can help you suit back up before you leave."
 

 

"Thank you," I said. "I haven't had the opportunity to walk Nick through the armoring process."

 

"So about the Rust Devils," she returned to our original topic, "I agree that they're definitely using the I-9. I suppose the other reason they wouldn't use the Old Wellesley Bridge is because of your takeover of Forest Grove, right? Want to tell me what's going on there?"

 

"I wish I could," I admitted, "we're still trying to piece together what happened. When our people arrived, there was no sign of the original inhabitants, and the whole site had been overrun by feral ghouls. It's tempting to think that the Rust Devils pushed out the settlers, but... I don't think it's that simple."

 

"The Gunners, right?"

 

"Exactly. Besides obviously catching them red-handed with your missing patrol, we found some other suspicious signs around the area, including what looked like a staged 'raider' massacre of a traveler. The other suspect is the mercenaries at Joint Base Hagen, but we saw actual Gunners at Forest Grove, and the evidence for the mercs is superficial."

 

"You should know that we've ordered our security forces to shoot on sight if they encounter the Gunners. That little plot to screw with our water supply you uncovered will not be tolerated - or forgotten about. I appreciate your help with that entire matter. But something tells me you aren't here just to check in on our welfare, right?"

 

"No, not exactly. Actually, I wanted to revisit the idea of opening trade links. I know you were a little standoffish about it when we hammered out our territorial agreement, but a situation has developed that might give us an opportunity to improve relations."

 

"I'm not going to lie, Ellison, I'm still rather uncomfortable with your project up near Concord. I freely admit that you've kept to our agreement and more broadly you seem to be good to your word, but it's difficult to accept you as a partner. Still, Graygarden trusts you, and their judgment hasn't failed yet, so I'll listen. What do you have in mind?"

 

"Our outpost at Forest Grove is cut off from resupply right now. Graygarden doesn't have a safe route to run provisions to them, not until we've pacified the Weston area, and they'll need food, water, parts for their machinery, all the usual things settles want. I'd like to get your agreement to let them trade with the farm at Oberland Station."

 

 

"Why not just scrounge what you need from Forest Grove? Junk was the old settlement's main export; there must be more than enough in the ruins to sustain your outpost."

 

"That's probably true," I agreed, "but until the mercs at Hagen are dealt with and the raider migration clamped down, the Minutemen can't afford to divert personnel for farming. They need an exterior supply line so they can solidify control over the area."

 

MacNamara thought on that before answering. "And what would you offer us in exchange?"

 

"Maybe also a trade route from Graygarden to Oberland? I know you've worked with the robots there in the past and you seem to trust them."

 

She shrugged, "to tell you the truth, we might as well already have formal trade ties with them. It doesn't happen at a government-to-government level, but plenty of unofficial exchange happens between those two settlements, as well as traders from further afield. I was thinking more about technical exchange."

 

"The Neural Sentries?" 

 

"Yes, and not just deliveries. We'd want the Workshop fabrication specifications. I'd also like the specification for your powered suit."

 

I shook my head, "I can't help you with the second part. This might as well be a one-of-a-kind suit, and we can't afford to dismantle it for analysis."

 

MacNamara frowned at that, then seemed to think a bit. "Understandable," the admitted. "Maybe you can help me with a different problem, then. A more... individual one." 

 

"Oh?" I asked, "tell me more."

 

"I have a member of the community who is becoming... a problem. Bobby De Luca. He's an addict, both to alcohol and to," she wrinkled her face, "jet. His continued substance abuse is causing safety concerns. I'd like for you to find out who his supplier is and shut them down. Considering you're traveling with Nick Valentine, I'm sure that wouldn't be much of a challenge for you."

 

"So I find your drug pusher, and give you the Neural Sentry specs, and then we open trade relations? Only at Forest Grove, or anywhere there's a river crossing?"

 

McNamara frowned a little. "Let's start with Forest Grove. Call it a pilot project. And of course we'll let the unofficial trade at Graygarden continue. If we don't run into problems, we can talk about expanding ties from there."

 

"Alright," I agreed. "I'll send word when I get back home to have a courier deliver the schematics on holotape. Oh, one more thing."

 

"Oh?"

 

"Tell me, Overseer... what does the name 'Brotherhood of Steel' mean to you?"

 

Well, you already know how she answered that. I went on to briefly tell her about the outpost in Cambridge and their claims about detecting some kind of high-tech signal in the area. I also offered to maintain an open conversation about their activities, with each telling the other of any encounters with the Brotherhood. MacNamara didn't seem to consider them much of a threat, but agreed readily enough to the information sharing.

 

After I left MacNamara's office, I filled Nick in on the task I'd been given. 

 

"Never was much of a fan of drug pushers," he said. "Though I'm not sure if you got a good deal or got passed a hand grenade. That's one profession that takes all kinds."

 

 

"Thoughts on where to start?"

 

He shrugged, "I'd just go with the direct approach first - interview the junkie. If the dealer makes a run for it, security will see them go. And if not, well, this place is a fishbowl. We'll find them eventually."

 

So we did just that - paid a visit to Bobby De Luca in the reactor room. Or at least, that was the plan, since Bobby was nowhere to be found. The rusty old Mister Handy that worked the room told us he was in sick bay, and indeed he was - standing around waiting while Doctor Forsythe argued with another scientist. That second scientist, a woman, turned to us just long enough to snap, "not now, Bobby. And you too, stranger, you'll need to wait your turn. We have an emergency here."

 

 

She turned by the Forsythe then, continuing, "Austin got bitten by a molerat. Isn't that enough, Jacob? There can't be that many molerat diseases or toxins out there."

 

"These aren't ordinary molerats," he countered, "who knows what kind of diseases they could be carrying? In any event, Rachel is examining the molerat. Hopefully she'll find something."

 

Bobby cut in then. "Doctor Forsythe, please! I think I found something that could help Austin!"

 

"What is it, Bobby?" Forsythe asked.

 

"You know that door Austin found? He... found it because of me. I keep my, uh, private things in there."

 

"Your chems, you mean?" the woman scientist corrected.

 

"Get to the point, Bobby," Forsythe pressed, "what did you find there?"

 

"It's like a whole extra vault in there," he said, "but its all ruined and caved in. I found a terminal in there with notes about using molerats to grow viruses. You know, for vaccines and treatments and stuff."

 

Forsythe seemed surprised and genuinely a little concerned. "A secret vault?" he asked, rhetorically, "I've never heard of such a thing." Then, turning to me, he said, "you there, how'd you like to do Vault 81 a favor?"

 

I shrugged, "I came down here looking to do a favor anyway, no reason I can't do another."

 

The woman, who I could now see from her nametag was named Penske, said "There's a chance that somewhere in that ruined wing there's a cure for Austin. I want you to go in there and save him."

 

Names and associations were coming back to me now from my first visit to Vault 81. Austin had been the kid who showed me around the vault, and he'd mentioned that Penske, while not his mother, had fostered and raised him. 

 

"Follow me," Bobby said, " and Nick and I fell in behind the target of our little investigation.

 

Bobby hadn't been kidding when he said the hidden part of the vault was in ruins. The area looked unfinished, with rough-hewn stone ceilings and a general sloppiness of construction that went beyond the ravages of time. I wondered if this part had been an unfinished wing that wasn't ready for use before the war - but then, why the hidden door? Why was it missing from the blueprints in MacNamara's office?

 

 

"I expect there's a damn good reason this place is abandoned," Nick mumbled as we picked through the ruins. It didn't take too long to find the terminal Bobby had been talking about. The terminal contained a diary that, while undated, talked about breeding molerats to use as a vehicle for creating a broad-spectrum anti-viral serum. It also talked about the keepers' fears that the molerats were watching them."

 

"Sounds like they might have accidentally bred them for intelligence," I mused. 

 

"Maybe too much intelligence," Nick added, "since they're still here and whoever wrote this isn't."

 

Incidentally, it wasn't just molerats that were left. As we pressed deeper, we started to encounter automated defenses - turrets and robots. My theory that this was an incomplete and unused part of the vault was crumbling, even without the research terminal. I didn't have a good alternative explanation yet, however.

 

 

Then we got to the research wing, and it became crystal clear what was going on here. The hidden part of the vault and coiled, all around the different workplaces and housing units, equipped with one-way viewscreens and recording devices. Even the Overseer's office had a 'duck blind' installed in it. And we found more terminals, all of which came together to reveal the truth about Vault 81.

 

Vault 81 was not a control vault. It was an experimental vault. Vault-Tec had used the hidden wing to develop experimental medical treatments, then deliberately released diseases into the population to track their effects. After baselining the disease progression, they would release the experimental drugs into the water supply and track the results. I wondered what MacNamara would think of the revelation that she was an involuntary experimental subject, just like me. Maybe she could get a cute "Vault 81" tattoo on her forehead, just like I got.

 

Further down, we reached the breeding kennels for the molerats. I should note as an aside, by this point I was really developing a liking for Danse's laser rifle. That was a fine piece of workmanship, and he'd done me a big favor by giving it to me. Anyway, we could see how the molerats had got out: they'd prized up the floor tiles under their cages and then dug out through the dirt underneath. Looks like the sloppy construction on this hidden vault played a part in its downfall.

 

In the very back of the breeding area, I found another working terminal and learned more. The first Overseer of Vault 81, Olivette, had known about the secret vault. Most of the experimental team hadn't made it to the vault, leaving that section staffed by only three people. Over time, a series of mechanical failures only made things worse for the three anchorites, ultimately leading to a breach with Overseer Olivette. Apparently Olivette had ordered the scientists to begin testing new, potentially lethal pathogens on the vault inhabitants, and the scientists in the experimental vault had balked. Not long after, Olivette stopped taking their calls. 

 

When it had become clear that they were cut off and doomed to die by disease or starvation - or at the tooth and claw of the very molerats they'd bred - suicide followed shortly thereafter. And thus, Vault 81's experiment ceased long before the vault opened its door to the world once more.

 

 

"Oh," said a voice with a distinct French accent, "another stranger. Are you from Vault-Tec security? I've waited so very patiently for you to arrive."

 

What hadn't died in the vault all those years ago was the scientists' assistant, a Ms. Nanny robot named CVRIE - pronounced 'Curie.' 

 

"Do I look like Vault-Tec Security?" I asked, "but I am working on behalf of the Overseer."

 

Apparently answering my first question, CVRIE said, "after all these long years, who is to say what is fashionable now?" Who indeed, I thought, I wonder what she'd think of the dress code up in Concord.

 

In any event, she was satisfied by my explanation and opened the door - and just like that, handed over a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that she promised could cure any known disease. Or at least, the literally thousands she had cultured in the molerats over the last few centuries. That was the good news, unfortunately - the bad news was that only one dose was left, and the production equipment had failed more than 83 years ago. I harbored some hope that one day we might repair the lab here, but who knows when - or if - that would be feasible. 

 

 

"Since my job here is done," CVRIE said, "I think I will follow you out."

 

Before leaving, however, I took a moment to examine the lab. I found some more diary entries that filled in the last days of the scientists who had died here. I had to give them credit for sticking to their proverbial guns and refusing to engage in unethical (or at least even more unethical) research, but I could find precious little information on the project that had constituted the last straw for them. Something told me this isn't the sort of thing that I could just forget about, though I was unsure what my next step would be in investigating. 

 

I also found a rather interesting dossier relating to some of Vault-Tec's behavior modification research. I didn't have the time to do any more than just flip through it at that moment, but I decided to look into it further when I was back on home ground. 

 

 

After making our way back and handing over the cure to Forsythe, I considered going straight back to MacNamara to break the news about the true purpose of her vault. However, I'd promised to fix her Bobby De Luca situation, not her molerat plague problem, and so instead I asked the doctor where the local problem child had run off to.

 

Forsythe was quite happy to give me directions to Bobby's room, and I thanked him for pointing me in the right direction. But then he added, "if you're looking to talk to him about what I think you are, you're better off talking to his sister Tina, down in the reactor room.

 

"You're a perceptive guy, doctor," I said, appreciative.

 

"Well, you work in this job long enough and you kind of get that way. I hope you can help him sort out his issues."

 

 

I found her working under a humming electrical generator, and I had to get pretty close for her to notice me.

 

"Tina," I said. "It sounds like Austin is going to make a full recovery."

 

"I heard," she said. "Now I just wish someone could help me out with Bobby."

 

"Funny you mention that," I said, "Overseer MacNamara wanted me to look into just that."

 

 

Rachel explained a bit more about the situation. The booze wasn't the problem - it was the jet. He was so deep in his addiction he barely left his room, and Tina was concerned it was starting to take a toll on the kid's health. She'd been talking with the nurse, Rachel, and she'd prepared a treatment that would get him through withdrawals, but no one could convince Bobby to actually see her. I was half tempted to just ask security to frog march the kid to medical, but I had a feeling that wouldn't do much for my chances of finding his supplier. 

 

Instead, I went up to Bobby's room and decided to do a little persuasion.

 

"What are you doing here?" he asked as I walked in, "can't you see I'm busy?" As soon as he finished saying this, he stuck an inhaler in his mouth and took a hit of the contents.

 

Nick smirked at that, "oh yeah, real busy."

 

 

I pointed out to him that his habit had almost got Austin killed, and that seemed to click... but he was terrified of going through withdrawals. He'd apparently tried to get clean before, and the cold turkey route had been too much for him to handle. I talked to him about addictol, and how it should help him get through the worst of it. He still seemed pretty frightened, but at length he agreed to try.

 

"One question before you go," I asked. "Where'd you get the chems? Not a lot of places here in the vault to cook jet."

 

"Talk to Tina," he said, "she'll tell you."

 

 

After he left, Nick turned to me and shook his head. "Dealing in the family. That's rotten business."

 

"You think Tina's his source?"

 

"Ask her yourself, but... call it a hunch, OK? Sensitive, sheltered kid like that? It's going to be someone he knows and trusts, and I think I detected more than a little guilt in Tina when we talked to her before."

 

I decided to put Nick's hypothesis to the test, and returned to Tina to tell her Bobby was going to see Rachel as we spoke. She looked incredibly relieved, before saying, "that's it. No more drugs, no more dealing. We're starting over. Maybe now I can get him to leave this can."

 

"You actually want to leave?" I asked.

 

She smiled. "Yeah. Maybe after things settle down here, I will."

 

"Alright, listen, I've got some bad news and some good news for you. The bad news is that I promised to find out who was dealing to him and report that person to MacNamara. The good news? If you want, you can leave with me. And when Bobby's doing better, he's welcome to come join you."

 

"You sure you want a drug pusher on your settlement, Charley?" Nick asked, obviously deeply skeptical.

 

"The way I see it, I need someone to run supplies from Forest Grove to Oberland Station - or, I suppose, to that new settlement down the hill from here. She can put her, um, skills to an honest use, and if she's lucky she might be able to see Bobby from time to time while he's in recovery."

 

"Yes, please, I want to do that," Tina said.

 

 

"OK, then follow me. We need to have a talk with the Overseer."

 

MacNamara looked fit to explode when I delivered her the culprit. "Tina!" she snapped, "your own brother?! How could you?"

 

"I'm sorry, ma'am," she said, "we were just doing it for fun... I never thought he'd get hooked like that. I'm done with drugs, forever. I promise."

 

"I better believe it," she said. "You're going to be spending a good long time in detention. You're not leaving that cell until doctor Forsythe certifies your brother is one hundred percent clean."

 

 

"Overseer, if I might?" I asked. "I have an alternative proposal."

 

"Go ahead," she said, "but understand that I won't go easy on her. She didn't just endanger her brother, but she endangered everyone else. Both of you are reactor specialists for God's sake! Imagine if... I don't even want to think about what would happen if there'd been an emergency while you two were getting high. And Austin, too! He got sick because he was rooting around in your brother's drug stash. You have responsibility for all of this."

 

"I'm not looking for leniency," I said. "And I think my solution will have the same practical effect of putting distance between her and her brother. Exile her to my side of the line. She'll be in charge of the trade mission between Forest Grove and Oberland Station. She gets out of your hair, and I get someone who knows the area - and who knows a thing or two about smuggling - moving the supplies."

 

MacNamara thought on that for a while. At length she said, "fine, that's acceptable. In fact, it's probably better than having her locked up in a cell. And thank you, Ellison. You did more for us than you owed. If you'd come back to me after helping Austin, we'd have been square right then."

 

"There's another matter we need to talk about," I said. "And you aren't going to like it. Nick, why don't you take Tina down to the quartermaster to turn in her vault suit. She won't need it where she's going."

 

Nick cocked his head a little. "Isn't that going to, you know, make a scene?"

 

I looked to MacNamara, shrugging, "unless you have an objection, Overseer, I think a little bit of a scene is just what the doctor ordered."

 

Gwen MacNamara sighed, shaking her head. "It wouldn't be the first time you managed to show off your, ahem, 'customs,' in the vault. Your little stunt with Katlin didn't go unnoticed. But fine, do that. And... while they're down there let's talk about that part of our agreement. It was juvenile and I think we need to renegotiate it."

 

Nick led Tina away - I think she still hadn't fully decoded what he was up to - and I sat down with Gwen to go over the revelations of the hidden vault. When we were done, she looked a little stunned.

 

"I had no idea the danger was so close to home. Or, for that matter, well, Charley, I owe you an apology for what I said to you when you first came here. Realizing that I'm a test subject myself makes me look like quite the hypocrite, doesn't it?"

 

I shrugged. "You couldn't have known. Consider it water under the bridge. Now, you said something about renegotiating our deal?"

 

MacNamara explained her thoughts. She still felt it was important that we maintained our separate spheres of influence and remained cautious about contact. And she still didn't want Vault 111 doing security operations in the Boston area without getting 81's approval in advance. But she conceded that the rules against Vault 111 'visibility' were counterproductive. Denying that we existed, she admitted, didn't gain 81 anything and only increased tension. So in the future, our people - including our newly minted provisioner - didn't need to change out of their vault suits when they crossed the river. I accepted the offer in the spirit it was given, and told her that I hoped we could normalize our relations further in the days ahead. 

 

After our discussion wrapped up, I descended into the atrium to hear CVRIE commenting, "ideas of fashion have changed rather dramatically, haven't they?"

 

"Just Charley's ideas," Nick said, "though it seems like they're pretty persuasive."

 

"Was this really necessary?" Tina asked.

 

 

"It was," I said. "You're going to find that your clothing a bit more exposed than you're used to here, and you might as well start getting used to it now. Now, if you don't mind, I'm ready to get home, so we'll be departing."

 

CVRIE piped up, then, "I would like to accompany you as well."

 

I was a little surprised by that. "Are you sure?" I asked, "you could be a huge asset to the vault."

 

"That is true," she agreed, "but I have been here many years, observed every aspect of this vault. It is a closed system, and I have nothing more to learn. At the same time, it is clear that you not only possess the skills to survive in the Commonwealth, but you are working to achieve rebuilding. Statistically, accompanying you offers the best change that I will not only avoid destruction, but also that I will be able to continue my research and interact with like-minded individuals."

 

"What do you think, Nick? Do we need a cleric for the party?"

 

"Oh, God, you better not start with that nerd stuff. A 210 year break isn't enough. But yes, I say bring her along. Where else am I gonna meet a nice French girl in the Commonwealth?"

 

After getting a little help from doctor Forsythe with my helmet and throat tubes, we returned to the surface and started making our way back to Forest Grove. To her credit, Tina only spent a portion of the trip complaining about, among other things, being naked, stepping on sharp objects, getting sunburned, and wiping her ass with leaves. And after a while, the complaints started to get replaced with questions. By the time we reached the dam, I'd ended up giving her a pretty in depth rundown of the history, current situation, and general rules and regulations of my community.

 

Just before I set foot on the far side and stalked off in search of a place to sleep, a voice called out to me. "Whaddaya think, Charley? You like it?"

 

I turned to see a women with long red hair, dressed in a red vault suit and a very familiar looking set of wraparound glasses, waving me down. When I didn't immediately respond, she dropped her hand and scowled at me.

 

"For fuck's sake, Charley, it's me, Red. Don't you recognize me?"