Fallout - Chapter 120: Fishing (Patreon)

The next morning, at the Minutemen base.

The conference room was packed.

Preston sat to Jace’s left. A map of the Commonwealth lay spread out in front of him, covered in red and blue markings that crawled across the paper like veins.

Jackson, Anthony, Ronnie Shaw. Every senior member with a say in major decisions was there.

Maxson sat at the opposite end of the long table. Two fully armed Knights stood behind him and had not moved since the meeting began.

Nate sat midway down the table.

He swept his gaze across the room, lingering on each face for half a second before finally looking toward the empty chair at the head of the table.

Too many people were here.

Suspiciously many.

The door opened.

Jace walked in without looking at anyone and went straight to the head of the table. He remained standing and skipped the pleasantries.

“I called everyone here today because of the Institute.”

He pressed a button on the data transmitter.

“Watch this.”

The screen lit up.

The footage was gray and low-resolution, like something pulled from an old surveillance recording. Several bands of static cut across the image.

A figure appeared.

A Courser.

He stood in a clearing among the ruins, his body turned slightly sideways. His head slowly swept around before stopping.

Then he raised his right hand.

Blue light erupted.

It surged upward from beneath his feet, as though someone had dropped a tiny blue sun into reality.

The glow swallowed his entire body. His outline began to distort and dissolve. Muscle, bone, the texture of his clothing, everything blurred together inside the blue light.

The glow expanded to its limit, contracted into a single point, then burst outward.

The clearing was empty.

Only ruins remained, as though no one had ever been standing there.

The footage froze on the final frame.

The conference room remained silent for two seconds.

“What was that...?”

“Teleportation?”

“The Institute has been using this all along?”

Whispers spread through the room.

Jackson put down his pen, his brow deeply furrowed.

“General, that’s Institute technology?”

“Yes,” Jace said, his voice more serious than before. “Long-range teleportation. We don’t understand the principle yet, but you’ve seen what it can do.”

The room grew louder.

Some people began whispering to each other. Others tapped their fingers against the table. A few muttered curses under their breath.

Jace waited until the noise subsided on its own.

“According to reliable intelligence, an Institute scientist left the Institute not long ago.”

“If he’s willing to cooperate, he should be able to provide important information about the Institute’s teleportation technology. How it works, its limitations, its weaknesses.”

Josie straightened in her chair, making it creak.

“Where is he?”

“The Glowing Sea.”

The room went silent again.

Across the Wasteland, that name meant one thing.

It was a place sane people did not go.

Josie lowered her voice.

“The radiation in the Glowing Sea... an ordinary person would melt into a puddle after three minutes. There wouldn’t even be bones left.”

“I know,” Jace said with unnatural calm.

“But our intelligence says he’s still alive. He’s even established a base deep inside the Glowing Sea.”

The room erupted.

Some argued that they should immediately organize an elite team, equip them with power armor, stock up on RadAway and Rad-X, and send them into the Glowing Sea to find the scientist.

Others called it suicide.

The Glowing Sea wasn’t just another irradiated zone. It was crawling with powerful creatures. Deathclaws, Radscorpions, Bloodbugs. A few suits of power armor wouldn’t be enough.

Someone else suggested sending robots ahead to scout.

Jackson immediately rejected the idea.

The electromagnetic interference in the Glowing Sea was too severe. The robots would lose contact after only a few kilometers.

One proposal after another was raised, then discarded.

A subtle restlessness filled the conference room.

Everyone knew they had to do something.

No one could agree on what.

They were like people thrashing around in a swamp.

Nate hadn’t spoken once.

He sat quietly, watching each person as they spoke.

Eventually, his gaze settled on Jace.

Jace stood at the head of the table and listened to every opinion.

He didn’t interrupt.

He didn’t rush to make a decision.

He showed no impatience.

But watching him, Nate felt that nagging sense of wrongness grow stronger.

This wasn’t how Jace normally handled things.

Something this important and sensitive would never be brought before a meeting this large.

Sensitive matters were usually settled in a small room.

Jace.

Nate.

Preston.

Maybe Sturges or Jackson.

The fewer people involved, the lower the risk and the greater the efficiency.

But now Jace had put this in front of more than twenty people.

Why?

Nate kept watching him.

This wasn’t a real decision-making meeting.

It was a performance.

At that moment, Jace raised one hand.

The arguments gradually died away.

“That’s enough on this subject for now,” Jace said. His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone could hear him. “We’ll discuss the Glowing Sea later.”

“Next, Nuka-World.”

Nate’s fingers relaxed slightly.

Now he was certain.

Anthony had found the intelligence hidden inside the blue teddy bear and passed it on to Jace.

Which meant Nate knew what he had to do next.

Jace pressed another button.

The screen changed.

Towering roller coaster tracks curved across the Wasteland sky. Abandoned amusement rides leaned crookedly among the weeds.

At the center of the image stood an enormous sign.

Its red and white stripes were still painfully bright despite two centuries of wind and sand.

“Nuka-World,” Jace said.

“A massive pre-War amusement park. A Nuka-Cola theme park.”

He paused.

“Now it’s a Raider stronghold.”

“Three major Raider gangs operate there, along with their Overboss, Colter.”

“We don’t have much intelligence on Colter,” Jace continued. “We only know he’s the one in charge. All three gangs answer to him, at least officially.”

He turned and switched on a radio sitting on the table, tuning it to a specific frequency.

Nuka-Cola Family radio.

Static crackled.

Then cheerful music poured from the speakers.

The Nuka-World theme song.

A lively rhythm, bright woodwinds, brass and strings blended together into something sunny and carefree.

It sounded completely out of place in the Wasteland.

Like an echo from a world that had never ended.

“What if there were a place with all the zip and excitement of Nuka-Cola?”

“Wouldn’t it be the happiest, happiest, happiest place in the whole world?”

“Come experience Nuka-World for yourself!”

An enthusiastic voice joined in.

“Hey, kids! Remember, Nuka-World is only open for a few more weeks this October!”

“Come meet me, Bottle, and Cappy one last time before we close for the winter!”

“And don’t forget to bring an empty Nuka-Cola bottle for fifteen dollars off admission!”

Then came a rapid-fire disclaimer, delivered so quickly it sounded like someone racing a clock.

“Board the Nuka-Express at the Nuka-World Transit Center. Parking fees apply. End-of-season ticket prices subject to change. Nuka-World, Nuka-Express, Nuka-Cola characters and related properties are all...”

Jace switched off the radio.

The conference room was quiet for a moment.

The cheerful music seemed to have taken something out of the room when it stopped, leaving an uncomfortable emptiness behind.

Everyone wore slightly strange expressions.

It was as though they had just heard something that didn’t fit into their understanding of the world.

“This broadcast started this month,” Jace said, pushing the radio aside. “They’re using pre-War advertising and cheerful music to lure people from the Commonwealth to Nuka-World.”

Preston spoke from beside him, his voice low and certain.

“They lure people in and turn them into slaves.”

Josie frowned.

“How have I not heard about this?”

“The broadcast only started this month. Word hasn’t spread yet.”

Jace looked at the colorful archway on the screen.

Under the Wasteland sun, it looked like some misplaced illusion.

“Colter is smarter than most Raiders. He knows he can’t afford to provoke the Commonwealth, so he’s stayed holed up inside Nuka-World.”

Josie asked,

“Then why start provoking people now?”

Jace answered,

“My guess is he’s losing control of his men.”

The room went quiet.

Everyone understood what he meant.

A Raider leader controlling three bloodthirsty gangs.

Protected inside a stronghold that was difficult to attack.

For years, he had kept his distance from the prosperous Commonwealth.

But now he was reaching outward.

Not because he had suddenly grown greedy.

Because if he didn’t give his men something soon, they would start turning on him.

Preston tapped a finger lightly against the table.

“Should we send them a warning?”

“More than a warning.”

Jace answered immediately.

He didn’t need time to think.

He had settled this matter long ago.

The meeting ended an hour later.

People gradually filed out, and the lights in the conference room went dark one by one.

Chairs scraped back into place.

Footsteps faded.

Quiet conversations died away.

Jace and Maxson were the last to leave.

They walked side by side down the corridor, speaking quietly.

Maxson looked thoughtful. He nodded slightly and said something under his breath before the two of them turned down another corridor together.

Nate didn’t return to Sanctuary Hills.

He left the base and walked into the open ground outside.

The Wasteland sun warmed his face with dry heat.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, watching his shadow stretch across the gravel beneath his feet.

For a while, he simply stood there as though admiring the distant scenery.

Then a small black speck appeared above the ruins.

A crow.

It flew low, its wings almost brushing the tops of the wreckage, then adjusted course and glided toward Nate.

It landed on his shoulder and tilted its head at him.

Nate didn’t turn.

His right hand rose naturally.

Slowly.

The motion looked like he was scratching his neck or adjusting his collar.

His fingers slipped beneath the edge of his clothing and removed something.

A miniature camera.

The movement was quick and subtle.

Nate held the camera in front of the crow.

The bird lowered its head and neatly took it in its black beak.

Then it immediately spread its wings and flew away.

Its wings beat rapidly through the air as several black feathers drifted down behind it.

Nate remained where he was and straightened his clothes.

Roughly thirty meters above him, an invisible eyebot hovered in the air.

Since it didn’t need to withstand intense radiation, its optical refraction field could operate at extremely high power.

There was no way to detect it with the naked eye.

Its camera aperture narrowed slightly.

Focus locked.

The high-powered optical lens magnified everything on the ground.

The arc of Nate’s coat as he turned.

Every minute change in his expression.

Every individual feather on the crow’s wings.

All of it was recorded.

The data was transmitted back over an encrypted signal.

...

The base control room.

High-definition footage from the eyebot played across the main screen.

Jace stood in front of it with his arms folded.

Maxson stood beside him, brow slightly furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line.

He looked intrigued.

Jace spoke.

“Looks like the fish took the bait.”

Maxson nodded.

“The laser excavation unit is ready too.”

Then his tone shifted.

“But we’re still missing a transport vehicle.”

Maxson walked to the console and swiped across the screen several times.

A holographic projection appeared above it.

A massive piece of equipment.

Its main body was silver-white, square and heavily reinforced, with impact-resistant rails along the edges. Several thick energy conduits extended outward from the central core.

“The core module, power supply, and auxiliary equipment weigh about ten tons altogether. That isn’t particularly heavy, but the dimensions are awkward.”

“A normal truck bed is too small, and a heavy transport trailer is too slow.”

“I was going to bring down a transport vehicle, but the Prydwen’s cargo platform was damaged in that rollover accident. Repairs are still underway.”

He looked at Jace.

“I heard you recovered two intact tanks near Fort Hagen a few days ago.”

There was no attempt to hide the interest in his voice.

For an Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel, two intact pre-War main battle tanks were not something he could pretend not to care about.

Jace raised an eyebrow slightly.

It was true.

He had recovered two tanks.

The first had been found northwest of Fort Hagen.

It was stuck in a ditch, its hull covered in dark green moss and rust, but the armor remained intact.

There were no signs of penetration anywhere on the vehicle.

Two skeletons in U.S. Army uniforms lay nearby.

There had also been a note on the ground.

The gist of it was simple.

The two soldiers had stolen a tank to go drinking and somehow lost it.

Their commanding officer had ordered them to bring it back before six the next morning or he would skin them alive.

So they stole another tank to go looking for the first one.

Then that tank got stuck too.

Judging by the scene, they had probably been trying to dig it out when the bombs fell.

The second tank had been found farther north, parked on flat ground not far from a nearby Red Rocket station.

Its tracks were intact.

Its hull was undamaged.

Apparently, that was the tank they had originally “lost.”

Both vehicles had survived in remarkably good condition.

Their fusion engines had been shut down for two hundred years, but the core structures were still intact.

There were no cracks inside the reactor chambers.

All they needed was for the cooling systems to be flushed and some aged seals and pipes to be replaced.

Then they could be restarted.

Jace had sent people to tow both tanks back to the base a few days earlier.

They were now sitting beneath tarps in the maintenance area outside.

He just hadn’t figured out what to do with them yet.

Driving a tank wasn’t like driving a car.

You couldn’t simply climb into the driver’s seat, press the accelerator, and go.

“Your information network is pretty good.”

Jace looked at Maxson.

“Just don’t break them.”

“Don’t worry.”

The faintest smile appeared at the corner of Maxson’s mouth.

On the screen, the crow had already flown far into the distance, shrinking into a black speck against the sky.