Lily scratched her head as she checked through her notes on the psychic inhibitor. As she had expected, scaling one up to fit Horrigan was going to be tricky. No matter what the President had said about providing all of the necessary resources, the fact remained that several of the components Lily needed to make a big enough inhibitor were incredibly rare, or were made out of equally rare materials.

With a sigh, Lily leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. She had already sent a request to the President that any local Vaults be searched for the necessary parts. Anything that couldn’t be sourced after that would have to be replaced with materials infused with Sunset Shimmer’s magic, assuming that the Rainboom was in any fit state to help out.

“It looks like there’s nothing more I can do until I get a reply from the President,” Lily mused to no-one in particular. A loud knock at the door made her look around and, to her surprise, Colonel Autumn’s successor strode in. “Lieutenant Colonel Strong? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I need to talk to you,” he replied gruffly as he strode over with an intense look in his eyes.

Lily slowly arched an eyebrow. The man was certainly easy on the eyes, but if he had certain ideas in his head then he was going to have to work for it. “Oh? What about?”

“Your Geode,” Strong said flatly as he stopped in front of her and crossed his arms, glaring at her neckline.

“Taking your military duties seriously, I see.” Lily gave him a condescending smile. “Such a good little soldier.”

“Don’t mock me!” Strong snapped. “Hiding something like that is a serious-”

“I’m sure it is,” Lily interrupted. “However, the President has promised that my little omission will be ignored until after the current crisis has been dealt with, and, to be perfectly candid, you don’t have the clout to decide otherwise.” Strong opened his mouth to argue, but Lily cut him off, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that you have some skill at politicking; you never would have become the head of Raven Rock’s security if you didn’t, but you’re in the big leagues now. You may be the commander-in-chief of the Enclave’s military, but I’ve been practicing skullduggery and the finer points of cloak and dagger since before you were born.”

Strong glared at her. “That doesn’t make you exempt from consequence.”

Lily chuckled softly. “Of course it doesn’t, but between my Geode and my knowledge, I’m invaluable right now. Besides, the President knows where my loyalties lie. Now, if you don’t mind, you’re interrupting my research.” She waved a hand as if to shoo Strong away, but he didn’t move.

“Your Geode isn’t the only thing I came here to discuss,” Strong grumbled.

“Well, spit it out, man! I don’t have all day,” Lily exclaimed.

Strong spared her an irritated scowl before looking over to the corner of the lab. Lily didn’t need to follow his gaze to know that he was staring at her Praetor standing guard. “That’s the Deathclaw that Acheson modified, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Lily replied. It also happened to be the only Deathclaw that the Enclave still controlled since Fluttershy demanded that their control implants be removed, a fact that had thoroughly annoyed some of the other scientists.

“Do you really think it’s wise to send it to the Citadel?” Strong asked.

“I don’t see why not. The intelligence we’ve seen suggests that Unity can’t control the dead, so my Praetor is safe from her most dangerous power. In fact, I’d actually say that my Praetor will prove every bit as useful as Horrigan on this mission,” Lily told him.

Strong stared at her incredulously. “Horrigan tore that thing’s head off without even breaking a sweat.”

“That’s just because Acheson was a fucking idiot,” Lily said with a huff. “Deathclaws are intelligent, but you can’t just slap a bunch of magical upgrades into some power armor and expect them to know how to use it all right off the bat. Luckily for me, undead Deathclaws are just as easy to train as controlled ones.”

Concern flashed across Strong’s face. “What kind of upgrades did Acheson give it?

Lily smirked at him. “As my Praetor is a private Senatorial bodyguard, not military, I don’t have to tell you a damned thing about it. I assure you, though, it will not disappoint.”

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