Galaxy News Radio was very well fortified. Walls of sandbags lined the outside giving the defending soldiers plenty of cover, and the doors were reinforced with steel plates and crossbars. Inside was even more impressive, with more sandbags and makeshift barricades defended by heavily armed Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, each of whom saluted Sentinel Lyons as she led the girls into the building.

Sunset shivered as she passed one particular barricade. She wasn’t really expecting the soldiers to attack, but she was still leery of having what were clearly military-grade flamethrowers pointed in her general direction.

The girls silently followed Sentinel Lyons past the soldiers and up a guarded staircase. Each was lost in their own thoughts, either mentally processing the hellish battle they’d just endured or, like Sunset, desperately trying to distract themselves from thinking about it.

“Hey, Three Dog! You okay in here?” Lyons called out suddenly as she made her way up another short staircase.

“Sure am! How’s it looking out there?”

The staircase came out into the middle of a large, messy room. Chairs, small tables and shelving units were dotted around randomly, with a small kitchenette in one corner. Looking around, Sunset spotted an alcove behind them filled with terminals and banks of computers and recording equipment, everything a functioning radio station and recording studio could need. A man was standing over one of the terminals with his back to the group, busily fiddling with the controls. Sunset assumed this must be the Three Dog that she’d heard about.

“The area is secured, with no casualties so far this time,” Lyons called as she leaned against a pillar, “Mind coming over here a sec? I think you’ll want to be a part of this.”

“A part of what?” Three Dog glanced over his shoulder for a second, then did a double take, “What… the…” He rubbed his eyes and blinked at the girls, then turned to Sentinel Lyons, “Uh, Sarah? Are there seven multi-colored girls sat in my office, or am I on Jet again?”

“They’re real all right, I can see them just as well as you. No idea if you’re on Jet or not though,” Lyons chuckled, but her laughter died quickly, “They’re here to see you, apparently they’re friends of James and Adam.”

“Seriously?”

Sunset eyed Three Dog warily as he abandoned the terminal and wandered over to the girls. He had dark, brown skin and was wearing a long sleeveless leather coat over a clean white t-shirt and patchwork pants. His black hair was covered with a cloth wrap and he sported a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. A pair of stylish, if unnecessary, shades covered his eyes.

“Well this is something you don’t see every day,” Three Dog said flatly, “So how exactly do you all know our little Lone Wanderer and his father?”

“It’s… kind of a long story,” Sunset said slowly.

“And I bet it’s an interesting one,” Three Dog replied, “I’ve got time, why don’t you all take a seat and tell me how you know James.”

“I’d like to hear this too,” Lyons cut in.

Sunset glanced around at her friends, unsure how exactly to start.

“May as well tell them the truth sugarcube,” Applejack said suddenly, “Ah’ve already explained things to the Children of Atom, it’s only a matter of time before the news spreads.”

“I know, I’m just trying to figure out how we can explain everything without sounding crazy,” Sunset sighed. She was done with lying, with hiding who they were from the world. It was a huge risk, but it was time to reveal the truth, and there was something about Lyons and Three Dog that made her want to trust them, even if she had only just met them.

Sighing again, Sunset dropped onto the nearest chair, then hissed as pain lanced through her chest.

“Hey, you okay?” Lyons asked as Fluttershy gasped and darted to her side.

“She really ain’t,” Applejack muttered.

Fluttershy gently pressed a hand to Sunset’s side and turned to glance at Three Dog, “Um, would you mind turning around for a moment please? I need to check under her top.”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Three Dog quickly complied, politely turning and putting his back to them.

With a little help from Fluttershy, Sunset shrugged her jacket off and peeled off her top. The others winced as they saw the full extent of her injuries. The bruising around her ribs and stomach had gotten noticeably worse, dark purple splotches spreading across most of her side.

“That looks nasty,” Lyons said quietly.

Fluttershy didn’t respond as she gingerly checked Sunset’s ribs, then pulled out a stethoscope and listened carefully to her chest. Once that was done she moved down to her abdomen.

Eventually she sighed and stood back up, “Okay, it doesn’t look like you’ve broken any of your ribs, you’ve just made the bruising a little worse.”

“That’s good news,” Sunset said with a little smile.

Fluttershy didn’t smile back, “It is, but I’m more concerned about your kidney. There’s definitely some swelling there that I really don’t like.” She pressed the back of her hand to Sunset’s forehead, chewing her lip nervously, “And you’re clammy too. That’s not a good sign.”

“Well we did just come through one heck of a fight, are you sure it’s not just the sweat cooling off?” Sunset replied reasonably.

“It could be, but I’m not sure,” Fluttershy frowned as she rummaged through her nursing kit, “I’ll give you a stimpak anyway, just in case. If you feel faint or shivery at all you let me know, okay?”

“I will, I promise,” Sunset hissed and bit her lip as Flutters slipped the needle into her arm, then sighed with relief as the stimpak did its work, the pain ebbing away swiftly.

“Can I turn around now?” Three Dog asked.

“One sec,” Sunset quickly grabbed her top and fumbled it back on, followed by her jacket, “Okay, I’m good.”

“Cool,” Three Dog turned back and glanced around for a moment before spotting an empty chair, “Hey, Sarah, want a seat?”

“I’m good thanks,” Lyons replied, not taking her eyes off Sunset.

Three Dog just shrugged and dropped into the chair.

Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly, still unsure of how to start. Finally she sighed, “Okay. What I’m about to tell you is going to sound… well… crazy.”

“Completely insane would probably be a more accurate description,” Twilight supplied.

Sunset just nodded, “In light of that, I think it would be best if we prove to you that we aren’t crazy first.” Her eyes flicked from Three Dog to Lyons, “Just… don’t freak out on us, okay?”

Three Dog nodded eagerly, “I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff in the wastes, give me your best shot.”

Lyons eyed Sunset suspiciously for a moment, before finally nodding once.

The two of them flinched at a sudden blur. Three Dog reached up to feel his face as he realized something was missing.

“Looking for these?” Dash called from where she stood in the recording area, tapping the shades she was now sporting and grinning smugly.

Three Dog and Lyons stared at her for a moment, but before either of them could speak their attention was stolen by a shelving unit that floated past, gripped in the purple glow of Twilight’s magic. A second later a gemstone materialized around one of the lights in the ceiling, bathing the room in a kaleidoscope of refracted colors.

“Oh… my… God…” Three Dog muttered.

“It’s beautiful,” Lyons breathed, “How is this even possible?”

Sunset couldn’t resist grinning slightly, “Magic. You see, we’re not actually from this world, but from another one.” She smile turned a little sad as she said, “One more different from this one than you can possibly imagine.”

Three Dog and Lyons both turned to goggle at her.

“Explain, right from the beginning!” Lyons commanded.

Taking one last deep breath to steady herself, Sunset told them everything. She told them about Equestria, the mirror and her arrival in Canterlot High. Then she set about giving a rough outline of the various adventures they had all been through together, with occasional input from the other girls. Sunset was careful not to mention that their Geodes were the source of their magical abilities though. That was information she really didn’t want loose in the wasteland, the last thing they needed was some psychopath trying to steal their Geodes.

The girls got progressively more excitable as they relived their old escapades Bringing up old memories and reliving happier moments. Lyons and Three Dog were a good audience, hardly interrupting except to ask for clarification or to gasp in outright surprise.

All too soon the story turned to the Geode Diviner.

With a heavy heart, Sunset reluctantly spoke of their ill-fated attempt to turn it on, and their subsequent arrival in Vault one-oh-one. The other girls went silent as she explained how James had attempted to help them find a way back home, then suddenly vanished one day, leaving the Vault in disarray. Her voice shaking, Sunset gave an outline of their own departure from the Vault and their desperate attempt to catch up with James, right up to their arrival in D.C.

Three Dog let out a breath as Sunset finally fell silent, “Jesus. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Didn’t James tell you anything before he left?” Lyons asked. She frowned as the girls just shook their heads, “Asshole! What the hell was he thinking?”

“He did tell me there was something really important he had to do,” three Dog supplied, “But still… that was a dick move.”

“Now you understand why we came to see you,” Sunset said quietly.

“Yeah, I get it,” Three Dog sighed heavily, “Okay, I’ll tell you where James and Adam went. However-” he raised a hand as the girls hurriedly thanked him, “When Adam came here asking after James, I asked him to contribute in return for the information. To help fight the Good Fight.”

Sunset frowned at him, “Wait… you mean you want us to fight for you?”

“No, no! That’s no what I meant!” Three Dog held up his hands in a placating manner, “Fighting the Good Fight doesn’t just mean going out there and killing the bad stuff. It also means doing what you can to help out those people who are just trying to survive.”

Three Dog sighed again and shook his head, “Look, I already feel like a dick for even asking, after everything you girls have been through, but is there anything you can do to help? Even if it’s only something small, just something to make life a little easier for the good people out there who are struggling to live in a world that doesn’t give a shit.”

Sunset folded her arms as she thought. Much as she wanted to help out, she couldn’t really think of anything off the top of her head that didn’t involve putting her friends in danger somehow.

“What about music?”

Everyone turned to look at Twilight curiously.

“Sure, music is good. It lifts peoples spirits, gives them a chance to forget their troubles for a while.” Three Dog replied with a nod, “Only problem is I’ve already got my hands on every single record I can find that’s in a playable condition, unless you think you know where I can find some more?”

“Not exactly, but… well… I believe we’ve already mentioned that we’re all in a band together.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that, “I hate to break it to you Twilight, but I don’t think there’s any instruments around here that we can play.”

“That’s not what I was getting at,” Twilight smiled sheepishly as she slipped her pack off, “Actually… I may have managed to get some data off my phone before its battery died. Back in Vault one-oh-one.”

All of the girls stared at her in amazement.

“How in the heck did you manage that?” Applejack asked.

“Simple. I borrowed one of the microwave detectors that Stanley used to use for monitoring the plasma generators,” Twilight replied with a smug smile as she rummaged around in her pack.

Most of the girls just looked back at her with blank stares.

Applejack frowned as she tried to put it together, “Uh, and how exactly did that help?”

“Bluetooth!” Sunset cried suddenly. She grinned as the others looked at her in bewilderment, “Bluetooth uses microwave radiation to transmit data!”

Twilight beamed at her, “Precisely! All I had to do was modify the detector to receive the signals properly, then write the software that allowed the Vault terminals to be able to store the data that was transmitted. Once that was done all I had to do was transfer our songs from the terminal… to… these!”

The girls gaped as Twilight pulled a handful of holotapes out from the depths of her pack.

Rainbow was the first one to break the stunned silence, “You mean… those are…?”

“Every single one of the Rainbooms’ songs!” Twilight cried happily as the others whooped and cheered. Blushing a little at her friends’ praise, Twilight got up and stepped over to Three Dog.

Three Dog accepted the tapes wordlessly, staring at them as if transfixed. A moment later he swept out of the chair and strode over to his recording station. Placing the tapes on a clear spot, he grabbed the topmost one and slotted into the console. With practiced movements he flipped a few switches and pulled on a set of headphones. The rest of the group watched with bated breath as he checked the equipment and then, finally, pressed the ‘play’ button.

“One! Two! Three! Four!”

Sunset couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across her face as Pinkie’s voice cried out from speakers set into the walls, followed by the opening notes of ‘Shine Like Rainbows’. Her smile only grew wider as Applejack sang out the opening lines in time with the recording, Rarity picking up with her own lines next. Taking their cue from those two, the rest of the girls joined in with the chorus. Despite not having practiced for over a month, they slipped into the song as if born to it.

Bobbing her head in time with the beat, Sunset felt her heart start to soar as she sang, the music wrapping itself around her soul and soothing all of the pain and worry that she felt. Her magic bubbled up in response, overflowing to mix and combine with that of her friends. At the touch of their magic a bittersweet joy surged up inside Sunset, swelling to an almost painful intensity and sending happy tears streaming down her face as she ponied up.

After what felt like an eternity, the song finally ended. Sunset let out a heartfelt sigh as silence fell, brushing away the tears that lined her cheeks. Glancing around, she smiled as she saw the others doing the same, each of them ponied up and decked out in their glamorous magical outfits.

“I think I needed that,” Pinkie said softly.

“I think we all did darling,” Rarity countered, fiddling with her newly sapphire-encrusted arm brace.

“Definitely,” Sunset agreed, “So what do you think, Three Dog? Is our music okay?”

Three Dog didn’t answer. He was still standing at the console with his headphones on, utterly oblivious to the magical light show that had just occurred behind him. Ever so slowly, he reached up and tugged the headphones off, placing them gently on the console.

“Wow. That was… that was pure. That had soul,” he said thickly. Heaving a shuddering sigh, he spoke without turning around, “James went to Rivet City, to speak to Doctor Li. Adam’s gone down there after him. It’s in an old aircraft carrier south of here, it’s got a pretty well equipped clinic too. I can mark it’s location on your Pip-Boys if you-”

Three Dog turned to face the girls, then blinked as he took in their new appearances, “Whoa, you girls really aren’t from this world are you?” He chuckled and reached up to dry his eyes as the girls shook their heads, “Hey, Sarah, you okay there?”

Sunset jolted as she remembered about the Sentinel. Looking around, she spotted Lyons still standing next to the pillar, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the girls.

Pinkie skipped over and vigorously waved a hand in front of her face, “I think we broke her.” An evil grin slowly split Pinkie’s face as she licked a finger and pointed it at Lyons’ ear. Before she could violate the Lyons’ hole though, the Sentinel seemed to come to her senses, blinking and shaking her head rapidly.

“Awwww,” Pinkie whined, putting her finger down and shuffling away.

Lyons stared after Pinkie for a moment, then shivered and glanced at Sunset, “It’s… it’s all true, isn’t it? You actually used to be a unicorn?”

Sunset giggled, “Yeah, it’s true.”

“This… this is incredible! I have to tell my father!” Lyons clasped her hands to her head, “Oh my God, this is crazy! Magic is real! I mean you’ve got those… those ears… and the wings… I… you…”

“Whoa now, take it easy there sugarcube, before you bust a gasket,” Applejack said soothingly.

As Lyons bent over and started taking deep breaths to calm herself, Sunset turned back to Three Dog.

“So, Rivet City was it?”

Three Dog nodded, still looking a little bamboozled himself, “Yeah. It’s the biggest and most advanced settlement in the Capital Wasteland.” His face turned grave as he looked Sunset in the eyes, “I warn you though, getting there will not be easy. If anything getting there will be even more dangerous than it was getting here. You think you can manage?”

“It’s not like we really have a choice,” Sunset grumbled, “Isn’t there any safe way out of D.C?”

“Not really,” Three Dog admitted, “The safest way would probably be to go back the way you came and take the long route around the outskirts of D.C.”

“Which way did Adam go?” Fluttershy asked.

Three Dog sighed, “Through the Metro tunnels. It’s the quickest way, but it’s also the most dangerous.”

Sunset groaned.

“We’re going to have to follow him through, aren’t we?” Rarity deadpanned.

“You reckon there’s any way we can sneak through without getting spotted?” Applejack asked.

“No way,” Lyons cut in, “The tunnels that lead to Rivet City are packed full of super mutants, feral ghouls and raider outposts.”

The girls shared a worried look at that. They had barely made it through their last few confrontations alive.

“It probably isn’t going to be all that bad,” Rainbow piped up suddenly. She raised an eyebrow as everyone gave her incredulous looks, “I mean, think about it. Adam’s already taken out one of those behemoth things, do you really think there’s going to be much left down in those tunnels once he’s been through there?”

Rarity opened her mouth to retort, then closed it again, stumped.

“That’s… actually a pretty good point,” Applejack admitted.

“The kid definitely knows how to handle himself,” Lyons agreed.

Twilight frowned and folded her arms, “It’s still risky. Adam may be more dangerous than we expected, but I doubt he’s managed to completely clear the way from here to Rivet City.”

“Of course it’s risky, but we can do this!” Rainbow said firmly.

“I suppose the feral ghouls aren’t too much of an issue, as scary as they are,” Rarity added, “The problem is going to be dealing with any super mutants or raiders that are left down there.”

“You leave any of those rotten super mutants to me,” Applejack growled.

Fiddling with the folds on her dress, an idea slowly started to form in Sunset’s mind, “There’s something else that we haven’t considered that could work in our favor.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Our magic. So far we’ve mostly been hiding it, but maybe we should be doing the opposite.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that, “Whatever do you mean darling?”

“I mean we should go all out! Really use our powers!” Sunset said eagerly.

“Heck yeah!” Rainbow cried, “Hit any bad guys we find as hard as we can before they have a chance to react!”

Applejack nodded slowly, “Yeah, ah guess that could work, I mean we all saw how the sheriff reacted to our magic back in Arefu.”

“You, um… you mean we should try and scare people?” Fluttershy asked softly.

Sunset grinned maliciously, “Well, we are already ponied up.”

“Shock and Awe tactics,” Lyons said quietly, “If you can use your magic offensively like that, any raiders you come across would probably be scared shitless.” She frowned as she inspected the girls, “Still, magic powers or not you’re going to need better equipment. Wait here while I go see if we can spare anything from our supplies. When I get back I want details on exactly what your magic is capable of.”

“Sure thing,” Sunset flopped into a chair as Lyons headed back down the stairs.

The movement sent a small twinge through her ribs, but overall the combination of stimpak and magic had helped with the pain in her body immeasurably, though she was suddenly starting to feel extremely thirsty. Shrugging slightly, Sunset pulled her backpack off and dug around for a water bottle.

---

What's up Wastelanders? This is Three Dog, bow-wow! And you're listening to GNR! That's Galaxy News Radio, in case you forgot!

News time, children!

I’m coming to you live with a special report, and believe me when I tell you they don’t get any crazier than this!

Okay children, you remember I told you about James, the guy who crawled out of Vault one-oh-one? And then I told you about his son, our very own Lone Wanderer, who dug his way out shortly afterwards? Well I’ve just had a visit from seven, you heard me, SEVEN girls who’ve dragged their asses out of there too!

If you think that’s crazy, wait until you hear the rest.

The thing is, these girls are NOT ordinary girls. In fact, they are about as far as you can possibly get from being normal.

You see, these girls aren’t originally from Vault one-oh-one. In fact, they aren’t from the Capital Wasteland. They aren’t even from this planet!

That’s right children, you heard me. These girls came from a completely, different, world! Even crazier, these girls have magic! Real. God-damned. MAGIC.

Now before you go wondering just how much Jet I’ve been taking, you wait until you see them around. These girls, they call themselves the Rainbooms, they come in a variety of kooky colors, and I ain’t talking about black or white here.

First you’ve got Sunset Shimmer. Yes, that’s her real name. She’s got amber skin, red and yellow hair, and an attitude you do NOT want to mess with. A classic case of bad girl gone good, apparently she used to be a real devil before the rest of the Rainbooms helped her see the light.

Oh right, almost forgot. She also has the ability to see people’s memories.

I’m not kidding you here, she knows how to READ YOUR GOD-DAMN MIND!

Next you’ve got Applejack, trust me these names get even weirder as we go along. She looks kinda like an ordinary white girl at first. A regular old country cowgirl, she’s even got the hat and the accent to match.

She also has super strength. Seriously.

As in, I just saw her lift a fully armored Brotherhood knight over her head like it was nothing. Do NOT screw with this girl, she WILL break you.

Next is Pinkie Pie-

Hey that’s me!

AAHH! Where the HELL did you come from!?

From up here silly!

From up… what… where the heck did she go? What the HELL do you mean that’s just what Pinkie does!? WHAT THE F-

Ahem.

Sorry about that children. As I was saying, next is Pinkie Pie, who apparently likes to tell the laws of physics to go screw themselves every now and again.

Also she can make shit explode just by touching it.

And in case you’re wondering, yes. She’s pink.

Skin. Hair. All pink.

VERY pink.

And speaking of pink, next is Fluttershy. Pink hair, yellow skin, and yellow feathers. Yes… feathers. Her magic lets her sprout wings, as well as letting her talk to animals.

That’s right children. Fluttershy here has the power to hold full blown conversations with the funky mutated fauna of the wastes.

I wonder if they like GNR?

Next you have Rainbow Dash, this is one who really lives up to her name. Her hair literally has every damn colour of the rainbow in it.

And her magic? Yep, you guessed it. Super speed. If you blink, you’ve already missed her. This crazy cat can grow wings too, great big blue ones that match her skin.

Who’s next?

Ah yes, the lovely Rarity. Skin more clean and white than anything you’ve ever seen, and purple hair that just about screams glamorous. This delightful young lady can create gemstones out thin air.

Don’t get you hopes up though children, the gems disappear after a while. No point in trying to steal any.

Lastly you have Twilight Sparkle, apparently the newest member of the group. Her skin and hair are all different shades of purple, and this one grows wings too!

Oh, and she can also move stuff using her mind. Real live telekinesis.

Freaky stuff.

Now these girls, they’re looking for a way home. Back to their own world. When they first arrived here through a portal, they ended up in a very particular Vault. Vault one-oh-one.

You see where this is going yet?

That’s right children, James was helping these girls find a way back, before he up and disappeared.

So if you see the Rainbooms out and about in the wasteland, come up and say hi, wish them well.

And James, if you’re listening, these girls are out, they’re looking for you, and they need your help. You too Lone Wanderer.

Ah yes, one last thing.

These Rainbooms? They’re actually part of their own band, and guess who just a copy of each of their songs?

Coming up next we have ‘Shine Like Rainbows’, by the Rainbooms.

Thanks for listening, chiiill-dren! This is Three Dog, AWOOOOO! And you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! We're Radio Free Wasteland! And we're here... for you

---

Confessor Cromwell and his followers listened intently as the news report ended and the music began. He mentally patted himself on the back for having the foresight to acquire a radio for the congregation area. Ever since the Angels of Atom had left he’d been certain that stories of their divinity would soon reach Galaxy News, and now his faith was being rewarded.

Several of Cromwell’s fellow Children of Atom openly wept as they listened to the beautiful song of their salvation. He couldn’t blame them. Just hearing their holy voices was enough to dispel the worries that Cromwell had felt only moments before, as he argued points of belief with certain members of his flock. He surreptitiously glanced over at their ringleader as the song continued.

Joshua’s eyes were closed, tears streaming down his face as he swayed in time with the music. He was a young man, barely out of his teens. His sleek black hair was currently tied back in a ponytail, something he’d only started doing since their Divine Grace’s the Angels Rarity and Rainbow Dash had first visited the Church of Atom looking for work.

Cromwell sighed and bowed his head as the song came to an end. Much as he disagreed with Joshua on matters of faith he could not bring himself to hate the boy, it simply wasn’t in his nature. Certainly the lad and his beliefs were far less boorish and dangerous than those of Marie.

Cries of shock and alarm from his flock brought Cromwell’s head snapping around, “What is it? What is wrong?”
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw what had grasped his followers attention.

Twin spirals of sparkling light were rising from the floor just in front of the benches, one red and one blue. With a jolt Cromwell realized the spirals were forming right where the Angels Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer had shown their true, angelic natures. ‘Ponying up’ the Angel Applejack had called it.

“The music! The holy song!” Joshua cried as he shot to his feet, clasping his hands together, “The power of the Glorious Ones is rising in response to the Holy Song!”

Cromwell just stared as the loose magical spirals slowly entwined, forming a glowing, twirling double helix that stood taller than a man.

“I see, Joshua,” Cromwell said softly as he stepped out from behind the lectern, never once taking his eyes off the magical display, “This is a sign from the Angels.” Joshua shook his head slowly, eyes still glued to the helix as well, but Cromwell cut him off before he could speak, “I know we disagree on that matter, but that is besides the point. I think we can both agree on what this blessing is telling us.”

“To work together,” Joshua said slowly.

Cromwell nodded, “I have spoken to Sheriff Simms about acquiring the building once owned by that poor lost soul, in preparation for constructing a suitable dwelling place for their Divine Graces.” He finally tore his eyes away from the glowing spectacle, to look Joshua in the eyes, “I believe, in this matter, our aims are aligned.”

Joshua just nodded, his eyes still wet, “A shared aim, a shared purpose and a shared building.”

Cromwell smiled and held out a hand, which Joshua grasped firmly, “Come then my boy, we have a Temple to build.”

---

Deep underground, in the depths of a mountain fortress, two young women were busy poring over a set of blueprints. One had her long golden hair tied back into a tight ponytail, while the other let her shoulder-length blonde locks hang loose. Both were wearing long, white lab coats with a distinctive emblem on the shoulder, a circle of stars around a stylized E.

“What do you think, Becky?” the first asked softly.

“I don’t know, Tara. Do you really think he’ll go for it?”

“Oooohhh, I sure hope so,” Tara replied nervously.

Both women started as the door behind them opened with a sudden hiss, then snapped to salute as an older man stepped through.

“I’ve told you before you don’t have to salute me, girls,” the man chuckled as he closed the door behind him, “I’m not technically military.”

“Sorry, Doctor Turner.”

“Sorry Doc.”

Doctor Turner just waved away their apologies, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Have you finished the assignment you were given?”

“Oh! Yes sir!” Tara hurried over to a set of drawers and pulled out a set of papers and a small metal box, which she handed to the doctor, “Here, we’ve completed the designs for the Duraframe servos you asked for.”

“Excellent work! I’ll send these over to the air base today. Hopefully the rest of the research teams will be done within the month and we can finally start production on the Hellfire models.”

“We’ve also got these,” Becky handed him another sheet of designs, “It’s a schematic for an improved and extensive plasma relay that lines the frame. I know it’s not something we can add to the design at such a late stage but-”

“But we might be able to create a prototype for Sigma to test out,” Turner interrupted, “Nice work girls, I’m impressed.”

The two girls shared an excited look.

Turner raised an eyebrow at them, “I know that look.”

“What look?” Tara said, a little too innocently.

“That look. What else have you been up to?”

Tara couldn’t resist a grin as she gestured to the schematics she’d spent almost all of her spare time slaving over.

Turner sighed and rolled his eyes, but still meandered over to take a look. He studied the designs intently for a moment, before glancing up at Tara, “Is this… what I think it is?”

Tara could barely hold in her excitement, “It’s a design for a radiation scrubber! One that can scour any and all forms of ionizing radiation from the ground within a certain radius!”

“Amazing…” Turner breathed, “But this design isn’t complete.”

“Well, no. Not yet,” Tara admitted, “I’m still having trouble working out the power requirements and-”

“What will it take to complete it?” Turner asked in a resigned tone.

Tara smiled sheepishly at him, “Well… it would really help if I could take a look at a G.E.C.K?”

“As I thought,” Turner turned a pitying gaze on her, “I’m sorry, but we have neither a G.E.C.K module nor the resources to acquire one at this time.” He sighed as she slumped her shoulders in defeat, “Look, Tara. You’re a brilliant scientist and given time and resources I’m sure this is something you could achieve, but unfortunately those are just two of the things that we are severely lacking in.”

“I understand,” Tara said dejectedly as Becky gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder.

Turner gave her a small smile, “Come on now, chin up. I’m not the only one who believes you are a genius. The President does too.”

“The President?!” Tara and Becky gasped in unison.

“Yes indeed,” Turner chuckled, “In fact, he has requested you both personally for a particularly important assignment.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s amazing!” Tara cried.

Turner raised a finger, silencing the women instantly, “Yes, it is. However I must warn you that this assignment has been classified as Top Secret. The only personnel you are allowed to speak to about this are myself and President Eden himself, as well as any further staff who are attached to the project at a later date.”

“That sounds serious,” Becky said quietly.

Turner nodded. With a quick glance at the door to make sure it was still closed, he leaned close to the women and lowered his voice, “As you know, we have been monitoring the situation in the wasteland using our survey Eyebots.”

He waited for both women to nod before continuing, “A couple of days ago one of our Eyebots detected what we believed was a new strain of human mutation. However, less than an hour ago we intercepted a radio broadcast from a wastelander station which indicates that this may not be the case.”

“What do you mean?” Tara asked slowly.

“I’m sorry Sparkles, Sunny, but I can’t give you any details here,” Turner grinned as the women blushed at his use of their pet names for each other, “You are to report to President Eden in person today at nineteen hundred hours sharp. The codename for this assignment is Project Exodus.”

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