“A slaver…” Applejack muttered under her breath, “Are you sure?”

Mei nodded, “I recognize him from Paradise Falls. He’s here for me, I’m sure of it.”

“Why the heck didn’t you come and find us sooner?”

Mei looked away, “I-I don’t have any proof. You wouldn’t have any reason to believe me.” She looked up at Sunset suddenly, wringing her hands nervously, “But you can prove it. You can reveal him for what he really is.”

Realizing what the former slave was after, Sunset shook her head sadly, “I’m not allowed to use my magic on anyone. Not unless it’s an emergency.”

Seeing the light of hope die in Mei’s eyes almost changed Sunset’s mind there and then, but she couldn’t afford to get on the wrong side of the security team, not to mention how difficult it would be to get close enough to use her power on him anyway given how wary he was of her.

Wait a second…

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Fluttershy asked.

Applejack shook her head with visible reluctance, “Ah hate to say it, but there ain’t much we can do. It’s not like we can just march up to him and confront him without proof.”

“Mei, do you have a room of your own?” Sunset asked suddenly, “One that you can lock?”

“No. I-I sleep in the common room,” she replied.

“What’re you thinking, sugarcube?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

Sunset frowned and folded her arms, “I’ve got an idea, but I thought we should get Mei someplace safe first before we try anything. I don’t know how strict security is around here, but I’m guessing they won’t let him force his way into a locked room. If she lives in the common room though…”

Applejack nodded and clapped a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, “Just leave that to me. Ah’ll put her someplace where she’ll be safe for a few hours or so. For now you and Flutters just head back down to Gary’s Galley and wait until ah get back. You can explain everything to us then.”

Sunset quickly agreed to that and allowed Fluttershy to lead her, for the second time that day, from the corridor outside the clinic back down to the marketplace. The journey this time was a little slower, owing to the need for Sunset to take a rest on the stairs.

The day was getting on towards evening but there was still quite a crowd of people in the market, picking over the stalls before they started packing up for the day. The people were just as friendly and eager to greet the girls as they had been earlier, even those who had already spoken to them, and Fluttershy once again did her level best to stay hidden behind a friend.

Pinkie was still at the Galley restaurant too when the girls arrived, sat at a table on her own and fiddling with her Pip-Boy.

“Hey, Pinkie,” Sunset called as she approached.

“Huh? Oh! Hi!” Pinkie grinned as Sunset and Flutters joined her at the table, “What’re you doing here? Are you hungry?”

“I’m… famished actually,” Sunset was surprised to admit. She glanced sidelong at Fluttershy, “I know we’re not exactly here for food but…?”

“It’s fine,” she giggled, “We’ve done a lot of walking today, you should keep your energy up.”

Pinkie nodded and called out to a young woman wiping down tables. One quick order later, after a review of what was available, and a steaming bowl of more iguana soup was plonked in front of Sunset.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she started to chow down, “You really like that stuff, huh?”

Sunset just grunted in response, too busy chewing to speak. She had to admit that she was getting a taste for it. The fact that it was one of the few dishes on offer that wasn’t radioactive certainly helped matters.

“So why’d you come back here if it wasn’t for food?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer, then squealed as a sudden blur shot past her.

“Heh, sorry, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said sheepishly as the others glared at her.

“It’s alright,” Flutters sighed, relaxing again, “What are you doing here?”

“One of the security guys told me that Applejack’s been trying to find me. He said she wanted me to wait here for her.”

“That’s a pretty good idea actually,” Sunset mused.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her as she flopped onto a chair, “Uh… what is?”

“Having you on board too.”

“Well we’re on a ship, so technically we’re all on board, silly!” Pinkie grinned as the others suppressed a groan. “Say, is this something to do with why you and Fluttershy are here too?”

Sunset nodded, “Pretty much.”

“So what’s up?” Rainbow asked.

Glancing around surreptitiously, Sunset noticed that several people were looking their way every now and again, understandable given how much they stood out, but no-one was paying close attention. She lowered her voice anyway, just in case, “A woman called Mei came to ask for our help. For her safety we’re keeping what she told us a secret for now, so don’t go shouting or making a fuss, alright?” Sunset waited for Rainbow and Pinkie to agree before continuing. “She thinks Sister is after her, and that he’s a slaver.”

“Seriously!?” Rainbow yelled as she shot to her feet.

Sunset face-palmed as the sudden outburst drew the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Rainbow at least had the good grace to look embarrassed as she sat back down.

“Uh… sorry,” she said sheepishly. “So… uh… Sister’s a slaver?”

“We’re not sure, but Mei said she recognized him from when she was a slave,” Fluttershy replied.

Rainbow’s expression darkened at that, “If that’s the case then why haven’t the security team done anything about it?”

“They don’t have any proof,” Sunset sighed, “That’s why she came to us. She wanted me to use my magic on him, but-”

“But Chief Harkness said not to use your magic unless you absolutely have to,” Rainbow huffed.

“Exactly.”

“Poor Mei,” Pinkie mumbled.

Sunset smiled and patted her hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Applejack is taking her somewhere safe for now, and I have an idea on how we can get the truth about Sister.”

“So what’s the plan?” Rainbow asked eagerly.

“It’s probably best to wait until Applejack gets here. I don’t want to explain everything twice,” Sunset replied before turning back to her food.

“Eh, fair enough,” Rainbow shrugged and tried to swipe a chunk of meat from Sunset’s bowl, earning a sharp slap to the back of the hand.

“I hope she doesn’t take too long to get here, the marketplace is closing soon and the security team is really strict about people being in here after hours,” Pinkie said quietly.

“If it comes down to it we can just wait outside,” Fluttershy replied. “So how has work been today?”

Time passed easily as the girls talked amongst themselves. Sunset spoke little, content to just listen to the others as they talked about their day. After a little while Rainbow tuned in to Galaxy News on her Pip-Boy, listening eagerly to a radio program about the exploits of a pair of famous wasteland adventurers, Herbert ‘Daring’ Dashwood and his ghoul ‘manservant’ Argyle.

Finally, just as the program was wrapping up, Applejack arrived with Rarity in tow.

“It’s about time!” Rainbow huffed.

“Ah’m sorry y’all. It took me a while trying to find someplace safe for Mei,” Applejack sighed as she settled into a chair, “Ah brought Rare’s along just in case. Ah tried to get Twilight too but Doctor Li wouldn’t let her come.”

Sunset nodded, “That’s fine, the rest of us can handle this. And don’t worry,” she added as Applejack opened her mouth to object, “I won’t let this turn into another Burke situation.”

“If you say so,” Applejack said quietly. “Alright, so what’s your idea?”

After making sure that no strangers were close enough to hear over the hubbub of the crowd, Sunset quickly relayed her plan.

“That… is… devious!” Rarity breathed, sounding impressed.

Sunset smirked, “Hey, I did use to be the evil queen of CHS.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Applejack muttered, smiling faintly. “Alright. I think this could work, but we’ll have to be darned careful about it.”

Fluttershy nervously brushed a lock of her behind her ear,, “But, um, what if Sister gets angry and… and tries to…”

“If he tries anything at all dear, I shall be sure to politely, but firmly, use my magic to… ahem, restrain him,” Rarity replied.

“Sweet!” Rainbow cried as she clambered out of her seat, “Come on! What are we waiting for?”

“Well for a start we don’t know where to find him,” Applejack said flatly.

“Why not try his room in the Weatherly Hotel on the upper deck?”

The other girls stared at Rainbow in surprise.

“And how exactly do you know he has a room there?” Rarity asked suspiciously.

Rainbow just gave her a blank look, “I’m a delivery girl. Duh.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course,” Rarity replied, coloring slightly.

Sunset snorted and rose to her feet, “Come on, let’s get this done. Are you sure you’re okay to sit this one out, Pinkie?”

Pinkie nodded slowly as the others got out of their seats, “I’m sure. I don’t think I could handle a confrontation right now.” She sighed and hung her head, “I’m sorry, girls.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We totally get it,” Rainbow said softly, giving her a reassuring pat.

“And don’t you go worrying about us,” Applejack added, “Ah think we’re starting to get the hang of handling people in this world.”

Fluttershy nodded, “And Sunset promises that she’s not going to overdo anything and hurt herself again. Don’t you, Sunset?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” Sunset spluttered, shocked by the sheer menace the meek little nurse managed to pack into that single question.

Rainbow chuckled and strode off, taking the lead through the crowd, “Come on then, girls. It’s this way.”

The rest of the Rainbooms fell into step behind her, waving to Pinkie as they went.

The journey up to the Weatherly Hotel was fairly brief, though Sunset groaned internally as she realized the route was taking her back up to the clinic. Again. In fact, it transpired that the hotel reception was practically next door to the room Sunset had been using during her convalescence.

The actual rooms of the hotel were spread along several corridors. There were one or two people around, mostly residents going to and from their quarters, but there weren’t any security officers wandering around. Sunset wasn’t entirely sure that that was a good thing. On the one hand, it meant no awkward conversations about what they were doing, but on the other it also meant there wasn’t anyone with authority in the immediate vicinity in case everything went pear-shaped.

“That’s the one,” Rainbow said suddenly, gesturing to one of the doors.

Sunset nodded and stepped up to it. The other girls arranged themselves around her, Rarity at her side just in case, Rainbow and Applejack just behind, then Fluttershy lurking safely at the back.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Sunset knocked on the door. There was a deep grumbling followed by footsteps, then a harsh metallic squeal as the door was hauled open.

“-fuck’s sake, who the fu-”

Sister’s foul-mouthed complaining stopped the instant he saw who was at the door. His eyes widened and his complexion rapidly changed from ruddy to something more closely resembling Rarity’s natural shade.

“Wha… I.. w-what do you…”

Sunset raised her hands slowly, “Easy, we just want to talk to you. May we come in?”

At first it looked like he would refuse. His mouth opened and closed several times without any sound coming out, but finally he relented, stepping back and giving the girls room to enter, “S-sure. C-come on in.”

“Thanks.”

Sister backed away as the five traipsed into the room, getting as far away from them as he could in the cramped little room.

A simple naval cot hung from one wall, a table with a metal footlocker underneath ran along another and, bizarrely, the steel frame of a bunk bed, devoid of any form of mattress or bedclothes, was sat right next to the door. There were a couple of chairs and even a sofa in the room, but they had all been stacked against the walls to preserve some small amount of space.

Sunset idly wondered how much such a room must cost, before turning her attention back to the reason for their visit.

Sister had backed himself right up against the far wall. He was a big man, broad and muscular, but he was staring at Sunset as if she were the harbinger of his doom. Seeing him looking so intimidated, she hesitated as she thought out the best way to go about speaking to him.

The plan was fairly simple. Sister clearly knew that Sunset could read minds, but he wasn’t aware that she had to physically touch someone for it to work. It also didn’t seem likely that he knew she wasn’t permitted to use her magic within Rivet City unless it was an emergency. All the girls had to do was imply that they knew what he was and let him incriminate himself as he tried to defend his position. Fluttershy, at the back, was secretly recording the whole conversation on her Pip-Boy so they would have hard proof for the security team to act on.

“Okay, you’re in. Now what do you want?” Sister asked defiantly.

“Relax, sugarcube. We ain’t here to cause a ruckus,” Applejack said quietly. “We just want to talk is all.”

“W-what about? I don’t have all day y’know.”

Sunset folded her arms and fixed him with a level glare, “You know what we want to talk about.”

Sister gulped audibly, “I… I don’t do that shit anymore.”

“And why should we believe you?” Rainbow asked.

“Because life here is fucking safe!”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sunset said quickly before he got any more agitated, “It’s like Applejack said, we aren’t here to cause any problems.” She gestured to the cot, “Look, why don’t you just sit down and explain everything to us.”

Sister looked away, running a hand through his hair nervously, “Shit. I… shit.” He glanced back at the girls, then sighed and dropped onto the cot, looking up at Sunset seriously, “Alright, fine. Look, life outside is fucking harsh. There’s constantly something trying to either eat you or fucking shoot you.”

“We’d noticed,” Rarity muttered.

“Yeah, well in here there’s none of that bullshit. I just wake up, go lift some heavy shit from the dorks downstairs, get paid, then do what the fuck I want until it’s time to sleep. I know I did some bad shit, but I just want to make an honest living from now on. As long as Eulogy thinks I’m still looking for that damned robot, I’m good.”

Sunset, Applejack and Fluttershy shared a stunned look at that.

Rainbow just stared blankly at them, “Robot? What robot?”

“Zimmer’s android,” Sunset breathed, “That’s what you were here for.”

Sister gave her a puzzled look, “Well… yeah? What did you think I was here for?”

“We thought you were looking for more slaves,” Sunset said quickly.

He just blinked in surprise, “You think I’d be trying to snatch people for slaving here? In Rivet Fucking City? You’re crazy. Security would fill my ass full of holes the second I mezzed some poor cunt.” The girls all grimaced at Sister’s disgusting language, but he didn’t seem to notice, “No, you’re better off grabbing them out there in the wastes where there’s no-one around to help. That’s how I used to do it.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, “But you don’t do that no more?”

“No! I swear! I told you, I’m out of that life now!” Sister shifted awkwardly, “So… are you going to tell the security guys about me?”

Sunset cocked her head, thinking. Slavery was an awful business, and Sister had almost certainly committed terrible crimes in the past.

But… if he’s truly trying to turn over a new leaf…

“As long as you’re serious about doing the right thing, we won’t tell anyone about your past.” She held up a hand as his face lit up, “But if we hear anything about you going back to your old ways, or hurting anyone, we will put a stop to it. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good,” Sunset sighed. “Now that that’s sorted, maybe there’s something you can help us with.”

Sister eyed her warily, “What is it?”

“The robot. Did you manage to find it?”

“Huh? You’re looking for that thing?” A look of surprise flashed over his face, but then he shook his head slowly, “I never did find it, I stopped looking once I realized how much better life was here instead of back at Paradise Falls, but I did manage to track it as far as Seagrave.”

Rainbow perked up at that, “Seagrave Holmes? The guy who runs Rivet City Supply?”

Sister nodded, “Yeah, him. Apparently the robot went to him for help. I haven’t got a fucking clue where it went after that, but maybe he would know.”

“The market ain’t closed yet,” Applejack said with a glance at her Pip-Boy, “If we’re quick we should be able to catch him before he closes up for the night.”

Sunset groaned and muttered sarcastically, “Oh yay, back to the marketplace.”

“Aww come on, sugarcube. At least it’s good exercise,” Applejack smirked.

“The doc did say you need to keep walking,” Rainbow added.

“And while we’re on the way could you kindly tell me what all of this is about a robot?” Rarity asked.

Sunset just sighed, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s get this over with. Thanks, Sister.”

“Uh… yeah. No problem,” he mumbled.

Fluttershy hung back as the rest of the girls hurried out of the room. Stopping with her hand on the door, she looked over her shoulder at the former slaver, “Um, I know you said you’re trying to be, well, nicer now, but… you do know that Chief Harkness is going to throw you out if you keep being, um, mean to people, don’t you?”

Sister sighed and looked away, “Yeah, I figured. It’s just… it’s hard, y’know? Back at Paradise Falls you’ve got to be a hard-ass, it’s the only way you can survive. I’m not used to living in a place where that kind of shit gets you into trouble instead.”

“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy glanced out of the door, then back at Sister, “Well, if you ever need help, you might want to try talking to Pinkie. She can get along with anyone. I’m sure she’d be able to help you do the same.”

Sister smiled faintly, “Thanks, I might do that.”

Smiling back at him, Fluttershy closed the door behind her and scurried after the others.

The journey back to the marketplace for the umpteenth time went fairly quickly, mostly because the corridors were near enough empty save for the security team, but the girls still ended up arriving just as the stalls were starting to pack up for the evening. Fortunately the guards on duty were happy to let them in to speak to Seagrave, as long as they didn’t take too long about it.

Rainbow took the lead once again, making a beeline straight for one of the larger stores. Inside was a man bent over a large, heavy trunk. He was wearing a scruffy set of overalls and, for reasons known only to himself, had an old-fashioned motorcycle helmet perched on his head.

“Hey, Seagrave!” Rainbow called out as they approached.

The man looked around at that, “Oh hi, Rainbow! Give me a second, let me just…” There was a loud click as he locked the trunk. Brushing the dust off his hands, he straightened up and turned to the girls with a grin, “You’re all here a bit late. What can I do for you?”

“We’re looking for some freaky android, we heard he came to you looking for help?”

Seagrave nodded, “Sure did. That was a fair few years ago now, I’m surprised anyone even knows about that anymore.” He sat on the trunk with a sigh, leaning back as he reminisced, “He’d heard I was good with computers and was hoping I could do a memory wipe on him.”

“What did you say?” Sunset asked eagerly.

Seagrave smiled ruefully, “I said no! I may be pretty handy with a bit of coding, but that stuff was way too advanced. I told him straight up, the only person I could think of who had the know-how to mess around with that kind of tech was old Pinkerton.”

Sunset glanced at the others to see if they recognized the name, but they all seemed as clueless as her.

“Who’s Pinkerton?” Rainbow asked.

“He was a scientist. In fact he was one of the guys who helped start Rivet City back in the day, sat on the Council when it was first formed and everything.” Seagrave replied.

Sunset frowned at that, “You say he was a scientist, is he still around?”

“No idea, he up and left years ago,” Seagrave said cheerfully, “He went to live in the bow of the ship, the big bit that’s broken off on the front, and no-one’s heard anything from him since.”

“Great,” Sunset muttered. “Well I guess I know where we’re off to next.”

“The heck we are,” Applejack said suddenly, “Ah’ve seen the front of the ship, it’s snapped clear off. If we want to get down there we’d have to go outside and there is no way we’re letting you go out while you’re still recovering.”

“Besides it’s far too dark to go looking now, darling,” Rarity added.

“Fine,” Sunset sighed, “Can I at least take a look around from the flight deck tomorrow?”

Applejack folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Sunset as she thought it over, “Ah don’t know… what do you think, Fluttershy? You think she’ll be alright on the flight deck?”

“Um… as long as one of us is with her, I guess it should be okay.”

Applejack kept the frown for a few moments longer, but finally she relented, “Ah suppose we can let you up on the flight deck. We’ll take a look over at the bow in the morning and if, if, it looks safe enough, we’ll go over. All of us.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” Sunset grinned.

“Don’t you go grinning at me like that, you put so much as one toe out of line between now and then and I’ll have the doc tie you to one of the beds in the clinic, you hear me?”

“Kinky,” Rainbow quipped.

The rest of the girls agreed that the follow-up smack upside the head, courtesy of Applejack, was entirely justified.

Tara was bored. She was stuck in the lab waiting on results yet again, this time from any of the rickety old Eyebots that they’d managed to get their hands on. The near-obsolete robots had been refitted with sensors to detect the same odd signals that had been logged by artifact X51-14, recently dubbed as ‘the signal detector thingy’.

So far they had come up with absolutely nothing.

The signal detector thingy itself was now permanently plugged in and connected to a computer, just in case it picked up anything else. The rest of the X51 equipment had been fully unpacked, logged, tested, and had ultimately proven utterly useless so far, at least as far as Project Exodus was concerned.

On top of that, it had been two weeks since Tara had requested a dialogue be opened between her team and the Rainbooms, and not a damned thing had come of it. She knew the girls were still at Rivet City, and had been so for a while, but for some reason getting in contact with them was proving nigh-impossible.

Spinning slowly on her chair, Tara looked around to see what the others were doing. Sienna was staring blankly at a computer terminal. Doctors Pickering and Evans were huddled in a corner admiring the schematics of the radiation scrubber that Tara had managed to smuggle into the new lab. Becky, ever the dedicated scientist, was focused on an incredibly important and technical experiment. That is, she was trying to balance a pencil between her nose and her upper lip.

You’re lucky I love you, you fucking spaz.

“I’ve been wondering something,” Sienna said suddenly.

The rest of the scientists turned to look at her, Becky managing to keep her pencil balanced while she did so.

“What is it?” Tara asked.

Sienna gestured vaguely at Tara and Becky, “What are you two going to do when you turn thirty?”

Becky raised an eyebrow, allowing the pencil to clatter to the floor, “Well… for my birthday I was thinking we could do what we always do. Get some booze and cake and eat out.”

Evans looked up in confusion, “Where do you eat out?”

“Usually in the bed or the shower,” Becky grinned, prompting a furious blush from Tara.

Sienna rolled her eyes, “I meant when Assigned Procreation rolls around.”

That wiped the smile off Becky’s face, “We’re not sure yet. We actually looked into getting me into the program early but…”

“The man selected as the best genetic match for her wasn’t exactly ideal for us,” Tara finished.

“Who was it?” Sienna asked.

“My brother.”

The other scientists all winced at that.

“Yeah, that would be awkward,” Pickering muttered.

Tara nodded, “We’ve still got three years until Becky has to join, and five for me, so we’re going to gather as much credit and influence as we can and see if we can select our own sperm donor, anonymously, for IVF treatment.”

“Do you have any donors in mind yet?” Evans asked.

Tara and Becky shared an awkward glance.

“Well we do, but…”

“Spill it.”

“You have to keep it a secret.”

“Deal,” the others replied in unison.

Becky sighed and shook her head, rubbing her neck awkwardly, “Well… you see it’s… Senator Devall.”

Dead silence greeted her words.

“Fleur would rip your face off,” Sienna said flatly.

“Fleur can suck a dick,” Becky shot.

“She does. Devall’s.”

“Besides, she’s really nice,” Tara said earnestly, “We have to talk with her about it. I mean we’ve sort of hinted at it, but we should really have a sit down with her and discuss things properly.”

“And hope she doesn’t kill us,” Becky grumbled. She shook herself and sat up straight, “So what about you, Sienna?”

“I’ve applied to see if I can just donate my eggs,” she replied. “I’m not really interested in having kids.”

“Fair enough.”

Tara glanced over at Evans and Pickering, “No need to ask you two. Have you decided on a date for the wedding yet?”

Evans grinned back, “Almost. We just have to decide between J-”

The conversation was interrupted as the door to the lab suddenly opened.

Doctor Turner and Senator Devall strolled in, looking particularly happy with themselves.

“Ah, you’re all here. Excellent,” Devall smiled and clasped his hands behind his back, “I have some good news for you.”

“What is it?” Tara asked eagerly.

Doctor Turner smiled, “The President has agreed to your request for an additional research station off-base, and a suitable site has been selected. I’ve dispatched Squad Sigma and a handful of Eyebots to secure it already so hopefully you’ll be able to move in within a day or so.”

“It’s a largely subterranean pre-war facility a few short miles south of the old Capitol Building,” Devall explained, “Specifically, it was a retrofitting station for Delta Nine rockets. Records indicate that there should still be some units stored there in a repairable condition.”

Becky raised an eyebrow, “What were Delta Nine rockets?”

“They were originally used for manned flights to the moon, before they were converted for military use shortly before the war,” Pickering said quickly. “If there’s still some there that are salvageable…”

Devall nodded, “The President agrees with your suggestion that having a dedicated vehicle for any possible inter-dimensional travel is a good idea. Once the site has been secured you are to assess any remaining Delta Nine units and, if any can be restored to full working order, you have permission to attempt to convert one into a suitable manned transport.”

“That’s amazing!” Tara beamed as Pickering and Evans gave each other a high-five. She glanced up at Doctor Turner, hoping for more good news, “What about the Rainbooms? Have we managed to initiate contact with them?”

Doctor Turner’s smile turned into more of a grimace, “I’m afraid not. It appears the agency we use for interacting with the wasteland settlements, a group called Talon Company, is not permitted within the bounds of Rivet City. They’ve tried anyway but…” He shook his head as he trailed off.

Tara face fell at that.

“Why aren’t they allowed in?” Becky demanded.

Doctor Turner shrugged, “Maybe some sort of primitive power play by whatever passes for the authorities in that old rust bucket?”

“I suppose it makes sense,” Devall mused, “Talon Company is a mercenary group. The inhabitants of Rivet City may be understandably wary of letting a powerful rival inside the bounds of their community.”

“Either way, until the Rainbooms leave the city it appears we have no way of contacting them yet.”

“So why don’t we send one of our own people?” Becky suggested.

Devall shook his head, “We don’t have anyone else available. Not for now at least.”

“Why don’t one of us go?” Tara gestured at herself and the rest of her team, “It’s not like we have much else to do until the new facility is up and running.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Turner cut in, “Until Squad Sigma returns Project Exodus doesn’t have any military assets whatsoever.”

“I could provide two members of my own security if necessary,” Devall said suddenly. “That would probably make a better impression than sending a full squad anyway. I may even be able to convince the President to allow us the use of a Vertibird so we can get to Rivet City quickly and safely.”

“But who would go? As much as Doctor Strong says there is little for her team to do they’ll all have to study the schematics for the Delta Nine rockets thoroughly, not to mention researching the possible warheads they may find in the facility that will have to be assessed and either disarmed or removed.”

Tara sighed and slumped over in her chair. I guess the Rainbooms really are out of reach for now.

“You could go,” Devall said suddenly.

Turner glanced sidelong at him, “I’m sorry?”

“I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t go in their stead.”

“Uh… well I mean I… I’m needed here, to oversee the project.”

“You were needed here to oversee the project when it was first implemented, but I believe responsibility for oversight has now fallen on me,” Devall corrected. “I know I may not have your technical knowledge, but I’m sure the members of your team can dumb down anything of critical importance enough for me to understand.” He smiled faintly and adjusted his monocle, “It’ll only be for a short period, of course. Just long enough for you to establish a dialogue with the Rainbooms.”

Doctor Turner gaped at the Senator, mouthing silently as he hurried to come up with a reason to refuse, “I… I don’t think I’m the right choice for it. One of the Rainbooms is a potential telepath after all, we don’t want to give away any sensitive information. Besides, I worked on the Scouring Strain of the FEV. The last thing we want is for them to see that the Enclave has been working on things like that.”

“I thought you said you argued against that plan?” Sienna frowned at him suspiciously.

“W-well of course I did!”

Devall clapped a hand to his shoulder, “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Doctor. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you stay here and discuss with your team exactly what you should say to them while I go and arrange some transport.”

Another day, another chapter.

Just a few more chapters left in the Chekhov's Armoury that is Rivet City, then on to bigger and better (more explosive) things!

Comments and criticisms are appreciated and, as always, thanks for reading.