A tense silence filled the main office of the Exodus building. Tara, Becky, Sienna, Andrew and Vincent were all sitting at a table piled with reports and inventory lists, digesting the most recent updates they had received from outside.

With Project Purity occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel once again, Project Exodus was now the closest major Enclave outpost to Brotherhood territory and, given that the Brotherhood were aware of its location, was likely to be the target of an assault at some point in the near future.

For now, Tara was just trying to focus on the positives. According to the last radio communications they had received from the purifier before the assault began, the Brotherhood had at least tried to offer a peace treaty, so there was still a small possibility of another one happening now that Colonel Autumn was out of the picture. The fact that she and Becky had a good rapport with the Rainbooms would hopefully help matters there.

On top of that, Project Exodus was now very well fortified by dozens of soldiers and, aside from the odd minor skirmish, the local Super Mutants had left them alone. Andrew and Vincent were somewhat concerned as to what exactly the mutants were up to, but there was little use in worrying about that just yet.

More immediate was the fact that Andrew had accepted what Tara and Becky had done to help the Rainbooms. He wasn't happy about it by any stretch of the imagination, but he accepted their reasoning, especially in the wake of what President Eden had pulled with Project Scouring.

The magic situation, on the other hand, was something that Tara couldn't help but worry about. Aside from the obvious issue of the magical tornado currently making itself at home in the hangar, there were a bunch of other things happening both inside and outside Project Exodus.

Vincent's power armor was probably the most disconcerting. Apparently, ever since Tara and Becky had left for Raven Rock it had taken on a life of its own, patrolling the base as if it were a soldier and occasionally standing guard outside random rooms. Sienna had understandably nearly shit herself the first time she saw it wandering around without anyone inside. Thankfully, it didn't seem inclined to be hostile.

ED-E was another issue. The little eyebot had somehow picked up a rudimentary form of telekinesis, though it couldn't pick up anything much heavier than a brick. The scientists were actually quickly growing attached to the little eyebot. His chirpy nature was quite infectious, and the fact that he had a habit of bringing everyone coffee and snacks certainly helped endear him to the busy doctors.

"What do you think the Senate is going to do, now?" Sienna asked suddenly, breaking the silence and dragging the others out of their thoughts.

Becky shrugged. "Who knows? Hopefully they've finally got it into their heads that messing around with magic or the Rainbooms is a fucking stupid idea, but we can't bet on that." Her comment earned her a stern look from Andrew, but he kept his mouth shut.

"As long as they don't figure out what happened inside Raven Rock I'll be happy," Tara said wearily. "We can worry about everything else when the time comes."

"Well I've got something we're going to want to worry about right now." Everyone turned to look at Vincent curiously. "I've just got word from upstairs, we've got some new arrivals; a mutated scientist, the sentries think it's Doctor Turner, and some… thing in a massive suit of power armor."

Tara and Becky shared a horrified look. "Horrigan?!" Becky cried. "How the fuck did he survive?"

"The sub-level ventilation tunnels," Tara supplied. "He and Turner must have met up and escaped through them." She wrung her hands anxiously. "Do you think they're after me?"

"They might just be trying to regroup with other Enclave forces," Andrew suggested. He pushed himself to his feet and strode over to the door. "Tara, stay here. I'll go and find out what they're after. If it comes down to a fight, seal the building."

Just before he could leave Becky called out to him, "Wait!" She waited for Andrew to look back at her before continuing, "Sealing the building won't work, Horrigan will just smash his way in, but I have an idea. It's a seriously big risk, but if it works it'll make our lives easier and it'll beef up our security."

The others listened as Becky outlined her plan. Andrew's expression grew stonier as she spoke. By the time she was finished, his face could well have been carved from granite.

"That's… a plan, I guess," Sienna put in.

"You want Tara to go up there and face that monster?" Andrew growled.

"She won't have to face him, she might not even have to talk to him," Becky replied. "I know this is dangerous, but just trust me, okay? Besides, even if it does all go tits-up, we'll have a better chance of escaping if we're already upstairs instead of waiting down here for Horrigan to find us."

Andrew didn't look convinced, but Tara stepped over to him and laid a hand on his arm. "I appreciate that you're trying to protect me, but Becky's right. This is our best shot."

He looked her in the eyes, and for a moment Tara feared that he would order her to stay downstairs, but finally he relented with a sigh. "Just don't go getting yourself killed, alright? Mom'll never let me hear the end of it."

With their plan firmly in mind, Tara, Becky and Andrew made their way through the Exodus building and up to the surface. When they reached the forecourt they saw that the guards were keeping Horrigan and Doctor Turner right in the center of the yard, with carefully placed soldiers dotted around the perimeter not-so-subtly pointing their weapons at the pair. It wasn't hard to see why; Horrigan's armor was practically writhing with glowing green spirals and runic script, while Doctor Turner had mutated horribly; his right arm had turned entirely charcoal black with bulging veins that pulsed a sickly yellow glow, and he had similar mutated patches visible through the burnt holes in his clothes. His right eye shone faintly with the same unhealthy yellow light.

"What the hell happened to them? Andrew muttered.

"They must have been caught in the blast from Raven Rock," Becky supplied before turning to Tara. "Remember, stay out of sight until we call you."

Tara nodded and patted the walkie-talkie they had taken from the office. Becky had its twin on her belt, with the button stuck to transmit so Tara could follow everything that was said. "Got it, just let me know when you need me." Tara tried not to let herself panic as she watched her girlfriend and her brother head out into the forecourt.

The two new arrivals looked up as Becky and Andrew approached. Horrigan's helmet remained as impassive as ever, but the way he straightened up and turned to face them fully indicated that he at least recognised Andrew as an officer. Doctor Turner, for his part, grinned in a way that sent a shiver down Tara's spine even from where she was standing just inside the entrance.

"Agent Horrigan, it's an honor to finally meet you. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Strong, currently the highest military authority in the Enclave," Andrew said as he approached. "And Doctor Turner, have you come to explain your actions at Raven Rock?"

"My actions?" Doctor Turner's grin became a sneer. "Perhaps we should ask Doctor Shoichet about your sister's actions, what do you say, Doctor?"

Horrigan tilted his head as he looked at Becky, then growled and hunched his shoulders. "You. You were with that mutie. Where is she?"

"Mutie?" Tara had to admire Becky's audacity as she planted her hands on her hips and glared up at Horrigan. "Doctor Strong, the doctor that you attacked back at Raven Rock, was using experimental technology, she is not a mutant. The only mutant here is the sorry excuse for a scientist standing next to you!"

"Experimental technology?" Doctor Turner asked curiously. As Becky had predicted, the prospect of bleeding-edge science knocked all thoughts of anything else clear out of the doctor's head. Tara was torn between relief and embarrassment that her former superior was so single-minded; he truly was an abysmal field operative.

Becky just sighed theatrically. "Yes, Doctor, experimental technology. We were granted access to the Rainbooms' at Raven Rock, and Tara devised a method of utilizing their power without any of the drawbacks from using unrefined magic."

"She was on her way to apprehend a traitor to the Enclave when you set Horrigan loose on her." Andrew held up a placating hand as Horrigan rounded on him. "We're not blaming you, Agent. Hell, the fact that you're back on your feet is a godsend, but the method that Doctor Turner used was untested, unapproved by any scientist with authority and dangerous in the extreme."

Doctor Turner floundered as he realized what was happening, opening and closing his mouth like a fish before he managed to stammer, "That m-may be true… but I-I took precautions!"

"You mean like the precautions you took when you accidentally mutated a Protectron?" Becky shot.

"Th-that's not fair! None of us had any idea how those necklaces were going to react," Doctor Turner retorted. His face brightened as another thought occurred to him. "And that's another thing: Doctor Strong was wearing one of those necklaces! At least one! You say that she didn't mutate, but I don't see her here! How do we know you aren't just bullshitting us?"

"Good question," Horrigan growled.

Becky snorted. "Don't see her? She's right there!" Tara stepped out of the entrance as Becky threw an arm out towards her. "See? Does she look mutated to you?"

Doctor Turner looked thunderstruck. Horrigan looked from him to Tara and back again, as if he was trying to put two and two together but couldn't quite manage it.

"As we were saying," Becky continued, "Doctor Strong is fine. She didn't mutate because she used a properly refined form of the magic in the correct manner." She looked up at Horrigan while pointing a damning finger at Doctor Turner. "When this power isn't used properly it mutates everyone and everything it touches, just like it did to him, and Doctor Turner was fully aware of this fact when he pumped you full of it! It's a miracle that he didn't accidentally turn you into some sort of freak!"

A deadly silence fell over the forecourt. Tara held her breath as Horrigan stared down at Becky; it all came down to how he reacted. Horrigan's hatred of mutants was legendary, a fact made all the more ironic given that he was entirely unaware that he himself was a mutant. After a few terrifying seconds Horrigan slowly turned his head to look at Doctor Turner. "You tried to turn me into a mutie?"

Doctor Turner took a hasty step back and held up his hands. "I-I didn't, I swear! I admit that it was a possibility given the FEV in your system, but-"

"FEV?" Horrigan hissed. Doctor Turner backpedaled as the huge brute took a step towards him. "Are you trying to say I'm a mutie? Let's get one thing straight, YOU PUNY SACK OF SHIT." Green mist boiled from Horrigan's joints, his voice rising til it shook the ground with its fury, "I'M NO MUTIE!"

Tara staggered backwards from the force of his yell. Even with her hands clamped over her ears the sheer volume of Horrigan's voice had been enough to deafen her; a piercing ringing all she could hear in its wake.

Forcing herself to look back up, Tara saw that Turner was cowering on the ground with Horrigan looming over him, while Becky and Andrew were on their knees with their hands over their ears. Becky seemed to be shouting something at Horrigan. Whatever she said must have worked, as a few moments later Horrigan turned and stomped away. A pair of soldiers hurried forward and led him around the back of the building; presumably to the cargo entrance, while another pair grabbed Turner and hauled him inside.

Holy shit, I can't believe that worked! Intensely relieved at the fact that she didn't have to fight Horrigan again, not yet anyway, Tara stumbled over to Becky and Andrew. As she helped her girlfriend to her feet and wrapped her arms around her, a couple more thoughts passed through Tara's mind. First, with Horrigan at their disposal, security was not going to be an issue, and second, she now had a pair of very interesting test subjects to play with.

Outside the boundaries of the Capital Wasteland, in the area once known as Maryland, Senator Devall leaned forward to peer through his Vertibird's windshield, surveying the buildings below. They were currently flying over Adams Air Force Base, a massive fortified compound that contained everything from housing districts and recreation centers to runways, armories and enough hangars and construction yards to house and maintain the Enclave's entire fleet of Vertibirds. Once known as the home of the President's personal plane, Air Force One, the base was now the Enclave's last and mightiest stronghold.

Dozens of soldiers and hundreds of other personnel could be seen going about their business on the ground, and Senator Devall gasped as he managed to catch a glimpse of an old pre-war Heavy Tank rumbling around. "My word, it looks like the engineers are bringing out anything with a gun that they can get their hands on."

"It sure does," the pilot replied. "What do you think is going to happen?"

Senator Devall shook his head. "Honestly? I'm not sure. How long until we reach the command center?"

The pilot nodded towards a large concrete building ahead. "That's it right there, we'll be landing in a couple of minutes."

A few short minutes later the Senator had disembarked and a pair of soldiers escorted him through the center to a meeting room. It was nothing special, just a simple room with a long table intended for budget discussions and the like. A handful of the Enclave's top brass were already seated at the table.

"It's about time," Senator Prince said huffily as Devall walked in. He was lounging on the chair looking bored, as if everyone else present was beneath his attention. Tall and muscular, with shoulder-length blonde hair and a tailored suit that must have cost him a fortune, he was considered the Enclave's main ambassador to the few other groups in the wasteland that they regularly interacted with. He was also one of the most arrogant and self-centred assholes the world had ever seen.

Senator Devall ignored him and picked a chair near the other end of the table so he wouldn't have to look at the buffoon. "Who else are we waiting for?"

"No-one, Senator," one of the soldiers replied. "You were the last one to arrive. All of the other command staff and Senators are either captured or dead."

Devall whipped his head around in horrified surprise. "All of them?!" The soldier nodded in confirmation. Devall looked slowly around at the people gathered in the room. Two commissioned officers, one Major and one Captain, one member of the President's Secret Service, four scientists, and five Senators including Prince and Devall. Over half of the Enclave's leadership had been lost. "What about Colonel Autumn? I thought he survived the incident at Raven Rock?"

The Major nodded sombrely. "He was evacuated to Project Purity immediately after the loss of Raven Rock. Unfortunately, the Brotherhood of Steel assaulted Project Purity this morning, seizing the purifier and taking Colonel Autumn and most of his command staff captive."

"What?!" Devall cried in shock. "What happened to the peace treaty that Lieutenant Colonel Strong suggested?"

"Apparently, the Brotherhood of Steel approached Colonel Autumn with their own offer of a treaty last night," Prince put in. "Naturally, the Colonel refused, believing the offer to be a bluff." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not the first time he's been wrong."

"The Brotherhood of Steel assault was swift and devastating," the Major continued. "They were assisted by the Rainbooms, though it should be noted that the girls did not have much of an impact on the outcome of the battle. The main reason for our defeat was an immense battle robot that the Brotherhood brought."

"A battle robot?" Prince asked.

One of the scientists, a powerfully built old man with shaggy white hair and a scraggly beard named Doctor Acheson, gave a disgusted snort. Tough and domineering, Acheson was one of the Enclave's top scientists. "Liberty Prime," he spat. "It was developed before the war as a superweapon, but was left unfinished due to power issues. A full report will be provided to all of you after this meeting, and a team has already been put together to research countermeasures and strategies."

"Either way, Project Purity is lost to us, and with that President Eden's propaganda will be revealed as farcical." Prince grimaced and rapped the table with his knuckles. "It will be difficult to regain the trust of the local settlements when this gets out. Unless we can come up with something big, and quickly, winning the hearts and minds of the populace is going to be near impossible."

Devall nodded. "Given the circumstances, I believe we should give serious thought to offering the Brotherhood of Steel a peace treaty in turn. Further conflict with them is not in our best interests, or the interests of the wasteland as a whole."

"We were just discussing that very matter when you arrived." Prince scowled at the others. "I regret to say that our colleagues aren't inclined to agree with it."

"Of course we don't," Senator Lily hissed. A deathly pale woman with shoulder-length jet-black hair, she was as cunning and devious as they come. Devall hated her. "There is too much bad blood between us and the Brotherhood," Lily continued, "even if we sign a treaty, it will likely only end up as yet another cold war as each side builds up their strength in order to destroy the other in one swift blow."

"With the Rainbooms and that robot both on the Brotherhood's side, I don't fancy our chances in a race like that," the Major added.

Lily tapped her inch-long fingernails on the table. "I say we put it to a vote. Since there are only five of us Senators left, shall we allow everyone else at this table to have a vote as well?"

"Absolutely not!" Prince cried.

"Senators, all those in favour of allowing everyone else at the table to vote?" Lily smirked as she, Devall and the other Senators raised their hands. "Motion passed. Now, Lieutenant Colonel Strong should really be here to vote on the peace treaty, but since he made his position quite clear earlier I think we can call that one vote in favour. Everyone else, all those in favour of offering the Brotherhood of Steel a peace treaty?"

Devall's heart sank as he, Prince, and the Secret Service agent were the only ones to raise their hands.

"Well, well." Lily grinned widely. "Three in favour, if we include Lieutenant Colonel Strong that makes four in favour, compared to seven against. Peace treaty rejected."

"Unbelievable," Prince muttered.

Acheson chuckled darkly. "Now that we've dealt with that nonsense, I'd like to introduce you all to someone." He gestured to the scientist next to him, a somewhat scared-looking woman with short brown hair. "This is Doctor Anna Holt. Doctor Holt was originally a member of the Project Purity staff, working under Doctor Li, but after seeing how much more advanced our technology is she has wisely decided to work for us instead."

"Project Purity?" Prince gave her an appraising look. "Yes… yes, that could work. If we can create a second purifier that might well help sway some of the local settlements to our cause."

Acheson snorted derisively. "Eden didn't send Holt here so she could show us how to make an oversized faucet, she's here to assist us with researching the magic that the Rainbooms introduced to this world."

A chill ran down Devall's spine, but he kept his expression and tone carefully neutral as he said, "That may be a little difficult. I'm sure that you've heard about the stock of magic currently stored at Project Exodus, but I assure you that Doctor Strong won't part with any of it. It's far too dangerous."

"Don't worry, Senator Devall, we don't intend to interfere with your little team," Lily said coyly. "Indeed, all of us here want Project Exodus to succeed more than ever, now that we're aware of the details." She inspected her fingernails idly before continuing, "President Eden sent a shipment of magic here before Raven Rock fell, along with instructions on how to safely replicate, handle and store it. He also left a long list of instructions on what to test it on. Doctor Holt has some experience on working with the Rainbooms' magic, which is why we've brought her on board."

Acheson nodded. "Exactly. We've already got teams preparing to test the magic on numerous applications, and I've set aside a certain amount for a couple of projects of my own." He grinned widely. "The first of these is going to be a prototype for a new form of power armor. Coupled with Professor Oliver's breakthroughs with plasma and fusion technology, this suit will be far more advanced than even our new Hellfire model. I call it Project Daybreaker."

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