[u][b]Institute - Director's Quarters[/b][/u] "Anything new on the California earthquakes, Charlotte?", Nathan inquired. "Still some aftershocks in the Magnitide 1-2 Range on the Richter scale..", Charlotte paused to select a ice-cold Nuka-Cola from the tray Codsworth was holding, and thanks him before continuing, "but nothing like the initial Magnitude 8 event. We've determined the epicenter was in the Los Angeles Metro area, can't pinpoint it any further than that. The damage must have been massive." "I find it odd", said Madison, who was sitting in the Director's favorite red leather chair and wearing a blue hazmat suit less the helmet, "that this happened just as our Strike Group was returning from the first raid....I think it may be connected somehow." She then accepted a cup of hot tea from Codsworth. "Could be", Nathan replied, "Justin has been interrogating the ghouls that were handling the ferals, they say one of our Mutants was the leader, and far smarter than the others. Brian has had to keep all three sedated as they have been climbing the walls since they initially woke up...screaming about losing something. He wants to do a MRI on them, but they are too big to fit in our machine." "Correct", Madison replied, "My people are working with Brian on that, Medford Memorial had an open MRI machine, we've recovered it and it's being refurbished as we speak." Before Nathan could reply, the phone at his desk, which he was sitting on the corner of, began to ring. Nathan picked up. "Director speaking", he said, then listened intently until the report was complete. "Thank you, we'll be right down." He then hung up. "Relay Control reports the Pitt just activated the Relay terminal", he said to Madison, "They are running the calibration tests...you'll be up in fifteen minutes unless something goes wrong." He then looked her in the eye. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes", Madison replied, trying to be inscrutable though Nathan had known her long enough to see some nervousness in her eyes. "You arriving first thing could be taken as an insult as their Queen is not expecting a State visit. And Charlotte has two young children, or should I say three?". Charlotte blushed at this. "I just got the results two weeks ago", Charlotte exclaimed, "I was waiting until George got back from Nuka-World to tell him." "Right", Nathan said with mock seriousness as he looked over at Charlotte, "You aren't going anywhere then. Congratulations, by the way." "Anyhow", Madison continued, "I'm high ranking enough to speak for the Institute, and convey that we take them seriously, but not so high that it'll cause protocol problems. They aren't in a position to threaten my person even if they wanted to...I'm more concerned about the ruined environment, people shouldn't be living in what is basically a chemical waste dump." "If something does happen, though", Madison concluded while looking the Director back in the eye, "Keep your focus on the Big Picture....they aren't Sinjin, we need them on our side." "Yes, Ma'am", Nathan replied with a chuckle, mildly surprised she was aware of the stunt he and Hancock pulled years ago, rescuing Kent from Sinjin and his gang. The near overdose of Grape Mentats he took to pull it off left him constipated for a week, but the look on Sinjin's, Hancock's and Kent's faces when Sinjin's own lieutenants turned their guns on him to save themselves was totally worth it. "And now, Ladies, it's showtime". [u][u][b]The Pitt - Supply Depot[/b][/u][/u] Powered on, the device came to life, and the monitor attached to the Control Panel flickered on and the bootup routing began. Once it was complete, the display changed. [color=39b54a]>BOOTUP COMPLETE >SEARCHING FOR REMOTE CONNECTION............FOUND >LOCATION OF SITE 10 - PITTSBURGH............LOGGED >CONNECTING TO SITE 5 - LEXINGTON.........CONNECTED >BEGINNING CALIBRATION TEST...WARNING!!! STAY CLEAR OF PAD!!!! >SENDING TEST PAYLOAD......[/color] Static electricity and a strong smell of ozone quickly built up to a blue ball of electrical energy passing down through the roof, with no sign of damage, and smacking into the pad with a loud snap. It cleared, revealing two metal cages, each containing a live mole rat. [color=39b54a]>TEST PAYLOAD TRANSMISSION......SUCCESSFUL >RETRIEVAL OPERATION COMMENCING....WARNING!!! STAY CLEAR OF PAD!!![/color] Once again, static electricity and ozone built up until a ball of energy formed on the pad, and it abruptly darted up through the ceiling and disappeared. [color=39b54a]>RETRIEVAL OPERATION.....SUCCESSFUL >TEST PAYLOAD RECEIVED IN NOMINAL STATE >CALIBRATION COMPLETE - SITE 10 - PITTSBURGH FULLY OPERATIONAL >STAND BY.... >STAND BY.... [/color] The static electricity and ozone began again [color=39b54a]>RECEIVING TRANSMISSION FROM MAIN RELAY CONTROL VIA SITE 5 - LEXINGTON >TRANSMISSION IN PROGRESS - WARNING!!! STAY CLEAR OF PAD !!! [/color] The charge built up, then abruptly a ball of electrical energy, like before, shot down through the celiving and hit the pad. It cleared to reveal a single individual, about five foot tall, wearing a blue lab hazard suit. On the floor next to the figure was a briefcase. [u][b]THE PITT - SUPPLY DEPOT - MADISON LI[/b][/u] Madison found herself in a large, dingy warehouse. The building itself seemed solid enough from where she stood, but was filthy from long disuse. "I could get tetanus from just looking at this room", Madison thought sourly, knwowing it was far worse outside, "but it will do". She looked around, for the moment seemingly not taking notice of the dozen or more heavily armed Raiders eying her with a mixture of awe and deep suspicion. while careful not to make any sudden movements that would get her ventilated. She herself was unarmed, common sense dictated she would be dead before she could produce a weapon so it was pointless to bring one. Raising her left arm (slowly) she examined her Pip-Boy. Environmental readings were acceptable, if not recommended for long term exposure. She slowly removed the hood of her lab suit, and turned to face the pair that the footage from the Watchers indicated were most likely in charge of the group. One was a relatively young Raider, the superior workmanship of his armor compared to the others marking him as a man of rank....and a much older man, nearly her age, wearing a heavily patched and altered burgundy robe faintly reminiscent of the type once worn by a Brotherhood Scribe. If she did not already know who he was, she would not likely have made the association. "Gentlemen", Madison said gravely, "I am Dr Madison Li, Department Head of Advanced Systems at the Institute. We have decided that the War against the Unity is just as much our fight as yours, and stand ready to assist you in any way that we can." "This device", she said, gesturing with both arms at the relay terminal she was still standing on, "Is a terminal for the Molecular Relay, the Institute's greatest achievement. With it, men and supplies can safely be sent to anywhere within range in mere seconds. Until now, it was a closely guarded secret we shared with no-one, even factions in the Commonweath that we are allied to. That we do so now, in spite of our...contentious..past, underlines the depth of our committment to your Cause." "The first shipment which we have prepared for immediate relay", Madison continued, "Is a fully staffed and equipped 200 bed mobile military field hospital. We only have two that survived the long years since the War, one of which we will give to you. We have other items that may be of use....military robots, repair parts for pre-war machinery, weapons designs suited to mass production in your factories, and more. I will stay until arrangements can be made with your Lady's Ministers to exchange Ambassadors and set up a committee to coordinate the logistics. We would like to re-establish a rail connection between Boston and The Pitt, the Relay does consume a significant amount of power." "Any further questions, Gentlemen?", she asked in conclusion.