Nekoholic

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Kate laughed softly and said, "No, you're certainly innocent." She reached up, brushing a strand of Tink's blond hair from her face. "But we need to be serious, don't you think? We don't know what exactly to expect out here. We should be on our guard, at least until we get this post broken in."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Kate blinked almost dumbly, but then smiled nervously and said as she rubbed the back of her head, "Come on, Tink, have more faith in us than that." She sighed, looking down at the ground. She understood what Tink was getting at, but she couldn't stomach even the notion of abandoning the Brotherhood. Salem was her friend and comrade and Desmond someone who she looked up to. She believed them to be capable of their work, otherwise they would have never been promoted to begin with. And back home, there was her family. Her mother, father, her older sister, Emilia. There were her other friends, too, her fellow scribes and the knights who had safeguarded her on numerous missions throughout her career. She wanted to go back home to them. She wanted them to be proud of her and impressed by her work.
The Brotherhood wasn't just a cause or an organization to her, but a family, her home. Yes, she didn't always agree with the assignments that she'd been given; this one, for example, hadn't been assigned to her without ample complaint and protest. But she didn't expect to agree with everything, and in the end, she knew less than her superiors. She had to trust them to know what they were doing, to make plans that would serve towards the best outcome for the entire group. She even understood that this recon mission, though risky to the five who had been given it, was necessary. It was better to send a squad, rather than an army, to uncharted territory to see what their prospects were. Even if they died here, that'd be a decent warning to their comrades back home--to either not come here at all or to be more careful when they do.
Slowly shaking her head, Kate said, "I understand how you feel, Tink; you've never been like me on this, after all. But you also know how I feel on the subject. I'm not leaving. Not now. Not ever. And no matter what happens."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Kate rolled her eyes, nudging her away as she continued down the scattered remnants of a paved road, "If we were to just abandon the Paladin, it'd be considered desertion whether we completed the mission or not. We'd be tried for treason and either exiled or executed." She folded her arms over her chest, kicking a loose rock as she walked. "Besides, I don't even think we're genuinely arguing half the time. Salem and the Paladin aren't too bad. Juliano is a different story, considering that we have the actual potential to starve to death because of his unorthodox eating habits. But Salem's good with a gun and for a few laughs, and the Paladin is good to us. He cares more than most do. That could be his fatal flaw for all I know, though, huh?"
She smirked at the lithe blonde, and added, "What do you have against them, though? I'm only ever teasing them, but you seem to...genuinely not like them. Did they do something to you?"
Honestly, Kate couldn't imagine Desmond hurting even a Bloatfly, but in the end, he was a higher-up of the Brotherhood of Steel and therefore had to relay the more questionable orders of the Elder from time-to-time. And Salem, even if he didn't mean it, could be a sarcastic idiot when he wasn't thinking his words through. Perhaps he'd accidentally said something to set her off. After knowing the girl since they were children, just running around the Citadel and annoying the instructors with their questions and pranks, Kate had found Tink to be a bit sensitive and one to hold a grudge. And then there was Juliano. But he'd pissed everyone off at least once. It was pretty much his thing at this point. But unlike Salem, it wasn't through poorly placed or timed words, but through his actions. He did things without asking, without thinking of how detrimental it could be for the entire group. He was hard to trust, which didn't bode well for those selected for a recon mission.
"If they did, you know that you can just tell me, right?" she insisted, brow furrowing in concern.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Kate glanced up at Tink and nodded with a smile, "Sure." Dropping her bag on a dust-covered kitchen table, she followed after Tink, Salem watching both of them as they left.
Rolling his shoulders, he looked at Juliano, who was already looking for more to eat, and over at Desmond, who was struggling to get his pants' leg out of a chink in his Power Armor. "Well, the girls are having their private bonding time, so why don't we, too?" He pulled out a chair, flopping down. Stretching out his legs, he let out a little groan as he melded into his newfound seat.
"Actually, I need you to check for more fusion cells," Desmond mentioned without looking at him, having finally wrenched his pants from the metal contraption he called an outfit.
Salem sighed, but nodded, "Okay, on it."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Absently, Desmond said, "Yes. Scribe Kate, are you ready?"
Shaking dirt from her hands, she nodded and said, "Yes, sir." Straightening her pack on her shoulders, she glanced at Tink before stepping closer to the Knights and Paladins.
Oh, God, they're being respectful and obedient now. I hope I didn't break them, Desmond thought.
"Well, then, let's set out. If we remain steadfast, we should be at the post site by the afternoon; we can then set up, and we can begin our excavations tomorrow at sunrise," Desmond said, setting off.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"A fellow starving person would also understand the importance of this granola bar being excused," Salem spoke rather loudly to be heard just as Kate opened her mouth. He moved over to Juliano, halving the bar with him. "There you go, man. Brothers have to look after their brothers, right? Mostly because we're stuck with a couple of witches who think that they know everything about everything."
Kate narrowed her eyes at Salem, and snapped, "You're seriously feeding the black hole that he calls a stomach? I'd be careful if I were you, Sal. Get too close and you'll never see the light of day again."
"Just take the damn samples!" Desmond interjected, causing even Salem to jump in surprise. The Paladin shook his head, which was cradled in the palm of his hand. "Apparently, bickering isn't a waste of time to any of you, when you could have already finished taking these samples, which could have allowed us to continue on our mission. I swear, sometimes I think that you just get a kick out of driving me insane."
Kate was quiet for a long moment, then mumbled what vaguely sounded like an apology and set to work, gesturing to Tink to do the same.
"I'll, uh, I'll remain on look-out," Salem murmured, red-cheeked as he crammed the rest of the food into his mouth.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Desmond's gaze flicked between the two before he finally said, "Can, can we please just, you know, follow orders? We need this in our report, which is expected within three days, and all of you know that I'd rather not lie when it could potentially come to jeopardize something else in the long-run."
Not even here for an hour and they're already at each other's throats. I'm surprised we haven't each been reassigned...then again, perhaps this is why we were selected for this recon mission. Less of a bother to the others this way. Disposable because my subordinates question everything and can't do even a simple task without complaint. But I've got to be more assertive this time, don't I? This isn't only important, but extremely dangerous. Uncharted territory, unknown variables. If we're not on our toes, disaster will surely happen.
"Guys, just lay off poor Dez already," Knight Salem said.
Kate looked over, having momentarily forgotten that Salem was even there; gazes meeting, he smiled and waved his unwrapped granola bar in greeting.
"Did...did you seriously just get into our rations when we haven't even been here for an hour?" she inquired, brow furrowing in barely veiled frustration.
"Yes. It's nice to know that, as a scribe, you have the basic perception to point out the obvious," he replied, sinking his teeth into the snack.
"You idiot! We haven't even gotten to our targeted post site yet!" Kate almost shouted, clenching her fists.
"Well, you're questioning the command, I'm eating the rations ahead of time, so looks like we're all breaking the rules today," he retorted.
Should I even try anymore? Desmond heaved a forlorn sigh, rubbing one hand down his face as he tried to pretend that none of this was happening just because he'd asked for them to take a few PH samples.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

The charred forestry, the remnants of a war two centuries before, was thicker than what Kate had experienced back home in the Capital Wasteland. There, she could see ruined cities in the distance, the river sparkling as the sun poked between green clouds that only made Kate think of vomit instead of the Heavens as certain friends dreamily spoke of on occasion, a pocket of houses where settlers resided and anticipated the next Super Mutant or Raider attack and planned their daily rations of Pre-War foods and purified water. In the years following the success of Project Purity, plantations had sprouted throughout the map, but it'd be another decade or two before it really took off enough for the area to be considered stable. But it was nice, at least, to know that things were looking up. That the people had hope for the future now.
Here, though, it frustrated her to consider that an enemy could be lurking behind a tree twenty yards away and she wouldn't even know it.
It made her properly paranoid.
But they had their orders, their mission, and that was to investigate and report on what was once Georgia, so that the Brotherhood of Steel could come in with larger numbers and increased resources. If they cooperated, it was claimed that the Brotherhood would use the knowledge that they'd gathered from Project Purity's construction to help the people of this area, and indirectly, the Brotherhood's military patrols would benefit them, as well; cleaner water, better crops, safer roads. Of course, no information would actually be granted to the people about how everything worked. That wasn't important. Most wouldn't care, anyhow, so long as they were reaping the benefits. And all that the Brotherhood asked for in return was the acquisition of any and all advanced technology, particularly from the local Vaults, and undisturbed postings. Things that Kate personally doubted these people even used themselves, so she thought it was a rather fair deal.
She didn't think it'd go down so easily, of course, but eventually, the Brotherhood would win. It was rare that they didn't.
"PH samples?" Kate asked in disbelief, folding her arms over her chest. She raised an eyebrow, shaking her head. "We just got here half an hour ago and instead of checking this new place out, you want us to examine soil?"
"And the water," Paladin Desmond promptly added.
"Unbelievable," Kate huffed. She was a scribe, someone who was supposed to get their hands on the good stuff--dirt could be found anywhere, even in the barracks back in the Citadel. She looked to Tink, hoping the smaller girl would complain about this, as well.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Arc 2 begins on Page 18, Post 354

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil remained silent as Jace left the room, but then sighed and sat back down on the bed. What else had Jace expected him to do? Surely, he'd wake up in the morning, with a hangover, no less, and wonder what had even happened last night. And if he happened to remember any of it, then he'd be disgusted with himself, for potentially multiple and different reasons. Basil felt, deep down, that he'd done the right thing. In fact, he hadn't even been selfish.
He really would believe me to be a monster if I'd just...let him have that regret just to receive such gratification. It was the right thing to do. It had to be.