Fandom The Commonwealth Story

[Mr_DC]

The doctor watched the pair exit and quickly closed the door behind them. To Liam, the town seemed like something out of a bad story. The bright smiles, clean houses, friendly demeanor all hid something awful. Instead of being a unique place in the wastes which welcomed everyone, Liam could see it for what it truly was. An experiment. A laboratory which lured travelers before kidnapping them.

"Lets go..." Liam anxiously asked the sniper. He wanted to get out of there. Now that he understood the Covenant, those smiles made him want to run away instead of settle down. What would Jay think if he saw that place?
Probably... Nothing. They didn't get involved unless someone asked them to. They wouldn't have gone to war to help someone who might be dangerous.

Vaana was still waiting for the pair. She stood above the body with an almost relaxed look on her face. She got her revenge on the man for claiming she was a synth. It was a small comfort now that there was always that small chance she actually was a synth. She looked down on the guard. The scalpel was lying next to his head, his throat slit open and stopped spraying blood a while ago.

 

[AI10100]

Jackson shrugged when the doctor didn't ask for her payment, which was for the best. He continued down and out of the gates, but still kept his neutral if not a little smug expression. Travelling down back to Vaana, once they were out of sight, he waved at her. "Hey, got our lead and your stuff." He gave the guard a glance, noticed that he was now truly dead and just shrugged. He got it coming - Vaana was not one you messed with. And he sure as hell didn't need to be a genius to figure that out. Golden rule: Don't piss off mercenaries. They would do anything they see fit.

He handed her the pistol first before opening his bag and taking out what was hers, with the last one being the silver locket but he paid it no mind. "That should be everything. Well, everything on the table anyway." He finalized as he zipped his backpack up again. Jackson then stood back up and stretched. Damn, he really wanted to rest again after that whole tiring event, but there's no rest for the wicked.

"Sadly, we can't rest up. Sorry Vaana but we have a deadline. Midnight at Boylston Club. Paladin Stone." He then showed her the scrap paper the mayor gave him. "We need to get there." He looked up and bit his lip. "Fast."

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana watched Jackson cast a look down at the body and was satisfied with the lack of a reaction. She didn't need someone schooling her about the rights and the wrongs. She did what she wanted to do and there was no one in the wasteland who could convince she didn't have that right. "Thanks." Vaana mumbled and grabbed her gun but stopped to make eye contact with Jackson. "For everything." She got serious. "I mean it. I was in a really bad spot there and who knows what would have happened to me if not for you." She gave her partner a short nod and repeated as she holstered her gun. "Thanks."

She put all of her items in the pockets of her trench coat. Most of the items disappeared in her pockets except for the last one. Vaana held on to the locket a second longer before closing her fist around it and putting in her back pocket. She respected Jackson even more. He wasn't as curious as she was. He seemed to know where the boundary was, unlike Vaana who still intended to bother Jackson about his Railroad history. She was willing to risk poking an open wound to satisfy her curiosity. She just hoped it wouldn't be something too hurtful for Jackson. Not that hurtful that he would want to break up their alliance.

"No problem. Only pussies rest after being almost murdered, operated on, and kidnapped." Vaana replied sarcastically. Something didn't sit well with her, though. Paladin Stone. Vaana set her teeth. She didn't want to fail the Benefactor's mission but she had bad reactions to some Brotherhood soldiers. "Don't worry..." Vaana motioned at the setting sun. "We go at a rushed pace and we'll get there just in time to rest up a bit before Paladin Boulder gets there." She finished jokingly but paused, noticing Liam behind Jackson. Cocking an eyebrow at the robobrain's direction, Vaana called out. "What's going on?"

Liam was focused on the dead guard. "Why did you kill him?" He asked, not turning away from the dead body.
It seemed like she was going to get schooled after all. Frowning, Vaana planted her hands on her hips. "Why wouldn't I? Was there a reason we needed him alive?"
"No but..." Liam hesitated. He was conflicted. Not only did he believe what Vaana did was extremely wrong but it only inflamed his worry she might be a synth... And that synths could be as dangerous as the people of the Covenant claimed. "There was also no reason to kill him. You can't just kill people. That's what raiders do."
"I can just kill people." Vaana replied. "That's usually what mercenaries do. Besides, he would have killed me. It's only right that I kill him." She finished with a shrug.
"Violence begets violence." Liam raised his voice at Vaana. "Only by forgiving our grievances and moving on can we build a better world." It was something Jay regularly repeated whenever he had a chance.

Vaana opened her mouth to say something which would shut Liam up but stopped. The little fuck had a point. If Vaana didn't agree with it, she would have been a raider. By working as the middle line between the Minutemen and raiders, Vaana was accepting there was a certain level of good behavior which had to be respected. Otherwise, everyone might as well be wild animals.

 

[AI10100]

Jackson seemed genuinely surprised to hear her thank him for something that was expected of him. He let out a "No problem." even though he wasn't sure where this genuine gratitude came from. He couldn't even feel happy about it but he soon just brushed it off. No need to dwell on such things for too long.

"I'm more worried that your wound will act up." Jackson said, pointing the barrel of his rifle at the area where she had been shot, only inches away from poking it. He then swiftly put the rifle back on its rest position on his shoulder. He then smirked and nodded. "Yeah. Let's." He was about to step away and get moving when Vaana noticed that Liam had been all too silent.

He stifled a sigh when Liam questioned Vaana's decision to kill the guard. However unwarranted it actually was, Jackson knew better than to say anything about another's choice if it didn't affect him directly. Liam was this morally good character and Jackson was beginning to see what may be the downsides of travelling with him other than he has no use in a gunfight aside from being a metallic shield. He was too good. And much too opinionated. But he had good points. An excellent point to give two morally gray mercenaries who hated being called raiders.

"Come on." Jackson said after a moment of tense silence covered the trio. "Liam, calculate our path to Boylston Club. We need to get there before midnight." He ordered, looking at Liam to take the lead first and he'll follow first. He didn't want the two to be in close proximity for a while if he could help it. They need to cool off a bit.

 

[Mr_DC]

Liam took the presented opportunity to defuse the tension and did as told. In a matter of seconds, he knew which was the fastest way to go. The actual way they would take will depend on whether they find some resistance in their way or not. Their time limit being midnight, they should arrive an hour before midnight, according to Liam's calculations even taking Vaana's injury into account.
He just hoped he didn't go too far with schooling Vaana. The pair took him under their wing, after all, and didn't expect practically anything to do for them... And there he was, telling them how to behave. Ashamed, Liam felt like an ungrateful child. He would have to apologize to Vaana once they arrived at their destination.

"You know..." Vaana began as Liam started leading them to their destination. She noticed Jackson put himself between Liam and her. It might be just that Liam knew the way and that Vaana was the slowest but she had a feeling Jackson didn't enjoy bickering companions. Or any companions, perhaps. "Usually, convoys have the old and the wounded at the head." She spoke slowly with a smirk on her face. She wanted him to understand that she saw the organization of their little 'convoy'. "That way, if there is an ambush, the most useless ones in the fight would get the worst of the attack and the rest of the convoy would be able to survive. They also dictate the pace since they're the slowest..." Reaching for her wound and holding it with one hand, Vaana continued. "The leader is usually on the very rear. That way the leader can watch the whole group for any issues."

Brightening up her tone by a notch, Vaana chuckled. "So I'm either the leader or you hope I won't be able to keep up." She joked. That was enough small talk. She didn't have as much grace as Jackson when it came to respecting privacy. It was time to punch Jackson straight into the gut. "So..." She pursed her lips. "You worked with the Railroad for 'who knows how many years', hm?" With a grin, she continued. "You certainly had one hell of a poker face at Goodneighbor when I said they're misguided. I should be careful around you. Who knows when you'll give me a friendly smile and stab me in the back." She made another joke. Half joke. This time she would focus on reading Jackson's reaction to the joke. He was certainly reactionless when she threw dirt on the Railroad. Might have been her alcohol-fogged memories but she still wanted to see if Jackson was a complete psychopath or just a good liar. "I'm also guessing my indifference towards the Institute brewed some bitterness in you? I guess that's the problem of a first impression when you have no idea what history the other person has."

 

[AI10100]

"Hm?" Jackson turned his head ever so slightly to get Vaana in his vision as she called out for their attention. She followed up with talking about how the ideal formation of a convoy should be with the injured in front and the leader at the back to be sure to cover all bases. She had a good point, but Jackson didn't budge from his position as he let out a laugh. "I thought we already established you were leading?" He questioned in a shocked voice. Really, Jackson just did this formation out of the sheer want of putting some distance between the two bickering beings. He was just glad she didn't point out that a sniper of all people was up front, but there were formations that put snipers near the front so that they can spot things quickly and react accordingly.

The smile was wiped from his face when she mentioned the Railroad. He let out a sigh. "I don't care what you say about the Railroad. Not now at least." He continued with a small shrug. While he still had some opinions molded from days with the organization, example being that he was mostly accepting of synths so long as they weren't out for his blood, it dind't mean that he still felt quite as strongly. "But yeah, worked with them. Fought for some liberation for the synths." He nodded, now not really needing to hide the mere fact that he was once with those people. "If anything, the only thing that's left with me from the Railroad is my sniping skills and my semi-trust in synths that don't shoot at me at first meeting." Okay, there were some others like the Railroad signs that he still sometimes leaves here and there or even uses when he needs some emergency packages.

Then he smiled, though it didn't seem too forced. "Institute has its reasons. I don't like 'em but that doesn't mean you don't have to like them as well. We're mercenaries, we put personal feelings behind our job." He pointed out. Besides, if they had enough caps, he'd probably work for them as long as he wasn't forced to tell any Railroad secrets. Who knows how many scopes would be pointed at his head for the entirety of his life. Years would probably be taken off his life if he did something like that. "Lucky you, Vaana. You don't have the previous ties to give you bias." He shook his head in mild disappointment in his own previous choices. He'd like to keep off the topic of why he left rather than where he left from. That was a whole other jar of dirt he won't want to open.

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana wasn't as skilled in her reactions as Jackson. When he said she didn't have previous ties, it cut off what she wanted to say and she walked behind Jackson with her mouth half open and words stuck in her throat. She was just lucky Jackson was walking in front of her and didn't see the stupefied expression on her face. Who knows where she would be if things had gone a bit differently. If people didn't play lawbringer. Either dead in a shallow grave or standing by the side of the most powerful person in Commonwealth. Passing a finger over one of her scars, Vaana put on an unconvincing smirk and buried the thoughts rising up in her mind.

"That was a boring reply." She mocked. "I was at least expecting you to tell me something I didn't know about the Railroad." She shrugged. "I don't know... Is your leader a mirelurk queen?" She asked sarcastically. Half of that was not just saying the first thing that came to mind. She wanted to relax Jackson. There had to be something more in that story. If there wasn't, Vaana would just annoy him until he told her a lie she would be satisfied with.
"Now just tell me that you left because you wanted something more interesting or that the caps were better in this business and you'll lose my interest completely." She let out a short laugh.

"But seriously, is that all?" Vaana questioned. "If it is, you'll end up being more boring than Liam." She laughed, hoping making a joke about Liam would make the damn robot relax about what happened before. She didn't want him to resent her for her reckless behavior. She definitely didn't want him thinking she was no better than a raider. Liam, however, didn't react and kept on leading the pair to their destination.

 

[AI10100]

The pause between her mocking him and her last reply was... suspicious. But this wasn't his time to poke and prod. Though thanks to these line of questions, she had practically given him permission to do so as well in a later date for her. This was good. He had some questions about her personal life in hopes to get back at her - and that well taken care of silver pendant seems like an interesting object to start that chain of questions. But he'll wait until they were done with moving and they could rest. Besides, he liked the fact that she was trying to lead him into traps but he kept his word. Oddly enough.

He scractched his chin and then rubbing his beard as he thought about her first questions. "More like a Mirelurk King." He said, a smirk tugging to his face. "You'd be surprised who our current leader is." He raised his eyebrows repeatedly as he looked at her before letting out a laugh. Hey, Desdemona was definitely different from the previous leader. Or maybe it really was just his personal preference but he liked her as a leader because she was way more careful. He liked not having to worry about being killed left and right. But the amount of synths actually getting out of the Institute to be escorted was few in between, but there has been more and more lately. It's weird.

Maybe he'll play around the truth for a while. "Would you believe me that I left because I killed someone inside?" He questioned with a quirked eyebrow, his jesting tone making it in between a truth and a lie. He then began to laugh again. "Or would you take my word and believe that I exited out of my own accord because shit was getting boring. And come on, mercenary work means I can do whatever I want. No rules aside from my own to hold me down." He continued with a nod.

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana scoffed at his joke. Of course, he didn't want to tell her who exactly the leader was - that was to be expected. It was a clandestine group and if everyone went around throwing away information, they wouldn't be around for as long as they have been. They wouldn't still be influential. "I'm actually glad you were once a part of some group." Vaana shrugged, wanting to make the situation seem less like an interrogation. "It means you stood for something. That you aren't just a random element who makes decisions in the heat of the moment. You act upon beliefs." She smiled. "It means that you are trustworthy... In the sense that you're predictable." She smirked.

"Alright, two options..." She clapped in front of herself, regretting it upon feeling a stab of pain in her wound. "Let's say you killed someone. That means you probably had a good reason... Or a bad one but a reason nonetheless. That's a more interesting story. And since you're no longer a member, it was a serious enough offense that you got thrown out but not serious enough that you'd be executed yourself. Maybe you weren't thrown out but rather left. That means you probably hid the murder and decided you couldn't live with yourself inside the Railroad. Or you didn't hide it and it was justified but you still couldn't live with yourself..." She paused. "How am I doing so far?" She asked with a wide grin.

"The other story you offered is that you got bored... In which case, you are boring. There is no story behind you getting bored and I want to hear a good story. And in case you did just get bored, I'll just see how good of a liar you are by making you tell me the story of you killing someone in the Railroad and leaving." She finally concluded. Hopefully, her logic would be sound enough that he wouldn't just laugh and shut up but accept her offer and make up a story about the Railroad... Or tell the truth if he didn't make up the summary of it.
Vaana threw a look to the sky. A radstorm was coming soon and the sky was getting darker. Boylston club would be their camp for longer than she expected.

 

[AI10100]

"Well, you have a point there. I did stand for something." Jackson suddenly looked down, picking at his glove as they moved. Maybe he still did. Maybe he didn't. He doesn't even know. He let out a small sigh, memories continuing to trickle down to his head thanks to Vaana questioning him. He loved the Railroad. He did a lot for them and they actually helped him a whole lot as a young boy. He grew up there. They took care of him. "Am I still?" He questioned as he smirked at her. "Aside from being a synth sympathizer, what else do you think is predictable about me?" He decided to ask, wanting to know if Vaana could truly see through him thanks to his previos allegiances.

He listened to Vaana's comments about the two stories he offered to her. She was quite close in her first guess but he won't show that. Then she claimed that the other story was rather boring seeing as nothing really happened aside from him feeling differently as he grew up. "Okay, let's say that the first story is the truth." He said with a nod. "If that's the case, then I do believe that it would be interesting if I somehow killed someone on the inside. An important person. But there's a twist! They didn't kick him out. I wonder why." He said before pointing at Vaana. "Why do you think that would happen?" He questioned. Well, it's not like he was telling the truth so he'd like to see what she can take out from this one.

 

[Mr_DC]

"And what now?" Vaana asked, her eyes locked on the back of Liam who suddenly changed directions and chose a different way through the city. "You don't stand for anything? Just a wild card?" She cocked an eyebrow, looking back at Jackson. Few people stood for anything worthwhile. Maybe just the Minutemen. Everyone else seemed to focus either on themselves or on goals which aren't worth fighting in Vaana's opinion.
"What's predictable?" She grinned but the grin quickly softened into a friendly smile. "I guess it just means that when it comes down to it... When all the chips are down... You'll do the right thing. I don't think you'd do to Swanson what I've done. Or, at least, you would feel very wrong about it." As much as she would like to, Vaana didn't feel even a pinch of guilt in her about it. He might have been defenseless and there was no need for it but Vaana wasn't going to let him live. Not even if it meant sending a message of kindness to those who weren't kind.

Seeing the Boston Common in the distance, Vaana shrugged. "Hey, you're meant to be the one telling the story, not me. I'm just making your lies easier to you if I plan them out first." She chuckled. "If you'd rather not talk about it, just say so. I might still annoy you about it but a punch to the stitches will shut me up." She added with a grin.
Pointing ahead and raising an upright finger in front of her smiling mouth, Vaana whispered. "Besides, maybe it's best if we're quiet here... Unless you really want to tell me what happened and shut me up."

 

[AI10100]

Jackson thought about it for a while. Did he stand for anything? "I don't know Vaana. I've been molded to be something, I don't think these things can be easily erased." He pointed out. Maybe he just unconsciously does things that are supposed to be aligned with his personality. The fact that he didn't know scared him because it made him unpredictable to even himself. Has he really just lost himself so much that he didn't know himself anymore or was he just hiding it from himself?

"Hm... perhaps." He replied with a nod, seeing her reasoning for thinking about what he'll do. About doing the 'right' thing. "But you're right. I wouldn't have killed Swanson. I wouldn't have found the reason to do so. But that doesn't mean you're wrong." He replied with another shrug.

When they arrived close to Boston Commons and Vaana urged him to continue telling the story, Jackson decided to take her up on that offer. "You know what, I'll continue the story once we get to the club." He replied, giving her the finger gun and a grin. Just like a child. Jackson then turned back to the Boston Commons and peered into his scope. "Look, Swan's asleep." He pointed out, watching the unassuming pile of things floating around the lake.

 

[Mr_DC]

"Oh, yes it does." Vaana said almost harshly as Jackson claimed she didn't do anything wrong. "I did a lot of things wrong." She corrected him. "Killing Swanson was wrong. The only way you can live with yourself repeatedly doing the wrong thing is to understand you're doing the wrong thing and never deny it to yourself." She pointed out. "Lest you turn into a raider..." As a mercenary, horrible things simply ended up on her plate. While she still tried to maintain her reputation of the legendary mercenary who did good things and waved away rewards... She still had to eat.

Vaana scoffed. She had a feeling she wouldn't hear the rest of the story but she would damn well try her best to annoy him until he shared.
Vaana's look cautiously fell on the mass of junk in the pond. Only her eyes darted there while keeping her head straight as if the monstrosity could see her. "Lets just get inside." Vaana whispered and followed Liam to the old building.

Opening the door, the group was greeted by a wave of dust and stale air. It had been a while since anyone entered the place. It was almost as if they were taking a step back in time. "I... Like how calm it's here." Vaana said, maintaining her whisper. She didn't want to raise her voice, fearing it would somehow ruin the atmosphere.
"What was this place?" Liam asked, mimicking Vaana's whisper.
For the first time since they headed to the city, Vaana spoke to Liam. "I have no idea..." As she said that, she could hear the thunder of the radstorm outside. They would have to stay in the club for a while, regardless of their guest showing up or not.

 

[AI10100]

The line between right and wrong, good and evil and whatever opposite two there is has blurred ever since the Great War. What she said was true. But he did believe that even with such decisions, she wasn't nearly morally evil enough (or stupid enough) to be a raider. Raiders kill indiscriminately. They had reasons, no matter how personal they were. But if she decided that it was 'wrong' then it's wrong for her. Who was he to argue with that?

He stayed for a moment at the door as Liam and Vaana entered, his eyes scanning the area for any threats. With one final look, and a nod to Swan, he entered the building. Like Vaana said, this place was beyond peaceful. "Looks rich." He muttered as they proceeded further inside. He then pressed the controls for the elevator and it actually still worked. "Well, as much as I like the waiting area, let's go to the main rooms shall we?" He said as he entered the elevator and waited for the other two to get inside as well.

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana nodded and entered the elevator after Liam. She would be the first to exit into the room above. When the elevator doors opened, Vaana's breath got caught in her chest. Taking a step out, she was overwhelmed by the club. The stale air, the fog of dust, skeletons scattered around on luxurious furniture... She finally took a few more steps in a rested with her shoulder against a support beam.

The few rays of green light from the radstorm outside coming in through the dirty windows gave the entire place an amazing air which Vaana was struggling to take in. "Wow..." She said, simply awed by the bleak sight in front of her. "This place is like a tomb. It's so... Peaceful." She repeated again. It was truly a unique sight.

"I guess we should get comfortable..." She shrugged and headed to a couch, sitting next between two skeletons, taking a bowler hat from one. "You think there's some wine left?" She asked, grinning and knocking over an empty wine bottle with her foot. "I should get you liquored up before I start bugging you about your life story."

 

[AI10100]

Jackson followed Vaana as she was the first one out of the elevator. Skeletons. Empty wine bottles. Glass that haven't yet been shattered. No wonder it was such a peaceful place. This was the last place for so many lives to live on. This place felt like it was frozen in time. "It is." He couldn't help but say in agreement. "But really, skeletons, not exactly my type of people to hang out with." Jackson pointed out as he sat down on one of the arm rests.

"I think so." He then reached over to one of the wine bottles and then poured it on one of the dirty cups. It filled up about halfway before he put it down once again. "Don't suppose these people were drinking poisoned wine do you?" He questioned as he took the glass and then placed it over the mouth of the skeleton sitting on the chair. "Mass suicide. Surprised they could be so obvious about it."

"Right, my story. Why are you so invested in it anyway?" He asked. "If you give me a good enough reason, I'll continued."

 

[Mr_DC]

"I find that skeletons are the only ones that can tolerate me for extended periods of time." Vaana joked. "You should see my base. Looks like a graveyard." She added with a grin, putting her arms around the pair of skeletons by her sides and kicking her feet up on the table in front of her. She wanted to put some life into the place. Just anything that would make the entire place seem so less... Depressing. Vaana wasn't sure what exactly her problem with the place was but she felt like she was always moments away from breaking down into a sobbing mess. In spite of that, she definitely didn't want to leave.

"The easy way out, hm?" Vaana asked, eyeing a half-full bottle on the table. "Tempting. It's much easier to drink down a bottle of wine than pull a trigger." She let out a dry chuckle. "The trigger is never so hard as when you point the gun on yourself." She looked through the table and thought about the drunken nights when she had enough. When the demons of the past got the better of her and she was sitting alone in her base with only the hum of her turrets keeping her company. "Not that I've ever tried something like that." Vaana lied, smiling as she realized how her words sounded.

"You can't really travel with someone and put your life in their hands when you don't know about the skeletons in their closet." Vaana shrugged as a reply. "Besides, I'm curious and annoying as a bloodbug. Might as well get it over with and share."
Liam, ignoring the conversation the pair had, went behind the bar and disappeared in the back room as if he knew exactly where to go. There, he began quietly working on the safe. One of many tricks he learned while Jay was socializing.

 

[AI10100]

"Oh what about me?" Jackson questioned, putting a hand on his chest, feeling betrayed. Surely, a few hours was an extended period of time. He then let out a chuckle before whistling, Sparky going to his side and tilting his head. "And that's why I have pets too, Vaana. Keeps the bad thoughts away." He then patted Sparky's head and the dog curled up beside the chair he was sitting on.

"Much easier to kill yourself when you have buddies too." He then gestured around the place. There were a lot of skeletons and it wouldn't take a genius to realize that this was mass suicide. The talk about pulling the trigger on yourself, though, hit a little too close to home. Vaana then cleared up that she never tried it. "Oh, you haven't?" The question came out a bit too quickly before he could catch it. He had to admit, he thought another mercenary had known what it felt like to think about ending it all.

"Oh, then I'll wait for your story next." Jackson said before standing up and finding an empty seat with no skeleton next to him. He'd rather not have the bones of someone who had died 200 years ago sticking to his side.

"Well, just like I said, grew up in the Railroad. They were the ones to take care of me. Train me. Mold me into something that was Railroad worthy." Jackson started, finally getting into his story. Though he wasn't sure about telling her too many details. There were too many secrets that he had sworn not to tell. "Well, I have... had a partner. I spent years with her and I rarely was sent without her and vice versa. When the time came that I had to choose between her and my life, well, you know the ending to that." He gestured to himself. He wondered if Vaana would accept that wholly unspecific retelling of his past.

 

[Mr_DC]

"True..." Vanna nodded. "Congratulations on not trying to stab my lights out yet." She grinned. If she were honest, it wasn't her personality that kept people away. She didn't want to get close to anyone enough that they would even get the chance of getting annoyed by her. People complicate things and the little good they did with emotions could easily be supplemented by alcohol-fueled nights with a small gun threat to herself. Nothing unusual...
"You could say I had a pet too." Vaana shrugged and laughed. "Though, sentry bots aren't great talkers."

"Seems so." She commented, looking around the room. Perhaps they even laughed before they died. Made some final jokes. A toast. Hugs exchanged between friends before death. It was a shame death couldn't always be so civil. So friendly. Usually, death came before you even realized. A shot you couldn't possibly expect. Either that or after several rounds of torture at the hands of raiders. That was certainly not the way she would want to go. Better to go in a blaze of glory than by some drug-crazed psycho. "But I'd wager friends usually make suicide a bit more difficult to carry out."
Then he asked her if she truly didn't try it. Vaana's eyes locked on to Jackson and her expression went serious. "No." She said with a long pause. "I didn't." She blinked. Her tone of voice and expression sent a loud enough of a message that she was lying. Her words were practically silenced by her purposeful body language.

"My story?" Vaana crossed her hands on her chest. "What makes you think I have a story? Maybe all these scars were made by me being completely incapable of using a knife and fork to eat." She joked.
Vaana paid close attention to his story. It was heavy, that's for sure. They definitely could have had something in common if things had gone differently. Feeling she had to brighten things up, she forced out another joke. "So you choose her..." She nodded with pursed lips. "Now you're a ghost. Haunting annoying mercenaries for their sins." She finished with a half smile. "That's pretty vague but very personal." Vaana commented and gave Jackson a thankful nod. "Would it be rude if I asked you to fill in the blanks in the story?" She gave him a friendly smile.

Liam opened the safe without much of an effort. He was the one in charge of getting into places untouched since before the war while Jay traded the goods they found for spare parts. Inside the safe was what he expected to find. Golden pocket watch, a gun, some pre-war money... And a holotape.
Curious as always, Liam inserted it into himself and ran through it, devouring the contents. The contents were as depressing as the room he wanted to just run through. They all expected the world to end and decided to end their lives before it actually happened. A final toast.

 

[AI10100]

"You can program Sentry Bots with personalities right?" Jackson asked, wondering if everyone could do that easily. There were robots like Kleo who had a set personality that seemed more human than just simple robotic garble. "Least they can actually talk sometimes." He continued. While dogs can empathize easier, it's not like they had voices to give him advices or something.

"Not when you all agree to it." This place was a grand example of that. Though this seemed more like a club of people more than anything. When she reiterated that she hasn't tried to commit suicide before, and he did feel that she was lying, but he gave her a sad smile. "Oh, well, that's good. Can't have two suicidal mercenaries on the same team." He gave her finger guns again with a grin.

He took out his .10 and then some cloth and began wiping it down. He'd continued to disassemble it if it weren't for the fact that they were still on a mission. "You wouldn't be a famous merc if you didn't have a good origin story." Jackson pointed out. "Come on, tell me~"

"Excuse you, I'm protecting annoying mercenaries like you as continuation of my good deeds." He jokingly said as he placed a hand on his chest. He then began to tap his fingers on his lap. "Nah, the story's pretty much complete. All those gaps are... well, classified so they say." Okay, that was only the half truth. A lot of them don't really violate his promises to the Railroad but then it would become a whole lot more personal. And he doesn't want that. Well, not yet. Not until Vaana tells her side.

 

[Mr_DC]

"You could..." Vaana stretched the last word. "It's a bit difficult and you usually need a personality to base it on but it is within my range of skills. I never did it with my bot, though." She shrugged. "I guess I didn't really trust my own craftsmanship because I thought I'd feel bad if it got destroyed. It lasted longer than I thought it would..." She looked at the table in front of her. "It still hurt like hell when it got destroyed. His robotic personality... It still made some great conversations." She said with a smile, still staring at the table and her eyes getting slightly teary. The place was getting to her.

At first, she hated that sentry bot. It was just a mindless machine who could not respond to her. A thing of death and destruction. Over time, though Vaana started to appreciate it's lack of emotions and complexity. It forced her to grow her own personality even further to make up for the robot. It kept her from going insane and talking to herself. She could talk to someone else even if that someone else didn't really reply anything useful. It allowed her to make jokes and laugh to them without seeming completely crazy. But that ended.

Vaana got serious as Jackson asked to hear her story. It was something she never shared with anyone - not even her sentry bot. A part of her wanted to tell the story to whoever would listen. Whoever would remember. Maybe she would actually become like one of those legends she read about when she was younger. Never dead because she would live on in someone's memory. "It wouldn't really be fair if you told me your story and I withheld mine." She then smiled. "I'm not a fair person, though." She grinned. "Yeah, I'll tell you. But it's not a nice story and..." She froze, the words teetering on the edge of her parted lips. "I'll never be the Merc to you again. You sure you want me to be the big, bad mercenary?"

Vaana nodded understandingly when Jackson explained why he wouldn't go into further detail. She understood but she wouldn't accept it. "That's your right and it's fine." Vaana raised a hand. "But I expect to hear more details when I tear open my heart for you. I'm not just gonna bleed out here while you just prick your finger, alright?"
Liam returned to the room and stopped by Jackson to listen to the pair. He wasn't comfortable being next to Vaana anymore. She seemed too unstable compared to Jackson. While Jackson could have been just as unstable, he was at least better at hiding it.

 

[AI10100]

Jackson nodded. He found it impressive that she could actually do it. Well, anyone who could reboot an active enemy Sentry Bot on the fly could probably program something to have a personality. That is impressive. He shrugged. "Well, humans attach with anything. I'm not surprised you felt bad about it." He's heard a lot from those he escorted, having a scholar-type as your client actually can be quite fun when you're bored out of your mind. "Sad to hear it got destroyed though. Those things are made of tough stuff."

He shrugged. "Don't really care. My story isn't exactly all sunshines and rainbows." He pointed out. Betraying a friend - a partner - wasn't exactly the making of the 'nice story'. He was looking forward to what she had to say. "Please, what I need is a competent mercenary who knows what she has to do when the time comes. Isn't that what The Merc is?" Though it was obvious that he was just joking. Honestly, there were a lot of things to rumors - most of them were false so he figured that she wasn't exactly as bad as they say.

"Of course." He replied. "Go on. Spill your guts and I'll spill mine." He reassured her. He watched Liam roll up to his side and gave him a mere nod.

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana nodded and was silent for several seconds. She straightened her back and crossed her legs. She interlocked her fingers and rested them on her knees while staring at her hands. "I'm not everything you think I am." Vaana finally spoke, watching as her knuckles transitioned from white to pink as she slowly clenched her fists and released them. "I'm not a legendary mercenary. Not even an average one." She sucked in a breath through her teeth and smiled, still staring mesmerized at her hands. The smile showed many of her teeth and completely lacked joy. It was the expression of someone holding on to something hot and slowly feeling the pain increase. Vaana, however, felt like she was finally letting go. The pain served more as a release.

"It's easy to be a legend when you look like one and run your mouth like your life depends on it. It's easy to be thought of as an army when you have an army rolling by your side." She shrugged. "I'm just a woman who is good at using a gun, good at sneaking and damn good at making robots. These scars?" Vaana shook her head. "Only a few of them were earned..." Vaana's eyes turned to Jackson, only emptiness behind them. "The rest I've made. To fit the legend." She looked back at her hands. "A legend my friend created." Vaana took a deep breath to prepare herself to talk about history long forgotten. Things that should have been forgotten.

"Before I was The Merc, I was just a girl who loved reading about old heroes, tinkering and getting into trouble. I was Vaana." Vaana blinked a few times. "I met this girl who was about as young as me at the time. She also loved reading." Vaana smiled. "Have you ever met someone who you could look in the eyes and just believe in them?" Vaana looked at Jackson and Liam again before quickly returning to the safety of her hands. Her knuckles were now always white. "She thought she could unite the Commonwealth. Create a group who could protect itself from raiders and outsiders. A group which had citizens and a government..." Vaana closed her eyes, Mary's smiling face appearing in front of her. "She thought a legend of a mercenary helping the population for some caps and punishing the wicked would make everyone feel safer."

A noise came from the elevator shaft. "As you can see, that didn't happen." Vaana opened her eyes and calmly looked at the elevator. "She died." She turned to Jackson, her expression once again serious and hard. Lacking emotions. Suppressed deep down. "I tried to become the Merc we spread stories about... And failed horribly."
The elevator started rumbling, marking the soon arrival of their guest. "So it's time to stop feeling comfortable. You don't have a legend by your side, Jack. No Merc here." Vaana gave him a half smile. "Just a woman with scars and silly clothes." She finished.

 

[AI10100]

Jackson wasn't expecting for Vaana to actually go on about the details of her past. This was interesting and he kept silent throughout the entire story. There were many questions popping up in his head - mainly, why two young ones would think of such a thing. Then again, when you're young, you actually are pretty much optimistic. Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched after all.

So all those rumors were actually blown up just to make an image for people to rally under - someone to look towards if you needed something done. In the end, she was just saying that she was nothing like those rumors. In the end, she was just like any other wastelander who knew how to tinker and shoot. That even she tried to live up to those rumors but failed because she just couldn't. He rubbed the back of his head when she finished.

It was a lot to take in.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about spilling everything." He said, though frowned when the elevator was still moving. Their guest would arrive any minute now. He placed his pistol back in its holster. "Even if you think you're not up to par to the big name of The Merc, I'll say this, you're far from just being a woman with scars and silly clothing." He told her before walking to the hallway where he could see the person coming in from the elevator.

"Okay, I'll tell you about my entire story, details and everything." He assured her with a thumbs up.

 

[Mr_DC]

Vaana listened to his flattery which, if anything, made her feel even worse. She didn't need someone to tell her that not everything is so dark. Closing her eyes, Vaana nodded. She didn't know what she wanted to hear, if anything. There probably wasn't any reply that she wouldn't be angered by. As Jackson went to a better position, Vaana bit the corner of her lips. She expected to feel better when she let it all out but that wasn't the case. She felt even worse. Vulnerable. Maybe she just needed to squeeze out the last drops of truth. To tell him how the story ended. Maybe she needed to keep her mouth shut. Her life seemed to be in a downward spiral and spilling her truth was a desperate attempt to pull up.

Returning to her previous position, Vaana spread her arms around the two skeletons and waited for the elevator doors to open. Time to return to her usual act of the confident loudmouth.
Liam paid attention to her story as well. The mercenary had more depth than he had previously assumed. She wasn't just a killer for hire. She was an emotionally wounded woman who was simply putting on a show. She may have carried out some immoral acts but that was because immoral acts were committed to her. It was obvious to Liam that she was a victim of the world around her. The question, though, was whether she was to be blamed for making the world around her a victim?

Liam didn't have much time to think on the matter as the elevator doors opened.
A large figure in massive power armor stood in the elevator, a laser rifle in their hands. The person looked around the room from inside the elevator before stepping out. Vaana's eyes shifted to look towards the elevator, her brow curled into a frown. Brotherhood marking on the armor. In spite of her feelings for the groups, she would have to play nice. After all, he had armor and she had a fresh wound.

"You are the Benefactor's representatives?" The man behind the mask asked.
"Nope." Vaana gave him a short reply. After a second of silence, she looked at the paladin and smirked. "We're the local Nuka Cola fanclub." She said sarcastically. "Ten caps and you can be our newest member."
The paladin grumbled. "I thought the Benefactor's employees would be more professional." He walked deeper into the room and looked around. Stopping at Jackson, he asked. "Are you the leader?"
"I'm not some smartass sidekick." Vaana quickly replied.
The paladin didn't look back at her. "I wasn't asking you."