Fallout RP - Chapter 1: Dinner with Vault Boy

Abe sat down with a sigh, his tray slapping down onto the cold metal table. He could feel every bit of metal poking into him, the table jabbing his gut, the seat making it impossible for him to get comfortable. You'd think these suits would come with some extra padding, considering they came with a house made of iron. But alas, they didn't. And the food wasn't a whole lot better.

"BlamCo Mac and Cheese, Insta Mash, 'meat', and some vegies. It's as if they don't think we're already sick and tired of the same food, day in, day out. I can only imagine if the other Vaults have to deal with this sort of shit."

One of Abe's friends, Joseph, looked over to him and nudged him hard in the ribs. He, like everyone else in the Vault, found it odd just how often Abe thought about other Vault. Thinking about the outside wasn't exactly uncommon, but thinking about other Vaults? Why would anyone want to leave this Vault just to go to another one? It was downright bizarre.

"I know, ass. Just... they can't all be like this. This is what the old books describe prison as. Same food, same suits, big empty cells..."

Abe looked over his shoulder and around the dining hall, his eyes resting on the women in the room. Generally, when he mentioned having an empty room, he was referring to company like that. He didn't think having a friend in there would help quell the endless boredom very much.

"You know, I was reading a book a few days ago, and it reminded me. Parents used to live with their kids. I wonder if that helped, you know? Having a loving authority, rather than... Whatever the fuck he is."

Abe angrily nodded his head in the direction of the large circular window above them, the office of the Overseer. The office that he'd been called into so many times, the office that had changed hands more than Melissas pants. The office of the undecided.

Joseph looked around and leaned over to Abe, his voice low, his eyes darting around the room rapidly, as they so very often did.

"We need to discuss leaving this place again later tonight. Wanna get the group together to talk about a breakout? We could do it, now that Gabe finally got his gre-"

Abe pushed his friend away, groaning. Everyone was always so quiet about it, but deep down, most people wanted that damned door open. Sure they could try and blow it open, but they wouldn't be the first. Abe had seen the burn marks with his own eyes. It wasn't that easy. He didn't want to whisper, and he wouldn't.

"We're not doing that. There's got to be a better way. We've had Overseers promise to open the door before... Surely we can get one who'll actually do it. The election is only in like, what, a week?"

Emily had been half heartedly picking at her food, she wasn't really that hungry and the food on offer really did not excite her stomach. One could only consume the same food for a certain amount of time and though having a full stomach was a delightful feeling, eating something, new, different or otherwise exciting would be a great news to her taste buds.

She had managed to find a table to herself, though she was usually friendly and sociable sometimes she liked to be alone. However she usually desired such solitude when she was working and there happened to be in the vault something that always needed fixing... Hence as a result Emily could often be found working. Emily's appearance was different for today, for once she wasn't covered in grime and oil, the trademarks of her work place since it got everywhere seemingly.

She knew the real reason of why she was alone. Of course the others, her friends and fellow members in the vault would be able to point towards it. Her age, Emily was nearing the time period in her life where she would need to produce a child before deciding to leave the vault. However this was Emily, the Emily who had never had a boyfriend, the girl who preferred to spend her time with machines. Sure, she knew people wanted to leave the vault. Emily wanted to leave to, there had to be other places out there, perhaps a place where she could settle and make a living fixing things. Maybe she could even find a way into another vault or possibly track her parents down.

Emily wanted to leave, that was all there was to it.

Beep. Beep. Boop.

The sounds of a computer starting up. Processors processing. Data being collected. The sounds of Nick's life. These were the sounds that comforted him. The sounds of technology! The whirring of saw blades to perform excisions in medical science! The sounds of the lasers going "Pew Pew" as the fired into crystal lattices to rebound and refract and extract and analyze their amplified light emissions! light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation was by far the most effect way of treating unwanted hair! Cancer! and people you don't like! Or violent people! it causes permanent scarring too! GREAT FOR MAKING PEOPLE STAND OUT.

It was also incredibly useful in stimulation of organic material so that we can grow things faster. Which was something he was working on. ALL NATURAL - scientifically grown - FOOD. That they cloned. Really, it's meat and vegetables and fruit that they extracted from the preserved food and gathered enough non-tainted particles to clone. Which took longer than expected to extract. Especially since some YOUNG PEOPLE have no impulse control and find themselves eating what they're supposed to be dissecting. Like right now. The kid Nick was staring at was eating one of the steak meals he was supposed to be cutting up.

"HEY!" Nick yelled, scaring that absolute shit out of everyone in the room. "YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE EATING THAT" The young kid dropped what portion he was eating and stared wide eyed at Nick. He proceeded to put it down an leave the lab. Abandoning his station. Nick went back to work like nothing had happened. he started humming the same tune, and literally picked up where he left off without a hitch. And people stared.

Some of them eventually excused themselves for lunch. Not Nick, oh no, he hated those festering waterholes where people flocked to get food and, UGH, socialize! WHAT NONSENSE IS THAT! TALKING TO PEOPLE FOR ENJOYMENT?! Nick didn't scoff, but he choked. The only socialization he will ever do is when he has to do physical examinations and fix people up... and talk about PUBERTY with the kids who are afraid of what they're body is going through. UGH. EMOTIONS! It's a biological prerogative! GET OVER IT. Gah! These kids and their ignorance! Getting under this old mans skin. Ugh.

Well, at least he was alone now. But he did have a meeting with a patient today. He should probably go to the Doctors Office to see if they've shown up yet.

Five more minutes.

Another five more minutes.

And then another.

Eventually, Nadine awoke from her slumber, later on than she had aimed for, but it would hardly impede any of her plans for the day. After spending some time getting ready for the day, as she always did, she left her room in the Vault, and began her journey to the Mess Hall, an area which she had grown to enjoy, for all its grand social natures, and philosophical debates. Such a location reminded her of ancient civilisations, which too held its philosophy next to its food. And such, she arrived at the Mess Hall, before acquiring the simple means of nutrition she would require for the time ahead.

Abe shook his head as Joseph ranted on about his measurements. His precisions, his assumptions, his some sorta bullshits, he was so certain he could take the Vault door down. Joseph wasn't like Abe - Joseph had always been a bit of a nerd, studied hard, got good work, he even got Overseer as his result in the G.O.A.T, compared to Abe's 'Firearm Training Officer', which in a Vault like this basically meant stoolie.
Abe looked onto the table, at the Plasma Defender on his friends tray. 'Nellie' was what he'd called it. He even gave it a nice platinum paint job, and managed to convert the green light in it to blue, though the plasma was still, of course, green. Joseph was just like that.

Abe looked around again, ignoring his friend at this point. The 'cool' chicks tended to sit at the back with the other girls who wanted to be like them - cool chick at this point basically meant you didn't get laid and were horrified of the concept. Nearby were, of course, a lot of the creepier guys. There were a few small groups here and there, some people running for Overseer, some loners, but nothing really noteworthy he could pick up on.

And then he looked back over his shoulder, and let out a low angry groan, interrupting his friend in the process.

"Abe?"

The young man pointed back, running a hand over his face, as Joseph saw the same thing he'd seen.
At the long table, the one initially reserved for the Overseer and their council, sat the gang of the Vault. The Rat Pack. Twelve assholes that were all 18 now, who'd gone their whole time in the Vault doing nothing but picking on kids, stealing guns, and overall just causing trouble wherever they wanted. Normally someone would do something about it, but they were more heavily geared up than the Security Guards; combat plates, assault rifles, grenade launchers, they were kitted to the teeth, ready to leave the Vault as a 'strong united gang'.

"Didn't you join them for a bit Abe? Last year? I know you did, I remember when they tried to make you steal the guns from a bunch of ten year olds. And when you didn't they tried to make you take mine. But your heart got the better of you, huh?"

Joseph wrapped one of his arms around his friends neck, pulling him into a tight vice, from which Abe quickly broke, pushing his friend over with a friendly grunt. Even moreso than Abe, Joseph never seemed to fit into this Vault. Way too happy.

"Yeah, I worked with them for a bit. Honestly I just wanted their help on my body armour. I mean, they had the perfect stuff for it, after they broke into the security offices... but still... They just... I dunno. I did something I didn't exactly enjoy, and they tossed me under the bus when the Overseer came running."

Joseph nodded as he stood up, and made his way to the washing hall. He normally did that, just left through a conversation. It wasn't an insult, he was just that sort of person. He thought, and knew, he was smart enough to not need to care. Of all the people in the Vault, Abe hadn't met anyone more content with being made to leave. Joseph had so many plans for the outside, it made Abe wonder if it was even worth waiting till Joseph was 20. Just let him go now, he'd be more than welcome to it. He'd probably even ration up his own damned food.

Abe looked over his shoulder again at the 'men' at the table. All twelve of them carrying one of their signature 10mm SMGs, a few with assault rifles over their backs, and Jack and Angus with a grenade launcher over their own. Jack and Angus were the brothers that led the petty gang, and were by miles the most putrid siblings in the whole Vault.

Abe looked around the table. He knew being alone in the dining hall with these guys present wouldn't go over well.
Even if a few of the goodie goodie Overseer candidates were present.

Nadine sat, and ate. The Mess Hall's social grandeur appeared to be somewhat disturbed, lacking compared to previous days. Never the less, her food was enjoyable, and she continued to eat, rather ignoring her surroundings. But alas, all enjoyable things must surely end. She looked around her, noticing the slowly diminishing numbers of the Mess Hall - except for the Vermin League, who occupied the table that once belonged to the Overseer. This was most likely the cause of the lack of social interaction within the mess hall.

Emily finished her food, or what food she intended to eat which turned out wasn't a whole lot. Her stomach churned up by her worries did not have a whole lot of room for bland nutrition even if it would sustain her. She stood up and placed her tray on one of the trolleys that the Mister Handy robots used to collect the dirty dishes. So far, Emily had ignored the presence of the Rat Pack.

She did not really care for their gang and besides unlike most vault dwellers they where prepared to some degree to survive in the outside world. Though admittedly they did not know everything about their equipment. It brought a thin smile to her face when she glanced at them, remembering having to help one of them fix some parts of his armour that he had busted by mistake. Emily would help out anyone even the vaults resident trouble makers. it was just generally good natured and helpful. However since then the Rat Pack had tried on several occasions to ensure that Emily repaired only their stuff and would leave the vault with them. So far their attempts to convince her to do so had failed. Though she fully expected that they would not accept her maybes or no thank you answers for ever. Especially considering how close she was to leaving the vault herself.

But she knew better than to trust the Rat Pack or by extension the Overseer who was a man that Emily intensely disliked... And Emily rarely found it in her heart to dislike anyone. Still she made her leave, aiming to head up stairs to her living quarters to fix some old bits of junk and scrap that she had found in the vault on her travels. In a vault where some days it felt like everything was falling to pieces Emily hated the wasted resources and was a renowned scavenger and recycler. She would surely find use for whatever parts she salvaged or possible have fixed something if the parts where available. What Emily wasn't aware of was one of the Rat Pack getting up to follow her, a big bruiser named Carl who was a mound of muscle with a cunning brain. Though cunning like a fox in the old pre-war books, Carl was also pretty dumb just don't ever call him stupid. Ever.

Abe heard the noise he hated and the noise he'd learnt to fear. The big boy in the Rat Pack. The one that dossed out the most beatings, followed the most orders, and did the most damage, had stood up. He looked over his other shoulder carefully, knowing that if they knew he was watching them, they'd act on it. But to his surprise, but not so much delight, he noticed Carl had found a different prey for this evening.
Abe stood, leaving his tray where it was, and made his way to the opposite door. Like most Vaults, the living area had a pair of halls that led to the exact same place in the exact same way - VaultTec must've just liked symmetry.

Abe entered the main hallway, or at least the second main hallway... or perhaps the first... whatever, one of the main hallways, that mirrored its sibling perfectly. Between them both was the large living area, where people tended to sit, listen to the radio, calibrate PipBoys, and God forbid, go to the labs to get fixed up.
Abe was glad to say it'd been at least two days since he'd needed stitches.

Silently, he gripped the hilt of his revolver as he entered the room. No one paid him any attention as he took a seat near the entrance opposite the one he'd come in through. If Carl acted as he'd acted last year, that girl would probably need more than the little handgun he'd spotted her carrying.

"Hey Abe, what're yo-"

"Shh."

The group of clumsy fifteen year olds frowned as they returned to their comics, flipping the pages of Grognak the Barbarian silently, looking over at the man nearby, wondering what he was up to as he listened intently.

Carl being on the larger side of 6 foot 8 easily managed to catch up with Emily, not that she herself was travelling at a particular speed. Of course, Carl however had reason to. "Hey Jack and Angus want an answer are you in?" The conversation currently continued as they kept walking.
"Hey Carl long time no see... And I am still thinking about it I am not sure who to leave with" She answered stalling for more time, Emily was still undecided. The Rat Pack was hardly the force she would like to explore the wastes with.

"No they want an answer now" Carl responded, he towered over the much smaller Emily, dwarfing her easily even without his combat armour he still would have made her look tiny in his shadow. He put his arm in front of her stopping her from walking any further. Fortune would have it that he stopped her where Abe was located currently.
"So are you coming with us Emily? Or aren't you?" He inquired one last time with an evil glint in his eyes. Emily swallowed nervously, wondering how exactly she could reason with someone with the brain the size of small screw and a desire to break legs for the giggles.

"Look I appreciate the offer I really do I just don't feel that I serve a purpose in your gang" She tried to explain, but Carl interrupted her.
"Doesn't matter you belong with us and your talents for fixing things" He argued, grabbing hold of her jumpsuit with his left hand. "We cannot have anyone else benefiting from your talents can we? It will be so much easier if you join without the need for a fight" Of course Carl would have loved the latter, he cared nothing for honour or loyalty, he just loved to fight, anyone, anything.
"Let me go" Emily responded fixing her eyes onto his intently. At first Carl look amused, then he lowered his right arm the one blocking her exit but still retained a grip on her jumpsuit. Before Emily could react, he'd scooped her up and slung her easily over her shoulders.
"PUT ME DOWN!" She yelled hammering her fists on his back. It did nothing but cause an amused chuckle. Emily loathed to be picked up, however once Carl had grabbed hold of someone it was difficult to escape those vice like meat gauntlets that he called fists.

"Hey big guy, long time no see."

Abe stood at Carl's side, staring up at him, his gun in hand and aimed right at the big lummox head. The hammer was set, and it wasn't hard even for Carl to notice. Abe slowly made his way around, watching the glutton closely with every step. He didn't trust Jack or Angus, they were conniving - this guy was just stupid.

"You're gonna put the lady down, step back, and tell the boys that hold your leash that she's still not sure. She needs to think about it, and she needs time. You're gonna tell them that they'd understand, they're smart boys after all. Then later, when you're all back in your little hovel, you're gonna tell them both that if they don't calm down with this bullshit, harassing members of the Vault... what do you think you'll tell them, Carl?"

Carl looked from Emily to Abe, frowning angrily, as he tried to think on the spot. He wasn't the brightest in the Rat Pack, but he... well, he wasn't the brightest in the Vault, but he still had the ability to think on his toes and piece things together. It made him the perfect messenger, really.

"I'm gonna tell them that if they don't calm down, you're gonna come hunt them, right?"

Abe smiled and nodded. He was genuinely impressed, though slightly annoyed. Right as Carl had said it, Abe already had begun to regret the choice to pick those words, but what can you do? He moved over to Emily and gave her a very light tug, to which Carl let go.

"And tell them my threat has nothing to do with you threatening her, or Todd, or Mick, or Jessica, this is just me and them. If they wanna come try me on, alone, they can come and try. I'd like a little mano-e-mano with them."

Carl stood there, looking at Emily, frowning. He didn't like to think he'd failed the job he'd been given.

"Buddy, she just needs some time to think. If you give her time, she'll come around."

The giant boy looked back at Abe, then back to Emily, and with a loud huff made his way back down to the mess hall, to relay the message, and hope he wouldn't get reprimanded.
In the silence that followed, Abe's voice filled the void.

"So, you're the new teasing toy for those idiots, huh?"

"WHAT." Interruptions interruptions how tiresome! Things would go so much easier and faster if there no interruptions! A young lady person stood at the door to the doctors office. "OH, Charlene. You showed up today! AND YOU'RE EARLY, HOW NICE." His voice didn't sound irritated at all. Not high strung or irritated or mad. not even the little bit peeved. Not at all. Not. At. All. "What can I do for you today?" He might be a little crazy. Just a little. It's not like his voice goes from nearly yelling to soft as a whisper coupled with an apparent complete change in mood. He didn't seem bipolar at all. There's absolutely no sarcasm being said here. None.

"I'm here for my check-up..."  She all but whispered because the Doctor had the charisma of an Old Hermit who hated humanity. Which is probably why they called him Old Nick. "Right, yes, that's right, I remember now." His voice became calm and professional. "Alright, well, uh, sit on the table here and I'll go get your files." He said gesturing to the table. He leaves, goes to his terminal, looks up the files, gets the papers, and comes back, with relative efficiency. "Alright, so, you're what, 16, 17 now?" This was a rhetorical question, he already knew, he just feints forgetfulness. "17 now, yeah," Charlene answers, not knowing. "Well, you know the drill, take off your clothes." This was the part many of his patients got embarrassed about. Which was funny, everyone more or less looks the same. Nipples, Vaginas, Penises, anuses - everyone had them. People always get caught up in the size or the shape or the look. Such aesthetics shouldn't be worried about.

On Charlene's leg, there was a large brown and purple and green spot, a bruise, from when she had fallen down some stairs. Whether or not there was truth to that story, didn't matter, so long as she healed. "Well, that's a definite improvement," He said as he poked and prodded around the bruise to gage sensitivity. He estimated that, by the location of his prodding and the volume at which she yelped when she felt pain, that it would take another few days before it was healed to the point where she could return to her duties full throttle. "Do you have any sensitivities anywhere since we last met?" He asked as he examined her for any extra growths, cancers, moles, warts, or pimples. "Uh," She blushed. He could guess what she was going to say at this point, "My breasts -" He interrupted her, "Are becoming more sensitive." her cheeks grew to a rose color, "Do you know why you've becoming more sensitive?" She shook her head, "When was the last time you had your period?" As her eyebrows furrowed in thought, he told her 'You're pregnant."

She blinked a few times and stared him. "Alright, you're going to have to put in for more rations within the next two weeks or so. You're going to start feeling hungrier, as you'll be eating for two now. Have you felt an random spouts of pain anywhere?" He didn't stop, it was almost methodical, the way he did things. Charlene shakes her head, "good good." He stands up and steps away, "Well, you can get dressed now and I'll right the note telling the overseer that you're pregnant." He turns around and writes in the medical files, making copies in the computer terminal, and sending the Overseer the note via vault intranet informing him of Charlene's pregnancy. After that, he had to fix the Mr. Handy, and then a Robobrain. Work never ends after all.

As soon as Carl had left Emily hugged Abe tightly shaking slightly, whispering to him. "Thank you" She seemed to be fine, if just a bit ruffled. She chose now to answer his question. "Yeah it is kind of my own fault for helping them out... Now they want me to leave the vault with them" She semi explained to him. Emily could easily imagine there would be other more... Private reasons as to way either Jack or Angus or both of them wanted her to join their motley crew. She hoped however that wasn't the case.
"Thank you for helping me out... I didn't expect him to literally pick me up" She said this as she smooth out her jumpsuit.

She imagined that this would not be the last that she heard from the Rat Pack or any other of the small bands in the vault that appeared. The League of Lasers was her favourite small band, they tried to sound tough and battle ready but really it was a bunch of fourteen year old kids with laser rifles or other laser based weapons.
She let out an explosive sigh and muttered. "Did not expect today to literally be picked up by someone... I heard that guys do it but I never thought it would be a real thing just a figure of speech" Emily preferred technology to people, even if for the majority she got on well with them.
"I owe you one" Emily admitted, knowing that it was true and besides she disliked owing debts she would have to make it even some day or in some way. "If you ever need anything feel free to ask me and I will do my best to help out" She smiled at him nervously, glancing over her shoulder from time to time as if to make sure Carl was gone.

Emily decided that she would make sure that her room was properly secure, just in case the Rat Pack tried anything. She doubted that they would, for a while at least. But it pays to be cautious. If she was on better terms with the Overseer she might have been able to wrangle a bodyguard or a secure room near Vault Security personnel.

Abe had to blush when she hugged him. He hadn't really expected that, just a thanks and a wave as always. But instead, it was a hug. He didn't hug her back, and waited for her to let go, before clearing his throat and responding to her.

"Ah, don't worry. You shouldn't owe a person for protection from a bunch of thugs like them. They're not worth anyones time. And besides, unless you can get the Vault open, there isn't a whole lot I want these days."

Abe looked down in the direction that Carl had left and nodded, knowing he wouldn't be back very soon. He returned his gun to its holster and sighed, scratching his head for a moment as he thought about a few things. Something about her seemed... well, she was shorter than him, but she didn't seem younger.

"I'm Abe, by the way. Abe Wolfe, eighteen. Firearm Training Officer."

He held out a hand to shake, his ungloved right hand, the same one that housed his PipBoy 3000. For a moment he wondered if he recognised her, as if she was missing something that made her more notable or perhaps memorable to him. He wasn't sure, whatever. Not important for now.

In the background, Abe subtly heard the annual announcement from dear old Vault Girl though the speakers of the Vault. He tried to not sigh as he heard the same repeated shit as always.

"The year is 2205, the day is the fifteenth of February, the current level of radiation outside the Vault is [incalculable] and safe and cozy in beautiful Vault 32. Vault 32 - where life comes to live."

Something in Abe's stomach always turned when he heard that bullshit propaganda. The fact that there was a noticeable grain halfway through didn't help to hide that one of the Overseers had hacked it not long ago, probably to dissuade anyone from questioning the safety outside.

Fucking hate this place.

"No I insist, you did me a good turn now I should repay you by doing the same" Emily argued. She owed him in her eyes and that was that. She would find a way to repay him.
She shook his hand and introduced herself in turn. "I'm Emily Davidson, nineteen, vault engineer and general fixer of broken things" Though Emily preferred her own title of Ace Scavenger of all things not bolted down.

Emily wanted to leave the vault, sooner rather than later. Unlike most vault dwellers who seemed to be okay with the idea of having children and having them raised in the Vault, Emily did not want that. More importantly she did not really want to raise a child in this world or have someone else raise the child for her. The vault propaganda had worn off on Emily as time passed and she crew more disillusioned with the state of things in the vault.

She would leave, however she needed a group to go with. A good group with allies that she could trust and people capable of fighting the battles. Though as her thoughts turned once more to leaving again she knew people would start breathing down her neck, for vault law stated that she must have a child... Emily had no desire to have a child nor at this time a boyfriend. She was simply too busy for such matters.
Besides not everyone appreciated their other half being covered in oil and grime most of their time, with the rest of it spent fixing things. It really did not make for interesting conversation at the end of the day.

"WHO PUTS FOOD IN THE MR. HANDY COMPARTMENTS. Who does that? Seriously!" Nick Yells as he examines a mr. Handy. He says more, but let's be honest,  you don't want to see him rant about the idiocy of the other vault dwellers and how the young kids shouldn't be allowed near the technology that helps them live their everyday life a little bit easier. He wasn't anti-social at all either, he totally didn't come down to the robotic maintenance area during the common lunch time to avoid people at all. He liked to fix things. It just so happened that when the mood struck him to fix something there was no one in the area, vicinity, section of the vault there to talk to him, look at him, interrupt him, or otherwise be a nuisance to his existence.

He totally didn't find other people annoying. His head looked up at every sound made that wasn't from him. Constantly on the look out for other people to avoid. The vault psychologist thought he had avoidance or abandonment issues. Nick didn't throw a psychology book at his head in anger or yell inane and possibly uninterpretable statements at the psychologist. Abandonment issues? No. People issues? yes, they were also interrupting him! Had they nothing better to do? They have their own jobs to do! Just because he knew how to fix, create, bypass, code, and do most things in the vault didn't mean that people should come to him for help! What did he look like?! A repository of information?! No! He had his own work to do! Why should he bother with other peoples problems!

"SERIOUSLY, FOOD IN THE MR. HANDY!" He yelled as he cleaned out the goop that someone had probably hidden in the mr. handy. "I SWEAR IF I FIND OUT WHO DID THIS I'LL MAKE THEM CLEAN AN ENTIRE HALLWAY WITH A TOOTHBRUSH! A TOOTHBRUSH! AND NO WATER!" The complete misuse and misplacement of food in the mr. handy didn't anger Nick at all. The lack of the competency in other vault dwellers wasn't that annoying. He didn't secretly want to spill cake in anyones bed and watch them have to clean it up. Definitely not, that would be childish. Eventually his yells became grumbles and mumbles and incomprehensible nonsense.

He had to completely disembowel the mr. handy to clean all the foodstuff out that had been stuff in him. Completely taken to bits. Entirely undone. Then, because he had to, he redid it. He rebuilt the mr. Handy. And then he put a code on the hatches so that no one could put food in the processor or compartments again. He also made sure the mr. handy's protocols were up to date and set correctly and properly optimized and that the targeting parameters were safe. And, as always, he hid a trinket of knowledge in it. A little bit of info about the coding to the Vault. Or maybe a shortcut to completing redundant tasks that yielded the same results as doing something fully. Little secrets. Little bits of knowledge.

When he finished he was covered in grime, grease, oil, from all the moving parts in the mr. handy. Properly oiled down to move smoothly, like gliding on soft ice. Though now he smelled funny. He hated smelling funny.

Abe nodded. Nineteen. So she was older than him, and even the entire Rat Pack. That meant she was gonna be another unfortunate soul forced to pop out a kid and be shimmied off to her death. She seemed nice enough though, and if the Rat Pack were willing to threaten her to join them, she must've been good at the 'general fixer'ing.

"Well, fine. When I think of something that I think you can help with to make up for what little I did here, I'll call you over. In fact, I'll even record a note of it right now."

He smirked as he raised up his PipBoy, pressed the third orange button, held it for a moment, and began to record his voice.

"If I ever need a favour, Emily has given me her word that the offer is open."

He smirked and shut the little wrist mounted machine off again, as he shrugged and nodded at her. He'd likely have it deleted once he got back to his room, but it was always good to humour someone in a situation like this. Eased a lot of the growing tension.

"Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking? I know you'd be in the living cells, but... Well, I'm in block B, cell 18. Apparently the same one my dad slept in, though whatever little that means I don't really know. Just asking in case the need arises that I do need a favour, and I just can't find you anywhere else in the Vault."

It wasn't hard for anyone who had just met Abe to tell he was a bit of an exaggerative, sarcastic, 'fun' kinda guy. One of those guys that put emphasis on things purely for the sake of it, just to make things go by easier. While he wasn't like that all the time, around people he'd just met he thought it was a great first impression.
And also he genuinely wanted to know where she was holed up.

He'd remembered reading one of those books, a crime book, that describe prisons. It was far too much like the cells here. Sure, they were a lot more homely, one level each, mostly with the nice blue tint of the Vault, and there were couches and bathrooms and fridges and vending machines and all that shit, but still, something about it was just so... off to him. So very, very bizarre, that he felt it mustn't have been right to live like this.

She smiled and said "I am in Block C, Cell 21 I don't know who slept in mine besides myself, me and I"
Emily decided that she liked Abe, he seemed like a good person and the vault could do with a few more of those these days.
Unlike some of the other lads she had met, Abe did not seem to be trying to flirt with her. Unless he was being very subtle about it. That was the trouble of turning twenty, any single girl became the prime target for any roving male looking for a quick stand. Emily wasn't like that and this vault tradition was one she refused to follow with. Have a child, how about no.

Emily was more concerned with escaping the vault, before turning twenty that choosing someone or finding herself a boyfriend. For now the quiet solitude of repairs would always offer her a brief chance to escape the growing battlefield within the vault.
"I wish there was a way to change things... Especially if you aren't interested in having children" Emily whispered quietly even though it was clearly obvious that she did not want to have a child.

Ike slowly, cautiously rose from his bed, afraid of something falling and crushing him. It was normal considering the crap he's gone through. He looked at the clock and groaned. It's hands had both stopped at twelve precisely. He checked where it plugged into and found it short circuited, a back shadow of a spark on the wall. He sighed, knowing he'd be the one to fix it later. He didn't like asking for help. Ike stood up and made for the door, avoiding tripping over his own shoes. The door, yet again, wouldn't open when he tried. Sometimes he wondered if he should just leave it open so this wouldn't happen anymore. He pulled off the metal open/close plate off, having long since stopped putting the screws back in. He fidgeted with a few of the wires, barely avoiding the ones that would kill him if he touched them. After a few seconds the door opened. It was like this almost every morning.

Ike yawned as he walked down the hall, unsure what the day would have him do. Fix another generator? Accidentally crush his hand with something again? Go to the Doctor's Office... again? Probably all of the above. He made his way into the Mess, stomach already begging for food. But to his infinite sorrow he arrived late. Lunch was over. LUNCH?! He had plans to troubleshoot the Purifier, Reactor and the last Protectron that malfunctioned. It could take up the rest of his day! He still wanted to take his weapon to the shooting range. He was nearing that age to leave, like alot of others, and he wanted to be sure he was at tip top performance with it. And it's not like he had a group of others he's going outside with... no one wanted to be around someone who had enough bad luck that could have them harmed.

"CHILDREN?! ME?! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA AH AH AH AHA HA HA HAH AHA HA HA HA HAH AHA HA HAHA HAHA HAH AHA HA HAH AHA HA HAH AHA HAH AHA HAH AHA HA HAHAH AHAH AHAH AHAH AHA HAH HAH AHAH AHA HAHA HAH AHA HA HAH AHAH AHAH AHA HAHA HAHA HAH AHAH A HA HAH AHA HAH AHA HAH. YOU'LL NEVER HAVE MY GENE SEED, OVERSEER!" Nick laughed at his terminal, specifically at the message he recieved from the Overseer, because, well, laughing at a terminal for no reason would be weird. "I am but 19 years of age! Children now? I think not! No! Now is the time of life to work! ALL THIS ENERGY AT MY DISPOSAL!" He laughs some more. This wasn't him being antisocial. Or challenging authority. Certainly not that last one. Not at all. He certainly wasn't at all rebelling against the havings of children mandate. He was absolutely certain that no one in the Vault would even want to be that close to him. After all, who wants to be near someone who's such a know-it-all and good at everything except socializing and making appropriate comments. He was a good cook though.

Not many people could see past his one damning quality at being generally bad at getting along with other people. Despite all his other qualities, like being a good doctor, mechanic, scientist, and workaholic. Generally being good at everything. After all, when you have no friends, family, or otherwise to occupy your time, you have to keep busy somehow. He always scoffs at those people who eat so much. 3 meals a day? Preposterous, he only needs one meal a day! Eat was such a waste of time after all. Just like sleep! WHO NEEDS SLEEP? Must always be occupied in mind and body! That means work all the time! ten minutes a day allowed for eating, and 3 hours for sleeping. There's always something to do! especially in the science lab! SCIENCE.

The saving grace of the Vault, Science, making lives easier, live longer, healthy, musts for improved life styles! Physical regimens! No one must be fat! NO ONE! The more you weigh the more likely it is for you to get sick and DIE! The more you weigh the more often you'll have to see a doctor and if that happens then the doctor won't be able to be mobile and then he'll get fat and then he'll DIE! NO NO NO NO, no one must get fat. Damn that Carl, being so big and bulky. He's almost fat! If not for all that fine, sculpted, chiseled, muscle. NO. Such thoughts should not be thought, they should be unthought!

He hits himself a few times to calm himself down. Beep. Beep. Boop. He moves from the terminal to attend to the Robobrain. It would be likely to replace the brain gel. It's malfunction would be most inconvenient for the Vault. It might go crazy. KILL PEOPLE. For all he knew it could go on a rampage! but everyone had a gun, so it was likely it'd get blown up. BUT THEN HE'D HAVE TO TREAT ANYONE HO GOT HURT. AND IF ANYONE GETS CAUGHT IN THE EXPLOSION THAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN BY DAMAGED MACHINERY THAN HE'D HAVE TO DO CHECK-UPS FOR WEEKS! Gah! Dealing with people! That G.O.A.T test is a joke! He wanted to put all the answers to all the questions. BUT NOOOOOOOOOO. He had to pick one answer. One that he felt he would do. BUT WHAT IF HE WOULDN'T DO ANY OF THEM. "Well then pick any of them" they said, "things will be fine" they said. LIARS. Things were not fine. He scored "Medical Doctor" But what did he want to do? EVERYTHING. There's all this time in a day. SO MUCH WASTED TIME. Every moment can be filled with work! something to do!

Everything must always be done at once! Combat Training? Doctoral lessons? Science? Medicine? ALL AT ONCE. ALWAYS TIME TO DO ALL OF THE THINGS. Things need to be fixed in the Radiator room? NICK ILL FIX IT. The overseer needs to reset the password for the Vault Door that leads to the largely irradiated ouTside world? NICK WILL FIX IT. The Vault Door was damaged when someone tried to leave? NICK WILL FIX IT. It's not like any of the others who have the specific job title as REPAIRMEN are capable of grasping the intellectual prowess required to fix such a marvel as the Vault Door. Who do they think they are? ENGINEERS? HA! I think not! glorified plumbers! Fixing robots? Leave that to science! Fixing anything in a Vault? LEAVE THAT TO SCIENCE!

Science can do everything we want it too! Like cloning! Unbeknownst to the Overseer, Nick had started to attempt to clone himself. Would he succeed? Probably not, He didn't have a tube to grow the cloned fetus in, if it even got to that stage. Or got passed the fact that it still one singular cell sitting under a microscope doing absolutely nothing other than taking up space on a lab bench. Next to a hot plate. Really at this point it was just a piece of decoration, forgotten.

Abe scoffed and laughed as Emily spoke. It was easy to just speak to her, she was nice. Fun. Not like most people in this Vault. More often than not they reminded him of... well, of the loon in the labs. Sorta engulfed in their own worlds, never much caring for others unless the situation right then and there desperately required it. Emily seemed more laid back than that. As the music began to play again over the Vault 32 Radio System, Abe finally returned to talking.

"There is a way. I've actually been trying to find an Overseer candidate lately, to talk about opening up the Vault. You're 19, you remember uh, Overseers Nathaniel and Dresdin. Both promised to open the Vault at least once a week, and instead they deployed twice as many guards at the entrance. We need someone who promises it, and delivers. Just open it once... that's all we need..."

Abe sighed, scratching his neck and looking up at the fluorescent lights above, wondering when they'd gotten so powerful. Or perhaps he'd just never noticed their light level before and was noticing now, emphasising their brightness... ah, who knew?

"And as far as having kids goes, well... you've gotta have one eventually, even if you leave the Vault, right? That's what all this is about, reproduction? Or perhaps I'm just thinking about stuff in a really short sighted way."

Abe checked the time for a moment and nodded, tapping the PipBoy screen as it flickered annoyingly on his wrist.

"Grmm. Hey, listen, a few friends and I... we've got plans, in case the Vault doesn't open with this next election. This is the last chance for a lot of us, so we need to do everything we can. None of us are too mechanically adept, so if you think you're any good..."

Ike groaned in unison with his stomach. Today wasn't the greatest but it also isn't something he wasn't used to. He thought it best to hurry up with the troubleshooting. Sooner you get it done the sooner you be done with it right? Even if it wasn't necessary, more for his own sanity. He'd never forgive himself if something went wrong and he could have prevented it. He usually checked the machines alot earlier in the morning, so he hurried to Robotics. However on his way through he heard faint laughter. Not the normal, friendly kind. More like crazed psycho serial killer one would see in the holotapes in the projection room. It unnerved him, especially since he couldn't tell where it was coming from, echoes and all that. He started running at full speed. He may be big but he ain't slow. He stole a glance behind him when BAM! Next thing he knows he's on his ass, head throbbing like crazy and in front of the door. "Awww c'mon! Gahdamnit!" Ike rubbed his head and stood up. That hit, quite literally, knocked the fear out of him.


He opened the door and entered the purifier room, feeling relaxed again. It felt like home, like he belonged here. This is, after all, where he grew up. This is also where he learned most of his craft. He still remembers his teacher and mentor, David Allen. He looked up to him as a father and loved him as one. Sadly David had to leave like everyone else did. Ike was 10 years of age and had just received his weapon. It made sense to name the weapon after his father. David wasn't the best name for a weapon, so instead he named it Ol' Glory in remembrance of his expertise. Despite his effort, Ike has more trouble and more trouble remembering him day by day.

The terminal log in screen appeared and Ike punched in his username and password. Soon after several selections come up. Some of them his personal logs, all others being Purifier information. After going through the ladder everything seemed to be in good condition. Thankfully he could also check the Reactor's condition from here. That also seemed to be fine so it was off to Robotics. Yay.

"We less need an overseer who will open it more we need people who will take a chance to open it" She argued, long having lost faith in the string of different Overseers, somehow she always ended up on their bad sides. Emily planned to leave the vault without having a child, she disagreed with the vaults predicted future for her. Maybe if someone who kept their promises made Overseer then she might be able to change it.

"No I don't want to have children and it is something the vault will have to accept because I don't intend on having any. Ever" She put heavy emphasis on the word ever, just in case he did not receive the point.

"As for your group I am in... I mean I want to leave the vault... I have to leave" Emily said eager to leave as soon as possible. "Just give me a call when it is time to go and I will leave"

She smiled at him, noticing the light change as well. Perhaps someone, somewhere was trying to create mood lighting. Good luck there, Emily wasn't going to have anything to do with that sort of stuff. The vault could try every trick in the book but it wouldn't work. Emily would make sure to that.

"I will. But don't expect anything soon. Most of us are still holding out on a new Overseer, one who sees things the way we seem them, rather than... rather than the way the security guards see them, all safe and secure as long as the lock is locked and the key is lost."

Abe shrugged and looked down the hall as a group of recently awoken young ones made their way past, pistols and rifles and gauntlets and melee tools amongst them, all special in their own little ways, just like those who carried them. Abe remembered for a moment when he was around that age, when he tried to remove the scope off of his revolver, only to bust one of his fingers trying to unscrew the bolt.
The young man shook his head and smiled.

"Hey, I'm gonna head off. I need some sleep, it's been a... a bit of a long day. I'm gonna go to my cells, you wanna tag along? Or have you got your own business to attend too?"

As he spoke he'd already begun to walk, albeit slowly, towards the nearest exit.

Ike arrived at his usual work station. He looked in and around it, still jumpy from the laughter earlier. However he forgot about it as he started working. After troubleshooting he found out it wouldn't take nearly as long as he previously thought. Before long the robot's arm could move properly again, a few nuts on the ring of the outer socket were loose, causing it to go limp. A ratchet and a bit of WD40 made it good as new. Ike took a step back and tilted his head. That's odd. He thought. Things usually go wrong before the job's finished. As if on cue the 'bot came to life and began speaking gibberish. Lines of code The hell? I haven't started the system reboot. He stepped over to his terminal and tried to turn it off remotely. Didn't work, as he had guessed. Aha, there's the kink.

Ike turned to face the machine. It began sputtering it's term-link error codes, a series of seemingly random letters and numbers. "ERROR ERROR PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF" Ike stuttered, trying to remember his official I.D. But he recognized the coding. It was a data error so telling it was pointless. "ERROR ERROR PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF" He said nothing and grabbed his wrench to remove the battery. "HOSTILE DETECTED ENGAGING COMBAT" Before he could react it fired a laser. It hit it's mark: his left forearm. Ike blinked. He blinked again. Then his face turned to one of rage. He started beating the 'bot with his wrench in blind anger. Strike after strike, destroying the machine he's fixed countless times before.

It wasn't long before the other technicians came looking. Ike was just sitting at his chair, the machine laying in ruins before him. He was bleeding, that was kinda weird. Normally lasers cauterized on impact. This could be worse then it looked. Which is bad considering he's bleeding everywhere. "Someone call a doctor!" Someone yelled. Another asked if he was fine, he simply nodded. But why did he get so angry? Because his life was threatened? He wasn't normally that violent. He thought about it as they began to coax him out of his chair and to the closest doctor. Who just so happened to be in the same facility, fixing robots of his own in his lab.

The foreman who ran that section of the Robotics opened Nicholas' door and lead Ike into the room. "We've had an accident! One of the robots went crazy and shot him." He didn't like to barge in like this, especially Nicholas of all people. But the closest Mr. Medic was being repaired.

Emily thought about it for the moment, she often did not have much time where she could simply relax. Usually when she did it was taken up by doing the things she did when she was at work, fixing or repairing stuff.
"I don't see why not? I did not really have that much planned" She answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "Probably was going to just repair some stuff but I can do that later on" Secretly Emily wished that she wasn't here in the vault but passed the damned door, away and free. Such things where pure imagination for the moment, the reality was she had the bad fortune to be part of those who wanted to leave the vault... Or for the door to be opened.

Maybe it was her duty to have a child in the name of the vault, but surely if she ever had one her duty would be to care for the child herself. Not... That anyone in the vault seemed to respect that tradition except those unwise people who got themselves pregnant well before they where required to leave. Emily had never really spared much thought for the reasons why she didn't want to have a child or be pregnant, perhaps she had been just too busy to be concerned with guys and children or maybe she wasn't into that sort of thing. Technology was much simpler in her eyes, no complicated debates, political struggles or she likes him, he likes her and she like someone else. All of that nonsense and madness that seemed to concern everyone else in the vault.

The steel door opened up for Abe, as he made his way with Emily into the cool hallway, towards the Living Quarters. Empty, as always. Though Abe didn't know, the hallways of Vault 32 were quite large, especially when compared to other Vaults. There was easily room between him and the ceiling for a whole other person. Abe scratched his neck, yawning slightly, shaking his head and grumbling as he fought his tiredness.

"What were you up to today, if you don't mind my asking? We've basically only just met so, might as well actually get to know each other a bit more than just our names, right."

As he spoke, one of the Security Guards rounded the corner, followed by his loyal, stupid, useless Protectron. White painting can be seen around the 'head' just above the grille, showing off it's name. Coltrane. Just like every other bot in the Vault, whoever was tasked as its caretaker got to give it a name. Guess this guy liked jazz.

Abe looked back at Emily, awaiting her response, smiling down at her. It was nice speaking to someone mature as him, but still shorter than him. Best of both of his worlds really, and it wasn't something he was entirely used too. As the doors to Sleeping Quarter A opened up for them, Abe looked forward and down through the glass window in the walkways wall. A few people playing what looked like soccer, while others attempted to meddle with a radio. A few guards patrolling as always... nothing big.

He pulled to the right, heading for the halls that led to block B, where he resided. He already knew what to expect in there. Most sleeping quarters weren't bad, but most sleeping quarters didn't have every member of a gang in them. And, as his luck would have it, it was a gang of annoying, up themselves fifteen year olds.
He looked back to Emily, trying to get his mind off of it.

Karen looked at the cigarette in her hand. She wasn't really sure why she smoked, it wasn't like it was an enjoyable way to spend her five minute break, but then, there wasn't much else in the vault that she could do. Her rifle was strapped across her back, loaded, but with the safety on. She sighed, flicking the cigarette into the bin, unslung her rifle and began her patrol route, the Protectron "Elvis" flanking her left with the robotic voice announcing "Beginning Patrol".

"It is weird us having only just met" Emily mentioned before saying. "Though it is not too much of a surprise since I like to spend as much as time in quiet isolation as I fix, mend and generally repair things in the vault" With a light laugh she said. "That is pretty much what I did today mend things someone has got to right? Especially considering how much the vault seems to break down or the things in it crash"
Emily decided to ask him some questions in return. "What do you do then?" She smiled at him comfortingly. Generally Emily ignored the gangs refusing to get dragged into the petty rivalries of her fellow vault dwellers. Of course she still helped them out, Emily helped everyone in the vault out, well those that she could help anyway. She wasn't prone to violence, it was rare to see her even get riled up by the others. In a way she both seemed more mature but also detached, as if she disliked or disapproved of displays of emotion, such as anger, rage, love or desire. Perhaps there was some truth to this, or maybe she was just better at controlling herself.

Emily was beginning to like Abe, in a friendly sort of way. He seemed like a good person and he had saved her earlier. He was taller than her yet it was difficult to find someone who wasn't taller than her in the vault, not that size ever bothered her at all.

SONUVABITCH. Another Interruption! I hate interruptions! HATE IT! CURSE THE MAN WHO INVENTED THAT WORD, THAT ACTION! Or woman, whomever. The point is interruptions are bad, and he doesn't like them. Nor does he like it when young people interrupt him. It wasn't agist or anything. They were just inexperienced, unknowledgeable, slow, stupid, and weren't worthy of his time, attention, or thoughts. Not agist at all. Not even in the slightest bit. Completely non-agist.

doctor Nicholas looked up and was slightly relieved when he saw 18 year old Ike Michaels. With a wound in his arm, bleeding profusely. "WERE YOU PLAYING WITH LASERS AGAIN?! OR DID ONE OF THE CHILDREN SHOOT YOU. AGAIN." He was quite aware of the terrible, terrible, awful, horrendously stupendously horrible luck that Ike had. It was astonishing that he had lived this long. Without being accidentally shot in the head at a gun range, by a rebounding bullet, or somehow reflected laser, or the gun blowing up in his hand. Or just him simply spontaneously combusting. Because if that happened, he would believe it. Because it was Ike.

How the fuck was he still alive? WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE HE'S CURRENTLY BLEEDING A LOT AFTER GETTING SHOT BY A LASER. How did he know it was a laser? because Ike has the misfortune of being one of the mechanics who fixes the robots. HOW COULD HE NOT GET SOMEHOW SHOT BY A LASER. The good news was, he wasn't set on fire by the mister handy. Or by Nicholas' anger at being interrupted. Or by simply being near Nick. Honestly, people only ever got within ten feet of him if they absolutely had to. Like medical exams. Or freak accidents.

Like Ike. Ike was a walking freak accident waiting to happen. Radiation? INSTANT MUTATION SOMEHOW. Or cancer. Or just instant death. Really, with Ike, it could be anything. As long as he didn't touch anything. Or breath. Or move. Everything would be fine. Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly. Maybe not.

Nick glared holes through Ike. and screamed at the Foremen "GET BACK TO WORK I'LL DEAL WITH THIS, YOU MAGGOT. OUT! OUUUUUT! LEAVE! EXIT THE VICINITY THANK YOU." He grabs Ike by the arms. both of them. And drags/pushes/throws Ike over to the examiners table and wrenches his arm away from his injured arm. Seeing all he needed to see he grabs scissors and cuts off his sleeve. And then applies funny smelling gel, a bandage, and injects a stim-pack into his arm. And then injects something else into his own arm. And then stares Ike in the eyes. Waiting.

Ike dreaded having to come here, mostly because he was afraid the good doctor would kill him somehow. Accidentally injecting too many drugs, cut a neck artery etc. He'd been here a few times though, quite a few times. Not of his own will of course, he didn't like being medicated. Especially by someone who didn't enjoy doctoring... or interruptions... or other people. All of which Ike is doing/needing. To say he was a little uncomfortable is an understatement. With much to his surprise the treatment was quick, stung like hell and back but was quick.

Ike stuttered something inaudible at first, clearly startled. He was still trying to get used to Nicholas'... personality. "Good to see you too. No, I wasn't playing with anything. Fuckin' Protectron rebooted itself somehow before I could get it's data files back. I'm gonna figure that out as soon as I get back." Frankly, Ike wasn't going to ask him what he rubbed on him (insert sex joke here) or injected into himself. That latter being his own business... and he was slightly afraid to ask. He didn't want a lecture about how he shouldn't be so nosy and/or be compared to younger kids.

It was a little too obvious Nicholas didn't like kids. Or other people. It's like the guy's a hermit, a hermit in a steel box full of people. Makes sense why he's angry anytime Ike sees him. Though that might just be because he's interrupting whatever it is Nicholas does down here. He gets that, he doesn't like being interrupted either. Just not nearly even remotely close to that level.

"So." He began. "How long am I out for this time? It hurts yeah but I'm sure I can still work." Ike may be sturdy but he isn't stubborn. If the professional, even if he was forced to be one, says he can't work then he can't work. He'd find something else to do, like get on the wrong side of gangs. Or guns. Or the Overseer. He does it all, without meaning to of course. Hell, maybe even try to find a girlfriend. He was what? Eighteen now? And he's never had one? Kinda sad, even if he has the worst luck imaginable.

Abe looked over to Emily, shrugging a little. She fixed things, her job was more important than any in this Vault, even if she clearly didn't get the credit for it; whether it was planned or not, it seemed that everything broke down in this place, from the reactors to the damned hinges on a lunchbox.

"Oh. I uh, I don't do much to be honest. I'm one of the trainers, I help introduce the younger ones into their weapons. Targeting, shooting, gun safety... basic stuff I suppose. I guess I do more damage than good, ahah."

He scratched the back of his neck as he thought about how many of the kids he'd trained, only to see them turn into people just like Jack and Angus and the other 'gang' members throughout the Vault. So few had done anything good... It didn't make him happy to know that. Of all his own trainees, only a handful had gone on to join the Security forces. Even if they were puppets, at least they protected people. That had to have been worth it.

"And, to a lesser extent, I guess I'm a non-official security guard. I'll intervene, enforce rules, stuff that I feel makes sense and is fitting. Though that doesn't really... uh... Nevermind, guess I'm just a bit of a vigilante slash thug."

He laughed half-heartedly, as he watched a trio of kids running down the hallway ahead of them, totting a laser pistol each, some of their cords sparking due to disrepair. He sighed as the door opened, and the short hallway between Block A and Block B presented itself. A few small burn marks dotted the area, and even a few bullet holes, but as always, no blood. People were almost never injured around here, at least not badly. If they were it was normally just a shot in the arm or leg, bit of torn flesh, and nothing more. Sort of amazing when you think about what this Vault is.
Abe stayed silent for a while, thinking about many things. Mostly, about what would be needed to get out of the Vault. He knew, from experience, that the Vault door needed the password. Only a very select few people had that password though...

"Do you think you'd survive? Outside?"

"You'll have to come back tomorrow. You can't lift anything with that arm. Or pull anything. Unless you don't want it to heal properly. If you think you can manage fixing things with one hand, you can continue to work, otherwise take the day off." The Doctor looked him, sternly. "Don't do anything or go near anything that could hurt your arm more." At those words he ushered Ike out of his office.

When he was alone again, he locked the door, shut the shutters, and dimmed the light. No one could look into the office. No one could see him as he stood there in the darkness. Alone. He closed his eyes. He had injected into himself a modified stim-pack. Something to ease the pain. Something to help him keep up appearances. He had been hiding behind a mask for so long. That as his time to leave the fault approached, he found it harder and harder to maintain. He also found the the mask he wore gave him a headache. Stim-packs and Med-X were sometimes his best friends.

He walked over to his desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle filled with some reddish orange and brown liquid. he sat back in his chair, a poured himself a bit. Then he drank it all. It burned going down, but it helped clear his throat. He closed his eyes, and placed the bottle back in the locked drawer. He sat in his chair, in front of the glowing computer terminal. Waiting for a message to show up from the Overseer about a list of people who had not yet conceived a child. Sitting in the chair, in the silence, save for the buzzing of the computer, he let tears run freely from his eyes. He knew he'd be on that list. He knew that the overseer knew that it would be unlikely for him to fulfill his other purpose in the vault. It didn't matter though. Life moved on. Life moved on.

As he waited for the overseer, he went through his files, looking for people who haven't come in for a physical assessment. Whether it be by him or one of the robots, like the Mr. Handy, or the Auto-Doc, or a Robobrain, or any of the medical staff.

"Oh that sounds nice" Emily said with a smile, not really sure what to say about him being a trainer/guard/vigilante. At the sight of the kid with a damaged Laser Pistol, she itched to reach out and grab the weapon so that she could repair it. The sad thing was that in the vault, repairing everything was a losing battle. Things broke faster than they could be fixed or replacement parts found, not everything could be held together with a pray and a whole lot of a duct tape. The latter was a vital tool in vault maintenance more often than not.

The sight of battle damage on the walls sadly happened to be a decoration on most of the walls in the vault, not everyone was mature enough or possessed the intelligence to use their weapons safely or know better than to not use them against their fellow vault dwellers. His question about her surviving outside caught her off guard. Emily had never really wondered if she would survive. She thought being in a group would help with the whole adventure of exploring the unknown and a degree of safety. Like most of the members of the vault, Emily was ignorant of the dangers posed by the outside world. Not out of choice mind rather because of lack of knowledge of the outside world, no one knew for sure apart from those who left the vault.

"I have to believe that I can..." She answered eventually. "Have to hope beyond hope and make sure I have teamed up with a trustworthy band packing the most fire power possible as well" Emily prayed that whatever group she left the vault with, they would be more inclined to the peaceful solutions to problems rather than let the guns talk and ask questions later. Emily wasn't violent, at all or at least hardly ever seemed to be openly violent.
"What about you? Do you believe you can survive outside?"

"Not really."

Abe strode forward as the door parted for them, checking the window again and looking down into the large hall. Unlike the last one, there weren't a lot of people, and only a few couches had been dragged out today. But, there was a reason for that. The League of Lasers and the Prevalent Plasma Pushers had about 60% of their members in Block B, which meant a lot of scuffles took place here. Though fifteen year olds fighting fifteen year olds wasn't really that big of a deal for anyone over fifteen, people often forgot that most of Block B was under fifteen.

"Jeez, fucking kids... But no, I don't think I'd survive. I've heard rumours, stories, seen some... stuff, from the Overseers office, and I really don't think I'd last a moment out there. I don't think anyone who was forced out there alone survived more than a week. We might have guns, ammo, food... we have everything you'd need to survive, really. But it isn't about survival out there. It's something else."

Abe looked at Emily and blushed for a moment before rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He'd been in meetings with the Overseer before, about opening the Vault. Every time, the Overseer would tell him what was wrong with the idea, and every time he learnt more and more about the darkness that loomed outside. But all the same, he wanted to go out there. With what little he knew, it did nothing to deter him.

"In a group, I think people could make it. But I think we'd need to be more united than ever. Judging by how this place tends to run..."

As he and Emily passed the wall and made it onto the open walkway, they could see a pair of kids jump on another, only to be dog piled by two more, then three, and then eventually an all out... well, an all out limp-wristed fist fight began. Abe shook his head and sighed softly, before stopping at the door with a large yellow '18' on it. His cell.

"This is me."

He smiled and opened the door up with a press of the small red button, letting Emily go in first before it shut behind them. Same layout as all the others, a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen, though with very little cooking tools. His bed was up against the far wall, his table was in the living room with two worn seats, and a small desk held his own personal radio - which was falling apart. The most notable aspect of the room, really, was that there were tons of pre-war books scattered around, from Grognak the Barbarian to the Big Book of Science.
A fair amount of bullet packs were scattered around too, and not just .45-70 Government rounds. 10mm Rounds, 12.7mm rounds, even a single .308 round box decorated the interior, with a fair few bullets and shells just sitting around on tables and the bed.

"Sorry about the mess, I was trying to uh... do something, last night. Didn't go well."

He ducked into the kitchen and brought out a box of Potato Crisps, smiling as he popped it open.

"Want some?"

Next thing he knew, Ike was in the hallway. His arm was already numb from the medicine, though he'd still heed the warnings. Even if he didn't want to come back... truth be told, that was only half true. He didn't like Nicholas too much and vice versa, but enjoyed talking to someone. Anyone. He didn't really have many friends so they were alike in that sense. Just for different reasons.

Ike walked back to Robotics but stopped just short of his stall. The Foreman from earlier was standing there, shaking his head. He wasn't too happy that the Protectron had been totaled like that. "Hey." Ike began. "I didn't mean to destroy it, it just went-" The younger man interrupted him. "Went crazy? I know. I understand but I think you should take the rest of the day off." Ike countered. "The Doctor said I could still work though, I'm fine." He just shook his head. "Something like that could be traumatizing... I mean you damaged the machine to the point where we're gonna have to replace the entire upper half.... Just do it, okay? Please." "Fine. See you tomorrow I guess."

That was a disappointment. He didn't mean to break it that bad and it's not like he hadn't dealt with pain before. That whole thing was weird, it wasn't a normal thing. He probably wouldn't do it again if he was put in that situation again. Probably. Ike sighed, best to just forget about it and move on. He made way for the Cells, which is just a funny way to say bedrooms. Made one wonder though. Everyone is stuck in this big, metal box sleeping in even smaller boxes with only one way out, kept locked up by the Overseer.

Ike, like every other day, dodged and sneaked his way through the Cell Blocks to avoid the younger children. He'd probably get shot in the face from one of their games or rivalries or whatever. He's honestly surprised no one has killed each other yet. Even more surprised he himself hasn't been killed either. Anyway, after successfully evading the fights and such, he made it to his Cell in Block C, number 6 without harm... somehow. He went inside and crashed on the couch. He sighed heavily as he eased back and relaxed.

Emily did her best to ignore the screaming fifteen year olds as they fought or what they would have classed as a fight. It sucked that his block was mostly under the age of fifteen, they lacked a degree of maturity that other blocks in the vault possessed somewhat. Not that a place governed by children and teenagers could ever really be classed as mature.

She shook her head slowly, Emily believed that they could survive outside the vault. They had to. After all the vaults where built so that humanity could survive a nuclear war. They had to be able to survived outside, otherwise... How could anyone help to rebuild society or create new towns and new life?
"You have to believe that you will be able to survive as for the something else I don't know what that could be" She listened to him talk a bit more before saying. "Maybe you just need to a find a group of like minded individuals? Or vote on a group leader or something?"

Emily stepped into the room, carefully tip toeing around the mess that lay scattered everywhere. Numerous pre-war books all scattered across the floor, discarded seemingly like the toys of a careless child.
"It's a... Nice place you have here" She said eventually as she made her way further into the room, avoiding stepping on a Big Book of Science. It was a shame to see such knowledge lying on the floor, yet it was probably much better than how most books where treated in the vault. Not all the children appreciated the value of a book and their wealth of vital knowledge in the cases of the more educational materials.

Abe shrugged and took another chip, sighing and looking over to her as she passed by. He put the box down and took a seat, taking a long yawn as his eyes began to close a little, fighting to keep himself awake at least for a moment.

"Eh, no need to be like that. It's dirty and it's shit, I know that. I barely spend much time in here aside from sleeping these days, so it's not a priority to keep it clean."

Abe reached down, grabbing a copy of ¡La Fantoma! and flipping through it. At this point it was the art he enjoyed, not the boring straight forward plots. He smiled as he saw a full body shot of the main character, La Fantoma, admiring the art of the character. Abe wondered if it was the same group that drew all the Grognak stuff - the art seemed a little less cartoony in this, so probably not.

"So, you repair stuff, right? Think you could give my revolver a look?"

Abe pulled the hunting revolver out of its holster and held it up for Emily, the carbon fiber grip and match barrel the major differences between it and others. From view, most people wouldn't know why he wanted it repaired, and if it was anyone else he probably wouldn't have even thought to get it repaired. Just, in this moment, it'd be a fair test of her abilities, so Abe could see just how good she'd be out in the wastes.

"The trigger seems a little rusted. And, if possible, I'd like to get the scope taken off."

Emily found herself a place to sit down, making sure that she avoided sitting or stepping on any of the books. "Sorry... I keep my place organised as it allows for me to repair things better when I inevitably have to" She explained hoping to soothe any feelings that she had unintentionally hurt.

"Yeah I repair things and sure" She chirped as she accepted the revolver and began to examine the weapon eagerly. Her eyes staring intently at the weapon like the predators of the old world when they had spotted their prey. "Hmm" Emily said as she listened to Abe and what problems he had with his weapon.

"Well the trigger I don't have the parts to fix a rusted hunting revolver trigger" She admitted before offering her solution. "I could try using a the trigger mechanism from a .44 or a 3.57 and see if that will work" Now onto the scope of the weapon. "Oh yeah I can take that off in a few seconds really just got to know where to start" Emily continued to examine the weapon, moving it around in her hands, keeping the barrel away from her as she did so.
"Nice weapon you have here Abe" She informed him while she still held onto the revolver.

Ike kicked his feet up on the coffee table, moving some scrap metal and other junk. His place wasn't the cleanliest, he always had projects everywhere. Except the floor, he preferred not to step on his own stuff. Any flat surface was fair game though. Ike laid his head back and for once he thought about the outside world. What would it look like after being irradiated for two hundred years? Would there be any people out there? Would they look like us or freaky? Are they intelligent or did they lose that? Have they build settlements? And the animals...

Nadine sat in her room, a place of almost isolation - her sister was hardly ever here, and most of the other citizens of this block were younger than her, and thus not the most civilized of people. Never the less, it allowed her to think, mostly about this whole Overseer situation. People wanted the vault to be opened, she didn't understand why, really, Vault life was nice, calm, and good enough for her - why would anyone want to go out into that irradiated wasteland? Yet, declaring her goal as opening the vault would surely win her a large amount of votes, and she'd probably stand a high chance of winning. But opening the vault, well, that would most likely mean the end of it - with most probably leaving, it would leave the population dwindling, and it would possibly just die out. Quite the dichotomy.

Abe nodded and smiled. He was quite proud of it really. He'd always worked to keep it in good condition, and he cared for it more than most people in the Vault. It was, if anything, his only family.

"Hey, as long as you can get the trigger repaired, I don't mind how. Hell, throw a rifle trigger on if you need to."

There was however just one small problem. Emily did not have the spare parts required to fix the weapon on her person. "I will have to take the weapon with me" She explained. "I don't have the parts required to fix it on my person" Not everyone was always pleased to have their weapon taken from them so that she could fix it. But unless he had the parts on him she was going to have to.
"Not sure about a rifle trigger on a pistol, sometimes they can cease up my movement typically if they are too large for the pistol... It would be much better with a pistol or smg trigger rather than a rifles"

Abe stood up and sighed, looking Emily in her eyes. He wouldn't dare let someone leave him without his weapon. Hell, he wouldn't let someone walk into the next room with his weapon. That thing was a connection of him, and without it he would be empty.

"I'm coming with you then. I'm not leaving you until it's fixed."

He looked at her and smiled. He was about to ruffle her hair, but before he even raised his hand, an extremely loud bong sound ran through the Vault. The sound reserved for one thing, and one thing only.

"Hello, residents. This is Overseer Andrew Gallagher. The Compulsory Annual Overseer Elections are about to take place. All residents must make their way to the nearest dining hall - we are about to begin the videographic broadcasts for each candidates electoral speech. All candidates must also make their way to my office, if they wish to run. Good day, good luck, and good fortune."

As always, Gallagher sounded like a condescending prick. He acted as if he was so adult. At least the previous Overseer, Jacob Manus, had some humility. Abe looked back to Emily, smiling.

"Guess this'll need to be postponed."

As his words ended, he opened the door, and, to his surprise, saw Arthur Dent run past. The same Arthur Dent running for Overseer. He didn't seem prepared, in fact his whole team were running with him. They all seemed... confused. And, when Abe thought about it, he hadn't heard anything about the election being today. Abe realised that, for whatever reason... this was a surprise election.

Emily looked surprised at the announcement. Something felt off with it. She nodded to watch Abe had said, they would have to go back to her place to get the parts required so that she could then fix it for him. That being said and done they would first have to attend the voting session thingy so the vault could pretend it was a democracy of some kind.
Not that any Overseer in the vault had been any good, each one just seemed to abuse their power.
"Well... Guess this has caught everyone off guard seems a little... Perplexing to me" Emily whispered as Arthur Dent and his team ran past.
"I would not be too surprised if there was some foul play a foot... Maybe we will be in the middle of the election and the President will walk in? Or a General from the US Army like the one who liberated Anchorage Alaska before the Great Atomic War"

Abe nodded, looking over at Emily and chuckling to himself. A visit from an official of the pre-war era would be something else, if not amazing. He didn't expect something that special, really. Knowing this place, the Overseer was just worried and scared, and wanted to make sure whoever got into power would follow in his footsteps as a weak willed empty fuck who didn't achieve anything.
It wouldn't even matter if the Vault didn't act like it had any degree of politics.

"I think we'd be lucky to get a visit from anyone at this point... but I think you're right. Something about this does feel off. I wonder..."

Abe stood on the walkway, looking down as people funnelled out of the block. A few guards had even woken up to serve new shifts. Abe could tell something was wrong now. He looked at Emily, and then down the hall, and was glad to see exactly who he expected.

"Joseph, where are the others?"

Joseph stopped, taking long deep breaths as he tried to compose himself. He'd run all the way here from the dining hall, and he hadn't exactly had an easy time of it.

"The others are... down in the, oh God... down in the reactor room... they're ready... do you wanna..."

Abe held a hand out and patted his friend hard on the back, while simultaneously silencing him. He looked back at Emily and smiled, with a slow sigh.

"No, Abe... there are guards... at basically every door... this is gonna be way harder than we thought. Ahem, even if we don't overheat the reactor or purge the purifier, it's just not gonna be easy. I don't think we can do it."

Abe swore to himself, and looked over at Emily, before raising his brow.

"Emily. I need you to hear me out here. My group and I don't expect this election to mean anything - we don't even expect any of the candidates to offer opening the Vault. We're going to cause the Vault to shut down. Break the reactor, cause a malfunction in the air systems, anything. We need to get out. If the election does end up with a bunch of stupid choices... I need to know something. Would you be willing to help us? You have access to the repair stations, and they have direct links to the Control Room. If you help us... we wont need to worry about guards, the Overseer, anything... but if you don't want the Vault to go that way, I'd understand."

Abe looked back down at the block, and saw only a few people left now. They'd need to get moving soon.

Code:

POEM # 1493
I am a living brain \ Made of feelings and pain
Everything I do is for my gain \ Book to book, cover to cover, keeps me sane
But everyday I walk down that lane \ and everyday I deal with my banes
I look at the vault, thinking "is this my fane? \ Is hope of escape in vain?"
The days of the vault are in wane. \ Through a glass, a window pane
All of the things I see remain the same.

The doctor typed out a poem as he waited for the overseer. Something to pass the time. Reading it he frowned, it sounded rather depressing. He hummed to himself. Then he stopped. He would think the silence was deafening, if it weren't for the constant sound of ventilation or the subtle hum that could be heard everywhere in the vault. Why was he attuned to these noises? because he's been most places in the vault. The locked places. The forbidden places. Even the places people aren't supposed to know about.

But how did Nick, the crazy doctor, know? because just that, he was crazy, and nobody questioned the times he seemed to disappear, he could lock himself in his room - they didn't go looking for him. The greatest thing about being as socially awkward, and as zany as he, was the amount of things he could get away with. Extra rations? must be an experiment. Acquisition of firearms? must be fixing them. Robots being disassembled and reassembled? repairs, or scientific study. Gone for a day? must be his day off, probably in his room. Something blow up in the lab? MUST BE NICK EXPERIMENTING ON SOMETHING. Or better: BECAUSE HE'S JUST WEIRD.

Truly, he had more freedom in the vault than anyone. For better or for worse. Nobody seemed to question, openly, where he'd get extra parts, the occasional odd chemical, or additional equipment. It was just assumed they had it all along. Assumptions. "Hey, where did you get that mono-nuclear-ocular device?"- "I built it" "oh, ok" and all was accepted. The presumption of insanity was the greatest freedom he had. Something only the overseer has doubts about. Yet, he was trusted enough to keep secrets.

Secrets he didn't tell people. Like Passwords. Although, the fact that he talked to just about no one probably helped that. The overseer, or anyone, could tell him things that he wouldn't repeat. He wasn't one to gossip. Or go out of his way to talk to people. Or go to people. Or leave his work. Screw socializing with other people.

"You've got to be crazy, absolutely crazy!" Emily exclaimed loudly, that would effect everyone in the vault. It would destroy their home, sure she wanted out... But not in a manner that would or could lead to the deaths of the majority of the vault dwellers they where her friends after all.
"Your talking about crippling the vault! How many people will be affected? All of us will have to leave no one knows what it is like outside and how many of them will die as a result?" Emily could not believe what he had suggested to her, yes she wanted to leave however she did not want to hurt anyone just because she wanted out.

"I can't help you" She explained, quietening down slightly. "I won't! What you plan is insane even if the election is a pile of scrap metal no one is going to get killed because of it! The vault will not have to be abandoned" Emily shook her head. "What you suggest is insane, completely insane" She turned to stalk off, unable to believe someone would want to force everyone to leave, that would kill hundreds of vault dwellers... No, she would not be part of something that spilled that much blood.

Ike quite literally jumped right off the couch from sheer fright. He wasn't aware there was any Overseer election thing going on or why they had to play that soundtrack. Especially one so loud. He shook it off as best he could and made way to the nearest dining hall as instructed. This time he had to wait for the majority of people to leave ahead of him, should he die by being trampled or some other gruesome death. So while waiting he found his shotgun  and then left his cell. Thankfully he found a strap for it a few years back so he can throw it on his back.

It was kinda eerie how the cell block was so empty. Ike kinda liked it, not having to worry about dying from one of their fights. Too bad he was going to where everyone else was going. So he took his time, casually strolling there. Enjoying the lack of possible ways to die. But it ended sooner then he would like, before he knew it he was at the dining room. Or really the free-for-all eating platform. He stood in the back and waited for the Overseer to begin his speech.

Abe sighed and nodded. He was expecting that, really. It wasn't exactly like it was the best solution to the problem to begin with. He scratched the back of his neck and watched Emily walk away, off to the dining hall. With a heavy heart he turned to face Joseph, and nodded.

"If the election goes sour, we're gonna have to try."

Joseph nodded, still trying to catch his breath. Abe hoisted him up and gave him a hearty pat, as they both made their way down to the dining hall. The speakers came back on, as the Overseer began to introduce the candidates. Typical early procedure, really.

"Hello, people of Vault 32. Today, we are about to take part in the 47th Annual Mandatory Overseer Election. We have four candidates this year. Maribella Anderson is our first - a resident of Block A, and only sixteen. She is th-"

The sound of steps rang through the speakers, and silence was followed, before the Overseer returned to the microphone. Abe was surprised as he and Joseph entered the living area, to see no one in there. It was... well, even on the quietest of days, this wasn't common.

"Please pardon that interruption. Next, we have Andrew Grant. He is eighteen, a resident of Block D, and one of our most renowned security personnel. Third, we have Beck Perry, a resident of Block A and nineteen years old. And finally, Nadine Sanford, sixteen years old."

Abe was amazed at just how unnatural it all sounded. The intros were never so... bland and all over the place. Joseph didn't notice, but to Abe, everything right now seemed far too off. Emily was probably right, something wasn't right with the Overseer right now. Or perhaps... the whole of the Vault.

"I don't like this. Those sounded really o-"

Abe felt a hard object slam right into the back of his head, felling him to his knees. He rolled over, panting, as he saw Angus looming over him with a big dumb grin. As always.

"Hey there Abe. Good to see you. You too, Joseph."

Joseph was already pinned down by Jack, who was holding a wrench up over his head, ready to slam Joseph out of consciousness. Abe looked back to Angus, frowning, wishing he had his gun at this point.

"You're fucked, you know that? The guards found your little plan down in the core room. The Overseer actually called us, wants us to bring you in. But, damn him, looks like that's not happening just yet. Once this election is over, guess what? You're gonna get your wish."

Angus grabbed his hair, pulling him up and throwing Abe against the wall. With a cough, Abe brushed his cheek and looked up at the leader of the Rat Pack, angry, but admittedly a little shaken.

"You're gonna get your 'freedom'."

To the Overseers office it was then - it seemed earlier than she remembered it being set for, but that didn't matter. What did matter, however, was if she would offer to open the vault. She had the walk to the office to plan that, and that should be plenty of time to resolve this dichotomy. The office wasn't that far away, and the lack of people filling the halls of the vault made journeying there easier.