Queen and County

Before Pendleton could go into to much detail about what Mom sent him out to do, Sheriff Zero threw an enthusiastic hand around the eyebot and tapped him affectionately on the casing, as one would do to a good friend's shoulder. "Well gosh! If it ain't my number one eyebot! Folks this is Pendleton! I guess you could say he's Mom's eyes and ears! Cos she ain't got any of her own no more!" Then he pulled the eyebot close and "whispered" as much as its possible for someone with an electronic voicebox to do.

"Ix nay on the pying say! Folks don't need to know that!"

The journey was a short one, no doubt dragged out by the constant singing and dancing of the robots, but eventually they reached the imposing silver gates of RobCoVille. They sealed shut behind the Steelmen with a mighty click, and two sentry turrets rose from the earth with an almost inaudible whoosh.

What a sight awaited them. Giddyup Buttercups gallopped freely around the street of tomorrow, boasting a tavern, a spa and a General Store. Zero handed out housekeys to Marco, Krager, Roger and the rest of the group. Worryingly, each key was engraved with their name - they'd been expected for a while. The robotic sheriff pointed out everybody's individual house in turn.

"So what do you pardners wanna do!" He said amiably. "You can hoist a few brewksy's at the Wrench and Bolt, go for a robo pony ride. We even have a spa for those of you in need of a little attention!" He patted the Steelmen on the pack. Several shapely robots, clearly intended to be female, eyed the mutants whilst waving fans. "Or, seeing as we friends now, I can arrange a super secret totally exclusive behind teh scenes RobCoVille tour of Mom's lab! Whaddayasay?"

"Oh!" Pendleton replied to Zero in a normal voice, that everyone could hear. "Right. Forgot the whole 'don't tell everyone about the spying' bit! My fault! Oh, wait, you're all still right there, aren't you. You didn't hear any of that. Just...just, uh...two friends talking about nothing that has anything to do with spying. Spying...pfft...that's...that's something that we do not approve of. In any way..."

Marco nodded. "Thanks for that..." He said.

They were then led into the park, and what awaited them inside awed all of them to silence. There were robotic horses galloping every which way, with more robot citizens walking along them. There were shops, restaurants, and all sorts of attraction, all underlined by gay music that was periodically dotted with garbles of feedback from the weathered speakers they emitted from.

Sheriff Zero handed out some keys to everyone, speaking while he did it.


"So what do you pardners wanna do!" He said amiably. "You can hoist a few brewksy's at the Wrench and Bolt, go for a robo pony ride. We even have a spa for those of you in need of a little attention! Or, seeing as we friends now, I can arrange a super secret totally exclusive behind teh scenes RobCoVille tour of Mom's lab! Whaddayasay?"

"Uh..." Valerie replied, her voice still shaking. "W-W-Well...we...we really should be getting home...

Roger took the key that Sheriff Zero handed him and eyed it, confused.

"What in the hell do we need..." He stopped dead when he saw the name 'Roger Parker' engraved in fine lettering on the handle. Valerie whimpered softly as she noticed her name on her own key. Roger gave Sheriff Zero a very dark look. "What sort of game is this, you rusted piss bucket?"

"Hold that thought, Parker," Marco said, flicking away his cigarette and lighting a new one. His key also had his name on it. Interesting...well, they already knew that this 'Mom' had been watching them, hadn't they. The Queen definitely need to be made aware of this. Fortunately...the good Sheriff seemed to be willing to take them right where they needed to go...deep down into the heart of RobcoVille. He turned towards Valerie and the Vault Dwellers. "Why don't you guys go enjoy yourselves. I'm sure all of you have had a rough day. Why not have a little fun."

"Please don't leave us with them." Valerie said quickly, her eyes wide and desperate.

"Quit yer blubbering, I'm not." He said, taking a drag on his cancer stick. "Gunn-A-Lot! Keep an eye on the Vaulties." He turned to Sheriff Zero. "I'd like to take you up on your little tour. But these Vaulties better still be alive when I get back, or there's going to be a very serious problem. In fact...give them some ice cream. I'm sure they like that stuff. Haven't had some myself for many, many years."

"Hold on," Krager spoke up. "I'm not about to walk with a bunch of metal men, that I do not trust, into the depths of a facility, that I do not know, that is equipped with armaments such as those." He gestured up to the sentries at the gates. "You may as well ask me to walk right into the pits of Hell with the Devil standing with his pitchfork ready to jab into my back." He held up his key. "You and your leader have been expecting us. Your bumbling Eyebot and these keys are conclusive proof of this. How do we know that this isn't some sort of lame assassination attempt?"

(Okay, I'm hitting the RESET button on this thread here. Forget all that stuff above this post. From this post on, we shall revive Flathead County and the SteelPlate Society, my glorious county and faction! Anyway, for all the new people who have come in my inactivity, here's links to everything you need to know about Flathead County!

Flathead County (you have to scroll down a little) - rpnexus.boards.net/thread/28?page=1

The SteelPlate Society - rpnexus.boards.net/thread/362/steelplate-society

The SteelPlate Queen - rpnexus.boards.net/thread/246/charmaine-quinn

The Queen's Sister - rpnexus.boards.net/thread/244/miranda-quinn

The Queen's Sister's closest friend - rpnexus.boards.net/thread/245/neil-parker

This thread is also going to take place after the events of Rad Apple. Okay, let's get going!)
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The sun rose on ol' Flathead County and everything was fine.

The Force Field stood strong, the Steelmen stood valiantly at the two breaks in the Field that allowed entrance to the county. The Raiders and the Wildlife were kept out, and that suited everyone just fine. One could actually enjoy a walk around Flathead without having their head blown off or becoming a snack, and that was a very rare treat.

Central Haven continued to flourish, giving off a glow of progress that was only rivaled by the Strip of New Vegas to the West. Drayton Biller, the Haven's elderly founder, strolled through the streets with pride in his eyes. So many hopeless people had come here seeking a better life, and now they had it. It had always been Biller's dream to ensure to build a sustainable community, one that would persevere through the hardships of the world. He had never expected to succeed so splendidly, though he couldn't take all of the credit, of course.

The NCR still remained at their base over at Camp Crescent, where they did whatever it was the Republic had its soldiers do there. Nobody, except for the visiting NCR citizens, really cared what the troopers did there. Tensions had once been high between the SteelPlate Society and the NCR, but that was the past now, and the two factions seemed to at least tolerate each other now. The Republic had a camp and it also provided additional protection of the County, as per the Flathead Treaty that had been signed. The County not only had the brute strength of the Steelmen, but also the excellent marksmenship of the Rangers. And, of course, there was the money from visiting NCR citizens...

The Wasteland Dump was still sealed up (thank god). Once upon a time, the old Pre-War landfill had been the very plague of Flathead. The Landfill had survived the war, but the many years had slowly broken is walls and its reeking wastes began to spill out, poisoning everything it touched. Its vile had been slowly spreading, and people had known that it would have been only a matter of time before the entire County was completely ruined. Fortunately, the Steelmen, highly resistant to radiation, managed, after much, much, MUCH work, to plug the Dump back up and rid the land of the spilled gruel. So far, it remained sealed, but no one was allowed near it, except for the Steelmen, by order of the Queen. It was just as well. No ordinary human, without extraordinary protection, could survive more than a few minutes near the thing. But the Dump did give off a rather beautiful green glow at night, however, for what it was worth...

The Dwellers of Vault 35 continued on within Big Mountain (No, not THAT Big Mountain of Old World Blues). The Overseer, Valerie Fawkes, continues to...well, oversee things. Ever since the war with the Legion, the once completely terrified Dwellers, who never left the safety of their Vault, were now slightly less terrified, and a few of them were willing to step outside...for a little bit anyway. Even Ms. Fawkes, who had been the most frightened of them all, stepped outside on more than one occasion.

Coram still cooked up its famous Mirelurk dishes, and went on its merry way. Old Creston was quiet (Yeah, since BadHarry's been inactive for awhile, RobCoVille is pretty much down for now).

Over at Hill Valley, Neil Parker sat on the porch of his house, oiling his gun, This Machine. Next to him sat Miranda Quinn, who seemed to be deep in thought...or just staring into space, it was hard to tell. After their devilish trials in New York, it was good to be home for both of them. Roger and Juliet Parker, Neil's parents, were both inside, listening to Mirelurk Mike on the radio. It was for the best, as Roger still had grievances against Miranda, and the two of them were best separated.

At the edge of the County, atop a section of the Rocky Mountains, stood the HQ of the SteelPlate Society. A fairly large, circular camp, surrounded by another force field. At the south end was the entrance gate, heavily guarded. The West end was the barracks for the Steelmen, and the East End was an assortment of buildings and structures; greenhouses, small factories where scavenged metal was turned into bullets and other materials, shops where guns were built and maintained, everything a faction could need to maintain itself. Turrets, Sentry Bots, and even an Eyebot or two whirled around as additional security, and nothing came in or out without the knowledge of the Steelmen. At the North of the camp, at the very head, was the "Castle", a large building of some contradictory nature in that it was both the most reinforced building on the camp, with metal lining the walls, but also the most homely, as it had balconies, windows, and even a chimney. Enclave metal had been used to construct the Castle, and its interior resembled one of their bases, with sliding doors, metal halls, terminals, turrets on the walls, all the works.

At the heart of the Castle was the Library, also known the Throne Room. This was simply because this is where the throne of the Queen resided. From the main door of the Library, an aisle went in a straight line through the room, rows of book shelves on either side, up to a medium platform, on which sat on old Victorian leather and oak chair...the Queen's throne, a small table of wine accompanying it.

Charmaine Quinn, the Queen herself, sat upon this throne now, sipping her wine, and reading a Pre-War book. At her side was Krager, the immense Super Mutant Overlood who carried a big super sledge with him. He often spoke in a soft, silk voice that was not in the least bit comforting and entirely terrifying. Marco, the Society's Ambassador, and sole Ghoul member, was off at Camp Crescent, having a discussion with the commanding officer there as they did at least every month.

Life was normal in Flathead County. It was a nice place to live in these days of radiation and waste. It was a place where a person could actually live a life that was actually worth living. It would hopefully remain that way for several years to come...

(Before I make a post, are the footsteps supposed to be any of my characters?)

Krawiec had never really been on friendly terms with Krager as a fellow Steelman, but this was the first time he'd ever felt his wrath so strongly. A poor choice of words, perhaps...

"Oh, and why is that?" A soft and silky, but dreadfully menacing voice spoke.

The gigantic beast gripped Krawiec's old green mutant head and tossed him like a baseball into the solid metal walls. Luckily he span a little and simply landed in a sitting position almost, the old Enclave structure feeling like an iron whip as he collided with it. Krager didn't look none too pleased and appeared to be wondering over with his signature Super Sledge...

"Are you suggesting that Her Majesty is weak, Sir Krawiec?" Krager asked him gently and maliciously.

Krawiec edged himself upwards to his feet, a deadpan expression on his face. Krager was fearsome, but giving into that fear would simply give him more power.

"Krager, I..."

"I must have misheard you. Certainly you didn't just insult the capabilities of our Queen, who fought against and killed several Legion warriors when they invaded our land? Why...you must have been complimenting Quex, by comparing his combat prowess to that of Her Majesty...am I wrong?"

Krawiec shut his eyes for a brief few moments, thinking of how to compose his apology.

"Krager, I must deeply apologise for what I said. You are not wrong in saying that Her Majesty is certainly powerful and a worthy combatant to any of us Steelmen. My choice of words was simply... banter, as it were. 'Twas not meant to be taken in a serious light, sir, and I am humbly sorry, both to the Queen and to you. I do hope that this little mishap could be forgotten and we could move on to better and brighter things, if I may suggest..."

Krawiec felt a little uneasy in what he was saying, but Krager would surely listen to reason and understand that it was nothing in calibre to what he believes it to be.

(That's more a choice of Krawiec's; he'd been fascinated with the quasi-knightly side of the Brotherhood of Steel when he was a member, and spoke like that even as a human (based on how knights spoke in literature he was able to obtain). It's more a status thing for him, as he sees as a way of separating himself in terms of rank from those below (or indeed above) him, but like I said he'd been in love with the idea of the whole "valiant knight" aesthetic ever since his time in the Brotherhood.)

"Certainly," Krager replied, softly...and then he punched Krawiec in the face not once, but twice. This had not come as a surprise to him, as Krager was nothing more than an overgrown brute under the guise of an honourable man in the way he spoke. The blows sent Krawiec bounding backwards a little, though he did not topple over. Little white dots clouded his vision like a starry night sky, but he could still hear what Krager had to say.

"There. All forgotten. Now...if you're done playing here with these other Steelmen...who should be at their posts..."

Hearing the beast raise his voice was reminiscent of hearing a dragon roar, and to hear him scream... well, that would be breathing fire. It made Krawiec uneasy and he backed up slightly as his star-struck vision began to clear up and a small amount of blood trickled down his face. The rumbling he heard as other Steelmen dispersed was a case in point for how much terror Krager commanded, but Krawiec laughed in the face of fear... though to do that to Krager might be to laugh in the face of death.

"...then perhaps you can find your way up to the Library. Her Majesty has requested an audience with you. Now."

At least his tone had settled by now... Krawiec simply nodded for the moment as he picked up his humungous bastard sword and placed it in a sheath on his back.

"As you wish, Krager.", he uttered in anguish.

Krawiec feared dark tidings lurked around the corner, and he felt uneasy as he clambered his way towards the Throne Room. On the way, he rubbed away as much of the trickling blood as he could to better his appearance for the Queen. As he entered the magnificent room, Krawiec wandered past some of the Steelmen guarding the entrance and gently approached the Queen's throne, kneeling down as he got closer.

"Your majesty, I understand you have requested my presence... I hope I can be of service to you, m'lady.". Krawiec spoke softly, almost sycophantically, as he avoided her gaze and focused on the bottom of the throne while he knelt down; her word was his command.

"I would certainly hope so, Sir Krawiec," Charmaine Quinn replied, her eyes still on her book. "You've done some good work for my Society in the past, and I could use a Steelmen with your...dedication. There is a problem that, while certainly manageable, is not insignificant...one that cannot by sending in a few Steelmen. And one that could potentially drive travelers away from my County...something that I simply cannot have."

Krawiec remained in his knightly kneeling position, his head bowed in respect. To what the Queen had said, he nodded several times, not wanting to interrupt her.

"I trust you're very aware of the reports of Deathclaws on the South West border of the County?" She asked, still reading.

Krawiec looked up at an angle that would allow him to speak to her without it being muffled, but not enough to look directly at her.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I regret to say I do know of these foul beasts which inhabit our land."

Krawiec hadn't been a firsthand scout, but the deaths due to these beasts was a not a fact that went unheard of unless you were a recluse. Krawiec had brought it up several times with Krager in the past week, but to little avail, albeit perhaps this was a result of that. Deathclaws had been a problem back in Lost Hills for a time, and similarly during the time of the Master, but these ones in Flathead County seemed... different, from what he had heard; much more aggressive and a lot stronger than regular deathclaws. Were they evolving after all this time?

"After some more recon," The Queen continued. "We've discovered the heart of the problem: It would seem that the beasts have a nest just outside the County. They appear to be inhabiting a large cavern within the Rockies."

At least there had been a development, then... though Krager was probably taking all of the credit for this work while Krawiec would be to one to deal with it. Typical, but Krager wouldn't be around for much longer he hoped, and not just out of some power-hungry madness; Krager was a real cunt... end of story. The Queen was rather absent from this conversation already and was absorbed in her reading, but Krawiec decided not to respond and just await whatever orders she was inevitably going to give.

"I don't think further elaboration is necessary..."

She was right. Krawiec looked up at her as he heard the book close, and made the unfortunate misdeed of looking her directly in the eye; nobody else would've seen this as particularly offensive, but he felt deeply ashamed and disrespectful in doing so and immediately made sure to looking further down.

"Assemble a team if necessary, but take no more than five. I want that nest destroyed. Promptly."

"As you wish, Your Highness."

Krawiec quickly evacuated the chamber, both he and the walls gleaming eerily. He made his way outside where many of the mutants were standing and called for their attention.

"Hark! Her Majesty needs a team of FIVE able-bodied warriors to vanquish a certain pest from our land! Who's with me?!"

The group's silence was rather deafening, as they all knew what it was about. Krawiec had hoped it wouldn't come down to him having to TELL them to come, but seeing as they all were shuffling away so as not to appear as though they were stepping forward it seemed that was the only course of action. With a hefty sigh and a rub of the chin, he cracked his mutant knuckles and blinked twice heavily.

"You, you, you... you... and you! Come fourth, we have beasts to slay!"

His humungous green finger pointed at five unfortunate men and they all reluctantly began to follow him as he showed them the way. The trek wasn't difficult as most of the county was under their protection and any pests were minor, but in this instance the destination was arguably more important than the journey. As they approached a perimeter of about a mile away from the nest, Krawiec halted his men and drew his glimmering sword, speaking softly to them.

"These villainous beasts have killed many a brother and have been a thorn in our side for two long. I want us to try and lure as many away from the group as possible and then attack one at a time and all at once; we'll surely slay them with ease that way. If we become overwhelmed, retreat back to the keep. Are you ready...?"

Krawiec certainly didn't feel ready.