nukaworld | Nothing like boots on the ground.

Nothing like boots on the ground.

Who: Paladin Danse & Nora
Where: Sanctuary Hills
Summary: After Danse speaks to Nora about helping her with her duties as a Minuteman.

What: Danse is ready at the crack of dawn, and seeing he was not the best sleeper, he was well ready long before hand. And with a good supply of fusion cell ammo for his laser rifle, and his X-01 power armor that is always well maintained, Danse was just waiting to hear where it is both he and Nora would go. And like a good soldier he is standing there besides his defense post keeping watch over the settlers who have long since retired for the night.

It is a peaceful night without a drop of neither rain nor one of the famous radioactive storms that blew in from the Glowing Sea. And as he waits, Danse looses himself to the twangy sound of Johnny Cash singing about those Folsom Prison Blues that play on his radio. And as quiet and normally unnerving a night like this is, Danse seems to welcome in. He can allow himself sometime with his own thoughts, and allow himself to try to figure out everything that has happened to him since his banishment from The Brotherhood of Steel. And if he is to keep his sanity, Danse needs not only to keep his mind busy but also to try to figure out this new life as a synth out.

So there, he stands without his helmet on at the Sanctuary Sign like he promised. "Now watch this be a day where Garvey doesn't have work for her to do." He mutters aloud to himself, and he cracks the knuckles of his power armor.

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"I'm honored to say, I'm glad I that I had the chance to teach you what I knew." And Danse knew he was right about her, and despite not having a military background, he is still impressed. He continues to work on the bear, and he makes sure not to leave anything behind that can be put to use.

He smiles at the thought of a nice yao guai steak, or even some ribs later that night. It will be a lot better than some two hundred year old food that they brought along with them.

The smile vanishes for a bit as he remains crouching beside the bear and Nora, and he looks at her with a warm look on his face. "And now that things have calmed down, I think we both will have a chance to figure out what direction our lives will take." He still won't forget about Shaun, and he's going to see to it when they get back that he tries to bond with the kid.

"You're still teaching me. Even now. I learn something new every time we're together. The Brotherhood were fools to let go of such a wonderful asset. There is so much you could teach those newbies."

Just remember that those Fancy Lad snack cakes you like so much just happen to be 200 year old food items. Still, thick juicy rump steaks sound pretty damn good.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what paths lie ahead. There is a world of opportunity out there, we just have to grasp it."

Danse looks away from Nora, and back to the carcass of the bear. He doesn't want to hate The Brotherhood, and as misguided as Maxson is, the Elder still agreed to Nora's terms. And they also gave Danse a sense of pride and worth. His face hardens and he clenches his jaws. But she's right.

He takes a deep breath and exhales. "I can only hope Haylen and some of the others will help with those squires."

He slowly gets to his feet with the bones, hide, and meat in storage. And his face relaxes, and he smiles. "Well then, let us continue our journey. I think those settlers are going to get impatient, or they're going to be overrun by ferals."

Nora still isn't entirely sure how she managed to convince Maxson to spare Danse. After all, she's nothing special. It would be no big loss to the Brotherhood if she wasn't a part of it's ranks, yet the risk of losing her had been enough to make Maxson listen to her.

"Haylen, the others and I will whip those kids into shape, don't you worry about that."

She pushes herself to her feet, brushing herself off, glad that Danse is the one carrying the new supplies. "Overrun by ferals I can handle - impatient settlers is way beyond my pay grade," she jokes.

And perhaps Maxson saw the same thing in her that Danse did, but Danse knows it is very rare the Elder backs down on his words. But he also knows Maxson is more honorable than people give him credit for. But still, for Maxson to put Nora before his very beliefs aside for her is something Danse never saw before.

And Danse waits again for Nora to lead the way. "If you want me to handle them." He laughs, the old soldier in him will shape those settlers into shape.

"I'll be more than happy to. Seeing it can't be any different than dealing with unruly initiates." Or Rhys.

Nora starts to walk, turning to walk backwards so she can look at Danse. She can't help but smile at him. He sounds so good when he laughs. She always loves to see him in a good mood.

Don't get her started on Rhys! Talk about Mr Grumpy! "Go gentle on them. We don't want to scare them too much," she laughs with him, stepping over rocks and fallen tree debris with ease.

The large radio ante is getting closer and closer as they trudge through the wasteland. And Danse raises an eyebrow at Nora. "I don't plan to scare them. That's if they don't plan on giving us any trouble for taking too long for getting there."

He will just be happy if the settlers just have a problem with ghouls, and that the ghouls didn't kill the settlers. His mission has always been to protect humanity, not kill it. And this is a mission he still is going to take serious. And it is why he is offering to help Nora with The Minutemen.

It is an uneventful trip, and the sun is sitting high in the sky when the make it to the small settlement. Danse stops at the entrance, and he takes a good look around to see what the people have done to the old raider camp. They have since put in new crops, some small buildings to provide shelter, and even a small trading post. "Not too bad looking, and at least the ghouls didn't overrun the place."

The raider camp down the hill is deserted for once, even the turrets haven't been repaired. It's good for Nora and Danse, and for the settlement. She smiles at Danse as they walk into the camp. "You wanna store the meat in the cooler until we get back? I'll go find out where the ghouls are coming from."

As she walks further into the settlement she pauses by a dog kennel to pet the creature inside. Only it's not the usual kind of dog seen around the Commonwealth but rather a wolf, a seemingly tame one. "Hey there boy, I missed you."

Danse looks down the road, and he notices the turret hasn't been repaired and he might make sure they really don't come back later. That is if he can find some mines when they get to their next destination.

He takes a deep breath of air, and he turns to face Nora. "Yes, ma'ma." He steps out of his power armor; grabs hold of the fusion core to make sure nobody walks off with it and the meat. "I'm going to fill up some bottles for the road, and get myself a drink."

But before he even moves the meat to the cooler, Danse looks to see Nora at the kennels and then the dog. "Never seen a dog like that before in The Commonwealth or Capital Wastes." He goes to walk over to join her, and he knows better than to offer a hand out to a strange dog unless he wants to lose a finger.

Nora coaxes the wolf out of the kennel, scritching behind his ears. She definitely has a way with canines. She encourages Danse to pet him too. No worries of losing any fingers here. The wolf seems a tame boy.

"He's a wolf from up north in Far Harbor. There's a ... guy who sells them." Best not to tell Danse that said dog trainer is actually a super mutant. It probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Right then boy, I got work to do. Can't just sit around all day for head scritches and belly rubs." She gets up to go speak to the settlers.

Danse kneels down and offers out his hand for the wolf to smell, and he cracks a smile as he looks up at Nora. But he has never seen a wolf before, so this is a treat to see a creature like this that is tame.

"There's a guy who sells wolves in Far Harbor?" This is the first Danse has heard of either place. And he scratches the wolves head, and he gets back to his feet to hear where it is those ferals are located.

And it doesn't take long for a very upset settler to find Nora, and he doesn't seem annoyed that they were 'late'. "Dear God, you got to help us!" The brown haired settler with a scruffy beard is hysterical. "They've been coming every night from the National Guard Training Yard, and we don't know what to do about it anymore! You got to hurry before they come back!"

It wasn't a place Danse was looking to visit, but if it meant taking care of the ferals that are there, he is more than ready to go. "I'm ready to go whenever you are." He's blunt and he then looks to the settler. "And we should see about building them some better defenses when we get back, or they're just going to have another problem days after we clear up that training post."

"Maybe once we get some downtime I'll take you out there - it's quite lovely, well, aside from the lethal fog full of all kinds of monsters. But there's fish. You might actually get your wish to go fishing." And the skies aren't full of vertibirds every other mile.

But Far Harbor adventures are for another day. A day when ferals aren't causing the locals a ton of problems.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of them for you." She rests a reassuring hand on the settler's shoulder before looking at Danse. "Yeah, we should head out now before we lose the light. We can collect supplies for defenses on the way back."

"A vacation filled with lethal fog, eh?" Danse can't help but to find some humor in it, but then again anything with lethal in it is normal for The Wastelands. "I think that's just what we'll need after everything that's happened." He says with a smile, as he places his hand on Nora's hand when she rests her hand on his shoulder. "But not having to worry about Brotherhood Patrols would be a nice thing, but we still got a lot of work to do here in The Commonwealth. And I'm pretty sure; Preston is going to remind you of this once we get back."

He lets go of Nora's hand, and he heads over to his power armor after Nora settles things with the settler. Danse slips the fusion core in, and he suits up. "I'm ready to eradicate those ferals." Danse's eagerness is shown in his voice. And despite his time away from The Brotherhood, he stills sees ferals as a threat.

"So after you." Danse waits for Nora to give the ready to move out. And without all of the extra weight from the meat from the bear, he is more than ready to head back out into the field.

"Well, if we flee to Far Harbor without heading back to Sanctuary then Preston will never know. Not so sure Dogmeat would be too happy with me being late home though. He's already grumpy that we left him behind."

A vacation away from Preston and from the constant hustle, bustle and chaos of the Commonwealth. She loves her job. She loves helping those in need. But sometimes she wishes she could just have some down time.

She adjusts her Pip-Boy again, bringing up the map marked with their new location. She's no fan of the National Guard Training Yard, but needs must.

"Let's go."

"We do have a responsibility to The Commonwealth, but if anyone deserves a vacation after all of that, it is you." Danse is being honest with Nora. She has done so much, lost so much, and yet to see her to continue to soldier on is admirable. But even Danse knows down time is important. "So if you want to visit Far Harbor after we finish up here, I follow you." And she is not the only one who can use a break.

He continues down the road weapon in hand just should he need it, the last thing he needs is to be caught with his guard down. "And I think Dogmeat will do just fine with everyone else looking after him."

And the compass inside of his helmet is keeping him going in the right direction. But what he wouldn't do for a proper map sometimes.

"That settles it then. You and I are taking a vacation once we've dealt with these damn ferals. We'll fish, we'll relax, and we'll kill any monsters that get in our way. Plus... I have a few settlements to check on out that way so Preston can't get too mad since technically I'm still doing my job."

She smiles at him as she walks, whilst also ensuring her weapon is loaded and ready. She knows all too well just how dangerous the Commonwealth can be if you let your guard down.

"And I suppose you're right about Dogmeat... everyone spoils him."

He needs a break to try to sort through everything that is going on in his head right now. And having to take a break without the threat of running into a Brotherhood Squadron is a plus. As willing as he is to defend himself, Danse hates having to spill the blood of the men and women of those whom he holds in high regards. And as much as he understands they are under orders to kill synths on sight, they are still people he was willing to die for.

Danse laughs a little bit. "And even while on vacation you still have work to do. So tell me, how did people vacation before the bombs fell?" He has seen hints of it through old posters at the airport, but it didn't exactly tell him everything.

And as much as he thinks everything is work, work, work, the idea of doing something like those pictures seems exciting to him.

"Before the bombs fell? I didn't spend my vacations running around after settlements - eradicating monsters, building defenses, planting crops. My ideal vacation? Hm. A beach. A good book. A cocktail." She smiles, though there is a hint of sadness in her eyes. The past seems so far away.

"Not a mirelurk queen in sight, either. The odd crab maybe, but one quick nudge and off they went."

She continues to walk, after all they still have a job to do. "There were plenty of other types of vacation though - adventure holidays, camping. All kinds."

"It all seems so very ideal." Danse tries to imagine what he can about vacations and just life in general prior to the war. And to think The Brotherhood is working to restore the Earth, so people can once again enjoy vacations just like in the posters at the airport. But it is a life without people like him in it, no matter how peaceful their intentions are.

Danse tries to keep those thoughts from bothering him, and he just hopes The Minutemen in time will keep working towards the same goals. "And I think, I would like the adventure holidays." He smiles just a little. "Even if I don't exactly know what those entail."

The building for the National Guard Outpost is getting closer and closer, and Danse looks to the roof. "Careful, places like these might still have active turrets."

"Maybe one day the world will be peaceful enough for us to go on an adventure holiday together. In fact, I'm going to make it my goal in life." She has a lot of work to do to make it a reality. Here's hoping old age doesn't get her first!

She smiles over at him, the sadness melted away to show her real, genuine smile. "If we head in from the right angle we should be able to avoid the turrets." Guess who got fired at by said turrets on her first ever visit here?

And it appears something here keeps drawing in ghouls to this location for some reason, but Danse knows that at some point even non-ferals turn. It is simply a sad matter of truth. But there is something more to place that puts Danse on edge, and he crouches down in his armor and he attempts to be sneaky.

"Good idea. Keep your eye out on the ghouls, and I'll take care of the turrets." He suggests, and he follows her from the right. But he is slow and steady, as he raises his rifle and he steadies his aim. He takes in a deep breath, and fires off a couple of shots at the turret that explodes in a shower of turret parts.

The only problem with this is, the turret's friends wake up and start shooting at the ground. And not only do the turrets wake-up, but so do the ghouls. "I hate it when that happens." Danse looks to see if he can find some cover behind a burnt out tank.

Edited 2016-07-23 23:17 (UTC)

Nora on the other hand is more than willing to let every non-feral ghoul live happily and peacefully until she sees actual signs that they're turning. After all, they're people too - horribly irradiated people, but people all the same.

She quickly fires on some of the newly awakened ghouls shambling towards her. Another lesson she learned fast in the Commonwealth is the shambling pretty quickly turns into a full on lunge - and none too slow at that.

"So much for a stealthy approach..." she calls over to Danse, taking down another ghoul with a head shot.

Danse looks for the other trigger-happy turret, and it doesn't take long for him to find it as the bullets bite into his power armor. "That's the problem with turrets, and I never was the stealthy type." Sure, stealth has a place and a point, but power armor doesn't make stealth easy to accomplish.

And with another control burst from his gun, the gun turret explodes, and this just wakes up more ghouls. "Now let us send these ferals back to the depths of hell!" Danse is in his zone, as he vaporizes another ghoul and he only leaves a pile of red glowing ash along with whatever item the ghoul kept on their person as a token reminder of who they once were.

And all of this is before they make their way into the facilities of the Training Post.

Edited 2016-07-29 02:07 (UTC)

"That makes two of us. Never have been one for sneaking around. Always been an all guns blazing kinda girl." Only, until she left the vault she was never actual guns - more a brash, blustery attitude. The good, old days.

"One day it'd be nice to pass by this place and not be greeted by a pack of ferals," Nora murmurs as she makes her way towards the main building.

"I thought you were a lawyer," says Danse, with a jovial voice. And he stops by the door, and he waits for Nora to open it. His head turning around, as far as it can to make sure nobody was going to corn hole the two of them. It is when The Commonwealth is quiet like this is when Danse begins to worry.

But he thinks on what she says about the place being a haven for the ferals. And he looks at the doors with a stern look on his face. "I've been wondering the same myself. How can we keep the places we clear out from being overran.” The answer is obviously an easy one, settlers making use of these places. And a place like Olivia and The Training Grounds ought to make for a great place for people to settle.

Nothing like boots on the ground.

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