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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"A decent life? I'm not so sure I agree with that." Her view on the Brotherhood is jaded at best. Even if her knowledge is limited. She doesn't know much about the other factions but as for Arthur Maxson and his loyal followers... she's not all too keen. Perhaps the fact that he wanted her to execute one of her best friends has something to do with it. She may be a Paladin, but she is definitely not Brotherhood and nothing but the Brotherhood. She never will be.

"The scribes aboard the Prydwen aren't even treated as children. They're mini soldiers. Children should have time to play, to have fun."

Nora stops at the bank, looking out over the lake. Once upon a time it would've been a beautiful swimming spot. "Too bad. I forgot my bikini. Maybe next time."

She misses swimming. And fishing. She misses a lot of things.

"Hey Danse... Speaking of children... There's something I want to ask you. I'm just not sure how to put it into words."

Danse turns to stare out at the lake with his metal fingers flexing. His wiring is still set to Brotherhood, but perhaps there is a bit of truth in those words. He got to see the scribes in The Citadel prior to Maxson's rise to power. "It wasn't always like that. But you are right; Maxson is training them to be soldiers. And outside of the scribes he is not giving them a chance to learn about the technology, we were sworn to protect. But it is still better than anything out there now."

His face is grim looking, and he looks up to the sky out of habit to make sure there are no signs of any Brotherhood Vertibirds.

Without any sign of trouble, Danse lowers his head to continue to stare out at the lake. But then he hears Nora's question, and he raises an eyebrow and the features of his face soften. "Oh? What is it you want to ask of me?"

Looking out for Vertibirds has become second nature to Nora. She's constantly listening, looking, making sure Danse is safe. She used to love seeing them in the sky, now she has a constant ball of dread in the pit of her stomach.

She sucks in a breath, still trying to figure out the best way to put her question into words without upsetting Danse. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything.

"So, I'm sure you've met Shaun - the uh, the synth copy of Shaun - back at Sanctuary. Well, he's a synth and um... you're a synth. So I was wondering... if - when - something happens to me... will you take care of him for me?"

And those words hit Danse like a thousand mini-nukes that have landed on him all at once, and he just stands there with his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. And he is left there utterly speechless, standing at the shore of the lake with his attention drawn away from any potential bloodbugs, mirelurks, and any other creepy crawlies.

Finally, Danse talks or more like it he stammers for the first time ever. This is just something he never was expecting from Nora. "I-I-I don't know what to say." He quickly tries to regain his composure, other than his voice, and Danse is still left in shock. "I never had a family, so I wouldn't even know where to start." It isn't a no, and it isn't a yes, seeing this is something huge.

The child maybe a synth, but Danse still has so many doubts and issues of his own to resolve. And yet, Danse isn't going to be callous towards the idea. "If anything happens to you, I will give you my word that Shaun will be kept safe. But of all of the people, why me?"

Nora shifts to sit down, digging her heels into the damp ground. She shouldn't have said anything. Should have kept her mouth shut. Just enjoy the view and the company and not make things awkward.

She never has been good at knowing when to keep her mouth shut. It's gotten her into trouble plenty of times.

"I know it's a lot to ask. I know I have no right to ask. But I trust you with my life. So I know I could trust you with his. And you're both synths... you'll both most likely outlive everyone around you. Neither of you would need to be alone if you had each other..."

Danse finally settles down, and then he thinks about the logic behind Nora's words. Sure, she has someone like Curie to ask, but then again Curie still is more machine at heart than human.

"It is a lot to ask, and I don't know what the future will bring for myself. But I never break a promise that I make." His offering to make sure Shaun, and any of Nora's friends safe despite his feelings towards them is real. But this is different than resisting the urge to punch Hancock in the face.

He takes in a deep breath, and he disengages the locks from his power armor and he steps out into the damp ground to join Nora. "He'll be safe. And if we have to leave the Commonwealth, then I'll make sure he's given a chance to try and make things here a better place." There has to be a place for both of them to go, and the future of The Commonwealth is still up in the air.

She could've asked Nick too, especially since Shaun has stated he wants to be a detective like Mr Valentine. He also wants to be a Minuteman too though, so it's probably not something she should take too seriously. But as much as she adores Nick, the chances of his mechanisms failing or wearing out are much higher than Danse's. He isn't a super shiny Gen 3 like Danse.

"Thank you. I know it's a lot of responsibility to drop on your shoulders. But I feel a lot better knowing he'll be safe. No matter what terrible things the Institute and the real Shaun did... The synth Shaun is innocent and deserves a good, happy and safe life. I failed to protect one Shaun. I can't fail another."

She sighs a long, slow sigh, her shoulders sagging. It's been something that's been on her mind for awhile.

"Course, I've no intention on going anywhere just yet. I'm planning on making old age just so I can be a cranky old lady who hits people with a walking cane."

"Good to hear." Danse says, in response to Nora not leaving, and he seems relieved about this news. "Just try to be careful." His voice softens, and he truly sounds concerned for her well-being. And he is not looking forward to losing any more people he trusts. "I would be lost if anything were to happen to you." It is true. He has lost a lot after his exile from The Brotherhood. And other than Haylen, Nora is his only other friend.

"Anyway, I believe we have a settlement to help and some ferals to eradicate." Danse goes to step back in his power armor, and he wants to try to let everything sink in while they walk. It is a huge undertaking, and Danse knows it. He just hopes he will be around long enough to live up to keep that promise.

Nora gives a nod and pushes herself to her feet, brushing the damp dirt from her clothes. She's pretty sure the next few hours will be clouded in awkwardness, but at least she managed to voice the worries that have been plaguing her without destroying absolutely everything. A little bit of awkwardness is a low price to pay for peace of mind.

She looks at her PipBoy map for a moment, making sure they're on the right course. "Smashing feral skulls with my best friend. The day doesn't get much better than that."

Danse waits for Nora to lead them in the right direction towards the outpost, and he can't help but to smile. "Nope. And lets hope we don't run in to too much trouble on the way." He tries to keep away from the subject of his future as a guardian for Shaun, but he finds himself having a hard time keeping his mind away from it.

This along with his being a synth are one big bombshell in his life, and as he stands at the ready he lifts his large metal hand to rub the back of his power armor. "And lets hope the ferals aren't too far from the outpost. This way we won't have to worry about supplies, or running into anything else on our way there." He continues to try to steer the conversation towards anything about what it takes to be a father.

But Danse's facial expressions seem to want to betray him, as is his attempt to find the back of his neck. Poor very awkward Danse.

Poor very awkward Danse indeed. Nora just wants to hug all the awkwardness away but a) his power armor is like a tank and there's no way she can give him a decent hug in that and b) hugging him would probably make things a lot more awkward - no, not probably - definitely. She really wishes she hadn't said anything at all.

She seems to be very good at screwing his life up. After all, if she hadn't joined the Brotherhood then she wouldn't have passed on the encrypted data from the Institute and Danse would still happily be a Brotherhood Paladin with all his brothers and sisters in arms. And now? Now Nora is asking the impossible of him. To take care of a synth replica of her son should something happen to her. Yeah. She should learn not to talk. Ever.

"At least we'll be able to replenish our supplies once we get there. Mutfruits should be at perfect ripeness by now." It's a poor attempt to try not to address the elephant in the room and she knows it.

He looks down at Nora as he continues to walk towards their destination that cannot be mistaken by the large pylon that rises up into the sky. And he does think at times if they would have ever discovered his identity. Danse figures it was truly only a matter of time until someone noticed something wasn't right. Therefore, he places no blame on something she never would have known.

And the thing that he's aching to know is what it will take for him to be a good father. Sure, he might want to spend time with the kid now, but even then, he wasn't the greatest mentor. It was a responsibility of losing a kid that made him uncomfortable. It was bad enough when half of his men were lost during his first venture into The Commonwealth. A child just seems to make it a lot harder.

"Sounds good, we'll have to spend the night there once we finish things up. And hopefully that raider camp near by hasn't been repopulated by more raiders. And if it has, we might have to give them a nice neighborly welcome and do away with the camp for good." And he bites, and he might save his thoughts for later.

"I wish raiders would get the message - they keep coming around and shooting up our settlements, we're gonna keep shooting them down. Life could be so much more peaceful if they just quit being assholes." Nora let out a sigh. She hates having to shoot raiders, but violence seems to be the only language they understand.

"Here's hoping the sky is clear tonight too - the stars look so beautiful at the Outpost when the sky is clear."

She moves on ahead. Suddenly pulling out her gun to take down a vicious mongrel charging their way.

"There's always going to be bad people. If it wasn't Raiders then it is the gunners, or even the Slavers of The Pitt and everywhere else." Danse expects the world to be full of assholes, and honestly, the Raiders are better than the slime that is The Institute and Enclave. "And a world of lawlessness it is the perfect breeding ground for filth just like them."

And just as the mongrel charges, Danse is quick to pull out his laser rifle because he knows that when there is one there is more. And he proves to be right as another mongrel comes rushing towards them along with its pack mate.

"Take cover!" Danse steps back to position himself so he can avoid hitting Nora in the process, and he fires on the mongrel that is further away. The dog is quick on its feet as it moves to the right, and it moves to the left. "Dammit..." Danse grits under his breath. He hates fast moving targets like these, give him a Super Mutant and he is in his zone. He fires again and with a loud yelp, the mongrel takes a hit dead center. But it isn't done as it continues to run with a limp towards the two.

Danse is right. There will always be bad people. Even before the war there were bad people. It just feels worse without laws to protect the innocent people. Nora is very much a woman out of time.

At least killing vicious wild animals is less of a strain on her moral sensibilities. Nora shots at the wounded creature to put it out of it's misery. Another quick shot blows off the front leg off the other mutt.

"So much for a quiet stroll," she jokes, as she looks around for more danger.

Danse looks at the remains of the dogs, and he lifts his head up to make sure it was only the mongrels. His heart in his chest pounds as he turns around to see if they are alone. And he listens to see if he can hear any signs of raiders or anything else.

Cicadas. Nothing but the sound of the cicadas that have somehow managed to stay unchanged. "There's nothing wrong with a little action to get the heart pumping," says Danse, as he lowers his gun but he remains on alert. It is moments of silence that are the worse.

And the mongrels aren't alone, as there is the growl and grunts of large yao guai that is standing up on his hind paws. And he is not happy that the mongrels disturbed his nap.

"It might not be a deathclaw, but never underestimate the power of pissed off yao guai." Danse turns his attention to the bear who drops down to all fours, and starts to charge. And Danse doesn't hesitate to open fire, and it is going to take a lot more work to bring down this powerful predator of The Wastelands.

Nora has changed her mind! She'll take a group of raiders over a pissed off yao guai any day. Those things are vicious and strong. Maybe foregoing her power armor wasn't the wisest choice in hindsight. But the beast seems to be focusing on charging at Danse, which gives Nora the perfect opportunity to fire at it, only pausing to reload her weapon.

"First lesson I learned after leaving the Vault - never underestimate any threat of the Wastelands. To be fair, I wouldn't much liked to've faced off against a pre-war, pre-radiated bear either. The additional mutations just add a little spice..."

She keeps firing, trying to ensure none of her shots are likely to ricochet and hit her walking tin can of a best friend.

The combined efforts from both Danse and Nora begin to slow the large mutated bear down just a tad. But a yao guai is a force to be reckoned with even with amount of injuries it is taking. It snorts, and it slashes at the ground with an injured paw as it limps towards them.

He is not too worried about taking damage to his armor, as he tries to find a chance to reload his rifle. "I don't think I would be interested in running across a pre-war bear either." The few burnt paintings and pictures he has seen makes any bear look like an impressive foe.

He gets a chance to reload his gun, and he tries to cripple the bear. At least it will slow it down until they can make a run for it, or put it out of its misery. "And believe me when I say it, but I'd rather face a pissed off Behemoth than one of these."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nothing like boots on the ground.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject