Fallout 4: AR

76. Lessons in Consequences

"I dunno, Boss." MacCready and I were discussing our options in the first room. We had taken Squire Von to rest and recover with the other captives, giving us some needed space to plan our next move. We still had one vertibird signal grenade left. Sending a message to Paladin Danse would be easy enough, and the signal grenade was vital for accurately homing in on our location. "Do you really want to bring the Brotherhood in on this?"

"No, but we have to get Von back to them. He needs medical attention that we just can't give him here. And they need to know what happened to their patrol." I held the small handful of Brotherhood dog tags in my palm, found stashed in the slavers makeshift camp as war trophies. "They also have the ability to swiftly transport all of us at once. I doubt too many of the others can walk very fast or far in their condition."

"Point." MacCready looked thoughtful. "We also have that deathclaw wandering about above the ridge."

"Oof, I had almost forgotten about that. Would it be likely to come investigate?" That's all we need, a murderous giant lizard and a buffet line of weakened people to snack on. "Extra firepower would be welcome just in case..."

"Yeah, I know." He pulled me against his side. "If we make enough of a commotion it probably would. Maybe more than one since they usually live in groups. I was kinda hoping we could just..." and he waved his arm vaguely, "free the captives and go on our way. But that would be as good as killing them- no weapons, no armor... I don't think I could live with the consequences." He sighed and tucked my head under his chin. "Most of the people in there have probably never stepped foot outside a settlement in their lives. And that poor boy... I can't stop thinking about it. You know, 'being a better man' is lot harder than I thought."

"You're doing just fine, RJ. The fact that you're thinking about these kind of things now shows how much you've grown, and I love you more every day for it." We savored the closeness for a moment before I spoke again. "So, alert the Brotherhood?"

"Way to ruin the moment, angel."

-0-

The double whump-whump-whump of approaching vertibirds was the signal we had been waiting for. MacCready was ready and waiting at the door, our rescued captives lined up in the hallway. I stayed at the back of the line, making sure we got everyone out and into the vertibirds as quickly as possible. As the noisy aircraft circled overhead, I could hear the thrum of a minigun spinning up. Guess the deathclaw was curious after all, I thought sourly. This may be the fastest, most efficient way to get everyone out safely, but it's awfully noisy.

One vertibird descended onto the broken road in front of the motel while the other continued to strafe the ridge above. Even before it made contact with the ground, a stocky figure jumped from the open bay door, sprinting for the discarded power armor. MacCready shouted back to us, "All right, move out!" and picked up Squire Von to dart towards the waiting vehicle. The seven remaining captives scuttled towards the beckoning promise of safety, keeping low and moving as fast as they were able. I stayed a few steps behind, keeping an eye on the man whose leg had been so badly wounded. In the time it took the eight of us to reach the vertibird, the Knight who had darted off came tromping back up in the salvaged power armor. He leaped into the open bay and proceeded to assist everyone inside, gesturing urgently for us to hurry. "Enemy incoming, move move move!"

It was a tight fit. There were too many others in the bay, some of whom were wearing Brotherhood uniforms. The vertibird wasn't really designed to carry so many loose bodies, especially with one wearing a full set of power armor. I had barely placed my feet on the skids, helping to lift the last of the captives inside, when the vertibird lurched into the air. Grasping at the handholds, I levered myself up and into the open bay next to the minigun position. We made it!