[A/N: sorry for the delay of this last chapter. I passed out yesterday before I finished editing and then had to wait until work ended before I could review it one last time before posting. Not much action I'm afraid. Mostly internal monolouging. Still on schedule for another 5 by the end of the month. Will be the start of the vault 120 quest so I'll do my best to make it entertaining. Enjoy!]
"Phase 2 with Subject Lady appears to be successful. Subject is responsive and seems eager to perform her duties."
I recorded the progress log onto a holotape for my records as I watched Lady doing drills.
"Phase 3 has begun and behavior has not shown any need for an adjustment at this time. Proceeding with long term conditioning protcol."
After pulling Lady out from the C.O.D.E. tech, the program wasn't over. There was more to the program than flashing some lights into her eyes.
Once the procedure is complete, the next phase would be to give the subject a routine and a sense of purpose.
Good habits and ethics needed to be ingrained into her to keep her on the right path.
This is a critical junction of the program. If I didn't give her a structure to follow, then her new personality that forms wont be a productive one.
So as soon as she was up and rested, I started treating her like a soldier.
From the moment she wakes up to the second she lays in bed, her whole schedule is decided.
It has been a week now and she has made excellent progress and has been obedient, if not downright happy to recieve orders.
As for any 'benefits' I might recieve from her... that will not happen anytime soon as it would be counter productive to the Winter Soldier project.
I didn't do all this to have an obedient sex slave, after all. I'm creating a soldier. One that lives and breathes for my cause.
I just happened to have chosen an attractive woman as the first test subject. I'm not a creep that needs to brainwash a woman to get laid okay.
But if you're gonna brainwash someone to be your first follower, it might as well be a hot chick right?
Right now, I have to monitor her closely to make sure her behavior remains in line with the project.
On another note, the bots I sent out to scavenge have been bringing in loads of scrap.
Using the workshop, I can scrap all the stuff they bring and the base components are sent directly to my vault's storage.
The bots getting the concrete were bringing in chunks of sidewalk, cinder blocks, bags of concrete powder and thanks to the workshop all of it can be repurposed and used for contruction.
The warehouse was built and was large enough to house all the robots as well as my next project.
I had originally made the blueprints to have it resemble the Hydra jet from GTA but further tweaks lead it to look more like the Quinjet from marvel.
Thanks to the bots, I was able to begin making it and had already had a frame and I was now currently making an engine.
If all goes well, I'll have a functioning jet within the month.
I was also in the process of making new propellors for the crashed vertibird in concord.
At the moment it has low priority but is still something I want to take care of before my expedition to vault 120.
Before I go, I also needed to save up some more caps from my dailies so I can at least get a couple Pure Flux to make more mutation serums.
I do not have the ability to make Pure Flux but the shop does sell them. For 500 caps a piece...
That's not very expensive but when you're broke like I am, such an expense can feel painful.
*clapclap*
"Alright! Finish up those excercises and then hit the showers. Meet me in the cafeteria for dinner at 1600. Dismissed!"
"Yes sir!" Lady saluted with an impassive face but a subtle twitch of her lips told me she was feeling happy to get orders from me.
She marched off to go back to her quarters while I went back to my lab to tinker on the jet engine.
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"For dinner, we have a delicious mirelurk cake with blood leaf aioli, with a side of cajun rice and beans and a delicious mutfruit smoothie."
Alfred served the food to myself and Lady. I had cooked the mirelurk cake using cuts I took off the mirelurks I killed along with some blood leaf I found while I was out.
At first I was a bit nervous to eat wasteland cuisine but after using the system to cook the food, I found it was far more tasty than anything I ever had.
You wouldn't think an irradiated creature could taste so good, so I was thoroughly surprised.
It's to the point that I've been thinking of taking the Butcher's Bounty perk so I can know how to harvest more meat from creatures.
But I know I shouldn't waste perk points so casually.
"Thank you, Alfred." I replied before digging into my food.
The taste was just right, perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection.
That is the biggest benefit of crafting system items, they always come out perfect.
Lady sat to my right and was also eating with gusto. Her face still being stoic and emotionless.
She had emotions but it would take awhile before they stop feeling so muted and disconnected to her.
But I wasn't worried. I had tried to remove the slave collar from her but she suddenly looked like an abandoned puppy so I ended up just disabling the explosives and then putting it back on her.
This showed that she valued her connection to me, setting my paranoia at ease.
I had bigger things to think about lately.
My discovery of the history of Appalachia and the events of 76 got me feeling worried.
The vault dwellers managed to defeat the Scorched plague and I wasn't there to ensure they were successful.
Even if they were successful, can I entrust the protagonists of the other games to defeat thier foes and make sure the timeline moves in the way I desire?
My original plan was remain lowkey and strengthen myself until the events of Fallout 3 in 2277. Then I would make sure things moves the way I wanted.
But now that I'm really thinking about it... can I afford to take the risk hoping that things on the west coast will happen as they should.
The consequences if The Master or the Enclave aren't beaten could very well have a huge effect on my plans.
I know that the events of the first Fallout started sometime in December of 2161.
That was 34 years away. So it's not like I dont have time to decide.
But if I do go, I would need to limit my involvement and only act to keep whoever the Vault Dweller is on the right path.
If I need to assist, then so be it. But I dont want to get on any of the major faction's radar if I can help it.
The events of Fallout 2, hugely depended on the success of the first.
The game takes place 80 years later in 2241, starting in the village of Arroyo. The grandchild of the protagonist of the first game is the protagonist of the second.
And Arroyo is the village the first created at the end of thier story.
But the issue is, the second will have to face the Enclave, remnants of the old U.S. government that believe they are the rightful owners of the country and they wish to purify it and take it back for themselves.
Of course, purifying it means killing all the wastelanders and anyone deemed impure.
Basically they're evil and destroying them was already in my plans.
If I remember correctly they were developing an airborne disease that would kill anyone with mutated DNA.
And guess what your boy is?
That's right. I'm technically a mutant.
So yeah. They gotta die.
I put down my silverware and then pushed out my chair and stood.
My stomach was full and I was ready to return to my lab.
Lady was also finished and stood up waiting for my command.
"Come on and follow me. We're heading to the lab." I beckoned for her as I left the cafe.
She nodded and then followed along.
We passed Rosie on our way, tending to Mutfruit plants and talking to herself, which was a regular occurrence.
As we entered the lab, I had her sit down while I rummaged through a crate that was next to my chemistry bench.
I had prepared a few serums to give to Lady. I had spent the caps I made from dailies over the last weak and managed to make a PMS and another Healing Factor.
Both, I felt, were what she needed most to survive our expedition to vault 120.
I also planned to save up for a rebreather mask for her before we go.
That way she would be somewhat safe from drowning if we ended up in a bad situation.
Luckily, the bots were also ordered to bring any and all bottle caps they find. And so far they have found several hundred, almost an entire thousand.
And they were expected to keep finding more before my departure.
As for me, I had a full divers suit I got in game that I could swap to at any moment.
Also a few sets of t-45 power armor but I would rather not wear them if I could help it.
While power armor is great, I like the freedom of movement I have while unarmored.
"Show me your arm." I said and Lady listened. "You might feel some pain or discomfort but that will pass. These are the two mutation serums I told you I would give you."
She nodded, "Yes sir. I understand."
I injected both into her and her body trembled and then she began to writhe in pain.
It only lasted a few seconds before the changes stopped and she was sweating and panting.
"Congratulations. You are officially an immortal." I said with a smirk.