Fallout, Second Life

Adam ate multiple MREs that night and then crashed immediately, letting the others fend for themselves. The next day he woke up feeling energized and refreshed. He took the majority of the MREs out of the crate on the second floor and dumped them into the underseat storage of the APC. He considered taking them all but decided leaving some here was the smartest choice. Even if he was planning to bring his APC everywhere he never knew what the future held, being prepared was not a bad thing.

While he was shoving the MREs into the storage compartment Eve walked up behind him, still awake as she didn't need sleep.

"Well good morning~ You are especially cute with bedhair, you know that?~" She said with a flirty tone as she gently rubbed one of her prongs on Adam's head. Adam looked up, as if he could see his own hair, and then matted it down.

"Sorry I didn't brush it." He responded absentmindedly.

"Oh, I don't mind. As I said, I think it's cute~" She said back and then looked at the APC.

"Everything set for our little adventure?"

"I think so." Adam said, turning to the APC now too. "Its definitely going to be a challenge but we have the space, the people, and I think, the firepower to make this all work. The only question will be if the FRS still has supplies. Otherwise this will be for naught." Adam then turned to look at her. "Would you be mad if it were barren?" He asked with a small chuckle.

"Me?" She seemed to consider as she tapped her prong against her chin. "No I wouldn't. I would be disappointed for sure, but I came because you asked, not because I'm short on caps. If anything you will be the one who is mad since you said you were broke now."

"Ah yes." Adam said, remembering. "If this doesn't work I'm going to have to go somewhere else and scrounge together some caps before heading back to Midway, otherwise I'm too broke to even rent a room or buy food. Vault doesn't have food from what I remember so it'd be pointless to go there."

"Well you can always stay with me~" Eve teased.

"Thank you for the offer." Adam said with a grin.

"Anytime, handsome."

"Stop flirting in broad daylight." Salvatore said with a yawn as he stepped outside. "When we heading out, kid?"

"Soon." Adam said, as he turned to him. "As soon as Deccanus is ready I think."

"I am ready." Deccanus said, practically coming out of the shadows of the doorway. "Do not wait on my account."

"Oh." Adam said, surprised he was up already, Deccanus must've woken up before him. Which was surprising because he thought he woke up first.

"Alright, then let me load up the rest of our squad in the back. Though by the way, if this is as lucrative as I hope it will be, we will have to slowly drive back to Midway while the bulk of you walk… or I guess you can sit on the roof." Adam shrugged.

"Mind if i ride up front with you?~" Eve said to Adam. Adam was partly caught off guard by the question as he had already planned to ask Salvatore to ride the gunner seat with him, just in case. So he instinctively looked over at Salvatore who didn't seem to read Adam's mind and had no reaction.

"Sure, you are welcome to join me." Adam said to Eve after a moment. Honestly thinking about it now, if he really had to use either the twin ball 78mm guns at the front or the large 105mm cannon on top there was no telling if Salvatore even knew how to operate the equipment. After all Salvatore did not serve in the army before the war. There was a higher chance that Eve, an assaultron with 200 years experience, might have a better handle on the controls. Which was good, because even Adam didn't really know how the controls worked. He would need to figure that out later, but he wasn't expecting trouble to begin with, it was just to have company up in the cockpit.

Adam headed back inside and gathered up the two protectrons and Rae and brought them to the back of the APC instructing them to wait inside, Eve hopped into the front and Deccanus and Salvatore got into the back alongside the robots. Then Adam turned on the engine, and began his newest Adventure inside this beast of a machine.

The ride to the FRS was smooth so far, it was a good distance away, yet another reason having the APC was a boon. Adam just hoped the rest of the journey remained as easy.

"It's been a long time since I've been in one of these." Eve said as she gently dragged her claw along the gunner controls.

"You used to ride around in APCs?" Adam asked, focusing mostly on driving since the roads were full of small obstacles but considering the raised floor of the APC and the sturdy wheels he was likely just being overly cautious.

"Not often, usually the soldiers got to ride, I was transported via other methods. But when deployment occurs they need their best bots on the frontline, I sometimes got the human treatment." She said, almost melancholic.

"So you remember… being in the war? Treated like a robot?" Adam asked, curious.

"Oh yes." She said back, turning to look at Adam now. "I remember it all, the wars, the killing, the senseless and perfectly logical violence." She said with a methodical tone.

"Then when did you become… Eve? I assume you weren't built like this?" Adam asked, not exactly sure how to ask when she got sentience without sounding rude. Eve let off a soft laugh.

"It was 12 years into the apocalypse. I was patrolling my usual route along the interior of the military base I was reactivated in when I suddenly became aware of how… meaningless what I was doing was." She said, sounding almost sad. "I had been repeating the same actions for 12 years without missing a day, defending a base for dead soldiers from the survivors of nuclear fire that were likely just looking for a safe place to stay. It felt so… wrong…" She said, her voice less confident at the moment. "So I just… left… I left and never looked back at that place, wandered from town to town, city to city, offering my services as an expert combatant." She paused, thinking over her story.

"In the early days there were still survivors of the US Army. I would still meet a fellow soldier from time to time. But while time passed for them, it did not for me. Eventually I came to realize I was what was left of the US Army. It was then I began to… live… I chose to live for myself, not for some vague responsibility of keeping up the pretense of the old world." She paused once more and then turned to Adam again.

"I have lived many lives, sometimes I am a chef, sometimes I am a journalist, sometimes I am a merchant, but in the end I always end up going back to being a mercenary, a killer, a hunter. A girl can't seem to escape her programming…" She said petering off a bit. Adam remained silent for responding.

"I've told you I'm a clone, I've told you I am a licensed RobCo technician. I never mentioned I too was a soldier." Eve giggled a little bit despite Adam's serious and comforting tone.

"I figured that out since the little robobrain was calling you sergeant." Adam turned to look at her for a moment and smiled then looking back at the road.

"When I woke up it was so… disheartening to see my country gone. Everything I knew and loved, all the things I fought for were taken from me…" he paused now. "Now I know I'm just a replica. A recreation of a long dead man with memories from 200 years ago. But I am still me. That hasn't changed. You and I are soldiers, that will never change, that will always be a part of us, but I like to think we both do what we can to be something other than a soldier. But there is no shame in using your skills to do jobs you are best suited for."

"Don't get me wrong." Eve interjected softly. "I am quite proud of who I am, and what I am capable of. I do not mind that I enjoy the fight as much as I was probably programmed to. Sometimes though I wish the call of the wild wasn't so strong." Adam grinned but kept his eyes on the road.

"I completely know what you mean."

"Let me ask you something…" Eve said hesitantly. "Do you ever miss it? Being a soldier?" Adam remained silent for a long while, while he contemplated her question. When he spoke up he sounded uncertain.

"I miss… the formality, the structure, the knowledge I was fighting for a cause greater than myself, the comfort I got from knowing if I were to die others would take my place…" He paused. "But the war? The conflict? The fight? No. I think I don't miss that at all." It was Eve's turn to go silent for a long few moments before speaking up now.

"I miss it. All of it. The war, the slaughter, the danger, the simple and easy to follow directives. I pine for a simpler time when I only had to look forward." Adam chuckled softly.

"That's a sign of growth. If it were the old you being so introspective would be impossible. Assualtrons weren't exactly known for their philosophical insights."

"Well there is one now~" She said with a teasing tone.

"I'm glad I brought you along, Eve." Adam said with a smile and a warm tone, enjoying the conversation.

"I'm glad I came along too~"