Yes! Finally. Everything's coming up Veronica.

-

   “Hmn. I may know someone.” someone he preferred to avoid, but was still a valuable resource in a medical setting. He hadn’t exactly been fond of Nathan’s decision to assist the doctor he knew, at least in the beginning. But she tended to make more sense to the entirety of Sanctuary than any book they brought home to try and preserve and understand knowledge on the same level as the Brotherhood. “And I suppose.. you’re welcome to shoot your shot at Sanctuary, get you started.”

   Her next question made him pause, and he looked over her with clear confusion and disdain. How did she not know what a synth was? Wasn’t she Brotherhood too? “Synths are.. they appear human, at least some do, and were created by the Institute to infiltrate and destroy civilization in the Wasteland.” 

“Know someone?” Veronica repeated, “This ‘someone’ happen to have a name, or do I need to just make everyone at this settlement you’re talking about fill out a medical test and whoever scores highest is who gets to teach me some medical knowledge?” She quirked a brow. “Sanctuary? Is that the settlement you’re talking about? You have any suggestions on who to talk to, and what I can do to convince them to put me on their settlement-guarding payroll?” 

-

Nick reached out to the files she put down in front of him, already scanning over pages with rapidly shifting eyes. He could digest information particularly quickly, already committing it to memory. 

“These are some good leads, though, Baba.” He flipped over papers, squinting at them. “I’m likin’ the farming tech. I think weaponry might be a little… counter-intuitive.”

“Any idea how to convince them of this? Are you the persuasive type?”

Veronica gave a hum in agreement at his thoughts. “The Brotherhood loves their weaponry. Loves to borrow it from the locals and never, ever give it back. But the farming does seem, if things go sideways, like something they can’t ultimately use against others.” 

“If you count punching Legion punks into the stratosphere persuasive, then yes, otherwise not so much.” She flexed her fingers on the hand donning the pneumatic gauntlet, looking down at it like it would give her some sort of answer. “My hopes are gathering the data for farming and showing the Elder some cold, hard facts will be enough to persuade him....maybe I should try and start my speech now and I’ll have something sort of convincing by the time we get the farming tech.” 

I've been dead inside for a few weeks but I'm back now.

-

         “No that sounds exactly the same… and I’ll say you’re right on loyalty. It runs deep and is incredibly difficult to shake..” he paused, glancing to the BoS emblem he left on a lot of his equipment he’d held onto since exile. His ideals may have changed, but they were still his family for as much of his life he could be sure was his own. 

        Danse appeared to relax slightly, lifting a hand to run it through his messily slicked back hair. “Yeah. I like her.” If that was all she wanted to know, he could only hope she would let him be once offering what she needed. It was unlikely, but it was a load off his chest to say something about it too.

"I'll give the Brotherhood this: they knew how to tug at your heartstrings, make you feel like you were part of something bigger." Veronica let out a soft, almost nostalgic sigh.

“Hey so, real talk for a second, Big Guy,” The ex-scribe radiated some sort of energy far removed from her usual witty quips and sarcasm. She raised a hand, scratching at her hair in a nervous gesture, letting her hood fall back a few inches to reveal more of her face. 

“You don’t have to answer, but I doubt anyone else around here will really get it like you do.” The woman fidgeted with her gauntlet for a few seconds before she finally spoke up again. 

“Do you ever miss the Brotherhood?” 

-

        “And I continue to say bugger off about how I feel about people. I may have once been obvious about anyone but now I would prefer it no one’s business but my own unless I choose so otherwise.” His arms remained folded as he scowled down at her. “I hardly know you, how can I trust you with my personal life?”

“Because I’m adorable?” She joked. “Scribe’s honor? Well, ex-scribe, but that whole scribe-paladin loyalty still runs deep, you know? Practically one of the things they drilled in us from the day we were born: prewar tech is dangerous in the hands of normal people, ghouls bad, and always have the back of your paladin or you’re pretty much fucked. Unless there were teaching differences in your chapter.” 

Someone else (that isn't a synth or ghoul or even sentient super mutant like Fawkes): Yeah, fuck those bastards

Veronica:

-

Nick was kind but he wasn’t a fool; he knew that the giving the Brotherhood power was basically asking for them to make life harder for him. But she wasn’t asking to give them weapons; she was asking to give them a fighting chance to assimilate. That wasn’t their usual MO and Nick knew that, even with his limited information. 

And she was… well, not an open book but she was an easy read. The old detective was at the very least confident that his initial read had her at honest. Genuine. 

He gave a lopsided smile. “I can at least listen, Veronica. If you’re just tryin’ to make sure they don’t die out, who am I to make that tougher for you? …Tell me what you have in mind, and I’ll tell you if I can help.”

"The more I've seen of the Mojave, the more I realize the Brotherhood can't wait in a bunker on top of all the prewar tech we've hoarded and simply hope the NCR and Legion wipe each other out."

She heaved a sigh, shifting to grab some papers from her pack. "Now, I need to convince my family that there are only two options: assimilation or death. And those really are the only two options if they continue this path. Mere words haven't been enough to convince them that what we're doing is wrong so I came up with an idea: show the Brotherhood some tech that people in the Mojave have created to better their lives and show them that it's not a bad thing to use prewar tech to help give people a fighting chance. If we followed a good cause, with all the tech we have tucked away? We could really improve the lives of the locals. I need help narrowing it down though. I have three options and I'm not sure which is the most convincing."

She laid out three papers in front of Nick. Each paper detailed a different option: farming technology, a pulse gun, and Euclid's C-Finder.

-

     “That’s not what I’m saying. And there are no Elders around anyway, particularly any that give a shit about me except for ensuring my death.” He folded his arms, almost self-consciously as he scowled at her. “It’s none of your business, anyway.”

“So do you like-like her or not?” Veronica waggled her eyebrows at him. “Honestly? I’ll fight any Elder that tries. Give them a swirlie and one hell of a headache. You’re one of the few paladins I think I would have tolerated if we were still Brotherhood members.”

-

        “There’s nothing about this so called ‘hot gossip’ that can’t wait.” His face remained straight despite her wide smile, her curiosity. Danse waved her off, unamused and unwavered. “It was just a kiss. Spur of the moment.”

synthvictoriam​:

-

        Fuck, word traveled fast. He wasn’t exactly prepared to have the world know of how he felt of the doctor, especially since he could barely explain it himself. “Don’t you have mechanical items to worry about?” He responded, raising a brow at her. Why did everyone have to make his business their own?

“Tech can wait, but hot gossip cannot.” Veronica grinned up at him. She was not going to let this go anytime soon; with the way he was trying to get her to do something else-away from him-that had to mean there was some validity to the rumors. 

"One Ex-Brotherhood member to another: is it true you hooked up with a certain doctor? I need to know everything! I haven't had any gossip since I left the Mojave and I am going through withdrawal. You two an item now?"

-

Six holds her breath in anticipation. In this world where there’s so much death and ugliness, it’s nice to have good things to look forward to. None of the ladies in the Ultra Luxe were wearing it, and it was much better in Veronica’s care than anyone else’s. Six is sure of that, “There’s one way to find out, Ronnie.” Her tone is sagelike and teasing all at once – she’d know if she tried it on, and she absolutely should!

It’s is a beautiful dress, and Six oohs, careful as she reaches out slowly, permission to take the fabric and feel it. It’s appraising, but respectful; it’s in wonderful condition and should absolutely stay that way. Maybe there’s apprehension that it’ll get torn to pieces – dresses weren’t meant for brawling or the harsh conditions of the Mojave.

“Did the Brotherhood ever teach you things like sewin’ and repairs?” Six asks the question, and there’s no doubt where it’s leading to, “Reckon I could always show you a thing or two if you’d like – to help with takin’ care of your new dress. Mama taught me how to sew when I was little, and I’ve been doin’ it ever since. It helps – that is, if you want.”

The way Six's face lights up is a definite boost to Veronica's own excitement. The scribe knows it's wrong to steal, and she usually followed the straight and narrow, but the dress had just been begging to be taken by someone who would truly appreciate it. Veronica was just that someone.

"Are you sure you can get the Ultra Luxe off my back?" She asks, though there is no way Veronica is returning someone so beautiful. "I just need to know whether my punching arm needs to be ready." Somewhat a joke. She doesn't want to get jumped by one of the mask wearing employees-it would be too embarrassing for her to go on if she got her ass kicked by one of them.

"I can thread a needle and make some shoddy repairs. Nothing good enough for this dress." She would take a needle and thread to her potato sack attire any day without a second thought, but this dress was too lovely to desecrate with her poor excuse for sewing.

"If you could help me, I would name my first non-ugly child after you. Seriously!" Veronica grins, excited at the prospect of learning something to help keep the dress in better shape. Maybe she'll even learn enough to sew a design into it one day, make it even fancier and allow her to stand out.

-

She probably shouldn’t be so elated when stealing is wrong, but that would just be hypocritical. Six claps her hands once in excitement, “Leave that to me! Don’t you worry about it in the slightest. First thing’s first, though – what does it look like?”

“You always have my back.” Veronica shouldn’t be surprised that Six isn’t upset with her antics. The scribe takes a moment to carefully, oh so carefully, take the stolen dress from her pack, and pull it from the smaller bag she had put it into after folding it. Nice dresses were so rare, she wasn’t going to let this one get dirty. 

She shakes out the dress and shows it off: one of the dresses like the women working there wear. Nothing super fancy, but it’s better than anything she’s ever had. 

“Too much, right?” She questions, “It looks good on the ladies at the Luxe, but I’m not sure it’ll look good on me.”