If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
They worked in a hushed, reverent rhythm, as they stripping the shelves of the pristine tools that would soon heal wounds under the open sky.
The quiet that followed KYE's final words stayed with the group as they spread through the newly opened storage room.
Nobody rushed.
Nobody treated the discovery like scavengers stumbling onto forgotten treasure.
It felt different from every other salvage operation they had carried out since arriving at the Vim! Pop Factory.
This place had been preserved.
Protected.
Its caretaker had willingly handed it over.
That deserved respect.
Brooks was the first to begin organizing the work.
She removed a folded notebook from one of her pouches and started making careful lists.
"Let's keep everything categorized," she said. "If we're careful now, the hospital won't waste time sorting it later."
Sico nodded.
"Good idea."
Within minutes, the room settled into a quiet rhythm.
Lewis and Nolan carefully removed sealed medical containers from the shelves.
Harris inspected cabinets one by one, checking whether moisture or age had damaged anything inside.
The ranger Collins wrapped delicate instruments in clean cloth before placing them inside padded crates they had brought from the surface.
Brooks examined every item before it went into storage.
"Still sterile."
She placed another package into a crate.
"These are good."
Another cabinet.
"Surgical clamps…"
She smiled almost in disbelief.
"…actual stainless steel."
Another.
"Bone saw."
She looked toward Sico.
"Still sharper than most tools we own."
Lewis shook his head.
"Funny."
"What?"
"I've never seen someone so excited over surgical equipment."
Brooks laughed softly.
"You've never worked in a wasteland clinic."
"I suppose not."
She gently lifted an old diagnostic lamp from its mount.
"You know how many operations we've performed under lantern light?"
Lewis scratched the back of his neck.
"…I hadn't thought about that."
"Most people don't."
She smiled.
"But every one of these tools means someone's odds of surviving just improved."
Those words seemed to give everyone renewed purpose.
Soon the shelves slowly emptied.
Microscopes were packed into reinforced containers.
Sterilization trays were stacked neatly inside larger crates.
Boxes of preserved bandages disappeared into supply bags.
Laboratory glassware was wrapped individually to keep it from breaking during the trip back upstairs.
Even seemingly ordinary items found new value.
Thermometers.
Medical scales.
Blood pressure equipment.
Replacement tubing.
Storage jars.
None of it looked impressive.
Every piece mattered.
Meanwhile, Sico wandered slowly through the remainder of the underground facility.
He moved alone for several minutes, allowing the others to continue their work.
His boots echoed softly across the polished floors.
The silence felt different now that KYE had entered sleep mode.
Without the AI's calm voice drifting through hidden speakers, the medical center seemed almost lonely.
He passed another operating theater.
Its overhead lights remained frozen above an examination table that would probably never be used again.
Nearby stood recovery rooms with neatly made beds that no patient had occupied in generations.
The facility had once been built with incredible care.
Someone had imagined people recovering here.
Living here.
Being saved here.
Instead time had simply stopped.
Sico eventually found himself standing in the central corridor once again.
His eyes drifted toward the thick reinforced walls surrounding the bunker.
Toward the blast doors.
Toward the climate-controlled rooms.
A thought slowly formed.
Not about medicine.
About security.
This bunker was unlike anything above ground.
Hidden.
Dry.
Protected by reinforced concrete.
Almost impossible to discover unless someone already knew where to look.
Even after two centuries, it remained structurally sound.
He looked down the hallway.
This place doesn't have to stay empty.
Not as a hospital.
The Republic already had plans to expand medical services above ground.
But as something else.
A secure vault.
A place where irreplaceable things could be protected.
Important documents.
Sensitive intelligence.
Rare technology too dangerous to leave lying around.
Emergency food reserves.
Backup communication equipment.
Perhaps even relics of the old world worth preserving rather than displaying.
The thought made increasing sense the longer he considered it.
Nobody outside his trusted circle even knew this facility existed.
If properly maintained, it could become one of the safest storage sites anywhere on the Island.
He made a quiet mental note.
We'll come back.
Not today.
But someday.
When the Republic had grown stronger.
When more engineers could safely inspect the bunker from top to bottom.
When power systems could be restored properly.
Then this forgotten facility might find a second purpose.
Not as DiMA's hidden refuge.
But as the Republic's most secure archive.
Behind him, Harris called out.
"Commander?"
Sico turned.
"We've finished the storage room."
He walked back toward the group.
Crates now stood neatly stacked beside the doorway.
Far more than any of them had expected.
Brooks glanced over her inventory.
"I think we've taken everything that can realistically help us."
Lewis nodded toward several large diagnostic machines still bolted to the floor.
"The only things we left are equipment that's either permanently installed…"
"…or too heavy to move without dismantling half the building."
Sico looked around the room one final time.
They had left nothing useful behind that could easily be transported.
Exactly as intended.
"Good."
He looked toward the elevator.
"Let's head home."
One by one they loaded the crates onto a pair of heavy utility carts they had found elsewhere in the bunker.
The elevator accepted the weight surprisingly well.
Its ancient cables groaned slightly as everyone crowded inside.
Crates filled every available corner.
Medical equipment rested carefully between boots and rifles.
The doors slid shut.
With a soft mechanical vibration, the elevator began climbing.
No one spoke during the ascent.
Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts.
Brooks occasionally glanced toward the crate containing Captain Avery's skull.
Lewis stared quietly at the floor.
Harris reviewed the map showing the grave's location one more time before folding it carefully into his pocket.
Sico rested one hand on the medical supply crate nearest him.
The elevator climbed steadily.
Eventually a familiar bell chimed.
The doors opened.
Cool air from the lower level of the mixing building drifted inside.
The familiar concrete corridor welcomed them back.
Waiting exactly where they had left it stood the reinforced security door.
Beyond it waited the terminal.
Sico stepped out first.
Once every crate had been moved safely into the hallway, he approached the computer once again.
The green monitor still glowed faintly.
Unlike KYE's systems below, this terminal remained fully responsive.
He navigated back through the security menu.
ACCESS CONTROL
DOOR STATUS: OPEN
He selected another command.
LOCK FACILITY
A warning appeared.
CONFIRM?
He pressed the confirmation key.
Once again the heavy machinery came alive.
Hydraulics hissed.
Massive locking bolts extended deep into the surrounding concrete.
The reinforced blast door slowly slid shut.
Its movement echoed throughout the corridor before ending with a deep metallic thud.
Several heavy locks engaged one after another.
Clunk.
Clunk.
Clunk.
The terminal updated immediately.
FACILITY STATUS:
SECURED
AUTHORIZED ACCESS REQUIRED
Sico powered the terminal down.
The screen faded into darkness.
He rested his hand briefly against the cold steel door.
"This stays closed."
Lewis nodded.
"Until you say otherwise."
"Exactly."
Harris looked toward the warning sign that still stood near the stairwell.
"I suppose it finally means what it says."
Sico allowed himself a faint smile.
"It always did."
He turned toward the others.
"Nobody speaks about what's down there."
"Not the grave."
"Not KYE."
"Not the bunker."
"Not unless I authorize it."
Six voices answered almost together.
"Understood."
Satisfied, Sico picked up one end of a medical crate.
"Let's get these where they'll actually help someone."
The group climbed the final stairs back into the mixing building.
The sounds of the settlement immediately returned.
Hammers.
Voices.
Someone calling for more lumber.
Somewhere outside, a rooster crowed loudly enough to make Lewis grin.
"Back to reality."
"Back to work," Brooks corrected.
Sunlight streamed through the upper factory windows as they crossed the courtyard.
Workers glanced curiously at the heavily loaded carts.
One carpenter called over.
"Find something useful down there?"
Lewis answered without slowing.
"You could say that."
The carpenter laughed.
"I'll ask later."
"You won't."
Lewis muttered under his breath.
Sico pretended not to hear.
Their destination stood near the eastern side of the factory.
The temporary hospital.
Originally little more than an old warehouse converted into a treatment center, it had slowly expanded alongside every other Republic project.
Fresh white paint now covered the walls.
The roof had been repaired.
Large windows allowed sunlight inside.
Outside the entrance stood several benches where recovering patients could rest.
A simple wooden sign hung above the doorway.
REPUBLIC MEDICAL STATION
Inside, the smell of antiseptic replaced the usual scents of sawdust and machine oil.
Doctors and nurses moved quietly between treatment beds.
Several recovering workers sat talking softly while one medic changed a bandage on a soldier's arm.
Dr. Hawthorne, the senior physician overseeing the facility, looked up as Sico entered.
His tired eyes immediately widened at the sight of the crates.
"Commander…"
He stepped forward.
"…what exactly have you brought me?"
Brooks smiled.
"I think you're going to like this."
Together the soldiers carefully set the crates onto the floor.
The doctor opened the first one.
For several seconds…
He simply stared.
His fingers gently lifted a sealed surgical instrument tray.
Then another.
His expression shifted from curiosity to disbelief.
He looked toward Brooks.
"Where…"
He stopped himself.
"…actually, never mind."
He opened another crate.
Sterile dressings.
Medical tubing.
Diagnostic equipment.
Precision surgical tools.
His breathing slowed.
"I haven't seen supplies like these since…"
He shook his head.
"…I don't think I've ever seen supplies like these."
Brooks began unpacking items across a nearby examination table.
"We checked everything."
"Most of it's still usable."
"The sterile packaging held."
The doctor's hands moved almost reverently over the instruments.
"This alone…"
He picked up a proper surgical retractor.
"…would have saved three patients last winter."
He turned toward another crate.
"And this…"
A diagnostic lamp.
"…means we're no longer operating under lanterns."
Nearby nurses gradually gathered around.
Each opened another box.
Small gasps spread through the room.
One nurse carefully lifted a microscope.
Another found rows of sealed surgical gloves.
Someone else uncovered a complete sterilization kit.
Excitement spread rapidly through the hospital.
Not loud excitement.
Quiet appreciation.
The kind born from people who fully understood how valuable every single item truly was.
Dr. Hawthorne finally looked back toward Sico.
"I don't know where these came from."
His voice carried quiet gratitude.
"And I won't ask if you don't wish to tell me."
He smiled warmly.
"But I can tell you this."
He looked around at his staff.
"You've just improved every patient's chances of walking out of this hospital alive."
The room fell briefly silent.
Not because anyone had run out of words.
Because every doctor, nurse, and medic standing inside the Republic Medical Station understood exactly what had just happened.
A few crates filled with instruments might not have looked impressive to an outsider.
There were no legendary weapons.
No suits of power armor.
No mountains of ammunition.
Just carefully preserved medical equipment.
Yet everyone in the room knew those crates represented something far more valuable.
Time.
Second chances.
Lives that no longer had to be lost because a surgeon lacked the proper tools.
Dr. Hawthorne slowly closed the lid of one crate before looking back at Sico.
"We'll take good care of them."
"I know you will," Sico replied.
The older doctor nodded once.
"You've given this hospital years of progress in a single afternoon."
Sico glanced around the room.
Several nurses were already discussing where the sterilization equipment should be installed.
Another carefully inspected the microscope while trying not to smile too broadly.
Brooks had joined two medics at one of the examination tables, explaining how each instrument had been packed to avoid contamination.
The excitement spreading through the hospital wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
It showed itself in quieter ways.
Relieved smiles.
Steadier shoulders.
People already imagining what tomorrow's work might look like.
Satisfied that the supplies had reached the people who needed them most, Sico looked toward the soldiers who had accompanied him underground.
"You've all done well."
The six veterans instinctively straightened.
Lewis folded his cap beneath one arm.
"So…"
He glanced around the hospital.
"I suppose this is where we split up."
Sico nodded.
"It is."
He looked at each of them individually.
"Harris."
The lieutenant met his eyes.
"Keep the map secure."
"It never leaves my possession."
"Good."
He turned to Brooks.
"The remains."
"They'll stay locked inside the medical storage cabinet until we decide what comes next."
"Thank you."
Brooks simply nodded.
Sico continued around the group.
"Collins."
The ranger answered immediately.
"Commander."
"Return to perimeter duty."
"I'll also quietly keep an eye on the southern mixing building."
"Without drawing attention."
"Understood."
"Diaz."
The corporal gave a short nod.
"I'll rotate back to the bridge checkpoint."
"Lewis."
"I've got afternoon patrol."
"Nolan."
"The Depot inventory detail."
Every assignment fit naturally into the rhythm of the settlement.
Life had to continue.
Even after uncovering something that could change Far Harbor forever.
Sico let the silence linger another moment before speaking again.
"What happened beneath the mixing building stays between the seven of us."
No one hesitated.
"No exceptions."
Again, six voices answered together.
"Understood, Commander."
For a brief moment they simply stood together.
Not as soldiers awaiting another order.
But as people who had shared a burden that few others could understand.
Lewis finally broke the silence with a faint smile.
"Feels strange."
"What does?"
"We spent the morning uncovering one of the biggest secrets on the Island…"
He looked toward the busy hospital entrance where workers continued coming and going, completely unaware of what had happened underground.
"…and now I'm going back to checking supply wagons."
A quiet chuckle spread through the group.
Sico smiled.
"Sometimes that's exactly how history works."
Lewis laughed.
"I suppose it is."
One by one the soldiers gathered their equipment.
Harris adjusted the strap on his rifle before offering Sico a respectful nod.
"We'll be ready whenever you need us again."
"I know."
Brooks lingered a moment longer.
"If you decide to recover Captain Avery…"
She hesitated.
"…I'd like to be there."
Sico looked at her.
"You will."
That seemed enough.
She nodded quietly before turning to rejoin Dr. Hawthorne's staff, helping them organize the newly delivered equipment.
Within minutes, the group had dispersed.
Lewis headed toward the western gate.
Collins disappeared in the direction of the watchtowers.
Diaz crossed the courtyard toward the bridge patrol office.
Nolan made straight for the Depot, where Rebecca was almost certainly already wondering where one of her inventory clerks had vanished.
Life resumed.
Exactly as Sico intended.
Because if anyone noticed six trusted soldiers disappearing for half a day…
Questions would follow.
Questions they weren't ready to answer.
Leaving the medical station behind, Sico crossed the center of the factory at an unhurried pace.
The afternoon had settled comfortably over the settlement.
Fresh lumber lay stacked beside the future command center.
Farmers tended the newly planted rows of tato and mutfruit inside the western fields.
Electricians continued tracing power lines between repaired buildings, occasionally shouting measurements to one another from ladders.
Near the southern workshops, Collins the chief engineer, was already surrounded by another collection of blueprints.
The man seemed physically incapable of existing without one.
Children still hadn't arrived at Vim!.
Not yet.
The Republic had agreed it wasn't ready.
But watching the settlement now…
Sico found himself thinking about that future again.
People laughed.
People argued over measurements.
Someone complained that chickens had escaped their coop again.
Normal problems.
The kind worth having.
He reached the temporary command office a few minutes later.
Although Mason's crew continued transforming the old executive offices into a permanent headquarters, most day-to-day administration still operated from the reinforced command building erected shortly after the battle.
Inside, the room felt pleasantly cool.
Maps covered one wall.
Patrol schedules occupied another.
A large planning table dominated the center of the office, scattered with reports waiting for review.
His personal radio sat exactly where he had left it earlier that morning.
Sico closed the door behind him.
He didn't lock it.
Just enough to discourage interruptions.
The discovery beneath the mixing building demanded another conversation.
Not with Far Harbor.
Not yet.
There was someone else who deserved to know.
Someone who had known DiMA longer than almost anyone.
He crossed the room and switched on the long-range transmitter.
The familiar hum of warming vacuum tubes filled the office.
Static followed.
He adjusted the frequency carefully.
Acadia.
The signal crackled through the speaker.
One of Acadia's synth operators answered first.
"Acadia communications."
"This is Commander Sico at Vim!."
A brief pause.
"One moment, Commander."
The line filled with soft static once more.
Nearly a minute passed.
Finally another familiar voice emerged.
A dry voice carrying equal parts experience and quiet humor.
"Well…"
The speaker crackled.
"…this isn't the call I expected today."
Sico smiled faintly.
"Nick."
Nick Valentine chuckled softly.
"Sico."
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need to discuss something."
The detective immediately recognized the tone.
His own voice became noticeably more serious.
"I'm listening."
Sico leaned back in his chair.
"So…"
Nick asked quietly.
"…what happened?"
Sico looked toward the closed office door.
He lowered his voice instinctively.
"We opened the hidden facility beneath the Vim! Pop Factory."
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind that came when someone needed a moment to process what they'd just heard.
Nick finally answered.
"You found it."
"We did."
"I always wondered whether it really existed."
"It does."
Sico paused briefly.
"And it belonged to DiMA."
Another pause.
"What did you find?"
Sico considered where to begin.
Medical equipment.
KYE.
The hidden bunker.
Captain Avery.
No single part of the story existed without the others.
So he simply told everything.
Patiently.
From beginning to end.
He described the concealed terminal beneath the mixing building.
The elevator.
The spotless underground medical facility.
The sleeping AI.
The preserved supplies.
Then the grave.
He described the simple wooden coffin.
The silver locket.
The skeleton.
The holotape.
Finally, he repeated the conversation they had heard.
DiMA.
And the synth who had become Avery.
When he finished speaking as nothing came back across the radio.
Only static.
Several long seconds passed.
Eventually Nick exhaled.
A long heavy disbelieving breath.
"I'll be damned…"
His usually steady voice sounded shaken.
"I knew DiMA carried secrets."
Another pause.
"But not that."
Sico remained quiet.
Nick spoke again.
"So the real Avery…"
"Was buried beneath Vim!."
"And the woman leading Far Harbor…"
"…might be the synth DiMA created."
"Might."
Sico deliberately emphasized the word.
Nick noticed immediately.
"You don't sound convinced."
"I'm not."
The detective frowned.
"You heard the holotape."
"I did."
"You found the body."
"I did."
"So what's making you hesitate?"
Sico rested one elbow on the desk.
"Evidence."
Nick waited.
"The grave proves someone buried Captain Avery."
"The recording strongly suggests DiMA replaced her."
He paused.
"But I haven't confirmed the woman currently leading Far Harbor is actually a synth."
Nick considered that carefully.
"You want proof."
"I want certainty."
He remembered everything Avery had done over the past months.
Helping rebuild.
Sending farmers.
Working tirelessly to unite people instead of dividing them.
None of those actions erased the possibility.
Neither did they prove it.
"If we're going to uncover the truth…"
Sico continued quietly.
"…then we do it properly."
Nick let out another slow breath.
"That sounds like you."
He was silent again for a few moments.
Then asked,
"What about Kasumi?"
Kasumi Nakano.
The question had been inevitable.
Kasumi believed deeply in DiMA.
She had chosen Acadia because she trusted him.
Learning what lay beneath the Vim! Pop Factory, especially without context could shatter that trust overnight.
Sico answered immediately.
"Don't tell her."
Nick didn't reply straight away.
Instead, he asked the obvious question.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know enough yet."
He looked out the office window toward the busy factory beyond.
"If Avery is human…"
"Then we risk accusing an innocent woman."
"If she's a synth…"
"We still need to understand the full story before we bring the truth into the open."
Nick hummed thoughtfully.
"You think DiMA's memories may be incomplete."
"It's possible."
"Or manipulated."
"Also possible."
The detective slowly agreed.
"Wouldn't be the first time someone's memory wasn't as reliable as they thought."
A faint smile crossed Sico's face.
Coming from Nick…
That observation carried more weight than most.
"So…"
Nick finally asked.
"…what do you want me to do?"
"For now?"
"Nothing."
The detective sounded almost amused.
"That's an unusual assignment."
"I know."
"But I need you to keep this between us."
"No mentioning it to Kasumi."
"No mentioning it to anyone in Acadia."
"Not until I've confirmed whether the Avery in Far Harbor is truly human…"
He paused.
"…or the synth DiMA created."
Nick answered without hesitation.
"You have my word."
Sico trusted that answer completely.
Few people on the Island understood the weight of keeping another person's secret better than Nick Valentine.
The radio fell quiet again.
Neither man seemed eager to end the conversation.
Outside the office, another hammer struck timber.
Voices drifted across the courtyard.
Life continued at Vim!, unaware that yet another thread in the Island's complicated history had just been uncovered.
Finally Nick spoke one last time.
"Sico."
"Yes?"
"Whatever the truth turns out to be…"
His voice remained calm.
"…let's make sure it helps people."
Sico looked through the window toward the Republic flag fluttering gently above the factory.
"That's the plan."
The transmission ended with a soft click, leaving only the quiet hiss of static in the room.
______________________________________________
• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-