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Chapter 129: A Minute to Win it.
Fuller’s group followed Maurice to his office where he gestured for them to grab whatever seating they could which when one of the people with you was an oversized Claw boy was easier said than done.
So while Ven settled himself on the floor next to a couch where the remainder of the team settled themselves, Fuller planted himself down on an armchair directly before the officer’s desk.
“Alright, so what’s this proposal about an alliance then?” Maurice asked gesturing to Fuller.
“Well as I said we represent two groups here today, both the Railroad and the Free Peoples of the Wastes, we have already joined forces and our group has been making major strides in the area lately in an attempt to unite all the major players and powers in the region together in the hope of creating a much more stable and better region for all to live in, both human and non-human alike,” Fuller said gesturing to himself and then Ven to emphasise that last point.
“Wait so your lot is the group that stopped that war going on between the Brotherhood and those bird people up in the north?” Maurice asked and Fuller raised an eyebrow in surprise which made the captain smile.
“You are not the only ones with sources my good fellow,” Maurice said with a grin and Fuller nodded.
“Yeah I’m guessing it would probably be within your area of interest to keep an eye on the Brotherhood and who they are trading bullets with,” Fuller said causing Maurice to nod.
“Indeed but it also came to our attention that the fighting seemed to abruptly stop and I’ve been getting some very confusing reports flying over my desk about a Brotherhood squad being seen in some very unlikely company, namely a load of super mutants as well as a few others, I thought it was some kind of joke until all of you walked through my door,” Maurice said gesturing to them.
“Ahh sounds like your guys spotted Raymond’s group, they were tasked by our leader Seven to head north and to investigate the conflict that was occurring between an Avian group we now know to be called the Valkyries and the Brotherhood while also seeing if they could possibly broker a truce or peace between the two, well he was successful and he also stumbled across a group of intelligent Supermutants along the way that he was already familiar with who call themselves the Ronin and work as mercenaries but not the bash in your door because someone paid them to type, more the remove a group of Raiders from the area because the local farmers banded together and paid them to type but who now works for us,” Ven explained.
“Is this Raymond a human or….?” Maurice began but Ven shook his head.
“Nope he’s an intelligent supermutant, you’ll find we have an incredibly diverse group and network to call on Captain, everything from humans to Claws, to super mutants, hell even an Archnakai and before you ask think giant fluffy jumping spider crossed with a human who is an absolute sweetheart unless you piss him off or threaten his friends and loved ones, then he’ll throw you arise out of a couple of thousand-foot high rise without even batting one of his eight eyelids, just ask some of the mutants we met downtown who thought he was a softy because of the way he looks, but also he does knit a mean ass tail warmer,” Ven said with a fang-filled grin at the stunned Captin.
Before the captain could say anything Fuler jumped in to quickly get back on the sales track here.
“So you see Cpatin what we’re offering here isn’t just access to our resources but those of the other groups we are allied with, we’ve signed a non-aggression and mutual aid pact with both those aforementioned Valkries and the Brotherhood as well as now the Railroad that stipulates that we will all help one another out should the need arise and given the mounting threat of Enclave incursions in the region that day is fast approaching when I get the feeling we are going to need to stand shoulder to shoulder with those groups to ensure this region remains free when that day comes I very much doubt you and your settlements want to be out there on your own facing down the Enclave troops alone when you could have a squad of Brotherhood shock troops, or Supermutant mercenaries, or a Valkyrie ariel strike squad or even a Claw berserker group at your back now do you?” Fuller said.
“Or even a squad of Railroad heavies who specialise in hit and run tactics appearing out of thin air to hit your enemies from their flanks only to vanish back into the mists before they have time to think let alone retaliate,” Glory said causing Fuller to point to her and nod.
“My point is Captin there are a lot more of us than meets the eye and we are a lot stronger than we look and together we’d been even stronger again, think of it, the whole point of the Minutemen is that if an innocent settlement calls for aid you guys come, now wouldn’t it be even better if when that settlement called for aid not only you showed up but us as well?” Fuller said.
Maurice seemed to be giving real thought to this as his furrowed brow signalled as he looked over all of them.
“So what would this aid cost us?’ he asked and Fuller smiled.
“Not a single cap really Captin, all we ask is that you join the alliance as an equal partner, what applies to us and them will apply to you as well, that way an attack on one becomes an attack on all, a mutual non-aggression pact with the aim of aiding each other, so if one calls the others to come, we all fight together side by side for the betterment of Boston,” Fuller said.
“Well this certainly is a tempting offer I must say Fuller, but I will obviously need to send this up the chain as I can’t give you a definitive yes or no unfortunately, but having seen how willing you guys are to help already I’d like to explore the potential for an alliance further, so if you’d be willing to accompany me to the Fort I can say I will definitely put in a good word with our commanders for you if you can like you say get representatives of those other groups to attend the meeting, it would certainly go a long way to add credence to your claims,” Maurice said and Fuller nodded in agreement.
“Of course Captin, I’m sure they’d be thrilled to meet with your commanders and once we’ve delivered this component to our people I will put your proposal to our commander so that we can get a message to the others so that we can get this meeting underway,” Fuller said standing up and offering Maurice his hand who stood up and took it, shaking it happily.
“Well then I will await your return and hopefully a step forward, it will be certainly nice to know that we are not alone standing off against the threats this region faces any more,” he said and Fuller nodded.
“Yeah trust me that’s a sentiment pretty much every group has expressed,” he said and with that, all of them trooped back downstairs before saying some final goodbyes and heading back into the city once more.
“Think Wisp and Desdemona will go for it?” Fuller asked and Ven nodded.
“They’d be fools not to, this is exactly what we were tasked with doing in the first place, I can’t tell you how big this is Fuller, we stand on the precipice of actually uniting all of the major power players in the region under one banner and it’s ours of all things,” Ven said.
“So what you’re saying is no pressure then huh?” Fuller said jokingly and Ven shot him a fang-filled grin.
“Personally I just think the good captain wants to see a big fluffy jumping spider boy who can knit him a kick-ass tail warmer myself,” he said making Fuller burst out laughing.
“If we pull this off come the winter I get the feeling Malakai is gonna be inundated with orders for winterwear in all shapes and sizes, from coats that don’t obstruct your wings to fluffy tail warmers to ear muffs for the more human-inclined among us,” Gregory said slipping his hand into that of his big Claw boy as they strolled along the street.
“Here’s to hoping, I’m sure he’d take those orders any day over having to constantly pump out suits of body armour,” Ven said.
It took the group the better part of a day to return to their base in the underground vault where Wisp and Desdemona were waiting eagerly for an update on their progress.
As he walked into the office Fuller tossed the transponder to Tinker Tom whose face lit up like a Christmas tree as he caught the small blocky device.
“Oh, excellent! I knew you guys could pull this off!” he said before quickly scurrying over to his work table to begin examining the device under his plethora of magnification tools.
“What’s the word Tom viable or no?” Desdemona asked as she and Wisp looked up from their planning table.
“It looks good, next to no damage on it which considering the state the armour would have been in if it got hit with as much fire as Yumi said is nothing short of a miracle, yeah I can work with this, gonna take some time to crack through the encryption on this puppy but I’ll get working on it straight away, I’ll let you know when we have a go,” he said excitedly as he began pulling out a mountain of tools from the storage cupboards under the table.
“Also got some other good news for you both,” Fuller said causing Wisp and Desdemona to turn to look at him.
“Oh?” Wisp asked curiously.
“We made contact with the local chapter of the Minutemen, they snagged the armour before we arrived but after we tracked them down we were able to convince them to let us remove the transponders, they were rather surprised to see us to say the least but we turned on the charm and told them about who we are and what we offer, now they’d like to officially meet with us to discuss an official alliance, it seems they rather like the idea of having the Brotherhood and the Railroad on side and one of the local captins has promised to send a personal endorcement to their command,” Fuller said.
Wisp’s face lit right up upon hearing this news, as did Desdemona’s.
“Fuller this is excellent news!” Wisp exclaimed and Des nodded enthusiastically.
“Agreed! We’ve been trying to get the Minutemen on our side in like forever but they never really seemed interested in helping us with protecting synths, how the hell did you manage to pull that off?” she asked.
“Simple, I kinda explained to them how beneficial it would be if rather than just a few of their soldiers showed up to a settlement in need a team of claws, or super mutants, or Railroad heavies or even Brotherhood shock troops etcetera showed up to help as well, told them to imaging how potent all that extra firepower would be and all they’d have to do in order to get it is to join us and promise their support to us as well, they’ve set up a meeting with their top brass for us at a place they call the Fort,” Fuller said.
“Excellent! Oh Fuller this is absolutely excellent news! If you can pull this off we will be one major step closer to truly uniting this entire region and kicking both the Institue and the Enclave out of it for good, this could be it, this could be one of the final steps needed to create a true safe haven for all those suffering under raiders or oppression,” Desdemona said with Wisp nodding away happily at her side.
“Agreed, with these guys on side we will have finally pulled the last major player in the region into the fold, this will be an alliance the likes of which has never been done before,” Wisp said.
“So what’s the play then boss?” Fuller asked and Wisp fixed him with a grin.
“Well since you brokered this I want you to see it through, take the same team you had with you and also take Malakai out as well, I think he needs to stretch his legs, I’ve been finding him in the rafters again and he only gets like that when he feels cooped up, plus he’ll be an excellent ambassador for us, can you think of two better people to put a face on interspecies co-operation than a Claw, an Archnakai and a synth all stood shoulder to shoulder with their human friends?” Wisp said.
“What about you boss, what are you gonna do?” Fuller asked curiously.
“Unfortunately I’m needed here, I’ve gotta help Tom with that transponder, the quicker we break through that thing the quicker we can get a fucking handle on the Enclave and what the fuck they are doing here, so that needs to remain a top priority, but don’t worry Fuller I have complete faith in your ability to get this job done, you already proved yourself more than capable on the diplomat front by pulling this little ace in the first place, plus you’ll have my fluffy jumper boy to back you up and we all know he has a real talent for disarming aggression,” Wisp said with a grin.
Fuller nodded and sighed before chuckling a laugh, “Gotta admit I never thought of myself as a diplomat before but I guess when I think about it I kinda am a walking advertisement for this team ain’t I?” he said Wisp grinned.
“An ex-ESF soldier who fell in love with a synth girl and now fights for interspecies cooperation and unity, yeah you’re pretty much the fucking poster child at this point, hence another reason I want you on this, you’re a professional soldier and who better to speak to a militia and soldiers than a fellow soldier?’ Wisp said causing him to nod in agreement.
“Alright then I go gather the team back up, wouldn’t happen to have a long stick though would you?’ he asked and Wisp cocked her head curiously before a lightbulb went off in her head and a grin cracked on her face.
“Don’t worry I’ll help you to prise Malakai down off the ceiling,” she said and with that, they headed into the main room to gather the team back up and to her credit Wisp didn’t infact need a big stick to coax Malakai down off the ceiling, though Fuller was not sure he’d have been able to manage it without said stick due to him not being in possession of an ass as fine as hers.
Thanks to the mapping data that Maurice had provided them Fuller managed to plot out a route from their base to the Fort and he also worked out the supplies they were going to need to make the journey as it wasn’t exactly a short walk from where they were currently based, he also made sure that the team were carrying plenty of ammo for the trip as well as camping equipment as they were gonna be out for a few days.
“Honestly I’m not exactly sure about these things Malakai, I mean sure it’s comfortable but a tail saddlebag, seriously?” Ven said trying to look over his shoulder to see the twin pack system that Gregory was currently affixing to his tail with the provided buckles.
“It’s gonna be the next big thing in non-feral Claw fashion trust me, comfort and tail warmth guaranteed, I rigged the tail loop with a mixture of silk and fleece padding to ensure both a snug and warm fit, not to mention comfortable, I also ensured that none of the buckles come anywhere near the scale so you don’t have to worry about them catching and pulling one off should the weight shift,” Malakai explained.
“Yeah but what good is it if I can’t put it on myself?” Ven asked coiling his tail to look at it before shaking his tail to ensure the grip was as snug and tight as advertised.
‘Well you can put it on yourself it’s just a bit trickier to do is all but that’s the beauty of it,” Malakai said with a sly smile and Ven turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
“Ok I’ll bite, how is that feature the ‘beauty’ of it?’ he asked doing quotation fingers.
“Simple it’s more designed for the claw-loving humans among our number, or should I say the potentially Claw loving individuals, think of it like this, say you are a human who has not quite made up their mind on whether a healthy and virile Claw boy or girl floats your boat and said friendly Claw comes up to you and asks you indulgence and help in putting said garment on, now you are going to be showing them rather a lot of trust by letting them near a rather sensitive part of your anatomy while also giving them a rather enticing view aren’t you? Plus as you walk it’s guaranteed to draw their eyes to your tail and rear end repeatedly, if that doesn’t help them make up their mind I don’t know what will?” Malakai said.
Now both of Ven’s eyeborws shot up as he realised the truth of what the fluffy Arachnakai boy was saying as he glanced behind him and saw Gregory almost mesmerised by the view he was getting.
“Well I’ll be damned, I think it works, you’re fluffy fucking genius Malakai,” he said and the big Archnakai boy gave him a smug grin.
“You’re welcome, plus you’ll be a fine model for my future line of Claw wear garments, I’ve been having so many ideas lately since the group has been growing, it’s so tricky to keep up and honestly it does feel pretty nice to not be making body armour for a change,” Malakai said.
“So is it armoured?” Ven asked and Malakai waved his hand dismissively.
“Of course it is what kind of spider do you take me for?” he said.
“Alright people I hope you’re all packed up because we’re moving out in ten minutes, get your shit together and meet me by the door, it’s time to get this wonder wagon rolling,” Fuller called into the prep area and the team began to scramble to pack up their remaining gear.
“So where is it exactly that we are going?’ Malakai asked as they exited the underground tunnels and stepped once again into the light of day causing him to shield all eight of his eyes.
“It’s a place the Minutemen call the Fort, it is apparently their main base of operations for the entire region, we have a meeting set up with their commanders so that we can plead our case about them joining the alliance to them,” Fuller said as they began to trog down the empty streets of the city.
“Odd, I would have thought my beloved one would have been chomping at the bit to head off on this one, she’s been aching to flex her diplomatic muscles, I honestly think she wants to prove to Seven and the others that they aren’t the only ones who can bring people together, but I just keep telling her that she’s already doing a fantastic job in her own right,” Malakai said.
“She’s needed on base to help Tinker Tom crack open that Enclave transponder we pulled out of those power arour suits but yeah she really is, I mean look at the team she has assembled here, an ex-ESF soldier who was once her sworn enemy, the prettiest synthetic girl who managed to break a whole engineering team’s hearts as they simply knew that no matter how hard they tried they’d never again be able to create an arse that fine, a walking talking Claw boy who looks like he could double as a living bulldozer but would rather be modeling the next line of functional and fashionable Claw wear, a mechanic come enginner who can’t take his eyes of said Claw boy’s ass and probably has no idea we’ve even left the tunnels or that we’re in the middle of a conversation right now, a spiderboy who can leap entire cityblocks and throw supermutants around liek toys while also knitting a mean aass over coat and Yumi who can throw the fucking elements around like bloody lawn darts, a pretty diverse team to plead our unity case I’d say,” Fuller said exactly one second before Glory pulled him off his feet and jammed her tounge down his throat.
“Huh what? Did someone say something?’ Gregory said looking up with pupils wide enough to make him look like he’d fallen into a vat of Jet.
“I rest my case,” Fuller said breathlessly as Glory released him and smacked his ass playfully before giving it a squeeze.
“Alright I conceded the point,” Malakai said laughing as he looked at the still confused-looking Gregory who looked like a kid who had accidentally wandered into a candy store at some point and only just realised it.
“So what is the strategy exactly?’ Yumi asked grinning as she glanced at the still mesmerised-looking Gregory.
“Well normally I’d say simple but this is gonna be pretty far from simple, we’re gonna need to convince what were once sworn enemies of pretty much all of us that not only can we be trusted but that we can be relied upon for help, so I was thinking that rather than using a whole host of fluffy pretty words we let our actions speak for us,” Fuller said causing her to look at him curiously.
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