Redemption Song

Author's Note: My First Fallout 4 fic. It's one I had to write and finish. Honestly, I can't believe I've never done this sooner. LOL. Anyway, this may be slightly AU by comparison and takes place primarily in Nuka World. All it's characters featured will be in this fic. It was inspired by the song by Bob Marley.

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."

― Henry David Thoreau

"I've been doing this a long time- manipulating people to get my way. That's why you think you love me. Because I've broken you down and built you back up to believe it. It wasn't an accident. Once you leave this behind... you'll see that."

― C.J. Roberts, Seduced in the Dark

By: VampireQueenAkasha

~O~

Welcome to Nuka World

"Welcome to Nuka World! American's favorite vacation destination!"

The Pack was unusually excited this morning.

Not that they weren't always a rowdy bunch, but they seemed especially delighted given the howls and chorus of animal chatter from the Amphitheater. The sounds could be heard from the Parlor, much to the disdain of the Operators.

"They brought in some new shipments." one of the Operators muttered. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much. It's robably just a bunch of furs. They'd blow a load over those."

"You're disgusting." another Operator said, making a face.

"Hey, it's true and you know it."

Then, there was the alarm.

The sound reminded all of them that there was a worthless Wastelander running their Gauntlet and the Overboss would give them a show.

It had become tedious these days; just watching Colter adorn himself with such ridiculous armor and parading himself around like a prized showhorse.

At least, Mags thought this.

Colter had become nothing more than a cozy king in his mountaintop, leaving them with no orders and nothing to show for retrieving Nuka World. It had become frustrating for all of them; even the Disciples and all their ways of violence, childish cut-throat delights...

Several of them made their way to the arena, but Mags paused and noticed Mason whistling while carrying a leash in hand. Attached to the leash was no doubt probably a trader or unfortunate Wastelander; a fair young thing that crawled on all fours beside him. She was wearing a little cat helmet on her head, adorned with bright pink and yellow paint. Well, such a thing wasn't particularly uncalled for by Pack standards, but it did make Mags stare.

"Well, well," Mason muttered, his tone a bored, languid drawl. "Another day, another bloodbath. I'm bored as shit..." He tugged the leash, urging the slave forward. "Come on, let's get inside and sit down. I ain't got all day."

Once inside, Mason was showing off the woman to the other members of the Pack. Mags could make out little snippets of the conversation and spot them through the barbed fence between the floor levels. Each gang sat in a specific place dedicated to them.

"...Yeah, I got her trained up good too! Watch!"

Mason gestured to the woman. "Go on. Shake hands!"

She straightened on her knees and pawed at Mason's hands like a dog. The Pack Alpha chuckled and he nodded his approval. Then, he beckoned with one finger.

"Good! Good! Now, roll over!"

The woman silently did as he asked and laid on her back, rolling over onto her front like a dog. The Pack laughed at the sight and Mason seemed equally pleased.

"See?" he told them. "Ain't nothing a little training can't do."

"Well, Mason has himself a nest slave after all," William interrupted Mag's thoughts; he grimaced with disgust and shook his head. "Great. Now we have to listen to them all night..."

Mags made a humorless sound. "Well, it's not the first one, either. As long as it keeps him entertained like an obediant little mutt, why should we care?"

"Fair point." William agreed. "Let's just watch the show. It'll be over quick again anyway."

And it usually was.

The pitiful Wastelander had made his way through the Gauntlet, and Colter was there in his suit of Power Armor, being tended to by Gage. Most of the raiders knew what would come of this. How it always happened.

It only lasted a few minutes.

Colter proudly boasted his victory after stomping down the Wastelander beneath his electrified boots. The Disciples were shrieking for more blood - which was never a problem for them. That was how they were kept satisfied, regardless of how boring things had been.

Mason yawned and tugged on the leash he was holding. The woman at his feet had been hugging his leg the entire time. Perhaps it had been how she was "trained". Maybe she clung to him as a safety blanket so it kept her from the other Pack members. Either way, Mags continued to watch from the corner of her eye.

"Come on. Let's get back." he ordered.

She walked away beside him on all fours once more. Just an obediant little pet.

Once night fell, the sounds of screaming could be heard in the air. Mags had been trying to sleep, but completely gave up on the idea. Normally, she could tolerate it as it was. The sounds of slaves crying, screaming and pleading was just the music of Nuka World. Still, something about tonight had kept her awake and annoyed.

"Any movement from the Disciples?" she asked, approaching William.

He was sitting at the expansive table at the center of the Parlor, going over some notes. "Just a night raid at the station. A few of our guys noticed Dixie leading the charge. It's nothing serious. Ain't worth the scouting trouble."

"Well, things will get serious if Colter doesn't get a handle on this situation," Mags said. "One of us should speak to Gage. It's been almost a year and we've accomplished nothing. This place was meant as a temple to greater things, not a hovel for fucking animals and psychopaths."

William nodded and waved a hand in the air for emphasis. "Living large in that damn mountaintop of his made him lazy. We can't keep going on like this. Already bored of the Gauntlet."

"Let me talk with Gage." Mags suggested. "If this doesn't work, I wouldn't be surprised if Colter finds himself at the other end of a knife. The Disciples will be the first to jump at that. If so, it'll save us the trouble."

"Right."

O

Two members of the Pack were fighting that morning.

"Dude, did you fucking fuck up my poster of Nuka Girl?"

"What? No!"

Mason listened to the arguing from the two raiders, rubbing his forehead while they fought over the stupidest shit he'd ever heard. His slave sat on the floor near his throne, scooping up fingerful's of cram and shoving it into her mouth.

"It's fucking jizz all over my goddamn poster!"

"What? I fucking jizz when I jerk off! I assume the same shit happens to you when you blow a load!"

Mason slowly shook his head.

Fucking animals.

"...I mark my territory, bitch!"

"MY POSTER OF NUKA GIRL IS NOT YOUR FUCKING TERRITORY!"

Mason stood up, watching as the two began to rough each other up. Several other Pack members laughed and cheered, clapping their hands and taunting. It took one of them to flip the other across the table nearby, shattering it to splinters.

"Alright, that's enough!" Mason snapped. "Are you fucking shitting me? I am not sitting here, listening to you two fight over a fucking poster. I'm talking to Gage and getting us back on track before I lose my fucking mind listening to you."

He rose, tugged the leash and the woman at his side followed him. Mason made his way out of the Ampitheater and was mildly surprised to see Nisha and Mags already talking with Gage. He made his way toward them.

"...Look, all I'm saying is we can't go on like this for much longer." Mags told Gage. "Things aren't going to stay quiet forever. You know it and I know it."

"Finally, something we can agree on." Nisha quipped. She turned to Gage. "I hope you have a plan on turning this around for us. Because if we have to sit here with nothing to show for it for a single moment longer, it's not just Colter's life on the line. I'll personally put you on the table myself."

Gage nodded, holding out two hands. The thought clearly worried him. "Now, now...let's all just calm down, everybody." he assured them, "Listen, I know things have been a little slow lately - "

"Slow?" Mason growled out, staring at him furiously, "You call sitting on our asses for a year A LITTLE SLOW?"

"Okay, poor choice of words. I got it. I'll talk to him," Gage assured them, backing away a bit. "I'll talk with Colter and we can organize a meeting. You can all voice your complaints then."

"Maybe it's not talk the man needs," Mason said, glaring coldly at him now. "See, when my old man had something to tell me, he told me with the end of a fucking rocket bat. You feel me?"

Gage backed up. "I'll talk to him."

"You'd better." Nisha warned.

Mason looked down at the woman on the leash. "Let's go. I'm bored already."

She briefly met the stares of the other raiders, her eyes heavy and sad. But there was something else there. Something that Mags caught. She was quite adept when it came to reading others; such was how she had functioned as a wealthy member of Diamond City. She knew that faint, dim glitter of irritation.

This slave wasn't quite broken just yet.

It intrigued her, but she had other matters to focus on. The situation of meeting with Coulter and what they would discuss.

O

The following morning, Mason's enraged voice filled the entire Amphitheater. He stalked his way through rows of Pack members, shoving them in the process. A lot of them were startled by his vehemence and stumbled into each other.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he snarled. "None of you saw a single fucking thing?"

He was clutching a broken shock collar in his hands and thrust it into the face of a Pack Scavver. "Hey! What's this?"

"Uh... a collar?"

Mason brutally tossed it at his feet. "Real smart fucking answer!" he shouted. "Why the fuck does my den mate not have it on her neck?"

"She...took it off? Maybe?"

"No one knows how to take these things off but us!"

Gage could hear the sounds of Mason rallying a few members of the Pack and they were making their way to the gates of Nuka World. He frowned, quickly moving over to meet with them. Mason was addressing two of his raiders.

"When you find her, bring her back to me alive," Mason told them. "You hear?"

"Yeah, no worries, Mason."

Gage looked at them. "What's going on?"

"We have a runaway," Mason told him. "Don't worry about it. She couldn't have gone very far without supplies and weapons."

Gage was confused. "Wait, are you talking about your den mate? Mason, how'd she get away?"

"I don't fucking know, alright?" Mason growled, glaring at him now, "I have no fucking idea how she got that damn collar off, but when my guys drag her ass back here, I intend to find out."

Gage noticed the collar in his hand now. Curious, he gestured for it. "Mason, let me see that."

"Whatever."

He slapped the collar into Gage's hands and the man studied it for a few moments. He made a thoughtful sound and smiled a little.

"She disabled the shocking mechanism," he mused, "Well, well, well... This has never happened before. To ANY of the traders. Interesting..."

"Yeah. I got that." Mason snapped, no longer interested in listening. "But you can believe that when she gets back, I'm going to clip that bird's wings permanently."

O

Laura Holdren hid away in the abandoned building in Bradberton, shivering and holding herself against the cold. She knew that the Pack was on the hunt for her, but she'd hoped to use the dark to her advantage. But in the attempt, she could hear the sounds of Ferals nearby. The groaning, the snarling and the shuffling of their feet.

She shut her eyes.

Being out here was preferrable to being Mason's pack slave. His days of touching her. Taking what he wanted...

It had been difficult to sneak her way out of the amphitheater; most of the Pack raiders had spent time patrolling the main gate. But Laura had always been small and easily missed. As a woman of little importance in the grand scheme, she often went unnoticed by many.

It was horrible how the one time someone finally took notice of her, it had to be a raider Alpha.

If she could figure out the layout of this place, she could return to the Commonwealth and get back home to Diamond City. But the problem she had to deal with now was food and weapons. She hadn't counted on what Nuka World would unleash on her. After all, she'd been dragged from its gates and into Mason's "loving arms".

The sounds of barking filled the air and Laura's heart shot up into her throat. Mason's Pack was looking for her and they were close. Even more so, she could hear the familiar sound of chatter nearby. She quickly ducked from flashlights and hid herself in a closet filled with old Nuka World merchandise and souveniers.

"...So I showed off my colors and she's busy shooting up Psycho."

"And what happened?"

"Well, she said it was just 'cool'. I mean, I ain't going for cool here! I'm fabulous! Look at my plummage, man! I should be bringing in the girls!"

"It's cool, man. Plenty of foxes in this Pack."

"Yeah, but I had a feeling about this one, man."

"You ALWAYS have a feeling. Remember the one last month?"

Laura closed a hand over her mouth when she heard the noise of Mongrel Hounds sniffing in the building she was hiding away in. One of them stuck their wet, sticky nostrils into the door and Laura made a desperate attempt to get it away.

"Shh!" she hissed. "Slit, go away! Please!"

The hound she recognized belonged to Slash, one of the Pack Kennel Guards. She had been bitten a few times by the Mongrel when she'd been given Cram to eat and it tried to steal it from her.

"Hey, I think ol' Slit's found something." a Pack member whispered.

"Huh. You're right." another whispered back.

Laura struggled to stifle her whimper, but the door was ripped open and she began to plead desperately for mercy, even as she was dragged out.

"Found the little birdie!"

"Shit, Mason's gonna roll your head, bitch!"

Being dragged back to Nuka World had earned the attention of the others, who seemed more delighted by Mason's struggle to keep a slave in line. Dixie had chosen to study Laura as she sat on the ground while the others were arguing. Laura had a collar slapped right back on her and a leash.

"...she got out somehow and I want to fucking know who did it!" Mason snarled.

"Do you really think anyone's going to walk into that shitty litter box of yours?" Nisha sneered right back. "Please..."

Dixie chuckled. "Y'all are gonna need to work really hard with this one," she said, still watching Laura. "She's faking it."

Laura was suddenly aware of eyes on her now. She didn't know why Dixie seemed so intent on creating chaos, but then again, she wasn't among the Raiders of Nuka World long. The Disciples - as they called themselves - were a violent bunch.

She had seen brief instances of carnage and death from behind that mask she was made to wear. When Mason dragged her around on a leash.

But what else could she do besides take whatever he had given her?

"What?" Mason growled, his pointed stare fixed on Laura. "How do you know?"

"Trust me," Dixie told him, with a smile in her voice, "You get up close and personal with your share of victims, you learn all you need about them. It's all in the eyes, you see."

Mason wasn't a fan of liars, especially when the liars were slaves. He grabbed Laura by her rags and forced her to her feet. She gave a frightened whimper and grabbed uselessly at the hands that gripped her.

"Lying to my face?" he growled. "You'd better pray to whatever God you answer to that I don't - "

Gage raised a calming hand. "Mason! Mason, hold up a sec."

He whispered to the Alpha while Laura was dropped to the dirt. She sat there, watching them warily. She could hear Gage softly saying, "Let's just try something different. This one's...a...a little sharper than the others."

Mason, surprisingly, didn't argue with him. Gage looked at Laura and knelt down at her level, speaking evenly.

"Now look here; it ain't doing you much good lying to any of us right now. In fact, it might make it even worse for you later," he told her, "All you need to do is tell us who removed your shock collar and we'll take care of the rest, understand?"

Laura warily watched the raiders around her before she answered. "I did."

A few laughs from the raiders. Gage frowned. "You did? YOU removed the collar? Show me. Show me how you did it."

Upon his order, Laura led the raiders into the market and she gathered a screwdriver and a rubber-coated bobby pin. She demonstrated how she'd done it by applying enough force to the shocking mechanism. All the while using the rubber-coated bobby pin to stop the flow of electricity from the collar.

"Huh. Well I'll be damned," Gage remarked, amused. "You worked with tech before?"

Laura nodded her head, speaking quietly. "Yeah. My dad lives in Diamond City. He taught me a little bit." she answered.

"Well hell...A little bit worked wonders for you here." Gage seemed impressed.

While they were talking, the others certainly didn't share Gage's sentiment; Mason didn't enjoy what was going on, given the way he furiously glared at Laura the entire time.

"We're wasting time learning when we could just gut her right now," a Disciple whispered to Nisha.

"He's right." another Disciple muttered. "We need to do something about clearing out the parks. Not playing with our food."

"And how would you like to do that?"

"I dunno. Maybe walk in a straight line?"

The comments went by ignored for the most part. Laura could make out the frustration of the gangs and turned to face them.

"What if I cleared them out?" she asked.

The stares she received from each one of them were almost too hilarious to be intimidating any longer. Then, every raider began to laugh wildly at her suggestion. Laura's face reddened with embarrassment and she lowered her eyes for a moment before she continued.

"How about a deal, then?" she offered, forcing as much resolve in her voice as she could. "If I can clear out every park, I get to go free."

"I have a better deal," Savoy snapped, taking a step toward her with his knife drawn. "You do that, you die. We win, you still die."

Nisha raised one hand to him. "Wait a moment. I think this has potential, Savoy. If she's really so willing to perform a public service, who are we to deny her?"

The other Disciples looked at her, confused and surprised by her suggestion. Nisha smiled a little from behind her mask. "Let this little sheep bet her life if she wants. It could be fun to watch."

Dixie laughed with delight. "You got a point there."

Mason scoffed, shaking his head and grabbing Laura by her arm. "You can all talk about whatever you want!" he spat, "But she's MY nest mate and I say she ain't doing shit!"

Gage held up two hands. "Mason, now hang on a second..."

Mags looked toward Laura and the woman caught her stare. She flinched away, refusing to make eye contact with her.

Interesting.

"...if she thinks she has what it takes, it could be fun to watch her try," an Operator said, with a chuckle. "We should let her go for it."

A few mutual agreements between them. After all, what else did they have left to do?

O

Lizzie was fixing a set of makeshift metal armor on Laura's chest. She watched the little slave with a curious smile. Laura winced as an Operator fitted a few belt buckles around her thighs a little too tightly.

"Well, you're a cute thing, but don't think that's gonna help you out in the park," Lizzie remarked, with a chuckle. "Don't get me wrong. I kinda hope you DO survive, but we ain't counting on it. Whatever you do out there, can't be worse in here."

Laura looked at her, wincing again at a dull slap to her back. The Operator armor was heavier than the Pack furs; she knew they wouldn't bend any sort of comfort for her sake. Plus, this would certainly protect her well enough.

She thought Lizzie was sympathizing with her to a point, but didn't answer her.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Lizzie quipped. She chuckled. "Fine."

Laura looked at her worriedly when she backed away to admire her handiwork. "Shouldn't I have a gun to use?"

Lizzie gave a bark of amusement. "Really? You think we're gonna give you a gun?"

Well, Laura had assumed so.

Lizzie laughed, departing from her so that Mags and William could approach Laura alone. The other Operators departed, leaving them to talk with her.

"I admire your fortitude, though misguided as it is," Mags remarked, smiling. "What makes you think the rest of them would keep their word to set you free?"

Laura shook her head. "I don't know. But anything is better than here."

It was another small show of defiance. Mags looked her up and down, mumuring her approval before she nodded, approaching her. Making sure that William couldn't see her, she slipped a small hand pistol discreetly into Laura's hands.

Laura's eyes widened in surprise and Mags tilted her head, smirking.

She wasn't sure why Mags had chosen to give her the gun, or why she even seemed like she was giving her advice, but Laura didn't think on it and decided to just get her trip over with. It felt like a trap to her, but saying no to them certainly didn't feel optional right now.

She was led to the gates of Nuka World by a group of raiders from each gang. One of them offered her a map of the amusement part and Laura took a moment to study each detail before she looked up at them. They were sneering, laughing at her as if the idea of what she was about to do amused them to no end.

She looked down at the map, eyes falling to Galactic Zone.

That would be where she'd start.

So Laura started forward.

It was unbearably hot out, so she picked up a piece of cardboard and used it to shield her eyes on the way through the park. The sounds of locusts filled the air; it was loud and almost unbearable.

She noticed the sight of the metal, decayed planets and ships overhead, wondering just what she was going to face alone inside.

~O~

"Oh good, I found you!"

The almost gleeful voice of the Mr. Frothy chilled Laura's bones as she took cover behind an old magazine stand. She'd managed to find a note on a corpse of a woman at the entrance; Laura could only assume that people had tried to survive in the part and were killed by the robots.

Glancing down at it, she read the note in her head:

4/8/2286

Dad said we're heading out to the Galactic Zone again tomorrow.

I'm still not sure how I feel about these salvage runs. It's amazing to see how much of the old tech still works- I wish I could stay and study it all. But Dad's crew is just there to rip it apart and haul it back for scrap; As if the world didn't have enough rusted metal and broken circuit boards already.

At least I only have to take half shifts. I'm looking forward to getting back to my work on Star Control. I just hope the old mainframe is still running.

Star Control. Well, it seemed like she was on the right track. Laura peeked over the edge of the stand again and couldn't see anyone or anything around.

She noticed the glass windows of Star Control nearby and carefully made her way toward it. The announcer's cheerful voice filled the air from old speakers around her.

"Tonight's showing at the Starlight Interstellar Theater will be "Night of the Fish Man's Revenge." Not recommended for children under 5."

Laura walked up to the glass and pushed it open just enough for her to roll inside. She closed it, mere seconds as an Assaultron was poised right there. She gave a yelp of fright and stared at the single, glowing red optic as it powered on.

"Oh shit!" Laura whispered.

"SCANNING..." the Assaultron spoke in its deep, rich feminine voice, "SENSORS DETECTING SENTIENT LIFE..."

Laura quickly took cover behind a glass cabinet that housed a suit of Power Armor. She could hear the sounds of metal hands scraping against the glass.

From afar, a few Disciples were watching the scene play out. They were being led by Dixie, who just laughed gleefully at the sight.

"Hah, well that didn't last long," one of them remarked.

"Poor thing. Well, at least we can watch that Assaultron fry her pretty little head." Dixie added, clapping her hands together. "Ooh, let's watch!"

The Assaultron's head plating folded back against its metal skull and the beam strengthened before discharging, shattering the glass of the door and sending Laura ducking for cover, behind a console. The clacking of the Assaultron's feet echoed through the room.

Laura shrieked in terror as she was knocked to the floor by the full weight of the robot. Its claws clasped down onto her chest and it leered down at her with that single, glowing optic. Laura looked over her shoulder and noticed a pistol lying in the hand of a corpse.

She struggled for it, moments as the Assaultron's eye began powering up once more. Groaning with effort, her fingers wrapped around the trigger and she yanked the gun up to the machine's eye, firing round after round at it.

Metal chunks fell from the Assaultron and it gave several human-like grunts before recoiling from her. Laura struggled to her feet and pocketed the gun on her belt. She grabbed a nearby trash can and began to beat the machine with it.

The Assaultron sputtered electricity, uttering "ERROR - ERROR" several times in the process. It tried to swipe at Laura's face, but she narrowly missed it, receiving only a small scratch across her cheek. Once the Assaultron collapsed in a pile of broken metal and wire, she stepped over it toward the enormous console. On a black screen, green lettering appeared:

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Star Control: Build v.1.1.7

The Systemized Telemetry for Automated Robot Control (Star Control) system, developed by RobCo Industries (TM), is a complete solution for corporate clients needing to administer a large number of robots and defensive systems.

Star Control technology is build on a series of highly redundant, interchangeable telemetry modules (Star Cores). At runtime, these Cores establish a radio communications interlink between the Star Control mainframe to coordinate their actions and issue commands irrespective of their underlying operating protocols.

Individual Star Cores may be safely replaced during normal operation. In the event of a major failure, Star Control can still boot into a limited-functionality Emergency Mode if at least one Star Core is present. While the system is in Emergency Mode, all robots and defenses will continue to act on their prior operating instructions. As Cores are replaced, a series of emergency protocols will be progressively unlocked as computing resources permit, allowing the user to react to urgent problems until full functionality can be restored.

For additional sales, service, or technical support, please contact the RobCo Enterprise Solutions division. Thank you for choosing RobCo.

From afar, the Disciples and Dixie were surprised by the sight.

"Well, this little girl's a bit of a spitfire after all." Dixie remarked. "I think Nisha's going to love this one."

Laura typed a few keys on the mainframe's keypad. All around her, the robots had suddenly stopped functioning. She grinned triumphantly and looked over her shoulder, delighted by the sight of her victory. Well, that had been a little easier than she'd thought.

Turning her focus back to the mainframe, she continued typing until she brought up a new screen to deactivate the defense protocols of the park. She chose that option and suddenly, every robot around Star Control was brought back online, going about their primary functions as normal.

Laura beamed with delight and made her way out of the building, only to be met by the Disciples and Dixie. She raised two hands and Dixie clapped with an enthusiastic giggle.

"Well, well, well, there's more to you than we thought!" she said, "You managed to subdue these robots with only a scratch!"

Laura glanced down and noticed that the scratch from the Assaultron had begun bleeding. She wiped her hand against her cheek and glanced down at the blood there. Dixie took a step forward and tilted her head, taking Laura's wrist.

"Aww, what's wrong? Worried about a little blood?" she sneered, almost too maliciously to be playful now. "You'll be seeing a lot of that!"

Laura swallowed thickly as Dixie laughed.

She wasn't wrong.

O

"So she managed to get the Galactic Zone up and running for us."

"Beginner's luck. I say."

"Maybe so. But Dixie seems to think she has potential."

Nisha and Savoy were talking about the news of Laura's recent success that evening. Nisha had been quite impressed, and it took a bit to impress her. Savoy, however, simply considered it to be a fluke and nothing more.

"We should keep an eye out for her." Nisha suggested, "Perhaps this little game could be turned around in our favor."

While they were talking, Mason had argued with Gage about returning his nest mate back to the Pack side of the park, though Gage had other ideas.

"Mason, as much as I cherish the thought of you happy with a significant other..." Gage began, dryly, "I think this girl has to stay focused on her task at hand. She's already cleared out Galactic Zone for us. Hell, she might even be able to pull this off."

Mason scoffed, but seemed to consider the other raider's words. "Maybe..."

"I'll give the order over at Cappy Cafe that she stay there for the night," Gage added, "She can have some rest and end up ready by morning."

Meanwhile, Laura was being tended to by Lauren; a simple dab of the cut on her face with some alcohol she'd been given by Maddox in the market. Laura hadn't been in the Market for some time, so she hadn't met most of them who slaved under the thumb of the raiders.

"Well, well, it's not too bad," Lauren said, with a smile. "Good to see you'll be spending the night with me. I ain't had much company lately."

Laura glanced up, surprised. "Really?"

"That's right. I got orders," Lauren assured her. "Says they don't want you fucked too badly before going back out there." She smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes. "Must have made an impression on the - Hey! You shoot my help, and you're gonna be the one pushing that broom. You got that, tough guy?"

Laura looked surprised and noticed that a Pack Raider in a bird mask had been bullying one of the traders in the cafe; a young, black-haired man who clutched a broom and ducked his head away from the raider, frightened.

"Just havin' a little fun, granny. Keepin' the kid on his toes." the Pack Raider said, chuckling with a grin in his voice.

Lauren scoffed and Laura was amazed at how feisty she was. She laughed in a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"I don't give a mole-rat's ass how many of you Raiders there are. In here, it's my bar an' my rules." Lauren snapped at the Raider.

Amazingly enough, nothing more was said or done. Laura chuckled as she watched the Raider make his way to a table to talk with the other Pack Raiders. The man made his way to Lauren's side, still holding the broom. Laura smiled weakly up at him.

"Trouble?" she attempted.

Lauren gestured to the man. "This is Keith Dawkins. He works with me here in the cafe. Boy works harder than anyone I know."

Keith managed a weak laugh in response. "Just doing my part to make our overlords happy!" he joked. He laughed again, but then looked worried. "Don't tell anyone I said that..."

Lauren stood up and glanced toward the few Disciples, Operators and Pack Members nearby. She took Laura's hand and led her to the back of the cafe where an old mattress had been set up around the shelves.

"You can take the bed," Lauren told her, "I'll sleep on these old magazines."

Laura looked surprised. "I can't ask you to do that."

"Hah! Don't worry! Slept on much worse than that before I ended up here!" the older woman assured her, "You need your rest before tomorrow. Everyone's been buzzing about it."

Laura still wasn't sure how she was going to do this. When she'd made the deal with the raiders, it was in a desperate attempt to be free. She didn't know what else Nuka World had to offer or if they'd even keep to their end of the bargain.

"This is crazy..." she muttered.

Lauren laughed a little. "Welcome to Nuka World, kiddo."

Laura raised an eyebrow. She was tired and didn't want to think about it anymore right now. So she laid down on the mattress and struggled to get comfortable. It wasn't as hard as when she had to sleep on a bed of hay in the Amphitheater. And at least Mason wasn't here. It made things much easier.

For now, anyway.