This is part of my Fallout 4 RPG/Sandbox play through series:
https://steemit.com/game/@olmech/fallout-4-miss-nordhagen-beach-mama-murphy
After waiting for Skinny Malone to return to Nordhagen Beach, Mama Murphy and I made our way back to Sanctuary. We had not gotten over the bridge before Preston Garvey had run us down to tell me of yet another settlement that needed saving. He told me that settlers there were being harassed by Raiders and that I needed to get over there pronto! Now I had been in the military before the war and I understood command structure. Corporals do not give generals their assignments. I'm not sure how Preston got all that mixed up in his squirrel cage but he must have somehow. So, I crossed the bridge and headed east to Tenpines Bluff.
Upon arrival at Tenpines Bluff, the settlers confirmed that Raiders were indeed stealing their food and supplies. They pointed me in the direction of the old Corvega Assembly plant. I agreed to go kick their asses for them but I knew this would be a real chore. Corvega Assembly Plant is a huge place and I knew the Raiders would be well entrenched in very defensible positions. I figured that I needed to take some backup and I sure as hell was not going back for Preston. Piper Wright was at nearby Outpost Zimonja however but I did not know what kind of help she would actually be in an operation like this. I decided to go see her and get a feel for her interest in the situation.
When I got to Outpost Zimonja I quickly found Piper and put the story to her. She was very excited that I asked her to go with me. I was a little uneasy about her eagerness so I asked her a few questions.
"Piper, have you ever killed anyone or shot a gun before?"
She seemed frustrated by this and placed her hands on her hips before responding with,
"Well...no, but how hard could it be right? You point the gun at someone, pull the trigger, they bleed and die."
That was not the answer I was looking for but she insisted on going, so I decided a little range time was in order. I had a small pistol range set up at Croup Manor and together we made our way over there to give Piper a little practice time.
After arriving at the old Croup Manor site, we made a couple of drinks and cooled off for a bit. While Piper continued to recuperate from our walk, I got up and placed some targets for her to shoot at. As I was setting the targets up I remembered letting another lady friend borrow my 10mm Super. I did not have a pistol for Piper to practice with. So I called her back into the range area and gave her my trusty R9150. This would not be much of a test. She could close her eyes and hit all these targets but at least she would know what it was like to fire a gun. She quickly took aim in a rather...strange way.
I began to give her a very short lecture on how to aim the gun, but she insisted that she understood the concept and did not need my help. So I told her to go ahead and give it her best shot. Her first few bursts completely missed the targets.
Before I could say anything Piper turned to me and said,
"Blue...the sights are off on this gun but don't worry...I know where to aim now."
Piper then proceeded to shoot the gun from several angles and positions moving closer and closer to the targets. Still she failed to register a single hit. It was like she was trying to miss.
When she had finally run out of ammunition, Piper turned to me and asked,
"Well Blue...how did I do?"
I looked at the targets which had not been hit in spite of Piper's terrific effort and replied,
"Piper, you may be city girl fine but you couldn't hit a brahmin in the butt with a bass fiddle. I think we are in trouble."
Piper's response was,
"Yeah, but I looked good doin it...right?"
I said,
"Piper, how are we going to work our way into the factory, kill their leader and then get back out alive with you being unable to hit targets that don't move at point blank range?"
Piper replied,
"Who said we have to kill anyone? I have the gift of gab remember? I am sure that I can talk to these...these Raiders and get them to co-operate without having to shoot anything. Trust me Blue...I got this."
I reluctantly agreed to try it if she would promise to keep a clear line of sight between me and whatever she was approaching and with that we went on our way to the Corvega Assembly Plant in Lexington.
When we got there, I setup the M221650 on an old highway overpass that had a clear view of the whole factory front top to bottom. Confident I could take down anything quickly that might cause a problem I looked over at Piper and said,
"Showtime. Go do your thing baby."
Piper then worked her way down off the overpass, up the stairs and when she turned left to approach the entrance...my worst fears became reality. As I watched through the rifle scope, Piper became encircled by Raiders all angrily pointing weapons and making rude gestures toward her. As I was preparing to start popping them, I noticed a strange thing begin to happen. The Raiders lowered their weapons and one of them pointed her to the door. She then waved at me motioning for me to come down to join her. We then walked right through the front door, down to the elevator where we were confronted by a Raider. He asked for the password which Piper promptly gave him. He responded with a thumbs up and told us to enjoy our stay. When we got on the elevator, I turned to Piper and asked,
"What the hell did you say to them?"
She replied,
"I'll never tell."
We got off the elevator and made our way up the catwalk. We found a Raider named Jared who quickly approached us inquiring of our visit. Piper began talking and soon Jared's disposition began to change. He started laughing and agreed to never bother the settlement of Tenpines Bluff again. But before we left he approached me and said,
"My agreement is conditional. You must never tell anyone of what was said between us or we will hunt you down like dogs."
That seemed reasonable to me, so I agreed. Piper then hugged Jared and kissed him on the cheek. We then made our way back outside freely with no interference from the Raiders. I thought to myself that Piper could probably sell ice cream to polar bears.
More to come...
