A New Hope

When Madeline awoke she thought she had had a terrible dream. When she opened her eyes to see the metallic ceiling of her room she knew she was back at home in her bed in Vault 69. She stretched and yawned. Then the smell of her own filth made her realize she suddenly wasn't in her room. Her father wasn't nearby and her friends weren't causing trouble in the metal lined corridors of her vault. She sighed and let out a few more tears. But she couldn't muster any more. She had cried enough already. The room had a bathroom. A PRIVATE bathroom and she took full advantage of it. She spent what seemed like an hour in the shower enjoying the refreshing feeling brought to her. She hadn't had a comfortable and scalding hot shower since her time at the vault it felt like.

After stepping out of the shower and drying off she noticed something on her bed. A blue and yellow vault jumpsuit and a note.

"See me when you have freshened up."--Sarah.

Madeline looked at her ragged clothes she had worn then at the vault suite. It didn't have any numbers on it, and represented either a generic unfinished suite or a suit who had the numbers removed. She slipped into it and slowly zipped it up. With a deep breath she headed to find Sarah.

Sarah was busy working the counter and after giving away a small snow globe to a patron she turned to Madeline.

"Feeling better? The look suits you." she smiled.

"Yes." Madeline said "Thank you."

"Its not much." Sarah said with a regretful sigh "I am sorry I couldn't do more."

"You have been more than generous. I really can't thank you enough." Madeline said adding "please let me repay you."

"No no--forget it." Sarah said raising a hand in protest. "Its the least I could do for a fellow vault dweller. Say, I asked around about this Erma thingy."

"Yes?" Madeline said excitedly, leaning forward with hope.

"Now, I didn't find any great answers." Sarah said sporting a frown now "But I did hear a few leads. Some patrons said that over in the East there is a group known as the Boomers. They have all kinds of pre-war tech. But they aren't the Brotherhood of Steel so more than likely they may come from a vault or something. Its possible. Others suggested going west.

Sarah tried to **** a smile. Madeline knew she was having a hard time giving such glum news.

"Thanks for asking around." Madeline said with a sigh.

"Sorry there isn't much else I can do." Sarah replied "What is your plan now? You gonna enjoy the Strip a little bit or head straight out of town?"

Madeline didn't even know much about the Strip. She had made a straight run to what she thought was the object of her mission.

"What is there to do around here?" Madeline asked.

"You sound like a damn tribal just in from the wastes." Sarah said with a grin "Oh there is a lot to do on the Strip. Mostly lots of ways to lose your caps. There is the Tops, run by the Chairmen--they have a theater and regular gambling den. Then there is the Ultra-Luxe, real fancy place--but some rumors about their food. Then there is the Gomorrah, place for the working gals and where the NCR troopers throw their caps."

"Anything that might help me find the ERMA?"

"Hmmmm," Sarah crossed her arms as she considered "There is the NCR Embassy, but not sure how much good they could do. But they might be able to give you some information. If you need work you could probably work anywhere...though" she took a moment to eye Madeline up and down "you could probably get a job at the Gomorrah real easily if you don't mind working on your back." Sarah sounded both disgusted and pragmatic at the same time.

"Any other options?" Madeline asked plaintively.

"Well..." Sarah considered, crossing her arms in deep thought " The problem is--not a lot of folks out there have Vault tech. Those that do aren't likely to give it up. You could always try to find the Brotherhood of Steel but I doubt they would ever give you the device. If they did they'd probably just track you down to your own vault and 'liberate the tech.'" she spat.

"Other ideas?"

"The Legion is off the list on account of they are crazy as all hell. Besides--they seem to dislike lots of technology. I hear they fight with spears and swords." Sarah sighed "You could always try to just go out in the wastes and look for a vault that isn't taken over by junkies, bandits, or **** claws. Though I don't recommend it. Look--take a walk around the Strip maybe, then figure out what you wanna do."

"Okay so a few options...the NCR Embassy, trying to find the Brotherhood of Steel, and just trying to explore the wastes. Or even just stay here for a bit..." Madeline considered her options and decided to figure out what she wanted to do while she visited the Strip.