FFF - Talk to him

“OK.” You hand the rifle to Melody. “Cover me.”

“Sure,” she replies easily. You wish that she would be just a little less chill at times like this.

With your hand on your holstered revolver, you cautiously walk into the open.

“Hello there,” you say, waving with your free hand.

“Hello!” Mr. Handy replies enthusiastically, swiveling in your direction.

“Hi, how are you? Is it OK if I go in?” you ask politely.

“Please hold still!”

Warily, you do so. Lights flash on your body, going over you from head to toe. You notice how they seem to linger in your groin area, flashing several times.

“Welcome back!” Mr. Handy says, moving aside for you.

Puzzled, you eye him suspiciously for a second, then lift your hand to signal to Melody. She emerges still holding the rifle. She looks ready to use it.

“It’s nice of you to let me in. Thank you. Can my friend come too?” you ask.

“Well, let’s see!” Mr. Handy says happily, and the lights start again, this time focused on Melody, whose finger is on her trigger.

You look past Mr. Handy at the mansion. It’s still standing, but it’s like everything else on the surface: aging and neglected. The front doors are standing open, but the interior is dark. This spot wouldn’t make a terrible fort or hideout, but that’s not what’s going on here. The gate would be intact, even if it had to be improvised. The mansion wouldn’t be open to the elements. This Mr. Handy used to work for someone, but those people must be long gone. The courtyard beyond the gate appears to have seen a lot of foot traffic, but it couldn’t be more obvious that no one is living here.

The types of robots aren’t usually the brightest. Mr. Handy still thinks that he has a job.

“Looks like that’s a no-go,” Mr. Handy reports cheerfully. A light flashes red on Melody’s groin area. “Miss, I cannot grant you entry.”

“Can’t you?” Melody asks, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Handy is unfazed.

“No, I cannot,” he repeats. “Don’t test me, human. You think those bullets can get through my armor?”

You blink in surprise and step back. Melody half-raises the rifle.

“OK, wait,” you say quickly. “There’s no one here. You aren’t guarding anything. Just let us pass.”

“No can do,” the robot replies.

Great. An ambush would be one thing. You aren’t sure you like your odds against this robot toe to toe like this with these weapons. Melody’s pistol is pretty powerful, but for once she’s not doing impulsive things. She’s worried about something, but it’s not the robot. You see the way that she’s looking at the house.

“Can I talk to my friend for a second?” you say to Mr. Handy, gently drawing Melody away and lowering your voice. You push the barrel of the rifle down so the robot doesn’t get the wrong idea. “What is in there? Tell me the truth.”

“There’s a laboratory under this property. A big one,” Melody murmurs.

“Whose?”

“Pre-war.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t have the answer to that question,” she mutters, annoyed.

“What’s in it?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I want to find out. Whatever it is, we can’t let Enclave get it,” she whispers. “This guy has to go.”

“Not if we don’t have to,” you counter. “We don’t need the gunshots and we don’t need… whatever he’s got. He’ll let me go in. I’ll check it out. If there’s anything worth seeing, I’ll hit him from behind and you hit him from cover.”

Melody looks annoyed. “That’s a good plan,” she says grudgingly.

“I’m a genius.”

“Don’t take long. We don’t want to be stuck out here when it gets dark.” She doesn’t have to tell you that. “Look for a fountain. That should be the way down to the lab. Hey,” she adds as you start to move away.

“What?”

“Why’s the robot like you? I’m the hot one.”

You roll your eyes and walk back to Mr. Handy. “Am I still OK to go in?”

“You sure are, good buddy!”

“Thanks.” Nervously, you step past him. He appears comfortable with that.

Now inside the courtyard, you realize this is a lot of ground to cover. Melody’s interest in this place makes you curious. There isn’t much debris on the ground. Like the area where you left Chastity and QT, this place hasn’t been used by settlers or raiders. It’s probably because of those things that patrol the forest at night.

A fountain will probably be outside. You can see that there are gardens surrounding the house. But there’s also the house itself.

Search for the fountain?

Or explore the house?