“How…” Mira asked slowly, confused by what Adam was telling her. Adam took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, readying himself to tell her the truth.
“The truth is, Mira. I am a clone.” He said with all the seriousness he could muster. “I am a clone with the memories of a long dead man from pre-war.” He then turned around and gestured back the way they came, generally in the direction of the Vault. “While I have memories of how the world looked before the bombs fell, my first true memories are waking up in the Vault, with no idea how I got there and stumbling out into a world that was entirely foreign. It was… hard.” He sighed and then looked back at Mira who, surprisingly, had a complex smile on her face.
“I was wondering when you would tell me.”
“What do you mean?” He asked her back, confused.
“What I mean is I knew you were a clone. Or, rather, I had my suspicions.”
“What? How?” Adam asked, even more confused now.
“I have been living in that Vault you came from for a while. Call it an… occupational hazard, but I don’t feel safe somewhere if I don’t get a good look around. That lab you locked up, the one I assume you came from, well the lock is pretty easy to bypass when you know what you are doing. The computers too used simple alphanumeric passwords. I can get through that much. Besides the papers laying everywhere told the story.” Adam was taken aback. That means before he went back into the lab and cleaned it up Mira had, secretly, gone through the lab, found out his secret, and then sealed it back up without speaking a word of it to anyone.
“But… if you knew then why did you-” Adam began before Mira spoke up again.
“Not ask you about it?” She said with a slightly playful but still sad smile, reeling from the shock of reliving her own memories not moments ago. “The same reason you didn’t ask me about my past. Because it's your actions that matter. Not your past.” She said, throwing Adam’s own words back at him. He was stunned into silence thinking things over before she once more spoke up.
“To be clear when I entered the lab I was not looking for information on you, just exploring. And I definitely didn’t know anything about you having pre-war memories. But the clone thing? I figured if you wanted to share, you would eventually. It was your secret to keep. If anything, I feel bad for snooping.” She said slightly sheepish again. Adam shook his head.
“No. It's fine. I have long since made peace with it… if anything I'm happy you can accept me so easily. Not everyone can easily accept the fact I’m a clone.”
“We live in a world full of things far different than humans. Ghouls, super mutants, deathclaws, robots, and any number of other things I’m sure even I do not know about. As far as I am concerned, you are human, clone or not. And even if you weren’t human you are a good person, Adam.” She said gently, placing her hand on Adam’s chest. “You remind me a lot of Sarah…” She said, sounding sad again. “Her heart was also too big for her own good.” Adam gently grabbed hold of the hand Mira had placed on his chest and squeezed it gently.
“I just do what I can, Mira. I’m sure your Sarah did the same. There are a lot of good people out there. I still honestly believe there are more good people than bad, we just need to help each other out to make the world even just slightly better.” Mira gently pulled her hand away from Adam and chuckled a tiny bit, the sadness not fully gone from her tone but no longer looking downtrodden.
“And that is why you need people like me to keep people like you safe. Your heart might be in the right place but there is a ton of evil out there lurking just around the corner.” She smirked.
“Salvatore once said something somewhat similar.” Adam laughed.
“Well I think me and Salvatore have more in common than you and me.” She said with a soft giggle herself now. “But honestly, I like that better.” She smiled and took a moment to just stare at Adam. Then, after she had her moment she took a deep breath and exhaled.
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“Alright, that's enough fooling around, we have a lot of ground to cover.” She said with a more serious and resolute tone now.
“Of course.” Adam agreed. “Though that doesn’t mean we have to stop talking to each other.”
“No, that is true.” She said as the two of them began to walk once more. “Then, perhaps you will indulge me?” She asked, thoughtfully.
“Sure. What is it you want to know?”
“What was the world like, before the bombs fell?” Adam grew a smile as he heard the question.
“I will gladly share some stories of the old world.”
The two spoke amicably for a while. The silence of their journey now filled with pleasant conversation as Adam regaled her about the way the old world looked and felt. Far more detail than he gave to Deccanus as Mira displayed a higher understanding of much of what the technology and skills of the old world looked like, just not a complete picture. As she explained the Brotherhood of Steel has indepth records dating back all the way to when the bombs first fell. And they take meticulous efforts to maintain records of everything. As such the Brotherhood of Steel has access to, possibly, the wasteland’s largest repository of knowledge. Since she was a member of the Circle of Steel she was given one of the most comprehensive educations possible. As such her questions about the old world were both insightful and thought provoking. However eventually the day turned to night and the two of them made camp in a bombed out building that gave them a roof over their heads.
As the two of them shared a small meal, preparing to sleep on the stone ground for the night as they continued their journey to the church, Adam decided to ask a question of his own.
“I was wondering, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get your gear? I mean I assume it's from the Brotherhood, but I more mean why a stealth suit?"
“Simple.” Mira said as she carefully, and skillfully cracked open an energy cell to create a small controlled fire that could keep them warm at night. “My job often required me to get information from less savory groups. Ideally I can infiltrate like we are now, in disguise. But sometimes that was insufficient so having a means of stealth like the suit offered me immense advantages.”
“But the stealth suits weren’t exactly known for being very bullet resistant.”
“In my line of work, if I was being shot at, I already fucked up.” She smirked a bit before putting her hands out in front of the small flame.
“Where did the Brotherhood get it?” Mira shrugged.
“Who knows, but the Brotherhood are, affectionately, hoarders. I'm sure there has been more than one opportunity to get their hands on a proper Chinese stealth suit.” Adam nodded but continued on.
“And what about your recharger rifle?”
“What about it?” She asked, confused herself now.
“I mean it was a failed experiment to replace the laser rifle. It is underpowered and over complicated for a weapon of its size, difficult to replicate parts for, and was proven in test combat scenarios to not be versatile enough to handle combat on the front.” He continued. Showing his, clearly deeply formed, opinions on the laser rifle competitor.
“Simple.” She said after Adam finished. “It's perfect for my needs. As a former member of the Circle of Steel I was trained to be alone, in enemy territory, for long stretches of time. I would be without reinforcements or resupply, only taking what I could carry on my body. The recharger rifle is perfect for me. I do not have to carry around extra ammo, nor do I have to carry extra parts for it as the rifle is rugged enough to need nothing more than light repairs. It can constantly recharge its shots even in battle meaning I am incredibly light on my feet with my one gun. Besides, don't you find the design to be elegant? All those tubes and wires?”
“But I mean… It can only hold a charge of 7 shots.” Adam persisted feeling like he was having a debate about his favorite gun type.
“And it can recharge a shot every second. In 7 seconds it is fully charged again. Space your shots, fire 3 or 4 times, take cover, then pop back out when you are back at full again. It's actually quite an easy weapon to handle.” Adam sighed.
“I think the laser rifle is still better, it's more powerful, holds more charges, and has a very modular design, able to swap its parts around easily.”
“Because it's more prone to breaking.” She smirked.
“Alright well…” Adam said, feeling a bit deflated. “I still prefer my laser rifle.”
“To each their own.” She said with a soft grin before laying down, ready to sleep. Adam followed suit shortly after, feeling partly defeated in this battle of the laser weapons. But he was still convinced, conventional laser weaponry was the best. Not at all because it was just what he was trained to use in the army. No sir.
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