The food proved to be quite delicious. It was a molerat meat stew and it tasted quite good even reheated in Adam’s personal kitchen. After he was fed he took a quick shower and then headed for bed, finding sleep quickly.

  Adam set out early the next day, deciding to go alone this time. There was no real expected danger, after all he had an APC, and Salvatore would be with him for most of it anyway so there was no reason to bring anyone else. However he did bring his extra protectron, it would be a good bodyguard if absolutely necessary and he could offer it up for sale while he was there. Worst case he takes it back with him but it's better than making multiple trips.

  Pearl did complain about staying inside again but Deccanus was actually the one who suggested the two of them go scavenge somewhere nearby, if, for nothing else, give themselves something to do. Pearl readily agreed and Adam signed off wholeheartedly.

  Adam was secretly very proud of Deccanus, not only was he acting on his own, not that he was unable to but it was the first time he had decided to go out on a mission without Adam since he had decided to follow him. Though, far more than that he was working, independently, with Pearl, a super mutant. He had expressed his misgivings about Ghouls in the past, and, though he had never mentioned it, it was clear he had issues with super mutants too. However he was willingly working with Pearl now, even suggesting it himself, so some of that Legion conditioning was finally giving way. It was nice to see.

  Eric too seemed to be listless, he wanted to work on the APC again, the main area of his interest, but since he couldn’t he asked Adam for another job. Adam offered him the opportunity to study the robots they had already in the Vault, checking them over so he could help with future repairs and reclamations. The Mr. Gutsy still needed to be repaired after all, it was getting there but perhaps Eric could make some headway? In either case while Adam doubted Eric would be able to repair the Mr. Gutsy alone with only a few sessions under Adam’s tutelage. He figured it would be good practice for him. After all, there is nothing better than hands-on experience. Worst case he broke the Mr. Gutsy irreparably and that would be… well it would be challenging for Eric to do that at this stage so it was probably fine.

  Regardless, with all that set Adam set out to head back to the highway to grab the residents to begin the day’s worth of driving. He had made sure to charge his APC last night, he was more than confident it would hold out all day and then some but there was no way to be completely sure and thus it was better to err on the side of caution.

  Arriving at the ‘gate’ of the settlement he saw a number of ghouls with huge bags on their backs ready to be transported to their new home. Salvatore was there with them out front.

  “Hey kid.” Salvatore said as he approached the APC. Adam popped out the top and opened the back bay for people to begin shuffling themselves inside. Even with just the people here he could tell it was going to take more than one trip. Maybe if they were moving with no belongings they could all cram in like sardines but as-is unless they were practiced circus clowns they could not possibly all fit in the back.

  “Hey Salvatore.” Adam said back. “This everyone?”

  “No.” Salvatore said while smoking a cigarette. “This is just some who were eager to get out of this place. There’s more people who are still on the highway waiting for their turn. Some are slow packers.” He shrugged.

  “Well that's fine, this group alone will probably take 2 trips, maybe more so they got the time to relax.”

  “Yeah that's what I was telling these folks but they didn’t listen.” Salvatore said before jumping up onto the top of the APC. Adam looked back at the troop transport section of the APC and watched as people began to shove themselves inside. They were pushing each other to get in but not in a mad scramble at least.

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  “Alright guys!” Adam called out to them. “There is a limit to how many of you can fit, so rather than shoving each other, wait your turn and when I get back you’ll get a seat. Even in an APC the trip is not especially instant so you have time to relax.” After Adam spoke it looked as though the group of ghouls began to partially back off themselves. He closed up the door to keep those who made it inside and prepare for the journey. Adam considered letting the protectron out from the back and letting it help guard the gate while he made the transports but it was still his and it would be useless to him if something bad happened if he let it out. Besides, they had not bought it yet.

  Salvatore then hopped in the front and Adam opened the door connecting the front to the troop transport to speak to his passengers.

  “Alright folks, the journey is going to take a few hours, so just kick back and relax. As soon as you all get there I will head back out to get the next group. However, while we are in transit, figure out yourselves the 400 cap fee. Split it, make one person pay for it, I don't especially care, but I'm not doing this for free so just keep that in mind. If you need something, hit this door and I'll open it for you. And before you ask, no, none of you can sit in the front, it's cramped enough up here as is, I don’t need more company. Now, we are heading off.” Adam said, giving them instructions before closing the door again and turning down the road towards the FRS, their new home.

  “Salvatore.” Adam said after driving for a few minutes.

  “Yeah, what is it kid?”

  “The farmer, the one from Naper? He told me yesterday he finally started growing food.” Adam said to him with a smile.

  “Oh really? Neat.” Salvatore said, unimpressed.

  “Well anyway, the reason I'm telling you is because he also said he can upgrade it from hydroponics to… aquaponics? I think? In either case he said he can grow food and grow fish at the same time.”

  “Really?” Salvatore said with the raise of an eyebrow, showing more interest now.

  “Yeah so when you meet with Chuck to help him on his rounds and you have him stop at the Vault can you have him bring a barrel of fish for us to farm? Also maybe some extra varieties of seeds or something.”

  “Well I can certainly ask. Never heard of anyone ordering live fish from a barrel though. But then again, I'm not a merchant.” Salvatore grinned.

  “Yeah, it's a bit strange, but being able to grow greens, veggies, fruits, and fish all down in the Vault would be amazing for self sustainability.”

  “Well I certainly don’t mind passing along the massage.” Salvatore said with a shrug.

  “Anyway, how was your stay with your new friends?” Adam asked with a slightly teasing tone.

  “Ain’t no friends of mine.” Salvatore scoffed quietly. “But yeah, I think moving them was a good idea. They ain’t gonna last long up there. They were sitting ducks for any determined raider and they were practically starving. They had caps though, but with no one to trade with but themselves they were nothing more than paperweights.” Adam nodded slowly.

  “Will you be staying to train them?”

  “Yeah, I already worked out a deal with them to help them set up and get some defenses together.”

  “How long do you think you will stay?”

  “I don't know, a week? Maybe more? But I got to head to Chuck afterwards so I can’t stay too long.”

  “How long do you think you will be traveling with Chuck?” Adam continued and Salvatore shot him a look.

  “What is this, twenty questions?” He said with a softly accusatory tone.

  “Im just curious!" Adam said, one hand up in the air for mock surrender and a smile on his face. Salvatore sighed and shook his head.

  “I don't know, I'd guess a week and a half, maybe 2, depends on how fast Chuck plans on moving from one place to another. It can take upwards of a month if we really spend a lot of time.”

  “Well we will miss you in the Vault.”

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t get mushy on me. I’ll be back before you know it.” Salvatore said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  “You know, a month might seem like a speck of dust to you, who has lived for over 200 years, but for me, who is not even a year old, that's a looooong time.” Adam said with a shit-eating grin.

  “Okay, now you are fucking with me, Mr. Clone.” Salvatore said with a deadpan tone as Adam laughed.