Untarnished, She Shines With Honour // Arthur Maxson x F!Sole Survivor

Chapter Four

The Castle is no Prydwen, but the Minutemen have somehow managed to make something of it nonetheless. The Brotherhood had looked at claiming the fort for themselves, but had ultimately decided against it due to the crumbling walls, and mirelurk infestation. There are no signs of any mirelurks now. Even their nests are absent, the only indication of their existence being the soot stains on the granite where the Minutemen had burned the nests to ash. Even the walls have been patched; scaffolding lines the granite outer walls, allowing workers to continue filling in the holes. Even the grounds are cleaner, grass a vibrant green, and the soil dark and fertile. Somewhere in the distance he hears the hum of a water purifier, no doubt connected to the bay Fort Independence sits alongside. All sort of electrical cables criss-cross overhead, providing power to every inch of the Castle.

"Preston—you'll meet him soon—wanted to turn this area into a trading hub that would rival Diamond City's market," Ridley explains, leading him down a newly laid gravel path that cuts through the inner grounds. She gestures as she talks, drawing his attention to specific parts of the Castle. "I opted to make it into a garden. It brings in fewer caps, but at least we won't have to rely as much on the traders that come by here. You might have noticed when you landed that we're slowly setting up an irrigation system to turn the surrounding area into farmland, and houses for the farmers. I don't know an awful lot about gardening, truth be told, but things are slowly coming along."

Maxson wouldn't necessarily use the word "slowly" seeing the progress the Minutemen have made, but he knows they've been working on this for at least half a year now. "A daunting task," he says. "What do you think, Paladin?"

Danse almost seems surprised by the question, having kept quiet the entire time. "It's an ambitious goal, but if anyone can do it, it will be the General."

Ridley only laughs. "Flatterer," she says jovially. "Our signal transmitter for Radio Freedom is located in the centre, as you can see, Elder. We wouldn't be able to be the Minutemen without it. 'At a minute's notice' requires... an awful lot of communication. I'm trying to convince Preston to let me move it somewhere a little more out of the way, but who knows if he'll agree to it."

"You said Preston was your second?" Maxson raises a brow.

"Mm, though he's just as much the General of the Minutemen as I am. I think he just wants someone to put the blame on if somethinag goes wrong, truth be told." She sweeps her hand behind her. "The western bastion hosts our main residential quarters. The south-west bastion used to be our armoury, but we've since cleared out the tunnels beneath the Castle which have now become our armoury. We're in the midst of turning the south-west bastion into our main food storage, and the door's always left open, so if you ever get peckish..." Ridley coughs. "The south-east bastion contains what we call 'the garage,' and is where we design weapons, armour, chems, and the like. The eastern bastion is our common area, while the northern one consists of my quarters."

"You've done a lot with the place," Maxson says as she leads them towards the northern bastion.

"We used to operate out of Sanctuary," she says. "But there were... personal reasons we couldn't stay."

"Personal reasons?" he asks, even as Danse's eyes widen, silently trying to tell the Elder to drop the matter. He doesn't listen. "What sort of personal reasons?"

Ridley stops in her tracks, twisting the golden band around her ring finger. "It was where I lived before the war." Her whispering voice cracks. "With Nate, and Shaun."

He realises immediately that he should have listen to Danse. "Ah."

She swallows. "Yeah." She doesn't give any more explanation that that. All she does is fiddle with her holotags, and continue on walking.