Uninvited Company

Date: 10.11.2224

Location: Red Rocket Truck Stop — Lafayette Outskirts

Dinner preparations had barely begun when someone knocked.

Not pounding.

Not frantic.

Three measured knocks.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Every conversation stopped.

Silence settled over the Red Rocket.

Clancy's head turned first.

His instincts beat everyone else's.

His rifle was in his hands before the third knock faded.

I reached for the rifle Barley had entrusted to me.

Lauren quietly stepped away from the doorway, reading the room without a word.

Pinball's optic shifted from green to amber.

"Unknown visitor detected."

Outside came a calm, disciplined voice.

"Brotherhood of Steel. Requesting parley."

Nobody moved.

Clancy looked toward everyone.

"Stand guard."

His voice hardened.

"All ladies clear the room."

He pointed toward the hallway.

"That includes you, Lauren."

Lauren smiled.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

Without complaint, Lauren helped Mabel gather Marcy, Jean Jr., Mercy, and Chuck before ushering them toward the reinforced basement bunker.

Jean remained where he stood.

Watching.

Waiting.

Protecting.

I slowly opened the Red Rocket door.

Standing outside was a Brotherhood Knight in polished power armor.

Laser rifle secured.

Hands nowhere near his weapon.

Professional.

Disciplined.

His visor turned toward me.

"Greeting."

His posture never shifted.

"I am Knight Colby Voss, Brotherhood of Steel."

"My unit received reports from one of our Squires regarding electrical activity originating from this Red Rocket."

"We have confirmed habitation."

"We have also confirmed defensive capability."

A brief pause.

"I am here to establish diplomatic relations."

"If possible."

"We are prepared to negotiate trade."

"Food."

"Medical supplies."

"Ammunition."

"Technology."

"Whatever terms both parties find mutually beneficial."

Clancy raised his rifle another inch.

"Or..."

"You can leave."

Voss didn't even look toward him.

"I acknowledge your concern."

His eyes remained on me.

"I did not come here looking for conflict."

I answered.

"I'm afraid I can't make those decisions."

Voss tilted his helmet.

"No?"

"No."

"This Red Rocket doesn't belong to me, It belongs to the Dean family."

"If you'd like to discuss trade..."

I stepped aside slightly.

"...you'll need to speak with them."

A long silence followed.

Then Jean Dean slowly appeared in the doorway.

His weathered face met the visor of the armored Knight.

Voss studied him.

"So..."

"The Deans..."

"...are ghouls."

Before another word could leave his mouth...

Three voices answered together.

"YES."

Mine.

Jean's.

Clancy's.

The synchronization surprised everyone.

Even Pinball.

I folded my arms.

"So..."

"Still interested in trade?"

Voss nodded once.

"I would appreciate speaking directly with Mr. Dean."

Jean stepped fully into view.

His posture remained calm.

But his voice carried decades.

"Knight..."

"I have lived long enough to know that power armor usually arrives before bad news."

"I have watched soldiers promise protection before they burned homes."

"I have watched raiders smile before drawing weapons."

"I have watched governments disappear while ordinary people buried the dead."

He looked directly into Voss's visor.

"So forgive an old man if he struggles to welcome another armored visitor to his front porch."

A pause.

"My wife..."

"My children..."

"They are all I have left."

"If you've come to take me..."

"I'll walk willingly."

"But you leave them alone."

I stepped forward.

"That isn't happening."

"Not while I'm standing here."

Voss finally looked toward me.

"Understood."

Then back toward Jean.

"Mr. Dean..."

"I did not travel here to execute civilians."

"I traveled here to establish commerce."

"The Brotherhood requires sustainable food sources while operating within Lafayette."

"We are prepared to compensate accordingly."

Jean laughed once.

Not from humor.

From experience.

"You speak of commerce."

"I hear logistics."

"You speak of compensation."

"I hear leverage."

"You speak of sustainability."

"I hear dependence."

He slowly shook his head.

"No."

"No trade."

"Not today."

Voss remained composed.

"I respect your decision."

Then...

his tone became colder.

"I would encourage you to reconsider."

"The Brotherhood maintains long operational memories."

"Settlements that choose cooperation generally prosper."

"Those that choose isolation often discover their circumstances becoming considerably more difficult."

Jean's eyes narrowed.

"There it is."

"The sentence I was waiting for."

"The one dressed in diplomacy but carrying a loaded rifle."

He pointed toward the road.

"You say you're different from raiders."

"But when a man tells me life gets harder unless I cooperate..."

"I stop hearing the word Brotherhood."

"And I start hearing extortion."

Clancy took another step.

"I've heard enough."

Voss finally looked at him.

His visor lingered.

Seconds passed.

Then...

"...Lieutenant..."

Everyone froze.

"...John Clancy?"

The parking lot became silent.

Clancy swallowed.

"...Who are you?"

Voss's helmet tilted.

"I thought you were dead."

Nobody spoke.

I looked between them.

"What the hell?"

Voss ignored me.

"You disappeared."

"There were reports."

"No confirmed recovery."

"No body."

"No signal."

Clancy lowered his rifle only slightly.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Jean immediately stepped beside him.

"No, He isn't."

"Whatever history the two of you share..."

"It stays outside my home."

Voss slowly nodded.

"I understand."

His voice returned to military precision.

"My mission remains unchanged."

"Establish trade."

"If trade cannot be established..."

"I will report accordingly."

He turned.

Then stopped.

Without facing us...

"You should know something."

"The man standing beside you..."

"...has lived a dangerous life."

Jean answered immediately.

"I know."

"I've looked into his eyes."

"I've seen what survives behind them."

"That doesn't frighten me."

"What frightens me..."

"...are men who believe uniforms make them righteous."

Silence.

Voss nodded once.

"Very well."

He activated his jump pack.

Hydraulics hissed.

Jets ignited beneath his armor.

Dust exploded across the parking lot.

He landed atop the neighboring warehouse in one clean motion.

A waiting Vertibird immediately descended.

Its side door opened.

Voss stepped aboard without another word.

The aircraft lifted.

Banked over Lafayette.

Disappeared beyond the skyline.

Clancy looking at the sky.

Jean noticing.

"Old ghosts?"

Clancy:

"Something like that."

Jean:

"Ghosts are strange things."

"They only have power if you keep chasing them."

The Red Rocket door closed.

Everyone exhaled together.

---

The bunker door opened.

Mabel emerged first.

The children followed.

Lauren.

Chuck.

Finally Pinball.

Jean looked around the room.

"Well..."

"I believe dinner is still on schedule."

Then he looked toward me.

"Chief..."

"Thank you."

Clancy sat heavily in a chair.

"I hate those bastards."

Chuck looked over.

"That Knight knew you."

Clancy stared at the floor.

"I'm..."

"...not completely sure how."

Pinball's optic brightened.

"Correction."

"I am approximately thirty percent certain he knew you."

Everyone looked at Clancy.

I couldn't help myself.

I laughed.

"He got you."

Even Clancy cracked a reluctant smile.

"Yeah... He got me."

Jean leaned against the counter.

"The next time armored visitors decide to call..."

"We'll be ready."

"They're disciplined, So must we be."

"They have numbers."

"We have each other."

"And I've survived too many storms to surrender my home because someone arrived wearing steel."

Mabel called from the kitchen.

"Dinner!"

Jean smiled.

"Well..."

"What's on the menu?"

Mabel laughed.

"Lauren recommended frog legs."

"...with macaroni and cheese."

Clancy looked toward Lauren.

"Feeling froggy?"

Lauren grinned.

"For you..."

"Always."

Everyone laughed.

I rubbed my forehead.

"I had an entire mission briefing planned."

I looked around the room.

Then at the bubbling pot.

Then at everyone smiling.

"...I suppose tomorrow will do."

Sometimes leadership meant strategy.

Sometimes...

...it meant letting people enjoy dinner while they still could.

— The Big Chief Mike Marcel