The Steersman and the Merc.





The Steersman had seen the Merc at the Crater Supply on numerous occasions, every one a stand off. It had almost become a routine. He would walk in, the Merc would have some smart 'tough guy' line at the ready, "Don't try anything" seemed to be his favourite. Steersman would just take it, occasionally staring at him just long enough to make the Merc uncomfortable... a flinch or an obtuse comment about Moira's 'experiments'.

The day he found that schematic for a Nuka Grenade made up for it all. As he walked through the door the Merc predictably mumbled a veiled threat. The Steersman, as usual, said nothing. Walking to the workbench he took an old tin can from his pack, placed it on the wooden surface and stared at it's asthetic, occassionally moving it as though it was an object'd'art. The Merc looked bemused. "Gonna make a Fat-Man with that?" he quiped with his usual smirk.

The Steersman took an old rusty blade from the tool box on the bench and removed what was left of the lid. To an onlooker, it would be as if watching a sculpter at work. The lid was extracted with a surgeon's patience and precision. The lid was then hammered flat and placed to one side. Reaching into his pack a second time, Steersman took out a glowing bottle of Quantum. For the first time the Merc looked interested. "Is that what I think it is?". The Steersman slamed the bottleneck against edge of the table, causing the Merc to flinch. The bottlecap was retrieved and placed in the Steersman's back pocket. Lifting the can and tilting it, he poured in the Quantum with a finess that would make the finest barman, even Moriarty, blush. Not a drop was spilt.

Carefully arranging the vice, The Steersman placed a small bottle of turpentine at an angle above the glowing liquid. Finally he turned to the Merc. "When I open this, it`s going to fill that can by one drop every second, if you move, you're dead, if you speak you're dead, if you breath too heavily, you're dead." The Merc opened his mouth in protest but the Steersman had already unscrewed the top and simply put his finger to his lips and said "Shhhhh".

As the Steersman left the Crater, he slammed the door a little too loudly for the Merc's liking and a small wet patch began to enlarge on the Merc's pants.

Outside, he carefully took a small note and placed it on the door. "Did he agree?" said Moira excitedly. "Sure" said the Steersman, "It was very good of you to do that for him Moira, you know he'd never have asked himself". Smiling he headed for his balcony to enjoy a beer as the sun was rising.

Smiling too, Moira re-read the note she had given the Steersman the previous night...

"Closed in honour of the Crater Supply`s guardian angel, sorry for the inconvenience but everyone deserves a day off on their Birthday".

The Steersman and the Lucky Merchant.





As the door to Lucky's swung open, Steersman was greeted by the familiar sound of the old rusty bell above the door and the sight of Fizz pointing an assault rifle at him. "Is that anyway to greet a potential customer?" grinned Steersman.

Fizz lowered the weapon, "Potential being the word..."

"I have no idea what you mean Fizz, I'm just here to trade"

"Yeah", said Fizz, "just like the last time, I should put you down right now."

Taking the pair of Lucky shades from his top pocket, Steersman put on an offended face. "If by that you mean that in 30 minutes of meeting me every item in this shop suddenly dissapeared... well, I have no idea how that happened."

Smiling herself, Fizz sat by her computer screen and said, "You're a bastard, you know that?"

"Only on Fridays, Fizz, so seen any good sights lately?"

The smile on Fizz's face suddenly dropped. "Don't, Steersman."

Steersman dropped the smile too. "How long have you been here Fizz?, you're a merchant but you never leave this pigsty".

"I'm okay here, people come..."

"I do Fizz, nobody else,look, I don't need to know your past but I can help you, I know people, I know places."

Fizz stood up and walked to him, a determination on her face the like of which he had never seen.

"You know you are 'THE' Steersman now don't you?"

Steersman involuntarily took a step back, "What do you mean?"

Fizz took another step forward, "You're a hero, I listen to 3 Dogs radio broadcasts, they don't call you Steersman any more, they call you 'THE' Steersman".

"I'm no hero Fizz, I just live my life, I never asked for that."

Her anger seemed to be tearing her apart, but she stepped back and controled her voice, "I know, I know". But if you or 'him', she tossed her head to the radio, "knew the first thing of what I endured, how I survived..." She turned her back on him.

He let the silence last a pure, uninterupted 30 seconds before breaking it. "So what have you got, Merchant?"

Fizz wiped away the tear that had involuntarily dropped down her cheek. "A bottle of vodka and a carton of cigarettes".

"Sounds good", said Steersman, moving close again. "I'll give you 100 caps for them both if you share them with me."

"Sounds like charity to me." Said Fizz.

"It is", said the steersman. "But, I was always a charity case."

The Penny Drops.





As he walked onto the balcony, Tenpenny smiled and poured the wine. "Good to see you again, I don't get many visitors as you know" The Steersman pulled out a stool and looked over the still silence of the wastes.

"It's good to see you too". The Steersman looked on the old man's face, the wrinkles masking the young man that had been replaced by madness.

"Why do you come each week?" asked Tenpenny.

"Because I want to know you, I want know how you came here, I want to know about England. You only hint at that land, I'm not even sure it existed"

"Oh, It existed, I remember the hills, the fields and and the smell of the yew trees". Tenpenny laid back and inhaled, drowned in his daydreams.

"And this is your England of the wastes Mr Tenpenny?" asked the Steersman.

"Oh no, this was all I could offer to these people. I wanted a safe haven to everyone who eaned it, there is no nobility here, only survivors"

The Steersman looked in Tenpenny's eyes, "They seem rather self-absorbed to me". Tenpenny nodded,

"Yes, the have made their lives fit a stereotype, and I have encouraged that. It may be a delusional life, but it is a life. Every person in this building earned the privilidge to be here, each could have been a raider or 'raider bait' but they didn't, if they seem arrogant, they deserve to be".

The Steersman unhooked the .33 at his belt. "Megaton, Mr Tenpenny, why did you want it destroyed?"

Tenpenny smiled, "No son, I didn't want that at all, I simply mentioned to Burke that it was an eyesore... which it is, I didn't want them dead."

"People hate you Mr Tenpenny, people want you dead."

Tenpenny poured another glass of wine, "I know that Mr Steersman, I'm an 80 year old man, I've built a community against the odds, I've travelled the oceans, I've rebuilt a decrepid tower and I drink too much milk."

The Steersman couldn't resist a chuckle. "So" said Tenpenny "I expect to be hated, and I expect one day a boy will have the the will to throw this old man off this balcony, but I'll go fighting."

"Same time next week?" said the Steersman, "Same time next week..." said the old man.

Medical Report.





Brotherhood of Steel/Medical Lab: Citadel/Highly confidential/03.22.94.
Diagnosic of 'The Lone Wanderer'.
Doctor: General Atomics International/Mr Gutsy/Sawbones.

03.22.94: Under orders of Elder Lyons and with the cooperation of 'The Lone Wanderer', this unit has
been ordered to provide full diagnostics of the subject in question. All information is confidential and
violation of security protocol will result in vehement altercation. Although this unit is eminently
qualified in all branches of medical expertise, Elder Lyons has politely requested that scribes with a
particular interest in 'relevant' fields be allowed to assist me. My programming reminds me that this is
a splendid idea.

Day 1:
As Mr Sturman will be placed under considerable tortu... [Error15474B161/reboot] As Mr Sturman will be
placed under considerable pressure over the next few days, this unit has decided to acquire only the
essential information required for further examination.

Name: Alphaeus Sturman
Aliases: 'The Steersman', 'The Lone Wanderer', 'Buddha', 'Jesus'
Age: 35
Height: 175.3cm (5'9.0")
Weight: 191 lbs (86.6kg)
Hair color: Steel
Eyes: Green

Day 2:
Today, this unit spent some considerable time re-anolysing the medical bay's Central Processing Unit.
The annoying CPU seems not to register the obvious flaws in the physical test results from Mr Sturman.
For example, according to med-stat, this human could bench press 1005 pounds (457kg). As no Scribe can
detect a fault in the inferior machine and lab-cam seems to reinforce the results, this unit has no
option but to file his physical condition as avera... [Error159874X161/reboot] superior.

Day 3:
Mental capacity: A basic IQ test, the human scored 228. While a worthy result, I have long suggested
that such tests are desultory.

Day 4:
The subject was assigned for 'combat awareness' with Paladin Gunny. Paladin Gunny reported: "He knows
how to fight, he knows how to snipe and he knows how to lay a flash mine when his instructor isn't
looking." At this point, I asked for a more detailed report but the rather haggerd looking Paladin said
"[censored] off, I'm going to bed", this unit has no comprehension of what Paladin Gunny meant by this yet it
shall be presented to Elder Lyons as requested.

Day 5:
Scribe Jameson was assigned to provide an evaluation of the subject's scientific knowledge. He
officially reported that the subject was "a keen entomologist and robotics expert." This unit then
detected Jameson repeating the words "fascinating... fascinating" as he retired to his quarters. Suggest
psych evaluation on both Paladin Gunny and Scribe Jameson.

Day 6:
X-ray:
The targe[Error259674X763/reboot] The subject is beyond this unit's diagnosis, assigned to scribe
O'Rourke...

Scribe O'Rourke: "Mr Sturman has no calcium based bones in his body. Every collagen-rich organic matrix
impregnated with calcium, phosphate, and other minerals has been removed and replaced with adamantium
replacements. Multiple small scarring marks suggests that this was done surgically. How this was done is
beyond my comprehension. Mr Sturman stated that it was done by himself in an undisclosed science lab by
two robots under direct programming by himself."

Day 7:
Ophthalmology:
Scribe Saitama reports that although both eyes seem normal at first glance, thorough examination shows
that the right eye is actually a 'compound' eye, made of 30,000 individual lenses. This is undoubtedly a
mutation. The nature of which is not the product of natural mutation but rather more likely the result
of a mutigen injection.
The left eye is cybernetic, when asked about this, Mr Sturman said "Eye have no idea what you mean" as
the pupil's colour changed at random.

Day 8:
Dermatology:
Scribe Evans reported that he could not get the needle to penetrate the skin. This unit decided to take
up the matter personally. Three needles were lost before a sample could be taken. The subject has, what
can only be described as an unnaturally compact cell structure. Evaluation shows no explanation, why the
subject has a skin as hard as the bark of a tree is unknown. When prompted, Mr Sturman smirked and said
"Ask Harold".

Day 9:
Neurology:
i) Simply fascinating even by my standards. The first noticible abnormality is basic cybernetics,
approximately 19.66% of the brain had been enhanced. The nature of which, although not substantiated, is
reminiscent of early Robobrain technology. As a robotics expert, perhaps Mr Sturman studied these rather
inferior machines in order to propogate the natural evolution of the organic to the mechanic.

ii) Under electron microscope, a small reflex node was detected, very different to the human's 'self
enhancement' upgrades. This device has a Commonwealth serial code and is well in advance of current
Brotherhood technology. This unit has decided not to mention detection to the subject. Elder Lyons
will be informed.

iii) Lobotomy. For no logical reason, the subject has undergone a partial lobotomy. A surgical procedure
in which nerve pathways in the lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from those in other areas. The
scarring is inconsistent with other surgical procedures on the subject. No mental hindrance can be
detected, but I shall leave that to Scribe Green.

Day 10:
Psychology:
Scribe Green entered the Psych lounge at 09:00 hours. I must admit, I was looking forward to her results as she, unlike most humans, has the mentality of a robot, a quality to be admired. At 10:00 she left the room briskly looking somewhat flushed, doing up her top buttons as I asked for her report. Usually detailed, I was astounded at the short phrase she scribbled on the Psych Evaluation sheet. It simply stated "Let's just say, he was deep."

To Elder Lyons:
This concludes the Med Report. I must say that I have learnt less about the subject and more about the Scribes of the Brotherhood. Suggest immediate med reports on all involved scribes. But please do not assign them to me. I have a headache. POWERING DOWN.

Im glad I can see all of the Steersman's adventures in one topic becase they are the only Fan fiction that I make sure I read
Is that all of the Steersman chronicles or are there more on the way?

More on the way, doesn't seem that many people are interested in them though. Still, it's fun to write them. And thanks for your kind comment!

I am reading them. I've discovered something about the forum you might find interesting. People will come back and read your work and not comment. Don't lose heart its just that your audience would rather listen than comment.

Thanks Goris, I do like comments though, even a 'negative' comment can make me improve.

BTW: Big fan of your writing.

Awsome. THe merc in Moiras shop is on of my favorite dudes int eh entire game

This is a good story. Its nicely written enough to keep my interest through the whole thing, and short enough to make me want to read the next one. Don't give up when no one comments. If its fun to do, keep doing it.

Thanks guys, you have no idea how good that makes me feel. Write some yourself if you haven't.

Make more please!..I love these chronicles

I read these without commenting, and now, I comment.

These are very interesting.

i like this idea. Simple short stories that are fun to read. keep it up.

I comment, yet don't read them... but from the other comments - it's good stuff!
:foodndrink:

:dance:just kidding - I've read them all and have enjoyed them, and like Mullac said, looking forward to more.

I am reporting you to a mod for double posting and I've warned you to stop stalking me. Honestly, woman...

I would have said something, than I looked at her member profile. Run, run now. Away from the thread-ship.

It's all cool, she's actually my real, annoying, yet strangely facinating girlfriend.

umm... oops??

...Oh, the first post was sarcasm, my bad, that's also great to hear she's your gf and not a true stalker..Also, when can we expect an update on the Steersman? His adventures have re-sparked my interest for Fallout..for now.

Soon, I only have access to a PC on occasion and there is no way I'm doing it using the bloody PS3 browser! But the next one will be soon, the idea is already there. It's going to be called 'The Ballad of Doc Hoff's Cow'. Yep, I know it's not a cow and I know it sounds stupid but bear with me!

ok, this is the annoying, yet strangely fascinating gf - when's the next installment coming?? we wanna know more!! :thumbsup:

I have two Ideas but need easier PC access! 'The ballad of Doc Hoff's Cow' and 'The Steersman and Joanna' both are not what you think they are! BTW sorry for the shameful bump.

More like Necromancy...unless you plan on continuing this?