Chapter 162: Chapter 157

Orphan adoption in the Nexus was a straightforward yet highly monitored process. The nature of the wasteland meant that there were many of them, just as there were many couples who were too old to conceive or had lost their childrens. While the orphanages of the Nexus were well run in every aspect, all the care Sev could provide often could not make up for a proper family.

 

So many lonely couples who willingly went through a strict vetting process took up fostering or adopting in the hopes to start a new picturesque family life in the Nexus Severalty, without the dangers and risks of an irradiated wasteland. Former slaves who once had nothing sought partners and adopted children who had gone through the same hell that they had. Older settlers who had suffered great losses found a new chance in raising children again.

 

While it didn’t empty out the orphanages, there were enough children finding new families that the business of family consultants was booming, and often the first thing new citizens of the Nexus did with their credits was to renovate their homes to accommodate their expanded families.

 

It was all well and good, but Emma was seriously having second thoughts about her own adoption.

 

He had no name initially, so the single mother had named the poor thing Tyler, after her own father. Tyler was one of the recent rescues of the Nexus’ expansion, from the hellhole that was Vault 93. After the story broke detailing a ‘queendom’ that enslaved women to forcefully breed them, and then warping the poor children that resulted, the outcry that ensued was greater than any the Nexus public had voiced before.

 

How dare they treat wastelanders as ‘feral’ worth little more than beasts? And to break down a woman into nothing more than a broodmare, and snatch away their offspring? 

 

How could they twist innocent infants like that, for the crime of being born a boy? Was there no maternal instinct amongst the women there?

 

Over a few days, the Nexus audience watched the live report of the state of the hideously deformed ‘brutes’ and pitiful ‘toys’ of Vault 93. Both were severely stunted in the mind, and it wrenched Emma’s heart to see twisted giants and frail boys alike prostrating and scraping in the presence of Piper, Cait and Curie like broken dogs. After being shown glimpses of their living conditions in the queendom, and the harsh and expendable lives they led, Emma had to find her Danny to give him a lungs-crushing hug, grateful that her son didn’t have to endure such a nightmare.

 

The picture did not get any brighter as more was revealed. The older ‘brutes’ and ‘toys’ had to be taken into Research Center Ix in an attempt to restore their bodies, if not their minds. That the miraculous healing arches could do little for them spoke of how badly the wretched bitches of Vault 93 broke the boys. There was a hint of the possibility that they could not be salvaged, though the scientists interviewed were passionately adamant in doing their best.

 

Thankfully, there was hope for the younger ones, whose bodies had not been fully corrupted by the chems and toxins, and whose minds could still be rehabilitated. The arches gave these boys a semblance of physical normalcy, and the Nexus audience watched raptly on their screens as the live series finally ended with these boys and the younger girls who had been mostly untainted by Vault 93’s corruption being sent to the Nexus orphanages.

 

Which led to Tyler being taken into Emma’s household. It was the least she could do, she had thought. But seeing the boy in the flesh, who hunched a good head taller than Danny while being a good three years younger at least… Well, it’s a good thing the family consultants are being heavily subsidized.

 

As Tyler obediently followed Emma into his new home with his hand in hers, a Nexus Sentinel swam above their house. For the first few years, the Sentinel would observe the family for their safety. The former brute was mostly a clean, clueless slate, but with how the metanatural worked, the Nexus was invested to minimize any unnecessary risk.

 

“Welcome, Tyler!”

 

Danny and Carrie did their best not to stare too much at their new brother as they greeted him, and bless them, they were fully prepared to help make him a part of the family. The two children had pored through the reading material with their mother to ensure that they knew what they’d be in for, and had even pooled up some of their savings to spruce up Tyler’s room.

 

Tyler startled a little, but then gave a blank look, first to Danny, then to Carrie, and finally looked up at Emma in puzzlement. She pointed at her children as she introduced them to her new son. “That’s Danny…and that’s Carrie. They’re your brother and sister now, Tyler.”

 

The boy blinked once without any signs of comprehension, but nodded slowly nonetheless. “Danee…Carree… Brudder…sistuh…”

 

Emma fought back a sigh and gave a gentle smile instead. It’d be a lot of work, but Sev willing, she could do her part in bettering the world.

 

It would only take a couple of months for Tyler to become comfortable with his new family, and a year and a half for him to be able to clearly articulate his earnest love for his mother and siblings. It was the second happiest moment Emma had for Tyler. The first would come several years later, when he came back with a Valentine’s date and introduced the girl to his ‘mama’ with gushing praise. 

 

“Meet my mama, who looks after me and loves me and gave me the chance to meet you.”

 

Poor Danny would forever be teased by his sister for never meeting such standards.

 

*****

 

Lorraine awoke to find herself in the familiar, sterile environment of an unfurnished vault room. She was also buck naked, save for the metal collar around her neck. Her hands shot up to-

 

Wait, she had hands again? The last thing the fallen queen experienced was the pain of the enemy’s blades, severing arms and legs.

 

She quickly got up, finding the room- or cell, more like, utterly devoid of any features save for a drain cover in one corner and a decorative metal arch by the wall opposite of the lone entrance. The door marking the entrance was closed, but the scratched paint on it and the walls around her told Lorraine where she was exactly.

 

The ferals had dumped her in one of the vault’s dungeon cells, like she were a stupid male needing discipline.

 

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No surprise then that there was no way to open the door from inside, as annoying as it was.

 

Dull thuds on one side of her cell had the disgraced queen crawling over the source of the sound, desperately pressing her ear against the metal wall. She could make out the faint rapping of knuckles on steel from the adjacent cell, but the soundproofing her ancestors installed to keep the irritating noise from leaking had remained as effective as ever. You could scream your lungs out and barely anyone would hear you from beyond these four walls.

 

As Lorraine puzzled over her current predicament, the cell lights dimmed, and a voice could suddenly be heard, coming from all around her.

 

“Do not feign sleep, I know you are all awake,” came a man’s voice, stern and brusque. Thanks to the darker conditions, Lorraine spied the telltale red dots of security cameras in each corner of her cell. 

 

“To the former…people of Vault 93, welcome to your new life.” The doors were suddenly illuminated by a thin wall of light that magically displayed the face of what Lorraine assumed was the speaker. He was a young man, and even with his frowning face he was pretty enough to be a toy, if not for a thicker frame that was typical of the ferals of the wasteland.

 

The man barely blinked as he spoke. “You are all prisoners of the Nexus Severalty, with all the rights and protections our laws ensure.” So this was the Nexus? Lorraine hadn’t thought that they were real.

 

“And as per Nexus laws, those rights and protections have been dismissed due to your actions. The Nexus does not tolerate those who enslave and oppress.” The former queen sneered at the man’s words, even as fear slowly bloomed in her heart. What were they going to do, execute her and the entire court? 

 

The man’s frown eased a bit, which didn’t do much to assuage Lorraine’s fears. “Your sentence is a lifetime of being test subjects, for the greater good of the humanity that you once oppressed and abused. There will be no redemption, there will be no relief.”

 

Test subjects? The fear became a cold void in her gut. 

 

“You will not have any rights to protect you, save for the assurances that the Nexus does not and will not condone rape, and will not inflict it on the prisoners we hold, even if you deserve it.”

 

Something in his words made Lorraine freeze up and her leg go weak. The view of the man slowly zoomed out, revealing him standing just by the entrance of the vault dungeons.

 

“Which is why Vault 93 has not been annexed by the Nexus Severalty, and the Nexus will be transferring the care of you prisoners to the new occupants of Vault 93.”

 

Lorraine fell to her knees as a knowing chill shot up her spine. The view turned to show dozens of brutal feral men, all with a touch of weariness, looking beyond the camera and presumably at the young man. He addressed the ferals, and the words sent the fallen queen crawling back against the wall for support.

 

“To you lot, you men have chosen the option of serving in one final test, followed by summary execution after its completion, instead of continuing to serve in Blacksite Tleilax. Does anyone have any second thoughts?”

 

Lorraine watched in silent horror as the men shook their heads. Even with the knowledge of execution, some wore grateful smiles. What happened in that Blacksite that made savage ferals prefer a quick death?

 

“Good. The Nexus Severalty looks forward to working with the new residents of Vault 93. Please pick a door.”

 

No. No, no nononono…

 

The ferals began shuffling past the camera…towards the dungeon. Her eyes looked beyond the projection, to the cell door.

 

The young man’s voice became much grimmer, much more sinister. “Remember your task. If the prisoners die, those responsible will be returned to Blacksite Tleilax.”

 

The projection’s view panned to show the ferals taking their place in front of the cell doors.

 

“So, to the new dwellers of Vault 93, please prepare for the first stage of the test.” The light projection died, and the lights went back on. The door then opened, revealing the silhouette of a bulky, scarred feral whose grin made Lorraine whimper in fear. She could hear some screams from familiar voices echoing down the hallway. 

 

“As long as you accomplish your task, and as long as your charges remain in a serviceable state, how they are treated will be left to the residents of Vault 93.”

 

The feral stepped in, flashing a toothy grin, and the former queen of the vault fought to keep her resolve from disintegrating.

 

“You may begin the breeding project on your assigned prisoners.”

 

The door closed, and the feral’s hands reached out to Lorraine. Her screams and struggles did not do anything to change her fate.

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