Chapter 88: Chapter 84

Life in the Nexus felt like it was in a constant state of improvement. Emma had gone from a migrant wastelander to a resident of a massive underwater vault, and only recently moved back up to the surface.

Caladan was nice and all, but it was good to have the skies above her without compromising much on the luxuries of her new life.

Land had been cleared out near Station 81 for proper homes, neighborhoods of brick and mortar and shingles with basements and two floors. And each home was expected to house one family for a flexible and affordable rate. In Emma’s case, she had to only worry about twenty credits a month for the next fifteen years.

Good thing she was good at ceramics which, thanks to the increase of new homeowners, saw a profitable demand for decor. Exports helped as well, and at this rate Emma could not only afford to pay off her home by the end of next year, but keep enough credits stored to consider other luxuries for her family.

Like building a pool or having some fruit trees in the backyard. Or she could upgrade from the furniture the homes came with to something that suited her tastes. Danny and Carrie were already getting a steady trickle of credits for simply attending school, so they could afford their own knick knacks with a bit of saving, which was a good habit to learn. But they’d appreciate a new theme to their rooms. She would have to talk to them about it later.

Other than that, Emma had been spending some of her spare credits and her free time visiting O Alley, a street in Caladan dedicated to the more adult side of life.

The Nexus treated prostitutes as any other job, save that they had special protection to ensure that they had their fair share of the profit, and could freely enter and leave the industry. Despite the credits to be made, O Alley only hosted four brothels, the rest of the street filled with novelty stores, softcore cafes, stages for live performances, and gloryhole booths (some transparent, others not).

Emma went there for the brothels though, or rather a particular one, the Messpit. Alan worked there, and Alan was her go to when Emma needed to destress. She liked his friends too, but Alan had a special touch to him. Plus she found the gangbang bukkake session less…appealing in real life.

Having her kids living a life free from hunger and danger, and having her own needs and desires fulfilled, it seemed hard to top her life right now.

Then Sev had announced on the evening news that the Nexus had made a breakthrough in meat production, and Emma now could look forward to trying rad-free beef that wasn’t from a can or packet in the near future. What would rad-free brahmin be like? Already she was daydreaming about selecting the cuts and watching the robot butcher carve out a hefty chunk of brahmin leg.

On the other hand, news of the new wave of immigrants was something Emma cared little for. The Nexus had attracted people from groups she used to only hear in whispers; the Enclave, the Brotherhood of Steel… Eh, it shouldn’t be surprising. And unlike some paranoid neighbors, Emma had full confidence in Sev. With the amount of Sentinels flying overhead the freshly-built homes and streets on the surface, Emma couldn’t imagine anyone successfully sneaking in and causing trouble within the Nexus.

Even if they did get in, how badly do you want to die by pissing off a ruler who beat a god?

Whistling a cheery tune Danny had learned in school. Emma went back to her potter’s wheel. Maybe after this she’d ask Alan to try roleplaying. Hm… Would she want to be a cultist or the Atom?

*****

Nisha found life as a farmer boring, but she knew better than to wish for anything different. The piece of land the rehabilitated raider was given kept her fed and paid, and the rather spacious home was all hers to live in. She could’ve tried a more exciting job, like applying for the military, but being bored was a good change of pace.

Simply tend to the crops, process them when the time came, and that’s it. That’s her job. Entertainment was listening to the radio, watching the TV, or taking the train to Station 81 and finding some random guy to scratch her carnal itch.

As a farmer in the Nexus, her pay came weekly, usually unchanged unless her crop was exceeding or falling short of standard projections. It didn’t mean much to Nisha, she was barely spending much anyway. At most it was to upgrade the Nexus’ default basic meal with fruits, veggies and stored meat (whatever that means), and new clothes every now and then.

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The simple lifestyle resulted in Nisha saving up a sizeable amount of credits that would likely remain unspent, unless the Nexus started selling tickets for a ride on Sev’s dick. Then she’d finally get to sate her curiosity on just how good the Nexus’ ruler was. If he happened to actually fuck her into an incoherent mess, all the better.

Ah, maybe she should switch from wheat to corn. Supposedly those make for good…aids for idle times like this.

*****

Tim was enjoying his forced vacation. It rankled a bit that he had to stay in Caladan while his friends in 1st Company were having fun and saving people out in the Commonwealth, but he understood why though.

Katy was pregnant!

And it was most definitely Tim’s, he didn’t need to see the results (which he did anyway just to enjoy reading the confirmation) to confirm it. Sev had already said that he wasn’t capable of breeding anyone, and Katy didn’t welcome anyone else but Tim.

So he was happily walking with Katy, hand in hand, to see Dr Forscythe for her checkup. He had nothing else to do, he was still enjoying this feeling of becoming a parent, and as Sev had given both him and Katy the order to ‘not be shitty parents’, so…here he was. With Katy, being a good, participating husband, eagerly keeping track of their baby’s growth.

It wasn’t as boring as some made it to be. Tim was honestly really glad to explore this new world of parenthood. He genuinely took interest along with Katy in Dr Forscythe’s and his assistants’ briefings on what to expect, and the couple eagerly joined the network of parents to pick up on more tips and lessons.

The couple were still getting their salary as if they were still serving in 1st Company, because Sev said so, so it was purely because he needed more to do that Tim took to working with the Nexus’ administration team, particularly in the security department where him being a known member of Sev’s Own was a very useful tool in arbitrating disputes.

It was almost a shame that everyone knew how to behave, since it made the job boring, but better to endure boredom than having unappreciative and over-entitled people who’d cause trouble in Sev’s lands.

Things might change though, as supposedly the Nexus had a new enemy to focus on (Tim didn’t even think Sev would have any enemies to actually worry about). Their friends from 1st Company dropped by often, bringing news and tidbits from the outside in exchange for the latest local drama which Katy had become an expert in weaving into an entertaining tale.

The latest news was about the admittance of defectors from the Brotherhood of Steel. Sarah Lyons and her people had sought Sev’s assistance and got it, and would undergo probationary citizenship. Seeing that they were veterans, the former BoS folk might provide the Companies valuable military training. The Nexus was also properly at war with the Brotherhood, partially as a result of the defection, partially due to Sev simply wanting to hasten the inevitable clash.

Additionally, a few of his fellow soldiers had been tasked to test new secret weapons in Ix. That news made both Tim and Katy envious. While details had to be kept under wraps, the lucky bastards who got to play with the new toys promised that the unveiling would be spectacular, probably better than the Kirov’s launch.

Hm… Assuming it came soon, maybe he could ask Sev if he and Katy could watch the coming conflict from the Kirov? With the airship being fully automated, there wasn’t anything to really do up there, but maybe Tim could take up sniping duty or something?

He discussed the idea with Katy, and when they next met Edward, passed that idea along. Joyous miracle birth or not, there was no way the couple was going to sit out Sev wasting more idiots.

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