But she still felt guilty. If they'd only made it Haven City sooner.
Now they were here though, they had a job to do. If she could help Robbin save his brother, she might feel the price they'd paid had been worth it.
All they had to do was break in to an abandoned factory and avoid some old robots. If that 'Protectron' they'd encountered in the Wasteland was anything to go by, this should be fairly straightforward...
Arriving in Haven City, Elara and Robbin picked up some 'hard work' to earn some caps, and met some supportive locals (gaining an Adventure Point and also explaining how I gained a contract to retrieve an item in the previous turn). I gained an extra activity this turn but my attempt to study the RobCo factory came to nothing.
After the minor disaster of the last game, I was keen to get on with both the main quest to get back to the vault and the side quest to rescue Robbin's brother. I also have three turns to complete the contract, so it remains an option after this mission was completed.
Rather than using the Into the Wasteland rules, I opted to create a custom scenario. Elara or Robbin needed to get to the computer terminal on the first floor if the central building and perform a computers check.
Simply doing the action would be enough to track the Super Mutants and move on to the final part of the Revenge side quest. However, a successful test would be needed to download the data that Scope Havelock had requested.
The only problem was that the factory is being patrolled by a Battered Sentry Bot, which had both the toughness and firepower to potentially make a real mess of Elara and Robbin.
They were going to have to be quick and sneaky.
***
Elara wriggled through the fence and made directly for the staircase.
Robbin had been insistent that she be the one to go for the computer terminal as she has both the knowledge to use it and the PipBoy to store the data.
He had bravely volunteered to draw the attention of the Sentry Bot whilst she completed their task.
Robbin was rapidly rethinking his life choices as the huge form of a Sentry Bot rolled around the corner, raised it's weapon and fired.
Robbin's life flashed before his eyes. As did a missile which screamed past his head to detonate in the distance.
Something was clearly wrong with the old bot's targetters. As Robbin turned to run, he prayed that the machine wasn't capable of recalibrating itself.
Terrified that the next shot would be more accurate, Robbin pinned himself into a corner hoping to stay out of sight of the massive robot.
Elara heard the explosion and hoped that Robbin hadn't been caught in the blast as she made her way up the steps and into the factory office.
The computer terminal dimly glowed green in front of her.
Robbin tried to slow his breathing as he listened carefully for the sound of the Sentry Bot heading in the other direction.
However, the squeaking and changing only came closer, and as the hulking mechanical monstrosity lumbered round the corner, its voice synthesizer boomed out, "Intruders detected. Please leave the area. You have 20 seconds to comply."
Elara tapped at the screen. Scope had been right, the Super Mutants could be tracked and she quickly had a fix on the location of the group heading away from Scrap Hill.
The data download took longer. The status bar on her PipBoy moved frustratingly slowly as she heard the mechanical voice echo around the factory.
"Alert! Alert! Intruders will be neutralised!"
Robbin ran. He knew he couldn't outrun the Sentry Bot's weapons, but if he could just get some cover between him an it, there might be a chance.
With a whoosh of flame the bot fired again, but instead of streaming directly towards Robbin, it arced downwards and impacted the ground between the two.
A large blast of flame and rubble engulfed both the Sentry Bot and Robbin, pitching the Scavenger forwards. When the dust settled Robbin lay still and the scratched for form of the Sentry Bot rolled off in search of other Intruders.
"Target neutralised."
The tinny voice sent shivers down Elara's spine as she edged down the steps, her mother nd spinning.
Had that blast caught Robbin? Had she not been fast enough? Was she responsible for another death? Where was the robot?
The answer to her final question was answered almost immediately when the robotic brute moved impassively to block the foot of the steps, its terrifying weapons slowly coming up to target her.
Elara braced...
...and leapt.
She flew over the railing and down to the ground. Without pause she was up and running, scrambling, half falling asleep she desperately scrambled towards the hole in the fence she had wriggled through, expecting at any moment to be wrapped in flame shredded by shrapnel.
As she hauled herself through the fence, she risked a backward glance at the terrifying form of the Sentry Bot, it's weaponry pointed directly at her.
"Intruder has left RobCo grounds. Return to patrol route."
***
Another closely fought battle in which Elara and Robbin (to an extent) benefited from really poor accuracy on the part of the Sentry Bot. Even the shot that took Robbin down actually missed and he was unfortunately caught in the blast.
I ended up using another of my campaign lifelines to save Robbin's life, as I wanted him present for the final chapter of his own side quest, which I will probably do after trying to complete the contract as I think I could do with the money to recruit some extra firepower. Mind you, the News Travels phase threw up some sewers beneath Haven City that might need exploring.
***
Elara breathed heavily. She didn't know how Robbin had managed to drag himself clear of the factory boundary, especially with his damaged arm, but he'd done it.
The mission had been a qualified success. They were both alive, they knew where Ravage's Super Mutants were, and Elara's quest to return home was a step closer to completion.
She supposed that this counted as a good day in the wasteland.
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