Procedure 2: Helmsman's Guns And Ammo Supply Shop

“Let’s see, I’m running a bit low on pistol ammo...What caliber is...Ah. There.” Survivor said, counting his ammo.

He put it all in his pocket somehow, and headed towards a ruined building, a short distance from Milk’s bar.

“Hey, Helm, are you open?!” Survivor asked, pounding on a metal door, loudly.

“Whadda ya wan-Oh... It’s you. How’s it going, Survivor? Are you heading out again?” Helm asked, swinging the metal door open.

“Yeah. I need you to check some of my gear. I might need a few repairs. Also, how much ammo do you have?” Survivor asked.

Helm scratched his head for a second, doing a couple calculations in his head.

“Hmm. Around 13k rounds, divided between each caliber, almost equally.” Helm said.

“I’ll take it all, then.” Survivor said, placing a gold brick in Helms hand.

“....You still have way more than enough store credit.” Helm said, trying to hand the gold brick back to Survivor.

“Then just use it as an investment. I’ll be coming back for more supplies eventually. Also, what weapons do you have in stock?” Survivor asked.

“Why don’t you just come in and look. I’ll open the shop for a minute or two.” Helm yawned.

“Great. I appreciate it, and sorry to make you do so much work.” Survivor said.

“No problem. Still, it’s odd. You never tell us how you carry all this shit. You even pulled a gold brick out of thin air, pretty much. It’s like you’re a fucking magician or something…” Helm said.

“It’s something I found in a vault. It lets me store stuff.” Survivor said.

“I know, but you refuse to say anything more about it, other than that. Whatever, I guess that doesn’t matter. What are you looking for, then?” Helm asked.

“I want a backup pistol, and a second sniper. I also need some repairs done. Oh! I’d like you to take a look at this, too. Tell me if you know anything about it.” Survivor said. He rummaged around in his pockets.

Helm grunted. He headed behind the shop counter.

“Here. Backup pistol and sniper. Modified them myself, but I have no use for them. Don't break them.” Helm said.

He pulled a factory new looking pistol from inside of a locked box.

Survivor weighed it and tested how it felt in his hands. He nodded, smiling.

“This is pretty damn nice, Helm. What the hell did you do to make something like this?” Survivor asked.

“Pfft. That’s nothing compared to this.” Helm chuckled.

He pulled a wicked looking sniper rifle out from under a few loose floorboards.

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Survivor whistled, checking it out. He ran his hand across it reverently.

It was beautiful.

“Thanks, Helm. I’ll put it to good use. Here.” Survivor said, handing Helm his gear for repairs, and an odd looking purple and silver device.

“I would rather you not need to use it at all-Wait, where the fuck did you get something like this?!” Helm asked, eyes widening.

“I found it in one of the vaults I visited. For some reason, nobody ever loots them…” Survivor said.

“For good reason, you mean. Normally, a person wouldn’t consider anything you can loot from those places worth risking your life over.” Helm replied, shaking his head.

“Personally, I disagree. I mean, look at that. You know full well what that stuff's capable of.” Survivor argued.

“Of course I know. But I’m also probably one of only three people in the entire world that can even use it. So it isn’t as valuable as it is useful. Even if it is insanely rare. I still say it’s better to live another day than to risk everything for some lousy material enhancer. Well, not lousy, but...Argh, you know what I mean!” Helm rumbled.

“Well, that’s why I brought it here. I’ve never seen enhancing liquid that’s purple before. You have any clue what it is?” Survivor asked.

Helm looked it over for a bit.

He shook it once to test the viscosity of the purple fluid inside. It seemed to be like syrup.

“Well….No. I think I can use it, but….I’m not sure how good it will be. If possible, I’d like to run some tests with it. I’ll buy it off of you, just name your price.” Helm said, the look on his face deathly serious.

Survivor stopped for a second, a little surprised.

“Name my price? Seriously? You just said you weren’t sure how good it would be. What if it doesn’t even work?” Survivor asked.

Helm shook his head, thought for a second, frowned, and spoke.

“No, I’ll correct myself, then. I know for a fact that this will work. I also know that it’s leagues above any other material enhancer I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen them all. But I have no idea how it’s made, or it’s exact limits. I’m pretty sure I can actually make some, if I had enough time to study it. What do you say?” Helm asked.

While you couldn’t tell from his expression alone, you could hear the desperate curiosity in his deep, rumbling voice.

“Just take it. If you can figure it out, that just benefits us all. It’s also useless to me, anyway. I found it in Vault 1327. I’m not sure what fucked up thing they were doing there, but if you want to find anything else, I suggest starting your search there. I didn’t really explore it much, so it should be practically untouched from the third floor and below. I found some files there, too. They kept their database on the second floor for some reason. I’ll send them over to Weyer before I leave.” Survivor said.

“Got it. Thanks. I think me and Weyer can do the rest ourselves. When are you leaving, anyway?” Helm wondered.

“Tomorrow. Well, this morning technically.” Survivor replied.

“Why don’t you just take a break? It’s not good for your health if you don’t rest once in a while.” Helm said.

“I’m a busy man, Helm. Can’t stop, won’t stop. Besides, you never know what’s going to happen in the wastes. If someone else reaches that Vault with the P-D.A.R.M. blueprints before I do….” Survivor grimaced, imagining the consequences something like that would bring.

“What? Wait, are you leaving to go and find another vault? Seriously? You really do have a death wish.” Helm said.

“Ha. I’m a survivor for a reason. It takes more than even a nuke to stop me.” Survivor grinned.

“Yeah….I’m pretty sure most people are well aware of that. But those T-rex lookin bastards aren’t. Even that handgun I gave you might have trouble piercing their tough hide.” Helm said.

“You mean the one species that spread across the world from Vault 1023, right? Those things? They aren’t that common are they? I've only seen around 50 of them throughout my travels. Though, I’ll admit, they are a bitch to kill. Especially when you run out of ammo.” Survivor grumbled.

“Look, I’ll get everything ready. Just get some sleep before you leave. Sorry to cut this conversation short, but I do have a bit of work to do now.” Helm sighed, tiredly.

“Ah, alright. Catch ya later then, Helm. I’ll pick up my gear in the morning. Don’t work yourself too hard.” Survivor said, leaving with a wave.

Helm clicked his tongue.

"Tough bastard. Why do I even bother worrying about someone who can punch a T-rex to death, anyway." Helm mumbled, after Survivor left.

He got to work, still grumbling.

The sun was rising on the horizon, just as he finished everything.