Fallout Equestria: Baltimare Heights

"Woah! Look at this place!" I exclaimed, taking in the sight of what had once been a casino and hotel. From the beautifully designed wooden floors that featured floral designs that expanded off into a sea of moving bodies to the gold-trimmed crystalline chandeliers and soft-lit square pillars that reached up from the colorful crowd. They were evenly spaced throughout the area and had intricately detailed plant life carved into the stone. These pillars, the chandeliers and the overhead lights and high placed wall lamps gave everything in here a beautiful, warm glow. This one room seemed to expand endlessly and it left me awestruck. The original walls were practically hidden at ground level as shops had been built in from them. Every shop appeared to be professionally constructed and seemed to be sizably spacious. Smaller stalls dotted the innermost area of the floor and the closest ones that faced us appeared to be selling freshly cooked food.

The two of us looked at one another in surprise. This place was immaculate and neither of us would have expected it to look like this. Then she looked over my head. "The guards," she started as she walked past me. I looked back over my shoulder to see two guards talking beside the doors we’d just come through and an unlabelled door off to their other side. "Maybe they will help us," she told me as I fell in step beside her.

They stopped their conversation and took stock of us as we approached them. Standing straighter, the earth pony mare on the right gave us a friendly smile. "You two must be new here, need something?"

The buck beside her took a step toward us. "If you're lost and looking for a little guidance, you'll want to speak with the bankers at the Exchange. They know a lot more about who buys and sells what around here. Food stalls are all around, so be sure you get a full stomach while you're here.”

Xeyal took a look around while I just lifted an eyebrow. "The Exchange? Where's that even at?"

The mare chuckled, but hid it behind her hoof, "First timers, am I right?"

The buck didn't laugh with her, he instead pointed a hoof high over the crowd. "Against the back wall over that way, huge sign, you can't miss it. It's the Height's public bank.”

Xeyal looked off that way then gave her attention back to the buck. “What is a bank?” she asked without any hint of sarcasm.

The guards both gave her a deadpan look up at her. “You’re joking right?” The mare asked her. “I mean I know the wasteland doesn’t have a lot of them, but surely you’ve been in one at some point.”

Smacking his forehead, the buck didn’t even try to explain it to us, giving a “bah” and dismissing us with a wave of his hoof. He looked back to the mare beside him, “Look it’s time I go to lunch. I’ll be back in an hour.” He left the three of us and walked off into the crowd.

Not wanting to deal with this mare any longer, I mimicked the dismissing hoof wave the buck had given us, turned and left heading the way he had directed us. Xeyal gave the mare a bow and fell in step beside me. I wanted to find out who sold ammunition and if bits were of any use here. The two of us melded into the crowd, finding that the ponies here seemed to flow in single directions, off to our right, ponies stood around near the shops and booths on our left ponies were moving back the direction we had just come from. Past them were more ponies standing about. Everyone here was wearing a variety of outfits, some wore nothing at all, others wore suits with ties and fancy dresses or gowns and quite a few of them were wearing body armor. The armors varied from ragged looking metal plate gear while others wore high combat equipment.

Up ahead of us, I could see a large elegantly crafted stone sign that had “Grand Exchange” written in satan black cursive across its center. “There it is.” Xeyal told me. Now that we were a part of the crowd, she had to lean in close to me in order for me to hear her over the crowd.

“I see it!” I hollered back up at her. As the crowd ahead of us began disbursing in every direction, up ahead I could see a short line of ponies waiting at a set of four windows. The entire counter was behind a wall of glass, effectively separating it from the rest of the floor. Just as we got into line, I caught the smell of something. Something that smelt amazing. I lifted my nose into the air and gave a few more sniffs before I located where that smell was coming from. A nearby stall with several ponies who stood around it. “Wait here, I’m getting us some food.” I told Xeyal before galloping over as quickly as I could.

I walked around the crowd until I found a gap I could squeeze in. Sure enough as ponies were getting their food, they turned and left. The ponies around me had paper trays magically passed to them and finally I was at the front. Before me was a pair of young mares who had a wood burning grill set up. On that grill were sticks with chunks of vegetables that smelt like peppers, but I could also see zucchini, radish and other chunked vegetables on them. Putting my forehooves on the counter, my mouth felt like a fountain, swallowing to empty my mouth. I had to ask, “How much for four?”

The mare tending the cash box looked up at me with a smirk, “For you, fifteen caps each.”

I instantly deflated on their counter. “What’s a cap? I only have bits.” I begrudgingly asked her.

Her brow rose sharply at that, “What are you, some kind of time traveller?” She questioned with all the sarcasm she could muster.

“No? Can you accept bits?”

“No. Some ponies do value them higher than caps, but we can’t use ‘em. Try the Exchange, it’s literally right there.” She pointed a hoof at the windows directly behind me.

“Yeah, we just got here and have to wait in line, but I smelled your amazing food and couldn’t wait.” My stomach growled as if to emphasize my point. Too bad the noise around us easily drowned it out.

“Tell you what,” She looked over at her companion. “Let me talk to my partner here.” She turned away from me and talked to the other mare who gave her a quick accepting nod before turning her attention back to me. “If you’re trading in a couple pre-war coins, you should have no issue covering the cost. I’ll give you these skewers now if you come back and pay for 'em. How many did you find anyway?”

“Uhh…” I didn’t know how many bits we had combined, I’d always saved them up since I never used them for anything back in the stable. I pulled out all four bags I carried, three were smaller and one was the life savings bag I tried to never use. “A lot," was all I told her while grinning from. ear to ear.

Both of the mares' eyes practically popped from their heads as their jaws hung open. “Wow.” was all she told me before reading the skewers for me. “You know, how about you give me twenty of them and we call it good.”

“Nah, you just said they were ten caps each, right?”

She caught on immediately. With a flare of anger, she took a deep breath to level out her tone. “No, I told you fifteen each. That’s what we’ve always sold 'em at. Sixty caps total for four. Don’t try to pull a fast one on me or anyone else here. You’ll get kicked out onto the street without your ammo faster than you could fart, asshole. Just because you're rich doesn’t mean I have to be nice to you, this will probably be your only warning.”

“Fine, fine, I just misunderstood you, it’s noisy in here. I swear though, I wasn’t trying to pull anything.” I told her trying to sound as honest as I could. I withdrew thirty bits from the big bag and sat them in three stacks of ten before stowing the bags. “Here, thank you for the advice.”

She snorted and stared me in the eye for a very long minute before levitating the coins down into her box. The other unicorn levitated four of the steaming skewers out to me in a little paper tray. “Thank you for the business and enjoy the food. Please be sure to throw that tray in a trash can. We try to keep this place as clean as possible.”

I gave her a nod. “Will do and thank you again.” I levitated the food next to me as I made my way back to where Xeyel stood. She had moved forward two spots and we were now third in line. I levitated two of the skewers for myself and held the tray out to Xeyal. She took it in her hooves. “Well, it appears we're rich.”

“How so?” she asked me, sitting back on her haunches as she took the tray in her hooves. She held one of the skewers out and sniffed at it. She didn’t hesitate, two of the veggie chunks off with her teeth and ate them. I did the same and was filled with instant joy when it tasted better than they smelled. “These are delicious!” Her voice shot up a whole octave of pure delight.

I chewed and swallowed, not waiting to take another bit or three. By the time both our skewers were just sticks in the tray I levitated before us, we were at the front of the line and a stallion was waving us to him. “Next!” he said through a small gap at the bottom of the window. Each window had a wooden wall built up to separate the clientele.

We both stepped forward and I put the trash I held to one side of the counter. “Hello, sir,” I started. “This is our first time here in the Heights and we had no idea where to start. One of the guards told us to come talk to you.”

His sigh of annoyance made me fidget a little. “We are a bank. If you have items to store, we can set you up with an account and a safe. The fee for this service is one hundred caps every thirty days from the day the account is created. The currencies we exchange can be from anywhere in the Equestrian Wasteland. We exchange caps for gold and silver bars, the NCR dollar, pre-war gold coins, Legionarian coin, the Hoofington regional dollar, and the Fillydelphian silver dollar coin. These are the currencies we have in stock and are the most common ones in todays’ Wasteland. What would you like to exchange?” He levitated a bottle of water to him and took a drink.

“Yes, we have some pre-war bits to exchange, what’s the rate?” I asked him, feeling a little giddy.

“Sure. Many ponies don’t see the value in these coins, but there are certain communities that rely on them. Above this, They are necessary for certain machines that only accept them. Also, there is no possible way to recreate these coins. As they are somewhat rare, we offer ten caps per coin. How many did you happen upon?” The stallion’s demeanor had almost completely changed. He still seemed bored but the mention of pre-war bits had improved his mood just a tidbit.

I was excited to see his reaction when I showed him my savings, but figured I’d let Xeyal go first. “My friend here also has some too. May she make her exchange first?” I looked up at Xeyal who cocked an eyebrow but held her stoic demeanor. She reached back into her saddlebag and drew out a pair of good sized bags. “Here, I have been saving for a while now. Here are three hundred and fifty bits.”

The stallion’s eyes opened wide as he took the bags in his magic and took a peek inside. Confirmation attained, he looked up at us again. “This may take us a while to process. Would you two be able to wait? We have a VIP visitor lounge through the door to your left.

“That we can,” I told him as I withdrew my own bags. “ I have around five or six hundred saved..”

He levitated my bags separate from my friends. “This will take us at least an hour or two. Please, make use of the lounge, you will find tea and cookies available to you as well as an assistant who can answer any questions or concerns you two may have.” With that, he moved a sign to the center of his window that read “closed”.

Xeyal started toward the lounge door, but I watched and listened for a moment. Him and a mare spoke for a moment, she seemed just as shocked as he had. The pair disappeared through a door with all our bits.

With that, I picked up my trash and dropped it in the garbage that was only a few paces past the door. Afterwards, I accompanied Xeyal into the lounge. She took one of the couches, stretched out on her back. Her saddlebags were laying on the floor beside her. I followed her lead, removing my own saddlebags before finding a comfy position on the couch. I laid on my stomach with my front hooves tucked under my chest and my chin resting on the arm of my couch. It didn't smell clean, but they were so much better than a stone floor. The plush cushions made it easy for me to start nodding off. I didn't even care enough right now to address the assistant that was sitting near the back of the room in a chair reading a book. She hadn't bothered to address us either, so the silence we shared was comparably comforting in contrast to the trade floor.

With my eyes closed and a big yawn, I asked her. "Question; who is in charged around here?"

I could see the mare, but her voice was silky smooth and prompt. "That would be Mr. Avenue, he and his council keep this place safe and functional."

Council? "Do they accept scheduled meetings? If so, how would we set it up?" The book closed and hooves lightly tapped the wood-trimmed carpets. Half her steps were muted.

I cracked my eyes open to see her standing over me, looking down. She wore small framed square glasses in front of her light lavender eyes. She wore her light brown mane curled mane to one side in a braid that was tied back under her right ear. She leered at me with a judgemental hum. "I've never seen you or your zebra bodyguard here before and I know most every VIP pony in Baltimare. Who are you to ask about an audience with my boss?"

I felt taken aback and tried not to show it but her gaze had a certain piercing quality to it. So I sat up, which made me a little taller than her. "My name's Glimmer Stone and my friend there," I dipped my head toward the snoozing zebra, "is Xeyal. We were sent here to organize a trade deal."

"I see," she turned and walked away from me in the most prim and proper strut I've ever seen. Her braided tail flicked back and forth as she made her way over to a radio she had sitting on a table next to her chair. She turned, sat, and looked back at me. "While I myself can not schedule you an appointment, I am capable of getting your request heard. However, They are all busy ponies and rarely have the time to hear about desperate communities and their rationing issues."

Rationing issues? "Hold on, do I look like a pony representing some small group?"

"No, but anyone can bathe and buy a nice set of armor here." Her counter argument was sound and I sort of hated her for the assumption.

"True as that may be, I assure you, this isn't a single-sided proposition." I told her as I held a calm and collected tone."Now that I think about it, I am willing to bet that there are other towns who can use the supply we have to offer."

She laughed at that. "You're a persuasive mare. You know that, don't you? Tell you what, Ms. Stone, I will pass on your request. I imagine that you do have the capital to rent a room for two."

I laid back down and got comfortable again. "How much would one be and where would we pay for it?"

"The hotel's reception desk can be down the corridor to the right of the Exchange windows." She picked up her book and returned to the marked page. "Do you have any other questions I may answer?"

"Actually, I do." I told her as my eyes closed once again. "Are there any other zebras in this wasteland?"

I heard her snort softly. "Yes, but many of them live in small secluded villages or roam Equestria without a home. Most are scavengers and reclusive in nature." She paused briefly, "Few zebras make their way here but I don't see them here with any frequency."

Hearing this gave me a feeling of relief, at least our stable wasn't the last of them. "Okay, next question. I had heard of this place through your broadcast. The radio pony mentioned something about unicorns being needed for expansionary work. What sort of work is it? Does it pay well?"

The mare had a lull to her voice, "Uhm, yes. It is. The Heights has always worked hard to maintain the quality of the pre-war structure of this and surrounding buildings. There are suspension bridges being built at higher floors with the intent to be above the heavy fog that blankets the city streets." She paused briefly, I could hear her chair squeak a little as she readjusted herself. "I'm unsure what sort of benefits the work offers, but you can speak with Ratchet in his office."

She had neglected to tell me where to find his office, but it didn't matter right now. "Sure, Rachet, got it."

Just then a door opened near the gray mare, I heard footsteps come in only far enough to be near the earth pony and to hear her whisper back, "Thank you."

Cracking an eye open, I could see the stallion who had helped me at the desk turn and leave the way he had come. This prickled at my mane so I asked, "A note?"

"Yes, but nothing regarding you." She answered, assuring me that it was probably regarding us.

"So tell me, what is your line of work, Ms. Stone?" Her question felt like a probe in the ear.

"I gave a sigh and readjusted myself, rolling to one side and pressing my back into the cushions. I stretched my legs out and groaned in relief. "I'm a talisman technician."

The sudden closing of her book and the sound of four hooves lightly tapping the floor in quick succession followed by her taking a quick approach to stand beside the couch. "What is it you do, one more time?"

This time, with my head in the corner of the cushions and the arm of the couch pressed against the top of my head, I smiled at the sideways mare. "I'm a talisman technician." I repeated but figured further clarification is what she wanted from me. "You know those gemstones that are enchanted and used in machinery? I make them."

"So you are a Steel Ranger. What's your real reason to be here?" Her eyes focused on mine with an intensity that carried her accusation with a clear intent.

"What's a Steel Ranger?" I asked her, of course I knew, but dumb was a better option here.

"Don't play stupid with me." She insisted, "I can tell that you're more intelligent than that."

I repositioned so I could look her in the eye properly. I was pretty sore still and didn't want to move any more than I had to right now. "Look, I'll be straight with you… uh, whatever your name is, I ha-".

"It's Amethyst Smoke," she interjected.

"Fine, Ms. Smoke. Let me explain this to you. We had a single run in with these Steel Ranger guys. There was a fight and while I'm not proud of it, I killed two of them and while I'm not proud of that fact, they started the fight. Why the hell would you think we're with them?"

She didn't answer me immediately, but her sharp eyes stayed locked with mine. I didn't loom away from her, but as the silence continued, I furrowed my brow. "Well?" I asked her with as much venom as I could into the word.

The smirk she gave me was eerily scary. "I believe you, but that leaves me with one last question for you."

"Is this an interrogation? It's beginning to feel like an interrogation." That only made Amethysts' smile widen with the barest hint of a laugh.

"No, Ms. Stone, it isn't. I’ll assume that you don’t realize just how few ponies walk around with a computer strapped to their foreleg?" At that, I looked down at my pipbuck wide-eyed and she continued, satisfied with my reaction. "Thought so. You see, those are quite rare.” She gave me that knowing smile once more. “Considering how healthy you both look and that both of you have a pipbuck, it left our security team a little weary." She looked over at Xeyal who was fast asleep then back at me.

"Ah, so this is an interrogation. Are you a part of the security team?" I asked her.

"Well, I am in a sense a part of the security team, I'm actually the Head of Information. I see and hear everything that happens in the Heights and I'm the first pony they notify when unusual things happen." Amethysts' voice didn't waver, "You see. I'm aware of the gear you left in the security checkpoint and of the amount of caps you'll receive from all that pre-war currency you just exchanged. Now, I do believe you when you say the Steel Rangers attacked you and that you were capable of killing them." Her leer made me feel uneasy, as if she could see my very soul.

“That means you are stable dwellers. Are you two out here for the first time? It would explain the large exchange of pre-war currency and your potential trade proposition." She gave me a knowing smile and her glasses glinted, reflecting the overhead lights. “Am I correct?”

I sighed and stood up, the two of us were about the same height, I might have had a few inches on her thanks to my horn. She can’t be much older than me. I took a step toward her and furrowed my brow. "Fine, you caught me but since you're so well informed, will you take my request straight to your boss? I don't want my time wasted."

With me almost nose to nose with her, she gave a grin and walked away from me. She headed back to the door near her chair and turned back to me. "I'll tell them you're ready." With that she opened the door and gave a short but sharp whistle before returning to stand beside me.

"Where are the Steel Rangers based? How far is it from here?" My voice must have shaken a little because she cocked an eyebrow and gave me a curious look.

"About twelve miles north of here. Tell you what, I'll make sure that you get an audience with the council. Trading with a stable could be lucrative for both our communities.” She put a hoof up and lightly scratched at her chin. “What Stable do the two of you call home?"

I stayed silent for a moment, pressing my lips together as I debated saying any more. She cut off my silence, "Look, you do know that I will be there when you meet with Mr. Avenue, right? You're safe here and this information will be required at some point."

"Fine, that works for me. We're from Stable 109 and it's not too far from here. About half a days walk." The door opened and the pony who helped me at the window came in.

"We've calculated your exchanges and have your caps ready." They looked past Amethyst and I at the sleeping zebra still sprawled out on her back. "Uh, right," his eyes snapped over to meet mine and I cocked an eyebrow. "Here you are, five thousand five hundred caps. Your friend has three thousand five hundred."

"Is that a lot?" I asked him for an answer.

"Well… I suppose. Ten thousand caps can go a long way if invested properly, otherwise you can easily blow through it." He walked toward us and levitated several cloth bags with him. Placing thee large bags and a smaller bag near Xeyal, he left six bags beside me. "They're by the thousand. The smaller ones are five hundred each."

He then took a closer look at me or more specifically, my body armor. "Yes yes yes…” he mumbled. “Modified, multi-layered and reinforced…" He stepped back and smiled, "I used to make and sell barding. This is high quality and whoever did the modifications on it knew exactly how to go about thickening it up, and expanding the coverage to include your shoulders, neck and hindquarters. Tell me this, about how heavy does it feel?"

I incredulously hold a hoof up between the two of us. I wasn't a fan of being interrogated and inspected. This guy’s weird. "Probably twenty or thirty pounds. It's noticeably heavy."

"Thought so. This is reinforced with steel plating to help against penetrating bullets. Does it have any protection from magical weapons?" He tapped his hooves on the floor in rapid succession and struck a wide pose with his head low, Eyeing the center of my chest.

"Wait, magic weapons?" I felt dumb just asking that question, but it made the buck deflate and Amethyst bursted into laughter.

Xeyal snorted and yawned, rolling off the couch onto her hooves behind me. She looked from the bags in front of her to the three of us. "I am still very tired," was all she told us before getting her saddle bags back on. "What have I missed? What are these?" Opening the bag, she pulled out a red cap with the initials SC on it. "Soda caps?"

Amethyst actually laughed. “Sparkle Cola,” she corrected, wiping the corner of her eye.

"Amethyst, how much is the room and can you take us to it?" I asked her. "Maybe you can explain some things to me along the way. Like what’re these magic weapons?”

Amethyst Smoke nodded and turned to the teller. "Thank you for your services, you’re dismissed." She told him. He gave her a small bow and left the way he came in. She waited patiently for us to stow our caps to load and for me to put my bags on. She held the door for Xeyal and I as we left the small waiting room. We garnered the attention of the ponies we passed throughout the crowd. With Amethyst guiding us, those who we passed were stopping to step out of our way. Some of the ponies we passed were talking to one another while stealing glances at us. Sucks I can’t make it out. I just hope it’s nothing crazy.

It hadn’t taken us long with Amethyst guiding the way. We broke free of the thicker shopping crowd and found ourselves in a wide corridor that had living bushes and trees that had tables and benches particularly placed along the center of the hall. Off to both sides of this area were the building's original restaurants. Quite a few ponies were enjoying themselves, laughing and drinking, eating and gambling. It looked like a good time, but we didn’t have the time for that right now. Amethyst led us through the beautifully decorated area. At the end of it, I could see that the hall ended in a row of elevators and a desk was set against the left wall. Two bucks sat bored behind the desk as we approached.

Spotting Amethyst, both of them bolted to look busy. One took a pencil in his magic and acted like he was checking paperwork while the other addressed us. “Hello! Welcome to the Heights, Are you here on business? We have several rooms available for one night stays.”

Amethyst waved a hoof, “These two are looking for a monthly rent room for two.”

I nodded when he looked my way then he looked up at Xeyal. “Alright, we have a few of those available. We can give you one on the eleventh floor for five hundred caps monthly.”

I pulled out the smaller of my bags, Amethyst interjected, “Please make it two hundred. They are special guests and I will cover the first month.”

Why’s she doing that? She knows I can afford it. As if she could hear my thoughts, she turned to me. “This is more than a gesture of good will, you’ll need those caps, so do use them wisely.”

I nodded and dropped the caps back into my pack. The buck behind the desk levitated a pair of keys, one to each of us. “Please do not lose these. It’s a bitch to make more.”

Xeyal and I each took one, a green plastic square read R:1101. With a smile we thanked him as Amethyst led us to the elevators. She pressed the button and the door opened for us. Boarding it, she tagged the floor we needed and it gave a small jolt, beginning to move. “To answer your question from before, magical weapons are weapons that use arcane power cells and are extremely powerful. Exceptionally rare too, Most of the ones you’ll see for sale here are rebuilt by mechanics and weaponsmiths who repurpose the laser rifles scavenged from destroyed robots and higher security sentries.”

Xeyal looked over at the mare, “What happens if one is hit with one of this magic?”

“Well, if it makes contact with your skin, you’ll get burned. Depending on the weapon though, there is a good chance that you’ll burst into flame and die.” Amethyst saw us exchange a shocked look that we both directed back at her. “Oh, and if you’re lucky, the magic will destabilize your genetic code and you’ll disintegrate on the spot.”

I grimace, “that’s dark. What the hell was wrong with us back then…” I audibly thought.

Xeyal just nodded and Amethyst spoke up, “These weapons only scratch the surface of what darkness the war had wrought.”

The elevator dinged and the doors swooshed silently open. “Here you are, we will speak again.” Amethyst told us as we stepped off. She stayed put while we stepped off it. She pressed another button and closed the doors. I turned to see her smiling and our eyes locked for a split second over the brim of her glasses.

Xeyal shrugged and started down the carpeted hallway. I caught up to her. “I don’t trust that mare.” I told her.

“Neither do I.” she replied in her trademark stoicism. "She seems to be hiding something from you."

"Yeah," I told her. We took a right, and sure enough, our room was the first door on the left. "Here we are. Time to see what our new home looks like."

I unlocked the door and gave it a push, the door swung away to reveal two beds on the left, a desk on the right with a pair of shelves above it. Beside the desk was a long dresser. A clock on above it and off to our right were some towels folded neatly and placed into a floor to ceiling cubical storage compartment with four shelves (including the bottom one) The top one was empty except for a few small bottles of soaps. Beside it was a door that stood open leading to the bathroom.

Xeyal strolled past everything and peaked past the closed curtains that hid the far wall. She immediately looked back at me and tapped the bed beside her with a hoof, "this one is all yours."

Sparking my interest, I walked over to the curtain and peered out a wall of glass. The entire wall was a window and from here, eleven stories down made my mind spin and heart leap into action. I looked back at her. "You touched it first. That one's yours now."

She just laughed, "Not happening," She took too long strides and dove onto the bed closest to the door. "I am your bodyguard and so I require the bed closest to the door."

Her accent made me less willing to argue the point because it was a fair point. So I chose the next best option. "I don't care how safe that window is, I don't want to be right up against it." I used my magic to push my bed up against hers before flopping down on it. "Problem solved."

"Excuses," she told me before pushing herself up onto her haunches to remove her saddlebags and armor. After putting them against the side of her bed, she turned to me wearing nothing but her pipbuck. "Do you need the restroom?"

I blushed for whatever reason, maybe it was the softness in her voice that had gotten to me or her eyes... I couldn't be sure. "Good, then I will go shower. Once I'm done, you should too."

I watched as she leaned off the bed, and kicked her rear legs out from under her. Landing on all four she nipped a towel off the shelf and stepped into the bathroom. The door softly closed and I was left alone for the first time in what felt like forever. I stood on the bed, took everything off and left it all next to my bed. I didn't see a reason for unpacking anything so to kill the time, I turned on the radio and I flipped through the different stations. I had upbeat electronics on DJ-Pon3's station, Heavy metal on the Malls station, and classical instrumentals on the Heights. I left it on the upbeat electronica and laid back down for a moment. My eyes got to feeling heavy and the soft pillow under my head made the music sound distant despite my pipbuck being on the pillow beside my head. My mind wandered off and before I knew it, I fell fast asleep.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 10
+1 Strength
+2 Perception
Perk Unlocked: Foodies Favor
You absorb no rads when consuming fresh produce, cooked or raw.