(Untitled)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Out of Milliways:

"Star Paladin Cross, what does the Brotherhood of Steel believeThe door opens on concrete dust and swirling wind. It's nasty out there in the ruins of Washington DC just now. This is probably why Ellen is in such a hurry to get into the Bar

Comments

[luckyspartan]

Ellen hears the voice before she sees anyone.

"Let me help you with that."

John reaches down and takes the massive weapon off of Ellen's hands. He came from slightly to the side and behind her, so she didn't see him approach. Spartans are quiet for their size.

Though he's not in his power armor, he's strong enough to hold the gun with one hand without effort. "You want this somewhere specific?" he asks.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Whoof." Ellen staggers to the left a moment in overcompensation as the gun is lifted away. "Thank you. Hi, John. Um- no, anywhere that'll keep it out of the way is good. It's not loaded, I checked that before I left."

[luckyspartan]

"Maybe I'll keep it," the Spartan says, slinging the weapon over his shoulder.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Well, if you want," Ellen says. "I mean, there's another one on the other side of the door, Star Paladin Cross already claimed it. I mostly brought this one here because I was hoping to find somebody who could replicate the electron charge packs that thing runs on before we go any further. God knows it's more gun than I can handle."

[luckyspartan]

"Relax. I was joking."

Though in John's experience, the only person who understood his jokes was a cryptanalytic artificial intelligence, so that might not count for much.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh. I should've realized." Ellen makes a wry face. "I'm not always good at telling... Well, it'd fit you, anyway. That's a Gatling laser. It's the only automatic laser weapon I've ever seen- you just hold down the trigger and the three barrels fire in sequence. Almost as precise at a distance as my old Gauss rifle."

And she really liked that Gauss rifle. Stupid little green men and their stupid destructive analytical techniques.

[luckyspartan]

"Every weapon is designed to carry out a specific role," John states. "If you limit yourself to one type of weapon, however familiar you are with it, you limit yourself in the field."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I know," Ellen says. "I can use a lot of different guns, some of them much better and more consistently than others. My shotgun's my favorite, right after my plasma rifle, but I still practice with pistols. And I have a good enough throwing arm to use grenades safely. This one's just more than I can handle."

A realization strikes her; she grimaces and glances over at the door. "Which reminds me, I gave Finn my only melee option... I'm going to have to find some motorcycle parts when I get a chance."

[luckyspartan]

"How well do you fight unarmed?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I've had a few lessons," Ellen says. "Not many. Mr. Mills showed me a little- grappling and disarming and stuff- but I haven't gotten much beyond that."

[luckyspartan]

"If you're interested in improving, I can help."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That would probably be a good idea," Ellen says. "I don't know how much good it'd do me against Enclave troops, since they're in power armor- but they're not everybody. It'll probably come in handy one day."

Mostly she's thinking of Tenpenny Tower. The Talons are gone, but one day she's going to have to find out what Mr. Tenpenny was thinking, and it doesn't sound like the kind of place you can really get into if you're bristling with guns.

[luckyspartan]

"Opponents wearing heavy armor are easy to get off balance," John comments. "Knowing how to utilize your body always has its uses, regardless of circumstances."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Good point," Ellen says. "Come to think of it, it was me and Cross getting that Behemoth off balance that let Diana kill it- the way she snapped its neck with her bare hands..."

She's not deceiving herself into thinking she'd ever be able to match Wonder Woman's scale. But there's an awful lot out there that isn't that big and that might just get her guns away from her.

"What would we have to do to start?"

[luckyspartan]

"If you meant right now, first you'd need to stow your equipment, then we'd head outside. The ground is spongier by the lake," the Spartan explains. "I can't make you stronger or faster without time, but I could show you a few basic moves and counters that I've found useful."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I can do that," Ellen says. "I'll feed Dogmeat as long as I'm at it- that should keep him quiet and out of the way. He tends to get the wrong idea about people he thinks are attacking me sometimes, so it's safer to just leave him upstairs. Thank you, John."