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s.wbones

Arc 2: 'Rocket Radio'

"We’re not at war," he pointed out, and then undermined his own argument by adding, "currently."
"There's more to peace than an absence of war."
"Is there?"
"And that question shows why we don't have peace. Too few people even know what peace looks like, so how can you achieve it?" She was perhaps, being more blunt than was safe.
"If it's not the absence of war, then what is it?"
...
She quirked a smile at him. "Peace is as active an activity as war is. You have to work hard to keep peace going. If all it was was absence of action, then it would be a lot easier to force."

- 'Doing the Work', Marble Glove, archiveofourown

ROCKET RADIO: 'Civilisation'

Sanctuary Hills, Spring, 2078

Codsworth loved civilisation.

It was a beautiful thing, seeing more people moving through the streets of Sanctuary. Word had spread, and a fair number of desperate characters had made their way all the way here, to beg entry - from him!

Codsworth had initially shied away from the idea of being in charge. He wasn't built for giving orders. People kept turning to him, though, and asking how things worked in the compound. If they were allowed to do this, or that - it was terrible! He'd resigned himself to the task by telling himself it was another kind of service: that it wasn't like he was managing people, heavens no! It was more that he was helping them manage themselves. Yes, that felt better.

There was even a family here, now, living in one of the ruined houses. Two parents and a small child, and oh, it made Codsworth's heart ache to see the little girl running around, carefree.

He still certainly intended to make his way down to Diamond City, to see about finding Shaun. They'd tried the journey twice now - both times, called back by an emergency. Once, something medical. The other time a false alarm.

As Codsworth was making his rounds, he saw the little girl jumping along the top of the wall. Given it was just a walkway for guards to patrol, there was no railing. His heart leapt.

"Young miss!"

He sped towards her at once. She didn't seem to have heard him, and continued her determined task of hopping from plank to plank. As he watched, she lost her balance.

Codsworth was there just in time to catch her as she fell from the top of the wall. She started crying immediately - he'd pinched her with the metal joints of his arms. It was still better than landing on her head, surely, but Codsworth felt instant, incredible agony at having caused her harm. He let her go gently at once, and made hurried calming noises. Inside, he was screaming in panic.

"There, there, young miss. Are you all right? Can you show me where it hurts?"

The girl continued bawling. She was young, to be sure, but this seemed more than being oblivious - it was more that she hadn't registered he'd spoken at all.

Codsworth hesitated.

He pulled a mutfruit out of his storage compartment, and waved it back and forth where she could see it. She sniffled and stopped crying, distracted by the prize.

"Oh dear," Codsworth said. "Hello, young miss? Who might you be?"

Once again, she didn't react in any way.

"Oh dear, oh dear. Do your parents know about this? I say, it was quite irresponsible of them to leave you unattended. Where are they, I wonder?"

He spoke without expecting her to hear him. It was quite clear now that the young girl was deaf. With light, guiding movements, Codsworth encouraged her to raise her arm and display the injury, and once he was satisfied it was not serious, gave her the mutfruit to reward her.

The problem was the other, faded injuries. A burn on her wrist, a scrape - perhaps gravel burn - on the elbow.

"Oh, I'm not built for this," he sighed, anxiously. "And for heaven's sake, where are your shoes?"

The girl looked up at him with blank-faced fascination. Food had been provided. Perhaps more was forthcoming from this strange, metal creature. She shoved the fruit whole into her face.

Codsworth winced at the mess.

"All right, I simply can't leave things like this. I'm off to speak to your parents at once."

Codsworth made his way across the compound towards where he knew the family lived. He became aware after a moment that the girl was trailing after him, and slowed his pace to help her catch up.

Her father was asleep on one of the cots when Codsworth arrived at the correct house, and her mother was hard at work in the field, weeding around the mutfruits on her knees. The little girl ran off to bother her mother, jumping into the soil in front of her with both feet. It was a clear bid for attention, but in her play, the child nearly landed on her mother's hands, and partially crushed a small seedling.

"TANDI!" her mother yelled, infuriated. "How many times does mommy have to tell you - don't bother her when she's working!"

The child, being deaf, didn't move. She knew her mother was upset with her, but she didn't know why.

Her mother grabbed her impatiently by the arm and stood up. "I'm taking you to your father. He should be the one watching you. Come on!"

"Excuse me, madam," Codsworth stormed up to her.

"Oh - yes?"

"I'm afraid to inform you that your daughter was playing on the wall just now. If I hadn't been there she would have taken a dangerous fall."

Her mother tossed her head, impatient. "I'm sure she wouldn't have."

"I mean, madam, that she did fall. I caught her."

"Well why are you getting mad at me? It's her father you should be talking to, he was meant to be watching her."

Fury gave him the courage to speak frankly. "Madam, I find your lack of concern for your child highly disturbing! For example, were you aware that she appears to be deaf?"

"She's not deaf. She just doesn't listen unless you grab her."

"If I can politely advise you to examine that sentence again?" The mother began to say something, but Codsworth cut her off. "I might also advise you to calm down, as you are upsetting your daughter. She cannot hear us, but she feels your grip tighten, and she can see that you are upset."

The mother at least managed to heed this, and bent down to hush and comfort the child, who once again had been on the verge of bursting into tears. While she did this, Codsworth wheeled around to go speak to the father - apparently responsible for the lapse.

He found the man hard to rouse, however. When he pulled on the man's arm, instead of jerking awake - as was healthy and normal, in this lawless wasteland - he blearily cast his gaze around the room before fixing on Codsworth. He frowned, slowly.

"Yes?"

"...Sir, are you all right?"

"Yes, fine." The man made as if to go back to sleep, but Codsworth cleared his throat. "Yes. Tired. What is it?"

"Your daughter, sir."

"She's fine, I'm watching her."

"You most certainly are not. You are here, asleep, and she is outside with her mother."

"Shit," the man started to rise, as though every part of him ached. "I'm gonna get an earful again. Thanks for the heads up."

Codsworth blocked his way. The man stopped in surprise and slow confusion. "No - no, no sir, I simply cannot let this stand! Your daughter was in danger just now! Your partner has little time and patience for the child's wellbeing, as she is worn ragged working the field, and you are... sir, I'm sorry, are you all right?"

The man was crying in a slow, exhausted way. He held his head in his hands and sobbed like the world was ending, great tremors racking his body.

Codsworth tentatively put an arm out to hold him as best he could.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He was just weeping.

"I can't bear it anymore. I can't. I can't bear it. I'm so sorry."

"Sir, if this is a trick…"

The man shook his head, and took in a heaving breath. In the next moment, he had stopped sobbing, although the tears still poured down his cheeks.

"It's just so much work. I can't bear it. The fields leave me exhausted, so I'm in charge of watching Tandi, but I just get so tired. If I knew what was wrong I'd fix it. It's just... I think about living like this, tomorrow, and tomorrow, and I don't see the point. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to deal with her. I can watch her now, I promise. I won't fall asleep again."

Codsworth patted him on the back, thinking slowly. "No, I should apologise for my lack of delicacy. This is evidently a more complex matter than I thought. If you will permit me, I'd like to consult my friend to decide what must be done? Perhaps they may have a solution that fits everybody. Perhaps even something to keep you awake, sir."

"That would be useful," the man agreed, haggard.

Codsworth interrupted the mother outside before she could storm in to berate her partner. "Madam. I believe the child's father to be unwell."

"He's always unwell."

"I see. If I may propose a solution?"

The mother slapped her thighs and threw up her hands in exasperation, and gestured for him to go on.

"I'd like to speak to Mr. Oz on this matter. You've clearly been dealing with an exhausting situation, and I completely sympathise. Am I to understand you've been managing both your partner and your child, working the field, and with little time for yourself after?"

The insects roared in the sudden silence.

The mother looked away, chewing on nothing. The sun beat down on the backyard garden, hot and merciless. There were signs of only one person at work here - only one pair of gloves. Only one trowel. One shovel.

She nodded, hard. Once.

"Would it be all right if I put my mind towards solving it?" Codsworth asked, gently. "I'm no nanny-bot, but I am equipped to navigate domestic issues such as this one, if you'll let me."

She slapped a hand upwards towards her daughter, dismissively. "Please." After a moment, she turned to him. "She's really deaf? It would explain a lot."

"Given your 'expertise', I'll let you judge the verity of that statement, madam," Codsworth said - a trifle coldly, he still wasn't pleased at how the mother had treated her child. Tandi had been tugging at her mother's sleeve, all the while. Each time, her mother had jerked away, silently, waving the child off.

When Codsworth began to leave, Tandi started as if to follow him. Codsworth slowed.

"If I may…"

"Yes, take her with you. Please take her with you. Maybe then I can get some work done, and we'll all have something to eat."

"Thank you, madam: for the important work which you do, as well as your civility. I promise I will be considerate of her well-being. Come along, young miss - we're off to see Mr. Oz."

Codsworth trundled away towards the Vault, where Mr. Oz had constructed a small but sturdy cabin nearby the entrance, which was slowly expanding upwards into an ever-taller tower. Codsworth didn't like the Vault. He knew it was illogical, but he couldn't forget that this was where Nora and Nate had died. Where Shaun had been stolen.

Luckily, there was no need to enter. Mr. Oz had managed to get the cabin-tower terminal linked to the Vault's system below, and he needed only to send a message through.

While he waited for Ozzie to respond, Codsworth put out the least hazardous of his three arms towards the little girl, and left it there on offer. She patted it experimentally, then tried to stick her fingers in between the gears. He pulled away hurriedly.

She looked up at him, confused, and then reached out for his arm again. He briskly retrieved a hand-towel from his storage, wrapped it round, and only then let her have it. She gripped the whole wrist as much as she could, and shook it a little, testing how stable it was. In doing so, she discovered she could move him around in mid-air. This became her new task at once, and she set to it with great determination.

Codsworth looked down at her. For a moment he saw a young Shaun in her place, instead.

His voicebox locked up.

Mr. Oz came up the elevator to find Codsworth being pulled around like a balloon. He sat down at the terminal desk and moved the guard's stuff to one side, eyeing the child with trepidation.

"Codsworth, please don't tell me you're here to ask me to babysit. I've got the radio system to manage, and a present for Grognak I'm working on."

"Oh! What is it, sir?"

"Never mind for now - what's with the kid?"

Codsworth explained the situation: that the child's parents were absent for different reasons, and that nobody appeared to be taking care of her, and that couldn't something be done? Mr. Oz listened with a flat, unamused expression, and then rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm guessing Grognak isn't around?"

"Grognak is unfortunately at the Abernathy's compound for now, building that new tower they wanted. Alas, we must muddle through on our own."

"Bugger." Oz sat back in his seat. The chair squeaked. "Well, I'll look into doing something for the dad. And she's deaf? That's a challenge, but not an impossible one. I'd be interested in trying to teach her to read, if she'll sit still… and some of the other adults too, come to think of it, Grognak's not the only one who needs help. Also where are her shoes?"

"That's what I said, sir!"

"Christ." Oz leaned back in his chair, squeaking back and forth. "What needs to happen, here?"

"Well, it's simply obvious what needs to happen. The girl's mother must be given help, either in the field or with minding the child. We have some spare hands in the barracks, maybe one or two of them can be persuaded to move in with the family. The child must be taught to communicate, somehow…"

"Should be interesting," Mr. Oz nodded. "I was looking for a winter project. Still not babysitting, though."

"...and the father must be given care. If possible, I might also suggest a change of occupation - he is of no use whatsoever as a farmer, and only of slight worth as a parent."

As he'd been speaking, Tandi had approached the desk, and had reached up for the guard's gun.

Mr. Oz lurched into action faster than Codsworth had thought possible, and snatched it away. She flinched back, startled by the sudden movement.

"...hm." Mr. Oz didn't move. He was staring intently at the gun, his gaze burning with a silent intensity. He shook it off, and put the gun away. He moved an empty ammo box across the table, instead.

"This is more than we can figure out on our own," Mr. Oz sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. Tandi, being an inquisitive sort, was reaching for the ammo box. "Town meeting, I reckon. Let's get heads together on this."

Later that day, Codsworth made the mental note to start construction on a larger space, somewhere the whole compound could come together to talk, or to relax and play games. A town hall? That would allow them to distribute food at the start and end of day. It could even allow for a way to co-ordinate workers...

...and it would, he realised, solve the problem of who would look after the child - if they constructed a play area within, the constant traffic through the space would mean someone would always be keeping an eye on her.

For now, though, they made do with the area beneath the tree for the meeting.

It was a lovely warm afternoon, and the maple trees rustled pleasantly in the cooling air. A number of chairs had just been pulled together in a vague circle on the street, acquired from the nearby gardener's break area.

Mr. Oz explained the situation to everyone, and what needed to happen to solve it. The child was with her father in the worker's barracks, for now. Tandi's mother was put out at having her problems aired to the entire settlement.

"You said you could fix it," she accused Codsworth.

Codsworth bit back his instinctive response, which was 'If you want the luxury of privacy so much, madam, you can go look for it in Diamond City! You are on the frontier, alone, and if you try to solve everything alone, then you will all go into the dirt together'.

What he actually said was, "I am fixing it, madam. Have you ever heard the expression 'it takes a village to raise a child'?"

"No?"

Codsworth looked to heaven for patience. "Nevertheless. I have explained the problem to this community for the sake of coming together to solve it. Now that everyone is aware of what needs to be done, does anyone have any suggestions?"

The sparse handful of people turned to each other, and murmured vague responses, but didn't engage. Codsworth once again bit back his instinctive response of, 'Come on, chaps! Do you want to survive or not? If so, understand that survival is more than simply shooting back - you need to rely on each other! Buck up!'

Instead, what he said was, "I had the idea of constructing a town hall, sort of thing, where people might play games in the winter. If we made up an area inside for children, it would be a convenient method of babysitting. Who feels able to help with the construction?"

A few hands went up. Some suggestions started going around, people quickly offering to mind the child once they realised it meant they wouldn't have to do other work. A different woman offered to assist the mother in the field, rather than work with the Brahmin, and who was happy to move into the house to do so. The mother perked up - apparently her partner was well-suited to work with beasts, and would jump at the chance to swap roles. Apparently he found it soothing.

Mr. Oz picked this moment to speak up. "I've got a few other orders of business, now that seems sorted. First is I'm doing classes in the winter for anyone who wants to learn how to read. Kid's gonna be there, though, so come along if you're ready to help mind her, and fuck off if you're not."

Codsworth gasped. Mr. Oz shot him an amused glance, and kept talking.

"Second thing is this." He took out the gun from earlier, and held it in his lap. "Who has firearms?"

All hands went up. Oz nodded.

"Right. I'm also doing firearms courses during the winter. Mandatory firearms tests for everybody. And if you fail the test - if you can't shoot - you're not allowed a gun."

There was unrest, at this. Even Codsworth was skittish - few enough people could fight that this would practically limit them to melee and turrets only, for defence.

"But what about our second amendment?" someone asked.

Mr. Oz stood up so fast Codsworth didn't even see it - the chair just went flying backwards.

He didn't start yelling though, which was somehow worse than if he'd gone beserk, the way Grognak sometimes did. He just stood there in a terrible, silent fury, staring at the person. The way he'd moved had shocked all of them. The person who'd spoken had cowered back in their seat, trying to get as small as possible. It appeared to be an entirely instinctive response.

He took a full thirty seconds to master himself.

"I'm Australian," he said, pleasantly.

Breathing hard, he limped over to the fallen chair, righted it, and scraped it across the concrete clumsy and one-handed. He sat down again, and slumped back. He seemed to have relaxed entirely, and he when he cocked his mask towards the person, it was in a seemingly casual manner.

"Sorry, mate. Now - other questions?"

The person cowered. "What about self-defence?"

"Mate, what possible use do you think you'll be in a fight if you can't hit the fucking target? We're all gonna get really fucking good at gun safety, and gun control, and gun licencing. But if you don't think you'll be safe without a gun, no worries! You can keep your guns and leave us alone, just you and your guns against the wasteland. Seems like a fair fight, right? Now me, I'd prefer to be in a rich, walled compound, where I can be sure that everyone holding a gun knows how to use it, and that they're responsible enough not to bloody leave it where some kid can find it and blow her bloody head open. All right mate?"

The cowering person raised their hand, very bravely. Mr. Oz sighed. "What."

"I don't want to be a guard, anymore."

"That's a Codsworth issue," Mr. Oz said flatly, before Codsworth could leap in with the handful of alternatives he'd been thinking to offer. "In fact I'm making up a rank for Codsworth. 'Compound Governor'. He's in charge of all the same day to day stuff, I'm just making it official. If he says you gotta, you do it. It's fine if you hate it. We all gotta do our share."

There were nods at this. People seemed to mostly be on the same page, and Codsworth ended the meeting there.

As everybody walked away, Codsworth's processor churned over the responsibilities he'd suddenly been saddled with. Maybe... if he arranged things so that various different managers were in charge of different compounds... they could be responsible for the wider picture, instead? And maybe each household could appoint an official - with unanimous approval, of course - and that person could tell everybody what to do. Like a housekeeper. And then the housekeepers could go to the managers to settle inquiries, who would come to him as a very last resort...

Yes. That felt better than being 'in charge'. The very idea of leadership went against every circuit in his motherboard. It wasn't like he was managing people, heavens no! It was more that he was helping them manage themselves. Yes, that felt better.

Mr. Oz found him afterwards. He had his hands in his pockets, and was looking over towards where Tandi was being minded by a few other folk, to give her mother a break.

"You doin' all right, mate?"

"I - yes, of course. Are you?"

"Bit shaky. Hope nobody gets stupid about it all." Mr. Oz shrugged. "If anyone doesn't respect you, get Grognak to sort them out. He's a great mediator. He's also eight feet tall, and half as wide at the shoulders."

The little girl, Tandi, spotted him and ran over across the dried grass. Codsworth once again saw Shaun running instead, for a moment, and felt his systems lurch as though he'd fallen a short distance.

If the bombs hadn't fallen, he would have seen this sight with Nate and Nora beside him. Shaun would have been running to them, laughing - perhaps at the park, like they'd planned, all those years ago...

The bittersweet vision ended without warning, and he was shocked instead to find the small girl hugging his arm again, laughing silently up at him. She'd kept the pressed towel from earlier, and wrapped it around to soften the metal.

His vision blurred, and he blinked it away.

"Oh. I'm not built for this."

"You keep saying that," Mr. Oz observed. "Isn't this exactly what you're built for? Looking after people?"

Tandi leant back on his arm with her full body weight, at a forty-five degree angle to the ground, and succeeded in pulling him a little bit along. Apparently he was to be a balloon, again. Codsworth looked helplessly back towards Mr. Oz as he was pulled away. Mr. Oz just gestured a casual farewell and put his hands in his pockets, silently amused, and clearly pleased at not having to attend the child himself.

Codsworth gave in.

"We'll have to get you some gloves, young miss." Codsworth chastised her, with fondness. "Long sleeves. I'm metal, you know. And didn't I give you some shoes, earlier? Have you lost them already?"

Tandi felt the vibration of his words, and understood that he was pleased with her, although she didn't know why. She would find out, though, eventually - when later in the winter, Mr. Oz would teach her to read, and begin work on a rudimentary library of gestures to assist communication. Codsworth might not have been able to save Shaun - at least not yet - but until then, he would save Tandi, and others like her, in the nonviolent, day-to-day thankless slog of making sure people were clean, and cared for, and provided for - and which it turned out was the exact sort of work a RobCo Mr. Handy was built to do.

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