[u][b]Steve Miller - The Hull[/b][/u]

Corrine responded to Steve's gesture by moving closer, much to his relief. It had been nearly two months since he had seen a woman, much less touched one....he had to be careful not to overreach. 

 "So," Corrine said, "if you're from the mainland -- like a desert, you said? How did you ever end up as a sailor?"

"Not all of it is a desert", Steve replied, "But the Reds pasted Washington but good with dirty bombs....not much grows there even today. Radiation was so bad that aside from Megaton, hardly anyone lived there until about sixty years ago. Well, except the ghoul Chinese commandos, that is."

"Remember when I mentioned Rivet City", Steve continued, "the old Warship beached at the Navy Yard? My dad was from there, and growing up while Dad was running caravan routes I helped gramps and his work gang keep the power and ventilation running on that old heap. Learned a lot about how to fix equipment on ships from him. After gramps died from the Red Lung, dad took me out on the caravan routes with him...I took care of the brahmin. Those were some good times....until the Enclave War."

"The Enclave", Steve continued, remembering things he would rather not, "Were a group of assholes who claimed to be the descendants of the Pre-War government. Tribals with pwer armor, fancy weapons and aircraft, in reality. They made a play to take over the whole Capital Wasteland, killing anyone who got in thier way. Rumor has it they were sending death squads out just to kill Wastelanders, but I never saw that myself. If it weren't for the Brotherhood, they probably would have gotten what they wanted, whatever hat really was. They fought for weeks...until the Brotherhood built or found some giant robot and beat the hell out of them with it. Well, we were making a run, running a load to Hagerstown from Junktown....they called it Baltimore in the old days before it took a direct hit from a big one...past the edge of the Fort Detrik rad zone, and our little caravan got caught in the crossfire of one of their battles. Lost Dad there, and most of the caravan, too. The Boss lost it all, and had to fold so I was out of a job. There was nothing for me in the Capital Wasteland anymore....unless I wanted to join the brotherhood and be cannon fodder for thier war...so I went back to Junktown and signed onto the first steamer that was willing to give me a chance. I can weld, am a pretty good machinist, and knew my way around an engine room so work was easy to come by once I got established. Been working as an engineer on ships from Halifax to C-Town ever since."

"What about you, Corrine?", Steve asked. "What's your story?"