[color=fff200][b]Rick Noel - Day Before - Commonwealth[/b][/color]

Rick had been advised to head to a place called Atomics Cats Garage. As instructed he avoided the main road that led close to Quincy, as the people that lived there were very hostile and attacked strangers on sight.   It was odd being out on the surface, but exhilarating at the same time. 

As he approached the garage, Rick was left in awe. He finally got to how cool and amazing power armor looked like. The towering men that walked around in their armors looked so amazing, especially with the paint scheme of black paint with flames

Rick tried asking questions, but he was mostly ignored as he wasn’t “cool” enough for them. He wanted to stay for a while longer, but the barge was about to leave. He paid the bargeman 15 caps, and he agreed to take Rick to The Castle. 

The man pointed at other large barges headed for the garage, “Those be retrieval barges. They are still retrieving valuable loot from where that big airship crashed a few years ago. Minutemen send what they find to the Atom Cats and they get it in working shape again. Hell, they even bury any bodies they find, and send the dog tags by courier to the Tin heads in Washington.”

 Rick looked closely at barge and it seemed to be carrying what looked like power armors and computer terminals. *These ‘cats’ must be skilled if they can get stuff like that to work again.* Rick sat down on the floor of the barge, leaning against some barrels and looked through the bag. In it was a pair of clothes, ammo boxes and a bag filled with surface-dwellers currency of caps.  How these bottle caps are treated as currency, baffled Rick. 

These bottle caps he had were from recycled drinks used at the main cafeteria. Facilities created for the bottled drinks produced by the cafeteria. Also, they were produced to provide to agents, one of the evacuees was smart enough to grab one of the cap presses from the institute, and now they were able to make their own. They would make new caps look worn and then provide them to field agents. It made getting supplies easier. 

The bare moved at a steady pace across the water. Rick leaned close to the edge and looked at the water. He saw some small fish swimming but for the most part it was slightly murky. 

“Hey, watch it kid. You never know when something might jump on. Always have to be careful on the water.” Shouted one of the crew members towards Rick. Rick nodded and sat down by the barrels again, this time with his rifle in hand, just as a precaution. 

The ride wasn’t too long, roughly half hour, which was better than the over two hour journey on foot. He disembarked on the docks located outside the fort walls. He craned his heat to see the top of the wall. He was amazed such a structure still existed in the surface world. There was a small gate close to the dock, from the looks it wasn’t the main entrance. On top of the wall there were two guard stations along with some turrets. By the door there was a guard station with a sign that said all visitors must check in. 

Rick waited in the small line and when it was his turn he was asked to open his bag for inspection. He had to check in his weapons and was told they’d be available either at this gate or main gate, depending on his choice. He said he’d like to check out at the main gate.

“Kid…What’s this?” One of the guard asked when he handed in his institute pistol.

Rick kept a straight face, “Oh, I got that from Cricket. Had to save quite bit to get it.”

“Damn. Why cant she ever have this when she comes for a visit? I always miss out on good shit like this.” Said the guard as he tagged the weapons with his number, and handed rick a slip to retrieve them. Rick was made to stand with legs apart and another guard checked for weapons and let him through. The inside of the fort was bustling with activity. Most of those present were in uniform, but there were quite a bit of outsiders as well. 

You could see along the walls were new concrete had been poured to replace broken down sections. Rick was familiar with it, as a lot of the stone obtained was from the quarry above the vault. Allie Filmore, who had become the new Director, made sure that the settlers above for the most part donate the stone to The Castle as an act of goodwill and to keep them away. In the main courtyard, there was a training ground for new recruits, as well as pens for Brahmin. There was a small barn with a sign that said Caravan housing. That’s where traders and their Brahmins, apparently spent the night.

Another building nearby was taller than the wall by two floors. It was an inn of sorts for visitors. It was meant for non-Minutemen personnel. Rick didn’t enter the inner portion of the fort as access was restricted except to a clinic of sorts. He was warned to be wary of surface doctors or butchers as they were called in the Institute. 

He headed up the wall and above were a series of shacks and crops. They very smartly used the available space topside for crops. From atop the wall he had a great view of the Boston skyline. As he stood there someone approached him, “So Son, you signing up to the Minutemen? You get 3 square meals, boarding, a cap allowance, plus you get to know you are making a difference in the Commonwealth.”

Rick looked at the man next to him. He had a tan duster with a typical minuteman hat and carried what looked like to be a musket over his shoulder. “No sir, can’t say I am. I’m headed up north, along the coast. Just waiting for nightfall to make it past the city ruins, visiting some family I have up there.”

“That’s too bad, could always use a new recruit, always a settlement out there that needs our help. I can help you with your trip, in an hour a barge is leaving for Finch Farm. Get on it and you should get there by nightfall. Believe me…you don’t want to be walking into the city tonight.”

The man tipped his hat and walked away. Rick headed down as well, he figured he’d check out the surrounding area while waiting for the barge. He approached the main gate and it was huge, as tall as the wall. It slid on a rail as it opened up. What amazed him even more was the fact there were two gates, one on each side of the wall. There was a small building next to the gate by the Brahmin pit, and it was where weapons were housed for visitors. 

As he waited for his guns, a large number of Minutemen were walking through the gate. They were geared up with weapons and packs. They were marching in formation. As soon as he had his weapon he followed behind. The man that asked him about recruitment was standing on a guard post in front of the gate, reviewing the troops. They were marching into the city along the main highway. *I pity whoever they are facing.*

As he walked towards the dock located by the main gate, he asked one of the guards about the man in the tan overcoat, “That is Colonel Garvey, Preston Garvey, he along with the General lead minutemen. Taking this detachment into the city. God help the sonofbitches on the other end.”
 
Rick watched as they disappeared into the distance. Before he knew it, it was time for the barge to depart. He told them Garvey told him about Finch Farm, so they let him aboard for free. He found a small corner by some crates and sat down and took a nap. It was about a 2-3  hour trip to Finch Farm. 

He was woken up by a crew member. Rick groggily made his way onto land and didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. He found a place where he could rent a room for the night, and made his way to the room. He was exhausted.