This… was a lot to take in. Adam leaned back as soon as he was finished reading, disconnecting the fusion battery from the computer letting it turn off finally. He sighed deeply as he stared at the now black screen.
"What did you learn?" Deccanus asked as he walked over slowly.
"The folly of man's hubris." Adam returned cryptically before turning around to look at Deccanus. "But I think we have a method." He said as he took a look at the gun on the desk now.
It appeared to be a sonic emitter pistol, set to amplify sounds over long distances, but it was heavily modified, and, conveniently, there was a slot for a fusion battery. Adam pulled out his meter checker and checked the power remaining in the fusion battery. Unlike Fusion cores Fusion batteries, being handheld, didn't hold nearly as much power, while they could effectively run for a lifetime in theory, it has been well over a lifetime, many in fact.
The meter returned that the battery was low, but still had juice left. He would just have to hope that the battery would hold out until they escaped. As he slotted the battery into the gun Deccanus called out to him.
"Adam, I believe you should come see this." Adam looked over to Deccanus who was standing in front of the weird algae covered window. He had wiped away some of the gross build up on the window to reveal the glass looking into the adjacent room, but from where he was sitting he couldn't see through the small cleaned area, so he got up and walked over.
Adam saw eggs, hundreds of them, covering every surface of the room adjacent that looked to be an incubation room once upon a time. These eggs were the size of ostrich eggs and were an unsettling shade of pinkish red. And in the room were a few more of the 'aberrations' as if they were guarding the eggs. So these things had become so inhuman they weren't even mammals anymore? They were laying eggs?! That was unsettling. Damn platypuses.
Then, as he was examining the space through the window he noticed one of the creatures walk over to the wall and grab a strange glowing mushroom and eat it before resuming to wander. So that's who they got their sustenance down here? How did those mushrooms even get in here? No, it didn't matter. He sighed again and then looked at Deccanus.
"Let's raid this room for valuables and then get the fuck out of here." He said, more ready to leave this place than he had ever been in his life.
The two then split up and began to scavenge for supplies in the room. It was moderately stocked, not nearly enough to fill their bags, but it had enough equipment and tools and chems to make this trip worthwhile. Adam also found another Vault-Tec bobblehead, this one was holding a beaker and was wearing glasses. Adorable, like the rest. But more importantly than that he found the vial.
Sitting on top of a medicine cabinet, almost hidden was a small blood vial full of a viscous pinkish red liquid that was the same shade of red as the eggs in the other room. He didn't like this, nor did he want to bring this back but if he broke it here he would lose out on a thousand caps.
He paused. He actually had options. If he brought it back The Guild Boss would pay them well, he might even hire him for another job. Plus the aforementioned thousand caps. However he was risking him doing something terrible with the vial. Of course he would tell him what happened here and hopefully that would dissuade him using it. Perhaps he could just keep it as a trophy?
Or, as he thought before, he could break it. If he destroyed it here he could simply report that there was no vial to be found, Deccanus wouldn't talk and no one would ever know. He would make less money but it might be safer. Then there was a third option… he could use it.
It was absolutely insane but in the scientist notes he specifically said that a body of an Omega type clone could make use of the serum to its fullest potential. Adam was such a type of clone. But no matter how much he thought about it this was a terrible idea. Maybe it would work, but this was a man who was already wrong once and created monsters, there was no telling if his dying thoughts were accurate. Adam wasn't in the habit of doing strange medical procedures without testing. If it turned him into a monster too…
"It's your call." Deccanus said, seeing Adam holding the vial and contemplating, practically reading his mind.
"Is it?" Adam said, turning to him now. "This little red goo could have ramifications for this entire area if it leaves the vault. Who am I to make such a judgement?"
"You are Adam Baxter." Deccanus replied swiftly. "Former soldier, scavenger, survivor, hero." He said without sarcasm. Adam shook his head.
"I'm no hero."
"Perhaps you do not feel that way, but others might disagree." Deccanus walked closer. "I did not ask to join your journey just because you saved me, or just because you shared your experiences with me." He said seriously. "I spoke around about you while I was recovering. People spoke of your deeds, mostly your skills as a Scaver, but there were some who spoke of you putting yourself at risk to save others. Something about fighting super Mutants?" Adam looked off to the side a bit bashful and not sure what to say to this.
"My point is, Adam." Deccanus pressed. "That if not you, who would be better suited to make this decision? There is no right or wrong, only the path ahead of you. I will follow your lead." Adam looked at Deccanus for a long few moments and then at the vial still in his hand for a good long while, then, with a bit of force, he threw it onto the ground.
The contents of the vial seeped over the ground ineffectually as Adam stared at it with contempt.
"The world would be better off without this." He said coldly. Deccanus said nothing but simply nodded. Adam took one more long heavy breath and then sighed.
"Guess we won't be making much of a payday." Adam chuckled.
"Seems not." Deccanus said without a smile. Adam scratched the back of his head that was not covered by the helmet while he thought.
"Maybe on the way back we can find something else to scavenge, just to make this trip worth it, I mean our bags are still light after all." Adam offered with a unsure smile. Deccanus turned to the door and spoke.
"This place still has many secrets, many valuable tools, no doubt, if you wish we could stay and take things from here." Adam shook his head.
"Unless you like the thought of digging around in the dark with hundreds of those things stalking us, I think I can safely say I want to get the hell out of here." Deccanus stared at the door for a moment and then turned back to Adam and nodded.
"Agreed." Adam turned back to the desk and reached for the gun, holding it in his hand.
"Well then, let's see what this thing can do, shall we?"