The Prydwen's massive bulk never failed to make the hairs on the back of Rachel's neck stand on end, even though she had been aboard the mighty airship so many times before. Its intimidating presence above Boston airport had been muted somewhat by the addition of Liberty Prime, of course, but the ship nevertheless still effectively represented the mailed fist of the Brotherhood forces in the Commonwealth. She sat back in the seat of the Vertibird carrying her and Piper towards it, trying to block out the sound of the door gunner ruthlessly wiping out a stray pack of feral ghouls before they wandered too close to the airport entrance. It was necessary for the safety of her brothers and sisters, she knew, but that didn't make it any easier to endure within the tight confines of the ship, even with the added protection of the noise-dampening hardware built into the helmet of her power armour.

She was glad when the gunfire finally stopped and the Vertibird began its final approach towards the Prydwen's flight deck. When the ship had secured itself into its moorings, she hopped out as quickly as she could, her ears still ringing momentarily. "Welcome aboard, ma'am," one of the flight crew said respectfully as she thumped her chest in salute and then snapped to attention. "Elder Maxson is waiting for you."

"Thank you, soldier," Rachel replied, returning the crew member's salute automatically. "Carry on."

"Yes, ma'am - thank you, ma'am," the woman said, before grabbing her tools and scurrying towards the docked Vertibird's tail section.

When the woman was out of earshot, Piper said "You really do enjoy being in charge, don't you?"

"Being able to tell people what to do does have its benefits sometimes, it's true," Rachel chuckled. "Come on, we have a meeting to get to - don't want to keep Maxson waiting any longer than he already has…"

As usual, they found Elder Maxson standing in the forward section of the command deck, his hands clasped firmly behind his back as he looked out over the Commonwealth. When he heard them approach, he turned his head slightly so that he was glancing at them through the corner of his right eye, the jagged scar that bisected that side of his face just about visible. "Sentinel," he said respectfully, before he turned around fully and met Rachel's gaze head-on as he saluted her. "I would say it's a pleasure to see you, but Lancer-Captain Kells informs me that this is not a social visit. You have intelligence that needs to be brought to my attention, correct?"

"Yes, Elder," Rachel replied, after returning his salute. "My Minutemen have uncovered evidence that the Children of Atom could be preparing for a large-scale invasion of the Commonwealth - they destroyed at least three settlements to the north and didn't leave anything useful behind, including the settlers. My lieutenant has all of his men on high alert and they're ready to assist us if necessary."

Maxson snorted derisively. "You know as well as I do that those men would be no help whatsoever without extensive radiation-shielding - you've seen first-hand the effect the Children's weaponry has on unprotected human flesh, as have I." He drew up the right sleeve of his battle-coat to reveal a large, puckered scar covering almost his entire forearm. "The skin boiled right down to the bone. If I had not had a field medic at my side, I would probably have lost the arm there and then." He closed his eyes, dropped his chin to his chest and exhaled through his nose. "I appreciate your Minutemen's enthusiasm, Sentinel, but I would prefer this to be a Brotherhood operation with minimal militia involvement, if any."

"Yes, Elder," Rachel said, secretly relieved. "I have an alternative strategy I'd like to try."

Maxson looked up, raising an eyebrow. "An alternative strategy? Explain."

"I have connections to a chapter of the Children in the north, on an island called Far Harbor. They see me as some kind of chosen one because I brought one of their holiest relics back to them, and I think - I hope - I might be able to use that leverage to get them to tell me what's happening here. If I can get a decent picture of what's going on, maybe I can stop this before it goes any further."

"They also think I'm a prophet of Atom," Piper added. "Long story." She waved her hand in the air briefly, as if that was all the explanation she was willing to offer. "If I can convince them I've had another vision of 'Atom's will'," she said, making quote marks in the air with her fingers, "maybe I can help make them back off. You know how much they value messages from their god."

The Elder narrowed his eyes. "What did I just say, civilian?" he snapped, irritated. "This is Brotherhood business, not yours."

"Oh, stick it up your ass, Maxson!" Piper spat back, suddenly tired of Maxson's dismissive tone. "You need me!"

"I can assure you, Miss Wright, that I do not," Maxson said in a low, unnervingly-calm voice. "Do not make the mistake of thinking you have any right to question the way I command my troops, purely because of who you associate yourself with." He moved closer to Piper and jabbed his finger directly into the centre of her sternum. "This operation will need to be executed as precisely as possible, and I will not allow it to be jeopardised by a single reporter from Diamond City."

"Why?" Piper cried, her face still bright red with anger as she swatted Maxson's hand away. "Scared that one woman could achieve something you and all your knights couldn't?"

"Enough!" Maxson slammed his clenched fist into the nearest bulkhead, visibly wincing as he withdrew his hand from the wall. "Sentinel Adams, be so kind as to remove your… friend… from the bridge, before I do something we would both regret very much."

"He's right, Piper," Rachel said, sensing a way to end the hostility before it got any worse. "Maybe it'd be best if you waited for me in my quarters. I won't be long, I promise."

"No," Piper insisted, still staring daggers at Maxson. "No, I'm not going anywhere, Blue."

"Yes, you are," Rachel said, and gestured at the two knights who were standing on guard. "Escort Miss Wright to my private quarters, and then stand guard outside the door so you can make sure she doesn't leave until I join her."

"Yes, Sentinel!" the knights barked in unison, before they hooked their arms around Piper's elbows and began hauling her away despite her best efforts to stop them. Defiant to the end, Piper thrashed and kicked and cast graphic aspersions on the knights' families all the way to the access hatch that led down to the habitation deck.

When the echoes of Piper's obscenity-laced screams had finally faded, Maxson rubbed the bridge of his nose with the thumb and forefinger of his gloved right hand, turned to Rachel and said in an exasperated tone "Why do you continue to insist on bringing that girl aboard this ship, Sentinel? I recognise that you and she are involved, but that does not mean she needs to be party to everything you do as a member of the Brotherhood."

"With respect, Elder," Rachel began, "Piper has been a valuable ally to us for almost two years. She's provided me with vital intelligence more than once, and I trust her with my life."

"I have no doubt about that," Maxson agreed, "but Miss Wright has repeatedly demonstrated that she has no respect for discipline or the chain of command. Why is she so essential for this mission?"

"Because what she said was true - her experience with the Children of Atom will be invaluable. I'd be far more likely to get some answers from them with her by my side than I would with an entire detachment of Brotherhood soldiers. She's achieved more with her words than she ever has with a laser rifle and power armour."

Maxson was silent for a moment. "Do you know why I promoted you to Sentinel after we destroyed the Institute, sister?"

Surprised, all Rachel could do was say "Is this a trick question, Elder?"

"Not at all," Maxson replied. "I gave you that rank because I trusted you implicitly. I trusted your bravery in combat and I trusted your ability to inspire others to follow you. And now, since I can clearly see that I will not be able to convince you otherwise, I will trust your judgement regarding Miss Wright."

"Thank you, Elder," Rachel said, relieved.

"Don't thank me yet," Maxson told her sharply. "If you do decide to take Miss Wright with you, understand that she will be your responsibility, and yours alone. The Brotherhood has bigger concerns than one single civilian. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, Elder."

"Good. Dismissed, Sentinel," Maxson said, before saluting her. "Ad victoriam."

"Ad victoriam, Elder." Rachel's armoured fist clanged loudly against her chest-plate as she returned the salute, and then she turned smartly on her heel and marched off the bridge, making her way directly towards the access hatch and from there to her private quarters. When she arrived there, the two knights standing guard snapped to attention immediately, holding their rifles smartly across their chests. "At ease, gentlemen," she said, and they relaxed accordingly. "I trust Piper hasn't given you any trouble?"

"A couple insults, but not much more than that," one of the knights replied. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

Well, that's certainly a first, Rachel thought wryly. "You're dismissed, then - I won't be needing your help anymore this evening. Return to the bridge."

When the knights had departed, Rachel tapped her personal access code into the terminal beside the door and then stepped through. As the door automatically closed behind her, she faced the closest wall and then tripped the internal switch in her right gauntlet that allowed her to exit her armour, feeling its plates loosen around her as its body-hugging frame unlatched itself with a pneumatic hiss. Rachel felt a slight rush as the atmosphere touched her skin again for the first time in what seemed like years - even the recycled air of the Prydwen smelled as sweet as roses after being cocooned in her metal shell for so long.

She barely had time to enjoy more than two breaths of it, however, before Piper grabbed her shoulder, spun her around and started screaming at her. "What the hell was that?" she yelled. "He threatened me, Blue! Why did you take his side?"

"Because I didn't want to make the situation worse for no reason," Rachel said calmly. "Besides, when you've been around Maxson as much as I have, you start to realise that he's a showman as much as he is a leader, more often than he likes to let on."

Piper looked at Rachel in disbelief. "So? What if he wasn't putting on a show just now?"

"Then I would have tried to stop him, however I could," Rachel replied. "I can read Maxson pretty accurately at this point, though, and this was definitely one of the times when he was just keeping up appearances. He doesn't personally resort to physical aggression towards unarmed civilians very often, but when he does it's usually only because he just wants to rattle his sabre and make you feel like you shouldn't dare to overstep your bounds." She half-smiled despite herself. "Did he succeed?"

"Hell no," Piper retorted with a derisive snort, the ghost of a smile crossing her lips for a second or two. "It'll take more than a big facial scar and a bad haircut to scare Diamond City's most intrepid reporter. Haven't you learned anything about me yet?"

"That's what I thought you'd say," Rachel said, moving forward and encircling Piper's waist with her arms. Even though she was almost a full head taller and significantly more muscular than the slender, compact journalist, she still sometimes felt completely dwarfed by Piper's sheer heart and courage - in fact, she was sure that if bravery and determination alone could be weaponised, her girlfriend would undoubtedly be the most heavily-armed person in the entire Commonwealth. "Don't ever change."

"Not planning on doing that any time soon," Piper said, resting her head against Rachel's shoulder. "Just so we're clear, though: I'm still going to punch that man in the face one day."

Rachel burst out laughing. "Better get in line quickly, then - I don't think there's one member of the Brotherhood who wouldn't punch the Elder in the face if they got the chance." She paused, raising her eyebrows for a moment. "Of course I don't think there's one member of the Brotherhood who wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for him, either, so I guess he must be doing something right."

"I guess so," Piper said, thoughtfully. "Just don't ask me to try and find out what that something is - that'd mean talking to him for longer than ten minutes at a time, and there are some things even I won't do for a story, you know?"

"Well, there's something I never expected to hear come out of ace reporter Piper Wright's mouth," Rachel replied, tapping her chin with a single fingertip. "I guess that's my surprise for the day, huh?"

"Looks like it," Piper agreed with a wry smile, before she glanced at the softly-ticking clock on the wall. "Hey, look - it's getting pretty late. Maybe we should try to get some sleep?"

"Sounds like a plan," Rachel said, "unless you wanted to, I don't know… keep the neighbours awake for a while?" She traced Piper's jaw delicately with her fingertips for a moment before tilting her girlfriend's chin up and gently pressing her lips against the other woman's mouth, feeling Piper's body wilting against her momentarily before she suddenly stiffened and pulled away reflexively, her eyes wide as saucers.

"What the hell are you doing, Blue?" she asked, incredulous. "We could get into a lot of trouble here!"

"You're acting like this is the first time we've done something like this," Rachel laughed. "Besides, I thought you lived for danger, little miss reporter? Are you chickening out on me?"

"You know it's not that I don't want to," Piper said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "but, well, I mean… you're a Sentinel now. Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be setting an example here?"

"Technically, yes," Rachel said, shrugging, "but I also don't have to answer to anybody except Maxson, either, so there's that." She traced the line of Piper's jaw with her fingers, trailing them down the other woman's neck gently. "That means that we can break the rules," she whispered directly into Piper's ear, "just you and me, here and now."

"Are you sure -" Piper began hesitantly, before Rachel covered her mouth with her own, stifling her half-hearted protests.

"Yes," Rachel murmured, nipping at Piper's neck with her teeth, "I'm sure. Are you?"

"Yes, I'm - oh, God," Piper said, her fingers reflexively clenching tightly into Rachel's body.

"Then what's stopping us?"

Piper had no answer.

The two of them lay naked on the floor, tangled in each other's arms, sweaty and exhausted. Piper was reaching up to stroke Rachel's cheek with the palm of her right hand, and Rachel had her arms curled around the smaller woman's body. "So how does breaking rules feel?" Rachel said softly into Piper's ear.

"Like a Nuka-Cola Quantum after a month in the Glowing Sea," Piper said, laughing and drumming her fingertips across Rachel's skin a little more vigorously. "We should do it more often."

Rachel chuckled. "I guess this would be a bad time to tell you nobody would have been able to tell what we were doing, then?"

Piper sat bolt-upright almost instantly. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked, incredulous. "What do you mean 'nobody would have been able to tell'?"

"After we helped Danse escape the Brotherhood and I got given his private quarters," Rachel began, "I had Proctor Quinlan scavenge up the best soundproofing his scribes could find for me, and then had them install it into the walls during the times I was away on missions."

"So you mean… nobody could hear us?"

"Not a soul. You could almost set off a nuke in here and nobody would be any the wiser."

Piper frowned. "So what was all that talk about breaking the rules?"

"Oh, that? That was me doing my best to sweet-talk you out of your panties, honey," Rachel purred, with a smile.

"You know, you're kind of an asshole sometimes, Blue, you know that?" Piper said in a sour tone, clearly struggling to maintain an angry appearance despite herself.

"Not going to deny that," Rachel agreed, "but it worked, didn't it? I thought it'd be a little more exciting if you thought it wasn't exactly… legal."

"You're lucky I love you, Blue," Piper said. "Anyone else would be dead right about now."

"I don't doubt it," Rachel said, as she glanced at the clock and pushed herself to her feet. "Now, I really think we should get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow…"