BEGINNING NOTE:
Just as an FYI, the start of this chapter takes place before the start of the last chapter - going through Maxson's musings on the newest BoS recruit, and some of his thoughts during his address to Nora & the other soldiers. Enjoy!

Arthur Maxson exhaled in his seat as he tossed the stack of papers onto his desk. The Brotherhood of Steel had arrived in the Commonwealth via the Prydwen, and he had just finished reading the report on the newest Initiate taken on by Paladin Danse. The Brotherhood of Steel used to refuse to take in Wastelanders and other 'outsiders' - but their numbers could only replenish themselves so fast, and with the number of attacks caused by super mutants, feral ghouls, raiders, gunners, and now Institute synths, they would need every man and woman, every loyal Brother and Sister they could get.

Unfortunately, recruiting outsiders had also caused its own share of problems for the Brotherhood - people who were merely seeking 'fame and glory', troublemakers looking for the best weaponry available just as an excuse to maim anything that moved, 'soldiers of fortune' looking for a quick cap for little effort in return, or delinquents that just wanted their own suit of Power Armor. Few of the recruits had embraced the true values of the Brotherhood, and he'd had to strip them of their ranks and dismiss them back into the rabble they'd come from.

He'd had his concerns sending Danse and Recon Squad Gladius out to the Commonwealth... not that he didn't trust Danse - quite the opposite in fact, he was one of his most trusted and respected field officers (and - he'd only admit to himself - one of the very few people he considered a friend). It was just that the main recon team sent to the Commonwealth three years prior - Recon Squad Artemis - had never returned, and no one had heard from them since. He'd finally made his difficult decision after the mail he'd received from Lancer-Captain Kells on his terminal:

Fr: Lancer-Captain Kells KS-390LC
To: Elder Maxson MX-001E

As requested, I'm providing you with all of the current information we have on Recon Squad Artemis.

According to our records, we sent them into the Commonwealth approximately three years ago to perform a standard survey beginning with the Malden area. We received a few reports from the team and then abruptly lost contact. Nothing in their communications indicated anything unusual, so we assume they've either lost the ability to radio us or have been killed. The squad consisted of seven soldiers under the command of Paladin Brandis, so they certainly had plenty of firepower and the experience required to survive a deep recon mission.

I have several recon teams searching for Artemis's whereabouts, but so far, they've been unsuccessful.

He knew the risks of being a soldier - all members of the Brotherhood did - but it didn't make sending Danse and his team out any easier. When the Brotherhood hadn't heard anything back from Recon Squad Gladius for months, he was worried they had shared the same fate as Paladin Brandis's team. He didn't want to be pessimistic - maybe they had a very good explanation for not sending any communication back to the Capital Wasteland. He was beginning to lose hope when one day the Brotherhood had finally received some good news - Danse was indeed alive and well.

...Well... he was alive, at any rate.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Recon Squad Gladius had survived. After arriving in the region, the team had been attacked by raiders who disabled Knight Keane's power armor and destroyed some of the squad's supplies. After setting up base in the Cambridge police station and a failed attack on the Corvega assembly plant, Danse had had been forced to retreat and things seemed to go downhill from there. Knight Brach had been killed from a landmine, and Knight Worwick had been mortally wounded and died two days later.

The squad had attempted to resupply by investigating Boston Airport and Fort Strong, but were surprised by super mutants and Knight-Sergeant Dawes was killed. Scribe Haylen had uncovered some unusual energy readings from The Institute, but - unable to fully repair the police station's antenna - they hadn't been able to contact the Prydwen for assistance. When the station came under assault by a large number of feral ghouls, Haylen had sent out a short-range distress call as the remaining squad members tried to hold the ghouls off - resulting in the death of Knight Keane.

...Months of extreme hardship, four dead soldiers, and one Paladin that Arthur knew was taking it very hard and blaming himself completely (even accepting all the blame in his reports to the elder). Arthur sighed again.

There was one saving grace in the whole situation (besides the discovery of the Institute energy readings, that is) - when Haylen had sent out the distress call, it was picked up by the unlikeliest of people: a female civilian. A vault dweller, to be exact. Oh, and her... 'pet', a dog that had also assisted with the ferals. To make matters more interesting, Danse had discovered that not only was the woman newly-emerged from Vault 111, but that she had been cryogenically frozen for over 200 years prior to her escape. This woman was... pre-war. It was almost too much to believe. Arthur had to read and reread that part of Danse's report over again a few times to make sure he wasn't mistaken. If he hadn't known Danse so well, he'd swear someone was trying to pull one over on him.

The amount of information this woman could provide to the Brotherhood Scibes was almost overwhelming. And not only that, but Danse had said that she was invaluable to the successful retrieval of the deep-range transmitter from ArcJet Systems that had allowed the remaining squad to finally contact the Prydwen.

...A female vault dweller and her dog.

...It was certainly not the rescue Arthur would have expected, but one that he was intrigued about all the same. This woman must be quite special to have made such an impression on Danse.

He stood from his desk and rubbed his eyes wearily. It had been a long day, but it was time to address his soldiers and meet this mysterious woman that seemed to come so highly recommended.

"Brothers and Sisters... the road behind has been long & fraught with difficulty."

Arthur had planned out what he'd wanted to say to these soldiers & rehearsed it in his mind several times before his address, wanting his thoughts to come out clearly & strongly. He stood in front of them all, pacing back and forth every so often as he took the time to search their faces individually. When his eyes met a pair of green eyes staring at him from the back of the room, he paused - both in his pacing and his speech.

The first thing he noticed about the woman they belonged to was the way she was staring at him intently. People usually made eye contact with him, then looked slightly elsewhere after a few moments, or looked at his face but not directly at his eyes (not for long, anyways). This woman was looking right at him unwaveringly, hardly even blinking. ...It wasn't something he was used to.

His own blue eyes narrowed slightly at her, and without realizing it he moved them down her figure and back up again, taking stock of this woman that had (albeit momentarily) thrown him for a bit of a loop. Based on her appearance (especially compared to the other soldiers in the room), he quickly realized that this must be the newest Initiate to the Brotherhood.

...Her? ...THIS was the woman Paladin Danse was talking about? THIS was the 'savior' of Recon Squad Gladius?

Arthur blinked and wondered if there was some sort of mistake, or... maybe even some kind of practical joke (if Paladin Danse was even capable of such an act).

The woman seemed to sense Arthur's appraisal and shifted her stance slightly in her form-fitting blue vault dweller jumpsuit. She wasn't wearing much else, save for some makeup (wherever wastelanders even found a novelty like that), some combat boots, a Brotherhood laser rifle strapped to her back (where had she gotten one of those already? From Danse, perhaps?), and a couple pieces of leather armor that looked like they would provide very little real protection from the wasteland. She pushed a loose strand of her pinned-up honey-colored hair back behind an ear.

Arthur could barely believe it. This woman looked like she had stepped off of a pre-war recruitment poster (or maybe even some sort of magazine), rather than being someone that had aided - quite successfully - several well-trained soldiers against some vicious feral ghouls that had almost overwhelmed them all.

He blinked again and finally looked away, then started his pacing again as he continued to speak against the Institute, bothered that this woman had bothered to distract him for even a moment.

"...In the end, we will be saving humankind from its worst enemy... itself."

After the other soldiers saluted and left the room, she briefly stood at the back, looking a tiny bit uncomfortable, before slowly walking forward to stand in front of him.

He regarded her carefully for a moment, his eyes moving down and up again as he scrutinized her for a 2nd time. Maybe it was just the lighting in the room (it was getting late in the evening, after all)... but Arthur could have sworn her face reddened slightly as he gazed at her.

She cleared her throat as she continued to maintain her eye contact and nodded respectfully at him. "Elder..."

He met her eyes again & paused before speaking. "...I care about them, you know. The people of the Commonwealth."

The Initiate frowned slightly. "It... seems more like you're preparing for war. ...Sir."

He was torn between smirking a tiny bit and being surprised that she didn't take his words unquestioningly, like so many others seemed to at times. When she asked about her own role in the Brotherhood, he straightened his posture.

"I want you to start taking responsibility for this planet," he began. "To start making a difference. And from what I've read in Paladin Danse's reports, you've already begun that journey. Seeing as he's one of my most respected field officers, you couldn't get a better recommendation. With that, I'm granting you the rank of Knight."

The Initiate smiled a little, and Arthur almost nodded. She should feel pride... not too many outsiders went from being a highly recommended Initiate to a Knight in such a short period of time, especially skipping over the rank of Aspirant. Just as quickly, however, the woman frowned.

"...Knight?" she asked tentatively, and then smiled again, looking slightly impish . "...Not a Paladin, like Danse?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and stared at her a moment. ...Who was this woman? He didn't know what to make of her or her impudence - accidental or otherwise. He inhaled slowly, fighting to keep his face stoic.

"...The Brotherhood maintains a strict hierarchy organized by rank," he finally stated. "Paladin is several ranks above Knight, and it took Danse many years to achieve that goal. With your continued loyalty to the Brotherhood, I'm certain you can attain the same." There was much he wanted to ask and discover about this woman, but he didn't want to overwhelm her too much in one day. After all... the Prydwen was a lot to take in for even seasoned members of the Brotherhood, and she hadn't even met the crew yet.

"In any event... it's getting late," he continued. "I recommend you finish becoming familiar with the Prydwen - I'm sure Paladin Danse can show you to the sleeping quarters. In the morning he can help you get you acquainted with my staff, and then you both are to report to the Flight Deck for your new orders. Welcome aboard the Prydwen, soldier. Make us proud." He saluted to her, then raised his eyebrows in slight surprise at her attempt at the same. He'd have to have Danse help her work on that.

"Ad Victoriam, Knight..." he trailed off, realizing he couldn't remember her name. 'Damn it, man...' he thought, annoyed at his own lack of foresight. He was sure Danse had noted it in the report (he was always so thorough like that)... but between thoughts of Recon Squad Artemis and the Institute, it was hard for Arthur to remember the one detail of the report he probably should have.

"Oh!" The woman realized what he was waiting for and shook her head slightly. "Del- ...umm... Taylor, sir. Nora Taylor," she quickly corrected.

He paused for a moment, noticing the stumble of her words, then nodded. He was sure there was an explanation behind it, but that would have to wait for another time. "...Knight Taylor. Sleep well, Knight."

She nodded back at him before she headed out of the room, not noticing that Arthur watched her every move as she left.

Knight Nora Taylor... there was something about this woman, something... different. Something... more than meets the eye. Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't just the fact that this woman was pre-war, or a vault dweller... no. His eyes narrowed again as he thought about it. This woman was a puzzle, a secret waiting to be unraveled, and he was determined to figure her out.

END NOTE:
I'm planning on making some of these chapter titles named after BoS quests – but obviously there's only so many quests, and not all of the chapter names might match up w/ what the quest is in the game... so if you notice something like this, just know that I AM aware of it & wasn't trying to necessarily match things up perfectly (I'm sometimes a stickler for detail, and don't know if other people are like this also, LOL).