(Rose)
Rose's heart pounded in time with the chopping of the vertibird's blades as they glided over the Commonwealth. She wasn't big on heights; she had only flown on a plane twice before the war for this very reason. Now she found herself at least fifteen hundred feet above the ground, with nothing but a thin belt and a handrail to keep her from tumbling out. She clenched her teeth and tried to breathe evenly. She couldn't afford to look weak in front of Danse, or anyone else from the Brotherhood for that matter. Keep it together, Rose.
She snuck a glance at Hancock. If being stuck in a flying deathtrap didn't set her on edge enough, he was the other reason why her heart wanted to jailbreak out of her ribcage. Every minute of the last three days had left her more certain that he'd finally had enough. She had debated going after him a few times, like she had when he walked out on her in Cambridge; it would have been easy enough to track him down. But each time she worked herself up to it, shame stopped her in her tracks.
It wasn't the chem use. Not exactly, anyway. Being embarrassed of using chems with Hancock around made about as much sense as being ashamed of having your nose in a book around Cara. What made the words lock up in her throat each time she glanced at him was that she'd been stupid enough to overdose. She had very nearly killed herself, and he'd had to deal with it.
She knew how furious she would be if she were in his place. Furious and scared. The fact that he was sitting beside her calmly did little to quell her anxiety. He had barely looked at her since he had gotten back… hadn't touched her, hadn't conveyed anything about what he was feeling. He had even talked more to Danse than he had to her.
But he came back, she consoled herself, spine going rigid as the aircraft jostled in a gust of wind. He came back, and he volunteered to go with you. That's got to mean something.
She could only pray she was right.
Time passed wordlessly. After what seemed like all night (but was really only a couple hours, judging from the time on her Pip-Boy), the imposing mass of the Prydwen loomed up ahead. Rose stared hard at the massive airship and tried to focus her thoughts. She needed to concentrate on Maxson. Danse had said the Elder wanted to speak with her about finding a way to bring down the Institute; she knew the Brotherhood was aware of her vendetta. Her concern laid with whether or not they knew how far she'd gotten.
They docked at one of the Prydwen's ports with a jostling that had her convinced the vertibird was ready to fall to pieces. Danse and his pilot hopped down onto the narrow metal platform with practiced ease; the fact that the whole thing vibrated when Danse's power suit hit didn't seem to bother them in the slightest. Rose followed a little more cautiously. She reached out automatically for Hancock's hand to help steady her as she stepped down, and nearly lost her balance when he ignored her to move towards the main walkway.
"Careful!" Danse barked as he caught her arm. He nearly had to shout to be heard over the wind and the whirring of vertibird engines. "Stay sharp… there's no coming back if you misstep out here!"
"Clumsy me," Rose replied, trying to compensate for the awkwardness with an exaggerated wave of her hands. Her face felt so hot she was certain she was red all the way to the roots of her hair. "Guess I still need to get my sea legs… or whatever those are for flying."
Danse looked between her and Hancock, who was busy sneering at soldiers who stared at him as they passed by. Before he could finish putting it all together, she pushed forward and began walking towards the main part of the ship.
"Come on!" she shouted over her shoulder. "Let's not keep the Elder waiting."
She wasn't certain what to expect. When Danse spoke of Elder Maxson, he did so with a sense of reverent loyalty. She knew that the Brotherhood leader commanded the absolute obedience and respect of every man or woman under his command. When she tried to form an image of the man in her head, she often saw a grizzled war hero, or perhaps a figure like the generals who were featured in pro-enlistment propaganda during the war. His title certainly put her in mind of an older man, chiseled and hardened from years of war against the Brotherhood's enemies.
Instead, the man she was presented with was actually… a boy.
Well, "boy" might have been stretching things. She doubted there was a soul alive who would make the mistake of calling him that to his face. Maxson had the razor-sharp, confident bearing of a military leader; his beard and scars helped him look the part. But there was still no denying that he was young. It was hard to gauge specifics, but Rose estimated that he was at least in his early twenties… at most no older than she was. If he were clean-shaven, he might have even come across as younger than Cara.
Age didn't mean much here, though. Maxson was still a powerful man, and one whose actions she couldn't entirely predict. If anything, his youth only added another dangerous variable to this visit; a lack of life experience could make him impulsive or hotheaded. She had to stay on guard.
"General Rose," he greeted her, inclining his head. He didn't extend his hand, she noted; was that intended to be a lack of respect, or was it simply cautious? "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me so quickly."
"Danse said it was urgent. And it's just Rose, by the way. The 'general' bit really only applies to the minutemen."
"Very well. Rose it is."
His attention shifted over to Hancock, who stood a couple feet behind her. Rose studied his face closely; he was careful not to change his expression, but she caught the disgust that formed in his eyes.
"And this is…?"
Hancock looked the Elder over, his stance deceptively relaxed. "Don't mind me; couldn't pass up a tour."
"Mayor Hancock of Goodneighbor," Danse chimed in dutifully. "A well-known… associate, of Rose's."
Maxson nodded once, expression grim. "Goodneighbor. I've heard of it." He clasped his arms behind his back, gaze fixed resolutely back on Rose. "I must confess, that you would travel with that thing makes me question your judgment. Interesting that you would choose to bring it along to this meeting."
"Thing?" Hancock growled, bristling. Rose felt her own ire bubble up in kind; the racism went all the way to the top, it seemed.
"The minutemen protect all peaceful inhabitants of the Commonwealth, Maxson," Rose stated, reaching out to still Hancock with a hand on his arm. "That includes ghouls. If you can't restrain your prejudice, then you're going to find we have very little to discuss."
"My apologies, then. I didn't ask you here to debate over our respective values." Hancock snorted; Maxson ignored him.
Maxson began to slowly pace in front of them, which put Rose in mind of a wolf sizing up its prey. She felt her hair prickle all down the back of her neck. Maxson's presence vibrated with a carefully controlled anger. He hid it well, with (mostly) polite words and the practiced mask of cool authority, but she could see it in every step he took… could practically smell it in the air. At best, he had some kind of vendetta. At worst, he was a zealot.
If nothing else, this meeting confirmed her suspicions: the BoS would not be a stable guest in the Commonwealth for long. Danse had said they would be safe for this meeting; she trusted the paladin even if she didn't trust the rest of his outfit. But it was becoming abundantly clear that the Brotherhood was going to have to be dealt with sooner or later.
"I have been following your endeavors for a while," Maxson said, after considering his words for a moment. "Your name came up remarkably quickly when our scouts first began seeking out information on the Institute. I began to pay more attention after Paladin Danse informed me of your aid to him and his team, and of your trip into the Glowing Sea. A trip which I was told was unsuccessful."
Rose crossed her arms and resisted the urge to look at Danse. "That's correct. I thought I would be able to find someone there who knew how to get into the Institute… but we were too late."
"But you found a way regardless." She didn't respond, and he chuckled. "Do not bother playing coy, Rose. I may not know how you achieved it, but I have multiple reports telling me that you have not only discovered a way into the Institute, but that you have been able to go there and return unscathed. A feat no one in the Commonwealth has been able to match, as of yet."
The tension in the room was escalating. Rose longed to move; her position was great for confronting Maxson, but terrible from a tactical standpoint. She felt rather than saw Hancock switch over to her right side, putting himself where he could see Maxson, Danse, and the doorway all at once. She was beginning to fear that Cara had been right. How far did her trust for Danse go? Did she trust him to prioritize his word to her over the command of his superiors? She should've asked herself that before getting into that vertibird. Stupid mistake.
"The Institute is a malignant growth that needs to be cut out before it infects the surface," Maxson continued, stopping his pace to stand directly in front of her. "I'm sure you agree. The Brotherhood of Steel has the means to make this happen. All I need from you is their location."
And there it was. She'd suspected that was Maxson's goal.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Wipe them from the face of the earth. That is your goal too, or was I misinformed?"
Rose felt her heart sink into her gut. "Maxson… I agree that the Institute needs to be stopped, but not everyone there is guilty. There are innocent people there. Families, and children. People who have never done any harm."
Maxson gave an unfeeling shrug. "Collateral damage. I won't shed tears over people whose ungodly experiments would bring about the extinction of mankind."
Hancock's voice was a low, disapproving hum in his throat. "I think genocide's a new low, even for you assholes."
"Teach your pet to hold its tongue, Rose, or we'll do it for you."
"That's enough!" Rose's growl erupted out of her throat just as Hancock started forward. She stepped up into Maxson's face, teeth bared. "I can see you for what you are. The Commonwealth doesn't need your 'help,' and neither do I. I'll deal with the Institute on my own, in a way that doesn't involve needless mass murder."
Maxson met her fiery gaze coolly. "I'm disappointed to hear that. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of accepting no for an answer."
He nodded behind her; she turned just in time to be strong-armed by two soldiers who had silently appeared. One quickly pulled her gun away while the other wrenched her arms around her back, snapping handcuffs in place over her wrists. Two others were subduing Hancock, using quite a bit more force.
"Danse?" Rose demanded, struggling against her captors. "What is this? You promised us we'd be safe!"
"You're in no immediate danger," Maxson said. "Unlike some of your other acquaintances, we are not monsters. But the Commonwealth is in the middle of a war, and I can't afford to let you walk when you possess information that is crucial to our victory."
"Fucking rat!" Hancock snarled. One of the soldiers restraining him drove a fist swiftly into his jaw, almost knocking him off his feet.
"Stop it!" Rose tried to pull her wrists free, but the soldier behind her yanked her arms back hard enough to send pain shooting through her shoulder blades. "Let us go!"
Danse looked pained, but made no move to interfere. "Elder Maxson, is detainment truly necessary? Rose has proved herself an ally to the Brotherhood-"
"The Institute must be stopped at all costs, Paladin," Maxson said. "We need that information, one way or another, and we can't risk her running off to warn the Institute of our plans. As soon as she decides to cooperate, she will be freed."
"But Elder-"
"You are not to interfere, Paladin. That's an order." He turned to the soldiers holding Rose. "Take her down to the holding area. As for her… 'companion'…"
"If you hurt him I will burn this entire airship to the ground," Rose snarled.
"Permission to make a suggestion, Elder?" Danse asked quickly; Maxson gave him a curt nod. "It may be best to keep the two of them together. I can guarantee that the ghoul will run to her allies if we let him walk, and the alternative would guarantee that we lose her cooperation on any front."
Maxson looked unconvinced. "That thing is a danger to everyone onboard."
"Damn right," Hancock growled, earning him another punch into the stomach. He grunted, doubling over. "Awful tough when the punching bag can't hit back, eh, tin dick?"
"I've spent time with both of them," Danse replied. "The ghoul is no friend to the Institute, and disapproves of Rose's chosen method of dealing with them. He may be able to talk some sense into her." He put a little emphasis on that sentence, pausing to give Hancock a significant look. "He'll want to save his own skin. We can use that to our advantage."
When Maxson still seemed unconvinced, Danse tried one last time. "They'll be unarmed, Elder. On an airship hundreds of feet in the air, surrounded by trained soldiers. No way to escape, no way to cause harm, no methods of communication."
Maxson finally exhaled in a brusque sigh. "Very well. Take them both to holding." He stepped over to Rose, his gaze cutting into her. "But if either of them try anything, put a bullet through his head first."
*Writing Maxson was a bit of a challenge in this, so hopefully his characterization is correct. I never actually played much into the BoS timeline myself because I can't stand them in FO4 (if you can't already tell lol), so I had to watch what I could of Maxson's interactions on youtube and then research the rest of his dialogue options in written form.
But there's a fun little cliffhanger for you all! Things are gonna get sort of canon-divergent ahead... definitely interested to see where this fic ends up.*
