***I know it's been a long while. I've been busy with a career change and moving and personal issues...it's been a nightmare! But I'm back, hopefully with enough content to satisfy what's left of my readers. Let me know what you think and any suggestions you have!
Chapter 24-Decisions
Behind the gates of Sanctuary, it's residents were in a form of controlled chaos. There were whispers everywhere, the building of the vast machine, and now the arrival of the Brotherhood had sent the otherwise calm citizens into a slight panic. Most of the people here were innocent, farmers and scavengers. The main thing that protected this little Sanctuary was the wall placed around it's borders. There wasn't much threatening out this far. So the sudden appearance of a military force was concerning.
By the end of the day the majority of Sanctuary had gathered near the center of town. Sturges stood surrounded by his friends and neighbors, all of them firing questions at him simultaneously. He glanced around helplessly, trying his best to control the crowd.
"What if they come back with more troops?" "Do we even have enough guns to fight them off if they attack?" "What about my children? Will they be safe in the vault?"
With everyone talking at once he found it hard to think straight. He opened his mouth to reply when an authoritative voice rang out above the rest.
"Everyone, please! Can we have silence here?" Preston strode through the tight crowd to it's center, followed closely by Nora. Everyone was immediately silent and all eyes turned towards their leader. Preston's face registered complete calm as he stood before them.
"I know you are all concerned about what the Brotherhood coming here means for you and your families. It is an unfortunate truth that they will continue to be a part of this project for some time now." More murmurs, concerned glances. "We all knew when we agreed to their help that this was going to happen. We are fighting a common enemy here. The Institute threatens each and every one of us daily. With this machine, and the Brotherhood's help-we can finally take back our lives and homes." Despite his calm and reassuring manner, many of the residents still looked unconvinced.
"For those of you who still feel uncomfortable with this situation-I have already reached out to some of our closer settlements. They have agreed to help any of you who wish to leave Sanctuary temporarily if you feel it is what is best for you and your family." Some surprised looks, more murmuring. "What we have built here is important. We've made a home for ourselves here. And the Minutemen will not allow the likes of the Brotherhood to take that away from us. If you choose to remain-do so because you want to fight for what is yours should the time come." Sturges watched his long-time friend with admiration. Preston had always had a way with words. His speeches could inspire confidence no one knew they had. And he knew, if they had any chance of maintaining control of Sanctuary; it would be with Preston's impeccable leadership.
"This decision does not have to be made right this moment. Now please everyone, return to your homes...speak to your families...in the morning, those of you who wish to leave should report to me and arrangements can be made. Thank you all." The crowd slowly dispersed leaving Preston, Nora and Sturges standing alone in the dimly-lit street.
"What do you think buddy?" Sturges asked. "Think they'll stay?" Preston sighed and shook his head.
"I certainly hope so. Either way...we'll know tomorrow."
Nora stepped closer and placed a hand reassuringly on his arm.
"They'll stay. They trust you Preston. As do I." He smiled gently her way. "Glad to hear it."
As the sun rose over the settlement, Preston found himself waiting patiently by it's gates. He watched the early morning mist swirl and hang in the air above the fields and smiled. This is what he had worked so hard for. This place, this literal Sanctuary for the people of the Commonwealth. All those years ago when he had first come here he had known: this was the place that would save so many lives. He just hoped they would be able to keep it.
Some time passed before the first few settlers emerged from their homes. Preston watched with anticipation as they came to stand before him one by one. His heart began to sink slowly, this was more than he had anticipated.
"General Garvey." A man named Brent came forward. Preston recognized him as one of the first drawn in by their radio beacon. He had a wife who was pregnant with their first child. Preston steeled himself for what he was about to hear.
"This is our home, General. For years, we wandered alone out there...never feeling safe." The crowd behind him smiled and nodded. "We're not giving that up without a fight." Preston blinked a little in surprise as he understood what they were telling him.
"We will stay and fight if need be." Brent continued. "No army could take this place from us." Preston smiled as he felt an immense surge of relief. He knew, no matter what, they would persevere.
Danse knew that Maxson would be furious with the Vault-Dweller's reprehensible conduct. He expected outrage, contempt, anything other than what he saw when he reported the news. Maxson was calm, polite even. He accepted the news of their rebuttal quietly and thanked Danse for his service. He agreed that at the arranged time the next day he should be ready at the flight deck for their departure. Danse was dismissed and left his Elder's quarters puzzled and confused slightly. It wasn't like Maxson to let anyone simply flout his orders in this way without repercussions. Was there something going on that he wasn't made aware of? He had known Maxson for many years, the man had saved his life-and become the mentor he had needed. But overall he thought they had been more than that...he thought they had been friends. To be kept out of the loop on this was more than a little disquieting.
He returned to his quarters making every effort to banish these suspicions from his tired mind. Perhaps he had just been overworking himself, surely a good night's sleep would ease his concerns. In any case-the next day would prove to be a trying day for them all.
Jae woke suddenly the next morning to the feeling of something gently grazing her arm. She jumped quickly out of bed, pulling her combat knife from under her pillow in the process. It took a moment for her focus to clear and see the surprised face peering down at her.
"Woah...woah kiddo! Relax! It's just me!" Rheems whispered quickly, grasping at her arm and holding the weapon away from her neck. "Shit! Remind me never to do that again." Jae blinked in surprise as the fog of sleep cleared.
"Rheems? What are you doing here?" Since her promotion, Jae slept with the other pilots onboard the Prydwen. She never got to see Rheems much as her unit stayed mainly on the ground.
"We need to talk kid. And what's with the knife?" Rheems shook her head and rolled back on her haunches to stand up. Jae just shrugged and pushed the weapon back under her pillow.
"You never know do ya? What time is it?" She asked as she swung her legs off the bed and slipped on some loose sweats.
"Early." Rheems answered, and waited while she dressed then the two of them snuck quickly past the rows of sleeping brotherhood and down the spine of the enormous airship. She led them down a few sets of stairs then doubled back down near the massive engines so they would be out of earshot of anyone nearby. Rheems pulled two Nuka Colas from her pack and handed her one. Anyone who happened to see the two of them would just assume they were sneaking a quick drink after hours, which happened occasionally among the ranks. It could get them into trouble, yes; but a lot less than if they knew what they were really up to.
"So what's going on?" Jae asked as she sipped the warm liquid and grimaced. She never really cared for the stuff, cherry was more her flavor. Rheems shook her head and downed a large gulp.
"I'm going out on a mission today." She started. "Not too thrilled about the location." Jae frowned.
"Where do they have you going? Somewhere dangerous?" She could see Rheems was nervous, which didn't happen often.
"You could say that...We're going to Spectacle Island. Take off at 1300 hours." Rheems finished. Jae's heart stopped. Suddenly the air around them seemed too thick to breathe and her chest was tight. The island was one of their drop points for escaped synths. From there they would be transported to the Nakano residence to be ferried out to Far Harbor-and away from the Institute and Brotherhood. This was bad. This was real bad.
"Ok...ok we need a plan here..." Jae was thinking hard. She knew that the Rail had measures in place to hide the appearance of any activity, but there was always a slight chance they would be discovered. The sudden timing of this mission had her perplexed. When they had first come here, the Brotherhood had gone to the island once or twice and deemed it a poor staging area for any outposts. Since then, they had pretty much left it alone, outside their radar so to speak. For them to suddenly show an interest in it's location made her concerned.
"I have a plan." Rheems started. "I need you to go to Kells and request to be put on this mission. With you in the pilot's seat you could make it so we don't fly over anything incriminating right? Or at the very least make our arrival obvious enough to give them advanced notice." Jae stared up at Rheems for a moment.
"I can't just do that Rheems." She whispered quickly. "It's not like that up here. Our missions are assigned, we don't volunteer. And even if I could how suspicious would that look? No one requests missions."
"You might not have a choice kiddo, if they see anything out of the ordinary there they will come down those people so hard it'll make your head spin. Then our whole damned cause here is blown."
"But isn't there another way to warn the Rail? Any signals? What about the scout outside the airport? Couldn't they help?" Rheems shook her head and looked grim.
"If there was another way you think I wouldn't have tried already? This is our only way. We have to make this happen-" Jae was quiet a moment as she listened. "You have to make this happen." In resignation, she finally nodded. She didn't know how much pull she had with Kells; but after so many successful missions she hoped it was enough. He'd shown her enough attention and kindness to make her think she had a chance. That didn't make this any easier though.
She nodded and handed her drink back to Rheems. "Get out of here...quietly. I'll see what I can do with Kells. I can't make any promises, but I'll give it my best shot." Jae turned and made her way back through the belly of the airship. She tiptoed back to her bunk and crawled in. The rest of the ship would be awake in a few hours, that gave her some time to think about just what she was going to say to Kells. Would he even consider it? Or would it make her look suspicious? Her mind spun itself in circles as she lie awake, listening to the hum of the engines and the gentle snore of her comrades. She knew this might happen eventually; she just hoped it wouldn't be this soon.