Summary:
Maya, Chuck, Sarah and Jesse establish a communication channel with Robert de Silva, a High Elder member in The Circle and the only individual they can trust enough to call for assistance. Though shocked to find the Lyons Pride in the Commonwealth, as well as seeing Sarah Lyons still alive, he agrees to take the evidence they gathered on the growing storm in Boston along with the assassination attempt on Sarah's life.
With Boone's condition deteriorating, he begins to feel advancing symptoms of suffering a high radiation dose. There is still no cure for his condition and though he is aware of the inevitability of his demise, he knows he cannot give up hope...not when he has so much to lose.
Nora arrives safely back in the Commonwealth and heads straight to the Brotherhood of Gold bunker with news of her own about what and who is behind the problems that have been arising in Boston.
After long discussions and going over plans and scenarios on how to tackle the issue between Acadia and Maxson's Brotherhood of Steel, Maya - with the help of Boone and Nora - comes up with a plan on how to bring Maxson around and help quell an escalating cold war.
Less than an hour later and all the information and data pertinent to prove Maxson's Brotherhood attempted to assassinate Sarah Lyons, combined with reports on the Brotherhood's deteriorating status in the Commonwealth, was all neatly organised in files downloaded to a holotape that was now in Maya's hands. She gazed down at it, feeling the all too familiar dread of having to deal with The Circle again… hopefully this time they were willing to listen to reason, but just to be on the safe side, Maya requested that a private communication would first be established with Robert de Silva, one of the High Elders in The Circle. From her experience in dealing with The Circle, de Silva was someone who she trusted in the past; he was also opposed to abandoning the Lyons Pride when Owyn decided to invest their efforts into helping people rather than the goal of hording technology as the other Brotherhood chapters had done.
In order to protect their location from being revealed and tracked during the transmission, the signal was scrambled and sent through various operational servers across the wasteland that the Brotherhood of Gold set up in case of situations such as this. However, the possibility still existed that de Silva was no longer a member of the Circle, or worse… he could be dead. He was already nearing retirement when things went down at D.C., for all anyone knew de Silva was long gone; but it was worth the shot.
"Ready?" Chuck turned to her after Jesse finished setting up a direct line to de Silva's communication line. It was on standby for now, all Maya had to do was press 'Enter' and she would be put through.
Her hands were cold and clammy, her heart pounding in her ears – she didn't know if she was ready, but she was certainly going to do everything she could to bring some measure of peace for the Lyons Pride.
'This is it… Just breathe and explain the situation', she thought to herself as her grip tightened on the holo.
"Ready as I'll ever be", she exhaled and gave Chuck a nod. Sarah, Jesse, and Chuck were all with her in the operations room, standing by to give their own reports.
Maya walked up to the terminal and quickly pressed the button before she changed her mind. The dark screen flickered for a moment and a faintly audible clicking was heard as the system dialled the appropriate address code while the four of them waited with bated breath. A minute passed and no answer to their call, then two…five minutes passed and there was no answer to their communique.
Jesse shook his head, "This is pointless… for all we know he's no longer there".
"Give it time", Chuck grumbled.
"Jesse's right…maybe we should contact someone else?", Sarah added as they all stared at the black screen.
"And who do you think would take our call seriously Sarah?", Chuck turned to her, an annoyed look on his features.
"I don't know Chuck, maybe Christine? She was always willing to listen",
"Christine Royce?!" Chuck asked incredulously, "You do realise she's still missing, right? Or have you been living under a rock?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow at his comment, "Was that supposed to make me laugh?"
"Hello?" a man's gruff voice reverberated through the speakers amidst static, almost inaudible above Chuck and Sarah's argument.
"Oh I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me", Chuck grinned mischievously, "Maybe you'd better read the update reports before making such a ridiculous suggestion".
"Who the hell is this?!" the voice spoke again, this time aggravated. Even with the static interference, there was no denying who was on the other line.
"Quiet!" Maya yelled at the two arguing behind her before taking hold of the terminal controls to clear up the audio, "Robert de Silva?"
"Who are you and how did you get this number?!"
"High Elder…This is Maya Lyons, of the Lyons Pride", Maya smiled, feeling the tension she had before the call ago melt away, "It's good to hear your voice again".
There was a moment of silence, then the screen flickered to life and Maya was receiving live video footage of a stunned looking de Silva in his office. He was a distinguished looking man with dark skin and eyes, a cropped military haircut, and whose appearance was more that of a man in his early 50s than his actual age of 68.
"Maya?... You're alive?!"
"You sound surprised?" Maya grinned.
"We'd lost hope of finding you shortly after you left D.C. … Honestly, we all thought you had perished in the wastes".
"There were times where I thought I would", Maya's features softened, remembering the hardships she had to go through to make the trek from D.C. all the way to the Mojave, "But as you can see I'm alive and well…".
De Silva shifted in his seat expectantly and looked around him as though checking to confirm he was alone in the room, "I'm assuming you're on a secure channel".
"Yes, we made sure of that", Chuck added in gruff voice behind her.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but… Why are you calling now?" de Silva asked, looking perplexed.
"Because Maxson's Brotherhood has dragged the Commonwealth through the shitter the past several years", Chuck made an offhand comment but was quickly silenced with one severe glance from Maya.
"There is a situation brewing in the Commonwealth, Robert. We have evidence to show that Arthur Maxson, the current leader of the Brotherhood of Steel chapter in the Commonwealth, has made an assassination attempt on Sarah Lyons, the last surviving family of Owyn Lyons", Maya elaborated, watching Robert's expression turn grave.
"Sarah Lyons is alive?" his voice was hushed in disbelief.
"Sure am", Sarah answered, revealing herself from behind Jesse, "That is a long tale all of its own".
It was a lot of information to take in, Maya could see his eyes shifting between them all in disbelief and uncertainty, "I'd like to hear it, nonetheless".
"We thought you might", Maya nodded, inserting the holo into the terminal receiver and transmitting the data to him, "We've put together a data package containing all information that the Brotherhood of Gold have since their exodus from D.C. up to, including the attempt on Sarah's life. It should be with you soon".
"I'm receiving it now, yes", de Silva nodded, his eyes scanning over the files being received on another screen next to him, "This is… incredible. I still can't believe you are all alive".
"Sometimes we can't either Bob. But it's not over yet and given the near miss we recently had with the assassination attempt, it won't be long until they find our bunker", Chuck exhaled, wiping off the perspiration on his temple with a kerchief.
"Why didn't you contact us sooner? We would have found a way to quell the issue with the Outcasts. Instead, everyone here believes that the Lyons Pride was to blame for everything that went wrong in the D.C. chapter", de Silva asked.
"…We couldn't… Especially after we received the message back from command that we were being cut off from any support and supplies if we didn't immediately return to carrying out our mission of securing technology", Chuck answered plainly, "We knew we didn't have support from The Circle for the choice we made, but after seeing what the rest of humanity was going through and dealing with not just raiders, but various monstrosities the nuclear war spat out at them… It would have been morally wrong of us not to offer aid and shelter to any and all that needed it".
"Coupled with Casdin's attempt to eliminate the Lyons Pride, we didn't know who we could trust", Sarah added, "But… in retrospect… we should have trusted you, sir".
"Hmm…", de Silva's gaze shifted pensively over them all while he weighed their words, "Yes, you should have… but you did what you thought was best. I will get the information you have sent to the others right away", de Silva nodded, "Will have to go around several people's heads… Ever since Defender Morgan got the promotion to head Council member, there have been some… personnel reorganizations going on".
"What?! That… woman… is on the Council?!", Sarah's expression turned to disgust, and she had to hold herself back from using expletives with the Council member on the line.
De Silva rubbed his temples in frustration, a pained expression in his eyes, "Yes… A lot's happened since the false news of your KIA was announced. It's hard to know who to trust these days, but…leave it with me though, I'll see what I can do".
"Thanks Bob", Chuck nodded.
"Sit tight, and in the meantime don't engage with Maxson's Brotherhood", de Silva added, "And whatever you do, don't try to contact me again. I will try to contact you on a remote terminal once I have some news. They are monitoring communication systems and next time you try; they may lock onto your location".
"Thanks for the tip", Jesse answered with an uneasy grin.
"Robert… I know this is a tall order, but… Thank you, for everything", Maya smiled, feeling a load lift off her shoulders.
"You can thank me when this mess is over", de Silva gave her a curt nod, "Good luck to us all".
With that Robert de Silva terminated the communication link and the terminal screen went black, leaving the four members to heave a collective exhale.
"So… that went well", Jesse commented, though the expressions on Chuck and Sarah's features told otherwise.
"Fucking Anne Marie Morgan of all people" Sarah grumbled, slowly pacing around near the terminal, "I would like to see her face when she finds out I'm still alive though".
"Hmm… I wouldn't be surprised if the order for your head came from her", Maya mused.
Sarah stopped pacing and her head snapped to Maya, brows arching in surprise at the comment.
"You think it came from her?"
Maya shrugged, but something in her core was screaming at her that this was no coincidence, "Could be. She's hated you a lot longer than you have disliked her. And now that she's a member of the Council, it gives her a unique advantage to quietly clean up the many problems Casdin made in his wake – one of which was his failed attempt to kill you in the Capitol."
"I would say that's a crazy assumption, but…knowing Morgan, this sounds like something right up her alley", Chuck muttered with disdain, picking up his coffee cup only to be dismayed in finding that he'd already finished his drink.
"And the fact that Arthur Maxson had a crush on you since he was a kid", Maya added, "I don't know... Something about all this doesn't seem right, I find it hard to believe that he would issue an order for your head. It doesn't fit his motives... There's something else going here".
"It's possible…", Sarah folded her arms in front of her chest, mulling over Maya's assumption, "I knew Arthur when he was a squire, and I know his character deep down could not be changed completely by Casdin's manipulation".
"He was just a kid when you knew him Sarah", Chuck muttered, "A little kid with puppy dog eyes for you. A lot's changed since then, he's been groomed by Casdin, Loco Coco and the other Outcasts to be their perfect little puppet".
"Coco what?" Maya's eyebrow raised in confusion, somewhat entertained by the name.
"Remember Knight Rococo Rockfowl?", Sarah answered, and Maya immediately recalled the kooky Knight that quickly followed suit behind Casdin when they left Owyn Lyons to form their own Outcast Brotherhood group.
"Oh… That Loco Coco", she murmured, remembering the creeps he gave her when they first met. She always thought that if he wasn't born into the Brotherhood that he might have ended up becoming a lunatic raider with an equally mad gang unleashing hell on the wasteland and any innocent people, "I didn't know he had a nickname… Feels apt though".
"So what do we do now?" Jesse put the question to the floor, but neither he nor the others had an agreeable answer.
Chuck wanted to do as de Silva suggested – sit and wait until they were contacted by him; though with all the hurdles in his way everyone was sure that would take time they didn't have.
Sarah wanted to go to Boston Airport and get an audience with Arthur, even if it meant having to fight through all the Brotherhood soldiers.
Jesse suggested they get hold of one of the Brotherhood's listening and communication posts and listen in to updates so they could anticipate the next time the Brotherhood attempted to track them down, but Chuck, Sarah and Maya agreed that was a dangerous mission that risked them getting caught even more.
Maya's thoughts in this moment were a jumbled mess; there were merits to the ideas proposed by all, though they were all risky – even sitting by and doing nothing was sure to cost them in one way or another. All she could think about was how disappointed she was in the Brotherhood, and the words Daniel shared with her those many years ago came flooding back.
"I think that there are some honest, hardworking people in the Brotherhood faction. They are not evil, but a faction is the sum of its parts; and a whole lot of good people banding together under an unethical banner creates a dangerous faction that can do some very evil things", she muttered.
"What?" Sarah asked perplexed,
"We have to change the Brotherhood's from the inside", she answered, speaking more to herself than the others, "But how?"
"Easy – overthrow Maxson and put the rightful Elder in his place", Chuck shrugged, but Maya shook her head.
"That won't be good enough. We will be left with a similar situation Owyn faced when he and Casdin were at logger heads; only there would be an overwhelming majority who would support Arthur than Sarah, given the fact that have all only known Maxson as their leader and are extremely loyal to him", she said.
The room fell silent as the four of them attempted to come up with a plan.
"Any ideas?" Jesse asked after no one commented or made any suggestions for a long minute.
Chuck shrugged, "First things first, let's go inform the others outside. I bet they're dying to know what's going on… And I'm gonna need another cup of coffee".
While Maya, Chuck, Sarah and Jesse were establishing contact with The Circle, the rest of the Brotherhood of Gold members tried to do anything they could to keep their thoughts occupied on something other than what was being discussed behind the closed doors of the briefing room. The first ten to fifteen minutes they all hung around outside the door, some pressing their ears to it in a futile attempt to listen in, though after that they slowly began to disperse, finding solace in the gym, listening to some low volume music on the radio, or simply in a cup of coffee.
Boone didn't move from his post by the door, resting his shoulder on the wall while his mind replayed all the wonderful memories he and Maya both shared together. Although Daniel and the others were doing everything they could to help and make him comfortable, there was no denying it – he was dying. At first the thought didn't scare him all that much; after all that time in the Mojave tempting fate and waiting for his end to come, the time had finally come… but unlike then, he had everything to lose now. With each passing day he felt his body grow weaker as he began developing advancing symptoms. At first it started with fatigue and weakness coupled with confusion, now it had progressed to nose and gum bleeds and random skin bruising over his body. If it had not been for the serums Daniel was administering to him in an attempt to prolong his lifespan, he would have been dead within the hour after exposure to such a high dose. He refused to show the others how debilitating this had left him feeling and how it was hindering him both mentally and physically.
'At least you get to say goodbye this time', he thought morbidly as a wave of fatigue threatened to knock him off his feet. He rubbed his eyes and quickly pulled up a chair next to the door, collapsing into it as the world began to spin around him.
Sitting across the room, Daniel noticed Boone's discomfort and moved his chair next to him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I wish people would stop asking me that", Boone answered irritably, lightly pressing his thumb and index fingers on his closed eyes to relieve some of the nausea.
"Here", Daniel procured a small pill the size of a grain of rice in his pal and handed it to Boone, "Take this, it'll help".
Without any signs of the nausea and confusion abating, Boone begrudgingly accepted Daniel's medicine, quickly swallowing it and resting his head back while he waited for the medication to kick in.
"You should go lie down, for all we know this could take hours", Daniel suggested, but Boone quickly waved his proposition away.
"No. I'm not moving until Maya comes out".
Daniel exhaled silently, knowing it was futile to argue with a man as stubborn as Boone, "Alright… Then I guess I'll wait with you". He reclined back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, but neither one of them had long to relax before a silent alarm was triggered, causing Ash and several other BOG members to spring up the stairs to the ground floor.
"What now?" Daniel threw his arms up as Boone got up on shaky legs and followed suit.
The medication Daniel had given him was beginning to take effect, easing his symptoms and making it more bearable to focus. Still, making the climb up the three flights of stairs to where the others had congregated around a video terminal almost left him winded.
"What's going on?" he asked breathlessly, but Ash simply motioned for him to come and join them. As he rounded the corner of the desk, he could see several video feeds coming through showing a figure in a newsboy cap and a long coat running up the train tracks from Oberland station to the bunker's main entrance.
"Who is it? Do we have a facial scan?" Fiona asked eagerly, but before Ash could get a better look at who this individual was, they already reached the base and were hammering at the door.
"Hey! Let me in!", a woman's voice muffled voice could just about be heard from the outside, along with light thuds as she pummelled the door with the side of her arm, "Ash! Chuck! Anyone in there?!"
"Nora?" Ash muttered quizzically, unlocking the door and letting her come through.
Stumbling inside and quickly pushing the door closed behind her, the stranger was met with three BOG members who had their laser pistols drawn at her.
"Easy! Take it easy, it's me, Nora", she held up her arms to show she was unarmed and didn't mean them any harm.
"Damn it, put those away!" Ash ordered the others, who complied once Nora took off her cap and revealed herself. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"I need your help", her fearful eyes looked at them all, "We have a potential nuclear device that's been hidden somewhere in Boston?"
Boone could see where this was going.
"A nuclear bomb you say?" Ash cocked his eyebrow.
"Yes. Only problem is it's gone missing", Nora looked at them all imploringly, "If we don't find it soon, I'm afraid to even think of what's going to happen".
"Ah, don't worry about it", Ash shrugged, picking up a Nuka Cola from one of their vending machines and handing it to her, "Here, you look thirsty".
"This is no time to joke around Ash", Nora shook her head, shocked that he would be so blasé, "I need your help! Where's Chuck?"
"Relax Nora, we have everything under control", Fiona approached her, "We found that bomb and disarmed it. It's being stored in a safe location until we figure out what to do with it".
Nora stared dumbfoundedly at them, wondering if they were really being serious.
"You… You found it?"
"Well, not me personally", Ash chuckled, motioning to the others around him in as if to say it was a collective effort, "Come on, have a drink and we'll talk".
Nora followed him to the seating area downstairs and caught him up on her side of the story, how she was helping the remainder of the Railroad regroup and continue carrying out their tasks of finding and helping synths, only to realise not long ago that they were all dying of an incurable disease that no one could determine how it was caused, let alone why. She told Ash about trying to help Arthur Maxson quell the disputes that had been arising between the Brotherhood of Steel and Commonwealth citizens, only to have everything overturned by DiMA.
"Huh, well…we did always suspect there were escaped synths in and around Far Harbour. We just never had confirmation until now", Ash mused, downing the last of his Nuka Cola.
"Their main population is there, however their leader – DiMA – has some very twisted plans for the Commonwealth", Nora nodded.
"Glad we were able to intercept that bomb they intended to detonate. Though when we analysed it, we believe someone tampered with it", Ash said.
"How so?"
"Well, it's an extremely dirty bomb, as our friend over here can attest to", Ash nodded over to Boone, who was nearby listening in on the conversation, "He's the one who reached in the chamber and disarmed it".
"Oh my God…" Nora turned to face Boone, a sorrowful look in her eyes that only garnered her a clenched jaw from him, "How's he still alive?"
Ash shook his head, "Heck if I know. Something about taking some serum or whatnot… From what I know he's not got long left".
Nora pursed her lips her gaze drifted from Ash, wondering what she would do if she were faced with a situation like that, "That's awful".
"Mhm", Ash gave a solemn nod, "Man's got a kid on the way too".
"Shit", Nora muttered under her breath, her eyes welling up as she remembered her own son Shaun.
"Yeah… Well, that turned dark quick", Ash shivered, "I uh…what was I saying?"
"Your…analysis, you think someone tampered with it?"
"Right. The only people who we could think would want to cause this kind of destruction are the Children of Atom. They've been a real pain in everyone's asses in the Commonwealth for the past several months…".
"The Children of Atom?" Nora questioned sceptically.
"Yup. The nuclear material in the bomb was identified and it matches to the stuff used in old world submarines… Which we found odd as there's nothing like that lying around the Commonwealth".
"No… I guess not", Nora answered, feeling a dread wash over her. The only place a submarine nuclear weapon could have been procured from, that Nora could think of, was one of only two places: the Chinese submarine Yangtze-31, which Nora was certain had reached its home seas by now…or the derelict USS Democracy in Far Harbour.
"Well, you can rest assured it's safe with us. We've got it under lock and key, no one's going to find it or arm it again anytime soon", Ash replied with a confident grin.
"I'm glad to hear that", Nora exhaled, "You have no idea how terrified I was on the way back to the Commonwealth".
As they carried on waiting in the living room area for Chuck, Sarah, Maya and Jesse to finish, Ash gave Nora a quick update on the matters that they were dealing with and Nora almost shot out of her seat when he told her Sarah was in the bunker with them.
"I can't - no, won't believe Arthur sent out a team to assassinate her", she shook her head, "That doesn't sound like something he would do".
Ash shrugged, "I don't know the guy personally. Whoever it is, they want us out of the picture that's for sure. Sarah, Chuck, Jesse, and Maya are in there now trying to get a hold of some big wigs in The Circle".
"Maya? Is she one of yours? Don't think I've met her last time I was here".
"No, you wouldn't have. She was one of the founding members of Lyons Pride… But she a long time ago. When I think about it, It's kinda crazy… She left sometime when I was still a kid, we don't see her or get a word from her in decades, and then one day she just drops into my lap", Ash chuckled.
"Did you say she's one of the founding members?" Nora eyed him, certain he must have made a mistake somewhere.
"Yup", Ash nodded, "And yes, I'm certain that she's older than you".
"Well… I can't wait to meet her", Nora answered, excited to know there is someone who she could talk to about the old world but not knowing how to picture her. A ghoul was the first thing that came to her mind when she imagined anyone older than her, but when the doors to the information room opened and out walked Chuck, Sarah, Jesse… Nora was surprised to see a fairly normal looking woman - not a ghoul - whom she could only guess was Maya.
The living room area filled with excited chatter as the others began to crowd them, eagerly waiting to hear what happened with The Circle.
As soon as Maya saw Boone waiting in the corner, she quickly broke off from the others and gave him an embrace.
"Hey. How'd it go?", Boone asked curiously, his features softening at the sight of her.
"We got through", Maya inhaled a deep breath to steady herself.
"Robert?"
Maya nodded, a happy smile on her face.
"Good news then", Boone answered optimistically.
"Yes… Though, now we have to make a decision on what we do next. And, as always, we have to put it to a vote", Maya gave him a kiss on the cheek before proceeding to the centre of the room with Sarah and Chuck, calling everyone to attention.
"Listen up, here's the update", Chuck's voice reverberated through the air, bringing the room to a hush, "We got through to de Silva, our main contact in The Circle. The data package was sent and it seems that de Silva is taking our case seriously. However…" Chuck paused a moment for emphasis, "The situation within The Circle has taken a bit of a turn".
"What do you mean?" Fiona asked from the side.
"Anne Marie Morgan is now the head council member", Chuck answered almost begrudgingly, which was followed by several calls of disapproval and concern from the others.
"As a member of The Circle, Morgan will be expected to adhere to the established rules against prejudice and favouritism", Sarah added, "However, de Silva is hesitant to guarantee us a positive outcome. The good news is that, though few, there are still those within The Circle who would support us, and that's a good start".
"The bad news is that we're still on our own. An investigation team will not be sent immediately, as per protocol, but only after the matter has been reviewed by the other members. The Circle members thought we were long dead and gone… de Silva certainly wasn't expecting to hear back from us, and now they have to open up old case files to review the evidence and compile it with the new information we just sent. With the damning proof we have collated and forwarded to de Silva, I'm confident that a team will be sent… eventually", Maya continued, "For now, we are still vulnerable… the advice from de Silva is to sit tight and wait for his call, but we don't know when that will be and there is the likelihood – however small - that this base could be discovered by then. So… we need to come to a decision, we need a contingency plan. If anyone has any ideas, now's the time to put them forward."
A hushed murmur broke out through the room as the others went through their options discussing the information they were just presented with; all except for Nora.
"It's not Maxson's Brotherhood you should be worried about. It's the people who planted the nuclear device under the streets of the Commonwealth", Nora spoke up from the back, an urgency in her tone, "You don't have time to wait this out. You need to act or there will be another attempt to destroy the city".
"Well I'm glad we have your input in our time of need Nora, after… how long has it been since we last saw you?" Chuck asked sarcastically, though both Maya and Sarah could see that Nora's presence surprised him, "Two…three years? Could have used your input back then when we were dealing with Maxson while he and his goons were busy dealing with the Institute… before the crap hit the fan."
"I guess I deserved that", Nora folded her arms in front of her chest, but the determination in her gaze only intensified.
"We know who planted the bomb. It was the Children of Atom, big whoop. We dealt with the issue, we have their nuclear bomb, so I doubt they'll be trying to pull a similar stunt anytime soon seeing as it must have taken them years to find that much uranium, let alone jerry rig a bomb for it", Chuck answered.
Nora took a deep breath in and steeled herself for information she knew was going to be a lot for the others to take in. She began by explaining how she discovered DiMA had recovered most of the espionage technology from the Institute with the help of the other synths and the Children of Atom, who were able to trawl through the heavily irradiated ruins of C.I.T. and collect the necessary data that was backed up in an indestructible black box designed by the Institute to preserve the information, research, and knowledge they had accumulated. She also revealed that Faraday, one of the synths in Acadia and DiMA's personal aid, left a holotape on the inside pocket of his jacket that he gave to her when he helped her escape. Eagerly curious to see what was on it, Nora inserted it into her PipBoy to find out what was on it during the trip back to the Commonwealth; what she found was both voice recorded and encrypted message messages of DiMA communicating with the Children of Atom, long detailed back and forth messages between them on matters concerning their anonymity and security in Far Harbour, dealing with the Brotherhood in the Commonwealth, along with technical schematics for building a nuclear bomb provided by DiMA and contingency plans should anything go wrong.
"If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to take a look at that holo", Jesse requested when Nora finished.
"Of course, here you go", Nora complied, taking out the holotape from her inside pocket and handing it to Jesse.
"So… The Children of Atom are more organised than we previously thought", Chuck mused, the lines in his brow deepening with concern.
"Well yes…and no", Nora answered, "They are simply being used as a tool by DiMA in Acadia. Left to their own devices the Children of Atom are nowhere near as organised or strategic. Without DiMA pulling the strings in Acadia, I doubt the Children of Atom would have even thought to place and detonate a bomb in the Commonwealth".
"Alright, so we get rid of this DiMA and all our problems are solved", Ash suggested.
"Yeah, sure… if you want to make a martyr out of him to his own kind", Maya answered him with a shrug, unable to hold back the sarcasm in her tone.
"We need to sway DiMA, not with force but with dialogue", Nora emphasized.
"And how do we do that? You said that you couldn't even get through to him, that he is hell bent on his agenda", Sarah questioned.
"Don't you see? The only reason DiMA is taking these drastic steps is because of the Brotherhood of Steel!", Nora stated as plainly as possible, "I am certain that if we can get Maxson to ease up on his all or nothing approach to the Commonwealth and leave the synths in Acadia alone, we can avoid more bloodshed".
Her suggestion was met with several nods of approval and a few sceptical glances from the veteran members.
"Ha! Good luck with that!" Chuck laughed, "Getting Arthur Maxson to ignore his very purpose for being here, to cleanse the Commonwealth of anything and anyone that isn't human, is like trying to reason with a Deathclaw".
"Maybe so… but we have to try", Nora gazed at them pleadingly.
The room fell silent as the members considered her words carefully, and after several moments Chuck, Sarah and the others agreed to come up with a way to make the impossible possible.
When the others dispersed to discuss their options, Maya stood to the side with a sensation building up from her core, one she knew meant she was close to a solution… closer than she realised. She was so engrossed in the plan unravelling in her mind that she didn't notice Boone gently pull her to the side away from the epicentre of the activity as other BOG members went about their duties and sharing their plans on how to deal with the current situation.
"I know that look", he said, taking her to one of the armchairs so they could sit together, "What you thinking?"
'I wish Elder McNamara were here… he'd probably know how to deal with Maxson, Elder to Elder', she thought.
"I can't help but think that our best bet is to confront Maxson one on one", Maya uttered, feeling the words weigh heavy on her.
"Alright, let's hear it", Boone reclined back in his chair and listened to her musings.
The only way to solve this impasse was for the Brotherhood of Gold to go directly to Arthur Maxson. She began detailing the idea that had come into her head, how they could sneak their way in undetected if they used some of the BOG power armours and painted them to match the appearance of Maxson's Knights and Paladins, then they could pretend they were just a scouting party making their way back to base. Once inside the airport, they would find out where Maxson was and approach him in person when he was alone.
Boone's left eyebrow rose slightly, showing her that he was intrigued, "That's a start. But we don't know the layout of their base, much less how to get to Maxson".
Seemingly out of nowhere, Nora came up to them and pulled up a chair for herself, "Luckily for you, I am remarkably familiar with the layout of their base. I can help get us in".
"That's all well and good, but then what?" Boone asked, his gaze shifting between Maya and Nora, "Put yourself in Maxson's position – you are all strangers to him, except for you Nora. He would more than likely open fire the second anyone from the Brotherhood of Gold reveals themselves than listen to what we have to say".
"Not everyone", Maya added enthusiastically, "When he was a child, Maxson's parents were killed and Owyn Lyons took him in, helped raise and educate him; Sarah was a big part of that and he was especially fond of her. I'm certain that if Sarah reveals herself to him, he would not only be willing to listen to reason, but he would question why he'd been lied to all these years".
"That's a big assumption", Nora mused, "Though… it might work. I remember reading one of his personal journal entries back when I was a Knight of him mentioning Sarah fondly. He was just a kid then but it sure seems he had a strong crush on her... Might still feel something for her if he found out she's alive. Those kinds of things stay with you long after you become an adult".
"We're going to need backup. If anything goes south, we need to have more personnel to help us deal with the situation, and Chuck's crew is scarce as it is", Boone noted.
"I'm afraid I can't help there… The Minutemen are busy dealing with raiders and Gunners at the moment, and the Railroad are hiding from Maxson, so…", Nora exhaled, running her fingers through her hair.
"We have some of our own personnel nearby… but that won't be enough", Boone added.
"If only McNamara were here…", Maya mused out loud, catching Boone's attention.
"There's no reason why we couldn't call him in", Boone leaned in, his body language telling Maya that he approved of this option.
"Who's McNamara?" Nora questioned.
"He's the Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel chapter in the Mojave", Maya replied, "And no… He's got his people to think about, I couldn't ask them to risk their lives for this".
"They never hesitated to risk everything when you appeared in the Mojave. Whenever you needed them, McNamara and his people were there to help; this is no different, and we could really use their help right now".
Maya knew he was right; the day she was dragged from her universe into this one, Nolan McNamara and his Brotherhood of Steel took it upon themselves to help her through everything, even suffering the loss of their own home in an attempt to send her back to hers. She knew that if she called they would be in the air within the hour on their way to Boston.
"Alright… I'll contact them", Maya nodded with a grin, "And I guess, if it comes to it, it wouldn't hurt for Maxson to see the positive outcomes McNamara's chapter have made on the inhabitants in the Mojave".
Now that a semblance of a plan was laid out and the others approved it after they were informed, Maya went straight to Daniel to set up a communication link with McNamara. For the first time since she arrived in the Commonwealth, she started feeling like there was a ray of hope yet. If they could tackle the problem between the Brotherhood and the synths of Acadia before an all out war broke between them, then surely they could find a way to save Boone…