CHAPTER ELEVEN: SHOW NO MERCY
Jack hopped off the Vertibird onto the metal grating having gotten used to the frankly unnerving sight of the ground, several hundred feet beneath them, visible through it. Not that he didn't entirely trust two hundred odd years of slapping band aids on this thing to continue to keep holding it all together.
"Welcome back!" His head shot up and he was surprised to find that it was Danse waiting for him, not the hot blonde he'd hoped for.
"Try to dampen down your enthusiasm to see me Knight!" The other man smirked, clearly picking up on his disappointment. He crooked his thumb. "She's in a briefing with the Elder and Captain Kellis. They're planning a little excursion to field test her fancy new HUDS visual receivers." Jack stared blankly having no clue what they meant by that but certain it was probably revolutionary. To think he'd only been gone two weeks; he wondered if she'd have rebuilt the entire damn Prydwen if he up and left for a month.
"I hope he hasn't been working her to the bone while I've been gone." Jack muttered feeling a flash of concern for his wife, particularly given the mood he'd left her in. She'd always been one to throw herself into work to avoid a problem or to avoid feeling a problem. He joined Danse as they walked together and found he honestly was starting to think of the humourless marine as a friend. It was nice, almost like they were on the same level. Preston, though they'd gotten on, had always got that hero-worship 'you're the General' thing which had sometimes come between them being able to just hang out. With Danse he got the feeling that if he could soften the guy into having a beer or two with him, he might actually be pretty okay.
"I think Knight Captain Carter manages that all by herself." he confided picking up Jack's concern. "She certainly gets invested in projects doesn't she?" Danse queried and Jack sighed; that didn't bode well. Was it too much to ask that she sit down and put her feet up once in a damn while? Although having tried and failed to drag her out to his cabin every time he'd asked, he was hardly surprised. A little wave of nostalgia passed over him for his cabin. He would probably never see it again, never get to take Sam there and do all the wonderful not fishing things he'd imagined over the years.
"Ain't that the truth." he muttered, finally responding to Danse. Knowing Sam, in an effort to distract herself from his absence, she had probably thrown herself at something complicated or exhausting. Having experienced what it felt like when the shoe was on the other foot recently, when she'd gone off to investigate a Vault without him, he could sympathise. It didn't bode well for her mood having improved any though. She might have forgiven him when he was shipping out but he doubted she'd be quite so amenable now that he was back and they were due another 'talk'. Him and his big mouth.
"I trust your mission was equally successful, given as you've returned?" Danse pressed, his hand going to Jack's bicep to stop his forward march to find his wife.
"Yeah, it went great. I got given the secret handshake after a few little trips to prove myself. The Railroad don't suspect a thing. I got a Courser chip from this weird invisible Synth, whatever the hell that is, and the means to decrypt it. I also downloaded what was left in their old HQ. I'm sure that'll be more than enough for Maxson to use to locate the damn Institute."
Danse nodded. "And maybe deal a fatal blow to this Railroad as well."
Jack felt his expression shutter and he stepped away. "Sure." he muttered. 'Expendable' he thought internally, wasn't that what he'd already badged them for exactly this damn reason. Shit.
Sam was exactly where Danse had expected. Clustered around the command consoles with Maxson and Kellis. They all looked up as he entered and he was relieved to see the smile curve her lips and light her eyes. There was even that little dimple in her left cheek. At least she was pleased to see him he noted as she scanned him quickly, no doubt looking for injuries. He gave her a wan smile back and a discreet 'all good' nod, even if it wasn't. This wasn't the life he wanted for Sam; double-dealing, waiting for him to come back alive and eke out a life struggling to reach the top of the food chain out here. She deserved to shine. Not build weapons for these bastards to blow the rest of the Wasteland to pieces.
Maxson turned to look at him and perhaps he was too slow to raise his mask because the other man cocked his head, seeming to see the anger there and assuming it was for his own cause as proud men filled with their own self-importance often did. He usually enjoyed playing on that but he thought Maxson might be too dangerous to try it with.
"So, Knight Commander. Please regale us with what I'm sure is your success!" Maxson declared expectantly.
Jack merely grinned, placing the chip on the table between them and unstrapping his PipBoy, tossing it to Sam who caught it deftly. "It's all in there. The Railroad were gracious hosts because, of course, I had useful skills. I got what I could out of the wreck of their Headquarters. There's a program in there that should decrypt that damn thing. Best to make use of it. I had to rip it out of some invisible man-bot's head. The damn Institute have invisible assassins to add to their bag of tricks." He left out the possible teleporting business … that was for Sam's ears only … in case he was just mistaking their mass appearance for decloaking which might be embarrassing.
"Good work Knight." Kellis replied looking impressed whilst Sam was staring down at the PipBoy.
"Exceptional more like!" Maxson gave him a nod, which he returned because when in Rome … let him think they had an understanding, that suited him fine.
"I also found out about someone of great interest to the Institute. Seems one of their operatives has gone rogue. Name's Kellogg." Sam's head shot up. Fortunately Maxson was intent on him and she hastily looked back down.
"Nasty little man. Part of their bag and tag squad for misbehaving Synths. I didn't get much but I know that he's holed up in the Glowing Sea." And here it was, his gift to Sam and his penance he supposed. The real reason for going out on this whole damn plot; to get Maxson to sign-off on her trip out there. He had intended to fabricate the evidence or just plain make it up but he didn't need to. He was sure the Railroad files would support him on this. He searched his memory for the name Valentine had given him filed neatly away in 'tactical info for later'.
"Apparently, he's got some sort of facility out there. A bunker called Fort Hagen. Trust me, if you want all the Institute's dirty laundry then he's who we need to go see."
Maxson raised his finger to his lip seemingly considering but not entirely convinced. So Jack pushed. "All the data the Railroad had on the guy is in there. There's even a rumour he's not quite … human. Not anymore if what one of the operative's told me is to be believed."
Maxson's ears perked. "You mean they've been experimenting on humans? Not just Synths?" Maxson frowned. "That is interesting. I had heard rumours of cyborgs. Grotesque combinations of men with machine adaptations. A perversion much like these Synths, who are of course entirely artificial, even if it is biological." He brushed his hand over his quite impressively neat beard.
"Very well Knight. We will investigate this Kellogg. You're dismissed. I'm sure you will want a hot shower and some decent company." He glanced for a moment at Sam who was standing arms crossed not looking like she was all that keen on inviting him to share that company but she took the opportunity presented to her with all attention on her and Jack had to kind of admire that.
"Elder Maxson," she began, her expression serious. "Permission to speak freely." Maxson paused, then nodded, indicating she should continue. "The Glowing Sea is not a place to go lightly. The radiation there is, well frankly un-survivable, even with radiation suits." Maxson turned to give Sam his undivided attention. She took that as further invitation to continue. "I've had some thoughts about that. I think I can enhance the shielding in the Power Armour to make it more than resistant to that level for several days at least."
Maxson nodded. "Very well. Once we've tested out your latest modifications, should all go well, I will allow you to work on enhancing the Armour shielding."
"Elder … as I explained. Really, the best way for me to test these modifications would be in the field, I need …" Sam tried.
"Out of the question!" Maxson snapped, a touch of anger colouring his words. "You're needed here." he reminded her needlessly and Jack winced. Shit. Okay, maybe Sam had a point to be pissed at him if he'd just blown her shot at Kellogg and the Glowing Sea. Sam gave him an imploring look, asking him to fix his damn mistake.
"I think what Sam's trying to say Sir is that it's a risk. She might need to make modifications on the fly. A test run would be preferable. Why don't Sam and I take a suit each out with the modifications. I can fly us out there. We hang out for a little while, see if we get cooked. Sam brings us back or upgrades us as we go if needed."
"I see. So I should risk both my best soldier and my brightest mind in one go should I?" Maxson declared clearly thinking it the dumbest suggestion he'd heard in a while.
"I'm a soldier first." Sam reminded. "Sir." she replied when Maxson gave her a sharp look and Jack threw her a warning look too. He could see this going South and he almost had him.
"Look. Elder." Jack wasn't above pandering. "I know you don't want to risk your men. But we need to know if these suits will work and we want to know what this guy Kellogg knows. Sam and I have the skills and the training to get in and out. Not to mention fairly radiation free bodies. We can stand to take a little more damage. Can you say the same about anyone else?" he posed, hitting him where he knew it would hurt. He knew this type; Maxson would put his men's safety first. It was one of his more redeeming virtues. He and Sam were valuable new commodities yes, but not enough to stake all his eggs on, not yet.
"Look, I'll keep my damn wife safe … you can believe that!" he pointed out, needlessly he thought.
Maxson let out a huff and looked to Kellis. The dark-skinned older gentlemen rubbed his whitening beard, his withered face displaying every weary old inch. "You really think you can get in and out of a stronghold like that Knight, just the two of you?" he challenged and Jack shrugged 'why not'.
"Prove it!" Kellis challenged. "Fort Strong, just North of here. I believe you're familiar with it?" he charged and Jack nodded; he was indeed. "The Castle, from what I can tell, occasionally rains merry hell down on it with mortar fire but those Super-mutants are dug in like ticks. They aren't budging and that Fort is still standing. According to our information, it's also an old army base tasked with weapons development and testing back before the Great War. Specifically mini-nukes and the prototype X-01 Power Armour that had yet to be put into service. Knight Captain Carter's radar technology has picked up several expansive structures beneath the surface. We believe there is a munitions stockpile down there. Our information out of Central Military records suggests that the War ended before it was able to be deployed."
Jack stiffened. "Oh I know the place." Sam was shaking her head. Yet another place he'd nearly died. "Payback's going to be a bitch." he swore with real bitterness.
"Jack." she tried and he cut her off with a head shake. This was not the time and place to display weakness. It was the time for bravado if she wanted them to authorise her Glowing Sea trip.
He lifted his shirt and pointed to the pockmarked skin on his side and the metal that if you looked right you could make out beneath the skin. "Took a few souvenirs last time I tried storming that particular beach if you get my drift." Maxson's grim look suggested he understood him just fine. "But I didn't have the resources I do now. You want that beach and that Fort? … give me a Vertibird and four men in Power Armour and I'll hand it to you." Go big or go home as they say Jack reasoned.
Maxson nodded, turning his back on him and linking his arms behind his back in a classic military pose as he stared down his big-ass stupid windows. "I'll do one better. Knight Captain Carter has upgraded the Power Armour HUDS in three of our newer models to incorporate a 'video receiver' I believe that was what you called it Knight?" he glanced at Sam and she nodded. Jack blinked, no video out here too huh … that explained the weird prevalence of the radio serials and comics. People had to have been bored silly. Although that didn't explain the TVs. Unless they'd forgotten how. Or maybe their TV wasn't a TV at all but clip shows of static images. He shook his head, trying to focus on what Maxson was getting at. Fearing he was missing the point.
"Captain Carter will upgrade two more, to make five equipped. Enough for your Shock Trooper team. In the meantime, we will review the data you've presented us with. All being well, you will take your team down and we will see how well these adaptations work in a combat situation. From your description Knight …" he turned to look at Sam, "… it seems like I will experience it as if I was actually present?" He waited expectantly for her answer.
Jack watched Sam smile thinly, getting the impression that she might not have meant to do that. Particularly not ahead of their little solo mission. Having Maxson as their eyes and ears out there probably wasn't the intention at all but knowing Sam she'd have a fix for that too.
"Then it's settled Commander O'Neill. Prove to me that you're as good in a Power Suit as you are in a Vertibird and I'll agree to you taking Captain Carter out to the Glowing Sea to investigate Kellogg and his links to the Institute. But make no mistake O'Neill. I want those munitions in Fort Strong first. If we're going to wage a war against a far technologically superior opponent, we will need every advantage."
"Sir, yes Sir!" Jack whipped off a lazy salute. "Permission to be dismissed Sir. I've been crawling around in sewers and crypts for two weeks with a bunch of unwashed rebels."
"Granted Knight. Oh … and get Supplies to issue you with a bar of actual soap. I think you've more than earned it." Maxson replied, turning back to his window. "Knight Carter, you're also dismissed. Exemplary work once again." he acknowledged with a nod of his head that Sam returned, although without her usual level of pride Jack noted, wondering if she'd actually taken some of his words of caution on board.
They strode out of the room together, almost shoulder to shoulder. Sam had his PipBoy in her hands. He waited until they were at least twenty paces away and round the corner heading for the mid-section before he grabbed her by the arm and wrapped his hand around her waist. "Hey." he murmured. Sam stared up at him batting those big blue eyes.
"Jack … trust me no one is more pleased than me that your back…" she responded as he leant in hovering over her lips, wanting a kiss even if they were technically still fighting but he felt her hand go up, pushing him back by his chest. Her grin became more of a grimace and he felt his heart sink. "… but Maxson's right. Go get the damn soap because you really do stink!" She patted him on the chest and dipped out of his arms as he stood there forlornly, watching her go. Although it could have been worse, she hadn't said she didn't want to kiss him – just not right now.
"Hey!" he called after her, "Rude!" Although given the way they'd left things maybe this was progress if she was in a good enough mood to tease him.
"But true!" she called back. He frowned, glanced down at himself and then lifted his arm to give the pit an experimental sniff. He coughed. Yeah, he supposed that was a bit over ripe. Two weeks in questionable surroundings, and that little trip through the actual sewer system into the Switchboard, hadn't done his natural charms much good. "Soap first." he conceded and maybe a shave he thought running his hand along the fuzz, as he trudged off to find the guy with the magic box of 'restricted' supplies.
Sam was waiting for him when he appeared out of the shower cubicle, towelling his hair, with just his clean black cotton combat pants on, that he considered loose enough to be 'lounge wear'. He watched her eyes catch on his chest and stay there. Far from being repulsed by the frankly horrific scar, he was surprised to find her lip bite out in full force and her eyes darkening. Oh, he could stand to see that look on her face a little more when she looked at him like that.
"Maybe we should have that talk?" she suggested, taking the words right out of his mouth.
Jack nodded, tightening his abdominals and going for a pec flex which had her eyes shooting to his face and his mocking grin. Oh yeah, he could get used to being thirty-something again. Her eyes flashed at him but she stared straight back, unbothered by his calling her out on that little ogling. He snorted and pulled on his t-shirt, covering himself and the unsightly scar that marred his entire right side. "Talk." he nodded. "Sure. I know just the place." he declared, thinking of that little key Danse had given him which he had stashed in an inner seam down the side of his boot. He led and Sam followed wordlessly. Every now and again he glanced back at her, amused to find her eyes quite intent on his ass. He might not pick up on every signal but he thought he was picking up on hers just fine right now; she was horny as hell. Absence clearly had an effect on that aspect of their relationship.
He retrieved the key from his boot, giving his ass a wiggle. He felt her hand slide up his back, clutching at his shirt. "Jack, open the damn door!" she hissed far too close behind him as he straightened. He couldn't help the smirk that slid onto his lips. Who knew he could actually work the whole tease angle with her … it opened up a whole host of possibilities he hadn't considered before.
"Yes Ma'am." he replied and unlocked it swiftly. Sam all but shoved him inside and he groaned as she had him up against the door in seconds. Her one hand went to the lock, turning it while her other palmed his stomach, running straight down to his crotch. "Ah!" he gasped as she tucked her hands inside his pants and she swallowed any further sounds with her mouth.
"Is this a thank you?" he managed to grind out as he focused on keeping his damn hands above her waist, whilst she slid her palm over his quickly hardening length; her other all but tearing his pants down. "Sam!" he gasped out as she suddenly dropped down and her very warm mouth was taking the place of her hands. "Oh God …" he smacked the back of his head into the door, trying to hold on and not come quite this quickly but as her hand slipped around his balls and he hit the back of her throat he could barely see straight let alone hold out. He came within a few minutes with very little build up and a sharp sound of relief, his hand dropping to her blonde locks and gently detaching her as she slid up along him, pushing up his top and tracing the scar he'd recently covered.
"I'm taking this as your happy to see me?" he asked nervously as her teeth worried his nipples and she rounded his ass with her other hand, taking a handful. He thought 'caution' was probably the word of the today given how angry she'd been before he'd left and the very delicate flesh she had access to right now. Particularly because their last attempt to connect had resulted in her shoving away from him, terror and revulsion painted on her face in a way he hoped never to cause again.
"Very happy." she replied absently, her mind clearly on other things as she sucked firmly on the sensitive flesh and he groaned, realising she was reducing him to a wreck and he'd not so much as touched her. She tugged his t-shirt over his head.
"There's a bed." Jack pointed to the double that was indeed there as promised. He couldn't say he'd noticed much of the promised smell though, what with having been otherwise distracted with Sam's scent all over him. Sam glanced back at it and in one move she'd turned him so that his front was facing the door. He braced his hands against it and kicked off the pants from around his ankles. Feeling anticipation coiling in his belly. This was not quite the welcome he'd expected; hoped for maybe… but definitely not dared to expect.
Then the palm of her hand cracked against his ass cheek and he let out a deep groan, dropping his head to the door. Oh God. He shouldn't be aroused by the sting to his flesh and the way her palm was caressing over the wounded area but that didn't mean he wasn't. The fact that she knew this about him only turned him on more. Another crack and he fisted his hands, feeling his muscles coiling as he pressed firmly into the metal door. There was a pause, explained when he felt her naked body pressing against his back, as her lips found his ear and tugged with teeth.
"Don't you ever conspire to have me grounded again, do you understand me?" she hissed, and he closed his eyes, shuddering as her hand meted out his punishment again. Prior to their conversation in the Command Room he might have been incensed but he'd seen exactly what his machinations to keep her safe had almost wrought and still might if he failed to take Fort Strong. She'd come here to find technology, fresh leads to this Institute, and a way home. He'd almost jeopardised that. He would accept the punishment she was choosing to dole out if she was willing to forgive him and this time he'd keep his damn musings and paranoia to himself until he had something concrete. 'Never get in the way of her career' it had been a solid plan for the last eight years and the reason he'd kept his damn 'feelings' to himself for so long, he'd just have to keep to that out here too.
"Yes Ma'am." he muttered through gritted teeth as her short nails gripped his ass cheeks and squeezed, no doubt leaving impressions. Another smack followed, soothed by her lips tracing a path down his spine and making him arch into her.
"I should leave more often if this is the welcome home I get." he moaned. Her hand wrapped around his front and dipped between his legs, beginning to stroke him back to life. He dropped his head to watch the frankly erotic sight.
"Did you run into problems?" Sam murmured, her other arm wrapping higher around his waist and trailing up his chest where her nimble fingers played with his nipple. Jack was damn distracted and it took a moment for her question to compute as he took in a shaky breath.
"No more than usual." he managed, her palm working him expertly as he bit his own lip, trying not to say anything more. He liked the mood she was in just fine. He wasn't going to ruin it by opening his damn mouth again.
"How did you get the Railroad to let you leave with the chip?" she asked, pressing a row of kisses beneath his jaw and he tilted his head back against her as she continued to map his body with her hand, the other not relenting in its expert manipulations around his quickly stiffening length.
"I didn't … they didn't know there were two." he confessed, realising that by now she'd probably have downloaded and viewed the data he'd brought back whilst he had gone to clean up.
"Two invisible assassins." Sam hummed; he turned his head back searching for her and finding her mouth. He moaned out an affirmative around the tongue she stroked against his. Jack wanted to turn and take her in his arms but sensed that she'd resist that. Right now, this was her seduction – expertly done he noted as her hand fisted and started to move a little faster. He felt himself go slack, dropping her mouth from his for a moment as he squeezed his eyes shut. He was rock hard again and quite determined not to give in just yet, which meant he needed to engage his brain after it had happily taken a holiday South.
"Two assassins and a small contingent of Gen-1s." he added, deciding not to lie. He was slightly concerned she might have bugged his PipBoy and would have known how many enemies and how high his heart rate had spiked during that fight. She went quiet for a moment and he grunted as she did her darndest to make him come and he grimaced, he'd be damned if he'd come twice without so much as touching her.
"You know I bugged you don't you?" she smirked.
"I was just starting to suspect." he admitted. She turned him, releasing her hold and he let his hands drop to her waist, mostly for support. His eyes swept over her, taking in the glorious sight of Samantha Carter naked.
"So, you survive one close encounter and then you decide to throw down the gauntlet to Maxson with Fort Strong." she accused, calling him out. "Do you actually have a death wish?" She pressed her hands to his chest, stepping up into his space, her breasts brushing his skin. He couldn't resist raising his hands to cup them, firmly. Her soft inhale was enough to make him moan again as his thumbs grazed her nipples smoothly.
"We can take Fort Strong." he replied confidently. "Plus, it gets you back to where you need to be … out in the Glowing Sea, away from Maxson's watchful eyes." he growled, taking a more aggressive stance; slipping his arms around her waist and hoisting her up into the air to press her back against the same metal door she'd just thoroughly tormented him against. She clutched onto his shoulders as he pressed his mouth over hers, just enjoying the feel of her against him again. Apparently forgiven, if not forgotten.
"Jack, you've just got back from risking your life. Can't you take a day off?" she pleaded.
"Trust me." he murmured and placed her feet down. Her slightly disappointed sound turning into a hitch of excitement as he let his lips trace a path down her body until he was hovering over her parted legs. He stared up at her. His fingers were a no-go, they'd established that, but they hadn't yet tried this. Her mouth parted softly as she stared down at him. Then, as if seeming to make a decision, she grasped the back of his head and pressed him against her. Jack moaned into the warm flesh there, all too eager to reward her for breaching yet another hurdle. He lifted one of her legs up over his shoulder and sunk down onto his knees until he could get the angle he wanted and set to work loving her as thoroughly as he could with his mouth, knowing how particularly receptive she was to this. Her fingers tightened desperately in his hair and she was bucking against him as he set his tongue on a quest to reach every part of her.
"Jack … Jack …" she managed to get out and he didn't need to be told twice as he sucked and teased the aching little nub between her legs. He kept his hands firmly around her thighs and ass, gripping a little harder in his desperate attempt not to move them closer. He could get her there without them. She bucked up against him and he felt the way the leg she was balancing on was staring to tremble. He grasped it and in a move only his new knees allowed he lifted her leg until she was perched on his shoulders her back and his palms pressed flat to the door to avoid temptation and help take the rest of her weight. He didn't let up, feeling her thighs tighten around his head as she let out a keening sound and came apart beautifully for him. Jack didn't stop; not content with one orgasm as she continued to tremble around him. He was determined to make her forget he'd even been away; to banish any thoughts of anyone or anything else between her legs. There was just him and his mouth.
Her second orgasm was more explosive than the first and she was making whimpering sounds as she pushed at his head, while he nuzzled her with his nose, trying to get him to ease up on the no doubt sensitive flesh. He pressed a kiss to her inner thigh and slid back out from under her, catching her before her wobbly legs attempted to take the weight too soon. He didn't wait for her to catch her breath; just lifted her legs around his waist and drove his practically weeping cock into her.
Sam's head fell back against the door exposing the column of her throat to him, which he happily set his mouth to mapping as she arched into him and each powerful thrust. It didn't take long. Not with the taste of her on his lips and the memory of her mouth wrapped around him. He was shuddering and sucking hard on her neck as he came with a soft shout of surprised joy at just how impossibly good it felt. They clung to each other, her hands stroking along his back as he collapsed against her into the door, not inclined to move just yet.
"Welcome home." she murmured, pressing a kiss to his temple and he sighed, feeling a trace of an exhausted smile flicker to life on his lips. "I like your new digs." she added and he moaned something that sounded like an affirmative; his arms tightening around her and holding her close. It was good to be home. He hoped she realised that in her arms was the only place he'd ever call home again.
They eventually detangled and set up on the bed; his head on her lap and her fingers in his hair as he dozed. They debriefed about what she'd gotten from the files. She had, as he'd feared, had little compunction about handing all the data on the Railroad over to the Brotherhood. Perhaps sensing his disapproval of that she stilled for a moment. "There wasn't much in there that was directly incriminating Jack. It was more about how they operate. Most of it was on P.A.M. which will no doubt interest Captain Kellis. I'm inclined to think that an AI as powerful as that probably shouldn't be in the Railroad's hands as it is. Having read those files, I'm still concerned as to just what her role was in this whole little Apocalypse. I've flagged her as a threat."
Jack nodded. Sam knew robots better than him and P.A.M. gave him the creeps too but he was slightly relieved that it wasn't a big list of 'freed' Synths and all their operatives. That might not have sat so well. "You think you can make use of that Courser chip?" he asked, stroking her thigh beneath his cheek in long sweeping caresses.
"When I get a few minutes and a chance to lock down a machine. I want to examine it first before alerting the Brotherhood that I've cracked the code. The encryption program will take a while to run but I think I can probably speed that up."
"Cool." he murmured, "while you're in there rooting around or whatever it is you do in those ones and zeros, I might be going nuts but I'd swear they teleported into that damn bunker. There was only one way in through that sewer and I mined the shit out of it behind me. They didn't come that way." Sam's hands stilled in his hair and she hummed.
"Huh. That is interesting." she admitted, "I hadn't imagined they could be so far advanced." Jack hummed, as her fingers started working into his scalp again and he felt his eyes start to drift closed. He was exhausted. He hadn't exactly slept well on this mission.
"You know I get why you did it Jack, with Maxson I mean." she admitted changing the subject. He lifted his eyebrows but didn't dare open his eyes, not wanting to see betrayal and anger there again in hers. "Trying to keep me up here, out of harm's way." Sam admitted softly and he remained quite still feeling her leaning over him before her lips pressed gently against his forehead. "I realised when I saw you come back, safe and alive, that if Maxson gave me the chance to keep you up here I'd have taken it too. Even if you got mad at me for it."
He winced. "You'd probably discuss it with me first though …?" He opened his eyes staring up at her as she smiled gently back at him. His wife was a lot smarter than him he realised grimly; something he'd always known and sometimes forgot. "I'm an idiot. You knew that when you married me right?" he teased, reaching up and brushing her chin with his finger tenderly.
"Dumb but cute." Sam acknowledged, her fingers tousling his hair. "Just talk to me next time. You're not the only one afraid of losing something."
"Sure thing Sam." he sighed, his eyes closing as he settled into her warm embrace.
"Go to sleep Jack honey." She brushed his forehead with her fingers.
"Stay." he asked and she shifted slightly beneath him.
"I'm not going anywhere." she promised and he drifted off to sleep to the gentle pattern of her fingers against his skin. Nirvana he thought to himself, embracing the peace of the moment.
0000000000000000000
Sam was biting her nails; a bad habit that she'd had since her mom died, which crept up on her when she was nervous. She felt Ingram shift beside her and give her a sideways glance. The woman had been her rock the last few weeks. After her row with Jack, she'd given Sam a supportive ear without actually prying into their business and she'd helped diligently with Sam's ideas for the HUDS and shielding as well as the life support systems; offering suggestions despite the concept being unfamiliar to her which had improved the integration immensely. After all, Sam was bastardising tech that was Ingram's bread and butter. The other woman knew more about their systems than she did and how best to get it to integrate. What Ingram lacked was a wider viewpoint and a crash course in Goa'uld and Asgard designs which tended to broaden your perspective on what was possible. As it was, they'd managed to get five fully working HUDS with visual displays and bio readouts that would transmit up to the purpose-built computer she'd practically build from scratch, along with a whole host of suit upgrades including shock absorbing servos in the legs and some reinforced plating.
The video flickered to life from inside the Vertibird as Jack's cam picked up his teammates. "Knight Commander, comms check. Over."
"Roger, reading you loud and clear." he responded to her checks. "You getting visual?" he asked.
"Five by five." she replied pleased; so far so good. She adjusted her tone a little, aware of the open mic. "Just remember these suits are more responsive. Don't go jumping too high …"
"Or we might take off. Yeah, I noticed in training. We got this Sa … Captain. I trust your mad tech skills." Jack replied smoothly, correcting his almost slip which she found faintly amusing given the irony of their professional life together and how long it had taken him to call her Sam.
Sam nodded, satisfied he wasn't about to go try something stupid and glanced at Maxson who was stood with Kellis; the two of them watching on the other monitor. Maxon's eyes caught hers and she nodded back at him, crossing her fingers beneath the table.
"Good luck Alpha Team." she told them firmly. Her heart hammered against her chest as she was forced to watch Jack's Vertibird take off and carry him back to what she knew was a warzone. Or was about to be. Those Super-mutants wouldn't go easy and they had the arsenal to make this ugly. As much as it pained her to have to watch, a part of her was also relieved to not have to go out into that. She was concerned that her head wouldn't be sufficiently in the game; feeling like she was constantly watching out for Jack rather than the mission and the team. At least she'd gotten some of her new radiation shielding up and running to test in two of the suits, in preparation for their field trip, one of which Jack was in. In theory he could survive the brunt of a mini nuke in that but she wouldn't want to test it.
Sam sat down in front of the console, clasping her hands together to monitor the situation. The last time Jack and she had faced a horde of Super-mutants she'd almost lost him. Her fingers trembled and she pressed her hands together harder to hide it. Ingram's hand went down on her shoulder though and she nodded, accepting the simple silent support. Whilst they hadn't explicitly talked about what had happened to Jack, she had told Ingram enough for her to know that the wound on his chest was a horribly recent thing. As was her aversion to Super-mutants not that she'd ever been fond pretty much from their first encounter with the green skinned brutes she'd felt nothing but instant loathing and terror that such an abomination could exist. But Jack would be fine. He had to be.
In fact, he was better than fine. Sam watched with a mixture of blistering terror and sheer pride as Jack's Vertibird made ever more effective bombing runs, strafing over the island and taking the heavy weapons fire. The counter measures being operated so effectively that the most they took was one rattling sideways blow from a rocket launcher's missile that got a little too close. His Shock Troops deployed; the three men leaping out as planned and engaging the jet pack modifications she'd installed that let them control their rate of descent and not just ascent. Meanwhile Jack and the remaining squad member remained to cover their deployment. The ground team and the air team systematically herded and obliterated the remaining opposition in a pitched twenty-minute battle that had Maxson striding to stand beside her monitor; his hands gripping the back of her seat as he leant forward, invested. Sam wondered if he was wishing he was out there too, his tension fuelling her own.
Finally, the Vertibird landed. Jack jumped out and rejoined his team. Radioing back in Jack confirmed that they had been able to breach Fort Strong; his cam showing the hole he'd blasted in the side of the building.
"You have a go to breach the stronghold Knight Commander!" Maxson ordered down the mic and Sam pressed her joined fists against her lips, holding onto the tension that made her want to scream at the screen or at Maxson. She watched helplessly as Jack and his team jumped through the hole and entered the darkened structure. The PipBoy and her new radar mapping combined to give Jack the best idea of what the structure looked like. The basement was vast. A munitions and testing ground sprawled the entire breadth of the island. It seemed the Super-mutants hadn't been able to breach the lower basement levels. Jack and his team systematically swept the upper level, wiping out anything that moved – or roared. The charnel house vibe of the upper levels made her feel relief that, this time at least, he couldn't smell it from inside his suit. Just looking at it made her want to lose her lunch. There were a few close calls with heavy weapons unleashed in such an enclosed concrete environment. One of his men got blown back with such force he actually disappeared through a wall and had to be hauled out by the team, intact but rattled.
Eventually, the last life sign winked out in the immediate vicinity and they headed for the lower level, patching her in to help reboot the lift system which was deadlocked. It took her a few impatient minutes, with Maxson tapping on the back of her chair, before she got it open. The sight of the five of them crammed in their suits inside the lift was faintly surreal. As she watched from their helmet cams, Sam hoped these lifts had a higher weight limit than the ones back home. It seemed to go down forever.
Jack, being Jack, started whistling to break the tension, much to everyone's clear bemusement. She thought she recognised the tune with a smile.
"Girl from Ipanema?" she questioned.
"Oh yeah." Jack continued louder, turning it into a hum then noting the stares of his helmeted crew. "What? Frank's a classic!" he replied, undeterred.
Sam shook her head apologetically at Maxson; noticing him staring at her as if asking her if Jack was 'for real'. She shrugged helplessly, wondering if her entire life would be spent explaining Jack to other people, or failing too. The lift doors parted and the team piled out, coming face-to-face with an impressive looking concrete sealed set of blast doors. No wonder the Super-mutants hadn't breached it.
"Well, this can't be good." Jack growled, touching the metal and concrete. "This looks like those fancy blast doors we got at Cheyenne. Most likely withstand a mini nuke detonation if I'm not mistaken."
Sam winced in agreement. One of Jack's men pointed out a terminal into which Jack plugged his PipBoy, linking her up.
"Want to make some magic happen here Carter?" he snipped down the phone as his men took up flanking positions around him in case they'd missed anything. But other than the elevator, which clearly hadn't been touched in decades, there was nothing.
Sam took over as the upload reached her machine and she hacked through a somewhat more impressive system than she was used to seeing out here. She felt Maxson looming large over her again as she let her hands fly over the keys, pulling up the information through Jack's link. "The system's in full lockdown." she told Maxson and the team. "Looks like they had some sort of live warhead testing failure on the eve of the Great War. It failed to launch and they had a containment breach. The whole site was flooded with radiation. The system locked it down, trapping everyone inside." which was a horrifying thought that she barely registered.
"Are the levels safe?" Maxson queried.
Sam grimaced; she wasn't a medic and she rather thought 'safe' was relative out here. She could tell him what she was reading though. "Well, this whole facility has been hardened to withstand a nuclear attack Sir. Arguably it's a clean site, but the readings indicate that there is an exposed reactor inside there. We're looking at around 28 rads per sec. That's around twenty times higher than the surface. But all the suits have the enhanced radiation resistant plating and the Knight Commander's has the radiation shielding I installed for the Glowing Sea which needs to withstand as high as 100 rads per sec. They should be safe inside the suits for a short time. Plus they've all taken their Rad-X. I just wouldn't linger down there if we can help it." she replied, speaking to Jack as much as to Maxson.
"Noted. I'll take point and no dilly dallying." Jack confirmed.
"Can you get them inside or not Knight Captain Carter?" Maxson added with a touch of impatience. She supposed the confirmation that there were nuclear warheads down there was what he wanted and she considered whether she should claim she couldn't override the lockdown? Hell, she doubted anyone else would be able to. It was only because she was here, with her knowledge of computer systems and the program she'd encoded into the PipBoy, that she could hack this system, otherwise the Brotherhood would have been out of luck.
Her conscience vacillated and she pinched her eyes shut for a second. Jack had warned her about arming the Brotherhood. So far all her adjustments had been like she'd said; for defence or to restore a balance she felt she'd already broken out here. This would be different and it would be her choice. Sam looked up to see Maxson staring at her thoughtfully; as if reading the conflict in her face and simply waiting for her decision.
"Want me to try shouting 'Open Sesame'? That totally worked out for Ali Baba." Jack replied, his attempt at humour falling flat out since they didn't get his reference. Although if she was thinking hard enough about it, she might read into the fact that he was comparing the Brotherhood to a bunch of murderous thieves.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Just give me a minute." She ignored Maxson and everyone else around her as she worked to reverse the protocols. "It was an internal lockdown. It won't allow access from inside but maybe from outside it can be fooled into thinking the situation is nominal." She didn't go into more detail; it would be hard to explain how she could rewrite machine code she'd never even seen with enough expertise to override a protocol that shouldn't have been overridden.
By and large it was simplistic coding compared to what she was used to. The program she'd written into the PipBoy was infinitely more complex and she'd been tinkering with it for over a year now as she got more exposed to their systems until it was practically a Trojan Horse. Right now she was using it like a giant wedge, propping the system open wide enough for her to tinker with it to her hearts content. But explaining that would only raise more questions. Ingram was staring at her and the code, her eyes widening as Sam wrote in whole new subroutines and generally sent the system into a rabbit warren of protocols and misdirection. This was way over even Ingram's head; she was an engineer not a programmer. Sam hesitated. She could do this … 'piece of cake' as Jack would say … it would only require one more line of code and one more instruction to the system. But should she?
"Knight Captain Carter. Is there a problem? Can you get them in or not?" Maxson snapped at her suddenly as her hands hovered over the keys.
She felt her eye twitch; oh, now he'd made it a challenge! She could feel the tension radiating out of him. He wanted inside and he wanted what was in there desperately. If she failed now she could kiss her mission to the Glowing Sea goodbye, along with any chance of being trusted again around technology like this. Technology that she might desperately need to stand any chance of getting them home. God damn it! Sometimes she really hated when Jack was right. He'd known she might have to make this call eventually and she was certain more than anything that he'd wanted her to be sure she felt the weight of it when the time came, because he knew she'd have to live with it. Just like he had a dozen times that she knew of. He wasn't her CO right now; he couldn't take this decision off her nor the guilt. It was just her. Then again, Jack had been training her for command for eight years. This was her call and she'd live with the fallout if it blew back on her.
Sam hit enter on the remaining lines of code in her backdoor program. Command sent.
Override command accepted.
The system reset and took the reading, as she'd programmed it to, from the shielded site outside of the blast doors. The ancient and simplistic computer cycling through its corrupted program, she could almost hear the cogs turning as her hand fisted.
Scans complete.
Internal radiation levels nominal.
Atmospheric pressures normal.
Life signs detected.
Lockdown procedures discontinued.
Have a pleasant and productive day.
Sam stared at the screen as the blast doors hissed and began to move and the system cycled down. "Clear! You have a go." she confirmed down the speaker, watching Jack's helmeted face through one of the other helmet cams of his team.
He nodded, giving her a salute. "See, piece of cake!" he replied and she could hear the strain there. He would have sensed her hesitation. Her consideration of the implications was all he'd asked and she'd given it that. This was her decision, for better or worse.
Scanning the new readings and computer data being uploaded to the terminal as the lockdown restriction vanished and returned internal functions, her eyes widened at the information coming back to her from the now operational system. She watched as it powered up and the door began to alarm as it hissed and slid open. "Commander!" she barked. Jack's head whipped up.
"What is it Carter?" he growled, clearly waiting for the bad news he'd heard in her tone. She'd thought the Computer had been detecting Jack's team when it had identified life signs, but that was looking ridiculously optimistic at best now; these were coming from inside the locked down section.
"I'm detecting life signs … most likely Ghoul. A lot of them. I'd say we've found what was left of Fort Strong's staff by the looks of it." she informed him uneasily. "They must have been inside when the system triggered a lockdown." she paused letting that sink in but no one commented.
"It's safe to say they wouldn't have survived intact with that level of radiation. Just like the Yangtze." She reminded him of the Sub and the unfortunate crew with the leaking reactor there.
"Oh joy." Jack muttered. "Roger that Knight Captain. Lock and load boys, we've got nasties!"
Sam nodded grimly. She had a job to do here, Jack had his. "I've tricked the system into thinking that the radiation levels are at normal 'safe' levels but they aren't. Your PipBoy's going to go nuts in a few seconds." she told him, hearing the distinctive crackle start over the airwaves. "Be quick." she added needlessly, "I've disarmed the electronic turrets but there may well be mechanical turrets not linked to this system. They also might have some form of automated Security Bots … maybe even a Sentry Bot. Keep your eyes peeled. Don't let it get an EMP charge off or we'll lose the feed and your suit in particular's radiation shielding came at the expense of electrical – so don't get hit." she informed him sharply, hearing him prep his team and hoping he was paying attention.
Jack nodded in his helmet, through a teammate's cam, "Confirmed." he replied, then turned to his team. "You heard the Captain. Let's go. Keep your asses to the wall and don't get shot. If you get holes in your suits, you'll melt into a puddle of goo." he snapped. "We go corner to corner. We got Ghouls, Bots and turrets just to make this extra challenging!" She risked a glance at Maxson; he was watching her and watching Jack's team but he didn't comment, content to let them do what they did best apparently and lead.
It was a shooting gallery she realised, with her heart in her throat or rather on screen, as she watched Jack's team make their way through machine gun turrets. Her eyes flicked to the ceilings to the see the tell-tale red glows of the turrets she'd disabled, wondering if it had even been possible with those active. The Ghouls were mostly slow moving. Sam suspected they might have not been awake long, rousing suddenly with the activity. Jack was leading his team vocally, issuing instructions and barking orders as he worked hard to cram decades worth of military experience of breaching hostile bases into them on the fly. It seemed to be working; his team were essentially in walking tanks and were ripping through anything that moved. The problem was so were the turrets which were also tracking any movement friend or foe. Her override had essentially wiped their operating system commands which meant they were firing blindly. There were a couple of hairy moments; she watched down the video feed as a couple of Ghouls leapt and took Jack down before his gun was in one's mouth and he was blowing it away. His team pulled the other off him and tossed it into the live fire of another turret. If she had more time and a direct feed she might have been able to shut them off but right now they seemed to be giving the Ghouls more trouble than Jack's team so she left it to play out.
She'd unfortunately been correct about there being a Sentry Bot; in-fact there were two and both were equally pissed off that their two-hundred year shut down had been interrupted. However, it seemed that even though Jack's training regime with his new squad had been brief it was paying off; all those arial manoeuvres they'd been practicing and the training drills on the ground helping to form them into a cohesive unit. They listened to his commands, moving fluidly. One young Knight had executed a damn impressive manoeuvre that saw him land on the top of a Bot using his boosters, allowing him to jam a high explosive plasma mine into its head casing before he'd shot up into the concrete ceiling, clinging on as the explosion had rocked the ground beneath him. The Bot exploded whilst Jack and his men distracted the other one with a hail of gun fire. Then of course Jack dived in; he'd obviously been watching her that first time she'd tackled one of these back in Sanctuary. His power fisted hand went straight through the chasse and he ripped out the power core. The Sentry Bot powered down with a crackle of electricity that blew them all back a few feet but Jack's vitals remained strong, even if her heartrate was probably pumping wildly. She watched as the helmet camera signal restored and he got back to his feet with a grumble.
"All clear as far as I can tell on our end." Jack's call went up finally as they swept the final lower levels. Jack's PipBoy wasn't pinging back any more life signs. Sam checked the systems she was still plugged into; the turrets were all offline, destroyed.
"All clear on this end too Commander." she confirmed.
"Excellent!" Maxson murmured behind her and she felt his hands come down to land heavily on her shoulders, squeezing just a fraction. "Good work Knight Captain." he added to her directly and she nodded before he leant over her and into the mic. "Knight Commander O'Neill, continue on. You and your team will be commended. This was truly outstanding work here, with zero casualties. Now let's move forward and secure the equipment and munitions that we've come all this way for."
"Aye, aye Sir." Jack replied, his tone clipped. Sam could tell he didn't appreciate the back seat driving but was refraining from saying something pithy in response. He needed to be on his best behaviour if they were going to make it to the Glowing Sea but she needn't have worried; there were few challenges to bother him and his team after that. Just one main frame that he dutifully plugged into and she did her thing again. Overriding the system to release the locks, she found the retrieval command and initiated it. The concrete doors slid away and crates of what Sam knew instinctively were nuclear warheads rose up out of the floor.
"There has to be hundreds of them!" Ingram declared beside her in clear delight.
"213." Sam replied, feeling a little sick at the thought; that was a lot of firepower. "Mark 28's they're sub-kiloton fission tactical nuclear warheads, each with a yield of approximately ten to twenty tons of TNT." she informed them, checking the readouts again. Mentally she went through the calculations. On a nuclear scale they were tiny and right up there with the smallest tactical nukes created in their own world, the 'Davy Crockett'. She couldn't help but note the odd coincidence that they were also designated M28s in her world but they were bigger than the handheld mini nuke's the Fat Man's fired. They'd pack a punch but at least she hadn't handed them anything near the destructive power of a thermonuclear weapon or worse. Worse being the type of neutron bombs that had been deployed over the major cities of this world, levelling small areas with the initial explosion and devastating the rest with nuclear fallout but leaving the city's infrastructure they'd been 'enjoying' this last year mostly intact.
"They're too large for the Fat Boy. What are they used for?" Jack queried over the radio, drawing her out of her thoughts and eerily matching her own. She thought she detected a hint of enthusiasm there now that she hadn't uncorked the nasty mega-kiloton yield nukes he'd been worried about.
Maxson was grinning ear to ear. "Liberty Prime." He and Ingram shared a satisfied look. "Is there anything else down there Knight Commander? My intel indicated we would find experimental Power Armour." Maxson asked expectantly.
Sam answered for him. "I'm sending a location ping to your PipBoy. Follow it. There's a room just off the munitions bay that I believe is housing the experimental X-01 Power Armour frames." Jack took a stroll and as he entered the room she'd highlighted it lit up, revealing at least fifty frames, all complete with the distinctive X-01 individual components. From what Sam had read from the Brotherhood's information, these were the most advanced Power Armour suits ever created; developed just before the bombs fell and never deployed into the field as there hadn't been time.
"Sweet." Jack rumbled down the speaker, taking in the wicked looking head frame which had a sleeker meaner design. "Looks like something out of Predator." he added and Sam couldn't help but agree, knowing no one else would get the reference.
"Permission to try one of these babies on?" he asked, his armoured glove sweeping over the front as she watched through the helmet cam.
Maxson was grinning; he looked pleased which was something Sam noted. "Granted Commander O'Neill. In fact order all of your team to switch out for these suits. I want as many up here as we can. I'm not taking any chances. I'm sending in more men now to secure the site now."
"Erm, belay that order!" Sam called out, looking at Maxson sharply. "That area is flooded with radiation. With all due respect Sir, Jack, you and your team should wait for an outfit change until you're out of there." She cocked her head and Maxson nodded, conceding the point with a shrug. Apparently he was like Jack when he let his enthusiasm for the 'big new gun' or 'suit' in this case get the better of him. 'Boys and their toys' she sighed inwardly.
"Perhaps the Captain has a point. These suits are good too." Jack replied sounding suitably chastised.
"Elder …" Sam turned, "I'd like two made available to make the modifications we discussed for the operation out to the Glowing Sea. I believe they already have photovoltaic armour plating based on the specs I'm seeing in their computer. It could be readily adapted for our purposes … to act as a source of renewing power supply for multi-adaptive shielding."
Maxson stared down at her, his thumb sweeping over his lip as he glanced at the screen, then back at her, clearly weighing the options. Sam tried not to tense up, hoping to God he wasn't about to back out now. "As agreed Knight Captain Carter, I believe Knight Commander O'Neill has more than proved his mettle here today. His faith in both your ability and his was not misplaced and once again you have demonstrated that your technological innovation and skill are an incredible asset to the Brotherhood, and to me." he paused scanning over her features as she rose from her seat. He stared down his crooked clearly once broken nose at her, the scar across his cheek stark in this light, giving him a more severe appearance and making her feel like he was reading her thoughts with the intensity of his scrutiny. He wasn't going to let her go she realised quietly with sinking dread. She was going to have to steal the armour and make an enemy of the Brotherhood.
"Tell me one thing." he leant forward till he was so close she could feel his breath on her face. "Why is it so important to you that you take down the Institute?" he asked. Sam frowned, trying to formulate a reply to what was actually a very simple question. His eyebrow quirked at her hesitation, only furthering his argument that he couldn't trust her or at least her motivations.
"I see you understand my question and that silence is telling." he pointed out with a sneer. "Arguably you haven't been in the Wasteland long enough to feel the devastation those of us that came the long way have." he reasoned. "Nor, despite your efforts to accept the Brotherhood's doctrine, are you as sold on our ways as you would have me believe." He leant in closer, his words for her ears alone as she felt the sheer physicality of him, a reminder or perhaps a threat she wasn't sure which. "So, forgive me if I am not entirely convinced that it is simply to fall in line with my plans, for the good of the Brotherhood."
Sam swallowed; she hated it when Jack was right because it normally meant she'd been wrong. She stared up into his enquiring dark eyes and considered lying. Telling him about Jack's 'son'; it had certainly been enough for most people. It had been enough for the Minutemen and the Railroad but she'd seen the pain in Jack's eyes every time someone mentioned the word 'son' recently. It was a scab they were picking raw. She didn't want the Brotherhood taking up that same line and using it against him so she went for her own truth.
"Because I hate Synths and because idiots out here take one look at me and seem to assume I'm one of them." she bit out coldly. "I might not have been out here long but it was long enough for a Synth to hurt me." she admitted and Maxson backed off a fraction, his eyes widening. Apparently whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that.
"That wasn't in the profile you declared on Initiation." Maxson straightened his voice carrying now to the others in the Command Centre, "How did it hurt you?" he pressed and Sam glanced at Kellis, his eyes on her. She didn't look but she knew Ingram was behind her, listening.
"I got his attention somehow and he became obsessed. He took me, kept me prisoner out of some sick idea that he could love like a man could … that I could love him. He'd have killed me trying to twist me into his own dark little delusion if Jack hadn't pulled me out." she rasped, hating that she was having to roll out this excuse again, twisting Fifth's existence to suit her purpose. But it was the only driver that she had for her hatred and distrust of Synths. The only thing she knew she could say that he would buy, outside of wanting to get into the Institute for their tech and a way home out of this hell.
"I know exactly what they are and why they need to be wiped out. They are perversions." she responded coldly, letting everything she felt for Fifth and what he'd done enter her expression.
Maxson nodded absorbing that, taking in her grim expression and the tension in her frame. "I see. It is personal then." he admitted. "Very well. I can understand that. We all have our drivers, do we not?" he nodded. "I would imagine the technological opportunities that might engage a mind such as yours are also an attractive driver should we find a way to crack the Institute." he added shrewdly and Sam nodded, knowing full well that he could read her and deciding to remain wisely silent given as he'd technically just caught her in a lie of omission.
"Very well. I will place my considerable faith in you and your husband again." he told her pointedly. "Your mission is a go when you have made the adaptations to the new X-01 suits. You will not make me regret that faith Knight!" he commanded finally with cool assurance. Sam's head shot up, her eyes wide as she absorbed that threat.
"No Sir!" she barked back knowing this particular rhythm of military life all too well.
He acknowledged her look with a grim nod and bought his hand up to his chest as she followed in their form of address, "Bring the suits and yourselves back in one piece Knight Captain Carter." Maxson nodded and stalked away to speak with Kellis, their heads buried together, effectively dismissing her.
Sam felt Ingram shift beside her in her bulky power frame. She risked a look up at the other woman who was grinning widely, hiding her face from their commanding officers as she gave her a discreet thumbs up. Sam returned the smile, even if her stomach was still recovering from the knot Elder Maxson's warning had made of it, because this was what she'd wanted. Finally. Almost six months after getting the information from Valentine that Kellogg had holed himself up for the long haul in the Glowing Sea. They were finally in a position to go do something about it and see just how connected to this damn Institute he really was.
00000000000000000000000
END NOTES:
Regarding Fort Strong I've changed the Power Armour type that was being produced there to the X-01 armour. Given as the Brotherhood already have T-60 type as standard it makes sense that they'd want the more advanced armour. Plus having the X-01 armour being made there as a prototype that was never deployed out to the field, due to lack of time when the bombs fell makes more sense than the T-51s. I know the X-01s were modified after the War, but these are the prototype originals (hence Sam needs to tinker). For those wanting to know what the difference is in these armour frames here's some links to pics. wiki/Power_armor_(Fallout_4)
For Fallout 4 buffs: [SPOILERS] Show No Mercy is considered a key/turning point questline for BOS that if you choose to complete it with the Brotherhood (without having acquired a certain level of revere with the Minutemen and completed at least up to Form Ranks/Defend the Castle) it can prevent you from having a 'happier everyone is ok ending' and forcing you to pick one factions end game over another.