Jack Parsons and the Village of Weirdos
Standing outside the gates of Diamond City, Jack Parsons was convinced that he had not met a more annoying woman in his life. He and Preston had stood there, and Codsworth had hovered there, while she chewed out a Diamond City guard for closing the gate on her. Apparently she had written something unsavory about the powers that be, and they were trying to lock her out for good. Probably serves her right, Jack thought to himself, as she listened to the woman berate the guard and attempt to wheedle her way back in.
She was a woman of average height, with dark brown hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a newsboy hat and red trenchcoat, which certainly did not flatter her physical appearance. There was a certain nasal whine to her voice, as well.
And yet, there was something about her that Jack found tolerable, if not downright endearing. She seemed very committed to the particular cause she was taking up, not willing to compromise it in the slightest, even if it meant taking her chances on the streets of the Fens around the ballpark. She stood for something. There also seemed to be a certain let's-set-the-world-on-fire ambition, with a hint of naivete thrown in for good measure. Jack could remember when he stood for something, besides finding the bastard who killed his wife and took his son.
The green eyes alighted on our hero and his gang, and they flashed with a spark of innovation.
"Hey, looks like we have a few merchants here up from Quincy! Wanna open the door for them? I would hate for our market to lose out on some of this stock! They even have a Mister Handy with them who they juuuust might be willing to part with."
At that, Codsworth motioned with his robotic arm to form some kind of objection, but Jack motioned at him to be quiet. They needed to get into the city just as much as the woman did.
Sure enough, the giant gate into Diamond City opened right up for them. Standing just inside was an overweight man in a brown suit, hands on his hips, the universal sign of disapproval.
"Piper! First, you publish lies in your newspaper, and then you lie about who is at the gate? I have half a mind to see you permanently expelled from the city. How would you like that?"
Jack and Codsworth never got a chance to hear Piper's reply, since they immediately headed into the city once the man's tirade began. Preston Garvey, on the other hand, waited patiently nearby the awkward conversation. He figured that the man in the suit would be important, and wanted to tell him the good news about the Commonwealth Minutemen's return.
Once inside, Jack got directions to, and made a beeline for, the Dugout Inn. This was a pub and hotel fashioned from the dugout and locker room. How quaint, thought Jack, as he realized that he would probably never get to watch a baseball game again. He immediately ordered a whiskey from the Russian sounding man at the counter. Codsworth hovered in place, happy that he didn't get sold.
Besides fulfilling his growing need for alcoholic beverages, Jack figured that a watering hole like this would be the perfect place to gather information as to the disappearance of his son. However, nobody really wanted to talk to him except the proprietor of the bar, who seemed to have a propensity for exaggeration.
"Excuse me, Vadim, was it?" Jack inquired. The barkeep nodded to the affirmative.
"Yes that's me! Did you want another drink? Try our Bobrov's Best Moonshine, the greatest drink in the Commonwealth!"
"No, no. Well, maybe later. I have a question for you. You seem to know quite a lot about this city and the area outside of it," Jack began. He was appealing to what seemed to be Vadim's inflated sense of ego, "what would YOU do if someone from you life turned up missing?"
At this, the man dropped his good-natured demeanor and leaned in uncomfortably close. Jack could smell alcohol on his breath. He was apparently sampling his own merchandise.
"My friend, I would assume that they had been taken by the Institute." The man's eyes had a palpable fear in them when he mentioned the I-word.
"The Institute?" Jack asked, rather loudly.
"Lower your voice!" Vadim urged, "you have no idea you could be listening. Look, if you want more information then you'll have to find it elsewhere. I don't want my customers feeling unsafe." At this, the Bobrov brother turned away and found something to clean, a very uncharacteristic behavior. Jack finished his drink and left the bar, wondering where he could turn. Some questions began to gather in his mind. What was the Institute? Why did their name provoke so much fear in an otherwise carefree man? What did they have to do with kidnappings? On his way back toward the main gates of the city, he ran into Preston.
"I hope you were more successful than me," Preston lamented, "the mayor said he didn't have time for me. Doesn't seem like anyone cares about the return of the Minutemen." At this, Jack thought he would say something kind, but noncommittal.
"I'm sure people will take you more seriously once you start doing some real good for people!" Jack tried to encourage, but he realized as he was saying it that it came out more like an insult. To save face, he said, "Besides, there are other ways to get the word out besides the mayor!"
This was how, despite his better judgement, Jack found himself along with his gang inside of the offices of Publick Occurences, the newspaper run by the annoying woman he had been trying to avoid. Once inside, Piper said that in exchange for an exclusive interview with Jack Parsons, The Man Out Of Time, she would point him in the right direction in the search for his son, and also print a small notice regarding the Commonwealth Minutemen.
"So, how was it inside of the Vault?" She began.
"Cold," came the curt reply.
"How is life up top compared to before the war?"
"About the same. Maybe a little more violent. I've encountered a lot more shirtless people trying to kill me. In my day they tended to wear some form of combat armor."
"If there is one thing you could say to the people of the Commonwealth, what would it be?"
At this, Jack paused and thought for a moment. He had never thought of himself as an example, or somebody whose opinions carried too much weight.
"Stay safe, I guess. You never know what life is going to throw at you. Tell your loved ones that you, well, love them. Yeah."
"That is a heartfelt answer. Thank you," Piper said, with something of a spark in her eye. Jack couldn't tell if it was because she had an interesting story to sell, or what. He didn't ask. Piper pointed him in the direction of everyone's favorite Synth Detective and wished him well.
"See you around, Jack."
"Not likely."