Chapter 3: Cold As Ice
Would like to thank Anknownymous, Mandalore the Freedom and Fanfictionfan3601 for their reviews, means a lot to me! But anyway, let us begin Chapter 3 of Commonwealth Blues!
I do not own Fallout, that belongs to Bethesda
The Institute never felt comforting to Ghost, never a place that the Vault 111 native ever felt like home at. It always felt too confining, too lifeless, like the government buildings of the pre-war world. At least with the world up top, with all the blood and violence seen there, it allowed Ghost some form of freedom. In the Institute, he didn't have that luxury of freedom; he was forced into his role of Director, bogged down with mundane tasks and board meetings. For a man like Ghost, the mundane bureaucracy of the Institute bored him, especially given what day it was today…
The Sole Survivor stood at the door to the meeting room, a frown evident on his world-weary face. He had about to enter the room, when he heard the Directorates inside arguing loudly.
"-always does this!" Justin Ayo, temporary head of the SRB, growled.
"Ayo, stop this." Clayton Holdren, head of BioScience, interrupted.
Ghost stopped at the doorways to the meeting room, intrigue evident on his face. Seems as if there is trouble in paradise, at least with the head of the different factions in the Institute.
"I won't be kept silent for any longer, Dr Holdren!" Ayo continued. "Our new Director doesn't have our best interests at heart!"
"Justin!" Allie Filmore, head of Facilities, shouted in horror.
"It's the truth, Dr Filmore." Ayo answered. "If our Director were here right now as he should be, instead of playing around with his Raider whores, I'd say–"
Ghost had heard enough, time to end this conversation before the Sole Survivor did something he would truly regret. The door to the meeting room opened up, with Ghost marching in. Everyone in the room fell silent, as they whipped around to see who had entered. Holdren's and Filmore's eyes widened with shock, while a scowl appeared on Ayo's face. X6-88 just stood in the corner of the room, silently observing everything. Dr Evan Watson, temporary head of Advanced Systems, had an unreadable expression on his face.
"I apologise for my lateness, my fellow Directors. However, it should please you that I wasn't 'playing around with my Raider whores', as our beloved Dr Ayo so eloquently put it." Ghost stated, breaking the silence. "And speaking of Dr Ayo, please don't let me interrupt you. What would you wish to say to me?"
"Director Ghost, he was merely joking." Holdren interrupted, letting out a shaky laugh. "He didn't mean what he said."
"I did mean it Dr Holdren, don't try and defend me." Dr Ayo growled, before glaring at Ghost. "You have been Director of the Institute for nearly a year now, and in that time you have made questionable decisions. I believe you owe us an explanation for some of your decisions."
"Such as?" Ghost prompted.
"The curtailing of research in the BioScience division, for starters." Ayo answered. "Then the allowance of Dr Virgil to return, the decision to shrink down the SRB to a skeleton crew and the sudden departure of Dr Li. Decisions like that, with no prior warning to any of the other Directorates."
The Sole Survivor looked into Ayo's eyes, before looking at the other Directorates. Holdren and Filmore quickly looked away, struggling to meet Ghost's eyes. Watson, however, managed to hold Ghost's gaze. The temporary head of the Advanced Systems Division always had a poker face up, one that Ghost couldn't seem to decipher.
"Why haven't I been confronted before, then?" Ghost asked. "These obviously bother you greatly, so why have you let it fester for this long?"
"Because you are rarely here, Director." Watson interrupted. "Your time spent in the Institute has become increasingly less and less frequent, with more time spent above ground. In fact, you only spent a significant amount of time here when you brought that outsider that needed medical attention."
"A Raider, no less." Ayo grumbled, shaking his head.
"Since this is out in the open, I shall answer your queries." Ghost explained, looking at everyone in the room. "I shall start with the easiest to answer; the location of Doctor Madison Li. She is currently working on an important project above ground, which is in need of her expertise."
"What project is this?" Ayo inquired.
"Helping to flesh out the robotic section of my new army." Ghost continued. "However, she will be returning quite soon, which means Dr Watson will be relieved of his duties as temporary head of Advanced Systems in around a week."
Watson merely nodded his head, his face as unreadable as ever. The Sole Survivor's eyes lingered on Watson, before shifting over to Holdren. The head of BioScience had a nervous look on his face and was sweating slightly, as he looked up at Ghost.
"I curtailed some of the projects of your division, because they were proving to be experimenting just for the sake of it." Ghost explained. "They didn't advance our knowledge or help the Institute; they were merely done because you could. Synth Gorillas, the Warwick project, the FEV experiments…..all have been either harmful or wasteful, and I am curtailing that."
"What about Dr Virgil?" Ayo asked. "And the cuts to my division?"
"I'm getting to those." Ghost answered. "Dr Virgil was brought back into the fold, because he still believes in the Institute and his mind is needed. Besides Holdren here, Dr Virgil is the leading scientist in BioScience. He however had great problems with some of the experiments performed, namely the FEV Project. I have assured him that those projects have been discontinued and they'll never happen again, and he has been more than happy to return."
"Even though he fled the Institute?" Dr Watson inquired.
"He's a valuable member and I am more than happy to welcome him back." The Sole Survivor continued. "As for what I've done to the Synth Retention Bureau, it's simple. One of the main reason for the SRB's existence is to retrieve escaped Synths. Since less synths are escaping, I've felt it appropriate to shrink down the SRB."
"But synths are still escaping." Ayo countered.
"When I arrived, there was a 45% chance that a synth would try to escape." Ghost stated, calmly. "Now, it's only 12%. I am obviously doing something correct, Dr Ayo."
"By treating them like people?" Ayo grumbled, distaste evident in his voice.
"Yes, because they deserve it." Ghost explained. "By treating them like this, they're less likely to leave. You attract more people with honey than with vinegar, Dr Ayo."
"But they are not real." Ayo fired back. "They are created by us and live to serve us! They are just machines, here to serve us!"
"Would you say that about my son, Shaun?" Ghost inquired, eyebrow raised.
Dr Ayo's eyes widened with shock and the colour quickly drained from his face, as he realized what he had just said. Holdren and Filmore looked at each other, worry evident in their eyes. Even though it appeared Ghost was relaxed, his eyes blazed with fury and his whole body was tense. This situation was going to end badly, very badly, at least for Doctor Ayo, if he continued speaking. Ghost closed his eyes and took a deep breathe, before finally addressing Dr Ayo.
"Dr Ayo, I have grown weary of your insubordination and rude manner. I am placing you on probation." Ghost stated. "Your position as temporary head of the SRB is now in jeopardy, and you will report before a group of your peers within a fortnight. They will determine your fate; if they let you continue on, you'll become permanent head of the SRB. If not, then you shall be removed and will be replaced. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"…Father would be ashamed of what you have done." Dr Ayo announced, fury evident to his voice.
That, that was the straw that finally broke the Brahmin's back, for Ghost. Before anyone realized what was happening, the Sole Survivor barrelled forward, knocking a chair or two down along the way, before he finally reached Dr Ayo. The Institute scientist didn't even have a chance to scream, before he found Ghost's scarred hand wrapping around his throat and lifting him up, Ghost's fingers digging into Ayo's throat. Ayo's eyes bugged out and horrified wheezes escaped his mouth, trying and failing to scream for help.
All rational thought had left Ghost's mind, cause all he was seeing was red. It was as if a violent red fog had formed in his brain, suffocating any higher thought processes he had, instead replacing them with a violent anger that could only be sated with blood. He could hear screams, probably from the other Division heads, but they were just background noise to the Vault 111 native. All that concerned him was Ayo's pulse, as it grew slower and slower, as the scientist's breath grew more ragged and his face started turning blue…
"Enough."
Ghost turned at that word, finding himself looking at X6-88. The Institute Courser had his hand clasped on the Sole Survivor's shoulder, the grip firm and with purpose. It was as if a switch had been flipped in Ghost's brain, as the man let out a shuddering breathe and released his grip on Dr Ayo. The Institute scientist collapsed onto the ground in an undignified heap, sucking in air as though he had just been dunked underwater. The other Division heads quickly rushed to Ayo's aid and helped the man up, before quickly dragging him from out of Ghost's reach. The Sole Survivor found it amusing, in a morbid sort of way; these scientists only rushed in to help once the situation had been defused and they knew that they wouldn't be harmed if they tried to intervene.
"Dr Ayo…I have changed my mind. You are not on probation any more, but I do hope you keep your opinions to yourself from now on." Ghost huffed, as he turned for the exit. "This meeting is adjourned, and do not bother me for the rest of the day. This is not a request, by the way, but rather a direct order."
Ghost exited the meeting room, not even bothering to check if anyone had heard what he said, because quite frankly that wasn't the most important task he had on his mind. He needed to make a trip today, a trip he had been dreading for months, but one that needed to be done.
A tired sigh escaped Ghost's lips, as he examined his surroundings. There had been so many times, too many to count, where he wanted to just blow up the entrance to this place, and leave it buried forever. It would've been quite easy too; just place satchel charges at the bottom of the elevator and watch as the elevator shaft collapsed upon itself. But no matter how often Ghost tried to it…he couldn't find it in himself to commit the deed. It was laughable, in a way. The Director of the Institute, the Overboss of Nuka World, the man who brought the entire damn Commonwealth to its knees, couldn't find it within himself to destroy one place.
But that was the thing, wasn't it? This wasn't just any ordinary place. No no, this place shared a history with Ghost. This was the place where it all began, where the Sole Survivor started his path down to the dark side, and never looked back. This was where his old life had ended, the one with a child and a loving wife…
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The Sole Survivor inquired. "I'm sorry about that, I've just been so busy with things. My life has changed quite a bit these past few months."
Even though she had been dead for at least 60 years, Nora was still as beautiful as ever, even if her body was covered in a thin layer of frost. Her dark skin had gained a blue-ish tinge and the frost in her black hair made it look like she had the night sky resting on her head. But then Ghost looked at her chest, and saw her blue suit stained with her blood. One of the strongest women Ghost had ever known, someone who was not afraid to stand up against injustice and tyranny, had been cut down because she refused to sacrifice her child. Such a Nora thing to do, ending her life trying to save someone else.
"Danse turned on me, believe it or not. Attacked Nuka World and everything." Ghost explained. "Hancock is dead, as well as Piper and Old Longfellow. Slavery is also banned, if that's any consolation."
Nora remained silent inside of her cryo pod, her eyes closed shut. Her eyes, those eyes that would blaze with intelligence, would never be seen by Ghost again. At least, not in this world.
"But something very big happened, more important than anything else." Ghost continued. "I've found a woman, called Mags. I think you might've liked her; she's quite smart and isn't afraid to stand up for herself, not to mention being attractive. I do love you and I always will Nora, but….. I can't hold on to the past, at least not anymore. You're dead, Shaun's dead and my old world is dead. The man that I was, the man that fought in wars and was content to live out his days in Sanctuary Hills, died when the earth was engulfed in flames. I need to keep moving forward."
Ghost turned around and walked away, a feeling of sorrow within his chest. He could feel that bond he had for Nora, before as strong and unwieldy as steel, slowly start to unravel before becoming completely loose. The Sole Survivor didn't look back as he turned off the lights to the room, engulfing Vault 111 in darkness.
"So wait, let me get this straight." Mags Black stated, examining the weapon in her hand. "You made this, by yourself?"
"Well, yeah!" Shaun answered, a wide grin on his face. "Well, Dad did bring me the supplies to build it, but I did it all by myself!"
The Operator leader had to admit, she was hella impressed right now. Crafting weaponry was a valuable skill in the wasteland, but it was one that very few people possessed. It took a great deal of patience, access to resources and a certain flair of imagination to be able to craft weaponry from basically scrap. And yet this kid somehow managed to craft a goddamn laser rifle, from a pile of toasters and other crap. But then again, Mags shouldn't have been too shocked. After all, you'd just have to meet the kid's father to see that intelligence ran in the family.
"So what did you call this again?" Mags inquired.
"It's called the 'Wazer Wifle'!" Shaun explained. "It also has an overcharged capacitor, improved long barrel, and a larger stock so dad can hold more ammo! You think he'll like it?"
"Shaun buddy, your dad would be crazy if he didn't like this." Mags answered. "Cause let me tell you, this is some damn fine craftsmanship. You think you could make one for me?"
"Sure, I could try and make it look exactly like this gun." Shaun responded, nodding his head. "So you and dad can have matching rifles!"
A small chuckle escaped Mags' lips as she heard that, before leaning over and ruffling Shaun's hair. The kid had a bit of a naïve look on the world, always trying to find the good side to things, instead of being a bitter asshole like the rest of the world. Mags definitely was proud of the kid, for being able to not be corrupted by the shittiness of this irradiated world.
The door to the house creaked upon, causing Mags and Shaun to whip their heads around. As soon as they saw Ghost entering, Shaun let out a happy shout, as he barrelled forward and hugged Ghost. A small chuckle escaped Mags' lips, as she walked up to the hugging father and son.
"Well hey there handsome." Mags stated, a grin on her face. "Had a good day today at work?"
Ghost let go of his son, before turning to face the Operator leader. Before Mags could say anything, she found Ghost's arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her forward, as his lips connected with hers. Mags' surprise quickly wore off, as she wrapped her arms around Ghost's neck. After what seemed like an eternity, the two finally broke the kiss, smiles evident on both of their faces.
"I am just happy to be home, my dear Mags." Ghost answered.
And Chapter 3 of Commonwealth Blues is done and dusted! Its weird ending this Chapter on a happy-ish note, given that this is Ghost. But to be honest, I feel like it's a good way to end this Chapter on.
Although I am hella late for this, I'd like to state that it has been 3 years since I joined Fanfiction. 3 years of stories, reviews, and making friends on this site. Its crazy to think about, isn't it? I can only hope that you guys continue to be entertained by my work!
Love,
The Desert Dancer