Notes

Contains MAJOR spoilers (although if you know X6 you probably got that far anyway). Just felt I needed to put that. Again, familiar dialogue since this is one of X6-88's more important quests. Just a heads up, I know X6 isn't emotionless he just isn't necessarily empathetic. I do plan on delving into the plot holes involving synths and how X6 became a courser in later chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Libertalia

X6-88 sighed in frustration as the alarms sounded loudly over the barrage of bullets after Sole had set off a catastrophic chain of events that eventually led to the entire mile stretch up to the sunken ship to focus directly on their location. He was bestowed the greatest honor in escorting the infamous mother of Father on a synth retention quest. For years Father always prepared the Institute for his mother's arrival. No one knew what to expect. But knowing the leadership abilities and intelligence of Father, they could only imagine.

Certainly not this….fool. She donned a few mismatched microcarbon synth and metal armor pieces and held what appeared to be a ridiculously modified rifle. Admitted, he expected great things once he saw her oversized gun and relaxed demeanor. However, after missing the target she proclaimed as "easy peasy" three times, he quickly modified his prior assessment to rash and overconfident.

He remained silently crouched beside a quivering Sole as they used the short wall of metal barrels as cover. There wasn't much room to move, perhaps a few feet or so, and the barrels weren't very tall. Standing at full height could easily get their heads blown off. After a few minutes the turrets stopped firing but the raiders were still yelling at each other to find them. Sole tossed her gun in front of her and slid down the ground.

"Do you think if we wait here long enough, they'll forget we're here?" She cajoled with a half smirk and a side glance at X6-88.

"That is unlikely, ma'am." he replied curtly. He quickly calculated the difficulty and time it would take them to reach the top of the ship. Thankfully, no raiders seemed to be headed in their direction for the moment. They were too far away.

X6 prided himself on thinking ahead; always doing what is needed before it is asked. It is what got him his position as the head courser of the Institute. Always assigned to the most difficult of missions. Lauded for his efficiency and strength. This extra time tacked onto the mission is not usually his style. Not at all.

He then noticed that Sole was still staring at him.

"It appears as if we have fooled the raiders for now. If we advance quietly, we can continue our assault on the main flotilla" He offered.

"Nah I want to make sure they think they either killed us or we ran first. I love taking them when their guard is down." Sole bragged, wiggling her shoulders. She patted the wet boards next to her as a motion for him to sit down next to her. The stench of sea salt and rotting fish was almost as repulsive enough as the filth she was sitting in.

"No thank you ma'am, we need to be prepared to move." He turned his rifle ever so slightly to emphasize his point.

She seemed to ignore that last comment of his. "What do we know about this synth, Gabriel?" She asked.

"Designation B5-92 is holed up in the shack, on the top of the up-ended cargo ship." X6 detailed, cautiously lifting his head above the barrels to scan the situation. "He's probably got his best fighters with him, so we should plan on heavy resistance" he emphasized.

He turned his dark shades toward Sole, who was already loading her next round of .308s into her rifle, and secured them with a click. In one swift movement, she swiveled around and lifted herself up into a crouching position, mimicking his position. Her face turned serious and dark as she waited for the okay from X6.

"So, are you ready to go in?" He asked in response to her posture.

"Let's just get this over with" she mumbled impatiently.

"Right behind you ma'am."

In those next few minutes, Sole became someone else. The foolish woman he had seen enter into the grounds with guns blazing, seemed to have been left behind at those barrels. This woman was calm, quiet, and felled numerous raiders with precise headshots. When they got to the cabin, X6 noticed her out of his peripherals secretly shoving miscellaneous junk into her pack, which she slung over her shoulder. Hoarding. Definitely not like Father.

Within no time they had made it to the shack. The duo approached the door, boots splashing over the freshly pooled blood and damp ship boards. The handle creaked with a turn and the door opened with a heavy moan. No synth. Sole took a few long strides to check the room for anything of importance before settling in on a terminal. She pulled the chair out and began to hack it. Impressive.

This woman confused him, and he was not confused easily. One minute she appears to be a skittish, incompetent imbecile and the next she was this quiet, aggressive killer. X6-88 pondered for a moment. Well, he was planning on doing the reclamation part himself, but going off her behavior in the last hour or so, perhaps this woman was capable of handling this delicate part of the mission herself.

"Hold up a moment, ma'am. There's something important I need to tell you." He stated, taking a step closer to her as she furiously typed away at the terminal.

"Alright. Alright, but make it quick" she groaned waving a hand dismissively, not taking her eyes off the terminal.

"I will" he cut in, mildly irritated. "I'm going to give you B5-92's reset code. If he hears the code phrase, it'll reset his cognitive processes and make him docile. You'll need to say 'B5-92, initialize factory reset,' followed by the authorization code 'gamma-7-1-epsilon.'" He saw her eyebrows shoot straight to her hairline as she slowly turned her incredulous eyes to him. He continued, "Once he's shut down, I can transport him safely back to the Institute."

"What do you mean by 'reset his cognitive processes?" Sole asked suspiciously. Keeping one hand on the terminal keyboard, she slowly turned her chair to face him.

"Put more simply, the recall code will render him unconscious, even while he's still standing. That's all ma'am. Ready when you are." The dingy light of the shack reflected off his sunglasses as he readied his laser gun. He truly was an agent. Everything about him eked professionalism.

"Hmm" Sole grunted in contemplation, continuing to stare at him. He almost thought she did not take that as in invitation for action when she finally broke the silence.

"So…do synths ever need to go to the bathroom?" She asked, shoving the chair away from the desk and crossing her legs as she folded her hands underneath her chin like an intrigued scientist.

He instantly regretted trusting her.

However, a loud thunk from above thankfully interrupted that awkward question. Sole immediately grabbed her gun and they ran to a ladder, leading to the roof, X6 in tow. When they climbed to the grating light of day, they were greeted by a slow clap. When their eyes focused, they saw a brawny, blonde man with oil smears across his eyes and chin. X6 immediately recognized him as B5-92.

"Well done. Judging by your gear, I'm gonna guess you two are agents of the Institute." He observed smugly. X6 glanced at Sole covertly from behind his glasses. Her face was scrunched up in irritation. She wore what he felt. He started to walk away from her to give them a better firing range. One. Two. Three other raiders he counted. Not that bad. Sole seemed to guess his intent, so she began stalking in the opposite direction. B5-92 or 'Gabriel' continued, "So tell me, is the Institute so desperate for resources that it's stealing plunder from honest, hard-working Commonwealth gangs?"

Sole stopped in her tracks. Oh no. She looked intrigued.

"How much plunder have you got?" She greedily smiled. This woman was nothing like Father. Father would never compromise the ideals of the Institute for petty loot. It dawned on X6-88 that he would most likely be doing the synth reclamation by himself. His tongue clicked.

Gabriel threw his head back with a loud laugh "Hah! So you are here for loot, then."

X6 must have gotten a bit too close to one of the raiders because the pirate turned his position glaringly towards him and readied his gun. "What are you doing boss? We can take these guys!" the raider yelled irate.

"Keep your mouth shut! I know what I'm doing." Gabriel shouted in retort. "We have a modest little stash. I-I'll tell you what – I'll give it to you freely if you walk away afterwards. What do you say? Do I have your word?"

Sole turned her face up to look down at him over her nose as he pleaded. Every muscle in X6's back tensed. He could sense the impending bloodshed.

A single seagull called, and then Sole's grin grew wide, "You have my word. Give me what you've got, and we'll leave." This woman. Ready to throw away the whole mission for petty bounty. X6's synthetic blood boiled under his dark courser uniform.

Her answer seemed to satisfy Gabriel for he motioned toward the control room with his arm. "The password to get into the stash is 'Mad Orca.' Help yourself, my fellow pirate. We can always get more."

Now. Now was the time. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I have my orders." X6 raised his rifle level to the raider's head who seemed to slowly process the situation. "B5-92, initialize-"

BAM. BAM. BAM.

The three raiders surrounding Gabriel dropped to the ground, each with a bullet in their heads. Sole holstered her surprise pistol in her hip pouch. Gabriel's mouth gaped open with horror.

"Why you little bitch!" He reached for his gun.

"B5-92, initialize factor reset. Authorization gamma-7-1-epsilon" Sole instructed firmly. B5-92 went limp, like a broken doll. X6-88 stood there for a moment, his internal processors consecrating this moment into his memory chip.

Sole didn't even bat an eye. Wasting no time, she strode off the platform they hadn't needed to step off from and slid into the little control room, presumably entering in her newly discovered password onto the computer.

"There you go X6! Good job" she called from the room.

Maybe X6-88's mouth twitched into a little smile, maybe it didn't. You can never be sure with synths. Perhaps it was not in his calculations that the mother of the most respected Father would be cunending enough for a double cross. He was not surprised easily.

"Nice work ma'am. I'll take the synth back." X6 ambled over to the synth captain, grabbing his arm in the process. He lifted his wrist speaking distance from his mouth, which held a communication relay device with the institute. Sole sauntered back outside, grinning broadly with an armful of caps and ammo. She kept advancing until she was almost toe to toe with him. A little too close for comfort. X6 however, stood his ground.

"X6-88, you interest me. I've never travelled with a synth before, let alone a soldier of the Institute. I have so many questions." Her eyes sparkled with wonder, like he was some interesting toy.

"Perhaps that is a bit of a misnomer. Courser, not soldier. I look forward to working with you in the future." X6-88 bowed respectfully. What an unusual response. How curious for her to be so intrigued with him, he was nothing that she needed to be concerned about.

"Yes, I do as well. Wow, a real-life courser." She breathed, looking him up and down as if this was truly the first time they had met. She outstretched an arm and placed a hand on X6's shoulder, squeezing. He was not comfortable with emotional exchange. It was time to go.

"This is X6-88, ready to relay with reclaimed synth B5-92."

Fwoop. A blindingly bright light zapped both X6-88 and B5-92 into thin air, leaving Sole all by herself and the feeling of leather beneath her hand dissappeared.

She chuckled. "How cute, he gets embarrassed with physical contact. Well that won't do. Not. At. All. I wonder how he will react when I push him farther out of his comfort zone. He is definitely more human than he thinks."

Sole continued to giggle sinisterly to herself like she had begun on some mad plot as she turned on her heels and walked over all the carnage and off the ship.