A/N:
Hello again, dear readers. This chapter is another longer one, and I have the sinking feeling that I didn't research the Brotherhood as thoroughly as I should've. Please keep that in mind as you read.
This chapter introduces one of the last three original characters that I've dreamed up for this little tale. I hope you like him as much as I do. Once the character introductions are complete, you'll start seeing the main Fallout 4 characters come out to play. This story was originally intended to be 5 chapters at most. These things have a way of growing though.
Thanks for taking the time to read my work. As always, reviews are gladly welcomed.
Pandemonium broke out instantly.
"Three?" I squawked.
"It'll be ok, love." Dan whispered, trying to soothe my shattered nerves.
"Hell yeah!" the Strykers and Hancock cried.
"Shit a brick." Sandra swore.
Elliot shot to his feet, and repeatedly told us all to quiet down before we drew attention to ourselves. We settled back in our chairs, some excited and others freaked out. The scribe pulled out a sheaf of papers from the small pack he had strapped across his body that landed at his hip.
"I transcribed the information found in the police terminals before I destroyed what the Brotherhood had stocked away." Elliot said quietly.
"Why would you do that? If you think we're going to beg or pay you…" Melissa began.
"No, no. Nothing of the sort! I've wanted away from these insane technology hoarders for a few years now. Finding a way to do it has been a whole other matter. I've had to deal with… Well, let's just say, special circumstances. From what I know, in the Capital Wasteland there were at least the Outcasts I could've run to first. Ultimately, I decided I want nothing to do with any faction of the BOS. The scribes have always been the civilian branch. I want a normal civilian life. You guys are the perfect way to stick it to Maxson while making good on my escape." he replied.
"Escape, huh? Since you know more about both this group and the Prydwyn, we'll follow your lead. For now." Oliver said.
"Good. I promise you won't regret it. I've no doubts that you are all capable in your own rights of leaving here, before you think I find you helpless. I just ask for a little trust, and some assistance along the way. For now, the six of you should report back to your bunks for the evening. We don't want to arouse suspicion." Elliot told us.
"Arouse. Now there's a great word." Hancock said while dropping a lecherous wink in Sandra's direction.
"That's not a bad idea, actually. It's no secret that ghouls are certainly looked down on here, and some…fooling around may be the distraction I need to finalize the equipment we'll need to fuck off out of this place." added Elliot.
"Don't you two dare! That's the last thing any of us need right now." I said firmly.
"Speak for yourself." muttered Sandra.
"Just what sort of 'equipment' do you need? How prepared for this are you? I mean, sneaking six additional people out of a giant airship without notice seems implausible." Dan asked.
"Oh, I never said anything close to 'without notice'. Why simply leave when you can make a dramatic exit? If I'm about to seriously burn some bridges, how about we all take part in transforming a flame into a maelstrom?" Elliot said with an impish grin.
"This won't end well." Dan and I said simultaneously.
"Doesn't have to end well to end with some fun." Hancock said.
"Ok folks. Give me at least three hours. Then get ready to make a splash." Elliot said as he pushed himself away from the table.
Mel stood up as well, and dragged her husband to his feet. Dan and I joined them, and began walking back towards the cots assigned to us. Hancock said or did something that caused Sandra to burst into giggles before they too fell in line. Scribe McAllister left to work on whatever he had in store. When we reached the cots, the Strykers pushed two together. Hancock followed their lead, and set up an area for him and Sandra. That left Dan and I to stand there, looking at each other. He shrugged, and we went along with the others.
"I'd really rather that we save any…activity…for a moment when we have privacy, despite the senior scribe's suggestion." Dan whispered once we were laying down.
I choked on a nervous laugh.
"I agree actually. But I wouldn't say no to some cuddling." I said hopefully.
Dan pulled me into his arms, and kissed me. I looked into his obsidian eyes, and thanked him for stepping out of his comfort zone. He just hugged me closer, and reassured me that no matter what happened with the others, he'd get us safely out of here. It wasn't long before I dozed off. A long and emotionally arduous day had taken its toll.
I woke to the sounds of love making. I couldn't believe either couple felt this was an appropriate time for that. Dan's eyes popped open around the same time that I did. I just shook my head in amazement. Sandra had apparently gotten her wish.
I heard someone coming towards our area of confinement.
"Agh! Stop that right now! Goddamn ghouls are nothing but animals!" a woman's voice shouted.
"Jealous, sweets?" came Hancock's cocky reply.
The commotion of the Brotherhood guard calling for reinforcements, the Strykers jumping into action, Sandra and Hancock yanking on clothes, and more soldiers running towards us freaked me out. Dan and I just sat at the edge of our makeshift bed, confused and taking it all in. As he passed, Ollie grabbed Dan's shoulder and yelled for us to follow him.
"Follow you? As if you have any idea where you're going!" Mel teased as she sprinted by us.
"You know me, baby. I think best when running for my life." Ollie replied, laughing as the Brotherhood gave chase through the Prydwyn.
The six of us indeed ran for our lives, even if it meant just running in circles. Sandra was wearing Hancock's signature hat, laughing like this was the best night she'd ever had. Her lover couldn't get his coat buttoned while he jogged, said "Fuck it.", and sped up to join the rest of us. Dan grabbed my hand to keep me near him. The Strykers, being nuts as they were, made as much noise as they could. Ollie punched every person we passed if he could get in a swing. If he couldn't reach them, he just shouted "Boo!" and cackled like a madman. Mel actually took the time to overturn any nearby tables, and shout obscenities far more awful than anything Ollie could come up with. There was no way in hell that McAllister couldn't hear us coming. The entire Prydwyn could probably hear us.
We came skidding to a stop at the exit to the flight deck where the vertibirds were docked. Elliot was waiting for us, and shouted for us to follow him. The seven of us burst out of the body of the Prydwyn. Dead ahead stood seven suits of power armor.
"Finally! I've been wanting one of those for months!" I shouted triumphantly, punching the air in excitement.
"Ok, everyone suit up. Power armor is fairly easy to wear and operate. Each has a brand new fusion core, so we should be good for awhile. Once I hit this remote control, we have to leave immediately. Remember what I said about making a splashy exit? Let's get ready to jump!" Elliot exclaimed.
"Jump? Oh I don't think so." Sandra said, already looking a bit green in the gills.
Hancock comforted her as best he could. I'd forgotten about her fear of heights that kicked in when we had arrived to the airship earlier in the day. Thankfully, she calmed down quickly after he'd promised that we'd all stay by her side.
Everyone else had climbed into their armor by the time I hopped into mine. I had a transient feeling of claustrophobia as it sealed up around me. From behind, I could hear Brotherhood personnel pouring from the exit we'd just dashed from.
"Jump! Now!" Elliot shouted, mashing the button on his little remote as he leapt from the Prydwyn.
A hollow popping sound came from the Prydwyn herself. The bullets and lasers whizzing by us were all the incentive we needed to make the same dive that McAllister did just seconds ago. Everyone except Sandra and I had jumped.
"I can't do it, Brenna. I don't want to die!" she said, fear leaving her voice trembling even through the tinny distortion of her helmet.
"If we stay here, we die. If we jump, well, maybe we die. We've gotta take that chance!" I shouted, pushing her to the edge of the hangar.
"Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit." Sandra said in rapid fire succession.
It was now or never. The Brotherhood were within striking distance, and as good as power armor is, it was never intended to last forever.
"On the count of three! One…" I said, grabbing her hand and dragging her down with me.
The sensation as we plummeted to earth was one I'll never forget. Now I understood why people went skydiving or practiced other extreme sports. The sensors in the armor had righted us so we'd land on our feet.
"Very catlike." I thought just before impact.
The ground shook, and a cloud of dirt spread around in a circle from my point of impact. I don't think I'd ever felt quite so powerful in my whole life. This was exhilaration in its purest form.
"Run! We've got a small window before the ground troops at the airport catch on to what just happened up above. Move it!" McAllister shouted as soon as we were all accounted for.
Running was made surprisingly easier by the power armor. Its servos allowed all of us to keep going beyond our normal endurance. We were out of the Boston Airport faster than I'd thought possible.
"Where to now?" Mel asked as we slowed our mad dash to freedom.
"Goodneighbor. We can hide out there, no problem." Hancock said with easy confidence.
"Sounds good enough to me. I want to show you all the information I have, and we need some solid rest before coming up with a firm plan." Elliot said.
"What exactly happened back there? We all heard that pop from inside the Prydwyn before we jumped." Sandra asked.
"Yeah, about that. I may or may not have remotely wiped the computer mainframe. Also, sealed the doors. We shouldn't be bothered by them for a little awhile yet." Elliot said with a giant grin.
"Before we go anywhere, you need to tell me exactly what you meant about there being three of me." I demanded.
"That information needs to be kept quiet. It's not too far to the good mayor's town of ne'er-do-wells." Elliot said firmly.
"Sonofabitch." I grumbled.
"Ne'er-do-wells? Ain't gonna argue with that." Hancock said with pride.
"Are we staying in the power armor? Please say yes." Ollie begged.
"May as well. Let's get it in gear." Elliot said, heading off towards Goodneighbor.
By the time we arrived, I was completely on tenterhooks. We hadn't gotten much sleep on the Prydwyn, and I was certain that added to it all. Hancock suggested we all head over to the Third Rail to relax a bit before heading to a quiet spot to hear what the scribe had to say. Elliot declined, saying we needed to have this conversation as soon as possible. Hancock shrugged, and left to find the sweet release of inebriation.
I suggested the Memory Den as a private place to talk. Since Dr. Amari already knew of my circumstances, thanks to my trip with Nick, it made sense to go there. Plus her insight might be helpful. Elliot seemed to have some reservations, but agreed to my idea. We headed into the Den, and were ushered back to the doctor's private lab room. After some quick introductions, we got right down to business.
"Doctor, I need your help. Again. McAllister is –was- a senior scribe with the Brotherhood of Steel…" I started.
"Up until tonight, that is." Elliot interrupted, a satisfied smile playing across his face.
I sighed.
"Anyway, he brought some information that we'll need some help unraveling. Do you remember my trip here with Nick?" I asked.
"How could I forget? I still have my doubts about the authenticity of your memory, but yes, I do recall you and Detective Valentine coming here for my assistance." Amari replied.
"This time I won't need the use of a memory lounger. Admittedly, I have yet to view the documents that Scribe McAllister has. But I'm interested in seeing where any overlap occurs between his knowledge and mine. I have had a certain issue arise that makes no earthly sense to me." I said.
"If this knowledge, as you say, is between you and the former scribe, why are these other people here?" she said, sounding slightly suspicious.
"They're my friends, and my… gentleman friend. They've all witnessed firsthand what I know, and I need them with me." I said.
"So gather around, kiddies. It's time for show and tell." said Elliot, taking out those papers once more.
Everyone except for Amari pulled over stools, and prepared ourselves as best we could for what might come next. Most of my people had our packs and guns resting at our feet. We'd been lucky to have left our things on the vertibird instead of inside the Prydwyn. Elliot had loaded up each of our packs by the feet of the power armor that had been awaiting us.
"Ok. Do any of you know exactly what a senior scribe does?" Elliot asked the group.
"Not really. The Brotherhood has always guarded their information tightly. Well, at least from us simple folk." Melissa said sardonically.
"I'll explain as best I can. Senior scribes are a step below the proctors. Each scribe, no matter their ranking, follows one of three orders: the Order of the Sword, Order of the Shield, or Order of the Quill. I'm in that last category. Basically, the nerdiest of the nerds. Due to my rank, special projects were brought to the attention of only myself and Proctor Quinlan. Nearly two years ago, the so-called 'preservation project' fell in our laps. Records of two women who shared the same name, same birthdate, and for the most part, the same physical characteristics. Then around six months ago, the existence of yet another of these such women was brought to our attention." Elliot told us.
"Nate." I growled venomously, clenching my fists at my sides.
Elliot cleared his throat.
"Yes." he said, rather uncomfortably.
Before Dan could restrain me, I shot to my feet and strode up to Elliot. Changing my mind at the last minute, I turned and punched the wall instead of him.
"Shit. There went my knuckles." I thought, feeling at least somewhat less violent due to the pain.
The room was as silent as the grave.
I sat back down, and began nursing my rapidly swelling hand.
"Do any of these other women have some anger management issues?" Sandra asked.
My hand may have hurt, but not enough to stop me from flipping her off. She simply smiled anyway, knowing that's just how I was.
"That we don't know. We do know that each of these women had, by their own admission, medical issues. From what we can tell, even though it makes no sense, each appears to be from a different world than our own." Elliot said.
"Well, I can verify at least the last claim. This ain't Kansas anymore, Toto." I said.
"What?" the former scribe asked.
"Just… never mind. Go on." I said.
"Before we left the Capital Wasteland, we had come across research documents for a Ms. Brenna J. Morley. We hadn't been able to ascertain just when these tests were conducted, but given her birthdate, it couldn't have been close to the Great War. The tests had indicated she had a form of cancer that started in her pancreas." he said, turning his gaze to me before asking "And your date of birth is?"
"March 31, 1981." I said flatly.
Elliot sat down from where he'd been lecturing, and looked stunned.
"Remarkably well preserved for her age, right?" Ollie asked with a smirk.
"And absolutely beautiful as well." Dan added, softly caressing my cheek with the back of his hand.
I could feel myself turning scarlet.
"Ok, guys. Save the sweet talk for when we're back home in Sanctuary." I said with a grin.
"Are you absolutely certain that the date you've stated is your true birthday?" a disbelieving Elliot asked.
"If my purse hadn't been snatched the night I arrived in this world, I could show you my driver's license and prove it." I told him, rolling my eyes.
"Have you had any memory problems? Moments where you either easily forget aspects of your prior life, or things you've done or perhaps experienced?" he asked.
"No. Not at all! But sometimes… I-I-I suppose so? Maybe? It's been six months since Nick Valentine found me. My husband and our kids used to be on my mind all the time. Not so much these days." I said, looking at the floor in shame.
"How could I forget them? What kind of person am I?" I thought.
"Oh that's wonderful!" Elliot said, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
"What?! How could that possibly be wonderful?" I asked.
"You're married! Then Morley is your husband's surname, right?" he asked.
"Ah, about that. Most of the married women in my day chose to keep their maiden names. I never took Jay's last name." I said.
"Fuck." Elliot said, sounding incredibly concerned.
"Alright, so what about this woman? How much did you learn about her? And why so obviously care about the information?" Dan asked.
"I'd become intrigued by this case, and had some serious questions about why so many highly detailed medical tests were done on her while forgoing aggressively treating the cancer like they did back in those days. Turns out that she had been seeing this "Preservation Solutions Medical Group". Their logo appears all over these records, and that particular Ms. Morley had signed certain medical release forms that allowed the group to have legal jurisdiction of her corpse upon her death. It seemed that she knew she was terminally ill, and gave up fighting for her life at that point. The wording indicates that she had opted out of any traditional treatment within three month of entering the care of this Dr. William Hoffman. And I use the word 'doctor' loosely." Elliot explained.
"Pancreatic cancer is no joke. I guess I can understand why she'd decide that." I said, thinking of what I may have done in her shoes. My shoes. Whatever.
"Is there any family history of cancer in your case?" asked Dr. Amari, finally jumping into the conversation.
"Cancer runs in my family on both sides. Daddy had colon cancer, and Ma had leukemia." I said.
"Hmmm. Interesting information there, Brenna. Mostly disconcerting, but interesting nonetheless. Then the second woman…" Elliot said before I interrupted him.
"How old was this other Brenna at the time she began seeing that doctor?" I asked, wanting to compare the age of her against the age of Holotape Woman.
"She was just 25 years old. She died at age 26." he stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, shit." was all I could think to say.
"Pretty much." said Sandra.
"Ah, you are nothing if not succinct. May I continue onto the second of three Morleys?" Elliot asked.
I made a 'go on' gesture with my hand, having no other words at that moment.
"The info we have on this woman is limited. The doctor's notations that we discovered stated that she had become part of the National Institutes of Transformational Health in 1997 as an assistant research scientist on some project regarding human tissue regeneration. A child prodigy, she graduated from…Harvard? Anyway, that occurred at age 14. From what we can tell, she voluntarily became a test subject of the very same project. Would you be unsurprised if I were to tell you that the logo for this NITH bears an eerie resemblance to the one from the Preservation Solutions Medical Group?" Elliot said.
"At this point, I doubt much would surprise any of us. Especially not these two." Mel said, nodding her head over towards where I sat with my arms around Dan.
Elliot finally set down the papers for us to read. Everything he'd mentioned in his summaries was here in print. I hugged Dan a little tighter when we spotted the two logos. We shared a look, and without words, I removed two items from my own rucksack.
I tossed the holotape labeled with my name, and the patch I'd torn off the skeleton who had held it.
"Hey El, I see your creepy tales and raise you two more. Think you can call that?" I said, my voice dripping with both sarcasm and dread.