Cade was the only other man on the Prydwen with permission to speak freely to Maxson. He had to decency to wait until they were in the Elder's quarters before doing so.
"Sir, I was under the impression that you were going to have a proper conversation with her."
Maxson busied himself with a bottle of bourbon, "In all honesty, Knight-Captain, I didn't know what to say. What would you have done?"
"I would have at least let her adjust before throwing her off the ship." He held a hand up at Maxson's offer of a glass. "She was one of Sarah's closest friends and her work in the Capital Wasteland-"
Maxson was glad the glass held up in his death grip, "I gave her a way out."
"Sir?"
"That was the best thing I could do for her. I knew her for years. Trapped on some airship with bad memories and a new Elder would have suffocated her."
Cade's jaw slacked, "I didn't realize your orders came from compassion."
"Well I don't plan on making a habit of that," Maxson sat roughly in a chair. In reality he had made too many compassionate decisions since arriving in the Commonwealth, but Cade wouldn't be part of that information.
Cade sat down across from him, tapping his fingers on the meeting table, "I know you said you're fine. With all due respect, I know when you're lying to me. You don't have to be tough, not in a situation as bizarre as this one. I think you should talk to me."
Of all the doctors Maxson could have assigned to the Prydwen, he just had to assign the one with a bleeding heart. Another compassionate decision since Cade had been his childhood doctor and his mother's favorite physician. He tried not to think about the latter. Maxson pondered Cade's words. When Dans- when soldiers under his command employed symptoms of post-traumatic stress, Cade was the first person they were sent to. It's why he'd made sure Cade was the first person Shiloh saw.
Maxson swirled the bronzed liquid in his glass before drinking it in one go, "Again, what is there to say? She came back to life. Thanks to a power outage. A random chance. She could have been there forever. To be frank with you, Knight-Captain I don't have a clue as to how I feel. We didn't part on good terms. But no matter," he stood up, putting the liquor away, "I'm her Elder now. If I am to maintain order around here I cannot be distracted by this situation. And I won't be so long as we maintain a professional relationship."
Maxson knew that was the wrong thing to say when Cade's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sir, do you think you're compromised?" Arthur gripped the side of the table. Of course he remembered the teenage crush he had on her.
"Don't be ridiculous, we barely know each other."
"Of course. My apologies, Elder," Cade stood to leave, "however I do think we should keep her on the crew. She has exceptional survival skills and having another Paladin on board might help with ranking."
Before Maxson could reply that no it would make things a lot muddier than they already were, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Cade opened it to reveal a young vertibird pilot clad in the signature flight suit and bomber jacket, "Excuse me Knight-Captain, Elder Maxson, but I have a confession to make."
Maxson stared, "Do I look like a priest to you, Knight?"
The young man flushed, "No, sir, but I believe you should know what I've done. Paladin Carver demanded that I take her to coordinates matching the facility where she was picked up. I dropped her off at the airport instead."
"Since when do Knights make executive decisions to ignore their superiors?" A mix of anger at Shiloh and the insubordinate Knight overwhelmed him, "Report yourself to Lancer-Captain Kells. I will deal with both of you on my own time."
Maxson simmered in his anger when the pilot left and Cade left him to his own thoughts. He busied himself with paperwork for the next hour or so before the feeling of a crew out of control overwhelmed the need to be productive. He slammed down the papers he'd been reading over and stormed out of his quarters towards the flight deck.
-0-
The airport was in chaos when he landed. The scribes were especially jittery today and practically ran for cover the moment they saw him. Proctor Ingram was nowhere to be found. Neither was Dr. Li. But the main feature was that after a few days of being powered off so Ingram could run diagnostics, Liberty Prime was back to patrolling around the airport with Shiloh at its heels. She was being chased down by two knights in power armor who were yelling something about safety and protocol. He knew immediately that she was lashing out by being a pain in the ass. It was something Sarah would commonly complain to her about in their arguments.
The black suit he'd ordered her to wear was covered in mismatched and well-worn combat armor. Her shoulder-length hair swayed loosely in the wind. Maxson was suddenly struck by how fiercely he had missed her. His chest ached with a stab of loneliness at the wonder in her eyes. He remembered their first and only mission together, how she'd curiously searched the old military base for junk and ammo. Then one of the knights chasing her tripped with a crash and he remembered himself, his anger returning in full.
"What the hell is going on here?" he barked, quieting the knights and scribes around the airport immediately. Proctor Ingram emerged from one of the warehouses covered in soot from her repairs. Her eyes widened when she saw how close Shiloh was standing by the gigantic war machine'sfeet.
"Jesus Christ, all three of you get away from him before you get stepped on," she seemed more protective of Prime than anything. Not that Maxson could exactly blame her, with all the work she put into him.
He ignored the knights in power armor and headed straight for Shiloh, "I made it clear that you were to work with the Star Paladins. Not go off on your own, Paladin Carver."
To his surprise, Shiloh stopped under his scrutiny, "My apologies, Elder."
He paused for a moment too long to be natural before clearing his throat. "Forgive me," his scowl didn't lessen, "With your history of speaking to Elders, I did not expect a proper response." His biting remark definitely hit her where it hurt. He saw the brief pain in her eyes. Something inside him relished that she felt an ounce of how he'd felt over the past nine years. However, something else inside him twisted in guilt because Christ, Arthur it's been a day since she found out Sarah died.
She continued staring at him, "Again, I apologize for my actions, Elder." She glanced up at Liberty Prime's retreating form, "Even the big guy changed…"
That struck Maxson. His eyes widened at his own coldness and something of an apology formed on his lips when he noticed the whole airport staring at their exchange. His scowl returned, "Never again, Paladin. Find something to do at the airport and stay with Proctor Ingram. That's an order." He headed for the vertibird back to the Prydwen. Proctor Ingram was staring openly at him in disappointment. He dared her to say something with a glare.
-0-
Shiloh stared at the wall during her shower in silence. Only here would she drop her pride and allow her thoughts to wander to today's events. Maxson had essentially grounded her in front of everyone. With all the fights they'd had, Sarah had never ordered her to stay in one place. They both knew that she was prone to living up to the Lone Wanderer name. If torturing her was the method, Maxson really was a brilliant tactician.
God, he'd been so angry at her. That anger, the way he commanded the whole airport with just presence alone was something she never thought she'd see. Nine years and he'd changed to an entirely new person.
She owed her life to the Brotherhood ten times over. If only that heavy debt didn't weigh on her then she would have just left without a backwards glance. Everyone she knew was probably dead. Jericho and Charon were both gone by the time she'd gone on that fateful mission. She didn't know about Butch. Some deep, ugly part of her hoped he was dead, but Butch was tougher than he looked. All her companions were gone. Sarah was gone. Her father was gone. Amata despised her.
She turned off the water, sliding down the shower wall to sit on the floor. She curled up on herself in self-pity and tried to steady her breathing. An optimist, she was not. But, she thought as she wrung out her hair, she was a survivor.
She sought out Ingram after dressing back in her Brotherhood fatigues. "Am I allowed on the Prydwen?"
Ingram didn't bother to hide her snort of laughter as she focused on power armor skeleton, "Afraid he's gonna ground you again?"
Shiloh flushed, "I just think I should talk to him."
Ingram immediately focused on her, "About disobeying his orders? Doubt he wants to be reminded."
"No," she didn't want to elaborate.
"Ah, well," Ingram set her tools down, "you are allowed on the Prydwen. There isn't much in the way of bedding down here."
"Good, that's-" Shiloh swallowed thickly, "I just think I should talk to him."
"If you want my advice, the sooner the better. Elder Maxson is the greatest leader our chapter of the Brotherhood has ever had. You won't find a soul here that doesn't respect him. He's given everything to our cause. All he asks is respect in return and you disobeyed him." Ingram set a power armored hand on Shiloh's shoulder. "Everything is happening so fast, and you need to mourn Sarah, but for now just try to go along with things until we know how to help you."
"I don't know what to do with myself," Shiloh deflated, "There's nothing for me in the Capital Wasteland."
Ingram made a face that Shiloh knew meant she had an idea, "I think I know how to help, but give me time. All I ask is that you work with the Star Paladins here on the ground for a while. They've been clearing super mutant hideouts. If you get back into Maxson's good graces he'll probably let you tag along."
Shiloh nodded in sudden interest, "I don't...I don't want to sit here and mourn. I've never been good at that. But super mutants I'm all over. I'll talk to him first."
On her way towards the helipad site, Shiloh heard a strange chime coming from her pip-boy. It'd never made that sound before. She glanced under the misc tab and saw an unopened note:
Don't input those GPS coordinates again.
-0-
Proctor Quinlan was not pleased when Shiloh stormed into his office and grabbed the nearest paper and pen. "Paladin! What is the meaning-" He was cut off when she shoved the paper in his face:
Don't speak. I think my pip-boy is bugged.
As Quinlan examined the data from her pip-boy through his terminal, Shiloh sighed in relief that hers was an older model. Quinlan had little experience with the 3000 Mark IV models that littered the vaults of the Commonwealth, but her 3000A proved easy. Three different diagnostics tests came back negative for malicious viruses and instead found a single line of code that caused the text to pop up.
"It's just a miscellaneous note. Triggered by the specific map coordinates." Quinlan adjusted his glasses as Shiloh gingerly put the device back on. "I would advise you to tell Elder Maxson right away."
"Of course," she sounded less confident than she'd meant to.
-0-
She took her time finding Maxson. He was back on the command deck when she found him, alone this time. Which made matters worse for her, "Elder Maxson."
"Quinlan told me you were contacted by your captors," he turned slightly towards her, away from the window overlooking ruined downtown Boston.
"I'm not sure if it's them, exactly, but I was contacted when I input the GPS coordinates."
"I'm going to send a patrol to that area. We have the coordinates on file. You must understand that you won't be a part of that patrol."
Inwardly she protested, but she did understand. "Yes, sir."
He made a face at her affirmation, looking uncomfortable at how she addressed him, "Paladin, I know you've been through a lot in the past few days. If you're willing to work with me, under my rules, then I am willing to trust you out in the Commonwealth representing the Brotherhood. In a week's time, a group of Star Paladins will head for a super mutant hideout in a local hospital. You may go with them," he almost hated himself when he saw her eyes light up, "but you have to prove yourself over the next week."
"Of course, Elder Maxson." She still wanted to wander, to be free, but the Brotherhood was all she had and she wouldn't let him down, "I wanted to talk to you about-"
"Elder Maxson, apologies for the interruption, but Miss Moretti is on the communicator and urgently requires your attention," an older scribe entered the command deck, looking like he'd been thoroughly yelled at.
Arthur grimaced. "We'll talk later, Paladin," he dismissed her.
-0-
Sighing in her room that night, Shiloh pondered the conversation as she stripped off her fatigues. She felt chastened at Arthur's tone with her. She almost preferred when he was yelling at her. The way his eyes flashed and his brow furrowed.
Shiloh frowned. Maybe the self-service rec food went bad, because her stomach fluttered as she remembered the way he'd commanded her respect at the airport. She knew exactly where her thoughts were leading, but denial had her at full stop.
The room was dark and quiet.
A little open thinking wouldn't hurt her.
Arthur Maxson had grown up to be handsome. And she was touch-starved. Plus, she might have a thing for being ordered around. It wasn't a new revelation, but the subject was a little different. Even if her thoughts didn't stray beyond the spark down her spine that she felt when he told her that the rules were his .
No. Not Arthur, not- She refused to indulge herself any more. It was sick and wrong, even if he was a man. She felt like a pervert. She just craved attention, that was all. It had been months since that time with the caravan worker...and technically nine years since that…
Shiloh pressed the pillow to her reddened face and forced herself to sleep, keeping her hands firmly above the covers. Ingram had told her all Arthur asked for was respect. This certainly wasn't that. She chose instead to look forward to the moment she could get her hands on a weapon and down some super mutants.