The next six missions went off without a hitch. Shiloh was getting into a routine, which normally would have scared her, but now it was less frightening than the unknown. She'd join the first patrol leaving the Boston airport almost as soon as she came back from another. It gave her little time to think, just like she wanted.

From what Ingram was willing to tell her, the Brotherhood was itching to get out of the Commonwealth. But it seemed like more and more reasons for them to stay kept piling up. The most recent reason is that escaped Institute scientists were very resourceful and were joining other factions. Including the Children of Atom, to everyone's surprise.

Wearing an uncomfortable hazmat suit, Shiloh scouted ahead of their patrol on the north edge of what was dubbed the Glowing Sea. Radstorms were a constant out here and most of the ground was dead and dried. Supposedly they were tailing a roaming group of super mutants, but so far nothing came their way save for radscorpions and a yao guai.

The telltale whirring of a radstorm raged in the distance, traveling westward far enough away to not be much of a threat. A star paladin in her patrol was leaning against a group of dead trees to rest. Shiloh picked at the crumbling road, not finding much evidence of a group coming by. "Maybe they turned west."

"Didn't think I'd see the day that a group of super mutants would outrun us. Shit," another star paladin called over to her as she peered through the rubble with the light on her helmet.

They chose to reroute back to the Prydwen and came upon an old trailer park. Shiloh made sure to avoid the skeletons as she explored the metal heaps. The patrol noted the skeleton of a deathclaw sitting near the poolside as they continued on with little added loot. Shiloh frowned. If her memory served correct, they were near the facility she was found in, maybe just slightly west. She eyed her pip-boy warily. No viruses had been found and she'd received no more messages.

They stopped to rest again a few hours later on the north-east edge of the Glowing Sea. So far the mission had little excitement. One star paladin removed his helmet and began smoking. Shiloh began rummaging through her pack for water when a group on the horizon caught her attention.

They came directly from the Glowing Sea, looking much like a military patrol, perhaps raiders. The star paladins readied their weapons in anticipation. When the group came close, Shiloh saw that they were armed and wore armor painted with elaborate signs that matched the black paint on their faces.

The leader of the triage held up his hands in surrender, "We mean you no harm. We are simply returning from our pilgrimage to the Crater of Atom." Shiloh was a little struck by how sane they sounded. These men were far different than the sad, irradiated souls she'd usually seen with the Children of Atom. The Children in the Capital wore little more than scraps, these men looked healthy and wore armor she'd never seen before.

One of the soldiers standing in the back was pointedly staring at her pip-boy and the distinct combat armor she wore. His eyes darted to the distance, back where she knew the facility was, and he quickly took the leader aside to whisper to him. The leader turned back to them, a less friendly look on his face, "Where did you get this one?" He was pointing at Shiloh, but speaking to the soldiers with her.

The star paladins looked at each other, confused by his line of questioning. Finally, one answered, "Move along, we're not here to cause trouble with your kind."

"If you released this one, then you have already caused trouble," he gave Shiloh a dangerous look, "You were to be dealt with by the scientists."

The star paladin who had been smoking earlier lifted his weapon enough to catch their attention, "And you were told to move along."

"What scientists?" Shiloh blurted over the tension, desperate for answers, "Did you take me there?"

The star paladin beside her her hissed, "Paladin, calm yourself."

"We won't speak to you. But we will speak to your Elder. Now that we know your Brotherhood is hiding you, expect us at the airport within a week's time."

All three Brotherhood soldiers tensed at the thinly veiled threat. The one in the back barked at them, "You should be shot where you stand."

The Children of Atom soldiers ignored his open threat entirely. Something that frustrated Shiloh was that the Children had always been laughed at and not taken seriously because they were a strange cult. They were fearless with Atom's will. They were dangerous.

The leader scoffed, "We don't fear your Brotherhood. And we won't answer your questions. Especially not yours." He looked at Shiloh like she wasn't worth the dirt they stood on.

Eventually, the Children moved on past the Brotherhood soldiers. Tensions were high and one of the soldiers asked if Shiloh was alright. She nodded, lying through her teeth that she was fine. She was the lowest ranking soldier of the group, but she would be there to brief Maxson regardless. She wanted answers.

When the other star paladins were dismissed, Shiloh was left alone with Maxson and Kells on the command deck. He'd commended them for a job well done, adding that Shiloh had certainly been proving her value to the Brotherhood by constantly joining missions. If he had any problem with her doing so, he didn't say it.

Lancer-Captain Kells had joined them as Maxson's second in command. Shiloh wasn't sure what to make of him. He was one of the coldest men she'd ever met and she couldn't see herself getting along with him much. Not that she needed to, considering he reminded her constantly that he was well and truly her commanding officer and the captain of the Prydwen.

"What do you make of this, sir?" Kells asked Maxson, speaking like Shiloh wasn't even in the room.

Maxson turned to look out the command deck's window, staring out towards the ruined skyscrapers, "I'm not sure why I should dignify them with a meeting. If they so much as touch the airport they will be shot on sight."

"Elder Maxson, they know who I am. If they have some kind of information…"

"I'm not convinced, Paladin. What haven't you done to anger the Children of Atom?" Maxson's frankness surprised her. "No, I don't think they have the capability to kidnap and cryogenically freeze a Brotherhood squadron simply for revenge. Someone else is in charge, and I'm almost certain it's the Institute. Or…" he tapped his fingers in thought against the window ledge, "they were in charge before we destroyed them."

"You think they froze me and just...forgot about me?"

"No, I don't. Their director was far too thorough in his plans. If this wasn't the Institute, then it was a splintered part of them. Or perhaps an experiment gone wrong." Shiloh watched intently as Maxson crossed his arms in deep thought, "I will speak to them."

Kells looked surprised, "Sir, facing them personally is a huge risk."

"They're challenging us by coming here. They told us they would challenge our authority when we sent out patrols to the Glowing Sea. They say they don't fear me, but I don't fear their Atom. Lancer-Captain, if they come, you are to stay on the ship while I meet with them. Paladin, you are to stay as well." Shiloh flushed with indignation and Maxson spoke before she could protest, "It is for your own safety. Your presence obviously inspires anger in them. You will stay on the ship." The look on his face gave no room for questions.

-0-

The Children came three days later. Shiloh sat with her legs swinging off the flight deck of the Prydwen. From there, she could only see the group as small blips on the airport property, but it was more than waiting in her quarters. Being knights, none of the guards bothered to chastise her for sitting on the pathway. Maxson walked past her, boarding the vertibird without a word.

It was due to the worry, she knew, and the loneliness, but she wished he would at least look at her. She wanted something of her young friend back. All these new people overwhelmed her and familiarity seemed like such a far off possibility. But he was Elder Maxson now more than ever and he didn't spare her a glance.

Through the thin, wispy fog below the Prydwen, she watched as Maxson's vertibird landed and he met with the Children, flanked by guards in power armor. She wondered why he didn't wear his. Another political thing, she supposed.

Down on the ground, Maxson gave the zealot his darkest glare, "why in the world would I do that?"

"Mother Isolde requests that you carefully consider her offer. We are willing to trade information you require if you give us the heretic. Her very presence in the Commonwealth is a blight on Atom's will. Turn her over to our custody and we will reveal to you every location of Institute scientists that we know of."

Maxson's jaw clenched. The star paladins around him were silent, holding their breaths in anticipation. "No. Do not ask again." He dared them to with his eyes. The zealot didn't seem fazed, but Maxson could tell he hadn't expected such a swift denial.

"Very well. But do not think we will continue to allow your presence near the crater. You will find us a harsher company than before. We will not forget what you have sacrificed in order to protect her." Neither would Maxson, but he would live very easily with his decision.

The star paladins said nothing about his choice and neither did the proctors. Kells was more vocal, giving him something about sacrificing for the greater good. He'd whirled on his second-in-command, "I know very well about hard decisions. That one, that one was easy. I will not sacrifice a soldier to radiation torture for a few possible locations. We have had no proof they are working with Institute scientists."

Kells frowned, but nodded as Maxson left for his quarters. He told Kells to have Paladin Carver meet him there.

-0-

The room was smaller than the Elder's quarters were in the Citadel. Shiloh felt a little suffocated, like the room needed a window or five. The Prydwen, in all its glory, felt like a cramped metal trap sometimes. Her suffocation wasn't helped by being alone here with Maxson. After avoiding him all she could the past few weeks, she ended up facing him with no back up or distractions.

When he told her what the Children had asked, she'd questioned, "Why didn't you give me to them?"

Maxson looked almost offended by her question, "You are a soldier of the Brotherhood. Sacrificing your life over a few lousy locations-"

"The Brotherhood has sacrificed soldiers for possibilities before. Sarah has sacrificed for possibilities. If the Institute scientists are really that dangerous-"

"They will not take you again," he wasn't looking at her anymore, "I will not allow it."

She blinked, taken aback, "Arthur-" she cut herself off, blushing in embarrassment, "I mean Elder Maxson."

God help him, he almost said it. He almost said Arthur is fine. Because Arthur was definitely not fine. He cleared his throat, "Nevertheless, they gave me more information than they intended. We now know the Children of Atom are behaving like a military. And they're protecting if not working with former Institute scientists. What this has to do with what happened to you remains to be seen, but I suspect it's part of a side project. I'm sending a large group of star paladins and scribes to that facility as soon as I've gathered the man power."

She deflated a little, making something in his chest ache, "Do you want me to stay behind?"

"Yes, Paladin, I do, but I'm going to let you go with them."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise, "You don't see me as a liability?"

"You've more than proven yourself in the field, far before I even took command. And you don't need to go on countless missions to prove your loyalty to me. This is personal to you," his face darkened with a memory, "I've had missions that were personal, too." She knew he was talking about the mutant who'd killed Sarah. Suddenly fearless, she almost asked outright. He wouldn't be the first one to open up, and God help her, she nearly did it when he spoke again, "This mission will require a certain perspective that, were the circumstances not so unique, I would not call upon. As soon as possible, we will have a sentinel on board. I would like you to meet her as your commanding officer for the time being."

"You have a sentinel?" she knew there hadn't been one since Sarah. Sentinels were Elder candidates, the highest rank you could achieve without being elected. So whoever this woman was, she'd done something big enough for the Brotherhood and the Commonwealth that she had Maxson's highest respect. The thought intimidated her a little. Would she be the perfect soldier or a reluctant hero given the honor? Considering none of the soldiers so much as mentioned her, she probably wasn't as ideal of a hero as they wanted. Shiloh knew the feeling.

"Yes. She was instrumental in our takedown of the Institute, but has taken a more active role in charge of the civilians in the Commonwealth. I'm sure she will have more to tell you when she arrives. You'll do good to not underestimate her."

Shiloh hadn't understood what he meant by that until she actually met Nora James. Now, Shiloh was a little scrawny and barely looked her age, she knew that she didn't look at all the wasteland hero. But Nora was the softest looking soul she'd ever met. She would have fit right in as a teacher in the vaults, surrounded by children.

Many of the squires on board immediately flocked to her arrival, saluting her and asking rapid-fire questions. They had likely been treated to her stories before. Shiloh felt a pang in her chest at that. She remembered what it was like to be looked up to by a squire.

Nora's eyes found her over the crowded flight deck and she waved Shiloh over. Shiloh chose to wait until the squires had left with promises to talk more before she left. It seems Nora must have been informed on Shiloh's...situation...because the light slightly left her features and she quietly led Shiloh to her quarters in the room next to Maxson's.

As soon as the door shut, Nora flitted about, dusting off the desk and pulling out a chair. Shiloh sat down, not really used to this motherly treatment. Nora sat on the bed cross-legged, eyeing Shiloh for a long time before she spoke, "Do you feel cold all the time?"

Shiloh blinked, "Cold?" she asked stupidly.

"Yes, when-" Nora picked at the coverlet she sat on, "when I came out of being cryogenically frozen, I was cold all the time. It was like it sunk into my bones. Took a long time for that feeling to leave."

Shiloh crossed her arms, "Did Cade put you up to this?"

The smile didn't leave Nora's features, "Maxson. Or, well, he tried to in so many words." She waved her hand in the air dismissively, "He's not very good at communicating."

Shiloh bristled slightly at Nora's words, not sure why she felt so defensive of Maxon. Nora hadn't exactly lied. "He's not- he's just-"

One look from Nora had her shutting up. Okay, she could be intimidating. "He's bad at communicating. And so are you. So is most of the wasteland." Shiloh sat still as Nora dove into her whole life story. From a lost baby to taking down the Institute. Shiloh didn't know what to say. "Now I think I've done enough for the Brotherhood to let me spend my days protecting civilians and repairing settlements. It's the future I want. Nate was the soldier, not me."

"Why come back?"

Nora sighed deeply, "There are two reasons I decided to help the Brotherhood one more time. One, this is for you, not Elder Maxson, and I've heard quite a lot about you. Part of me wants to know how much of that is true. And two, one goal of my life has to been to prevent the spread of cryogenic technology. The machines in my vault have already been destroyed. I don't want anyone to have the power that Vault-Tec and the Institute had over me and my family. Not even the Brotherhood. So, I've decided to help again. But my condition is that that facility is burned to the ground instead of coveted."

"Maxson agreed to that?"

"He knows my value. And he knows the Brotherhood has little military use for cryogenics. How the western elders feel may be different, but I find their feelings beyond my consideration."

Shiloh knew instantly why Maxson liked her. She would have made a good elder. This whole conversation made her ache for Sarah again. Shiloh had no maternal presence and very little female companionship. Being with a woman who was both in spades was emotionally exhausting.

She was reminded of one of those female companions when Nora reached onto her desk and lifted up a manual cheekily, "Now, a woman named Moira wrote this Wasteland Survival Guide with a huge love letter in the back dedicated to you. Only you were a man. That's the first lie, I want to know if there are more in here."

Shiloh paled when Nora handed her the book, "A love letter?"

"In a manner of speaking," Nora smiled, "you're essentially the co-author. She must have published this version after you went missing. This isn't my first copy; many are starting to appear in the Commonwealth."

To Nora's surprise, Shiloh gave her a watery smile, filled with a rush of affection. "I told her in passing that if she were to ever publish another version of the damned thing, she better make sure nobody tracks me down for autographs. Making me a man was the safest bet."

Nora approached her tentatively, placing the hand not holding the book in hers, "What those people did to you…" she saw Nora swallow her anger, "we will find them."

Shiloh had more questions than answers at this point. But if Maxson trusted his highest honor to Nora, she would trust Nora too.