Diamond City
September the 21st, 2288
10:01

For unit designation CW-928, unit model 'Mister Handy,' better known as Codsworth, seeing the woman of his family again, for the first time since she had first returned to Diamond City, made him happy. Her demeanour, however, concerned him.

Rarely had Codsworth known Nora Jacqueline Norwich to be anything but a compassionate if not calm presence. Even in the lows before and after the birth of her and, her husband, Nathaniel Jonathan Norwich's son, she had never been so strained. So few were even times he had seen her cry or lose her temper, and, so, seeing her looking sick, rung out, and utterly deflated was quite the shock. In some ways, he tried to find the right word, she seemed to be becoming despondent. Her eyes were tired, dark circles around them, and her body looked just as rung out, as though she were dragging herself through the motions of life rather than living. Lack of sleep. Miss Nora, please rest up. You look as you did after all those long days in court. Hearing the exhaustion in her voice was what truly concerned him, however, and he only felt a little better when he saw her perk up, even a little, when she began talking with Cait, soon joined by Preston. Satisfied when she seemed to, slowly, cheer up a little, Codsworth lingered, enjoying the conversation among the three, all sat comfortably at a table outside the Dugout Inn. The day was still warm, the chill of winter not yet set in, but, never having found a better remedy, he kept brewing and pouring the three of them tea.

It was the faint smile taking over Nora's face when Cait tried to appear perfectly ladylike did bring him hope for things returning to the way they had been before, as much as possible, once Shaun was returned to her.

"Rowdy and the Cats really know their stuff," Preston said, setting down his tea. "It's a shame she had to leave so soon, but it'll be good to have her help in getting that suit of power armour in full commission. And with Derek and Sturges working on it with her? It'll come together pretty quick, I think, once we can get the ball moving on the work."

"Mister Sturges has already headed back to Sanctuary to bring the suit down, hasn't he?" Codsworth waited until Preston, to his relief, nodded. "How long should it take before he returns with it?"

"Not too long, and definitely won't be longer than a week or two," Preston replied. "He said he's going to check in on a few settlements on the way back and is hoping doing so will also give him a good handle of what the suit is currently capable of."

"As long as it gets here eventually, he can take as much time as he needs," Nora paused, keeping her hands tightly around her warm cup of tea. "There's a plan, now. Better than it was just a week ago, and much better than it was after we figured out what was in Kellogg's head."

"Sounds to me Amari worked some magic," Preston said, smiling when Nora laughed. "I'm pretty far removed from being a scientist, so what she was able to do seems like magic to me."

"Might as well be," Cait half jokingly said. "The way Nicky tried to explain it made me head spin. All I took away from it was Kellogg was even bigger a piece of shite than we already knew."

"Guess it makes sense he really didn't want anybody tracking him down," Preston looked to Nora. "I can believe it – can't run from the truth – but the things he did…they're chilling from what you've told me."

"Chilling is putting it lightly," Nora shook her head. "I try not to think too much about what he might have done for the Institute other than what he did to me and my family."

"Probably for the best," Preston sombrely agreed. "Even if the lowest thing he ever did was what he did to you and your family, there's a whole lot of evil left for him to latch onto and enjoy."

"The fact anyone could enjoy doing what he did is…" Nora said, her hands tightening around the cup of tea in her hands. "The only case worse was one I set to prosecute shortly before I went on maternity leave. There was a…the media called her the 'Sister Slicer.' She was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment after being evaluated at Parsons State Insane Asylum, pleaded out. What she did was brutal. She killed six of her sorority sisters for fun. I'm not going to get into the details because, genuinely, what she did to them was inhuman, but she and her case? It's the only thing I can think of being anywhere near Kellogg's level of brutality and sick pleasure in hurting people."

"Sounds like a raider in the works," Cait said, unnerved. "Think the War really just gave people an excuse to show their true colours."

"It did," Nora set down her tea and stood up, slipping her jacket back on from where she had left it hanging precariously over the back of the chair. "So. Does anyone want to come with me and tell Nick about the progress on…how we're going to get me in and out of hell alive?"

"I'll take care of these for you, Miss Nora, and take them back to your room," Codsworth said as reassuringly as he could. "If you need anything – even just to talk – I'm happy to lend the proverbial ear, as it were."

Nora smiled. "Thanks, Codsworth. I'll see you later."

Waving at her and then, Cait, and, last, Preston, Codsworth began to clear and put away the light breakfast he was relieved to note had been almost entirely eaten by all three parties present. Whistling to himself, Preston picked up his laser musket from where it had been resting against his chair and throwing his bag over his shoulder before slinging his musket over the other. Cait winked at him and stretched her arms out. A few seconds later and she was off, no more than a few paces behind Nora who jumped, a bit, when the sound of distant thunder rang out. Swinging an arm around her, Cait faintly smiled at Preston, looking back at him when she felt Nora relax a little bit at her embrace. Relieved to see any tension leave his friend, Preston gave the former cage fighter a short, approving nod. Expecting a bit of a walk across the city, Preston stopped short in surprise upon seeing the private eye already in the largest of Diamond City's plazas, speaking with his secretary whom, herself, seemed to be rather frassled. The first of a few raindrops beginning to fall, he made his way across the plaza as quickly as possible, getting under one of the few, completely covered spots in the plaza, where Nora and Cait had already joined the detective and his secretary.

"Long morning?" He said with a polite tip of his hat towards Ellie. "You need anything?"

"Me? No, I'm fine, there's…" She turned to Nick. "I think this is more your purview than mine."

"It is," Nick said grimly. "Missing person, this time a runaway, most likely. Case is a mess though, and I can't take it right now. Nora and I have the Institute to go after, and our lead is in the opposite direction of where the girl most likely ran off to. My old friend Kenji's daughter stole a boat in the middle of the night and went out, he and his wife are pretty sure, to Far Harbour, for God knows what reason."

"Far Harbour?" Preston repeated, taking a step back, his chest constricting. "Their daughter went…she went there? Why?"

"They don't know," Nick said, shaking his head. "Hence why they asked me to take a look at the case, find her. Trouble is, with everything –"

"Do you need someone to go in your stead?" Preston went silent, startled by himself. Maybe it's time to go back. I've been running long enough, over a decade, almost… "A missing girl is important, and I…I know the area well."

"You do?" Nora said, surprised. "Is it in the Commonwealth?"

"Not the Commonwealth proper. Hell, some people wouldn't even consider it part of the Commonwealth," Preston said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I think it used to be called Bar Harbour before the War, but, my entire life, we just called it 'the Island' or 'the Harbour' or 'Far Harbour.' Not many people came up our ways, and those who did usually weren't…weren't people we wanted there."

"Bar Harbour? Maine?" Nora paused. "That's almost three hundred miles away. How'd you end up here? I can't imagine it was easy."

"I got on a boat, think I was kicked off somewhere around Salem, and made my way to Diamond City from there," Preston said, trying to ease the tension growing in his shoulders. "I'd heard there were some Minutemen there, and I was right. Joined up and have been serving ever since. I was twenty one at the time…didn't have anything to stay there for, so I left to find purpose, and I did."

"Damn good of you," Nick said, though his voice quickly turned solemn. "The thing is, I'm not entirely sure how anyone could convince a runaway teenager to go home. She's nineteen, so barely still a teenager, but she's still incredibly young and, from what I know, has never left home."

"Shite," Cait said with a frown which suddenly shifted to disbelief. "Hadley Anne Branson!" She said, puffing up her chest and storming towards the woman who startled. "What is that?"

"Cait!" She anxiously exclaimed, pushing her hands out in front of her to gently tell the former cage fighter to step back. Catching her breath, she took a look back towards the stairs back to the upper stands before, seeing Preston, walking over towards him, Nick, Ellie, and Nora. "Cait," She said, walking beside her. "Can I go to get a few things at the market without getting jumped?"

"Wasn't trying to jump you," Cait said, lightly tapping her left hand. "More so want to know what you're doing with that after all the lectures you've given me."

"What do –" Hadley cut herself off when she realised she still had a lit cigarette in her left hand. "Cait, I really don't want to discuss this."

"Discuss what?" Preston raised an eyebrow when Cait lightly elbowed her the moment they were in close reach. "Since when do you smoke?"

"I'm tired of having to…" Hadley quieted again and took a draw on her cig. "Congratulations. I'm a hypocrite."

"Why are you a hypocrite?"

Hadley yelped, stumbling back when she turned around and fumbling to put out her cigarette. Nora and Ellie eyed her worriedly. Cait seemed content to take in the chaos. Preston and Nick shared a confused look only for all confusion to leave them when they saw the girl who had spoken innocently standing in front of them.

"Don't worry about it, Ada," Hadley said, setting her (now free) hands to her daughter's shoulders. "What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be studying?"

Ada shrugged. "I am but I got bored. What are you guys talking about?"

"A missing person," Cait said, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Nineteen year old girl got – I'm betting – pissed at her parents and took off for Far Harbour."

"Far Harbour?" Ada said, her face lighting up. "Are you going there?"

"I've got to stay here for this beautiful lassie," Cait said, winking at Nora who smiled back. "And Nicky's got a pretty full schedule."

"If you're willing to send me instead of yourself, Nick, I'll go," Preston told him, his chest constricting again as the words left him. "It's the right thing to do."

"I'm happy to go as well," Ellie said with a nod towards Preston. "I've only met Kenji once, but he's a good man. His daughter being gone, even if it's of her own volition, is something he needs answers to."

"What needs to happen is she needs to come home," Nick grimly replied. "Either Kenji and Rei go to her, or she goes back to them. She's not going to do well on her own for long."

"And you said she's nineteen?" Ada eagerly pressed. "I'm – well, almost, anyways – seventeen! Think I might be able to convince her to come home?"

"Ada," Hadley gently chided. "Far Harbour is –"

"I want to help, mom! And I'd be with Preston!" Ada stubbornly said. "He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me! You have to let me see beyond Diamond City at some point, mom! All I've ever known is grandma and grandpa's home, and then Rivet City, and now Diamond City!"

"On my life and honour, I'd keep her safe," Preston said when Hadley went quiet. "If you let her go."

Hadley frowned, looking between her daughter, him, Ellie, and Nick.

"We will discuss this with your father," She finally told her daughter pointedly. "For now? Only maybe."

Ada grinned. "I'll convince you," She said. "Just you wait."

Atom Cats Garage
September the 30th, 2288
14:27

"You're going to be fucking pissed! Get the claws out, Cats, I repeat, get the claws out!"

So angry she could spit, Rowdy, unsurprisingly, did so, perfectly shooting it into the bucket nearest one of their power armour stations, kicking the nearest radio to her in the process. Roxy, more restrained but equally disgusted, crushed what remained of her joint with her heels, and began swearing to herself under her breath in Russian. Even Zeke took off his sunglasses. Hitting the radio in the bar a few times with a tuning fork to see if it made the signal clearer (it didn't), Johnny D ripped the communicator from the wall and sent back an affirmative, repeating it a few times when the response remained garbled and warped. Next to take the communicator was Zeke, ordering the others over the radio to pull in before shouting for Rowdy and Roxy to come into the bar, Roxy coming in first through the back door, having only briefly stepped out to have a joint, well aware of Johnny's discomfort with the smell. A few minutes later came Rowdy, preceded by her assault on the radio in the main garage and then soon after preceded by her combat boots slamming into the ground, more and more aggressive with each step. When she entered the bar, she did so with a look of dark, cold fury, and all but punched the door instead of pushing it to step in. Crossing her arms, she waited for more and, after a few minutes of static, the signal cleared again and Johnny, looking a bit too proud, began twirling his tuning fork in between his fingers.

"We'll be pulling back by tomorrow at the latest, boss!" Bluejay's voice crackled through the radio. "We can't let the Brotherhood take our sweet digs, but the airport schtick is up. This is way more important."

"What the fuck happened?" Rowdy snatched the communicator from Zeke before he could even start to respond. "The Brotherhood didn't take out one of our own, did they?"

"No Cats have been harmed by 'em," Bluejay said, his voice cutting out in the middle of a series of swears. "But they're going too damn far, now," His voice said, coming through a bit clearer. "The 'Proctor' asshole with the funny accent and condescending tone? The one who told us the fucking coordinates of the airport? Man is having some of the other Brotherhood rags go and head towards the Warwick family's farm!"

"What?" Johnny exclaimed, anger shaking his voice when Rowdy held the communicator up for him. "I don't get it. The hell do they want with the Warwick family?"

"They ain't going to drag themselves through a bunch of shit for no reason," Rowdy irritably added. "What are they after? They doing too many chems and are starting to think the June is a synth because she's nicer than pretty much anyone else on the damn planet?"

"Nope," Bluejay's mirthless laugh was almost a shout through the static. "They're even more fucking delusional than thinking any of the sweet little hearts there are synths. They're going to be heading down to 'ask' for shit of 'em."

"They want to ask for shit?" Roxy said, snorting. "Then pick up a shovel and help the family. Start shovelling the shit, I'm sure they'd appreciate it. Pretty sure a few extra hands on the farm won't be a bad thing, especially with June and Roger barely cutting it even. I slipped Janey a couple hundred extra caps the other day she's put into her family's ledger. June ain't going to question it when Janey gives her an explanation, which the girl is good at, and Roger won't give a shit. Man's had a real change of heart the last few years but his indifference to the ledger never fucking changes."

"Wish it were them being uncharacteristically selfless," Bluejay said. "But no can do without lying to you. It ain't a funny thing either. The Brotherhood nosebleeds are going to try and rob 'em blind."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Zeke snatched the communicator from Rowdy before she could even realise what was happening. "They going all in on acting like the power armour gang they are? Bluejay, you better not be pulling my leg or –"

"Not a chance, boss. If you mean they're being a gang like the gunners, though then they absolutely are acting like a power armour gang. And a shit one, too," Bluejay's voice crackled. "Seen a few of those gunner cunts with power armour, but it's barely better than the shit ones raiders play with. But it doesn't matter what their digs are like. The Brotherhood ain't hiding the fact they're tyrants now, and you know why they're tyrants and not just another bullshit gang? Because they're more organised than raiders and gunners, and more motivated, too. They have a purpose, and it ain't about a bottom line. Them nosebleeds want to control us in every way and control everyone."

"They weren't hiding any of that, but point taken," Johnny said, rolling his eyes and taking a Nuka Cola out of the fridge. "I mean, we all saw the way they entered the Commonwealth. Thinking they're saviours. Well, you know what? Maybe we'd rather have the Institute than them. At least the Institute doesn't send their synths up to tell us all how they're going to save us. They know they're at odds with most of the people up here, and we know it too."

"Institute may be assholes but they're honest about it," Zeke agreed, swearing under his breath. "I can't stand the Brotherhood's attitude. Their leader described the Commonwealth as a bunch of fight clubs with a bit of civilisation blinking out from Diamond City. All they see and think of us is a bunch of poor as piss pushovers but they can't be more wrong."

"They really can't," Roxy said, scoffing. "How come they can't tell they're not wanted? It's because they assume and take and take. Guessing wanting to take and take is what they're planning on doing to the Warwick family?"

"Pretty much," Bluejay said, the sounds of gunshot ringing out behind his voice through the radio static. "I think our connexion is being fucked with by them and their flying boat. But who knows what they're capable of? They come in roaring with their boat but seem to be trying and failing to put a big ass robot back together on the runway of the old airport."

Zeke laughed. "That what their stupid ladders are for? To make their little toy? Sounds to me they're wasting their time. A robot needing as much space as they're making for it will be stupid slow. What's the point? To try and scare the Institute?"

"No fucking clue," Bluejay said, his voice still popping and creaking in and out. "I tried to sneak in, take a look at what they're using some of the old hangars for, but all I found was a box labelling pieces of something called 'Liberty Prime,' whatever the fuck a 'Liberty Prime' is. Sounds like a dumb talking head robot to me."

"Peepers ain't going to like it if a more powerful robot comes to town," Rowdy said, taking out and lighting a cig with her new favourite lighter. "By the way, Blue, you need to teach me how to make them gun shaped lighters."

"Once this shit gets handled, sure," His voice came through. "But we need to get back to the brass tracks. The Brotherhood are saying they're going to collect 'donations' and 'requisitions' from the Warwick family and their farm, basically robbing 'em blind of their resources. Water, food, medicine…pretty sure they ain't going to be particularly picky about what they fucking plunder out of them. It's disgusting."

"No shit," Zeke said, cranking up the volume on the radio communicator as high as it would go. "Come back in as soon as you can but don't let the Brotherhood get their hands on anything of ours. Take as much as you can, too, and try to sabotage them. End of the day, though, the airport scrap – much as I hate to say it – is way less important than the lives and peace of mind of the Warwick family."

"Are they already heading out or are they planning?" Johnny put in nearly the second Zeke stopped speaking. "Either way, we need to move quick so we can stand off against them and push them away from the Warwick family and their farm. Fuck them and their 'Brotherhood' and their supposed good intentions, they're just as incapable of avoiding wanton greed as any other group in the world, including from before the War."

Zeke snorted. "Pretty sure they have nukes like people did then too. Ain't got proof – yet – but I'd put real money on them having them. We even told them so."

"Yep," Bluejay crackled through, drawing the word out. "The Brotherhood flying in on that ugly hunk 'o junk blimp or boat or whatever the hell they want to call it told us enough about their damned capabilities – which is they have way too many – but they were only fucking with us at first, far as we know. I'd have been content to keep fucking with them for fun but going after the Warwick family is just low and, if we don't do something, they're going to go after other farms and smaller towns, even, I bet."

"They have the resources," Johnny said, taking Rowdy's lighter and lighting his own cig. "Makes it stupider of them to not pay people fairly for what they want."

"No kidding," Roxy said, leaning back against the bar counter with a frown. "Blue!" She half yelled towards the communicator. "Try and catch them in a lie and record it. If we can have something to use against them later, throwing a lie back in their face would be a good one, and hard to dispute."

"She's got a point," Zeke said, grimacing when Bluejay's voice became too garbled to understand. "Can you try and repeat that, man?"

"Will do, boss," Bluejay's voice briefly broke through. "Be back soon."

The radio static crackling back out, Zeke began swearing quietly, his hands messing up his otherwise neat and perfectly gelled hair. Just as worried, Roxy ran out of the room to start rummaging through the toolboxes and supplies already at hand, and Johnny scowled out the windows facing the airport in the distance, irritably puffing on his cig. More angry than anxious, however, was Rowdy, who quickly finished off and aggressively stomped on her cig to stub it out before smacking the radio with the back of her hands. When she relented it was with a frustrated sigh, and she shut the volume off to stop the increasingly aggravating static. The near silence was not much better. Afternoon sunlight pouring into the bar, Johnny all but snatched the blinds to lower them, looking annoyed by them before smiling a little at one of the formerly stray cats living in their garage. The grey tabby cat let out a content meow and began rubbing its head against his legs. Zeke waved at the cat, and even Rowdy, realising the cat was there, softened a little, only for her face to fall and the irritation return when the cat walked to the other side of the room and started lapping up some of its water.

"If we could make these little guys our army, the Brotherhood wouldn't stand a chance," Rowdy dryly remarked. "Because they'd either be distracted by them being adorable, or they'd get their eyes clawed out. Either one would be better than the Brotherhood feeling like they can do whatever they want."

"They aren't going to think that much longer. We're going to make them see they can't do whatever they want," Zeke replied, his voice suddenly becoming unusually serious. "I'd be pissed if those nosebleeds went after any family, but them going after the Warwick family is fucking personal. They've been helping us even since before their youngest kid was born!"

"They're some of the realest people in the world," Rowdy said, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. "But also too nice and, even if they weren't, they probably still wouldn't be able to fend these cunts off on their own."

"Which is why we're going to help," Zeke shook his head. "When we found this place over – what was it, at least fifteen years ago? The Warwick family have been there for us ever since. They helped us get on our feet, gave us food and a whole lot of other shit and didn't even ask for nothing back. I know we don't go around letting people know the Atom Cats have a heart or something, but the Brotherhood are about to find out they've messed with the wrong people."

"And they're going to hate it," Johnny said with a sinister smile. "Hope the Brotherhood send some of their big wigs. I'd love to fuck them up."

Rowdy snickered. "Leave some for me."

"There's going to be more than enough for everyone," Zeke said, his voice firm in resolution. "Because what they're doing? It's totally not rad."

The Prydwen
October the 4th, 2288
9:14

For the entirety of Brotherhood upper leadership to be aligned on a subject was a rare occurrence and had been even rarer during the nearly fifty years of leadership by Elder Owyn Claude Lyons, the man whom Elder Arthur Jonathan Maxson considered to be his only true predecessor. Knowing they were aligned on any matter was a certainty, but, crucially, on matters of life, death, and dignity, which, they all had agreed, they were.

No, what the Institute had done to Dr. Madison Li was appalling enough on its own, and what they had forced upon her and an innocent teenager made them, so far as Maxson was concerned, irredeemable. Thus, it had to be dealt with.

Waiting for the arrival of the Paladin whose most trusted Scribe and Knight had obtained the evidence of Dr. Li and the girl the Institute forced her to steal, Lancer Captain Alexander Kills reviewed the reports the Paladin had submitted on the matter. The further down he read, the more surprised he found himself with the Institute for taking such a security risk. To his right sat Knight Aaron Ronald Cade, whom himself was doing much of the same as the Lancer Captain, almost overwhelmed by the reports. It was Proctor Keith Skyler Teagan beside him, however, who was almost entirely unsurprised. From the start, I said the Institute is arrogant to the nth degree, and as such would be unafraid to do so out in the open. When he looked over towards the Elder at the other end of the table, the Proctor found himself relieved to, by posturing alone, know Maxson had, on some level, expected the same of the Institute. Cautious as ever, however, was Proctor Marshall Quinlan who, sat closest to the right of the Elder, was methodically examining each of the photographs and the information corresponding to them. Proctor Elisabeth Mischelle Ingram beside him, in her wheelchair rather than her power armour, impatiently awaited the arrival of the Paladin, and, when he entered the Prydwen's command deck, pressed her lips into a thin line, taking a look at the time. Five minutes late.

"Apologies for the delay, Elder," Paladin Danse said, standing at attention. "My vertibird had trouble starting this morning due to lack of maintenance at the police station. Rest assured, I will get the issue resolved promptly."

"Understood, Paladin. At ease. Take your seat," Maxson said, eyeing him closely as the Paladin sat down in the chair directly across from him at the table. "As you well know, we have called you to this meeting in order to discuss and gain further insight into the report you compiled from those of Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys regarding the activities and movements of Dr. Madison Li."

"Yes, sir," Danse said cordially. "These were reports I had not anticipated receiving from Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys, but they have provided us a solid starting point for commencing our efforts to bring Dr. Li back to the Brotherhood, where she belongs."

"Precisely," Quinlan said, setting down the photographs. "Dr. Li has no doubt been brainwashed by the Institute and needs to be removed from them not only for the sake of reviving Liberty Prime but for her own good. The same can be said of the girl she accompanies."

"Hence why the retrieval of them will be difficult," Cade noted. "Though not the only reason, of course. The Institute are themselves a legitimate threat, and we will have to prepare for retaliation. I am sure you are already aware of that, however, Paladin."

"I am," Danse responded with a short nod. "I warned Elder Maxson of a potential attack on the police station or, less likely, the airport and the Prydwen following our retrieval of Dr. Li and the girl the second I was given the information."

"As is required," Kells said. "Good. It is, after all, prescribed in the Codex to raise all immediate threats and information to the Elder."

"Indeed," Danse said, pausing in thought. "We will likely have to refamiliarise Dr. Li with the Codex, as well as the rules, expectations, and responsibilities of being one of the members of our order."

"Nearly a decade is quite a long time," Quinlan frowned. "Another reason I suspect Dr. Li will be resistant to returning to us. When she departed, she was quite angry. I would be unsurprised to learn she still harbours some of those feelings, however misguided and incorrect they may be."

"Regardless of the difficulties the process may raise, Dr. Li and her intimate knowledge of Liberty Prime cannot be left in the hands of the Institute," Ingram said, irritated at the notion. "If they learn about our work to reconstruct Prime, I wouldn't put it past them to use Dr. Li to find a way to halt our progress or, in the worst case scenario, destroy Prime entirely and beyond repair."

"The complete destruction of Prime must be avoided at all costs," Teagan said, shaking his head. "Prime isn't going to be our secret weapon forever, but it will still be our most potent weapon, and one of the few we possess capable of taking on the Institute."

"Another reason why my predecessors never should have permitted her to leave," Maxson said, irritation lurking at the edge of his voice. "I think she assumed we would just walk away from it all, and her. She was sorely mistaken."

"A shame, considering her intelligence on paper," Teagan said. "But it doesn't matter. What does matter is determining how we're going to retrieve her and the girl, not just the fact we are going to do so."

"There's the million dollar question," Cade remarked, his amusement quickly leaving his countenance. "I for one don't quite know where to begin with answering that particular question, not with all of the moving pieces we'll have to contend with."

"Half the battle is learning when she and the girl will be present at the town of University Point again. After we know that, it'll become a little easier," Ingram told him. "As for how we'll retrieve them, the best way to avoid resistance from them would be to take them quietly and forcefully so as not to let on to the townspeople or, more worrisome, the Institute what we're doing."

"Having a few of our Brothers and Sisters take them, knock them unconscious using an inhalant, and then quickly getting them onto a vertibird up to the Prydwen would be ideal, then," Teagan mused. "I never would have thought of doing so on my own, Mischelle, but I imagine pulling it off would be more than feasible."

"With the right people carrying it out?" Ingram faintly smirked. "Absolutely."

"My only concern is she will refuse to cooperate," Danse said, waiting to be stopped before continuing when he was not. "Not only is she likely confused about where her loyalties should lie, but she may be hostile to the manner of retrieval of her and the girl. She's been under the Institute's influence for almost a decade, which will make her something of an unknown quantity until we've managed to make her see things our way."

"Yes, we'll have to be careful," Quinlan agreed, paging through the file on her. "Dr. Li also has, as you're all well aware, a paper thin temper, at times."

"If the Institute is able to continue controlling her, they may take advantage of her temper and use whatever misguided, hard feelings towards us she may have towards our order against us," Teagan said, disgusted by the notion. "I could see Dr. Li, under their direct influence, being convinced to orchestrate an attack against us, even here at the airport. Getting her here and reminded of where her true loyalties should lie will be one matter, but ensuring she cannot return to the Institute will be another."

"I don't imagine Dr. Li will be particularly eager to return to the Institute after we rescue her and the girl, but I see your point, Proctor," Maxson said, his voice a bit sharpish. "The worst possible outcome for us would be to retrieve her and then have her escape and officially become a traitor."

"Hence why we'll have to work quickly and leave her little to no room for resistance," Danse shook his head. "She is the only person in the Commonwealth I can think of who could throw an irreversible wrench into our plans with Liberty Prime. She may not be the only one who could solve Prime's power consumption and distribution issues – I'm sure, between Proctor Ingram, Proctor Quinlan, and a handful of Commonwealth scientists – but she is the only one familiar with all of Prime's capacities who would be incentivised to hand information on them over to the enemy."

"With that understood, then, we ought to decide who will do the retrieval of the good doctor and her protégé," Kells said. "The sooner we are able to have that decided upon, the sooner we'll be able to prepare them to carry out such a sensitive operation."

"As Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys have been keeping tabs on her for a while now, and were the ones who were able to confirm her making return trips to the town of University Point, I believe they are best equipped to do the retrieval," Danse put in. "Once Dr. Li and the girl are rendered unconscious, I'll be able to take them, Haylen, and Rhys back to the Prydwen by vertibird. It would more than likely take the Institute several hours to realise they were even missing, and thus we'll have a decent amount of time to work with if we do this right."

"If we give them the angle of being mere campers, too, transients, they'd be less likely to arouse the suspicions of anyone in the area, much less the townspeople," Teagan noted. "We'd also, likely, gain better insight into the town's activities and be able to prepare for how best to requisition what we need from them."

"Taking the time to learn as much about the town as possible will also provide us with the opportunity to gain better insight into the depth and breadth of the Institute's presence there," Quinlan said mildly. "I, for one, think it'd be quite beneficial for us to know what kind of precautions – if any – the Institute takes there other than the use of their rather disturbing 'synths.'"

"Haylen and Rhys found a surprising lack of synth activity in the town during this most recent operation," Danse informed him. "This was quite shocking to them and to myself when I read the report, considering the Institute had quite the obvious presence there just a few months earlier, albeit with their 'older' models of synths. Finding no synths there recently was, to put it lightly, an extreme shock."

"Sounds as though the Institute is recognising our might," Kells said, almost amused. "As they should. If they're becoming wary of making their presence so bold, I imagine it is because they have come to learn the Brotherhood possesses abilities either equal to or exceeding their own."

"I concur, but only to a point," Teagan said. "I doubt they have learnt we are equal to or greater than they are, but I don't doubt their increasing hesitation is a result of knowing we are not going to leave the Commonwealth for dead and allow them to continue their reckless experimentation."

"Time will be the deciding factor on that," Maxson said, looking narrowly at Danse. "When do you propose sending Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys back into the field for this, considering we do not yet know the frequency of these…visits to the town?"

"Towards the end of the month, so as to give them the chance to prepare," Danse confidently replied. "It is my hope they will be able to, then, catch Dr. Li and the girl sometime during November or, in the worst case scenario, in December at the latest."

"A reasonable time frame," Quinlan said, taking a few notes. "I would advise you to inform them of such as soon as possible."

Danse nodded shortly. "Affirmative, Proctor."

"Ensure they return to the Prydwen for their routine medical examinations before they depart for this mission as well," Cade told him. "They will need to be in good health in order to pull off such an operation, especially considering the quick turnaround they'll have for this."

"I'll let them know as soon as I return to the police station," Danse said. "They should report for those within no more than two weeks."

"Fantastic," Cade said. "Things should be able to progress on schedule for this endeavour, then."

"Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys are some of the best soldiers under my charge," Danse said proudly. "I can assure you they will not disappoint the Brotherhood."

"Being under your leadership, I am sure they will do exactly as ordered to," Maxson said with a faint smile. "Between their loyalty and a bit of luck, then, we should be able to be successful in retrieving Dr. Li and the girl. This will prove to be a critical operation, and, I am sure, they will understand it to be such."

The Institute
October the 11th, 2288
21:10

"This beryllium agitator could push Phase Three into completion even sooner than we had originally anticipated. As a result, after much consultation between Dr. Li and Dr. Watson, I believe an operation to retrieve it from the Mass Fusion experimental reactor to be not only prudent but necessary."

Standing up and handing one copy of the retrieval plan to the Institute's Director, Shaun Norwich, and another to his father, Nathaniel Norwich, Dr. Allison Filmore waited a minute to see how they reacted. To her relief, they both seemed, from a cursory glance, to approve of the objective and, tentatively, the plans necessary to see it through. Dr. Evan Watson, knowing his close colleague and friend quite well, skilfully masked his happiness, suspecting they would be given permission to plan and carry out the operation. More suspicious, Dr. Madison Li observed the two men closely with a hawkish look to her and began to find their relative silence discomforting. If Clayton is telling the truth – and, far as I can tell, he has no reason not to – then Shaun is still being evasive about the FEV lab despite all of us apart from Alana pressing him for an answer on the subject. Suspicions aside, if they did approve the operation, then it would, at the very least, prevent the Brotherhood from getting their hands on the agitator even if it ended up being positively useless to Phase Three. The longer they almost inaudibly discussed the proposal between themselves, she found it all the more difficult to hide her irritation. It was late enough, and, a plethora of work left to review, she was acutely aware it would be a long night, longer still should they be dragged along.

In some ways, she found it reminiscent of the way Lyons had kept things from her, and there were precious few things capable of irritating Dr. Madison Brianne Li than being lied to.

"To think, all this time Mass Fusion had been lying about how they generated power for the northeastern United States," Nate said, quirking an eyebrow. "We truly were a society trapped in a snow globe, for lack of a better phrase. I always suspected we in the military were given only a fraction of the knowledge one could argue we ought to have, but I hadn't expected a pre-War energy conglomerate to do the same, and not even to hide their trade secrets either."

"They certainly didn't do a great deal of what they purported to," Evan mildly commented. "Their idea of safe handling and disposal of nuclear waste has created some of the most irradiated sites in what remains of the northeastern United States, apart from the so-called 'Glowing Sea.'"

"Ah, yes, the 'Glowing Sea,'" Nate said, his lips flattening into a thin line. "It's a shame what happened to the world we – or, at least, I – knew. My wife's family had lived about half an hour from where the bomb meant for Boston ended up hitting. My understanding is it ended up being a much lower yield nuclear device than the advanced, massive ICBMs the United States used in retaliation against China, but any nuclear detonation is, naturally, massively destructive. I only wish it had hit even farther south than Providence. I still am horrified by what the last moments of my wife's family might have been."

"I can only imagine," Allie sympathetically said. "I've been fortunate enough to never have had to live topside, but Nathan spent the first seventeen years of his life there, before he was lucky enough to be rescued by the Institute. From what he's told me, living up there is dreadful. We've always been careful to not discuss it in front of Quentin, and we'll, now, be doing the same for Lily. Things topside seem to only get worse."

"With the Brotherhood there, I'd certainly say things are getting worse on the surface," Madison said, her arms crossed. "I certainly have no desire to bear first hand witness to the Brotherhood's attempts to take control of the Commonwealth."

"A point you made quite clear in this proposal," Nate said, looking up at her. "I'm quite impressed by the way you, Dr. Filmore, and Dr. Watson have managed to pull together a proposal to retrieve such a delicate piece of pre-War technology, especially in the time frame you have. Speaking of, please give Dr. Orman our thanks for bringing this to your immediate attention. Making us aware of this as soon as possible, and with a cogent explanation as to why it would benefit us to claim it, has proven itself to be rather prudent."

"Yes, it has," Shaun said, looking through the proposal on a tablet. "I must say, I'm quite pleased by this development. I'll keep this under wraps for now, as much of Phase Three has been, but the rest of the Directorate will be informed once the retrieval has been completed."

Madison raised an eyebrow. "You're approving the plan to retrieve the agitator?"

"I am," Shaun replied. "It is a piece of technology we cannot risk falling into the hands of our enemies, the Brotherhood in particular. Even if it weren't to end up in their possession, I find it hard to believe any one on the surface would know how to do the retrieval without damaging the agitator."

"Especially since the person managing the retrieval would have to know how to divert and manually turn off a complex nuclear reactor, one which had, at its time, been almost entirely experimental," Nate added. "The fact this appears to have been, partially, a military project means it should be almost entirely unknown, in particular, to those on the surface."

"A relief, I'll say," Evan noted. "The information we pulled suggests a test was done on the thirtieth of July, 2077 and testing continued through the twenty ninth of August, 2077, at which point the project was deemed a success. Of course, its actual success will have to be determined by us, but there is still some promise to it yet."

"Well said, Dr. Watson," Shaun turned to Allie. "Dr. Filmore, as you are the most experienced with handling such technology and have a great deal of knowledge on how to direct the operations of a variety of nuclear reactors, I am asking you lead the operation."

"Alright," She said with a short nod. "Am I correct to assume there will be, at the very least, first and second generation synth units to protect me?"

"Yes, and I will also be asking Dr. Orman and Dr. Thompson to accompany you," Shaun said. "I am sure both of them will be happy to assist you, as I understand Dr. Orman has been curious about the surface for quite a long time and Dr. Thompson has worked closely with you and her husband on multiple occasions on our current, primary reactor."

"I'm a bit surprised to hear you be so quick to authorise such an operation," Madison said, her eyes narrow. "I'm glad to hear it, of course, as recovering the agitator before the Brotherhood can learn about or attempt to take it is important, but I thought you might take longer to deliberate the matter."

"It is as you said, Dr. Li, dawdling on whether or not the agitator should be retrieved or not will only give the Brotherhood more opportunity to find and take it before we do," Shaun said, annoyed at the thought. "I dislike resorting to the use of Commonwealth technology, but the advantages it could provide us, in this case, cannot be overlooked, certainly not with the Brotherhood's presence here."

"Hmm," Madison eyed him closely before sighing. "How soon will this be done?"

"Ideally, I would like Dr. Filmore, Dr. Orman, and Dr. Thompson to leave for Mass Fusion as soon as possible, however, I understand they will need time to prepare," Shaun paused in consideration. "As you have spent the most time above ground, Dr. Filmore, I assume you're more than capable of preparing both Dr. Orman and Dr. Thompson for what you may see up there?"

"I am," Allie confidently replied. "I'll brief them on the operation tomorrow and begin planning for it by the end of the week. Though this is important, we unfortunately do still have a great deal of other work to be done."

"Yes, I know," Shaun said. "Still, do plan on retrieving the agitator by the beginning of December at the very latest. The Commonwealth, as I understand it, gets quite cold from September onwards, and we are already well into the midst of those seasonal changes."

"Of course," Allie replied. "Would it be correct to assume we'll be relayed back to the Institute as soon as we have the agitator?"

"We will dispatch a Courser to meet you and your team in the lobby of the Mass Fusion Global Headquarters. It'll arrive there shortly after you do," Shaun assured her. "Once you and your team return to the lobby from retrieving the agitator and rendezvous with the Courser, the three of you will be relayed back to the Institute alongside the agitator."

"Good," Allie said, a bit of relief edging into her voice. "Any place above ground has its risks, and minimising those risks for us is going to be crucial. Do you have anything else you need from us at the moment?"

"No, I believe I have everything I need for now. Please let me know when you, Dr. Orman, and Dr. Thompson have finalised your plans to retrieve the agitator," Shaun said, closely observing her sweep up her things and leave the room, Evan shortly after her. "Dr. Li," He said when she began to collect her materials. "If you would please wait, I have a few things I need to let you know."

Madison raised an eyebrow, even more so when Nate went to ensure the doors shut and locked behind Allie and Evan.

"What's this about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Shaun calmly told her. "Merely an update on…your trips accompanying Miss Spencer to visit her father."

"And?" Madison said, struggling to mask her impatience. "What of them?"

"With the Brotherhood Of Steel being so close to the town of University Point and, of course, having had contact with the people there, Miss Spencer's next visit home is being pushed to happen towards the end of November or early into December, the first week of December, that is," Shaun said. "Though I know she wanted to visit for Halloween, the situation is more volatile than I feel comfortable putting either of you into."

"Has something happened?" Madison suspiciously pressed. "Did our intelligence indicate more activity by the Brotherhood?"

"No, but taking any unnecessary risks is something I'd like to avoid," Shaun said, shaking his head. "So much as I wish there were another way, minimising the exposure either you or Miss Spencer have on the surface is the best way to ensure the Brotherhood remains in the dark to the fact you're one of our scientists."

"The Brotherhood know full well, when I left, I was heading towards the Commonwealth," Madison scoffed. "If they don't know I've been taken in by the Institute, they're kidding themselves. I know they trailed me when I helped my – I suppose step daughter would be the best descriptor of our relationship – return to the Vault she spent most of her life in after suffering two years of abuse and complete loss of freedom by the Brotherhood. I'd believe it if they trailed me, even partially, to the Commonwealth."

"Another reason to be cautious, then," Nate said morosely. "I hope your step daughter is safe now."

"I do as well," Madison said, biting back tears. If something has happened to Annie, and I find out about it, there will be consequences for the one responsible for hurting her. She's suffered enough. "Either way," She eventually said. "I don't see how keeping Jacqueline from visiting her father will keep me off their radar."

"It's simply a precaution," Shaun quickly said. "For both your sake and Miss Spencer's. I understand it will not be something she'll be happy about, but the security and peace of mind for you both is the priority in this situation."

"Gerald has also expressed severe anxiety about the Brotherhood returning to University Point," Nate pointedly added. "He would like to see Miss Spencer, too, but understands the need for caution. I'm sure she, also, will understand."

Madison frowned. "There's something else you're not telling me."

"Dr. Li, please," Shaun said tiredly. "Even if there is, you needn't worry about it."

"You saying so is exactly why I am," Madison said. Damn it. How am I going to explain this to Jacq? "And you can't hide it forever. I will find out. I always do."

Diamond City
October the 19th, 2288
1:41

One year.

In less than a week, it would a full year since she had been released from cryostasis in Vault 111.

One year, after over two hundred and ten passing in the blink of an eye.

Those first few minutes after Vault-Tec's systems malfunctioned and released her had never left her in dreams, but they grew all the more prominent in the months, weeks, and, now, days until she would be a year removed from her release. It was freedom. But it left too damn many questions, even more with every piece of the puzzle Kellogg created revealed. All she knew for certain was she was alive, Shaun and Nate had been taken, Nate had been killed in the ten some odd years between their being taken and her release, and everyone they had cared about, known, and loved were gone. Sitting on the edge of her bed in the Dugout Inn, now, she tried to calm her nerves, tried not to dwell on those first few minutes after Vault-Tec's systems released her, only to find them inescapable. Hands shaking, she clasped them together, and, to her surprise, this time it worked. Slowly, too, she began to steady her breathing and, eventually, managed to do so as well. When she realised she was, physically, calm again, she closed her eyes, briefly, only for the memories to assault her again. First were the feelings she thought would never leave her when she had fall out of the cryostasis pod and onto the floor of the Vault, and the sensation of being bitten by a radroach being what forced her to realise what had happened, forced to realise it was reality and not, as she had hoped, an awful nightmare.

Then, there were the faces and voices of everyone she had ever known.

When she learnt what had happened to him, Nora had been all but certain it would be his face and his voice which would haunt her most. It wasn't. Shaun's weren't either. Yet, even knowing most of the first ten years of his life – from his first steps to his first words – had been taken from her, Shaun did not haunt her most, though the guilt of being unable to protect him gnawed away at her more and more each day. The face and boisterous voice of her best friend, Kate Levitt, were not what haunted her most either, so much as it was painful knowing she never even met Shaun. Instead, the voice and face of her sister, who had died years and years before the War, were what stung the most, what left her feeling the most haunted. The gunshot, the one to kill her, had rang out through the house, and the sound was all too similar to the warning shot Kellogg had fired when he had taken Shaun and Nate. Maybe she's why I have to go home, one last time. I visited her, where she's been left to rest beside her best friend, and it still didn't feel like enough. Maybe I have to go home for both of us. She tried not to dwell on the thought. Aimee's death had been hard enough at the time and felt even worse knowing she was the only one of their siblings still alive.

Her older sister was dead. Their younger brothers were dead. Their parents were dead, and their grandparents and every other member of their family were, almost certainly, dead.

Memories of everyone now gone weren't the only thing assaulting her, however. There were the sensations, too. Sights, smells, sounds, touches, tastes. The scent of chlorinated water and the ribbing and rippling and shimmying of the water over her skin nearly every morning in the largest indoor pool in her hometown of Plainville. The taste and scent of the salt and sand in the air and the grit of it in the water every time she got a chance to travel down to either Sandbridge in Virginia or Santa Monica in California to surf, whether for practise or competition. The crashing and roaring of the waves as they grew closer and closer before she pulled herself up onto and began competing atop her surfboard. The sight of the ground growing closer and closer as an airplane descended – a sight she had feared would end in death, a plane crash. The way it felt the first time she had been able to hold her son in her arms, swaddled up and sleeping soundly. The sound of Shaun's first laughs. The feeling of the warm water of the shower, her first shower after giving birth, one of the few times she had found herself preferring warm water to cold water.

Yet it was looking up at the mirror, across from where she was sat on the edge of the bed, which left Nora feeling what she couldn't, a reminder of what dreams left her feeling her the most guilty. With exhaustion clutching at her, she could have sworn, for just a second or two, her reflexion shifted back to how it had looked on every other morning, it seemed, before the War. She blinked, and she saw herself in the present again. Rosy skin, dark brown hair messily falling a few inches past her shoulders, tired, dull eyes, and the scar from the bottom of her ear to her cheek on the left side of her face. New scars having since healed all over her body, it almost meant nothing. Part of her hoped, even, she would be able to believe she had gotten it after the War. Tired. She shivered a little and pulled one of the blankets strewn about the bed behind her over and around herself. Trying to focus, consciousness beginning to slowly take her away from the night, Nora stared at her reflexion a little longer before, against her will, falling back onto the bed, and into sleep. Sleep. It had gotten easier to sleep than it had before finding Kellogg, before knowing where Shaun had been taken. There were more nights where, when she'd wake in the morning, she slept almost as well as she had before the War. But those marred by and controlled by fear, nightmares, and vices remained.

They never got easier.

When she woke up again, she was screaming, her throat hurting worse than it ever had before, and a migraine scraping and punching its way through her skull. The first thing she realised after her screams dissipated was the fact she was not crying, but the second was the dream coming back into her mind, less foggy and much, much more conscious. It was her own voice which, in the dream, had reminded her of one of her other best friends before the War. Keira. Standing up so quickly she got dizzy and hazy dark spots briefly formed in her vision, Nora tried to calm herself, hoping doing something – anything – would let her avoid what the dream had reminded her of. It started to work. Pacing through the room, hands shakily raking through her hair and her sleep pants lightly dusting up against the floor, Nora eventually realised, with each step she took, her breathing was steadying, and her body was calming. When she finally felt calm and looked up at the mirror, she sighed, relieved it was over. The dream was over. The nightmare was over. Seeing the small clock plugged into the nightstand near the bed, Nora paused and, deciding it was too close to morning to warrant going back to sleep, began changing into her day clothes; jeans, a soft shirt, a long, heavy leather jacket, and resilient steel toed boots, one of the few practical forms of footwear left in the Commonwealth.

Looking back up at the mirror one last time before leaving the room, she meant to take a last look at herself to ensure she was ready for the day but her words from the dream were what came back to her.

Feeling sick at the memory, and not knowing what else to do, Nora swept up her gun, several rounds of ammunition, and a few caps, all of which she either dropped into her pockets or her gun holster. Going as quickly as she could out the door, not bothering to pull her hair up and out of her face, Nora tried to keep her movements calm and steady but, the second she was out the doors of the Dugout Inn, began to run. The first streaks of light on the horizon had yet to show themselves, but the streets of Diamond City were always lit, the massive city and its thousands upon thousands of residents always having something going on. None of the members of security paying her any mind, she kept running, beginning along an unfamiliar route but deciding it did not matter where she went so long as she were able to keep running. So she did. It took her by surprise when she realised it didn't hurt like it used to when she ran, and so she kept going. She kept running.

The last words she had spoken to Keira still found a way to force themselves back into her mind.

"– I hope you're happy with having ruined my life and career, Nora!"

"Maybe you should have thought of your life and career before you –"

"– I wanted this even more than you! I have people who need me to support them!"

"And I have my fucking pride and dignity, which means a hell of a lot more to me than how much I wanted the damn job."

"My…my dirty laundry never should have been aired out!"

"If you didn't want it aired out, then you should've kept it to yourself or never done it in the first place."

"So, you ruin my chances of ever being hired as a lawyer again because I told you about what I –"

"You tried to force me out of the running for a major position in a prominent law firm. At least I didn't try to hide what I was doing."

"A job means more to you than me? After all I've done for you, for everyone in –"

"Think you're so much better than me, Keira?"

So much so much better than so much better so much better than me. The words almost felt screamed into her ears, her own voice yelling back at her. She couldn't even remember what it was Keira had done, only remembering it didn't matter what Keira had done so long as it would be able to push her past the last few barriers into the job she had and been preparing to return to the day of the War's culmination. The other reason why she had done it was more impulsive, and she knew it was inescapable. If Keira had gotten the position instead of her, despite being younger and less qualified, then it would have been unacceptable to her. She kept running. Her words from then seemed to, slowly, grow further and further away until they began to feel hazy, too, hazy in the same way she had felt about the dream, at first. Rain beginning to fall, she let out a sigh of relief and began to slow her cadence to a lighter jog than a heavy, almost panicked run. Her nerves subsiding, she paused and closed her eyes, leaning back against one of the many buildings making up Diamond City. Her body began to feel less heavy, and her breathing began to steady out again. It was over. The dreams, the nightmares, and the life before the War's end…they were all over. When she opened her eyes again, she startled, only to relax almost the second she saw Cait, who was looking at her from up on top of the low end of the roof of one of the buildings. Smiling and waving, Cait hopped down and, then, leaned back against the wall beside the former lawyer.

"For someone who's going to be trekking into hell, you seem pretty damn well," Cait said half teasingly. "What are you doing out here?"

Nora laughed. "It's barely morning, Cait. What are you doing out here?"

"Contemplating how crazy it is Preston and Nicky's secretary are going up to his old town with Derek and Ada," Cait said with a shrug. "Pretty sure the only reason Hadley's letting her go is because Ada will be with Derek or Preston the whole time. Why the girl wants to go up to that damn town is beyond me, though."

"Curiosity, I suppose," Nora said, pausing in thought. "But I agree. Hadley's only alright with that because her husband will be accompanying their daughter. Can't say I blame her. I…I certainly didn't trust many people with Shaun."

Cait stared at the former lawyer, her face falling. "I…I can help you find him, you know," She eventually said, surprising herself. "I know I keep saying it, but I'm serious. I will go with you and Nick to find this Institute son of a bitch and –"

"Are you out of your mind?" Nora snapped. "It's been hard enough figuring out how the hell I'm going to get through this alive, let alone –"

Falling silent, startled by herself, Nora tried to calm herself when she saw Cait, just as caught off guard, was struggling to hide her own upset and hurt.

"I…I'm so sorry, Cait," Nora finally got out, her voice wavering. "But it's just not safe. The power armour was hard enough to get here, and making sure…it's been a nightmare to try and figure out how best to modify it. And then there's…if this town of sorts Nick says he knows is out there isn't…if it's gone, and the…the 'Children Of Atom' he says live there…if they aren't there, then we won't even have a damn person in there to ask about Virgil, to ask if –"

"Shush," Cait sighed, and hesitantly embraced her. "You know something?" She said. "You have every reason to be angry at everything, at the world, but don't let it make you push people away. I know the loneliness that causes…and, shite, it's not worth it. It's not worth it."