Begin Recording
Fever
Recording by Scribe Ellison
"Well when we finished our last recording I was passing out after talking to Kellogg, fighting my way through a building full of synths, and seeing the Prydwen sail overhead. I'd been shot, and it turns out that my salvaged bits of armor weren't doing enough to protect me from the synths' energy weapons.
A direct hit with a laser pistol can cut a limb right off, that's what happened to little Maya. But a near miss, unless you're wearing the right armor, can leave you with something that amounts to second degree sunburn. I was well and truly toasted and just now realizing it.
So I got sick. My friends had to haul me home. But when we reached the main road there was Carla on her way back up to Sanctuary. A gang of super mutants had moved in behind her and blocked the path back to Diamond city. But Carla was happy to load my delirious carcass on her brahmin since she could come back and loot Fort Hagan later.
Brahmin pack harness is made with a sort of shelf that hangs off the side of the brahmin, usually it's just loaded with scrap but it can be used as a stretcher which is why it's standard. But wobbling across the wasteland with a fever and killer sunburn spots all over you is a special kind of hell. At least the pip-boy reported that my vital organs weren't in danger. I'd live, I'd just hate life for a few days.
Oh, and a yao guai attacked once. That was fun.
Sometimes I could pay enough attention to listen to my friends talking as they walked along on either side of the brahmin.
"Wish I could've seen Mayor McDonough's face when that thing went overhead! I've only seen a vertibird once before and it had, what, six?"
"Flying that ship into the heart of the Commonwealth like that. Mark my words, the Brotherhood's here to start a war." Valentine rasped, and I saw the amusement fade from Piper's face.
I lifted my head to ask, "With who?"
"Well that is the question. Diamond City isn't interested in expanding, the Gunners aren't big enough to justify that show of force. The only power in the Commonwealth worth fighting is the one we can't fight."
The Institute. Kellogg said in my memory. I wished he'd shut up, but with my brain frying like an egg no wonder memory kept slipping in. I sat up enough to grab a water bottle and drink, and my head spun demanding I get flat again.
Piper was saying, "The Institute? It's not like people haven't tried. What makes the Brotherhood think they'll have better luck, I wonder. Just because they have a big impressive airship? Hmm. Sorry Blue, I don't want to leave you while you're sick but I think Nick and I should head right back to Diamond City to find out what's going on."
I waved a limp hand at them. "No, you should. If anyone else is going after the Institute… Hey, do me a favor. Both of you, write down what Kellogg said. Maybe there's some clue and my memory's not all here. And tell me what the Brotherhood of Steel is."
Piper passed her notebook to Valentine so he could write. "They're knights in shining power armor."
Carla dropped back to walk next to me. "The Brotherhood did some good things in the Capital Wasteland. Cleaned up all the water so now the Capital exports clean water in barrels."
Valentine said, "Not a lot of Brotherhood presence in the Commonwealth—until now. I've heard they're obsessed with technology, collecting it and not sharing it. That they like to decide what technology everybody else gets to have. Miss Carla, have you traded with the Brotherhood?"
Carla chuckled at the 'Miss' and said, "I guess that's true. Brotherhood don't trade much with me. They want things like military circuit boards, things I don't find much in trashcans."
The conversation turned to the loot in Fort Hagan and whether the dead synths would still be there or if the Institute would have collected them. I wasn't up to any more thinking. I turned to face the warm cow-smelling side of the brahmin and waited for the misery to end.
It did. After a day and a night and one guai attack we arrived in Sanctuary and unloaded me into the care of Doc Jenna. Who gave me some good chems and put me to bed.
When I finally felt better I was in my own bed, or at least my own cot in my own room with two pillows and Dogmeat's bed in the corner. The windows were still covered with boards which at that time was a good thing. Someone had left me cornbread and water, and someone had filled Dogmeat's dish because I heard him slurping away in the other room. I stood up, and at last didn't immediately feel like I was about to fall over. I wasn't shivery or sweaty or both at once, and I decided I was well enough to walk up to the vault if it meant a hot bath. I could lean on Dogmeat if I got wobbly.
Outside Preston caught me. "Feeling better? Interesting friends you brought back from Diamond City. They headed back with Carla, but not before Piper offered to recruit for the Minutemen in her paper. I told her maybe later."
I smiled. "Piper's a bit..."
"'To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail'?" Preston suggested.
"Yes. That."
"Valentine left you a letter, it's in the top drawer in your room. Doc Jenna wants to see you and we just got hot water piped to the hospital so you don't have to climb the hill."
"Oh good. I smell like a sweaty brahmin and I can't stand it anymore. I'll find you later." I did all the washing up and showing the doctor my vital signs stuff and got some more food and went home to find the letter.
Em- We're headed back to Diamond City to see what we can find out. Once you're vertical again I'm sure you'll want to get back on the case and I'm glad to help. It may feel like we didn't get much from Kellogg, but we got closer to learning real facts about the Institute than anyone else has. Because of you. If we could find the Institute it'd close a lot of cold cases, not just yours so I'm happy to follow as far as you want to go on this.
I want to investigate the tech I pried out of Kellogg's skull. I have a few ideas but it'll take time. Piper wants to get an exclusive on the Brotherhood's arrival so she's tracking that airship east.
There is one other group that might know something about the Institute. The Railroad is supposedly a group that steals synths and frees them. They're even more mythical than the Institute and may not exist, but if you'd like to look them up there is a phrase that's supposedly a clue to contact the Railroad.
...and I'm not going to tell it to you, because Elder Maxson wants to hunt the Railroad down and kill everyone in it. Even though Maxson isn't your elder I bet he could make you tell him. Hell, I bet he'd dangle you off the Prydwen and threaten to cut the rope. So everything I tell you about the Railroad will be heavily edited. In fact I think I'll tell you about meeting the Railroad some other time and the next tape can be about what Nick found in Kellogg's head. Yeah, that's the clue that led somewhere.