A/N: Hail all, salutations from the realms of uncanny coincidences and lack of promises kept. This chapter is going up three weeks late because I've also got another major project going on at the moment, and some fuckery happened with that one so it took up most of my time. Anyways, now that we're here, it's time to meet the Brotherhood. This is where things are going to start diverging from the main storyline for Fallout 4. As always, let me know what you think and enjoy!

Chapter 6: A Taste of What's to Come

The gunfire didn't slow as we neared the police station, but it sounded one sided. Were they being attacked by animals? I wracked my mind for the information Sturges had given me on possible wildlife in the area, but it was useless until I had eyes on.

We were approaching a small intersection filled with what had been cars when Nate pounded on my shoulder. "The police station is one block to the right." I nodded and eased my way to the crumbling corner of a building at the edge of the junction. This close, I could make out the pater of countless feet and a multitude of strange snarling sounds past the laser weapons' reports.

I peaked around the decaying building.

Wait- what the hell?

Prefab steel fortifications surrounded the two story concrete block building, and laser fire was spearing out from behind them into a crowd of… people? They were dressed in what could only be defined as 'rags' over emaciated figures with cracking, pockmarked skin. The horrid collection was trying desperately to scramble over the reinforcements, ignoring the heap of dead bodies that had tried to do so previously. Even when one of them received a lance of red light that didn't prove fatal, they continued their assault without regard for the injury. It was difficult to tell with the writhing mass of bodies, but there must have at least been a hundred figures battering the police station.

I retreated from the corner and began scanning the surrounding buildings, streets, and alleys. Were there others?

Nate followed suit. "What's up?" His voice was barely audible over the battle.

"Large group of… people are attacking them."

"People? No guns?"

I shook my head "They're just throwing themselves at the police station."

"What the hell?"

That's what I thought.

Had Sturges told me something about this?

Feral Ghouls.

Humans mutated by extreme exposure to radiation.

That… doesn't seem right.

I didn't know much about radiation sickness, but I'm fairly certain it didn't result in- what had he called them?- radiation zombies. At least the feral ones.

"They're called Feral Ghouls; mutated humans that are basically wild animals."

"That sounds a little too Science Fiction to be real."

"It's what Sturges told me. They attack anything on sight and don't stop until they're dead."

"So… we have to kill them?" The question sounded juvenile.

"If we decide to engage."

"I- should we help? Do you think it's more Raiders? A group like Preston's?"

Laser rifles, prefab emplacements that didn't look weathered enough to be there more than a few weeks. No, my guess would be Brotherhood. Unless there's another group with access to that type of equipment, which would still be of interest even if it was someone else.

"We clear the Ghouls, and play it by ear from there."

As I was about to lower my rifle, a skittering from back up the road caught my attention. The dog noticed it too; his ears flattened and fangs bared as he stared at an alley 30 meters back and across the street. I pointed to my eyes then at the alley and signalled Nate to stay put. If we had enemies behind us we couldn't risk making noise and attracting the attention of that larger group. They were most likely too occupied with their assault on the police station, but it still wasn't worth the chance. I let the rifle dangle on its sling and pulled my knife.

The shuffle sounded again while I drifted noiselessly toward the alley's mouth. It sounded off- metallic. Could one of them be wearing armor? The noise made itself known for a third time as I reached the opening. If it was another group of them, I don't know if I can dispatch them quietly enough to avoid garnering the attention of the horde pounding at the gates of the police station.

Would many of them split off to investigate? If they did, we had more than enough ammo to deal with the threat, but would we be able to before getting overrun? Worse comes to worse, I can outrun the assortment of gaunt attackers, but what if there are more scattered around town? Odds are they would have been attracted to the sounds of the fight like their friends, but it was impossible to tell with something you've never encountered. Dammit, I hate operating without intel.

Oh well, we might just have to employ the old go to: move fast and hit hard. I glanced into the gloom ready to meet a face full of whatever the hell was attacking the police station.

Nothing.

All that occupied the alley was a dumpster that had almost rusted through, and a scattering of rubble.

The sound came again from behind the dumpster.

I stole over to the near side, waited a beat, then burst around the end-

And was greeted with what must have been a large- massive, hairless rat. It was eating some rotting meat when it's eyes flew from its meal up to me. The creature let out a frightened squeak and tore off down the alley.

What the hell.

With a shaking head, I returned to the mouth of the alley and signalled an all clear to Nate. He nodded as I trotted back over.

"What was it?"

"A giant rat."

He adopted a confused expression. "Giant?"

I shrugged, we had more important things to worry about.

"So how do you want to play this?"

From how Preston and Sturges described them, I doubt The Brotherhood would be willing to help; they were more focused on collecting technology than advancing it. Even further, they may decide my armor and even me are worth… procuring. On the other hand, since they are another of the major parties in the area The Brotherhood could have information on The Institute.

What if they're someone else?

They're still a group of interest considering their equipment; making contact with people like that are my best option.

"Eliminate these… things but keep our distance until we know who we're helping."

"Agreed." The ex-soldier snuck a glance toward the ongoing battle and shrugged. "You won't hear this often, but I say we just start shooting." I cocked my head. "50 yards, even at a full sprint will take what- 10 seconds for those things? I doubt many break off, they seem pretty dead set on getting inside the police station."

A straightforward shooting gallery?

"Alright."

With a smirk, he turned and propped his rifle on the broken corner of the building. I moved out into the intersection and crouched behind the burnt out remains of a car.

"I'll work from left to right. On your go", he called.

I sighted on the closest one to us, the thing looked like it had, at one point, been a woman. No hair and the tattered remains of what may have been a dress made it hard to tell. My finger squeezed the trigger and barked out a projectile that slammed into the back of its- her head just below the base of her skull. Nate followed suit and another toppled to the ground.

From then on it was monotonous work: aim, fire, aim, fire, aim, fire, reload. Every so often, one of the decrepit figures turned away from their battle to look for the weapon fire behind it, but I would put it down before we drew any more attention. Two minutes ticked off of my mission clock by the time the last attacker fell. Once it did, I double checked the mound of corpses, and scanned our surroundings for any potential stragglers.

"That was easy." I turned to Nate who was performing similar checks. "Those things were like zombies from old movies my dad used to watch."

I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I care enough to ask; the difficult part was still to come.

As if reading my own thoughts, a gruff sounding man within the barricade began the proceedings.

"Whoever is out there, come forward with your hands off your weapons."

Nate and I exchanged a glance. "Should you do this or me."

It's why you're here. I nodded at him in return.

He gave me a look that said 'kind of expected that' and shrugged. "I don't think I want to walk toward a heavily armed group without my weapons. Thanks though."

The other guy didn't miss a beat. "What's your business here?"

"We heard your gunfire and wanted to help."

"Who are you with?"

"No one in particular, just passing through."

"You aren't Brotherhood of Steel." It wasn't a question

That answers that question.

"No… Is that a problem?"

"If you aren't Brotherhood, why would you come to our aid?"

I watched the revelation play out across the ex-soldier's face. "We could use some help too." Nate lowered his voice. "Do you think they'll give you anything?" I shrugged. "What do you think they're relationship is with the Institute?"

That was a good question. If The Brotherhood was as dogmatic as everyone had made them sound it probably wasn't good, but what if they had some sort of arrangement?

"What kind of help?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

The smaller man frowned. "We're looking for some… advanced technology, or someone who can help us with it."

"The Brotherhood of Steel isn't in a position to allow access to our advanced programs." The speaker's voice trailed off at the end of his statement.

Looks like Preston wasn't mistaken about them.

"Unless you're looking for The Institute." His voice hardened further as he made the suggestion.

"Well they don't like each other", Nate mumbled. "Only if they'll help us."

"The Institute will not help; their only concern is filling the world with those abominations." The statement was bordering on 'rant'.

I cocked my head as the ex-soldier looked at me. After a moment he offered a shrug.

"Abominations?" It was the other man's turn to pause. Apparently we were supposed to know what he meant.

"Synths." The word shot out with as much vitriol as one could laden a single syllable with. "You don't know what Synths are?"

"We aren't from the area." Another lapse in the conversation made me think this guy wasn't buying it. "Look- that was a pretty serious fight; so you have any casualties? I have first aid training and medical supplies."

Again, the statement was met with silence. His uncertainty was promising; judging from his prior responses he should have shot the offer down outright. They might be worse off than he was letting on.

"What kind of supplies?" I caught the small smile that split Nate's lips.

"Clean cloth, a little alcohol, MedX, and Stimpaks."

I still didn't like this; we don't know how many are inside, what their entire compliment of arms are, or if they're even willing to cooperate. Too many unknowns.

It's a path forward. Gather what information I can and… what was Fourier's saying? 'Butt puckered, head on a swivel'.

"Alright. Approach slow and in the open."

Nate looked at me. "Well?"

"Stay behind me, be ready to disengage if things go south."

He gave a wry smirk. "You'll be my shield? How courageous."

"You're no use dead."

The smaller man chuckled. "Well it's the thought that counts."

I stepped out from behind the former car I'd been using as cover, Nate following suit, and we walked toward the station, him a few paces behind. I caught glimpses of movement behind the fortifications and a small gate slid open next to the pile of corpses. No one moved to confront us. No one watching us from the opening. No guards on the barricades covering our approach. This outfit was operating on a skeleton crew, if that. As we neared the open gate the movement behind the perimeter ceased, but I had no way of telling where any guards may be positioned. We couldn't both walk in; if these Brotherhood members were legitimate soldiers, they were probably set up flanking the entryway. If this was a lure, it would be better to have Nate outside to stay out of the line of fire, or prevent anyone from blocking our exit.

A dozen meters from the barricades, I motioned for Nate to halt. "Take cover out here; we may need a quick exit." He nodded before slipping over to the side of a collapsed building, followed by his new friend, weapon's barrel constantly shifting as he watched for threats.

No more noise came from the police station as I stalked over the intervening space. Every instinct was screaming at me to stop, turn around and leave.

This isn't worth the risk.

What if I can get information from them?

And what if this goes sideways? I lose Nate? I get injured?

Nothing I've seen has been dangerous this far.

It only takes one bad move.

I stopped at the entrance to the station's perimeter and swept back and forth.

Nothing.

So they were either in the building or tucked up against the walls flanking the opening.

Turn around.

I'm here.

Before my mind could offer up more objections, I cleared straight ahead, ducked through the door, pivoted left, and dropped to a kn-

A small woman was standing a few paces away aiming a rifle of some sort at my head. Sh-

Shuffling behind me.

My rifle barked and a round slammed into the short woman's chest. While I dove to the side, I watched the projectile knock her to the ground; she must have had a ballistic plate behind the vest she was wearing.

In the middle of my role, a laser flashed through my vision and smacked into the ground behind me. That was a quick reaction shot. Twisting toward the shot's origin I brought the rifle back up and squeezed off two more rounds, the first crashed into the chest plate, and the second just below a set of thin lenses set in the helmet of someone dressed in the most ungainly armor I'd ever seen.

It's occupant fired again and the blazing red beam seared into my shield. Neither of my shots had much effect. Close the distance. As the rifle he was holding spit out another bolt, I tucked into a roll angled away from him before planting my feet and springing over the intervening half dozen meters. The other soldier was just beginning to move as I slammed into him, both of us tumbling to the ground. Whatever it was, the armor he wore was heavier than Mjolnir. My opponent tried to grab me once we stopped, his hands landed on nothing but air as I scrambled to my feet and aimed my rifle down at his head-

"Stop", a breathless voice shouted from behind me. It had to be the small woman I'd shot; the plate had caught my round, but it probably cracked a rib or two. I kept my sights trained on the soldier under me, he was the bigger threat, but some small piece at the back of my mind kept me from putting a round through the small slit over his right eye.

"Drop your gun."

"No."

"If you're here to help drop your gun or I'll put a hole in the back of your head." She still hadn't gotten her wind back, but the woman was trying her best to keep a steady voice.

An almost silent set of footsteps approached from the direction of the door.

"No."

"Drop it!" She was new.

Nate's stride stopped just outside of the opening. "Let's all slow down, no one should be shooting anyone." His voice was calm and level, with the detached air of someone watching the standoff from a vid screen.

"Who are you?"

I began edging around the downed soldier as he watched me, I never liked having a gun at my back. Nobody does, even in Mjolnir. The woman still had her weapon pointed in my general direction, but she was looking at Nate. The ex-soldier kept her firmly centered in his sights.

"I'm the guy you were just talking to; we aren't here to fight so why don't we all lower our guns."

"Tell that to your friend, he came in shooting, not us."

With a quick glance, the smaller man took in me and the downed soldier I had at gunpoint. "He… tends to act quickly. You're both still alive so let's keep everyone breathing through the same holes okay? I'll go first." Nate slowly held his left hand up and lowered the rifle. "D- Lieutenant?"

Let the soldier up? He's clearly their heavy hitter, it was smarter to keep him down.

Isn't this why I brought Nate? If it turns out to be a bad idea, next time I can pull the trigger.

What if it isn't that easy next time? This is their version of power armor; I caught this guy off guard, he could be a threat in a real fight.

True, but Nate said the people they put in the power armor were regular soldiers, regular soldiers have limitations-

"LT?"

Anything happens, he dies first. I nodded and slowly stepped away from my target. The heavily armored soldier struggled to stand as I did; it was an odd display, flipping onto his stomach, fumbling up to his hands and knees before finally climbing to his feet. This power armor looked much closer to the powered cargo exo's I'd seen Innies convert into heavy weapons platforms than Mjolnir. He looked me up and down, almost eye to eye.

"Who are you?" The tone was less confused, more accusatory, than I'd expect.

Nate took a few tentative steps into the perimeter. "We're just looking for some help."

"You said that and you still attacked us. You almost killed my subordinate."

"You were an unknown."

Ostensibly, the soldier was talking to Nate, but his glare never left me. "Is he your mouthpiece?"

He took getting his ass kicked personally.

To be fair, I did almost kill them.

Nate grunted. "He does the fighting, I do the talking."

"I'd like to hear that from him."

As silence settled over the area once more, Nate and I exchanged a glance. I shrugged. "He's better at it."

"Why didn't you send him in then?"

"I'm better at fighting."

"Weren't you here to help us?"

"Well", Nate grumbled, "we didn't exactly know how you'd react. Better safe than sorry."

"You-"

This conversation was beginning to drag, and the smaller man seemed to feel the same. "Okay, we had a misunderstanding but no one got dead. We-"

"Are you kidding? I got sh-"

"WE aren't going to get anywhere standing here arguing about it. If we have to continue discussing what didn't happen, let's do it inside where we're out of danger and can treat your wounded."

From the look he was giving me, I got the impression the armored soldier wasn't satisfied.

"You aren't getting inside until you tell me who you are."

"I'm-"

"Not you." He nodded at me. "You."

Is he afraid I'm from a competing party? The Enclave and Institute are the others mentioned when people saw me; it was clear he didn't like The Institute. What about The Enclave?

Does it matter? Nothing I can say will satisfy him.

I motioned to Nate. "I'm escorting him to Diamond city."

"Are you saying you're a mercenary? The Gunners don't have access to equipment like yours."

"That isn't what I said."

He shook his head. "I don't like being lied to."

Technically I'm not.

"I didn't. You seem fine without us." I began toward Nate, gaze trained on the soldier.

"Wait." The small woman was glaring at the heavily armored man. "We need help."

Something passed between them before he shook his head. "Not from an unknown par-"

"Rhys is going to die." Her features were a mixture of determination and desperation. "We need supplies. I can't lose anyone else."

Another tenuous silence settled over the four of us as the two Brotherhood members stared each other down. Is it really worth this much trouble? At best I can get intel on The Institute; they're clearly in no position to help me with resources, time, or research. Even that didn't seem likely given their relationship. And if that power armor was the best they could come up with, I doubt even under perfect circumstances they would be able to help me.

"Fine." He motioned at the entrance. "Go make sure Rhys is okay and he doesn't shoot our new… guests. I'll escort them in." The soldier's counterpart nodded and began limping toward the police station holding her chest. After she was inside, he bent down awkwardly and retrieved his laser rifle from where it had fallen. "She's right, we need help, but you're still an unknown entity. Don't expect me to treat you like anything other than a threat."

Nate shot me a loaded glance, I nodded in return. "That goes both ways." He turned and whistled back out into the street, an instant later, the clatter of his new friend running toward us preceded the dog's entrance through the door.

The interior of the police station was in much better condition than any of the other buildings I'd seen to this point. Inside the main entrance was a lobby that had been cleared of the garbage and debris I'd come to expect. At the back was the woman crouched in front of a seated Brotherhood member dressed in an orange and white bodysuit, hand over a wound just above his left hip. The soldier followed us into the lobby, I could feel his weapon aimed at the back of my head.

As soon as I entered the lobby, 'Rhys's' eyes screamed from the woman kneeling over him to me. Nate noted his expression too. "We need to get that dressed. Do you have any saline? Blood packs?"

The small woman turned her head to look at us. "We've got a few blood packs left."

Nate shot me another quick glance before ducking under his rifle's sling and placing it on the ground. His feet carried him toward the two while he began digging through his satchel. "Can I have one?"

"Yeah."

I watched intently as she stood and walked toward an adjacent room. My eyes fell on the man's sidearm. Nate seemed to have noticed it too and carefully shifted toward the Brotherhood member's left side. He pulled out a small bottle, a roll of gauze, and a Stimpak.

"How long ago were you injured?"

"20 minutes."

That's a long time for that kind of wound.

"You're lucky you haven't bled out yet." My charge opened the bottle and poured some of its contents over his hands and then the gauze. The small woman returned with the requested supplies. "Is this universal?" She nodded. "Thanks."

Nate sterilized the needle, worked any air to the top of the bag and handed it back to the woman. "Can you hold this up? Make sure the blood stays at the bottom." A few minutes later he had IV in the man's arm, wound cleaned and dressed, and administered the Stimpak. While that happened, I placed myself in the front corner of the room so I could watch everyone; the armored man still had his rifle trained on me.

"You should be okay, just don't do too much until the wound has had a chance to close."

His patient's eyes hadn't left me. "Thanks."

"I guess I should give you my name at this point; I'm Nate."

"And him?"

The ex-soldier followed Rhys's gaze to me. "Lieutenant?" His voice was tentative, maybe a little worry ringing it's edge, expression sending a silent plea to play along.

What good would giving my name do here?

What harm would it do? If I'm going to go through the trouble of bringing Nate along, I can at least give him the benefit of the doubt for now. He isn't asking me to do anything, really.

"Damon."

A subdued hiss came from the armored soldier as he shifted in place. "Who do you serve with?"

"No one now." It wasn't a lie, there is no UNSC here.

"Then why does he keep calling you by rank?"

"Force of habit", Nate interjected.

"So who did you serve with?"

"A militia in the south around where…" if I had to say from his confusion I'd guess he almost gave a landmark from before the War, but he has no way of knowing if that would give him up. Neither of us know how people refer to areas anymore. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't say where, there are still some of them around."

"And they have advanced technology like this?" The soldier motioned to me.

Nate smiled sheepishly. "Another reason I'm not going to say anything else. Sorry."

"I don't like that answer."

"It's all you're going to get. So what are your names?"

The Brotherhood soldier shifted his attention to Nate and took a step toward him. I sprung forward to block his path. I couldn't see his eyes, but I felt them drilling into my faceplate. I felt a spark of excitement flicker in the back of my mind; this power armor clearly wasn't anything like mine, but it would be the best challenge I've had since coming here. I was half hoping he would start the festivities.

"I'm Scribe Haylen. He's Paladin Danse. We were detached to scout the area a few months ago but…" She was behind me, sitting next to Nate and the wounded soldier, but I could hear the grimace in her voice. "Things haven't been going well. If you hadn't shown up that might have been it for us."

Danse's gaze never left me, but the disappointment was clear from his tone. "Haylen, I don't remember giving you permission to tell them anything about our mission."

"How is saying who we are going to help them, even if they're Institute, or Enclave, or whatever?"

Silence reasserted itself while I stared the 'Paladin' down. If he intended to attack, he was in a horrible position to do so; the armor he was wearing was cumbersome and bulky, I didn't have much room to talk on the size front, but in close quarters like this I'd wager I'm much quicker.

"Fine, but stay away from my men." Danse sidestepped around me and moved toward the group.

Nate stood and backed away from the approaching Brotherhood soldier before retrieving his discarded rifle and walking back to me. I watched the others as my charge approached. Haylen seemed to be willing to cooperate, but with Danse as her superior, I doubt we'll be getting anything useful out of her.

Something tugged on my left forearm and I looked down to see Nate peering back at me. He motioned his head to the far corner of the lobby near the entrance where a small nook was separated from the rest of the room. I nodded and he strode past me. After another once over, both Rhys and Danse were still staring me down, I followed the ex-soldier.

As I entered the small alcove, Nate slid into a sitting position against the wall facing the lobby and laid his rifle across his lap. "We aren't getting anything from them." I stood next to him and turned to the small group before nodding my agreement. "You think it's safe to stay here?"

"We don't know what might be outside at night."

He smiled. "Better the devil you know." I felt Nate's eyes move from me back to Danse. "What did you think of your first taste?"

"Don't know yet, I caught him off guard."

"Their titles scare me: 'Scribe', 'Paladin', that doesn't sound like a military outfit, it sounds like a cult."

"Agreed. We'll stay here tonight, but we're moving out at dawn. Get some food and rest."

"You don't want me to take a watch?"

"I'll be fine."

"Nothing to drink?"

"I've already had plenty?"

"When?"

I looked down at him and the dog lying to his right. "When you were playing with him."

"Suit yourself." Nate dug into his satchel and grabbed a parcel. The dog's ears perked up and he sniffed at the small package. "You want some too? Well at least I'll have someone to share dinner with." He fell silent as he began eating and I shifted my attention to the others who were talking quietly among themselves as well. I turned the gain up on my external microphones; eavesdropping was always a good way to gather information.

"-move like that."

"Not someone his size, and not in armor like his."

"It isn't anything like our power armor, where do you think it came from Danse?"

"I don't know, it doesn't look Institute, and they're more focused on synths than advanced combat gear." The 'Paladin' stole a glance at me. "I think we've got someone else in play here."

"Do you think it's safe to let them stay?"

Haylen rubbed the center of her chest. "Well… he could have killed us-"

"He had no way of knowing you were wearing armor, he tried to kill you."

The small woman grimaced and turned her eyes to me. "Yes but… I don't know Rhys, it wasn't that simple. Danse?"

"He came in firing."

No, I fired after realizing I had two weapons pointed at me.

"You even said it."

"Yes, that was shortly after catching a bullet in the chest. How does helping Rhys benefit them?"

Their conversation died for a moment, each of them taking turns looking between each other and us.

Danse broke the silence first. "It doesn't matter, they leave tomorrow and we figure out how to get to ArcJet."

"Do you think they might help?"

"Even if they would, I wouldn't risk it."

"So you're going to do it alone?"

"We don't have another choice."

"DAMON."

I stifled a wince and turned the audio back to normal levels. "Yes?"

"At least sit down, you're making me feel even more uncomfortable than they are."

Sit down? That isn't a good idea; they may have no intention of engaging us again, but that wasn't an excuse for carelessness. Things have a tendency of changing quickly in unknown situations.

"Finish eating and get some sleep, you'll be fine."

Nate grumbled but didn't say anything else. The rest of the night consisted of my standing guard while the ex-soldier and his new best friend slept… or tried to sleep. The dog had no problems but my charge's breathing never settled into the deep, rhythmic beat of sleep. Guess I can't blame him. Haylen helped Rhys limp into another room while Danse stood by the lobby's exit, glare fixed on me. At one point the Scribe tried to give him food and water, but he just shook his head and sent her back to watch over the other soldier.

I couldn't help but wonder if the 12.7mm rifle on my back would get through that thick chest plate; it had shrugged off the 5.56 without much trouble, but the bolt action rifle was a different story. It looked like steel instead of the titanium Mjolnir used for its hard plate which would explain why it was so heavy. On top of that, it looked like the hands and feet were actually hydraulic or pneumatically controlled extensions, so Danse was probably a regular sized man in the suit.

No soft armor, so it was layered plates at articulation points except for the inside of the elbows which looked like rubber or leather. It wasn't much bulkier than my armor, but the combination of extended limbs, more weight, inferior mechanical design, and a regular person operating it made the setup ungainly and slow. It could take a lot of punishment and probably had good power but I wasn't impressed; lack of maneuverability meant it was a specialized piece of equipment that could only be used in certain situations.

With the sky just beginning to brighten, Nate roused himself from his approximation of sleep and dug back into his bag for something to eat. He yawned while peeling back another wrapper and looked up at me. "You two just have an all night staring match?" I nodded. "You know, something bugged me about yesterday." My gaze shifted down to him. "You weren't trying to kill Haylen were you?"

"What are you asking?"

He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully before continuing. "Well, those raiders the other day, most of the ones I saw you killed with headshots, but you hit Haylen in the chest. Was that on purpose?"

Did I mean to leave her alive? I played the sequence back in my head; the shot had been a few inches high and to the left of her heart, it probably would have missed her lungs too. Why did I do that? I hadn't thought about it at the time, just reacted. Maybe it was because we wanted their cooperation and I'd subconsciously decided that would be easier if they were all alive, maybe not. The development worried me though; hesitating, not killing a target, that was asking to get killed instead.

"I shouldn't have."

"What- you shouldn't have not shot her in the head?" I nodded again. "What the hell kind of logic is that? I don't think they would have been very cooperative if you'd turned it into a canoe."

"They weren't cooperative anyway." And leaving a target alive is dangerous.

"Maybe not, but there was the chance they would be. And… you know… they're people."

Who could have killed us. I'm beginning to think he doesn't have the instincts to survive in a world like this. We're in hostile territory until proven otherwise; best option is to remove any potential threats, that's what I do.

"It doesn't matter now."

He stopped eating. "Uh, it does if that means you're going to shoot everyone we meet from now on."

"If they're a threat."

"Oh great. Look, Damon, I don't know if you get this yet, but I think you can afford to take some liberties the average soldier can't."

"Not how I work."

Nothing came back as Nate looked from me back down to his breakfast. He took another bite and slowly ate in silence for a few moments. What I said clearly bothered him, but that was something he'd have to get used to living in a world that wants to kill him at every turn.

"I think I'm starting to figure out what you do, between that slaughter back in Sanctuary, and your attitude now." He shivered, carefully avoiding my gaze. "You're a sweeper, solo or small team operations clearing out enemy emplacements, assassinating targets, that sort of thing." The ex-soldier finally looked up at me as he finished. "Right?" I cocked my head at him. "You have that air about you is all."

"Some of it."

"What else do you do?"

I exhaled through my nose and looked back at Danse. You have about as much tact as I do. I may not be an expert on the matter, but I'd been debriefed and 'interviewed' enough by my handlers to know how skilled one could be at drawing information out of someone, even if they didn't want to give it up. My style was usually more direct.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

"Natural curiosity I guess."

"Hmm."

He didn't continue, so I returned my attention to our 'hosts'. More quiet conversation drifted from Rhys and Haylen in the next room.

Danse turned to march through the lobby's exit. "Stay here."

With the Paladin's disappearance from the front room, Nate gathered his supplies and climbed back to his feet. "Can you do me a favor then?" I motioned for him to continue. "If we're in a… questionable situation again, can you let me take lead?"

"Not if it puts either of us in danger."

"I appreciate you care for my wellbeing but I can take care of myself."

He's treating this like a standard deployment, as if there are rules everyone plays by and most of the things he runs into outside of a city, maybe, aren't trying to kill him. This position isn't far removed from how I've spent most of my time fighting, either in the Covenant war or the Innies and Remnants afterward.

"This isn't your world anymore, and it isn't the same war you fought; ROE's have changed."

"So you're just going to kill everyone we meet?"

"If they're a threat."

I expected him to argue, that seemed to be his default, but he let out an explosive sigh instead. "You need to work this whole 'teamwork' thing. Let me do it, at least once. If it doesn't work you can say 'told you so'... and if I die you can tell it to my body."

Would I be able to cover for him when he makes a mistake? I guess it depends on the situation; at the very least it seems like most people in this world are fairly inept combatants, current company possibly notwithstanding. If Nate dies I'll have to figure it out then, finding someone else willing to help might be difficult but not impossible.

"Once."

"Thanks."

A quick check out of the boarded up front windows showed the pinkish brown (of course) glow of the sun closing in on the horizon.

"Looking forward to another day humping it. You know back before all… this", he motioned to the dilapidated room around us, "it would have taken about an hour to get from my house to Fenway." I cocked my head again, leaving the 'and?' unsaid. "I was just making an observation."

Leaden footfalls preceded Danse's reemergence. "It's time for you to take your leave."

"You sure you guys will be alright? It looks like you're in a rough spot, we can help."

We can help? People are beginning to make a habit out of volunteering me for things I haven't agreed to.

"We aren't in a position to accept help from civilians." He almost spat the last word, but I couldn't tell if it was spite for actual civilians, or his way of mocking us.

"We-" I watched out of my periphery as his gaze shifted to me for an instant. "Okay."

Hmmm, that was much less… verbose than I'd come to expect. Was he worried about me? Nate had something on his mind, was he planning something?

"Good." The dismissal was enough for me; I strode to the door and, after making sure it was clear, led the ex-soldier and the dog out into the still brightening sky.

Red streaks gradually turned pink as the sun continued its journey over the horizon while we picked through the dilapidated vehicles, collapsed buildings, and rubble that made up the edges of Boston's metropolitan area. The further we went, the more uncomfortable I got; there were far too many positions to clear, and blind angles to round. Even with most of the taller buildings destroyed, there were more than enough vantage points that would provide any potential sniper with a commanding view. More than once we had to backtrack and find our way around a collapsed structure and blocked road. At least it seemed Nate shared my reservations if his constant fidgeting and darting eyes were anything to go by.

From what Sturges told me, we could start running into Supermutants and Gunners alongside the Raider threat now we were in the city proper. Problem is I have no idea what it would look like. Supermutants were supposedly dumb, oversized cannibals and the Gunners were a pseudo-militant mercenary outfit.

We hadn't encountered any of the mutated wildlife or more Raiders, unless those guys outside of the trade post were, but they didn't seem like it. Maybe the threats were being exaggerated. I almost laughed; this is usually when things go sideways.

"You've been awfully quiet." Nate's voice drew my attention from our surroundings as we passed the entrance to what might have been a bank at one point. "You nervous?"

I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. "I'm watching for threats."

A grunt of disappointment flew my way as I glanced at the smaller man. "We've been traveling for two days now and you've barely said 10 words outside of fighting."

"Because I'm watching for threats."

"Did you use up your entire allotment of humor back in Sanctuary?" I didn't respond and after a few seconds he stopped fishing. "For as hard as this journey was supposed to be, it's quiet."

"Cambridge."

"I wouldn't have gotten involved on my own."

"We still have 10 clicks of urban environment."

"You think we're in for a fight?"

Maybe. "I don't know, which is why I'm watching for threats." What are you trying to do here?

"This is just… it's too- this isn't right. A few days ago being down here would have been normal: people, cars, traffic, noise. Now…" He looked at a partially collapsed building that had blocked one of the side streets. "I still don't know if I've accepted this is really happening."

Your situation is fairly straightforward compared to mine. "That isn't something you have time to worry about now."

"I don't know if I've met someone as socially inept as you." There was an edge to his voice; I probably upset him, but it was the truth, it isn't my fault if he doesn't like it.

I shrugged and continued in silence, he must have been looking for some distraction or a kind word, not finding it the ex-soldier let quiet reign as we made our way through the city ruins.

A gentle tapping caught my attention from above us in one of the dilapidated structures, a tower that must have been largely glass before the war. Now all that was left was a massive steel skeleton and crumbling interior. The noise was from maybe half way up, quiet enough to avoid Nate's attention. It was too irregular to be natural. I stopped and held up a fist.

The smaller man froze. "What is it?"

I waved him to the side of the street opposite the large tower. "Don't know, something may be in that building." I motioned to the once proud structure.

"Maybe we try avoiding a fight this time?" Our gazes met. "We don't know what's up there, and we don't know if fighting it will draw more attention."

What happened to being disappointed with how easy this is? Hadn't I thought the same thing though? Either way he was right; judging from what Sturges had told me it was either more Raiders, which would be boring but at least they were a known quantity, or it could be Supermutants. I was eager to fight one of them but without the ability to scout ahead, strategize, and the potential for unexpected events, there were too many unknowns to justify it. I nodded and scanned for an exit.

"This way." The smaller man motioned toward an alley a couple dozen meters ahead. I followed him down the rubble strewn street, avoiding as much crumbled building and gravel as I could.

As we neared the passage a tingling sprung up on the back of my neck.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!" The voice was odd: deep and nasally with a strange quality I couldn't place.

I was just about to turn back to the building when the first round cracked by my left shoulder. As the report reached us, I lunged forward, grabbed Nate by the back of his jacket and half shoved, half carried him as I ran toward the alley, shielding him from the incoming projectiles. The staccato gunfire of several automatic rifles tore through the dilapidated city and my shields caught a half dozen rounds before I shoved the smaller man into the cover of the alley and dove in after him.

My sights were on the alley entrance as Nate, who had stumbled to the rubble covered ground, found his feet again. "What the fuck just happened?" More rounds peppered the opening back out into the street. "Who is shooting at us?"

If I had to guess… "Supermutants. That was most likely the sound I heard." We need to go.

"We should get moving then, that gunfire is going to draw the attention of everyone around here."

He turned and jogged down the alley toward the next street, rifle at the ready. A few seconds later he called, "all clear."

I backed down the passage toward him, sights still trained on the entrance as the incoming fire slowly dwindled.

"Watch for mines or IED." The smaller man nodded and we made our way into the next street. I took point as we half jogged down the street. There were just too many damn spots for more Supermutants to be taking cover. Countless broken windows, destroyed walls, blind corners, deep shadows cast by the towering structures (or what's left of them) on all sides. It was impossible to clear them all, so we stuck close to one side of the street and moved quickly.

After several minutes of silent apprehension, I heard Nate take a ragged breath. He may have been ex-military, but he'd been out for over a year and put on ice for another 200. We had covered around 20 klicks, had two gunfights, and now we're running from gunfire. As much as I wanted to keep moving, the safer move was to give him my charge a breather.

I pulled up next to a relatively intact building and scanned the interior through the entrance. It looked like a lobby for some sort of office building with what had been chairs at one point scattered around the remains of a large desk in the room's center. Nothing made itself immediately apparent; the scattered debris was undisturbed, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.

"In here."

Nate looked at me then to the building's interior. I half expected an objection, but he climbed through the broken entrance without a word and looked around before settling into the far corner while his new friend paced around sniffing everything it could.

"That was exciting. What did I say about 'easy'? You said that was… 'Supermutants'? Who are they?"

With one more glance around for good measure I stepped through the shattered windows that had been the building's front. "Possibly. According to Sturges they are mutated humans."

"Wha- what does that mean?"

"They're big, strong, and hard to kill, but apparently not intelligent."

"Is that what that 'HEEEY' was?" I nodded. "Who announces themselves before an attack?"

The Raiders did it too, so if I'm lucky, everyone in this ass backwards world. I can always dream.

After a ten minute break I led the duo back into the street and continued toward our objective. The sun climbed further into the sky as we carefully picked our way through the minefield of potential enemies. After the brush with the Supermutants I wasn't going to take any chances; we used side roads, stuck to cover, and carefully avoided any largely intact buildings that provided good sightlines.

It was mid-day when Nate next spoke. "We're only a few blocks away."

I gave my surroundings another once over before turning to him. The smaller man was gazing at the buildings around us too, taking in the collapsed structures, blown out windows, and piles of rubble. The city was dead, but I could tell he was looking at it with eyes that saw what it had been only a few days prior for him. "This… this is crazy. It shouldn't-" He stopped and swallowed whatever he was going to say when he caught me studying him. "Sorry, I don't mean to linger on it." He shook himself like he was trying to get rid of a chill. "So do you have a plan for getting inside?"

… No, I hadn't thought about it; my default was either to find a back door or force my way in, but that probably wouldn't work here. "No."

"You were just going to leave that to me?"

"Yes."

The ex-soldier's eyes narrowed for a moment before he rolled them. "You need to work on your communication skills." After a few seconds without a response Nate huffed. "Well I don't know what they'd consider 'normal', I don't know if they accept new people off the streets, hell we don't know if these people are even trustworthy."

"This is a major hub for trade in the area." 'Major' is relative here.

"And?"

"They probably see new people coming through often enough."

Nate chewed on his lower lip for a moment before cocking his head. "Maybe we could pose as merchants."

Pose as merchants? How would that work? "We don't have anything to trade."

"No, but larger merchants wouldn't carry their wares with them, especially with people like the Raiders running around. We're obviously well equipped, so it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to say we have stockpiles somewhere else." He looked me up and down. "If people thought we had more sets of armor like yours it wouldn't be a hard sell."

"When they find out we don't?"

"That doesn't matter, we just need to poke around long enough to find our next lead."

You mean our first lead. "So I'm your escort."

An odd noise came from his throat as he choked down a short laugh. "Bodyguard. Escort has a… different meaning."

I shrugged. Whatever.

"We can use the same story I told the Brotherhood."

"Okay."

He continued staring at me for a moment; he was clearly thinking about something, like he wanted to ask a question.

"Yes?"

"You remember what I said last night- this morning? I don't know- when we were in the Police station?"

"You taking lead."

"Yeah, if something bad happens here we might be shit out of luck, so could you let me?"

If he wanted to put his trust in strangers that was his choice, but if it affected my ability to get back to the UNSC, that was a problem. In this environment it would be impossible to account for every shot and it would be easy enough for him to take-

"Because I can tell you're running through the risks in that tin can of yours, I'd like to suggest you not treat this like a battlefield. You don't seem to have much experience with that, but if this really is the largest 'city' in the area and a major trade post, it would make for bad business practice to shoot potential new merchants or customers."

Not a battlefield? I couldn't stop my head from turning to look at the destroyed city around us.

A sigh drew my gaze back to the smaller man. "I get it, but we can't treat it like that. This war was- it- it was a long time ago now." He closed his eyes for a moment and took several deep breaths. When he opened them again, they drilled into my faceplate with the same focus I'd seen when I first met him in Sanctuary. "You brought me to get you in touch with someone who could help; let me do that."

"Taking unnecessary risks is how operations fail."

"This isn't an unnecessary risk, how else are we supposed to get into Fenway? Non-violently." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Like I said: you brought me for this, you said how we got in was up to me."

Several dozen methods for entry paraded themselves through my head, but not many did so without at least a few dead bodies, and fewer still in a way that wouldn't lead to dead bodies later. Diplomacy isn't my thing, and what did I drag Nate with me for if I wasn't going to use him for that.

'Without trust, no one gets out alive.'

Right.

"We stay clear of open areas and keep our distance until we talk to someone."

"That sounds reasonable."

Nate began walking again and I followed several paces behind. It was only another minute or two when we came to a large parking lot filled with rubble and beyond it must have been the 'baseball' stadium that had been the object of so much mystery to this point.

I didn't need to see the smaller man's face to know he was gaping at the sight. Just as he was about to take a step out toward the parking lot I grabbed his shoulder and turned him back toward me. "We go around." The expression he wore reminded me of the one he'd had when he first saw his house in Sanctuary. "Focus."

"Bu… but- but this." He limply motioned at the stadium. "This isn't-"

"You can't worry about that, focus on getting us inside."

His face morphed from a mask of confusion and fear to one of anger. "Do you not understand what's happening here for me? You can't give me a fucking minute to process all of this- my world is gone. GONE! Two days ago this was- I was just here for a game a few weeks ago. Do you know what the word 'sympathy' means? Shit, do you know what emotions are?"

I thought he was passed this. We're standing here when a sniper could be watching us, hell that parking lot probably has guards patrolling it.

"None of that is helpful right now. We find a way around this."

"It doesn't matter where we go, there will either be a parking lot or avenue to cross to get to the stadium. I'm tired of this overly cautious bullshit, we're here; if this is such a large settlement this area is already going to be clear." He was clearly still agitated, but at least he was focusing on the problem at hand.

"The last-"

"Percent is always the most dangerous, I know. To be honest I don't really care at this point. I want my goddamn son back."

This is why I don't deal with civilians.

He tried to knock my hand off his shoulder, when I didn't let go the smaller man tried to shove himself away.

Would you just listen goddamnit? The point is to get through this ALIVE. If you die the only people who might be able to help are a day's walk away.

After a moment's struggle he stopped and fixed me in an utterly blank stare. "If you're going to force me to do this all your way, you might as well cut me loose; I'm not going to 'help' you."

My admittedly limited patience had been tested over the past week. I've gotten tired of trying to keep people alive despite their own mistakes. He wants to get his head blown off… I'll just have to figure out how to do this without him.

I released him and the smaller man wordlessly turned and marched out into the parking lot. He didn't make it a half dozen meters before a round cracked by and slammed into the broken concrete at his feet. With the number of buildings and echo careening from every surface, it was impossible to tell where the report originated.

Before another thought could make its way into mind, my legs coiled, ready to spring forward and grab my charge, but something about Nate's demeanor stilled them. The smaller man was completely calm, rifle resting on its sling, his hands in the air.

"State your business", a voice came over a loudspeaker somewhere on the baseball stadium.

"I'm a trader from down south. Myself and my bodyguard heard rumors of Diamond city and are here to take a look." Nate did a good job of sounding unfazed despite shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Have your body guard come out and we'll talk."

The ex-soldier turned his head to peer back at me.

Every instinct was screaming to stay in the relative cover of the side street. Stepping out into that open parking lot was asking to take a bullet. What choice do I have now? If I don't come out they'll think we're a threat and that can only make things worse. God damn it. I glared at the smaller man; if there was one thing I hate more than waiting, it's being forced into a position I don't want to be in.

With little other choice, I stalked toward my charge. Unlike him, I never took my hands off my rifle.

After watching me walk into the open with no small amount of surprise on his face, Nate turned back to the stadium. "We're both here, can we talk now?"

"Standby."

Shortly after the voice faded, several sets of footsteps began approaching from the far side of the parking lot. It was still several seconds before they would be in view thanks to the rubble mounds. Despite my head screaming at me to keep scanning, I tore my eyes from the sounding buildings and resumed glaring at the smaller man. The firm stare straight ahead told me he felt my gaze through the visor; I wouldn't call the tight lipped expression he wore 'afraid' but he was definitely nervous.

"Never force me into a position like this again."

"I didn't- can't force you to do anything."

You mentioned me when you didn't need to. Both of us know they would tell me to come out if they knew I was here.

I didn't voice my displeasure any further, it would have been pointless, and the guards responsible for the footsteps rounded the nearest pile of debris. Five of them fanned out around us; their armor was… odd looking, but at least more uniform than the Raiders'. It was a mixture of leather padding and sparingly used steel plates. Again, it didn't look like it would stop anything more than a 9mm, if the leather pads would even do that.

As they caught their first sight of me, they hesitated, but continued to establish a semi-circle between us and the stadium.

The man in the center spoke up. "You say you're a trader?" Nate nodded. "Where are you two from?"

"Down south. I'm more of a broker than anything and my clients are keen on their privacy. We have a lot we can offer, I assure you." He motioned his head at me.

The guard looked me up and down, I felt the others studying me as well, before he nodded. "We'll escort you inside, there some vendors you can talk to in our marketplace, but don't be trying anything stupid; there are guards constantly patrolling and our vendors are all packing."

Nate held out his hands. "You'll get no problems from us."

Without another word, the guard turned and motioned for us to follow, as we did, the other men formed up around us. It took every bit of self control I had to keep my rifle down and maintain a steady pace toward the stadium.

A few moments later we were standing in front of a large rusted gate built into the side of the stadium. It looked like the barrier was added sometime after the building's construction, probably when they occupied it; I don't know why a sports venue would need a 3 ton steel gate to protect its entrance under normal circumstances. Our escort's lead walked to an intercom mounted on the wall and keyed the microphone. "It's Olsen with a couple traders."

"Gotcha, gimme a sec to get the gate."

As the intercom clicked off, hydraulic motors started whining and the barrier began creeping open. My visor dropped to its lowest polarization and my eyes hurried to adjust to the almost pitch black interior. Through the large steel door was covered walkway toward a bright exit around 50 meters away that, judging by the sounds wafting our way, was the interior of the stadium.

Near the end of the passage were two shielded machine gun emplacements bracketing the opening. A quick look around the interior as we walked showed a blockade in every adjoining passage, ranging from welded steel sheets to piles of rubble. They'd arranged what would be an extremely effective killbox if someone tried to force entry. If they had other entrances around the stadium they would most likely mimic this one; not bad. It was a hell of a lot better than what I've seen thus far. It doesn't surprise me this place turned into what it is; good, defensible position with effective emplacements and crowd control measures.

The guard in front of us stopped short of the machine guns and turned back to Nate and I. "We don't confiscate weapons, but you will be under watch while you are here. Diamond City has a very long history of dealing with criminals, don't add yourself to the tally, you got me?"

"Absolutely", Nate responded, "We're here on business, I don't know about you but I find it harder to do that with a bunch of extra holes in me."

Our escort cast one more glance at me before heading back to the exterior. Nate paused for a heartbeat before continuing toward the entrance to Diamond City.

A/N: So yes, the ending was a bit abrupt to this chapter, but it was either that or a 20k word chapter, and I didn't want to do that. I will be posting the next chapter at the beginning of next month and another half way through to make up for the late post this month. I'm still debating on whether I want to go shorter/more frequent on the chapters, so let me know what you all want. See you all next time!