Greygarden
December the 26th, 2287
14:22

When they arrived at the settlement called Greygarden, they had expected to see a few people, some homes, and perhaps fortifications around a few crops.

What they had not expected to see was a settlement populated by nothing but robots, nothing but robots like their companion, Codsworth.

For his part, Preston Garvey took only a moment to let go of his expectations. Then, he smiled and greeted the many Mister Handy units who waved at or greeted him, Nora, Derek, and Codsworth. The settlement was not only something he never would have imagined but something he was in awe of. In seemingly as much awe, Codsworth was eager to take in as much as he could. After two centuries of solitude and fending off violent, terrifying people on my own, I was only a few hours away from a place with so many other beings just like me. Is this how they have coped without the people they had loved? It was a sombre thought, but seeing the smile on Nora's face when she spoke to Preston alleviated the melancholia he briefly felt return after two centuries of waves of it interspersed with a drive to carry on, be, and look for the hope and happiness he knew still existed in the world. Walking a few paces behind them was Derek, his shot gun holstered, bag over his shoulders, and hands clasped behind his back. The settlement was, in some ways, eerily reminiscent of some of what the Enclave had built up to sustain themselves, what they in the Brotherhood had seen around a decade prior when they, after two hundred and two years of struggle, defeated and put an end to the Enclave. Though it was in every other way nothing like what he and his Brothers and Sisters had seen then, the faint reminder of a place where sentient beings, regardless of their robotic bodies, had been forced to submit to and sustain the Enclave made him uneasy and sick.

"Ah, welcome to Greygarden, darlings!" A white Mister Handy unit with a uniquely feminine voice drawled when the group entered the greenhouse. "This is the Commonwealth's first and only hydroponics facility run entirely by robots!"

"That's pretty ingenious," Preston said with a polite tip of his hat. "Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen. We heard you were requesting aid?"

"Yes, indeed, we have come into some trouble of late," She said. "But permit me to introduce us first. I am Supervisor White. You see, there are two kinds of robots here. Greygarden is quite unique. We have a distinct social structure, a hierarchy, if you will."

"Is that how you've sustained yourselves for so long?" Nora said, curiosity irresistible. "This place seems familiar. I think I saw a bit about it on the news, back before the War."

"Yes, construction was completed mere days before the War," White said, a hum to her voice. "But you must be mistaken. The War was over two centuries ago."

"If I may," Codsworth politely interjected when he saw Nora flinch and her gaze fall to her feet. "Miss Nora and her family were put into cryogenic freeze in a Vault. It was only recently she re-entered the world."

"Oh my!" White exclaimed turning to Nora. "Forgive me, darling, I can see it must be a sensitive subject for you. Allow me to explain. Robotics and artificial intelligence were our creator's greatest passions, rivalled only by his love for the television."

"How fascinating!" Codsworth exclaimed. "To think all of this has existed for so long and self sustained."

"It is truly an impressive feat," Preston agreed. "You must be quite proud of your work."

"We are, thank you," White said. "But, to the point of our hierarchy which has sustained us, this love of our creator's is why myself and Supervisors Brown and Greene, have distinct voices. Edward Grey, our creator, rest his soul, differentiated us from the standard Mister Handys working alongside us, and, of course, their personalities, based upon characters from his favourite television programmes."

Preston nodded. "How would you say that's specifically aided your work?"

"Our creator designed me to be a supervisor of the garden, with sophisticated cognition processors. These permit me to perform complex analysis and decision making," White proudly explained. "With the help of my fellow supervisors, we have carried out our facility's mission as intended for over two centuries with nary an issue, that is, until recently, and, of course, why I am pleased you have come."

"We're happy to help in any way we can," Preston replied. "What's going on?"

"It's our water," White said. "Quite lamentable for this to be one of our most necessary resources yet also the one we can do the least about ourselves. Even if we filter all the water ourselves, or fill our condensers, it is not enough to sustain the farm."

"There's something wrong with the water?" Codsworth said, confused. "I've not come across any water unable to be filtered."

"You mustn't be from near here, then," White said with a hint of disgust entering her voice. "The water – it's simply ghastly here! Pressure is down! Radiation is up! Why, it's practically toxic! Just think what it must be doing to my skin! We were able to cope with it for a few months, but it is becoming simply unbearable."

"Especially for farming, I can only imagine," Nora said, shaking her head. "Do you know where the water comes from? Is it from a local stream, or underground?"

"I'm afraid not. If it were, solving the issue would be manageable for us on her own," White said. "Most of our water comes from the old Weston plant, south of here. Such an eyesore. I never did care for it, but, without any management, it has only looked worse and worse. Now, those outer looks are meddling with the one thing it is supposed to do well."

"Weston Water Treatment?" Nora pressed, an eyebrow raised. "Is it accessible?"

"For us, I'm afraid not, but, for you…yes. See, this is where you come in," White turned to face not only her but Preston, Codsworth, and Derek too. "We are unable to access the plant ourselves, and the current situation with the water will never do. I don't mean to impose, darlings, but…perhaps you could lend us a hand?"

"We'd be more than happy to," Preston assured her. "I take it you need us to access the facility?"

"Precisely," White said. "I am glad you care enough to help. Trust me…I can make it worth your while. As water is everything to us, I am more than motivated to ensure we are able to have ours fixed. I presume, as our traders pay with them, you accept payment in the form of bottlecaps?"

"You don't have to pay us," Nora told her. "We're glad to help."

"I welcome the sentiment but I must insist," White said. "You all will have more than earnt something for your hard work. Our need is simple – we need our water cleaned up. Our source has not changed at all over these two centuries, and we have come to this conclusion – our source needs to be fixed. As such, please, be dears and pay it a visit. See what you can do? Maybe tidy up the place? It must be filthy. If you can get it working cleanly again, I will more than come up with something for you."

"Is there anything we should know about the location before we head out?" Derek said, almost as though he were prepared to take notes. "If you have done any reconnaissance, that is."

"Again, it is the old Weston Water Treatment Plant," White said, a hint of disgust to her voice at the thought of the place. "We have heard there may be some mutant activity in the area, as well as some of those…disgusting mirelurks. As for its accessibility, we have seen at least a few people enter and exit the facility, but I suspect they are unhelpful to us and are most likely raiders, scum of the earth as it were."

"We'll do our best to figure out how to fix your troubles," Preston assured her. "Thank you for the information."

"Of course, darlings," White drawled. "It's the least we can do, aiding those who are willing to aid us."

"Sometimes helping people is all you can do," Nora replied with a small smile. "We all must do our part."

I'll make my way back down to Diamond City eventually, but, something about what Missus Abernathy said when we brought back the locket to her family…it's why I'm looking – fighting for – Shaun.

Nothing means more or is greater than the feeling of reflecting kindness and love back.

"Nora?" Preston gently said, drawing her back from her thoughts. "Is everything alright? I know things were…intense. Back at the satellite station, that is. Do you need a break? We can take one if you need to."

"I…I don't know," She sighed. "But thank you, Preston. I…I don't know where I'd be without you and the rest of the Minutemen. Let's keep going. If people need our help…that's what matters, isn't it?"

"It is," Preston agreed, but he then, after a brief hesitation, reassuringly set a hand to her shoulders. "But you don't have to break your back in two to prove you're alright. We all need a break, support, from time to time. Whatever you need, Nora…please, know you can come to me."

Nora managed a smile. "I do, Preston," She said. "And that means more than I can ever say."

The Institute
December the 30th, 2287
13:15

"Now, follow me. I imagine you're all excited about your upcoming project, but we have a lesson about Coursers today."

Snickering with her twin sister, Alice Thompson walked a little faster to catch up to Quentin Filmore, and tugged on his long, messy, curly hair from the back. Just as she had hoped, Quentin whipped around to stare at her and Julia, both of them laughing and him setting his hands to his hips, trying to look annoyed. Not wanting to be caught lagging too far behind their classmates, Quentin, Alice, and Julia quickly turned back around to catch up with the other twenty some odd kids in their class. Julia whispered something to her sister about wishing they were in one of the other two second grade classes, though they quickly started laughing when they looked back up and saw Quentin had taped a sticky note with the words 'kick me, I'm stupid' to the back of one of their classmates. With a grin, he pressed a finger to his lips to shush them before his face fell upon the twins seeing their father walking by. When they saw him, they waved excitedly and, with a proud smile, Dr. Enrico Thompson waved back. Not wanting to sulk, Quentin hiked his shoulders up to his ears and jammed his hands into his pockets, his mind starting to wander as it usually did when he was trying to focus on schoolwork. He jumped again when Alice elbowed him, only to laugh a little when he saw their teacher and their teacher's assistant be caught off guard by a synth dog suddenly running past them, shortly followed by several scientists out of the Bioscience Division.

"Looks like some of Dr. Holdren's pets got out again," Julia rolled her eyes. "I ask my parents to let us have a real cat and they say no, we don't have enough hours in the day for a pet right now, but Dr. Holdren gets to play with synth animals all day every day."

"Sort of, I guess," Quentin said, scrunching up his face in confusion. "But they still make him do the boring science. You know, poking at plants and shit."

Alice smirked. "Ooo, are you being a risk taker today? Swearing during class and all?"

Quentin pointed at their teacher and teacher's assistant while the three of them weaved in and out of their either startled, amused, excited, or worried classmates.

"They're too busy trying to stop us from getting into trouble with those synth dogs," Quentin said simply. "At least it delays class a little."

"We're going to have an exciting class, though," Julia protested. "We're going to get to be up super close to some Coursers! Coursers, Quentin, Coursers!"

"Eh," Quentin shrugged. "They aren't going to let us see anything interesting. We're not eighth graders, who actually get to see how Coursers train! I heard one of the girls in eighth grade last year even got to try and fight one! They still treat us like babies. What's the point?"

"The point is we're not thirteen and fourteen year olds," Julia said, furiously shaking her head. "We're eight year olds! Or, I guess, some of the other kids in our grade are seven. But still! Coursers are way bigger than us!"

"Yeah?" Quentin said with a devious grin. "So are the synth gorillas!"

Julia squeaked when he winked at her and her twin sister and innocently clasped his hands behind his back. Having just about perfectly blended back into the group of their twenty some odd classmates, the three of them followed after their teacher and their teacher's assistant into the Synth Retention Bureau. It was only then, after about a minute, Alice noticed Quentin had been hiding a small throwing dart in his hands. She pushed herself in front of her sister, knowing how anxious and risk averse Julia was, and resisted the urge to grab Quentin by the shoulders, instead hissing something in his ear about not getting caught with something sharp or able to be thrown. Dr. Ayo is really strict and really mean, that's what daddy said. Quentin could get into trouble if someone sees him with that thing! He can be kind of annoying sometimes, and mean to Julia, but – Alice let out a sigh of relief when she saw Quentin seemingly drop the dart into his pocket and turn to take a look around them. She couldn't help but do the same. The SRB was much different than the rest of the Institute, filled to the brim with not only video monitors and computer terminals but psychologists, psychiatrists, and, as their teacher had warned them, Coursers. Something about being so close to some of the most adept synths in the Institute was exciting, but knowing they often went to the surface and would have to know how to handle it was overwhelming.

I'm not scared of the surface. It's different, but daddy said it is an interesting place and people can be safe up there if they have the right resources or are in the right place. Still…it probably isn't as nice as living down here.

"Class, this is Dr. Justin Ayo. As some of you may know, he…"

Alice tried to listen but quickly found she couldn't when she noticed Quentin slowly walking backwards and pulling the dart out of his pocket again. For half a second, she started to move to grab him by the wrist and pull him back but stopped when she saw two Coursers begin to walk into the space she would have needed to do so. In a matter of seconds, she heard the doors into the SRB open again, but all she saw was someone in a blue Institute Advanced Systems lab coat enter the Division before she jumped back and screamed. Suddenly, and with a confident smirk, Quentin slid into the small gap in between the two Coursers and discreetly jabbed one of them in the side with his dart before quickly doing the same to the other. He began to laugh when his class, their teacher, their teacher's assistant, and Dr. Ayo all turned to look at him, but the few seconds of levity and amusement were overshadowed by the Courser he had jabbed first whipping around and kicking the boy in the stomach, knocking him, winded, to the floor. Quentin let out a shocked cry of pain but got back on his feet. Clutching onto the dart, he tried to jab both of the Coursers now charging at him but dropped it. Shouts and the sound of movement all around him, Quentin just barely managed to roll out of the way of one of the Coursers, panting and shaking on the floor.

It all happened in less than a minute. As he struggled to get off the floor again, the Courser he had jabbed first snatched him up by his hair, painfully tugging at him and moving to throw him into the wall. Quentin squeezed his eyes shut, terror overtaking him, and he began shaking when he heard a voice he was pretty sure to be Dr. Ayo's attempting to use the recall codes on both Coursers over the din of the noise. Thrown into the corner of one of the walls where the hallway into the SRB branched off into its concourses, Quentin screamed when he opened his eyes and saw one of the Coursers still pushing towards him, shoving several of his classmates and just as many SRB scientists aside. Panicking and barely able to hear himself, Quentin tried to get out of the way but tripped. The Courser moved to grab him by the neck, and the eight year old screamed, terrified he was about to die, only to suddenly feel arms grab him. The Courser suddenly left his sight and all he saw was the back of whomever it was who had run in front of the Courser and thrown their arms behind themselves in an attempt to protect him. Suddenly, the shouting began to subside and he heard the repeated call of Dr. Ayo repeating the recall codes, one after the other until the Coursers ceased all activity. Then, the noise abated entirely.

Quentin, shaking badly and not even realising it himself, began to cry, whimpering. Noise began again, with the first being the voices of his teacher and teacher's assistant calming the class down, followed by Dr. Ayo telling several of the scientists to take the now limp and recalled Coursers away and to retrieve the small object on the ground he had (correctly) deduced provoked them. He then paged Bioscience's medical subdivision to bring aid for the several young students and the scientists who had been caught up in the chaos. The next thing he heard was a voice he recognised innately snapping at Dr. Secord to wait to say whatever she had to say to him and other high ranking Institute scientists, and to take up her issues with Dr. Li, whom he had come in the stead of. This man who had spoken then turned around and let go of the young boy for a second before suddenly tightly embracing him. When Quentin looked up, he saw it was his father, and he began to cry, clutching onto him the way he had when he was a baby and toddler.

"Quentin, what are we…" Nathan sighed, trying to comfort his shaking son while he too shook. "Don't scare me like that again."

Railroad Headquarters
January the 1st, 2288
17:26

"I heard back from Stockton," Desdemona said, lighting a cig. "It's bad news. From all he could ascertain, Conrad Kellogg is, in fact, an Institute operative. They're good, I'll give them that…but not knowing they had such a dangerous operative acting in the same area as us for at least a few years is frightening. I think it's a safe bet to say this might be the man responsible for interfering in and tanking a few operations these past few years, some of which we had thought were unrelated."

Glory swore under her breath, crushing a can of purified water she had finished drinking in the palms of her hands. Tom pulled up all of the contraptions from his headgear, and looked up and away from what he had been working on at his computer terminal. Deacon dropped the box he had been carrying which, thankfully, only held a smorgasbord of wigs and clothes he and some of the other operatives wore in the field. Carrington let out a tired and exasperated sigh, finishing the filing away of new or newly cleaned and disinfected medical supplies and equipment, and then called PAM into the main room of the organisation's underground headquarters from where she almost exclusively worked in the mainframe room. Hadley, sat near where Glory stood, was fidgeting between her glasses, wedding ring, and Pip-Boy, trying not to dwell too much on the implications of the news. Hearing it from the father of the missing girl had been bad enough the first time. For them all to now be damn near certain his daughter had been taken not only by the Institute but by one of their most skilled and dangerous operatives was worse. Yet, though she was adept at hiding it, the news shook Glory the most, something in her sure she had crossed paths with the man despite everything else she had seen, heard, and known telling her she could swear up and down that this man was a true stranger.

What did they do to me in the Institute? What was I to them? Was I a Courser? Was this man a part of me feeling I had to leave the Institute? Is it possible I once worked with him? Or for him?

"PAM," Carrington said, stepping over to the modified assaultron. "I presume you have already adjusted your probability matrices to align with this development?"

"All probability matrices are up to date," PAM confirmed. "New variable established as an operative for the Institute. Name of variable: Conrad Kellogg. Information received suggests variable being active in the immediate area of Randolph Safehouse. Probability of discovery by Institute has increased by 56%. Recommendation…terminate operations in vicinity of variable's activity."

"Does this mean Randolph Safehouse is officially compromised?" Tom said, walking over to one of the blackboards, ready to strike out the safehouse with a line through it with chalk. "PAM?"

"Randolph Safehouse is intact as of today, the first of January, year 2288. Probability of discovery by Institute is still high. Safest course of action would be to terminate operations to prevent detection."

"Thank you, PAM," Desdemona said, taking a draw on her cig and glancing to Tom. "We aren't going to terminate Randolph quite yet. I'm still surprised they weren't another casualty of the Switchboard disaster, but they have been dark for too long. As Hadley has noted, we haven't run any synth rescue operations out of there in a few months. We've been trying to discern if what happened with the girl being taken there was because of the Institute…and, now, we know it was."

Tom set down the chalk. "What did Stockton have to say about this Kellogg guy? Other than being with the Institute and being responsible for a girl going missing?"

"Well, firstly, he made the same observation we have, which is the Institute has not replaced the girl who was taken," Desdemona said with a slight frown. "But he also said, as we've heard before, the girl's father and a few people in the town claim to have spoken with her since then."

"It doesn't make sense," Hadley shook her head. "If it is true, then the Institute is letting her come home from time to time but always has her come back, which leaves us with only two possibilities – she comes and goes willingly, or they did take her and are keeping her on a short leash to manipulate the town."

"Stockton said Kellogg nearly killed people and threatened them half to death before the girl eventually went to the Institute," Desdemona took a long draw on her cig, her hands shaking a little. "He said the girl eventually went after speaking to an Institute scientist, if her father's recount is correct, but we can't trust it as fact. He's a grieving parent, as any would be, and we can't take such major risks on a hunch."

"You and the rest of them may not be able to," Deacon said, taking off his sunglasses to clean the lenses off on his shirt. "But I can. It's my whole fucking job, isn't it?"

"Deacon –" Glory tiredly began.

"I'm not talking about doing anything with Randolph, don't worry," He said, putting his hands up in surrender after he put his sunglasses back on his face. "I was talking about the other thing we've been worried about with the Institute. You know, the creepy town Stockton is sure killed his caravan?"

Desdemona and Carrington turned to each other, surprised, before turning back to Deacon.

"Have you learnt anything new about that situation?" Carrington asked sharply. "If I recall, Stockton has a trusted caravan guard attempting to see what they did with the synth girl he adopted."

"Yep," Deacon confirmed grimly. "I've only learnt a little bit more, but it seems just about certain this town is trying come up with a foolproof way to identify synths. The purpose still isn't clear. All things considered, I don't think it's too far fetched to believe the Institute could have an entire damn town to manipulate the Commonwealth with and make things easier for their Coursers."

Hadley eyed him strangely. "What are you thinking, Deacon? Are you suggesting you start an operation in there to see if the town is connected to the Institute?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Deacon said, rolling his eyes when everyone turned to him. "What? It is my job, after all. Why not? If we're reducing or stepping away from Randolph Safehouse – which isn't even one of my jobs – I can take up the task, can't I?"

Desdemona hesitated. "While I know it will be controversial," She finally began. "We probably don't have a choice, now, but to put Randolph under quarantine. We'll communicate with them solely through dead drop. Glory, can that be done?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. I'll let High Rise know about the change."

"But are we really going to send Deacon on a long term operation?" Carrington turned to Desdemona. "How would we even maintain communication with him?"

"We can use my MILAs to keep an eye on the town!" Tom eagerly put in. "I did what Des said, and put the low tech, pre-War surveillance gear on them."

"And, with Stockton's trusted man already in the town, he and Deacon can communicate with us through either dead drop or scheduled meetings with a Heavy or tourist," Desdemona paused, taking one last draw before stubbing out her cig. "We've trusted Deacon's instincts before, Stanley. It's part of how we found this place after the Switchboard."

"For what it's worth, if anyone could pull off an infiltration of a potential Institute operation, it would be Deacon," Glory said, sharing a knowing look with Hadley. "And it'll make sure, even with Randolph on ice, we can keep on top of the Institute as much as is possible."

"We do have to be careful. Even if we don't cut them out, Randolph could…it could be an Institute trap, so we will have to play it safe and slow. If we can help them out and buy time to verify they really are our people, of course we will, and, all things weighed..." Desdemona said melancholically. "You're right, Glory, we have to try to remain as many steps ahead of the Institute as possible and Deacon..."

"So…what's the plan?" Tom pressed. "Do my MILAs and Deacon go out into the field or not?"

"Desdemona," Carrington said with a short nod. "It's your call."

Silence.

"PAM, prepare whatever information you can about the town in question to prepare Deacon," She finally said. "Deacon…what's your briefing?"

"I'll be going to the town called Covenant, meeting up with Stockton's friend and colleague codenamed 'Honest Dan,'" Deacon promptly said, coming up to and shaking her hand. "I'll present myself to the town as Brian after Dan and I take a short preparation. And Des?" He squeezed her hand before letting it go. "I promise, I won't let you down. I owe it to Sam…and I owe it to you."

Diamond City
January the 3rd, 2288
13:11

"Hey, Danny," Piper snickered as the Diamond City Security Officer came over to where she was sitting, eating noodles. "You still mad at me for making you let me back in? Did Myrna –"

"Piper, listen, I…" Danny uncomfortably shifted, grimacing when the woman suddenly lost all humour in her countenance. "I hate to do this, but I don't have a choice. Arms up where we can see them. You're under arrest."

Her hands shaking, Piper set down her (mostly finished) noodles. She swallowed hard, and then started madly waving for her sister to come over. Much to her relief, Nat ran over the second she saw her sister looking scared, something she so rarely did. Though a few of the guards tried to push her back, Nat wrapped herself around her big sister, and scowled at all of them, silently willing them to stop and go away. They didn't. A guard stepped forward to try and pry her off her sister. Nat screamed, and the people who had otherwise been going about their day paused to see what was going on. Piper snapped at the guards not to lay a hand to her sister, but they did so anyways, and two of the security officers eventually pried Nat off of her. By then, more people had begun to take an interest in the situation, with Nat shouting at the security officers, insisting they couldn't arrest her sister. One of the officers, fed up, tried to forcibly push her to the side but was suddenly stopped by the firm hand of Vadim Bobrov, who had been taking a break from his bartending duties to pick up some meat from Polly. The guards let go of Nat, and Vadim offered her his hand which she clutched onto, still screaming at the guards to let her sister go. Danny tried to hush her but instead got snapped at by the thirteen year old, calling him a traitor when he put the handcuffs around Piper's wrists.

Letting out a brief cry of pain when another guard tightened the cuffs around her wrists, Piper gritted her teeth, trying not to let them see how much the way the cuffs were digging into her wrists hurt. She swallowed hard when she saw her sister resisting the urge to cry, and felt her stomach sink when Nat suddenly turned around, still holding onto Vadim, to flip off the mayor, who had come down from his office in the upper stands to see what the commotion was about. When she met his cold gaze, Piper scowled at the man, only to be surprised to see him stop short in his tracks upon Cait, whom herself had just come into the city and was finishing off a cigarette, breaking into a sprint to try get to where Piper and the crowd watching were in the centre of one of Diamond City's large market squares. Much to Piper's surprise, Cait did not start a fight with the security officers, and instead came over to Nat and embraced her, awkwardly stroking her hair in an almost motherly attempt to soothe her. Vadim, however, squared his shoulders, prepared to fight if he felt the need arose. Several of the people in the crowd of onlookers began chattering among themselves, gossiping more than anything else, and even the usually high out of his mind Solomon seemed to be interested in what was happening. Seeing the heated, unwavering scowl Piper held towards the mayor, whom himself was leisurely walking towards her, several of the guards held her arms in full restraint, with Danny being the only one who seemed to be uncomfortable with it.

"That's enough, nothing to see here, everyone," McDonough said, waving a dismissive hand when he was within no more than a few feet away from Piper. "We've all seen this one resist arrest before."

"Because you trying to lock me out of the city where I live isn't enough for you, is it?" Piper snapped, seething. "Why are you even doing this, McDonough? What the fuck have I done this time?"

"You and I both know the answer to that, Piper," McDonough said coldly. "Your paper has been stoking enough fear around here since you published that ridiculous article. It's gotten out of hand."

"Right, so the best way to prove your sorry arse isn't with the Institute is to arrest the one lass willing to talk shite about you?" Cait rolled her eyes. "Not really sure where you're getting the logic for this from. If you were going to arrest her, why didn't you do it right away?"

"What's going on here?" A new voice said, weaving through the crowd to get to them to reveal a teenage boy with messy dark curls in a lab coat. "Mayor McDonough, what's –"

"Nothing more than what should have been a simple arrest," McDonough told him. "Unfortunately, Piper has chosen to make this unnecessarily difficult for everyone."

"I don't think Piper is the one being difficult," Vadim said mildly. "Cait is right. If you're still pissed about 'The Synthetic Truth,' then why wait until now?"

"The suspicion and baseless rumours are getting out of hand," McDonough said curtly. "Piper cannot keep going around spreading these accusations without consequence."

"Are you out of your mind?" The teenager in the lab coat exclaimed. "All she's done wrong is write an article and let people make up their minds!"

"That's enough out of you, Emmett! Go back to the Science! Centre with Scara and do whatever it is you science geniuses do!" McDonough snapped. "Or do I have to request your parents –"

"Because they would be so happy to hear you talk to their son that way," Piper taunted. "Keep talking McDonough, it's all you're good for."

"Yeah!" Nat agreed, pumping her fist in the air and glaring at McDonough. "Let her go you son of a –"

"Are you seriously going to throw her in prison over an article?" Emmett gaped at the mayor in disbelief. "Mayor McDonough –"

"I will not say it again, Emmett Branson," McDonough said, raising a hand to silence the teenager. "Why don't you go back to your books and experiments, schoolboy? Wouldn't that be fun?" He turned to Danny. "Take her away, Sullivan. As for the rest of you, make sure the rest of them don't cause any trouble."

"You know something, McDonough?" Cait said, releasing Nat to cross her arms in defiance. "There's a real special place in hell for people like you."

"Enough!" McDonough brushed his hands off, watching Piper be taken away and the guards hold the others back. Then, he turned to the crowd of people who had been watching, climbed up the steps of the Super Salon to be facing all of them, and shook his head. "Everybody? Everybody! I need everyone's attention."

The crowd fell silent, and everyone turned to him expectantly.

"I would like to address the subject that is on everyone's mind, and that is the disgusting article Piper has written," McDonough said, unable to hide his irritation. "Diamond City has stood united for over one hundred and fifty years, and what keeps us united are two things. First is the great, green guardian protecting us. The Wall. Our protector and our saviour from the filth of the outside. And, second, is our faith and trust in each other. The faith and trust that has given us prosperity, security, and education for every citizen."

"What a lying piece of shite," Cait muttered to Vadim. "More he talks like this, more I'm inclined to believe the bastard is working for the Institute as a spy, to hell with whether or not he's a synth."

"And while the paper," McDonough continued, confidence growing in his voice. "Might point fingers at synths and other ghost stories to drive us apart, we will not betray this sacred trust."

"Yeah, trust," Nat snorted. "You didn't even let Danny read Piper her rights, never mind that she's had them read to her like a hundred times before."

"Now, I want everyone to hear these next words very carefully," McDonough cast a dark look towards Nat, Cait, Vadim, and Emmett before turning back to the others with almost glib self assurance. "I am not a synth. I am the same flesh and blood boy who grew up on these streets, who was born in a shack just down the waterfront to Martha and Patrick McDonough, their first child and first son. And I will not abandon this city due to the heinous allegations of the press!"

"Oh, fuck you," Cait rolled her eyes and shared a knowing look with Vadim. "How long do you reckon he's going to keep Piper locked up? I mean –"

"God bless this city!" McDonough declared, smiling smugly when the crowd overwhelmingly cheered. "God bless the Wall!"

"Ugh," Vadim grimaced when McDonough stepped down and began to shake hands with people. "You are right, Cait. He's so full of shit."

Cambridge Police Station
January the 7th, 2288
18:24

A month. He had the reply from Elder Maxson for over a month, yet he could not seem to stop going through it to confirm he understood everything.

It was official. The Prydwen would arrive in the Commonwealth by the end of 2288, but could arrive sooner if the Brotherhood's preparations were able to be completed ahead of schedule. Knowing that made the Paladin smile, well aware of the drive and dedication of his Brothers and Sisters back in the Capital Wasteland. Having a direct and thorough response from the Elder, too, gave him hope. Briefly pausing from preparing for his fifth thorough analysis of the formal response, the Paladin allowed himself a moment to reminisce on what had brought him to the Commonwealth. It had been not only duty or orders, but his own request after discussion with Maxson in one of their less formal conversations. The Paladin found himself smiling again. We've known each other for the last six years. Strange to think, when we formally met, he was fourteen and I only eighteen. I couldn't be more proud to have worked side by side with Arthur before he became the Elder. After years of ineffective leadership, in the last year alone, even with the previous four into his Eldership aside, he has truly revived and brought the Brotherhood back together to what we should be. It is an incredible feat. Standing up from the computer terminal to stretch himself out, the Paladin took a look out the window from the second floor of the old police station, as he had found himself doing often, and a bit of pride for what he and his soldiers had accomplished so far began to swell in his chest.

"Reconnaissance Team 429-Alpha, codenamed Artemis, have been silent for far too long," Danse had shaken his head. "I fear the worst. It's unlike them, and especially Paladin Brandis."

"It is massively concerning. Our previous squad was massively successful just six years ago," Arthur had said, starting to pace. "Yes, it was before I became Elder, but I have read up on all of their reports. This should have been a routine mission, yet it seems to have become anything but."

"How could something like this happen?" Karissa had frowned. "I sincerely hope Brandis and his team haven't taken absence without leave."

"I agree, Missus Maxson," Danse had agreed. "Brandis, Varham, Astlin, and Faris going AWOL would be not only a disappointing loss but completely out of character and dangerous. I do, however, have a proposal for how to solve this dilemma."

"Please tell," Arthur had said, turning towards him. "We cannot afford to have such a security risk when we're preparing to enter the Commonwealth in full force within the next year."

"I have a list of several soldiers under my command of whom I am certain would be willing to investigate the Commonwealth and this incident ahead of the rest of the Brotherhood," Danse had replied. "While, yes, we're already well into 2287, I believe I could assemble my own reconnaissance operation to arrive in the Commonwealth by November at the latest."

Arthur had hesitated. "I have full faith in you and your abilities, Danse," He had finally said. "I have for a long time, and you have more than proven it. More so, I have seen the loyalty to you and the Brotherhood your soldiers feel. If you can write a full proposal and get the signatures of those you will be bringing with, then I will authorise this without question."

"Thank you, Elder," Danse had said with a bow. "I greatly appreciate the support."

"You don't need the formality, we are not in formal public," Arthur had shaken his head. "I value your input, Danse, yes, but I just as much value your friendship."

Danse had smiled. "I value the same, Arthur."

A bomb going off in the distance, followed by the sounds of gunfire, drew the Paladin back from his thoughts. He stepped closer to the window to take a cursory look at what was happening outside, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the perimeter and the police station itself were still more than secure. There would be more work to be done soon, but it did not have to happen imminently.

He sat down again at the computer terminal and returned back to the massive reply and all of the information attached with it. Among them were, as requested, files about former Brotherhood members that were either known to be or most likely to be in the Commonwealth. There were several Maxson had noted of being particularly major, people they would absolutely want to bring back into the Brotherhood before launching the war against the Institute. Skimming through, Danse paused every so often and waited for the information to load. Thousands. There were thousands of pages of information sent to him by Maxson and Lancer Captain Kells, but his eyes focused first on a name he recognised, a man he had met only a handful of times but one he recalled well.

Branson, Derek Johnathan – Registration BR-109KC

Date Of Birth – April the 10th, 2235

Derek Branson attained the rank of Knight Captain in 2279 by Elder Owyn Lyons shortly before Elder Lyons' death in January of 2280. This promotion was granted after consideration of Branson's contributions and service to the Brotherhood since May of 2255 when he joined as an Initiate. Chief among these contributions was Branson's fearless service in the war against the Enclave, up to and including during the final battle where the Brotherhood not only defeated the Enclave but reclaimed the water purifier for the sake of providing free, clean water to everyone in the area of former Maryland, DC, and Virginia. In June of 2282, Branson was blatantly insubordinate to the Paladin he was under command of by refusing to carry out the execution of a group of cult members from the Church Of The Children Of Atom in the town of Megaton, who were refusing to let the Brotherhood remove the nuclear bomb they worshipped. The nuclear bomb had been disarmed since mid-2277, but the Brotherhood required the bomb for analysis. The Children Of Atom interfered in that mission. Branson refused to carry out the execution on the grounds of the Children Of Atom protesting and worshipping peacefully. The Elder permitted Branson to resign from the Brotherhood rather than be dishonourably discharged for this offence, and, out of respect for his years of service, he and his family were brought directly to Diamond City in the Commonwealth with all of their possessions, which were quite substantial. This prior insubordination aside, Branson would be an asset if brought back to the Brotherhood.

Writing a note to himself to keep an eye out for BR-109KC, Danse continued to go through the files, quickly finding, much to his surprise, a file on whom he quickly decided would be one of the most important people for the Brotherhood to bring back into the fold.

Li, Dr. Madison Brianne – Registration LI-119K

Date Of Birth – July the 21st, 2229

Dr. Madison Li was given the honorary rank of Knight for her work on Project Purity and Liberty Prime by Elder Owyn Lyons in 2277. Liberty Prime could not have been restored without the aid of Dr. Li, as she solved the issues with Prime's power source and consumption. Dr. Li's work on portable fusion power was integral to this, and her work also led to the activation of the water purifier by Sentinel Sarah Jeannette Lyons, who gave her life to do so and ensure the safety of all in the immediate aftermath of the Enclave's defeat. To bring Dr. Li back to the Brotherhood would not only be a major asset but would allow for the restoration of Liberty Prime for the war against the Institute. Dr. Li was the only person who was able to understand the numerous information memorandums and manuals left by the United States Military. This included information she deciphered from what the Brotherhood had retrieved from the former Pentagon, where the United States Of America had headquartered many of their military operations. The Pentagon has been a Brotherhood stronghold since the War in 2077 and has been renamed as the Citadel. Dr. Li was also incredibly valuable in directing the resources and necessary personnel to ensure the Brotherhood could carry out our mission in defeating the Enclave. Elder Owyn Lyons permitted Dr. Li to leave the Brotherhood in late 2279, after which she left for the Commonwealth. There has been no contact by anyone in the Brotherhood with Dr. Li since. Dr. Li's whereabouts in the Commonwealth are currently unknown, but locating her is important to the Brotherhood's mission, and great care should be taken, when she is located, to persuade her to rejoin.

"I'll have a Scribe send out a notice to Haylen and Rhys to keep a look out for Dr. Li," Danse smiled. "She could be the key to a strong, quick defeat of the Institute. We just need to find her first."