The Commonwealth
June the 17th, 2289
10:27

"The name's Sturges. I know this is going to be one hell of an undertaking, but I'm sure, putting our heads together, we'll work it out. Imagine it must have been a hell of a hike, so try and make yourselves as comfortable as possible. I know an old gas station ain't the nicest place to be, but we couldn't risk doing this at the Castle, not with the Brotherhood having showed up there."

Taken aback by the somewhat frigid demeanour of the woman who had arrived alongside a much more enthusiastic tinkerer, Sturges jammed his hands into the pockets of his overalls when it became clear the woman had no intention of shaking his hand and, instead, began to quickly assess the site. Much happier to see him was the woman who had asked him to lead the endeavour. Nora Norwich accepted a loose hug from him with a smile when he offered, happy to see his friend again, with Cait Felgate doing the same before taking the former lawyer's nearest hand, unease still not having fully left her. In the distance, a couple miles northwest, the town she had called home, where she had meant to raise her son, was visible on the horizon. The changes there still having yet to settle for her, she tried not to dwell on the sombre unease she had felt stepping into Sanctuary for the first time in well over a year and a half, and upon seeing how much of it had been rebuilt. More and more and more each day, it was beginning to look as it had before the War again; an effort she had no doubt was being directed by Codsworth. The sight and the growing number of people settling there had been difficult enough to see, but seeing her own home being repaired and the only one no one had been allowed in made her heart sink when she thought about it.

The bittersweet feeling of the good happening at Sanctuary against what she wished had never been damaged by the War in the first place dissipated entirely, however, when her eyes fell on the ever more weathered billboard just outside the gas station they were now working in. Vault-Tec.

"I don't really know what we'll need to pull this off, but…" Nora sighed when Sturges turned to her, looking worried. "Is there any chance we can demolish that billboard? I…I don't want the reminder when we're trying to…"

"Had already been planning on it," Sturges replied with a reassuring smile. "We're going to need a lot of steel, and melting chunks of that sucker down could lighten the load for what we'll have to scavenge. It'll be down before you know it, just have some of my guys coming down from Sanctuary this afternoon after they've got all their supplies together. We're going to do everything we can to hit the ground running with this."

"Thanks," Nora said, returning his smile with a weak one of her own. "I know you've only had a chance to take a glance at them, but did the plans make any sense to you? I," She lowered her voice, seeing Desdemona and Tom in the distance over his shoulders. "I gave you the original copies," She quietly explained. "They…they have photocopies I had made in Diamond City as soon as Nick and I…well, as soon as we returned with them."

"Figured as much," Sturges said, keeping his voice just as low. "Don't worry, I'll be extremely careful with them for you. I know this has all put you through the ringer, these last near two years, so, whatever you need, just let me know. I'm just glad to see you again and see you're doing as best you can, Nora."

"It's good to see you again too," She said, sighing when Desdemona and Tom slowly began to approach them. "How was your work?" She said, quickly changing the subject. "You said you were investigating with Hancock?"

"After finding out about some concerning things Vault-Tec had been planning on, yeah," He shook his head. "Ended up surprisingly well for everyone. The experiment they had planned had been sabotaged by its own project leaders, so the Vault that was supposed to be fucked with is actually alright. They've been a perfectly functional, stable Vault since the bombs dropped, and currently trade with the rest of us out here."

"Really?" Nora said, surprised. "That's a relief."

"It really is," Sturges agreed, running a hand through his hair. "The second Vault, where the experiment had been sabotaged, is now completely sealed off and no one can ever get into it again but we did end up investigating it before sealing it with a fuck ton of concrete with permission from their Overseer; a kid had gotten bitten by a mole rat while sneaking around in the second Vault down there, which is why we were asked to search it. Long story short, Hancock and I came across a Mister Handy programmed to do scientific research in there, and its job had been to create a cure for whatever it was infected the buggers down there. The kid got the cure and is fine now, no one can get in there and hurt again, and the robot researcher is off to Goodneighbour with Hancock."

"Surprised anything involving all of that ended up well, but damn," Cait remarked, squeezing Nora's hand when she felt her tense a little. "It's alright," She whispered to her. "The kid there was alright, and your baby is going to be alright, too."

"That's why we're here," Nora glanced between her, Sturges, and the approaching Desdemona and Tom. "I take it the site is workable for you?" She called out to them.

"It should be," Desdemona cautiously replied. "Certainly…out of the way of the Brotherhood, but," She turned to Sturges. "Your people won't be interfering with the work here, will they?"

"You mean the people up at Sanctuary?" Sturges shook his head. "They're seven miles up that way," He said, pointing towards the first few houses on the far horizon. "No, only guys coming down from there are like me. Minutemen, and good at putting things together. There isn't even much out here anyone else'd want either, so we should be all good. We're out of the way, have a decent space to work in and a decent space those of us working here can stay in while we figure out and put this bitch together."

"I like it," Tom said cheerfully. "There's a ton I can study later, too, in just the old fuel pumps! Couldn't have picked a better location, far as I'm concerned. And the old backroom of the shop? Going to be a perfect, cosy little bunk in no time!"

"I suppose it being near one of your…I suppose it is at least defensible, should the need arise," Desdemona said, eyeing him up and down. "But I have to reiterate this: none of your men can know who I am, or who Tom is. As far as anyone can know, we are either part of your Minutemen or are caravaners who helping you materially on this project. Understood?"

"Absolutely," Sturges said, offering to shake her hand again and, albeit a bit begrudgingly, this time she did. "We'll do our best to make you feel right at home as the two of you work out of here, too. I know it's going to be a long and hefty undertaking, so all we can do is all support each other best we can."

"If we're going to be successful, then yes," Desdemona said, warily turning to Nora. "We'll keep you aware of our progress, Miss Norwich, but keep in mind we're working with incomplete and difficult material. We'll cooperate with your Minutemen, but please don't forget the risk we're taking."

Nora tightly smiled. "Of course not."

"What about the risks we've taken?" Cait muttered when Desdemona began to walk away with Sturges and Tom. "Seems we've done a fuck of a lot more for them than she's done for us."

"Hard not to agree," Nora said, crossing her arms, a bit of relief rising in her when Cait affectionately looped an arm around her. "I can't believe we only just have learnt what the hell the damned prototype we retrieved for them does."

"Can't quite believe it meself," Cait sighed when Nora glanced at her. "Only thing I wasn't surprised by was who told us."

"It's a modified stealth boy," Hadley had said, nervously taking the device out of her bag and setting it on her kitchen counter. "I…I replaced it with a regular one to show you, and I'll have this one back where it's meant to be by tomorrow, but…" She had shaken her head. "You could've died getting this for us. You deserve to know what it is and what it does, even if the rest of them don't think so."

"I'm almost certain she's the only one among them who cares about this – about me – for unselfish reasons," Nora shook her head. "It feels like all of them are trying to manipulate me except for her. I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but it's disheartening. I had really hoped they would be…after what Amari told me and Nick, I had really hoped they would be different."

"Deacon wouldn't be half bad if he weren't so sketchy," Cait remarked, rolling her eyes. "But the ex-Courser really rubs me the wrong way."

"She's a bitch," Nora agreed, narrowly observing Desdemona and Tom surveying the site with Sturges. "I don't know what Desdemona sees in her. She's so damn smug about having been a Courser who left the Institute yet can't be forthcoming about anything. Though that seems to be how almost all of them are."

"It's a good thing only Desdemona and Tom are going to be out here," Cait said. "Otherwise, it might get ugly. I don't understand them, but they keep underestimating you and being shown they're wrong. Sooner or later, they're going to have to recognise it. You're not weak or manipulatable, to hell with what they seem to think."

"You're right. I'm not," Nora said, her voice hardening but her body relaxing a little when Cait lightly treaded her fingers through her hair. "And I don't let people who try get away with it forever."

Acadia
June the 18th, 2289
19:08

The photograph of the synth who called himself 'Dima' had been unsettling enough and raised more than a few questions for Diamond City's most effective detective. Seeing and speaking to him had then, unsurprisingly, made the feeling worse.

Focusing on the fact the girl they were meant to bring home was still safely at the unusual, former observatory, Nicholas Julius Valentine tried to put the man in the observatory's control room out of his mind, descending the stairs with his companions. The case. The case was the most important thing. More important than whatever was in the Pandora's Box of the man in the observatory's control room. The man claiming to be his brother. Steady and calm, walking by his side, he paused when his secretary did, pulling him aside about halfway down the first flight of stairs towards the basement of the former observatory. Hearing their footsteps stop behind him, the General of the Minutemen only continued his descent with his right hand man and his right hand man's youngest child when the aged detective gave him a nod to tell him it was alright. Sure more questions were racing through the detective's mind than his, the General politely nodded back with a tip of his hat before continuing his descent, leaving the detective and his secretary to their own, private discussion. When he caught up with them, the General was unsurprised his right hand man's youngest child, his eighteen year old daughter, was still the most cheerful of them. He let out a light sigh of relief when he saw the young woman they were hoping to bring home working on one of the machines in the basement when they reached it, laughing a little with his right hand man when his daughter and the young woman noticed each other; almost surprised to see each other but happy nonetheless.

"You're back, Ada?" Kasumi exclaimed, high fiving the other girl with both palms when they were within arms reach. "I…" Her face fell. "Did…did Kenji and Rei send you back?"

"Sort of," Ada said, sitting down across from her on the floor after Kasumi did so first. "So…you still think they're not your parents?"

Kasumi hesitated, startled for a few seconds when she heard the footsteps of and then saw Preston enter the room with Ada's father.

"I don't know," She eventually said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I…I want to believe they are but I…I already told you. I feel off, like I'm not supposed to be here, and there are things in my childhood I can't remember, the strange dreams, and –"

"Kasumi, breathe," Ada told her, setting a hand to each of her shoulders when the other girl began to panic, her eyes fluttering open and shut rapidly. "You're not a synth. Think about it this way: how old do the other synths look? Way older than you. Why would they make a synth look basically like a kid and then stick the synth out in the middle of nowhere?"

Kasumi brushed her hair out of her eyes, her breathing slowly steadying. "I guess…" She slowly said, her voice uneven. "When you put it that way, it sounds kind of silly. But I…I've hurt them. And there's too much here."

"Too much here?" Ada repeated, eyeing her curiously and still holding her steady. "Are you just crazy productive here or something?"

"No, it's not…" Kasumi went quiet, but, feeling sick to her stomach, nervously waved to tell Preston and Derek it was alright to get closer. "It's not that," She said, her voice even more anxious when the two men sat down beside them. "I can't believe I'm doing this," She muttered to herself, staring down at her hands in her lap for a minute.

"Take your time," Preston calmly told her. "You've been through a lot, and us coming back is, I'm sure, a shock."

"It kind of is," Kasumi admitted, still not looking up at any of them. "I…look, I had questions and I came here for answers. Answers I don't think I can get, at least…it's been a rough few months."

"How so?" Ada said, struggling to hide her curiosity. "And why stay if it's been rough?"

"Because, if anything…" Kasumi sighed when Ada let her go, slowly looking between her, Preston, and Derek. "I feel like the only one who knows there's something wrong here," She said, suddenly looking rather embarrassed again. "I'm sorry. I know I sound crazy, and…there's…I think there's more going on here than just the refuge."

"You do?" Derek said, keeping his voice slow and even so as not to startle her. Keep her talking. The way they had taught us to in the… "What's led you to think so?"

"A…a lot. You all coming back at the end of October made me think. About a lot of things but especially things around here. It…it made me question things. Everything, really, and because of it I got curious, which led me to find some really worrying things," Kasumi suddenly turned around, expecting to find someone listening in or about to pounce on them only to find they were all still alone. "I was asked to help do repairs on the machines and computers Dima is always hooked up to back in February. I learnt, while doing that, all of those computers either hold his memories or offload data from his brain…although it could be a mix of both."

Derek nodded. "Did you discover anything in particular to make you suspicious?"

"I did," Kasumi said, shifting to pull her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees and wrapping her arms around herself. "I found out there's well over a century of life experiences in there, which I guess isn't surprising considering he's a synth, and an older model synth, one of those that have been around a long time. What…what scared me were these."

"Holotapes?" Preston said, keeping his voice quiet when Kasumi pulled up a small piece of wall next to her and anxiously removed a few tapes. "I assume you downloaded information to them."

"I did," Kasumi said, pushing them towards him and Derek. "Some of it's what I found, but a few of them I…well, I stole them. But I had to. The information I downloaded was from Dima's computers, specifically the things I found that scared me. You might have to wade through it a bit, because it's a lot of dense data and statistical models. Those are the ones I've taken from as far back as I could to as recently as last month. It's not a one off occurrence. He made and keeps making data and statistical models on what would happen if the fog overtook Far Harbour, or if a nuclear detonation happened on the Island, or if an invasion by the Brotherhood or Institute happened...and death counts for all of them."

Ada suddenly looked sick. "Do you think he's planning to kill people?"

"I don't know and that's why I'm scared," Kasumi said, curling into herself again. "I've been starting to wonder if Dima acts open and welcoming because he's hiding a plan to wipe out the rest of the Island or, really, any number of people. I could leave but I don't want to until I know the people here are going to be safe. If Dima wants to kill people, I want them to have a fighting chance."

"Which is admirable," Derek said, though his voice quickly turned stern. "If it looks as though your life is in severe or active danger, however, we still ask you come with us, if not for your sake then for that of your parents."

Kasumi hesitated. "I'll think about it."

"You clearly mean well, Kasumi," Preston said kindly. "You wouldn't have gone to the trouble to investigate any of this if you didn't want to help people."

"I…thanks," Kasumi sighed. "The information on the holotapes I stole," She eventually said, her voice uneven and nearly embarrassed. "I took them after I realised Dima, Faraday, and Chase – the former Courser who helps synths get here – head into a laboratory for hours and then emerge looking as though they've been fighting. After some eavesdropping, I found out they've been divided on whether or not to retrieve old memories Dima stored in what's now the Children Of Atom's base on what used to be a nuclear submarine. Those holotapes I stole...they have a programme written by Faraday to access and retrieve those memories."

"You want us to go and get those memories?" Ada said, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "Before they can get them back?"

"Yes," Kasumi said, chewing at the inside of her cheek. "Because if Dima is hiding something awful, we – everyone – need to know about it to make sure things don't fall to pieces and ruin everyone's lives. If he gets them first, he could alter them, and we need to stop that before it can happen."

The Commonwealth
June the 21st, 2289
13:01

"Looks like we've finally latched onto the signal and gotten the coordinates. We should probably stop back by the police station to pick up supplies and prepare. Who knows what we'll find there."

"Good work, Haylen. I concur. Risking running out of ammunition or supplies would be bad, especially if we end up encountering raiders or gunners alongside this 'Mechanist's' robots."

Scribe Janet Haylen could not help but smile as she sat down across from her direct superior and close friend, unpacking her lunch after taking another good look around them. Albeit a bit hot out, the shade she, the Paladin, and the Knight had found under a set of trees near a small stream was nice. In a decent enough mood, Rhys even gave her a smile when she split off some of her liquorice and handed him some, restraining his happiness she offered him some of his favourite sweet. The both of them out of their power armour but it stood right beside them, Danse and Rhys both seemed relieved to be able to stretch their bodies, even just a little, before turning back towards the former Cambridge Police Station. Keeping guard for them was the strange robot which called itself 'Ada,' something Danse, after having thought on it for a little, had begun to find rather amusing. Same name as our former Brother's daughter, though she was what? Around ten or so the last time I saw her around the Citadel? Cute kid. Definitely lucky to have a father who was well respected in our Order. It's a shame Elder Maxson couldn't persuade him to rejoin. Taking a few sips from his water bottle, Danse glanced around them, smiling when he saw a small rabbit with its apparent mother hopping on by near the stream. Haylen laughed a little when she noticed them herself, the baby hopping onto its mother's back as she crossed the shallowest part of the creek.

"You know, one of the things I miss most about the Capital Wasteland are the creatures," Haylen remarked with a smile. "I've always loved seeing Didelphis virginiana when they're out and about with their young. Seeing as they're – if I remember what I read in the Citadel a few years ago correctly – the only marsupials native to North America, I'm glad they survived the War and are still doing well for themselves. Their natural resistance to rabies, too, I'm sure also helped them survive long term."

"Interestingly, from what the Brotherhood has been able to gather all across the former United States since our founding in 2077, it seems all but certain the rabies virus went extinct either during or shortly after the War," Danse said, pausing to take another few sips of his water. "Considering what it did to people, it's certainly no loss to the world. When I was learning how to treat serious injuries or conditions that could arise in the field, I learnt about it as a precaution, in the event of the slim chance of it still being out there. The only thing I can liken what it does to a person is the end result of becoming a feral ghoul."

"Protocol at that point is to put them out of their misery," Rhys shook his head. "We can't take any chances. I've heard there's a problem with ghouls out on the West Coast, after something unanticipated took place at the NCR's former capital. Our Brothers and Sisters out there are resilient as hell. It was a few years back, shortly before I was transferred out here."

Haylen turned to him in surprise. "I thought things were fairly stable on the West Coast. Though I haven't met him myself, I have heard Elder Maxson and the Proctors speaking highly of their Elder, Elder Quintus. I know Proctor Quinlan has compared him to the late Elder Lyons, which is part of why I thought things were stable out there."

"They have been since you joined," Rhys told her. "Which was only four years ago, and, if I'm being honest, I had reservations about you when Paladin Danse brought you in as a Scribe, but you've more than proven me wrong."

"You both are impressive in your own rights, especially in your dedication to your duties but, I agree, you've grown a lot since we met, Haylen," Danse said, smiling at her. "I know I was tough on you the first year and a half, but, given you adjusted so well, I don't think I needed to push you so hard."

"That's very complimentary of you," She said, looking caught between embarrassment and pride. "Thanks, Danse. I'm flattered you have so much faith in me."

"You've earnt that faith by your own hand," He said, before sighing when he looked to Rhys. "I've never been to the West Coast, but I remember hearing about it shortly after it happened from Paladin Kreig. He had family out there and lost them because of it. After losing Sentinel Lyons…I think a part of him broke. Her death, actually…" He shook his head. "It was the first time I saw him cry. I had just become a Knight at the time, me and Culter both, actually, and it was a serious dichotomy. In a way, it was the first time I saw him as human; not just a model soldier."

"Having met both him and Sentinel Lyons' brother before the both of them passed – albeit in very different circumstances – I understand. They were both truly some of the Brotherhood's best," He took a few bites of his liquorice before turning back to Haylen. "On April 20th, 2282, the NCR's former capital – Shady Sands, which had been its first capital – was destroyed by what, from what the Brotherhood was able to discern, was almost certainly a tactical nuke."

Haylen stared at him, horror snatching her. "What? Did we ever figure out who was even capable of doing that?"

"No," Rhys said, anger rising in his chest and voice. "Elder Quintus has an open investigation into the potential of – somehow – the Enclave not having been completely eradicated, an investigation I was on before I was transferred out here. He asked me to go personally, after I nearly died helping search the wreckage for any survivours. What I'll never forget is when I found a little boy – no older than six or seven – hiding in an old, fucked up refrigerator. I helped him to safety, and he was taken in by the Brotherhood. He must be old enough to be an Initiate, now, and I truly hope he is. He has the potential – from his early childhood resilience alone – to be a great Knight one day."

Haylen nodded. "I can only imagine what going through something like that must have been like," She said quietly. "I assume you found him far from the central blast?"

"On the outskirts of what remained of Shady Sands, yes," Rhys said, looking unusually disturbed and emotional. "He told me his name was Max. He was terrified, understandably, and needed a lot of medical treatment. Radaway, preventatives, you get the picture. I'm not good with kids at all, but that was the one time I really understood one. He must have lost his entire family there…and I did too. If you wondered why I'm so harsh and assume the worst of people, this is why. It's best to be on the safe side. My friend Titus, who was sponsored with me when we were fourteen, was just as horrified by what we saw. Because of it, we swore to never let our guard down for anything we might encounter in the field. Assume the worst. Always."

"Unfortunately, we often have to do that," Danse said, standing up to stretch himself out. "But," He turned to Haylen. "I'm impressed by and glad you helped diffuse the situation at the Minutemen's 'Castle.' We learnt a lot more than we might have otherwise, and, prickly as their commanding officer there was, we got a decent look around their facility and learnt more about both the Institute and this 'Mechanist.'"

"Just doing my job," She replied, pulling out her sandwich and taking a few bites, staring towards the creek, a little lost in thought. You really are the best person I've met in the Brotherhood, Danse and I…all of that makes you make more sense, Rhys, but…in some ways I'm still uneasy. That girl and Prime's original creator…did we do the right thing, taking them? She always seemed sad, and – "Do you ever wonder if we've traded away a bit of our humanity?" She eventually said, looking nervous when Danse turned to her, surprised. "With everything we have to do?"

He considered that. "In some ways, we have to accept there are awful things we have to confront. In the war with the Enclave, I learnt that in some of the worst ways possible. There was a brilliant scientist I had the honour of meeting, albeit only a few brief times, who was murdered by the Enclave, a Dr. James Matthew Davis. He was one of the masterminds behind Project Purity, and his death…it was horrific."

Haylen sighed. "I can only imagine," She fell silent a moment. "I guess, maybe, I just wish we were able to avoid violent confrontation to exert control but…I'm starting to think that was idealistic of me."

"Yes, but it's a testament to your character," Danse reassuringly replied. "You're a good person, Haylen, even if you worry you're not. Having served with you these last four years, I can say so with absolute certainty, and I am."

Goodneighbour
June the 26th, 2289
11:41

It was bright. White, then pale pink and beige. Something felt strange and fluttering and, then, a screen came into focus in front of her, a rendition of, she was near certain, Swan Lake playing. Feeling stranger still, she tried to move towards the screen to push it up.

She moved quicker than she had meant to, nearly slamming the screen upwards before, trying to get a better look around, she fell over and onto the floor. The floor.

Things coming into better focus, she gasped when she saw a non-functional, white Mister Handy unit on a table across the room from her. Her mind racing, she quickly looked down, awe weaving all around and through her at the sight of hands, legs… My hands. My legs, her mind corrected her. I did it! I'm – Startling when the doors to the room opened and a woman with long, auburn hair tied into a large braided bun atop her head entered, she found herself too surprised to do much more than stare at her, only trying to shake herself out when the woman quickly came over to her and knelt down before her, offering her both of her hands to help her up. Slowly, the woman rose first, and she, albeit a bit wobbly, did so too, clutching tightly onto her hands. When she was steady on her feet, not even taking a few seconds to think, she tightly embraced the woman, who, to her surprise, gently embraced her too. Seeing a second woman in a lab coat entering the room out of the corners of her eyes, she beamed when the woman tucked her clipboard and pen under her arm and smiled at her. After a minute, she let go and, the woman who had helped her to her feet still keeping her steady, carefully made her way over to a couch on the other side of the room. She stared at the disabled unit when she sat down, much closer to it, her mind racing.

Her body. It was her body, or, at least, her old body.

Seeing it rendered just about useless was strange, an odd sensation of fluttering and then a light falling of something – tears, she suddenly realised – on her face.

It had worked. It had really worked.

"How are you feeling?" The woman in the lab coat said, sitting down across from her on the couch, the first woman taking her clipboard and pen from her and beginning to take notes. "I apologise for not being here when you came to. My business partner upstairs is not as…responsible, and unfortunately drew myself and Dr. Davis away."

"It is alright. And I feel so strange," She said, pausing. "It's…"

"I'm sure it is, but, please, listen to me," Amari said calmly, reaching over to reassuringly pat her hands. "You can hear me. Can you tell me, then, your name?"

"My designation is Contagious Vulnerability Robotic Infirmary Engineer. Or Curie. I prefer Curie," She said, looking between her and the woman taking notes. "Sorry, I…these vocal cords are very strange."

"I can only imagine," The woman taking notes said, startling her. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, it has simply been a while since I've heard someone speak as you do," Curie shook her head. "I can't quite place your accent. Is it Irish or British? It's not as hard as the Irish accent but the British is also too…"

"More than likely a mix of both," The woman replied, laughing a little. "My father was Irish, had come here with his family when he was quite young, though I certainly can't fathom how they managed it, but I was raised, by him, of course, in a Vault in this country."

"Ah, mixed. Well, it is quite cute," Curie said, happy when the woman smiled. "I am not French, but this is the voice my friends gave me."

"Recalling such a thing is a good sign, I should think," The woman in a lab coat, sat across from her said. "Alright, then. Think of a strong memory, the first that comes to mind. Tell us about it."

Curie paused, glancing about her surroundings before sighing. "One of my friends, Dr. Burrow," She sadly began. "He was very old. He was the last living scientist in my – our – section of Vault 81. He was on his bed, very weak, and he said to me 'Curie, you must.' But he died before he finished the sentence. Oh, my insides feel peculiar. What is that?"

"You might be feeling grief," The woman taking notes said gently. "Grief for a friend, and one, by the sounds of it, you cared a great deal about."

"I did. Him and all of them. There was another scientist I worked with before we were sealed in Vault 81, who was sent out to California," Curie said, starting to blink back more tears. "Dr. Katie Rose Masters. She had just earnt her doctorate after her thesis was accepted early. She was asked to go out to California by Vault-Tec, specifically chosen for a Vault numbered 31. I think it was her mother who had them do so. Her mother, father, and brother lived in Nevada, so she would be closer to them and to home. I hope they all survived. Katie Rose treated me like an equal despite my…"

"Masters?" The woman taking notes said, taken aback. "I've heard that name before in relation to Vault-Tec. As for Vault 81, as it happens, I actually spent about a year living and working there. I had no idea there was a separate section."

"I do not believe anyone alive knew until, from what I heard, a young man stumbled upon it by accident," Curie sadly replied. "And yes, Katie Rose and her family were tightly involved with Vault-Tec. Her father owned a lot of stock in the company, while her mother was the CFO of REPCONN Aerospace. I had always wondered about improving life support and long term health and well being solutions for extended space travel. If only I had been able to do so with a company so well known for their work in space exploration, research, and travel."

"I can only imagine. The War robbed us of so many scientific achievements," The woman in the lab coat said, taking a moment to think. "Well, I would certainly say this operation has been successful, but, I must warn you, this will more than likely be a long and difficult adjustment."

"I understand," Curie said, though she smiled. "It'll be worth it, especially once I can continue my research. If I may ask, what are your names again? Things still feel a bit hazy, at least since I departed from Vault 81."

"Dr. Rebecca Amari," The woman in the lab coat replied. "And, my colleague here, is Dr. Annette Davis."

"I see," Curie said, looking closely between them. "I appreciate you both for doing this for me. I…I know it all must have sounded a bit mad."

"In truth, it was," Annette replied, setting down the clipboard and pen and beginning to inspect a few of the machines left out in the room. "How often have you used these?" She said, looking to Amari. "We had to for this, of course, but I haven't seen machines this advanced since I left Vault 101."

"In some of my work, yes, but you needn't worry. Complicated as it can be, I'll teach you what you need to know about synths as quick as I can. That said, the procedure I performed on G5-19 with your assistance allowed Curie's consciousness to live," Amari said, setting a comforting hand to Curie's shoulders when she tensed a little. "Something which saved not only the synth who was brain dead but gave Curie a full body. That's a major operation, and one we were successful at. You're a quick learner, Annette."

"I am impressed. And happy, of course," Curie almost wistfully said. "I hope to get to know the both of you well. If you can do this, I can't think of much you aren't capable of. If you are willing, I would be honoured to be one of your colleagues. After I...after this strange feeling subsides, that is."

"It would be our pleasure," Amari said kindly. "But don't push yourself too hard. You're going to be in a state for a while, and it won't do you any good to risk making yourself ill or accidentally getting hurt."

"It wouldn't," Curie agreed. "And I thank you for the concern. I'm sure you're right. Everything is, I think, in something of a jumble. I haven't thought of Katie Rose in decades. I don't know why she came back to me now."

"You cared about and enjoyed working with her," Annette pointed out. "And you were recalling another colleague you can't see anymore. It's only natural."

"Yes, it must be," Curie said, startling when something in her tightened. "I…I…my chest. What is –"

"Just a normal, autonomic function," Amari calmly told her. "You're breathing. Don't think on it too much, just let your body do what it must."

"I…I will," Curie said, slowly trying to calm herself down. "I'm…this is what I've wanted for so long. I'll keep reminding myself of that, for as long as I need to in order to adjust. This is me. This is really me."

The Institute
July the 1st, 2289
23:32

It was there. All laid out across physical files and digital ones on their tablets and laptops, it was there and, somehow, it was more infuriating than any of them could have even anticipated.

Her fists clenched around the edge of the table in the restricted Bioscience laboratory they had agreed to meet in, Dr. Alana Secord tried to restrain her irritation by reminding herself she was, as far as she was concerned, the only one between herself, Dr. Justin Ayo, and Dr. Chantelle Zimmer who could even somewhat rationally handle what was before her and her colleagues on the Directorate. More stunned than anything else, Dr. Alan Binet could only page through the physical files, all the more confused by the story they told. Dr. Clayton Holdren kept checking to ensure the doors into the laboratory were still locked to anyone but them, paranoid of even one other person entering. Scrolling through and making a few notes on the information on her tablet, Dr. Allison Filmore paced across the room, trying to make sense of everything. The only one them who had been nearly silent since they had first come to discuss what they had found was Dr. Madison Li. Anger, frustration, and vindication competing in her for control, she crossed her arms when she sat down, looking closely between her colleagues. It was no longer a seemingly shaky theory. It was the truth.

The Director had been keeping significant information from them, and it proved the 'accident' at Greentech had been intentionally planned.

Scandal?

Conspiracy?

Or both?

"Nearly two years of this, and we weren't so much as told of any of it?" Allie finally said, breaking the terse silence. "As members of the Directorate, we ought to have."

"Ought to have being the operative words there," Alana said, frowning. "Father letting this woman out of Vault 111 would have been one thing, but to put significant resources into guiding her to us and not so much as giving us the slightest indication this was what he was doing? And here I was thinking Justin not documenting Coursers to get his way was bad enough."

"To be fair," Clayton said nervously. "The woman in question is his mother, and Mister Nate's wife. Telling us something so personal could feel uncomfortable for him, severely so. I can't begrudge him it."

"Maybe so, but it doesn't change the fact we needed to know this for the resources it took away alone," Madison irritably replied. "We all know he isn't always as transparent as we'd like, but this is particularly irksome, and makes me question far more than I'm alright with."

"I concur," Alan said, shaking his head. "I'm sure it would have caused enough animosity and split opinions throughout the Institute if everyone had been told of this – I'm sure a great deal of people would consider it a serious scandal, so I understand doing everything to contain such a possibility – but we had the potential to understand. I don't know why he didn't take it."

"I don't care why," Madison said, leaning forward from where she was sat and opening her laptop. "I am, however, aggravated by this to say the very least. It certainly is making me even more suspicious than I already was about the FEV laboratory accident."

"When Alana first told me, I felt the same way," Alan said, pausing to pull something out of the pocket of his hazmat suit before pushing it across the table towards her. "I…bit the bullet, so to speak, and inspected the FEV lab with Clayton's permission. That holotape was left locked in Dr. Virgil's old desk."

Madison raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Do you know what's on it?"

"I am serious, and, if I were to hazard a guess, they're audio files, most likely, from what it briefly showed me when I plugged it into my computer terminal to check its functionality," Alan said as she picked it up and turned the volume dial up. "I take it you want a moment to listen to it?"

"Considering the circumstances, I think we all might as well," Madison said, setting the holotape down, her fingers hesitating over the play button. "Benign or not, the fact of the matter is the FEV lab has been left only halfway decontaminated for well over two years, now. Particularly in light of the fact Shaun's claim of a synth having stolen Dr. Virgil's research before disappearing into the Glowing Sea may have been a lie, we all might as well hear it."

Allie nodded. "It's strange," She mused. "All of it defies all logic and…"

"It does," Madison said, finally pressing the play button. "Alright, it's –"

"Personal Record, Dr. Brian Virgil. This will likely be my last recording," The slightly static voice of their dead colleague said through the holotape. "My requests to shut down the FEV programme have been repeatedly denied. We've learnt nothing useful in the last ten years at the very least; why does Father insist on continuing it? If he won't see reason, then I have to take matters into my own hands. What we're doing…it's not right. It needs to stop. He won't listen to me, or Dr. Holdren, the two people he should be here. We ran out of justification for this line of research decades ago…that much is clear."

Silence. Static, shuffling, and then silence.

"This needs to stop, and it's going to stop. If anyone should find this after…after I'm gone, know I never wanted to hurt anyone. Anyone! Do you understand me?" Virgil's voice wavered in the recording. "I'm going to make sure the whole programme is shut down, if not for good, then at least for years to come. After that…well. I know what I'm about to do will be seen as a betrayal. Sabotage, he'll probably call it. So, if this goes the way I'm wanting it to, I should be able to leave. I have a plan for after, if it works, and I'll be somewhere safe in that…in that scenario. Somewhere not even the Coursers can find me. Everything we've done, the lives we've taken…if there is a God, may he have mercy on us all."

Scratching, thumping. Static, silence.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Clayton said suddenly. "Virgil did all this and still ended up dead? That's…somehow that makes it worse."

"No, it is not what makes this 'worse,'" Alan said, his usually calm and upbeat tone of voice suddenly filled with fury. "What he did not only killed him, but it killed Eve. That is something I will not let go. And, to think, we've spent all these years thinking it was an accident. This is reprobate."

"The secrecy, too," Allie said with a heavy sigh. "This isn't right."

"It isn't. I concur, Allie," Madison said, her hands tensing over the keyboard of her laptop. "And it explains why Shaun has been so damn determined to keep me from helping with sorting things out. I've seen a lot over the years, and can put up with quite a bit, but nothing makes me angrier than being lied to."

"With all the Brotherhood put you through, that's understandable," Allie said gently. "Are you alright?"

"I will be," Madison said, hesitating a moment. "What bothers me just as much," She eventually said. "Is the fact I came to the Institute to get away from the Brotherhood, from their lies, and from the whole world. I just wanted to do my research in peace. Father took me in and gave me access to cutting edge technology I only dreamed existed. Now, I only have more questions…and I certainly will never forgive him for it."

"Which are all reasonable things to feel," Alana said, looking amongst the five of them. "So. What are we going to do with this?"

"Confront him with the evidence," Allie said, though she looked disquieted at the thought. "This is something he has to answer for."

"I almost can't believe it," Clayton said, tiredly rubbing at his neck. "I won't try to hide my disappointment, even though I usually wouldn't…well…"

"I'm surprised to hear you say anything close to that," Alana said, an eyebrow raised. "But the sentiment is more than shared. I'm appalled. On a personal note, the fact my own records and access to our intelligence on the Commonwealth were altered for this is, to put it mildly, aggravating. This could have compromised our security."

"It could have, and I'm with Madison. I don't think I will be able to forgive Father for this. Eve and I had been married for over twenty years, and he didn't tell me what took her from me and our son?" Alan said, his voice shaking in anger and sadness. "We deserved to know the truth. This is not the way I should have learnt of this, and I don't know how I'm going to tell Liam."

"Take your time to grieve, Alan," Clayton gently told him. "If something like this were to happen to Ivy or, when he gets a little older, our little boy, Allen, and I didn't get told the truth? I'd be furious too."

"Fury about this, too, seems to be yet another unprecedented thing we can all agree on," Madison said, shutting her laptop. "Let's make sure we leave no room for him or his father to dispute this because, I'm sure, we can also all agree this is wrong and there is no reason we should have been lied to about this. We should have known the truth of all of it, and the fact we didn't is nothing short of completely and utterly wrong."