A/N: Greetings from the land of the insane writers who find enjoyment in twisting people's emotions into pretzels! Apologies for missing last week, I was on a hunting trip and I didn't think to bring my laptop with me. Not that I would have if I thought to do so but that isn't important. What is important is we're back. Things have been getting a little tense around these parts what with the Institute releasing a plague and now the threat of nuclear annihilation (again). You know, I've wondered plenty about how Damon from the beginning of this story would be handling these situations. It would probably involve a significant amount of violence. Well, another time. Anyway, I think you've read enough rambling, leave a review if you're so inclined and, as always, enjoy!

Chapter 101: Dirty Little Secrets

"You picked up on that too", Nate said. He was out of his armor, sitting on a small stool, eating. The four of us, including Longfellow, were in the observatory's basement near the store room we'd used to eavesdrop on their little conversation.

He finished chewing and grunted. "I don't like, whatever Chase found, she thinks they'll need your help with what comes next." Nate looked up at me. "That isn't good news."

"They doin' somethin' with Far Harbor?" Longfellow asked. He didn't try to hide his suspicion. I'd already had the notion they weren't fans of DiMA or Acadia. This wouldn't help.

Nate shrugged. "We don't know. We need to figure it out. This could be a huge problem."

"Yeah…" Nick said. He frowned and crossed his arms. "Gotta be honest, my radar might be scrambled because… you know, but this whole situation feels off. DiMA's trying to play all sides here without taking any direct action. This is a guy who was good enough to escape the Institute and has been out here a long time. He had a relationship with the Children of Atom's old leader while still helping Far Harbor with those Fog Condensers. He's hoping they don't start fighting each other or decide to come after Acadia."

"High Confessor Tektus doesn't like him", I said. "They'll come after Acadia."

Valentine nodded and turned to Longfellow. "And some folks in town aren't huge fans of this place either, right."

Longfellow paused. He didn't need to answer after that.

"A lot of folks. Avery wants to keep things calm since they gave us those Condensers and leave us be… some agree, a lot don't. There've been a few dust-ups."

"Mhmm." Nick turned from the old man to the end of the hall. "The guy's smart enough to escape and hide from the Institute, makes friendly with everyone, and is dead set on keeping things peaceful. I'd bet what Chase found was contingency plans."

He was against intervention earlier. I cocked my head. "He wanted to stay out of the way."

"I know. All that means is, whatever those plans are, they're subtle. And, if he wants to play the peaceful observer, I'd go double or nothing he put those memories away because he didn't want them."

I felt my mouth pull into a sneer.

"That seems… cowardly", Nate mused.

Valentine shrugged. "I ain't saying it isn't. That's just my guess for what's happening here."

"We're here now", I said. "If the fighting starts and DiMA implements any of these contingencies, they may impact us. We need to know what they are."

Nate held up a hand. "Slow down. Trying to insert ourselves too quickly will make things harder."

Not inserting ourselves quickly enough might cause other problems. Before I could voice my objection, Valentine grunted.

"We have two resources. Kasumi's probably still suspicious and it seems like there's a little distrust going on at the top." He pulled in a sharp breath. "I'll talk with Kasumi. See if you can get Chase's trust. Sounds like she already thinks something of you."

It did but… how was I supposed to do that?

Make myself useful.

Okay. Doing what?

Whatever she needs.

"Alright", I said. "This needs to happen quickly. We're on two clocks now. We need an answer on getting into the Institute."

Nate stood. "Let's get a move on, then."

Valentine shook his head. "Hold up a sec. Damon should do this on his own. Chase won't feel as much pressure if it's just him."

"How do you know?" the ex-soldier asked as he glanced at me. "Damon isn't good at the 'diplomacy' thing."

"Because he's got a reputation Chase respects. And if you get multiple people leaning on a tense situation, it can make a witness clam up." He grinned. "I got a lot of experience doing this. Damon might be undiplomatic but he isn't dumb."

I didn't like how they were talking about me like I wasn't standing right next to them.

"I'll find you when I'm done talking with them", I said.

Nate looked like he wanted to say something but I didn't wait for him to say it. Like I said: we needed to get things moving.

Dogmeat padded alongside me as I marched back to the stairs. It was getting late and the Synth refugees who had been in the second-level workshop earlier were absent.

The observatory's main level was, likewise, empty. Its only occupants were Chase, Faraday, and DiMA. They were in Faraday's office.

Chase was yelling at DiMA.

I stopped near one of the computer banks, ducking into the shadow cast by the three-meter-tall unit.

"- kept hidden from me, DiMA!" the Courser shouted. "Goddammit, how am I supposed to do my job if you don't tell me about this?"

DiMA responded. It was soft enough I couldn't make out what he said. I turned the gain on my audio up.

"This is the second time I've had to learn something like this. I left the Institute to help you! How many years have I spent keeping everyone here safe? Huh? And I have to learn about you- rigging the water mill to cut power to their Fog Condensers like this? What about the launch key for that sub? You don't think your head of security should know about something like that?"

Chase fell silent. Through the large window, I could tell she was struggling to keep herself calm. Her shoulders were trembling under her jacket, her jaw clamped shut, and the muscles in her neck were straining.

Faraday was sitting at his desk in front of the computer, staring at its screen.

Valentine was right about the contingency plans. At least I hadn't had to wait long to figure that part out. The question was what I should do about it.

"I did not hide this from you because I do not trust you", DiMA finally replied. "I hid it from everyone, myself included. The… memories were too painful." He looked away. "What I have done is unforgivable. I could not stand it."

… He couldn't stand it?

My hands balled into fists.

He couldn't stand it? What about the people who have to live with it? What about the people who don't get to segment their memories and conveniently forget about the bad shit that's happened? The bad shit they've done?

Fucking coward. You're a fucking coward.

Before I could do anything stupid, I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. Going off wouldn't make things better. I needed to think about what came next.

"These contingencies are incredibly dangerous, DiMA", Faraday said, turning away from his terminal for the first time. "These could kill everyone on the island."

DiMA hesitated before nodding. "I am aware."

We were operating on a short timetable. Very short.

"They could also be used as leverage."

Both Chase and DiMA looked at the scientist.

"Bargaining chips."

I almost laughed at that. Even I knew that would be a terrible idea. Unless you were more interested in subduing either group than gaining their cooperation.

"No", Chase shook her head before looking back at DiMA. "No, we can't use them like that. But, if you'd given me this information before now, I could have better prepared for this."

Could that be my leverage? I knew about the contingencies and was in a position to help. Besides, Chase was clearly upset by a consistent lack of transparency and communication.

That's something I could understand.

"I never wanted these to be necessary", DiMA replied. "It is why I removed them."

"If Avery's one of ours, that gives us options."

Avery? She's a Synth?

DiMA hesitated again. Something about his body language changed. He didn't… stiffen because it didn't seem like he could but he suddenly looked more uncomfortable. "That is-"

"In the past", Chase interrupted. "You can't undo that, so we need to use it."

That was it. Whatever happened with Avery, even with everything else going on, that made DiMA even more uncomfortable.

Maybe I'm inept with diplomacy. I am good at identifying and exploiting weaknesses.

I stepped out from behind the computer bank and started toward the office. Dogmeat was on my heels.

All three of them looked at me almost as soon as I was in sight.

Stopping in front of the window, I locked eyes with Chase. She was looking up at me with a completely blank expression.

"I heard most of that", I said. "I need answers."

The trio didn't move. Had I made a mistake? Should I have waited?

Before more doubts could crowd my mind, Chase marched to the door and swung it open.

"Let's talk, then."

"I did not agree to this", DiMA said as I ducked inside.

"I didn't agree to be kept in the dark", Chase snapped back. "And now that we're standing on the edge, we need help pulling things back together."

"He is-"

"Good at what he does and we need what he does if we're going to get things back under control."

I blinked. What did that mean?

"Before you ask me to help with whatever this is, I need a guarantee you can get us into the Institute."

"You came to us for our assistance", DiMA replied. "I do not believe you are in a position to demand guarantees."

And you think you get to tell me that? After how you handled this situation?

Chase turned to the old Synth. "DiMA, we don't need this to get any worse. Please. You charged me to keep Acadia safe. Trust me to do that."

He frowned. "And how do you intend to use this… man."

"At this point, if we want to avoid outright conflict, we will need to execute your plan to replace Tektus. We've infiltrated the Nucleus without detection. We can repeat the process."

Replace Tektus.

"You are asking me to do that again", DiMA said quietly. "I sequestered that memory because it is one of my most shameful moments."

Do it again? Most shameful moment?

Tektus definitely wasn't one of his. If he was, he wouldn't want to wipe out Acadia and-

One of his.

"Avery", I said. "You replaced Avery."

Chase nodded. "He wanted a more moderate voice in Far Harbor so he killed the original Avery and replaced her."

So many different thoughts and emotions pulled at my attention, I couldn't process all of them at once. DiMA had not only developed plans to wipe out the different populations, he'd put ones in place to take control of their leadership.

Without them ever knowing.

Disgust, anger, and I was, begrudgingly, impressed. That's what fought their way to the front.

"You do what everyone in the Commonwealth is afraid of the Institute doing." I looked at Chase. "Now you want me to help you do that."

"The alternative is a fight that could leave a lot of people dead", Chase replied.

DiMA wanted to pretend he was hands-off when he had plans and contingencies like this in place.

My right index finger started tapping my leg as if it had a mind of its own.

And he was such a coward he couldn't handle dealing with the guilt so he shut the memories away.

Chase looked at my hand, then back up to my visor.

Then, even though he knew he had important memories stored in the Nucleus, he gave it to the Children of Atom. The right answer was obvious: help assassinate and replace Tektus then do whatever was necessary to pacify any threats from Far Harbor. I do that for them, they get us into the Institute.

So, why did I want to say "no"?

Probably because I'd be helping put everyone on this island under DiMA's control without them knowing. And because I don't like him.

Nate should have talked with them, not me.

I took a deep breath and forced my hand to still.

DiMA wasn't the only problem… Tektus is a fanatic and I've had to deal with those before. He'd be a massive threat to everyone, including the Commonwealth if they figured out how to launch those nukes.

Time. I needed time to think.

"What about Far Harbor?"I asked. "You've already installed your leader there and they're just as dangerous. What do you intend to do with them?" I couldn't keep all the contempt out of my voice.

"You've already met the instigator", Chase replied. "If we can deal with Allen, the people who follow along will fall off."

Allen was an asshole but he wasn't a threat. Not to me anyway and, at that point, I wasn't sure if I cared whether he was a threat to Acadia.

Don't be an idiot.

Even so. "Killing him would escalate the situation. The only options would be Acadia or the Children. Either possibility means a fight and I don't think they'll care which one."

"We… already know a way we could deal with that issue", Faraday mused.

Are you fucking- "Sure", I snapped, "kill and replace all of them. If you can't come up with a better solution, deploy your contingencies."

Faraday threw his hands up. "Then what do you propose? We are on the precipice of war."

"The best solution would have been to do something a long time ago." I turned to DiMA. "You sat here and pretended to be hands-off when you already had your hand on the scale and put plans in place to eliminate both parties. Instead of taking an active role, you decided to wait until things were at a tipping point to do anything."

I took a deep breath. This was supposed to be diplomatic.

They wanted me to help put their own person in charge of the Children. It stank of something ONI would have me do. This time, I knew the reason.

… And I agreed with it.

Dammit.

"I'll help with Tektus if I get a guarantee you can put me in the Institute."

"You have it", Chase replied before either of the others could say anything. "I would still like your help with Far Harbor. I understand your resistance to replacing or killing Allen. We'll figure something else out."

"If we have the time", I said, nodding.

DiMA shifted. "Are you certain we will need his assistance?"

Chase shook her head. "I'm not sure about anything. It's better to have help and not need it."

It was a fair sentiment.

The old Synth turned from Chase to me.

"If Chase believes your assistance is necessary in the matter of our security, I will defer to her judgment. You have your guarantee. However, I will let it be known I do not approve of this course of action. It is not the way Acadia has operated in the past."

"We haven't been in this position before", Chase replied.

"No… I suppose not." DiMA started toward the door. "I will begin preparations."

I held out an arm to stop him. "How long will it take for you to get us into the Institute?

His milky-white eyes locked onto my visor. "Chase told us you are attempting to make it within the week. I will endeavor to accommodate your timeline."

That wasn't what I'd expected. It had taken Tinker Tom two weeks to build their version of the Relay.

Then again… these people had more resources and, likely, more know-how.

"Alright", I said, nodding, and lowered my arm.

Once the door swung shut behind him, Chase let out a frustrated breath. "He can be so damn stubborn."

"Yes, well if we're recruiting Damon", Faraday said, "maybe he can assist you with those Fog Condenser repairs. Possibly a good way for him to gauge the challenge Far Harbor poses."

Chase nodded. "Maybe." She turned to me. "We need a small team to perform services on several of the Fog Condensers to the north of Far Harbor. Would you be able to provide security for them?"

"From the wildlife or Far Harbor?"

"Both." The Courser frowned. "If you don't mind doing so on your own, it would allow me to begin searching for a refugee who went missing from the town a few days ago."

"How many and how long?"

"A team of four." She looked at Faraday.

"The repairs should only take half an hour or so", he said.

It would be a good way to see how the town reacts to them…

"I can do that."

"Thank you", Chase replied. "We will leave after sunrise."

With that, the conversation felt like it had come to an end. That was fine by me. I needed time to unpack what just happened and talk it through with the others. As usual… we'd gotten involved with an entirely new set of problems to solve our own.

Is this ever going to end?

X

"Still can't believe Nick called that", Nate mused. "I… didn't think their contingency would be "blow everyone up" or "let the Fog destroy Far Harbor"."

We were on rear guard, walking 15 meters behind the four-person team we were escorting down to Far Harbor. Chase was ahead of the group, leading us down the mountain. We were using a different route than we took up. I didn't know if that was because it was safer but Chase knew her way around.

Nick and Longfellow had stayed at Acadia. Longfellow had wanted to come. That wasn't happening. Not with him being a potential security risk. He wasn't happy about it. It was pretty low on my list of concerns considering everything that was happening.

Nate trudged alongside me in his borrowed armor. "And… everything with DiMA…"

He'd had a similar reaction as me when I told him. It was cowardice on the Synth's part and it put everyone at risk.

The sun was shining through the trees around us, casting misshapen shadows in the morning fog. Well, not morning fog since it was always foggy.

"The rest of Acadia seems determined to help, though", the ex-soldier continued.

"Yeah", I glanced to my right. Far Harbor was about a kilometer through the trees to the south. "Even though a lot of them don't seem to want it."

We continued down the side of the mountain without incident, unlike the first trip up. Once we reached the road bordering the shoreline, we followed that for another 15 minutes until the town came into sight.

Chase stopped behind a small building that might have been a house in another lifetime. Now it was eroded into an unrecognizable husk.

"You two are up", she said, looking at me and Nate. "We'll meet back here."

I nodded. "Copy."

She took another look at the repair team before fading from view. Her silhouette crept around the side of the house and was gone.

The only person on the repair team I knew was Kasumi. Her dark eyes were constantly darting from shadow to shadow. It was the nervousness of someone who never had to scan for enemy positions before.

"Come on", Nate said and started walking toward the town.

All of them hesitated.

They'd been told we would be handling their security but none of them looked happy about it. That was understandable; the only one who knew us was Kasumi and the extent of her familiarity was a short conversation the day before.

The pause didn't last long enough for me to say anything. Kasumi looked at me, then at Nate.

"Come on", she said. "Let's get this over with. I have more work to do on the generator."

One of the other Synths laughed, a woman who might have been around Nate's age- or at least she looked like it. I didn't know how they worked.

We followed the ex-soldier out of the house's visual cover and toward the town.

I could see people patrolling on the 'Hull' through the Fog. Their fortifications hadn't been damaged in the attack. Not that I thought it would be since we were fighting oversized lizards.

"We got people!" someone shouted from on top of the wall. I didn't recognize the voice.

More of the guards came running. They had weapons aimed at us.

While I didn't want to leave the repair team's back open, I also didn't want to risk one of them being shot by a trigger-happy guard. One of them had fired without a clear target the day before.

"Stay behind me", I said as I stepped in front of them.

Nate was still trudging toward the wall a few meters ahead of me. That armor was painfully loud. I couldn't tell if the pneumatics or steel facsimiles of feet slamming into the concrete were worse.

The Fog Condensers were to my right, pulling the haze into ports on the tops of the pylons.

"We're just here to fix some Fog Condensers", Nate shouted back. "Avery knows us. We talked with her yesterday."

"These ones", Kasumi said as she drew even with me and pointed to a quartet of them a half-dozen meters ahead of us.

She didn't seem very concerned about guns being pointed at her. "You know what you need to do with them?" I asked.

The engineer nodded.

"You're with Acadia?" the same person on the wall shouted.

"Get started." We needed to be gone as fast as possible. I didn't know if or when things would turn violent but the less time we were there, the better our chances.

After another heartbeat's hesitation, the Synths hurried over to the damaged Condensers and dropped their bags.

Even if I couldn't be directly in front of all four, I positioned myself as best I could. The wall was 50 meters ahead of me and behind the Fog Condensers was the row of houses most of the lizards had used to approach the town during the attack. For the time being, the threat posed by the town's guards was more pressing.

"Sort of", Nate called back. "We'll be out of here in a half hour."

We were too exposed. There was no cover between us and the town. I counted 12 people on the wall. They had a lot more inside. If they wanted to start a fight… I'm not getting everyone out alive.

There was a loud clang from farther down the wall. It was the gate's latch.

Shit…

One of two people would be coming out to greet us and I had a guess on who it would be.

A few seconds later, I was proven right as Allen's hazy form came into view along with a dozen other townspeople. All of them were carrying rifles.

I stepped forward to stand beside Nate.

"If things go sideways, get back to the team and get them to the houses", I whispered.

"Copy that…"

"Yesterday I catch you with the Children of Atom, now you're with Acadia", Allen shouted. The large group stopped a dozen meters away and fanned out.

I kept my rifle at the low-ready, aimed roughly in Allen's direction.

"So all of you are working together, huh?" He jerked his head at the Fog Condensers. "That what you're doing? Sabotaging our defenses?"

What the fuck? In what world does that make sense?

"First", Nate responded, even louder than Allen, "you didn't 'catch us with' the Children of Atom. We were in the woods scouting their base. Second, why would we come in broad daylight and stand in the middle of the street to sabotage the Fog Condensers? If we wanted to destroy them, we could have shot them from somewhere less exposed."

Allen barked a very fake laugh. "You just happened to be scouting their base. New people come to our island and the first day they're here we just happen to find them around the Cult of Atom? Bullshit." He stabbed a finger past us and at the repair team. "And now Acadia's working with them too!"

It took every ounce of my willpower to keep my feet rooted in place. For as much as what DiMA did bothered me, this guy was an order of magnitude worse. There's no way he believes anything he's saying. He was making shit up to play on other people's fears.

He was the same as Tektus.

Still can't kill him…

Which was unfortunate.

Movement behind the group caught my attention and I looked up to see Avery and The Mariner marching from the town's front gates.

"Goddammit, Allen", Avery shouted. "Stop starting fights with everyone."

The man turned away from us and looked at the approaching duo.

He turned his back on us. How stupid was he?

"I ain't starting fights, Avery. You're gonna let these assholes walk all over us because you're too scared to do something."

She stopped a few meters from him and put her hands on her hips. "Why in the world would Acadia give us those Condensers and then up and wreck them? Why would they come down here and give us the chance to do something about it?"

"Why would they be hanging out with the Atom freaks?" he snapped.

Avery looked over him to me and Nate, her frown deepening. "You were at the Nucleus?"

Nate nodded. "Yeah. We were out there to help Acadia with something. Allen spotted us in the forest east of the sub base. He tried to start a fight there, too."

"What were you helping Acadia with? You just showed up a day ago trying to find them. They have you running errands?"

"The Children of Atom is a threat to them too", Nate replied. "Apparently, Tektus doesn't like them because they made the Fog Condensers for you. Acadia doesn't like direct action and doesn't have resources to do much so they asked us for help."

"Uh-huh…" she glanced past us at the repair team. "And now they have you escorting them to fix these?"

The ex-soldier nodded again. "Chase is busy."

Avery cocked an eyebrow. "Chase?"

"... Crap", Nate whispered under his breath. "Chase is their head of security. She's the one who asked us to do this for her."

"And they trusted you with this a day after they met you because…?"

"Damon has a reputation. They know about him and thought we might be willing to help."

"A reputation…" Avery mused.

"I don't give a damn if he has a 'reputation'", Allen snapped as he rounded back on us, his rifle barely low enough to not point in our direction.

His men were still coiled tight. Nothing they had was large enough to penetrate Nate's armor unless they hit the lenses. I doubt any of them were that proficient.

"He's got no 'reputation' here and I don't like when people work with that cult."

Nate groaned. "You're gonna keep saying that no matter how dumb it sounds. If you want to know about him or the Minutemen, ask anyone here who's spent time in the Commonwealth. Until then, go back behind your wall and let us do what we came here to do. Unless you want to do something stupid. Then stop talking and do it."

I glanced at Nate. That was… awfully antagonistic for him.

"He ain't doing nothing", Avery said before Allen could respond. "Allen, get your people back inside. We don't need any fights, especially not with the people who keep our Condensers running, and especially not with guys in power armor."

Allen's eyes narrowed. "... The Minutemen, huh?"

He didn't say anything else, just turned away and marched back to the gate. His group hesitated a moment before following.

"People are only gonna listen for so long", Avery said once they were out of earshot. "If you're telling the truth, you better hurry up. Tell Acadia they better hurry up."

Nate nodded. "Thanks for the warning. We're… working on it."

"Give me a few minutes out here, captain", the Mariner said. "I'd like to ask them a few questions about the Fog Condensers."

Avery cocked an eyebrow at Nate again.

"Sure. I don't know if they'll answer."

After a curt nod, the Far Harbor leader turned and trudged back to her town.

The Mariner cleared her throat. "Thank you."

"No problem", Nate replied.

A few seconds later, we were back by the repair team. The Mariner had found her way to Kasumi and they were talking quietly as the younger woman worked.

"Next time we find them in the middle of nowhere, I'm shooting him", I said, quiet enough to keep the others from hearing.

Nate huffed. "If it was anyone but you saying that, I'd think they were being sarcastic. You sure that's a good idea? Might… you know."

I tilted my head to the side. "I doubt I'd regret pulling that trigger. He's lying to people to make them afraid and start a fight."

"Agreed. I wasn't just talking about that. Killing him might start a fight on its own."

That was true, I'd said as much.

"I don't have another solution. Not one I'm willing to use."

It hadn't occurred to me while we were talking with them but, now that I wasn't staring down a fight, knowing one of them was a Synth with the face of a dead woman felt… odd.

"We'll have to see what happens with Tektus", Nate said. "I know you don't like leaving threats on the board. Sometimes-"

"I don't need you to tell me we have to do things we don't like", I interrupted. "I'm stubborn and violent, not dumb."

Nate laughed. "Alright. Either way, let's solve one problem at a time. Right now, the Children are a larger threat."

"Right now…"

The ex-soldier's helmet turned to me for a heartbeat and he nodded.

Both of us knew Allen, and the people who believed him, could turn into a bigger problem very quickly.

Ten minutes passed without incident and the Mariner marched back to the city. There were still eight townspeople on the wall, watching us. None of them had weapons aimed. I wasn't stupid enough to think that couldn't change very quickly.

While I might be less uncomfortable in these situations than I'd been six months ago, I still hated standing in the middle of the open when a potential fight was staring me in the face.

On one hand, I could understand how the people in Far Harbor felt. They had a lot of shit going wrong for them.

On the other… if they started shooting, I'd shoot back.

By the time half an hour had passed, three of the four Fog Condensers had been repaired and Kasumi was helping another member of the team with the last one.

The sun had climbed a little higher in the sky, its light still mixing with the haze around us. I hadn't heard or seen any movement in the houses across the street from the town. A few new onlookers were standing on top of the wall. They were watching us instead of making sure no real threats were approaching the town.

My radio clicked twice.

I pulled it from my satchel and pressed the transmit button.

"Go ahead."

"What's your status?" Chase asked.

"They're working on the last Condenser." I let go of the button and turned to the repair team. "How long?"

"Five minutes", Kasumi answered.

"Five mi-" She probably didn't know military vernacular. "Minutes."

"Alright. I'm back at the house."

"Copy."

Stuffing the radio back into its pouch, I took another look at the town. As usual, my mind started offering up infiltration routes and what intel I'd need to gather if I ever needed to employ my version of a solution. It was an instinct that would probably never go away.

… I didn't know how to feel about that. It had been useful for the previous decade but now…

Maybe I don't need that to change. Just because I think about it doesn't mean I need to do anything about it.

That was true.

They were done in less than three minutes and, as soon as they packed up their tools, and a few damaged parts they'd pulled, we were on our way back. Chase was waiting for us at the crumbling house.

"Allen and his people gave you some trouble?" she asked as we started along the road we'd come down.

"Unsurprisingly", Nate said, nodding. "Avery helped sort it out."

"That's… what she's there for."

She felt the same way I did about that, it seemed.

No- that wasn't right. What DiMA did probably bothered her a lot more. I'd known about DiMA for less than a week and had only met him the day before. She'd been his security head for… I didn't know how long.

Plus, with how passive DiMA pretended to be, learning he'd murdered Far Harbor's leader and replaced her with a Synth would have been a shock for her.

"Yeah…" Nate mused. "What about your investigation?"

"The refugee ran off before I could collect him. Apparently, he headed west along the coastline a few days ago. No clue where he is. I'll have to come back out here and track him down. Unfortunately..." She grunted, "that's a low priority now. Still, I'll find the time. Let's get everyone back before we worry about the next fire."

As we walked, I couldn't help the feeling we were being followed. Allen and his people were determined and hostile. While, yes, I've been trying to change, there are some things I doubt ever would.

Not wanting to leave a potential threat at my back was one. And I don't think that's a bad thing.

When we reached the turnoff that would lead us up the mountain, I motioned for Nate and the others to keep going. I slipped into the forest as they continued up the slope. The trees climbed far above me and formed a canopy overhead that, along with the Fog, blocked a lot of the sunlight. It would be damn near impossible for someone to stop me.

Even so, once I found a position I could watch the downhill side of the road, I crawled beneath a thicket of underbrush.

And waited.

Five minutes passed and, aside from the group's footsteps receding up the hill and the wind coming off the ocean rustling the trees and bushes around me, it was quiet.

Unless we were being followed by expert trackers, they would be making sound and none of Allen's people struck me as that. Longfellow was the closest I'd seen and he was no better than Nate.

No offense to the ex-soldier.

So what, then? Is it my nerves?

A lot is going on. It could be.

I shouldn't be letting it get to me as much as it was. Being distracted would only lead to mistakes. Even ignoring the mess we'd found ourselves in on the island, I couldn't afford mistakes with how much is relying on this mission. How many people are relying on us to succeed.

Taking a deep breath, I scanned the hillside again.

Nothing. No movement, no sounds of people following us. The road running along the ocean's shoreline was empty and the buildings, or what was left of them, were empty.

If we were being followed, they were either shadowing us up the mountain from the west or already further up-slope.

Then I need to be back with the group.

After one more look around the haze-covered mountainside, I pushed myself out from under the brush and started after the others.

As I jogged up the slope, I continued scanning the forest around me.

Who knows, maybe it's the island getting to me. The place was… strange. Almost as strange as the Glowing Sea had been.

The pockmarked road under my armored boots was rutted and uneven. Even with my boots' sound-dampening soles, I couldn't help but make noise. No one would be able to move up it quickly and quietly.

Maybe I need to let myself relax. Being paranoid won't help anyone.

The others only made it about half a klick farther up the mountain. It only took a minute or two to catch up.

"This place making you paranoid?" Nate asked. Normally, the question would have been sarcastic. I could imagine the smirk on his face.

Not now. The ex-soldier sounded as concerned as I felt.

"You too?"

He nodded. "It just feels… off. Doesn't help everyone's trying to stab everyone else in the back."

I huffed. "Feels like we're back in Boston."

"Yeah…" he mused and glanced at me. "You know, the old you probably would have shot Allen in the forest yesterday. I'm not saying I want that Damon back, but it would have made things simpler."

"Until Far Harbor decided the Children did it and started a war."

"See, that's the kind of sensible nonsense that didn't use to stop you."

Now he was smiling. I could hear it in his voice.

So was I.

"If he gives me a good reason, I'll shoot him."

"Better than yesterday or this morning?" Nate asked.

I shrugged. "We're getting close."

Besides circumventing a group of feral ghouls that were wandering around the woods about halfway up the mountain, our trip back was again uneventful. Whether that was because Chase was a better navigator than Longfellow or we were getting lucky…

Considering the lack of activity during our trek out to the Nucleus, I'd go with the former.

DiMA and Faraday were waiting with Nick and Longfellow in the observatory's main room.

That was concerning.

Faraday stepped forward and motioned toward the rear stairs. "Kasumi, Jake, Sam, Matt, please. I would like to debrief about the repairs."

Kasumi shot a glance at us as the group made for the door.

So what did DiMA want to talk about this time? It was hard to tell what the old, degraded Synth was thinking.

"We must discuss our next course of action", he said slowly looking between me and Chase. "Considering the information you two returned with from the Nucleus, it would seem High Confessor Tektus is determined to initiate violence with both us and Far Harbor."

That's something we already talked about… are you trying to redo the conversation from yesterday.

"Yes, DiMA", Chase replied. "I know you said we should stay out of this but we agreed it's too late for that."

He nodded. "That is correct. The question we must answer is how imminent this threat is."

"Very." Chase crossed her arms. "Removing the submarine's key is only a stopgap."

"And I'm not sure the Children are the ones who'll start the fighting", Nate said. "Allen and his people are itching to kick things off. Unless you know something we don't, I'm not sure how much of the town is on board. I'd guess a lot."

Chase frowned. "We don't know for sure. We do know, after Allen shot their emissary, popular sentiment was on his side."

"Either way, we need to work fast." Nate looked from the Courser to DiMA. "We still have our objectives, though. You said you'd get us into the Institute on our timeline."

"I did", DiMA said. "However, if conflict spreads across the Island, we will not be able to accommodate your request. For obvious reasons."

"What kind of preparations do you need to make to replace Tektus?"

The Synth hesitated. "Most have… already been made. Implementing the final stage of the plan, including removing Tektus, would not take long."

"Then we'll handle Far Harbor and the Children."

There was a moment's pause as DiMA held Nate's gaze in silence. I'd never conducted this sort of pacification operation but I understood the principles. The relatively few variables and militarily weak participants would simplify things.

That being said, there were always possible complications.

Not like DiMA could help with those. He's turned this entire situation inside out.

I just stopped myself from grunting. Wasn't that the truth.

"Though I believe I already know the answer", DiMA finally said, looking to his head of security, "Chase, are you comfortable with this arrangement?"

She nodded. "Yes." Her response was out almost before he finished asking. It was curt and sharp.

The two of them trusted each other. At least, that's what it seemed like.

But Chase's trust had been damaged. I could understand that. Chase left her role as a Courser and decided to keep Acadia safe. DiMA hadn't trusted her to do that.

"Okay. I will make myself and Faraday available as needed. While there may be tasks I require your assistance on, I will endeavor to minimize their impact on your efforts to quell the fighting."

If it was possible, his monotonous, droning voice sounded dejected.

… Unfortunately, I could understand that too.

"Thanks, DiMA", Nate said. "We'll make sure everything turns out."

X

Convention would dictate removing the instigation for a fight. In this case, that would be Tektus and Allen. While there may be others in those camps that would carry the torch, those two were the primary drivers.

We planned on removing and replacing Tektus. None of us were comfortable doing the same to Allen. Like I'd said: if we did that, where did it stop?

Putting together and executing a plan to assassinate Tektus would take time. Time meant the involved parties might decide they didn't want to wait anymore so the next consideration was vulnerabilities. What could each party do to severely weaken the other?

In Far Harbor's case, the Fog Condensers was an easy mark. The Children were a harder one. With that sub base, they were a hard target without any obvious weaknesses.

They, apparently, had communities and infrastructure outside the Nucleus before Tektus but he'd consolidated their numbers inside.

Smart.

Allen was actively scouting their position for a weakness. Considering the relatively difficult climb to get to the drainage pipes, it was unlikely they'd be able to use those like we had. Besides the emergency exit, the primary land entrance, and the dock doors, there hadn't been any other points of egress.

There were alternatives, like a chemical attack.

That didn't seem likely.

"So, how do we keep the Children from disabling the Fog Condensers?" Nate asked. He was out of his armor, sitting in an old wooden chair. He had his feet pressed against the side of a crate and had the chair rocked back on its rear legs, staring up at the ceiling.

I shifted against the wall of the small room Chase had turned into an armory. It was organized with several racks of conventional and laser weaponry as well as a few sets of armor. The stockpile wouldn't go far if things went hot but it would work for defending Acadia in most circumstances.

"They're tied to the water mill for power", Chase replied. "If they damage or destroy that, it would shut them off. And they could also damage the Condensers themselves."

Simple enough problem to solve.

"Provide additional Condensers Far Harbor can deploy if that happens. Independent power supplies that would last long enough to effect repairs would give them security. If Tektus knew that kind of attack wouldn't work, he'd be less likely to try."

"That would put Acadia in their crosshairs", Nate said. "You said Tektus was already pissed off about the Condensers. He might decide we'll do whatever we can to prevent him from wiping out Far Harbor." He grunted. "He's not wrong."

My solutions for that involved a lot of violence which is, for now, something we're trying to avoid.

"A little posturing might work for that one", Nate mused. He twisted his head to look at Chase. "How isolated are the Children?"

"Very. Tektus is extremely isolationist."

Nate hummed and went back to staring at the ceiling. "That rules out using Damon as a deterrent… Damn, I've started relying on that way too much."

Yeah, you have.

"It may still work", Chase said. "We don't need them to not attack Acadia. We only need to buy as much time as it takes to come up with an assassination plan. If they knew we had significant outside support, that would be a deterrent on its own. An attack on Acadia, if it weakened them, would lead to an attack on the Nucleus by Far Harbor."

I almost laughed. "It's just like the Commonwealth."

Nate did laugh. "Everyone's got a gun to each other's head and that's why no one's pulled the trigger. Glad to know that hasn't-"

The ex-soldier caught himself, his mouth hanging open.

"Hasn't…?" Chase asked.

Nate looked at her. "... Changed. It's a long story we can talk about later."

The Courser cocked an eyebrow at him but nodded.

"We have spare Condensers we can distribute", she said. "Independent power supplies will be more difficult. I believe, with some help, we can provide those as well. Feeding that information, and that you are assisting us, to the Children… is a different story."

I shook my head. "Not really. They have a guard posted out front. We tell them."

"That's awfully straightforward for the cloak-and-dagger special operations soldier", Nate mused.

"When have I ever not been direct?"

He frowned for a heartbeat. "Touche. So you're volunteering us to make that walk?"

"Affirmative."

"Right." Nate grunted and let the front legs of the chair clack to the concrete floor. "Well, that's step one taken care of. Holding pattern is better than active combat. We get that done, we put together how to do the switch with Tektus, then we deal with Allen."

Chase pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on. "I'll gather what engineering resources aren't working on your entry to the Institute and we'll begin."

X

During my stint with Fourier's team, we spent as much time being deterrents as we had fighting. A fire team of SPARTANs was a good reason to not start a fight.

Unfortunately, Tektus and his people didn't know what a SPARTAN was. This wasn't to deter an attack indefinitely, however. The only thing we were trying to do was deter it long enough to replace Tektus.

So, as I knelt beside a tree, peering through my Mk-18's scope toward the sub base's entrance, I did my best to keep the thoughts about how dumb it was to waltz up to their main entrance away.

Because it was dumb. That time I spent as a deterrent, I wasn't presenting my own ass to be shot off.

Granted, they probably didn't have anything powerful enough to threaten me but I don't work off of probably.

Get over it. This was my suggestion.

… Right.

Nate was a few meters to my right, lying behind the McMillan. His borrowed armor was sitting empty beside him.

"Who do you want down first if things go tits up?" he asked.

"The guard on the left side of the berm. The others will be in line of sight."

There were five guards outside the entrance: three in front of the door and two more above it, situated behind makeshift barriers. The one on the right would still be exposed once I was down there.

"Copy that…"

It probably would have been better for Nate to handle the talking. Problem with that was, if it turned into a fight, his armor would limit his options. There was a lot of open ground to cover and it would take him time to get out of the line of fire. Plus, the Children would respond and, if that happened, I needed to be able to delay them so Nate could get clear. That's a lot easier if he isn't out in the open.

"Let's do this", I muttered and stood.

"Just try not to threaten them."

I huffed. "Fundies are one of the few types of people I have a lot of experience with."

"Try not to shoot them, either."

"Only if they start it."

With that, I stalked toward the sub base fighting for every step. My instincts had been hammered into me so hard, even if my outlook had changed over the last six months, my body didn't know that. All it knew was what it had been conditioned to do… practically my entire life. Presenting myself to a fundamentalist group that worshiped radiation and had access to nuclear missiles wasn't it.

Relax…

Weaving between trees and over the uneven ground, it took less than a minute to emerge from the forest and onto the road leading to the base. They'd removed the body from yesterday.

Predictably, as soon as I slipped between the last few trees and was in the open, the quartet of guards had their weapons on me.

"You! Stop there!" one of them shouted. It was the same man who had been there when one fundie shot the other. "What are you doing here?!"

"I came to talk", I replied. Taking my hands off my rifle probably would have been the best move.

But that wasn't happening.

"Did those heathens send you?"

The man had a tattoo on the right side of his face made of circles. It was similar to the various banners hanging on either side of the road and on their armor.

It looked like an outdated model of an atom.

Which ones? Acadia or Far Harbor?

A smartass answer wouldn't help.

"I'm with Acadia. All I'm here to do is talk."

The man glanced at his compatriots. All of them were dressed in similar combat armor with the same patterns.

Combat armor. For a religious group.

Even the people at Far Harbor didn't have that. The Mk-18 would penetrate that but it would definitely stop most things people shot at them. As long as they didn't shoot them in the head.

"Approach."

Contrary to every signal my body was sending me, I did.

Crossing the 50 meters between us was agonizing.

None of the weapons they were carrying would do a damn thing to my armor, even without its shields. That didn't mean I liked having them pointed at me.

As I passed the various banners hanging beside the road, I felt an uneasy twinge in my stomach. Even compared with the fundie groups I've interacted with in the past, these guys seemed… extreme. More extreme than the Brotherhood.

"Stop there", the guard called once I was within 10 meters of them.

I did and glanced up at the hillside above me. Sure enough, the guard on the right was still visible behind his barrier.

The other guard, instead of standing watch while the others handled me, had positioned himself at the edge and was still aiming at me.

So they had the gear but not the experience. A useful piece of information.

"I am Grand Zealot Richter", the first guard said. "Say what you came to say."

Grand Zealot? I cocked an eyebrow behind my visor. What kind of title is that? It made the Brotherhood's parade ranks sound conventional.

"Don't attack Acadia. I came here to make sure they stay secure. If we don't have to fight you, we won't."

"So you came from the heathens who use profane technology to steal land that rightfully belongs to Atom and protect that den of sin. Did you come to threaten us?"

Heathens? Profane technology? Den of sin? Fuck me…

"No", I replied. "I'm requesting you don't attack."

"And you will fight us if we do?"

… Duh. "We'll defend ourselves."

"Mhmm. What would prompt you to make this journey down to the Nucleus? We know you would defend yourselves if we attacked."

Good observation. "Increasing tensions between you and Far Harbor. We know you're upset we gave them Fog Condensers. You're probably planning to destroy them. We're providing backups with independent power supplies. It's in everyone's best interest if we avoid a fight. That's what we're trying to do."

Richter's jaw tightened. "Knowing you were supplying that blasted town with more lifelines to hold onto that damn dock, you thought it was wise to come here and 'warn' us about attacking you? Do you believe your word is enough to forestall the will of Atom?"

"Your relationship with your god has nothing to do with me", I said slowly. I kept my helmet pointed at him but I was watching the other four guards. Their body language had shifted too. I thumbed the safety on my rifle.

"My only concern is Acadia's safety. Leave us alone and everything will be fine."

'Grand Zealot' Richter sneered. "Do not think that fancy armor of yours will forever protect you from Atom's will. Division will happen and you and everyone else will see Atom's light. Run back to your haven on your mountain top. Do not believe you can tell us what actions to take."

I wanted to argue… but I didn't know what to say. Besides, it wasn't like arguing with this asshole would help. I delivered the message, that's all I was there to do.

"Just a friendly warning", I said before backing away from the front of the base. It wasn't until I was 20 meters away before I turned and jogged back up the road.

While that hadn't been an intel-gathering operation, it did give me a few insights. While well-equipped, they were no more skilled than anyone else around the island.

And their goal is to detonate those nukes. "Division will happen and you and everyone else will see Atom's light."

That was a straightforward enough message. The only question was how far that 'everyone' extended.

I don't know and I don't care. As much as I didn't like DiMA's replacement plan if that was the fastest way to pacify the Children, I'd take it.

Well… it isn't the fastest way but wiping them out would be very difficult. And I'm not sure how I feel about the idea.

That was fair.

Once I crossed back into the forest, I allowed myself a deep breath. My body finally uncoiled and I closed my eyes for a heartbeat before continuing on to Nate's position.

Weaving back through the trees, I found him still with the McMillan, looking through its scope at the entrance.

"The guy you were talking to went back inside when you got to the treeline", he said as I stopped beside him. "They didn't look very happy."

"They want to use those nukes and they're pissed off about Acadia helping Far Harbor."

Settling beside the same tree I'd been by earlier, I propped my rifle's handguard on it. While I seriously doubted anything would happen right after first contact, it was better to be there in case something did. If they mobilized, I'd rather know about it.

Nate shifted. "Is it you or me?"

I didn't bother responding. He left that vague to force me to ask 'What do you mean?' Just because I'm more talkative doesn't mean I feel like playing that game with him.

After a few seconds of quiet, the smaller man grunted. "Which of us attracts these crazy situations?"

That seemed pretty straightforward. "I got dropped in an alternate universe."

"And you, an interdimensional child supersoldier, are the first person I met after waking up from being a popsicle to a post-apocalyptic hellscape."

Another, different, guard emerged from the base and took up the position Richter had left. That meant he'd be in there for a while.

"I don't count as a child soldier anymore. I'm an adult."

Nate snorted. "That's such a weird thing to hear someone the size of a bus in futuristic power armor say."

The loud crack of a Fog Crawler attacking something sounded to the north.

"You think you can beat one of those things?" he asked.

I shifted my rifle against the tree. "The Deathclaws dare was a one-time thing."

"I doubt that."

He was probably right. I'm too competitive for my own good.

Three more Children dressed in combat armor exited the bunker. One of them I recognized from our infiltration, a taller man with a shaved head and a similar tattoo to Richter.

My optic wasn't powerful enough to see detail at 300 meters. Two of the guards talked for a few seconds before the new group spread out around the entrance. They were taking a defensive posture. Maybe Richter was concerned we might try something. At least they were security-conscious enough to reinforce their front door.

That being said…

I took another moment to scan the now seven Children standing guard.

Five were in the open. The two up on the hill above the door weren't using their cover effectively. At this range, even with a low-power optic, I could take all of them easily enough. The issue would be getting inside with the numbers they had in there.

30 minutes passed without any further activity.

"An attack doesn't feel likely", Nate whispered.

While we couldn't see what was happening inside, I agreed with his intuition. If they did launch an attack on Acadia, it would leave them open to Allen and his people. They might have been fundies, but they weren't dumb. They knew that too.

"Agreed." I glanced at my mission clock. It was just past 1830. The sun would be down soon. Unless they had night vision or were much more adventurous than I thought, nothing would be happening. "We'll head back in 15."

"Copy."

A minute of watching the guards standing in the open, asking to be shot, turned into five. Then 10. Then-

Something scraped against a tree behind us. There was no wind to make that noise. I wheeled around, pulling the Mk-18 with me. Nate was on his feet a few heartbeats later, his combat rifle shouldered. Dogmeat was up, ears forward, and eyes alert.

I motioned for them to stay put and crept forward, careful to keep my armored boots in soft dirt. Between the Fog and the forest's canopy, not much sunlight was making it to the floor. What little managed to was orange and at an angle that cast long shadows across the ground.

Stopping 20 meters from Nate, I knelt and scanned the dense forest again. That sound hadn't been far off. If something managed to get that close without my notice, hitting that tree must have been a mistake.

Are any of Allen's people good enough to do that? It was doubtful. I hadn't met many regular humans that were good enough to do that and all of them were either very good special operations or extremely talented woodsmen. One of my trainers had never been in combat, she was an expert in isolated survival.

Whatever did that was probably an animal. I didn't need to draw attention to us.

With that in mind, I pulled my rifle to the side and slipped my knife from its sheath.

Another few seconds passed in silence.

We didn't have time to wait around and I didn't want to give who or whatever this thing was the drop.

I started forward again, checking each undulation in the forest floor and piece of underbrush for our mystery guest.

An odd shape caught my attention-

A wolf burst from its spot under a large bush-

And ran away from me. It wasn't more than a half-dozen seconds before it disappeared into the haze and trees.

That was odd. Every wolf or dog I'd seen since getting to the island was immediately hostile. To see one that behaved like a regular wolf was a surprise.

After one more scan, I started backing toward Nate.

When I reached him and Dogmeat, the German Shepherd had paced a few meters in front of Nate. His head was cocked to the side, looking into the thick forest where the wolf disappeared.

I looked down at Nate and he shrugged.

"Get eyes on the bunker", I said, jerking my head toward the Nucleus.

He nodded and settled behind the McMillan again.

"No changes", he whispered after a few seconds.

It would take us an hour and a half to get back to Acadia. We needed to move, especially if that wolf came back with friends.

"Let's move."

A few seconds later, I had the sniper rifle clamped to my back, Nate was in his armor, and we were heading through the woods toward Acadia again. Dogmeat was pacing beside me. It seemed like he was looking for something. We'd seen plenty of dogs and wolves since arriving. What was it about that one that caught his attention?

The time I ran into one when we were escaping the Brotherhood attack on that settlement with him, Cass, and Andrew came to mind.

Half an hour after leaving the Nucleus behind, the sun set, plunging the forest into darkness.

We continued our climb, occasionally avoiding the local wildlife.

This situation was uncomfortable. There were so many moving parts and I didn't have control over any of them. On top of that we had two sets of irrational actors in the Children and Far Harbor, neither of which I knew well enough to anticipate. Then there was DiMA…

That fucking guy.

How the hell did I find myself stuck between two groups of crazy people, both looking for a fight, one with access to nuclear warheads and a religious motive to use them? This was just supposed to be for a backdoor into the Institute.

When has anything in my life ever been simple? Even before this?

Is it too goddamn much to ask for something to be simple? Between the Raiders, Brotherhood, and Institute, I had enough people trying to capture or kill me. And that was ignoring the Supermutants which I hadn't been able to deal with.

Don't forget the Minutemen who now see me as some sort of idol.

… Right.

As we emerged onto the road leading to Acadia's front gate, I pushed those thoughts away. We did what we wanted, now we needed to be ready for a potential response. And whatever random direction either group might come at us from. While Allen knows the only reason Far Harbor wasn't overrun by the Fog was Acadia, he clearly didn't care about being honest. He was interested in getting people to do what he wanted. That meant I couldn't put him attacking Acadia out of mind.

Faraday was in the observatory's main room when we arrived, working on one of the computer banks. He looked up from his task when we entered and shot to his feet.

"Damon! Nate!" he said. "Perfect, I just made a discovery we need to solve if we're to maintain your timeline."

I blinked. And that would be…?

Nate thudded to a stop beside me. "Do we have to guess what it is?"

"Oh, sorry, no I-" he glanced at the ground for an instant. "We're having trouble processing the data Chase brought back. It requires too much hard drive space for our mainframe's current capacity so we're having to move data from drive to drive. The problem with this approach is some of the data is interlinked. In order to compile it properly, all of the associated data has to be present in the mainframe when we are processing it which means we must determine which portions of data are reliant on others and which can be partitioned-"

Faraday frowned. "Apologies, this is an incredibly engaging time for me. I am sure you aren't interested in this information."

The way he said that felt like an insult… somehow, like the only thing either of us was interested in was pulling a trigger.

"So you need a bigger hard drive", Nate replied. "Are there computers we can scavenge for parts?"

"Some, I am sure. There is no need to go that far. I had a shipment of several critical components for a different project en route. They can easily be repurposed."

Let me guess. "The shipment never arrived and you want us to find it."

"Correct", Faraday said, nodding. "I can provide the delivery route. Since there aren't any others on this island who would be interested in that equipment, you will likely find it along the path it was supposed to take."

"... You don't care about the people carrying the package?" Nate asked.

"Oh, of course I do but time is of the essence, especially if you want to stick to your timeframe."

Nate exchanged a glance with me and I could feel the bemused frown inside his helmet. "We'll take a look tomorrow. I'm not comfortable going out at night when I don't know what we'd be dealing with."

Faraday nodded again. "We have enough to continue work for the next few days. That shouldn't be a problem."

"Good." The ex-soldier looked at me again. "Let's go give Chase the good news."

Next chapter: 2/7, Don't Make it Personal