[closed] the only constant is change

[capcious]

Who: the Fallout AU crew
Setting: the Commonwealth
Summary: BoS things, institute things
Warnings: Fallout warnings, smut
Other: [original notes] [first post] [second post] [third post] [fourth post] [fifth post] [sixth post] [seventh post] [eighth post]

- minor timeskip to when the BoS has its feet under it again, shaun asks riley to go up and keep an eye on them and deacon goes with
- they get assigned to a BoS squad composed of AU versions of chancellery guards (paladin archimedes o'hallan, knight-captain anthony norris, lancer-sargeant alex reyes, knight riley reynolds, knight everett wynter, knight henry "hal" saller, aspirant 'jack' "deacon" 'priest')
- maybe some minor quests involving getting to know them, gotta get some solid Bonding going
- sarrith (sarah, secret enclave remnant) and sal's romeo and juliet romance
- that one quest where you get the nukes from the glowing sea for the BoS
- wynter's mistake and gradual ghoulification and the position it puts the squad in
- blind betrayal

- shaun announces ferran officially as his successor
- ferran dealing with the short institute quests that result from that
- shaun discovering ferran's a slut and trying to talk to him about it
- zetta freaking out bc they're spending all this time waiting for her to recover and dealing with the BoS, and not having the time to try to figure out a way to save shaun
- zetta, in general, driving shaun slowly up the wall because she's cooped up and needs to be kept occupied or else Bad Things Start Happening, why is this shaun's life, this was not what he was expecting at all
- ferran going on missions with x6-88 / house divided, warwick
- nathan and zay's one night stand with ferran becoming not a one night stand any more
- at some point we need to have nathan call deacon a mongrel to his face so zetta can go positively nuclear
- zay finding out nathan is taking buffout

- build towards the railroad and institute being on better terms (not *stable*, but they need to be in a position where they're willing to make an alliance at the battle for bunker hill and afterwards to take the BoS down)
- probably need to do a meeting with dez and carrington, bc jfc (and ferran being the next director makes it easier to make negotiations on the institute's behalf though shaun probably doesnt fully trust him with that wrt the railroad yet, shaun needs to see ferran make decisions that benefit the institute OVER the railroad for that)

- mass fusion happens before battle for bunker hill, lighting a fire under the brotherhood's ass (still use it as the faction cut-off point?)
- at the battle, brotherhood wins -- keeping them a legitimate threat and serving as the push for the institute and railroad to work together against them

[image] [lyrics]

well, oh, it seems you're a lot like me
you dug yourself into places you never thought you would be
but don't you fret, and don't you mind
the only constant is change,
and you never know what you'll find

yeah, tomorrow i might wake up nice and clean
and i might believe the things i said i didn't mean
and this might turn and wind up just the way we'd dreamed
and i might become the things i swore i'd always be

Comments

[ersatzeverything]

Fair enough. Just...don't get so lost that you forget to take care of yourself, yeah?

[If Riley died out here, he'd never forgive himself.]

[inhonorof]

I know. [Riley leans over to kiss Deacon's cheek, and wishes he could take a moment to just stay there and breathe him in, ground himself. But they don't have that luxury right now.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan rises as the vertibird completes landing procedures. He walks towards the exit, hydraulics in his power armor hissing with each stomp.]

Norris, Wynter, Reynolds, Saller, you're with me. Priest, you hang back with Reyes and guard the vertibird.

[inhonorof]

[Discomfort immediately prickles up Riley's spine, all the way up to the base of his head. He doesn't like this. He doesn't want to be away from Deacon. He -- He has to deal. He can't keep Deacon wth him everywhere like a safety blanket. Riley ducks his head.] Sir.

[gallifreynpcs]

I'll take point on the approach. The rest of you line up behind. Eyes peeled, there could be mutants anywhere.

[Hallan steps from the vertibird and raises a large plasma rifle, on the alert for enemies of the Brotherhood.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley allows himself one more kiss to Deacon's cheek and a brush of hands before he follows O'Hallan out of the vertibird. He draws his laser musket, fingers curled tighter than strictly necessary.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon smooths his thumb over Riley's knuckles and then a quick caress of his jaw.]

You come back okay, right? Because I cannot ride on this thing alone.

[inhonorof]

[If something happens to Riley, then Deacon is stuck up here. Not just with the vertibird -- Riley has Zetta's Pip-Boy. He won't be able to get back to Zetta and Ferran. ... Deacon would have to come find his body to retrieve the Pip-Boy. ... He needs to stop thinking about this. (He isn't aware of the way he's looking more and more shaken, the more he thinks about it.)] I won't make you, [Riley says, his voice soft. He tries again, also trying for a more normal volume:] You won't have to.

[gallifreynpcs]

We'll take good care of him, I promise. [Anthony tells Deacon as he hops out of the vertibird.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley has to force himself away, or else he never will. He can do this. He can do this. This isn't as hard as flying away from Zetta when he enlisted. He can do this. He stiffens his spine and forces himself to turn away, hurrying towards O'Hallan.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Hal takes up a position next to Riley.]

Don't worry. Jack's one of the safest one of us all. He and Alex can get airborne fast if they see trouble coming.

[inhonorof]

[Riley feels something like appreciation stir under the fear and the distance. It also takes him a second to realize he's talking about Deacon, because while he can remember that "Priest" means Deacon, "Jack" he just associates with Ferran. He offers Hal and Anthony a weak attempt at a smile.] Thanks.

[gallifreynpcs]

[Hal claps Riley on the back.]

Let's get these mutants. The faster we complete the mission, the faster we get back.

[inhonorof]

[Riley nods. He really hopes they won't think less of him for curling up in Deacon's sleeping bag with him tonight when this is all done and over with. The bigger the distance in his mind grows, the more he feels assured that he can do this, but the more he knows he's going to need to shut everything out later in order to make the distance go away. He doesn't know how to explain that it isn't the fear of something happening to Deacon that's doing this to him, or even the fear of something happening to him -- Those things are definitely there, but they aren't where all this is coming from. But he's not sure how to put to words where it is coming from. But... He guesses it doesn't really matter. They just need to get the job done. That's all there is to it.] Let's go.

[gallifreynpcs]

[The journey to the trailer park is uneventful enough, but as soon as they get close, a super mutant sentry spots them. He fires a pipe rifle at them, but the distance is too great. Bullets pock the ground yards ahead of them. Another super mutant is charging towards them, however, beeping as he gets closer.]

Bring it down!

[O'Hallan shouts, firing at the mutant.]

[inhonorof]

[As they began the trek, Riley wound up his musket to make sure it has a full charge ready and waiting. He's preparing to aim at the sentry when he hears the beeping -- remembers the one that charged him and Deacon when they dropped at Fort Strong. He immediately prioritizes that super mutant over the sentry. -- There it is. He peers down his scope and tries to aim a little ahead of the super mutant, aim for where it should be once he fires, and then he pulls the trigger.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Riley's shot hits the mini nuke that the mutant is carrying...

...half a second later, the bomb explodes with a roar, kicking up dust and flames. Not much is left of the super mutant.

That threat gone, O'Hallan charges forward. Pipe rifles will barely dent power armor. With the mini nuke gone, he can ram through the mutant ranks while the rest of the squad starts picking them off.

Wynter lines up a careful shot with his laser rifle and takes out the sentry.]

[inhonorof]

[... that... that worked better than he'd anticipated. Riley shields his eyes as the mini-nuke goes off, but doesn't -- can't -- wait long. He hurriedly starts charging his musket again, squinting against the light and the heat -- even this far back, a small nuke is still a nuke. He listens to Zetta's Pip-Boy tic warningly as he approaches the spot, taking a slower pace than O'Hallan. A laser musket isn't fast, so it means that he's best following near the back, dropping problems from a longer range. His accuracy isn't on par with Deacon's, he doesn't think, but he can still provide support for the others.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett holds back with Riley. Anthony and Hal follow O'Hallan, using his power armor bulk as a shield.]

Hostile at two o'clock. [Everett calls out to Riley as he starts firing. The mutant is armored and tougher than the sentry. He's not going down quickly and is firing shots back at them.]

[inhonorof]

On him. [Riley puts it in his sight, doing his best to aim for gaps between the hodgepodge metal armor.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[It takes a few shots, but finally they bring the mutant down. O'Hallan and the others are in the circle of the trailers now. The air rings with the sound of a super sledge striking power armor.]

[inhonorof]

[It takes Riley a second to figure out what that sound is -- and when he does, his blood runs cold. All he can imagine right now is that horrific thing that was used against him at Fort Strong. He hurries in the direction where the others are.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett runs next to Riley. Another blow rings out and O'Hallan staggers even in his power armor. A piece of metal flies away from the force of the attack.]

[inhonorof]

[As Riley runs, he's winding up his laser musket again -- and just in time, too.] Holy -- [But the super mutant is too close to O'Hallan. It's too difficult to be sure they won't hit him instead of the super mutant. Riley looks around for a better vantage point... and has an idea.] Give me a boost, [he says to Everett as he jogs towards the nearest trailer.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett runs with him and when they get to the trailer he laces his fingers together to make a stirrup for Riley to get him up on top of the trailer.

He hopes that's what Riley meant. It'll be humiliating if it wasn't.]