[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

[inhonorof]

Yeah. This was my official duty station after I came back from Alaska.

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon pauses at that. On the one hand, Riley is like the perfect guide. On the other hand, any skeletons they pass might be people Riley knew, which has gotta be freaky. And coming back from Alaska...that can't have been a good time for him.]

So...uh...real familiar stamping grounds.

[inhonorof]

[Riley shifts uncomfortably. He's starting to think along the same lines as Deacon. He's going to be visiting someplace he was personally familiar with Pre-War. It's going to be like seeing Sanctuary for the first time all over again. And with the way the morning has already gone...] Yeah. [His voice is low and flat, and there's a note in his tone that makes Codsworth hover closer to him.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon wonders if the Railroad... (Him. Let's be honest in his own head, it's Deacon who recommended this course of action.)... is asking too much of Riley with this mission infiltrating the Brotherhood. Getting to know these soldiers that they're probably going to betray, dragging him off to traumatic locations... Yeah. He's going to have to make a point of getting Riley pampered after this is all over.]

Gonna be okay with this?

Last time I was here it was looking a lot more...synth-y than most places.

[Giving Riley more clues about what went on here before.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley exhales slowly, chin low for a moment before he lifts it again.] I'll have to be. [He can't run away for a second time today. Synth... The Institute had something to do with Hagan? Riley doesn't remember Shaun or Zetta mentioning it. His brow furrows.] Really?

[ersatzeverything]

Oh yeah. Gen 1s and 2s everywhere.

I totally ran away as soon as I could, believe me. [He hopes Riley picks up on the lie. He means to say that "we went all in and shit went down."]

[inhonorof]

[Riley does believe him, up until those last two words that make him think of Deacon's old stand-by, "honest." He didn't run. He knows what's down there. But Riley isn't making the connection to Zetta and Ferran, too. He's thinking it happened during regular Railroad work. He shifts his laser musket into one hand so he can reach over and take Deacon's, squeeze it.] Did you get out okay?

[ersatzeverything]

Oh yeah. There was a bit of an explosion [because Zetta at work is like that sometimes] but I'm here, aren't I? All limbs intact and everything.

[inhonorof]

[This connection Riley makes. Explosion... Zetta. So he was wrong -- This wasn't a standard Railroad run. Probably. Deacon wants him to know they've been here, that the Institute was connected to it, but he isn't willing to actually talk about it with the Brotherhood around. He squeezes again, but doesn't let go this time. He's even more nervous, now.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon squeezes Riley's hand back.]

It was terrifying at the time, but I learned a lot from the experience.

[inhonorof]

[That... That helps. He thinks. This is reassurance -- Whatever happened, it... worked out. He thinks that's what that means. Riley rubs his thumb against Deacon's knuckles.] I'm glad, [he says softly.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[At the door to the facility, O'Hallan stops them.]

I'll enter first to draw any enemy fire. Reynolds, Norris, form up behind me and pick off any hostiles, using my power armor as cover. If the area is clear, we'll advance.

[inhonorof]

[Riley straightens, letting go of Deacon's hand so he can hold his musket properly again.] Yes, sir.

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan opens the door and steps instead, but there's no sound of guns bursting or lasers burning. The air is still and quiet, dust motes hanging suspended in the air.

O'Hallan steps in a few more paces and listens, then wordlessly gestures for the squad to follow him.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley follows up behind Anthony, ready to snap his musket up at a moment's notice. But the building is quiet -- Utterly in shambles, but quiet. He glances down the hallway and recognizes the office spaces at the end. His chest feels tight.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Hal and Everett are behind Riley and Anthony, and the snipers--Deacon and Alex--take up the rear.

Hal looks around at the fort in awe. Not at the military installation itself--he lived in one in D.C.--but something about this vast space, so silent, like it's waiting for something, and they're the only ones here.]

This must have been a little bit what it was like to claim Adams Air Force Base.

[inhonorof]

[It had never been this quiet before the war. Riley wishes he could fall back to Deacon's side again, or that Codsworth wasn't lingering behind the snipers -- He knows it's because he doesn't want to get in the way of the squad's operations, but... His skin is crawling. He takes a deep breath.] I don't... hear anything. Codsworth? Life sensors aren't detecting anything, sir.

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan relaxes his stance slightly and the others follow suit.]

Our first priority is to secure the Command Center. It will probably be below ground.

[inhonorof]

It is, [Riley provides, though his voice is still quiet. It feels wrong to disturb the atmosphere here too much.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Anthony looks at Riley curiously.]

You know this place?

[inhonorof]

[He takes a deep breath through his nose.] Yeah. I reported here when I signed on with the army, and after I got back from tour.

[gallifreynpcs]

Elder Maxson told me as much. It was why he wanted you on this mission. He thought your knowledge of the building would be useful. I agreed.

[O'Hallan says.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley's brow furrows. Maxson didn't tell them that when he gave them the assignment. Why...? And -- ] How did he know?

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan shrugs.]

I didn't interrogate him to find out. I assume he asked the scribes if they had any information on you in their Old World records and they found data related to your military service.

[inhonorof]

[... well. That's... uncomfortable. Riley knows Deacon would have done the same thing, but the difference is that he trusts Deacon. He... doesn't trust Maxson. And he doesn't like this invasion of privacy. He has to resist the urge to shift -- and the urge to look back at Deacon. But he still holds his musket a little tighter.] Makes sense, [is what he manages to say.]