[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]

[Riley doesn't think it'd hurt if the Brotherhood knew it's him. But the information in and of itself isn't the danger -- It's that they know who he is.]

[gallifreynpcs]

The armor is unusual. We can try identifying him by that. The scribes may have records. If they can pin point the origin of his tech that'll narrow it down too.

[Anthony frowns at all the "try"s in the sentence. Sure he likes mysteries but not during a mission. Not when his men's lives are at risk.]

[inhonorof]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'm sure it'll work out. [Institute technology is pretty unique. ... wait. Why did Shaun leave him here to be found, if he had this much tech in him?]

[gallifreynpcs]

Check the terminals. Whoever was here previously may have been using them. And download any Old World data onto holotapes.

[O'Hallan directs the order at Riley and Deacon. It gets them away from the body, but still doing something productive for the mission.]

[inhonorof]

Yes, sir. [Riley picks himself up out of the chair, briefly resting a hand on Codsworth's chassis when he hovers nearby to try and reassure him that he's alright, before moving to the first terminal he sees. It's distinctly an Institute model, which makes Riley's brow furrow. That's information he'll have to share for sake of his cover story. He reaches for the keyboard and wakes the terminal from its sleep mode. It isn't locked, and it introduces itself as Kellogg's terminal, and there's one entry titled "access log." Riley's blood runs cold. He glances at Deacon, eyes large and round.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon reads the entry and makes sure there's nothing on it that the Brotherhood can't know.

There's nothing that necessitates wiping the terminal. But it must be hell on Riley to read that. Deacon reaches out for his hand.]

Uh, guys, I think Mr. Tall Dead and Headless is named Kellogg and he works...or...uh...worked for the Institute before he became be-deaded.

[inhonorof]

[Riley takes Deacon's hand and holds it tight, tighter than he's entirely aware of. Shaun...] This is, [he says, weakly at first, before he realizes how he's sounding and he tries to level it out.] This is the kind of terminal the Institute uses.

[gallifreynpcs]

[The soldiers rush over, but Anthony gets there first. He reads the terminal.]

I wonder who this renegade is that Kellogg mentioned. If we could find this person, he or she could give us information on the Institute's defenses.

[inhonorof]

[Virgil. Riley already convinced the Brotherhood to back off of him, but with this... This might put them back on him again.] I could look into it next time I'm down there, [he says instead.]

[gallifreynpcs]

Do that. [O'Hallan commands.]

We always assumed that the Institute was an enclosed society with very few exceptions. But talk of renegades, them employing this mercenary, their apparent interest in an Enclave officer--interest enough to aid his escape--tells a different story. The mounting evidence indicates highly controlled but active intervention on the surface, and for more than just retrieving malfunctioning synths.

[inhonorof]

[Except the escape happened because of Zetta, ultimately, and how much she cares about Nathan. And Kellogg... Riley doesn't know his story, or even much of what happened with him, but... Shaun's priority is helping the Institute, he knows. Making sure they do well. That they're safe. And he can't say any of that.] Yes, sir.

[gallifreynpcs]

[Anthony puts his hand on Riley's shoulder.]

I know how risky it is. Spying for us. Thank you. The more information we have, the better chance we've got of taking down the Institute.