[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

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan doesn't blink as he watches Bellamy. His eyes narrow and his jaw is tight.]

As a matter of fact I did. A sausage and a pair of eggs. Do you have a problem with that?

[crowspy]

[Nathan rolling with the metaphor is making it very difficult for Bellamy not to absolutely lose it. But keeping a straight face used to be a requirement for his job, and has since become a requirement for survival, and he makes damn good use of it in this moment.] Why would I? [A hand appears so he can jerk a thumb towards Torvald.] I mean, he thinks you should be spilling your milk elsewhere, but then we made fun of him until he shut up. [Thanks, Bellamy, you're a real pal.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Enough about my breakfast choices, we have real business to discuss.

[Nathan nods at Sergeant Granite, who, at that signal, snaps into a straighter stance.]

Atteeeen-TION!

[John, Regan, and Torvald jump into perfect salutes. Sara as well. Her father taught her well. Louis follows only slightly behind.

Doctor Singh doesn't salute and Nathan turns to him, staring, waiting.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy doesn't jump to attention, either -- The effect of not being infantry, and not being trained by Granite. But after seeing the look Nathan is giving Singh, Bellamy rolls his eyes and raises a two-fingered salute from his slack-spined lean against the desk.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan continues to wait for a proper salute out of Bellamy and any salute at all out of Singh. Knowing these two, he might be waiting a long time. He sighs.]

I'm not doing this on a whim. We've led very separate lives these last ten years and if we're to come together we need to remember what unites us.

[crowspy]

[Dammit, Bellamy hates it when Nathan actually gets all earnest at them. There probably isn't anyone better to hold this ragtag group together. Hell, Nathan is the reason why they all got out together in the first place. And when he puts it like that... Alright, fine. Bellamy stops leaning on the desk and straightens into a proper salute, but not without a put-upon sigh.]

[bostoncrossing]

[Carrington likewise straightens and salutes.]

Just don't lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. [He grumbles under his breath.]

At ease. [Nathan says once the whole group has held the salute for five seconds.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy returns to his desk-assisted slouch. He wants to ask when they're meeting his breakfast, but figures he needs to behave and let Nathan be in charge first. This isn't a wasteland get-together. If he tries to buck the intended order of things here too hard, he'll get nowhere fast. His curiousity can wait. ... his curiousity on that manner, anyway. It should be about time for them to find out what the hell Nathan wanted to pull them together for, for the first time in ten years.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan clasps his hands behind his back.]

The most pressing matter first:

I'm sure you're all well aware of the arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel. You'd have to be blind and deaf to have missed it. What you don't know is that they have personnel files from Adams. They knew who I was. They recognized me from their files. You should all operate under the assumption that they may have a file on you as well. Your covers may be worthless if a Brotherhood patrol gets a look at your face. The lives you've built here may be taken away from you.

[crowspy]

[Physically, Bellamy goes very still. But he doesn't miss even half a beat.] They found you, then. [Mentally, he's already filtered through the information, organized and reorganized his files, and zeroed in on the glaring holes. And the first step is they knew who I was. Which doesn't say anything good, but nothing conclusive.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan nods once, slowly.]

They found me. They captured me. Interrogated me.

Some of my associates came and broke me out of the Brotherhood cell, which is the only reason I'm still alive. They were planning for a trial and an execution.

So you need to be on high alert until the Brotherhood are taken care of.

[crowspy]

[Bellamy was hoping his hunch was wrong. He swears under his breath and his fingers start back a-rap-tap-tapping against his pistol in his hoodie. He notices Nathan didn't mention when he'd been captured, but he also figures it doesn't particularly matter. That information wouldn't change anything, affect anything going forward. He's not going to bother to ask.] Well, that's fun, [he says, tone incredibly dry -- not making light of it, as one might have expected from the way he'd been acting up until the meeting started.] Especially with all the raiding on settlements they've been doing. Excuse me, requisitioning supplies from them. They haven't rolled up on Diamond City yet, but it's only a matter of time.

[timesbureaucrat]

Indeed.

The only bright spot in all this is that the Brotherhood have made numerous enemies already.

Now, we don't have the numbers to confront the Brotherhood alone, but we could provide support to whatever group does choose to take them on. We have the kind of firepower [He gestures to the pile of weapons by the doorway, particularly the Tesla cannon.] that could take down a vertibird with ease. Not many people out here can say the same. As a team, we have intelligence specialists, technology support, shock troops, snipers, everything we need to become a formidable special operations unit.

[crowspy]

[Bellamy glances at Singh. He hates that it sounds like he was right.] I'd hope we'd be a li'l more discerning than "whoever is shooting back."

[timesbureaucrat]

Of course. We wouldn't want to assist a group that will turn on us as soon as the threat of the Brotherhood is dealt with.

The Institute has already declined our assistance. And I suspect the Railroad leaders' self-righteous ideology won't allow them to accept us either.

[Singh raises an eyebrow.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy shrugs one shoulder.] I dunno. They've got the desperation of guerilla fighters. I've been dipping into them, and from what I can tell, their numbers are low enough they may be willing to take on the help for the short-term. And I don't think they'd turn on us, either; more the type to be happy to see the backs of us than take on the risk. The Institute, though? Good riddance. They'd squash us once they were done with us.

[timesbureaucrat]

I doubt that. I'm on...ah...fairly good terms with the soon-to-be next Director of the Institute.

[But just because he thinks that Ferran wouldn't order his squad obliterated doesn't change that Shaun doesn't want an alliance now.

So, all the alternatives must be considered.]

In your dipping, has there been any evidence that the Railroad leadership have a feasible strategy for defeating the Brotherhood? If their situation is as desperate as all that, they may not be the best choice of ally. There's no point in us lashing ourselves to a sinking ship.

[Nathan trusts Zetta to be a survivor, but Zetta's just one agent and she doesn't call the shots for the organization.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy shrugs again, this time with both shoulders.] No clue. I'm not in deep enough to be allowed anywhere near the leadership. I couldn't tell you how many there are, or what their structure is like, or if they prefer regular Nuka or Quantum. All I have to go off of is what little I've been told and what other little I've been able to glean. [He leans forward a little, his upper body angling slightly towards Nathan.] What's this about the Director, though?

[timesbureaucrat]

Nothing earth shattering. I'm a friend of the wife of the next Director, that's all.

[Nathan hopes that the reference to a spouse keeps Bellamy from coming to certain conclusions, but he feels his cheeks warm slightly.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy spots that color in his face, but he just files it away for future ribbing. Whether or not Nathan has a sad crush on the next Director isn't important to what matters most.] I meant more in general. What's the deal with them? You've never mentioned this before.

[timesbureaucrat]

Why should I have? For the last ten years we've led independent lives. I didn't ask for details on what Lieutenant Williams got up to with his raider crew and I didn't give details on Institute internal politics. It's only because of this Brotherhood invasion that our various Commonwealth connections have become important.

[crowspy]

Uh, yeah, except Tor's raiders wouldn't have any impact on the rest of our survivability. Being buddy buddy with the upcoming head of the freaking Institute isn't exactly low impact. You didn't answer the question. You said the Institute's not wanting to be allies, but then you turn around and bring this up. Seems relevant to me. [His hand appears so he can rotate his wrist in a loose "fill in the details" gesture.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan purses his lips. He doesn't like revealing information if he doesn't have to, prefers to hoard it like treasure. But this is his squad and he has to show them that he's loyal to them if he expects to have their loyalty in return.]

Consider this information classified. Nothing leaves this room. Whatever affiliations you have, they don't get to be privy to this.

The current Director of the Institute is old and dying. He's appointed as his successor one of the Old World survivors who came out of Vault 111. He and his two spouses have close ties to the Railroad and the Minutemen as well. They've established a détente between the Institute and the Railroad and I suspect they mean to try to form a more permanent understanding and bring the Minutemen into this as well.

In short, the politics of the Commonwealth is very likely to shift very dramatically. If they survive the Brotherhood.

[crowspy]

[Bellamy smears his hand down his face. Good god.] And you were just gonna sit on this and not tell us? [Because he had to apply a crowbar to make this happen. He didn't have to pry hard to get it, but he still had to do it.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Because the situation as it stands now is that the old Director is still in charge and the Institute and the Railroad still might decide that they'd rather kill each other than fight the Brotherhood.

[In other words, yes, he was just going to sit on this and not tell them.]