[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

[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.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy's hand disappears back under his layers, his body language going opaque, save for that he crosses his ankles again. His eyes have cooled considerably.] Great. And what do you recommend we do in the meantime? Drop everything and move down here so the Brotherhood doesn't snatch us up before somebody else makes a move? Since the Institute won't have us and you're so certain the Railroad won't, either. The Minutemen are too diverse for us to come out of the shadows and openly back. Pretty sure most of them would shoot us down, too. [If it was just Bellamy -- or, hell, even just Bellamy and the Granites -- he'd just pick up and get the fuck out of the Commonwealth. Go west. Or, hell, maybe even north, up into Canada. But if the rest of the group is staying and fighting, he won't be able to bring himself to do it. Problem is, staying and fighting is looking too much of a damn risk.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan raises his chin as he puts forth his proposal.]

I recommend we ally ourselves with the Old Worlders directly. I believe they have enough pull with the various factions to keep any gratuitous shooting from happening.

[crowspy]

[This actually makes Bellamy shut up for a good few seconds.] You were gonna sit on that and still ask us to back them? [If he sounds pissed, it's because he really actually might be.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Since I'm the only one here who's ever met them, you have to trust my judgement concerning them regardless of what details I give you about them.

[Nathan's lips thin like he's getting ready for a fight.]

Now, do you actually object to the idea or simply the fact that I'm cautious with my information?

[crowspy]

Both. [Bellamy doesn't miss a beat or hesitate before saying it. But for all that he's clearly not backing off, he isn't raising his voice; it stays at the same level it's been for the entire meeting, though there's a distinct coldness to his tone.] Look, I wouldn't normally complain about you -- or any of us -- picking and choosing what to tell. But in this case, considering what you're asking, yeah, I'm gonna take issue with it. Like you said, you're the only one who knows these people, and if you're asking us to throw our combined weight behind them, then we're gonna have to know shit. I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'm pretty goddamn hesitant about supporting somebody when I don't know how they think, who they're associated with, or what they even fuckin' stand for. [He glances at the others, eyebrows raised high on his forehead.]

[bostoncrossing]

[The others don't object to Bellamy's statement. John even nods slightly. Yes, there was a time when they simply obeyed the commands of a ranking officer without question, but that ended a long time ago. And if they're going to make a choice like this, they need to know what it is they're choosing.

Nathan huffs in frustration.

Before he can say anything else, Carrington speaks up.]

I know them.

And I support Lone's proposal that we ally with them.

[There isn't much that Carrington agrees with Lone about, but if Lone wants to hand someone the leash to the Enclave refugees, better to Faraday and her posse of husbands than to the Institute.]

And I support Bellamy's demand that you explain further who they are so that the others can judge for themselves.

[crowspy]

[Bellamy stares at Singh like he's never seen him before. That expression lasts all for half a second, just a flicker, but -- one, since when did Singh ever back Nathan on anything, and, two -- ] How do you know them?

[bostoncrossing]

[Carrington has to be very careful here about what he says. And he says it in his most condescending tone in the hopes that it will discourage Bellamy or any of the others from inquiring further.]

I met them in the course of my work, how else would I meet them? It isn't like I attend soirees.

[crowspy]

[Unfortunately for him, condescension has never stopped Bellamy and his need to Know.] I wouldn't think fixing up their boo-boos occasionally would be enough to get you to agree with the Cap'n, let alone earn your support. [D e e t s.]