[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]

You have no idea. I already had a firm cover in place and connections and everything. Still booked it the fuck out of D.C. with everyone, but the connections made it possible for us to get out fast and with supplies.

[falloutpslnpcs]

The others fled Adams with nothing but what they had on them at the time. But Bellamy and I weren't there when Adams fell, so we were able to get food and clothes for everyone. And helped them...uh...stand out a bit less.

[With the right clothes, they made a pretty convincing looking caravan. Power armor disassembled and hidden in the brahmin cart, laser weapons replaced with some ordinary ballistics. He even convinced Captain Lone to let a little bit of stubble grow out to aid in their disguise.]

[capcious]

[Zetta can start to see how this group happened. The rest of them getting out -- she doesn't know how they survived, or if they all knew each other beforehand -- and then the Gunner woman making contact with her husband, who probably worked with Bellamy, and from there... escape into the Commonwealth.] I dunno who else got out, [Bellamy is saying,] but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up having the easiest time of it.

[timesbureaucrat]

I dare say we were probably the largest group to make it out of D.C. alive. Any others who escaped likely slipped away in ones and twos. There used to be a few others in our little group who made it to the Commonwealth with us but they died years ago. We're all that's left here.

[capcious]

[Zetta almost feels bad for them. Except she remembers the shit Nathan's spouted, shit he learned from the Enclave. Remembers what Deacon said they're responsible for, what they tried to do. ... and... how Nathan genuinely didn't seem to have any idea. She folds her arms across her chest. She frowns.] How much did any of you know about what the Enclave was trying to do in D.C.?

[falloutpslnpcs]

Our mission was to bring order and civilization to America's capital. We would bring clean water to the people of the wasteland and through that demonstration of power and technology we would prove to them how the Enclave would benefit them. We would show them that we could give them water, food, protection against radiation-infested creatures, and a vision for the future. They would beg to be American citizens again.

[Regan declares proudly.

Dr. Singh looks away from them all, head bowed and brow tight, but says nothing.]

[capcious]

[Zetta catches that. And maybe, another time, she'd let it go. She understands why he'd want to keep his mouth shut around these people, even with just what little she's seen of them. But not tonight. She can't let it slide. It's too fucking important. She needs to learn where these people stand with this shit.] Carri -- Fuck. I don't even know what I'm supposed to call you right now. But you -- You know something. I saw that.

[bostoncrossing]

[It's not the Enclave remnants he's afraid to say this in front of, it's her. And Deacon. And Riley. And Ferran.]

Research and Development was tasked with modifying the F.E.V., refining Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Charles Curling's old research into creating a toxin that would be fatal to any human who had suffered from radiation exposure.

We weren't told why, but it wasn't difficult to guess. You don't throw resources into a project like that unless you intend to use it.

[capcious]

[Riley stares at Carrington in shock. Zetta, though, doesn't look surprised at all. She thins her lips and takes a deep breath through her nose, lets it out the same way. And then she looks to Nathan.] I told you it wasn't Brotherhood propaganda.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan's face pales.]

No, that's not--

[Carrington interrupts, snapping at Nathan.]

Of course it's possible. Total eradication of all "impure" humans was always the Enclave's goal. What else did you think all that indoctrination about supposed impurity was for.

[capcious]

[Carrington may have wanted to bail when he heard they were coming, but Zetta is now immensely glad that he's here. The fact that they can grind this into Nathan's thick head, where he can't refute it... His reaction is just as relieving, though. His horror. And she's glad that Deacon gets to be here to see it. But now it's time for her to turn and watch how the rest of them are reacting. Bellamy's expression has gone blank and still, his body language opaque with his arms not visible within his layers.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Louis' lips are thin, his jaw tense. Sara looks openly horrified and John pulls his daughter protectively closer. Regan is baffled, trying to square what she's hearing now with the things her commanders told her. Torvald's face hasn't changed from the same bored, smug expression he had when they came in.]

And why not? They're mutants, no matter how human they look.

[Louis whips his head towards Torvald.]

That virus would have killed me. I'd spent years out there. Me, Yamamoto, the rest of us with long term surface assignments who didn't get our blood scrubbed out after every patrol, we'd have died. Don't you care?

[capcious]

[Zetta, very calmly, says,] Am I allowed to punch that one? I've about choked you, Nathan, and I've already punched you, Carrington, so it's only fair.

[falloutpslnpcs]

You'll have to get in line. [John growled. That's his daughter Torvald is casually talking about poisoning. Sara's a true wastelander more than any of the rest of them.]

[capcious]

I dunno, think you could beat me to it? I'd bet I'm faster.

[falloutpslnpcs]

Guys, no. I'm first. [Sara's gotten over her shock and now she's angry.]

[capcious]

Who are you, anyway? [Everyone else has been introduced, or they know them already, except for this girl and the man standing next to her. Father and daughter, maybe?]

[falloutpslnpcs]

I'm Sara.

Sergeant John Granite. Sara's my daughter. I'm a farmer now, and with the Minutemen, so even if you refuse all the rest of us you're stuck giving orders to me.

[capcious]

Congratulations, Riley, [Zetta tells him, and he flushes lightly.] Well, at least it's a relief to know that most of you think that whole genocide idea was fucking stupid. Even if it's mostly out of knowing how it'd apply to you. Can't really fault you for that. It would've been my reaction, too. [She won't say that it would've been her only reaction, once upon a time. It'd still be her first reaction, to be pissed on the behalf of herself her family. But there's no reason to let them know the gritty details of how her morality has shifted. (Thanks, Deacon.)] More moral outrage would've been good, though.

[falloutpslnpcs]

Over something that didn't happen ten years ago?

Of course genocide is bad, but the only one of us who actually worked towards that goal knowingly was apparently high-and-righteous Dr. Singh over there.

[Louis points his thumb at Singh, whose eyes widen at the accusation.]

I never worked on the F.E.V. I told you, my research was on the physiological effects of stealth technology.

Maybe. Or maybe you're lying.

[capcious]

It doesn't matter that it didn't happen or how long ago it didn't happen. It's the concept. I'm pretty sure fucking none of us, [she gestures to herself and her men,] want a group of people working for us who think it'd be perfectly fine if that project had succeeded, if it hadn't personally affected you. Our stance on that whole "fuck the mutants" thing ranges from vaguely indifferent [Ferran] to upset [Riley] to "I will knock your fucking teeth out" [herself and Deacon]. Nathan can tell you all about how much I've chewed his ass out for talking shit about ghouls and wastelanders. So, yeah, what you think about that thing that didn't happen ten years ago fucking matters. [Fight Her. And, Zetta can't believe she's about to do this... but:] Lay off him. Regardless of how involved he was in that, he's since been working his ass off for a cause fighting for people who can't do it themselves. [Not the entire time, she doesn't think, or else he'd probably know more about Deacon. She doesn't know when Carrington joined the Railroad. But he wouldn't be one of its leaders if he didn't hold his water in regards to synth liberation.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Carrington's eyebrows rise in shock at Zetta coming to his defense. He mouths a soft "thank you" although hardly any sound comes out.

Louis takes a deep breath and tries to answer her question.]

I like people. I like hearing their stories. I never wanted them all dead, mutations or not.

[capcious]

Good. [Zetta turns to Regan and Torvald, who are standing nearest to Louis, and raises her eyebrow expectantly. Might as well poll each of them to find out where they all stand.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Regan is still trying to make sense of this information in the context of the orders she'd been given and the things her commanding officers told her.]

I don't understand why Colonel Autumn didn't tell us if that was the mission.

[inhonorof]

They... [Riley speaks quietly, and he hesitates once he speaks up, but Zetta is looking at him, so it's too late, now. He shifts his weight uncertainly.] They didn't usually tell us much. Before the... Before everything happened. I was... in Alaska. They didn't -- [He hesitates again, his eyes darting to Zetta's face.] They didn't tell us everything about Psycho when they gave it to us. And that's... just one example. The soldiers who... who shot protestors after the annexation, I'm pretty sure they were told all kinds of things... to make those people sound dangerous. Anything to keep them aiming where they wanted. ... I'm sorry. I don't know if -- your command was like ours. But it... The history... is there.