coatls | [closed] the only constant is change

Entry tags:

[closed] the only constant is change

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Indeed. The Institute has done some appalling things to the synths they've enslaved, to the people of Commonwealth, and to the Railroad personally. But I suppose I have a different perspective than most.

[He gestures to the room, even though most of the Enclave personnel are gone now.]

I'm sure there are people who were born into the Institute and had no more choice in the matter than I did to be born into the Enclave. I'm sure there are individuals who have doubts, who are fighting from within as best they can. Patriot is proof of that. The Institute cannot be allowed to continue its actions, but that doesn't necessarily mean its people need to be killed. If good people could reform it, that would be enough for me.

Although I honestly wouldn't name Captain Lone as one of those people.

[His memories of Lone in the Enclave were that he wasn't as bad as some, but he didn't fight the system either. A man whose moral code was based on loyalty and law, rather than humanitarian ethics.]

[Even if Zetta was going to get up in arms by that statement about Nathan, Carrington admitting he's okay with the Institute being reformed settles any hackles before they even raise. She wasn't expecting it; he's the one who fought against giving them more time to win the Institute over.

She sighs through her nose.] He'll back me, I know that much. But I had to fucking fight him tooth and nail on everything from synths to ghouls. He apparently thought he wasn't treating synths badly, but he hadn't exactly put a lot of thought into their situation any, either. After I figured out how to phrase it in a way that actually made sense to the way he thinks, he cooled it.

And... shit. The only reason he was mad at E1 for leaving was because he gave her his armor in solidarity. He actually said he didn't blame her for not wanting to go back. Didn't have to fight him on it, either. And when I've chewed him out for talking shit about ghouls after he knew better, he apologized and meant it. [He's not perfect. But, shit, it's not like she is, either.]

You know him better than I do these days.

[Carrington has mixed feelings about Lone. He wasn't one of the bad ones, and he kept their small group together and alive during their escape to the Commonwealth, but he'll always be bitter that Lone--as a young, up-and-coming officer--didn't use any of the authority that rank gave him to try to change anything that was wrong with the Enclave. Not the big things or the small things.]

How well did you know each other before?

We knew each other in passing, but I wouldn't have called us friends. We worked in different divisions, but the Enclave forces in the Capital weren't very large and he was briefly with Research and Development as a technician before he switched to army command.

He was an intern in my lab for six months when he was eighteen or so. I was a twenty-two year old junior researcher at the time. I gained a general sense of his personality and habits but it wasn't as if we shared our innermost thoughts and dreams with each other.

[Zetta tries to imagine Nathan as an eighteen-year-old little shit trying to prove himself. It doesn't really work.

She doesn't even try to imagine Carrington as a twenty two-year-old jackass. It's satisfying, at least, to know she's older than him.]

So how did all this, [she gestures vaguely to the room, borrowing his meaning from earlier,] end up happening?

Nathan, Torvald, Regan and I were at Adams Air Force base when the Brotherhood came. Nathan was Torvald's commanding officer. Regan was in a different unit. Regan was injured, Torvald saved her and carried her out. For his brother's sake, I suppose. They were much closer back then.

I was running in a panic with no plan. Nathan saw me and brought me with them. I had no armor and no weapon so it seemed wise to stay with some people who did. There were others as well. Frightened people that Nathan had grabbed as we fled. Jones. Lopez. Byrd. Tran. All dead now. Byrd was badly wounded and didn't even make it to the Commonwealth. He died of infection near Philadelphia.

Torvald and Regan wouldn't leave the Capital without Louis, and Louis was working with Shouta...Bellamy as he's calling himself now.

[Although Carrington supposes that he can't complain about Shouta changing his name.]

So we made a highly risky detour to collect them. John had escaped with his daughter on his own but we encountered them on the journey and they joined us. The rest is history. We arrived here and went our separate ways but arranged a method to communicate with each other in case the need arose.

[Zetta curls her fingers by her mouth as she listens. She didn't expect for Nathan to have been the one to brought them all together -- kept them all together. The others listened to him, alright, but he just didn't strike her as the kind to... be that kind of person. Christ. He tried to save as many people as he could.

She knows she shouldn't feel too bad for them. The Enclave was fucked up, and if they hadn't gone down, it'd be them they'd be angling to take down, not the Brotherhood. But... If it's Nathan, she thinks she's allowed.

Part of her wants to ask how Carrington ended up in the Railroad, but... Seems like most everyone has a really damn personal reason for it. And he's already been pried open enough -- He'd likely resist, and it wouldn't be worth it.

Instead, she goes with,] I'm still surprised they agreed to back us. Half of them don't seem so bad, really, but I was pretty sure the shithead side weren't going to let it happen.

Fortunately for us the "shithead side" as you call them aren't the Enclave's most independent thinkers. Once the rest of us had agreed to the plan, the morally deficient ones would accept it too.

[It's around this time that Riley returns from his trip up top to make sure the surface is still clear. Some part of Zetta relaxes as he comes into her view. He notices her watching, and he offers her a small smile, but stops by Ferran instead of joining the conversation proper.

As he leans in to kiss Ferran's temple, her attention starts to slide back to Carrington so she can reply. But as she opens her mouth, she hears Riley speak up, loud enough he clearly was trying to get her attention.] Where are they going?

What? [Zetta half-turns to look where Riley's looking, towards Nathan and Zellweger.]

[Carrington glances to where Zetta is looking and rolls his eyes.]

Oh, for God's sake. He wasn't nearly this bad as an eighteen year old. Good men and women died here and all he can think about is his prick.

You've got to be kidding.

[But, no, Zellweger has his fingers threaded through Nathan's and is following him out with a rather intense expression on his face. Greeeaat. Now she knows what Zellweger looks like when he's turned on. She didn't need that in her life.

She raises her voice to call out to them.] Oi! Get your asses back here.

[Nathan freezes. Then, after a second, turns to face Zetta.]

I was under the impression that the meeting was over.

[He's trying very hard to look innocent, despite the slight flush to his cheeks.]

[She rolls her eyes.]

Yeah, and we're not gonna wait around for you to finish getting ravished before we head back.

I wasn't expecting you to wait. We arrived separately, we can leave separately.

Yeah, and I can think of exactly one reason why you'd want to do that, and it isn't happening.

This place's history matters, and we're not gonna let you go and fuck on top of it. [A beat.] And I'm not talking about the Pre-War history.

What other history is there? I shouldn't think you'd be so protective over a pre-War intelligence gathering installation. Given your views on America.

[He hasn't forgotten that rant.]

[Zetta restrains a sigh and glances at Deacon and Carrington. This isn't entirely hers to tell; if they want her to not outright tell him, then she won't. Obviously, the Institute knows the Railroad's history here, even if the general populace, appparently, doesn't have any fucking idea, so she doesn't see the harm in it, but she'd still rather ask permission, here.]

Before you arrived, I'd spent three hours gathering up the bodies of my friends.

["Friends" isn't quite the right word. More like family, the same way that the Enclave survivors are family. They didn't always like each other, but they were bound together.]

This was the Railroad's headquarters before your Institute friends slaughtered everyone.

[... fucking christ.

Carrington did that alone.

Zetta doesn't think she could manage burying her old neighbors even with the support of her husbands. (... look, it's just easier to group Deacon in that way, even if he isn't quite yet, okay?)

She reflexively reaches for Deacon's hand.] Just fucking come back with us.

[Nathan so was hoping to find the General's office.]

Now? I thought you were talking to Dr. Singh. And you can hardly bring him back to the Institute.

[Zetta rolls her eyes.]

We're more or less done. We're sure as hell not going to take another half hour.

Very well. Then let's leave.

[He and Zay can continue this in his quarters. Not as exciting as the desk of an Old World general, perhaps, but it will do.]

[Zetta can feel herself relax as Nathan finally caves. Thank god.

(Zay, though, puffs out a breath of annoyance. Dammit, after all that build-up...)]

Alright. Let's get a move on.