It had been well into the afternoon when Scribe Haylen retreated downstairs to the garage of the Cambridge Police Station looking to find a spare workbench in hopes of continuing her own projects. Paladin Danse had this particular room repurposed as a makeshift space for the outpost's scribes to gather and work on research and development.

A handful of crates had been brought into the station earlier in the morning by the Brotherhood recon teams that had scoured the ArcJet building, retuning with many trinkets and components collected from the facility. While it was not exactly the treasure trove that a few of the Knights and Scribes had been hoping for (though they were definitely in awe of the rocket thrusters found deep within the building), most of the materials gathered would still find use in repairing or upgrading their weapons and armor. The scribe hoped to at least begin sorting through said materials and setting aside anything that could be of value to her or the Brotherhood.

The young scribe had found the garage wholly unoccupied save for Scribe Sullivan and Lancer Knight Chacón. The senior scribe had already gotten a headstart at rummaging through the crates and picking out components to work on while the pilot was fiddling with knobs and dials of an old radio, growling in annoyance when the object did not seem to work and slammed her fist on top of it a few times.

"C'mon! Work with me here, you useless box!"

"Where's everyone?" Haylen inquired. The workshop was usually packed with more scribes during most hours and the occasional knight testing out mods for their weapons.

"The other scribes are up on the roof most likely working on the comm tower," Sullivan answered, faintly hearing the Lancer Knight muttering under her breath, "They better not be touching my damn ship."

"Hmm…" Haylen turned her attention over to Trinity, "What are you seriously doing with that radio?"

"Trying to make it work," she responded as if it was the most sensical answer in the world, "Finished checking up on my vertibird so I figured I'd listen to some tunes but I think I left my tape player somewhere up on the Prydwen."

"So just requisition a new one."

"Nope."

"Why not?" Haylen questioned, crossing her arms under her chest with a slightly exasperated look crossing her face.

"Quartermasters have no problem passing on some ammo or a new mod for my laser pistol but I request a tape player and the pendejos stare at me like I grew another head or some shit," Trinity responded.

The scribe sighed and rolled her eyes at how overdramatic her sister-in-arms was being and walked over to where Ethan was working. The senior scribe wordlessly laid out a few tools for his partner and set aside a pile of scrap and components for her to occupy herself with before turning his attention back to his work. She offered a word of thanks and settled to work in her little corner.

"That circuit board looks wholly intact," Haylen commented with a smile as Sullivan looked over the object in his hand, "Not a scratch on it at all."

"Would be perfect for programming a turret," he muttered, "Unfortunately, any stores we've had here of scrap metal and aluminum have been mostly depleted in power armor repairs and there's little left to construct automated defenses with."

"You're not wrong…But we don't need to worry about that for now. Paladin Danse established a few patrol squads already and with him keeping an eye on things, Cambridge should be safer than it was weeks ago."

"As cautious as the paladin is, we are still in the dark of the Institute's full capabilities," Sullivan reasoned, "Having turrets and combat robots at our disposal would help us conserve our manpower for the more difficult fights that await us."

Haylen hummed in agreement and turned her attention back to the sensor module she was carefully picking apart. Scribe Ethan Sullivan had been, for the most part, a bit of fresh air for her. There was finally someone else in the squad who was interested in all the finer details of the technology they worked with. Being a Senior Scribe in service with the Brotherhood long before she had joined, Haylen hoped there was more she could learn from her new teammate.

Not to say she had any qualms about working with Danse, Rhys, Dawes, Keane and the others. She was loyal to them and made for good friends out in the field, but they were soldiers not scientists. The paladin at least tried to understand all the little things that revolved around Haylen's line of work, mostly because his rank as a Brotherhood officer required him to understand the work of both the knights and the scribes.

"So…picking out all the good stuff before everybody else?"

Haylen nearly jumped, startled by the pilot who had somehow sidled up right behind her, peeking over the scribe's shoulder to see what she was working on.

"Trin, we all end up working with the same scrap sooner or later. We don't 'call dibs' on the stuff the Brotherhood collects," Haylen explained as she quickly gathered herself, hoping her sense of embarrassment was not too obvious while carefully setting the module she was holding onto the workbench.

Trinity said nothing, curiosity getting the better of her as she opted to peer into the pile of scrap that the scribes had gathered. She grinned as she found something that caught her eye and reached for it.

"Gotta' give the Institute some credit. It looks like they make some killer backscratchers," the pilot said jokingly as she pulled out a mangled synth arm recovered from the fallen robots at ArcJet.

"Emphasis on killer," Haylen muttered, turning to face Trinity as she used the synthetic limb to reach around and scratch her back.

"Yup…That's the spot. You know how hard it is to scratch an itch in this jumpsuit?"

"You should probably put that back in the pile there," Sullivan suggested in a deadpan tone as he continued to inspect the circuit board, "I'm certain you've already broken a regulation or two sifting through materials that had yet to be sorted by authorized personnel."

"There's like a dozen more synth limbs in that crate. No one's gonna notice just one going missing."

"You'd be surprised at how meticulous we are at keeping inventory, Trinity," the scribe retorted, placing a hand on her hip and trying to fix the 'disappointed big sister' look she usually used on the lancer.

Before Trinity could come back with a retort, heavy footsteps coming from the stairs had everyone go quiet. Rhys walked in first, shouldering a laser rifle. He was followed by Paladin Danse, who was already in his power armor.

"I need-" Danse began but he looked around the room and noticed that his whole squad was already present before him. It saved him the trouble of having to find them one by one all over the station, "Ah good, you're all gathered here."

"Something you need from us, jefe?" Trinity innocently asked.

"Yes. Everyone's attention, first and foremost," Danse curtly responded before turning his full attention towards Trinity and narrowing his eyes at the young woman, "…And the object you're trying to hide behind your back."

The lancer wore a sheepish grin as she took a step forward to give the synthetic arm over to the paladin's outstretched hand.

"Now then…Lancer Knight, I need you to prep your vertibird for takeoff. Your co-pilot for this assignment is already waiting for you there. Everybody else, gather any equipment and ammo you deem necessary and gather up on the helipad in five."

"Sir? Is there something going on?" Haylen blurted out, curious about Danse's sudden sense of urgency. The scribe was aware that sooner or later the Brotherhood would be on the move and Recon Squad Gladius would be the tip of their spear. But she felt it was a little too soon, considering they've only just settled Cambridge Station.

The paladin said nothing at first, instead glancing at each of his squad-mates before turning his attention back towards Haylen.

"I've just received new orders for all of us…" he spoke, "…Captain Kells passed it on to us from Elder Maxson himself."

…

Danse and his squad had wasted no time in preparation and once everyone had gathered and checked their equipment, they all headed for the roof of the police station to meet up with Lancer Chacón's and board the vertibird.

Trinity was already in her pilot's seat while the other lancer, who had introduced himself as Lancer Initiate Pell, occupied the seat next to her.

"Uh, Lancer Knight? With due respect, shouldn't you be wearing some form of protective headgear when we're out on a mission?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wait 'till we're in the air, newbie," the pilot retorted, one hand placed on the top of her helmet while the other was moved a few knobs and dials on the vertibird's control panel in front of her.

Everybody else boarded the aircraft, which was slightly more spacious than the mass-produced model of vertibirds that were in the Brotherhood's service. Haylen took up a seat on a small bench near the pilot and was joined by Scribe Sullivan. Rhys took up took up position by the right side of the vertibird, ready to serve as the main gunner as he took hold of the minigun placed there while Danse proceeded to slide the door shut from the left side they had just boarded from.

"Are we set, Trinity?" the paladin asked.

"Let's see…Weapons primed…All systems green…" She turned in her seat and flashed a mischievous grin to the paladin, "Everything's perfect. La Bruja's ready to go!"

"Alright, let's not delay any further," Danse ordered before adding, "…And no stunts, Lancer Knight."

"Yeah, chief…" the pilot lamely acknowledged.

She flashed a thumbs-up to the Brotherhood scribes on the roof, whom returned the gesture to let her know that the vertibird was ready for takeoff.

Starting the ignition, the rotors of the vertibird slowly began to spin, allowing the vehicle to rise and hover over where it had been stationed. With its systems stable and smooth takeoff, the lancer knight moved with the rest of the team towards the coordinates Danse had given her as her aircraft began to pick up speed and altitude.

Everyone remained rather quiet for the initial duration of their journey. Haylen kept her eyes glued to the floor, wondering where they were going on such immediate notice. Rhys held back a sigh, slightly bored that there was nothing to shoot at but kept a tight grip on the minigun in case they suddenly ran into danger. Sullivan had his arms crossed over his chest and eyes shut, either lost in deep thought or taking a quick nap during the ride.

"Listen up, everyone," Danse spoke up, his voice slightly muffled by the in-built speaker on his helmet, "I'm going to go over the details of our mission."

"The brief rundown is that certain rumors have drawn the attention of the Elder and several of our officers in relation to the Institute. According to the information we have been able to put together, there has been some strange activity going on in the area around Fort Hagen and we suspect that the Institute may have something to do with it."

"How so?" Sullivan asked curiously, stifling a yawn as he indeed was in the middle of a nap.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting Elder Maxson to sanction a recon mission based on mere speculation," Haylen chimed in, "…But then again, we really don't have a lot of ideas on where to start searching for the Institute."

"That is correct," Danse confirmed, "From what I understood, the Elder was a bit reluctant to approve of such a mission without confirming further details but when it comes to the Institute we hardly have options on the table. All we know is that the locals and some of the caravan groups had been avoiding Fort Hagen and the area surrounding it as if it were the plague in recent weeks and some have spoken about seeing 'metal-men' prowling the area. The first thing that comes to mind are Institute synths."

"And as a reconnaissance squad, that leaves us to either confirm or dispel those rumors," Sullivan said, piecing together the basis of their mission.

"Exactly. If the rumors are false, then sending in a contingent of troops would have been a waste of time and resources. And if they were true, then we would only end up alerting them of our approach. Sending a small strike team to investigate the area was the best of our current options."

"My first major mission since leaving the Citadel and we're already tangling with the Institute. Great."

"Welcome to the big leagues, Lancer Knight," Rhys retorted.

"I should emphasize that our mission is strictly reconnaissance," Danse quickly added before anyone present started getting ideas of competition or glory-hounding, "We are to survey the immediate area and look out for any signs that the Institute may still be operating within this part of the Commonwealth. If the threat is considered minimal, then we'll proceed to swiftly neutralize it. Otherwise, we return to the Prydwen and inform the Elder of the Institute's activities and formulate a plan from there. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Everybody else said in unison and the paladin found himself cracking a proud grin hidden beneath his helmet.

"Outsanding."

…

As they arrived at their destination, they chose to land in front of a Red Rocket station near Fort Hagen. From the air as the vertibird began to descend, Danse and the rest of the squad could make nothing out of the ordinary within the area. Where that would have been cause of relief for others, for them it only proved to be more unsettling.

They left Initiate Pell to watch over the vertibird while the others went ahead to scout the area. Trinity was also meant to stay behind and guard her vehicle in case a quick retreat was necessary, but she insisted on joining the rest of the squad. Danse gave in, knowing that an extra gun could be needed and that simple patrol missions would not be enough to keep the young woman combat-ready.

"It's too quiet out here…" Rhys mentioned off-handedly as they approached the derelict fort, "Empty too. If the Institute really was here, we would have spotted a sentry or two by now."

The feeling that everything was not as it seemed only stemmed further when Haylen nearly tripped over a metal object that she had not noticed. Rhys quickly caught her while Ethan picked up the object from the floor.

"Hmm…It looks like this plate was part of a turret…" the scribe looked up towards the roof of the fort, "We might have automated defenses to deal with above us."

"I'll take care of it, Paladin," Rhys quickly volunteered.

"Haylen and I will back him up," Sullivan assured before Danse could dissuade them.

"Very well. Don't get held up too long."

He stayed where he was with Trinity while he waited for the rest of his squad to finish their sweep. It must have been little less than five minutes before they had returned but judging that there had been no sounds of a firefight and that the rest of his team returned in one piece, the roof was apparently clear of hostiles.

"Report, soldier," Danse addressed Rhys as the latter approached him.

"The Senior Scribe's hunch was right. We did find turrets up on the roof…Or what was left of them at least. I counted five and all of them have been blown to bits. Probably the Institute's handiwork if they've been around here."

The paladin's brows furrowed beneath his helmet but said nothing as he listened to Rhys.

If the Institute had been using this as one of their outposts, they would have most likely co-opted the building's defenses for their use rather than outright destroying them.

"We also found a hatch on the roof and a serviceable elevator though I doubt it would fit your power armor, sir," Sullivan added.

"Should we split up and enter the building from two sides?" Rhys questioned.

The Paladin thought on it for a moment. Splitting up would allow them to cover ground more quickly and perhaps even allow them to pincer any sentries between them. The main concern was there was still no telling if Institute synths were present in the building and how many there were.

And after the losses he suffered within his squad, he became even more concerned about the mission going sideways and what could happen to those in his team if they strayed far off from his watchful eyes. The thought of Haylen or Trinity suddenly running into a group of those machines with no hope of escape…

"Negative. We all go in as one," Danse made his decision clear, "Though the front entrance is blocked, there might be another way in from the parking garage over there. I'll stay on the front. Rhys, guard the back. Everybody else, stay between us and remain alert for any hostiles as we move."

All of them followed his order without question as they made their way into the building. The first thing Danse found when he entered was an open door across from him and a loose chain on the floor as if it had been tossed aside. To his right was a set of stairs leading upwards. He took a few steps forward and cautiously poked his head out from the other door to find a hallway stretching all the way to his left. No signs of Institute so far.

Being a military installation, Danse was certain that proceeding down the hallway would lead them further down towards the actual bunker. So, he turned and led his squad upstairs to survey the rest of the building. He did not want to risk his squad getting sandwiched between synth patrols.

Instead, he found a questionable discovery.

"Well, Institute's definitely here alright…"

Rhys' offhand observation came as he prodded at a fallen synth with his boot. There was no reaction from the android though the knight still remained cautious, expecting it to suddenly activate.

"…or at least, they were."

Paladin Danse and the others looked around and found at least three more synths, all strewn across the room and some of them even missing limbs. At least those were certainly put out of commission.

"Search the area but don't go too far from each other's line of sight," he ordered, and everyone dispersed to check every available corner. The result was the same with every room they passed by. A destroyed synth or turret adding to the trash pile there.

"Have the parameters of our mission changed, sir?" Ethan asked as he approached Danse, "Although we have confirmed the presence of the Institute, it would seem that there is now a third party involved and have taken the fight to them here."

"We continue to investigate," the paladin firmly responded, "There is still a whole section of this structure where there could be Institute synths taking cover. We have to confirm if the area is clear before we return to base."

"We might as well also check for clues on who or what took these things out," Haylen added, which had both Ethan and Trinity nodding in agreement.

"Of course, Haylen. Everyone keep your eyes peeled."

The squad filed back down the stairs and proceeded through the maintenance tunnel they had initially avoided, bypassing another ruined turret and synth 'corpse' and right into the bunker.

'Look at all of this,' he thought. The security doors to the command room were left open but Danse avoided them. For all he knew, it could be a trap that would leave his squad vulnerable at their backs, 'The Institute must have had twice the numbers here than what I encountered at ArcJet.'

The Brotherhood soldiers found the barracks area of the fort and took a few minutes to sweep through the rooms, ensuring there were no enemies lying in wait. Once they were certain it was clear, Danse led his squad through to a mess hall. At that moment however, he stopped in his tracks. The paladin was unsure if the silence of the place was playing tricks on him but he swore that, for just a moment, he heard someone shouting from somewhere in the building.

"Paladin? Something wrong, sir?" Haylen questioned, noticing that the paladin stood stiffly in front of them.

After a brief moment, Danse simply shook his head.

"No…I simply thought I heard something. Perhaps the quiet has me a bit on edge."

"I know what you mean, jefe," Trinity idly muttered as she peeked through the window looking into the mess hall.

"Let's keep going. The sooner we finish sweeping the area, the sooner we can return to Cambridge and begin filing our report to the Elder."

'I know for certain this was not the work of the Brotherhood despite how much I wish it had been so…And I don't see bodies of any sort, so I doubt the fools of the Railroad are behind this either. Raiders and wasteland scavengers are definitely out of the question. Whoever did this must have been exceedingly calculated and determined to tear through this many synths.'

'Whoever was responsible for this clearly and rightfully shares no love for the Institute. If only we could cross paths…They may make for a useful addition into the ranks of the Brotherhood.'

The squad had found an armory along the way with its door unlocked. Unfortunately, whoever had been here before them had already made off with the weapons and ammunition that had been stored there.

"Man, nothing but broken synths around so far…" Trinity noted out loud, breaking Paladin Danse's train of thought as they passed through another hall and into what appeared to be what was once a lavish looking office. The paladin easily noticed how hard the pilot was trying to hide the uneasiness this place made her feel, "Are we sure we're not walking into a trap? This is just way too convenient…"

"It's like the Institute used this place as a dumping ground…" Haylen commented as she lowered her laser pistol, pointing the barrel of the weapon to the ground as she glanced at the ruined turrets on the ceiling.

"At least whoever passed through the area did us the favor of eliminating the threat these machines posed here," Ethan pointed out as he inspected a terminal, which unfortunately had nothing of value to offer the team.

"Yeah…some favor," Rhys scoffed as he kicked aside pieces of circuitry from a destroyed turret that had fallen to the floor, "Damn scavvers emptied out both armories in the whole building. There's practically nothing of value to take back with us."

They came to face another set of closed double doors and the Paladin wondered if they had finally circled the entire military bunker. The command center had been empty when they passed by but there was a churning feeling within him that kept him slightly paranoid about the place.

"I'll take point," Danse stated as he moved ahead of his squad, "The rest of you stick close. I'm certain I heard something within this place and we're not done sweeping the area just yet."

With the rest of his team nodded their acknowledgment he turned and pushed the doors open.

And after taking two steps forward, he was met with a man rising from his cover and pointing the barrel of his modified combat shotgun directly at his helmet.

…

Immediately hearing the doors creak open, Bryce rose up from his cover, shotgun locked and loaded in his hands and readily aimed at the intruders. His suspicions were proven right as the leader of the group was clad in power armor and he counted four others behind the individual.

The rest of the armored figure's squad raised their weapons at him as well.

"Don't try anything stupid."

With that warning, Arianna caught their attention as she popped out of her cover at the same time as Cait, flanking the group with their weapons drawn out and they stared in shock at having fallen for an impromptu ambush and quickly turned their attention to the two women. Mac and Dogmeat also came out of their cover to even the odds, the hound growling and baring his teeth at them while Mac stood a little further back with his rifle raised.

A standoff ensued as the Anchorage veteran knew that both sides would come out worse for wear if they started shooting and it seemed that the armored man was thinking the same thing.

Instead, Bryce and the squad leader stared each other down while everybody else kept a close eye for any sudden movements.

"Have I've seen you somewhere before?" the armored soldier suddenly spoke up after a long pause, his voice slightly distorted by the voice module of his helmet.

Bryce raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing as his gaze eventually fell onto the sigil on the armor's chest plate and somehow had recognized seeing it before

'Isn't that the Brotherhood of Steel's symbol?' he thought as he sized up the person in front of him, 'Come to think of it…That particular armor looks awfully familiar…'

Around the same time, he heard one of the soldiers in the group speak up.

"Wait a minute…Weren't you the one who helped us out at Cambridge?" the female soldier in the red turtleneck asked, directing her question at Arianna as they stared each other down. The armored soldier quietly tilted his head to see what was going in with his fellow team member without fully dropping his guard towards Bryce.

His wife did not break eye contact with the woman but he could see the figurative gears turning in her head and there was a light spark in her eyes when she realized who it was.

"You were that field medic at the police station when the ferals attacked, right?"

"Field Scribe actually…"

"Okay, I'm lost here. Do you know these guys, Haylen?" asked the brunette in the bomber jacket.

"We do."

The armored soldier lowered his rifle and with one hand reached up and unclasped the seals of his helmet which let out a small hissing sound before lifting it off his head. Bryce's eyebrows rose as he realized who it was that ran into him and lowered his shotgun.

It was Paladin Danse.

"Huh…Small world we live in, right? You look a lot better off than the last time we met," the vault dweller greeted, nodding slightly towards the soldiers he didn't recognize, "And I guess you've got some extra backup."

"You could say that. Cambridge looks a lot different than weeks before now that the Brotherhood have claimed it," the paladin said, "And it feels great to be out on the move again now that the cavalry's arrived."

"How did you recognize me?" Arianna directed her question at the field scribe.

"The prosthetic arm was a bit of a dead giveaway," Haylen curtly answered as she slowly lowered her gun.

"I'm pretty sure there are plenty of others out here with missing limbs."

"Not with prosthetics as well kept and designed as yours."

"So, I take it that ship brought in your friends, right? Not exactly a subtle entrance you guys made," Bryce pointed out as Arianna and Haylen spoke with each other.

"There's no need to be subtle when we've got all that firepower," Danse said as he shook his head, "And the Prydwen is one our great marvels as well as the pride of our forces." He could hear Arianna holding back a snort at the last part.

So, they named their ship 'The Prydwen?' What's next? Their leader is King Arthur?

"Subtlety can go a long way, Paladin. Sometimes playing all your cards at once isn't the best way to handle things…" Bryce started but then shook his head, "But I digress. I'm sure none of you are here to get a lecture from a vault dweller…In that case, I wanna ask…What are you all doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Danse countered.

"Well considering I asked first and none of us are on 'Brotherhood' grounds, I think it's only fair that you be the one to answer my question," the vault dweller retorted with a huge grin, shrugging when the Brotherhood soldiers stared at him with incredulous looks. A few moments passed by before the paladin gave his team the order to stand down.

They proceeded to lower their weapons while Bryce's companions eased up afterwards. Slight tension remained in the air and no one was sure how the other would act, yet Bryce played it cool. Danse and his squad were all focused on him while Cait and Arianna still flanked them, observing the Brotherhood soldiers carefully in case they needed to respond to any sudden moves. Then the paladin cleared his throat.

"We arrived here under suspicion that the Institute had their synths roam this area in particular," Danse answered, "That's all I can say."

"Fair enough…And I take it your suspicions have been confirmed," the vault dweller responded, "Though if you guys were expecting to find the Institute here, then you're pretty late for that. Two weeks late to be exact."

"And you know this, how exactly?" the Paladin inquired, eyes narrowing slightly at the vault dweller in front of him. The man was being awfully precise for this to be a coincidence and it was not sitting entirely well with the paladin.

"Because we cleaned out this place of anything Institute related two weeks ago," Bryce answered coolly, as if he was giving Danse and his people the time of day rather than making an outrageous claim that the vault dwellers had single-handedly wiped out an army of synths stationed here.

Danse just stood there, staring at the man a few feet in front of him unsure of what to think at that moment. Haylen's eyes were wide like saucers, mouth agape with incredulity while Ethan had raised an eyebrow, mostly curious at what the vault dwellers had to add to that.

"No fuckin' way…Really?" the girl in the bomber jacket remarked as she tried to stifle a giggle. Her laughter seemed more out of relief of not having to fight off a bunch of synths rather than disbelief at the vault dweller's claims.

"Of course you did. Do you really expect us to believe that?!" Rhys sneered. Bryce turned to face the Brotherhood soldier and smirked.

"Knight Rhys, right? I take it you're feeling a bit better? You just look a bit different when you're not sitting on your ass nursing a couple of ghoul scratches."

Bryce heard Cait snort at his retort and even one of the soldiers in Danse's squad snickered.

Rhys, however, was not amused.

"Why, you-" the knight almost looked like he was going to lunge at the vault dweller but Danse blocked his way before he got any ideas.

"Enough!" the paladin barked, "I've ordered all of you to stand down."

"And as for you…" Danse turned his attention to Bryce, throwing a tired glare his way, "If you're done playing around with us, would you care to elaborate on what went on here?"

The veteran stared down the paladin with his arms crossed over his chest, pondering how much he should share with them. He remembered Piper and Nick's warnings that while the Brotherhood were ready to fight the Institute, they would not have come all this way if they didn't have any other plans for the Commonwealth. The vault dweller didn't want to end up giving away too much information that Danse's organization could potentially hold over his or his wife's heads.

Still, maybe a decent portion of their story should satisfy them enough to send them on their way.

"Remember that we refused your offer to join the Brotherhood because we had personal business to take care of in Diamond City?" Bryce asked and when the paladin nodded in the affirmative, he continued, "The truth was we went there to find information on a mercenary who kidnapped our child from the vault we were in."

"Said mercenary went by the name of Kellogg, and it turned out the guy had a home of his own right there in Diamond City. Doing a little digging, we found out he was actually an agent for the Institute. And not just any agent. He was their attack dog, their most dangerous and ruthless asset doing the Institute's dirty work up here on the surface."

"And you pursued him even though you knew he was an Institute agent? That was beyond reckless," the paladin chastised.

"We didn't ask for your 'professional' opinion, paladin," Arianna snapped at him as she walked over to Bryce and stood beside her husband. Danse looked taken aback by her harsh response, "If you're going to interrupt us, then we'll just be on our way out then."

A tense silence remained between them for a few seconds before Danse spoke up again, "Apologies. Please continue. I need to know what became of this 'Kellogg'…"

"I already told you. We killed him. Thanks to Dogmeat here, we tracked him all the way to Fort Hagen and cornered him…The rest is obvious by now," Bryce answered as he gave Dogmeat a pat on the head.

He sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair and continued, "Though a small part of me thinks that he suspected we were pursuing him and wanted us to come find him. The trail he left for us to follow looked completely set up beforehand."

"Perhaps he was luring you here hoping to finish the job," one of the soldiers, the one with short silver hair, pointed out, "The Institute tends to leave no survivors when attacking populated areas. Discovering that there were still loose ends to tie up must have irked them greatly."

"Maybe so…" Arianna spoke up, "We did find a small army of synths here backing him up. They didn't stop us from getting to him though."

"Just the two of you?" Haylen asked in disbelief.

"Of course not. We had a small team of people of our own covering us here," Bryce responded as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the young man behind him, "MacCready here was one of the folks who joined us in the fight as well as the lovely young lady over there named Cait."

The redheaded brawler wordlessly flipped him off while MacCready flashed Danse a shit-eating grin that had the Brotherhood soldier scowling and narrowing his eyes at the merc in response.

Looks like those two must have run into each other before…

Turning to Bryce, Danse said, "Your choice of company seems rather odd and questionable."

"What can I say. At least that Institute asshole got what was coming to him," the vault dweller responded while shrugging his shoulders.

A few seconds of silence passed by as both Bryce's group and Danse's squad began to visibly relax, if only a little, around each other now that both sides were certain they were not threats to each other. Danse also took a quick moment to think on Bryce's information and came to a conclusion.

"Had anyone else claimed such a thing, I would have deemed them certifiably insane and been less than pleased for having wasted my time…"

"But having witnessed firsthand how the two of you handled yourselves back at ArcJet, having gone as far as to save me from a synth ambush…I'll take a gamble here and accept that what you're telling me is the truth."

Bryce breathed an inward sigh of relief.

Well, that went a little better than I expected.

"There is one thing I would like to know, however…"

Or not…

"You said that your child was kidnapped by the Institute mercenary and held here. Were you able to resolve that situation?"

"…No…" Bryce answered after a long pause and he heard Arianna let out a sigh. It figured that this wouldn't be the last time he would have to share the story of Shaun being kidnapped and was now being held in the Institute, "Our son was handed over to the Institute before we could get to him."

Everyone looked at him with a mix of horror and pity. Even Rhys' scowl disappeared, and he looked just a tad bit apologetic. Danse opened his mouth to speak but Bryce held up a hand to wave him off.

"I know what you're about to say but we've gotten enough condolences in the past week. That's not gonna get us closer to finding the Institute."

"That's still fucked, though…" the brunette with the jacket said aloud, "Kidnapping kids…Esos perros really are begging for a boot up their ass."

"Your son was not the first of the many citizens and children that have been taken by the Institute and he won't be the last if we do not put a stop to them once and for all," the silver haired squad mate pointed out.

"Tch. Tell me something I don't know," Bryce wearily scoffed.

"But going after the Institute by yourselves? That's just not possible," Haylen sadly said.

"My offer still stands, you know," Paladin Danse spoke up without hesitation, "You want to find and bring the Institute to justice just as much as the Brotherhood. If you were to join us, I believe we would have a mutually beneficial relationship. Your talents and determination would help further our cause and in turn you would have access to advanced equipment, a variety of resources, and a more…honorable choice of company to aid you in your efforts to track down the Institute."

The vault dweller heard Cait and MacCready scoff as soon as Danse finished speaking but he and Arianna remained quiet to process their thoughts. One look from her though told him that she was not entirely impressed with the sales pitch.

The temptation was there however. The Brotherhood seemed to have brought in a sizable army in that airship and from the looks of things they might had the tech and resources to fully dedicate themselves to hunting the Institute.

The prewar veteran shook his head at the thought. He knew how these sorts of deals went. Help from the Brotherhood of Steel would probably have a bigger price tag than just merely signing up with them and would probably come with more strings than he cared to deal with right this moment.

The search for the Institute would perhaps go more smoothly with people like Paladin Danse and his squad helping him out but Bryce already had his own responsibilities and he was not the sort of man to turn back on his word on such short notice. He just hoped Danse wouldn't be thoroughly disappointed though. He wanted to keep his options open in case he might need the Brotherhood in the near future for any reason.

"I appreciate the offer, Paladin, but I…"

I've got some other leads I need to check on…No! Nope! Don't say that. These guys will be on your ass if you so much as mention that you've got people of your own doing some investigating!

"We appreciate the offer but my husband and I have been caught up in some other personal business that we need to wrap up sooner rather than later," Arianna stepped in and Bryce released the breath he had been holding momentarily, thankful for the save.

Yep. I've definitely married the one.

They were not out of the woods yet though as her answer only made Danse raise an eyebrow in question, while Rhys glared at them with suspicion and the rest gave the couple curious expressions.

"What sort of business are you speaking of?" the paladin questioned, and Arianna had to hide the urge to roll her eyes at the continuous questions.

God damn it! Can't these people mind their own business already?!

"It's nothing much, really," Bryce quickly enough to not appear hesitant and fuel whatever suspicions he may have held, "Just running a protection detail for a couple of farmers who are looking to make a space for themselves. We're only going to stick around long enough for them to handle themselves. After that…We'll see where we go next."

"Maybe then I might take you up on your offer."

"Sorry, but we don't hold invitations like we're some social club. You join or you don't. That's it," Rhys chided.

"I have the final say in keeping the offer up for them or not, Rhys," Danse reprimanded and turned to face Bryce once more, fixing the vault dweller with a hard stare, "But he's right. I understand that you need some time to dwell on it since it is a decision that will change both your lives but sooner or later you'll have to decide."

"When that time comes, you know where to find me."

"That's it then?"

"For now. Do watch yourself out there, Kendrick. There are more threats out there in the Commonwealth than just the Institute."

"Yeah…I figured that out just a few hours after leaving the vault," Bryce said, "Until we meet next time, Paladin."

With a wave of his hand he bid them farewell before turning on his heel and gesturing for those accompanying him to follow. He could still feel the watchful eyes of the Brotherhood soldiers on him, mostly likely still wary of the vault dweller and if he had another trick he was planning to play on them.

I wouldn't say they're exactly a smart bunch but they're not dumb either. They're probably going to want the full scoop of what sort of place Vault 111 was and learn all the little details I left out eventually…

"Sooo…What now?" MacCready spoke up as they all gathered in the elevator and headed up for the roof.

"I doubt Danse and his soldiers found Kellogg's remains…" Arianna answered, "They're not the subtle type. 'Hey guys! We found a dead body somewhere in the building!' would have been one of the first things that they would have mouthed off if they did."

"Were leavin' it at that then?" Cait questioned and Ari shook her head.

"No. We're going to Diamond City."

Arianna turned to look at her husband and reached up to softly caress his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Isn't that right, love?"

Bryce gazed right back at her and a small sigh escaped his lips before walking out of the elevator and back into the wasteland.

"Yep. That's about right."

We need to see Nick.

…

The return trip was done in silence amongst the squad, all of them lost in their own thoughts as they returned to Cambridge. Once back at the outpost however, it was all business as they gathered by the garage. Each of them should have gone to rest but they felt better off working on something else once they realized sleep would not come to them. Especially Rhys, who seemed to be quietly fuming as he stared down at his rifle laid out on the workbench.

"Something bugging you, Reesie?" Trinity asked. He groaned but said nothing, prompting the pilot to press further, "I can almost see smoke coming out of your ears."

For a moment, it seemed Rhys had no intention of paying her any attention or caving in to her obnoxiousness. Then he put his rifle back together before splaying his hands on the surface of the workbench as he gave a tired sigh.

"It's those damn vault dwellers," he curtly answered, brows furrowing while Trinity stared at him in confusion.

"What about them?" Ethan asked. Rhys backed away from his workbench and turned to face the senior scribe.

"I can usually size up most of the people I meet. Get a read on what they might be up to…But I wasn't able to get anything on those vault dwellers. They're like a damn wild card and it's honestly bugging the hell out of me," Rhys responded, scowling as Trinity threw an arm over his shoulders with a shit-eating grin.

"Hey. C'mon, compadre. You definitely look like you could use a few new friends," the pilot teased.

"Considering Paladin Danse's testimony of their capabilities and the improvised but well-coordinated ambush they subjected us to at Fort Hagen, I believe they would make a welcome addition to the Brotherhood," Scribe Sullivan suggested before shaking his head disappointedly, "A shame that they turned down the paladin's offer…"

"Tch. On the contrary, I think we'd be better off if they stay as far away from us as possible," Rhys scoffed with a shake of his head as he eased himself away from the personal space invader that was the Lancer Knight, "I've got a feeling they'll end up causing more trouble for the Brotherhood than they're worth if they get anywhere near us."

He turned away to search for his own personal toolbox but instead found Scribe Haylen now standing in front of him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her lips were pressed into a thin line and after a few quiet seconds, she sighed.

"I get that it's not easy to trust anyone out here but you could at least have a little gratitude. We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them saving us and you know it, Rhys," Haylen scolded and continued on before the knight could interrupt her, "And the whole 'they're wastelanders!' excuse doesn't work. Paladin Danse and I were wastelanders once upon a time, you know."

"Yeah but you guys worked for it," the knight protested.

"And so can they if they take up Danse's offer," Haylen quipped back with no intention of backing down. She did not like confronting the man who had sponsored her entry into the Brotherhood of Steel in such a manner but even she did get annoyed by Rhys' attitude towards wastelanders at times.

To his credit, Rhys looked quite taken aback by Haylen's response, the scowl on his face tempered with a speechless expression. He looked everywhere but directly at her and eventually he sighed and gave a light shrug.

"We'll see how useful they'll be if they decide to come back here," Rhys said, turning back to pick up his rifle. He set aside his toolbox, deciding to work on modding his weapon another time and went up the stairs to the barracks.

"Well, that's as close to a 'Sorry for running my mouth' as we'll get from him," Haylen muttered mostly to herself.

"Eh, leave him," Trinity brushed off as she went back to work on her radio. A bit of tampering later, her efforts proved successful as 'Uranium Fever' by Elton Britt sounded off in their little R&D room, "Nobody's dislodging that stick up his ass anytime soon. Not even you."

Haylen sighed and the pilot just shook her head. Around the same time, Ethan packed away his tools as well and turned to head upstairs.

"I'll be at my bunk," he said before either woman would ask where he was headed, "I figured now is as good a time as any to review the Brotherhood's database on known vaults and see if I can find something on this 'Vault 111'. Proctor Quinlan will throw a fit if I don't return those notes to him by the end of the week."

And without waiting for a response, he left and now Scribe Haylen and Trinity were the only ones remaining in the room.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" the lancer started again, "Rhys takes his job way too seriously to be anything more than a coworker to all of us, chica. Seeing the Brotherhood flag on the wall of the barracks is more likely to give him a hard-on than seeing you naked on his bed."

"Trin! What the hell?!"

"Where's the lie, though?" Trinity asked, smirking and she went on to laugh as an embarrassed and flush-faced Haylen just shook her head and went back to look for her own tools. As the pilot's teasing came to an end, so did the song that was playing.

"Well…uh…Hey. You're all, um, listening to…Diamond City Radio…I'm Travis and I'm your host…Though a lot of you already know that…"

Trinity groaned immediately upon hearing him. If this DJ was the best (or the only one) that the Commonwealth had to offer, then this was going to be a long tour indeed.

"Five seconds in and I'm already wishing I could hear Three-Dog's show all the way up here," she complained. It didn't matter to her if most of the Brotherhood hated his guts now because his vocal support for the Lyons regime never waned. She was still his self-proclaimed number one fan.

"Well, um…It's…It's time for some news! Heh heh…" the stammering DJ continued, trying to add an excited tone to his announcement which only had the opposite effect, making him sound even more lame. The nervous chuckle at the end certainly did not help him at all either.

"So…those vault dwellers you've all been hearing about…You know…the ones from Vault 111?"

Upon hearing that, the two women had stopped whatever they were doing that moment and all of them turned their attention towards the radio.

"If you, uhh, get tired of... living in Diamond City, and you maybe want an... adventure or something... I guess you have some new options? After helping the Minutemen, um, establish…the settlement of, uhh, Sanctuary, it's been confirmed that Aber…Aber-Nathee? Oh, Abernathy Farm! Abernathy Farm and…uh, Tenpines Bluff are now welcoming new people…who want to settle…and do stuff to help the settlements…"

"Uhh, Haylen?" Trinity began but was cut off by the younger scribe with a wave of her hand.

"Wait a moment…"

"And I just heard a few minutes ago that settlers that want to help build at…um, Starlight Drive-In? Anyone who wants to help are to report over at Starlight. Not sure when…No deadline or anything…Just show up…and help. Good luck to them, with all of that, I guess…I mean I thought the Minutemen were done for! Huh, it looks like the vault dwellers are making some progress with them now that they're in charge…So yeah…Good for them."

That was the end of the news segment and music once again began to play but both women were staring dumbfounded at the radio. The scribe thought back on the encounter at Fort Hagen and figured that the couple who had saved them had probably omitted a few details about themselves as they explained their story. It wasn't known to them yet if the vault dwellers did it on purpose or did it simply to speed things up and get out of Danse's continuous line of questioning.

"Was that guy talking about the same people we just met a while ago?" Trinity asked but the scribe did not answer immediately, questions of her own forming in the back of her mind at a rapid pace.

Who are Bryce and Arianna exactly? How did they have the experience of veteran wastelanders if they've been out into the wasteland for less than a month? What kind of vault was Vault 111? Did Kellogg or the Institute somehow attack the vault and these two were the only survivors or were there more? And what was or were these 'Minutemen' the radio host mentioned?

More questions popped in her mind but she would only have speculation for answers.

She wondered if this was what Rhys meant to say when he specified that he felt this couple would ended up causing trouble for the Brotherhood. After all, she had heard stories of another pair of vault dwellers that had crossed paths with the Brotherhood in a time before she had joined and had become the talk of legend.

It wouldn't be the first time that certain vault dwellers shook things up around them.

And from the looks of it, it was not going to be the last.

…

A/N: Well it was about time I got this out. Buckle up 'cause this is a fairly long note.

I know I say all the time that 'I could have gotten this chapter out sooner' but I'm pretty sure everybody here knows that stuff happens sometimes. In my case, I got promoted at my workplace over a month ago. My workload has been heavier since then and sometimes I come back home stressed and exhausted to the point that I just don't feel like doing anything else other than playing some games and going to sleep. The bright side is that I now have a more consistent schedule and two days off that allow me some time to write a little more often and consistently.

Also a few pointers…I felt that maybe the dialogue in this chapter may come off as a little drawn out but at the same time, I felt that it was in the character of a Brotherhood soldier or specifically, Paladin Danse, to borderline interrogate people who are practically strangers wandering around an abandoned military base that was supposedly occupied by the Institute. They're extremely cautious, most see themselves as above wastelanders and are highly distrustful of them. Had they not recognized Bryce and Ari as the ones who helped them they would have definitely been a lot more confrontational about it. I'm certain that there a few readers who would probably have the thought the same thing as the couple did in regards to Danse's questioning (Oh my God. Can this dude just shut up already and let us be on our way?!)

Also, I lost count of how many times I misspelled Brotherhood in this chapter as 'Brotherhodd' and for some reason I thought 'BrotherTodd' and now I'm imagining Brotherhood soldiers but all of them are Todd Howard or say his catchphrases. So yeah…There's that lovely little image to keep you all up at night. Sweet dreams.

Lastly, I wonder if anyone out here who has thought up or made OC's of their own ever wonder on how would they sound like if voiced. I've looked to my own OC's and have thought on who would voice them if they did have actors/actresses of their own. For now, if my first four had VA's, it probably be this:

Artemis – Elizabeth Maxwell (I mostly know her for her role as Winter Schnee from RWBY and Ymir from Attack on Titan. She plays the no-nonsense role pretty well.)

Crow – Vic Mignogna (Has done many roles and has even been a part of the 'Nuka-Break' series. Though the character of 'Qrow' from RWBY definitely served as inspiration for this version as many of you have already guessed and pointed out.)

Trinity Chacon – Rebecca Sanabria (Hispanic voice option for a Female Boss in Saints Row 2 and 3. Fun games and fun dialogue to listen to.)

Ethan Sullivan – Gideon Emery (Long list of roles like Vic but the one I had at the front was Fenris from Dragon Age 2. I imagined Ethan sharing a similar likeness to Fenris but personality wise, the senior scribe is more academic and less temperamental than the lyrium warrior.)

Well, that about wraps it up for now. Feel free to favorite, follow and review if you want to. Every little bit helps in pushing me to keep working on this thing and I honestly can't wait to start work on Volume 2 of TWTN. I've got some ideas laid out for that part that plenty of readers will find interesting (Or at least, that's my hope!). Until then, I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.

P.S. – Anybody looking forward to Fallout 76 and is a PS4 player?