[Redd]

[Fallout 4 spoilers, you know the deal]

They were right. The Commonwealth was… something else from the air.

Even from up here, with the roaring of the vertibird’s propellers in her ears, she could still pick up sounds of conflict, gunshots echoing across Boston. Even now, despite spending several months out of the Vault, the level of disconnect she felt, between what her brain was insisting the city should have looked like, versus what it was, weirded her out. Sometimes it still felt like she was in a dream. Today was one of those days.

Though, maybe it was the surreal situation she’d suddenly been thrust into.

Where did she even begin with that?

[Redd]

Her son was 60 years old. For comparison, she was 28. You do the math. Plus, you know, being the leader of the Commonwealth’s boogyman organization, the Institute, was also a bit of a shocker as well, but of course, she was still hung up on that first bit.

The Institute was a whole other story though. She’d… seen enough misguided antagonist stories throughout her life, she grew up on comics and radio drama’s for god’s sake but she never in a million years (let alone 210 years) thought she’d be the protagonist dealing with one. It didn’t help that her new allies in the wasteland, the Minutemen, the Brotherhood of Steel, Goodneighbour, hell, even just the average residents, viewed the Institute as unwanted, unneeded and dangerous.

And on the subject of the Brotherhood… well, that maybe was the hardest part to grasp, despite being the more mundane of the three.

[Redd]

And it was why she was sitting in a Brotherhood of Steel Vertibird, dressed head to toe in Power Armour and casually cruising over Charlestown, towards Cambridge. It was also why, her usual chatty pilot was unusually silent.

Corey still didn’t know how she was going to handle this situation. Her mentor was a synth. You know, the Institute’s pet projects; a living fusion of organic flesh and circuitry, capable of passing as a human. And, the Brotherhood had ordered her to kill him.

Mentor may have been a slight… understatement, clearly it was more complicated than that. She’d stumbled across his patrol in Cambridge, right after coming out of the vault. She must have looked more clueless than your average wastelander, with her blue vault suit, pip-boy, pipe pistol and a few salvaged pieces of armour. Not to mention, she had charged in a panic into their fortified base with five feral ghouls in tow.

[Redd]

Still, they’d not shot her on sight, which was something she was very thankful for.  That was a hard to come by luxury, as she’d quickly come to learn.

Instead, they’d gestured at a weapon for her to grab and as a sign of gratitude, she’d helped them hold position against the ghouls they’d already been fighting. Then, even offered her work as an extra pair of eyes, investigating a suspicious signal in a Synth infested building.

Sure, it was entirely likely they were being altruistic and had half expected her to die in the process but she didn’t. And to boot, their leader, her mentor, Paladin Danse had listened to her story, even going so far to offer her a position within the Brotherhood, with access to the firepower and training she needed to get her son back.

She may have been missing some clear contextual clues as to why a lot of people were afraid of them, but well. At the time, she reasoned that she was just as altruistic and if she was going to fight the Institute, she’d need all the firepower she could get.

[Redd]

So, she became a Knight, and since Paladin Danse was her sponsor, he was willing to roam the Commonwealth with her. It worked out, mostly. She helped out people in her own way, and he seemed… pleased with her methods, even if they were a little more… out there than he was used to. Even if she insisted on painting her power armour bright red, instead of the black colors of the Brotherhood. She’d managed to get to actually know the human underneath that suit of armour and… well-

“Knight Corey?” A crackle over the intercom cut off her thoughts, probably just in time. “We’re at Medford. The LZ’s crawling with Super Mutants, landing isn’t an option.”

Corey sighed and pulled herself to her feet. “No big deal. Thanks Squire.” She briefly replied, before gathering herself and… jumping.

[Redd]

Corey sighed and pulled herself to her feet. “No big deal. Thanks Squire.” She briefly replied, before gathering herself and… jumping.

Suit and all plummeted into the earth with a resounding thud that could have definitely been heard for miles, but she wasn’t wasting any time, recovering and pulling out a Stealthboy and activating it, the hot-rod red suit fading away into the scenery. In the distance, she could hear angry yells and barks, as the locals started moving in to try and find her, but she immediately struck a course west.
Medford Memorial Hospital was close to her destination, but it was still a fair walk in the heavy armour and she really wasn’t in the mood to kick the Super Mutant hornet nest that was nearby.

Could you really blame her?

[Redd]

Thankfully, the walk there was uneventful. She wasn’t even sure if this was the right place to be, but Haylen was sure that Danse had fled to Listening Post Bravo. Corey knew the location, hell she’d even been past it with Danse in tow. At the time, the Paladin had remarked on how well fortified it was, and how it’s defences could be reactivated in a pinch, prompting her to take a slightly more round-about route. Plus, she couldn’t be too sure if there was another Brotherhood operative sent to follow her to make sure she could finish the job, thus the Stealthboy.

As the bunker came into view, she flicked a glance up to where she knew the turrets were but they were gone. A Protectron was also face down in the dirt, not something she remembered from last time. “Hey… Danse…?” she tentatively called out, placing a hand on the security door and pushing it open. She cautiously stepped in and suddenly found herself staring down the barrel of a laser rifle.

“Stay back!” A voice, though not unfamiliar, growled at her.

“Hey… woah, it’s me. Corey.” She soothed raising her hands to show she was unarmed. Probably a moot point, because power armour was still able to deliver a powerful punch but she’d really only opted for the suit as a defensive precaution. She had no way of knowing Danse’s mental state. “I… Haylen said you’d be here. She’s… really worried about you.” Corey continued, shuffling in the door and closing it behind her, before cautiously disengaging her armour and stepping out of it.

[Redd]

“They sent you?”

She could feel his scowl without needing to look. But didn’t interrupt as he continued.

“Of course they did, Maxson never liked doing the dirty work himself. I’m… sorry I know this must be a shock to you, but believe me. I had no idea. I thought Synths were the enemy… until that list got decoded.” He sighed and stowed away his gun, turning away to examine some rubble. “So… I assume they sent you to dispose of me?”

“I… yeah.” Corey sighed, rubbing her temples, taking her glasses off and pulling her stars and stripe patterned bandana down. “But I was hoping we could find another way.”

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous. You’re a Brotherhood soldier, I can’t be the reason you undermine the Brotherhood. We both know Synths are an abomination. I should be the example, not the exception.” He protested hotly.

[Redd]

“Bullshit. You told me you trust me and my judgement, as unorthodox as it might be.” She fired right back, to her surprise, finding the words quite difficult to say. Her voice pitched and she wasn’t sure if it was from anger or sadness. The way he just… was accepting his death? Made her fume. They hadn’t come this far, just for her to put a bullet in his head. She wasn’t about that. “And I believe that you’re not a damn threat to anyone but yourself. You feel, you have emotions. Sometimes they’re damn hard to see under that tin can you insist on wearing but they’re there.”

He stared back at her, mouth agape. In shock, likely. Outbursts from her were common, sure. Usually, they were rude, inappropriate or just plain sarcastic though. She rarely showed anger or sadness these days.

She wasn’t done yet though.

[Redd]

“You can sit there, beg me to kill you and feel sorry for yourself all you like but I don’t do that. You, are going to get your ass up, give me your holotags to get Maxson off your back and get out of the Commonwealth. You’ve done good things, you can continue to do good things. There’s no point wasting a perfectly good life.” she growled, suddenly realising the cause behind the sudden outburst. She couldn’t lose another person she cared about. Nate was one thing. But one of her good friends, who dragged her through hell and back? She wouldn’t be able to take it. Did she love him? Probably. But she knew the story of Rhys and Haylen. If anything, Danse was more committed to the Brotherhood than Rhys was, but with that in jeopardy… “And once this whole thing blows over I’ll come and find you. I can’t… lose another person I care about… I-“

“A touching sentiment but I thought I made my orders very clear Knight.” Maxson’s voice echoed around the bunker. She didn’t need to see his face, to know just how furious he was. “Kill the Synth. It should not exist.”