Arthur wakes up with a jolt, sweat dripping off his forehead. A dream, that's all it was. He could still hear the rush of blood in his ears as he runs his hands over his eyes. He steadies himself, why did it always feel like he was losing control? He steals himself as he looks at the tiny clock near his bed, it was barely after midnight. Time didn't really matter, but it was one of the working ones he had. It gave him a strange since of peace, that things could be right again. He slowly pulls himself out of his bed, not bothering with his coat as he takes a small walk. He needed some fresh air, well as clear as it could be in the Commonwealth. He heads outside and crosses the platform to a rail that over looked the area. Seems he wasn't the only one that had this idea. He frowns a bit, he thought he told the new recruit to go get some sleep. Sara was over looking the city before her, her arms wrapped around herself. She knew her mind better then anyone, she was never going to go to sleep. She feels herself breath deeply, but no mater how many times she opened her eyes, nothing changed. Her throat tightens, unsure how to feel. On the one hand, the longer she was here, the more she really doubted anyone would miss her. It was her own fault, she just didn't close to people anymore. She just didn't see the point as she looks down, feeling the wind in her hair. She blinks as she looks up, someone was behind her. She turns quick, catching the Elder off guard. "Holy...for....crying out loud, you..." She tilts her head, seeing him out of his battle coat was interesting. He just frowns at her, he was sure he hadn't made a sound. "How did you know I was behind you?" "I felt you." He takes a minute to think over her answer. "What?"
She lets out a nervous laugh. "I can feel when people are behind me. I guess it's hard to explain, but it's just something I picked up..." She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. "That's...impressive, some soldiers take years to lean something like that..which reminds me, why are you up here, I thought I told you to get some rest.." She looked a bit sheepish as she looks away. "Can't sleep, I got far to used to staying up late at night. It's...oh hell there's a word for it, my mind just has a really hard time shutting down..." Maxson nods slowly, keeping his eyes on her. "You work better at night." She nods at him, giving him a odd smile. "Yeap...nailed it, so to speak...it sucks on so many levels. Let me guess, you too?" He seems to stiffen a bit, but slowly relaxes. "You can say that..." He didn't normally reach out to people. Hell the only person he really considered a friend was Dance. He was their leader, he had to be the 'better example'. He wasn't allowed the luxury to just be 'Arthur'. He lets out a deep breath as they look out before them. There was still a part of her that wondered if she had some influence over this world. What changes did her messing around do to this place. Sure it was innocent, to make things more interesting. She hated how little effort was put into this game. Yet being here, had changed something, it was now real, this was a real person standing before her. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to sleep now. Was he here now because of her, or was it his own free will? She just didn't know anymore. "You know....off the record, it's hard to sleep, I mean...look at this place..." Maxson stirs as he looks up. "It's a mess..."
He frowns at his own voice, damn it he shouldn't be getting this close. He tightens his fist, he should just order her to go inside, but he couldn't. "That's why this mission is important, it's a step forward we need..." She nods her head to this, her eyes still out on the building in front of them. "I know...I'll be fine...honest.." He doesn't say anything after that as he leans forward a bit. His hands now gripping the railing. He was still taking in how she managed to clear out the airport of Feral's. "If you can clear out this airport of Feral's, then I'm sure you can handle Mutant's..." She couldn't help but let out a small snort, trying to hold back her laughter. "Thanks...glad you're impressed." Even if that really hadn't been her, well the her standing here. She blinks as he turns to her, his eyes just, it felt like they were burning into her. "I have high hopes for you, it's not every day, we take this gamble. Dance is our best soldier, we may of lost a few good men. But we can change that..." There he goes, fading back to the 'leader' role. It wasn't something he could break away from. "Yes sir..I understand.." He seems to relax a bit, as she takes a step back. "I'll see you in the morning...and." She looks around, making sure no one else was around. "Off the record again...maybe you should follow your own advise, and get some sleep." She places her hand on his shoulder, for a split second before leaving. He just watches her, speechless before heading in for the night. When morning did come Sara met Dance and Nate in the station to put on their new power armor. She had no idea what it would be like, but Ingram was happy to show her how to get it open. The moment of truth, Sara steps in as everything just seems to come to life. She breaths slowly as everything flickers as she sees everything she needed to know. It really was like wearing armor, only this thing could pack a punch. Dance just smiles with pride as Nate steps into his own armor, already familiar with how it worked. "Fells like you can take on the world in those doesn't it?" Sara just moves slowly, getting used to the weight.
The suit moves with her of course, it didn't really take long to get used to. She wasn't sure what to say though, so when in doubt, just say nothing. They head out to the waiting Vertibird and sits herself behind the mini-gun. Oh this was about to get, interesting as they take off and make their way to the fort. Nate had taken his place at the other side as Dance hangs on tight. As they got closer to the fort, a large Behemoth shows itself, throwing a large chunk of road at them. This thing was huge, and angry. She takes aim the minute it comes into view, and fires. The minute the small helicopter turns, Nate takes over, keeping his aim on it's head. She hears something crash against them as they slowly lower, they took in damage and they would have to take the fight on foot now. They all jump down as the Vertibird takes off back for repairs. Lucky them they had killed the Behemoth, but that left the other Mutants. Taking her own advise when it came to these monsters, aim for the head. This was her first time firing a gun, and she just watches as the bullet, sinks into one of the Mutants eye's blinding it. Her eyes go wide as she takes another shot, and down it goes. It seemed like no time at all before the three of them cleared out the area. She half jumps as Dance walks up to her. "Good work soldier, good aim.." Thank goodness for the helmet as she nods her head. "Thanks..." They move slowly as they enter the fort. She turns on the light on her helmet, unable to see far. Dance and Nate do the same as she keeps her eyes open. The place was a mess, but that came to no surprise. "We should keep our eyes open..." Her voice sounded so strange in the helmet. Dance turns to her, surprised. "I was just about to suggest that, you're going to make one hell of a Knight.."
They didn't find much but she made a mental note to pick up anything that might be useful. She enters what looked to be an old office and pokes around, Dance following after her. "Anything useful soldier?" She pulls out what looked to be an old document. "Maybe..." He takes a look as he holds up his hand. "Good work, you should hand those over to Proctor Quinlan when we return." They did well together, clearing out the area and finding the stock of mini nukes that had been left behind. She had learned about World War Two, it wasn't all kids were taught in school. Seeing an actual bomb made her blood run cold. "The world ends in not but a bang...but in a whisper..." Nate turns to her. "I'm surprised you know that quote." "I read a lot..." She was starting to feel very uncomfortable in here. Dance gives her the okay to leave as Nate turns to Dance, letting them talk for a bit. No doubt learning about why Dance hates Mutants so much. It wasn't that long before Nate joins her, and he uses a signal grenade to summon a Vertibird to take them back to the Prydwen. Maxson was already in the loop of their success and was pleased with the outcome when he sees both of them return. "Great work out there, that supply of weapons, brings us one step closer to the Institute. However, we are still unaware of their location.." Nate steps up to speak. "I...might have a solution. A friend of mind, helped me track down a mercenary that worked for them. We...I killed him, but inside his brain...was this.." He pulls out the cybernetic brain augmenter and Sara had to look away, that was just gross. "We...my friend, he said we can go to this place...the Memory Den, I was on my way there when I picked up Dance's signal..."
Maxson frowns at this, he kind of knew about the place. "In Goodneighbor...." Nate removes his helmet. "I know, it's not the most ideal place, but it's the only lead we have...I need to do this...for my son..." Maxson seems to slow his pace as he looks at Nate. "Are you telling me...those...people have your son?" Nate gives him a slow nod. "They killed my wife...and stole him...that's why I'm here sir.." Sara slowly watches the rage build behind Maxson's eyes. "Very well, you do what you need to, and report back with your results." He quickly turns to her as she freezes in place. "I'm ranking you to Knight, I want you to go with him and watch his back, am I clear?" Sara quickly nods her head at this. "Yes sir.." He dismisses them and Sara follows after Nate. "Think...we should leave the power armor behind?" Nate turns to her, having an idea. "We can take one of the Vertibird to Diamond City, I got a place there we can use and walk to Goodneighbor, it's not that far." Sara nods her head at this, it sounded like a good enough plan to her. One plane ride later they were inside the baseball stadium turned city. It was a mess to say the lease, these people were living in some poor conditions. He leads her to his home and leads her to a space where she could get out of her armor. It took her awhile to figure it out, but felt so much lighter. "I can breath!" Nate laughs as he joins her and they head out, almost running into Piper. The spunky kind reporter, Sara always liked this character. "Hey Blue, I thought I saw you stomping in here, nice armor so I take it you did join the Brotherhood..." Nate rolls his eyes at this. "Yes Piper, and before you get angry, it's...really not that bad..." Piper just shakes her head at this, but sighs. "Whatever you say Blue, so who's your lady friend?" Her interest perked as Sara jolts back. "She's a fellow knight, now we need to get going, and don't you dare put this into your paper.." Piper snaps her fingers at this. "Damn, it would have sold so well..."
They leave the city, and walk out into the Commonwealth itself. Seeing everything so, torn down almost broke her heart. She could imagine how beautiful this place was before the war. She keeps her gun close, but they didn't run into much trouble on the way to Goodneighbor. It was much the same as it was when entering the first time. Some jerk trying to hustle the Sole Survivor into paying for 'insurance'. The Mayor stabbing him, for stepping out of line as Hancock looks them over. "Sorry about that folks, this town is for the people, by the people, you feel me?" Seeing the Ghoul up close was a bit nerve wrecking. But true to her nature she walks up and touches his shoulder. "I feel you now." He blinks at her, then starts to laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "You're alright kid, you're all right, listen, if you need anything, let me know." It was hard not to miss the strong scent of cigarette smoke and booze, but that didn't surprise her. She jolts as he smiles at her. "And I do mean anything." She rolls her eyes at this as she shrugs away. "I'll keep that in mind, Mayor." He gives her a wink as he walks away, Nate watching her closely. "You're very relaxed, most people don't like the idea of Ghoul's, let alone one that just stabbed a guy." She shrugs a bit. "Better to be friends then be on the end of a knife stab." Nate nods at this as they make their way to the Memory Den. Before they enter however he turns to her. "There's one thing I forgot to tell Maxson. The person that helped me, his name is Nick, and he's an old Gen 2 synth..." She plays it cool as she nods. "That's fine...I know how the Brotherhood sees synths, but I'm smart enough to know not all of them are dangerous." He leads her down to where Doctor Amari was waiting, as well as Nick.
She could see his eyes light up, literally as he rises. "You made it, I was starting to wonder, who's your friend?" Nate smiles as he turns to her. "This is...Sara right?" She smiles and nods. "Right, just making sure Blue here stays out of trouble." She teases lightly as Nate glares at her. "Not you too." "It...oddly fits you..." Nick lets out a low chuckle, making his gears grind just a bit. "Well any friend of Nate's is a friend of mine." He made sure to hold out his good hand as she takes it. At least his voice was a bit different up close, she didn't have the urge to put a bullet to his head at least. Deep down he was a nice guy, for a robot that is. "I'll remember to stay on your good side then." She knew how this was going to play out, so she left Nate to it, knowing he was in good hands. There was no reason to hover over the man as he relived the memories of Kellogg. So with his blessing so to speak she roamed the area a bit. It didn't take her long to find her way to the old State House where Hancock was. His 'room' was just as messy as it was in the game. So many drugs this man could put those old PSA movies to shame. Hancock smiles as she enters as she chuckles a bit. "You're like the poster child of why drugs are bad for you." He gives her a small shrug. "You only live once, might as well live it up." Fair enough as she relaxes, wondering what effect she had on the Mayor. Did it matter, it was becoming a tangled mess the more she thought about it. "Fair enough, I just wanted to thank you, that guy was a jerk." Hancock sighs at this as he looks at a glass of whisky he had been drinking. "He over stepped himself, forgot who was in charge, but hey, if it puts me in the good graces of a lovely lady as yourself, I'll consider that a win."
Now she was blushing as she lets out a low snort. "You're horrible you know that. But hey, brownie points for trying.." He lets out a good laugh as he lazily walks over to her. "I like ya, your so....laid back." He places his arm on her shoulder again. "I don't suppose I can talk into staying now can I?" She shakes her head. "No, but again, points for trying...I think I'm good with where I'm at.." He lets out a small, but forced sigh. "Ah well, it was worth a shot." He moves away as he places his hands behind his back. "But hey, you ever change your mind." "I'll be sure to let you know." She shots him her own wink before leaving, but making sure to sway her hips as she does. All she hears is a wolf whistle follow after her as she laughs and makes her way back to the Memory Den. She found Nate, sitting with Nick as he tries to calm his friend down. She joins them as she frowns. "You alright?" Nate lets out a shaky breath, he almost killed Nick because for two seconds he sounded like Kellogg. "I'm fine, but we got our answers, they use some kind of teleportation device...the only person that might know anything is a man named Virgil." Nick cuts in after this. "Who is hiding in the Glowing Sea, it's not a place you go willingly.." Sara nods slowly as she places her hand on Nate's shoulder. "Well, it's a start, and hey having a set of power armor will help greatly.." He takes a deep breath as he nods. "Right, might as well head back, and tell Maxson the news." Nick stands to leave. "Well if you need me, you know where to find me, good luck. And hey, keep him safe." Sara smiles at this and nods. "You bet." It was late by the time they were back on the Prydwen. She was so ready to ditch the armor, but they had to talk to the Elder first.
Maxson wasn't to happy with the idea of the idea of sending anyone to the Glowing Sea, but Nate was right, it was the only lead they had. He would send him and Dance for this, but after they made a few changed to their power armor. Every bit of help could go a long way in a place like that. Nate understood and left to return his armor to Ingram so she could start to work on it. Maxson turns to her as she removes her helmet, taking a deep breath. Sure she could breath in the thing, but after awhile, it was starting to close in on her. "Another step in our goal." She wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or himself. "I want you to help Ingram prepare their armor. I don't want to send to many people out there..." The Glowing Sea, was more or less the sight where the bombs hit, creating a heavily irradiated area. Full of Feral's and Deathclaws. "I understand sir, I'll be more then happy to help any way I can." She knew about Deathclaws, she had just read they were the result of experiments and dear God that was horrifying to think about. He salutes her and she struggles in her suit to do the same before leaving to report to the station to help Ingram. Once he was alone, he takes this moment to just think things over. Things were falling into place, this was going to work. He just hoped he wasn't sending his men to their doom, the Glowing Sea of all places. He shakes it off, he would just have to hope for the best.
