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Chapter Text

Abaturow Personal Terminal

“Greetings, Paladin Abaturow”

2217.11.14

This is bullshit, my appeal to have the votes recounted was denied twice.

I feel like I got the only thing I enjoyed in my life taken away from me, now to sit all day and do paperwork like some half-assed scribe, but at least they get to go outside.

No point whining about it, everyone knew Elder Shepherd was going to pass away soon but to not throw Maxson on the pedestal was the most foolish decision I have seen these people make in a while, at least then maybe he would learn to act more mature.

Whatever, I have bigger responsibilities now then look after literal children at least there are still some positives to losing the Paladin rank, if any at all.

-

With a sigh he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on, tipping his head back to stare at the cracked ceiling, was this how he was being rewarded for all his success? Anyone would be jumping at the opportunity to be a superior commander to any chapter if it didn't mean just being a fancy secretary.

Everyone either just licks your boots trying to get in your grace, or you're treated like if the wind blows your way you'll disintegrate.

The sharp rasp on the door threw him out of his thoughts. “Come in” Abaturow spat out, sitting up in his chair and turning to whoever was about to bother him already.

To his rather unpleasant surprise, it was Maxson, he walked in and closed the door behind him. “Well? Out with it then, you looked like you were going to blow your own head off the entire ceremony, what got into you?“ He said with a puff as he sat down on Vincent's bed.

Vincent could only roll his eyes, as childish as that made him look, before replying. “I'm not in the mood for your petty remarks, are you here for an actual reason or just to rub it into my face?“

“Look, I get it you're not the happiest with the decision, but it's not an excuse to be an ass. Everyone picked you for a reason and I do think you'll make a great leader whenever you agree with me or not” David finished with a smile, at least he was trying to be honest, Vincent could appreciate that somehow.

He didn't respond, choosing to turn his gaze from Maxson back into the ceiling. Maybe he was right, but it didn't bring him much comfort knowing how the next couple of years will be spent, stuck inside concrete walls under the ground.

“Say” David started trying to grab his attention. “I know you're not in the mood for celebrating with others, but how about we just grab a couple bottles and hang around like we do after recon missions? Would that make you feel better?“

He thought about it for a moment, not like he had many options but the thought of taking the edge off was a quite appealing offer, better then whatever he was doing currently before Maxson walked in. But that would mean having to sit next to the person that you desperately hoped would be in your place currently, but not like it would change anything, only being a constant painful reminder.

“I suppose I wouldn't mind that” Abaturow answered, once again turning to look at David, his stupid brown eyes looking at him like they were trying to burn a hole in his head.

“Alright, I'll be back soon, try not to gloom yourself to death.“ He stood up from the bed and before leaving patting Vincent roughly on the shoulder earning him a scowl, to which he just responded with another chuckle. The door closed with a soft click, and he was alone again, agreeing to drink right after being promoted to the highest rank in their chapter wasn't the most mature decision he has made but he decided it's a much preferred use of time then feeling sorry for himself.

He pulled himself up from the chair and grumbled, walking to the closet on the left side of his room to change into something more acceptable to drink in. While mindlessly staring at the now open wardrobe a thought popped into his head, motivating him to start actually moving again, changing into an old white shirt and some jeans he plopped on the chair again and turned the terminal back to life.

-

Scouting Report

Logged By: Scribe Halderson VIII97-S

Suspicious activity near Milroy, one of the locals mentioned they saw a group of individuals equipped with power armor at a distance, which did not appear to be Brotherhood issue. Suspected to be raiders pilfering power armor, even salvaged gear in the hands of these miscreants poses a strategic threat, especially near civilian settlements.

Awaiting further instructions.

-

“That entire place is rotten and disgusting, wouldn't be surprised if those are the same people that live there. Gives me even more reason to have that place investigated again, at least this time without me.“

Vincent grumbled to himself, at least getting promoted gave him the ability to not have to get near those civilians, specially considering abominations were living amongts them and all his points to have them eliminated were denied. They're not wrong, having them shot in the head in the middle of the town might not leave the best impression of their chapter and would result in having to get supplies by force father then agreement, still didn't stop him from feeling sick to his stomach every time he knew they even considered those “things” people.

He spent the next couple of minutes reading certain reports that caught his attention, it was strange now instead of writing all his findings he will be sitting and deciding what actions to take next, almost felt like he entered a game of chess, deciding what moves to make for his pawns.

Once again he was ripped from his train of though by the door opening, Maxson shuffling in with a bottle of vodka in his right hand and 2 shot glasses in his left, closing the door with his foot he closed the distance between them and placed the spoils on the desk. The bed groaning under Davids weight as he poured the two of them each a glass before handing one to Vincent.

“To the future, and success of the Brotherhood of Steel under its new leadership” the man toasted before downing his shot in one swift motion, with Vincent following after, the alcohol bitter and burning on its way down, he never understood how people could drink such strong liquors without even having any chasers, barbaric almost.

With a sigh David started “Look, you may be pissed now, but seriously you were probably the best person to get picked, whenever you wanted it or not.“ 

“Look who's talking, easy for you to say you're not the one who is going to be sitting in front of a terminal now.“ Abaturow scoffed at him, before adding “And I am not pissed whatever you are implying with that, I just simply believe that whatever this is meant to be is not the right choice.“

“Yeah well it was the choice that was made for a reason.“ He said, grabbing the bottle again and pouring them another round “Speaking of choices, you got any plans to set some in motion or is it too early to ask that?“ Maxson finished to down his shot.

Vincent grabbed his own glass, swallowing the liquid inside before his face scrunched in disgust at the foul liquid. “I do actually, I'm planning to send a couple scribes to dig around Milroy for any information and maybe a couple scouts to do an area check, the locals spotted a group of individuals in power armour that apparently wasn't Brotherhood issued but I highly doubt it wasnt our tech in the end.“

“Not our power armour huh” David curiosity peaked at that “The moment you mentioned Milroy I thought you were going to go on another tangent again, but I guess you have a point, I wonder what they mean by not Brotherhood issued”

“You think it might be Jackals or muties?“ He inquired again

“I don't believe the settlers of Milroy are that intoxicated to mistake a super mutant for power armour.“ Upon further thought he added “Actually I do but I believe Jackals are a much more believable theory, what I believe is that's their own people or our knights and they simply didn't recognize them.“

“Well whoever it is, always worth being safe then sorry me and the guys can check it out” David paused before he added mockingly but in a light-hearted way “With your permission Elder”

Vincent rolled his eyes, with the amount of times he rolled his eyes he might have as well rolled them into the back of his head. “Very well then, go to that rat cave and ask them what is it that they're whining about.“

Maxson only laughed, before grabbing the bottle again.

-

The exhaustion was pulling at his eyelids, he was looking at the ceiling again and if he focused just a bit more the cracks looked like thunder among clouds.

The bed creaked as David stood up from the bed, stumbling a bit before catching his balance. “Alright I'm going to bed, I'm leaving the bottle with you since you might need it more then me”

As he made his way to the door he paused before walking out. “You know it's your choice now whenever the elder can leave for missions or not, not like anyone would stop you if you went outside so don't be so gloomy about it.“

Vincent only looked at him in response, the words being processed in his hazy thoughts.

“Alright well, goodnight sleep well.“ Maxson finished before shutting the door behind him.

With that he went back to looking at the ceiling.

Chapter Text

2217.11.15

The mess hall was bustling with life, the sound of people talking and somewhat enjoying their rations. Meat was never an issue in Dakota, all the wildlife adapted to the harsh weather and you didn't have to go far before you started stumbling against radstags or radoose, or the other animals that were ready to take a chunk out of you. The issue was growing anything else other then roots or cabbages, which didn't exactly provide much variety considering most soldiers would turn their nose up when presented with a salad that wasn't made up of mostly meat and sauce. Growing fruits and vegetables had to usually be done inside the bunker on the lower levels, while rest was acquired from settlements around the state.

Most people didn't mind, too far into their daily routines to usually pay attention to what they were eating unless it tasted particularly less like cardboard.

A shove to his shoulder brought back David from staring mindlessly at the food in front of him, it wasn't often that he got lost in thought, it felt like he was in unfamiliar territory but with Vincents sudden absence among them he felt thrown out of the loop. Which was to be expected, it's not like Vincent couldn't be around them anymore, but he didn't seem to particularly want to be, at least currently, maybe he should check in on him later bring him back to the fold (like that's even in his power) or ask him what's keeping him busy even if he just got into power.

“What the fuck was that for” He snapped at the scrawny man next to him.

“I asked you one question like five times already man, dont tell me the higness ordered you to fucking take his place in acting like a know-it-all” The man answered, his name was James Wesson, the scrawniest of their squad but probably the loudest. Like how all smaller animals feel the need to be snappy and ankle biters, where did they even store all of that rage and energy.

He glared at Wesson before deciding starting an argument in the middle of the mess hall probably wasn't the best idea, everyone was in a bit of a sour mood anyway. “First of all, yeah I'm listening now don't have to poke at me, since when am I not allowed to think in peace” David remarked wearily, before adding “Second of all, he has been gone for less than twenty four hours, can't you whine about it after more time has pasted” He finished, finally grabbing the fork in front of him and eating the somewhat palatable food.

“Yeah whatever, I was asking when are we heading out for the search mission, also you? Thinking? A bit unlikely don't you think” James commented seeringly while chewing on his own portion, which immediately prompted him to choke and wipe the smile off his face. Now it was Davids turn to smirk at him and for the smaller man to scowl at him.

“We will head out tomorrow at 8:00, should give us enough time to reach Milroy with it still being quite early, we'll do a sweep of the perimeter and then ask the settlers if they seen anything else.“ Maxson said “Vincent is convinced they're bullshitting us but doesn't seem likely to me at least, it is pretty strange if they did manage to get their hands on power armour but where from and what for?“ He left the question open, not really expecting an answer but rather thinking out loud, wouldn't be able to figure out much without heading out there anyway.

A snort came from the man sitting next to Wesson, it was Ellis Gale, their squadron only contained 4 people, now 3 technically with Vincents promotions, it was more like a friend group than a proper squad considering David had his own established one as a Paladin, but he preffered being amongst friends then his subordinates. Ellis was a Senior Knight, Second tallest and closer to Davids build, while they were friends they probably spoke to each other the least due to Gales bigger interest in whatever the scribes are constantly doing than anything that is actually interesting.

“Is this a job really requiring soldiers our rank? Why won't the Elder send out some measly initiate at least they'll find it entertaining.“ Gale huffed out.

“You seriously rather stay in this metal coffin then go outside and actually do something? We're in the middle of November what else can you expect, everything outside is frozen solid barely anything is actually happening outside of settlements.“ Wesson responded, to which Ellis just rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

The moment of silence that followed was a welcome change then the group bickering with each other, the cafeteria was filled with the noise of all the other soldiers talking to each other and the occasional stomp of metal outside while knights passed by in power armour. While mindlessly eating his food Davids mind drifted to the plans that were to follow suit yesterday, he liked visiting Milroy unlike some troops. It was one of the larger settlements in their area and it provided more than just resources, which they aren't too reluctant to offer to the brotherhood, but also places where you could relax for a bit, drop the hard demeanor and have some time for yourself.

The reason most soldiers had an issue with the settlement was because it housed ghouls, not a large amount but enough to where the offer to exterminate and attempt to repopulate Milroy with Brotherhoods own people was presented to higher ranks more than once.

He was probably one of the only, at least in his rank to not really care for them. He couldn't deny they were dangerous and a bit gross, but in the end who isn't, everyone in the wasteland can turn on you if they have even a small reason to. A view he didn't share with Vincent, sometimes even regretting sharing his point of view because the younger man now considered him delusional or reckless, often bringing it up as a point against David if they were arguing.

“So” Gale started, breaking the stillness amongs their table “What's the elder now up to anyway?“ Only to get quickly interupted by Wesson “He just got promoted and you're already sucking up to him, I don't remember you being so interested in him before”

“Can you keep your mouth shut for longer then 5 minutes?“ David grumbled under his breath “I don't even know, I was planning to go report to him later and see if anything of interest poped up.“

He laid back in the chair he was sitting on, done with his rations. He left tired but he had things to do and neglecting routine just because he wanted to sleep wasn't his thing.

“Well” Wesson started “We're probably going to go train, you can join us if you'll have the time” Both of the men stood up from the table, Maxson following suit. “Yeah I'll see, if anything don't wait for me.“

With that, he turned to leave and made his was slowly to the command room.

-

The war room, or also called the command room was the one he was going to be spending most of his time in. There wasn't much in it, a ring-shaped desk with a terminal on it and with enough reports pilling up on it Vincent could hide behind them and pretend he isn't there. The previous Elder wasn't exactly in a hurry to be up to most tasks because he was busy slowly dying, now said job fell into Abaturows hands, same with informing relatives of their dead family member that weren't actually alive and well on a mission, and trying to find an excuse why they had to find out about it 2 months later.

He couldn't even sit alone and do it in peace because near every doorway to the room stood two paladins on each side of it, that had to be some sort of torture, just having to stand for 8 hours straight maybe with breaks if you're lucky. It wasn't like patrolling outside, at least there you could walk around in circles and actually had something to do, here you had to pretend you aren't falling asleep standing up otherwise it would lead to the very embarrassing moment of falling over in power armour and alerting everyone within half a kilometer of it.

“Vin-” The sudden noise made him lift his head up, spotting David in the entrance way before he briefly caughed and corrected himself “Sir.“

“Paladin.“ Acknowledged Vincent “Is there a matter you wish to disscus?“

“Yes” Replied David before quickly correcting himself yet again “Sir”

There was a brief pause, like both men were considering what to actually say. “Well, what is it?“ Vincent questioned David who now was looking at him like he forgot why he even came here, there was no privacy when you were outside of your quarters so you had to actually watch what came out of your mouth.

“It's a personal matter and also one related to tomorrow's scouting mission, when would we be able to discuss it?“ David asked, a polite way to tell Vincent when is he going to be able to speak to him like a normal person.

Abaturow sighed, briefly glancing at the current, clearly overdue reports that have been collecting dust that he has been documenting for the past 4 hours. “You will have to wait until I am done here which might take me 2 more hours, you'll know where to find me after that. Dismissed Paladin.“ Vincent ended the conversation shortly, not leaving much room for David who didn't let any emotion show in his face.

“Yes Sir.“ With that Maxson took his leave, leaving Vincent to ponder what exactly did that half-wit want that he couldn't just get it over with here and leave him alone for the rest of the day, he turned back to the terminal, resuming his fruitless work.

-

With a groan Vincent opend the door to his personal quarters, while his work wasn't finished exactly, he logged all the documents he needed onto the main server terminal, for today at least, he could finish up some work in his quarters and not have that stupid robe on. It felt humiliating almost, who the hell wanted to wear this shit, it made him feel like he was a nutcase that worshiped atomic bombs.

The moment he stepped into his quarters he spotted David laying in his bed, eyes closed, he couldn't tell if the man was asleep but he surely wasn't pleased about the fat rat lying on his bed like he belonged there, if only rats were shaped like a literal fridge and ate like one too.

He loudly cleared his throat, closing the door behind himself and jolting David awake. “Have you been here the whole time?” Abaturow questioned, annoyance in his tone.

“No, well maybe, decided the best place to wait anyway was here” David spoke, a bit groggly, still not fully awake “You done with everything for today?“

Vincent sighed, unclasping the metal belt from his uniform and placing it on the desk. “I still have some work I need to do for today, with the amount I have right now I figure I might be done by the end of the week.“ He began taking off the robe, it was more on the thicker side which helped ward off the chill inside the bunker, as much as it was somewhat well insulated there's so much you can do to make a massive cube of metal in the middle of a hellhole filled with nothing but snow, somewhat warm.

Davids eyes didn't leave the entire time, waiting for his friend to settle to continue the conversation.

With the robes back on the hanger and in something actually more comfortable, he sat back down onto his chair and spoke up “Well what do you want”

“What now?“ David answered

“What do you mean what now you're the one that crawled with your fat ass into my quarters wanting to talk” Vincent bickered out, instead of relaxing after a long day, he had to talk to the half-wit who made himself a bit too comfortable on his bed.

“No not that, what I mean is when do you plan to start actually hanging out with us again. It's shitty when youre not tagging along even if everyone ends up biting at eachother anyway, and I can't stand those two fucking dim-wits by myself” Maxson answered with a somewhat troubled tone like it has been irritating him to speak about it all day.

“I have actual responsabilities, for now at least. “ Vincent scuffed out “I suppose when my work is less like a pile of rotting shit we will speak about it, currently I have my work cut out for me.“

David pondered on that for a couple solid seconds before speaking again “Well alright, how are you holding up?“ Vincent leaned back in the office chair, throwing his legs up onto the desk “It could be better, but there is no room for complaining anymore, you?“ he finished before he turned his head to face David again, who was now sitting at the edge of the bed.

“I guess I'm alright, was going to go train for a bit but I fell asleep” he finished with a chuckle “You mind if I sit here while you do your work?“

Vincent wasn't the most pleased at hearing that question, he wanted some isolation and peace, but he supposed having some company, even if that company would fall asleep in his bed and then he would have to kick him off it to go to sleep himself, wasn't the most unwelcome proposition he had all day.

“Suit yourself.“

Chapter Text

2217.11.16

The weather was ruthless, snow that was several feet deep was the only thing you could see for miles. It made travelling in power armour exhausting, but you either chose protection or faster travel. Considering they were investigating rumours of individuals in power armour, it was better to be safe than sorry.

During spring and summer, you could at least grab one of the trucks to make travelling to the further cities easier, but with this amount of snow, you could forget leaving the bunker half the time. The only perk was that travel was somewhat safer, no one in their right mind goes outside when everything is freezing the moment it touches the outside air, not even the wildlife that adapted to endure postwar Dakota enjoyed this kind of climate.

The sound of mechanical humming and crunching snow was the only thing breaking the silence. The walk to Milroy was about 7 hours, 9 hours considering the weather and the method of travel. It was tiring, and making rests during it was just about useless so you had to endure the walk with no rest or food, but considering it all it really could be worse or at least that's what they told themselves.

“We have about 6 miles left” David spoke up, having to raise his voice to be heard over the strong current. “If nothing comes up, we should be able to arrive there in approximately 2 hours. Once we do, we rest, then split up and ask the locals”

“Any suspects? Anything? Or are we just walking around until we actually find something” Wesson inquired, sluggishly trotting behind both of the men in front of him.

“Negative, we know just about nothing so our best bet is to ask the guards and some locals to see if this is anything even deserving of the Brotherhood's attention.“ He answered, sounding out of breath. Although taking the helm would make breathing easier, during this kind of weather it was basically a death sentence to walk around without any face protection.

The only answer he got from James was a barely hearable huff, all of them back to focusing again on walking mechanically and not thinking about how much everything aches.

—

Milroy was the closest settlement to the Brotherhood bunker, and as much as the locals weren't too friendly they knew everyone needed each other to ensure survival, or even having a somewhat comfortable life without the threat of death constantly hanging over people. It was a somewhat larger settlement, surrounded by metal walls, inside singular settlement buildings which between them all had sheets of cloth draped over them to provide a somewhat ceiling in the entire area to ensure no snow was getting inside. Metal barrels with fire inside of them provided a somewhat comfortable atmosphere. Inside the buildings, they usually had their own heating systems to prevent the building from catching flames.

The moment they walked in they were greeted sourly by guards. They were warned to behave and to watch their step, walking in power armour wasn't exactly graceful in the more compacted areas. With a scoff, they continued to the central area of the settlement, passing by several people who whispered to each other in hushed tones while glancing their way.

Turning to his colleagues, David started “Alright, we will scan the inside and the outside of the settlement, hopefully in under 2 hours” before adding “Gale, you're directed outside, question the guards and any civilians in proximity of the settlement if they have seen anything. Wesson will scan the west and entrance sides of the interior while I investigate the northeast side. Understood?“

“Yes, Sir,” Both said in unison, looking like they had already dreaded this task before being dismissed and turning to walk towards their assigned directions.

After watching his companions leave, he took a walk in his own direction, slowly manoeuvring between shops and buildings before arriving in front of one. It was mostly open, besides a door that led to a private area with a small sign warning people to enter at their own risk, a wide array of weapons and armour hung on the walls and displays. Anyone else would be watching them closely, wary of anyone's sticky fingers but the shop owner was respected among the settlers, but not quite by the brotherhood.

An “open” plaque was hanging from one of the poles near the counter, but the owner was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't an issue for David. Going up near the closed door and stepping out of his power armour, grabbing the fusion core just in case, the settlement wasn't dangerous per se, but considering the reason they were here it was better to be safe than sorry.

Pushing the door open he stepped in. It was poorly lit, but you could make out it was a larger room resembling a workspace, mechanical parts and blueprints spewed everywhere. The heavy smell of oil lingered in the air, and at the end of the room, a person with their back turned to him, too occupied with welding to really pay attention to him. Leaning against the wall and knocking against one of the desks, the person of his interest paused, turning to him and lifting the welding helm.

“Can't you rea-” The sentence was cut short, as they got a look at the person disturbing their work “Ha! Didn't know you tin cans were still alive, c’mere”

Closing the gap between them, both of them grasped each other in a warm embrace, David was significantly taller than the other person but that didn't bother either of them.

“I'll outlive you mark my words woman” With a pat on the back, they untangled from each other, the person of interest was Callie, the mechanic and personal handyman around Milroy, she was on the lean side with refined muscles, her neurotic skin had a bluish tint to it. Their relationship wasn't exactly accepted by the Boss due to her being a ghoul, but to David, that rule could be bent a bit.

While he still had free time to do as he pleased, it wasn't like walking multiple hours to a settlement just to hang out with someone was an option often, he had to settle for visits when they were possible. “So” She started “What are we waiting for?“ Finishing with a smirk.

“Sadly not today, I'm here by the Brotherhood actually, intel gathering” David finished with a sigh, fatigue creeping into his voice as he leaned against one of the shelves, it slightly creaked at the pressure being applied to it.

She made a noise of acknowledgement before she returned to her chair, throwing her legs up onto the workbench, before cranking her head towards him “What are you here for then”

He contemplated how to form his sentence before starting “Rumours from civilians here have reached our attention that there has been a group of individuals in power armour, which apparently was not brotherhood issued. So we are here to investigate” He paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing “I figured if anyone here would notice a thing like that, it would be you, so that's why I'm here. The others are outside probably harassing the locals”

She hummed in acknowledgement, not looking like she was paying him much attention. A screwdriver and a mag have in the meantime appeared in her hands, slowly trying to pluck the stuck ammo from the inside. After a while of fidgeting which yielded no results, she spoke up. “Yeah I did notice, hell I saw them and let me tell you” she paused, turning to the desk to put away the things that have occupied her hands “It looks like trouble”

“What do you mean?“ He pried

“What I mean is, these weren't just some garbage scraps put together to crudely resemble armour, it was a clean, painted, full suit that looked in better condition than half of the ones you guys have, was too far away to clearly tell the model but looked bulkier than a t-45 or a t-51 so that says something” She finished with a sigh, idly now spinning in her chair. It was hard to tell what exactly she was feeling, but she seemed troubled.

He pondered on that for a moment, going over the description before starting again “Painted as in?“ Before waving his hands to signal for her to continue

“All black, didn't see any logos on it but maybe just wasn't close enough, stuck out like a sore thumb against all the snow, but maybe that was their intention” she finished before crossing her arms over her chest and shrugging.

“Huh,” he mumbled under his breath. That description didn't match anything they really expected to find and it wasn't looking good. It means either a new group has rolled into Dakota under their nose or raiders have found some sort of facility with power armour, but would raiders just observe settlements without moving in to attack? It seemed too planned, too organised compared to a group of chemmed up idiots.

Stepping away from the wall, he sighed, momentarily contemplating what to do with that information. “I'm guessing that's all you know?“

“If I learn more I won't mind passing it to you but currently, that's all” She finished before rolling in her chair to face away from him, only to reel the backrest flat and hang her head from it to look at him, half laying down before adding “How long can you stay here?”

He walked over to the spare chair across the room before grabbing it and hauling it next to her before sitting down. “I can probably stay a bit longer, shame I can't stay overnight today but I promise soon I'll find some time for us, yeah?“ He finished, cracking a bit of a forced smile.

“Yeah yeah, I lived long enough I can wait more but these months always get almost dreadfully quiet. Everyone can only stay inside and sit on their ass really, not like I do much more but at least during spring caravans travel here so you have more people to chat with” she answered before rolling her eyes “but oh well, it is what it is at least you visited”

“Yeah” he repeated, this time genuinely smiling.

—

The regrouping went somewhat smoothly. David walked back to the centre to see both of his companions already waiting for him “I figure we're all done here then?“ He asked

“I suppose so, if you are” Replied Gale “Most of the settlers weren't very helpful but we gathered most descriptions from the guards outside, the most useful one proved to be the one in the sniper's nest, but it took some convincing to be allowed in there”

David hummed, pleased with that answer “Alright we'll go over most intel on our way back, Callie gave me a pretty interesting description so we’re gonna see if it leads us anywhere. Let's head out.”

Slowly falling out of the settlement, it would be a long way back but at least not a fruitless one.

Chapter Text

The howling wind was seemingly picking up in ruthlessness the closer they got to the bunker, like a bad omen warning of the dangers, or so it would seem to anyone else that wasn't solely focused on marching to try to get inside a space that was somewhat warm and dry.

The mood should have lightened up on their way back, going back to their usual duties, empty-handed, but in the end no news is better than bad news. But the truth was the opposite, the worsening weather and what felt like a waste of time marching back and forth that took multiple hours made the men want to do nothing else but to stay away from each other for at least a couple of hours, or preferably just go to sleep and not be bothered for the rest of the day, or rather night at this point.

The North Shield was slowly coming into view, a large military base surrounded by fencing and people on patrol. Most of the area had the snow shovelled away, but even after minutes it would slowly build up again, covering the entire area in the same white blanket as everywhere else. The Brotherhood flags emerged from the thick fog the closer they got, flailing in the wind and reminding David of the people he was coming back to.

A flash of light was directed onto their position before being turned off and the gates to the outpost slowly being opened before they headed inside wordlessly. As they passed the entrance, multiple personnel greeted him, mostly out of respect and social courtesy.

“Hail” His voice was thick with weariness and irritation, but he still answered every greeting that came his way, not letting his mood get the better of him, but he allowed himself a moment of sighing deeply before rolling his eyes, which thankfully was hidden by his helm.

The moment they stepped inside the bunker, he took off his helm, taking a deep breath, trying to regain his composure and assure himself that soon he would be in a much better mood the moment he arrived in his quarters, but before he had that ability, he had to carry his power armour back to the armoury bay. The walk to it was quiet and seemingly uneventful, the two others followed him wordlessly, ready to also abandon their armour and go about relaxing and trying to forget how long they had to walk for.

Seeing the power armour frames was a sight he didn't know would bring him so much joy all of a sudden, usually he was happy to hop into power armour and actually do some work, but he felt as if he stayed in his armour any second longer he would start feeling claustrophobic. The moment he started to climb out of his power armour and experience the bliss that is actually having fresh air around him, a scribe seemingly materialised next to him, to David's annoyance, before she coughed to get his attention.

“Welcome back, Paladin. The Elder requests your presence for a debriefing meeting. I would recommend you head to it whenever possible, Sir.” Her tone was monotone, and her finishing sentence sounded like she was trying to tell him to get a move on already but keeping the respect of their ranks.

He had nothing against her and didn't even know her personally, or rather knew this was just what she was being told to do, but in this current moment he felt nothing more than the urge to grab her by the hair and crack her skull against the wall. Which, of course, he did not do and instead took a very deep breath before answering her.

“Tell the Elder.” He made a point of exaggerating the title with a harsh tone “We will see to it whenever possible.” As soon as he finished addressing her, he turned back to his power armour. Thankfully, it didn't need any repairs, but it would need some maintenance before another field mission, which he didn't mind doing himself after getting some rest, but his train of thought was interrupted by the scribe, who was still next to him, unbothered by the way he was addressing her.

“The Elder has requested only your presence, Sir, not the knights accompanying you. He wishes to speak to you in his personal quarters.” At the sound of that, his head snapped back to her, like he wasn't sure he heard that correctly, before going to glance back at Gale and Wesson, who, after realising their attention was no longer needed, went to occupy themself with literally anything else. James only shot him a smirk before turning his back to him, clearly happy they would be the ones allowed to rest first before David, to his growing annoyance.

He stared off into the distance for a bit longer before loudly sighing and turning his attention back to her. “Tell the Elder I will report in a moment then.” His agitation seeped into his voice, but in return all she did was salute him and take her leave.

He was covered in sweat, and now instead of taking his time with everything and relaxing, he would have to rush into his personal quarters to change into something that wouldn't get him kicked out of Vincent's office for dragging in mud inside. He allowed himself one last groan of annoyance, this time at no one in particular, before he started making his way to make himself look somewhat presentable.

-

The smell of coffee and the occasional whir from the terminal were the only things keeping his attention on the task of painstakingly having to review each report that came in, he wasn't even previously aware of how tedious this job was when, in the end, all he had to do was read and write.

His terminal showed it was 1:57, most personnel would be asleep by now, but the pressure of the amount of work that has been thrown on him has been leaving him more than sleep-deprived and irritated, but he started to feel like he was actually getting somewhere with it, even if sometimes he had to reread one document 3 times because his brain wasn't even able to grasp what he was reading anymore.

Earlier a scribe informed him of the arrival of the team that was sent out to gather information, and while normally he would chew someone out for even attempting to pass him any information past midnight, this time he was quite grateful to hear at least David has returned in one piece and ordered he report to him personally for debriefing.

Not that he didn't believe they wouldn't be able to provide a proper report sent over to his terminal, but if he could find an excuse to have a small break from having his eyes glued to the terminal, he would, but in the end he would still need to have a scribe write down their report for archival reasons. Having his rank changed had its good sides and things he wasn't sure he would ever get used to. Currently, in a way, he quite enjoyed the change of pace, to be able to have control over everything happening and be addressed with respect. What he quite didn't enjoy is how much of it there was in the end and choosing the best course of action after having all the options presented to him by 5 different reports that all had different opinions.

A choice he no longer had a say in, for now he would enjoy his current change of pace, and maybe in the time that is yet to come he would grieve the freedom and carefree attitude that was taken away from him, but currently that wasn't the time for it. A knock on his door, which he was expecting, finally made itself present. “Enter” Vincent answered, spinning around in his chair to face the door to his quarters.

David entered the room, looking slightly dishevelled but to an acceptable degree, he clasped his hands behind his back and didn't move to sit anywhere before speaking, unlike him. “You wished to speak with me, sir?” His voice had a tinge of annoyance, but Vincent pretended he didn't hear it before responding, “Sit, and you can drop the decorum.”

David grumbled before moving to heavily throw himself onto Vincent's bed, it squeaked under the sudden weight. "You couldn't have waited until tomorrow? I feel like I got thrown down a flight of stairs after all that walking.”

“Tomorrow I wouldn't have the time to sit and hear you whine about how much you had to walk, even though you always know the road to Milroy hasn't exactly magically changed.” He answered while idly spinning back and forth on his chair. “If that's all you have to complain about, then I would like the report now if you're so kind,” he added, the smirk hearable even if David couldn't see his face from how he was lying on the bed.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment before propping himself up on his elbows and lying on his side to actually see Vincent better, he started, “Well, I wouldn't say it was a complete failure per se, but we didn't exactly find much, most of what we have is hearsay from the civies, though one proved quite useful, so now we have a bit of knowledge of what's actually happening.”

“From whom?” Vincent chimed in.

David cleared his throat before presumably responding, “Well, she told us the power armour that they spotted wasn't Brotherhood issue and was painted black actually, but no one has seen any emblems or anything. Not any of the suits we have here either, apparently they are more bulky than the t's, so that's something to keep in mind. But so far that’s all the information we got.” While speaking, he made it his goal to occupy his eyes with everything but Vincent, clearly trying to avoid his gaze.

A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Vincent spoke up again, this time anger seeping into his voice

“From who?”

All David could do was deeply sigh before finally giving him the answer he wanted, or maybe rather didn't want to hear “Callie”.

An expected answer, but not one that pleased him to hear in the slightest, spinning the chair to be facing away from David before mockingly replying, “Of course you went crawling back to that whore” scoffing to himself, anger was replaced with disgust.

“I don't want to fucking hear it. She helped us like always without any complaints, and you're still whining every time I fucking mention her name.” This time it was David's turn to be angry, Vincent had to be the most hateful and quick-to-judge person in the entire North Shield when it came to discussing ghouls. Most soldiers already hated them, but Vincent acted like just mentioning them made him sick to his stomach.

“Oh, I am certain that is the reason you are defending that thing.” He rolled his eyes, this topic between them was like an already dead horse, but the horse was rotting on the ground, and Vincent came with a hammer every few days to smash its remains into a bigger pulp. David finally sat up from his lying position to spin Vincent around so they could actually face each other. “Maybe if you could finally just—”

He was abruptly interrupted by Vincent cutting into his words with his own “I had enough. Thank you for your report, soldier. Dismissed.” His words were cold, and his brows were furrowed.

David stared at him in silence for a brief moment, his mouth slightly open, before getting up wordlessly and leaving, closing the door behind him. Vincent stared at the door for some moment before deciding it's time to get some much-deserved rest.

-

Sleep didn't come to David easily that night, and waking up he felt even worse than before going to bed. Having to drag himself off by force and starting his routine without grumbling to himself every 3 seconds.

When he made his way to the power armour hangar, the first thing that caught his eye was the fact his power armour was in a lot better condition than when he left it, it looked polished and clean without a single scuff mark on it. For a moment all he could do was stare at it, trying to process if he was sleepwalking that night and decided to magically clean his power armour.

“Is something not to your liking, sir?” A younger scribe broke him out of his trance.

He stared at him for a moment, watching the scribe’s eyes nervously glance between David and his power armour before speaking. “Did you do that?”

“Oh well, not me alone, the Elder ordered your power armour be returned to peak condition in case you are needed in the field again, sir.” He seemed nervous, awaiting to see his reaction, or maybe rather surprised David wasn't informed of the fact his power armour would be taken care of.

He made a hum of acknowledgement before nodding at the scribe and thanking him.

Chapter Text

Field Report

2217.11.18

FR: Paladin Maxson V97-P

TO: Elder Abaturow 001-E

Our latest sweep and retrieve patrol came back without achieving the intended objective. However, we obtained useful information and secured a comprehensive description of the power armour that was being used, which I believe brings us closer to resolving this matter. I am confident that further field investigation will bring us closer to learning who are the said subjects that we are dealing with.

-

Vincent's eyebrow slowly cocked itself while reading the report, which he expected to receive, but what he didn't expect was the fact it was sent directly to him instead of the reporting channels. An interesting gesture from David considering the following days, but not exactly an unwelcome one.

The scouting mission, in the end, was quite a failure, or that's what he considered it. They gathered information, yes, but they still had more questions left unanswered that the description doesn't exactly help with. Who are these individuals? What do they want? In what area are they settled in? Why are they only observing and what information exactly are they gathering? All those problems clouded his mind. In the end, all they could do was work towards resolving them all, but the longer it went unanswered, the more he was concerned about what dangers might be lurking in the shadows.

He stared at the terminal screen deep in thought, not actually reading or focusing on anything in particular, taping his fingers in rhythmic motion while he tried to come up with the best continuation of plans that were yet to come. The threats weren't their only concerns at the moment, but in the end, their safety and well-being should be his top priority, and as the elder, it was his job to make the right call in solving these concerns.

After going over everything in his head once more, he decided he needed to clear his head to be able to come up with their next step in resolving that issue. He pushed himself up from his chair and took a slight moment to stretch his arms above his head before making his way to the door. Normally at this time, he should be in the war room, but he found he quite enjoyed the actual privacy his quarters gave him that the commanding room didn't. Ever since he lost the privileges that came with his previous rank, he found himself having less time for himself and a sudden need to solve everything the moment it came to his attention, leaving him currently deep in trying to learn everything he wasn't previously aware of.

Clasping his hands behind his back, he slowly made his way through the bunker's corridors. The air was heavy and particularly cold. At the current moment, he appreciated having the robes become his main attire instead of the uniforms issued for most soldiers. They provided the warmth he currently needed in this especially rough winter. Slowly walking, letting his feet carry him in whatever direction he had subconsciously chosen, he found himself walking towards the recreation area, or more specifically the training hall.

He had a small realisation that, ever since that particular day, he had to switch to a completely different lifestyle. He missed it slightly, to be able to actually plan his day freely, and his main concern back then being how to improve his squad's effectiveness and not if all people under his command have enough food in storage to not starve to death, or if all their scribes are working at a maximum capacity ensuring the heating in the bunker is to an acceptable degree, so they all don't start developing hypothermia. Not much he could do about it, and he had accepted his rank, all he hoped for was that in the upcoming days his work would start feeling less like a marathon and more like a routine, to finally be able to have some time actually for himself.

Standing near the entrance of the hall, he was quickly saluted by any personnel that spotted him, while he mostly scanned the room observing everyone. Most people were in groups, chatting and training with each other. At that moment, he felt like a bit of an outsider, his mouth turned sour, and he wished nothing more than to turn around, and pretend he hadn't just ruined his entire day by being reminded of everything he currently had no privilege to do, but in the corner of his eye he spotted the person he spent most of his life with, so despite his better judgement he started making his way towards him.

“Quite a rare sight to see you alone here, wouldn't you say?” He tried to force his voice to come off friendly but half of the sentence ended up being monotone and slightly sarcastic sounding.

David craned his neck to the source of the voice, his face visibly switching between multiple emotions before being settled on a more neutral expression, but with his brows slightly furrowed. He set the bar onto the safety rack before speaking to Vincent.

“I believe I'm allowed some alone time once in a while, what brings your majesty to come hounding after me?“ The words sounded quite harsh but his only reaction to them was chuckling to himself and rolling his eyes.

“I believe I am allowed to come to thank my Paladin for the personally written report, am I not?“ He finished, if anyone else had dared to speak to him like that, his blood would probably boil over, but with David it felt different.

David stared at him for a moment, almost processing the words that were just told to him before finally coming up with an answer “Well, I wasn't really feeling well yesterday, so though I wouldn't want to keep you waiting, didn't think you really wanted to see me personally either”

“Your childish rebellion against topics that actually make sense ceased to allude me many years ago. I simply got used to it.” His voice gained back his typical attitude, unclasping his hands from behind his back and moving them around while he spoke.

“If that helps you sleep at night, then who am I to tell you, not like you would listen anyway” He finished with a sigh, meant to be humorous, but it had a slight tinge of tiredness to it. “Well, what is the next course of plans your highness” he moved his arms towards Vincent in a mocking manner, like he was praising his visage.

At that, Vincent's smirk disappeared from his face. He stayed silent for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought before slightly moving his head to watch the other soldiers in the room with them. “I am still unsure about our next course of action” After a moment he turned back towards David, pretending to cough before speaking again. “Technically, I am also still quite busy and should be taking my leave, I have spent here enough of time, but if I'll gather any information I'll wish to share with you, I'll send a scribe your way to notify you, Ad Victoriam Paladin”

And with that he scurried off, a strange gesture that left David without even having time to return his goodbye. He stayed sitting there for a moment longer before he decided he had enough of training, and it was time to do some actual work, preferably one including his power armour, to take his mind off Vincent once again in these past couple of days.

After taking his time to put most of the equipment he grabbed away, he started slowly making his way towards the armoury bay, with his body covered in sweat and having only a tank top and sweats on, the cool air felt nice on his body after working out, but soon turned to be a rather unpleasant feeling. Social courtesy would tell him to at least change his attire or go clean up, but he would get sweaty again either way, so what was the point of that?

The bay was quite a bit away from the training area and on a lower level, but a walk in mostly silence did him well. His mind wandered to Vincent despite his efforts for it not to go there again. He was a hard person to understand, unsocial and hard to form a bond with, but once you get through that cold layer, he was one of the best people in this entire hole in the ground. He was a good listener and would actually think of solutions to problems instead of just trying to strike up a conversation, but then there were moments like 2 days prior, acting almost as if David's opinion meant nothing to him and refusing to actually understand his point of view, simply because it included someone he disliked. David groaned to himself and tried to change the topic inside his head, he was close to the armoury bay now and could get his hands dirty and not have to think about him.

Entering the bay had him taking a deep breath, the smell of lubricants and gunpowder was heavy in the air, a pungent aroma, but to those who enjoyed coming here it felt like home. His armour stood faithfully in one of the frames. Maybe it didn't get as much action in winter as he would like, but he still came here regularly to make sure it stayed in peak condition. It helped him get himself busy, in ways more than the usual.

Making his way to his priced possession, he recognised a younger girl with ginger hair scuttling around the bay. When he saw she noticed him, he gave her a quick wave, to which she responded by quickly trotting up to him.

“Sir. Didn't expect you here so early already, also considering your uhm attire, but it's always a pleasure to see you here.” She finished with a warm smile.

“Scribe. My training session got cut short. I figured I might as well come here either way, considering I'd sweat my ass off trying to get the outer leg plating anyway.” He finished with a chuckle, she was the scribe in his current team and not just the band of idiots they gathered over the year that somehow formed into a group. David considered Maggie a friend in a way, decorum separated them, and he didn't exactly find himself searching for her in his free time like he did for Vincent, but he appreciated her either way.

“I understand, well, if there is anything you need, I am always here to assist.” She was ready to turn around and continue what she was up to before, but David quickly spoke up. “Actually, I did have a bit of a personal question to ask you.” His tone changed to a slightly more quiet and uncertain one, like he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to delve into this topic

She seemed a bit taken a back, her eyebrows shot up slightly before she composed herself before responding, “Of course, go ahead sir.”

David stumbled with his words slightly before muttering. “So what exactly do you think of our new Elder?”

Her face stayed unchanged slightly for a moment before her lip quirked up “What do I think of Elder Abaturow, huh, that's quite a strange question coming from you, totally has no other meaning, hm?“ Her voice was playful, clearly meaning no harm, but already seeing through David's facade

Before David managed to open his mouth, she interrupted him quickly. “But if you must know,” she got in slightly closer. “Most of the scribes have been speaking quite a lot about him, very happy with how fast he's getting everything under control and his work pace. I even heard a couple of times that some have their eyes on him, so do with that what you will.” She finished her sentence with an eye roll.

He felt a weird rush of emotions, but he attempted to brush it off and, instead this time, managed to speak up uninterrupted. “Thank you for your, input on this, you're free to go back to your work now.”

As he turned back around towards his power armour in his yet another attempt to forget about the man that was infecting his mind, he swore he could hear her slightly cackle to herself.