Nate pauses to catch his breath. The signal he picked up had lead him and Paladin Danse to a place called Greenetech Genetics. However what they didn't expect was the amount of gunners that had taken over the place. Most were already dead when they entered. The ones still alive, were putting up one hell of a fight. Mix that in with the laser turrets made this trip much harder then it needed to be. Nate lost count on what floor they were on, but they couldn't stop. Every time they got to a new floor, an announcement was made. From what he made out, the Courser was after someone. Danse had been confused by this at first, until it dawned on him that it had to be after a runaway synth. Still Nate was determined to make it there before the Courser did. If they were to late, they might never get this chance again, they needed this chip if they wanted any luck getting into the Institute. However it was a bit hard to focus as he places his hand his right shoulder. He got hit by one of the lasers, and it was starting to sting. The uniform he was wearing was soaking up most of the blood as Danse catches up with him. "You're wounded soldier, let me wrap it up.." Nate swallows hard, he should be used to fighting. He was in the military after all, until he was allowed to go home to his wife and child. "Shaun.." He was still alive, his boy, his flesh and blood, was still alive. "Nora..." His poor sweet wife, he didn't deserve her. She had been his light at the end of a very dark tunnel. "N-no...I'm fine, it's nothing." Danse tries to argue, but he could already see that it wasn't going to get him anywhere.
It seemed to take hours to reach the top floor where a man was, holding a gun. He wore a tight dark outfit as he shot down one of the gunners, before turning to the last one. "The password." "F*ck you!" The male gunner spits in his face. Inside a locked room Nate could hear a woman crying. Just before the Courser could pull the trigger Nate steps in, and aims at the things head. But he feels his hands shake. This wasn't just some robot, it looked, human. To human and he felt unnerved by it. He couldn't see the things eyes under the sun glasses, but it held a air of confidence. Like nothing could touch him. "Who are you, have you come here for the synth?" He turns to a window where a scared woman was hiding against a far wall. Nate tightens his hold on his weapon. "No, I need what's in your head." The Courser tilts his head at this. "That you can not have." Something clicks and all of a sudden he was nowhere to be seen. Danse rises his weapon fast and fires. "Stealth boy, keep your eyes open." Nate recalled what those were, something made during the war. It was an old cloaking devise to keep you hidden just in case you found yourself in a spot you couldn't get out of. He knew what to look for, but that didn't make this any easier. This thing was programmed to deal with any kind of problems. Just another reason to get his hands on who ever was responsible for this in the first place. Nate sees his chance, and fires, the Courser coming back into view as it hits the ground, dead.
Nate moves slowly as blood covered the floor. He froze a bit as he slowly leans down, and finds a chip inside of it's head. "The hell are they making in the Institute...?" Danse grumbles a bit as a scared woman looks at them both. "Can...can you get me out of here...please?" Danse was more then ready to leave her there, she was just another synth after all. But Nate turns to the terminal, but he couldn't hack into it. "The password...they hid it in a toolbox just under the stairs over there." He turns and heads off to go get it. Just as he was about to return Danse steps in his way. "What are you doing soldier?" Nate blinks at this as he frowns. "I'm letting her out." Danse frowns at this as he holds his ground. His power armor blocking his path. "That thing shouldn't be allowed out. We should just leave it in there to rot." However Nate holds his ground on the matter. "She's not the enemy, she's a synth, but look at her, she's scared Paladin. She didn't ask to be made..." He turns away after this as he heads for the terminal and lets her out. She was thankful, and quickly decides to make a run for it. She wasn't about to stay there any longer then she needed to. Nate says nothing else as he turns and they leave the way they came. The place was now littered with bodies, broken pieces of the turrets that were firing at them. He winces and Paladin Danse forces him to stop so he can look at the damage. It wasn't to bad at least, but Nate still huffs as Danse takes care of it. Thing was, Nate was trying to hide, he wasn't as straight as most believed him to be. He wasn't completely gay, but in his younger days, he 'experimented' with other men a few times. That changed when he meet Nora however. He loved her, of course he did, nothing would ever change that. But a part of him still felt guilty he never fully told her the truth.
Once Danse was finished bandaging his arm he lets out a low sigh. "Thank you..and sorry, for disobeying your orders....sir." Dance blinks at this, but shakes his head. "If I recall, I never outright demanded you leave that...synth in that room, the matter is dropped soldier." Nate takes in a deep breath as he places his hand in his pocket, feeling the chip in his fingers. "I can't believe this worked, we have a way into the Institute, I just...I just hope I can save my son..." He breaths slowly as he sits there. The Paladin had knelt down to help, still in his power armor. "Still...ten years...I can't imagine what lies they've been feeding him. About me...his mother...God Nora, every time I close my eyes, I still see Kellogg shooting her..." Danse says nothing but holds out a metal hand to him. "Come on, we should get out of here, we can talk more once we're free of this place." Nate nods at this as he follows the Paladin out of the building. "Thank you..for helping me. I'm sorry for being so damn stubborn, I often forget I'm not on the battlefield anymore." Danse turns his head at this. "That's right, you came from a Vault, so...wait, your over two hundred years old..?" This was the first time they had really talked about it since they meet. Danse had seen Nate's Vault suit, but he had never asked about it. Nate lets out a low laugh. "Yeah, not bad considering I'm older then half the population of the Commonwealth. Not including Ghouls." He lets out another laugh. "Though..when I was frozen, I was...am twenty-four if I remember right it's November, so my birthday has past some months ago."
He sighs a bit as he runs his hand through his short hair. "It's like waking from a bad dream...like any moment I return to Sanctuary..and they would both be there, waiting for me..." Danse listens quietly as he pulls out a signal grenade from a compartment in his suit. "She must had meant a lot to you." Nate blinks at this as he nods. "Nora...oh yes, we were so young, but when we met...it was..." He tries to find the right word. "Magic, like I found the one person I was looking for. Sure we had our moments, but when we got married....it felt so right. Then the war, before I knew it I get this letter...she's pregnant...and everything changed..." Nate shakes his head slowly at this. "Being able to...stand there, it changes you, and I wouldn't trade that memory for anything..." Danse hadn't said a word as he releases the grenade and turns back to him. "I'm sure it was a special moment for the both of you." Danse never out right admitted the fact he had never experienced falling in love. In his mind, duty came first and he was fine with that. Of course he had watch several of his fellows brothers and sisters fall in love, get married, have kids. He was always happy for them, but if he had to be honest, he just didn't picture that for himself. Not after, Cutler, losing him, did something to him. He shakes the thought away as the Vertibird comes into view and lands. Danse looked forward to returning home. Nate just follows after him, neither one of them saying a word as they make their way back to the Prydwen. It was a new day, the ship was a steady buzz of activity, mostly the usual work that needed to be covered. Sara was slowly waking up as she rubs her eyes. Nothing had change, she was still here. She was slowly starting to accept the idea she might just be here for the long run.
She moves slowly as a familiar tightness floods her. She winces a bit as she blushes, not having any idea what day it was. "Crap..." She turns to another female Knight that slept in a bed close to her's. "Hey what day is it?" The Knight turns slowly, looking a bit, annoyed that she was being talked to in the first place. "Wednesday, why late for a date or something?" There was a strange mocking tone to this woman's voice, but Sara ignores it as she jumps up and quickly gets dressed. She was kicking herself as she quickly makes her way to where doctor Cade was. How could she be so stupid to forget that? Still as she got there, her nerves kick in. It pointedly reminded her of her walk of shame to the doctors office when she was in school. The off brand pads they had made her feel like she was wearing a diaper, it was so uncomfortable. But he was the ships only doctor, so she had no other choice. Because going to Teagan for any personal items was just out of the question. She lets out a quiet groan as she steps in. Defeat at it's finest. Cade however smiles at her. "Good morning, what can I do for you today?" Ever the professional, she was so happy for it however. The man was more then used to dealing with any personal problems the soldiers had on a daily biases. However that didn't stop her from blushes deeply as she looks down, then to a nearby wall. "I..um..." "Are you injured?" She jumps as she shakes her head. "N-no.." Cade tilts his head, then nods. "Ah...got you..don't say a word." He turns as he goes into a small supply closet he had. He pulls out a small tin container and hands it over to her. "This should last for a few months, but if you need more, I have plenty. As a doctor, it never hurts to be prepared...and trust me your not the first to come to me for...this, so no need to be bashful about it."
He was still a doctor after all and understood the basic needs of his fellow brothers and sisters. This was just a natural part of life. She just nods and takes the box. "Thanks...sorry to be a bother, I...sort of forgot..." Didn't help she didn't have a calendar, she was just happy she knew the warning signs that shark week was coming. She bows her head and quickly leave to retreat to the closest bathroom. Was she was, settled she was about to head back to her room when she gets the message Elder Maxson wanted to see her. A tiny part of her wanted to cry, but she turns as she makes her way to the observation deck. Maxson was waiting there, his arms behind his back as she sees that Paladin Dance and Nate had returned. "We have the Courser chip, all we need to do now is decode it, and use it to teleport into the Institute..." He turns to all three of them. "Now, what needs to be done, is to follow these blue prints, and make the Molecular Relay." Maxson still wasn't sure if he was okay with the idea of making this thing, let alone sending in just one person. But Nate was perfect for the job, sending anyone they might recognize as a member of the Brotherhood would fail the mission. "That's why your here." He turns to Sara as he hands over the blue prints. "You and Proctor Ingram will get to work on this right away. There's a work bench just outside in the ruins that can be used. However the only issue I'm running into is we need a Biomectric scanner, with any luck however maybe one of the nearby hospitals will have one." He turns to Nate and Danse. "I need you two, to get the scanner, while they are out you." He turns to Sara. "Are to start work on this at once." Sara nods as she gives him a salute. "Yes sir, I'll get on it right away." She turns and leaves to go find Ingram to get to work. Danse watches her leave, before turning to Maxson. For a split second he could swear he saw something, but he wasn't sure what.
"Well, you both are dismissed." Nate salutes and heads off as Danse looks back to the Elder. Had he missed something, he wasn't sure. But he salutes and turns to leave, leaving Maxson to look out the window to the Commonwealth. Soon, they would have everything they needed. He still needed the scribes to make a blank holotape so they could scan the Institutes computers. That alone, could finally give them the knowledge of where they were really located. He knew the minute Danse had told him about the strange energy signals they kept picking up was the lead they needed. Maxson turns his head, alone, he lets it all sink in, as he smirks to himself. As they all reach outside, Danse informs the closet hospital he could think of was Mass Bay Medical Center. Nate just nods at this as they all go their own ways. Sara was on the ground with Ingram to start working on the relay. They had more then enough material to get most of it started. They cleared away old chairs to make room. The only problem Sara could see them running into was making the generators they would need to power they needed. Ingram notices this as well as she taps her finger on her armor. This project was going to take time, and a lot of work. It wasn't long before a few scribes pitch in and they get started. Meanwhile Nate and Danse land just outside the hospital and Nate takes a look around. He was surprised the place was still standing after all this time. Still maybe he was thankful this wasn't the same hospital he took his wife to. He shakes the thought away fast as he sees something move from under a old car. "Feral!" He fires his weapon as more start to crawl out of their hiding places. Danse flanks Nate as they take out the Feral's.
Once they were dead Nate takes a deep breath, looking at Danse. He feels himself flush as he shakes his head. He needed to stop drifting, he just met the Paladin. "We should stay on guard just in case there's more." Danse nods at this as they go into the hospital. Much to their surprise, the inside, wasn't to badly damaged. But the remains of those that died here, still remained. "Shame these people had to pay to see a doctor." Nate looks up, remembering how different things were now. "Yeah, and that was if you were lucky..." Danse turns as Nate slowly checks the area. "I remember, when I broke my leg, waiting for what felt like hours. Even with my background...the doctors didn't seem all the worried. Well Nora wasn't having any of it, and come to find out, my insurance had fallen through. Which was bull crap, but that was the reason they were using...oh I had never seen that woman so angry. Word of advise, never EVER piss off a pregnant woman, unless you have a serous death wish..." Danse lets out a low chuckle at this as they continue on. Aside from a few Mr. Handy robots, who were malfunctioning, it wasn't that bad making their way through the hospital. However as they look around, Nate looks up. "Uhh, stupid question to ask now, but do you have any idea what this...scanner looks like?" Danse blinks at this as he rubs the back of his neck. "I have some idea, but I don't think I've seen one up close. I suggest to keep your eyes open for anything that might be of use." As they move about Nate hears something, moving. He picks up his weapon as he hears a robotic voice. "Unauthorized acquisition. Assessment - immediate termination." Danse looks up just in time to see an Assaultron, heading right at them, it's laser eye ready to fire.
All at once, Nate has a horrible flash back. This thing was the reason he was sent home. He almost died to it and he quickly yells as he fires at the thing. He makes sure to aim right for it's head as the shot makes it's head jolt back. Danse follows suit as they both fire at the killer robot. They don't stop, making sure it never got close to them as it finally seems to explode from the damage and hits the floor with a thud. Nate pants deeply as he places his hand on his heart. "S-sorry..." Danse rises his brow at this. Nate was having a small panic attack. "I take it, this isn't your first encounter with one of these things..." Danse asks softly as Nate takes a deep breath. "Y-yes, during the war, they were so....new then. It came out of nowhere, I still don't remember much outside of waking up in a hospital. The army discharged me honorably after that, I took it to be with....Nora..." He runs his hand through his hair as he takes a calm breath. "I'm fine...I just didn't expect to see one...here..." Danse nods, it was a bit strange to see something like this in a hospital. Something horrible must had happened here. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Come on, we have a lot of searching to do." Danse was trying to give him something to focus on. Nate smiles at this as he nods. "R-right, yes sir." He was back on his feet in no time as they both head off to continue their search the hospital. "Soon....I'm coming for you Shaun, your father is going to save you no matter what.." He tightens his fist at this thought as he stays close to Danse. He wasn't sure what he would do after, but he would cross that bridge when he got there. He just had to find this scanner first.
