Fallout: Fury Blood

Chapter 4: Rad Land

Setting off the vertibird signal smoke well away from Sanctuary prevented the Brotherhood from marking the place as her homebase, which sat well with her. She didn't want them arriving in squadrons of vertibirds in the middle of the night to drag her off because Cade wanted to check her blood pressure.

Kelly shaded her eyes from the sun as she looked skyward and waited for a pickup, Dogmeat sitting happily at her side. She had packed lightly, bringing only her most favored weapons, her armor pieces, and a bottle of water with stims and Jet for good luck. What Deacon didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

She waved the pilot in as the vertibird appeared within minutes, waiting for it to touchdown before she climbed aboard and took charge of the minigun on it's flank. Dogmeat hopped up and seemed to know that sitting on the passenger seats was the second best place to be.

"Glad to see you safely back from the Institute, ma'am," the pilot relayed through the microphone system, her voice ripe with relief. "Elder Maxson will be eager to hear what you've learned."

This was it, Kelly thought as the vertibird gained lift. She had reached the point of no return, and handing in the holotape meant backstabbing her own son. She ground her jaw throughout the entire flight to the Prydwen, and by the time the docking sequence was complete, her jaw was mildly throbbing, and she turned instead to clenching her fists repeatedly.

Lancer-Captain Kells was waiting on the Flight Deck for an initial word before she reported to Maxson. He wore his usual sour face, and Kelly braced herself to nod and apply yes, sir to every single sentence. That was the first thing they taught in boot camp back in her day. How to be a good drone.

"Knight Harper," Kells addressed once she reached a certain point on the railings. "It's good to see you returned to us unscathed. I'm sure you have a lot to tell, but first I have to have you searched before you can present your findings to the Elder. Necessary precautions, I hope you understand."

Kelly suppressed a sigh and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, and I'm afraid your dog will have to remain outside. Scribe Neriah was lucky enough to be allowed her molerats aboard, but a free roaming canine is out of the question."

Looking down at Dogmeat, Kelly gave him a penitent pat. "Stay out here, boy. I won't be long. And don't bite anyone."

Dogmeat cocked his head, seeming to absorb that, then he whined softly and lowered his tail between his legs, sulking.

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After the pleasantries were out of the way, Kells led her into the Command Deck without a word. She scanned the area for any sign of Danse, but he was nowhere in sight. Her heart dropped with disappointment, and she knew the next task was going to be a notch harder without his reassuring presence by her side.

Maxson stood with his back to her, hands resting at the small of his back, regarding the Commonwealth outside with a stern air.

Maybe it was the sound of her incoming gait, or the stench of the Wastes she carried, or he had merely been forewarned of her approach, but he knew it was her. "Welcome back, Knight Harper. I admit I had my concerns having made contact with Dr. Li but not yet with you." His voice belied any truth to that claim of concern, but he did present her with an inkling of a smile as he turned to acknowledge her, which seemed out of place amongst his forlorn features. "I presume the Institute had a great deal of things to discuss with you, rather than showing you hostility, as you're clearly still in one piece. I'm curious to know how they handled the situation."