Sacrifices

Chapter 13: Making A Mutiny

The harsh pooling of light from industrial domes had Jackie blinking and squinting as she entered the warehouse, trying to compensate for the stark contrast of night. After a moment, her eyes adjusted and she was greeted by a sea of orange. The warehouse was filled with soldiers and it appeared the majority of the Brotherhood's forces were either detained or guarding the rebels.

Astounded by the sheer number of soldiers contained in the one area, Jackie immediately felt the downward pull at her gut. Her old friend settled heavy in her chest with the weight of knowing she had, in some part, caused this. The coup had left the airport, the Prydwen, and the entire operation extremely vulnerable. If the Institute mounted an attack at this moment, it could cripple or even destroy the Brotherhood, and she couldn't help but feel the burden of responsibility.

Murmurs of unrest, lack of trust in Maxson's leadership, and a general distaste for the direction the Brotherhood was headed, had started some time ago. Even before Danse's exile, Jackie had heard whispers, but there was no denying she had been the catalyst to trigger this. Whether Danse had planned this or not, her going to him last night had caused an irrational reaction and set the whole thing in motion.

The innards of the warehouse had been sectioned off, groups of soldiers contained to specific areas with sentries assigned to each section to maintain order. Guards patrolled the expanse as well, weaving in and out of the rebels on high alert, ready to subdue mutiny by any and all force necessary.

As Jackie stood surveying the situation, just inside the doorway a movement to the right caught her attention. A Paladin clad in full power armor posted outside the interrogation room shifted and cleared his throat. Of course. The ranking officer here would be parked in front of the door that held Brotherhood enemy number one. An ugly huffing of breath lodged in her throat at the irony of the situation.

Maxson had gone to great lengths to mark Danse a traitor, painted him as dangerous and an Institute infiltrator. He'd lied to his troops. Told them that Danse was a plant, that the widely respected Paladin had betrayed them all, fed information to the Institute, and Jackie had done right by her duty in putting him down. Maxson had never been so wrong and, even with all the lies, his troops had still rebelled.

It made her sick, bile churning in her gut just thinking about what this had done to Danse.

His life had become a meaningless lie. The cruelest of jokes. The Brotherhood had turned Danse into an object. A thing to be feared and hated beyond all measure. He had been convinced his life no longer held any value, that he no longer had control of his fate. Jackie remembered him telling her that he was proud of her, that this was the right thing to do. The honorable thing to do. Yes, the man - that brave and steadfast soldier who was ready to take his own life, who had no words but weeping when she had returned to him after her promotion - was dangerous. An Institute plant, an infiltrator, a traitor - a machine.

Bullshit. Jackie could only hope that Maxson would rot in the depths of Hell for what he had done.

As the black hole contained within threatened to consume her and her world imploded around her, Jackie jammed her hands in her pockets and forced herself to move on. But the small, folded paper caught against the palm of her hand and her eyes dragged back to the armored Paladin and the door he was so firmly guarding. There was suddenly lead in her pocket and dead weight in her chest. Slowly her fingers, sheathed in the fabric of her pockets, curled in on themselves. Inhale. Exhale. Desperation bloomed from within.

Go now! Make a run for it!

Her mind egged on her irrationality. It was only a flimsy door standing in her way. Sure, she could push past the guard, strong arm her way into the room.