To Save a Soul

Chapter 8 The return

Katherine awoke on the platform at the Boston Airport, cold and exhausted. Rain was pouring down, soaking her long white hair and clothes. She trudged down the path and caught a vertibird up to the Prydwen, the holotape clutched in her clenched fist. Once aboard the airship she went straight to Quinlan who was ecstatic to find that she had completed her mission using the holotape successfully.
"How did it go? What did you learn? Did you find your son?" Quinlan fired questions at her rapidly. Katherine simply shook her head.
"I'll never do it again." was all that she said before making her way to the command deck. Maxson had a certain gleam in his eyes, fierce and conquering, what she had just done had been one of the Brotherhood's greatest achievements, not that she cared at this point.
"I see you have returned in one piece, but have you completed your tasks?" the Elder asked, hands behind his back.
"I have. The Doctor will leave the first chance she gets and I have already given Quinlan the holotape with the data I stole from the Institute." Katherine told him. Her emotions were beginning to make themselves known as the impact and implications of what she had seen and learned inside the Institute soaked in.
"You have done a great service for the Brotherhood. Now, what about your son?" Maxson asked. With a gulp she shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud again.
"Knight?" Maxson insisted.
"My son...Shawn...he's Father. He IS the Institute. He is the founder." she said finally, in a hushed and defeated voice.
"Knight, I am sorry to hear this." Elder Maxson said as he patted her back roughly. Katherine had lost all patience as rain drops fell from her soaked braid.
"Is there anything else you need, Elder?" she asked.
"Yes. You are to accompany Paladin Danse into the glowing sea, we have received word that they is a warehouse of intact nuclear warheads, pre war. Sentinel Site Prescott. Once there you are to through a flare and a fleet of vertibirds from waypoint Echo will retrieve the warheads. Leave in the morning." he told her to which she responded with a curt nod before leaving.
    Katherine was actually trembling from her cold and damp clothes as she made her way to the barracks, stopping to speak to no one. No one but Paladin Danse. There was no hesitation as she approached the Paladin's door, knocking loudly.
"What is it?" he asked as he opened the door, somehow seeming to know it was her already.
"You're aware that we are to head into the glowing sea in the morning?" Katherine asked. Danse nodded. Katherine gave him a moment to speak but he said nothing.
"Okay." she said before she headed off in frustration. How the man could be so battle hardened but completely lacking socially was beyond her. First he had been the only chance of survival that she had had, then he had been something more to her. Maybe she had realized it too late, maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
    The morning came to soon as Katherine emerged from her room in her now dry clothes and her hair flowing in wild curls down her back and over her shoulders. A hazard? Surely, but she didn't care anymore. Danse met her on the flight deck where he piloted the vertibird. Katherine sat in one of the seats, holding for dear life as usual. Danse was shocked when the Knight crawled into the seat beside him.
"I found my son, Shawn. He asked me to stay, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He's Father, he is the leader of the Institute. He is everything that the Brotherhood is against. I created that...he came from me." she said flatly, testing the waters. The thought that maybe the Brotherhood would consider her a traitor or a spy with this newfound information hadn't left her mind yet.
"I am sorry, Knight. I hoped for a better outcome for you." Paladin Danse said. Katherine sighed. Things were almost as bad as they had been when she had left the vault for the first time. Things seemed to be getting worse actually.
    Paladin Danse landed their vertibird at Waypoint Echo where a troop of Brotherhood soldiers awaited with their own vertibirds. Katherine followed Danse over to them. Her stomach dropped when she saw the two suits of power armor that clearly awaited them. She had completely spaced on the fact that she'd have to get back in one, she would never forget the last time she had been in one of the suits...and in the glowing sea. The Paladin had barely got her to safety in time and if it hadn't been for Doctor Virgil she would have died. Danse had a few words with some of the other soldiers. Some saluted Katherine while others just stared.
"Are you ready Knight?" Danse asked as she joined him before the suits. She shook her head.
"I'd rather take my chances with Rad-X and Radaway before I ever get back into one of those." she said while shaking her head. Danse turned to her.
"There are many new recruits here and they are watching us, their superiors, a Paladin and a Knight. We must set an example." he whispered. Katherine shook her head again.
"I almost died last time I got into one of those suits. You saw it. Whoever did that could have easily sabotaged one of these." she whispered back harshly. Danse looked back over his shoulder at the watching recruits. He leant down, closer to Katherine as she glared up at him.
"I brought you back last time, what makes you think I won't this time?" he whispered to her before turning to the smaller suit, opening the back and held out a rough hand to help her in. Katherine was caught of guard by his what he had said. She should trust him and what did she have left to lose? With a deep breath she nodded her thanks and allowed him to help her into the suit. Some of the recruits watched in awe, never having seen a suit of power armor before.
    The trek through the glowing sea to the Sentinel Site wasn't a long or dangerous one. Katherine found herself almost suspicious of the lack of deathclaws and other creatures that dwelled there. The Paladin never spoke to her, she sensed that something was concerning him. The enormous black pyramid rose from the sands and rubble ominously.
"This is it." Katherine said through the intercom system.
"Yes, this is the target." Danse confirmed. Katherine rolled her eyes as she waited for him to break into the building.
"That door was still sealed...it should be safe to leave the power armor now?" she asked hopefully. Danse looked down at the geiger counter on his suits arm.
"I suppose it is." he said and as soon as the words escaped his mouth Katherine was out of her armor. There was nothing to compared to the relief of not being confined in one of those damned suits. Katherine followed him down metal and rusty catwalks and throw multiple control rooms.
"There's nukes everywhere." Katherine commented as they passed a forklift with a small payload on it still. The room seemed dangerously unstable. She clutched Righteous Authority in her hands.
"There's something in there." she commented as he approached a heavy metal door. He looked back at her.
"How could anything have gotten in?" he asked.
"Alternate routes." she said almost teasingly with a gulp. The door opened with a heavy shriek.
"Holy shit." Katherine said as they opened fire on a handful of ghouls that came charging at them from down the hall.
    Katherine caught a nasty blow from a ghoul that had gotten a little too close, knocking her into the concrete wall behind her. The impact knocked the wind out of her. She fought hard against the ghoul, blood running from a cut on one of her hands, till she was abled to get her rifle up and fired a round into the ghouls chest. Danse looked back to see Katherine panting and wide eyed, dirt in her white hair and blood on her hands.
"Are you alright?" he asked as rushed over and snatched her hand in his own for examination. The tiny hand was yanked from his and he was honestly shaken by her reaction, by the feeling of rejection.
"I'm fine." she said as she strode past him. Katherine marched in a rage and through her weight into the door to the missile silo. Danse hot on her heels.
"Hello stranger, I am Brother Henri, why have you come to Atom's hallowed ground?" a man in tattered and rotting cloth asked Katherine as she barged into the room. She was taken aback by the clearly sick man. It only took a moment for her to recognize him as a child of atom. The door behind him was most likely sealed by a password on the terminal next to the sick man. It was likely that he knew the password. Katherine shot a glare at Danse over her shoulder, a glare that said keep your mouth shut.
"We have come to honor atom, we will be quick. Gone before you even notice." Katherine said sweetly. Brother Henri eyed her suspiciously for a moment.
"Dear sister, what is your name?" Henri asked as he took a step forward and grasped her hands in his sickly ones. Danse immediately stepped forward. Katherine was revolted.
"Please could you allow us access...and some privacy so that we may pay our respects. That's all we ask." she encouraged him kindly, shooting Danse another stern look. After a long moment Henri nodded, kissed the back of Katherine's hands graciously and typed the password in on the terminal. Danse watched as Katherine peered past the man, watching what he typed.
"Thank you." she said graciously with a nod. They both watched as the man stumbled out of the room.
"At0m. Atom with a zero in place of the O." she told Danse before continuing on.
    The silo itself was certainly a sight to behold. Nuclear warheads lined the walls from floor to ceiling on red metal shelving. It was fascinating. She walked further and further into the space.
"There's enough in here to destroy the majority of the planet." Katherine said in awe. She had expected Danse to have somewhat of the same reaction or to at least utter some Brotherhood bullshit, but she was answered with nothing but silence. She turned to see Danse by the door they had come in, he was out of his armor and looked as if he was going to be sick.
"Danse?" Katherine asked worriedly. She swung her rifle over her shoulder and hurried over to him.
"Danse what is it?" she asked again and got no answer, he wouldn't even look at her.
"Danse!" she shouted before shouting again.
"Danse you're scaring me!" That got his attention, causing him to look down at her. The look in his eyes terrified her. It was as if a dead man was staring back at her.
"What's happened Danse?" she asked nervously, not sure that she wanted to know now. He shook his head once.
"What the fuck happened?" she asked, catching his forearm in one of her delicate hands.
"Nothing, I received a transmission from Scribe Haylen. That's all." he told her. A transmission from Haylen? That was all?
"Who died?" she blurted the question.
"No one died Katherine. No one is dead. No one is hurt. You are to report go back out, light the flares, then hurry to back to Maxson." Danse told her as he gently pulled away, letting her hand fall limply back to her side.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I cannot leave a payload like this unattended until it is secured by Brotherhood forces." he told her. One thing she had learned from the Paladin was that she was never to go or remain anywhere alone. One should always have backup.
"That's not safe and you know it." she argued.
"It doesn't matter, Katherine. It's an order." he said, sounding almost defeated.
"Okay Danse. Let's do it your way." Katherine hissed with a sneer. It didn't take her long to storm into her power armor in a rage and get out of the pyramid. Once outside in the harsh land of the glowing sea she threw the flares onto the ground in anger. Katherine stood, fuming, in the red glow of the flares as the vertibird landed. She climbed in and endured the rough and anxiety inducing flight back to the Prydwen. All the while she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong...wrong with Danse.
    Elder Maxson was awaiting her return in the command center. The Elder had a smug look on his face. Katherine stepped into the room, careful to keep her distance from him.
"We located the warheads at the Sentinel Site. Paladin Danse remained with them to ensure a safe delivery." she told him and watched as his face instantly contorted into one of anger.
"How long have you known?" he roared. Katherine took a startled step back.
"Known what? I don't know what you're talking about." she snapped. The look in his eyes made her want to run.
"Danse, don't play stupid. Don't think that I don't know how close the two of you are. There's no way you didn't know." Maxson snarled, taking another menacing step towards her.
"Then I guess you had better tell me what the fuck you're talking about." Katherine snarled, making Maxson's blood boil.
"He's not Danse! He's a fucking synth! M7-97! The proof is on the holotape that you delivered to Quinlan!" Maxson shouted. He now had her stunned and trembling. Her mind frantically trying to process this information.
"What?" she stuttered. Maxson laughed madly.
"Yes. The man, well what you thought was a man, that you chose over me is a synth. A monstrosity." he said harshly. Katherine's heart was breaking and her mind was reeling all at once.
"Now you will find him and you will kill him. He isn't human so don't beat yourself up over it. Do this and I will promote you to Sentinel. You will be second to no one but me. Don't do it and consider yourself dead." he told her.