POV Rio
It had been a couple of weeks since Christmas, and several things had happened. The plan to evacuate the people to The Slog went off without any issues. The most challenging part was making a few trips. Winter had set in heavily, so several snowstorms had hit the region recently, causing most people to hunker down and wait it out. Another spot that should have caused issues was Libertalia, but the storm had caused them to be too cold to bother with us. It might have also been some sentimentality of the raider boss, there being a former Minuteman. Even the Gunners that we would have to travel near in order to get to The Slog didn't even try to attack us.
Though that might have also been because they didn't have that many people in their outpost. There had been rumors that the Gunners had invaded the Glowing Sea. The rumors also suggested they lost a lot of troops in a battle with the Enclave. The Minutemen got a request to help that family that I helped walk again, with a massive surge in activity from the creatures of the Glowing Sea. Preston said that they reported an earthquake followed by a loud explosion. Whatever happened down south has caused the Gunners to be quiet for now.
'I am not even sure why they decided to strike during Winter. That is a basic strategy to avoid fighting in Winter. But I suppose it's not impossible to attack during Winter to gain an advantage. Still too risky for my taste.'
The salvage operation at the Boston Airport went swimmingly. They had no issues and have even set some traps for the Brotherhood when they arrive. Nothing that the ferals could trigger unless they learn to fly. I sent them to ArcJet systems afterwards for another retrieval operation, which didn't go as well. They didn't have any issues with the security as they got security codes to grant them access, no the real issue was the fact that the entire building had been stripped of anything of value.
The Rocket was gone. The servers wiped. Materials taken. Fuel was also taken. The only things they found were a copy of Tesla Science Magazine and the Junk Jet. Or at least that was what they thought; however, they discovered a collapsed office that didn't look looted due to it being buried. Apparently, I was extremely lucky as there was a prototype of the Deep Range Transmitter. It was not the version that was going to be sent out, but it was, as far as Delta Squad could tell, the same device.
'But that still leaves the question of who looted the place but still had all the automated security stay in place.'
From what little Urtica could retrieve from the computers, she could determine that the looting took place nearly a year ago and that they used a similar strategy to Delta Squad. Using high-level clearance codes to gain unlimited access to the facility. And they seemed to only stay in the facility for a single night. Which means that they needed to be highly skilled, knowledgeable, and have access to Vertibirds. The reason is that the only way to get that rocket engine out of ArcJet was through the roof hatch.
There are very few factions that could manage something like this. That are also on this coast. The Institute, Enclave, Brotherhood, and Gunners. I only mention the Institute as they could theoretically teleport the items in the lab, and they were interested in this lab in the game. But that was about it for them. They have no need for the rocket; they would destroy the automated security, and it could be argued that they didn't need the Deep Range Transmitter and might have instead taken it to prevent the Brotherhood from getting it and calling for backup.
Speaking of the Brotherhood, they were also unlikely, as they have little presence in the Commonwealth, and the presence they have had wouldn't be good enough to steal a rocket like this. And they are also likely to destroy the automated security. The Gunners wouldn't do it unless someone hired them. Which meant it must have been the Enclave, but the issue is why? What could the Enclave possibly want with a rocket engine?
'Perhaps it has to do with that obscure joke that the Enclave fled to space. But that's nonsense. I know for a fact they still exist and operate on Earth. And what about the Deep Range Transmitter?'
No matter how I looked at it, it was strange. But regardless of what they were planning, I would deal with it later. If the Gunners didn't wipe them out for me. As far as I am tracking, the Enclave escaped from their base and fled West. I know because I picked up on some communications via a satellite recently. Delta Squad set up a crap ton of automated defenses in USAF Station Oliva so I could use the satellite uplink to keep in constant contact with any satellites. That spy satellite has been especially useful as it is still quite operational despite the passage of time.
The robots they used to fortify the station were taken from the nearby General Atomics Galleria. The current mission of Delta Squad is to secure the Northern Commonwealth for the Minutemen. A nice perk of doing it this way is that I still get partial experience from all the kills they get. The only part they have been told to stay away from was the North Eastern portion of the Commonwealth, as I knew there were several very dangerous areas over there. The Dark Magic kind of danger. As well as a larger pack of Deathclaws that live in the area. The area was just too dangerous for them to operate in.
Besides that, I had just gotten word that Bobbi No-Nose was back in town and she was ready to start the next part of the job. I was glad she was gone, so long as it gave me time to really snoop around her house. The info I gathered wasn't too useful, but it gave me enough info to give me somewhere to start my investigation. The trail led me to a gang in Goodnieghbor. One that Hancock was supposedly on good terms with. Marowski. Now, at first, this didn't make much sense. But then I remembered a bit of info that might be related. Marowski is an informant for the Institute.
So I dug a little deeper. And from what I could tell, Marowski was working with the Institute to get rid of Hancock and put Marowski in charge. It was a real pain to get this info, as Marowski was careful and didn't keep many records. Bobbi was in charge of breaking into Hancocks' storeroom to obtain some valuable dirt that could be used to force Hancock out of the mayor's seat. Marowski was promised a lot. Power, Technology, Influence. And all he had to give in exchange was help in eradicating the Railroad and any other problem that arose in Boston.
This job was far larger than I could ever imagine. And what's even scarier is that the Institute gave Marowski a Courser as a handler to ensure this plan succeeded. As well as a sizable stockpile of weapons and ammo in case they have to resort to violence. Needless to say, I told this to Hancock, and he was furious, but he couldn't act on it. He knew fully well that a Courser was no joke. And Marowski had at least 300 men who would fight for him. Hancock had at most 200 if he called in all his loyalists. Most of them weren't residents of Goodneighbor, which meant it would take time for them to arrive. Technically, the same could be said for Marowski, but his men were located much closer.
Thankfully, I had helped get most of the civilians out of Boston before anything happened, but it would still be a bloodbath once the fighting started. Hancock told me to continue working with Bobbi while he reached out to allies and tried to discreetly call in his men to prepare for a battle. In the meantime, he wanted me to work on disrupting Marowski as much as I could. The only issue I had was that Bobbi would reach Hancock's storeroom in only a few days at most. Which meant I would have to kill her then. And once that happens, it will set us all on a timer, as it is very likely that Marowski will notice and react by starting his coup immediately.
But thankfully, I had a way to work around this. Bobbi would have to die and get replaced. It was January 8th, which meant I had summoned 2 Changelings since Christmas. And while they might not be as skilled as the Elites I summoned, they were still more than capable of disguising themselves as someone else for a while. The only variable that could make this a bit more messy was Mel, the robotics expert Bobbi hired for help. But if it came down to it, he could get replaced as well. I would only do so if he turned hostile, which I sincerely hoped he didn't, but I needed to be prepared. Unlike the Institute, I had no intention of having the replacements last that long. It was immoral in some ways, and Changelings are meant for short-term replacements at best. It's better to create a new identity than try and replace someone else and hope you can sell the act perfectly.
'Well, I guess I'd better go see what Bobbi wants me to do. I should see if she will allow me to bring companions and if so, how many.'
The answer was quick. She allowed me to bring Dogmeat, but that was it. Of course, I agreed, but in truth, we were being followed secretly by the two Changelings. Their names were Tymbal and Kevin. Kevin was a really chill dude. He liked food. Especially free food. And he was unnaturally gifted at making traps out of mundane things. Like a paint can on a swing at the top of a set of stairs. Or ice-covered stairs. A scalding hot door handle. And so on and so on.
'If I didn't know I summoned him, I would think his last name was McCallister.'
Despite his crafty trap-making ability, Kevin was actually a very nice Changeling. Loved to mess with scum bags and raiders, but they deserve it. Tymbal, on the other hand, was a very mellow and calm Changeling. Her most notable character trait was how kind she was. She didn't like to fight with others and was also a bit quiet. She preferred to listen rather than talk.
With Dogmeat by my side, I prepared to fight a lot of Mirelurks and possibly Ferals.
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Author's Note:
A lot of info in this chapter. I thought that Marowski was not too impressive or important in Fallout 4 when based on what is said, he should still have quite a bit of power, and he at least has contacts with the Institute. Bobbi, on the other hand, sold the info he stole from Hancock's storeroom to someone, and it would make sense that this info would be really valuable. In case you are wondering why the Institute would team up with Marowski, it comes down to the fact that the Institute needs some representatives on the surface. They also know that the Railroad operates in and around Northern Boston. That, and they have tried to get rid of Hancock in the past, even trying to replace him, but everything failed. That and the Institute are kind of like the British Empire. They can't help but meddle in other people's affairs. That and the Institute are just kind of blatantly evil, or at least very sociopathic. They don't care about the surface except to keep it divided and easy to exploit. Any way until next time Ciao.