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...
Another enormous step shook Boston Airport as Liberty Prime moved forward, and the war around the airport entered a new phase.
Liberty Prime took another step.
The sound rolled across Boston Airport like distant thunder, except there was nothing distant about it.
Concrete shuddered beneath the boots of soldiers on both sides. Loose pieces of masonry slid from broken walls. Windows that had somehow survived the fighting rattled in their frames.
Sico kept his binoculars raised.
"Everyone hold."
Sarah looked at him.
"Hold?"
"Until we know what it's doing."
Across the Republic positions, soldiers watched the enormous machine with weapons already shouldered.
Some had instinctively aimed at it.
Others simply stared.
A Sentinel Tank crew traversed its turret slowly toward the towering figure, but the gunner did not fire.
Sico's voice went over the command net.
"No blind fire. Keep your weapons ready. Maintain communications. Nobody engages that machine unless I give the order."
The response came in fragments.
"Copy."
"Understood."
"Roger."
Sico lowered the binoculars for a moment.
There was something wrong.
Liberty Prime had taken two steps toward the Republic line.
But it wasn't looking at them.
Its head was turning.
Slowly.
Away from the shattered streets where the Republic soldiers were positioned.
Toward the Brotherhood defensive network.
Sarah noticed it too.
"Sico."
"I see it."
Prime stopped.
The enormous machine stood among the airport structures, surrounded by smoke and dust.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then its head rotated farther.
A Brotherhood officer near a barricade looked up.
"Why is it facing us?"
Another soldier laughed nervously.
"It's probably identifying targets."
The officer raised his radio.
"Command, Prime has activated and appears to be—"
A tremendous sound interrupted him.
Something inside Liberty Prime's upper body came alive.
Panels opened.
Mechanical systems shifted.
Energy began gathering through the machine's weapon assemblies.
The Brotherhood soldiers closest to it had barely enough time to understand what they were seeing.
Then Prime fired.
The blast tore through the defensive position.
A fortified structure disappeared beneath an explosion of concrete, steel, fire, and dust.
The shockwave threw soldiers from their feet.
A Brotherhood vehicle was lifted sideways and slammed into a barricade.
Another was overturned completely.
Men in power armor stumbled through the smoke.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
"Prime fired!"
"At us!"
"No! That's impossible!"
Another weapon system activated.
The machine fired again.
This time the strike landed farther along the Brotherhood line.
A barricade that had survived hours of combat was simply erased.
Sandbags, steel plating, ammunition crates, and weapons were thrown into the air.
A machine-gun crew scattered.
One Knight dropped behind a concrete barrier as debris rained down around him.
"Cease fire!"
Someone screamed into a radio.
"Prime is attacking our positions!"
The response was immediate.
"That's impossible!"
"Confirm!"
"It's firing on us!"
Kells stood frozen for only a heartbeat.
Then training took over.
"Get everyone under cover!"
His voice cut through the confusion.
"Move! Move!"
Danse grabbed the shoulder of a nearby Knight.
"Pull the wounded back!"
The Knight stared at him.
"But Prime—"
"MOVE!"
Another blast struck.
The ground shook violently.
Danse ducked as a piece of metal tore past him.
Kells watched one of the Brotherhood's defensive towers collapse.
"What is it doing?"
No one answered.
A radio operator tried to contact the technical command.
"Proctor Ingram, respond! Prime is engaging friendly positions!"
Static.
Then a voice.
"Repeat that?"
"Prime is firing on Brotherhood forces!"
There was a long pause.
Then Ingram answered, her voice suddenly tense.
"I'm trying to reach the command system."
Kells looked at Danse.
"Get her."
Danse turned toward the communications station.
"I'm on it."
But before he could move, another transmission came through.
"Ingram to all control personnel. Do not engage Prime. Repeat, do not engage Prime. We need to determine what it's recognizing as hostile."
Kells stared toward the giant machine.
"Recognizing?"
Danse understood the implication.
"You think its identification protocols are wrong."
"I don't know what I think."
Another explosion swallowed a Brotherhood vehicle.
Kells tightened his jaw.
"But I know we're running out of time."
Inside the technical command area, Proctor Ingram was already surrounded by technicians.
Emergency lights flashed.
Several terminals had begun reporting conflicting status information.
Prime's systems were active.
Its weapons were active.
Its command network was active.
But the identification protocols were behaving incorrectly.
"Show me the recognition table," Ingram ordered.
A technician brought it up.
Ingram stared.
"That's not right."
"What?"
"The friendly identification list."
She leaned closer.
"It's been altered."
The technician looked confused.
"By who?"
"I don't know."
Ingram moved to another terminal.
"Bring up the command authentication."
The screen flashed.
Access denied.
She tried again.
Nothing.
"Damn it."
Another technician hurried over.
"Proctor, we're losing the secondary control channel."
"Reroute it."
"We can't."
"Why?"
"Someone locked the relay."
Ingram stared at him.
"Who has authorization?"
The technician hesitated.
"Director Li."
Ingram's expression changed.
"Madison?"
Before anyone could answer, footsteps approached from behind.
Madison Li entered the command area.
She looked calm.
Far too calm.
Ingram turned.
"Madison."
Li said nothing.
Ingram pointed toward the terminal.
"What did you do?"
Madison's face remained unreadable.
"I corrected a problem."
"You're the problem."
Several technicians turned toward them.
Ingram reached for the emergency command interface.
"Shut Prime down."
Madison slowly drew her pistol.
Ingram saw the movement.
Her eyes widened.
"Madison—"
The gunshot was deafening inside the enclosed room.
Ingram staggered backward.
She struck the edge of the console and collapsed onto the floor.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then someone screamed.
"PROCTOR!"
Madison lowered the pistol.
"Secure the room."
The people around her did not hesitate.
That was when everyone understood.
This wasn't an argument.
It wasn't a malfunction.
It was a coup.
Two Brotherhood technicians immediately sealed the access doors.
Another pulled the emergency communications terminal away from a loyalist operator.
A group of soldiers entered from the corridor with weapons raised.
"Stand down!"
A loyal Brotherhood officer reached for his sidearm.
Madison's followers surrounded him.
"Don't."
The officer looked around.
"You're betraying the Brotherhood."
One of the technicians answered quietly.
"No."
He looked toward Madison.
"We're saving it."
Madison pointed toward the communications station.
"Take it."
Personnel moved immediately.
They knew where they were going.
Who they were supposed to secure.
Which terminals mattered.
Which officers had to be isolated.
Which communication channels needed to be cut.
Madison had prepared this long before Liberty Prime ever moved.
Now the pieces were falling into place.
Emergency messages began flooding the airport.
"Command has been compromised."
"Unknown hostile personnel inside technical control."
"Proctor Ingram is down."
"Director Li has taken control of the command systems."
"Do not trust orders from the central command channel."
Another transmission came through.
"Prime is attacking Brotherhood positions!"
Kells heard it.
He looked toward Danse.
"Li."
Danse's expression hardened.
Kells had known Madison Li was involved in Prime's development.
He had not expected this.
"She's done something to it."
Danse looked toward the machine.
Prime fired again.
The blast tore through a defensive emplacement.
Kells closed his eyes for half a second.
Then opened them.
"Everyone listen!"
The nearby officers turned.
"We have two problems."
He pointed toward the Republic lines.
"The Republic is still outside."
Then toward the airport.
"And we have an internal revolt."
A nearby officer swallowed.
"What are your orders?"
Kells answered immediately.
"Separate the two."
He grabbed the radio.
"All loyal units, identify yourselves by sector and maintain your current positions. Stop firing on Brotherhood personnel unless they engage you first. Protect command officers. Secure ammunition stores and communications stations."
He looked toward Danse.
"Danse."
"Yes?"
"You're going to the Prydwen."
Danse stared at him.
"What?"
"Maxson."
The meaning was immediate.
"If Li has taken control of Prime, the Prydwen may be next. Get there before she can reach him."
Danse nodded once.
"Understood."
"You have to protect the Elder."
"Copy that."
Danse turned and moved.
He pushed through the ruined corridor as soldiers ran in every direction.
Some were loyalists.
Others were now following Li.
No one seemed entirely sure which was which.
Danse reached the Vertibird landing area.
A pilot was already preparing to launch.
"Prydwen," Danse ordered.
The pilot looked toward the airport.
"Sir, what's happening?"
"Just get me there."
The Vertibird lifted.
As it climbed, Danse looked down.
The battlefield had become almost unrecognizable.
Liberty Prime towered over the airport.
Smoke poured from destroyed Brotherhood positions.
Republic soldiers were still outside the perimeter.
Brotherhood troops were fighting one another inside it.
And somewhere below, Madison Li's people were securing the systems that controlled the machine.
Danse watched silently.
The Brotherhood had spent months preparing for war.
Now its greatest weapon was being turned against it from within.
Far below, Sico was watching the same transformation.
He had initially expected Prime to move against the Republic.
Instead, it had attacked the Brotherhood.
A Sentinel Tank crew reported through the radio.
"Command, Prime is striking Brotherhood positions."
Sico answered immediately.
"Do not engage."
"Understood."
Sarah looked at him.
"What's happening?"
Sico kept watching.
"Madison."
Sarah stared.
"You think—"
"I know."
Robert looked over.
"You're sure?"
Sico finally allowed a restrained smile.
"She's done it."
MacCready looked toward Liberty Prime.
"She's actually turned that thing."
"Yes."
Preston looked at the Brotherhood positions collapsing beneath Prime's attacks.
"How much control does she have?"
"That," Sico said, "we don't know."
His smile disappeared.
"And that's the dangerous part."
He turned toward the radio operator.
"Open the command net."
The operator did.
Sico's voice became firm.
"All Republic formations, advance."
Sarah immediately understood.
"Now?"
"Now."
He pointed toward the western sector.
"Sarah, drive through there. Don't waste time clearing every position. Take the route the Brotherhood has lost."
Sarah nodded.
"Understood."
"Preston, eastern side. Push hard but watch for loyalist units."
"Copy."
"SENTINELS advance behind infantry. Do not fire on Madison's forces. Confirm targets before engaging."
The tank crews acknowledged.
"Humvees forward. Fresh troops, ammunition, medical teams."
Drivers started engines.
Vertibirds adjusted their positions overhead.
Sico continued.
"Air units, identify rebel positions whenever possible. Keep casualty evacuation routes open."
Then he looked toward Robert and MacCready.
"You two find Madison."
MacCready raised an eyebrow.
"That's the plan?"
"Find her command area. Establish contact. Identify friendly Brotherhood units and mark loyalist resistance."
Robert nodded.
"And get the Republic pointed toward the right people."
"Exactly."
The attack moved forward.
This time, the battlefield was different.
There was no clean front line.
Republic infantry advanced through shattered barricades while Brotherhood soldiers fired from some positions and waved them past from others.
A soldier shouted from a doorway.
"Don't shoot! We're with Li!"
A Republic rifleman hesitated.
His squad leader pulled him forward.
"Keep moving!"
Nearby, loyalist Brotherhood troops opened fire.
Republic soldiers returned fire.
The distinction had to be made in seconds.
Smoke made everything worse.
Liberty Prime's attacks had destroyed several structures, creating new gaps while filling old routes with debris.
Sarah's troops moved through the western opening.
"Keep formation!"
A Humvee followed behind them.
"Medical team coming through!"
The vehicle carried medics and ammunition.
A Sentinel Tank rolled after it, its cannon aimed away from the areas marked as rebel-controlled.
Sarah pointed toward a damaged checkpoint.
"That's ours."
Her soldiers moved in.
They encountered a small Brotherhood unit.
Weapons came up.
Then one of the Brotherhood soldiers raised both hands.
"Li's people!"
Sarah's squad leader looked at him.
"Move aside."
The soldiers did.
The Republic advanced.
On the eastern side, Preston's troops encountered heavier resistance.
A loyalist Brotherhood machine-gun team had taken position inside a terminal building.
"Contact!"
Preston immediately ordered his infantry into cover.
"Don't rush it."
A Sentinel Tank moved into position.
"Suppress the building."
The cannon fired.
The upper wall collapsed.
Republic infantry advanced behind the dust.
The machine-gun team surrendered seconds later.
Preston looked at the prisoners.
"Secure them."
Then he looked deeper into the airport.
"Keep moving."
Above them, Vertibirds tracked the shifting battle.
"Command, rebel personnel identified near the southern service buildings."
Sico answered.
"Mark it."
"Marked."
Robert heard the transmission.
"That's close to us."
MacCready nodded.
"Then let's go."
They moved through the ruins with their commandos.
Inside the airport, Madison's followers continued taking control.
Communications equipment changed hands.
Loyalist officers were disarmed.
Technicians who refused were restrained.
Others simply stepped aside.
The rebellion was spreading faster than Kells could contain it.
But Kells refused to let the loyal defense collapse.
"Hold this sector!"
A Knight looked toward Prime.
"Sir, we're being hit from behind!"
"Then turn the guns inward."
The Knight hesitated.
"Against our own?"
"Against anyone trying to take this position."
Kells looked around at the exhausted soldiers.
"Keep the airport from becoming a free-for-all."
Danse was gone.
Ingram was down.
Maxson was aboard the Prydwen.
And Madison controlled the systems.
Kells understood that his original mission had changed completely.
The Brotherhood was no longer defending itself against one enemy.
It was fighting for control of its own army.
Outside, the Republic kept advancing.
Sarah's western formations broke through another defensive line.
Preston's eastern troops reached the inner approaches.
Humvees followed.
Medical personnel established a temporary casualty collection point behind a damaged wall.
Sentinel Tanks advanced carefully.
Robert and MacCready finally reached the edge of the area where Madison's forces had gathered.
A Brotherhood soldier stepped out.
"Republic?"
Robert raised his rifle slightly.
"Commandos."
The soldier looked relieved.
"Director Li is expecting you."
MacCready glanced at Robert.
"Well."
Robert lowered his weapon.
"Then take us to her."
The soldier turned.
"Quickly."
Far behind them, Liberty Prime moved again.
Its enormous frame crossed the airport grounds, no longer following the defensive plan Kells had spent the last hour protecting.
The machine had become something else.
Something Madison had intended it to become.
Sico watched it through the smoke.
He knew the Republic had not won yet.
Kells still had loyal soldiers.
Some Brotherhood units were still fighting.
The airport remained dangerous.
But the wall that had seemed almost impossible to breach an hour earlier had been shattered from within.
Sico looked toward Sarah and Preston's advancing formations.
"Keep going."
The Republic soldiers moved deeper into Boston Airport.
Behind them came Humvees, Sentinel Tanks, medics, ammunition carriers, and command personnel.
Above them, Vertibirds continued to circle.
Ahead, Madison Li's rebels were securing the route.
And towering above the ruined airport, Liberty Prime moved through the smoke like a machine from another age, its weapons now turned against the very force that had built it.
The Brotherhood had survived the hour.
But the hour had changed everything.
And now, before its loyalists could recover, the Republic was moving into the heart of Boston Airport.
As Danse arrive at Prydwen, the airship was already in chaos when Danse stepped onto the deck.
Vertibirds were being prepared for immediate launch. Crewmen hurried between landing platforms carrying ammunition crates and medical supplies. Officers shouted orders across the deck while operators tried to establish communications with units that were no longer answering.
The normally disciplined rhythm of the airship had disappeared.
Danse barely noticed any of it.
His eyes went straight toward the command section.
Elder Arthur Maxson was standing near the forward railing.
He was furious.
"What the hell is happening down there?"
His voice carried across the deck.
"Someone tell me how Liberty Prime is firing on Brotherhood personnel!"
An officer approached cautiously.
"Elder, we're still trying to—"
"Trying to what?"
Maxson rounded on him.
"We built that machine! We designed its systems! We gave it our identification protocols!"
He pointed toward Boston Airport.
"And now it is destroying our positions!"
The officer lowered his eyes.
"We don't know why, sir."
"Then find out!"
Maxson turned toward the burning airport.
Smoke rose into the sky beneath the Prydwen.
Even from this height, Liberty Prime was unmistakable.
The enormous machine moved through the battlefield while Brotherhood positions collapsed around it.
Maxson stared at the sight with disbelief slowly turning into rage.
"And Madison Li," he said bitterly. "After everything."
Danse approached.
"Elder."
Maxson turned sharply.
"Danse. Report."
Danse didn't waste time.
"Proctor Li has taken control of the technical command area. Proctor Ingram is down. Prime's recognition protocols have been altered."
Maxson's expression hardened.
"I know."
"Then you know the situation is worse than a technical failure."
Maxson stared at him.
"How much worse?"
Danse glanced toward the airport.
"Bad enough that I recommend you move to your office immediately."
Maxson looked offended.
"You're giving me orders?"
"I'm protecting the Elder."
There was no hesitation in Danse's voice.
"That's my priority."
Maxson studied him for a moment.
Then another explosion illuminated the distant ground.
Danse turned toward several nearby Brotherhood soldiers.
"You. You and you."
They straightened.
"Escort the Elder to his office. Establish a protective detail outside the door and another at the access corridor."
"Yes, Paladin."
"Check everyone before they enter. No exceptions."
Maxson opened his mouth.
Danse interrupted him.
"And don't remain exposed on the deck."
Maxson's jaw tightened.
"Understood."
Danse watched several soldiers form around the Elder.
Only when they began moving did he turn away.
Maxson called after him.
"Where are you going?"
"The control room."
"Why?"
"Because someone has taken control of our systems, and I intend to find out how."
Danse disappeared into the interior of the Prydwen.
He reached the control room at a run.
"Open the system logs."
An operator looked at him.
"Paladin, we're getting conflicting authentication records."
"Show me."
The Brotherhood's command network was unraveling faster than anyone could repair it.
Danse leaned over the terminal.
Prime's identification protocols.
Communications routing.
Command authorization.
All of them showed irregularities.
He stared at the data.
Someone hadn't simply sabotaged Prime.
Someone had been inside the Brotherhood's systems long enough to understand exactly what mattered.
Below, the airport continued to disintegrate.
Kells stood behind a ruined defensive wall as another explosion shook the ground.
"Report!"
A radio operator lifted his headset.
"South sector isn't responding."
"What about the western barricade?"
"Lost."
"Eastern ammunition point?"
"Overrun."
Kells swore under his breath.
A Knight hurried toward him.
"Sir, we're down to three functioning heavy weapons."
"How many personnel?"
The Knight hesitated.
"Approximately sixty in this sector."
"Approximately?"
"We've lost track of several squads."
Kells looked toward the smoke.
That was the problem.
There was no longer a reliable line.
Some Brotherhood soldiers were still fighting the Republic.
Others had joined Madison.
Some were simply trying to survive.
And several units had disappeared entirely.
"Get every officer you can find," Kells ordered. "I want a new defensive line around the central structures."
The Knight nodded.
"And the Republic?"
"Delay them where possible."
"And Prime?"
Kells looked upward.
The machine's massive frame moved between ruined buildings.
"Don't engage it unless absolutely necessary."
The Knight stared.
"Sir, it's killing us."
"I know."
Kells's voice dropped.
"But if we waste what little ammunition we have trying to destroy that thing, we won't have enough left to fight anyone else."
A burst of gunfire erupted from behind them.
Everyone spun.
Brotherhood soldiers were firing at one another again.
"Hold!"
Kells ran toward them.
"Hold your fire!"
Two groups stood facing each other across a shattered road.
One wore Brotherhood insignia.
The other did too.
Neither knew who had given the order.
"Lower your weapons!" Kells shouted.
One soldier pointed toward the opposite group.
"They're Li's people!"
"They're lying!"
Kells stepped between them.
"Enough!"
The firing stopped.
For a few seconds, there was only the distant roar of Prime.
Then a new sound came.
Not artillery.
Not gunfire.
Something stranger.
A sharp electrical hum spread across the airport.
Kells looked toward the southern approach.
A blue light appeared.
It began as a small glow between the ruins.
Then it expanded.
Soldiers stopped moving.
The blue radiance washed over shattered concrete, burned vehicles, smoke, and exhausted faces.
Someone whispered:
"What is that?"
Kells didn't answer.
He knew.
He had seen Institute technology before.
But never like this.
The light intensified.
Figures began materializing.
One.
Then several more.
Then dozens.
Institute personnel appeared directly inside the airport.
Synths emerged first, weapons already raised.
Institute soldiers followed.
Scientists and technicians remained farther back while additional teleportation pulses flashed across the battlefield.
Kells stared.
"The Institute?"
A Knight beside him looked terrified.
"They're attacking us."
He was right.
Institute forces immediately opened fire on Brotherhood loyalists.
Synth rifles flashed through the smoke.
Brotherhood soldiers scrambled for cover.
"Return fire!"
Kells ducked behind a concrete slab.
"Who the hell brought them here?"
Another teleportation pulse erupted.
More Institute personnel arrived.
This wasn't a raid.
There were too many.
They were arriving in organized groups, spreading toward predetermined positions and engaging Brotherhood loyalists with deliberate coordination.
Kells slowly understood.
"This was planned."
A radio operator looked at him.
"Sir?"
"They knew exactly where to appear."
The Institute wasn't stumbling into the battle.
They had been invited.
Then Kells saw someone walking through the smoke.
At first, he barely recognized her.
A woman in Institute clothing moved between the arriving forces with complete confidence.
Several Institute personnel immediately turned toward her.
They followed her orders without question.
Kells's eyes narrowed.
"No."
The woman stepped into clearer view.
Nora.
Kells had heard reports.
Rumors.
Stories about the Institute's leadership.
But seeing her here was something else entirely.
A soldier beside him whispered:
"That's Nora."
Kells stared.
"The Director."
Nora continued forward.
Institute forces moved around her like she was the center of the entire operation.
Then she saw Sico.
He had been standing farther ahead with Sarah and Preston, surrounded by Republic officers.
Nora walked toward him.
There was no hesitation.
No uncertainty.
No hostile posture.
Sico turned.
For a moment, the battle seemed to disappear around them.
Nora reached him.
Then kissed him.
Kells stopped breathing.
The soldier beside him simply stared.
Another Brotherhood officer lowered his weapon.
"What…?"
Kells couldn't answer.
Nora stepped back from Sico.
Sico said something to her that Kells couldn't hear.
She smiled.
Then turned toward the Institute forces.
A nearby Institute officer immediately acknowledged her.
"Director."
Kells felt something cold settle in his stomach.
Director.
Not representative.
Not negotiator.
Not captured.
Director.
The leader of the Institute was standing beside Sico.
And Sico wasn't treating her like an enemy.
Neither was she treating him like one.
Kells looked back across the battlefield.
Madison Li.
Liberty Prime.
The Republic.
The Institute.
The strange failures in Brotherhood intelligence.
The movements that had never quite made sense.
The way the Republic had repeatedly appeared to know more than it should.
The pressure that had forced the Brotherhood into increasingly desperate positions.
Madison's rebellion hadn't appeared from nowhere.
Neither had Nora.
Neither had the Institute's arrival.
Kells's face went pale.
"Oh, God."
The officer beside him looked at him.
"Sir?"
Kells grabbed the radio.
"Prydwen, this is Kells."
Static answered.
He tried again.
"Prydwen, respond."
A voice finally came through.
"Prydwen receiving."
Kells swallowed.
"You need to put the Elder on the channel."
There was a pause.
Then Maxson's voice.
"This is Maxson. Report."
Kells stared at Nora and Sico.
His voice almost failed him.
"The Institute is here."
Silence.
"What?"
"They've deployed forces directly into the airport."
Maxson's tone sharpened.
"Are they engaging the Republic?"
Kells looked at the battlefield.
"No."
Another burst of gunfire erupted nearby.
"They're attacking us."
Maxson said nothing.
Kells continued.
"And Elder… there's something else."
"What?"
Kells looked again.
"Nora is here."
The radio went silent.
Then Maxson spoke.
"The Director?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain?"
"I am looking at her."
Kells's breathing became heavier.
"She approached Sico."
Maxson's voice changed.
"What did she do?"
Kells struggled to find the words.
"She…"
He looked at Sico and Nora again.
"They're allies."
Silence.
"No," Maxson said.
Kells closed his eyes briefly.
"I watched them meet."
"That's impossible."
"They're not enemies."
Kells opened his eyes.
"Nora is standing beside Sico while Institute forces attack our loyalists."
Maxson didn't answer.
Kells continued.
"And she kissed him."
The words hung in the radio channel.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Finally, Maxson asked quietly:
"You're certain?"
Kells looked at the destruction surrounding him.
"Yes."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Elder… I think we've misunderstood this war from the beginning."
On the Prydwen, Maxson stood completely still.
The officers around him watched his expression change.
He looked toward Boston Airport.
At first, he seemed unable to process what Kells had said.
Then the pieces began fitting together.
Madison Li.
Prime.
The Institute.
Nora.
Sico.
The Republic's intelligence.
The inexplicable setbacks.
The operations that had repeatedly placed the Brotherhood exactly where its enemies wanted it.
Maxson's hands slowly tightened into fists.
"He knew."
One of the soldiers nearby looked at him.
"Elder?"
Maxson barely heard him.
"Sico knew."
His eyes remained fixed on the airport.
"He knew what we were doing."
The realization became worse.
"He knew where we would move. He knew what we would attack. He knew what we would defend."
His voice hardened.
"And while we were fighting the Institute…"
He stopped.
The implications were enormous.
The Institute hadn't been fighting the Republic.
At least, not truly.
They had been working alongside it.
Maxson suddenly understood why Sico had been so difficult to predict.
He hadn't been fighting alone.
He had been coordinating a war beneath the visible war.
The Brotherhood had spent years preparing for an enemy hidden underground.
And all that time, the enemy had been standing beside the man leading the Republic.
Maxson walked slowly toward the forward windows.
Below, the airport burned.
Republic infantry pushed through the remaining defensive positions.
Madison's Brotherhood rebels secured their captured territory.
Liberty Prime continued its advance.
And blue flashes of Institute teleportation continued appearing among the ruins.
The loyal Brotherhood defenders were being squeezed from every direction.
Maxson stared.
For the first time since taking command, he had no immediate order.
No counterattack.
No tactical maneuver.
No speech capable of restoring the situation.
Only the terrible understanding that the battlefield below was the final expression of a much larger plan.
Kells's voice came through the radio once more.
"Elder?"
Maxson didn't answer immediately.
Kells continued.
"We're losing the central positions."
Maxson finally spoke.
His voice was quieter now.
"How long?"
Kells looked around.
"Not long."
Maxson closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, Boston Airport was still there.
But it no longer looked like a battlefield between the Brotherhood and the Republic.
It looked like a trap that had been closing for months.
Maybe years.
And Sico had been standing at its center the entire time.
Below, another blue flash illuminated the smoke.
Institute troops appeared.
Republic soldiers advanced beside them.
Madison's rebels opened another route through the Brotherhood perimeter.
Liberty Prime took another enormous step.
The Prydwen's deck trembled faintly beneath Maxson's boots.
He stared down at the destruction.
The Brotherhood had believed it was surrounded by enemies.
Now Maxson understood the truth.
It had been surrounded by an alliance, an alliance it had never even known existed.
______________________________________________
• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-