Fallout 4: AR

23. ArcJet

As we moved down the road, I was hard pressed to keep up with Danse and his seemingly indefatigable drive towards his goal. MacCready was able to easily keep up, but would frequently slow down so as not to leave me behind and to keep the gap between us reasonable. When we came upon a group of raiders harassing a trading caravan, he barely slowed down, taking them by surprise and decimating the surprised attackers without more than a couple of bullets glancing off of Danse's armor. The caravan members barely had time to wave their thanks before we were past, still moving fast. The paladin was a force of nature, an inevitable thunderstorm crackling with red laser fire. It was almost laughable to think he needed my help for anything.

We reached the ArcJet building in less than an hour, though I was winded and dragging by the time we entered the perimeter. Maybe I should have suggested a quick rest before charging off on another trek, I thought, wheezing a little as I finally caught up with the others. Danse and MacCready were waiting by the front door.

As soon as I joined them, Danse spoke. "Listen up. We do this clean and quiet. No heroics and by the book. Understood? Remember, our primary target is the Deep Range Transmitter." Satisfied we were properly briefed, he quietly opened the doors and we went inside.

The lobby and hallways were a maze of destruction. Danse took point, seemingly undeterred by the piles of debris and scattered furniture. Taking MacCready's murmured suggestion, we let the paladin move ahead while the two of us quickly searched the area, digging through drawers to find valuables and useful items. Being a technology center, there were quite a few items we thought would be lucrative, and small enough to stow in our packs. Danse ranged ahead, calling for us when he came upon a computer locked door.

"All right, Boss, time to show 'im what you're worth," MacCready encouraged, "Earn us those caps." The lab had a working terminal in the center of the room, facing the mag-locked doors. Danse had stationed himself right in front of the steel panels, impatiently waiting to proceed. It was obvious what I had to do. Thank goodness my Pip-Boy makes me an instant hacker, just add water! Sure enough, as soon as I had teased out the correct sequence, the door opened with a hiss...

...and bolts of bright blue laser fire seared into the dim room as several humanoid robots marched determinedly through the door. They fired relentlessly, the beams narrowly missing me as I hastily ducked under the solid desk. "Institute Synths!" identified Danse, angrily. He swept his laser rifle in a long arc, matching shot for shot with red bolts of his own, while MacCready retreated back to the doorway to flank with his sniper. I hastily grabbed my laser pistol and popped up from behind the desk to focus on one of the robots.

As soon as my V.A.T.S. system kicked in, the three remaining Synths all halted for a moment, then, in an eerie synchronization of movement, turned to point their weapons in my direction. They did not fire, but moved forward towards my position, giving Danse and MacCready the perfect opportunity to finish them off in a barrage of electricity and ballistics. Exchanging a perplexed look we carefully examined the remains, finding nothing exceptional.

"I thought you said Synths were undetectable from humans?" I asked. Our assailants looked even less human than Valentine, with spindly metal limbs and no disguising flesh or even clothing, just the barest of bipedal forms.

"Gen 3 Synths, yes." MacCready reminded me. "These appear to be Gen 1. Guess the Institute uses them for field troops or something."

"All Synthetic life in an abomination." Danse said emphatically. "Synths are an abuse of technology created by the Institute. Abominations meant to "improve" upon humanity and the very epitome of what the Brotherhood fights to prevent. They must be destroyed without hesitation or mercy." He grimly tromped ahead, power armor making noisy footfalls down the next maze of rooms. "If the Institute is here, there must be a few pieces of salvage that the Brotherhood might be interested in. After we're done here I'll have to mark this place for sweep and retrieval." His voice was fading as he continued down the hallway and MacCready and I hurried to catch up.