It was just my three companions that penetrated into the headquarters building. While the Minutemen had been invaluable in seizing the base, too many people in the tight confines of the central building would just invite heavier casualties. With the boosted strength and resilience of the powersuit, along with Nick and Curies' natural toughness (owing to their metal bodies), I decided that we were the closest thing there to a breach team anyway.

 

I thought it was inconceivable that Kellogg wouldn't expect us to find the roof access eventually, so I expected trouble right away. When that didn't materialize, I decided to try for a stealth approach. The top level of the building was a crumbling office complex, with lots of half-intact walls to creep along... but also lots of blind corners and shadowed alcoves to conceal ambushers. Unfortunately, whatever subtlety my suit offered me, Curie didn't possess, and a roving patrol of synths homed in on the sound of her machinery before we cleared the first large room. From that point forward, it was a running battle.

 

 

As we fought, the synths occasionally spoke - not to me, not even really to one another, just... spoke. "Asset: Kellogg - in danger. Defending." was a common refrain. I wondered if these synths were in contact with some sort of external director or control system, though they fought with the same level of lifelike cleverness as their counterparts outside. 

 

Further complicating matters, Kellogg's people had set up remote sentry guns throughout the offices, always arrayed in blind spots to be able to shoot at us from the sides or behind if we didn't advance carefully. The combination of the turrets slowing us down and the synths fighting as a coordinated unit made our advance perilous, to say the least. 

 

 

The next level down contained more offices, as well as a reception area that had survived somewhat more intact - albeit strewn with trash and debris. Another squad of synths was waiting for us, this time shooting at us from behind a makeshift barricade. They were using some sort of nasty thermal beam that - in addition to heating up my suit worryingly - was combusting the air around me. I heard metal plates snap shut over my breathing tube and suddenly, like it or not, I was holding my breath. Text flashed on the helmet faceplate, and a moment later I could feel cold air entering my lungs again.

 

!! WARNING !! Excessive heat detected. Switching to oxygen reserve.

!! WARNING !! Suit temperature exceeding safe limits. Seek immediate shelter.

 

 

I wouldn't say I panicked, but the new weapon certainly impressed some tunnel-vision-like focus on me, and I entirely forgot about the hand grenades that could have easily cleared the synths from behind the barricade. Instead, I triggered a biofuel injection and rushed the one with the heat ray, gunning him down. Once his weapon wasn't playing over my suit anymore, I vaulted the barricade and dispatched the other shooters while Curie and Nick came at them from the other side.

 

As the last one went down, it muttered, "directive received from: Kellogg. Destroy intruder."

 

Ironically, the closest I got to being taken down in on that floor was an encounter with a simple land mine. I rapid beeping warning played in my ears as a message flashed across my helmet visor:

 

!! IMMEDIATE EVASIVE !! Explosive device detected

 

I backpedaled as fast as I could, but the fragmentation device picked me up and hurled me into the back wall. It had taken the wind out of me, and I felt like my leg was wrenched out of its socket, but the suit itself didn't seem breached. More messages flashed fast over my faceplate, and I could feel saline solution gushing out of the butt plug and into my colon. A moment later, the pain faded away and warmed pulsed throughout my body.

 

!! ALERT !! Hyperbaric trauma detected. Administering Stim-Pak™ 

!! CAUTION !! Opioids are habit-forming. Administer Med-X™? [Yes] [No] Selection overridden by custom rule set. Administering Med-X™

!! NOTICE !! Custom rule set triggered. Administering Duloxetine

!! NOTICE !! Custom rule set triggered. Administering Pregabalin

 

 

"You OK in there?" Nick asked.

 

I stood slowly, not putting too much pressure on my leg at first, but the Stim-Pak had done its job and my range of motion was back. Even with the Med-X I was sore all over, and I suspected I'd need some serious rest when this was all over.

 

"The suit saved me," I said. "I just need a second to walk off the wooziness."

 

Curie hovered close, scanning me with a sensor, "I'm detecting elevated blood pressure and heartrate. You should avoid strenuous activity until your vital signs stabilize."

 

I waved her off. "Thanks, I appreciate the warning. The suit is supposed to be managing my... oh, I think that's it now." As another squirt of liquid sloshed into my colon, more messages flashed before me.

 

!! CAUTION !! Elevated blood pressure detected. Administering Thiazide

 

"Oh yes, I see," Curie chirped, "that suit is very useful, isn't it?"

 

"Would you believe I found it in a root cellar? I don't want to think how many situations would have gone bad if I didn't have it. But we need to keep moving - it's only a matter of time before Kellogg takes another crack at us."

 

This time, we got the drop on them - Nick gestured for me to stop, pointing at a spot that looked like the perfect ambush position. And lo and behold: there was another squad of synths just settling in to wait for us. We rushed them before they were ready, and blasted through them in a hail of gunfire.

 

 

There was one final bunch of them before we got into the sublevels of the fort. They'd set up a heavy split-beam laser and were using it to deny us a lengthy corridor. I knew I couldn't rush a position like that, even with biofuel-boosted speed, and so I got a wall between me and the shooter and waited for a break in the fire to lean out and shoot back. This continued for a while, and during the exchange I heard one of the synths intone, "Initiate directive Sigma Omicron: Protect Kellogg."

 

I ended up having to shoot the heavy gunner in the face twice. The first time just shattered his plastic faceplate, and the second, a couple of exchanges later, melted his head right off his body. He kept firing, but it was obvious he couldn't aim anymore, and I was able to get past his cone of fire and put a long burst into him. With their heavy weapon out of action, we were able to roll up the rest of the squad relatively easily, and from there we had a clear shot to the basement elevator (notwithstanding a few land mines that this time I did avoid).

 

The basement was claustrophobic and eerily quiet. I was sure there were more synths down here, maybe even a few mercenary holdouts, but they hadn't decided to rush the elevator. We proceeded cautiously, taking our time to ensure we didn't blunder into more attackers.

 

 

Our quiet time didn't last long: turning a corner, we found ourselves in the sights of another machine gun turret, and the explosion from its destruction brough another wave of synths.

 

"Kellogg has ordered your termination," one of them stated matter-of-factly as he charged me, shooting from the hip. 

 

After we felled that group, the PA system crackled to life. Kellogg's voice emanated forth. "You know, I liked you better as a frozen TV dinner. You looked stunning that vault suit, cozy as a pea in a pod... or maybe an apple in a cobbler."

 

"Did I ever mention I really dislike this man," Nick added.

 

"Do not pay attention to him, you too," Curie suggested, "I believe he is trying to distract you."

 

"I know your house has been a wreck for two hundred years," he continued, "but I don't need a roommate. Just leave. I'll be done here in a day or two, then you'll never see me again."

 

Needless to say, I declined his suggestion, and soon we penetrated into the fort's underground command bunker. While, it was crumbling, it was marginally more intact than the headquarters building. The power was out in the first room, but I could see signs of illumination in an adjoining hallway - so there was still some source of electricity down here. 

 

 

Kellogg seemed to be speaking stream of consciousness now, "huh, I never expected to see you again, you know. I figured you'd get out some time, but I figured it was 50/50 odds you make it to Diamond City and disappear into the crowd, or you get chewed up like jerky by the Commonwealth. Or just turned into jerky by the local raiders."

 

If his plan was to distract us, it failed. We saw the next squad of synths coming and forced them to come to us down a long hallway. It didn't end well for them.

 

 

"Look, you're pissed off. I get it. I do," he rattled on. "But whatever you hope to accomplish here? It's not going to go your way."

 

"Starting to sound pretty desperate," Nick observed.

 

I thought entered by mind as we continued to sweep through the bunker. "Hey Nick, do you think the mercenaries were synths too?"

 

He seemed to chew on that for a moment. "It's possible. Synths these days, they're not like me anymore. You'll meet one sooner or later... no way to tell them apart from a human, at least not until they go crazy or give themselves away. They've still got some machine parts on the inside, but the only way to find the components is in an autopsy. So yeah, maybe they were. But why make a bunch of synth mercenaries when you can just hire normal ones?"

 

"Secrecy, maybe," I mused. "Maybe Kellogg can tell us."

 

"You got guts and determination," Kellogg continued. "That's admirable. But you are in over your head in ways you can't possibly comprehend."

 

Another group of synths attacked us as Kellogg talked, and one of them was a heavily armored one like the group that had taken up positions on the roof during the fight for the base. He was tough to take down, and that was the point where I remembered my grenades. While the long corridor was a dangerous field to advance through, it also didn't offer the synths any kind of cover, and quickly they were blown to pieces.

 

 

"It's not too late. Stop. Turn around and leave. You have that option. Not a lot of people can say that."

 

"Definitely getting desperate," I said.

 

Not long after that announcement, we entered a habitation block, seemingly set up for high ranking officers. In one room, I found an out-of-place sight: undamaged, and in fact seemingly brand new furniture that was clearly out of place. Filing cabinets, chairs, beds - this was someone's little office and bedroom. I wondered if this was Kellogg's place.

 

 

"OK," Kellogg said, sighing, "you made it. I'm just up ahead. My synths are standing down. Let's talk."

 

Two more doors, and I was standing face to face with Kellogg for the second time - third time, I suppose. 

 

"So, here we are," he said. "Funny, huh?"

 

"End of the line, Kellogg," I said. "I want my son back, and I want answers."

 

"You might as well turn around right now," he said. "Go back the way you came. Shaun? Despite being a bit older than you're expecting, I'm afraid he's not even here."

 

 

"So you see?" he continued, "it is the end of the line. Just not the way you imagined."

 

"Then you're going to take me to him," I said. "You're coming with us."

 

 

"Take you to him?" He laughed at that, laughed long and hard. "Like I could, even if I wanted to. Don't you get it? Your son? He's in a place nobody can reach. Shaun's safe. At home. In the Institute."

 

I'd been fearing that was the answer ever since the synth army battled us at the fort, but I refused to accept the idea that I'd failed. "Whether it's here or the Institute," I said, "I'll find Shaun. No matter where he is."

 

"Ha, that's the spirit," Kellogg mocked. Or was it mockery? Because the words that followed argued against that. "You know, you surprise me. I have to admit, I find myself actually kind of... liking you. You might have actually been a good mother. You've certainly got the dedication. But it's ultimately useless."

 

 

Then the smile faded from his face and he shrugged. "But I think we've been talking long enough. We both know how this has to end. So... you ready?"

 

"Oh, I'm ready," I hissed. "Are you?"

 

I was expecting for Kellogg to draw on me, not for him to disappear. But just like that, he vanished and his synths started shooting. I almost returned fire, but they were fast drawing a bead on me and instead I hit the biofuel and dashed out of the room, taking out one synth on the way out. From there, with at least some minimal cover, we pushed back in, picking off the synths one at a time and trying to find where Kellogg had vanished to.

 

And then that motherfucker jumped out from behind a console and started blasting with his huge pistol. The one he shot Nate with. He was going for me, but Nick was closer, and he grabbed Kellogg by the lapels and threw him to the floor Judo style. I swear to God I aimed for his legs, I tried to disable him, but I plugged him in the stomach, my laser burning deep into his gut. A moment later the last synth went down, and I rushed to him. I stuck a Stim-Pak into him, but it was too late. Kellogg was already dead.

 

"At least that bastard won't be hurting anyone else," Nick said.

 

 

I wanted to scream. It wasn't just that I'd told Cosmos I'd try to take him alive. I could deal with failing in that promise. It was that... fuck, Kellogg was my last lead on finding Shaun. Sure, he'd told me about the connection to the Institute, but I could have figured that out on my own. I needed to know how to get to the Institute. And that was a mystery that no one seemed to have an answer for. 

 

"We need to tear this place apart," I said. "Look for any clue, any intelligence."

 

And that's exactly what we did. Every powered terminal, every file cabinet, every destroyed synth, we rifled through them all. Me and Nick, at least. Curie stayed behind and set about inspecting Kellogg's corpse. I could hear her commenting repeatedly about Kellogg's cybernetic implants. Apparently, the man himself wasn't completely human. 

 

I didn't find anything useful. One terminal confirmed that Kellogg was here working for the institute, apparently looking for information about a renegade, but the details were all incredibly vague. I also found some evidence that Kellogg was a bit of a gamer, something that might have been funny and a little humanizing under other circumstances. All I could think about in the moment was that this was the kind of man who could kidnap a child for cash, and then sit down and enjoy a computer game. It sickened me.

 

 

It was Curie who found what would ultimately become the most important clue. It turned out that while we were searching, she was dissecting. Still slick with gray matter and blood, she offered me a piece of circuitry and plastic, one of several such parts lying on the ground.

 

"I do not know if this will help," she said, "but Kellogg had this device implanted in his brain. Perhaps it contains some piece of the puzzle?"

 

 

"You know, its a better lead than what I've found so far," I admitted. "Now we just need to find a brain surgeon. Someone who knows about biomech...an...ics." Even as the word rolled off my tongue, I thought about the one place I'd heard the term.

 

"Nick, I think we need to talk to Susan Cain."

 

"If she knows about... that, then I think you're right," he agreed, pointing at the gory implant in my hand. "Now that we know Kellogg wasn't giving us any bull - now that we know your son's on the inside? If she has any idea about anything connected to Kellogg, it's the best shot we have. Nobody knows how to get into the Institute. Even I don't, and they built me. But everyone leaves a trace somewhere. Maybe the Institute left a trace inside Kellogg."

 

 

"Hell," he added, "even if Cain can't help us, we need some fresh eyes. I think you need to talk with your girl Piper. She's probably the only person other than you who'd be willing to snoop in the Institute's tail feathers."

 

"Then Abernathy Farm it is. And from there, on to Concord and Doctor Cain."

 

"Hey, chin up," he said. "I know the night just got darker, but it won't last forever."

 

"What about you?" I asked. "Looks like your case is closed. You heading back to Diamond City?"

 

"Let's talk about that once you're back home. Truth be told, I haven't decided. I need to think through my plans, and this dump isn't the place to do it."

 

We backtracked out of the bunker after that, and that should have been the end of our adventure in Joint Base Hagen. But it wasn't. There was one last surprise. A huge fucking airship buzzing right over the base, escorted by vertibirds.

 

 

"People of the Commonwealth," a loudspeaker announced. "Do not interfere. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel."

 

Behind me, I heard Curie say, "if mankind can still do something like that... there is hope."

 

But to me, hope wasn't the emotion I was feeling about this new arrival. I was feeling deep, cold, foreboding.