"No signal coming from Croup or from the Lighthouse."
Preston Garvey frowned as he listened to the operator for Radio Freedom. The man switched between multiple frequencies, but found nothing. Within the bastion of the Castle, a place often so alive with activity of troops being trained or caravans moving in and out through the checkpoint, someone could have heard the sound of a pin drop.
"Nothing, sir. I think their transponders must be down."
"We would have heard something from the surrounding settlements." Preston said, his hand up against his chin as he thought things over. "Have one of the caravans gone out that far this morning?"
"One was scheduled to head out from Country Crossing this morning." The operator said after a quick checking of the records. "They should be reporting relatively soon."
"Keep me posted." Preston nodded.
"Yes, sir." The operator said. "Do you want to alert the General?"
"No." Preston said after a moment of thought. "No, not yet. I think he's earned a break from helping settlements for a little bit..."
Sanctuary Hills was heavily fortified and quiet. Besides Diamond City, it was easily one of the most fortified settlements in the Commonwealth. 200 years ago, it hadn't been so. It had been a nice, quiet neighborhood just outside of Concord. Piper couldn't imagine a place like that apart from maybe Diamond City, and even that had had its fair share of problems.
A place of tranquility and peace, where people weren't fearing death by Super Mutants or Raider gangs or the Institute looming over their heads.
No, she couldn't really process such a thought.
At the very least, the Minutemen were bringing the Commonwealth as close as it could get to such a thing. They had had a hard time of it for the longest time, as long as Piper could remember and then some. However, when that man from Vault 111 had wandered out of it, that was when fortunes had begun to turn. They didn't know it yet, but that had been the turning point for the Minutemen and the Commonwealth.
"Hon?"
Piper typed toward the end of a sentence in her RobCo terminal, finishing up the latest op-ed for the Publick.
"Oh, Mrs. Tyler!"
"Coming, coming!" Piper said, getting up and heading over into the other room, finding the tall figure of the General himself standing there with two little bundles in his arms. "Hey, Blue. What's the matter?" She asked, seeing those two bundles wiggling against their father.
"I'm outnumbered!" He laughed.
"Here, give me Glory. You take Nick." Piper said, taking their daughter into their arms, her husband holding the girl's twin. "There you go, Andrew. You're a natural."
"Thanks, hon." Andrew said, holding Nick in his arms, the almost two year old nuzzling against his father, grumbling for lack of mobility options.
"What are they needing? You've fed them? Changed them?" Piper asked.
"Yes and yes." Andrew said. "I just can't get them to settle down for their nap."
"Well, it's a good thing you've got me, then." Piper said. "C'mon, let me show you a trick..."
"How did the feckin' Gunners get back in here anyway?"
"No idea, beautiful, but we're gonna smoke them out." Deacon adjusted his glasses on his nose, flashing Cait a winning smile. The Irish lass rolled her eyes, but readied her baseball bat, the nails that were splintering into the wood at the fatter end ready to deal out some damage.
Deacon was loading up his precious sniper rifle, getting behind one of the Gunners' own barricades. A few other Heavies were out alongside the pair, having pushed in through the front door and taking out the welcome wagon with only some minimal casualties.
Of course, having an Assaultron hacked and on your side definitely made things better, as they had seen in getting in to this point. With most of Vault 75 nicely cleaned out, they were down to the shooting range and the last handful of the Gunners.
"Ready to shove this right up their arses!" Cait wore a grin as she was ready to charge out into the line of fire with reckless abandon.
"Wait a second...do you hear that?" Deacon asked, raising a finger toward the ceiling. Cait stopped, listening intently.
"What are you on about, handsome?" Cait asked. "I don't hear anythin'."
"Exactly." Deacon said. "So either the Gunners are being very, very quiet or..."
"We got a contact!"
"Hold your fire!" Deacon said, waiting to see the form stepping into view, backlit by several flood lights that had been set up. The heavy stomp sound was unmistakable, Deacon had heard it far too many times. Power Armor.
"Brotherhood?!" Cait asked.
"Wait..." Deacon said, gesturing with his raised finger once more, his sniper rifle aimed and ready for the target in question. To his surprise and the surprise of the gathered Heavies, the Power Armor-clad figure tumbled forward onto its front. Behind it was a more diminutive (by comparison) figure. The suit was unmistakable, a Vault suit. However, it was something that had had all sorts of debris attached to it. The thing was...armored, for lack of a better term. He had a variety of weapons to him as well, hanging around his belt and on his back.
The man within the suit must have been in his thirties by the look of it, though Deacon knew firsthand that appearances could be deceiving. He had brown hair, his face was covered by a rather thick beard of the same color. He had an air of familiarity about him...something that Deacon wasn't able to put his finger on.
"Sorry. I think I crashed your party." The man said, slipping a Chinese assault rifle over his shoulder by the strap.
"Who the fuck are you?" Cait asked.
"No one of consequence." The man said. "In fact, it's probably best if you forget I was-"
"Do you have a Geiger counter?" Deacon asked. This earned him a confused look from Cait and a surprised one from the man.
". . .mine is in the shop." The man said, raising a brow. "You guys are Railroad?"
"He is." Cait said. "I'm a tagalong."
"Tourist." Deacon corrected.
"Whatever."
"I guess I was bound to run into you all eventually coming up to Boston. Been a while since I went this far north." The man said.
"Oh, my God... you really are him." Deacon's eyes widened beneath his sunglasses.
"Who? Who is he?" Cait asked Deacon, then looked to the man. "Who are you?"
"Like I said, nobody of consequence." The man said. "Please, tell your leader you cleaned this place out. I'm assuming this was a safehouse? It's clean now. Take the credit. I'll be leaving." He started, Cait extended her baseball bat as if to form a barrier.
"Hold it, you-" Cait started.
"No, Cait. Let him go." Deacon said, putting a hand on her shoulder. The man looked between the two, then sidestepped them both, heading out the way he had come. When the other Heavies looked to Deacon, he shook his head and they allowed the man to pass, heading back up the lift where they had come from and presumably he had as well.
As he left, Deacon finally confirmed it as he saw the faded numbers on the man's back.
". . .we need to head back to Railroad HQ. Now."
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