#patrick donahue

Really you two? Really?!?

14th Dec., 2287

We spent most of yesterday following the tracks through several rocky ravines. There were small pockets of muddy slopes or patches of dead grass between the cliffs. I've determined that we were somewhere northwest of Lake Quannapowitt where the railway came to a complete stop. They were buried beneath tonnes of debris such as fallen trees, medium-sized boulders, blocks of broken concrete from the nearby elevated highway & tonnes of dirt. After closer inspection I came to the conclusion that the obstruction was most likely deliberate.

South of the blockade, we had passed a derailed military shipment with an opened security cage & empty explosives crates all around. I think the tracks were covered to trap shipments & loot their cargo.

Near the blockade on the railway we found two seperate shacks, both showed signs of habitation in the last few months. Crossing the ravines were bridges constructed in similar fashion.

Today, me & Ada continued to investigate similar buildings in the vicinity because their make made me suspect the Raiders were active in the area. On the other side of the highway we found a series of shacks & those were inhabited. We met heavy resistance despite having the higher ground, mainly because they had plenty of grenades. I panicked when I saw one of them with a M-42 Tactical Nuclear Catapult aimed at us. The same guy wore a power armor frame with metallic scrap bolted to it. He finally stopped moving when I applied a sledge to his helmet.

Ada's limbs were severely damaged during the encounter to the point I had to carry her across my shoulders. It wasn't these people that blocked the railway in the first place but I'm certain that they had looted their explosives & power armor from that train.

We travelled back south to locate & check the last shack that Ada had been able to spot. I approached the shack with the minigun in my hands & a grenade within reach, not taking any chances. Poor woman stumbled backwards into a chair, under which her mutt had already scrambled. She was just a simple farmer that had left a settlement behind to dedicate herself to reclaiming the skills of growing crops. I was relieved that she accepted my apology.

I asked the farmer about the surrounding area but she didn't have much to say. The place suited her fine without others, people or anything else, residing nearby. She pointed to the only point of interest in the area & by that I mean the woman pointed at a few large objects that shone bright in the sun.

Downhill from the farm, parts of a crashed airplane jutted out of the ground. There were plenty of skeletal remains of the passengers around the place. Some still strapped in their seats. I located the flight data recorder & listened to the final recordings. I wanted to pay my respects, offer all of them a proper burial but Ada was there to talk me out of it. 

12212287-52

Knight Donahue, personal log entry 52. It came as a surprise to learn that supplies on the Prydwen were sold & not given to us brothers & sisters. I held my tongue because I had recently been given power armor & wanted to avoid seeming ungrateful. Proctor Teagan, quartermaster on the Prydwen, explained that in a world without industries everything is valuable & everyone's caps support the cause. He seemed too content doing nothing but handling caps all day long.

I've spent most of the last few days studying, attending lectures by senior members & reading historical mission reports. Defectors from the United States Armed Forces created the Brotherhood of Steel which helps explain why I feel so at home among their ranks.

The Brotherhood formed to reclaim & preserve knowledge & technology in an effort to protect humanity from itself. To prevent the events of the Great War* from repeating. An army of undetectable, mass-produced androids is only the latest threat. *The detonation of nuclear weapons all over the world, only lasted for two hours.

Despite an apocalypse, there were still a lot to learn about the world & Scribe Singh helped me make sense of things. I learned that "Raiders" is a generic term for groups of lawless & often violent scavengers, not a specific gang! I also learned that the New England Commonwealth is now only referred to as "The Commonwealth".

Senior Scribe Neriah, head of biological research, lectured about mutated organisms most commonly found in the Commonwealth. Intense & prolonged exposure to radiation has mutated many species of insects & is the cause of ghoulification among mammals, including humans. Super mutants (humans & canines) on the other hand mutated because of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, once created in the search for a cure of the New Plague before the war.

The topic made me worry about the future, Shaun's to be specific. I asked the scribe what I should do to best protect my son. She rambled about her research with words beyond my understanding but then made me an offer, I bring her bio-samples & is the first to get my hands on the finished anti-rad-serum.

Today I was shown my very own bunk & footlocker on the main deck. It’s situated under one of the Prydwen's balloons, on a platform above the archives. The area mainly smells of gas & grease, which I can get used to, but also a stink of ratshit coming from Scribe Neriah's pens. One night's sleep in a real bed before my first mission as Knight.

Paladin Danse had requested a minor mission to allow me to get used to the T-60 armor. Our objective will be to scout & possibly clear a potential food stock.

7th Dec., 2287

I find myself in Goodneighbor once again. The first thing I did after coming here was to visit Daisy, of course. I informed her about the status of the Boston Public Library & then we talked for a good two hours about the best & worst litterature. For a moment Det. Valentine came to mind but I pushed it aside. Why waste that sentiment on just another robot?

 There's just something about Daisy that puts me at ease even though she is a ghoul. I guess she reminds me of Nora, always ready to counter a dry joke with one of her own. That's the reason I slipped up when talking to Daisy & mentioned I enjoyed Grognak the Barbarian. When I thought she'd laugh in my face she instead mentioned Kent Connolly, another resident in town.

I found Mr. Connolly at the Memory Den in his own private room at the establishment. Kent was another ghoul & just like Daisy had been around since before the bombs. I enjoy reading the Grognak comics. Mr. Connolly, on the other hand, has reduced his life to obsessively relive memories of The Silver Shroud & now lived at the Memory Den. When Mr. Connolly wanted to pay me to acquire memorabilia for him I couldn't help but to pity him.

Perhaps on some level I understand. I began reading the comics before I moved for high school. His life is filled with risk & adventure but never worry or afterthought. I admire his certainty against any odds & that taking action seems so easy. 

Prolonged time spent in a suit of power armor is also a bit like living another life. I hadn't browsed the alley market for more than 28 minutes until I got so cold I began to visibly shiver. For these last few weeks I've spent most hours of the day in the relative comfort of my armor which explains why the chill of December snuck up on me. I dug up my old fur hat from the bottom of my bag, 200 odd years in a drawer has added a smell of dust to it, but at least it keeps my ears & gnoggin' warm.

17th Dec., 2287

A few hours after midnight I was woken up by heavy vibrations in the floor that I slept on. The old station shook as the vertibird landed on its roof. Reinforcements were brought to the location via the transport, soldiers of the Brotherhood, one who wore a T-60 power armor. 

I was under the impression that all of Squad Gladius would be extracted but both Haylen & Rhys remained in Cambridge. Shortly before takeoff the pilot of the vertibird told me that Ada would have to stay behind due to weight restrictions. For a moment I felt torn but I knew this is my best chance at locating the Institute & getting Shaun back. Me & Ada talked about it, I offered suggestions on where she could seek refuge & promised to return to fix her legs.

At dawn, the vertibird took me & Danse from the ruins of Boston up to the massive airship. The Prydwen, as it's called, is anchored to the control tower at Boston Airport. I was even more impressed by it up close than at a distance.

Lancer Captain Kells, captain of the airship, greeted us on the flight deck. He was accompanied by Scribe Initiate Singh who brought me straight to the infirmary on recommendation by Haylen. Knight-Captain Cade, medical officer on the Prydwen, was eager to examine me. The voice of Elder Maxson, leader of the Brotherhood, was broadcast over the PA system. The speech revealed, to most of us, that they had come to the New England Commonwealth to combat the Institute & their synth technology.

The medical officer began with a general examination that was mandatory for all new recruits. Afterwards, Cade could quite quickly confirm Haylen's suspicions that I was infected with parasites. They didn't knock me out but I was given something more than just Med-X because now most of today is just a haze.

Captain Cade, assisted by Initiate Singh, removed a total of five large parasites. Two from in between my ribs, two from my right shoulder & the last one was cut out from behind the left side of my jaw. Afterwards, Singh showed one of them to me, it looked like a crushed brown snail & was nearly a foot long. She explained that it was most likely a kind of parasitic worm from before the bombs that had mutated & that I had more inside me!

To kill the rest of the parasites I'm going to eat anti-parasite medicine & antibiotics for a few days. And for this duration the knight-captain has ordered rest & to remain on the airship. Singh also gave me an eyepatch to wear for my left eye readjusts after the prior injury.

Paladin Danse came to check on me in the evening. He admitted it was his fault Ada was left behind because the Brotherhood only allows tech that is catalogued & approved by the scribes. Danse reminded me of his intention to sponsor me. It's a big deal, this sponsorship, because it’s my best chance to officially join the Brotherhood of Steel, but if I fuck up both of us shall meet consequences. I'm not sure why he offered it to me but I'll do anything to free Shaun.

I had begun writing this entry late at night when I got a surprise visitor. A straight-backed man about my own age, scars across his face as proof of combat experience, dressed in a long leather jacket & a P.A. jumpsuit underneath. It was Elder Maxson himself. He came to personally welcome me into the Brotherhood of Steel & he also promoted me to the rank of Knight straight away. Danse's mission reports had proven my combat training & power armor experience to earn the promotion. For the duration of the treatment & prescribed rest, Elder Maxson suggested I should get to know the crew of the Prydwen as well as the history, ideals & rules of the Brotherhood.

16th Dec., 2287

The road* back towards Cambridge was a long one. Not because of mindless ghouls or aggressive gangs but because of pain. The ache in my torso got worse & more distinct down my flanks. I figured it was likely due to the added weight of carrying Ada but saw no solution to the situation. When taking a deep breath started to hurt I decided to take Med-X to numb the pain.  *Figuratively. 

I felt an unexpected level of relief upon return to the Cambridge Police Station. Rhys seemed to look better but I was informed that Danse's search for additional medical supplies at a nearby hospital was abandoned due to a large number of Raiders members.

I was given access to a terminal to detail my mission report. To begin there were minor stretches of incomplete tracks that would need repairs, most of them concentrated near Graygarden. A total of 8 derailed train cars would need to be displaced & another 18 to be restored in order to free up the railway. Major obstruction northwest of Quannapowitt consisting of debris would require removal before further scouting north. Potential attack threats by feral ghouls at & around Bedford Station & by members of the Raiders armed with explosives in the general area west of the lake. Lastly, I motivated my decision to abandon the scouting assignment because of the large obstruction & a focus on locating & securing the area for my own personal safety.

Haylen's a perceptive sort. While I was working on the report she had noticed that I felt sick. She technically ordered me to be subject to an examination & I had no reason to refuse. I talked about the increasing pains & mentioned bouts of fever. Haylen scolded me for not taking the fever more seriously & informed me Stimpaks nor Med-X cures it. Further questioning revealed my decreasing issues with diarrhea. Haylen said she suspected an infection or parasites but that she was unable to confirm it at the station. She strongly suggested I'd visit the medical officer on the airship when we got there.

The woman also has a pleasant sense of humor, able to decrease tension by cracking a joke. She even put Rhys on the spot for a moment.

I decided to spend the time trying to repair Ada while we were waiting for the evac that was gonna take us to the airship. The garage of the station had a workbench & tools that allowed me to create temporary non-jointed legs for Ada. With damage this severe it would technically be easier to take functional legs from another robot & connect to her torso. 

9th Dec., 2287

That temperatures here in the New England Commonwealth would be lower in mid-December compared to late October is reasonable. How much could the climate really change over two centuries? I've realized that the intermittent shivers aren't caused, at least not only, by the cold of the season but also a fever. Not much I could do about in an old hardware store.

We kept moving west & reached Cambridge roughly an hour after noon. Ada detected movement ahead of us where a space opened up among the houses. It was a large graveyard adjacent to an old style cathedral. I spotted the stumbling of feral ghouls among the headstones & overgrown grass & soon realized they were feeding upon something or someone.

Hopeful that the meal would keep the ghouls busy, we tried to keep moving towards the police station. I don't know what it was that attracted their attention, maybe Ada's clanking & the smell of a fresh meal, but we found ourselves dispatching 10 or so of them. I thought it would be respectful to at least move the mostly intact bodies into the graveyard & that's when I noticed dog tags. At least two of these things had once been soldiers like me. I felt my heart sink & told myself the least I could do was to hold on to their tags as a way to preserve even the tiniest memory of them. 

COL. A. Engel of 4th Armored Infantry Division SrA. F. Endrizzi of 82nd Airborne

A swarm of yellow eyebots charged upon us in the graveyard & were soon supported by a former sentry bot. The last time we crossed paths with robots like these (yesterday), those were loudly replaying the Mechanist's preaching, but this time they were silent. I could easily identify the "handiwork" though. Is it possible that only one man could modify & manage all these robots by himself? They seem to cover the Commonwealth at this point.

We returned to the police station before sundown to deliver the tech to Haylen. I think she was pleased with the acquisition. A few hours of rest now before Rhys will fill me in on the details of securing a railway.

12162287-51

Knight Donahue, personal log entry 51. Pain from the incisions & side-effects of the meds severely limited my ability to explore the Prydwen. Instead, I've spent a lot of time talking to Cade & Singh. She helped me reprogram my Pip-Boy to allow proper recording & transfer of mission reports & other logs. Scribe Initiate Singh is like a train, when she is on the "right" track she listens to nobody & is almost impossible to stop.

Knight-Captain Cade does everything by the books which can make him seem dry or even uncaring. But he knows & keeps an eye on all of the Prydwen's crew. He was curious about my experiences with the rumored biological synths. I was honest & said that if I had been in contact with one, then I was unaware of it.

Like myself, the Brotherhood had crossed paths with the plastic synth variants & studied their make. In turn I asked him about cybernetic implants & Cade told me it was an expensive, rare & risky practice more often seen in the New California Republic. That's what NCR must stand for!

I finally got a chance to clean myself. They disinfected me before they cut me open but now I could scrub behind my ears & between my toes. I managed to shave on my own & Singh helped me cut my hair. Despite my attempts I still felt unclean, especially knowing worms were still inside me. I barely recognized the person in the mirror with more than just one scar & very hollow eyes & cheeks. The parasites are to blame!

Paladin Danse had mentioned that my new rank would earn me a full suit of power armor. Curiosity got the better of me & I carefully snuck over to the engineering bay this evening. In five out of six P.A. workstations there stood complete sets of the T-60 series, all remarkably well-preserved. I only studied their schematics & never worked with one hands on.

When I stood admiring the T-60s a woman in a naked P.A. frame approached me. After a brief discussion on the improved core shielding of T-60s compared to T-45s, we both knew the other knew their power armor. She was Proctor Ingram, engineering officer on the airship. Already knowing who I was, she motioned to the next T-60 over & told me it was my very own.

Proctor Ingram praised me for the level of detail that I provided in my report on the train track mission. But she was skeptical towards, perhaps even amused by, my recommendation to repair & restore functionality of carriages still on the tracks to later free up the railway. She told me to come back & report to her in the bay when I was back on duty. I would only be happy to oblige.