Property of Vault-Tec

Yesterday was the first time I fully realized why. From the second I stepped into the elevator, while Father was yapping on about how amazing the Institute is over the speakers, until the moment I left the Institute, it felt like I was a visitor being allowed access to look around a cult compound.

From the dehumanizing way the people inside the Institute talk about "surface dwellers" to their horrendous experiments. The way they glorify Father. The FEV lab and the terminals and holotapes you find in there. Hell, there's literally a moment where you can witness Dr. Volkert giving a synth an experimental injection. The synth asks if it will hurt and Volkert just dismissively goes, "Well, I guess that's your job to find out."

And don't get me started on the terminals and holotapes about the synth child. Or the very existence of the SRB.

It reminds me of those cheerful and "loving" cult compounds in documentaries and horror movies. There's a foreboding feeling that sits in my chest while there. A feeling that swells with each Department Head I meet, with each conversation I overhear.

Until finally, I have Sole draw their gun and kill Justin Ayo. (Though his caustic personality does factor in there. )

A month later, Sole walks back into the Railroad's hideout, their time had been spent retrieving material for Sturges to build the teleporter. And what they'd learned in the Institute before deliberately getting themselves banished had been devastating. The truth about Shaun aka Father. They haven't told anyone yet, except for Dogmeat. But they had realized rather quickly that they were going to have to do the unthinkable for the greater good. To protect the innocents of the Commonwealth, they're going to have to destroy the Institute and probably kill their son.

So they're burying themself in work, keeping busy so they don't have to think about it. And it was obvious that even with the full force of the Minutemen the Institute outnumbered them. So they need to even the odds with the Railroad's help. Once again they have Nick with them.

"You might have to step in if my mouth gets carried away, Nick. I'll try not to tell them that they're good intentioned but stupid. Especially since their security still sucks." Sole says, plainly. Uncaring of the fact that the catacomb's acoustics carried her words straight to the Railroad agents.

After an awkward and somewhat tense second meeting with Desdemona, Deacon and Glory, where Sole explains that they want to bring down the Institute but need the additional manpower of the Railroad to do so. Nick managed to somewhat smooth things over enough for a proper discussion to be had.

"If we're going to be dealing more with each other, I need to make sure that we're on the same page." Desdemona says, eyeing Sole warily. "You know what a synth is, right?"

In their already brittle emotional state, Sole doesn't know whether to laugh or snap at the ridiculous question. Instead they cast a quick glance at Nick, then deadpan, "No."

About the Introduction posts they're based off of what happened in various playthroughs of mine, obviously with my own creative changes. So a lot of what Sole says is what I yell at the TV while playing. Things that Soles says or remembers doing (like one shotting the courser) is what actually happened in one of my playthroughs.

The previously dark passageway floods with light and a harsh woman's voice fills the air. "Stop. Right. There." Sole's eyes land on the Railroad's welcoming party and believes their assumption that this is just the Railroad's vetting checkpoint was correct. The red-headed woman, who seems to be the one in charge, flanked by a shotgun wielding man and a mini gun wielding woman, stares sternly at Sole. "You went through a lot of effort to arrange this meeting. But before we go any further, answer my questions. Who the hell are you?" Sole cocked an eyebrow. 'Okay, so maybe not as underwhelming. This is clearly just a vetting checkpoint for the paranoid shadowy organization to make sure we're not working for the Institute. Once they know I'm safe, they'll take me to their actual HQ and their leader.' "I followed the Freedom Trail looking for the Railroad. I'm not your enemy." Sole reassures.

"If that's true, you have nothing to fear." The redhead responds. "Who told you how to find us?" "Overheard some random person in Diamond City talking about you and the Freedom Trail and realized you might be the exact faction I need." Sole catches a glimpse of a dark-haired man with sunglasses approaching the welcoming party from deeper into the tunnel. "Very interesting." The redhead responds. "Last question. Why are you here?" "I killed a courser for his chip and figured one of your people would be able to decode it for me." Sole says with a mere shrug. "You what? This is not a joking matter." The redhead responds in disbelief. The dark-haired man steps up and chimes in. "I didn't know we're having a party. What gives with my invitation?" He glances over at Sole and Nick. "Oh, I see you invited the Courser-Killer. Nice." The redhead glances over her shoulder at the man. "Deacon. You're late. You're saying this intruder actually killed a Courser? Single-handedly?" "I mean technically Nick was there. We fought through a whole tower of pissed off Gunners, reached the Courser who just walked right up to me and asked if the Institute sent me to help him recapture the synth girl. I told him that I was actually there to kill him for his chip. He drew his weapon and I blew his head off with my shotgun." Sole chips in like it was the simplest thing, earning a chuckle of disbelief from the red-head. "That'd give even Glory a run for her money." She says, nodding in the direction of the woman holding the mini gun. Sole's eyebrows shoot up in befuddlement at how this obvious badass with a fucking mini gun supposedly wouldn't be able to do exactly what they did. "I must've fought a defective one then." They say after a moment.

Sole and Nick Valentine, make their way into Old North Church's catacomb. Sole gestures to a painted lantern symbol as they pass it. "I gotta say for a shadowy organization that's supposed to be the hard to find super paranoid enemy of the Institute, so far I'm underwhelmed." Sole says as Nick takes out a feral that begins charging at them. "What do you mean?" The synth detective asks, once he's sure the feral ghoul is down for the count. "Well their supposedly vague phrase Follow the Freedom Trail turned out to be literal." Sole explains as they continue to walk, casually shooting down anything that jumped out at the. "Follow the actual Freedom Trail - easy to spot because it's red brick with impossible to miss fresh red paint lines where rubble has covered the original.

"Eight Freedom Seals at major landmarks, each with a red painted letter and number, the letters being an obvious anagram of 'RAILROAD'. So either this is a trap for the Institute to capture or kill people stupid enough to follow this trail. OR this is a test by the Railroad and at the end of these tombs is a difficult cipher that will lead us to the next test." Sole concluded, glancing at Nick as they walked. "You may have a point." Nick said after a moment of contemplation. "It is a bit too obvious for a collective smart enough to hide from the Institute all this time. I'll be the optimist and lean towards this being a test." "Fine. But I'm keeping my weapon out. And not just because this place is teeming with ferals. Case in point..." Sole shoots a charging feral in the head with their shotgun, taking it down. Sole reloads their weapon as Nick walks ahead a few feet. "Take a look at this." Nick calls over to Sole. Sole joins Nick at the end of the catacombs where a final seal is waiting on the wall. Sole touches it and realizes that the parts move. "Guessing this is what the password was for." Sole begins spinning and pressing on the seal to input RAILROAD while they speak, "Absolute best case scenario, this is a passageway that leads to a vetting area. And the handful of Railroad agents waiting there will only take us to their HQ after they've been reassured we're not Institute spies."

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