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(A/N: I just found out one of my earliest readers and supporters by the name DeathGun24 made his own novel based on Dragon Age: Inquisition! The name of the novel was DAI: Becoming The Inquisitor! Just wanted to give him a shout out and also support since I know he needs all the support in making a novel, based on my own experience, of course lol!)
Because part of him knew — deep down — that by the time the sun rose again, the world they were fighting to protect might already be gone.
The sun barely crested the horizon, a sickly smear of pale light struggling through the smoke hanging over the Commonwealth. In the Greenetech Command Center, Sico sat hunched over the battered main console, headset clamped over one ear, eyes bloodshot from a night without sleep. The faint crackle of static was constant, punctuated only by sharp bursts of hurried, sometimes panicked voices.
"Outpost Bravo, repeat, Outpost Bravo — Institute hostiles sighted near Lexington! Request immediate support!"
"Patrol Six, under fire! Multiple synths! They're better armed than before—"
"Greenetech, this is Sunshine Outpost, we've got wounded — synths hit us at dawn — need a medevac if you can spare it!"
The voices tangled over each other, a rising tide of chaos, and Sico forced himself to stay calm, writing down key notes on a scrap of paper, mentally triaging the disasters unfolding across Minutemen territory.
Robert stood by the main table, arms crossed, jaw tight. Mel was working the backup radio system, trying to keep channels open even as interference worsened — likely Institute jamming efforts creeping further into their airspace.
Sarah came striding in, her face drawn but determined, a fresh map rolled under one arm. She didn't ask for a report. She could read it in the room — in Sico's clenched jaw, in the nervous tapping of Mel's fingers on the console.
"They're hitting us everywhere," she said grimly, unrolling the new map over the table. She stabbed her finger at it — red marks already blooming across key outposts: Tenpines Bluff, Oberland Station, Greentop Nursery. "Skirmishes, ambushes, sabotage… they're trying to bleed us dry."
Sico exhaled through his nose, rubbing at his temples.
"They're keeping us pinned," he muttered. "They don't want us to have the strength to challenge them — not after Greenetech."
"And it's working," Robert growled. "Every squad we send out to reinforce an outpost is one we don't have to defend here."
Mel twisted in his chair, voice tight. "And if the Brotherhood wins at Fort Strong…"
He didn't finish the thought. None of them needed him to.
If Maxson's forces secured the massive stockpiles hidden beneath the old fort, they'd become an unstoppable juggernaut. The Institute wouldn't stand a chance. Neither would the Minutemen — not against Brotherhood forces armed to the teeth with pre-War weaponry. No, Maxson wouldn't share that arsenal. He'd use it to reshape the Commonwealth in his own image, starting with the Minutemen if he thought they were a threat.
Sico leaned back, staring at the cracked ceiling, the weight of it all pressing down like a vise.
He thought about the recon last night — the howling chaos of Fort Strong, mutants dying by the dozens, Brotherhood knights carving a bloody path through twisted corridors. It was a meat grinder. And it wasn't over. Not yet.
But they couldn't help the mutants, even if they wanted to.
They couldn't spare the men.
Every fighter they had was needed here — needed to keep the Institute from tearing them apart while the Brotherhood consolidated their power across the river.
"We hold the line," Sico said finally, voice low but firm. "We can't afford to split forces. Not now."
Sarah met his gaze and nodded once, though her mouth was tight with tension.
"They're pushing us to the breaking point," Robert muttered. "And they know it."
Sico turned back to the console, switching frequencies with practiced fingers.
More reports flooded in:
"Saugus Patrol here — lost contact with Salem post. Last transmission mentioned hostiles in the woods."
"Greygarden under siege! Synths spotted in the riverbed, moving fast — requesting immediate reinforcements!"
Each transmission was like a nail driven into him, a reminder of every vulnerable settlement, every desperate family who depended on the Minutemen to keep them safe.
And here he was — playing chess with bodies.
The door slammed open, and Ronnie Shaw stormed in, still wearing her dusty armor, a scowl etched deep across her face.
"I just got back from The Castle," she barked. "We're stretched thin down there too. Had a skirmish at the front gate just this morning. Busted a few synth skulls, but they're probing. Harder and harder."
Sico nodded grimly.
"They're testing our defenses everywhere," Sarah said. "Trying to find a weak point."
"Or trying to force us to leave somewhere unguarded so they can hit it hard," Ronnie added.
Sico stood slowly, his muscles aching from too many hours hunched over the radio.
"We can't fall for it," he said. "No reinforcements beyond what's absolutely necessary. Every outpost fights to hold the line. We keep our forces centered at strongpoints — Sanctuary, The Castle, Greenetech, Minutemen Plaza. We do not get drawn out."
Robert shifted uncomfortably. "Some of those smaller settlements…"
Sico closed his eyes for a second.
He could almost hear their voices — farmers, traders, kids — people who just wanted to live without fear. And now he was ordering them to stand alone against the Institute's steel monsters.
It sickened him.
But it was survival.
He opened his eyes and said it aloud, because he had to:
"We can't save everyone. Not today."
Silence settled over the room, heavy and bitter.
Sarah was the first to move. She straightened her shoulders, then stepped forward, setting her hand lightly on Sico's arm — a simple gesture of solidarity.
"We hold the core," she said quietly. "We endure. That's how we win."
Sico squeezed her hand briefly before stepping back to the radio.
"Priority messages only," he told Mel. "Get word to the settlements — tell them: dig in, fight smart, fall back if they have to, but don't expect cavalry."
Mel nodded, face pale but determined, and began switching frequencies.
Robert moved to the map, circling key positions, barking orders to the runners who were already sprinting through the hallways to organize defenses.
Ronnie crossed her arms, watching him work, then glanced sideways at Sico.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.
Sico raised an eyebrow.
"If Fort Strong falls," she said, "they'll come for us next. Either the Institute, or the Brotherhood."
Sico nodded grimly.
"Probably both."
Ronnie cracked her knuckles. "Then we better be ready to gut the first bastard who steps through that door."
Sico managed a grim smile at that — the first in what felt like days.
They worked like that through the morning — patching communications, dispatching orders, reinforcing choke points. A makeshift triage center was set up in one of the old Greenetech labs, ready to receive wounded from the outposts. Volunteers hauled scrap to build more barricades at the perimeter. Every man and woman who could hold a weapon was armed and briefed. Greenetech became a fortress, humming with desperate energy.
Outside, the sky darkened again — not from sunset, but from smoke. Massive plumes still rose from the direction of Fort Strong, blotting out the weak spring sun. The battle raged on.
Around noon, another transmission broke through, clearer than most.
"Greenetech, this is Recon Two. Repeat, Recon Two. Fort Strong's outer defenses have fallen. Brotherhood troops pushing into the bunker levels. Heavy resistance from mutants, but they're breaking through. Repeat: Brotherhood inside bunker complex."
The room went dead silent.
Sico leaned in to the radio, voice steady.
"Any estimate on Brotherhood casualties?"
A crackle of static, then the answer:
"Heavy. Probably a third of their force down. But they're pushing hard. Determined. Looks like Maxson's betting everything on taking it."
Sico sat back, the words hammering into him.
The Brotherhood was winning — bleeding for it, yes, but winning.
Sarah paced behind him, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
"If they get those munitions…" she whispered.
"They will," Sico said flatly. "It's just a matter of time now."
He pushed himself up from the chair, walking to the cracked window overlooking the battered courtyard outside.
Children ran between sandbags, laughing nervously, playing war without understanding how close it was to reality.
His hands curled into fists.
They had fought so hard to build something here. Freedom. Safety. A future.
And now two ancient powers were tearing it all apart to see who would wear the crown.
Sarah joined him at the window, her voice low.
"We still have a choice, you know."
He looked at her, tired to his soul.
"What choice?"
She turned to him fully, fierce and unyielding.
"We fight. We don't bow to either of them. Not Maxson. Not the Institute. We fight for the Commonwealth. For the people who can't fight for themselves."
He stared at her for a long moment.
And despite the exhaustion, despite the fear gnawing at the edges of his mind, he felt something stir inside him — something stubborn, something hard as iron.
Hope.
Not the naive hope of someone who thought they could save everyone.
But the grim, determined hope of someone who refused to surrender, even when the whole world seemed set against them.
Sico nodded slowly.
"We fight."
Sarah smiled, just a little.
"Damn right we do."
And in that smoky, battered ruin of Greenetech, as the world beyond burned and the future balanced on a knife's edge, the Minutemen steeled themselves for what was to come.
The smoky light outside Greenetech barely shifted, but inside the walls, a storm was gathering — not of fear, but of grim resolve.
The Minutemen would stand.
They had to.
But far beneath the shattered skyline of the Commonwealth, under tons of steel and earth, a different conversation was unfolding.
At The Institute – Advanced Systems Division. Madison Li's office was sleek and cold, built from smooth white polymer panels and bright sterile lights. The hum of deep machinery vibrated in the floor, a low sound that never really left your bones if you stayed down here long enough.
Nora sat across from Madison's desk, her expression unreadable, arms folded loosely over her chest. Madison looked up from her terminal with a frown, brushing a strand of greying hair behind her ear.
"So… what's this about the Brotherhood?" Madison asked, voice wary. "You said they're looking for me?"
Nora leaned forward slightly, her voice quiet but firm.
"They are. They want you back, Madison."
Madison blinked, confused. "What? Why?"
Nora exhaled through her nose, glanced briefly at the door to make sure it was shut, then leaned closer.
"I met Paladin Danse," she said.
Madison's eyebrows shot up. "When? I thought you were… you always go out helping the Minutemen!"
Nora allowed herself a tiny smile. "I do. But sometimes those trips bring me across other people. I was recovering a rogue synth — one that had fled into the ruins near Back Street Apparel. Danse was there too. We almost shot each other before we talked."
Madison leaned back, still skeptical, but curious.
"He told me," Nora continued carefully, "the Brotherhood needs you for a special project. They want to rebuild something. Something called…" she paused for effect, letting the name sink into the sterile air between them.
"Liberty Prime."
For the first time since Nora had met her, Madison Li looked truly rattled.
She stared, eyes wide.
"You're serious."
Nora nodded.
"What is it?" she asked.
Madison hesitated. It wasn't something you just said aloud. But after a long moment, she sighed heavily and leaned forward, lowering her voice like the walls themselves might have ears.
"Liberty Prime was a pre-War U.S. military project — a giant robot, two stories tall. Equipped with laser optics, thick armor, and capable of launching mini-nukes like grenades."
Nora's eyes widened slightly, despite herself.
"That thing sounds like a nightmare."
Madison's mouth twisted. "It was designed to end the Chinese invasion of Alaska before the bombs fell. It's… a terrible weapon. But to the Brotherhood? It's a symbol. A blunt instrument they believe can 'save' the Commonwealth." She said the word save with bitter irony.
Nora sat back, processing that.
Liberty Prime.
A towering machine of death.
Rebuilt, it could crush the Institute — and anyone else who got in the Brotherhood's way.
An idea began forming in her mind, dark and dangerous, but also full of possibility.
"You don't really like it here, do you?" Nora asked quietly.
Madison looked at her sharply, then glanced at the door again, as if afraid someone might be listening.
"No," she said finally. "Not after what I've learned… about the Institute's plans. About the genocide they're willing to unleash on the surface." Her jaw tightened. "I didn't come here to be part of a slaughter."
Nora leaned in, lowering her voice to almost a whisper.
"Then help us," she said. "Come with the Minutemen."
Madison blinked, stunned.
"What?"
"Join the Minutemen," Nora repeated calmly. "We're building something better — something for the people, not against them. But I need you to do more than just defect. I need you to go to the Brotherhood when they come calling. Play along. Help them rebuild Liberty Prime."
Madison's mouth fell open in shock.
"You want me to— to help them—"
"—help them just enough," Nora cut in smoothly, "to get inside. To be trusted. And when the time is right, when they've finished their precious war machine…"
She smiled thinly, the kind of smile you see on a predator just before it strikes.
"…we take it from them."
The room was silent except for the low hum of the Institute's machines. Madison stared at her, lips parted in astonishment.
"All this time…" she said slowly, voice cracking a little. "You're the reason the Minutemen knew how to counter the Institute's attacks. You're the reason we lost Greenetech."
Nora didn't flinch.
She didn't deny it.
She met Madison's gaze without blinking.
"Yes," she said simply.
There was no boasting, no apology.
Just truth.
Madison leaned back heavily in her chair, running a hand down her face.
"My God…" she whispered.
Nora waited. She knew better than to push. Madison Li was brilliant, but she was also cautious — and weary. She had spent her life serving powers bigger than herself, only to be betrayed by all of them.
Now she had a chance to turn the tables.
Finally, Madison looked up, something burning behind her eyes.
"You're asking me to betray two powerful factions," she said slowly. "To risk everything — to gamble on an army of farmers and scavengers holding the line against two technological giants."
"Yes," Nora said without hesitation.
Madison let out a low breath, her fingers drumming against the desk.
The idea was madness.
Suicidal, even.
But something about Nora — her calm certainty, the way she carried the weight of impossible choices — it made it seem almost… possible.
Madison closed her eyes briefly, thinking about the alternative: living out her days building weapons of destruction for tyrants, either Institute or Brotherhood. Watching innocent people burn while she stayed hidden underground.
No.
Not this time.
She opened her eyes and met Nora's gaze.
"Okay."
The word hung in the air, small but heavy with meaning.
Nora nodded once, her lips curving into a small but genuine smile.
"Good."
They spent the next hour hunched over Madison's desk, speaking in low voices, hashing out the plan.
Madison would answer the Brotherhood's call when they came. She would act the part — the brilliant, disillusioned scientist eager to help humanity "evolve" beyond the Institute's cruelty.
She would help them rebuild Liberty Prime — but she would also sabotage it, weaving hidden overrides and vulnerabilities into its systems, invisible to anyone but the keenest eye.
And when the time came — when Maxson paraded his new toy to the Commonwealth — the Minutemen would seize it.
It wouldn't be easy.
It would take months, maybe longer.
But it would be worth it.
As Nora rose to leave, she paused at the door, glancing back at Madison.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
Madison gave a tired, wry smile.
"Don't thank me yet. We're a long way from freedom."
Nora chuckled under her breath.
"Freedom's never free."
And with that, she slipped out of the office, blending once more into the whitewashed corridors of the Institute, a ghost inside the machine.
As she walked, her mind was already racing ahead.
The Minutemen would need to be ready.
Greenetech would have to hold.
The Commonwealth itself teetered on the edge of chaos — and soon, Nora would have to light a fire under all of it.
Not just for survival.
But for revolution.
Outside, the world smoldered under a blackened sky, and the drums of war beat louder with every passing hour.
At Greenetech, Sico stood on the parapet, watching the dark clouds churn, his battered armor streaked with soot. Sarah stood beside him, binoculars in hand, scanning the distant smoke of Fort Strong.
Robert barked orders below, reinforcing the gates. Ronnie drilled new recruits with merciless efficiency.
Everywhere, the Minutemen prepared.
They didn't know about the secret alliance Nora was forging in the enemy's heart.
Not yet.
But soon, when the Brotherhood marched their iron giant onto the battlefield, believing themselves unstoppable…
They would find the spirit of the Commonwealth waiting.
Not with fear.
But with fire.
And Liberty Prime, the Brotherhood's ultimate weapon, might just become the Minutemen's greatest hope. The battle for the Commonwealth was far from over. In fact, it was only just beginning.
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• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-