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Nora stayed silent, her fingers tracing a slow circle on the table, mind already turning through a hundred possibilities.
The room smelled faintly of pencil lead, dry paper, and faintly-oiled steel. A familiar blend of scents for Sico—it meant paperwork, duty, and yet another quiet war being fought from behind a desk. He sat in his office at Minutemen HQ, Sanctuary Hills, hunched slightly over a broad wooden table that had seen better decades. The surface was cluttered with field reports, requisition forms, radio logs, and the now-daily synth scan records that the new department was diligently filing. He'd already signed off on patrol rotations and a supply run to Somerville Place, but the bureaucratic engine of the Commonwealth didn't sleep—and so neither did he.
A half-drunk mug of black coffee sat at his elbow, long gone cold. Outside the frosted windows, the late afternoon sun cast long shadows over Sanctuary, the warmth of it stark against the reality of the tension rising in every corner of the Commonwealth. Sico's pen paused mid-signature. Something in the air shifted.
Then, in the space of a heartbeat, light filled the room.
It wasn't the warm glow of the sun or the flicker of a power surge. This was a sterile, white brilliance—clean and artificial. A soft chime followed, sharp and unmistakable. And suddenly, as if she had simply materialized out of the breath of the world itself, Nora stood in his office.
Sico didn't move at first. His hand was still halfway through the motion of putting his signature on a supply form. Then he slowly set the pen down, looked up, and met her eyes.
"Nora."
Her arrival was unexpected, but he didn't look surprised. He didn't often anymore. Not after everything they'd seen and done.
Nora looked different from the last time they'd spoken face to face. Less like a soldier. Less like the woman who had once led the Minutemen into fire and frost. But not softer—just… changed. The lines around her eyes were sharper, but so was the purpose behind them. She was wearing a gray jacket and plain clothes, but her posture still carried command.
"We need to talk," she said. Her voice was low, steady, serious.
Sico leaned back slightly, gesturing toward the chair across from his desk. "Sit. I assume this isn't a social call."
She didn't sit.
"I came straight from the Institute," she said. "Just got out of a meeting with Shaun and the department heads. They know about the scanner."
Sico exhaled through his nose, not surprised—just… confirmed. He nodded slowly. "I figured as much. We picked up activity. Synth agents going dark. We suspected they'd react quickly. But you showing up here means there's more to it."
"There is." She finally stepped forward, placing both palms on the desk, leaning in slightly. "They're scared, Sico. Really scared. They're trying not to show it, but the scanner changes everything for them. Ayo's already lost three agents. Li and Holdren were talking countermeasures. Spoofing the tech. Discrediting the system through misinformation."
Sico's brow furrowed. "Expected."
"I told them it wouldn't work," she continued. "I told them you'd thought of that already. That you designed the scanner program with transparency at the core—public logs, DNA confirmations, procedural documentation. Everything to make sure the people believed in it."
"And?" Sico asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"They listened. Sort of. But it doesn't change what they are. Or how they operate. Father's message was clear: no synth agents near Sanctuary without direct clearance. They're backing off—for now. But they're watching. Planning. Trying to figure out how to either adapt or undermine us."
He ran a hand down his jaw, fingers brushing a fading scar. "And you're telling me this because…?"
"Because they haven't made a move yet. And I don't think they will. Not unless we give them a reason to."
She finally sat, letting the weight of her words settle between them.
"You've changed the game, Sico. And that means they're recalibrating. Trying to decide whether to treat the Minutemen as a threat… or an opportunity."
Sico nodded, slowly. "And what do you think they'll land on?"
She hesitated. "Shaun's cautious. He wants to wait. See if you slip up. But some of them—Ayo, especially—are leaning toward preemptive action. They're afraid of what happens if your influence keeps growing."
He leaned forward, folding his arms atop the desk. "So what do they want? Sabotage? Diplomacy?"
"Both, maybe. They'll try to keep their hands clean. Undermine the scanner in subtle ways. Push disinformation. Maybe even seed doubt inside your ranks. At the same time, they're leaving the door open—'diplomacy' if the timing suits them. But it'll be on their terms. Never yours."
Sico's eyes didn't leave hers. "And you?"
Nora didn't blink. "I'm here, aren't I?"
There was a long silence. Not tense—just heavy.
Sico sat back, fingers drumming once on the tabletop. "So they're nervous. That's good. It means we're doing something right. But it also means we're going to need to be sharper. More disciplined. The scanner's just the start. If we want to keep the upper hand, we need to start thinking beyond defense."
Nora tilted her head slightly. "What are you thinking?"
He stood, walking to the window. Outside, two Minutemen—Sarah and Mel, by the look of them—were walking the perimeter, chatting quietly but scanning the horizon as they moved.
"We keep expanding the scanner program. But we go further. Deploy mobile units. Bring in settlements outside Minutemen territory. Show them we're not just protecting our own—we're protecting everyone. Make it impossible for the Institute to paint us as isolationists or tyrants."
"Win hearts before the Institute can turn them," Nora said softly.
He nodded. "Exactly."
She rose, slowly, her expression thoughtful.
"I want to help," she said.
Sico turned, one eyebrow raised.
"I know the Institute inside and out. I know their players. Their rhythms. If you're building something that can last, you'll need someone who understands the enemy before they strike."
"And what about your son?" he asked, not with judgment—just clarity.
She paused. "Shaun made his choice. And I made mine. I love him, but I'm not blind. He talks about preserving the future, but all I see is control. Order by force. And I won't let that be the only vision people have to believe in."
Sico didn't respond right away. He walked back to the desk, picked up the form he'd been about to sign when she arrived, and slid it aside.
Then he looked her in the eye. "Alright. I'll take your help. But if you're in, you're in all the way. No halfway loyalty. No second-guessing when it gets hard."
She met his gaze, unwavering. "I've walked through hell to get here. I'm not going anywhere."
For the first time in what felt like days, Sico allowed himself a small, genuine smile.
"Then welcome back, General."
She blinked. "I thought that was your title now."
"I'm not giving it up," he said. "But I'll make room for another."
They both chuckled, the sound low and dry, like wind rustling through old paper.
Sico leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed loosely, his expression shifting as a long silence settled again between him and Nora. The weight of their shared history hung in the air—months of struggle, leadership, betrayal, redemption—all tied together by the one name neither of them could ever fully ignore.
Shaun.
The name didn't need to be spoken aloud for it to color every moment of their conversation. And now, standing across from her, seeing the calm resolve in her eyes, Sico allowed something he hadn't voiced in a long time to rise to the surface.
"I need to tell you something," he said quietly.
Nora tilted her head. "Go on."
"When you first went undercover," he began, choosing his words carefully, "when you stepped into the Institute… I supported it. Publicly. For the cause. For the optics. For the strategy. But in private?"
He hesitated, his jaw tightening slightly.
"I was afraid."
She blinked, surprised. "Afraid of what?"
Sico's voice was softer now, the words slower, more deliberate. "That you wouldn't come back. Not just physically—but mentally, emotionally. That once you found Shaun… once you stood in those white halls and saw him again, older, alive, powerful—that maybe you'd choose him. Over us. Over everything."
The words weren't accusatory. They weren't harsh. They were honest. Vulnerable in a way Sico rarely allowed himself to be. Nora didn't respond right away. She just stood there, the silence humming between them, until finally she stepped closer.
"There is no greater love than a parent has for their child," she said. "That's true."
Sico nodded once, slowly.
She continued. "When I first found Shaun, when I realized he was the leader of the Institute… it was like the world tilted. Everything I'd fought for, suffered through—it suddenly had a face. A reason. A heartbeat. And yeah… I wanted to believe he could still be saved. That we could be a family again, somehow. Even after everything."
She looked away for a moment, her voice catching slightly before she steadied it.
"But I also saw what he'd become. Not in the way he spoke, or even how he led. But in the things he was willing to overlook. The things he excused. Disappearances. Replacements. 'Greater good' logic. And when I looked at him long enough… I realized he wasn't the one who needed saving."
Her gaze found Sico's again, clear and unwavering.
"It was the people outside those walls. The ones who didn't have synthetic lakes and sterilized air and endless energy. The ones we'd left behind to fend for themselves in a broken world. And I knew—whatever love I still held for Shaun, it couldn't come before them."
Sico nodded, slowly, feeling something in his chest loosen, even if only a little.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said. "Because I wasn't sure. And I couldn't blame you if you had chosen him. You're a mother. Hell, you crawled through fire and death just to find him. And that kind of love? It's the strongest thing in the world."
"It is," Nora agreed. "But love also means truth. And the truth is… I can't follow him. Not the way he's leading."
She stepped even closer now, resting her hands lightly on the desk between them.
"But I'll follow you. I'll follow Sanctuary. The people. This mission. Because I believe in what we're doing. And I believe it's worth fighting for—even against my own son if I have to."
That quiet promise hung in the air, fierce and raw and real. Sico stared at her, letting the weight of it settle. Then, with a nod, he spoke again.
"Then we move forward. Together."
She nodded, and for the first time since she teleported into the room, she allowed herself to sit back down, this time not as a visitor, but as someone returning home.
Sico picked up the comm device on his desk, thumbed the frequency over to the secure channel, and gave a short command.
"Have Sarah and Preston report to the conference room in ten minutes. And get me the latest scan field reports. We're expanding the program."
He set it down and looked back at Nora. "It's time the Commonwealth sees what a united front looks like. Not just strength—but clarity. Purpose."
"Do you want me on the Scanner team?" Nora asked, a slight smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
"I want you everywhere," he replied, just as seriously. "The people know your face. Your story. You're not just a Minuteman—you're the soul of this whole damn thing. If you stand beside this scanner, if you endorse what we're doing, it'll reach people the Institute can't."
Her expression hardened into something like resolve. "Then let's make sure they hear us loud and clear."
"Good," Sico said. "Because we've got work to do."
And just like that, without another word, the two of them fell into the quiet rhythm of planning for the future.
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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:-