Elder Maxson heard about her before he saw her. Paladin Danse had come in no more than a week ago to talk about the recruit that saved them at the Cambridge Police Station. Danse looked impressed as he told him about how she appeared out of nowhere, guns blazing, her 10mm pistol shooting the limbs off the abominations in her way. She obliterated the feral ghouls, and after the battle she agreed immediately to go with him to ArcJet Systems to get the transmitter that helped bring the Prydwen to the Commonwealth. He described her as fearless, brave, and always on target. She was a steadfast soldier, more than happy to help the Brotherhood clear out feral ghouls, and hostile Super Mutants. She was a woman frozen out of time. Nora lived through the old days, but never complained about her current situation. She was a woman on a mission, and the Institute was going to pay for taking her son. They had a common enemy and she was more than willing to assist the Brotherhood with taking them down. She sounded like the perfect soldier. Elder Maxson would always be in need of new soldiers.
But when he saw her...
Everything had changed.
He was just about to make his speech to the new recruits of the Brotherhood of Steel when a vision walked through the door.
She was dirty, and dishevelled, like a true woman of the Commonwealth would be. But there was something underneath her. The blue jumpsuit she wore, he could tell hid full breasts that strained against the zipper of the suit. Her shoulder length hair swayed in ringlets across her shoulders, and her face was flushed, with pouted and full lips. She was panting slightly, like she had just run up the deck of the Prydwen, but when she took one look at him, she swallowed hard, and moved to the back of the deck, standing beside the other recruits. Elder Maxson lost himself for a moment as his pants got tighter, hidden beneath the long coat. That can't be her, he thought to himself. She's... Paladin Danse didn't say anything about... This is unacceptable.
She looked around the room at the others, and he followed her gaze. Elder Maxson's eyes caught those of a male recruit looking somewhat uncomfortable. He realised that the rest of the group was shifting uncomfortably as well, waiting on him to start speaking. Arthur coughed, and stepped forward. Elder Maxson took one last look at her. Unable to comprehend what he saw, he regained his composure and moved to speak to the group. He had a purpose, and he was not going to let this woman distract him. The expectant faces of the new members of the Brotherhood snapped him back to reality. He cleared his throat, and spoke.
"Brothers and Sisters, the road behind us has been long and fraught with difficulty. Each and every one of you has surpassed my expectations by rapidly facilitating our arrival in the Commonwealth. You have accomplished this amazing feat without a hint of purpose or direction, and most impressively, without question. Now that the ship is in position, it is the time to reveal our purpose and our mission. Beneath the Commonwealth, there is a cancer known as "The Institute" , a malignant growth that needs to be cut before it infects the surface. They are experimenting with dangerous technologies that could prove to be the world's undoing for the second time in recent history. The Institute Scientists have created a weapon that transcends the destructive nature of the atom bomb. They call their creation the "synth", a robotic abomination of technology that is free-thinking and masquerades as a human being. This notion that a machine can be granted free will is not only offensive, but horribly dangerous. And like the atom, if it isn't harnessed properly, it has the potential of rendering us extinct as a species. I am not prepared to allow the Institute to continue this line of experimentation. Therefore, the Institute and their "synths" are considered enemies of the Brotherhood of Steel, and should be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. This campaign will be costly and many lives will be lost. But in the end, we will be saving humankind from its worst enemy...itself. Ad Victoriam!"
As Elder Maxson finished his statement, he noticed the dark haired woman still standing in the back of the room, her hands crossed over the front of her chest, with an expression on her face that he couldn't quite read. Nora uncrossed her arms and walked towards the front deck of the Prydwen to stand in front of Elder Maxson. Her head tilted to the side and he watched as her curls trickled down her shoulders.
"Some speech." She said, as Paladin Danse entered the room to stand behind her. He took a look at the Paladin, silently signalling to him that they were going to have a discussion about their new recruit.
"I care about them, you know. The people of the commonwealth." said Elder Maxson, as the last squire left the room. He turned to Nora with his hands still clasped behind his back. He was more nervous than he looked, but Nora didn't pick up on that.
'If you say so.' she said with a scoff.
"I can understand your indecisiveness." Elder Maxson said, turning to face the window. He sighed and paused for a moment as he looked out into the Commonwealth. "Turning your weapons on the very same people that you're trying to save can be a bitter pill to swallow."
'What do you want from me?' asked Nora. Her brows furrowed and she crossed her arms.
"I want you to start taking responsibility for this planet. To start making a difference. And from what I've read in Paladin Danse's reports, you've already begun that journey. Seeing as he's one of my most respected field officers, you couldn't get a better recommendation. Therefore, from this moment forward, I'm granting you the rank of Knight. And, befitting your title, we're granting you a suit of Power Armour to protect you on the field of battle. Wear it with pride."
Nora's face relaxed as she regarded Elder Maxson once more, he could see her swallow hard before she answered him. Something in the way she was reacting to him changed, and made him nervous.
"I'll do my best, Elder Maxson" said Nora. She nodded at him slightly and gave a small smile.
"I'm certain that you will, Knight."
Each week got worse for Elder Maxson. Each week she'd come in from a new mission, a dirty scowl on her face, blood on her BoS jumpsuit, muttering about "stupid green beasts, looking like the Hulk with their dumb boards and whatever.", and how "the fucking cockroaches from my time weren't three feet long!" and also "Why didn't the name zombie stick? We could have just called them zombies, couldn't we?"
Each week Elder Maxson had to suppress a smirk as he watched her walk to the showers, scrubbing and scowling. But always, she would come out with the biggest smile on her face, refreshed and ready for whatever came next. He had been watching her progress, at first just occasionally, casually mentioning to Paladin Danse to make sure to report exactly how she had done. But after a while, as Paladin Danse's reports garnered more and more praise for her, he began to watch her closer, requesting every so often for a direct report just so he could see her. He secretly cherished the moments she stood across from him, detailing how she had followed his orders exactly. There was something about the way she tried to make sure he knew that she obeyed him to a 'T' that Elder Maxson could not shake. He wasn't sure what to make of his obsession with the new recruit, but he knew he had to have her. Against all of the rules that regarded fraternisation between senior members of the Brotherhood and junior members, he needed her.
He needed that infectious laugh she had when listening to other members tell stories about the Capital Wasteland in the commons of the Prydwen. He needed the furrowed and determined expression he saw in her face the day she boarded the Vertibird and took the wheel behind its mini gun, singlehandedly taking down a Super Mutant Behemoth. He needed the round, and he imagined, supple ass that he could tell was hiding underneath her jumpsuit. He needed her. Every night, he'd go to bed, images of her swirling in his head. And this night was no exception. Earlier in the day was the promotion ceremony. Some new recruits were initiated, and she was promoted. Knight Daniels was now Knight-Captain Daniels. Nora had smiled as he awarded her with a new gun, a Railway Rifle, one he knew she had been eying after Paladin Brandis let her borrow his when he returned to the Prydwen. In the moment, she forgot and disregarded the rules of the Brotherhood and jumped into Elder Maxson's arms. He stiffened as he felt the weight of her against him, her breasts pressing fully against his chest.
Paladin Danse cleared his throat.
"Knight-Captain Daniels." He said in a stern voice, but there was something underneath it too. Elder Maxson looked at the reflection of his face in the window of the front deck as Nora let him go and uttered an embarrassed apology. His face was flushed and red. Nora took a step back from Elder Maxson, and he swore something changed in her face, something wicked. He turned his back to her, and dismissed her quietly, cursing to himself as Paladin Danse shut the door.