Introduction
In this episode from our Fallout 4 series, I will go to Diamond City to seek information about Shaun. I get the help of Nick Valentine and then learn about the man who ruined my life, Kellogg. Only one will survive.
Audio Episode
Video Episode
Narrative Bits
Introduction
I spent some time helping the minutemen and the people of the Commonwealth stand on their feet again. I figured that if I want to find Shaun in this chaotic and violent world, I will need help. But I found out that they need my help as much as I need theirs. We need to stand together against all this madness — the raiders, the super mutants, those creatures that seem like coming out of a fantasy book full of monsters. The commonwealth is a dangerous place, and I happen to be the guy that cares, but I can wait no longer. I have enough allies, weapons and I am strong enough to go after the people that took Shaun, but first I need to know who they are and the only leads I may get are in Diamond City. When I got there, the city gates were closed and there was a young woman there at the gate trying to get inside. They didn’t want to let her in for some reason. She is a journalist and it seems that her stories upset the wrong people, but we were both at the gate of Diamond City and we both wanted to get in.
After Getting inside Diamond City
That mayor, that city is a joke. I thought I would see civilization again, but I was wrong. This may be the best version of civilization left. But I am not here to judge or make any changes. I care about one thing. I need to find my son, Shaun and find the people who ruined my life. The mayor told me about a detective who may help me, Nick Valentine. I went to his office, but the man who was going to help me find my missing boy turned out to be missing himself.
After Seeing Elie, Valentine’s Secretary
It seems that every time I try to get help from anyone in this world, I need to help them first. Nothing comes easy in this wretched world we live in, but Nick was my only hope and if saving him meant I needed to face all the thugs of the commonwealth, I was going to do it. He is the only hope I have to find Shaun. I went after those thugs who kidnapped Valentine. It is strange how people turn violent and selfish after wars. I thought it should be the other way round. But war never changes. The weak get weaker, the surviving strong get stronger and prey on the weak left fighting for their own survival. The Malone gang was well-equipped, better than most other bandits I faced in the commonwealth, but I have become the general of the Minutemen now, and I had to cut my way through bandits, mutants, and monsters to get here. They were not going to stop me from saving Nick. I hope I don’t get disappointed by saving yet another useless man who may be able or even willing to help me, but that was the only option I got.
Skinny Malone’s gang took one of the abandoned vaults as their stronghold, and that was a wise choice. Only one entrance to the vault that can be fortified easily, and it is easy to defend the vault even on the inside, but I had to become a monster to be able to defeat monsters like Skinny Malone’s gang. I keep thinking to myself, how am I different from those I am killing. Am I any better? Am I the only one who lost dear people. These people were born into this unforgiving world, and if I were in their shoes, I may have become worse, but again, they’re standing between me and the only hope I have to find my son. Maybe, I, too, am turning into my own version of a monster.
After Finding Nick
Well, I didn’t see that coming. Nick was not even a man; he was a synth, a robot of sorts, but he spoke just like a man, actually better than most men I met in the Commonwealth. I told him why I took the trouble to save him as he himself was not used to free favors in the Commonwealth. Man or no man, I have a feeling that he will be able to help me find my son, but before raising my hopes up or even having the time to discuss anything with him, we are not through yet. I have to get him out of there. It’s true that I killed many of Skinny Malone’s gang, but there were still more on the way out, and we both need to get out of there alive to even have a chance to talk about my problem.
On the way out, of course there was Skinny Malone himself with a couple of thugs of his, and his new flame, Darla, who was the reason why Nick was locked in the vault for about two weeks. I have learned in my days in the Commonwealth to try to talk your way out of troubles while keeping your finger tight on the trigger of you gun ready for the worst because nothing was predictable in this Commonwealth; it is wilder than the wildest days of the old stories we heard of the wild west.
After the Confrontation with Skinny Malone
This one worked well minus the bloodshed, I convinced Darla to leave and Skinny seems to have known Nick and for the sake of old times, he gave us enough time to leave, to the count of ten, but Malone was counting slowly. I don’t know if he was doing that for our sake or his. But I keep thinking what if we had that talk before I got in, that would have saved the lives of all the men I killed to free Nick. What a waste! What a random waste of life. That is the only constant of life in the Commonwealth. Death is random; either it hits you and that will be the end, or it misses, and you will live to fight another day. Nothing is personal with death. I have learned that even from my time in the army over 200 years ago. Nothing is personal; it’s just random, and most of the times, it’s just business. Anyway, now that I have saved Nick, we will meet back in his office in Diamond City and talk about my case.
After Talking to Nick in His Office
I told Nick everything I remember, and he does live up to his reputation. It seems that this time, I did save the right person I needed. According to my description of the man I can never forget, Nick gave me a name, Kellogg. That man was bad news. He was not a regular thug; he was a professional. Nick and I went to see if we could find anything in Kellogg’s last known address right here in Diamond City. Nick even told me that he had a boy with him, but that can’t be Shaun. According to Nick, the boy was about ten years old. But if this Kellogg is the one who took my son and killed my wife. I will track him down to the end of the world to know where my son is, and then we both know what I am going to do to him. I killed people in the Commonwealth for so much less.
After Investigating Kellogg’s House
There was no evidence that may lead me to Shaun in Kellogg’s house, but what we found in the secret room inside Kellogg’s house left us with no doubts that the man is a professional assassin and kidnapper I might add. I have a feeling that this is the guy I’m after. The description matches and he is obviously in the business of kidnapping and killing people, but how do we know where he went. Nick had a great idea to use Dogmeat to track Kellogg. If he hasn’t gone far from Diamond City, I hope Dogmeat will be able to track him. I got some stuff that belonged to Kellogg and used Dogmeat’s nose to get to Kellogg.
Inside Fort Hagen
Dogmeat led us to Fort Hagen, which was like every other place in the Commonwealth, in ruins. I have killed many creatures and people in the Commonwealth before, but this was the first time I saw those robots, or synths as they were called. According to Nick, these belong to the Institute, the bogeyman of the Commonwealth, which was known for kidnapping people from the Commonwealth. I have heard of many people gone missing and although there were many usual suspects in cases like that, bandits, super mutants and what not, but there was always that bogeyman everyone feared whenever someone’s gone missing. I don’t believe all this is just a mere coincidence. Kellogg matching the description, obviously working with or for the Institute, which is famous for kidnapping people. I believe I am finally after the right man, but I didn’t have speculate for long for I learned that he was the man I was after as I ventured further inside the Fort.
These synths are no joke. They are faster, stronger than most foes I faced before, but they were killable, with difficulty, but killable nonetheless. I was in the middle of fighting my way deeper and deeper inside the Fort when I heard the voice I could never forget. It was the same voice I heard in Vault 111 on that fateful day. Kellogg was the man who ruined my life, and it seems that he knew exactly who I was as if he were expecting me, but that wasn’t going to change any thing. I am still going to get answers from that murderer before his time is up. Only one of us would walk out of this Fort alive.
After Dealing with Kellogg
I’m not gonna lie. I felt greatly satisfied when I killed Kellogg, but I quickly realized that I should have squeezed more information from him before I killed him. I know that the Institute took Shaun, but the problem is that no one knows where that Institute is or how to get in. Maybe, I got carried away, but which father wouldn’t, which husband wouldn’t. I could not stand seeing him breathe any longer, but there might be hope, this time with Piper who seems to know a lot about the Institute. Maybe she knows where it is, or at least knows someone who does.
In the middle of all that, there was something I haven’t seen before in the Commonwealth. A big airship passed over my head. I didn’t know if that was a new monster coming to complete the collection of monsters in the Commonwealth, but there will be time to learn more about this ship and this new face in the Commonwealth. Now all I’m hoping for is that Piper might know something that will lead me to the Institute and my son.
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