[center][h1][color=6ecff6]The Institute - Day One[/color][/h1][/center]
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[center][i]Vault 118 -  Bar Harbor, Maine[/i][/center]

[i]
"A better future underground"[/i]

Director Victor Harland sat staring at the pre-war Vault-Tec poster on the wall of the Vault 118 overseer's office which proudly proclaimed one of the company's many overly optimistic mottos. The naive propaganda of the pre-war America was one of the most annoying things about picking through the bones of the old world. 

"A better future underground..." He scoffed, "The [i]only [/i]future underground, would have perhaps been more apropos."

Victor stood up and walked over to the large round glass window which was set against the side wall of the Overseer's office, and looked out into the Vault's great atrium. Down below, he could see Synths, reprogrammed robots, and Vault Institute personnel alike, scurrying about like worker bees, doing their upmost to improve the Vault and make it as homely as possible for The Institute personnel and their families which had been forced to use it for refugee. They had been hard at work renovating the Vault ever since they'd arrived. The Facilities Division had become more important than ever in this effort, and all personnel on non-essential projects had effectively been drafted by Facilities to assist with the "CIT Relocation Initiative": the flowery name that the Directorate had chosen to give their forced flight from The Commonwealth and their establishment in Bar Harbor. 

Already much had been done. The Vault's reactor had been repaired and its efficiency boosted by nearly double. The reactor was nothing like they'd had back home, but it was adequate to power what they needed for the time being. Likewise, the Vault's water purifier was found to be in a state of neglect, but was still functioning. Strangely enough, while the robotic former residents had very little if any need of water, they'd used quite a bit of it over the years. From what Victor understood, this had apparently been due to the Robobrain's tendency to "relieve their glory days" and so things like re-filling the water of the indoor Vault beach had been made a priority. 

The fact that such a thing as an 'indoor beach' had existed here alone was ridiculous enough, and the more he had come to know this Vault, the more Victor had come to despise it. Here was a testament to the folly of the pre-war generation. The excessive luxury, the horrendous wasteful use of resources for the over-indulgence for sport and pleasure, and the gaudy trappings of a society that was quite obviously full of itself. 

That would change now. Down would come the ridiculous red-velvet curtains and the chandeliers. The 'indoor beach' had already been drained and plans to turn it into a possible hydroponics greenhouse were already underway by Bioscience, who were planning ahead for when their stock of nutritional supplements ran out. Things would become more sensible now: more utilitarian and orderly. The Institute wasn't opposed to enjoying a few well earned comforts in life of course...but this....this nonsense from a bygone age would stop.

Victor thought back to what he'd believe The Institute had been striving for. Back before The Brotherhood's arrival. A new world. A world that would be led by the guiding principles of scientific advancement and dedicated to the progression of the human condition. "Mankind Redefined", that had been their motto. To redefine the very definition of what it meant to be human: to change the nature of the human experience itself. 

"We'll never stop striving for that," Victor muttered under his breath, "Now that I'm Director, I'll continue to uphold your legacy...Father."

The sound of the Overseer's office door sliding open caused Victor to break out of his meandering thoughts and turn to see who it was. Into the room stepped over his SRB Coursers, a stern looking woman which short shaved hair and dressed in the usual armored uniform. With the death of Justin Ayo and Alana Secord, and as a leading member of the SRB, Victor had been the next-in-line, as it were, to succeed to the Directorship of the Bureau. And with the Bureau's function as an intelligence agency essential to the CIT Relocation Initiative, it had been natural for him to be a prime candidate to succeed Father as Director as well. As such, he was now both Director of the SRB, as well as Acting Director of The Institute.

"Director Harland," The female Courser greeted him, "Request permission to give my report, sir."

"Yes, go ahead Z9."

"Thank you sir...Courser Units Z3-66, X2-53, and Y4-99 all returned successfully. SRB Agents debriefed them immediately upon returning, as per protocol. Attempts to penetrate further into the Fog has proved difficult, and the units report that the toxicity levels appears to increase substantially further into the island's interior. Some of the larger and more aggressive creatures have also been spotted deeper inland as well, and from our Synths currently investigating the town of 'Far Harbor', we've learned that the locals know these creatures as 'Fog Crawlers'. They appear to be an heavily mutated form of the pre-war [i]Stomatopoda[/i]. Unit Y4 was also able to confirm the location of 'The Nucleus' but did not approach as per orders."

"Hmm. Cease further expeditions inland for the time being. We've learned enough I believe to understand that this island is an extremely hostile landscape. The best I can compare it to is perhaps the 'Glowing Sea' impact zone in The Commonwealth. Hardly an ideal relocation zone, but as we've detected no immediate contamination problems in the Vault...I suppose it doesn't matter. It may even help to shield us from aggression should we ever be discovered. Is there any word from The Commonwealth?"

Z9 nodded, "We haven't heard anything more from Nahant as of yet, but the informants we still have in The Commonwealth have been picking up on a number of interesting rumors. Specifically these are in regards a possible Beryllium Agitator, which according to our sources, may have been acquired by a group of unknown scavengers. I was not privy to the full details, but as I understand it, this is the device which the Mass Fusion operation had intended to acquire?"

"The very same," Victor nodded, "It was corner-cutting solution to the issue of time when it came to implementing Phase 3. I can't say how valuable it could be to us now, but if it could be acquired, then recreating Phase 3 might very well be possible."

"I understand that further investigation is warranted then?"

"I'll speak with the Directorate. But yes, it very well might be. I don't want to play our hand too strongly however, especially not for something that, while valuable, is not necessary at this stage. The security of this Vault takes priority over any other concern."

"Understood sir. To that end as well, I've begun implementing the security sweep protocol that you've asked be put in place. SRB has taken over internal security from Facilities Division entirely now."

"Hmm good. That should allow them to focus solely on the Vault's required maintenance then...." Victor knew that SRB might very well be seen as overstepping its bounds by overriding another Division's authority, but he believed it was a necessary step. He wanted to consolidate any and all security concerns directly under his own division. If that meant a few stepped on toes and bruised egos, then he was more than willing to trade that for having full control over something that he believed to be far to vital to allow for mistakes or delays. 

"Anything else Z9?"

"No sir. That's all for now."

"Good you may return to your duties then."

Z9 gave a quick nod and bowed out of the office. Victor, in the meantime considered his next move. He was unsure of just how much he wanted to involve The Institute in the affairs of The Commonwealth, especially at this vulnerable junction. There was, of course, the matter of The Enclave to still be resolved. The Institute had known about The Enclave for some time, ever since they'd made their presence known in D.C. region but it was a surprise to find remnants of their government active in The Commonwealth. He wasn't sure he could trust them yet, or even that he wanted to, but the fact that they appeared to be interested in enacting their own revenge against The Brotherhood was enough reason to at least attempt cooperation. Trading information and non-classified technology was about as far as he was willing to go for now however. 

After all this was the same group which, not too long ago, had apparently attempted to purge the world of all mutants. Which, by their definition, undoubtedly included members of The Institute. Victor wasn't overly fond of the Yankee-Doodle-blaring aggressive patriotism either. He had no intention of pledging The Institute's allegiance to a defunct, and rightly so, American state. Their backwards facing vision to try and recreate what had-been was...frankly...adorably naive. Had they met under different circumstances, he imagined that they would not nearly be as cordial to one another. Especially if their government had attempted 'annexation' of CIT.  

"But least they have as much reason to hate The Brotherhood as we do," Victor muttered aloud, "We can work from there."

Vengeance...that was a strong unifying emotion indeed...