[u][i]
[color=00aeef][b]Dr. Xavier Morales - The Institute[/b][/color][/i][/u]

Xavier sat with a piping hot cup of fresh brewed coffee in his hands whilst he read through the data files plastered on the screen before him. The blue hued glow of his terminal was now the lone source of light within his dimly lit quarters. Quiet hours had fallen over The Institute, and although most of its residents lay asleep, Xavier had business to attend to which required solitude. 

The data that the Courser unit had managed to abscond with from the lab was a treasure trove of pre-war knowledge. Information about the facility's purpose, its funding sources, the scientists stationed there, along with detailed notes and reports about the research they’d all been pursuing: all of it was now his to study at his leisure.  The terminal he was currently using was secure and isolated from The Institute’s network, an act which was in and of itself a clear violation of internal security protocols. However that particular misdemeanor paled in comparison to the far greater crime that Xavier was committing with the data he had in hand: nothing less than an act of treason against The Director herself.  

“The CODE Program,” Xavier said softly in between sips of his drink. The bold headline of the dossier he’d just opened was underscored by subtext which read ‘CLASSIFIED’ along with the official seal of the pre-war Defense Intelligence Agency. 

Xaviers eyes grew wide as he delved deeper into the report, the vast potential of the pre-war findings that the scientists at the RobCo Facility discovered grew more and more apparent with each passing paragraph. 

He sat his coffee down and leaned back in his chair, a plan and a potential use for the research already forming, especially in light of the errant scrapping of the Gen-3 program. First thing was first however, as with all pre-war knowledge they discovered, he needed to replicate and verify results using The Institute’s own strict experiment standards. Innovative and daring they may have been in many cases, but the minds of the pre-war world were often tainted by the influence of corrupt politicians and meddling corporate concerns: exaggerations and outright falsifications were not uncommon. He needed hard data and proof that what he was seeing was not mere conjecture or outright fantasy. And he needed to do this all without any arousing any suspicion whatsoever from Dr. Li. 

The Laboratory in Vault 88 would be invaluable of course, but he also did not want to simply entirely entrust the research to Dr. Zimmer and Dr. Holdren. Holdren he trusted, for the most part, but Dr. Zimmer was another matter entirely, he had no intention of allowing his erstwhile rival to have sole control over this research material and be able to do whatever he wished with it while Xavier was tending to duties in The Institute. For the moment, both of them wished to see Dr. Li removed from power, but afterwards once the Directorship was up for grabs: things would get much more complicated. 

He would need some time to think on this and come up with a good solution. For the moment however, he’d have to share his investigation with Zimmer and Holdren first, and then figure out where to go from there. He couldn’t risk giving Zimmer any further reason to distrust him this early on. 

Xavier looked at the time on his terminal, it was nearly 6:00am in the morning. He’d spent all night reviewing the material, and he’d have to report for work at the SSIB at 6:30. He quickly shut off the terminal, and left his quarters hurriedly. 


[hr]


Xavier strode into the SSIB facility at 6:20, cradling his umpteenth cup of coffee for that morning. He’d stopped on his way to grab it and a few nutritional supplements from the Commissary, so at least he’d be functional during his shift. 

“Director,” a young woman in the black and white of the SSIB approached him, clipboard in hand, “Good morning sir. I think you’ll want to take a look at this right away.”

Xavier immediately took the clipboard and after a brief examination he set his coffee down at a nearby table and began to scrutinize it intently, a surprised look on his face. The clipboard contained a brief report and several surveillance images taken from Quincy by a Watcher pod. 

“Just came in this morning sir, shortly before you arrived,” The woman stated, “Watcher pods were performing routine imaging of the area surrounding Quincy, and happened to capture it. It appears to be…”

“A VTOL aircraft, yes I’m fully aware, “ Xavier replied curtly, with a bit more of a bite to his tone than he really intended. He immediately regretted it, “Sorry Clara. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m a bit on edge this morning.”

“Think nothing of it sir,” Clara replied with a nod.

“Any other information?”

“None at the moment. I’m not even sure where or if it landed in The Commonwealth. All I can give is a general location of where it might have gone based on its apparent flight path.”

“That’s good enough for the moment, well done Clara.”

“Sir...do you think it's The Brotherhood? Are they back?” Clara asked, a hint of anxiety detectable in her voice. 

“It's impossible to tell any insignia from the details here...but it's a possibility. However, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. But I’ll need to report it to the Director right away. She’ll want to be informed.”