Fallout: Wasteland Doll Commander

The emergency override wheezed as the side access door hissed open. Nate swept his rifle forward, Nick Valentine at his back. The basement level of Fort Hagen was colder than expected — the air recycled and stale, light flickering overhead in sickly white pulses.

They stepped into darkness — and gunfire.

Synths opened fire from behind sandbag emplacements, their synthetic voices flat and emotionless.

"INTRUDER DETECTED. DEFENSE MODE: ENGAGED."

But they weren't alone.

Among the synths were units Nate didn't recognize — sleek, chrome-plated bipeds with red visors and plasma-cutting carbines glowing unnaturally.

Nick (covering fire):"Yeow~These... ain't Institute issue."

Nate (grim):"It doesn't matter. They're still hostile."

They pushed forward, fighting through corridor after corridor of resistance. The Sangvis Ferri units moved with terrifying precision — cold, brutal efficiency — plasma rounds searing holes in the walls and near-missing Nick's hat.

Kellogg's voice crackled overhead, distorted through an old PA speaker mounted in corner of the ceiling.

Kellogg (taunting):"Well, well. You made it further than I thought. The ghost from Vault 111, dragging a tin-can Private Detective behind him. Huh, I thought the wasteland swallow you up and spit it by now."

Nick (growling):"Don't listen. He's trying to pull your aim off-center."

Nate (focused):"I'm not in the mood to talk. I'm here to end this."

The synth ambushes grew thicker. Nate and Nick were forced into side rooms and maintenance ducts, doubling back twice just to avoid getting flanked. Turrets popped out from the ceilings, forcing them to blow fuses just to proceed.

After a drawn-out push, they stumbled into a makeshift armory, where scavenged crates marked with old military sigils sat beside Institute storage lockers. Nate reloaded his combat rifle, grabbed two frag grenades, and passed Nick a spare power cell.

Nate:"Take what you need. This ends soon."

Nick:"I hope you brought resolve, not just bullets."

They pressed forward through a long hallway with flickering lights, passing a locked barracks and more dead synths — their circuitry still sparking. The deeper they went, the more the architecture shifted — clean steel, glowing floor panels… Institute design.

Kellogg's voice returned.

Kellogg (mocking):"You really don't quit, do you? You could've rebuilt a life. Found someone else. But no — you had to chase shadows."

Nate didn't answer. He slammed open the next security door.

Ahead was the circular side office, once a control station — now turned into a sterile private space. Inside: clean bed, autopsy table, and terminals quietly humming. A faint smell of antiseptic and cordite.

Kellogg's voice now came from a nearby wall speaker — clearer, more measured.

Kellogg (calm):"Very well. Let's talk. I'll meet you on the other side of the room."

A panel slid open at the far end, revealing the final chamber — a wide command center ringed in screens and terminals. A central tactical table glowed dimly.

And at the far wall, leaning against a reinforced desk, stood Conrad Kellogg, cybernetic implants gleaming under dim lights. Beside him, two elite synth bodyguards with their plasma weapons charged.

Kellogg smirked as he approach.

Kellogg:"Here he is. The persistent man in the Wasteland... guided by his Doll Master. Funny, I thought I had that honor."

He chuckled coldly.

Kellogg (with a sneer):"Didn't think I'd meet you like this. But I gotta admit — you've got grit."

The room fell into a tense, mechanical silence. Consoles hummed. The overhead lights flickered, casting long shadows over the walls lined with tactical monitors and Institute terminals.

Nick Valentine ducked behind a server bank, laser pistol drawn, already scanning the synth guards flanking Kellogg.

Nick (under breath):"I've got the flanks. You handle the bastard."

Nate stepped forward, rifle raised but not yet fired. His eyes were locked on Kellogg — the man who took everything.

Nate (low, seething):"End of the line. You die — and I get my son back."

Kellogg smirked, his augmented eye whirring faintly.

Kellogg:"You had your chance to walk away, back to whatever wasteland ruins you crawled out of. But Shaun? He's... a bit older than you'd expect."

He stepped slowly away from the desk, hands relaxed, confident.

Kellogg:"I'm afraid... he's not even here. So yes — it is the end of the line. Just not the one you imagined."

Nate's voice hardened, fire behind every word.

Nate:"Then you're going to take me to him. Right now."

Kellogg laughed — dry, dismissive.

Kellogg:"Hahahaha~~Take you to him? Hah! Like I could. Even if I wanted to. Don't you get it?"

He pointed upward, vaguely.

Kellogg:"Your son's in a place where nobody can reach him. Not through walls, not through steel, not EVEN through hope."

Kellogg (coldly):"Shaun's safe. At home. In the Institute."

A beat of silence. Nate didn't lower his weapon.

Nate (tight):"So that's it. 'The Institute.' Then I'll tear it apart — brick by brick — until I find him."

Kellogg chuckled again, this time almost… impressed.

Kellogg:"Hah....That's the spirit. You know... you kind of surprise me. I gotta admit, I find myself actually kind of... liking you."

He began to pace slowly, watching Nate's every movement.

Kellogg:"I admire your dedication to fatherhood. Really. Even if it's... ultimately useless."

He drew his pistol with deliberate ease — a gleaming heavy magnum outfitted with Institute tech.

Kellogg:"But let's not pretend we don't both know how this ends."

He stopped pacing, aiming now.

Kellogg (flat):"So. Are you ready?"

Nate raised his rifle without hesitation. His voice dropped to a growl.

Nate:"You know... in a hundred years, when I finally die…"

He locked eyes with the man who stole his world.

Nate (cold):"I hope I go to hell — so I can kill you all over again, you piece of shit."

Kellogg fired first.

The synths lit up in unison — plasma beams hissing. Nick popped out from cover, flanking one with a precise headshot.

Nate dove left, returning fire in tight bursts, shouting over the gunfire.

Nick (shouting):"Don't give him time to activate....!"

Kellogg reloaded mid-combat, using a wrist-mounted cloaking field to vanish — momentarily.

Nick: "....that"

The room erupted in chaos.

Synth plasma bolts lit up the command center in streaks of burning blue. Nick Valentine strafed right, targeting one of the synth guards with rapid fire. A shot scorched his coat — he didn't flinch.

Nate dove behind a flipped workstation, Kellogg's first magnum round punching through the metal and narrowly missing his head. Sparks flew as another synth advanced, auto-laser burning hot.

Nick (shouting):"Two on the right, one flanking — Kellogg's using the chaos to reposition!"

Kellogg's voice boomed over the command center PA:

Kellogg:"Outnumbered. Outgunned. What did you think was going to happen?"

Then — a sudden hiss from the elevator shaft behind Kellogg's position.

Doors burst open.

ST AR-15 and M16A1 emerged in perfect sync, rifles raised and eyes locked forward.

ST AR-15:"Sorry for late to the party."

M16A1 (flatly):"Cleaning house. Engaging targets."

They opened fire — pinpoint suppression from ST AR-15, shredding two synth guards with rapid, center-mass bursts. M16A1 flanked, a concise double-tap putting down the last unit.

Kellogg cursed, spinning for cover — but now, he was alone.

Nate stepped forward, rifle raised, eyes burning.

Nate:"Now you're out of the shadows, Kellogg."

The smoke cleared. The room went silent — only the hum of ruined machinery remained.

Then Kellogg's stealth field disengaged.

He was behind Nate, as he suddenly charging forward.

Kellogg tackled Nate from behind — a full-body slam into the floor. The wind left Nate's lungs, but he rolled with the impact, elbowing backward hard into Kellogg's ribs.

Kellogg (snarling):"You never learned when to stop!"

Nate flipped him with a trained twist, sending Kellogg over his shoulder. The older man slammed into a console, sparks flying — but he recovered fast.

Both men lunged.

Kellogg swung first — a punch augmented by cybernetic muscle. Nate ducked it, but the second blow caught his jaw, sending him staggering back.

Nate spat blood and swung low, ripping Kellogg's leg out from under him. They both crashed into the floor in a tangle of limbs.

ST AR-15 look at M16A1 while watching the fight: "Should we help?"

M16A1 opening the locked caged door:"Nope, This is General's personal Vendetta, Commander's order. See.... Even that Synth detective is on the bench."

Kellogg mounted Nate, landing three quick punches — metallic thuds that rang Nate's skull. Blood smeared the floor.

Nate's hand found a broken pipe.

He slammed it across Kellogg's temple, breaking the rhythm. The mercenary howled, stumbling back — half-blind.

Kellogg (panting, furious):"if it wasn't order to keep you as backup, I should've killed you in Vault 111."

Nate (hoarse):"Then you make Big mistake."

Kellogg reached for his pistol — Nate kicked it across the floor.

Then, Nate charged, grabbing Kellogg by the chest rig and slamming him into a steel bulkhead. Kellogg kneed him, once, twice — but Nate didn't stop.

Fist after fist, Nate struck, until the augmented eye on Kellogg's face cracked and sputtered.

Kellogg fell to his knees.

Kellogg (gasping):"You'll... never reach him."

Nate raised his sidearm. Point-blank range at Kellog.

Nate:"Then I don't have to reach him. I just need to clear the way is suffice."

He pulled the trigger.

One shot. Right between the eyes.

Kellogg collapsed — silent. No speeches. No slow death. Just finality.

Silence settled, broken only by the crackle of broken terminals.

M16A1 stepped over Kellogg's body, scanning the room.

M16A1:"Excuse me..... Ah~ There it is. The command relay node."

She approached the wall console — a sleek node pulsating with embedded green light, deep beneath Fort Hagen's steel. Her fingers moved across the keys, bypassing failsafes via neural system.

As ST AR-15 watched her six.

M16A1:"And.....There! Command node disabled. No more remote synth and Sangvis control. They're cut off. They should be either stand down or withdraw by now"

On the other side of the room, Nick crouched beside Kellogg's body, lifting a circular cybernetic housing from the base of the skull.

Nick (grim):"hmmm these Neural implant's still intact. Looks like a memory buffer. It's Fragmented tho, but it should be usable."

Nate wiped the blood from his brow, exhausted.

Nate:"So where do we take it?"

Nick:"There's should be one place — the Memory Den in Goodneighbor. They can dive into what's left in here."

M16A1 closed the terminal."Then we move. This location's compromised. Institute could trigger a sweep or self destruct detonation if they haven't already."

ST AR-15:"Hey, the commander will need to be update."

Nate stared at the neural implant in Nick's hand.