Courser

"Coursers are Institute synths, designed for one purpose. They're hunters. Operations go wrong, a synth goes missing, and a Courser is dispatched. They're very good at what they do, and you're going to have to kill one."

- Brian Virgil telling the Sole Survivor's future

Coursers are a type of elite operative utilized by the Institute, typically for synth retention, in 2287.

Background
The primary instrument of the SRB is the Courser, a third-generation synth assigned to operate on the surface. Coursers hunt down and reclaim synths that have escaped the Institute. They are highly self-sufficient, trained in combat, infiltration and tracking. In a word, Coursers are relentless.

Coursers are drawn from the third generation synth population, constantly monitored for tenacity, fearlessness, and independence. When synths are identified with these traits, the basic necessary skills are transferred into their minds. Stealth, espionage, combat training as well as survival and repair skills. They then undergo a rigorous training regimen. Where they further hone these new abilities to even higher levels. Everything from armed and unarmed combat, investigative techniques, psychology and even mechanical skills must be perfected. Those who pass a final evaluation become Coursers, re-registered as X (eg. X6-88) or Z (eg. Z2-47) synths, and receive final upgrades: Subdermal armor implants increasing their resilience in combat, roughly equivalent to a full suit of light combat armor, and their cranial synth implant is upgraded with acourser chip to relay them into and out of the Institute.

Those who fail the evaluation have their memories wiped and return to their former duties.

Quests

 * Coursers are encountered in the following quests:
 * Hunter/Hunted
 * Hunting the Hunter
 * Operation Ticonderoga

Appearances
Coursers appear only in Fallout 4.