Krieg

Paladin  (–2278) was an officer of Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel who sponsored and mentored Danse, after picking him up during a recruitment run at Rivet City. According to the Paladin, Krieg was the toughest squad leader he ever served with, and  a model soldier. Embodying the values every trainee was striving to achieve, Krieg was fiercely loyal, secure in his beliefs and brave to a fault. Krieg singled Danse out from the moment he landed in his squad, pushing the Initiate hard from the beginning. They fought together for years and made it intact through several close calls. Krieg never explained why he rode Danse harder than others. Danse never got his answer: After he was promoted out from under Krieg's wings, there never seemed to be time left to ask. When Danse reached the rank of Paladin, roughly at the time of the Assault on Adams Air Force Base, Paladin Krieg was killed in action storming the AFB, and taking the answer with him to the grave. Eventually, Danse sussed out the answer for himself and used Krieg's approach on everyone he found worthy.The Sole Survivor: "Does it have anything to do with the Brotherhood?"

Danse: "I wouldn't necessarily say that. This isn't a formal meeting. I... simply want to clear the air. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot when we first met and I feel like I owe you an apology. Expecting you to embrace the standards of the Brotherhood without having a history with us was unfair. And given that you've adjusted so well to our beliefs, I don't think I needed to push so hard."

The Sole Survivor: "So there is a human being under all of that power armor after all."

Danse: "Sometimes I need a reminder, but yes... there is. When I was an Initiate, my sponsor was Paladin Krieg. Toughest squad leader I ever served with. He was a model soldier, embodying the values every trainee was striving to achieve. Fiercely loyal, secure in his beliefs and brave to a fault. From the moment I was assigned to his squad I was singled out... it felt like he was pushing me harder than the rest of the team. I fought by his side for years and we had some seriously close calls, but he never explained to me why I was treated that way."

The Sole Survivor: "It sounds like he was trying to motivate you."

Danse: "If he was, I never got a chance to ask. After I was promoted to Paladin and I had moved on to my own squad, I received word that Krieg was killed at Adams Air Force Base. The news was like being kicked in the stomach. I mean, I'd lost some of my brothers and sisters before, but his death... well, it really got to me. It's taken me a long time to realize it, but the reason Krieg was so tough on me is the same reason I'm so tough on you. It's because I believe in you and I don't want to see any of your potential go to waste."

The Sole Survivor: "Well, it took you long enough to notice."

Danse: "What can I say? Maybe I'm becoming more like Krieg than I realized. Well, I've said what I had to say and I hope that it meant something to you. I... trust you'll keep this in confidence of course. Some of that information was of a personal nature, and well, I'd like to keep it that way."

(Danse's dialogue)

Appearances
is mentioned only in Fallout 4.