Synth Retention

Synth Retention is an Institute main quest in Fallout 4.

Detailed walkthrough
Speak with Father about the Institute, he'll request help dealing with a renegade synth turned raider at Libertalia. There will be a Courser companion at Nahant Wharf who needs to be collected first. Once he is collected, fight along the network of ships until the target is reached. On entering the cabin, X6-88 will initiate conversation and provide Gabriel's recall code.

On reaching the top of the ship Gabriel will initiate conversation, no matter what a fight will break out. Using the synth's factory reset code will disable Gabriel and keep the fight limited to a few raiders. There's a couple of persuasion checks that give extra choices like the password for the Master locked terminal that can open a nearby safe. Once the fight is over, X6-88 will teleport out with Gabriel.

The player can simply kill Gabriel, much to X6-88's dismay. This option will require extreme speed and luck. Another option to kill Gabriel is to toss two bottlecap mines before ending the dialogue. Or, deploying mines at the top of the ship where Gabriel is confronted will kill him and his crew before the screen is even loaded. Another possible option is to move away from Gabriel, making sure to bring along X6-88 so he doesn't call out the recall code. Yet another option is to switch to V.A.T.S. right after entering the rooftop and kill Gabriel using a Fat Man. Moving to the top of the ship, above the terminal and safe to the plank will make them hostile, allowing the player to kill Gabriel. This will also trigger different dialogues from many of the Institute scientists and Father.

On returning to the Institute there will be another discussion with Father, he'll provide quarters. Upon entering them the mission is complete and The Battle of Bunker Hill begins.

Companion affinity

 * Curie, Danse, Deacon, Hancock, MacCready, Piper, Preston Garvey, Cait, and Nick Valentine dislike going through with this quest.
 * Deacon loves it, Piper and Curie like it, if the Sole Survivor tells X6-88 that it would be more humane to kill the synth than to steal his freedom when given the recall code. Curie also likes the 'avoid violence' response.
 * Cait likes the Sole Survivor asking Gabriel how much loot he has.
 * Cait likes responding to Gabriel's bribe with hostility.
 * Preston Garvey loves it when the Sole Survivor refuses a bribe.
 * Cait likes the Sole Survivor accepting the bribe, or electing to take his loot by force.
 * MacCready likes, and Curie dislikes, when the Sole Survivor either accepts the bribe or says they'll just kill Gabriel and take the loot themselves.
 * Curie and Codsworth love when the Sole Survivor responds to X6-88 with a non-violent response.
 * Nick Valentine loves when the Sole Survivor responds to X6-88 with a violent response.
 * Strong, Cait and MacCready like when responding to X6-88 sarcastically.
 * Strong dislikes it if the Sole Survivor says the code, negotiates, or irritates Gabriel. Strong even dislikes it when X6-88 and not the player uses the code on Gabriel.

There appears to be a disconnect between the affinity changes generated and the actual spoken responses, for many of the companions. For example, Nick "loves" saying it would be more humane to kill Gabriel than use the recall code, but Nick states "I think you and I got real different definitions of 'humane,'" which implies he shouldn't like this choice. Further along, Danse "hates" refusing Gabriel's bribe or electing to take his loot by force, yet his spoken responses are "A wise choice, soldier," and "This is going to be a pleasure," respectively. As far as actual gameplay is concerned, any affinity changes calculate as stated, so this is likely a developer oversight.

Bugs
If There is a Vertibird nearby and X6-88 is in combat with it, the Vertibird may go into the ground while X6-88 is still in combat with it, making the quest uncompletable
 * X6-88 may not appear next to your quarters at the Institute, preventing the final objective from being completed.
 * This can be fixed by fast-traveling back to Libertalia, locating X6-88 (he will mostly at all times be located at a small boat directly between Libertalia and Nordhagen Beach), and begin shooting him. After he takes some damage, the game will prompt the quest as completed.
 * Alternatively, open the console and type while standing in front of your quarters. Close the console and open it again, which will force X6-88 back into his normal routine.
 * X6-88 may get stuck underwater when attempting to attack nearby raiders before being able to speaking to him the first time.
 * This can be fixed by simply entering the captain's quarters at Libertalia, progressing the quest and moving X6-88.
 * After killing Gabriel, the quest description will remain the same as if he was deactivated by the recall code, mentioning the now dead synth being returned to the Institute and the success of the mission.
 * If you manage to kill Gabriel his body can't be selected and looted.

Retención de synths Nadzór syntków Retenção de Sintéticos Задержание Затримання 回收合成人