Fallout: Enmity of the West

It hadn't even been a year yet. From what the calendars told, and what people still remembered of time, it had been seven months since the Battle of Tenpenny Tower, and still the scars of that conflict were left in the Brotherhoods mind.

While the conflict was widely named after the skirmish within the major settlement of Tenpenny Tower, and indeed that was the most notable moment in the noted conflict, during the attack dozens of other units of Caesars Legion had laid siege to other Brotherhood bases. The RobCo Facility and Fort Bannister were the most heavily hit, and though the Legion failed to bring down a single base of operations, the numbers of soldiers that fell were still catastrophic, and the civilian causalities were things people didn't even want to comprehend.

During the attempted push, in spite of the Legion losing near one hundred troops in futile assaults, they were able to make permanent base in Jacko's Pop and Gas Station and the VAPL-66 Power Station, expanding their empire into the nearby settlement of Girdershade, which has since gone quiet.

The loss of Tenpenny Tower and many of it's male residents, including Mister Burke and Herbert Dashwood, struck a massive blow for the morale of the Capital Wastelands people. The last minute attempt to flush the Legion out by unleashing ghouls from the tunnels into the tower was a success, but now the tower and it's surrounding area have been overrun indefinitely by them, now marching between the Warrington Trainyard and the tower, Roy Phillips mustering his forces to keep the tower in his ghoulish grasp.

East of the river, the Brotherhood has managed to muster the people together and keep themselves strong, though they still suffer threats of the oncoming foe. While Raiders and mercs are being picked off or integrated into the army of the Legion, mutants are either wiped out or forced to flee, and there is little the Brotherhood can do to hold the lines now. With their barriers set up and their soldiers prepared, the Brotherhood has managed to keep the Legion quiet for as long as possible. And now, messengers from the north have come down - the Railroad, the Institute, and the New California Republic have come for a meeting to discuss this oncoming danger that could spell the end of all of them.

---

"Everyone form a line. No, not like that... come on, be presentable. We don't want to look bad for these visitors now do we?"

A few of the soldiers chuckled to themselves, before forming a proper regimental line. The Paladins of the Citadel, the greatest soldiers in the entire Wasteland. Before them stood the Sentinel, Star Paladin, and Senior Scribe. Sentinel Kelly Williams was busy ensuring the men were in tip top condition, armed and primed, hitting their targets perfectly, and looking their best. Senior Scribe Rothchild looked over a pair of crates, filled with advanced tech from the Enclave and new tech he'd helped produce, intent on showing off to the Institute. But Star Paladin Casdin did not bother with the troops or equipment. He stood by the Elder, whisper into his ear.

Gideon stood by the red door, the entrance to the Citadel, cursing to himself. He was wearing his old armour, worn and battered now, few remnants of the black paint he'd covered it in for Rivet City. Casdin had personally scraped away the Brotherhood sigil, leaving it barren.
"That filthy traitor... He'll doom the entire Brotherhood with his ways."
Paladin Tristan stood by his side, shaking his head a little. They were the door guards, in case anyone would dare try anything when the representatives arrived.
"Yes, well at least he knows what he's doing. I'd rather a good traitor than a bad traitor." Tristan, as always, had a fair point.

Gideon had not been welcomed back with open arms - he'd joined the squads sent to reinforce the defences during the Legion attacks, and it was difficult for the Star Paladin to turn away a man who risked his life without links to the Brotherhood. Over the months he'd proven himself time and again, and the Elder cursed him for it.

"Gideon, I've been meaning to ask, you requested the defences of Purity be increased correct?"
Gideon nodded once, looking at his bald friend.
"Why is that? Most all our Paladins are normally stationed there now, Rivet City is barely defended and the western side of the city is essentially without combat speciality - that's hardly worth the defence of the Jefferson."

Gideon took a deep breath, watching the Sentinel as she worked, not once turning to face the man next to him.
"If the Legion crosses the river, we will need to defend D.C., and the Jefferson Memorial is too valuable to lose. We'll need to keep it as defended as possible."
Tristan nodded once, looking sternly over the regiments.
Though the river had filled with recent rains, and was now flooding a little bit, it was still crossable - the metro tunnels were still lost to the Brotherhood, and Arefu was now a major bridge used to cross the riversides. If Arefu fell...

"Attention! Representatives in base! Everyone look proper!"

Gideon stood straight and Tristan did the same as the row of Paladins stood at attention, AER9s held close to their chests, the Sentinel, Star Paladin and Senior Scribe forming a trio before them as the Elder stood at the head. Tristan and Gideon pulled the doors open, and through them came two rows of five Sentry Bots, creating a long line as two people carried up the rear, before coming in and standing before their robots, both stern faced.

"Elder Hillion?"

The old man nodded, smirking a little as he looked at one of the two before him, glad that she'd been the one to come looking for the aid of the Brotherhood.
"Hello there, Madison."

The old woman smiled to herself, stepping forward as Rothchild spoke. One of the few people amongst the Brotherhood who seemed to possess any degree of respect for her, even after everything that's happened.
"Hello, Reginald. It's good to see you're well. I'm sorry to hear about Owyn and Sarah, and..." She trailed off, as many did.
"Yes, well there's nothing we can do about it now I'm afraid."

Gideon sighed to himself, looking at Tristan, who only kept his eyes forward.
"It seems whenever someone visits the Citadel now, the first thing they do is pay respects..."
Tristan took a moment to compose himself - he, like many within the Brotherhoods circles, had lost three dear friends that day. He knew the Elder and Sentinel better than anyone, and he considered the Wanderer a welcomed new hero. And in the blink of an eye he'd lost them.
"Many people of authority and intelligence new Owyn, and paid him great respect. Countless people were saved by Sarah, and she was a symbol of hope in a bleak hour of turmoil. And the Wanderer... Well, he lived his name. He met people on his travels that some of us still know nothing about. He likely has friends all across the East Coast... And they're all so unaware of what has happened. News only travels so fast these days."

As the day grew on, the members from the Institute were ushered down into the Citadel along with the Scribes, to discuss tech, the future of their allegiance, and much more. It didn't take long for the members of the Railroad to arrive, three mercenaries and a dark skinned woman, who were welcomed and taken to meet with the troops. Only the Sentinel and Elder were left, and there was tension so thick it felt like it could've been cut by a knife.
In fact, you'd be hard pressed to even do that with it.

The soldiers too had departed, back to train after the Institute arrived. The Elder looked over at the Sentinel, none of her guards with her, and sneered.
"You know, the Railroad has been asking for some help from the Brotherhood. I'm thinking of sending you and some Paladins up there, thin your ranks here and thicken them up there. What do you think, hmm? Lord knows Broken Steel needs to break sooner rather than later, and if you're helping some old slaves in the north at least you're still helping people."
Kelly stayed quiet, shutting her eyes, trying to ignore him. Ever since her promotion, he'd done everything to antagonize her, knowing that she was now a pawn of his plans. Broken Steel, a group dedicated to bringing back the ideals of Elder Lyons, had been all but disbanded after her promotion, with no one to keep them in check and on the move. Gideon hated Hillion for everything he stood for, and seeing this before him was no help.

"Gideon. No. If you intervene Hillion will have your head on a practice dummy."
Tristans voice of reason only made the warrior angrier, knowing that people thought they needed to restrain him. He gritted his teeth, nodding a little.
"Yes, I know... But no one is doing anything anymore. He's turned us back into mindless machines, like those fools in the West. According to the NCR soldiers, they're all but wiped out now. If we keep this pace, then we'll fall just like they did."
Tristan looked at Gideon, silent, expressionless.
"Maybe we need too."

Gideon stood tall again, Tristan a few feet away doing the same, as the large iron door swung open, another Brotherhood troop the first to step through. Unlike the last two visiting parties, this one had been given a 'special escort' in the form of two Knights and a Mister Gutsy. The New California Republic, or New Californian Remnants as they were being called, had wanted to meet with the Brotherhood ever since a report from one of their Rangers who had been present during the battle at Tenpenny Tower. Hillion had of course welcomed this, if he was given all rights over the visiting party. As such, the NCR had chosen to send over only one person - Captain Gorobets of the First Recon, one of the best in the remnants of the NCRs army.

"Welcome to The Citadel, Captain Gorobets. Only you chose to come I see. Smarts."

The Captains face didn't change, only staring at the Elder. He held his hand out, and the Elder shook it meekly, while the Sentinel shook it with one hard grip. It made Gorobets at least turn his gaze.
"The NCR chose to-"
The Elder held his hand up, smiling. "I know why you came, Captain. We have two other parties here to discuss allegiance, what with the threat of the Legion bearing down on us."
The Captain raised his brow a little, before nodding curtly.
"Very good. Are you waiting on me then?"
The Sentinel nodded, perking up.
"We planned on discussing a four-pronged allied group, to at least back up our attempts at attacking the Legions bases."
Gorobets nodded again, and the group made way to the underground courts of The Citadel.

"Well..."
Tristan looked at Gideon, who broke the silence between them.
"I guess this is it then."

---

"We're not going to ally with those... those fools! The Railroad is practically a terrorist organisation! They've stolen property from us numerous times! We're not going to give them any support, or work with them."
Dr. Zimmer sat down in his seat angrily as a furious Victoria Watts stood up on the other side of the room, slamming her hands down.
"They're not your property! They are people! That the Brotherhood doesn't eradicate your cruel slavery is beyond us!"
She turned her gaze to the Elder, frowning as she looked at the weapons and gear mounted on the walls, all memorials to the Wanderer.
"You know, that hero of yours? He sold one of their mistreated people once. He stole from him and then turned the poor soul in. No hero would ever do that."
A few of the Lyons pride shifted in their seats - few were able to ignore the insult to their deceased friend.

Rothchild stood up himself, going through papers slowly. He had always been the voice of reason since the passing of the Lyons family, and he felt sad knowing this was going to go wrong without his friends help.
"We are merely asking that The Institute supply some of its androids to back our military efforts, and some of it's tech to support the combat, and that The Railroad try to get food to the major settlements in case trade routes are cut, which we expect they will be. Neither group needs to see hide nor hair of the other."
Zimmer huffed a little as Watts thought to herself. In the end, it was Dr. Madison Li who stood up.
"We accept your proposal, Scribe Rothchild."
Manya Vargas, old though she may be, did the same, and simply nodded with a smile on her face, to represent the Railroads decision.

"Very good..."
The Elder smiled, his lips curling as he looked at the lone soldier across from him.
"So, that simply leaves the NCR then. If you side with us and we attack as a united front, we will both have much easier times against the Legion. If you choose not too-"
Gorobets shook his head, smiling now.
"We were prepared to side with you, Hillion. More than prepared. Simply give us housing within the Citadel, and we-"
The bitter old man laughed cruelly, shaking his head now.
"Never would I house your people within my home. If that is your goal, then simply leave now."
The Captain stood, nodding curtly, before the Sentinel Kelly Williams spoke up, grumpily.

"No, please do not listen to him. We need the NCR as much as the NCR needs us. A pronged attack will always surpass a minimalist attack. Please, continue to consider your own offer, as we consider yours."
The Captain nodded again, before making his leave. The members of the Railroad followed suite, and Madison Li left with her guards too. Zimmer had chosen to stay behind - he was excited to get a look at what the Brotherhood had cooked up over the years and months.

Kelly looked at the members of the Lyons Pride. They all gave her a very slight smile, and she did the same to them.

---

Gideon fell to his knee, before pulling himself back up and unleashing another flurry of punches and kicks at his target, panting heavily as Tristan spun out of the way and slammed his opponent in the gut.
"Jeez, Rivet City really does have a poor training regimen."
Gideon slowly forced himself back up, coughing up a little blood as he shook his head.
"No... I've just been lazy..."
It had been about an hour since the parties had made way into the chambers. Their had been yelling for a long time, but it seemed like everyone had come to a close. Li and her party had left a while ago along with the Railroad, and now Zimmer was coming up, though he was accompanied by only one person, the same person he'd always been seen with - Armitage, one of his androids. Gideon watched the two intently as Zimmer whispered in his androids ear, likely for some sort of recordings. The androids were hardly able to hold proper discussions.

Gideon could hear them as he inched over, the two preparing to leave the Citadel.
"These people are hardly qualified to offer us defence. The Midwestern chapter is far more advanced, in higher number, and more well enforced. And the fact that they are even willing to question their superiors is disastrous. No, we wont be investing in these pitiful ingrates. The Midwest can defend us."
Then, the two vanished behind the great iron door of the Citadel. Gideon scratched his cheek, thinking.

The Midwestern Chapter... It's not possible...

"You needa fix your sights Private. If you're aiming as well as you say you are then that gun of yours is busted."
The soldier nodded, running off quickly to get his weapon fixed by the on-site mechanics. Mjr. Jackson Brown eyed the men on the field, some recognizable, others not so much. The large parking lot had been turned into a firing range, and though it provided some good use and even intimidation, the fact of the matter was that this place wasn't all that good in reality. A Drive-In and Caverns system turned into a base of operations... What had the NCR become?

From where the Rangers stood, up on piss-poor towers about three feet high, Brown knew they could see the Legion patrol route. Both sides were watching the other, and though a front line had been established, neither had the balls to advance on the other.
One break in Legion forces would be catastrophic to their morale, and the NCR didn't have the men to break their own forces.

"Brown, good to see you out here."

Jackson turned and to his surprise, saw Captain Aaron Barnett walking towards him, looking over the troops too. Jackson turned back, nodding once.
"Mhmm."
Aaron laid a hand on the Majors shoulder, sighing.
"Tenpenny Tower was gone no matter what you did."
Jackson nodded. He knew that. But the Legion still managed to push him out, and that was something he couldn't stand.

"If the Legion tries to make a push, we wont win. You know that, Barnett. They outnumber us 10 to 1. We have the upper ground, but..."
Jackson sighed, tapping his feet.
"I hope the Brotherhood were willing to hear us out. We need them now more than ever. Not even the Master made us form a bond... But this..."

---

"Who next! Who will challenge my might!?"

Steel-Skull stood in the arena, drenched in his enemies blood, laughing manically as he tore the limbs off one of the other slaves arms and used it to beat the still writhing Legionnaire. He'd beaten near fifteen opponents now, with five of them being Legion soldiers who challenged him. He stomped on ones skull and ripped out the others, grinning toothily.
"WHO NEXT!?"

The door to the arena opened, and Steel-Skull turned on his spot, grinning and slamming his fists together.
"Yes... show me my prey!"

Through the opening he came, dressed in nothing but a cloth. The Decanus, the Son of Pluto, Hades. The raider licked his lips, cracking his knuckles.
"Well isn't this just perfect... I'll show you all how chosen this one is!"
The raider charged at his enemy, slamming into him, and together the opponents slammed into the arena wall.

---

"Miss Itou!"
Azumi turned to face the young Officer, brow raised. He'd been trying hard to gain her attention, and while it had been effective, it still wasn't entirely impressive.
"We recovered some recon armour that our predecessors had planned on using. It seems suited for stealth combat - we could give it to our spies and see if it helps them. We also claimed some old Plasma Grenades, far more powerful than modern ones."

The Lieutenant nodded, and he hurried off to begin his preparations. Whatever it was he had planned, Azumi was sure he'd get it done.

---

"Tempran, go on patrol. You're not needed here right now."
Gideon huffed a little, closing his eyes and nodding. He turned on his feet and made his way out of the Citadel, the Sentinel and Star Paladin behind him. Only one smiled as the soldier was ushered away.

"What're you gonna do, Star, when the Legion comes knocking on our door? We have no allies anymore. The Rangers barely wish to speak to us. Rivet City ignores us, and we wiped out any other possible military allies. What then, Star?!"

The Paladin pushed Gideon out the door, snarling furiously.
"Then we'll show them your head on a spike, and they'll know how we treat our enemies."