Eighteen months ago, this was a strange new world, but now, somehow, I am in charge of its destiny. I am still trying to wrap my brain around that one. Eight years as a Marine, 200 as a human meatcicle, and somehow I am qualified to lead an army that is supposed to establish order in a region of anarchy called the Commonwealth?
All I wanted to do when I came out of the big sleep was avenge my wife and find my son… Well, I did both, but there were a few unexpected developments along the way. In fact, I wouldn't even bother writing this if it weren't for the constant proddings from one of those "developments". Piper is nothing if not persistent. "Write it down Blue…" I guess after you hear something a thousand times, it starts to take root.
Since this is my first entry, I feel I had better include a SITREP.
The general euphoria that had filled the majority of the Commonwealth after the Institute was vaporized was short lived. Within the first 10 days it was apparent that the Brotherhood of Steel was intending to stay. With their "We are right and everyone else is wrong" mindset and their overwhelming xenophobic practices, their departure was an event we were all looking forward to.
Danse had warned me that I was being overly optimistic, but I disregarded his opinion and was caught off guard when a Brotherhood scribe showed up at the Castle telling me the Elder Maxon wanted to talk to me and that I was being "summoned" to the Prydwyn. Summoned? That arrogant asshat was summoning me to his blimp? How about – No. I admit that my initial response could have been better worded, but we finally agreed to meet in Diamond City at the Dugout Inn for a conversation.
Almost immediately, Maxon made it clear that the Brotherhood had found enough technical data and technology to warrant their remaining here. It was when I attempted to explain to him that whatever was in the Commonwealth was going to stay in the Commonwealth for the benefit of the people that he left, warning me to keep my band of "miscreants" out of the way of the true power in the area..
Fourteen days after the Institute was erased, the Brotherhood launched three coordinated attacks against the Castle, Starlight Drive in, and Sanctuary Hills. Military, strategic and personal. To their surprise, we managed to repel all three attacks, but at great cost. By far the biggest for them was their loss of 4 vertibirds with associated crews when they hit the Castle. I am pretty sure they weren't expecting the 14.5mm heavy machine guns we had installed for air defense only 24 hours before. That battle was over almost as soon as it started. The attack at Starlight cost several lives, but the Brotherhood also learned a lesson about underestimating "simple farmers". They wanted to disrupt our main caravan hub for the north, but instead were schooled by 30 pissed of settlers that had all been outfitted with assault and combat rifles by the Minutemen. Expecting pipe weapons and getting a mouthful of .45 and 5.57 had to be a real shocker for those Brotherhood fanatics. "Semper Invictus" that, you dickheads.
Sanctuary Hills... Maxon did his homework on my friends and I. He figured out that it was a kind of central hub and gathering place. He recognized it for what it is - Home. I am still not positive that he knew I was there when the attack occurred - I have a feeling that if he did, it would have been a lot heavier. It was 3:00am when the sound of the perimeter turrets woke us up. Set 100 meters in front of the guard posts, these turrets are not only the first line of defense, but the early warning system. Within minutes every person in Sanctuary was up and in motion, armed for bear. Faces around me reflected every thing from fear to anger. I remember the Longs hunkering down in place with Marcy, annoying bitch that she is, complaining about security shortcomings. (I can't count the number of times I have thought about putting a round in her head and dumping her body in the lake out back...) I saw Strong, genius that he is, running into the middle of a group of power armor clad Knights with a supersledge and going berserk, scattering them like bowling pins. There had to be 40-50 Brotherhood goons coming in from all 4 sides carrying everything from assault rifles to mini-guns. They knew we had only one or two suits of power armor in sanctuary and had us out armored about 10/1. What they didn't know was that we had two of the PTR-71s that we had pulled out of a vertibird taken out by super mutants a few days before. The biggest damn gun I have ever seen, these bastards use the same rounds as the heavy machine guns as the Castle. By the time Sturges and I had gotten into the watchtower in the middle of town, houses were burning and I saw bodies in yards and in the streets. I saw a look of cold hatred cross over Sturges's face illuminated by the light of burning houses.
"Kill them all.." Those were the only words he said.
One by one, we started taking out the knights in power armor. Each one that dropped was accompanied by the sound of the report of the rifles and the distinctive explosions of the HE ammo. It took four or five knights going down before the Brotherhood understood that they had lost both momentum and advantage. Sturges and I were relentless and dropped another five of the heavies before they managed to get to the their extraction point on the other side of the ridgeline. Before we were able to launch the counter attack, three vertibirds had arrived to extract the remaining attackers.
In dawn's light we took inventory and performed a roll call. On the positive, we acquired five more full set of the T-60 power armor with plenty of spare parts. Of the 10 PA frames, 9 were useable. We recovered a few thousand rounds of ammunition, five assault rifles, four combat rifles, a minigun, and a gauss rifle. While I am sure that this was a heavy loss for the Brotherhood, it didn't compare to the casualties we sustained. We had lost 16 people in the attack and had sustained 47 wounded. While this was bad enough news, learning that Mama Murphy was among the dead dealt a blow that was as hard as it was unexpected. That, more than anything, made this victory feel like a defeat. For as odd as that old bird was, she was the glue for Sanctuary Hills. After freeing herself from the chems, she had become a mother to everyone that came in and was loved by all. Though we all felt the blow, Strong was inconsolable. Somehow, Mama Murphy had developed a special relationship with him. She was so small and feeble, but she was also the first person to tell him to shut up. When he tried to rage at her, she slapped him in the face and told him that he needed to be still and quiet. I don't think anyone had ever treated him like that and, via her fearlessness, she became something of a surrogate parent to him. Now she is gone and I am not sure he fully understands what loss is. He kind of reminds me of a puppy waiting for its owner to come home, constantly wandering over to her room and then back to his own, but there is one thing for sure, he wants revenge.
On a day that was meant to break our spirit, the Brotherhood accomplished the exact opposite. Within 24 hours, the number of settlements allied with the Minutemen doubled, our ranks swelled, and we even had raider leaders requesting amnesty and permission to join settlements for them and their followers. On top of our successful defense against Brotherhood aggression, confirmed reports were starting to come in from elsewhere around the Commonwealth of packs of Gunners carrying out a scorched earth campaign wearing Brotherhood colors.
It has begun.
War never changes.