Cait woke and pulled herself up from the bed, her bare legs tangled in the thin sheets. She stood and dressed, pulling a loose shirt over her breasts and sliding her legs into a pair of well-worn pants. Even at seven in the morning, Fiztop Grill was bustling. She could see Porter Gage on the balcony, looking out over the park. Nisha and Mason, the only two remaining gang bosses sat at a table, pouring over a map, Mason sipping from a Nuka Cola. Last but not least was her lover, Ryan Edvan, Overboss of Nuka World stood by his power armor, repairing the suit's helmet.
She crossed over to him and pressed her hands to his chest, moaning as he held her, pressing his lips to her forehead. A laugh sounded from the corner and she turned, spotting Mason and Nisha watching them.
"Enough of the lovey crap," Mason called to them, "we got a problem."
Ryan strolled over to the table and dropped his welder on the bar.
"What's wrong Mason?"
"I got a report an hour ago."
"And?"
"That damned cowboy wannabe Garvy's men overran the outpost at Sunshine Tidings last night. We lost fifteen fighters and the radio tower there."
"Fuck!"
"Yeah. Those fucking farmers are pushing us back. The only place we've still got in the Commonwealth is the Monorail Station, and if they take that, they've got a free line to just walk the fuck up to our front door whenever the fuck they want."
Ryan slammed his fist into the table and collapsed into a chair.
"What do you think we should do guys?" he asked, addressing his three advisors.
They exchanged looks, seeming almost worried, before Gage spoke up.
"We all agree. The best shot we have at regaining lost ground is to try something they won't expect. Here." He pointed to a marker on the map. "Abernathy Farm. Lightly guarded, low Minutemen presence, but it's the center of all the Minutemen caravans in the area. We take that, they lose the ability to move supplies to the posts they took from us, leaving them vulnerable."
"So what you're saying is that if we take this farm, we'll have a good position to retake our outposts?"
"Yeah."
"Then here's the plan. Nisha. I want as many fighters as you can spare from their jobs her positioned at the Transportation Center. If things go bad, we need it as a fallback point. Mason, get an assault force together, we're taking this place!"
"Yeah boss."
Mason and Nisha left, taking the elevator down and heading off to complete their orders.
"I don't know what you did boss, but you're a fuckin miracle worker. You took to leaders that haven't stopped fighting since I first joined, and you got them working together like a fucking machine."
"Stop kissing ass and get ready Gage. We're going on warpath." Ryan turned back and headed back to his power armor.
The assault force stood on a ridge overlooking Abernathy Farm, ready for battle. Mason, Cait, Ryan, Gage, and ten Pack Fighters stood ready. Ryan grinned putting down his binoculars.
"They've literally got nothing. There's like 15 farmers down there, but they've got no weapons. Guard wise, they have three turrets, two Minutemen, and a dog." He laughed. Gage grinned.
"So this gon' be easy boss?"
"Oh yeah. No need for plans. Ready?"
"Yeah"
"Let's get 'em boys!"
Anna Favalson stood on a watchtower, her musket leaning against the ramparts next to her. Abernathy Farm was the most boring post in the entire Commonwealth. Surrounded by other Minutemen outposts, nobody was ever going to attack this place.
Suddenly, a shot rang out. She scooped up her laser musket and rushed to the rail. A small group of raiders, tooled out with weapons and armor was charging across the field towards the main building. As she raised her weapon to fire, she felt a burning pain in her shoulder.
'I just got shot!'
She crumpled, hitting the floor of the tower and dropping her gun. Seconds later she heard boots on the tower stairs, and a raider in yellowed metal armor with a Mohawk was standing over her, pistol at her head. The last thing she saw was the muzzle flash of the gun.
Blake Abernathy woke to the sound of a gunshot. Stepping out of his house, he realized too late that the farm was under attack, as a raider gunned him down, sending the devoted father and husband to the ground, dead.
Ryan laughed as he, Gage, and Mason supervised the capture of the surviving farmers. The owner of the farm had been killed, as had the guards, but Lucy and Connie Abernathy had been captured, along with several other farmers. He leaned over to Mason.
"Mason, pick four of your men to stay here, then have the rest load up the prisoners and let's get moving."
He moved over to the radio tower and flipped a switch, changing the frequency over to the one the raiders used.
"Nisha, you're good to go. Once you've taken Sunshine Co-op, leave some fighters there and report to me at Fiztop."
The radio crackled and Nisha responded.
"Yeah boss."