Star Paladin Cross walked through the laboratory of the Citadel. The place seemed strangely empty since Maxson had taken Liberty Prime with him on his expedition to the Commonwealth. Most of the Brotherhood's troops went with him, only a few staying behind to maintain control of the Capital. She had been left in charge of the Citadel's forces. Making her way to the other side of the room, Cross approached a red haired woman tinkering with a device.
"Scribe Vallincourt, I'm here for your progress report".
The Scribe barely glanced up from her work. She had always had a rebellious streak in her. She'd worshiped Owyn Lyons and loyally followed Sarah, but truth be told it was obvious she had never been comfortable with the direction Maxson was taking the Brotherhood.
"The problem with the Deathclaw control device is the range. Ten years ago I was able to build portable tech that could overwrite the frequency and put the holder in charge of the creatures, but when they strayed too far from the primary signal emitter it caused severe cerebral hemorrhaging. So far, I haven't been able to miniaturise the power source for the primary emitter to enable the Deathclaws to act as mobile soldiers instead of just guard dogs".
"Very well. Please continue. Steel be with you".
Cross walked away from the Scribe and returned to the Citadel's B ring. They would have to find a way to bolster their ranks if they wanted to hold the Wasteland in the Elder's absence. For the time being, however, there was a new threat. Two Knights had been found dead to the North-West, their heads practically vaporised. This was no raider attack, or even Super Mutants. Raiders would've taken their armor and weapons, Mutants would've taken the bodies to eat. Whoever had killed those boys was well-armed, highly trained, and a mystery as far as motive goes. The level of expertise shown in the attack meant one of two things. Either the Enclave had returned, a grim prospect given the Brotherhood's depleted forces. Or, there was a rogue variable introducing itself to the Wasteland. And Cross didn't know which option worried her more.
Orion had left his power armor in the room Amata gave him. Underneath, had been wearing his Armored Vault 101 Jumpsuit, still in good condition after 10 years. Now he and Amata were sitting in the Overseer's office, ready to catch up. He took a sip of his Nuka-Cola before he spoke.
"Bring me up to speed Amata".
"Where to begin. After Sarah died and you vanished, the Brotherhood was in turmoil. Quite a few idiot Elders were appointed. The Super Mutants began gaining ground again and the raiders started regrouping. Then they appoint Maxson as Elder and he comes down like a holy fire. Kills this new Mutant leader called Shepard, and then he brings those asshole Outcasts back into the fold. They introduced a water tax on all the settlements, but they also refused to keep delivering the water. Completely burned out Paradise Falls. Started hording any tech they could find or steal. We heard rumours that they tried to kill off the Family, but most of them escaped. On top of the water tax, they hit Underworld with a 'Ghoul Tax'. Apparently it's an insurance policy, to compensate for the ammo they'll use up when the population turns feral and has to be wiped out. Talon Company were wiped out, but they also went to war with the Regulators. The Metro system is the city is almost unusable. Since the Brotherhood have Vertibirds for transport they don't need to use the tunnels, so they just let them become infested with ghouls and raiders again. Rivet city got their fusion reactor commandeered to power that Airship they've built. And there was the Megaton massacre. They marched into the city to take the bomb. Of course, The Church of the Atom tried to stop them and were slaughtered for their efforts. Basically, Orion, the wasteland has gone to shit".
He took a moment to take it all in. Never in a million years did he ever think this would happen to the Brotherhood. Helping the people of the Wasteland had been what made the group strong, the support of every man woman and child in the Capital is what allowed them to overcome any and all odds. Now Arthur wanted to throw that all away to get cushy with the West Coast again? Owyn and Sarah would both be spinning in their graves if they could see what had become of their vision.
"Orion?" said Amata quietly, almost fearfully, "Why… Why did you leave?".
He put his head in his hands and sighed. Why had he left? A thousand different excuses came to mind. He'd had enough of the fighting, he thought the Brotherhood had everything under control, he wanted to spend his time researching the mutation cure in the Pitt. He knew none of these were the real reason though. He also knew Amata would be able to tell if he lied. She wouldn't push it, he was sure of that, but she'd been his best friend for 19 years. He didn't want to lie to her. He looked up, a tiny tear sparkling in the corner of his eye.
"Sarah… when she died… she was pregnant" came the monotone robotic voice, incapable of sobbing. "It was mine".
Amata put her hand on his shoulder, desperate to comfort her long lost friend. Just then, a man walked in with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Hey babe, I heard we had a visitor"
"Freddie, this isn't a good time" she shot back at her husband.
"Oh, right" he replied, glancing between Orion and his wife. "Well look man, it's great to see you again. Hey, maybe now you're back, you can up to some of those old Lone Wanderer antics Three Dog won't stop going on about. You know, kicking ass and saving the Wasteland".
Amata glared at him until he backed out the door. She looked back at Orion and to her surprise she found him smiling. Suddenly, she began laughing like she couldn't help it, and tried to apologise through the laughter.
"Don't be sorry" replied Orion "If this voice module had a laughter function I'd be joining you. Seriously though, you and Freddie Gomez?"
"He's a sweet guy. Once we opened the vault he stopped being so mopey and aggressive, and he was a lot easier to get along with".
Orion finished off the last of his Nuka-Cola in one massive gulp. He took a deep breath, running through all the thoughts in his head before speaking.
"He's right you know. I need to get out there and fix this mess. It's partly my fault anyway".
Amata sighed heavily. Typical Orion, running headfirst into danger.
"Is there any way we can help?"
"There is, actually. There's a few people I need to track down…"
