Now here's a bit of context for this concept, where it takes place in the timeline and all that...


FO:4C takes place in the early 2300s, 2307, to be exact, so about 30 years after Fallout 3, and 26 years after NV. While California and D.C. are nearly restored to their prewar state, the center of what was once called the United States of America is largely stagnant. Many nations are beginning to eye this area as a frontier to tame, and one of the greatest "prizes" in this war is none other than the Prairie Wasteland. The Arsenal is the reason for this. All of the factions vying for the cache of weapons stored there know that it could be the edge in conquering this stretch of waste, as well as in their future enterprises. With the ability to replicate this technology, thanks to the computer network on the arsenal retaining the schematics, they could mass produce these in the prewar factories, and with them, sweep the wastes with weapons not seen for over two centuries.


The Midwest Brotherhood had tried, many years ago, to invade this citadel of wartime treasures, yet could not. Over the intervening years, their grand conquest of the entire Midwestern United States proved a bit less grand than they'd thought. Through anger over their ruthless assimilation of all of the various tribal cultures they'd come into contact with, the draconian law that a series of facist elders established, and a general trend toward returning to the West Coast Brotherhood's ideas. Elder Canis, the current leader of this Brotherhood, was forced from the secluded vault in Colorado, and was forced to take refuge in a pocket of support in Eldridge, Iowa. There, Canis saw opportunity. The Midwestern Brotherhood was all called to Eldridge, to begin planning for their greatest conquest yet: Arsenal Island.


During the same period of time, five families from Singapore, yet originating across the world set out to conquer the Wasteland. The Prairie is their first target. Zia Azimi, Percival Tenpenny, Caroline Murdoch, Lee Wong, and Yulia Portnova. These five representatives of their respective families brought machines of their own, and with these devices, improved by the scientists of each of these massive corporations, they managed to form a strong grip on what once was the Iowa Quad Cities. They Wrenched Control from The Brotherhood, whom they immediately regarded as their greatest threat. Back to Eldridge they chased them, but Their adversary withstood a siege of their main base, and The Contractors eventually gave the fight up, to focus on breaking into the Arsenal. Ten years have now passed.


For a time, it seemed that The Contractors might have established themselves as the dominant power in the region, and perhaps, in time, established a new nation state, but there was another force in the region, that had entered around the same time: The Followers of the Apocalypse. When they came to the Prairie Wasteland, The Followers had no intention of ruling territory. They wished only to aid the people of the wastes. The wasteland itself changed all of that. The unfamiliar territory and distrusting atmosphere made The Followers protected by none, and suspected by all. The expedition's leader, one Bethany Meitner, was faced with either the death of their forces, or a risky, unpredictable, and very much uncharacteristic of Followers' Modus Opperandi rebranding as a military organization. It proved a success. They established themselves fairly solidly in the Illinois Quad Cities, driving out the previous rulers, The Bluesmen. For this, The Contractors hold a grudging sort of debt to them, though neither faction has any intention of forming an alliance with the other. Simply put, their ideologies are far too different for that. Currently, the war is being waged over the bridges that span The Mississippi, with a particular emphasis on those that lead to Arsenal Island. Currently, they are searching for a way to defeat the truly legendary machine guard stationed there, and find the means to establish themselves as the dominant force in the midwest. Meanwhile, miles east of the Quad Cities, a small remnant of The Enclave watches tepidly, hoping to strike against the weakened victor in the contest for The Arsenal.


In Summary:

-This takes place a good deal after New Vegas.

-The Quad Cities were hit decently hard by the bombs, but were well prepared, and thus while the death toll was high, and the general area was fairly irradiated, the buildings are well preserved, and there's plenty of resources to be scavenged, including the mother lode in The Arsenal.

-The Midwest Brotherhood fell victim to the inherent problems with their faction's ideology when it comes to large scale governance. While they had started well, The Codex carried too much weight among them, and they fell back into old ways when breaking them stopped being necessary for their survival. Combine that with the anger over the wanton cultural assimilation, and they simply could not continue on their present course. Now they have to rebuild, and learn lessons from the past, if they can...

-The Contractors are wealthy businesspeople from prominent pre-war families whose primary interest in the area is the technology, and while they aren't opposed to establishing infrastructure, they are only doing so because it will help their interests.

-The Followers are quite different form their western incarnations, and they have an equal interest in governance as in technology and medicine, though they still aren't especially good governors.