It had been two weeks since Chris had woken from his coma. In that time, he had set up a workshop in the sink, building a new suit of power armor for himself. He'd also been tinkering with designs for a new weapon, Metal Blaster having been crushed and torn apart on the Strip. The armor was made of a saturnite/titanium alloy, making it lightweight, but just as strong as his old suit. The bulky helmet design was sleeked down, the radiation filtration system losing its cords and pipes to an integrated gas mask like apparatus. The armor also left his right arm free, to better utilise the new built-in weaponry. Stealth boy tech in the armor would allow him to use a cloaking field when needed. It was still bigger and heavier than recon armor, which would compromise its effectiveness in sneaking, but every little helps. He was applying the finishing touches, spray-painting and yellow "101" on the chest and Brotherhood insignias and the shoulders, when Wolfe entered. Chris finished his work, looked at the new armor for a moment, then turned.
"How did you do it?".
Wolfe looked at him. They both knew what the Paladin meant. He wanted to know how a courier had infiltrated the lair of one of the best fighting forces in the wasteland and almost single-handedly massacred them all. Wolfe chuckled, and then answered.
"I led a coup".
Chris blinked a few times, unsure if he had heard the courier correctly.
"Yes, a coup. You see, there were a lot of Brotherhood members who weren't happy with the status quo. Knight Lorenzo and Scribe Schuler were two of the most prominent. Between the three of us we managed to convince a large number of the Brotherhood members, especially the younger members, to join the coup. By the time the NCR were demanding the Brotherhood's death, we had just under half of the total membership on our side. Then it was time to strike. First, we made sure that everyone on the upper level was a loyalist. Then, Boone, ED-E and I snuck into the office of the head of security. Paladin Ramos was a good man, it was tough to kill him, but it had to be done. Then we hacked his computer and activated the turret security system, programming it to attack brotherhood members. Within minutes the loyalists had lost half their force. That was the signal for the rebels to begin the attack downstairs. We rushed down to help. I was helped greatly by a weapon called a 'pulse gun'. I was able to use it to fry any loyalists in power armor. Within an hour we had taken the bunker. After the Battle of Hoover Dam, the rebel Knights and Paladins joined up with the Vegas Army, while the Scribes joined up with the Followers of the Apocalypse".
There was silence in the room for a long minute. Chris digested the information he had just learned. The Mojave chapter had survived, in a way, thanks to the Courier. On one hand, Chris was shocked at the apparent ease with which Wolfe had convinced Brotherhood members to turn on each other. On the other hand, he was relieved that some of his comrades had seen sense and adapted to the changing face of the Wasteland.
"So now you know" came a voice from the doorway.
The two men turned to see Veronica standing there, looking at them. Chris glanced back and forth between Veronica and Wolfe, confusion written across his face.
"Veronica knew all along" Wolfe explained. "She feigned ignorance to gauge your reactions, and see if you would use the information I gave you to turn her against me. I'm glad to see you and your companions proved trustworthy".
Chris laughed and smiled at the two, shaking his head at the mechanisms of politics. Veronica walked over to the workbench and picked up Chris's homemade weapon, which looked like a small Tesla Cannon.
"I'm calling it a 'Tesla Rifle'" Chris explained. "It packs a slightly smaller punch than the Cannon, but it makes up for it by being easier to handle and lighter. Plus, I've made sure that the aftershock effect from the Cannon remains. I salvaged a few components, like the stock and trigger, from Metal Blaster. The Tesla Coil came that old Securitron plant. I also reinforced the body with saturnite".
Veronica looked the weapon over. It was quite a piece of work. She knew that back in the day, the Brotherhood would have literally killed for tech like this. Then again, they would have slaughtered anyone and everyone if t meant they could get their hands on what was here in the Big MT. Despite all the death, she was just glad Wolfe had managed to find another solution aside from murdering everyone in the Hidden Valley Bunker.
A radio signal came in to the Central Intelligence Unit. It was Kreger.
"Sir, all the troops are ready to go, awaiting your orders".
Wolfe rushed to the CIU, ready to coordinate the attack.
"Ok, this is the plan. The main army will move out from Hidden Valley and March towards Freeside, engaging any hostiles encountered along the way. Do not, however, deviate from your course. The squadron holed up in the NCR safehouse will rendezvous will the super mutants at Black mountain to retake Camp McCarran, where they can send support to the Strip via the Monorail if needed. The squadron from the Followers safehouse will rendezvous with the super mutants in Jacobstown and the squad in the Remnants Bunker to attack from the North-West, while the squadron from Brotherhood safehouse will rendezvous with the Boomers to attack from the North-East. Finally, we've had reports of Abominations in large numbers at Mojave Outpost and Cottonwood Cove, presumably to the queen can block off people fleeing Vegas. If this goes south, we'll need those routes open so as many civilians as possible can get out. The squadron in the Legion safehouse will liberate Mojave Outpost, hopefully with help from the NCR, and the squadron in the old Brotherhood bunker will liberate Cottonwood Cove. Any questions?"
"What about the Queen, sir?" came the reply.
"She's a narcissist, Judah. She'll be in the Lucky 38. It's the tallest and most important building in Vegas, perfect for her throne room. When you've breached the Strip, send a signal to this frequency, and we'll teleport in and Storm my casino".
"Yes sir!" answered Kreger, and the signal cut out.
Four men, two women, and a robot stood around the now silent CIU. It was time to prepare for war.
