Chapter Nineteen

The flight back to the Prydwen was silent. Paladin Danse hadn't said anything since the Minutemen had left, and Knight Rhys was quiet as usual. It gave Arthur the time to ponder over everything that had just occurred. This was the first time since he became elder that he had been on the back foot. Colonel Thiel had dominated the meeting from the start, and he had been right about many things, including Arthur's attempt to force him to violence. The elder had wanted to see what would happen if the colonel was put under pressure. It didn't end well, and now the Brotherhood would be viewed as an occupying force, instead of a liberating one. Not including the Airport, they had one settlement under their control, and even then, it's people had fled as soon as the Brotherhood arrived, leaving Arthur to man the farms with scribes and initiates.

The Vertibird docked in the Prydwen, and Arthur marched up to his room, avoiding all personnel, including Lancer-Captain Kells, who Arthur was sure would get the story from Danse. He collapsed into his chair and ran a hand through his hair, short as it was. The meeting was supposed to work out an alliance, or at least a non-aggression pact, with the Minutemen. Now, he had made an enemy of them, and was limited to a single peninsula in East Boston and an outpost in Cambridge. Maxson wasn't one for taking ultimatums, but this was one he couldn't ignore. Until Liberty Prime was operational, Maxson and the Brotherhood were in a precarious position.

"Elder, you need to come to the flight deck!" A voice came over the intercom.

Arthur rose, and exited his room, before climbing down the ladder and walking onto the flight deck. Kells and Danse were clearly having an argument, which was rare enough. The fact that Kells and Danse were yelling at each other was something else.

"You assured me that they would not be a threat!" Kells hissed at Danse.

"They wouldn't have been if we hadn't attempted to intimidate and manipulate them! I warned you all that these men weren't a private militia, and that they had the discipline and capacity to be a serious force!" Danse shot back.

"What is going on?" Arthur demanded. Both men looked down, before Proctor Ingram, who had been standing nearby passed him a pair of binoculars.

"To the south, is Fort Independence, also known as the Castle. Look at the ramparts." Ingram informed him.

He looked through, and at the fort, saw three large artillery pieces pointed towards the Prydwen. Standing next to them was none other than Colonel Thiel, who waved towards Arthur. The elder lowered the binoculars and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ingram, Danse, I want you to schedule another meeting with Colonel Thiel. The two of you will attend, and write up a draft for a potential agreement. Once it's done, bring it back to me, I'll review it, and make any changes I see necessary." Arthur said. Danse snapped off a salute and hustled off, while Ingram remained. "Yes, Proctor?"

"Are you sending me because you feel I'll have an easier time communicating?" Ingram asked.

"Yes, Proctor, I am." Maxson replied.

"Is it because I find it easier to emphasize with people, elder?" She asked again.

"Yes, Ingram, you are, admittedly, a better people person than I am. That is why you are going." Arthur told her. She grinned at him, and strolled off to find Danse.

"Captain Kells?" Arthur called out. The man hurried over to his side. "Recall any patrols north of Revere Beach Station, and depending on their location, send them either to Cambridge, or back to the airport. Whichever is closest to us."

Kells gave him a quizzical look, but obeyed, leaving to return to the bridge. Arthur took one last look towards the Castle, before walking to the observation deck.

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"Oh, yeah. Danse and that other dude are going at it." MacCready announced, nestled underneath a tarp next to Nate. "Look-ey here. Elder Maxson just walked onto the deck. He's being handed binoculars. Wave, now!"

Nate waved cheerily, and grinned. This would cause the elder to worry, no doubt about it. The old makeshift mortars at the Castle had been replaced with powerful 105mm howitzers. They had found the blueprints for them while combing through Fort Hagen, once Kellog was gone. They also found records of a massive cache of shells in the glowing see, and the Third Company had been dispatched to get them, which they did. Most settlements still had the old mortars, but once production ramped up on the howitzers, each settlement would get at least one.

"Alright, they're all gone." Nate stopped waving, and turned to walk off the walls.

MacCready followed him, and the two made their way to Nate's office. It was really the generals room, but Nate was spending more and more of his time at the Castle, so Preston had officially granted command of the fort to him. There was a desk, a large table for conferences, and several filing cabinets. A single bed was pushed against the wall, taking up almost no space. Nate sat down behind his desk, while MacCready lounged on a sofa. There were several files that had IMPORTANT stamped on them in red ink, so he looked at them first. This was the less glamorous part of being a high-ranking officer, the paperwork.

The file he was reading was a report submitted by Captain Savoldi of the newly-formed 7th company. It stated that there was an increase in Gunner operations in South Boston. They were pushing against both Jamaica Plains and Egret Marina, which now housed a river boat used to patrol the Charles River. The gunners were trying to break through the 'Jamaica Line' as it was called. The 7th company had fought off three incursions, as well as two assaults on the marina. Nate read the report to MacCready, who frowned.

"Well there's two options we can take here, boss. Option one, reinforce the 7th with another company. That ties up manpower and logistical support. Option two, hit back. The gunners are probably hitting the Jamaica line because of its proximity to Gunner Plaza. We don't have the 105's there yet, so we can't hit that far, but once we do, we'll be able to shell the hell outta them, and they don't want that." The former mercenary stated.

"So, what? Who do we send, RJ? The first? The second?" Nate asked.

"Why not the third? It would also be a big middle-finger to the Brotherhood when they find out who's leading the company." MacCready offered. "He's also been drilling the guys hard. They need some action, and what better way to scratch the paint?"

Nate thought about it. It could cause a diplomatic issue with the Brotherhood, but frankly, he didn't care. The captain was skilled as well, and this would be a great way to introduce the third company to combat. He made up his mind.

"Put the call out for the third company to come to the Castle." Nate ordered. MacCready rose, saluted, and left.

Robert Joseph MacCready was probably the best officer Nate had trained. The man had been a hired gun when he had met him, and had demanded a service fee for working with the Minutemen. Nate had humoured him, and payed him well. The two had travelled together for a few months, before RJ revealed his son's disease to Nate. He had immediately jumped to help, and the two had decimated a small Gunner company in the process. Thinking on it, Nate realized that was probably why they were so desperate to kill him. Afterwards, RJ had asked Nate what it would take to join the Minutemen, in any capacity. He had immediately taken the young man under his wing.

Nate's new protégé turned out to be a natural officer. As a sniper, MacCready's senses were finely tuned, and the result was that he could pick up small shifts on the battlefield that Nate would miss. His tactical acumen increased tremendously, and Nate even learned a few things from the sniper. MacCready took to his new role with a passion. With Nate now mostly confined to desk work, MacCready was the new field commander for the 1st Company. The men, while missing Nate, liked MacCready immensely, and Jun Long had confided with Nate that he liked the captain's method of leadership, which allowed much more flexibility for squad leaders than they were used to. It wasn't a slight on Nate's leadership, but when he had led the first, they rarely deployed at full company strength all at once. Nate sighed, and moved onto the next file. It would be a long night.

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Three days later, the 3rd Company arrived at the castle. While they were getting settled in, Nate met with their captain, a man he had personally recruited, but now needed to reaffirm his loyalties.

"Captain Brandis, it's a pleasure as always." Nate started civilly. The former Paladin nodded at him.

"Colonel, all due respect, I'm old, not senile. Ask me what you want, and I'll answer it truthfully." Brandis responded quickly. Nate smiled at him.

"Very well. With the appearance of the Brotherhood of Steel in force, do you feel conflicted with your prior allegiance to them?" Nate questioned.

"At first, sir, I did. But like everyone, I've heard about how Elder Maxson treated you at the talks at Saugus. While I respect the elder for his leadership, I respect you and General Garvey more. I will have no issues working against their goals, if it conflicts with our own." The captain answered strongly.

"Thank you, captain. And what if they want you back?" Nate pressed.

"Well they waited three years to look for me, so they bloody well won't get me back, sir." Brandis responded hotly.

"It's alright captain. I like you a lot more than I like them. I'm keeping you." Nate said softly. Brandis laughed at that.

"My orders, sir?" In a flash, Brandis was once more Captain Brandis, and Nate was Colonel Thiel.

"The gunners have been pushing us hard at the Jamaica line, here," Nate showed Brandis the position on the map, "I need you and the Third Company to accomplish two goals. The first is to liaison with Captain Savoldi, and find out where he needs to most help. Once that's accomplished, I want you and your boys to push south, towards Gunner's Plaza, and wipe it off the map."

"That's a big fight sir." Brandis pointed out. "They've been dug in there for years now. I might need help."

"The Seventh Company will assist, if you need it. Further than that? I'll send in the First and Second. Four companies should easily deal with the Gunners, but I wanted the Third to get a chance to get dirty." Nate informed him. Brandis nodded once more.

"Alright Colonel. When do you want us to depart?" He asked.

Nate grinned at him.

"Yesterday, soldier!"

MMXVII

AN:

Chapter Nineteen! Whoo! I wanted to show the aftermath of the meeting at Saugus Iron Works. For those of you who feel Maxson isn't being fascist enough, I would like to point out that he is a smart man. He knows that the Minutemen hold massive sway in the Commonwealth, and while he has the Prydwen, he can't use it to subjugate almost half a million people. Now that the Minutemen have 105mm howitzers, the Prydwen is in a much more precarious situation, and without our favourite communist-hating deathbot, the Brotherhood doesn't have the advantage here. Also, Brandis is a Minuteman Captain! I always liked his character, and wished that a Minutemen player could recruit him instead of sending him back to the brotherhood. So Nate did exactly that, but obviously before they arrived. The Third Company is made up of men in Power Armour. Not T-60 or T-51 sets, but scavenged T-45 sets and repurposed raider power armour. Obviously no X-01 armour. Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

SovietBabushka.