October 12th, 2248
Journals of Lost Hills, Scribe Elijah, Entry #1;
"Lost Hills, the home of the last direct descendant of the pre-war united states military the Brotherhood of Steel. Founded in the Mariposa Military Base on the eve of the great war by one Captain Roger Maxson, the group of survivors ventured out from the base after executing the research staff for their rather "unethical," means of research and sealed off the base before beginning the march to Lost Hills.
It was during their seclusion in the Lost Hills bunker after enduring the testing journey of walking across the irradiated wasteland that the Brotherhood of Steel was officially founded with the mission of securing dangerous technologies, to prevent another incident such as the great war from occurring again. Today, depending on who you converse with, this principle can still be true to some or it may have fell far from its original intentions. At least, that's how I perceived it as I worked within the labs of the Lost Hills third floor.
After the defeat of the Enclave at Navarro, Star Paladin Pincer the commanding officer of the operation was widely regarded as the mastermind behind the defeat of one of the most technologically advanced foes to ever be encountered by the Brotherhood. Although the Chosen One from Arroyo, highly regarded by the Brotherhood Elders deserves first place on that list, it is Pincer who claims the title of the close second despite only being involved in the late stages of the conflict.
Over the past two years, Star Paladin Pincer had been named Head Paladin of the Lost Hills Chapter by High Elder Jeremy Maxson, cementing his new position of authority. Although this decision was declared as a victory for the Paladins and Knights of the Brotherhood of Steel, and despite the personal promises given by Head Paladin Pincer to his brothers in arms to usher in a new age of enlightenment and decisiveness to a stagnant Brotherhood, he seemed more interested in just enforcing the status quo with more aggressive rhetoric than his predecessors.
Head Paladin Pincer having defeated the Enclave forces from the west coast entirely, now saw the need to prepare for the upcoming conflict with a new enemy, the New California Republic. An enemy, he claimed was waiting for the right time to strike before they completely expel the Brotherhood in all forms from the west coast. In response to this, the Elder Council Authorized Head Paladin Pincer to begin a subversion campaign against the New California Republic, weakening their authority in so-called "wild," areas and diminishing their influence in independent areas.
Although the move was initially met with praise from across the various groups in the Brotherhood, it soon became apparent that Head Paladin Pincer was pushing much of the resources of the Brotherhood on these campaigns, rather than on the main goal of the Brotherhood which has been the preservation of technology. A goal, I personally feel is rather short-sighted and prone to many mistakes in both logical, and execution.
The Scribes suffered the worst, being forced to work on projects designed for offensive weaponry and leaving only scraps for history, culture, defensive weaponry, and other areas of development, with myself getting into plenty of arguments with the top-tiers over the misallocation of Brotherhood resources being spent on frivolous expeditions and strategies such as the conflicts with the Shi Empire. It was due to my outright refusals to follow through on some of these orders, that I was ordered out of the bunker in search of "rare artifacts and trinkets," to bring back to the bunker for further study. Absolute shit of an assignment meant to get me "Out of the house," if you ask me.
As I was de-facto exiled from the inner workings of the Brotherhood, I've been wandering the California wasteland on my own to look for a location to settle down in. The landscape was not as bad as I originally thought, with me finding ease in blending in to the surroundings with my clothing style and convincing travelers and the like that I was born in Redding, or some other NCR town depending on who I was talking to. I guess I have the lack of keeping extensive birth records in the republic to thank for that, allowing me the flexibility to fake pretty much whatever I need to fake, allowing me much needed access into areas of the republic the Brotherhood would not dare enter without an objective to fulfill for a military campaign.
I've set up a small outpost of my own in a place they call "One-Pine," a little south of the bunker in Lost Hills. It's not a bad place, and doesn't draw a lot of attention which is good for me and my work that I plan to be engaging in very shortly. It's based inside of a house, that I have managed to acquire through various deeds without raising much suspicion and has allowed me over the past two months the time to excavate my own little project underneath the house to make room for my own personal research projects, with little interference from the Brotherhood and hidden from any unsuspecting trespasser who may attempt to venture into my home. In fact, I'm writing this report of mine from a terminal within my little bunker. A great accomplishment, to which I hope will serve as the beginning for many more to come.
The Brotherhood of Steel, despite having me serve as a de-facto exile, does still expect reports on my mission monthly, but despite me telling them in the most plain of terms that these items they have requested from me do not exist in these parts, nor ever will, does not seem to deter them from asking for the same items each month. Eventually, I'm just going to stop responding to their ignorance and continue with my own goals.
President Tibbett's speech months ago was of grand interest to me, with her announcing to the entire republic her intention to continue the expansion of the New California Republic into the northern regions and even into states Oregon and Washington, along with intending to improve relations with the Brotherhood of Steel. A pipe dream in my mind, and one that the current leadership of the Brotherhood will never endorse.
However, President Tibbett does present and opportunity for me which I was at first unable to really take advantage of. With the intention of relaxing relations of the Brotherhood of Steel, I have been able for the past few months to occasionally venture down into The Boneyard, into the old Los Angeles Public Library to consult with the Followers of the Apocalypse on innovative technologies and old texts. This relationship has allowed me to gather a small, yet varied list of publications which I believe will really provide me with the foundation to engage in more experimental technologies, something I am preparing to do right here in my lab.
My lab although small at this given point in time, is mainly going slow in development because I am the only labor force available to work on it, which when finished will consist of eight rooms. One will be a records room to hold all my files of my research. Three will be holding cells, designed to hold a max of four occupants a cell. Another room will be designated for chemical and biological research, with another being designated as a small manufacturing room for weaponry. The final two were rather special, being specially designed testing chambers to test his theories. It was a rather basic setup, but one in which I was proud of.
My first goal once this is complete, is to begin exploration of the old Mariposa Military Base up north. This is a rather strange goal, but I feel like that base holds more secrets that have yet to be unlocked by humanity despite the dark past it has. Ever since the first High Elder Roger Maxson vacated the base, it has been in the hands of either the Super Mutants from Masters Army, or the Enclave forces who from older reports were attempting to release a deadly pathogen that could have killed off the entire world except for who had the cure. However, these are not the reasons I wish to explore the base myself.
Although I am very interested in a so-called "Super Soldier," program that the Forced Evolutionary Virus was originally intended to produce for the pre-war United States Government, I am more interested in the so-called Psykers which have been encountered all over the wasteland and were regarded as a personal projected by the long dead Master, as reported by the Vault Dweller in old Brotherhood records. The Chosen One himself spoke of one such Psyker, who could enter his dreams in the middle of the night and provide him visions and wisdom. There have apparently been other reports across California of individuals being able to perform miracles or see into the future. This was the type of project that I was interested in.
When I presented these ideas to the Elder Council and Head Paladin Pincer, they thought I was "out of my mind." Ironic, isn't it? For all their talk about wanting to put the Brotherhood of Steel on top of all the other factions, nations, and groups that have been able to form since the years of the great war, they really seem to be content on maintaining their old policies developed over two hundred years ago with no real innovation to begin developing or adapting to the world as it is now, and that in my opinion will be its downfall in the long run.
The Brotherhoods enemies grow daily, and with the technology seizures within miles of the Lost Hills bunker complexes infuriating many NCR locals and politicians, and even old adversaries such as the Shi Empire out west accelerating projects to get an advantage on the Brotherhood, I fear that in the very near future, the Brotherhood will be faced with a threat that not even a suit of power armor will be enough to defend them from.
For all this talk about the Brotherhood's impending doom, my exile from the general scribe life of Lost Hills, and the economic improvement and expansion opportunity of the current troubled times, I do not hate the Brotherhood of Steel and faithfully I wish it would simply begin adapting to a developing world and stop engaging in practices that has led to its stagnant process. Maybe the Enclave had it right. They may have ruthlessly engaged in a campaign of genocide across the wasteland once they encountered it, but they were open to technologies that could have advanced their purposes, and it was this drive for advanced technologies and equipment that they were able to overwhelm and shock any group that managed to oppose or stand in the way of their goals. A role that was traditionally thought to be reserved for the Brotherhood of Steel in this post-apocalyptic world of America which we now inhabit.
I will not call myself an Enclave supporter, but I will say that some of their methods do not have fault in my eyes. Maybe I'll never be able to change the way the Brotherhood thinks or operates, but maybe I can set out on my own path of advancement. Otherwise, weapons of mass destruction that are still waiting to be uncovered in the wastelands unexplored by the Brotherhood and hopefully other groups, will be discovered. And in my own words, "It'll be like children playing with a bomb." A bomb, that can turn even the post-apocalyptic world, back even further in time. A fate, I will not stand by and let happen. No matter what the consequences of my actions equate to be.
This is going to be the end of my report. I have a lot of work to do on my lab, and within a week or two I will be setting out on my quest to the Mariposa Military Base. I'll have to be sure to type of a pre-written report for the Brotherhood on my "progress," even though I know we both know what that report is going to read. This is Scribe Elijah, signing off for now."
Authors Note:
LanzCorporalAssWipe - I got some plans for the East Coasts, but I have decided to take this story in a new format. I will not be producing what's going on with every area of America in this story, more that I will be detailing each region in separate stories entirely, that are all connected. Sorta like how Star Wars, or most major series books go in order to have a universe, that is told through different points of view for different goals and different stories. This story will stay focused on the West, with a few major plot-lines being undertaken.
Guest - Maybe...
MajorKO - I will take it into consideration.
Anyway, hey guys. I'm sorta back. I never really left, but I recently have gotten myself back into College and am willing to write more of this story for you guys after experiencing some pretty heavy writers block for some time, and having internal issues with how this will develop which I believe I have found a solution for. Hope you all are still with me on this story, and hope you enjoyed this chapter as it opens up a new sub-plot that will heavily contribute to the main plot. Anyways, enjoy reading! Review, favorite, all that stuff.