Chapter 28
"So she left us because of the Pitt..." Elder Lyons said. "I don't understand. She did what was reasonable, it shouldn't have had such a profound effect on her."
"I think it's because she did so much good beforehand. There was always a clear decision between what's right and wrong. The Pitt provided her first moral grey decision. With Ashur, the Pitt would thrive and the disease there would be cured. With Wernher, the slaves would be freed. She chose Ashur. I would've done the same thing."
"Well I wish I could convince her to stay with us. But she's given the Empire its colony, and that will have to do."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Elder," Leo replied with a slight bow.
"I hope to see you again," Lyons replied.
Leo boarded the airship and began the long trip home over an ocean of sand. Soon they would have many airships so they could send people to the colonies on a whim. The Empire of Steel was now a truly powerful nation.
When Leo arrived home, he realized just how much time had passed. It was now early in 2286, and he had missed quite a bit. Inquisitor Cross was sentenced to life in prison because he nearly started a war. The first peace summit in over two hundred years took place in the Steel Tower. Expeditionary forces had been sent to two important locations: Houston, Texas and Cape Canaveral Florida.
An expedition went to Texas years ago to destroy remnants of the super mutant army. There they found several vaults and new technologies that they brought to the Brotherhood when they returned. The expedition to Houston was to find technologies that might be there, as before the war it was a center of science based companies.
Cape Canaveral was of interest to the Empire because of its scientific connections. It was here that they launched men and women into space. The technology there might be able to make air travel more efficient.
"If the Empire seized these areas, they would have four colonies, giving them reach across the known world," Arthur explained. "But there's one more we want. Before the war it was a center of commerce and politics."
"And it is?" Leo asked
"New York City," Arthur said. "Before the Great War, during the Resource Wars, when farms were insufficient for the needs of the people and oil was becoming scarce, the wealthy of this city took matters into their own hands. They adapted several skyscrapers to have wind turbines on the roof, solar panels on the windows, and gardens on every floor. This area was in southern Manhattan. The city was called the Big Apple, so they named this area the Big Green Apple.
"As the threat of war approached, they pooled their resources further. They built a wall to cut off the rest of the city so they would only have to worry about themselves. When the bombs fell, thet used RobCo weapons systems to keep the bombs away from their territory. We don't know what happened after that, but it's likely that they're still in control of that particular area. I want you to go find out what's going on in that area today."
"I just got back from DC. I'm gonna need a quick vacation before I do anymore traveling," Leo replied.
"Of course," Arthur said. "Take as much time as you need."
"Today, we stand at the edge of a new hope," Ashur said, standing before the slaves of the Pitt. To his left stood his wife, his daughter, and Samantha Rokewood. His daughter, Marie, had been born ten years ago with a natural immunity to mutation. He and his wife used her to find a cure for the diseases that plagued the Pitt. "For centuries, the people of the Pitt have suffered disease and mutation. This has gone to the point that most of this land are barren. But no more. We have found a cure for your woes. Soon you will live without the fear of becoming a Trog, or the worry of becoming a Wildman. Today, we give you a new ho-" his speech was cut of as an explosion tore through the building he was standing on.
Marie and Samantha were not in the explosion, but were thrown by it. Before either of them could register what had happened, Empire of Steel soldiers stormed the Pitt. Sentinel Sarah Lyons began a speech of her own. "Denizens of the Pitt, your oppressor is dead. You are free now. You can build a life here, or elsewhere. Thanks to Ashur's work, we have a cure for the troglodyte degredation contagion. You are now truly free."
As the soldiers began to hunt for slavers and raiders in Haven, Samantha took Marie by the hand and made a mad dash for the exit. Oddly enough, nobody stopped them.
"What happened to my mommy and daddy?" Marie asked when they finally stopped running.
Unsure of how to explain this, Samantha did her best. "They're asleep now. They're going to be asleep for a long time."
"When will they wake up?" the sniveling little girl asked.
"They won't, sweetie," Samantha replied as she stroked the girl's hair. "But you'll see them again one day."
"Where are we going?"
After a moment if consideration, Samantha replied, "West."
