Chapter Seven: New World, New Order
September 12, 2289
Airspace over Missouri
The bright noon sun was high in the sky and not a cloud was in sight. Hundreds of feet below the Prydwen, the ruined metropolis of St. Louis stretched for miles. Anita was on a brief fifteen minute break before she had to go back to sorting through the few documents that had survived the trek from out west. Spotting the famous arch she had read all about, she grabbed her binoculars out of her pocket and tightly gripping the railing with her left hand as she peered through her binoculars held in her right hand. Two months ago, she was terrified of stepping foot into a vertibird, now being on a large open deck hardly phased her. Right now, the only thing standing between her and imminent death was a sturdy steel railing. After a few moments of gawking at the arch, she put her binoculars away and gulped down some water from her canteen.
A vertibird was starting its boarding process and the electronic magnets let out a loud grinding noise until the vertibird was in the Prydwen's grasp. She looked curiously at the vertibird's cockpit to see if it was Josh; much to her disappointment, she didn't know any of the crew, must be Maxon's men she assumed. Noticing that the sun was starting to get past the center of the sky, she turned around and walked towards the cabin to get back to her tiny work station that she was sharing with two of Maxon's scribes.
Once she reached the desk she was occupying, she sat down unenthusiastically and started going through the file boxes that were getting dropped off throughout the day. Personally, she thought it made little sense to start sorting while onboard the Prydwen, but she assumed that Elder Maxon was having his crew come up with tasks to make the flight on the Prydwen fly by faster. One of the file boxes, marked 'Blueprints' she recognized from compiling it in Hidden Valley several months ago. Two hours passed by in the same monotony from this morning, finding a file, putting it in a different spot, making small talk with the other two scribes, and relabeling them. She heard boot steps behind her, which prompted her to turn around.
"Good afternoon Elder Maxon. What can we do for you?" she asked. She gave him a quick salute.
He put his hands behind his back and glanced around the room before speaking. "Good afternoon to you all as well. How much progress have you all made on sorting?" he asked with a neutral tone.
Anita sighed. "I think we have made decent progress, I wish that we had been able to bring more files from out west before we burned them all" she responded.
"That's understandable" he said and nodded in agreement. "What sort of blueprints are in that box?" he asked and pointed at the box.
"It contains weaponry blueprints from Hidden Valley; most of them being related to items that were discovered after Elder Elijah led his chapter to the Mojave…During his tenure as elder, he was known for dabbling in weaponry crafting and what not" Anita answered and starting to drift off. After spending extensive amounts of time around Veronica, she learned of everything that Elder Elijah had done, besides just leading half his chapter to slaughter, along with her father. Elijah was hardly something she wished to discuss with Elder Maxon.
Elder Maxon's facial expression changed to one of curiosity at the mention of Elder Elijah's name. "May I borrow that box?" he asked almost too politely. "Apparently there are a great many things I wish to learn about our operations in the Mojave" he said with much emphasis on 'learning' about the Mojave.
He's asking me like I have a choice she thought. She picked up the heavy box and handed it over to him. "Understood Elder Maxon. Whoever brings it back should place it in that corner" she told him and pointed at the drop-off location.
"Thank you Scribe…McNamara" he responded and recalled her name. His grayish-blue Elder robes made rustling sounds as he walked out, probably to his office she assumed.
To Anita, the next four hours dragged on until she heard the mess hall cook announce that evening rations were ready. Only two days onboard the Prydwen and she was already starting to feel claustrophobic, wherever she went, there was at least five to ten other people there. In the showers, on the deck, in every single nook and cranny on the ship, there was always somebody there. She had no idea what the total capacity was of the Prydwen, but she couldn't imagine spending over a year cooped up in this giant tank, hundreds of feet in the air...
She especially knew Chipeta was feeling on edge about being around so many people, after all she was from a small Utah community, there were more people on this vessel than she had seen during her entire life. Nobody had mentioned where Chipeta was going to be placed once Washington DC was reached, Anita had just assumed that she was sharing custody of her with Moretti and her Uncle. Chipeta was still recovering from the loss of her parents, she didn't want to rush Chipeta into the rigorous combat training that many squires were starting to go through.
"Anita!" she heard Chipeta's little voice yell from behind her. "I missed you today."
Anita knelt down to give her a gentle hug. "I missed you too Chip. My day was relatively uneventful, how about yours?" she asked.
Chipeta shrugged. "I learned about the codex today" she said without much enthusiasm.
"What did you think?" Anita asked gently.
"Why are they letting me in?" she asked and her dark brown eyes grew wide with worry. "Today, I learned that outsiders are not to be trusted. My parents weren't part of the Brotherhood, which makes me an outsider" she insisted to Anita, her little voice sounding distressed.
Anita glanced around, to see if anyone else had heard her question. Before meeting Chipeta, she had no idea how inquisitive children her age could be. "So, many of our leaders that came after our founder had a strict policy against recruiting outsiders, out of fear that 'outsiders' would take everything from us. As time passed, some of our elders figured out that before long, most of us would be closely related, which would not be good, relatives shouldn't marry each other as you know. My mother was an 'outsider' but she thrived at our chapter. If a stranger isn't bound by steel as the rest of us are, we just need to be more hesitant around them, until we know them better. Don't worry about it too much Chip" she explained calmly, keeping her voice quieter. "If an Elder trusts a stranger, there is no reason for us to distrust the stranger; my Uncle is an Elder and he trusts you" Anita added and ruffled Chipeta's hair gently.
Chipeta still didn't look convinced by her words. Anita sensed that she had more questions coming her way.
"Is that why you aren't married to Moretti? Because he's your relative?" Chip asked, much to Anita's embarrassment.
"Oh my, now that's a question I wasn't expecting. Moretti and I are not related, nor do I know him well enough for any of that" she explained, trying to maintain a serious face. "Life is complicated" Anita decided to end on that note while suppressing laughter. She gave Chipeta small smile and a pat on the shoulder. "I don't know about you Chip, but I'm hungry, let's get something to eat" she said cheerfully.
Over the next five days, the hours and tasks Anita did all blended together. It was all sorting files, showering, eating, and then sleeping. She hadn't talked to anyone besides the scribes she worked with, Chip, and Uncle Nolan. Even though everyone onboard was her brother and sister, bound by steel, she just didn't feel connected to most of Elder Maxon's soldiers. Her daily ritual was standing on the deck, staring at the sunset every night. The further east they went, vast rivers and lakes and old metropolises lay hundreds of feet below them.
The late summer sun was starting to color the sky over what she assumed to be Pennsylvania. She stood on the west side of the Prydwen's deck, staring at the beautiful coral pink and orange hues that colored the sky with the wind whipping through her auburn hair. Looking down below, she had never seen so many trees before. East of the Mississippi river, she noticed that Middle America was nothing but trees and rolling hills, not the mountains and sands in which she was born.
Tomorrow or the day after, she reckoned that she would lay her eyes on Washington DC, allegedly a city more broken than Dayglow or the Boneyard. Super Mutants and their repulsive centaurs used to crawl all over the smoldering ruins of the capitol building, where the old rules of DC laid out the laws of the land while representing the American people. Or so the old books said, Anita knew better though, the horrors to which her ancestors were witnesses came from science experiments sanctioned by the old government.
"Scribe McNamara, I see you're enjoying the view" she heard a male voice say next to her.
His voice jolting her from her thoughts, she glanced to her left. Of course it's him, what does he want now? She thought rather pessimistically. "Hello Elder Maxon" she politely said. "I used to be terrified of heights and the thought of flying. Now, I think there are few things that are more remarkable than seeing great forests and mountain ranges from the sky." Right as she said that, a strong breeze rustle through her crimson red scribe robe.
He kept about a four foot distance from her, he looked at her as if he was evaluating her with his piercing blue eyes. "I remember you, from Lost Hills, you know. You were always getting into trouble with Scribe Miles for asking too many questions" he recalled.
Anita smirked at that. He wasn't lying, she was always getting into trouble with the stubborn Scribe Miles. "I was only ten" she said with a sheepish shrug. "Simpler times…or at least they seemed simpler" she supposed.
"I suppose everything seems simple after enough time passes" Elder Maxon responded. "This summer marked my sixteenth year on the east coast. I remember laying my eyes on the scorched houses and the decayed monuments for the first time, I was terrified. All though, I didn't know true terror until I saw my first Super Mutant" he told her, his face remaining emotionally blank.
"I've never seen a super mutant" Anita commented. And I hope I never have to, but Washington DC allegedly still has pockets of them throughout the city and the metro tunnels.
Maxon nodded his head politely. "I hope you never have to; they're disgusting beasts and they have impeded so much progress in Washington DC. Despite the setbacks and atrocities the Capital Wasteland has seen over its existence, I have faith that it can become a beacon of hope for humanity along the Atlantic" he said rather confidently.
She smiled at him politely. "I'm sure it will be one day Elder Maxon. May I ask you a question?" she asked.
"Absolutely Scribe McNamara."
"What do the good people of Washington DC think of us?" Anita asked curiously.
He shifted so one of his arms gripped the railing and he smirked at her question. "They have us to thank for clean water and for eradicating most super mutants we come across. We try not to interfere with the affairs of the major settlements and they keep us supplied. We have a similar arrangement in Boston" he answered without skipping a beat.
"I suppose that's better than what I'm used to then. We can patrol in broad daylight and the settlers won't take potshots at us?" she asked, which almost seemed novel to her. The only reason that vast numbers of Brotherhood were allowed to traverse through NCR territory was via an agreement that they would leave all NCR territory behind. In exchange, they wouldn't get shot on sight if they were seen any major settlements.
"Don't get me wrong, raiders, fanatics, and slavers are an abundant breed there. But, they know that they're on borrowed time if they take shots on patrols. To the best of my knowledge, you will not encounter them unless you're going further north on the Potomac" he explained in a commanding, yet reassuring tone.
"Understood, Elder Maxon" Anita answered, impressed with the power that Maxon's chapter yielded over the region. Perhaps it won't be so terrible here she speculated. She took one last glance at the setting sun and made brief eye contact with Maxon before releasing her grip on the railing and started walking towards the main cabin to retire for the night. "Thank you for answering my questions Elder Maxon. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening" she told him formally with a respectful nod.
"I hope you do as well Scribe McNamara" he responded and continued to look westward.
Anita analyzed every minute detail about their brief conversation. When he mentioned that he remembered her when they were kids, it made her realize that he was at most only a few years her senior. And now he was the leader of the entire Brotherhood, at the ripe age of twenty-five or twenty-six. There is much power in the name which your ancestors gave you, she recalled an old scribe telling her years ago when she was a child. McNamara was an old Brotherhood name, most of the McNamaras that came before her were well-respected paladins, proctors, or even Elders. There's power in my name, I need to learn how to use it she thought briefly.
After traversing what felt like endless stairs and ladders, she found a cot and stripped out of her robe until all she was wearing were a pair of shorts and an off white tank-top. She carefully folded the robe and placed it under her cot, so it was ready for the next morning. Sleep claimed her in an impressive ten minutes. As sleep claimed her, so did the nightmares.
She opened her eyes and she looked at her surroundings. Once again, she was in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that stood between Lost Hills and Hidden Valley. The only light available was the full moon in the sky. Moonlight illuminated the snow that capped the mighty mountains and the birds that fluttered around, looking for prey. Pine trees stretched towards the sky and rustled in the quiet night breeze. She smiled as she marveled at the stark beauty of this place and weaved between the rocks that populated this small mountain trail. Verdant green grass sprung up beneath her feet and soothing sounds of water flowing over rocks grew closer to her. Before she knew it, she had approached a stream full of icy cold water. Her tongue felt parched from a walking on the rocky mountain trail and knelt down to the stream to refill her canteen. Taking a sip from her canteen, she noticed that the water was so pure here that she could see her reflection.
After several moments of staring at her reflection, she saw a shadow approach her from behind one of the trees. The shadow grew larger behind her and she opened her mouth to shriek. But the shadow held so much power over her that she couldn't say a word out loud. Hyperventilating, she could only move her head, but not the rest of her body. She closed her eyes, hoping she was dreaming and in the river stream she saw the reflection of the man that held a knife to her throat when Elder Maxon arrived. The knife he pulled out of his pocket was jagged with pockets of rust. With the cold metal against her throat, all she could do is lift her head up to look across the stream, where she saw a familiar face standing there. All she could make out was a tall man with blue eyes.
She heard the tall man cock his gun after she blinked and she screeched as he pulled the trigger. A second later, she felt her body flop to the ground and the knife landed next to her… Her hands were sticky with blood and her vision went dark.
Taking at least five deep breaths, Anita woke with a start. Without hesitating, she pinched the skin on her forearm to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. She shook her head, as if that would keep the nightmare at bay if she fell back asleep. This was the third night in a row that she had a nightmare, only this was the first one she could remember. Only a few other people were getting out of their cots at this hour, which meant that it was probably after 5am.
Hoping that some exercise would get her to her senses, she started slipping on her robe and quickly laced up her boots. There was a note next to her boots, a reminder that she had an appointment with Knight-Captain Cade, who was the chief medical officer on the Prydwen, at eight this morning. And this is why I always leave myself reminders she thanked her two day ago self. She hoped that Cade wouldn't take too long or be too invasive.
With her boots laced up, she walked towards one of the stairwells. After walking up three flights of stairs, she was at the top catwalk inside the Prydwen. It was a narrow space and didn't look well-traveled. She did notice that there were chalk drawings on the floor, she remembered that this batch of children were hardly the first to travel onboard the Prydwen. One of the scribes she was working with told her that the highest ranking officers on the Prydwen brought their children with them on the Prydwen's voyage to the Commonwealth almost two years ago.
Starting to feel hungry, she walked down the stairwells until she reached the mess area. Most of the food being served onboard currently were dry bread and meat rations that had little flavor beyond saltiness. Better than eating bloatflys or dog she tried to think gratefully. Or starving of course. She carefully shredded the brahmin jerky into bite sized pieces to avoid breaking a tooth while chewing on the tough meat.
"Anita, I'm surprise to see you up this early" she heard Uncle Nolan's smooth voice say behind her.
"Good morning Uncle" she said in between bites of jerky. "How are you this morning?" she asked.
He sat down next to her. "I suppose I'm glad that we're supposed to be docking at Adams Airforce Base by early afternoon" he said with more optimism than she had heard from him in months. He paused and looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
She started tearing the dry wheat bread into pieces absent-mindedly. "I'm all right now…I couldn't sleep after having a nightmare" she said quietly and popped a small piece or bread into her mouth.
"What was it about?"
"It started off fine. I was in the mountains, it was beautiful and lit by moonlight. Then I found a stream and a man held a knife to my throat. It was the same man in Kansas that I encountered after the Prydwen had landed. Then I got shot and…then I woke up at 5" she told him before eating another small piece of bread.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. You're made of strong steel though, the nightmares will get better over time. I promise you that" he reassured.
She flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you Uncle" she responded.
He smiled back. "Do you remember what your mother used to say to you when you were little?" he asked. She shook her head no. "If a flower can flourish can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere" he recited to her. "She said a philosopher once said that hundreds of years ago" he claimed.
"I'd almost forgotten that quote. Thank you for reminding me" she told him after taking a sip of water. "I should probably head to Knight-Captain Cade's office" she said after rising from her seat.
"I'll see you later this afternoon" he told her and starting eating his breakfast.
Luckily, the medical office was a short ten steps from the mess area. She walked in and saw a middle-aged man with white hair sorting through medical documents and putting a form into a clipboard. He noticed that she was walking in and he looked at the name on the form.
"Anita McNamara, I presume?" he asked gently. "Take a seat right here" he said and rolled a chair in front of her.
"Understood sir" she responded as she sat down in the surprisingly comfortable chair.
"Are there any diseases or illnesses that run in your family?" he asked, not looking up from the form.
"My mother died of breast cancer, but other than that, I'm not aware of any other diseases."
"Make sure that you perform self-examinations, especially keep an eye out for unusual lumps as you get closer to forty or fifty" he advised. "Are you pregnant or planning to become pregnant? Any fertility issues noted at all?"
"No to all of the above" she answered uncomfortably.
She sat through a barrage of ten more questions before Cade started giving her a brief physical examination. He nodded as all of her vital signs were good, or at least that was what she presumed. She laughed awkwardly when Cade asked her if she had ever had sexual relations with ghouls or super mutants. Cade shrugged and mentioned that many say yes to the question. He went over her paperwork and jotted down some notes and put the form into a file.
"It looks as if you have a clean bill of health. And to just remind you, anything you tell me is only known by me, unless it is regarding a medical matter that will impede your ability to perform your mission" he reminded her. "We're touching down outside Washington DC soon; you will find that the Citadel has become an impressive sight over the years" he commented.
"I look forward to seeing it soon" she said in agreement. "Have a wonderful day Knight-Captain Cade" she said after she rose from her seat.
Towards early afternoon, she felt a sudden drop in altitude as she felt the pressure inside her ears pop rather painfully. She noticed Veronica was conversing with a scribe a few feet away from her in the small rec area on the bottom floor of the main living area.
"How's the Prydwen been treating you Veronica?" she asked.
"It's a fascinating vessel. Scribe Taggerty here is one of the maintenance engineers" she said, gesturing at the brown-haired woman that appeared to be around the same age as Veronica.
Scribe Taggerty looked Anita over. "Aren't you Elder McNamara's daughter?" she asked curiously.
"No, he's my uncle" she answered. "I'm impressed with your work on the Prydwen, it's a technological marvel" Anita complemented Scribe Taggerty.
"Thank you. All though, most of the thanks should go to the Enclave since they're the ones that had the materials for this damned thing. Of course, that was after we 'evicted them' from the capital wasteland" she casually explained.
Anita found Scribe Taggerty's stories that she regaled to her for the next thirty minutes to be riveting, all though she suspected that the scribe loved adding a dramatic flair to all of her stories. When the Prydwen was slowly starting to dock at the base, Anita bid her farewell to the ladies and went to find her Uncle and Chipeta.
She climbed down the ladder that went to the command deck, where she suspected Uncle Nolan to be, along with Elder Maxon. Her suspicions were correct when she reached the viewing area where both Elders tended to camp out during most of their days. Chipeta and Joaquin were playing patty cake with each other and both stopped when Anita walked in. They both waved at her and continued to play their game.
"Scribe McNamara, it's a pleasure to see you again" Elder Maxon said charismatically. He looked at the children, who did not seem intimidated by him in the slightest, which amused Anita. "Once our lancers have a vertibird ready, we're all going to be flying to the Citadel. We should be there under an hour" he stated.
"Good to see you once again Elder Maxon" she responded.
Anita tightened the strap on her pack to ensure that it snuggly fit her so she didn't risk it flying off mid-flight. She felt uneasy, even after reassurances from Elder Maxon himself, she still wasn't sure what to expect of Washington DC, or more accurately, its presumed boneyard of barren skyscrapers and desiccated monuments.
A lancer walked in through the doorway and gave them all a salute. "Elder McNamara, Elder Maxon. I have a vertibird ready for you all" he said. He noticed that Elder McNamara had two young children in tow. "I will ensure that the children are properly secured, you have my word" he promised.
The lancer led the four of them to the deck and onto the narrow walkway that led to a vertibird. Anita held Chipeta's hand firmly and made sure that she maintained a sturdy grip on the railing as they got closer to the vertibird. As they climbed aboard, the lancer ensured that Chipeta and Joaquin were strapped in securely. Joaquin's face betrayed little nervousness; which impressed Anita. For the past few minutes, Anita had been so focused on keeping the children safe that she hadn't paid attention to the landscape that sprawled out beneath her.
Old holotapes and reports presumed that the Capital Wasteland had likely seen the worst of the nuclear conflict. After all, it was old America's stronghold of democracy. She jolted forward in her seat as they were released from the Prydwen. Deciduous trees dotted the landscape and Anita could see countless ruined houses and businesses framing the highways below her. She could see boats floating along the river, which she assumed were fishermen.
There was a sadness exuding from this land, she realized. For nearly two centuries, the main source of water for the region, the Potomac was riddled with water so irradiated that it was considered cruelty to give the raw water to even grave enemies. At least until Project Purity cleansed the waters of the region twelve years prior and changed the face of the Capital Wasteland ecosystem. Trees started to grow taller and it was possible to eat crops without heating them nearly to a crisp. For the first time in centuries, settlers were flocking to the region, instead of heading westwards to prospect.
Below her, the landscape turned to what used to be a dense suburban region and then thirty minutes after that, a formerly urban area surrounded a massive complex that had five sides; formerly the Pentagon, now it was the Brotherhood's formidable seat of power in the region.. The vertibird was starting to circle around a landing pad on the outside of the complex. She saw dozens of soldiers patrolling outside the entrance and other people on scaffolding, performing repairs on the structure.
Ten minutes passed and the whirring blades of the vertibird came to a halt after it landed on the dirt. The lancer gave them a signal that indicated that it was safe for them to get off the vertibird. Both of the children looked amazed at the Citadel's immense scale and how it contrasted with the broken buildings and rubble piles that surrounded it. This is a new world to both of them, especially Chipeta. Horrors brought forth from raiders would not affect Chipeta here. Four knights and paladins were guarding the entrance, all wielding the largest guns that Anita had ever seen any man hold. She spotted an old man with hair whiter than even her Uncle's wearing robes with a similar crimson hue to the one she wore standing near the entrance.
"I see your mission was a success Elder Maxon" the old man stated. He turned to everyone else. "Welcome to your new home" he said kindly.
Author's note: Thank you for the views, comments, and likes! I completed this chapter faster than expected :) Welcome to a reimagined Capital Wasteland…all though all is not well with Brotherhood politics in the near future. It may be a few weeks before the next upload, the late semester time crunch is getting real y'all!