Author's Notes: Hey and welcome back to another chapter. In this chapter, we will see the Brotherhood arrive in the Commonwealth and some more conflict between the Minutemen and Enclave and more relations between the Enclave and the Institute. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading. PMs and reviews are much appreciated. Thank you.
General Mark Andrews, Commonwealth Minutemen
November 9th, 2277
1300 hours
Vault 111 Overseer's Office
We had taken the captured Enclave prisoner to the only secure place I could think of: Vault 111's Security Office. A Minuteman with a captured Enclave gauss rifle guarded the door like me, Hollis, John, and Lieutenant Jones walked in. The Enclave prisoner was cuffed to a chair in a holding cell. He had a hood over his head with two Minutemen with 9mm pistols standing beside him.
"Take the hood off," I ordered as one of the Minutemen pulled the hood of the prisoner. As soon as the hood was pulled off, the prisoner began to wake up.
"Hey, hey! Where am I?" the prisoner yelled.
"I'm not telling you a damn thing until you answer all of our questions." Lieutenant Jones harshly stated. At this point, the prisoner's demeanor changed.
"Lieutenant Marcus Miles, serial number 656882991." the prisoner calmly said like he had been trained to say that. At this point, I asked my first question.
"Who is your superior officer?" I demanded. He stayed silent.
"Fine. Private, hit him." I calmly ordered as the other Minuteman in the room pulled out a police baton and hit the prisoner over the head with it.
"Hey, what...Gah!" the prisoner yelled in agony as the baton made contact with his nose, breaking it and drawing blood.
"Okay, I'm going to tell you again. Who is your commander?" I asked again, but he still stayed silent.
"Damn it. I didn't want to do this, but you have left me no choice. Private, break his knee." I ordered as the private hit the prisoner over and over again in the knee until it broke. The prisoner then started grunting and screaming in pain until his knee broke when he passed out due to the pain.
"That's enough," I told the private when the prisoner passed out. "Somebody patch up his leg and see about getting a medic down here to make sure he doesn't die on us. But for now, let's leave him here until we figure out what to do with him. Understand?" I asked my subordinates.
"Yes sir!" they responded as we all went off to do our own tasks.
Paladin Tristan, Eastern Brotherhood of Steel
November 9th, 2277
1600 hours
Malden, Massachusetts
"Alright, we're touching down in 5 minutes!" the pilot of the first vertibird yelled as I grabbed my gauss rifle and N99 from my personal storage crate and began to put on different holsters on my T-51B power armor. After this was done, I turned to my team and began to speak.
"Team, these are our standing orders from Elder Lyons. We are to make contact with a paramilitary group that calls itself the Commonwealth Minutemen. These soldiers are identified by their US Army-style combat armor and musket and lightning bolt emblem. We will land at an old destroyed US Army recruitment center, where we will dismount from the vertibirds. One squad under Star Paladin Cross will stay and guard the vertibirds, while another squad led by me and Knight-Captain Colvin will make the trip to the National Guard Training Yard." I stated as the pilot yelled that we were one minute from the ground.
"Alright, we're here. Everybody ready?" I asked my men as the vertibirds touched down.
"Yes, Paladin!" They all responded as the hatches opened on the vertibird, and I and the rest of the team stepped out of the vertibirds. We had landed right outside a ruined two-story building. There was very few markings or designations on the building, but the only one that was somewhat visible was a sign that said:
United States Army National Guard Recruitment Center
New England Commonwealth
Boston Division
Northern Branch
In addition, I also saw around 12 skeletons dressed in US Army dress uniforms. When everyone had dismounted the vertibirds, I spoke to my men.
"Men, now that we have dismounted, I want Star Paladin Cross' team to start setting up a basic perimeter and camp, while my team starts towards the National Guard Training Yard to meet up with the Minutemen. Does everyone understand their orders?" I ordered.
"Yes, sir!" They responded as me and my team set off towards the National Guard Training Yard.
We had been walking along the road for around 20 minutes when we came upon a small sandbag checkpoint, which was in front of the Training Yard. When we were around 100 yards from the checkpoint, a voice rang out.
"Halt! Who goes there?" a soldier dressed in standard Minuteman fatigues and carrying an R91 assault rifle yelled as he aimed his rifle at us.
"Calm down! I'm looking for the..." I started to say before the Minuteman cut me off.
"Don't try anything!" he again yelled as two other Minutemen came up from behind the private, both carrying R91 assault rifles. "Privates Johnson and Monroe radio Sergeant Adams and get him out here. And you, put away your weapon until the Sergeant gets here. Ok?" he asked.
After around 10 minutes, three other Minutemen appeared from the road from the Training Yard. The main Minuteman, with a Sergeant's chevron markings painted on his armor, stepped forward.
"I'm Sergeant Adams of the Commonwealth Minutemen. Private Jacobson says you're looking for someone. Who is it?" Adams asked, but he still had his marksman carbine out and at the ready.
"The General." I said but at that moment, they all again aimed their weapons at my team.
"How do you know who the General is? You're not with the Enclave, are you?" Adams suspiciously asked.
"No sir. I'm with the Brotherhood of Steel, East Coast Chapter." I told the Sergeant.
"Brotherhood of Steel? Never heard of them." the Sergeant responded.
"Well, we're here to help. I was ordered by my superiors to contact the General. Do you know where he is located?" I inquired.
"Ok, so since you haven't tried to kill us right off the bat, I guess I will reveal his location. He is at our headquarters at Sanctuary Hills, which is located up near Concord by the Minuteman statue. You can't miss it, but how are you traveling? On foot or by a vertibird?" Sergeant Adams asked us.
"We're traveling by two vertibirds." I stated. Adams then spoke into his radio for a moment, but then again began to speak.
"Ok, I've spoken to my superiors and they've agreed for you to land at a vault that overlooks the town, Vault 111. You can't miss it. Just when you get close to the town, somebody will try to hail you on the radio, and when they do, tell them that Sergeant Adams sent you and that the password is Victor-Triple-One-Sanctuary. Understand all that?" he told me as one of my knights wrote down the password behind me.
"I do." I firmly responded.
"Okay, now go. I told them you would arrive within the day." The Sergeant stated as we began to walk to our vertibirds to head towards Sanctuary.
A few hours later...
Mark's POV
I was reviewing a hand-written report from Preston on the equipment we received from the Training Yard in my quarters when a private knocked on my door. When I opened it, the private greeted me and began to speak.
"General, Lt. Hollis has requested to see you at Vault 111 for something important. Come with me, please come with me." The private said as I followed him up to the Vault.
When I arrived at Vault 111, there was Lt. Hollis along with a couple of riflemen guarding the perimeter. I then called out to Hollis.
"What is the important thing that you called me here for?" I asked the lieutenant as he fiddled with a radio in the old Vault-Tec entrance booth.
"General, it seems like we have gained a new ally in our fight against the Enclave. A few hours ago, Sergeant Adams at the National Guard Training Yard was visited by a high-tech group from outside the Commonwealth. They call themselves the Brotherhood of Steel." Hollis started as I cut him off.
"Brotherhood of Steel. Sounds like something out of the Middle Ages." I pondered as Hollis just stood there, looking confused.
"Anyway," Hollis continued to say, "We made contact with the Brotherhood and they have offered to meet us here so we could have a mutual discussion. They are traveling by vertibirds, which is why I selected this location, as it is relatively flat and right near Sanctuary." he stated, as we began to hear something coming over the radio.
Hollis was the first one on the radio, so he spoke into the radio, saying, "This is Colonel James Hollis of the Commonwealth Minutemen on frequency 257.3. Please identify yourself."
It took a minute, but we soon heard a hard, gruff voice come over the radio.
"This is Paladin Tristan of the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. We were sent by Sergeant Adams at the National Guard Training Yard. Our authentication code is Victor-Triple-One-Sanctuary. Do you have that all, Lieutenant?" Tristan stated over the radio. I then took Hollis aside.
"Is the code correct?" I asked him.
"Yes." he responded before heading back to the radio and spoke to Paladin Tristan.
"Paladin, the code is correct. You are clear to land." Hollis spoke into the radio. About 5 minutes later, we saw the silhouette of two black vertibirds in the sky coming towards us. They ended up landing right on the elevator to Vault 111.
"Surround the vertibirds, weapons ready!" Hollis shouted as the men readied the weapons as the two vertibirds finished landing.
At this point, three figures encased in T-51B power armor stepped out of the lead vertibird. All three were carrying gauss rifles when the figure in the middle took off his power helmet and began to speak.
"Well, I can see that you all are very cautious towards us, and well I understand that, but we come in peace." the figure said. I could see that he was a gruff, older man who just looked like he was in the military.
"Who are the Brotherhood of Steel and what are you doing here?" I asked him.
"Well, I'd love to explain, but that's a bit hard to do when your men are aiming automatic rifles at me and my soldiers." he stated, motioning to the full squad of Minutemen aiming marksman carbines at him.
I then motioned to my men, who began to lower their weapons.
"Ok, we've lowered our weapons so now let's talk: Who are the Brotherhood of Steel and what are you doing here?"
"The Brotherhood of Steel is a group of highly technological soldiers that are descendants of remnants of the US Army. We are dedicated to keeping technology out of the hands of people that wish to misuse it for harmful activities and want to destroy the world for the second time in 200 years. Although we are primarily focused on recovering and storing technology, my chapter leader, Elder Lyons has made a priority to defend the people of the wasteland from threats that might seek to destroy it. We have come to the Commonwealth to help you fight the Enclave. I can explain more, but I need to make sure I and my men are in a secure location first." the Paladin explained.
"Well, here's the deal. You and I will head down to Sanctuary, where I can find you and I a good place to talk. Once I believe and verify your story, I will radio up to Lieutenant Hollis over there, who will escort your men down to Sanctuary, where we can help you get settled in. But for now, your men will have to stay up here under guard, for security purposes. Do you understand?"
"I do," he affirmed.
"Okay then. I need four men to come with me, and the other four to stay with Hollis. Let's go!" I ordered as four riflemen stayed with Paladin Tristan's men and the vertibirds, while four other riflemen accompanied me and him down to Sanctuary.
I had chosen my personal quarters as a good place for me and Tristan to talk. The four Minutemen guarded the perimeter while I and Tristan went to my office.
"General, if you need anything, we're right outside." one of the privates stated as he shut the door to my quarters.
Going to my desk, I had the Paladin sit across from me.
"General, thank you for agreeing to see me. I understand that you must be reluctant to trust me, but you must understand that we are here to help. "
"What do you know about the Enclave?" I asked straight away.
"The Enclave is a group of pro-American fascists from before the war. They believe that everyone that is on the mainland United States is "mutated" and needs to be exterminated. They are pretty much American Nazis, but rather Jews, they insist that all mutated humans and mutants must be exterminated." he soberly explained.
"Jesus. How powerful are they?"
"Very, " the Paladin stated, pulling out a folder with pictures of weapons and armor. "Their standard trooper comes equipped with a variety of high-powered weapons, from miniguns to laser and plasma weapons. They also come wearing power armor better than the pre-war T-51B models, X-03 power armor. Anyway, besides their extremely powerful weapons and armor, they also have air and ground transport, like jeeps, humvees, and vertibirds. Seeing as ground and air transport is nonexistent in the Wasteland, they have a very big advantage over any group that attempts to take them on." Tristan explained.
"Well, my soldiers were able to take on a platoon of Enclave vertibirds. So they must not be that hard to take out."
"I know, as that was actually how you and the Minutemen got on the Brotherhood's radar. Anyway, the Enclave wasn't sending that many troopers to take you out, you were also in a fortified location and had a numerical advantage, and you also had heavy weapons. The bad news for you is that now the Enclave now knows that you are not a force to be reckoned with, and next time, they will send more men and vertibirds." he explained.
"Okay, I've heard enough," I said as I turned to my radio and spoke to Hollis.
"Hollis, are you there?"
"Yes sir, I am. What is it?"
"I have talked to Paladin Tristan. I have verified his story. Release his men and make sure they get down to Sanctuary. Find them some good housing, as they are now our guests. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir. Sergeant, let the Brotherhood men go and get them down to Sanctuary!" he responded.
A week later…
Mark's POV
Nothing much had occurred in the week since the Brotherhood had arrived. I had taken some time to talk with Tristan and learn the history of the Brotherhood. He had been shocked to learn that I knew Roger Maxson, who was the founder of the Brotherhood of Steel, and asked me all sorts of questions related to him.
The Brotherhood had set up a base camp upon the hill overlooking Sanctuary near Vault 111. It was a simple area surrounded by barricades where they kept their vertibirds and housed their soldiers.
I was in my quarters looking over an old book on military training when I heard a knock on my door.
"Enter." I said as a Minuteman private entered my quarters.
"What is it, Private?"
"General, two people said that they need to see you. They say that they are Piper Wright and Nick Valentine."
"Did they say what it was about?" I asked the private.
"Yes sir, they did. They said it was about Kellogg, the mercenary who was killed at Fort Hagen. That is all that they would tell me. They said they would say more when they saw you."
"Okay, let them in." I ordered. The private then turned to his portable radio and told the guards at the door to let them in.
About a minute later, the door opened and I was greeted by Piper and Nick.
"Piper, Nick, good to see you. I was told that you want to talk about Kellogg and our investigation into the Institute."
"Yes, as you know, we along with the Minutemen killed Kellogg in Fort Hagen." Nick explained as Piper interrupted him.
"So a murderer and a kidnapper gets his brains blown out by an avenging relative," she said as she audibly sighed. "It'd be a great ending if we didn't still have the biggest mystery in the Commonwealth to solve…"
"Wait, " Nick quickly added. "Gets his brains blown out..." Huh... His brains. You know, we may not need the man at all."
"What do you mean by that, Nicky? You're talking a bit crazy here. Got a fault in the ole' subroutines?" she questioned, a bit confused.
"Let's see... I guess we're going to need a piece of Kellogg's brain. Enough gray matter to bring to Amari and find out if this is going to work…"
"Woah, " I put my hand up to stop him. "A piece of his brain? And who is Amari? This all sounds a bit out there."
"I'll let her give you her life story in person. Let's stay focused. Now, I know it's grisly, but what choice do we have? We got no leads. Nothing. That old merc's brain just might have all the secrets we need to know."
"Wait a minute, " I paused for a second. "When we were at Fort Hagen, I remember grabbing something from Kellogg's skull… He had this thing attached to his head." I rummaged around in one of my lockers after pulling out a jar of formaldehyde with a piece of brain matter attached to a small piece of metal.
"Cybernetics, huh? We may have just won the lottery. It's a long shot, but it's the only one we got."
"Anyway, whether we're riding this crazy brain train or not, we can't all go running across the Commonwealth. So, who's coming with you?" Piper asked.
"Well Piper, no offense, you don't have much combat experience, being a reporter and all, so I don't know how comfortable I would feel with you coming with me. In addition, you're going to need to stay here to help analyze whatever data we pull from Kellogg's cybernetic chip in his head. However, I'll give you a radio transmitter so we can stay in contact."
"But what about Nick?" she asked.
"I have to go to the Memory Den either way if I'm gonna introduce you to Amari. But if you want to head there together, just say so." Nick explained.
"That should work. Anyway, Nick, I'm bringing some of the Brotherhood members along as well, so we'll be in one big group. We're heading out tomorrow morning, so be ready."
"Don't worry. We're gonna get your nephew back. Just a few more steps…" he reassured me.
The next morning...
Mark's POV
Our group had assembled in the conference room of the command building. We consisted of me, John, Second Lieutenant Garvey, Lieutenant Hollis, Nick, Paladin Tristan, and Star Paladin Cross. Hollis was also there, as he was going to give us a short brief before we left. I didn't know Cross well, but she carried a giant sledgehammer and had a cybernetic arm, so that was interesting.
Everybody had been talking amongst themselves when I cleared my voice and told everyone to quiet down.
"Alright everyone, settle down. If you don't know why you're here, let me explain. Everyone is here today because I have chosen you all to accompany me to Goodneighbor in downtown Boston to look for my missing nephew, Shaun. While that is the primary reason why we are going, there are others. We know that there was a mercenary named Conrad Kellogg who was working with the Institute along with the Enclave to help take my nephew. Due to leads uncovered during the raid on Fort Hagen where Kellogg was killed and by investigating by Nick Valentine and Piper Wright of Public Occurrences, we now have a new lead on how to access and get at the Institute. The mission today will be to travel to Goodneighbor in downtown Boston where we will access Mr. Kellogg's memories to try to figure out how to get into the Institute. So now, I will give it to Lieutenant Hollis who will now give a briefing on our route today and any dangers we will encounter." Hollis then sat up and went over to a map of the Commonwealth on the wall and began to talk.
"Okay, everyone I will now be detailing the route that you will be traveling to get from here to Goodneighbor. We will be traveling in two humvees so that we will not be exposed when traveling, like if we were traveling on foot. However, when we enter downtown proper, we will have to leave the humvees." He then pointed to four markings on the map.
"These four marks on the map are the checkpoints that we have set up that the convoy will pass through. The first one is the checkpoint that is on the road exiting Concord and is dubbed Checkpoint Alpha. The second checkpoint is located at the entrance to Lexington and is designated Checkpoint Bravo. The third is located at the entrance to Cambridge and is designated Checkpoint Charlie. And finally, the last checkpoint, designated Checkpoint Delta, is located at the bridge from Cambridge to downtown Boston. Each checkpoint has a rifle squad manning it and has a radio. They will be checking in with you to arrive so Sanctuary Command can keep track of where we are going. Does everyone understand?"
"We do." I responded.
"Good, now if everyone will follow to the vehicle bay where we will make our final preparations. Let's go!" We all then followed Hollis out of the command building to a makeshift garage near the entrance of the settlement. When we all arrived, we saw a series of humvees, transport trucks, and even an APC.
"Sturges, how are the repairs going?" Hollis asked the unofficial chief engineer for the Minutemen.
"Well Lieutenant and General, we have been working on repairing the vehicles that we captured from the National Guard Training Yard. I and some of the Brotherhood scribes have been working very hard to get some of the vehicles working and operational. I already talked with Lieutenant Hollis, and for this mission, two humvees will be used. Each humvee will hold five people, so we will be able to hold the entire group and a lot of supplies in the two humvees. In addition, each humvee will have a 50-caliber heavy machine gun on top, which will be manned by a Minuteman. Does everybody understand?" Sturges explained.
Everybody then nodded in understanding, and then we spent the next 20 minutes loading the supplies that we needed into the humvees. Our trip could go on for more than a week or two, so we loaded the necessary amounts of provisions that would be needed. When we were all ready, we all got into the humvees and headed off towards Goodneighbor.
On our drive towards Goodneighbor, which was surprisingly quiet for the Wasteland, Nick took me aside.
"So Mark, now that we are somewhat alone, I think now I can explain more into what Amari will help us with when we get to Goodneighbor. Now look, there's a place in Goodneighbor called the Memory Den. Relive the past moments in your mind as clear as the day they happened. A lot of people give up all their caps just to relive the good parts of their lives. Over and over. But not us. We're gonna try to dive deep into someone else's mind." he explained.
"That sounds like a good idea, Nick, but how do we know that the piece of Kellogg's brain will even be salvageable enough to use? And even if it is, what if there is nothing in there that can help us figure out where Shaun, and in turn, the Institute?"
"We don't know. But I truly do believe that Amari is the one who can help us. Oh look, it seems like we've reached the end of our drive." Nick commented as we reached Checkpoint Delta. It seemed like an official checkpoint, with sandbag barricades, light machine gun emplacements and a turnstile. When we got to the turnstile, a Minuteman sergeant stopped our vehicles and went to the lead humvee.
"Hold it right there! State your business!"
"Woah, calm down! It's Private Dawson, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon! This is the General's convoy, on route to Goodneighbor on a special assignment." The private hastily explained. With this, the sergeant eased up a bit.
"Alright, I'm going to radio into headquarters. Just stay there." The sergeant then went over to his radio station and spoke into it for a couple minutes before returning to the vehicle.
"You're cleared. Now, park the vehicles off to the side of the checkpoint and then everybody will step out of the vehicle so I can give you a debriefing before you continue on. Let's go!" Everybody then got off the vehicles to receive their briefing.
"Okay, so just some quick information before you guys head out towards Goodneighbor. Our scouts have surveyed the route and it should be mostly clear except for the occasional super mutant. It also shouldn't take long to get there, only around 4 hours, so you should get there by dusk. So I think that's everything. Anything else you guys need?" he explained.
We all shook our heads.
"Good. Baker, raise the turnstile!" The turnstile was then raised, which allowed to pass through the barricade towards downtown Boston.
"Alright, column formation! Let's move out!" I ordered as we set off on foot towards Goodneighbor. However, as we began to move, I thought I saw the faintest glimpse of an eyebot, but I shrugged it off as we began to walk.
30 minutes later…
The ruins of Scollay Sq. Metro Station…
"Major Johnson, he's ready for you." the Enclave synth stated as he greeted me as I was awoken. I then walked out to meet Captain Fogarty. We had been in this ruined subway station for around 2 days, and I couldn't wait to get out. But we had our orders. Our intelligence division was able to find out that the General of the Minutemen was going to come to Goodneighbor, along with some members of the Brotherhood of Steel. This was deeply concerning, as the Brotherhood of Steel had been able to defeat the Enclave on the Poseidon Oil Rig thirty years ago and kill the President of the United States.
"Fogarty, how are the demolitions going?" The whole reason why we had come down to this godforsaken subway station was because this part of the subway station was once connected to a subway tunnel that runs right under Goodneighbor, specifically the bar there, the Third Rail. If we were going to get a chance to get the General of the Minutemen, it would be in Goodneighbor.
"It's going well, sir. The synths have done good work, and we should reach Goodneighbor within 3 hours. In addition, we've unloaded the MP5s and the sidearms and are giving them out to the synths, so that we can breach as soon as we reach the tunnels under Goodneighbor." Captain Fogarty explained.
"That's great. I'll just send one last message to Command, and then have the synths assemble on the tracks, so I can address them."
"Ok sir, I'll let you know." he stated as he walked off.
Three hours later…
Entrance to Goodneighbor…
It had been a quiet three hours. We hadn't seen many hostiles, and the ones that we had were easily put down by our combined forces. When we reached the entrance of Goodneighbor, I addressed the group.
"Alright people, we're at the entrance to Goodneighbor. It's rumored to be a bad part of town, with shady types and gang members all around it. So keep your weapons close, and don't engage unless you have to. I don't want a firefight with these people until they try to kill us. Does everybody understand?" I told my men.
"We do."
"Good, now let's go." We all then stepped through the gate into Goodneighbor. On the other side of the gate, I saw a burly man in leather armor with a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder.
"Hold up there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance." the man said with a sinister smile.
"You hand over everything you got in them pockets, or "accidents" start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody, "accidents."
Everyone was about to draw their weapons, when I saw armed men walk towards us.
"Finn! What the hell is wrong with you!" one of the men yelled as he stormed over towards Finn. He was a raspy ghoul, dressed in an outfit that would fit in more with the Founding Fathers than in post-apocalyptic Boston. He was flanked by two more ghouls, both wearing riot armor and holding Chinese assault rifles.
"What d'you care? He ain't one of us."
"No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let 'em go." Hancock asserted.
"You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor."
"That very may well be, Finn, but hell, it's not gonna be you." he calmly stated as Finn paled. He went to reach for his sidearm but before he could, Hancock stabbed Finn several times in the chest before the goon fell down, dead.
"Clean this up!" he yelled as his two guards began to pick up the body
We all stood there in shock and in somewhat surprise before Hancock approached me.
"I'm sorry about that. Sometimes people forget to remember common decency and respect. John Hancock. Nice to meet you. And who are you, exactly?"
"Mark. General Mark Andrews of the Commonwealth Minutemen."
"Minutemen, huh? You don't see many of them around anymore. Especially after Quincy, anyway."
"Well, we're making a resurgence and we're here to help. But that is not what I'm here to talk about. My nephew is missing. He was kidnapped, and I need help finding him." I explained to the ghoul.
"Damn, I'm sorry. How can I help?"
"Well, not you specifically, but one of your 'citizens'. A Doctor Amari."
"Amari. Huh. Her and her 'assistant' run the Memory Den right across the way. They seem to stay out of our way, but always seem to bring in lots of tourists and travelers, looking to relive some of their best or worst memories. You looking to relive some of your glory days, General?"
"No, not really. But I still think she could really help me."
"Good, good. If you want, I could accompany you with her, make an introduction, etc."
"That'd be great. Come on, let's go." I said as our group, with Hancock in tow, we went over to the Memory Den.
At the same time…
The ruins of Scollay Sq. Metro Station…
"Sir, we're almost there! You need to come now!" Captain Fogarty yelled as I grabbed my MP5 and P226 pistol and ran towards the train tracks. On the train tracks, there were Enclave Gen-3 synths in combat armor manning power drills and jackhammers trying to drill through the rubble that was blocking one of the ends of the tunnel.
"We've made enough holes! Bring the C-4!" one of the synths yelled as a group of synths began to plant C-4 explosives in certain places in the rubble. Once enough explosives had been planted, the synths began to move back.
"Move back! Move back!" they yelled as we all began to move back and get into cover. Once everyone had moved back and was in cover, one of the synths hit the detonator. A series of explosions then rocked the tunnel, and I almost thought that the tunnel would collapse. The ground shook for a couple minutes and smoke filled the tunnel. When I thought it was safe to leave cover, I slowly exited cover and began to head to the end of the tunnel.
"Is everyone okay?" I yelled over the smoke and fire.
"We're good!" I heard Fogarty respond as the various members of our 20-synth team began to get up and head towards the ruined tunnel entrance.
"Alright, grab your weapons and let's go!" I yelled as we all ran through the tunnel towards Goodneighbor.
We had been running for around 10 minutes when we began to hear the sound of music, and saw lights and just people enjoying themselves. I put up my fist and we immediately ceased running and got into cover.
"Alright, this is it. We're here. Now we are going to put down anybody that resists, but Command also wants no survivors. Does everybody understand?" I whispered.
They all nodded.
"Okay good. Now I want those barricades knocked down and demolished. Unit 20, send your squad with missile launches and get ready to fire on the barricades when ordered. Units 5 and 10, have your squads ready your flashabngs so we can get the element of surprise. Now, get in position! Move!"
Everyone then began to get into positions. The missile squad fell back and picked an elevated train platform to fire from, while the other rifle squads took cover wherever they could.
When everyone was ready, I gave the order and the synths fired their missile launchers at the barricades.
It was immediate chaos. People were running everywhere and some were even on fire. Some had their weapons out, while most were just trying to get their bearings. We used this chaos to our advantage and the synths began to throw flashbangs into the scene. It was at this point when we began to move up into the middle of the makeshift bar, killing anyone in sight. After a while, the gunfire began to subside.
There seemed to be one survivor left, a man dressed in a tattered suit. He had been severely mutilated, with both of his legs blown off. He tried to get away, raising a 9mm pistol as he crawled. When he was about to fire, I pulled my Sig and shot him two times in the stomach.
Severely wounded and on the verge of death, he began to speak.
"Why… are you… doing this?" he said, blood coming from his mouth.
"It doesn't really matter. All you need to know is that I am superior and that you are inferior, wasteland mutate. All hail Colonel Autumn and all hail the Enclave!" I proudly said as I put two rounds into his head with my sidearm. After I killed him, Captain Fogarty came over to me.
"What was that, sir?"
"Nothing. Just teaching a wasteland mutate his rightful place in the world. It doesn't matter now. What is the sitrep, Captain?" I asked the young captain.
"Well sir, we have 20 killed in just this bar but nothing useful so far."
"That's fine. When we breach the rest of the town, we will find more. Now, have everybody stack up on the entrance. When we enter the town, it will be chaotic and we need to be ready. Come on, let's move!" We all began to move towards the entrance door.
"Everybody ready?" I yelled.
They all nodded.
"Good, let's go!" I said as we opened the door and headed into the town.
Back at the Memory Den…
Mark's POV
"What the hell was that?" I yelled as I felt explosions and heard gunfire below me. We had just entered the lobby of the Memory Den and just began to talk to the woman in the lobby when the explosions and gunfire started.
"I don't know, that shouldn't be happening." Hancock added when multiple people entered the lobby. There were seven people, six town guards and a woman in metal armor sporting a giant 12.7mm pistol.
"Fahrenheit," Hancock yelled to the woman. "What the hell is going on?"
"Some kind of an attack, boss. They came in through the subway…" she started to say when Hancock again interrupted her.
"Wait, how the hell did they come through the subway? The only place that is underground is the Third Rail and that is blocked off."
"They apparently blew through the rubble and barricades with missile launchers. Boss, it's a massive attack. They're everywhere. They're in the market, in the slums, everywhere."
"What about the Watch?"
"Some of them are gone, but thankfully, most are still alive and fighting back. What are your orders, Hancock?"
Hancock paused for a minute. "Ok, here's what we're going to do. Mark, I want you to have everyone in your group stay here and guard the Memory Den. You are going to come with me along with Fahrenheit and some of the Watch and we will try to repel these attackers. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Good, now let's go!" Motioning to Fahrenheit, he then began to speak to her. "I want two guards to stay into the lobby while the rest will come with me. Let's go!" he yells as me, Hancock, Fahrenheit and the group of Neighborhood Watch run out of the Memory Den.
The situation was an absolute shitshow. There were dead bodies everywhere and even more people trying to run and find cover. However, there were also people trying to make a stand. Our impromptu fire team ran up to another group of Neighborhood Watch, which were guarding a group of civilians, and we all fired our weapons at the attackers while running.
"What is the situation?" Hancock yelled over the gunfire.
"We're trying to fight back, but they're everywhere and gaining ground. We also have civilians and children just trying to survive, but we need somewhere to keep them. Where should we go?" the Neighborhood watchman explained.
Hancock paused for a minute, but then he began to speak.
"Ok, begin moving the civilians and any unarmed personnel to the Old State House. Rally the rest of the Watch and have them head there. We will make our stand there."
"What about you, sir?"
"I'm taking Mark and Fahrenheit here and we're going to try to take out the attackers ourselves. Just make sure the civvies get to safety, ok? Just be sure to cover us."
"Ok, sir! Cover them!" the watchman yelled as we ran through the bullets towards the Third Rail, taking out hostiles as we ran. The attackers seemed to be well-armed, and used actual tactics. When we entered the Third Rail, we took cover, so that we could see the scene that was unfolding in front of us.
There were around 10 soldiers patrolling the Third Rail, but more importantly, they had around 20 people handcuffed and lined up in the back of the bar.
"We need to be smart about this, or those civilians die. How do you want to play this, Hancock?" I asked the ghoul mayor.
"Ok, here's what we're going to do. Me and Fahrenheit are going to cover you, but you are going to take out the attackers quickly, by running through the bar and freeing civilians. If you do it fast enough, they'll never know what hit them. You got it?"
I nodded and that was all Hancock needed, for he and Fahrenheit began to open fire.
I ran through the bar, taking hostiles with my pistol and moving people to safety. I had almost gotten all of the hostages out when I came upon a situation. There was a soldier holding a woman hostage with a N99 pointed at her head.
"Drop the gun!" I yelled.
"You first, mutate! We have the place surrounded! Surrender to the might of the Enclave!" At the moment he said the word "Enclave", I internally cringed. It seems like the people who attacked me at Fort Hagen were back again and were wreaking havoc on the wasteland.
"Is this wasteland bitch really worth your life?" he taunted.
"No, but is it worth yours?" I countered. This was the opportunity I needed. In the moment he was distracted, I put a round from my 9mm sidearm into his lower leg. He recoiled from the shot, letting go of the woman and within two seconds, I put three rounds into his chest, dropping him. I motioned for the woman to run, and she did, running towards Hancock and Fahrenheit.
At that point however, two Enclave soldiers ran up behind the wounded soldier and tried to drag him away, firing their sidearms as they did, forcing me to take cover. I returned fire, but then from the entrance of the bar, Neighborhood Watchmen, along with Hancock and Fahrenheit moved up, pushing the Enclave soldiers down towards the subway. We all followed in pursuit, but by that point the soldiers were too far gone.
When we all regrouped outside the Third Rail, I took in the situation. All of the Enclave soldiers were dead, but sadly, wastelanders and Neighborhood Watchmen were also among the casualties. After a minute, Hancock approached me.
"Thank you, Mark. I don't know what I could have done without you. I and the entire town of Goodneighbor are in your debt. Anything you need, ask and we'll help." he stated, gratefully.
"It's fine, Hancock. All part of the job. Although, right now I need to regroup with my men and finally find out what happened to my nephew and how to find him."
"Alright, man. See you." I said as I walked off towards the Memory Den, hoping to finally find out Kellogg's identity, and hopefully be able to find Shaun.
Author's Notes: Wow guys, this was a lot to write! 7,000 words! I hope as this story continues, the chapters will get longer and longer as my stamina increases. I also hope that you like the plot and if you have any suggestions, write a review or send me a PM. All criticism, good or bad, is appreciated. Thank you and enjoy the chapter.