Disclaimer: This story is written using the setting and the characters of Bethesada's Fallout franchise, and as such, they all belong to Bethesada. Original characters, fictional locations, and such are all entirely made up and any resemblance to other people/places is purely coincidental. If you find a reason to sue me, proceed. Just be warned, I'm virtually penniless and have a cute little puppy that relies on me for food and a warm place to sleep. A puppy, people. Don't be cruel.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

Chapter 2 - The Proposal

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be
strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
- Helen Keller, Deaf-Blind American Activist.

Nathaniel Howard sighed as he straightened up and secured his uniform tighter against himself, having had enough of the morning's chill. He pulled on his militia hat, the very same one he had retrieved from that old sinkhole for Joe Savoldi, something that belonged to one of the old Minutemen. Besides, he was damned if he'd wear something as silly as the tricorn hat that he had found on General McGann. Besides, he didn't have the face for that kinda hat, not like Hancock did. Nate chuckled then, amused at the thought. He gave South Boston one last look before putting on his patrolman sunglasses and took off, whistling softly as he went.

Once it was nearly nine clock, Nathaniel was sitting in the conference room, patiently waiting for the meeting to start.

He looked around the stony chamber, remembering that it had once served as the personal quarters of the Minutemen's Generals. He had slept and ate here at first, during the first days after recovering the Castle. But after a while, he realized there were better uses for the room. And so, the Minutemen fashioned a large table from reclaimed wood and pallets, pulled together all the chairs needed to accommodate the General and his top subordinates. Around the room, paintings and posters in relatively good condition had been found and hung, along with the Minuteman flag opposite from the doors, the flag Nathaniel was seated in front of. The flag he had swore to defend and uphold. Like the tunnels underneath the star fort, the room was rather well lit, thanks to the Fusion Generator they had managed to repair and transport into the Castle.

The doors suddenly opened then. Nate smiled as he stood up, "Damn good to see you again, Garvey!"

Preston grinned as he tipped his hat. "Likewise, General."

And in behind him walked Ronnie Shaw, getting on in her years now, alongside Jeremiah Teagan, formerly the Quartermaster of the Brotherhood of Steel, and Isabel Cruz, who once terrorized the Commonwealth as the misguided Mechanist. Behind them followed a young man who cut an impressive figure, Eamon Hollis, the only son of Colonel Erza Hollis himself, and beside him, one of the largest men Nate had ever seen by the name of Bristol Ward, who served as the commander of Spectacle Island Penitentiary and its warden.

Soon after, Nathan Barrett came in as well, a familiar sight these days as the Commodore of the Minutemen's growing navy. He was chatting with Jonah Monroe, the Director of the Minutemen's Intelligence agency, and Doctor James Carrington, who once ran with the Railroad and eventually accepted the General's commission once the Institute had been brought down.

Dr. Madison Li was the last to join the group, she who had abandoned the Institute once their duplicity had been revealed through Dr. Virgil's holotapes.

Her brief time with the Brotherhood had only served to convince her that they hadn't changed at all. A conversation with Nathaniel Howard of the Minutemen, however, changed things and the doctor found herself being brought on as Director of Applied Science along with a promise to put the people first and foremost.

Once everyone had gotten past the formalities and seated themselves, they talked quietly among themselves as Minutemen brought in trays of food, both organically grown and artificially preserved. Though, given the fact that much of the Castle's food stores were of the boxed and canned variety, most of breakfast consisted of food grown and farmed across the Commonwealth. Perishables first, you see. Spices were often used to give them a better flavor, which made it easier to eat, and the mess hall's Rick Grayson was quite the chef. It took a few favors but Nate made sure the man found himself assigned to the Castle.

As the last of the Minutemen withdrew from the room, Nate gestured for them to close the door before he resumed shoveling his hot breakfast into his hungry mouth.

The Minutemen might have been a people's militia but the first thing he had done as General was to implement military discipline. And despite the two hundred years that had gone by, it was rather well received by the Minutemen, something that surprised the General but he supposed that having a routine to live and operate by gave people some semblance of normalcy.

In any case, it was a source of great comfort to the General himself.

As soon as everyone had finished up eating, Nate tapped twice on the round table, announcing that it was time for the meeting to begin. And there was only one way to begin.

The young Captain stood up then, chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in. As the General's aide de camp and head of security, the young man found himself with plenty of responsibilities and this was merely one of them. "Roll call! Your name and your role, please!"

"General Nathaniel Howard, present." The Sole Survivor began things off.

"Colonel Preston Garvey, present!" The man who had once been the Last Minuteman in the Commonwealth continued on, pushing away his tray. It had been three years since he received the promotion but Preston was finally beginning to look comfortable with it.

"Commodore Nathan Barrett, Maritime Operations, present." The Commonwealth's leading, and only, admiral spoke next. Nate could tell that the man didn't really enjoy making these trips and yet he never complained, not even once. Even though the Commodore would have preferred to remain at Fort Strong, supervising as ships were towed in to be repaired, upgraded, and outfitted in order to be added to the navy. It wasn't much of a navy now though. More like a coast guard, really. But both the General and his Commodore were ambitious in their goals.

"Major Ronnie Shaw, Personnel." The oldest among them grunted. After a moment's delay, she sighed and added. "Here." She had seen many come and go, reaching all the way back before even General Becker. And Nate was glad to have her, glad to have her experience and her counsel close at hand. That and she had refused early retirement.

"Major Jeremiah Teagan, Logistics, present as well." The Quartermaster smiled as he finished what was left of his coffee, apparently happy to be here and not left in yet another bloody cage. As the war between the Minutemen and the Brotherhood went on, circumstances had demanded that the Quartermaster be relocated to the Airport. A lucky circumstance, as far as Teagan was concerned, as it meant he wasn't aboard the Prydwen when it had crashed and burned.

There was silence for a while. Then Nate cleared his throat, a small smirk tugging the corner of his lips. "Eh? Oh yeah! Major Isabel Cruz! Engineering! Also here! … I'm sorry?" The young woman grinned sheepishly as she buried her face behind a folder she had been looking over, schematics for some new design. She had certainly come a long way from the awkward and socially inept young woman Nate had found in the bowels of the Mechanist's Lair.

Beside her, the largest of them pulled out reports from a thin suitcase and placed them on the table. "Commandant Bristol Ward. Corrections. Present." The warden gave Isabel an raised eyebrow, as if silently commenting on her continued lack of professionalism. Despite his stoic personality, there were few others that the General would trust more with his own life than Bristol. He had been one of the first recruits that joined up with Nate and Preston and had been with them every step of the way. The man may not be much of a conversationalist, but there was no one else the General relied on more to command the Minutemen's prison on Spectacle Island, a facility more commonly known as 'The Tombs'.

"Doctor James Carrington, Medical Affairs. Here." The former Railroad member sighed before refilling his cup of coffee, not really caring that it was mostly lukewarm at this point. He hadn't been too pleased with his position in the Railroad, Nate knew. The opportunity to actually focus on saving people, no matter what they happened to be, along with getting the respect he knew he deserved made Dr. Carrington someone the General could always count on. That and he enjoyed their late night chats over a bottle of bourbon.

"Director Jonah Monroe, Intelligence, present as well." The blank look he had on was difficult to read as always, but the General knew what he was thinking. The man was definitely enjoying this. He also reminded himself to never play cards with the guy either, given the fact that Monroe had the best poker face he'd ever seen.

"Director Madison Li, Applied Science, present." The scientist straightened up, impatient to get right to business. After all, she had so many projects to work through and she had left them all on hold just to come all the way here.

Eamon checked off each and every name on his clipboard, taking attendance until it came down to the last name. "Captain Eamon Hollis, Security, also present!" The Captain checked off the last name and placed his clipboard on the table. "All accounted for, sir!" Preston looked up at the young man and smiled. He had come across him just a few years ago, along with Colonel Hollis' widow. They had done well for themselves, he was glad to hear, and with the resurgence of the Minutemen, the boy had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

And so Preston Garvey brought him aboard his fireteam at first, and once the General had a look at him and a conversation with him alone, Eamon found himself on the fast track into the officer corps. He remembered then, what Nate had said, that Eamon wouldn't be a bad choice for General someday. And so, the son of Hollis found himself stationed at the Castle, serving as the General's chief adjutant, and eventually got made head of security for the Castle and across the Commonwealth's many Minutemen positions. Good training before taking up the reins of the Minutemen, if something ever happened to the General and Preston both.

The Colonel nodded to himself, knowing that Nate had the right idea and the right direction for the Minutemen. Establishing a chain of command was important. He just wished the old Minutemen had done that in the past instead of letting everything fall apart.

Nathaniel tapped his empty glass on the table twice. "Now that the formalities are done with, let's get started." He smiled as he looked around the table, giving every man and woman his personal attention before going on. "We've come a long way now. It's been eight years since the Institute. Won ourselves plenty of victories. Got Raiders and Gunners running, wiped out the Forged, crushed the Triggermen and their monopoly on vice, and sent the Brotherhood packing. The Children of Atom have all been relocated to their Crater, where they'll hopefully stay. Just about everyone's standing together now. Diamond City. Goodneighbor. Bunker Hill. Concord. Salem. Quincy. To name a few. It's been six years now too, since the Lexington Initiative. Think we can all agree that's been a massive success." The General grinned as everyone nodded and clapped in agreement. That one, he was especially proud of. The Lexington Initiative had been put together by Nate and some of his earliest allies, hoping to stanch the chaos blanketing the Commonwealth following the Brotherhood of Steel's rampage. With all the refugees wandering the Commonwealth, it gave the Sole Survivor an unique opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

The Minutemen cleared out the ruined city and provided protection as the refugees, along with volunteers from all over the Commonwealth, worked together to raise walls, clear away the rubble, make repairs to buildings and bring the city back to life. And with Major Teagan and the Minutemen under his command garrisoning the Corvega Assembly Plant and plenty of land around with which to raise cattle on and grow crops, Lexington soon became one of the fastest growing cities in the Commonwealth and an important population center north of the river, acting as a sister of sorts to Diamond City.

And it also made Lexington a permanent member of the alliance between the settlements, alongside Diamond City, Goodneighbor, Bunker Hill, and Quincy. And as long as the big five continued to support the Minutemen, so would all the rest. Wasteland politics wasn't that much different from pre-war politics, after all. 'Just with a lot less bullshit.' Nate thought to himself, still smiling.

"And just about every settlement in the Commonwealth is flying our flag. Radio Freedom coverage now includes all of the Commonwealth. Protector Ingram's still maintaining Steelport's neutrality and her people in Cambridge and Boston are still behaving themselves. At this point, I think we can believe that these new Outcasts are pretty sincere about their refusal to continue following Maxson." The General looked at Teagan then, and the Major nodded. He had been the one to facilitate the truce between the Minutemen and the Outcasts, securing the Boston Airport as well as outposts in Cambridge and Boston as their territory permanently, along with traveling and salvage rights. They might no longer be loyal to Maxson but they were still Brotherhood as far they were concerned, and Nate could respect that. And in the years since then, the Airport came to be called Steelport, mostly because of the massive steel wall the Outcasts had built around their turf, enclosing the entire strip of land off from the rest of Boston. The only way in or out was by the bridge or via vertibird. But that wasn't an issue, since they were willing to trade Brotherhood expertise and assistance in exchange for supplies and technology, along with repairing Minuteman vehicles in the parking garage, which they had converted into a Motor Pool. The only problem left was that many among the Outcasts still resented Nate for his apparent betrayal of the Brotherhood of Steel and his part in the destruction of the Prydwen.

Even though the General had never actually swore the oath nor vowed to serve the Brotherhood alone. No, they had simply shared a common ground and a common enemy. And Maxson found his military expertise and combat skills too valuable to ignore. And so, they had worked together against the Institute. And things had been fine until Maxson decided that the Commonwealth could not govern itself, not without the power fist of the Brotherhood hanging over it.

And Arthur Maxson was still alive.

Defeated, yes. But still alive and licking his wounds. With what remained of his loyalists, the Elder and his battered forces had pulled out following the destruction of the Prydwen and by all reports had made it back home to the Capital Wasteland, a dangerous trek through New York and Pennsylvania. In the process, he had lost up to half of his remaining troops, leaving the Elder in a weakened position but he could still draw on the resources and manpower of the Capital Wasteland.

And Nate felt it in his guts. Arthur Maxson would have his vengeance.

"In short, we've accomplished a lot of good." Nate smiled, pushing aside his frustrations over the unresolved Brotherhood issue. It wasn't the time for that, not right now. "But that's all in the past and we still have plenty of work to do." He looked beside him, at Preston. "Colonel Garvey, your report?"

Preston nodded his acknowledgement. "Yes sir. Everything's good on our end. My men have finally finished securing Fort Hagen and her outposts. All the families of our personnel have settled in and they've started growing crops. Give it a year or two and we should be pretty self-sufficient. Also got a petition here from… Gail Anderson. Says she's had enough of roaming and she's looking to settle down. Dr. Anderson wants to set up shop at Fort Hagen. There's an old blood clinic there. She'd like to get it fixed up and start stockpiling blood." Preston handed the General both his reports and the petition, one that had his signature on it as approval.

Nate went over the papers then, giving them some serious consideration. It would certainly be a good idea to improve on the Commonwealth's ability to support itself, and that also included improving health care. He looked over at Dr. Carrington, who gave him a nod as well, clearly supportive of it himself. "All right. Tell Dr. Anderson she's got her blood clinic. And have our boys help too. We should have plenty of materials and tools, right?"

"We do." Preston smiled, glad to still be helping people.

"Great. Dr. Carrington, I think we can provide some help as well?" The General went on.

Dr. Carrington looked over some of his own papers. "I think so, General. We can certainly send over a few of our trainees, the experience would do them some good. There's also some resources we can send along too, to help her get set up." In getting Mass Bay Medical Center up and running, they had managed to accrue a bit too much of certain things. Linens and gauze, soap and antiseptic, things like that. "We also have a surplus of medical supplies and chems, we can dig into that too."

"Fantastic," Nate nodded as he went over the Colonel's reports. "Commodore Barrett?" He looked up at Nathan then.

The Commodore slid over a folder filled with his own reports. "Fort Strong's naval training camp is proceeding well. Within two years, we should have enough people to man every ship currently in our fleet."

Nate nodded as he picked up the folder. "And that'd be, what? Fourteen ships?"

Commodore Barrett shook his head. "Presently, we have sixteen ships. I expect to add another three within six months. At this rate, within five years, we will have about three hundred sailors. Maybe more.

The General smiled. "Excellent. Keep it up. I want that navy up and running as soon as feasibly possible, especially if we're going to defend the Commonwealth's coasts. That and I don't need another goddamn mirelurk queen thinking the Castle's perfect to nest in." He got a few laughs with that one, a nod from Nathan, and a groan from Preston.

"Don't even joke, General!" Preston gave him a dirty look.

Nate grinned before clearing his throat. "Major Shaw, how's our military strength?" He looked over at the old veteran who sighed and sat up straight in her chair.

"General, once this year's cadets are done with their time at the National Guard Training Yard, our overall forces should be nearly at two thousand."

Preston whistled, both impressed and genuinely happy to hear that there were so many Minutemen now. Nate chuckled and went over the numbers in his head. "Two thousand. That means we now account for ten percent of the Commonwealth's population?"

"Roughly." Ronnie nodded. "And thanks to both Teagan here and all our salvage teams, all of our people are outfitted with the best possible equipment. As per your order, every squad in the Commonwealth has been reorganized. Twenty Minutemen to every squad. Twelve infantrymen, three heavy weapon specialists, two snipers, one combat medic, one technical specialist, and one sergeant. They've got an even mix of combat rifles and laser rifles, and our heavy infantry are packing miniguns, flamethrowers, or rocket launchers... plus power armor."

The General nodded as he processed all this. "Good work. That way, our people can handle any situation. I expect every squad from here on to be similarly outfitted. We are not losing any more people just because they didn't have what they needed. Clear?"

"Clear." The Major acknowledged the order.

"Major Teagan, how's our supply doing?" He glanced at the man beside Ronnie.

The ex-Brotherhood proctor tapped the table with his pen, quickly looking over his papers. "Pretty good, General. We've finished stripping down the rest of the Convega Assembly Plant, so there's plenty of space for our stockpiles now. My specialists are also working around the clock to get our operation over at Mass Gravel and Sand up and running, so we can start producing our own concrete. I also got a few of my boys looking into whipping up some of that homemade cement you suggested before, no promises though." The General nodded as he listened, going through his own copy of the man's reports and statistics. "Our people at both the Federal Ration Stockpile and the Four Leaf Fishpacking Plant have also sent in their reports as well. They've secured both locations and sizable amounts of our food supplies have been relocated to both locations. They should have the first batch of those MREs ready soon. If they meet your standards, we should be ready to start distributing them to all our forces."

Nate gave the man a thumbs up. "Excellent job, Teagan. Those MREs will definitely help our boys and girls in the field perform better. Anything from Protector Ingram?"

Teagan scratched the back of his neck before pulling out one of his papers and slid it over to the General. This was the part of the job he didn't really like, serving as the Minutemen' liaison to Steelport's Outcasts. "Yes sir, but… It's a bit complicated."

"Let's hear it." Nate gestured for him to go on as he grabbed the paper.

"She's… Hoping to establish an official Commonwealth Chapter for the Brotherhood of Steel. And, uh…"

The General sighed as he looked up from the paper Teagan gave him. "And she's demanding we turn over the Switchboard."

"Yes sir. Speaking from a Brotherhood perspective, it's one of the best options to establish an official chapter. Steelport is in the open and all their outposts are scattered." Teagan explained, given his personal insight into how the Brotherhood operated. "Ingram is also considering pulling out of the Commonwealth as well. Said if they do, she'd be open to negotiating the redistribution of Brotherhood territory within the Commonwealth."

This bit of news surprised everyone. Nate was quiet for a moment, thinking to himself. Then he went on, "Really? What for?"

Teagan sighed. "Maxson, sir. You've seen what he did. What he's capable of. So has Ingram. The Protector know he's unhinged. The High Elders don't. Ingram needs to get word back to Lost Hills, let them know what's been happening. She also wants to find out what the situation in the Capital Wasteland is as well."

"I imagine," Nate began, "That these High Elders won't look kindly at us for bringing down the Eastern Brotherhood or humiliating one of their own Elders. Plus, it's Arthur. He's practically royalty to them, isn't he?"

Major Teagan nodded. "Pretty much. It was a Maxson that founded ou- Ahem. Their order. And He's a Maxson. The last Maxson. If he had died, it'd have been a huge blow to the Brotherhood's morale. Alive, he's a symbol they can rally around."

The General sighed again. "Send word to Protector Ingram. I'd like to meet her. She can name the place and time, I'll be there." He could feel everyone's eyes on him then.

Dr. Carrington cleared his throat. "Are you really going to consider surrendering the Switchboard over to the Outcasts?"

Nate looked at him then, then shook his head. "No. I don't think so. I know how dangerous the Switchboard is in the wrong hands. Plus, it'd put the Brotherhood right near Lexington. Nobody has forgotten the war between the Brotherhood and us. That's like putting a lit match next to a powder keg… No, I have a couple alternatives that Ingram might like."

Preston shifted in his seat. "Such as?"

His friend and companion was quiet again, but not for long. He looked at Preston beside him and smiled. "Somewhere way out of sight and mind. Somewhere relatively isolated. Somewhere they won't be too much trouble." He looked at everyone then. "Somewhere like Vault 95. We took that place from the Gunners. Place is still in pretty good shape, after two hundred years. It'll need repairs. It'll need maintenance. But it's still full of technology. Plenty of broken robots too, courtesy of the Gunners. Plus, the Vault door is still operational. And their backs will be up against the Glowing Sea. Somerville's nearby, so we can see about setting up an office there, and assign someone there to liaise with the Brotherhood." Then he shrugged. "Plus, we have a Minuteman position nearby, don't we? Waypoint Echo, I believe."

Ronnie nodded. "Yes sir. We took it after Maxson and his Brotherhood withdrew from the Commonwealth. Basic set up there, with sandbags and a couple defensive measures, along with a mobile communications array. Just… Not really much to do with it, is there?"

The General grinned. "Glowing Sea's still dangerous these days, isn't it? We definitely need to ramp up our security along the border. I want that Waypoint operational soon. Make sure there's an entrenched Minuteman outpost there. In fact, I want Waypoints all along the border…" He picked up a rolled up map of the Commonwealth and unfurled it across the table, as Preston and Ronnie both stood up to look over just what the General wanted. Nate tapped each position, two just south of Natick Banks, one along the highway, and one more to the south of Vault 95. "Here, here, here, and here. I want them all fortified and I want them all linked up. Applied Science can whip up some communications arrays of our own, I'm sure." He looked over at Madison then, who acknowledged the order and jotted it down on a notepad. It would give her technicians something to focus on.

"You got it." Preston continued. "Waypoint Echo. That's the, uh, old phonetic thing, isn't it?"

Nate chuckled as he clapped the back of his closest friend. "The NATO alphabet, yeah. We'll use the following... Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta." He looked at Ronnie then, and the old veteran stared back at him. "Five stations should be enough to patrol the border along the Glowing Sea, and to keep an eye on the Outcasts."

Teagan coughed then. "If they accept, that is."

Nate grinned. "I've been to Vault 95 and I've been to the Switchboard. Vault 95 is a lot bigger. And far more defensible. Give Ingram the location of the Vault, tell her to take a look herself. Or send some of her people, if she wants." Then he sat back down in his seat. "She's not stupid. If that Brotherhood chapter is going to survive, a Vault is the best option."

And Major Teagan could only agree with that assessment. Throughout much of the Brotherhood's history, they had thrived best underground, inside bunkers. And while it was no bunker, a Vault was a far more attractive option, and likely to contain a treasure hoard of pre-war technology. With the Outcast's expertise, they would likely get the Vault back into exceptional condition before moving on. If they did move on. "Yes sir. I'll meet with Protector Ingram on my way back to the Corvega facility, give her your message."

"Thanks." Nate turned his attention over to Isabel Cruz. "Isabel?"

The young woman stood up and scrambled to look through her newest designs and schematics before collecting them all into a single folder and handed them to Bristol, who then gave it to the General. "The techies and I have been working on upgrading those laser muskets, like you requested. We think we figured a way to make them self-charging. Removing the cranks and streamlining the design will make them lighter too. Plus, with that new design for the laser barrel itself, you can fire them faster and they'll be more accurate, but there's a bit of a decrease in power, about fourteen percent."

Nate grinned at this news. "Fantastic. You're brilliant, Cruz." He looked over the rest of the schematics, new updates for combat robots as well as suggestions on improvements to their software. Those would have to be looked over by Madison and her department first before they were put into use. The young Major blushed at the praise and sat back down. "In the meantime, start making these modifications to the laser muskets, I want all of them upgraded." The General smiled at his former adversary. While laser rifles had replaced the laser muskets, the laser musket was still a symbol of the Minutemen. And with these improvements, they would make the perfect weapons for something he had in mind. He looked over at Bristol next. "How about you, Ward?"

"Sir." Bristol held up some papers held together with a clip, allowing the General to take them. "Your prison is still operating at max efficiency. And it is also nearly at maximum capacity. Included with my reports is a petition to expand the Spectacle Island Penitentiary, increase the size of the garrison there, and requisition up to three ships to be outfitted and placed under my command so the waters around the Island can be patrolled as well as provide transport for prisoners and personnel between Spectacle Island and the mainland."

Nate listened to everything his Commandant had to report. He hadn't expected to take so many prisoners but if the rule of law was to be respected, there also had to be respect for human life as well. It would have been easier to take no prisoners but it wasn't humane. Not when most of them were merely desperate men and women who had turned to a life of crime just to survive.

The decision was a simple one to make. "Approved. Commodore Barrett will assist in salvaging and repairing the boats you need, and Major Teagan will procure the materials you need. What about workers?"

The Commandant shook his head. "The prisoners will do the majority of the work. I only need the necessary tools and a team of engineers and masons to assist in the building." He would make sure the prisoners were well shackled and looked after, so that they wouldn't escape. Furthermore, it would be part of their sentence, to repay their debts to the Commonwealth. What better way to do that than by improving the very site of their incarnation? Before he was finished, the Penitentiary would be more than just a prison. It would be a fortress.

Nate looked at Isabel then, who acknowledged the silent order and quickly wrote it down on her clipboard. "I'll get people ready to go as soon as they're needed, sir!"

And with that, he turned his attention to Jonah Monroe, the shadowy head of his intelligence gathering network, a man who had once ran with the Triggermen, only to sell them out and throw in with the Minutemen. The Triggermen had been a necessary evil, but one he hated. With the Minutemen, he knew he could finally do some real good for the people. And it was a task made easier by the fact that among his people were a number of former Railroad agents, who brought with them plenty of expertise and experience in espionage and surveillance.

Jonah needed no encouragement. He gestured toward a folder that was already in front of Nate. "Everything you need to know is in there." And that was all of it. By the very nature of his department, everything Director Monroe did was classified and on a need to know basis, known only to Nathaniel Howard himself.

This was something that didn't sit easy with most of the council but they understood the need for security.

Besides, most of them if not all of them trusted Nate explicitly and knew that he would do everything in his power to ensure that things were done properly. They knew that Nate would never allow the Minutemen to get as bad as the Brotherhood or the Institute had, or even like the Minutemen of old.

It was just that most of them still held reservations about Jonah Monroe.

"Director Li?" Nate moved on to Madison then, looking up at the former member of the Institute.

Madison too slid over a folder filled with reports and findings and requests for her department. "Our facility at the ArcJet Systems building has taken up a considerable amount of time with repairs but we've made some small breakthroughs to help improve lives. All the relevant information has been included in my report. For the time being, much of our work is being done outside the facility. Training new technicians and assistants have also slowed us down somewhat."

"Still? Hmm. Anything we can do about that?" The General looked at Madison, genuinely concerned as he understood it was important to maintain an edge over your opponents, and the best way to do that was with science.

"Yes, I have a proposal, actually. I've been talking with Major Cruz and Dr. Carrington here, and we all agreed that having some kind of... Ahem.. Institution would be far more helpful in training up people for our respective departments. A trade school, really. There's one just nearby. South Boston High School."

Nate nodded, seeing where she was going. "And if we secured the site and made repairs to it…"

Dr. Madison smiled then. "Then we could send people to staff the building, pass on their technical and scientific knowledge. Within time, we'd have graduates join their chosen fields and bring their skill sets to us instead of it falling upon us to instill these skills into them in the first place."

The General thought this a splendid idea, not just for the training of Minuteman personnel but as part of overall Commonwealth education. There was already a school in Diamond City, but that was largely for the education of kids. And there were plenty of apprentices all over the Wasteland, learning from their masters. He had always believed education to be important but hadn't really considered what to do about it. Up until now. "Okay. We'll secure your school. Have your instructors picked out and ready to teach."

With that, Madison was pleased and it came down to the Minutemen's resident medical expert. "Dr. Carrington?" Nate gestured for him to proceed.

The doctor handed Nate the last of the reports. He cleared his throat then, picking up the original reports he had written up himself. "Mass Bay Medical Center is still operating at peak efficiency. We've also established a number of clinics across the Commonwealth, as well as expanded on existing ones such as Diamond City and Bunker Hill." It would have been redundant to mention the shortage of trained medical assistants as Madison had already alluded to that, so Dr. Carrington moved on to the next bit. "Right now, any serious emergency means people head straight for Mass Bay. If this keeps up, it's gonna burn through all our supplies and we'll end up overwhelmed. To help rectify this, I'd like to fix up the insane asylum up in Parsons, convert it into a medical facility. That way, anyone up in the northern regions of the Commonwealth can head over there instead."

Nate gave that some thought. "It'd take a great deal of work to repair Parsons and a lot of time."

Dr. Carrington nodded. He knew this as well as the General did. "I know. That's why I want to set up tents outside the asylum, treat the people while workers take care of the interior. I'd also like to set up both a field hospital and a triage center and get started on helping people. Just because Parsons won't be ready for some time doesn't mean we can't help people now. It'll be enough for now."

Preston nodded his approval. "I agree. We got to do everything we can for the people. If Dr. Carrington thinks it's doable, I think we should go with it."

Nate chuckled. "If both the good doctor and the Colonel think it's necessary, who the hell am I to argue? I'll have people get right on securing Parsons and I'll talk to some of the settlements in the area about contributing materials and resources as well as workers. You got someone to head up this field hospital of yours?"

Dr. Carrington smiled, glad to get his approval. "Yes sir. I'll have a convoy get ready to make the trip up there, just let me know when the site's secured."

And that concluded the first part of the meeting. Now it was time for the second part, and as far as Nate was concerned, the most important part. "All right. Everyone, thank you for your reports, and keep up the good work. Now, I'd like to talk about something else."

As soon as he was confident that he had everyone's undivided attention, Nate went on. "Aside from putting down raiders and all, we've had just about seven years of peace. Tenuous and fragile peace, but peace all the same." All around the table, everyone nodded along in silent agreement.

"Which is why we're going to war."

There was an entirely different kind of silence now, the kind you could hear a pin drop in. Then Preston Garvey broke the silence. "What!?" And the uproar began, everyone yelling in confusion and voicing their concerns, all the while as Nate chuckled, having expected this outburst.

War. War never changes.

Author's Note: Updated as of 6/14/2021