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 4 - Striking Deals
"We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones, and unite the civilized world against insidious Communist terrorism,
which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth."
- Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States
It was dark.
Deep within the bowels of what remained of the Mechanist's Lair, abandoned for a time after the incident with Isabella Cruz' and her misguided crusade, the General made his way into the lowest levels, accompanied only by Dr. Madison Li and two of her technicians.
Despite butting heads with all the dangers of the Wasteland, even the Sole Survivor couldn't get over his unease at being back here. Being here, it was always...
Creepy.
Ever since the Mechanist's defeat, the facility had been abandoned and picked clean, every robot and machine in it salvaged and dismantled, every bit of circuit suspect and every shred of technology deemed dangerous.
After the last of the Mechanist's rogue creations had been put down, the robobrains that had assisted Cruz in her campaign had all ended up destroyed. They were, after all, much too unstable to be left alone.
Furthermore, the General did not think their existence an enviable one and ordered them all permanently shut down.
In the aftermath of the Institute's destruction, though... He had the facility quietly turned over to Madison, who then restored enough of it to serve as a tomb of sorts for the Institute's most dangerous creations, especially the Coursers.
The Coursers.
There weren't many of them left. Enough to pose the same threat as before. Enough to resurrect the fear of the Institute. Enough to necessitate their indefinite imprisonment.
Until now.
The General stood aside as Dr. Li and her people began the task of bringing up one of the Coursers and reactivating him. He had mixed feelings about all of this. These were his son's finest creations. In a way, they were Father's only children, built and based all around his genetic information, his very DNA.
In a way, that made them Nate's as well. Or rather, his grandchildren. He uttered only a rueful chuckle at the thought.
The General was lost in thought for a time, until Madison brought him out of his reverie, informing him that the Courser he requested was ready to see him. Nate nodded before stepping into the central room, one where X6-88 sat waiting for him in an old office chair. He brought himself up in front of the Courser, pulled the .44 Magnum out of its arm holster and held up the handcannon up to X6-88's forehead. Nate stared down the barrel of his weapon, faintly recalling that the last owner of this gun had been the man who murdered his wife.
Conrad Kellogg.
And with it, he had killed his first Courser all those years ago, searching for a way to locate the Institute and get inside. Up until that point, Nate had never run into anyone more tougher than Z2-47. He had thought he was going to die so many times in such a short space of time. But military training and experience had prevailed.
"Sir?" The Courser looked up at Nate then, betraying no sign of discomfort at the sight of the weapon. "Requesting a situation update. I assume that some time has passed since the last time I was active."
The General remained stony-faced. "That's an understatement, X6-88."
He looked up at Madison then, who nodded from her terminal. She would shut down the Courser if he tried anything. And there were plenty of interior security in place and active, just in case. Between all of that and his own combat skills, the General was confident he'd survive if the Courser decided to terminate him.
"It's been eight years." Nate began, his weapon still trained on the Courser. "The Institute is defunct. Father is-" Then he stopped. He was quiet for a time then. It still felt unreal to say it out loud.
That his son was gone.
"Dead." X6-88 concluded. "Any survivors?"
"Some. The ones that surrendered, we relocated them across the Commonwealth. They may not enjoy the same standards as they once did, but they had the opportunity to live as productive citizens under Minuteman protection. Many have integrated pretty well among our people. We're still keeping an eye on them, though."
"And the ones that didn't surrender?"
Nate stared at him then. "As the Institute represented a clear and present danger to our way of life and everything the Minutemen built... We went with the nuclear option. The Institute is now a crater. That's all that needs to be said."
X6-88 went quiet then, processing this information. Then he looked up at the General of the Minutemen. "Why reactivate me then?"
"Because I got a job for the Coursers." Nate lowered his weapon then. "Riddle me this, who is your superior?"
"Father." The Courser stated.
"Father is dead. Who is your superior?"
X6-88 took a while to answer then, but once he did, it was enough to put Nate's concerns at ease for now. "Protocol dictates that if Father is deceased, authority passes on to the Directors until a new Father is chosen."
"Father is dead. The Institute is defunct. There are no more Directors." Nate retorted then. This was the moment he was waiting for then, and if his suspicions were correct, it could only end one way. "What then?"
X6-88 went quiet again. Then he looked over at Madison, then at Nate. "Answer to the nearest figure of authority."
Nate smiled.
The Courser cocked his head then, "Who is the nearest figure of authority?"
"Nathaniel Howard, Minuteman General," Nate answered.
X6-88 stood up then. "Understood. What are my orders?"
The General smiled again, though he still felt some discomfort at the idea of having the Coursers close to him. It would be crucial for his upcoming campaign, however. "We're going to war, buddy." He looked at Madison then. "Start reactivating the rest of them. X6-88 here will help you bring the Coursers up to speed on the situation."
X6-88 nodded then. "Rest assured, Doctor Li."
Madison gave the two of them a nod. "All right then. Let's get to work, X6-88. We have a lot to do." She returned to her terminal as the Courser began walking toward her.
The General sighed then. "Easy bit's over with. Now, for the hard bit..."
East Boston. The Preparatory School.
It was a place that saw little use ever since eight years ago, when the Sole Survivor had barged into the School on the behalf of Kessler and Bunker Hill.
Judge Zeller had been a real piece of shit, brainwashing and brutalizing the raiders under his command into fanatical soldiers. But no amount of fanaticism could overcome a squad of well-trained and determined Minutemen led by both the General and Preston Garvey.
Nate had taken point, despite yet more of Preston's objections, and led the two fireteams into the building.
Preston, leading one of the fireteams, began the task of cleaning out the adjacent rooms as Nate kept the raiders distracted. The other fireteam, under the command of Bristol Ward, had broken their way into the auditorium to deal with yet more raiders. Bristol, operating one of the salvaged suits of Power Armor, had laid down suppressing fire from his Rockwell CZ53 minigun, allowing his team to quickly flank the raiders.
In doing so, they had secured the Minutemen's rear and enabled Preston's team to continue their flanking sweep.
And once the lower floors had been cleared out, both fireteams converged on the top floor and began closing in on Zeller and what few raiders remained to him. They had died for their judge, but the bastard was a coward himself and surrendered as soon as he saw no hope of escaping alive.
The Judge ended up being taken in and held as a prisoner by Bunker Hill, as an example to be made. There, Zeller remained until work on Spectacle Island began, where the Penitentiary was established, and there he became its first prisoner.
All this, the General recalled as he sat on the stage inside the auditorium.
The place had been cleared out in recent times, stripped bare, with every available material taken. Now, it was just an empty building, occasionally used by caravans and convoys to hole up inside for the night.
And now, it would be used as the meeting place for the Minutemen and the Outcasts of Steelport.
Major Teagan was with him, along with two companies of Minutemen, one deployed around East Boston to secure the perimeter and maintain privacy, and the second deployed throughout the building as a precaution.
It was a show of force, naturally. One meant to remind the Outcasts of who had defeated the Brotherhood years ago. And while it might have seemed a tad bit unnecessary, the General was determined to deal with the Outcasts from a position of strength.
Especially if he meant to turn over something as valuable as a Vault to them.
Just as the evening sky began to darken, there came a clamor from outside as the General perked up. He could tell from the distinct sound that it was the signature noise of Power Armor. And true to his expectation, Knights in Power Armor entered the auditorium, carrying mostly laser weapons though one was hefting along a flamethrower. Unlike the flamers he often saw around Boston and the outlying areas, the flamethrower was much larger and attached to a fuel tank strapped onto the Knight's back.
Nate hopped off the stage and approached the newcomers as he saw a familiar sight among them, a woman marching in behind her Knights, riding the familiar Power Armor frame that served as her legs.
"Protector Ingram," Nate offered her a salute, ignoring the hard glares he was receiving from many of the Outcasts. Even the ones in Power Armor were glaring at him, he was sure. "It's good to see you again."
Ingram grunted before returning the greeting. "Many would have preferred we didn't hear you out."
"No doubt." The General nodded, that much he could expect. "Bad blood and all."
The Protector just gave him a look instead, one that said that she didn't find it funny to make light of the entire conflict between the two of them.
She had been Protector for only five years now, having succeeded two others before her. The first Protector, formerly a Knight-Captain by the name Larsen, had perished in a firefight against Super Mutants, an incident that had prompted the Minutemen to focus on them for a time. The second Protector, Paladin Lord Sorenson who returned from beyond the Commonwealth on a special mission for Maxson, had tried to attempt a guerrilla campaign against the Minutemen and began with an assassination attempt on Nate's life.
Instead, Ingram had the man arrested and turned over to the General as a sign of their continued neutrality. As unpopular as Sorenson had been, Ingram was well respected by her people and many chose her to command them after Sorenson.
And in the five years since then, Ingram had served as an excellent Protector, drawing up plans for the Wall and supervising its construction. Under her command, the Outcasts had transformed the Boston Airport into a fortress hardened against external attacks, while squads were sent out to maintain outposts and continue their original duty, collecting and cataloguing technology.
They had done pretty well for themselves, Nate had to admit.
From what he could remember, there were at least eight other bases for the Outcasts on both sides of the river, scattered throughout Cambridge and Boston. In Boston, Wilson Atomatoys HQ, Hesters Consumer Robotics, Hallucigen Inc, and especially Faneuil Hall, where Larsen had died, had all been captured and secured. In Cambridge, the Police Station had remained under their control, while Cambridge Polymer Labs, Kendall Hospital, and Greentech Genetics were all acquired.
That the Outcasts would willingly sacrifice all these gains in exchange for the Switchboard, or actually consider pulling out of the Commonwealth, spoke volumes to the General.
"Let's not screw around, Nathaniel." Ingram lumbered even closer, approaching the General as her escort hung back then.
Nate nodded. No messing around then. "You want the Switchboard."
"We do," Ingram confirmed. "It's critical for our continued survival in the Commonwealth. A proper Chapter has to be established." There was no point in beating around the bush. Everyone knew how precarious the situation was for the Outcasts, and to continue existing due to the protection of the Minutemen was... humiliating.
"I can't give you the Switchboard." The General countered. Ingram bristled then, only to be interrupted by Nate. "The Switchboard is the property of the Railroad. And one of the conditions for the Railroad's disbandment was that the Switchboard never be used again, by either the Minutemen or anyone else. To violate that compromises the integrity of the Minutemen."
The Protector glared at him then. But Nate wasn't rattled, not after going over his proposal with Major Teagan to get a Brotherhood perspective on it.
"How about a Vault instead?" The General shrugged.
Ingram was quiet then, though she couldn't mask the surprise on her face. Then she answered. "A Vault? You're willing to turn over Vault 111 to us?"
"No." Nate quickly shot that down. "Not Vault 111." Not that Vault. No, that one was personal. It was a tomb. But more than that, it was a memorial. Not only to his wife but to the world he had come from. "Vault 95. It's located on the fringe, just near the Glowing Sea." He held up something scrolled up in his hand. "Blueprints to the Vault."
Ingram took them then and unscrolled the blueprints, looking over the Vault. It was a sizable one. "The condition?"
"Lived in." Nate chuckled. "It was held by Gunners when we mounted an offensive on them. There'll be plenty of repairs to make and it'll take some time before the Vault's operating at peak efficiency, but it's still operational and in good shape, especially the Vault door. Vault 95 is currently sealed, but I have all the passcodes you'll need to unseal and operate the Vault." Then he crossed his arms. "There's plenty of wrecked robots too, courtesy of both the Rust Devils and the Mechanist. Seemed more convenient to toss all of them into a Vault no one was using, but hey, call it a bonus."
The Protector scrolled up the blueprints and looked at Nate then. A Vault was certainly a far better option than the Switchboard, far more secure, and having access to a stockpile of robots and machines? Even better.
They could even repair those machines and augment their diminished manpower with robotic firepower. Ingram looked over at Teagan then. No doubt the man had something to do with this proposal. It was a good one and covered many of the needs the Outcasts had. She looked back at the General. "And you'll allow us to continue to patrol the Commonwealth, recover and catalogue any technology we find?"
"Yes, if you agree to several conditions." Nate smiled, knowing she had already decided on the Vault.
"Such as?" The Protector inquired.
"One, any technology in the possession of civilians will remain in their keeping, unless they choose to surrender or sell said technology. If we find out that you've forcibly taken even a single sensor module, I'll finish the job we began seven years ago. My fight is with Maxson, not the Brotherhood."
Ingram glared at him for several long moments before nodding. "Agreed."
"Two, I am establishing a Minuteman outpost at Somerville Farm, to serve as liaison between us and your Chapter. If there are problems between your Chapter and any settlement, you will bring it up with our liaison there." Nate returned the glare with one of his own. "No frontier justice, no acts of vigilance. All requests and grievances will be heard out by our representative and we will prioritize them over everything else."
The Protector nodded again. That much was to be expected. "Agreed."
"Third, in exchange for establishing an official Chapter, you will surrender all bases and outposts under Outcast control in Cambridge and Boston. They are a constant sore point among the citizens of the Commonwealth and only serve to remind them of Maxson's actions from eight years ago. You may take everything of value with you but the outposts must all be abandoned."
Sighing, Ingram did not really want to sacrifice all these gains her people had made, but with a Vault as their base, there was honestly little need for both these outposts and Steelport. That and she could not fault the Sole Survivor for this precaution, not when it was Maxson's fault in the first place. "Agreed." The word was more a snarl than anything else.
"And finally, you have in your possession an item of high value. I would like you to transfer said item into Minuteman control."
The Protector tilted her head then. "What item?"
"A synth by the name of Danse." Nate stated simply. He knew the man had been languishing in a Brotherhood cell ever since it had been discovered that he was a synth. He had tried fleeing, with the help of Haylen, but he had ended up caught and brought to Maxson. It was only because the Sole Survivor had intervened that the Elder decided against executing Danse, locking him up instead to be studied, see whenever a better method could be found to separate synths from humans.
And following Maxson's defeat, he had ended up forgotten, a prisoner in one of Cambridge Police Station's cells.
"Danse, while a synth, is still an exceptional soldier and a first rate officer." Nate explained. "I'm planning a preemptive campaign against the Gunners. Put an end to the threat they represent to the Commonwealth. And that calls for someone with tactical genius."
"Something." Ingram corrected. She sighed again, wondering if that was really what it is, or whenever the man just wanted a friend back. Then again, if he had wanted his companion back, he would have taken him back seven years ago after the Brotherhood's defeat. "All right. You can have Danse. We have no further use for the synth anyway."
The General grinned. "Excellent. Now, let's get to the next bit of business here."
Ingram looked at him then.
"You're pulling out of the Commonwealth." Nate stated simply. "That's why you're looking to establish a Chapter here, maintain a Brotherhood presence. You're going back to the Capital Wasteland, aren't you?"
She gave him only a stony stare. "And if I am?"
"The Gunners are just one of the many threats we have to worry about. Crushing what's left of the Gunners is a priority for me, but it's not my true goal." The General explained. "The Gunners are in my way. That's all there is to it."
Then it dawned on Ingram, along with Major Teagan who realized what his superior was getting at. "You're going after Maxson."
"Maxson." Nate repeated. "The man represents a clear danger to the Commonwealth. He may be defeated, but he is still the Elder. He still can draw on the resources of the Capital Wasteland. He still has an army loyal to him." He gave Ingram a look then. "You know the kind of man Arthur is. He'll come back to erase the stain of his defeat. Even if it means throwing yet more Brotherhood lives into the grinder."
Ingram sighed. "You're not wrong about that."
Nate nodded. "I know. Which is why I'm taking four companies of Minutemen with me, along with mercenaries and volunteers. Having Brotherhood firepower and expertise on our side would certainly be a godsend." He grinned, giving Ingram a shrug.
And finally, the woman chuckled. "Again, you're not wrong about that." She looked back at her fellow Outcasts, then back at Nate. "All right, what's the deadline?"
"In about... A little less than two months."
"So soon?" Ingram remarked.
Nate smiled. "Best to strike while the iron's hot. Besides, the sooner the better, right? Two months' enough time for you to get your Chapter set up, put together your forces, and prepare for the journey. I'll be marching my troops from Lexington, make the rounds throughout the Commonwealth, and we can link up once the procession makes its way past Vault 95."
"Procession?" Ingram tilted her head then, unsure as to what the General meant by that.
"Think of it as a parade." Nate grinned. "This kind of campaign, it's the first ever the Commonwealth has ever seen. Gives the people a sense of pride, knowing that they're part of something bigger than just..." He stopped, trying to figure out just how to explain it. "Up until now, the people have lived a hard life. Raiders. Mutants. Synths. Many of them have never even left the settlement they were born in. And a lot of them have done so much traveling that they know there's no place that's really safe. But it's different now. The Commonwealth is safer than it was eight years ago. There are more people. More farms. More towns. Everyone knows the Minutemen are what's keeping them all safe, but... Think about the Brotherhood, Ingram. They're an army without a country. So are the Minutemen now. But that's not a good thing."
Ingram listened in silence as she stared at the man in front of her. She could understand what he was getting at with the Brotherhood. Establishing a state that was subordinate to the army was what had created a fascist like Arthur Maxson.
But if it was the other way around...
"The Commonwealth is held together through an alliance of the cities. When the people see the strength of that alliance, they'll know that they're part of something bigger. " Nate smiled again. "These people have tried building a country together once. The Institute put an end to that. I'm going to help them try again, and God willing, it'll work this time."
The Protector nodded. She couldn't blame the man for wanting to try.
After all, if anyone could pull it off, it would certainly be the Sole Survivor. And more than anyone else in the Commonwealth, the man had the experience and knowledge to pull it off.
"I wish you luck in that endeavor then." Ingram turned and began walking toward the exit, her Knights already extracting themselves.
With the Outcasts leaving, Major Teagan came up beside Nate and looked at his superior. "You left that bit out back at the Castle." He began, adopting an accusatory tone that made it clear that he didn't approve of being tricked like that.
The General turned his head to the side. "My proposal would have been shot down before I had a chance to argue its merits."
That, Teagan couldn't argue with. "Fair enough. Think you really can take this all the way to the Capital Wasteland?"
Nate chuckled. "You heard the Protector. Lady luck's on my side." He clapped Teagan on the back and gestured toward the exit as well. "Come on, we got a crapload of things to do. You get your ass over to Lexington, I need to visit Goodneighbor and Diamond City next."
And the two left, joined by their Minutemen outside.
Author's Note: Updated as of 6/14/2021