Andale, February 11, 2290.
The overly cheerful, cannibalistic and inbred citizens of Andale screamed in terror as NEA special forces marched in and forcefully removed the "Maxson Brotherhood" pockets of resistance, forcing them further and further back into the heart of D.C.
The harsh hums of laser rifle fire battered the air and covered the invaders in a cloud of ominous smoke. Some citizens bared their vicious sides and fought back, but Minutemen Elites and Institute Coursers were the best troops in the east coast, and they swept through the town without a single death in their ranks. Accompanying them though were the cool but terrifying Atom Cats, serving as the main heavy force to go mano e mano with the power armor units.
"We can't hold them! Fall back, fall back! yeuGHCK." Another Brotherhood knight was riddled with light and his ashen remains fell on the ground alongside the rest. There was no place to hide and regroup for the Brotherhood forces, the invisible Coursers struck and stalked, and the heavy weapons of the Minutemen's machine guns forced them to keep their heads down.
"Draw 'em into the open and set up a line!" The amply armored and armed Brotherhood garrison evacuated town to attempt to regroup, but they were too late.
A column of smoke filled the sky from one of the rooftops, and looking up, a few knights and initiates screamed out as they witnessed a pure white X-01 taking to the air and showering the Brotherhood infantry with scattered beams of never-ending blue light. Some thought that light was the fabled light one sees at the end of their life, but one thing was for sure, the lives of every Brotherhood member stationed in Andale ended that day in fire and ash.
Raven Rock, Valentine's Day, 2290, 8:07am.
"General Garvey?!" A soldier shouts out, trying to shout over the sound of gunfire and explosions.
"Where are those reinforcements?!" Preston leans out of cover and shoots two rounds in the way of the opposition: more as a way to create pressure rather than hit his mark.
"They'll be here soon!"
"Alright, then we hold here! Don't let them push us out. We've got enough cover to exhaust them a bit."
Unexpectedly, the NEA forces had run into some trouble at Raven Rock. The Brig. General's force in particular was pinned down while trying to advance into the enemy's entrenched position. The General could call for vertibird support although they were instructed to not damage the facility they were invading (or at least keep the damage to a minimum). The Brotherhood remnants that they were facing had made Raven Rock their home; entrenchments, turrets, spotlights and even some traps in select locations. The exterior of the bunker was now turned into a mini fortress and the NEA experienced that first-hand.
Paranoia really was Maxson's strong suit, Preston thought.
"Ge... ral-Ge... ne-l, d-do y... u c... py?"
In the chaos of the crossfire, Preston thought he heard a noise coming from his earpiece. He covered his open ear and focused his attention to his earpiece.
"This is Brigadier General Garvey! Please repeat!"
"General, this is Commander Darling. I'm bringing the reinforcements in from your west flank. Stay still!"
"Dammit. Roger!"
Brotherhood troops all of a sudden came onto Raven Rock at an angle and caught the opposition by surprise. Now faced with a pincer attack, the loyalists did not know where to put their attention to. They had built a nice exterior fortification so that the door could not be so easily accessed, but that proved quite the mistake as they were forced to abandon their position and retreat inside the rock.
The NEA-Brotherhood forces advanced and took some hits, but they poured fire into the doorway as it closed, making sure they got as many licks in as they could. With the retreat completed. It was now time to settle down.
"Lieutenant Walker, get some men to check the battlefield. Stragglers, survivors or whatever; take them as prisoners."
"Yes ma'am." The lieutenant gestures to some lower rankers and divides them across the field. With that, Abby approaches Preston.
"General." Abby said. "We weren't tardy, were we?"
"Hah. Just in time, Commander. Thanks for the assist. Who knows how long we would've been out here."
"My guess is that hasn't changed at all, that's a pretty solid bunker they got over there."
Preston laughed a little, but out of cynicism if anything.
"So, what gives? Since when were there fortresses in the Capital?" Preston asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. All the information we had to go on was limited to Elder Lyons' and other Brotherhood members' ideas of this place."
"In other words, vague?"
"To put it bluntly, yes."
"Commander!"
Their conversation was cut short when Lieutenant Walker's voice came into Abby's ear.
"Lieutenant, report."
"We have one survivor. Looks like his power armor's fusion core got damaged and he tripped while they were retreating. He's barely conscious; going in and out of it."
"Bring him back to our place. I have an idea. Darling out."
Preston turned his body to Abby in intrigue. "An idea? Whatever for?"
"To get us inside that rock."
"Commander, we don't torture people here... "
"Who said anything about torture?"
Tenpenny Tower, Valentine's Day 2290, 12:09am.
Synths stormed the former luxury hotel uttering the same warning: "Please do not resist. Tenpenny Tower is now under the protection of the New England Alliance."
Most of the residents cowered in fear or stood in shock as the contingent moved towards the penthouse suite, where Allistair Tenpenny stood at his usual spot on the balcony.
Mr. Tenpenny had his trusty sniper rifle at his side, and he simply looked on as the "herd" he was hunting stormed his beloved tower. Synths took positions in the room and pointed their guns at the elderly man, clearing the way for Director Galeone to join Allistair outside.
"Bigotry, murder, it's a wonder you called the Brotherhood to protect you. You're quite like them, Mr. Tenpenny." Handy walked with aristocratic swagger and stood behind and at a distance from the tower's namesake; the Director was calm and upright with his hands clasped behind his back.
"And you would be any different?" The old man grumbled in his particular accent that made Handy's sound more English in comparison. "I'll give it to you, you're an affluent man, Mr..."
"Galeone. Hudson Galeone."
"Mr. Galeone. The residents of Tenpenny Tower are no savages, and you know very well that you would have to become one to be rid of them."
"I understand very well sir."
Allistair turned to face the Director and threw down his rifle. He motioned towards a table to his left with a chessboard on it and spoke. "Do you play, sir? I'm no good in a fight, but I don't have any evidence to suggest you wouldn't fight to gain that which you please."
"Why it just so happens that I do know how to work the pieces."
"Well then, I propose a game, for the propriety of Tenpenny Tower."
Handy bowed slightly as he had learned from the pre-war diplomats he had witnessed, and took off his bicorne, handing it to one of the Coursers beside him. The Director proceeded to sit at the table with the set board, and unbuttoned his jacket to face Mr. Tenpenny's opening move: e4.
The Director responded like he normally did: c5, The Sicilian Defense, a move that seemed to shock old Tenpenny. The old man took a sip of whiskey in a glass on the table and continued: Nf3. Handy moved immediately. d6, Nc3, g6. Allistair looked a tiny bit flummoxed, having never faced this sort of response from black, but he pushed on, if out of frustration. D4, cxd4, Nxd4, Bg7. White was forced to retreat and defend: bc3, e5, Nf3 once again. But now, the old man got too excited: Bb5, Nc6, b4, Be6. Tenpenny looked to force some action by capturing the knight, but Handy hardly looked fazed and recaptured with his pawn. Tenpenny recognized that he had lost control of the center and tried to apply more pressure by threatening black's queen with Bg5, but he was thwarted by Nf6. Alistair was desperate to regain control of the center of the board and he looked to bolster his position with Qd3, at this, Handy practically salivated and immediately pushed d5. exd5, cxd5 and Tenpenny had lost both of his center pawns, he was looking compromised, so he looked for safety and castled kingside. He failed to recognize the trap. Handy fiddled with his e pawn to make Alistair realize what he had done before pushing it to e4. The Director then leaned back and checked his Pip-Boy. It had been only five minutes. Tenpenny was all sorts of desperate, but he was determined to get the most he could out of the exchange. Eventually he sacrificed one of his knights en route to a huge exchange involving both queens, leaving one of white's knights to live, but it landed on the useless h4 square; it was practically a dead piece anyway.
Handy looked the board over and castled kingside himself. He leaned back and spoke. "It seems like the old has been mistaken for the reliable."
Allistair's eyes fumed with hatred and spite. He angrily stood up and reached inside his jacket, but he resumed his seat promptly, after the sound of laser-fire battered the balcony and echoed across the wastes. The Director was still seated back. He sighed as he picked up the glass of whiskey and gently placed white's king lying on its side. "Good game, Mr. Tenpenny." He raised the glass to the very dead man sitting across him and took a sip.
"General! General!"
One of the Minutemen Elites rushed into the penthouse. "Transmission from General Garvey, he met more resistance than we anticipated at Raven Rock, he needs reinforcements.
It never changes does it? Handy clenched his jaw, he really couldn't get a moment's downtime these days. So he downed the rest of the drink and heaved himself out of the chair. "Get my materials up here asap. I'll oversee the debrief report." Handy motioned to his guard as he strode back through the penthouse.
Some synths were already carrying some of Handy's planning materials into the place.
"Synth!" Handy said as he passed by at a brisk pace to one of the synths down the hall. "The people of this region hated that gentleman. Mount his head on a pike and leave it out on the balcony."
"Yes, sir."