"Where's Sarah, Arthur?" Odekar asked, his voice low and gruff. "Where's the report?" His eyes stared deep into Arthur, peering into the very essence of his character, judging him for all his worth.
The return of Sentinel Malcolm Odekar was not what the young Brotherhood Elder expected to deal with today. They had only just arrived in the Commonwealth a few days ago and already their entire mission was being threatened. And by just one man without any backing, unless one counted the Minutemen General who stood alongside him and the army of robots Arthur had heard tell of that Odekar had acquired during his time in the Mojave. The worst part was that a small part of Arthur believed he could do it. He heard tales of his exploits in The Capital Wasteland, they spoke of a one man army that brought death and destruction to all who stood in his path, a burning Phoenix sent from the heavens to bring light into the darkness of the wastes. He remembered lying awake at night as Three Dog told the tales of the Lone Wanderer from Vault 101, The Last Best Hope of Humanity, The Messiah! Back then he thought the DJ was exaggerating to give hope to the hopeless that someone was out there fighting the Good Fight. Now however, as he faced the wrath of the man himself, he suspected there may be some weight behind those stories.
The ever stoic Maxson, to his credit, did his best to appear unfazed by the barely concealed rage in the Sentinel's eyes. He was foolish to think this day would never come, to think he would never have to look into the eyes of one of- if not THE- greatest warriors to hold a rank in the Brotherhood. Foolish to believe that the man who brought armies to their knees would have died somewhere in the wastes of America between the Capital Wasteland and The Mojave before making it back. But it had been 10 years and everyone was sure they would never see him again. He had let his guard drop. But now, staring back at the man, Arthur knew that if he didn't choose his words very carefully then all of the work he put into making the Brotherhood of Steel the single most dominant force on the East Coast would be for naught. Odekar would tear it all down, single handedly if he needed to.
"After the death of Elder Lyons, Sarah took up the mantle and became the next Elder. Unfortunately, after only a few months at the helm she was tragically killed in action by a lingering squad of Super Mutants." Arthur paraphrased from his memory of the report. It was no secret that many members of the Order wished to see a Maxson back in charge of the Brotherhood. Especially once the remnants of the West Coast Brotherhood made it back to them after Sentinel Odekar was sent to inform them that they wished to combine forces and bring the Brotherhood back to prominence. Sarah being in charge only served to hinder their progress to what they called the "True Maxson Brotherhood of Steel." It was plainly obvious how they chose to rectify that issue.
"That's it? That's what you want me to believe?! That Sarah Lyons. Sentinel Sarah Lyons! Couldn't hold off a couple of fucking MUTIES?!"
"You will watch how you speak to Elder-" Paladin Danse intervened only to be quickly silenced.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP PALADIN!" Odekar boomed, seething with rage. Causing everyone aboard the Prydwen to step back before regaining their composure. The worst part about Arthur's situation was that the conversation wasn't being held behind closed doors, it was right in the middle of the ship, a crowd gathering around them, albeit keeping their distance. Arthur could not afford to look in front of his Order.
"Watch your tone, Sentinel! You may hold rank over Danse but you will show respect!" He stated firmly, commandeering authority in his voice.
"RESPECT?! Where was the respect for Owyn? For Sarah?! For my FATHER?! I heard what you did to the purifier while I was gone. Charging for water! Taxing the people!! My father died so the people in the Capital Wasteland could drink FREELY of the waters of life! Whether they be Human, Ghoul, or Mutant. The people TRUSTED you! And you BETRAYED them! You ordered your men to walk into Underworld and SLAUGHTER innocent people based solely off of their disfigurement! They were good people Arthur! They survived over TWO CENTURIES after a nuclear Holocaust, barely scraping by, being hounded based solely on outside appearance. Have you ever even SPOKEN to a Ghoul, Arthur? Ever listened to their story?! They never asked to look like that! To be CURSED to have to hide from BIGOTS like you! And finally, just when the world was making a change for the better and they felt they could show their faces in public for the first time in 200 YEARS, you gun them all down!! Owyn raised you better than this. Did everything he could to show you that there was more to the Brotherhood than the BACKWARDS and SELFISH ways of those who came before him. And Sarah!? Sarah loved you like you were her own SON!"
"BUT I WASN'T!" Arthur yelled, his emotions getting the better of him. "They were not my family! My family is descended through the Brotherhood from the essence of it's creator. I have a legacy to uphold Malcolm. A legacy that they tried to taint with their charity! Constantly straying from the true mission of the Brotherhood; To prevent humanity from repeating the mistakes of the past and to ensure that the world never comes to the same fiery end it did all those years ago! I did what I had to do." The two men now stood eye to eye, inches from each other, staring each other down. Waiting for the other to strike.
"You're no better than the FUCKING ENCLAVE." Odekar growled.
"Get off my ship." Maxson barked back.
The tension between the two hung heavy in the air, the entire airship had gone silent as everyone held their breath too scared to even move. The silence was broken when the General of the Minutemen laid a hand on the Sentinel's shoulder, speaking quietly, "Come on, Malcolm, if this turns into a gunfight there's no way we're making it out alive."
At this The Sentinel scoffed, "Speak for yourself. You're the weak one, not me." No sooner had the words left his mouth did Malcolm regret speaking them. He had just insulted a friend, something he should never do. Malcolm stepped back from Maxson and looked over his shoulder at the General, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." He turned back to Arthur and even though the rage immediately boiled back up to the surface he kept a cooler head. "You know what Arthur." He growled. "Just this once I'll be nice, because of our past, even though you've worked hard to sully it. I'm going to give you time to prepare for what's to come. Strengthen your men. Ready your weapons. Reconstruct Liberty Prime if you need to. Do everything you must to convince yourself that things will go in your favor… Because the next time I see you, you won't be looking into the eyes of Sentinel Malcolm Odekar." He said as he brushed past him and began walking toward the exit.
"No. You'll be dealing with the Lone Wanderer…."
He stopped and looked over his shoulder to stare back into the eyes of Maxson. "And He is going to WAR."