"Those who protest against war are damned hypocrites, don't they realize that the very freedom that gives them a voice was paid for by the blood of our brothers and sisters who served and died on the front lines?"
– Anonymous NCR Ranger
Preparation
Shady Sands, NCR Capital
Today was a big day for the New California Republic, and already the streets were filled with armed guards and curious citizens all coming to take a look at the parade preparations being set up. The Hub was to be inducted into the Federation of Tribes and Nations that made up the Great Republic, and that didn't come without its own share of fanfare.
President Joanna Tibbett watched all this quietly from the office window of her Presidential Suite, amazed at just how much greater the Republic had grown. What President Tandi, god rest her soul, had done over the course of fifty years was amazing. Not only was there an organized government and military, but Shady Sands itself was starting to resemble a city, maybe even a pre-war sized one. Streets were paved, new fangled structures, ones built from actual brick and mortar were laid, completely different from the tribal huts and dirt that her grandparents had talked about. The capital was no longer a primitive tribal village, but a city, one as grand as wealthy as any in the pre-war days.
All this power and wealth however, came with a solemn responsibility, and Joanna never realized the tremendous weight of this office until the day she heard President Tandi had passed away. She would always remember, etched into her memory, the last time she saw her, eyes burning with determination, strength, hope, perhaps reminding herself of what she could have done had she been younger. But Tandi never let that get to her, always making the best of her remaining time. That was perhaps why Joanna admired her so much, she was truly the mother of this country, the bravest woman she had ever known and she had been proud to work with her as her Vice President and know her as a person.
She never did bring herself to sit on Tandi's desk, well, aside from greeting dignitaries. Other than that, she contented herself with touring the country that Tandi had left her. Over seven hundred thousand souls. The largest country in the post-war wasteland. The republic was her country, more importantly, it represented the dreams of not only Tandi, but everyone who worked to achieve it. It was the idea that people can get together, set aside their differences, and work together to build something great.
President Tibbett smiled as she looked at the statue of the Vault Dweller sitting in the heart of the district, depicting him proudly stepping towards a brighter future. What kind of man was he to inspire President Tandi so?
"Madame President?" She turned to see her assistant fumbling nervously with some papers.
"Yes?" President Tibbett asked.
"Vice President Carlson is here to see you."
President Tibbett nodded slightly. Ever since Tandi had passed away, even before she had passed away, Frank Carlson had been one of the most radical right-wing members of the cabinet, even trying to maneuver his way to impeach Tandi for being too soft. She could only imagine what this man felt about her.
The Vice President walked in slowly, his frail limp figure resting heavily on a walking cane. But even Tibbett knew this was a man to be reckoned with, one of the most powerful politicians in the NCR, aside from Westin. It was councilman Westin, one of Tandi's most powerful supporters, who had this for her as the first word of advice when she took office: watch this man.
"Good morning Joanna, I hope the day is treating you well."
"Thank you Frank," Joanna put on a diplomatic smile. "It's not often I see you here topside. I was half expecting you to be at the Hall of Congress for the inauguration."
The Vice President let out a small hacking cough as he smiled politely. "No, I'm afraid the years have been getting onto me, I'll leave such activities to the younger politicians."
"Still, it is a great thing to witness? Another state joining our great republic?" Joanna added.
"I agree, though I can't help but think that this could have been done over a decade ago." The Vice President said.
"You know President Tandi would never approve of a military solution." Joanna said flatly.
Frank Carlson chuckled softly, as though he had had this conversation dozens of times. "Yes Yes, that old argument, well, I can tell you now that despite the methods, I am happy with the outcome that Tandi negotiated. I've always wondered why she stuck with me, even though I was her most vocal opponent."
"That was probably why she hired you." Tibbett replied, "she needed someone to keep her on guard. Or at least offer more ideas."
"Aye," Carlson replied. "That part I probably did well."
"Look, in case we're getting too caught up in these fake political conversations. I'll be honest with you Joanna. I know you may have some opinions about me, but believe me when I say I want our republic to succeed as much as you do. We just have a different approach."
President Tibbett raised her eyebrow. "Go on."
"I'll say this. I won't fight Tandi's decision, hell I've been fighting that woman for decades and she hasn't budged an inch, but she led us right and I'm man enough to know when I've made a bad choice. I know my time has past, and I was probably wrong to advocate half the stuff I fought for." Tibbett nodded quietly, remembering that this was the man who wanted to put the NCR on a permanent military governorship until they had pacified the wastes. That ran contradictory to all of Tandi's beliefs. "diplomacy has always been our way.", she had said.
" I've just come to say this. Being president is no small thing, I'll be on your backside to make sure you live up her Tandi's expectation and her goals and ours."
President Tibbett let out a long sigh, the fact that Carlson came out in the open like this meant that he was in most cases, not a personal enemy, but simply a political opponent. That she could deal with. The ground rules he set weren't easy, but they were fair. And she would do her best to live up to the impossible expectation.
"Fair enough Vice President Carlson, I promise I will do my best to live up to this dream, but I will also need your help to do so." She smiled, extending her hand towards her former political enemy.
"That I can promise you Madame President." Carlson nodded, taking her hand and shaking it firmly."I wish you best of luck, I suppose the best is yet to come."
Joanna nodded, slightly comforted by that fact. "I only wish President Tandi were alive to see this. It's an exciting time to be NCR."
Maxson Bunker, Brotherhood of Steel Headquarters
Despite what some people thought about the Brotherhood's low numbers, there were advantages to being secretive and spending the last hundred years stockpiling untold amounts of pre-war tech and weaponry. It meant you had the latest in long distance communications technologies that were all but lost when the bombs fell, not to mention the large databases required to store up to date intel on every political, military and covert operation that had gone on in every faction for the last hundred years. That, and the mountains of shiny unused pre-war weapons that could level a town at the push of a button.
Yes, there were definitely advantages.
Elder Elijah thought carefully as he and the other elders gathered around the Maxson council room. He counted around the room, being a decentralized organization, not even he knew how many chapters the Brotherhood had, but if he had to guess, almost all of the Brotherhood of Steel's leadership was sitting right at this table. Each person wore the ceremonial elder's robes that came with the job, denoting their status within the Brotherhood.
Maxson began the meeting with a roll call, not just for his purposes, but to also let everyone in the room know the scale of the operation that was about to happen. Something that had never been attempted before in the annuls of the Organization.
"The Den chapter is ready high Elder, all eighty nine members." Elder Joshua stepped forward, nodding to High Elder Maxson.
"Shady Sands stands with you sir. All hundred and twenty eight members." Elder Hail, a heavy-set balding elder stood up.
High Elder Maxson looked across the room as more elders took the roll call.
"Sacramento, two hundred Paladins and Knights stand ready at your call."
"New Reno, sixty seven members reporting for duty."
The names of various cities around the core region continued in the roll call, cities far and wide, famous and unknown. Fresno, Dayglow (San Diego), Mariposa, The Boneyard (Los Angeles), San Francisco.
Elder Elijah felt a small lump in his throat as he spoke. "Mojave chapter high elder, all hundred and fifty members ready."
There were small murmurs amongst the Elders as Elijah's numbers came up. Some elders prided themselves on the exclusivity of their chapters, hence their low numbers, while others actively recruited talent in their chapter cities to continue growing. The codex gave all authority of recruitment to the Elder, so the other elders would not comment, but usually the more liberally minded Elders stood out from just the size of their chapters.
Although Elijah each elder inflated the numbers by including initiates and scribes, these numbers weren't far from the truth, since the Brotherhood was one of the most militarized forces in the Wastes, aside from the Enclave. Every initiate, every scribe was given training and expected to know how to handle themselves in a fight.
"Excellent." High Elder Maxson smiled as he took the information in. "Now that we are committed, we can begin planning the strategy of this war which will help us reassert our rightful place in the Wastelands."
The other elders nodded quietly. Although it was true that the Brotherhood had more members in the past, this was the New California Republic, the largest organization in the Post-Apocalyptic wasteland. With a population in the hundreds of thousands, although there was never an official count, from the roll call he just heard, Elijah guessed that perhaps the Brotherhood had fifteen hundred members at most.
In addition to low numbers, the Brotherhood was spread across the California in small bunkers and installations, safely hidden from the eyes of common folk.
Elijah watched quietly as Elder Maxson highlighted the next parts of his strategy.
"The objectives of this campaign are very simple. The destruction of the NCR's military capabilities as well as the salvaging of any technologies and weapons we can find from them. Dismantling the NCR will follow, including the destruction of several important political targets. Most high on the list, are the executive council and congress. Each chapter will be assigned targets, of military and political nature, how these objectives are eliminated will be left to the discretion of the chapter."
"High Elder, one thing worries me." Elder Elijah was the first to speak up.
Jeremy Maxson nodded, gesturing for Elijah to continue. "By all means Elder Elijah, I value your input as much as any general.
"Thank you high Elder." Elijah bowed his head in respect. "What is to prevent the NCR from simply overwhelming us? It is true our soldiers are far superior, but they have the numbers, what is to stop them from eventually massing enough troops to overwhelm us?"
"Good question." Jeremy Maxson nodded, as though he were anticipating it. "First off, the highest priority military targets will be communications. NCR is still relying, as far as we know, on pre-war radios, primitive and easily jammed and destroyed. Several chapters will be assigned to focus solely on attacking communications. They may have a large army, but without proper coordination they are useless, that, and if you consider our own proper channels of communication, we will have the ability to concentrate and coordinate our forces to the point where our numbers will be a small issue in this fight."
"And if the NCR manages to organize a resistance?" Another Elder asked.
"Once their government is destroyed, the rest will fall like a house of cards. The Republic is still new, and there are still cities and factions that seek the former independence they once enjoyed. Take out the president and their congress, and the NCR is no more."
The elders nodded in agreement as they heard this.
"I realize that the task I ask of you is the greatest we have ever faced, but it must be done." High Elder Maxson began. "and that there is no way we can simply form an army in the conventional sense, not counting distance and logistics, so here is what I propose."
High Elder Maxson gestured to his right, where a tall, imposing Brotherhood soldier stood, wearing the bulky T51b armor with a ceremonial black cape flowing behind him. His gruff face was scarred on the cheek, denoting his wounds in previous battles, while he sported a military style haircut.
"Each chapter will nominate a paladin commander, who in turn is answerable to Paladin General Sword right next to me. Although separate, we will each adhere to one overarching strategy and work to a common purpose. Unless Paladin General Sword says otherwise, each chapter is free to conduct tactical offensives on their own initiative"
Officially they were answerable to the Lost Hilsl council, but even Jeremy Maxson saw the wisdom in stepping back from micromanaging this war down to the last soldier.
"Now then Gentlemen, return to your chapters and await the signal. In three days time. We strike. Get to work. I want the names of your Paladin commanders to me by today."
Camp "Zeta", near Hub Police Station
Working within the structure of the NCR army required tons of patience, aside from the slow, inefficient bureaucracy and guidelines, there were also the REMFs and their officers, whose weapons included forms, identification papers and routine inspections.
That was perhaps why Reyner enjoyed being in 1st recon. They had no rigid battalion command structure to adhere to, as 1st recon, like rangers, were trained to think and fight independently, so their squads were less weighed down by chain of command and discipline was slightly more lax, with skill being the prime virtue.
He looked around the camp, set up in a large field by the Police Station, which consisted of over dozens hastily set up tents, a medical bay and a makeshift armory from a small APC. Although the Hub had not yet been formally integrated into the NCR, the brass evidently decided it was never a bad idea to get a head start. There must have been several hundred NCR soldiers holed up in the Hub alone.
He and his men made their way past the throng of soldiers to the assembly tent, where the rest of his battalion waited. Several familiar faces nodded at Sergeant Reyner, friends and comrades from fights past, but the most noticeable feature he saw was the presence of NCR rangers. Special forces units within the army. They were the toughest, meanest and most respected branch of the army, having first dibs on the best weapons, armor and promotions. Even as he walked towards the assembly tent, he noticed several members of his platoon eyeing the composite combat armors and trail carbines of the Rangers enviously.
"Seems like a large gathering for a small recon mission." PFC Wright commented absent mindedly.
"Get used to it Wright, in a few days, I hear General Polins moving his entire division here. My advice, ue the latrine now while you can. It's about to get a lot more crowded." Private Morales said.
"Stow it Trooper." Sergeant Reyner snapped. "We do our jobs, get paid and get our furlough back in Shady Sands. Last thing I need is more bitching."
As they entered the tent, the soldiers took their places amidst the chattering storm of NCR troopers that had entered the Hub.
"Battalion! Atten-shun!"
The NCR troopers instinctively shot to their feet as the sergeants sounded off. Colonel Ellis, followed by his staff, entered the room, nodding to the men as he passed.
"At ease gentlemen." The officer said, his voice projecting over the room as he spoke. "I apologize for calling you up on such short notice, and for calling some of you off duty, but we've got a task to do."
"As most of you may have heard, we are formally integrating the Hub into the New California Republic three days from now. We have recon units sweeping the area for signs of trouble but intelligence suspecting a major insurgent threat developing in the form of an organization called the Hub Underground. No confirmation yet to their plans, but we've received reports of a massive weapons shipment going through the Hub recently. We suspect it may have to do with their future plans."
The NCR troopers nodded as Colonel Ellis rattled off the facts non-chalantly, the prospect of leading a major raid and assault on criminals excited even the greenest trooper.
"So that's why we are involved. This comes straight from Councilman Westin and by extension the President. They've tapped fifth battalion to head the raid. I'm detailing a platoon of 1st recon and Bravo company to this." Ellis then nodded to Sergeant Reyner.
"The prez knows who gets the job done best." PFC Wright, remarked with a sneer.
"I'm having maps of the Hub drawn up for your officers for those of you unfamiliar with the area. We suspect that the underground is holed up near a downtown bar called the Maltese Falcon. Get your gear and prepare to move out within the next hour. I've authorized the armory master to prepare for a heavy loadout. Who knows what the rebs have planned but I won't let you go unprepared. Dismissed."
Reyner nodded to his men. "You heard 'em first recon. We're moving out."
PFC Wright nodded. "Yeah, wonder who Bravo company is though. Not like we've worked with 5th Battalion before…"
Just as Wright was about to finish his sentence, one of the officers, a middle aged man wearing heavy plated composite NCR armor, saluted to Sergeant Reyner.
"1st recon huh?" He said with a slight grin on his face, looks like we'll be working together. "Ranger Hanlon, Bravo company, fifth battalion. Pleasure to meet ya. Looks like we'll be working together to bring down some thugs."
Reyner saluted in turn, taken aback by the Ranger's friendly demeanor. "Sergeant Reyner, 1st recon. The pleasure's all mine sir."
PFC Wright meanwhile, just grumbled under his breath. "Oh great, it had to be fucking Rangers….."
Note: For those of you who study Fallout Wiki as much as I do, Tibbett was NCR President until 2253, I hope you will forgive this one little change to the timeline. I figured it'd be more interesting trying to write it from her point of view, that and I chose 2254 A.D partly because Lyons and Rothchild leaving the core region to the Capital Wasteland so they don't encourage dissent against the war (explaining why perhaps the more liberally minded BoS members are sent east by Maxson)
Agent 94: HAHA yes, i always keep Vault Wiki on hand whenever i write ;) i've only played FO3 and NV to my shame. One day i'll pick up 1 and 2
AnonOmous: Thanks! I've yet to play Dead Money yet but i'm for sure going to play it through before i finish with this story. Hopefully itll give me some ideas.
To all those following: Thanks for reading!