Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land
Chapter Ten - Adam
"We have prepared a treaty on your service to the city of Italica and the Empire."
The words were far more formal than Adam had been prepared to hear. In truth he wasn't sure about how they should handle it. Thankfully he'd managed to catch Sarah before she left and explained that there was a good chance they were going to attempt to work out some kind of deal. Again, he had Grognak to thank for the idea that it could happen, and of course his own personal experience. Having dealt with the various tribes and factions in the Capital Wasteland he understood that there would likely be some kind of meeting.
Because of that she decided to hold going back, but she'd surprised him when she said that she wanted him to be the go between. He understood her reasoning, but he really felt under qualified to do this.
He considered how to best approach the treaty, and finally he decided to exit his power armor. The sound of it unsealing could be heard, and he stepped out from it. His vault suit still clung to him, and part of him wondered if it was time to finally let it go. He'd grown as a person since he first left the Vault, and maybe, just maybe, it was time to let the past remain in the past. He wasn't sure about dressing in the Brotherhood's jumpsuits either, but maybe some prewar clothing wouldn't be so bad. At the very least he could try to wear some of the prewar military clothes.
"Please, let me hear the treaty," he said as he stood there, and he was certain to say it in their language, "I wish to address this as individuals, not as you speaking to my armor."
He could see them studying him as he spoke and then finally they nodded. After a few moments Hamilton began to look back at the paper, "We would like to officially recognize the Brotherhood of Steel as the representatives of Alnus Hill," she read as she studied the paper, "but we request that the city of Italica remain open for all nations to trade. Since the Brotherhood of Steel came to the rescue of the city that can be contested, but we would request that it not be."
She looked up and saw him simply nodding, "Please, continue," he said, "I will wait to voice our side of it until after you've read the treaty in full."
Hamilton swallowed, and he could see her nerves. She was standing before him, and he was trying to figure out why she was so nervous. He had come to their assistance, and he had done as they asked. It wasn't much more than that. They'd helped defend the city from the bandits, and that really wasn't all that different from fighting off raiders. Actually, it had pretty much been the same as fighting off raiders.
They were certainly more organized than traditional raiders, but it had felt about the same. Still, he let them center themselves, and he waited as she breathed out, "The empire requests that the prisoners captured here at the city be left in the hands of the empire and the city of Italica specifically."
He looked at them for a moment, "Wait, why do you want to keep them?"
Hamilton looked up at him, "Repair and restoration of the city will need laborers, and the prisoners could be used as such."
He breathed out for a moment. Slaves. They wanted slaves. He didn't agree with Paradise Falls on the other side of the gate, and he certainly didn't agree with the idea of taking slaves for any reason. Still, he understood that this was a different world, and it likely had different rules. Those rules ultimately would be different from his own. The one thing that helped him to some degree with how this world was tended to be the Grognak comics, and he remembered that slavery was a thing in those comics.
"I hate to interrupt, but I would like to point out something that needs to be address," he said before he realized that how he wanted to say it was something that he couldn't really say in their language. He was fairly fluent, but there were words that he didn't know. He looked at Lelei, "I need to tell them that while we will be okay with them keeping the prisoners they need to be treated humanely, you know treated like a person and not an animal or beast of burden."
Lelei nodded, "He said that he wants the people to be treated humanely."
Hamilton looked at her and then at the Princess. She then looked back at Lelei, "What does that mean?"
Lelei studied her for a moment, "It means to treat as one would a citizen or friend, to offer shelter, food, and rest. To not use them as mere labor to be cast aside."
It was Princess Piña who looked concerned for a moment, "Would friends and family attack their own?" she asked, her voice showing her concern, "Would they attempt to subjectgate their own family for selfish reasons, and you would have those that have done that treated as such?!"
Lelei nodded, "Yes, they would," she said as she looked at her, "It is how they have treated those that they captured. I have seen it. They are treated with respect, given the opportunity to work, to better the area, and also they are fed and allowed to keep their culture."
Slowly, Hamilton nodded, "Very well," she said before she swallowed, "We will allow you to select the prisoners that you wish to bring back with you. It is our understanding that you may wish to question them, and if what has been said is true then we trust that they will be treated fairly."
"You have my word," Adam said as he studied them, "I swear that you have my promise and word that it will be so."
Hamilton nodded and then looked at the paper, "In addition, we would now like to give you a chance to rebuke anything that you feel is unfair, or feel is not worthy of the aid that you lent to Italica."
He studied her, "We have no objections to the treaty as it has been presented. Instead we would simply like to request that we not be forced to pay taxes while purchasing or trading inside of the city. We would also like to be able to use the city of Italica as a crossroads for travel without the worry of attack or ambush by any military that is connected to the Empire. Lastly, we would like to retain a presence within the city. From what we have seen with the last battle the city itself is largely without a well trained militia. It would allow us to serve as guards while we use the city as a crossroads."
Princess Piña paled for a moment. She looked as if they said something that greatly bothered her, but instead of voicing a retort she simply nodded, "Of course," she said, "We will honor that."
Adam moved forward and looked at the treaty and then took a quill that was offered to him. He quickly wrote his name on it, and watched as the princess signed as well. With that in order he breathed out a sigh of relief, "Thank you," he replied, "With that I believe that we will show ourselves out."
He turned and felt grateful that things went smoothly enough. He climbed back into his power armor, letting it close around him, and together they began to move toward the exit. Once outside Lelei, Rory, and Tuka all three looked at him, "We need to sell the scales still," Lelei said, "And that means finding a merchant that is able to trade today."
He nodded, "Not a problem. That was what we came here originally for, so go ahead. I'll help make sure that they're unloaded and moved as soon as possible."
He watched as they walked off and he moved toward the APC. The barrels of the scales would need to be unloaded, and it was likely that a single merchant wouldn't be able to purchase them all. Then again they could be dirt cheap. He wasn't sure, but regardless he figured that the best bet would be to simply start getting the barrels out and begin placing them.
The barrels themselves were barely being registered as he used the power armor. It surprised him how easily it allowed him to move the barrels themselves, but then again the power armor basically augmented his strength to the same level as Fawks. Or at least it was nearly as much. He thought about the super mutant for a moment. Fawks was certainly one of his friends, and the Brotherhood accepted him since he showed no signs of aggression.
Instead he willingly helped to stop the more dangerous super mutants, and for that he was commended. Still, Fawks understood the distrust that most people had toward super mutants, so he didn't live at the Citadel, but instead he lived in Adam's home at Megaton. He believed the people of Megaton would be accepting of him, for the most part, and he understood that Fawks could assist Lucas Simms in protecting the town.
Still, he knew that his large friend could certainly do the same that he was doing. Part of him wondered if he would enjoy it. It wasn't that he thought that Fawks was dumb. He knew the opposite was true. Instead, he knew that Fawks liked to do things that put people at ease around him. He liked to make sure that folks understood that he was friendly, and more to the point he liked to show them that he was someone that didn't want to hurt others.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he'd unloaded all of the barrels. All four of them were out, and he looked at the shimmering black glossy scales that were on the top. Again, he wondered just how much they would be getting for all of this. The scales were decent enough against hand weapons, but they didn't offer any real protection against bullets or energy weapons.
The mirelurk shells actually offered more protection in those regards. He shrugged, and decided to look at the time on his HUD. To his surprise it had been half an hour already since the girls had taken off. He began to wonder where they were when he saw them coming back with a middle aged man and a younger man. The middle aged man seemed to take a look at the barrels, and he practically moved straight toward them.
"Are these all black wyvern scales?"
Adam was about to answer, but it was Lelei who replied, "Yes, all of them are black wyvern scales. The barrels contain only unbroken and undamaged scales. We made sure of this ourselves."
He studied them, "And you have this much," he breathed out, "For the amount you have here I would need to pay you at least a hundred large gold coins, maybe two thousand regular gold coins, and at least four thousand silver coins," he hesitated for a moment, "Unfortunately, I only have a hundred large gold, a thousand small gold, and none of the silver. You said that you don't have to pay any taxes on this, which is wonderful, and it means that our deal would leave me without paying taxes until I sold them. I could write you an I.O.U for the remainder of the amount."
There was a slight hesitation before Lelei shook her head, "We will accept information in the stead of the silver coins," she replied, "Four thousand silver coins worth of information. I believe that would be suitable. After all, it is common knowledge that everything has a price."
The older man nodded, "Very well, I accept," he replied and looked back at the barrels, "Tell me, what kind of information would you like?"
Adam watched as Lelei seemed to mull it over, "We would like information on the trade routes, the places that would be acceptable to new and foreign materials, and the places that would be welcoming toward new traders."
The middle aged man stopped for a moment, "You want to become traders?"
Lelei shrugged, "Specifically, no, but I know that the Brotherhood of Steel wishes to establish trading with people, and we would like to trade that information to them. They wish to show the people of this land that they are here to help, and one of them had said that nothing brings people together like trade."
The middle aged man laughed, "Such a true statement!" he exclaimed as he looked at her, "That is very true! People will always come together and sort out differences when they have something the other wants!"
He nodded, "Very well, I will get this information to you," he said as he looked at her, "Please understand that I will be giving you quite a bit of information, and some of it could be damaging, but I trust that your Brotherhood of Steel friends might want someone to help move their merchandise. If so, then I do have caravans that travel throughout the area, and I would gladly allow them to move their merchandise through those caravans."
Lelei nodded, "I will inform them."
He nodded, "Then we have a deal. Come, I'll get your payment, and then I will send my assistant back with a wagon to load those barrels. It's good to meet someone with a bright head on their shoulders!"
Adam watched as they walked back off, and he stood by. He heard a small chuckle. He turned to see Sarah standing there. He gave her a quick salute, one which she returned, "It's good to know that she does have a bright mind," she said before she moved closer, "We've got to choose the prisoners that we're taking. The treaty really gave us everything we really needed. You did a good job Adam."
He grinned at her, "Thanks," he replied before he took off his helmet, "So, what's the plan after we select the prisoners?"
She shrugged, "I'm planning on seeing if they want to help establish the town around Alnus Hill. The other prisoners had more or less done the same thing. They've reported that they aren't sure that they would even be welcomed back home, so they've elected to help get the town started."
He nodded, "Sounds good, so we need to see if there's people in the prisoners that might have passable skills? Maybe merchants, carpenters, that kind of thing?"
She nodded, "Exactly, and it wouldn't hurt to find farmers. We want to start producing crops as soon as possible. I've got a feeling that everything we produce here can be used to help our standing back in the Wasteland."
He studied her for a moment, "What do you mean?"
She studied him for a moment, "Father received word that the New California Republic has heard of how much we've cleared Washington, and they've announced that they're making their way to the Capital Wasteland."
She shook her head, "I understand what they're trying to do. The New California Republic isn't evil, exactly, but they can be oppressive from what I've heard of them. We're going to take the idea of trade bringing people together and see if it will work with them. Maybe, just maybe, they might see the reason to work with us instead of against us."
Adam looked at her for a moment. He hadn't really heard much about the New California Republic. Part of it was his fault for not looking into all of the records and documents that the Brotherhood of Steel had on the other chapters and locations they were located. But, if Sarah was saying that it would be better for them to work with them instead of against them he had to believe her.
He knew without a doubt that a place with fresh water and food would undoubtedly be valued above all else. He had little to no doubt that other factions would want to come and stake their claim in this world. The idea of a place like Paradise Falls coming in here bothered him. He certainly didn't want to see a group of slavers attempting to overthrow entire villages just to sell exotic slaves on the other side of the gate.
"There's going to be a lot of different groups that want to come here," he said, and he knew that it didn't sound like a question, "And we're going to have to be the force that stands between those that would ravish it with no restraint."
He saw her nod, "Exactly," she replied, "There's entire slaving groups that will want to come here, and of course there's the raiders."
He could see her close her eyes in silent fury for a moment, "Those animals would bring their sickness here. They would rape, pillage, and pilfer their weasely black guts out," she said, her voice hard, "So, yes we will stand guard for the people here. It's what the Eastern Brotherhood of Steel does."
He nodded in agreement, "You're right," he said as he looked around, "So, you're heading back after picking the prisoners?"
She nodded, "We're picking those that appear to have some aptitude toward learning or some already for the type of skills we need," she said as she moved a stray bit of her blond hair out of her eyes, "We're going to make sure that they get set up in work."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she moved forward and touched his arm, "You've done a good job, and I'm proud of you. When you get back I want a full debriefing, also, my father said that some of the groups you've made contact with have already shown an interest in helping us, that includes the Regulators."
He nodded, the Regulators were one of the few bits of law and order left in the Capital Wasteland other than the Brotherhood of Steel themselves. He'd actually helped Sonora Cruz more than a few times in dealing with Raiders and the like that tended to harass the few peaceful settlements that were attempting to rebuild. He knew that she was a no nonsense leader, and someone that reminded him a good deal of Sarah.
"If Sonora is saying that they will help us, then they'll help us," he replied as he looked at her, "But I know that they do just as much patrolling as we do in the Capital Wasteland, and honestly for a good many settlements there they are one of the few protections that they can depend on."
He saw her studying him, "You think that they should remain on the other side?"
He shook his head, "No, they absolutely should be able to come and help, but I would hate for them to make themselves low on numbers over there. That's the kind of thing that slavers and raiders are hoping for."
He saw her consider it, "Hmm, I suppose that we could see about potentially helping them get recruits for their organization, but we have to be careful," she said as she looked back at him, "Ultimately the Brotherhood of Steel is fairly small compared to the other factions. Sure, we have advanced tech on our side, but in pure numbers we are severely outclassed. I know that you've seen that."
He nodded, "The attack on Adam's Airforce Base was pretty telling."
She nodded, "Exactly," she said, "In a game of numbers we lose. It comes down to the fact that a good many of our attacks are going to have to be shock and awe in order to keep them on the defensive. They need to be made aware of how outclassed they are when it comes to technology. We have to show them our superior firepower, and then after displays like this one make them question if attacking us is the best option," she said before she shook, "I personally don't like the idea of being taken as a slave and made into a plaything."
He didn't realize that he actually growled when she said that, "It won't happen," he said, his voice sounding protective," I can promise that it will never happen."
She looked at him and shook her head, "The problem is that it can," she replied, "There's chances that they can get through our technology. Sure, they're attacking with bows and arrows, but that can still kill a person."
She looked at the city, "Honestly, I think that us demanding that we keep a presence here was a good move. It makes them realize that we're going to be close by. The only other option would have been to capture the princess, her knights, and take them as political prisoners while we occupied the city itself," she said as she shook her head, "That would be messy at best."
He nodded, "I could see that," he replied, "Depending on how popular she is with her people we could be looking at possible mobs of soldiers and civilians attempting to charge in and rescue her. That would counteract what we're trying to do."
She nodded, "exactly," she replied, "The best bet is to retain a presence here, ensure that they see that we're not going anywhere. At the same time it allows us the chance to let the locals see that we're going to be assisting them with their lives. It will allow us to win more hearts and minds. That's how we are going to win this offensive."
He laughed, because that was one of the things he did learn about, "Hopefully it goes better than it did in the ancient Vietnam War."
She looked at him, a look of surprise, "I'm sure that it will. Unlike the old prewar government we're not going to restrain our actions when needed. There won't be days when we can't fire, and we will attack with precise action when needed."
She looked at him, "Okay, I'm heading back, report back when you arrive."
With that he watched as she left, and he of course stood there waiting for the three to return. He knew that they made more than enough off of the sale of the scales to secure their own future. There was little doubt in his mind that they needed to do the same. From what he seen bottle caps weren't going to be accepted here. Which, that was going to be fun when they realize what they need to trade with them in order to get materials from their side of the gate.
Lelei had said that she doubted that it would be a good idea to trade the Mirelurk shells, and he could understand why. The shells themselves were able to withstand ten millimeter gunfire, and were able to shake off most gunfire up to a .308. At that point it began punching through. A minigun could chew through a shell fairly quickly, but it would give protection for a few seconds before it did it.
He shook off the thought, they needed to establish trade here. They need to show things that the people would want, and they needed to show the access they had to those things. He didn't want to give them access to weapons that would disrupt the power structure. History lessons had taught him what happened when the Native Americans were given rifles and hand guns. The uprisings that happened, the wars that broke out, and how some of the tribes overthrew the other tribes that didn't have firearms.
He didn't want to see an empire armed with lever action rifles walking through the land. He looked and saw Rory, Tuka, and Lelei returning. He gave them a wave as they neared the APCs, "We're done. He asked that we wait for the assistant to come with a wagon to gather the scales, and then we can leave."
He nodded to Lelei and then looked at the other too, "Sounds good," he said, "We'll head back after that."