The Brotherhood Vertibird touched down right outside Grayditch and three Knights disembarked. Knight Captain Kennedy had his Flamer ready, just in case. The two Knights with him were both armed with Chinese assault rifles. The operation would be a smooth run as far as Kennedy was concerned. Grayditch had stopped paying their water tax, so he'd been sent in convince them to cough up. Command could just stop providing them water, but that might make them desperate enough to try stealing it from another settlement, and the Brotherhood couldn't deal with faction fighting while they were still hunting down the Regulators. Those damn cowboys had been waging a guerrilla war ever since the Megaton mess, and even after their HQ had been razed to the ground. Ambushes, setting mines all over the roads, capturing wild robots and reprogramming them to attack Brotherhood soldiers. They were an annoyance that had gone on far too long.

Kennedy and his soldiers strolled into the small town, the residents running indoors at the sight of their power armour. Eventually, as they neared the entrance to Marigold Metro station, a young woman approached them. Beneath his power helmet Kennedy smiled, seeing she only had a small knife and wouldn't be a threat.

"Who's in charge around here?!" he barked at her.

The woman stood calmly in front of the three soldiers, showing no signs of fear.

"Doc Lesko usually, but today I'll be the one telling you to get back in your Vertibird and leave".

"Look lady, we provide your town with clean water, and you guys haven't been paying for that. Nobody wants anyone to die of thirst, so why don't you just go round up some caps for us and we'll tell Star Paladin Cross that you lot are good to keep getting shipments, ok?"

"Lyons never wanted us to pay for water. The Lone Wanderer never wanted us to pay for water. We're sick of you stealing our hard-earned caps for something that was always meant to be free. You need to be stopped".

Reaching forward, Kennedy grabbed the woman by the throat and flung her back towards the metro entrance. She pushed herself up and spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring at the Knights.

"Who's going to stop us, huh? You? With that tiny little knife?"

Standing up straight, the woman grinned through bloody teeth. She raised her arms above her head, almost like a gesture of worship.

"No. With them" she laughed.

Before the Knights could react, hordes of massive ants came swarming from the metro. Kennedy's cries to shoot for the antennae were lost on his men, who began firing wildly as the woman dived for cover. His flamer was proving to be completely useless, as the ants were walking right through the flames before breathing their own fire, cooking the two other knights alive inside their armour. Dropping his weapon, Kennedy tried to run back to the vertibird. The ants hunted him down, catching up easily with how much his power armour slowed him down. They began to swarm all over him, dragging him to the ground, their mandibles ripping into the soft spots in the armour around his joints.

Lesko came running from one of the houses and helped the woman to her feet as the Knight Captains screams echoed through the town.

"My word, did you have to kill them Tanya?"

Tanya Christoff, formerly known as The AntAngoizer, brushed herself off and pet one of the fire ants on the head.

"I promised to protect this town and help your research ever since I arrived here, Weston. Sometimes that means killing our enemies".

"They'll send more soldiers, you know they will".

"Times are changing. Even the ants can sense it. They're saying the Wanderer is back, that he's returned to defend us from the Brotherhood. There's never been a better time to stand up for ourselves".

"You really think one man can take on an entire army and save the wasteland?"

"Doctor, we live in a world were ants can breathe fire and I can tell them what to do. Why are heroes so hard to believe in?"

.

Back in Vault 112, Orion and the rest of his gang had returned from Underworld to rest and restock their gear. A huge stockpile of weapons and armour, collected by Orion during his travels, was at their disposal. Charon had replaced his worn Leather armour with a set of Ranger Combat armour and a Composite recon helmet. His skill with firearms made him the perfect choice to serve as the group's sniper. To this end Orion had given him the Reservist's Rifle, and the .44 revolver Blackhawk for close quarter combat. Although Fawkes didn't need much armour due to his thick super mutant skin, Orion still decided to forge him a suit. Mainly made of leather that had been treated to be flame retarded, the outer casing of a sentry bot was reshaped to serve as armour on his chest, arms, and legs. He had also replaced his own Gatling Laser with Orion's Precision Gatling Laser. Butch had quickly claimed the full set of T-51b Power Armour Orion had once found in Fort Constantine. Knowing his trigger-happy nature, Orion gave him the Xuanlang Assault rifle and the Ultra 10mm SMG Sydney ahd once given Orion himself. Finally, Jericho seemed to be the most randomly put together of the lot. He was wearing the Outcast T-45b power armour that had once belonged to the Treeminder named Linden. On his head he was wearing the Eyebot helmet that Orion had received from the trader Crow. And for weapons, he had the alien Drone Cannon Ex-B, and a Ripper with the name "Jack" carved into the hilt. Butch was the first to speak after they had all gotten their gear ready.

"Where's our next stop then?"

"We're still missing two from the team I want to put together. Last I'd heard, Sergeant RL-3 was still hanging around Canterbury Commons scaring off raiders, but since the Brotherhood took over the town a couple years ago to secure their control of the trade routes we'll need a better plan to free the town and recruit him. The other recruit is Clover"

Jericho scoffed from beneath his helmet, almost sure that Orion was joking.

"Clover? As in the crazy slave chick who was obsessed with you ever since you bought her contract from Eulogy?"

"I freed Clover soon after I bought her, and, after we'd travelled together for a bit, I convinced her to return to Paradise falls to act as a spy for me. There's a good chance she died when the Brotherhood assaulted the slaver's base, but I've heard a few rumours from reliable sources that she and a few others might have survived and made their way to Evergreen Mills. That's our next stop".

"My friend" spoke up Fawkes, "I am grateful that you have trusted me to help you on this quest, but why is it so important that you gather this specific group of individuals?"

Orion was silent for several minutes. The others waited patiently for him to speak, keen to know why their leader had chosen them. Eventually, with a sigh, Orion began to explain.

"People have called me 'The Lone Wanderer' ever since I left Vault 101 for the first time. They've painted me as some kind of mythic hero who could attack a Behemoth with a tire iron and still find a way to win. And I'd do it all by myself, a modern Hercules. The truth is, for the hardest and most challenging moments of my life, I was never alone. Fawkes, you were with me when I fought through Vault 87. Jericho, you helped me survive my first couple of weeks in the Wasteland. Cross was with me during the battle for the Purifier. Each one of you, including RL-3 and Clover, have helped create the legend of the Lone Wanderer, and I need all of you to see this war through. Now turn in for the night. We make for Evergreen Mills at first light".

The group made their ways to their respective rooms, each of them reflecting on what Orion had said. Could a robot and an ex-slave really make the difference in the fight against the Brotherhood? For that matter, could any of them?