The sound of machine-gun fire filled the air as explosion after explosion rocked the ground and threw up dirt in every direction. Through the carnage, a small group of Paladins were making a hasty retreat. Orion swore at himself beneath the helmet of his Winterised T-51b armour. He should have known it was a trap. For months there had been practically no super mutant sightings, and suddenly they get a report of a huge nest of them taking over Minetown? In his defense, the rouse had been laid excellently. Twisted girders and bags filled with human body parts littered the perimeter of the area, just like mutants would have done. Talon Company had outdone themselves this time. Killing Commander Jabsco at Fort Bannister hadn't put the mercs out of business, and now they had laid a very elaborate trap for the Pride. It had seemed like such a routine operation, Sarah had taken a break from her duties as Elder to get her hands dirty with the troops. They'd flown in on a Vertibird, touched down just outside the town, and slowly made their way in. The first thing that should have given it away was the quiet. Super mutants were never quiet. It was only when they reached the playground at the centre of town that things got messy. The mercs had obviously strapped C4 to all the rusted cars in the area, detonating them all simultaneously. Vargas was standing right next to one of them and was blown 300 feet away straight into a concrete wall, the impact cracking his helmet and his head along with it. Sarah was caught in the blast too, but she was far enough away that it only knocked her into a swing set and broke her left leg. Orion rushed to grab her and pull her to her feet. Talon Mercs began pouring out of the houses surrounding them, most of them armed with heavy weaponry like miniguns and gatling lasers, as well as several using plasma and laser rifles. A huge firefight commenced, the Pride taking cover behind the burning wrecks of the recently exploded cars.

"We need to get the Elder back to the Vertibird!" roared Orion.

Dusk and Colvin both grabbed Sarah, and as soon as there was a lull in the attack they began running for the Vertibird. Orion pulled out his plasma rifle, the one Harkness had given him, and he joined Gallows, Glade, and Kodiak in returning fire on the mercs. Their enemies were being burned, vaporised and liquefied at an incredible rate, but for every Talon merc they killed two more seemed to pour out of the houses.

"We need to fall back sir" shouted Kodiak.

Orion nodded in the affirmative just as one of the Mercs shouted something incomprehensible. Something glowing and round rolled towards the Paladins, and Orion realised the merc had said 'grenade'. Before he could even say anything, Glade was throwing himself on top of the plasma grenade. The explosion must have hit an undetonated pack of C4, as it knocked the three remaining Paladins, and most of the Talon Company force, off their feet. The next thing Orion knew, Gallows was dragging him to his feet and pulling him towards the Vertibird, while Kodiak held the mercs back with Glade's Incinerator. The three of them reached the aircraft as Dusk sat into the pilot's seat. Colvin began pushing Sarah into the craft when his temple exploded in a crimson mist.

"Damn sniper" muttered Gallows as Colvin's limp body collapsed to the ground.

Orion grabbed Sarah and hauled her into the Vertibird, her face splattered with Colvin's blood. He turned around and reached his hand out to Gallows and Kodiak, who shook their heads.

"You save Sarah" said Gallows, "we'll draw their fire off you".

Orion frowned at the idea of leaving his men behind, but still signalled for Dusk to take off. As the Vertibird began its ascent, he saw Gallows pick up Colvin's sniper rifle and exchange fire with the Snipers in the town, while Kodiak rained napalm on the mercs trying to storm the landing site. He turned back to Sarah and began wiping the blood from her face. She was shivering, something he'd never seen her do in battle.

"C…Colvin…" she stammered.

"Colvin knew what he was getting into Sarah, we all did. This isn't your fault. I knew you shouldn't have come on this mission, but the most important thing right now is that I get you and our baby back to the Citadel".

Orion smiled as he said that, placing his hand on Sarah's armour over her stomach. The scribes had said she was about a month and a half along. For a split second, Sarah returned the Wanderer's smile. Then they both heard Dusk swear in the cockpit. Orion ran up to see a Talon merc standing on the roof of a nearby house, aiming a Fatman straight at the Vertibird. Dusk jerked the controls, but it was too late. The mini nuke came soaring through the air and smashed into the craft. Everything went bright as the searing radioactive heat tore through Orion's body. He was vaguely aware of the Vertibird rapidly spiralling downwards, and the crash that followed it. Lying on the ground, unable to see or hear the firefight he was sure was still raging around him, all he knew was that he could feel his body soaking up the radiation, using it to repair itself. But he also knew in his now heavily damaged heart that Sarah couldn't have survived. The love of his life was dead, and with her the child he would never know.

Orion woke drenched in a cold sweat. Years ago, he'd relived the day Sarah died every single night. Now, the memory only invaded his dreams a few times a month. He, Gallows and Kodiak were the only survivors of that ambush, although Kodiak had taken a bullet to the spin and never walked again. Orion knew the only reason he was alive was because the radiation of the mini nuke had healed him even as it torn him apart. Alive, with nothing to live for. The second he'd recovered, and gotten used to his new cyborg parts, he'd left his Holotags in the Den and fled. Now he could see what his cowardice had done to the capital. Perhaps if he'd stayed, he could have guided Arthur on the path Owyn and Sarah would have wanted. It didn't matter now though. All that mattered was righting those wrongs the Brotherhood had committed.

.

It was only a short Journey the next morning to Evergreen Mills. Orion was back in his Wanderer's Power armor and had his Tesla Rifle at the ready. There was always a chance that they might run into a Brotherhood patrol, but Orion wanted to keep the conflict to a minimum until they were ready to fight the forces of the Citadel. From what Amata had told him, Evergreen Mills had come a long way since its days as a huge raider camp. Led by Smiling Jack, the settlement became a haven for ex-raiders looking to go legit. It was now the go-to place to hire mercenaries. It was also the only place in the Capital Wasteland with a fully staffed brothel, which didn't hurt their visitor numbers. As the group approached the entrance of the town, a lone figure walked out to meet them. As he got closer, Orion recognised the man and shouted in surprise.

"Paulson?!"

The cowboy grinned and stretched out his hand to Orion.

"It's been a while partner, didn't think I'd see you again"

Inside, Paulson explained the last ten years to Orion and his companions.

"Well, after Somah and I left that alien ship we decided to stick together, on account of me not knowing what the hell kind of world I was re-joining. She was friends with Jack, so we came here to the Mills and Jack convinced us to stick around and help him rebuild the town. You're looking at the local sheriff haha".

"I'm glad things worked out for you Paulson, I really am".

"Much appreciated, but I know you're not here, armed to the teeth, to reminisce about our adventures in space. I hear you and your friends are gearing up to take on the Brotherhood. Well you can count us in".

Orion gave Paulson a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?"

"Nearly everyone is this town is a highly trained mercenary, and we're sick of the Brotherhood pushing us around. We used to have drones guarding the town and doing manual labour. Somah built them using the tech and schematics from the ship. But the Brotherhood came and commandeered them all. I'll have no trouble convincing most folks around here to join up with your militia".

At that moment, the doors flung open and Somah walked in, closely followed by Clover. The ex-slave gave Orion a mischievous grin and a wink before embracing him.

"Hey baby, how you doing?" she asked.

Orion motioned to Jericho, who brought forward a large package. Inside was the Chinese stealth suit, the shocksword, and the Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol.

"It's time to suit up, Clover. We've got a job to do".

"What, no foreplay?"

Clover took the package and left to get changed. Once she was gone, Orion turned to the rest of his team, and Paulson and Somah.

"I appreciate your willingness to help, Paulson. If you're serious, the first thing I need you to do is get any spare weapons you can to Megaton. I promised them some additional firepower to boost their stock for the war. As for us, there's just one stop remaining before we really take the fight to the Brotherhood. On to Canterbury Commons!"