Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land

Chapter Two

Bodies were moved, several corpses were taken back to be studied in the citadel, and the collection of prisoners were brought to the holding rooms. For Paladin Vargas multiple things had happened. His action in helping to protect Scribe Moore had cemented him as her personal guard when she was out studying the gate. Because he had relayed the information to the person that apparently was the oldest member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and acquired their aid, he was given a slight promotion. He was now Star Paladin Vargas.

In addition discussion began to occur about checking what laid beyond the gate. More than anything there was obviously life on the other side. The army that had come through was proof of that. If it wouldn't have been for the heavy artillery, and the Vertibirds, then it was very likely that they would have been overwhelmed.

Star Paladin Vargas couldn't disagree that Paladin Adam Jefferson had done well with the fat boy. His use of it, along with the air support, had certainly devastated the advancing army. Currently, the group of prisoners were undergoing a type of communication. For all he knew they were attempting to teach them English.

"Cap for your thoughts?"

He looked at Scribe Moore as they stood outside of the gate, "Things are going to be changing."

Scribe Moore nodded enthusiastically, "I know!" she exclaimed, "There's potentially an entire world over there, and did you check the bodies that we were moving that weren't hit with the mini nuke?"

He shook his head, and she grinned at him, "No rads, no mutations, nothing indicating a world ravished by nuclear war," she replied as she looked at the gate itself, "I don't know what science is behind it, which I believe it has to be science, but the world they come from is clean. It's like prewar was here. Can you imagine the access of something like that? Crops clean of rads, no worrying about having to slurp down Radaway, or take a Rad-X everytime we need to get near certain places."

He looked at her, "So, what about the flying Deathclaws?"

She sat there for a moment, "Well, I hate to even suggest it, because it's more fantasy than science, but have you thought that maybe they were dragons?"

He looked at her and shook his head, "Like in Grognak?" he asked as he looked at her, "I mean I thought that was a possibility, but really, do we want to even consider that?"

She smiled at him, "Seriously, when you remove all of the possible all that's left is the improbable."

He shook his head, "Yeah, I get that," he said as another team neared them. He looked to see another scribe, one that was much older, and he didn't appear to be overly happy, "Star Paladin Vargas," Scribe Rothchild said as he neared him, "I bring word from Elder Lyons."

Vargas nodded, "I'm listening," he replied and the older Scribe seemed to curse a little, "We are going to check to see what is happening over there. We want to look at their world, and we want to attempt peaceful negotiations if possible."

Vargas thought for a moment, "That's actually pretty smart."

Rothchild shook his head, "Look, I'm not one to even start on this, but he wants to allow Scribe Moore to venture with the first team. That also includes you as well."

Suddenly he could see the reason why Reginald was upset. This was information that was brand new. A chance to make new discoveries, and he was being denied the chance to be the first though. Naturally it was an affront to the older Scribe. He knew that Reginald Rothchild often held his own desire to learn, and his intelligence, in the highest regard. Allowing anyone else to be the first to learn anything new was a major insult to him. But at the same time he was certain that Elder Lyons had explained the reason, multiple times, of why he couldn't just storming into this new world. Until they understood more about it it would be foolhardy to allow him to risk his own life.

"Head Scribe Rothchild, I will do my best to report all of my findings back to you!" Scribe Moore said, her voice overly excited, "And naturally I will want your counsel on everything that I find there."

Vargas noticed that what she said seemed to satisfy Rothchild some, "When does he want us to begin investigating?"

There was some silence, "We're going to commit Lyons' Pride, an additional three knights, and eight initiates that have volunteered to go," he said after a moment, "Personally, I believe that sending all of Lyons' Pride may be a mistake, but I also believe that having seasoned soldiers going through is the best possible chance of success."

He breathed out and looked at Vargas, "Regardless, I am also sending two initiate scribes with you. They are to be Scribe Moore's underlings, and she is to ensure that they use this chance to expand their knowledge," he said before he looked at scribe Moore, "One of them is initiate scribe Lake. I know that you have a history with her, and I personally do not care. So far initiate scribe Lake is the only one that I know of who has a background in horticulture, and has actually studied the prewar manuals on farming. Her knowledge is going to be necessary there."

He could see how uncomfortable she was before she nodded, "I agree sir, and I will do my best to ensure that she raises to the challenges there."

Star Paladin Andrew Vargas watched as Head Scribe Reginald Rothchild gave a nod and then departed. He looked at Scribe Moore. He could see how put out she seemed by what had happened. For a moment he considered how to address her. So far they had been addressing one another as associates. He knew that she had more than hinted at something else, but he had believed it was just the attentions of a younger woman.

He considered what he was getting ready to do, and he knew that it was a major breach in protocol. That said it was a major breach in his personal ethics, "Scribe Moore," he said, and he noticed that her face was still filled with worry, "Amanda, don't let the presence of Scribe Initiate Lake bother you. Her going is necessary, but it doesn't have to be something negative."

She gave him the faintest of smiles, "That's the first time that you've called me by my first name," she said, a happy smile crossing her lips, "So, how is this going to work?"

He knew where this was going, "For right now let's just say that we've moved into the area of friends," he replied before he looked at the landscape, "If Elder Lyons is putting the entire Lyons Pride into this, then it's likely that we're going to be traveling with more than just our power armor."

She slowly stood beside him, "What do you think they're going to send with us?"

He shrugged, "With the Robco factory being restored to a somewhat working order I'm going to imagine that we'll get a couple of sentry bots," he replied, as he scratched his chin, "And I know that a few older APCs have been restored. It's likely we'll get one or two of those. I'm not sure about Vertibirds though."

He noticed movement and saw the person that had to be the oldest member of the Brotherhood of Steel walking toward them. In truth he wasn't sure if his presence in the Brotherhood was legitimate, or if his presence was just lip service. Regardless he gave a nod as the suit of T-45 power armor made its way over.

"Star Paladin Vargas," he said before he looked at Scribe Amanda Moore, "And Scribe Moore. I've been asked to assist in your mission."

Star Paladin Andrew Vargas looked at him, "Of course sir, but are you sure that you should?"

The undeniably raspy voice let out a groan, "Personally, no. I believe that I should remain on this side of things, but that young upstart said that I should accompany you, and since he is an elder then I will follow orders."

Vargas could see the confusion sit in, and a moment later he heard the question, "Ummm, not to speak out of turn sir, but isn't Elder Lyons older than you?"

A raspy laugh escaped from the suit, "Not even close," he replied, his raspy laugh stopping, "I was present when the decision was made to separate from the United States Military. It wasn't even a hard decision. We were being ordered to get the same people who started this war to safety. All of us felt it was far more important to secure and protect the people of the United States."

She stood there, "Wait, are you… I'm sorry, but are you a ghoul?"

There was silence, "I'm not going to deny it, but I would request that you don't bring it up," he replied as he stood there, "Besides, it will never be a problem. Not really. I can't get outside of this power armor anymore."

She looked at him, "What, why?"

She walked around and noticed that the power armor itself looked as if there were entire areas where paint had been stripped, and the seals that were used to unlock and unseal the armor had been fused together, "What happened?"

There was a groan, "You ask too many questions, you know that?" he groaned, "When I went to check the Sierra Madre there was a red cloud around it. Whatever was in that cloud stripped everything that allowed me to get out of this power armor."

Vargas noticed that she had the decency to look a little ashamed, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

He shook his head, "Not your place to know," he replied, his raspy voice still there, "But regardless it doesn't change things. As it sits now I'm stuck in this power armor, and I won't be getting out."

"We'll be happy to have you along sir," Star Paladin Vargas stated as he looked at the older model of power armor, "That said, how should I address you?"

He groaned, "Officially I was given the position of sentinel," he replied, his voice sounding tired, "It's a position that I never truly wanted to embrace, but since it's necessary I would suggest Sentinel Reeder."

Vargas nodded, "Very well, Sentinel Reeder," he replied "then we are simply waiting to see what the Elder wants to send with us."

"There's enough coming to help ensure that we're getting a decent set up," he replied, "And they should be coming over soon enough."

The air filled with the sounds of multiple vehicles moving. It was a sound that hadn't filled Monument Park in a while. Star Paladin Vargas looked in the direction and saw four Armored Personnel Vehicles moving toward them. Each of them had been repainted with the Brotherhood of Steel Insignia. Behind them he could see what looked like half a dozen construction protectrons that were moving behind them. The faded yellow of their bodies reflected exactly how old they were. Each one seemed to be reciting the normal communication that was used in the older protectrons.

"Stand Clear," a unified warning sounded out from them, "This is an official construction site, civilian lives cannot be guaranteed protection!"

Standing there he watched as they moved through, and suddenly the trailers that had been behind the APCs made sense. All of them contained building materials. The protectrons would be working to construct a temporary base on the other side of the gate. The final one moved though, and he saw the rest of the Lyons Pride arriving. He could see Paladin Adam Jefferson make his way beside Sentinel Sarah Lyons, "Star Paladin," she said as she neared them, "Are you prepared for this?"

He studied her for a moment, "Permission to speak freely?"

She nodded, "Of course."

"Sentinel Lyons, this seems like overkill," he stated as he stood there, "This is a lot of the resources being directed into the gate, it feels as if we're leaving the Citadel mostly unguarded."

An older chuckle caught his attention and he stood at attention as he saw Elder Lyons slowly making his way, "Elder Lyons sir," he said giving a slight bow, "I didn't expect you to see us off."

"Andrew, please don't prostrate yourself," he replied as he neared him, "We have plenty of forces guarding the Citadel and Galaxy News Radio, and besides there is a chance that an entire world free from the ravages of the great war exists on the other side of this gate."

He coughed a little, "If it is, then it would be our duty to the people of the Capital Wasteland to secure the resources available for them. The Water Purifier at the Jefferson Memorial was a true start, but there is so much more that needs to be done."

He stood there, "Sir, even if there is, there's a real chance that they won't want to simply surrender the resources there," he replied, "I'm sure you know that."

Elder Lyons nodded, "I do, and that is why we are going to try diplomacy first, but if they decide to push against us then we will show them the might of the Brotherhood of Steel. I will ensure the people I have sworn to protect are provided for."

Andrew Vargas certainly understood the power behind those words. Elder Owen Lyons was someone that kept his promises. He'd promised to help protect the Capital Wasteland, and more to the point he had hoped that his example would spur the rest of the Brotherhood of Steel into acting the same. Unfortunately most of the rest of the Brotherhood of Steel felt that it was disobeying their traditions, and while they accepted Elder Lyons as an elder they officially stated that they would not support this vision.

"Do you think that whatever is beyond the gate might be enough to change the minds of the other Elders, sir?"

He watched as Elder Lyons shook his head, "No, I fear that they will continue to hold onto their beliefs. They firmly believe in or traditions, and that is not to say that I don't do the same. I absolutely believe that there is some technology that should not be allowed to fall into the hands of those that would do harm with it," he replied as he looked at the gate, "But I do know that before we were to safekeep technology we were supposed to protect the people of this land. It is part of our original charter, and it is the very rule that I follow."

He looked at the three of them, "I do not know what lies on the other side of this gate, I only know that there are possibly resources that the people here could use," he stated, and then he gave a sad smile, "And I fear that we may be engaged in another war in order to obtain it."

Star Paladin Vargas nodded, "I understand sir," he replied swiftly, "But we will attempt diplomacy first."

With that he turned toward the gate itself, and he watched as the rest of Lyons' Pride began to move through it. Scribe Amanda Moore gave him a smile before she walked through, and he followed. The light on his helmet turned on as they walked into the dark tunnel. He knew that Amanda's own Pip Boy was likely shining brightly as well. Still, as they walked a strange feeling began to surround him. It was almost as if he had been suddenly stretched beyond all understanding, returned to normal, and left nearly stumbling as he finished crossing over.

His first thought was to puke. He felt the urge to throw up, but instead he fought it. Throwing up inside of his helmet would be unpleasant to say the least. Instead he finished walking out behind Scribe Moore and saw the Protectrons already hard at work. Their faded yellow bodies moved in unison as they unloaded the trailers that had been pulled behind the APCs. He could see cinder blocks moved out and stacked to form a foundation.

From there requisitioned lumber that had been taken from various former Raider strongholds was being used to build frames. To his surprise one of the trailers had a simple cement mixer that the protectrons were busy crushing rocks up for. He watched as they went through the process of crushing the natural rocks in the area into almost powder before feeding the powder into the cement mixer.

From there they added the bare minimum of water to it, and he watched as they began to create fresh cement. It was something he wasn't sure that he'd ever really see. Still, as he watched it he looked at the others that were taking a look at the hill itself. Moving toward the group he watched as Sentinel Lyons took in the area itself.

"Okay, the Protectrons should have the base built in three days. In that time we're going to work in shifts. I want at least two guards ready at a moment's notice. In addition I want to ensure that any enemy we encounter understands that we are not an easy target. That said, I do want the use of mini nukes to be a go to," she said as she looked at them all, "This world apparently has no fallout radiation from the great war. I want to keep it that way if possible."

There was a basic agreement, "Good, We're also going to clear the rest of this hill. The lumber here is valuable, and should be used in creating our base of operations. I'm going to set a couple of the protectrons onto clearing the trees here, forming them into usable lumber, and of course leveling the ground."

Vargas moved, and as before his primary job was ensuring the protection of Scribe Amanda Moore. The two of them moved toward the two initiate scribes that had come with them. He watched as she moved toward them both, and of course his own natural curiosity began to surface. Would Scribe Moore be able to handle commanding the initiate scribe that had gone out of her way to make her feel uncomfortable?

"Initiate Scribe Lake, Initiate Scribe Danvers, since the protectrons are going to be clearing this land I want us to look at the vegetation on the hill. Initiate Scribe Lake, I know that you've read up on horticulture and plants that existed Prewar. Report findings of anything that could be stable crops," she said before she looked at Initiate Scribe Danvers, "And Initiate Scribe Danvers, assist Lake. Take samples of anything she says is edible, and store it in a way so that it can be used to grow the plant again."

There was no arguing, no room for rebuttal, and to his surprise she had handled it with the kind of authority that she actually had. He could see the distaste of the situation on Initiate Scribe Lake's face, but she brokered no ill response to it. Instead she simply nodded, and moved off with Initiate Scribe Danvers following her. He watched as Amanda stood there for a moment before turning toward him, "I was so sure that she was going to refuse."

He smiled as he gestured around them, "While I'm certain that Head Scribe Rothchild assigned her because he knows your history with her, I'm also sure that he told her that the condition for her being here was to follow your orders," he replied as he studied the younger woman, "There's a lot to be said about Head Scribe Rothchild, but he is loyal to the Brotherhood. I doubt that he would do anything to jeopardize this mission intentionally."

She smiled and nodded, "So, what now?"

He looked around, "I would suggest to lead by example," he stated as he looked around, "There's quite a bit to study here. Pick something out and get to it."

She looked around for a moment, and then he watched as she moved toward the Protectrons that were currently working with the cement mixer. He followed and could see that she was studying the method that they were using in creating the new cement. She had a pad of paper out and was diligently scribbling down notes as she watched. A moment later the Protectrons announced to stand back, and both of them did. When they did, the Protectrons began to pour the mixture into a small box that they had formed on the ground. Once it was poured they tipped the mixer back up and moved it slightly.

He could see her taking a look at the off colored cement. Where the cement on the other side of the gate looked gray this was almost a gun metal blue. He was sure that the color would change again once it had sat for a while, but it was odd to see something so different. Like Scribe Moore he followed the Protectrons as they continued to create the materials to build the base for them.

Each step was another in getting things into place. Tents that had been secured from Museum of History was set up. The tents themselves were replicas of the tents that had been used in the Civil War. Each one was placed and erected while the Protectrons worked. Once temporary sleeping arrangements were made the first two guards took their position, and Vargas was one of them.

He felt the comfortable weight of the mini gun that he was carrying. The rotating barrel was more of a comfort than most anything else. If nothing else the weapon was a source of protection for himself and his brothers in arms. He could hear the soft jingle of the ammo belt as he walked. The brass shells lightly tapped the metal of his power armor. His HUD showed the world in front of them in its brilliant amber view.

At first it looked as if there wasn't going to be anything to worry over, but instead he could see the faintest evidence of movement. Slowly the movement became more concrete, and finally flags were raised, torches were raised, and he could see the stirrings of an army there before them. He breathed out, "Sentinel Lyons," he said knowing that the suit's broadcaster was transmitting for him, "We have a situation."

Within a few moments he heard the sound of heavy steps and looked to see Sentinel Sarah Lyons moving toward him. She took a moment and looked out over the collection standing there.

"Looks to be the same numbers as before," she said as she studied them, "We should absolutely consider this to be an aggressive act."

"Should we wait until they begin to charge?"

She was silent for a moment, "Watch and see if they have intentions of charging. If they do then we need to ensure that their plans are interrupted. Keep us in contact. I'm authorizing the use of heavy artillery with the exception of the mini nukes."

"Understand," he said as he watched, "I'm sure that Knight Woodward will be happy to use her favorite weapon again."

"Very good," she said as she turned around, "Keep us in the loop, alert us to any changes."

For the first few moments there was nothing, and then the dark began to fall. As it did he could see the movement. The hud was revealing the world around him in ambient light. He stood there for a moment, "They're charging," he said before he activated the mini gun. For a moment it whirled to life, and then the first few shots of lead began to pour out of it.

The streams of lead shot forward and began sweeping the charging troops. Within moments he could see that multiple targets had fallen with little trouble. He heard the roar of the first missile as it left its launcher. Through the amber light of his HUD he could see the impact, the explosion, and bodies that were in pieces.