(AN: Wow, first I want to thank everyone that's favorited and followed this. For the most part it's just been fun to write. I'm pretty much a huge geek when it comes to video games and anime. I'm also pretty into Light Novels, which I've been writing an original series at the moment. Hopefully it'll make its way to bookstores everywhere. That said, Mandalore the Survivor, you have consistently posted reviews, pointed out some great critiques, and I felt that it was necessary to give you props for doing so. So, thank you.)

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

Chapter Fourteen - Adam

Going back through the gate was an experience that Adam could only describe as trippy. He'd stepped through with Knight Woodward, Scribe Moore, and Star Paladin Vargas along with their guests. Specifically Rory, Lelei, Tuka were the official guests of the Brotherhood of Steel. Both Princess Piña Co Lada and Bozes Co Palesti were unofficial guests that were coming over to specifically speak with Elder Lyons.

The moment they stepped through he noticed that there had been a platform built leading into the gate, and across the water. The fact that he didn't have to worry about any of their guests getting exposed to irradiated water was certainly a bonus. History taught in the Vault was that most people didn't have the resistance to radiation if they hadn't grown up in a world that had been devastated by it.

That meant that avoiding as many radioactive places as possible would be best. It also meant avoiding some of the metro tunnels. So, getting to Rivet City would mean crossing some bridges, and sticking to the more secure places. The moment he stepped through he could see several knights that were heading toward them.

"Sir," one of the recently promoted knights said, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir. We're here to escort you to the Citadel."

He nodded, "Sounds good," he replied, "Knight… Ermmm, I'm sorry we haven't been introduced before."

The knight removed her helmet, "Knight Toyna Loveland, sir," she said with a smile, "I was accepted into the brotherhood, but I'm afraid that I missed the attack on Adam's Airforce Base."

He grinned, "Be thankful, that was a difficult battle, and I'm glad that we managed to keep from losing too many during it," he replied before gesturing to everyone else there, "However, I am here to escort our guests, so would you mind leading us on?"

She shook her head, turned around, and began to lead them. Falling in behind them he walked with them toward a waiting Vertibird. They climbed into it, and a moment later it began to pick up into the air. He certainly understood the reason for it. There was an unknown when it came to the guests and how they would interact with the world around them. Moments later the Vertibird landed just outside of the Citadel, and once again he led them toward the now opened doors of it. So much had been repaired since they managed to take back much of the capital wasteland. The Citadel itself had been repaired to a point that it actually resembled it's prewar form.

Stepping inside he was greeted with Elder Lyons. The Elder looked tired, and more to the point he looked as if he was a hair's breadth away from taking the final walk. He would never say so. In truth, since his own dad died Elder Lyons had stepped in and treated him more like a son.

"Paladin Jefferson," he said as he neared him, "Congratulations on your mission so far."

He nodded, "Sir, thank you, sir, but honestly everyone else has done just as much."

He nodded, "Perhaps, but it has been you specifically that led the battle against overwhelming odds," he said as he smiled, "From what I've read and heard in the reports from Sentinel Lyons you personally helped to ensure the safety of the people of Italica, and afterward you ensured that we would receive favorable trade negotiations."

He laughed, "It was actually enough that we considered contacting the merchant hub in Canterbury Commons. We are considering setting up trade from here with that other world."

Adam nodded, "I understand, and that's a good idea, but I think that there are some things that might be best left on this side."

Elder Lyons gave him a grin, "I know," he replied as he led them further in, "We are still the Brotherhood of Steel, and we still intend to safeguard technology. The last thing that we need to happen is to allow another world to repeat our mistakes."

"What mistakes?" Rory asked, she neared them, and she noticed that Elder Lyons seemed surprised, "I have learned your language, and I feel another presence here that makes speaking it easier."

She shivered with that word, "It feels strange, weird, almost as if there is another god that is presiding over this world. It seems to be everywhere, but nowhere at the same time."

Adam looked at her, and he swallowed, "Well, I can't say that there is, or isn't, but I know that there are a few places that have strange things happening at them. Those places are pretty much places that I don't visit if I don't have to."

Elder Lyons gave a nod, "If there are gods here, and I am not someone that would say the possibility is nil, then I am afraid that they likely have done a wonderful job of hiding themselves from humanity."

He smiled at her, "Still, please, all of you come inside. We will be arranging for transportation to Rivet City," he said before he looked at Adam, "And there is actually something else that I need you to take care of. We've made contact with some individuals that wish to talk specifically with you. They have said that they will only speak to you."

He looked at them, "Who is it?"

Elder Lyons studied him for a moment, "Members of the Enclave," he said before he held up his hand, "I have my own reservations about the meeting, but they have specifically asked for you to speak to them, and more to the point they have went as far as establishing the exact location of their bunker. We believe it would be worth checking in with them."

Adam stood there for a moment. The idea of dealing with the Enclave wasn't exactly happy or warranted. President Eden had been genocidal to the extreme. Thankfully he had been able to use Eden's own logic algorithms against himself. By pressing the issue he caused what likely had been the closest an artificial intelligence had to a breakdown. He then had more or less led the conversation to Eden understanding that the only recourse was to eliminate the Raven Rock base.

"Before that I think that taking our representatives to Rivet City would be the best recourse, wouldn't you?"

Elder Lyons nodded, "I would agree, but after your return I will need you to and meet with them. Do so as quickly as possible. Come to the mapping room and we'll give you the coordinates of their bunker."

He nodded, and he could see the uncertainty on the faces of those with him. He assumed that none of them had expected that they would be coming to a world that was rebuilding itself. If he was to guess he assumed that most of them would have believed that they were coming to someplace that was like prewar America. Still, what they were seeing was different to what he'd seen the moment he stepped out of the Vault.

What he'd been witnessed to was a bombed out ruin that laid like a corpse. Raiders and super mutants were like scavengers ripping what little flesh there was from its bones and slowly destroying it completely. What stood there now was a place that had resources being used to rebuild it. Buildings were slowly being rebuilt, the ghouls of Underworld were working with the Brotherhood to restore some of the technology that had a chance of helping the wastelanders, and communities were slowly expanding toward each other.

Even Girdershade had managed to grow to include more houses. Oddly enough Sierra Petrovita had been mentioning a prewar theme park that she wanted to visit. He had thought that it was a strange notion coming from her, but she claimed that one of the bottles of quantum he'd given her had an advertisement for Nuka World. If the park still existed then potentially it could be something that could be used to help with the rebuilding. If nothing else it could potentially provide them the chance to establish a better foothold in the east.

"Elder Lyons, there is something else," he said as he considered his words, "I know that Sierra Petrovita, one of the residents of Gridershade, has talked about traveling to Nuka World. I wouldn't suggest us simply relocating completely there, but if it still exists there's a good possibility that it could help in rebuilding here."

He watched as the Elder rubbed his chin, "We have some information on the park itself," he replied as he looked past Adam, "What we know about it comes from various military documents that we've recovered. If it is to be believed the park itself was instrumental in helping with the war effort. There's a good chance that there could be information there worth checking into."

He nodded after a moment, "It will be an undertaking, but one that we could potentially look into a little further into the future. First, we need to ensure that our interests are secured beyond the gate."

With that he turned, "But for now let's get everyone inside."

They moved into a building that Adam knew well. The research wing of the Citadel, the very place where Liberty Prime had been kept for nearly two centuries before being revived. Stepping into the wing Adam noticed the fresh coats of paint that had been applied to the ancient cinder block walls. It no longer looked as if the Brotherhood of Steel was just occupying the Citadel, but instead they had turned it into their fully functional base.

Paint, repaired walls and floors, and of course much of the systems that operated the various bits of climate control had been restored to a full working order. Walking through the Citadel Adam couldn't help but admire how much work had been spent. Of course a good bit of it had been done by the very protectrons that had been recaptured and programed for construction work.

The ancient robots had proven themselves over and over again when it came to rebuilding the capital. Of course it was still slow going. There were still raiders that would attempt to destroy the protectrons for no other reason than the fact that they were there. While the number of super mutants had decreased they weren't all gone. Not that all of them were completely insane.

Fawks was proof that there were some that truly were good and kind individuals. He'd proven himself to be a good friend and someone that managed to hold onto his humanity despite what had happened to him. That was something else he wanted to do. He wanted to go and check on Fawks in Megaton. It would be out of the way at the moment, but perhaps they left again it would be worth going and showing everyone one of the bigger settlements in the capital wasteland.

Still, he watched as the others began to move into the room that Elder Lyons led them to. Once inside he noticed that this was the place where he'd first spoken to Scribe Rothchild. It had been his first stirrings of working with the Brotherhood of Steel, and it had led him to where he was currently. He watched as everyone took a seat, and the door opened. Once again Reginald Rothchild entered the room.

"Welcome," he said as he looked at them, "I'm certain that all of you have questions, and they will be answered. But, part of why you are here is because it has become apparent that we can no longer contain curiosity about the gate, nor contain rumors about the invasion that happened. While we managed to stop it, we have come to realize that we have no other choice than to include the greater council."

He breathed out as he studied them, "As such all of you are being asked to speak as representatives of your world. The council will be held at Rivet City. The radio equipment there will allow us to broadcast the meeting across the wasteland. We've convinced Galaxy News Radio to broadcast the entire meeting."

Seeing their faces he closed his eyes, "Sorry, I understand that I am likely speaking a language you don't understand."

Lelei shook her head, "No," she said simply, "I understand, Rory understands, and I know Tuka understands some. Both the Princess and her knight do not understand your language, but I believe that Paladin Jefferson understands it quite well. Plus, he has brought something called a holotape that can be used with one of your golems, er protectrons, to translate."

Head Scribe Rothchild turned toward Adam who dug out the holotape. He seemed to study it for a moment before walking over to a terminal. Adam watched as the older man inserted the holotape into the terminal and began entering a few commands. What he was doing seemed to be painfully obvious. Adam watched as he imputed the information from the holotape onto the terminal, and then used the docking station for the Protectron to upload the language.

A few moments later the protectron that had been located in the Arlington Library stepped out of its docking station. The familiar phrase of "Powering up, Protectron on Duty." echoed sounded as the docking station opened. The protectron, which was mostly a mute gray, stepped toward them. It neared and stopped in place.

"Linguistics Protectron, Version 3.2, reporting for service."

The protectron stood ready, and Head Scribe Rothchild seemed to study it for a moment, "Protectron, please translate anything spoken in the language that has just recently been uploaded into your memory to English for us please, and when indicated please translate from English into the language that has just been uploaded into your memory."

"Orders received," the protectron stated, "Protectron standing by."

He nodded and then looked at Adam, "Thank you for bringing this," he said, "It should make the meeting go far easier. That said, I believe that you have a trip to Rivet City in store. Once you're done there you can head back here and go toward the location of the bunker."

"Why not head straight there?" Rory asked, "If he is to meet with these individuals would it not make more sense for him to simply go there afterward?"

Adam noticed that Scribe Rothchild seemed to hesitate for a moment, "I think that he meant that I should escort you back here."

Rory gave him a look that he'd begun to learn all too well. She had no intention of simply being led back here. She was going to travel with him, and she was going to see what there was to see here. He knew that arguing would be difficult at the very least, "From what Elder Lyons said, along with Scribe Rothchild, these individuals just want to meet with me," he said as she continued to give him the same look, "Ummm, I mean, well."

Rory neared him, "We will go."

That was the end of the discussion. He hated to admit it but Amata was pretty much the same. When there was an idea in her head she went with it full bore. It didn't matter what it was, and it didn't matter what anyone else thought. His time as her friend in the Vault had taught him that it was best to try and help, and then do what he could to contain or clean up the mess afterward.

The difference was that he wasn't sure how bad the mess was going to be. He finally nodded, "Okay, but please remember that it is a diplomatic mission. I'd like to hear what it is that they want to say before anything else," he replied, "If they want to work with the Brotherhood of Steel then it could be a good thing."

There was some nodding, and he watched as Scribe Rothchild gave him a nod, "We'll be here. Go to the council meeting, take our guests, and of course Knight Woodward will accompany you," he said with a nod, "We've also taken the liberty of securing other security to assist you. I believe that you've worked with them before."

He looked up to see a familiar redhead waving toward him, "How ya doing kid?"

He smiled at her, "Reilly?" he asked as he watched as she moved toward him, "Aren't you still mapping the capital wasteland?"

She shook her head, "We've covered as much as we could, and turned in our data," she replied as she walked over and took his hand, "Which, thanks for all of the help you did on that front."

She gestured around them, "The brotherhood hired us to go over to the Commonwealth and get some info for them, and they just went ahead and kept us on retainer. We don't mind, and it kind of makes us militia contracted."

He nodded, "That makes sense," he said, "I mean, to hire you guys makes a lot of sense. You're knowledgeable about the area, and I've personally seen what you're able to do."

She grinned, "Yeah, and honestly helping you guys get over to Rivet City is pretty easy. Figured that we'll take the overland route. Most of the Raiders are gone, so it's just a good quick walk over."

Scribe Rothchild shook his head, "Actually, we will be sending them via Vertibird."

Everyone noticed Reilly's face fall, "Uh, no," she said, shaking her head, "Absolutely not. I'm not climbing back aboard one of those things."

"Reilly?"

She looked toward the one that spoke, she looked at Donavan, "It's flying, in the air! In the damn air!" she exclaimed, "We flew to the Commonwealth, We flew, in the damned air!"

He nodded, "I know, but it's necessary."

She shook her head again, "No it's not!" she exclaimed, the color draining from her face, "It is not necessary to climb aboard one of those things, go flying through the damned air, and feel like you're going to fall out! That's not necessary! It's what a good two hours to walk, that's just two hours, it's good exercise, I mean we could all use a little exercise!"

Adam watched her, "I didn't know that you're afraid of flying."

She glared at him, "Not afraid!" she said, crossing her arms, "I just feel more comfortable on the ground, where we're meant to be. We're supposed to exist here, on the ground, on our two feet."

He shook his head, "Yeah, but a Vertibird will take maybe ten minutes, at the most, to get there," he said, as he looked at her, "And if we can use it again it will make the trip to the bunker even easier."

It was the first time that he'd ever seen Reilly seem to wilt. The normally confident mercenary looked almost timid, but finally after a few moments she nodded, "I can't really argue against it," she replied with resignation, "It doesn't mean that I like it, but I can't argue against it."

With that the nine of them began to move toward the doors only to be stopped, "Actually," Head Scribe Rothchild said as he moved with them motioning for both Princess Piña Co Lada and Bozes Co Palesti to follow him, Elder Lyons himself will be traveling to this meeting as well. Since he is going to discuss the treaty and of course will be attending the council meeting, it makes sense for our guests to accompany you."

Adam looked at him for a moment, "Sir, are you sure?"

The head scribe nodded, "I am."

Once again the full group boarded a Vertibird, and felt it lift off of the ground. Adan knew that for Princess Piña Co Lada this was likely the first time she had to experience flight. He watched as she held onto the side of the Vertibird, and instead of meekly hiding inside of the Vertibird she leaned out of it. He could see the way she was standing, how she was taking everything in, and he watched as she practically leaned too far forward.

Acting quickly he kept her from falling out of the transport, and he watched her move closer to the inside. He couldn't blame her, and he looked at the area they were flying over. Before there had been a massive clearing of the Super Mutants through this area. They had came in droves, and attacked in mass. Multiple Super Mutant Suiciders had ran toward them with active mini-nukes strapped to their chests.

Those that could be killed and the mini-nukes stripped were, but those that weren't able to be had been shot at a distance causing the active mini-nuke to explode and take over multiple others beside them. He'd watched as several of the knights had done it, and one had even called it a duck hunt. Now it was buildings and streets that were slowly being rebuilt. Mostly it was wastelanders that had settled into the areas and slowly reclaimed them.

"Something happened here," Rory said, as she rode on the Vertibird, "I sense death. Old death, and it is all around. There are thousands, no millions, that have been unable to move on. They are stuck here."

He looked where she seemed to be looking, "There was a war about two hundred years ago," he said as they flew over, speaking in their native language, "It was called the Great War, the last real war, and it engulfed the entire world."

He knew that he had their attention, "You've seen our advancements, you've seen how powerful we are, now imagine a full world like that. This is the remains of the super power known as the United States. We were in a battle with the Chinese, and it was over fuel for the power we used," he laughed, the sound mirthless, "When it was clear that we were going to win, and that there would be no turning back, the Chinese released the very power of the sun upon us. They launched multiple bombs, and those bombs each had the ability to destroy entire cities. We did the same, and it happened all over the world."

They started their landing near Rivet City, "Billions died on the last day of the war, and those that survived faced a life in a cursed world. We've grown stronger because we have to. To survive here you have to be strong, mentally and physically. The world kills the weak."

He could feel their pause, and he looked toward them, "I know that it was a somber reason, and I'm sorry to be the one to have to explain it. That said, there is still a lot of beauty in this world. There's things so wonderful that you'll feel like you've died and gone to heaven, but there are things so deadly and dangerous that just being near them is enough for you to start to die. So, stay close to me. Don't go off by yourselves."

Rory seemed to lick her lips, "This world was practically made for Emroy," she said as she moved near him, "An entire world dedicated to death and honor."

He shook his head, "It's more than that. There are good people that we want to protect. People that want to rebuild, and that want to make something better. It's our plan to return the world to where it belongs."

Before them was the remains of an old Aircraft carrier. Where the ship had originally been bisected after the war it now stood completely repaired. Over time the residents of Rivet City had gathered together and begun gathering the steel needed to repair the ship. Its rusted hull had been returned mostly to its former glory. The ship itself looked almost as if it was once again ready to depart to the open sea.

Reilly herself led them and Adam followed close behind. The mercenary looked more like her normal self after being on the ground. They moved toward the drawbridge and a few moments later he watched as it extended toward them. They walked across it, and he could see Security Chief Harkness. The synth gave a nod to them, "Welcome back," he said as they entered, "Is everyone here for the council meeting?"

Adam nodded, "We're all here to attend the meeting. Elder Lyons should be joining us soon."

He nodded, "Very well," he replied, "Come in and head down to the waiting room. I'll be sure to have you brought into the main meeting hall once everyone arrives."

They moved, and Adam looked over the care that had been taken to restore the ship itself. He could hear the reason not far off. The clanging of protectrons could be heard. Most likely models that had originally been designed to build ships, and they were set upon repairing the ones here. They moved toward the waiting room, and he looked at the food that was made available. He watched as they settled into their various chairs.

"Paladin Jefferson," Princess Piña said, "Is this world as you stated? Is it in eternal chaos?"

He considered her words, "That's not far off," he replied, "I don't know everything that's happened, and I really only know what records the Brotherhood of Steel have, and what I learned when I was in school. But I do know that two hundred years ago we had a war to end all wars, and since then there have been people who are determined to rebuild everything back."