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

Chapter Sixteen - Unknown

One of the few rules of conquest that everyone knew was that those captured were the property of those that captured. Regardless of their former standing, regardless of their former rank, they were little more than hostages that were to be used by their captors for whatever purpose they saw fit. The knight locked in the dungeon was evidence of that. The one that had witnessed it knew that there was a sister being born there. Someone that would crave the destruction of the empire as much as herself.

She'd suffered at the hands of the lecherous prince as well. She'd felt him violate her in every way that mattered, and she'd tried to retain her dignity through it all. But pride could be stripped away. Dignity could be destroyed, and all it left was vengeance. A burning need for vengeance that remained behind. She craved the vengeance, and she knew the one that suffered as she did likely did as well.

Her own spies had checked on the woman for her. She was beaten, she was bruised, but she wasn't broken. She seemed to be saying strange prayers to a god they did not know. Perhaps her god was real, and perhaps he was working in her favor. It could be that he was working in their favor. The time would come that she could cultivate this sister, lead her to rise up, and then lead her to take the step needed in destroying the empire itself.

How easily would it fall? How wonderfully would the empire crumble in on itself when the pillars of strength were removed. To corrupt the prince was only the start. She needed to play the part of a subservient slave. She had to allow him to paint the inside of her womb with his filthy seed, but when the time came she would whisper in his ear and have him willingly turn his empire into dust.

She would watch as the people of this empire were thrown down, crushed, and their bodies returned to the soil. They would pay for the torture that she and her people suffered. Her white furred leg felt the sensation of something moving from the dark.

"What have you learned?" she asked, feeling he hand become more real, "Tell me, what news do you have?"

There was quiet for a moment, "She's not broken," the voice said, a sadistic laugh escaped, "He tried hard today. He ripped her, made her bleed, caused her no end of pain."

She closed her eyes. The memory of him taking her, of entering her bowels, of her screaming in anguish as he ravished her with abandon, it was still fresh, "And she managed to retain herself?"

The laugh barely sounded past her, "Yes, her spirit is strong. Whoever this Brotherhood of Steel is, whoever they are, they cultivate powerful followers."

She smiled, "She unfortunately had the misfortune of being born a human. She should have been born as one of us," she replied, "Truly, I feel a connection with her. She will be a great instrument of war."

The laugh erupted again, "There's more," he replied, "I've seen their camp. It's an entire town. Built by strange golems. They follow no mage, yet they seem to work tirelessly."

She sat there for a moment, "There is no one around them?"

"No," he replied, "I've seen them warn others in that strange tongue of theirs. They work building the town, and they have expanded to more of the hill."

There was quiet for a moment, "Take your prize."

She felt the slimy tongue as it licked at her leg fur. He was a base creature with base desires. As such he was easy to control. Give him a small taste of heaven and he would follow her commands without question. Still, this Brotherhood of Steel was something that she believed could potentially aid her. They would lead to the destruction of the empire, they would eliminate the enemies of her people, and then she would find their ruler.

Her time with Zorzal has taught her much. It had taught her the need for seduction. It had taught her the use of her body. She could find the ruler of this Brotherhood of Steel. She could trap his senses, and she could bring his power to her own. She would take the seat of power, and then if needed allow herself to have a child. That child would cement her place as a ruler. Only then when the ruler become fraile, and she would dutifully take care of him until he passed.

She would take the reins of the Brotherhood of Steel, and then she would lead them to conquer all of those that had sat back and allowed the subjection of her people. She would watch them fall, and she would enjoy the euphoria of it. Let the fools see their folly too late. Still, it had to wait until she could release her unfortunately born human sister. She would become her confidant, she would become her friend, she would be the older sister she needed.

She smiled as she considered what would happen, "She will see me as her savior, and when the time comes, I will take back all that was stolen from us."

There was much that needed to happen. There was much that would happen, and she could only hope that Zorzal's lust and lechery wouldn't be enough to break her. If she could manage to hold on until she had more of the ear of the fool, then she could work to release her. She would explain what needed to happen, how she would have to act the part of a servant.

It would be difficult, she knew that, but difficulty was not something that warriors shied from. It was something they experienced. She knew that it would make them harder, cause them to become like steel themselves. She trusted that this sister understood that.

Marquis Casel El Tiberius

The sound of the Imperial Senate floor was oddly quiet as Marquis Casel stood before his peers. Many could claim that the Marquis was the true definition of a progressive. He'd suggested reforms that would assist in turning the capital into something far more level and grand than it already was. His ideas had been to institute a basic teaching system that would ensure that even the commoners that lived in the capital would have access to basic education.

He'd suggested that the lowest members of the guard be given the chance to further earn their keep by patrolling the districts of the capital where dangerous individuals often retreated to. His ideas went against the grain, but there were many who believed in him. His views had earned him the name of the people's senator, and of course there were members of the Royal Family that despised him all the more for it.

He looked across the open floor at one such individual. Why Prince Zorzal felt a need to be here he had no idea. The Prince barely participated in the senate meetings. It was usually Princess Piña Co Lada that actively took part in the Senate meetings. The Princess saw a need for the reform that he often spoke of, and he was thankful that she at least understood the need for it. Prince Zorzal however saw the reforms as a waste of funds. If he commented on it, which was rare, it was to state that those funds should be moved into the military.

To say that the Prince was short sighted would be a disservice to those who were indeed short sighted. Still, he held his judgment and tongue. Today was necessary. He needed to press this issue for all it was worth. He needed to in order to make the various changes that were needed, and to stop the unneeded attempts of invasion that had been happening.

"We stand in a place we have never stood before," he spoke as he stood before the senate, "We stand at what could be the very beginning of our end. Scouts have reported back that all of the forces of the surrounding nobility have either been eliminated, captured, or turned bandit after escaping Alnus Hill."

There was a quiet murmuring among those gathered, "I understand the confusion, but hear me, we are talking about a new force that eliminated fifteen thousand bandits in a single day," he said as he looked at them, "A force that did so in minutes, not hours, and with very little effort. Would we unleash this force upon ourselves? Would we invite that kind of insanity here?"

The murmuring stopped, and he studied those gathered, "They only seem to retaliate, and not once have I heard of them striking first. Now is not the time for invasion, but rather it is the time to call a truce."

"Coward," Prince Zorzal said as he stood, "You are a coward, and all of you are cowards for listening to him. His pompous complaining is that of a bloated whore. He speaks of truce when we have proof that the enemy is just as frail as any other mortal."

"My Prince, how do you know this?"

Prince Zorzal snapped his fingers, and two guards dragged a strange looking woman forward. She fought against the chains, she tried to get away, and then he neared her. A resounding slap echoed through the amphitheater, "This is one of their knights!" he shouted as he grabbed her hair and made her look up at them, "She's nothing more than a plaything, a slave captured to slate the lusts of the one that claimed her!"

He slapped her again, "She's nothing, a mere worm to be used, and are we supposed to be afraid of this?!"

Marquis Casel El Tiberius was of two minds. The first was that the Prince had created a situation that they would be hard pressed to undo, and the second was that he had never seen a slave so unbroken before. She had obviously been put through the extensive training for all slaves, and yet she had not submitted to her fate. There was a fire in her eyes, and it was one that he knew all too well. She was hungry for vengeance, and she would have it.

He looked at the Prince in pity. The fool had signed his own death warrant. If her people, the same that had defeated so many bandits, came looking for her they would destroy them all. Even if the royal family was to give them the Prince he doubted that it would be enough. Even if Emperor Molt Sol Augustus was to have his son's head separated from his shoulders, stuck onto a pike, and then presented to this force it wouldn't be enough.

What the Prince had done was spit in the face of a power they did not fully understand, and more to the point he'd done so in the worst possible way. He looked at the display, and he shook his head, "Prince Zorzal, have you observed ants before?"

The prince stood there, "What, those disgusting insects?" he asked, "What of them?"

Marquis Casel El Tiberius studied him, "To most, even other insects, a single one of them is harmless enough, but they are seldom alone," he said as he studied him, "They are able to take down others far larger than themselves, more dangerous and powerful, and they do not relent."

The Prince studied him, "And what does this comparison have to do with them?!"

Marquis Casel El Tiberius breathed in, and slowly released that breath, "My Prince," he said as he looked at him, "One thing I've noticed that is they attack far more viciously, far more dangerously, when one of their own has been taken or killed. If ants can do that, do you not think that perhaps this force can do more?"

The others looked at each other, and he knew that they would agree with him, "What has happened here, what we see here, is an invitation to war, and it is one that we cannot enter," he said simply, "We cannot enter this war, because if we do then they will destroy all that we hold dear. We cannot enter this war because they will swarm us like ants."

The Prince again gestured to the captured knight, "And I again say that if this is the best that they can produce then we have nothing to fear!"

He looked at them, his face holding a wicked snear, "If they want to die so badly let them come," he replied, his voice full of arrogance, "I'll ensure that their deaths are slow and painful. None shall impose themselves upon our empire."

Knight Stephanie Prophet

Once more she was dragged away, and once more she fought. What was happening was well against her will. She had felt the sun, the clean air, and she had been outside. She desperately wanted to escape. She understood that she knew nothing of the surrounding area, but she needed to escape. She wanted to be free of her captivity. Old buried memories had slowly been creeping up on her. Memories that had been buried under her faith. Memories that the father had seen fit to ensure wouldn't bother her.

It'd been a strange device, something that looked like a monitor attached to a gun, and it had been used on her. She couldn't remember much exactly from between seeing the strange weapon to the moment when she came fully to her senses. She remembered the individual though. One of Paradise Falls' slavers was looking at her like a piece of meat. She'd been a caravan guard at the time.

Four years ago, Capital Wasteland, Near the Republic of Dave

It was hard, heavy work, but work that she enjoyed. She was allowed to travel across the capital wasteland, and she helped protect the goods and services that the merchant distributed. They'd gone to the Republic of Dave, the merchant had traded a few basic goods with them, and then they received some bottle caps. Once leaving the merchant had mentioned that there was rumored to be a vault around the area.

Personally she liked to avoid the things. Vaults more often than not were death traps, but he'd wanted to see if they could find it. His reasoning was that if it hadn't been looted already there could be some goods inside worth trading. So, they moved toward the area he had spoke about. On the way they came under fire, and she had protected him. Her fellow guard began to help retreat, and she covered them as best she could. Soon they were getting further away, and she was making a retreat while firing at their attacker.

When the merchant had managed to fully get away she began to make her full retreat. Her job had been to ensure the safety of the caravan, and ensure the safety of the merchant. With both duties fulfilled she was ensuring her own safety. She knew that the next location they would be heading to was a safe neutral location, and she could meet up with them there. Getting away from their attacker she took shelter in a prewar house that had been boarded up except for the old fallout shelter built under it.

The place was one that she had discovered on a previous trip, and it was a place that she had set aside as a sort of safe house in case things ever went sideways. Getting to the fallout shelter she walked down the steps and flipped a small switch on the wall. The sound of the fusion generator kicking on made her smile, and she looked around at the shelves of the shelter. There had been food, purified water, and some Nuka cola that had been stored down here.

It wasn't paradise, but it was safe. At least it had been safe. A sound caught her attention, and she looked up to see a strange device pointed at her. She brought up her rifle, but then everything got fuzzy. When she came to she was stripped bare, her weapon laid on a table, her armor was stacked near it, and looking at her goods was a face she would never forget.

He was dark complected, his hair was a sandy brown, and he had a single scar that ran down the side of his face. It had cut through one of his eyes, blinding it, and leaving him with a single blue eye. He glanced at her, "Ah, good, I was hoping that this damned thing actually did what it was supposed to. You wouldn't be worth shit if you didn't react or move. You'd just be some cock puppet."

She struggled, and he walked toward her, "Go ahead and struggle cunt," he sneered, "Go ahead and try to get loose, but first I'm going to see how the goods are."

She'd actually collected a few of the Chinese Army training manuals, and she'd learned more than a few fighting techniques from them. When he stepped closer she kicked out her leg, catching him, and causing him to fall to the ground. When he did his face fell toward her knees, and that was perfect. She opened her legs, wrapped them around his head, and then twisted her hips violently. The snap of his neck was satisfying. He laid there spasming for a few moments before she released him. She then began to work on her hands. They were tied with military grade duct tape, but he'd tied it to what felt like an old bed post. She began flexing it against it, pulling it, and she could hear it starting to tear. After a few moments she pulled her hands loose. She flexed her hands, and then she looked at the now dead slaver. She spat at him, gathered her armor, her weapon, and she quickly dressed.

When she was done she gathered a few things, and she headed back out into the wasteland.

Present time - Near the Dungeon

The resounding slap caught her face, and Knight Prophet felt a tooth breaking. She spat blood and looked defiantly at the Prince. He glared back at her, and he slapped her again, and then again, "Drop her."

The guards released her, and she stood. Her hands were still bound, the shackles had dug painfully into her wrists as she had attempted to escape. She glared at him, and she felt hate inside of her very soul. Hate for what he was, hate for what he'd done to her, hate for the royals of this country. If she had access to a mini nuke she would have dealt with him. And then she shook her head, "Father, forgive me," she said softly, "forgive me for wanting to take his life. Forgive me for wanting to end him."

"Stop talking like that!" he shouted as she felt his fist connect with her stomach. She didn't cough, she didn't show that he hurt her, but instead she kicked out hard, catching him in the stomach as well.

He did not hide his hurt, and she smiled as he dropped. She was captured again, and this time his eyes shined with hate, "Strap her to that hitching post, NOW!"

She felt them pulling her, and she understood what he was saying. She heard the sound of something being grabbed, "If you want to act like an unruly horse, then I shall break you like one!"

The first lash cut deep into her skin. She clenched her teeth. Once more she would attempt to deny him. She knew that he despised her praying, and so breathed out, "The Path of the Righteous woman is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," she said before the whip struck her again. She felt it bite deep, and she knew that her skin was being ripped. She held in the screams, and instead closed her eyes, "Blessed is she who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness."

"I said to SHUT UP!" Zorzal screamed in anger as he whipped her again, "SHUT UP!"

She felt her legs starting to give out, "For she is truly her sister's and brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon ye with great vengeance and terrible anger, and ye shall know my name is the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon thee!" she shouted the last part before the whip found her back. She felt her back burn for a moment, and then it started to fade.

"Thank you father," she whispered as the pain began to dull, "Thank you."

"Ugh, take her to the healers," he groused before he moved toward her, "I will break you, I will have you cower before me like the worthless whore you are."

He slapped her again, but she didn't feel it. For a moment she saw something, a faint outline, it looked almost angelic and she stretched her hand toward it. The form seemed to move toward her, and she could hear it softly whispering that her faith was not misplaced. She didn't feel herself dragged, she didn't feel anything. She was completely numb, and she was thankful for it.

Sarah Lyons - Alnus Hill

The reports coming back from the otherside of the gate was a mixture of good and bad news. Sarah looked at the reports, and she felt the absolute dread of what was coming. Adam had returned, and he'd brought with him members of the Enclave that wished to join the Brotherhood. There was a total of six officers, and then what made matters difficult was the fact that something that shouldn't exist anymore was there.

The boogie man of the wasteland was alive. Frank Horrigan was apparently recovered from the oil rig that had been the base of operations for the Enclave, and he had been restored by the efforts of the current enclave. What they had done, and how they had done it was beyond her understanding. She knew that their own scribes would likely go through the records that were kept, but for now he was apparently obeying the orders of the highest ranking Enclave Officer there.

She looked at the photo of Major Alexandra Southland. The woman was brunette, had a fair complexion, and from what she could see was in decent health. From what information she was sent her role was more or less as the new defacto president with the death of John Henry Eden. It also meant that the loyalty Horrigan was showing was less to her and more to her position. What information she had over Horrigan was bad enough that she knew it would take most of their forces to defeat him.

That was if they were able to gather most of their forces for a single strike. Adam's own report had stated that he shrugged off three direct hits from Cthulhu's Gambit. That would be the same as being hit by a mini nuke three times. Likely it would take hitting him with the same kind of nuke that Liberty Prime had carried. That was another possibility. She knew that his parts had been gathered, and that repairs were already started.

If they could get Liberty Prime back online then he could deal with Horrigan if the worst was to happen. But it could be months, maybe years, before they could fully restore him. The other option would be to approach the Outcasts. There were reports about sentinel A.I. operated Power Armor they were using. If they could obtain the technology of those sentinels then they could incorporate that into other power armors.

It would give them a better chance against Horrigan if the worst was to happen. She nodded at the thought, and she walked to the radio. This would be a call straight to her father, and she would relay her idea and opinion. It would mean that she wouldn't see Adam for another couple of weeks, and she hated that. She wanted him back, but before anything else she needed to be sure that both sides of the gate were protected.

Get the technology for the sentinel power armors, and restore Liberty Prime. This was going to be an interesting talk indeed.