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

Chapter Nineteen - Alnus Hill - Sarah Lyons

"Now for the News," the sound of Three Dog's broadcast echoed over the camp, "Children, do you remember the days when there were an abundance of Super Mutants, Raiders, and Slavers all over the wasteland? Yeah, I do too. Things had gotten better, far better, but then last night we had a small settlement go completely quiet."

Sarah listened to the sound of Three Dog's voice, "What news we've found out is that a group of Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts moved through and took all of the supplies from the settlement. A traveling merchant happened to be passing by, and he's here today. Tell the listeners what happened."

There was static for a moment, "It… It was terrible. They slaughtered everyone. Men, women, children, everyone. The animals were simply taken and so were the crops they'd managed to grow. I normally trade with New Andel, and well, there wasn't anyone anymore."

"That's disturbing," Three Dog replied, "So, what else did you notice?"

The radio was quiet for a moment longer, "I saw the Outcast's mark left on one of the buildings. I'm sure that it was them, and I hope that the Brotherhood of Steel does something about them, and soon."

Sarah got up, and shook her head, she heard Three Dog say the same, but she couldn't believe that the Outcasts would go that far. Their actions were that of Raiders. They were already acting like Raiders. Adam had sent word of what had happened. So far a few of the former Outcast members had returned to the Brotherhood. Still, their actions had to be stopped.

She knew that Adam was due back with the group that left with him, but there were still a full dock of things she needed to get done today. Meeting with him would have to wait until after he was already here. It wasn't something she specifically wanted to do, but it was something that she had to do. Being the one in charge on this side meant that she was forced to ensure that everything ran smoothly.

The sound of the radio had changed as she began to get work. She heard the familiar song echoing as she began to direct the work around her. She couldn't help but sing along to lyrics as she pitched into the work they were doing.

"Some people say a man is made outta mud, a poor man's made outta muscle and blood. Muscle and blood, skin and bone, a mind that's weak and back that's strong. You load sixteen tons…" she sang as she helped move the supplies toward the mess hall.

To her surprise most of the other members of the brotherhood, along with several of the new residents had joined in singing the old song. Together the job was done far shorter than it would have taken for just those that were supposed to be moving everything to have done. She stood up and looked toward the entrance of the base itself. It was something she'd taken to doing throughout the day. Mostly it was because they would still have refugees that made their way toward the base itself.

What had started as twenty or thirty people had turned into well over a couple of hundred. The base, and the surrounding town, had grown to cover most of the hill itself. The protectrons had built the entire community from the materials present, and they had done so without stopping. She had to admit that having them doing the construction work had made everything far easier.

Still, as she looked there was the sight of one of the residents running toward her. The girl was one of the beast folk that had come to them for shelter. She was a young wolf girl, and she looked as if she was coming toward her with something important. She waited as the girl got near her, "Sentinel Lyons Ma'am," she said, her voice sounding strained, "Umm, there's someone here, they brought one of you, and you need to go, please go quick!"

She looked in the direction she ran from, nodded, and began moving toward the place she had ran from. The girl took off leading her, and she stayed close behind until they reached the entrance of the town itself. There she saw someone that she had believed to be dead. Knight Prophet looked almost as if she had seen the very worst that could be thrown at a person, and she was standing beside a few individuals that she didn't know.

"Sentinel Lyons?" Knight Prophet said, her eyes tearing up, "Sentinel Lyons, Knight Prophet returning."

Sarah waved off her standing on ceremony and moved toward her. She hugged the knight close, "We believed that you were dead sister," she said before let her go, "What happened?"

The beast woman beside her looked at them, "She was captured," she said, her voice tight with emotion, "Like me she was beaten, raped, tortured, and these helped her to escape."

Sarah looked at those gathered, "you have my thanks," she said in the common tongue, "What you've done here is nothing short of extreme bravery and you will be rewarded for your efforts."

The man shook his head, "Please, don't misunderstand, I was hired to do this," he said as he looked at her, "There are those that want to maintain friendly relations with you. That isn't that I wouldn't have freed her anyway, but I was specifically hired to free her. I have already been promised a reward."

She nodded, "Then you will be given one here as well, come, at least allow us to treat you to a good meal before you depart."

He nodded, and they followed them up the hill. Sarah helped support Knight Prophet, and while she looked healthy there was no denying that it looked as if much had happened to her. Hearing that she had been tortured, raped, and put through so much filled her with an incredible amount of anger. It was almost like Paradise Falls was over here as well. That was certainly one of the last things that this world needed.

Questions filled her mind. Questions she had absolutely no doubt would cause problems. But Problems were something that the Brotherhood of Steel had experience in fixing. The Capital Wasteland had been worked on in an attempt to return it to its former glory. The idea was to continue the rebuilding and spread it across as far as possible. With the Gate there was more of a chance to see the wasteland itself changed.

There was a very real chance to see it returned to its prewar splendor. That was something she wanted to see, but she didn't doubt for a moment that it would take an exceptionally long time to get there. Sure, there were tools like the G.E.C.K.s that were left over from Vault-Teck. Those devices that were designed to allow the vault dwellers that were leaving their vaults to recreate the world as best they could.

The resources from this world would do more of the same, but despite that she knew that whatever had happened to Knight Prophet was likely going to be something that would end in conflict. The thing was she wasn't going to stop it. She had a stance against slavery, against slavers, against rapists, and against raiders regardless of where they came from. Her stance was simple. Ensure that the innocent were protected, and the guilty were charged. They made their way up the hill, toward the medical tent, and once there Knight Prophet was given the chance to rest while Saw Bones examined her.

"HooRah," the repurposed Mr. Gutsy said as it examined her, "I can see evidence of healed trauma. From what I can detect she's been beaten within an inch of her life multiple times. There are places where bone has healed, remarkably well, but the evidence that they were broken is still there."

Sarah stood there, she bit her tongue as she listened. When Saw Bones was finished she looked at it, "Thank you."

"Knight Prophet, Stephanie, I need to know what happened."

She looked at Sarah for a moment, and she could see the pained look she had, "I escaped from my power armor before it exploded. One of the enemy troops managed to knock me out. I was tied up, and I was brought to a place in this world. It was their capital, and once there I was sold twice. The first time it was to some slaver that pawed at me until I managed to catch his hand." she laughed slightly, "The second time it was the Crown Prince. He set about trying to break me. I… I really don't want to talk about this."

The beast woman that was with her looked at them, "Do you speak our language?"

Sarah nodded, "I do."

The beast woman nodded, "He raped her, multiple times, he took everything from her, he cursed her, beat her, and she never surrendered," she said her eyes on Stephanie, "He did the same to me. I was chieftain of my people. Their leader, and he… There were terrible things done to both of us."

She looked at her, "Whatever happens to him, to them, it is too good."

Sarah looked at her, "I see," she said as she stood, "I will converse with my father, and I will explain what happened. Adam should be back by now, and I think that it is time that we have a discussion with the princess as well."

She closed her eyes, and she tried to consider what was going to happen. She didn't want to simply integrate the princess. There was every chance in the world that she likely didn't know that something was going on, but at the same time she was their contact with the Empire. She was their connection to one of the major governing bodies of this world, and she surely had some clue about slavery in general.

If she knew about the possibility of slavery, then it was likely that she knew about the possibility of individuals from their side of the portal that had been taken as slaves. She shook her head, stood, and looked at the ones that were there with her, "I will return, shortly."

She stepped out, and she looked for a moment. It wasn't difficult to see Adam. He'd made his way back through, and she was glad to see him. She'd received reports on everything that he'd done, and of course she knew about the dangers that were present on the other side of the gate. The dangers with Horrigan were far more than worrisome, but at the same time there were situations here that needed to be dealt with.

"Adam," she said as she neared him, "Adam, is Princess Piña Co Lada here with you?"

He nodded, "Sure," he replied, "She's in the mess right now. We've just gotten back, and I was about to escort her back to Italica."

Sarah nodded, "Hold off on doing so. We need to have a little chat with her."

She knew that he knew her well enough to know that something was bothering her. She wasn't going to try and hide it from him either. He was simply too good of a man, too good of a person. She felt his hand touch her own, and she didn't rip her own away from him. Instead she took his hand as well, "So, want to tell me what it is that you need to talk to her about?"

She looked at him, "Knight Stephanie Prophet is alive," she said, the answer just rolling out of her mouth, "She's alive, and she was taken prisoner, made into a slave, and she just reported back that the crown prince was the one that did it. There's a lot of other information, way too much honestly."

Adam stood there for a moment, "Do I need to get ready to do what I did to Paradise Falls?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think so, but we can't let this slide either. An example is going to have to be made. I plan on telling Father about it, and I know that he'll have an idea of what we should and shouldn't do."

She had a feeling what her father would want to be done. Owen Lyons was often considered to be soft when it came to the wastelanders. He actively took the idea of protecting them and expanded upon it, but he did not have a soft spot when it came to raiders or super mutants. His policy was to ensure that raiders, slavers, and super mutants were dealt with. He ensured that there was an example made, and she knew that the same would come to pass here.

The one thing that might help in the favor of those that had captured Knight Prophet was that there were other chapters of the Brotherhood of Steel that likely agreed with him. Since that was the case he would most likely be in communication with them, and the other elders would likely give their opinions on the matter. Her father was someone that did value the tactical opinions of others. He would value the tactical opinions of the other elders when it came to what their move would be. She looked up to see someone else stepping over to them.

She saw Star Paladin Vargas, "Ma'am, I was informed about Knight Prophet," he said, "It would be my personal pleasure to ensure that the entire empire is leveled. I know that we have multiple mini nukes available, and I'm certain that if needed we can get a few tanks combat ready as well."

She shook her head, "Hold off on that for the moment," she said as she looked at him, "I'm going to question the Princess, and then I'm going to contact my father. I'm hopeful that this was the action of a single individual, and not something far deeper."

He studied her, "Ma'am, if it was one individual, we will be able to discipline him as we see fit?"

The question was simple, it was out there, and she knew exactly what it meant, "I'm going to demand that we at least be able to teach him some manners."

Star Paladin Vargas nodded, turned, and began to walk toward the mess hall. She looked at Adam before she relaxed her shoulders. The weight of the entire world seemed to be resting on her shoulders today, and there was no way of lifting them off. She was stuck holding it, and she understood that it was exactly what she was supposed to do. She was the one in command here, and that meant that the hard decisions were ultimately up to her.

Yes, she was going to contact her father, but he would explain what he'd like to see happen. What was to happen would be left up to her. She would ultimately be the one to either engage in a full out war, or ensure that one didn't happen. She breathed out, "I'm heading into the mess."

With that she stepped into the mess hall, and she quickly spotted both the Princess and her escort. The two of them were talking about items that looked like they were from the other side of the gate. One was in a crystal decanter, and if she was to guess it was some kind of perfume. The other was a small book of some kind. She didn't focus on either, and instead she moved toward them.

"Princess, I need to have a word with you," she said, her voice baring no chance for refusal, "Immediately."

Princess Piña Co Lada stood and looked at her. She nodded, and soon both she and Boses followed her from the table they were sitting on. The two of them followed her to the medical building where they saw someone lying on a bed. Sarah looked at them both, "This is Knight Stephanie Prophet," she said her voice harsh, "She was liberated from the palace where she had been kept as a slave. One of my people was kept as a slave, a toy, for the crown prince, and I need to know if you had any idea about it."

Her voice was harsh, and she was certain that it most likely sounded like acid being spilt on to flesh, but to her credit the Princess didn't flench, "No," she said, her voice sounding as if she was seeing something for the first time, "No, I did not know that any were captured."

She looked at Sarah, "You said that my brother, Princess Zorzal, he was the one that had her captured?"

Sarah nodded, "From my understanding she was captured by a slaver, taken, and sold to the prince. After that he has abused her. If you didn't know, is there anyone else that would have known?"

She looked at her, and then after a moment she nodded, "My brother's counselor. He often accompanies my brother, makes suggestions to prepare him to take the crown, and has set his own eyes on becoming the prime minister," she said as she stood there, her face caught in an expression of fury, "He would have had her used as an example of the potential weakness of the Brotherhood of Steel. If she was weak enough to be captured, then the same would be said for you all."

She turned her head, "I would not have approved of this."

"And neither did the one that wanted her freed," came a voice that Sarah had heard before. She looked up to see him basically exit the shadows, "I'm not to give a name, because he doesn't want his actions to be used against him, but he wanted to remain on good terms with the Brotherhood of Steel. Personally, I think that there's several people like him, but they're worried about the potential backlash that could be caused to actively oppose the Prince."

Sarah nodded, "Then I will make sure that all of them that want to remain on good terms, and the one that hired you specifically, are kept alive and well," she said, "They have my thanks for setting up her salvation. As for you, I said before that you are to be rewarded, and I meant it. I'll make sure that you are given a suitable reward."

He nodded, "That's nice, but what I really want is a chance to get back to where I belong, and honestly I'm going to have to wait a while beforehand. If it's at all possible, there's a specific place that I'd rather not see turned into rubble before the end of the next four months. After that, I'm fine with it, but not before."

She looked at him, and after a moment he shook his head, "I'm not native to this world either," he said after a moment, "I'm from a different one, and I'm guessing that you are the same. If I was to take a guess it's that gate behind you, but for us it was a sort of doorway. Some idiot created it on the world I was on, and it only opens once every six months. We've been here for two, so another four months and we can go home, so maybe hold off on leveling the capital until after then?"

She looked at him for a moment, "There's another gate?"

He nodded, "It has strict restrictions on it, so not everyone can just go through. In order to cross you have to be at a certain level, have certain skill points, and I know that not a bit of this making much sense, but look here."

He pulled out his adventurers' guild card and showed it to her. She could see that it was written in some strange language, one that they didn't know, but she saw numbers on it, "What's that?"

He looked at her, "That's my guild card. It shows what Level I am, how many skill points I have, and what skills I've learned. That doorway we came through takes a certain number of skill points to get through. In our case it took sixteen. Not a high number, but high enough," he said as he looked at her, "I'm hoping that it's the same to go back."

She nodded, "In truth I don't plan on leveling the capital," she said, and both of them noticed Princess Piña Co Lada's expression relax, "I've learned some of your language," she said, "Enough that I am pleased that you won't be destroying our people."

Sarah nodded, and she shook her head, "For now," she said, "I'll speak in your tongue, and I suppose that both of you can understand?"

Kazuma nodded, "Yeah, I can. Not going to go into how, but I can pretty much understand any language that I come into contact with," he said as he looked at her, "That said, thanks for agreeing not to level the place."

She nodded, "It's fine," she replied, and then she looked at the Princess, "Princess, I am going to believe that you had nothing to do with this, and I will do my best to ensure that everything works as needed, but I am going to request that you find those who ensured Knight Prophet's return to us, and see how many there are. If they want to secure peace between us, then I believe that it is something that we will need to establish quickly."

She nodded, "I will speak to a few members of the senate that I believe would have wanted her return. When I am certain of who it is I will explain that we need to work in order to secure a peace. Unfortunately, I believe that a demonstration will need to be done."

Sarah smiled, "A demonstration won't be difficult to give," she said, her voice confident, "I'm sure that we can give enough of a demonstration that will ensure that they will understand that we are not a creature to be provoked."

Kazuma looked at them, "So, they shouldn't be poking the tiger if they don't want the claws, huh?" he asked, "Makes sense."

He looked around, "If you need me my party and I will be hanging around for a couple of more days. Mostly, we will be looking to stock up on a couple of things," he said, "So, I don't mind to answer more questions, or if you need jobs that need to be done, we won't mind to do that either."

She nodded, "Please remain inside of the parameter," she replied as she looked at him and then at the Princess, "And Princess, we will ensure that you have an escort back, although I would strongly advise spending as much time as possible in Italica. Call it a hunch, but I doubt anyone that was connected to my knight's capture is going to be overly happy with her disappearance. More so, I doubt that they're going to be very welcoming to anyone that's talking about peace between our people."

She breathed out, "I must return to the capital," she said as she shook her head, "My subjects, and my order, both will need me there. I will inform them of a move to Italica, but I have to make an appearance first and foremost."

She nodded, "I understand, still, I'll ensure that you have an escort. Believe me those that go with you will ensure your safety, I guarantee it."

She nodded and she started to leave, "Will Sentinel Reeder be accompanying me?"

Sarah stopped, "Any reason?"

She looked at her, "He is quite wise, and I would like to know what his thoughts on this are. Perhaps he could give some indication of what he believes could be done."

Sarah looked at her and nodded after a moment, "I'll ask him if he would like to accompany you. I know that you'll be safe with him," she said as she began to turn around, "For right now please enjoy the mess hall, and make yourself comfortable. It shouldn't be long before you are escorted back."

Sarah walked toward the communication building, stepped inside, and grabbed the radio. She clicked it twice, and waited. The sound of the other end clicking gave her the all clear to speak, "Even the strongest walls have cracks," she said, "I repeat, even the strongest walls have cracks."

There was a moment of silence before she heard her father's voice, "And those cracks can allow in Rad Roaches, I repeat, and those cracks can allow in Rad Roaches."

She breathed out, "Elder Lyons, I have a report. Knight Prophet survived," she said waiting for a moment, "It normally would be happy news, but she was captured by a combatant. While captured she was tortured, raped, and put through emotional and mental stress. However, an adventurer was tasked with rescuing her, returning her, and asked to keep his employer anonymous due to fear of repercussions."

There was a little silence, "well, that certainly puts a damper on things," he said, "What is the general consensus?"

She looked ahead, "That the one responsible should be held accountable. The fact that others acted to have her returned states that it was not a move that was widely discussed or accepted," she replied, "Personally, I agree. The Princess is going to speak to the senate to see who might have hired the adventurer, and at the same time she is going to start peace talks. She did make a suggestion that I agree with. She suggested that we give an example of our displeasure."

There was a faint moment, and then she heard a short laugh, "Well, as it is we have actually gotten something to working. A Stingray has been salvaged. We believe it is fully capable of flight, and we have managed to find ballistic missiles for it. I believe it should be perfect for an example."