"Ma'am?", a Minuteman interrupted as she walked back to the CB radio setup next to the Castle's broadcast tower.
She acknowledge him with a look.
"Colonel Brandis just called in. Says he's five minutes out and to clear the dock.", the Minuteman informed.
"Well, at least he'll make the speeches.", the General mused. "Wait. The dock?"
"That's what he said, General.", the Minuteman shrugged.
The General nodded and made her way back to the wharf and had the now sailors back their ship away. Her head turned at the chopping, whirring sound of propellers. Just as she was about to take that deep, pre-combat breath, the Minuteman ran up with another message from Radio Freedom. "Colonel Brandis sent in a call for a standown."
The General raised an eyebrow over her still in place WRAPPAROUND GOGGLES. "Tell everyone not to shoot first, but stay ready."
Soon enough, a vertibird hovered over the wharf. Colonel Brandis, dressed in a TUXEDO, slid down a rope and onto the dock. He waved the vertibird away while the General just held onto her hat.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Brandis?", she demanded once the air was quiet enough to speak in.
"Making an entrance?", Brandis begged. Seeing little sympathy, he continued. "The whole point of throwing this bash was to impress the communities that aren't your settlements. You had the numbers, the base resources and I don't even know how you managed to get a celebrity with the world being a wasteland.
But weapons become symbols of military might. The laser musket is symbolic of the Minutemen, and I'm supposing that's why you made sure everyone on duty for the ceremony is armed with one of the new IMs. The type 1 synth is a symbol of the Institute, and you've communicated quite clearly that you have their backing. But what the Brotherhood of Steel imparted wasn't an impression of power armor, thanks to the Atom Cats. The vertibird, and it's air power, became symbolic of the Brotherhood of Steel. It's important that the civilians see that you can match that."
"Firstly, you spoke in a lot of 'you' and no 'we' saying that. Don't think I didn't catch that, Colonel.", the General stated.
"Secondly, a little warning would have been nice. But since I can't fathom how you came up with the time to drag in enough parts let alone got a vertibird to fly, I understand that you didn't want to sell me on the idea of a vertibird and not deliver.
"Third - what other things are you planning and haven't told me."
The old man scratched the back of his neck. "Nothing, really. The closest thing motorpool could find to another vertibird is in way worse condition and a lot more pieces than that one was. We aren't going to be able to field another one without a whole lot more man hours than we put into the one you have."
"A vertibird is an impressive piece of machinery.", Mayor McDonough complimented as he walked up. His secretary followed him.
"Considering the amount of area that the Minutemen are responsible for in the Commonwealth, we have to use sometimes unorthodox methods to monitor.", the General stated smoothly and a bit too easily. "I didn't want to make a fuss by trying to land one inside the Castle's walls while everyone's here."
"That's good thinking.", Geneva stated.
The General nodded. Then the clanking sounded. It wasn't particularly loud considering the crowd that was already present. But it did signal the last dignitary.
"Excuse me.", the General removed herself from the conversation before making her way over the gate.
"Zeke, you're going to have to get out of that.", she informed the power armor clad Atom Cat. "You too Roxxy."
"That ain't how a man struts.", he replied.
The General sighed. "The whole Castle is filled to the brim, Zeke. I barely managed a bed for the mayors, my own troops are looking at starlight in bags - if the weather holds. A radiation storm comes through and I'm double booking soldiers and fusion cells in the armory.
"Look, I just had a talk with Colonel Brandis; my motorpool commander. Even he knows that the name Atom Cats is synonymous with hottest armor and mods around. No one's going to sully your reputation if you leave your rig on display here at the gate."
"Fine.", Zeke conceded. Or at least seemed to. "Just one lap, and I'll be chickadee in a tree."
The General glared at him. "Roxxy takes the lap - one. You dismount immediately, she parks her rig right next to yours right after."
Even his armor seemed to shrug.
"I'm not exactly joking here, Zeke."
"Alright.", he stopped. "Roxxy, wear it you like you mean it."
The newest Atom Cat saluted. She then proceeded to swing her arms about herself as she paced off into the crowd, calling attention to the paint job on her armor.
At least Kessler kept herself out of trouble. Then again, she didn't do anything but stand by the refreshments table writing down wish lists from the other mayors and various Minutemen for her traders.
Time to start.
