"General sighted! Over.", the Sargent called into his APC's ham radio.
"What have you got?", was the reply broadcast back. "It's not like I can just grab at Colonel Brandis' time anymore. Over."
"My crew is looking at that shifting hue of pre-war Quantum painted X-01 armor. Now if Nuka-Cola produced a bunch of them, I'll delay my report. But if not, I think command is gonna want to get a vertibird out here pronto. Over."
"Roger that. Consider recovery in motion. And put in for Radio Freedom to get you another crew. Over."
With the state of things being what they were, they were much more likely to get that reinforcement. The crew encountered the power armor and its characteristic gleam on a run from the Castle to Goodneighbor. There were units to the north and south available. Well, now that the shooting of the Gunners' attacks were over.
Fronts no longer existed. The Commonwealth, or at least what was left of it, was completely under Minutemen operational control again. Aside from Vaults 75 and 95. Vault 75 was negotiating its opening. Vault 95 was expected to crack in a matter of days according to the surviving Gunners that had kept it supplied. Even though Colonel Shaw had argued for pouring concrete over the entrance and letting the sole remaining hostile force of Gunners try to chip their way out.
The APC rolled up to the power armor, which was clearly the Quantum coated model with slapdash Minutemen markings. It slowly, oh so slowly, took steps north. The APC stopped and its crew disembarked.
"General!", the Sargent called out.
The armor looked as if tried to spin but couldn't quite muster the strength to turn that suddenly. Once it did face the Minutemen crew, the General took off her helmet. "You gentleman wouldn't happen to be carrying a FUSION CORE?"
The Sargent now saw some of the state of the General. "We also have a BOWL OF NOODLES, PURIFIED WATER, a STIMPACK, and a RADAWAY with your rank on it General.", he offered.
"Oh.", the woman commented. "That would be lovely."
The armor's back popped open and it seemed like the fastest Minuteman in the world leaped into existence to keep the General from hitting the ground.
The Sargent immediately started barking orders. "You, get her back to the APC and load her up. Corporal, find out where that vertibird is and get it here. Private, grab the FUSION CORE out of yours and get the General's on board. If there isn't room for yours and hers, then switch back and run yours and join me on the perimeter. Go."
A moment later, the General - still in full uniform and smelling like everyone else did for a change - sat in the APC trying to drink down enough to counter the overwhelming thirst of a STIMPACK.
"I failed.", she told the Minuteman set to watch over her.
"Failed, ma'am?" The Minuteman sounded confused.
"I set down the path that I put Major MacCready on.", the woman explained. "I took a set of Institute synths and went out to assassinate Colonel Cypress. I lost every single one of them. Hell, I barely made it back to our lines.
"Now this war will last forever."
The Minuteman stared out the back of the APC, over its now ramp instead of door. "Um...ma'am. The war's over.
"Gunner Plaza was nuked off the map."
This was the first bit of pep she showed since her recovery. "What?", the General demanded.
"Gunner Plaza went up in a heat flash.", the Minuteman attempted to explain. "I mean, we've been on this Castle Goodneighbor zone so I don't know exact specifics like you probably want, General. But yeah - the place was nuked. It's still piping hot from what I hear. And from what I hear tell, it came from the sky. Rumor has it that people saw a smoke trail across the sky just before the mushroom cloud."
"Corporal!", she snapped out. "Get that vertibird here, now. And tell Colonel Brandis he had better be on it. After that, push up to Radio Freedom and summon ever colonel to the Castle. And they better be informed about this nuclear strike despite my orders to the contrary."
