"In the interest of finally...finally...uniting the Commonwealth, I introduce to you: Grand Inquisitor Tektus.", the General told the assembled council.

The representatives were a bit quieter than their past meetings. Even pensive. "And who is 'Grand Inquisitor Tektus'?", Hancock offered.

The General replied. "Tektus is a high ranking member of the church of the Children of the Atom. He's effectively the leader of a congregation."

"And how does this unify the Commonwealth?", Trish continued.

"His congregation lives at Nucleus, what was once a submarine base before the Great War. I believe any threat of his community has been removed. If the council can see the same, then the Nucleus may start the process of participating as a community in the Commonwealth. Given such a status as well as the additional room at the Nucleus, the various populations of the Children of Atom may all eventually reside there. Since the Hubologists have about the same population as Atom Cats Garage, I can envision them becoming part of the council as well. And with that, every community capable of abiding the Constitution and the rule of law in the Commonwealth will be part of the government - of the people, for the people.", the General surmised.

"So I'm not expecting you to hammer out an agreement with Tektus right now. I've brought him here to show that we are not the bad guys. So that he can meet you all and see that his community has similar interests and that the Commonwealth is not the Nucleus' enemy...anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Old Man Stockton jumped on.

The General shifted in her seat. "The Minutemen may have forcibly seized the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Discovery and be currently occupying the Nucleus."

And that's when the table jumped into the usual commotion.

"We just ended the war with the Gunners and you started another?", Gineva cried out.

"I told you that I was going to get to the bottom of the investigation. And that's what I was doing.", the General defended herself.

Captain Avery jumped on that. "And did you? Because I don't see how you'd be inviting Tektus in if he did, even if you're willing to forgive all the damage his group has done to our fog condensers."

The General agreed to the point that she could. "Yes, the Nucleus has been cleared of launching the nuclear weapon that destroyed Gunner Plaza."

"Doesn't that shake out to square one?", Roxxy asked. "Won't this be a cat's cradle?"

"No, eliminating a suspect doesn't set our investigation back.", the General defended. "Every piece of information pushes out investigation forward."

Avery stated the obvious assessment. "Does it though? You've had Publick Occurrences clear your people, here at the Minutemen. You've demanded that we open our doors for the same inspection, clearing communities with even the reputation of Goodneighbor and Vault 114 and even the Institute. The end of the war and the acquisition of the marine corps allowed the clearance of the Gunners themselves. And now we've cleared the Children of Atom at the Nucleus.

"The other Children of Atom settlements don't even approach having the intact infrastructure to attempt something like this. The Hubologists are notoriously and single mindedly concerned only with their attempts to get off the planet, leaving no room to destroy this one. If any raider group did this, they wouldn't be random raiders - and besides, you've freed Nuka-World. Supermutants aren't smart enough to do this and why would they?

"Who's left? Honestly, no force in the Commonwealth is left that could have done this."

The captain and hence mayor of Far Harbor was interrupted. A Minuteman burst into the room. "Sorry, ma'am."

"With the council present, soldier?", the General objected. "Really?"

"Again, sorry General.", the Minutemen reiterated. "But Radio Freedom said that 'the tower warning triggered'. I asked him what that meant but he said to nevermind and burst into your meeting and tell you."

The General clenched her eyes shut. "Not now...alright. Did he say anything else?"

"Yes, General. He said that you'd be in the air in three minutes."

"Okay.", the General said mostly to herself. She took a deep breath. "Okay.

"You get back to Radio Freedom and see if he can get me an intercept point before I'm in the air."

"What's going on?", Hancock asked as the Minuteman left the room.

"The last group of people who could have done this nuclear strike may be doing so again.", the General spit out.

Just as the room started to panic, the General slammed her hand down on the desk again and again until the representatives were finally quiet.

"I don't have a lot of time to tell you it's okay. But I've tried my best to ensure that it is.

"After this incident, Colonel Brandis with the help of Radio Freedom have rigged the repeater antenna found across the Commonwealth into a kind of early warning system. If something violates Commonwealth airspace, or a big enough object with enough reflective properties comes close, then Radio Freedom gets a notice. This allows Colonel Brandis to put his new project to work under my authorization. Our vertibird fleet converges on me and I will fly out to face this threat head on as best I can.

"So I have to go. Now.

"That doesn't mean to disrespect Tektus' time here. He, and more importantly - his people, have a lot to offer their neighbors in the Commonwealth and deserve to enjoy the fruits of the same. My ensuring the safety that you, and his people should they join us, enjoy doesn't mean I am turning my back on this in any fashion.

"Sorry, I don't have any time. I have to go."