1

Her, at least topside, ever present WRAP-AROUND GOGGLES didn't fool anyone into believing she wasn't glaring out at what was left of the Commonwealth. She told herself that she was imagining the harsh tint that colored just everything because her Pip-Boy told her that the radiation levels were...not normal, but what they were a week ago. And there was no evidence that the rad storm had set actual fire to anything. But she folded her arms tighter and stood firmer.

Just goddammit all.

One of the guards she had stationed at the stairs stepped aside. The General's head whipped around and saw that the intruder was dressed in Desdemona's usual disguise. The other woman approached her and responded to her testy "Passcode?" with drawing the Railroad marking for 'safehouse' with her foot on the stone wall in front of them.

The General returned to her glowering.

"I'm not one to silver lining things.", Desdemona told her. "But I have led a wholly ignorant force against a technologically superior enemy for decades. Experience counts."

"No one has ever experienced this!", the General hissed.

"You have.", the intelligence commander told her.

The General spun on her.

The other woman continued. "You came from a world that had your normal life, all your friends, a filled family. Then one day - Flash! And it was gone. You were left wandering a scorched wasteland with nearly everything you knew dead and a million things dying. You've done this before.

"If it were up to me, it would be ten men sitting underground waiting for death. Diamond City? Please. Vault 88? See them again in another hundred years. Those hard asses from Far Harbor? Well maybe, but not in any organized fashion.

"You're the only person who has lived through an apocalypse and built something on the other side. You're the only person who can handle it. So go handle it."

The General finally softened her stance. Desdemona handed her a stack of papers.

"Thank you, Colonel."

Desdemona nodded. "Just doing my job."

2

The guards had stopped everyone else coming up to see the General. Yes, it was really important. Yes, they knew who you were. Yes, they knew what was going to happen if the General did not see them right now. But she still took the time to read Intelligence' report of the Rad Storm thoroughly. Not because it was accurate - it was not. Not because it had recommendations - it did not.

But what else could she do? Ask people looking for answers questions? Try to debrief Radio Freedom over their voices?

She sat cross legged in the dirt at the top of the wall and read.

Sommerville - Total loss.

Egret Tours Marina - Sherrif Curie, sole survivor.

Red Rocket - Settlers evacuated to cave underneath main building. Cave radioactive. No contact.

Murkerwater Construction Site - Overrun by pink ghouls from Suffolk County Charter incited by rad storm.

Breakheart Banks - Total loss.

King's Port Lighthouse - Attempted evacuation to Longneck Lokowski's. Ghouls on site incited by rad storm repelled attempt. Any survivors out to sea?

Spectacle Island - Attempted evacuation by brown water navy to blue water then points unclear (Far Harbor? Point Lookout?). Remaining populace tried to ride out storm in shipping crates. So far, only ghouls spotted on island.

Diamond City - Lower stands residents, government officials and Diamond City Security evacuated to unclaimed spaces in Great Green Wall. Upper stand residents could not be accommadated, resulting riot cut short by rad storm. Upper stand residents evacuated to Fen Street Sewer - claim safety from "Fen Street Phantom" due to intervention of "the Silver Shroud". "The Silver Shroud" still unconfirmed to actually exist.

The rest of the list got better but only because the bar was set so low. Quincy suffering massive losses evacuating to Posiden Energy because it was just too far away. Hangman's Alley evacuating to a local subway station only to end up in a shootout with some new ghouled raider gang calling themselves the Tunnel Rats (with Sherrif Strong dead, giving his life for the people he was held responsible for the safety of - his last words being "Humans bullshit." when being told his heroism was the milk of human kindness he always quested for).

But the list continued.