1
"And that was Atom Bomb Baby. Considering what's coming up, it was a bit more apropos than I was expecting.
"I have a very special presentation today.", Travis "Lonely" Miles continued. "In the studio with me is Minutemen survivor and Commonwealth hero, Preston Garvey."
"Colonel of Personnel will suffice.", came the calm reply.
"Well, first: thank you for stopping by.", Travis acknowledged. "But more importantly, why?"
"Unfortunately, as acting General and assumed successor, I've been informed that it is my duty to assure the people of the Commonwealth that we Minutemen will continue to serve as we always have. Our responsibilities are unchanged. And despite the current situation we will destroy the Brotherhood of Steel.", Preston answered.
Travis nearly scoffed. "Sorry to be unprofessional but why are we having a situation at all? Everyone already knows that the Brotherhood of Steel is too weak to fend off the Minutemen at this point. That's why their Proctor of Potions attempted to kill us all with The Rains. Their accusation is just another attempt at...what did Ms. Wright refer to it as - irregular warfare. They want to divide us, make us turn against each other and the one woman they know can defeat them."
Garvey agreed. "I understand that."
"And that's only so they can come in and take everything from us and enslave us if we were stupid enough to turn against her."
"I said that I understood that!", Preston repeated. "I apologize."
"Why don't you take a moment.", Travis advised. "And in the mean time, let me catch our listeners up. The Brotherhood of Steel's counterpart to Radio Freedom, a Mr. Three Dog, has started broadcasting that the General...you know, the one that's been confiscating nuclear weapons so they can't be used and launched a Commonwealth spanning investigation verified by the civilian press when one was set off...that the General herself was responsible for Gunner Plaza."
Preston informed, "And the General takes this accusation very seriously."
"No one else does.", Miles said plainly. "Nearly everyone I've spoken with has told me that they couldn't trick themselves into believing such a blatant lie. When I asked how they would feel if they were forced to say that the General had done the bombing, opinions ranged from "it had to be done" to "good". There hasn't even been an objection from the Marine Corps."
"I know.", Garvey agreed. "I've spoken with Bridget, Colonel of the Marine Corps, when she reported that Three Dog was broadcasting this accusation. Her sentiment was...murderous and directed at Three Dog."
"So why is the General slowing down the promised war effort over this accusation?"
Preston let out a breath. "She's too good a person. The General told all of us, her colonels, that the Minutemen need to ensure that on one is above the law. Not even ourselves. There's provisions in place for all of us to be responsible for our behavior and to the Commonwealth which we serve. Even though this accusation is ridiculous, she insists on answering for it."
"To who, though?", Travis asked. "Are you as Colonel of Personnel responsible for judging her?"
"No. We're servants of the Commonwealth. As such, she's going before the representatives the communities have sent. One, it would be a mess if she was held to the judgement of people who accept her orders all the time. Two, she's not the ruler of the Commonwealth. Government for the people, by the people. We serve you, your audience, the people of the Commonwealth. So that is who she is answering to.", Garvey explained.
Miles asked another question. "When will we know the results of this inquiry?"
Preston answered. "The General has already asked the council that no matter the outcome, she be granted an opportunity to speak to the press afterwards. Ms. Wright of Publick Occurences is going to be broadcast by Radio Freedom immediately after the inquiry and is already at the Castle. So I suggest you get all of your questions to her. I'll even carry them back for you if you want."
2
The council was in the General's quarters. Unlike other times, where the General was at the head of the of the joined tables, the tables were put askew into a V shape. The open space had the General sitting in her chair, even though it was just like the others that held representatives along the outer edge.
"I motion to exonerate the General, end this bullshit, and get her back to killing the Brotherhood of Steel.", Farenheit demanded.
The General sighed. "Goodneighbor, that's not exactly how this is sup/"
"I second the motion.", Roxxy interrupted. "And anyone who votes against it better explain to me how they were hurt more by the Brotherhood of Steel."
The General placed her face in her hand. "Atom Cats Garage: an accusation has been levied against the General of the Minutemen. That has to be taken seriously for there to be government for the people, by the people."
"Okay.", Phil Roller said. "So...did you do it?"
"No, of course I didn't do it, Hubologist Camp."
The gathering grew quiet.
The General let out a breath. "Vault 114, do you have something to say?"
Trish shook her head.
Thiel spoke up. "Is there any evidence at all that this is anything but a blind shot at the General?"
"There doesn't seem to be any, Nucleus.", the General admitted.
"Is there any evidence otherwise?", Thiel asked.
"Yes.", the clean room suit covered synth stated.
Kessler started yelling. "You had evidence that this was all a bunch of garbage and you just sat there like a rock?"
The synth responded. "Yes. The Institute knows that the General is innocent and will vote accordingly. You should know that the General is innocent and vote accordingly. Due to Institute history, it has been deemed that the Institute should vote after more than half of the assembly in order to showcase our contrition."
"What the hell were you thinking?", Faraday demanded.
The unidentifiable synth took up an annoyed tone for the first time. "As has been discussed in this chamber before, representative of the Commonwealth community of Acadia: this unit is not sentient. Therefore I was not thinking as I am incapable of it. It would behoove the representative of the Commonwealth community of Acadia to process this fact in a manner that informed and directed its future behavior."
"We're getting off track.", McNamara attempted. "What evidence do you have that the General is innocent?"
"The General's own Pip-Boy.", the synth answered. And then she stopped.
"How is it proof that she didn't do this?", Roxxy prompted.
"Ah.", the synth acknowledged. "The General's Pip-Boy is trackable by the Institute. We have a record of her whereabouts during any possible implementation of the launch, flight, and detonation of the nuclear weapon in question. Since the General was not near any sources of nuclear weapons during her time in the field unsuccessfully seeking the assassination of Colonel Cypress, she lacked the opportunity to perform this action."
"Alright. So are we done here, now, Captain?", Avery asked. "I mean, General."
The General gestured tiredly with a hand. "Sure. I...I just wanted to show that the Commonwealth's government is responsible to her people. And that it wasn't just sentiment and reputation that were running the show."
Later, the General explained to Piper how her unanimous declaration of innocence came about.
