Next to enter the General's quarters that were being used as council chambers was Bannon. The crowded room saw a new person enter and quieted down.
The General held out her hand. After Bannon placed a paper in it, she made a show of reading it. "So Rivet City's council, of its own will, has voted to become part of the Commonwealth. The community's own representatives have decided freely among themselves on the behalf of and at the behest of their constituents and residents to join us?"
Bannon nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Why now? Why now after we installed roof top farming and water reclamation technology?", the General asked.
Bannon rubbed the back of his neck. "A lot of people still held faith that the Brotherhood was stronger than the Minutemen. Regardless of whether or not that is the case, people believed that the Brotherhood of Steel would come from Project Purity. After Colonel Bridget's taking of the Jefferson Memorial - that's not going to happen.
"So, I present to you - all of you - the formal declaration that Rivet City is part of the Commonwealth by its elected leaders. We'll do our best to act as a community and I've been elected to be the representat/"
"no, no, no, no.", Trish interrupted.
At the same time a call of "Pack that in, wet rag." from Roxxy.
Simultaneously, Quinn scoffed.
The ghouls looked around the room to find themselves the most vocal objectors.
"Vault 114?", the General asked.
"Rivet City may have been a pre-existing community. No one's arguing that. But they aren't us. They aren't even the Institute. They're at least Nuka-World.", Trish began.
"The Minutemen didn't have to occupy us. We came in out of the cold on our own. We came to you. We signed up ourselves. We've put in ourselves.
"The Institute's been putting bodies on the front lines. It pulled back to meet its own promises. Whatever you want to say, and I know it's a whole lot, the Institute's come clean so far in being a community.
"These assholes though."
"Hey.", Bannon objected.
Trish pointed a burned, leathery finger directly at him. "These assholes, though. They didn't ask for us to kick out the goddamn Rains makin', nuclear bombing, three time invading Brotherhood of Steel the Minutemen rescued them from. According to the articles in Publick Occurrences, they were in cahoots with the Brotherhood of Steel and didn't even sit down with us to dinner when there was a new boss. And not even on account of they didn't want to pay in instead of up. Just be some hard heads? You, General, gave them the freedom to make their own choices about how they would continue and they told us to go to hell until their canned terrorists killed enough of your men to make us go away.
"They didn't come in after we accepted Underworld to their north. They didn't come in after we accepted Point Lookout from far away. They didn't come in after the Rains when they were looking our boys in the eye.
"Now they want to become a community? So they can have the Minutemen outside their walls instead of inside? A vote to tell us what to do? No, they don't get that. I'm glad Rivet City finally decided to realize which side of its bread was buttered, but they're going to be a settlement until civilians get a good hard and long look at the place and like what we see."
Roxxy nodded. "Ditto."
"Underworld?", the General asked.
"I've come to understand that the communities that make up the Commonwealth have a history of difficulties with each other.", the ghoul rasped. "Apparently the Institute was a nightmare, particularly to Acadia. Diamond City kicked out the entirety of its ghoul population. Well, we may have the most history with Rivet City: just from being around longer than anyone else."
"How long is that?", Calvin asked.
Quinn turned in his seat to face him. "You're the vault man? We got founded the day after you did.
"Now, like I was saying. I'm not going to hold out some grudge, like pointing out that Rivet City can't claim a single ghouled resident. They want to act that way, that's their business."
"Doesn't square it.", Roxxy objected.
"Didn't say it did.", Quinn rasped. "But who has a society ready for this council? Who's prepared to keep a nation going? That's our business as a council for the Commonwealth. And Underworld hasn't seen anything to differentiate between Rivet City's take everything good for themselves and keep everyone out, looking down the slope of their nose, and what the Brotherhood of Steel does."
"Hey!", Bannon objected again.
"Howdy.", Quinn gargled back before continuing on. "There's no reason to think that Rivet City is anywhere near being able to participate in the Commonwealth as a community. Not because it lacks some resource, like a source of caps to contribute or muscle for the Minutemen. In fact, that aircraft carrier probably has more of that than anyone from the Capital Wastes so far. The fact is is that it doesn't want to. And if they say they do, I don't believe 'em."
"Underworld.", the General started. "You do understand that communities pre-exist the Commonwealth's...auspices, or at least our ability to reach them."
"Ma'am.", Quinn replied.
"A lot of what the Minutemen, a lot of what I've been doing is battlefield diplomacy. We can't go around inducting self-sufficient towns and their only choice is under my direct command. If I bring someone in and tell you it's a community that's joining us - whether its Tektus or the Institute or some other ghoul refuge - it is, that's how it has been, and that's how it will be."
"Understood.", the ghoul gritted out with a nod.
The General sighed. "That being said. Rivet City, thank you for your formal accession to the Commonwealth. The Minutemen will moving the Marine Corps out of your civilian space shortly, as we do with every civilian settlement. As a settlement, we will be employing it through the Minutemen. I will assign a sheriff to Rivet City as one becomes available. That sheriff speaks on authority I have vested, and will determine the necessary structure of the settlement."
"Now see here!", Bannon started.
"If Rivet City wishes to petition the Commonwealth for community status, the floor is yours.", she told him.
"I shouldn't...we don't have to petition the Commonwealth for anything. We joined because we were going to be, are a community. I was elected our representative." Bannon pointed at the General. "You can't take that away from me."
"Bigger men than you have taken that tone with the captain.", Avery warned. "Not for long. Not in front of me."
"Faster men, too.", Corbett told him. "I'm not going back to a time when that was somehow acceptable."
Bannon glared across the room. The expressions he met, from Pembroke's near pity to Farenheit mouthing various threats, slid that glare from his face.
"Are there any more questions before the council on the topic of Rivet City's petition for community status?", the General asked.
Dead silence and few folded arms were her answer.
"Is anyone motioning for a vote?", she asked.
"Motion to kaibosh this punk.", Roxxy muttered to a few giggles.
The General fixed Bannon with a gaze. "Since you're under direct Minutemen command, I'm hereby ordering you to instruct Harkness and Abraham Washington to prepare reporting to me for sheriff duty and a briefing on what I expect from the person I choose."
"Objection.", the Institute representative declared. "A3-21 is Institute property. Now that Rivet City is under Commonwealth jurisprudence, the Minutemen will return Institute property to the Institute."
The General folded her arms.
Faraday stood. "General, you can't be serious. If a synth has been residing as a respected and more importantly independent and free member of a community, then it would be more than reprehensible to bind him into slavery again."
"This council has the opportunity to render Rivet City a community and unanimously did not.", the other synth reminded.
"You keep reminding us that you're not sentient.", Faraday switched tactics. "How can you even sit on this council, let alone try to take the freedoms of someone who is?"
"A3-21 has not demonstrated sentience.", the Institute representative reminded.
"And if I required his use as sheriff of a settlement due to the data and capacity to process that data that has been accumulated over the previous years?", the General asked.
"Then the Institute would remind the General that A3-21 has done nothing to allay Rivet City's capitulation to the Brotherhood of Steel, showcasing the harm of the unit's malfunction. If you would like a more political objection, please note the unemotional nature of our raising the murder of Institute member Dr. Zimmer at the hands of the person nicknamed "Little Miss Bad-Ass" and current members of your Intelligence branch.", the synth informed.
"How about this.", the General asked. "Harkness will be given the sentience test. If he passes, the Institute will give up its claims. When he fails, the unit will be offered a choice of Acadia or Institute policy."
"If it passes, then the Institute demands that it be put on trial for the murder of Institute citizen Dr. Zimmer.", the synth countered. "Sentence: remanding to Institute jurisdiction."
"Only if he's guilty.", the General added.
The surface suit encased automotan shrugged. "Of course."
The General turned to Bannon. "New orders. Abraham Washington reports to me to interview for sheriff of Rivet City. Harkness reports to me sentience testing. The sooner I see them, the more...comfortable this transition will be."
"What am I going to tell the Rivet City council?", he asked.
"There isn't a Rivet City council.", the General explained. "It's very last act was to join the Commonwealth. As a civilian of the Commonwealth, you have a right to expression under the Constitution - so tell whichever of your fellow civilian residents whatever you like about your performance here today."
