Chapter 6: Siege

Ardon Rigs struggled to plow his field, his farm had fallen into a state of ruin due to King Beardsley's taxes and his food being taken by the Black dogs. What was worse was that they had taken his family from him as well. Both of his sons had been killed and his daughter taken to become a sex slave in Foeh leaving him all alone on a rapidly dilapidating farm. He let out a sigh before returning to his work when suddenly he heard what sounded like buzzing.

As he looked to where the sound was coming from. His eyes widened at the sight he beholden. Marching down his road was an army of blue colored soldiers, above them were what looked like six metal dragons. Returning his gaze to the column he could make out what looked like two headed cows either pulling wagons or strange metal objects with long tubes. In front of all of them though was who Ardon guessed to be the leader riding atop a beautiful black stallion he was flanked by three others. One was carrying a blue flag, the second who had darker skin looked to be his second in command and the third was either a bodyguard or another commander. He soon realized that the one on the black horse along with the black man were galloping towards him.

When the horses came to a halt in front of the farmer the man shrinked back out of fear of what these men might want. What happened next caught the man off guard.

"Excuse me sir? But would you happen to know how far we are from Foeh? The leader asked. He then dismounted his horse and walked up to the farmer and extended his hand towards him.

Ardon was confused, not only was this nobleman offering his hand in greeting but was looking at him with no form of disgust or discontent towards him.

Madison began to withdraw his hand seeing that he was clearly making the man uncomfortable and decided to try a new approach. Removing his hat he then said, "My name is General Garret Madison of the Commonwealth Minutemen. What is your name, my good man?"

Ardon realizing that he had been silent for longer than he had thought quickly stumbled to answer the now identified Generals Question.

"Ahh.. Forgive me my lord, I am Ardon Rigs. Please my lord forgive me for my impoliteness? I was simply caught off guard is all. Please show mercy I am but a poor farmer?" Ardon begged as he fell to his knees pleading for mercy.

Madison along with his men were puzzled. Mr. Ardon was acting as if he had just committed a horrible crime. Taking a second to think back on what the man had said, and then it hit him that the man had mistaken him for a local lord of this continent and now feared that he had somehow insulted him with his slow response as a form of disrespect.

Thinking quickly Garret stepped forward and lifted the man to his feet. "Sir you're not in any trouble and to clear your confusion I'm not a lord I'm just a general from another country." He said as he patted the man on the shoulder.

Ardon was relieved to hear that he was not going to receive punishment but was quickly knocked back in a state of surprise when he heard that the man in front of him was from another country.

After an explanation as well as some additional information and directions from Rigs the army was moving again. As the Minutemen left, Ardon felt a spark of hope reignite in his soul as if his prayers were finally being answered.

Kingdom of Foeh:

It had been nearly four weeks since Captain Manton and company had left Foeh to launch raids on more towns. Normally this wouldn't be of any cause for concern but it had also been some time since Manton had sent his last message which said they were going to be raiding a village they had come across. Though Priminister Beardsley remained calm about the situation he was starting to grow more impatient. "Damn it!" He shouted in frustration. "What could that excuse of a Captain possibly be doing to keep himself from reporting back to his lord?" He asked one of his advisors.

"Well my lord it is possible that he might have encountered difficulties." The advisor said with a look of unease on his face.

"Like what?" Beardsley asked angrily.

The advisor gulped hard before answering. "Well Lord Beardsley it's possible that they might have encountered Alliance forces while out raiding."

Beardsley tensed up at this thought. The idea of an Alliance army going undetected and no one reporting it was unlikely especially this deep into Black Dog territory. As he pondered what could be the reason when he suddenly remembered a rumor he had heard about a growing resistance movement. "Bah… It's more than likely he simply ran into remnants of the Alliance or a group of rebels and decided to give chase." He said as he sat down on his throne.

The advisor noded. "Yes my liege that is more than likely the cause of his late report."

"Well now that we have ascertained his tardiness we have nothing to worry about. Now I have some "other" matters I need to attend to." Beardsley said as he shooed away the man.

The advisor quickly bowed one last time before leaving the throne room. Once he was gone Beardsley twisted his lips into a cruel and lust filled grin. "Alicia come here my dear." Said as he licked his lips. Entering from a side room, Alicia Arcturus, former princess and ruler of Foeh, stepped forward, wearing next to nothing except a light blue bikini and a slave collar around her neck. She stopped and got down on her knees right in front of Beardsly. "Yes master?" she said as a hollow smile of sexual pleasure appeared on her face.

….

Minutemen Camp:

19:20 pm

10 Miles from Foeh

It was evening when Grace had rejoined the army. When she entered the command tent she saw General Madison and about half of his officers and command staff where either sprawled on the ground or had ice packs between their legs. What happened next caught everyone off guard. "BWahahahahaha. You guys look ridiculous." Grace blurted out laughing at the top of her lungs. All the officers could do was groan in frustration.

Her laughter was cut short when she noticed the heavy metal footsteps of Major Danse. She quickly turned around to see the imposing sight of a man in full X-01 power armor staring down at her. "It seems our new scout has forgotten her military etiquette." Danse said as he glared down at Grace who began to sweat out of fear and regret for her outburst. Before Danse could say anything Madison stood up.

"Danse! Stan…stand down." Garret said as he slowly rose to his feet the pain from riding his new horse evident in his tone. "Sergeant Campbell will be disciplined later. Right now we need to hear her report on the city's defenses." Danse stood to attention at Madison's order. "Yes sir." He replied.

Grace was relieved that her punishment would be put on hold till later but at the same time they couldn't blame her for her outburst. Garret did warn her that no one in the Commonwealth let alone the rest of the wasteland had ever seen let alone ridden a horse in over 200 years. A few more minutes passed as Madison and the rest of the officers regained their sense of military decorum and gathered around the map to hear Grace's report.

Grace revealed that though the walls surrounding the city were damaged they were still very much intact and would still prove to be a challenge to assault. She also identified multiple pieces of artillery in the form of ballista's and catapults, as for defenders she couldn't identify their numbers due to the risk of entering the city, would be for her. However what she did find out was that the guard changed every three hours. She also noted the sheer lack of discipline amongst the ranks and even among the traitorous knights also guarding the wall.

After Grace's debriefing she was dismissed so the officers could plan the attack. The plan that was devised one out of the history books. Step one the Army would be split into four groups of 500 with members of the artillery company to provide artillery fire on the wall. Step 2 subterfuge and illusion. The four battalions would make the force look larger than it actually was by lighting large numbers of camp fires just out of sight as well as deploying snipers to keep any scouts from performing recon and to shoot down any enemy messengers carrier birds. Step 3 bombardment the artillery company would begin firing on the walls for two to three days. Once that is complete step 4 the assault. This is where Maj. Danse's power armored company and the Commonwealth Air Force would come into play. Danse and his troops would be tasked with securing the main gate; he was also tasked with raising the Minutemen flag on top of the wall to signal the attack.

….

Foeh Castle: 7:30 am

Beardsley was enjoying his breakfast when a messenger burst into the room in a panic. "Good God's man, do you know where you are?" he shouted. Before he could continue to berate the man the messenger handed him a message from the wall commander. It said "My lord, an unknown enemy force has surrounded the city and is keeping out of range of the catapults and the ballista's. I Recommend a counter attack or asking for aid from King Vult." Beardsley dropped the message and then looked to the messenger. "Is this true?" he asked, his face growing pale. All the man did was nod his head in conformation.

…..

Siege of Foeh: Day 1

The first day went mostly without incident until noon when the Black Dog defenders attempted to attack the position of Col. Garveys battalion. The force that attacked consisted of mounted Knights and mercenaries attempting to force a breakthrough as well as test their new foe. Col. Garvey had foreseen that something like this might occur and had ordered machine gunners and sentry bots and men armed with grenade launchers to keep watch.

….

Sir Markus was overjoyed at the idea of slaughtering the foe. His commander had issued a prize of any bitch they wanted depending on the number of enemies they slaughtered and he was determined to kill more than everyone else. As he and his companions charred out of the gate they had already spotted the enemy and were in full gallop towards the enemies positions. As they began to get closer and closer he noticed something was wrong. The enemy was not fleeing or attempting to form any kind of anti-cavalry formation. That's when he noticed they were raising what looked like strange sticks or crossbows when suddenly. "BOOM" Markus was thrown from his horse as if the ground beneath him suddenly opened up and tried to eat him. Once the initial shock from being thrown from his horse had worn off he tried to get his bearing and locate his horse as he looked to where he had been thrown he found it. The animal's front legs had been blown off and was covered in shrapnel wounds and its face was twisted terror. As he climbed to his feet he bore witness to something out of hell.

Both man and beast were on the ground screaming in pain and agony. As he looked back towards the enemy he noticed that there was still a good number of horses still charging towards the enemy lines and where almost on top of them when suddenly there was what sounded like rattling noise and more explosions began and soon all that was left of the once powerful cavalry charge was gone all that was left were just bodies. Markus fell to his knees. He was experiencing many emotions all at the same time. Anger, fear, sadness. All turning his mind into a nest of madness as he tried to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

It was then he noticed two of the enemy approaching him. This was his chance he could kill these two as a means of revenge and then take their heads back to the city as trophy and then take his remaining aggression out on whatever whore he chose. He just had to stay still long enough for them to get close.

He could hear them getting closer and closer and just when they were right on top of him he acted. With a mighty battlecry Markus jumped to his feet raising his sword above his head and just before he could bring it down on were two loud BANGs and he was sent sprawling onto his back. Markus had been shot in both his chest and head and soon darkness came for him and he was gone.

…..

Siege of Foeh: Day 2

Castle Foehs Dungeon

Though the bombardment began yesterday. Primm was amazed by how long it was still going on. She wished that her cell had a window so she could at least see what was happening out there. On the bright side, since the attacks had begun no one had come down to the dungeon for her or any of the other girls down here. Now all she could do is wait and pray that the new attackers were here to liberate them and not keep them in chains.

Day 3: Foeh Merchant District

Though the bombardment had only begun less than a day ago, it had drastically changed the way of life for the people in the city. The streets as well as the market were almost completely abandoned. Only a few merchants and a few citizens braved the outside. Though it was clear that the bombardment was restricted to walls, that still didn't mean that a stray round wouldn't find its way towards the citizens' homes.

For three figures looming near the alleys, the lack of crowds made movement and remaining inconspicuous harder. The three quickly slipped into an old tavern. Inside it was filled with both men and women some wearing Princess knights armor, a few men wore full plate armor as for the rest it was a mix between chainmail and patch work leather armor. The only thing that uniformed them was a white armband with a wolf's head printed on it.

The leader of the three removed their hood revealing a head of purple hair. Valorie Strongbow was a woman who looked twice her age, she was exhausted. From trying to lead the resistance as well as remain on the run from the Beardsleys guards the former captain of the Foeh anchors had run herself ragged, and to top it all off she now had to listen to the constant sounds of explosions going off at almost all hours of the day. She and her companions swiftly sat down at an unoccupied table and waited for the barmaid to serve them.

"By the Gods what I would do for a full night's rest." Valorie said as she buried her face in her hands. Her other two companions then removed their hoods revealing one with long orange hair and one with short red hair.

The orange haired woman who was the tallest of the two was the first to speak. "Well don't blame me for it. It's not my fault that those guys in blue showed up with their magic weapons."

"Harriets right there's not a whole lot we can do except wait and hope they're either defeated or victorious." The redhead said.

Valorie could only roll her eyes as she sat back up in her seat. "I'm aware, Jill but would it kill them to at least stop for more than 30 minutes? I've already gone two nights without sleep." She said to the now identified Jill.

The three continued to sit and chat until a knight in full plate approached them. "Captain, it's good to see you again!" Valorie turned her head to see Sir William Damon.

"Ah Sir Damon, what do you have to report?" she asked.

"Well during the last pause between the bombardments I noticed that they were preparing something with their metal wyverns, as if they were attaching something to them."

This piqued the group's curiosity. "What is it that they are attaching to it?" Jill asked.

Sir Damon put his hand to this chin and began to think back to what he saw. "If I had to make a guess I would say it was some kind of large barrel's." He replied as he looked at Jill.

Before anyone could say anything else they noticed that something was wrong. The sound of the explosions had stopped but had been replaced with a loud buzzing sound that seemed to be getting louder and louder.

….

Minutemen Camp: 1 hour before assault

Engines were busy finishing up attaching rocket pods to five of the vertibirds. Colonel Jenny Long was overseeing the refits with General Madison who was now wearing his custom set of sturdy combat armor and blue fatigues.

"Sir I know don't you think we're rushing things? I know our time table has been accelerated but don't you think we should at least wait till tomorrow?" She asks concern heavily in her voice.

Garret gave her a look of grim seriousness before saying. "We have to Preston along with other commanders have reported that they've been catching messages being sent to that tyrant Vult asking for reinforcements and we don't know if one got through. Also they got to be at their wits end. We've been firing on them for almost three days straight."

Just then Danse approached the two of them. "General, my men and I are ready for the assault just awaiting your orders."

"Good to hear, Major. Alright I'm gonna take, second squad to assault the castle along with… Dogmeat?" The three of them then turned to see Garret's fateful hound walking to them. Garret bent down and patted his dog before the pup licked him on the cheek. "What are you doing here boy?" He asked as if expecting the dog to suddenly start talking.

"He must have snuck his way here and then just followed the supply train to you sir." Jenny said, pondering how the dong managed to pull off such a daring adventure.

This caused Garret to chuckle as he patted Dogmeat on the head one last time before standing up. "Alright new plan I'm taking Dogmeat with along with Second Squad of the PA's."

…..

Zero Hour: Castle Assault

In the skies above the Foeh five Vertibirds fly towards the main castle. Garret and Dogmeet were aboard the lead bird as they got closer. Colonel Jenny Long herself was the one flying the General and she was hell bent if anyone else was going to do it. Jenny looked back to get a look at her passengers. Garret was wearing his suit of X-01 power armor painted in Minuteman colors, in his hands was his modified laser rifle, next to him was Dogmeat wearing metal dog armor, in her eyes the two made for a deadly duo. Looking back forward she could see that they were quickly approaching the target. "All birds, two minutes to drop zone!" She cried over the radio.

Garret hearing Jennys message picked up Dogmeat in his left arm before sliding the door to the of the aircraft open and took in the sights of the city. Looking down he saw people coming out of their homes and businesses looking up towards them, one group that piqued his interest seemed to be coming out of what looked like a large tavern. This then caused him to consider the possibility that there was a resistance group within the city. Just in case he quickly radioed to his officers to be on the lookout for any resistance groups that might try to make contact with them once the fighting had begun.

Just as he finished his transmission the Vertibirds began to open up on the castle. A crescendo of rockets and machine gun fire erupted from the aircraft, the pilots and soldiers inside shooting at anything that could pose a threat to them. On the ground both man and beast were being blown to bits or gundowned as they tried to seek cover from the hailstorm of death. The Black Dog soldiers were in a panic, men screamed, monsters roared, a few tried fighting back with bows, javelins, and crossbows to avail. For some it was just too much and they broke, some just stared up at the metal machines, others crumpled to the ground and began to whimper and beg for it to stop and even a few began to pray for forgiveness.

Suddenly the firing stopped and was soon replaced with the buzzing of the Vertibird propellers and then there were multiple loud crashes. The remaining mercenaries, traitor knights, and monsters stood on edge weapons at the ready. The courtyard was filled with smoke making it hard for anyone to see where anyone was. For one Black dog he began to slowly approach where he had heard the crashes. Suddenly he was bathed in the red light of two glowing eyes staring down at him, just as the man was about to scream a powered armored fist came and crushed his skull with a single punch. As the three of the five Vertibirds began to land there propellers quickly cleared away the smoke revealing ten power armored giants and an armored German Shepherd.

Before anyone of the black dogs could yell a command Garret spoke one word. "FIRE!" As he let loose three laser shots from his weapon that killed the first Oger he saw. With that the other power armored soldiers opened up on the enemy.

From his balcony looking down at the battle that was unfolding, Beardsley was in a panic. In only just three days everything he had worked for was falling apart. "NO!" He cried. "This can not be happening. Damn it they must have intercepted my communication to Vult?" He questioned himself as if expecting himself to suddenly know the answer.

Behind him he heard Alicia approach. He turned around to see her fondling herself and panting. "Master? Please breed me, it's been too long?" She begged him. Beardsley could only get angry at how she could think of sex at a time like this. As he raised his hand about to strike her he was suddenly struck with an idea. He grinded a nasty smile as he lowered his hand back down. Alicia was his puppet now and she would be his means of survival. All he had to do was play his cards right and he would still be in control as long as he could put on a convincing show.

Back in the courtyard the air assault force had just finished mopping up the rest of the black dogs and began to regroup.

Garret approached Danse for a report. "Danse how we looking?" He asked. Danse was quick to respond. "Sir the enemy has been eliminated and those who remain are being taken as prisoners." Taking a look Garret saw a group of prisoners over by the courtyard entrance being watched by three of his first company soldiers. He then noticed one of his men was walking towards him. The man was the portable radio operator for the assault. "General!" They said while snapping to a quick salute which Garret nodded in confirmation. "Atease Corporal, what do you have to report?" He asked. The corporal lowered his arm before speaking. "Sir, Colonel Garvey reports that all sectors have secured the walls and have begun to secure the rest of the city. Enemy resistance is light but is expected to intensify further into the city."

"Anything else?" Danse asked this time. "Yes sir, he's asking permission to bring some of the canons inside the city's walls to be used as direct fire support?" The man said, looking up at the two commanders. Garret thought for a moment before giving the go ahead for Preston to do so.

With that out of the way Garret and Danse turned their attention to the large wooden doors that were baring their entry into the castle. "Looks like they locked the door." Garret said, looking over to Danse. "Well it's a good thing I brought a key then." Danse said with a flick of his arm one powered armored Minutemen and three regular Minutemen all armed with rocket launchers stepped in front of the doors. With a nod from Danse to Garret, he smiled from under his helmet. "FIRE!"

A/N

Well that took forever. Sorry for the long wait you guys but I was struggling to find the motivation to write this and I think I was maybe overthinking things to the point where I burnt myself out. So I'll try and keep writing when I can. Look I know there's going to be a lot of things in this chapter that are probably going to seem a bit much. There's also going to be a time where you're gonna be like why didn't they do this or why didn't he do that. And all I can really say is I tried my best and at the end of the day I'm not a professional writer and I'm just doing this for fun. Anyway I hope you all enjoy and also you guys who get my case about Chloe's name being misspelled in a previous chapter get off my case about it. I fixed it in the other chapters so quit complaining.