"Another, Mother.", the synth reported to the General and Colonel Bridget. It held aloft a Talon Company mercenary. The raiding of Fort Bannister was producing less of them than anticipated. The original base was a tempting target during the Great War and its complete absence above the surface showcased that. It had taken longer to recognize the tents and sand bags as Talon Company's headquarters that it had to pull apart everything that could be seen from afar. Now regrouped Commonwealth Marines and the machines that could fit in the underground bunker were attempting to do what the Brotherhood of Steel had not done a decade ago - fully cleanse the stain of Talon Company from the Capitol Wastes and not just retaliate in a cycle.

"She's busy.", Bridget told it. "Toss him with the others under guard and get back to your unit. And bring them back some water & stimpacks, and whatever ammunition they're going through fastest."

What the General was busy with was a conversation over CB radio she was holding with the leader of the Family. "So you are in fact confirming that you have taken cannibals into your fold, just like my marines commander has told me. Over."

"Yes. I am confirming that.", Vance replied. "If they can prove they can follow our laws they shall be us, General. I believe I explained the constitutional reasoning to the officer that informed you."

"Don't feed me constitutional reasoning.", the General responded. "I wrote most of it. I am the only person left alive on the planet trained in ripping consitutional reasoning apart. What you need to explain to me is how turning killers into vampires is not going to threaten the country. Over."

Vance's sigh came through clearly in the transmission. "General, what is the Family's populace? Over."

The General frowned. "Your point being I don't exactly know. Arefu had informed us around the upper single digits. But around and exact are different words for a reason. Over."

"So your objecting to any number is not. It's objecting to the number growing. Whatever our number, I fail to see why we need to ever disclose the brothers and sisters in the Familly. At least until there's an actual census where we all, from the Nucleus to Ark & Dove state, in which we all take part. Fortunately for all of us there isn't a good state interest for that.", Vance countered.

"However, I understand your concern and allow me to allay it. Which is safer for a person: to be missing flesh or blood? Over."

The General grit her teeth. "You do realize that it is my deal making supplying you that blood? Over."

Vance' voice sounded again. "And that blood is not even coming from people. Is that production becoming stressed? Over."

"No, it is not.", the General admitted. "Over."

"Then let us turn your attention to things it should be afforded.", Vance argued. "Why is Talon Company not in the place you promised to put them? Over."

The General huffed. "I would carry the radio outside so you could hear the current conflict, Mr. Vance. However, the fighting is currently underground. Further, it is nearly as if the mercenaries suspects a particular something awaits them. It is after all proving very difficult to take any of them in enough of one piece to transport. As if they would rather die. On par with the Brotherhood of Steel that yell 'Ad Victorium.' or whatever before charging us. Which is highly unusual for non-ideologically driven, sell swords. Over."

"If they are dreaming about what they deserve or what awaits them then it is their own subconscious and not through any agency of ours. If that is what you were inferring, General. Over." Vance countered.

"I don't want to see another stunt like Andale pulled by the Family again, Mr. Vance.", the General returned.

Silence.

"The Family has no constitutional and no legal restrictions in place on this matter, General.", Vance replied. "However, to assuage your desire to interpret certain rights in other ways, I am willing to pledge thus: any cannibal we find out about is one you will be notified of and any pre-existent legal issues will be resolved before we take them. Over."

"And the taking of others?", the General asked. "Over."

"I do not understand.", Vance said. "Over."

"What about taking non-cannibals?", the General restated. "Over."

"We do not.", came the immediate answer. "If one would not partake of the flesh, there is no reason to reduce him to the blood. Over."

"And we have already come to terms about non-consensual blood drinking.", the General reminded. "Over."

"If you would reserve exposure to sun-light as retribution for a criminal act or warfare then I see no reason I should concern ourselves with consent for the taking blood.", Vance replied. "If those are the terms we have limited ourselves to in addition to the redefintion of our particular community's farm subsidy then yes, we have. Over."

Silence.

"Fine.", the General allowed. "I will see Mr. Alan at council. And I leave you with the rest of your day. I need to return my attention to the ongoing operation. Over."

"Good hunting. Over and out."

The General stretched. "Now let's get to those Talon Company survivors."

Bridget walked the General over to where a few marines were eyeing battered, sometimes injured, mercenaries nearly piled in the shade of an APC. The General kneeled in front of one of them. "Why are you fighting us so hard when we're clearly going to win and are offering you a surrender?"

"Fuck you, commie!", the mercenary spat.

"We have free markets in the...oh, Com-monwealth.", the General realized. "I apologize. I'm from an age where we were affected by late stage capitalism and opposing a communistic market system. So getting called 'commie' when we're in a...pre-mercantile...pseudo-palace...huh. What is our economic system?"

One mercenary called out. "You were supposed to take us in!"

Bridget hid her face with her hat. Even the mark II.V synth carrying up the next prisoner stalled at that.

The General stood. The side of her coat disappeared behind her, revealing the three pistols she carried - a ten mil from the vault she was released from modified to be the very fastest output of its extremely long magazine, an overpowered laser modified by technologies tested in the harshest environments for the past two centuries, and the weapon of the man who killed her husband and stole her son. She stepped before the other mercenary.

"Some would say that I am taking you in.", the red head replied, the sun glinting off her WRAP-AROUND GOGGLES. "One by one."

"No.", the mercenary objected. "Like the Gunners. We were supposed to wear your colors. Then we would be authorized to take from people like we do. We would be like them."

The General looked around. While the marines specifically assigned to guard the prisoners were still within guarding distance, Bridget had made herself scarce finding something else to oversee.

"The colonel and I came to terms after she receded from the Gunner Civil War. She realized that attacking her customer base was stupid. After the war, this semblance of wisdom allowed me to approach her for terms. The Commonwealth Marine Corps is forbidden from even entering civilian settlements and communities. It is gifted resources and places to store itself at the pleasure of myself, overseen by our council.

"In fact, I have openly decreed that mercenary work is illegal. Sensible mercenaries have signed up for service in the Minutemen to use their skills in more regulated ways. Some of the more reckless have also carefully accrued specialized contracts showcasing that they are actually in under industries.", the General explained. "Who?"

At the expression the mercenary made, she expanded the question. "Who told you that I would offer comfort to the most notorious dirty jobbers becoming raiders if they stole our uniforms and pretended to people that they were us?"

The mercenary shrugged as if the answer was obvious. "The Lone Wanderer."

Metal rang as the prisoner's skull clanged against the APC because the General's pistol barrel had forced it there. "Where is she? Where is she?!"

"I don't know!"

"She told you this. When? Where?"

"I didn't talk to her. It's just what was going around, you know?"

The General scowled. "Is it because you don't believe that I will kill a bound man? Is it because you don't believe I will torture you? Strip you and whip you? Hand you over to the Family?"

Another mercenary scoffed. "The Family."

"You think that's funny?", the General asked.

"Yeah.", he replied. "Yeah, I do. There's no Family. You're trying to bluff us like that town that said they were protected by the Family."

The General walked away. She came back with a CB radio. "This is the General. Over."

"You've reached Robert."

"What group are you with Robert?", the General asked. "Over."

"uh...the Family.", Robert replied. The mercenary scoffed again. "Oh, sorry, General. We're supposed to say Meresti Station now, right?"

The mercenary stopped scoffing.

"What did the Family want to do with Talon Company after...which was it?"

"Arefu, ma'am.", Robert supplied. The mercenary had grown stiff and so did his companions. "Now Vance had told you that we were going to keep them alive long enough to test the Third Law. But he said you had to save face, so you were saying that you wouldn't give us them but you would/"

"Thank you, Mr. Robert.", the General cut him off. "Now, I don't know if anyone has informed you, but we currently have in custody some Talon Company mercenaries now. Over."

"You don't say."

The General continued. "However, we are on ongoing operations in the field. If we needed to, could your community volunteer to take on some of these prisoners? Over."

"For how long?", Robert asked. "I mean, so that I could tell Vance."

"I don't know.", the General answered. "I may forget that I left them there. Over."

"Vance'll be happy to help, I'm sure.", Robert acknowledged.

"Over and out.", the General called in.

"Okay, look.", the mercenary tried. "You don't really know about the Family."

"I know about the Family.", the General told him.

"No. I mean, sure you know about the Family.", he replied. "But you don't know about the Family."

"I've heard her radio broadcasts when they were on the outs.", another mercenary turned prisoner stated. "She knows."

The General started speaking again. "So two things are going to happen. You are going to tell me what I want to know about Lil' Miss Bad Ass. And then I'm going to make dinner plans regarding you."

"But I don't know where to find her." "She has a house in Megaton."

"I've taken her house in Megaton. The entire building. Where is she?"

"Didn't she have a place in like Ten Penny? With the ghoulies." "Uh, yeah, yeah. And Rivet City too!"

"Both of those are ours! Try again! See what happens!"

"But I don't know.", one of the prisoners said.

"Then guess who's the first going under ground?", the General challenged.

"I want to know where she is!"

"But we don't know."

"Then that sounds like a you problem.", the General told them. She turned to the marines. "No one escapes. And as night approaches, maybe one of them will 'remember' something."