During the Workers' Revolution, the Steel Mill became the natural stronghold of the rebelling workers. It was already fortified against attack and it was enormous, allowing the workers to convert sections of the building to suit their needs. In the turbulent days that followed, workers created living quarters, armories, workshops and the like to aid in the struggle. While those days have since passed, the Steel Mill remains operational as a multi-purpose facility that both churns out the invaluable steel that every major faction around is clambering for while also providing a home to many of the workers of the Pitt.

Now, James approached what used to constitute the loading dock of the factory back in its pre-war designation to join the Council in their deliberations. The square facility was mostly left untouched although the workers had taken it upon themselves to make whatever improvements they could during the intervening years. Broken windows had been replaced. Entire sections of the concrete walls had been fortified or refurbished when possible. Even now, there was scaffolding that propped up areas still under construction or some kind of project to restore the building to its Old World glory.

In the center of the space was a moderately sized wooden table. It was taken from the now-defunct Pittsburgh Courthouse to serve as the seat of the Workers' Council. Before them saw a couple rows of metal folding chairs that normally sat vacant during the Council's discussions and policymaking. Today, every single chair was filled by workers from across all walks of life in the city.

As usual, the members of the Council bickered with one another as James approached the central seat of the table and made himself comfortable. Each councilor's jabs and retorts were sometimes echoed or even jeered by some of the more obnoxious members of the audience. While James was accustomed to the chaos of the table, he was a little perturbed that they had not bothered to pause their discussion to recognize his entry into the conversation.

"Councilors." James spoke with his voice raised. It was intended only to catch attention and not to impart any further aggression. Some of the newer members still appeared to have been ruffled by the sudden interruption. Their annoyed grimaces only softened when they realized precisely who had interrupted their "important" discussion. "I am glad to see that spirits are still relatively high despite extenuating circumstances." James smirked as he gestured to the ceiling. If one listened hard enough they would still be able to hear the chopping blades of vertibirds patrolling in the distance.

"Taking his place on the stand, all Councillors please welcome Secretary Young to the table."

"Welcome." a chorus of voices chirped in response. James nodded at the formality, it was one of many traditions that tended to be invoked during formal or dire events given that they would have an audience during these times.

"Does the Secretary have any words to open discussion?" a voice to James's right droned, seemingly beleaguered by procedure. James could tell the councilors were eager to discuss their agenda and so he shook his head.

"I am sure we have many pressing matters to attend to. Please resume." James replied and just as he stopped talking, the roar of debate filled the room once more.

"We must activate the Vanguard! Defend our homes from the Brotherhood!"

"Are you stupid? That would only give the Brotherhood reason to enact another Scourge. We need to dismantle the Railroad station, discreetly!"

"The time for discretion has long since passed, if the Brotherhood are here, odds are they understand quite well what we have in the subway tunnels. I say we cut a deal."

"Cut a deal? And give up our strong negotiating position? Need I remind you that we are the gateway to trade with the West?"

"That is only because of the fall of New Orleans and you know it. The Oregon Trail is unstable at best, we simply cannot rely on it to ensure our safety!"

James wore a tight smile as he watched the Councilors bicker with one another. This was a typical meeting after all. He gazed out into the crowd and watched some of the faces heckle the councilors as they argued and sometimes even debated amongst themselves. Tensions were high thanks to the Brotherhood presence but it seemed passions had yet to be quenched by its threat.

"How quickly can we organize the Vanguard in the case of an attack?" James suddenly asked aloud. The councilors turned to him, some with waiting eyes and others with more tired expressions.

"At least an honor, Mister Secretary." a voice from the end of the table responded. She was the Head of City Security. "Likely more given that significant amounts of equipment and veteran personnel are stationed in the outer portions of the city. Our Expansion efforts keep us stretched thin."

"Then I believe consolidation is in order. Are there any disagreements in petitioning the Vanguard to be ready to act within 15 minutes of any Brotherhood attack?"

"I believe we can lower that time to 10 minutes if we organize together, Mister Secretary." Another voice chirped. James turned to find the head of Urban Planning to his left. "If we convert some of the earmarked apartments into supply caches, the Vanguard and reservists can access them and organize quickly."

"How can we arrange this without creating bottlenecks for people fleeing home?" James asked, he leaned back in his seat.

"The standard emergency procedure is for civilians to take shelter in the subways. There are guards and community armories there where they can arm themselves." Urban planning replied. "Of course, the important point is that they should be well out of the way for the Vanguard."

"I like the idea but I want guarantees that people will stay safe and out of harm's way. We haven't drilled enough for this scenario yet." James opined.

"Perhaps we can activate the Special Patrol Division?" a voice directly James's left offered. James turned to find his lab partner, Allison Huang speaking. Years ago, she had helped him spearhead research into the Trog vaccine that cured half the city.

"I thought it wasn't going to be ready for at least a couple more years." James replied. Some of the other councilors and audience members grew interested as they leaned forward to better hear the quiet voice of their Head of Research and Development. Allison was a bright intellect who had moved to the Pitt from the Capital Wasteland. She was granted a seat on the Council for her achievement in curing half the city but she often stayed silent during meetings due to her inexperience.

"We have 50 commandos ready to deploy. They are trained, their equipment is solid, they can be valuable contributions to the city's defense." Allison listed off, she counted each point on her fingers as she continued. "Their main flaw is that to date the Brotherhood will be the greatest threat they have ever faced."

"What is wrong with our troops?" The Head of Security asked.

"Discipline, Mr. WIlliams." Allison responded. Her speech grew quicker as it tended to while she began thinking through variables faster. James watched her carefully and prepared for the time where he might need to reel her in. "The Brotherhood of Steel is properly armed and their Paladins trained for combat since childhood. Their troops have been indoctrinated to the Brotherhood Codex and thus they are happy to sweep through the cit-"

"Thank you, Director." James interjected. "The point is that we have a militia and maybe 50 regulars up against a full army. Many are initiates sure, but we should expect them to be better trained and equipped in just about every encounter. Our advantages will be our numbers and this is our home turf."

"Then it seems we are caught between another Scourge or the Revolution." The Head of Security sighed.

"May I propose we simply not resist? Perhaps we could partner with the Brotherhood." A voice from the end of the right side called. It belonged to one of the new members. "I am sure we can cut a deal if we leverage what we have that they want in exchange for some of their technology."

"The Brotherhood does not trade technology." James quickly reprimanded the newcomer. "They only confiscate."

"Well," the voice paused. "Perhaps they could send their Scribes to help us repair some of the machinery and let them scan our technology. It's not like they can simply take the entire steel mill onto their airship." He laughed nervously. As he laughed, many of the councilors could not resist gazing up and around at the walls. The Steel Mill had ceased operation in the night and therefore it was much quieter than when the massive machines roared during the day. It seemed improbable that the Brotherhood could somehow steal the machine from the building but what if they chose to simply take it instead.

"Perhaps Mr. Anders has a point. What is stopping the Brotherhood from simply taking the mill and Director Huang's research projects? We may be more valuable as allies than we could be a potent enemy for the Brotherhood." A voice next to Anders replied, who nodded with a smile. The Councilors seemed to ponder this idea momentarily. James allowed them time to let the question stew. The Brotherhood would simply replace everyone with their Scribes and reassign anyone not imperative to any projects to other sectors. James began searching for the best moment to intercede.

"Have you forgotten our status as a key station in the Railroad?" a voice from the left side of the table called.

"I mean, we only turn a blind eye to their operatives." Anders replied. "Surely, that cannot be a violation-"

"Are you willing to turn over any operatives that we have harbored to the Brotherhood? What about the synths we know they smuggled into the Capital Wasteland?" the same voice argued. "Councilors, I believe we have been caught in a very difficult position where we will have to evaluate what is and is not worth doing in order to maintain our neutral position in whatever the Brotherhood has planned."

"What precisely is the Brotherhood's plan?" the Head of Security wondered aloud. All eyes turned to James. He took a moment to look around at every figure at the table before resting his gaze over the packed room full of citizens.

"I believe the Brotherhood is preparing for a war." James finally sighed. A weight had fallen from his shoulders but with that came a new sensation in his gut. Things were turning badly.

"A war with the Pitt?" The Head of Security cried.

"What possible reason could they have to go to war with us? It has to be with someone else!" Another voice replied.

"Who is a large enough threat to justify the Brotherhood bringing their entire force to bear? There is only one name I can think of."

"The Commonwealth." James's voice cut through the noise and the room grew quiet. Thanks to the James's connections with the Railroad, the Pitt had long been privy to some of the rumors that had left the Commonwealth via a long string of refugees and asylum seekers. In fact, nearly a third of the city's growth since the Revolution had come from people fleeing the Commonwealth for safe harbor. A fair number of them consistently recalled some group known as The Institute as the main reason for leaving.

"Do you believe the Brotherhood plans to move on the Institute?" Anders asked from his side of the table. "What possible reason could you have to suspect this?"

"Six months ago a machine man was found wandering one of our subway lines." James revealed. "It encountered our excavation team and introduced itself as friendly, wanting to see their leader. While the team was headed here some kind of malfunction occurred, leading this machine man to turn violent on the team killing all but one. The survivor managed to contact a Security team who attempted to locate and eliminate this suddenly violent machine. They failed."

"Is the machine stalking our tunnels now? Some lines have been converted into residential areas!" Urban planning exclaimed.

"I personally tracked and neutralized this threat, it has long since passed." James explained, attempting to cool some of the heads of the more impatient members of the Council. "But I don't think its presence in our tunnels is any accident. Allison dismantled and studied the unit."

"What did we learn?" The Head of Security asked.

"Only that the Institute possesses technology far beyond what we have been able to refurbish and reactivate here." Allison replied. "I don't have enough information or subjects to study further. We know this because we have met some of the 'synthetic' individuals per Railroad reports."

"They look human." James confirmed. "And if the institute possesses technology capable of synthetically reproducing human-like machines, I would imagine they have created many weapons that are similarly advanced. The Brotherhood is likely searching for any assets it can absorb in preparation for its war."

"Aside from the mill, what could they possibly want?" The Head of Security asked.

"We have done a splendid job rebuilding this city since the Revolution. So much so that we have made quite the name for ourselves. Mr. Anders, what were this season's trade prospects in a sentence?" James gestured towards the right side of the table.

"Uh, in a sentence, we were on track to have quite the Spring season with traders from all over the Capital Wasteland making their way here for the festival. I was still working some details with traders from the West and I had written commitments from many settlements north of us. If nothing changes, we're on track to have the biggest year of expansion in our history."

"Yes. Every year the Worker's Festival attracts traders and settlers to visit and stay in our city to come and see what a real city looks like. People come from all over and more and more each year choose to stay and try and make a home here. Ms. Delacroix, what are our official numbers?"

"Officially, we have just over 1000 residents. Of course, the last time we conducted a census was five years ago." Ms. Delacroix, who was seated between Allison and the head of Urban planning on James's left, reminded him. He nodded in affirmation as she spoke.

"What were the projects that we discussed last week? Based on the expansion efforts and the recent subway additions?"

"If the influx of refugees and the curing of the trogs are accounted for, then we may number anywhere between 4000 and 5000 residents currently making a living in the Pitt. The room murmured at the revelation. Most people were too busy working in some part of the city to appreciate the full scale of its current success. Some were busy screening mutants and pests on the outskirts of the city's defensive walls. Others were busy excavating the skyscrapers and in some cases, subways. Many were otherwise cooped up in the Steel Mill, churning out the invaluable resources needed to repair and maintain some of the buildings that the workers had been repurposing.

"If those numbers are to be believed, then we could very well be the largest settlement in the region." James continued. "While many of you have not been following regional politics for good reason, I would like to inform you all that the Vault City-New Megaton merger only managed to include 1200 citizens within its borders. Many of its newer residents came from the defunct Rivet City."

"That's why they've wanted to renegotiate the trade deal. They have more people now." Mr. Anders concluded. "But then-"

"That means, we are currently the most reliable pool of experienced workers and recruits for the Brotherhood war machine." Allison interrupted.

"Half our people fled one war, are we simply to force them into another on the Brotherhood's behalf?" The Head of Security scoffed.

"But then," Ms. Delacroix began. "what do we do? If we fight the Brotherhood, we'll lose everything we've built. Is it any different if we give in?"

"I say we cut a deal." Mr. Anders interjected. "They want access to the Mill? We can give them that access. They want us to fight, maybe we can negotiate with them to only recruit volunteers. We have a strong trade presence in the region, occupation will be bad for business. Maybe we can work something out."

"And what about our Railroad contacts?" Allison interrupted.

"I doubt the Brotherhood will overlook anyone who has worked with the Railroad before." James seconded.

"I'd say that's negotiable too." Mr. Anders replied with a shrug. "If it's them or a scourge, I know where I place my vote."

"How many of our people have interacted with the Railroad before?" The Head of Security asked. The room grew quiet as the councilors and audience members eyed one another carefully. Then slowly, many of those eyes turned to James.

"I have." James spoke softly. "And I would highly recommend we abstain from any kind of policy where we turn on each other to root out any others."

"Like I said, such things are negotiable." Mr. Anders continued, without missing a beat. "Let's not mention the Railroad, perhaps we can play the fool here and say we had no idea. That is," Anders looked directly at James. "if we had a convincing enough scapegoat." He smiled.

"Go on." James gestured, growing impatient at the grandstanding.

"No offense, Mr. Secretary, but your conflict of interests here is well known to the Councilors and the workers. You are certainly a hero of the Revolution but you were also a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and a Railroad contact. If you are present in any negotiations with the Brotherhood, their side may be far more reticent than if you were not present."

"No one on the Council knows the Brotherhood as well as the Secretary." Allison argued back. "We may need his expertise in future discussions!"

"No one is saying that we oust him!" Anders replied, hands waved. Some of the other councilors had their eyes glued on Anders. James noticed that many within the audience were nodding along too. "Just move him a tad to the side while we sort things out. Perhaps less Secretary of the Pitt and more, Heroic Consultant!" Anders sneered.

"The title aside, it could work." the Head of Security reluctantly agreed. He cowed his gaze away from James' direction. "The last we need is trigger-happy troopers expecting the Lone Wanderer to rally the people into a resistance against them."

"Let's not talk about a resistance as though Brotherhood occupation is guaranteed!" the Head of Urban planning argued back. "True, the Secretary's presence in negotiations may escalate things but that does not mean that he cannot continue to lead as he has since the Revolution."

"Well," Mr. Anders began, his voice capturing the attention of the room. "was it not Mr. Secretary's intention to step down from the position? Or have things changed?" the eyes returned to James's direction. He sighed.

"I'll serve as long as the city needs me." James concluded. Mr. Anders clapped his hands together.

"Then I move that the Council takes a vote now to determine the course of the Secretary's position within our government. It's quite simple really, we have an opportunity to make a good show of faith to the Brotherhood that we do not intend to fight them and perhaps we can capitalize on the momentum to cut a favorable deal."

"Seconded."

"Agreed."

A chorus of voices joined in affirming Mr. Anders's motion. James sat in contemplation. He never wanted to be the leader of the Pitt. A week ago, he would have the first to step down himself, yet it was at this moment that he found it most difficult to let go. He gazed out at the crowd that now chatted amongst itself, discussing his fate and perhaps the fate of the city.

"Eight votes to one." Ms. Delacoix read solemnly. "In recognition of his term within the office, the post of the Secretary will remain vacant until the regular election cycle. James Young, Hero of the Revolution will return to his post as the city's Champion and retain all of the privileges that were held as a Hero of the Revolution. "

James now stood beneath the table. His old chair was vacant and many of his colleagues now physically looked down at him as they read the entire stipulations involved with their decision for the sake of the audience. It seemed despite Mr. Anders's wit, many within the audience were not yet convinced it was time for James to step away from the chair.

"Mr. Young. Will you respect the Council's decision on the matter?"

"I do."

"Very well. This chamber will now be closed to the public as we will enter discussion on a pending deal with the Brotherhood of Steel."

James caught Allison's eye and nodded before he left. He turned and strode down the center aisle that divided the audience. While they were all dismissed together, it seemed that no one wanted to leave before him.

James passed through the doors and they closed with the heavy feeling that he would never again return quite the same.