A Nation Reborn

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Fallout, nor am I associated with them to any degree. This is a non-profit fanwork written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon.

Responses to questions or statements:

-Edboy4926: Thank you, hope you like this new chapter.

-N.A: Thank you for checking out this story. Hope you like this chapter.

-SomeFlemishGuy: Thank you very much. Hope this new chapter was satisfactory.

-Dragonboy08: I do wish these kinds of ideas were more popular. I'll do my best not to let it die

-scyfly: Personally, the length of the story doesn't really matter to me. It could be less than 5k but if it's good I wouldn't consider that time wasted, but that's just my point of view. Also, I appreciate the writing advice and I'll do my best to keep it in mind. Thank you for checking out this story.

-davycrockett100: Thanks, mate. I appreciate it.

-Krieger Techpreist: Thanks, man. I do wish that the Enclave gets more love in Fallout and that whenever the next game comes out, Bethesda will finally let us join them, though I doubt it as much as I hate to admit it. They had so much potential that was just wasted IMO.

-Guest: Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

-T3mp3rusMaximus: Thank you. I do like empire building stories and fics that are about the MC building or running some kind of organization, wish they were more popular.

Now, with that out of the way, onto the story!

Chapter 1

(Location: Camp Navarro )

Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Cantrell, recently promoted and currently the commanding officer of Camp Navarro, was currently doing something that every officer and NCO in the Enclave hated doing. A task that would make anyone shudder would dread and would be the cause for many late night working hours.

Paperwork.

Something that was necessary for an organization like the Enclave to function, but also a chore that was considered by many to be extremely time consuming, monotonous, and even soul-crushing at times.

Thankfully, ever since the new President showed up his workload had become considerably lighter, as hard as it was for him to believe.

It's been nearly a week and a half ever since the loss of the Enclave's main base of operations and the deaths of most of their leadership It was a period of chaos as everyone was trying to figure out who was now in charge and a plan of action. There were even a few desertions which have thankfully ceased as of late.

For a brief period of time, it looked like the Enclave was done for along with what remained of the United States.

As such, it came as a great surprise when they received a transmission who had introduced himself as Thomas Henry Eden, the president of America.

When new president had first made his appearance, Cantrell was initially skeptical as he suspected it was a trap, most likely by the ones that wiped out the oil rig. However, he was proven wrong when they had received verification and proof of Eden's claims when he transmitted his codes which were used by U.S Presidents to prove their identity, albeit they were a bit old. Cantrell wasn't complaining though as ever since Eden showed up the Enclave have started to recover after having been leaderless for the first time ever since their inception hundreds of years ago.

Still, it seemed that things have become a lot busier these past few days as the new president didn't waste any time as he worked to get the Enclave back on its feet. Something that was very respectable considering all that he's done in the past week and that he was miles away on the east coast.

The sheer effort and work that Eden was putting into to rebuild the Enclave was one of the major contributors in stopping the desertions and implanted a new found sense of loyalty towards the new president in many Enclave personnel.

One of the first things , President Eden, did was reform the command structure of the Enclave, which made sense after they've just suffered a massive loss in personnel that left some units severely depleted along with some being outright wiped out. Doctor Autumn remained in command of the science branch while Colonel Packard was placed as the new commanding officer of the Enclave military in Eden's stead while they were on the west coast. As for the personnel of the units that survived the detonation, they were transferred to others based on their skillset while others were combined to create a brand new task force like the Special Combat Assault Recon (SCARs) unit, whose purpose was to recce areas of interest and assess the capabilities of hostile groups.

Once Thomas was finished with the restructuring and organization of leadership and personnel, he gave them instructions that they were to move east as he provided them with a time table of objectives such as securing valuable facilities and recovering advanced tech along the way.

The new Lieutenant-Colonel was initially concerned about the plan laid out by the POTUS, abandoning the west coast and moving east within the next four years while taking all of their equipment and transportable structures along with them was a task that would no doubt be heavy on their logistical capabilities.

Still...he had to admit that Eden had a point when he explained his reasoning. Camp Navarro was indefensible in its current location, along with the fact that some time ago the installation was infiltrated, which meant that their position was compromised and known to other groups. Additionally, the Enclave have gained enough infamy in the surrounding area which made it unlikely for them to gain any favor with the local population. Therefore, the only option they had was to leave the area before any large scale attack happened.

President Eden assured the Enclave that he would have robots secure the facilities and storage depots in advance so that when they made their way east, they would be able to salvage the locations with reduced risks. Eden also told them he would protect their future base of operations for them to use once they make it to D.C, a bunker that was designated as Raven Rock.

The president also deemed Cantrell fit enough to be promoted from Major to Lieutenant-Colonel as part of his efforts to reform the chain of command. While Cantrell was content where he currently was, his new rank helped him to bypass much of the bureaucracy and red tape when he was an O-4. It was also a "gift," as Eden called it, when he spoke to Cantrell before informing him that he knew it was his wife's, Sarah's, birthday was coming up in about a week and allowed the couple to take the day off to celebrate, which was tomorrow. Eden also authorized her transfer from the base she was currently stationed at to Camp Navarro, since Sarah was a Vertibird maintenance technician, it was easy to justify the move as Navarro was understaffed in that department.

Cantrell had never liked Richardson, only serving him when he was president due to his duty and loyalty to the Enclave and the United States. But now... now that loyalty was extended to President Eden as well.

He was going over a report sent by the Captain in charge of overseeing the salvage operation at the Sierra Army Depot when the intercom on his desk buzzed, signaling that the sentry stationed outside his office needed to speak to him.

"/ Yes, what is it? /" The Lieutenant-Colonel said into the microphone as he pressed the button on the device that connected to the phone outside, allowing him to speak to whoever was outside his station and vice versa.

"/ Sir, Doctor Henry's here to see you, /" The guard stationed outside his office informed him in a brisk and professional manner as he was well aware that Cantrell was usually busy and hated it when people wasted his time..

"/ Send him in, Samuels."/ Cantrell instructed as he put down his radio and closed the documents that were open on his computer before the door to his workplace opened, the aforementioned Doctor Henry stepping in after closing the door behind him.

"Hello, Lieutenant-Colonel," Henry greeted with a polite nod of his head, "You asked to see me?"

"I did, thank you for your time, doctor. Please, take a seat. " Cantrell offered as the scientist sat in one of the chairs facing his desk.

"As you're no doubt already aware, we've yet to assign a new Chief scientist for Camp Navarro after the death of Schreber." He said with a small smile, something that Henry mirrored.

It was no secret that pretty much everyone stationed at Navarro hated, or at the very least disliked, the late lead scientist on some level. Cantrell disliked him as he tended to give his men orders despite having no authorization to do so and used them for dangerous tasks like they were expendable. Henry hated Schreber as he viewed him as a total psychopath who used his position to perform sadistic experiments that soon created more problems for the Enclave than it solved like the talking Deathclaws; not to mention the two butted heads frequently when they had to work with one another.

If Cantrell was ever lucky enough to meet the person who shot Schreber, he would buy them a drink in thanks before interrogating the intruder on how they managed to infiltrate the base without raising any alarms and managed to steal the base's spare Vertibird schematics from right under their noses. After that was done, the spy would be questioned on the current location of the plans so that Cantrell could send a strike force to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it was unlikely they would be able to recover the plans as they had no intel on the identity of the person who had done it or even what faction the spy was a part of.

It was quite a shame really, Cantrell privately admitted to himself. Anyone who could've successfully pulled something like that off was no doubt very skilled and had the potential to be a great asset to the Enclave, a sentiment that was surprisingly shared by Sergeant First Class Arch Dornan- the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of security at Camp Navarro. The senior NCO had told him in private that he respected anyone with those kinds of skills, using it as an example to his men on why they should never underestimate the enemy, no matter who they may be, and the importance of maintaining vigilance.

"Given that the position is now void, the president has promoted you to lead scientist at Navarro, effective immediately, Schreber's former laboratory now belongs to you along all information regarding his research and experiments. I've also took the liberty of updating your clearance level." He informed the researcher as he handed him a new common access card (CAC).

"I...see...thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel. Please tell the president I'll do my best to prove worthy of the trust he's placed in me." He thanked as he took his new authorization card.

"I'm sure you will, doctor," the recently promoted Lieutenant-Colonel replied as he opened one of his desk's drawers and took out a holotape along with a folder.

"The president also has a request for you," Steven informed as he handed Henry the objects. "He is aware that you've taken as interest in trying to develop a cure for the psychological problems that's caused by prolonged use of Stealth Boys. As such, he's asked you to begin research into this which he's designated as 'Project Redlight.' The holotape contains instructions and the document in the folder lists what resources you've been given for this task. Once you're done with the holotape, wipe it clean and give it back to me when you have the time. I'll keep you informed if the president has any other tasks or requests."

"I see..." Henry replied with slight hesitance as he took it all in. "Please tell him I'll get started right away. Was there anything else?"

"No, that's all, Henry. You can go now." Cantrell finished as he turned his gaze back to his personal terminal.

As soon as Cantrell heard Doctor Henry leave, Lieutenant-Colonel Cantrell reviewed the last remaining reports before shutting off the terminal and walking into his room. Opening the drawer beside his desk, he let out a small smile as he checked on the present he intended to give to Sarah tomorrow for her birthday.

He could already see her beautiful smile as he turned in for the night, looking forward to spending the following day with the woman he married nearly a decade ago.

(Location: Raven Rock, Washington D.C)

Thomas had to admit, it felt strange for people to call him "Mr. President" or "President Eden" even though its been over a week since he made his debut as the president of the United States of America. Where instead of contacting Autumn Senior on a private channel, he broadcasted on every radio frequency that was used by the Enclave. A course of action that thankfully paid off, despite the risks, as hundreds of Enclave personnel answered his call and were ready to follow his instructions

Admittedly, there were a few who openly voiced their doubts. However, they changed their tone as Thomas took temporary control of their protectrons, Mr. Gutsies, and sentry bots and spook through them while aiming their weapons at the skeptics, this move quickly swept away all uncertainty as the Enclave acknowledged him as their new commander-in-chief.

The new President had decided to have his first name be 'Thomas', instead of John, as that was his name in his...first life. He kept the name Thomas because he felt more comfortable with it rather than John and wanted to hold onto something from his previous life.

Using the bunker's satellite dish, Thomas now had real-time communications with the Enclave Remnants thanks to the remaining communication satellites that were still in orbit. As such he was able to receive and transmit messages with the Enclave despite being on opposite ends of the country.

While Thomas did think that it was wise to move what's left of the Enclave east, as they've garnered too much infamy in and around the California area, he heavily disapproved of how they just immediately left when they had so much time to prepare and organize for the trip. Therefore, he had instructed the Enclave to start a slow, but steady, exodus to Washington D.C; taking everything they could with them while also securing locations that would assist in this migration such as airports with functional planes or underground metro systems.

This endeavor would no doubt take years, as there were many things to do. But Eden figured he could wait if it meant that it could boost the power of the Enclave as well as make sure they stayed unified instead splintering apart.

Thomas had started instructing the Enclave to start transferring resources, equipment, and necessary personnel from Navarro to Cheyenne Mountain, as the facility was more defensible, secure, and would be able to house the Enclaves population thanks to the stockpiles of supplies and resources inside. As such, Cheyenne Mountain was going to be the new base of operations for the Enclave, along with being an emergency evacuation point if Camp Navarro came under siege; at least for the time being.

While he had assured Colonel Packard and Autumn Senior that the government installation was secure and safe for the Enclave to occupy, which he knew thanks to him having access to the bunker's intranet and accessed the feeds of the sentry bots, defense turrets, and protectrons that were already there; assigned as a security force for the complex before the war, he had been sent a request from Colonel Packard to send in a recon team to ensure it was secure before they moved in. Packard said it was to be certain that it was clear of danger, but Thomas knew it was more likely that the Colonel was a bit skeptical of the intel Eden had sent him. Thomas didn't mind it though as he found it to be understandable, after all he had only been president for nearly two weeks. As such, he gave his permission for the strike team before doing a final check on the IFF systems on the robots guarding the site to ensure that they would recognize Enclave personnel as friendly.

At the same time, Thomas had dispatched engineering and clean-up teams from the Army Corp of Engineers to relatively intact train stations and railways to assess whether or not they they could be brought back into service. If they were able to, this would greatly aid the Enclave as having functional trains would allow them to transport equipment, supplies, and personnel in bulk as opposed to the limited carrying capacity of the XVB-02s.

Additionally, he had dispatched Enclave units to U.S bases and storage sites that potentially held valuable technology and resources, with orders to take everything and everything of value that wasn't nailed down. If something couldn't be moved for some reason, it was to be destroyed so that it couldn't be looted by anyone who would come across it.

While the effects wouldn't be felt for some time, this would no doubt lead to the NCR, Brotherhood of Steel, or any other factions in the west coast to become weaker as they were deprived of valuable resources without even knowing it. This would also help to maintain the main advantage the Enclave had over the majority of groups in the wasteland, technological superiority. By retrieving still working technology and making sure they were kept out of the wrong hands, the technological growth of other factions would be hampered as they would have nothing to study and work off of.

If Thomas was still organic, he probably would've collapsed from anxiety, stress and just being overworked by now. Instead, he felt he was barely breaking a sweat as he was calculating logistics, accessing and viewing dozens of different camera feeds, and coordinating troop deployments. Though, he supposed it was probably because if it didn't require his direct attention he could just create an algorithm and have one of the many servers inside Raven Rock handle it.

It also didn't prevent him from having from he felt to be a headache on a few occasions.

Eden had also assigned what remained of the Secret Service to protect important figures in the Enclave such as Autumn Senior and David Packard, the head of the science branch and department of the army respectively. Thankfully, there was a detachment of Secret Service agents that were on a top-secret mission when the rig was destroyed, otherwise they would've been dead along with the rest of the branch.

However, not all of his endeavors were successful. Thomas's efforts to operate Liberty Prime underneath in what remained of the Pentagon were met with failure, despite the superweapon being property of the Federal government. The AI soon uncovered why as he realized that the combat robot was missing a power source at the moment, which meant that it was useless until one was installed. Additionally, Eden soon realized that the issue was that the enormous combat robot wasn't connected to the U.S government intranet before the war, therefore he didn't have clearance to access it. The same thing applied to the intranets of private companies such as Poseidon Energy, RobCo Industries, General Atomics International, etc, along with the robots that were owned by those companies. However, it was still possible for Eden to take control of those automatons as well as access data stored on those intranets if someone manually connected him to a terminal that had access to the network, which were most likely located on property that belonged to those companies before they collapsed as a result of the nuclear war.

Despite feeling no small amount of disappointment at being unable to acquire potentially valuable information and resources, he figured it was alright as the issue could be resolved at a later date as he turned his attention back to what he could do in the present as he pulled up a report regarding the deployment of robots under his control.

For the time being, Thomas had ordered the security bots that he had control of, thanks to being Federal property and connected to the U.S intranet, to guard their assigned installations until further notice and dispatched robots that were wandering the wasteland to reinforce any facilities that had dwindling security. Sites that held great tactical and strategic advantages were placed as a higher priority such as the satellite relay station in Rockland just outside of D.C, the HELIOS One facility in the Mojave, and the Nuclear storage facility that was designated as 'Sentinel Site' in the Glowing Region of the Commonwealth that encompassed the state of Massachusetts in New England.

Thomas had also sent a few platoons worth of combat robots to Camp Navarro, in a manner that hopefully wouldn't draw to much attention from outside forces, to bolster the defenses at the retrofitted pre-war oil refinery. By increasing the security at the base with robots, many units, like the Enclave Control Company, were freed up to do other assignments such as intelligence gathering, recovery, and packing up gear and equipment for setting up shop in newly acquired installations such as Cheyenne Mountain.

Speaking of which, Thomas opened his last-and most recent- message, which was a copy of the report given to Colonel Packard by the recon team he sent in, the report confirmed that the facility was clear of any hostiles and that the equipment was still functional. The new head of the Enclave military also added an addendum; containing an apology to Eden for being doubtful of the information Thomas provided him and was requesting permission to start setting up the mountain complex as the Enclave's new headquarters.

Eden sent his approval before he saw that there was nothing else that required his attention at the moment. Seizing the opportunity, Thomas began the process for him to enter the AI equivalent of sleep as he set himself to wake up in two hours. Another advantage of being an AI was that what seemed like only a couple of hours to sleep, was actually the equivalent of nearly eights hours worth of rest to Thomas. However, that didn't mean Thomas did not require moments to recharge, despite what others may think. While the time needed for him to rest may be much shorter in comparison to humans or other organic beings, Eden still needed "sleep" as the complexity of the machinery that made up his metal frame that also housed the framework that made up his "brain" required time to optimize, run internal diagnostics, and analyze memories. Without this, he would become restless and more disorganized.

As the world around him faded away with his sensors shutting down, Thomas allowed himself to enjoy not having to worry about anything. Knowing full well that there would be much for him to do as soon as he wakes up. Still, no one said that rebuilding a nation was going to be easy, and Eden was determined to see it through.

That's it for now, hope this chapter was satisfactory. Thanks to all of you who decided to give this story a shot. I appreciate all the positive comments the last chapter received as this is the first time I'm writing an organization building kind of story.

Anyways, have a good day and remember...stay frosty, gents.