A Nation Reborn

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Fallout, nor am I associated with them to any degree. The franchise belongs to Bethesda and I am in no way associated with them. This is a non-profit fan work written for the sole purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon. I should not have to say this but just in case.

Responses to questions or statements:

-G silently: Thomas will try to get the protagonist of other Fallout games on his side like the lone wanderer and the Courier if he can find them. For now, he's focusing his efforts on building the Enclave's strength back up and gathering intel on various groups in the wasteland that was once the United States.

-Gwynx: Yeah, I always did think the AR-2 looked a bit cumbersome while the AR-1 looked more compact and better to use, which is funny to me since it should be the other way around.

-Also, I still haven't decided whether or not to add them to this fanfic in the future. This is just me brainstorming ideas.

-WerewolfXZ Thank you very much for reading my story and for the suggestions. I'll be sure to think more on them.

-TOPCAT-59: I can't make any promises, but I will think about it.

-KingRK: I have some ideas, though I'm still thinking on it.

-edboy4926: Thank you. Also, which mod are you referring to?

-Also, to answer your question, I've never played Outlast but I have heard of it though I don't know much of the lore. Basically, a survival horror game where you're stuck in an insane asylum where everything's gone into chaos since a typical corporation's experiments got loose, right? Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

-Krieger Techpreist: My bad, but like I said before I will consider it.

-Guest: Thomas hadn't sent the Enclave to scout it out yet. He'll may or may not do so in the future, but he is currently focused on other things at the moment.

-Yabadook: Thank you very much, as for the main character's project, well, you're going to have to read to find out. If things go according to Thomas's time schedule, the first batch of Enclave personnel should reach the East coast in about two years, one year now since a year has already passed. It should take about four years in total for the exodus to be complete-though that number should be down to three at this time.

As for my upload schedule, I don't really have one. I apologize, but like I said before, I'm a slow writer and I write in my free time. Therefore, I cannot commit myself to a schedule.

-DG2: If Thomas does manage to get in touch with the Institute, then it is a possibility. Whether or not it will happen, remains to be seen.

-Crawl56: Thank you, I felt the same about the Enclave, they really could've made a difference in the wasteland if they had the right people leading them.

-ComradeRyazen: I mean, the MC could look into it, but Thomas is currently working on other things that require his attention. While he could start adding arms to the eyebots, it isn't really a priority at the moment. Also, he isn't sure if it will be very useful aside from this, so Thomas is still thinking on it.

-TheButteredCrumpet: Thank you. The Enclave and Thomas will reveal themselves to other groups in the wasteland to gain allies and gather support from those that reside in the wasteland. Also, while it would be possible for Thomas to override the cryo-pod in vault 111, Thomas doesn't have access to private intranets like Vault-tec, Poseidon Energy, etc. At the moment, he is only connected to networks and sites that were controlled by the U.S government like security robots guarding federal property, communication arrays, etc. The only way to gain access to the private intranets is for someone to connect him to a terminal that's already linked to the network. So, until that happens, he won't be able to release the sole survivor. Sorry if I didn't make it clear beforehand.

Furthermore, your idea on using Talon Company and other mercenary groups on the east coast until the Enclave arrives is an interesting one and something I'll definitely be thinking about. Thank you very much for the idea.

-DodemGM: That's pretty much the idea, the main character is going to try to rebuild the United States and perhaps Canada since it did become annexed by the U.S in Fallout's timeline.

-Guest: Thank you very much, mate, Hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, all credit goes to LoganSB on Spacebattles for the idea. His story "The American Dream" is what inspired me to write this story, so, thank you Logan.

.gundam: Sorry about the wait, hope this chapter was satisfactory.

-Jayden890: Thank you, I feel the same way which was one of the reasons for me starting this fic; as I haven't come across many Enclave centric stories. Anyway, hope you like this chapter.

Now that that's done and out of the way, here's the chapter!

Chapter 4

(Location: Raven Rock, Washington D.C)

"It would seem that the wasteland holds many secrets," Thomas thought to himself as he finished reviewing the latest reports, he was sent by his eyebot scout units he had dispatched to the city of Chicago about a week ago as part of his objection to acquire gather information.

While he was still unsure as what precisely was the reason the Enclave were in Chicago in the original timeline, thanks to one of the data logs stored in ED-E in Fallout: New Vegas, he figured it wouldn't hurt to send a few scouts to reconnoiter the city, given that the Enclave were rapidly approaching it as they continued their exodus to the east coast. Once they arrived it seemed that the city was relatively unharmed by the nukes, falling due to a lack of maintenance, care, and hostile local wildlife.

It still remained unclear as to why Chicago seemed relatively intact compared to every other major American city. Especially since it would've been a strategic target for the Chinese when the bombs were dropped, considering that it was used as a major transportation hub. Almost anything that was sent across the United States, passed through Chicago at one point before the bombs dropped.

One theory he held was perhaps the nuclear defense grids in the region managed to intercept the warheads before they reached their target. Or maybe the Chinese bombers who were responsible for bombing the city were shot down before they reached it. Another possible that perhaps the missiles were never launched in the first place, though that one was unlikely given that information gathered from the nearest radar array indicated that there was an ICBM heading to Chicago in 2077, unfortunately, the system went offline during the initial attacks which meant it couldn't answer what happened to the nuke that was en route to the city.

Thomas supposed it didn't matter, given that it wouldn't change the result no matter how it happened.

Still, Thomas wasn't complaining as this was an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one.

Unfortunately, he was still unable to determine if there was some hidden value in the windy city that he wasn't seeing. Was there something in Chicago that the Enclave wanted to get their hands on? Perhaps it was designated as an emergency fallback point for remnant Enclave forces to rally if they were forced to retreat from other installations? Or maybe there was some hidden secret buried underneath the metropolis or in the surrounding area.

If it was final point, it wasn't saved in the files Thomas had on hand, as he spent a good amount of time scanning through the documents to see what it could've been like a hidden research facility or underground storage depot or ballistic missile silo. Sadly, his research failed many explanations as the only thing that came up was the Great Lakes Naval Station that was located fairly far north of the city.

This made it more confusing as to how Chicago wasn't hit as hard compared to the rest of the country. For even if Chicago wasn't a major trading hub prior to the Great War, the Naval base would still surely warrant a nuclear strike as it was historically one of the biggest centers for the training of Navy personnel, with a massive number of sailors that moved through it in pre-war United States. Just like in his own timeline, the Naval installation was the only bases for the training of seaman. Therefore, it was strange that the facility still stood with relatively minor damage and even looked to still be serviceable provided the Enclave can occupy it. There were a few packs of native wildlife that have moved into the structure over the decades, but they shouldn't be too difficult to eradicate according to Thomas's analysis.

Moving on, O'Hare airport looked to be mostly undamaged, other than the debris and wrecks littered across the runway. Hangar bays that housed passenger and cargo aircraft were still standing with the underground refueling station still appear to be working based on his eyebots scans and analysis.

Miraculously, once his eyebots examined them, it looked like a few cargo planes were still air worthy. Mind you, they definitely needed repairs and their systems needed to be checked, but with enough time; it may be possible for these aircrafts to fly once again through the skies as they did hundreds of years ago.

It definitely would be faster than having to construct the necessary facilities and gather enough materials to build new ones. Especially with the limited resources he still currently had on hand.

That was not all that stayed relatively intact in the windy city after all these centuries. Navy Pier still looked rather unscathed from the nuclear fire along with several massive rail yards. In time, they would be put back to use, Thomas would make sure of it.

His recon units had also come across something interesting, something that gave Thomas an opportunity to try out an idea.

About one kilometer west of the airport, there was a settlement that looked to consist of up to roughly wo thousand to three thousand people. A rather large town by wasteland standards. His eyebots had seen the time come under attack by raiders and packs of feral ghouls; a plan began forming in Thomas's head soon after.

If someone were to get rid of the encampment's problems, then the towns folk would surely be grateful. Perhaps grateful enough to join or assist their saviors in their objectives.

While the Enclave have already begun recruiting wastelanders even before the destruction of the oil rig, albeit they were very selective about it, this was the first large scale attempt to reintegrate those in the wasteland as U.S citizens. Though those that resided in the scorched landscape could still technically be considered citizens of the United States, the majority had already lost a great deal of their national identity, as the nuclear bombs were basically one big reset button for civilization and that the day to day individual was more focused on survival rather than learning about history.

Fortunately, there wasn't much outcry over Thomas's proposal, as it was already obvious to many in the group that they were suffering from a shortage in manpower. Which came as a great relief to the former human turned A.I.

If this endeavor was successful, it would help to resolve the Enclave's issue with manpower. As they've been stretched thin during their journey across country as they established many outposts and facilities during their exodus, including the variety of operations they are conducting currently.

Furthermore, they would have an ample amount of personnel to staff the airport. Given the fact that most of the local security force were also from the area, they would have a better understanding of the terrain and area as they've spent their entire lives there.

If Thomas had still had fingers, they would be crossed as he began formulating his orders and transmitting them to Brigadier General Packard- recently promoted to help better organize the military leadership chain -and the rest of Enclave High Command.

(Two weeks later)

(Location: Chicago)

Ethan Collins had lived in the destroyed ruins of the city in Jericho his entire life- the town being named after the man who founded it about a century ago, as did his father and grandfather. Pretty much his entire family lived in the settlement for as long as he could remember, going all the way back as decades or even centuries ago.

While the small community had been through a few hardships and struggles ever since its founding, recent years proved to be quite a challenge for them as they've had to almost constantly deal with raids from bandits that set up shop in the area in addition to the regular mutated wildlife like mole rats, rad scorpions, etc. The town was rapidly approaching its breaking point, with more than a few residents thinking about leaving to find someplace safer, given that Jericho's local security forces were undermanned and ill-equipped to deal with the influx of dangers. It really deal seem like this would be the end of Jericho.

At least that was how it used to feel like. Until they showed up.

The group had arrived out of nowhere, riding on those flying mechanical beasts he and the rest of the town had never seen before, which were apparently called "Vertibirds." Within a day, they wiped out the hordes of feral ghouls and decimated the raider camps that've been plaguing them for years, hanging the bandit's bodies from light poles and other structures for all to see with the corpses of the ghouls thrown into fire pyres.

Soon after, their leader- at least of this particular group- had introduced themselves to the town's mayor and populace. They had proclaimed themselves to be the legitimate United States government, the Enclave. Once the introductions were wrapped up, the Enclave had requested to open up talks with Mayor Witmer regarding whether or not the people of Jericho would be willing to once again be a part of the United States of America. Apparently, Witmer even talked with the American President himself through the radio. When asked why the president could not be there in person, the officer in charge simply said that the president resided in Washington D.C further east and that this was the best they could do. When Mayor Witmer attempted to further inquire into the matter, the officer refused to speak more on it and answered by saying that this was the best they could do at the moment.

The talks concluded a week and a half ago, in which the Mayor had agreed to the Enclave's terms and the process of having the town formally brought back into the fold and that its inhabitants be granted the opportunity to once again become United States citizens; much like their ancestors were hundreds of years ago. Which were met by overwhelming support by the residents, Ethan along with his parents and younger sister as well.

The Enclave were only here for only a couple of weeks and already things were beginning to change for the better.

Men from the so-called "Army Corp of Engineers" arrived a day after the negotiations, ever since then they've begun rebuilding the settlement's water system, repairing the damaged and worn-down buildings, and adding improved defenses to the colony such as newly constructed walls, fences, security stations, and gates. Furthermore, the towns power grid was upgraded so that it didn't sporadically go out every now and then.

In addition, the town's local security forces were given an upgrade as well. Before, all they had were 10mm pistols and pipe guns scavenged from the surround area or handed down from the previous generation. Now, they formed into a local policing and security force for the settlement. The Enclave had given them a bunch of new toys to play with like functioning combat body armor, riot batons with a shock function, Beretta M9s, 10mm SMGs, etc.

They were also handed a few T-45 suits, along with a few mechanics to teach them how to maintain it and make repairs, which was given as a sign of good faith from the President himself, according to the officer that was assigned to be a liaison between the wider Enclave and the settlement. According to a few rumors he had heard, a couple of American officers were a bit worried in handing over power armor over to them, but the soon died down as they were given no reason to doubt the president's decision thus far given that he never led them astray ever since he took command more than a year ago.

A small garrison was assigned to help aid and augment their security as well as to help to help them in firearms training, small unit tactics, marksmanship, police codes and procedures, how to spot suspicious individuals, hostage situations, riot control techniques, etc. Basically, everything what a policing force should know in order to do their duty of protecting and serving the people.

The security forces were to be redesignated as Metro Police, or Metro cops for short. They would retain most of their previous duties such as law enforcement, maintaining public safety, civil protection, etc. Not much different than what they were doing before, only now they had the training, equipment, and expertise to go along with it.

The majority of the force that was sent here was setting up shop at the O'Hare airport, Navy Pier, the old military base, and a few rail yards. When asked what they were doing over there, the Enclave troops stationed in Jericho said they couldn't divulge military movements and orders to civilians due to operational security. And that all they could say that they were occupying locations for them to conduct future operations in the area.

In addition, the functional radios around the town were tuned into what the troops were calling "Enclave Radio." In which the president gave his speeches to the people, which was the best way to communicate with the masses given that he was still in Washington D.C. The speech of the day was repeated three hour intervals, eight times a day, in between the regular broadcasts which mainly consisted of pre-war songs. This was done so that everyone had the opportunity to listen to what the president had to say if they wanted to; but didn't had the chance if they were busy working or otherwise preoccupied.

In Ethan's humble opinion, they were very interesting speeches. The president essentially talked about the glory of the United States of America before the war and how together they could return it to its former glory. He talked about the constitution and the story of the founding fathers; how the people of the United States fought for their freedom from the British Empire during the American Revolution in the late 1700s. How every fourth of July they celebrated their independence and how saddening it was that what was once a day of honoring the fallen had become lost as a result of the nuclear flames that engulfed the world hundreds of years ago. However, the president also spoke on the country's flaws before the great war and how under his leadership, he would work to rectify this so that history doesn't repeat itself.

Which was the reason why Ethan was where he currently was, standing outside of the Enclave recruitment center and readying himself to go in. The new rebuilt building was guarded by two military policemen standing on both ends of the entrance leading inside: clad in standard combat armor and holding what looked to be their standard issued laser rifle primary weapon, aiming their barrels at the ground below. Which was established as one of the terms negotiated with the Mayor in exchange for the reconstruction efforts and protection. A newly raised flag with red, white, and blue stripes; an 'E' was placed in the middle and encircled by thirteen white stars, was placed on the buildings roof fluttered in the wind.

For the first time since, well, since he was born, Ethan felt a new found sense of purpose of direction. The opportunity to do something with his life other than just focusing on surviving till the next day and rinse and repeat.

A poster was plastered right in front of the office where all who walked by the building could see a clear as day. It showed a picture of an Enclave soldier in one of those suits of power armor, wielding a standard issue laser rifle and looking upwards while saluting; the pre-war American flag with the 'E' in the center-replacing the star- displayed proudly right behind him. On top of the poster were the words in bold caption, "ENLIST TODAY. FIGHT FOR A BETTER TOMORROW," while on the bottom it said in the same captions font and color, "SERVICE GUARANTEES CITIZENSHIP." There were also a few pamphlets stacked on the nearby table labeled "REBUILDING AMERICA, TODAY! WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?" with a few towns folk grabbing a few and beginning to flip through the pages.

The pamphlets were apparently written by the president himself with the purpose of enlightening the citizens of America of what the Enclave's goals were and how you can do you part in this great effort to rebuild. There was also a section in the pamphlet detailing how one could attain American citizenship if one desired. The primary method through which one could become a citizen was by joining up the Enclave Armed Forces and serve in the military for a duration for no less than two years.

Other than that, the booklet talked about the history of the Enclave and the United States, and how they desired nothing more to bring this great nation back up from the fires of the atomic flame that engulfed it two hundred years ago. The words were apparently written by the current president himself if the Enclave personnel that were tasked with distributing them were to be believed.

Ethan should know this. After all, he grabbed one for himself when they first started handing them out and spent the last few days almost obsessively reading it repeatedly.

When he had made the decision to join the Enclave and attain citizenship for himself, his mother was understandably upset and worried; after all it was no doubt going to be dangerous and she didn't wish for her only son to die on some battlefield miles away from home. His father and sister on the other hand, defended him, saying that it was his choice to make.

His mom was still uneasy even when he packed his things and left home earlier, however, his father told him that he would handle it and told him to do it if he really wanted to and that he would support him no matter what decision he made. On the other hand, his sister "Madison", made him promise to write back everyday and to bring her back a souvenir from his future travels.

Straightening himself, and adjusting the straps on his make-shift backpack, he pushed open the doors and walked into the main area, where he could see about a dozen townsfolk, either sitting in the waiting area or talking to one of the recruiters at the front desk. One of whom he knew growing up- a man who was two years older than him named "Oliver" - who gave him a nod in acknowledgement as he made his way to exit through the main doors holding a folded piece of paper. Ethan gave him a nod in return before walking to a recruiter who didn't look to be busy at the moment.

The man noticed him as he approached and swerved in his chair behind the desk to meet him. As Ethan got closer, he got a better look at what he was wearing. It looked to be some kind of formal dress uniform drabbed in olive green, with a tie and button up jacket along with it. There was also a nametag on his jacket with "Darby" written on it.

"Welcome," he greeted Ethan with friendliness and a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I-I would like to join up," Ethan pushed down his nervousness and anxiety as best he could and replaced it with as much confidence as he could muster.

"Well, that's great. Just need to ask you a few questions first."

Ethan let out a confirmation as Darby turned his gaze down to personal terminal and began typing into it. The details of which were unknown to Ethan given that he couldn't see the screen.

"First question- what's your name?"

"Ethan Collins."

"Second- how old are you?

"I'm nineteen."

"Last one-why do you want to join the Enclave."

"I want to earn my citizenship. Also, I want to help make a difference like with what you did for Jericho."

"Good answer," Darby complimented as he gestured to a door near the main desk, where Ethan could see rows of computer terminals with a few people working on them. "You're assigned to terminal twelve to complete your ASVAB test, once you start you have thirty minutes to one hour to complete it. Once you're finished looking over the results come and see me."

Ethan had learned about this when he was reading through the booklet, the ASVAB – which stood for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery – is to determine the qualifications of an individual and determine which types of service was best suited for you. Essentially, it was an exam that tested your knowledge in a wide variety of fields such as science, math, and engineering.

However, it didn't restrict one from being able to join a branch or particular MOS (Mission Occupational Specialty) in the military if they didn't get it in their results if the applicant wished to do so.

In the end, the decision was ultimately left up to the individual. The ASVAB merely provided guidance on what would likely be the best choice for them.

Once he was finished with his own ASVAB test, he submitted the test and waited for it to finish processing his answers and to give him his score. When he got it back, he saw that he was most qualified to enlist in the Enclave Army as an 11-Bravo - also known as an Infantryman. It also said that it believed he would also be well suited as either a mortarmen, artillerymen, and a construction engineer. When he had finisher reviewing his results, he spent the next few minuted making his decision before heading back to Darby at the front desk and telling him his desired job.

"Report to the station at 0300 tomorrow," Darby informed him as he handed him his authorization.

"Welcome to the U.S Army, Ethan."

And scene! That's it for now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As always, thanks again to everyone for taking the time to read my story.

So, I've been researching the weaponry of the Fallout universe and noticed how in Fallout's 1, 2, and New Vegas, they had some modern weaponry while in Fallout 3 and 4 had more archaic and steampunk styled guns.

For this story, the pipe guns that you see in Fallout 4 were made after the bombs dropped while weapons like the M16A2 with wooden furniture, FN FAL, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, G3, Beretta M9, etc., were created pre-war. Feel free to tell me about your thoughts on this and whether or not you agree with my decision.

Also, what were they thinking when designing the Fallout 4 assault rifle. I mean, I'm by no means a gun expert, but even I can tell that it's absolutely disastrous to fire. Not to mention that aesthetically it looks awful. Zach Hazard on mikeburnfire explains it better than I ever could.

Furthermore, I just want to put this as a general response for comments asking about when I'm going to upload the next chapter. I do appreciate the enthusiasm - believe me, I really do- and I'm sincerely sorry but like I already said, I cannot maintain a consistent upload schedule as I write in my free time as a hobby. As much as I would like to write more, unfortunately, real life comes first. I'm also not one of those writers that can write up a whole chapter- or even a few thousand words- in a single day. No, I'm lucky if I can manage one thousand words: that's me on a good day. In addition, I have to be in the right mood when I sit down and start typing on my computer. If I'm not, then my brain just won't start producing ideas no matter how hard I try to make it, which means I'm not typing anything.

Once more, I'm sorry for my erratic uploads. I'm not trying to make excuses; I'm just trying to explain. I hope you guys are not upset.

On an unrelated note, despite my best judgements; I'm allowing myself to be cautiously optimistic for Starfield. I just recently watched the deep dive direct and it looks like that space game I've always wanted and dreamed of when I was a kid. Hopefully, it's at least a fraction of what they showcased so I can live out my dreams of being a combination of a space trucker, mercenary, bounty hunter, pirate, and smuggler.

Have a good day, fellas. See you next time and remember… stay frosty, gents.