Arthur Maxim was sitting comfortably in his chair, looking at the battle map that showed the Boston area along with some key points of interest that were possible signs of Institute sightings and activities. So far, the map hadn't received too many updates of late. When he and his men first arrived, the map was often highlighted with all sorts of things that needed to be addressed, such as the few super mutants that were at key infrastructures containing relics of old war technologies. Now, the places they occupied were derelict, not just because of their absence but also due to the lack of anything that wasn't nailed down, including items that were part of the building structure, such as copper wiring. Anything that had any significant value was removed, including the desired technology that the scribes had detected through their careful hacking of old computers.
To make matters even stranger, there was a lack of any synths that had been detected thus far—not even the first or second generation synths had been sighted, as if the Institute itself had just vanished. Additionally, radar activity had also died down to barely any sightings, except for the occasional lone scavenger, who were quick to run away. This aided their efforts to occupy the airport: no raiders meant no waste of ammunition or energy from their fusion cores. However, all this silence and lack of activity did not sit well with the current Elder of the Brotherhood.
"Elder," Paladin Danse announced his presence and waited for Arthur to acknowledged him.
Arthur reached over and turned a dial on the military holo-table, switching over to previous activities and how the Commonwealth was in its current state when they had first arrived. "Report," Arthur finally acknowledged the Paladin, even though he knew that the one posing as Danse was a synth. The only reason he hadn't ordered the destruction of this machine was simply that it was of more use kept around to possibly feed false information to the Institute, luring it into places where they could best attack. How he came to know the infiltrator's true nature was simple enough: a bio-scan of the skull after the Paladin received a significant blow allowed many of the medical staff to check for fractures or concussions, only to discover a great nest of machinery in place of where the brain was supposed to be, shielded by an artificial skull structure. After that, he made sure to give all sorts of orders that either had the Paladin going alone or fed him false information. That he had not complained, or for that matter acted as a paladin should, could be the result of poor programming or too-perfect programming of a loyal soldier. Either way, it hardly mattered; he was serving his purpose. Whether the real Danse wanted this or not did not matter now.
"We have scouted the surrounding area as you ordered us to survey, but the rust devils seem to be gone along with any other valuable resources. Not even iron nails were spared," Danse reported, recalling what he could remember. While surveying that location, he had noticed signs of what could have been a battle, but given how decayed the building structure was and how the rust devils tended to operate with their loosely modified weapons, it could have easily been one of their own testing out their incredibly unstable armaments. So, he decided to leave that out of the report and let the scribes determine what had happened, which he had left at the current site leir of the rust devils.
The Elder did not show any expressions besides a concentrated, stony face. He wanted the rust devils, at least a few of their mechanics, despite Arthur wanting the Institute destroyed. There were some technical geniuses that needed to be appropriately taken in, receiving the proper training and being shown the appropriate way of the Brotherhood's ideology and beliefs, so technology would not run amok and would be preserved under their supervision. It was unfortunate that they weren't captured. Perhaps they were hiding somewhere else, or information regarding their location had somehow leaked. The Elder couldn't help but think about the only human machine standing not too far from him that may have influenced the leaked information. If that was the case… "Report back to the police station, Paladin. There, you will wait for further instructions. For the time being, you're on Sentinel Duty," he ordered. The Paladin didn't seem to mind the order; all he received was a simple salute, and then he was already heading to one of the vertebrae hangar bays.
After the Paladin was gone, a high-ranking scribe emerged from the shadows, holding a specialized EMP neutralizer designed specifically to deal with organic synths that would short-circuit the neural processor. "How much longer do we keep that thing around? Those in the know are starting to get anxious, especially with the lack of any activities of late to distract them, and our own research on the local fauna has also run its course. Even the sightings of the ghouls have stopped." The highest scribe leader, an elderly woman at least 30 years older than Arthur, was one of the original Lions Pride members who had gotten Liberty Prime up and running and became the head of its reconstruction. Despite her old age, she had only a few wrinkles, and her blonde hair still had color, despite the strands of silver that only reached her neckline.
He closed his eyes and began stroking the short beard he had as he contemplated what to do regarding the false Paladin. The Brotherhood codex was quite clear: terminate the infiltrator with prejudice. Yet he didn't follow that rule; instead, he decided to use the thing, and so far it had been of great use. But now it had very little use, not while the Institute remained silent along with the rest of the Commonwealth. "I have not considered its fate, though I am coming to a decision soon regarding its termination." He could see a relieved expression on the pale face of the woman who was his head scribe.
"The sooner we eliminate it, the better for all of our sakes, though I wouldn't mind examining it after its termination just to get a better insight into the inner workings and see if we cannot devise new means of technology from its carcass." Her words almost sounded wistful at the idea of dissecting some new technology that could be applied to the Brotherhood to make them as strong as they were with the airship they commanded and soon Liberty Prime.
He knew many of the scribes would kill just to have an opportunity to examine one of the more advanced synths, and Arthur could not find it in himself to deny them. It was their duty, after all, to catalog, to observe, and even on occasion, to experiment with old world technology, even with new technologies that seemed to be a lot more advanced. Hell, the Lone Wanderer, before he had left to do whatever wanderings through the wasteland beyond the capital, had left behind an odd weapon that had the power to disintegrate anything. But due to its limited ammunition, it became nothing more than an object of reference within the archives, just one of many treasures the Brotherhood obtained by coming east. "As soon as it's terminated, I will let you know to do a full examination of its carcass, from its skull down to its toes." Arthur gave his word that she would be the first to examine the machine once it had been terminated; until then, she would have to wait patiently.
"You have my thanks, Elder. I will keep my dissection table prepped and clean when the day comes." She had an eager smile on her face and a maddening glee in her eyes, an expression that did not bode well for anyone on the dissection table. Without saying anything more, she left for her lab to oversee the few experiments she was still conducting.
Now, being left alone—truly this time—Arthur decided to reminisce about the past, since his ascension to Elder, and perhaps even further back than that, since he was but a child. He had seen the Lone Wanderer, the living Messiah as most people called him, going around and helping people, liberating an entire city filled with slaves, crushing the Super Mutant issue single-handedly, and helping recover lost technologies. For a brief moment, he had thought that Sarah and the Wanderer would join together and become as strong as steel. But true to his name, he couldn't stay; even as a Brotherhood member, he left. As Arthur had ascended to his mantle through deed and right, and he called out for all members of the Brotherhood, whether they be outcasts or true to the Brotherhood name. The Wanderer did not return; even after he had sent scouts looking for him wherever he had gone westward, still no sign. Even to this day, he still didn't believe that the Wanderer was dead. "I can only hope that you're still fighting the good fight, as old Three Dog would once say," he muttered to himself—another person he would never see or hear again. But forever, these two men's legacies would continue to exist, even if they were reduced to mere stories.
Bursting into the War Room, a Paladin quickly saluted his Elder before standing straight. "Elder, we have a situation at the airport?!" the fully armored Brotherhood member said, drawing the full attention of the Elder.
Standing up from the chair he had been sitting on and looking towards the holographic table, Arthur began twisting a few knobs and pushing a few buttons before pulling a switch that displayed a 3D rendering of the airport and the Prydwen, along with slowly moving highlights indicating the number of individuals approaching. "Who is marching upon us en masse?" he demanded to know, wondering if he should don his own power armor to join in the inevitable battle, as he assumed there would be one given the large number of units moving through the city.
"They claim to be the Empire of the Commonwealth, sir," the Paladin answered, though he didn't know much about this new faction that had just come out of nowhere.
It didn't take the Elder a moment to think about what action he should choose based on his experiences with these types of scenarios. Even though most of the scenarios he had gone through didn't come close to this, not even the Super Mutants marching en masse with such numbers. "Have all Paladins have the Vertibirds prepped for battle. Any non-essential combat personnel should head back up here to the airship and make necessary preparations to evacuate." He gave his orders, and his Paladin did not wait a second after receiving them, quickly running off to deliver them.
Staring at the unknowns in red on the holographic table approaching the airport, Arthur couldn't help but smile. For a long while, he smiled at the thrill of battle as he headed to his personal quarters and found his T-60 power armor with a Brotherhood of Steel emblem emblazoned across the chest plate. Moving behind the suit of armor, he immediately turned the valve and watched it fold open. He stepped inside and felt that familiar, almost forgotten sensation of the suit beginning to close up, feeling the specialized power assist lock onto his arms and legs, allowing ease of movement in the half-ton of reinforced steel. Its targeting hub activated, showing him all the specs and information he needed to know. Getting off the power armor stand, he went over to his main weapon of choice, his laser Gatling gun, which he grabbed hold of and wielded in a single hand thanks to the power armor. The weapon itself was named Fury; it was the first weapon he had actually put together from spare parts of a Gatling laser, and it had served him well. Now, since he had ascended to elderhood, he would be bringing her out to the battlefield once again to face an unknow enemy. Whether they lived or died, he would still have her with him on this or any battlefield.
20 minutes later*
The airport was completely evacuated except for the Paladins and Knights who had already positioned themselves within a fortified structure. Instead of standing over the battlements, Arthur was at the front lines with his Paladins, his Gatling gun already beginning to rotate as he waited for the enemy, hearing their marching approaching their position.
Coming around the corner, a massive army clad in black riot armor appeared, their glowing red lenses staring forward as they marched in formation. However, the real attention-grabber of this force was the men in suits of power armor, also clad in black, who were leading the large procession. The horde continued moving until they stopped just within 500 feet of the Brotherhood of Steel's position, as the leader of this group raised his fist, indicating for everyone to cease movement.
"Arthur Maxim, I request parley," one of the three black power armor men spoke through a speaker that amplified their voice over the distance.
Every Paladin and Knight looked towards the Elder, wondering what his decision would be. For the longest time, they had never heard anyone request the Elder by name, along with invoking parley. Without hesitation, Arthur moved his helmeted head towards one trusted Paladin and another to serve as escorts. He began to move out of formation with his men and out of the defensive barricades that had been set up for this possible battle, marching forward a fair distance before stopping halfway toward this unknown adversary. Following their example, the three who had led this horde moved the same distance and stopped, leaving only 10 feet between the black power armor and the gunmetal gray power armor.
"It is good to finally meet the famed Elder I have heard so much about," Nate spoke through the filter of his X01 power armor, his red optics scanning over the Elder's escorts and reading the specs of their armors.
Taking a step closer, Arthur hit the release switch on his helmet, took it off, and tucked it under his left arm. "You know me, but I don't know you. Who are you and why do you march in mass on our position?" he demanded, all without showing any outward expression.
Seeing that the other had just taken off their helmet, Nate felt compelled to do the same. He removed his helmet and, in the same manner, tucked it under his arm. "Just to show strength—that is why I march with this small skirmish force. The rest of my army is dealing with some annoyances while others are passively recruiting. Plus, I wanted to grab your attention directly," he stated, all while wondering how the other members of his forces were doing with dealing with the Children of Atom, thanks to super mutants being naturally immune to high levels of radiation, and The Institute taking care of their railroad problem after providing them the necessary information to uproot them and their newest asset, The Operators, who were trying to negotiate with the Gun Runners in a joint venture, if not fully assimilate them into the fold.
It was strange for Arthur to feel flattered that someone would go to the trouble of assembling an army just to garner his attention. There were very few things that would force him to leave his airship; not even the few caches of advanced technology had compelled him to vacate central command within this region. But an army of unknown units that were professionally armed, which appeared to possess more than the standard laser muskets that the locals frequently used, caught his interest. They had real military hardware, laser rifles, and by the look of a few of them, laser PDWs, but no plasma rifles. "Well, you have my attention. Just tell me what you want, and I'll decide whether or not to vaporize you on the spot, along with your army," he stated, making it clear what the possible outcome could be depending on the answer he would receive.
"Simple, Arthur. I want to build an empire out of the ashes of the old world and bring new life within this nuclear wasteland. I want you and your chapter of the Brotherhood to be at my side as I rekindle the flames of civilization that have now become nothing more than small embers. Together, we can rock this world down to its bedrock," Nate said proudly while gesturing towards the crumbling ruins of the old world that surrounded them.
After hearing the speech—or sales pitch—Nate had delivered, the Elder of the Brotherhood threw his head back and began laughing to the point where he felt tears in the corners of his eyes. Once his laughter died down, he straightened himself up, still with a spark of mirth in his eyes as he looked at the man who had spoken so passionately about his plans and ambitions. He didn't look annoyed or show any other emotion besides stoic focus. "That's an interesting little proposition. However, the Brotherhood of Steel stands on its own, and we have no interest in the empire you are trying to build. We are here only because of our mission: to stop the technological abominations that have run amok, like The Institute and their abominable synths, and to collect any technologies that will serve the Brotherhood well." The Elder gave his gentle refusal while also stating their main purpose here: to avoid getting involved in local politics and instead fulfill the dogmatic obligations that the founder of the Brotherhood had laid in stone.
Nate knew that the refusal to join the emerging empire was not outside the realm of possibility, considering what he knew about Arthur from the Institute's files regarding this Elder of the East Coast Brotherhood chapter and how the man had dealt with different factions residing within the East Coast. "Your refusal is not unexpected, but your presence is no longer required. The dealings with The Institute have been neutralized and repurposed; as for their synths, everything above Gen 2 has ceased production, and the existing coursers still remain in operation under new directives. The remaining Gen 3 synths have received their emancipation and have been given a choice: to either stay in The Institute or take their free will into their own hands and carve out their own homes beyond The Commonwealth." Nate informed the Elder that their mission to take on The Institute was no longer necessary, and he noticed a slight rise in the Elder's demeanor, marked by a small twitch of his eye at this announcement. He continued further, "I also regret to inform you that all technologies that were unclaimed have been thoroughly claimed and are already serving the interests of the empire. You will not be taking property from the empire's denizens unless you wish to start a war with us." This time, Nate could see Arthur's gloved fingers begin to curl into a fist, and by the looks of the small shaking of his fist, the man was seething with rage.
"And you expect us to leave? Is that it? Everything around here has been dealt with, and by the sounds of it, The Institute is still in operation. You let loose those abominations into the world. Who are you to make these decisions, and who are you to claim what belongs to the Brotherhood?" Arthur's control over his emotions was starting to slip as his rage began to overpower his stoicism.
Taking a few confident steps closer, Nate drew the unpleasant attention of the two Paladins, who had their Gatling lasers pointed toward him as he stood just a hand's width away from Elder Arthur Maxim. The two men stared into each other's eyes. "Who am I, you ask? I am Nate Maxson, brother of High Elder Roger Maxson. By the rights of the Codex, I challenge you for control of this chapter of the Brotherhood. Will you refute me?" he announced his identity while throwing down the gauntlet.
There were very few times that Arthur could ever be surprised. Hearing someone claim to be related not only to the founder of the Brotherhood of Steel but also to his ancestor felt like complete nonsense. However, hearing the challenge—a right only afforded to members of the Brotherhood themselves, primarily high-ranking Paladins—was significant. This right hadn't been acknowledged in 80 years, since the last time a challenger ascended to Elder status. "And you expect me to honor your request to acknowledge your right? You, someone who is not a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and who claims to be a relative of my ancient ancestor? That is even more ludicrous than claiming that deathclaws can talk instead of ripping your head off." Despite sounding sarcastic, there was no hiding his anger at the audacity of the man before him. His own Paladins were already on the verge of activating their Gatling lasers and starting a battle, the outcome of which remained uncertain, especially with their leader so far from their defensive position.
"I understand your disbelief, but I am related to your ancestor. I was put into a state of suspended animation—cryosleep, one of the Vault-Tec experiments. I emerged from that vault and took on the Commonwealth by myself. I'm more than willing to submit to a bioscan to prove my validity. Once proven, in accordance with your Codex, I am already an honorary member of the Brotherhood of Steel by my heritage alone, and thus you will have to honor my request," Nate explained, clarifying why someone nearly 200 years old—add a decade or two if he wanted to be specific—could claim such a connection.
Surprisingly, that didn't sound too far-fetched. Vault-Tec had experimented with all sorts of nasty things. Arthur remembered how the Lone Wanderer had submitted his own information regarding the vaults in the Capital Wasteland—how one vault was dedicated to cloning while another was filled with hallucinogenic gas. The horror stories of what those vaults contained were well-documented in Brotherhood records, especially when the Lyons marched eastward and discovered many different vaults with far stranger experiments. "If you're willing to submit to a bioscan to prove you are who you say you are and that you are not a synth, then perhaps you have some claim." His tone had calmed down a bit, but his enraged glare remained dead focused on Nate.
"Then we will wait here while you return to your fortifications and inform whoever is authorized to handle such delicate technologies. I will announce my right and my claim after the bioscan and see whether or not you hold true to the Codex," Nate replied as he put on his helmet and locked it in place, waiting for Arthur to do the same. He then watched the leader of the Brotherhood march off back to the airport, leaving the three of them alone.
"Are you sure about this? You know you could use the Institute's teleporter to send in a strike team after taking out their jammers," Preston stated, offering his perspective on the current situation. In his eyes, the Brotherhood of Steel were better-armed raiders, obsessed with obtaining technology and willing to fight anyone to get it, even simple people just trying to make their way in the world.
Looking to his right at Nate, who was wearing his own set of power armor, he acknowledged his point of view with a simple nod. "You are right, as always. We could send in a strike team, take out the majority of them, and use the cannons at the castle to blow up their airship. But do you know how much we would lose? Not just in manpower, but also in what they could bring to us? Besides better-trained men and more power armor frames, they have access to certain technologies that I want and need—technologies that the Rust Devils cannot provide, even with their insane and ingenious modding. They lack certain military-grade finesse," Nate said.
Over to the left, John let out a raspy chuckle, and the little ventilator made it sound even more gravelly. "Come on, Preston, this is more amusing! To think that my own people thought of me giving up the reins of Mayor of Goodneighbor was too soon. If I had known this bastard was going to pull this shit, I would have gladly thrown my hat to the nearest person so I could at least travel along and watch our upcoming King of the Commonwealth start requesting duels and kicking as much ass as he climbs up this mountain he has built for himself." Again, the party ghoul let out more raspy chuckles.
Nate couldn't help but smile behind his helmet as he looked toward John. In another life, he would most likely have found someone like John Hancock during his college years—the party animal who always brought beer, weed, or other chems into the dorms just to liven things up. Not the hard stuff, just the fun stuff that gets you buzzed, along with snacks to help those who got the munchies after their high had died down. "I'm not aiming to become king; I'm aiming to become emperor. An emperor bends the knee to no one, not even to a god," he said, throwing his voice a little to sound medieval, just as he had when playing as the Silver Shroud while touring around Goodneighbor or outside of it, dealing with the more organized smaller packs of raiders that caused problems for the town. The little play-acting caused the ghoul to let out more chuckles, to the point where he was slapping his own armored leg and fighting the urge to double over in his X01 armor.
An hour later
The head scribe, an elderly woman, waved the bio-scan device slowly, making sure to scan the exposed head of the individual who had claimed to be from the Maxson lineage. A few moments later, after the scan was complete, the scribe hooked it up to her Pip-Boy and watched as it began to compare the last record of DNA data of the first Maxson. Once it finished processing, the scribe narrowed her brows before looking towards the Elder. "He shares the blood; he is of Maxson's kin," she declared to her Elder and all those who were present, despite looking disgusted at the idea that someone outside the Brotherhood of Steel could claim to share kinship with such a venerated founder. More than that, it was unnatural to her that he could be older than the Brotherhood itself.
"You see, I am of the blood, and by your Codex, for my continued survival and life, I am automatically granted the rank of Sentinel, the only rank that is allowed to challenge the current Elder. Now, will you refute my right to challenge you, or shall your paladins and head scribe of this chapter witness you breaking the Codex?" Nate stated to everyone present, almost daring his challenger to refuse his challenge.
Arthur gritted his teeth. He knew what would happen if he refused and was accused of breaking the Codex. The right to challenge an Elder was one of the core laws that made up the Brotherhood of Steel in the event that an Elder decided to veer off the course of what the Brotherhood of Steel stood for or threatened the stability that they maintained with the other chapters. Though it had rarely happened before, he would be the one to be challenged in such a way. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he let out a sigh before opening them, his eyes burning with fury at the situation he found himself in. "I accept your challenge. I assume you'll be fighting in your power armor and with whatever weapons you have in your possession, or lack thereof." He fought the urge to sneer.
"Afraid that you'll be considered craven for not allowing me to have my own weapon to fight against you in this challenge?" Nate couldn't help but smirk at seeing Arthur's face twitch in agitation at his words. "Worry not; I have all the weapons I could possibly need, thanks to the upgrade to my power armor that has a built-in quantum storage device, allowing me to store as much of my arsenal as I desire, so long as it doesn't burn out my fully refueled fusion core." Waving his right power armor gauntlet, a shower of purple lightning appeared to engulf his arm before vanishing, revealing a large weapon that looked like a Gatling laser gun, except it had two barrels and glowed green, similar to that of plasma weapons.
The head scribe couldn't help but admire this new unknown technology of storage. She could only surmise that it came from The Institute; there was no technology on record that the Brotherhood of Steel had come across that allowed free storage of any object within a compressed space. Perhaps if Arthur didn't damage the power armor too much, she would enjoy dissecting it just as much as she would enjoy dissecting the Paladin synth.
"Allow my men and my scribe to clear the area. I do not want their deaths to be on my head," Arthur gestured towards his two paladins and scribe, who immediately began to move to a respectable distance so they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire of the upcoming battle.
Nate only looked towards his two companions, who didn't need any gestures or words to tell them to get the hell out of the way before they got atomized.
Once the two combatants were alone, Arthur put on his power armor helmet just as Nate did the same. The two stared at each other through their visors before beginning to slowly walk clockwise in a circle, watching each other's movements for the slightest sign of attack as their weapons began to hum with energy at the very edge of discharging.
Taking one last step before twisting, Arthur pulled the trigger on his Gatling laser and listened to the familiar high-speed sound of his laser barrels spinning and starting to discharge at his opponent.
Instead of returning fire, Nate simply hopped it, avoiding the shots before activating his jetpack. While avoiding being lasered, once it was ready to fire, he pushed a button on his left gauntlet that controlled the thrusters and set it to max as he lunged forward at full speed, crashing into Arthur and bulldozing him through one of the ruined buildings. He kept pushing until a metal fist sent Nate hurtling in another direction, leaving the still-flying Arthur to crash through several more walls of the derelict building structure.
When he finally stopped crashing through walls, Arthur got up, activated his headlamp, and surveyed his environment. He noticed that he was in some pre-war clothing store. Getting up from the large pile of debris he had formed upon his entry, he exited the store through the hole he had made and realized that he was in a large mall that had different sections that were somewhat intact, despite the 200 years of wear and tear the building had endured. He looked through the hole in the wall that he had entered this part of the building structure and considered going through there in an effort to find his enemy. But before he could put that thought into action, he considered the possibility that his opponent would have laid traps. It wasn't against the rules; any weapon was accepted, even unconventional weapons, so long as the Brotherhood member was a member and held a high enough rank. They could use whatever they wished, and depending on his opponent, the oldest non-ghoul person would probably have a full military surplus packed away somewhere. There was no telling what type of weapons would be deployed. Hell, he didn't even see what that weird-looking weapon he had possessed could do. So he decided to go ahead and just wander through the mall, waiting for his enemy to come for him instead of him going after his enemy.
As Arthur looked at the relics of a bygone age of capitalism, he truly wondered how things were 200 years ago, before the bombs fell. There were shops that were still somewhat intact and still had many of their items in them. He could just imagine a mother buying her son the mythic treat that was ice cream, or folks just buying whatever the latest gadget that was commercially available. This and more—it was surprising enough that this place was still so intact and how his knights did not scout around this place.
With his brief moment of distraction, he almost didn't notice the burst of energy that he just picked up with his audio receptors, forcing him to jump away as a large static field of plasma started sending out arcs of lightning everywhere. He quickly got out of the way and watched as it impacted a nearby wall, starting to disintegrate and melt everything it touched, turning it into a green glob of superheated goo. Looking towards the source of the exotic discharge, Arthur began opening fire at the silhouette with the red glowing eyes in the darkness, watching as his Gatling laser illuminated the shadows. His challenger moved quickly and surprisingly silently in that unique power armor. He only stopped firing his Gatling laser once he no longer saw any hint of his opponent, as if he had disappeared altogether.
"Is this how you're going to fight me? Strike from the shadows while I'm not looking instead of facing me head-on? Come on out, coward!" Despite his voice being distorted by a filter, he managed to yell out loud enough to echo throughout the mall.
The only response was silence for a long while until that silence was broken. "It's military tactics 101: strike when the enemy cannot see or hear you. Always go for a clean, efficient kill and always be the last thing your enemy sees before they die." His voice echoed in all directions, giving little indication of Nate's current position behind whatever cover he was hiding behind.
Unable to help but start grinding his teeth, Arthur couldn't help but find merit in the words of the oldest Maxson. Had the situation been different and this Maxson had joined the Brotherhood officially, he would have convened with the other existing chapters that the East Coast chapter had contact with, possibly even allowing the creation of another chapter heading further northward to the Canadian territories to search for any pre-war military assets that may have lingered after the Great War. But alas, he was here fighting a member of his family to control the East Coast chapter. Pushing his thoughts aside, Arthur began making his way to the area within the mall that provided very little shadow and a great deal of open space: the food court.
Turning his head from side to side, along with his eyes scanning over the immediate area, he switched his view from one open section of the food court to another. In the current position, a normal person would be vulnerable, but with power armor, the individual in this situation would always have their own layer of protection. Yet against high-powered energy weapons, it was quite an unintelligent move, although energy weapons tend to have a delay once avoided, providing the one who is in power armor the opportunity to return fire after getting out of the way of danger.
Looking towards a wall that had a poster, Arthur couldn't help but see how both the wall and the plastic or paper image were becoming distorted before a familiar glowing energy started to melt through the wall and poster. The process began slowly before accelerating once that thin membrane, which separated the large plasma projectile, had burst through. Again, Arthur had to duck out of the way to avoid the shot and watched the lightning hit his armor, causing significant damage. He could feel the jolt penetrate the insulated layer and start to burn his left forearm that was caught by one of the random green arcs of lightning. He gritted his teeth and fought through the pain as he opened fire with his Gatling laser into the glowing green hole that was about the size of a man in power armor. With the vain hope of hitting his target, he continued firing until his Gatling laser started to overheat, and he had to stop and let it cool. Not only was his weapon cooling down, but also a bit of his own fury at the audacity of being injured by this weird weapon.
Flexing the muscles in his left arm, he could still feel painful sensations that felt like possible second to third-degree burns. If it wasn't for the fact that he could still feel pain, it would have been a good indication that a simple trip to the infirmary, a couple of stimpaks, and a week of recovery time would see him right as rain. That is, if there was no lingering radiation that had gotten into the wound caused by that energy weapon. Returning his focus to the slowly cooling man-sized hole, Arthur walked through it and saw no one on the opposite side—no indication that he had hit anyone. All there was was the hole, and with his headlamp on, he could see a small trail of footprints that had been left behind. He couldn't help but grin at the change of their roles; he was no longer the hunted—he was the hunter.
Following the trail that was left behind, he soon entered what looked like an arena of sorts. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed a sign that spoke of what this place was: 'Planet Zeta Laser Arena.' He silently read it to himself. Once finished, the whole place lit up, and black lights began to illuminate alien figures that looked similar to the creatures that the Wanderer had described in his journal before wandering off into the unknown West. Some creatures looked truly insane; it was a combination of a Yao Guai and a red scorpion, while others were harder to describe, making him wonder what the people of the pre-war era thought aliens were like.
A sudden movement in the shadows caught Arthur's attention, and he immediately began to pull the trigger on his Gatling laser, sending a small burst of laser fire into the shadows that lay outside the black light. He moved closer to see whether he could find any more footprints or at least any sign that he had hit his target. Instead of finding either, the spot he was advancing towards through the wall erupted with another boiling mound of energy, forcing him to avoid a burst of energy that filled the arena with lightning. This time he was able to fully avoid it, watching as it impacted another neighboring wall and continued to penetrate until the energy dissipated, possibly long after this confrontation.
With a slight feeling akin to a sixth sense, Arthur aimed his Gatling laser towards his target. There, in his black armor that glowed just a bit under the black lights, stood Nate, with his own weapon charged and ready to fire.
"You know this confrontation could end now if you yield. You can still remain a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, but you'll be demoted back down to a squire and will have to work your way back up." Nate extended an olive branch to Arthur. As much as it would be easier to kill the man, having lost someone who was as experienced and skilled as his many-times-great-nephew would be a waste if he died now. He could serve to better the Commonwealth, possibly even convert the existing Brotherhood of Steel into a different mindset, if not completely abandon the Codex, as it served very little purpose besides keeping a ragtag group of well-armed individuals from killing each other.
Arthur didn't know whether to scoff or just laugh at the offer that his ancestor had given him. No Brotherhood of Steel member, not even an Elder, would accept the offer of yielding to their opponent, especially one who had challenged them. How would that make him fair among his brothers and sisters in the Brotherhood of Steel? They would label him as lesser steel, unfit to wear the armor that was cocooning him now. He would sooner banish himself and wander the wasteland wearing nothing more than Brotherhood of Steel robes, preaching the holiness of the Codex and the words laid down by his ancestors as they had built the Brotherhood up from nothing into the prominent order it was now. "You can take your offer and shove it up your ass, uncle. I will kill you and be done with it," Arthur shot back, dismissing the offer.
Already, Nate could feel the loss of a valued asset he could have had if only they weren't so stubborn. Then again, his brother was always stubborn—it may have been a biological trait. "All right, but how much do you have left?" He couldn't help but be curious about how long they would have the means to shoot each other.
Looking at the corner of his HUD, he noticed that he had at least half a core left. "I'm down to half. What about you?" Arthur replied while asking, his thumb pressing down on the button to begin the rotating function of his Gatling laser, preparing to fire.
Peering at his double-barreled BFG and looking at his own HUD indicator of his ammo, he could see that he only had just one round left. "I only have one round." As soon as Nate replied, he immediately pulled the trigger, sending out a large burst of energy along with arcs of lightning that marked out everywhere except from the point of origin.
Arthur returned fire in kind as he yelled out, ducking to the side to avoid the large burst of energy that threatened to destroy him on a molecular level, all while his enemy ran, dropping his weapon to the ground, no doubt to lighten the load and increase their ability to escape. Once Arthur no longer had any sight of his enemy, he ended the barrage of laser fire and as he slowly began searching around, his eyes peeled as his Gatling laser danced between where he was looking and where his enemy could possibly be.
Nate was sneaking around, avoiding peeking out from his cover and moving slowly, thanks to the more advanced hydraulics that the Institute had incorporated into the power armor to eliminate almost all sound, except for anything that happened to be soft matter underfoot and getting crushed. As he moved around, he noticed a large chunk of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling possibly decades ago. He picked it up and considered how to use it as a bludgeoning weapon. With it in hand, he began to see where Arthur was through a corner, moving towards another section of this little arena. He waited for his opportunity to strike; as soon as Arthur turned, where his back should have been, he swung—except his opponent wasn't there. All that met him was vacant air.
The sound of spinning turbines and laser fire belched out, forcing Nate to immediately use the concrete slab as a shield temporarily. He ducked out of the way, making himself invisible within the dark corners of the arena.
Finally, Arthur was getting the upper hand. His opponent was unarmed, and by the looks of things, he wasn't summoning any weapons. Either that, or he truly intended to win this fight with only one weapon, which made Arthur think that his opponent was arrogant enough to assume he could win with that weird weapon. Or it was complete nonsense. If the situation were reversed, Arthur would have pulled out a Fat Man and launched mini-nukes to atomize this arena along with this portion of the mall, he thought as he wandered around, moving through one set of arena columns after another, passing by a thin wall when suddenly—
A poly-laminate titanium fist burst through the wall, knocking Arthur to the side and causing him to stumble. Once he got his bearings, he looked at his opponent, who had just stepped through the hole he had made before jumping down to the lower level where Arthur had been sent, making a small thump sound.
"Semper Fi, motherfucker! Faithful to the Core, Arthur!" Nate proceeded to release the seals of his armor and stepped out slowly.
Narrowing his eyes just a bit, Arthur raised his Gatling laser towards the ceiling and sent out one last burst of laser fire, expending what was left of the core before discarding his laser gun and exiting his own armor.
Once out of his armor, Nate was the first to leap, launching an elbow drop at his opponent, which Arthur immediately caught with both arms crossed, pushing back against Nate before delivering a focused jab towards Nate's chin. The jab was deflected, and in return, a blow was set. The two engaged in punches and kicks, targeting vital areas—the joints, the throat, anywhere that military training dictated was the best place to hit. But between the two fighters, they knew where their opponent was going to strike, so it became nothing more than blocking, deflecting, or parrying.
Realizing they were at a stalemate, Nate was the first to use his surprisingly acrobatic skills. He flipped over his opponent, using the momentum to flip Arthur toward a nearby wall, causing a small impact that made the black light behind him spark. Nate continued his advance, drawing back his fist and sending it hurtling toward Arthur's head, but Arthur ducked, causing Nate's fist to collide with the already compromised wall. The impact buried Nate's fist a few inches before he ripped it out, leaving a small trail of dust following in the wake of his fist exiting the hole that was made.
Arthur delivered a roundhouse sidekick, sending his opponent to the side and reeling from the sudden impact. This gave him the moment to look around before he saw some loose rebar on the ground. He grabbed hold of it and wielded it like a spear as he marched forward, poised to impale his opponent.
After a brief recovery from the sudden kick to his abdomen, Nate could see the rebar aimed at his face and immediately lifted his arm to block it. However, he could feel the agonizing pain of the metal piercing his arm, and he could see the bloody tip of the rebar just an inch or two from his face. He grabbed hold of the section that wasn't embedded in his arm and tried to pull it out while also fighting against the thrust from Arthur, as they engaged in a reverse form of tug-of-war. He vaguely felt the sense that he was actually going to die; that everything he had done thus far was pointless—surviving the Vault that had entrapped him for two centuries, the hellscape that was the Commonwealth and all of its horrors, finding the man who had robbed him of his love and stolen his legacy, and then rebuilding a militia that was on the brink of extinction. He had brought civilization back from the ashes of the old world, built alliances where none had thought possible, and obtained the allegiance of the super mutants. Those thoughts alone brought forth a new type of fury, a new type of anger that burned in his belly and began to add to his existing strength.
Arthur could not believe how much he was struggling to kill his opponent. He had him pinned, and the bit of rebar should have penetrated through the man's arm and ended this fight. Yet somehow, it didn't. As he engaged in this dangerous contest of strength, he couldn't help but notice that his ancestor's eyes were changing. The sky-blue eyes he had seen had fully shifted to red. That wasn't the only thing he noticed; his opponent began to bear his teeth and growl and snarl.
The shock of Nate's animalistic behavior and his strong will to survive caught his opponent off guard just enough for him to deliver a head butt, disorienting his opponent and knocking him back further with a kick. Now at a fair distance, Nate looked at the rebar that was still stuck in his arm, grabbing hold of it and using his newfound strength to begin bending it, making the metal moan and protest as he coiled it around his arm until he had a makeshift sledge fist.
Taking a moment to recover, Arthur watched his opponent bend steel like it was nothing more than tin. It was then he realized what had just happened: his opponent had mutated, an unheard-of phenomenon but only amongst those who had no prior exposure to high levels of radiation, if not exposure to the F.E.V. The astonishment of the situation did not last long as his opponent charged again, this time armed with a makeshift weapon.
Arthur was able to evade the first blow of the reinforced fist aimed at his head by Nate, but the second one, aimed at his abdomen, connected, sending the Brotherhood leader flying and crashing through some nearby decorative walls. When he landed, he spat out a small blob of blood. When he looked up, he could see his opponent was already on top of him, with the fist that would end his life cocked back and moving in slow motion towards him, all while the red eyes of his opponent glowed just as fiercely as the optics on his armor. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate. "Ad victoriam," he muttered.
A sickening squelching crunch sound could be heard in the laser arena, along with a triumphant yell of victory.
The head scribe had a look of calm on her face, yet she couldn't help but toy with the strings attached to her robes, finding the situation unbearable. She would have preferred that the Elder battle in the open, or at least that a section of the airfield be cornered off for their fight. Yet it was not her decision to dictate how the battle could commence. If the Challenger was anything like a true Maxson, he would not use underhanded tactics such as employing other units to fight on his behalf. Still, she couldn't shake the unease, as if she knew what the outcome would be despite truly having no inkling as to why. She already knew the possible outcome despite all that she had witnessed and all that she knew about Arthur, and she prayed to the ancestors, to the first founders of the Brotherhood, that he would emerge victorious.
Preston and Hancock were the least bit worried; they knew what the tactic was: charge the Brotherhood Elder at full power, wear him down, and finally deliver a killing blow. That was the plan their official leader had announced, though many would have considered simply destroying the airship and taking what was left after the flames died down to be just as good as capturing it legitimately. This tradition of the Brotherhood was seldom used, according to all the data that both men had read. But still, they couldn't convince Nate to take a different route; most wouldn't dare, especially given all that he had already built.
Thump. Crush. Thump.
Those were the sounds of power armor crushing debris underfoot as Nate emerged from the hole made when he tackled Arthur with his jetpack at full throttle. He looked around for a brief moment and saw that everyone was waiting in anticipation of who had won, if it wasn't already obvious enough as he emerged from the building while dragging a bundled-up corpse.
Continuing to march forward towards the fortified Brotherhood of Steel position, he pulled the wrapped-up body of Arthur with enough force to cause the corpse to slide forward within the confines of the tightly wrapped fabric. "I have defeated and slain your Elder in single combat. By the rights of the Codex, I hereby claim the title of Elder and full command of the Eastern chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Who be lesser steel than I to refute me?" he yelled out through his modulated voice filter to all that were present.
Several knights and paladins marched forward. Those who weren't in armor dropped to a knee, bowing their heads, while others began smashing their gauntleted fists against the metal plates of their chest armor. Even the head Elder of this chapter came forth and bowed her head as a form of respect and acceptance of their new Elder, but not all were as accepting.
A single armored paladin, along with his squad of knights and several squires under his command, sneered at the one who had killed their Elder. "I refuse to accept this outsider, this mutant, as leader. I can already see the mutation in his eyes; he will lead the Brotherhood to ruin," the paladin said through his helmet before taking it off, putting his face on full display: a bald-headed man with several scars across his face and a slightly faded red tattoo on his neck of the Outcast symbol.
Without even the Elder commanding them, the paladins, knights, and even the squires began drawing their weapons, pointing at the division within their ranks.
"If you will not join me, you will all die." Nate's words came out calm, but they carried every bit of the weight and authority that an Elder would possess, despite sounding reverberated through his filters.
His sneer only intensified at hearing that, as he looked at the knights and paladins who had their weapons pointed at him, and his own unit began to mimic the ones they called brothers and sisters. "You are all traitors!" The man cried out before putting on his helmet.
"Unfortunately for you, history won't see it that way. Execute them." Nate commanded as the paladins began opening fire on the treacherous paladin and his squad. Many of them returned fire, and only half of their number had died, with the paladin retreating and taking what was left of his unit into the Boston ruins. Nate had to command his remaining loyalists not to pursue; there was no need to hunt down these traitors, for there would be nowhere in the Commonwealth for them to go, especially when their names and faces would be made known to all the settlements and a few caravanners who would be under the operator's thumb in no short order, making the possibility of renegades causing problems for his empire more unlikely without being ratted out.
Nate immediately went over to the nearby ham radio that connected to the airship. Just as he had made his announcement with the paladins and knights already on the ground, he would announce himself as Elder and, at the same time, recall any units that were out in the field.
After half a day of waiting, every member of the Brotherhood of Steel from the Eastern chapter had gathered at the airport, along with Nate's own forces that were in the background in perfect parade formation. A stage and microphone stand were set up for him.
As Nate took the stand, his eyes roamed over his large army. Even though the original units he had brought to this little duel were only a quarter of his initial forces, with the Brotherhood of Steel, they were now far bigger and more powerful. Despite having such a powerful force, he still didn't feel the satisfaction he had hoped for, even after killing Arthur.
"My brothers and sisters of Steel, for a long time you have fought the good fight against those who would misuse technology to try to cause the second cataclysm that led to the destruction of our world. But we have all failed to recognize that instruments of war could be used more in times of peace. For far too long, the Brotherhood has fought and fought, and yet what are we fighting for? What are we dying to ensure—a toaster does not enter the hands of some junkie who might plug it in and piss on it just to see what happens?" He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning over all those who had their eyes locked onto his presence, seeing how everyone was paying attention to him. He took a deep breath to continue. "We need to find more purpose than just simply trying to safeguard technology; a purpose beyond that of the original Maxson. I doubt my brother from 200 years ago would want this; he would want the Brotherhood to stand for humanity. But how much of humanity has the Brotherhood stood with? Not many since Elder Lyon, the one true Elder I would have gladly respected and even dropped to a knee for. He was a man worthy of being known as an Elder, perhaps even the High Elder, if fate was kind. For my respect of him, I, Elder Nate Maxson, will continue the good fight for the welfare of the Commonwealth Empire. Together, this shall be more than a new dawn for the Eastern chapter of the Brotherhood; for the Brotherhood as it stands, this chapter is no more. We are Legio Aeternum of Steel."
He waited for the reaction. What wasn't unexpected was that his own men began lightly beating on the padded armor of their chests with their fists. Soon, one of the Brotherhood paladins began to mimic the same gesture, and before long, everyone was doing the same, lightly beating their chests and making a drumming sound that echo
Extending his right arm and slightly ignoring the pain he felt from the rebar he had to remove earlier, he curled his fingers into a fist before delivering the final beat to his chest. Nate watched as everyone ceased their final beats to their chests in acknowledgment of him as more than just their Elder, but as their Emperor.
His face remained stoic at the acknowledgment, and he couldn't help but gaze towards the sun that was about to set. In some part of his mind, he thought it fitting that the end of the chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel on the East Coast would conclude at sunset, and by tomorrow, the rise of his Empire. His thoughts turned from his growing power to the people he would soon rule over: how best to help them, how to get them away from the worst of the radiation that still plagued this region. He couldn't help but pray—not to some god, but to fate—that it would smile upon him and grant him the ability to save his people from the rad storms that plagued this region.
As the sun gave off its last rays, it illuminated an odd ripple pattern on the airfield, but soon gave way to a new shadow that cast over everyone. A Roman stone structure resembling a gateway of some kind became fully manifested, startling many of the Minutemen shock troopers and the Legion. If the sudden arrival of an unknown structure by unknown means wasn't enough to cause alarm, what came out of it would change the course of everything that already was.
Monstrous beasts with glowing eyes, men dressed in Roman uniforms and armor, and other creatures began to fly out of the gate, all while the sun slowly set. Once darkness consumed the land, it ignited with energy weapons.
BTC
I hope everyone enjoys part 2 of chapter one let me know if y'all would be interested if I involve Japan in the mix.