Arthur's notes: I've had a bit of writer's block but I got through. Newcomer, I know my grammar leaves a lot to be desired but I've been trying to make improvements. Right now, I'm focusing on retconning some parts in the story so things flow smoother and make more sense. After this chapter I only got one more prologue to write it takes a few days then hours before Quincy after that Chapters 1 to 4 are getting retconned and cleaned up. While 7 is getting a very small retcon regarding the Insititute and Cody's hatred towards them and some dialogue changes.

A few hours since Nuka World's Liberation.

They marched back to Zion tired and victorious. Rick smiled "Can't believe all of you got back safe with no casualties."

Liberator replied. "Hey Cody and his squad hard carried the mission I was just coordinating and giving orders I can do a lot but, in my armor, there are many things I can't do."

Cody replied. "Just doing our job sir."

Rick asked. "Liberator, how are things going you've been out there more than any of us how bad have things gotten?"

The old ghoul spoke. "To be honest, things have gone to shit. The other groups won't even try to reconcile. ever since Becker was slain all the other groups do is constantly bitch. Arguing over who should be General. The only group who gives a damn besides you is Colonel Hollis's group."

"What about you?" asked Rick.

Liberator answered his voice scathing with cynicism. What about me? I am only one ghoul. A week ago, I tried to answer a call for help from Covenant. All I found were the bodies of the men, women, and children, scorched by laser fire and a horde of synths that killed them and took over. I was too late to save them. As for Hollis and his group, they cling to the old ways of the Minutemen, and not all the ways are good if we are to win, we need to become a centralized and professional force, a true military not a bunch of whining fracturing militias"

Rick remained kind and asked. "Why don't you become general? We could become your first battalion and Zion as the HQ we could be the foundation for a new Minutemen a true military."

Liberator was taken aback by this. "I don't know if I could do it. I've seen what power does to people. I'm used to leading small squads, not full-blown battalions, let alone a full army."

Rick answered back. "No more excuses you're the best one for the job Hollis can't keep things together. As for Lieutenant Clint, he's nothing more than a snake. He's got the same eyes Judas did. You, however, are different. You need to give yourself a chance. Honestly, I feel you will be the best General the Minutemen will ever have. I've seen since my teenage hood what you are capable of by yourself. Imagine what you can accomplish with a full army of God-fearing people behind you. God willing, I bet you can restore the United States or at least parts of it."

Liberator blushed heavily under his helmet. The fact that someone had such confidence in him was refreshing and strange. He replied. "I'll do my best when I can."

Rick smiled "Have a little confidence in yourself."

The old ghoul replied. "Easy for you to say, you haven't been fighting for over 2 centuries. I have seen many victories as I have losses."

Rick gave a calm nod. "I understand."

Liberator reloaded his Browning and began to march off.

Rick stopped him. "Where are you going?"

Liberator looked at him and answered. "Somewhere, you called and I helped. The mission for Nuka World is over. Somewhere else people need help, truth be told, I'm something of a wanderer. I march where I am needed. Why you ask?"

Rick asked another question. "Would you like to stay?"

Liberator was baffled. "You want me to stay? Why?"

Rick replied. "Well since you always wander with nowhere to go and no offense but the glowing sea is not a home. You need a base of operations and the little ones and I can fix you up a power armor station. We all know you're trapped in your armor, but we can still do some basic maintenance."

Liberator molded over for a bit. "All right, I'll stay but only if I can help you beef up Zion, I got plenty of caps to spend and plenty of mines to set up."

Rick smiled and shook his hand. "Welcome to your new Head Quarters."

The old ghoul got to work placing his minds and beefing up defenses. in a few hours he was done along with new rows of barbed wire he had 10 Mark V Turrets installed armed with explosive ammo belts in the observation row of bunkers.

Liberator grinned as Rick showed him the layout and doctrine he used for Zion. "I see you've read the books about the Hindenburg line I gave you I can see it in the layout."

Rick answered. "Well, you got me into history when I was a teen besides the defense in-depth doctrine has been effective. We've driven off raiders for a few years now and you led Cody's squad to victory and liberated Nuka World."

The old friends continued chatting. As the month went on, things were calm. The snow melted and the ground turned to mud yet even so little bits of grass began to sprout through no man's land. Liberator helped Rick with the battalion and as he did Rick began took him under his wing and began to show the ghoul how he cares for such a large battalion of children along with his expertise in logistics. Liberator even attended his sermons every Sunday whenever he wanted to go the underground sanctuary, he had to shimmy his way down in the tunnel much to the amusement of the little ones still he finally had something he hadn't felt in over a century he felt at peace. Zion itself was not just a bunch of old trenches and pill boxes underneath was a whole hamlet. Most of all he felt like he belonged.

Underground the old C.I.T ruins.

Father calmly waited for Kellogg to arrive. Kellogg arrived in a flash of blue and proceed to meet with Father.

When they met, they began to discuss the plan. Father spoke. "We have been planning this for over a year. I need you to hire as many Gunners and Raiders as you can. However, they must follow orders to the letter. We will have them charge Zion head-on to soften them up. In the process, we are getting our enemies to kill themselves for us once most of the Gunners and Raiders are dead you are to lead 2,000 Gen 2 synths. If Zion still holds and even starts pushing back you are to be given Z4K-97B, XPN-20A, and A-2018. Along with 300 Gen 1s in reserve."

Kellogg was confused. "What's with all the obsolete models? We could just use a couple dozen coursers and get things done quicker."

Father answered. "We're in the process of phasing them out in favor of the Gen 3 synths. Another issue is we are running out of parts that have long since been discontinued. Do you have any more questions?"

"No". Said Kellog.

Kellog walked back to the molecular relay and went to carry out his orders. He went around hiring various groups through different means. The raiders by fighting and killing their leader take them over the Gunners however will do anything for the almighty cap. It was gonna take him a week. At the same time, Synth reinforcements would take a week and a half to arrive since Zion was way out of range of the relay. Meaning the synths were going to have to march there.

Back to Zion. Things were going peacefully after another beautiful Sunday morning rose. Rick was starting his sermon in a few hours Cody helped him dry up puddles from the leaking roof. The underground church the battalion built was beautiful chandeliers salvaged from the ruins of a fancy restaurant lit with candles and oil lamps. The walls were made of thick welded steel supported by several beams. When they finished cleaning Rick continued his sermon series from the Old Testament. This one was from the book of Joshua.

Next Sunday.

Cody and Able were chatting in the observation tree. Able grabbed his binoculars out of boredom hoping to spot some radgulls or crows. Instead, he saw a trench line being dug further back he spotted Kellogg. He radioed the coordinates to Zion's artillery battery. There were 10 howitzers, all a motley assortment of pre-war artillery of varying calibers and range. The biggest of them all dwarfed the rest, a veteran of the Second World War. The M1 Black Dragon is a 9-inch siege howitzer. The rest of the artillery held its fire letting the Black Dragon do the work. The 9-inch shell crashed into the unfinished trench line killing most in a single blow. The survivors retreated terrified of the Black Dragon.

One of the gunner commanders ran up to Kellogg. "What the hell was that you never told us they had artillery?"

Kellogg put out his cigar. "You'll get the details when I say so. I told you to stay further back and you didn't listen. Regroup your troops further back and await my instruction."

The commander calmly nodded. "Yes sir."

Back at Zion Rick immediately called a meeting with the battalion. In the underground sanctuary, he began to brief on the current situation. "This is very unusual we got both raiders and gunners working together. Something isn't right. Raiders and gunners normally stay out of each other's way but working together? This is something more significant. Any more details?

Able stood up. "I saw a bald man leading them he had a weird pauldron on his shoulder and a scar down his eye."

Liberator's eyes widened behind his visor. "That's Kellogg from what I've heard he's working for the Insititute. That means we could face a combined force of Gunners Raiders and synths."

Rick was quiet and stared back at everyone. "It's time. The river of evil is to flow against Zion."

Volunteers from nearby settlements were called in, bringing the total number of troops of Zion from 300 to 435. That and Liberator planted even more mines along with another one behind Zion in case of an attack from the rear. The last few days were soaked with rain. No man's land once more became a bog of mud. Then that river Rick had seen in his visions came crashing down. The Mark V turrets were the first to fire. Explosive rounds flew at the tidal wave. Raiders and Gunners were getting shredded once they were past the turrets, they were split up into kill zones where the second line of machine nest with overlapping fire.

Then came all the minefields and razor wire Liberator planted. As Gunners and Raiders flew in the air Liberator shouted and sang.

"POP GOES THE BASTARDS HAHAHAHA!" They were holding the wave back. Blood and bodies of the enemy littered no man's land. However, they were slowly taking causalities as accurate gunner fire from afar child soldiers and Minutemen fell where they stood. Rick now enraged at the death of his children and comrades radioed Able.

"Put them in the ground."

Able loaded a fresh 5-round magazine of 308 and started to snipe down every enemy he could find. Gunners and raiders began finding their comrades not just being sawed in half by the machine gun fire or turned to mush by the minefields now they were losing troops before they could even reach Zion. They either had a third eye in their forehead or a round through their throat. Kellogg ordered the gunners and raiders to fall back now that the synth reinforcements arrived. He deployed his weakest Gen 1s to make them waste ammunition.

The Gen 1s shambled their way through the mud into the sights of the nests and turrets. Liberator's visor connected to the turrets began flashing red warning about low ammunition and fuel. He went in 50 cal blazing. Turret by turret he resupplied them with wood gas and ammunition. With the Gen 1s just about gone Kellogg sent in his wave of Gen 2s. To the three prototypes, he gave specific orders.

"XPN-20A, your orders are to sneak behind their lines and start killing them in CQC. Z4K-97B attack from mid-range. A-2018 use your launcher to destroy those turrets."

The wave of Gen 2s arrived and Zion unleashed its wrath. Their rounds went through the weak rubber skin but were stopped by a protective mesh underneath. Rick got his radio. "Artillery batteries 2 and 4 fire on the advancing wave. Batteries 1 and 3 hit the enemy trenches."

The artillery roared and shells whistled in the air. The Gen 2s were sent flying. With the minefields about gone from the previous waves they now had to rely on their artillery. As the next waves came in the artillery repelled them. The ammunition staff down below were hard at work reloading the empty casings. The reserves were holding out with plenty of ammunition to go around and cordite to fill the spent casings. One of the Gunner's shells struck into the ammo tunnels below setting off a massive explosion that shook all of Zion killing many defenders. The intense earthquake caused several tunnel collapses. In the process, it even knocked over the observation tree.

Cody and Able looked in horror as they crawled out of the tree witnessing the rising smoke cloud. Then they saw the massive crater Zion was now split in two. Then three white flares lit up the moon-lit sky a final message to the nearby towns and settlements. Things only got worse when A-2018 destroyed several turrets and pillboxes only for the synth to meet its end from concentrated fire. They saw Liberator partly buried in the mud from the shockwave. They helped dig the ghoul out. Blood dripped from his neck and joints. They stepped back in horror and awe. He immediately ran to help Rick and the survivors, ignoring his grievous wounds. The remaining enemy chose to attack one last time.

Rick looked at his few surviving children and comrades. "I know this is going to most likely be suicide, but we must drive them back or the Commonwealth is done for. FIX BAYONETS! He blew his trench whistle as the defenders roared. Rick himself drew his Colt SAA and went to take out Kellogg.

On the other side, Kellogg showed a sad smile. He thought to himself. "Poor sickly preacher all he wanted was to give those orphans a family. From what I've heard his heart may be failing. Still, I feel for the man I know what it's like to lose a child yet here I am killing his children. At least I'll put him out of his misery instead of leaving him to suffer like myself. Still might as well test his mettle."

The two stepped out into no man's land in the middle of all the chaos. They said nothing as revolvers were drawn. Rick fanned his Colt emptying the cylinder into Kellogg's chest. Rick looked in shock as the wounds began to mend themselves. In desperation Rick drew his saber and the two went melee. Kellogg couldn't help but humor him. Kellogg drew his blade. He tested Rick impressed the stories were true. A warrior skilled in both pistol and blade.

Rick's energy was leaving him but doing his best not to show it as slowly and surely the pains in his chest were getting worse. Liberator saw the fight and attempted to help as Rick fell to the ground. Liberator charged into Kellogg like a freight train. Kellogg picked himself up and stopped Liberator's punch. The two fell into the mud and devolved into a brutal brawl.

"So, you're The Liberator? I've seen you before going here to there trying in vain to restore a long-dead nation. When will you learn she is already dead there is nothing you can do?"

Liberator answered back with hatred in his voice. "SICK SEMPER TYRANNIS!"

Kellogg used his limb actuator combined with a power fist and cracked Liberator's chest plate the force of the punch even bent part of his armor's frame. Liberator went flying. Behind them, Rick reloaded his Colt and charged Kellogg emptying another cylinder. Kellogg annoyed with the preacher's bravery drew his 44 magnum and put two rounds in Rick's chest. Cody, witnessing his father being shot charged with raw hatred he had never felt before. He bayoneted Kellogg sobbing and screaming. He kept stabbing with everything he had until Kellogg got up and tore the rifle out of his arms. He yanked Cody's right arm and shattered it. Able had a bead on Kellogg and he fired the bullet hitting the right side of his head. Kellogg threw a flashbang along with the aid of his stealthboy slipped away. All they could do was evacuate Rick and do everything to save his life. With the enemy routing Liberator carried Rick in his arms. Down in the command bunker, the medics did everything they could. Now all they could do was wait and pray.

Cody stayed with his father refusing to leave his 1911 firmly in his left hand. As the days and nights flew by his father's condition worsened yet he could hear his father rambling and mumbling like he was seeing something trying to explain.

Liberator walked in. "How is he?"

Cody teared up. "Daddy is dying."

The young boy held his father's hand firmly as tears streamed down his face like a waterfall. Slowly he felt his father's pulse weakening only for a powerful surge to interrupt Rick sprung out of bed gasping and wheezing his eyes wide with horror.

"THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU. MONSTERS BOTH FROM UNDERGROUND AND THE STARS! YOU MUST STOP THEM AT ALL COSTS!"

Rick stood and wrapped his arms tightly around Cody. He whispered. "You must prevail against them. The first threat you must destroy is the Institute take them out you can retake the states. They must be eliminated every man woman and child, or they will take over from the inside out. Both of you promise me you'll follow this last order and please put the states back together."

Cody was still shaking. "I promise."

Liberator took off his helmet. "You have our word we will not fail you."

Rick smiled at his son and hugged Cody a little tighter. He said his last words. "Remember God loves Jesus loves you and I love you."

He collapsed in his son's arms his breath fell silent. The remaining survivors started the long tasks of burying the dead while Liberator was busily booby-trapping Zion to make sure the remains of the fort would not be desecrated. The survivors and child soldiers saluted their new commander. They marched on wherever this new war for America would take them.

On Cerinia.

A blue Vixen sprinted alongside her family looking for the final escape ships as their home world burned around them. The last thing she saw as she boarded the escape ship was a bright flash.