Serena's absence was explained away with the story that she'd been going undercover to root out a cult that had been giving us problems. The virtibird's explosion was said to have been caused by the mutant we'd brought aboard. Serena's story for Seven was that she convinced me that she had been mind controlled through a transponder in her armor. Seven had respect for my power but it seemed he had less respect for my wit. He considered my desire to forgive Serena caused me to ignore the probability that she was lying. He considered me soft hearted and would pay the price for that if I had anything to say about it.

We used the ruse to have Serena convince Seven that a number of the other Enclave spies would need to be given up so that she could seem to be hunting them down and rooting them out. She also insisted that the remaining spies report to her through subtle means so that she could help Seven coordinate them. Over the next few months, we snatched up two thirds of the Enclave spies and executed them. While this severely cut off the amount of information Seven received, it would give him a sense of security believing I thought we'd caught them all. Serena was now in a position to feed false information to the other spies and manipulate the Enclave's future steps.

With most everything settled in our territory, it was time to move forward. At this point we were getting messages from the Legion in the southwest. Caesar was steadily pushing east and was becoming disappointed with our progress. The stall after Serena's attack had cost us dearly. While our territory was now secure and thriving, our men were growing anxious to continue our purpose. Say what you will about the Legion, they had a great sense of purpose and duty. Since the pressure was mounting we began our push south.

While most of the Legion forces were carried by trucks through the wasteland, the command personnel flew on the Prydwen. This allowed us to remain safer and to keep overwatch for any threats on the ground.

"The Virginia's are home to a number of strange and dangerous creatures," T'Preea said. "The ground forces will need to be on their toes because these things are older than America and they've been ingrained in mythology over time."

"The Appalachia's are filled with different factions," Serena continued. "There are local Brotherhood of Steel regiments that we'll need to contact and bring into the Legion's fold. I have my men sending messages over encrypted channels to hail them and request meetings."

"The pack is ready to begin hunting the territory and removing larger threats," Meirune added. "We've been going over what information the Legion was able put together when they passed through, as well as the knowledge that T'Preea had to prepare ourselves for what we can expect."

"What's the human population look like?" I asked as I looked at Malpaius.

"Sparse, Caesaris," Malpaius replied. "There are signs of a large number of abandoned settlements, but our march through the area didn't reveal any major hubs of activity. Our scouts stumbled across the odd farm, but the mountains are treacherous. If there is a larger population here, they're likely tucked away from the more traversable terrain."

I considered what he'd said carefully, "The Appalachia's have always had some strange tales surrounding them. And I know there were a number of cults that worshiped some of the esoteric creatures in the area. We'll need to be careful about how we approach assimilation this time."

"Do you think the locals will be a problem?" Malpaius asked.

I shook my head, "Not for the most part. Appalachians tend to keep to themselves but are welcoming enough. It's the fringe sects that I'm mostly concerned about."

T'Preea was about to say something when an emergency horn blew over the speakers.

"All hands, alert! Incoming bogey! Man your battle stations!" the captain's voice shouted over the speaker.

We all jumped from our chairs and began to prepare for an attack.

"Does the Brotherhood have air capability in the area, Serena?" I asked as we sprinted down the hall.

"Nothing that could threaten the Prydwen," Serena replied. She ducked into a stairwell and shouted back as she climbed the stairs, "I'll radio you what we're dealing but the Brotherhood wouldn't attack the Pryd-"

A large explosion hit the Pydwen and forced us all to stop and focus on keeping our footing. The explosion was followed by a loud roaring screech.

"What the hell was that?" T'Preea asked.

I cursed under my breath and began running once again, "I think I know but I thought they were extinct by now."

We stopped on the open air platform that led to the vertibird's docking stations just in time to see a massive creature swoop beneath the Prydwen.

"What sort of creature is that?" Malpaius shouted.

"Scorchbeast!" I shouted with a grin. I switched the radio on my armor to the Angeli de Steel channel. "Serena! Scramble the vertibirds and have them get to the ground. We need to draw this thing away from the Prydwen!"

"As you command, Caesaris!" Serena replied, slipping into professional mode over the radio. Soon her voice echoed over the loudspeakers, "All crews man your vertibirds! Scramble to ground level and lure the enemy away from the Prydwen! I repeat! All crews man your vertibirds! Scramble to ground level!"

We were already in our vertibird, waiting for our pilot. Ours was a modified version of the vehicle which had an armoring station for Meirune so we didn't have to wait for him to be equipped before we could move out. The pilot arrived quickly and we were in the air after a minute of prep time. Malaise manned the vertubird's gun and joined T'Preea in trying to catch the scorchbeasts' attention with gunfire. Luckily, the creature was attracted to the sound of gunfire and areas of high radiation. While the others fired at it, I emitted extreme levels of radiation. Our combined efforts grabbed the beast's attention, allowing the other vertibirds to safely get closer to the ground and for the Prydwen to pull away from the fight.

The scorchbeast roared and adjusted its angle to head toward us. The other vertibirds began to get into formation, increasing their speed to catch up with the diving beast and opening fire on it. This caused the beast to twist and screech, slowing its momentum as it tried to avoid the concentrated fire.

I swapped to the open radio the vertibirds used to coordinate, "All birds! This is your Caesaris! Continue to harass the enemy and get to the ground. We need to be able to get this thing on the dirt! Focus fire on its wings! Once its grounded, end all engagement and wait further commands!"

"Yes, Caesaris!" came several voices in return.

I turned and shouted at the pilot, "Get us in an open area and land."

"As you command, Caesaris!" the pilot acknowledged.

Typically the trip from the Pyrdwen to the ground would only take about two minutes. This time it took us nearly five minutes as we had to dodge the scorchbeast and weave between the other vertibirds to keep the beast disoriented and chasing multiple targets. When we finally reached the ground, T'Preea, Malpaius, and Meirune all jumped from the vertibird. The other pilots continued fighting the scorchbeast in the air, coordinating attack patterns to coral and whittle away at the beast's wings. The scorchbeasts' ability to fly was beginning to falter. It made a mad rush toward a vertibird that got too close. The pilot set the bird to detonate and jumped free. The vertibird exploded and sent the scorchbeast flailing through the air to land in a heap on the ground.

We rushed the creature while it was disoriented.

"Vertibirds, pull away and maintain a safe distance," I shouted over the radio. "Do not engage unless ordered to. Leave the rest of the fight to us."

"Yes, Caesaris!" the pilots replied and pulled their birds into a circular pattern which would allow them to re engage the scorchbeast in a matter of moments should I give the command.

"T'Preea, treat it like the Archedemon," I directed, knowing she would remember the battle from our last life. "Fire to keep it off balance."

"I wish I still had my magic," T'Preea replied as she sprinted off to put distance between herself and the beast so she could begin lining up her shots.

"Meirune, Malpaius," I said as I smirked in response to T'Preea's lament, "Move to either side of it. Try to work together to keep it shifting between defending against the two of you. Do not try to kill it! Try to hamstring it or break its legs."

"You want to take this thing alive?" Malpaius shouted back incredulously even as he moved to obey my command.

"It will make for a powerful asset!" Meirune growled as he charged the scorchbeast. Meirune was in his new power armor that had been created specifically for him, and every step he took was a thunderous boom. "All we need to do is break it!"

I charged forward, pulling out my new power hammer which I worked with the Ala Miraculorum to create. As Meirune and Malpaius moved to the beast's sides, I ran straight to its head. The creature was recovering from its fall, but it was still dangerous. It snapped its jaws towards me but I swung my hammer to hit its chin and turn the dangerous maw away from me. The creature roared and stumbled as Meirune and Malpaius followed up my attack with strikes of their own.

T'Preea's shots mostly stung the creature, but it was enough to get it to complain.

The creature continued to fight back for several minutes. The longer it fought, the more coordinated we grew. The more coordinated our strikes became, the slower the beast became. It tried using its atomic breath, but that was why I put myself in front of it. The atomic fire engulfed me, but I simply absorbed the radiation and came through it unscathed. Slowly, the scorchbeast faltered, grew tired, then wavered. It slumped to the ground defeated, panting and only offering some minor shuffling or thrashing to get away from us.

"Meirune, Malpaius, back up," I commanded. "Give it some room."

They did as I bid and backed.

I moved closer to the creature, calling calmly over the radio, "Contact the Trappers. We need them to bring meat. Respond quietly."

There was a long pause over the radio until a Serena's voice came back quietly, "Contacting the Trappers now."

I took a moment to remove my armor's gauntlets and set them on the ground before I began to slowly approach the beast. I held my hand out as I eased closer. I willed the stone to gently rise up and lock itself around the beast's ankles, shackling it in place.

"Hey there, big guy… you're alright. You'll be okay," I said in as calm and soothing a tone as I could manage. I summoned my magic and used it to help calm the beast down and to set a level of affinity between it and myself. Larger creatures required more powerful spells, but at the moment I just needed it calm and willing to to let me close.

The beast looked like a mix between a dragon and a bat. Its body was covered in scales which looked burned, and had large, leathery wings more similar to a bat's. It tail was long, thick, and curled defensively around itself. It's black eyes were wide with panic and its bat-like face was focused on me as it panted for breath.

I moved close and play my hand just beneath its nose so it could get my scent as I rubbed the leathery skin, "There you go. See? You're alright. You're ok."

"Be careful, Caesaris," Malpaius said cautiously.

The scorchbeast turned its head quickly in a panic as Malpaius startled it.

I dashed to the side to keep myself in its view, and kept my voice calm, "Whoa now! Calm down. It's ok. It's alright. Malpaius… Back away, please. I've got this. Keep your response quiet and calm."

Malpaius nodded and backed away slowly, "Appologies, Caesaris."

I whistled to get the scorchbeast to focus on me again, "Hey there. You're tired, huh? I bet you're burning up too. Let's get you something to drink." I reached out with my senses to find one of the underground tributaries of the Greenbrier River. I will the ground to open up guide some of the tributary up to a small crater I created to my side. The crater filled with fresh, mineral rich water and I smiled at the scorchbeast.

I reached down to get a handful of water and held it up to the scorchbeast. The beast hesitantly sniffed at my hand and let its massive tongue reach out to lick the water from my hand.

I smiled brightly, "See? There you go!" I moved my hand into the water. "Come on now. Get yourself a drink."

The beast leaned forward and lapped up the water greedily. While it drank its fill, I used my magic to strengthen its affinity towards me and heal the wounds we'd made while fighting it. I held off mending its wings, for now. I didn't want it trying to fly off just yet. I made sure to continue staying close to the scorchbeast as it drank from the crater while I created a stone pen around the area so that it couldn't escape.

It took nearly an hour to get a vertibird in from the Trappers to arrive. By that time, the scrochbeast had settled down and was allowing me to stay close without using magic. I'd had Malpaius, Meirune, and T'Preea come up to it as well so that it could get used to their scents. I allowed the shackles to go away when I was certain the beast wasn't going to run. When the shipment arrived, I grabbed a large cut of beef and walked it over to the beast.

"Dinner time! Come and get it!" I called out in a chipper tone to the beast as I approached.

The smell of the meat drew the beast in and I laughed as it scarfed the meat from my hands. While the emergency of the scorchbeast's attack had surprised us and caused us to go into alert, I was determined to make the most of it. Appalachian's could be a superstitious lot, so if they saw we had managed to tame one of its most dangerous predators in the area, we might be able to ingratiate ourselves easier. Taming a scorchbeast might have been impossible if not for my magic, and while I preferred to play by a world's rules, I wasn't going to ignore a solution when it was available.

I dedicated the next week to get the creature used to my presence and learning commands. By the time I was ready to announce our presence to the area, I would have a scorchbeast by my side.