[Forum Game] Fallout Realism: II

[Revan529]

In his younger years​

Name: Marcus Geminus Cabonicus
Date of Birth: 2939 (61 at game start)
Faction: The Legion (a Centurion serving under Vulpes presently)

Marcus Geminus Cabonicus had not always born that name, though he could not remember those days, beyond a hazy, lying memory. He could recall that his name had been Thomas, and he had had a twin, a sister, now long dead. Marcus had been a child when the Legion formed, sired out of the wreckage of his former tribe, the Blackfoots; at war with seven tribes, his people were on the verge of total annihilation, before Caesar saved them. Life after his arrival was hard and brutal – many of the weaker children perished training for war, but Marcus thrived. He was present amongst his kin and his defeated foes when Great Caesar revealed himself as the Son of Mars, their conqueror and liberator. He first saw action as a recruit fighting at Flagstaff, serving in the first wave to rid the ruined city of any remaining tribals. By 2260, on the cusp of manhood, he had fought in over a dozen battles.

As the 86 were conquered, and engulfed into the, Marcus continued to rise; in 2273, he was made a Decanus in light of his long and skilled service for the Legion – the following year, during the Legion’s attack on the NCR, he partook in the strike on Fort Aradesh. He would then fight at Hoover Dam, before being wounded gravely at the massacre of Boulder. It took many months to recover, but he ultimately returned into service, first in minor roles throughout the ever expanding empire, before returning to the Mojave as the war once again began to heat up. He would serve, as always, with distinction, and hoped to see New Vegas fall at once – the ghoul invasions and Elijah’s defiance cut that dream short, and Decanus Marcus marched south with Lanius.

It was during the Siege of Cabo that Marcus would rise above the normal rank and file and truly make a name for himself – when Liberty Prime was unleashed upon the Legion, he and his men made a brave, though futile, charge, to distract the monstrosity long enough for the Enclave weaponry imported by Caesar to at last bring the metal beast down; for his heroism, he was elevated to Centurion and awarded the honorific Cabonicus. He returned to the Mojave yet again and served during the siege of New Vegas, though not to the same effect as his last great siege; nonetheless, he had served faithfully, and was amongst his most senior comrades when Caesar entered into his Rome in triumph.

However, peace did not come, nor did Marcus expect it to; minor uprisings, threats along the borders, the Utahn menace, all needed to be quelled, and Marcus served as he always had. He fought against rebels, invaders, and profligates until the death of Caesar. The loss of their great leader ended the Old Legion – the unity and strength of the past was lost almost before his corpse was cold; within months Lanius and Vulpes were at war, and various other legates seemed intent on carving out realms for themselves. Though he wished to follow the natural succession of the Legion, which dictated the Praetorian Lucius take command until a new leader was appointed, he willingly followed Lanius, as he had for years. When his commander was murdered, he remained faithful to the Legion, and encouraged his men to accept Vulpes as their master. His loyalty was repaid with blood, as Vulpes’ foolish invasion into Utah, against the wisdom of his legates and elder centurions, saw whole legions decimated; Marcus himself barely survived the retreat, though in truth he wished he had died amongst his brothers.

The defeat, the madness of that campaign, had broken him; his master had failed the Legion, and his brothers-in-arms, men he had served and led for his entire life, were now buried under the baking desert sun. He remained a loyal officer, though not a proud one, bitter at the defeat and largely cast aside (being passed over for a promotion to Legate in favour of a sycophant of Vulpes’)… though he confessed that the thought of Lucius taking command of the Legion had long dwelled on his mind following the Massacre. Nevertheless, he devoted these next few years to training the next generation of legionaries, still haunted by the loss of so many good men, and regretting that he had lived so long…

 

[Harpsichord]

A brief history of the Brotherhood of Steel, D.C. Chapter, 2280-2300

In the years following 2280, Paladin Sarah Lyons, daughter of Owyn and now leader of their faction, led her followers into a formal union with Rivet City and its allies. This act led to the Second Schism, causing hundreds of her followers to join with the Outcasts. Late in 2288, now Councillor Lyons led a combined army to liberate Union City and repel the slavers of Paradise Falls. Buoyed by this success, Lyons continued the campaign with a strike against Paradise Falls itself, destroying the settlement entirely. However, her greatest victory would also be her last; during the assault a mortar shell struck her location, killing her instantly. With both Lyons now buried, their followers were left leaderless and unguided. In the subsequent months and years, many of Lyons former followers would defect to the Outcasts, bringing with them much of their resources including the Pentagon, a timely intervention given recent contact with remnants of the Enclave. Lyons' remaining loyalists refer to this as the Third Schism, while the Outcasts name it the Reunification.

In 2989, envoys of the Outcasts made contact with the Texan Chapter of the Brotherhood. Rather than be instructed to return West, as they had expected, the 'Outcasts' were formally named the D.C Chapter of the Brotherhood, with Protector Casdin promoted to Elder and given total oversight of the Chapter's operations. The Chapter's internal structure, heavily modified throughout the Schisms, was reconciled with the traditional system, while those Brothers that remained with Rivet City had their names struck from the records. While friction between the Brotherhood and their ex-brethren remained, external developments took precedence.

In 2296 the Enclave launched a surprise attack, striking Fort Independence and killing many Brothers. It was only by trapping much of the Enclave's forces at the Battle of Raven Rock that brought the Chapter much-needed respite.

In the four years since that battle, the war between the Chapter and the Enclave has cooled, with skirmishing continuing but neither side seeking pitched conflict in fear of risking too much. Given these concerns, Elder Casdin has kept the Chapter apart from the disputes between the Chapters in Texas and the Midwest.​

 

[XVG]

After a few days of fast movement, which was slowed down by a storm of water and radioactive dust in addition to other usual wasteland hazards, the exhausted caravan arrived to what was described by Jacob’s map as an emergency shelter and stockpile. It was located in a small town, turned into total rubble by the war, centuries of laying abandoned and moving sand and dust storms. They were somewhere around the border with South Dakota and Nebraska by now.

“All right, that building over there is the shelter. It should have some stockpiles, safe rooms and clean water in a tank. Let’s go there boys.” A few of the guards almost ran towards the building, but they quickly stopped after being shot at. “What now! Raiders! RAIDERS IN MY CARAVAN SHELTER!” The group withdrew to a side street out of the range of the fire. “Alright, Abraham, you go and take enough men to clean that building for us. We’ll stay here and check your backs.”

“All right boss. Let’s go men! We'll roast some raiders for dinner!”

After a short firefight in which only one of the ‘Mid-West Bazaars’ men got wounded, the building was cleaned. There had been a group of six raiders, apparently staying in the building for quite some time. They had various kinds of half-rotting ‘rations’, chems and other unpleasant and outright disgusting items with them. One raider was left alive, and Mr. Williams approached him. “What have you done to my place? I will give you deal, you will clean up here, take all of this disgusting shit out of the door, and you might be allowed to leave that same door ALIVE! Do we have a deal, son? And don’t you ever think of coming back. Better tell that to all of yours friends, too! Unless they were all with you.”

The raider gave him an angry look, but after being pointed at with a rifle, he complied and disappeared a few minutes later. Because he just stumbled out into the main street, he had to be encouraged to leave the ruins of the city for good with a few shotgun rounds. While Jacob lead a party moving through the town searching for more raiders or other unfriendly foes, he stumbled upon clear footprints, leading to a building that had partly collapsed. There was a destroyed lobby, and shelves everywhere. “A library, eh? I need to have a look through this later.” Jacob looked around, and in a corner he found that one of the shelves had been moved recently. It was clearly visible by the marks left by moving dust. Jacob had the shelf moved, and with Abraham and a few other men he proceeded to a narrow staircase leading down. They entered some kind of a bomb shelter or a storage room. And at the back of it there was a young woman, covered in dust and dirt, standing staring at them full of surprise.

“So am I finally allowed to leave this place? Wait. Who the hell are you?”

Jacob tipped his now grey wasteland fedora. “Good afternoon, dear. We are from the ‘Mid-West Bazaars’ caravan that happens to be travelling through this town today! Now it is your lucky chance to make any purchase you have ever wished for! And you certainly look like you need to do a few. You are extraordinarily lucky, because I am the famous Jacob Williams, running the whole business!”

“You know, I haven’t seen other humans for about two to three months, so this sounds like a great idea. Haven’t really seen that many people around, apart for various raiders, roaming chem-addicts and some scavengers. Usually I have been lucky enough that they haven’t seen me. Name’s Julia by the way. I was expelled here, what 3 or 4 years ago. Long story. Thought I would die soon as they intended, but here I still am. Luckily I found this hiding place.”

“Then why are you here? And are there any other err… citizens in this er… town?”

“None that I am aware of, unless a new group of raiders has camped somewhere. And well, a few years back I was living in a village somewhere in Iowa, I don’t know the exact location anymore. I got a bit too curious when there was a Brotherhood patrol around, and I happened to find myself owning certain items they left behind. Of course, someone saw that, and I was accused of stealing and spying by a Brotherhood patrol. The village elders told me that I would either have to disappear never to appear again or go with them and face prison or court martial and death. And thus, that fateful night I was taken from my village and brought to this city, with no weapons, no caps, nothing. Luckily I found this library to hide in. Why would someone try to scavenge anything from a library? And thus I have spent the last few years growing up here, with nothing else to do than reading books. The ones upstairs are all moldy, but these ones have been saved from destruction, because they were locked in the basement storage. There are precisely 1302 books here, and I probably know them all by now. Poetry, history, prose, politics or advanced mathematics, I have read and studied it all.”

Jacob and Abraham looked at each other confused, and then back to the woman. Abraham offered her his flask filled with clean water. “In case you need this more than I do, Miss?” Julia kicked a few floor tiles revealing a deep pit. “Of course I wouldn’t have survived without water. This water stems from deep enough; it is perfectly safe to drink. Go on, try it. Don’t worry, I found an abandoned Geiger counter and checked it. And as for food, I have been hunting around some wild animals, and stealing stockpiles from stupid useless raiders. Last time I did that I got captured though. Luckily I escaped soon enough and found my way back down here. The idiots were shooting around in the city for two days straight before leaving.”

“So you have been here for years, living off some disgusting wasteland animals and some old rations, but never had the idea of leaving the place? But yeah, got to appreciate wits girl. Maybe you would like to take a look at our merchandise at our lowly encampment? We could offer you a good meal too. For free.”

Abraham looked on with amazement as he had never heard his boss actually speak so nicely and with respect to another person. The girl then looked around and shrugged shoulders. “Alright, why not, Mr. Williams. And well, what do you think would have happened to me if I ran off to the Wastes with no gun and no proper rations, and above all no knowledge of my location. Yeah, no. I’d be dead, or even worse off. Though, you said you were a caravan, right? Maybe it's time to move on, then.”
_ _ _ _

Soon afterwards the caravan moved on, with the woman joining it. After having acquired clean clothes and a chance to clean up, she had turned out to be pretty with dark hair and brown eyes. Jacob was partly captivated by her practical knowledge and self-acquired education. Rarely had he seen someone so bright, even in the city of Chicago, and much less in Dog Town. Usually people roaming in the Wastes couldn’t even read and were easy to cheat while trading. Thus he was already thinking of turning this lucky discovery into a profit for his business. One evening he decided to offer her a special task for ‘Mid-West Bazaars’, eventually to be offered to her after the completion of the journey.
_ _ _ _

About three months after leaving Minnesota in early January, the caravan arrived to the edge of Legion territory. This was marked by a number of rotting corpses hanging on crucifixes. Under each there was a sign, citing the reason for the execution. Jacob read them aloud. “Escaped slave, escaped slave, murderer, thief, a spy for traitor Vulpes, a spy for imposter Vulpes. Well, now we at least know for sure who holds power in Dog Town.” To mark the ‘frontier’, there stood a legion banner and below it hanged text in English and Latin – ‘Long Live Octavian Caesar Augustus, true heir of the Son of Mars’.

Julia looked at the macabre sight full of disgust. “You know, those few raiders I had the unpleasant opportunity to meet with. They mentioned the Legion. And told me about how horrible it was. I didn’t expect something like this though. I have read through the books of ancient history. I have read Roman poetry, hell I even know Latin to some extent. Glorious culture, a sprawling economy, a strong state that restored peace. But what is this? This is a total perversion of all what the Romans stood for. The Legion has only adapted the most bloody, brutal and disgusting elements of the beautiful ancient culture. Do they have highly advanced and fair legislation? Do they have advanced engineering? No. They are just a bunch of backwards tribals, sadists and cowards.”

“Well, you better keep your mouth shut when we get around to Dog Town. Saying something like that can’t be recommended there. It is bad for business, and mostly certainly for your health dear girl. When in Rome do as the Romans do, and so on.”

“Haha, you sound so thoughtful, don’t you? What are you planning? Selling me as a slave to their disgusting machine of perpetual violence, discrimination and torture?”

Jacob tried to awkwardly laugh it off as a joke and by a quick denial. He still remembered what had happened the first time he got to Dog Town, albeit he had started to regret that later on. Mostly due to it being bad PR, but also due to it causing him to lose his sleep and appetite for a few days afterwards, and because the screams of those men appeared in his dreams time to time. That night Jacob realized that he had a grave problem? What to do with the girl. She would be very useful to the business later on; she was intelligent, beautiful and had a great knowledge of everything useful. Like a walking dictionary. But he couldn’t risk taking her with him for the next travel. She would have to be kept in safety somewhere. In Dog Town at the local office? Yeah no. Sending her back northwards on a caravan? Far too dangerous, the radioactive tornado season was about to arrive, and usually caused 25 % losses of personnel in caravans of the season. Jacob pondered the matter for the whole night, and finally reached a conclusion. It depended on a few matters though, and thus couldn’t be fully decided until after arrival in Dog Town. That would only take a few days by now.

 

[Noco19]

Solus Solarii evaluating this divine turn of events​

"Unless you wish to embarrass yourself before the Son of Caesar, I suggest you move faster!"

The assembled lot of Legionaries, arranged in a circle around Solus Solarii, tried their hardest to complete their push-ups even faster then their normal, and impressive, speeds.

"Yes Centurion!", they shouted through the physical exhaustion only worsened by the scorching sun. Noticeably, a recruit faltered, falling upon his stomach with a defeated and muffled groan.

Roaring, Solus Solarii ordered the exercise stopped, and the recruit's contubernia was summoned to the forefront. Propped by two fellow Legionaries, true fear could be seen in the failed recruit's eyes. But he did not beg for mercy, and admitted that he had fallen where he should have stood strong.

With an obvious sneer even through his wrapped face, the recruit's decanus stood forth and spoke.

"Recruit Sergius isn't fit for the Legion, he is soft like a woman, and about as decent a fighter as one."

"And you as his immediate superior have allowed this to be the case why exactly?", countered Solus, his gaze now affixed on the surprised decanus.

"Well, I...it is simply his nature, he was born a slave, feeble to his very core."

"And is it not the nature of the Legion to break what is wrong, what is weak, and to rebuild it stronger? Did Caesar accept the weakness of the tribes? No, he annihilated the old order and installed what glories we once saw! Do you mean to tell me that you cannot fulfill what is the basis of our ways, decanus?"

With an annoying amount of pride, the decanus rose his voice in anger. "I am a true Legionarie, true and true, in the name of Vulpes-"

At that, Solus sliced the decanus across the lower leg, prompting a sickening thud of bone being destroyed and the decanus hitting the dirt. Still alive and writhing, the decanus reached for his own machete, perhaps for retaliation, perhaps for suicide, but the failed recruit, in a fit of energy, seized the blade and tossed it aside. The decanus was dragged away to receive sentencing while his contubernia watched with amazement.

"Sergius, you have been called weak, but you were truthful in admitting your failures. Make them again and I will have you crucified. You shall be decanus now; pray to Mars that I never hear ill of you again."

Solus stomped off to ensure the decanus, who he always suspected as being too loving of the dog Vulpes, received suffering.

 

[EnvyDemon]

((accidental post))

 

[Sneakyflaps]

A Merchants proposition​

On the evening of arrival to Dog Town, Colorado, Jacob went to meet the young Caesar and his officers, taking with him only two of the caravan guards. They were kindly disarmed already close enough to the Caesar’s residence at one of the high towers of Dog Town. Legionaries watched at them with distrust, as the men of Jacob carried a chest filled with samples. Various automatic and non-automatic weapons, of course unloaded. These had been collected over the years from the areas Jacob and his caravans had passed through.
Him and his men were lead through the city until they reached a tall building, which was heavily guarded. When they arrived there, a centurion stepped forward, asking to look into the chest before approving it, leading them inside and up the building. Eventually they ended up outside a large door with two decanus guarding it. Shortly after they were lead inside the room, at the end of it, sitting on a rather improvised chair to resemble a throne sat the young Caesar, with guards around him and the room.

Mr. Williams and his entourage were kindly tapped to the shoulders by a centurion, as a reminder that they should kneel before the Caesar. “Ave Caesar, The New Son of Mars and True Heir and Imperator of the Legion. I am Mr. Jacob Williams, and I come from the distant north. I have trekked all the way from Minnesota, through the wastes of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Now I have arrived here to Colorado. I am the owner of my own business, the ‘Mid-West Bazaars’, and I run caravans through the great wastes that lay to the north and east. I had previously done business with Dog Town, my first visit here was about two years ago. However, as soon as I heard of the events that had begun to unfold here, I assembled a new caravan. My Caesar, I have something to offer to you that could help you reclaim the proper throne of your father.”

The two men accompanying Jacob brought forth the crate, opened it and presented the weaponry to Caesar. “My Caesar, I have many more crates of these, and I can send more from the north. Carbines, shot guns, marksman rifles. I have collected quite a weaponry on my travels. I assume you could use some more firepower against your enemies. In addition my caravans bring other goods scavenged from the wastes, goods and merchandise your soldiers and the civilian population of this city might find useful.” He could speak, Caesar had to give him that, he was not a man for lack of words.

Caesar stood up, walking over to the crate and picking up a handgun, examining it. “Impressive Mr Williams, very impressive. They should come in fine use in the coming days, we need all the firepower we can get if we are to outdo Vulpes.” Caesar looked at his guard. “Despite some men still preferring the old blades, then I fear they will need to get used to this change.” He turned back to Williams. “You are the first man I have met with such extensive travels, I wonder, what makes you risk life and limb to travel all over the waste with your caravans?”

“My Caesar, I was born to poverty in Minnesota. My parents died. Then I went to Chicago, but things didn't go that well there either. And thus, with no roots and no home, I started to travel. It is not that long ago that I established this little business of mine, but it has already brought me great profits. Sadly, I have also lost many men while trekking through the wastes. Tornadoes, sand storms, radioactive dust, raiders, ghouls, mutated monsters. But none of them can stop ol’ ‘Drummer’ Williams.”
Jacob coughed for a few seconds. The dusty air of Dog Town wasn’t very plesant for his lungs. Then he looked back at the crates and then at the young Caesar. He seemed generally surprised when he looked at me, when he saw how young Caesar was. “Now, what would I like to have in return? Well, you know what, my Caesar? This first shipment shall be for free. Your soldiers should evaluate the guns and try them out. And then, further crates and new shipments shall be priced according to the standards prices. I happen to have an office ready at the outskirts of the city, and my new representative here, Mr. Baker is his name, will handle further transactions. In addition I would like to request certain privileges. Expanding caravan routes further west once you have prevailed is one of them. And secondly, I would like to have at least a partial monopoly, or an encouraged and preferred partner status with the east and northbound caravans. How does this sound, My Caesar?”

Caesar smiled. “I thank you for your generosity, it certainly seems a fair offer, I admit. As for the privileges, I certainly would like to expand trade further with the east, perhaps even one day with the west, if the NCR would loosen up. As for partner status.” Caesar thought for a moment. “If these guns deliver on the field of battle, and that more can be supplied according to our needs, then I do promise that we will keep close contact with you and your representatives when we are in need of further purchases, and that we will seek you first when we are in need, before turning to others.” He looked at Williams, before nodding to a slave off in the corner. “Do you wish for some water?”

“Yes, indeed. I am sorry if my cough bothers you. I have had problems with my lungs for some weeks now. The cold and dust in the north certainly weren’t healthy for me.” Jacob took a break and sipped the water offered by the slave. “I find this perfectly agreeable. There is another offer too. As I have already told, I have extensively travelled the regions north and east of your frontiers. I have maps, I have contacts and my caravans keep moving through that territory. One day, My Caesar, you will be interested in these areas, I am sure. And that day again, my help should be useful for you. After departing from Dog Town, I intend to travel to Chicago and conduct an expedition further west, to find out what lies in those lands. Maybe my Caesar one day wishes to establish contact with whatever lies there? My caravans could well be your intermediary in the East.”

“You cough is no issue, simply common courtesy, how would I be spoken of if I didn't offer my guests a refreshment.” He said with a slight chuckle. “I do not know a lot of what lies on the east, at least not past texas, or well, not yet. I would certainly be interested if you would be willing to write me reports about your findings, about places of interests, possible tribes, regions or nations which could be opened up for trade, and perhaps further friendships in the future.”

“This can be arranged of course, via my local Mr. Baker. Well then, may you be victorious in your battle against this Vulpes. Of course I wish for a quick conclusion of the campaign, for peace and prosperity is always the best thing that can happen on my business. At least usually, as this case is a bit different now that I happened to have these stockpiles around. The economic growth of the Legion in recent years made Dog Town one of my best markets.” Jacob stopped for a moment. His face had a hint of indecisiveness about it for some time, until a cloud could be seen leaving his eyes, as if he finally had made up his mind. “One last thing, Your Imperial Majesty. I arrived to this town, I assume by now I should call it sort of a capital, with a certain young woman who is important to me. She is about your age, maybe a year or two older, I think, and exceptionally wise. However, I am about to embark on an even more dangerous journey. And thus I can’t take her with me. Neither can I leave her around here on her own, for reasons I assume you do understand. Thus I need someone to oversee her.”

“Ah.” He smiled. “I see, is she a family member of yours, or just a close friend?”

“Someone I happened to find on my way here. But how can ensure her safety? Sending her away on a caravan is far too dangerous. On the other hand she won’t of course be happy to come under anyone’s protection voluntarily, more or less loathes the Legion currently, and as a free woman she might end up suffering from the same fate as most women around here seem to do. Thus, my Caesar, the only way to make sure that she is safe is giving her to you. As a ‘slave’. But on serious conditions. I like deals and conditions. She will suffer no lasting physical harm, she will be allowed to stay in contact with me via letters through my local aide, of course with you checking through these letters if you wish, and she will be freed once I return or after a period of five years if I don’t. This addition should secure our deal and everlasting good business relations, and enables us to stay in contact even if you happen to be on move. You will hold someone important to me as a hostage, while she will also be of use to you, or maybe to your own family. Once you meet her you will certainly understand what I mean. So, my Caesar, do you accept these terms as a man of great honor?”

Caesar went back on his throne and sat down. “As you wish, I offer her my protection until you return as a sign of good faith between us, no harm will come to her as long as she stays here.” He leaned back in the chair. “This woman, may I see her?”

“It is late my Caesar, send your centurions to pick her from our encampment tomorrow. I shall be returning there too, my Caesar. Unless anything else is needed from me, I shall depart for east quite soon. Thus, if you have needs from me, send a message via her or Mr. Baker who will be staying at this same residence. Oh, my Caesar, I have of course not told her about this, because she most likely wouldn't agree. So, you might have some explaining to do once you meet her. Good luck with your campaigns.”

“Thank you, and may your travels be safe, and with any luck, without any horrible ghouls or raiders.” He waited for the merchant to leave, looking at the weapons as his composure slightly dropped, instead just relaxing. “Caius, what's your take on this?”

Salinus moved from his place next to the throne to the open crate and began examining the weapons. At length, he turned to his emperor.

“They are good weapons, Your Excellency,” he said judiciously. “I am sure they will prove very useful on the battlefields that await us. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to assume regular business relations with that man. We still need as many allies as we can get, even if we have to pay for them.”

“True, we are certainly going to need them when the hordes of legions will be breathing down our neck.” He sat looking at the weapons. “The girl?” He asked curiously.

Salinus frowned. “I found that request a bit … odd, myself, but it’s no real hassle to keep her around - if anything, it will endear us to the man in any potential business deals in the future. And if she really is as wise as he claims her to be … perhaps she might prove useful as an advisor, Your Excellency?”

“Time will tell.” Augustus said as he stood up. “In any case, see that these weapons are distributed among the men.” He said as he left the room with two guards following him.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Midwest Brotherhood- Union War

​

As the snows of the winter months intensified across the Midwest both the Union and the Brotherhood worked to reinforce their positions along the South Dakotan frontier. In Lake City Overseer Thomas meets with his generals in order to plan a great offensive aimed at reclaiming much of South Dakota for the Union. All reserves are brought forth and over 10,0000 troopers along with over 2,000 men wearing the Hellfire armor are brought into the emptiness of South Dakota. Meanwhile the auxiliary troops over 10,000 of which had been manning the frontier for over a year begin a series of guerilla raids on the Brotherhood positions. The recently pacified tribals manage to infiltrate behind much of the Brotherhood’s defensive lines however many of these war parties are forced to turn back when confronted with the Brotherhood’s own auxiliary forces. The situation became more and more heated over the month of January as the tribesman wage guerilla warfare all across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Civilians are targeted on both sides and the war takes on a more sinister tone as dozens of scalps are collected as trophies.


By February the Union planners on the ground agree that the troops are in position. At midnight on February 5th Operation Mogul goes into effect as thousands of Union soldiers pour out of their frozen trenches all across the front. The Hellfire troopers form the vanguard as hundreds of soldiers armed with their X-01 and X-01 MK II variations of power armor charge forward into the snow. The night lights up like a pre war fire works display as thousands of energy weapons are discharged over miles of front. In the night fighting is confused however as dawn breaks Union command receives a mixed report. In some areas it was a complete route while in others no progress was made or progress was quickly reversed.


All through the day on the 5th the Union’s small fleet of vertibirds bombarded Brotherhood hard points however despite their efforts the Union was slowly pushed back in many areas as Brotherhood quick reaction forces arrived and offered panicked units relief or replenished exhausted units supplies. Eventually following a blizzard which suspended air operations for around a week all gains were reversed and the front returned to that status-quo pre offensive with minor gains made in Nebraska where a group of auxililary troops managed to defeat some ill-equipped tribals working with the Brotherhood and even rebuked several Brotherhood counter attacks.


In Chicago the Elders read the reports from the front and an enterprising young Elder decided to launch a daring raid in order to end the Enclave’s presence in the sky. The commanders in charge of the operation were forced into using the only airworthy craft available to the chapter. They prepared a 9 decade old zeppelin for launch and overburdened it attaching an extra crew cabin for over 600 Brother’s who were to join on the raid. The ship took off on April the 9th at dusk in order to reduce its visibility from the ground and was cruising at well over 12,000 feet by the time the ship crossed over the front. At that height temperatures were far below freezing and the gas which powered the propellers started to freeze. By 2 AM as the ship was within half an hour of its target the gas finally went off and the engines stopped leaving the ship vulnerable to the winds which soon began to pick up and lifted the huge machine towards Canada. When dawn broke the balloon was spotted and the Union’s vertibird squadron was sent off to intercept the aged craft. When they reached the poor machine several mini-nukes were launched into it and the whole thing went down exploding into flames. The sight could be seen for miles and over 600 Brother’s lost their lives. With the loss of the zeppelin the Union was left with complete control of the skies even if the situation on the ground differed a bit.


[-1,800 Union troopers, -300 Hellfire Troopers, -3,300 Union Auxiliary Forces, small stretches on Nebraska taken, -1,100 Brotherhood Knights, -400 Paladins, -2,500 Auxiliary Forces, -1 Airship]

 

[brovahkiin]

(Has this officially stated baboush?)

 

[alexander23]

(lol yes bravo..send your orders.. Deadline is like tomorrow)

 

[XVG]

While leaving for his temporary residence after meeting with the Caesar, Mr. Williams felt a bit weird. He walked even deeper in his thoughts than normally, stroking his beard. A strange feeling. Almost as if he had done something awfully wrong. He could have of course given her to Mr. Baker’s care, but from a business point of view this was far better. The Caesar seemed to be a reasonable man, still young and with a good heart. Mr. Baker wouldn’t be able to keep her under watchful eyes, and she might end up in the hands of some psychotic legionary. Jacob removed the thoughts by explaining himself that this was the most rational thing to do, all things considered. Yet he had trouble getting sleep that night.

Jacob, Mr. Baker and Julia stayed at a top flat that had already earlier been turned into the local ‘Mid-West Bazaars’ ‘office’. It wasn’t much though. There were a few moldy beds, a few rooms full of various items, account books and merchandise. Rest of the party had already left to do the day’s work and sales, while most others stayed at a disgusting motel for travelers. Around 10 a clock in the morning, it was hard to say the real time, there was a knock on the half-broken wooden door. Outside stood a group of legionaries, led by a centurion.

“Ave Mr. Williams. We are here to pick up our Caesar’s gift, sir.”

“Ave indeed! Good, just on time. You are aware of the limitations imposed by the deal I made with His Excellency?” The leading legionary nodded. “Good, good. Julia? Are you all dressed up and ready? Your mission, the mission I spoke of awaits you!”

Julia came from her room and turned around the corner. “So what am I goin- HEY WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Within seconds of seeing the legionaries Julia found herself wearing an iron, non-explosive slave collar attached by chain to the manacles her hands were forced into. “JACOB! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? YOU TOLD ME THIS WOULDN’T HAPPEN! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?”

“Calm down my dear. Firstly, I must say that the conditions which I laid out with His Excellency don’t necessarily need to be described as slavery. Secondly, I must conclude that I in fact didn’t receive any financial compensation in return for turning you over to him. Instead you are more or less a gift, or err… I mean… hostage. Also, it will only be a temporary arrangement to keep you safe!”

Julia collapsed to the floor distraught, crying and yelling at Jacob with an array of partly archaic curse words. Jacob reached out to her. ”Now, now, don’t cry so much. You will find yourself treated very well. You will only be personal property of Caesar ONLY temporarily! Good bye dear Julia, and remember to write to Mr. Baker here. When I am back you will be thanking me!” Julia spat at Jacob’s face before the legionaries dragged the screaming and cursing woman away. Mr. Baker stood by his boss completely disillusioned. “Sir, what is the meaning of this? How could you do that to the poor woman? And for a moment I thought you cared about her. You know what, I certainly did!”

“Don’t you start now! For the last time, I didn’t sell her! She will be Caesar’s only until I return here, or if I fail to do so, for five years. That isn’t too bad. Well actually I could have bargained about it but I was too tired. Anyway I received a promise that she will not be harmed. I trust the word of the Caesar, and so should you! And as you say you cared about her. Good. You will be the one responsible of staying in contact with her via letters. Trust me, this is the only way to keep her safe here. And now we have someone around Caesar all the time! Think of the possible profits! This is a business opportunity we cannot waste.”

Mr. Baker continued to stand there completely stunned for a few minutes, before joining Jacob who had already begun to eat his lunch from a few cans of preserve foods. Quickly Jacob initiated a topic change to the business situation in Mr. Baker’s new area of responsibility. Other merchandise should be sold to the legionaries and officers, especially the rare items, clothes and valuables waiting in the special crates. A few of the most extraordinary items would be left stocked, in case Abraham had a need to send new gifts to the Caesar. After eating, Jacob started to already make preparations for the expedition through Kansas and Missouri to Illinois. At last he would be going to Chicago again. And then even further east.

Only about a week after arriving in Dog Tow, Mr. Williams left for the east with a new large caravan stocked up with various local goods. He had also bought more brahmins to have increased cargo capacity on hand. There were several uncharted areas of Kansas, in addition to the already existing secret stashes. Jacob wished to ultimately enter Chicago with the most magnificent trade caravan the town had seen so far. And that would require scouring out the areas passed through of all items worthy of selling forward.

 

[Jako473]

((Because of various reasons I shall be switching factions. Since this is before the first turn, and this spot was badly needed, Baboush has approved it. And hereby I give you: ))

Grand Crusader, Head Paladin, Acting-Head-Elder: General Ulysses Coremandt
Age: 52
Faction: Texas Brotherhood of Steel
Biography: General Ulysses was a simple Senior Paladin for much of his carrier, having a reputation for being indomitable. After the Crusade Texas was still in no great part secure, and Rhombus' defeat to secure them a solid position within the Gulf left the Chapter strangled for resources. They kept to themselves, as they had not cared about the tribals. Some years later, during the great NCR-Brotherhood War, almost all Brotherhood settlements west of the Hoover Dam were destroyed. This was a slight blight upon those that had lived there, but a boon to the Texas Chapter, who, while had the tenacity, did not have the reach nor the wisdom to extend its influence and spread the Brotherhood.

So, in some part, the loss of Maxson was a good thing, in that it united the two chapters into one. Texas was allowed to flourish and grow under the watchful eye of the Brotherhood, while not peacekeepers by choice, their authority extended to those they ruled, little conflict would be found.. In the early days. Ulysses himself was an aftermath of such a war, he was bred to defend the Brotherhood at all costs, to keep their sanctity and live by the Codex. Not all they did was Candor, or abiding.. But sometimes you had to make the hard decisions to make right with the world. Such was the thought process with Ulysses invaded the Midwestern Brotherhood. Such was it before him, when the Council decided to finally put a non-Maxson upon the seat of High Elder, it was of course said to be temporary out of respect towards tradition.

The reasoning of this move was simple if you viewed the state of affairs of the continent. The Brotherhood's Grip on Humanity weakened every decade, and who would they be if they sat complacent and let the weeds entangle them. There's already an answer for that. Their goal was still clear, to destroy the Enclave, and eliminate the Super Mutants.. But what world are they saving, really? Corrupt politicians, reverting to the old ways of democracy so soon after it had doomed the entire world? Clinically insane boys who play at war and pose to be the ancients? The question dawned upon the Paladin many times.. First, however, he will need to unite his Brotherhood, before he has any thoughts of directing it.

Head Scribe Varick Nelson
Age: 33
Faction: Texas Brotherhood of Steel
Bio: A relatively young man for the job of Head Scribe, he has a bright and strange mind that quickly saw him through the ranks as he was closely watched ever since he was about Fifteen. Not all can say they have the freedom from all(besides the council), but Varick may vouch that it is an inspiring life to live, filled with technology and intelligence. He often has private projects where he tries to further his wisdom of their machinery, the High Scribes of Quill, Sword, and Shield take care of most of his work for him, and he assigns them often to appear as though he himself is busy. Under Ulysses' own nose heresy brews, some would say, while others would simply call it natural human ingenuity and urge of curiosity.

Senior Knight Nathan Law
Age: 20
Bio: Brash. Inexperienced. Lively. Insubordinate. Tricky. All words describing Nathan, but his skill and fresh new ideas within the creaking old bureaucratic Knightly-Order allowed his prowess to be recognized by the High Elder himself. He was given an operation to work with, to take out a ghoul settlement blocking a strategic trade route. Not only did he remove them, but he also recovered the lost caravans they had already lost -something that was not on the mission objective- while he is no star-child by any means, he has been competent enough to secure himself an easy pasture to be recognized and even command his own company of soldiers. Even though he's just regulated to logistics duty, he hopes to become a Paladin one day.

Glory to the Brotherhood.​

 

[Plutonium95]

Delirant Isti Romani​

Victoria shot to her feet, raising her hands defensively as she was pulled from her dreams by a sudden shock of freezing cold water. Even before she could open her eyes, a yelp escaped her lips. Her eyelids came up a little and she looked around, wildly trying to make sense of going on even as Athena leaped up, hackles raised aggressively as she growled. “What the hell?” Victoria asked when she saw Daniella, wiping the water from her face as she shivered.

Daniella shook her head before she smiled, bucket in hand. “You were meant to have been up an hour ago, and have prepared my breakfast, and dinner, you are already slacking.”

How in the hell was I supposed to know that? Victoria folded her arms, rubbing her hands across them to get warm. “Here I’d thought I was to be your brother’s slave. Don’t you already have your own?” She said impertinently.

“I used to.” She said before a hint of sadness crossed her face. “He was killed some months ago.” Good, he probably welcomed it, Victoria thought on seeing her sadness. As quickly as it came, it disappeared, her normal calm returning. “But as for you being my brother’s. I would not dare to give him a slave that does not know its duties, it would be a sign of disrespect, the last thing I wish to show him now, as such you will need training, and I will need to learn more about you.” Daniella stood up. “You have five minutes to meet me outside.” She stood and left the basement.

Victoria made a show of looking around the basement with a puzzled expression for Athena’s benefit as she scratched behind the German Shepard’s ears to calm her down. “What should I use my five minutes for, a hot bath? Change into an evening gown?” She sighed, standing back up from her crouch. “Stay here girl, and wish me luck.” She quickly patted Athena’s head one last time before heading up the stairs.

Daniella smiled as she saw her, leading her into the kitchen where some food was on the counter. “Show me what you can do, show me if you can be useful at least at this.”

“I’ll show you alright,” Victoria grumbled as she took survey of the ingredients she had available, then the rest of the kitchen. “Does this stove actually work?”

“It does, but do be a bit careful, it heats more than what you turn it up for, so keep it a bit lower than the temperature you aim for.” Daniella said as she watched her.

“Piece of shit,” Victoria mumbled again as she turned the stove on and set a pan on top of it to heat. Then she went over to the food and grabbed a pair of eggs which she quickly cracked into a bowl and began to beat them with a fork. “Anything in your eggs?” Poison perhaps?

“Make them as you wish, impress me.” She said, excited to see the result.

Poison it is then, Victoria thought wistfully, but just scoffed and poured a bit of milk from a jug on the table into the mixture. When it was well mixed she took a knife from the counter, stopping for a moment, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the handle tightly. She had to think of a way out of this, and if she didn’t control her anger she would have no chance. Her father had told her that there were times when letting her anger out was more dangerous than keeping it in, and this was definitely one of those times.

With a shaky breath she began moving again, dicing a jalapeno pepper and throwing it into the pan with some butter. After about a minute, during which time she refused to look in Daniella’s direction, a small show of disrespect in her own mind, she added the egg mixture to the pan, mixing in the peppers. When it looked finished she poured the contents of the pan into a bowl and handed it to Daniella. “It’s hot, wouldn’t want you burning yourself.” She said indifferently, masking that she very much wanted the girl to burn herself.

Daniella tasted it, resting it on her tongue, seeming to savor the flavors. “Not bad.” She took another bite before putting it down. “Take it and follow me. The children are hungry.” She said as she left the house towards the slaves, going in front of the tents with the children there. “Let them have it, we need them happy today, we can't have them be hungry when we leave.”

Victoria handed the bowl off to one of the children, doing her best to mask her sadness at seeing them. Once one of the bigger kids took the bowl, she turned to Daniella with a confused look on her face. “What? Leave for where? Why?”

“We are going south today, all of us, Vulpes is gathering legions, so it has been decided that today is the day which we will sell these ones onto the Legion, or other people with coin. We wish for them to be happy and smiling, easier to sell them that way.” She said, patting one of the children on the head.

“That’s awful,” said Victoria. “What would the Legion even want with them, they’re kids?”

“The boys will be trained as legionnaires, to fight in the army when they grow up. The girls will be brought up as nurses, mothers, healers.” Daniella shrugged. “To lay with the men when they wish. Depends what the legion wants with them, the adults we have here will do similar things, apart from the men, they will need some proper training before being allowed to join the army.”

“And it doesn’t bother you? Selling the boys into a life that will probably end in battle in a few years and the girls into...you know how the Legion treats women.” Victoria stared at her with a look of disgust. Even if she could somehow get past the simple aspect of slavery, she couldn’t accept Daniella’s willingness to subject other women to the Legion.

“Not a lot no, the weak die, the strong survive. It is how we keep moving forward, sure the girls will have enjoyable moments, but that is life.” Daniella shrugged. “If the boys turn into proper men, then they will receive all the glory they deserve, they have the same chance as anyone else. The women will at least not die at the end of a sword, they will be cared for, as long as they don't offend the men.”

Victoria shook her head in disbelief. “You’re all completely insane, you know that? Like, nothing out east even comes close.” The Brotherhood, Tenpenny, The Institute, Ronto, the damned cannibal tribes in the Stretch, none of them are this crazy.

“We are not insane, we simply live the life the way it's meant to. While you may not have seen the east in proper form, if you speak this way, then it doesn't mean that you are right, this is the way of life everywhere, everywhere that wish to advance.” She spoke with strong belief.

“Your army wears fucking hockey pads! You haven’t won any new territory in years, you haven’t built any great works, the closest thing you have to medicine I’m pretty sure is made out of flowers, and you still don’t even have full control over New Vegas.” Victoria’s face was red with anger at Daniella’s ignorance. “You’re not advancing at all, if anything everything I’ve heard makes it sound like you’re just getting worse! So don’t try to justify this by saying that.”

Daniella pressed the bottom, shocking Victoria. “Don't speak like that.” She said, looking at her. “The Legion will rise again, as it did under Caesar, so it will again. This is progression, this is life, there is no sugarcoating here, life is harsh, and tough, that is the way forward, the strong will live, the weak will die.” She looked at the children. “And they will serve the Legion.”

The shock of the pain from the collar made Victoria cry out, even though she had had no intention of giving Daniella the satisfaction of seeing how much it hurt. Every muscle in her body seemed to lock up as the current passed through her body. When it finally stopped she was panting, struggling for breath and tears had formed in her eyes. “Shit,” she gasped, unable to offer more of a response. The last refuge of the incompetent, Victoria thought, taking some small comfort that the collar had essentially been an admission of defeat. Doesn’t make it hurt less though.

Daniella smiled. “Good. Sit down and relax, you will need it for when we leave.” She said, before going inside the house, some thirty minutes later, the group began rounding up the slaves, getting them into line and prepared to march south. Victoria didn't go in line with the rest, instead being brought over behind Daniella and another slaver down to the legion camp. They had walked for some hours before reaching it. The camp looked like what Victoria assumed other legionary camps were like, which is to say primitive and disgusting, with men still arriving to bolster the forces. They went off to the side, where other slavers had also arrived with their ‘goods’, waiting for the sale to begin, several buyers already having arrived as well. Daniella looked at Victoria as they sat down the wait. “And you call this camp for weakness, this is power.”

Victoria shook her head slightly, but stopped herself short of actually scoffing at the idea. “Quite a spectacle.”

“I'm glad you think so.” Daniella said. Wasn’t a compliment.

After some time, a legionnaire came over, and the buyers gathered. First up was a slaver somewhere from further south, but he didn't have much luck in selling, his slaves were old and sickly. Then came another man, with men of younger age, the majority being sold to the legion for training. Then finally it was their turn, and a woman in her 40s went up, first the older slaves were shown, once again not many buyers, then the middle age, then younger men and women. The prime income however came from the children, when they came onto the scaffold, the buyers quickly began offering good men, many being sold to the legion, but several of them being sold to random men for different purposes. There was a gross man, disgusting who had bought 2 boys and a girl, even his face and behavior made Daniella worry as he bought them, but she didn't object, much to Victoria’s hidden dismay. When they had been sold then Daniella started walking through the camp, taking Victoria with her, until they reached a tent where Daniella went inside, telling Victoria to stay outside.

Wary of the fact that she was in a Legion camp without any weapons and a slave collar around her neck, Victoria kept close to the entrance to the tent Daniella had entered, crossing her arms and looking down at the ground.

Victoria waited impatiently as Daniella’s meeting seemed to drag on and on. Several legionnaires looked at her, but they kept their difference for some time, until one finally came up to her, taking a hold of her arm. “Let's have some fun.” He said with a wicked grin.

“Fuck off,” Victoria said loudly, hoping to get Daniella’s attention, as she easily slipped out of his grip with a quick motion of her arm that her father had taught her. “I’m not here for you bastards to use.” She took a step back towards the tent, eyes locked cautiously on the man. If he wanted to make a fight of it, he was sure to win. At 5'11” she was quite tall for a woman and she had some experience fighting, but the legionnaire was at least 6’3”, and well-muscled on top of that. That she had slipped his grip at all had more to do with the element of surprise than any great skill on her part.

More legionnaires looked at them now, before a centurion came out of the tent, with Daniella behind him, the centurion waving off the men. “My apologies.” He said to Daniella. “We have a deal then.”

“Good.” Daniella said, having an excited smile as she looked at Victoria and the legionnaires. “Come now my little slave, we are almost finished then we will head home.” She said as she went back to the slave sale, waiting for the right merchandise to be put up.

“You need to at least give me a knife or something you know,” Victoria said as casually as she could while she followed alongside Daniella. “I was nearly attacked during your meeting and I’ve got no way to defend myself.”

Daniella chuckled. “Oh he would have given you a knife alright.” She looked at her more seriously. “But perhaps we can arrange something.” Before looking back at the slaves. Eventually a girl around their age came, who was bought by Daniella, and later a muscular man around the age of 20, which she also bought before the group headed to the exit and began walking home. “So, what do you think then, still think there is no purpose, still think it’s barbaric?”

“Was this supposed to make me feel better about things?” Victoria asked seriously. Nearly was raped, got to see pedophiles buy children, it’s fucking hot, what could be better, she thought sarcastically. “Did you not see that man who bought some of the kids?” She shivered with disgust. “All I can truly say is that at least it wasn’t even worse than I expected.”

“It’s a start at least.” Daniella shook her head as she walked. They walked together in a palpable silence until reaching the compound’s grounds and entering the mansion’s basement. “Clean this room, the others will be staying here tonight, I want it spotless, I will be back soon enough.”

“What others?” Victoria asked before she could leave. “Why did you buy those other two?”

“They are needed to maintain the house, now get to work.” She said as she left.

Victoria scratched Athena’s back lightly for a few minutes before setting about cleaning the place as best she could, knowing there was no point in resisting as long as the collar was on her neck. While she worked she imagined a number of scenarios leading to her escape.

Eventually, Daniella returned. “You could have done better.” She said before looking around. “Take your dog and come with me.” She led Victoria up the stairway to the third floor, and into a room. “This is where I sleep, you will be staying in here from now on, and that hound better not bark during the night.”

Victoria nodded. “She only barks when she thinks there’s something wrong, and if she does it’s probably a good idea to listen to her.” She looked around the room, confused. “Why do you want me up here instead of with the others?”


“To keep an eye on you, make sure you don't do anything with the others that could lead to problems.” She said as she sat down on her bed. “Now tell me about yourself. Your family, your place of origin, why you left, your first kill, why you got the dog, your first love, all of that.”

“Are you serious?” Victoria asked as she raised her eyebrow warily.

“Yes.” She said, looking her in the eyes. “I want to know what made you so goddamn stubborn, what makes you think that you are so much better.”

“I know I’m better I don’t just think it.” She laughed. A part of her thought about lying, saying any number of ridiculous things, but there didn’t seem to be any point. “My family was really just my mom and dad. They treated me well enough, though there was always something to demand their attention. We lived out east, a town called Georgetown in the Empire of the Pitt, spent some time in the Pitt itself every now and then too.” She wondered how things were in the Pitt, how Marie was doing leading things back home. “I left...I can’t really say sitting here with a collar around my neck, but I guess it was the way my dad seemed to see the world, always cynical. Made me restless to see it for myself, make my own judgements. So far it seems like he was right.”

Daniella nodded before smiling. “The Pitt has slaves, why disapprove of it here, surely it’s not that different, I heard the tales of the slaves in the steel plants.”

“It’s very different.” Victoria said with certainty, wondering how a tribal like her had even heard of the Pitt. “In the Pitt ‘slaves’ as you call them are really workers. They can earn their freedom and they aren’t owned by other individuals, they work for the good of society, which includes themselves. You’d never see a man like the one we saw today. It’s all just a stepping stone though. Unlike the Legion we actually are advancing, the Pitt has been largely reclaimed, we’ve expanded hundreds of miles and have working railways and steel mills, tangible improvements for our people. Emperor Ishmael, and Empress Marie too, have said that once the Pitt is better able to sustain itself, things would be reorganized and all the workers would be given their freedom as citizens, and we’re so close to that.” She shook her head. “It’s not like the Legion at all.”

“You can earn your freedom here, and if you are owned by the Legion, it is no different than the Pitt.” Daniella looked at her for a moment. “Caesar made all of this, united a hundred tribes into one nation, you cannot tell me that is not advancement, that is not progression, he gave them a nation, restored order, stopped the pillage, burning and looting that was here before.”

“IF,” Victoria stressed. “And that is hardly a sure thing. But even if it was, can this really be said to be better? Hundreds of thousands of slaves, entire masses of men killed in wars. What is a nation if the people would have been better off in their tribes?” She rubbed Athena’s side as the dog laid down. “Where are your Caesar’s great works? His steel mills, his railroads? New Vegas would not even be lit if he hadn’t been so lucky to have a working dam right next door.”

“His great works are his conquests, his assimilation of dozens of tribes. Yes, there is a steel mill in the Pitt, and we have a dam, would the Pitt have its steel mill if there wasn’t already something present before you set it to work, why is a dam less worth than a mill?” She asked, sounding as if she did not really care for an answer.

“Because the dam was already running when you got here. It is not something reclaimed or improved by Caesar and his barbaric idea of ‘civilization’.” She sighed, trying to be clearer. “In the Pitt yes the mill was there, but it was not operating, there was not a steady flow of iron and coal pouring down a canyon to fuel it. What it produces now is a direct result of the success of Ashur and the people of the Pitt, and it does produce, to the benefit of all the Empire. Put simply, the Pitt creates, the Legion takes and uses.”

“The success of Ashur allowed the Pitt to expand, take resources it needed, and build. The success of Caesar allowed the Legion to expand, and take the resources it needed, they are not different, simply played different hands. While Caesar conquered something great and put it to use for his people, Ashur simply fueled his great structure, there is no big difference, neither build it from scratch, simply used the hands they were dealt.” Daniella shrugged.

“You’re missing the point,” Victoria said with a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. And clearly you do not want to see it. “But whatever, I don’t really care to argue about it anymore.”

“As you wish.” She said before laying down on the bed. “Remember to keep the dog quiet.”

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

The Yearly Winter Manoeuvre in the Northern Woods and snowy plains

Every year, the troops of Ronto, or at least most of them, participate in a manoeuvre, where they simulate an attack on their country. As the elements are quite spectacular in Ronto with huge storms and heavy snow, the troops are specialized in using the elements to their advantage that nobody else has. They wear special made white overcoats over their normal uniforms to better hide in the snow. They also have a lot of troops on ski so that they can move easily and silent around the countryside to hunt down enemies, who are not accustomated to high snow all year round. This year, the manoeuvre dealt with, once again, a fictional faction invading territories rightfully belonging to Ronto.

The first thing they do, the Ronto armed forces, is to send out scouts in the middle of the night, with some kind of night vision, to find out where the enemy is located. Then they begin raiding their camps in the middle of night. How? Well naturally they take on their skis and travel silently around the countryside. Then in guerilla attacks, they run into the camps, throw grenades and shoot with assualt rifles and quickly get out. In the daytime, soldiers will hide in the trees and other things to pin down enemy troops, while the main forces prepare defences.

Ronto Ski soldiers, it is mandatory for men and women to train in skiing
​

The enemy, which is potrayted as superior in numbers, finally gets to the first line of defences and is met with heavy machinegun fire and soldiers firing from trenches hidden in the snow. Snipers, hidden in the snow, pin down enemy officers and generally shoot into the enemy mass-attack to prevent let them take as many casulties as possible. In the daytime, the trackers also find way to where the enemy supplies come from, and assualt them and steal the supplies, preventing them from reaching the front lines. While all this, Ronto soldiers would usually cross in terrain with no-roads, to get as safely to the back of the enemy lines and encircle them, and eliminating entire army corps. These tactics have only been used in manoeuvres and never in proper combat situations.

Ronto Machine gunners​

 

[Emilersej]

The Commonwealth-Springfield Free Trade Agreement​

Free Trade Agreement
between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and the Kingdom of Springfield​

The Institute of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hereby enters a Free Trade Agreement with His Majesty the King of Springfield’s Government in order to;


strengthen the unique and enduring friendship between the two countries and their peoples as befitting great trading partners,
to promote productivity, employment, financial stability and the improvement of living standards,
to contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation, and
to establish effective binational procedures for the resolution of disputes in antidumping and countervailing duty cases involving the two countries and, generally, any dispute arising out of the Agreement.


They agree as follows:

a) to eliminate barriers to trade in goods and services between the Commonwealth and Springfield;
b) to liberalize significantly conditions for investment within that free-trade area; and
c) to establish effective procedures for the joint administration of the Agreement and the resolution of disputes.


[X] Doc Fowler, Head Dean of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
[ ] His Royal Highness King Arnold I of Springfield

 

[LatinKaiser]

The Commonwealth-Springfield Free Trade Agreement​

Free Trade Agreement
between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and the Kingdom of Springfield​

The Institute of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hereby enters a Free Trade Agreement with His Majesty the King of Springfield’s Government in order to;


strengthen the unique and enduring friendship between the two countries and their peoples as befitting great trading partners,
to promote productivity, employment, financial stability and the improvement of living standards,
to contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation, and
to establish effective binational procedures for the resolution of disputes in antidumping and countervailing duty cases involving the two countries and, generally, any dispute arising out of the Agreement.


They agree as follows:

a) to eliminate barriers to trade in goods and services between the Commonwealth and Springfield;
b) to liberalize significantly conditions for investment within that free-trade area; and
c) to establish effective procedures for the joint administration of the Agreement and the resolution of disputes.


[X] Doc Fowler, Head Dean of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
[ ] His Royal Highness King Arnold I of Springfield

[X] - His Majesty King Arnold of Springfield

 

[Jako473]

Sweet, Sweet Opportunity

​

Studying a war map posed to invade a separated, but united, larger enemy.. Ah, War, War never changes. Ulysses such was he, Grand Knight of the Brotherhood. In the past, the brotherhood relied on the feeble and old to lead them. The Wise. He was, as you could say, the strong. These Legionnaires were destroying themselves, one swift operation, and their entire Empire would come tumbling beneath the feet. Who were his enemies? Perhaps the worst tactician the wastes has known, and a child. They called him the Bull's Brat in New Maxson, but the Elder hardly ever chided his enemies with mock names.

So many plans. This operation could prove crushing, perhaps the Mojave Chapter was still active, and awaiting to be reunited with their brothers. He had heard hints of Supermutants still alive in the Mojave. The Prime Objective demanded it... Yet, to the north still, the Enclave remained. Would he be betraying his oath in interfering? How does he not know the Legion is active in Texas? So many questions. The Legion's Saving Grace, however, was their worst enemy..

The NCR was perhaps the second most hated Civilization the Brotherhood has known. The Supermutants were not human, so they did not count in his mind. How could he ever trust them not to utterly destroy the Brotherhood again? He has heard of hardly any insurgencies, or raiders traveling throughout California.. Was the idiotic, and bureaucratic stranglehold of snakes of Shady Sands actually profitable? Were the Greedy Merchants of the Hub sub-servant? They must be suppressing information. There must be a linchpin to this enigma.

Despite his grievances to the west, there lurked problems all throughout the Wastes.. The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel. Iconoclasts. Destroying all the sanctity the order had. Degenerates. They had sent a dozen couriers before one had finally reached the occupied bunkers. A Peace Treaty was intriguing. He had hardly a thought of why they would bow so quickly, they must have been in dire straits to plead for his mercy.. A New Enclave. His mouth palpated the phrase, almost making him gag.

Perhaps having thoughts of reformation were unneeded. His council will decide their fate. They shall continue their war, and end it, if they fail, it proves the faulty of their ways and his Chapter shall wipe out the dismangled Enclave with their purity. Should they succeed, they shall come back into the fold. Renouncing your heresy was a proven path. The Brotherhood was not heartless, merely.. Loyal to tradition. This was perhaps even less daunting then the earlier news. He still could barely grasp it.

A disheveled young man was ushered across from Bunker to Bunker, telling his tail to all, some calling it tall. Some calling him a liar. Others outright threatening to shorten his tongue. The ruckus caused in the east.. My, my, my. Lyon's expedition was a story when he was a boy. Now the fully picture had come through. Traveling across the entire wasteland, from irradiated sea to the next, they had encountered mutants, one of their members establishing a slave-state that would make the Legion look pretty, a former USS Carrier crashed upon the shores of the "Old Capitol", an entire city made up of an ancient aircraft, and vaults aplenty.. My my my. The biggest of them all? A Renewed Enclave! They had almost taken control of the City.. He had wondered many nights of if they had. Would he had learnt of it only when they were crashing down upon his gates, with their birds of hell?

Somehow the Brotherhood had split. Lyon had turned rogue. The heretic was known to be strange. He cared for tribesmen, he wished to make a "greater" tomorrow, to walk among the common people and see their smiles as they lived in prosperity.. The dream-maker never saw this, though. He died some decade ago perhaps. No, the man who had sent the message went by the name of Henry Casdin, Protector. A heretic himself, Ulysses would consider, hearing of his policies.. Without much choice however, and in dire need of a strong contact in the east, after all the atrocities he had heard, he sent an Official Declaration of the recongnizement of this Casdin and his chapter. Welcomed into the Brotherhood. The man crackled.

A knock came to the back of the door, the general did not even need to look to remember who had been bothering him all week... "Elder Ulysses, do you mind if I bother you?" A brave young knight, having already the achievement of Senior. He had more then most, in the wastes. With long brown hair the cascaded down to either side, and a well-kept but short beard, he was perhaps a comely man to the females. His jaw was strong, Ulysses considered. He only saw those grey eyes. Hauntingly. As if this man had some sort of destiny. As if they demanded to be noticed, and commanded you to gaze into them. He commanded a respectable duty, his squad was too small to be named, yet he already pestered the General to promote him time and time again. The boy grew up in New Maxson, what else would he know?

"Come. Sit." He gestured to the meeting-table behind him. Usually knights were restricted to their own halls, but this boy was his apprentice, as all Elders had, their legacies. The Maxson line left a tradition of leaving one's heirs to their seats in the Council, but Ulysses had not married. A weakness, he considered. One that this boy of his did not agree with, he suspected. "What do you pest me about today?" The cloak fluttered as Ulysses turned, nathan smiled at him, dressed in his robes.

"A beautiful map that is.. Tell me, do you think that the Mojave's weakness was being out-manned from twenty to one? Do you consider ten to one more favorable odds?" He inquired honestly. Nathan was snarky, perhaps to some, but behind some questionable and mysterious tones he was genuine. "Yes I do, infact." The old man sat himself, easing slowly, he barely had to guide the suit anymore, it acted as if all on its own... He kept it on most these days. He could not see himself age.

"Elder, if I may be allowed to speak freely.." Nathan gestured for an allowance, "Speak." Said his senior, the senior of all in the brotherhood, the man who if ordered, could send them all to the gates of hell. "Your operation is a bold one, but such a cut-throat decision is perhaps not what The Legion needs. We have tried force of arms, countless times my lord.. A mission of espionage, a secret endeavor might bring greater dividends, and provide us with what we wished in the first place." Such talk was befitting of a woman, but he did not say it. He remained silent to let his trusted confidant speak out his scheme.

"A small squad, perhaps of ten, mayhaps twenty.. They could be sent circling the Legion's position, prodding the local tribesmen, gathering Intel, swooping below of what we know of Enclave boundaries, and then arriving in through the Christian Holy Land into the south.. This could spare thousands of lives, and we could arrive in New Vegas all the same. The Cesspool of Humanity would be sure to provide answers, and as we both know, the Legion will destroy themselves eventually." The young knight was charismatic, he might say. He was still not convinced.

'Who would lead such a mission?" He tilted his head, perhaps gathering what the boy was leading too.. "I would do anything for the Brotherhood, sire, but.. I am just a Knight. You have thousands who would be willing, more qualified.." He said in humility, but the old-time crusader raised the hand of steel. "None more able. Sir Nathan Law. This request.. Shall be considered, and I intend to look into this.." He raised himself, smirking under his helmet. "A knight may lead the Mission, but a paladin would be assigned to you all the same."

Nathan bowed his head, even with the prospect of heading out to the wastes alone was hanging above him, he remained still and observant of his liege. "Report back to me in a week's time, we have all the time to schedule this expedition, but our most effective route and hitbox is shrinking by the day. Hail the Brotherhood. Long Last the Steel." Nathan continued the chant, "Long Last." They both saluted each other, and the young man left the board room, my my my... So many decisions.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Enclave-Brotherhood War

​

As winter reached its height, and a drunken mob celebrated the New Year in Rivet City, more sinister things were going on across the Capitol Wasteland. That morning as the guards and people alike of the DCC slept their hangover away a spec ops team was landing via vertibird on the south east bank of the Potomac. They spent the early hours of that morning swimming across the freezing waters of the river with their equipment strapped to their backs when they eventually made it to Rivet City they had to sneak in through the lower decks eventually getting into the populated parts of the ship. By mid-day the team had snuck into Rivet City’s greatest museum and had stolen the Declaration of Independence before slipping back out. However the team did not escape unscathed several Rivet City citizens reported a disturbance and the guards responded leading to a shootout in which one of the perpetrators was captured and two guards were killed. When the men landed back at Fort Meade they were hailed as heroes and President Bartlett was toasted across the massive complex.


Meanwhile in Rivet City after some “enhanced” interrogations the captured operative started talking revealing where he had come from and what he had been there after. This sparked some debate in the upper halls of the DCC council complex and a message was sent to the Citadel. The letter penned by none other than Ron Shirley simply said “Help is on its way.” Following this incident Ron Shirely one of the founding fathers of the Columbia Commonwealth and sequentially the DCC went to the council to ask for a declaration of war against the Enclave. Citing this incident as the latest in a long line of Enclave transgressions and the potential threat that they posed to the collection of city states which made up the DCC the majority of Congress voted with him with a few isolationist holdouts in opposition.


Following the vote high level meetings were held between representatives of the Brotherhood and the military of the DCC and a preemptive strike was planned however they still did not know the exact location of the Enclaves HQ but had it pegged to be some place between Baltimore and DC. In late February their headquarters at Fort Meade was finally discovered via several discussions with some traders out of Baltimore and so everything fell into place. However before the Operation could be launched another covert Enclave Op took its toll when 6 vertibirds blew up on the tarmac of the Citadel.


Despite this and several delays due to weather the the operation codenamed Operation Whitehill by Brotherhood planners went into effect. On March 9th Citadel’s remaining vertibird fleet took off as hundreds of Brother’s left the Citadel itself trekking north some for the final time. Meanwhile on that same morning a few miles to the east a great fleet left Washington’s harbor with over 1,500 men on board while a further 1,600 started the walk north. The following morning Brotherhood knights and paladins as if descending from the heavens themselves began their assault upon Fort Meade from both the air and ground. Mini nukes were dropped on hard points and energy weapons fell by the wayside as the Enclave troopers panicked by the surprise assault began to flee from around their positions surrounding the fort and retreated back into the complex.


That night the Enclave’s own vertibird fleet rose up to engage the Brotherhood’s however due to the tesla cannons outfitted on the forward cockpits of the brother’s birds their aircraft proved to be far more lethal and 2 Enclave birds were downed. The next day the DCC troops arrived among them ex-Brotherhood members, rangers and regular troops. The rangers took up sniping positions around the complex while the regulars began bombarding the area with mortars and grenade launchers. Finally the paladins and knights joined their old brothers in the trenches as probing attacks were launched against the Enclave’s defensive positions in the vicinity. The battle continued for days and days turned into weeks. Eventually the DCC’s mortar teams were able to blow a great hole in the walls of the complex and a Brotherhood breaching team consisting of elite paladins (the remnants of the Lyon’s pride) managed to enter into the complex briefly before being forced back out by the Enclave’s elite Hellfire armored Sigma Squad. The battle of the breach would carry on for days and would eventually turn into a meat grinder claiming hundreds irreplaceable soldiers on both sides. Eventually it was a daring night attack undertaken by DCC regulars and rangers that managed to storm the breach and forced the Enclave soldiers back into their Fort.


Fighting would rage inside the complex for two more weeks with little progress being made by either side before a brief truce was agreed to in late April, so that both sides could pick up their dead and wounded as the corpses had begun to smell so bad most men could no longer stomach it.


[DCC Declares war on the Enclave, -6 Vertibirds BoS, -2 Vertibirds Enclave, US Declaration of Independence Stolen from Rivet City, -2,200 Knights, -1,100 Paladins, -1,800 troopers, -900 Hellfire troopers, -2,000 regulars, -100 rangers, -100 Knights, Fighting rages on within the Fort Meade Complex]

 

[baboushreturns]

January through April, 2300

The New California Republic​

Following a tough primary and an even harder election, Harrison Richards a middle aged man originating from the far north assumes the title of President. As he is sworn in, Harrison becomes the first President to have originated from a state north of Maxson. It is a truly historic occasion, and over 9,000 people show up in Shady Sands to attend his inauguration.

As the President entered the first few months of his tenure, he would immediately face challenges. One snowy February morning in Oregon, a group of tribal raiders descended on the small farming town of Wang Town, named after the family of San Franciscans who had founded the place. The tribals were reported to have attacked and burned the town, carrying off captives with them in the most brutal attack on a NCR settlement, since the days of the war against the Legion. Within hours the news spread like wildfire across the Republic, with many waiting eagerly to see how the new President would react to this test. At 3 PM that afternoon, he spoke at a press conference in Shady Sands, and offered a bounty for the head of the chieftain of the tribe. However, many clamored for more action, and requested that Rangers be sent to protect the towns in the area, and to track down the tribe responsible and destroy it. Yet the President has not made any further comment on the situation since it happened, much to the dismay of many of his supporters.

After tension about the Wang Town incident began to calm down, President Richards began to get more engrossed in matters of state. Recognizing that Caesar's Legion was still the Republic's top security threat, he expanded his spy networks in the region, and brought in a new head of military intelligence, in order to bring some new life to the department. By April the President was receiving reports of a rebellion against Vulpes in the east, and Military Intelligence was getting rumors that Vulpes had begun to gather, and to prepare a large army to counter the threat.

As the President began developing his military policies, he also worked on his economic ones, and together with a group of advisers, put forth his first major bill before the Big Circle. He proposed that a pre-war road known as Interstate 5, be rebuilt up in the areas between the Boneyard and Necropolis, thus better connecting the two areas. While critics of the plan said it'd be too costly, many of the NCR's prominent merchant houses got behind it, as it would cut their travel times in half, and the bill passed with flying colors. Repairs began on the road in March, however the project is not expected to be complete for a year at least.

[Pressure on President Richards to react to the tribal raid, -450,000 caps, +50,000 income in 2 turns]

The Holy State of Utah​

In the untamed wilderness of Utah, the young prophet Daniel Young, descends on Zion, making the trek alone into the holy valley, home to the Sorrows and Dead Horses. Zion for almost two decades, has been a land scorched in both the blood of conquerors and those they vanquished, it is a rough land where the rules of civilization do not apply. Everywhere in the canyon, images of the prophet Joshua Graham are shown, and Daniel Young in an effort to show respect for the tribe's prophet, pays respects at Graham's tomb. After waiting for several days in the valley of the canyon, Young is finally collected by one of the Dead Horses hunting parties, and brought to see the chief's of the Sorrows and Dead Horses. The men meet in one of Zion's numerous caves, Daniel speaks of peace and friendship between New Canaan, and the tribes of the south once again. However the men rebuke the young man, telling him that there can be no peace for it was the Canaanites who took their savior from them, and it was the Canaanites who would be forced to pay one day. Joshua was sent packing, and was forced to go home.

During his journeys he had time to think, and upon his return home to the city of New Canaan he spoke to the merchants of his city, asking them about trade in the lands of the Legion. Many agreed that economically, the Legion did present New Canaan with many business opportunities, and if they just stopped trying to kill the Mormons so damn often, trade might be possible between the two peoples. However many in the city opposed Joshua's idea, as it had been the Legion who had forced them from the great Salt Lake, and many still believed that the Legion was nothing more than a barbarian horde. In spite of these beliefs, Joshua still sent several caravans south. However most were sent back by the southern tribes, those that did slip through however, returned fat with profits as trade laws within the Legion stopped being enforced, due to the outbreak of a new civil war.

[Joshua's offers rebuked, +20,000 caps, +5,000 income]

The Legion​

In the weeks following the fall of Dog-Town, as garrisons throughout Colorado began to be seduced by the allure of a new Imperator, Octavius began his own propaganda campaign, beginning with the minting of a new series of coins which were highly symbolic. They showed the young Emperor on one side, sitting with his family (Caesar and Zenobia) eating a serpent (symbolic of Vulpes), while Caius Gallus Salinus stood behind them wearing the symbolic mask of Lanius. On the backside it said Augustus Imperator and “The Son of Caesar, The Son of Mars” Soon the design began to be produced, and it was predicted that within a month or two it would enter circulation.

During this time Octavius also penned a letter to the retired general, Lucius who had served as the commander of Caesar’s praetorians, for much of the man's reign. During the civil war between Vulpes and Lanius, Lucius remained neutral. As a result after the war, Vulpes forced the man into early retirement, relegating him to a ranch south of Two-Sun. Octavius would receive a reply from the old commander a few weeks later, when he heard the news that Lucius had leapt onto his sword, following a night of heavy drinking, leaving no note to explain his actions.

In the meantime Caius Gallus Salinus took to the fields, organizing the 12th Legion into defensive positions to the west of Dog-Town. He had his men scout out ambush sites, and generally kept them on the lookout for enemy armies. Caius also made the decision to send out several men to spy on Vulpes, however once they left, none of them were ever heard from again.

[-100 Legionnaires]

The Holy State of Elijah​

Following the brief but brutal coup, which ended with Dean Domino finding himself a grave to call his new home, Elihias looked to consolidate her power. And so an Operation which was promptly dubbed “The Light in Darkness” began on January 5th of 2300, as over 20,000 Holy Guards stormed out of garrison’s all across the country that night. These men and women would quickly take to the streets of major cities and towns, as thousands of known criminals, suspected criminals, and political dissidents were rounded up and executed, or impressed into military service. Following the institution of martial law, and the mass purging of many of the south’s major cities, the army took to the countryside, and began to hunt down the bandit gangs which still ran rampant. Fire-fights became common as some parts of Panama and Nicaragua, descended back into chaos. By the end of April, over 600 soldiers had given their lives. However across the country things were getting better in most areas, despite this the gangs and bandits were by no means defeated, as corrupt police officials, military officers and, local governments still worked to undermine Elihia’s efforts.

A few weeks after the purge was initiated, a new gang calling themselves Bandidos-77, was founded in a prison located in old Honduras. They launched a prison uprising and succeeded with over a hundred gang members, at escaping into Central America, where they took to the slums and worked to expand their enterprise.

As the Great Purge (as it came to be known) took its course, Elihia also worked with her advisors on a new economic plan, aimed at expanding her nation’s industry. The project was plagued from the start by a lack of good industry, a lack of electricity, and technical knowledge. Elihia however stuck to her guns, and managed to get several factories built by the end of April, ranging in making things from ammunition to clothing. While her actions did greatly expand the Holy State’s industrial output, it has still done little to combat unemployment among the poor, who make up most of the Holy State’s 2.5 million residents.

[-600 soldiers, -4,500 citizens, +4,000 conscripts,-10,000 income -8,000 caps, +10,000 income]

Jacobstown​

In the Mutant enclave of Jacobstown, the oldest leader in all the wastes, a 2 century year old mutant named Marcus continues his wise and productive rule. Under his lead, the supermutants and their nightkin brothers undergo military reforms, aimed at making the army more professional. These changes are successful and when implemented via training, prove out to be highly effective as veterans of the master’s army, step up to take positions as officers and old experiences are shared and remembered.

Meanwhile Jacobtown’s science team, in coordination with scribes of the Brotherhood of Steel, work to utilize data from their satellite uplink to help increase crop harvests. Using information fed to them via the orbiting craft, they are able to figure out weather patterns a week in advance generally speaking, which will in the future, allows farmers enough time to protect their crops, from things like dust storms or tornadoes should they pop up. At the end of April Jacobstown sees an influx of small time farmers from the NCR, as Brahmin Barons continue buying up more and more land. Marcus is pleased to see his own people welcome the newcomers more kindly than he’d have expected.

In early January of 2300, an unknown wanderer would arrive in the mountains. The young man turned out to be a Boomer, who had survived the cleansing of his people at the hands of the Legion. His name was Chase. After a brief interview with Marcus and the mutants staff, Chase was entrusted with a small caravan and headed for the Divide with a valuable package in toe. The group traveled for two weeks encountering several deadly dust storms, which claimed three lives total, before they finally arrived at the Hopeville Silo where they were greeted by Dr. Gannon (Arcade Gannon). A middle aged man he had thinning blond hair and black wide rimmed glasses, however he was extremely intelligent, and greeted Chase and his party warmly. He saw fit to issue the young Boomer a ED-E helper bot, and helped Chase construct the flight simulator he had brought with him from the Mojave. Once that little project was down, the young man split his time between adventuring around the Divide, and running rocket simulations with a group of other young pilots in training. On one of his adventures into the dust covered hell hole of a land, the kid uncovered a pre-war rocket launcher called a Red Glare, which Chase immediately took a liking to (maybe it’s a genetic thing?). By the end of April, Chase Howitzer had finally settled down in the Divide, and was getting more familiar with his surroundings every day.

[+0.4 military tech, +.2 civilian tech, +1,000 population, -1,000 population NCR, +5,000 income in 1 turn]

The Union​

While the war progresses all along the front, at home Overseer Matthews is busy attempting to replace the losses endured, over the course of his latest offensive. The Overseer, perhaps in an overreaction to reports of losses at the front, orders the recruitment of 20,000 new auxiliary soldiers. His call is met with much resentment from the tribes, as many feel they’ve already contributed enough to the war effort. As pressure mounts though the Union, the military is forced to send armed officers to the tribal towns in order to press young men into service. The tribal chiefs especially in the more recently subjugated lands become increasingly enraged, and in March when a group of tribal deserters are shot by Union guards, a small scale rebellion breaks out in North Dakota. Where a Confederation of 7 tribes drive all Union representatives out of their territory, and begin raiding settlements in the areas adjacent to their lands.

In reaction to this rebellion, Colonel Maximilian is tasked with the recruitment of a home guard consisting of 1,000 loyal Union men, which are to put the tribes down. The guard consisting entirely of those men (or boys in this case) under the age of 16 and over the age of 40, has very questionable fighting power. Despite this their “training” is completed by mid-April, and the men begin their long march towards the front.

[-40,000 caps, +5,000 irregulars, -12,500 income, 4,000 rebels seize control of parts of North Dakota, -20,000 income, -4,500 caps, +1,000 regulars, -3,500 income]

The Texas Brotherhood of Steel​

Following tense negotiations between the Texan Brotherhood, and the Midwestern Brothers, the delegates return to their respective factions with a surprising deal. The Texan brothers greet the deal with a mix of joy and surprise. As the Midwesterners move out of Missouri, Texans take their place, however the other provisions aren’t mentioned publically as of yet.

With the end of Midwestern control over Missouri, the Texans start a recruiting drive in the newly occupied territory. Several tribals show interest in joining the Texans, however most locals are angry seeing the Texans as an occupying force. Due to many of the locals, having long harbored a deep love for the Midwest Brotherhood, which had wisely and justly ruled the land for over a century bringing, order and civilization to the wastes there. Collaborators generally found themselves dead, or disappeared within a few weeks of announcing their loyalty, and the Texan officers in the area began fearing that a full scale insurgency might be coming.

[Missouri transferred to the Texas BoS,-125,000 income Midwest BoS, +20,000 income Texas BoS, -25,000 caps, Recruiting attempts fail, -130,000 population Midwest BoS]

Midwest Brotherhood of Steel​

In Chicago the reaction to the deal brokered with Texas is far less ecstatic. When the news breaks that Missouri has been abandoned an area considered by many to be part of the Midwestern heartland riots break out all across the capital. Chicago is swept with flame as the crowd demands the people responsible for this outrage. After 2 months of protests the higher ups in Chicago are forced to demote several of the officers responsible for the deal however this is not enough for many of the people and there are now rumors that volunteer battalions are being formed around Cairo, Illinois to prepare for the liberation of Missouri.

[-45,000 caps in property damage, militias forming in southern Illinois]

Midwest Bazaar’s​

Looking to earn himself a hefty profit from the brewing civil war within the lands of the Legion, Mister Jacob Williams of the 'Mid-West Bazaars' carved himself a trade path all the way to Dog Town. Speaking with the son of Caesar himself and striking a deal, Williams did quite well for himself, earning himself the honor of opening up a bonafide chapter of his illustrious 'Bazaars" in Dog-Town proper, and a new market which seemed ripe in the coming days of warfare.

[Chapter Established]

Ronto​

Phillilp Wells wished to prove himself quickly to his people. Words had begun spreading from the DDC of their good fortunes, and Wells had hoped to begin building proper relations with them. Another important issue to the safety of Ronto, was the Empire of the Pitt to the south, and their vassal, the Erie Strip. As such Wells decided to put together two different expeditions, one of 5 patrol boats to make contact with the DCC, and another of 850 men to expand the borders of Ronto.

The first expedition was the boats, they set off early in the morning, and originally made fairly good progress on their trip. Passing through the Erie Canal by mid-January. However they began having to make more and more stops, resupplying and making camp to sleep for the nights. At one point they stopped near a town that proved to be a fatal mistake for the mission. As they stopped for the night, hoping to sleep in the safety of the town, two men were seen leaving, the crews from the boats didn’t take notice of them, as of the time there was no reason. As the boats set off the following morning, resupplied, things went well for the first two hours until they reached a clearing where men stood ready for them. They managed to stop the boats with improvised nets, and as such held them back, preventing them from advancing towards the DDC. The hostile group of men are now demanding a toll, if they wished to go further.

The expansion to the east of Ronto fared much better than the boats. 850 men left Ronto about a week after the boats, heading south east with great speed as they prepared the attack on the city of Niagra. The city fell before long, and came under Ronto’s control without much internal resistance. As such the army could quickly move on and in great speed, took over Niagara falls. That however would begin to be the halt of their progress, as they tried to push further and further into the eastern part of New York, they met more and more small tribes, who fought back with a tenacious nature and determination. One interesting discovery did however come from a very unlikely place, the soldiers of Ronto eventually stumbled upon a decently large sized Amish settlement. What surprised the Ronto soldiers the most was the well-kept town, the fresh buildings, large and small, that the Amish had put up, the plenty food available. The Amish had always lived away from the main society, passing on their trade, craft and knowhow from generation to generation, and could prove a valuable asset for any faction which could incorporate them. The Amish on the other hand, simply wished to be left alone, not to mention having the support of the local tribes due to their helpful nature, would make it problematic to force the Amish into anything. This was however also where the Ronto soldiers were stopped, being unable to advance no further for the time being, and fell back to the city of Niagra. The expansion had also made an effect on the Erie strip, and it eventually spread over time of their military, reaching the Pitt in late March to early April.

[200 of the 850 die, loot worth of 15k caps are captured, city of Niagra is captured with a size of 6000 inhabitants, Amish faction met. Boats sent towards the DDC are stopped along the way by a faction demanding tribute for the use of their lake.]

The Pitt​

Following Empress Marie’s coronation in the early winter months of 2299, the young monarch set out to make her own mark on her father’s creation. She began to take stock of the situation within her lands, and after reviewing some of the statistics brought to her by her servants, found that the Pitt had long been too reliant on grain imports from Rivet City and the Technocracy for her comfort. Without these imports many of her slaves and people could end up starving, and so she concluded that it was high time to create an agricultural base for the Pitt. She soon set her sights on the mountainous area known as West Virginia. There for almost two decades now raiders from the Pitt had been setting up small farms, which were worked day in and day out by slaves, however most of the land in the area was still wooded and unused.

And so, Marie decided to sponsor a mass subsidization of the farms in West Virginia, this helped turn hundreds of small farms into mass plantations, worked by hundreds of slaves by the end of the year. That winter, trees were cleared, and fields prepared for the following Spring. It seemed that soon the Pitt might become an agricultural powerhouse in its own right. The local elites took these developments well, and Lord Proprietors dispatched from the Pitt were greeted warmly.

Meanwhile the Empress also wished to begin making a reputation for herself among military circles, and in the Erie Stretch a land divided by tribal allegiances, barbarism, cruelty and warfare she saw her chance. The Stretch had been a land that had rebuked her father, a land that had taken his life, and it would be up to her to seek vengeance. In January of that year she began recruiting a special force, it consisted of 300 men which would come to be known as the Rooneymen. The stated objective for this force was to be the frontline of defence, for the Pitt, along the Empire’s expansive borders, however this was not their true purpose. In March they slipped into the Erie Stretch, meeting up with collaborationist tribes in the area, and began training and offering supplies to their local allies. They also soon became adept guerilla warriors, viciously attacking the enemies of the Pitt, and often slaughtering entire villages in retribution for past wrongs. By the end of April losses were negligible, and change could start to be seen on the ground, as the first tribes began to lay down their arms, and resubmit to the Pitt’s rule. Despite this the land was still pretty much lawless, with many large Union cells continued to operate in the area, severely hampering the Pitt’s efforts to establish any real sense of control in the area.

[-250,000 caps, +35,000 income in 2 turns, -75,000 caps, -10,500 income, +300 regulars, +1,000 population, +2,500 caps]

Nova Roma​

Cladius Rufus Tiber, the second Princep of Staten Island, is a man with a lot to prove. Unfortunately for him, his first large scale project as Princep is a failure. As the despot attempts to repair the roads all across Staten Island. Sadly Nova Roma simply lacks the equipment, or manpower for this project and little is done.

A month later in March the Princeps attempts a project, to fortify the north eastern side of Staten Island. All goes as well as can be expected, work proceeds slow as officials and construction companies demand bribes, and the soldiers who are ordered to do most of the work, are usually high. However by April the project is halfway done.

During this time the Praetorian Prefect, a hardy man by the name of Decimus, works to secure better arms and armor for the Nova Roman military. He secures several good deals with weapons dealers from both the Institute and the DCC, however the military is still unfamiliar in the use of this new equipment, and it’ll take the soldiers time to get acclimated to it.

[-6,500 caps, -6,000 caps, Fortifications ½ done, +.5 military tech]

The Commune of Vault 191​

In the People’s Commune of Vault 191, Foucalt greets the new century gleefully. However despite his celebrations, the realities of modern life in New York still find a way to reach the comrade. When crates of medicine start to go missing, and the theft is traced back to the Vault’s guards, Foucalt decided that he has had enough, and launched a full scale investigation into the guard’s activities. When reports started filtering back from his informers, the aging leader was not pleased. It was found that drug use was rampant in the guard, together with drinking, gambling and racketeering being common practice among his soldiers.

Thus the glorious leader decided to put his heel down. He “fired” several officers who had grown too complacent in the commander's eyes, and replaced them with good ideologically minded men. Workers and farmers who had no problem doing what had to be done. The soldiers were worked and trained tirelessly, any man found with drugs or related paraphernalia was beaten, and as April began, Foucalt found his army to be slightly less drug addled. However corrupt NCO’s, and the lure of prostitutes and liquor, along with a lot of discontent brought about by the recent changes and drilling, still helped to sap a lot of the armies fighting power.

As Foucalt engaged in his military reforms, work was also done to make the Commune a more serious economic power within the city. The Comrade General sent out many scouts and envoys into the city, in order to attempt to buy some industrial equipment, which could be used to produce weapons and bullets more efficiently. Several of the feelers find their way to the Harbor Free Commerce Zone on the east side of Manhattan, and there several Institute traders sell the communists what they are looking for. The equipment is quickly installed, and in no time pistol upgrades as well as ammunition start to be handed out for the Vault’s soldiers.

[+.2 military tech, +.1 military tech, -6,000 caps, +1,000 income. +6,000 caps the institute]

Facade’s Army​

In the deepest winter months of 2300, Facade leads his army further than ever before into the south. Crossing the borders of Georgia with 7,000 troops at his side, for Facade it’s business as usual. Settlement after settlement is torched, and slaves are collected as a path of destruction is burned through the southern state. By April the army nears Atlanta, where it is rumored troops from all across the south (including the gulf states) have gathered in a final attempt to curb the advance of the mutant army.

Meanwhile back home, Facade orders mass irrigation projects across his domain, in order to keep his slaves fed, and to help utilize the land better. The projects go well, and an acceptable amount of slaves work themselves to death in the dirt of the south. However due to its scale, work won’t be completed for another few months.

[+25,000 loots (supermutants eat caps for breakfast), +3,000 slaves, irrigation project ½ done]

The Kingdom of Springfield​

In a sign of changing times, King Arnold the First of Springfield, agrees to sign the Commonwealth-Springfield Free Trade Agreement. This results in a warming of diplomatic relations unseen since the days before the conquest of Worcester. As soon as the ink dries on the treaty, merchants from the Institute race towards Springfield, where they establish shops and begin selling their industrial goods, at prices far cheaper than those offered by the DCC, which put many a good merchant out of business. Meanwhile the farmers and lumberjacks of Springfield set out for Boston, where they sell their raw materials. The trade generates thousands of tax dollars for both nations, and helps to further ease tensions.

Meanwhile in upstate New York, squads of soldiers are dispatched to guard the vulnerable western frontier. Dozens of small expeditions are launched, and new tribes as well as towns and even a few cities (at Utica and Colgate) are discovered. Trade relations quickly begin with these localities, and industrial goods from the Institute are traded for a nice mark-up. Surplus food from these areas also nicely bolsters Springfield’s economy, with its population benefitting directly from the price of food staples like corn and wheat.

During this time of economic growth the head of Springfield’s military, one of the ship’s crewmembers, a cowboy by the name of Paulson, begins drilling dozens of soldiers on the use of alien weaponry. Although the use of this technology is widely seen throughout Springfield’s military, a little drilling never hurts and all the soldiers become very comfortable in the use of such weapons before the end of April.

[+25,000 income, +12,000 income, +.1 military tech]

The Temple of the Union​

Within the Heart of DC, the freed slaves of the Temple of the Union ready their next campaign. When news broke across the Capitol Wasteland, that Tenpenny’s Tower and the Pitt had reaffirmed their ties, several cells in the area were activated. Within a week and a half, the rail line going from the Pitt to the Capitol wastes had been blown in four places, together with dozens of protectrons that had been killed in hit and run raids on the edges of Tenpenny’s territory. Over the course of the next 4 months, over 100 brave Union soldiers would ultimately give their lives as well, in the neverending war against the Pitt. In Tenpenny Towers the populace would feel the affects of this new war the most, as most civilians became afraid to step foot outside of their tower.

In the meantime back in Union City a recruiting campaign takes place, aimed at getting well ex slaves with skills as tradesmen to come back, and find work in the city. It was hoped that should enough of these personnel show up, then they’d be able to increase the value of the Union’s trade goods in time. The effort is semi successful, as dozens of freed slaves from the Pitt arrive in the city, all of whom had experience in metal work. And, while they do greatly improve the quality of the Union’s metal products, the Temple still simply lacks the facilities to be competing on the scale of the DCC or the Institute.

[-100 guerillas, -300 protectrons, -15,000 income Pitt, -20,000 income Tenpenny, +150 population, +3,000 income]

The Institute​

In Boston the signing of the Commonwealth-Springfield Free Trade Agreement is well received, as it opens up the entire west for the Institute and its traders, bringing the Head Dean much popularity and praise from among the nation’s industrialists. However the Borlaug College of Agriculture does suffer handily from the cheap products, flowing over the border from Springfield, and it is only through a few speedy education “investments” that the institution is kept afloat.

Following the signing of the deal the Council of Knowledge holds its 2300 elections, leading to a historic outcome, in which the Meritocratic Party loses its slim majority in the Council to the Technocratic Party lead by Doctor Harlow. Many political analysts were surprised by the upset, however many believe it can be explained by unrest in the Borlaug College, following the signing of the trade deal. Nonetheless many in the Institute have begun to wonder quite openly, if the days of the Meritocratic one party system are coming to an end.

Following his electoral losses, Dean Fowler wanted to make a show of strength and decided to do this by revamping the Institute’s military. The military had been lagging behind technologically, since the failed invasion of Springfield. Using engineers from three separate colleges, a project is begun to develop a new class of battle droids capable of doing great damage to the Institute’s enemies, while also being cheap to produce. Research proceeds well, and with enough funding a prototype should be available within 9 months to a year. Meanwhile Fowler sent dozens of soldiers from his own college, into Maine and New Hampshire in order to explore several newly discovered Vaults, as well as old abandoned military and naval outposts for new military technology. These efforts prove to be largely fruitless, and not much is found besides a few 10 millimeters and a few assault rifles.

While the Head Dean was working hard to improve the military, Doctor Isaac A. Harlow left Boston with a large task force in toe, consisting of the Melis X-1 (the former USS Constitution revamped and ready for action) along with 35 patrol boats, 5 transports and 2 vertibirds. Over 2,000 soldiers and scientists from a wide array of colleges, come with the Doctor in order to assist him in achieving his objective. The task force set sail in the coldest parts of January, and arrived on the shores of Nova Scotia in mid-March. Harlow acting as the task forces commander, decides to land at the snow covered port known as Yarmouth. The forces land easily enough, and even manage to push into the wooded areas further inland, before they come into contact with the natives. Some of the natives attempt to trade with the newcomers, and some even tell stories of a bustling port on the northern side of the island, however most of them launch raids against the Institute forces, and several hundred young men are killed by mid-April. In the wake of these attacks, Isaac felt the pressure to build up his own position, and began the construction of several new top secret Institute facilities in Yarmouth. Construction on them is lagging for now however, due to the risk the winter weather poses to the Institute’s ships. It is expected that once Spring arrives construction should pick up substantially, and that construction should be completed altogether by mid-summer.

[-15,000 caps, Council of Knowledge split 68- 52 in favor of the Technocrats, -60,000 caps, Battle Droid Project ⅓ done, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia taken, -200 regulars, -90,000 caps, Construction ½ done, +5,000 income, +1,500 population]

The Capitol Brotherhood of Steel​

The Brotherhood sends out a squad to Fort Constantine, it is in the hope that they will prove able at recovering several items. The squad eventually reaches the fort, much of it had been stripped bare ages ago, and as such many of the items are gone.

Another group was sent to Vault 112, which has more success. They are able to recover several technologies such as advanced VR tech, and the electrical power which keeps Vault 112 running.

[The squads secure the 112 and recover the tech, Fort Constantine was stripped clean already]

The DCC​

Ron Shirley and the DCC decide to send out a force of 1,000 regulars, to the town of Big Town. They hope to convince this settlement to join them in return for protection, something that the town desperately needed, roughly 20 years ago. They have also been ordered to clear out bandits and ghouls, something they would happily do to provide more safety to the area. The 1,000 set out a cold winter morning, heading towards big town.

A night, on the way there, they found a house, looking abandoned on the outside. They decided to make camp around it, and find out their position on a map. It was a this moment that they found out that it was in fact not abandoned. A child came out, carrying a gun, aiming at them with uneasement, the soldiers pulled their own, trying to calm the child to no avail. Eventually the handgun in the child’s hand went off, not hitting anyone, but worries all, to the degree that three newer recruits panicked and fired back, killing the child.

The commander stood with an issue now, but decided to let the three soldiers get off without further trouble, in part hoping to forget the affair, but also blaming the girl for carrying the gun, and letting it go off. Many of the soldiers considered this a bad omen, and wanted to leave as quickly as possible. The commander ordered the child buried, but the soldiers rushed the work, barely digging down before putting in her body and covering it with the dirt.

The next two days went by with no further events, marching and setting up camp. On the third night, that however changed. Just past midnight, a deafening scream could be heard. Several guards rushed out to see what had happened, but it was already too late. One of the soldiers laid in front of them, his face missing, ripped off, bones being broken, and him dead. Just before dawn, as it was still dark, another scream could be heard, this time they found the stomach ripped apart. The commander didn’t think much of it, blaming it on ghouls, his men however blamed it on the incident with the girl.

Over the course of the following day, another 20 would disappear, all ripped open by the time they were found, and the morale of the camp being pushed down. However, the party had finally made it Big Town, and with no large casualties. They began to search Big Town, only to find the town had been wiped out earlier. The commander however decided to further the search, to return home with results, the last night having no casualties feeling that it was now safe again, he would quickly be proven wrong. As he put out several squads to scout the area, he hoped to be able to return back home quickly, but as the day went on and on, the squads didn’t return, and by nightfall, one man returned, dying shortly afterwards. In total, 150 men died that day. The commander was now sacred, just as much as the troops, but it was already dark, too late to move out, and as such tripled the guard for the night, and ordered to prepare to move out the following morning. The night was surprisingly quiet, making the commander hopeful, that is until he stepped out of his tent and saw the chaos in which his camp was in. Over the course of the night, a quarter of the camp had been killed, most of their bodies torn to pieces, and despite the added guards and patrols, no one had seen anything.

The soldiers began to rush back to the DCC, but they still needed to make camp, not many slept, and those who did were interrupted by screams from time to time, as more and more bodies were found. Those that woke up before the screams, said they saw the face of the little girl, as well as those of other children standing, looking at them. Many men decided to kill themselves, shooting or slitting their wrists.

As march approached, three brahmins could be seen approaching the DCC borders, carrying something behind them. When they finally reached the outer guard post, the guards were shocked, men with the soldiers badge on each of them. The first had his eyes cut out, the next had his ears cut off, and the final had his tongue cut out. These were the commander of the mission, and his two top officers. On them, carved into their chest with a dull knife, “See no evil” on the first. “Hear no evil.” On the second, and “Speak no evil.” On the third. The two first were dead by now, but the third still had weak signs of life in him, and as such was rushed to a medical center, and later the hospital in Rivet City. They were eventually able to save him and he was transferred to a single room, the council and military officials hoping to learn what had happened to the expedition. Alas, that would not be the outcome, when a doctor entered the room, a scene of horror awaited him. On the ground was the officer, he had smashed his own head in against the wall, the final hit making his skull splinter and pieces of his brain on the floor. However, before he had taken his own life, he had left a message, in his own blood, he had painted an image on the wall. A deathclaw devouring his fellow soldiers.

Under the leadership of another politician from the DCC the faction begins to expand its influence and connections. An expedition is launched towards Baltimore, to a faction called the Orioles, whom they manage to establish connections with. Much of the same is done to other smaller tribes. They also use several of their boats to increase the fishing output along the Polotec river, which largely turns out as a success. They also turn a greater eye towards protecting trade caravans from the Republic of Dave, and the DC Metro area. However, they expected an envoy from the city of Ronto which never showed up, leaving them wondering if Ronto didn’t care enough to trade with them.

[-1,000 Regulars, +5,000 income]

The Enclave​

Under the leadership of Skynet the Enclave manages to have several cars brought to Fort Meade for research, hoping to rediscover the technology behind their engines. They had some success, but were not yet done.


[-4,000 caps, ½ done]

 

[XVG]

After reaching the end of the Legion’s territory, Jacob ordered a break for two days. Over this time he inspected the current stocks, account books and chests full of Legion’s aureus gold coins and various caps. Ah, bright, shining, real coins. So many more of them. You could hardly see any of them up north, but maybe they would come to use, at least on a small scale. Mr. Williams ordered one of the guards to split the train, with most of the more useless merchandise and larger sum of the tender going up north the same route they had come south. The wealth would be stocked in Minnesota for later use.

But the caravan heading through Kansas was far mightier. All the best goods, the strongest brahmin and most experienced guards went with it. Jacob had planned a longer route this time, taking them via all the know settlements, and by a few so far uncharted possible military posts or other areas of interest. One of these sites was reached about a week into the journey. West of Great Bend, there was an interesting location that had already been spotted by Mr. Williams while on an earlier travel past it. It seemed like an old radar, or aerospace defense installation. Possible loot would include basic military gear, but also possibly something more valuable. Worth a look.

Jacob approached the facility with a few of his most experienced caravan guards, all armed to teeth with carbines, pistols and other heavy equipment. The first door to the base appeared to have been destroyed by a shockwave of sorts. Odd, because no nuclear impact crater was around, at least to Jacob’s knowledge. They entered the first room, a lobby of sorts. Jacob started to read the signs. “Radar Operations Room, Weather Station, Communications, Command Bunker. Guess where we are going, boys? The best stuff must be down there! Light up your torches.” The men entered a staircase after having the heavy metal doors blasted out. After about 20 meters of descending, they located the next level.

Mr. Williams kicked down the next door, which had already seen some damage. Strange, the previous door was fine. Upon entering the room they stumbled upon corpses. Lots of them. Weapons lying everywhere. Strange looking weapons actually. He had rarely seen them and never looked that closely. Jacob grabbed one from the arms of a dead soldier. Chinese. Amazing. So they really had their spies in America. Why would they try to sabotage an useless radar base though? Dumb commies. “Sir, this one has a holodisk! Or a Chinese copy of it.” Jacob moved around, and noted that there was a counter, behind which were computers and the bodies of deceased American soldiers. Jacob begun to understand what had happened. They had apparently fought valiantly against the invaders, and sealed the base. Then, even the rest of the Chinese had all died when the doors never opened again. Quite a horrible way to go. The lights went up, as the emergency generators were seemingly still working. A few men went to the command table.

“Allright, I am going to listen to this.” said one of the guards and put the holodisk into the main computer terminal. “Tune down the volume before.” yelled Jacob. Too late. Audio speakers all around the room started to play a pre-war Chinese tune. Loudly, very loudly. “SHUT IT DOWN!”

“I CANT. IT IS STUCK IN!” Their ears surely started to turn red.

 

[baboushreturns]

Rule Announcement: So gotta change some stuff up stat wise after we experienced what could be described as foreseeable problems. The following applies to the Union, Enclave and all BoS Factions. Knights and Enclave Troopers now cost as much to recruit and maintain for your factions as regulars would for others. Hellfire troopers and paladins meanwhile will cost you as much as rangers. Due to the expertize of your factions when dealing with advanced tech vertibird costs will also be down at 5,000 upkeep. That is all.