Hello all,
This is the extended version of my entry for the competition, I understood from the judges that the edited version was sometimes confusing because material had to be cut off in order to fit the limit.
This one should be more clear.
* * * *
The Brotherhood of Steel
A concept proposal by Marten van Wier
The destruction of the Enclave’s Headquarters, the fall of Navarro and afterwards
Since the destruction of the Enclave’s headquarters much had changed at the West Coast, some changes caused directly by the Chosen One.
With the joining of the Squatters of Vault 15, the New California Republic could finally expand into the North. Vault City took control of the nuclear power plant in the Ghoul town Gecko, and the Shi continued their various projects in secrecy.
Though the Brotherhood had acquired the plans for the vertibirds, those could do nothing to prevent the continued decline of the Brotherhood. Some members had simply become too old for active service or had died in the line of duty, with limited new recruits in the foreseeable future.
Some of the more liberal-minded Brotherhood members continued to argue that the Brotherhood should once more open itself to outsiders, using the cases of the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One as an example.
The Elders of the Brotherhood feared that by allowing lesser outsiders to join their security would be compromised and their secrets would fall in the hands of the Brotherhood’s enemies. However the arguments of the liberal members became louder as Brotherhood members fell and in the end the Elders grudgingly decided to change their isolationist stance.
Those that the Brotherhood considered the best of the Wasteland were allowed to join its ranks, becoming scribes, knights or paladins in time, but in return for this privilege these members were sworn an oath of secrecy with dire consequences as punishment should they break this oath.
With a new flow of members the decline of the Brotherhood somewhat lessened.
The Enclave had significantly weakened since the destruction of its headquarters and its remaining forces were scattered across the wasteland, Brotherhood paladins had clashed with surviving soldiers from time to time but so far no strike had been done at its remaining known base; Navarro.
Brotherhood officers had learned from their sources in the Wasteland that the Enclave’s attention had been divided across the various powers of the wasteland, the New California Republic, the Wright family from New Reno, the Shi, and Vault City, leaving key targets dangerously unprotected. Apparently Navarro had also started to run empty as the Enclave needed to move on.
These Brotherhood officers argued with the elders that the time had come to claim what was left of Navarro before the NCR army could claim the base, led by Paladin Lyons who had earlier argued for a more open Brotherhood these officers assembled a sizeable strike team and headed off to the base.
Instead of getting them selves killed as some Elders may have hoped, the force led by Lyons was successful, suffering little losses on its side while the paladins took out the automated defences and what Enclave soldiers were left.
As the paladins entered the base for the first time they discovered that some of the base’s technology and supplies had been scavenged and moved off the base but sufficient technology remained for the Brotherhood to bring back.
It was at Navarro that Lyons made the greatest Brotherhood discovery of all, a still working connection to Poseidonet. Before the War Poseidonet had been created and used by Poseidon Energy, one of the US largest corporations, to maintain contact with its various holdings and transfer information.
Later the Enclave had used the network to control some of the Vaults in the wasteland and monitor its inhabitants.
Little did most of the Enclave know that Poseidonet was more than just a data transfer network, most of the remaining computers in the wasteland were still connected to it, allowing access to vast digital archives as well as the locations of various government and corporate facilities.
Lyons learned that before the War the Enclave had established a number of hidden depots throughout the continent where supplies and fuel had been stored for use after the War. The Enclave had wanted to use these when they would colonise the mainland again.
Together with what other technology they could salvage the paladins returned to Lost Hills bunker where Lyons presented the Brotherhood Elders with the information of Poseidonet and the map. Lyons believed that if the Brotherhood was to survive that it had to expand into the East and retrieve what technology caches were left before these were lost to the elements or scavengers.
The depots could be used to establish a supply line and operation bases from which the Brotherhood could send smaller expeditions into the surrounding land, and the line could be used to send back whatever worthy technology these expeditions would find.
The founding of the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces
Lyons was a growing phenomenon amongst the Brotherhood ranks, especially to the young initiates, both born in the bunker and coming from outside, and the Brotherhood Elders feared a possible coup if they tried to suppress Lyons and his followers, by sending him to the East the Brotherhood Elders would be rid of him and if he was successful as with Navarro, the rewards would be great.
Lyons was promoted to general and was allowed to form his Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces; unlike the paladins of old these forces would be more mobile and offensive rather than defensive as previously had been the case. The expedition would recruit native guides along the journey to the various depots and perform minimal trade for any necessary supplies and information.
Lyons’ plan was to follow the crumbling intercontinental roadways and train tracks which would lead the expedition past the ruins of former major cities which current inhabitants may be useful for the Brotherhood.
Several months later the expedition consisting of several trucks and accompanying ground force left the Lost Hills bunker and headed into the East, past the great mountain ranges.
The Journey and the acquisition of the depots
The Expeditionary Forces suffered many hardships during their journey into unknown territory, the climate proved to be harsh and radioactive hotspots were spread around the route.
The Brotherhood also had to deal with dangerous wildlife and confront various human and mutant groups who preyed upon the expedition’s supplies.
But the Brotherhood also made many new contacts amongst the various communities, many people such as the various tribes were impressed by the soldiers in Power Armour and Combat Armour and the knowledge the scribes possessed, and trading was done on several occasions.
Locating the depots sometimes came with successes or disappointments, in some cases the depots had been raided a long time ago while in other situations depots had been taken over by communities or organisations, still the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces was in general successful, claiming supplies of weapons, machines and energy sources necessary to continue.
To secure these depots the Brotherhood sometimes made use of their new contacts, convincing local tribes or communities to guard the depots for following Brotherhood expeditions but scaring them sufficient not to enter the depots themselves.
Just in case the Brotherhood established a number of measures to keep outsiders at bay.
A few times it was necessary to leave small forces of Brotherhood soldiers behind to guard the depots and maintain the supply line on which the expedition relied.
By the time Lyons had crossed the great radioactive zones in the Mid West a third of his expedition had either succumbed to the harsh conditions, had been killed in action or had been forced to stay behind. In order to make up for the losses Lyons started to recruit men and women from communities he considered having potential for Brotherhood membership.
Like the new recruits back at Lost Hills these new initiates were sworn to an oath of technological secrecy, Lyons and his officers made it clear that theft or betrayal would be harshly dealt with.
These recruits served as scouting forces for the expedition, having to prove their worth before they would be allowed to become scribes, knights and paladins.
The East Coast and Washington D.C.
While Lyons' main goal had been to secure the Pre War supply depots spread throughout the continent he also had another goal which only a select few Brotherhood members knew, from Poseidonet Lyons had learned of a large number of ‘interesting’ locations spread across the East Coast; military bases such as the submarine construction yards, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station but also universities and corporate research facilities.
He considered that most of these facilities must have been destroyed during the nuclear exchange or had been long looted afterwards, but still there must have been things left undiscovered.
The old computer archives spoke of various projects that had been approved by the US government or was being undertaken by them prior to the War; weapons research, but also computers, power sources, disease control and immunisation, methods to treat the radioactive wastelands and make them fertile again.
Lyons consciously ordered his forces to set direction for Washington D.C. first, while the firestorm would have razed the city itself the hardened bunkers containing government and military records should still be intact and could provide the Brotherhood with further information about the locations they wish to seek out in the future.
The Expeditionary Forces found Washington D.C. in the expected state, most of the city had been destroyed and what was left of it lay in decay, yet amongst the ruins of the city and in the area around it new communities of people had developed.
Most of the people who lived in the city itself survived by salvaging the remnants for useful items for own use or to sell these on while outside the city limits small agricultural towns had been founded.
Some groups had managed to maintain a level of stability and law while others had fallen into anarchy such as the various raider groups, surprisingly some even had managed to maintain some level of technological and scientific knowledge.
For the time being the Brotherhood set up a base of operations near the city but Lyons wisely decided not to get too involved with the people living here outside essential basic trading, the gathering of information and the possible recruitment of the few worthy individuals.
The plan is to search the city and the area around it for any useful and salvageable technology and the archives somewhere hidden beneath the city before moving on.
To the people of the region the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces is a curious arrival, well armed, trained and possessing great knowledge the Brotherhood has shown no interest of an alliance with any of the local powers who compete with another for control of the city and the region, instead being more interested in the secrets of the old ones.
And though the occasional individual member performs deeds of altruism the Brotherhood itself remains firmly impartial, not intervening in the bloodshed and atrocities still taking place today.
Lyons himself hopes to find valuable technological artefacts or secrets that will justify the great journey his Expeditionary Forces have made, he more than well realises that the conservative elders back at the Brotherhood headquarters question his decisions and the great risks he has been taking, wishing nothing more than to remove him from command and return the Brotherhood to the old ways of fierce isolation.
Before the War Washington D.C. had been a hub of activity, it had been the capital of the country and next to the already established repositories of government and military knowledge some corporations such as Poseidon Energy had offices and facilities here.
Rumours of those days insist that something of great magnitude was taking place in the city or close to it, something the government had close involvement with.
If Lyons is ever to prove the worth of the great network he has been setting up throughout the continent it would be this project, the problem is that no one knows what it exactly detailed and that the scribes so far have not found any significant data on it on Poseidonet.
The only possible lead would be somewhere in the area, the still undiscovered archives, the long lived Ghoul population, or any records the more sophisticated people of Washington D.C. possess.
As Brotherhood scouting parties enter the ruins they can not help getting involved with local matters and some of the locals see the Brotherhood as a possible source to be exploited or a threat that needs to be eliminated.
Once again the Brotherhood needs an outside recruit with strong potential.
This is the extended version of my entry for the competition, I understood from the judges that the edited version was sometimes confusing because material had to be cut off in order to fit the limit.
This one should be more clear.
* * * *
The Brotherhood of Steel
A concept proposal by Marten van Wier
The destruction of the Enclave’s Headquarters, the fall of Navarro and afterwards
Since the destruction of the Enclave’s headquarters much had changed at the West Coast, some changes caused directly by the Chosen One.
With the joining of the Squatters of Vault 15, the New California Republic could finally expand into the North. Vault City took control of the nuclear power plant in the Ghoul town Gecko, and the Shi continued their various projects in secrecy.
Though the Brotherhood had acquired the plans for the vertibirds, those could do nothing to prevent the continued decline of the Brotherhood. Some members had simply become too old for active service or had died in the line of duty, with limited new recruits in the foreseeable future.
Some of the more liberal-minded Brotherhood members continued to argue that the Brotherhood should once more open itself to outsiders, using the cases of the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One as an example.
The Elders of the Brotherhood feared that by allowing lesser outsiders to join their security would be compromised and their secrets would fall in the hands of the Brotherhood’s enemies. However the arguments of the liberal members became louder as Brotherhood members fell and in the end the Elders grudgingly decided to change their isolationist stance.
Those that the Brotherhood considered the best of the Wasteland were allowed to join its ranks, becoming scribes, knights or paladins in time, but in return for this privilege these members were sworn an oath of secrecy with dire consequences as punishment should they break this oath.
With a new flow of members the decline of the Brotherhood somewhat lessened.
The Enclave had significantly weakened since the destruction of its headquarters and its remaining forces were scattered across the wasteland, Brotherhood paladins had clashed with surviving soldiers from time to time but so far no strike had been done at its remaining known base; Navarro.
Brotherhood officers had learned from their sources in the Wasteland that the Enclave’s attention had been divided across the various powers of the wasteland, the New California Republic, the Wright family from New Reno, the Shi, and Vault City, leaving key targets dangerously unprotected. Apparently Navarro had also started to run empty as the Enclave needed to move on.
These Brotherhood officers argued with the elders that the time had come to claim what was left of Navarro before the NCR army could claim the base, led by Paladin Lyons who had earlier argued for a more open Brotherhood these officers assembled a sizeable strike team and headed off to the base.
Instead of getting them selves killed as some Elders may have hoped, the force led by Lyons was successful, suffering little losses on its side while the paladins took out the automated defences and what Enclave soldiers were left.
As the paladins entered the base for the first time they discovered that some of the base’s technology and supplies had been scavenged and moved off the base but sufficient technology remained for the Brotherhood to bring back.
It was at Navarro that Lyons made the greatest Brotherhood discovery of all, a still working connection to Poseidonet. Before the War Poseidonet had been created and used by Poseidon Energy, one of the US largest corporations, to maintain contact with its various holdings and transfer information.
Later the Enclave had used the network to control some of the Vaults in the wasteland and monitor its inhabitants.
Little did most of the Enclave know that Poseidonet was more than just a data transfer network, most of the remaining computers in the wasteland were still connected to it, allowing access to vast digital archives as well as the locations of various government and corporate facilities.
Lyons learned that before the War the Enclave had established a number of hidden depots throughout the continent where supplies and fuel had been stored for use after the War. The Enclave had wanted to use these when they would colonise the mainland again.
Together with what other technology they could salvage the paladins returned to Lost Hills bunker where Lyons presented the Brotherhood Elders with the information of Poseidonet and the map. Lyons believed that if the Brotherhood was to survive that it had to expand into the East and retrieve what technology caches were left before these were lost to the elements or scavengers.
The depots could be used to establish a supply line and operation bases from which the Brotherhood could send smaller expeditions into the surrounding land, and the line could be used to send back whatever worthy technology these expeditions would find.
The founding of the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces
Lyons was a growing phenomenon amongst the Brotherhood ranks, especially to the young initiates, both born in the bunker and coming from outside, and the Brotherhood Elders feared a possible coup if they tried to suppress Lyons and his followers, by sending him to the East the Brotherhood Elders would be rid of him and if he was successful as with Navarro, the rewards would be great.
Lyons was promoted to general and was allowed to form his Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces; unlike the paladins of old these forces would be more mobile and offensive rather than defensive as previously had been the case. The expedition would recruit native guides along the journey to the various depots and perform minimal trade for any necessary supplies and information.
Lyons’ plan was to follow the crumbling intercontinental roadways and train tracks which would lead the expedition past the ruins of former major cities which current inhabitants may be useful for the Brotherhood.
Several months later the expedition consisting of several trucks and accompanying ground force left the Lost Hills bunker and headed into the East, past the great mountain ranges.
The Journey and the acquisition of the depots
The Expeditionary Forces suffered many hardships during their journey into unknown territory, the climate proved to be harsh and radioactive hotspots were spread around the route.
The Brotherhood also had to deal with dangerous wildlife and confront various human and mutant groups who preyed upon the expedition’s supplies.
But the Brotherhood also made many new contacts amongst the various communities, many people such as the various tribes were impressed by the soldiers in Power Armour and Combat Armour and the knowledge the scribes possessed, and trading was done on several occasions.
Locating the depots sometimes came with successes or disappointments, in some cases the depots had been raided a long time ago while in other situations depots had been taken over by communities or organisations, still the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces was in general successful, claiming supplies of weapons, machines and energy sources necessary to continue.
To secure these depots the Brotherhood sometimes made use of their new contacts, convincing local tribes or communities to guard the depots for following Brotherhood expeditions but scaring them sufficient not to enter the depots themselves.
Just in case the Brotherhood established a number of measures to keep outsiders at bay.
A few times it was necessary to leave small forces of Brotherhood soldiers behind to guard the depots and maintain the supply line on which the expedition relied.
By the time Lyons had crossed the great radioactive zones in the Mid West a third of his expedition had either succumbed to the harsh conditions, had been killed in action or had been forced to stay behind. In order to make up for the losses Lyons started to recruit men and women from communities he considered having potential for Brotherhood membership.
Like the new recruits back at Lost Hills these new initiates were sworn to an oath of technological secrecy, Lyons and his officers made it clear that theft or betrayal would be harshly dealt with.
These recruits served as scouting forces for the expedition, having to prove their worth before they would be allowed to become scribes, knights and paladins.
The East Coast and Washington D.C.
While Lyons' main goal had been to secure the Pre War supply depots spread throughout the continent he also had another goal which only a select few Brotherhood members knew, from Poseidonet Lyons had learned of a large number of ‘interesting’ locations spread across the East Coast; military bases such as the submarine construction yards, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station but also universities and corporate research facilities.
He considered that most of these facilities must have been destroyed during the nuclear exchange or had been long looted afterwards, but still there must have been things left undiscovered.
The old computer archives spoke of various projects that had been approved by the US government or was being undertaken by them prior to the War; weapons research, but also computers, power sources, disease control and immunisation, methods to treat the radioactive wastelands and make them fertile again.
Lyons consciously ordered his forces to set direction for Washington D.C. first, while the firestorm would have razed the city itself the hardened bunkers containing government and military records should still be intact and could provide the Brotherhood with further information about the locations they wish to seek out in the future.
The Expeditionary Forces found Washington D.C. in the expected state, most of the city had been destroyed and what was left of it lay in decay, yet amongst the ruins of the city and in the area around it new communities of people had developed.
Most of the people who lived in the city itself survived by salvaging the remnants for useful items for own use or to sell these on while outside the city limits small agricultural towns had been founded.
Some groups had managed to maintain a level of stability and law while others had fallen into anarchy such as the various raider groups, surprisingly some even had managed to maintain some level of technological and scientific knowledge.
For the time being the Brotherhood set up a base of operations near the city but Lyons wisely decided not to get too involved with the people living here outside essential basic trading, the gathering of information and the possible recruitment of the few worthy individuals.
The plan is to search the city and the area around it for any useful and salvageable technology and the archives somewhere hidden beneath the city before moving on.
To the people of the region the Brotherhood Expeditionary Forces is a curious arrival, well armed, trained and possessing great knowledge the Brotherhood has shown no interest of an alliance with any of the local powers who compete with another for control of the city and the region, instead being more interested in the secrets of the old ones.
And though the occasional individual member performs deeds of altruism the Brotherhood itself remains firmly impartial, not intervening in the bloodshed and atrocities still taking place today.
Lyons himself hopes to find valuable technological artefacts or secrets that will justify the great journey his Expeditionary Forces have made, he more than well realises that the conservative elders back at the Brotherhood headquarters question his decisions and the great risks he has been taking, wishing nothing more than to remove him from command and return the Brotherhood to the old ways of fierce isolation.
Before the War Washington D.C. had been a hub of activity, it had been the capital of the country and next to the already established repositories of government and military knowledge some corporations such as Poseidon Energy had offices and facilities here.
Rumours of those days insist that something of great magnitude was taking place in the city or close to it, something the government had close involvement with.
If Lyons is ever to prove the worth of the great network he has been setting up throughout the continent it would be this project, the problem is that no one knows what it exactly detailed and that the scribes so far have not found any significant data on it on Poseidonet.
The only possible lead would be somewhere in the area, the still undiscovered archives, the long lived Ghoul population, or any records the more sophisticated people of Washington D.C. possess.
As Brotherhood scouting parties enter the ruins they can not help getting involved with local matters and some of the locals see the Brotherhood as a possible source to be exploited or a threat that needs to be eliminated.
Once again the Brotherhood needs an outside recruit with strong potential.
