>From the memoirs of Tony Cartucci...
Everything just started going to hell.
It all started when old man Salvatore passed away, some say poisoned...but I ain’t convinced, the old man always had a bad ticker. And just like that I’m out of a job.
Still I wasn’t overly worried, I may not be that much use in a fight, but I’ve earned him big money over the years, so an old hand like me could probably find another place with the Bishops or the Mordinos. But some tribal brought hell to both families. The guy had brass, didn’t change the fact that his actions flushed my career plans down the crapper.
<table align="right" width="310px" bgcolor="#333333" border="1"><tr><td><center>
</center></tr></td></table>The power vacuum was bad enough, but then all the young turks and some of the ol’timers went to war trying to fill the void. Next thing you know, them Wrights boys came out of nowhere with all them big guns, and start whacking wise guys left and right. I don’t where they got them weapons, but they were damn effective with it.
The Wrights took control virtually overnight. They weren’t exactly a power to reckon with back in the days, so I never dealt directly with them, more importantly I didn’t go directly against them (nothing they could trace back to me personally, that is,) so I figure we’d work something out. But then they started tearing up the casinos and putting up schools and churches. Given time, the place ain’t gonna be fit for an honest crook like myself, so I decided to do something about it.
First though, I needed a crew. A lot of the guys I know are gone, went up and left already, a lot more got killed during the turf war. But I managed to get a few guys together, a couple boosters, some soldiers, not an elite company, but not a no-clue crew either. I even got myself an enforcer. Armando ain’t no Mason, not gonna win no quiz shows, no beauty contests either, dumb as dog, but just as loyal. He’s also a stone killer and all of the other guys know it.
Next step is to get us some heat. Pistols and rifles are no good against what the Wrights are packing. Gotta learn to fight fire with flamethrower, problem is where to get the goods. The Wrights control the weapons trade now and the few lightbringers we got don’t have no more of them e-cells to work, maybe they only deal with the boss or something but our supplier; the Enclave never did contact the family again.
That leaves only one other option: the Brotherhood of Steel.
The Brotherhood is a bunch of holier-than-thou fascists with a hard-on for tech, especially weapons. They just hoard them too, figured maybe I could make them part with some of it, back me in a war with the Wrights… make them an offer they can’t refuse.
They have a small outpost in the Den, which suits me just fine… that was what I thought at first. See, the family had a deal goin’ on with Metzger, so I figured I’d call in some favors, maybe have him front me with whomever the BS boys have in that place. But when we arrived at the Den, we all found out that Metzger got himself killed. The word is the New California Rangers got to him.
So, we decided to visit the outpost ourselves. I tried to explain what I needed to the Knight, ain’t used to negotiating as an equal, got used to bargaining from a position of strength. ‘Course he was only half-listening, he was staring at my lightbringer (me, I just brought it up to show him what I needed.) When I mentioned we were from Reno, a look of consternation showed in his face, then realization, he blurted out that we were the Family that dealt with the Enclave.
<table align="left" width="310px" bgcolor="#333333" border="1"><tr><td><center>
</center></tr></td></table>He started ranting and raving about how we were the reason why they don’t share their technology with the other inhabitants of the waste, how we were too irresponsible and all that. He kept advancing like he’d want nothing more than to show me what he thinks of us. Hell, the man was a fanatic and I know fanatic when I see one (I met Ethyl Wright several years back,) ‘course he made a mistake, a fatal one, he didn’t keep an eye on the man with the weapon. Armando’s about as sharp as hammer, about as subtle too, appropriate when you consider that the sledgehammer is his favorite weapon. He swung it at the knight’s head from behind and damn near took the guy’s face off, took a few strides to where the guy landed and started pounding at him, I could hear the bones breaking under the armor.
I took a few moments to watch Armando work on the guy before I turned to the outpost, the door was sealed tight, I got one of my Lockman to work on it, and he got it done too, a trap cost him an arm though (all the boys call him Lefty now,) and all for nothing. The outpost was empty! At least that was we thought, thorough searching (dig up the floors, destroy the walls thorough) turned up a small weapons cache. It even had a supersledge, which Armando really liked, his eyes gleamed like a kid with a new toy. ‘Course if I saw a kid with that kind of look in their eye, I’d probably recommend a post-birth abortion... or not, folks nowadays frown on childkilling. I even let him have the Power Armor that came along with it… not my size anyway, ain’t my style either.
What’s more interesting is the holodisk detailing Brotherhood Intelligence and what it contains. The Brotherhood is dying, that’s why some of the outposts weren’t even staffed, members are dying or getting killed, or deserting and no one’s replacing them.
We decided to visit more of their outposts, managed to score us some new weapons in a few, I even got myself one of them elder robes that fit. Some of ‘em were impenetrable though, I also lose a few men trying to go after those outposts manned with Knights or those with automated defenses. But those were offset by mercenaries willing to join when they got a gander at the kind of goodies we’re carrying. Some of them even think we’re the Brotherhood, we’re certainly starting to look the part.
Which led me to thinking why not, they’re dead or nearly so, why not take the name? It still carries a reputation, and the name, the Brotherhood of Steel, it connotes “Family,” my family, a new one.
We still need weapons though, make us a true power in the wasteland, not just in Reno, (oh yes, I still plan to go back, settle some scores,) the Holodisks we’ve obtained mentioned a Pentagon, full of pre-war weapons far to the east and a several ways to get there. Should I go for it? Gamble on one last chance to make a big score, make a name for myself before I join the Great Big Casino in the sky? Hell, why the hell not?
The place where it’s at sounds like my kind of place, D.C. the seat of power back in the days, maybe I’ll like it so much I’ll take over. Heh , I’ll tell you when I get there.
by Kirby Go
<center>[ BoS competition winner: Tucker ] - [ BoS competition runner up: Kirby Go ] - [ BoS competition runner up: Aaron Moyer ]</center>
Everything just started going to hell.
It all started when old man Salvatore passed away, some say poisoned...but I ain’t convinced, the old man always had a bad ticker. And just like that I’m out of a job.
Still I wasn’t overly worried, I may not be that much use in a fight, but I’ve earned him big money over the years, so an old hand like me could probably find another place with the Bishops or the Mordinos. But some tribal brought hell to both families. The guy had brass, didn’t change the fact that his actions flushed my career plans down the crapper.
<table align="right" width="310px" bgcolor="#333333" border="1"><tr><td><center>
</center></tr></td></table>The power vacuum was bad enough, but then all the young turks and some of the ol’timers went to war trying to fill the void. Next thing you know, them Wrights boys came out of nowhere with all them big guns, and start whacking wise guys left and right. I don’t where they got them weapons, but they were damn effective with it.The Wrights took control virtually overnight. They weren’t exactly a power to reckon with back in the days, so I never dealt directly with them, more importantly I didn’t go directly against them (nothing they could trace back to me personally, that is,) so I figure we’d work something out. But then they started tearing up the casinos and putting up schools and churches. Given time, the place ain’t gonna be fit for an honest crook like myself, so I decided to do something about it.
First though, I needed a crew. A lot of the guys I know are gone, went up and left already, a lot more got killed during the turf war. But I managed to get a few guys together, a couple boosters, some soldiers, not an elite company, but not a no-clue crew either. I even got myself an enforcer. Armando ain’t no Mason, not gonna win no quiz shows, no beauty contests either, dumb as dog, but just as loyal. He’s also a stone killer and all of the other guys know it.
Next step is to get us some heat. Pistols and rifles are no good against what the Wrights are packing. Gotta learn to fight fire with flamethrower, problem is where to get the goods. The Wrights control the weapons trade now and the few lightbringers we got don’t have no more of them e-cells to work, maybe they only deal with the boss or something but our supplier; the Enclave never did contact the family again.
That leaves only one other option: the Brotherhood of Steel.
The Brotherhood is a bunch of holier-than-thou fascists with a hard-on for tech, especially weapons. They just hoard them too, figured maybe I could make them part with some of it, back me in a war with the Wrights… make them an offer they can’t refuse.
They have a small outpost in the Den, which suits me just fine… that was what I thought at first. See, the family had a deal goin’ on with Metzger, so I figured I’d call in some favors, maybe have him front me with whomever the BS boys have in that place. But when we arrived at the Den, we all found out that Metzger got himself killed. The word is the New California Rangers got to him.
So, we decided to visit the outpost ourselves. I tried to explain what I needed to the Knight, ain’t used to negotiating as an equal, got used to bargaining from a position of strength. ‘Course he was only half-listening, he was staring at my lightbringer (me, I just brought it up to show him what I needed.) When I mentioned we were from Reno, a look of consternation showed in his face, then realization, he blurted out that we were the Family that dealt with the Enclave.
<table align="left" width="310px" bgcolor="#333333" border="1"><tr><td><center>
</center></tr></td></table>He started ranting and raving about how we were the reason why they don’t share their technology with the other inhabitants of the waste, how we were too irresponsible and all that. He kept advancing like he’d want nothing more than to show me what he thinks of us. Hell, the man was a fanatic and I know fanatic when I see one (I met Ethyl Wright several years back,) ‘course he made a mistake, a fatal one, he didn’t keep an eye on the man with the weapon. Armando’s about as sharp as hammer, about as subtle too, appropriate when you consider that the sledgehammer is his favorite weapon. He swung it at the knight’s head from behind and damn near took the guy’s face off, took a few strides to where the guy landed and started pounding at him, I could hear the bones breaking under the armor. I took a few moments to watch Armando work on the guy before I turned to the outpost, the door was sealed tight, I got one of my Lockman to work on it, and he got it done too, a trap cost him an arm though (all the boys call him Lefty now,) and all for nothing. The outpost was empty! At least that was we thought, thorough searching (dig up the floors, destroy the walls thorough) turned up a small weapons cache. It even had a supersledge, which Armando really liked, his eyes gleamed like a kid with a new toy. ‘Course if I saw a kid with that kind of look in their eye, I’d probably recommend a post-birth abortion... or not, folks nowadays frown on childkilling. I even let him have the Power Armor that came along with it… not my size anyway, ain’t my style either.
What’s more interesting is the holodisk detailing Brotherhood Intelligence and what it contains. The Brotherhood is dying, that’s why some of the outposts weren’t even staffed, members are dying or getting killed, or deserting and no one’s replacing them.
We decided to visit more of their outposts, managed to score us some new weapons in a few, I even got myself one of them elder robes that fit. Some of ‘em were impenetrable though, I also lose a few men trying to go after those outposts manned with Knights or those with automated defenses. But those were offset by mercenaries willing to join when they got a gander at the kind of goodies we’re carrying. Some of them even think we’re the Brotherhood, we’re certainly starting to look the part.
Which led me to thinking why not, they’re dead or nearly so, why not take the name? It still carries a reputation, and the name, the Brotherhood of Steel, it connotes “Family,” my family, a new one.
We still need weapons though, make us a true power in the wasteland, not just in Reno, (oh yes, I still plan to go back, settle some scores,) the Holodisks we’ve obtained mentioned a Pentagon, full of pre-war weapons far to the east and a several ways to get there. Should I go for it? Gamble on one last chance to make a big score, make a name for myself before I join the Great Big Casino in the sky? Hell, why the hell not?
The place where it’s at sounds like my kind of place, D.C. the seat of power back in the days, maybe I’ll like it so much I’ll take over. Heh , I’ll tell you when I get there.
by Kirby Go
<center>[ BoS competition winner: Tucker ] - [ BoS competition runner up: Kirby Go ] - [ BoS competition runner up: Aaron Moyer ]</center>