Midwest Brotherhood of Steel
The Brotherhood of Steel in the Midwest is a vast empire born out of a splinter faction of the original Brotherhood of Steel. It is variously referred to as the Eastern Brotherhood, Midwest Brotherhood of Steel or the Midwestern Brotherhood.
After the defeat of the super mutants' Master in 2162, the Brotherhood of Steel in California constructed airships and dispatched a task force eastward, to eliminate the remaining super mutant threat. However, as they traveled over the Rocky Mountains, a great storm broke their airships and flung them far off course. The fraction of the crew that survived finally crashed on the outskirts of the ruins of Chicago.
Stranded thousands of miles from headquarters, the survivors rallied and formed a new order, which slowly diverged greatly from the ideals of the old Brotherhood of Steel in California. This Midwest Brotherhood traded advanced medicines with locals in exchange for food and labor. They provided protection from bandits in exchange for new recruits. In time, their ranks began to swell.
In 2197, the former Colorado area was flooded with violent robots. The Midwest Brotherhood quickly determined that they were unable to face the threat with their current resources. They gathered a plurality of tribals, ghouls, Super Mutants and even intelligent deathclaws into a united fighting force. Eventually, the robots were pushed back to their Colorado base of operations, where it was determined that a malfunctioning defence computer known as the Calculator was to blame. The computer was destroyed, its base at Vault 0 was collapsed and the robot threat ended.
After the war was over, there were many in the Midwest Brotherhood who believed that their order should return to its original structure, namely a secretive, technology-hoarding cabal that did not interfere in public affairs and that didn't admit outsiders, especially non-humans. But the Generals could not deny the effectiveness of the broad alliance, and the order was so entangled in the region that a withdrawal would be costly to both the Brotherhood and the people of the wasteland. And so the Midwest Brotherhood embarked on a new policy of openness, and to provide defence to a wide territory while keeping out of civilian concerns. A national capital was founded in Chicago.
This change of attitude was not received well by the original Brotherhood of Steel in California. At first there was talk of a complete schism between the groups, but since then relations have been normalized. Each order recognizes the other's authority, ranks and territory, but recognizes that the groups are separate, with their own leadership and ideology.
For 120 years, the Midwest Brotherhood has provided protection and military leadership for the Midwest region, asking for only light taxation in return. In this time, no major conflicts have occurred, and the order maintains good relations with its neighbours The Rustlands, Cascadia , Caesar's Legion, Dixie, The New California Republic and The Capitol. All operations are controlled by Midwest Central Command in Chicago, which is led by General Lucan and a small cadre of Elders.
The Midwest Brotherhood prints no currency and has no central bank. Trade still generally relies on the only tradition of bottlecaps, the veracity of which are managed by individual municipalities. For large sums of wealth, Midwesterners often do banking with Pitt Finance out of The Rustlands.
In the wake of the nuclear attack on St. Louis, Midwest Central Command suspected Caesar's Legion was responsible. Given the level of tension, Central Command in Chicago ordered a policy of posse comitatus, martial law over every municipality in the Midwest for as long as war was likely. Communities across the region went to the polls, voting whether to keep independence or cede control to the Brotherhood.
In late May 2317, the Midwest Brotherhood hosted a peace summit with Caesar's Legion in Denver. The summit went well, with Caesar Aurelian Resitutor offering up 72 Midwest prisoners as a sign of goodwill, asking nothing in return.
It was also revealed in May 2317 that a remnant of The Enclave were operating in the NE Missouri/SW Illinois region. Few were informed, but a small group of Enclave scientists were being kept under security in Chicago since 2282. This group of scientists found a way to communicate and recruit from the outside world, generating what would be known as "Affiliate Operators." It was these affiliates who were running amuck in the wasteland and when their activities were discovered by Central Command, the program was terminated. The Enclave scientists were arrested, put into deep interrogation and slated for execution. Elite Brotherhood kill teams were dispatched to hunt down the Affiliate Operators.
On May 29th, 2317, Mayor John Giscala was acquitted for mayoral incompetence. This charge was brought against him by his friend Paladin Hector after the village of Emancipation voted against martial law in a referendum. Hector and the Brotherhood hoped that Giscala would be convicted and this would serve as an example to the rest of the Midwest that Brotherhood martial law should be accepted across the region. Not only did this strategy fail, it backfired. The three Brotherhood judges added an order onto their decision, declaring that all Brotherhood must surrender control of all municipalities to their local mayors.
On August 30th, 2317, the combined forced of The Capitol and The New California Republic invaded Dixie starting the New American War. Hopelessly outnumbered, Midwest Brotherhood of Steel personnel retreated from their border with The Capitol, taking more defensive positions and offering no assistance to the people of Dixie. This retreat, similar to the Midwest BoS's retreat from Caesar's Legion in 2294, was a blow to morale among the citizens of the Midwest. General Lucan and his council of generals in Chicago were accused of cowardice. But the Midwest BoS leadership were in agreement that they needed more time to mobilize if they were going to take any military action - including defending themselves. At the points of contact in Southern Illinois, the Midwest had the Homeland Bridge bridge destroyed, cutting off all roads between Southern Illinois and The Capitol.
The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel is currently lead by General Lucan, who reports to an 11 member War Room of Elders in Chicago.
Chicago is the capitol of the Midwest, with a massive population of 65,000. It is the only municipality in the region which has no civilian leadership.
The town of Emancipation is under the protectorate of the Midwestern Brotherhood. The area is overseen by Paladin Hector from his headquarters in nearby Camp Jefferson.
Most of St. Louis is under the control of the Midwestern Brotherhood. Although the southwest portion of the city was annexed by Caesar's Legion in 2294. The city contains both a Brotherhood battalion stationed at Fort Union and the St. Louis Academy of Military Studies, the Brotherhood's most prestigious tactical school.
Gravestone is another town defended by the Midwest Brotherhood. They keep over 500 soldiers ready at West Bottoms Base within the town. This area is under the directorate of Paladin Evandre.
Gamma Town, formerly the city of Springfield, Illinois, Gamma Town is a Midwest trade hub. It is the home of Bunker Gamma, the largest Brotherhood base outside of Chicago. This base is administered by Paladin Axion, infamous for his cunning.
The defence of each region of the Midwest is overseen by an officer of the Paladin rank. These commanders organize both the Brotherhood's defensive military efforts and policing duties. Additionally, they serve as liaisons and advisors to their region's mayors. They coordinate all of the municipalities' civilian defences, so that they can work together in shared defence.
Southern Illinois: Formerly Paladin Ledlie (she was murdered by The Capitol soon after Kentucky Dam was taken.) The Southern Illinois command office is located in Mount Vernon. This position is usually given to an officer with strengths in defence and combat tactics.
Western Illinois: Paladin Axion, an administration-focused officer. Stationed in Gamma Town, he is mostly occupied with matters of law and authority.
Central Missouri: Paladin Hector, a defence-focused officer. Stationed in Camp Jefferson, which sits just miles away from Caesar's Legion's enormous military force at Fort Leonard Wood. Hector is known for his hands-on approach to policing, often personally engaging in combat with bandits and monstrous wildlife.
West Missouri/East Kansas: Paladin Evandre, an officer specialized in training. Stationed at West Bottoms Base in Gravestone, Evandre runs the Midwest's Brotherhood's technical school. Here, field medics, field engineers and explosives experts are taught how to use their expertise under combat conditions.
West Kansas/Colorado: Paladin Lycon, a combat-focused officer. Lycon is one of Gammorin's super mutants who fought for the Midwest in the Calculator War. With over one hundred years of combat experience, Lycon is a tactical mind of singular talent. Their command station is located in Denver, where they oversee defence from not only Caesar's Legion, but must account for potential betrayal from the New California Republic. Paladin Lycon's reputation as a ferocious, extremely capable fighter is used by Chicago to deter their opponents.
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History
After the defeat of the super mutants' Master in 2162, the Brotherhood of Steel in California constructed airships and dispatched a task force eastward, to eliminate the remaining super mutant threat. However, as they traveled over the Rocky Mountains, a great storm broke their airships and flung them far off course. The fraction of the crew that survived finally crashed on the outskirts of the ruins of Chicago.
Stranded thousands of miles from headquarters, the survivors rallied and formed a new order, which slowly diverged greatly from the ideals of the old Brotherhood of Steel in California. This Midwest Brotherhood traded advanced medicines with locals in exchange for food and labor. They provided protection from bandits in exchange for new recruits. In time, their ranks began to swell.
In 2197, the former Colorado area was flooded with violent robots. The Midwest Brotherhood quickly determined that they were unable to face the threat with their current resources. They gathered a plurality of tribals, ghouls, Super Mutants and even intelligent deathclaws into a united fighting force. Eventually, the robots were pushed back to their Colorado base of operations, where it was determined that a malfunctioning defence computer known as the Calculator was to blame. The computer was destroyed, its base at Vault 0 was collapsed and the robot threat ended.
After the war was over, there were many in the Midwest Brotherhood who believed that their order should return to its original structure, namely a secretive, technology-hoarding cabal that did not interfere in public affairs and that didn't admit outsiders, especially non-humans. But the Generals could not deny the effectiveness of the broad alliance, and the order was so entangled in the region that a withdrawal would be costly to both the Brotherhood and the people of the wasteland. And so the Midwest Brotherhood embarked on a new policy of openness, and to provide defence to a wide territory while keeping out of civilian concerns. A national capital was founded in Chicago.
This change of attitude was not received well by the original Brotherhood of Steel in California. At first there was talk of a complete schism between the groups, but since then relations have been normalized. Each order recognizes the other's authority, ranks and territory, but recognizes that the groups are separate, with their own leadership and ideology.
Today
For 120 years, the Midwest Brotherhood has provided protection and military leadership for the Midwest region, asking for only light taxation in return. In this time, no major conflicts have occurred, and the order maintains good relations with its neighbours The Rustlands, Cascadia , Caesar's Legion, Dixie, The New California Republic and The Capitol. All operations are controlled by Midwest Central Command in Chicago, which is led by General Lucan and a small cadre of Elders.
The Midwest Brotherhood prints no currency and has no central bank. Trade still generally relies on the only tradition of bottlecaps, the veracity of which are managed by individual municipalities. For large sums of wealth, Midwesterners often do banking with Pitt Finance out of The Rustlands.
In the wake of the nuclear attack on St. Louis, Midwest Central Command suspected Caesar's Legion was responsible. Given the level of tension, Central Command in Chicago ordered a policy of posse comitatus, martial law over every municipality in the Midwest for as long as war was likely. Communities across the region went to the polls, voting whether to keep independence or cede control to the Brotherhood.
In late May 2317, the Midwest Brotherhood hosted a peace summit with Caesar's Legion in Denver. The summit went well, with Caesar Aurelian Resitutor offering up 72 Midwest prisoners as a sign of goodwill, asking nothing in return.
It was also revealed in May 2317 that a remnant of The Enclave were operating in the NE Missouri/SW Illinois region. Few were informed, but a small group of Enclave scientists were being kept under security in Chicago since 2282. This group of scientists found a way to communicate and recruit from the outside world, generating what would be known as "Affiliate Operators." It was these affiliates who were running amuck in the wasteland and when their activities were discovered by Central Command, the program was terminated. The Enclave scientists were arrested, put into deep interrogation and slated for execution. Elite Brotherhood kill teams were dispatched to hunt down the Affiliate Operators.
On May 29th, 2317, Mayor John Giscala was acquitted for mayoral incompetence. This charge was brought against him by his friend Paladin Hector after the village of Emancipation voted against martial law in a referendum. Hector and the Brotherhood hoped that Giscala would be convicted and this would serve as an example to the rest of the Midwest that Brotherhood martial law should be accepted across the region. Not only did this strategy fail, it backfired. The three Brotherhood judges added an order onto their decision, declaring that all Brotherhood must surrender control of all municipalities to their local mayors.
On August 30th, 2317, the combined forced of The Capitol and The New California Republic invaded Dixie starting the New American War. Hopelessly outnumbered, Midwest Brotherhood of Steel personnel retreated from their border with The Capitol, taking more defensive positions and offering no assistance to the people of Dixie. This retreat, similar to the Midwest BoS's retreat from Caesar's Legion in 2294, was a blow to morale among the citizens of the Midwest. General Lucan and his council of generals in Chicago were accused of cowardice. But the Midwest BoS leadership were in agreement that they needed more time to mobilize if they were going to take any military action - including defending themselves. At the points of contact in Southern Illinois, the Midwest had the Homeland Bridge bridge destroyed, cutting off all roads between Southern Illinois and The Capitol.
Locations
The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel is currently lead by General Lucan, who reports to an 11 member War Room of Elders in Chicago.
Chicago is the capitol of the Midwest, with a massive population of 65,000. It is the only municipality in the region which has no civilian leadership.
The town of Emancipation is under the protectorate of the Midwestern Brotherhood. The area is overseen by Paladin Hector from his headquarters in nearby Camp Jefferson.
Most of St. Louis is under the control of the Midwestern Brotherhood. Although the southwest portion of the city was annexed by Caesar's Legion in 2294. The city contains both a Brotherhood battalion stationed at Fort Union and the St. Louis Academy of Military Studies, the Brotherhood's most prestigious tactical school.
Gravestone is another town defended by the Midwest Brotherhood. They keep over 500 soldiers ready at West Bottoms Base within the town. This area is under the directorate of Paladin Evandre.
Gamma Town, formerly the city of Springfield, Illinois, Gamma Town is a Midwest trade hub. It is the home of Bunker Gamma, the largest Brotherhood base outside of Chicago. This base is administered by Paladin Axion, infamous for his cunning.
Paladins
The defence of each region of the Midwest is overseen by an officer of the Paladin rank. These commanders organize both the Brotherhood's defensive military efforts and policing duties. Additionally, they serve as liaisons and advisors to their region's mayors. They coordinate all of the municipalities' civilian defences, so that they can work together in shared defence.
Southern Illinois: Formerly Paladin Ledlie (she was murdered by The Capitol soon after Kentucky Dam was taken.) The Southern Illinois command office is located in Mount Vernon. This position is usually given to an officer with strengths in defence and combat tactics.
Western Illinois: Paladin Axion, an administration-focused officer. Stationed in Gamma Town, he is mostly occupied with matters of law and authority.
Central Missouri: Paladin Hector, a defence-focused officer. Stationed in Camp Jefferson, which sits just miles away from Caesar's Legion's enormous military force at Fort Leonard Wood. Hector is known for his hands-on approach to policing, often personally engaging in combat with bandits and monstrous wildlife.
West Missouri/East Kansas: Paladin Evandre, an officer specialized in training. Stationed at West Bottoms Base in Gravestone, Evandre runs the Midwest's Brotherhood's technical school. Here, field medics, field engineers and explosives experts are taught how to use their expertise under combat conditions.
West Kansas/Colorado: Paladin Lycon, a combat-focused officer. Lycon is one of Gammorin's super mutants who fought for the Midwest in the Calculator War. With over one hundred years of combat experience, Lycon is a tactical mind of singular talent. Their command station is located in Denver, where they oversee defence from not only Caesar's Legion, but must account for potential betrayal from the New California Republic. Paladin Lycon's reputation as a ferocious, extremely capable fighter is used by Chicago to deter their opponents.
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Maps
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Gravestone
The ruins of Kansas City in 2317. -
Missouri - Whiteman AFB to Gravestone
A stretch of Western Missouri, administered entirely by the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel -
St. Louis (Post-Summit)
St. Louis after nuclear attack at the St. Louis Summit (SESSION 02: THE ST. LOUIS SUMMIT) The divided city of St. Louis, held by the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel, except for the SW corner which is held by Caesar's Legion. -
Missouri Emancipation to Camp Jefferson
The stretch of Highway 63 between Emancipation and Camp Jefferson. -
Missouri - Emancipation to St. Petersburg
The area of Missouri northeast of Emancipation -
Denver
The Mile High City, sometimes called Dog Town has changed hands many times. It is now under the control of Midwest Brotherhood of Steel and hosts 16,000 citizens. -
Midwest Brotherhood of Steel, April 2317
The total extent of the controlled area of the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel. -
Midwest Region
The American Midwest Region in 2317 -
St. Louis (Pre-Summit)
Before the nuclear attack at the St. Louis Summit (SESSION 02: THE ST. LOUIS SUMMIT) The divided city of St. Louis, held by the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel, except for the SW corner which is held by Caesar's Legion. -
Chicago
The capital of The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel, hosting 65,000 residents. -
Missouri - Emancipation to Whiteman AFB
The area immediately west of Emancipation. -
Illinois - Gamma Town to St. Petersburg
The area of Illinois from the Springfield area west to the Mississippi River. -
Gamma Town
The ruins of Springfield, Illinois in 2317. -
Missouri Central
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Emancipation
A small but vibrant village built in the ruins of Columbia, Missouri. -
Missouri - Emancipation to St. Louis
The are of east central Missouri between the ruins of Columbia in the west to the ruins of St. Louis in the east.
Type
Military, Knightly Order
Friendly
The NCR and Midwest Brotherhood are good neighbours, enjoying close diplomatic relations and extensive trade through the I-15/I-70 corridor to Denver. Before 2282, there was hostility between the factions, due to the NCR's troubled relations with the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel. But the reformation that occurred after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam allowed the NCR to re-evaluate their compatibility with the Elders in Chicago. Their links have been close ever since, and many speculate that the two nations will one day unite.
Friendly
Dixie and the Midwest Brotherhood share a set of core values including democracy, plurality and universal suffrage. While they share good relations, the people of Dixie do not forget the Legion/Dixie War of 2294-7. When Caesar Aurelian invaded Dixie, the Midwest Brotherhood did not come to their aid. Not only that, but when The Capitol took the opportunity to annex land from Dixie, the Midwest Brotherhood still did nothing. Even when the Legion encroached on Midwest territory, the Brotherhood simply withdrew, never firing a shot. So, while Dixie sees the Midwest Brotherhood as a friend, they do not feel that the relationship can be counted on for defence.
Friendly
The Midwest Brotherhood and The Commonwealth share a similar society and political outlook. But geographic distance makes co-operation rare. Many in Boston view the Midwest as weak and ineffectual, especially in times of war. Many in Chicago are frustrated that The Commonwealth makes little effort to engage in diplomacy with its political rivals. But there is a deep esteem between the two.
Warm
While the Midwest Brotherhood publicly condemns the systemic human rights abuses of The Rustlands, the Elders in Chicago believe that progress comes through communication and trade. The two nations enjoy extensive trade and diplomatic contact. These links are constantly strained and re-negotiated.
Strained
Caesar's Legion annexed significant territory from the Midwest Brotherhood in 2294. While there was no combat, the situation left many angry, notably the Kansas Reavers Movement. Caesar Aurelian views the Midwest as weak and often muses publicly about invading. The Brotherhood Elders in Chicago have noticed the threat, but aren't well-equipped to respond. The recent nuclear detonation in St. Louis raised tensions between the nations, with many blaming Caesar for the unclaimed attack.
Hesitancy
The Capitol and The Midwest Brotherhood share a long border along the Wabash River and the situation is tense. As they are both inheritors of the traditions of the Brotherhood of Steel, they have a grudging respect for one another, but a respect that generates fear. The Capitol's powers are rising and so are their ambitions, while the Midwest appears to be in a slow decline. The Midwest Elders deliver a list of objections to The Capitol every year (in accordance with old Brotherhood protocol), listing human rights abuses. It is always ignored. But even with the tension, trade and infrastructure co-operation occur regularly.
Contempt
The Midwest vision of a pluralistic society defies The Enclave's ambitions. Also given the Brotherhood of Steel's historical opposition to The Enclave, there is a bitter history.
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