SESSION 69: MOUNT VERNON
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 68: THE HOUSE ALWAYS VOTES: A MUSICAL
Next Session: SESSION 70: GROUND AND POUND
Players: The Fellowship of the Doing the Things, Arminius, Andy, Lex Garridan, Linda, Morag, Patch Radam
September 5th, 2317
(Adventure Day 134)
The team stood in the town square of Orchardville. They had come simply to drop off Annalynn but found a tense situation. Great Leader had threatened the community of Responders, warning them to stay out of her war. The party had spent the past two hours convincing everyone to stand up to The Capitol. And now that things had come to a vote, the previously quiet Fred Boon had stood up and made an accusation. He claimed that the party were agents of the Enclave, and that they had tried to bribe him to get him to vote for action against The Capitol; the Enclave were trying to destroy the Responders by pushing them into a hopeless war.
Lex focused on Fred Boon. And suddenly, Fred had a change of heart. He announced to the crowd that he was working for Great Leader in the interests of The Capitol. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a piece of rough, pre-war paper. Fred handed it to Darren, the leader of the Orchardville Responders. And when Darren read the note, he was shocked. He immediately ordered Alana, the group's captain, to capture Fred and take him for questioning. He called for a vote, and the Responders voted unanimously for action to aid Dixie in the war.
Darren showed the party the note. It was from Great Leader herself, promising Fred a high position if he betrayed the Responders. Arminius offered Darren his services as a torturer, and the Responder was a bit shocked. This was the Midwest, not the Legion. Fred Boon would be questioned and then handed over to the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel for trial. Annalynn had been angry at this Orchardville group, disgusted by their hesitation to stand up to Great Leader. But they had risen to the challenge. She presented Darren with the Somerset Special, a weapon sacred to the survivors of Vault 76. Annalynn explained that the vault was now gone. Great Leader had had it scrapped, even its walls torn out and used for their expensive alloys. The Orchardville Responders welcomed Annalynn into their group.
She thanked the party for getting her across the bridge at Torn Hope and getting her here. They had proven that they were friends to the Responders. The group was spread thin now, most members operating alone, but they were out there. The party could always count on them to do the right thing. As the team packed up and got into their van, Annalynn spoke to them privately, away from the ears of the other Responders. She explained that there were rumors in The Capitol that Great Leader had finally overcome the defences of the Whitespring Resort. No one in the party had ever heard of this place, but Annalynn insisted that the Brotherhood should know what The Capitol was up to.
They left Orchardville, heading northwest toward a place known as "Botony Lab 7." As they drove, the group theorized aloud about talking plants and terrible pre-war experiments. What they found was a fairly desolate highway interchange. There was an old billboard, advertising some kind of dog show. Disappointed, the group looted the area and moved on.
Mount Vernon was a small community with less than 300 civilian residents. But a pre-war super-factory had been converted into a Midwest Brotherhood of Steel fortress. Some 500 Brotherhood personnel were stationed there. And even from the road, the party could see soldiers training and the base alive with activity. There were a pair of vertibirds landed in the exercise yard. The team was eager to speak to Brotherhood command, to get a report on the situation and to encourage them to enter the war on Dixie's behalf. So, they headed straight for the front gate and asked to see the base's commander. The gate security guard explained that their commanding officer was Paladin Ledlie, but she hadn't returned from Kentucky Dam. They could speak with the acting commander, Knight-Major Talbott.
Major Talbott was a formal and bureaucratic officer, who wore his dress uniform at work. He greeted the party and asked if Patch was the doctor from the dam that he was looking for. Patch was indeed party of the Kentucky Dam staff, and so Talbott asked him to give a statement. After that discussion, Talbott explained that all of the Midwest Kentucky Dam personnel were accounted for except for two. The NCR had taken the dam expertly and treated their Midwest prisoners well. Then they had handed the POWs over to the soldiers of The Capitol, who put them on simple boats and sent them home. The Capitol were saying that Paladin Ledlie had refused to cooperate and had started a fight. A Capitol Corrector had killed her in self-defence. Major Talbott hadn't told the soldiers at Mount Vernon, as they would be enraged by her murder. The Capitol had also separated one technician from the group and captured her, a Vault 40 technician named Elizabeth Langley. Lex recognized the name. She had grown up in the vault with Liz and had even been paired up with her in a technical crew under Professor Gritch.
Talbott overheard the name Lex and asked if that meant Alexandra Garridan. They said it did, and the major remembered that he had received two messages from the generals in Chicago about her. They wanted reports on two issues. Talbott rose and asked his assistant to provide him with those messages. The mention of the generals in Chicago roused the party to frustration. They were frustrated that the Midwest were remaining neutral in the war. There was even talk of the Midwest joining the war on the side of The Capitol and NCR. The group had met Wyatt, the Great Leader, face-to-face and it was clear that her ambitions did not stop at the borders of Dixie. Major Talbott was apologetic and a bit overwhelmed. He explained that these sorts of decisions were made by General Lucan and his circle of generals in Chicago. The party began to demand a vertibird ride to Chicago, so they could speak to Lucan themselves.
The assistant returned with the messages. The first was that there was a report of Caesar Altus being attacked with a laser weapon in Flagstaff. The Heroes of St. Louis had recently been deployed to the city and might know something. The party explained that the culprit behind the assassination attempt was likely Obscisus Ursus. The major asked many questions and wrote down the statement in their exact wording, eager to provide accurate intelligence to his superiors. The second query was that the Scepter of the Midwest had been stolen from the Hall of Knights in Chicago. The pre-war artifact had been a decoration there for over a century. As Lex's aunt Alexa Garridan had stolen the Scepter of the Plains from a Brotherhood base at Camp Jefferson, the generals in Chicago wanted to know if Alexa was responsible for this theft as well. Lex said that it was unlikely that Alexa was involved, as she had been kidnapped by the Enclave. She also revealed that Bob Hanssen in Gamma Town was a secret agent of the Enclave.
Talbott was shocked and grateful for the insights. The party insisted that they needed to see the Midwest Brotherhood leadership in Chicago and convince them to defend Dixie. The major insisted that this was not possible. But there were two visiting experts here in the base's war room. They might want to talk about strategy. The party demanded to see them, and Talbott acquiesced.
The experts turned out to be Paladin Hector and Paladin Axion. Paladin Hector was the commander for central Missouri, a specialist in civilian militia and defence. He was the protector of Lex's region and a character Lex and Linda had interacted with many times. He had taken the party under his wing, gifting Mouse his heavy revolver. During the St. Louis Attack, they had assisted Hector in saving dozens of military cadets from the devastation. Paladin Axion, the leader of the Midwest's diplomatic corps had once prosecuted the Mayor of Emancipation on trumped-up charges of incompetence. The party had successfully defended the mayor, defeating Axion in court.
The two paladins greeted Lex and Linda warmly, excited and grateful that they had been successful in Flagstaff. After the mayor's trial, Axion had been angry at the so-called "Heroes of St. Louis" and said that if they were really heroic, they would go to Caesar's Legion. In Flagstaff, the Legion's capital, Caesar Aurelian had retired. There would be an election, and if a pro-war candidate was voted to be the next Caesar, there would be chaos in the wasteland. The party had gone to the city under false identities, and with the help of an NCR spy calling himself Modicus, had manipulated the election. An anti-slavery candidate, a ghoul former gladiator named Pillar, had won. When he was named Caesar Altus, he decided to eliminate the evidence of foreign interference, betraying the party with an ambush. Modicus had been suspiciously absent when they were attacked. Lex and Linda had been smuggled out unconscious by Tameka, an old friend of Booch the bartender. They didn't know it at the time, but Booch and Tameka were members of the Vanishing Point, the zealous agents of The Puppetmaster. Arminius had been betrayed days before, and Tameka was also smuggling him out of the city for reasons unknown.
The party had a long story for the paladins, detailing their experience with Wyatt and travelling through The Capitol. They mentioned Bob Hanssen's work for The Enclave, but not Vault 40's association with the group. The party told them that The Commonwealth was joining the war but made said nothing about The Puppetmaster. Linda talked about the atrocity at Copperhead, that Right Inquisitor Thomaas had burned Lindavists alive, including children. The Midwest Brotherhood had done nothing, neither guarding the village nor pursuing the perpetrators. Paladin Axion assured Linda that they took the situation very seriously. The Inquisitors had fled to Holy Toledo and were hiding behind the government of The Rustlands. Axion's diplomatic corps were in contact with agents of the Rustlands and the Children of Atom religion, demanding justice. But this process was slow.
The group complained that the Midwest were ignoring their ethical duty by staying out of the war. Even the distant and isolated Commonwealth were coming to Dixie's aid. Paladin Hector showed them a map of the territory of the Midwest. It was broad and spread-thin, stretching across North America's Great Plains. An NCR expeditionary force with trucks could break through the Rocky Mountains and strike anywhere in their territory. America's once great satellite network was now totally inoperable, so they had no way of monitoring the huge amount of empty territory that existed between their settlements. The NCR could perform hit and fade attacks perpetually. General Lucan and the leaders in Chicago had decided to wait for the NCR to diminish its supply of vehicles and fuel before beginning combat operations. The Midwest had 20,000 civilian militia, amazing defenders, but only 4000 Brotherhood soldiers who could perform offensive tactics.
The party worried about Caesar's Legion, and Paladin Axion told them not to worry about it. Caesar Altus's election campaign had angered the Legionary faction of the senate. For Altus to raise an army, he would have to empower a legate with power and troops. That army would then loot and pillage, enriching him and equipping him with a contingent of loyal and battle-hardened troops. He'd be sealing his own fate. The Legion wouldn't be a problem unless Altus could find a dozen loyal generals, or he was replaced by an old-school Legionary.
Hector then showed them a map of the state of the war in Dixie. It was not going well for the Southerners. Paducah and Birmingham had fallen. Memphis and Atlanta were now under siege. The Midwest Brotherhood had warned Dixie to give up their capital, it was too hard to defend. But Dixie's new president was being sentimental, focusing on the defence of Atlanta. The conversation was confrontational. The party were frustrated by the Midwest Brotherhood's conclusions and lack of action.
The party relayed Annalynn’s information that Great Leader had finally gotten past the defences at the Whitespring Resort. Hector and Axion had heard of the place, some kind of pre-war bunker for the US Senate, but had no idea what was in there.
Axion had been silent for a while, looking thoughtful. He spoke up to ask Linda if she honestly thought she could rouse the Lindavists to stand up to the Inquisitors. The party said it was likely she could, and they had talked about going to Holy Toledo. It was said that Mother Isabella, leader of the humans-only contingent was working with Right Inquisitor Thomaas. It was said that Mother Dorothy, leader of the pro-inclusion faction, was decent person who would be helpful. Paladin Axion said that the NCR was his focus. Out in California, President Hayden hadn't asked his congress for permission to go to war. He had used his position as commander-in-chief to order military action. Now the congress had to approve the war for it to continue, and a 2/3rds majority could reject the president's actions and end the NCR's involvement in the war. But there was also the problem of the Inquisitors smuggling guns and ammunition to The Capitol, and perhaps even dragging The Rustlands into the war. If the party could go to Holy Toledo, they would only need to disrupt the Inquisitor's operation, and it would greatly help the war effort. Axion could then focus on the vote in the NCR.
The two paladins needed permission from Chicago for any of this, so they asked for a night to develop a plan. Everyone would reconvene in the morning, when Axion would present a plan which the party could either accept or reject. Before the party left, Hector approached Lex. He asked her if she would join him at the civilian tavern that evening, away from Brotherhood ears. She agreed and they parted.
The party's first stop in Mount Vernon was the "Normal Inn." They found the rooms expensive and the innkeeper creepy, so they decided to sleep in the free bunks provided by the Brotherhood at their barracks.
Then they went to the local sheriff's office and asked Sheriff Marialuisa if there were any bounties or jobs in town. The Mister Handy robot said that there was nothing like that. Though, there had been a bar fight at the Pure Tavern. A corporal had beat up a civilian, but no charges had been filed. Andy expressed his pity that Marialuisa had been condemned to be a RobCo robot, an inferior design to SchlockettBots. Marialuisa shot back that the Mister Handy model was the most successful domestic robot in history, and that Robert House was a billionaire genius. Arthur Schlockett had died a recluse and a failure. The party were worried about a fight, so they left.
The group went to the local clinic to find the man who was beaten up. Dimitri Graham, the victim, explained that he had been loudly criticizing the Midwest Brotherhood's refusal to join the war. Knight-Corporal Demita had been offended and a fight had broken out. The combat-trained Demita had beaten the elder Graham badly, necessitating medical treatment. Graham had complained to the Brotherhood but didn't know if any action had been taken. Dr. Stoddard also mentioned that there was a Brotherhood pilot in the clinic right then, taking medications for the war effort. The party were suspicious, and found a West Coast Brotherhood Lancer, scooping chems into a big bag. They challenged him on his identity and intentions. The Californian was annoyed and showed an old agreement between the West Coast Brotherhood and the Midwest. It said that they could take chems from this clinic. The party angrily explained that things had changed because there was a war on, a war that the West Coast Brotherhood were on the wrong side of. The pilot, Lancer Avel, was angered by the inconvenience and marched over to Major Talbott's office. Dr. Patch made sure that Avel got formal permission to requisition the chems. And Talbott, looking to avoid suspicion from the NCR, gave Avel permission to take the medicine.
A bit frustrated with the village, the party went to the local theatre, hoping to see another show like The House Always Wins: A Musical. Andy was still advising everyone to go to see the show just for the one musical number which featured Arthur Schlockett. They found a stout and bombastic actor named Malka Hulett, who proudly announced that they were workshopping a drama about the St. Louis Attack. The barrel-shaped and middle-aged Hulett would play Mouse, the handsome and noble leader of the Heroes of St. Louis. When Linda and Lex revealed that they were the Heroes of St. Louis, the actor had many questions, and wild misconceptions. He seemed to believe that Mouse and Lex had been passionate lovers, as had been Zero and Paladin Hector. He hadn't even heard of Mister Man and didn't know anything about the Anheiser-Booch Brewery or the SLAMS military academy. Lex became frustrated that she and her companions would be misrepresented but gave up on the excited performer.
Linda saw that there was a dry goods store and was excited to buy some candy. Amanda, the store owner sold her some simple hard candy and mentioned that she had a problem. Sheriff Marialuisa had confiscated her corn-cutter, claiming that it was a weapon. Amanda wanted to hire the party to break into Marialuisa's evidence locker and liberate this item. The group hadn't heard of a corn-cutter and were confused to discover that it was not an agricultural tool, but a medical device for cutting callouses off of one's feet. The shopkeep claimed that as a robot, Marialuisa didn't understand these human concerns. They were unimpressed by the bizarre situation but decided to investigate.
The group asked Andy to be nice to Sheriff Marialuisa so that they could talk to her about Amanda's corn-cutter. Andy complied, and Marialuisa explained that she understood that the medical device was normally not a weapon. It had only become a weapon when Amanda had gotten fall-down drunk at the Pure Tavern and hit the town's sheriff with it. Even then, the fine to retrieve the corn-cutter was only three caps. Amanda was just too proud to come pay it and admit that she had made a fool of herself. The party paid the fine and retrieved the corn-cutter. Returning to Amanda, they assured her that they had broken into the evidence locker and liberated the thing, charging Amanda a medium-sized fee for its retrieval.
After that, they decided to return to the military base. They found Knight-Sergeant Toomey drilling troops in the exercise yard. He mentioned that there was a West Coast Brotherhood pilot in town. As Toomey was a soldier, and the Midwest and West Coast Brotherhoods were still friends on paper, he couldn't question this Lancer Avel. But he would like any intelligence the Californian might have. Dr. Patch explained that they had already met this Avel but would be glad to learn more.
Cornering Avel, the party were able to get him talking. The pilot reaffirmed their knowledge that the West Coast Brotherhood had been ordered by the NCR to join the war effort. They were there for transport and technical support, but no combat. They had brought 200 trucks and 48 vertibirds for the operation, for NCR use only. Patch filed a summary of the intel with Major Talbott, who was grateful.
By then it was about dinner time, so the party went to the Pure Tavern. Chaz the bartender was a grumpy super mutant who charged Linda extra for heating up her nuka-cola. They asked Chaz about the fight between Graham and Corporal Demita, and Chaz confirmed that the Brotherhood soldier had beaten up an old man for speaking against the Brotherhood.
Lex found that Paladin Hector was already in the bar, wearing plain clothes and eating a meal. They talked a bit about the war. Lex asked Hector if Axion could be trusted, and the old paladin reassured her that Axion was a good man. Both Hector and Axion had tried to press false charges against the mayor of Emancipation, but they honestly thought they had to in order for the village to build an adequate defence. The paladins would do anything to preserve the Midwest, and sometimes were overzealous in that effort. He noted that the Brotherhood had already taken action against Bob Hanssen. The lawyer was probably already dead, as General Lucan had declared a shoot on sight order against agents of the Enclave. Hector went on to relay to Lex that new of the Commonwealth joining the war had changed the situation. General Lucan was now contemplating more direct action. A Midwest paladin was considered the greatest warrior in the wasteland, and a small crew of them could be very effective.
Mount Vernon was an odd little town, but they had learned a great deal. Things were in motion now, and Great Leader's victory was far from assured. But Axion had not presented a specific plan yet. The last time they had pursued one of Axion's missions, it had resulted in the loss of Mouse, Zero and Mister Man....
Next Session: SESSION 70: GROUND AND POUND
Next Session: SESSION 70: GROUND AND POUND
Players: The Fellowship of the Doing the Things, Arminius, Andy, Lex Garridan, Linda, Morag, Patch Radam
September 5th, 2317
(Adventure Day 134)
The team stood in the town square of Orchardville. They had come simply to drop off Annalynn but found a tense situation. Great Leader had threatened the community of Responders, warning them to stay out of her war. The party had spent the past two hours convincing everyone to stand up to The Capitol. And now that things had come to a vote, the previously quiet Fred Boon had stood up and made an accusation. He claimed that the party were agents of the Enclave, and that they had tried to bribe him to get him to vote for action against The Capitol; the Enclave were trying to destroy the Responders by pushing them into a hopeless war.
Lex focused on Fred Boon. And suddenly, Fred had a change of heart. He announced to the crowd that he was working for Great Leader in the interests of The Capitol. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a piece of rough, pre-war paper. Fred handed it to Darren, the leader of the Orchardville Responders. And when Darren read the note, he was shocked. He immediately ordered Alana, the group's captain, to capture Fred and take him for questioning. He called for a vote, and the Responders voted unanimously for action to aid Dixie in the war.
Darren showed the party the note. It was from Great Leader herself, promising Fred a high position if he betrayed the Responders. Arminius offered Darren his services as a torturer, and the Responder was a bit shocked. This was the Midwest, not the Legion. Fred Boon would be questioned and then handed over to the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel for trial. Annalynn had been angry at this Orchardville group, disgusted by their hesitation to stand up to Great Leader. But they had risen to the challenge. She presented Darren with the Somerset Special, a weapon sacred to the survivors of Vault 76. Annalynn explained that the vault was now gone. Great Leader had had it scrapped, even its walls torn out and used for their expensive alloys. The Orchardville Responders welcomed Annalynn into their group.
She thanked the party for getting her across the bridge at Torn Hope and getting her here. They had proven that they were friends to the Responders. The group was spread thin now, most members operating alone, but they were out there. The party could always count on them to do the right thing. As the team packed up and got into their van, Annalynn spoke to them privately, away from the ears of the other Responders. She explained that there were rumors in The Capitol that Great Leader had finally overcome the defences of the Whitespring Resort. No one in the party had ever heard of this place, but Annalynn insisted that the Brotherhood should know what The Capitol was up to.
They left Orchardville, heading northwest toward a place known as "Botony Lab 7." As they drove, the group theorized aloud about talking plants and terrible pre-war experiments. What they found was a fairly desolate highway interchange. There was an old billboard, advertising some kind of dog show. Disappointed, the group looted the area and moved on.
Mount Vernon was a small community with less than 300 civilian residents. But a pre-war super-factory had been converted into a Midwest Brotherhood of Steel fortress. Some 500 Brotherhood personnel were stationed there. And even from the road, the party could see soldiers training and the base alive with activity. There were a pair of vertibirds landed in the exercise yard. The team was eager to speak to Brotherhood command, to get a report on the situation and to encourage them to enter the war on Dixie's behalf. So, they headed straight for the front gate and asked to see the base's commander. The gate security guard explained that their commanding officer was Paladin Ledlie, but she hadn't returned from Kentucky Dam. They could speak with the acting commander, Knight-Major Talbott.
Major Talbott was a formal and bureaucratic officer, who wore his dress uniform at work. He greeted the party and asked if Patch was the doctor from the dam that he was looking for. Patch was indeed party of the Kentucky Dam staff, and so Talbott asked him to give a statement. After that discussion, Talbott explained that all of the Midwest Kentucky Dam personnel were accounted for except for two. The NCR had taken the dam expertly and treated their Midwest prisoners well. Then they had handed the POWs over to the soldiers of The Capitol, who put them on simple boats and sent them home. The Capitol were saying that Paladin Ledlie had refused to cooperate and had started a fight. A Capitol Corrector had killed her in self-defence. Major Talbott hadn't told the soldiers at Mount Vernon, as they would be enraged by her murder. The Capitol had also separated one technician from the group and captured her, a Vault 40 technician named Elizabeth Langley. Lex recognized the name. She had grown up in the vault with Liz and had even been paired up with her in a technical crew under Professor Gritch.
Talbott overheard the name Lex and asked if that meant Alexandra Garridan. They said it did, and the major remembered that he had received two messages from the generals in Chicago about her. They wanted reports on two issues. Talbott rose and asked his assistant to provide him with those messages. The mention of the generals in Chicago roused the party to frustration. They were frustrated that the Midwest were remaining neutral in the war. There was even talk of the Midwest joining the war on the side of The Capitol and NCR. The group had met Wyatt, the Great Leader, face-to-face and it was clear that her ambitions did not stop at the borders of Dixie. Major Talbott was apologetic and a bit overwhelmed. He explained that these sorts of decisions were made by General Lucan and his circle of generals in Chicago. The party began to demand a vertibird ride to Chicago, so they could speak to Lucan themselves.
The assistant returned with the messages. The first was that there was a report of Caesar Altus being attacked with a laser weapon in Flagstaff. The Heroes of St. Louis had recently been deployed to the city and might know something. The party explained that the culprit behind the assassination attempt was likely Obscisus Ursus. The major asked many questions and wrote down the statement in their exact wording, eager to provide accurate intelligence to his superiors. The second query was that the Scepter of the Midwest had been stolen from the Hall of Knights in Chicago. The pre-war artifact had been a decoration there for over a century. As Lex's aunt Alexa Garridan had stolen the Scepter of the Plains from a Brotherhood base at Camp Jefferson, the generals in Chicago wanted to know if Alexa was responsible for this theft as well. Lex said that it was unlikely that Alexa was involved, as she had been kidnapped by the Enclave. She also revealed that Bob Hanssen in Gamma Town was a secret agent of the Enclave.
Talbott was shocked and grateful for the insights. The party insisted that they needed to see the Midwest Brotherhood leadership in Chicago and convince them to defend Dixie. The major insisted that this was not possible. But there were two visiting experts here in the base's war room. They might want to talk about strategy. The party demanded to see them, and Talbott acquiesced.
The experts turned out to be Paladin Hector and Paladin Axion. Paladin Hector was the commander for central Missouri, a specialist in civilian militia and defence. He was the protector of Lex's region and a character Lex and Linda had interacted with many times. He had taken the party under his wing, gifting Mouse his heavy revolver. During the St. Louis Attack, they had assisted Hector in saving dozens of military cadets from the devastation. Paladin Axion, the leader of the Midwest's diplomatic corps had once prosecuted the Mayor of Emancipation on trumped-up charges of incompetence. The party had successfully defended the mayor, defeating Axion in court.
The two paladins greeted Lex and Linda warmly, excited and grateful that they had been successful in Flagstaff. After the mayor's trial, Axion had been angry at the so-called "Heroes of St. Louis" and said that if they were really heroic, they would go to Caesar's Legion. In Flagstaff, the Legion's capital, Caesar Aurelian had retired. There would be an election, and if a pro-war candidate was voted to be the next Caesar, there would be chaos in the wasteland. The party had gone to the city under false identities, and with the help of an NCR spy calling himself Modicus, had manipulated the election. An anti-slavery candidate, a ghoul former gladiator named Pillar, had won. When he was named Caesar Altus, he decided to eliminate the evidence of foreign interference, betraying the party with an ambush. Modicus had been suspiciously absent when they were attacked. Lex and Linda had been smuggled out unconscious by Tameka, an old friend of Booch the bartender. They didn't know it at the time, but Booch and Tameka were members of the Vanishing Point, the zealous agents of The Puppetmaster. Arminius had been betrayed days before, and Tameka was also smuggling him out of the city for reasons unknown.
The party had a long story for the paladins, detailing their experience with Wyatt and travelling through The Capitol. They mentioned Bob Hanssen's work for The Enclave, but not Vault 40's association with the group. The party told them that The Commonwealth was joining the war but made said nothing about The Puppetmaster. Linda talked about the atrocity at Copperhead, that Right Inquisitor Thomaas had burned Lindavists alive, including children. The Midwest Brotherhood had done nothing, neither guarding the village nor pursuing the perpetrators. Paladin Axion assured Linda that they took the situation very seriously. The Inquisitors had fled to Holy Toledo and were hiding behind the government of The Rustlands. Axion's diplomatic corps were in contact with agents of the Rustlands and the Children of Atom religion, demanding justice. But this process was slow.
The group complained that the Midwest were ignoring their ethical duty by staying out of the war. Even the distant and isolated Commonwealth were coming to Dixie's aid. Paladin Hector showed them a map of the territory of the Midwest. It was broad and spread-thin, stretching across North America's Great Plains. An NCR expeditionary force with trucks could break through the Rocky Mountains and strike anywhere in their territory. America's once great satellite network was now totally inoperable, so they had no way of monitoring the huge amount of empty territory that existed between their settlements. The NCR could perform hit and fade attacks perpetually. General Lucan and the leaders in Chicago had decided to wait for the NCR to diminish its supply of vehicles and fuel before beginning combat operations. The Midwest had 20,000 civilian militia, amazing defenders, but only 4000 Brotherhood soldiers who could perform offensive tactics.
The party worried about Caesar's Legion, and Paladin Axion told them not to worry about it. Caesar Altus's election campaign had angered the Legionary faction of the senate. For Altus to raise an army, he would have to empower a legate with power and troops. That army would then loot and pillage, enriching him and equipping him with a contingent of loyal and battle-hardened troops. He'd be sealing his own fate. The Legion wouldn't be a problem unless Altus could find a dozen loyal generals, or he was replaced by an old-school Legionary.
Hector then showed them a map of the state of the war in Dixie. It was not going well for the Southerners. Paducah and Birmingham had fallen. Memphis and Atlanta were now under siege. The Midwest Brotherhood had warned Dixie to give up their capital, it was too hard to defend. But Dixie's new president was being sentimental, focusing on the defence of Atlanta. The conversation was confrontational. The party were frustrated by the Midwest Brotherhood's conclusions and lack of action.
The party relayed Annalynn’s information that Great Leader had finally gotten past the defences at the Whitespring Resort. Hector and Axion had heard of the place, some kind of pre-war bunker for the US Senate, but had no idea what was in there.
Axion had been silent for a while, looking thoughtful. He spoke up to ask Linda if she honestly thought she could rouse the Lindavists to stand up to the Inquisitors. The party said it was likely she could, and they had talked about going to Holy Toledo. It was said that Mother Isabella, leader of the humans-only contingent was working with Right Inquisitor Thomaas. It was said that Mother Dorothy, leader of the pro-inclusion faction, was decent person who would be helpful. Paladin Axion said that the NCR was his focus. Out in California, President Hayden hadn't asked his congress for permission to go to war. He had used his position as commander-in-chief to order military action. Now the congress had to approve the war for it to continue, and a 2/3rds majority could reject the president's actions and end the NCR's involvement in the war. But there was also the problem of the Inquisitors smuggling guns and ammunition to The Capitol, and perhaps even dragging The Rustlands into the war. If the party could go to Holy Toledo, they would only need to disrupt the Inquisitor's operation, and it would greatly help the war effort. Axion could then focus on the vote in the NCR.
The two paladins needed permission from Chicago for any of this, so they asked for a night to develop a plan. Everyone would reconvene in the morning, when Axion would present a plan which the party could either accept or reject. Before the party left, Hector approached Lex. He asked her if she would join him at the civilian tavern that evening, away from Brotherhood ears. She agreed and they parted.
The party's first stop in Mount Vernon was the "Normal Inn." They found the rooms expensive and the innkeeper creepy, so they decided to sleep in the free bunks provided by the Brotherhood at their barracks.
Then they went to the local sheriff's office and asked Sheriff Marialuisa if there were any bounties or jobs in town. The Mister Handy robot said that there was nothing like that. Though, there had been a bar fight at the Pure Tavern. A corporal had beat up a civilian, but no charges had been filed. Andy expressed his pity that Marialuisa had been condemned to be a RobCo robot, an inferior design to SchlockettBots. Marialuisa shot back that the Mister Handy model was the most successful domestic robot in history, and that Robert House was a billionaire genius. Arthur Schlockett had died a recluse and a failure. The party were worried about a fight, so they left.
The group went to the local clinic to find the man who was beaten up. Dimitri Graham, the victim, explained that he had been loudly criticizing the Midwest Brotherhood's refusal to join the war. Knight-Corporal Demita had been offended and a fight had broken out. The combat-trained Demita had beaten the elder Graham badly, necessitating medical treatment. Graham had complained to the Brotherhood but didn't know if any action had been taken. Dr. Stoddard also mentioned that there was a Brotherhood pilot in the clinic right then, taking medications for the war effort. The party were suspicious, and found a West Coast Brotherhood Lancer, scooping chems into a big bag. They challenged him on his identity and intentions. The Californian was annoyed and showed an old agreement between the West Coast Brotherhood and the Midwest. It said that they could take chems from this clinic. The party angrily explained that things had changed because there was a war on, a war that the West Coast Brotherhood were on the wrong side of. The pilot, Lancer Avel, was angered by the inconvenience and marched over to Major Talbott's office. Dr. Patch made sure that Avel got formal permission to requisition the chems. And Talbott, looking to avoid suspicion from the NCR, gave Avel permission to take the medicine.
A bit frustrated with the village, the party went to the local theatre, hoping to see another show like The House Always Wins: A Musical. Andy was still advising everyone to go to see the show just for the one musical number which featured Arthur Schlockett. They found a stout and bombastic actor named Malka Hulett, who proudly announced that they were workshopping a drama about the St. Louis Attack. The barrel-shaped and middle-aged Hulett would play Mouse, the handsome and noble leader of the Heroes of St. Louis. When Linda and Lex revealed that they were the Heroes of St. Louis, the actor had many questions, and wild misconceptions. He seemed to believe that Mouse and Lex had been passionate lovers, as had been Zero and Paladin Hector. He hadn't even heard of Mister Man and didn't know anything about the Anheiser-Booch Brewery or the SLAMS military academy. Lex became frustrated that she and her companions would be misrepresented but gave up on the excited performer.
Linda saw that there was a dry goods store and was excited to buy some candy. Amanda, the store owner sold her some simple hard candy and mentioned that she had a problem. Sheriff Marialuisa had confiscated her corn-cutter, claiming that it was a weapon. Amanda wanted to hire the party to break into Marialuisa's evidence locker and liberate this item. The group hadn't heard of a corn-cutter and were confused to discover that it was not an agricultural tool, but a medical device for cutting callouses off of one's feet. The shopkeep claimed that as a robot, Marialuisa didn't understand these human concerns. They were unimpressed by the bizarre situation but decided to investigate.
The group asked Andy to be nice to Sheriff Marialuisa so that they could talk to her about Amanda's corn-cutter. Andy complied, and Marialuisa explained that she understood that the medical device was normally not a weapon. It had only become a weapon when Amanda had gotten fall-down drunk at the Pure Tavern and hit the town's sheriff with it. Even then, the fine to retrieve the corn-cutter was only three caps. Amanda was just too proud to come pay it and admit that she had made a fool of herself. The party paid the fine and retrieved the corn-cutter. Returning to Amanda, they assured her that they had broken into the evidence locker and liberated the thing, charging Amanda a medium-sized fee for its retrieval.
After that, they decided to return to the military base. They found Knight-Sergeant Toomey drilling troops in the exercise yard. He mentioned that there was a West Coast Brotherhood pilot in town. As Toomey was a soldier, and the Midwest and West Coast Brotherhoods were still friends on paper, he couldn't question this Lancer Avel. But he would like any intelligence the Californian might have. Dr. Patch explained that they had already met this Avel but would be glad to learn more.
Cornering Avel, the party were able to get him talking. The pilot reaffirmed their knowledge that the West Coast Brotherhood had been ordered by the NCR to join the war effort. They were there for transport and technical support, but no combat. They had brought 200 trucks and 48 vertibirds for the operation, for NCR use only. Patch filed a summary of the intel with Major Talbott, who was grateful.
By then it was about dinner time, so the party went to the Pure Tavern. Chaz the bartender was a grumpy super mutant who charged Linda extra for heating up her nuka-cola. They asked Chaz about the fight between Graham and Corporal Demita, and Chaz confirmed that the Brotherhood soldier had beaten up an old man for speaking against the Brotherhood.
Lex found that Paladin Hector was already in the bar, wearing plain clothes and eating a meal. They talked a bit about the war. Lex asked Hector if Axion could be trusted, and the old paladin reassured her that Axion was a good man. Both Hector and Axion had tried to press false charges against the mayor of Emancipation, but they honestly thought they had to in order for the village to build an adequate defence. The paladins would do anything to preserve the Midwest, and sometimes were overzealous in that effort. He noted that the Brotherhood had already taken action against Bob Hanssen. The lawyer was probably already dead, as General Lucan had declared a shoot on sight order against agents of the Enclave. Hector went on to relay to Lex that new of the Commonwealth joining the war had changed the situation. General Lucan was now contemplating more direct action. A Midwest paladin was considered the greatest warrior in the wasteland, and a small crew of them could be very effective.
Mount Vernon was an odd little town, but they had learned a great deal. Things were in motion now, and Great Leader's victory was far from assured. But Axion had not presented a specific plan yet. The last time they had pursued one of Axion's missions, it had resulted in the loss of Mouse, Zero and Mister Man....
Next Session: SESSION 70: GROUND AND POUND
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Report Date
22 Apr 2023
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