POV Rio
After the USS Constitution was repaired of any minor issues, I then removed the rocket engines on the ship as I found them to be highly inefficient when working on water. It made the ship much heavier, and the fuel was too expensive to use on such a traditional vessel. We also added a few additional defenses, such as turrets, and had them connected to a C.A.M.P. I also gave it an improved radar suite so it could detect airborne threats as well as more subsurface contacts. While calibrating it, I detected the Yangtze Chinese Submarine. I also detected some odd structures that seemed to head deeper into the Ocean, which I thought was odd.
I wasn't planning on going into the submarine for a while yet. As far as I remember, it was disabled and posed no real threat. And the Captain of the Sub was not interested in launching his last Nuke. Not anymore, at least. Which meant it could wait until later.
Our next stop was Bunker Hill to report our success. The trip was quick enough as I just flew back to grab our boat and then drove it back to the Castle, where we then went back the way I just came from. We parked the boat near the bridge between Bunker Hill and Boston proper. We also took this chance to loot the area, which got some miscellaneous loot and a Perk Magazine. The Perk Magazine was one I hadn't gotten before. It was La Coiffe Issue #2, The Hornet's Nest. All it did was teach me how to style hair. Not the most useful, and it didn't help that the hairstyle was very odd.
Our next lotting spot was past Bunker Hill, but it needed to be dealt with as it was where the remaining Scavengers and a gang of Raiders had holed up, making Chems. There were only 14 of them, but they controlled access to one of the bridges that the many traders use.
Killing them was easy enough. Hancock is well known to buy Chems, so he simply made himself known and stated that he was interested in buying some Chems. The Raiders were not too skeptical, as it was known across most of the Commonwealth how much Chems flow through Goodneighbor. As for the oddity that Hancock was coming to do the trade himself, that was ignored in favour of Caps. The Raiders agreed to sell, but as they were talking, I had been silently taking out the Scavengers and Raiders on the outskirts. They were so focused on Hancock that they didn't even notice that they had lost over 10 of their members. And when they did, Hancock used his Shtogun to blast two holes through each of the guard Radiers with him. The leader of the Raiders and the leader of the Scavengers were shocked and ran for cover. A few additional bullets finished them off.
The loot was okay, nothing too crazy. Just Chems and machine parts. As well as the usual Raider loot of ammo and guns. Once that was looted, we made our way to Bunker Hill. Once there, I had a chat with Kessler.
"With your help, the roads are a lot safer," Kessler said with a smile.
"It wasn't just me. The Mintuemen have made great progress in improving the safety of not just Settlements but also the roads," I say.
"Really? That's almost tempting. But, except for the occasional hiccup, we're looking out for ourselves just fine. Pass. Listen, you did us a good turn. But it would take a hell of a lot more for me to want to deal with the Minutemen. Even if they had won that great battle up North, it wouldn't have given me enough reasons to break my neutrality... But tell you what, I heard you got land of your own. Build a safe place for the caravans to stop, and everyone can profit. And... I'll put in a good word with the Caravans. They will give you a slight discount if they want," Kessler said.
"Thank you, but that isn't the only thing I wanted to talk to you about. Take a look at this," I say while handing her a file with names of many Caravan Leaders.
"What am I looking at?" Kessler asks.
"The names of the Caravan Leaders who work for the Institute and the second page are the Caravan Leaders who participated and supported the attack on Sanctuary, as well as evidence of both sides' collusion," I state.
Kessler's eyes go wide, and she nearly drops the file in surprise. She catches herself and starts reading the file.
"No... This can't be... But... No... It makes sense... Sh*t! You realise these are over half the caravans that run through here, right? And if Stockton knew about this then..." Kessler says, but freezes when she realizes Stockton is right behind her.
"I would be furious. Rio, you saved my daughter's life, and now you bring me this evidence. You really seem to like causing issues, huh? This will be messy. Many of those caravans are under me, but they have enough wealth and guards that fighting them would be... messy," Stockton says with a grim look.
"It would be a blood bath. This list contains at least 70% of the caravans. And if they have Raider allies, they might be able to take over Bunker Hill," Kessler says with an equally grim look.
"You seem to be forgetting something. Many of those caravans are currently crippled. They sunk a lot of resources into the Raider army. They lost not only Caps and supplies but also men, and many of their allies are either all dead or too weakened to help. As for the spies, they can be eliminated more easily. Assassination, or you could send them on dangerous routes, and the Raiders will deal with them," I suggest calmly.
My suggestion seems to calm both of them.
"That could work. I have some allies who could do the ambushes for us. They would gladly help if it meant eliminating spies from the Institute. The Raider-supported caravans could be eliminated by our own guards. Or perhaps we can put our past aside and ally with the Minutemen," Stockton suggests.
"You know what happened to us when we relied on the Minutemen," Kessler says with some anger.
"Kessler. That was in the past. The Minutemen back then weren't even a fraction as strong as they are now. They already control the Northern Commonwealth. And we could use this to assuage any fears the others would have. But if that still isn't enough, then send them to clear out Libertalia. They have been almost as big an issue as Zeller. I have already spoken with most of the caravans. Most are willing to give the Minutemen another chance. Those still on the fence need a little more push, or are the ones that supported the Raider army," Stockton says, standing up for the Minutemen, and to an extent, me.
"Sigh. Fine. Fine. If they are willing, then yes. But on the condition that they deal with both Libertalia and the rogue caravans. If they do that, then I will rejoin the Minutemen," Kessler says.
I thank both of them and say we wouldn't let them down. Stockton leaves to contact his friends, who are likely the Railroad. I head over to the bar to return a hat that belonged to a former Minuteman who was also the bar owner's grandfather. The man thanked me profusely and gave me another voice that supported rejoining the Minutemen. It also got me to Idolized Status with Bunker Hill. It gave me the perk Day Bartender. It gave me a boost to trading prices when in a settlement, and I take 10% less damage when I am carrying 8k Caps or more. The perk was fantastic. I had nearly 1 Million Caps by this point, so I was more than within that 8k Caps, and I doubted I would even be below that number.
After getting the perk, I sent out the green light for eliminating the caravans we had been watching. They were easy to find as they didn't bother hiding. They assumed that we wouldn't attack them as they were under Bunker Hill's protection. That was a dumb move on their part, but it worked for us. By tomorrow, they would all be dead, and whatever they had would belong to the Minutemen. As for the Institute spies in the other caravans, I wasn't worried. They had lost their source of support anyway, so they weren't much of a threat. Which meant all that was left to deal with was Libertalia. However, as I was thinking of that, I overheard someone speaking about another Raider getting cut up by Pickman, which made me realize I still needed to deal with that.
'Oh Shoot! I forgot about the Cabots!'
I realize they had reached out a long time ago, and they might be a little upset by my taking so long to get back to them. But I decided to change course and deal with Pickman first, then Cabot, and then Libertalia. As I was thinking this, I heard another radio segment.
"You ever hear the phrase no such thing as safe?" DJ Pon-3 asks.
"Most folks in the Wasteland say it like gospel. Like hope's just a pretty lie we tell to keep from chewing our own tail. But every once in a while... a place proves them wrong," DJ Pon-3 continues.
She takes a deep breath.
"Sanctuary, the little settlement north of Lexington, almost got wiped clean off the map the other day," DJ Pon-3 says.
"A full-on raider army, sources say, over 4000 strong, charged in from the east. Painted in blood. Chemed out of their minds. Screaming like Tartarus had opened its doors," DJ Pon-3 says with a grim tone.
"They brought flamers. Scrap bombs. RPGs and even Power Armor. And the scum even used slaves as meat shields," DJ Pon-3 says with some anger.
"But they didn't count on the Minutemen. One hundred. Just one hundred and some settlers. Holding the walls against insurmountable odds," DJ Pon-3 says with swelling background music.
"Captain Iron Beaks took a shot to the face and still held her post. A Minuteman marksman picked raiders off like apples in a bucking contest. And a griffon courier flew ammo under fire like they were born with wings made of steel," DJ Pon-3 says with awe.
"By sundown on the 4th day, the smoke had cleared. Raiders fled. Sanctuary stood. Over 100 people died, mostly freed slaves. Several dozen more wounded. But the kids? The crops? The hearts of that little town? Still beating," DJ Pon-3 says with a grin clear in her voice.
"To the Minutemen: you weren't born heroes. But yesterday, you damn sure became legends," DJ Pon-3 says.
"To the raiders: you thought you'd burn hope to the ground. Break the people's wills. Instead, you fed its fire," DJ Pon-3 says.
"This is Lightbringer Radio. We saw you. We remember you. And across the Wastes, everybody else will too. Sanctuary stands. And so do we," DJ Pon-3 ends the segment.
"Now, how about some music. This next song is called Eye of the Tiger by Survivor," DJ Pon-3 says right before playing the song.
I bob my head to the tune, and the others around me seem to be listening to it as well.
"Turn it up!" yells someone.
I do so, and we all listen to a great song.
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Author's Note:
I could just have all the lyrics, but I think you guys can listen to it on your own. It's a really good song. I also realize that Another One Bites The Dust would have been perfect music for the Siege of Sanctuary, but oh well. Until next time, Ciao.