[color=004b80][b]High Elder Gladstone – Western Brotherhood of Steel – Santa Fe[/b][/color]

It was, troubling. This attachment to nothing more than a band of raiders, Gladstone knew the history of the Khans. Beaten down by the NCR, given a poisoned chalice to sup by the Legion in their darkest hours. A nation of petty chemists who had spread their poison far and wide and had bemoaned their fate when justice had come calling. He’d seen them rise to his east, unable to do anything as he’d clumsily welded together his people in their own new home. And now with a chance to right that wrong, to crush this upstart band, he found himself opposed.

Taut burnt fingers flexed on his cane as Lucius and Barnaky continued speaking. Lucius was neutral it would seem. His honour stayed his hand, but Gladstone knew that when opportunity presented itself, the political beast inside reared its head scenting the blood on the wind. Barnaky though, why would he care about a nation of savages to his west? It was a mix of bemusing and confusing, perhaps his cybernetics had addled his brain? Though then again, Gladstone recalled the reason why Barnaky was where he was. A rebel whose actions had split and weakened the Brotherhood, what those forces could have done if they had remained in the west, if time had allowed the bunkers to swell with future manpower that had instead been spent elsewhere.

And then there was the matter of Barnaky’s proclamation, forbidding the usage of weapons that would shorten this pestilential conflict by weeks, if not months. Gladstone grit his teeth at that, what was this creature expecting? To hamstring his forces in such a war, to tie with one hand behind the back when two hands would be far easier to throttle this cult with? Still, if Barnaky and Lucius wanted to hold their hands above the mud rather than press in and make something of it, who was he to stop such foolishness? 

And so, with that in mind, Gladstone bowed his head, and ceded the ground, or at least that which would lead only to disaster. His voice a soft rasping in the hazy summer heat as he made his reply, his watery contract lain out to the Legion and the Midwest.

“Very well then. I shall have to make do with the current state of affairs as regards the Khans. They will have their autonomy if that is your preference your excellencies.”

It didn’t matter he supposed, in the end, he could always bring the Khans into his sphere of influence. With the Legion and Midwestern Brotherhood busy in the east, he could begin arranging the pieces in the west. He could initiate a diplomatic offensive, water and electricity, as many trade goods as could be moved. And then with such weight on his side, he could make a series of gradual moves, whispers against the Legion and Midwest. Reminding them of past slights by the former, and a few untruths perhaps for the latter. After all, it was rather hard to stomach the idea of some entombed brain as a ruler. And robobrains did go mad, who was to say this wouldn’t occur at some point in the future?

And with such a force surrounding them, they would look to the benevolent power in the west making them rich, watering their lands and peoples and powering their homes and suchlike. A few prominent citizens could be bribed, and by the end of the year, perhaps a protectorate could be established. Yes, that would do, soft power in the east, and his forces marching elsewhere to conquer and empower the Western Brotherhood. 

After all, If Barnaky planned to use this war to expand his domain east, then two could play at that game. He would strike whilst the attention was elsewhere. Within shadows and hidden from sight would the steel engrave itself onto the Khans. With a scheme in mind to set in motion Gladstone smiled a grandfatherly smile, or at least as much as he could manage with a half-burnt face. The warmth not quite reaching his eyes at the lopsided smile, one side upwards, the other flat and unmoving. His lips continued to move, or at least one side more-so than the other.

“This war is of your making, it is your choice how to fight it. I shall send word for the offending articles to be held back in storage-”

They would find better usage in crushing the savages elsewhere then, in lands which would find themselves tilled by Brotherhood homesteaders.

“-Though perhaps I could call for a list of the other non-Chemical weapons to be forwarded to both of you. I would recommend the deployment of some of these articles, if only for the tactical ability they will afford us. We have multiple MIRV capable Fat Man’s for instance, able to wipe out thousands in the blink of an eye. Along with Gauss minigun emplacements, and thermobaric cluster weaponry deployable by bomber or missile batteries if modified correctly.”