[color=00aeef][b]Corvega Assembly Plant - Lexington, Mass. (The Commonwealth)[/b][/color] Gunners and Operators alike assembled in the town of Lexington, their approach having been hidden by the cover of night. Under The Institute’s watchful eye, the two groups were now undertaking their first major operation, and the lead up to it had not been without pitfalls. The Gunners had taken more persuading, but with their high command replaced by Synths and under direct control by SRB operatives, they’d fallen right into line. The Operators, despite being raiders, had taken much less convincing. With their complete control of Nuka Town now completely secured, Mags and William Black knew which side their bread was buttered on. The time was fast approaching when SRB had further plans for the two groups, but for now they were acting as a sort of trial run. In typical fashion, The Institute never did anything half-cocked. Experimentation and validation were all necessary before taking any major decision. And so it was with Phase 4. The transformation of Operators and Gunners would serve as that boilerplate template. Something that could be expanded and transposed on others. Leading The Operator contingent, William Black looked up at his scouts positioned on the Lexington overpass. A flashlight signal indicated they were all set, and William nodded to the Gunner commanding officer next to him: Captain Haverford. “All set, now we just need to hear from the eggheads when to begin.” Both William and Haverford turned back to look at the Gen-1 Synth standing behind them, the synth had been silently observing their actions ever since they’d set out. “Well? We’re here.” William said expectantly. “All operation parameters successfully met. Standby for instruction.” “What’s that mean?” Haverford raised an eyebrow. The synth ignored him and stepped forward, placing a small circular object on the ground and stepping away. Blue light emanated forth, and a hologram of a woman in an Institute labcoat appeared before them: Alana Secord, Director of SRB. “Congratulations on getting to this point. I’ll admit I had my doubts that you’d be able to keep your organization as well as you did….I am happy to say I was wrong. However, the true test still lies ahead. You’re standing before the old pre-war Corvega Assembly Plant, now the site of a major raider stronghold in the region. You’re to take control of the plant immediately and exterminate anything you find inside. The Institute has been engaging in similar operations throughout The Commonwealth to seize industrial sites of particular interest. The attack you are about to launch will be conducted synchronously with an attack on Saugus Ironworks and The Poseidon Energy plant. As well as several other classified locations.” “I suppose you’ll eventually tell us why?” Captain Haverford quipped. “Because Father has ordered it, and so you’ll do it. That’s all you need to know. And Captain...listen, don’t talk,” Alana’s hologram glared back at him. The Gunner veteran shrunk back immediately, a stark fear looming in his eyes. “Seize the facility and report in afterwards. That is all,” Alana said simply, “End program.” The hologram immediately dissipated and the Synth walked up to retrieve the device once more. Once it had done so, it looked to William and Captain Haverford once gain, silently observing: preparing to judge their next moves carefully. “We’ll stick to our original plan,” William said, “Agreed?” “Agreed.” “Go in swift and brutal, the less time they have to organize a defense, the better. My Operators will attack up the west ramp. I have snipers already in position on the overpass to give your men cover, once you’re in position. Send up a flare and that will be the signal for the attack.” Haverford nodded, and motioned for his men to move up through the town towards the plant. William began to move off with the Operators in tow, but before he did Haverford stopped him with a shaking hand, “I’m not sure what’s more terrifying,” He said in a low voice, looking towards the Gen-1 Synth, “The idea that they can replace you at any time, for any reason…...or that maybe they already have.” Without another word, the Captain sorrowfully slunk off, leaving William alone with those haunting words echoing in his mind. Then another voice struck up that sent a chill down his spine. [i]“Serve Father loyally, and there is no need for fear.”[/i] William turned sharply to find the Gen-1 synth staring at him, speaking in an uncanny tone of voice that seemed unusual even for those skeletal things. [i]“You are all so like children, and so Father shall lead you to a new world. The horrors of this one, will soon be at an end. And the mistakes that led to the Great War will never be repeated again. Will you join us in seeing that done?”[/i] William slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off the robotic skeleton. “Then do so.” Without another word, William turned and rejoined his waiting Operators, his mind turning towards the battle ahead. Atop the town, a red flare shot skyward illuminating the dark town for a single brief moment. Gunshots sounded out soon afterwards. “Let’s go,” William said swiftly. His Operators nodded, and followed him in. [color=00aeef][b]Desmond Lockheart - The Free Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [/b][/color] [i]“Amaaaaazing grace, how sweeeeet the sound that saaaaved a wretch like meeee!”[/i] Desmond sat in the back of the swaying covered wagon as it bumped over the uneven dirt road, and plugged his ears at the sound of the singing caravaners. Obviously having none of their religious fervor. He’d been on the trail with them for nearly three days, and he was just about ready to arrange for them a personal meeting with their lord and savior, “Mr. Lockheart,” One of the men sitting across from him in the cart spoke up, “Do you own a copy of scripture?” “No.” “Well I would think you would want to. An individual with your...affliction should no doubt turn to the Lord for guidance and salvation. Especially in these trying times.” “Come again Jethro? What ‘affliction’? You mean being a ghoul? Your God sure as hell doesn’t care about that I guarantee it.” An audible gasp emitted from the surrounding caravaners in the wagon. “No need for such coarse language Mr. Lockheart. I have no issue with your kind myself, this caravan has traveled from here to New York and as far north as the Massachusetts Commonwealth, we’ve met all sorts of people in our wanderings. I’m merely suggesting that perhaps you’d find some measure of comfort in the good book. Here...take my travelers copy. Read if over a bit while you wait to get to your destination.” Desmond took hold of the small well-worn copy of the Bible and flipped it over. ‘Printed in Philadelphia, Anno Domini 2285’ was imprinted on the black leather cover. “If it’ll get you yahoos to shut up, fine I’ll take it,” He said gruffly, “Where in the...” He paused, suddenly aware that all the eyes of the caravaners were now on him, “....uhh...[i]heck[/i]...are we?” The Caravaneers all breathed a sigh of relief, “We’re not far outside of York. We’ll soon stop and let you off as we’ll be turning North to Harrisburg, but obviously you’ll want to keep going west...I pray for your safety Mr. Lockheart, I pray for the safety of anyone, even ghouls, who might travel to that land that God has forsaken.” “I’ll ignore the ghoul comment for now, what do you know about the Cult’s territory?” Desmond asked. At the word ‘cult’, a few members of the caravan lowered their heads and began mumbling prayers as if they were warding off evil spirits, “Little enough. I know our armies are engaged in a heroic crusade to end that blight on this earth once and for all, and send their so-called ‘Prophet’ screaming back to the depths of the pit. Many of us have friends or family fighting on the front...it’s a horrid business Mr. Lockheart. A horrid business. But we must see it through to the end.” “Why on earth would you wish to go there?” A female caravaner asked. “I have my reasons. Lets just assume I need information and leave it at that. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop prying too.” “Well whatever the case, go with God.” The wagon suddenly came to a stop, and the driver called out, “Crossroads, you’ll wantin’ to be heading west now. Just keep following the road to York, from there...it's just a short hop to that black land of evil.” “Finally…” Desmond muttered and he stood up to get out before Jethro grabbed his arm, “You’ll be wanting to take a look at that book I gave you. You’ll find the words of the Father inside.” He then smiled and released his grip. Desmond cocked his head and continued out without another word, jumping down from the wagon and finding himself at a crossroads surrounded by grain fields. The caravan continued off down the dirt road north and while he didn’t want to give them much more thought, Jethro’s words had piqued Desmond’s curiosity. He opened reached down and pulled the traveler’s bible from his side pocket, and opened it up. To his surprise he found the book was hollowed out, and a holotape was tucked neatly inside the pages, “Son of a…” Desmond reached down and grabbed the pip-boy he’d been carrying out of his satchel. It was a useful little piece of pre-war tech to have, but he didn’t like to wear it given the attention it tended to draw. He fashioned to his wrist and popped the holotape inside. A few seconds passed while the tape was decrypted before it began to play, [i] “Desmond. If we are tracking your progress correctly. You are nearly at the border of Cult controlled territory. Proceed with extreme caution. The reports we’ve had coming in from Indianapolis are troublesome and indicate the Cult to be far more organized and deadly than initially assumed. This could, perhaps, be worked to our advantage however. Your status as a ‘ghoul’ may serve you better when trying to remain inconspicuous in their territory. Report back to SRB as soon as you are able.” [/i] “Troublesome, hmm. Coming from them..that’s just vague enough to be horrifying,” Desmond quipped, as he shouldered his pack, and continued on down the road. Next stop. The Land of the Monolith.