[color=6ecff6][u][b]Sentinel Derek Irving- Hidden Valley Bunker[/b][/u][/color]

The Sentinel walked at a rapid pace through the halls of the bunker, attired in a hastily put-on Brotherhood uniform.  Ordinarily he would be sleeping and regaining his strength for the day to come, but a matter had come up, one important enough had come up that he had been called from his quarters to attend to.

It wasn't anything new to him- any member of the Brotherhood needed to be ready to rise from their slumber to carry out their duties at any time of the day.  If anything, Irving was relieved that this interruption did not stem from being under attack.  From what the initiate that awoke him had conveyed, the scribes had picked up some very crucial NCR radio chatter.

Despite the disaster that The Green represented, it was fortunate for the Brotherhood that the verdant menace had driven the Super Mutants from Black Mountain- and coupled with the radiation levels, kept anyone else from nosing around up there.  The Super Mutants had used it as nothing more than a radio station, but the Brotherhood knew of the facility's far greater potential to intercept radio transmissions in the region.  And as long as nobody braved the radiation and Green to examine the machinery too closely, the Brotherhood should be able to make use of it under the radar, so to speak.  They didn't even need to be up there- the override device let them run it from the safety of their bunker.  They would send a team up a few times a year to occasionally check how the equipment was holding up against the flora and humidity of The Green and make repairs if necessary, but other than that, they were able to mostly leave it unattended.

Presently, the Brotherhood had been paying close attention to two radio sources- the NCR and Robert House.  While House had become more insular and withdrawn in the last few years, they had kept close tabs on any radio signals coming from the Lucky 38.  Even if the scribes had no expectation of success in decrypting the pre-war genius' transmissions, merely keeping track of the signals could warn them if House was issuing new orders to his Securitrons.  The NCR, by contrast, was a more serious and immediate threat, especially with the capture of the two undercover Brotherhood members.  Monitoring their radio chatter could give them forewarning of an attack, or make them privy to a vulnerability that could be exploited.

Whatever they had discovered, it was important enough to warrant summoning him.

"I'm here," Irving spoke bluntly as he entered the communications room that the scribes had set up.  Hardin was already present.  "What is the situation?"

"There's a spike in NCR radio chatter in the southwest near the Mojave outpost," the scribe at the table answered.  "We believe that a VIP of some nature has just arrived at the Mojave Outpost from the Long 15."

"Do you know who this VIP is?" Irving asked.

"Negative, their comms are protected by code words and phrases" the scribe replied.  "We don't know who it is or how large his escort will be, all we know for sure is that he's someone important and that Delta Company has been tasked with escorting them to Vegas."

"With the northwest of Vegas overrun by the Green, the VIP will likely be escorted through Nipton and up Highway 95," Head Paladin Hardin weighed in.  "Whatever the size of his security detail is, Rangers will likely be focused on keeping watch on that entire stretch.  With Delta Company diverting manpower to escort the VIP to Vegas safely, this would be an excellent opportunity to strike at NCRCF and blow Abernathy's prison wide open."

"Yes, I can see the tactical merit in that," the Sentinel replied.  "It'd make the Colonel look bad to the VIP, and free his political opponents in the process, consequently weakening his hold on Vegas and forcing him to divert troops to sweep up the prisoners and maintain order.  However, Maxson did not task us with defeating the NCR.  He tasked us with stopping The Green, and if we reopen hostilities with the NCR, there will be no going back."

"We're already beyond the point of no return," Hardin spoke, clearly displeased.  "The Mojave will sooner have another nuclear winter before Abernathy agrees to anything short of our destruction, even with the threat of the Green looming over him."

"True," Irving conceded, "But can the same be said about the VIP?  We need to know just [i]who[/i] arrived in the Mojave, and how they may affect the Colonel's status quo.  If it's a government representative come to rein in the Colonel's martial rule, we might be able to parlay with them for an armistice to focus on the common threat of The Green.  If it's an officer come to relieve the Colonel's command, the changing over of command will make a perfect opportunity to strike at the NCR.  Is that understood, Head Paladin?"

"Yes, Sentinel," Hardin begrudgingly replied, clearly holding some contempt at his mention at Irving's rank.

"Good," Sentinel Irving said.  "My orders remain as they are.  Keep our warriors prepared for combat.  I promise you this, against one foe or the other, we will see battle soon."