Scattered Bones HQ, New Carolina

Sithis paces back and forth as Ellie explains the purpose of their travels. "So you're looking for whatever shit Marcus was looking for years ago?"

"That about sums it up.." Ellie answered as she takes a breather "So do you have any clues about him?"

"I got nothing sorry.." the bulky man replied "I was busy fighting the NCR to notice anything"

Ellie was disappointed as she heard the man's answer and hung her head low. "Damn.. Another dead end.."

"But I do know someone who may have the info you want"

The mercenary quickly raises her head. "Really?!"

"Yep. He lives in Arcadia, second largest city in New Carolina"

With a new lead, a smile quickly finds its way to the mercenary's lips. "Thank you!" she said as she asks for the directions

"But!" Sithis said, interrupting Ellie's momentum "Arcadia is heavily guarded"

"By NCR Rangers?" Arthur asked

"No" the man replied as he squints his eyes "The Western Brotherhood"

Surprised, Arthur and the other members could only utter "What?"

"You heard me" Sithis said "The Western Brotherhood has been helping the NCR in their war effort lately.."

"What do you mean?" Elysse asked

"They provide weapons, equipment, even power armor"

"How is this possible?" Kodiak said "The Western Brotherhood would never just hand over equipment, let alone weapons and power armor, to outsiders"

"I know.." Sithis answered "It's strange but that's what they've been doing in the past few years. Didn't you find it weird that the NCR had a lot of advanced weaponry and equipment, even rivaling what the Brotherhood had?"

"Now that you mention it.." Arthur said "They did have access to the X-04 Power Armor that we developed but I thought they were just stolen from our armory, if this is true then we're in a lot of trouble.."

"All the more reason for us to find this artifact" Ellie said as she stands up "We don't have time to waste."

"As impatient as ever.." Polonsky remarked as the other members of Lyons Pride laugh for a bit.

"I'm also coming with you guys" Sithis said as he prepares his gear

"Are you sure?" Marina asked "You did say that the Western Brotherhood is hunting you. They may recognize you on sight"

"That is true but I'm the only one here who knows the man you're looking for"

"Inconvenient but we have no choice.." Coby uttered

Arcadia:

The next day; 4:00pm:

Upon arriving at the city's gates, the Pride immediately notices two men in T-60 Power Armor guarding the entrance.

"Shit.. Looks like getting in won't be easy.." Vyse remarked "What do we do?"

Sithis smiles as he points to the Eastern walls. "We can enter through there"

"What do you mean?" James asked

Sithis did not utter a word. He simply smiled as he led the Pride into the Eastern side of the city. He then moves a loose rock and buries his right hand into the sand. After a few seconds, he pulls up a rope which causes the wall to reveal a hidden door.

"Whoah.." Vyse uttered

"Did you guys think I'd risk getting spotted?" Sithis said with a triumphant smile

"Same old Sithis.." Audrey muttered as they group heads inside.

Arcadia, Town Square:

The group manages to reach the square without arousing suspicion and despite the presence of patrols, they manage to evade them.

Minutes later, they stumble upon a bar.

"Joeyray's Bar.." Vyse uttered as he read the sign

"This is where your friend is?" Ellie asked

"If he's still the same old drunk then yes"

As the group walks closer, the bar doors suddenly fling open.

"Get outta here!" a tall man said as he throws a patron out

The drunken man tries to get up but stumbles. "Eh, fuck you!"

As the members of Lyons' Pride watch, Sithis walks closer to the drunk. "Jayce, what the hell man?"

"That voice.. Sithis?" the drunk uttered as Sithis helps him up

"Still a drunk I see.." he said

"Fuck you!" the drunk replied "My life, my rules! Ain't got nothing to do with you!"

Ellie then walks closer to the duo. "Um.. Excuse me but do you of a man named Marcus?"

"Marcus..?" the drunk said "Yeah I know him. What's it to ya?"

"Well I was hoping maybe you can help us"

"Hell no! I ain't gonna do shit squat no more, especially with Sithis here! I told you that I am NOT coming back! So leave me alone!" the drunk said as he walks away.

Ellie tries to say more but Sithis stops her. With the group hitting another dead end, they decide to step into the bar for a breather.

Minutes later:

"So that was the guy who's supposed to help us?" Vyse asked

"More or less.." Sithis answered "His name is Jayce. He was a member of a group called the Iron Hands. Basically, my group and theirs helped keep law and order around Carolina. But the NCR invasion kinda crippled both of us.."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked

"The NCR nearly wiped out his group. After the war, he himself disbanded what's left and they all scattered throughout Carolina.."

"Damn.." Vyse muttered

"So I hope you can understand why he's like that.."

"Yeah.." Ellie muttered "But that's not enough to just sit here and drown in alcohol while the NCR continues to plow through the wasteland.."

Big Town; Western Gate:

The next day; 5:30am:

"Same shit, different day.." A male teenaged soldier said as he sits down under the roof of the guard house "Damn this is boring.."

"Hey don't laze around!" the female soldier next to him said "We gotta keep an eye out for NCR scum!"

"But Pauline.." Teenage boy replied "It's been weeks, hell I feel like it's already been a month, since our last confrontation.. I doubt the NCR's gonna do anything yet.."

"Lazy bastard.." the teenage girl said as she scours the wasteland with her binoculars

"You're not gonna find anything there.." the boy said as he fans himself "Come on we need some rest now and then"

"Shut up Chri-"

Before the girl finished her sentence, she spotted something from her binoculars. "Incoming!"

The teenaged boy was riled up by the tone and sound of her voice and quickly stands up to see an incoming artillery shell.

"Holy Fuck!" he shouted as he and the girl jump out of the guard tower, which took a direct hit from the artillery shell.

Upon landing onto the ground, the girl quickly sounds the siren, alerting the residents of the impending danger.

More shells then begin to pummel the area as the teenagers ran for their lives.

Meanwhile, in the other areas of the town, the rebels mobilize to defend their settlement from the attackers.

"NCR forces are attacking! Let's move boys and girls! This is no fucking drill!" A teenager said as he hands over guns and equipment to the other teenagers

The Citadel; Laboratory:

Elder Lyons and Paladin Vasquez were overseeing the repairs on Liberty Prime when a Brotherhood Scribe came running.

"Elder! Elder!" he said

"What?" the Elder replied

"Big Town and Canterbury Commons have just reported that they're under attack!" The scribe reported "We've also received reports of NCR Rangers stationed in the Republic of Dave!"

"So they plan to take the areas in the East" Paladin Vasquez said

"Also, both settlements report artillery fire coming from the enemy forces" the Scribe continued

"Artillery?!" Vasquez uttered "This does not bode well.. What should we do, Elder? If we attempt a counter attack, we'll be dividing our forces"

"But we can't just leave those settlements to die" the Elder replied "Mobilize all available troops! Move all that we can spare to the frontlines! We cannot lose any more ground!"

"Yes ma'am!" the Paladin said as he runs to the command room

"Get me a channel on all rebel leaders" The Elder said as she heads into Ring A "We need to address this as soon as possible!"

"Right away, Elder!" the scribe said as he runs ahead.

The Citadel; Prison:

General Alexander sits down on his bed as he overhears the commotion in the surface.

"Hey what's going on?" he asked the guard

"Nothing you need to know!" the guard replied

"Oh come on" the general said "I'm an old guy locked up in a cell without any means to contact my allies"

"Shut up!"

"Fine.. But mark my words. Things are gonna get exciting soon.."

"What are talking about?"

Alexander merely gives a sinister smile.

Arcadia; Inn

5:45am:

At the early hours of the day, the mercenary wakes up. "Can't sleep anymore.."

She then spots Jayce through the window.

"Where are you going..?" she muttered to herself as she puts on her gear and proceeds to stalk the man through the rooftops.

As she follows him, she notices that Jayce would stop and look at his surroundings from time to time, even looking at the rooftops, which prompts her to stay low.

"What are you hiding.." she muttered

Minutes later, she noticed Jayce exit the city. Ellie quickly jumps down and follows him outside the gate. Luckily, the guards did not suspect a thing when they saw her exit the city.

Arcadia; Outskirts:

Ellie hides behind a tree as she observes Jayce stare at about 5 tombstones.

"Graves..?" she thought

"Guys.." Jayce muttered "Morning.. Guess who I met the other day.. Sithis. Bitch is still alive apparently.."

Jayce sighs as he seems to be recalling some old memories. "He's been bugging me to ignite the old fire of revolution or some shit like that but I don't know. I think that fire died after that mishap.. I wonder, should I reignite that old spark?"

As Jayce continues to monologue, Ellie couldn't help but say "Damn" as she hears a few stories about Jayce's adventures with these dead people.

"Hey you!" Jayce said as he turns around "I know you're there. Been following me all morning! Care to show yourself"

Ellie complies and reveals herself to the man. "I'm sorry for following you"

"It's alright. Come here"

Ellie walks closer and looks at the tombstones. "Catherine, Marie, Kyle, Danny and Zhao"

"They were part of my crew.." the man said "We were known as the Iron Hands and along with Sithis' Scattered Bones, we were basically the law around these parts. That was until 2298 when the NCR attacked. We kicked ass when we're fighting raiders but well-trained and well-equipped soldiers are a different story then came the Battle of Arcadia. The Iron hands and Scattered Bones decided to use the city as a last stand against the NCR. If we could hold the city, we can keep the NCR at bay.. But we didn't last long. We managed to hold the city for a month before it fell.. Lost a lot of good guys, including my friends.. These 5 here are just among the hundreds of dead.."

Jayce then points to the horizon. Ellie stares at the direction on where he is pointing and sees a lot of gravestones.. "Fuck.."

"Yeah.. 'Fuck'"

"So is that why you don't wanna help?"

"I'm still thinking, to be honest. My fire died after the battle but Sithis kept on bugging me about the 'good' fight.."

Ellie stays silent for a while before saying "I think Sithis is right. You should help him"

"And why should I? I'm retired, my friends are dead and my group's gone. Why should I risk my neck again against a losing battle?"

"What makes you think it's a losing battle?"

"Look around you, kid! The NCR has advanced weapons, equipment and tactics. They'll kick your sorry ass twenty times over if they could!"

"I formed a resistance movement a few months ago.. It started as a small raider group, after freeing a couple of prisoners. That was when we started to dent the NCR and now, we hold half of D.C."

"You want me to be impressed?"

"No. I want you to help. Because sitting around and drowning in alcohol is not gonna stop the NCR. They will not stop invading lands that are not theirs! Once they're done with D.C., they'll go to Boston next and so on until they have the entire country under their control! I've read in a Pre-War Book that the only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. If you just sit there and drown in alcohol, you think that would improve the lives of the people?"

"And what would you have me do? Pick up my gun and die just like my friends?"

"At least it's better than drowning in alcohol and asking yourself 'what if I continued the fight?"

"You do have a point, kid. But for now, I'll stay in the sidelines.."

"Alright.. But I hope you'll consider fighting the NCR again"

"Let's see where it goes. On another note, I feel like you came here for another reason"

"Yes. Do you know of a man named Marcus?"

"Marcus? Yes I know him. Showed up during the NCR invasion and disappeared right before the Battle of Arcadia. Why?"

"Do you have any clues about him? Do you know why he went here or what he did?"

"Now I get it.."

"What?"

"Nothing.. Marcus went to this old building here" Jayce then marks the location on Ellie's Pip-Boy "I think he was looking for something and that old building was a hotbed of information"

"What about this building?"

"Used to be a Pre-War research facility or something.."

"Right. Thank you!"

"Whatever. Now leave me alone. I got some thinking to do"

"Right.."

Sometime later:

Following her Pip-Boy's map, the group arrives at the remains of a derelict building.

"Wow.." Vyse said "Big ass building.."

"Must have been some kind of office" Arthur said as the group enters

Upon entering the building, Ellie notices a huge signboard, although most of the letters are gone.

"Must have been the name of this building.." she said as she reads the letters that are left "st tries.."

As she begins to walk away, the mercenary suddenly begins to hallucinate. The visions are returning.. "Shit not again.."

"Ellie?" Vyse said as he noticed Ellie "You alright?"

"I-I'm fine.." the mercenary answered as she composes herself.

Arcadia Inn Lounge

6 hours later:

The members of Lyons' Pride sit down as they return from their long journey.

"We looked everywhere and nothing.." Vyse muttered

"Yeah.. So another dead end.." James said

"Damn it.. What the hell.." Ellie said in frustration "I'm sorry.. Looks like it was all a waste of time.."

"No it's not" Arthur said "We came here for 2 reasons. One was yours and the other was to ensure New Carolina rebels"

"So is that our next objective?" Vyse asked

"If it's ok with Ellie, we need to start finding a way to weaken the NCR's hold on Carolina" Arthur said

"I'm fine with it" the mercenary replied "Let's make this trip worthwhile at least"

"On that note" Sithis said "I think I can help you there. The Scattered Bones need additional manpower, supplies and most of all, support"

"So you want us to help settlements and wastelanders across Carolina to increase the Scattered Bones' influence" Arthur said

"Yeah. Pretty much that. Wow looks like great minds think alike"

"Not really.." the Sentinel replied "This tactic just reminded me of what someone did back in Boston"

"Boston?" Ellie wondered

"Let's just say that a certain faction is now the most influential faction in the Commonwealth because of this same tactic" the Sentinel answered

"Alright then. I guess we'll be helping you, Sithis" Audrey said

"Glad to hear it!"

Scattered Bones HQ

A week later:

"Good work guys!" Sithis said with a smile "Thanks to your efforts, we managed to gain a lot of support! If this keeps up, we'll be strong enough to drive the NCR from Carolina in no time!"

"Yeah.. That's great.." Vyse said as he catches his breathe "Can you give me a minute.. These past few weeks aren't exactly relaxing.. I mean I know everyone needs help and all but to suddenly be thrown into another job right after you finish one"

"You tell me.." Marina said as she collapses into the couch "..I just rescued a guy from a bunch of Raiders then a pack of ghouls attacked the settlement! I mean can't I get a break or something!"

"I know it's a lot of hard work but keep your chin up guys!" Sithis said

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever.." Vyse said

Just then, a Scattered Bones member approaches Sithis and whispers into his ear

"What's going on?" Ellie asked

"Come with me" Sithis said with a serious face

Scattered Bones HQ; Command Center:

As the group enters the room, Sithis quickly talks to one of his lieutenants.

"Sithis, What's going on?" Arthur asked

"Our scouts have just confirmed that a battalion of NCR troops are coming to their base in Fort Washington to reinforce their lines in D.C."

"What?!" Ellie said

"Looks like things are getting serious there.." Vyse said

"Yep.. From what we can gather, the President's planning on going to D.C. to increase the morale of his troops"

"The President's coming to D.C.?" Dallas asked

"Seems so" Sithis answered "But we're still confirming. Don't want any false intel to slip past"

"Copy that" Dallas replied "So what's the battle plan?"

"We need to neutralize that battalion for two reasons: One is to weaken the NCR further and two is to show to the people of New Carolina that the NCR is not unbeatable!"

"So what do you propose we do?" Arthur asked

"We'll blow that fort sky high"

"But how are we going to do that?" Polonsky asked "That fort is bound to be heavily defended"

"Way ahead of you. I've used my connections and found several places of interest in the base"

Sithis then brings out a piece of paper, showing a rough sketch of the base's interior.

"Based on the intel my contacts have gathered, there should be refueling stations here which they use to resupply their vertibirds. Team 1 will plant C4 on those tanks and converge on the rendezvous point here by the hangar and if we're lucky we can steal ourselves a vertibird. Team 2, on the other hand, will go to the commander's quarters and steal as much intel as they could. Once that's done everyone will converge on the hangar. In the event we can't steal a vertibird, we'll escape through the base's sewage line"

"Wait" Coby said "You haven't mentioned how we'll enter in the first place"

"Thanks to my contacts, I've managed to commandeer a NCR Army Truck and uniforms. We'll be posing as part of the battalion and with the codes they gave me, we'll slip past security"

"Sounds like we're gonna get dirty on our way out.." Vyse said "Now I really hope we can steal a vertibird"

"Let's see what happens" Arthur said "So how will we divide the teams?"

"I'll have a squad from Scattered Bones deal with planting the explosives. Lyons' Pride and me will take the intel"

"Sithis" Audrey said "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. I wanna see firsthand how you fight and I believe my men can handle C4 duty just fine"

Fort Washington; NCR Resupply Facility

4:30pm:

A green military truck stops in front of the gate as two rangers approach the driver.

"Who are you?" one of them asked

"We're from Baker Company" Sithis, who was in the driver's seat, said

"What's your control number?" the other ranger asked

"Bravo, Echo, Alpha, Romeo" Sithis answered

"Go ahead in" the ranger said as the fort's gate open.

A few minutes later, Sithis parks the truck by the hangar and the rest of the squad unloads.

"You know the plan" Sithis said as both squads move to their respective objectives

Barracks:

Team 2 arrives at the barracks and finds it filled with NCR troops, from regulars to rangers.

"Shit. There's a lot of them out there.." Vyse whispered

"Stay calm and just walk casually to the building in the middle.." Sithis whispered as the squad slowly moves to the target building

As they drew closer to their destination, Sithis signals the others to stop, which they do.

"What's up?" Ellie whispered

"Damn" Sithis said "Looks like they got the building on lockdown"

"What do we do now?" Ellie asked

"Follow my lead"

The Pride then moves towards a rusty radio tower.

"Cover me" Sithis whispered as he places small improvised explosives by the tower's support beams

After a few minutes, Sithis finishes priming the explosives.

"Let's go" he said as he lights up a couple of firecrackers, which had a long fuse

The squad then stands near the target building and await the distraction.

A minute later, the sound of firecrackers echoed throughout the area. Suspicious, a few squads converged on the area to check. Another minute later, the small explosives detonate, causing the tower to fall to the ground, causing the rest of the squads to converge on the area.

With most of the troops distracted, Marina and Sithis quickly fire their silenced weapons at the two guards, hitting both of them in the head. The squad quickly moves to the two dead guards and drags their body inside, stuffing their lifeless bodies inside the lockers.

They then move to the admin building, all the while eliminating any guards that got in their way and later, stuffing their bodies inside the numerous lockers in the building.

They eventually reach the door into the commander's quarters.

"Ellie can you take a peek?" Arthur whispered as the mercenary does just that

Peeking through the keyhole, the mercenary notices a single individual siting on his chair.

"One target, most likely the commanding officer" she reported

"Take him out on my go" Sithis said as he begins to count to 3

By the time he counted to three, the bulky man kicks the door open and quickly fires his silenced Combat rifle at the NCR officer, hitting his head.

With the threat neutralized, the Pride begins to scour the room for any intel they could copy.

"Ellie hack the terminal, see what you can find" Arthur said "the rest of you, secure any intel you can get"

It took the mercenary 2 minutes to successfully hack the terminal. "Got it!"

She then begins to scan the files and copy them to her Pip-Boy but one file caught her eye. "Citadel Contingency plan..?"

She then opens the file and reads the contents:

From: General Alexander

To: General Oliver

General. By now you should be aware that the Rebels have taken Galaxy News Radio and are now threatening the Citadel. With supplies running low and your reinforcements not arriving on time, I say we only have a couple of weeks left. Whatever happens, the Citadel will fall into their hands so I've devised a plan to buy you some time. I've convinced Rivet City's council to start recruiting the refugees into the war effort. If the rebels find out about this, they'll most likely devote a few resources to stopping it, stalling their attack on the Citadel Once they attack, I'll put up a hard fight and surrender once it gets too intense. That should give you enough time to gather your forces by the East. I have actionable intel that their Eastern flank is lightly defended and that they still lack enough manpower to have a firm grip on all of their territories.

This is where we use our sheer numbers and equipment to our advantage. Feint an attack in the east. This should force them to divert troops there. Once they reinforce the Eastern Flank, send another battalion to the Western Flank, I suggest you start with Evergreen Mills. This should give the rebels enough chaos for our forces to crush them in a pincer maneuver. I hope you'll consider my plan if you want to control the situation we're in.

"Holy shit.." Ellie muttered "Guys! I think you should read this!"

"What?!" Arthur said as he reads the document "Fuck.. I knew it was a bit weird for Alexander to surrender so quickly! And that incident at Rivet City!"

"He played us all.." Coby muttered "I guess he didn't crush the Legion with just brute strength.."

"We gotta get this to Elder Lyons at once!" Ellie said

"Agreed. Is everyone done with the sweeping?" Arthur asked

"Yes!" Everyone replied

"Good! Let's converge on the rendezvous!"

Sithis then picks up his radio. "Team 1, have you secured the fuel tanks?"

Only static could be heard from the radio.

"Team 1" Sithis said again "Do you copy? Have you secured the tanks?"

Once again, there was nothing but static.

"Shit couldn't get a hold of Team 1"

"Maybe a bad transmission" Vyse said "We did knock down a radio tower"

"Right.." Sithis said as the squad exits the building

But as the squad exits the building, they find themselves surrounded by NCR troops, all of them aiming their guns at the Pride.

"Shit.." Audrey said "I think I have an idea on what happened to Team 1.."

"Fuck" Sithis said

"Drop your weapons!" a NCR trooper, with a megaphone, said

"Do what he says" Arthur said as he lowers his rifle

"Damn it.." Vyse said as he and the rest drop their guns

As the Pride drops their weapons and raises their hands, a familiar figure emerges from the crowd. Sithis' eyes narrow as he sees a tall middle-aged man.

"Gerard.." he said with contempt

"Well. Well." The man said "If it isn't Sithis"

"So you're part of the NCR now?"

"Didn't you get the intel?" the man taunted "the Western Brotherhood and the NCR are now working together"

"What?!"

"Sithis. I knew of your little spy network. I found one of your boys and decided to 'convince' him to give you some false info"

"You son of a bitch!" Audrey shouted

"Is that..?" Gerard said as he recognizes the Knight "Audrey? My. My. You've grown up! You look just like your mother"

"Shut up, you bitch! You killed her!"

"She was just collateral, my dead. I assure you"

"Fuck you to hell!"

Gerard then turns to sithis.

"Ah Sithis..You don't know how long I waited for this moment" the man said as he grabs a 10mm pistol and aims it at Sithis

"You're gonna kill me just like you killed Nora?"

"Hell no. I'll make you suffer and squirm for a bit and I'll let the bleeding end you"

"Still a coward I see"

Gerard merely smirks as he hears those words come out of Sithis' mouth.

"Say hello to Nora and Morris for me"

"Rot in hell!"

Before the traitorous Knight could pull the trigger of his gun, a chain of explosions erupts behind him as squad of NCR troops ran from the ensuing blasts.

"NOW!" Arthur shouted as he and the others quickly draw their pistols and shoot down several NCR troops before picking their guns and running to cover.

"Nice timing on those explosions!" Vyse said as he continues to fire his rifle, gunning down another NCR trooper "But who pushed the button? Was it Team 1?"

"I don't know. I still can't get a hold of Team 1!" Sithis replied

"So" Polonsky asked "What's the escape plan?"

"There's too many of them!" Sithis answered "Worse comes to worse, we're gonna have to shoot our way out!"

As the Pride moves from cover to cover, they hear the familiar sound of a vertibird.

"Not good!" Audrey said as a vertibird opens fire on the squad "We got enemy vertibirds in the air!"

"Fuck!" Elysse shouted "Marina! Think you can snipe the pilot?"

"I'll try but I need cover fire!" the sniper replied as she readies herself

Marina then breaks cover and carefully aims her rifle at the pilot. However, she could not get a clear shot as bullets whistle past her.

"Can I get some cover fire, please?" she sarcastically said

"Left side!" Dallas said as she returns fire

"Dallas, Elysse. Concentrate fire on the left!" Arthur said "Vyse, Ellie. You're on the right! Audrey and James, cover the rear! Sithis, Polosnky. You're with me on the front!"

Minutes later, Marina has yet to take down the enemy pilot.

"Anytime now, Marina!" Vyse shouted as a bullet barely hits him "We can't move until that asshole's down!"

"You think I have it easy?!" the sniper replied "You try sniping a guy this far while bullets fly around you!"

"Enough chitchat!" Arthur said "Just do your jobs!"

"Roger!" Marina said as she carefully aims her rifle

It took her 5 minutes to find a clear shot.

"There we go!" she shouted as she pulls the trigger.

The bullet breaks through the vertibird's glass pane, hitting the pilot's head.

"Direct hit!" Marina said as the vertibird spins out of control and crashes.

"Nice!" Arthur said "Move out!" >

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