Moonless nights in the wasteland were dangerous. Audie had learned early in his adventures to find a safe place and wait until either the moon of sun rose. Deathclaws, Ghouls and Super Mutants could see in near total blackness whilst humans were all but blind.

He was counting on this though. Hopefully the Enclave observers wouldn't be able to see the little surprise he was preparing for them in the courtyard of the Citadel.

What few Knights were awake and not on guard were assisting him assemble the weapons. When the Enclave attacked the memorial tomorrow, they would pay dearly for trespassing in his home.

If there was one thing Wrath hated, it was waking up early. It was the price of his rank. The Lieutenant wanted to go over final plans before they set off towards the memorial.

As he rose, he could see the bay filled with sleeping soldiers. A few NCOs were rousing as well, going off to their own platoon meetings. Wasting no more time, he continued to get up and proceed towards his.

For some reason, the LT decided to have his meeting in the island of the carrier, near the Armory. It was the same place that Wrath had hijacked the Mr. Gutsy robot. Finding his way there would be easy.

Wrath carefully avoided the sleeping soldiers around him as he made his way towards the western door of the hangar. From there it was a quick hop up the stairs and down a few corridors, and then more stairs. He followed the same path he had taken to breach the ship's defenses to the bridge control. Instead of climbing the exterior though, he stayed inside the Island as he ascended.

The room itself still reeked of spent fuel and burnt bodies. From experience he knew the smell would linger for days, if not weeks in this confined atmosphere. All of the aerosols in the world would do little to lessen it.

Lieutenant Winters and the senior NCOs in the platoon were sitting around a metal table in the far corner. Spread out between them was a piece of paper, more than likely the plans for the assault on the Memorial. Wrath walked over to the and took a seat next to Staff Sergeant Cavalero.

Everyone was still a little groggy. In two hours time they would be assaulting one of the more defended objectives in the Wasteland, and adrenaline would relieve them of any sleepiness. Until then, they would have to endure.

The LT had been drawing out the objective and surrounding terrain features on the parchment. It wasn't nearly as details as the satellite imagery, but it served its purpose. Visual references were always essential in any battle plan.

The Jefferson Memorial was built by the northeastern shore of the Potomac River, right at the junction of the Anacostia River. Over the past twenty years, it had been converted into a water purification plant, supplying clean water through the Brotherhood of Steel and its caravans.

To the north of the structure was a small man-made pond of fresh water. A steel catwalk connected the eastern shore to the western, and a small bridge on the northwest corner were the only two accessible routes to the memorial. The irradiated rivers met just east of the memorial, right at the Tidal Basin.

The LT had laid out several pieced of scrap metal, each representing one of his squads. They were in a small pile next to the Rivet City drawing, along with a bullet representing Slasher Platoon.
"The plan here is going to be rough." The LT always stated things bluntly, and never tried to sugar coat the facts.

"Fury, Falcon, you guys are going to advance along the northern shore to reach the northwest causeway. Speed will be your key, but mostly you are the bait.

"Thunder, you will advance along the Anacostia River shore, on the south side. Your focus will be stealth, but support Fury and Falcon when you arrive on the western side. They'll be in a hell of a fight, since most of the enemy is spread out along the catwalk and western pump station.

"Reaper, you have the job of clearing the catwalk. You'll be getting some Engineers, since we think it's heavily mined. Do your best to keep them occupied, since if they're shooting at you, they won't be shooting at the other two squads."

The LT paused to look at the faces of his squad leaders. It was given that since two squads would be traveling together, he would be with them. The officers in the Shock Troopers always went with the main attack. No one had any questions, so he continued.

"Slasher will be leaving here in an hour to perform an amphibious assault on the western shore. They'll be taking a walk in irradiated water, so we don't have much time. Once Fury and Falcon are set on the causeway, they'll begin their attack.

"Slasher will have an hour in the water by the time our movement begins, so we'll have to move fast. After they hit the two hour mark, they'll have no choice but to assault. Anymore time than that and the radiation will overwhelm their protective measures.

"Our mortars moved up here last night, and will be set within the hour. Fury, you have priority of fires. There is also an armed drone overhead with remote link capability.

"So far, we're seeing almost a full company of Brotherhood spread out over the memorial, with more possibly inside. Its going to be a tough fight, but Delaware will be in reserve. The sooner that Catwalk gets cleared, the sooner they'll be in the fight. They are going to take care of the interior, us the exterior. From there, we secure until the engineers start building that pontoon. Questions?"

No one spoke. It was a dangerous plan, but the only one available. Once more, Fury would be taking point on another gamble. Wrath only hoped it wasn't his last.

Knights of all ranks were assembled in the training grounds of the Citadel. Scribes busied themselves moving from soldier to soldier, checking weapons and armor as diligently as they would their own. The Battle for D.C. was going to wage in full today, and no one wanted to be caught unprepared.

Paladin Audie stood at the front of the formation, along with Sentinel Lyons. Paladin Richter and Knight Valerie were off to the side, observing the might of the Brotherhood preparing for War.
It was clear that the Enclave's next attack would be against the purifier. While they might be powerless to stop them from taking it, they could at least make the job all the more difficult for them.

The plan was simple. The Brotherhood contingent would mass in the western shore of the Potomac River and provide fire support for the Purifier Guards. Most of the guards were Rivet City security, but there were enough Knights there to stall the Enclave's advance. With any luck the support from the other side of the river would be enough to break the Enclave attack. Audie doubted that though.

Once the last Knight had been checked by scribes, Audie led Sarah out the main doors and into the gates of the Citadel. This might be their last fight together, but they would face it with pride. For the memories of all those that died against the Enclave, they would fight gloriously.

[All Slayer Elements, this is Six. Slasher is set in assault position. Begin movement to objective. Good luck. Six out.]

Wrath wasted no time moving out. He led his squad at a jog to the northern pathway, just past the man made pond. He could see the remains of a mutant camp nearby, but detected no motion from within. Whatever had been there, they were long gone by now.

He had limited cover from the memorial along his path of advance. Rocks and Rubble gave him some protection from fire, but after about twenty meters it was open ground until he reached the cause way.

Once he broke cover, the Brotherhood soldiers opened fire upon him and his men. Five millimeter rounds pinged off his armor as he dashed for the causeway. A knight wielding a minigun was spraying his payload at the exposed soldiers. It was only a matter of time before one of the thousands of rounds would strike something vital.

Taking the fire head on would be more preferable. The Enclave Advanced Power Armor could take almost anything thrown at it from the front, but was much more vulnerable from the sides and rear. If his power pack took too many hits it would detonate, leaving him prostrate and helpless until he could receive a new one. Wrath had no desire to sit this one out.

A missile streaked by his head, missing only by a few inches. It propelled him even faster, if that was possible. Plasma bolts and laser beams soon joined in the barrage peppering the assaulting soldiers.

It lasted only a few seconds though. Reaper was beginning their assault on the Catwalk. The fire from the Brotherhood soldiers was split between Fury and Reaper. While it didn't completely stop, it did provide some respite.

Wrath reached the remains of the paved road that was the causeway. Barricades and fighting positions had been built along the roadway, but were mostly unoccupied. Only a few guards occupied them, and were now firing their weapons at Wrath and his men.

Wrath turned slowly to face the soldiers. He could see they were armored much like the Rivet City security personnel had been, and wielding similar weapons. Small caliber bullets were pinging off his briastplate, but he paid them no mind. From the front, he was almost an unstoppable tank, ready to charge into the mass of fortifications ahead.

Once the rest of Fury and Falcon Squads had assembled behind him, he began his slow advance. He leveled his Slayer and began taking aimed shots with each step forward.

Heads exploded in a gory mess. Defenses were torn apart as Marks began arcing the Shredder back and forth along the open roadway. Williams managed to destroy what few remained with his MAC. It was an artful display of superior firepower.

All of fury ceased fire once the first soldiers from Slasher Platoon emerged from the river. The Brotherhood soldiers were caught in a complete crossfire between the two Enclave platoons, with no hope of escape. It was a flawed plan being executed perfectly.

One of the Slashed platoon soldiers fell forward. Shortly after his power plant detonated, causing massive confusion in the ranks. Laser and Plasma fire began coming from behind Slasher, across the river.

Wrath turned to face the new arrivals in the battle. Almost a hundred Knights lined the banks of the Potomac river, firing on Slasher Platoon. Fury and Falcon were relatively protected from their line of sight by rubble. Wrath lined up his element along the eastern bank and began firing at the Knights.

More and more beacons were appearing on his visor, but he had to deal with the threat before he could worry about the casualties. He lined up his sights on one of the Knights and let lose a few rounds.

He saw the Knight get blasted backwards by his well aimed shot, struck directly on the briastplate. His position exposed, he began drawing some of the fire away from Slasher. The rest of his element opened fire as well, chewing apart the Brotherhood Knights on the opposite shore.

Suddenly he and his Squad were pelted with shrapnel from over head. Shortly after the concussion wave hit them and Wrath was knocked forward onto the ground. Impact and armor breach warnings flared up on his visor. He knew he had been hit with an airburst mortar round.

"[Command, this is Fury! Check Fire!]"

[Fury, this is Command, guns are cold. Send mission if you want us to fire.]

The realization that the Brotherhood had indirect fire capabilities was disheartening. Unless Wrath could find the source of the attack they would continue to be hammered by enemy fire.

He pushed up to see over the rubble he had been thrown behind. No tubes stuck out from the mass of Knights on the other shore. Where ever they were firing from, it wasn't there. That left the Pentagon.

"[Command, this is Fury! Fire on Target Alpha One One Zero! Airburst Counter Battery! Fire when ready!]"

Another round exploded in the space above him. This time he felt the red hot shrapnel penetrating his legs and arms. His power pack was hit as well, but not breached. The warning icons flared across his visor once more.

He rolled onto his back to protect his vital systems. This was a mortar battle now. Hopefully he was right in his guess on their location, otherwise it would tip the balance back in favor of the Brotherhood. All he could do was wait until the rounds stopping coming in.

He looked over at his squad. Everyone had a injury beacon on them. Doc Brown was already crawling from soldier to soldier administering pain medications and checking Nanite reserves. When he got to Wrath he stopped to give a quick report.

"Roberts is hit pretty bad, but he'll make it. LT got busted up pretty hard as well. His power pack shut down, but didn't detonate. I had to give him the nanites manually. Mitchel is working through Falcon now. Everyone got at least a small dose of Steel Rain."

Wrath clapped the Medic on the shoulder. Shortly after, he heard the tell tale sound of a friendly mortar firing to the east. Another second later an enemy round exploded over his prone body, peppering all of them with more shrapnel.

Indirect Battles were the bane of the Infantry. The only thing you would do was take it any let your own assets deal with the threat. One thing every soldier hates in any fight is being useless.

Wrath switched to the remote viewing of the drone overhead. He could see the devastation of his squad and Slasher Platoon all around him clearly. Reaper Squad had finally cleared the Catwalk and was joining the fight against the other bank of the Potomac. Thunder as well.

Slowly, the Brotherhood Knights were peeling off and running back towards the north. They knew they couldn't win this battle, but were doing everything they could to slow the Enclave's advance. As the last of the Knights left the bank, Delaware entered the memorial. Slayer Platoon's fight was now at an end.

I'm loving it!

Keep it up! (and I wish you a safe journey back to the States )

Six casualties, that's all they had taken. Audie was almost certain they would live, but it was still disturbing to him that they had taken any. He had counted on a frontal assault of the memorial from the north and west, but not one from the east. How the Enclave managed to swim the irradiated river was a mystery to him.

It proved in their favor though. He counted at least a dozen soldiers that were felled by their fire as they emerged from the brackish waters. He now knew their weakness, their power plants on the back of their armor. When struck they detonated in a nuclear burst, one that disoriented those around them. All it took was a well aimed shot.

The group on the causeway was a bit of a surprise though. They had been shielded from view by rubble and debris. They were the cause of most of the casualties the Brotherhood received. Hopefully the surprise mortar attack he had planned the night before finished them off.

The counter battery had been expected, which is why he had the gunners displace after three rounds. Their tubes were slightly damaged, but the scribes were already working on repairing them in the laboratory. Hopefully they would be ready to fire within a few hours.

Audie planned on harassing the Enclave even more now, especially since they had revealed the presence of their mortars. Since it was no longer a surprise to use them, Audie would have them fire every chance he could. Hopefully the Enclave Crews weren't on guard like his men were, but he doubted it. He would have to have them displace at night to locations around the Citadel.

Regardless, today might have been a loss, but it was not as bitter as it could have been. The Enclave now had to be wary of the Brotherhood and their toys. Hopefully that would at least slow them from taking the Citadel.

PLEASE do continue writing! Everytime you write a chapter I praise life for how awesome this story is, everyday I check this story and see that it hasn't been updated yet I scold the Human body's limits. GREAT job! and im not being generous using that word, this story deserves even better! I apolagize for my obsession, and I know how long this takes you (don't rush, the story will lose some awesomeness!), but I think EVERYONE would absolutely ADORE you for another, say, one or two chapters! KEEP UP THE AWESOMENESS!

FROM--
Teh ENCLAVE RuLEZ!

P.S.- I made an account just to vote and post on this topic!
I've already been reading this before my account was made!

Awesome, thanks! It's been a little rough writting back home, I've got three dogs vying for my attention, plus work and getting ready to move. Hopefully I'll get back on track during my vaction next month. Things hve been much busier here than I expected.

I hope this hasn't died yet.

Not yet, but work is starting to get in the way. Plus I'm getting ready to head off to recruiting school. On top of all that, I have a mall case of writters block. I've been staring at my computer for days trying to move the story forward. But its far from dead.

Good to hear that!

I am too familiar with writer's block, so I know your pain.

I'll wait patiently for the next update.

If your having trouble writing or contemplating what should happen next i got some ideas that might help you!
-Enclave wins in time for the brotherhood to surrender
-Enclave takes over citadel
-since broken steel events have occurred, prime could be rebuilt, if it is not too far off or unlikely.
-something unexpected happens like, enclave of D.C. re-appear and join the fight, 3-way battle.
-Wrath could be faced with the choice to help the brotherhood and the people if his views are changed or continue to help his enclave troops
-BoS realizes what the Enclave from California or wherever is trying to do and stops fighting,
BoS helps Southwest Enclave acheive their goals.

Ok, if you're gonna use any please do, if not, I could care less. I know what writers block is and its terrible. Just thought I might be able to temporarily cure it!

Thanks for the suggestions, but the main story isn't whats causeing the block, it getting to the next milsestone. Pretty much I'm stuck on the next section of the story, which is Wrath recovering from his injuries. Keeping the story going is hard work, especially when you can see the other side of the crevace, but not being able to find the bridge.

Hmm, I know that feeling. I have it too often when I am writing short stories.

The cheapest way to get over it is a timelapse, for instance: Wrath: ''It took me days to recover from my injuries. Although we held the purifier, the fate has become a stalemate and turned into a bloody trench war. But today, it's going to end. Command has a plan, and it isn't going to fail'' after that, you just skip to the plan being put in motion and continue the story.

Deus ex machina usually works pretty well.

and skipping the intended part altogether and switch to another part of the story (wich happens in another unit) allowing Wrath to recover in the time the other story plays.

These are some possibilities, but the thing you HAVE to keep in mind is: What do I want to tell.

Usually, before writing a story I get the storyline straightened out. Protagonist does this, wich leads to that, which results in... etc. I myself found it to be easier to link chapters if I have the main line already in front of me (although it doesn't eliminate rewriting or erasing entire chapters.)

I hope this helps, because, although a bit egocentric, I find this story the most interesting if not the best I've read here so far. So i'm dying for an update.

To everyone waiting for this to continue, I appologise for the long delay. This week end I will be posting new chapters! So stay tuned and keep the faith! I will finish this story!

i will keep this up with a mighty bump!!

keep this up with a mighty bump

It was official; Apache Company was out of action. Delaware Company had taken over the lead in the offensive, since there was only one effective platoon left in Apache. The survivors of Slayer and Slasher platoon were going to be held in reserve, regulated to menial tasks.

The Offensive in Washington was not going well. Blackhawk was moving from the Washington Memorial to support Delaware in the final attack. Cherokee had left the Radio Station and was moving westward to cross the Potomac River further up north. They would join Delaware in the assault on the Pentagon.

Wrath was laying in the Jefferson Memorial, in a room the medics had converted into a field hospital. The rest of his squad was in the room as well, along with Falcon. Roberts and the Lieutenant had to be evacuated back to Liberty Bunker, along with most of Slasher. At this rate, the Brotherhood would wither the offensive before they even crossed the River.

It was fortunate the Brotherhood did not know the true extent of the Enclave's Armor. The mortar rounds that had been shot at them could have been more devastating if they had burst closer to ground, rather than overhead.

Even though the shrapnel managed to pierce the weak points in their Armor, it didn't penetrate anything but the joints and power packs. Everything else was easily deflected.

Even still, Fury had taken a few injuries. Six small pieces of jagged metal had been removed from the back of Wrath's knees and elbow. Doc Brown was similar, but only his four times. Marks and Klein had slight concussions as well as a few shrapnel wounds, and Williams only received a few bruises. It could have been worse by far.

Falcon luckily had been spared the brunt of the mortar barrage. Fury and the Command Group had been their primary target. The Brotherhood's Indirect Fire had been much more accurate than anyone could have guessed. Three rounds, all within a few meters of each other, and airburst too.

Wrath felt the battle slowly changing to the Brotherhood's favor. They had primitive Gauss weapons and improved Plasma rifles. And now accurate mortars. Any more surprises and the offensive would grind to a halt without more support from Liberty Bunker. If the momentum was not taken back, the 36th's first combat deployment would end in failure.

Sorry to keep everyone that is reading this waiting on more. Currently I am clearing out of Fort Drum and getting ready to go to Recruiting School. This give me little time to write, since most of my time is being occupied by packing my house and cleaning my equipment. In November I will be at my new station with nothing but a few recruits a week to keep me from finishing this story. I imagine with the release of Fallout: New Vegas I will be occupied for a bit playing through that and adding elements to my own, but we'll have to see on that. This work was originally intended as Fallout 3, but I managed to adapt it for a Fallout 4. New Vegas is supposed to be in a separate storyline, so it might not effect this at all.

Very excellent writing and story. I am looking forward to reading more.

Maharg67 (used to be Dragonpen61)

The Last Stand

Audie estimated the bridges across the Potomac would take three days for the Enclave to complete. He had launched harassing attacks against the engineers, but they would only be slowed so much.

As such, the Engineers appeared to have heavier armor than the regular Enclave Soldiers. Whereas the normal trooper had a sleek, ceramic-plastic composite armor, the engineers wore what looked to be scavenged tank armor. It was blocky, very bulky and could withstand even gauss rounds without even slowing the occupant. Needless to say, even mortars had little effect at slowing them down.

So that left only one option, a last ditch defense of the Citadel. The walkway was being heavily mined, escape tunnels were almost complete and skirmish squads had been dispersed throughout the area. The end was inevitable, but Audie Magrath intended to make the Enclave pay dearly for every inch of the Citadel.

The sun was barely setting on the horizon as Wrath looked upon the last bastion of defense in the Capital Wasteland. He stood in the ruins of the Jefferson Memorial, converted to the purifier to bring fresh water to the survivors of the lands surrounding it.

With his enhanced eyes he could see the Brotherhood Knights assembling fortifications in and around the former Pentagon. Every now and then a small group would break away from the construction and fire a few harassing shots at the Enclave Engineers with little effect. The Front Line Engineer Power Armor, or FLEPA, was build substantially heavier than Advanced Power Armor. It made the Engineers shower but much tougher.

A Falcon Squad was assigned as a security detail for the Engineers as well. Once the pontoon bridge was complete, they would have the honor of being the first Soldiers on the enemy’s last territory. Fury would follow on as a support by fire element, followed by the remainder of Apache Company. They would take position to the south of the Pentagon and pin down what defenders they could.

Blackhawk however, had to cross the bridge and move north to the main gates. They would be running parallel to the western face of the Pentagon and be the most exposed. If they reached the gates before Cherokee and Delaware, they would be the breaching element. If not, it was left to the two companies coming from the north to take down the massive door. If three plus companies failed to take the last fortress of the Brotherhood, they deserved to keep it.

The Pentagon has a bustle of activity. Sergeant Owens observed no less than six fortifications being built, and at least as many patrols that left into the surrounding rubble. From there he lost eyes on the small units, no doubt setting up counter attack positions. He relayed the ones he knew about, but doubted he could see them all. The Brotherhood knew they were being watched, and tried their best to avoid detection.

Even with all the advanced technology in the world, Owens was hard pressed at his mission. Since the seizure of the Jefferson Memorial, the Brotherhood had taken extra steps in their security measures. No one ventured on the rooftops or outside without full kit and weapons load out. They also traveled in packs of no less than six.

Granted, they were no match for an Enclave Patrol of the same size, but enough men grouped together and fighting as one cohesive unit could take down anything that stood in their path. Owens only hoped that if it came to that, he would have the shot.

Valerie knew she was out of her element. For the eight years of her service she had trained in reconnaissance and surveillance, out alone away from the battles. Here in the Citadel, she was required to be a fighter first, well out of her element. Granted, she was trained just like every other Knight in the group in weapons and power armor use, but her specialty lay in stealth and observation.

The Brotherhood had recognized this and put her in the scouts. She rarely fired a weapon, and even then, only the laser rifles of the Chicago detachment. The weapons used by the Capital Wasteland Detachment were a different model entirely. There was so much she had to learn about their brethren here.

For one, the Outcasts were a new concept. All along the mid-west and west coast, the Brotherhood was a unified military force. After the unification and subsequent war with the New California Republic, the Brotherhood of Steel was forced to remain together.

The NCR managed to take out a few solitary outposts, but not the main force. After nearly a decade of fighting, a truce was established maintaining the Brotherhood’s independence from the Republic, but loosing many holdings within California. Only a few outposts remained, but they had the certification and protection of the largest government to rise in the wastes. In return, the Brotherhood researched and sold new technologies to the Republic.

Now the Brotherhood was strong once more, only to be faced with this new Enclave from the east. Valerie doubted they would manage to wipe out the Brotherhood completely, but her main concern was her own survival at this point. The jaws of the great beast were closing in all around her and her new found friends.

She walked the corridors of the Citadel, oblivious to all around her. Scribes and Knights were moving about, building barricades throughout the halls and placing traps at key points. Valerie should have been helping those members, but Audie had a different task for her.

When she arrived in the laboratory, he was already talking to Elder Lyons and Star Paladin Richter. Quietly she walked upon the trio as they discussed strategy for the last stand of the Citadel.

“I’ve dispersed every available Knight we could spare to key points outside the Citadel.” Audie stood with his arms crossed as he addressed their leader. “I cannot spare any more warriors from here. Initiates are outside gathering what forces we can from our outposts and long range patrols, as well as sending a call to our allied cities.”

“And what of Talon Squad then? Half of my fighting force already sped off to the East. I only have Paladin Brux, Shawn and Knight Valerie left back.”

Audie shook his head. “Too risky. The outcasts have no love of us, and would make short work of any of them. I need Valerie to scout the other side of the river, Brux to man the courtyard guns and Shawn hasn’t finished with his surprise for our soon to be guests. That leaves only you.

“While your idea does have merit, I’m not sure if we should send you out alone to speak with them.”

She now knew what her special task was. While part of her was relieved that she would be out of the main fighting, at least initially, the other part of her dreaded being witness to another massacre.

Richter seemed un-phased though. “Then it’s a risk I’m willing to take. We need all the help we can get at this point. Since their argument is with you, Elder, no disrespect intended, then I should have no problem with them.”

Elder Lyons only nodded. That was Richter’s cue to leave, which he did. Audie motioned her to come into their huddle, which she did.

“I’m not sure how much you heard, but we need to know what we’re up against. I need you to scout the other side of the Potomac River and get a decent count of their forces.” He pointed towards the armory tucked into one of the walls. “The Armorer should be able to provide you with a Chinese Stealth Suit I recovered from an Outcast Outpost, as well as a few other tools and weapons. Are you up to it?”

She nodded. If Valerie was to remain within the walls for the final battle, she might end up becoming more of a liability due to her training. This way, when it did happen, she could harass the enemy’s exposed flanks and hopefully by some time for the defenders. A Stealth Suit would definitely assist in this.

“Good. Get kitted up and leave as soon as you’re ready. The sooner we know what we’re up against, the better we can prepare our defenses.”