Smiling at Sara I bowed, "Ladies first m'aam," giving a small chuckle I stood up and quickly followed with, "seriously, you go first." Sara just gave a small smile and went out first, followed by Ross, Gregory and then myself. As we came to the gap in the walkway I slammed my fist through a wall, brought it around in a rectangular shape and shoved out a piece of the wall. Placing it across the gap I quietly said, "It's either you walk across it or I have to throw you."

They all quickly went across the gap, moving towards the stairs, I stayed behind though and surveyed the area; realising what area it was. This was the place where General Winter's office was, a Floor up, scowling lightly I realised he probably stayed in his office as well. He was a sacrafice we would have to live with I guessed. Shrugging my shoulders I jumped across the gap and caught up to the group, rushing up the stairs we ended up on the top of the CP.

The Vertibird was ready to go and sitting in front of us, rolling my shoulders I looked at all the others, "Okay, so who's going where? The Underground is connected to Alpha Base which is about a Mile or two South-East of here. Maybe we could do something with that, I don't know, what do you think Sara?" I said, directing the conversation onto her. I hoped she had a good plan because we needed her mind right now.

Demetri looked around confused, why was a ceasefire called? The Paladins and knights oppisite also seemed to have the confusion about them. Demetri stood up and listened as the orders came in, soon followed by "Lieutenant Green. Bring your squad to the command center and rendezvous with the vertibird on the roof," through his headset, Demetri replied with a quick yes ma'am. Maybe he could some answers.

Demetri watched brotherhood and enclave gather around the underground, attempting to breach the defenses. "Alright squad, form up," Demetri said into his suits radio. Within a few moments what remained of the sqaud had regrouped, "Who have we lost?" Demetri asked. A member of the squad stepped forward, "Waters and Clarke are KIA, and Williams is wounded and being treated," the soldier said. Demetri nodded, that just left the four of them, "Well to the command post, seems there is something else in mind for us."

Demetri walked across the yard towards the command post, dead littered the area and during this time, both the brotherhood and the enclave were collecting the bodies. Going through the out post Demetri saw that Viktoriya Ivanov laying in a pool of her own blood, Demetri pushed forward and made his way to the roof, "Ma'am, here as requested."

Sara smiled at the Colonel and nodded her head. She was still smiling and was starting to realize that maybe she was a better strategist than she first thought. Somehow, what she had planned just seemed logical. That was still the one thing that she didn't understand about Viki's plan. It really made no sense. Logic should have dictated that she wait until the Brotherhood were destroyed before trying to wipe out the Enclave. Instead, she decided to attack them during the confrontation with the BOS. It was a completely irrational and illogical plan. Sara would not make the same mistake. She was confident that her plan would work, it was what would happen after that was beginning to concern her. After the resistance was finished, there would still be the Brotherhood to deal with.

"Colonel I want you to pick up the bomb and take Henry and Demetri, along with their squad, to Outpost Alpha." Sara turned her attention to Ross for a moment. "Ross I need you to give me some soldiers and have them report to the hangar." Sara paused for a moment and turned back to Paul,

"Once you are there exterminate anything that moves. Unfortunately we don't know how many have been compromised. When you can, enter the tunnel at that end . Once you are far enough in, detonate the bomb and seal the tunnel. I will take Gregory and Ross and a contingent of soldiers in at this end." Sara was beaming and it looked like she was going to burst with anticipation.

"We will trap the resistance in the middle and end this. It would also be nice if there were prisoners to interrogate afterwards. They may be useful for finding out information. We still don't know everything the resistance was doing." That was the real reason Sara was beaming. It was the thought of having toys to play with. Sara brought her hand to her ear and activated the COM link.

"This is Captain Sara Carter. Al pilots are ordered to their vertibirds immediately for pick up of passengers. Instructions will be given en route to destination." Sara turned back to Paul and saluted him.

"Good luck Sir." After she turned back to Gregory and Ross.

"Let's go!"

Looking at Sara I let a small smile creep onto my face, "Here you are, a simple Captain giving orders! Well... To tell you the truth, since I am the highest ranking official left in the Enclave I guess I have this power. Sara, I hereby promote you to General of the Enclave, you have the ability; now don't die on us." Saluting her I let a grin form on my face under the helmet, "As you wish General, godspeed." Turning to look at Demetri I grinned, "No, I haven't forgotten about you either, for your valour and hard work your hereby promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel; congratulations."

Nodding at both Sara and Demetri I turned to Ross, "By the end of this, I hope I don't end up having to kill you, I truly don't. Good luck Ross, take care of the General." Turning around I put my hand on Demetri's shoulder and nodded at him, walking past him I almost heard him blink than follow me. Walking down the steps with no conversation we got to the ground level, looking around I ended up finding Henry near the bomb, maybe he was pushing it not long ago; I couldn't tell.

Moving towards him I tapped him on the shoulder, he turned and looked at me, "Henry, change of plans, head over to the Vertibird Hangar with Demetri's squad here. We're taking a few Brotherhood soldiers with us as well as a few Enclave Squads. We're heading to Alpha Base, so get prepped for a fly down, all will be explained in flight. You guys head over there now, I'll bring up the bomb," saluting him I quickly added, "Oh by the way, I'm hereby promoting you to Captain for your cool head in the middle of the battle; congratulations."

Watching him sternly I saw him salute and then make his way over to Demetri, after a few seconds they started towards the Hangar. Rolling my shoulders I took a hold of the bomb and started lugging it over to the Hangar, taking a bit of time to let the two talk.

Henry was suddenly greeted by a massive wave of promotions as suddenly half of the Enclave high command got wiped out. Being a captain wasn't a bad thing for him considering he had only been a private less than three weeks ago, however, he wondered who died for him to replace their position. "Alright squad lets move!" He helped push the bomb along until he reached the vertibird hangars which was now filled with troops that would be following them to alpha outpost. He saw Demetri there as well with what remained of his squad. He still had a full strength squad so he gave Demetri two of his men. Of course now that he was a lieutenant Colonel he would be leading the battles from a much higher position.

He hopped into the vertibird amongst bustle of the hangar and struggled to get the bomb in for a moment before getting a hand from some of men. He gave a quick briefing to his men on what they were going to do. Of course he didn't know the full plan himself but that would come later. He stared at the bomb and hoped that it was stable, their entire plan might fail if it went off prematurely. He checked his gear and after going through a quick inspection he found everyone to be fit for battle. Alpha outpost was almost certainly compromised by Enclave resistance so a warm welcome wasn't expected. "Alright everyone, the LZ is going to hot, Jackson, you cover us on the minigun. Fire team Alpha will follow me, Bravo, you guys find the nearest piece of cover and lay down suppressing fire and cover the blind spots on the minigun's field of fire."

Alpha outpost was coming into view soon and he sat and watched it. To pass the time he asked the colonel "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, who exactly was it that turned you into this? Was it the resistance, or by General Winter?" At the same time he was also wondering where the president was, The entire Enclave was in an uproar , all the outposts in the wastes must feel so isolated when no one is providing them with tactical support from the command center. With luck, they would be able to break through and end the confrontation quickly.

Sara's eyes lit up at the news that she was beign promoted. Paul had just given her total control of the Enclave. Now she just had to make sure that there was something left to control when this was over. She saluted Paul and led Gregory and Ross down into the command center. They needed to get to the underground, but Sara had a stop to make first. Moving through the corridors, the three arrived at Viki's former office. They entered and Sara immediately made her way to the terminal on the desk.

Turning it on, Sara searched through the files for any information as to what lay waiting on the lower levles of the underground. Sara began to feel frustration set in when she couldn't find anything. She was about to give up when she saw something that really didn't belong. It was a remote link, but to what. Sara clicked on it and was immediately prompted for a password. As she was about to attempt a hack, Sara was interrupted by pvssyr on the COM link.

"This is Lieutenant Hendricks, Hellfire Squad, Gamma. The resistance have fallen back to the lower levels. They have locked the elevator on the lower level. How should we proceed?" Sara listened to the words and continued to hack.

"Lieutenant, this is General Carter," Sara smiled, she really liked how that sounded. "Hold your position at the top of the shaft and wait for my arrival. Under no circumstances?" Sara trialed off. She had managed to hack the remote link and her jaw dropped at what she had found. It was bad. Really bad. "Lieutenant Hendricks, standby."

It appeared that the resistance had a final solution of their own. In front of Sara on the screen, were the schematics for something called a MAD tank. It was on the lower level, and was well armed. The picture resembled a Chimera Tank and Sara's eyes widened when she read the armaments. It wasn't the lasers on the tank that concerned her. It was what would happened if the tank was damaged in anyway by weapons fire. If any kind of projectile hit it's armoured plating, it would explode with enough force to level a large portion of the wasteland. It appeared that a direct assault wouldn't work. Sara needed a new plan.

Sara switched to the camera view for the underground. Just outside the elevator was a small contingent of men, waiting for someone to come down the shaft. Sara began to cycle through the different views until she found the tank. It was situated in a very long, very wide hallway and appeared to be waiting. She also made note of the gauntlet of troops that were blocking the way. Sara looked over to Gregory.

"Gregory, I need you to go to the armoury and bring ten pulse mines, three plasma grenades and some climbing gear to the elevator in the underground facility." Sara looked up at Ross and smiled. He would probably know what she was thinking and that would make things easier.

"Lieutenant Hendricks; hold your position. The hallway at the bottom of the shaft is heavily fortified. Under no circumstances are you to send anyone down." Sara turned to Ross and raised her eyebrows. "I hope this works." The look on her face was a little unsure, but Sara figured that this was the best plan that they had. She activated the COM link one more time and spoke.

"Colonel Pavlic. Once you and your men have reached your objective, hold position at the entrance and await my orders. It appears that the resistance is better prepared than I first thought." Sara got up from the desk and, walking out the door, made her way to the underground facility

Looking over at Henry I scratched the area underneath my chin on my helmet, "Well, Henry, it was mainly just the Resistance from my knowledge, General Winter was nothing but a pawn in their game. This has become much worse than I first feared, first with all the things that went wrong with stopping the Brotherhood, then getting attacked days earlier than we estimated! Someone else had a hand in this I say, something is seriously wrong with all this."

Suddenly a message came in from Sara, it was stating us to wait for her orders to delve into the tunnel and attack them. That meant that something new had come up in Sara's search for whatever it is she was searching for, suddenly my thoughts all melded together in a puzzle-like fashion. General Winter. I should've guessed. Scowling I rolled my shoulders and looked at each of the men in the vertibird with me, as I felt us start to descend I heard gunfire issue around us.

We were one of the Vertibirds to land close to last, as we had some high ranking Enclave and Brotherhood officials on board. As soon as we landed I pressed the button that would open the Vertibird supply drop area, it was the only way I could get out of the bloody thing. Jumping out I looked around, firefights had broken out between small groups of Resistance Soldiers. Laughing in a menacing way I got out my blade and ran at one of the groups, realising that the best way to kill time was simple:

Do some good ol' fashioned killing!

As Gregory headed off in the direction of the armoury, Sara and Ross headed directly to the underground entrance. Some soldiers were still in the courtyard, tending to the wounded and stripping the dead of their possessions. As Sara walked by them, they would stop what they were doing and salute her. She paid no mind to them and quickly entered the underground.

Sara and Ross made their way down the corridors until they came to the elevator shaft. There were about twenty soldiers in the area, as well as several more that they had passed along the way. Sara approached the soldiers and looked them over. It was a strange sight as some of the soldiers belonged to the Brotherhood. As she approached, the Enclave soldiers saluted her.

"At ease men," Sara smiled. "Where is Lieutenant Hendricks?" Sara was looking over the men as one stepped forward, raising his hand.

"Lieutenant, I need you to gather as many men as you can find. I have seen camera feeds of the lower level and we are going to encounter heavy resistance. There are about fifteen soldiers in the hallway outside the elevator. As such they will be our first priority. I will be going myself. Once I have neutralized the soldiers, I will send the elevator up and you and your men will be able to come down. I will give further orders at that point." Sara glanced around the men, when she saw one that had a computer on his arm. From his marking, Sara identified him as a Corporal.

"Corporal, I need to use your computer." The corporal obliged and quickly handed her the computer. Sara began to create a remote link to the mainframe in the underground. Once she was in, she brought up the camera feed of the hallway.

"Men, gather round." Sara held up the computer trying to give them a clear view of the screen. "As you can see, they are well fortified and waiting for us. As such, I am going to repel down the elevator shaft, make my way through the vents, and take them from behind using plasma grenades. Once they are clear we can begin our assault." Sara started to remove her coat when one of the Brotherhood soldiers piped in.

"Unless you can fly, I really don't see how you are going to get down there. It's a two-" Sara cut him off.

"Yes soldier I know how far it is. I have someone en route with climbing gear." Sara started to remove her coat and waited for Gregory to arrive. She hoped it would be soon.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Greg responded and ran off towards the armory. He passed by bodies of every faction. A certain one caught his eye, one he hated. He walked over to the barely alive body of one of the guards who had tortured him before. Greg knelt down, “It doesn’t feel good to be the one in pain, doesn’t it?” What he did next didn’t even make Greg flinch, not even thing about it. He brought the scorching end of the Plasma rifle inches away from the guard. He whispered, “It’s my turn now.” He placed his finger on the trigger and fired. “It doesn’t feel good, does it!?”

“Nine, and ten” Greg counted what he had gotten. He clipped all of it onto his Power armor and jogged towards the elevator. The guard’s face ran through his head. That wasn’t right, but it felt good to do so. Greg raced down the corridors and finally reached the elevator shaft. A group was surrounding Sara and looking at a terminal screen. He walked over the edge and placed the gear down. Two sets of climbing gear to be exact.

He looked back to Sara who donned a confused look on her face. “You honestly didn’t think I would let you go down there yourself, did you?” Greg removed the mines and grenades and placed them on the floor. “But before this all happens, I need to talk to you.” Greg sighed, trying to find the words. “I want to know the truth, what specifically did you do to me, and who was the person you violently executed. I want to know what is going on."

"Which one of you is an engineer?" Sara was looking at the soldiers and one of the ones from the Brotherhood stepped forward. She removed the pulse mines from Gregory's armour and handed them to the soldier.

"I need you to wire these together." The soldier nodded his head and Sara turned back to Gregory. "Come with me." Sara took him by the hand and led him down the hall out of earshot of the others. Once she was sure they were alone, she stood on her tip toes and removed his helmet. She was smiling at him and the caring look was in her eyes. She leaned in close and wrapped her arms around him.

"The woman who was executed was once my friend. She turned on all of us and was the person who was primarily responsible for infecting us with the disease. She was a traitor and I gave her a chance to side with us." A single tear rolled down Sara's cheek. This one, however was real. Although she had no regrets about the violent mutilation Viki had suffered, there was still a part of her which missed her friend.

"As for what I did to you. I gave you the ability to walk again. Your legs were terribly damaged, and if not for the cybernetics I used, you would have to spend the rest of your days in a wheelchair." Sara held him tight and continued to smile. She had to admit that she felt safe in his arms and she wanted to become much more intimate with him, in her own way. Sara's expression now changed to one of remorse and she stepped back from Henry.

"I am sorry for the chip I had to implant in you. As I told you before, it wasn't my idea. But you needn't worry. It will only kill you if you try to leave the base." Sara's expression changed again to one of hope.

"Since I now find myself with a new rank, I promise you that when this is over, I will remove the chip and I will be with you if that is still what you want. As for accompanying me down the shaft, I'm afraid that will be impossible. I wish it wasn't me that had to go, but I fear I am the only one small enough to fit in the vents. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Sara looked at him almost seductively. She hoped what he had seen before didn't strain his loyalty to her. But perhaps there was something she could do to improve the situation.

"You have proven that you are loyal, and I can't deny the feelings I have for you. As such, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant with all the rights and priveleges of that rank. Now if there is nothing else, we have a job to do." Sara assumed he may have more questions for her and waited to see what he would say.

Blood was spraying everywhere with limbs going around in all directions, the members of the Resistance didn't stand a chance against all of us. So far we hadn't lost a single man and all seemed to be going well, checking over the men that were following my slaughter-run I noticed one was injured. He seemed to be bleeding out quite quickly and the medic couldn't seem to be doing much for him. Walking back I leant over him, his eyes were falling back into his head and sweat was dripping down over his forehead.

A scowl rose over my face as I watched this man fall further and further into the cold embrace of death, he didn't deserve it. Putting my hand on his shoulder I quietly said, "What's your name soldier?"
His breath came shorter after he said, "Knight Yarmere... Sir..." His voice was half-fading in and out.
"Don't worry soldier, even with the Brotherhood your a good man, I can hear it in your voice; just keep holding on for us alright?"
"Okay... Sir... I'll try, thank you..." His voice started to go raspy and the medic took off the man's helmet.

His face looked extremely young, he couldn't be older than seventeen years old, shaking my head I looked at him carefully. He didn't have much time left, I could see it in his eyes, looking up at me for a bit longer he quietly said, "If I die Sir, can you tell my friends I died as a fighter?" his voice continued to fade out more and more.
"Of course Soldier, I'll make them tell the story of Kinght Yarmere, the man who fought hard and strong next to me."

With that, the Soldier smiled and faded off into the deep realms of sleep, the Medic panicked and checked for a pulse; there was none. Shaking his head he put the man's helmet back on and stood up, "He was a good man," I said quietly, "every man that's died today on our sides was a good man. We shall not forget them, even if they are unknown soldiers they will be remembered." Shrugging my shoulders back I looked around and sighed lightly, thinking quietly to myself.

"Where's our engineers with that bomb? We need to be ready to go as soon as General Carter bells in!"

"Thank you, Sara." Greg looked into her eyes; he knew what she was feeling. Plenty of his old friends had died today, the ones he remembered. In pained him to think about it, he had even killed people he had known. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Keep yourself safe down there, and don't do anything stupid." He began walking back towards the elevator, "And Sara, I'll be waiting for you when you get back."

He entered the room and noticed the soldiers chatting and getting ready. "Alright everyone, calm down and listen to Carter." Greg walked back outside and looked around till he found what he was looking for. A wounded Resistance member was trying to crawl away, injured badly. He grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back to the shaft, the Resistance member's back to it.

"Now, tell me about what is going on down there." He pointed at the elevator shaft. The soldier simply shook his head, telling nothing. Greg turned around, motioning for an Enclave soldier to come over to Greg. "Break his right leg," Greg said firmly. The Resistance member let out a muffled scream as he fell to the ground in pain. "We'll start with something simple then, what is your name?" The Resistance member looked up, "My name is Jonathan Anthony."

Gregory tensed, "That's [censored] impossible!" He brought his boot to "Jonathan's" neck. He had attracted the group of soldiers and where now standing around him. He grabbed Jonathan and pushed him out the door, struggling to walk. He passed Sara in the hall, "I've got to talk to this one, personal matter." Greg opened a door and shoved Jonathon in, locking the door behind him.

Alpha outpost was weak and easily taken. Henry was busy looking for the engineers who were supposed to have landed five minutes ago. He heard the colonel yell for engineers, he was standing over a dead Brotherhood knight. Henry knew he shouldn't be thinking it but there was a small part of him that was glad for every brotherhood soldier who died. After the ceasefire they would be back to war again and every dead knight was one less he had to fight later. He continued pushing the bomb cart by himself until he came upon the engineers huddled by a wrecked vertibird.

"Get over to the bomb we need you boys by the colonel!" He rushed them over to were the bomb was by the colonel and asked "Alright sir, what's next?" Everything was fine so far until a laser hit him in the chest and reflected off. The beam then came around and hit one of the engineers in the head and killed him. "Damn!" He fell backwards and saw that he only had four engineers left. Hopefully they wouldn't be hindered by the lack of experienced engineers. He looked around and realized that in their hurry, the engineers had lost their heavy construction drone when their vertibird was hit. "I guess we're going to have to do the heavy lifting ourselves!"

Sara smiled at Gregory. She was happy that nothing had changed between them. She went back to the elevator shaft and removed her officer's shirt, which revealed a white undershirt. She took the harness and the rope which Gregory had brought and began to attach it to herself. She couldn't help notice that Gregory had disappeared form view, and walked down the hall to where he had got to. She could see him approaching and he had a badly wounded soldier with him that he pushed into one of the interrogation rooms, claiming he had personal business with him. Sara shrugged as Gregory locked the door behind him and Sara returned to the shaft. She removed her earpiece and handed it to Ross. Leaning into the shaft. She tossed the rope up and over a steel girder at the top of the shaft. Once she was secure, she stepped back form the edge and turned to the engineer, who had just finished wiring the mines together.

"If you don't mind, I would like to borrow your toolkit and night vision goggles." Sara smiled and the soldier handed Sara his shoulder bag. It wasn't a large kit and Sara was confident that it wouldn't obstruct her movement through the vents. Sara took the goggles and put them on. She turned to Ross and her face became serious.

"Give me twenty minutes. If I'm not back by then, send this file," Sara pointed to the folder on the computer screen, "to the Colonel's team. He'll know what to do." Sara now turned her attention to Lieutenant Hendricks, who was the highest ranking Enclave soldier on the scene, next to her.

"In my absence you will take your orders from Ross. Is that clear?" Sara's face was stern and her voice confident.

"Crystal ma'am." The soldier snapped to attention and saluted her. Sara walked to the edge of the shaft and looked down. It was a long way and Sara took a moment to double check the harness and rope. Once she was sure that all was well, she stepped off the edge.

Sara's stomach flew into her throat as she fell down the shaft. She could see the elevator at the bottom getting closer and put her hand over the button that would slow her descent. She was waiting for the perfect moment when she saw something out of the ordinary. There was a small flashing light on the elevator. The light drew closer and Sara could now see what it was. Immediately she hit the button on the harness and held it down. She needed to stop before she reached the top of the elevator. She could see it clearly now,. The elevator had been wired with a pressure plate and a mine. She needed to stop. Her descent slowed and, if she had not lifted her legs, she would have touched down right on the plate. Sara opened the tool kit and, removing a pair of wire cutters, shifted herself so that she was hanging upside down. She took a moment to examine the device. Fortunately it had been crudely constructed and Sara had no trouble finding the right wire to cut. The light on the mine went out and Sara shifted back to an upright position and gently put her feet down on the elevator.

Sara undid the harness, replaced the wire cutters in the toolkit and removed a screwdriver. As quietly as she could, she walked across the top of the elevator car to a vent cover. Using the screwdriver she removed it, gently placed it on the car, and pulled herself inside.

It was a tight fit, but there was enough room for Sara to manoeuvre. She slowly made her way through the ductwork listening to the muffled voices of the soldiers below her. It wasn't very far to go, but Sara had to move extra slow. The slightest noise would give a way her position. It took her about ten minutes to reach a vent which looked down into the hallway. Sara could hear the soldiers more clearly now, but ignored what they were saying as it just appeared to be speculation about how the united forces of the Enclave and Brotherhood would try to come down after them. Sara used the screwdriver and spent a good five minutes carefully and quietly removing three of the four screws which were securing the vent. She pushed the screwdriver in and slowly pried it up. Once it was open enough. Sara took out two of the plasma grenades which Gregory had retrieved for her. Pushing the buttons on the grenades. She dropped them through the vent.

"What the--!!" Was all one of the soldiers exclaimed as the grenades hit the floor and then promptly went off. She could hear them screaming and then there was silence. Sara pulled out the screwdriver again and removed the final screw and then dropped down into the hallway. She took off the goggles and replaced them in the bag. Surveying the scene, she saw that one of the soldiers was still alive. And although there was just a stump where his arm used to be. He was attempting to crawl to a panel on the wall which had an alarm button on it. Sara grabbed a plasma rifle form the dead soldier closest to her, quickly walked over and shot him in the head.

Dropping the rifle to the ground, she entered the elevator, turned the key and pressed the button to go up. She arrived at the top of the shaft and the elevator doors opened. She smiled at the soldiers who were waiting for her. She took a few moments to put her uniform and coat back on.

"Well Ross, that's one obstacle down." Sara smiled at the Lone Wanderer who handed her the COM link. She put it into her ear and activated it.

"Colonel. I am sending a file to your vertibird. Read it closely." Sara punched a few buttons on the computer and sent the Colonel the information on the MAD Tank, as well as it's location in the underground.

" Hold your position for now and have that bomb ready to go. We're going to need it soon." Sara turned to the soldiers that were assembled.

"All of you, move out. When you get to the bottom, hold your positions. I don't want anyone to go charging in. That's an order." Sara was still calm but was starting to worry slightly at the thought of what was to come. They had some opposition before they reached the tank. She only hoped that the mines she had would be enough to disable it. At least long enough for her to remove the power core.

Sara sent a file to my vertibird after Henry had finished talking, bringing it up on the HUD in my armor I read it quickly and quietly. Re-reading it twice I dropped the file and took a quick breath, letting it out slowly I tried to stay calm but it didn't seem like it'd last. A soldier looked at me cautiously and said, "Sir? What is it?" Clenching my fists slowly and then leaving them I took another breath and let it out slowly. Thinking of a way to say it I quietly spat out,

"Well, soldier, it turns out those Resistance bastards have a weapon in the tunnels that could take out about a third of the Wasteland. It doesn't look like their's many ways to stop it and I really hope the General knows what she's doing." Taking another breath I let it out, I was hoping to God that Sara knew what she WAS doing. Looking back over to Henry I thought about what he said and clicked my fingers together.

Walking over to the bomb I lifted it up off the ground and winked at him, even though he couldn't see it, "Okay, now the prime position to put this thing would be near the entrance but not right in it. So... Let's head over there now shall we?" Hefting the giant piece of metal and heavy tech I moved over towards the entrance, all the others followed me cautiously. Grunting with over-exertion I found a spot where it would probably make the entrance fill in quite nicely and keep us safe.

Putting the bomb down I stretched my back and looked at the others, "Okay, engineers? Now's your time to shine guys."

Sara watched as the soldiers entered the elevator and headed down. It was going to take a little time for all of them to get to the bottom. Sara estimated about five or six trips in total.

"Ross head down with the rest. I will join you in a bit." Sara smiled at him and made her way down the hallway. She turned the corner and came to the interrogation room that Gregory was in with the soldier. She wanted to know what was going on, and more importantly, Sara needed him with her. There was still a lot of fighting ahead and Sara needed every soldier she could get her hands on right now. Reaching into her coat pocket she removed her key ring. It had a lot of keys on it, but Sara new what every one of them was for. It took her a moment to find the key which would open the door to this particular room. Sara chuckled at the thought that perhaps it would be better if she had just one key to open all the interrogation rooms. It would, after all, make things easier.

Sara put the key in the lock of the door. Turning the handle, she opened the door and entered the room.

Demetri had been quiet on the vertibird journey to the location, he hated flying, he would much rather have his feet on solid ground. When it landed, Demetri was one of the first out into the fray. The battle was short, with minimal casualties on the attackers, the defenders were most likely not expecting an attack.

Demetri decided to observe as others rushed about to prepere for the priming of the bomb. Demetri was suprised at the stenght of the colonel, it looked like this virus that they had been infected with had it's advantages, but Demetri could not speak for the colonel, but any idea of himself being changed made Demetri cringe. "Hope there is something we can use in there to help us," Demetri muttered to himself. "Whats that sir?" a soldier asked, Demetri shook his head, "Nothing, don't worry," Demetri replied.

Henry was about to draw up some plans for how to move the bomb without the drone when the colonel simply lifted it up himself." Well, I suppose that's one problem solved," Despite the loss of one of the engineers they were still able to carry out their task smoothly and efficiently. He wasn't quite sure how exactly they were going to use the bomb to win but he had a feeling that it was probably going to be used to halt the escape of the resistance. Whoever had designed the MAD tank was simply mad, it had to be the most ridiculous yet frightening tactic he had ever heard of as well.

Taking out the tank meant killing yourself as well but not shooting at the tank meant that it would kill you. The tank was probably wired with some nukes in it, only a fool would crew the tank, once you go in, chances are that you're not coming back out. Henry walked over to Demetri and watched the engineers carry out the task of arming the bomb. He also took care not to remind the Brotherhood troops there that it was in their possession shortly before he had killed the guys arming it. It was surprising how well their troops worked together but he knew that it wouldn't last. But if it did, they would be the most powerful force in all of America.

He wondered why they didn't team up earlier on, they really both had similar goals. To bring humanity back from the brink of extinction while preserving our tech as well. Instead they had fought and the mutant threat grew and everything fell apart. "One, day I hope to see a green Washington D.C.," he said to anyone who would listen. Victory here would mean nothing in the short term, the only real way to guarantee peace was to find out how to create more GECKs. While Henry was contemplating the thoughts the engineers had almost finished arming the bomb so Henry stepped up and asked, "What do we do next sir?"

Looking over at the others I just shrugged and thought quietly about what to do, there was nothing we really could do. Keeping an eye on the engineers I realised that we couldn't really do anything until Sara gave the okay. Looking up at the sky I let my breath out slowly and looked down at the others, thinking for a few seconds I thought of something else. Bringing my hands up to my head I hooked it underneath the helmet, drawing it up slowly I pulled off the helmet that had been masking my face.

As it came off all I got were shocked looks from everyone who looked at me, I realised that my face now resembled death. From what I'd been shown in my reflection on a mirror my eyes were sunken into my skull and shining a bright red, my skin was a diseased yellow and my teeth were unusually sharp. As well as that, my nose was smashed up against my face, with weird scars criss-crossing the skin from a weird process that had happened while I was changing.

"Look what they done to my soul, ma, look what they done to my soul..." I sung softly to myself, looking back down I scowled lightly, "What are you guys looking at? Never seen a monster before? Keep up your guard... I'll put the helmet back on in a second, don't you worry..." Looking off into the distance I resisted the urge to sigh and thought about how long I really had to live in this World anymore.

"You're not Jonathon Anthony, tell the truth." Greg stared at the man stuck in the chair. "My name is Jonathon Anthony." The man responded again. Greg lashed out, "Jonathon Anthony died when he was five." The man looked up, "How would you know that?" "Because, I am Gregory Anthony."

The man laughed, "Hello Greg, or should I say Brendon? Your correct name?"

Greg sighed; he hadn't heard that name in a while. The name brought back memories, old ones. "So it is you Jon, why did you do it?"

Jon laughed, "Easy, I was presented an offer, and I took it. Unlike you Brendon, always walking away from what matters the most." Greg raised his rifle, "Shut up you bastard, you know I didn't have a choice." Jon laughed again, "You honestly think you have the sick heart to kill me? Do you?"

Greg walked closer with his Plasma Rifle, "I do, just because where family doesn't mean we have to like each other." Jon spoke up" You really do, don't you. Fine, kill me!" Greg was stunned, Jon was asking for Greg to kill him.

"I have a better idea." Greg charged his Plasma rifle, heating it up. "This is for when we were seven, the laser pistol you hid in my room, the one you pointed out to father. He raised the tip of the rifle to Jon's cheek burning a horrifying hole right through his cheek. Jon began screaming, and Greg grinned. "I have plenty to get back at you for."

But before he could, he heard a sound at the door, Sara walking in. " Hello Sara, I was just finishing something up with an old friend, if you don't mind."

Sara looked at the man in the chair and couldn't help notice the burn mark on his cheek. She also couldn't help but notice his eyes. They were very similar to those of Gregory. She instantly knew that this wasn't an old friend, but more likely family. She walked over to Greg and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her face was calm but a part of her wanted to squeal with delight. It appeared that Gregory was planning to torture this man. Sara had to admit that she not only wanted to watch, but participate as well. She looked up into Gregory's eyes. She felt that they needed to go. The Colonel would be waiting for them to take down the MAD Tank. As it was, she also wanted to stay and see how this played out. Sara brought her other hand up to the COM link and spoke.

"Ross, take the men and make your way through the facility. There is a schematic on the computer which you have showing the location of the tank. Make your way there, but stay out of sight of the tank. Under no circumstances are you to engage it. Once you have arrived at that position, radio me. Something has come up. I will join you shortly." Sara lowered her arm and continued to stare into Gregory's eyes. She was giving him a caring look and exhaled deeply.

"Gregory, think about this for a moment. Is this something you really want to do?" A part of Sara was hoping he would back down. She still wanted to kill Gregory and if he turned into something more like her, she would find it harder to do.

"We have a job to do right now, but I'm not going to force you to come with me now. But you really need to think about this. Think about who you are. If you choose to go down this road, you will never be able to come back. I have seen it before. You're a good and caring man. Are you really sure you want to torture someone to death? Especially someone of the same blood as you." Sara took her hand away and moved over to the door. Closing it, she looked at Greg with hope in her eyes.

"Whatever you decide to do, I will stay by your side."

Greg closed his eyes, thinking of what Sara ha said. She was right; he shouldn't do this, especially to his own brother. But another part of him kept telling him too, saying this is what he needed. "Sara, I don't know, I really don't know." He sighed and leaned against the wall.

"So, you're going to let me go?" Jon asked hopefully. Greg spun around and shook his head, "You think I'm going to just let you walk out here? No, you're not."

He raised the rifle again, "I'm sorry Sara". He brought the tip of it to Jon's chest, watching it burn through his clothing and skin. Jon begged for forgiveness, Greg hearing none of it. He watched as the tip of the rifle slowly made it through Jon's chest. He watched as he tore through him. Jon screamed and stared in disbelief.

Greg took out the tip and placed it at Jon's forehead.He pulled the trigger and a bolt of Plasma shot out.

Greg stopped. He saw blank expression on Jon's face. The screaming had stopped. He sat completely still. Blood began to drip from his chest and head, forming a small puddle on the ground below. A strange feeling overcame him, not guilt, but something different.

He slung the rifle behind his back and sighed, "I'm sorry Sara, so much else has happened between me and Jon. I had to do that, you wouldn't understand." He put his hand on his head, "I just need a minute alone."

Sara's face was expressionless as she watched Greg torture and kill his brother. She enjoyed listening to him scream and felt a wave of disappointment when it stopped. She thought that it was a good first effort, but the finish left much to be desired. She was also feeling unsure of things right now. All this time it had been her intention to kill Greg when this was over. Now she was unsure as to whether or not she would. Sara felt he had potential and with the right training, he could possibly be very good at it.

Sara walked forward and kissed Greg on the cheek. She looked at him with caring eyes and nodded her head. As she opened the door, a voice came over the COM link.

"This is Ross. We have made our way to the tank and are holding our position." Sara brought her hand up to her ear.

"Understood. I'm on my way." Claire turned to look at Greg. He appeared to be quite depressed at the moment and Sara couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him.

"I understand that you need time, but we need to go." Sara held out her hand to Greg.

Henry couldn't help but flinch when he saw the horrifying face of the colonel. He was a giant but underneath his helmet his voice sounded the same so he did not seem like a monster at all. Seeing what the resistance did to him made Henry all the more eager to obtain the cure to the disease. The colonel then proceeded to talk to himself about his soul. If Henry ever had to turn into a monster like that he didn't think he would ever be able to live with himself. So he turned away and waited for Sara to call in while he made himself busy reorganizing the troops so that they were ready to go in a moment's notice.

He looked at his armor and he saw that despite all the combat that had happened in the past weeks he hadn't gotten anything more than a few minor injuries. When he saw Greg he knew he was lucky not to have been caught by the sharp claws. He remembered his photo album and snapped another photo of all the troops gathered around waiting for the call to action. This may have been the only picture that showed both Enclave and Brotherhood troops side by side. It was probably the last time they would see many of the men still alive and moving.

"I understand." Greg placed his rifle in its holder and breathed deeply. He walked out the door, wanting to escape what he had done. He didn't feel particularly bad, but he needed to be away from it. Someone else could clean up his mess.

He fished around in his kit for newly named "Rising Eagle" drug that Greg had been taking experimentally. He found it and slowly injected it. He noticed his senses get better and his mood was much better after it rushed through his system.

Greg turned around, "Sara, you must realize that what happened was necessary. He couldn't have been kept alive."

"I am ready to go now, where to?"