(OOC Edit: I've edited this to add everything I originally wanted to post but didn't have time. I also did it because I felt like it )

I hopped down from the century tower and moved towards the the door that led inside. It was a sad sight, I decided to stop and help clean up. The infirmary was going to be full as we had a few injuries. I walked out the front gate and up to a soldier lying on the ground. He was wearing power armor with a power helmet, so I assumed he was a knight. I bent down and took off his helmet to see if he was dead. As I lifted his helmet off blood pored out. On closer inspection a bullet had by-passed the armor hitting him in the neck. He was definitely dead. I closed his eyes and hoisted him over my shoulder. On my walk back I found a dead initiate, he had died from a wound to the chest. I managed to pick him up as well, I hoisted them both over my shoulders and walked back to the citadel.

Once there the other Brothers and I lined up the dead against one of the walls. We would then go and find more Brotherhood soldiers and bring them back in. We managed to gather all the bodies we could find. I left the others to tally the casualties, gather the bodies of the opposing army, gather their casualty count, file the report and ask the Elder what we should do with the enemy bodies. We would also have to find a way to block the wall up. I walked inside and went straight to the infirmary. Owyn was standing next to Sarah's bed, I walked up and began to talk.

"How is she?"

"Stable for now, it's a 50/50 chance she'll wake up." Owyn replied, his voice was filled with pain and sorrow.

I didn't say anything I just stood there and looked at her. We both just stood there, silently, watching her sleep.

"I'm sorry Owyn." I managed to mutter.

"For what Andy?" He replied without taking his eyes off her.

"In the midst of battle, there was a sniper aiming at me, I managed to fire first. He stuffed up the shot but the gun still went off and.... and..." I fought to hold back the emotion. "And the bullet hit her, I'm sorry Owyn, it's my fault she's in here."

Owyn was silent for a moment, I heard him take a deep breath in and out. "It's not your fault Andy, I fear that it is some what mine. I wanted to hold her back in the courtyard of the citadel, just to make sure she was safe. My judgment has become clouded with emotion over the years, I fear I'm not cut out for this rank like I used to be."

I sighed. "It is foolish for us to think this way, the Brotherhood is in it's greatest hour of need. We need to be strong, for everyone."

The Elder nodded. "You are all too right. Come let us find the report of what happened here."

We walked out of the infirmary and down towards the main room of the citadel. People were running up and down like mad men. Elder Lyons walked up to Rothchild.

"I need a status report Rothchild. How did we fair in the battle?"

"The report is now standing at 31 Brotherhood dead and 103 from this unknown army. Most of our casualties are from the back of the citadel, 20 were found there and 11 were out the front. We found no further evidence on these men to indicate where they are from or who they work for. We've also gathered battle reports which suggest that the main force that attacked from the front were just grunts. They weren't highly trained or well equipped, they just served as a distraction. The people who attacked us from behind were well trained and better equipped. We don't know how they managed to set a charge without us noticing." Rothchild told Elder Lyons.

"What are we going to do about this wall, Rothchild?"

"Well our outpost at Fort Bannister have offered up a few of their turrets and the other outposts have offered a few additional men. The outposts have seen no suspicious activity which is why they offered troops. We could use the crane to help move bit of rubble and rebuild it but I don't think it will be as strong as it used to be."

"Take those turrets from Fort Bannister but I don't want any men leaving their outposts, we don't know when the will strike next or how hard they will strike. Every outpost is going to need every man it has. Use the crane and men to help rebuild the wall. Andy, assemble your team, I need you to go on a reconnaissance mission. I need you to sweep the area, those men had to come from somewhere, I need you and your men to find out where that is." Lyons was back to himself and making orders.

"Yes, Elder" I replied.

I made a quick announcement over the speaker. "Could the Brotherhood members of my team meet me in the courtyard? We have a mission."

I quickly darted up to the courtyard and waited for my team to arrive.

Ashley wasn't sure to say, or even believe what she'd heard. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the Captain curiously. It didn't take long for her to look away again, seeing her long standing Captain sob made her feel uncomfortable. "I'll think about it... But I don't think I can fight against my friends. No matter how..." She couldn't think of a word to describe them. "How.. How.. Ruthless they are. Despite their... Ways of doing things I don't think I could fight them." She was silent for a while whilst she thought.

"What makes you think the Brotherhood will take you with open arms anyway? Especially after what happened today. They're more than likely to shoot you on sight." She was quiet again for a couple of minutes then tilted her head a little to the side and looked back at the Captain. She sighed and moved over to sit next to him. "I'm not her, Ryan. You know that. I may remind you of her... But that's all I'll be. A reminder. If anything I think I make it harder for you."

I blinked and then sighed, "I know what's going to happen next... Have you ever noticed what lengths we go to as to make sure that almost everyone doesn't know anything about us? I got told... Everything... And, really? Getting stuck here any longer is..." I just stopped, I looked at Ashley, "I know what you mean about only being a reminder... But, you really think you make it worse for me? For the first time for years... I think I might actually sleep tonight without thinking of her."

I looked up at the ceiling, "Ash, life is never what you expect it to be... Every time you think you know everything, something comes in and tears it up... Or whenver it's about to fall to pieces, something comes in and picks it up. That's how the Lone Wanderer and I are different... Something stuffed up his life... Something saved mine." I didn't know what to look at anymore. So I looked at Ashley, "Look, I... I really need another medic in this squad."

I laughed, but I didn't really mean it, "Sorry, I couldn't think of anything to say... But, to tell you the truth? If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have injected those painkillers into my arm before I jumped off that roof yesterday, I wouldn't have tried to live as I fell. It would've just been an accident where the Captain died..." I trailed off, I wondered about a lot of things at that moment. I wondered why I was even here, sitting here, talking to the woman that reminded me of the only person I'd ever loved...

I looked at Ashley again, "Thanks for saving my life... Twice." I laughed a little, then I looked down at the floor again. I continued my humming.

Nate's eyes slowly opened, his vision became blurred from the light.

"Where.. Where are we..?" Nate asked, waiting for an answer from anyone.

He brought his hands up to rub his eyes, and noticed they were painted red with blood. The wounds on his hands seemed to be healed, but he looked down at his side and saw that his clothes were stained red.

"Ah... [censored].." Nate muttered as he leaned back onto the wall and looked up at the ceiling.

He took off his overshirt, and unstrapped his kevlar vest, which was pretty much almost torn to shreds, and left on his now half-red t-shirt. He threw his vest and his jacket to the side, and noticed Ryan and Ashley sitting next to a door. He looked over to them and gave them a half hearted wave, laughing a bit. A few drops of blood started to seep out of the corners of his mouth. He felt like [censored].

Knight stood in the courtyard, his helmet in his arms. He surveyed the area, resting on the spot where he had been caught firing at targets and used as cover. The power armor he was wearing saved him by protecting him from several hits that probably would've killed him had he not been wearing it. His head snapped up when he heard the announcement. He replaced his helmet and walked towards the center of the courtyard, watching various brotherhood members go about the business of cleaning up after the battle. He had not heard the death toll yet, but he estimated it around 25 for their side.

Andrew was standing in the middle of the courtyard, the battle officially over. Hovever, they'd lost about 31 soldiers in combat with 103 more injured. Andrew then heard the announcement and thought, "A reconnaisance mission? I'd better go see what this is about." He then walked towards Andy and the others, injecting a Stimpack into his shoulder to kill the pain.

Jugger was burning a pile of corpses, virtually alone on the remnants of where the battlefield had once been.
They had won, but he didn't feel any sense of justice or redemption. He felt nothing. It seemed like all that happened so far just flew through his head, making him think about the future more.
He stifled his Flamer, then walked solemnly back to the Citadel.
He observed the wounded and the dead brethren around him and simply sighed, trudging along. He stayed in the courtyard, directing a few people around when he could, until he heard an announcement.

He heard the familiar voice of the Lone Wanderer, and picked him out amongst the crowd before heading towards him. He was ready for his next mission, and tried to put the battle behind him.

George leaned against the wall, while watching everything unfold. The three injured members seemed to be finally gathering strength, not to mention most of the squad has gone missing from George.

"Well, it's great that you all are having an orgy and such, but we should get the hell out of here. The Brotherhood of [censored] will probably be looking for us anyway, so we can't set up camp here. Should we get moving back to the base?"

George looked at the three, and noticed how bad their condition was. But he knew they had to get out of there, and eventually find some proper medical attention.

"I know that some of you are crippled, but seeing how Ashley is still standing, we should be able to carry the two of you if you can't move."

"It's my job to save your life Ryan." She smiled a little. "But you're welcome anyway." She tucked one of her legs up to her chest and rested her head on it. She was mentally and physically exhausted. She looked up again and looked at the Captain. "Please don't let me be your only lifeline Captain..." She rested her head back on her knee again and closed her eyes.

Ash only looked up again when she heard Nate starting to stir. She looked up and smiled weakly when he waved then waved back. "How you doin' Corporal?" She moved away from the wall to where Nate lay. She looked at his injured side while George started talking. He may be right. The Brotherhood would come looking eventually. "Even if we go back to base it wouldn't take long before the Brotherhood to come find us anyway. We'd have to completely move out of here unless we found somewhere where we would have a firm foothold in the Capital wasteland."

Ashley began to respond, and had a point.

"Well then, if we have to move somewhere else, I think I know a place we can take refuge."

George pulled out a map, one he used to scout the area of the Capital Wasteland. He pointed to a mark on the map with a title which read "TENPENNY TOWER".

"It's a tower a few miles from here, which once was under control by some wealthy and lucky people. Then apparently get this, the Lone Wanderer decided to convince the owner to let ghouls in. The ghouls eventually killed the original residents, and stayed there. All we have to do is charge in, kill the filthy bastards, and drag the rotten corpses outside so they don't stink up the place. And, from what I know according to our reports, they have a fairly good defense system, with only two ways to get in. They also have purified water, with a fully functioning plumbing system. That means clean showers."

George put the map back in the bag, and spoke again.

"Of course, it's just an option. We would have to get permission from the Captain first. Then, we would have to gather a squad to infiltrate the tower, and kill everything in there. After that though, it's smooth sailing."

George leaned back on the wall again, waiting for a response from one of the three.

((Just an idea... ))

Nate looked over to the captain who was laying against the wall on the opposite side of the room. His fur overcoat was stained a darker red in some areas, where he'd been shot.

Atleast he had his combat armor.

Nate raised his hand off his wound and shook it, sending a splash of blood onto the dirty cement walls. The Brotherhood had got him good, he just hoped he'd be able to get them back. Ashley looked over to asked him how he was doing.

"Not so.. not so well I think. Those damn lasers burn like a mother [censored]..." Nate responded, looking up at the grimy ceiling, and letting out an unsteady sigh.

His wound wouldn't stop bleeding, and he became more and more drowsy every second. Nate listened to what George said about the tower and the ghouls. He'd heard about that before on GNR.

"I'd prefer we keep the ghouls alive. I mean, i'm all up for heading across the wastes, and fighting off feral beasts, while my spleen falls out of the side of my torso, but I have a strict policy against killing civilians. Innocent civilians that is. Those bastards at Tenpenny were definately not innocent. I'm glad the ghouls got em'.. serves them right. I mean, its all up to the captain wethere you kill them or not, but I for one, will not partake in the slaughtering of innocent ghouls." Nate said, as he raised his hand, and began to stand up.

At that instant that he got to his feet, agonizing pain shot through his entire body. He let out a cry of pain, but stayed on his feet. He lifted his jacket up with his foot and grabbed it in his hands, then sliding over his t-shirt. There was no point in putting on his Kevlar Vest, it was basically torn to shreds anyway. He put his hands on the wall and leaned over. This was going to be harder than he thought.

((OOC: Damn, this is going fast. Its almost time for part 2! ))

Most of the team had gathered in the courtyard, it was time for their debriefing.

"Greetings my Brothers, first off I wish to congratulate each of you for your outstanding effort on the battlefield. You all should be very proud of yourselves. Secondly Elder Lyons has placed us on a reconnaissance mission, that army came from somewhere and he wants to know where. We'll be moving out soon so gather your things, feel free to ask any questions. This mission is predominantly stealth, we do not want the enemy to know of our presence and we sure don't want to provoke them into attacking. We have to wait for Knight Jones to arrive before we can move out."

Ash watched Nate carefully while George explained about Tenpenny Tower. "It's a good idea... But I agree with Nate. We're not the Enclave... Or even Brotherhood." She glanced at the Captain then back to the Corporal while talking to George. "Killing ghouls for no reason is immoral. Though some soldiers can't help themselves with innocents." She added, thinking back to her time in England.

"Nate stay still, you're gonna be pumping blood all over the place. I can try patch you up more but I'm running out of supplies and I'll be glad to get some more soon." She smiled a little and pulled her bag closer, bringing out some things. "Because to be honest I don't think kissing things better works."

Henry got to the area where the rest of the team was and was surprised to see that he was the last to arrive. Andy got him up to speed and Henry knew that if everything went according to plan then they wouldn't have to fight at all. However Whenever he went on recon he always brought some extra ammo in case things went bad. Henry asked the fist question as usual "Where do we start?"
'

Andrew removed his helmet and said, "I think the question isn't where we're going, but when we're leaving?" He then started cleaning his Sniper Rifle, a weapon that required near constant maintenance to keep effective.

Dakayev awoke in a brightly lit room. The wallpaper was a bright green with a tint of blue. He looked around and saw that he was lying against the table. He stood up and walked outside the room. Turning left, he overheard a conversation about moving to Tenpenny tower. He ran over to the room they were in and interupted


" Ghoul killing? I would love a nice simple mission. Especially a nice tower. I heard a lad from the U.K was up there. I did hear on GNR that he got killed by the LW. Scum bag, why do people like him have to die because the LW enjoys massacres. [censored] it. I am going to wipe the tower clean. On another note, I want to speak to the captain alone"

Dakayev pulled out his knife from its socket and held it up at Ashley and Nate.

" I need to speak to the Captain about a few things...."

I chuckled at the eagerness of the men, they had just been through quite a battle and already they were wondering when and where they going to find more action.

"Well we're going to head in the direction the enemy came from, we'll look for clues along the way and see if we can find these bastards. Since Jones has turned up we're leaving right now. Let's move it out boys."

I grinned, turned and began to break out into a light jog. I wanted to move as quickly as possible and find their outpost. We needed intel on who they were and we needed it now.

Knight made sure his rifle was loaded before jogging after the Lone Wanderer. He was a bit apprehensive about the mission, but he wouldn't let it interfere with his performance on it.

Nate let Ashley begin to patch him up, and he smiled.

"Jeez... God knows where this squad would be without you Ashley. You're a real life saver." Nate said looking down at her.

Dakayev burst into the room, going on about how much he wanted to murder all the ghouls.

Idiot...

He approached Nate and Ashley, and unsheathed his knife, acting like he was actually going to do something with it.

"What? No music? Sergeant, why don't you stop threatening injured women and dying soldiers, and put that thing away." Nate said angrily.

Dakayev laughed

" You have no idea what is at stake. Now get out. I won't harm you if you don't, but I will use force to keep you shushed."

Dakayev then re-sheathed his knife

" Captain, what do you think in the name of Lenin are you doing!"

Dakayev raised his fist but fell over, obviously in agony

" Tartakov would have kicked my ass if I he was here, gah!"

He lifted up from the chair then looked at the Captain

" Captain, you said you wanted to see the union rebuilt. But then you want to support the bastards that we are fighting? Then you recruit softies? IF I EVER hear a word of treason from you, I swear, I will make you pay. But I doubt it, and I assured myself you are still loyal to us. In other manners, yes, I think that Georges idea would be nice. If Nate can't handle it, then I will wipe it clean myself"


Dakayev then frowned and turned towards Nathan

" Sorry buddy, but if I can't continue the mission, the world is doomed. You'll wake up soon enough"


Dakayev then clenched his fist and punched Nathan in the face with less force than he though he would use


" Crap, damn plasma shots get you good in the arm eh?"

Nate began to laugh as Dakayev acted like he was the captain, and Captain Harris was his recruit.

"Sorry buddy, but if I can't continue the mission, the world is doomed. You'll wake up soon enough" Dakayev remarked.

"Well i'm sorry but I still have an ounce of humanity left, and i'm not going to go on a rampage and sefishly slaughter a building full of innocent civilians just so I can take all of their resources for myself! Real men don't resort to such selfish actions." Nate yelled at the sergeant.

At that, the sergeant turned around and foolishly swung a hook at Nate's head. His head jerked to the side, and more blood began to seep out of the corners of his mouth.

"What the [censored] is your problem you arrogant piece of [censored]!?" Nate shouted at the captain, as he wiped some blood off of his chin.

((OOC: Four more posts oo: !))

Dakayev laughed

" You think you are the only one that has lost something in their past! HA, those ghouls massacred humans inside their homes, that they FOUND! And now you want to give me a lesson on mercy! I have no mercy, I do my duty every day in the hope of restoring the world. And as an operative of our outfit you should know that the stakes are higher than the cost!"

Dakayev looked into his utility belt and found nothing. Only his holo-tape of the Red Choir album.

" This isn't over......"

Dakayev looked over at his holotape then pressed the "activate" button and slouched on one of the chairs in the room
Yesli na atchiznu nagryanyet bieda, pozaviot soldata truba. Armiya may?, ty na strazhe vsiegda! Ty - may? lyubov i sudyba!

Chorus:

Obyknaviennaya, sudba niliogkaya vayennaya.
Lyubov surovaya, no vyernaya. Gatovy my na ratnyi trud.
My vse, my vse ispytany ni raz, ni dva bayami-marshami.
My at soldata i da marshala - adna simya!

Nash oktyabr s nami v pakhodnom strayu!
S nami pyesni krasnykh baytsov, perbyi dyen, vayny, i pabyednyi salyut, I sudba pogibshikh atsov...

Chorus.

Mchatsya nashi gody, No zhizn moloda!
I pay?t kak prezhde truba.
Armiya may?, ty na strazhe vsy?gda!
Ty - may? lyubov i sudba!"

He looked into the mirror of the outside as the music played.

" Will it ever end Captain?"

"Nathan, don't forget our training lesson later...."

Dakayev closed his eyes and remembered the sight of Siberias Tiga forest, the sun rising over the enduring permafrost.

?

((OOC: Why'd you leave the space blank?))

Andrew broke into a jog and started running with everyone else. He then asked Andy, "I was meaning to ask you this before the IF attacked, but is it true that you've been abducted by aliens? I want to see if the rumors are true."

(OOC alright this has practically hit the post limit, I'm sure when Francois comes on, which will be in like an hour, he will post a new thread. Edit: post at the same time, I'll edit you in tagg.)

As we jogged I caught a glance of Knight Mitchell, he looked a bit distressed. I decided I would talk to him when we reached the building line. As we were running I heard Andrew ask me a question about the abduction. I laughed.

"Knight Andrew, you would not believe some of the stuff I have been through, for what it's worth yes I was. I know crazy right? I don't mind if you don't believe me it sounds very far fetched."

The boys did well after the battle, they managed to keep up just fine, I had picked the right team. It didn't take us long to reach the buildings where the mysterious army had come from.

"Alright guys let's spread out and look for clues. If you find anything make sure to call out." I yelled as the men dispersed.

I decided to talk to Mitchell. I walked over to him and began to talk.

"Knight Mitchell, is everything ok? You seem to look a bit distressed, is there something you want to mention?"