(CIS Leadership and Parliament Only Chapter)
Dooku was on Seranno, he was in a holographic projection of the CIS Parliament, with Grievous, Trench, and Ventress. He had the probe connect so that they all would get a view of the video clearly.
"Members of the Parliament, Council members of the Leadership Council, Generals and Admirals of the Confederacy, for some time, we have been watched the logs of the the probe sent from "the wastelands", we have another log to observe this day. What can be learned is yet unknown, what information will be unlocked shall aid in our independence." Dooku announced, getting an applause from the parliament.
The man in the suit snapped his fingers, and took a folder from his jacket, tossing and expanding a paper, before it began to play a video.
As far as Anyone knows, this wasteland is the best damned wasteland in the world. When America and China went head-to-head two hundred years ago, both sides launched everything they had and most people assume that China was blasted back to the Stone Age. The only way to know for sure is to jump on a boat and paddle across the ocean, so folks just assume that China, Europe, Canada and the rest of the world got hit at least as bad as America did.
*Opens to wasteland shot of Eyebot floating by, heading into no where that can be seen, just traveling. Changes to a close up of a skeleton by a car on the road. Shows eye bot floating by a beautiful sun rise/set, then to a town with a fortified wall near a bridge. Man frantically loads a rifle, wearing a screened helmet, eye bot explodes suddenly as it was shot.*
Everyone was surprised when the man shot the simple looking robot that was flying around. Some generals wondered how the wastelands would react to the battle droids. The floating robot did look a bit like a probe droid.
People look out at this land and some of them just know in their hearts that it the garden spot of the whole world. Maybe that's why we cant go more than a few decades without someone trying to take over the place.
*shows a view of a forest, fades to a tall tower backed by the sun*
Some of the members of parliament remembered back to the years before the war, some had rather nice worlds, not many issues, then after the war began, they had to dedicate more and more industries to fight the war effort, and the expenses, but they knew that it was the corruption of the senate that caused the war.
When humanity was just beginning the struggle to rebuild after the war, there was no sign of the government helping out. People formed tribes lead by the strangers warriors, and the smartest scavengers. The chain of command and the line of succession meant nothing to people who needed things done fast. The closest thing to a government that emerged was tribal elders, or the mayors of small villages.
*Shows a tribal like group, a larger man standing cross armed, tribal warriors behind him*
Some members of the parliament had a feeling this was similar to their own issues, they had gone through disasters, and no republic aid had came, the Techno Union and Trade Federation came.
"It is understandable why they didn't care, if action is needed, people will take that action." One member said.
Eventually, in 2189, some of the largest towson in California banded together and formed the New California Republic, but they never claimed to be THE government. With no communication form the pre-war government for over a century, the memory of it faded as new generations replaced the old, convinced the old president and his kind were long dead, but the wastelands ain't so lucky.
*Shows soldiers in armor, and some in trenchcoats and masks in fortifications, with a large anti-material rifle, fades to black*
Some of the military leaders looked at the soldiers rather interested, maybe slug throwers were a good idea, in a form of specialized weapon.
The Parliament were interested, restoring the old government may be hard, but if they could make this new government join them, they would have a very strong foothold to start expanding.
Two Hundred Years ago, in the last days before the great war, a secret coterie of America's top ranking political and corporate leaders decided to duck and cover, big time. They scurried right off the continent and hid inside a secret offshore base then cowered there while the rest of the country suffered a nuclear holocaust the government caused. There they stayed, safe and hidden for decades, and the group we know today as the Enclave is the result of ten generations of breeding between politicians, military brass and corporate executives.
*shows group around table, in suits and lab coats, fades to a indoor dinner, with people in clothing eating and getting drinks, while two figures in strange looking power armor with glowing energy nodes glowed, both had their arms crossed.*
Everyone watching was disgusted by the actions of the Enclave. Some leaders in the military were already planning how to deal with them, bombard the oil rig from space, send in a few thousand battle droids, it would be easy. the politicians there were nervous.....they had done something similar, business and political figures gathered in thousands to remove themselves from the Republic they no longer trusted.
Some however were thinking of the situation, how many were originally on that platform, 10 generations in around 112 years, that was......disturbing, and....would lead to a lot of......inbreeding. One member rushed out of the room, looking a little queasy
The direct descendents of the people who caused the apocalypse? Not many people would make up a story like that, so it's probably safe to take them at their word about their ancestors. Regardless who their great-grandparents were, the enclave certainly has access to an abundance of pre-war tech and weapons. They hoarded it on a man-made island, a metal city that grew out of the ocean floor. It was once used to refine oil, back when people could pull oil right out of the bottom of the sea.
*diner interior fades to a large store room stocked to the brim with weapons, ammunition, explosives, and armor, including power armor. One man in a full body suit, and one in a lab coat. Slowly fades to an image of the Enclave Oil Rig*
The Military leaders now where thinking, maybe a force of commando droids, mixed in with droidikas and Super Battle Droids could swarm the base, or maybe use trident-class assault ships to strike deep and many places.. If they could take the research.....imagine the uses and the advantages.
Dooku was contemplating, these people were so focused on the past, they didn't think of what the future could be. Dooku was looking back on his own past.....he had made some mistakes, maybe he could rectify some of those issues.....maybe.
The Poseidon Oil rig was inaccessible to people on the mainland, so no one knew they were out there until they began their plan to rid the wasteland of everyone who didn't fit their definition of a real American. The Enclave had spend decades learning to improve upon pre-war weaponry, they weren't just collecting artifacts of the old world like the brotherhood, they were looking towards the future. They had devices more advanced than anything seen in the wasteland, including the brotherhood.It wasn't just better guns, or the ginchiest armor. The enclave had a fleet of flying vehicles, they called vertibirds
*Shows two vertibirds flying in the sky. Cuts to footage of a large number of flying veribirds, with dramatic music playing in the background*
Dooku and Ventress, even Grevious had a similar feeling, they were all sith, either tools of the greater sith, of part of the Sith duo. They had remained hidden, Grivious was a weapon that was hidden for many years, waiting and training to become a terror weapon against the jedi and the republic. Ventress was an assassin who's goal was to become the next sith apprentice when Dooku became the master.
The CIS was also working on trying to find a place that could breach the near inaccessible Kamino in other ways, the Rishi maze was the only currently known method however. They also were looking for ways to make some important systems harder to access, but needed time, subversion was their strength at this time.
Most folks had never seen a car move unless hitched to a team of brahmin, so these vertibirds gave the Enclave an edge over every other human group in the wasteland. They could send in drop teams to kidnap whole villages at a time to use as test subjects. They could suddenly appear at remote locations, then just as quickly disappear. Most importantly, they could travel to and from their offshore base, secure in the knowledge that no one could follow.
*shows blueprints of the vertibirds, shows a vertibird just over the ground, a power armored figure on a barricade, Fades to a still image of two vertibirds attacking a destroyed house.*
"They are far behind, and dangerous, we must put a stop to these Enclave monsters." Mina Bonteri spoke out.
Several members cheered in agreement. Dooku closed his eyes, he did agree with the member of the parliament, but the method would be hard.
"Let us know the entirety before we pass judgement. It will allow us to set what we do with them when we discover the planet with a better understanding" Dooku said, earning a few agreeing nods.
Well, almost no one. There was a person back then who seemed to have a knack for getting vehicles up and running again. People who lived in the Den swear up and down that someone around 2242 they saw a person in a vault jumpsuit driving around in an old Chryslus Highwayman, with a big green mutant taking up the entire back seat, and a cyborg dog poking his nose out the window. That's the sort of tall tale that would be easy to dismiss, but it happened in the same year someone managed to get a ship seaworthy again. They sailed that tanker right out into the ocean to the Enclaves Base and took them down.
*shows a man near a car, a super mutant, and a dog, gets a better closer image and shows the dog is mostly cybernetic, including a brain exposed in a jar. The Vault suited man hitting the car with a hammer.*
Many were surprised, after learning of the Master, the agreement was the a super mutant should be attacked on sight, this was reinforced by the East Coast Brotherhood's understanding, but....maybe there were those who could be reasoned with, maybe they weren't all monsters. Some recon would be needed, local information, observation, maybe the mutants could be controlled, or work with the CIS.
Stories like that, they fill a body with hope, maybe with enough work we could all be driving around in pre-war cars, living the good life. In a way, that sort of hope for the future was what the Enclave wanted, and they got it at the costs of their own lives. Their Ambitions was their downfall. They weren't content to live their lives in prosperity, they had to take back their country from the people they viewed as subhuman.
*shows a repaired Highwayman next to a nicely kept house, a second one right behind it. Cuts to a group of scientists looking at a large brain in a metallic harness, in a tube. Shows one looking at a Super Mutant in a set of nearly ripped undies*
The idea of just hope alone was enough for people to do the impossible, was inspiring in some way. Maybe with hope, and inspiring people of the freedom they could have, worlds would flock to them more, the Republic was like the old America, once prosperous, but now declining, and failing.
However, many members of the parliament were turning away from the mutant's near nudity.
To do so, the enclave engaged in the sort of daredevil science that brought about the end, the Great War They Engineered a virus tailored for genocide, preformed inhuman experimenta and even took to playing god by creating a species of intelligent deathclaws, just like their ordinary brethren, they were giant beasts that could rip a man in half, but smart enough to think like you and me, and even mimic human speech. But even deathclaws were nothing compared to the Enclaves deadliest Creation.... A man named Frank.
*shows a scientist looking at a deathclaw in a tub like cage, taking a picture of it, shows a group of scientists around a table, a man in agonizing pain laying on it*
Everyone watched, horrified, the information they were learning. The Enclave were little better than savages, inhumane actions, engineering monsters that were deadly and smart enough to talk, that was a scary idea. And Frank.....everyone had a similar idea, Grievous.
It's hard to say just what Frank Horrigan was. People who saw him in person tended to die quickly and gruesomely. At some some point he must have been a man, a brutal killer, but still human. But when the Enclave discovered the old Mariposa Military Base, and the FOrced Evolutionary Virus vats within, Horrigan was exposed by Accident. He was among the first generation of Super Mutants created years after the Master's downfall.
*shows a chart of a humanoid figure, slowly it gets larger in size, both height and width, with larger shoulders, cuts to scientists around a chemistry set, looking over notes*
Who ever Frank was, it sounded more and more like the cyborg General. They were very much powerful figures who were the military arm of each group. Frank was a mutated monster, made by accident, Grievous was a cyborg, created from an accident that left his body nearly destroyed.
The Arrogance of the Enclaves leaders lead them to believe that they could improve upon the virus. The FEV and Horrigan were used for horrid experiments that would make the Master cringe. When they could learn no more from his suffering, they turned Frank into their most devastating soldier, a mutated cybernetic terror incased in their finest power armor.
*shows a large, nearly twice the size of a normal person, covered in advanced looking armor, cuts to another image, the massive figure standing, two massive blades on large muscular armor*
Grievous had a strange almost happy look, he had found someone like him, a warrior that was an "equal" to him. The Cyborg general laughed, and then coughed. Dooku and Ventress gave the general a sideways glance.
"It seems we really are copying them in many ways." Dooku thought to himself
It's hard to imaging who anyone managed to defeat, arguably, the most dangerous being to ever walk the wasteland and bring down his Enclave Masters.... But somehow "the Chosen One" of an obscure northern tribe destroyed the Enclave Oil Rig, forcing the enclave to flee New California.
*shows the chosen one near the reactor, placing some sort of object on it, and holding a pistol like object with an antenna on it, cuts to a group of soldiers, a man in a trench coat in the center, enclave power armored soldiers, robots and vertibirds behind him*
The military leaders were a bit relieved, one issue was solved. The scientifically minded, were saddened, how much research and knowledge had been lost? Those focused on the people were happy, it was easy to see the destruction of the Enclave's leadership was a good thing.
Grievous was a bit angry, he had lost a worthy rival before he had a chance to test to see who was better. The Council was quiet.
"So they lost their political side, but the military seems to have survived." Ventress said.
"An army with no nation." Dooku said.
Leaderless and Directionless, they soon rallied behind Autumn, a senior scientist who was contacted by a new Enclave President. It didn't take long for the Remnants to reach the East Coast with their vertibirds. They had no fancy Oil rig this time, but they soon nestled into Raven Rock adn Adams Air force base, pre-war bases that were nearly as impregnable
*shows a map, then points to the east coast and Raven Rock, has an arrow pointed at the area.*
"So they went across the country, to find a different remnant of politicians and members of the enclave, makes you wonder, where else they could be." Trench said.
"They could have cells all across the land mass." Ventress said.
"We will need to be careful when dealing with those we find." Dooku said.
They changed their routine in Washington DC, promising that they could guide America back to the gold age of malt shops and drive-in movies. On the West coast, they had a man who claimed to the the rightfully elected president of the United States, but by the time they reached the Capital Wasteland, things had changed a little. Now their "President" remained unseen and only addressed the public through a swarm of floating propaganda robots that spewed "Stars & stripes forever" along with political rhetoric so hollow that is sounds like it was written by a random word generator.
*shows a large obelisk that is heavily damaged and shows it's metal skeleton, changes to a flag with 13 red and white bars and a blue box in the upper half, with 12 stars around a larger 13th star, on a large computer,a screen with a line on it, cuts to merchants on the road, an eyebot flying by them*
Dooku had a moment of realization, his master was now treating him the same, and he was treating the parliament the same. Very rarely did Dooku go out into the danger to lead, he had his generals, his Admirals, and spies do the work. He started to plan, maybe more time on Raxxus to lead the politicians wasn't what he needed, he needed to lead the battles.
The War for control of the capital wasteland was a trail for the Enclave. Bereft of their island fortress, and without the unstoppable brutality of Frank Horrigan, they had to fight a hard war to gain territory. The Brotherhood of steel had a strong presence in Washington DC, and Super Mutants roamed the streets looking for humans to abduct. The Enclave still had their technological superiority, and their vertibirds. They even took control of pre-war satellites and could fire missiles that had been waiting in the sky for hundreds of years. But, their greatest weapons were deceit and manipulation.
*Shows a domed building by a bridge with pipes leading into it, and a metallic tower in the background, shows a section of wasteland being bombarded by missiles flying down towards the ground, exploding all over the rocky terrain.*
The CIS leadership council were thinking, a 3 way war, that would be harsh, especially when there was no supply lines for base to base, the advantage of having control of one theater of war was good, if you could use it properly, but how long until someone breaks ranks, someone gives away secrets. Loyalty with people would go so far. That's why the CIS used droids, they could ensure loyalty easily, and deactivate those who were not.
The Brotherhood relied on a local wanderer for help combating the Enclave, and it is possible that the Enclave managed to convince this individual to implement a more subtle plan that could accomplish their goals even after repeated defeats at the hands of the brotherhood.
*shows a man in a vault 101 armored vault suit near a large computer, cuts to Liberty prime firing eye lasers at enclave soldiers, who fired back, a large electric fence like structure neat by*
Dooku looked at the person, one person was doing more damage to the enclave then the brotherhood was. Dooku thought about it, Skywalker....he was much like this person, seemingly unbeatable, or if he was pushed back, not for long. He needed to figure a way to get Skywalker to become a pawn of his side, or just away from the Republic.
The parliament watched, seeing the Enclave being destroyed again, this time in battle. They had advanced tech, but not numbers to replace lost soldiers.
Yet it did not save them. In 2277 following their disastrous defeat by Liberty Prime at the Purifier, the Enclave was shattered again, with it's leaders dead or missing, it's major strongholds were soon annihilated by brotherhood strikes. The Few surviving members probably wished they stayed hidden on their private island out in the Pacific. Now the once mighty remnants of America's elite have been reduced to a handful of wistful old men hiding in the wastelands.
*shows several dead enclave members who were blown up, reduced to ash, or shot dead on the ground, Liberty Prime and Brotherhood forces walking past them. Shows a slide of a group of old people around a campfire, a large creature-like building behind them*
Some were happy, maybe if they found those that remained, maybe they could put them somewhere to rebuild what they wanted, away from the brotherhood, but under observation. They may be useful as a form of development, but not to be be allowed to return to the wasteland.
Most gave up on the Enclave's vision of the world and settled down to live quiet lives, getting as much peace as a person can in the wasteland. Travelers who visit a certain old motel in Novac can speak with a former Enclave Pilot, who isn't as bad as the legends make the enclave sound, she's a tough old broad, but she's no Frank Horrigan.
*shows a group of Enclave soldiers fighting in cover*
Mina Bonteri gave a small chuckle, as a few other did, the had known people like that in age, more dangerous than in youth due to the sheer stubbornness they had. If the CIS found Earth, and broadcast their message to the wasteland, that they were here to help, and those who wished to leave the planet could, how many would they get?
Out East, the Enclave continue to operate in small bands that harass the brotherhood, and anyone else who strays too close to their remaining Outposts, but they are devoid of leadership, or any long-term plans. In the west, sharp eyed travelers can sometimes spot the rusted hulk of crashed vertibirds, but there is little else remaining of the Enclave, or at least that's what the Enclave wishes to reveal.
*shows a crashed vertibird with skeletons on the ground near by.*
"It is unlikely they are completely gone, more cells may exist, hidden from the eyes of the people. I would be curious what they would do with the knowledge that there is an entire galaxy beyond their world." Dooku said.
"You can not be seriously thinking of letting them go unpunished for their actions." Mina said.
"Their actions, the actions of their ancestors, or the actions of their leadership do not reflect upon the people who make the group. A just punishment for the actions they committed is all we will trail them for." Dooku said.
Could an organization with such resources be entirely stamped out? Much like Radroaches, the Enclave has shown remarkable resilience, and the people of the wastelands should be prepared to deal with another hidden nest of these relics of the old days. For now, the Enclave has joined the tanks of those who danced themselves the rightful rulers of the wasteland. Their glory has faded along with others, like the master, but it seems like some lessons are never learned and there's always someone new looking to claim our wasteland as their own.
*shows a group of soldiers near sandbag barricades and metal shacks, "NCR" on the chestplate, with a rifle slung over a shoulder, cuts to 3 men, one with a pistol standing, on ein armor with a rifle, and one with an anti-material rifle*
This caught the attention of many, the NCR, referenced a few times before, but what were they? They knew it was a nation built after the great war, how big was it, what did it do. Dooku was interested. He already knew who was next on the list of subjects.
The New California Republic has flourished even as the Enclave Faded. And while the NCR has ruled lands with relative peace and prosperity, even this period of stability is threatened by a new would-be tyrant that seeks to rebuild yet another fallen empire....
But that- is a story for another day.
*Cuts to Black*
Dooku had the transmission cut. The NCR, and new republic was fighting an old empire. For some reason, this felt like it had repeated itself over and over, the history of the galaxy was marked by the jedi and sith fighting, new orders rose from the jedi, an old empire that grew from each conflict.
As dooku was about to speak with the AI, something happened, the man faded, before he appeared again, seemingly more confident.
"Got some new goods unlocked, personal stuff too. Names "James Milo, or rather the brain scan of him. I was found to be enclave remnant who hid in San Francisco, i got put in prison, and got my mind scanned. I'm the 8th descendant of the last Secretary of the State. It also seems like I got some damn good luck, cause I do got something in this capsule." the man said, hitting the side and opening a door, pulling out a holotape.
"Saved research my former self got off the rig. Brotherhood couldn't do anything, and thanks to some friends who were in high places, this data got sent with me. In it, the Enclave signal books, every known outpost we have, west to east." Milo said, showing a confidence that was, almost intoxicating in a way.
He then showed a star map, or rather 1/4th, marked "2/4".
"This is what I think it it, this could be great for your faction."
With one final file released, Milo had given Dooku one thing that was incredibly useful, schematics and coding required to make a ZAX.