The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

Justice For All

"Elder Maxon, you are hereby under arrest. You will be held in the custody of the Minutemen for your crimes against the people of the Commonwealth. The Prydwen, Diamond City, and any other surrounding outposts, will be seized." Haylen spoke with such high authority.

Maxon was taken a back for a second, but it lasted only a second. While the two before him were heavily armed and outfitted in power armor clearly stolen from the Brotherhood, he was losing his fear. John knew he would try to regain control of the situation, talk them down, but he wanted none of it.

"Well that explains how you got past the Prydwen's security." Maxon said, gesturing to the armor. "The ship would have raised alarm, had you not been outfitted. Clever, but do you have a plan beyond this? Tell me general how did you manage to control a synth army? Was I actually right about you all along?"

John didn't answer his questions. There was no need to. This man had reached a level of delusion that was clearly dangerous. Trying to talk to him like a reasonable man would get him no where. He instead motioned to Haylen to restrain him.

John's cold gaze fixed on the monster before him, along with his laser rifle. He knew Maxon wouldn't try anything, at least not yet. Once the prisoner was secured, John moved to the communications monitor. He was about to win this war. He fixed the settings to reach every available Brotherhood of Steel brodcast throughout Boston. If a soldier was alive, he would hear everything John was about to say.

"Soldiers of the Brotherhood of Steel, this is the General of the Minutemen. By now you have realized that you are surrounded by my army. At this very second you are on high alert, searching the streets of downtown for an enemy to fight. If you engage these synths, you will lose. You are wholly outnumbered, but there is another way. If you just listen to my next instructions, not one single gunshot will fire against you. You will walk away from this.

"Your commanding officer has lied to you these last few years. Elder Maxon has told you that we, the Minutemen, are your enemy. That the original militia fell along with the Institute. That we had been resurrected as synths to destroy the humans. These were lies, lies that we have proof of."

John pulled the holotape from his pack. He clicked it into the control board and let it play now for the masses. Jun Long's voice still echoed through him, just as it did the first time. Maxon's lies spewed forth once more for all his men to hear. That single gunshot at the end of the tape still made John cringe. He hoped these soldiers would hear it, really listen to the words. He knew most would dismiss it as fabricated, but he hoped some would finally see the light.

"You're fighting a false war. You are all puppets to be paraded around by the will of your master. I ask you now to cut your strings, soldier. Do better than the mission that was given to you. You're smarter than the bullshit that this man tells you.

"I know some of you won't hear me, and that's fine. These next words should be heard by all, they carry the most importance. I promise you that.

"I am giving you all a choice, right now. The Prydwen belongs to the Minutemen, as does Diamond City. You will leave. Leave the city, leave the Commonwealth. You will go back to where ever it is that you have come from. You will be granted safe passage out of Boston.

"If you choose to stay, you will help rebuild the lives you have destroyed. You will help protect the people you have tried to kill. You will help them heal their pain that you have caused, so we can all move forward to a brighter future. If for some reason, you choose neither option, you can rot in a cell next to your commander or die in the street where you stand.

"Choose now, and choose wisely. If you want to leave, you will do so through the Glowing Sea. If you want to help those innocents, you are free to make your way to Castle. You have one hour."

The comm clicked off, the ring of the Sole Survivor's words hung heavy in the air around them. He hoped they would listen. He set a timer on his PipBoy for one hour before turning to Haylen.

"Take him to the deck. Get him secured in the vertibird. When the hour is up, we leave."

"Aye, General." Haylen responded as she gave a strong salute. Her eyes wet with tears, full of the finality of the words he had just spoken to her former brothers in arms. She pulled Elder Maxon toward the door.

"You think my men will listen to you? You really are a fool, John. They will fight your army to the death like they have been trained to do. Your evidence will ring hollow in their ears."

John looked the man in the eyes. He took measure of his indignation. John saw uncertainty behind all that venom. An uncertainty that made the Sole Survivor smile. All that strength and bravado boiled down into nothing more than pomp and weakness. John almost felt sorry for the man. Maxon growled at John, growing increasingly frustrated at his unshakable confidence. He spouted hollow words of revenge as he was led away to the waiting helicopter.

John went up to the observatory. He had walked up to these windows many times when he was enlisted in the Brotherhood of Steel. He often had to report in to Elder Maxon directly, and this had been the place to find him. John could see why this spot was so special. From this height, it seemed as though the Sole Survivor could peer across all of Boston.

Right now though, John's attention focused downward, to the city below. He watched as the Brotherhood of Steel thought over the words they had heard. He could see them grouping up trying to decide which path they would walk. He hoped to see many go north toward Castle.

He saw a short line of men try to test the words. They moved back to Diamond City's front gates, trying to come back within its walls. He had worried they would try, prepared for it. He knew his men would be waiting. Guns raised, eyes alert, watching their surroundings, the soldiers moved to open the gates to Diamond City.

A few pops cracked through the sky, as the Minutemen snipers took down the men. John could almost hear the fall of bodies as they crumpled to the ground. Blood began to soak outward from their fresh head wounds, a deadly warning to the men and women who had just witnessed the attack.

It was still, dead still as the soldiers before the city stared at the fallen brothers. Then one by one, the Brotherhood of Steel dropped their weapons to the ground. John let out the breath he had been holding. There would be no more lives lost today. He saw the group of men beneath him break off into groups. Over half of the men and women had chosen to go north, to Castle. The rest headed west, to the Glowing Sea. He wished them well.

With the hour up, John took one last look at Diamond City. He had work to do still on the Prydwen. It was time to tie up the last loose ends. Time to start rebuilding. Time to grieve. He would miss this city, another casualty of this false war. Maybe after all was said and done, it could be salvaged. There was hope of that at least. He smiled at the thought. Tomorrow would be a brighter day.