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Chapter 1071 - 1002. Attack Cambridge Police Station

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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)

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And far beyond the airship's reach, across roads and settlements and fields that had spent the morning listening to Sico's voice, the Freemasons Republic was doing exactly the same.

Then the scene change back to war room at Freemasons Headquarters had barely settled after the first wave of mobilization orders when Sarah returned to the map table.

The room looked different now.

Not because anyone had changed the furniture.

Because the Commonwealth itself had changed.

A few hours earlier, the maps had represented possibilities.

Now they represented targets.

Brotherhood positions were marked in fresh ink. Supply corridors had been highlighted. Communications overlays showed confirmed relay stations and suspected dead zones.

Reconnaissance reports sat in uneven stacks beside casualty estimates, fuel calculations, and handwritten notes from officers who had spent the afternoon trying to understand how quickly the Brotherhood was repositioning.

At the center of it all was Cambridge.

Sico stood over the map with his sleeves rolled up.

Sarah was on his right.

Preston stood opposite them, one hand resting against the edge of the table.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Sico moved a marker across the map.

"Cambridge Police Station."

Preston looked down.

Sarah leaned closer.

Sico tapped the marker.

"This is where we start."

Preston studied the surrounding streets.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"Why here?"

Sico looked toward him.

"Because it hurts."

Preston nodded slowly.

The answer was simple.

Cambridge Police Station sat in a position that connected several important approaches toward Boston. It wasn't merely another Brotherhood garrison. It was part of their regional presence, a place from which patrols could move, supplies could be organized, and reinforcements could be directed.

Taking it would force the Brotherhood to react.

And more importantly, it would force them to react on Republic terms.

Sarah traced one of the roads with her finger.

"If we take the station, they lose one of their strongest positions west of the city."

"And we disrupt their movement," Preston added.

"Exactly," Sico said.

He moved another marker.

"Supply routes here. Patrol routes here. Possible reinforcement routes from Boston Airport."

Sarah nodded.

"And if they lose Cambridge, they have to either reinforce it immediately or accept the loss."

Sico looked at her.

"And I want them to reinforce it."

Preston raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is."

Sico's finger moved across the map.

"But every Brotherhood unit they send toward Cambridge is a unit they aren't sending somewhere else."

Sarah understood.

"You want to make them choose."

"I want them to spend their strength."

Preston looked at the station again.

"And you want us to take it."

"I want you to take it."

There was no hesitation in Sico's voice.

Preston straightened.

"All right."

Sico looked at him.

"You'll command the main assault."

Preston nodded once.

"How many?"

Sico reached for a folder.

"Three hundred soldiers."

Preston's eyes moved to the next page.

"Thirty Power Armor troops."

"Correct."

"Three Sentinels."

"Yes."

"Eight Humvees."

"Eight."

"Ten transport trucks."

"And six Vertibirds."

Preston exhaled slowly.

"That isn't a small force."

"No."

Sico's expression became serious.

"Because this isn't a small operation."

The room became quiet again.

"This is our first open offensive against the Brotherhood," Sico continued. "There won't be another chance to pretend we're testing them."

Preston looked down at the map.

"If we fail?"

Sico answered honestly.

"Then the Brotherhood learns we can be stopped."

Sarah folded her arms.

"And if we succeed?"

Sico looked at the Cambridge marker.

"They learn the opposite."

Preston gave a faint smile.

"That's quite a way to motivate someone."

"I wasn't trying to motivate you."

"You were."

Sarah smiled.

Preston looked back at the map.

"All right. Three hundred."

He began examining the roads.

"We'll need engineers forward."

"Already assigned," Sico said.

"How many?"

"Two engineering teams."

"Medics?"

"Three field medical teams, plus evacuation crews."

"Recon?"

"Four reconnaissance elements."

Preston nodded.

"Communications?"

"Dedicated command channel and two portable relay teams."

"That should cover us."

Sico shook his head.

"Should?"

Preston looked at him.

Sico smiled faintly.

"You've been listening to Albert too much."

"Maybe."

Sarah leaned over the table.

"There's a problem with the eastern approach."

She tapped a road leading toward Cambridge.

"Too exposed."

Preston studied it.

"We could use the road anyway."

"And give Brotherhood observers a clean view of our movement?"

"No."

Preston moved his finger farther north.

"We approach from here."

Sarah shook her head.

"Too narrow for the trucks."

"Then the trucks stay behind."

Sico watched them.

"What's the alternative?"

Preston considered the terrain.

"Humvees forward. Infantry behind them. Trucks staged at the second position."

Sarah nodded.

"That gives the first wave mobility without putting the entire logistics column inside the engagement area."

Sico looked at Preston.

"Where do you resupply?"

"Forward logistics point here."

He tapped a location behind the initial approach.

"Engineers secure it. Ammunition and fuel remain there until we know the Brotherhood's response."

Sico nodded.

"How long can your assault force operate before resupply?"

Preston glanced toward the calculations.

"Depends on resistance."

"Give me a number."

"Six hours under heavy engagement."

Sico looked at him.

"And after six?"

"We need ammunition."

"And fuel?"

"For the vehicles?"

"Yes."

"Same."

Sico nodded.

"Then the supply convoy needs to be ready before the first shot."

Preston looked toward Sarah.

"Can you keep the route open?"

Sarah smiled slightly.

"I'd better."

Sico turned to her.

Sarah's force would be smaller.

One hundred and fifty soldiers.

Fifteen Power Armor troops.

Two Sentinel tanks.

Five Humvees.

Seven transport trucks.

Six Vertibirds.

Her mission, however, was arguably just as important.

"You'll be behind them," Sico said.

Sarah immediately corrected him.

"Behind and on the flanks."

"Correct."

She pointed toward the western routes.

"I'll establish blocking positions here and here."

She moved two markers.

"Any Brotherhood force attempting to reinforce Cambridge from these directions meets us first."

Preston nodded.

"And if they come from Boston Airport?"

Sarah traced the eastern road.

"Then we'll know."

"How?"

"Reconnaissance."

She looked toward Sico.

"And the Vertibirds."

Sico nodded.

"Air patrols?"

"Six aircraft give me enough coverage to watch the approaches without wasting them."

"Don't waste them," Sico said.

Sarah gave him a dry look.

"I wasn't planning on it."

Preston laughed quietly.

Sico ignored him.

"Brotherhood Vertibirds?"

Sarah's expression became serious.

"That is the biggest concern."

Everyone knew it.

The Brotherhood could put aircraft over the battlefield quickly.

And if they did, Republic infantry could suddenly find themselves exposed in open streets.

Sico looked at Preston.

"How do you protect the assault force?"

"Power Armor screens."

"Against aircraft?"

"Not enough."

Sarah added, "Our Vertibirds can contest them."

"Can they?"

Six aircraft could provide support.

But Sico knew better than anyone that numbers alone didn't guarantee control of the sky.

"We don't need air superiority," Sarah said. "We need air denial."

Sico looked at her.

"Explain."

"We make it expensive for them to stay overhead."

Preston nodded.

"Move under cover where possible. Keep the Humvees dispersed. Don't bunch the armor."

"And Sentinels?" Sico asked.

"Protected until we know where their heavy weapons are."

Sico looked toward Preston.

"Agreed?"

"Absolutely."

The conversation shifted toward civilians.

Sico's finger moved away from the station and toward the surrounding neighborhoods.

"This is where I don't want us making mistakes."

Preston understood immediately.

"Civilians."

"Exactly."

Sarah pointed toward several settlements and inhabited areas surrounding the operational zone.

"We've already sent warnings through the local network."

"Evacuation?"

"Prepared."

"Mandatory?"

"No."

Sico nodded.

"Good."

Preston looked at him.

"Some people won't leave."

"I know."

"They'll be afraid."

"I know."

"Some will refuse because they don't want to abandon their homes."

Sico's expression softened.

"Then we protect them as best we can."

Sarah nodded.

"No artillery without confirmed clearance."

Sico looked at her.

"Especially near civilian structures."

"Already written into the orders."

Preston pointed toward the station.

"What about the station itself?"

"If the Brotherhood is using it as a military position," Sico said, "we treat it as a military target."

"And if civilians are trapped inside?"

"We get them out."

Preston nodded.

"Understood."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then Sarah reached for another report.

"There's something else."

Sico looked over.

"Brotherhood reinforcement estimates."

She opened the file.

"They've already started shifting forces."

"How many?"

"Unknown."

"That's not good enough."

"I know."

Sarah pointed toward the communications overlay.

"Several Brotherhood units have changed positions since the declaration. Some are moving toward the Cambridge sector."

Preston leaned closer.

"They're reacting already."

"Yes."

Sico studied the map.

"How quickly?"

"Some within the hour."

He nodded.

"Then our timing is good."

Preston looked at him.

"Or terrible."

Sico smiled faintly.

"Usually both."

Sarah marked another route.

"If they move from Boston Airport, we could intercept them here."

"Could?" Sico asked.

Sarah looked at him.

"We will."

Sico nodded.

"Good."

He turned toward Preston.

"What happens if the Brotherhood doesn't reinforce Cambridge?"

Preston thought for a moment.

"Then we take it."

"And afterward?"

"We fortify it."

"Then?"

"We prepare for the counterattack."

Sico nodded.

"Exactly."

He looked at both of them.

"The objective isn't simply to occupy the station."

Sarah understood.

"We need to make the Brotherhood pay to take it back."

"And if they don't try?" Preston asked.

"Even better."

Sico stepped back from the table.

"The first battle shapes the next one."

Neither officer disagreed.

The planning continued for another hour.

Ammunition quantities were calculated down to individual magazines.

Fuel allocations were adjusted.

Engineers received instructions to prepare demolition and repair equipment.

Medical teams were assigned evacuation corridors.

Reconnaissance units were given specific observation points.

Communications teams were told where to position portable repeaters.

Reserve formations were identified.

Sico insisted on one final question for every plan.

"What happens if it goes wrong?"

Preston eventually laughed.

"You really are going to ask that every time."

"Yes."

"What happens if my first assault stalls?"

Sarah answered before Preston could.

"My force pushes forward to keep the Brotherhood from surrounding you."

"And if Sarah gets pinned?"

Preston responded.

"I detach part of my reserve."

Sico shook his head.

"Not automatically."

Preston frowned.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want both formations trapped."

Sarah nodded.

"He's right."

She looked at Preston.

"If I get pinned, you continue the objective."

Preston stared at her.

"You're asking me to leave you?"

"I'm asking you not to turn one problem into two."

Sico nodded.

"That is the contingency."

Preston sighed.

"Fine."

Sarah smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm difficult to kill."

"I've noticed."

The tension broke for a moment.

Then Sico returned to the map.

"This operation has to work."

Neither of them mistook his words for pressure.

They understood what he meant.

Not perfection.

Not an effortless victory.

Momentum.

The Republic had declared war.

Now it needed to prove that the declaration had been backed by something more than words.

Sico looked toward the communications officer standing near the door.

"Are the orders ready?"

"Yes, President."

"Send them to every commander."

The officer nodded and hurried away.

Almost immediately, the Headquarters corridors changed.

Officers moved quickly between rooms carrying folders.

Communications personnel shouted confirmations across desks.

Vehicle crews received deployment assignments.

Engineers gathered equipment.

Medical teams loaded field kits.

Outside, engines began turning over one after another.

The sound traveled through the reinforced walls.

Preston looked toward the window.

"They're moving."

Sico nodded.

"Good."

Sarah gathered the final maps.

"Cambridge won't know what's coming."

Sico looked at her.

"Not yet."

Preston adjusted the strap of his rifle.

"When do we move?"

Sico checked the clock.

"Tonight."

Preston nodded.

Sarah looked once more at the map.

"Three hundred moving on the station."

"One hundred and fifty covering them," Sico said.

"Thirty Power Armor with the main force," Preston added.

"Fifteen with mine."

"Three Sentinels."

"Two on the blocking line."

"Eight Humvees."

"Five with us."

"Ten trucks."

"Seven with me."

"And six Vertibirds each."

Sico nodded.

"Exactly."

The numbers were no longer figures on paper.

They were soldiers.

Vehicles.

Fuel.

Ammunition.

People who would soon be moving toward a place where Brotherhood soldiers were waiting.

Sico placed his hand against the Cambridge marker.

"Preston."

"Yes?"

"Take the station."

Preston met his eyes.

"I will."

Sico turned to Sarah.

"Keep his rear secure."

Sarah nodded.

"I'll make sure nobody reaches him without going through us first."

Sico looked between them.

"Bring our people home."

The two commanders exchanged a brief glance.

Then Preston nodded.

"We'll do everything we can."

Sarah gathered the last folder.

"That's all anyone can promise."

They left the war room together.

Sico remained behind for a moment.

Outside, the Headquarters grounds were coming alive.

Humvees rolled toward staging areas.

Transport trucks were being loaded.

Power Armor frames stood beneath maintenance lights while crews tightened armor plates and checked weapons.

Sentinel tanks rumbled slowly into position.

Vertibirds began preparing for flight.

Soldiers climbed aboard transports carrying weapons, ammunition, water, medical packs, and enough supplies to sustain the first movement toward Cambridge.

There was no parade.

No music.

No cheering.

Just machinery.

Orders.

Footsteps.

And the low, unmistakable sound of an army preparing to cross a line it could never uncross.

Sico stepped outside.

Preston was already speaking with one of the assault commanders.

Sarah stood beside a waiting Humvee, studying the final reconnaissance report.

She looked up when she saw him.

For a second, none of them spoke.

Then Preston climbed into the vehicle.

Sarah followed her own officers toward the blocking force.

The first Vertibird lifted from the ground.

Its rotors beat against the night air.

Another engine answered.

Then another.

Sico watched as the Republic's first openly declared offensive force began assembling for the road to Cambridge.

The war had begun with a voice on a radio.

Now it was becoming something heavier.

Steel.

Engines.

Armor.

Boots on pavement.

And three hundred soldiers moving toward the first objective.

Cambridge Police Station waited ahead.

Several hours later, Cambridge was almost completely dark.

The city had never been truly quiet, not even before the war.

There were always distant gunshots. Engines coughing somewhere beyond the ruined streets. The occasional crackle of a fire burning inside an abandoned building. Wind moving through broken windows. The low mechanical hum of equipment hidden behind walls.

But tonight, there was something different.

The silence felt deliberate.

Three hundred Republic soldiers moved through it without speaking above a whisper.

Humvees rolled slowly along the broken road with their headlights dimmed. Transport trucks followed in staggered intervals, engines kept as quiet as the crews could manage. Power Armor troops walked beside them, enormous silhouettes occasionally catching the faint moonlight.

Behind the column, three Sentinels advanced with slow, heavy movements.

Their armored bodies seemed almost unnatural against the ruined streets.

Nobody was talking unnecessarily.

Everyone knew where they were going.

Cambridge Police Station.

Preston sat inside the lead command vehicle, studying the tactical display while the radio whispered reports around him.

"First infantry element approaching the staging point."

"Second element in position."

"Engineers are moving into the assembly area."

"Medical teams are ready."

"Recon reports no movement on the southern road."

Preston lifted his eyes.

"How far?"

The communications officer checked.

"Less than a kilometer."

Preston nodded.

"Tell everyone to hold."

The vehicle slowed.

Then stopped.

Preston opened the door and stepped into the cold night air.

The smell reached him immediately.

Smoke.

Wet concrete.

Old ash.

Something metallic carried on the wind.

He moved behind the remains of a collapsed building where one of the reconnaissance teams had established an observation position.

An officer handed him binoculars.

Preston raised them.

Cambridge Police Station appeared through the darkness.

And his expression changed.

"Oh, hell."

The officer beside him looked over.

"What?"

Preston lowered the binoculars slightly.

"That wasn't in the report."

He raised them again.

The station had changed considerably since the last intelligence picture had been taken.

The Brotherhood had worked quickly.

Sandbags surrounded sections of the perimeter.

Barricades had been reinforced with scrap metal and concrete.

Additional firing positions had been constructed behind overturned vehicles.

Heavy weapons were positioned along the most obvious approaches.

Some walls had been reinforced.

Others had been extended.

The Brotherhood had even created overlapping defensive positions around the approaches that reconnaissance had previously considered vulnerable.

Preston slowly moved the binoculars.

"Power Armor."

"How many?"

"Four that I can see."

The officer frowned.

"Only four?"

"Visible."

That distinction mattered.

A Brotherhood soldier crossed between two barricades.

Another stood on an elevated firing position.

Then Preston noticed movement farther back.

"More personnel inside the courtyard."

"How many?"

"Can't tell."

He lowered the binoculars.

"They've been busy."

The assault commander beside him nodded grimly.

"They knew."

"Maybe not exactly when."

"But they knew we were coming."

Preston looked toward the communications officer.

"Any indication they've detected us?"

"Nothing."

"Good."

He looked back toward the station.

For a few seconds, he said nothing.

The original plan had assumed a hard fight.

This was something else.

The Brotherhood had turned Cambridge into a fortress.

If Preston waited another hour, it could become worse.

More soldiers.

More heavy weapons.

More barricades.

More time for someone to realize exactly how exposed the Republic's approach was.

He handed the binoculars back.

"How long until everyone is in position?"

"Eight minutes."

Preston looked at the station again.

"We don't have eight minutes."

The officer stared at him.

"Sir?"

"Tell the Sentinels to move."

The officer hesitated.

"Now?"

"Now."

The radio came alive.

"Sentinel One, this is command. Advance to firing position."

A voice answered through static.

"Sentinel One copies."

"Sentinel Two."

"Ready."

"Sentinel Three."

"Standing by."

Preston continued.

"Target outer defenses only. Walls, barricades, heavy weapon positions. Do not fire directly into the station unless specifically ordered."

Three acknowledgments followed.

"Understood."

"Copy."

"Targeting defensive structures."

Preston stepped back.

"Tell the infantry to prepare."

The first Sentinel moved.

Its heavy feet struck the pavement with a dull mechanical rhythm.

Then another.

Then the third.

The Brotherhood guards had no idea what was coming.

One of them turned toward the sound.

He raised his rifle.

Too late.

Three targeting systems locked onto the outer defenses.

For one heartbeat, the entire battlefield seemed frozen.

Then the night exploded.

The first Sentinel fired.

The round slammed into the reinforced wall.

Concrete erupted outward.

A second impact tore through a sandbag position.

The third smashed into a barricade, sending metal fragments spinning through the air.

Then the other two Sentinels opened fire.

The darkness became flashes of orange and white.

The noise was enormous.

Dust rolled through the streets.

Masonry collapsed.

Sandbags burst apart.

A Brotherhood machine gun position disappeared behind a cloud of debris.

Guards threw themselves onto the ground.

Others scrambled backward.

Someone shouted.

"CONTACT!"

Another voice screamed,

"ARMOR!"

An alarm began ringing inside the station.

Preston watched through his binoculars.

"Again."

The Sentinels fired.

A reinforced section of wall cracked.

Then collapsed.

The Republic had its opening.

Preston lowered the binoculars.

"Go."

The assault force surged forward.

Three hundred soldiers moved almost simultaneously.

Not perfectly.

War never allowed perfection.

But they moved with purpose.

Humvees accelerated through the shattered approach, weapons firing short bursts toward Brotherhood positions.

Infantry followed behind them.

Power Armor troops advanced through the smoke, their heavy weapons already firing.

Engineers moved behind the first wave carrying equipment for clearing obstacles.

Medics remained farther back, positioned where they could reach wounded soldiers without becoming trapped inside the firefight.

Communications teams moved with command elements, keeping radios alive despite the growing noise.

Preston ran with the assault.

"Keep your spacing!"

A soldier stumbled over broken concrete.

Another grabbed him and pulled him upright.

"Keep moving!"

Gunfire erupted from the station.

Rounds struck the pavement.

A Humvee swerved.

Its gunner returned fire.

"Left side!"

Preston looked.

A Brotherhood heavy weapon had survived the bombardment.

"Power Armor team!"

Three Republic soldiers turned.

"Suppress that position!"

Their weapons opened fire.

The Brotherhood gunner disappeared behind the wall.

"Move!"

The Republic line pushed forward.

The first barricade was almost completely destroyed.

Soldiers climbed over the remains.

Others moved through the gap.

An engineer crouched beside a twisted metal obstruction.

"Clear!"

Preston pointed.

"Keep going!"

A burst of automatic fire came from an upper window.

Two Republic soldiers dropped.

"MEDIC!"

The call traveled instantly.

A medic team rushed forward under covering fire.

Preston stopped for half a second.

"Are they alive?"

The medic checked one.

"Yes!"

"Get them back."

"On it!"

Preston turned toward the advancing line.

"Second platoon, forward!"

The assault continued.

It was not clean.

It was not easy.

The Brotherhood had recovered from the initial shock.

Power Armor appeared through the smoke.

A Brotherhood soldier fired from behind a concrete barrier.

A Republic Humvee took several hits and stopped.

Its crew climbed out and moved into cover.

The Power Armor troops pushed ahead to protect them.

Preston saw one Republic soldier freeze.

He grabbed the man's shoulder.

"Look at me."

The soldier looked at him.

"Breathe."

The man nodded.

"Then move."

"Yes, General."

Preston released him.

"Go."

The Republic line advanced another fifty meters.

Then the radio crackled.

"Preston."

Sarah.

He pressed the receiver.

"Go."

Her voice was calm.

Too calm.

"We have movement on the western approach."

Preston looked toward the rear.

"How much?"

"Not enough to confirm."

"Brotherhood?"

"Possibly."

"Where?"

"Two roads west of your position."

Preston frowned.

"Reinforcements?"

"We're trying to determine that."

He looked toward the station.

"Can you stop them?"

"That is what we're here for."

The transmission ended.

Preston returned his attention to the battle.

"Second line forward!"

The Republic pushed deeper.

Several kilometers behind the main assault, Sarah Lyons stood on the roof of a partially ruined building with binoculars pressed against her eyes.

Her 150 soldiers were spread across the rear.

Fifteen Power Armor troops occupied defensive positions.

Two Sentinels waited behind a rise where they could fire down the main approach.

Five Humvees moved between blocking positions.

Seven transport trucks remained concealed farther back.

Six Vertibirds circled at staggered altitudes, their crews watching the roads.

Sarah lowered the binoculars.

"Report."

A reconnaissance soldier beside her checked his radio.

"Movement confirmed."

"Size?"

"Still uncertain."

Sarah frowned.

"Vehicle count?"

"Possibly six. Maybe more."

"Could be a patrol."

"Could be."

"Could be a feint."

The soldier nodded.

Sarah looked toward the road.

"Keep watching."

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned toward her officers.

"Do not move the blocking units."

One officer looked surprised.

"Even if they're reinforcing Cambridge?"

"Especially then."

She pointed toward the map.

"Our job is to keep Preston from being surrounded."

"Yes, ma'am."

"We are not abandoning the roads because the main assault is loud."

Her expression hardened.

"That's exactly what they'll expect us to do."

A radio operator approached.

"General Lyons."

Sarah took the handset.

"Go."

"Preston reports his first defensive line has been breached."

Sarah smiled faintly.

"Good."

Then the operator continued.

"But Brotherhood resistance is increasing."

Her smile disappeared.

"How much?"

"Significant."

Sarah looked toward Cambridge.

The sky above the city flickered with distant weapons fire.

"They're waking up."

Then back to Preston who heard another explosion.

He ducked as fragments struck the pavement.

"Sentinel One, shift fire!"

The machine responded.

"Target?"

"North barricade. Thirty meters beyond the infantry."

"Copy."

The Sentinel fired.

The barricade disappeared.

"Advance!"

Power Armor soldiers moved through the smoke.

One slammed into a Brotherhood defensive position, physically pushing through the ruined barrier while infantry followed.

The outer perimeter was breaking.

Preston could feel it.

The Brotherhood was being forced backward.

But they were not retreating.

They were falling into their second defensive line.

That was the problem.

He raised his binoculars.

Through the smoke, he could finally see the station itself.

More Brotherhood soldiers were gathering there.

Heavy weapons.

Power Armor.

Fortified entrances.

The real battle had not begun yet.

Preston lowered the binoculars.

"Damn."

His radio crackled.

"Preston."

Sarah again.

"What?"

Her voice was quieter this time.

"We've confirmed them."

"Who?"

"Brotherhood reinforcements."

Preston looked back.

"How many?"

There was a pause.

"Enough."

His expression hardened.

"How far?"

"Closing."

Preston looked toward Cambridge Police Station.

The Republic had broken through the outer defensive line.

They had reached the heart of the Brotherhood's prepared defenses.

But now the Brotherhood was bringing more soldiers toward the battlefield.

Preston tightened his grip around the radio.

"Sarah."

"I'm listening."

"Hold them."

"I intend to."

"We need time."

"You have it."

The transmission ended.

Preston looked around.

Smoke drifted through the streets.

Republic soldiers crouched behind ruined walls.

Power Armor troops prepared to advance again.

Humvees moved into new positions.

Medics treated wounded men beneath the cover of vehicles.

Engineers cleared the last pieces of the outer barricade.

The Sentinels waited for their next command.

And beyond all of them stood Cambridge Police Station.

Still heavily defended.

Still in Brotherhood hands.

Preston took one breath.

Then another.

He raised his rifle.

"Second phase."

His officers looked at him.

"We take the station."

Another burst of gunfire erupted from the Brotherhood defenses.

Preston stepped forward.

Behind him, the Republic's first open offensive was already becoming larger than anyone had expected.

______________________________________________

• Name: Sico

• Stats :

S: 8,44

P: 7,44

E: 8,44

C: 8,44

I: 9,44

A: 7,45

L: 7

• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills

• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.

• Active Quest:-

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