Enclave. This case I found was directly tied to that government cabal of doomsday preppers.
The Enclave was a group of high-ranking military and political figures before the war who became convinced that nuclear Armageddon was a certainty.
You can learn about the various things they did throughout the series, both before and after the Great War.
But basically, they are the Fallout equivalent of Hydra from Marvel.
The organization was spread out when the bombs dropped, and as such, the Enclave has its own various pockets. All are members of the Enclave, but not all are united in their motives.
But the resources they had access to, even before the war, make them a formidable enemy.
This case... whatever it is, isn't worth messing with right now.
There's no doubt in my mind that the Enclave had their eyes on the research in this place.
When Vault 120 went dark after the scientists revolted, any Enclave members who may have been keeping tabs on this place most likely assumed it was lost. Like so many other vaults.
If opening the case without taking precautions leads them to discover that there is still life down here, then I will not be prepared to deal with the consequences.
I didn't want curiosity to kill this cat, so I put the case back into the safe. Until I had a proper foundation of strength and power, I had no choice but to remain low-key.
That doesn't mean completely invisible, however.
My plans would lead me to establish a public identity to use as a smokescreen for my movements.
The organization I will create here will naturally need to branch out to grow. Vault 120 lies under the Atlantic Ocean, below a small island.
The first place that needs to be secured after the Vault is stable would be the island above.
The island will have to become a proper military base. A shield for the Vault below and a place where goods and personnel can come and go between the Vault and the mainland.
The second place that needs to be secured is Boston Airport. Not the small settlement area from the game, but the larger area the BoS held. A port can be built there so the base can become a safe point of contact with the island.
The settlement area from the game could also act as a storefront for trade with the locals.
The third is the RobCo Sales and Service Center, where the hidden robotics factory is located that would one day become the Mechanist's Lair. Claiming the factory and the land around it, plus the airport, would give me control of that entire East Boston area.
The robotics service center would act as a checkpoint for the territory around the first bridge while also concealing the activities of the hidden factory below.
Fort Strong would be the next piece of the puzzle. This would be the mercenary headquarters for the organization.
In the beginning, it will just be a fort used to house local conscripts who will also provide security for the territory and complete requests. If raiders or something else attack the territory, the mercenaries can be easily dispatched to provide reinforcements. Of course all the nuclear assets will be moved or scrapped prior to use.
The existence of the island and the Vault must remain a secret for as long as possible. Only the agents born here or those who have been accepted into Cerberus's inner circle can know the truth of where the heart of the organization lies.
East Boston, for all intents and purposes, will be an organizational stronghold for our public face, which will take the form of a faction similar to the Gun Runners. We will have areas accessible to the public to accommodate trade with caravans and such, but we will remain reclusive in nature.
The mercenary aspect is where things would be different. The group will be a subsidiary of the Cerberus Merchant Group and will operate from within Fort Strong.
This will function as an "Adventurers' Guild," like in those fantasy novels, recruiting anyone willing to take on work.
There will be rules the mercs have to abide by, but otherwise, it's simply a matter of the guild posting a job and whoever wants the pay or merit taking it.
There will also be specialized rewards and incentives to keep them working for us.
This will be beneficial to Cerberus in many ways.
The first is that the mercs can complete jobs that Cerberus can't be bothered to do.
We will also get to evaluate the local talent and have the opportunity to recruit promising individuals deeper into Cerberus.
We will also see our fair share of human waste coming through our doors.
The bad eggs can be repurposed into human tools... Because let's be real, the mercenary profession will attract bad actors, and those individuals will need to be filtered out somehow to keep the organization clean and long-lasting.
It's better to CODE them into obedient Winter Soldiers instead of letting that filth run free.
Waste not, want not.
The other benefit is that the mercenary outfit gives us a certain level of smokescreen to conceal our objectives.
If the operations of our agents are witnessed, it can simply be assumed that we are carrying out a contract. Not necessarily conducting personal business or getting up to anything shady.
If the organization's activities are monitored, there won't be a clearly identifiable motive behind any of our actions.
The only thing I am lacking right now is the manpower to bring these plans into reality. The population of Vault 120 is very small right now.
The Vault has a lot of empty space and facilities that will need to be brought back online. The number of people I can directly pull in is limited at the moment.
There's no need to try to recruit everyone in this Vault as an agent, since many will need to be utilized to handle the daily needs of the Vault.
So everything I mentioned will need to be completed step by step over the course of the coming years.
If I encourage a population boom, how much could I grow my resources?
I thought about all these things as I drifted off to sleep, finally bringing the day to an end.
The next day would mark the true first step toward realizing my overall plans...