POV Delilah
When I first got the orders, I was a bit shocked, but I was confident I could pull it off. It would be hard, but I could do it. The first step was to gather the needed coordinates. I also planted a few bombs to cause a bit more chaos, as well as a few fire starters. The next step was not as easy. I needed to find someone I could replace who would have access to the Slave Quarters. That was harder than anticipated, meaning I had to leave it for tonight and move on to my current digiuses job. Food preparation.
The poison I was using was normally not lethal. But it was debilitating. It also took a few hours to take effect. That and it was natural, so no one batted an eye when it was added to the soup or prepared meals. It only has one downside. It doesn't affect everyone. Some can shrug off the effects easily, while others could be bedridden for days. It was also seldom lethal, so it was only a delaying tactic.
Adding the poison was finished quickly, and meal time only lasted for 2 hours. Once everything was done, I slipped away and went back to the Slave Quarters. After that, it didn't take long to see one of the guards slipping away to use the restroom. I followed and slit his throat before storing the body in my inventory and taking on his form.
"Hey, Frank, you done back there?" yelled another guard.
"Yeah, yeah, just keep your shirt on," I reply back with a fed-up tone.
"Just makin' sure you didn't faceplant in your own sh*t again," mocked the guard.
"Oh shut up!" I reply.
We get back to guarding, and once the sun sets, it is time to check in all the slaves and feed them. Once we confirm everyone is here, we will go back to guarding the entrance. I wait patiently for everyone to clear out of the area. Which doesn't take too long. Most don't like being around the slaves any longer than they have to. Especially since their quarters smell awful. Cleaning is only done every few days, and the slaves are rarely washed. Once everyone has vacated the area, all that remains is me and the other guard.
"Huh, what's that over there?" I ask while pointing away from me.
"Huh? What do you... Gurk," the guard, starts but is stopped by a knife stuck into his jugular.
He goes for his gun, but I remove it and yank the knife out. It doesn't take long for him to die. Once he does, I open the door to the Slave Quarters and activate a device that deactivates all the collars.
Clink
Hundreds of collars fall off, and before they can say anything, I enter and tell them what has happened. I make sure to change my look again to appear as a Minuteman.
"You're free now, but you need to get out of here before they realise something is wrong. I suggest going East. Most of that area is safe and Raider-free. If you can go to a settlement called the Slog. They can help you find your way back home," I say to all of them.
Most are afraid, but I also hand them several guns and weapons. Then explain an easy route. A leader shows up and thanks me. When they ask for my name, I simply call myself a Friend. I lead them out of the Raider encampment right before the Artillery starts its attack. They know to attack because Guto and his Griffons are airborne, keeping an eye on us. They will watch the group of freedmen for a bit before returning to Sanctuary.
POV William Black
BOOOM
I fall out of my bed as a massive explosion goes off, followed by the ground shaking. I scramble to grab my gun, but when I see I am not in danger, I quickly get my armor on and head outside to see what is happening. When I exit the house I was using, I see fires in the distance as well as continuous explosions hitting out different camps. I stop an Operator running by and ask him some questions.
"What the hell is going on?!" I demand.
"We're under attack!" the fool answers.
"I can see that you, idiot, but what is going on exactly?!" I press for more details.
"I don't know, I just know that Warrior is calling the leaders to the museum to organize a response," he replies.
I shove him and make my way to the museum while trying to get through the crowd of panicked Raiders. The streets of Concord were an absolute mess. But when I finally got into the museum, it was like night and day. The place was kept together, and no one seemed to be panicking despite the continued artillery bombardment going on outside. I make it to the office and see that there aren't that many Raider leaders here.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"We underestimated the Minutemen. It seems they are more capable than we originally thought," Warrior responds, calm as ever.
"Yeah, they hit us hard," Buffalo says.
"How bad?" I ask.
"We don't know. The attack is still ongoing," responds Savoy, who seems unusually calm.
"But we have an idea how bad. We know they are attacking us at night, which we thought they couldn't do, or at least weren't willing to risk. It's a waste of shells. Or it should have been, but it seems like they knew exactly where to strike. And when. We also have reports of many people getting sick. Probably poison. Likely from the food. And lastly, the Slaves are gone," Kellogg speaks.
"Don't forget the bombs that were planted. And the fires," says Red Tourette.
"Who has done what is irrelevant. All that matters is that we organize a response to try and get the men back under control. Most of the troops have already entered Concord, and some have run away. We can't do anything if we cannot get everyone under control," Warrior responds.
We all nod and follow his directions to salvage this situation.
7 Hours Later...
It took a lot of effort and supplies, but we managed to get everything back under control. More importantly, we got an estimate for our losses.
"We lost nearly 900 people to this mess. And that is just the deaths/disabilities. If we count those who are sick or injured but can recover, then that number goes up by 600. How the hell are we supposed to continue like this?" I ask.
"No one is immune from failure. All have tasted the bitterness of defeat and disappointment. We must not dwell on that failure, but must learn from it and continue on. If we have failed once, the Minutemen may attempt to try and use the same strategy, hoping we will fail again. What they may forget and we must always remember is that no two sets of circumstances are alike. We will use this failure to improve ourselves and strike that much more lethally the next time we fight," Warrior finishes.
POV Preston
It had been 3 days since our attack, and it seemed like the enemy was ready to attack once again. But this time it looked like they were bringing everything they had. We had made plenty of defensive plans. I believed we were ready to defend our homes, but I knew that it would not come without a cost. I wasn't sure how many of us would live to see the end of this battle.
"Don't look so glum, we're warriors, we can fend off these sumbags. I have absolute faith that we will survive this battle. Some may die, true, but that's the nature of life. The great struggle between prey and predator. We must show them that we won't go into the night quietly. That the Minutemen can truly defend the people. That Rio put his faith in the right people," Guto says to everyone present.
Those words made the eyes of the defenders go from sad but accepting of their fate to burning with passion for their land and the willingness to fight for their children and their future.
"Soldiers prepare for battle. Today we march. We bleed. Exhaust ourselves. And die. Because our true destination... will be a battle worth winning!" Guto yells.
"Yeaaaaaahhh!!!!!" everyone screams.
We run to our positions and get ready for conflict. We had set up 32 turrets on the Eastern section. 16 were the standard 5.56 Caliber auto turrets. 12 were 50 Caliber Heavy Machine Gun Turrets controlled by either a computer or manual remote control. Then there are 4 Heavy Plasma Turrets. Lastly, there were 2 remote-controlled EWHB-12. The walls in this area were 24 feet tall at the shortest and over 48 feet tall at the highest. We also had several makeshift traps set up on or near the wall. They weren't landmines, but they were still very debilitating if they were triggered.
The wall was mostly defended by turrets, but there were also people on the walls defending it. The Freedmen insisted on taking the wall themselves. They didn't want to wait to make their slavers suffer. But the Freedmen weren't alone. Several Minutemen were joining them. Once the wall falls or can't be held anymore, we will retreat to the second line of defense, which is several trenches where more of our troops will be waiting to annihilate anyone who makes it past the wall. The wall has no rear defenses, so the invaders will have no cover to hide behind. This is also where the 8 suits of Power Armor come into play. Each one is used by a heavy weapons expert using heavily modified Z-6 Rotary Cannons. They also have Missile Launchers and RPGs.
If they somehow force us out of that position, we will fight from street to street, house to house, until we fall back to Vault 111. I was stationed in the HQ, which was an 8-story Concrete building with 4 sub floors and 4 above floors, plentiful sniping positions, and could only be used via an elevator that required a keycard. I wasn't alone; anyone who could work as a sharpshooter was here. Mostly Minutemen, due to also having unlimited ammo. The Griffons were also using the HQ as they were excellent sharpshooters, and they could fly to and from the building.
The HQ was also home to the Med Bay, which was on sub-level 1. Curie was there and in the field performing TCCC. Below there was an armory, and below that was the Fallout Shelter. Finally, below that was the Reactor Room. The elevator, like most everything else in a settlement, was invulnerable. And it was completely closed, so no one could pry it open, and neither could someone ambush you while using it. Not unless you opened the door.
(AN: TCCC stands for Tactical Combat Casualty Care, it's a form of triage used in the military to stabilize people in combat situations and the like.)
We knew Sanctuary inside and out, and we were more than prepared for the Raiders' foolish attack. We also got word about the Vertibird being on standby should we need evac or air support. Of course, they couldn't help too much if there was too much ground fire. But I also got word that a special new aircraft is coming to support us. Apparently, it was a project being worked on at the Slog, but it was waiting on some parts being made at the Castle. Even Rio helped a little bit with the project.